Su Lixu did not expect this guy’s massage to feel so comfortable. His frequently strained waist felt much better after being kneaded by those warm palms. As the massage went on, his consciousness gradually blurred, and he didn’t even know when he fell asleep.
“Older brother, you have dimples on your waist.”
Fu Xingran lowered his gaze, looking at the recessed waist dimples beneath his palm as if they might bite his fingers. His throat tightened, unforgettably sexy. Who would have thought such a body was hidden beneath the white lab coat? Inspiration surged wildly in his mind.
His fingertips tingled with numbness.
Receiving no reply, he lowered his head for a glance and found that Su Lixu had fallen asleep pillowed on his own arm.
The cheek resting on the arm was slightly puffed up, his well-shaped lips parted slightly, and his slow breathing felt like it was plucking at heartstrings.
Uncontrollably, he leaned in slowly.
Just when only the width of a finger remained between their lips, he stopped abruptly. Staring at the sleeping face so close at hand, his gaze lingered on the long eyelashes, the attachment deep in his eyes no longer hidden.
After watching for who knows how long, he finally leaned his ear close to Su Lixu’s lips.
The sound of breathing was very light, very soft, very comfortable, yet it filled his heart to the brim.
“I can’t wait anymore.”
I need to speed up.
Late at night, the deeply sleeping man seemed very uncomfortable, burying his face in the bedding with slightly hurried breathing and a soft, muffled groan.
The bedroom door was pushed open from the outside, a tall figure casting a shadow on the floor as it approached the bedside.
“Older brother?”
The edge of the bed dipped under the weight of someone sitting down, and the young man’s low, inquiring voice sounded near his ear, only to be met with a muffled groan of discomfort from the sleeping Su Lixu.
“Are you uncomfortable?”
The bedside lamp was switched on, casting a dim, warm glow that illuminated Su Lixu’s flushed face.
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead as if he were in great distress. His eyelashes trembled slightly, and tear droplets hung at the corners of his eyes. This man, who usually looked as gentle as jade, exposed a rare vulnerability, resembling a ripe peach radiating an intoxicating fragrance.
Even though this was not the time for any wild thoughts.
Fu Xingran placed the back of his hand against Su Lixu’s flushed cheek, his brow furrowing slightly as he felt the man’s body temperature.
A bit too hot.
Thinking of how Su Lixu had slipped and fallen in the bathroom two hours ago without a shred of clothing, and then how he had let Su Lixu get a massage while bare, coupled with the chilly weather outside, catching a cold was indeed very easy.
Perhaps the coolness of the back of the hand felt comforting to Su Lixu, whose whole body was burning hot, so he instinctively rubbed his cheek against the back of the hand, resting his head on it smoothly.
It was another rare sight, one that Fu Xingran had never witnessed before.
By the dim bedside light, Fu Xingran traced the outlines of the man he loved and obsessed over. His flushed cheeks made his lips look even redder, and his scorching breath brushed against the back of his hand in a gentle rhythm, causing his heart to tremble in sync.
He knew Su Lixu was still running a fever, but seeing him hugging his hand and rubbing against the back of it, compared to his usual familiar demeanor, shook his emotions, which were already hovering on the edge of losing control, even more.
His Dr. Su had always worn a crisp white lab coat, smiling, warm, and gentle. He never knew that when Su Lixu acted spoiled, he could be so exceptionally captivating.
This other side hidden beneath the white lab coat indeed held the things he desperately wanted to explore.
Fu Xingran moved his hand slightly, only to find that Su Lixu was hugging it rather tightly. He chuckled softly and placed his hand back into Su Lixu’s embrace. “You are the one who hugged me first and would not let go; I did not hug you.”
Sitting by the bedside like that, he stared infatuatedly at Su Lixu for a few minutes before reason finally pulled him back. He still needed to check Su Lixu’s temperature; if it was too high, he had to find a way to cool him down.
Reluctantly tearing himself away from Su Lixu’s body heat, he drew his hand out of his embrace, went to get the thermometer to check Su Lixu’s temperature, and found it was a low-grade fever of 38 degrees Celsius. Then, he rummaged through the medicine box for fever reducers, woke the sleeping Su Lixu, and half-coaxed him into taking the medicine.
Probably feeling extremely uncomfortable, Su Lixu opened his eyes, took the medicine, and immediately fell back into a deep sleep.
The glass was placed gently on the bedside table.
The bedside lamp followed suit and went dark.
The burning body naturally sought out a cool object, eventually rolling right into Fu Xingran’s arms.
Fu Xingran offered no resistance, naturally gathering Su Lixu into his embrace.
It was exactly what he wanted.
“Older brother, dream of me, okay?”
A smiling sentence fell right against his ear before being swallowed up by the late night, melting into the sweet dream about to unfold.
Early in the morning, the mild light outside the window streamed into the room, and the alarm clock rang right on schedule.
Su Lixu’s biological clock caused him to open his eyes the exact moment the alarm went off. At that very instant, a clearly defined, highly hormonal chest came into view. He blinked dazedly and lifted his gaze, meeting a young, handsome sleeping face. It was Fu Xingran.
His mind went blank for a fraction of a second.
How did he wake up in Fu Xingran’s arms?
He could even feel Fu Xingran’s shallow sleeping breath brushing across his face.
Fu Xingran was still asleep. His brows did not look as docile as when he was acting spoiled; instead, they carried a hint of sternness.
Because this handsome face was entirely too close, he leaned back slightly. Early in the morning, why was this guy in his bed, and why were they hugging so tightly?
How did he sleep last night?
It seemed he had just fallen asleep midway through the massage.
Suddenly, he felt something pressing against him.
Following their intimate posture down with his gaze, even with the quilt covering them, he could feel that not only was he being held in an embrace, but it was also an indescribably intimate one.
His knees were trapped.
Just as he was wondering how to pull his trapped leg out, the hand resting on his waist suddenly tightened a fraction. He instinctively lifted his gaze, crashing straight into Fu Xingran’s sleep-fogged yet smiling eyes.
Call it a hunch, but he actually felt that Fu Xingran’s smile was the triumphant look of someone who had succeeded on purpose.
“Older brother, good morning.”
The warm breath brushing past his ear carried a low, just-woke-up morning voice, acting like some kind of catalyst that exploded with heavy force right in his heart early in the morning.
“You… We… How did we end up sleeping together again?” Su Lixu averted his gaze unnaturally. This distance was far too awkward. “Did you sleepwalk again?”
Last time had been just like this, and he had been bitten all night.
He made a move to get up, only to be reeled back in by a strong arm.
His chest pressed against Fu Xingran’s once more, and he raised his head in astonishment.
“Sleepwalk? When do I ever sleepwalk? Last night, older brother, you were the one clinging to me and refusing to let go, begging me to stay with you, so I stayed.” Fu Xingran lowered his gaze to look at the man with blushing earlobes in his arms, feigning innocence. “You suddenly ran a fever in the middle of the night, and I stayed with you the entire night. How can older brother still wrong me by calling it sleepwalking?”
“Fever?”
“Yeah, in the middle of the night I heard you making sounds like you were uncomfortable, so I came in to check and found out you had a fever, a low-grade one at 38 degrees. It took forever to coax you into taking your medicine.” Fu Xingran looked terribly wronged. “Older brother, how are you even harder to coax than me? When I take medicine, I am nothing like this.”
Su Lixu replied, “No way, how could I possibly act like that?” He looked skeptically at Fu Xingran. “Really?”
Fu Xingran put on a wounded expression. “Older brother, seeing you doubt me like this makes me sad. Last night I served you diligently, blowing dry your hair and giving you a massage. I slept for less than two hours before staying by your side until six because of your fever, and now I have only slept for about an hour, yet you are still questioning me?”
Perhaps because Fu Xingran’s tone sounded a bit too wronged, Su Lixu wondered if he was overthinking things, so he apologized.
“I did not mean that.”
His peripheral vision happened to catch the water glass and fever medicine sitting on the bedside table.
No sooner had the words left his mouth than he felt his field of vision suddenly narrow. Fu Xingran’s face instantly closed in right before him, his pupils contracting as his heart skipped a beat.
He felt Fu Xingran’s cool forehead press against his own.
“Mhm, the fever is gone.”
Fu Xingran’s lips brushed past his in the slightest touch, seeming accidental, yet carrying an intentional air as he spoke. Their touching foreheads were cool, but his breath was warm, sweeping across his lips and leaving behind a tingling numbness.
With that, Fu Xingran let him go and sat up.
He watched as Fu Xingran pulled back the covers and rolled out of bed. It was the body of a youthful person full of vitality.
Fair-skinned, well-proportioned, and powerful, it radiated a heavy hormonal aura unmasked, save for the faint scars left behind as traces. Yet precisely because of those traces set against the muscular, forceful frame, his body took on an indescribable fierceness.
At the same time, his fair skin lent him a touch of boyish softness.
At that moment, Su Lixu caught sight of the mark on Fu Xingran’s chest.
He had caught a glimpse of it by accident before, but back then he thought it was just a scar left from self-harm. Looking closely now, however, it was a tattoo.
[SLX]
It was tattooed right over his left chest.
“I will take you to the hospital later to check your foot and waist.” Fu Xingran picked up the T-shirt he had tossed onto the sofa nearby, raised his arm to slip it on, and happened to catch Su Lixu staring at his chest, amusement coloring the depths of his eyes. “See my tattoo?”
He even turned sideways so Su Lixu could see it clearly.
Su Lixu withdrew his gaze, feeling that staring at someone like that was rather presumptuous. “Sorry, I did not mean to look.”
“It is fine, there is no harm in looking. My tattoo is meant for the person I like to see.” Fu Xingran brought it up as casually as could be. “This tattoo is the name of the person I love. It has been there for a long time.”
Su Lixu thought to himself that this guy really had an understanding of romance that exceeded his expectations. At least in his view, even though he was older than Fu Xingran, Fu Xingran seemed to understand what love was much better than he did.
To be loved by someone with borderline personality disorder, if both parties could achieve emotional balance and stability, what would follow next was a boundless, brilliantly romantic love affair.
Besides, in his eyes, even though Fu Xingran was a younger brother, he was meticulous and thoughtful. Aside from being a bit clingy and fond of acting spoiled, he did not seem to have any other major issues.
A guy like this should be quite popular, right?
“Did you see the tattoo clearly?” Fu Xingran walked over and stood right in front of Su Lixu after putting on his clothes.
Su Lixu looked up at him, suddenly unsure of what he meant by asking if he saw it clearly. “I saw it clearly.”
“Really saw it clearly?” Fu Xingran asked with a smile.
Su Lixu nodded.
Hearing this, Fu Xingran curved his lips into a deep smile.
That already handsome face, accented by such a smile and coupled with the sunlight streaming through the window onto him, made it impossible to look away.
“Good.”
Su Lixu wondered, what did that mean? Before he could figure it out, he was suddenly swept up into Fu Xingran’s arms right off the bed. Reflexively wrapping his arms around Fu Xingran’s neck, he looked at him in bewilderment. “What are you doing?!”
Fu Xingran smiled. “Carrying you to brush your teeth.”
“I did not break my foot, it is not that serious.”
“I feel like I have to do this, otherwise my mind will not be at ease. And once it is not at ease, I will just want to stare at you. Unless, older brother, you want me to stare at you all day.”
Su Lixu imagined what it would be like to be stared at by Fu Xingran the entire day and immediately compromised. “Carry me then. My foot really is a bit hard to walk on.”
He did not want to be stared at by Fu Xingran.
And so, under Fu Xingran’s watchful gaze, he finished washing up, only to find that the guy actually intended to help him put on his clothes next.
“Older brother, let me help you get dressed.”
“My hands are fine.”
“Just let me help you, otherwise I will just keep carrying you, carry you all day long.” Fu Xingran said with a sincere smile and steady gaze.
Su Lixu surrendered. “Put them on.”
He did not want a whole day of that; it was simply too terrifying.