Having just finished a dance, Wu Hui felt the heat rising in his body.
“Does the Senior know that if you have to ask if something is allowed, it means it is not?”
“Is that so?” Pei Huaiye seemed to understand, though he replied, “Then how should I ask? Teach me.”
“I do not know.”
The thirst that had been suppressed for many days surged again, more turbulent and overwhelming than before. Mere surface-level touches were no longer enough.
Pei Huaiye’s Adam’s apple bobbed, his voice nearing a gravelly rasp. “If I cannot ask, does that mean I should just do it directly?”
Wu Hui’s eyelashes trembled. As soon as he looked up, a scalding kiss fell upon him.
Fortunately, there was no light. Wu Hui’s earlobes were flushed crimson from the kissing, and he felt the man’s obsession and mania amidst the cold wind blowing through the night.
“Why are you crying?”
Pei Huaiye stopped and wiped the tears brimming in the corners of Wu Hui’s eyes with his thumb. “I am sorry.”
Having only tasted an appetizer, he finally offered some comfort to the small creature in his palm, even though the lingering danger proved that such comfort was merely superficial. Wu Hui’s lips were blood-red from the intense kissing, and his voice trembled slightly with a long, drawn-out note of complaint.
“The Senior is so fierce.”
“I can be even fiercer.”
“If you do that again, I will not let you kiss me.”
Pei Huaiye cupped his face and pecked his red lips lightly. “You are the one who gives permission.”
“Calling all units, calling all units.”
Outside the men’s restroom, Jiang Liexing peeked in to check and said into his walkie-talkie, “No one in the restroom, no one in the restroom. Over.”
Nian Zhi stood at the doorway behind the auditorium stage. “Received. No one backstage. Over.”
Wen Tanyi remained silent.
The three met up at the dessert area. Nian Zhi pondered, “Let us review: the two of them disappeared right after dancing, and they cannot be found anywhere in the auditorium. There is only one possibility.”
Jiang Liexing raised his hand to answer, “I know! Chu Yu must have been hungry after dancing, and the Crown Prince took him out for a midnight snack!”
As soon as he spoke, the two women looked at him with expressions beyond words. Nian Zhi exhaled and looked at him with the loving gaze one reserves for a foolish son.
“Half right. The Crown Princess was indeed hungry, but it was not a midnight snack that fed him; it was the Crown Prince.”
Jiang Liexing: “???”
Realizing the implication, Jiang Liexing’s face turned bright red, and he cast a cautious glance at Wen Tanyi.
Wen Tanyi completely ignored him, playing with her nails lazily. “Is this even a guessing game? The expression on Pei Huaiye’s face while dancing earlier made it look like he wanted to swallow the Crown Princess whole.”
Nian Zhi hummed. “At least you understand.”
“Tsk.”
Wen Tanyi no longer participated in their children’s games. She was about to leave, and though Jiang Liexing wanted to see her off, he was flatly refused. He could only gaze longingly at her retreating back.
Nian Zhi examined him. “Tsk tsk. You are so serious; you should not be liking people; you should be out applying screen protectors at the subway station.”
Wu Hui and Pei Huaiye had indeed gone out for a midnight snack. He had not eaten anything all night, and both his secret-agent antics and dancing had drained his energy. Since the school cafeteria was closed, Pei Huaiye took him outside to eat.
It was dawn by the time they finished.
They did not return to the school; Pei Huaiye took him to one of his private villa estates. The villa’s fountain sprung to life to welcome its long-absent owner as the car drove through the garden path, lighting up the lamps along the way.
“The next few days are the holiday. Do you want to stay here?” Pei Huaiye asked him as they got out of the car. “I told you, my home has a large strawberry patch that you can play in as you like.”
Wu Hui stepped out. “In my heart, I really want to, but I cannot.”
“Why?”
“Because,” Wu Hui said gloomily, “it is exam week, and I need to study.”
Pei Huaiye automatically ignored his words and took his hand, satisfied. “As long as you are willing.”
Forced into being willing, Wu Hui followed him all the way to the bedroom. This villa was Pei Huaiye’s private property, and no one was allowed to enter without permission; apart from the servants, only the two of them were there.
Before showering, Wu Hui received a video of their dance from Nian Zhi. He clicked on it. Everyone else had been edited out; on the dance floor, there were only the two of them. The atmosphere between them was as if they were in a world of their own, their gazes entangled and inseparable. The campus social wall was already flooded with photos and videos of them.
[How is this any different from watching them do it on the spot?]
[You have to say, the Crown Princess is so soft; he must be easy to handle in any position.]
[Student above, you must walk down the wrong path; never try to get back on the right track.]
Wu Hui watched their video and saved it. Seeing him playing on his phone, Pei Huaiye, who had finished showering first, reminded him, “It is past midnight. Finish up and go to sleep; do not ruin your health playing with your phone.”
Hearing this, Wu Hui put down the phone. “It cannot be ruined; you still have to play with it later.”
Pei Huaiye buttoned his pajamas one by one with a gentle smile. “Then go to sleep quickly.”
Wu Hui’s toiletries, pajamas, and slippers had long been prepared. After showering and putting on the pajamas, he found they were an exceptionally good fit, as if tailor-made for him.
“The Senior had this prepared long ago, right?”
Their pajamas were even similar matching sets. “Did you want to bring me here a long time ago?”
This bedroom and bed were larger than the one in the dormitory and felt quite empty, with the style as monotonous as ever. Pei Huaiye lay half-reclined on one side of the bed, his phone playing their dance video.
He watched Wu Hui walk toward him. “It was only a matter of time; it is better to be prepared.”
How confident.
Wearing light gray silk pajamas, Wu Hui strolled to the bedside. The top two buttons were undone, revealing a large expanse of snow-white skin on his chest, flushed with a pale pink from his shower. He turned off the lights, leaving only one bedside lamp on, the dim, yellow glow casting a hazy, lingering silhouette over his figure.
Wu Hui got into bed, knelt beside the man, and leaned his clean, beautiful face in close.
“Senior, take a look for me; my mouth is a bit sore. Did you kiss it until it swelled up?”