|| “Have you learned the principle of reciprocity this time?”
T/L: this chapter has quite a bit of guesswork, since there’s a lot of scenes that was censored (the chapter is quite steamy at places)
Song Yan stood by the window on the second floor, holding the phone in his fingertips. It seemed like he was waiting for someone to arrive, but he just stared blankly downstairs.
Xia Zhiye looked up at someone in the floor-to-ceiling window on the second floor across a garden, and chuckled softly, “Boyfriend, it’s really a bit cold in Beijing. During winter, the temperature reaches -10oC at night.”
While speaking, Song Yan could even clearly see a cloud of white mist gently exhaled from Xia Zhiye’s lips and teeth under the dim yellow and quivering street lamp; the cloud was dense during this cold winter night in Beijing.
Then he realized that the Xia Zhiye in front of him was the living Xia Zhiye, not the Xia Zhiye he hallucinated.
So without thinking any further, in his slippers, he turned around and hurried downstairs, opening the door, crossing the garden, then opening the gate, and finally running straight into the embrace of Xia Zhiye, who had long been waiting for him.
It’s unknown how fast he ran, but by the time he reached from the villa’s second-floor bedroom to just outside the villa’s front gate, such a short distance, he was panting heavily, with large puffs of white mist steaming in the air.
Xia Zhiye gathered his arms around him, pulling him into his embrace. Sensing his thin body, dressed only in a silk pajama, he held him tighter, trying to block the wind and snow and transfer his own body heat. “Why did you come out without wearing a coat?”
Song Yan, who was so excited that he forgot everything: “…”
Xia Zhiye watched him run from the heated room to the outside. The tip of his nose was red, and that splotch of crimson slowly crept to Song Yan’s cheeks. Xia Zhiye chuckled, saying, “Ah, I see, so our Song-ge can’t wait to throw himself into my warm embrace?”
Song Yan’s thoughts were read so easily. He was so embarrassed that he stomped on Xia Zhiye’s foot.
As a result, while Xia Zhiye wore sturdy boots, Song Yan was in slippers. When his foot came down, Xia Zhiye felt nothing, but Song Yan’s toe bumped into one of the metal studs on Xia Zhiye’s boots, causing him to suck in a sharp breath from the pain. Limping and grabbing onto Xia Zhiye’s collar, he buried himself in his embrace, simultaneously hammering him in annoyance.
Xia Zhiye could only laugh and hug him tighter. “I came all the way to find my boyfriend, but I was trampled and hammered again. I’m so wronged, ah.”
“Do I want you to come here?” Song Yan said so, but his body only burrowed farther into Xia Zhiye’s warm arms. “Why did you come here in the middle of the night?”
Just a few hours ago, he was still posting pictures of the Xia family’s New Year celebration in Nanwu. How could he say he’s in Beijing now? It’s the middle of the night, and it’s unclear what he meant.
Xia Zhiye looked down at him and blinked mysteriously. “Didn’t I say that Song Xiaoxi is a divine tree, and as long as you make a wish on it, I promise to appear?”
“…”
Song Yan turned around and left.
Xia Zhiye hurriedly pulled him back and laughed, “Why are you always jumping to conclusions? My brother-in-law lent his private jet to me. He was with my sister celebrating New Year in Nanwu yesterday, and he had to rush back to his own family early this morning. The flight plan was arranged two weeks ago.”
“So you planned to come to me half a month ago?”
“Yup. Because I couldn’t sleep for half a month just thinking about my boyfriend. So, in order to see my boyfriend on the first day of the new year, I spent my days doing exercises and helped my sister play games at night. It’s been so hard that even my abs have slimmed down. Don’t believe me? Feel it.” Xia Zhiye said as he took Song Yan’s hand and placed it on his waist.
Song Yan touched it. Xia Zhiye’s abdominal muscles were still hard.
Realizing that Xia Zhiye just wanted to be a big perv, he said coldly: “Huh, I see. Now that I’ve felt it, you can go away now.”
Xia Zhiye didn’t believe Song Yan’s cold upfront. “You want me to leave now?”
Song Yan sounded rightful. “Otherwise?”
Xia Zhiye: “…”
Song Yan gently pushed aside the stiff arms of Xia Zhiye, straightened his scarf, and kindly explained, “Song Lele and his grandparents are here. There are elders and children in the house. Your sudden overnight visit here is not appropriate.”
Song Yan’s unusually good temper and earnest explanation didn’t sound like he was being stubborn or sulking.
After straightening out his scarf, he gently tiptoed to kiss Xia Zhiye on the cheek. “They’re about to wake up. It wouldn’t look good if they saw us. I’ll go back first, and you should too. See you when school starts again.”
After speaking, he wrapped himself in his thin pajamas and quickly ran into the villa’s gate, through the garden, and all the way to the door of his room.
Xia Zhiye felt the sudden loss of warmth in his arms, and stood there blankly, not knowing what to do for a while.
He really missed Song Yan, thinking that Song Yan would be very happy and moved. They could hug each other and have a good talk, enjoy a meal together, and then accompany Song Yan to sleep well. He even prepared a red envelope for Song Yan.
He wasn’t irritated, just a little disappointed.
Standing outside the gate, he looked like a big dog abandoned during a heavy snowfall – dazed and pitiful.
After Song Yan ran up the steps to the door, he turned around and saw the way Xia Zhiye looked. He couldn’t help but laugh, then quickly resumed his indifferent demeanor. “So are you coming in or not? If you don’t come in soon, they’ll really wake up.”
“…?”
Xia Zhiye was first slightly stunned, then realized that Song Yan was retaliating against his earlier behavior of pretending to forget to mention that he was coming to see him. Unable to help himself, he chuckled and lowered his head.
He’s really proficient at playing small tricks now.
Strolling leisurely into the garden, closing the gate behind him, and then leisurely strolling up to Song Yan, he lowered his head and looked over, saying, “Someone’s acting skills are becoming more exquisite.”
Song Yan leaned against the door and raised his eyebrows indifferently. “Learn it from a certain someone. This is called reciprocity.”
“Oh, it looks like we have learned to communicate with each other.” Xia Zhiye’s eyes were slightly curved up, and his smile showed a familiar and dangerous look.
Initially feeling like he had the upper hand, Song Yan’s confidence was shaken upon hearing those words. Immediately, he lifted his leg and dashed towards his bedroom.
‘He certainly seems to know what to expect.’
Xia Zhiye remained calm and leisurely changed into the disposable slippers at the door, then followed Song Yan into the bedroom in the same unhurried manner, closing and locking the door behind them.
Then, he grabbed Song Yan, who was going to hide in the bathroom, and pushed him against the wall. He asked, “What are you running for?”
Song Yan, always refusing to yield, raised his chin and spoke coldly, “I’m just going to the bathroom to run hot water for you. Otherwise, do you want to catch a cold tomorrow?”
Outside, the wind and snow were raging, making it bitterly cold; but indoors, the heating was turned up high. Despite wearing a sweater and jacket, Xia Zhiye still felt a bit overheated.
Meanwhile, Song Yan was leaning against the wall, his hair slightly disheveled from the earlier running. The wind had tinted his nose and cheeks with a faint redness. Although his pajamas were somewhat oversized, his slender frame still revealed a large expanse of snow-white skin at his neck and delicate collarbones.
Xia Zhiye had long been accustomed to Song Yan’s looks. When he saw the youth’s expression – both annoying yet endearing – his heart couldn’t help but tremble a bit, then he softly said, “We’re quite well-matched.”
Song Yan originally wanted to retort, but seeing the snowflakes still clinging to the ends of Xia Zhiye’s hair and shoulders, and noticing the fatigue in his eyes and the weariness in his posture, he simply lowered his eyelashes and softly murmured, “Mn.”
At the end, he felt that Xia Zhiye couldn’t be too proud, and added indifferently: “Just a little bit.”
Xia Zhiye chuckled lightly and tightened his grip around him, “If it’s just a little bit, how about giving me a tiny kiss?”
Song Yan’s fingertips hung at his side, curled slightly, then he lifted his head and quickly pecked at the corner of Xia Zhiye’s lips, ready to pull away, but was caught by Xia Zhiye at the back of his head and deeply kissed with force.
Feeling the familiar scent and the moment, Song Yan closed his eyes, grabbed Xia Zhiye’s waist, lifted his head, tiptoed slightly, and expressed his longing for Xia Zhiye during this brief separation in a more eager way, showing that it was definitely more than just a bit.
This young couple was at an age when they couldn’t be separated after tasting each other.
The air in the room suddenly felt stuffy. Coats and sweaters looked superfluous on their body, and they eventually stripped, falling to the ground.
The bathtub that was originally intended to be filled with hot water to ward off the cold for Xia Zhiye, eventually became a battlefield for the youths.
Song Yan leaned against the bathtub wall, tilting his head slightly backward. His throat couldn’t help but roll up and down, his temples and eyes moistened with steam. His skin, submerged under the water surface, appeared almost the same cold white and delicate as the bathtub – with the exceptions of touches of red marks littering his skin.
When it finally reached a certain moment, unable to bear it any longer, a muffled groan escaped, and his fingers instinctively tightened and grasped the edge of the bathtub with intense force. But then, another pair of more slender and powerful hands gradually pried them open, accompanied by a seductive whisper, “Have you learned the principle of reciprocity this time?”
So, this one bath lasted until dawn, when the sun greeted the sky.
Song Yan’s arms gripped on the bathtub for quite some time.
He felt sore, as if he had done continuous pull-ups for half an hour.
Not long after that, Song Yan was cleaned, dried, blow-dried, and changed into clean pajamas by Xia Zhiye. Lying on the bed, he suddenly asked in a muffled tone, “Were you intentionally holding back?”
Xia Zhiye heard Song Yan’s words and felt both amused and annoyed. “If I didn’t intentionally hold back, I’m afraid that tomorrow you wouldn’t even be able to hold a pen, let alone favor your harem of books on your desk.”
“Sure enough, this is your real purpose for coming to see me.” Song Yan looked indifferent, “You just want to prevent me from studying properly.”
Sitting on the carpet by the bed, Xia Zhiye looked at him like that and couldn’t help but move closer, leaning in to plant a kiss on the freshly showered Song Yan. “See, I deliberately came to vie for favor. Demonic Concubine that I am, I must monopolize the Emperor’s attention until he won’t visit his harem anymore.”
“Humph.”
Exhausted to the point where he could barely muster the energy to curse, Song Yan could only manage a disdainful snort from his nostrils.
Xia Zhiye leaned down and kissed him again, saying, “Your Majesty, This Concubine misses you too much. He can’t sleep at night, can’t eat during the day, but Your Majesty hasn’t summoned him to share his bed. In the end, This Concubine had to come and offer himself.”
Song Yan didn’t listen to his nonsense. Seeing that he was only wearing a bathrobe, he said lazily, “Where are your clothes?”
“I brought it, but it’s currently with my sister’s.”
“?”
“I can’t bring a suitcase during our secret affair, can I?”
Song Yan kicked him. “What secret affair?”
Xia Zhiye smiled and stuffed his feet back into the quilt. “Do you want me to be discovered by your family members, then?”
Thinking about his behavior just now, when he took advantage of the fact that his family members were still busy and sneaked back to his room, Song Yan felt like he might have had some intention of hiding Xia Zhiye away from others.
Song Yan hurriedly explained in a hoarse voice, “It’s not that I think you can’t be seen. The main thing is, who would come to someone’s house in the early hours of New Year’s Day, right? And Song Lele’s grandparents are here. They’re old, and it would be troublesome to explain it to them later.”
“What are you thinking?” Xia Zhijian smiled and tousled Song Yan’s hair gently. “I just wanted to come see you, not to pressure you into marriage. Relax, I’m just here to visit. Once your family members are out, I’ll go back to the hotel. They won’t find out.”
“…”
The more he talked about it that way, the more it sounded like some secret shameful affair.
Moreover, he was playing out the script of a scumbag who slept with others and didn’t want to take responsibility. Xia Zhiye was like a fool in love, only wanting love and not caring about status, blindly enduring and sacrificing like a lovesick woman.
It made Song Yan feel a bit uncomfortable with his actions, “Then I’ll accompany you to the hotel tonight.”
Taking advantage of Song Yan’s guilt, Xia Zhiye followed suit, “For how long?”
Song Yan was still very easy to deceive. “You can stay with me for all your Beijing’s visit duration.”
“Okay.” Xia Zhiye rubbed Song Yan’s head with a satisfied smile, turned over to bed, and hugged Song Yan, “Then let’s go to bed now, okay? I’m a little tired.”
“Mm, okay. They usually don’t come to my room, and they don’t bother if I stay in bed.” Song Yan also closed his eyes, leaning against Xia Zhiye, smelling the comforting scent emanating from him, preparing for a long and restful sleep.
He said, “Good night.”
Xia Zhiye kissed his forehead. “Good night.”
The dawn broke outside, with the heavy snow giving way to clear skies. The cold penetrated to the bone, but inside, the lights dimmed, the curtains drawn tightly, creating a warmth akin to spring. The two embraced each other and fell asleep.
All was well in the passage of time.
“But Song Yan.” Xia Zhiye said suddenly, “I always feel like I forgot something.”
Song Yan closed her eyes: “I think so too.”
“So what did you forget?”
“I’ll think about it.”
“…”
“…”
“!”
“Fuck! Xia Zhiye, your shoes are still at the door!”
Song Yan startled and sat up, his mind racing with thoughts on how to sneakily retrieve Xia Zhiye’s shoes during breakfast. Before he could contemplate further, there came a knock at the door.
The crisp and loud voice of Song Lele rang out like an artificial megaphone: “Gege!! Mom, Grandma, and Grandpa are calling you and your friend to wake up and have breakfast!! They want you to have breakfast before continuing to sleep together!! Also, remember to give the dirty clothes to Mom to wash!!”
“…”
At that moment, Song Yan thought, ‘Song Lele’s winter vacation homework is too little, I can at least add another 69 math papers.’
