Chapter 84: Eating Little Pearls

Chapter 84: Eating the Little Pearls

Du Yang's hand, raised to knock, paused mid-air at the bathroom door.

The sound of water trickling came through, mingled with faint, heavy breathing and the occasional low moan of unbearable pleasure from the man.

"Mm... Du Yang..." Fu Yan's magnetic, mellow voice softly called his lover's name, his mind full of the warm, soft, sweet sensation of the embrace they just shared, his hands moving faster and faster.

Standing at the door, Du Yang clearly heard Fu Yan moan his name in that moment of need. His mind went blank and empty. He silently lowered his hand and crept back into the room.

Fu Yan was thinking of him while taking care of himself.

It was because Du Yang had chickened out at the last minute that Fu Yan had to take care of it himself.

Du Yang sat by the bed, his mind in a daze, his thoughts tumbling around for a long time.

After that, Fu Yan didn't come back in. Distraught, Du Yang took a shower and collapsed into bed, falling asleep immediately.

Half-conscious and disoriented, his body felt hot and uncomfortable—Lu Yu and He Lin had teamed up to drug him, and with no way to escape, he hid in the bar's bathroom.

Suddenly, Fu Yan came in, carried him in his arms, and walked out of the bar.

In the car, he wrapped his arms around Fu Yan and couldn't help kissing him. Fu Yan was stunned for a moment, then kissed back fiercely, the two of them locked in a desperate, passionate kiss.

Du Yang felt his body growing hotter. Fu Yan disappeared, and the scene turned into the bathroom in his grandmother's bedroom—the surroundings were scorching hot, thick smoke poured in, choking him, making him cough and thrash.

After the suffocating heatwaves and smoke came the biting cold.

In front of a snow-covered gravestone, Fu Yan leaned against it with his eyes closed, a dagger plunged into his chest, blood already clotted on his chest.

Du Yang was very cold. He stepped forward to embrace Fu Yan's cold body, but before he could hold him, Fu Yan suddenly vanished.

He searched the cemetery again and again in the heavy snow, but Fu Yan was nowhere to be found.

"Fu Yan!" Du Yang shouted, suddenly waking with a start. He sat up, gasping several times before he could catch his breath.

The piercing cold seemed to linger. Du Yang's body trembled slightly. He threw off the covers, got out of bed, didn't even bother with slippers, opened his door, and saw Fu Yan's room directly across the hall.

The door to the second bedroom was slightly ajar. The hallway had no lights on, only the faint glow from the bedside lamp in Du Yang's room.

Du Yang pushed open the door. The small nightlight in the corner immediately cast a faint glow. By that dim light, Du Yang walked in on unsteady legs.

The person in bed woke the moment Du Yang opened the door. Seeing the young man's stiff, jerky steps, he quickly sat up.

"Yangyang?" Fu Yan called softly, uncertain whether Du Yang was awake or still trapped in a nightmare.

Hearing the voice, the young man took two more steps, climbed onto Fu Yan's bed, and curled up close to the edge, lying down.

"I'll just be close," the young man murmured softly, his voice tinged with tears, like a frightened little animal seeking safety. "I won't disturb you."

Fu Yan looked down at the curled-up figure at the edge of the bed, his heart aching with a sharp, piercing pain. He lifted the blanket, lay down again, and stretched out his arm.

"Yangyang, come sleep in my arms," Fu Yan said softly. "Closer."

The young man hesitated for a moment, then like a little fawn burrowed into Fu Yan's arms, wrapping his arms tightly around the man's waist and burying his face in his neck.

Fu Yan pulled the blanket over them, wrapped his arms around the boy, feeling the slight tremors in his body. He held him a little tighter.

"Yangyang, did you have a nightmare?" In the darkness, the man's voice was deep and reassuring.

The young man in his arms hummed softly in response, and burrowed deeper into his embrace.

Almost at the same time, Fu Yan thought back to that night when Du Yang had murmured in his nightmare about not being able to hold him. What terrible dream had been tormenting his boy?

"Yangyang, can you tell Big Brother what nightmare you had?" Fu Yan asked carefully, knowing Du Yang was awake now.

The person in his arms shook his head without speaking, just clutching tightly at Fu Yan's undershirt.

Feeling the dampness on his neck, Fu Yan's heart clenched, and his breath hitched with sympathy.

He pulled the boy out of his arms. With no light in the room, he couldn't see the young man's face clearly. Fu Yan's fingertips touched the tears on the young man's cheeks and paused briefly.

The next second, he lowered his head, pressing his lips to the boy's cheek, kissing the salty tears into his mouth a little at a time. Then, moving along the bridge of his nose, he gently kissed the other tear-streaked cheek.

It was a kiss of pure tenderness and care, devoid of any desire, as if he were cradling a precious treasure, gently kissing away the tears from the young man's face.

The young man was very obedient, not moving at all, probably stunned by Fu Yan's actions.

Du Yang was stunned, but not from fear. His mind was dizzy, thinking only of what Fu Yan had said before—if he cried again, Fu Yan would eat his little pearls.

Fu Yan was really eating his little pearls now. His lips were warm and gentle, and the kisses felt very comforting.

All the emotions from Du Yang's nightmare dissipated with Fu Yan's kisses, and he forgot to cry.

The warm lips left his cheeks, and in the darkness, Fu Yan's gentle, soothing voice spoke.

"Yangyang, how about Big Brother takes you to see a doctor?"

See a doctor? Could that fix it? Du Yang hesitated.

Fu Yan's voice came again: "No rush to answer. It's very late. Go to sleep first, and when you've thought it over, you can tell Big Brother."

"Mm," Du Yang replied, feeling relieved.

Fu Yan held him again and whispered softly in the young man's ear, "Good night, Yangyang."

Good night, Yangyang.

Those words were like a lullaby, and Du Yang quickly fell asleep in Fu Yan's arms.

Du Yang slept for a whole day and night.

The next day, Fu Yan called him at noon. Du Yang, half-conscious, barely opened his eyes for a glance, then closed them again and fell back asleep.

Fu Yan wondered if it was because he hadn't been wearing clothes last night and had scared Du Yang, causing him such emotional turmoil.

He suddenly regretted it—he shouldn't have drunk so much last night.

In the evening, Fu Yan called Du Yang again. This time Du Yang woke up fully, but after eating something and washing up, he felt sleepy again and went back to sleep.

Before sleeping, he even reassured Fu Yan not to worry, saying that another night's sleep would fix him.

Du Yang himself knew that he hadn't taken his medication these past few days, and the intermittent nightmares had exhausted him.

He couldn't even tell if what happened at the bar—being drugged by Lu Yu and saved by Fu Yan—was real from his past life or just his imagination.

In his previous life, he had indeed been drugged at the bar by Lu Yu and He Lin working together, and when he woke up, he was miraculously fine in the hospital.

At the time, he had been too caught up in his grief to think about asking who had brought him to the hospital.

That night, Fu Yan held him in his arms all night long.

At seven o'clock on Sunday morning, Du Yang opened his eyes and stretched, feeling refreshed and energetic.

"Mmph!" A muffled grunt came from behind.

Du Yang jolted and sat up, turning his head to see Fu Yan, under the lifted blanket, hunched over, looking at him with suppressed pain.

Du Yang instantly understood—no wonder his knee had bumped into something just now.

"S-sorry!" After apologizing, Du Yang scrambled off the bed, grabbed his slippers, and fled in embarrassment.

Seeing him so lively, Fu Yan knew he had recovered. Fu Yan felt relieved, lay in bed for a bit, then got up unhurriedly.

Du Yang returned to his own bedroom, stared blankly for a while, then began washing up and changing clothes.

He hesitated, wondering whether to act like nothing had happened and just go make breakfast, when Fu Yan knocked on the door.

Du Yang opened the door to find Fu Yan standing there, holding a bouquet of pink roses in his hands, his gaze very gentle.

"Yangyang, these are for you." Fu Yan shoved the roses into Du Yang's arms before he could protest.

"Brother, this is..." Du Yang looked blankly at the sweetly fragrant pink roses in his arms, his heartbeat quickening.

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