Shortly after dinner, the guests gradually dispersed. After seeing them off, Ji Xun returned to the room to face Huo Ranyin, the curve at the corners of his lips unable to be suppressed any longer.
“I think they all know.”
“Know what?”
Huo Ranyin was lazily reclining on the sofa. Ji Xun bypassed him and snuggled into the other side of the sofa.
“Know about our relationship.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Super simple deduction,” Ji Xun said. “We renovated the place. There are two rooms in the house, yet still only one bed. Plus, I didn’t close the doors to the study or the bedroom. With people coming and going, it was bound to be seen. Don’t you think they’d figure it out?”
Huo Ranyin remained noncommittal, though his gaze lingered a moment longer on the curled corners of Ji Xun’s mouth.
Then, he turned his eyes toward the rest of the apartment.
“How does it feel?” Ji Xun followed Huo Ranyin’s line of sight around the room.
“A bit unfamiliar,” Huo Ranyin replied.
A freshly renovated place was indeed somewhat unfamiliar.
During this hospital stay, neither he nor Huo Ranyin had been home, leaving the apartment completely vacant.
So, Ji Xun had discussed it with Huo Ranyin: taking advantage of this period to implement a few layout ideas they had previously planned but never found the time to execute. They hired workers to make simple modifications to the kitchen, living room, and study.
The wall between the kitchen and living room was opened up. The traditional dining table was removed and replaced with a multifunctional kitchen island designed for both dining and working. The bookshelves from the study were moved into the living room, while the study was refitted with a full wall of wardrobes—half serving as Huo Ranyin’s walk-in closet, while the other half retained a desk, giving Huo Ranyin a private space whenever he needed to work on confidential cases.
Huo Ranyin had raised no objections to any of Ji Xun’s other designs.
He had made only a single modification.
He replaced the single-person desk in the study with a double desk.
“It really is a bit unfamiliar,” Ji Xun agreed. “But we’ll get used to it after looking at it a few more times.”
Huo Ranyin didn’t answer. He nudged his champagne glass with a fingertip, pushing it lazily and contentedly.
A night breeze drifted in, carrying away the last lingering aroma of food. As the crowd departed, the unfamiliarity dissolved, and the apartment became their home once more.
In all the world, a nest exclusively theirs to rest in and lean on together.
A gentle breeze stirred outside as stars twinkled across the deep blue night sky—glimmering much like Huo Ranyin’s eyes as he looked over.
“What are you looking at me for?” Ji Xun chuckled. Their conversation tonight lacked logic, leaping casually from topic to topic.
But it didn’t matter. When lovers talked, they simply voiced whatever crossed their minds.
“Looking at how handsome you are,” Huo Ranyin said lazily.
“I’ll accept that compliment without modesty,” Ji Xun exhaled a quiet breath. “A blessing in disguise—no missing arms or legs, and my face didn’t get ruined.”
Huo Ranyin let out a low snort of amusement.
He lifted his champagne glass. The golden liquid inside looked like crushed stardust, reflecting onto Huo Ranyin’s cheek and accentuating the mole at the corner of his eye, making his profile gleam as pale and clear as the moon in the night.
“Having stared at me for so long, is there anything you want to say to me?” Huo Ranyin asked.
“Mm… yes,” Ji Xun replied. “Next time, I won’t let you beat me to it.”
“Besides that?”
“Huh?” Ji Xun’s thoughts were still largely focused on Huo Ranyin’s semi-public acknowledgment of their relationship, so he failed to immediately grasp the deeper meaning behind Huo Ranyin’s words.
The corner of Huo Ranyin’s eye twitched slightly. He fixed his gaze on Ji Xun for a few seconds before standing up from the sofa.
“Where are you going?” Ji Xun asked hastily.
“To take a shower.” Huo Ranyin didn’t turn back, merely tossing a casual remark over his shoulder, adding a counter-question: “What, still afraid I’ll suddenly vanish in our own home?”
Huo Ranyin had used “home,” not “your place.”
Noticing this subtle detail, Ji Xun felt immensely satisfied.
Finding it boring to sit alone in the living room, Ji Xun stood up shortly after Huo Ranyin entered the bathroom and headed back to the bedroom.
The entire bedroom now held only a single two-meter king-size bed, dressed in dark navy satin bedding.
Maintaining his satisfied expression, Ji Xun swept his eyes over the neatly made bed. However, after spending so much time sleeping in the hospital recently, he had no desire to turn in so early. Picking up a book at random, he sat down on the bay window bench to pass the time.
Until a wave of warm steam carrying a subtle fragrance suddenly washed over his nose.
Ji Xun raised his head from the book.
Huo Ranyin had already changed into pajamas, entering the room and standing before the wardrobe.
Closing the book upside down, Ji Xun stood up from the bay window seat and said to Huo Ranyin: “All washed up? You’ve had a busy few days; let’s get some early rest…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Ji Xun was pushed right back down onto the bay window seat by Huo Ranyin.
He drew a sharp, quiet breath—not because his injuries were bumped, but because of how close Huo Ranyin was to him.
“Before resting, we have accounts to settle,” Huo Ranyin said in a slow, melodic voice.
“Settle… what accounts?”
“For instance…” Huo Ranyin offered an example, “settling the account for you having Tan Mingjiu deny our relationship?”
“That was just to…”
“To get rid of me?” Huo Ranyin let out a nasal hum. “Hmm?”
Ji Xun felt something sliding across his wrist. Straining to tear his eyes away from Huo Ranyin, he cast an absentminded glance downward and caught sight of a dark leather belt.
The belt was already looped around his left wrist, looking as though it desperately wanted to bind his hand to something nearby.
Huo Ranyin’s long, pale fingertips tapped lightly against the leather belt.
His gaze followed his fingers down, carrying a trace of deliberation as it traveled from Ji Xun’s shoulder all the way down to his left hand.
“That’s a pretty severe injury.”
“Actually, I’ve really mostly recovered.”
Ji Xun spoke with complete sincerity, but Huo Ranyin entirely ignored Ji Xun’s personal opinion, tapping the belt once more with his finger.
“Binding you like this would hurt, wouldn’t it?”
“…”
“Then let’s do it this way.”
Huo Ranyin leaned down and dropped a soft kiss onto Ji Xun’s injured shoulder.
“…Don’t move,” he smiled gently, his eyes curved like peach blossom petals glistening with moisture. “You promised to listen to me.”
“I did say that…” Ji Xun felt his breathing turn ragged. “But this right now…”
“You also said you wouldn’t lie to me again,” Huo Ranyin added lazily.
“I can definitely do that one,” Ji Xun offered quickly.
Yet Huo Ranyin gave him a sidelong glance for two seconds before abruptly letting out a quiet, mocking laugh.
He said with a wicked edge: “I don’t want to.”
“Ji Xun, do you think I’m stupid?”
“…I don’t.”
“Incapable of seeing through your lies?” Huo Ranyin said. “Do I need to live inside an unyielding, un-flippable truth just to feel secure?”
“…”
Ji Xun understood.
Tonight, it was best for him not to blurt out responses recklessly.
Perhaps because it was May, the weather was simply too warm.
Even though he desperately wanted to figure out what Huo Ranyin truly meant, still—
Still, his entire attention remained completely fixed on Huo Ranyin under the moonlight: on his lowered eyelashes and those deep crimson, full lips.
Those lips pressed onto his.
Ji Xun swallowed down a surge of sweet, intoxicating honey.
Their lips parted.
The curtains on the bay window were drawn, yet faint, scattered traces of light and distant, muffled sounds still seeped in through unseen crevices.
Ji Xun’s gaze traveled downward along Huo Ranyin’s cheek, landing on his loosely tied pajama top. The sash was already unraveled without even needing to be pulled, allowing one angular shoulder to slide out from within the fabric.
It was not entirely unblemished.
It was marked with various scars from over the years.
Ji Xun pressed gentle kisses onto those scars, kissing the unyielding bones beneath them.
“…Here? Won’t it be uncomfortable?”
“What on earth makes you think you can make demands tonight?” Huo Ranyin retorted. “You can only accept it, endure it—because this is my…”
A wicked smile bloomed once more at the corners of Huo Ranyin’s mouth.
“…punishment. My discipline.”
“Remember it well: your left hand isn’t allowed to move…”
The bedroom bay window bench was somewhat narrow, but it seemed to be just enough space.
As those words were spoken, Huo Ranyin felt a scorching heat press firmly against his thigh.
He flicked his tongue over his lips and brushed his thigh against that spot, instantly sensing an even more astonishing shape and heat piercing through his clothing, pressing straight against his skin. Elevating his body slightly without bothering with Ji Xun’s shirt, he pulled down the trousers that stood between them.
An impressive size sprang free from within.
“You really can’t wait… What, does doing it like this tonight excite you that much?” Huo Ranyin let out a low laugh, then lowered himself down.
Only when that familiar, long-sought-after tightness enveloped him did he realize that under Huo Ranyin’s loose robe, he was wearing absolutely nothing at all.
“Haah—”
The dual impact on both body and mind forced Ji Xun to draw in a sharp, helpless breath.
His hands couldn’t move, and his body was pinned down by Huo Ranyin. At this moment, the only thing free was his lips and tongue. The desire inside him surged like an unbroken beast smashing against its cage, intent on breaking free, yet when manifested into physical action, it proved impossibly tender and lingering.
He used the tips of his teeth to lightly graze Huo Ranyin’s neck, then sucked gently, helping the man whose body had suddenly tensed up to gradually relax.
“I think…” Ji Xun rasped, “you should add a bit more lubricant.”
“I don’t need you to teach me. You don’t have the right to give orders right now,” Huo Ranyin snorted softly. “Did you think I didn’t use any? Or… do you want to watch me lubricate myself for you?”
“…” Ji Xun was visually stimulated by the mental picture Huo Ranyin described.
His desire expanded a few notches further—expanding so much that Huo Ranyin couldn’t take it, tensing his shoulders and back as he cursed softly under his breath.
“I misspoke,” Ji Xun’s voice turned low and raspy. “I should have said… add a little bit more.”
He let out a low laugh.
“It seems you didn’t add enough. Is it because it’s been too long, and you miscalculated my size?”
Huo Ranyin’s ears flared bright crimson, standing out with striking intensity against his cool, white skin.
“So what if you’re big?” Huo Ranyin muttered, unconsciously biting his lip as he tried his best to relax his body, lowering himself a bit further down.
Ji Xun’s heat penetrated two-thirds of the way into his body.
Even at just this depth, Huo Ranyin was already pushed to his limits. The pajama robe he wore had completely slipped off at some point, pooling between his legs.
His upper torso was entirely bare, as large patches of flush began to spread across his skin, as if flowers of passion were blooming beneath his surface.
His mouth parted slightly against his control. Despite his fierce efforts to suppress it, soft pants leaked out unconsciously, offering a fleeting glimpse of his crimson tongue inside.
A sheen of moisture surfaced in his eyes, the floating shimmer softening his usually cold, obsidian pupils… The fingers of both his hands curled in helplessly, grasping blindly for something to hold… wanting to hold onto Ji Xun.
His fingers brushed against Ji Xun’s clothing, yet stubbornly pulled back a moment later, sliding past the leather belt loop bound around Ji Xun’s hand, before finally clutching tight to the bay window cushion.
He drew a deep breath, relaxing his body with everything he had, laboriously swallowing the last remaining inch into himself, bit by bit.
By the time they were completely joined together, the moisture in Huo Ranyin’s eyes had nearly turned into actual tears.
With tears hovering in his eyes, Huo Ranyin looked almost on the verge of collapsing, yet he still cast a triumphant glare at Ji Xun, as if saying…
I can do it fine without your help.
Shimmering droplets hovered precariously in Huo Ranyin’s eye sockets.
Ji Xun suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to kiss Huo Ranyin. But in this posture, he could barely manage it.
He drew two ragged breaths and whispered in a low voice: “Good brother…”
Perhaps it truly had been too long, or perhaps the human body could never truly adapt entirely to the intrusion of another. When Ji Xun was completely buried inside him, Huo Ranyin felt ready to break.
He felt as though he were being ground down, squeezed, filled to the brim with water, and then violently shaken.
Yet the most maddening part wasn’t any of that—the most maddening part was that Ji Xun was still pleading with him.
“Good brother… I can’t take it anymore. Good brother, move a little for me, won’t you? Take pity on me…”
Huo Ranyin felt his cheeks burning in waves.
When he was being serious, Ji Xun’s mouth was never this sweet.
The man’s voice bored into his ears like an irresistible spell. It carried a wet sound… Where was that wet sound coming from? In any case, that wet sound was licking at his ear canal.
He wanted to move as well, but his body was completely limp and weak, and his mind was a tangled mess, even though they had barely just begun… Straining to prop himself up slightly, Ji Xun suddenly thrust upward.
It felt as though his nerves had been stripped bare of all bodily protection, subjected to raw, direct stimulation—
Huo Ranyin’s spine arched instantly from the intense shock. Before a groan could escape, he bit down hard on his lower lip, biting so forcefully it seemed he might break the skin, barely managing to suppress the overflowing blend of pain and pleasure.
“Why aren’t you speaking?”
Ji Xun lightly touched Huo Ranyin’s lips, once after another.
Just like his body, moving rhythmically once after another, impaling that warm, soft, wet tightness.
“I want to hear you speak…”
He kissed Huo Ranyin’s lips, tracing the exquisite shape of his mouth bit by bit.
“To hear you pant, to hear you groan, to hear you scold me… Just hearing your voice feels like it could bring me to climax…”
Huo Ranyin was glaring at him again.
However, the teeth biting down hard on his lower lip finally loosened, allowing blood to rush back into his lips, making them look even more vivid and bruised than before from the torment.
He lowered his head. The hands gripping the cushion loosened, resting first beside Ji Xun’s head before cupping Ji Xun’s face, extending his tongue to lick Ji Xun’s lips… before finally commanding:
“…Kiss me.”
“Alright.”
To hear a command was to obey it.
Ji Xun kissed Huo Ranyin, kissing him without restraint—kissing his firm, cold jaw, kissing his cool lips, then levering open his mouth to tangle fiercely with his tongue, binding him tightly, letting Huo Ranyin entangle him just as completely.
His left hand, loosely bound by the belt, simultaneously caressed Huo Ranyin’s waist.
A waist that appeared all the slenderer against the backdrop of the crumpled robe.
Yet the moment he touched it, Huo Ranyin’s hand caught his.
Even though he was already bearing the thrusts to his absolute limit, Huo Ranyin could still detect this faint touch. Huo Ranyin’s trembling hand seized Ji Xun’s, though several times it nearly slid off Ji Xun’s palm:
“I said… ah… no moving… This is… punishment…”
“It’s my fault,” Ji Xun admitted obediently. “I broke the rule… So, is there a new punishment?”
“P-punishment…”
Huo Ranyin’s voice was already trembling uncontrollably.
In a posture like this, where no other part of the body could exert force, all strength and sensory awareness were concentrated entirely at the point where their bodies joined… leaving both his physical self and his mind completely beyond his own control.
Without him realizing when, the uncomfortable pain had vanished.
Vanished without a trace.
Nothing remained but pleasure—an overwhelming, drowning pleasure that washed over him wave after wave.
He felt the most sensitive spot deep inside him trembling. He wanted Ji Xun to slam into that spot, yet he was terrified… filled with dread…
What was Ji Xun asking him?
He felt dazed and incoherent.
“Punish you… punish you to… bite me…”
This time, he didn’t move his body again. His hyper-sensitive body felt as though even the slightest movement would cause a total collapse.
He pressed Ji Xun’s head down against his chest.
They were already completely united, yet he still wanted to be closer, even closer—
When Ji Xun pressed flush against him, taking the crest on his chest into his mouth, the heat buried deep within his body thrust heavily against his most sensitive spot.
“—!”
When the blinding white light finally dissolved from before his eyes, his consciousness—having practically broken free of its physical shell to soar through the air—reluctantly returned to his body. Only then did he belatedly realize that the length inside him was still hard.
Huo Ranyin wanted to continue, but his body was completely steeped in total exhaustion. He tried twice, but found himself utterly unable to move a single inch on his own strength alone.
“Ji—”
He called out a name, only to realize his voice was impossibly hoarse, barely forming coherent syllables.
“What is it?” Ji Xun asked.
“You… do it yourself…”
“I’m listening to you,” Ji Xun smiled softly. “I’m not moving.”
You bastard…
Huo Ranyin wanted desperately to glare at him with force, but his glare was nothing more than a limp, feeble glance. He shook his head powerlessly and bit his tongue, rasping: “Go—go to the bed.”
Saying this, he pushed himself up. As the length buried inside him slid free, the intense residual waves of climax caused his hyper-sensitive body to nearly release a second time.
“Alright.”
Ji Xun agreed with effortless ease.
Yet Huo Ranyin had no idea how he managed to walk from the bay window over to the bed.
His legs felt as soft as noodles, every step feeling as though he were treading on cotton. Stumbling along, he somehow managed not to fall. The moment his back and arms touched the mattress, he let out a long sigh, feeling as though there could be no harder moment than this—
Ji Xun pressed down on him from behind.
Huo Ranyin, who was nearly limp on the bed, instantly snapped awake, straining to push his body up: “Don’t… not this posture.”
“You seem to really dislike this posture.”
“I can’t even see your face…” Huo Ranyin sneered unyieldingly, “What kind of punishment is that…”
This time, Ji Xun couldn’t help Huo Ranyin. Huo Ranyin supported himself, turning over to change postures, making a complete mess of the neatly made sheets and bedding in the process.
He lay atop them, his unclad body like a rare treasure displayed upon dark navy silk.
The flush behind his ears had already spread across his cheeks, but Huo Ranyin didn’t close his eyes. He kept them wide open, proactively parting his legs to wrap them around Ji Xun’s waist. Hooking Ji Xun down toward him, he blinked away physiological tears, his water-washed eyes staring unblinkingly at Ji Xun—gazing at the lines of Ji Xun’s face, which were far tighter than usual.
Gazing at the beads of sweat sliding down along Ji Xun’s temples and neck.
Desire wasn’t just pooling inside his own body; it was building inside Ji Xun’s as well.
He saw the faded smile on Ji Xun’s face and the intense focus in his eyes.
He saw Ji Xun completely enraptured by him, head over heels.
Ji Xun drew a deep breath, burying himself entirely into Huo Ranyin’s body.
The warm, wet tightness enveloped him heavily. He rode with fierce momentum, this time using his hand—still bound with the belt—to firmly clasp Huo Ranyin’s waist, until desire could no longer be contained, bursting through the dam like a raging flood, tossing Huo Ranyin right back up into the clouds.
The officers of the Second Detachment in Ning City were quite surprised to discover that their Captain Huo seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood this morning—so radiant that he actually offered a rare, pleasant smile to everyone he encountered.
And once Captain Huo’s face wasn’t set in a cold, icy expression, its sheer lethal charm was simply too overwhelming—so much so that every elderly uncle, aunt, older sister, and brother who visited the station that day wanted Captain Huo to help solve their issues.
In less than a day, Captain Huo had seemingly become the most popular figure in the entire department.
And right now, this hugely popular Captain Huo was sitting in his private office, utilizing a brief lunch break to let his high-intensity mind relax and wander after a packed morning.
Unsurprisingly, his wandering thoughts drifted right onto Ji Xun.
He still remembered Ji Xun’s hesitant, wanting-to-speak-yet-stopping expression when he left the apartment this morning… and, of course, he remembered Ji Xun’s enraptured, intoxicated state last night.
That look…
It had truly pleased Huo Ranyin to the core.
So much so that even now, whenever Huo Ranyin recalled it even slightly, he could feel the deep-seated joy in his mind being reawakened all over again.
His thoughts drifted further.
Unconsciously flicking through his phone, opening and closing several apps, he somehow opened the home surveillance feed, which suddenly popped up on his screen.
Because his mind was too unfocused, Huo Ranyin took a few delayed beats to realize what it was.
It was the surveillance installed during the apartment renovation.
When the apartment was being renovated, neither he nor Ji Xun had the spare time to keep an eye on things in person, so they had installed cameras at home to supervise the workers remotely.
However, once the cameras were set up, he had never opened the monitoring app on his phone even once.
He believed Ji Xun hadn’t either.
He hadn’t expected that the first time he’d open the surveillance feed would be right now.
He intended to close it, but just at that moment, Ji Xun walked into the camera’s field of view.
At first glance of Ji Xun, Huo Ranyin’s brows knitted slightly.
Ji Xun’s hair was still a bit messy, and his walk was a slow, shuffling drag—completely devoid of energy.
Ji Xun didn’t seem to be as happy as he was.
He had assumed that after last night, Ji Xun would be feeling thoroughly relaxed even when alone.
Huo Ranyin, who was about to close the feed, hesitated and didn’t shut down the app right away.
Carrying a hint of guilty curiosity, he silently observed Ji Xun through an eye Ji Xun was completely unaware of.
He saw Ji Xun pace around the living room—one lap, then another.
Then, he collapsed face-down on the sofa, lost in deep thought.
His mouth moved as if speaking, but there was no second person in the room, nor was he holding a phone or wearing headphones. He wasn’t talking to anyone else; he was talking to himself.
What on earth is Ji Xun thinking about?
What else could be troubling him this deeply even now?
Huo Ranyin wondered silently.
After lying on the sofa for about ten minutes, Ji Xun stood back up.
He paced around the living room once more before walking over to the kitchen island. He sat down at the island, staring blankly out the window.
Ji Xun was still muttering to himself.
However, Ji Xun wasn’t facing the camera directly, so Huo Ranyin couldn’t catch his lip movements with absolute certainty. After analyzing it for a long time, he could only decipher two words with reasonable certainty—words that appeared with high frequency on Ji Xun’s lips.
“Almond” (Xingren)…
“Future” (Xihou)…
What does that mean?
No matter how Huo Ranyin turned it over in his mind, he couldn’t figure out an explanation.
Just then, Ji Xun stood up from the island again. This time, he lay flat directly on the cold tile floor.
Huo Ranyin’s eyelid twitched.
Looking at the man whose bandages were mostly still intact, he couldn’t help grinding his teeth in frustration.
Ji Xun let out a sigh.
Staring straight at the ceiling, he opened his mouth once more. This time, he formed a lip movement he hadn’t made before.
A three-character lip shape.
Watching the movement of his lips, Huo Ranyin suddenly realized—
“Huo Ranyin.”
That lip shape was…
“Huo Ranyin.”
“Almond” (Xingren) $\rightarrow$ “Trust” (Xinren)
“Future” (Xihou) $\rightarrow$ “Afterward” (Yihou)
“Huo Ranyin”
“Huo Ranyin”
“Afterward”
“Trust”
Huo Ranyin suddenly recalled last night in the living room, under the night breeze, when alcohol had left him pleasantly tipsy. He had offered a stepping stone, hoping Ji Xun would speak up.
Yet Ji Xun hadn’t seemed to realize it.
It was somewhat strange—Ji Xun, who was usually so sharp, had somehow played the fool at that crucial moment.
He wasn’t entirely sure whether the man was truly confused or just pretending to be.
However, he knew that throughout this period, Ji Xun had indeed been constantly anxious, his mind swayed by every subtle shift in Huo Ranyin’s emotions…
He had been pondering it, too.
Perhaps Ji Xun was preparing something.
If Ji Xun had guessed his intention yesterday and walked down the step he provided, he probably would have been quite happy.
But Ji Xun hadn’t walked down that step—and Huo Ranyin… was actually quite happy as well.
Now he saw it.
Ji Xun was earnestly preparing, earnestly rehearsing how to apologize to him and ask for his forgiveness.
Regarding that matter, Huo Ranyin no longer genuinely harbored doubts about trust. The trust he had once questioned had already been given its ultimate answer by Ji Xun out in the open sea.
Therefore, actually witnessing how deeply the other person still cared, how nervous he was—a rush of unshielded joy, far greater than anticipated, surged fiercely into his mind.
Huo Ranyin covered his face with his jacket.
Afraid that too much happiness might spill out too easily.
