Chapter 123 Try Kneeling

Chapter 123: Let's Try Kneeling

At first, Shen Ci fell asleep on his own, but later Tuanzi also jumped up and curled up on Shen Shiyan's other leg, its furry forehead pressing against the top of Shen Ci's head.

Shen Shiyan half-reclined against the headboard, occasionally lightly touching Shen Ci's face or gently pinching Tuanzi's tail tip. Aside from taking a photo of this blissful scene, he didn't touch his phone.

Tuanzi slept for nearly two and a half hours, then stretched and hopped onto the balcony, dipping its paw into the water bowl before licking off the droplets.

Its movements were too loud, waking Shen Ci, who had been breathing steadily. The bedroom was dim, so only a soft bedside lamp was turned on.

Looking up, Shen Ci saw Shen Shiyan's face and felt completely at ease.

"What time is it?" Shen Ci yawned, raising his hand to touch Shen Shiyan's lips with his fingers.

"Almost nine thirty." Shen Shiyan freed one hand to unlock his phone, he could clearly feel it—ticklish, like a feather brushing by.

"I slept for over three hours?" Shen Ci was startled and was about to sit up when his finger was caught between teeth.

The tip of his finger was gently hooked, and a faint electric current seemed to run through Shen Ci's body.

"Is your neck stiff?" Shen Shiyan let go and gently squeezed the back of his neck.

"Not at all." Shen Ci slowly sat up. "Brother, you're asking me? Your legs okay? Why didn't you wake me after such a long time?"

The weight lifted from Shen Shiyan's legs, followed by waves of numbness. He looked at Shen Ci's white suit and shook his head.

"It's not that bad. You were sleeping so soundly, I couldn't bear to wake you." Shen Shiyan gave a faint smile. "Go change your clothes."

Shen Ci leaned in to massage Shen Shiyan's legs, staring at his face for half a minute. Without stopping his movements, he closed the distance and gave him a kiss.

Shen Shiyan said nothing, just watched him quietly.

Half-awake, still drowsy and weak-willed, Shen Ci diligently massaged the legs for less than three minutes before lazily trying to burrow back into Shen Shiyan's arms. He finally knelt on the bed, wrapped his arms around Shen Shiyan's neck, and shook him gently.

"Husband." Shen Ci's tone was half order, half coaxing. "Change me."

Shen Shiyan's hand went to Shen Ci's waist and pulled him in, his eyes were full of unconcealed desire. "Come kneel on your husband's lap."

"Your legs aren't numb?" Shen Ci pinched his chin.

"Try kneeling and find out." Shen Shiyan's voice was calm, his gaze dropping to Shen Ci's lips.

Shen Ci had always thought Shen Shiyan was perfect both as family and as a lover, including his talent in certain areas.

He took half the weight off his knees, pressing down lightly but not with full force onto Shen Shiyan's lap.

Tie, suit jacket, shirt, belt buckle, shirt stays.

Kisses rained down on him.

Shoulders, collarbone, heart, ribs, belly, and finally Shen Ci's lips.

His knees had long since left Shen Shiyan's legs.

"Baby, you're really fair."

Shen Ci was a bit breathless and hadn't yet processed those words when something cold touched his shoulder blade.

The bed's soft groan stopped. Shen Shiyan gripped his shoulder, pressing his thumb against the bone and gently rubbing it.

"Not long after your first fight with Shen Rong, you told me your shoulder blade hurt." Shen Shiyan's breathing was ragged, but his words came through clearly. "When you were little, you were completely defenseless. You turned your back to me, and that spot was black and blue."

Shen Ci hummed softly.

But soon, his voice changed, and his long hair rippled like waves.

"That bruise looked like a butterfly. Every time you moved, it moved with you. It was beautiful."

Shen Shiyan's left hand lightly encircled Shen Ci's neck from the side, making that bone stick out even more.

A faint pain shot through Shen Ci's shoulder blade.

After a long while, the hair tickling his shoulder finally moved away.

A faint hickey appeared on his pale shoulder blade.

Shen Ci was completely drained. He felt Shen Shiyan's voice close to his ear.

Through the haze of his consciousness, Shen Ci managed to hear clearly—

"Back then, I never imagined this beautiful bone would be mine."

"Completely mine."

By one thirty, Shen Ci still hadn't changed into his pajamas.

"Shen Shiyan..." Shen Ci said weakly.

"Hmm?"

"Go make dinner..." Shen Ci covered his head with the quilt.

"Okay."

Shen Shiyan smiled and pulled the quilt down slightly, revealing Shen Ci's face.

The scent of their intimacy lingered in the room. Shen Ci took a sip of the warm water on the nightstand, then idly teased the cat with Shen Shiyan's clothes.

After they became official, Shen Ci got used to eating in the bedroom.

He had always admired Shen Shiyan—after high-intensity physical labor, he could still cook and serve dinner like nothing happened, and even after the meal, he would carry Shen Ci to another bed, change the bedding, and then carry him back.

After dinner, the AC was on air purifier mode, humming quietly.

"Not getting rid of that extra bed was the smartest thing you've ever done." Shen Ci snuggled closer into Shen Shiyan's arms, scrolling through fans' comments on his phone.

A hand reached out from under the quilt and tapped the phone screen, pulling down the notification bar to turn on eye-comfort mode.

"..."

Shen Ci paused for a moment before hearing the person behind him reply belatedly, "How so?"

"Keeps the wet and dry separate." Shen Ci tossed his phone aside.

Shen Shiyan murmured, "Smart."

Shen Ci turned over. Shen Shiyan seemed to have already fallen asleep with his eyes closed.

He didn't disturb him, just toyed with the hair in front of him.

"Thought you'd never get tired," Shen Ci murmured, kissing Shen Shiyan before finding a comfortable position, draping a leg over Shen Shiyan's waist.

No dreams that night.

Perhaps because he had napped the previous evening, Shen Ci woke up earlier than Shen Shiyan for once, and after an hour of playing a match-3 game, he felt a little bored.

He stared at the sleeping Tuanzi for a while, then mischievously used the tip of his own hair to poke at her thin ears, watching them twitch uncontrollably.

Before long, Tuanzi grew impatient and shifted positions, covering her head with her front paws.

"Bad baby."

The person beside him suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse as he commented on Shen Ci's actions.

Shen Ci twisted a strand of his own hair, temporarily letting Tuanzi off—the pet had been running around all night and was now catching up on sleep—and instead turned to tickle Shen Shiyan's waist, only to be firmly pinned down by Shen Shiyan.

After holding this position for a while, Shen Ci whispered, "Do you want to... go again..."

Before he could finish, Shen Shiyan, who hadn't even heard him clearly, interrupted.

"Be good, sleep a little longer," Shen Shiyan murmured, his voice unusually soft—a rare softness.

Shen Ci dropped the thought, reaching his hand around to gently stroke Shen Shiyan's hair.

The winter sun was strong, and it wasn't until one in the afternoon that it fully shone into the master bedroom.

Shen Shiyan was cooking in the kitchen, replying to work messages on his phone, while Shen Ci wrapped himself in Shen Shiyan's coat, ready to fetch Tuanzi's big gift package from the trunk.

Passing by the kitchen, Shen Ci paused, walked over to take the apron hanging on the wall, circled it around Shen Shiyan's waist to adjust its position, and tied a perfect bow at the small of his back.

"Bro, make some spinach soup too, I want some." Shen Ci nudged his forehead against Shen Shiyan's back.

Without waiting for a reply, Shen Ci left the kitchen.

"Tuanzi, you're running under my feet again!" Almost tripping, Shen Ci feigned anger and stomped his foot to scare Tuanzi, then added, "I'm going downstairs to get you some treats."

The sound of the door closing came from the entryway, and the sunlight filtered through the upper window pane, splitting into three panels that slanted across the floor.

Shen Shiyan grabbed a bunch of spinach from the fridge and watched Tuanzi roll over in the light, comfortably exposing her belly.