The atmosphere in the room was completely frozen. Cheng Yue lay on top of Ji Xu, afraid to move.
Ji Xu kept his eyes open, holding Cheng Yue’s waist tightly, his mind full of what Song Yi had explained about the difference between Cheng Yue’s dependency and his feelings of affection.
Is this… dependency or…
Cheng Yue couldn’t stand the quiet any longer. His face buried in Ji Xu’s chest, he spoke in a muffled voice, “I…”
“Hm?” Ji Xu held him without moving.
“I need to… need to wait a bit…” Cheng Yue managed to say, his face flushed red.
Ji Xu’s eyes were filled with suppressed laughter. After acknowledging Cheng Yue’s words, the two fell back into silence.
But this silence felt like the small bubbles that appear before water boils.
The two were so close that their breaths almost intertwined.
Cheng Yue sniffed the scent of Ji Xu’s body near his nose, pressed against Ji Xu’s warm body, and his mind uncontrollably began to wander.
For example… well-defined abs… the line extending down… and… that large bulge outlined by swim trunks…
Damn…
Cheng Yue abruptly stopped his imagination, but it was too late; the little Cheng Yue under him only grew more prominent.
“I…” Cheng Yue waited for a moment, realizing he couldn’t calm down, his throat becoming hoarse from holding back. He propped himself up, intending to get out of bed to go to the bathroom.
“It’s okay.” Ji Xu finally couldn’t hold back a low laugh, “Look at me.”
“Huh?” Cheng Yue lifted his head slightly to look at him.
“Look at me…” Ji Xu gazed at him, slowly moving his hand from Cheng Yue’s waist down, then pulling open his loose athletic pants, and his fingertips gently explored.
Cheng Yue shivered all over, his eyes wide open, instinctively clinging to Ji Xu’s shoulder, making strange noises from his throat.
Stimulated by this, Cheng Yue bit Ji Xu’s neck, leaving behind a series of muffled groans and hot breaths.
Afterward, when Cheng Yue released his bite from Ji Xu’s neck, he saw a strand of fluid connecting them.
Before his slightly hurried breathing even stopped, he frantically reached out to wipe it off Ji Xu’s neck.
“You…” Ji Xu hadn’t finished speaking when he saw Cheng Yue quickly pull off the covers and run out of bed.
“You heartless little thing.” Seeing Cheng Yue’s swiftly retreating figure, Ji Xu sighed with a smile and went to the bathroom to wash his hands.
After rinsing off and looking up, Ji Xu was momentarily stunned before realizing the reflection in the mirror was him.
The Ji Xu in the mirror was full of joy, with his eyes and brows smiling, even the corners of his eyes creased with laughter.
It was truly quite a happy moment.
When Cheng Yue entered again, he saw Ji Xu lying on the bed, reading the newly bought storybook.
“Come over and sleep,” Ji Xu said, closing the book and beckoning him.
“Okay…” Cheng Yue swallowed and almost in sync climbed into bed.
Cheng Yue thought he would have trouble sleeping that night, but as soon as he turned his head towards Ji Xu and was enveloped by Ji Xu’s scent and warmth, he fell asleep instantly.
He slept deeply, almost like passing out.
The next morning, Cheng Yue woke up to find his head nestled in Ji Xu’s shoulder, his legs squeezed between Ji Xu’s legs, and his waist tightly held by Ji Xu’s arm, with Ji Xu hugging him completely.
The position was a bit uncomfortable.
Cheng Yue frowned and moved a bit, but didn’t expect Ji Xu’s hand on his backside to suddenly give a twist.
“Ah!” Cheng Yue cried out, tears of pain coming to his eyes early in the morning.
“If you’re so restless at night…” Ji Xu’s voice was hoarse from just waking up, but his tone carried a threat and seriousness, “I’ll tie you up with ropes, round and round.”
“Did I kick around?” Cheng Yue touched his bottom, feeling a bit embarrassed.
“Did you learn that set of moves at Shaolin or Wudang?” Ji Xu released him, lifted the covers, and walked toward the bathroom.
“I didn’t realize I was moving.” Cheng Yue, still holding the covers, got up after a moment and slowly walked to the bathroom in his slippers.
“Keep your back straight.” Ji Xu patted him on the back while brushing his teeth.
Cheng Yue grinned and straightened his back, starting to brush his teeth too.
After breakfast, they sat on the couch, each doing their own thing.
Ji Xu worked on his computer, while Cheng Yue watched Ji Xu.
“Give me an hour,” Ji Xu said, not lifting his head from the computer.
“…Oh.” Cheng Yue replied, slowly shifting his gaze away from Ji Xu.
After Ji Xu finished his work, he took Cheng Yue to swim, hoping to teach him as much as he could.
But ultimately, he couldn’t teach him. They drove back in the afternoon.
Cheng Yue was so exhausted from the physical exertion that he could barely keep his eyes open.
As soon as they got off the elevator, before Ji Xu could open the door, Cheng Yue started taking off his shoes.
“Ah, ah, ah, I need to sleep.” Cheng Yue shouted as he took off his shoes and flopped onto the sofa without moving.
Ji Xu laughed, took a small blanket from the bedroom, and covered Cheng Yue’s head with it. Just as he was about to say something, his phone in his pocket rang.
Ji Xu, smiling, took a small blanket from the bedroom and covered Cheng Yue’s head with it. Just as he was about to say something, his phone in his pocket rang.
Cheng Yue shook off the blanket, wrapping himself up like a cocoon and leaving his head exposed as he smiled at Ji Xu.
While Ji Xu pulled his phone out of his pocket, he reached out and flicked Cheng Yue’s nose.
“Who’s calling?” Cheng Yue asked.
“…Hmm.” Ji Xu glanced at the phone screen, “It’s your homeroom teacher.”
“Oh.” Cheng Yue instantly lost interest and slumped back onto the sofa.
Ji Xu answered the call.
“Hello, you must be Cheng Yue’s guardian, right?” Mr. Chen’s voice came from the other end of the line.
“Yes, hello.” Ji Xu responded.
“Well, I checked Cheng Yue’s basic information. The art school he attended in the U.S. and the major he studied are quite renowned both domestically and internationally. So I suggest that if Cheng Yue is good in this area, he could pursue an art examination. I haven’t seen Cheng Yue’s artwork yet. How is he as an artist?”
Ji Xu thought of the sunflower oil painting Cheng Yue had created, which was auctioned for over 100,000 yuan. He looked at Cheng Yue, who was currently wrapped in a blanket and had just fallen off the sofa, and sighed with resignation. He replied to Mr. Chen, “He’s pretty good at it.”
“I knew he’d be good. Cheng Yue is quite diligent. His academic performance has improved rapidly. As long as one works hard, they won’t be too bad in any field. So, for the art examination, we’ll need the support of the parents…”
As Mr. Chen continued analyzing the situation, Ji Xu lifted Cheng Yue, who had fallen on the floor, and asked quietly, “Did you hurt yourself?”
Cheng Yue waved his hand, indicating he was fine, quickly got up, and started wrapping the blanket around himself again.
“Then it’s settled,” Mr. Chen said with a cheerful tone and ended the call.
After Ji Xu put his phone back in his pocket, he frowned as he looked at Cheng Yue, who was stubbornly fighting with the blanket on the sofa. He bent down, picked Cheng Yue up, and tossed him onto the bed in the bedroom, saying, “If you want to sleep, then sleep properly. If not, go downstairs and run some laps.”
Cheng Yue, startled, swallowed and obediently remained motionless, wrapped up in the blanket.
The three-day break quickly passed, and when Cheng Yue and the others returned to school, they began preparing for the academic exams. Cheng Yue felt he had done well.
Passing all the exams shouldn’t be a problem, though his language score was a bit precarious. However, he had written a very strong essay for the first time.
The topic of the essay was “The Miracle of Life,” and Ji Xu was his miracle.
That day, when Ji Xu picked Cheng Yue up from school and was about to discuss the need to focus on art exams and put academic subjects on hold, Tang Jing suddenly visited.
When Ji Xu opened the door, he saw Tang Jing’s pale face and heavy breathing, indicating he had hurried over.
“What’s wrong?” Ji Xu took the bag from Tang Jing’s hand.
“Go to the study.” Tang Jing looked at Cheng Yue, who was sitting on the sofa watching TV.
“Come in.” Ji Xu walked while opening the folder Tang Jing had handed him.
As soon as they entered the study, Tang Jing gulped down the water in his cup and started cursing, “Liang Siwei, that shameless person, approached me to throw money at me. Throwing money is one thing, but giving only 3 million is too stingy! The big diamonds I had set on my toenails a few days ago were worth more than 3 million!”
“He contacted you?” Ji Xu asked with a frown.
“Yeah.” Tang Jing’s expression changed several times before he finally sighed. “Scolding him is useless. Liang Siwei’s words are all threats. Our recent actions are likely to expose enough to put him away for the rest of his life.”
Tang Jing sighed again, “You know how he made his money. I’m afraid he might act recklessly out of desperation.”
Ji Xu’s gaze turned cold, and his tone grew stern, “If he really acts recklessly and causes trouble, he’ll end up buried in prison.”
“I’ll ask a friend at the police station to apply for protection. They’re professionals and will try to ensure your safety until the court hearing.” Tang Jing stood up, patted Ji Xu’s arm, and said, “Be careful these days. Try not to let Cheng Yue go out too.”
After discussing the matter for over an hour, Tang Jing finally left.
After seeing Tang Jing out, Ji Xu’s mood wasn’t great.
While cleaning the table, he accidentally knocked Cheng Yue’s backpack onto the floor.
Cheng Yue hadn’t used this backpack for several days. After they returned from Tang Jing’s villa that afternoon, he had left the backpack on the desk in the study.
Since Cheng Yue insisted on using the large black backpack he had used to carry towels that day, saying it was more comfortable, he hadn’t switched back.
Ji Xu picked up the backpack and accidentally touched a hard object inside. He felt it was a hard box, so he unzipped the backpack and took out the item.
The item was a small, black, flat box, looking quite delicate and pretty, clearly a gift box chosen by a young girl.
Ji Xu squinted, opened the lid, and found a bunch of oddly shaped chocolates inside, with a note placed in the middle.
After reading the note quickly, Ji Xu stared at the chocolates for a while before taking the items into the kitchen.
He used a small pot, typically used for heating milk, turned on the stove, and slowly melted the oddly shaped chocolates, piece by piece.
The rich chocolate aroma soon spread. Cheng Yue, sitting in the living room watching TV, was attracted by the scent.
“Making chocolate?” Cheng Yue came over to Ji Xu’s side, curious and unaware of what was to come.
“Mm.” Ji Xu replied and, after checking the temperature of the melted chocolate with his fingertip, smiled slightly.
