Chapter 77 The Old Room "So sweet, baby."

Days passed by, and the weather gradually turned cooler.

This year, Xing Lan no longer spent the Spring Festival alone, but returned to Li Baidong's hometown of Haishi.

This is Xing Lan's second time visiting Hai City. In recent years, Hai City has developed rapidly and is very different from his initial impression.

Because of its coastal location, Haishi is slightly warmer than Ningshi, so you don't need to wear many layers.

When Xing Lan boarded the plane, he was only wearing a fitted black turtleneck sweater. Later, he added an American-style studded denim jacket that was completely out of place with his face and temperament.

Li Baidong mentioned that it was windy at the beach, so he took off his own clothes and insisted on putting them on Xing Lan. Their sizes were different; the jacket was not only a bit too big for Xing Lan, but the sleeves were also noticeably too long.

At first, he thought it was troublesome to keep rolling up his sleeves and wanted to return the coat to Li Baidong. However, the biting sea breeze made him so cold that he kept sneezing, so he had no choice but to listen to Li Baidong and obediently wrap the coat up tightly.

It wasn't until Li Baidong tricked her into going to Haishi that Xing Lan realized that Li Baidong's parents had no idea about their relationship and thought Xing Lan was just an ordinary friend of Li Baidong.

When he found out about this, he was furious with Li Baidong.

He had suspected before that people of Li Baidong's parents' age could not accept the fact that their son was gay so easily, and would probably beat Li Baidong severely with a belt.

But since he was already there, and it was the New Year, and Li Baidong's family was so enthusiastic towards him without knowing the truth, Xing Lan had no choice but to stay. Every day, he squeezed into the rough little wooden bed that he had slept on since he was a child with Li Baidong.

Their room was next to Li Baidong's parents' room, and a little further away was the bedroom of Li Baidong's older brother, Li Yang. Every night they were very careful not to make any noise, and they even had to tiptoe when they went to the bathroom.

Just a wall away, Xing Lan could often hear Li Baidong's parents playing videos on speakerphone, the sound incredibly clear to her ears.

Occasionally, when someone in the video said something funny, Li Baidong's father would naturally laugh, and Li Baidong, who was lying in bed, would suddenly laugh along. The father and son's sense of humor was remarkably similar. Xing Lan glanced at him coldly from the side, utterly speechless.

To welcome Xing Lan, Li Baidong's parents had prepared a lot of treats for him in his room beforehand, including snacks bought from outside and some homemade cooked food. They told Xing Lan that this was the first time Dongdong had brought a friend home in so many years, so naturally they wanted to treat him well.

Xing Lan then belatedly realized that Li Baidong, on the surface, had many friends and seemed to have a particularly good relationship with everyone, but in reality, he rarely contacted them during his holidays.

Sometimes people would message him privately, inviting him out for meals and entertainment, but he never agreed. He would refuse some invitations outright, and others would make up an excuse before refusing.

He was a little curious, so he asked Li Baidong why he never went out with his friends. Li Baidong simply replied, "I don't want to."

From the age of thirteen, Li Baidong's world has only contained Xing Lan.

Xing Lan was not only his most admired senior, but also his favorite friend and his most cherished lover. If a person meets their destined other half early on, then everyone else seems like a dull, boring stone, with no motivation to communicate with them whatsoever.

After discovering that Xing Lan and Jiang Mingyu were dating, Li Baidong did try to imitate Jiang Mingyu for a while, but that didn't mean he wanted to become the second Jiang Mingyu. He wanted to become someone more outstanding and mature than Jiang Mingyu, so that he could rightfully take Xing Lan away from him.

From that day on, his closed-off heart gradually opened up, and he began to learn to socialize. He no longer always kept his lips pursed in silence, but instead made lighthearted jokes with ease, making people think that he was an interesting person.

Gradually, he became like Jiang Mingyu, making many friends, becoming popular, and getting along well at school. But he knew in his heart that it was all fake, something he didn't care about at all.

The only important and cherished person in his life was Xing Lan. Only Xing Lan was his true, one, and eternal lover and best friend.

Xing Lan was used to living in Ning City, and she was a little unaccustomed to living in Hai City for the first few days.

The city is very warm during the day, but the temperature drops suddenly at night, making people shiver. If you don't cover yourself properly while sleeping, you are very likely to catch a cold due to the temperature difference.

In addition, due to the humid climate, there are many strange insects. Xing Lan had never seen many of them before, and was initially frightened by their strange appearance and plump size.

Whether it's because Xing Lan's skin is too thin or because his blood type is naturally more attractive to insects, ever since he came to Hai City, he has practically become a buffet for Hai City mosquitoes.

I was bitten in several places all over my body, and one day even my eyelids were swollen, looking like I had a light layer of pink eyeshadow on.

He glared at Li Baidong with his uneven eyes, secretly complaining that the mosquitoes here seemed to bite more than the people here.

Li Baidong is thick-skinned and used to living here since he was a child, so he had never paid attention to mosquito prevention at home before.

After seeing Xing Lan's terrible bite, he rushed to various stores and finally bought a mosquito repellent from a small supermarket that was still open. He also lit mosquito coils in every corner of the room.

That evening, he took the floral water he had gotten from his grandmother and carefully applied it little by little to Xing Lan's reddened skin under the dim bedroom light.

The floral water was cool and had a very strong scent. Li Baidong carefully applied it to Xing Lan, his warm fingertips tracing over every part of his fair body.

Xing Lan tilted her head and watched the TV on the cabinet.

The program playing on TV wasn't very interesting; it was a local channel from Shanghai, and he couldn't understand much of the dialect. But since it was the Lunar New Year, and he had nothing else to do, he could only watch TV like any other bored person in the world.

As he applied the ointment, Li Baidong suddenly felt a bit thirsty, as if the air in the bedroom was getting drier and drier.

Xing Lan's legs were very slender; he could almost completely encircle them with one hand. Her skin was as smooth and delicate as silk, dazzlingly white under the light, with several slightly swollen red marks, but unfortunately, they weren't left by him, but by those wretched mosquitoes.

Seeing him stop what he was doing, Xing Lan turned her gaze away from the noisy television, leaned against the headboard and glanced at him, saying calmly, "Are you done applying it?"

Li Baidong didn't say anything, put the floral water aside, turned his chin and kissed him lightly.

Xing Lan closed her eyes and let him kiss her gently.

He didn't realize until he noticed that the other person's hand had somehow landed on his waist.

"..."

Xing Lan opened her eyes and suddenly grabbed his wrist.

He lowered his voice and furrowed his delicate brows: "What do you want?"

Li Baidong stared at him intently.

"no."

"Get down." He reached out his palm and tried to push him.

Li Baidong pouted, not only refusing to be pushed by him, but instead taking a step closer, staring at him with his bright black eyes like a puppy, putting on a pitiful expression, trying to soften Xing Lan's heart: "Just once."

“It didn’t work even after several attempts,” Xing Lan replied coldly.

His gaze swept past Li Baidong, who was trying to act innocent, and focused intently on the television set. His tone was cold: "Move aside, you're blocking my view of the TV."

Life is truly full of ups and downs. In Xing Lan's eyes now, he is not even as attractive as a broken TV.

Li Baidong lowered his eyes, let out a long sigh, and lay down on Xing Lan's lap, completely dejected.

hateful!

If he had known this would happen, he should have built a soundproof wall for the room overnight that was even better than the soundproof wall in a karaoke room.

Xing Lan glanced at the sullen Li Baidong and said indifferently, "Just give me the mosquito repellent tomorrow, I'll apply it myself."

Li Baidong didn't get a decent meal, and the only bit of broth he had left was ruthlessly taken away.

Misfortune never comes singly, and to make matters worse, he suddenly felt a deep despair for the world.

"No!" Li Baidong looked up, blinking pitifully. "Baby, you can't apply it evenly by yourself. There are many places you won't reach. Let me help you."

Li Baidong kept whining like a puppy that couldn't get what it wanted, and Xing Lan eventually softened a little because of his whining.

He lowered his eyes, gave him a comforting kiss on the tip of his nose, then patted his shoulder and casually said, "Alright, since it's dark, if you're feeling unwell, go take a shower."

Li Baidong dawdled and refused to go, pestering Xing Lan to kiss him a few more times.

Suddenly, he seemed to have come up with some new mischievous idea, and he slyly narrowed his eyes.

Taking advantage of Xing Lan's momentary lapse in attention, Li Baidong suddenly pulled off the thin blanket covering him.

His gaze gradually descended, and then, without hesitation, he lowered his head.

The window next to her wasn't closed properly, and without the blankets to cover her, a gust of cold wind blew through, causing Xing Lan's body to shiver uncontrollably from the cold.

Before the brain could react, a short, muffled groan escaped the throat.

"You, you mustn't—"

"..."

His face flushed red and then turned pale, his breathing became increasingly rapid, and all the words he hadn't yet uttered turned into indistinct syllables.

Xing Lan braced herself on the bed with both hands, her eyelashes trembling slightly, her slender neck tilted upwards, covered with a noticeable thin red from the cold air.

He couldn't help but frown, grabbing Li Baidong's hair with his hand, his jade-like fingers sinking deep into the man's soft, light-gold hair, tightening gradually as his heartbeat quickened.

In the quiet and cramped old room, apart from the monotonous sound of the television next door, there was Xing Lan's occasional soft breathing, which was mixed with the cold air particles and was as inaudible as the wind passing by her ears.

After a while, when the TV program had ended and commercials started playing on the screen, Li Baidong suddenly raised his head, which had been buried for a long time.

The boy's long, narrow eyes were slightly upturned, and a vague ambiguity flowed in his hazy yet deep gaze.

He smiled as he looked at Xing Lan, his dark eyes glistening with tears, his fingertips casually tracing the corner of his lips.

"So sweet, baby."

Before Xing Lan could catch her breath, her face burned even more intensely upon hearing his words.

After a long while, his dazed gaze gradually returned to focus, his confused mind regained its clarity, his cheeks flushed, and he silently stared at Li Baidong, who was smiling at the corner of his mouth.

He coughed and hurriedly grabbed a few tissues from the bedside table, intending to hand them to Li Baidong. However, Li Baidong didn't take them; instead, he leaned down and kissed him.

A faint scent lingered in the air. Xing Lan frowned and raised his hand to push him away, but Li Baidong pressed close, gripping his wrist tightly. His tall figure was as heavy as a solid wall, giving him no chance to escape.

Li Baidong picked up the remote, closed his eyes, turned the TV volume up to the maximum, and then shamelessly whispered some nonsensical sweet nothings in his ear.

"Good job, sweet baby."

"Why are you hiding? Don't you like it too?..."

"How about a kiss from my husband?"

Xing Lan rationally felt that his behavior was too excessive and too bold, but her body seemed to instinctively resist his approach.

Suddenly, I felt a tingling sensation on my scalp, my ear tips burning hotter and hotter, and my waist involuntarily went limp.

The weather was beautiful that night, and the stars outside the window were very bright.

However, Li Baidong felt that Xing Lan's eyes were prettier when she was shy and moist.