E ⋆ Chapter 46

Two infants were seated behind Yu Zhinian's seat, and from the moment the plane took off, they began crying in turns. No matter how their parents tried to comfort them, once the plane leveled off, the flight attendants distributed earplugs to all the passengers nearby and apologized repeatedly.

Yu Zhinian thanked them and accepted the earplugs, putting them in. Though they couldn't completely block out the sound, he had been traveling all day, and his body was truly exhausted. In the midst of the sharp cries, he drifted into sleep.

Yu Zhinian dreamed of his university life.

Specifically, it was something he had once recorded in his observation diary: a freshman orientation party at a classmate's home.

In the dream, he ran into Yang Ke on the second floor of the house, and Yang Ke, as usual, ignored him. A classmate hurried over and called Yang Ke away to play darts. Yang Ke set down the lemonade he was holding on a semicircular wall table and left with the classmate.

Yu Zhinian slowly approached the lemonade, picked up the cup, and pressed his lips to the spot where Yang Ke's lips had touched. From behind him came the sound of Yang Ke calling his name. He turned around, and Yang Ke's face was expressionless as he calmly said, "That water is mine."

Yu Zhinian jolted awake, his face flushed red. He checked his watch. He had only slept for about ten minutes. His heart was in a flutter as he tried to figure out why he would dream of such a thing.

The dream didn't fully reflect what actually happened that day. The truth was that Yang Ke had indeed set the water on the table, but Yu Zhinian had never touched the cup.

Most of the time, Yu Zhinian's feelings for Yang Ke were very pure.

After all, Yu Zhinian didn't know what Yang Ke was thinking, wasn't sure what attitude would be appropriate or how close he could get without making Yang Ke uncomfortable. Because of this, he had always been polite, and he believed that thinking too much about it felt somewhat like desecrating his feelings.

When they were in Dangzhuang, lying together, for him it was already the most intimate thing that could happen in his fantasies.

And that night when Yang Ke came to Sanwen to see him for the first time, in the darkness, Yang Ke's hand pressed against his lower abdomen, his skin a little warmer than Yu Zhinian's, the things he said, the marks Yang Ke left on Yu Zhinian's body afterward that he could see every time he showered, marks that took over ten days to fade completely. Yu Zhinian rarely thought back on any of it.

The infant in the back seat finally stopped shrieking and fell asleep quietly. Yu Zhinian also closed his eyes, covering himself with the small blanket the flight attendant had given him.

This time he slept for a long time and didn't dream. When the descent began, the cabin broadcast played the landing announcement. He woke up, listened to the broadcast, and realized that in twenty minutes, he would be back in He City.

Yu Zhinian felt somewhat nervous and his mouth was dry. He took a sip of water, gripped the mineral water bottle, and gazed out the porthole at the familiar night cityscape of the ground still some distance below.

The plane soon touched down and decelerated along the runway. Yu Zhinian turned on his phone, and half a minute later, received a message from Yang Ke.

The message had been sent half an hour ago. Yang Ke said he was already at the airport and would wait for him at the exit.

The text was concise, but thinking that he would see Yang Ke soon, Yu Zhinian's nervousness intensified. His hands and feet went numb, his heartbeat grew heavier, and he even had the urge to flee. While staring at the screen, Yang Ke sent another message: "Did you land?"

Yu Zhinian replied, "Yes." Yang Ke simply said, "Okay."

The cabin began to disembark. Yu Zhinian took his luggage bag and walked out with the other passengers. The He City airport at night wasn't as bustling as during the day. He vaguely recalled his last return, and his mood had been very different from today.

That day he had barely slept. He was tired, but not nervous. He felt more numb and confused. He had tried hard to start a new life, didn't want to meet with Attorney Li, yet Attorney Li came to pick him up at the airport. When he thought of Yang Ke back then, his mind held only emptiness.

This direct flight was a large aircraft, and there were still many people waiting at the exit, holding name placards, crowded together.

The cold white light made everyone in the exit hall look pale.

Yu Zhinian navigated through the crowd of people waiting for arrivals, hesitating over whether he should make a call, when he suddenly heard Yang Ke call his name. He looked up and saw Yang Ke not far away.

Yang Ke was taller than most of the people standing at the exit, so he was quite conspicuous. He must have gone to the company during the day, as he was wearing a white dress shirt and dress pants. He seemed to be looking at Yu Zhinian quite intently before walking toward him.

Yang Ke's appearance was the coldly handsome type. Most of the mutual friends Yu Zhinian and Yang Ke shared thought Yang Ke was very unapproachable, and Yu Zhinian himself often felt the same way.

But liking someone is unreasonable, and it has nothing to do with whether Yang Ke is cold or not.

Yang Ke came to stand in front of Yu Zhinian, reached out to take the luggage bag from his hand, looked down at him, and asked, "Are you tired?"

Yu Zhinian said, "I'm okay," and Yang Ke replied, "Let's go home first."

Although they had expressed their longing for each other over the phone, after half a month apart, Yu Zhinian's heart still hung slightly in suspense, beating very fast. Uncertain and somewhat anxious, he followed behind Yang Ke. They took the elevator down to the parking garage. When the elevator doors opened, Yu Zhinian was lost in thought and didn't move immediately. Suddenly he felt his hand brushed.

"Why are you spacing out?" Yang Ke said, taking his hand and pulling him outside. Yang Ke's hand was warmer than Yu Zhinian's, and their fingers interlaced in what felt like the most natural thing in the world, staying that way until they reached the car before letting go.

Yang Ke had driven himself to the airport. Yu Zhinian sat in the passenger seat. Bright yellow streetlights flew past the car one by one.

As they drove away from the airport, Yang Ke asked him about his experience transferring in Xiping. Hearing Yu Zhinian say that the rain had been very heavy on the way to Sanwen, Yang Ke fell silent for a moment.

Yu Zhinian thought Yang Ke might be worried about him and emphasized that everything had gone smoothly and it wasn't too much trouble.

"Even though I decided on it suddenly," Yu Zhinian explained to Yang Ke, "I had been in Xiping for a few days anyway, and there wasn't much to do."

"Mm." Yang Ke didn't say much more, and reached over with his left hand to take hold of Yu Zhinian's hand again.

Yu Zhinian lowered his head and looked at their interlaced hands. Compared to Yang Ke's healthy complexion, Yu Zhinian's was indeed quite fair, and his hand was noticeably slimmer than Yang Ke's.

When they got home, the household staff were asleep. Only the chef was waiting, asking if Yu Zhinian wanted a late-night snack.

Yu Zhinian didn't feel hungry and declined. He went upstairs with Yang Ke.

The hallway was quite dim. Yu Zhinian's slippers made almost no sound on the wooden floor. At his room door, he opened it, not wanting too bright a light, and only turned on the ambient ring light. Yang Ke helped him set the luggage bag by the door and looked down at him.

Yang Ke's expression seemed the same as always, yet somehow not quite. Yu Zhinian felt as though he was waiting for something. Guessing that Yang Ke must have woken up so early that morning and was surely tired too, he tentatively said, "Good night."

"Good night," Yang Ke said to him, very slowly.

Yang Ke walked out, and Yu Zhinian stood by the door, pressing the handle. He had just started to push it closed when he found he couldn't.

He froze. He saw Yang Ke's hand braced against the door, not letting him close it. He raised his head to ask what was wrong, and saw Yang Ke looking at him expressionlessly before lowering his head and leaning in, finding his lips.

"Can you not leave tonight?" Yang Ke asked as he kissed him.

At first it was just lip against lip, but gradually it became less pure. Yang Ke's scent enveloped Yu Zhinian, making him dizzy and weak. Just reciprocating Yang Ke's kiss seemed to take all his strength.

A warm hand slipped under the hem of Yu Zhinian's shirt, sliding upward along his waist. Yu Zhinian stepped back, but was lifted up and carried further inside, then pressed into the bed.

Yang Ke undressed Yu Zhinian and parted his legs.

The bed's light came from a distance. Yu Zhinian felt somewhat cold and opened his eyes, barely able to make out Yang Ke's expression above him. His heart was beating very fast. He didn't want to show any sign of refusal, and he wanted to undo Yang Ke's buttons, but his hands slid over the fabric and couldn't find the right angle no matter what.

Yang Ke seemed to smile slightly and said he was clumsy. He pressed Yu Zhinian's hand against the button, and only then did Yu Zhinian very slowly undo one button for Yang Ke. Yang Ke then pulled Yu Zhinian's hand and placed it on his belt buckle, moving it as though Yu Zhinian were undoing it himself, and the buckle came open.

Yu Zhinian closed his eyes and heard the sound of a zipper. After a moment, Yang Ke's hand touched his lower abdomen, then moved to his inner thigh.

Yang Ke used lubricant from somewhere to prepare Yu Zhinian. He seemed not entirely sure what he was doing either, leaving Yu Zhinian hot and swollen. His inner thighs were slick with moisture. Yang Ke worked for a long time before withdrawing his fingers.

When Yang Ke entered him, he kissed Yu Zhinian. Yu Zhinian felt pain. He endured it for a few seconds, but couldn't hold back any longer and weakly called out Yang Ke's name. Yang Ke gripped his waist and pushed all the way in, then stopped, propping his upper body up slightly.

"Does it hurt?" Yang Ke asked.

Yu Zhinian half-opened his eyes and said very quietly, "It really hurts."

Yang Ke seemed to stare at him, paused for a little while, touched his cheek, then pressed back down, apologizing and saying "I'm sorry." Yu Zhinian cried out in pain again. Yang Ke kissed him deeply, and after a moment, once Yu Zhinian had relaxed somewhat, he began to move gently.

Yu Zhinian's mattress was very soft, and the blanket wrapped around his back. His legs were bent and spread open. Gradually, the pain lessened somewhat, though he still felt so full he could barely breathe. Yang Ke moved in and out, and Yu Zhinian couldn't control himself, letting out soft sounds. Yang Ke suddenly tightened his grip on Yu Zhinian's waist, and his movements became much more intense.

Yu Zhinian reached out and placed his hand on Yang Ke's abdomen, wanting him to slow down. Yang Ke grabbed his wrist and pressed it against the bed. Yu Zhinian was rocked violently, his soul seeming about to be knocked free from his body. He heard Yang Ke ask him why he was so soft. Tension and embarrassment dissolved into the room with each sway.