Chapter 63

Chapter 63

The chopsticks clattered onto the table.

Li Yang’s eyes widened in silent disbelief. He pointed at himself, "Me? No, that can’t be right…"

By the end, his voice completely lacked conviction. After all, what Ying Xi described was something he genuinely might do, especially when in a drunken, muddled state.

Li Yang racked his brain, rewinding his memories of the previous night, and finally recalled it.

He had felt hot at the time, probably intending to get a drink of water. But for some reason, a sudden impulse had led him to Ying Xi. He’d ended up sitting directly on him, wanting to kiss him.

And he had actually done it.

Ying Xi hadn’t resisted, but his memories after that were completely blank.

He had actually bitten Ying Xi, and even forcefully pinned Ying Xi’s hands, not letting him move.

"I didn’t do anything else, did I?" Li Yang hunched his shoulders, forcing a guilty smile, and lowered his gaze to avoid looking at Ying Xi.

"What do you think?" Ying Xi countered.

Li Yang, convinced he had, clutched his head as if the sky had fallen. "No more drinking for me."

"Nothing happened. You bit me once and then went back to sleep," Ying Xi chuckled, urging him to eat quickly. "But if Yangyang really likes it forceful…"

"I don’t!" Li Yang quickly clarified. "I—I did want to kiss you, but that 'forceful' thing you mentioned? I didn’t have that in mind."

That was too perverted; he couldn’t do something like that.

Li Yang picked up a fresh pair of chopsticks and slowly ate his meal, ignoring Ying Xi’s unwavering gaze.

After eating, Li Yang sat on the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Three minutes later, he picked up his phone and noticed a video from Wen Yun, followed by several smirking emojis.

At first, Li Yang didn’t understand why he’d sent so many teasing emojis. He opened the video, and after seeing its content, he covered his face with a helpless laugh.

He really couldn’t drink anymore.

His intelligence plummeted. He remembered being perfectly rational at the time, so why were his words and thoughts completely at odds?

Li Yang replied, "Delete the video. I’ll transfer you fifty cents."

Wen Yun: "Fifty cents is too little. Make it a dollar."

Li Yang: "Deal."

He sent a dollar. Wen Yun deleted the video but didn’t accept the money, joking, "Save it for the next time you get drunk and give it to me then."

Li Yang replied earnestly, "There won’t be a next time! I’m not drinking again."

Drunk him was a completely different person from sober him.

From now on, he absolutely had to be wary of alcohol.

"You also stuffed a bottle into Ying Xi’s pocket yesterday, trying to remember the brand for next time. You nearly tore his pocket," Wen Yun spilled all the details of what he’d done while drunk.

Li Yang was immensely relieved they were only communicating via phone; otherwise, he would have wanted to run away.

It was too embarrassing.

"What’s the plan for tomorrow?" Ying Xi sat beside him, pulling him into his arms and idly turning the ring on his finger.

"Anything you want." Li Yang was so accustomed to the gesture that he instinctively snuggled into a comfortable position in Ying Xi’s embrace, his eyes fixed on the TV, completely oblivious to how intimate their posture was.

Ying Xi murmured his name.

Li Yang looked up, and Ying Xi quickly kissed his cheek. "There, keep watching."

Li Yang blinked. Unusually, he wasn’t shy this time. He held Ying Xi’s hand, gazing down at their two rings, a satisfied smile flashing in his eyes.

He was glad he had been brave for once.

Glad he hadn’t missed Ying Xi.

"Let’s take a photo." Li Yang held Ying Xi’s hand up, found the right angle, and snapped a picture.

Bright sunlight streamed in from the window, making the rings on their fingers sparkle beautifully.

Li Yang contentedly lowered his hand, but before he could let go, Ying Xi held it even tighter.

He didn’t resist, simply leaning against Ying Xi’s shoulder as they watched TV.

At bedtime, the dividing line became a problem.

Li Yang held his plushie, about to place it on the bed.

Ying Xi stood silently to the side, arms crossed, saying nothing, but his forlorn eyes conveyed everything.

Li Yang gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and picked up the plushie. "Starting today, we don’t need this dividing line anymore."

"But I’m warning you in advance," he paused, giving a heads-up, "I really do move around a lot in my sleep. If you feel like I’m bothering you, just push me away."

Ying Xi nodded. "I will."

But he didn’t.

That night, Li Yang wriggled his way into Ying Xi’s arms.

The embrace was so warm that Li Yang instantly sobered up. He felt Ying Xi wrap an arm around him from behind, sleeping even more soundly.

They were pressed too close. Li Yang’s mind was screaming warnings. He thought Ying Xi was still fast asleep and he could finally relax.

Until the breathing beside his ear paused.

Li Yang tentatively asked, "Ying Xi?"

"Hm." The deep, magnetic voice resonated in his ear, captivating him. Li Yang’s heart fluttered, his throat bobbed, and he immediately struggled out of Ying Xi’s embrace.

"Go back to sleep," Li Yang said.

Ying Xi seemed to know what he was thinking, letting out a low chuckle, his voice sounding sexier than usual.

Li Yang swallowed, realizing now that removing the plushie had been a bad idea.

He used to think Ying Xi was the pervert.

Now he was sure he was the real pervert.

The rush of emotions left him wide awake, his body growing hot and restless, wave after wave of heat rising up his back, making it impossible to lie still.

Li Yang exhaled, trying his best to calm down and not let Ying Xi see through his thoughts again.

"Yangyang?" In the darkness, a gaze seemed to fall on him, heavy as if it had weight. Li Yang’s limbs instantly stiffened, and he let out a flustered "Mmm."

"Why aren’t you sleeping?" Ying Xi asked, his fingers searching for and entwining with Li Yang’s hand.

The warmth of their tightly clasped hands made Li Yang even more unable to sleep.

He simply closed his eyes and mumbled, "Can’t sleep. I’ll stay awake for a bit."

A breath drew near, carrying that pleasant mint scent.

For a moment, Li Yang couldn’t tell if it was Ying Xi’s pheromones. His nose twitched, instinctively wanting to immerse himself in it.

"Want to try?" Ying Xi moved closer, kissing his hand.

Those words sounded so familiar.

Li Yang thought back and suddenly remembered he had once asked Ying Xi the same thing.

How had Ying Xi answered?

He seemed to have simply kissed him in response.

Li Yang froze, as if enchanted. He tilted his head, trying to discern Ying Xi’s blurred outline, and slowly leaned in, wanting to kiss Ying Xi’s lips.

But he misjudged the position and ended up kissing his chin instead.

His stunned, halted movement made Ying Xi laugh softly.

Li Yang immediately pulled back, thinking of giving up, but Ying Xi cupped his head and gently kissed his lips.

…

The next day, Li Yang clutched his aching waist, looking utterly drained and weak. "I think… we really shouldn’t do too much."

"Didn’t Yangyang say it was fine?" Ying Xi tilted his head, asking with a smile.

Compared to Li Yang, he looked completely refreshed and satisfied.

At the time, Li Yang hadn’t felt particularly tired, but after so many times, the accumulated exhaustion was simply unbearable.

Li Yang cast aside all pride and spoke earnestly, "It’s not fine. From now on, let’s make it once a month."

"Once a month?" Ying Xi slowly repeated, his tone unreadable.

"Yes," Li Yang nodded. "My back isn’t great. Once a month is most suitable."

"Not suitable for me." Ying Xi walked over, embracing him like a lost puppy, pressing his face against Li Yang’s chest, and quietly listening to his heartbeat. "Let’s make it once a week."

Ying Xi supported Li Yang’s waist with one hand and his back with the other. Li Yang’s body tilted, his entire weight supported by Ying Xi’s arms.

His limbs uncontrollably went weak. He wanted to change his position, but Ying Xi remained still.

Li Yang couldn’t help but tense up. "No, once a week is too frequent."

"Yangyang seems to misunderstand the word 'frequent'," Ying Xi said with a tilted-head smile.

"Once a week is fine too," Li Yang mused, "but it can’t go on and on. One round and then stop."

Ying Xi paused, his gaze deepening. "One round isn’t enough for me."

They finally agreed: once every two weeks, no more than three times per session.

Li Yang picked up Lingdang and buried his face in the cat’s fur on the sofa.

Ying Xi’s cool gaze remained fixed on Lingdang.

Lingdang raised its paws, a smug, triumphant grin on its face.

Ying Xi picked it up and set it down to play with the robot vacuum.

Lingdang’s fur had grown out a bit, making it look even stranger than before. It swayed back and forth on the robot vacuum, irresistibly drawing Li Yang’s gaze.

He took out a feather teaser and played with Lingdang.

Ying Xi’s eyes grew increasingly dangerous. Sensing this, Lingdang flicked its tail and leaped into Li Yang’s arms, batting at the teaser twice before tilting its head back and performing its special trick.

"Mom~"

"Woof woof."

It still couldn’t quite say "Dad," only managing something similar.

But those two sounds successfully rescued it from Ying Xi’s intense gaze.

Li Yang hugged Lingdang, showering it with affection. "Lingdang, you’re so cute! Will you kiss Mama?"

"Meow?" Lingdang didn’t understand, but seeing Li Yang constantly tilting his cheek, it seemed to grasp the idea and briefly touched its mouth to Li Yang’s cheek.

"So smart, Lingdang!" Li Yang excitedly hugged Lingdang and started filming a video.

Ying Xi stood to the side, feeling a bit left out.

"Let me." Seeing Li Yang trying to film the popular cat dancing video, Ying Xi, who had seen it before, held Lingdang’s two front paws, making it stand and dance to the music for the camera.

Lingdang was stiff at first, but soon became comfortable, mastering the moves completely.

"Talented," Li Yang gave a thumbs-up, rewarding it with treats, then edited and sent the video.

Unexpectedly, the video went viral.

Li Yang’s long-inactive account received thousands of private messages.

Li Yang assumed they were all about the cat, but when he opened the comments, he found everyone’s attention was on Ying Xi’s hands.

"Hand fetishists are in heaven; how can hands be this beautiful?"

"God owes me a pair of hands this beautiful."

"Not a hand person, but these hands, *swoon*."

"…"

Li Yang rewatched the video and realized Ying Xi’s hands were indeed striking—long, clean, with distinct knuckles and veins protruding on the back, winding upwards, making one’s heart flutter.

Perhaps he had seen them so often that he had become immune, only now rediscovering how captivating they were.

He handed the phone to Ying Xi, asking him to reply to the private messages and comments.

Ying Xi scanned the screen with a calm expression, selecting a few to reply to.

Comment section: "Judging by the hands, this person must be very handsome. Are they taken?"

"I’m taken."

"The cat is so cute. Leave the door open for me tonight; I’m going to grab a sack right now."

Ying Xi: "[sends Welcome.jpg meme]"

Private message: "Are you an Alpha? Want to date?"

"Taken." Ying Xi clicked on the sender’s profile. They clearly had a boyfriend yet sent such a message, so he immediately blocked them.

He stopped replying after that, setting a pinned message: "I have a partner, who is the owner of this account. This account only shares cat content. Nothing else will be shared or replied to. DMs are closed."

After completing everything, Ying Xi returned the phone to Li Yang.

Seeing Ying Xi’s dark expression, Li Yang couldn’t help but laugh. "They like you, and I’m not even jealous. Why are you jealous?"

"You’re not jealous?" Ying Xi leaned closer, his pupils reflecting Li Yang’s image.

"I am." Li Yang nodded, meeting his eyes for two seconds before looking away gently. "But no matter where you go, many people will like you—probably even more in college. If I kept getting jealous, I’d never stop."

"Easily solved." Ying Xi asked Li Yang for a photo of their matching rings and set it as his wallpaper on all his apps.

Li Yang followed suit. "Okay, I’ve set mine too."

The fluctuating emotions in his heart were replaced by a strong sense of security because of this action. Ying Xi sighed, still feeling it wasn’t enough.

"Yangyang, when do you want to marry me?"

"After we graduate and get stable jobs." Li Yang’s eyes curved, having planned their future. "I can’t let you support me."

"Okay," Ying Xi smiled along. "Then you support me."

"No problem." Li Yang hugged Lingdang, leaning into Ying Xi’s embrace, his lips curving upwards. "In the future, I’ll support you, and you can stay home and take care of Lingdang."

"Okay," Ying Xi softly replied.

They exchanged a smile.

The two phones on the sofa were still lit up, their backgrounds clearly visible.

Two slender, beautiful hands were tightly clasped together, the two rings on their ring fingers reflecting a beautiful silver light under the sun, silently proclaiming their relationship.

Outside the window, the sun shone brightly, white clouds drifted across the sky, and a warm breeze gently rustled the leaves.

A new story had just begun.

End of Main Text.