Chapter 56 Yes

Chapter 56: Willing

Xie Fengshi's mind went completely blank for a few seconds. The cold air from the open elevator door seeped in, ruffling the tassels on his scarf: "Does your family know?"

"They do."

"And they agreed?"

"Why wouldn't they?" Kaelen's blue eyes held a hint of confusion. He didn't quite understand why Xie Fengshi would ask that. "They've been wanting to meet you for a long time."

Xie Fengshi felt his mind should be working faster. Kaelen bringing this up today was definitely not a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Everything had been orchestrated. From the kitten to Lu Shixu, every detail had been nudging Xie Fengshi in the same direction.

Xie Fengshi finally caught on. He looked up at Kaelen: "Were you planning this from the start?"

Kaelen didn't deny it. "So, are you willing?"

Xie Fengshi: "...I am willing."

The smile on Kaelen's face deepened. Joy surged up from the depths of his heart, tinting the corners of his eyes with delight. In that instant, the smile cracked his refined mask, revealing the young man beneath, whose eyes crinkled with joy simply because of his lover's one-word response.

Xie Fengshi couldn't stop his eyes from drifting back to Kaelen's face. He'd look away, only to inevitably look back again.

Kaelen's laughter echoed in the elevator lobby. He pulled Xie Fengshi out of the elevator, casually pulling the scarf higher to cover Xie Fengshi's burning ear tips.

As they walked toward the parking area, Xie Fengshi's mind finally caught on. He stopped abruptly: "Were you just using your looks to win me over?"

Kaelen was tugged to a halt: "What?"

Realization dawned, and Xie Fengshi's eyes clearly spelled out 'Got it!': "You did that on purpose! To make it so I couldn't refuse!"

Hearing this, Kaelen wore a rare innocent look: "So did it work?"

"..."

"It worked, then." Kaelen pulled him into an embrace, chin resting on Xie Fengshi's head. "Come on, let's go home."

When they reached the apartment, Xie Fengshi was slow in changing his shoes. He took off his coat and hung it up, then unwound his scarf and folded it neatly on the entryway cabinet.

Kaelen, beside him, mirrored the same actions.

For a moment, it was copy-paste.

Kaelen poured water in the kitchen, and Xie Fengshi leaned against the doorframe, watching his back. The black turtleneck clung to Kaelen's body curves, every line a perfect balance of restraint and strength.

Sensing the gaze, Kaelen turned around, glass in hand: "What are you looking at?"

"You." Xie Fengshi was unabashed.

Kaelen let out a helpless laugh and handed the glass to Xie Fengshi, who took a couple of sips: "You seem especially good today."

Xie Fengshi put the glass on the coffee table, grabbed Kaelen, and pulled him onto the couch. He curled into himself, letting his back rest against Kaelen's chest and his head lean on his shoulder: "What do you mean by that? Am I not good every day?"

The person in his arms looked up, dark eyes full of his reflection. He spoke with utter confidence, completely unaware how endearing he looked saying that.

Kaelen tightened his arms. His heart was still beating irregularly in his chest. It had been so long now—ever since Xie Fengshi had agreed to be with him, it had never once settled down.

He thought he had long passed the age of losing control over a single sentence. But when Xie Fengshi had agreed to go home with him just now, he clearly felt his heart being fiercely squeezed.

This was rare for him—excitement, elation.

Kaelen had always felt that Xie Fengshi should be placed in a safe place. A place warm and bright, with floor-to-ceiling windows and a fireplace, where opening the window revealed a garden. He should be well taken care of, someone asking him every day what he wanted to eat, tucking his blanket in, draping a coat over his shoulders when he was cold.

Even in the beginning, Kaelen hadn't known what to call this intense urge to pull someone out of the mire and shield them in the palm of his hand.

Now that person was in his arms, wearing clothes he'd bought, curled up and mumbling softly.

Kaelen's lips kept curling up uncontrollably, impossible to suppress.

And as he thought, his kiss descended.

It was completely different from the usual gentle, gradual kisses. This one was the sudden bursting of a dam, fierce and passionate. Xie Fengshi was swept into the vortex in an instant, anything he tried to say broken into fragments by the kiss. The couch was too narrow, so Kaelen simply lifted him up.

Xie Fengshi hooked his legs around Kaelen's waist, hanging on him. In the movement, his clothes rode up, revealing a flash of blindingly white skin. Kaelen's scorching palm pressed against that spot, turning the skin there a faint pink.

By the time Xie Fengshi came to his senses, he was pressed against the wall by the bed.

The icy wall sent a shiver through him, and he instinctively pressed forward, burrowing into Kaelen's embrace. Kaelen lowered his head, nibbling on his earlobe, voice low and husky: "You agreed just now."

"Mm." Xie Fengshi's voice trembled with his movements.

"You can't take it back."

"I wasn't planning to."

Kaelen finally got the answer he wanted, a deep, satisfied laugh rumbling in his chest.

The mattress sank as Xie Fengshi's back met the soft sheets. Kaelen hovered above him, golden hair falling forward to brush against his face. His blue eyes churned with obscure emotions—calm on the surface, but beneath, enough to devour everything.

His hands stayed braced above, not pressing his full weight down.

Xie Fengshi brushed Kaelen's golden hair back, revealing his smooth forehead and those absurdly beautiful eyes. His fingertips trailed down to rest on Kaelen's lips: "Kaelen, what are you holding back?"

When Kaelen's kiss descended again, Xie Fengshi closed his eyes. With all his reservations abandoned, Kaelen was exceptionally alluring. Desires that had been suppressed by layers of upbringing and reason now burst forth all at once.

As his shirt was pulled over his head, Xie Fengshi's hair became a tousled mess, making his face look even smaller and more delicate. Kaelen's kisses fell softly and densely on his face. Xie Fengshi's fingers threaded into his hair, his breathing completely erratic. The occasional sounds he made were soft and sticky, thick with sweetness.

Time lost all meaning.

Their shadows on the wall merged and parted, each coming together a tacit understanding, each separation a prelude to an even closer union.

When Xie Fengshi was turned over, his face buried in the pillow, fingers gripping the sheets tightly. Kaelen leaned down, kissing the back of his neck, working his way down to his shoulder blades.

Finally, when Kaelen covered him, Xie Fengshi felt enveloped entirely in his presence.

The weight was just right—not enough to crush him, but enough to let him feel every point of contact. Golden hair brushed against his ear, itching him so he turned his head to dodge, but Kaelen followed, asking knowingly: "What are you dodging?"

"...It tickles."

"Where?"

Xie Fengshi flushed with annoyance and jabbed backward with his elbow. Kaelen couldn't help but laugh, catching his hand and interlacing their fingers.

In the midst of the chaos, Xie Fengshi turned his head. Kaelen kissed the corner of his eye, the warm touch against the thin skin kissing away the tears that had been forced out. Xie Fengshi's eyelashes fluttered. The corner of his eye, kissed, was still red. Kaelen stared at that patch of red and couldn't resist kissing it again.

And then once more.

And again.

Each time he lingered a little longer, as if staking his claim.

Xie Fengshi’s mind went blank from all the kissing, and he reached up to push his face away. “Are you ever going to stop?”

Kaelen caught his mischievous hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it. “Far from it.”

Neither of them knew how much time had passed. Even the moon outside the window had drifted from one end of the clouds to the other before the room finally began to quiet down.

The air was thick with the lingering haze of intimacy. A few strands of damp hair clung to Kaelen’s forehead, the usual aloofness on his face now replaced by a satisfied laziness. He buried his face in Xie Fengshi’s neck, his breath on his bare skin slowly calming from its earlier rapid pace.

Xie Fengshi’s arms were wrapped around his back, and every now and then, he would trace playful circles with his fingers. He ran his hand through the golden hair, soothing his oversized puppy. Kaelen let out a satisfied sigh at the touch, sinking deeper, letting his full weight rest on Xie Fengshi. The nearly two-meter-tall man curled up in Xie Fengshi’s arms, refusing to move.

Looking down, Xie Fengshi could see Kaelen’s fluffy golden hair and a small section of his ear peeking out. He couldn’t resist reaching out to pinch it. Kaelen stirred and lifted his face from the crook of his neck.

Kaelen’s face bore the lazy look of afterglow, his brows and eyes filled with tender satisfaction. His lips were still red, marked from being kissed repeatedly, and his golden hair was a messy, tousled mess.

Xie Fengshi brushed the damp hair from his forehead. “You look good like this.”

“When don’t I look good?” Kaelen countered.

Xie Fengshi let out a soft laugh and lightly punched his shoulder. The next second, Kaelen caught his hand, and a shallow little bite mark appeared on his knuckle.

Everywhere Kaelen had touched was tinged with a faint pink—from his collarbone down to his chest, each spot showing the marks of having been repeatedly caressed.

Kaelen’s gaze swept over those marks, and his eyes darkened again.

Feeling the change in the man above him, Xie Fengshi gently pushed at his shoulder. “You...”

Before he could finish, Kaelen silenced him with a kiss. Xie Fengshi, dazed from the kiss, wrapped his arms around Kaelen’s neck once more.

...

Friday afternoon, when Xie Fengshi came out of school, Lu Shiyan’s car was already parked by the roadside. The window rolled down, and Lu Shiyan poked his head out. “Hurry, hurry, get in, get in. I’m freezing to death out here.”

Xie Fengshi opened the car door and slid in. “What about Cheng Lang and the others?”

“They’re already there, said they’d wait for us at the place.” Lu Shiyan started the engine.

The hotpot restaurant was in an old building, with lanterns hanging at the entrance. The windows were fogged up from the steam, and figures could be seen moving about inside. By the time they arrived, Cheng Lang and the others were already seated in the private room, with the order already placed.

“You’re finally here.” Cheng Lang pushed the menu toward them. “We’ve already ordered a round. See if you want to add anything else.”

Xie Fengshi sat down and took the menu, glancing over it. Cheng Lang and the others had ordered practically every meat dish on the menu. He didn’t have anything to add, so he handed the menu to Lu Shiyan. “You ordered that much? Can we even finish it?”

Cheng Lang patted his stomach. “We can. This place doesn’t give big portions. It looks like a lot, but each person doesn’t actually get many slices.”

Lu Shiyan added a few vegetable and tofu dishes to the order, then handed the menu to the server.

The broth came out quickly—a dual-flavor pot, one side bubbling with red chili oil, the other with rich tomato soup. The table was packed with plates, a colorful mix of meat and vegetables.

Xie Fengshi picked up a slice of tripe and swirled it in the red chili oil broth, dipped it in the sauce, and when he put it in his mouth, his eyes lit up.

The tripe was crisp and tender, soaked through with the numbing and spicy broth, and the sesame oil in the dipping sauce toned down the heat, leaving only a rich, deep aroma.

The group ate enthusiastically, their chopsticks clashing in the pot, occasionally bickering over who got the last slice of meat.

Halfway through the meal, Lu Shiyan put down his chopsticks and took a sip of tea. “It’s almost break. When are you guys leaving?”

“Next Wednesday.” Cheng Lang spoke with food still in his mouth. “My mom booked the tickets. She wants me to go back early, says there’s something going on at home.”

“What is it?”

“No idea. Probably another blind date. Last time I went back, I had three. No telling how many this time.”

Zhou An laughed from the side. “Your mom is really invested in your love life.”

“Invested, my foot. She’s just bored. Since my brother got married, she started worrying about me. But I have a younger sister too, why doesn’t she worry about her?”

Lu Shiyan swallowed his food speechlessly. “Your sister is sixteen.”

Cheng Lang was rendered speechless and silently lowered his head to keep eating.

Zhou An said, “I’m leaving Wednesday too. My mom said she missed me, though my dad tipped me off that she actually just wants me to cook—she’s too lazy to do it herself.”

Lu Shiyan was curious. “You can cook?”

“Only simple stuff. Not like our Chef Xie.” Zhou An raised his teacup toward Xie Fengshi. “I’ll definitely miss your cooking when I’m back home.”

Xie Fengshi, a little embarrassed by the comment, raised his own teacup and clinked it against Zhou An’s.

Song Zhiyuan said, “I can leave whenever. I’m not in a rush.”

Gu Huaixu put down his teacup. “Same here.”

After they spoke, their gazes unconsciously fell on Lu Shiyan.

Lu Shiyan swallowed the shrimp ball in his mouth. “My brother wants me to wait for him. He still has some things to take care of here.”

“What about you?” Zhou An looked at Xie Fengshi.

Xie Fengshi didn’t plan to hide it. He said directly, “I’m going back with Kaelen.”

The room went silent for two seconds before erupting. Cheng Lang coughed a couple of times. “Going back where? Like, home? You’re meeting his parents?”

“Yeah.”

“You’ve only been together for how long? That’s way too fast!”

Lu Shiyan, on the other hand, wasn’t surprised at all. He had already seen the signs from Kaelen’s behavior.

That man’s possessiveness over Xie Fengshi was never just for a casual fling. But he hadn’t expected Kaelen to move so quickly—already taking him home after such a short time together.

And Xie Fengshi had actually agreed.

Lu Shiyan could see that Xie Fengshi looked settled and sure, not like he had been forced into it.

He felt completely at ease and raised his teacup. “Here’s to you, Chef Xie, raising our teacups in place of wine.”

“What’s the toast for?” Cheng Lang was still in shock.

“For his guts. Meeting the parents this quickly—would you dare?”

Cheng Lang thought about it and decisively shook his head. “No way.”