Qiu Zheyan was initially quite angry, but upon hearing the question about whether he was going to kick him out now, he suddenly found it very amusing.
Damn, who could be so heartless as to discard a lover right after sex? He hadn’t seen any reluctance during their passionate exchange earlier.
Qiu Zheyan laughed, genuinely angry but also amused: “It’s winter—am I really that unreasonable?
Zhuang Hanxue nodded, relieved, leaning against his chest. “Oh, so you’ll wait until I find a new job and place before kicking me out?”
Qiu Zheyan flipped him over, kissing him fiercely. “No one’s kicking you out! I never said I would!”
Zhuang Hanxue was surprised again. “You’re not?”
Qiu Zheyan gritted his teeth. “I never said I’d kick you out. Stop putting words in my mouth. When did I ever say that?”
Zhuang Hanxue said, “But, you proposed, and I refused, shouldn’t…” He trailed off mid-sentence.
Qiu Zheyan licked the bite mark he’d left on Zhuang Hanxue’s shoulder, making him hiss in pain, and said coldly, “Have you slept with women before who asked if you wanted to marry them, and when you said no, they kicked you out?”
Zhuang Hanxue’s shoulders tensed, and though he didn’t answer, his reaction spoke volumes.
Qiu Zheyan sighed heavily, asking irritably, “How many people have proposed to you?”
Zhuang Hanxue’s tone was cautious, his eyes darting around, glancing at him sideways: “Are you sure you want to know?”
As if asking: Are you sure you want to humiliate yourself?
Qiu Zheyan felt a pang of anxiety, pinching him under the water, grunting, and stubbornly pressing, “Tell me.”
Zhuang Hanxue grabbed his hand underwater, twisting his body in pain. “Don’t pinch me.”
He pulled his hand out of the water, letting it touch the floating, creamy white foam, and when he scratched his head, some got on his face, making him look adorable. “Let me think… How many was it… Six… seven? Hmm… I think Lanlan mentioned it too.”
Qiu Zheyan asked, “You were quite the player back then, weren’t you? A real playboy?”
Zhuang Hanxue, oblivious to the atmosphere, not only felt no shame but was rather proud. “You’re exaggerating. It was alright, nothing special. I was actually one of the better ones. My old friends were even worse.”
Zhuang Hanxue thought of his past girlfriends, slender and plump, all types, each wanting to tame him, make him settle down, be ambitious, sacrifice for family. He couldn’t do it.
He had thought dating men would avoid such situations.
Unexpectedly, Xiao Qiu wanted to marry him too.
Goodness.
Knowing that many others had been “used and discarded” by Zhuang Hanxue like himself, Qiu Zheyan felt both vindicated and more infuriated.
How many people had Zhuang Hanxue been intimate with?
Qiu Zheyan angrily gripped a certain part. “This thing of yours has really been used by many people. Maybe we should get rid of such a dirty object.”
Though soaking in warm water, Zhuang Hanxue shuddered, trembling as he asked, “W-what are you going to do?”
Qiu Zheyan held him tightly, preventing escape, and pinned him down: “What am I going to do? I’m going to fuck you until you can only sleep with me, and you won’t be able to fuck women anymore.”
…
……
…
The next day, Qiu Zheyan left home feeling refreshed.
He wanted to chain Zhuang Hanxue at home, or lock the door from the outside, change the password, so he couldn’t leave. This was the seventeenth floor; Zhuang Hanxue couldn’t escape even if he wanted to.
But upon calming down, he realized this was too much.
He didn’t do it.
Yet doing nothing made him uneasy.
It was like raising a freedom-loving cat, worrying it might escape if the door wasn’t closed properly, yet hoping for a miracle that it would choose to stay by his side.
Qiu Zheyan applied ointment to the marks he’d left yesterday.
Zhuang Hanxue flinched, seeming a bit afraid of him. Seeing him like an abused puppy, Qiu Zheyan felt heartache.
Zhuang Hanxue had only talked to some women, and Qiu Zheyan knew his intense jealousy was excessive, but last night he’d drunk too much… and Zhuang Hanxue had been tactless. He really couldn’t control himself.
Now he regretted it, both for impulsively taking Zhuang Hanxue to the gathering and for being too rough last night, as well as rashly proposing. Not only was he rejected, but he seemed to have scared Zhuang Hanxue.
His previous boyfriend, apart from being older like Zhuang Hanxue, was completely different in personality. They had sat down to seriously discuss their future, yet still didn’t work out.
He didn’t dare push Zhuang Hanxue further, feeling that if he pressed even a bit more, he’d run away.
After suppression came appeasement.
Zhuang Hanxue hid under the blanket. Qiu Zheyan hugged him, blanket and all, kissed his hair, and said sincerely, “I’m sorry, I really am. Last night was all my fault. I went too far.”
Zhuang Hanxue’s eyes were red-rimmed, genuinely frightened, looking at him timidly, “…My ass hurts. Can you not do anything to me today? Let me rest, okay?”
But even after such treatment, he didn’t show anger or sadness. It was as if he’d forgotten most of it after sleeping. If it weren’t for the pain, he might have forgotten everything completely.
Qiu Zheyan nodded. “Don’t make me angry, and I won’t touch you. Do you want to play games? I’ll play with you. What do you want to eat? I’ll take you out.”
Zhuang Hanxue wiggled in the blanket like a caterpillar, becoming happy again. “Okay, play games with me. But I don’t want to go out to eat. Let’s just order takeout. Yesterday’s outing used up my quota for going out this month.”
Previously, they rarely went out on dates on weekends.
They usually stayed home, barely clothed, engaging in intimate activities all day, quite indulgent.
Today, giving his butt a rest was quite nice.
When it came to gaming, he wasn’t tired at all. Zhuang Hanxue got up, dressed, and after breakfast, scampered to the living room, sitting cross-legged on his special wool blanket in front of the TV.
His little dog, Doudou, plopped down beside him, man and dog side by side.
Zhuang Hanxue called back, “Xiao Qiu, come play!”
Doudou panted, “Woof woof.”
Like owner, like dog.
Qiu Zheyan again thought this old man was really adorable.
After playing games for a while, Qiu Zheyan asked him, “Please don’t be afraid of me, okay? I feel really guilty now. I won’t be rough with you like that again. I won’t propose to you for now either. Don’t be scared.”
Zhuang Hanxue found his reaction somewhat baffling. “I’m not afraid of you.”
Qiu Zheyan said nothing.
Zhuang Hanxue turned to look at him.
Qiu Zheyan brooded silently, turning away. Zhuang Hanxue brought his smiling face close, reaching out to smooth the frown lines. “You’re so young, don’t furrow your brow. Look, your forehead lines and between your eyebrows are a bit deep. See, I don’t have such obvious wrinkles.”
Qiu Zheyan cupped his face, examining it. Indeed, his face still looked youthful, his features relaxed. Even without expression, he seemed to carry a hint of a smile, clearly indicating his carefree nature. They say the face reflects the heart. From about age twenty, people enter society, and after ten years, if life has been hard, the corners of the mouth and eyebrows will look bitter; if life has been good, they’ll appear likable.
Qiu Zheyan never quite understood how Zhuang Hanxue could be so happy despite living in such poverty.
Zhuang Hanxue’s eyes were bright and clear. He blinked, his eyelashes thick, black, and long.
He loved this face, yet also hated it, hated how he had become infatuated with such a carefree person. He held his face and gave him a kiss.
Zhuang Hanxue retracted his head like a turtle, alarmed. “You said you wouldn’t do anything today. Yesterday was overtime, today’s a national holiday. My butt needs a holiday too.”
Qiu Zheyan was frustrated but couldn’t hit him. “I was just kissing you. I’m not going to do anything.”
Zhuang Hanxue eyed him warily.
Zhuang Hanxue felt Qiu Zheyan wasn’t very professional as a sugar daddy. He had kept a few girls before, buying them things, and in bed, he wasn’t as rough as Qiu Zheyan. He always used protection and was gentle, never making the girls take pills. But he was a man, so there was no risk of pregnancy anyway.
However, given that his arrangement with Qiu Zheyan wasn’t a formal sugar relationship, he generously forgave Comrade Xiao Qiu.
He was naturally lazy. Though he was a man with natural desires, after the initial excitement and two years of wild fun, he felt it was just so-so, not very interesting, and quite tiring.
Now, with Qiu Zheyan, he just had to lie there. Qiu Zheyan took care of him thoroughly, which was extremely comfortable.
Now he wondered why he had been so stubborn before, how he hadn’t discovered this talent of his.
If he had tried earlier, he could have enjoyed this pleasure sooner. Why did he have to wait until now?
Although Qiu Zheyan’s proposal did trouble him… He just didn’t understand. Men and women marry to reproduce, so why should two men marry? Perhaps because Qiu Zheyan grew up abroad, male partners marrying was normal to him?
The mention of marriage made him want to flee.
It was a bit annoying.
Find a job and move out?
After experiencing the joy of being a kept man, another option emerged: maybe change sugar daddies?
Zhuang Hanxue looked at the man sitting beside him, thinking of Qiu Zheyan’s serious, almost pouty face when hugging him to sleep, and the warm smile Qiu Zheyan often showed him, softly asking, “What did you play at home today? You seem so happy.”
If he left, he’d never see this Qiu Zheyan again.
Even more annoying.
Let’s play dumb for now and enjoy this good life a bit longer.
Zhuang Hanxue thought.
The New Year period was peak season for Spring Festival films.
After the New Year holiday, Qiu Zheyan returned to work.
Bored at home, Zhuang Hanxue decided to go to the cinema to watch some new releases. He was interested in many and planned to watch one after another, easily whiling away a day.
There was a large commercial plaza near where he lived, housing the city’s biggest cinema.
Arriving at the cinema, Zhuang Hanxue found it unusually crowded, with many people wearing similar outfits. On closer inspection, he realized it was Jiang Ruoyun’s fan club uniform.
Upon asking, he learned that Jiang Ruoyun was here for a promotional tour for her new film. He knew it was her new movie but didn’t know she’d be here; he had bought tickets randomly.
Zhuang Hanxue entered the theater and found the movie quite enjoyable.
After it ended, a host emerged from backstage. All the audience stayed, the lights brightened, and the main actors came on stage.
People around him started taking photos with their phones.
Zhuang Hanxue looked around, thought for a moment, and took out his phone to snap a few pictures too.
Jiang Ruoyun smiled gently, bowing slightly to the audience, eliciting cheers from fans: “Hello everyone, I’m Jiang Ruoyun.”
She waved to the crowd and immediately spotted Zhuang Hanxue, who was grinning foolishly in the middle of the third row. It was quite a funny sight.
After the promotional event concluded, she found herself nostalgically reminiscing. She opened her contact list, and Zhuang Hanxue’s name was still quietly lying there, his profile picture surprisingly featuring Crayon Shin-chan.
She sent him a message: [It’s rare to see you. Who knows when we’ll meet next? Would you like to grab dinner together tonight? My treat!]
Three minutes later, Zhuang Hanxue replied: [Can I bring my boyfriend along?]
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