Chapter 26

Chapter 26

The atmosphere had subtly grown intoxicating.

Gu Lin didn’t even pause to consider what he should do. His hand pressed into the beige carpet, palm sinking into the soft velvet surface.

He tilted sideways, lowering his head toward him.

Pei Sheng stood with arms crossed, seemingly unaware of his approaching intent, and asked, “Didn’t you have overtime today? Why are you back early?”

Gu Lin watched his lips part and close but didn’t register the words. He just hummed absently in reply.

“Huh?” Pei Sheng tilted his head slightly, as if trying to look at him.

But the next moment, he felt Gu Lin’s scent/heat surge toward him—so overwhelming that it left no room for thought. A weight settled onto his bent knee.

With his vision blocked, all he heard was the rustling of fabric and the sound of Gu Lin’s breathing—deep, as if afraid of disturbing something.

His foggy mind slowly registered: Gu Lin was sitting on his lap.

His muscular thigh met the soft curve of Gu Lin’s backside.

What the hell was he doing?

“Pei Sheng.” His voice sounded right beside his ear, quivering with tension, causing Pei Sheng’s lagging thoughts to short-circuit.

Instinctively, Pei Sheng reached to pull the towel from his eyes, but Gu Lin’s palm pressed down to stop him.

Gu Lin’s face was completely flushed now. It was his first time making such a silent invitation—for a kiss.

He had never kissed anyone before.

But right now, he wanted to kiss Pei Sheng.

Hearing no refusal, his Adam’s apple bobbed slightly. His dry lips met Pei Sheng’s in an unskilled, testing press.

To Pei Sheng, a kiss had always seemed like just lips touching lips.

But when Gu Lin’s lips met his, he was surprised to find them softer and warmer than his own.

His breathing was deeper, more even—until their noses touched, and Pei Sheng’s breath hitched, leaving only Gu Lin’s warm exhales to soften the press of their lips further.

Every nerve in Pei Sheng’s body fired, screaming at him: he was kissing another man.

It was surreal.

Yet, just as Wang Zhichu had said, he was growing stranger by the day.

He didn’t feel disgusted. Instead, his nape burned, the heat spreading down his spine.

Maybe he should kiss back.

But reason made him reach up instead, grabbing Gu Lin’s neck like scruffing a cat, dragging the gasping man back. With his other hand, he yanked the towel from his eyes, dark eyes locked onto Gu Lin’s burning face.

Gu Lin was nervous—his heart hammered against his ribs, his mouth dry. His tongue flicked out reflexively to wet his lips.

That pink flick burned into Pei Sheng’s sight.

His silence couldn’t hold. But any words now would just shame Gu Lin.

Gu Lin squirmed under his gaze, still gripping the hem of his shirt, his eyes rimmed red as he asked shyly, "You... don't like it?"

Pei Sheng ignored him, instead wrapping an arm around his waist and lifting him to place him on the sofa. He draped the towel over his burning face. "Don’t go copying everything you see."

With that, he ambled toward his room, head lowered as he ate his cup noodles, like nothing happened.

Gu Lin sat on the sofa, pressing the cool towel against his face, watching as Pei Sheng entered the room and closed the door.

The adrenaline rush faded, and Gu Lin slumped onto the sofa. But the memory of having touched Pei Sheng’s lips sent him hiding his face in a pillow in embarrassment.

His face burned all over again.

He texted Chu Gege and typed, *I kissed him.*

But in the end, he deleted it all.

This was his and Pei Sheng’s secret—for now, he couldn’t tell anyone.

Resting his chin on the cushion, he suddenly noticed Lado crouching nearby and jolted. "Lado, did you see us kissing?"

Lado gave a single ‘woof’ and turned away.

Gu Lin took that as a yes. He scrambled up, grabbed Lado, and covered the dog’s eyes with his hands. "You didn’t see anything. Forget it, forget it."

Lado looked thoroughly unamused, but Gu Lin ignored it, hugging the dog’s head and snapping a selfie while Lado side-eyed him.

He posted it on his social media.

*"Me and the pup are living our best life today~"*

Chu Gege liked it instantly and commented: *Pfft, only *you* look happy.*

Chu Yu also replied quickly: *What’s got you so happy?*

Zheng Wei was the most direct: *Did you bang Pei Sheng?!*

Gu Lin looked at his lively social media feed and felt warm inside—no longer the sad case with zero likes.

After replying to everyone, he nuked the slightly cold fried chicken in the microwave, planning to give it to Pei Sheng.

Meanwhile, Pei Sheng sat in his room, zoning out at his screen, his brain stuck on loop replaying the scene of Gu Lin sitting on his lap, leaning down to press their lips together.

It tangled with the text Wang Zhichu had sent him yesterday.

Only when Zheng Wei’s notification snapped him out of it did he move his mouse to open it.

Zheng: *Boss! You still a virgin?*

Zheng: *Want me to mail you a ‘first time’ care package?*

Pei Sheng replied simply.

Pei: *Still a virgin. Buzz off.*

Zheng: *...*

Zheng: *Then why’s Gu Lin grinning like a fool?*

Fei: Let him have his fun.

Zheng: (Bye)

Zheng Wei tossed her phone aside and snapped at Wang Yang, who was busy coding, "Why does your brother have to be so damn annoying?"

"Don’t mess with him right now. He bumped into my mom yesterday." Wang Yang had received a call from his mother the day before.

He had a feeling things went badly between Pei Sheng and his mom.

"No wonder." Zheng Wei knew about the relationship between Wang Yang and Pei Sheng.

She knew a little about Pei Sheng’s past, but not much—just that he donated a lot of money to medical aid teams in Africa every year.

At first, they figured Pei Sheng was just a generous guy. Later, Wang Yang told her that his mother participated in medical aid in Africa every year, and the more funding they had, the safer the medical teams would be.

Zheng Wei had assumed Pei Sheng must have a great relationship with his mother—until one Christmas abroad.

The three of them went to celebrate the holiday with him as usual, but that day, they witnessed Pei Sheng, who had never lost his temper with anyone, snapping at a woman to "get out."

His face still bore a bright red slap mark.

That was when they learned about the relationship between Wang Yang and Pei Sheng.

Thinking about the past, Zheng Wei felt a bit irritated and plonked herself on Wang Yang’s desk. "Why’s your mom always on the boss’s case? I think Pei Sheng is an incredibly outstanding son in many people’s eyes."

"My mom can’t stand me either. She’s too much of a perfectionist, so she thinks everyone should be like her. My brother pushes her buttons in a lot of ways."

"Like?"

"Eating instant noodles?"

Sometimes Zheng Wei thought family bonds were weirdly fascinating, especially in the way people spoke.

"Quit talking like Pei Sheng!" Zheng Wei covered Wang Yang’s mouth.

Wang Yang teased, "Maybe it’s because my mom can’t get the kind of feedback a mother expects from her child from my brother. He’s so cold—I can’t even get the feedback an older brother should give his younger brother."

People need feedback to feel valued.

When they get none, they start blaming the other person for being strange.

Zheng Wei nodded. "Yeah... I wouldn’t even know about your relationship if you hadn’t told me."

Then she realized something was off. "Then how does Gu Lin get so many heart-eyes from Pei Sheng every day?"

Wang Yang froze. "...Gu Lin?"

"Wait, you didn’t know your brother is living with Gu Lin? He even took him to dinner with business partners."

Wang Yang blanked. "I... didn’t."

"Guess the boss doesn’t see you as family."

*Wang Yang’s jaw tightened.*

Zheng Wei left with a smug grin, off to pry details from Gu Lin.

Wang Yang called after her, "Then you’d better tell Gu Lin to watch Pei Sheng’s back and keep him away from fire."

"Why is that?" Zheng Wei and the two others knew Pei Sheng was afraid of fire, so he wouldn’t go near anything with flames, but they didn't know the reason.

Wang Yang: "I’m not sure either. I wasn’t born yet at the time. It might have something to do with my mom and her ex-husband."

Zheng Wei got bored, gave his chair a kick, and ran off to chat with Gu Lin.

As he left, Wang Yang opened his chat window with Pei Sheng. Their last conversation had been three days ago.

After hesitating for a long while, he finally sent a message: *Bro, are you okay?*

*Fei: Nothing much lately. You can go home.*

Wang Yang stared at the words, his eyes dimmed a little. He could understand his mother’s futile anger toward Pei Sheng. Sometimes, he didn’t know how to bridge the gap between them.

Compared to Zheng Wei and Zhou Shaoran’s familiarity with Pei Sheng, he might as well have been a stranger.

In the end, he just replied with an *Okay* and was about to end the conversation when Pei Sheng sent another message.

*Fei: Hold off for now.*

Wang Yang stared at the words until it dredged up the memory of when he was sixteen, running from his overbearing mother to go abroad alone. Standing in the vast airport, backpack on his shoulders, he had been clueless and overwhelmed, unable to understand the English signs.

Then, Pei Sheng broke through the crowd, sprinting his way. Five years younger than Pei Sheng, Wang Yang had looked up at the twenty-one-year-old, who already carried the composure of an adult. Standing in the cold wind, Pei Sheng mussed up his bleached hair and said, "Look at you, a little blond punk now."

Pei Sheng rarely smiled, but he seemed approachable—maybe because of his good looks. He took Wang Yang back to his small apartment.

He arranged his lodging, school enrollment, and major. Once Wang Yang was settled, Pei Sheng tossed him a card and his contact information before leaving.

But every week, he would visit him at school, take him out for a good meal, and then hurry off again.

Later, he introduced him to gaming, where he met Zhou Shaoran and Zheng Wei.

It hit Wang Yang much later that Pei Sheng had always been trying to be a good brother.

But his kindness was like cold metal—lukewarm unless held.

Pei Sheng closed the chat window with Wang Yang just as a knock sounded at the door. He stood up and opened it to find Gu Lin balancing a steaming tray of fried chicken and a bottle of grape juice, offering them to him. "Here, eat these. Ramen’s not a meal."

Pei Sheng looked into his smiling eyes.

Something twisted in his chest. *Why does he keep giving me things?*

First, that kiss that shouldn’t have happened, and now food that shouldn’t have been his.

Pei Sheng shifted uncomfortably. He took the items and placed them on his desk, then noticed the faint flush on Gu Lin’s face. Frowning, he asked, "Did you take your temperature earlier?"

Gu Lin didn’t know how to use the ear thermometer, so he hadn’t. "I don’t know how to use that thing."

Pei Sheng sighed. "Bring it here. I’ll show you."

Gu Lin scampered off to grab it, and Pei Sheng taught him how to turn it on and set the age range. "Then, insert it into your ear."

"Okay." Gu Lin fumbled the probe past his ear. Pei Sheng reached out, took his hand, and adjusted the position. "Into the ear canal. Press the button."

The *beep* mirrored Gu Lin’s pulse at that moment.

But the reading of 39 degrees made Pei Sheng’s expression go stormy.

"Measure the other ear."

"You're so mean." Gu Lin mumbled while taking Pei Sheng's temperature.

Pei Sheng sneered, "If your fever gets any higher, Yama (King of Hell) would be even harsher."

Gu Lin: "..."

As expected, the other ear also registered 39 degrees.

So, once again, Gu Lin was hauled off by Pei Sheng to get an IV drip. The two sat in the mostly empty IV section.

Gu Lin was typing one-handed on his phone, searching on Baidu, even more baffled by how Pei Sheng could type so fast with just one hand.

Pei Sheng sat beside him, watching as Gu Lin extended a single finger, pecking at the screen like a slow-motion chicken. Curious, he asked, "What are you doing?"

"Looking something up." Gu Lin even tilted his phone away, hiding the screen from him.

Pei Sheng, judging by his posture, figured it probably wasn’t anything proper and didn’t press further.

Just as he was about to reply to a message from Zhou Shaoran, he heard an AI female voice ring out in the quiet room from Gu Lin’s phone.

"Regarding the search query: 'Can I still kiss my boyfriend if I have a cold?' The results indicate that if it's a viral cold, it's best to take precautions, as it's very contagious..."

Red-faced, Gu Lin fumbled to shut it off and awkwardly glanced at Pei Sheng. "Ha, just wondering... you know… just wondering."

After speaking, he hid his face in his hands, turning his head away. After a long pause, he finally turned back to Pei Sheng, leaning toward him to whisper in his ear, "So… could you catch it from me?"

Pei Sheng: "...No."

Gu Lin: "Why?"

Pei Sheng tilted his head just slightly at his approaching face and whispered back, "'Cause kissing means opening your mouth."

Gu Lin blinked in confusion. "Wait... how? Like this? Ah~"

Pei Sheng laughed at his clueless look. "Alright, you clueless little deviant, just sit still."

Gu Lin’s head was pressed down by Pei Sheng’s palm, but his curious eyes still gleamed. He looked up expectantly and asked, "Then… can we kiss again when we get back?"

"The open-mouth kind."