Lu Zhen’s lips initially pressed against his with extreme caution, pecking at him with a flickering touch, constantly grinding and sucking.
Even this level of contact made Qiao Muyu’s eyelashes tremble uncontrollably; he was so nervous he nearly forgot to breathe.
When Lu Zhen’s warm, damp tongue tentatively licked the corner of his mouth, Qiao Muyu’s entire body went stiff. The next second, Lu Zhen pinched his chin to pry open his teeth and drove straight in. The sensation of that soft tongue brushing against his upper palate sent a numb shock through his scalp, making every pore on his body feel like it was bursting open.
He was just about to call for a stop when Lu Zhen, seemingly unsatisfied, raised a hand to cradle the back of his neck and deepen the kiss. Lu Zhen pulled him closer by the waist, tangling their tongues together in a lingering suction.
Qiao Muyu didn’t know where to put his hands. He could only press them helplessly against Lu Zhen’s chest, clutching his collar loosely while clumsily responding with his own mouth.
His brain was long past the point of being able to think. All he could hear was their increasingly erratic breathing, their drum-like heartbeats, and the restless, wet sounds escaping from their tangled lips.
The rain outside didn’t stop for a moment. Inside, the kiss grew stickier and more humid, and the temperature in the room continued to climb.
Qiao Muyu had intended to stop at a certain point, but the person holding him didn’t think so. He clung to him, kissing him again and again, as if he could never be satisfied.
Seeing that his precious study time was about to be wasted on this, Qiao Muyu finally reached his limit and pushed him away: “Mm… that’s enough!”
Lu Zhen rested his forehead against Qiao’s, using his thumb to caress the glistening, damp lips he had just kissed. His voice was seductive: “One more kiss.”
Qiao Muyu quickly covered Lu Zhen’s face with his hand as the latter leaned in again. Flustered and exasperated, he snapped: “Kiss, kiss, kiss! How many times have you kissed me already? If you don’t go back now, Butler Wang is going to turn into a drowned dog waiting downstairs!”
Outside, the howling gale cooperated by hurling rain against the window with a loud, violent thud.
“…” Lu Zhen looked at the worsening storm outside and compromised: “Alright.”
Qiao Muyu breathed a sigh of relief and patted his head: “Good boy.”
Lu Zhen stood up, packed his bag, walked to the door, and put on his shoes. He reached for the doorknob but paused, turning back to Qiao Muyu: “Then, I’m leaving.”
Qiao Muyu waved: “Yeah, stay safe on the road. Remember to text me when you get home so I know you’re safe.”
Lu Zhen: “Okay.”
But after saying that, he didn’t move. He stood at the door, staring at Qiao Muyu motionlessly.
Qiao Muyu was puzzled: “Why aren’t you leaving yet?”
Lu Zhen frowned slightly: “I’m about to leave. Aren’t you going to give me a kiss?”
“…”
Qiao Muyu was utterly speechless. Looking at Lu Zhen’s “I won’t leave until I get what I want” rogue behavior, he sighed: “After this last kiss, you really have to leave. No cheating.”
Lu Zhen: “Yeah, no cheating.”
Qiao Muyu walked up to him, stood slightly on his tiptoes, cupped Lu Zhen’s face, and slowly approached him inch by inch.
Just as their lips were about to touch, Lu Zhen cooperatively closed his eyes. However, a sharp glint flashed in Qiao Muyu’s eyes. With lightning speed, he yanked open the door behind Lu Zhen, shoved him and his bag out with force, and slammed the door shut with a “bang.” The entire sequence was executed in one smooth motion.
“Go home, you big idiot! Goodnight!”
Lu Zhen: “…”
No more sound came from outside. The living room grew quiet again, but the restless thumping in Qiao Muyu’s chest hadn’t settled.
He was far less calm than he acted in front of Lu Zhen. He just instinctively knew that if they kept tangling like that, things would get “dangerous.”
He ran to the bathroom and splashed his face with cold water, only then feeling the burning heat on his face subside a bit.
Looking at his wet face in the mirror, Qiao Muyu’s gaze involuntarily fell on his red and slightly swollen lips. He immediately felt both shy and annoyed.
Damn it, just how greedy is that guy? He kissed me until I’m swollen.
He had miscalculated; he had accidentally let himself be led by the nose.
He pointed at his reflection in the mirror, cursing himself for being “weak”:
It’s just a kiss, Qiao Muyu. Why can’t you keep your cool? Take this as a lesson—you must seize the initiative next time!
…
After cooling down, Qiao Muyu took a shower, finished a set of practice problems, and finally checked his phone before bed.
Lu Zhen’s messages had arrived over an hour ago.
First, a brief: “I’m home.”
Five minutes later: “What are you doing?”
Half an hour after that, he sent a pitiful emoji of a Samoyed dog hanging its head, waiting obediently.
Qiao Muyu broke into a cold sweat and made up a random excuse.
[Qiao Muyu]: Sorry babe, I accidentally fell asleep just now and forgot to reply. [Qiao Muyu]: I’m thinking of you, so you better think of me too. [Qiao Muyu]: Mua! (///^3^///)
The other party replied almost instantly.
[Lu Zhen]: Mm, I miss you too. [Qiao Muyu]: Where’s my kiss? [Lu Zhen]: >3<
Qiao Muyu let out a weird chuckle looking at the screen.
Ha, what a love-brained idiot!
But he had to admit, even if the guy acted a bit foolish in love, he was genuinely good to him.
Qiao Muyu felt touched by the birthday surprise, and it occurred to him that he had been so happy he forgot to say thank you.
[Qiao Muyu]: I forgot to say it earlier, but thanks for the birthday gift. I really like it. [Qiao Muyu]: By the way, when is your birthday? [Lu Zhen]: June 13th. [Qiao Muyu]: I’ve got it memorized. I’ll prepare a gift for you next year too.
As he lay on his bed grinning at the message, a sudden sense of melancholy washed over him.
Next June? By then, I’ll probably have broken up with Lu Zhen already…
While his thoughts wandered, a new message flashed.
[Lu Zhen]: I’m looking forward to it. [Lu Zhen]: I want to celebrate every one of your birthdays in the future.
Looking at those words, the softest part of Qiao Muyu’s heart felt as if it had been gently squeezed, giving way to an indescribable ache.
Growing up, he had never been cherished like this—someone expressing their love so clumsily yet so wholeheartedly.
He fingered the cool coral stone necklace around his neck and suddenly felt that having a boyfriend in his monotonous, daily life wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
Of course, it would be even better if the boyfriend stopped taking the #1 spot in the grade rankings every once in a while.
…
With complicated feelings, Qiao Muyu drifted into sleep.
After an unknown amount of time, he felt as though he had fallen into a soft, warm cloud.
Everything around him had a hazy, blurred filter, but he could clearly see Lu Zhen embracing him tenderly, their skin touching, whispering in each other’s ears…
Suddenly, the piercing blare of his alarm clock shattered the erotic imagery.
The dream broke, and Qiao Muyu snapped his eyes open.
As his consciousness flooded back, he realized his back was covered in a layer of damp sweat.
His racing heart eventually calmed down, but the bone-deep sense of shame lingered in his mind, refusing to dissipate.
Qiao Muyu lifted a corner of the blanket to peek at a certain part of his body and immediately felt a mental breakdown.
Crap… when did I become so thirsty?! It must be that kiss from yesterday…!
He grabbed his vibrating phone to turn off the alarm and saw an unread message.
[Lu Zhen]: Good morning. [Lu Zhen]: Did you sleep well last night?
Flashes of the “NC-17” scenes from his dream crossed Qiao Muyu’s mind. He was mortified.
This guy really knows how to pick a topic!
He sat up and slapped his burning cheeks, trying to clear his head.
[Qiao Muyu]: Morning, babe. [Qiao Muyu]: I slept great. Slept straight through till dawn, didn’t dream about a single thing.
After sending that blatantly defensive reply, he tossed his phone aside and ran to the bathroom. When he came back, he saw a new message.
[Lu Zhen]: I dreamed about you last night.
There were several retracted messages following that sentence, which piqued Qiao Muyu’s curiosity.
[Qiao Muyu]: What did you delete? [Lu Zhen]: Nothing much, just something about that dream last night. [Qiao Muyu]: What dream? [Lu Zhen]: Something between you and me… some “indescribable” images.
Qiao Muyu: “…”
He wished he could slap himself. Why did he have to ask?
[Qiao Muyu]: Then don’t describe it. I don’t want to know. ^^ [Lu Zhen]: >﹏<
…
Today was Qiao Muyu’s turn for classroom duties.
His desk mate, Li Tianquan, had arrived early and already swept the floor responsibly, so Qiao Muyu took on the task of wiping the windows.
As he hummed a tune while wiping the glass, a large face suddenly appeared in front of him, scaring the life out of him.
“Du Jingfei! Who are you trying to scare this early in the morning!”
Qiao Muyu wanted to shove the wet rag into his face.
Du Jingfei, sipping soy milk, squinted at him: “You were full of resentment yesterday, so why are you suddenly looking so radiant today?”
Qiao Muyu blinked: “Am I?”
Du Jingfei pointed at his face: “Rosy cheeks, smiling eyes—there’s a little sun shining over your head.”
Qiao Muyu: “It’s a cloudy day. Where’s the sun?”
“Don’t change the subject,” Du Jingfei interrupted. “Tell me, what good thing happened?”
Qiao Muyu looked away guiltily and lowered his head to wipe the windowsill, saying calmly: “What could happen? It’s just that the problem between that ‘friend’ I told you about and his boyfriend was resolved. I’m just happy for him.”
Du Jingfei: “The couple has a spat and you’re here worrying and celebrating with them? Your ‘sense of participation’ is so strong, anyone who didn’t know better would think you were the one in a relationship.”
Caught off guard, Qiao Muyu choked and argued: “Can’t I care about my friend?”
Just then, a girl passing by suddenly screamed: “Ah! Class Monitor! There’s a bug on you!”
Qiao Muyu froze: “Where?! Where is it?!”
“Right behind your neck!”
Du Jingfei leaned in and saw a yellowish-brown flying insect on his collar: “It’s a bee! A giant hornet!”
“Crap!”
Qiao Muyu was most afraid of flying bugs. He didn’t dare move. Since he couldn’t see what was behind his head, he lowered his chin and urged Du Jingfei.
“Quick, quick! Get it off me!”
Du Jingfei grabbed a book and fanned it frantically near his collar until the hornet flew away.
“It’s gone, it’s gone.”
Du Jingfei leaned in concernedly to check his neck. “You didn’t get stung, did you?”
“I don’t think so. It doesn’t hurt or itch.”
As soon as Qiao Muyu said that, Du Jingfei pointed at the black braided cord on his neck and asked curiously: “Xiao Yu, what are you wearing? A necklace?”
Only then did Qiao Muyu realize he was still wearing the necklace Lu Zhen gave him. He covered it with his hand and acted calm: “This? I’m just wearing it for fun.”
Du Jingfei looked at him suspiciously: “Where did this necklace come from?”
Qiao Muyu: “Can’t I buy it myself?”
“Forget it. You’re not the type to buy fancy stuff like this. If you had extra pocket money, you’d only buy the latest mock exam papers.”
Du Jingfei crossed his arms, assuming the stance of a judge. “Spill it.”
Seeing his lie seen through, Qiao Muyu confessed: “Fine, fine. Someone gave it to me.”
“Who? Male or female? How tall? Where do they live?”
“Are you conducting a census?”
“Speak!”
“No one, just…” In his desperation, Qiao Muyu had a flash of inspiration and reused an old excuse: “My ‘cousin’ gave it to me.”
Du Jingfei recalled: “The ‘cousin’ you met online?”
Qiao Muyu nodded: “Yeah, that’s the one.”
Du Jingfei thought about it and felt something was off: “Aren’t you guys just regular online friends? Why does he keep sending you stuff?”
“We have a great relationship. We get along well. Is that a problem?”
Afraid of more questions, Qiao Muyu turned away with his rag, sounding dismissive.
“Sigh, you wouldn’t understand. I have nothing to say to someone who doesn’t have an online friend looking out for them.”
Du Jingfei: “…”
When Xu Rongcan arrived at the classroom with her backpack, she saw Du Jingfei leaning on the windowsill, staring deeply at Qiao Muyu, who was wiping the blackboard.
She walked over to him: “What are you standing here for?”
Seeing her, Du Jingfei grabbed her shoulders and said solemnly: “Something terrible has happened, Comrade Xu! A member of our organization has defected!”
Xu Rongcan was confused: “What organization do we have?”
“The Single Dogs Organization!”
Du Jingfei leaned into her ear and whispered mysteriously: “Qiao Muyu is in an online relationship!”
Xu Rongcan: “Oh… WHAT?!”