The blazing sun spread a thin layer of gold over the ice boat on the sea.
Lin Qiye kept warming An Qingyu’s hands until the boat reached the shore, only then letting go.
An Qingyu lowered his head, exposing his pale, fragile-looking neck. There was a hint of vulnerability about him as he spoke softly,
“Qiye… do you think I’m troublesome?”
Lin Qiye paused mid-step as he was about to get off the boat and looked at him.
“Why would you think that?”
An Qingyu spread open the left hand that had just been released and asked cautiously, as if afraid of saying the wrong thing:
“Then… why did you let go of my hand?”
Lin Qiye was stunned for a moment.
“We’ve reached the shore. We need to keep moving.”
An Qingyu stepped forward and took hold of one of Lin Qiye’s hands again.
“Qiye, you can still warm my hand while we’re on the move.”
Lin Qiye let out an “Oh,” then held An Qingyu’s hand. “Is this okay now?”
This brother of his was really a bit delicate.
Even while traveling, he needed someone to warm his hands.
Thinking about how An Qingyu had taken care of him for an entire year in the fasting house, Lin Qiye felt it was his responsibility to look after him.
It was just warming a hand, a small request. He could easily manage that.
The two of them walked side by side.
With his free hand, Lin Qiye took out his phone, checked his messages, then put it away again.
Following behind them, Cao Yuan nudged Baili Pangpang beside him.
“Pangpang, don’t you think An Qingyu has some kind of scent on him?”
Baili Pangpang silently took a deep breath.
“There’s no smell at all. Is something wrong with your nose?”
Cao Yuan lowered his voice and whispered,
“What I mean is, An Qingyu has this [1]“Green-tea vibe” comes from the Chinese slang “绿茶 (lǜchá)” or “绿茶婊 / 绿茶味.” It doesn’t literally mean someone smells like tea. It’s a way of describing a person who … Continue reading jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1931840_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1931840_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });green-tea vibe about him. The tea scent is way too strong.”
Baili Pangpang looked even more confused.
“He’s been with us the whole time. I didn’t see him secretly drinking any green tea.”
Cao Yuan irritably smacked Baili Pangpang on the head. “Oh, come on, you idiot.”
On the way to the train station, Lin Qiye and An Qingyu drew quite a few strange looks from girls they passed.
Lin Qiye didn’t understand.
There weren’t any mosquito bites on his neck this time.
He shook his head inwardly. There was no need to care about other people’s stares.
Let them look if they wanted to.
Lin Qiye led the newly formed team onto a train.
He and An Qingyu sat next to each other.
Baili Pangpang and Cao Yuan sat across from them.
Their seats were in a corner of the carriage, with few passengers passing by, overall, it was fairly quiet.
Lin Qiye looked up at the teammates sitting opposite him.
“We’ve received a new mission. There’s an ant-type ‘mystery’ appearing in the forest of Anda County on the border of Daxia. We’re going to deal with it.”
Baili Pangpang looked excited.
“Great! A new mission, this is the perfect chance for our squad to make a big splash.”
Cao Yuan glanced down at the weather forecast on his phone.
“It seems extremely cold there, dozens of degrees below zero.”
Lin Qiye nodded.
“It’s very cold, so after we get off the train, we’ll need to purchase enough supplies.”
An Qingyu clasped one of Lin Qiye’s hands between both of his and tilted his head to rest against Qiye’s shoulder.
“Qiye, it’s going to be freezing there. At night, can I sleep together with you?”
“How can that be allowed? Absolutely not,” Cao Yuan immediately objected.
He himself had never even slept under the same blanket as Qiye.
On what grounds should An Qingyu, who came later, get to?
Suppressing the urge to dissect Cao Yuan, An Qingyu lowered his voice.
“Qiye, if you’re unwilling, I won’t force you. It’s just that my constitution runs cold, and I might not rest well at night if I freeze…”
He tightened his hold on one of Lin Qiye’s arms and shrank his neck slightly, as if seeking warmth.
Lin Qiye felt a warm weight enveloping his left arm. He looked up at the dissatisfied Cao Yuan.
“An Qingyu’s constitution is special. We’re on the same team, of course we should help each other.”
In other words, he agreed to sleep together with An Qingyu at night.
He was telling Cao Yuan to stop arguing.
Cao Yuan’s lips moved, as if he still had something to say, but in the end he kept silent.
Ever since An Qingyu appeared by Lin Qiye’s side,
Cao Yuan had begun to feel that this person would firmly occupy Qiye’s attention, focus, and concern in the future.
Without realizing it, the scale of Qiye’s affections had already begun tilting toward An Qingyu.
Cao Yuan felt indignant. They were all teammates, why was the gap between them so large?
Baili Pangpang yawned, leaned his head back against the seat, and closed his eyes to rest.
An Qingyu rubbed his head lightly against Lin Qiye’s shoulder, then flashed a shy smile at Cao Yuan, who looked as if he was about to explode.
“You…” Cao Yuan felt like he couldn’t swallow his frustration.
An Qingyu was definitely provoking him, he had to be.
Lin Qiye also yawned sleepily and simply closed his eyes to rest.
An Qingyu noticed the flash of fatigue between Lin Qiye’s brows and gently moved away from his arm.
Then he slowly drew Lin Qiye into his embrace, trying to create a more comfortable sleeping position for him.
Lowering his voice, An Qingyu said,
“Cao Yuan, give me your coat.”
“And keep your voice down, don’t wake Qiye.”
Cao Yuan looked at Lin Qiye resting against An Qingyu’s chest. After a moment of silence, he took off his coat and handed it over.
Since it was for Qiye’s sake, he decided to back down a little.
An Qingyu draped the coat over Lin Qiye.
Lin Qiye seemed truly exhausted. In his sleep, he unconsciously nuzzled against An Qingyu.
An Qingyu endured the strange sensations rising within his body; his skin began to feel hot.
Noticing the sudden flush on An Qingyu’s face, Cao Yuan lowered his voice.
“An Qingyu, do you have a fever?”
Suppressing the restlessness in his body, An Qingyu shot Cao Yuan a cold glance. “Shut up and go to sleep.”
Cao Yuan: …
In front of Qiye, An Qingyu always acted meek and compliant.
Now that Qiye was asleep, he instantly changed his face.
Or rather, revealed his true nature.
Since Lin Qiye was already resting, Cao Yuan could only glare resentfully at An Qingyu.
A chill ran over him, and he rubbed his arms.
Then he pulled off Baili Pangpang’s coat, put it on, crossed his arms, and went to sleep.
Most of the passengers in the carriage were already asleep, with only a few occasionally looking down at their phones.
An Qingyu used one hand to stroke Lin Qiye’s waist, and with the other, slowly traced his face— from the space between his brows, down along the bridge of his nose, and finally to the rosy, full lips of the beautiful young man in his arms.
His slender fingers outlined the pleasing shape of Lin Qiye’s lips.
He glanced around. His teammates were asleep, and no other passengers were paying attention to them.
Slightly reassured, An Qingyu leaned down.
Only when the train’s arrival announcement sounded did he slowly straighten his back.
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