Chapter 65: Intimacy

Yu Xi had always deeply admired Gu Chuanzhou’s serious attitude toward work. Even when working from home due to an injury, he still wore a crisp, tailored, and noble suit. His hair was styled flawlessly without a single strand out of place, maintaining an aura of formidable presence. The only difference was that he wasn’t wearing a tie, leaving two buttons undone to reveal a hint of his chest, preventing his appearance from seeming overly rigid.

Yu Xi first removed Gu Chuanzhou’s gemstone cufflinks to prevent them from getting lost, placing them carefully on the marble tray by the sink, before lifting his hands to undo the remaining buttons.

One, two… His pale pink fingertips unfastened them nimbly and flexibly, one by one. Following suit, the man’s lean, powerful chest was exposed before his eyes.

The bathroom mirror was spotlessly clean, clearly framing the two figures leaning close face-to-face.

One was tall, sturdy, and athletic; the other was slender and graceful. One possessed sharp, handsome, and cold features; the other was soft, refined, and exquisite. The two standing together—despite their distinct contrast—were extraordinarily harmonious, casting a soft, tender atmosphere over this coldly styled bathroom.

In the mirror, the youth kept his head lowered, unbuttoning with utmost earnestness. Meanwhile, the standing man bowed his head; taking advantage of the moment the youth wasn’t looking up, he used his deep, dark eyes to gaze unblinkingly at the youth’s long eyelashes and straight nose. His eyes were dark and burning hot. When the youth’s knuckles accidentally brushed past him, the raw craving in his eyes flared up even brighter.

“Lift your arms.” Completely unaware, Yu Xi only wanted to hurry up and help Gu Chuanzhou change his clothes to keep him from catching a cold.

Once the shirt was removed, he wetted the towel with hot water and wiped down the area stained by the tea.

That spot was neither to the left nor right, sitting precisely on the man’s abdomen.

As the towel rubbed against it, the muscles reacted to the stimulation, tightening up and turning firm.

“Xixi,” Gu Chuanzhou suddenly caught his hand that was helping wipe down, “I can do it myself.”

“Oh, alright.” Yu Xi handed the towel over, watching Gu Chuanzhou wipe himself.

Having no tasks left in his hands, he took a proper look at Gu Chuanzhou’s physique—broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and abdominal lines that were tight and distinct, each block of muscle firm and powerful.

It wasn’t that Yu Xi hadn’t seen it before, but looking straight at it at such close range for the first time made the tips of his ears inexplicably hot. Averting his gaze, he lowered his head and said, “I’ll go get your clothes.”

Having long memorized the layout of the Gu residence, he navigated the familiar route to Gu Chuanzhou’s walk-in closet. Standing there to ponder for a moment, he ultimately selected a shirt that wouldn’t easily touch the wound on his head when pulling it on, bringing it back to the bathroom.

“Can you put it on yourself?”

“If Xixi helps me do up the buttons, it will be much easier for me.”

“…”

Yu Xi silently helped Gu Chuanzhou put it on.

A rare silence fell between the two, leaving only the rustling of fabric in the quiet space.

Fastening those gemstone cufflinks once more, Yu Xi’s gaze inevitably fell upon Gu Chuanzhou’s muscles as he went to do up the front buttons. His eyelashes fluttered lightly, continuing while pretending not to care.

“Do you want to feel it?” Gu Chuanzhou asked out of the blue.

“Ah?” Yu Xi froze. “Feel what?”

Gu Chuanzhou continued to utter shocking words: “Xixi has been secretly peeking at my body. Aren’t you interested?”

“W-Who secretly peeked and was interested?” Yu Xi released the button and lapel he was pinching, a flush of rosy annoyance staining the tips of his ears. “We’re both guys. What you have, I have too. I’m not curious at all.”

Gu Chuanzhou nodded: “But I’ve touched Xixi’s stomach; it’s soft.”

He meant that there was a distinct difference between their physiques.

Yu Xi wrinkled his nose with a slight touch of indignation. However, what Gu Chuanzhou said was true; his stomach didn’t have handsome abs like Gu Chuanzhou’s, possessing only a slender waistline.

“There’s nothing remarkable about yours either. It’s rock-hard and doesn’t even feel good to touch.”

Gu Chuanzhou let out a soft laugh: “Mm, I also think Xixi’s feels much better to touch.”

Yu Xi merely thought Gu Chuanzhou was teasing him, flattening his lips. He hadn’t expected to hear Gu Chuanzhou describe it in even more explicit detail: “The texture is very soft, yielding and smooth when kneaded. Your waist is slender and thin, yet the lines are very beautiful, supple yet resilient. If Xixi were to learn dancing, you would definitely be a great candidate. Besides, your legs are very long, balanced and gorgeous everywhere. A perfect person like you standing on stage would definitely stun the whole audience…”

“Stop, stop, stop!” Yu Xi’s face turned redder with every sentence he heard. Seeing Gu Chuanzhou speak more and more outrageously, he hastily pressed his hand against Gu Chuanzhou’s mouth, otherwise suspecting his face was going to catch fire. “You’re exaggerating way too much. How could I be as good as you say?”

He had even used the word “perfect.”

“It’s not an exaggeration, and I don’t have a rose-tinted filter on either,” Gu Chuanzhou removed Yu Xi’s hand, letting out a few muffled laughs, the tremor of his chest transmitting over. “I’ve spoken of your goodness many times, and not a single time was to coax you; it’s all the truth.”

“Alright, alright, I get it.” This time, Yu Xi’s face was thoroughly red, his cheeks pink and glowing like ripe peaches, a trace of bashfulness filling his eyes. Belatedly, he realized that when he had leaned forward to stop Gu Chuanzhou’s mouth just now, his center of gravity had shifted forward, leaving him nearly leaning against Gu Chuanzhou’s body. Just as he tried to back away, his waist was gently encircled once more.

Something was off…

Just as he was about to command Gu Chuanzhou to let go, a wave of warmth touched the fingertip of his caught hand. Yu Xi watched helplessly as Gu Chuanzhou pressed his lips against the tip of his finger.

It was merely a light touch, those thin lips cool and mild, yet Yu Xi felt as if a spark had landed on it—burning hot, with a faint itch.

His gaze entangled over like silk threads. Yu Xi felt surrounded, his heart rate suddenly accelerating.

“May I?”

When Gu Chuanzhou asked this, Yu Xi didn’t know why, but he didn’t push the man away once again.

…

“Xiao Xi, you’re back?”

Qi Qingyun turned her head, taking off her glasses: “Why did you come back so early today?”

“H-He… his injury is pretty much healed, he doesn’t need anyone to take care of him, so I came back,” Yu Xi answered with his head lowered while taking off his thick coat and scarf.

He was afraid Qi Qingyun would look closely, and even more afraid she would ask questions, hurriedly going upstairs.

Little did he know, Qi Qingyun had long noticed something different, merely choosing not to expose it out of tacit understanding.

However, as he went upstairs, he ran into Pei Wang, who happened to step out of his room. The moment Pei Wang saw him, he furrowed his brows: “What happened to your mouth? Swollen like this, do you have internal heat?”

“Ah!” Yu Xi covered his mouth with one hand, “I-I-I-Is it?”

Pei Wang nodded: “Yeah, red and swollen, just like you ate something outrageously spicy.”

“…” He hadn’t eaten anything outrageously spicy, but he had been eaten by an outrageous person.

Yu Xi offered a small smile, glossing over it as he returned to his room and rushed to the front of the vanity mirror.

The youth in the mirror currently looked completely scandalous.

The desire in his eyes had yet to dissipate, his cheeks were flushed, and his lips displayed a thoroughly ripe hue, swollen by a ring—anyone would notice it at a single glance.

And inside his mouth where others couldn’t see, the tip of his tongue was swollen as well, a residual, tingling sensation still lingering to this moment.

Thinking that he had met his mother and then Pei Wang with a face like this, Yu Xi felt so embarrassed his head spun. In a fit of anger, he pulled out his phone, snapped a photo of his slightly parted red lips with a click, and sent it to the culprit to accuse him.

【It’s all your fault!!!】 【I told you to be gentler, yet you still kissed so hard.】 【How am I supposed to face people like this!】 【Pouting_Angry_Fists_Flailing.jpg】

Gu Chuanzhou: 【I’m sorry, Xixi. I’ll definitely pay attention next time.】 【I lost control today and didn’t handle the boundary properly.】 【Xixi wants it a bit gentler, right?】

Yu Xi: 【Right!! A bit gentler!!!】

Gu Chuanzhou: 【Okay. ^^】

Seeing Gu Chuanzhou’s good attitude in admitting his mistake, the puffiness on Yu Xi’s cheeks deflated a bit, but he reacted very quickly.

Yu Xi: 【Wait, that’s not right! There won’t be a next time for me to kiss you!】 【Absolutely not!!!】

…

They kissed again.

Right on the morning of the day after making that vow, he headed to the Gu family residence once more carrying the flower rolls made by his mother.

Originally, he hadn’t wanted to come, but his mother had entreated him, saying mournfully that making too many would go to waste.

He had no choice but to show up with a small, stiff face, planning to leave the moment he completed his mission. Who could have expected that the moment he stepped inside the door, his face was cradled and pecked on the cheek.

It let out a loud “mwah,” leaving him thoroughly stunned for several seconds.

Once he snapped out of it, he questioned angrily: “Why did you kiss me!”

“Good morning kiss,” Gu Chuanzhou said matter-of-factly, taking the thermal container from his hands. “What gift did Xixi bring me this time? It smells so delicious.”

With the topic diverted, Yu Xi forgot to be angry: “It’s flower rolls made by Mom. Red beans were added inside, it’s very delicious, eat it while it’s hot.”

“Mm, okay,” Gu Chuanzhou responded with a smile.

Having delivered the flower rolls, Yu Xi still failed to leave; he was kept there by Gu Chuanzhou using roasted sugarcane.

He hadn’t eaten hot sugarcane after being roasted, especially roasted sugarcane squeezed with orange juice—a very special flavor.

Because he was a bit impatient, he kept guard right in front of the oven, watching without blinking.

Gu Chuanzhou accompanied him by his side, leaning against the kitchen island with a trace of doting warmth in his smile: “It will be ready in twenty minutes. Xixi can go play in the living room for a while first.”

Yu Xi was just about to respond with an okay, but changed his words when they reached his mouth: “I don’t want to, I’ll just wait right here.”

He looked at Gu Chuanzhou with vigilance in his eyes, because sitting idle in the living room made it easy for Gu Chuanzhou to take advantage of him, kissing and hugging him if he wasn’t paying attention.

Sometimes Yu Xi suspected whether Gu Chuanzhou’s home fragrance or water contained some kind of potion; otherwise, why was he always unable to refuse…

Ding-dong—

The doorbell suddenly rang, interrupting their conversation.

Gu Chuanzhou went to open the door. Yu Xi didn’t pay much attention, continuing to keep guard in front of the oven. But after waiting for quite a while, he didn’t hear any commotion, so he walked out uneasily anyway.

He saw Gu Chuanzhou standing before the visual doorbell screen in the foyer, watching silently.

“Who is it?” Yu Xi stepped over, seeing several familiar faces on the screen.

It was the Sheng sisters and Zhang Xingkuo.

“It’s Xiao Juan, Xiao Shu, and Xingxing! Quickly let them in,” Yu Xi pulled Gu Chuanzhou’s sleeve to urge him.

Only then did Gu Chuanzhou press the unlock button unhurriedly.

During the New Year period, relatives and friends visited frequently. Both the Sheng family and the Zhang family had relationships they needed to maintain, so Yu Xi hadn’t seen them for several days since the second day of the New Year.

“Xiao Xi, we went to the Pei residence to knock on the door, and your mom said you were here, so we tracked you down. How is it, are you alright?” Zhang Xingkuo asked the moment he saw Yu Xi.

Only Sheng Yunshu noticed Gu Chuanzhou’s obvious bandages: “What happened?”

“Acting too arrogant and posturing outside, finally got beaten up by someone, huh? Haha!” Sheng Yunjuan laughed a bit loudly, but shrank back obediently after her sister gave her a glance. “Alright, you look pretty miserable too. Tell me who did it, and I’ll help you avenge it.”

“Just a minor injury,” Gu Chuanzhou didn’t mind Sheng Yunjuan’s mockery. His gaze fell strictly on Zhang Xingkuo’s hand holding Yu Xi’s wrist, his long eyes narrowing slightly.

It was very eyesore—exceptionally so.

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