Chu Lai felt the presence of someone close to him.

Cen Wei didn’t say anything either. It was obvious this was the room he had grown up in, with many old photos on the walls and numerous trophies in the study’s glass cabinet.

It was clear that Cen Wei had been an outstanding individual since his youth, rarely holding second place in anything.

But he didn’t like to smile, and compared to now, he seemed much gloomier. Chu Lai couldn’t help but look away after glancing at the pictures.

Suddenly, Chu Lai remembered the first time they met when Cen Wei mentioned that he had also gone to the same high school. After a while, he called out to him.

“Cen Wei.”

“Are you asleep?”

No one responded.

Chu Lai turned over. The bed was much larger than the one he had bought for himself, enough for two people to sleep on either side.

However, there was only one blanket. Before Chu Lai could turn on the night light to glance at the man sleeping next to him, he heard Cen Wei’s voice.

“What’s wrong?”

In a low voice, Chu Lai said, “I thought you were asleep.”

Cen Wei: “Having trouble sleeping?”

He paused for a moment. “Or is the game too scary?”

The second half of his sentence came with a bit of hesitation, clearly aware of Chu Lai’s hobbies.

The first time the two met, they had been drinking, and both of them revealed some things about themselves. They had similar tastes in music, similar food preferences, and even played the same niche video games.

But even though they clinked their glasses and finished a bottle of their ex’s sake, worth 2,999, it didn’t stir any emotions in either of them.

Only the wind outside rattled the strips of weatherproof tape, signaling the delayed flutter of their hearts.

Chu Lai: “How could it be?”

Cen Wei let out a hum, dragging out the sound slightly, his voice hazy in the night. “Do you have something you want to ask me?”

He tugged the blanket a little, and Chu Lai noticed it.

Chu Lai hesitated for a few seconds, and Cen Wei added, “Just ask whatever you want to know.”

His eyes remained closed, but Chu Lai, facing him now, could make out his silhouette clearly.

Chu Lai: “Why did you attend that high school? It’s so far from here.”

Every place has its mix of old and new. Neighborhoods get renamed, merge, are torn down, and rebuilt. The area where Chu Lai lived had been around for quite some time. It used to be considered the outskirts, but after a reclassification, it was no longer considered suburban, though no new development plans had been proposed.

Previously, Shen Quanzhang had subtly hinted at Chu Lai, asking if he wouldn’t need to buy a new house if the area were demolished.

Cen Wei: “Something happened, and I wanted a change of scenery.”

Chu Lai thought: As expected.

Cen Wei: “Why are you asking this all of a sudden?”

Chu Lai buried himself under the blanket again, saying, “It just crossed my mind, so I asked.”

Cen Wei pulled the blanket down slightly from Chu Lai’s face, “Don’t do that, it’ll be suffocating.”

“Is it too cold? Should I turn the heat up?”

Chu Lai was sensitive to the cold but didn’t like wearing too many layers. The packages delivered to his apartment were often brought to his doorstep by the property staff, but sometimes it was Cen Wei who brought them in.

This person even bought boxes of warming patches by the dozen. One time, while walking the dog too fast, all the patches in his coat fell out.

Chu Lai: “No, it’s fine.”

Then he added, “Did anyone bully you at school?”

The question seemed completely out of the blue, and Cen Wei froze for a few seconds. “No.”

He closed his eyes and said, “It was my father’s…woman. Her child went to the same school as me. Not many people knew about it, but it was still awkward.”

Chu Lai: “Were you close before?”

Cen Wei shook his head. “I had never met them.”

That was strange, so Chu Lai let out a small “oh” and didn’t continue asking. Instead, it was Cen Wei who asked, “Does that seem odd to you?”

Chu Lai finally responded with a soft “mm.”

Cen Wei: “That woman only had business dealings with my family. I only saw her twice.”

The elders didn’t mention it much either. The person who was most hurt by it was Xuan Rongqing. She had thought she and her husband were happily married, only to find out he had cheated on her with a client.

Cen Wei: “At that time, my school was both a middle and high school. The other person was still in middle school.”

Chu Lai didn’t say anything, and Cen Wei turned his head. Chu Lai was looking at him, but his gaze was dazed, caught in the soft light of the lamp.

Cen Wei: “We were schoolmates.”

Chu Lai nodded. “When I entered high school, you had already gone abroad for university, right?”

Cen Wei turned toward Chu Lai and nodded, his soft hair falling over his forehead. He didn’t look as gloomy as he did in the photos.

Chu Lai couldn’t help but want to reach out and brush aside his bangs, but just as he stretched out his hand, he was about to retract it when Cen Wei caught him.

The pads of the man’s fingers brushed against the red mole on Chu Lai’s wrist, his gaze focused intently on Chu Lai’s face.

Feeling a bit awkward, Chu Lai reached out with his other hand to cover Cen Wei’s eyes, asking, “Why are you grabbing my hand?”

Cen Wei: “Sorry.”

He always apologized so easily in front of Chu Lai, but this time he didn’t let go. Instead, he asked, “It’s hard for me to resist the urge to touch you.”

His voice was low, the kind that could make you feel helpless just by listening to it. “So, does this count as crossing the line for a second time?”

Chu Lai had realized early on that in this relationship, Cen Wei’s need for intimacy was greater than his own. This gave him a bit of an upper hand, letting him act a little more recklessly.

It was Chu Lai who had taken things too far with the kissing, who had invited Cen Wei to sleep on his bed, and now, it was Cen Wei who wanted to get closer.

Cen Wei had indeed let him have his way, without complaint. Even though he was well aware of the consequences, Chu Lai couldn’t help but feel a little guilty.

At this moment, with his wrist being held and Cen Wei’s thumb gently stroking his skin, the atmosphere grew ambiguous.

Chu Lai pursed his lips. “Yeah, it counts.”

But instead of letting go, Cen Wei moved even closer to him, curling up in the blanket and leaning toward Chu Lai. He asked softly, “So, are you going to punish me?”

The atmosphere was like a match being struck, the ambiguity spreading endlessly. Chu Lai clearly had a chance to back out, but he didn’t push Cen Wei away. Instead, he reached out and covered his eyes in the dim light.

In an instant, it felt like both of them had found each other’s weaknesses—one had lost his sight, the other had given up control.

Chu Lai’s palms were burning, and so was his wrist. It felt like what Cen Wei was touching wasn’t just his hand, but his beating heart.

He asked, “Punish you?”

Cen Wei: “I’ll accept whatever you decide to do.”

It was late, with just one blanket between them. Even though there was still a little space left, they were already close enough to be intimately connected.

Chu Lai’s mind went blank, and for a moment, all he could think about were the comments in the livestream chat:

“You two seem really close.”

“Even when up and his boyfriend don’t show their faces, they look like such a good match.”

“Why don’t you just sit on your husband’s lap and do the livestream?”

Cen Wei didn’t rush him. “Have you thought it over?”

“Like punishing me by making me…?”

“Sitting on you while I stream?”

Chu Lai blurted it out without thinking, and Cen Wei paused for a couple of seconds before responding, “What?”

“Sitting on me?”

What Cen Wei had meant was something more along the lines of making eggs for him in the morning.

In terms of cooking, neither of them was particularly skilled. Neither could handle complex dishes. Chu Lai, in particular, found cooking tedious and preferred boiling things over frying, which probably contributed to his slim figure.

Chu Lai snapped out of his daze and quickly denied it. “No, that’s not what I meant!”

He let go of Cen Wei, and the moment he opened his eyes, he saw Chu Lai’s face, flushed under the night light. It was rare for him to look so flustered. “Sorry, it was something the chat said… I guess I’m too tired…”

Cen Wei: “You just said you couldn’t sleep.”

Chu Lai was speechless.

He realized that Cen Wei wasn’t always that considerate. At a time like this, shouldn’t he act like a gentleman and change the subject to help him out?

But no, he did the exact opposite!

Cen Wei: “We’re heading home tomorrow. Do I still need to help you with the livestream?”

Clearly, he was teasing him, a playful smile hanging from the corners of his eyes.

Chu Lai couldn’t resist kicking him under the blanket, making the man grunt before scooting closer again.

Chu Lai, worried that he might’ve kicked too hard, lifted the blanket to check. “I didn’t kick you that hard, did I? I heard from Grandma Hong today that you almost broke a bone playing soccer in middle school…”

Before he could finish, he was pulled over. Maybe sitting on Cen Wei’s lap wasn’t going to work out, but the man generously said, “You can sleep on me.”

Cen Wei was a whole size bigger than Chu Lai, and sleeping on top of him was entirely feasible—something Chu Lai had already experienced when they first met.

Now that they knew each other better, the situation was somehow even more awkward than before. Or maybe it wasn’t awkward, just…

Chu Lai was pulled onto him, and the usually gentle Cen Wei was no longer showing his typical understanding side. His palm pressed against the back of Chu Lai’s head, nearly holding him in place. It felt both possessive and indulgent, leaving Chu Lai with no way to escape. So, he just lay on Cen Wei’s chest. After a couple of seconds, he mumbled, “Your heart is beating really fast.”

The man chuckled, feeling the warmth of Chu Lai’s face through the fabric. “You know why.”

Chu Lai closed his eyes, but he couldn’t block out Cen Wei’s scent. His rational mind and desires fought against each other, and in the end, all he could muster was, “I don’t know.”

Cen Wei: “I like you.”

He picked that moment to confess.

Chu Lai didn’t want to respond. He felt anxious, afraid, and wanted to run away.

Shen Quanzhang’s questions popped back into his mind. Chu Lai wanted to roll off Cen Wei, but the man’s arms tightened around him, holding him closer. He wanted to flee, but the embrace was strong enough to pull him back, making him crave more and even wanting to reciprocate.

Cen Wei: “I’m serious.”

Chu Lai looked up from his chest. The blanket puffed up between them, and from Cen Wei’s perspective, Chu Lai looked like a small animal hiding in a burrow, one that had lost the protection of its parents early on and learned to survive on its own. It longed for warmth but instinctively feared danger.

It had finally ventured out to feel the spring breeze, only to be startled by a clap of thunder, making it retreat, perhaps never to come out again.

Chu Lai: “Isn’t this a bit too fast?”

Lying there, he could feel the sense of security from the closeness, even through the thin layer of their pajamas. He liked it, but it also made him feel sad.

He asked, “Weren’t you supposed to be emotionally detached?”

It seemed like he was asking himself the same thing: “Aren’t I the same?”

Cen Wei flipped over, pulling Chu Lai fully into his arms.

Their meeting had been absurd from the start. The first time they met, Chu Lai stayed over at his house. The second time, they ended up in bed.

After that, they started sleeping together occasionally, usually once or twice a month on weekends.

Just sleeping.

At first, Cen Wei had been surprised, but then he accepted it. But the habit had grown on him, and now, after a week apart, the emptiness in his heart had been suddenly filled again. He held Chu Lai tightly and whispered into his ear, “You’re not. You’re also not allergic to romance.”

“You care about everything. Isn’t that true?”

Chu Lai had arrived at the underground bar with Shen Quanzhang’s welcome gift in hand, taking the subway with who knew what kind of emotions after being criticized by Shen.

He downed some soju, the barbecue joint reminding him of the times he used to go there with his father when he was younger.

People came and went, but his loneliness was stronger than the alcohol, so much so that even the usually level-headed Cen Wei had lost his reason that night and went along with the moment.

Love at first sight was just a facade, yet also the truth.

He simply hadn’t met anyone who truly caught his interest before.

It was hard for Chu Lai to resist this kind of embrace, so he hugged back just as tightly, like vines wrapping around a tree. With a sob, he asked, “I’m not really someone suited for a relationship.”

Cen Wei: “Neither am I.”

He comforted Chu Lai, whose sadness seemed amplified in the stillness of the night, almost dragging Cen Wei back to his own painful memories.

He had already integrated himself into society but still feared the conflicts that love and marriage could bring.

His parents had loved each other so much, yet his father had still done what he did.

Was there really such a thing as everlasting love?

He had once asked his grandmother this question, and the old lady had simply taken his hand, saying, “First, you need to feel it, even if it’s just for a moment, before you can even hope for something everlasting.”

Back when he was about to go abroad for university, his grandmother had asked him, “Ah Wei, have you ever wanted to be with someone forever, even for just a moment?”

“If you have, you’ll work hard to keep that feeling alive.”

Cen Wei had retorted, “But what about my father…”

His grandmother had shaken her head, smiling as she replied, “Are you afraid you’ll become like him, or have you just not met the person who makes you feel like forever is possible?”

Her hands were rough yet incredibly warm. Cen Wei had stayed silent, the stubbornness of youth showing in his height, his sharp angles, and his fierce gaze.

After a long time, with his jaw clenched, he had said, “I’ll never meet someone like that.”

He had been so sure of it back then, but now, as he held Chu Lai in his arms, all that stubbornness had been smoothed over by years of dealing with the ups and downs of running a business and keeping a struggling company afloat.

He told Chu Lai, “That’s why people like us should get married first.”

Chu Lai took a deep breath. “I’m really scared of that kind of thing.”

Tears blurred his vision as he looked at Cen Wei. His bangs were slightly long and messy, partially covering his eyes, but they couldn’t hide everything. Just like how no matter how much he tried to suppress it, he couldn’t stop himself from conveying his feelings to Cen Wei—I need you.

Chu Lai: “He said I was stiff, boring, and couldn’t please him.”

“But I wasn’t comfortable. It hurt so much.”

Cen Wei rolled over, pulling him even closer. The bed was big, the blanket wrapped around both of them, making the embrace feel inescapable.

He couldn’t help but kiss the brows of the person lying on him and said softly, “If you don’t want to, then don’t do it.”

Chu Lai had a pair of beautiful eyes, and when he looked at someone with tears in them, it made your heart melt, filling you with affection.

Chu Lai couldn’t help but touch Cen Wei’s face. “Do you want to?”

Cen Wei shook his head. “Even if it’s not me, you shouldn’t do it just because someone else wants you to, if you don’t want to.”

He said it very seriously, and Chu Lai, trying to squirm out of his arms, replied, “Are you a teacher? Of course, I understand that.”

But unfortunately, Cen Wei wasn’t letting him escape. Instead, he held him even tighter, knowing exactly how much strength Chu Lai liked, knowing that it was hard for him to resist the atmosphere of intimacy created by a hug.

Chu Lai had always been a child who needed affirmation.

Praise, hugs, and kisses.

No one truly disliked those.

Cen Wei: “I like you.”

He said it again.

The sourness in Chu Lai’s eyes overflowed. He tried to push Cen Wei away, but he couldn’t. “You already said that.”

Cen Wei: “You didn’t hear it, so I’m saying it again.”

Chu Lai: “Aren’t you supposed to like me without making it obvious? What’s this?”

Cen Wei thought the words sounded familiar and after a couple of seconds, he said, “You sneaked a peek at my AI teacher’s emotional counseling.”

AI teacher, really?

Chu Lai: “Who even uses AI for relationship advice? And why didn’t your computer have a password?”

He added, “I didn’t do it on purpose, I was just charg—”

Before he could finish, the man holding him tightly said, “I reinstalled the system the day before and didn’t have time to set one.”

“There’s no such thing as liking someone without showing it. You were just pretending not to understand.”

Chu Lai: “I wasn’t.”

Cen Wei hummed twice. “You weren’t? Then can we sleep now?”

Chu Lai sounded a bit disappointed. “We’re just sleeping?”

Cen Wei laughed. “Do you want to do something else?”

Chu Lai: “I don’t want to do anything!”

Cen Wei nodded. “I meant, do you want to talk about something else?”

Chu Lai didn’t know what to talk about, so he snuggled closer to Cen Wei’s chest. Cen Wei asked, “Can I…”

Before he could finish, a kiss landed on his chin.

The initiator lowered his head and said, “Like this.”

Cen Wei: “Can I kiss somewhere else?”

Chu Lai: “Can you not ask? Every time you speak, it feels like you’re setting up some kind of restricted-level situation.”

It was too embarrassing.

That made Cen Wei feel a bit wronged. “Can Lai Lai teach me?”

He added, “How to…”

“Make you happy?”