Chapter 50

The next morning, Ji Su woke up in a familiar embrace.

Heavy curtains blocked the sunlight outside; the bedroom was dim, and he slowly blinked his lashes, his gaze focusing on the angular, handsome face.

After watching quietly for a while, Ji Su carefully lifted the arm draped across his waist.

The instant he tried to rise, a long, strong arm reached out again and precisely pulled him back.

Then a burning-hot body pressed close, and Gu Zhao's slightly hoarse voice said: 'Stay in bed with me a little longer.'

'I need to get up — I have lunch plans with Xiao Qiao today.' Ji Su said in a negotiating tone. 'You sleep a bit more, okay?'

Gu Zhao, eyes closed, bit the back of his neck, holding that small patch of soft flesh between his teeth and worrying it; once he'd finished, the tip of his tongue slipped out to lick.

Ji Su's tailbone went numb from the licking; he pushed back against it.

Gu Zhao lifted his eyelids with a frown; in the depths of his eyes, four characters blazed unmistakably: de-sire, de-mand, un-satisfied.

Ji Su struggled to turn around in his arms, took the initiative to kiss the corner of his mouth, and coaxed: 'Good gege, I really have to get up...'

In the end, Gu Zhao pinned him down and kissed him for several minutes before he escaped the bed with reddened lips.

Ji Su walked into the bathroom, about to wash up, when another tall figure appeared in the mirror.

Gu Zhao strolled lazily to his side, shoulder brushing shoulder, squeezed toothpaste and handed it to him, then picked up his own toothbrush.

Fortunately the vanity was wide enough; two tall, long-legged young men standing side by side didn't look crowded.

After brushing his teeth, Ji Su suddenly seemed to remember something: 'Right — did you say something in my ear last night?'

Gu Zhao lowered his eyes: 'Which line do you mean?'

Ji Su tried to recall, but his consciousness had been hazy at the time, and he couldn't bring any key words to mind.

Only his subconsciousness felt it had been something important.

Gu Zhao reached out, pinched his chin and tilted it up, and asked unhurriedly: 'Was it — take a little more, or clamp your legs tighter?'

Heat rushed to Ji Su's ear roots: 'First thing in the morning — how can you be like this again!'

Gu Zhao laughed softly and released his fingers: 'Want me to come with you?'

'No need, I'll be back after lunch.' Ji Su shook his head, then added, 'Message me if anything comes up.'

'Okay.' Gu Zhao replied, 'I'll wait for you at home.'

*

Ji Su had arranged to meet Qiao Jin at a Western restaurant; he remembered Qiao Jin had been craving their matcha shaved ice for a long time.

The moment they met, Qiao Jin couldn't help exclaiming: 'Baby Susu! How do you keep getting prettier!'

'Huh?' Ji Su glanced down at himself, 'I haven't changed at all.'

'Tsk tsk tsk — clearly a man nourished by love!' Qiao Jin reached out to touch his face, 'Look at this little face, so tender you could wring water out of it.'

Ji Su dodged backward and reminded him quietly: 'Xiao Qiao, we're in a restaurant — behave yourself.'

'Fine.' Qiao Jin withdrew his hand reluctantly, took out an exquisite gift box, 'This is your birthday present — your birthday was days ago!'

'It's not late at all, and besides, I've already received the thought behind it.' Ji Su accepted the gift with a smile, then gave him in return a souvenir he'd brought back from the seaside.

They chatted for a while, and the food they'd ordered arrived.

Ji Su picked up his phone, took a photo, and sent it to Gu Zhao.

'What are you doing?' Qiao Jin watched his movements, 'You don't have to report every meal to Gu Zhao, do you?'

Ji Su didn't like posting to his social feed, nor did he have the habit of photographing meals before eating; the only reason he did so was to send it to Gu Zhao.

Ji Su put his phone away: 'Not reporting — just showing him what we're eating.'

'I get it, I get it — the honeymoon-stage couple!' Qiao Jin's face said 'I've been shown up,' 'Inseparable as Meng and Jiao.'

Ji Su smiled with lowered lashes, and didn't deny it.

As they ate, Qiao Jin suddenly lowered his voice and asked: 'Right, Susu — did you study the materials I sent you carefully?'

Ji Su was drinking something and choked at the words: 'Cough, cough...'

'Slow down, slow down.' Qiao Jin hurriedly pulled out a napkin and handed it to him.

Ji Su recovered; a lovely flush rose on his snow-white cheeks.

'Judging by your reaction...' Qiao Jin said suspiciously, 'You haven't even opened it, have you?'

Ji Su: 'Not yet...'

Qiao Jin's eyes went wide: 'Then where have you two gotten to now?'

'Just kissing...' Ji Su answered vaguely, 'We haven't gotten to the last step yet, anyway...'

'Holy crap, Gu the campus heartthrob really can hold out!' Qiao Jin hesitated, then leaned his head in, 'Susu, he couldn't actually be a pillow embroidered with flowers — good-looking but useless, could he?'

Ji Su: '...'

He had already experienced it firsthand in other ways — not only good-looking, but very capable.

Just... too capable, so capable it was frightening...

Qiao Jin wanted to keep prying for details, so Ji Su picked up his spoon, dug out a huge scoop of shaved ice, and stuffed it into his mouth.

Qiao Jin ate while making faces, his words coming out garbled: 'Baby Susu, if you ask me, don't be too scared... Although with Gu Zhao's hardware, the first time will be a bit rough, but once it feels good, it should feel really good, right...'

Ji Su's face reddened further: 'Stop talking, eat your ice.'

After lunch, the two went to browse a nearby mall.

'Right, Xiao Qiao — how are things between you and Zhou Yang?' Ji Su asked with concern, 'Have you two been in touch since the break?'

'Yes, yes, yes — we message every day.' The moment Zhou Yang came up, Qiao Jin bloomed into a grin, 'He even invited me to visit his hometown for a few days!'

Ji Su laughed along: 'Then why don't you hurry up and go?'

Qiao Jin looped his arm through Ji Su's: 'Susu, will you come with me?'

'He invited you, not me.' Ji Su paused briefly, 'Besides, such a good chance to be alone — you should make the most of it. I won't go and be a third wheel.'

'Fair point.' Qiao Jin nodded, then asked, 'Do you have any other plans for the summer?'

'I'm planning to take a tutoring job, and I'll head back shortly before school starts.' Ji Su thought it over seriously, 'I don't think there's anything else.'

'Baby, you forgot the most important thing.' Qiao Jin's smile turned slightly lewd, 'With Gu the campus heartthrob, owooo...'

Ji Su clamped a hand over his mouth, stopping him from saying anything stranger.

*

On the way back, Ji Su stopped by a supermarket and bought some fruit and daily necessities.

Just as he was about to check out, he caught sight of certain items on a shelf, and walked over as if drawn by some unseen force.

Since he'd never used this kind of product before, nor studied them on purpose, he was just beginning to get a headache from the dizzying array of packaging when the sound of children laughing and playing reached his ears.

Ji Su's spine went rigid — a sudden, inexplicable guilt, as though he'd been caught in the act. He grabbed two boxes at random and shoved them into the cart, then went to pay.

By the time he got home, Gu Zhao was standing on the Balcony on a call. Hearing the movement at the door, he turned and came to meet him, taking the bags from his hands.

"Mm. That's all for now." Gu Zhao ended the call with characteristic brevity.

"Was it something important?" Ji Su asked.

"Nothing." Gu Zhao walked toward the living room as he answered. "A senior from my department opened a law firm — asked if I wanted to come take a look over the summer."

"That's a great opportunity." Ji Su followed him inside. "I need to find a part-time job too — now we'll both have something to do."

Gu Zhao set the bag on the table. "No rush on the internship."

Ji Su was puzzled. "Do you have something else more pressing?"

Gu Zhao tilted his chin toward himself. "Come here."

Ji Su walked over. "What is it?"

Gu Zhao reached out and crooked a finger beneath his chin. "Being with you — does that count as pressing?"

Ji Su laughed. "You're being improper."

Gu Zhao drew him in front of himself, long legs circling around him. "Improper how?"

A few words tumbled out of Ji Su's mouth. "Love-brained."

Gu Zhao laughed low and leaned close. "I'm not love-brained. My whole brain is just you."

Ji Su wasn't quite used to this kind of sudden tenderness; the tips of his ears flushed faintly pink. "Oh…"

Gu Zhao pinched the sensitive lobe between his fingers. "After lunch, where did you go?"

"Wandered around the mall with Xiao Qiao." Ji Su answered faithfully. "Then went to the supermarket."

Gu Zhao asked, offhandedly, "What did you and Qiao Jin talk about?"

"Nothing much, just…" Ji Su's gaze slid away of its own accord. "Just some ordinary stuff."

"All right." Fortunately Gu Zhao didn't press further. "What do you want for dinner tonight?"

"Anything's fine." Ji Su patted his own belly. "I ate so much at lunch, I haven't even digested it yet."

Gu Zhao lowered his gaze, pressed his palm to that small abdomen, and said only: "So thin."

"Not thin anymore." Ji Su puffed out his belly. "Look how round it is."

Gu Zhao smiled, the meaning unreadable. "I'll go make dinner."

It was still early, so Ji Su went to shower first.

After his shower, he put on a shirt and shorts and went back to the Secondary Bedroom, his gaze falling on the dark computer screen.

Ji Su pressed his lips together and quietly shut the door.

He walked to the desk, turned on the computer, and found the folder he'd downloaded earlier.

Ji Su put on only one earphone, then — with the guilty caution of a thief — glanced back at the firmly closed door before pressing play.

The video opened on a fair, delicate-looking European boy in loungewear, sitting on a sofa. Suddenly the doorbell rang, and the boy rose to answer it.

The door swung open, and the camera revealed a man in a repairman's uniform — all muscle, thick body hair, tall and powerfully built.

The two stood talking at the door. Ji Su's English was decent enough; he gathered that the boy was saying he couldn't pay the repair fee, and asking whether he could make it up to him some other way.

The repairman made as if to leave, and the boy dropped to his knees before him at once, reaching for the belt of his work trousers.

Ji Su's pupils trembled. This…

It's starting already?

He drew a deep breath and tried, with the earnest attitude of someone learning and exploring new knowledge, to observe the plot seriously.

But what unfolded next was, to him, like something from another world entirely…

Ji Su sat rigid-backed in his chair. The thought of Gu Zhao doing to him what the video was showing made his heart pound beyond his control, as though even breathing had become a difficulty.

"Knock, knock" — two taps sounded at his ear.

Ji Su startled. On pure reflex he clicked to close the page — but in his panic he not only failed to close the video, he enlarged it instead.

Gu Zhao pushed the door open. "Dinner's ready."

Ji Su shot to his feet at once, trying to block the screen with his body — and in doing so accidentally yanked the earphone cord free.

"oh… yes, baby…"

A burst of strange, garbled sound filled the room, accompanied by a rhythmic slapping.

Gu Zhao's dark eyes narrowed just slightly. "What are you watching?"

"I…" Ji Su's face burned to the tips of his ears; his heartbeat was so loud his fingertips had gone numb. "I'm watching an English movie…"

"Oh?" Gu Zhao walked over, glanced at the screen, his tone impossible to read. "You like this position?"

"N-no, it's not—" Ji Su tried to explain the whole thing from beginning to end. "Actually, this is study material Xiao Qiao sent me."

"Study material?" Gu Zhao reached past him, long arm circling his body, and picked up the mouse from the desk to look. "Studying what?"

Ji Su's cheeks were so hot they were nearly smoking. He stammered: "It's… learning how to… you know…"

Gu Zhao glanced sideways at him. "Have you learned it yet?"

Ji Su meant to say he hadn't, really — but Gu Zhao gave him no chance to answer. One hand on his waist, the other under his bottom, he lifted Ji Su straight up, face-to-face.

Ji Su's hands climbed the broad shoulders; his long legs, of their own accord, wound tight around the hard-muscled waist.

Gu Zhao carried him toward the Main Bedroom. "Theory's covered. Time for practice."

Ji Su was both shy and afraid. "Gu Zhao, you — you really know how?"

The European man in the video hadn't seemed nearly as frightening as Gu Zhao, and the other had just… like that…

In a little while — was he going to die?

Gu Zhao didn't answer. He kicked the bedroom door open with one foot.

"How about — how about I do it instead?" Ji Su grew more nervous by the second, fingertips sinking into the firm muscle, words tumbling out at random. "I'm not great at it either, but I'll be very gentle with you — mm…"

Whatever was left of the sentence was thoroughly blocked back.

Gu Zhao kissed him fiercely — tongue thrusting into his mouth, licking deep and heavy, then catching the soft, tender tip of his tongue and sucking hard, kissing him until he was dizzy, his lips and tongue gone numb, the saliva he couldn't hold trickling down the corner of his mouth.

His whole body went soft — and then Gu Zhao tossed him onto the big bed.

The soft mattress bounced twice beneath him. Ji Su sensed danger on instinct; he braced his hands against the bedding and began to scoot backward.

He'd barely reached the center of the bed when a thin ankle was seized and he was dragged back.

"Running where?" Gu Zhao laughed, a faint red rising in the depths of his dark eyes. "Time to check your study results, student Ji Su."