Only a small night lamp was lit by the bedside. The warm light glided over the beautiful fur of the snow leopard plush toy, illuminating Qi Ming’s bare upper body.
His well-defined muscles were outlined by the slanted light into a shape that radiated power, like a bow drawn tight by a hunter. Even amidst his pain, Cui Yuxuan remained uncontrollably and deeply captivated by the beauty before him, sinking into it completely.
It rose slowly and fell slowly.
The giant eagle had spread its powerful wings, flapping them to kick up vast clouds of dust and sand. And he was nothing more than the prey lying beneath the eagle’s talons.
He was willingly obsessed, captured by him. Even though his eyes were aching from the grit of the sand, he struggled to keep them wide open, wanting to look up at the back of his partner as he flew toward the sky.
As it turned out, Cui Yuxuan did not have this talent. Pleasure taken to the extreme, with no outlet, became profound agony.
Tears slid from the corners of his eyes, and his hazy-blue wolf-cut hair was scattered across the pillow. His eyelashes were matted together; his vision blurred, and he could no longer see Qi Ming’s face clearly.
Yet, just at that moment, the other man raised his body, widening the distance between them. Except for that one point of connection, Cui Yuxuan could no longer sense Qi Ming’s presence.
Where is he? Where is Ge?
He felt an overwhelming sense of anxiety. His bound arms forced his chest to arch upward. Cui Yuxuan opened his mouth, and amidst broken, fragmented sounds, a few clear words spilled out:
“Ah… ah, Ge, woo, find. I can’t find you, ah, I can’t find you. Heh, ah, ah, ah.”
Just as Cui Yuxuan was on the verge of breaking down, Qi Ming slowly reached out his left hand, pinched his chin, and said with a smile:
“Open your eyes. Look at me. Watch me show you how to climb from the depths of hell into heaven.”
Hearing the familiar male voice, Cui Yuxuan shook his body excitedly, like a dehydrated fish tossed onto the shore. He struggled to open his eyes, and once his gaze locked into those deep green eyes, he could not look away again.
Qi Ming slowly lowered his head until their breathing merged into one. Like a wind sweeping across a swamp, it instantly ignited the flames of love in the young man’s heart.
Cui Yuxuan could no longer restrain himself; he could hardly believe the sounds coming from his own throat. It was as if his soul had been pulled out by Qi Ming, separated from his body, and then gently cradled back into his arms.
He could no longer feel the pain. He only felt bliss.
The sweatshirt drawstrings binding his hands and feet were eventually snapped by Cui Yuxuan. The red marks had turned into thin lines of blood, and dense clusters of dark purple bruises began to seep out around them.
Yet, he did not care. He eagerly reached out to wrap his arms around Qi Ming’s shoulders, covered the back of his head with his palm, and tilted his head to deepen the kiss.
Closing his eyes, Cui Yuxuan kissed from the man’s soft lips to the corner of his eye. There, a pitch-black teardrop mole was embedded, like a black agate on white jade, incomparably charming.
The ticklish sensation, like a puppy licking a beloved treasure, made Qi Ming raise the corners of his mouth. His breathing was somewhat ragged, every rise and fall carrying a melody that made one’s heart tremble.
Then, Qi Ming freed one hand and grasped Cui Yuxuan’s wrist, guiding the other man’s hand down from his own chest, along the muscles of his flank, to the upper edge of his hip bone. He pressed it down onto that spot.
Cui Yuxuan looked down, confused. Beneath his fingertips was a black tattoo. It was a graphic of a sun, but it was pierced directly through the center by a crescent moon.
The circle of light surrounding it was cut into several strands. The lines were simple, and the brushstrokes were sharp. On the man’s fair skin, it was purely black, as if condensed from the night. The sun of the daylight was submitting to the moon of the dark night.
“Ha, is it pretty?” Qi Ming asked.
The young man, appearing obsessed, rubbed his fingertips repeatedly over it, murmuring “pretty” over and over. As if bewitched by a god, Cui Yuxuan arched his back, lowered his head, and pressed his lips against Qi Ming’s tattoo.
His breathing deepened and became scorching, yet he struggled to suppress the shivers his body felt from the stimulation, each touch soft and reverent.
Large beads of sweat rolled down the hollow of Cui Yuxuan’s spine, mixing with the others and soaking the bedsheets together.
Qi Ming lowered his eyelashes, panting softly, while tightening his grip on the young man’s wrist. His fingers almost sank into the other’s flesh; along the edges of his fingertips, the wheat-colored skin was pressed into a ring of white marks. It was as if he were cutting off the path of the blood transported by the heart.
Suddenly, Cui Yuxuan felt the tip of his nose, pressed against Qi Ming’s waist, catch a rich, mellow aroma of coffee. The scent climbed through his windpipe and into his brain, making his thoughts instantly turn hazy.
So familiar, yet a bit different. It was like adding a lethal amount of sugar to coffee; the bitterness was swallowed, leaving only endless sweetness. This is Ge’s unique scent. So sweet.
Thinking this, Cui Yuxuan involuntarily stopped his movements. He closed his eyes and breathed greedily, as if wanting to carve this scent into his memory.
Meanwhile, Qi Ming instantly hallucinated a dog sprawled beneath him, crazily twitching its nose, sniffing at him, with an expression of pure intoxication. Tsk, that looks so strange. Now that this kid has turned into this, can’t he just lie still properly?
He let go of his wrist and instead gripped Cui Yuxuan’s waist with his palm, maintaining that posture as he flipped the other man over one hundred and eighty degrees.
Caught off guard, Cui Yuxuan fell onto his stomach, digging his fingers into the sheets and even poking several holes through them. His mouth remained slightly open, and transparent saliva seeped into the pillow.
Among the three members, Cui Yuxuan had the most standard physique. His wheat-colored shoulders and back were broad, and the flow of every muscle was exceptionally smooth. It was not exaggerated, but it was full of power. In other words, he was quite sturdy. Qi Ming did not have to worry about anything. He grabbed the necklace around Cui Yuxuan’s neck with one hand and pulled it backward, as if tugging on a rein.
Collision sounds echoed intermittently against the wooden frame, and a bump had already formed on Cui Yuxuan’s forehead.
“Ge, ah, ah, hand, my hand.”
He lay on the pillow, raising his left hand with the palm facing upward, struggling to hold it behind his back. Qi Ming leaned down as well, his chest pressing against Cui Yuxuan’s spine, and rested his left hand on top.
The moment their fingers interlaced, he bit the young man’s neck, cutting off the tail-end of a sound that had not fully escaped yet.
Amidst the haze, Cui Yuxuan saw white clouds. From start to finish, not only Qi Ming but he himself had not touched them. So, he did have talent after all. It was just that the person to ignite it had to be Qi Ming.
After tying the second knot, Qi Ming did not even look and tossed it toward the trash can. Without checking if it landed, he closed his eyes and lazily sprawled on the bed, like a leopard that had finished hunting and was taking a satisfying nap on a rock.
Cui Yuxuan gritted his teeth as he climbed up, leaned against the headboard, and let out a deep breath. He did not know how other people’s first times went. At the time, he was even doubting if he could survive on this bed. He had not expected that while Ge usually looked gentle, he would become so forceful at times like this.
Although the pleasure that followed was beyond imagination, being a “naturally talented player” on the first try made Cui Yuxuan feel incredibly ashamed. Especially since Qi Ming had leaned into his ear at the time, laughing and teasing him:
“Wow, Xiao Xuan, you’re very impressive.”
His face felt like it was going to explode, and his body also felt like it was going to explode from the pain. Hiss, both legs were almost numb.
Cui Yuxuan bent his right leg, looked down, and saw two palm prints on either side of his lower abdomen. Not to mention the other areas; it was truly a tragic sight. He would not be able to go out and see anyone without resting at home for several days.
But, as long as Ge had fun, it was fine. After all, he had already obtained the best treasure in the world, the kind that would make anyone jealous; what else was there to be dissatisfied with?
The only thing that would make him feel dissatisfied was the amount of Qi Ming’s love. Cui Yuxuan wanted more, more love, like a greedy beast surviving solely on affection.
Earlier, Cui Yuxuan had vaguely sensed that Qi Ming’s feelings for him were like the wind; extremely gentle when blowing on his face, but impossible to grasp no matter how hard he reached out. The wind can blow on anyone, but no one can control the direction of the wind.
It was exactly this point that made Cui Yuxuan lack a sense of security. He feared that Qi Ming would treat others the same way, fall in love with others, and even more so, he feared that the other person would disappear from his side. He feared that this wind would eventually blow toward a distant place he knew nothing about.
Thinking of this, Cui Yuxuan reached out and carefully pinched one of the man’s black hairs. Before he could pull, his hand was slapped away by Qi Ming.
After finishing, Qi Ming had placed a quilt underneath to separate them from the sheets. Since his face was buried in the quilt, his voice sounded as if it were muffled by glass:
“What are you doing?” Despite that, one could still detect the impatience.
The back of his hand stung, but Cui Yuxuan did not let go. He stared straight at that strand of hair, his overused vocal cords vibrating:
“I want Ge’s hair.”
Are you joking? Are you crazy? Qi Ming waved his hand, telling him to just find one on the pillow.
Cui Yuxuan paused, leaned over to rummage through the bed, and quickly found a few black hairs. They looked very straight, and the hair quality was good, completely different from his own natural curls.
Clutching those hairs in his palm, Cui Yuxuan silently stared at Qi Ming’s back as he lay on the bed. A few scattered scratch marks extended from the man’s shoulder blades to his waist, of varying depths, like plum branches growing on snow.
Looking at these marks, Cui Yuxuan furrowed his brows. Damn it, I clearly tried hard to control myself, when did I scratch these? Will Ge be in a lot of pain?
He lifted his hand and slid it along the red marks. Cui Yuxuan touched them gently, his eyes devoid of any lust, simply trying to smooth something over for the other.
Closing his eyes, Qi Ming felt an itch on his back, so he avoided that hand and pushed out with his arm to the left.
Cui Yuxuan, who still had no strength in his legs, was caught off guard and pushed straight off the bed. When his bottom hit the floor, his face twisted in pain.
He suppressed the cry of pain that surged to his throat, propped himself up with his elbows, glanced at the man’s tightly closed eyelashes, and said helplessly in a low voice:
“Ge, don’t sleep yet, we haven’t showered.”
Qi Ming had attended a concert and a fansign during the day, experiencing two hours of high-intensity, full-live singing and dancing, and had provided high-energy emotional value to his fans. Even an iron man would be exhausted.
To have to deal with a man at night on top of that—for Qi Ming, he was both sleepy and tired. He could not even keep his eyes open, so he just mumbled back:
“I washed.”
He was referring to washing before they started. But they had not washed after the finish; how could he sleep comfortably in this state? Seeing that Qi Ming was extremely sleepy, Cui Yuxuan sighed.
He pinched his own leg, using the pain to regain some sensation. Then, gritting his teeth, Cui Yuxuan slowly pulled himself up against the wall, knelt halfway on the bed, and draped Qi Ming’s arm over his shoulder.
He wanted to carry him, but his physical condition did not really allow it. Qi Ming was already taller than him; this position was a massive test of core strength, and his waist was already really struggling. What if I drop Qi Ming?
Cui Yuxuan fell into hesitation and remained stuck in that position. Being propped up like this to sleep was naturally uncomfortable. Qi Ming lazily opened one eye, glancing at the face next to him that was struggling with something.
Then, he raised his hand and flicked Cui Yuxuan on the forehead, pushed him away, and walked into the bathroom barefooted.
The bathroom door was open, the showerhead hung above, and the two stood very close, each washing themselves. During this time, Cui Yuxuan tried to reach out several times to secretly help Qi Ming wash, but was accurately grabbed by the hand and swatted away by the man who was washing with his eyes closed.
What should I do? Ge is so unapproachable when he’s sleepy. Cui Yuxuan felt frustrated, distractedly scrubbing shower gel onto his body, thinking about how he could have some after-care to improve their relationship.
Qi Ming did not know what Cui Yuxuan was thinking, nor did he want to know. His temples were throbbing, and irritable emotions welled up in his heart uncontrollably. His Adam’s apple rolled, and he suddenly opened his mouth:
“I want candy.”
The young man paused, and without much hesitation, replied: “Does Ge want grape flavor again?”
“Yeah.” Qi Ming wiped the water off his face and pointed somewhere randomly, saying, “It’s over there.”
He could not see where he had pointed at all, but Cui Yuxuan touched Qi Ming’s cheek, then walked toward the bedroom, bare and carefree. He began digging through boxes and cabinets, looking for where Qi Ming hid his candy.
The young man who usually liked to keep a cold face in front of the media was now displaying endless patience. Every time he squatted down, it would pull at his wounds. Cui Yuxuan sucked in a breath quietly while searching, making sure not to mess anything up.
Finally, he found it inside a thick knitted wool hat. Ge actually secretly hid so many sticks here; the gaps in the yarn have even stretched out.
Walking back into the bathroom, Cui Yuxuan unwrapped the lollipop and raised his hand. Qi Ming lowered his head, licked it, and then bit down with his teeth, crunching it to pieces.
Then, he quickly finished showering, put on his pajamas, and began brushing his teeth seriously with his eyes closed. Meanwhile, Cui Yuxuan, who was standing behind Qi Ming, looked at the remaining candy stick in his hand and held it up to the light.
There was something transparent and reflective stained on it. He kept an eye on the person in the mirror, and seeing that Qi Ming had not opened his eyes, he stuck out his tongue and licked along the candy stick.
“Bed sheets.” While brushing halfway through, Qi Ming suddenly mentioned a word. The bed was too dirty to sleep in now.
Hearing Qi Ming’s voice, Cui Yuxuan was startled, thinking he had been caught. Once he understood, he braced his body again and went out to change the sheets for both of them.
He had been interrupted twice just trying to take a shower, but ever since they had grown closer, Cui Yuxuan’s heart and eyes were filled only with Qi Ming. He had retracted all his thorns and became completely submissive.
Cui Yuxuan had never done chores at home; the housekeepers hired by his father always handled them. So, he was clumsy, his forehead covered in sweat from the stress.
By the time Qi Ming came out, Cui Yuxuan was still frantically trying to put on the duvet cover. Shit, how could there be something so difficult to handle? Where did the corner of that quilt run off to?
“Why are you so slow?” Qi Ming frowned, not hiding his terrible mood at all.
Being told this, Cui Yuxuan became even more anxious. He was almost about to cry; his waist and legs were very painful, and there was a ring of rope marks on his wrists that had already turned purple.
“I—I’m sorry, Ge, I’m not very good at chores.”
Qi Ming did not speak, responding with silence. This silent torture made blood rush to Cui Yuxuan’s face; his heart raced, and an inexplicable sense of fear enveloped him.
I’m so useless, will Ge throw me away? No, he does not want to be abandoned by Ge.
Just as Cui Yuxuan became so frightened that he started feeling dizzy, the duvet in his hands was suddenly taken away gently. He froze and turned his head, discovering that Qi Ming had bent over and finished putting on the cover with nimble movements.
“Ge.”
He gaped blankly. A very gentle force brushed against his still-damp hair. Qi Ming touched Cui Yuxuan’s head and said:
“Xiao Xuan, don’t be afraid. You aren’t good at it now, but you will be later.” Those dark green eyes were tinted with a familiar luster.
Qi Ming, who had been in a terrible mood just minutes ago, had turned into a gentle leader in the blink of an eye. It was as if it were a hallucination.
“Yes, I will study hard at chores for Ge!” Cui Yuxuan hugged Qi Ming’s arm and rubbed against him affectionately, completely forgetting the fear he had felt just moments before.
Qi Ming narrowed his eyes and smiled with satisfaction: “Xiao Xuan is a good boy.”
“Ge, I’m not some kid; I’m a real man now.”
“Then, little man, it’s time for us to sleep.”
“Why does there have to be a ‘little’?” Cui Yuxuan muttered softly, and seeing Qi Ming close his eyes to lie down, he curled his body up and lay naked in the other’s arms.
For Cui Yuxuan, no matter what, this was the best night of all. Through his clothes, he kissed Qi Ming’s left chest, raised the corners of his mouth, and fell asleep.
The next day, before they could even wake up, the room door was pushed open with great force. A heavy object fell to the ground, waking the people on the bed.
Flicking off the quilt, Cui Yuxuan sat up abruptly, his facial muscles twisting for a split second. Pain, it hurts too much!
Meanwhile, Qi Ming slowly stretched out his arm and tossed a pillow over, which hit the person who had entered squarely in the face.
“What’s all that noise?” Looking at Bian He’s pale face, he did not have any panic about being found out, and asked lazily.
Bian He stared blankly as he caught the pillow falling from his face. His eyes turned red, and his voice was hoarse:
“You guys, sure enough. Qi Ming-ge, why?”
“What do you mean, why?” Qi Ming did not see the need for Bian He’s question; was it not obvious?
Cui Yuxuan, on the other hand, spread his arms with a mocking expression, showing him his bare upper body exposed outside the quilt, which was covered in various hickeys, finger marks, and teeth prints:
“Bian He, are you blind? Ge and I slept together. Do you need me to help explain it to you again?”
“No need to.” Bian He said, word by word. His deep blue hair hung down, blocking his eyes, and his tone sounded somewhat gloomy. “Qi Ming-ge, did you not say you do not like men?”
Qi Ming raised an eyebrow. “Did I?”
“You did, that night.”
“Xiao He, I think what I said was that I do not like you, right?”