Chapter 33: “You Can Touch”
Liang Xun wandered through the villa and found himself believing what Jian Huaiyi had said about not living here often. The rooms contained only the most basic necessities and had no lived-in feel, resembling a large, impersonal hotel.
There were even unopened disposable slippers, toothpaste, and toothbrushes, likely left by the cleaning service that came by periodically.
He eventually found himself in the backyard, where a transparent greenhouse stood. Through the glass doors, Liang Xun could see a room full of potted plants, though they had long since withered, bearing no resemblance to their former selves.
His phone rang. Liang Xun pulled his gaze away, took the phone out of his pocket, and answered.
“Liang Xun!” It was Xiao Yuanzhou. “Haven’t heard from you in a while. How’ve you been?”
“I’m okay,” Liang Xun said.
Xiao Yuanzhou found that odd. “It’s New Year’s Eve. How come it’s so quiet over there? Don’t tell me you’re all alone.”
Liang Xun paused for a beat before saying, “No, he went out to buy something. He’ll be back soon.”
“Jian Huaiyi?”
“Yeah.”
It was noisy on Xiao Yuanzhou’s end. His family was in the country, so of course he’d gone back for the holiday. Through the phone, Liang Xun could hear the chirping of children and the chatter of adults—it was loud, but lively.
“You little brat, go away, go away, I’m busy.” After just a few words, Xiao Yuanzhou was accosted by a child. “Hey, don’t snatch your brother’s phone…”
Beep, beep, beep—the call disconnected.
Liang Xun turned off the screen and slipped the phone back into his pocket. He grabbed his car keys, locked the door, and left the villa.
It wasn’t that no one had reached out to him.
A few days ago, the Liang family had contacted him through Assistant Qin, asking him to come “home” for the New Year. They spouted a pile of insincere platitudes, and Liang Xun had Assistant Qin block them immediately.
Come “home” for the New Year. The words were truly laughable. Besides sharing a surname, what the hell did the Liang family have to do with him?
They had some nerve. Never mind that Liang Xun had grown up in the Jian household without taking a single penny from them. In all these years, they had never once inquired about his well-being; for all he knew, they were probably hoping he’d died long ago. And now they had the gall to ask him to come home for the holiday.
The wind and snow outside were heavy. Liang Xun ran a hand through his hair, revealing the handsome brow and eyes beneath, which were now knitted together in frustration.
He closed the car door, the black Cullinan now parked in the snow. As he got out, he suddenly noticed another car parked beside it—a Porsche.
After a moment of thought, his furrowed brow relaxed. He quickly unlocked the door and went inside.
The living room was dark. Liang Xun lowered his eyes, his palm unconsciously curling into a fist.
The next second, with a soft click, someone turned on the lights.
Jian Huaiyi had also just gotten home. He held a food container in his left hand, his eyes fixed on Liang Xun, who had followed him in.
One of them stood in the entrance hall, the other by the shoe cabinet opposite him.
“You just went out?” Jian Huaiyi asked, looking at the travel-worn Liang Xun.
“To buy something,” Liang Xun answered quickly, his dark eyes flickering. “Why are you here? Don’t you have to stay at home tonight?”
“I do,” Jian Huaiyi said as he changed his shoes.
Liang Xun’s gaze followed his movements.
Jian Huaiyi handed the takeout container to Liang Xun and, like a beautiful swan, lifted his chin. “I snuck out,” he joked. “Was afraid you’d starve to death.”
Liang Xun fell silent. He took the container, which was made of metal. The warmth of the food radiated into his palm.
“It should still be warm. If not, just heat it up in the microwave,” Jian Huaiyi said.
The food had been packed in plastic containers. Liang Xun emptied it onto plates and brought them out from the kitchen.
Jian Huaiyi was sitting in the living room, where the annual Spring Festival Gala was playing on TV. Whether the skits were funny or not was debatable, but they were certainly lively. The actors shouted their lines, afraid of not seeming energetic or festive enough.
After a few minutes, Jian Huaiyi found it too noisy and turned it off. He looked over and saw a table full of food, his cat-like eyes glinting.
“Is it still hot?” he asked Liang Xun.
Liang Xun: “…”
“It is. Let’s eat together.”
Since Liang Xun had invited him, Jian Huaiyi certainly couldn’t refuse his good friend’s kindness. Besides, after all the running around, the little he’d eaten for dinner had long since been digested.
Jian Huaiyi sat down at the dining table. He’d eaten once at the Jian’s and was now eating again with Liang Xun. Since he hadn’t eaten breakfast today, this rounded out his three meals for the day.
Wait, no. He did eat breakfast today.
He subconsciously looked down at his slightly protruding belly, and was so horrified he immediately put down his chopsticks.
Pinching the soft flesh of his stomach through his sweater, he frowned and muttered to himself, “I need to go on a diet…”
His appetite had been getting better and better lately, but he was exercising far less than before.
It was mainly because winter was too cold, and he didn’t feel like going out. He even kept getting the urge to find a place to hibernate.
“A diet?” The piece of meat on Liang Xun’s chopsticks fell into his bowl. He looked at Jian Huaiyi. “I don’t think you need to.”
“I do.” Jian Huaiyi’s eyelashes fluttered up. “Don’t you think I’ve gotten fat?” he asked quietly.
Liang Xun sized him up again and gave his honest assessment. “Compared to before the New Year, you have put on a little weight.”
Ever since they started living together, Jian Huaiyi had been eating a lot of high-protein, high-calorie foods to help Liang Xun recover, so he’d naturally gained some weight. But he was still far from being fat.
“So you also think I’m fat,” Jian Huaiyi said, his tone devoid of emotion.
Liang Xun: ?
Jian Huaiyi stood up and headed upstairs, tossing a sentence over his shoulder. “If you’re staying up for the New Year’s vigil, you can sleep in the guest room tonight.”
Liang Xun: ?
He wasn’t.
But it was too late to explain. Jian Huaiyi’s figure had already disappeared up the stairs.
Liang Xun gathered the dishes, tossed them in the sink, and began to think of a strategy as he washed them.
It was obvious that his last comment had angered his boyfriend.
New Year’s Eve symbolized reunion, and Liang Xun did not want to sleep separately from Jian Huaiyi tonight.
It was bad luck.
He had to find a way to cool Jian Huaiyi down first.
Jian Huaiyi had just washed up and was leaning against the headboard reading when someone walked in. He lazily lifted his eyes and saw Liang Xun dressed in a full suit, looking like a male model who had just returned from a gala. His pupils contracted. “What are you doing?”
Liang Xun pressed his lips together, clearly uncomfortable. This was the only plan he could come up with.
The muscles of his chest swelled beneath his white shirt. A few buttons at the collar were undone, the lines of his muscles extending downwards, inviting the imagination.
“The… the air conditioner in the guest room is broken,” Liang Xun said.
Jian Huaiyi’s expression returned to calm. So that was his game. He crossed his arms and looked at Liang Xun with amusement. “You’re so hot, do you even need an air conditioner?”
Liang Xun’s muscles tensed, the veins on his forearm becoming more prominent. “I do,” he said, forcing the words out. “I’m cold.”
Jian Huaiyi laughed, not believing him for a second. “No, you’re not.”
“I am cold,” Liang Xun repeated stubbornly.
“You’re not cold,” Jian Huaiyi insisted.
Like two elementary schoolers bickering, they went back and forth.
Liang Xun was the first to end it. “If you don’t believe me, you can touch me. I’m cold.”
“Touch you…?” Jian Huaiyi cut himself off, his lips thinning into a line. “I’m not touching you.”
Damn straight guy.
The corner of Liang Xun’s mouth curved up. His pitch-black eyes were fixed on Jian Huaiyi. “Are you scared?” he purred.
Jian Huaiyi immediately scoffed. Scared? What did he have to be scared of? He wasn’t the one who would be taken advantage of. He wasn’t the homophobe here.
His competitive spirit ignited, Jian Huaiyi’s eyes took on a lazy glint. “Come here,” he told Liang Xun.
A barely perceptible smile touched Liang Xun’s lips as he walked to the bedside. The cool, woody scent washed over Jian Huaiyi, making him frown slightly. When he looked up, his eyes met the open collar of Liang Xun’s shirt, which offered an unobstructed view of his chest.
Shit.
Jian Huaiyi instinctively looked away, then felt that was being petty and turned back to openly admire the pectorals right in front of him.
What was there to be shy about? It wasn’t like he didn’t have them too.
He had abs, though they were thin and not nearly as defined as Liang Xun’s. But they were there.
“You’ve been working out, Liang Xun.”
Liang Xun didn’t confirm or deny it.
The days of starting his business abroad had been tough. Without exercise and a strong body, his health would have collapsed long before his company succeeded.
“You can touch,” Liang Xun said, looking down at the eager Jian Huaiyi, adding fuel to the fire.
Jian Huaiyi threw all his inhibitions aside and slapped a hand on his chest.
!
The sensation was hard to describe, both hard and soft at the same time.
He’d been reading for a while, and his hand, which had been outside the covers, was cool to the touch. He would warm a spot on Liang Xun’s skin, then move to an adjacent, hotter patch.
At first, Liang Xun was composed. But as Jian Huaiyi’s hand kept moving, his fingertips would drag tantalizingly across the muscle below, a touch that was both a gift and a plea.
It gradually became unbearable.
He looked up several times to confirm the air conditioner was off, yet he felt a heat spreading through his entire body.
Fortunately, Jian Huaiyi’s attitude had softened. He didn’t seem to mind that one of Liang Xun’s knees was on the bed, his body now halfway onto it.
Jian Huaiyi saw it, but… the muscles felt too good. He hadn’t had enough yet.
He’d kick Liang Xun off after he was done.
The deep brown Windsor knot had been tied in a hurry, its surface still creased. The more Jian Huaiyi looked at it, the more it bothered him, so he simply reached out and pulled it undone.
Hooking a finger under the tie, he asked politely, “Can I take this off?”
Liang Xun’s breathing grew heavier, his sharp jawline tight. “You can,” he rasped.
Satisfied, Jian Huaiyi pulled it loose. The tie coiled in his hand, resting on the duvet beside him. The book that had been on his lap had long since fallen to the floor, but neither of them paid it any mind.
Liang Xun watched Jian Huaiyi’s reactions and seized the opportunity. “Can I sleep here tonight?”
Jian Huaiyi pretended not to hear. He slowly pulled his hand out from under Liang Xun’s shirt and patted his chest. “Feels nice.” His bright irises shimmered with tiny flecks of light.
“Thanks for the review,” Liang Xun said politely.
His eyes remained hopefully fixed on Jian Huaiyi.
Jian Huaiyi’s lips curved, unmoved. “Goodnight, baby. Hope you have a successful New Year’s vigil.”
That meant it was non-negotiable.
Liang Xun took a deep breath and straightened his knee. The muscles in his calf suddenly seized, a feeling like a thousand ants crawling over his skin. He lost his balance for a moment and fell forward.
Luckily, he reacted quickly, catching himself with his forearms on either side of Jian Huaiyi so he didn’t crush him, but the collision was unavoidable.
They both let out a muffled grunt.
They had never been this close. The faint scent of daisies invaded his senses, sending a tremor through his nerve endings. Liang Xun’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “…Sorry,” he said, his voice low and hoarse.
Jian Huaiyi’s eyelashes fluttered. He was about to graciously say it was fine when a sharp pain shot through the top of his thigh. He looked down, and his face turned red enough to drip blood.
“Get off me!” he hissed.
The tips of Liang Xun’s ears turned red. He scrambled up and backwards.
Jian Huaiyi’s cat-like eyes were wide, his gaze fixed on the halo of the lamp overhead, the corners of his eyes burning hot and red.
He… what had he just seen?!
Liang Xun… got hard???
He got hard from him!!!
A straight guy… had a physical reaction… to his own brother?!!
What the hell was Liang Xun playing at?!!
Jian Huaiyi glanced over and saw that Liang Xun was still frozen in place like a soulless wooden post, if you ignored the prominent bulge below.
?!
“I—I’m going to sleep,” Jian Huaiyi stammered, the crimson blush at the corners of his eyes spreading all the way to his ears.
Liang Xun nodded and turned stiffly to leave the bedroom, even closing the door for him on the way out.
The room was suddenly silent. The small lamp on the nightstand cast a bright glow. Jian Huaiyi dived under the covers, the trapped heat making his face flush even more.
What kind of straight guy was this?!
Meanwhile, Liang Xun stopped halfway down the stairs. He stood there, looking down, and noticed the ill-fitting pig slippers on his feet.
His hand, resting on the banister, slowly curled into a fist. He raised it to the bridge of his nose, and it was a long time before he regained his composure.
This was killing him.
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