“What’s wrong?” Cheng Yue, seeing Ji Xu suddenly stop moving while crouching in front of the wardrobe, got out of bed, placed the milk cup on the nightstand, and walked over, feeling a bit dizzy. “Still haven’t found my clothes…”
Cheng Yue’s words trailed off when he saw what Ji Xu was holding. His voice abruptly stopped.
In that instant, many thoughts flashed through Cheng Yue’s mind.
For example: What if Ji Xu discovered the dress he bought… No, he bought this dress to give to Ji Xu… Ji Xu should really like this dress… So how should he bring it up… How did he forget to give it yesterday… Better to give it now than not at all!
A second later, Cheng Yue gathered his courage and took a deep breath, trying to encourage himself. He straightened up and took a deep breath before speaking.
Ji Xu, seeing Cheng Yue approach, stood up with the silk in his hand.
Cheng Yue, halfway through his breath, found Ji Xu suddenly much taller and was momentarily stunned. “Uh… this… this…”
Ji Xu, feeling the smooth texture of the silk between his fingers, was reminded of Cheng Yue’s warm waist from the previous day in the bathroom.
Seeing that Ji Xu was silent, Cheng Yue, even more flustered, stumbled over his words.
“Give… give…”
“You bought this?” Ji Xu asked, taking a step closer.
“…Ah.”
Cheng Yue, feeling a bit guilty, nodded. Seeing Ji Xu approach him step by step, he began to retreat in a panic.
“When did you buy it?” Ji Xu continued walking forward, pulling the silk open.
“Um… the day before yesterday…” Cheng Yue, having retreated halfway, tripped over something behind him and fell onto the bed, bouncing a bit.
Cheng Yue’s eyes flashed with panic. He quickly tried to push himself up.
“Why did you buy it?”
Ji Xu didn’t give him a chance to get up, bending down, pressing his shoulder with one hand, and pushing him back onto the bed.
“Give… give it to you…” Cheng Yue, being pressed down, found it hard to breathe.
“Give it to me?”
Ji Xu looked down at him, then glanced at the silk in his hand and suddenly asked, “How do you wear this?”
“It’s like this.” Seeing Ji Xu’s interest, Cheng Yue perked up and, no longer afraid, began tying the silk around his own wrists. “Look, there are many ways to wear it, and the shopkeeper gave me a card with lots of diagrams showing different ways to wear it. They all look pretty good.”
“Is that so?” Ji Xu asked, slowly and carefully wrapping the other end of the silk around Cheng Yue’s ankles.
Cheng Yue was taken aback when his legs were spread apart and stared blankly as Ji Xu skillfully wrapped the silk around him.
Ji Xu lifted him slightly, wrapped the silk around his abdomen, then his neck, and finally tied a perfect knot with the silk on his hands and ankles.
“It seems… not quite like this…” Cheng Yue, having to maintain his position and almost kneeling on the bed, said.
“Maybe you should check the card, I think…”
“No need.” Ji Xu was very satisfied with his work. “This is how it’s tied.”
Cheng Yue, unable to move, looked at Ji Xu with daring eyes and carefully asked, “Can I tie you up like this?”
“Me?” Ji Xu raised an eyebrow.
Seeing Ji Xu’s expression, Cheng Yue knew it was impossible, sighed, and stopped speaking.
Ji Xu looked at Cheng Yue with his eyes closed and tied to the bed and felt that this carrot needed to be pulled, even if it shouldn’t be.
“Ji Xu.” Cheng Yue suddenly called out with his eyes still closed.
“Hmm?” Ji Xu looked at Cheng Yue, who seemed completely unaware of the world, and felt a pang of softness in his heart.
He thought it would be better to wait until the carrot was ripe and sweeter.
At this moment, he couldn’t remember that he didn’t like sweets and was worried that the dessert wouldn’t be enough for him.
“Are you…” Cheng Yue gritted his teeth.
“What is it?” Ji Xu slowly began to untie the silk, noticing the red marks on Cheng Yue’s wrists with some frustration. The binding wasn’t tight, and the silk was so soft that there were still many marks.
“It’s nothing…” Cheng Yue didn’t ask and quietly sighed, turning over and burying his face in the blanket.
“Get up for breakfast.” Ji Xu gave his soft backside a pat. “If you get a hundred on your exam, I’ll let you tie me up.”
“Really!” Cheng Yue jumped up from the bed with shining eyes and looked at Ji Xu.
Ji Xu smiled and turned to leave the room.
Knowing that Ji Xu always kept his promises, Cheng Yue, after Ji Xu’s figure disappeared from sight, immediately bounced on the bed several times with excitement and then jumped off to the bathroom.
While peeing, Cheng Yue was thinking about which subject was easier to score a hundred on when suddenly Ji Xu’s smile flashed through his mind.
As Cheng Yue recalled that smile, he slowly realized something, and the excitement on his face suddenly turned into a stiff expression.
What exam was he going to take!
When would he have the chance to take an exam, except for the high school entrance exam months away…
No wonder Ji Xu agreed so quickly!
After breakfast, Cheng Yue wanted to protest about the matter with Ji Xu but was instead pulled to do a few worksheets. After finishing the worksheets, just as he was about to bring up the issue again, he was forced to start memorizing texts.
Finally done with memorizing, Cheng Yue said nothing and just looked at Ji Xu with longing eyes.
“All right, go watch TV.” Ji Xu smiled and flicked his nose.
That day, when the professor who had seen Cheng Yue’s painting contacted Ji Xu, Ji Xu was having tea with Cheng Yue’s homeroom teacher, discussing matters related to art exams and academic issues.
After receiving the call, Ji Xu asked Teacher Chen about the professor’s name, as they were colleagues.
Ji Xu did not expect that Teacher Chen would give this professor a very high assessment. According to Teacher Chen, this professor’s reputation and skill in the art world were almost at the level of a master.
After finishing, Teacher Chen sighed, praising Cheng Yue for being particularly excellent. He then excitedly pulled out a stack of test papers from his bag. “You still can’t slack off in your cultural studies, otherwise, it’ll be very tiring to catch up on grades when you enter your senior year.”
After saying goodbye to Teacher Chen, Ji Xu sent several of Cheng Yue’s recent drawings to the professor, as requested.
So, when Ji Xu returned home that day, Cheng Yue received a large stack of test papers.
Weeks passed by, and Cheng Yue’s worried frown while doing the tests gradually eased.
During this period, Ji Xu was very busy with work. However, since Cheng Yue’s condition had improved a lot, he stayed at the office slightly longer than usual.
Because Tang Jing had been forced to go on a blind date arranged by his parents, Ji Xu had to handle all the matters at the office alone.
One day, after finishing a meeting about a case, Tang Jing called.
Ji Xu was organizing documents on his desk while answering the phone.
“Hey Ji Xu! There’s something!” Tang Jing’s voice was very loud on the other end of the line.
Ji Xu frowned and held the phone away from his ear.
“After the old professor saw the other paintings Cheng Yue did, he said he thought they were pretty good! He’s in our city today for an event and said he’d come by to meet Cheng Yue!” Tang Jing’s voice kept fading in and out, mixed with background noise and music.
“Weren’t you supposed to be on a blind date? Why is it so noisy?” Ji Xu managed to understand the main point from Tang Jing’s loud explanation and asked, “Has the professor set a time? When is he coming?”
“Huh? What? I’m on a blind date! The girl my mom introduced is a cellist, and she’s quite graceful! I didn’t even want to meet her! You know how much I dislike elegance! I couldn’t refuse, and when I met her, I found out she’s now working as a bartender! She’s so skilled and cool with those cocktail shakers, I couldn’t take my eyes off her!”
Tang Jing shouted as he walked toward the restroom. Once it quieted down, he sighed with relief and continued, “I gave the professor your address, and he said it’s close to him, so he decided to come over. You should be at home with Cheng Yue now, right?”
Ji Xu frowned, and just as he was about to say something, Tang Jing yelled again.
“Isn’t Cheng Yue planning to go the art exam route? This professor’s credentials are top-notch in major art schools!” Tang Jing’s voice was still loud and unresolved.
“If Cheng Yue catches his eye and becomes his student, with just one recommendation letter from him, Cheng Yue’s grades won’t matter for getting into any school!”
Ji Xu’s heart skipped a beat, and he quickly asked, “When did the professor say he would visit in person?”
“Ten minutes ago!” Tang Jing shouted. “What’s up? Where are you?”
“I just finished a meeting. What do you expect me to be doing?” Ji Xu couldn’t control his volume and hung up the phone, quickly heading toward his office.
Cheng Yue’s temper had indeed improved recently, but while he was well-behaved in front of Ji Xu, he still had a dismissive attitude towards others. Even Tang Jing, who was quite familiar with Cheng Yue, sometimes felt frustrated by his attitude.
That old professor…
Ji Xu rubbed his forehead, grabbed his car keys, and rushed home.
At home, Cheng Yue was digging into some ice cream and working on computer test papers sent by Song Yi.
When the doorbell rang, he thought Ji Xu had returned early. He bounced from the sofa with a smile and ran to the door.
Opening the door, he found not Ji Xu, but an elderly man in a Zhongshan suit. The old man’s smile instantly vanished.
“You…” The elderly man in the Zhongshan suit started to speak but was interrupted by Cheng Yue.
“I don’t want insurance.” Cheng Yue, already in a bad mood from not seeing Ji Xu, mistook the old man in the Zhongshan suit, holding a leather bag, for an insurance salesman.
“Insurance?” The old man looked puzzled, then reached into his bag to take out something.
“I’m not interested in sales.” Cheng Yue forced a smile and shut the door.
The renowned professor in Zhongshan suit never expected to be treated like this during his visit. Watching the door close, his hand holding the business card started to tremble.
As soon as Cheng Yue closed the door and returned to the sofa, his phone on the coffee table rang.
He glanced at it and immediately answered when he saw it was Ji Xu calling.
“Did someone come by?” Ji Xu immediately asked as soon as the call connected. “There’s a professor coming today, and I forgot to tell you.”
“No, no one came.” Cheng Yue, after answering, remembered the old man he had just turned away and smiled.
“But an insurance salesman came earlier, and I didn’t let him in…”
“Cheng Yue.” Ji Xu, rubbing his forehead, entered the elevator. “Let him in.”
“Why?” Cheng Yue was confused. “I don’t need insurance.”
Ji Xu: “…”
“Open the door. I’m at the door.” Ji Xu suddenly said.
This time, Cheng Yue was stunned.
Author’s Note:
Well… I guess I’ve decided on this scene for today… (I revised the skirt part a lot. After typing it out, I saw it wouldn’t work, and it would definitely get locked… Sigh, Jinjiang* is really strict.)
*T/N: The original raw site where they publish stories
I’m not sure if you want to see Ji Xu being tied up, haha, but I suddenly thought of a scene.
Tied-up Ji Xu, ordering Cheng Yue: “Sit down and move by yourself.”
Hahaha, I’m laughing.
Thank you so much for your support, dear readers!
