Chapter 83

The next day, when Qin Qingzhuo woke up, he opened his eyes and was momentarily dazzled by the light seeping through the curtains.

He squinted, adjusting to the brightness, and glanced down at Jiang Ji, who was still asleep beside him.

Jiang Ji hadn’t woken up yet, his head slightly lowered, breathing evenly, the warm breath falling gently on Qin Qingzhuo’s neck.

Images from last night flashed through Qin Qingzhuo’s mind—the repeated messages from Jiang Ji during the birthday party, the uncontrollable tears shed in front of Jiang Ji, rushing back to find Jiang Ji in the rain after getting out of the car, and the words “We’re together” spoken out loud…

It all felt somewhat unreal, but the warmth of their bodies pressed together reminded him that it had indeed happened.

In fact, before falling asleep last night, Qin Qingzhuo had briefly wondered—after so much had happened that night, what would it feel like waking up the next day? Would he feel too impulsive?

Now that he was truly awake and remembering everything from last night, he did feel a bit impulsive.

At twenty-nine, after experiencing so much, he thought he was past the age of being impulsive, yet he had been impulsive several times just last night alone. In the few months since meeting Jiang Ji, many of the things he had done couldn’t be explained rationally.

But impulsiveness wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, Qin Qingzhuo thought. If it hadn’t been for last night’s impulsiveness, he might not have had the courage to take this step with Jiang Ji.

Perhaps sensing that Qin Qingzhuo was awake, Jiang Ji’s eyelashes fluttered, and he slowly opened his eyes.

He didn’t look fully awake, just gazing at Qin Qingzhuo with sleepy eyes, appearing quite different from his usual unapproachable self.

“Awake?” Qin Qingzhuo whispered softly.

Jiang Ji looked at him but didn’t speak. Instead, he reached out and touched Qin Qingzhuo’s hair, eyebrows, eyes, nose, moving downward until he reached his lips before finally speaking, his morning voice still a bit hoarse, “Qin Qingzhuo.”

“Hmm?”

But Jiang Ji remained silent, only wrapping his arms around him tightly.

He exerted considerable force, as if trying to embed Qin Qingzhuo into his own body, to the point where Qin Qingzhuo felt somewhat breathless.

But Qin Qingzhuo didn’t say anything, just let him hold him like that.

“Qin Qingzhuo.” He called Qin Qingzhuo’s name again.

Qin Qingzhuo reached up and touched his hair, responding with a soft “Hmm.”

Jiang Ji hugged him for a while longer before letting go. His gaze seemed much clearer now than before. He ran his fingers through Qin Qingzhuo’s hair and pecked him on the lips. “Regretting it?”

“Guess.” Qin Qingzhuo teased him. “What if I do regret it?”

Jiang Ji lowered his eyes, seemingly pondering the question.

Then he sat up slightly, stretching his arm to grab a pair of wired earphones from the nearby bedside table. Holding Qin Qingzhuo’s wrists, he raised his arms above his head and wound the black headphone wire around his wrists several times.

Qin Qingzhuo raised an eyebrow as he glanced up. “Are you planning to tie me up here?”

“Yes.” After finishing tying him up, Jiang Ji got out of bed, put on his pants, and walked out of the room without saying a word.

“Hey…” Seeing him really walk away like that, Qin Qingzhuo instinctively called out, “What about me?”

Jiang Ji didn’t respond. All Qin Qingzhuo could hear was the sound of him pushing open the bathroom door.

With his wrists hanging above his head, Qin Qingzhuo tried to struggle but couldn’t move; the knots were tied tightly.

He struggled to sit up a little, letting the blanket slip down to his lower abdomen. Ignoring it, he leaned against the headboard, raised his wrists, and examined the tangled earphone wire, unable to figure out how it was tied. Jiang Ji had used a rather complicated knotting method.

Being left tied up like this… Qin Qingzhuo felt utterly helpless.

Several minutes later, Jiang Ji returned, leaning against the door and brushing his teeth while looking at him. There was a hint of a triumphant smile in his eyes.

He had just washed his face, and droplets of water still clung to his face. Standing there shirtless, the contours of his abdomen and arms were outlined by the dim light in the room, resembling a tall and sturdy poplar tree.

“Don’t just stand there…” Qin Qingzhuo averted his gaze slightly. “Hurry up and untie me.”

But Jiang Ji continued to look at him with an unabashed gaze, examining every exposed part of his body. Then, with a leisurely and somewhat mocking tone, he said, “Beg me.”

As both were men, there was no embarrassment in being stared at. However, when Qin Qingzhuo noticed the hickeys covering his body, and Jiang Ji’s gaze lingered intentionally on those marks, he felt his ears starting to redden.

The blush gradually spread from his ears to his face and neck. Jiang Ji looked at him, chuckled, then straightened up and walked back into the bathroom.

The sound of running water came from the bathroom tap. After a while, Jiang Ji finished washing up and came back out.

He locked the door behind him, then pressed up against Qin Qingzhuo.

As he drew near, Qin Qingzhuo caught a whiff of cool mint, and then Jiang Ji raised his arms above his head again and kissed his lips.

“Aren’t you going to untie me…” Qin Qingzhuo looked at him. “How long do you plan on keeping me tied up?”

Jiang Ji inserted his fingers into his hair and repeated the previous question, “Regretting it?”

“You’ll keep me tied up every time I say ‘regret’, is that it?” Qin Qingzhuo chuckled.

“Yeah.” Jiang Ji seemed quite unapologetic.

“I don’t regret it…” Qin Qingzhuo said helplessly. “Do I look like I regret it?”

“That’s about right.” Jiang Ji seemed quite satisfied with that answer.

“My wrists.” Qin Qingzhuo reminded him. “Aren’t you going to untie them?”

“Not in a hurry, I haven’t finished asking.” Jiang Ji lightly pinched his earlobe. “How was last night?”

This time, Qin Qingzhuo didn’t say anything, just smiled at him, looked at him for two seconds, then turned his head and continued smiling.

His smile clearly made Jiang Ji a bit nervous, bringing out that youthful innocence.

“…Was it not good? Did I hurt you?” He usually had a confident demeanor in everything he did, especially when it came to music; Qin Qingzhuo had never seen him nervous before. This thought only made him smile even more.

“Speak up,” Jiang Ji reached down and pinched his waist. “What’s wrong?”

Qin Qingzhuo still just smiled without saying a word.

“Was it really that bad? I thought you were crying earlier…” Jiang Ji, who had been teasing him just moments ago, now seemed a bit less sure of himself. “Could it be it hurt you? Turn around, let me see.”

“Not at all,” Qin Qingzhuo stopped laughing as he realized Jiang Ji was about to turn him over. “I was just teasing you.”

“So how was it, really?” Jiang Ji asked again.

Qin Qingzhuo thought for a moment and chuckled, “Hmm… quite talented.”

“What do you mean by ‘quite talented’?” Jiang Ji wasn’t satisfied with that answer and continued to inquire, “Does that mean I lacked skill?”

Qin Qingzhuo chuckled again until Jiang Ji pinched his waist and urged, “Hurry up and say.”

“I didn’t stop even when I cried. What do you think it means?” Qin Qingzhuo said with a smirk.

“So you cried tears of pleasure.” Jiang Ji leaned in and pecked his lips.

Qin Qingzhuo chuckled again for a while, then nodded and replied softly, “Hmm.”

That youthful nervousness finally faded away as he stared at him for a moment. Jiang Ji called out his name again.

“Hmm?”

Jiang Ji wrapped his arms around him, his voice muffled in Qin Qingzhuo’s neck, “You finally stopped tormenting me. You nearly tormented me to death.”

His voice was low, almost like a sigh, but there was a hint of subtle grievance in the tone, like a child who had endured a lot of hardship finally getting a piece of candy. Qin Qingzhuo felt his heart melting.

“I’m sorry,” he rubbed Jiang Ji’s hair against his cheek. “I’m really sorry.”

“Sorry doesn’t help,” Jiang Ji slightly loosened his arms and looked into Qin Qingzhuo’s eyes. “I have to torment you back.”

His eyes were very dark, and up close, the delicate features of his eyebrows and eyes became more apparent. Qin Qingzhuo leaned in and kissed his eyes, smiling, “Are you not tormenting me enough? All the way until dawn, where do you get such energy…”

Jiang Ji didn’t say anything; one hand pressed down on his wrists, while the other reached down.

“Still going at it…” Qin Qingzhuo was astonished by his energy. “What time is it now?”

But Jiang Ji ignored him, his fingers sliding down his abdomen.

“Jiang Ji, could you please stop for a moment,” Qin Qingzhuo said somewhat helplessly, “At least let me go brush my teeth first…”

He found Jiang Ji’s grip was really strong; his wrists were held firmly and he couldn’t break free. Jiang Ji indeed had a talent for this; in just half a night, he had mastered all the secrets of his body. Every touch seemed to have a purpose, aiming directly at sensitive spots. Yet those eyes remained fixed on his face, unwilling to miss any subtle changes.

Qin Qingzhuo tilted his neck slightly, and between his increasingly rapid breaths, desire surged within him.

Footsteps outside, just beyond the door, interrupted them. Qin Qingzhuo instantly became alert, opening his eyes to look at Jiang Ji, who also paused his movements.

When Jiang Ji had gone to wash up earlier, Jiang Bei wasn’t around, but now it seemed she had returned.

The footsteps approached, then after a while, gradually receded.

After a brief eye contact, Qin Qingzhuo chuckled softly and whispered, “I guess we should stop for now, huh?”

Jiang Ji withdrew his hand and lowered his head, burying it in Qin Qingzhuo’s neck, looking rather frustrated.

Qin Qingzhuo couldn’t help but laugh softly.

Jiang Ji lightly nibbled on his collarbone, saying, “Stop laughing.”

But Qin Qingzhuo continued to laugh, then suddenly remembered something. “By the way, we weren’t heard earlier, were we?”

“You weren’t making much noise,” Jiang Ji raised his head. “What would they hear?”

“I wouldn’t dare… really…”

“If I knew, I wouldn’t have come here,” Jiang Ji frowned slightly.

“My fault,” Qin Qingzhuo chuckled softly. “Alright, let’s get up. Can you untie me?”

Jiang Ji then sat up and untangled the headphone wire from Qin Qingzhuo’s wrists. “Does it hurt?”

“Not at all,” Qin Qingzhuo replied. In fact, the headphone wire was tied very loosely, leaving no marks. If he wanted to, he could probably break free with a little effort. But he was afraid of damaging Jiang Ji’s headphones, so he hadn’t exerted much force.

He sat up and asked Jiang Ji, “Do you want to leave?”

“Not yet,” Jiang Ji pursed his lips. “I need… a moment.”

“Slow down…” Qin Qingzhuo started to say, then realized what Jiang Ji meant and chuckled, “Oh, you mean take it easy.”

As Qin Qingzhuo got up to dress, Jiang Ji’s gaze openly lingered on him.

Qin Qingzhuo’s body was marked with the traces left by Jiang Ji the previous night. His skin was fair and prone to marks, making those marks particularly prominent.

Watching Qin Qingzhuo put on his clothes one by one, Jiang Ji’s mind replayed the scenes from last night.

Qin Qingzhuo had a beautiful body, slender and not heavily muscled, but rather defined and harmonious. His skin felt smooth and flexible to the touch, and when lying flat on the bed, his abdomen would slightly sink in, revealing the distinct contours beneath the thin layer of abdominal muscles.

Qin Qingzhuo’s voice was also very pleasant to the ears. Although most of the time he restrained himself from making any sound, only occasionally letting out a husky murmur from his throat when losing control, it sounded very sensual.

Jiang Ji swallowed, picked up a bottle of mineral water from the bedside table, and took a sip.

Qin Qingzhuo naturally had no idea what he was thinking. After getting dressed, he took out a hair tie from his jacket and tied up his slightly messy hair that had been dampened by sweat from the night before. Then, he walked to the bedside, bent down to grab his phone, glanced at Jiang Ji with a teasing look, and quipped, “Feeling more relaxed now?”

Jiang Ji didn’t say anything, still looking at him with those dark eyes. Qin Qingzhuo smiled, reached up to tousle his hair, then picked up his phone to check the time.

“It’s already four thirty in the afternoon?” he exclaimed. “Wow…”

The momentary surprise on Qin Qingzhuo’s face looked vivid and somewhat adorable. Jiang Ji watched him and said, “We didn’t go to sleep until seven in the morning.”

“Alright,” Qin Qingzhuo chuckled, setting down his phone. “I’ll go freshen up then.”

Jiang Ji nodded in response, a simple “Hmm.”

Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, Qin Qingzhuo looked at himself.

His lips were unusually red, slightly swollen on the bottom lip, and his body was covered with blush marks from neck to torso.

When he was getting dressed just now, he had already noticed those marks, but under Jiang Ji’s gaze, he couldn’t help feeling a bit embarrassed. So, he didn’t dwell on them and pretended to casually put on the high-necked sweater he wore last night.

But now, looking at these marks all over his body, he realized what a indulgent affair he had experienced just a few hours ago.

In fact, at one point, Jiang Ji had intended to stop. Qin Qingzhuo recalled Jiang Ji saying “Forget it” last night.

“I haven’t prepared anything, afraid of hurting you,” Jiang Ji had said hoarsely at the time.

But looking into those deep, dark eyes, even Qin Qingzhuo himself hadn’t expected to say, “Then just hurt me.”

And to a large extent, he had taken the lead in this affair.

And even to the end, he would tolerate Jiang Ji leaving marks on his body.

Clearly, he had never been particularly enthusiastic about such things, so how did he lose control like this…

Thinking about those intense moments under the glaring white light, the focused gaze, the damp sweat on his forehead, shoulders, and back, the synchronized breaths and pleasures, he couldn’t help but lose himself slightly.

Then, let’s believe once again. Standing under the shower, Qin Qingzhuo closed his eyes and thought, one last time, trying to entrust all of his trust completely.