After all the commotion, the two of them quietly finished their meal.
Yan Xun cleaned up the table and, under Chu Tingyun’s guidance, put the used dishes into the dishwasher.
“Hey, press that button.”
Ding——
With a soft sound, the dishwasher, the pinnacle of human technological brilliance, began to glow and heat up.
Yan Xun thought, this rental house is indeed nice. Although the decor looks a bit old, the furniture, appliances, and kitchenware are all complete and new.
“I’m going to take a shower first.”
Chu Tingyun’s tone was so natural that Yan Xun, who was crouching on the ground observing the dishwasher, instinctively nodded.
“Okay.”
Once he spoke, he realized what was happening.
But by then, President Chu had already gone back to the bedroom, grabbed his pajamas, and headed to the bathroom to shower.
Thud.
The bathroom door closed from the inside, and soon, the sound of running water could be heard.
“…”
Yan Xun blinked slowly. The slight amount of alcohol made his brain work a bit sluggishly, and it was only now that he belatedly realized that tonight, he might have to share a bed with Chu Tingyun.
Realizing this, Yan Xun suddenly felt a bit nervous.
He stood in the kitchen for a while, then wandered around the living room and study a couple of times. Finally, he went to the bedroom and changed the bedding.
After finishing all this, Yan Xun went to sit in the study, and after a long wait, the person in the bathroom finally came out slowly.
Chu Tingyun knocked on the study door, pushed it open, and saw the young man sitting upright, staring intently at the computer screen. Yan Xun heard the sound and looked up at the doorway.
The man was wearing black long-sleeved pajamas, seemingly made of silk. The material was light and close-fitting, but the buttons were all properly fastened.
He leaned slightly against the door frame, and the lines from his neck to his shoulders looked particularly graceful in the warm light.
“Busy?”
Yan Xun: “No… just checking the news.”
Checking the news?
“Is that so.”
This answer made Chu Tingyun want to laugh. He nodded casually and gestured toward the bathroom.
“I’m done; you can go shower.”
“Mm.”
As soon as Yan Xun stood up, the man, who had just left, seemed to think of something and came back to tell him,
“I heated up some milk in the kitchen; remember to drink it.”
“Alright.”
Yan Xun agreed.
He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt like Chu Tingyun seemed to really like making him drink milk.
Anyway, Yan Xun obediently finished drinking it.
When he returned to the bedroom after showering, Chu Tingyun had already curled up under the covers and fallen asleep. The room was very dark, with only a small nightlight left on the bedside table.
There was no romantic or ambiguous atmosphere, only a strange, serene, and warm sense of tranquility quietly spreading in the night air.
Yan Xun stood quietly at the door for a while before carefully walking over. He cautiously lifted a corner of the blanket and slowly lay down.
Click——
The small nightlight was gently turned off.
The bedroom windows were made of soundproof glass, so in the darkness, the whole room was eerily quiet. Yan Xun could only hear the steady, slow breathing of the person beside him.
Compared to Chu Tingyun’s naturally relaxed, cat-like curled-up sleeping posture, Yan Xun slept very rigidly. He lay straight on his back, his hands pressed to his sides, perfectly still.
There was about a twenty to thirty-centimeter gap between them, and they slept in a way that could be described as respectful, like honored guests.
In the darkness, Yan Xun stared at the ceiling, suddenly realizing how strange and unpredictable the future could be.
The last time they met, he and Chu Tingyun were discussing divorce, seemingly about to part ways and erase each other from their lives.
But now, they were sleeping in the same bed.
Yan Xun turned his face slightly. The pillow covered his ear, allowing him to hear his own rather restless pulse.
For as long as he could remember, this was Yan Xun’s first time sharing the same bed, under the same blanket, with someone else.
He felt a bit uncomfortable, but somehow, it wasn’t as awkward as he had imagined.
It was like how Yan Xun had always thought he could never like men, but tonight’s unexpected kiss didn’t make him feel disgusted. Instead, his body responded with an uncontrollable, shameful reaction. This alone said a lot.
Yan Xun gazed at the blurry silhouette beside him, and his mind began to wander back to the idea that had quietly sprouted earlier in his heart.
—Maybe I really did like this person before.
As he continued to think, he didn’t know if it was because he was tired from thinking or because of the two sips of red wine Chu Tingyun had poured him. Yan Xun’s consciousness began to blur, and he unknowingly fell asleep.
At this moment, the chaotic thoughts in his mind transformed into thousands of silver-white butterflies, spinning and dancing, weaving a hazy, dreamy, indescribable dream.
Then, they folded their wings and turned into swirling snow. The snowflakes piled up layer by layer, forming a towering snow mountain.
Within the snow mountain, there was a castle.
The ornately carved fireplace exuded a stifling heat, and the thick floor-to-ceiling curtains were tightly drawn, blocking the light from outside the window.
Everything seemed dim and chaotic, with only faint glimpses of the surrounding furnishings and the vague outline of someone. At this moment, the heavy, soft bed swayed gently, and the delicate clinking of metal chains could be heard.
Yan Xun felt as if someone was pressing on him, and then that person began to kiss him. First on the face, then licking the most sensitive spot on his ear, with movements that were eager yet somewhat soothing and coaxing.
[Good, Xun Xun…]
That person pinched his chin and, in a coaxing tone, asked him to open his mouth. It must have been a deep kiss, extremely passionate. Then, the sound of heavy breathing intertwined. Yan Xun felt as if he had touched that person’s waist. The skin was soft, exceptionally smooth, with the muscles inside tensed and trembling noticeably, trembling faster and faster.
[A…]
Then, Yan Xun heard the other’s distorted moan, as if they were on the brink of death, making his blood surge.
Buzz——
It was as if the computer screen had suddenly gone black due to a power outage, and the chaotic dream abruptly vanished.
At the same moment, Yan Xun suddenly opened his eyes.
He was panting heavily, breaking out in a light sweat. It took quite a while for his chaotic mind to slowly clear.
Only a few fragments of the blurry dream remained, but Yan Xun knew he had just had a dream filled with sensuality and desire.
It was then that Yan Xun suddenly realized he seemed to be hugging something, because he felt a warm, supple, and delicate piece of skin under his touch.
“Mm…”
The person in his arms let out a soft, indistinct murmur.
Almost simultaneously, Yan Xun realized who he was holding.
His hand had even slipped under that person’s pajamas, resting on their lower back.
This realization made Yan Xun freeze, not daring to move a muscle. Only after confirming that Chu Tingyun showed no signs of waking up did he carefully withdraw his hand, pulling the other’s pajamas down in the process and covering him back up with the blanket.
After doing all this, Yan Xun quietly got up, went to the outside bathroom, and rinsed off his sweat. When his mind and body were completely calm, he quietly returned to the bedroom and lay down properly on the bed.
It was now 4:30 in the morning, and there was already a hint of dawn outside. But Chu Tingyun was still sleeping soundly, with half of his face buried in the pillow. His soft, dark eyelashes were like a butterfly’s wings resting quietly, inexplicably softening Yan Xun’s heart.
Yan Xun gazed at him quietly for a moment, intending to look away when his gaze was suddenly drawn to the loosened collar of Chu Tingyun’s pajamas.
—There was a thin red string there.
He reached out and gently pulled out that red string.
At that moment, time seemed to freeze.
Yan Xun finally found the small jade Guanyin pendant he had lost.
It was here.
…It had been here all along.
When Yan Xun was seven, he was adopted, and the only thing he had that was completely his own was this small jade pendant.
It was the only thing his biological parents had left him, extremely important. Yan Xun never let it leave his side, nor did he allow anyone else to touch it.
Not even Zhou Ze, his best friend, was allowed.
But now, this small jade Guanyin was lying close to another person’s chest, stained with another person’s body warmth.
“…”
Yan Xun stared at it for a long, long time, until the morning light from outside gradually illuminated the jade pendant.
But in the end, he didn’t take it back. Instead, he carefully tucked it back into the man’s collar.
After doing this, Yan Xun closed his eyes again. It was still too early, so he planned to nap a bit longer before getting up. However, unexpectedly, he fell asleep again.
This time, Yan Xun slept well. He didn’t dream, nor did he wake up startled. It wasn’t until the sun was high in the sky that he finally woke up.
The man who had curled up next to him like a cat last night was already gone. Yan Xun got up and walked to the living room, only to find Chu Tingyun in the kitchen making breakfast.
“Awake?”
The man, dressed in casual home wear, spoke in a very natural tone,
“Come over and have breakfast.”
“…”
Yan Xun stared at him blankly for a few seconds, then nodded and replied with a simple “Okay.”
Breakfast was simple: fried eggs and sandwiches.
The difference was that Chu Tingyun drank coffee, while Yan Xun had hot milk.
“We need to prepare a suit for you to attend the wedding tomorrow.”
Chu Tingyun took a sip of his coffee and said,
“But we can only go to the mall in the afternoon, because I have a video meeting in the morning. What about you? Any plans?”
“I…”
Yan Xun, munching on his sandwich, thought for a moment and said:
“Study, I guess.”
Currently, as an unemployed person, Yan Xun was forced to rely on Chu Tingyun for support, so he was eager to find a job.
But finding a job isn’t something that happens just like that; at the very least, he needed to figure out what he could do. So Yan Xun planned to review his past skills.
“I still have some professional files on my computer, and I can look at the programming books on the bookshelf, learn to use some relevant software and the like.”
After listening, Mr. Chu smiled:
“Alright then, good luck.”
“Mm.”
Since Chu Tingyun made breakfast, Yan Xun naturally took on the task of cleaning up, which specifically meant putting the dirty plates and pots into the dishwasher.
Dishwashers—these machines are truly the light of human technology.
By the time Yan Xun finished tidying up and went to the study, Chu Tingyun was already in a meeting.
The man wore a Bluetooth earpiece in his left ear, and a new pair of half-rim glasses perched on his high-bridged nose. His shirt was crisp, his tie meticulously done, and his expression was cold and focused. His deep, pleasant voice was enough to make one’s ears tingle.
Yan Xun quietly watched him for a while, but unfortunately, he couldn’t quite understand what Chu Tingyun was discussing with the people on the other end, as he was speaking a mixture of English and Russian, full of professional jargon.
What Yan Xun didn’t know was that Su Yao on the other end didn’t understand either.
She, with dark circles under her eyes from staying up all night, was stunned for a while before bursting out.
“Chu Tingyun, are you f*cking crazy? Speaking all that gibberish at me early in the morning?!”
