Chapter 39 – 039

Gu Xian: “…”

Gu Xian: “You failed to seduce me. Put on your clothes.”

“Really?” Xie Yunjing snatched the phone from his hand. “Then why don’t you dare to look at me?”

“Who’s afraid to look at you?” With no phone to use as a shield, Gu Xian had no choice but to raise his gaze and look directly at Xie Yunjing.

He didn’t shy away. Instead, he boldly looked Xie Yunjing over from top to bottom, then from bottom to top, before sneering, “I’ve looked. So what?”

Xie Yunjing chuckled softly. “Don’t you feel like touching?”

Gu Xian scoffed, “What’s there to touch? You’ve just worked out a bit more, that’s all. Sooner or later, I’ll have the same—!!”

Xie Yunjing grabbed his hand and pressed it against his own body. “Are you sure you don’t want to?”

“…” Gu Xian, of course, wanted to say no, but the moment his fingers brushed against Xie Yunjing’s skin, they moved involuntarily.

The faint red fingerprint was undeniable evidence.

Xie Yunjing let go of Gu Xian’s hand, instead wrapping his arms around him, adopting a posture as if offering himself up willingly. “If you want to touch it, go ahead.”

“Who’s wanting to—!” Gu Xian tried to push him away, but the intensified sensation from his efforts made it impossible for him to keep up the pretense.

Xie Yunjing’s muscular build not only looked impressive but also felt incredibly good to the touch. Gu Xian pressed his lips together, lowering his head and falling silent.

Suddenly, Xie Yunjing let out a sharp gasp of pain. “Hiss!—”

With Gu Xian’s head lowered, he couldn’t see Xie Yunjing’s expression, so Xie Yunjing could only stare at the top of his head and complain, “You’re way too rough.”

“You asked me to touch you—Xie Yunjing!” The muttered words turned into an angry shout as Gu Xian glared up furiously. “Me touching you doesn’t mean you can touch me!”

“That’s not fair.”

“It was you who begged me to touch you in the first place!”

Xie Yunjing finally showed a hint of frustration. “Gu Xian, do you really have no desires at all?”

It was only after living together for a while that he realized Gu Xian was surprisingly indifferent to such things. Not only did he never seem to display any signs of interest, but even in the mornings, during natural reactions, he would just play on his phone until it subsided, never bothering to relieve himself.

“Hah, surprised?” Gu Xian’s tone was full of disdain. “I’ve already ascended to immortality, transcending the mortal flesh! Touching me is blaspheming a deity. Careful, or you’ll be sent to the eighteenth level of hell!”

Xie Yunjing, feigning seriousness, asked, “Deities aren’t allowed to have emotions or desires. Doesn’t that mean you’ve broken heavenly law by touching me?”

There was nothing more frustrating than sparring words with someone like Xie Yunjing. Annoyed, Gu Xian snapped, “Shut—”

But before he could finish, he suddenly gasped sharply. “Stop it, Xie Yunjing!”

It was Gu Xian who had previously boasted about how mutual “assistance” was common in university dorms. For once, Xie Yunjing seemed genuinely puzzled by his arch-enemy. “Gu Xian, don’t tell me… you have some sort of problem?”

“Get lost, get lost, get lost!” Even though Xie Yunjing’s phrasing was relatively tactful, it couldn’t hide the fact that he was questioning Gu Xian’s… capabilities.

“You’re the one with a problem, damn it!”

“Then why are you so unwilling to let it out? Doesn’t it feel unbearable to hold it in all the time?”

Unable to push him away, Gu Xian resorted to revenge by pinching him hard. “I just don’t like it!”

The pain did nothing to dampen Xie Yunjing’s enthusiasm; if anything, it only made the fire in his eyes burn brighter. Gu Xian found it increasingly hard to handle him. Though his expression remained fierce, a flicker of hesitation had already crept into his gaze.

Xie Yunjing wanted far more than just that, but after staring at Gu Xian intently for a moment, he slowed his movements. “Then at least let me kiss you.”

“No—”

Xie Yunjing completely enveloped Gu Xian’s hand that was still resting on him. The so-called “seduction” wasn’t a complete failure—Gu Xian’s body was far more honest than his words.

Damn it.

Irritated, Gu Xian closed his eyes briefly in frustration. He pulled his hand out from under Xie Yunjing’s palm, then wrapped his arms around Xie Yunjing’s shoulders, tilting his chin up defiantly. “You want a kiss, huh?”

Xie Yunjing looked at him.

“Alright!”

Might as well treat it as compensation for enjoying those beautiful muscles!

Gu Xian gripped hard on Xie Yunjing’s shoulder and leaned in forcefully, crashing straight into his lips.

The collision was too forceful, their teeth clashing together. Even Xie Yunjing couldn’t help but hiss, while Gu Xian let out a pained sound, “Ugh!”

But soon, neither of them had the time to dwell on the pain.

This time, Gu Xian had practically delivered himself right to Xie Yunjing’s doorstep. It didn’t take much effort for Xie Yunjing to invade the depths of his mouth.

“Wait—” Gu Xian suddenly began to struggle, protesting incoherently, “I only… said you could kiss me! I never agreed… to you touching me!”

Xie Yunjing’s response was to stubbornly swallow all of his protests with even more intensity. Gu Xian could only vent his frustration by clawing at Xie Yunjing’s shoulders and back with renewed vigor.

Neither of them seemed accustomed to closing their eyes while kissing, their gazes locked in an unyielding standoff. Yet, the uncontrollable misting of Gu Xian’s eyes left him at a clear disadvantage, much to his reluctant dismay.

It seemed as though Xie Yunjing was determined to make up for all the rejections he’d endured before. Only after a long while did he finally let go of Gu Xian.

At that moment, Gu Xian’s mind was preoccupied with one thing: breathing. The prolonged deep kiss had nearly suffocated him, and even though Xie Yunjing continued to brush lightly against his lips, he had no energy to respond.

Once he managed to recover slightly, he couldn’t hold back his words any longer. “Satisfied now?”

Xie Yunjing, having failed to achieve his goal of going further tonight, merely replied, “Barely acceptable.”

Gu Xian rolled his eyes.

Though he’d been thoroughly kissed into a daze, the “marks” he’d left on Xie Yunjing were equally impressive. Raising an eyebrow, Gu Xian said impatiently, “If you’re satisfied, then get off me. I’m going to sleep.”

Xie Yunjing lowered his head, seemingly intending to kiss him again, but Gu Xian’s hand firmly blocked him.

“Not allowed.”

“…” Xie Yunjing paused for a moment, then pressed a light kiss onto Gu Xian’s palm. “A goodnight kiss.”

Gu Xian pulled the blanket over himself and turned away, but he forgot to hide the tips of his ears that now flushed red.

*

Gu Xian walked through the door, carrying several large shopping bags, naturally drawing the attention of Uncle Kang and Xie Yunjing.

“Did you skip work to go shopping?” Xie Yunjing asked as he and Uncle Kang approached the entrance, intending to help him carry the bags inside.

But Gu Xian slapped his hand away, bypassing him and handing a few of the bags to Uncle Kang instead.

“You’re the one skipping work!” Gu Xian was clearly displeased with Xie Yunjing’s accusation. “Gu Leyu came to visit me on set.”

Xie Yunjing followed him, trying several times to take some of the bags from his hands, but Gu Xian avoided him disdainfully each time.

“So, has Gu Leyu really had a change of heart, or did something major happen in your family, forcing them to curry favor with you, the ‘Madam Xie’?”

Gu Xian responded to Xie Yunjing’s “Madam Xie” with a low and succinct, “Get lost.”

The numerous bags filled the coffee table completely. Gu Xian sank into the couch with a relieved sigh, rubbing his wrist before explaining, “If Gu Leyu could really change his ways, the sun might as well rise from the west. Even if something did happen in my family, Gu Leyu would never swallow his pride and bow to me. No way it’d be him trying to curry favor with me.”

He suddenly sat upright and snatched the box of cake from Xie Yunjing’s hands. “Can you behave yourself for once?”

Xie Yunjing looked curious. “Gu Leyu gave you nothing but food?”

“Yeah!” Gu Xian grumbled as he tossed the cake box back into the bag. “Last time at the party, I casually mentioned that I don’t like mango. Today, under the pretense of treating us, he sent a truckload of mango-flavored stuff to the set. That guy is obsessed with his identity as a rich young master. Everything he does has to be extravagant, and even when he’s trying to disgust someone, he’ll go for the most expensive way to do it.”

“So,” he warned, glaring at Xie Yunjing, “all these things are loaded with real mango. You’d better not touch them.”

Xie Yunjing crossed his arms, signaling that he wouldn’t mess with the items on the coffee table anymore. Still, his curiosity remained. “If you’re so worried about me, why did you bring them back? Couldn’t you have shared them with the rest of the crew?”

Gu Xian leaned his head back against the sofa. “When I said ‘a truckload,’ I meant an actual truck—the kind that hauls shipping containers at the docks!”

“Young Master Gu Leyu is extravagant. Even with the entire crew doing their best to eat, there was no way they could finish that much in one day,” Gu Xian said, his expression deadpan. “Not to mention, many in the crew are watching their figures, so the amount they could actually eat was even less.”

He raised his hand and pointed at the coffee table. “What you see here is what’s left after I told everyone in the crew to take as much as they could, and even shared a lot with several neighboring crews.”

Even Xie Yunjing felt that throwing all this away would be too wasteful, let alone Gu Xian.

Gu Xian waved his hand. “Uncle Kang, find a spot where these won’t accidentally get taken. I’ll help you move them there.”

As Uncle Kang led the way, he asked, “Does Young Master Gu know that the Third Young Master is allergic to mango?”

Gu Xian replied casually, “Yeah, so what?”

“Nothing, just a bit surprised.” The elderly man’s gaze was perceptive as he smiled and reminded Gu Xian, “Young Master Gu, remember to keep this a secret. In the Xie family, only the Old Master, Old Madam, myself, and the Third Young Master’s mother know about this.”

“Mm.”

Gu Xian responded with a casual “Mm,” showing no surprise at all that only a few people in the Xie family knew about Xie Yunjing’s allergy.

Uncle Kang cast another curious glance at him before sighing thoughtfully, “It seems the relationship between you two young masters is much better than I imagined.”

Old Master Xie had sent Uncle Kang here to keep an eye on them, naturally because he didn’t believe in the so-called romance between Xie Yunjing and Gu Xian. The old man’s intentions were clear: he wanted to frustrate Xie Yunjing by forcing him to feign intimacy with his arch-enemy, Gu Xian, while simultaneously seeking proof that their relationship was fake. With that evidence, he could pressure Xie Yunjing to marry a woman and produce an heir.

But now, Xie Yunjing was brimming with confidence. He made no effort to hide the way his gaze followed the busy Gu Xian, watching him stash the piles of mango-flavored snacks into the cabinets. “Uncle Kang, you must be joking. If Gu Xian and I didn’t get along, how could we possibly be married?”

Clang!

The tin of cookies Gu Xian was holding slipped from his hand and fell to the floor. He turned around, shooting Xie Yunjing a warning glare before continuing to store the rest of the items.

Uncle Kang chuckled and shook his head, though it was unclear whether he was referring to himself or someone else. “Getting old means it’s easy to misjudge things.”

After finally stowing all the items into the cabinet, Uncle Kang left to dispose of the bags they’d used to bring the things in. Gu Xian stood in front of the cabinet, seemingly doing a final count.

Xie Yunjing came up from behind and wrapped his arms around Gu Xian, resting his chin on his shoulder. In a cheerful tone, he said, “Even Uncle Kang has noticed how much you care about me.”

“Don’t get cocky. It’s just a basic humanitarian concern,” Gu Xian said, raising his hand to cover Xie Yunjing’s mouth. “Not allowed.”

Xie Yunjing spoke against his palm, “You care so much about me, why keep pretending to be stingy?”

“This isn’t stinginess,” Gu Xian retorted, raising an eyebrow as he looked at him. “Let me remind you of something.”

He used his other hand to point at the cabinet packed full of snacks, a mischievous smile appearing on his face. “I ate quite a lot of these today too.”

Xie Yunjing’s movements froze for a moment. Just then, Uncle Kang returned from taking out the trash, forcing him to release Gu Xian.

Gu Xian, having eaten too much on set earlier, skipped dinner that evening.

Back in the bedroom, Gu Xian leisurely played on his phone, while Xie Yunjing held a book in his hands, though his gaze remained fixed on Gu Xian the entire time.

Gu Xian’s relaxed posture was deliberate, and Xie Yunjing eventually voiced his dissatisfaction. “Can’t you at least rinse your mouth?”

Gu Xian raised his eyes and asked in return, “Why should I rinse my mouth?”

Xie Yunjing didn’t reply as the answer to that question was all too obvious to both of them.

Seeing Xie Yunjing’s current frustrated expression was far too entertaining. Gu Xian, clearly enjoying himself, propped his chin on his right hand and added fuel to the fire. “Xie Yunjing, I suddenly feel like kissing you. Is that okay?”

Xie Yunjing: “…”

Seeing that Xie Yunjing remained motionless, Gu Xian gleefully continued to stir the pot. “Tsk, it’s rare for me to take the initiative, and yet you’re unwilling.”

He sighed dramatically, feigning regret as he declared, “Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to forget about it—”

If anger could manifest physically, Gu Xian would have been reduced to ashes by now. Xie Yunjing, gritting his teeth, hissed, “Gu Xian—”

“You’re doing this on purpose—!”

Author’s Note:

I’m late, I’m late—sorry, I’m so bad at this QAQ