There was no distinction between day and night in the dream world. Xie Ji had spent two days in the cave, and aside from pestering him to sleep together every day and kissing him now and then, Lu Xunji hadn't done anything more excessive.
Xie Ji, on the other hand, was a little short on blood, and even his face had grown several shades paler.
"Bro," Xie Ji said weakly. "I want spicy blood curd stew."
Beside the stone platform where Xie Ji was imprisoned lay a steaming hot spring pool, with Lu Xunji's figure flickering in and out of view through the mist.
Xie Ji couldn't stop his eyes from straying that way.
He had never seen Lu Xunji like this. That beautiful bone structure was already enticing enough, but now, below the sleek V-lines, there weren't legs, but a black snake's tail densely covered in scales, each gleaming like some precious gemstone.
Lu Xunji didn't seem to hide anything from him, either. Although there was plenty of mist over the hot spring, it was nowhere near thick enough to conceal his figure completely. Xie Ji could see everything Lu Xunji did in the pool.
Over the past two days, aside from the blood Lu Xunji had drawn by nibbling on him, there were the twin streams of blood that kept trickling from Xie Ji's nose.
Just like now. Lu Xunji seemed to have heard him and swam up out of the hot spring. Water droplets rolled down his eight evenly defined abdominal muscles, and his jewel-like scales shone even more translucently when wet. Long, curling black hair, deep purple slit pupils.
That demonic allure was practically spilling over.
Xie Ji closed his eyes. Before long, something wet brushed his eyelashes, leaving a few droplets on them.
Lu Xunji leisurely withdrew his fingernail and said quietly, "Wipe your nosebleed, you little pervert."
Xie Ji: "..."
The chain jingled as his hand moved.
Xie Ji tipped his head back. "Bro, are you still not done with this dream? I'm about to go into shock from blood loss."
Lu Xunji reached out, caught his wrist, and placed it over his heart.
Xie Ji froze for a moment. A powerful heartbeat came from beneath his palm, real and clear.
"Do you like it?" Lu Xunji raised his eyes to him. "I originally thought you wouldn't like me looking like this. Hmm, but it's probably because we're in a dream, so you would like me no matter what I looked like."
Xie Ji: "...Huh? What? Me?"
Why did that sound a little off?
Dude, Lu Xunji wasn't supposed to be like this, was he?!
Wasn't this out of character?!
Wasn't he supposed to snort coldly and call him a little idiot?!
What was with this pitiful look, like he was terrified of being abandoned?
Lu Xunji bent down and lightly hooked his earlobe.
"It's almost dawn. We'll meet again next time."
Xie Ji frowned. "You're not Lu Xunji. Who are you?"
"I always have been."
Lu Xunji offered that cryptic remark and said nothing more. As though reluctant to part, he wound his snake's tail around Xie Ji's wrist.
"Here, I can hear your pulse."
Everything before his eyes began to blur. Xie Ji seemed to be enveloped in an immense sadness. Even he didn't know where that feeling came from, when he had clearly been the one most eager for this dream to end.
Instinctively, he reached out to grab Lu Xunji, but his hand passed straight through Lu Xunji's body.
Wind swept up the sand.
The ink-black treasure dispersed in an instant.
Xie Ji drew a deep breath and abruptly sat up in bed!
The sensation of sand slipping between his fingers had been far too real. Xie Ji lowered his eyes and stared blankly at his palm.
"What are you doing?"
A low, slightly hoarse voice sounded beside him. Xie Ji whipped his head around and saw Lu Xunji sitting up next to him, his eyes heavy with sleep.
His gray bathrobe fell open to either side, revealing a muscular chest and the V-lines Xie Ji had become so familiar with in the dream. Everything farther down was hidden beneath the covers.
A familiar warmth surged from his nose. Xie Ji instinctively tilted his head up ninety degrees to stare at the ceiling and reached up to wipe his nosebleed, only to discover that both his hands had already been bound.
And Lu Xunji's missing bathrobe sash was wrapped around his hands.
Xie Ji: "..."
Lu Xunji: "..."
They stared at one another in silence for three seconds. Lu Xunji silently pressed Xie Ji's head back. "Higher."
Xie Ji said nasally, "I knew you still cared about me. Don't worry, from now on, I'll-"
Lu Xunji said, "Don't drip blood on my quilt. It's filthy."
Xie Ji immediately retracted his feelings of gratitude. "Never play Identity V again."
Lu Xunji glanced at him, got up, and removed the bathrobe sash from Xie Ji's wrists. Then he effortlessly picked him up and carried him to the bathroom to deal with it.
Blood mixed with cold water and rushed down the drain.
Ignoring Lu Xunji's protests, Xie Ji pressed Lu Xunji's towel against his nose.
Leaning in the doorway, Lu Xunji narrowed his eyes. "So hot-blooded this early in the morning. What incredible thing did you dream about last night?"
Xie Ji was deeply shocked by Lu Xunji's outrageous reversal of the facts. "Weren't you the one having weird dreams?!"
Lu Xunji snorted. "I didn't dream."
Indignant, Xie Ji said, "You're lying!"
This was simply alarmist nonsense!
Lu Xunji gave a cold laugh, walked over, and bent down to stare at Xie Ji. "I wonder which little bastard had no sleeping manners, wouldn't stay still beside me all night, and even undid my bathrobe sash."
Xie Ji paused, then declared firmly, "It was Ji Shi."
"Was it?" Lu Xunji gave him a cold look. "When did you and Ji Shi get so close?"
Xie Ji took Lu Xunji's towel away from his face. Finding that his nose had stopped bleeding, he slapped the towel fiercely into Lu Xunji's hand. "Don't worry. There's no need for this pointless jealousy. Ji Shi and I are just friends!"
I definitely won't fight you over your husband!
Lu Xunji raised his brows, the corners of his lips visibly rising by two pixels. "You're friends with him. Then what... are you and I?"
Xie Ji sniffed and declared righteously, "Does that even need asking? Of course our relationship isn't as simple as friendship! We're! Real brothers with different mothers and fathers!"
Lu Xunji: "..."
Why on earth did he keep believing that ivory could come out of Xie Ji's dog mouth?
That mouth that did nothing but infuriate him deserved to be kissed to death while he held him by the throat.
Lu Xunji lowered his lashes, hiding the darkness in his eyes, and followed Xie Ji to open the door.
Ji Shi sat outside the door hugging a pillow, dark circles hanging beneath his eyes.
Xie Ji asked, "Ji Shi? Why are you sitting here?"
Hugging his pillow, Ji Shi looked utterly aggrieved, somehow making his six-foot frame look as though it were trembling. "Lu Xunji kicked me out yesterday. I sat out here all night and still haven't slept. Xie Ji, I'm so tired."
As he spoke, he started leaning toward Xie Ji.
Lu Xunji unobtrusively pulled Xie Ji aside, and Ji Shi leaned straight into the cold door instead.
He looked at the camera and said, "Sorry. I'm not used to other people entering my space."
"Then why was Xie Ji allowed in?" Ji Shi asked with unmistakable mockery. "Just because he's your real brother with different parents?"
Lu Xunji sneered. "Not at all. I'm simply allergic to ugly people. I hope you can understand, my. Platonic. Friend."
"Who are you calling ugly?!" Ji Shi immediately lost his cool. "You think I give a damn about your lousy room? If Xie Ji hadn't been in there, I wouldn't have gone in! Real brother!"
"Whoever loses his cool is the ugly one, platonic friend."
"Real brother!"
"Platonic friend."
"Real brother!"
"Platonic friend."
Xie Ji: "?"
What were these two doing so early in the morning?
Arguing like elementary school kids?
A new form of flirting?
Whatever.
He reached out and pushed aside the two men blocking his way.
Don't block me from going downstairs for breakfast, you two dumbasses.
Ji Shi and Lu Xunji both paused. Watching Xie Ji's decisive retreating figure, both felt like peacocks displaying their feathers to a block of wood.
Ji Shi glared at him and said quietly, "Don't even think about making a move on Xie Ji. Someone like you isn't good enough for him. Understand?"
"Oh," Lu Xunji said. "But last night, he slept with his arms around me."
Ji Shi: "..."
You bastard, aaaaaaah!!!