Chapter 39

Chapter 39

During high school, there was a period when city officials came to inspect the school. The homeroom teachers requested that all students tuck their shirttails into their pants while doing morning exercises.

Back then, everyone looked like bookworms, except for Pei Ran, who had long legs and a slender waist, standing straight and proper.

Feeling his ankle being firmly held, Pei Ran sensed a gentle bite on his calf. Instinctively, he tried to pull away, but the more he did, the tighter Yan Zhun's grip became.

As the exercise neared its end, Yan Zhun buried his face in the crook of Pei Ran's neck and said in a low voice, "In high school, our homeroom teacher thought I was dating someone."

Pei Ran loosely covered his eyes with the back of his hand, a hint of moisture shimmering beneath his lids. He didn't understand why Yan Zhun would bring this up at this moment, but he still weakly responded, "Mm?"

"I was watching the students from another class throughout the entire gymnastics session."

"..."

Yan Zhun spoke deliberately, his voice laced with a desire that was seldom heard. It was low and hoarse. He removed Pei Ran's hand to gently kiss his eyes, then the tip of his nose. They were so close that all of Pei Ran's senses were overwhelmed by him alone.

As Pei Ran's vision blurred with white, he heard Yan Zhun coo, "Your legs look great, Professor Pei."

...

The next morning, Yan Zhun woke up a little later than usual, but his habits were good; he never overslept past ten o'clock.

Upon waking, his first instinct was to check on the person beside him. Pei Ran was still asleep. Yan Zhun gently touched his forehead, reassured by the lack of any abnormality before getting out of bed.

Yan Zhun called down to the front desk to order two breakfasts, then bent down to tidy up the trash on the floor.

There wasn't much to clean up – just the packaging from two condoms, which he had missed the target with the night before, landing near the waste bin.

Pei Ran stirred awake just in time to catch the sounds coming from the balcony.

The moment he shifted, a diffuse ache spread throughout his body. Though not severe, it was enough to deter him from sitting up.

He turned his head towards the balcony. The curtains were slightly ajar, and though the sunlight wasn't harsh, Pei Ran couldn't help but squint.

He saw Yan Zhun opening the balcony door, something in his hand. It took a few blinks for Pei Ran to discern what it was, instantly dispelling any remaining drowsiness –

Yan Zhun was holding his underwear.

Freshly laundered.

Last night, he had been treated so peculiarly that his legs were sore and numb. He could only let Yan Zhun lead him to take a bath, then fell asleep without a care after the rinse.

When Yan Zhun returned from hanging up the pants to dry, he found Pei Ran propped up at the head of the bed, staring at him blankly.

"Awake?" Yan Zhun stepped forward and touched his forehead again. "I ordered breakfast; it just arrived. Come, eat."

Pei Ran lifted his gaze. "What you just took out...?"

Yan Zhun's tone was casual. "I washed them in case you thought it would be unclean left in the bathroom."

This was the first time in Pei Ran's life that someone had helped him wash his underwear.

He closed his eyes, recalling what had happened last night. His face flushed, but his expression remained composed. After a brief silence, he said, "Okay."

Breakfast was a light and tasty lean meat congee.

Yan Zhun remarked, "I extended the room for another day."

Pei Ran's spoon paused in mid-air as he sipped his porridge. "Huh?"

Yan Zhun looked down, "I was worried you wouldn't get enough rest... Does it still hurt?"

Pei Ran shook his head. Yan Zhun had prepared well; he genuinely didn't feel much pain.

But his legs were indeed aching now. After discussing it together, they decided to sleep a little longer and not return with the bus.

As the clock neared midnight, the notifications in their class group were going off non-stop. Yan Zhun walked out of the bathroom just in time to see Pei Ran changing clothes.

"Didn't you say we were going to sleep a bit more?"

"Mm," Pei Ran pulled on his pants, "But I still need to go downstairs and say goodbye to the teacher."

Yan Zhun glanced at the scarf Pei Ran had taken out. "Do you need to wear so many layers?"

The hotel was heated from the room all the way to the lobby.

Pei Ran: "..."

Pei Ran: "It's too obvious, the marks on your body."

Although Pei Ran hadn't been spoilt growing up, he hadn't really experienced any hardships in life either. Plus, his skin was fairer than that of an average boy, so Yan Zhun could easily leave red marks with just a little pressure.

He had seen them while grooming – marks on his waist, neck, and legs.

Lost in thought, Pei Ran recalled Yan Zhun turning to kiss his calf, and couldn't help but hurry to put on his scarf.

Yan Zhun paused. "I'll accompany you then."

Twelve o'clock was the peak check-out time at the hotel, especially during holidays when the queue could be quite long.

Luo Qingshan yawned incessantly on the lobby sofa. His classmate sitting beside him finally couldn't hold back. "What did you do last night?"

"Not much, just had trouble sleeping due to unfamiliar bed." Luo Qingshan sipped some water and looked around. "Where's Pei Ran? Why hasn't he come down yet? He's usually punctual."

The classmate hummed. "They seem to be staying for another day. They said they're not checking out. Maybe they're still asleep."

Luo Qingshan's face flushed red from choking on the water. "They...aren't checking out?!"

As the words faded, the elevator doors beside them glided open, revealing Pei Ran and Yan Zhun stepping out side by side.

Pei Ran was dressed in layers, leaving only his head exposed, making him seem unbearably hot just by looking at him.

In contrast, Yan Zhun wore only a T-shirt. The black long-sleeved top had its cuffs rolled up to his elbows, and the collar exposed a hint of his collarbone.

Luo Qingshan watched them in a daze as they walked towards the sofa beside him, bidding Teacher Tong farewell.

At first glance, Luo Qingshan noticed a scratch-like mark on Yan Zhun's arm, resembling the marks from a cat's claws. It wasn't deep, but left a pinkish trail.

There were no cats in this hotel.

He couldn't resist glancing up, and saw that Yan Zhun's collar hung loosely, revealing two red marks on the right side of his Adam's apple.

Their shoulders brushed against each other, and though there was no excessive physical contact, Luo Qingshan could instantly perceive the intimacy between them.

Recalling how he had knocked on a door for a long time last night with no response, Luo Qingshan's breathing paused for two seconds. He clenched and then unclenched his fists, staring at Pei Ran in disbelief.

He and Pei Ran had never taken that final step.

He is a pure straight man, who was confused and unaware of how two men could truly make love during his high school years. After entering university, the nearby small hotels were too dirty and had even experienced incidents with hidden cameras, so the two of them rarely went there.

Luo Qingshan had originally reserved a hotel room for his birthday night, but unforeseen circumstances arose when he inadvertently drank far too much and inadvertently caused an absurd misunderstanding with Su Nian. As a result, the cost of the room went to waste, left unoccupied for the entire evening. Ultimately, it was Su Nian who led him to a humble, makeshift lodging at a rather shabby inn where they spent the night.

He stood there with a stoic, ashen face, watching them bid farewell to their teacher and classmates.

As he passed by, Luo Qingshan couldn't help but call out, "Pei Ran."

Pei Ran halted in his tracks and turned to look at him.

Luo Qingshan inquired, "Why didn't you... open the door last night?"

He observed Pei Ran subconsciously lean slightly closer to Yan Zhun before speaking after a few seconds.

"There was a personal matter," Pei Ran said, then turned to the class monitor. "We'll head up first then. Have a safe journey, goodbye."

-

Pei Ran hadn't slept well to begin with. After drawing the curtains in his room, he soon fell into a deep slumber.

Yan Zhun sat at the edge of the bed, watching a match with headphones on. Now and then, he would glance over at Pei Ran. Lying on his side, Pei Ran slept soundly. Yan Zhun watched him quietly for a while before gently touching the fading love bite near his shoulder blade with the tip of his finger. Under the light of the iPad, it was evident that the mark had significantly faded.

Yan Zhun gently massaged until the color deepened, only stopping when he was satisfied.

During the third match, Yan Zhun's phone suddenly rang. Swiftly silencing it, he glanced over to find Pei Ran already awake.

"Sleep a bit more," Yan Zhun said, preparing to get up and answer the call outside.

Pei Ran, with his eyes lowered, weakly held onto his arm, his voice slightly hoarse, "It's alright, I've had enough sleep. You go ahead and take it."

Yan Zhun stroked his hair and put the call on speaker.

It was their coach on the line, getting straight to the point.

"Wei can't continue anymore. He'll retire after this competition. The higher-ups are pressing me to scout new talents... You need to make a decision soon," the coach said. "I've looked at the current batch of trainees, but they're not up to par. Besides, we're lacking a commander right now. I don't trust any of the three currently on the team."

Yan Zhun replied, "Understood. I'll give you an answer next week."

The coach sighed in relief, "Alright, I hope it's good news. Why haven't you returned? Weren't you just staying for one night?"

Yan Zhun answered, "I extended the room for another day."

Coach: "Well, then have fun with Pei Ran."

Pei Ran listened to the conversation in a daze, half-asleep.

After the call ended, he lifted his head slowly, realizing what had been said: "Are you going to compete?"

Yan Zhun didn't answer directly but asked instead, "Do you want me to go?"

Pei Ran was taken aback for a moment: "That's your choice."

Yan Zhun replied, "You're my boyfriend; I fall under your jurisdiction."

"..."

Recalling that he had said the same thing earlier in front of the convenience store, Pei Ran covered his eyes, feeling a delayed sense of bashfulness.

He got up slowly and leaned lazily on Yan Zhun's arm, scrolling through his phone for a while.

Yan Zhun's phone beeped, and Pei Ran said, "I just recommended someone to you on WeChat."

Yan Zhun was taken aback. "Who?"

"A physiotherapist," Pei Ran replied. "He's very skilled and gives a very relaxing massage."

Pei Ran had learned to play the piano in his childhood, and now he painted. His hands would get tired after long hours of drawing, which was why his mother had introduced this therapist to him.

Yan Zhun nodded, saying, "Okay." After a moment, he asked, "Was my massage uncomfortable?"

Last night, when Yan Zhun had held Pei Ran down, he'd kept their fingers interlocked the entire time until they were done.

Pei Ran's hands had turned red from being held so tightly.

Afterward, when Yan Zhun noticed, he massaged Pei Ran's hand. It was in the sensation of that gentle pressure on his fingers that Pei Ran had drifted off to sleep.

Pei Ran said, "...It's different."

Rain drizzled outside, and neither of them had any intention of going to enjoy the hot springs. They remained snuggled up in bed.

Pei Ran got out of bed to wash his face. After he closed the bathroom door, Yan Zhun took out his phone again and forwarded the electronic contract that his coach had sent him last week to his father.