In the face of Lu Zhuonian’s fervent declaration of love, Chen Qingyu retreated three paces. Chen Qingyu had brought up Chen Zemian’s habit of avoidance intending to subtly warn Lu Zhuonian to manage his expectations.
He never expected Lu Zhuonian to counter with the deduction: “He’s very brave, and he likes me very much.”
…Alright, fine.
Under Lu Zhuonian’s exceptionally flawless performance, Chen Qingyu’s inspection tour concluded successfully. The high-end apartment, with its excellent environment, abundant food, drink, entertainment, and private butler, was very suitable for Chen Zemian’s life.
Chen Qingyu departed satisfied.
After a brief spell of chaos, tranquility returned to the apartment. Chen Zemian collapsed onto the sofa with a long sigh, his arm reaching into the couch crack to feel for the silver handcuff—the invisible, long-buried bomb that had, thankfully, not detonated.
Lu Zhuonian pinched Chen Zemian’s nose. “This habit of yours, just carelessly stuffing things everywhere, is going to be the death of me. If your dad had seen that, eight mouths couldn’t have explained it away.”
Chen Zemian cuffed the handcuff onto Lu Zhuonian’s wrist and pulled him toward the bedroom. “So how did you explain the ‘stuffed it very deep’ part to him later?”
Lu Zhuonian was pulled off balance. “He didn’t ask.”
It was a perfectly normal sentence; if anyone else had said it, no one would have thought twice. But for some reason, when it came from their mouths, it took on a different flavor.
Chen Zemian, having successfully evaded disaster once again, pushed Lu Zhuonian onto the bed with a cheeky grin. “A different flavor? I think it’s a different color, you little perv.”
Lu Zhuonian was only cuffed by his right hand, so his movements weren’t restricted; the single silver cuff on his wrist looked almost like an accessory. He reached up to stroke Chen Zemian’s face. “You little horny cat.”
Chen Zemian opened the drawer and pulled out a pair of cat-ear hair clips. “You’ll be the little cat today, okay?”
Lu Zhuonian’s gaze fell on the fluffy black cat ears, and he made no explicit agreement, only letting out a soft laugh. Chen Zemian knelt on the bed, holding up the cat-ear headband.
Lu Zhuonian’s eyes were like water, watching Chen Zemian tenderly.
Chen Zemian had wanted to see Lu Zhuonian in cat ears for a long time, but he paused before reaching out to put them on, offering a final warning. “I’m really putting them on, you know.”
Lu Zhuonian lowered his head.
In the face of an overwhelming, surging love, so-called principles and bottom lines all bowed down in surrender. Everyone who knew Lu Zhuonian knew that the eldest son of the Lu family had been meticulously particular since childhood. At the tender age of four, his teachers and parents pleaded with him, all failing to convince him to wear animal ears for a kindergarten performance. Yet, here they were, perched atop the head of the twenty-one-year-old Lu Zhuonian.
Chen Zemian cupped Lu Zhuonian’s face, taking in his deep, handsome features. The black cat ears did nothing to diminish his magnificent bearing; instead, they added a trace of seductive wildness.
Chen Zemian couldn’t help but bump into Lu Zhuonian. “F*ck, you’re so hot, Lu Zhuonian.”
Lu Zhuonian lowered his gaze, looking at the faint wet mark on his pajamas. “Are you planning on taking the lead now?”
“I’ll only take the lead, not change position,” Chen Zemian cuffed Lu Zhuonian to the headboard, his fingers tracing Lu Zhuonian’s sexy Adam’s apple. “You performed very well. I’ll reward this job to you from now on.”
— * — * — * — * — *— * — * — * — * — *— * — * — * — * — *
Chen Zemian was utterly exhausted, unable even to call out, and curled up on the other man’s chest, letting out small, kitten-like whimpers. He spoke in broken fragments. “No more, I can’t. Let’s lie down for this, I have no strength left.”
Lu Zhuonian, ever gentle and understanding, stopped at his words and replied, “Okay.”
Chen Zemian finally got a moment to breathe, his hand trembling as he reached for the key to unlock the handcuff on the headboard. The instant the key was about to enter the lock, another sudden, fierce storm erupted. The key instantly slipped from his grasp, clattering onto the floor and rolling under the bed, only to be retrieved again after the first wave of passion subsided.
Once the handcuff was off, Lu Zhuonian lifted Chen Zemian into his arms to take a shower. Limp in his embrace, Chen Zemian decided to pretend to be sick for a little while, just to scare Lu Zhuonian. However, the effects of his recent focus on health were remarkably good. His resistance had clearly improved. The day before, he’d been too tired to lift a finger, but after waking up from a good night’s sleep, he was perfectly fine.
— * — * — * — * — *— * — * — * — * — *— * — * — * — * — *
As the semester drew to a close, Lu Zhuonian completed his year-long study abroad program. When school resumed in September, it would be his senior year—the timeline was finally moving toward the part Chen Zemian was familiar with. Many people might not realize until much later that the summer between junior and senior year is the last truly carefree break of one’s life. The heavy pressure of academic work is temporarily suspended, and the pressures of career and family are still approaching, not yet having truly arrived in the current moment.
On the day of his course completion, Lu Zhuonian asked Chen Zemian on the way home if there was anywhere he wanted to go. With a long holiday finally upon them, they could travel together. Chen Zemian said he didn’t want to go anywhere right now; he just wanted to relax listlessly at home with Lu Zhuonian for a few days, living a life where they ate and drank whatever they pleased.
Lu Zhuonian agreed after a moment’s thought and even asked Chen Zemian if he wanted hotpot. Chen Zemian turned his head to look at Lu Zhuonian. “Why are you suddenly so agreeable?”
Lu Zhuonian chuckled. “When have I ever not been agreeable with you?”
Chen Zemian thought carefully and realized that from the first time they met, Lu Zhuonian had always been exceptionally accommodating to him. Interestingly, Lu Zhuonian had been “concerned” about Chen Zemian’s physical well-being when they first met, and he remained concerned now.
The annoying summer was always especially long. Chen Zemian bought a large health-preserving pot to brew plum juice, and occasionally pear soup or milk tea. The apartment was always filled with a faint, sweet aroma. Outside, the sun was scorching, and the heat was oppressive, so they simply stayed put, enjoying the air conditioning and cold drinks.
Carefree and lazy, it felt like they were back in the days when Lu Zhuonian’s hand was injured. Sometimes they’d watch movies or play games together, but mostly they did their own things without bothering each other. Yet, the occasional glance up to see the other brought boundless peace and joy to their hearts.
Stealing a few days of leisure from the busy world, regardless of how tedious or troublesome time was, Chen Zemian just wanted to stay tucked away in a small corner of peace. He was practically grafted onto the bed, playing when he woke up, sleeping when he was tired, and when there was nothing else to do, he’d empty his mind and sink into short videos, comfortably wasting time with a clear conscience. When he grew tired of scrolling, he’d go pester Lu Zhuonian. He would either cling to Lu Zhuonian for some adult games or make Lu Zhuonian take him out for a stroll. When going out, there was no need to dress up; he’d just throw on a clean T-shirt, sunglasses, and a hat, and they’d be off.
Because these days were too delightfully unstructured, Chen Zemian briefly lost all desire for social interaction. When his friends planned to come to Boston as a group, he lied, saying Lu Zhuonian’s courses hadn’t finished yet.
The lie was brutally exposed three days later.
Labeled a friend-ditcher for his love life, Chen Zemian was severely reprimanded; his WeChat nearly exploded. To appease the masses, he had no choice but to charter a plane himself to bring their friends to Boston.
— * — * — * — * — *— * — * — * — * — *— * — * — * — * — *
The day Xiao Kesong and the others arrived was sunny. At three in the afternoon, the temperature in Boston was staggeringly high, and the group didn’t linger outside after getting off the plane.
Since the lease on Xiao Kesong’s apartment wasn’t up yet, he and Ye Chen stayed directly downstairs from Lu Zhuonian’s place. Xue Duo and Liu Yuebo stayed at a luxury hotel next door. Yan Luo also wanted to stay at the hotel, but Chen Zemian brought him straight home.
Yan Luo was tactful and hesitated when he heard this. “Won’t this disturb you and Lu Shao?”
Chen Zemian said, “No disturbance. My dad happened to be visiting me and he’s here too. An extra person makes it more lively. Otherwise, it would be just the three of us, which would be awkward.”
Yan Luo looked at Lu Zhuonian, then at Chen Zemian, a little surprised. “Why would it be awkward?”
Lu Zhuonian had an expressionless face and lowered his gaze, remaining silent.
Chen Zemian sighed lightly. “It’s a long story.”
Knowing that Yan Luo and the others were arriving by plane today, Chen Zemian had taken out the handcuff in advance, wanting to learn how to pick the lock from Yan Luo. Who would have thought that Chen Qingyu would choose that exact moment to visit him? The moment Chen Qingyu walked in, he saw the handcuff on the coffee table.
Before going out to pick up their friends, the three of them had already stared at the handcuff in silence for a long time. Even though Lu Zhuonian was thorough in his planning, having simulated ten thousand ways the handcuff could be exposed, Chen Zemian simply leaving it on the coffee table was far beyond the pale.
Now, only by having Yan Luo demonstrate his lock-picking skill could Chen Qingyu be convinced that the handcuff was truly a teaching tool.
Yan Luo hadn’t expected such a heavy responsibility to fall on his shoulders. He was worried about messing up. He nervously said, “But many handcuffs now have a double lock. What if I can’t open it?”
Chen Zemian clasped Yan Luo’s shoulder. “Yan Xiao Luo, have I been good to you?”
Yan Luo: “…”
Chen Zemian’s expression was solemn. “My lifetime of good name rests on you. You must succeed at this arduous task; failure is not an option. You just have to believe in yourself.”
Lu Zhuonian held reservations about Chen Zemian’s “lifetime of good name,” believing that his own good name was the one truly resting on Chen Zemian.
After arriving home, under everyone’s watchful eyes, Yan Luo took the handcuff in his hand and poked at it twice with a piece of wire. With a soft ‘click’ as the lock turned, the good names of Chen Zemian and Lu Zhuonian were finally saved. Both of them let out a simultaneous sigh of relief in their hearts.
Chen Zemian quickly said, “Dad, look, isn’t Yan Luo amazing?”
Chen Qingyu acknowledged Yan Luo’s lock-picking skill, seemingly believing the story that the handcuff was a teaching tool. Meanwhile, Chen Zemian adopted an extremely humble and studious demeanor, his head leaning close to Yan Luo’s as they quietly researched lock-picking techniques. Occasionally, he would steal a glance at Chen Qingyu, monitoring his father’s expression.
Chen Qingyu leaned back on the sofa, supporting himself with one hand, looking at Chen Zemian. “If you’re going to study, study seriously. So you don’t have to call 911 if you lose the key someday.”
Chen Zemian answered him and bowed his head to meticulously examine the wire in his hand.
Just when everyone thought the matter had been softly brushed aside, Chen Qingyu’s voice drifted out, slow and deliberate:
“It’s not very convenient to put on clothes when you’re wearing handcuffs.”
— * — * — * — * — *— * — * — * — * — *— * — * — * — * — *
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Author: LazyHermitGal
A Lazy Hermit Gal wondering in the void and falling into the translation abyss.
