Can I Touch Your Chest Muscles?

Shen Rui'an crouched by the stream, pinching a few pebbles and tossing them into the water. He sniffed and wiped his eyes, rubbing the skin around them red.

Baisui sensed that he was in low spirits and circled him anxiously, whining.

"I'm fine, Baisui." Shen Rui'an rubbed its little head and gradually calmed down, staring blankly at the gently flowing stream.

The stream shimmered like a lake, its light dancing over Shen Rui'an's fair cheeks. Sunlight fell across his hair. Though he stood six feet tall, crouching by the water now made him seem impossibly small, like an angel with broken wings, heartbreaking for no reason at all.

When Su Tingbai caught up and saw this scene, his heart tightened. He covered the distance in a few long strides.

"Shen Rui'an."

The man's voice suddenly rang out. Even without turning around, Shen Rui'an could hear Su Tingbai approaching.

Sensing a shadow fall beside him, Shen Rui'an silently shifted away and answered quietly, "Mm."

Su Tingbai looked at his lowered eyes. His eyes and the tip of his nose were both a little red. Had he been crying?

It felt as though someone had pricked Su Tingbai's heart with a needle, a dense, lingering pain spreading through it. Why was he crying?

"What's wrong? Are you in a bad mood?" Su Tingbai moved closer and crouched beside him.

"I'm fine."

Shen Rui'an was even colder and more distant than when he had first arrived. Although less than two feet separated them, Su Tingbai felt as if an invisible, thick city wall stood between them, one he could not cross even an inch.

As soon as he drew close, Shen Rui'an shifted farther away. Even Su Tingbai, careless as he was, understood that he had upset him. His movement stalled, and the casual smile on his face grew noticeably stiffer.

"Did I make you angry?" Su Tingbai grabbed him when he tried to move farther up the bank and asked urgently.

"No. I'm angry at myself." Angry at himself for being so pathetic, for thinking that just because someone treated him a little well, that person ought to indulge him.

Shen Rui'an pressed his lips tightly together. Even the faint curve that usually lingered there had flattened into a straight line.

Su Tingbai's smile vanished. His brow furrowed as he stared unblinkingly at Shen Rui'an, who was lowering his head and playing with the pebbles. "Look at me."

Shen Rui'an turned his head to the other side and refused to look at him.

Su Tingbai reached out and cupped his face. His large hand nearly covered Shen Rui'an's small face as he firmly turned it back, his movements leaving no room for refusal while making sure not to hurt him.

Forced to meet Su Tingbai's eyes, Shen Rui'an saw the man's solemn expression and tightly furrowed brows. In those pitch-black eyes, Shen Rui'an could even see his own reflection.

"Did I make you angry? If I did, I'll apologize. But I want to know why. Tell me, and I won't do it again next time, all right?" Su Tingbai softened his voice, afraid of scaring Shen Rui'an and earning another mark against himself.

Shen Xiaoyao seemed more sensitive and fragile than most people. Su Tingbai had no choice but to treat every little shift in his mood with utmost care.

He remembered how, last time, Shen Rui'an had thought he was being harsh just because Su Tingbai had gotten distracted and failed to respond. What about this time? Why was it this time?

Su Tingbai did not understand how he had made him angry again. Instinctively, he wanted to apologize, but he also wanted to know what he had done wrong this time.

Under his questioning, Shen Rui'an's carefully sorted emotions immediately turned into grievance again. He bit his lip, trying not to lose control.

"I know you hate me."

Huh? Su Tingbai's eyes widened in shock. Wait, what? When had he ever said he hated him?

Shen Rui'an seemed to see through Su Tingbai's thoughts. Giving up entirely, he launched into a disjointed accusation. "I know you never said you hated me, but I know you didn't welcome me from the start. I touched you just now, so you got angry and left. Because someone sickly and unlucky like me touched you, you deliberately went back to change into long sleeves so I wouldn't touch you again, right? Don't worry. There definitely won't be a next time."

He pulled Su Tingbai's large hand away from his face and continued indignantly, "I'll keep my distance from you from now on. Don't worry. Once this period is over, I'll have Dad and my eldest brother pick me up and take me home. I won't trouble you to look after me anymore."

The more Shen Rui'an spoke, the sadder he became. He wanted to go home a little. Living to a hundred or whatever—who cared? It was the same wherever he went, so why stay here and annoy someone?

Su Tingbai was left speechless by Shen Rui'an's string of accusations. Good heavens, he had been wronged!

Seeing Shen Rui'an get up to leave again, Su Tingbai did not have time to think. He rose and grabbed him directly. Caught off guard, Shen Rui'an stumbled into his broad embrace.

His head knocked against Su Tingbai's chin, leaving him seeing stars. Before he could recover, the man hurriedly explained, "When did I ever hate you? Yes, before you came, I was a little annoyed, but it wasn't directed at you. I just hate trouble, so I dislike any sudden event that disrupts my peaceful life equally. But I don't hate you, and I don't find you annoying. I think you're very cute. I don't think being sick makes you unlucky, either. Birth, aging, illness, and death are all part of life. I just felt a little sorry for you. And when you pinched me just now, I wasn't angry. I was only... only..."

Su Tingbai found it a little difficult to say.

When Shen Rui'an heard that he had not been disliked, his eyes lit up at once. Su Tingbai did not think he was unlucky? He had not been disgusted by him?

Shen Rui'an felt comforted. He immediately straightened his back and lifted his chin slightly, feeling capable again. He had said it—he was so good-looking that no one could possibly dislike him... right?

He quietly waited for Su Tingbai to continue, but after hearing him trail off for ages without saying anything useful, he raised his head, puffed out his cheeks, and glared fiercely. "Only what? And you still say you don't hate me?"

Su Tingbai looked down at his round, glaring eyes. He was like a kitten baring its claws, putting on a fierce front. Su Tingbai took a deep breath, as though letting it all out, then closed his eyes and murmured in a voice barely louder than a mosquito's, "I was just a little... embarrassed."

Huh?

Huh???

Embarrassed? Shen Rui'an abruptly tilted his head, his bright, clear eyes full of confusion. "Embarrassed?"

Faced with the confusion of the person in his arms, Su Tingbai gave up completely. "A great beauty suddenly pinched my arm. Can't I be embarrassed?"

He was only human, not a god. Was it so strange for him to get embarrassed?

Shen Rui'an was pleased by those words, and the corners of his mouth could not quite stay down. He felt a little smug. He knew he was good-looking, but he had not expected Su Tingbai to be charmed by him too.

"Hmph!" Shen Rui'an looked Su Tingbai up and down, then turned the tables on him. "Then why didn't you say so earlier? You made me angry!"

Su Tingbai was left at a loss for words, but he did not argue. He simply coaxed him patiently, "So next time I upset you, don't sulk by yourself, okay? If you don't tell me, I won't know how I offended you again."

He felt like a criminal who had committed a crime without knowing it, only to be sentenced to death by Shen Rui'an.

Shen Rui'an's little tail practically perked up. He broke free from Su Tingbai's embrace and huffed, "I'm always very magnanimous. Why would I get angry if you didn't provoke me?"

"Yes, yes. So, Lord Shen Rui'an, if this humble one makes you angry next time, could you please tell me why? At least let me die knowing what I did." Su Tingbai pleaded.

"Fine, but I'm unhappy right now, so I don't want to tell you!" Shen Rui'an snapped. Annoying Su Tingbai had made him sad for nothing!

"Then what can I do to make you happy?"

Shen Rui'an grinned as his gaze swept over Su Tingbai's chest muscles. Perhaps because he wore a black satin shirt, the fabric clung closely to his skin. If it were pulled even a little tighter, the outline of Su Tingbai's abs would be visible.

"Can I touch your chest muscles? I'm a little curious."

Shen Rui'an asked earnestly. He wanted to know whether they were hard or soft.

Su Tingbai froze, completely unprepared for Shen Rui'an to ask that. When he came back to himself, he smiled and gently took Shen Rui'an's hand, pressing it against his unevenly rising chest. In a low voice, he asked, "Can you feel it this time?"