Chapter 134

Chapter 134

Since he was about to start school, Tian Ruan couldn’t continue sharing a room with Yu Jingmo. He needed to do homework and review lessons in the evenings, and with both of them in the prime of their passion, it would be hard to guarantee study efficiency.

So Tian Ruan packed up his belongings from the master bedroom and moved them back to the guest room.

When Yu Jingmo returned from work, he found the master bedroom spotless.

Gone were the pens the young man had left lying around, the two capybara plushies on the bedside table, the stack of workbooks several inches thick, the carefully wrapped tablet, and the pile of underwear two sizes smaller in the wardrobe. The typically quiet master bedroom now felt even more desolate.

Yu Jingmo walked downstairs with an icy expression and asked Tian Ruan, “Where are your things?”

Tian Ruan fiddled with his newly bought pen, testing how smoothly it wrote on paper, and replied somewhat guiltily, “School starts tomorrow.”

“So you’re not sleeping with me anymore?”

“We can still sleep together on Sundays.”

“If you’re still sharing my bed, I’ll wait until Sunday to touch you.”

“…” Tian Ruan didn’t believe a word of it. He had calculated—Yu Jingmo’s longest endurance was three days without touching him. By the fourth day, he’d be like a man possessed, as if he wanted to have his way with him completely.

If they kept this up during school, Tian Ruan would definitely call in sick the next day.

He couldn’t take that risk. Their intimacy was important, but it couldn’t interfere with his studies and career.

“No, I still have homework to do,” Tian Ruan said.

Yu Jingmo stared at him, his gaze icy, but said nothing more.

After packing his schoolbag and finishing dinner, Tian Ruan returned to the long-neglected guest room. Looking at the unchanged furnishings, he suddenly felt both familiar and strange. He took a shower and lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

A servant brought him hot milk, but even after drinking it, Tian Ruan was still staring at the ceiling. The 1.8-meter-wide bed felt empty beside him, and he found it strangely lonely.

Even the 28°C warm air from the AC couldn’t heat up the bedding. Tian Ruan felt as if he were lying in a freezer.

For the first time, he realized how lonely it was to sleep alone.

After just one winter break, he had grown accustomed to Yu Jingmo’s warm, solid chest, his strong body holding him close yet secure every night.

Whenever Tian Ruan kicked off the blankets, Yu Jingmo would patiently cover him again. When he’d throw a leg over Yu Jingmo, the man never complained. No matter how wildly he tossed and turned in bed, every morning he would wake up tucked in properly, already dressed by Yu Jingmo.

Separated by less than ten meters, Tian Ruan began to miss Yu Jingmo.

But he was the one who had moved out—how could he go back now?

Tian Ruan turned to look at the door, his face twisted in conflict, his hair sticking up in all directions—would it be awkward to return to the master bedroom?

Five minutes later, Tian Ruan hugged his pillow, wearing only thin white pajamas, and stood before the heavy wooden door of the master bedroom. He raised his hand and knocked.

No response.

Could Mr. Yu really already be asleep? Tian Ruan couldn’t believe it. How could he sleep so easily?

Even someone as easygoing as him couldn’t sleep!

Feeling both hurt and frustrated, Tian Ruan pounded the door. “Mr. Yu, are you asleep?”

With a click, the door opened, and the steamy fragrance of body wash mixed with warm air wafted out.

Under the pure black silk bathrobe was a tall, sculpted frame like polished jade. The robe barely hid the contours of his chest, water droplets clinging to his defined collarbones. As his Adam’s apple moved along his slender neck, a cello-deep voice rumbled: “I’m showering.”

Tian Ruan raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping past Yu Jingmo’s sharply defined jawline, his bow-shaped lips, and his nose as sharp as a mountain ridge. Above it were a pair of deep, narrow phoenix eyes, the corners slightly upturned, their glint faintly amused.

“What’s wrong?”

Tian Ruan flushed awkwardly, fingers clutching the soft pillow. “Why are you only showering now?”

“I was handling emails in the study,” Yu Jingmo said, stepping aside to let him in.

Tian Ruan sauntered in, pretending nonchalance. “Perfect timing. Let’s sleep together.”

“Mm.” Yu Jingmo didn’t ask further, closing and locking the door behind him. “As long as you haven’t come in, this bedroom won’t be locked. You can just walk in—no need to knock like an idiot.”

“…Oh.” Tian Ruan scrambled to the far side of the bed, burrowing under the covers and lying down, eyes bright as he stared at Yu Jingmo.

Yu Jingmo climbed into bed, dragging the soft-skinned youth into his arms, his hands wandering. “Why are you so cold?”

Tian Ruan took a deep breath of Yu Jingmo’s scent—blending warm sandalwood and osmanthus soap—feeling utterly at ease. “I won’t be cold soon.”

Yu Jingmo: “One go and you’ll warm right up.”

“…”

True to Yu Jingmo’s words, after one passionate round, they were slick with sweat, thoroughly exhilarated and warm from bones to skin.

Tian Ruan curled his toes, arching his waist.

In the fleeting moment when fireworks exploded in his mind, he thought—maybe two or three times a week wouldn’t be so bad.

The next day, Tian Ruan, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, put on Deyin Academy’s winter uniform, tossed his clean backpack over his shoulder, and slid into the Maybach.

Yu Jingmo was dressed in a tailored suit, his hair slicked back and secured with gel, revealing a full forehead and a widow’s peak. His sharply defined sideburns framed a face of cold, chiseled beauty, his hooded gaze dangerously unreadable.

Tian Ruan was completely gone for him. “Mr. Yu, you’re so handsome.”

Yu Jingmo closed his laptop, glancing sideways at the radiant youth. “It’s not like this is your first time seeing me.”

“But you reach new heights of handsomeness every day.”

“Is that so?” Yu Jingmo pointed to his cheek. “Then don’t just say it—prove it with action.”

The driver winced internally, keeping his eyes firmly on the road ahead.

Tian Ruan brushed a kiss against Yu Jingmo’s cheek, his own face flushing slightly.

Yu Jingmo held his hand, reluctant to let go, but they had already arrived at the school gate. “I’ll pick you up after class.”

“Goodbye, Mr. Yu.” Tian Ruan bounced out of the car cheerfully and strode through Deyin Academy’s grand, gilded gates.

Passing by the statue of Lord Wenchang, he saw a cluster of students already gathered around it. Tian Ruan fished out a French coin from his pocket and tossed it in, saying, “This is foreign money, so if Lord Wenchang ever travels abroad, he’ll have some to spend.”

Everyone: “…Damn, he’s got it all figured out.”

If Lord Wenchang ever ventured into foreign lands, he’d probably need money too.

Tian Ruan strolled toward Class One’s classroom. Today, besides registration, there was also class reassignment.

“Hey, bro!” A lanky, sun-browned kid grinned broadly as he rushed up to him. “Long time no see.”

Tian Ruan: "Do I know you?"

"...It's me, Weiqi."

"Did you work in a coal mine or something? You're so dark." Tian Ruan was utterly shocked.

Wang Weiqi scratched his newly cropped buzz cut. "I deliberately sunbathed to get this tan. Chicks dig this rugged look."

"You have no clue what 'rugged' means."

"What do you know? You don't even like women." Wang Weiqi said with full confidence. "You don't understand what straight guys find attractive."

Tian Ruan was speechless.

After the homeroom teacher entered the classroom, she began calling names according to the class roster, reading them one by one—

"Dou Jiang, Class 8."

"You Tiao, Class 10."

"Wang Weiqi, Class 1."

"Yu Shang, Class 1."

"Tian Ruan, Class 1."

The surrounding classmates shot envious looks. Although every class had a mix of good and average students, Class 1 sounded like an honors class, and staying there gave you serious bragging rights.

"Xiao Pingguo, Class 6."

Tian Ruan: "..." Soy milk, fried dough sticks, and little apples—NPC names were just that random.

Everyone packed up their things and headed to their new classes. Many were reluctant to part, especially the girls—eight out of ten gazed at Yu Shang with affectionate eyes.

One girl shyly came up to Tian Ruan. "Tian Ruan, can I still hit you up for help with math problems after the reshuffle?"

Tian Ruan wasn't stupid; he could tell the girl had a crush on him, but he could only let her down easy. "I might be a bit busy this semester."

The girl looked disappointed, pressing her lips together before saying, "I understand."

Wang Weiqi shot Tian Ruan a jealous glare. Once the girl left, he grumbled, "Why don't girls like me, a straight guy?"

Tian Ruan shrugged. "You're a hit with the guys, though."

Wang Weiqi thought of Baldie and made a face like he'd tasted something bad. "Ugh, don't remind me. That's my embarrassing past—I want to forget it completely!"

Tian Ruan stopped teasing him because he spotted some cool dude strolling into the classroom—pale complexion, straight nose, cold lips and eyes, just oozing that rich kid attitude.

"Lu Qiuyan," Tian Ruan grinned. "You're here."

Lu Qiuyan tilted his chin slightly, his gaze sweeping over Tian Ruan before he just grunted in response.

"Here, here." Tian Ruan patted the desk behind him. "Sit here."

It was a sweet spot—not only right behind Tian Ruan but also just an aisle away from Yu Shang, basically sitting together.

Lu Qiuyan didn't care where he sat. He swung his long legs over and plunked down in the seat, scanning the room.

"Yu Shang went to the student council," Tian Ruan helpfully added. "He's still in Class 1."

"..." Lu Qiuyan looked awkward for a moment. "I wasn’t asking about him anyway."

Tian Ruan grinned, chin in hands.

Wang Weiqi slid over to Lu Qiuyan. "You’re the best, man! From now on, we’ll stick together through thick and thin."

Lu Qiuyan lifted his thin eyelids slightly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Tian Ruan asked, "Wang Weiqi, are you really going to stick with Lu Qiuyan through thick and thin?"

Wang Weiqi said with fake seriousness, "I’d take a bullet for my bro, no hesitation."

Tian Ruan patted his shoulder. "Good man. Next time Lu Qiuyan gets into a fight, we’ll definitely bring you along. You might not have much combat power, but you can at least serve as a punching bag or a distraction."

"..."

Lu Qiuyan said flatly, "I don’t like bringing weaklings to fights."

Wang Weiqi protested, "I’m not a weakling! Take me next time, hell yeah—I’ll prove it to you!"

When new classmates entered the room, they overheard the three discussing fights and immediately kept their distance. By the time Yu Shang returned, one boy reported, "Those three are planning to fight."

Yu Shang stared at them expressionlessly.

Lu Qiuyan remained indifferent, while Wang Weiqi was shaking like crazy. "Uh, we haven’t actually fought yet..."

Tian Ruan said defensively, "I’m a good student—I don’t fight."

Yu Shang’s gaze swept over Lu Qiuyan before he spoke in a calm, firm voice, "Everyone, return to your seats. We’ll now elect class reps for each subject."

Even after the new class assignments, the class still had just over twenty students, so for Tian Ruan, it felt no different from before. Reps could be either teacher-selected or self-nominated, and the process was settled within ten minutes.

Yu Shang asked Tian Ruan, "You’re good at every subject—don’t you want to be a rep?"

Tian Ruan declined, "Nah, being a Student Council investigator is plenty of work already."

Yu Shang bit back a sarcastic comment. After all, as Student Council President, he’d never seen Tian Ruan actually busy with council duties—the guy just did whatever he pleased, lacking any sense of collective honor.

Their head teacher remained the same—still their Chinese instructor. She entered the classroom with a stern face, took attendance again, and gave a few words of encouragement before the morning passed just like that.

There were no classes in the afternoon—just free period.

Then, Director Hu’s gravelly voice blared through the broadcast speakers: "Dear students and teachers, our school has big news to share—"

Students who had been leisurely strolling, chatting, socializing, or drinking tea silently covered their ears. No one wanted to hear Director Hu’s voice, and his fake sweet tone made many wonder if they were hallucinating from eating magic mushrooms.

"Ugh, that gave me chills," Wang Weiqi complained, hopping around the classroom in search of the broadcast’s power cord. He yanked the plug out roughly, and the world finally quieted down a little.

But Tian Ruan perked up.

"A famous actor, a famous singer, a famous variety star, a famous wandering celebrity—Yan Xx will soon visit our school to film the variety show *Detective X's Dedication*!"

Tian Ruan remarked, "Wandering celebrity—Director Hu made up another weird term."

The entire school: "Wait...WHAT?!"