Poor Li Xiaoshu had no time to figure out what was happening before a large hand pinned him firmly in place, robbing him of the second kiss of his life without warning.
"W... wait, Pei..."
Li Shu smelled the damp, earthy chill in the air. His hands instinctively pushed at Pei Song'an's shoulders, but right then, Pei Song'an was like an extraordinarily hard block of metal.
The hand gripping his jaw tightened, the web between thumb and forefinger supporting Li Shu's soft lower lip as a scorching tongue licked heavily across it.
His glistening lips were exposed to the air for only an instant before the man's uncontrollable kiss covered them again.
Pei Song'an kissed him with such lustful urgency that Li Shu felt his entire mouth, its insides, and his throat had all taken on the man's scent.
What was going on?!
Had Pei Song'an transformed behind his back???
Seemingly sensing Li Shu's resistance, Pei Song'an held him even tighter, his broad palm pressing against Li Shu's waist to pull him into his arms. The soft flesh of his cheeks was squeezed, and his damp eyes gazed pitifully at the man.
Enduring the soft intrusion in his mouth, Li Shu reminded him indistinctly, "Enough... are you addicted to kissing now..."
His protest was overruled.
There was hardly anyone at the little wooden cabin, since an established rest stop was only a few steps farther along. Besides stalls selling umbrellas and snacks, it even had a projector playing a cartoon about cats.
Pei Song'an's rapid breathing was still erratic. The shadowed expression beneath his long lashes did nothing to diminish the compelling wildness in his bones. He gave Li Shu a few seconds to catch his breath through parted lips, while he kissed the finger marks on Li Shu's cheek.
Bewitching, full of abandon and feverish passion.
"Stop kissing me, stop. I think I heard your friend's voice."
"Help, Pei Song'an, I can be merciful and not hold you accountable for why you're kissing me, but I don't want to die of embarrassment..."
The man's kisses had left Li Shu's lips wet, and his whole mouth was terribly numb. He even felt as though electric currents were darting ceaselessly around inside his head.
But Pei Song'an seemed to have only just discovered the pleasure of it. Holding Li Shu, he sat on the platform outside the cabin door, tugged his collar to force his head down, and kissed him again.
A thin veil of mist seemed to cloud Li Shu's vision. Looking at Pei Song'an's high nose, slightly narrow eyes, and deeply defined features, his limbs and heart went weak. Both hands clutched the fabric at the man's shoulders like a lifeline.
His frost-pale fingers looked especially fragile and conspicuous against the black hiking jacket.
The voices behind them grew even clearer than before.
"I'd believe you if you told me Li Xiaoshu was a reincarnated rabbit spirit. How can he vanish the second you let go of him?"
"And Pei Song'an, too. Didn't he promise to wait for me? Why is he climbing so fast? Don't you know to put a leash around your own neck when you go out chasing your wife???"
Zhu Sichun sounded weak, but that did not stop him from complaining to the others, so he was probably fine.
But this was clearly not the time to worry about that!!!
If someone saw him and Pei Song'an kissing like this, without even knowing what they were to each other, how was he, Li Xiaoshu, supposed to face anyone afterward?!
"We really can't keep kissing..." Li Shu was so frightened that even his voice trembled, his throat instinctively swallowing saliva that could have belonged to either of them.
Fortunately, Pei Song'an finally deigned to listen. The damp air had wet the ends of his hair, and prominent veins ran along the backs of his hands into his sleeves. His hands firmly supported Li Shu's bottom as he carried him around to the back of the cabin, then leaned in to kiss him again.
"Again?!!!"
Li Shu had always had an innate sense of shame about intimacy outdoors. Now, as realization belatedly hit him, he flushed scarlet and turned his head, expressing the greatest possible displeasure in the quietest voice he could manage.
"I don't want to kiss anymore. My mouth really hurts."
Pei Song'an pressed against Li Shu's rosy lips, the tip of his tongue brushing their seam. "Then I'll be gentler."
Li Shu struggled, refusing to cooperate. "It'll hurt even if you're gentle. Even touching them hurts!"
Pei Song'an was panting too, hot breath escaping the corners of his mouth. Looking into Li Shu's eyes, his fingers tightened involuntarily. The tender interior of his heart was laid bare as he spoke lightly of a secret unlike any other.
"Listen to me, Li Shu. I like you."
"I really want to stop here too, but I don't think I can hold back anymore."
Li Shu's heart shuddered violently. His lips parted in disbelief, and in a daze, he received the man's impatient kiss.
At the same time, the system let out an exceptionally piercing shriek: [Aaaaaah!]
[Is this right? Is this right? How can Pei Song'an like you?! The book platform clearly tagged this as no romance!] [I'm seriously calling the cops. Deceiving consumers deserves the death penalty!!!]
"..."
Honestly, Li Shu really envied the system right now. It could ignore everyone, open its eyes, and scream at its surroundings without offering any explanation.
His lips were rubbed hot and sore, his protesting moans brazenly swallowed. From being kissed with his chin gripped to being kissed with the back of his neck held, every movement and position remained firmly under Pei Song'an's control.
The voices of Zhu Sichun and the other older students drew closer to the cabin.
Li Shu's heart was in his throat, and a thin sheen of sweat rose unbidden over his neck and back.
Zhu Sichun's voice was even closer than before. "Wait a second, guys. I'll call Pei Song'an and tell him to wait for me by the grilled sausage stall."
One of the older students spoke up too. "It's chilly at night. I wonder if there's somewhere to get hot water. If not, we could have Song'an buy a few cups of hot milk tea."
"Milk tea..." Zhu Sichun paused, not rejecting it outright. "Let's buy it ourselves when we get there. It'll get cold if he buys it ahead of time."
"Good point. Go on and call him, then."
Li Shu leaned back against the cabin wall, his collarbones and chest heaving. Pei Song'an had long since kissed his mouth numb. The hot breath spilling from the man's nose around his lips soaked into his skin on contact, while his fair fingers scrabbled around the man's pocket.
"Your phone... turn it off."
Never in his life had Li Shu fought so hard to defend his dignity.
Before Li Shu could find it, a fine vibration came from Pei Song'an's pocket, right against his chest.
Unfortunately, Pei Song'an showed no intention of answering. He pulled Li Shu into his arms, leaving the vibrating phone trapped between their chests, buzzing at the most inappropriate moment. The vibration seemed to paralyze their very insides, almost making Li Shu's vision swim.
In the stillness, there was only the sound of their distinctly out-of-sync breathing. The warmth of the embrace briefly eased the embarrassment in Li Shu's heart.
It felt just like postcoital tenderness.
Pei Song'an regained his composure, his voice frighteningly hoarse.
"Let's hold each other a little longer before we go out."
Before you continue