In order to atone for his mistake — and also because he was worried that Lu Zhuonian might suddenly die from the poison while bathing — Chen Zemian took on the important task of helping Lu Shao take a bath.
Lu Zhuonian was a very particular person.
Even though he could only use half of his hands, he insisted on bathing in the bathtub and placed three essential oil and sea salt bath balls into the water before he was willing to get in.
The bath balls dissolved, and a layer of white foam floated on the surface, covering the entire tub.
When Chen Zemian came in, Lu Zhuonian was already soaking. He was half-leaning against the bathtub, with most of his body underwater except the part above his chest, which was exposed.
The whole bathroom was filled with steam and a faint fragrance.
Bathing like this every day would surely leave one marinated. No wonder Lu Shao always smelled so good — like a princess.
Chen Zemian pulled up his collar and took a sniff, feeling faintly scented.
He pulled up a small stool, sat beside the tub, and placed the plastic wrap he held on the shelf. “Give me your hand.”
Lu Zhuonian said, “No need to bother, I can hold it myself.”
Chen Zemian tore off a piece of plastic wrap. “I’m afraid the water will splash onto the gauze. If you’re too lazy to wrap it, just hang your arm higher.”
Lu Zhuonian nodded and cooperatively raised his right arm.
Chen Zemian bent down, placed a hand on the wall for support, half-sat on the edge of the tub, and began wrapping Lu Zhuonian’s arm on the shelf with plastic wrap.
Lu Zhuonian turned his head and leaned back as far as he could.
The bathtub was deep, and a layer of bubbles floated on top. Chen Zemian leaned over carefully, and the hem of his T-shirt touched the water.
Quick-witted, Chen Zemian grabbed the hem of his shirt with his mouth to keep it dry. Holding Lu Zhuonian’s right arm with his left hand, he continued wrapping with his right hand. As he lifted the shirt hem, Lu Zhuonian saw a narrow, white waist before him.
Lu Zhuonian: “…”
For a moment, he didn’t know where to look.
Everything felt sudden.
Looking up, he saw Chen Zemian’s raised neck, lower jaw, and mouth holding the hem of his shirt. Looking down, he saw a thin, soft, narrow waist covered with a layer of tight muscles. The waistline was clear; Chen Zemian’s core strength was strong enough to support him leaning over and tying Lu Zhuonian’s arm in a posture resembling a mermaid.
Chen Zemian sat sideways on the tub’s edge. It was called sitting, but since the edge was very narrow, the only actual contact point was the palm area outside his buttocks. His other leg was supported on the ground, and his upper body stretched out like an acrobat, bent at an extremely awkward angle.
Most people would have fallen into the water in that position.
Very strong core strength.
Lu Zhuonian looked up at Chen Zemian, who happened to pause his wrapping and look down at him.
“What’s wrong?” Lu Zhuonian asked.
Chen Zemian held the shirt hem in his mouth, wearing an indescribable expression. “I think this is a bit weird.”
After wrapping with plastic wrap, the gauze wouldn’t get wet, but this posture was just too strange — Lu Zhuonian was sitting naked in the bathtub, his right hand hung high on the shelf above his head.
“It’d be even weirder if you hung that hand up too,” Chen Zemian said.
Lu Zhuonian was calm. “It won’t be weird if you don’t think too much.”
Chen Zemian really couldn’t shake a certain weird sense of déjà vu. “Forget it, let’s not tie it up. I’ll just wrap your hand for you.”
He raised his arm to pull the plastic wrap off and remove Lu Zhuonian’s hand.
When wrapping, you wrap forward; when removing, you pull backward. Chen Zemian pulled back hard, forgetting there was nothing behind him. His whole body swayed, and his hand only managed to rest on Lu Zhuonian’s shoulder. Before he could steady himself, he fell into the water.
His hand, which had been holding Lu Zhuonian’s shoulder for support, slid down to his chest, then all the way into the water. Remembering he had to support the whole body, he pressed Lu Zhuonian’s lower abdomen to prop himself up and managed to sit up out of the water.
Lu Zhuonian: “…”
Chen Zemian is most dangerous when there is no danger.
That sentence kept proving true.
If he had pressed a little lower, Lu Zhuonian would never have to worry about his hidden illness again — it would have been truly cured.
Fortunately, perhaps because he lost too much blood today and was physically weak, he had no adverse reactions.
Chen Zemian’s face was covered in water and foam, and he couldn’t open his eyes at all.
He closed them and fumbled around, trying to find a towel to wipe his face.
Of course, except for Lu Zhuonian, he didn’t touch anything else.
Lu Zhuonian sighed, and with his injured left hand — bandaged, stitched three times, and splashed by Chen Zemian but still usable — reached for a towel for Chen Zemian.
It was unclear who was taking care of whom.
Chen Zemian wiped the foam off his face and finally opened his eyes.
He thought he’d caused a big fuss and expected to see Lu Zhuonian’s angry face.
Unexpectedly, when he opened his eyes, he saw Lu Zhuonian smiling.
Chen Zemian asked cautiously, “Did I make you crazy?”
Lu Zhuonian smiled, shook his head, and threw the towel over Chen Zemian’s head. “No, I just think you’re funny.”
To make amends, Chen Zemian decided — “Don’t decide.”
Lu Zhuonian stood at the bedroom door. “Just go to bed honestly.”
Chen Zemian hugged the blanket. “I’m afraid you’ll die from the poison in the middle of the night. I can watch over you — like the little guards around the emperor, sleeping underground to protect you.”
“If you guard me again, I’ll go underground,” Lu Zhuonian resolutely refused to let Chen Zemian in. “The best protection for me is if you stop thinking so much.”
Chen Zemian sat at the door wrapped in a blanket. “Then I’ll guard here.”
Lu Zhuonian closed the door coldly. “Whatever you want.”
Ten minutes later, Chen Zemian fell asleep leaning against the door.
Lu Zhuonian opened the door, looked at Chen Zemian curled up asleep, squatted down, and tried to wake him.
Just as he stretched out his hand, Chen Zemian suddenly woke up.
“What’s wrong?” Chen Zemian asked. “Are you feeling uncomfortable?”
Lu Zhuonian said, “No, I just wanted to see if you were asleep.”
“I can hear you even if I’m asleep,” Chen Zemian tightened the blanket and his eyes slowly closed. “If you’re okay, I’ll go back to sleep.”
Lu Zhuonian really had no way to deal with Chen Zemian and sighed. “Go to the room to sleep.”
Chen Zemian tilted his head, his voice growing smaller. “It’s okay… I’m here… that’s all.”
Lu Zhuonian’s eyes fell on the red mole on Chen Zemian’s neck. “There’s a sofa in the room — you can sleep there.”
Chen Zemian drowsily opened his eyes, pulled the blanket — and Lu Zhuonian — into the room, and collapsed onto the sofa as if he had fainted.
Lu Zhuonian lay back on the bed, watching Chen Zemian to see if he was really asleep or pretending. As he watched, he fell asleep himself.
That night, Chen Zemian woke about every 40 minutes, went to the bed to check on Lu Zhuonian, confirmed that he showed no signs of poisoning, and then returned to the sofa to continue sleeping.
After repeating this three or four times, he thought the sofa was too far from the bed and tried to push it closer, but failed. Seeing that Lu Zhuonian was sleeping deeply, he climbed onto the other side of the bed and lay down, thinking he’d do this a few times and then return to the sofa before Lu Zhuonian woke.
After falling asleep on the bed, Chen Zemian woke again, looked at Lu Zhuonian several times, and returned to the sofa before Lu Zhuonian woke up.
What Chen Zemian didn’t know was that he wasn’t the only one waking up repeatedly that night.
Both of them slept fitfully, but strangely, they woke the next day feeling refreshed.
Chen Zemian didn’t go to work, instead staying to take care of Lu Zhuonian, who temporarily couldn’t care for himself.
Their living habits weren’t exactly the same, but they both tended to stay up late.
Lu Zhuonian couldn’t sleep at night, and Chen Zemian also stayed up late. When playing games, he worked day and night, often holding the computer until three or four in the morning, then sleeping until noon.
Before, I had to get up early for work and could barely maintain a normal sleep schedule. This time, I was at the villa taking care of Lu Zhuonian full-time, without needing to get up early for work, and soon my routine was completely thrown off. That day, Chen Zemian stayed up all night, and when he finally turned off the computer, it was already eight in the morning — just in time to have breakfast with Lu Zhuonian.
Chen Zemian thought hard and decided to adjust his sleep schedule. “I’ll stay awake for another twelve hours from now, go to bed at eight in the evening, and my routine will be back to normal tomorrow.”
Lu Zhuonian glanced at Chen Zemian and said, “It’s easier to believe I’m Qin Shihuang than to believe you can endure that.”
Chen Zemian vowed, “I definitely can endure it. It’s just twelve hours; it’ll pass quickly.”
And those twelve hours really did pass quickly.
After dinner, Chen Zemian curled up on the sofa and read a novel. As he read, his eyes began to ache, so he switched to listening to an audiobook, closed his eyes, and rested his mind. When he opened his eyes again, dusk had fallen.
It wasn’t too early or too late — just eight in the evening.
Chen Zemian: “…”
At this point, there was no point in regretting it. Chen Zemian went out for a drive, ate his own meal, and brought a midnight snack for Lu Zhuonian.
Lu Zhuonian had been working out before he left, and when Chen Zemian returned, he was still running in the gym.
He’s simply the king of curls.
No wonder he has such an enviable figure.
“I want to work out too,” Chen Zemian looked at his watch. “But it’s so late, will it disturb the neighbors?”
Lu Zhuonian slowed down the treadmill. “No neighbors.”
Chen Zemian asked, “How do you know?”
Lu Zhuonian said calmly, “Because the other half of this duplex is also mine.”
He felt living alone in a single-family house was too spacious, so he bought the entire duplex villa. Living in half of it was just the right size — quiet and comfortable. He wouldn’t disturb the neighbors, nor be disturbed by them.
Chen Zemian said in disbelief, “In this villa area where every inch of land is valuable, you left half of your villa empty just to live in peace and quiet?”
Lu Zhuonian pointed to the duplex next door. “That one’s empty too.”
Chen Zemian was so shocked his voice trembled slightly, “You mean… that one is yours too?”
Lu Zhuonian glanced at him, “It’s not something to brag about. It’s typical territorial behavior and a manifestation of personality disorder.”
Chen Zemian said, “What kind of personality disorder is that? Everyone has a sense of territory. I don’t have money, but when I do, I’ll do the same. It’s cool.”
Lu Zhuonian drooped his eyelids slightly. “But you wouldn’t be anxious if there were others near your house, but I would.”
Chen Zemian realized belatedly, “Then I’ll live with you…”
Lu Zhuonian interrupted, “It’s okay, you’re different.”
Chen Zemian was a little confused about the rules of Lu Zhuonian’s territorial awareness, scratched his chin, and asked, “What’s your standard for this difference? How sure are you? Are there any rules?”
Lu Zhuonian replied, “No, it’s purely idealistic.”
Chen Zemian probed, “So I live in your house?”
Lu Zhuonian said, “It doesn’t matter.”
Chen Zemian continued to study the boundaries. “What about entering your bedroom?”
Lu Zhuonian lifted his eyelids, glanced at Chen Zemian, and asked indifferently, “Did you enter less?”
Chen Zemian argued, “That’s because you didn’t lock the door. If you didn’t want me to enter, you would have locked it.”
Lu Zhuonian was silent for less than a second, then said, “Anyway, don’t worry about disturbing the neighbors. I sleep very late, so do whatever you want.”
Chen Zemian, typically asking for more, said, “Then if I can’t sleep, can I come to you to hang out?”
Lu Zhuonian asked, “Hang out how?”
Chen Zemian said, “Go out for a midnight snack or climb a mountain to watch the sunrise.”
Lu Zhuonian thought about it and found it interesting, so he said, “As long as I’m not asleep, it’s okay.”
After that, he increased the treadmill speed and continued running.
Chen Zemian glanced at the kilometers on the treadmill and said in surprise, “Twenty kilometers?! Aren’t you tired?”
Lu Zhuonian slowed the treadmill and replied, “It’s easier to fall asleep if you’re a little tired.”
Chen Zemian thought, “Will that work?”
Lu Zhuonian nodded. “It will.”
“Then don’t run,” Chen Zemian said, sometimes sounding very childish. There was obviously plenty of equipment in the gym, but he insisted on using Lu Zhuonian’s—as if things taken from others were more enjoyable. “Let me run for a while.”
Lu Zhuonian switched places with Chen Zemian and continued training his legs with other equipment.
Chen Zemian had just finished his meal and felt a stomachache after running for a while, so he stopped and sat aside to watch Lu Zhuonian work out.
Lu Zhuonian has long Achilles tendons and beautiful calf lines. The muscles in his legs were tense and stretched with the fitness movements, showing a masculine and strong beauty.
Even if Chen Zemian practiced, he couldn’t achieve that effect.
It’s the difference in skeleton size. Their innate physical conditions are different.
“Can’t you just train on your own?” Lu Zhuonian finished his set and paused, frowning slightly. “Stop staring at me.”
Chen Zemian propped himself up on his hands, tilting his head lazily toward him. “I can’t keep going. My stomach hurts from all that running.”
Lu Zhuonian shot him a glance. “You’re so delicate.”
Chen Zemian looked genuinely aggrieved. “Don’t blame me for being in poor health. I used to drink too much.”
“Then stop drinking,” Lu Zhuonian said flatly.
Chen Zemian nodded, his gaze following Lu Zhuonian as he moved into another set.
“I still get a strange sense of accomplishment just watching you work out,” he said thoughtfully. “Your leg muscles are incredible. Can I touch them?”
Lu Zhuonian didn’t even glance his way.
“No.”
Chen Zemian hadn’t expected much—he simply admired, envied, and, if he were honest, felt a stab of jealousy.
If he had Lu Zhuonian’s physique, he thought, he’d probably succeed at everything he tried.
But Lu Zhuonian doused him with cold reality. “You didn’t even last twelve hours.”
Chen Zemian bristled, his voice sharp with indignation. “That was an accident!”
For the next few days, he kept metaphorically slapping himself in the face.
Chen Zemian had resolved to start sleeping by ten each night — but he couldn’t stick to it. Instead, he downed cup after cup of coffee, until he was buzzing like he’d taken something stronger. Restless and overly talkative, he clung to Lu Zhuonian, trailing him from downstairs to upstairs.
Then, just as Lu Zhuonian entered his bedroom, Chen Zemian unexpectedly followed him in.
Excitement makes people bold. Chen Zemian, apparently immune to Lu Zhuonian’s increasingly dark expression, chattered away without pause.
Half an hour later, Lu Zhuonian kicked him out of the room and locked the door behind him.
Fueled by excessive coffee, Chen Zemian managed to stretch his late nights into full-blown chaos. His sleep schedule spiraled — first drifting from eight in the morning to one in the afternoon, then to three, then five… until, at last, he found himself going to bed at eight in the evening.
“I’ve successfully fixed my schedule!” he declared triumphantly.
Because he hadn’t been able to stay awake past 8 p.m. the night before, Chen Zemian woke up bright and early at 4 a.m. the next morning. Overjoyed, he leapt onto Lu Zhuonian’s bed and proudly announced that he had successfully fixed his sleep schedule.
Lu Zhuonian, already frustrated from his own lack of sleep, was even more irritated to find Chen Zemian bouncing around like an overexcited child. He yanked the quilt over his head, turned to the side, and refused to respond.
Over the past several days, Chen Zemian’s days and nights had been completely reversed — sleeping through daylight hours and making trouble through the night. At this point, Lu Zhuonian was seriously beginning to regret ever telling him, “Come to me if you can’t sleep.”
Chen Zemian was, without question, a menace. The moment midnight struck, he became hyperactive, doing whatever came to mind with reckless enthusiasm.
To avoid being discovered awake — and subsequently ambushed with midnight movie invitations, late-night snacks, sunrise viewings, impromptu hikes, or even suggestions to watch the flag-raising ceremony — Lu Zhuonian went so far as to give up his usual habit of reading when he couldn’t sleep. He didn’t even dare leave the light on, afraid that Chen Zemian would take it as an open invitation.
Chen Zemian half-lay on Lu Zhuonian, leaned over, and asked, “Are you still awake?”
Lu Zhuonian closed his eyes and pretended to sleep.
Chen Zemian stretched out his hand and pulled open Lu Zhuonian’s eyelids. “Don’t pretend, I saw your eyelashes trembling.”
“…”
Lu Zhuonian sighed, “How did you find out I was still awake?”
Chen Zemian analyzed it clearly. “There’s a glass of water on the sideboard that’s not completely cold yet. You must have just woken up and drank it. Judging by the temperature, it’s been less than half an hour. You don’t fall asleep easily, so you definitely haven’t been asleep that long.”
Lu Zhuonian thought to himself that was a bad idea. He hadn’t expected this bastard to be so smart.
He didn’t have many tricks, but why did he have to use them all to torture him?
Chen Zemian shared the joy of his success. “I went to bed at 8 o’clock last night and woke up now. I sleep from 8 pm to 4 am. This schedule is healthier than my grandfather’s. Isn’t it amazing?”
Lu Zhuonian opened his eyes. “You’re trying to trick me, Chen Zemian. Count carefully — see if you haven’t missed a night’s sleep.”
Chen Zemian replied, “That’s not important. Anyway, my schedule is normal now. It’ll be more normal if I stay up two more hours tomorrow — I’ll go to bed at 10 and get up at 6. It’s a pity if I stay up any later, it’ll get messed up again.”
Lu Zhuonian asked, “Can’t you work on that game during regular hours?”
Chen Zemian sighed. “I don’t get any inspiration during regular hours. I only get it when my brain thinks I’m staying up late. The game will be submitted for review soon. It’s a critical period. If it passes, I can make money by reselling it.”
Lu Zhuonian rolled up the quilt and turned over. “I hope you can sell it at a good price.” Chen Zemian had invested a lot in this game and consumed much energy, but whether he was attentive or not would finally show in the valuation. Because he had applied for two code copyrights, the game hadn’t been reviewed yet, but a big boss from a game company had already spotted it and offered 10 million to buy their studio.
“I’m a little reluctant to sell it, although the studio is just an empty shell with no one in it.” Chen Zemian picked up another pillow, half-lying on the bed, and asked Lu Zhuonian, “What do you think?”
Ten million to buy a game studio is a lot for ordinary people, but for Lu Zhuonian, it’s not as expensive as half a car, so Chen Zemian was embarrassed to discuss this with him during the day.
But it was different at night.
Chen Zemian especially liked talking to Lu Zhuonian in the middle of the night, especially in Lu Zhuonian’s bedroom.
It was already winter; the north wind howled outside, and the house was warm and dark, with a secret sense of security — especially after three in the morning, when even the bustling capital fell silent, as if there were only the two of them in the world.
All the labels given by the outside world faded in the night, and the gap in status temporarily disappeared, leaving only two unlucky insomniacs chatting to pass the time.
Besides, there was a faint fragrance in Lu Zhuonian’s bedroom — like sandalwood and cedar — that smelled particularly calming.
Many topics that Chen Zemian didn’t know how to start during the day could be naturally talked about at night.
Thinking of this, Chen Zemian suddenly realized and blamed Lu Zhuonian for his irregular sleep schedule. “I know why I stay up later and later — it’s all your fault.”
Lu Zhuonian, who had been carefully weighing the pros and cons of the studio’s acquisition, suddenly paused. Without looking up, he asked, “What does your habit of staying up late have to do with me?”
Chen Zemian replied with quiet confidence, “Because I want to talk to you.”
Lu Zhuonian let out a helpless smile. “Right, I never talk to you during the day—only at night, apparently.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Chen Zemian murmured, his voice softening. “It just… feels different at night.”
Lu Zhuonian asked, “What’s the difference?”
Chen Zemian lowered his voice. “During the day, you’re the high and mighty Lu Shao — my boss, my superior, the same kind of person as Ye Shao and Xiao Shao — but not me.”
Lu Zhuonian turned and looked at Chen Zemian, not interrupting but quietly listening to him continue.
Being looked at by Lu Zhuonian like this, Chen Zemian felt more and more embarrassed.
In fact, he knew in his heart there was no difference between Lu Zhuonian during the day and at night; only his own mindset had changed.
But he still wanted to tell Lu Zhuonian what he thought.
Because it was nighttime now, he could tell Lu Zhuonian anything.
Chen Zemian quickly glanced at Lu Zhuonian and said in a very low voice, “You’re my friend at night — my friend alone.”
Lu Zhuonian’s eyes shifted slightly, and his black pupils locked onto Chen Zemian.
With the faint light in the corridor, Chen Zemian saw his own reflection in Lu Zhuonian’s eyes.
Chen Zemian knew that there must be Lu Zhuonian in his eyes, but he didn’t know if Lu Zhuonian saw it.
Lu Zhuonian saw it.
He looked at himself in Chen Zemian’s eyes, and his heart couldn’t help but soften.
Lu Zhuonian parted his thin lips slightly. “Chen Zemian, I’m not as high and mighty as you think. There is no time limit for us to be friends. If you have something to say to me, every minute and every second is a good time.”
Chen Zemian nodded but didn’t say anything more. He stayed in Lu Zhuonian’s bed for a while. He had just woken up and felt a little sleepy again.
Lu Zhuonian heard the breathing beside him gradually deepen. While Chen Zemian was still asleep, he nudged him awake. “Don’t sleep here with me — go back to your own room.”
Chen Zemian was a little sleepy, but Lu Zhuonian pushed him away. Chen Zemian muttered, “We’re friends. Can’t I sleep in your bed for a while?”
“No.” Lu Zhuonian sat up and took out an unlabeled medicine bottle from the bedside drawer. “I want to sleep, too.”
Chen Zemian saw Lu Zhuonian swallow a white pill and asked, “What is this?”
Lu Zhuonian said, “Melatonin.”
Chen Zemian saw that Lu Zhuonian had taken the medicine, so he didn’t want to disturb him anymore and decided to go play by himself.
Lu Zhuonian’s energy was always a mystery.
He was still awake at four in the morning but appeared at the dining table on time at eight.
When Lu Zhuonian came downstairs, he found Chen Zemian at the table, quietly eating porridge with salted duck eggs.
At the sound of approaching footsteps, Chen Zemian looked up. He sat a little awkwardly, one foot propped on the dining chair, chopsticks still in his mouth. “You sleep so many hours a day… is that really okay?” he asked, curiosity laced in his tone.
He turned fully to look—and was momentarily stunned.
Despite having gone to bed after four in the morning, Lu Zhuonian didn’t look the least bit tired. On the contrary, he seemed alert, composed, and brimming with energy.
He was dressed in a high-end, custom-tailored casual suit, the subtle scent of aftershave clinging freshly to his skin. His hair was perfectly styled, every strand in place, exuding a sense of dignified composure—poised and unmistakably in his prime.
Standing before the luxurious marble table, he looked like a nobleman preparing to attend a grand ball, starkly at odds with the humble breakfast of porridge and salted duck eggs set before him.
Chen Zemian set down his bowl, eyeing him with mild confusion. “Why are you dressed so neatly? Are you going out?”
“…”
*****
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Author: LazyHermitGal
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