Chapter 33

Yang Yunran looked at him in the elevator’s reflection and said with a tone that conveyed, “You need to understand, Jiang Yi, I can share a room with you, but I can’t share a bed.”

Jiang Yi responded with a simple “Hmm,” which suited him fine. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”

Yang Yunran paused, then asked, “Why don’t you sleep in the car?”

Jiang Yi turned his head slightly. “You want me to sleep in the car?”

Yang Yunran muttered as he glanced at the elevator’s fluctuating red numbers, “Never mind, I can’t do that. I can’t let you sleep in the car; it’s too dangerous.”

Jiang Yi didn’t reply, just glanced at him.

They soon reached the fourth floor. Yang Yunran noted that foreigners weren’t superstitious about such things.

Yang Yunran asked, “This isn’t the end room, is it?”

Jiang Yi checked the room number. “I don’t know.”

They arrived at the room, Jiang Yi swiped the card, and Yang Yunran sighed with relief—it wasn’t the room at the end of the hallway. He knocked on the door, and Jiang Yi asked, “Do you have to knock when staying in a hotel?”

Yang Yunran explained, “Of course, what if someone’s inside or there’s something else? It’s basic courtesy…”

Jiang Yi chuckled but didn’t say anything.

Yang Yunran said in English, “Excuse us, just staying one night,” and then turned the doorknob. The hotel looked decently decorated but clearly quite old.

The room was pitch-black with tightly closed curtains, as deep as a hole.

Yang Yunran hesitated subconsciously until Jiang Yi inserted the room card and brought light into the room.

The small room contained only a 1.2-meter bed and a small sofa, about half the size of Jiang Yi’s apartment.

Jiang Yi checked the time and said, “If you’re not comfortable here, we can switch to another hotel.”

Yang Yunran shook his head. “Let’s not bother, this will do.”

Jiang Yi placed the cake Professor Chen had bought on the table, lit the candles, and then turned off the lights.

After a few seconds, Yang Yunran asked, “Aren’t you going to sing?”

Jiang Yi replied softly, “Do you want me to sing ‘Happy Birthday’?”

Yang Yunran sighed. “No need, just wish me a happy birthday.” He quickly made a wish and blew out the candles before Jiang Yi could start singing.

Jiang Yi pursed his lips and said softly, “Yunran, happy birthday.”

Professor Chen had intended for Yang Yunran to host some classmates, so the cake was quite large, far more than Yang Yunran and Jiang Yi could finish. After eating a bit, Yang Yunran said he couldn’t eat anymore, and when he tried to put the cake in the mini-fridge, it wouldn’t fit!

Jiang Yi called the hotel to have the cake refrigerated. Yang Yunran, dressed in shorts and a concert merchandise T-shirt, sat on the edge of the bed and asked Jiang Yi, “Should you go wash up first, or should I?”

Jiang Yi replied, “You go first.” Today had been full of unexpected situations, and he felt guilty for giving Yang Yunran an imperfect 22nd birthday, wanting to make it up to him.

Yang Yunran locked the bathroom door and cleaned his glass eye with the saline solution he always carried.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yi plugged in his phone to charge and planned to check some options online.

Yang Yunran’s phone screen lit up.

Jiang Yi hadn’t intended to snoop, but recalling Yang Yunran had downloaded a dating app, he glanced at the screen.

Fortunately, there were no pop-ups from the blue app on the screen, suggesting Yang Yunran might have uninstalled it.

Instead, there were notifications from his WeChat.

Jimmy: “Not going home?”

Jimmy: “Remember to use protection!! I know you really like him, but don’t be foolish and forget condoms. It would drive me crazy.”

Jiang Yi had no response, his gaze lingering briefly on “you really like him.”

Until the screen went dark.

Jiang Yi took off his wristwatch and heard the water in the bathroom stop. Yang Yunran emerged, hair wet, wearing the concert T-shirt and blue shorts from the amusement park, revealing his bare legs.

Yang Yunran dried his hair and was surprised to see Jiang Yi had arranged for a new mattress to be delivered, with a bedspread laid out on the floor beside it. This shocked him.

Could it be that his ex-boyfriend wasn’t satisfying him? Yang Yunran’s eyes scanned Jiang Yi, “You can go in now.”

After about fifteen minutes, Jiang Yi emerged.

He was dressed identically to Yang Yunran, in the concert T-shirt and shorts, revealing a well-built physique.

Yang Yunran dried his hair and leaned against the bedside playing with his phone.

“Are you really planning to sleep on the floor?”

Jiang Yi replied, “Otherwise, should I sleep in the car?”

Yang Yunran fell silent, reluctant to let him. But he couldn’t invite him up either. If something happened, it would be problematic. If nothing happened, it would be even more awkward.

Yang Yunran watched him sitting on the floor and decided to chat with him, “I want to see your gun.”

Jiang Yi hesitated for a moment, as if misunderstanding something, frowned and looked at him.

Yang Yunran explained, “…the black one. Could it go off? I’ve never played with one before.”

“Not loaded, it won’t go off. Play with it.” Jiang Yi took it out of his travel bag, deftly unloaded the bullets for him. As Yang Yunran sat on the floor, he propped himself on the bed, watching him from above.

Which boy wouldn’t like such a thing?

Yang Yunran was so fond of it, his mind started to perform scenes from a firefight.

Jiang Yi felt he was like a child, but normally he wouldn’t find children cute, just annoying. But Yang Yunran was a little different.

His shorts were very short, and because of his sitting posture, they looked like they weren’t even there, pale and long. The skin looked as soft as satin.

Jiang Yi’s gaze condensed for a moment and shifted to his face. His appearance seemed small because his eyebrows weren’t high, the facial lines were soft, his eyes were big and bright black,

Yang Yunran grasped both of his hands tightly, winding a black tie around them, looping it three or four times. Jiang Yi lightly furrowed his brow and asked, “What are you trying to do?”

In fact, Yang Yunran’s actions had already crossed the line. Jiang Yi had always indulged and endured him, but now he decided to resist, freeing one of his hands.

Yang Yunran shouted at him, “What are you doing? Don’t hide!”

Jiang Yi held onto his hand and said, “That’s enough.”

Yang Yunran lay on the bed sideways. His strength was no match for Jiang Yi’s, and it was clear he couldn’t resist. He widened his eyes and said, “I’m acting in self-defense.”

“Self-defense isn’t done like this.” Jiang Yi handed him the gun, his voice hoarse and unquestionable. “This is self-defense. A tie isn’t.” He tossed aside the tied tie and lightly patted Yang Yunran’s hand before standing up.

Though somewhat embarrassed, it was unavoidable. The shape in his shorts was prominent and obvious, and covering up with a towel only drew more attention.

Jiang Yi avoided direct eye contact with him, heading into the bathroom, telling Yang Yunran, “You go ahead and sleep.”

Yang Yunran asked, “Are you okay?”

Jiang Yi didn’t reply. The sound of running water filled the bathroom, possibly a cold shower.

Yang Yunran pulled the blanket up a bit.

Right now, he wasn’t clear-headed either and needed a cold shower, but Jiang Yi had already taken over the bathroom. That one move just dispelled the room’s gloom, replacing it with a sticky intimacy.

Yang Yunran thought about when Jiang Yi might come out. It shouldn’t take more than five minutes. He could only endure it himself, slightly curling up and reaching out. He thought to himself, sharing a room with someone he liked, and his favorite brother acting this way, was really unbearable.

It was really harming himself.

In the bathroom, Jiang Yi took a cold shower for a while, trying to wash away his desire.

Jiang Yi wasn’t actually sure how Yang Yunran came to like him, whether it was a desire to sleep together, just playing around, or something serious.

He had been pondering and evaluating Yang Yunran’s attitude all along, but until just now, he couldn’t really be sure.

Jiang Yi braced himself against the white tiled wall with one hand, the cold water cascading down his neck and back.

The burning sensation spread quickly, starting from when Yang Yunran scratched his palm, but it took a long time to be extinguished by the cold water.

When Jiang Yi came out, the curtains in the room were drawn open, and the windows were open, with a few more tissues in the trash can.

He didn’t ask Yang Yunran what he had just done, only asking him, “Why haven’t you slept yet?”

Yang Yunran replied, “Chatting.” He looked at his phone. “You’ve been in there for half an hour, to be exact, thirty-two minutes.”

Jiang Yi was helpless. “Why are you still timing it?”

Yang Yunran said, “I was worried about you before, now I’m not.”

Jiang Yi said expressionlessly, “There’s no need for that. You and Jimmy are learning bad habits.” Jiang Yi said to him, “Are you chatting with him now?”

“Yeah.” His face was lit up by the screen. “Timing is very necessary.” Jimmy said that your ex-brother won’t be pretending to be on the toilet for half an hour. He’s laughing at you. It’s funny and funny. If he really loves you, he’ll already be on your bed instead of in the bathroom.

Jiang Yi saw him laughing and said, “Stop talking.”

Yang Yunran glanced at him distractedly. “Don’t you have a phone to play with? Why are you worried about me?”

“I don’t chat with anyone at night,” Jiang Yi said.

Yang Yunran raised an eyebrow. “What about me? A few days ago, you were looking for me at night saying you couldn’t sleep.”

Jiang Yi hesitated. “Except for you.”