The moment the warm water submerged him, Chen Zemian closed his eyes and held his breath.
The waiter exclaimed, “Mr. Chen!”
Chen Zemian couldn’t swim. Although agile, he didn’t know how to move once underwater. He reached out, fumbling for something to stand on.
Zheng Huaiyu grabbed Chen Zemian’s arm and pulled him up.
Chen Zemian spat out a mouthful of water. “Are you okay?”
Zheng Huaiyu smiled and said, “Breathe.”
Chen Zemian blinked, confused.
The next second, Zheng Huaiyu pinched his nose and sank beneath the surface, disappearing like a fish.
What is this guy doing?
Before Chen Zemian could figure out where Zheng Huaiyu had gone, he suddenly felt someone grab his ankle underwater. A strong force pulled him down instantly.
Damn, he’s messing with me!
Zheng Huaiyu sank deeper, holding Chen Zemian from behind.
Chen Zemian opened his eyes, spat out a string of bubbles, turned his head slightly, and looked at Zheng Huaiyu in surprise.
Zheng Huaiyu pointed in a direction for him to look.
In the dark blue warm spring water, a nimble figure emerged.
It was Lu Zhuonian.
Lu Zhuonian found Chen Zemian underwater, grabbed his wrist, snatched him from Zheng Huaiyu’s grasp, and swam upward.
In the eerie silence, Chen Zemian heard a pounding heartbeat.
The sound of water splashing filled the air as they surfaced.
The two falls into the water and the subsequent resurfacings happened in quick succession — no more than a minute in total.
In just a few tens of seconds, something unexpected had occurred. Chen Zemian was still in shock, leaning on Lu Zhuonian’s arms and gasping for breath.
Lu Zhuonian’s eyes were filled with unprecedented anxiety. He cupped Chen Zemian’s face and asked something.
Chen Zemian, still confused, didn’t catch the words clearly.
Judging by his lip movements, Lu Zhuonian was asking if he’d swallowed water.
Chen Zemian shook his head instinctively.
Zheng Huaiyu also emerged, leaning on the edge of the pool with bent arms, smiling at Lu Zhuonian.
Lu Zhuonian suppressed his anger, holding Chen Zemian firmly in his arms, looking at Zheng Huaiyu coldly.
Zheng Huaiyu raised an eyebrow calmly. “Mr. Lu, have you forgotten? I’m a swimming champion. Such shallow water could never drown your Chen Zemian.”
Lu Zhuonian’s face was cold as iron. “Mr. Zheng is an athlete — how come he can’t even stand steadily?”
Wiping droplets from his face, Zheng Huaiyu added, “Some things aren’t clear standing on the shore; they become obvious once you’re in the water.”
Lu Zhuonian pursed his lips. “He can’t swim.”
“He’s not a marshmallow. He won’t melt just because he falls in the water,” Zheng Huaiyu said lazily. “Why are you so anxious?”
Chen Zemian cleared water from his ears. He hadn’t heard most of the previous exchange — only the last sentence, “Why are you so anxious?” It stirred something in his heart, and he glanced up at Lu Zhuonian.
Yes, he fell into the hot spring. So why was Lu Zhuonian so worried?
Not to mention, the hot spring’s deepest part only reached the chest. Zheng Huaiyu had fallen in with him, and with so many staff members nearby, drowning was impossible.
It was clearly an emergency—but not a dangerous one. The staff hadn’t reacted. Lu Zhuonian was separated from them by a screen, in another hot spring pool, yet he arrived so quickly.
Did he know Chen Zemian couldn’t swim?
Why was he so anxious?
Chen Zemian gently pulled Lu Zhuonian and asked, “How do you know I can’t swim?”
Lu Zhuonian’s expression turned stern. When he lowered his head and looked at him, there was an imperceptible concern in his eyes.
Chen Zemian’s heart skipped a beat. “I don’t think I ever told you that.”
Lu Zhuonian said, “Cats are afraid of water.”
Chen Zemian blinked, puzzled.
Lu Zhuonian’s eyes flashed with a faint smile as he said two words that seemed to carry a hidden meaning. “Bathtub.”
Though brief, the implication was clear — Chen Zemian had panicked falling into a bathtub, so falling into the hot spring must have terrified him even more.
Chen Zemian wasn’t sure if he was reading too much into it.
He only knew he was growing nervous again—more than when he’d first slipped into the hot spring.
Zheng Huaiyu, seemingly unconcerned, left with a graceful bow, breaking the tense atmosphere. “Mr. Chen, I apologize. I wasn’t steady just now and disrupted your relaxation.”
Chen Zemian’s mind was still filled with the anxious look in Lu Zhuonian’s eyes. For half a second, he was silent, as if possessed. He didn’t mention that Zheng Huaiyu had dragged him underwater again, only saying, “It’s okay. I was the one who knocked you down.”
Zheng Huaiyu sighed meaningfully. “You and Mr. Lu really know how to enjoy yourselves. So refreshing to soak in this hot spring.”
Lu Zhuonian glanced at him.
Chen Zemian caught the implied meaning and handed over the card. “Mr. Ye reserved the whole place today. Since Mr. Zheng is here, he might as well stay and enjoy it.”
Having caused enough commotion, Zheng Huaiyu draped a bath towel over his shoulders and left gracefully.
Chen Zemian saw him off and quickly returned to his own hot spring.
Though the two pools weren’t far apart, the mountain breeze blowing over their wet skin made the air chilly.
Chen Zemian shrugged off his soaking bathrobe and settled into the warm spring to get warm.
Lu Zhuonian draped a hot towel over Chen Zemian’s shoulders. “Zheng Huaiyu had no ill intentions. He didn’t do anything to you in the water, did he?”
Chen Zemian absentmindedly replied, “No.”
Lu Zhuonian lowered his eyes, studying Chen Zemian for two seconds. “What are you thinking about?”
Chen Zemian wasn’t sure himself. Hearing the question made him feel strangely flustered. He pulled himself together and said casually, “We were talking about Zheng Huaiyu, but he suddenly came over and disrupted my train of thought.”
Lu Zhuonian’s eyebrows twitched slightly. “We were talking about curing the disease.”
Oh, right — curing the disease.
Chen Zemian resumed his thoughts. “What I meant to say was, since you’ve decided to treat it, you can’t give up halfway.”
Lu Zhuonian asked, “What do you mean by ‘give up halfway’?”
Chen Zemian thought of Lu Zhuonian’s anxious eyes earlier. Since the other cared so much, he couldn’t let him down now.
Lu Zhuonian stood up for him, so Chen Zemian should return the favor — a matter of give and take.
With resolve, Chen Zemian said, “Just cure it.”
Lu Zhuonian paused. “What if it can’t be cured?”
Chen Zemian glanced at him quickly. “If you can’t accept others, then I’ll accompany you through the cure. No need to rush so fast, okay?”
Lu Zhuonian was momentarily stunned.
The sentence seemed simple, but its deeper meaning was intriguing.
Through the lingering fog, Lu Zhuonian finally glimpsed something — his place in Chen Zemian’s heart was extraordinary.
Chen Zemian wasn’t the type to always keep his word; breaking promises was common for him. Yet he never said anything absolute. Though watching the movie could have made him sick, he never outright refused. Instead, he said, “Don’t be too fast.”
Lu Zhuonian’s eyes drooped slightly. “Chen Zemian, I don’t want anyone else.”
Chen Zemian lowered his head. “That’s fine.”
Lu Zhuonian’s voice softened. “What do you mean by ‘fine’?”
Chen Zemian answered vaguely, “If the day ever comes when other ways don’t satisfy you, then this will be the only way.”
Lu Zhuonian’s lashes fluttered. “When will that day come?”
Chen Zemian couldn’t help but push him playfully. “I said there are other ways! Don’t think about this all the time. It takes time for me to accept it, okay?”
Lu Zhuonian lowered his eyes again. “It doesn’t matter. The power is in your hands. If you really can’t accept it, you don’t have to do it.”
Chen Zemian replied, “Doing it is not the point. The point is to gradually adjust your needs.”
Lu Zhuonian asked, “How do you adjust?”
Chen Zemian didn’t really know how to adjust. To buy time, he made up a story: “Anyway, we can’t do it now. The doctor said your needs will gradually escalate. If we do it now, what will I do to satisfy you next time?”
Lu Zhuonian said, “I’m not that ungrateful.”
Chen Zemian coughed lightly and added, “It’s not that I don’t want to do it with you, but we have to take it slow — slowly and with a plan, a strategy. When we have time, we can come up with a treatment plan.”
Lu Zhuonian thought for a few seconds. “Before deciding on the treatment plan, I have another question for you.”
Chen Zemian said, “Go ahead.”
Lu Zhuonian was silent for a long moment, then suddenly said, “Did you feel it?”
Chen Zemian looked up, tea in hand. “Feel what?”
Lu Zhuonian was concise: “Feel that I’m interested in you.”
Chen Zemian’s fingers suddenly loosened. The teacup slipped into the water with a soft “click” and slowly sank to the bottom of the pool.
He stared at Lu Zhuonian in shock, stunned for a moment, then said speechlessly, “What did you say?”
Lu Zhuonian said firmly, “Don’t you understand?”
Chen Zemian’s eyes went blank for a moment. “Not sure… can you elaborate?”
Lu Zhuonian didn’t answer directly. Instead, he asked, “Are you interested in me?”
Chen Zemian blurted out without thinking, “No, impossible! How could I? We’re good brothers!”
Lu Zhuonian suddenly laughed. “See? You know what ‘interested’ means, Chen Zemian.”
Chen Zemian seemed to understand, but mostly he didn’t.
Why is Lu Zhuonian interested in him?
Is he satisfied with his treatment method?
That kind of extraordinary pleasure and refreshment is indeed hard to reject. As a sex addict, it was natural for Lu Zhuonian to find that… interesting.
Chen Zemian asked tentatively, “Do you think it’s interesting to help each other?”
Lu Zhuonian sighed softly. “I’m interested in you as a person. It has nothing to do with treatment or mutual assistance.”
Hearing this, Chen Zemian’s heart suddenly sank.
He wanted to escape again.
If he were wearing a cotton coat, his head would already be buried in the collar. If he had a sweater, he could pull the hood up and cover himself.
But unfortunately, he was soaking in a hot spring, bare-chested. No clothes to hide behind, only the water to bury himself in.
“Can you escape by sinking into the water?” Lu Zhuonian grabbed Chen Zemian’s arm. “You can’t swim.”
Lu Zhuonian knew Chen Zemian would try to avoid the topic, but since he’d started, he wasn’t going to stop halfway.
Today might not be the best time.
No matter how well-prepared, confessing to Chen Zemian would never be easy.
But Chen Zemian’s determination to help him cure his illness — even threatening to take medication himself to stop Lu Zhuonian’s abuse — went far beyond ordinary brotherhood.
Ye Chen was his good brother. Xiao Kesong was his good brother. The three grew up together, trusted each other with life and death. But none of them would make medicine for him to cure his illness.
Yet Chen Zemian had.
And even after Chen Zemian had clearly expressed disgust for sexual behavior between men, he was still willing to help treat Lu Zhuonian’s illness. He didn’t flat-out reject it; he only said it was escalating too quickly.
As a natural straight man, Chen Zemian had never considered anything beyond friendship — not yet aware of how their feelings were shifting.
Before, Lu Zhuonian couldn’t read Chen Zemian’s thoughts. But now he saw the signs clearly. So he had to be clear.
“Some things should’ve been made clear long ago,”
Lu Zhuonian said steadily, with undeniable strength, “Even if you didn’t know before, you know it now. Can you consider it? Chen Zemian.”
Consider? Consider what?
Chen Zemian was completely stunned.
He wasn’t stupid, just slow. The other person had said so much that no matter how unbelievable, he couldn’t convince himself there was any ambiguity or misunderstanding.
“Being interested in him” means having a good impression of him!
Lu Zhuonian! For a man! He has a good impression!
This conclusion hit Chen Zemian like a bomb, because it not only subverted his basic understanding, it defied the underlying logic of the original story.
Lu Zhuonian was the male protagonist!
In the original world, heterosexuality was the default setting. No male character, whether villain or hero, older or younger brother, showed interest in men.
The plot was collapsing in ways Chen Zemian could never have imagined — turning from stabbing brothers into stabbing hearts.
This was not good.
He’d rather be stabbed in the back with a knife!
Chen Zemian expressed his thoughts tactfully but firmly. “I don’t think this is good.”
Lu Zhuonian gave Chen Zemian enough time to think. Even if the answer was “not good,” his expression didn’t change. He only asked, “What’s not good?”
Chen Zemian looked at Lu Zhuonian with a strange expression — “Is there really a need to ask? Of course, nothing is good.”
Lu Zhuonian seemed puzzled by the expression and waited quietly for an accurate answer.
At this critical moment, Chen Zemian’s mind raced. His thoughts were working overtime. He spontaneously found an excuse for Lu Zhuonian.
“You said dopamine and endorphins drive people to pursue pleasure. Sexual satisfaction and falling in love both release a lot of dopamine, which brings strong pleasure and happiness. They’re addictive. You must be confusing the two.”
Lu Zhuonian gave a high evaluation. “That sounds reasonable and clear.”
Chen Zemian breathed a sigh of relief. “Hormones affect emotions. Everyone has highs and lows. Just calm down.”
Lu Zhuonian was calm, too. “So you also have times when you get high.”
Chen Zemian: “???”
Is that what you heard? After all I said, you only heard that?
Chen Zemian glared at him. “Don’t just pick out whatever you want!”
Lu Zhuonian laughed. “Okay, then say something else. You said sexual satisfaction and falling in love bring pleasure and happiness. Everything is an illusion caused by abnormal dopamine secretion.”
Chen Zemian nodded.
Lu Zhuonian reasoned, “Where does your theory come from? You can’t understand my feelings, so you put yourself in my shoes and analyze them by substituting your feelings for mine, right?”
Chen Zemian said, “Yes.”
Lu Zhuonian asked, “So your argument is to prove that I’m mistaken about my feelings for you, or to prove that you’re worried you’ll indulge and fall in love with me?”
Chen Zemian’s pupils dilated, then contracted. He looked at Lu Zhuonian in horror, like a debater completely losing the argument, unable to respond.
Damn, what kind of brain structure does Lu Zhuonian have? How can he react so quickly?
Chen Zemian had talked so much, but instead of involving Lu Zhuonian, he revealed his own inner thoughts entirely.
That was a logic even he hadn’t fully figured out.
And Lu Zhuonian saw through his confusion with just a few words, pinpointing the real reason for his escape —
He wasn’t afraid Lu Zhuonian would mistake his dopamine rush; he was afraid he couldn’t tell whether what he felt for Lu Zhuonian was desire or love.
Lu Zhuonian looked at Chen Zemian, eyes sweeping over him like mist and clouds. “Chen Zemian, whether you have love or desire for me, I can accept it.”
Chen Zemian’s heart jumped. “You can accept it? Why?”
Lu Zhuonian’s eyes were vast, as if they could hold all his uneasiness and hesitation. “We still have a lot of time. You’ll figure it out one day.”
Chen Zemian pursed his lips. “What if I can’t figure it out?”
Lu Zhuonian said, “That doesn’t matter.”
Chen Zemian asked, “Why?”
Lu Zhuonian smiled and said, “Because I really like you, Chen Zemian.”
*****
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Author: LazyHermitGal
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