INT Chapter 53

“Let’s go to the bathroom…” Lu Ze murmured between kisses.

 

Liang Xiao held him tightly, his feet unmoving, as Lu Ze’s hand wandered lower. In a low voice by his ear, Lu Ze said, “Xiao-ge, help me out.”

 

In that instant, Liang Xiao felt like the alcohol he had consumed earlier was finally hitting him.

 

The two of them stumbled into the bathroom together, barely managing to take off their pants before they were back to kissing passionately.

 

The sound of running water lasted for nearly an hour. Liang Xiao came out first and lay on the bed facing up. When Lu Ze emerged shortly after, he quickly dove under the blanket, bringing with him a faintly sweet fragrance.

 

“Your body wash smells really good,” Lu Ze remarked. “What scent is it?”

 

Liang Xiao turned onto his side to face him. “I think it’s pomegranate. It’s my first time buying it—I didn’t know it’d be this fragrant.”

 

Lu Ze chuckled. “Smells great. Isn’t it nice to smell good?”

 

“As long as you like it,” Liang Xiao replied.

 

They both fell silent after that. Neither had felt shy earlier, but now that everything was over, a sense of awkwardness crept in. They lay in the darkness, quietly looking at each other for a while.

 

Lu Ze reached for his phone and said, “I forgot to let the others know… Hey, no one even asked me.”

 

Suddenly, Liang Xiao laughed softly. Lu Ze moved his phone aside slightly and asked, “What’s so funny?”

 

Liang Xiao looked at him and said, “You’re handsome enough to withstand even unflattering lighting.”

 

Lu Ze raised his phone toward Liang Xiao’s face. “You’re holding up just fine too.”

 

“Set an alarm,” Liang Xiao suggested. “We shouldn’t be too confident.”

 

Lu Ze laughed and put his phone away. “No alarm—waking up naturally is better.”

 

He adjusted the blanket and lay back down, deliberately scooting closer to Liang Xiao. “Why are you so far away from me?”

 

Liang Xiao moved closer as well until their heads were almost touching.

 

“If I didn’t hog the blanket when I sleep, I’d share one with you,” Lu Ze whispered.

 

“Is this blanket thin?” Liang Xiao asked.

 

“Nope—it’s just right since it’s getting warm out.”

 

After a while, Lu Ze stretched his neck and kissed Liang Xiao on the cheek. “Sleep well. Goodnight.”

 

“Goodnight, baby,” Liang Xiao replied.

 

Lu Ze clicked his tongue. “Weren’t you just feeling shy earlier? How come you’re so bold when calling me ‘baby’? Is it because you’re used to saying it from before?”

 

He hadn’t thought much before speaking, but when Liang Xiao didn’t respond immediately, Lu Ze realized he might have misspoken. He quickly tried to explain: “Xiao-ge, I didn’t mean anything by that—”

 

Before he could finish, Liang Xiao slipped a hand under Lu Ze’s blanket and pulled him into an embrace. With a serious tone, he said, “I’ve never called anyone that on my own initiative before. But if a client requested it… I would.”

 

Lu Ze didn’t say anything at first. Liang Xiao pressed his nose against Lu Ze’s cheek and said softly, “I’m sorry—I won’t call you that anymore.”

 

For a moment, Lu Ze felt a pang of emotion well up in his chest; his eyes even stung slightly. Frowning deliberately, he said teasingly, “What do you mean? Clients get to be called ‘baby,’ but your official boyfriend doesn’t deserve it?”

 

Liang Xiao froze for a second. “That’s not what I—”

 

“What do you mean ‘not’? If that’s the case, then let me tell you—I’ve used plenty of nicknames in my past relationships. Things like ‘baby,’ ‘sweetheart,’ ‘darling,’ and more. Should I stop calling you those too?”

 

Liang Xiao didn’t respond. He understood that Lu Ze was trying to say he didn’t mind Liang Xiao’s past, but the truth was, Liang Xiao did mind. If he had known back then that he would meet Lu Ze, he would never have taken on that kind of work.

 

Even if Lu Ze had dated hundreds of times before, their situations weren’t the same.

 

But… the nicknames Lu Ze used in the past were so overly sweet and cheesy.

 

Even though he knew it wasn’t appropriate, Liang Xiao couldn’t help but feel a little jealous. Lu Ze always called him “Xiao-ge,” but there were no more intimate nicknames beyond that.

 

Seeing Liang Xiao stay silent for so long, Lu Ze bit his lip lightly and commanded, “Call me ‘baby.’”

 

“…Baby,” Liang Xiao said softly.

 

“Good, Xiao-Xiao.”

 

That… didn’t feel very intimate either.

 

Liang Xiao chuckled. “Getting back at me?”

 

“Tsk, it’s an affectionate nickname—how could it be revenge?”

 

Lu Ze ruffled the back of Liang Xiao’s head roughly. “Go to sleep, Xiao-Xiao. Sleep until we wake up naturally.”

 

Liang Xiao sighed helplessly but still smiled as he said, “Goodnight, baby.”

 

Lu Ze grinned. “Goodnight, Xiao-Xiao.”

 

—

 

The next day, when Lu Ze woke up, Liang Xiao was no longer in bed. Feeling groggy from oversleeping, he sat up and checked his phone—it was already 1 p.m.

 

“Damn…” Lu Ze froze for a moment before shouting loudly, “Xiao-ge!”

 

Liang Xiao responded from another room and walked in with a toothbrush in his mouth. Speaking around the toothbrush, he mumbled, “You’re awake?”

 

Lu Ze pointed at his phone in disbelief. “It’s 1 p.m.?!”

 

Liang Xiao smiled and nodded. “I just woke up not long ago too—woke up starving.”

 

As if on cue, Lu Ze’s stomach growled loudly several times.

 

“Damn,” Lu Ze muttered as he got out of bed while holding his stomach. “I’m starving—what are we eating?”

 

“Should we order takeout? Or go out to eat?”

 

“I’ll cook,” Lu Ze said. “I bought some groceries yesterday for this.”

 

Liang Xiao walked back to spit out the toothpaste foam and said, “But you’re already hungry…”

 

“It’s fine—I’ll eat a banana first to hold me over. I bought those yesterday too.”

 

While Lu Ze cooked, Liang Xiao peeled a banana and cut it into small pieces before putting them into a bowl and pouring yogurt over them.

 

He picked up a piece with a fork and held it to Lu Ze’s mouth. Lu Ze took a big bite and said while chewing, “I’m so hungry—even bananas taste amazing right now.”

 

Liang Xiao fed him another piece and asked, “You don’t usually like bananas?”

 

With his cheeks puffed out as he chewed, Lu Ze replied while chopping vegetables, “I only like them in fruit salads—eating them plain feels too dry and makes me choke. I prefer juicy fruits.”

 

Liang Xiao chuckled, finding Lu Ze irresistibly adorable. “When I was a kid, our family wasn’t well off. My mom was doing okay on her own, but after adopting me, things got pretty tight. She didn’t buy much fruit. I remember in elementary school, the school handed out bananas once. I didn’t eat mine because I wanted to take it home for her. She thought I loved bananas so much that I couldn’t bear to eat them, so after that, she started buying bananas for me every week—insisting it was because *she* liked them.”

 

As Liang Xiao talked about these memories, he seemed relaxed and casual. Lu Ze thought that despite being adopted, Liang Xiao must have had a happy life and shared a deep bond with his adoptive mother.

 

So Lu Ze kept his tone light too. “Auntie is so sweet. But do you actually like bananas?”

 

Liang Xiao lowered his eyes with a soft smile, looking incredibly gentle. “I do. When I was younger, I had moments when I thought she didn’t love me. But after she started buying me bananas, I realized she did. From that moment on, I understood—she’s my mom, my real mom.”

 

Lu Ze understood. Bananas weren’t just bananas—they carried emotions, like how food made by a mother always tastes better than anything from outside.

 

Too bad his own mom, Boss Xu, couldn’t cook—leaving the cooking to her husband and son.

 

Suddenly, a finger brushed against the corner of Lu Ze’s mouth. He turned to see Liang Xiao saying, “You’ve got yogurt on you.” Liang Xiao rinsed his finger under the faucet and then asked, “Want more?”

 

Lu Ze’s gaze deepened as he put down the knife and said, “Let me feed you.”

 

Taking the small fork from Liang Xiao’s hand, Lu Ze speared a big piece of banana and fed it to him. Liang Xiao opened his mouth slightly wider on purpose but still ended up with yogurt on the corner of his lips.

 

Lu Ze laughed while Liang Xiao sighed helplessly. “You did that on purpose…”

 

“I did,” Lu Ze admitted as he set the bowl aside. “Just wanted to teach you something.”

 

Teach what?

 

Before Liang Xiao could ask, Lu Ze leaned in and ran his tongue over the corner of Liang Xiao’s mouth—a quick, wet lick that tickled.

 

“Next time,” Lu Ze said with a playful smile, “you don’t need to use your hands.”

 

 

---