The broken syllables were not actually clear, and even sounded a little like they were being forced through gritted teeth.
Lying on the bed, Xie Ji scratched his butt in agitation.
That -200 favorability really hadn't come out of nowhere. Lu Xunji actually hated him so much that he was cursing him out even while taking a fucking shower!
Xie Ji launched into an emergency brainstorming session, trying to figure out how to shamelessly wheedle his way out of being thrown out by Lu Xunji. Before he could reach a conclusion, the sound of water in the bathroom stopped.
Lu Xunji turned on the cold water.
He raised his hand and began pinching his own palm somewhat compulsively, his neatly trimmed nails digging into the flesh and leaving one pale mark after another.
The agitation inside him had not drained away with his desire at all. He was like a trapped beast in a cage.
Xie Ji...
Xie Ji.
Lu Xunji's eyes grew darker and darker. Almost uncontrollably, he recalled the Xie Ji who had just been in his mind.
The bathroom door was pushed open, and Xie Ji hurriedly burrowed under the covers.
Lu Xunji walked out wearing a loosely wrapped bath towel, only to find an inexplicable little mound on his bed.
He paused, then walked over without hesitation, grabbed a corner of the covers, and pulled them back.
Dressed in a little black-and-white cow-print T-shirt, Xie Ji was hiding under his covers with his butt sticking up. Even after the bedroom's owner caught him out, he showed not a trace of embarrassment. He tilted his head up at Lu Xunji and gave him an innocent grin. "...Big brother, what a coincidence. What are you doing here too?"
Lu Xunji pressed his lips together and bent down to look at him. "Explain."
"Explain what?" Xie Ji blinked, looking utterly guileless.
"Why is there..." Lu Xunji glanced at the stretch of pale leg exposed beneath Xie Ji's shorts, his Adam's apple bobbing, "...a little money pouch on my bed?" His voice was hoarse.
Xie Ji scratched his head. "Bro, you've really got me wrong. When I passed your door just now, a geomagnetic storm suddenly gave me a terrible headache. My body clock's been out of whack, so I haven't been sleeping well these past few days, and I accidentally ended up sleeping in your room! I stumbled just now, and even my pillow fell onto your bed... Just look up the effects of geomagnetic storms on any major media app, and you'll know everything I'm saying is true, bro! Bro, don't hit me, bro!"
Lu Xunji was already unsettled, and a certain craving in his body desperately needed an outlet. That idiot Xie Ji had wrapped himself up tightly in his covers, like a fat sheep delivering itself to his door.
However much Lu Xunji loathed and resisted his illness, Xie Ji had now stirred him into losing all reason.
He grabbed Xie Ji's ankle and dragged him underneath him.
Xie Ji was very thin, his ankles slender, the contours of his bones and tendons clean and defined. The taut curve of his arch was lovely and delicate without lacking a sense of strength.
As Xie Ji struggled, he seemed to kick something. Annoyed by his squirming, Lu Xunji flipped him over and slapped his calf. "Don't move."
Xie Ji obediently stopped moving, then opened his little mouth, ready to chatter.
Lu Xunji pulled the belt from his bathrobe, balled it up, and stuffed it straight into Xie Ji's mouth.
Xie Ji: "?"
Seriously? All he did was roll around on Lu Xunji's bed a couple of times. Was this guy actually going to kill him to keep him quiet?
After gagging him, however, Lu Xunji made no further move. He simply lay on top of Xie Ji and leaned in to sniff his hair.
With its belt removed, his robe fell completely open. Xie Ji felt the sole of his foot pressing against Lu Xunji's lower abdomen. His abs were firm and springy, their heat traveling up through the bottom of Xie Ji's foot.
"Mmph, mmph!" Xie Ji made noises to indicate that he wanted to speak.
Lu Xunji raised his head slightly and looked at him through half-lowered eyelids, desire clouding his eyes, fierce as a wildfire.
Five minutes later, Lu Xunji's gaze gradually cleared, and he pulled the bathrobe belt out of Xie Ji's mouth.
"What did you want to say?"
The corners of Xie Ji's eyes had reddened from holding back. After being stuffed with a bath towel for five minutes, his mouth was unbearably dry. He licked his lips and said softly, "Water, big brother."
Lu Xunji sighed, got up, tied his robe, and poured Xie Ji a glass of water.
Completely unaware of what Lu Xunji had just done with his foot, Xie Ji sat on the bed and drained the glass, then handed it back to Lu Xunji. "Don't be so stingy. Your bed's so big. What's wrong with sharing a tiny bit with me? Besides, I..."
"Fine."
Lu Xunji took the glass back and spoke expressionlessly.
Xie Ji paused. The "hundred reasons to stay overnight in Lu Xunji's room" he had just come up with were suddenly useless.
He smacked his lips. After a long moment, he nodded from his seat on the bed. "You're actually pretty nice."