The urge to explore

The door opened without a sound. Only Pei Song'an's slow, slightly muffled footsteps drew steadily closer to Li Shu.

Whether from fright or embarrassment, Li Shu felt a chill run from the back of his head all the way down to his calves. He instinctively tugged the blanket higher, only for the right side to slip down as he pulled up the left.

"Wait, wait, wait, Pei Song'an, I need time to mentally prepare!"

Though Li Shu liked running wild outdoors, his skin was fair and delicate and hardly tanned. A few faint veins showed behind his flushed ears, and his shoulder blades were beautifully aligned, full of youthful vitality, innocent and refined.

"How long?"

Pei Song'an had already reached his side, his voice soft and low.

"A long time!" Li Shu clutched the blanket nervously, trying to back out. "How about we forget it tonight? I've thought it over carefully. If they're just bruises, they're badges of honor for a man. There's no need to get rid of them so soon."

Pei Song'an pressed him at every turn. "Li Xiaoshu, did your mom ever tell you when you were little that the big bad wolf eats children who go back on their word?"

Feeling the mattress dip beside him, Li Shu stiffly turned his head, his round eyes full of disbelief.

Oh no.

His mom really had said that.

"How did you know!?"

"No, wait, who said you could sit next to me? Get off, get off."

Pei Song'an pressed his fingers against the back of Li Shu's neck with a little force. The desire surging beneath his restraint spread along his fingertips to the skin.

The scorching touch made the cool skin shudder violently, but soon the weight on the back of his neck went from one finger to two, before slowly, gradually becoming an unbearably hot palm.

The lines of the man's palm were slightly rough. Even simply resting there, it gave a distinct sense of pressure and entanglement.

Finally, carrying Li Shu's scent, it enveloped him completely between his fingers.

"So naughty. How many little red flower stickers did you earn in kindergarten?"

The man's tone was steeped in the condescension of someone in command.

Unfortunately, Li Shu was a little fool. The question actually perked him up, and he proudly lifted his head to boast, "I've been a force to be reckoned with since I was little!"

"Very impressive." Pei Song'an never held back his praise for Li Shu.

The light in the room dusted Li Shu's body with silvery-white glitter, making him look perfectly suited to being played with in someone's hands. Pei Song'an lifted his eyelids, a different emotion entering his dark eyes.

His palm moved down from Li Shu's neck, following the contours of his body. As it brushed the area between his waist and buttocks, his lightly callused fingertips inadvertently scraped a small bruise, bringing a tingling flicker of pain.

Li Shu had showered before seeing the doctor, using Pei Song'an's body wash. Staring at the smooth, fair skin Li Shu had exposed to the air, Pei Song'an gently pressed his thumb against the edge of the bruise, as though tracing some treasure.

Li Shu instantly went on alert, arching his back and trying to dodge:

"Pei Song'an, no, no, you're-"

"Li Shu." Pei Song'an gripped the back of his neck with unquestionable authority and pushed his little face into the pillow. "What am I doing to you?"

"You won't hit me if I tell the truth?" Li Shu's feelings were in utter turmoil.

"No."

"I think you're sexually harassing me."

Pei Song'an chuckled. "A strong sense of self-protection. That's a good thing."

Li Shu said, "Then stop now?"

"Who told you that?"

The thin blanket was tossed onto the floor. Although the doctor had said it only looked serious, the patches of blue and purple amid all that pale skin still made Pei Song'an's heart tighten.

The hand restraining the back of his neck showed no intention of easing its grip. Even the uninjured flesh around the bruises was rubbed and kneaded into a pitiful state. Li Shu tried to dodge, only to receive a hard slap on the bottom as punishment for squirming.

Li Shu's mind buzzed.

He felt a sudden chill on his buttocks. As the force of the slap landed, the shame of running around naked surged through him, followed by an indescribably strange feeling.

"Pei Song'an, am I three? What do you mean by spanking me?"

"Do you think I'm good-tempered?"

"Get off. Even a dog would do better than you!"

No sooner had he spoken than cool ointment covered the bruises in a thin, glistening layer.

"Sorry," the man said mildly. "I lost control a little just now. Does it hurt?"

Huh???

Li Shu was dumbfounded. After his brain processed it in a brief, rapid burst, he blurted out the words before he could refine them:

"It doesn't hurt. It just feels a little weird."

"You lose control at the sight of someone's bare ass? Pei Song'an, what's wrong with you?"

The blunt, explicit words did not embarrass Pei Song'an. His chest brimmed with desires that could not bear the light of day. Before he had even worked out what Li Shu meant to him, he had already claimed him as part of his territory.

"I don't lose control over just anyone's bare ass. Only yours."

Li Shu went rigid, a little frightened. "Do you still know what you're saying?"

Pei Song'an's palm rested at the top of his thigh. His touch was skillful, yet it also found precisely what he wanted, enjoying the act of exercising complete control over Li Shu's every movement.

"I'm curious about your origins, your personality, and who you are inside. Intense interest drives me to actively explore more, just like now."

"I'll find the answers through touch, contact, or further exploration."

Li Shu's mind twisted itself into knots. "I don't get it. Keep it simple. What exactly are you trying to say?"

Pei Song'an said, "Are you willing to let me gradually lower my guard around you through skin-to-skin contact?"

"..."

"..."

Guys.

The atmosphere was starting to get weird.

Right now, Li Shu wanted to snatch his underwear back from Pei Song'an immediately, leap off the bed, then run out of the guest bedroom, scoop up Zhaocai, and flee the planet.

Unfortunately, the tingling sensation in his bottom lingered, and Li Shu was a little afraid to move.

But perhaps because of the private setting, Li Shu spoke more boldly than usual, with an air of digging his heels in since he could not escape.

"Do you have to go through this step with everyone you interact with?"

"I told you. Only you."

Li Shu buried his face in the pillow and pounded the bed with his clenched fists in frustration. "Aaaah, you're so annoying, Pei Song'an! Are you done now? My butt's a little cold."

Pei Song'an stared at Li Shu's scarlet ears. "Not yet. In a moment."

The very next second after he spoke.

He slid his palm between Li Shu's lower abdomen and the bed, gently yet forcefully lifting him a little. Sexy veins bulged on the back of the hand pressing against Li Shu's neck. In a pose that satisfied his own perverse need for control, he lowered his head and kissed the hollow curve at the center of Li Shu's waist.

In his field of vision, a calf jerked sharply.

Li Shu was so frightened that he only dared take small, shallow breaths.

The moist air from his mouth enveloped that patch of fair, tender skin.

Pei Song'an withdrew his hand, the ridges of his fingertips and palm scraping uninhibitedly across Li Shu's belly, and told him:

"Now I'm done."