[Was Ji Shang going to kiss me? Should I resist?]
An Yubei's heart raced, as though a little sparrow lived inside it, chirping and hopping with wild delight.
His cheeks flushed as he looked nervously at Ji Shang.
Closer, closer still. An Yubei forgot to breathe and no longer knew how.
Like a drowning man, he was on the verge of suffocating.
He felt Ji Shang's hot breath against his cheeks, making them burn even redder.
An Yubei nervously clutched the hem of his shirt and closed his eyes.
The kiss he expected never came. He opened his eyes in confusion and saw Ji Shang's ear.
A trace of disappointment crept into his heart, and An Yubei let out a breath.
A moment later, his earlobe was taken into Ji Shang's mouth, and An Yubei went rigid, as though frozen in place.
Ji Shang had tilted his head to bite his earlobe.
An Yubei tensed and bit his lip against the unbearable sensation, refusing to let himself make a sound.
There were still people outside. He couldn't make a sound.
Ji Shang ground his teeth against his earlobe little by little. The rubbing sensation made An Yubei feel as though a feather had landed inside him and was teasing his heart.
His heart itched unbearably, but he couldn't reach it or scratch it.
With his emotions completely at Ji Shang's mercy, An Yubei let out a soft whimper and ducked away.
Ji Shang said beside his ear, "Weren't you so bold just now? Why are you scared?"
His hot lips barely brushed the earlobe, leaving it burning as though a fire had been lit.
An Yubei trembled, leaning against Ji Shang's shoulder without knowing what to say.
He was a little scared. His heart was in turmoil, and so were his thoughts.
[I licked Ji Shang's Adam's apple, and Ji Shang bit my ear. That makes us even.]
Ji Shang: "...?"
How did that make them even?
Ji Shang held An Yubei. Since An Yubei said nothing, he said nothing either, and they stayed quietly like that.
One group of people after another came and went in the restroom. After staying quiet for a while, An Yubei said, "Let's go!"
They couldn't stay in the restroom forever, and An Yubei also felt uncomfortable being so close to Ji Shang.
Kissing his Adam's apple just now had been like a bold experiment, giving An Yubei a taste of something different.
Ji Shang's Adam's apple wasn't candy, but it was better than candy.
In the end, An Yubei carried his computer to Ji Shang's office instead of staying in the technical department.
If he stayed there, Ji Shang would stay too. The technical department's staff would feel uncomfortable, and their efficiency would suffer greatly.
An Yubei sat at Ji Shang's desk, while Ji Shang sat on the sofa nearby, holding his computer and reading data reports.
Every so often, An Yubei got distracted and stole a glance at Ji Shang, who sat upright on the sofa, looking every bit the refined gentleman.
Ji Shang was handsome, well-built, and capable. Though he gave off a sense of distance, he was still very attractive.
An Yubei thought, [Ji Shang is so handsome. The more I look, the better he looks.]
[Oh no, oh no, I can't keep looking. If I do, I'll never finish.]
After posing for a while, Ji Shang secretly curled his lips into a smile.
He had successfully tempted the baby. He needed to keep up the good work.
To help himself concentrate, An Yubei deliberately turned in another direction, denying himself any chance to see Ji Shang.
After he had spent the evening coding, a message from You Zhi popped up on WeChat.
[Wifey, how's it going on your end? I'm almost done here.]
An Yubei took his attention off his work to reply.
[Don't call me wifey. I've told you plenty of times.]
[You've called me hubby, so why can't I call you wifey? You're my wifey. Sooner or later, I'll win you over.]
You Zhi still hadn't given up. Whenever he caught an opportunity, he expressed his true feelings to An Yubei.
An Yubei felt a headache coming on. You Zhi was a character who hadn't existed in the book, and he didn't know what this should count as.
It probably counted as a bug!
[I don't like you. Don't say things like that again.]
[Say it again and we're done.]
Those words worked wonders. You Zhi obediently shut up.
With a moment of peace, An Yubei settled down to work.
It wasn't until after ten that night that An Yubei finally finished everything.
He stretched and moved his limbs around.
He didn't dare exert too much force, moving slowly like a sloth instead.
From behind, he looked exactly like an old man practicing tai chi.
Ji Shang walked over curiously and asked softly, "Xiao Bei, what are you doing?"
As though possessed by a sloth, An Yubei said slowly, "I'm... stretching... my... muscles... and... joints."
An Yubei had died suddenly from working overtime in his previous life, so he had learned a lesson in this life: after working to exhaustion for a long time, he couldn't move too quickly. He had to take it slowly.
Only after finishing his stretches did he turn to look at Ji Shang.
"I'm hungry."
A little after six that evening, An Yubei had ordered takeout and had a quick bite. Now that he had finished working overtime, he was hungry again.
Mainly, happy occasions lifted the spirits. The system upgrade was complete, and An Yubei finally wouldn't have to go to the company anymore.
He wouldn't have to get up early either. At last, he could sleep until he woke naturally.
With all that happiness piled together, An Yubei wanted to celebrate with a late-night meal.
But he knew Ji Shang wasn't in the habit of eating late-night meals, which was why he asked with a slightly coaxing air.
Without hesitation, Ji Shang put an arm around An Yubei's shoulders and asked gently, "What would you like to eat?"
"Hot pot."
"All right."
This time, Ji Shang took An Yubei to a restaurant called Yubei Hot Pot.
Seeing the name, An Yubei smiled and said, "I really do have a connection with this restaurant. Our names are exactly the same."
People were still lining up outside, and An Yubei habitually joined the end of the queue.
Ji Shang took An Yubei's hand and led him straight to the entrance. "This is your restaurant. Of course it should have your name."
"My restaurant?"
"Yes. Don't you like hot pot? With your own restaurant, you won't have to line up."
Ji Shang spoke casually, but waves surged through An Yubei's heart.
[Ji Shang spoils me so much. Who wouldn't love someone like him?]
[I love Ji Shang so much. Ji Shang treats me better than anyone else in the world.]
An Yubei wrapped his hands around Ji Shang's arm and walked happily inside.
After eating and drinking their fill, they went straight home. An Yubei took a shower, then lay quietly in bed, unable to sleep.
His mind was filled with the sensation of licking Ji Shang's Adam's apple and the tingling feeling of Ji Shang biting his earlobe.
His heart began racing wildly again, pounding against his chest.
An Yubei took out his phone, opened Mouhu, and posted a question asking what it meant when his heart raced after a man bit his earlobe.
[It means you've caught rabies, OP, and you're terminally ill. Hahaha, what normal person bites ears!!!]
[LMAO, my boyfriend loves biting ears. It doesn't mean anything. It's an illness that needs treatment.]
[Hurry up and take him to the hospital for a rabies shot.]
Not a single answer was worth reading. They were all joking around.
An Yubei tossed his phone aside, thinking that Mouhu in this world really was full of rubbish. Nobody's brain worked normally.
An Yubei tossed and turned, unable to sleep. He checked the time. It was already two.
The space beside him felt empty, and he kept feeling that something was missing.
He sat up and thought of Ji Shang.
Not knowing whether Ji Shang was asleep, An Yubei sent him a message.
[Are you asleep?]
The reply came quickly. [What's wrong?]
He was still awake at this hour?
Could Ji Shang have insomnia too?
An Yubei spent a long time editing before settling on what he wanted to say.
[I'm scared. Can I sleep with you?]