When Qiao Nan finished his shower and changed his clothes to head out, he suddenly realized he hadn’t brought a towel or a change of pajamas at all.
He hesitated for five minutes, torn between whether to call Pei Xu or… well, Pei Xu was his only option. In the end, embarrassed, he cracked the bathroom door open a sliver and called out, “Pei Xu, I forgot to bring a towel and pajamas.”
Pei Xu seemed to have been waiting for this and immediately responded, “Wait a second, I’ll get them for you.”
A moment later, he returned and handed the clothes through the crack in the door.
Qiao Nan took them and quickly shut the door, only to discover that what had been handed in was just a towel, a shirt, and a pair of underwear.
He stared silently at the black shirt.
Judging from the style and size, it was definitely Pei Xu’s.
There was even a faint scent of Darjeeling tea on the collar—most likely, it had been worn before.
As for the towel, it was just an ordinary face towel, barely large enough to wrap himself up in.
Qiao Nan was silent for a moment, but couldn’t help cursing Pei Xu a hundred times in his heart.
But the situation was stronger than the person—he couldn’t just stay in the bathroom forever.
He dried himself off and, swallowing his shame, put on the shirt.
It wasn’t as if he’d never worn Pei Xu’s clothes before, but the more ignorant he’d been back then, the more embarrassed he was now.
Pei Xu’s build was much sturdier than his, and the shirt was two sizes too big, so it hung loosely on him.
The length just barely covered his hips.
Qiao Nan stood in front of the bathroom mirror, carefully fastening the shirt all the way to the top button, and tugged hard at the hem before cautiously opening the bathroom door a crack to peek out.
Pei Xu was no longer in the living room.
Good.
Seizing the opportunity, he hurried toward the guest bedroom he’d picked out.
But when he got there, he found he couldn’t turn the doorknob at all.
Unwilling to give up, he tried several more times, and confirmed that the doorknob really wouldn’t budge.
A suspicion crept into Qiao Nan’s mind, and he went to try the other guest bedrooms one by one—none of them would open.
Even if he were an idiot, he’d know who was behind this.
Fuming, he stormed off to the master bedroom.
The master bedroom door was ajar.
Qiao Nan pushed it open and saw Pei Xu, dressed in deep gray silk pajamas, reclining against the headboard reading a book.
Hearing him come in, Pei Xu looked up, his gaze sweeping over him.
He pushed his glasses up with his left hand, the corners of his lips curling into a faint smile.
“All finished?”
“The guest bedroom door won’t open,” Qiao Nan said, holding back his anger.
Pei Xu raised his eyebrows slightly, his tone casual.
“Maybe the lock’s broken from not being used for so long.”
He patted the empty spot beside him.
“Then Nan Nan can sleep with me tonight.”
How could anyone be so shameless, lying through their teeth with a straight face!
He glared at Pei Xu.
“You locked the door!”
Pei Xu met his eyes, smiling gently.
“Didn’t Nan Nan used to love sleeping with me the most?”
He stared Pei Xu down for five minutes, then went to the living room for another lap.
There was air conditioning in the living room, but no blankets.
Even with the heat on at night, it wasn’t cold, but sleeping on the couch didn’t seem much different from sleeping in the master bedroom.
Besides, the sofa was a little hard—after a whole night, he’d definitely feel sore all over.
After an intense internal struggle, he finally strode back to the master bedroom, crawled onto the inside of the bed, and rolled himself up in the blanket, leaving Pei Xu nothing but the back of his head, puffed up with anger.
Seeing this, Pei Xu let out a short, low laugh, turned off the lights, lay down facing him, and, satisfied, pulled both him and the blanket into his arms.
“Good night, Nan Nan.”
Qiao Nan unhappily squirmed toward the edge of the bed, but Pei Xu’s arms were strong.
He’d only managed to move two centimeters before being pulled back, pressed even closer together.
“Don’t move,” came a low, dangerous voice from behind him.
Qiao Nan instantly quieted down.
He closed his eyes and tried to hypnotize himself to sleep, but the presence behind him was too overwhelming.
He didn’t dare move, and after a long, torturous time, still couldn’t fall asleep.
In the end, he couldn’t take it anymore and turned over.
“You’re keeping me awake! Why don’t you go out and take care of it first?!”
“Nan Nan can’t sleep either?”
Facing each other, Pei Xu moved a little closer until their foreheads were almost touching.
Qiao Nan could smell the pleasant scent on him—a unique blend of body wash, cologne, and his own natural scent.
It smelled really good.
He couldn’t help but take a few more whiffs, his breath warm against Pei Xu’s neck, making Pei Xu’s eyes darken.
Pei Xu reached for his hand, covering the back of it with his palm, patiently guiding him.
“I helped Nan Nan earlier. Shouldn’t Nan Nan return the favor?”
Qiao Nan curled his fingers, already regretting ever speaking up.
But now Pei Xu wouldn’t let him escape.
He leaned in, bewitchingly kissed his forehead and cheek, his hot lips trailing down the bridge of his nose to his lips, lingering there.
Though he’d never admitted it, Qiao Nan actually kind of liked kissing him.
Every time Pei Xu kissed him deeply and forcefully, he couldn’t resist at all.
He quickly became obedient.
At first, he needed Pei Xu’s guidance, but later, as the kisses deepened, he grew bold and took the initiative on his own.
The feeling was so wonderful.
Pei Xu held him tightly in his arms, breathing heavily by his ear.
Qiao Nan, entranced by his voice, felt as if he’d fallen into a swirling, pink whirlpool of intimacy, his mind fuzzy—whatever Pei Xu said, he followed.
This docile, submissive posture awakened something dark and deep in Pei Xu’s bones.
Suddenly, he grew rough, and before Qiao Nan could react, he was face-down in the pillow.
His cheek was buried in the soft, fluffy pillow, making it hard to breathe.
He gasped for air, body burning and heavy behind him.
Pei Xu caged him in completely, whispering softly in his ear, “I’m sorry.”
Qiao Nan, buried in the pillow, was completely dazed.
The intense sensations still lingered, and the wet, foreign feeling on his skin reminded him of what had just happened.
His eyes were wide open, still unable to process it all.
Pei Xu pulled out some tissues to wipe him clean, then kissed his eyelashes tenderly and said again, “I’m sorry. Want to take a shower?”
The latter half was a question.
Only then did Qiao Nan snap out of it.
He jumped out of bed barefoot and ran to the bathroom, stammering, “I—I’ll go myself.”
The bathroom door slammed shut.
Pei Xu gazed at the blurry silhouette behind the frosted glass, licking his lips unsatisfied.
Qiao Nan stood under the showerhead, hot water rushing over his body, but it couldn’t wash away the sensations from earlier.
That rough act, filled with possessiveness, had wrapped up both his body and soul, leaving him trembling to the core.
His body shivered under the hot water, his face burning red, feeling utterly ashamed as he mimicked Pei Xu’s actions…
He stayed in the bathroom for half an hour before coming out.
When Qiao Nan climbed back into bed, his exposed skin was still pink and damp.
He didn’t dare look at Pei Xu, instead curling up tightly in the blanket like a silkworm, this time not even leaving the back of his head for Pei Xu to see.
***
The next morning, Qiao Nan didn’t even eat breakfast before hurriedly making his escape.
He’d told Pei Xu he was meeting Qian Chuan at the archery range, but that was just an excuse.
There were no classes today, his mind was a mess, and he didn’t want to run into Pei Xu.
So he simply took a cab to Qian Chuan’s place.
Qian Chuan had stayed up gaming until the wee hours, and when Qiao Nan woke him up early, his face was green.
He flopped onto the sofa, looking utterly lifeless.
“Spit it out, what happened now?”
Qiao Nan fidgeted for a while before mumbling, “I think I might be bent.”
“What?”
His voice was too soft, and Qian Chuan didn’t catch it, thinking he’d misheard. He sat up straight.
“I said, I think I’m bent!” Qiao Nan blurted out, resigned.
Qian Chuan crossed his arms with a horrified look.
“Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for me? I still prefer soft, fragrant girls, no thanks to any of that.”
Qiao Nan rolled his eyes.
“Cut it out, be serious.”
“You’re not joking?”
Seeing he wasn’t, Qian Chuan leaned in.
“You’ve never dated anyone before—never liked a girl, but never liked a guy either. How’d you suddenly turn?”
He kept scanning Qiao Nan up and down.
“So who’s this wild man? What’s he like?”
Qiao Nan’s face turned red, and he mumbled, “He’s a few years older than me, really handsome, successful in his career, personality… most of the time he’s very gentlemanly and gentle, and to me…”
He paused, then decided to be honest.
“He’s really good to me.”
“You sure you’re talking about your wild man and not your older brother?”
Qian Chuan leaned back warily.
“Or have you gotten so obsessed with your brother that you’re picking partners to his standards?”
Qiao Nan fell silent, feeling a little guilty, then got angry.
“It’s not like I went after him! He’s the one who keeps pestering me… I can’t help it!”
“Doesn’t really look like he’s the only one pestering you…”
Qian Chuan hit the nail on the head.
“Seems to me you’re pretty willing.”
He added teasingly, “So how far have you two gotten?”
He winked suggestively.
Qiao Nan went quiet again.
He didn’t want to talk about such private things, but besides Qian Chuan, there was no one else he could confide in about Pei Xu.
So, enduring his embarrassment, he muttered, “…Not the last step yet.”
“Damn!”
Qian Chuan immediately got it.
“So you’ve done everything but the last step?”
Seeing Qiao Nan’s embarrassed, angry, and conflicted expression, Qian Chuan thought he didn’t seem the least bit resistant—if anything, he looked lovesick, practically radiating the sour scent of love.
After thinking seriously for a moment, Qian Chuan said, “Have you two made it official? I heard that in this circle, a lot of people mess around. Like my cousin Qin Feng—when he was abroad, he changed partners faster than changing clothes, like collecting figurines. Don’t get too deep if he’s just playing around. And if you really get together with a guy, how will you explain it to your parents?”
Qiao Nan slumped on the sofa, staring at the chandelier overhead, muttering, “He’ll probably figure it out…”
Then quickly added, “But it’s a bit early for that. I haven’t even sorted things out myself. I’ll deal with my parents later.”
Qian Chuan was speechless.
“You’ve already slept together, and you’re still not sure?”
Qiao Nan shot him a glare.
“I came to you for advice, not to get roasted.”
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