Maybe it was because this was his first time doing something like this, but Mi Lu’s hands were shaking terribly, making it nearly impossible for him to get his clothes off smoothly. He finally managed to tug open his inner layer, only to realize that his belt was still tightly fastened around his waist.

Stunned, Mi Lu gave up on trying to pull off his clothes for the moment and awkwardly focused on loosening his belt. He didn’t dare look directly into HuLü Yan’s eyes, yet he could clearly feel HuLü Yan’s gaze, filled with shock, locked tightly on him.

His cheeks burned, a fierce heat rushing up his throat, feeling like his whole body was about to burst into flames. The more anxious he got, the more things went wrong. The belt, which had been loosely tied before, now seemed like it was knotted tight, and no matter how hard he pulled, it wouldn’t budge. After struggling for ages, he only managed to pull it tighter, pressing uncomfortably against his waist.

Mi Lu kept at it for a while, until his arms and legs ached, and he had to shift to a kneeling position on the bed just to feel a bit more comfortable. He didn’t expect things to get stuck at the very beginning like this. Aside from embarrassment, a wave of frustration began to brew within him.

“Damn…” Mi Lu muttered under his breath, grumbling, “Help me out, will you?” He cast an appeal to HuLü Yan, though he still couldn’t bear to look his way. “HuLü Yan,” he whispered, his voice weak, “Could you help me untie my belt?”

But HuLü Yan didn’t respond. He didn’t even move. Finally sensing that something was off, Mi Lu forced himself to look at HuLü Yan. There he was, his mouth slightly open, staring at Mi Lu with a stunned expression, looking as though he had been utterly shaken to the core.

In the next instant, Mi Lu watched as a trickle of bright red blood slowly began to flow from HuLü Yan’s nose.

“…?” Mi Lu was speechless.

Yet HuLü Yan seemed completely oblivious, his eyes wide open, as if he had been struck immobile. The two of them just stared at each other in this deadlock.

Mi Lu was embarrassed to the point of feeling numb, every part of him cringing, including his toes. Only when HuLü Yan’s hand twitched on the bed did Mi Lu come back to his senses. Hurriedly, he grabbed his sleeve and wiped at HuLü Yan’s upper lip, panicking, “You’ve got a nosebleed!”

The act of wiping only made things worse, as his sleeve became stained with blood, and now HuLü Yan’s entire face was smeared, with blood even covering his chin.

Now, Mi Lu didn’t have the leisure for romantic thoughts. He scrambled around, grabbed one of HuLü Yan’s outer garments from a rack by the bed, and pressed it to his face, wiping firmly. After quite a bit of rubbing, he finally managed to clean up the nosebleed.

The awkwardness faded from Mi Lu’s mind after this little mishap, and he flopped onto the bed with a soft sigh, tossing the bloodstained garment to the floor with irritation before glaring at HuLü Yan. “What’s wrong with you? Way to ruin the moment!”

Though Mi Lu complained, his face was still hot, and the look he shot HuLü Yan was more embarrassed than annoyed. HuLü Yan opened his mouth, but no words came out, only feeling a tightening in his chest as if Mi Lu’s gaze had struck him directly in the heart. From where he sat, he could see Mi Lu’s fair and delicate face framed by his dark hair, along with the large expanse of bare chest revealed when his clothes had been pulled open.

Mi Lu was still catching his breath, his chest rising and falling in rhythm with his breathing, and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. HuLü Yan slowly closed his gaping mouth, suddenly feeling parched. He touched his face, and though the blood had been wiped clean, a lingering heat remained.

The two sat there, staring at each other. Eventually, Mi Lu couldn’t hold back, letting out a chuckle as he gathered his clothes around himself. He gave HuLü Yan’s shoulder a little push, “Why’d you lose your cool at the crucial moment? I worked up all this courage, you know.”

For some reason, even though Mi Lu’s push wasn’t particularly strong, HuLü Yan still felt slightly dizzy from it. He muttered, “I… I couldn’t help it.”

Mi Lu studied HuLü Yan’s expression, feeling intrigued. Usually, wasn’t HuLü Yan the one initiating? He always thought HuLü Yan was an old hand at this, yet he actually had a shy side too! What a rare sight! So the usual, bold HuLü Yan was just a paper tiger after all, showing his fangs only when Mi Lu backed down. But when Mi Lu took charge, HuLü Yan’s true, bashful nature surfaced—like a big, timid rabbit he once held.

Remembering those rabbits, Mi Lu suddenly felt a playful urge. After a moment’s hesitation between continuing and retreating, he made his choice. “HuLü Yan.” He called softly, and HuLü Yan, startled by the call, looked at Mi Lu nervously.

Mi Lu leaned in quickly, stopping just before their noses touched, and asked quietly, “Is your nose still bleeding?”

HuLü Yan blinked, looking more nervous as he rubbed his nose and admitted, “Seems like it’s stopped.”

“Then should we continue?” Even though he had mentally prepared himself, Mi Lu could hear his heart pounding wildly as he spoke. There was no turning back now. He knew how easily he gave up when things got tough, and avoiding or retreating had become a habit in his life. If he didn’t follow through now, he feared he’d never act on this impulse again.

Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm himself, then resumed untying his belt. This time, it came loose easily. Looking at HuLü Yan, he declared with a firm tone, “I’m ready.”

HuLü Yan visibly gulped. Taking his situation into account, Mi Lu assured him kindly, “You don’t need to do anything; I’ll handle it.” Judging by HuLü Yan’s condition, this should be manageable; after all, he just had to lie there.

Mi Lu’s head was filled with a chaotic jumble of thoughts. Even if HuLü Yan wasn’t up for it, he wasn’t about to give up now; after all, how could he stop when things were this close? Mi Lu leaned down, pressing a kiss on HuLü Yan’s lips. Just moments ago, he had been blazing with confidence, yet now that he was taking action, he felt a surge of nerves.

“HuLü Yan…” Mi Lu tugged at his clothes, trying to pull them off while muttering, “I’m so nervous… why are your clothes so hard to take off?”

HuLü Yan’s hand was stiffly resting on Mi Lu’s waist, only managing a dry response, “Mm.” He was clearly as nervous as Mi Lu, if not more so. His mind was completely overwhelmed by the sight of Mi Lu, who looked nothing like his usual self.

Although Mi Lu was clearly nervous, he tried to play the part of someone in control, but those little signs of hesitation were impossible to miss. His ears were bright red, his eyelashes trembling, and even his breath was unsteady. His skin, usually concealed, was now exposed, looking fair and delicate. Each fine tremor reminded HuLü Yan just how lucky he was to see this.

He’d never forget this image, a sight reserved only for him.

He wanted to pull Mi Lu into his embrace right then, yet he restrained himself, forcing his desire down as it twisted painfully in his chest. He couldn’t scare Mi Lu. He had to hold back.

Just as Mi Lu was carefully peeling off HuLü Yan’s clothes, ready for the next step, a sound came from outside the room—footsteps approaching. Startled, Mi Lu’s hands froze, his mind blank as instinct took over, and he tried to scramble away from HuLü Yan. Yet before he could fully move, he caught a glimpse of several people out of the corner of his eye.

Frozen in place, Mi Lu stiffened. Fortunately, HuLü Yan was quick to react, grabbing the nearby quilt and covering both of them. He wrapped an arm securely around Mi Lu’s shoulders, holding him close under the blanket.

“Who gave you permission to enter?” HuLü Yan’s voice was so cold it could freeze ice.

“We…” Situ Gaoyang started awkwardly, only to be cut off by HuLü Yan’s frosty command, “Get out!”

Situ Gaoyang realized the terrible timing and quickly ushered the others back out.

After a long pause, HuLü Yan lifted the quilt, giving Mi Lu a comforting pat on the back. “They’re gone.”

Mi Lu looked at him in despair. “It’s over. Just now… my parents were there!”

In his shock, he recalled the sight of Situ Gaoyang entering with five or six others, two of whom were his own parents, Mi Hefeng and Gu Qiu. The thought of reuniting with his parents after years apart like this was mortifying, leaving Mi Lu wanting to crawl into a hole.

Who knew what they’d think of him now!

HuLü Yan hadn’t anticipated things would escalate to this extent. When he brought Mi Lu back, he’d allowed Mi’s family to visit on occasion, fearing Mi Lu would be unhappy if he forbade it. But this led to Mi Hefeng and Gu Qiu walking in on them at the worst possible moment.

Still, there was no undoing it now, so he tried to reassure Mi Lu. “After these past days, they must have already guessed about us. Don’t worry. Whether they approve or not, I’ll make sure to speak with them about us.”