Song felt his ears heat up because of Lu’s gaze and that sentence. Why did a simple massage feel so…
Strange, when this guy said he “wanted” it?
He pointed to the trauma spray on the table, hesitating. “I just meant using this to massage you. I wanted to help relieve your fatigue after boxing. It wasn’t the other kind of…”
“I know.” Lu placed the camera beside him, his gaze landing on Song’s reddened ears. “Isn’t this the massage you were talking about?”
Every time he sees me now, his ears turn red.
“No, I was talking about a normal massage.” Song explained hurriedly, standing up to grab the spray. “Just… just to rub out the bruises on your body. I didn’t mean anything else.”
He suddenly understood what Lu had implied. For a moment, the heat from his ears spread to the back of his neck, and he was completely overwhelmed with embarrassment.
What is this kid thinking!!
His head is filled with messy thoughts all day long.
Lu’s lips curved slightly. He grabbed the hem of his shirt and, with a bit of strength in his arm, pulled the T-shirt off with one hand. He revealed a firm, powerful upper body. His shoulders were broad, his back was sturdy, and the bruises and scars scattered across his skin contrasted sharply with his muscle lines. The visual impact was a mix of raw hormone and the marks of a struggle.
He was the type who looked lean in clothes but muscular without them; his physique was exceptional.
He just sat there without speaking, filled with a gloomy pressure. There wasn’t a trace of the gentle, meticulous person he used to pretend to be.
Song silently gripped the spray. “.”
He peeked at the other’s muscles and felt a sense of defeat.
He could practice until he died and never reach this level. It was… ridiculous, and Lu was only eighteen.
He really wanted to touch them, just to motivate himself.
“Go ahead.” Lu didn’t turn his head, but he had already noticed Song’s gaze. He was sure Song was admiring his strong body. However, the moment that slightly cool hand touched his arm, his body stiffened.
“…Um, Lu Beihuai, can I feel them?”
A soft, delicate hand—one that had never done hard work—gave his arm a light squeeze.
“Feel what?”
“Your muscles. They feel so firm.”
Song sat down beside Lu with the spray. Seeing that Lu didn’t refuse, he gave another bold squeeze.
At that moment, he felt the muscles in the arm move, as if responding to his touch. The lines under the skin showed traces of disciplined training.
He let out an envious sigh. “I want to be built like this too.”
He even imagined it in his head: if he encountered danger, he could throw punches like whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. How cool would that be? Every boy has a dream of being a fighter.
Whoo-hoo!
A soft chuckle sounded.
Song peeked at Lu and found him smiling. It sounded like a mockery. “What are you laughing at!”
“You can’t do it,” Lu said. “You’d fall over with one push.”
Song frowned. “Who said so!”
As soon as he said it, he was pushed by Lu. He fell sideways onto the sofa, looking dazed for two seconds. He frowned, a bit angry, and sat back up to face Lu. “That’s cheating! You didn’t tell me you were going to push. This doesn’t count as ‘falling with one push’.”
Seeing that Song was taking it seriously, Lu raised an eyebrow. “Do you want me to give you a countdown? 3, 2, 1?”
“Yes.” Song quickly sat properly, hands on his knees. He sat straight and tense, his hands gripping his knees tightly, his lips pursed with effort. He looked very serious. “Push me.”
He didn’t believe it. What did he mean, “fall over with one push”? He couldn’t be that pathetic, could he?
“3.”
Song took a deep breath. He wouldn’t be that weak.
“2.”
Song gripped his knees harder, putting all his strength into it. He didn’t believe he was that pathetic.
“1.”
Song was very nervous. Before he could react, he was pushed right onto the seat.
“…”
Fine, he was pathetic.
The atmosphere was silent for a moment.
Song slowly sat up and touched his knees. He pretended to be calm, as if nothing had happened. He picked up the spray, turned to Lu, and sprayed the areas with more bruises on Lu’s arms.
Then, he used his hands to help rub the tense muscles on Lu’s back.
He rubbed with gritted teeth, using all his strength, clearly fueled by personal feelings.
How hateful, Lu Beihuai! Pushing me with so much force, of course I can’t compare to a boxer!
“You can’t train for this; it requires suffering.” Lu glanced at the hands pushing on his back. “The pressure is a bit light. You can go harder.”
Song looked up. “I am using force.”
“I don’t feel anything.”
Song gritted his teeth and pushed hard against his back with his palms. “…It’s because your muscles are too hard.”
Lu listened to the strained voice and felt the slender hands on his back. Song had never done anything since he was a child; he relied on Lu for everything. Those hands were pampered and soft; naturally, they felt like nothing on his back.
In fact, it was a bit itchy.
“Bei-huai, I want to learn this.” Song rubbed while observing Lu’s expression. He had a sudden idea to play to Lu’s interests. He leaned in and whispered, “Will you teach me?”
His warm breath fell on the side of Lu’s neck. The muscles there seemed to tense up, and the blood vessels under the skin throbbed.
Right after Song asked, his wrist was grabbed. Before he could react, he met Lu’s displeased gaze. He looked blank. Wait, what did I do now?
“Do you think if you keep acting spoiled, I’ll fall in love with you?”
Song: “…?” When did I act spoiled!!
Seeing Song looking at him innocently again, Lu thought, I knew it. He pulled Song’s hand down and stood up. “I don’t need you anymore. Go back.”
“Wait, wait, wait.” Song stood up and grabbed Lu. “I want to stay here.”
Lu stared at the hand holding him, his jawline tight, as if thinking of something. “Song Qie, how many people can your heart hold?”
Song: “?” What kind of crazy talk is this now?
Lu’s eyes were dark. “Is it true that as long as you like someone, you’ll find every way to get their attention? Acting spoiled, doing whatever it takes, even hounding them at their house?”
Song: “…” Where did he get “every way,” “acting spoiled,” and “hounding” from?
For a moment, he couldn’t find the words to explain. Because Lu’s expression was so serious, he was actually worried about the guy having a breakdown.
“When we go abroad, will you like other people too? Will you grab them like this and speak to them in that tone? If they ask you to wear a dress, will you wear it? If they want to take photos, will you let them? Whatever pose they want?”
Song heard him getting more and more ridiculous. His lips moved for a moment, and he finally couldn’t take it anymore. He raised his hand and lightly tapped Lu’s mouth. “Stop talking nonsense! I’m a man!!”
As soon as he spoke, he tried to lower his hand, but his wrist was caught.
It felt a bit painful, and he tried to pull away. Then, his palm was squeezed. He looked at Lu in surprise, only to see the man staring down at his hand. “…What are you looking at?”
He tried to pull his hand out again, but he couldn’t.
“You hit me.” Lu stared at the fair, slender hand. This hand was beautiful and soft, clearly never having done any hard work.
The strength of the tap didn’t actually hurt, but it brought a strange excitement.
Song’s ears turned hot instantly. “S-sorry. It’s your fault for talking nonsense.” He thought he had actually hurt Lu. “It’s your fault for saying those things.”
“How was I talking nonsense?”
“I don’t wear it for just anyone.” Song bit his lip before saying, “…I only wore it because you wanted to see it.”
This person is so hard to please; I really risked it all.
When he looked down, he didn’t notice the terrifying possessiveness in the dark eyes before him. But upon hearing “I only wore it for you,” the darkness in Lu’s gaze slowly dissipated.
“Don’t be angry anymore.” Song saw Lu was silent and thought he had hurt his pride. He grabbed Lu’s hand and tapped it against his own mouth. “There, you can hit me back. Is that okay now?”
His lips were moist and soft, feeling like soft candy that made one want to pinch them.
Song noticed Lu still wasn’t speaking and didn’t know what he was thinking. He leaned in and asked again, “Bei-huai, can I stay here now?”
Those round, clear eyes looked too much like a puppy. His serious expression showed pure innocence—he looked so clean it felt like a calculated disguise.
Lu thought, And he says he’s not acting spoiled? This is practically seduction.
This guy actually dares to seduce me.
If he let him go abroad to study alone, who knows how greedy he would be? Right now, he says he won’t, but he’s probably just coaxing me.
“Stay.” Lu let go. “I’m taking a shower first.”
Song looked up in surprise. Seeing Lu walk toward the bedroom, he followed. “Then—”
Before he could finish, Lu suddenly turned around and stared at him. “Don’t even think about showering with me.”
“…Oh.” Song thought, What are you even thinking?
Hearing the answer, Lu thought, As expected. He knew it; this guy was trying to get into every crack to get Lu to like him.
He wouldn’t forgive him that quickly.
It wouldn’t be that easy.
Absolutely not.
This strange conversation somehow blended into the sound of the cicadas, but someone’s heartbeat was unexpectedly loud.
The night grew deeper.
Song set up his bed on the floor. He rarely acted so thick-skinned, but he insisted on sleeping on the floor to get on Lu’s good side.
He wasn’t very afraid, as long as Lu didn’t scare him.
“Goodnight.” Song lay down and said it to Lu, who was on the bed.
“…”
Song didn’t get a reply and didn’t care. He was so tired he could hardly keep his eyes open. He closed his eyes and fell asleep in about ten seconds.
The floor was, after all, just the floor—hard. Song, who was used to soft beds, crawled onto the bed in the middle of the night while half-asleep. He instinctively found the softest spot, lay down, hugged it, and fell asleep instantly.
Lu: “…”
See? I knew it. This wicked guy has been calculating since he was a child; he always finds ways to tease and torture me. Now that he likes me, he said he’d sleep on the floor but snuck into my bed in the middle of the night.
He’s even lying on me and hugging me to sleep.
He just wants to torture me no matter what.
He tried to move the person off him, but arms and legs both wrapped around him. A mumble of “huggy” came from the mouth, as if he were acting spoiled.
“…”
Heavy breathing disturbed the silence of the night.
“Qie… Song.”
“…Like you, I like you so much.”
The boy’s sleep-muffled murmur was so soft it made half of Lu’s body go numb.
Lu looked up and took a deep breath. The bedroom was already hot without air conditioning, and now they were huddled together. All his sleepiness was gone. Unable to take it anymore, he reached out and pinched Song, who was sleeping on his chest.
“…Hm?” Song was woken up by the pain. He opened his eyes in a daze, lifted his chin, and met Lu’s gloomy gaze. He froze, his eyes still sleepy. “Huh? Why are you pinching me?”
In his sleepy voice, there was too much “acting spoiled.”
“Do you know where you’re sleeping?” Lu’s temple throbbed.
Song looked down and suddenly realized he was so close to Lu. His eyes widened. No way… I actually fell asleep on top of Lu Beihuai??
“You… you were hugging me?”
Lu was expressionless.
Song scrambled off him in a panic and knelt beside him like a submissive wife. Seeing Lu’s face was dark, he lowered his head. “I’m sorry, I must have accidentally crawled up.”
“Yeah, ‘accidentally’.” Lu gave a laugh.
Song: “…” Fine, he’s being sarcastic.
“Even while sleeping, you don’t forget to confess to me.” Lu saw Song kneeling there, wearing his black T-shirt and shorts. They were too big for him; his small shoulders were hunched, and his thin ankles were tucked under his hips. It looked like Lu was scolding him.
Song: “?”
Confess? What confession?
Lu rolled out of bed, pulled at his sweat-soaked collar, and lay down on the bamboo mat on the floor with his back to the bed.
In the small bedroom, the rusty fan was blowing toward the bed. It made a slight noise, and the oscillation function was likely broken, so it could only blow in one direction.
“…”
“Lu Beihuai.”
“…”
“Um, the floor is very hard.”
“…”
“Do you want to sleep together?” Seeing Lu on the floor, Song felt a bit guilty. He figured they were both boys, so sleeping together was normal.
“…”
Song called out again, “Lu Beihuai.”
“I know you really want to hug me, but I hope you can be a bit more modest.” Lu had his back to the bed and finally spoke, unable to take it anymore.
He shouldn’t have let this person stay over.
Song: “…?”
Fine, the topic of sleeping in bed ends here.
Since it wasn’t the topic he wanted to discuss, what was this Lu Beihuai thinking all day?
He fell back onto the bed, propping his head on his arm and staring at Lu’s back. He thought the guy’s gloominess shouldn’t be too severe yet; he could still be saved. He gave up the bed, so he had some conscience.
Yes, there’s hope!
He closed his eyes contentedly and went back to his dream about food. Just now, he had dreamed he was eating something delicious—it was the salmon he liked so much.
The bedroom fell silent once again. The sound of steady, small breathing from the bed showed he was sleeping soundly.
Lu rolled over and looked at the ceiling. He had been a bit sleepy, but the faint, steady breathing in his ear was soft. It wasn’t loud, but it made his ears itch.
—Like you, I like you so much.
—Huh? Why are you pinching me?
Those two sentences were now like feathers tickling his ears. The image of the reddened face, the wet eyes, the tone, the expression—it was all strangely magnified when he closed his eyes.
Following that, the image of the figure in the pink short skirt appeared.
Thin sweat appeared on his forehead.
His chest rose and fell. He took a deep breath and suddenly sat up.
He didn’t know how long he sat there before he heard another murmur from the bed.
“…Like you so much.”
Lu turned his head and, by the light of the small, dim bedside lamp, looked at Song, who was curled up and sleeping on his side.
The sleeping boy looked even more delicate and incredibly obedient. His sleeping posture was also proper. He must have been hot; there was sweat on the tip of his nose, and his cheeks were flushed. His thin lips were slightly open as he breathed softly, occasionally talking in his sleep.
Just like acting spoiled.
Lu watched for a while and then looked away. See? He likes me so much he even confesses in his dreams.
In the latter half of the night, the figure in the pink gauze dress in his dream cried until he couldn’t catch his breath. The fabric was thin and tore with a single pull.
The weather was hot to begin with, and the whole night was restless.
As a result, he woke up early in the morning to wash his underwear.
…
The noisy cicadas outside the window woke the boy on the bed.
Song opened his eyes and yawned. Physiological tears gathered in the corners of his eyes as he let out a comfortable sigh. His sleep quality had always been good; he wasn’t picky about beds and could sleep anywhere if he was tired.
“The driver will be downstairs in twenty minutes.”
He heard the sudden voice and his shoulders hunched in fright. He turned to see Lu, who was already dressed in his school uniform.
Lu walked to the bed and pulled down Song’s shirt, which had rolled up over his waist, covering that flash of white. It was annoying to look at. “Get up.”
Song saw Lu approaching and faintly smelled the scent of Lu’s body wash. “You showered?”
Lu’s expression looked unnatural for a second. He said expressionlessly, “I was sweating, so I took a shower.”
Song believed him completely and nodded. “Are you going to school today? Your fever just broke yesterday.”
Speaking of which, he admired Lu. After being injured in that boxing match, he now looked as if nothing had happened. His physique was so strong, yet he had let himself be bullied by “Song Qie” before.
“It’s fine. Studying is important. I washed your clothes last night.” Lu brought over the ironed uniform from the bed.
Song was surprised. “You even washed my clothes for me?”
It seems he can still be saved.
Lu unfolded the clean shirt and reached out to pull Song’s T-shirt, wanting to help him change.
“Wait, wait, wait…” Song hugged his upper body in fright. Seeing Lu about to undress him, he raised his hand with an awkward but polite smile. “I can do it myself, thank you.”
He didn’t dare let this guy help him change.
“I’ll help you dress.”
Song tried to take the uniform from Lu’s hand. “Oh, really, no need—”
“I’ll help you dress,” Lu said again.
“…” Song sensed the cold tone from above. He carefully looked up and saw Lu staring at him with a gloomy face.
He silently let go, handed the uniform to Lu with both hands, and smiled while nodding. “You dress me, you dress me.”
Who forces someone to change their clothes?!!!
Lu saw Song’s head-down appearance and frowned. Before, he had always helped him dress and undress. He even said he liked him, so why did he refuse to let Lu help with clothes, socks, and shoes now?
Could it be…
Was he playing hard to get?
So he leaned down, grabbed the edges of Song’s loose T-shirt with both hands, and helped him take it off. Perhaps the collar rubbed against his nose, because the guy let out a “hmpf” sound. The tip of his nose turned a bit red, and the hair on his forehead was messy.
His thin shoulders hunched. When he accidentally looked up at Lu, his eyes were watery and bright, just like a puppy’s eyes—round and like polished glass beads.
Lu felt certain: He’s definitely acting spoiled.
This is playing hard to get.
Song’s face and nose were rubbed by the collar during the undressing. He couldn’t help but curse in his head: Rude, rude, rude!!!
He raised his hand and rubbed his nose. “Gentler.”
The boy’s voice had a sleepy, nasal quality and a very soft tone. It was clearly “acting spoiled.”
Lu’s Adam’s apple moved. After a moment, he said hoarsely, “I know.”
He put the shirt on Song and leaned down to fasten the buttons one by one.
The clean white shirt smelled of soap and was ironed crisp. It felt warm on his body. Lu’s slightly rough fingers accidentally brushed against his chest while buttoning.
The boy’s cheeks quickly turned bright red.
Song couldn’t help but shiver. Besides the embarrassment, it was a bit itchy. Finally, unable to take it, he held Lu’s hand. “You’re making me so itchy. I’m ticklish.”
“Done.” Lu fastened the last button and smoothed the collar. “Change your pants.”
Song’s eyes widened. Seeing Lu about to undress his pants, he quickly grabbed the waistband. “Wait, wait, wait! I’ll do this myself!!”
“Why?” Lu thought this was another “hard to get” trick.
Song couldn’t take it anymore. He stood up and pushed Lu right out of the room. He gave him a look that was too embarrassed to be angry. “…I’ll dress myself!”
With that, he shut the door quickly.
Click. Locked.
This was about dignity!
Outside the door, Lu frowned and fell into deep thought. This must be one of the “hard to get” moves. He can change his shirt, so why not his pants? In the past, he even made me change his underwear on purpose.
They grew up like this, so suddenly refusing means…
He’s shy?
Lu suddenly realized that perhaps this was the difference between “liking” and “disliking.”
He gave a cold laugh. Fine. Keep liking him then. It would be best if he liked Lu so much he couldn’t pull himself out.
After a while, the door opened.
Song walked out dressed in his uniform, only to see Lu standing at the door holding a dress???
Where did another dress come from!!!
“Wear this now.” Lu held up a water-blue lace dress.
The blue dress with white lace trim was a spaghetti-strap tight dress that reached the upper thighs. The front would likely show the collarbones, but when the dress was turned around, there was a heart-shaped cutout with lace-up ties at the waist and hips.
In other words, if nothing was worn underneath, his back and the small of his back would be clearly visible.
Song’s face turned red instantly. He remembered last night and felt like he was losing it again. He hesitated. “…I have to go to school.”
Why is he going crazy and wanting me to wear a dress now???
“You can choose not to wear it.” Lu let the dress hang at his side, looking calm. He wouldn’t say it was just because he happened to see this blue one and really, really, really wanted to see Song wear it.
Song: “…” His ears were burning. What kind of fetish is this?
Why would a boy like to see a boy wear a dress?
Lu didn’t miss the shy, nervous micro-expressions on that face. “Or I can help you wear it.”
Song: “???”
Again??
I just put on my school uniform, and now I have to take it off??
Is this some kind of dress-up game!!!