The back of Ming Qi’s head touched the bed, and it felt as though he had fallen into a soft cloud of cotton. Turning over, he buried his face in the blanket and refused to get up no matter what.
Yu Qinzhou sat beside him, pinching his wonderfully soft cheek as he smiled and asked:
“Not taking a shower?”
Just now, the moment he had placed Ming Qi onto the bed, the young man had wrapped both legs around his waist, clinging to him like a little koala.
When Ming Qi turned to look at the bed, he didn’t look at it like a place to sleep.
Instead, it was as though he were staring into a deep cliff whose true appearance couldn’t be seen.
The reason was simply that he thought climbing into bed with clothes on was dirty.
“Then come down and take your clothes off.”
Hearing that, Ming Qi’s legs wrapped around his waist paused.
Instead of obediently loosening like Yu Qinzhou expected, they tightened little by little as he slowly asked:
“Why can’t you hold me and help me take them off?”
Yu Qinzhou: “……”
Now that request was a new one.
Pretty novel.
A smile colored the man’s lips.
“Then I’ll hold you and help you take them off.”
His left hand patted Ming Qi’s lower back, signaling him to loosen his hold. Then he lifted him, supporting his butt with one arm while the other slowly undid the buttons of Ming Qi’s shirt.
Very quickly, the light-colored thin shirt was casually tossed onto the floor.
The exposed skin shrank instinctively when it touched the lingering chill in the room, and he hugged Yu Qinzhou even tighter.
The sudden closeness pressed the young man’s fine, pale skin against him, resting near his neck.
A slight downward glance was all it took to see Ming Qi’s elegant shoulder line.
Yu Qinzhou felt a little helpless.
It almost felt like the mild alcohol from the rice wine had begun to hit him.
But he clearly knew it was nothing more than desire acting up.
No matter how strong the liquor in the wine cellar was, it could never get him drunk.
How could homemade rice wine possibly manage it?
Letting out a soft breath, Yu Qinzhou’s fingers slid along Ming Qi’s waistline and into the waistband of his pants.
As his fingertips undid the button, his knuckles inevitably brushed against Ming Qi’s stomach.
The cool sensation made Ming Qi repeat what he had done earlier, pressing his stomach against Yu Qinzhou too.
Yu Qinzhou instinctively stepped back, his back bumping into the cabinet.
…This really was testing his self-control.
Pressing his lips together, Yu Qinzhou finally undid the button completely.
After kicking around a few times, Ming Qi finally freed himself from the restriction.
“You can put me down now.”
At the mention of showering, he tried hard to sit up, but his hands pressing against the bed were limp and weak.
So he turned his head and asked:
“Can you help me shower?”
Yu Qinzhou casually straightened the shirt Ming Qi had messed into a wrinkled heap. One hand pressed against the blanket beside his ear as he leaned down with a smile.
“Call me husband, and I’ll help you shower.”
“Husband.”
Without the slightest hesitation, the title Yu Qinzhou wanted sounded right beside his ear, so fast that for a moment, he didn’t even react.
Pinching Ming Qi’s cheek, he said softly:
“How are you so easy to fool?”
Picking him up, he walked into the bathroom.
Steam spread and rose, quickly enveloping the spacious room.
Within the blurry haze, silhouettes faintly appeared and disappeared.
No one knew how much time passed.
Ming Qi was eventually wrapped up in a soft blanket, while Yu Qinzhou stood under freezing water pouring over his head, feeling the overly cold temperature wash across burning-hot skin, extinguishing the desire he couldn’t put into words.
Casually wrapping himself in a fresh bathrobe, Yu Qinzhou turned and walked back toward the master bedroom.
The moment he climbed into bed, the young man who had originally been lying obediently to one side moved like a small animal catching a familiar scent, naturally rolling into his arms and burying his face in Yu Qinzhou’s chest.
Yu Qinzhou counted the steady rise and fall of the breathing against his chest, then lowered his head and kissed his forehead.
The next morning, when Ming Qi woke up, the tightly shut bed curtains completely blocked out all light from outside.
Squinting, he still felt a little dizzy, so he simply closed his eyes again and slowly woke himself up.
More than ten minutes later, his expression gradually shifted from:
“Ah, morning already. Another new day.”
to:
“Wait, did something happen last night?”
to:
“Holy crap?! Something this terrifying actually happened last night?!”
Finally, his eyes flew open as he stared dumbfounded at the man beside him.
Ming Qi: “……”
What the hell had he even been doing last night?!
Calling Yu Qinzhou someone who looked like his husband.
Personally admitting he liked Yu Qinzhou.
Making Yu Qinzhou carry him, help him undress, and even carry him to shower.
Ming Qi closed his eyes in utter despair, unable to stop himself from taking a deep breath as he forcefully shoved the embarrassment, shame, and panic surging in his chest back down.
Sneaking another glance at the man who seemed to still be sleeping, he carefully lifted the blanket and—like a thief—grabbed his phone and ran into the bathroom.
Sitting on the toilet lid, he opened Meng She’s WeChat:
77.: Bro!!!
Mom Meng: You’re awake this early? Didn’t filming end yesterday? Didn’t you go have fun last night?
77.: We’ve already moved past the question of whether I had fun or not.
77.: I did something really stupid last night. You need to save me /pitiful
Meng She had originally been lying in bed scrolling short videos while Xiao Ba ran all over him.
The moment he saw Ming Qi say that, he immediately picked Xiao Ba up and set him aside, excitement practically bubbling over.
Mom Meng: Hurry hurry hurry, tell me—how stupid are we talking?
More stupid than when I got chased by a dog into a ditch in high school? Or the other day when I got chased by that big white goose?
Looking at the reply, Ming Qi could practically feel the words schadenfreude slapping him across the face.
But he thought—he deserved it.
After all, he used to laugh at Meng She like this too.
He rubbed his face and lowered his head to type:
77.: I accidentally got drunk last night.
Mom Meng: Oh-ho!
The little white rabbit got drunk—wasn’t that just letting the big bad wolf do whatever he wanted?
Their Qi-zai really was still inexperienced in the ways of the world.
Ming Qi covered his ears while stealing a bell—deleting that “oh-ho” as if it could help—then straightened his face and typed:
77.: Then I told Yu Qinzhou to his face that I like him.
Mom Meng: Oh my!
Ming Qi ignored the exclamation and kept typing:
77.: But we’re in a pure contract relationship.
Mom Meng: Say “pure contract relationship” right in front of Yu Qinzhou again, prop up a phone beside you, and livestream it for me. I wanna see what expression Yu Qinzhou makes.
77.: According to the usual plotline, are we supposed to terminate the agreement next and then go our separate ways?
Mom Meng: Don’t put away that phone stand. Say “go our separate ways” to his face too.
Seeing him act so unserious, Ming Qi got a little annoyed.
77.: I’m talking to you seriously about this!
Mom Meng: I’m serious too.
Ming Qi: “……”
He put down his phone, stood up, and looked deeply at himself in the mirror, letting out a sigh.
So… what was he supposed to do?
In the silence, the door behind him was knocked on.
Yu Qinzhou’s voice rang out, still carrying the slight rasp of just waking up in the morning.
“Qiqi.”
Lost in thought, Ming Qi jumped in fright and quickly answered vaguely. Opening the door, he brushed past Yu Qinzhou, not even daring to let his gaze land on him.
“You need to use the bathroom? Hurry and go in.”
The guilty look was obvious to Yu Qinzhou at a glance.
The man’s raised arm blocked across Ming Qi’s chest. With an easy hook, he pulled him into his arms.
Yu Qinzhou pinched the slim waist beneath his pajama top and laughed softly.
“Last night you wanted me to carry you for everything. Today you won’t even look at me once. Ming Qi, did you sober up and stop liking me?”
Ming Qi: “……”
Wasn’t this way too sudden?
How could he wake up and immediately start talking about this?
He bit his lip, fiddling with his fingers for a long while, wanting to brush it off with “I was drunk and talking nonsense last night.”
But Yu Qinzhou seemed to have already guessed what he wanted to say. The corners of his lips curled slightly.
“I took your words seriously.”
Ming Qi froze, gripping his fingers so tightly they turned pale.
If he took it seriously, didn’t that mean the agreement was really going to end?!
He parted his lips.
“Then—”
“So, want to date?”
“Ah?!”
Ming Qi suddenly looked up, staring blankly at him.
His brain instantly turned into mush, completely unable to process what Yu Qinzhou meant.
Until the man lowered his eyes, one hand gripping his waist and lifting him directly onto the bathroom counter, then lowered his head and kissed his lips.
As their breaths mingled, the overwhelming advance forced Ming Qi back step by step until, in the end, his waist went weak and he couldn’t even sit steadily.
Holding down the restless body in his arms, Yu Qinzhou lightly bit his cheek and coaxed softly:
“You like me. I like you. Shouldn’t we be dating?”
“When we get back, we’ll tear up that agreement, okay?”
“You like me?”
“Why not? You’re so outstanding. What’s wrong with me falling for you?”
Hearing the disbelief-filled question, Yu Qinzhou laughed quietly.
“I think there’s nothing wrong with it.”
“But…”
Ming Qi said quietly,
“I’m actually not that outstanding.”
“Good-looking, kind personality, highly educated, motivated, loves animals—”
Each advantage Yu Qinzhou casually listed made Ming Qi’s ears turn redder.
By the end, embarrassment finally overwhelmed him. He reached out and covered Yu Qinzhou’s mouth.
“Stop talking.”
“But you really are wonderful.”
Yu Qinzhou gently patted his head.
“So you need to know this—you’re worthy of being liked by everyone.”
…
Ming Qi slipped back into the bathroom again, sat on the toilet lid, and opened Meng She’s WeChat:
77.: Bro!!!
Mom Meng: Now what?
Ming Qi lowered his head and typed:
77.: Just reporting in—I’m dating someone now.
Meng She let out two dry laughs.
Mom Meng: You didn’t even report in when you got married, but you’re reporting in for dating? Ming Qi, take a picture of yourself and let me see.
77.: ?
Mom Meng: I wanna see how high the corners of your mouth are curled up.
Ming Qi: “……”
He touched the corners of his mouth, then leaned toward the mirror to check.
Sure enough, they were curled up a little too high.
Clearing his throat, he pressed down the smile and asked Meng She:
77.: Why aren’t you asking who I’m dating?
Even through the screen, Meng She could practically picture the little “ask me, ask me!” expression on Ming Qi’s face as he typed that line.
He snorted a laugh and humored him.
Mom Meng: So who are you dating?
77.: Yu Qinzhou /cute
Seeing the cute emoji, Meng She couldn’t help laughing out loud.
Mom Meng: Then congratulations to our Qi-zai first. Just remember, at the wedding I’m sitting at the main table.
He opened his chat with Yu Qinzhou.
A few minutes ago, he had sent Yu Qinzhou screenshots of his conversation with Ming Qi.
Very sneakily, he had erased the part where he asked for a livestream, leaving only Ming Qi’s confusion and panic.
Without him, would Yu Qinzhou really have reacted that fast?
So if he didn’t get the seat at the main table, who would?