BTMDY Extra 6

When Lu Chengxuan woke him up, Lin Shen, still half-asleep, glanced out the window and saw the sky was just faintly lit. He muttered a few curses at him and then went back to sleep.

 

It wasn’t until much later, when Lu Guoguo shook him awake again, that he realized the sky he’d seen before wasn’t dawn at all.

 

It was almost night.

 

Lin Shen sat on the bed for a few seconds, slowly realizing he had dozed off way too long.

 

Today was Lin Qianqian’s birthday. They had planned to celebrate together tonight. Though she wouldn’t be able to come until after her talent show group finale, so it would be a bit later.

 

Still, Lin Shen was the kind of guy who never procrastinated on big things but loved to drag his feet on small ones.

 

Even though he hadn’t fully woken up yet, there wasn’t enough time left to go back to sleep. Lu Chengxuan knew this too—so instead of spoiling him like usual, he had Lu Guoguo come over to wake him up.

 

Thinking back, Lin Shen realized he must have snapped at Lu Guoguo earlier in his half-asleep grumpiness. He patted the kid on the back of the head to shoo him out and called out loud,

 

“Lu Chengxuan—”

 

No sooner had Lu Guoguo stepped out than Lu Chengxuan walked in. He was neatly dressed, already in ‘ready-to-go’ mode, and flicked on the bedroom light after seeing Lin Shen fully awake.

 

“Your sister’s event won’t be done for a while,” he said. “Take your time getting ready, no rush.”

 

A glass on the bedside table was steaming slightly, obviously freshly poured. Lin Shen took it, sipped, and found it just the right temperature.

 

Leaning back against the headboard with the cup in hand, he let out a lazy yawn, his voice rough from sleep. “Why did you send Lu Guoguo to wake me? Where were you?”

 

“I was in the living room,” Lu Chengxuan said honestly. “You said you’d get annoyed if you saw me.”

 

Half-asleep, Lin Shen didn’t remember saying it, but he knew his tone had probably been terrible.

 

Lu Chengxuan’s voice stayed calm, just like always, without a hint of irritation. But every time Lin Shen vented at him for no reason, he always felt a twinge of guilt afterward.

 

It had been that way since he was young—though his pride never let him admit it.

 

Now, though his temper was still hard to control, and he could still explode at any moment, the guilt after an outburst seemed to hit harder than before.

 

Especially Lu Chengxuan’s line just now—

 

‘You said you’d get annoyed if you saw me.’

 

It sounded normal, flat, just a plain statement. There shouldn’t have been any extra weight to it.

 

Yet for some reason, it dug into Lin Shen’s ears, carrying a strange, inexplicable sting of grievance.

 

He didn’t know if it was the guilt inside him speaking or if Lu Chengxuan meant to provoke that reaction.

 

Either way, it was unbearable.

 

At that moment, Lin Shen recalled what the little schemer Lin Wangye had said about ‘creating distance on purpose to make someone crave intimacy more.’ It had seemed like a clever trick at first.

 

And hearing it again now, he thought… maybe it really was.

 

When they first got married, he’d gone through a phase of wanting it all the time—night after night, almost nonstop.

 

But passion, no matter who you are, can’t stay at its peak forever. It’s like a wave, rising and falling, depending on your mood.

 

Essentially, it’s like a fire: the hotter it burns, the faster it dies out.

 

It’s human nature. You can’t change it.

 

Besides, he and Lu Chengxuan had known each other for way too long. They understood each other better than they understood themselves. After the relationship changed, that spark of novelty couldn’t last more than a few days.

 

Personality-wise, one was lazy, the other broody.

 

Trying to create fun felt like climbing to the sky—impossible.

 

After being together so long, life naturally grew calm, even boring.

 

So, after Lin Wangye pitched his scheme, Lin Shen jumped on it immediately.

 

The problem was, he insisted on adding his own twists on top of what Lin Wangye had tested as effective. He demanded that Lu Chengxuan go all out to please him before he’d give in.

 

Basically, he dug a pit for himself—no rules, all freeform.

 

And the kicker? The ‘control’ seemed to be his, but in reality, it was in Lu Chengxuan’s hands.

 

Did Lu Chengxuan even have that kind of emotional intelligence?

 

Lin Shen wasn’t convinced.

 

Now the situation was awkward. For the sake of this so-called ‘distance,’ he had rigidly cut off all intimacy. Afraid he might lose control late at night, he even chose to sleep in a separate room.

 

The result? Sleeping without a warm body next to him felt wrong, and he couldn’t sleep a wink all night.

 

It was just… ridiculous.

 

Normally, he didn’t cling to Lu Chengxuan that much. Compared to Lin Wangye and his wife, they weren’t exactly a super lovey-dovey couple.

 

But the moment he tried this ‘distancing’ trick, just a few hours in, he was craving him like crazy.

 

Especially at night, tossing and turning, he wanted nothing more than to storm into Lu Chengxuan’s room, strip him down, and kiss him senseless.

 

But Lin Shen’s pride was worth more than gold, so he held himself back.

 

Maybe that’s why he ended up driving himself a little crazy. When he was woken from his nap in the afternoon and saw Lu Chengxuan standing there calmly, seemingly unaffected, it made him even angrier. He blew up.

 

Lin Shen quickly sorted it out in his head, logic forming a perfect circle.

 

Seeing Lu Chengxuan again, all his guilt vanished—and was replaced with frustration.

 

Wasn’t it your job to make me happy, to surprise me?

 

Why are you just standing there empty-handed? I’ve been asleep all afternoon—didn’t you even think to grab me some flowers?

 

If you had brought flowers, this whole ‘I’ll let it slide’ thing would’ve been over.

 

What’s the point of having a brain anyway?

 

We’re even sleeping in separate rooms, and you’re not even slightly worried?

 

Am I the only one who’s anxious here?!

 

The more Lin Shen thought about it, the angrier he got. Looking at the man standing at the door just made him even more irritated. His voice turned stiff when he finally spoke:

 

“Find me an outfit to wear.”

 

“Mm.”

 

Lu Chengxuan didn’t seem to notice Lin Shen’s mood—or the sharpness in his tone at all. He simply acknowledged the command and turned to leave.

 

Staring at the now-empty doorway for a moment, Lin Shen flopped back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling and wondering how on earth he had ended up married to someone like this. After a long while of puzzling over it, he silently got up and headed to the bathroom.

 

After washing up and changing, he met the others, and the three of them set off.

 

The night wind carried the chill of late autumn. Lu Chengxuan wore a plain black turtleneck under a gray long coat, bundled tightly, yet it only made his face look sharper, more striking—enough to make Lin Shen swallow hard.

 

Apparently, trying to resist temptation was really hard.

 

Some thoughts just couldn’t be hidden; the more you tried to suppress them, the more they surfaced.

 

Lin Shen leaned back in the passenger seat, turning his head to look out the window. The trees lining the street were ablaze with crimson maple leaves, swaying in the wind and slowly drifting down.

 

This street was famous in Ningchang. Every autumn, tourists came to admire the fall foliage.

 

He recalled the restaurant’s location for tonight and vaguely remembered that they wouldn’t need to pass this street.

 

But before he knew it, a thought popped up, and soon he saw a familiar school gate ahead. The iron sign was slightly rusted, reading: Ningchang No. 7 Junior Middle School.

 

As a public school under the compulsory education system, it usually didn’t have much funding. Unless extra money came from higher up, upgrading facilities wasn’t common. The principal of No. 7 School was always straightforward—focused only on grades and college admission rates—and not one to waste money on a doorplate that still worked fine.

 

Lin Shen’s gaze lingered on the school gate until it disappeared from view. Then, remembering something Lin Wangye had casually mentioned, he spoke up:

 

“When are they going to build new buildings for the school?”

 

Lu Chengxuan didn’t seem surprised by the sudden question and answered calmly:

 

“Whenever.”

 

Lin Shen calculated for a moment and clicked his tongue.

 

“Later, I guess. There’s a project right now, so no money to spare.”

 

“Just use mine,” Lu Chengxuan said. “In your name.”

 

Lin Shen immediately refused. “No, I want to use my own money for this.”

 

Lu Chengxuan didn’t object, only nodded.

 

“Alright.”

 

The two of them chatted sporadically, husband and wife through and through. There wasn’t much sweetness in their tone, but Lin Shen didn’t mind.

 

Everyone had their own comfort zone. This was the most natural way for him and Lu Chengxuan to be together. He couldn’t imagine constantly cloying over each other like Lin Wangye and Shi Yuan—they were just too much.

 

They really did need to brush up on their flirting skills.

 

A little bit of it was fine, but having none at all was just… too abstract.

 

From the back seat came occasional sounds—Lu Guoguo was bored and scrolling through videos on his phone. Lin Shen caught bits of it and suddenly called out,

 

“Stop. Rewind ten seconds—I want to hear what they just said.”

 

Realizing Lin Shen was talking to him, Lu Guoguo obediently rewound the video ten seconds.

 

[Fun fact: your keyboard can reveal what you fear most. Start typing ‘don’t’ in your input method, then keep clicking—mine comes up with ‘don’t leave me, okay?’ You should try it too!]

 

Hearing that, Lin Shen’s curiosity was piqued. He pulled out his own phone and opened the notes app to try it himself—

 

[Other people’s husbands are really romantic ah, really romantic ah, really romantic ah…]

 

Lin Shen went silent, then quickly deleted the line.

 

He had a habit of using offense to cover up his own insecurity. Once it was deleted, he reached over toward Lu Chengxuan, boldly saying,

 

“Let me see your phone.”

 

Lu Chengxuan, hands busy driving, eyes fixed on the road, replied,

 

“It’s in my pocket. Take it.”

 

Without a second thought, Lin Shen reached into his pocket.

 

It was empty—no phone. Instead, his hand found something it shouldn’t have.

 

In that instant, Lu Chengxuan’s fingers on the steering wheel twitched.

 

But Lin Shen didn’t pull back. He held it there for a moment before quickly retracting his hand, pretending he’d just realized what it was.

 

A few seconds later, Lu Chengxuan sighed silently.

 

“Shirt pocket.”

 

Lin Shen, perfectly calm, went, “Oh,” and nonchalantly retrieved the phone from his shirt pocket, unlocked it, and opened the keyboard.

 

[Don’t do unnecessary things.]

 

Perfect. Not surprising at all.

 

Fitting, even.

 

*

 

Lin Wangye: I could teach a class on flirting. Registration fee: 200 million.

Lin Shen: What’s the use of your clumsy, childish tricks?

Lin Wangye: ╮(╯▽╰)╭ Forget it, don’t bother.

Lin Shen: I’ll learn.

 

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