Chapter 40 Do You Even Look Like a Student

Chapter 40: Do You Even Look Like a Student?

He just said it, but the damn man had already thrown himself into it multiple times. Each time, it was either "Don’t do this" or holding him tight to keep him from moving—so uptight and conservative, huh. In the end, though, the big guy still ended up yielding to him. Once things really got started, he went all in, and he never said "Don’t do this" again.

At night, Shi Zai slipped under the covers first, only his freshly blow-dried, slightly fuzzy, buzzed head visible. When Shu Yangkuo came in after showering, Shi Zai blinked and patted the space beside him:

"Bro, come quickly."

"……"

"Hmph, hurry up! I’m already giving you all my attention, what are you dawdling for?!"

"……Thank you, Your Majesty."

As the man approached with reddened ears, Shi Zai fumbled for something under the covers, extending just one hand:

"Hello, teacher, how about giving me some extra lessons?"

"……Don’t do this."

After saying that, Shu Yangkuo’s neck flushed red. He tilted his head and smiled but didn’t take what the little pup handed him—a ruler.

He’d thought it was something else under the covers.

No need to guess—his treasure was young, had an appetite, and was playful. He didn’t need to learn from anywhere; at twenty, once the floodgates opened, he couldn’t hold back at all. He could quickly make anything about this. But Shu Yangkuo didn’t want to go too far, afraid of hurting him.

Shi Zai really couldn’t understand—they’d done this so many times, so why did he have to beg every time they tried something new?!

Hmph, this time, he’d make the damn man beg him.

Raising an eyebrow with a smirk, Shi Zai moved his hands under the covers, making a show of it while whimpering, "Teacher, teach me, please. I don’t wanna make mistakes, punish me, teacher..." In less than five seconds, the "good student" was completely revealed.

"Teacher, beg me."

"……"

But just as Shu Yangkuo was about to take the ruler, Shi Zai pulled his hand back, insisting he say it. Goaded, the man’s eyes reddened, and his hoarse voice squeezed out, "Bro begs you." Shi Zai shook his head, "Wrong..." Shu Yangkuo’s chest heaved violently. First, he deliberately growled, "Do you even look like a student?" Then, after a three-second pause with the person in his arms, he finally relented helplessly. The man leaned close to the boy’s ear, whispering softly, "Let the teacher beg you, then."

Instantly, Shi Zai shuddered violently.

The ruler in his hand—*smack*.

As the man’s breath hitched, Shi Zai held his too, and then the two lost control, kissing deeply.

The ruler had struck where it shouldn’t, but it excited the damn man even more than spanking Shi Zai’s bottom. Masochist! And Shi Zai could be stirred to a new level of excitement by this masochist. He glanced down at the flushed "head," gripped the ruler again, took a deep breath:

"Teacher, then I’m gonna... overstep my bounds... You, go easy on me later."

"……"

Shu Yangkuo chuckled softly. The person in his arms truly looked the part of a student—short sleeves, shorts, slender arms and legs strikingly pale, blinking those big eyes, innocent and lovely like the green pompoms by the window. Mischief then, mischief it is, after all, he was quite a bit younger.

—*Rip*.

With one hand fierce, the other extremely gently caressing the slim waist, the man bent down and kissed those dazed big eyes:

"Then, Your Majesty, don’t blame your subject for overstepping bounds."

"...You you you!"

"Be good, like this, okay?"

"...Pervert! I love it! Teacher sure is teacher! Hahaha!"

Shi Zai laughed so hard he nearly fell backward. They really were a pair of perverts!

Had to admit, Shu Yangkuo, once stirred up by him, was slowly getting into it too, even asking "okay?" Shi Zai’s heart was about to leap out. After laughing, he picked up the ruler and "overstepped bounds" twice before the man "overstepped bounds" in another way.

So thrilling, so satisfying.

Just ruined a pair of shorts, like that previous skirt—no idea where the damn man washed and hid them afterward.

Until the first weekend of August, the morning of August 5th, the birthday of the big and the little, Shi Zai was still hung up on the "teacher-student" fun. The key was the man who’d suddenly gotten it—just thinking about it made him want it. These days had been busy, and Shu Yangkuo had turned conservative again.

But, birthdays called for some fun. The moment Shi Zai opened his eyes, he licked the corner of his mouth:

"Bro, looking forward to you tonight."

"...Isn’t it bro’s birthday?"

"I’ll celebrate bro’s birthday properly, bro can properly fuck me, what’s wrong with that?"

"……"

Completely defenseless, Shu Yangkuo smiled with reddened ears, tossed the covers over the little pup’s face, and went to wash up and make breakfast first.

How could he just blurt out such things? Asking for trouble.

Watching the tall man flee, Shi Zai burst out laughing behind him, almost rolling off the bed from under the covers. As Shu Yangkuo pulled open the bedroom door, Shi Zai yelled, "Bro, happy 28th birthday!" then quickly ducked back under the covers.

Sure enough, the man took a few steps back, stood by his bed for two seconds, then pulled the door open and left again.

Hahahaha!

A few days earlier, Shi Zai had teased Yang Yun about the birthday thing, and the man had gotten mad once, not speaking to either of them for half the night. So fun. He was super sensitive about being eight years older. After Shi Zai’s birthday, they’d be seven years apart, and Shu Yangkuo would be happy. Three months later, they’d be eight years apart again, and the old man would get sulky again.

Actually, he was still young, in his prime, but the two younger ones loved teasing the tallest and biggest in the house.

Shi Zai ran into Yang Yun’s bedroom, trying to lift the pink dumpling, blanket and all, but the stinky dumpling had really grown. He didn’t hold steady, and both tumbled onto the bed, laughing and messing around. After a while, Shi Zai rubbed his little brother’s head:

"My Yun Bao, seventeen already!"

"Hehe, finally only three years apart from little bro again!"

"Hahaha, let’s not talk about age gaps in front of big bro..."

"Okay, hahaha!"

They laughed endlessly again.

The little one couldn’t wait to grow up a bit more; the big one silently sulked.

In the small house, as much joy as there was in the small bedroom, that’s how somber and rigid the kitchen was. Shu Yangkuo couldn’t be bothered with their antics, letting the two younger ones laugh at him, not even reminding them what time it was or if they still wanted to go out and properly celebrate their birthday. He focused on making breakfast.

Hearing the sizzling sounds of stir-frying from the kitchen, Shi Zai tiptoed closer. The moment he stopped, he knew Shu Yangkuo had already noticed him. Hey, the damn man was really wallowing in self-pity, even stir-frying with a pitiful air.

Shi Zai clung to the doorframe, his large eyes curved into crescents:

"Bro, when are we eating? I'm so hungry."

"Go wait outside."

"No way. Someone's got sensitive skin this morning—I need to cover him in kisses and give him some tender loving care."

"..."

"Hahahaha!"

The silly man didn't even crack a smile—he really was acting all pitiful, with his gaze lowered and eyelashes casting a small shadow. Honestly, that look!

Shi Zai stood on tiptoe, insisting on planting a kiss before wrapping his arms around the man's other arm:

"Bro, remember our first time together in bed?"

"..."

"Hahaha, I meant the first time we met—wasn't it in bed? Bro, I love you, and I’ve loved you for a long time. Actually, I only realized later why I liked your embrace from the very first glance. You were still asleep, and I snuggled against you for a while. You’re so tall and big, and you looked older than me—curling up in your arms felt incredibly safe! Protected, cherished, spoiled... No matter how much I tease you, cry, or act immature, you always care for me and love me... I really love this feeling of having you as my rock!"

"Baby..."

"I'm not done! Bro, I’ve always been scheming—keeping you around was because I had my eye on you from the start, wanting this old-fashioned guy to be my husband! The first time I actively wanted something, fate favored me, and you loved me, finally granting my wish. Happy birthday—I’ll love you year after year."

Turning off the stove, Shu Yangkuo's heart clenched. He kissed the large eyes of the person in his arms over and over, his thoughts swirling.

Even his slightest, half-joking half-serious hangups were keenly noticed and gently soothed by his baby eight years his junior. Shu Yangkuo whispered into his ear, "Actually, Bro is really glad to be older than you," the reason, naturally, was that whatever Xiao Zai lacked, he could provide.

Shi Zai laughed, rubbed his smooth forehead against the man's warm lips:

"Right, that's how it should be. If you were around Yang Yun's age, I’d really have a hard time choosing."

"..."

Shu Yangkuo's breath hitched, his heart nearly stopping.

Shi Zai quickly soothed him:

"Hahaha, just teasing! It was always meant to be you and me, our fate. Why assume? If assumptions could become reality, how would we have met today? I only love you, Bro—it could only be you. And you can only love me, only be my man. You lay dormant for a thousand years, and I picked you up and mended you—that’s our destiny. Bro, those last two paragraphs were my love letter. Satisfied?"

"...Satisfied, baby!"

"Ahahaha, Bro, don’t get carried away—you’re lifting me too high..."

Bonk!

Before he could finish, Shi Zai's head bumped against the ceiling. He glanced down wide-eyed and couldn’t help bursting into laughter again.

This is so much fun!!

Yang Yun emerged from the bathroom to find his little brother sneakily eating the stir-fried dishes while his big brother was frantically writing something at the small desk in the living room. He dashed into the kitchen, took a chicken wing to nibble on, then remembered to ask. Shi Zai held back a laugh:

"He’s copying down the love letter I gave him."

"Tsk tsk, first time receiving a letter, and it’s spoken—must be thrilled to death!"

"Yun Bao, whatever you do, don’t tell big brother I wrote one for you too, or this old man will get jealous like there’s no tomorrow!"

"Hahaha, okay. Little brother gave me two letters anyway."

"Shh."

The moment Shu Yangkuo stepped into the kitchen, he smiled. It wasn’t like he wouldn’t let them eat—why did they have to sneak around?

Eyes crinkling with laughter, Shi Zai fed Shu Yangkuo a piece of tofu. He just loved sneaking bites—it felt like the adults were busy while the kids fooled around. He loved it, it was fun! Thankfully, the man hadn’t overheard anything. What he gave Yang Yun wasn’t a love letter; he’d just teased "pink dumpling" by saying that. He’d given him "one letter" earlier, and after the Children's Day fun, when Shi Zai took Yang Yun to the pottery studio, he’d given him another.

Of course, it wasn’t like the one for Shu Yangkuo—just heartfelt words to comfort and reassure Yang Yun about being his little brother.

——"...If possible, I wish Yun Bao could have been born from my belly, raised and loved all over again from childhood. But there are no 'ifs,' and what we have now is more than enough. Our regrets can be filled with even more love. Don’t fear the storms on life’s path or friction in daily life—it’s through wind, rain, and friction that brighter feelings shine. Yun Bao, in the fate I’m grateful for, it’s never just about big brother; you’ve always been there too. But different emotions have different flavors—you are unique to me."

In two days, autumn would begin, and the air already carried hints of early fall. The catalpa trees’ fervor hadn’t faded, while the golden rain trees already bore clusters of brilliant yellow blossoms. Flowers bloomed endlessly, blooming with radiant smiles morning and night, recording this incredibly rich and beautiful summer.

An hour later, Yang Yun and big brother watched their little brother, who was completely lost in the moment... Who exactly was having a birthday anyway?