TL: Hua
Shen Boyan originally had to go to work the next day on Saturday, but he deliberately waited for Xia Shu’an to come downstairs. During breakfast, he finally got his wish fulfilled. A figure slowly came down the stairs and walked into the dining room.
Shen Boyan glanced over as if he didn’t really care: “You’re up?”
His body presented a natural posture, with the seat and dining table at a distance, as if to better respond to the warm embrace from the young man.
Sure enough, after a morning of missing his embrace and a whole day of care yesterday, the young man walked towards him.
He tilted his face, and a smile spread out on his fair and bright face like a spring breeze. His smile was gentle, well-behaved, bright, and obedient. After approaching the man in a few steps, he opened his arms and hugged the stunned Shen Boyan.
“Good morning.” The young man said it softly, like dandelions floating in the fields.
His arms were gentle, his embrace was warm, and even his breath carried the sweet jasmine smell of the same facial cleanser and toothpaste, but Shen Boyan immediately shuddered.
“You—”
Xia Shu’an had already let go of his hand. “What’s wrong?”
Shen Boyan looked at him with a measuring gaze and said, “Nothing.”
Xia Shu’an sat in his usual position. A breeze-like smile still remained on his face: “Are you going to the company today?”
Shen Boyan doesn’t want to go, but he has delayed a lot of things yesterday and must finish them today. At least now he doesn’t look like he went through some kind of intense “demon fight1A reference from the classic Chinese novel “Dream of the Red Mansion.” Basically mean $ex.” at a glance (with all the scars). It would take at least two glances.
After receiving the answer, Xia Shu’an sighed softly: “Is that so?”
But then he smiled again: “Then I’ll wait for you to come back home.”
Shen Boyan: “…Okay.”
Until he entered the office, Shen Boyan’s mind still kept replaying Xia Shu’an’s hypocritical, no-luster-in-the-eyes smile.
He somewhat suspected that Xia Shu’an was still tired and lacked energy, but he was afraid that he was wrong. After dealing with a period of work in the morning, he put down his pen and called home.
“Hello, sir.”
“Is Xia Shu’an at home?”
“He is.”
“What did he do today?”
“Mr. Xia drank some porridge and ate beef and eggs today. He was reading in the study in the morning. When it was almost noon, he came down to help me wash the dishes and do a little housework. He’s now in the yard, sunbathing and stretching his body.”
“So…what’s for lunch?”
“Lunch is…”
Aunt Qiao reported Xia Shu’an’s situation one by one and finally asked, “Do you want Mr. Xia to answer the phone?”
“…No need; I will call him if anything happens.”
“OK.”
Listening to the beeping sound on the phone, Aunt Qiao shook her head. He obviously cares about Mr. Xia so much, but why does he have to ask her in such a roundabout way?
Young people!
“Aunt Qiao—” Xia Shu’an said, walking back from the yard. After a period of morning exercise, his complexion seemed to have recovered a lot. His fair face had a natural pink hue again. In his hand, he was also folding a newly bloomed flower bud, sniffing it gently.
As he walked, he let out a shout: “Auntie Qiao, what’s for lunch?”
“Hey, for lunch… Where did the flowers come from?”
“I saw it in the yard.” Xia Shu’an showed off the flowers in his hands and said in a good mood, “I want to put them on the balcony for hydroponics2For those of you who are clueless like me, hydroponics is the technique of growing plants using a water-based nutrient solution rather than soil.. It’s so small. It might not survive the winter.”
“Hey, sir, as long as you like it…”
…….
…….
Putting down the phone, Shen Boyan thought for a moment and called his assistant: “Book a restaurant for the evening; find one with a warm ambience.”
“Understood.”
Now that it was confirmed, he called Xia Shu’an again. The moment the call was connected, he pretended to be nonchalant and said, “I made a reservation at a restaurant tonight. I’ll call you when it’s almost time.”
“Okay.” The young man said it in a brisk tone, which sounded no different from usual.
He said meekly, “You call me when the time comes, and I’ll ask the driver to take me there.”
“Um.”
“…What’s that rattling sound?”
“Oh.” Xia Shu’an was pruning flower branches in front of the light. He didn’t put down the scissors when he heard this and said, “Nothing, just reading a book.”
“See you tonight.”
“See you tonight.” The young man said in a gentle voice.
Shen Boyan hung up the phone with a smile on his face. Because it was a long-lost “date,” he was even a little excited.
The restaurant booked by the assistant is indeed very “warm.” It’s a seafood restaurant next to the largest pier in Rongchuan City. During this time of the year, there is less local seafood, so it imports a lot of seafood from all over the world, which fully reflects the high-end requirements. The restaurant is built near the port, and with one side covered in transparent glass, you can see the boats coming up and down the river. If you listen carefully, you can also hear the singing coming from the building across the river.
This scene, full of silently conveyed tenderness, is indeed warm.
Shen Boyan and Xia Shu’an are seated by the window with an excellent view, which is considered the best seat in the restaurant. After sitting down, Shen Boyan began to observe Xia Shu’an.
Xia Shu’an came directly from home. He was afraid of the cold, and so he wrapped himself in many layers. Now, after taking off the outermost beige down jacket, he revealed a gray sweater jacket inside, and inside the jacket was a brown knitted cashmere sweater.
Seeing that Shen Boyan was looking at him, Xia Shu’an smiled and handed him the menu thoughtfully.
“No, you can choose what you like.”
Xia Shu’an never accommodated Shen Boyan when it came to meals. Oh, he only did it that night in order to beg him to let Chang Jun go, but there was no good result.
Xia Shu’an still had a gentle and decent smile on his face and ordered some seafood. After the waiter left, he looked back at Shen Boyan with watery eyes. Under the candlelight, his amber pupils sparkled like broken diamonds, radiant and soul-stirring.
“…”
Shen Boyan was in a daze for a moment, always feeling like he was looking at some large glass beauty. He tried his best to ignore the strange feeling in his heart, inhaled deeply, and took the initiative to ask, “Are you still angry with me?”
“No.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Xia Shu’an looked at him with wide eyes and said word by word, “Everything you do is because you love me; I understand.”
Shen Boyan is deeply pleased: “As long as you understand.”
Xia Shu’an grinned at him.
“…”
Shaking his head, Shen Boyan put aside the weird thoughts in his mind.
“The seafood here is delicious, but it’s a pity that the timing is wrong. If it was spring…”
Shen Boyan explained endlessly, while Xia Shu’an listened carefully and occasionally responded with a sentence or two. Such a harmonious and warm atmosphere made Shen Boyan think that the strangeness he just felt was all his illusion.
But, strangely enough, even though the Xia Shu’an in front of him was so docile, gentle, and well-behaved, while also looking at him wholeheartedly, he didn’t feel very happy. He even hoped that there would be some other emotions in his dull, smiling eyes—even if it’s just his impatient attitude when he was sick yesterday.
That’s really strange. Am I a masochist?
Shen Boyan spoke until his mouth felt dry, yet Xia Shu’an didn’t respond much, as if he was simply listening. In the past, when the two first got along, it was also like this. Xia Shu’an just nodded, and his expression was even more perfunctory, with “whatever you want” written all over his face. However, Shen Boyan didn’t feel unsatisfied at that time.
Perhaps because time has passed and he wants more?
A trace of disappointment flashed in Shen Boyan’s heart. He glanced at the time and regained his composure once again. At this moment, soothing music was playing in the restaurant. The piano and violin ensemble was sometimes gentle and sometimes exciting, showing an upward attitude.
Among the diners in the restaurant, someone suddenly screamed in surprise. The light suddenly dazzled, and Xia Shu’an subconsciously looked out the window. The boats that were originally drifting on the river suddenly gathered together, as if pearls were piled up together, so bright that it was hard for people to look directly at them.
The light on the boats was slowly changing, and Xia Shu’an saw them slowly turning into letters:
【XIA】
【ILOVEU】
“Who is Xia? Who is Xia? It’s so romantic!”
“How dedicated…”
Xia Shu’an’s side profile, illuminated by the colorful light, was as beautiful and demure as the beauty in a painting. His pupils were illuminated extremely brightly, beautifully glowing, and gradually dimming as the boats in the river dispersed.
Shen Boyan had an inexplicable feeling.
Before the vague uneasiness and speculation in his heart could take shape, a finger suddenly touched his palm. Then, his palm was firmly gripped, and heat was transmitted through the overlapping palms.
Shen Boyan turned his head and met Xia Shu’an’s eyes. The young man’s eyes were gentle and exuded a soft light.
Gentleness, only gentleness, nothing but gentleness.
Like being poured a basin of cold water, Shen Boyan’s entire body calmed down at once.
The romantic comedy ended a little later, and their dinner was coming to an end.
“Where else do you want to go?” Shen Boyan asked as he walked out of the restaurant, facing the coldness that penetrated his skin on a winter night.
Xia Shu’an, who was still holding his hand, looked up when he heard this: “Anything’s fine. As long as I’m with you, I can go anywhere.”
Shen Boyan was in a trance, feeling that he had met an emotional scammer—someone who only wanted to get a million dollars from you, talked sweetly to you every day, but actually had no heart at all. And he is a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
This feeling reached its peak after they arrived at the hotel.
In the hotel room, the erotic suite is filled with the ambiguous colors of adult restlessness. The purple-red lights and the “cage” made up of pearl curtains make people blush and dare not look directly.
Fine wine, champagne glasses, clear bathroom glass…
Everything began to heat up as Xia Shu’an’s clothes were thrown to the ground.
Shen Boyan’s eyes gradually became intense until he accidentally met the young man’s eyes.
He wore a flawless smile on his face, and the gentleness in his eyes was like a pool of water after a bird swept by in spring; even the lines were carefully sculpted. Under the influence of several kinds of light, the already beautiful face looked like a mannequin that Shen Boyan had seen in a fashion exhibition hall.
They are equally beautiful, equally delicate, and equally soulless.
The blazing fire in his heart was snuffed out with a “pop” sound.
Xia Shu’an was about to step forward calmly, having done it so many times. There was no point in maintaining purity now. This room was quite to his liking. There were several new things that he had never tried in his previous life.
He was about to step forward, but Shen Boyan in front of him suddenly took a step back and said, “Wait-”
He stretched out a hand and blocked Xia Shu’an.
Xia Shu’an: ?
Shen Boyan took a deep breath. After a moment, he opened his eyes and said to Xia Shu’an, “It’s a beautiful night; why don’t we watch a movie?”
Xia Shu’an: “…???”
Hua: Not XSA making SBY feel like he was in a horror. I’m wheezing.
Xia Shu’an probably: You want me to be obedient? Consider it done : )
