As for sleeping together, it wasn’t the first time. You could say it had happened many times.
Until that accident happened last time.
On the day Shen Yu moved into his new apartment, Xia Shuo and a group of friends came over for a housewarming. The atmosphere was quite lively, a table was loaded with barbecue and braised food, along with plenty of alcohol: red wine, white liquor, spirits, you name it.
Although Xia Shuo was extremely popular with everyone outside, and people loved hanging out with him or dragging him along, Shen Yu always stuck close by his side, which meant nobody ever felt like they could fully let loose.
Because of this, over all these years, for certain activities like all-night gaming sessions at internet cafes or clubbing, Xia Shuo had never gone.
Having never really drunk much alcohol, he had no idea what his alcohol tolerance was, so he just kept drinking until he got completely hammered.
After getting drunk, he completely blacked out.
When he woke up, he discovered that his body was covered in red marks, his lips were chapped and split, and Shen Yu’s condition didn’t look any better either.
Xia Shuo couldn’t believe that he had actually sleepwalked and even beat up his older brother.
After that, he never dared to sleep in the same bed as Shen Yu again.
Hugging his quilt and lying on the sofa, Xia Shuo thought to himself, I definitely shouldn’t sleepwalk this time. Shen Yu is keeping his door closed, so there’s no way I can open the door and go in to beat him up.
The sofa was quite large, neither too soft nor too hard, making it quite comfortable to sleep on. In no time at all, Xia Shuo drifted off into dreamland.
The mechanical clock on the wall ticked slowly. After a little while, the person on the sofa sat up in a daze, felt along the wall, and stumbled toward the bathroom.
After a short while, the sound of a flush echoed, followed by the running tap water. Finally, after opening the door and pausing for a moment, he pushed open the bedroom door and walked right in.
Mmm, so soft, Xia Shuo thought, pulling the duvet over himself and wrapping it tightly around his body.
Meanwhile, Shen Yu on the other side of the bed slowly opened his eyes, looked at the person next to him, and slowly reached out his arm to pull him into an embrace.
Xia Shuo was woken up by the heat. He felt as if a furnace was pressing down on his chest, making it hard to breathe.
“So hot…” he mumbled, opening his eyes.
Dense eyelashes, a high bridge of the nose, and perfectly shaped lips.
! Oh crap, !!
Why was he in Shen Yu’s arms?
One of Shen Yu’s hands was supporting Xia Shuo’s waist, his other arm was being used as a pillow by Xia Shuo, and Xia Shuo’s leg was even hooked over Shen Yu’s lower leg.
Ah… this…
Xia Shuo felt his mouth go dry with nervousness, his eyes wide open, hesitating on how to slip back to the sofa to sleep without waking the other person up.
He remembered that yesterday he had fallen asleep on the sofa, then went to the bathroom, and then…
Fine, I really only have myself to blame. I was half-asleep and thought I was still at home.
While Xia Shuo was still in the middle of self-reflection, Shen Yu had already fully woken up. Looking at the slightly upturned peach blossom eyes right in front of him, along with the slightly parted lips wearing a look of helpless panic, he rasped out a single word: “Morning.”
Morning, morning, morning, morning!
What kind of morning is this?!
Why is Shen Yu acting like it’s no big deal at all seeing the two of them like this?!
Just as Xia Shuo was about to explain that he didn’t mean to crawl into his bed, Shen Yu had already moved his leg away, let out a yawn, and asked him, “What do you want for breakfast?”
Xia Shuo’s mouth moved faster than his brain: “Sandwich, no cheese.”
Right after he finished speaking, Shen Yu got out of bed to prepare it.
Startled awake so early in the morning, Xia Shuo lost all sleepiness. He sat up on the bed and dizzily replayed what had just happened, wondering if he was making too big a deal out of it since Shen Yu looked completely unfazed.
Maybe… such behavior between two guys is actually normal?
Passing by the master bedroom’s en-suite, Xia Shuo headed to the other bathroom, closed the door, and immediately stripped off his top to inspect himself thoroughly front and back. Thankfully, nothing seemed amiss, at least this time, they definitely hadn’t gotten into a fistfight!
Ah, it seems that last time must have been because of drinking way too much alcohol. Actually, my sleeping posture is quite well-behaved.
Still wearing his cow-print pajamas, Xia Shuo yawned all the way to the dining table.
Had it not been for the dream about being baked by a furnace, he would easily sleep until 11:00 AM on a day off.
He was completely different from Shen Yu, who had strictly maintained an optimal human sleep schedule since childhood.
Logic dictated that two people with such different personalities, hobbies, and even a distinct height difference shouldn’t be inseparable.
Wearing disposable gloves, Xia Shuo picked up the sandwich Shen Yu had made for him and took a happy bite. “Ah, absolute heaven.”
Shen Yu was busy with something, continuously checking messages on his phone.
Xia Shuo stared at Shen Yu’s eyelashes. They had to be at least a centimeter long, thick and straight, just like the eyelash extensions sample his mother had recently shown him. What were they called again? Ah right, “baby-straight.”
Just as Xia Shuo was staring in a daze, the handsome guy across from him slowly lifted his gaze and looked right back at him. With narrow double-fold phoenix eyes and eyelashes perfectly positioned at the outer corners like natural eyeliner, he naturally radiated a noble, extraordinary aura.
Seeming to realize he had stared for too long, the handsome guy across from him raised an eyebrow.
As if snapping out of a trance, Xia Shuo smiled at Shen Yu, revealing two little canine teeth. “Brother, why are you so handsome?”
“I’m about to fall in love with you.”
“If I were a girl, I’d definitely chase you.”
The person across from him paused his movement of drinking porridge, taking a couple of seconds before scooping up some millet porridge and holding it in his mouth.
Xia Shuo’s phone on the table began to vibrate.
Glancing at the caller ID, he immediately put it on speakerphone.
“Shuo, did I wake you up?”
“I’ve been awake for ages, what’s up, Yue-zi?”
Feng Yue let out an “咦” sound. “The sun must be rising from the west today, you actually didn’t sleep past noon.”
“Stop spreading rumors, spill it, what’s going on?”
“Shuo, pack your things and get ready to fly out. Our club managed to book Yan-yan.”
Xia Shuo finished off the last bite of his sandwich, took a gulp of millet porridge, and asked, “Who’s Yan-yan?”
“You know, that one from the club’s freshman orientation PPT display, that 1.2-million-follower ‘Yan-yan Doesn’t Drink Milk Tea’!”
“No way!” Even Xia Shuo lost his composure at that.
“Shuo, shout it out loud with me: what are the three essentials of photography?!”
“The model looks good, the model looks good, the model looks good!!”
“My camera won’t lie. Hurry up and pack your gear, the moment to showcase our true strength has arrived.”
Now Xia Shuo was genuinely in a rush. Ever since he got swept up in a moment of youthful impulse during his freshman year and got recruited into the photography club, capturing a decent portfolio had become his new goal.
Though over the years, his dreams had ranged from becoming an astronaut to winning the world street dance championship, and finally mastering eight foreign languages, all of which failed without exception.
Still, Xia Shuo possessed an indomitable spirit of bouncing back from every setback. Ever since he picked up photography, he felt it was his true calling, even though none of his current photos had ever won public recognition, and he’d even been taunted that his camera belonged on a secondhand marketplace.
None of that could stop Xia Shuo’s dream of becoming a master photographer. So, he quickly finished his porridge, grabbed his backpack, and got ready to bolt.
“Where are you going?”
A cold voice came from behind him. Xia Shuo stopped in his tracks, turned around, ran over to grab Shen Yu’s arm, and shook it gently. “Good brother, are you going to drive me?”
“I booked a table at Qingtangli.”
Xia Shuo stopped shaking his arm and stared longingly at Shen Yu. “When?”
Shen Yu glanced at Xia Shuo’s backpack and said leisurely, “Today at noon.”
This put Xia Shuo in a tough spot. He hadn’t had Qingtangli’s sweet and sour pork ribs with hawthorn in ages. Because of Shen Yu’s mysophobia, he preferred cooking his own meals and rarely liked going to external restaurants.
It wasn’t like Xia Shuo had nobody else to go out and eat with, but he always insisted on treating, and since everyone was nice, after a few times they wouldn’t let him pay anymore, yet the places he liked eating at were quite expensive.
For later group gatherings, he had taken that into consideration and only went to budget-friendly eateries.
He hadn’t been to Qingtangli in a long time.
Watching Xia Shuo’s wavering attitude, Shen Yu added, “I asked, they’re launching a few new dishes today. I heard the truffled red-braised pork is also quite good.”
!! Red-braised pork was Xia Shuo’s favorite! He could easily eat two large bowls of rice with the kind his dad made.
What should he do? Should he wrap up early? But it was already 9:00 AM, and heading over to Tingfeng Xiaozhu would take an hour by subway, meaning two hours just for the round trip, not counting shooting time, who knew when it would wrap up.
An idea suddenly popped into Xia Shuo’s head. “Big brother, brother-mine, can you drive me to Tingfeng Xiaozhu? I’ll shoot a couple of pictures and then we can head straight to Qingtangli.”
Looking into Xia Shuo’s slightly squinted, hopeful eyes, Shen Yu ruthlessly refused, “I’m going to pick up Zhang Wenjin and the others to take care of some business later.”
“Fine.”
His phone started vibrating again. Xia Shuo picked it up. “Yue-zi.”
“Shuo, are you out the door yet? Hurry up, if we get there early we can grab a good spot. If we’re late, all the good spots will be gone.”
“Coming, coming!”
Meals could be eaten another day, but his grand career could not be delayed. A new generation of master photographers, here he came!
The door slammed shut with a bang. Shen Yu stared at the doorway for a moment, his eyes filled with gloom.
Opening the smart doorbell camera, he watched the young man on the screen enter the elevator without looking back, the hostility on his face intensifying even further.
Afraid he wouldn’t make it in time for a good spot, Xia Shuo skipped the subway and specially hailed a taxi. However, he forgot that today was a weekend/holiday, and he got stuck right in traffic.
“Yue-zi, have you arrived? I’m stuck in traffic. What kind of day is it today anyway, there are way too many people.”
“Shuo, you must have been going out less lately. Qingcheng during holidays is always like this, people packed like sardines, even the Broken Bridge would break.”
“Then what do we do?”
“Change your route to the nearest subway station and take the train over. Come on, buddy, I’ll definitely save a good spot for you.”
“Yue-zi, you’re a real one. I’ll treat you to some soda later.”
“Hurry, hurry!”
Xia Shuo changed his destination to the nearest subway station and switched to the train without a second thought.
Luckily, it was the right call. By the time he arrived, many people hadn’t made it yet, and some front-row spots were still available.
Yan-yan had already arrived, carrying a suitcase, dressed in a sky-cyan Hanfu with exquisite styling, flawless makeup, and stunning looks. Just standing by the wooden building’s window, she was an absolute feast for the eyes.
Xia Shuo was thrilled. All three photography essentials were checked, how could he possibly take bad photos? The glory of his master photographer path was beckoning to him.
He picked up his equipment and snap, snap, snap took a few shots. Opening them up to check, wow, the quality far exceeded his usual standard.
Feng Yue was also beaming with joy. The two of them snapped away for a bit before needing to change locations.
Yan-yan was quite slender as she lifted her suitcase, facing a flight of stairs ahead.
Without a second thought, Xia Shuo stepped forward to help her carry it. It wasn’t heavy, but you couldn’t let the model get tired, right? After all, their photography club was unpaid, and the only reason they managed to book Yan-yan was because she was an alumna of their university.
It was all thanks to school ties, hiring an internet celebrity of her caliber normally required quite a bit of money.
Watching him carry the suitcase and walk steadily ahead, Yan-yan asked him, “Are you from Qingda too?”
“Yeah, Senior, sophomore year, about to be a junior.”
“What’s your major?”
“Finance.”
Yan-yan looked at his handsome face and the designer T-shirt worth a couple thousand, smiling, “That’s nice.”
“What about you, Senior, what did you study?”
“Civil engineering.”
Hearing that, Xia Shuo almost dropped the suitcase.
His expression seemed to amuse Yan-yan, and she let out a couple of laughs. “It’s fine, everyone knows the job market situation for civil engineering these days, so I transitioned into self-media.”
“That’s awesome.”
Yan-yan laughed again.
By the lakeside, right facing the blazing sun, they shot for a bit longer. Before wrapping up, Yan-yan picked up the camera to review the shots, deciding that if any weren’t suitable, they’d shoot a little more.
Feeling the 35-degree heat of the sun and noticing the slight sheen of sweat on Yan-yan’s forehead, Xia Shuo picked up the parasol she had set aside while checking photos, raised his hand, and held it up to shade her.
Seeing the shadow fall across the ground and feeling the drop in scorching heat, Yan-yan looked up at Xia Shuo.
Xia Shuo smiled, the outer corners of his eyes lifting slightly as he revealed two little canine teeth, innocent and dazzling.
The shoot turned out wonderfully, and everyone began to disperse. Xia Shuo, Feng Yue, the club president, and Yan-yan headed to the west gate to catch a taxi.
Everyone tacitly waited for Yan-yan to get into her car before leaving. Just before she left, Yan-yan suddenly stepped forward and said to Xia Shuo, “Add me on WeChat so it’s easy to send the photos.”
“Ah, really? Can I?” Xia Shuo hurriedly pulled out his phone to add her.
Before coming, the club president had specifically warned in the group chat not to ask Yan-yan for her WeChat, but instead to send the photos to her assistant, letting Yan-yan choose which ones to post on social media.
After Yan-yan’s car drove off, Feng Yue nudged Xia Shuo playfully, earning a punch from him. “Appreciate my photography skills, understand?”
Feng Yue nodded. “Got it, got it. Shuo, ascend to greatness soon and take me with you.”
Once he got into his own ride, Xia Shuo realized that Shen Yu’s messages had been accidentally cleared out earlier and forgotten.
[Yu-yu-yu: Are you done?] 12:09
[Yu-yu-yu: Still busy?] 12:48
[Yu-yu-yu: Let me know when you’re done.] 13:15
Xia Shuo looked at the time in the top right corner, it was already 13:47.
He hurriedly replied:
[Xia-bu-xia: All done, heading back, bro.]
[Xia-bu-xia: Have you eaten yet, bro? Want me to bring anything back?]
Until he stepped out of the car, that message remained unreplied.
Arriving downstairs, Xia Shuo ran into a problem: because he rushed out too quickly today, he didn’t bring his keycard, and nobody was answering the doorbell.
Didn’t Shen Yu say he was going out today?
Could he be busy out somewhere?
Xia Shuo planned to make a quick phone call to check. If Shen Yu wasn’t home, he’d go hang out somewhere for a bit or drop by Ma Dong’s place nearby.
Before the call even went through, the elevator lobby door clicked open.
“Oh, you are home.”
Xia Shuo went upstairs. This time the door wasn’t unlocked, as he raised his hand to knock, it swung open.
Shen Yu was wrapped only in a bath towel, his upper body bare, revealing sleek, well-defined muscles as he gripped the doorknob.
!
Does his mysophobia require him to take that many showers?
Does he have to wash up in the middle of the afternoon too?