Yu Qiu decided to take control, his tongue freely exploring in their mouths, both of them unwilling to give in to each other. In the end, they were both panting for breath.
Yu Qiu wiped the corner of his lips and chuckled, “Were you trying to get close to me on purpose from the beginning?”
“No,” Xuan Yan hurriedly waved his hand, “That’s not true. Who could have known? I’ve been living here all along. If you don’t believe me, there’s payment history with the landlord!”
“I believe you,” Yu Qiu found him adorable and couldn’t help but reach out to pinch his face.
“I really like you,” Xuan Yan said, “Do you believe me?”
Yu Qiu smiled as he looked at him.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
Yu Qiu: “I’ll go open the door.”
As soon as he stood up, Xuan Yan tightened his waist and swiftly pressed him against the wall, confining him in a small space. He kissed him passionately. Yu Qiu tried to push him away and mumbled, “I’ll go open the door… Mm…”
The knocking kept coming.
Yu Qiu was a bit anxious, his hand against his chest, “Stop it…”
“I believe you,” Xuan Yun let go of him, “liking you is true, being happy is true, wanting to be closer to you is true, I haven’t lied about anything.”
“I know,” Yu Qiu said softly, “I’ll go open the door.”
Xuan Yun reluctantly let him go.
Yu Qiu touched his lips and made sure they weren’t bitten, then he opened the door.
Outside the door was a middle-aged man who said, “Hey, do you have any soy sauce at home? I ran out of soy sauce at my place, can I borrow some from your house?”
Yu Qiu hesitated for a moment, then smiled, “Sorry, no more.”
“Really?” The man raised an eyebrow, “Don’t be so stingy, just lend me some.”
“…”
Footsteps sounded from behind, and Xuan Yun walked over. Yu Qiu turned around and signaled him not to come closer, then said, “There really isn’t any left. Why don’t you check if the people nearby have some?”
“Alright,” the man sounded somewhat disappointed and left.
Yu Qiu closed the door and said in a serious tone, “That person felt like a paparazzi.”
It was a bit odd for someone to come asking for soy sauce at this time. It was almost ten o’clock.
“Found his way here again?” Xuan Yun sounded annoyed, “What’s wrong with him?”
“Alright, it might not be anything. Let’s eat,” Yu Qiu said, “I’m probably overthinking it. Is the food cold?”
“A little,” Xuan Yun replied, “But it’s still warm enough to eat.”
After they finished eating, they chatted aimlessly. When Yu Qiu was cleaning up the dishes, Xuan Yun sat and watched him. Yu Qiu grinned, “Is there something on my face? You’ve been staring at me.”
“Thank goodness it rained that day, and I had an umbrella,” Xuan Yun said, “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have met you.”
Yu Qiu put the dirty dishes in the sink and started washing them. Amidst the sound of water, he said, “If it’s meant to happen, we will meet sooner or later.”
“In the beginning, they said you plagiarized,” Xuan Yun said, “I almost believed them.”
Yu Qiu remained silent and continued washing the dishes.
“Because, indeed, Shui Qing’s novel was published much earlier than yours. The settings were too similar, and even the world’s structure was almost the same. If I hadn’t started reading from the first book, I might have stopped being your fan,” Xuan Yun said, “Qiu ge, can you talk to me about it?”
Yu Qiu lowered his eyes, quietly scrubbing the dishes. Xuan Yun didn’t rush him; he patiently waited. After Yu Qiu finished cleaning the dishes, he put them away in the cupboard.
He dried his hands and looked at Xuan Yun, asking, “Are you leaving tonight?”
Xuan Yun heard his own heart pounding intensely, and the faint smell of smoke seemed to grow again, entwining them in a soft web, with the silver light resembling the brightest moonlight, leaving no place for their hearts to hide.
He heard his own voice.
“Not leaving”
“Good.”
Yu Qiu took a shower; it was his personal habit to shower every night before going to bed, regardless of whether he was dirty or not.
When he came out of the shower, Xuan Yun was lying on the bed, reading his copy of “Boundless City.”
He was wearing Yu Qiu’s sleepwear, which was a gift from a reader, but it was a bit big for him, so he didn’t usually wear it. The sleepwear had a design of a green little dinosaur with a small tail at the back.
Yu Qiu wondered – wouldn’t this design be uncomfortable to sit on while sleeping?
However, he didn’t have any other sleepwear for Xuan Yun, so he had to use that one.
Xuan Yun turned his head and revealed a sweet, overly affectionate smile, “You’re here?”
Yu Qiu crawled into the bed, about to say something when Xuan Yun suddenly bounced up, “I want to take a shower too!”
“…” Yu Qiu said, “You’re already clean, why shower?”
Both of them fell silent for a while, and then Yu Qiu realized what Xuan Yun was thinking and helplessly patted his buttocks, “We’re not doing that today.”
“…” Xuan Yun obediently lay back down, “I got excited for nothing.”
Yu Qiu dimmed the bedside lamp, tucked him in, and sat by the bed, slowly stroking his hair, saying, “Gege will tell you a story.”
“Xuan Xuan lies down properly,” Xuan Yun looked up at him and whispered softly.
