Chapter 34

Then Bo Tingyuan rubbed his hand through the covers with his other palm.

As though he had felt his reassurance, Wen Cishu steadied himself a little and listened to his son read about the unicorn rescuing its friends in the fairy tale.

He had been a little sleepy, but that small change had left him wide awake instead.

Bo Yiming was probably exhausted from playing on the show during the day. As he read, his words grew indistinct, and his head began to nod.

Wen Cishu freed his hand from Bo Tingyuan's and put his arms around the little monkey. "Yiming? Are you sleepy?"

"Mmm~ Daddy~" Bo Yiming leaned against his father. "The unicorn is so brave~"

"Yes." Wen Cishu patted the back of his shoulder. "Our Yiming is very brave too."

He kissed his temple again. He couldn't leave out the promised goodnight kiss.

Wen Cishu was just about to help the little monkey lie down when Bo Tingyuan lifted the covers.

He turned his head, questioning him with his eyes.

Bo Tingyuan walked around to the other side of the bed, pushed up his rimless glasses, and bundled their son in the quilt before picking him up. "I'll take Yiming back to his room," he said softly.

Wen Cishu's eyes widened slightly, full of surprise.

Bo Yiming had no idea what was happening. Thinking he was still with his gentle daddy, he shifted in his arms and slept soundly and peacefully.

Wen Cishu watched him carry their son out of the room.

Coming back to himself, he lay back on his pillow, his thoughts drifting. Unconsciously, his arm slowly brushed over the spot where Bo Tingyuan had been lying. His warmth was still there.

When Bo Tingyuan returned, Wen Cishu looked up as though abruptly waking.

Only when the covers were pulled back and Bo Tingyuan got into bed did he realize there was only one quilt tonight.

Wen Cishu lay still, feigning composure, and asked calmly, "Were you listening carefully to Yiming's story?"

"No."

His utterly nonchalant tone made Wen Cishu glance sideways, surprise flashing in his eyes.

He hadn't listened properly to their son, and he was still so unapologetic?

The fleeting thought was immediately displaced by the contact between their bodies.

He felt Bo Tingyuan's strong, long leg resting against his own. It had actually been the same when the little monkey was there.

Strangely, it seemed different now.

Wen Cishu waited for him to settle the covers, then turned his face toward him and asked with feigned composure, "Then do you still want to hear me tell a story?"

Bo Tingyuan held his hand against his chest, gazing into his phoenix eyes. [Would you be willing to tell me one?]

Perhaps a native language carried more feeling than a second language, perhaps French itself was romantic and special, or perhaps Bo Tingyuan's voice was particularly resonant and sexy at night. Whatever it was, Wen Cishu felt as though he had fallen into a gentle whirlpool, dizzy without end.

Under Bo Tingyuan's focused gaze, Wen Cishu briefly lost the ability to speak and pressed his somewhat dry lips together.

His gaze dropped, lingering, consciously or otherwise, on Bo Tingyuan's thin lips for half a second before continuing down to his Adam's apple.

Wen Cishu had no way of knowing how blatant and direct his gaze was at that moment.

For an instant, he seemed to notice Bo Tingyuan frown, an unfathomable look flashing through his eyes.

He quickly withdrew his gaze, his mind a hopeless tangle. "I..." What had they been talking about?

The man beside him shifted, and Wen Cishu tightened his grip before his brain could catch up.

-Was he going back to his room?

The next second, all the lights in the room went out.

Only the soft moonlight beyond the sheer curtains remained.

Seeing that he wasn't about to leave, Wen Cishu breathed a sigh of relief.

Yet when Bo Tingyuan lay down, he slowly drew Wen Cishu's hand upward, over the contours of his muscular chest, until it rested on his neck.

The instant his fingertips touched that gently bobbing Adam's apple, Wen Cishu held his breath, his whole body burning as though it had been set alight.

But he didn't pull his hand away. Guided by Bo Tingyuan, he couldn't help stroking it gently.

In the quiet night, Wen Cishu heard his breathing gradually deepen and felt his Adam's apple rise and fall. His own breathing grew heavy and quick as well.

Only after an unknown stretch of time did Wen Cishu abruptly come to his senses. His ears burning, he hastily withdrew his hand, only for Bo Tingyuan to catch his wrist with lightning speed and press his hand over his thin lips.

Wen Cishu's heart skipped a beat.

He came fully to his senses, certain he must have gone mad, and hurriedly explained, "J-just now, that was..."

As Bo Tingyuan parted his lips, they brushed his soft palm almost like a kiss. [That was a very beautiful story.]

With his fingers resting against those thin lips, Wen Cishu's thoughts drifted, and he wondered dazedly, What story? That was clearly a chaotic accident beyond anyone's control.

Chapter 34

Early the next morning, Wen Cishu felt movement beside him and opened his drowsy eyes. Not fully awake, he let out a soft, murmured, "Hmm?"

Bo Tingyuan brushed aside the hair curling around his temple. "Did I wake you?"

Wen Cishu instinctively nuzzled his fingertips, his eyes half closed, and asked softly, "You're going to the office, aren't you?"

That degree of intimacy was enough to leave Bo Tingyuan stunned, almost making him mistake it for a rare, lovely dream.

But he quickly came to himself and noticed how Wen Cishu was struggling against his sleepiness. "Yes."

Squinting, Wen Cishu raised a hand to scratch the back of his neck.

Bo Tingyuan caught his slender, delicate wrist.

The touch against his palm was like jade with a natural warmth.

He turned to get the ointment. "I'll put your medicine on."

"Oh." Too lazy to get up, Wen Cishu rolled partly onto his stomach, raised one arm over the pillow, and rested his cheek on it.

The layers of curtains hadn't been fully closed the night before. In the faint morning light, Wen Cishu's long, perfect swan neck was partly exposed, the rounded protrusions of his spine like pearls hidden in a velvet box.

As he lay partly on his stomach, his thin, soft pajamas rose and fell with his body's contours, forming a distinct curve at his waist.

Half asleep, Wen Cishu felt the back of his pajama collar being pulled down, but what touched his skin wasn't the ointment's rollerball. It was a warm fingertip.

The gentle application and the cool sensation of the ointment on his skin both felt genuinely soothing, and he couldn't help letting out a soft, faint, "Mmm~"

Bo Tingyuan's movements paused. "Does it feel better today?"

His morning voice was husky, like a warm breeze blowing into Wen Cishu's ears.

He rubbed his cheek against his own arm and gave a hazy, languid, "Mmm~"

It wasn't his usual waking time, so after answering, he drifted back to sleep.

Bo Tingyuan held him as he settled him onto his back. His thumb, cradling his cheek, brushed over his full, tender lower lip, his voice low and soft.

"I'll still have Yiming keep you company tonight."

An hour later, in another suite in the mansion.

Bo Yiming opened his eyes groggily and was about to snuggle up to Daddy when he discovered he was alone in bed.

His clever little head immediately worked out why, and he sat bolt upright.

"Aaaaaaaaaah!"

He was mad!

Bo Yiming sprang out of bed, rushed to the desk, dug out his diary, and quickly wrote a sentence with his pen.

[Dad carried me back to my room while I was asleep! He robbed me of my warm parent-child time with Daddy!]

In his agitation, he wrote in French.

The crooked lines were pressed hard into the paper.

To express his indignation, he filled the spaces above and below the sentence with countless exclamation marks.

The housekeeper's voice came from outside the door.

"Young master? What's wrong?"

Bo Yiming stormed over, pulled open the door, and took a deep breath.

The housekeeper looked surprised. "Young master?"

Bo Yiming steadied his heaving chest. "It's nothing to do with you. I'm going to find my dad!"

With that, he ran across the carpet toward Daddy's room.

The housekeeper could practically see three flames blazing behind him.

Worried, she pushed open the door to the suite and checked inside, only relaxing once she saw that nothing had fallen or been knocked over.

Bo Yiming ran to the second floor and stopped quickly when he saw Uncle Xu. "Grandpa Xu, where's my dad?"

Seeing his crooked pajamas, Uncle Xu reached out to straighten them. "He went to the office."

Bo Yiming bared his teeth in anger. "Then I'll go find Daddy."

He ran into the bedroom and flung himself onto the bed, his two slender legs flapping wildly like a seal's tail flippers. "Daddy~ Dad carried me away yesterday without my permission! He's so mean!"

Wen Cishu had only just woken up and was still savoring the warmth of Bo Tingyuan's embrace when the little monkey suddenly flung himself into his arms.

"Ahem, sweetheart, I think you're squashing Daddy's arm."

"Huh?"

Bo Yiming was terrified. He hurriedly sat back on his heels on the quilt, his face full of worry, and gently stroked Daddy's arm.

"Does it hurt here? I'll ask Grandpa Xu to call the doctor."

"No."

Wen Cishu caught him and rubbed his little face. One look told him he hadn't washed up yet.

He gently combed through his messy hair with his fingers and explained softly, "Your dad is always by himself, and he gets lonely too. Besides, we were away for two days, so he wanted to talk to me last night. But he was afraid of waking our adorable little son, so he took you back to rest first."

"Really?"

Bo Yiming cradled Daddy's arm, his amber eyes clear and innocent.

"Daddy~ Then next time you want to talk, will you tell me?"

He pressed his face against Daddy's chest through the quilt, doing his best to look cute. "As your adorable little son, Baby Mingming is very well behaved, you know~"

"Daddy knows."

Wen Cishu patted his back. "All right, go wash up."

Bo Yiming didn't leave right away. Still terribly worried that he had hurt Daddy's arm by squashing it, he jumped off the bed and supported him.

Wen Cishu remembered the matter with the production team.

"Sweetheart, Daddy has another little task for you."