Chapter 11
At the dinner table, Lin Yu tried to start a conversation.
Work, hobbies.
He pondered for a moment and asked, "What...do you do at home in the evenings?"
Yue Qianwen probably found it amusing, and the corners of his mouth curled up. He didn't answer him, but peeled a shrimp and put it in Lin Yu's bowl.
Lin Yu swallowed the food in one gulp and mumbled, "You don't like playing games, you don't watch TV dramas, and you don't seem to watch many short videos either. As for sports... we play badminton together. What do you do every night after nine o'clock before going to bed?"
"Only now are you concerned?"
Lin Yu almost choked, his cheeks burning uncontrollably. He tried to justify himself: "After all... after all, it's your privacy, and we spend most of our time together. Don't you need your own space?"
Yue Qianwen remained noncommittal.
"So what do you do at night? Don't tell me you read books."
"Listen to some podcasts."
Lin Yu hadn't heard of this in a long time. "What podcast?"
"Finance, history, current affairs, all kinds of content, just listen to them to pass the time."
Lin Yu asked in a low voice, "Then...does he also like listening to these things?"
Yue Qianwen seemed not to have heard him clearly, so he moved closer and asked, "What did you say?"
Lin Yu pursed his lips and remained silent.
Yue Qianwen asked again, "What did you just say?"
Lin Yu turned his head away and silently ate the beef brisket.
He finished eating quickly before realizing he was stuffed. He then wandered around the small coffee table in the living room, his eyes darting towards Yue Qianwen, who was cleaning in the kitchen. Yue Qianwen was a clean freak and a neat freak; he couldn't stand any mess on the countertops and wanted everything within sight to be spotless. Lin Yu lived a very casual life, which didn't align with Yue Qianwen's habits, but Yue Qianwen never made demands of him or complained about his sloppiness; he would simply tidy up quietly.
Lin Yu thought for a moment, then squatted down and tidied up the snacks and miscellaneous items on the coffee table and put them into the drawer.
Then I thought of my bed.
He glanced at Yue Qianwen as he slipped over and secretly closed the door, changing the sheets and blankets to new ones that still smelled of laundry detergent.
When he came out, Yue Qianwen was sitting on the sofa, his legs crossed and leaning against the soft back, looking at something on his phone.
Lin Yu became wary and immediately moved closer, saying, "Play games with me."
Yue Qianwen put down his phone. "What game?"
Lin Yu squeezed onto a sofa with him, their elbows touching. "It's a two-player puzzle game, it's really fun."
Yue Qianwen's gaze fell on Lin Yu's casually draped arm. Lin Yu belatedly realized what was happening and awkwardly withdrew his arm.
The two were distracted and lost interest in the game.
They had actually played together before, and comparing the two states of mind, he was surprised to realize that there had been too much unintentional physical contact between him and Yue Qianwen. Even when Yue Qianwen reached behind him to grab another game controller, his first reaction was to lean back and playfully press down on Yue Qianwen's hand. Only when Yue Qianwen stopped and looked at him leisurely did he realize that it was a semi-embracing posture, as if he were nestled in Yue Qianwen's arms.
He used to think it was just a friendly and intimate moment, like a good brother hugging, but now he senses a strange ambiguity in it.
After a brief eye contact, he excused himself to get a drink of water and left the living room.
The rising body temperature and accelerated heartbeat could not be hidden.
He probably knew what he was thinking.
He glanced back at Yue Qianwen, who, as if sensing his gaze, also looked over from afar.
Lin Yu found it strange that the two men were staring at each other, and Yue Qianwen's deep-set eyes always seemed like bottomless whirlpools, making him inexplicably uncomfortable.
But looking at it from afar, one can sense a touch of tenderness.
Yue Qianwen was really good to him.
This is an indisputable fact.
They were so close that even if he wanted to go back to being just friends, there was no way out.
Yue Qianwen planted a seed in his heart, and after half a year of careful cultivation, it is about to blossom and bear fruit, which even he himself cannot bear to give up.
My phone suddenly rang; it was my mother calling.
Ask him what he does, whether he usually goes out with colleagues, and whether he has any close female friends.
Lin Yu gave a perfunctory reply, then turned to look at Yue Qianwen. Yue Qianwen was staring at his phone screen, his fingers moving rapidly as if replying to a message. Lin Yu felt a pang of panic and said to his mother, "No, there's only one guy I'm very close to who told you about it."
"I know, didn't you recognize him as your godbrother?"
“He’s not my godbrother,” he denied slowly, “He’s not my godbrother…”
The mother was completely confused. "What do you mean?"
Lin Yu couldn't bring himself to say it, "It's nothing, let's talk about it next time."
At the end of the call, his mother asked him to come home for dinner on the weekend. "Your dad and I were just saying that we thought you would be very homesick, but you've adapted quite well. Are you getting used to the food outside?"
They adapted very well and got used to the food.
Because some people are willing to spend a lot of time cooking beef in more than a dozen different ways, just to make him happy.
He put down his cup, walked over and sat down next to Yue Qianwen, deliberately avoiding looking at his phone screen. After a while, he suddenly blurted out, "The braised beef brisket was delicious today, thank you."
Yue Qianwen touched his hair.
"Are you chatting with him?" Lin Yu asked again.
Yue Qianwen turned off the screen and changed the subject: "Give me a set of pajamas, I want to take a shower."
Lin Yu wanted to press for more details, but Yue Qianwen showed no intention of answering, gazing at him with indifferent eyes.
There was an occasional gust of wind outside the window, but the living room was unusually quiet.
The window paper was about to break but hadn't quite.
Lin Yu didn't have the courage to poke, so he obediently went to the balcony.
Fortunately, it was summer, so the short-sleeved pajamas could still be shared. Lin Yu listened to the sound of water splashing in the bathroom and only then realized that he was searching for XXL size men's pajamas on a shopping app.
"..."
Lin Yu threw his phone aside, grabbing his hair in frustration. "I'm going crazy, I'm really going crazy!"
What's this?
What exactly is the purpose of letting Yue Qianwen stay overnight tonight?
He could keep him until tomorrow morning, but not until tomorrow night, and certainly not for a lifetime. Lin Yu couldn't understand what he really wanted.
As he was thinking, a damp citrus scent wafted into his nose. He looked up and saw Yue Qianwen standing in front of him, drying his hair.
His pajamas were still a bit small for Yue Qianwen, revealing his broad shoulders and muscles. Lin Yu's Adam's apple moved slightly.
"What are you thinking about?"
Lin Yu felt that Yue Qianwen was asking a question he already knew the answer to, so he lowered his head and didn't want to talk to him.
"There's a new Yunnan restaurant that opened in the mall you recommended. It has a good reputation and a nice atmosphere. Have you eaten there?" Yue Qianwen asked again.
Here we go again. Is it really necessary to eat this awful meal and see this disgusting noodles?
Lin Yu said irritably, "It tastes awful."
Yue Qianwen asked with a smile, "How bad is it?"
Lin Yu glared at him, "We'll break up as soon as we eat."
"Then let's not." Yue Qianwen raised an eyebrow, walked past Lin Yu to the bedside, and lay down under the covers.
Lin Yu felt the mattress sink slightly.
He has always loved sleeping on soft beds since he was a child; even a Simmons mattress wasn't enough for him. Now he's discovered that soft beds have a drawback: every little movement he makes toss and turn tonight will be noticed by Yue Qianwen.
Lin Yu stared at Yue Qianwen's phone, and seeing that he was about to pick it up, he immediately said, "I can't adjust the resolution of my projector, can you take a look?"
Yue Qianwen pulled out the projector remote from the bedside table and saw Lin Yu standing by the bed like a silly goose, staring at his phone as if facing a formidable enemy.
He handed over the phone. "Do you want to take it to the bathroom?"
Lin Yu's mind went blank for a moment, and he subconsciously reached out, only to pull his hand back abruptly after touching the phone case, annoyed, "You're so annoying!"
She grabbed a set of pajamas in a huff and rushed to the bathroom.
Yue Qianwen's gaze fell on the drawer where Lin Yu kept his underwear.
Sure enough, ten minutes later, Lin Yu walked in wearing pajamas, looking a little awkward. He turned his back to Yue Qianwen, rummaged through the drawer, and then quickly went back to the bathroom.
The more awkward the movements, the more attention they attract.
The green dinosaur graffiti pajama pants revealed a distinct, round bottom silhouette from the back.
Yue Qianwen glanced at it, his expression unchanged, and continued to adjust the projector's resolution.
Lin Yu, smelling the same citrus-scented shower gel as Yue Qianwen, climbed onto the bed using both hands and feet.
Yue Qianwen opened a movie and asked him, "Is this brightness okay?"
Lin Yu had no interest in this and replied perfunctorily, "Okay."
She quickly changed the subject, leaning closer to Yue Qianwen, "...Can you show me that boy's picture? I'm curious."
"What are you curious about?"
"Your tastes and aesthetic preferences."
Yue Qianwen then picked up his phone and scrolled through the photo album.
Lin Yu was stunned. It wasn't in the chat history, but in the photo album. What did that mean? It meant Yue Qianwen really liked it and saved it immediately upon receiving it.
He was so angry that every pore on his body seemed to be steaming.
Yue Qianwen opened a card and handed it to Lin Yu.
It's a photo of a tall, thin boy standing on the beach, his back to the camera. The lighting is dim, there are fireworks in the background, and his clothes are barely visible.
"What is this? I can't even see the face. Give me a picture of the face."
"not good."
"Why?" Lin Yu raised his voice eight octaves.
"I don't want you, with your sharp tongue, to casually comment on him."
Lin Yu was so angry that his whole body turned red.
Wow, you've only known each other for a few days, and you're already so protective of her.
"Who cares to see this!" he snapped. He turned around, lay down with his back to Yue Qianwen, stared at his phone screen for a long time, and suddenly remembered that he and Yue Qianwen had also gone to the beach.
There were fireworks and ocean waves at the end of March.
Unfortunately, no photos were taken at that time.
It's a pity.
Because we're together every day, we often get too lazy to commemorate things, even though there are many trips that are worth taking a group photo of.
He took Yue Qianwen's efforts for granted and didn't cherish the beach they went to together, so Yue Qianwen fell in love with someone who was willing to capture beauty.
That netizen said that her friend has a very good temper.
After a long while, the bedroom was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. He muttered to himself, staring at the wall, "Yue Qianwen, my temper isn't actually that bad."
It's just that it's a bit mischievous in front of you.
It's not that I'm bullying you, it's that I appreciate your tolerance and understanding.
"Yue Qianwen," he said again, "could you please not—"
It's hard to say something that's only half-said.
"No—" His heart pounded like thunder.
He felt that Yue Qianwen should have picked up on his words, since Yue Qianwen would always give him a way out, but Yue Qianwen didn't.
It was very quiet on the left side of the bed.
Lin Yu felt both frustrated and aggrieved. He pulled the blanket over himself and didn't know how much time had passed when he felt Yue Qianwen turn off the small light and slowly lie down. Yue Qianwen probably thought he was asleep and reached out his arm to lift the blanket off his head.
He didn't move, his eyes were open.
As the blanket was lifted, in the dim moonlight, she met Yue Qianwen's gaze.
Yue Qianwen propped himself up and lay down on his side, his fingertips tracing Lin Yu's flushed cheek. "You want me to skip my date tomorrow night?"
Lin Yu blinked.
"Just meeting doesn't mean anything."
Lin Yu shook his head.
“But I can’t revolve around you forever, Mumu. You said it yourself, I’ve reached the age where I should start thinking about where to settle down.”
Lin Yu's voice was trembling with tears: "You've been living a comfortable single life all these years, why did you have to meet a new guy at this time?"
"Do you want me to stay single my whole life? Just stay with you like this, year after year, and watch you fall in love, get married, and have children?"
Lin Yu froze, then stammered, "No..."
He's not that selfish.
Yue Qianwen leaned down and placed a light kiss on the corner of Lin Yu's tear-filled eye, as light as a feather.
He looked at Lin Yu's instantly panicked expression and chuckled to himself: Baby, if you knew what happened after you fell asleep the last few times I stayed overnight, would you cry?
"Let's not talk about this anymore," Yue Qianwen said softly, touching Lin Yu's cheek. "Go to sleep. I'll make you some congee with preserved egg and lean pork tomorrow morning and put it in a clay pot. You can heat it up yourself when you get up."
Tomorrow morning, tomorrow night, dates, meetings—these thoughts haunted Lin Yu like a nightmare.
He was flustered.
Perhaps it was the alluring moonlight, but he suddenly reached out and wrapped his arms around Yue Qianwen's neck, closing the distance between them. He stared at Yue Qianwen's lips, wanting to test whether there was any physiological rejection as mentioned online.
He pulled Yue Qianwen closer and closer.
Yue Qianwen tried to stop, calling out a helpless "Mumu" and resting his arm on Lin Yu's shoulder.
Lin Yu, however, refused to back down.
He thought, I'll just stick it on once, just feel it once.
If I feel disgusted or repulsed, I won't think about it anymore.
So he pressed down hard on Yue Qianwen's back shoulder until they were at the right distance, then straightened his back and pressed against him.
Dry and soft.
After sticking together for three seconds, he took the initiative to separate them and pursed his lips.
Was he being rejected? He was a little confused, and before he could react, someone took his mouth and captured his breath with a deep kiss.
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