When Yan Xi woke up again, it was already almost ten. He rarely overslept. No matter how late he went to bed, he would still get up on time the next morning. It was a habit he had developed since childhood, a kind of discipline.
He unplugged his phone from the charger beside the bed and checked it. As expected, his alarm had been turned off.
Pei Yuxing wasn’t beside him. Yan Xi guessed he was downstairs cooking. Whenever the two of them were at home, Pei Yuxing would handle all these household chores himself, seemingly enjoying being busy with these trivial matters of married life.
Yan Xi buried his head in the pillow and allowed himself a brief moment of laziness. The scent of Pei Yuxing lingered beneath his nose, and his young body, having already tasted pleasure, still seemed to remember the tingling sensation the man had left behind.
Whenever he felt especially embarrassed, Pei Yuxing would lean down, gently wrap an arm around his shoulders, and murmur all sorts of things into his ear. That deep, mellow voice would make every nerve in his body tremble with excitement.
Unable to resist, Yan Xi closed his eyes and instinctively leaned closer, his body trembling and sinking into the sensation.
It went against everything he had been taught growing up, and Yan Xi felt that he had become somewhat strange.
It wasn’t that he didn’t understand sex. It was simply that Old Mr. Yan Peili had been strict with him, afraid that he would waste his youth indulging in pleasure when he should be working hard. Years of constant reminders had taught him not to waste unnecessary thoughts on romance. His cousins of the same generation had already gone through several girlfriends, while he had never even considered such things.
Even now, he still found it unbelievable that his grandfather would arrange blind dates for him.
Sexual pleasure was fascinating and addictive, yet somehow it also felt wrong.
Yan Xi became wary.
Pei Yuxing comforted him. “Don’t be afraid. Liking something doesn’t mean you’re falling into depravity. You’re simply following human nature.”
Perhaps to put him at ease, the man began living a restrained and uneventful life. After showering at night, he would read a script for a while. Once his newlywed husband got into bed, he would considerately arrange the pillows before turning off the lights. In the darkness, he would remain as still as an old monk in meditation, completely free of worldly desires.
Yet when his young husband reached out, he never pushed him away. Their fingers intertwined, and the sensation was unmistakably clear. He wasn’t quite as free of desire as he appeared.
But Yan Xi said nothing, and neither did he. When the other person rested his head on his shoulder, he would rub Yan Xi’s neck and say in a hoarse, calm voice, “Go to sleep.”
It went on like this for several days.
Compared to their previous nights of passion, nothing about Yan Xi’s daily life had changed. His training and the pitifully few commercial activities had not been affected.
If there was one thing that had changed, it was that his self-control in one particular area had weakened.
Yan Xi wasn’t exactly worried that he didn’t attract the man. After all, they pressed so intimately against each other every night, and the body’s reactions couldn’t lie.
Sometimes, he would still find it difficult to endure. Gathering a little courage, he would glance at Pei Yuxing, his ears turning red as his hands became less well-behaved.
Pei Yuxing calmly caught his wrist. His expression remained indifferent, but his breathing grew heavier.
After staring at each other for a while, the man’s voice turned hoarse. “Not afraid anymore?”
“I’m not afraid.” Yan Xi said, “If it’s you, I’m not afraid.”
Pei Yuxing gently stroked his cheek with his thumb, his gaze softening. “Mm.”
Yan Xi watched the corners of his lips. It seemed like he was smiling, yet perhaps he wasn’t.
Either way, it looked very good.
Following human nature didn’t seem like such a bad thing after all.
……
Yan Xi had always thought that he was the type of person with exceptionally strong self-control when it came to relationships. Before entering the entertainment industry, whenever he gathered with his cousins, he would inevitably hear discussions about such topics. From glamorous Hong Kong actresses from twenty years ago to innocent-looking idols of the present day, they talked openly about their ideal types.
Yan Xi had no interest in participating and quietly listened like an audience member.
His older cousin would tease him, “Did all that dancing make you stupid? You’re making the rest of us look so improper.”
Yan Xi could only smile. “No. It’s interesting just listening to you guys talk.”
His second older cousin leaned over. “There are so many handsome men and beautiful women in the entertainment industry. Isn’t there even one you’d want to sleep with?”
Yan Xi had just opened his mouth when his second cousin cut him off.
“Don’t say no. I don’t believe you. You have to name someone today.”
Yan Xi: “……”
Perhaps because he normally appeared gentle, easygoing, and self-disciplined, the more something seemed out of character for him, the more they wanted to dig some gossip out of him.
They surrounded him, clearly determined not to stop until they got an answer.
In the living room outside, Slaying the Immortals was playing. A familiar line drifted into his ears, and Yan Xi seemed to have grasped a lifeline.
“Pei Yuxing, I guess.”
“……”
His two older cousins stared at him with indescribable expressions, their eyes filled with the concern of ‘What are we supposed to do to save our silly little brother?’
In the end, his eldest cousin patted him on the shoulder.
“Young man, there’s nothing wrong with dreaming. Take a number and get in line.”
Looking back now, it really was incredible.
Back then, he’d only said it casually, yet his words had somehow become a prophecy.
And perhaps because of Pei Yuxing, he wasn’t nearly as calm about relationships as he had imagined.
Yan Xi rubbed his face and got up to wash.
The signature on his lower back had faded considerably. The character “Xing” had already become a blur, though the sharp pen strokes could still be faintly made out.
He rubbed it twice with his hand. The ink smeared, but didn’t disappear completely.
By the time he had finished getting ready, it was already almost ten-thirty.
As expected, Pei Yuxing was in the kitchen. His back was tall and sturdy, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. He wore a dark coffee-brown half apron and was ladling fragrant rice porridge into a bowl.
If someone took a picture of this, it would definitely make people do a double take. Yet somehow, it wouldn’t feel out of place at all. Instead, people would probably feel a subtle jealousy toward whoever was treated so gently by Pei Yuxing—like they had eaten several pounds of lemons.
Yan Xi pulled out the chair at the dining table and had just sat down when a delicious breakfast was brought over.
Seeing him constantly rubbing his neck, Pei Yuxing asked, “Didn’t sleep well?”
“A little.”
He didn’t know whether he had slept in an awkward position, but the left side of his neck hurt a little.
Pei Yuxing’s expression turned serious. “You need to see a doctor.”
He then took out his phone and prepared to make an appointment with a specialist.
Yan Xi laughed. “Isn’t that a little excessive? It’ll be fine after I rub it a little.”
But Pei Yuxing didn’t agree.
“As a dancer, I want you to always be healthy.”
Yan Xi trained very hard, so bruises were an everyday occurrence. Once, he twisted his ankle and it swelled badly. He was rushed to the hospital, where a thorough examination thankfully showed that there was no bone damage. He only needed some simple rest and recovery.
Yan Xi wasn’t afraid of much. He had endured far worse when he was young. Back then, he was still at an age when he could act spoiled. He would be so exhausted that tears streamed down his face, sobbing uncontrollably.
Yet he would quickly pull himself together, wipe away his tears with the back of his hand, endure the pain, and continue practicing his fundamentals.
His family would encourage him, but they wouldn’t coddle him.
Love did not mean spoiling someone. Only by enduring hardship can one rise above others—that was the Yan family’s motto.
But Pei Yuxing’s expression looked terrible.
The man’s lips were pressed into a cold, rigid line, and he even took the initiative to ask the doctor whether Yan Xi needed to stay in the hospital for observation.
This was a famous private hospital. There were rumors that Pei Yuxing had invested in it, though the information wasn’t necessarily accurate.
Still, given the man’s abilities, it wouldn’t be difficult for Yan Xi to be admitted immediately if he wanted to. Before the doctor could even speak, Yan Xi refused. He had encountered countless situations throughout his career as a dancer, so he wasn’t that delicate.
Pei Yuxing still wasn’t reassured, so Yan Xi said, “I want to stay at home.”
Pei Yuxing silently looked at him for two seconds before finally giving in.
From then on, Pei Yuxing became especially attentive to his health.
Yan Xi glanced at him. “Your arm was too hard.”
He clearly remembered leaning against the pillow before going to sleep, yet sometime during the night, he had woken up in a daze to find himself sleeping on the man’s arm.
Fortunately, the air conditioning in the room was strong enough that he hadn’t been sweating.
Yan Xi was a very disciplined sleeper. He swore he hadn’t crawled over there himself.
Pei Yuxing merely smiled faintly without offering an explanation.
Even after being caught doing something naughty, he didn’t seem embarrassed. There was even a trace of smugness in the corners of his eyes.
It made Yan Xi’s heart itch.
After eating, he looked at his phone for a while as he digested.
The trending topics had already gone through another rotation. The top three were about a third-tier actress who had secretly married and given birth. The revelation had already generated quite a bit of discussion, completely capturing the attention of netizens.
There was no trace of entertainment news about Pei Yuxing anymore.
At some point last night, the marketing accounts had seemingly been put under a spell, no longer posting any news related to Pei Yuxing.
All the popular posts hostile toward Yuan Yi had disappeared. The account named Didiwei Fruit and Vegetable Yogurt, which had argued with him, had also stopped responding. When Yan Xi clicked on the account’s profile, it showed that the account had been deleted.
Actually, the interaction between the man and Yuan Yi had caused quite a bit of discussion. After all, nobody had expected the two of them to have any connection after so many years. Everyone had assumed that things would be awkward between them and that they would never interact again.
Yet the two of them had been completely open and natural about it—the social skills of adults.
Yan Xi had a subtle feeling that this topic had been deliberately placed right in front of him.
He found it somewhat amusing.
The Yuan Yi confession incident happened back when Pei Yuxing was in high school. How could he possibly care about it after all these years?
Back then, his deskmate had even gossiped with him about it. The girl had looked utterly speechless, feeling that nobody was worthy of even touching her idol. He had simply been born to stand at the very top of the pyramid, and nobody was good enough for him.
Yan Xi had even agreed with her.
“Yeah.”
He was just glad it had been many years since graduation; otherwise, getting hit with a textbook would definitely have hurt. She was surprisingly strong.
Yan Xi browsed Weibo for a while longer but found nothing new. After exiting, he saw a message from Brother Feng in the group chat.
Brother Feng: Thanks to my silver tongue, I got my old classmate to give you guys two extra seconds of screen time. [Cool]
Xia Zefan: Silver tongue [Nope], more like a face as thick as a fortress wall. [OK]
Brother Feng: It doesn’t matter how thick the skin is, as long as it’s useful.
Brother Feng: Pei Yuxing is in this episode. Several guests have already contacted the production team. Do you know how hard it was for me to snatch these two seconds?!
Lin Yi: Is it my screen time?
Brother Feng: What’s so interesting about those two cute little acts you sold? Yan Xi’s Chinese dance is what will get people talking.
Lin Yi: Xia Zefan, Brother Feng looks down on your rap.
Xia Zefan: Screw you.
Lin Yi: Ji Zhou, your songwriting is just background music!
Ji Zhou: 1
Clearly, he didn’t want to deal with him.
Lin Yi: QAQ
Lin Yi: Brother, they’re bullying me.
Yan Xi: ^＿^
Lin Yi felt that he couldn’t stay in this group anymore.
The news about Pei Yuxing appearing on the variety show was no longer on the trending list, but as long as people followed anything related to Entertainment, Life, they could see plenty of excited comments anticipating the episode.
Of course, there were also some discordant voices. Some loyal movie fans were unhappy about him appearing on a variety show. After all, excessive exposure could make an actor lose their freshness and cause audiences to form fixed impressions of them. There were plenty of examples of this in the entertainment industry.
For example, Er Haoming had won the Golden Bear Best Newcomer Award when he was young and had seemed destined for a bright future. Later, he became a regular guest on a comedy variety show. Now, no matter what role he played, audiences felt that he was fooling around and deliberately making a clown of himself, making it difficult for them to become immersed in his performances.
It wasn’t strange for Pei Yuxing’s fans to have the same concerns.
One critical post had received hundreds of replies. It was right inside Pei Yuxing’s trending topic, and fans were expressing their own opinions and arguing noisily in the comments.
Yan Xi had seen it too. He didn’t know whether Pei Yuxing himself had seen it.
He didn’t bring it up or disturb the man over such a matter. He trusted Pei Yuxing.
The man appeared gentle and distant, but in truth, he respected his fans and his work. He wouldn’t do something disappointing just to make money.
It was simply that Pei Yuxing wouldn’t go out of his way to clarify these trivial matters. Naturally, his fans couldn’t help feeling uneasy.
With those thoughts in mind, they finally endured until the new episode of Entertainment, Life aired.
Although there had been an early preview, when the mysterious guest appeared, “AAAAAAAHHHHH” still flooded the screen.
Pei Yuxing appeared in casual clothes without makeup. He was gentle and courteous toward his juniors. When a staff member brought him a chair, the corners of his lips curved up.
“Thank you.”
The staff member froze for a moment before excitedly trotting away. The production team even added a “tap tap tap” running-away effect beside him.
The shots afterward were all reactions from the guests. Most were filled with surprise and excitement. Only VIC was extremely nervous, creating a stark contrast with the excitement and happiness around them.
【You at work when your boss suddenly appears behind you.】
【You doing your summer homework when your teacher suddenly comes for a home visit.】
【Ren Xiao’s expression: [Smile] [Stunned] [Horrified] [Flustered] [Forced Smile] [Forced to Work]】
【Captain Ren: Human joys and sorrows are not shared. You are all my audience.】
The comment about his expression had already gotten plenty of people laughing, and Yan Xi was amused too. He gave it a like.
The autograph segment had also been edited. Only the autograph portion was shown. Apart from a few popular guests, everyone else was simply fast-forwarded through. NEVER didn’t even appear on screen.
Su Zhi appeared at the end, and the footage returned to normal, clearly explaining why he hadn’t gotten an autograph.
“Sorry, it’s already over.”
The camera turned to Su Zhi’s face. A crying reaction image appeared beside him, accompanied by miserable, pitiful background music, which instead made the atmosphere feel even more hilarious.
It was completely different from how things had felt on-site.
Su Zhi then asked whether he could look forward to next time. After receiving an affirmative answer, he happily flashed a peace sign at the camera, his entire face framed by his meticulously done makeup.
But Yan Xi clearly remembered that Su Zhi had nearly cried at the time. He had forced a smile and returned to his seat. This footage must have been filmed later as a reshoot.
Yan Xi’s pupils shook.
He simply hadn’t experienced enough of the entertainment industry yet and couldn’t help marveling, They can even do this?
Some discordant comments appeared in the barrage. Although the program had turned the scene into comedy, Su Zhi’s fans weren’t buying it.
It wasn’t just the barrage. Even the comment section started arguing. Unfortunately, Su Zhi’s fans didn’t gain much ground. Pei Yuxing had an enormous casual-fan base, to the point that most people who weren’t even his fans were still willing to contribute to his box office numbers. On top of that, there were the numerous VIC group fans. The sheer volume overwhelmed Su Zhi’s fans, and their comments were almost completely drowned out.
This didn’t last long. Once the progress bar passed the halfway point, it was time for NEVER and VIC’s talent competition.
After their introductions came the part where both sides exchanged harsh words, but Pei Yuxing interrupted them midway. He mentioned, “Peach and plum trees do not speak, yet a path forms beneath them,” and then smiled faintly.
“It’s a line of poetry I like very much.”
【Got it. I’m going to get this sentence tattooed on myself as soon as I get home.】
【Peach and Plum Do Not Speak: Brothers, did I choose the right name?】
【A Path Forms Beneath Them: .】
【??? How are you guys typing so fast?】
【Why do I feel like our male god’s words have a deeper meaning? Scratches head.】
On screen, VIC had already begun performing. The barrage quickly changed topics, with excitement turning into dense streams of text that made it impossible for Yan Xi to see the screen clearly. Even long after the performance ended, the screams in the barrage hadn’t died down.
Finally, it was NEVER’s turn.
At the same time, the number of people watching online had surpassed three hundred thousand, and Yan Xi suddenly felt a little nervous.
There wasn’t much discussion about them in the barrage. After all, they had barely appeared on camera during the earlier part of the show. Even when they came on stage, their names had only been displayed beside them.
Most people were still caught up in VIC’s performance, while others were curious about the newcomers. The few comments praising them were mostly compliments about Lin Yi and Yan Xi’s looks.
One was lively and adorable, with a naturally eye-catching wink.
The other was tall and straight as a pine, with an orchid-like elegance.1Orchid (兰) symbolizes elegance, refinement, grace, and a noble, cultivated character. Comparing someone’s 气质 to an orchid suggests that they have a refined and elegant air.
【They look good, but challenging VIC is still overestimating themselves.】
【VIC fans are getting confident again. Do you really think there aren’t any talented people in the domestic entertainment industry? [Laughing]】
【I was wondering who this was. Turns out they’re FI’s dogs. Your oppas came back empty-handed from the Asian Grand Ceremony last time, and you’ve already finished crying this quickly?】
【No idea what level this new group is at, but FI is definitely overestimating themselves. Maybe they can’t even handle a tiny, obscure group like this.】
【You’re flattering them. FI can still crush these little rookies without a problem.】
【Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit! This guy’s dancing is incredible!】
Not only were the viewers watching closely, Yan Xi was staring at the screen too, his palms beginning to sweat.
Fortunately, his fundamentals were solid. The performance was highly polished. With several jumps and flips, his flexible body made him look like a crane about to spread its wings and take flight.
The barrage became just as packed as it had been during VIC’s performance, and all the earlier hostility disappeared.
【I’m a VIC fan, and I’m convinced. Our Captain Ren is already reaching out for his contact info.】
【Such a beautiful dance, sob sob sob sob! This competition is literally a battle between immortals!】
【That RAP guy’s voice is kind of sexy…】
【Successfully tricked me into exiting the show and opening my music app.】
【Where did those FI dogs from earlier go? Why aren’t they barking anymore?】
【Heh, this is enough to fool you guys? They’re all basic moves. Even kindergarten kids who just started learning can do them.】
【Dance student here. If that routine wasn’t backed by ten years of dance training, I’ll livestream myself eating a keyboard!】
【So can FI’s kindergarten kids come out and perform something for us?】
With that competition as a benchmark, the rest of the program felt somewhat dull. Once the rankings were announced, the entire screen filled with ellipses.
It was only an entertainment variety show, and everyone knew there was some behind-the-scenes manipulation involved. Apart from complaining a few times about “those evil capitalists,” it didn’t cause much of a stir.
The next highlight was Pei Yuxing’s commentary. VIC looked like a group of students who had finally finished their homework, and the edited video was even funnier than what had happened on-site.
Pei Yuxing’s comment about Yan Xi’s “very flexible waist” indeed caused an explosive reaction. The barrage even went completely blank for two seconds.
Then came a flood of question marks.
【I’ve spent so long typing and deleting things in the comment box. I don’t know what to say…】
【Same. The key is that his expression was so serious. There’s absolutely no way to tell whether he did it on purpose…】
【Got it. I’m signing up for a dance class right now.】
【I’m genuinely a little jealous. The male god actually told him that if they were family, he would be proud of him. AAAAAAHHHHH.】
【LMAO, he was just being polite, but this guy actually took it seriously. He sure knows how to leech off the popularity.】
【Can you call it leeching when Pei Yuxing said it himself? If my own brat grows up to have this kind of ability, I’d be proud too.】
【I’m seriously dying laughing at this group. The little guy looks completely at a loss. Hahahaha!】
Yan Xi’s bewildered expression successfully amused the audience. Nobody could tell how nervous and shocked he actually was inside.
He smiled too, finding the whole thing ridiculous himself.
Most netizens were friendly. The occasional comments trying to stir up trouble were quickly reported.
As expected, NEVER’s footage from the evening recording was scarce, totaling only around two or three seconds. Yan Xi could probably guess where Brother Feng’s efforts had gone.
After watching this episode of Entertainment, Life, Yan Xi slowly let out a sigh of relief.
At least they hadn’t been maliciously edited.
Pei Yuxing finished his work in the study and brought him some cooling tea. The show’s ending song was playing on the screen.
He glanced at it casually. “How was it?”
“Pretty good.” Yan Xi smiled at him. “Brother Feng is starting a crowdfunding campaign in his Moments to buy us a trending topic.”
Of course, he was joking. Brother Feng really had posted a link in his Moments, but it had been set to be visible only to the few of them.
Pei Yuxing’s lips curved into a faint smile. “Need any help?”
If his young husband asked, Pei Yuxing would of course be happy to help. But with Yan Xi’s strong-willed personality, he wouldn’t agree.
Sure enough, Yan Xi refused. Propping his chin up, he glanced at him.
“Teacher Pei, please save your money. You have a family to support.”
Pei Yuxing lowered his head and let out a muffled laugh.
NEVER really didn’t have much of a budget. Whatever money they had went into producing their music. Of course they wanted to buy a trending topic, but with today’s level of attention, how could they possibly afford it?
It was Pei Yuxing’s variety-show debut, so there were naturally plenty of topics about him. VIC followed closely behind, along with #SuZhiThanksPeiYuxing# and #PeiYuxingCommentsOnSuZhi#.
Although both were trending topics related to Su Zhi, the latter clearly wasn’t the work of his team.
The production team had carefully edited the part where Su Zhi spoke. In fact, it was difficult to tell that Pei Yuxing had any particular dissatisfaction with him. At most, he seemed a little strict.
Yet someone had created this trending topic, interpreting Pei Yuxing’s words line by line and making Su Zhi look absolutely terrible.
Normally, something like this would easily lead to a fan war. But unusually, the marketing accounts didn’t stir up trouble, and neither side’s fans clashed.
Yan Xi found it strange and looked at the man again.
Pei Yuxing was standing with his back to him, changing into black silk pajamas. His shoulders were broad and sturdy, his muscles firm without being overly pronounced—the type of body that looked slim in clothes but muscular without them.
Yan Xi suddenly remembered the bottle of shower gel in the bathroom. The brand really had a good eye and had timed things perfectly.
These days, Pei Yuxing no longer showed off his good physique. Unless a script required it, he would never take off his outer clothes.
The last time he had shown off his abs had already been three years ago, when he had posed for the cover of a famous men’s magazine.
He had been wearing a black shirt with only the middle button fastened, revealing just enough of his sexy collarbones. His abs were half-hidden, the contours sharply defined.
It had been an incredibly sexy and seductive image, yet the man had looked indifferent, calmly gazing at the camera without a ripple of emotion.
His life experience gave his eyes a sense of having a story to tell. It wasn’t the sorrow of hardship, but rather something more like the gentle carving of time.
I really want to hug him.
That issue of the magazine naturally sold out. Even people who weren’t particularly interested in Pei Yuxing himself wanted to have a copy as a collectible. While scrolling through his friends’ posts, Yan Xi saw that his former deskmate had shared a photo of it, lamenting the high price she had paid to buy it from a scalper while simultaneously being moved to tears by how handsome her male god was.
He had even liked the post.
His deskmate thought he liked the magazine too and considerately asked if he wanted to borrow it.
It was his deskmate’s treasure, and Yan Xi couldn’t bring himself to ask for it, so he politely declined.
That magazine really was stunning. Yan Xi had also tried to buy a copy, but hadn’t managed to get one.
He had only wanted it as a collectible. It wasn’t something he absolutely needed, so although he was disappointed, he wasn’t too upset.
But now that he thought about it…
Well, perhaps he could get it for free after all.
Pei Yuxing finished changing and turned around to find Yan Xi staring blankly at him, seemingly lost in some memory. His ears were slightly red.
He raised an eyebrow and asked, “What are you thinking about?”
Yan Xi came back to himself and blinked, driving the images from his mind.
“I was looking at the trending topics.”
After a pause, he added, “The ones about Su Zhi.”
Pei Yuxing immediately understood what he was thinking and replied calmly, “He’s offended a lot of people.”
Seeing Yan Xi’s confusion, he explained, “There’s something wrong with his team.”
Su Zhi’s team was notorious in the industry for being ruthless. Simply put, in order to make their own artist famous, anyone could become a stepping stone.
Teammates, colleagues, industry seniors…
As long as it could get them exposure, there was nothing they wouldn’t do.
From the moment Pei Yuxing stepped onto the set of Entertainment, Life, their calculations had already been rattling away.
Yan Xi immediately thought of what had happened before the program aired. Someone had taken advantage of the situation, attacking Yuan Yi in Pei Yuxing’s name while subtly implying that Pei Yuxing had poor character, attempting to pin labels such as “allowing fans to attack others” and “bullying juniors” on him.
Perhaps their team had initially intended to curry favor with Pei Yuxing. Unfortunately, the man didn’t fall for it and had criticized them without mercy.
Su Zhi’s team had therefore quickly changed tactics.
Yan Xi: “……”
He felt a little angry, and his expression changed.
Pei Yuxing smiled instead, seemingly pleased by it.
He reached out and took his husband’s hand where it rested on the blanket. The silver wedding ring stood out especially clearly against his slightly darker skin.
“It’s nothing major. Don’t think too much about it,” Pei Yuxing said. “They won’t dare continue.”
Yan Xi blinked again. Thinking back to the peaceful atmosphere in the comment section, it took him a while to understand.
Perhaps the man had done something that made Su Zhi’s team wary. They could have used a negative trending topic about their rival to play the victim, but instead, they had no choice but to swallow the loss.
Yan Xi felt that he was still too inexperienced, and he couldn’t help feeling frustrated.
“Sorry. I can’t do anything……”
If he were more famous, perhaps he could say a few words. But if he spoke now, people would only accuse him of riding on the man’s popularity and drag Pei Yuxing into the mess instead.
Pei Yuxing’s lips curved up, looking somewhat pleased.
“I’ll wait for the day you become strong enough.”
A fire seemed to burn in Yan Xi’s chest, and he couldn’t help leaning over to kiss the man.
Pei Yuxing responded with gentle tenderness, carrying boundless tolerance. His indulgence made Yan Xi’s fingertips tremble as he tightened his grip on the man’s clothes.
In the heat of the moment, Pei Yuxing reached out to undo the buttons of his pajamas, but Yan Xi stopped him.
Pei Yuxing leaned down, resting his forehead against his husband’s.
“Mm?”
Yan Xi’s throat tightened.
“Can you just keep this on?”
Pei Yuxing’s eyes darkened, and he said nothing.
Yan Xi’s fingertips trembled as he grasped the button on the man’s chest, undoing them one by one until only the middle button remained.
He pleaded softly, “Teacher Pei.”
Then the man smiled, his grip on Yan Xi’s wrist slowly tightening.
“Okay.”
You can read the full completed story here with instant full access. ✨
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notyetdead On BF Chapter 42