Chapter 62

Upon waking up, the sky was dimly lit through the fog.

Yan Zhao curled up in Shen Yuanting’s arms, and the first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was the man’s prominent Adam’s apple, exuding a strong scent of masculinity.

“Awake?” Shen Yuanting’s deep voice came through, lazy yet not tired, clearly having woken up a while ago and was just waiting for Yan Zhao to wake up.

“Mm.” Yan Zhao snuggled further into his arms, pecked at his Adam’s apple, then raised his head to kiss his slightly stubbled chin, and felt the prickliness of his stubble.

Having slept all afternoon yesterday and rested well at night, Yan Zhao did not feel like sleeping in.

He took off his pajamas, put on a shirt, and while buttoning it, he glanced at Shen Yuanting, who had already dressed in trousers and a shirt and was tying his tie.

Putting on clothes was faster than taking them off.

Seeing Shen Yuanting’s slender fingers skilfully tying the tie, Yan Zhao’s heart moved. He knelt at the  edge of the bed, straightened up his upper body, and stretched out his hand to adjust the man’s tie: “Let me do it!”

Shen Yuanting slightly bent down to make it easier for him.

Yan Zhao was enthusiastic, a smile playing on his lips, and his eyes fixed on that dark blue tie.

He hadn’t even finished dressing himself yet, but was already thinking about tidying up and dressing someone else.

His shirt was only buttoned at the top two buttons, the hem open, revealing his firm and flat abdomen in glimpses. However his two straight, snow-white legs were completely exposed, bathed in sunlight, that casted a soft warm glow on his black hair, eyes, and even the sides of his legs.

Shen Yuanting’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he remembered last night, when those legs were wrapped around his waist, rubbing against him, with his skin as smooth as cheese. When he was about to pull out, they clamped around him tightly, making him released inside him.

“Ah, it’s crooked.” Yan Zhao frowned, felt annoyed, then started to redo the tie.

“Clumsy,” he said, with his husky voice.

The tie around his neck tightened, making his delicate neck under his control.

Yan Zhao looked up, pretending to be angry as he warned, “Say that again? You dare to complain about my skills, how outrageous!”

Shen Yuanting: “It’s just not tied well enough, you need to practice more in the future.”

“What, you want me to tie your tie every day?” Yan Zhao laughed, then looked at him, and found that the newly tied knot was not bad. He smoothed the silky fabric with his hand, making it even neater, “This is a special service offered sporadically by Secretary Yan.”

Shen Yuanting: “Then shall we exchange ‘service’ for ‘service’?”

Yan Zhao: “What do you want in exchange?”

Shen Yuanting stretched out his hand, and helped him button up the remaining buttons of his shirt: “Let me help you wear your shirt.”

Shen Yuanting stood in front of Yan Zhao, who had already put on his trousers, with the hem naturally hanging down. The man’s hands tucked the shirt into the waist of the trousers, pulling down the hem in between, making Yan Zhao’s loose shirt tighten and straighten with his movements.

Yan Zhao lowered his eyes, his ears burning, as Shen Yuanting’s fingers occasionally brushed against the root of his thigh, and other places…

As he straightened one area, the man’s hand slid towards his waist, and the curves underneath starting to become more pronounced.

The hem on the buttocks received the same kind treatment from Shen Yuanting, as he smoothed out every inch of fabric, he pressed his hand tightly against the elastic part between the trousers and the buttocks.

After straightening the shirt, Shen Yuanting pushed him to the edge of the bed to sit down, and then he fetched a belt.

He knelt on one knee and wrapped the belt around Yan Zhao’s waist, his gaze focused on the metal buckle. He adjusted the length but didn’t fasten it, instead idly playing with the metal strip with his fingers.

This time, Yan Zhao blushed not only at his ears but on his face as well. He sat with his legs apart, with Shen Yuanting kneeling in between, and faced the center of his legs, a position that was a bit suggestive.

Yan Zhao held the man’s hand and said: “Alright, stop playing.”

Shen Yuanting chuckled softly, “Do you now know what I was thinking when you were tying my tie for me?”

Yan Zhao really wanted to scold him for being so lewd, but that would seem like admitting that he also had some dirty thoughts in his head. So, he just shut his mouth and shot him a glare.

The morning air was fresh, and so was the sea breeze.

There weren’t many people in the restaurant, it seemed many had partied hard last night. After finishing breakfast, they went for a walk on the deck, and Yan Zhao suggested playing some pool in the game room.

It was still early, and there were only a few people in the pool room. Someone even sleeping on the couch, with a magazine covered his face – the guests on this ship were either big shots or celebrities, all very concerned with their image. Being able to sleep so soundly in public was quite bold.

Shen Yuanting casually took a shot, showing off his excellent skills as the ball went straight into the hole. He then said to Yan Zhao, “Your turn.”

Yan Zhao bent down, his eyes fixed on the cue’s direction, calculating the ball’s trajectory. He pre-emptively warned, “I’m not good at this, so don’t laugh at me.”

Shen Yuanting replied, “Why would I laugh at you? Is there a reward for that?”

Yan Zhao joked, “You’ll get a glare from me.”

With his dark eyes fixed on the ball, Yan Zhao silently raised his waist, shifted his hand an inch back, and took a few shots, but none of the balls went into the hole.

He looked like a lame cat playing.

Shen Yuanting’s mouth curled up into a smile.

Yan Zhao tossed the cue stick aside, and hinted, “Hiring a champion with a high salary to teach me how to play.”

Shen Yuanting obliged, stepped behind him, placed his hands on Yan Zhao’s hips and advised, “Lower your waist a bit.”

Yan Zhao “hummed”, and lowered his waist.

Shen Yuanting said, “Lower it a bit more… like you did last night.”

Yan Zhao glanced at him and followed his instructions, almost leaning his upper body on the table, with his buttocks pressed against Shen Yuanting’s firm thighs.

Yan Zhao’s eyes sparkled as he turned his head upwards to look at him. Shen Yuanting tightened his grip on Yan Zhao’s hips and said, “…Focus.”

Shen Yuanting was a dedicated teacher and helped Yan Zhao adjust his posture several times until Yan Zhao finally scored.

Shen Yuanting patted his head: “You learn fast.”

Yan Zhao smiled and replied, “I have exceptional talent.”

Shen Yuanting’s phone rang, when he saw that it was the company’s vice president calling. He said, “You keep playing, I’ll be back.”

Yan Zhao nodded, “Sure, take your time, I’ll wait for you.”

After Shen Yuanting left the room, Yan Zhao held the cue stick himself, gesturing as if he was playing. After waiting for a while and feeling a bit impatient, he started to play randomly, causing the balls to roll around without any strategy.

“… Pool is not played like that.” A hoarse voice mixed with a heavy drowsiness came from behind Yan Zhao. He turned around to see a tall man standing next to him, holding a magazine cover in his hand casually.

It was the man who had been sleeping on the couch.

With no magazine page covering his face, his handsome and rugged appearance was revealed. Yan Zhao recognized him as Shan Zhou, the Golden Crane Award-winning actor.

Regarding this person, Yan Zhao’s impression of him was only that of an outdated old cadre. According to media reports, in an era where even the elderly are equipped with eight smartphones to play Pokémon Go, he still uses a basic feature phone, with default games like pixelated Snake. To prevent the artist from falling too far behind, his manager had to become a gossip fanatic, relying on word of mouth to inform him about who was cheating on whom and who won awards.

Shan Zhou spent a night on the sofa, his suit crumpled and unbuttoned, and the shirt collar opened. From the outlines and shadows on the shirt, it was evident that the muscles beneath were quite substantial.

Yan Zhao thought, Impressive, he even has abs, and they’re quite defined.

Shan Zhou had just woken up, unaware that Yan Zhao had a companion, only knowing that as soon as he opened his eyes, he saw this handsome young man holding a cue stick and playing terribly, his skills so bad reaching the pinnacle of incompetence, he simply couldn’t stand watching it.

Yan Zhao was bored and since there was someone here who could play, Yan Zhao asked him, “Do you play? Want to have a game?”

Actually, Shan Zhou was a bit hungry, but he still felt playing was more important. Moreover, the few people left here were all crowded together, only Yan Zhao was alone, looking lonely, too lonely. He asked, “Did you come here alone, or are you with friends?”

Yan Zhao casually joked, “He was dazzled by my skills and went out to cool off.”

Upon hearing this, Shan Zhou couldn’t help but look at him with a hint of pity in his eyes, mixed with a silent “can’t do anything about it” attitude.

Yan Zhao smiled and said, “Shall we play then?”

Shan Zhou picked up a cue stick and said, “Let’s do it.”

Initially, Shan Zhou had intended to go easy on him. Just like how China’s table tennis team would sometimes concede a point out of courtesy, it’s not good to shave the opponent’s head bald. When there’s a significant gap in skill level, it’s considerate to hold back a bit.

However, after Yan Zhao took his first shot, Shan Zhou realized he was completely wrong about his assumptions. The opponent’s skills weren’t just decent; they were actually quite impressive.

So he was just pretending to be a total newbie earlier. Warming up doesn’t look like that, right?

Yan Zhao was good at playing pool, and Shan Zhou was not bad either. The match was intense, with the score being very close. In the end, on the decisive shot, Yan Zhao missed slightly, and Shan Zhou won.

As Shan Zhou rubbed his belly and was about to say that he was going to eat, he saw the young man across from him frowning fiercely, full of determination, and saying defiantly, “Let’s play another round!”

Well, after all, he was just a bit away from winning.

Putting aside his empty stomach, Shan Zhou said, “Alright.”

The second round remained tight, and both of them had sweat on their foreheads.

Halfway through, Shen Yuanting finished his call and came back, with Yan Zhao concentrating hard on the balls.

The shot was exceptionally beautiful, and even Shan Zhou couldn’t help but whistle.

Yan Zhao hadn’t had time to feel proud when he saw the ghost-like man beside him, making his fur all puffed up.

Yan Zhao: “When did you come back?”

Like a cat that saw a cucumber, thought Shen Yuanting, and answered, “Just now.”

Yan Zhao followed up: “How long is ‘just now’? How many shots did you see me take?”

Shen Yuanting gestured towards the table with his chin: “That last shot of yours.”

Yan Zhao tried to save face: “Oh, that shot just now wasn’t bad, right? I outdid myself!”

Shan Zhou asked while playing, “Is he your companion?”

Yan Zhao simply replied, “Hmm.”

Shan Zhou didn’t introduce himself, and Yan Zhao didn’t introduce himself and Shen Yuanting either.

With Shen Yuanting standing guard, Yan Zhao was distracted, and his shots became erratic. He lost the second round.

Shan Zhou was somewhat regretful: “You had the advantage at the start.”

He didn’t understand why, as soon as the young man’s companion came back, he stiffened like a cat being held by the scruff of its neck.

Yan Zhao glanced at Shen Yuanting with the corner of his eye: “I wasn’t very good at playing this to begin with…”

Shan Zhou was completely unaware of the other’s embarrassment: “Don’t be so modest, I could tell you’re an experienced player, it’s just your mentally not very stable.”

Yan Zhao thought to himself, now Shen Yuanting definitely knows that he was deliberately pretended to be a newbie to let him teach him how to play. Ugh… How embarrassing.

Shan Zhou’s interest in playing was piqued, he asked “Do you want to keep going?”

Yan Zhao wasn’t in the mood to continue, so he declined, “No, thanks.”

Shan Zhou tried to persuade him: “You haven’t won yet, though we’ve only played two games. Aren’t you regretful?”

Yan Zhao replied: “Not really, I’m not that competitive.”

Shan Zhou thought, just now who was it that slammed the table demanding another round?

Shen Yuanting rolled up his sleeves, revealing well-defined muscles in his forearms. “Let me do it. I’ll play a game.”

Shan Zhou was eager: “Sure!”

Yan Zhao patted Shen Yuanting’s shoulder: “You have to win back the game for me!”

Shen Yuanting: “Hmm.”

As the game began, Shan Zhou cautiously played his opening shot to gauge his opponent’s skill. Shen Yuanting remained composed, playing steadily and without any standout moves, but also without any flaws.

But mediocrity is a kind of knowledge, sometimes, a defense without dead angles is more oppressive than offense.

Yan Zhao stood anxiously beside them, feeling a hundred times more nervous than Shen Yuanting.

When Yan Zhao saw Shen Yuanting make a mistake, he exclaimed “Ah”, then realized that in competitions, victory often hinges on those split-second moments.

Shan Zhou grinned, showing his tiger teeth: “Looks like I’m going to win three game in a row.”

In Yan Zhao’s heart, Shen Yuanting was an invincible presence, so how could he lose here.

Yan Zhao glared at him: “Don’t talk too soon.”

Shan Zhou chuckled: “Alright, maybe I was a bit overconfident. But the players probably have a premonition of who will win or lose. That….” He finally remembered he hadn’t asked the other’s name, so he could only look at Shen Yuanting and asked, “Do you think it’s necessary to continue?”

Shen Yuanting glanced at Yan Zhao. His eyebrows were furrowed, and his mouth was pursed.

Did he not believe in him?

Feeling a bit irritable inside, Shen Yuanting raised his eyebrows slightly, and said indifferently, “It’s unnecessary.”

Shan Zhou made another powerful shot, the scales of victory tilting towards him: “Are you going to concede defeat?”

Shen Yuanting ignored him, and his gaze fixed on the pool table.

In the next moment, he cleared the table with a single shot.