WBAI Chapter 66

The next morning, Xie An’yu woke up at five as usual for his morning run, unwavering in his routine. Summer days were long, and dawn broke early. Yu Feng, still half-asleep, heard the rustling sounds beside him and tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids refused to open.

Xie An’yu moved quietly. With his eyes closed, Yu Feng could sense his approaching presence—his breath hovering above Yu Feng’s eyes for a few seconds before shifting to his ear, where soft lips gently pressed down.

Yu Feng, still with his eyes closed, wrapped his arms around Xie An’yu’s neck. His voice was husky from sleep: “Up so early? Going for a run again?”

Xie An’yu hummed in response near his ear.

“Running in this heat? You’re really disciplined.” Yu Feng opened his eyes and released him.

Xie An’yu looked down at him. “It’s not discipline, just habit.”

Maintaining such a habit wasn’t easy—it took remarkable self-control to keep it up.

“I also don’t like the feeling of loose, flabby muscles,” Xie An’yu added.

Yu Feng laughed. “You? Feeling that way?”

“During those days on the island when I didn’t run, I felt it.”

“That’s all in your head. What misconception do you have about your body?” Yu Feng lightly patted his cheek. “Do you think I’ve been touching you for nothing these past couple of days?”

Yu Feng continued, “By your logic, the meat on my body should be loose enough to make meat floss.”

Xie An’yu burst out laughing: “What kind of description is that?”

There was no way Yu Feng’s body was flabby—it was firm and well-defined, with visible abs. He clearly had a regular fitness routine.

“Do you go to the gym often?” Xie An’yu asked him.

“Not often, once or twice a week.” Yu Feng glanced at him. “Why do you ask?”

Xie An’yu slipped his hand under the covers and patted Yu Feng’s firm abdomen. “You call this loose? It’s obvious you work out.”

Yu Feng hummed, his tone and expression completely serious. “We gay guys are a bit vain.”

Xie An’yu couldn’t stop laughing so early in the morning.

Xie An’yu took a set of clothes from the wardrobe and turned to find Yu Feng throwing off the covers and getting out of bed.

“Why are you up too? Not going to sleep a bit longer?”

“Not sleeping.” Yu Feng picked up his glasses from the bedside table and put them on. “Opening my eyes to see the face of the island’s heartthrob woke me right up.”

Xie An’yu, holding his clothes, started laughing again. He felt his threshold for laughter had lowered significantly these past few days.

“Are you coming for a run with me?” Xie An’yu asked.

Yu Feng looked at him. “No, it’s too hot.” He walked over and ruffled Xie An’yu’s tousled hair. “I’ll make you breakfast. Eat before you run. What do you want?”

Xie An’yu thought for a moment and chose something simple: “Scallion oil noodles.”

“Alright.”

***

As soon as Xie An’yu stepped out of the bathroom, he caught the aroma, and his stomach growled uncontrollably. Yu Feng had made him a plus version of scallion oil noodles—his bowl was larger than Yu Feng’s, with two fried eggs and two sausages added.

Xie An’yu glanced at the plain noodles in Yu Feng’s bowl, thinking that Yu Feng was truly feeding him like a pig.

Yu Feng brought over two glasses of lemon water and asked Xie An’yu, “What time is your audition at the company today?”

“Nine o’clock.”

“I’ll drive you.”

“Aren’t you supposed to take your mom to the hospital?”

“The caregiver just called. My mom has a mahjong game scheduled for the morning—she’s going in the afternoon.”

Xie An’yu paused with the sausage in his mouth. “She’s playing mahjong this early in the morning?”

“Older people wake up early, and there’s nothing else to do in the mornings.” Yu Feng smiled. “Quite dedicated, isn’t she?”

Xie An’yu grinned and nodded. “Very dedicated indeed.”

“Have you considered getting a driver’s license?” Yu Feng suddenly asked Xie An’yu.

Xie An’yu looked up at him.

“It’d be more convenient if you could drive yourself around. I have another car that I rarely use. Letting it sit idle isn’t good for it—if you get your license, you could take it out for drives and help maintain it.”

Xie An’yu saw right through it. The ‘maintenance’ was just an excuse; Yu Feng’s real intention was to let him use the car. In reality, Yu Feng drove that particular car quite frequently.

Yu Feng was incredibly considerate—so much so that even though their relationship had grown closer, he still carefully maintained boundaries between them. He would never say outright, I have another car; you can use it. He always finding roundabout ways to be good to others.

Xie An’yu hummed in agreement. “I’ll go study for it when I have time.”

***

While Xie An’yu went for his run, Yu Feng went into the study to edit the photos he had taken at Shuangye Isle. Halfway through, he started feeling drowsy and lay down on the sofa for a nap. His sleep quality had been improving lately—he slept so deeply that he didn’t even hear Xie An’yu return.

Xie An’yu had left for his run at six and returned at seven-thirty to shower. Yu Feng was woken by his phone ringing—Jiang Xiaotian was calling. Yu Feng had taken five days off, and his inbox was flooded with photoshoot requests. Some brands and companies, unable to reach Yu Feng online, had contacted Jiang Xiaotian instead.

“Turn them all down,” Yu Feng said, sitting up as he spoke to Jiang Xiaotian over the phone.

“All of them? Brother, these are big clients!”

“I want to take a proper break recently.”

“But you just had five days off,” Jiang Xiaotian sounded puzzled. “You used to be a workaholic, Brother. Why have you suddenly lost your desire for money lately?”

“I was bored before and had nothing to do, so I worked a lot. Now, I’m occupied and have things to do, so I want to rest.”

“Huh…?” Jiang Xiaotian didn’t know about Yu Feng’s past and couldn’t understand this shift in mindset.

In short, he was in love. His heart felt nourished, life had become more colorful, and he no longer relied solely on photography to fill the void inside. The long, lonely path ahead was gradually becoming clearer, illuminated with purpose.

Even if he and Xie An’yu did nothing but lie on the sofa watching TV all day, he found it fulfilling.

“So, Brother, when are you coming back to work? I’ve been resting at home for days—my parents are so annoyed they’re about to kick me out. They even asked if I got fired.”

“Is paid leave not good enough?”

“Of course it is! It’s just that resting too long makes me feels restless. I kind of want to get back to work.”

“You must be a masochist.”

Jiang Xiaotian chuckled. “Well, it is nice working with a boss as great as you.”

Xie An’yu knocked on the door outside. Yu Feng walked over to open it, glanced at the clock on the wall, and said to Jiang Xiaotian, “Let’s resume work in a few days. Help me decline all those collaboration requests for now. That’s it, I’m hanging up.”

“OK.”

Yu Feng caught the fresh scent of shower gel. Xie An’yu looked clean and refreshed, his hair fluffy—he had already showered.

“I thought you were still asleep,” Xie An’yu said.

“I was asleep, just got woken up.” Yu Feng glanced at his phone—Xie An’yu had sent him a WeChat message five minutes ago asking where he was.

Yu Feng couldn’t help but laugh. “We’re in the same house, and you’re texting to ask where I am?”

“I knocked on your door, but there was no response.”

“So you sent me a WeChat message?”

“Mm…”

“If there was no response, why didn’t you just push the door open and check?”

“That would be a bit rude.”

“Have you considered what our relationship is now?”

Xie An’yu glanced at Yu Feng. “Actually, I did push the door open earlier. I checked and confirmed no one was there before coming here.”

“Oh.” Yu Feng lifted his chin. “So your brain does know how to bend after all.”

Yu Feng walked out of the study: “I’m going to change clothes. I’ll take you to the company in a bit.”

“Why don’t you just go back to sleep? You woke up so early today—catch up on some rest. I can take the subway.”

“I’ve slept enough already. I’m full of energy now.”

The working hours for 《Charm》 started at nine o’clock. Yu Feng drove into the underground parking garage, the entire ramp was packed with cars, bumpers nearly touching, inching slowly downward.

Yu Feng usually parked on the second basement level, but today he parked directly on the first basement level, too lazy to follow the slow-moving traffic further down.

Xie An’yu hadn’t realized the company parking lot would be so crowded at this hour and immediately regretted having Yu Feng drive him. Yu Feng’s car was too eye-catching, and he himself was even more so—probably eighty percent of the people in the company would recognize his car.

Xie An’yu sat in the passenger seat, hesitating to get out. Watching the flow of cars outside, he felt a bit frustrated. “Why does your company only start work at nine?”

“Nine is the normal start time.”

Xie An’yu pulled a black face mask from his backpack and quietly put it on. “Brother, wait a bit. I’ll get out when there are fewer people.”

Yu Feng raised his wrist to look at his watch. “8:56. With the time to take the elevator upstairs, you’ve got about two minutes. We’ve got a little time—let’s sneak a kiss.”

Xie An’yu turned his head, and Yu Feng’s face was already close. Xie An’yu had put on his mask so quietly that Yu Feng hadn’t noticed—he almost kissed the mask directly.

Yu Feng stopped just three centimeters from Xie An’yu’s face. Xie An’yuls pupils dilated, his eyelashes trembling slightly. His mask was a reusable sun-protection type, carrying the same soapy scent as his clothes.

With so many people outside, Xie An’yu was definitely nervous—so nervous his pupils had widened.

“When did you put on the mask?” Yu Feng asked. “You’re quick with your hands.”

“There are people outside…” Xie An’yu leaned back slightly, his head nearly touching the window.

“The windows are tinted; people outside can’t see in. There’s no car in front either, so you don’t need to worry about being seen.” Yu Feng stared into Xie An’yu’s eyes. “Even if they did, it’s fine. I’ll take responsibility.”

Yu Feng kissed the tip of Xie An’yu’s nose through the mask, then hooked a finger under the top edge and gently pulled it down, revealing Xie An’yu’s tall nose bridge, followed by his thin lips.

Outside the car window, sounds were chaotic and muffled—horns, footsteps, car doors opening and closing—all drifting through the glass to linger by Xie An’yu’s ears.

Yu Feng tugged the mask down to his chin, closed his eyes, leaned in, and gently brushed his lips against Xie An’yu’s.

After the kiss, Yu Feng pulled Xie An’yu’s mask back up, glanced at his wristwatch, and said, “You can get off now.”

List of Idiom in Chapter 66

小心翼翼 (xiǎo xīn yì yì): cautious and solemn (idiom); very carefully; gently and cautiously; cautious; prudent; wary; with great care; cautiously; This meant serious and respectful; Now it is described as being cautious and not daring to neglect.

簡而言之 (jiǎn ér yán zhī): in brief; in short; to put it in a nutshell; basically; to put it briefly; in sum; in a few words; in one word; briefly speaking; for shortness’ sake; sum up; put it briefly; put it simply; put in a nutshell; cut a long story short; briefly; refers to a phrase that uses concise language to summarize the content.

精神煥發 (jīng shén huàn fā): in high spirits; fresh with energy; vigorous and energetic; glowing with health and vigor; be in high/good spirits; one’s spirits rise; describes a state of being in high spirits and full of emotions.

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