TL: Hua
In Rongchuan, at the Shen family’s home, it was breakfast time. Father Shen and Mother Shen worriedly looked at the vacant seats at home. Mother Shen said:
“I don’t know if Boyan can take care of himself while he’s out there.”
Father Shen’s face showed hesitation. “He should be. And didn’t I give him a lot of money? If he can’t take care of himself, he can always hire a housekeeper.”
“You’re right, but it’s really worrying.”
–
Just after six o’clock in the morning, a light penetrated through the cracks in the curtains. In the room, the boy yawned drowsily and was about to sit up from the bed when the door to the room opened with a creak from the outside.
A tall boy approached the bed, leaned over, and softly stroked the other boy’s head with his large, gentle hand. He spoke in a soft voice.
“Xia Xia, wake up and eat breakfast.”
Xia Shu’an sat up from the bed, and the gentle voice sounded again:
“Remember to brush your teeth first. I bought new toothbrushes and toothpaste and put them on the bathroom sink. The towels are also new.”
“It’s getting cooler today, so wear more clothes.”
After saying these words, the boy took half a step back and waited for Xia Shu’an to wake up like a gentle and considerate male mother.
Xia Shu’an: “…”
When Xia Shu’an walked to the bathroom, Shen Boyan had already gone out. The boy stared blankly at the person in the mirror. He still looked familiar, but for some reason he looked a little strange. Perhaps the background behind him was too different from before.
After washing up, Xia Shu’an walked out of the room. Shen Boyan had already brought breakfast to the table. There were resteamed steamed buns, hot milk, hard-boiled eggs, and sausages—quite the variety.
Shen Boyan patted the seat next to him and said, “Sit down; let’s go to school together after breakfast.”
He is obviously looking forward to “going to school together”.
Xia Shu’an moved last Saturday, and on Sunday they organized their things together and went to the supermarket to purchase items. Today was their first day of school together. Shen Boyan was very excited and got up earlier than Xia Shu’an, just to prepare breakfast to give them a good start.
Xia Shu’an now feels a little regretful. He shouldn’t have followed Shen Boyan’s logic and said things like “Big bro, take care of lil bro”. Now Shen Boyan not only treats him as a younger brother but also as a three-year-old baby. Xia Shu’an deeply feels that he is obsessed with this large-scale family game.
“Why do you eat so little? Can’t you finish the steamed buns?”
Shen Boyan opened his eyes wide and looked at the remaining steamed bun on his plate.
Xia Shu’an: “Well, one steamed bun is enough for me.”
Steamed buns, eggs, sausages, and a glass of milk were enough for most people, he thought.
However, after the boy finished listening, he showed a helpless and indulgent expression.
“Okay, your appetite is really small. Give me that steamed bun.”
Today’s breakfast ended with Shen Boyan eating two more steamed buns than Xia Shu’an. When Xia Shu’an moved here, he learned that Shen Boyan had a car and a driver, but he usually didn’t want the driver to take him to school because he found it annoying. So in the morning they rode their bicycles to school as before.
After arriving at school, Shen Boyan, as the big bro, earnestly “told” Xia Shu’an:
“You have to study well and wait for me in the classroom after the last class. I’ll come find you for lunch.”
Xia Shu’an’s eyelids twitched, thinking that the first sentence should really be said to yourself.
For some reason, Xia Shu’an felt that time passed very quickly this morning. He just occasionally thought about what happened after moving to Shen Boyan’s house, and after doing a few questions, the class was over.
One class has passed, two classes have passed, and finally, the morning period is over.
As the bell rang for the last class, the classroom suddenly boiled. Everyone rushed to the cafeteria, fearing that they would not be able to get a seat if they were late. Xia Shu’an usually goes to the cafeteria with his deskmate, but today he told him in advance. After most of the classroom was empty, he was still leisurely tidying up his table.
Familiar footsteps came from behind. Xia Shu’an felt something. He turned around and saw a tall boy standing in the aisle behind him, looking at him condescendingly with an unruly expression on his face.
“Come on, let’s go eat.”
Xia Shu’an originally thought they would go to the cafeteria, but unexpectedly Shen Boyan took him to the supermarket.
What? Does he want to buy something to eat at the supermarket?
“You wait for me outside.”
The boy walked into the supermarket with his long legs. His height that stood out from the crowd allowed him to quickly pass through the horde of people. After waiting for less than a minute, he came back with a bag in his hand. Xia Shu’an was very familiar with that kind of bag. It was an insulated bag that would be used by people who brought lunch.
“Look.” The boy proudly took out the two lunch boxes inside and opened one of them.
“Lunchbox.”
The familiar dishes reminded Xia Shu’an of the dishes they had last night. Indeed, there were still some dishes left over for stir-frying at that time. At that time, Xia Shu’an thought it was because Shen Boyan had just started cooking and couldn’t control the quantity and bought too much.
“When did you make it?” They finished the cooked food last night.
“This morning.”
“What time did you get up this morning?”
“A quarter past five. Hey, don’t worry about it. Eat quickly if you’re hungry. Only by eating more can you grow taller.”
“…” Xia Shu’an picked up the lunchbox silently.
“Is it delicious?”
“Yes.”
“Then eat more and grow taller and stronger quickly.”
“I’m really not short.” The young man muttered softly and concentrated on enjoying his lunch.
The happy time is always short, and soon it’s time to part again.
Shen Boyan frowned and said reluctantly, “Have a good time in class this afternoon. I’ll pick you up in the evening.”
“Um.”
The boy’s smile was sweet. Shen Boyan was unhappy when he thought that they would be separated in the afternoon, but he became happy again when he thought that they could be together again in the evening.
Sure enough, the decision to make him his younger brother was the right one. He’s very happy now and full of expectations every day.
When school was about to end, Xia Shu’an’s deskmate suggested, “Why don’t we go to the bookstore after school? I heard that there are a lot of new books.”
The bookstore he was talking about was a second-hand bookstore near the school. The price was cheap, and they had many kinds of books. Sometimes he would find some interesting books. Xia Shu’an fell in love with that place after going there once.
But—
“No, I have something to do.”
“What is it?”
Xia Shu’an hesitated to speak. His deskmate frowned and realized that things were not simple.
“It can’t be related to that Shen Boyan again, right?”
Xia Shu’an looked at him and blinked.
“Ah, that’s great.” The deskmate exclaimed, “I also want to have a thigh to hug like this. Please show me the way.”
Xia Shu’an showed a gentle and kind smile.
In the evening, he told Shen Boyan about this matter.
“Bookstore?”
The boy frowned deeply. According to him, it was better to go to the mall than to go to the bookstore. He couldn’t stand Xia Shu’an’s clothes that had been worn for who knows how many years. He couldn’t stand his yellowed and worn-out shoes. He couldn’t stand his used and worn schoolbag.
But Xia Shu’an refused to accept his gift, which made Shen Boyan feel a little frustrated.
“Well, let’s go to the bookstore. I can recommend my favorite book to you.”
Shen Boyan wanted to say that he didn’t like reading, but when he thought that it was Xia Shu’an’s favorite book, he felt that those books he hated also had a tiny bit of charm.
In the end, they went to the bookstore. Xia Shu’an bought the book he liked and recommended a space-related adventure book to Shen Boyan.
“When you finish reading the book, we can discuss the plot together.”
Shen Boyan didn’t like to explore the mysteries of the universe and was not interested in unconfirmed phenomena in the universe. But when he thought about sitting on the sofa with Xia Shu’an all afternoon and discussing the stories in the book, he felt that he didn’t dislike the universe that much.
After they got home in the evening, Xia Shu’an took a shower, washed his underwear and socks in the bathroom, and took them to the balcony to dry.
He is used to wearing worn-out clothes as pajamas. The weather is not too cold at the moment, and the indoor temperature is suitable. He is wearing a white, short-sleeved shirt hugging close to his body. The clothes have been washed yellow, and the hem is rolled up. When he hung the clothes on the hanger, his slender waist straightened into a beautiful arc, and his shoulder blades reflected clear bulges in the pure cotton short sleeves. The top was pulled up, revealing a thin waist that Shen Boyan could almost hold with one hand.
Shen Boyan felt that Xia Shu’an’s annoying old clothes were not all shortcomings anymore.
The boy turned around.
“What are you looking at?”
“Nothing.” The tall boy waddled up to the balcony. “Get out of the way; I need to hang out my clothes too.”
Why is he acting strange?
–
Nearly a week after Xia Shu’an moved in, Shen Boyan made a new request.
“I want to sleep with you.” The boy said loudly.
Xia Shu’an’s smile gradually disappeared.
“Why?”
“Why? I just want to sleep with you.”
“But why do two grown men sleep together?”
“It’s because we’re two men that we sleep together. Can a man and a woman sleep together casually?”
Damn, what he said makes sense.
Xia Shu’an looked away and calmed down, letting his brain return to its logical direction.
He looked at Shen Boyan and asked, “Why do you suddenly want to sleep together?”
“It’s not sudden. I think about it for a long time.” The boy suddenly became excited.
“I heard that best friends can sleep together at night and whisper to each other. I have wanted to do this for a long time, but I have never been able to find a suitable partner. Don’t you want to sleep with me? Aren’t you my best friend?”
“Aren’t we best friends?”
Shen Boyan asked three questions in a row, leaving Xia Shu’an unable to find a reason to refuse for a moment.
“But—”
“Can we sleep together or not?” Seeing that the hard tone was not working, the boy started to use the soft one.
The big dog eyes were shining with anticipation, and they looked at Xia Shu’an unblinkingly to see if they could sleep together just once. It’s not like they’re going to sleep together every day.
The boy’s eyes were so aggressive that Xia Shu’an couldn’t resist, so he had to nod.
“Just once.”
“Great!”
That night, Shen Boyan took a shower early and sat under the quilt nearly an hour earlier than usual. When Xia Shu’an came out of the bathroom, he saw the boy looking at him with bright eyes and patting the place next to him vigorously.
“….”
As soon as Xia Shu’an sat down on the bed, the tall boy hugged him into his arms and tightly locked his arms on the boy’s chest.
“Xia Xia, you smell so good.”
He smelled the faint pomegranate aroma on the young man’s body, which was the fragrance left by the shower gel.
The aroma of pomegranate and milk mixed with the boy himself is light, refreshing, and sweet.
The short black hair fluttered around his neck. Xia Shu’an couldn’t help but stiffen and said awkwardly.
“Don’t, don’t move.”
“Okay.” Shen Boyan let go of Xia Shu’an, and the two of them faced each other and rested on the same pillow.
Xia Shu’an saw the bright light in his pupils.
The boy lowered his voice and whispered, “Then let’s keep it a secret.”
“Yeah.” Xia Shu’an was also brought into the atmosphere by him and spoke in a low voice.
“What are we talking about?”
“Well, let’s talk about Joe’s mysterious trip.”
The nighttime passed little by little; the alarm clock was ticking, the moon was dim, and the boy tilted his head, falling asleep at some point.
Shen Boyan’s hand was still on the young boy’s palm, and with a gentle touch, he could touch his fingers that were tinged with a hint of coolness. It is said that people with cold bodies are also cold in summer, but it’s not a problem. His body is very hot, so he can lend Xia Shu’an some heat.
In order to see the other person’s face, Shen Boyan deliberately left the curtains open. Under the silvery white light, the young boy fell into a deep sleep. His face was peaceful and well-behaved, his lips were fleshy, and his eyelashes were so long that he could swing on them.
Shen Boyan thought that Xia Shu’an’s pink face was cute when he was asleep. Of course, Xia Shu’an in normal times was also very cute.
He couldn’t help but lean forward, kiss him on the mouth, and soon separate.
Then he kissed again—and again.
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