Part 2
The web version had only aired one episode so far. The content retained the interesting shots from the livestream. Seeing the contrast between the other groups’ greetings and his greeting with Lu Ciheng, Xie Shibai felt a bit stunned. His first reaction was worry that they would be exposed.
Compared to the harmonious atmosphere of the other three groups, Xie Shibai and Lu Ciheng started with the smell of gunpowder.
But the reaction from the bullet comments on the web version was unexpectedly positive. Fans who had followed the livestream were already delighted, watching as if with magnifying glasses.
[Always fresh every time I watch.]
[So LCH was enjoying himself this much from the very beginning.]
[At the time I thought they were fake, turns out he was secretly enjoying it.]
[I started out thinking he was a simp, later found out the clown was actually me.]
Xie Shibai looked at the comments: “…”
Our plastic marriage actually hasn’t been exposed yet.
Beside him, Lu Ciheng looked at the screen full of “Wifey” comments and felt displeased.
Even I haven’t called him Wifey that many times.
The host was still praising everyone’s relationships. “Do Teacher Xie and Teacher Lu interact like this in private too? It looks very interesting.”
Lu Ciheng didn’t let go of the arm encircling Xie Shibaiâs waist. He said frankly, “Yes. In private, Teacher Xie loves me even more than he shows on the program.”
Xie Shibai: “…”
Host: “…”
[?]
[I give up. Did we ask you that?]
[Get your hands off my wife!]
The host laughed dryly and turned to ask other guests questions.
During the gap while other guests were answering, Lu Ciheng stared at the word “Wifey” on the screen for a few seconds. Suddenly, he leaned his head close to Xie Shibaiâs ear, as if whispering a secret, sparing no effort to display his possessiveness.
Xie Shibai felt the hot breath brush his ear. He held his breath, his fingertips tingling slightly.
Years of touch aversion made him subconsciously feel he should resist, but a vague longing rose from the bottom of his heart. Two contradictory emotions tugged at each other in his mind. The discomfort hid within his body, accumulating bit by bit, waiting for the moment suppression failed and it would explode.
“Teacher Xie, look at Bobby.”
Xie Shibaiâs long eyelashes trembled. He turned his head and glared at him. “Do you need to be this close to say that?”
Lu Cihengâs breath hitched as he stared into Xie Shibaiâs eyes.
Even glaring, he is so beautiful.
[What are the little couple whispering about?]
[Can’t hear it but LCH looks like he’s enjoying it.]
[Envious.]
[I’m dying of anxiety, what did he say to get glared at by Teacher Xie? So satisfying.]
Potato pawed at the toy box, but due to limited height, he could only whine and butt the box with his head.
Just as Xie Shibai prepared to help the puppy get the toy, Lu Ciheng beside him stood up one step ahead. “I’ll go.”
The burning body that had been pressed tightly against his back disappeared. The hand across his waist was suddenly gone. It was as if he had become accustomed to Lu Cihengâs touch, and the sudden emptiness made his heart feel empty too. The vague discomfort intensified, mixed with a trace of emotional irritability.
When Lu Ciheng returned and sat beside him, the discomfort gradually calmed down. But whenever Lu Ciheng moved away, Xie Shibaiâs attention was rarely unfocused; his gaze would invariably drift to Lu Ciheng.
Unlike his usual hatred of touch, this time, what he was suppressing seemed to be a craving for it.
Until the livestream ended, Xie Shibaiâs mind was full of this wrong emotion. After dinner, he didn’t even stay in the living room for long, going directly back to his roomâa subconscious escape to avoid contact with Lu Ciheng.
Lu Ciheng watched Xie Shibaiâs retreating back, his expression darkening.
Late at night.
For the first time, Xie Shibai felt the room was too large and empty. An uncontrollable discomfort spread through his body, and the anxious feeling in his heart was somewhat like the first time he had contact with Lu Ciheng, but far more intense than back then.
Even lying down, that uncontrollable irritability followed him like a shadow.
A thought gradually formed in his mind.
He wanted to be touched by Lu Ciheng.
Xie Shibai sat up abruptly. Without even putting on slippers, he pulled open drawers one by one, searching for the medicine box he brought.
He must be crazy to have such thoughts.
After rummaging through several drawers, Xie Shibaiâs hands trembled slightly when he saw the familiar box. His movements were hurried, but upon opening it, he found it was already empty.
Xie Shibai threw the box on the table and covered his eyes with his slender fingers. Reason told him this was wrong, but suppressed emotions surfaced in his mind as if finding every crack to seep through.
Just a touch won’t hurt.
As soon as this thought appeared, the physical discomfort seemed to worsen.
Xie Shibai clenched his fingers and opened the bedroom door to go downstairs. The living room lights were dim. Relying on memory, he found Lu Cihengâs medical kit. Squatting on the floor, he took out every medicine bottle to check them carefully, looking for a temporary substitute with a sedative effect.
Just as he found a bottle of sedatives, a low voice asked from behind him.
“Teacher Xie, what are you doing?”
Xie Shibaiâs fingers tightened slightly. Holding the medicine bottle, he turned to look at him.
By the dim light, Lu Ciheng saw clearly what Xie Shibai was holding, and his brow instantly furrowed. “Where do you feel uncomfortable?”
Xie Shibai subconsciously denied it. “I don’t.”
Lu Ciheng raised an eyebrow and squatted down to look at the medicine in his hand. “Body isn’t uncomfortable, yet you’re rummaging for medicine in the middle of the night instead of sleeping. Teacher Xie, are you treating me like a child to be tricked?”
His gaze moved down and saw Xie Shibai was barefoot. He clicked his tongue and directly reached out, scooping him up in a princess carry. “Not wearing shoes either, and lying. Teacher Xie, you have a big problem.”
Xie Shibaiâs breath hitched, and his fingers grasped Lu Cihengâs clothes tightly. The moment he was picked up, the anxiety that had plagued him all night seemed to be invisibly soothed. His fingertips tingled slightly, and a sense of comfort and calm spread from the bottom of his heart.
Lu Ciheng placed Xie Shibai on the sofa, took the medicine from his hand, and read the indications.
He squatted in front of Xie Shibai and asked with concern, “Does Teacher Xie have somatic symptoms, or can you not breathe?”
Xie Shibai was silent for a few seconds, unsure how to describe it.
Lu Ciheng observed him and breathed a sigh of relief upon realizing it wasn’t a respiratory issue. But following that relief was a doubt pressing on his heart.
He had already figured out the patterns of Xie Shibaiâs condition. If there were no emotional fluctuations, somatic symptoms wouldn’t occur recently. The long-term desensitization therapy had also increased his tolerance. If it was anxiety triggered by the illness, what was the catalyst?
“Neither?” Lu Ciheng asked in a low voice.
Xie Shibai pursed his lips. Being held just now seemed to ignite his emotions in an instant. Originally, he could restrain himself, but after tasting a bit of sweetness, he started losing control.
Every touch today had been inducing the current situation.
Xie Shibai whispered, “We haven’t done desensitization therapy today.”
It sounded like self-abandonment born of helplessness, or perhaps a ‘just this once’ plea.
Lu Cihengâs dark eyes were stunned for a moment. A conjecture gradually took root and sprouted in his heart. He stared at Xie Shibai, and suddenly the corners of his lips hooked up. He set the medicine bottle aside, sat next to him, and braced his arm behind Xie Shibai. His well-defined fingers interlaced with Xie Shibaiâs, and his arm wrapped around the slender, resilient waist. His strong fingers pressed against the spine through the fabric of the clothes.
He rested his chin on the side of Xie Shibaiâs neck, his hot breath brushing past. His low tone carried a light laugh. “I actually forgot about this.”
Each treatment session lasted five minutes.
Xie Shibaiâs fingertips curled slightly. His tense nerves relaxed in an instant, the anxiety vanishing like smoke, replaced by a satisfaction with the skin contact radiating from his heart.
He watched his line of sight; five minutes passed second by second.
Xie Shibai counted softly in his heart. With one minute left in the five minutes, Lu Ciheng loosened the embrace and pulled away.
The embrace suddenly fell away. Xie Shibaiâs eyelashes trembled slightly in surprise, and his fingers curled.
Lu Ciheng spoke slowly, with a bit of probing mischief, “Time’s up.”
Xie Shibaiâs brows furrowed, and a wave of irritability surged in his heart. He reached out, grabbed Lu Cihengâs collar, and pulled him closer with force, stinging him coldly and mercilessly: “Who taught you to read a watch like that?”
Lu Ciheng followed Xie Shibaiâs force and leaned in, the corners of his lips curling up.
He really guessed right.
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