In the past, Lu Jiayan would take the subway after work to save money, but this time he hailed a cab directly to shorten his travel time as much as possible.
It was not out of concern that Pei Zhiwen might wait too long; it was purely to make things easier on himself later.
Even though Pei Zhiwen had never mistreated him, after being together for over a decade, he understood the other man’s temper well enough to know that the young master had little patience for waiting, especially when he had already given notice and was left waiting outside the door for over an hour.
By the time he arrived downstairs at his apartment building, twelve minutes had passed.
Thinking of what might happen later, an inexplicable itch rose across Lu Jiayan’s skin, and his throat ran dry.
Like a flower on the verge of withering away, craving the nourishment of water, his mood instantly plummeted to the point of desperately wanting to be comforted.
Lu Jiayan gently scratched the back of his hand with his fingernail and muttered softly, “I need to get my medication.”
Not lingering too long downstairs, Lu Jiayan soon rode the elevator up to the floor of his apartment.
The sound-activated hallway light immediately flickered on at the sound of the elevator.
As soon as Lu Jiayan stepped out and turned the corner, he immediately caught sight of Pei Zhiwen leaning against the wall, smoking.
Hearing footsteps, the other man lazily and listlessly lifted his eyelids. The dim light made it impossible to see the expression on his face clearly. His deep, dark eyes held no ripples, showing not the slightest impatience or temper, calm and restrained to the point of being unreadable.
Yet the veins protruding on the back of his hand and the floor littered with cigarette butts betrayed Pei Zhiwen’s true feelings.
“Sorry.”
Lu Jiayan took the initiative to speak, “I was working overtime and did not see the message.”
Having not seen each other for three years, he did not know whether the young master would consider his voluntary explanation and treat him more leniently.
Pei Zhiwen tossed the burned-out cigarette onto the ground, grinding out the glowing sparks with the sole of his six-figure shoe.
He straightened up, shoving both hands into his pockets.
Casting a glance sideways at Lu Jiayan, he casually replied with a single word:
“Mn.”
There was no blame, nor was there any impatience.
That single, plain word gave Lu Jiayan a strange and intensely oppressive sense of dread, like an indelible brand deeply engraved into his bones from years of domestication.
An unforgettable, instinctive compliance and surrender.
The atmosphere between them carried a slight awkwardness, yet standing together, they felt completely natural.
Lu Jiayan swallowed back the words “Do not be angry” that were on the tip of his tongue. Choosing silence, he took out his key and unlocked the door.
Stepping into the entryway, he brought out the new slippers prepared in advance.
Pei Zhiwen lifted his luggage inside, then naturally and smoothly handed the suitcase over to Lu Jiayan, who had just changed into his slippers.
The motion was as if it had been done countless times before.
Lu Jiayan felt as though he had returned to the time when he first went abroad as an exchange student. Even if Pei Zhiwen only stayed for a single night and did nothing at all, he would still frequently fly from the country to his city.
At most, he had flown twenty-one times in a single month.
Pulling his thoughts together, he set the suitcase aside in a corner and went to find a broom.
Young Master Pei slipped into his slippers and walked further in.
“I want some water.”
Sweeping cigarette butts by the door, Lu Jiayan suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to buy Pei Zhiwen a ceramic mug when he went to the supermarket yesterday.
After clearing away the trash, Lu Jiayan walked to the water dispenser, picked up the simple ceramic mug with a cat print on top, and looked up at Pei Zhiwen, who was inspecting the mattress with one hand on his hip.
Making a superfluous, polite inquiry, he asked, “I have used this before. Do you mind?”
Pei Zhiwen pressed down on the mattress, turned slightly, and hooked the corner of his lips as he looked back at Lu Jiayan.
“I do not mind.”
He had even tasted Lu Jiayan’s water, let alone a mug the other had used.
Lu Jiayan avoided Pei Zhiwen’s gaze, lowered his head, and diligently filled the ceramic mug with water, mixing hot and cold according to the other man’s seasonal drinking habits.
Touching the outer wall of the mug, he relied on feel to confirm the final temperature.
Having finished the water, Pei Zhiwen handed the mug back to Lu Jiayan.
Compared to his previous late-night visit, he now had ample time to thoroughly examine the structure and furnishings of the apartment.
Finally, his gaze fell upon Lu Jiayan.
“Where is the bathroom?”
“I want to take a shower.”
The partitioned wet-and-dry bathroom in the thirty-square-meter apartment was exceptionally narrow. Standing alone inside was already somewhat cramped for Lu Jiayan. If the one-hundred-and-ninety-centimeter-tall Pei Zhiwen were to strip down inside, it would undoubtedly feel stifling.
Lu Jiayan led him to the door.
After inspecting a shower stall too small to fit two people at once, Young Master Pei never once displayed any aversion or distaste from beginning to end.
Lu Jiayan rested his hand against the edge of the door frame, pointing toward two towels of different colors hanging on a row of hooks.
“The blue one is yours.”
Then he added another sentence, “It has been washed in hot water and is very clean.”
“You can place your clean clothes outside for now and drop your dirty laundry into the hamper. The water heater is old and slow to warm up, so you do not need to rush to undress. Wait until the water temperature is comfortable before taking off your clothes.”
Having finished explaining, he noticed that the man beside him was staring directly at him.
Pei Zhiwen’s gaze drifted from the corners of Lu Jiayan’s narrow eyes down to his soft, translucent earlobe. His profile was exceptionally handsome, his nose bridge tall and straight, and his eyes fell directly upon the tiny, exquisite mole on the tip of the other man’s nose.
He really wanted to kiss it.
Action moved faster than thought.
The two of them were standing face to face in front of the bathroom door.
Lu Jiayan felt a shadow fall before his eyes as the scent of male hormones enveloped him completely.
A scalding, burning kiss abruptly landed on the tip of his nose.
His breath hitched suddenly.
Pei Zhiwen wrapped an arm around Lu Jiayan’s slender waist, holding him like a long-lost treasure finally reclaimed. He lowered his head, pressing light kisses one after another onto the mole at the tip of the young man’s nose, praising him generously:
“So beautiful.”
Having lacked such intimate contact with anyone for so long, Lu Jiayan’s Adam’s apple bobbed. As the tip of his nose was kissed, he could not stop himself from closing his eyes, letting Pei Zhiwen kiss him tenderly.
He had known all along.
How could two people who had once shared intimate relations live under the same roof without physical touch?
Even after a gap of three years, the current atmosphere seemed to sweep away every trace of unpleasantness between them as if nothing had ever happened.
Before the kiss could evolve into something more, Lu Jiayan let his wispy black hair fall over his brow, turned aside to avoid Pei Zhiwen’s lips, and stepped back to pull away from his loose embrace.
“Take your shower first. Call me if you need anything.”
With those words, he turned and left.
Like someone fleeing in panic.
After a short while, the trickling sound of water drifted from the bathroom.
Lu Jiayan caught his breath and let out a sigh of relief.
Walking over to his computer desk, he opened the side drawer, pulled out a jar of fruit candies, tipped out two pieces, and popped them into his mouth. The cloying sweetness did nothing to relieve the sudden craving that surged through him, far stronger than normal.
An emptiness welled up within him, desperate to be touched and embraced.
To ease the symptoms, Lu Jiayan decided to find something to do to distract his mind.
He glanced at the silver twenty-eight-inch suitcase sitting temporarily by the door and decided to unpack it for Pei Zhiwen.
The weight of the suitcase felt slightly odd when lifted, but Lu Jiayan thought nothing of it. He laid the suitcase flat, unzipped it, and flipped it open all the way.
What met his eyes was a neat arrangement of colorful packaging boxes.
They filled the entire twenty-eight-inch suitcase to the brim.
The sight shocked Lu Jiayan so much that he froze in his tracks.
Looking closely, he could see three words printed on the bottom right corner of each box: “Extra Large.”
He had thought it would contain Pei Zhiwen’s change of clothes and a laptop.
Instead, every single one of them was a condom.