Xie Quan’s eyes went past the other lab members and locked directly onto Lu Nanyang. The other looked over too, and their eyes met in the middle of the room.
“Come on in, Senior Lu!” one of the juniors quickly pulled out a chair for him and brought out the fruit they had just packed away. “Running around in this heat must be exhausting. I’ll get you some water.”
“No need,” Xie Quan suddenly cut in, his voice cold as his eyes swept over to Lu Nanyang. “Just leave the stuff on the table to your right and go.”
The junior who had gotten up to pour water froze awkwardly, looking back and forth between the two, unsure what to do.
He had guessed earlier that their relationship wasn’t good—but he hadn’t expected it to be this bad.
Usually so gentle and patient, Senior Xie wouldn’t even let Senior Lu have a sip of water and was directly kicking him out?
Yet Lu Nanyang didn’t seem angry at all. Still smiling, he walked further into the lab. “I came all this way, and that’s the attitude I get? That’s cold, even for you.”
“All this way?” Xie Quan sneered. “Weren’t you just ‘passing by’?”
“Well, it was a long detour.”
“Your law school must be really free,” Xie Quan folded his arms, words sharp like a snake’s fangs. “You’ve even got time to ‘conveniently’ walk halfway across campus just to drop something off.”
“I’ve got good relationships with people. I can’t help it. If I can help the juniors, of course I’ll do what I can.”
Even with things reaching this level, Lu Nanyang still didn’t get angry—in fact, he kept smiling like nothing was wrong. The tension between them, however, had others sweating bullets.
“Uh, Senior Lu, have some water first… Senior Xie, don’t be mad. Senior Lu really did make an effort to come all this way…”
Lu Nanyang didn’t stand on ceremony. He picked up a cup of water from the table and downed it in one go. “Thanks.”
One of the juniors stared wide-eyed, eyes practically popping out of his head.
Oh no.
He just drank… the water from Xie Quan’s cup, didn’t he?!
“It’s not a bother, I already said it was just on the way.” Lu Nanyang put the cup back in place, still smiling cheerfully. “Alright, since your senior Xie Quan clearly doesn’t want me hanging around here, I’ll head out first. You guys carry on, good luck.”
“Stop right there.” Xie Quan stood up from his chair. “Where do you think you’re going?”
Oh no, this is bad.
The junior’s vision went dark.
Sure enough, Senior Xie Quan’s expression turned even uglier. Senior Lu, seriously—why did you have to provoke him!
Lu Nanyang shrugged. “Obviously back to the School of Political Science and Law.”
“Is that so.” Xie Quan gave a fake smile. “Then I’ll go with you. It just so happens I’m ‘on the way’ too.”
After speaking, Xie Quan turned around. “I’m stepping out for a bit. You all stay in the lab and keep organizing the data from earlier.”
The group of juniors watched in horror as Xie Quan followed Lu Nanyang out of the lab, disappearing at the end of the hallway.
“Should we… maybe follow them and check it out?” one asked cautiously. “I get the feeling those two might start fighting.”
“But Senior Xie Quan told us to stay in the lab,” another said worriedly. “So… maybe it’s fine?”
“I didn’t expect the two of them to get along this badly. They both seem like easygoing people.” The junior looked genuinely confused.
…..
The moment they stepped into the public restroom, Lu Nanyang was shoved hard into a stall by Xie Quan, who then swiftly locked the door behind them.
The fluidity of his movements made Lu Nanyang seriously wonder just how many times Xie Quan had rehearsed this in his head.
But that thought remained just that—a thought—because before he had the chance to say anything, his neck was already encircled by Xie Quan’s arms, and his lips were sealed by a fiery, passionate kiss.
Xie Quan, like someone who had been parched for a long time and finally found a source of water, pried open Lu Nanyang’s lips and teeth. His tongue slipped into his mouth, desperately drawing in moisture.
Lu Nanyang was pushed back until his spine hit the partition wall. Losing his balance, he ended up sitting on the toilet lid. But Xie Quan showed no intention of letting him go and promptly sat down on his lap.
The lingering heat of late summer hadn’t fully dissipated, and only a thin pair of pants separated the two of them. The warmth radiating from Xie Quan’s body, along with the overly intimate hardness pressing against his thigh, made it unmistakably clear what was about to happen.
Xie Quan’s advances were urgent and fierce. After devouring his lips, he moved down to nibble at his neck. Goosebumps rose all over Lu Nanyang’s skin, and only by pressing against Xie Quan’s collarbone did he manage to put a bit of distance between them.
“Did you take the medicine?” Lu Nanyang panted, “So hard so quickly.”
“I get hard every time I see you.” Xie Quan breathed heavily, and lowered his head to kiss Lu Nanyang’s neck, spraying his hot breath on every inch of skin he could touch. “It’s been three days, and I haven’t even touched a hair of yours in these three days! You bastard, you left me here without even sending me a message…”
The remaining words were swallowed by Lu Nanyang, and once again, a chaotic battle of lips and tongues ensued.
The familiar, ant-like itch rose from Xie Quan’s neck, uncontrollably extending all the way down to his limbs and bones. The intense, addictive desire for skin-to-skin contact nearly drove him to madness, regressing into a wild animal that no longer thought, only followed instinct.
His mind was a blur, acting purely on instinct. His long fingers wandered aimlessly across Lu Nanyang’s chest. After much effort, he finally reached the collar and yanked it down hard, tearing off the top button.
Lu Nanyang grabbed his misbehaving hand with a firm grip, twisting it behind his back. His expression was half-smile, half-smirk. “Are you trying to tear all my clothes and have me go to class naked?”
Xie Quan knew that his mind wasn’t quite right at the moment.
Otherwise, how could he be unable to control himself and start fantasizing about that scene in his head?
Lu Nanyang’s clothes torn, the thin fabric no longer able to cover any important areas. Sitting in the classroom wearing clothes that were completely ruined, clearly showing what had just happened, and being subjected to the scrutinizing gazes of both classmates and teachers.
Xie Quan felt like he was going to die.
If he waited even a second longer, he would definitely die from the addiction known as Lu Nanyang.
At this moment, both of his arms were twisted behind his back by Lu Nanyang, his spine straight but unable to move, as if bound by invisible chains. He was like an empty vessel, cracked and dry, yearning for the sweet water he desired, but it refused to fill him.
Lu Nanyang’s deliberately lowered voice rang in his ear.
“How long has it been since you took your medication?”
Xie Quan’s sluggish brain took some effort to understand the meaning of Lu Nanyang’s words. “A week… I don’t know, a little more than a week.”
“Did you sneak a pill behind my back?” Lu Nanyang asked softly.
“No…”
“You sure?”
“No, really, I didn’t…” Xie Quan let out a faint moan from his throat and unconsciously twisted his body.
“You lied to me once. How can I trust you this time?”
Lu Nanyang was doing it on purpose.
He was absolutely doing it on purpose.
Otherwise, how could the hot breath be so close to his ear, the voice so near, so close that one might want to turn around and swallow the whole person in one go?
But he couldn’t do it. His body was as limp as a puddle of mud. If it weren’t for Lu Nanyang holding him up, he might have already flowed into the drain like liquid.
“Because I promised you.” Xie Quan looked up at him, his Adam’s apple moving like a pearl inside an oyster, occasionally rolling up and down. “And I already have…”
“What?”
“An antidote.” Xie Quan’s voice was hoarse, his gray eyes eagerly watching Lu Nanyang, like a coquettish wild cat.
…This was really killing him.
Lu Nanyang took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, releasing Xie Quan’s arms before running his fingers gently through his hair, caressing him. “If you want something, come and take it yourself.”
However, Xie Quan’s next move far exceeded Lu Nanyang’s expectations.
After being given permission, Xie Quan took a step back, then, without hesitation, knelt down on the ground.
The floor of the public restroom was not particularly clean, and Xie Quan was wearing a pair of pure white trousers. The knees of his pants were quickly dirtied, but he seemed completely unconcerned.
There was no one in the restroom at noon, and the entire space felt very empty. The sound of the metal zipper being pulled could even echo within the stall.
The sound of water was even more noticeable, as if it were afraid someone might not hear it, constantly echoing throughout the space.
A shimmer of moisture flickered in Xie Quan’s light gray eyes. He first squinted uncontrollably, then opened his mouth as wide as he could. Lifting his head, he stared directly at Lu Nanyang with those intense eyes.
Xie Quan seemed to transform into some kind of aquatic creature—his skin soft, his expression indulgent, and his mouth like a tentacle, the tender, sticky membranes stretching all the way to the distant ocean floor.
Lu Nanyang’s breathing grew rapid, his fingers threading through Xie Quan’s hair, gently stroking the top of his head. Xie Quan seemed to enjoy this kind of comfort, lowering his head and moving even more eagerly.
Lu Nanyang didn’t apply any force to the back of his head, but Xie Quan was like a child who had tasted candy—too impatient to let it slowly melt in his mouth, determined to use all the strength in his cheeks and tongue to savor that hard-won sweetness.
Even the air seemed to turn into syrup, stretching into sticky threads between their scorching breaths, finally dissolving into a pool of salty brine amid a crescendo of sound.
Xie Quan lay draped over Lu Nanyang’s thigh, unable to steady his rapid breathing for several minutes. Lu Nanyang gently patted his back in a soothing gesture and moved his leg away from between Xie Quan’s thighs.
Xie Quan’s forehead was covered in a mix of sweat and some glaringly conspicuous liquid. The strands of hair at the front had been dampened into a clump, sticking closely to the side of his eyes.
Lu Nanyang stared at Xie Quan’s momentarily dazed expression and reached out to gently tuck that strand of hair behind his ear.
Just then, a shout suddenly came from outside the restroom—it was a junior student: “Senior Lu, Senior Xie Quan! Are you in there?”
Startled by the sudden voice, Xie Quan flinched, snapping back to reality.
The junior continued shouting, “Uh, um, if you have something to talk about, please talk it out! Don’t fight, okay? I mean, whatever it is, you can sit down and sort it out peacefully!”
Lu Nanyang let out a muffled chuckle above Xie Quan’s head.
“Don’t laugh,” Xie Quan shot him a glare, noticing his throat was a bit hoarse. He cleared it before responding to the junior outside the door, “Nothing happened. Go back to the lab—I’ll be there in a moment.”
The junior still sounded cautious. “Oh, oh. Senior, are you really okay? You guys didn’t actually start fighting, did you?”
Xie Quan glanced sideways at Lu Nanyang, who was still stifling a laugh.
“We fought,” Xie Quan said with a faint smirk, then added, “I won.”
