Something was off with Xia Qinghe

Xia Qinghe had a gray bath towel wrapped around his lower half, cool moisture radiating from his body. He was tall and muscular, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. Droplets fell from the tips of his hair and slowly trailed down his shoulders, over his sharply defined abs, and into the towel, leaving a dark patch.

Seeing Lin Fengmian at home gave him a huge fright. Clutching his towel, he turned to flee. After two steps, he felt he was overreacting, stopped, and abruptly turned back.

Sure enough, he met Lin Fengmian's intrigued gaze. "Huh. I keep getting the feeling something's happened to you that I don't know about-and that you absolutely have to hide from me."

Xia Qinghe's pupils trembled. Fuck. This was the trouble with growing up together. The moment he stuck his ass out, Lin Fengmian knew what shape of shit he was about to take.

But he couldn't let Lin Fengmian see what was wrong. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Lin Fengmian walked over to the sofa on his own, slouched against the armrest, and ordered Xia Qinghe to fetch him water and snacks. "Get me a bottle of water. I haven't had anything to drink for hours. I'm dying of thirst. And bring me something to eat."

Xia Qinghe got him a bottle of mineral water, unscrewed the cap, poured it into a cup with a straw, and brought it over.

Lin Fengmian sucked down half the cup in one go. Xia Qinghe kept staring at the lips pursed around his straw. They were vivid red, full and glossy, like some kind of ripe fruit. One bite was guaranteed to be sweet and juicy.

He couldn't help swallowing. Lin Fengmian looked up and caught Xia Qinghe's evasive gaze, which only made it more obvious he was hiding something. "???"

"What's wrong with you?"

He had been acting strange ever since Lin Fengmian came in.

Xia Qinghe said nothing. He walked over and sat as far from Lin Fengmian as possible. Feeling that wasn't safe enough, he stood again, wanting to go to his room and change into some loungewear that covered him more thoroughly.

But under Lin Fengmian's gaze, he guiltily froze in place.

"What exactly is wrong with you?" Lin Fengmian stopped lounging, got up, and walked over to Xia Qinghe, circling him to figure out just what was off.

His scrutiny made Xia Qinghe restless. Isolating himself in Lanhai hadn't helped in the slightest. The moment he saw Lin Fengmian, those outrageous thoughts came rushing back out, each fighting to be first.

Finding no answers on him, Lin Fengmian didn't keep pressing. He turned back to the sofa to lie down again, even closing his eyes.

Seeing this, Xia Qinghe tiptoed toward the bedroom.

He completely failed to notice that Lin Fengmian had already sat up and was watching him sneak into the bedroom like a thief, then hastily shut the door.

Hearing the lock click, Lin Fengmian was speechless.

He rubbed his chin. In the ten days he had been away from Lanhai, what exactly had happened to Xia Qinghe that involved him? Why had he become so strange?

Unable to figure it out, Lin Fengmian stopped thinking about it. He lay back down, closed his eyes, and soon fell asleep.

Looking in the mirror at himself wrapped in several layers of loungewear, Xia Qinghe nodded in satisfaction. If his animal urges took over, getting his clothes off should take quite some effort, buying Lin Fengmian enough time to escape.

He really was such a thoughtful buddy.

While mentally giving himself a thumbs-up, Xia Qinghe went to the kitchen to cook for Lin Fengmian. He also turned the air conditioning down a little and covered him with a blanket.

Lin Fengmian woke to the aroma of food: typhoon shelter shrimp, a minced pork and vermicelli casserole, stir-fried beef, choy sum with minced garlic, and tomato and egg soup. He tossed aside the blanket and walked over. Just as he was about to sit beside Xia Qinghe, the guy leaned away as though avoiding the plague, even preparing to stand.

Lin Fengmian's gaze pinned him in place. Tears shimmered in his eyes, but his expression remained taut, without the slightest hint of softness. The sight instantly made Xia Qinghe feel he had gone too far and deserved to be cast into the eighteenth level of hell.

Xia Qinghe put down his bowl and chopsticks, pulled him onto his lap, and wrapped his arms around him. "Mianmian, I-I didn't mean it."

Lin Fengmian sniffled. Xia Qinghe said, "It's all my fault. Whenever I see you, I want to borrow your hand, but you won't let me. I don't want to fight with you again, so..."

Lin Fengmian sniffled again. Heartache filled Xia Qinghe's face. "I promise I definitely won't do this sort of bad thing again."

"You said it." His voice was clear, without a trace of the hoarseness that came from feeling deeply wronged.

Xia Qinghe knew he had been tricked again. It had been like this since they were kids. Lin Fengmian rarely cried, but whenever he did, Xia Qinghe was helpless and could only let him have his way.

He had fallen for it hundreds upon thousands of times and still never learned.

Xia Qinghe had to hand it to himself. But what could he do? Mianmian was his precious darling.

He said stiffly, "Yes, I said it."

Lin Fengmian climbed off his lap, sat back on his chair, and began shoveling down his food. "Eat up. We'll take a bath in a bit."

Xia Qinghe's throat tightened. The image was too beautiful to contemplate. "I already washed."

Lin Fengmian gave him a suspicious look, and Xia Qinghe immediately changed his tune. "Okay, we'll wash together in a bit."

Xia Qinghe felt that since he had brought this on himself, he had to see it through, even on his knees.

After eating, Lin Fengmian rested for half an hour. Afraid he would fall asleep again if he kept lying there, he hurriedly called to Xia Qinghe, who was downstairs handling work. "Xia Qinghe, come up! Time for a bath."

Xia Qinghe closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he was already entering the bathroom. He stepped inside like a puppet with stiff joints. Lin Fengmian's fair skin gleamed like pearls under the light. Xia Qinghe barely dared to glance at him.

Lying in the bathtub, Lin Fengmian called to Xia Qinghe excitedly. "Come on! Your tub is huge. We can both lie in it without feeling cramped."

Xia Qinghe wanted to slap himself twice. That's what you get for having an extra-large bathtub custom-made. Now you can't even find an excuse to use the shower.

He could only resign himself and walk over. Fortunately, Lin Fengmian had lathered himself up with bubbles, hiding the view beneath the water. But Xia Qinghe's body was honest, just as honest as it had always been.

He wanted to cover himself but didn't dare, because he had never covered up before. Even when it stood straight up, he had never been afraid to let Lin Fengmian see.

He was even more afraid that Lin Fengmian would stare at him again and ask what was wrong.

He couldn't answer, nor did he dare to.

He slowly stepped into the bathtub and let the water submerge him.

Lin Fengmian grabbed his hair and hauled him out of the water. "Even if you want to die, don't do it now. We haven't found the mastermind yet. If you leave me stuck with this unsolved mystery and a lifetime of regret, I'll definitely go dance on your grave."

Xia Qinghe wiped the water off his face and opened his eyes. Meeting Lin Fengmian's teasing gaze, he abruptly grabbed Lin Fengmian's hand and pressed it underwater.

The heat made Lin Fengmian yank his hand back hard. "Holy shit, Xia Qinghe! Are you a dog?"

He was furious. "You just promised! Did every word you said go straight to the dogs?"

"I only promised not to do 'this sort' of bad thing again. I never said which sort." Xia Qinghe snorted. That's what you get for always seducing me.

Xia Qinghe slapped Lin Fengmian's ass and clicked his tongue. "So springy."

Lin Fengmian swung a fist at him, and the two grappled again, their next fight after ten days.

Xia Qinghe ended up with both eyes blackened again, adding insult to injury.

Yet he smiled. His smile didn't last to the end, though, because after his bath, Lin Fengmian took his pillow and climbed into Xia Qinghe's bed to sleep.

Looking at Lin Fengmian curled up on the bed, Xia Qinghe's smile froze at the corners of his mouth. "You're sleeping here?"

"Obviously. It's so late. Why would I go home? I already told my mom I found a job near your place, and I'll be staying here when I go to work from now on. She was thrilled."

Xia Qinghe wanted to die. If he told Lin Fengmian now that he was going to sleep on the living room sofa, would he get pinned down and beaten up again?