Bai Xizhou hadn’t been that sleepy to begin with—it was just that the environment had been too comfortable, and he’d just eaten, so he dozed off for a bit. He only started to feel more awake after following Wen Ruqing into the room and realizing what had happened. But by then, there was no room for regret.
Wen Ruqing’s room wasn’t very big. The bed was just enough for two people. The space was neat, and the bookshelf was filled with all kinds of books. At a glance, they were mostly academic or professional books, with almost no leisure reading.
Bai Xizhou looked around. There wasn’t much in the room—just a bed, a wardrobe, and a bookshelf that took up an entire wall. His gaze finally landed on a photo frame on the second shelf. In the photo, three people were smiling happily. The man in the picture had features that slightly resembled Wen Qing.
It was probably a family photo.
Wen Ruqing looked very young in it, around five or six years old. He was chubby back then, completely different from how he looked now. He’d been really cute as a child. If his parents hadn’t left, maybe he would’ve grown up a little healthier—at least not so thin.
From the very first time he saw Wen Ruqing, Bai Xizhou had thought he looked absurdly thin, like someone who hadn’t eaten properly. Thinking back, whenever they ate together, Wen Ruqing always ate very little—he’d say he was full after just a few bites. Tonight was the same. Even though it looked like he was fighting Xie Yuzhu over food, he barely ate anything.
“Hiss—” Wen Ruqing suddenly gasped, pulling Bai Xizhou out of his thoughts.
Somehow, every time he spaced out these days, Bai Xizhou found himself thinking about Wen Ruqing.
He turned to look. Wen Ruqing was holding his lower back as he stood up, carrying a change of clothes for Bai Xizhou. He slowly turned around, his expression tinged with pain.
“What happened?”
“My back hurts.” Wen Ruqing straightened up slowly, his movements stiff as he shuffled over to sit by the bed. His hand remained pressed to his lower back—only that seemed to bring a bit of relief. He handed the clothes to Bai Xizhou. “This T-shirt was bought a while ago—I’ve never worn it. You can wear it tonight. The shorts have been washed, and the underwear is new. My aunt will bring you a toothbrush and towel later.”
The ache in his lower back didn’t ease. Wen Ruqing raised his hand and lightly pounded it against his back, trying to distract himself from the pain.
It was an old issue. Back in school, he’d spent long hours hunched over his desk, which left his neck and lower back in bad shape. Plus, when he got up just now, he seemed to have twisted it a bit.
“Do you need…” Bai Xizhou had just started to speak when a knock came at the door—it was Wen Qing bringing some things over. Bai Xizhou had to swallow his words and went to open the door instead.
Wen Qing told Bai Xizhou to take a shower first. Bai Xizhou glanced back at Wen Ruqing with concern in his eyes. Wen Ruqing gave him a look, signaling that he was fine. Bai Xizhou had no choice but to say nothing more, took the clothes, and went to bathe.
They hadn’t done anything particularly exciting today, but Bai Xizhou still felt fulfilled. The closer he got to nature, the more at ease he felt. All those messy social relationships seemed like passing clouds. The hot water washed away the day’s fatigue, and by the time he stepped out, he didn’t feel so sleepy anymore.
He was wearing Wen Ruqing’s clothes. The T-shirt carried a faint lemony scent—probably from the detergent. It smelled pretty nice. The shorts fit well, though the underwear was a bit tight—but that couldn’t be helped. After all, the sleepover hadn’t been planned, so they had to make do.
Feeling refreshed, Bai Xizhou returned to the room, planning to ask about Wen Ruqing’s back—if he needed any medicine or ointment. But when he opened the door, the first thing he saw… was Wen Ruqing’s back.
He was in the middle of applying a medicated patch. Since it was on his lower back, it was hard to do it alone. His shirt was rolled up, the waistband of his pants pulled slightly down. The exposed part of his back was slender and well-proportioned. The subtle dip of his spine disappeared into the waistband, giving rise to a flood of associations.
“Need help?” Bai Xizhou asked, moving toward him almost instinctively and taking the patch from his hand. “Lie down, I’ll do it for you.”
Wen Ruqing didn’t find anything strange about it. If someone was willing to help, of course it was better. He obediently lay down. Bai Xizhou sat on the edge of the bed, tore open the patch—but didn’t move right away.
“What’s wrong?” Wen Ruqing asked, turning to look at him in confusion—only to find Bai Xizhou staring blankly at his waist.
Being stared at like that, Wen Ruqing suddenly felt a bit self-conscious. He wasn’t the type who could be completely unbothered around other men. At the very least, showing skin like this made him uncomfortable. He buried his face in the blanket awkwardly and urged Bai Xizhou to hurry up.
“Do you have any medicated oil at home? I can help massage it.” Bai Xizhou’s voice was low and gentle. “A massage might work better than just slapping on a patch.”
Wen Ruqing raised a hand and pointed toward the cabinet without lifting his head. From under the blanket came a muffled reply: “There’s safflower oil in the cabinet.”
“Go take a shower first,” Bai Xizhou said, pulling Wen Ruqing’s shirt back down. He didn’t apply the patch but instead went to get the safflower oil from the cabinet.
The air in the room grew subtly charged. Wen Ruqing slowly got up and dragged himself out of the room. Less than a minute later, he returned to grab his clothes—keeping his back to Bai Xizhou the whole time, clearly avoiding eye contact.
The way Bai Xizhou had just stared at his waist had inexplicably reminded him of his ex. Before they broke up, his ex used to stare at him the same way in bed.
But something didn’t feel right. Bai Xizhou probably didn’t have that kind of interest in him. Wen Ruqing figured he was just overthinking it. Bai Xizhou most likely wasn’t gay… but he couldn’t be sure. There was nothing in his expression to tell one way or the other.
After showering, Wen Ruqing lingered at the doorway, unsure if he should go in. Did he really want Bai Xizhou to help him apply the medicine?
“Hmm? Ge, what are you doing standing at the door?” Just then, Xie Yuzhu passed by with a toothbrush in her mouth and asked in confusion.
“It’s nothing,” Wen Ruqing replied hastily, quickly opening the door and slipping inside.
The door shut with a loud bang, leaving Xie Yuzhu standing outside, completely baffled.
Bai Xizhou glanced at him, set his phone down, and gestured for him to lie down. At this point, Wen Ruqing couldn’t say no anymore. He resigned himself to it and lay down, lifting his shirt.
“Lift it a little higher—don’t let it get on your clothes.”
Bai Xizhou poured some safflower oil into his hands. The strong scent made him wrinkle his nose. He warmed the oil between his palms and when his hands made contact with the skin, he could feel Wen Ruqing clearly flinch.
Following Wen Ruqing’s guidance, he began massaging the sore spot gently, gradually increasing the pressure. The room filled with the pungent scent of the oil. The area being massaged grew warm—starting from the waist, the heat spread to the back of the neck, then to the ears.
Wen Ruqing felt his lower back heating up, and even his ears began to burn. But Bai Xizhou’s pressure was just right—it felt really comfortable. From the initial awkwardness, he gradually began to enjoy the process.
Was there anything wrong with being taken care of? No need to overthink it.
“Wen Ruqing, you’re way too skinny.” Bai Xizhou paused, pulled out a wet wipe to clean his hands, and forced his eyes away from Wen Ruqing’s waist.
“Mhm, I was born naturally beautiful. No matter how much I eat, I don’t get fat. Jealous?”
He still had the energy to joke.
Bai Xizhou scoffed coldly. “I meant that being that skinny looks unhealthy.”
He stood up and left the room to wash his hands. The medicated oil was hard to clean off—it left a greasy film on the skin. Bai Xizhou scrubbed for a while before it was finally clean, though the smell still lingered.
He stood outside the room for a bit before returning. Wen Ruqing was still lying on his stomach, but it seemed like he had already fallen asleep. His lower back was still exposed, waiting for the oil to dry. Bai Xizhou carefully peeled open the medicated patch and applied it to the freshly massaged area, then gently pulled down his shirt.
Once everything was done, sleepiness washed over him. Bai Xizhou yawned, lay down on the bed, and quickly drifted off.
Wen Ruqing had a dream.
In the dream, he was lying under the starry blanket he used to sleep with as a child. The blanket smelled of medicine, but it was warm—like being in his father’s arms.
He instinctively leaned toward the warmth, and a pair of arms wrapped around him. That embrace carried a familiar scent—just like his own.
When he opened his eyes, Bai Xizhou’s face came into view.
The scene was rather startling. Wen Ruqing froze for a few seconds before remembering that Bai Xizhou had stayed in his room the night before.
It was a bit hard to get used to—their bodies were very close. Bai Xizhou’s arm was draped around his waist, and his collar had slipped, revealing a large expanse of skin.
Wen Ruqing noticed a mole on the side of Bai Xizhou’s neck.
And then there was something else that couldn’t be ignored—what was pressing against him. Though it was a normal morning reaction for a man, it felt rather inappropriate when two people were sharing a bed.
The atmosphere became incredibly awkward.
And it was in that exact moment of awkwardness that Bai Xizhou opened his eyes.
“Lawyer Bai, maybe… go take care of that first,” Wen Ruqing muttered, pulling the blanket over his head. He didn’t want to face this.
“Hm? Oh.” Bai Xizhou was a bit slow to react at first, but he quickly caught on. Since it was still early, he got up and headed to the bathroom.
After both of them had tidied up, they had breakfast together and returned to the hotel.
Although the morning had been awkward, they were both men—they understood. So the awkwardness didn’t last too long.
After returning to the hotel, the two went about their own business. Bai Xizhou held a video conference in the lobby downstairs.
“Send the newly submitted materials to my email in a bit. I’ll review them first, and if the situation looks unfavorable, I’ll arrange to return early,” he said after the meeting, then made a call to his assistant.
Originally, the case was proceeding on schedule. Bai Xizhou’s vacation was timed perfectly so that he’d be back just in time for the court session—no issues at all. But the opposing party submitted new materials at the last minute, disrupting the plan and forcing him to work overtime even while on leave.
There was quite a bit of material to go through, so he had to take his time. Wen Ruqing came over and quietly placed an iced coffee next to him before going back to his own spot. After sitting for a while, Wen Ruqing returned to his room.
By the time Bai Xizhou finished the coffee and finished reading the documents, the day had nearly passed. He stretched his stiff body, closed his laptop, and glanced over—Wen Ruqing wasn’t at his desk.
[Where did you go?]
He sent Wen Ruqing a message.
[In the room. I heard you might leave early, and remembered your book isn’t fully repaired yet, so I went back to rush the work.]
The reply came quickly. Bai Xizhou raised his eyebrows—seemed like Wen Ruqing was really taking his commission seriously.
But whether he’d leave early or not was still uncertain. There was no need to rush.
[Aren’t you hungry?]
[I’m going out for dinner. Want me to bring you something?]
Wen Ruqing responded with an “OK” hand emoji.
Not knowing what Wen Ruqing liked to eat, Bai Xizhou simply ordered a meal with some homestyle dishes. When he returned, Wen Ruqing still hadn’t come out.
[I brought the food back. Come eat.]
Shortly after the message was sent, Wen Ruqing came out. His face was a bit pale, with a few beads of sweat on his forehead. Bai Xizhou watched him rummage through the cabinet, eventually finding a bottle of medicine. He poured out a few pills and swallowed them with water.
“Are you sick?” Bai Xizhou placed the food in front of him, glancing at the medicine bottle.
It looked like stomach medicine.
“Old problem. I’ll be fine after taking the meds.” A faint smile appeared on his pale face.
It wasn’t a good look—the smile seemed a bit forced.
Bai Xizhou frowned. It seemed he now understood why he thought Wen Ruqing looked so thin.
How could someone take care of themselves to the point of being all injuries and illness? It was truly baffling.
