Chapter 57

To prove Gu Zhao wasn't 'sheep-tailed,' Ji Su was forced into another thoroughgoing bout of pre-sleep exercise.

The next morning, the first thing he did upon waking was open his computer and, with fingers trembling at the keys, type a few words: "Cohabitation Agreement."

Article One of the Cohabitation Agreement: Frequency shall not exceed three times per week, and each time shall not exceed one hour.

After Gu Zhao took the Cohabitation Agreement, he scanned it from top to bottom, his expression perfectly composed.

Ji Su shifted his sore, swollen, faintly stinging legs and asked, testing the waters: "Do you have any opinions about this agreement?"

"None." Gu Zhao lifted his gaze and laughed, the meaning unreadable: "Whatever you say."

Ji Su exhaled in a single breath of relief: "Great."

But he soon discovered that the agreement was essentially useless.

Gu Zhao was too fierce; every time, he left Ji Su without the strength to resist.

Worse still, Gu Zhao would use every means at his disposal to wring a plea from him — and then leisurely savor the fruits of his victory…

The entire summer break, Ji Su clung to Gu Zhao like conjoined twins — waking together, eating together, walking together, watching films together, doing all the things lovers do.

The night before the new semester began, Ji Su was startled to discover he seemed to have been fattened up.

Sitting on the bed, he pinched the flesh at his waist and asked, his tone layered with feeling: "Gu Zhao, have you noticed I've put on weight?"

Gu Zhao had been typing at his keyboard; hearing this, he closed the laptop and rose to walk to the bedside: "Where?"

Ji Su lifted the hem of his sleepwear to show his pale, soft belly: "Look."

Gu Zhao reached up to remove his glasses, leaned in, and pressed a kiss to that thin layer of belly: "You haven't."

Ji Su laughed at the tickling and tilted sideways: "I asked you to check if I'd gained weight, not to kiss me."

Gu Zhao took the opening to press him down onto the bed, and searing kisses rained down without mercy.

Ji Su panted and pushed back: "No, we have to report at school tomorrow… I don't want to be late…"

"Aren't you afraid of gaining weight?" Gu Zhao caught the kicking calves from behind and laughed in a low, deep voice: "Let me help you burn off a few calories."

Before long, Ji Su could only bite his finger and whimper…

*

As expected, on the first morning of the new semester, Ji Su nearly overslept.

Gu Zhao dug him out from the blankets, dressed him with his own hands, then carried him and set him on the bathroom vanity.

He squeezed out toothpaste, his large hand cupping the pointed chin, tucked the toothbrush into Ji Su's mouth, and gently brushed those neat white teeth.

Ji Su pried open his reddened eyelids, only to let them drift sleepily shut once more.

After brushing his own teeth, Gu Zhao braced both hands on the marble counter and leaned in to kiss him.

They had just brushed, so their mouths carried the fresh scent of orange, and the kiss tasted faintly sweet.

Gu Zhao's large palm cradled the back of his head; the kiss deepened, and his breath grew hotter.

"Mm…" Ji Su couldn't breathe through it and instinctively tilted his head back to escape.

Gu Zhao withdrew from the wet, warm mouth and pressed their foreheads together: "Are you awake now?"

Ji Su gasped in small breaths: "I'm awake…"

After a simple breakfast, Gu Zhao drove him to School.

When they arrived, Qiao Jin messaged to say he had already picked up Ji Su's share of the books.

Ji Su returned to the Dormitory and, before he could even step inside, was met with an overwhelmingly enthusiastic embrace: "Baby Susu! I missed you to death!"

Ji Su dodged backward by reflex; Qiao Jin pressed on relentlessly, lunging toward him: "Baby, why are you dodging, ahhhh—"

He missed again, stumbling several steps and nearly crashing into the Balcony.

Gu Zhao stood to the side, Ji Su tucked in his arms, watching him with no particular expression.

Qiao Jin steadied himself and laughed awkwardly: "Gu-ge, you're here too, haha!"

"Mm." Gu Zhao looked down at the person in his arms: "I'm leaving first. Message me if you need anything."

Ji Su obediently replied: "Okay."

After personally watching Gu Zhao leave, Qiao Jin's nerve returned; he leaned in and asked: "Susu, why is Gu the campus heartthrob even following you to the Dormitory? Isn't he watching you a little too closely?"

Ji Su replied: "Actually, he even wanted me to move into their Dormitory."

Since both the Law Department and the Architecture Department had heavy course loads in the first semester of their third year, they had agreed before School started to live on campus Monday through Friday this term, and go home together on weekends.

But Gu Zhao had then proposed that Ji Su apply to move into their Dormitory, since they had a spare bed to begin with.

"Huh?" Qiao Jin's eyes went wide: "Susu, you're not really moving out, are you? Then I'm going too!"

Ji Su laughed: "We could just have Zhou Yang move into our Dormitory."

That time during summer break back home, Zhou Yang had woken the next day, sought out Qiao Jin on his own initiative, blushing as he said that since he'd kissed him, he'd take responsibility — and so the two had officially confirmed their relationship.

Qiao Jin pretended to be shy and gave Ji Su a playful punch: "Oh, stop it, I don't want to move in with our Zhou Yang that fast!"

Ji Su: "Really…"

But switching Dormitories required writing an application report, submitting reasons and evidence for the switch, and then getting the advisor's review — the process was a bit cumbersome.

With so much to do at the start of the semester, though, Ji Su hadn't gotten around to it yet.

That evening, the three from Gu Zhao's Dormitory, plus Ji Su and Qiao Jin — five in all — ate dinner together at the cafeteria.

Gu Zhao sat across from Ji Su, placed a piece of sweet-and-sour pork rib on his plate, and asked: "When are you moving into our Dormitory?"

Ji Su lifted his lashes: "I haven't written the application yet."

"Switch Dormitories?" Wang Mingzhe asked, surprised: "Ji Su, you're moving into our Dormitory? Why? Are things not good with your current roommates?"

Gu Zhao cast him a sidelong glance: "Too many questions."

Qiao Jin picked up the thread: "A'yang, I want to move into your Dormitory too. What do you think?"

Zhou Yang broke into a grin: "Of course it'd be great to share a Dormitory with you!"

"Wait — hold on!" Wang Mingzhe, the only one still out of the loop, finally caught on: "If the four of you share a Dormitory, where do I live?"

Gu Zhao delivered the words without mercy: "Under the bed."

Ji Su: "…"

After dinner, the group split up.

Gu Zhao walked Ji Su back to the Dormitory; the two of them strolled side by side across campus, drawing a crowd of gazes.

After a stretch of walking, Gu Zhao instinctively reached for the hand beside him — only to be dodged.

Ji Su said quietly: "There are too many people."

Gu the campus heartthrob drew too much attention; if the two of them held hands on School grounds, it would be no different from coming out publicly.

Gu Zhao's fingers curled loosely in the air, and he replied with studied indifference: 'Mm.'

The two continued walking; when they passed a Grove, Ji Su was pulled inside.

Gu Zhao pressed him against the thick trunk of a tree, bent his head, and kissed with a kind of ferocity — as though kissing weren't enough, he bit too, his tongue nearly reaching down his throat.

The back of Ji Su's shirt pressed and rubbed against the rough bark, a faint sting that only sharpened his senses.

With a soft pop, their lips parted — a thin silver thread strung between them.

Under the bright moon, Gu Zhao's eyes were dark and gleaming, two small flames burning inside them; he leaned in again to keep kissing.

Only when Ji Su had been kissed to the edge of suffocation, his lips and tongue gone numb, his whole body melted against him, did the thirst ease — barely.

A beast that had tasted flesh, suddenly forced to fast — every cell in his body cried out with dissatisfaction.

Gu Zhao held the person in his arms tighter, his large hand tracing the slender line of his back, his voice hoarse: 'I'll write the Dormitory transfer application for you.'

Ji Su came back to himself and replied softly: 'Actually, I don't think we need to go through all that trouble — we can still see each other every day as it is.'

'We can see each other every day, sure, but even a kiss has to be stolen.' Gu Zhao gave his waist a measured squeeze. 'Or do you prefer the thrill of sneaking around?'

Ji Su's waist went weak, and his voice went softer still: 'I don't…'

'Tomorrow's Friday.' Gu Zhao's tone carried a wealth of implication. 'I'll pick you up after School and take you home.'

What would happen once they got home — Ji Su only had to imagine it, and a shiver ran through him as though he couldn't bear it.

They held each other for a long while before parting, then walked out of the Grove one behind the other.

*

Though Ji Su's heart quailed at the thought, Friday arrived on schedule — even faster than usual.

After afternoon classes let out, he dawdled over packing his books, trying to stall for a little more time.

Qiao Jin slung his bag over his shoulder: 'Susu, haven't you packed yet?'

Ji Su replied: 'Almost.'

Qiao Jin asked again: 'Are you going home with Gu Zhao later?'

'Mm.' Ji Su pressed his lips together and lowered his voice: 'Xiao Qiao, I think I'm going to die a horrible death tonight.'

Qiao Jin, puzzled: 'Why?'

They stared at each other for a few seconds, then he had a sudden revelation: 'Oh, I get it — you're afraid Gu Zhao's going to fuck you to death tonight—'

Ji Su, quick as a flash, clapped a hand over his mouth: 'Xiao Qiao, can you not be so completely unfiltered?'

Qiao Jin blinked rapidly and nodded several times.

Ji Su finished packing his bag and shuffled slowly toward the door.

Stepping out of the teaching building, he saw the tall, long-legged Gu the campus heartthrob standing at the bottom of the steps, expressionlessly turning down a girl who had come up to ask for his WeChat.

Ji Su stopped where he was, in no hurry to go down.

Gu Zhao lifted his eyes as though he sensed something, and a smile spilled from the cold line of his lips.

'Don't be scared, Susu.' Qiao Jin whispered tips from the side. 'Let me teach you a trick — if you can't hold on anymore, just call him "husband," and I guarantee Gu Zhao will get so worked up he'll… you know…'

Ji Su's face flushed red: 'I'm heading out, Xiao Qiao. See you Monday.'

On the way home, Gu Zhao drove — fast and steady.

Ji Su sat in the passenger seat, his heart a tangle of nervousness and a thread of barely perceptible anticipation.

Gu Zhao was a clever man — whatever he learned, he learned quickly; a certain technique kept improving, and every time he made Ji Su feel so good it was almost unbearable.

But the gap in their stamina was simply too vast, and what began as pleasure tipped over into torment…

The car drove straight into the underground garage; after getting out, they took the elevator up.

The moment they stepped into the elevator, Gu Zhao's kiss fell on him, impatient and urgent.

When the elevator reached their floor, Ji Su was carried out in his arms.

Pushing open the front door, Gu Zhao pressed him against the entryway and took a shallow taste first — only then did his usual unhurried composure return.

Ji Su's legs were trembling; he was carried sideways into the bathroom to be washed.

After the bath, Gu Zhao began preparing dinner.

Ji Su sat in the chair at the dining table, watching his back, and said with deliberation: 'Gu Zhao, I've thought it over carefully — for now, let's not transfer Dormitories.'

Gu Zhao's hands paused; he turned around: 'Why the change of mind?'

'If I move over, Xiao Qiao will have to move too, and then Wang Mingzhe will have to leave — that wouldn't be fair to him.' Ji Su cupped his own cheeks in both hands, explaining in a soft, gentle voice. 'And if I move out, I'll gradually lose touch with my classmates in the Architecture Department — don't you think so?'

Gu Zhao looked at him: 'You don't want to be with me every day?'

'It's only four days apart a week — see, I'm back tonight already.' Ji Su's lashes trembled, and his voice grew smaller. 'If you want to do… something, you can…'

'Oh?' Gu Zhao laughed softly. 'You know what I'm planning tonight?'

Ji Su didn't answer, but his ears slowly flushed red.

'I can agree not to transfer Dormitories.' Gu Zhao narrowed his eyes slightly. 'But there's a condition.'

'What condition?' Ji Su couldn't help growing wary. 'I'm not wearing a sailor uniform.'

'Relax, it's not a sailor uniform.' Gu Zhao replied unhurriedly. 'No rush — eat dinner first,'

Ji Su's mind kept circling back to the condition; after dinner he cleared the table and asked on his own initiative: 'Can you tell me now?'

Gu Zhao smiled, though it was hard to call it a smile: 'That eager?'

'Yes.' Ji Su nodded. 'So stop keeping me in suspense.'

'Alright.' Gu Zhao answered. 'Come with me.'

Ji Su followed him into the bedroom and watched him take an exquisite box from the cabinet.

Gu Zhao set the box on the bed: 'Open it and take a look.'

Ji Su lifted the lid curiously, and upon seeing what was inside, fell silent for a moment.

The box held several strange objects: a pair of pink-white cat ears, a leather collar with a little bell, a fluffy cat tail, two pairs of white lace garter stockings, and two pieces of fabric whose shape was impossible to guess.

It was indeed not a sailor uniform — but it looked stranger than any improper sailor uniform could.

Ji Su lifted his eyes, hesitant: 'You're not… asking me to wear this, are you?'

Gu Zhao praised him in a low voice: 'Baby's so smart.'

Ji Su picked up the cute cat ears from the box and put them on, trying to negotiate: 'Just these, can we?'

Gu Zhao extended his large, well-defined hand, and his fingertip rolled the soft little cat ear between thumb and finger, his tone brooking no refusal: 'No.'

'But…' Ji Su lifted the long, thick cat tail with his slender, fair fingers, his face full of puzzlement. 'How do you even wear this thing?'

Gu Zhao's throat tightened, and his voice dropped a register: 'Want to know?'