Chapter 52

Chapter 52

SM (Sancta Maria) Forum

+Having Fun Section+

"Trending" "What's going on?"

"OP": "Since my crush skipped training with the prince this morning, he hasn't shown up. He didn't come to afternoon classes either, and there's been no news. Did something happen?"

1l: "Don't know, but the prince is back."

2l: "Also waiting. Anyone see him outside the base?"

3l: "Not on the forum yet."

4l: "Is this necessary? Why are you so fixated on someone's privacy? No news definitely means someone in the know suppressed it. Otherwise, the base wouldn't be this calm."

5l: "I'm so done. Can't I just ask?"

...

26l: "I'm begging you, at least the arguments used to start much later. Why are you fighting right from the top now?"

27l: "Numb. Next floor, please post a nice picture to calm the thread."

28l: "I'll go first. [Image]"

...

"This thread has been deleted by the OP"

...

The indoor temperature regulation system responded to the environment outside the window. The rain couldn't fall in, and its sound couldn't penetrate either.

This excessive quiet made the entire space feel sealed inside a crystal box.

Shen Huaixu had withdrawn his hand, only to push up the hem of the clothes and press his warm lips there instead. The heterochromatic Alpha lowered his head, planting a trail of dense kisses along Meng Shijiu's waist and abdomen.

Meng Shijiu's hand trembled, his fingers curling then spreading, like a marionette whose strings had been suddenly cut. His shoulder blades tensed instantly, his lower back rubbing against the sofa as he tried to push himself up and away, only to have his hand grabbed and pinned down by the person in front of him.

"Not allowed to touch?" Shen Huaixu gripped his wrist, holding it with a firm but not harsh pressure.

Meng Shijiu gritted his teeth: "If I really said no... could you still be pressed against me like this?"

Shen Huaixu laughed. He was always laughing, but only at this moment did his eyes resemble a night moon devouring light, as if surprised by how sensitive the kitten was. He leaned in slightly, his shadow falling over Meng Shijiu.

Shen Huaixu soothed him, stroking the back of the person in his arms, intermittently kissing away Meng Shijiu's faint gasps, slowly rubbing his lips against Meng Shijiu's trembling ones, whispering reassurance:

"I'll be gentle."

The sound of fabric rustling was especially clear amidst Meng Shijiu's struggles. A tingling itch ran up his spine to the nape of his neck, yet he remained trapped in place.

"Never see you exercise usually, where did these muscles come from..." Shen Huaixu teased softly, his fingertips gliding over the beautiful, lean muscles covering the pale body before stopping.

The mole on Meng Shijiu's side was pressed beneath Shen Huaixu's fingertip, kneaded into a chaotic, blood-like red.

He looked up, only to see the silver-haired Alpha biting his lower lip, expression dazed, eyes so misty they seemed about to overflow.

Shen Huaixu's breath hitched. He scooped the whole person up, lifting him slightly, then rose to his knees, gently parting Meng Shijiu's legs with his own, and kissed the soft corner of the silver-haired youth's mouth:

"Good boy, let it out... it's okay, it's okay..."

Meng Shijiu didn't want to make a sound, turning his face away listlessly. Taking advantage of the momentary pause in Shen Huaixu's teasing, his lips parted slightly, slowly catching his breath.

The indoor heating was a bit too warm.

...

Meng Shijiu: "......"

It was a breathy sound. Shen Huaixu wondered if Meng Shijiu had called his name but wasn't quite sure: "Hmm?"

"...Don't... pull."

Shen Huaixu pushed with his tongue, the top of his head inadvertently brushing against Meng Shijiu's vulnerable Adam's apple. The silver-haired Alpha only flinched once, not daring to move recklessly. Shen Huaixu stopped his hand: "Does it hurt?"

Shen Huaixu's hand slid down: "Let me help you."

Meng Shijiu: "Get lost."

Shen Huaixu laughed: "Then let your brother help, okay?"

Meng Shijiu: "..."

Shen Huaixu coaxed him to speak: "Let your brother help."

The rain outside slowed, but the sky showed no sign of clearing. Shen Huaixu's kisses were always gentle yet torturous. The coaxing voice in Meng Shijiu's ear was like a wind chime, ringing incessantly with every breeze, endless.

Meng Shijiu was at his wit's end, crumbling as he squirmed: "...Let brother... help."

—

The motion-sensor light in the bathroom flicked on. Under the cold white light, Meng Shijiu was held by Shen Huaixu.

Warm water washed over their intertwined fingers. Shen Huaixu's fingertips rubbed the soap suds between Meng Shijiu's fingers, his movements meticulous, as if cleaning something fragile.

He turned off the water.

Shen Huaixu held him by the waist and turned him around, applying medicine.

A faint floral scent diffused in the air. Meng Shijiu couldn't identify it. The medicinal smell wasn't unpleasant, but it brought other troubles.

Meng Shijiu called out lazily, his voice crisp like fruit: "Brother."

"It itches."

Shen Huaixu frowned, his fingers carefully spreading the ointment over Meng Shijiu's chest: "You're too sensitive, it heals slowly. If I don't apply this, your clothes will rub and hurt later."

Meng Shijiu didn't care, opening his mouth: "It itches."

Shen Huaixu: "The medicine is taking effect now. It'll be fine in a moment."

Meng Shijiu's voice lowered further: "...It itches."

Shen Huaixu glanced at him.

The silver-haired Alpha wasn't looking at him, his face tilted up with a somewhat numb expression. The mist in his eyes grew thicker, looking as if he would shatter at a touch. Shen Huaixu instantly couldn't take it anymore. He wiped off the applied ointment and began to rub the area for him instead.

After a while, Meng Shijiu said, "The other side."

Shen Huaixu remained silent, giving it a fierce pinch. Hearing Meng Shijiu's muffled groan and his unsteady squirming to dodge, Shen Huaixu then gentled his voice to coax him:

"You're already swollen there. Don't put anything on for a while; just stay the night, okay?"

Meng Shijiu didn't answer.

Shen Huaixu took Meng Shijiu's hand, lifted it to rest on his own neck, and prepared to pick him up.

Meng Shijiu rested against him for a moment, burying his face in the crook of Shen Huaixu's neck with a sigh. "...Principal Shen, is this your usual routine?"

His long, flowing hair twined around Shen Huaixu's fingers as Meng Shijiu's body slumped uncontrollably downward, his waist so limp it seemed boneless, pressed firmly into Shen Huaixu's chest.

After coaxing him back to his own home, this man showed not a hint of restraint, half-coaxing and half-indulging, taking liberties nonstop.

Meng Shijiu tilted his head back, like a fish stripped of its scales, and nipped softly at Shen Huaixu's chin, cursing, "Shameless."

Shen Huaixu seized the chance to raise his hand, cupping the offered face. He pinched his chin, drew out his tongue, and tasted it.

—

The rain seemed to have stopped. Outside the window, the sky was a muted gray.

Meng Shijiu was kneeling on a thick cushion by the window, draped in a white blanket, curled into a fluffy ball.

His moonlit hair swept across the blanket with his movements. His fingertips pressed against the glass, doodling idly.

His pheromones spread out, blooming into frost flowers that gradually shaped into words.

"Shen Huaixu is *so* annoying"

"Shen Huaixu is the most annoying"

"Shen Huaixu is the worst"

…

After the frost faded, the words remained clearly visible on the glass that even a knife couldn't scratch. Meng Shijiu wrote for a while until he grew bored.

He thought for a moment, then began writing again: "Meng Shijiu is the most..."

Before he could finish the word "most," a voice came from behind.

"...Baby, dinner's ready."

Before Meng Shijiu could turn around, Shen Huaixu gently wrapped his arms around him from behind.

"Why are you by the window again?" Shen Huaixu tucked the blanket tighter around him, then lifted his head and suddenly noticed the words Meng Shijiu had traced on the glass.

A flicker of amusement passed through his eyes as he pressed a light kiss to the top of Meng Shijiu's head.

Shen Huaixu was just about to pick him up from the ledge when Meng Shijiu pushed him away. Shen Huaixu stubbornly held on, nuzzling his face against Meng Shijiu's ear with a questioning hum. "Hmm?"

Meng Shijiu said, "I'll walk myself."

Shen Huaixu chuckled, holding him for a few moments, then kissed his ear before slowly letting him go.

He glanced at the floor and raised an eyebrow. "Where are your shoes?"

Hearing this, Meng Shijiu turned and gave Shen Huaixu an ambiguous look.

Shen Huaixu: ?

The silver-haired Alpha suddenly stood up from the ledge. The white fluffy blanket lifted with his movement, revealing a pair of slippers—he had been standing on the clean surface in them all along.

Meng Shijiu stood on the ledge in his slippers, looking down at Shen Huaixu from above.

Like a king.

Shen Huaixu: "..."

Shen Huaixu looked at the smug expression on his face, both amused and exasperated. He played along, raising his hand slightly and bending in a gentlemanly bow.

Meng Shijiu watched him for a moment, ignoring his offered hand, and knelt back down on the cushion. His long hair cascaded down as he lowered his lashes and suddenly leaned in for a kiss.

Like a butterfly.

This butterfly only brushed against the corner of Shen Huaixu's eye before fluttering away again.

Shen Huaixu didn't give him the chance. He grabbed Meng Shijiu's blanket and pulled him into his arms.

Holding Meng Shijiu by the shoulders, he kissed his forehead.

Then he lowered his head until their foreheads touched. "Shijiu..."

"I..." Shen Huaixu began.

His Shijiu suddenly reached out, pressing a finger to his lips to silence him.

The silver-haired Alpha's voice was almost hypnotic, the jade-green lakes of his eyes melting into mint candy.

"Brother Shen, do you want a kiss?"

His voice was like shattered porcelain as the hand at his lips fell away.

Shen Huaixu gazed deeply at him, then kissed him fiercely.