Song Qie was just about to answer when Lu Beihuai’s head suddenly dropped heavily onto his shoulder. His heart jolted; as the other man’s full weight went limp against him, he nearly lost his footing.
He almost couldn’t hold Lu Beihuai up, but he used both arms to support him with great effort. He called out tentatively, “…Lu Beihuai?”
“Lu Bei—”
Song Qie was about to call him again when his body suddenly froze. The head buried in the crook of his neck moved, and Lu Beihuai’s slightly coarse hair brushed against his jaw.
He instinctively wanted to push the head away, but the moment he reached out, both his wrists were grabbed by large hands and pinned in front of him, making him unable to move.
The motion-sensor light in the hallway abruptly clicked off.
In the darkness, the only response was the deep breathing in his ear and the increasingly heavy weight of the tall body leaning into him. He found himself unable to resist this oppressive closeness.
It was so quiet that they could seemingly hear each other’s heartbeats.
“Hold me.”
After an unknown amount of time, a hoarse voice came from his ear. It sounded like a display of weakness.
Before Song Qie could react, he was pulled into Lu Beihuai’s embrace. As firm arms completely encircled his back, the scent of medicine and warm breath fell against the side of his face. His eyes widened in nerves, and his hands, tucked against his chest, tried to push the man away.
But he was held even tighter.
When he tried to move again, Lu Beihuai pressed his face against Song Qie’s cheek, causing his body to instantly freeze.
“…Song Qie, show me some love.” Lu Beihuai’s nose pressed against the slender neck inches away. His lips curled slightly, hiding the gloom and intense desire for revenge in his eyes. He lowered his tone: “The dog is in so much pain.”
“Is… is it painful?” Hearing the slightly gravelly voice in his ear, Song Qie was suddenly at a loss. “Then let me take you inside to rest first.”
“Has the Young Master fallen for the dog?”
Song Qie felt flushed with embarrassment at the word “dog.” “Didn’t I tell you not to call yourself that? Where are the keys?”
“In my pocket. I have no strength left. Reach in and feel for them.”
The voice falling from above was weak yet carried a hint of acting spoiled. Song Qie couldn’t analyze whether Lu Beihuai had been beaten silly; he only thought about getting the man into the room to rest.
He tried to pull his hands out, but Lu Beihuai held him in a death grip. “…You, let go of me a little.”
Lu Beihuai felt the person in his arms trembling. Knowing he was afraid—his voice was even shaking—Lu Beihuai grabbed Song Qie’s hand and guided it slowly downward.
The breath falling on Song Qie’s neck grew hotter. The hand didn’t find its destination immediately, wandering aimlessly over a firm thigh.
“Wait!” Song Qie really couldn’t take it. He broke free from Lu Beihuai’s grip and felt into the pocket himself. Once he felt the keys, he reached in to grab them.
“Young Master, you’re touching me.”
Song Qie’s hand was pinned down just as he touched the keys. Hearing those words, he felt a mix of shame and annoyance. He looked up and glared at him: “You’re the one who told me to touch you!”
This sentence, ending with a tremor and a hint of a sob brought on by nerves, echoed clearly in the hallway.
With those words, the motion-sensor light suddenly flared back to life.
If anyone had passed by, they would have seen the two of them pressed together so closely that not a sliver of space remained.
Song Qie saw Lu Beihuai staring at him. That oppressive feeling as if he were about to be swallowed whole returned. His eyelashes fluttered and his heart raced, but he noticed Lu Beihuai’s face was flushed with an unnatural feverish glow.
“You…”
Just as he was about to speak, his hand was seized by Lu Beihuai and guided back into the pocket.
The pocket now held two hands: the large palm was burning hot and damp, enveloping the thinner hand. Fingertips touched fingertips as they grabbed the key together. An inexplicable heat climbed.
“Young Master, did you find the key?”
“I… I found it.”
“Then take it out. I have no strength.” Lu Beihuai leaned his head on the thin shoulder, embracing him and intentionally letting his weight sink to press against him. “…My whole body hurts.”
Song Qie hurried to pull the key out. His hand was sweaty thanks to Lu Beihuai. He managed to barely support the big guy with one arm while muttering under his breath:
“…It’s not like I asked you to go fight. I said I would help you—did you have to do this? It’s so dangerous.”
He glanced at the key labeled 504 and realized it belonged to the door in front of them. He inserted the key into the lock.
The iron door pushed open to reveal an old-fashioned layout. The apartment wasn’t large—a square space where the living room was right at the entrance, with two bedrooms visible to the side. It was tidy and clean; it was clear the owner was very meticulous.
“Young Master, are you scolding me?”
Song Qie couldn’t be bothered with this delirious guy. He panted, huffing and puffing as he half-carried, half-dragged the man into the house. As they entered, his backside accidentally bumped into the edge of a cabinet. He let out a muffled groan but had no time to worry about it.
“Which one is your room?”
Lu Beihuai looked down at the person struggling to hold him. He was indeed feeling severely dizzy and truly couldn’t stand steadily. Seeing how serious the boy looked, he waited a moment before pointing toward a room.
Song Qie followed the direction and dragged the man into the bedroom. After helping Lu Beihuai sit back against the bed, Song Qie’s own face was pale. His chest heaved as he sat slumped on the floor next to Lu Beihuai, panting for a long time.
After a while, he finally caught his breath with a deep sigh. He then realized Lu Beihuai had leaned against the headboard and closed his eyes, covered in sweat and flushed with fever.
When he reached out to touch Lu Beihuai’s skin, it was burning hot. Frowning, he quickly felt Lu Beihuai’s forehead and thought, Oh no!
A fever.
He scrambled to his feet and stripped Lu Beihuai of his dirty black hoodie. As he unzipped it, he saw a chest covered in bruises and the scent of medicine. The steady rise and fall of the chest revealed powerful muscle lines.
How could someone this age have such a strong, firm build? It was because Lu Beihuai was secretly competing in boxing matches.
Thinking of that match, the intensity of the attacks he had to endure made it hard to imagine how long Lu Beihuai had been doing this.
He went through a lot of effort to get the dirty clothes off, found a clean shirt in the closet to put on Lu Beihuai, and then hurriedly scrambled up to the living room to get the medicine from the hospital. He remembered the doctor had prescribed fever reducers.
After another round of busy work, he found the medicine and gave it to Lu Beihuai. Just feeding him the pills took a massive effort; the man was so feverish he was completely unconscious.
Afraid the fever was too high and finding no thermometer or cooling patches in the house, he made an emergency delivery order for supplies.
In the small bedroom, a certain figure was busy running in and out, huffing and puffing.
It wasn’t until the middle of the night that the body temperature finally started to drop. By the time he was finished, the sky was beginning to brighten.
“…Whew.”
Song Qie had stayed up all night. He was now slumped by the bedside, his head heavy with sleepiness. He wanted to sleep but didn’t dare, fearing Lu Beihuai might feel unwell. He didn’t actually know how to judge if Lu Beihuai was okay, but the man had been sleeping straight through since taking the medicine and applying the cooling patch.
At most, he checked the man’s breathing from time to time; as long as it was steady, the vital signs were stable.
Instead, he started feeling unwell himself—his chest felt very stuffy.
He took out his phone to check his messages and found that “Song Qie’s” parents had sent messages last night asking if he was still at Lu Beihuai’s house, if he had taken his medicine, and if he needed the driver to pick him up in the morning. He replied to them one by one.
Although these parents were often away on business and weren’t emotionally present, the money was certainly there.
One could only say that the reason “Song Qie” had such an arrogant personality was due to an emotional void. While money is universal, to a certain extent, it isn’t everything.
After replying, he looked back at the sleeping Lu Beihuai. Seeing that it was still early, he took a photo and messaged the homeroom teacher to ask for a leave of absence for Lu Beihuai, explaining the reason.
…
Outside the old window glass, the sky was turning pale, and the light of dawn filtered into the curtainless bedroom.
Song Qie put down his phone. Sitting by the bed, he leaned over the edge and rested his head on his arms, staring at Lu Beihuai lying on the floor bedding.
The handsome, sleeping face still held a boyish air, though the bruise at the corner of his eye added a touch of ruthlessness. Hidden under the blanket were strong, powerful arms. Thinking of the explosive power from last night—how a single punch could knock a grown man to the ground—Song Qie couldn’t help but shiver.
Truly terrifying…
If he were to get hit, with “Song Qie’s” current build, one punch would probably kill him.
Sob sob sob, so scary.
As he thought, his eyelids grew heavy. The exhaustion from being busy all night slowly surged in. After a few seconds, he fell asleep right there, leaning against the bed.
He had no idea that in his daze, he had snuggled into a warm, broad chest.
…
The sun was fully up.
Ring ring ring—
An alarm woke the person wearing the cooling patch; he was also woken up by the heat of the “thing” in his arms.
Lu Beihuai slowly opened his eyes. His whole body felt sore and aching, especially his thighs and arms. His head still felt a bit heavy. He looked down, only to see soft hair brushing his chin. Coming into view was…
Song Qie, sleeping with his head on Lu Beihuai’s arm and his leg draped over him, letting out very soft, little snores.
“…”
The boy sleeping on his arm had flushed cheeks. Perhaps because his sleeping expression was so obedient, his delicate and beautiful features looked somewhat childish. One cheek was puffed out, breathing out warm air; he looked very comfortable.
Lu Beihuai furrowed his brows and looked around, realizing he was home.
Perhaps because his body hadn’t recovered from the soreness of the boxing match, he took a deep breath and tried to pull his arm away.
“Mmm…”
As a result, the boy in his arms let out a dissatisfied whimper and held him even tighter.
A hint of gloom appeared in Lu Beihuai’s eyes. This guy is pushing his luck?
Seeing the person in his arms sleeping so soundly, he reached out and pinched his nose.
“Hng… hng…” Song Qie suddenly couldn’t breathe. Like a little pig grunting, he slowly opened his eyes.
Lu Beihuai let go. His gaze collided directly with a pair of moist, dazed eyes. Like a lost little animal, Song Qie looked at him blankly, with an expression of “where am I?”
The moment Song Qie met Lu Beihuai’s deep gaze, his mind snapped awake. He bolted upright.
But because he got up too quickly, he felt dizzy. Due to inertia, he wobbled and began to fall back.
A large hand quickly caught his waist. A waist so thin that the palm could almost cover its entire width.
“…” Song Qie was dazed as he was helped back into a sitting position. He blinked and then carefully turned his head to look at Lu Beihuai. Noticing that Lu Beihuai’s movements were stiff as he sat up, Song Qie quickly reached out to help him.
To his surprise, his wrist was suddenly grabbed, and he was pulled into a broad chest while still kneeling.
In the moment of impact, he felt his waist being easily gripped and lifted; he was pulled onto a rock-hard thigh.
His eyes widened in shock, and the tips of his ears turned red instantly.
The boy sitting on his lap was naturally fair and beautiful. With his ears and neck flushed like a ripe peach, the look of fear and timidity in his eyes was a display of unawakened, youthful innocence.
“Young Master.”
Song Qie’s heart was pounding so hard his mouth felt dry. He was caught in that dark, heavy gaze. As he felt a knee suddenly press against the center of his backside, a dangerous and threatening aura spread. His lower back went weak, and he wanted to scramble down in fright.
But he was pinned by the waist and not allowed to move.
Song Qie tried to shift slightly. In response, the knee under his seat lifted slightly and then dropped firmly. His body froze; he was too scared to move.
This, this, this…
Lu Beihuai held the arm that was as white as a lotus root and gently pulled him forward again.
Song Qie fell into his embrace.
Lu Beihuai looked at the panicked expression in the other’s eyes as he hit his chest. He lowered his head, leaned against the fair ear, and laughed softly: “It’s okay if you found out. No need to fear me. I’ll still take good care of you just like before. I wouldn’t have the heart to hit you.”
Song Qie felt dazed: “…You’re poking me.”
Sob sob sob, so scary. This pervert.
If this wasn’t a threat, what was it!!!