Going to the bathroom has always been a sensitive issue for Zhang Xu, because his body is different from others.

Although he looks like a man on the outside and has the personality of a typical guy, fate played a trick on him and gave him an extra “gift.”

Because of this gift, Zhang Xu had never gone shirtless in front of others since childhood, and he certainly wouldn’t participate in sports like swimming.

On the contrary, he was very cautious and had a strong sense of self-preservation.

Take now, for example: even though he was completely drunk, Zhang Xu still insisted that Xu Bosu escort him into a private stall.

“Hey… wait for me here.” Zhang Xu braced himself against the door and pushed Xu Bosu forcefully outward.

“…” Xu Bosu immediately frowned. The man couldn’t even stand steadily, yet he was putting on a brave front: “I’ll hold you up.”

“No, it’s not necessary.” Zhang Xu reacted strongly, continuing to shove the man who was taller and burlier than him, even pleading, “Go out, hurry up, I can’t hold it anymore!”

All the alcohol he’d drunk was now crammed into his bladder, clamoring to get out.

“Fine, I’ll go out…” Xu Bosu had no choice but to wait by the door, keeping an ear out for any sounds from inside.

The drunk Zhang Xu didn’t actually vomit, because the alcohol he’d swallowed quickly turned into urine in his bladder, which he could simply flush out.

Finally done in the bathroom, Zhang Xu let out a long sigh and felt much more sober. Now, only one thought remained in his mind: going home.

Xu Bosu, waiting outside, watched as the drunkard opened the door, walked right past him, and leaned over the sink to wash his hands and face.

He looked like he was trying to sober up as quickly as possible.

That’s exactly what Zhang Xu was thinking, so he splashed cold water on his face with all his might.

But when he turned around, he still felt dizzy and weak in the knees.

“I told you not to push yourself, but you wouldn’t listen.” A voice tinged with gentle reproach reached his ears, and at the same moment, Zhang Xu was wrapped in a pair of strong arms, pulled into a broad, sturdy embrace, and finally lifted off the ground.

The instant his feet left the floor, Zhang Xu’s heart skipped a beat, overcome by a sense of insecurity — as if he were about to lose something.

His nerves, still on edge, made him struggle briefly, but he simply didn’t have the strength.

“You… Xu…” Xu what was it again? The new friend he’d met tonight — Zhang Xu could never remember people’s names — so he just slurred out, “Just take me to the hotel, okay? Thanks.”

“Mm-hmm.” The man holding him replied calmly.

Receiving that response, Zhang Xu settled contentedly into the other man’s embrace, looking forward to the private space ahead and planning to sleep soundly without a care in the world.

Little did he know that as Xu Bosu carried him out, everyone in the bar was speculating: how many times would they do it tonight?

But in truth, Xu Bosu, who was carrying the drunkard out, hadn’t given any of that a second thought. Otherwise, he would have stopped along the way to prepare a few unspoken little things, rather than taking Zhang Xu straight to the hotel.

This isn’t to say Xu Bosu was a chaste, upright gentleman. In fact, having been deep in the closet for so many years, it would be a lie to say his heart wasn’t stirred.

Especially since Zhang Xu was young and handsome, with rosy lips and pearly teeth, and a personality that was more than charming.

If it were with someone like that, Xu Bosu felt he had no reason to refuse.

The reason there was no premeditation tonight was that Xu Bosu didn’t like doing that sort of thing with someone who was drunk.

Just imagining it told him there would be no beauty in it at all.

In the hotel lobby, at the front desk, three strikingly handsome men — plus one drunkard — were waiting for the receptionist to check them in.

Once they received the room key, Shen Feiqing shoved it into Xu Bosu’s hand and said, “We’re leaving. Let us know if you need anything.”

“Alright.” Xu Bosu held someone in his arms, gave them a little jiggle, then looked up. “Take Lu Kai home. He’s had quite a bit to drink, too.”

Lu Kai pointed at himself. “Me?”

“Stop with the ‘me’s. Let’s go.” Shen Feiqing slung his arm around his clueless buddy’s shoulder and hurried off, so as not to interfere with his brothers’ brief, precious night.

“Is Old Xu really a virgin?” Lu Kai opened the car door and looked at Shen Feiqing.

“Most likely.” Shen Feiqing replied.

Anyone familiar with Shen Feiqing knew that hearing that kind of answer from him meant it was a certainty.

“Damn.” Lu Kai tried to express his surprise, but his expression was too calm; clearly, he also thought it was perfectly normal for Xu Bosu to be a virgin.

Thinking back to their school days, Xu Bosu was known far and wide as the aloof heartthrob.

No matter how much guys and girls tried to flirt with him, Xu Bosu always acted as if he had no human desires.

Later, when Xu Bosu went to college, he published articles in authoritative professional journals at a very young age, making the name “Xu Bosu” a household name among universities across City A.

For such a figure with boundless potential and a destined path to glory — one whose future had already been mapped out by those around him — he unexpectedly withdrew from academia to become a corporate heir reeking of money.

Many teachers and friends felt sorry for Xu Bosu, lamenting that it was such a pity he didn’t continue on that path.

Only his closest brother knew that this was the first time Xu Bosu had compromised with his family.

He gave up the chance to become a future academic heavyweight to shoulder the heavy responsibility of being the family heir.

Four years later, the Xu family — who had once told Xu Bosu that as long as he was willing to return and inherit the family business, they would let him live his life however he pleased — pulled off a scandalous arranged marriage scheme.

Having backed down once, there was no way Xu Bosu would do so a second time. In a fit of anger, he came out as gay and struck out on his own.

Though it was deeply satisfying, it was also a great pity. If he hadn’t gone home back then and had stayed at school to pursue his studies, he might already be a postdoc by now.

The man, lost in these thoughts, was snapped out of his reverie by a soft moan from the person in his arms. He looked down to see a face that was exactly to his taste, with rosy lips parted slightly beneath his gaze, emitting a pained sound.

Xu Bosu reflected on what he’d done tonight: getting drunk with a stranger, teasing and flirting with him… His expression was priceless. After all, until today, he’d never realized that beneath his mask lay such a sleazy person.

When the elevator doors opened, Xu Bosu carried Zhang Xu to his room, intending to settle him in and leave.

“I need to take a shower…” Zhang Xu moaned weakly in Xu Bosu’s arms, his hand fumbling at his collar, tugging at it haphazardly.

“How are you supposed to shower when you’re this drunk?” Xu Bosu shot down the idea immediately, carrying him to the bed and tucking him under the covers. “Be a good boy. You can shower when you wake up tomorrow.”

Then he picked up the air conditioner remote from the nightstand and turned it on.

“It’s so hot…” It was June, and Zhang Xu, swathed in the blanket, kicked it off. As he struggled to sit up, he muttered, “If Daddy wants to take a shower, he’ll take a shower. What business is it of yours?”

Xu Bosu, sitting on the edge of the bed, froze. After all, no one had ever dared to call themselves “Daddy” in front of him before…

Zhang Xu, his mind growing hazy, bumped into a warm wall. He rubbed it with his face and hands, taking a moment to realize it was a person. “Move… um… Daddy’s going to take a shower…”

Fearing he might hurt himself, Xu Bosu — his face dark with irritation — spun around, pinned the drunken young man down, and gently pushed him back onto the sheets. “Huh? Who’s whose daddy?”

Zhang Xu stared blankly at the hotel ceiling, which wasn’t lit by the main light, and blinked in bewilderment. “I’m your daddy. Oh, no… you’re my daddy…”

Because only when he was with his daddy did he dare to let his guard down, unafraid of revealing his secret.

“You’re really pretty drunk…” Xu Bosu muttered, pulling the blanket over him, then said firmly, “Go to sleep.”

Once this guy was asleep, he still had to go back and rest.

He had work to do at the office tomorrow.

“But… how can I sleep without taking a shower…” Zhang Xu, in his drunken state, spoke with a serious, solemn tone. “My dad said I have to shower every day, or I’ll get sick.”

“Hah…” Hearing such childish nonsense, Xu Bosu let out a helpless laugh and patiently corrected the young man, whose mental age had regressed after drinking. “Your dad’s lying to you. You won’t get sick if you skip a day.”

“It will.” Zhang Xu declared with absolute certainty.

“…” Xu Bosu and Zhang Xu locked eyes, locked in a standoff. “Fine.” Finally, Xu Bosu relented, his voice dropping slightly. “I’ll take you to take a shower.”

The man, standing nearly six feet tall, effortlessly lifted the slender young man and carried him to the bathroom. “Sit still.” Xu Bosu set Zhang Xu down on the sink and methodically helped him out of his clothes.

Zhang Xu, his mind clouded, offered no resistance.

He let himself be moved wherever Xu Bosu directed, obedient to the last.

“…” Xu Bosu’s hands suddenly paused. He looked down, staring blankly as he recalled the fleeting glimpse he’d just caught, convinced he must have seen wrong.

How could that be…

Zhang Xu is a boy.

“I’ll carry you to the bathtub to wash up.” Xu Bosu took a deep breath, carried the helpless young man to the tub, and washed him with the showerhead.

“It smells nice.” Zhang Xu, his eyes barely open, held out his palm toward Xu Bosu.

Xu Bosu froze for a moment, then finally understood what Zhang Xu meant. He quickly set down the showerhead, squeezed a dollop of body wash from the bottle, and handed it to Zhang Xu.

The drunkard even pretended to be serious, holding it under his nose to sniff before rubbing it onto his body.

Xu Bosu couldn’t control his gaze; he stared intently at Zhang Xu’s hands. Just as reality began to match what he’d imagined, he suddenly looked away, loosening his collar in discomfort.

Ten seconds — that was the time Xu Bosu had allotted for Zhang Xu.

After ten seconds, he turned his head back.

For many years afterward, Xu Bosu would recall this scene as if it were still fresh in his mind.

The visual impact was so overwhelming that Xu Bosu didn’t even notice the showerhead slipping from his hand, only to be picked up by Zhang Xu, who proceeded to use it as if no one else were there…

As everyone knows, drunk people shouldn’t take baths.

As the water level rose, Zhang Xu began to feel uncomfortable, a look of distress spreading across his face.

Xu Bosu snapped back to reality, gathered his composure, then lifted Zhang Xu out of the bathtub and carried him back to bed.

Once the air conditioner kicked in, the room began to cool down. Zhang Xu curled up under the covers, his hand clasping Xu Bosu’s finger.

“Go to sleep,” Xu Bosu whispered, gently withdrawing his finger from Zhang Xu’s grasp.

All right, now that the bath was over and the drunk had quieted down, Xu Bosu knew he should leave immediately, without any further hesitation or lingering.

The superficial banter at the dinner table was merely a way to pass the time and relieve stress.

Once dawn broke, he would still be that Xu Bosu, trudging forward alone under his own heavy burden.

“You haven’t told me a story yet…” Zhang Xu’s slurred voice drifted from behind him.

Xu Bosu’s footsteps faltered. A storm raged within him, his mind swirling with a thousand thoughts, but he pretended not to hear and kept walking.

“Xu Bosu?” The young man, his consciousness momentarily clear, finally managed to remember the name, though he still didn’t really know who this person was.

Because of the young man’s call, the man whose hand had already touched the doorknob resignedly withdrew it, admitting to himself that he didn’t want to leave this room.

“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” The man, who had been held back and unable to leave, returned to the bedside and looked down at the dazed young man. “If you were just pretending to be drunk, then I’d like to apologize. What I said at the table was all just for show — don’t take it seriously.”

After saying this, Xu Bosu didn’t dare look down at Zhang Xu’s expression. “I’m leaving.” With that, he turned and walked away.

He strode quickly to the door, but the hand hanging at his side refused to lift; it simply clenched into a fist.

Two voices echoed in his mind. One told Xu Bosu that even if it was just a one-night stand, if he liked him, he should go for it.

The other said: since there’s no future in sight, why get involved with such a special young man?

Weighing the two, reason clearly prevailed.

Xu Bosu opened the door with a cold expression, but just as he stepped out, he paused, unwilling to give up. “…” How could he know there was no future without trying?

What if he was a serious person too?

Holding onto this overly idealistic thought, Xu Bosu returned to the young man who had been desperately flirting with him. He bent down, lowered his head, cupped that face as radiant as peach blossoms, and kissed him gently — once, then again…

It tasted just as good as he’d imagined.

Especially during close contact, exchanging breaths, sharing bacteria… Sorry, even years after leaving the lab, my professional habits still occasionally slip out.

Their lips and teeth pressed together, lingering and wandering.

“Mmm…” Zhang Xu, after all, was no stranger to kissing. He quickly found the rhythm to match Xu Bosu’s, even showing signs of taking the lead.

Xu Bosu sensed Zhang Xu’s ease in the kiss, and an indescribable negative emotion began to grow wildly within him…

These practiced moves — he must have honed them with his ex-boyfriend, hadn’t he?

Xu Bosu wasn’t disgusted by the fact that the young man in his arms had a past or experience; he was simply jealous.

This inexplicable and utterly unfamiliar emotion caused the man, who was usually mild-mannered in daily life, to reveal a fiercely aggressive side, kissing Zhang Xu until he was completely disoriented and utterly defenseless.

Such competitiveness and jealousy made Xu Bosu despise his own pettiness, yet he couldn’t help but continue acting petty, asking a petty question: “Who am I?”

By now, Zhang Xu was much more lucid than he had been during the shower. His voice rasped as he replied, “Xu Bosu, of course.”

No sooner had he answered than a deluge of kisses swept over him.

Zhang Xu was completely dumbfounded.

It wasn’t that Zhang Xu was inexperienced; it was that he had truly never experienced a kiss like this — a prelude to a storm. Even during the best of times with his ex-boyfriend, their kisses had been nothing more than a brief taste.

“Uh…”

This with Xu Bosu was just too… it felt like they were about to go all the way…

Zhang Xu was terrified. He couldn’t handle this!

Just as he tried to push Xu Bosu away, the other man let go of him on his own, his voice brimming with endless tenderness. “Wait for me. Let’s take a shower first, or you’ll get sick.”

Zhang Xu froze in place…

Oh my god, in that moment, Xu Bosu gave him the same kind of fright his own father used to.

“You’ll get sick if you don’t shower” — wasn’t that his deadbeat dad’s catchphrase?

How could Xu Bosu be just like his dad…

Leaning against the large pillow, Zhang Xu sank into his thoughts. It was such a downer — that old man had recently tied the knot with his rich girlfriend, and Zhang Xu still couldn’t shake off the gloom even after half a month.

And that bastard Yu Shuyang had broken up with him — wait, no, he’d been the one to dump Yu Shuyang!

Damn it. Good things never come in pairs, but bad luck never comes alone. The whole month of June had been a total wash.

Zhang Xu touched his lips, still tingling from Xu Bosu’s kiss, and thought to himself: that scumbag. He really was just trying to trick him into a hookup.

But he didn’t want to just slip on his clothes and get the hell out of there. He wanted that scumbag Xu to regret ever messing with him…

“Hah!” Zhang Xu put on a fierce expression.

It lasted a full two seconds before being replaced by a dejected one.

Regret my ass. It was clearly him being so miserable that he wanted to stir up trouble.

“No way, I’m going back…” Zhang Xu mustered what little clarity he had left and pulled back the covers. But before he could even extend a tentative toe, the icy air sent him scrambling back under the covers. “Why is it so cold?”

He craned his neck and looked around — his clothes weren’t anywhere in sight.

How was he supposed to leave like this?

Go streaking?

Just as Zhang Xu was lost in his wild thoughts, the man who’d made him wait emerged from the bathroom, dripping with water.

Zhang Xu watched helplessly as the bastard who’d been trying to get him walked right up to him — and the problem was, the man was ostentatiously wrapped in a towel, as if trying to look like the picture of a proper gentleman.

“Like what you see?” Sensing Zhang Xu’s unblinking stare, Xu Bosu curled his lips into a smirk, then untied the towel.

Zhang Xu’s reaction: look away, fast!

Damn it, my eyes are going blind!

“Hehe…” A low, self-satisfied chuckle that begged to be mocked drifted from behind him. Then Zhang Xu felt the blanket being pulled back, and a source of heat shamelessly pressed close.

Oh, hehe my ass. Is getting this close supposed to be fun?!

“Hey, what are you doing?” Zhang Xu’s “menacing” glare and “ferocious” voice were severely undercut by his drunkenness.

Not only did it fail to intimidate in the slightest, it actually made Xu Bosu think he was flirting.

This man, utterly inexperienced in such matters, mustered every ounce of sincerity he had and leaned close to the dazed young man’s ear, chuckling softly. “Didn’t we agree to get married tomorrow?”

In Xu Bosu’s mind, since they’d decided to get married, sleeping together was a given.

So he wrapped his arms around Zhang Xu.

Little did he know that Zhang Xu’s mind was exploding inside. What kind of an absolute sweet-talking two-face is this guy?!

Just a moment ago, he was standing right in front of him, admitting it was all a charade and telling him not to take the marriage talk seriously — and now he was using marriage as an excuse to coax him into bed!

Zhang Xu was furious inside, wishing he could tear Xu Bosu apart with his bare hands.

But right now, his strength was limited; he couldn’t even stop the other guy from taking advantage of him…

Warm lips roamed across his face, moving with surprising tenderness and caution, as if treating him like some fragile thing. Needless to say, this was definitely another one of that scumbag’s tired old tricks.

Who knows how many guys he’d pulled this on before.

“Marriage, heh, sure…” Zhang Xu thought dazedly. Come on. If he didn’t drag this bastard to the Civil Affairs Bureau tomorrow and cause an absolute scene, his name wasn’t Zhang.

“Mm.” Xu Bosu’s heart was pounding wildly. He parted the young man’s lips, which carried a faint trace of alcohol, and exchanged breaths with him patiently, murmuring tirelessly.

Zhang Xu, who prided himself on his experience, discovered a terrifying truth in the mere few minutes he spent kissing Xu Bosu.

That is — the so-called experience he’d assumed he had was complete and utter bullshit compared to this.

He finally understood what a real kiss was. A textbook-perfect kiss between two men.

Author’s Note: Thank you to all the little angels who cast their Patron votes or sent Nutrient Solution my way~

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