Applying ointment

Under the dim yellow light, Shen Zeyu clenched his teeth, a fine sheen of sweat forming on his face from the pain as suggestive sounds escaped his lips.

Lu Cizhou looked up at the sound and was greeted by that very sight. With his eyes closed, Shen Zeyu looked as though he had just been through an intimate encounter.

Lu Cizhou's nerves twitched, but his hands kept moving.

"Could you stop making those sounds?" Lu Cizhou asked, his voice strained.

Shen Zeyu opened his eyes and stared at him, wide-eyed, as though Lu Cizhou had done something utterly unforgivable. "I'm in pain, and I'm not even allowed to cry out?"

Lu Cizhou: ... Whatever makes you happy.

Gradually, a thin sheen of sweat covered both their faces. One was sweating from the pain. As for the other...

"Done." Lu Cizhou stopped what he was doing and let out a breath. That had truly been torture.

"Is it done?" Shen Zeyu looked down and tentatively moved his foot. "It really doesn't hurt as much anymore."

"Why are you sweating too?" Shen Zeyu looked at Lu Cizhou. He was sweating because it hurt a little, but why was Lu Cizhou sweating? Surely he doesn't find my feet disgusting.

Lu Cizhou turned slightly and shifted his body. "It's nothing. Maybe the room's a little hot."

The air conditioning was on, so how could it be hot? Shen Zeyu was just about to ask when Lu Cizhou abruptly stood up and walked into the bathroom with an awkward gait.

Still in pain, Shen Zeyu didn't think much of it, only finding him rather strange. When Lu Cizhou still hadn't come out after a while, Shen Zeyu couldn't stay awake any longer and went to sleep first.

During the days his foot was injured, Shen Zeyu didn't have to exercise or get up early, and someone brought him food at regular times. Life couldn't have been better.

Unfortunately, his foot was almost completely healed after only a few days.

Why couldn't it hurt for a few more days? Shen Zeyu sighed and moaned in his room, and the sight of him made Lu Cizhou want to laugh.

"There's a banquet tomorrow evening. Come with me."

"What would I go for?"

"To meet more people. It can only do you good." There was another reason Lu Cizhou didn't mention. Although they hadn't settled their feelings for each other, he had already decided Shen Zeyu was the one. He also wanted those people to treat Shen Zeyu with a little more courtesy when they saw him.

"All right." He did want to see what a banquet among the wealthy was like.

"Looking good," Lu Cizhou complimented him as he took in Shen Zeyu's white suit.

"Really?" Shen Zeyu looked himself over. This was his first time wearing something so formal, and he felt a little uncomfortable.

"Of course."

The pure white suit, paired with his finely sculpted features, made Shen Zeyu look like an elegant little prince, with a touch of aloofness when he wasn't smiling.

Lu Cizhou stared at Shen Zeyu for a while, then walked straight toward him. Only when he was standing right in front of him did he say in a low voice, "You forgot your tie."

Lu Cizhou looked at him with an expression Shen Zeyu couldn't decipher.

Shen Zeyu had thought something serious was wrong, but it turned out he had merely forgotten his tie.

Feeling awkward, Shen Zeyu stepped back a little and went over to pick out a tie. Since his suit was already white, he thought he should choose a black tie.

Only after choosing one did he realize a problem: he didn't know how to tie it.

He wanted to ask Lu Cizhou for help, but remembering the look in his eyes, he gave up on the idea.

He couldn't shake the feeling that there had been something unusual about the way Lu Cizhou had looked at him.

Lu Cizhou, who had been watching him the whole time, noticed something was wrong. One glance at what Shen Zeyu was holding told him everything.

He slowly walked up behind Shen Zeyu and leaned down slightly. "Let me help."

With that, he moved around to the front and took the tie from Shen Zeyu's hand.

Shen Zeyu had been lost in thought and only came back to himself when the tie was taken from his hand.

Seeing that Lu Cizhou had taken it, Shen Zeyu didn't try to take it back. "Thank you."

Lu Cizhou said nothing, merely draping the tie around Shen Zeyu's turned-up shirt collar.

Bending slightly, he slowly adjusted the narrow end to make it shorter, crossed it over the wide end, then looped the wide end around.

Lu Cizhou remained focused on tying the tie throughout. Watching him bend down to his level and feeling his hands move in front of his chest, Shen Zeyu felt awkward and wanted to lean back.

He had barely moved when Lu Cizhou said, "Stay still."

Shen Zeyu didn't dare move anymore, his gaze darting everywhere.

After speaking, Lu Cizhou looped the wide end around, brought it from the back to the front, then slipped it through the middle and slowly tightened it.

As the tie slowly tightened, Shen Zeyu felt as though it was his heart being squeezed, leaving him almost unable to breathe.

"Done." Lu Cizhou then slowly folded down Shen Zeyu's upturned shirt collar.

Shen Zeyu remained motionless throughout, as though he had been frozen in place, looking utterly dazed.

Seeing his expression, Lu Cizhou smiled and said gently, "Now you're really ready."

Shen Zeyu's face was faintly flushed as he stammered, "I—I could have folded it down myself."

Lu Cizhou chuckled softly and said in his rich, resonant voice, "I know you could. I wanted to help."

The red on his face quickly spread down his neck, and for a moment, Shen Zeyu didn't know what to say.

"Isn't it almost time? Shouldn't we get going?"

Lu Cizhou knew he had reached the limit of what Shen Zeyu could handle, so he went along with him. "Yes."

"Then let's hurry." Without waiting for Lu Cizhou, he quickly headed out.

Once he was outside in the fresh air, the flush on his face slowly began to fade.

Belatedly, it dawned on him. Was Lu Cizhou flirting with me just now?

In the end, Shen Zeyu only wondered about it to himself. He was too embarrassed to ask Lu Cizhou whether he had been flirting with him.

After a server led them inside, the people in the hall involuntarily turned to look at them.

The two walked in side by side, one in black and the other in white, looking like a perfectly matched couple and drawing most of the guests' attention.

Those with good sources had long known about the marriage alliance between Lu Cizhou and Shen Zeyu. Now that they saw him bringing Shen Zeyu to the banquet, their attitude toward Shen Zeyu unconsciously began to change.

Seeing them, the host hurried over to greet them. "Mr. Lu, Mr. Shen, welcome, welcome."

"You're too kind, President Zhou. My husband and I should be congratulating you."

Shen Zeyu was a little surprised to hear the word "husband," but on reflection, it did seem difficult to introduce the relationship between two men.

Even as he thought that, it didn't stop the word "husband" from filling him with an instinctive happiness.

Meanwhile, the people gathered around Shen Zeyu's father raised their glasses to him. "You're truly blessed, Shen. One son married into the Lu Family, and the other into the Chen Family. You've snapped up all the good fortune."

They had no idea that their words had struck a sore spot, because they didn't know Shen Zeyu had already cut ties with the Shen Family.

Now, Shen Zeyu's father was filled with regret. Deep, overwhelming regret.