TL: Hua
Lu Xin came to visit Xia Shu’an for several days in a row. There were too many memories for the two of them to share. The entire Rongchuan could be used as their reminiscing spot.
Today they went to the snack street next to their alma mater, and tomorrow they went to visit their high school teacher. The day after tomorrow, they made an appointment with Chu Wenzhi. The three of them passionately sang karaoke all night. Because it was too late, Xia Shu’an didn’t go home that day and slept in the nearby hotel.
For that matter, Shen Boyan surprisingly didn’t even get angry.
This morning, Xia Shu’an went downstairs with a bit of sleepiness on his face. Having fun also requires energy. With his body, it’s already the limit to stay up all night with Lu Xin. Of course, Lu Xin didn’t let him stay up all night. He would rather let Xia Shu’an sleep on the sofa than let him go back.
Xia Shu’an went downstairs and saw the man sitting at the dining table. He paused in his yawning and sat down silently, dragging his soft slippers.
The man looked up from his food and said, “Still going out today?”
“Er, um.” Xia Shu’an nodded.
Shen Boyan put down his chopsticks. Xia Shu’an’s mouth moved slightly, but the man had already stood up and walked to his side.
He naturally put his arms around Xia Shu’an’s shoulders, half-hugged him in his arms, and placed a gentle kiss on his hair.
“It’s okay to go out and play, but you have to pay attention to your health.” He said in a gentle tone, “Don’t stay up too late and make sure to get enough sleep, okay?”
“……oh.”
Xia Shu’an looked at Shen Boyan as if he were looking at something bizarre as the man packed his things for work. Before leaving, Shen Boyan hugged Xia Shu’an again and kissed him on the tip of his nose.
“Have fun and call me if you need anything.”
“…”
Only when the car in the courtyard resounded with the sound of the engine starting did Xia Shu’an turn back with a thoughtful look.
Lu Xin made an appointment today at a racecourse owned by the Lu family. Drinks were provided at the bleachers, but Xia Shu’an and Lu Xin stopped drinking after two drinks. Instead, they drank wolfberry tea in a thermos cup to maintain their health.
Lu Xin ran two laps enthusiastically before handing the horse to the trainer and walking back to the VIP bleachers to sit down.
Seeing that Xia Shu’an was still looking at him thoughtfully, he said, “What’s wrong? Do you think I’m handsome?”
“Handsome.” Xia Shu’an affirmed.
Lu Xin was immediately flattered: “Really?”
“Yeah.” Xia Shu’an nodded perfunctorily, not forgetting what he was thinking about just now: “I’m wondering if you did it on purpose.”
Lu Xin tilted his head and drank a few mouthfuls of water, saying unconcernedly, “What purpose?”
“You asked me out on purpose; you did it for several days in a row.” Xia Shu’an’s tone became softer, and his eyes were a bit cunning: “You deliberately asked me out in front of Shen Boyan.”
The lumbar support of this chair is loose, and the height can be adjusted. Lu Xin put the chair down, relaxed his body, and lay down horizontally. Then he said with a smile, “Am I this kind of person in your heart? Am I not allowed to miss you?”
“Be for real right now. The guy who stood me up a few times for his girlfriend when he was a student isn’t qualified to say that.”
“What? I stood up my girlfriend a few times for you too, okay?”
“Was that your girlfriend? That’s your girlfriend who’s about to break up!”
“She was also my girlfriend, okay? Unlike you, one day you agreed to hang out with me after school, and the next day you said you had to go to the bookstore and couldn’t stay with me….”
The two of them uncovered each other’s scars for a while, and then the expression on Lu Xin’s face slowly calmed down as he said, “Yes, I did it on purpose. That surname Shen did this kind of thing to you; can’t I even express my dissatisfaction?”
“Love at first sight? That’s a nice way of putting it, but it’s just taking advantage of someone’s misfortune.” He sneered, looking dissatisfied.
Xia Shu’an looked at his best friend tenderly. In his last life, Lu Xin fought against Shen Boyan several times for his sake. In this life, because Shen Boyan barely retained some humanity, the situation was slightly better, but the look in his eyes like a mother-in-law looking at her son-in-law hasn’t changed.
The relationship between Lu Xin and Shen Boyan is really difficult to define. Xia Shu’an didn’t want to upset him and deliberately said, “But I think you and him are pretty good, almost like sworn brothers.”
“I’m doing this for your own good, ok? Smiling in person and gossiping behind his back, this is all for the sake of my brother’s happiness in the future, ok?”
Lu Xin habitually said some heavy words before regaining his composure and saying, “But honestly, I’ve been watching how he treats you and me for a few days now, and the way he acted in the bar that day. I was quite satisfied.”
“Satisfied about getting into a fight?” Xia Shu’an was puzzled.
Lu Xin rolled his eyes at him and said from experience: “I’m used to seeing those cowards in our circle bluff with arrogance, claiming to be true in love but using someone to block them when it’s crucial. That day I saw him stand up for you without any hesitation, so at least that means he’s a real man.”
“I feel relieved with him protecting you. You didn’t even know that, during our school days, if I hadn’t followed you everyday…”
Xia Shu’an was listening attentively when suddenly the other person stopped talking, so he turned to look at him and said, “What’s wrong?”
The young man has red lips and white teeth, shiny black hair as ink, and almost transparent cheeks. A beam of light passes through his sideburns, as if adding a layer of glaze to the finely crafted porcelain. Even his snow-white neck under his ears looks like a jade vase suitable for appreciation.
Xia Shu’an is beautiful, and his temperament is cold, pure, and inviolable. However, this sense of inviolability, fueled by his overly beautiful, cold, and fragile appearance, has actually bred something darkly tainted in people’s hearts.
When he was a student, he put in a lot of effort to protect Xia Shu’an. Now it’s a good thing that someone else has taken on this task.
Lu Xin looked at his face, which was still oblivious to this day, and shook his head in frustration: “Nothing, nothing; just go and be a CEO’s wife with peace of mind!”
Xia Shu’an narrowed his eyes dangerously: “Young Master Lu, I have a lot of things I can blackmail you with…”
…….
On this day, Xia Shu’an still had fun until late, as usual. When he got home, there was no one in the room. Xia Shu’an hesitated for a moment, then walked to the study door and gently pushed it open.
The man is indeed there.
It’s rare to see him wearing a pair of black-rimmed glasses as he lowered his head and looked at the documents in his hands intently. The room was brightly lit, but when it touched the man’s face, it seemed to pass through a layer of filter, and the light became hazy. The man sometimes frowned and sometimes looked thoughtful while tapping his fingertips on the table.
Xia Shu’an hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward.
Shen Boyan was so immersed in his work that he didn’t notice Xia Shu’an coming in. It wasn’t until the young man was two or three steps away from him that he suddenly raised his head.
“You’re back?”
“En.”
“Are you still working?”
“The Chinese New Year will be here in a week, and some documents need to be processed urgently.”
“…”
Seeing that the coffee in his hand was empty, Xia Shu’an said, “Let me get you a cup of coffee.”
“There’s no need.”
Shen Boyan grabbed Xia Shuan’s arm as he was about to leave. Late at night, Xia Shu’an’s consciousness was hazy, and his body was in a drowsy state without any resistance. He was pulled to Shen Boyan’s side. Shen Boyan bent his back slightly and wrapped his hands around his waist.
The man’s cheek leaned against his shoulder, and Xia Shu’an subconsciously ducked to the side as he felt the hot, wet breath coming from the tip of his nose.
Shen Boyan didn’t care and just kissed the side of his neck gently with his lips. Xia Shu’an had just come back from outside, and his body still retained the coolness of winter. He suddenly felt a scorching sensation as if he had been burned by fire, and his whole body trembled.
Shen Boyan’s voice was hoarse and somewhat fatigued. “Did you have fun today?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s good.”
“…” The air suddenly fell silent. Xia Shu’an couldn’t help but say, “Are you…”
“Hm?”
Xia Shu’an: “Are you pretending to be pitiful on purpose?”
Shen Boyan gently loosened the hand around his waist and raised his head to look at him. “Why do you say that?”
Xia Shu’an looked straight into his eyes and enunciated word by word clearly: “You let Lu Xin hang out with me on purpose, deliberately showed your generous side, and deliberately relaxed Lu Xin’s vigilance towards you.”
“You’re just pretending to be pitiful. You want me to believe that you won’t do things I don’t like anymore.”
Being pointed out so bluntly, Shen Boyan laughed softly and looked into Xia Shu’an’s eyes. “Then did you believe it?”
Xia Shu’an stopped talking.
Shen Boyan was indeed different from before when wearing glasses. He looked more elegant, more cultured, and unfamiliar to Xia Shu’an.
This Shen Boyan, who made Xia Shu’an a little unfamiliar, lowered his head and gently kissed Xia Shu’an’s face, from his eyebrows to the tip of his nose to his slightly dry lips, finally stopping in front of his confusedly opened and closed lips.
“Xia Shu’an, it’s true that I don’t like you staying with others, even if that person is your best friend – but I will tolerate it.”
“Xia Shu’an, I told you I wouldn’t do anything to upset you anymore. Compared with the restlessness in my heart, your being unhappy obviously scares me more. But…”
His breath was so light that it was almost impossible to hear it. Rather than words, it was more like the snowflakes falling silently in the courtyard outside the window on a quiet winter night, melting into Xia Shu’an’s chest in an instant.
“Kiss me, Xia Shu’an; as long as you kiss me, I can still endure it.”
“Xia Shu’an, kiss me.”
“…..”
The time stretched out silently, and no one knew how long it had passed before the two shadows that had landed on the table leapt closer.
Xia Shu’an put his hands around Shen Boyan’s neck and opened his lips slightly against the man’s dry lips.
…….
…….
The next day, Xia Shu’an woke up from bed and looked at the ceiling with an indifferent expression: Damn it, I was scammed.
