Shan Ye shifted a little closer to him, his fingers brushing the back of Fan Jin's hand beneath the covers. He didn't pull away, keeping his fingertips against it and giving it a tentative little hook.
Fan Jin's fingers stirred. Then he turned his hand over and took Shan Ye's.
Shan Ye's breath caught. "Why is your hand so hot?" he whispered.
"It's always like that."
Shan Ye smiled and shifted closer again, until their shoulders touched. Fan Jin stayed still, his hand still holding Shan Ye's.
"Fan Jin, I want to kiss you."
Silence settled over the darkness for two seconds. Then Fan Jin rolled onto his side to face him, bringing them impossibly close.
"Did you do this on purpose tonight?" Fan Jin's voice was low, a little husky.
"Do what on purpose?" Shan Ye played dumb.
"Stay over. Spend the night with me."
Shan Ye wasn't annoyed at being caught out. He said without a trace of shame, "I just wanted to spend a little more time with you."
"We're dating, after all."
Fan Jin said nothing. His thumb gently stroked the back of Shan Ye's hand, and that little patch of skin felt as though it had been seared by fire.
"Fan Jin, you still haven't answered me." His voice was low, naturally seductive.
"What?"
"I said I want to kiss you."
Fan Jin watched him through the dim light, silent for two seconds. Then he reached out, threaded his fingers through Shan Ye's hair, and cupped the back of his head.
"Then come here," he said.
Shan Ye moved forward a little, his lips touching the corner of Fan Jin's mouth. He paused, then slowly pressed closer.
It was a featherlight kiss, their lips barely touching before they parted. But Fan Jin didn't let him retreat. Holding the back of his head, he deepened the kiss.
Fan Jin kissed him deeply, his tongue pushing past Shan Ye's teeth until their lips and tongues tangled together.
Shan Ye leaned back under the force of the kiss, and Fan Jin followed, pressing over him with one hand braced beside his ear and the other still holding the back of his head.
Shan Ye's fingers clenched around the sheet, every breath swallowed by the kiss. He felt like a piece of paper set alight, the fire spreading from his lips down to his chest, all the way to his lower belly.
He lifted his free hand, wrapped it around Fan Jin's neck, and pulled him a little lower. Fan Jin's lips slid from the corner of his mouth to his jaw, then behind his ear, before taking his earlobe into his mouth.
Shan Ye shuddered all over.
"Mm..."
Some strange sounds escaped his throat before he could stop them. Even he was startled to hear them, and his ears burned fiercely. Fan Jin paused too, his breathing heavier than before, washing over Shan Ye's ear with frightening heat.
"Shan Ye."
"Huh...?" Shan Ye's voice had already changed, sounding nothing like his own.
Fan Jin said nothing. His lips moved from behind Shan Ye's ear to his neck, settling over his fluttering pulse and giving it a gentle bite.
Shan Ye arched, his fingers clutching Fan Jin's clothes.
"Fan Jin... you're teasing me." The words came out with a tremble at the end.
Fan Jin lifted his head and looked at him in the darkness. Both of them were panting, their breaths mingling. The only sound left in the room was their heavy breathing.
Shan Ye reached up to touch his face, his fingers sliding from his brow to the bridge of his nose, then down to his lips. Fan Jin's lips parted slightly beneath his touch, his breath brushing Shan Ye's fingertips.
"Your heart's beating so fast," Shan Ye said, his voice raspy.
"So is yours."
Shan Ye smiled and pulled him down, offering his lips of his own accord and licking them little by little.
Fan Jin's breathing grew heavier and heavier. His hand slipped beneath Shan Ye's clothes at his waist, and both of them trembled when his fingertips touched skin.
Shan Ye's skin was hot, but Fan Jin's fingers were hotter. Pressed together, they were like fire meeting fire.
Fan Jin's hand slid a little farther up his side, his fingertips brushing Shan Ye's ribs. Shan Ye's breathing quickened at once, his whole body pressing closer.
"Fan Jin..." he murmured, half coaxing, half urging.
Fan Jin buried his face in the crook of Shan Ye's neck, his breath hot and heavy, but made no other move for a long time. It was torturous.
Shan Ye couldn't stand it anymore. He rolled Fan Jin onto his back and straddled him, bracing his hands on either side. "Fan Jin... can you help me?"
"...Help you with what?"
Shan Ye caught his hand and guided it down to his crotch.
Fan Jin's breath stopped for a moment. As a man, he understood that feeling better than anyone, but rather than doing this, they might as well just have sex.
After a long moment, Fan Jin spoke, his voice hoarse. "Do you want to?"
Shan Ye's eyes widened. "I... I'm okay with it, but have you thought it through, Fan Jin?"
Fan Jin rolled him over and pinned him beneath him again. With all their rolling back and forth, the sheets were already a complete mess.
"Didn't you already buy everything?"
He was referring to the things Shan Ye had brought home that afternoon.
Shan Ye flushed instantly and stammered a little. "I didn't think it would happen this soon... I bought them in case we needed them someday."
Fan Jin's head suddenly cleared for a moment too. It really was too soon.
He took a deep breath and lay back down beside Shan Ye.
Shan Ye understood what was on his mind and respected his choice. This really wasn't something they could rush. He didn't want them to begin in a blaze of passion only to end in a careless mess.
They had to take everything slowly.
Shan Ye took a little time to settle down, then turned onto his side and hugged him, burying his face in the crook of his neck. "There's no rush. We'll take it slow."
After that night, neither of them brought it up again for a while.
As the days passed, Fan Jin grew used to having Shan Ye in his life. He began buying things for him to keep at home: his own slippers, a toothbrush, and a rinsing cup.
Shan Ye's belongings also began appearing in Fan Jin's home, one by one.
At first, he only stayed for a couple of days on weekends, bringing a bag with a change of clothes. Later, when the bag could no longer hold everything, Fan Jin cleared out half his wardrobe. Shan Ye's shirts and sweaters hung beside Fan Jin's dark gray and black clothes, instantly brightening things up.
Mother Shan also noticed that her son had been going out all the time lately.
"Off to Fan Jin's again?" she teased as she watched Shan Ye change his shoes.
"Yeah. It's the weekend." Shan Ye finished tying his laces and stood up.
"Enjoy being together. There's no need to rush home." Mother Shan waved with a smile. "Listen, don't keep running back here. Fan Jin lives alone. Spend more time with him."
Shan Ye froze for a moment. "Mom, you're not asking me to stay?"
"What would I keep you here for? You're a grown man. Isn't dating perfectly normal?" Mother Shan said matter-of-factly.
Shan Ye shook his head and left with a smile.
Mother Shan's voice rang out behind him. "No need to hurry back tomorrow either! Stay another couple of days!"
When the door closed, Shan Ye stood in the hallway and couldn't help laughing aloud.
His parents were practically pushing him out the door.
When he reached Fan Jin's place, Shan Ye unlocked the door with his key. Yes, he already had a key.
The moment Fan Jin gave him the key, he took a picture of it and sent it to Tan Yi'an. "See this? Fan Jin gave me my very own key. Xu Jing has known him for years and still doesn't have one, but I do!"
He spent quite a while showing off to Tan Yi'an, only to get a scathing reply: "Oh, spare me! Would it kill you not to rub your relationship in my face?"
"What would kill me is not having Fan Jin."
Before you continue