The unbearable itch between his teeth surged through his entire mouth, then spread down his body.
After biting Lu Xianyan’s arm, it seemed his appetite had been spoiled—nothing else could satisfy him anymore.
Lu Xianyan sent another message. When no reply came after two minutes, he took off his white lab coat and left the research room.
His senior and junior labmates could all hear the urgency in his footsteps.
In fact, they had already noticed that recently Lu Xianyan seemed to be diverting quite a bit of energy away from his experiments. Occasionally, he would even stare at his phone in a daze.
Could he be dating someone?
Gradually, they set aside their work and started chatting animatedly.
It wasn’t gossip—just curiosity about what kind of person could possibly capture his attention.
When Lu Xianyan first arrived, plenty of people had been interested in him. But as time passed, no one dared to harbor crushes anymore.
Handsome—truly handsome. Cold—truly cold.
Whenever he rejected someone, it was decisive and absolute. He never left room for hope.
Everyone assumed he either had no such needs, was born solely for scientific research, or that his standards were so high the other person would have to be campus-idol level.
“Could he really be dating? Do we even have a campus belle?”
“I don’t know about this year, but I know a graduate senior who once dominated a campus forum vote.”
“A senior? A guy?”
Everyone looked shocked.
The junior female student excitedly pulled out a treasured photo from her phone gallery.
They gathered around to look for a long while. None of them knew the person in the photo—but based purely on appearance, he truly was… campus-idol level beautiful.
Meanwhile, Lu Xianyan didn’t go to the cafeteria to buy dinner.
The moment he opened the door, he heard a sound from the sofa area. Before he could step forward, a shadow swept past his feet.
The next second, someone crashed into his arms.
The familiar sweet orange scent instantly enveloped him, wrapping around him completely.
Lu Xianyan’s breath grew heavy.
Shu Ci looked like he’d been tormented badly. The corners of his eyes were red. He didn’t seem willing to speak much—he simply tilted his face up and looked at him.
A flushed, pink face.
“You can’t bite yet. It’s dirty.”
There was a bottle of hand sanitizer by the entrance. Lu Xianyan quickly squeezed some out and wiped the area that was about to be bitten.
It was obvious Shu Ci couldn’t wait any longer. His breathing was short and rapid. His teeth unconsciously pressed together. His face was tense.
“I-Is it ready?”
His voice sounded pitiful, tinged with a nasal tone, as if he might cry at any moment.
Lu Xianyan stared at his face without speaking, then skillfully brought his wrist to Shu Ci’s mouth.
This was the fifth time he had cooperated with the “treatment” since moving in.
He knew exactly where Shu Ci liked to bite most.
Shu Ci didn’t bite immediately. Like a small animal sensing movement in the grass, he twitched his nose and sniffed a few times, making sure there was no strange scent before opening his mouth.
He didn’t bite the wrist directly, but slightly above it.
That spot was extremely sensitive—just a light touch could send a shiver through someone and make them instinctively pull away.
But Shu Ci didn’t care. Not only did he grind his teeth back and forth, he also liked to press against it with the soft tip of his tongue.
It hit Lu Xianyan straight to the marrow.
As if someone had set his blood on fire, his heart pounded wildly against his ribs.
Even his Adam’s apple moved uncontrollably as he swallowed.
For Shu Ci, the suffocating feeling in his chest now… wasn’t entirely a bad thing. At least the other person didn’t seem to mind how embarrassing he looked during an episode.
He had secretly observed before—when he bit too much and couldn’t contain the saliva at the corner of his mouth, he must have looked strange. Fortunately, Lu Xianyan never watched him during those moments.
Seeing Lu Xianyan staring at the bite marks, Shu Ci felt especially guilty.
“It must hurt a lot… I’m sorry. Did you eat? Are you hungry? I’ll treat you to dinner.”
His voice carried urgency, the final tone dragging out, sticky and soft.
Lu Xianyan lifted his dark eyes to look at him.
“I have.”
Shu Ci had intended to treat Lu Xianyan to something nice, but the latter was worried he wasn’t feeling well and suggested they stay in for the night.
Dinner was cooked by Lu Xianyan.
After he moved in, the once-empty fridge was now full. He wasn’t skilled at complicated dishes, but daily meals posed no problem.
Shu Ci couldn’t cook at all. Afraid of looking too idle, he squeezed into the kitchen to help wash vegetables.
The kitchen was too cramped. From time to time, he bumped into Lu Xianyan.
Lu Xianyan looked slim, but his muscles were firm. Even a light collision made Shu Ci frown.
Since he had volunteered to help, he felt too embarrassed to leave. He could only retreat to a corner, trying to keep distance.
But… why did it still feel so crowded?
Did he possess some strange ability to predict where Lu Xianyan would move next?
Lu Xianyan exercised regularly. His body heat seemed to radiate through his clothes into the air.
Standing so close, Shu Ci felt steamed until his cheeks turned pink, thinking it was just the heat from the kitchen.
“I’ll cut it,” Shu Ci finally found a gap and grabbed the braised meat, holding out his hand to ask for the knife.
The knife had been bought by Lu Xianyan after moving in—sharp metal blade, heavy wooden handle. Shu Ci’s fingers, however, were slender and pale, his palms soft without even thin calluses.
Lu Xianyan didn’t hand it over. “I’ll do it.”
Shu Ci looked slightly surprised, his palm still suspended in the air.
“You seem like you don’t trust me. I’m actually good at cutting vegetables. You just haven’t seen it.”
“I can definitely do it. Please, please.”
Lu Xianyan couldn’t help laughing.
Shu Ci was always like this.
Whenever he asked for something, he used such sincere tones that made one’s heart soften.
It had been the same when he wanted to learn basketball.
That had been the period when they were closest. After quietly sitting behind him for an entire year, Shu Ci had suddenly become clingy, even showing up at the basketball court asking to learn how to shoot.
Back then, Shu Ci hadn’t fully grown yet. He was thin, and his skin bruised at the slightest bump.
Lu Xianyan had worried he might get hurt and initially refused.
Shu Ci had simply looked up at him with that small face.
“You might not know this, but I learn things really fast.”
“And I have talent for shooting. Please, please.”
In the end, he had taught him.
The result was exactly as expected.
Shu Ci wasn’t good at sports.
That beautiful little face had drooped in disappointment, unwilling to talk to anyone.
Of course, the reason he stopped talking to him stemmed from one sentence Lu Xianyan hadn’t been able to stop himself from saying—
“Shu Ci, do you really like acting spoiled?”
…
Once bitten, twice shy.
Not wanting to make him unhappy again, Lu Xianyan silently handed over the knife with care.