Chapter 3: Teasing

At ten in the morning, Wen Shuyan was awakened by the vibration of his phone. Before he could fully open his eyes, the disturbing vibration ceased abruptly, followed by a warm and familiar object pressing against him.

Shang Zhu was lying on Wen Shuyan, kissing his eyes and the corners of his lips. His restless hand slipped under the blanket, lifting the hem of Wen Shuyan’s sleepwear, and slowly moved upward along his hip bone.

They had stayed up late last night, and Wen Shuyan had just woken up, feeling weak. He lazily nestled in Shang Zhu’s embrace, squinting as he allowed him to untie his sleepwear, revealing his soft belly.

Speckles of marks dotted the fair skin, and the hand of affection stopped at his waist. Shang Zhu brought his fingers together and lightly squeezed them, fitting perfectly with the imprints on his waist.

Wen Shuyan held the hand resting on his waist and touched Shang Zhu’s face, hoarse voice asking, “What time is it?”

“Ten o’clock.”

Shang Zhu shifted his position to embrace him, his bathrobe half-open, revealing the fresh red marks on his shoulders.

“Did I exert too much force?” Wen Shuyan lowered his eyes, his fingers lingering on the edge of the bite marks, gently stroking the reddened and swollen wounds.

There was a tube of crumpled and twisted ointment on the bedside table. Wen Shuyan unscrewed the lid and squeezed out a bit, applying the transparent ointment to the faintly bleeding wounds.

His fingers weren’t as cold as the night before, carrying the warmth from under the covers. With the thick ointment coating his fingertips, he pressed gently on the broken and swollen wounds, producing a subtle sound as he massaged them.

The ointment was for pain relief and reducing swelling, but it wasn’t used for that purpose last night.

The entwined and enveloping sensation of warmth, the hurried breath in his ear, Shang Zhu vividly remembered the intense contractions and tremors of the body under his palm.

Even after taking a shower, Wen Shuyan’s body still carried the unique scent of this ointment.
“It’s my fault,” Shang Zhu wiped off the remaining ointment from Wen Shuyan’s fingertips, then hugged his waist, sticking to him. He gently kissed the shoulders and chest marked with mottled hickeys.

Wen Shuyan held Shang Zhu’s shoulders, feeling an unusual warmth emanating from him.

He lifted his head and took a deep breath, bending his knees to rub against Shang Zhu’s waist. “Shang Zhu.”

Shang Zhu stopped in response, and Wen Shuyan pinched his earlobe, whispering softly, “Just once, we’ll miss the flight if we’re late.”

As it approached eleven o’clock, Shang Zhu accompanied Wen Shuyan to take a shower. Afterward, they left the room together, had lunch near the hotel, and then parted ways.

Before getting into the car, Wen Shuyan kissed Shang Zhu’s cheek under the shelter of the taxi stand. “See you tonight.”

“See you tonight.”

Shang Zhu watched Wen Shuyan’s car leave, then waved and hailed another taxi. By the time he returned to the hotel where he had stayed before, it was already one o’clock in the afternoon. Fortunately, he didn’t have much luggage for this short business trip. After tidying up his clothes, he took a moment to send a message to Wen Shuyan.

The message was successfully sent, and just then, his assistant’s voice came from outside the door. “Director Shang, the car is here.”

Shang Zhu pulled his suitcase and opened the door. “Let’s go.”

During off-peak hours, the elevated bridge to the suburban airport was unobstructed. The journey that took three hours on the way here was completed in less than half the time.

While his assistant and secretary were handling the check-in procedures, Shang Zhu stood by the huge floor-to-ceiling windows of the terminal for a while and received a reply from Wen Shuyan.

Wen Shuyan: I’m on my way too.

Shang Zhu didn’t ask for the specific flight time. After a moment of contemplation, the time on his phone screen jumped to the hour, and the airport announcement notified him that his flight was beginning boarding.

The weather was clear today, and the flight was not delayed. After boarding, Shang Zhu sat in his seat behind his assistant and secretary, bowing his head to send messages.

Shang Zhu: How about dinner tonight?

Wen Shuyan replied promptly: I have a meeting later, how about tomorrow?

Shang Zhu frowned at the message on his phone. Suddenly, there was a commotion in the front row. He looked up and coincidentally met Wen Shuyan’s smiling eyes.

Behind Wen Shuyan were several business people in suits. Shang Zhu recognized one of them as a manager from the Leeds domestic branch, who was currently exchanging greetings with his company’s secretary and executive.

There were many return flights, and it just so happened that two people rumored to have a conflict were sitting on the same flight, in the same row, with only an aisle separating them.

Ignoring his assistant’s anxious gaze, Shang Zhu locked his phone screen, stood up, and greeted Wen Shuyan, “Director Wen, long time no see.”

Wen Shuyan shook Shang Zhu’s outstretched hand. “Long time no see. Congratulations on securing the new project.”

He seemed to have just washed his hands, as his fingers were slightly damp between the gaps. However, Shang Zhu couldn’t help but think of something else at this moment.

This hand had touched other places this morning, and it had also gotten wet.

The secretary and executive behind him were exchanging pleasantries with employees from the other group, and no one noticed the subtle moment when their handshake ended. Shang Zhu gently hooked his thumb with Wen Shuyan’s palm.