It hurts so much…
His eyelids felt as heavy as waterlogged cotton. Just forcing them open to a sliver sent throbbing aches shooting through his temples. His back rested on messy bedding, and every bone in his body felt as if it had been broken and reattached.
“…Cough, cough!”
Ning Zhi opened his mouth, but before he could say a single word, an uncontrollable itch in his throat made him burst into a coughing fit. Every inch of his muscles felt sore and exhausted, even a slight shift of his waist made him gasp in pain.
What happened?
Why did it hurt so much?
Did someone secretly beat him up?
Ning Zhi slowly opened his red, swollen eyelids and saw the electric fan blowing directly at him on the lowest setting… though it couldn’t quite reach his head.
He didn’t have an ounce of strength left and could only lie limply immersed in the bedding. Bruises of varying shades were scattered across his neck and shoulders. He raised a hand, wanting to sit up,
“Hiss, it hurts, hurts, hurts, hurts, hurts!” The sharp pain made Ning Zhi see stars, and his vision went fuzzy like TV static for quite a while before he recovered.
As his legs rubbed together, his inner thighs felt sore, raw, and burning hot…
It was as if he suddenly realized something.
Ning Zhi: “…”
“You’re awake?”
Hearing the voice, Ning Zhi stiffly turned his head toward the doorway and saw Si Yuche standing there.
The moment their eyes met, Ning Zhi’s breathing stopped dead. He stared wide-eyed at the tall man in the doorway as his hands and feet went numb.
No way… This has to be fake…
Si Yuche smiled at him, seemingly completely oblivious to his awkwardness and shame.
“How are you feeling? Any discomfort?”
Ning Zhi forced the corners of his mouth up several times, but failed to form a smile.
“…I-It’s just so-so.”
Just so-so?
Si Yuche’s eyes darkened slightly. He raised an eyebrow and reached out to press against Ning Zhi’s tender waist. “Is that so? In your sleep, you kept crying out that your waist hurt. It doesn’t hurt now?”
When Si Yuche pressed down, Ning Zhi almost cried out again, glaring at him with reddened eyes.
“…You!” Ning Zhi couldn’t hold back the feeling of grievance, and his eyes quickly grew moist.
Si Yuche looked back at him calmly. “Why aren’t you calling me ‘husband’ anymore?”
Ning Zhi: “…”
Even a cornered rabbit will bite. Seeing him like this, Si Yuche straightened his tone. “I cooked some food. You haven’t eaten all day. Get up and have some.”
Ning Zhi slapped his hand away and suddenly asked, “Why did you do that kind of thing without my permission…” He still couldn’t accept that he had slept with his arch-rival.
It was too terrible, too much of a disaster.
Si Yuche raised an eyebrow. “Baby, given our relationship, isn’t doing this kind of thing completely normal?”
Ning Zhi bit his lip and said angrily, “Even if we’re a couple, you can’t just do it without my consent, ”
“I knew you’d back out of it the moment you woke up,” Si Yuche scoffed with realization. He then pulled out his phone and played an audio recording.
Chaotic sounds echoed through the room.
“Are you sure you want me to help you?”
“Can you promise you won’t regret it or throw a tantrum when you wake up?”
“I promise, I promise! Just help me.”
“I feel so bad, help me…”
Ning Zhi: “…”
Mortified and furious, Ning Zhi snapped the recording off and yelled, “Alright, fine, I get it! It’s all my fault!”
“Are you angry at me? Why are you being so mean?” Taking advantage of the situation, Si Yuche lowered his eyelids and said in a soft voice, “You know I got hurt too.”
Ning Zhi: “???”
He looked at the man in front of him in sheer disbelief. He opened his mouth, not knowing what to say, and finally managed to squeeze out a humiliated question: “…Where are you hurt?”
Without lifting his head, Si Yuche silently rolled up his sleeve, displaying the terrible bruise on his arm from blocking a wine bottle the night before.
It looked terrifying, almost a deep, dark purple.
Looking at it made Ning Zhi feel phantom pain, and suddenly he couldn’t bring himself to say another harsh word.
It really was his own fault. He had been too careless, giving Huang Yi a chance to take advantage of him. Si Yuche had protected him, and everything that happened afterward was because he had clung to him himself.
Ning Zhi’s heart softened.
“Husband, I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”
Having achieved his goal, Si Yuche immediately grabbed his hand.
“In that case, let me help you… clean up now.”
Ning Zhi: “???”
“What?”
Si Yuche visibly hesitated for a brief moment, a slight blush creeping onto his earlobes. He held a fist to his lips, cleared his throat, and whispered, “Just… don’t you feel that your body… is uncomfortable?”
It was fine before he brought it up, but the moment he said it, Ning Zhi suddenly felt something trickling out…
Ning Zhi’s pupils shrank, and his face turned pale as he asked, “You didn’t use protection last night?”
“It was an emergency, and there wasn’t any at home,” Si Yuche pursed his lips, saying with some embarrassment, “I’ll take responsibility. I’ll help you clean it out.”
Ning Zhi: “…”
He wanted to kill someone.
“Lean on me.”
Si Yuche moved a stool into the bathroom, sat on it, and spoke in an authoritative tone to Ning Zhi, who could barely stand while leaning against the doorframe.
The bathroom door was shut tight, leaving the inside pitch-black. Ning Zhi bit his lip and obediently leaned over Si Yuche’s body.
Si Yuche couldn’t see a thing, he could only feel the youth’s soft abdomen rising and falling against his lower body with every breath.
The man shifted slightly, and Ning Zhi suddenly felt a rush of cool air as his pants were pulled down.
His face began to burn hot again.
Si Yuche pulled down his underwear as well, speaking in a businesslike tone: “Alright, I’m starting.”
Ning Zhi didn’t understand why he had to talk at a time like this, nor did he see why an announcement was necessary.
Ning Zhi buried his face down, clenching his fists tightly, and said in a muffled voice, “Hurry up, stop dawdling…”
“Spread them.”
His face flushed red, and he awkwardly shut his mouth.
Swish, Sounded the showerhead turning on. Ning Zhi felt cold water splash over him.
“Alright, I’m starting.”
The air grew thick and sticky.
Ning Zhi felt so hot that he could barely breathe.
A few seconds later, Si Yuche cupped Ning Zhi’s head with his hand, lifting it gently as he whispered, “If it hurts, you can bite me.”
Ning Zhi couldn’t tell if the liquid running down his skin was sweat or tears, it dripped from his chin onto Si Yuche’s arm.
He didn’t hold back. After panting a couple of times, he bit down directly on the man’s arm.
How much strength could a cat have? Si Yuche didn’t feel any pain at all.
“Don’t clench. Relax a bit, open up wider.”
Ning Zhi was in deep discomfort, and his heart felt broken, pounding uncontrollably without pause.
He grabbed Si Yuche’s arm, released his aching teeth, and tried his best to relax as Si Yuche instructed.
“Good boy.”
After an unknown amount of time, Ning Zhi couldn’t take it anymore.
“Is it done yet?”
Si Yuche’s voice had also grown raspy. “Almost. It’s too deep, hard to clean out.”
Ning Zhi nodded, bit down on his arm again, and held on.
Drip, drip…
Water kept dripping onto Ning Zhi’s back. Confused, he asked, “Didn’t you turn off the showerhead?”
Si Yuche retracted his fingers and wiped away the heavy sweat pouring down his chin like rain.
“Mm, it’s off now.”
A minute later, Ning Zhi asked again, “Is it really not done yet?”
“Almost.”
Another minute later.
“Are you really almost done?”
“In a second.”
Another minute later.
“How many ‘seconds’ is this going to take?!”
“Almost. If it’s not cleaned out properly, you’ll get sick.”
Si Yuche paused and asked him, “Are you feeling uncomfortable somewhere?”
Ning Zhi wrinkled his small face and complained, “My stomach hurts… Something is pressing hard against me.”
Si Yuche: “…”
Ning Zhi squirmed his body slightly and asked again, “So how much longer?”
The person above him didn’t answer, instead, his body went rigid for a long moment.
“Just a second.”