“Hey, Nanyang, are you here yet?” A woman’s enthusiastic voice came from the phone. “This place is a bit hard to find, so if you’re close, send me your location.”
Xie Quan gripped Lu Nanyang’s hand, which was trying to hang up the phone, with one hand while using the other to gradually increase the pressure.
The heat in the air rose and expanded, aggressively swallowing up the little remaining rationality.
Sweat beaded on Lu Nanyang’s forehead as he desperately tried to grab Xie Quan’s hand, only to receive a more intimate touch in return, causing him to grit his teeth and swallow the sound that almost escaped.
“Hello, Nanyang?”
“Wang Jie.” Lu Nanyang struggled to speak, “I’m sorry, something came up suddenly, today—”
Just as the arrow was about to leave the bow, Xie Quan suddenly flicked the tip with his index finger. A tingling sensation shot through Lu Nanyang’s nerves like an electric current, and his hand nearly tore the pillowcase.
Xie Quan leaned down next to Lu Nanyang’s ear and whispered softly, “What’s wrong? Come on, tell me.”
Was it his imagination? Xie Quan seemed even more wicked than usual today.
“Can I not come today? Just for today?” Lu Nanyang squeezed the words out between clenched teeth. “I’m really sorry.”
The person on the other end was clearly a bit surprised but quickly expressed understanding. “No worries, no worries—come next time if you get the chance!”
Lu Nanyang let out a breath of relief. But just then, Xie Quan suddenly wrapped his entire hand around him and started moving quickly, without the slightest restraint.
In that instant, Lu Nanyang felt so overwhelmed with pleasure that it was as if the entire world ceased to exist. Only when the blinding white light faded from his vision did he suddenly jolt, hurriedly grabbing his phone in a daze.
The call had already been disconnected, but he had no way of knowing whether the person on the other end had heard the final sound he made.
A wave of embarrassment and shame came crashing in. Lu Nanyang’s entire face turned red, even his ears were burning hot.
He grabbed a pillow and slammed it against Xie Quan. “What the hell is wrong with you?! Did you take something?!”
Xie Quan tossed the pillow back and slowly got off the sofa, casually wiping the noticeable liquid from his hand. “Didn’t you enjoy it too? You couldn’t even hear me talking.”
“Get lost.” Lu Nanyang gave him another kick.
Xie Quan didn’t say anything else. He tidied up his clothes and headed straight back to his room, closing the door behind him.
Lu Nanyang lay on the sofa with his pants unzipped, trying to calm down for quite a while. Then he turned his head toward the direction where Xie Quan had disappeared, feeling utterly confused.
Was he… angry?
No, what right did he have to be angry?!
…..
After that, Xie Quan’s attitude toward him turned cold.
When Lu Nanyang asked if he wanted water, he just said “whatever.” Asked if he wanted it hot or cold—“whatever.”
At six in the morning, just as Lu Nanyang was waking up, Xie Quan had already left with his things. He didn’t return until after 10 p.m., and the first thing he did was lock himself in his room. Aside from going to the bathroom, he barely came out.
Lu Nanyang tried to talk to him several times, but Xie Quan kept brushing him off with excuses: “Later,” or “Tomorrow.”
Even though they lived under the same roof, they barely exchanged more than three sentences a day.
But Lu Nanyang wasn’t exactly a patient guy either. He could tolerate it once or twice, but after repeated cold shoulders, his patience was wearing thin.
That night, Xie Quan came home even later than usual. It was already past 11 p.m. when he stepped through the door.
In the dark, he changed shoes as usual, then sprayed alcohol disinfectant before finally turning on the lights.
And there, right in front of the entryway, sat Lu Nanyang on the sofa, staring directly at him.
Xie Quan jumped in surprise. His hand shook, and he nearly dropped the alcohol bottle.
“What the hell? Sitting in the dark like a damn ghost trying to scare people?” Xie Quan glared at him.
“I was waiting for you, oh Great Busy One.” Lu Nanyang stood up from the sofa.
“Whatever it is, talk tomorrow,” Xie Quan said coolly, brushing past him. “It’s too late tonight.”
As he turned to walk away, Lu Nanyang grabbed his arm and tightened his grip.
Xie Quan tried to shake him off, but when Lu Nanyang was serious, his strength was impossible to resist.
“Look, if you’ve got a problem, can you just say it outright?” Lu Nanyang stared at him.
Xie Quan’s sharp gaze cut through his glasses like a hawk. “I don’t have a problem.”
“Then why are you avoiding me?” Lu Nanyang asked.
“What makes you think I’m avoiding you?” Xie Quan sneered.
“I see it with both my eyes,” Lu Nanyang shot back. “You’re out of the house 20 hours a day, and when you’re home, you lock yourself in your room. What, do I need an appointment just to talk to you now?”
“You think hospital internships are easy?” Xie Quan retorted sarcastically. “We’ve had several critical patients come in. The whole department’s been running nonstop.”
“And you couldn’t spare ten minutes? You can’t even answer me properly anymore?” Lu Nanyang challenged.
“I already said—there’s nothing—!”
Lu Nanyang suddenly laughed, a teasing glint in his dark eyes. “Wow, could it be that our campus heartthrob has never been rejected before? And this little thing already hit your ego that hard?”
Xie Quan snapped his head around, clearly provoked by the remark.
“There’s something you need to understand,” he said, pointing a finger at Lu Nanyang. “Not everything in this world revolves around you! When I go out, when I come back, whether I stay in my room or outside—that’s my choice. It has nothing to do with you. Got it?”
He stormed off to his room, slamming the door shut with a loud bang that made Lu Nanyang’s ears ring.
…Fine.
You’re so high and mighty.
You must be the most refined, strongest top in the whole damn universe, unmatched and untouchable!
Furious, Lu Nanyang stormed back to his room, slamming his own door even louder in retaliation.
As if trying to prove a point, he yanked out all his civil law cases, criminal law exercises, and social practice reports from his backpack, planning to pull an all-nighter. But within thirty minutes, he couldn’t concentrate anymore—Xie Quan’s face kept popping into his head.
He tossed his pen onto the desk and ran a frustrated hand through his hair, waiting for the ticking clock to soothe his spiraling emotions.
Then he started reviewing what had gone wrong between them.
Xie Quan wanted to top him. This wasn’t news. That’s literally how they met in the first place.
Back then, he had strongly resisted—because Xie Quan had pretended to be a bottom and lied to him, with no regard for his feelings.
It wasn’t because Lu Nanyang cared that much about who was top.
He wasn’t someone who was obsessed with having sexual control, nor did he have a strong desire for dominance or possession. He was considered a top simply because he was more built and looked more like a straight guy.
Top or bottom—so long as it felt good, what difference did it make?
He couldn’t quite explain why he resisted Xie Quan’s request so much. It wasn’t about pride, and it wasn’t because he hated being a bottom.
It just felt… off. Like something about it was wrong.
Lu Nanyang frustratedly pulled at his hair again.
Honestly, he no longer held a grudge against Xie Quan. And Xie Quan wasn’t the same as before, either. This time, when Lu Nanyang rejected him, he actually let go.
Suddenly, Lu Nanyang felt a twinge of regret. Maybe… he should’ve let him keep going.
Xie Quan trusted him enough to hand over his medication, and he had been working hard to reduce the dosage these days.
The withdrawal process from drug dependency couldn’t be easy. Xie Quan had even lost his sense of taste—he couldn’t even distract himself with food.
They were just friends with benefits to begin with — a relationship that was supposed to bring pleasure to both parties.
Maybe… this whole thing really was his fault?
Lu Nanyang sighed, twirling the pen in his hand over and over again, then finally made up his mind and stood up from the chair.
He hated how Xie Quan dealt with everything with cold indifference, but he also didn’t want to see him locking himself up in his room, brooding alone, or struggling against withdrawal symptoms.
The hallway light was off, and from a distance, it was easy to see that there was still light coming through the crack in Xie Quan’s door. Lu Nanyang lingered outside it for a long time, but in the end, couldn’t muster the courage to knock.
If he knocked, what was he even supposed to say?
“I thought it through seriously, and I’ve changed my mind. I guess being the bottom isn’t that bad. Want to come top me now”?
Just imagining that line in his head made Lu Nanyang’s ears burn red with shame.
Absolutely not. No way. Over his dead body would he ever say that out loud.
He gave up the idea and turned right into the bathroom instead, deciding to take a cold shower and calm down.
While flushing, Lu Nanyang glanced up at the small window above the bathroom — light was coming through from the other side.
The apartment layout had the bathroom right next to the northern bedroom, and that little window connected directly to Xie Quan’s room. Lu Nanyang was tall — if he stood on the edge of the toilet, he could see into Xie Quan’s room through it.
He hesitated for a moment, then stepped up onto the toilet.
What if Xie Quan was already asleep? What if he had just forgotten to turn off the light?
If he was asleep, then he’d have to wait until tomorrow to talk to him, right?
Just one glance. He just wanted to check if Xie Quan might already be asleep.
With that self-justification in mind, Lu Nanyang peeked through the small window.
From that angle, he could see Xie Quan’s entire room.
Unfortunately, Xie Quan was definitely not asleep. He was sitting at his desk, head down, writing something with intense focus.
What surprised Lu Nanyang was that Xie Quan wasn’t wearing anything on his upper body — just a pair of thin sleep shorts on the bottom.
Xie Quan had a narrow waist and broad shoulders. Even though his upper body wasn’t overly muscular, he didn’t look skinny at all. The smooth lines of his abdomen extended into the silky fabric of his shorts, which clearly outlined his thighs — and the shape between them.
Lu Nanyang’s eyes were glued to him as if stuck there, staring at this version of Xie Quan for several minutes.
Something about this voyeuristic perspective stirred a strange heat inside him. Even in the hottest weather, Xie Quan always wore long sleeves and pants, and even during their “mutual assistance intimate moments,” he almost never took off his shirt.
This was the first time Lu Nanyang had seen him so openly and unreservedly reveal the beauty of his body.
You can’t keep watching.
What are you, a peeping perv?
Lu Nanyang scolded himself inwardly as he forced his gaze away and prepared to step down.
But just as one foot touched the ground, his peripheral vision caught a small bottle sitting on the corner of Xie Quan’s desk.
A bottle they both knew all too well — the label read “Diazepam Tablets” in big, bold characters.
