“I’m watching a…”
Shu Xing forcefully swallowed the curse word that almost slipped out of his mouth.
His eyelid twitched. Biting the bullet, he admitted it: “Yeah, right. I’m watching a video.”
Since he was going to be questioned about why his face was red anyway, it was better to just admit to watching a video. That way, Xi Yang would have no reason to press further.
To his surprise, Xi Yang raised an eyebrow, looking rather curious. “What genre?”
Shu Xing instantly felt a nerve throb in his temple. This guy had just been dumped a second ago, and the very next second he was asking someone else what kind of adult video they watched. Even if it was just an online relationship, shouldn’t he at least feel a brief moment of sadness, no matter how little it mattered to him?
Or was this guy just too good at hiding his emotions, to the point where he could remain completely unfazed?
Shu Xing stared at him for a few moments. Raking through every plotline he had ever encountered in his life, he struggled to fabricate a storyline. “An older brother and his adopted younger brother. Pseudo-incest BL. Why? You want to watch it too?”
Perhaps because Shu Xing’s tone was too deliberate and aggressive when he spoke, making his provocative words sound as if he were absolutely certain Xi Yang wouldn’t dare to watch, it instantly triggered Xi Yang’s rebellious streak.
Xi Yang didn’t display the slightest hint of surprise at the fact that Shu Xing, a fellow guy, was watching a gay video. Instead, he agreed in a completely matter-of-fact tone, “Sure, let’s watch it together.”
Shu Xing: “…”
Shu Xing looked down at the person below his bed in sheer horror. Even through the bed railings, he could feel the firm seriousness in Xi Yang’s voice.
He pulled his exposed legs back a bit, putting himself in a defensive posture, and said awkwardly, “There’s really no need for that, is there?”
“Didn’t you invite me?” Xi Yang lifted his chin, gesturing for Shu Xing to unlock his phone. “I just happen to need something to distract and relax myself.”
Shu Xing thought to himself that relaxing by watching BL porn was definitely not the right way to go about it.
Shu Xing lifted his phone. Fearing that Xi Yang would see his screen, he shrank back a little further against the wall behind him. Fortunately, because the screen was shattered, it turned into a glitching mess of colored lines the moment it lit up.
Shu Xing beamed a bright smile and showed the glitched screen to Xi Yang. “Can’t watch it anymore.”
After looking at it, Xi Yang turned his body slightly, pointed his hand toward his own desk, and said, “Use my computer?”
Seeing that Xi Yang would not let the matter drop until he watched it tonight, Shu Xing began to wonder if this guy was messing with him on purpose.
However, the competitive streak between the two of them had already been ignited through their back-and-forth banter. It felt as though whoever backed down first and said they did not want to watch would be the loser.
Shu Xing was the one who had instigated this battle, so it was naturally impossible for him to admit defeat.
He tightly pursed his thin lips, ground his upper and lower teeth together, and forced out a smile. “Sure, let’s use yours then.”
Xi Yang said calmly, “Come down.”
Shu Xing climbed down from the bed at a snail’s pace. With every step down, he bitterly regretted his big mouth, yet on the surface, he had to maintain an expression of eager anticipation so Xi Yang would not notice his hesitation.
Xi Yang considerately pulled out a chair for Shu Xing and placed it in front of the computer. By the time Shu Xing got down, Xi Yang had already logged out of his Xuanhuan game and had even opened the web directory interface for him.
Once Shu Xing was settled in the seat beside him, Xi Yang tilted his chin up slightly, crossed his arms, and said, “Type in the URL.”
Shu Xing stole a glance at Xi Yang. Ever since he developed a sexual awareness, he had never really watched any porn videos, so how could he possibly remember any adult website addresses? Caught in an awkward spot, he propped his forehead with one hand while hesitantly typing a few letters on the keyboard with the other.
The adult website was something Shu Xing made up on the fly, which was nothing more than adding a domain name after “gv”.
After hitting enter, the computer screen instantly flashed with row after row of photos showing exposed male bodies. Shu Xing had actually guessed right.
Seeing the webpage load, Xi Yang offered a word of praise: “You have a pretty good memory.”
“It’s alright.”
The moment Shu Xing saw the explicit images on the screen, his ears turned bright red and he quickly averted his eyes. Xi Yang, on the other hand, did not change his expression at all. In fact, after the page fully loaded, he even shifted his posture to sit up straighter.
“Which ones do you usually watch?” Xi Yang’s arm brushed against Shu Xing’s as he reached over, took the mouse from in front of him, and began scrolling through the page with an experienced air.
There were many categories on the website, and Xi Yang read the names out loud as he browsed.
“Teacher and student?”
“Father and son?”
“Brothers?”
“Discipline?”
“Toys?”
“Anime?”
“Forced?”
Listening to Xi Yang read out the categories one by one, the awkward blush on Shu Xing’s ears burned all the way down to his neck, creating a stark contrast against his originally fair skin.
In the end, Shu Xing really could not take it anymore and interrupted, “Just this one.”
Xi Yang’s hand scrolling through the interface paused, and he turned his head to look at him. “The forced one?”
Xi Yang was sitting very close to Shu Xing. When he turned his head to speak, his breath brushed against Shu Xing’s skin like a warm breeze, leaving a scorching sensation on his already flushed skin.
Shu Xing looked up into Xi Yang’s eyes. In the end, his competitiveness won over his dignity. He said, “Yeah.” After speaking, he added in the tone of an experienced veteran, “I usually prefer forced stuff.”
Xi Yang did not seem to care much for this type, but since Shu Xing had said so, he could only follow Shu Xing’s preference and clicked into the category.
The new section was filled with videos of varying lengths. It was the type of website where if the mouse accidentally hovered over a video thumbnail, a preview clip would automatically start playing.
Shu Xing propped his forehead with one hand and awkwardly rubbed his nose with the other, trying to block his own line of sight with both hands.
Yet, he was both embarrassed and curious, and his eyes could not help but peek at the computer screen through the gaps between his fingers.
After scrolling through a few pages, Xi Yang asked, “Which one do you want to watch?”
Shu Xing said, “Whatever.”
Xi Yang glanced at him sideways. “Not watching the older brother and his younger brother anymore?”
Another wave of heat rushed to Shu Xing’s face. “I already watched that one just now. I want to try something fresh.”
“Let’s watch this one then.” It was unclear what Xi Yang had clicked on, but the sound of two men talking soon echoed from the video.
Immediately following that were loud, clapping sounds of bodies colliding. The watery sounds caused by an excess of lubricant mixed with a man’s forced cries and wails drifted into Shu Xing’s ears, wave after wave.
Even though Shu Xing was not really looking, his heart was racing abnormally fast at this moment. Those ambiguous noises stimulated his nerves, drilling into his heart bit by bit, making him restless and deeply embarrassed.
It was not until the man’s passionate moaning came from the computer that Shu Xing finally could not take it anymore.
He abruptly stood up, averted his eyes, and said, “I’m not watching anymore. Watch it yourself.”
Seeing that Xi Yang still maintained that same expressionless, cold face, Shu Xing threw in the towel. He thought to himself that this guy had shown an incredibly strong sexual desire when they were dating online, so he wondered what kind of righteous gentleman he was trying to pretend to be now.
“Giving up already?”
Shu Xing was still stubborn about it: “It’s not good. Boring.”
Noticing that Shu Xing was flushed red all over, the rebellious streak in Xi Yang’s heart dissipated. He closed the website and critiqued it in agreement, “The filming quality is indeed very mediocre.”
Shu Xing waved his hand irritably and said, “It’s getting late! I’m going to sleep!”
Xi Yang nodded. Remembering something, he asked again, “Did you take your medicine tonight?”
“I did, I did.”
Once Shu Xing got into bed, Xi Yang turned around, the gaze in his eyes darkening bit by bit. He flipped through the photos previously sent by Xing Shu that he had saved in his album. After looking for a brief moment, he silently locked his phone and decided to go outside for a smoke to clear his head.
For a pure boy like Shu Xing, who only talked big online, engaged in text-based dirty talk, and occasionally did voice sex, a forced porn video was still a bit too stimulating and shocking. This rush of adrenaline kept his brain activity in an overly excited state, causing him to sleep poorly the entire night.
Most importantly, when he finally did manage to fall asleep, he had an incredibly exaggerated dream.
In the dream, Shu Xing’s waist was pinned down by Xi Yang, who forced him down in the bathroom, taking him over and over again. The position used was the exact one Shu Xing and Yu Hui had discussed during their voice call before.
When he woke up in the morning, Shu Xing felt a damp wetness in his underwear. The sheer humiliation and awkwardness made him instinctively dart a glance over toward Xi Yang’s bed.
Fortunately, the guy had already gotten up.
Shu Xing climbed down from the bed, holding his damp trousers. Seeing his unusually flushed complexion, Cheng Xinyu sidled over and asked, “Xing-mei, do you have a fever? Why is your face so red?”
“No, I don’t.” Shu Xing backed away nervously. Just then, Xi Yang stepped out of the bathroom after finishing his shower. Shu Xing quickly grabbed his change of clothes and dove straight into the bathroom.
Cheng Xinyu stared in confusion at the tightly shut bathroom door. He blinked his eyes and muttered to himself, “Since when did Xing-mei develop the habit of taking morning showers too?”
In the morning, Shu Xing went to a phone shop to get his phone repaired, only to find out that the price of replacing the screen was practically the same as buying a new one. Watching another ten thousand yuan vanish from his Yu’E Bao balance, his heart bled.
After purchasing the new phone, Shu Xing asked the clerk to transfer all the data from his old phone. He specifically instructed the clerk not to miss the chat history of his secondary WeChat account.
Once the phone transfer was complete, Shu Xing remembered that the tablet computer he usually used for classes was still in the apartment Yu Hui had rented for him. Since he happened to have some free time in the morning, he caught a taxi to head over to that apartment.
The weather was beautiful today, and the sunlight filtering through the screen windows still cast lovely patterns of light and shadow on the floor.
The living room remained exactly as Shu Xing had left it a few days ago, except for a footprint on the entryway rug that did not belong to him.
In all probability, Xi Yang had come here looking for him before.
Fortunately, on the night they had agreed to meet in person, Shu Xing had not hidden back in the apartment; otherwise, they would have run straight into each other.
While grabbing his tablet, Shu Xing noticed the gleaming watch resting on the nightstand. After the class reunion ended that day, he had carelessly taken it off and left it on the stand without putting it back into its storage box.
Shu Xing picked up the watch and held it up against the incoming sunlight. The pavé diamonds glinted in the light, dazzling and beautiful.
He wondered how much this watch would fetch if he sold it now. If it was worth fifty thousand yuan, Shu Xing would only need to make up the remaining fifty thousand to return the watch money to Xi Yang.
It was just that the watch was aqua blue, resembling a mesmerizing ocean surface, and it was absolutely beautiful.
He decided to forget about selling it and keep it instead. It could serve as a memento for his two-year-long online relationship.
As for the money, Shu Xing planned to ask Pei Chun later if he could go back to the pet hospital to work part-time. With his daily wages combined with the savings he had accumulated before, he should be able to pay back the transfer he received from Xi Yang.
Shu Xing had not brought a bag with him this time, making it inconvenient to carry the watch away in its storage box, so he simply strapped it onto his wrist.
The phone in his pocket vibrated a few times. Shu Xing figured it was Cheng Xinyu urging him to hurry back to school.
Their major had classes in the afternoon, so Shu Xing did not stay long in the apartment before heading downstairs.
This apartment complex and the adjacent shopping center belonged to the same developer. When Shu Xing took the subway, he usually walked toward the East Gate. The East Gate connected to the plaza of the shopping center, and sometimes he would buy a few things on his way past.
However, the East Gate was always crowded, and the traffic was constantly gridlocked, making it inconvenient to hail a taxi. Rushing to get back for class, Shu Xing had no choice but to take the long way around to the South Gate, which was quite a distance away.
Shu Xing rarely hailed a ride from the South Gate, and the location tracking on the ride-hailing app was highly inaccurate, constantly jumping back automatically to the East Gate by the shopping center. After a few failed attempts, Shu Xing grew rather irritated.
Fully absorbed in fixing the precise location on his ride-hailing app, Shu Xing did not notice when a silver sports car came to a stop right beside him.
Sitting inside the car, Xi Yang frowned deeply as he watched Shu Xing sitting on a stone bollard by the roadside, playing with his phone.
Xi Yang was merely passing through the area and wanted to swing by to take a look at the apartment where Xing Shu lived. He never expected to run into Shu Xing here.
Moreover, he had clearly seen Shu Xing walking out from the apartment building. He wondered if Shu Xing had lived here before too.
This apartment complex only consisted of two buildings, and the other secondary building had not even opened for public sale yet.
Which meant that the apartment Shu Xing had rented before just happened to be in the exact same building as his online dating partner.
He wondered how it could be such a coincidence.
He heard Shu Xing softly mutter a curse word under his breath to his phone before slowly raising his head to look in his direction.
The silver sports car parked next to him had its top down and the windows lowered, so when Shu Xing looked up, he naturally saw Xi Yang in the driver’s seat, staring fixedly at him.
Xi Yang’s brows were furrowed, and his pitch-black eyes looked unreadable as they locked onto him.
Shu Xing: “…?”
Looking at Xi Yang’s face, he fell into a momentary daze.
Then, his eyes widened in absolute shock.
Shu Xing: “!!!”