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Shang Jue hung up the phone and waited at home for nearly an hour.
It took a lot of time and effort to make a trip to the merchant. After returning, he had planned to bother Lu Yuxing a bit to recharge himself… but it turned out the power bank was coming over on its own.
By nine o'clock, still no news from Lu Yuxing. Shang Jue thought he must have been delayed by something. He had changed his clothes and was about to relax and go to sleep when he heard a knock at the door.
He moved slowly to open the door, letting Lu Yuxing in.
As soon as Lu Yuxing entered, Shang Jue caught a distinct scent coming from Lu Yuxing's hair and couldn't help but ask, "Did you just shower?"
The fragrance was so strong it was almost as if he had just walked out of the bathroom after washing off the bubbles.
"Yeah."
Shang Jue found it strange: why shower before coming to see me?
He then looked up at Lu Yuxing’s face, and his gaze immediately went to his mouth.
Lu Yuxing couldn’t handle spicy food, and to cover it up, he had shoved a few chopsticks' worth of spicy hotpot vegetables into his mouth. After digesting them, his lips had been red for over an hour. Even after drinking cold yogurt and taking a hot shower, the redness hadn’t faded, making it particularly noticeable.
Just yesterday, Shang Jue had been kissed by those lips, and he actually wasn’t too keen on looking at them now, but he couldn't help but focus his gaze there.
Had this silly dog picked up a child to eat on the way here? Why were his lips so red?
Noticing Shang Jue's gaze, Lu Yuxing slightly lowered his eyes, wondering about Shang Jue's thoughts: Does he want to kiss?
Yesterday, Shang Jue had told Lu Yuxing not to indulge him, but with such an understanding boyfriend, Lu Yuxing couldn’t help but consider Shang Jue’s feelings.
After two encounters, he was no longer too resistant to such things.
Thinking this, Lu Yuxing hesitated and leaned forward slightly.
Just as their noses were about to touch, Shang Jue was taken aback and instinctively turned his face away to dodge.
Lu Yuxing paused, a hint of doubt appearing in his eyes, but Shang Jue smoothly took a step forward, leaping into his embrace, turning what almost became a kiss into a solid hug.
Shang Jue patted Lu Yuxing's back with lingering fear.
It wasn't just Lu Yuxing who had evolved.
Now, Shang Jue was quite accepting of physical contact with Lu Yuxing. As long as they didn't kiss, holding hands or hugging was no big deal.
Having just showered, the fragrance on Lu Yuxing was much stronger than when he had hugged Shang Jue before leaving A University. Shang Jue struggled a bit, then decided to let go of holding his breath; it wasn’t unpleasant anyway.
Lu Yuxing was caught off guard by the hug. After a moment, he realized he should put his hand on Shang Jue's waist. The fabric of his loungewear was thin, and his palm lightly gripped Shang Jue's soft and resilient waist, which felt nice.
He let his gaze fall from Shang Jue's prominent shoulder blades to his slightly sunken lower back, noticing that he could easily wrap his arm around Shang Jue's waist.
After watching for a bit, Lu Yuxing tightened his grip slightly, as if measuring the thickness of his wrist with his fingers and wanting to gauge Shang Jue's waist too.
Just as he began to act on that thought, Shang Jue suddenly gave a heavy pat on Lu Yuxing's back, using a very straightforward, bro-like gesture.
Lu Yuxing: ...
He let go of Shang Jue.
Lu Yuxing had come over tonight not only because Shang Jue had said he missed him, but also to check on Shang Jue's allergy to see if it had improved.
He examined Shang Jue's neck, and the marks from this morning had faded a bit more. Lu Yuxing reached out to touch it, feeling smooth skin and confirming that the redness had indeed gone down.
"Much better."
Shang Jue felt a little ticklish from his touch and laughed, revealing a soft dimple in the center of his right cheek.
Seeing this, Lu Yuxing pressed his thumb against it, curious to see if the size of his fingertip could fit that little dimple. Unfortunately, he failed; his finger completely covered the small indentation.
Shang Jue's smile froze on his face.
Lu Yuxing suddenly poked at his dimple and asked, "Is Shang Jue’s name referring to this?"
Shang Jue was taken aback, "…Yeah."
Before he was born, Chen Xuerong originally intended to name him "Yu." Not long after he was born, she saw the dimple on Shang Jue’s right cheek, resembling a piece of jade with a small bite taken out of it, and changed the character.
Jade with a bite taken out of it, when full, would be missing, warning him not to be complacent.
Who knew, before Shang Jue could even be complacent, someone outside had generously named their son "Shang Yu."
Later on, Chen Xuerong somehow learned of Min Hong and her child’s existence, becoming furious and nearly getting sick from anger. She didn’t divorce; she and Shang Xinrong tortured each other for over a decade.
Though in front of Shang Jue, they pretended to get along for a few years, their way of educating Shang Jue clearly changed after that, becoming stricter and more demanding.
The flesh on his right cheek was gently tugged, bringing Shang Jue back to reality. It was Lu Yuxing pinching his face.
“…”
Shang Jue turned his head to the left, freeing his cheek from Lu Yuxing's grasp.
“Hehe.” He laughed a little coldly, “Baby, you’re naughty.”
Lu Yuxing was somewhat taken aback by that comment and quickly withdrew his hand, no longer touching him.
"Baby, did you put on lipstick today?" Shang Jue couldn't help but recall Lu Yuxing's red lips.
Lu Yuxing: "..."
He helplessly replied, "I had spicy food for dinner."
Shang Jue nodded in understanding. He knew Lu Yuxing couldn't handle spicy food. Back in high school, it was common for classmates to share snacks, and despite Lu Yuxing's aloof demeanor, his academic prowess meant no one would skip over him.
Whenever someone brought spicy snacks, Lu Yuxing would always refuse, explaining that he couldn't eat spicy food. Shang Jue had heard this often enough to remember.
One time, Wang Yuanzhou somehow got his hands on some spicy wasaby candy. As Wang Yuanzhou's desk mate, Shang Jue was honored to be the first victim.
Wang Yuanzhou, in a serious tone, pushed a green-wrapped candy next to Shang Jue's notebook, casually saying, "Hey, desk mate, want a matcha milk candy?"
Matcha, milk candy, sweets—these three elements combined made the perfect bait to lure Shang Jue in. Without a second thought, he tore open the packaging and tossed it into his mouth. Two seconds later, he closed his eyes tightly, tears and snot streaming down his face from the spiciness.
Turning to look at his foolish desk mate, he found Wang Yuanzhou struggling to contain his laughter, his cheeks puffed up like a baozi.
“…”
Shang Jue stared at him for two seconds, saying nothing.
He expressionlessly spat the candy out, wiped away the tears caused by the spice, blew his nose, and remained silent.
Then, he silently pointed to Lu Yuxing's back, indicating for Wang Yuanzhou to intervene.
Wang Yuanzhou immediately caught on, straightening himself out, and called out, "Classmate Lu!"
Sitting right in front of Shang Jue, Lu Yuxing turned his head and glanced at the two behind him. Wang Yuanzhou, wearing a beaming smile, said, "Classmate Lu, have some candy!"
Meanwhile, Shang Jue was looking down, his eyes inexplicably slightly red, coldly focusing on his work, giving off the impression that he had no intention of acknowledging Lu Yuxing.
Lu Yuxing moved his gaze away from Shang Jue's face and said, "Thank you."
He didn't think much of it and opened the candy wrapper to eat it on the spot.
Moments later…
Lu Yuxing: ………………
He took a deep breath, feeling his eyes begin to water from the spice.
With no desire to question anyone, he frantically rummaged through his desk for tissues.
The person who had pretended to study just moments ago now lifted his head, amusement dancing in his eyes.
Shang Jue's legs shifted beneath the desk as he quickly kicked Wang Yuanzhou, whispering urgently, "Cover his mouth; we can't let our Lu University God throw up!"
Wang Yuanzhou was okay with covering Shang Jue's mouth, but Lu Yuxing's? He didn’t have the guts for that!
He hesitated, unsure whether to act.
Shang Jue had to take matters into his own hands, grabbing a handful of the half-empty tissue pack on his desk. The bag rustled noisily as he called out, "Lu Yuxing! Tissue!"
Lu Yuxing was about to spit the candy into his hand when he heard the call, his eyes showing a glimmer of gratitude as he turned around. But before he could say anything, Shang Jue's hand shot over and covered his mouth, the palm pressing against his nose.
It was just after class, and a circle of people was gathered around, watching the commotion. With class monitor Shang Jue leading the way, Wang Yuanzhou grew bolder, using both hands to firmly grip Lu Yuxing's right arm.
Back in high school, Shang Jue was quite strong, and with Lu Yuxing only able to use one hand, he couldn't break free. Shang Jue watched as the face beneath him turned red from the spicy wasabi, heat rising from his ears to the nape of his neck.
The spiciness shot straight into Lu Yuxing's forehead and nostrils, causing beads of sweat to form on his skin.
Before long, a few tears forced out by the spice streamed down uncontrollably, landing on Shang Jue's hand and causing him to pause in surprise.
With his eyes red, Lu Yuxing stared fixedly at Shang Jue, as if flames were about to burst from his pupils; there was no more embarrassing moment than this.
The consequences were severe as well; Lu Yuxing was so furious afterward that he nearly got into a fight with him. However, since the instigator was Wang Yuanzhou, who had handed him the candy, Shang Jue could only be considered an accomplice, albeit a much more troublesome one. Ultimately, Lu Yuxing didn’t fall out with Wang Yuanzhou over a joke. Still, for a long time afterward, the way he looked at Shang Jue was as if he were wielding a sharp knife, wishing he could swallow him whole.
During that time, when Shang Jue returned home from school, his steps were always light and cheerful. He would call it the highlight of his life.
Later on, Shang Jue actually did apologize. Of course, he would never say the words "I'm sorry" in front of Lu Yuxing. During the big break, he asked Wang Yuanzhou for ten wasabi candies and then poked Lu Yuxing’s back with a book.
Lu Yuxing ignored him.
Shang Jue's apology was merely for his own peace of mind; he didn’t care whether Lu Yuxing was willing to accept it. He swallowed all ten candies in one go, using the remaining half a pack of tissues on the table to wipe his tears and snot.
It wasn’t until the big break was almost over that Lu Yuxing stood up to go get water from the classroom, glancing down at Shang Jue’s swollen eyelids.
However, crying in private and crying in front of someone you dislike were entirely different matters. When it came to dignity, forgiveness was out of the question.
But Shang Jue was too lazy to guess his psychological state and simply moved on.
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