INT CHAPTER 70

Lu Ze drove Lu Jinglang and Xu Jingjing to the airport and then headed straight to Liang Xiao’s place. After circling the neighborhood twice without finding a parking spot, he had no choice but to call Liang Xiao.

 

“Xiao-ge, guess where I am?”

 

“Are you almost here?” Liang Xiao asked.

 

“I’m already downstairs. I drove here, but I can’t find a parking spot,” Lu Ze said helplessly.

 

Liang Xiao chuckled. “Parking is tough around here. Wait for me—I’ll come down.”

 

When Liang Xiao came out of the building and looked around, a black Jeep honked nearby. He walked over, and Lu Ze rolled down the window, eagerly saying, “Quick, let me kiss you first.”

 

Before Liang Xiao could react, Lu Ze cupped his face and planted a loud kiss on him.

 

Liang Xiao was stunned. “Baby, have we not seen each other for a month or something?”

 

Lu Ze laughed for a while, propping his elbow on the car window and tilting his head to gaze at Liang Xiao. “I can’t even go one night without missing you now.”

 

Liang Xiao felt his heart soften as he reached out to touch Lu Ze’s face. “Come on, let’s find a parking spot.”

 

After parking the car, Lu Ze jumped out eagerly and nudged Liang Xiao. “Let’s go upstairs.”

 

Halfway there, he turned back to grab a paper bag from the trunk. Liang Xiao glanced at it. “Clothes?”

 

Lu Ze grinned. “Nope, just a random bag I used to carry the little vase I stole from my mom.”

 

Liang Xiao froze for a second. “I thought you were joking. Won’t Auntie be mad?”

 

“She won’t,” Lu Ze said with a snap of his fingers. “She’s not that petty.”

 

Liang Xiao laughed. “Why didn’t you just ask her instead of stealing it?”

 

“Tsk, I didn’t have a good reason. Asking for a vase out of nowhere would’ve been weird.”

 

Liang Xiao opened the door and suddenly realized something. “And stealing isn’t weird?”

 

Lu Ze quickly stepped inside, shut the door behind him, placed the bag on the shoe cabinet, and pressed Liang Xiao against it for a kiss.

 

During their stay at Jiang Qing’s place, they had shared a bed every night but refrained from doing anything to avoid making noise that might embarrass them in front of her. Now finally free to indulge themselves, even just kissing became intense.

 

Lu Ze sucked heavily on Liang Xiao’s lips, their tongues entwining as one hand gripped the back of Liang Xiao’s neck while the other pressed against his heaving chest.

 

Liang Xiao’s hand slipped under Lu Ze’s T-shirt, his warm palm firmly gripping Lu Ze’s cool lower back until that patch of skin turned hot.

 

Both of them kissed until their lips felt numb and their breathing grew heavier in the cramped entryway that only made the heat more stifling.

 

In a hoarse voice, Liang Xiao said, “Let’s go to the bedroom, baby.”

 

Lu Ze chuckled softly and licked away the saliva at the corner of Liang Xiao’s mouth before lazily replying, “It’s too hot—I don’t really feel like doing it…”

 

Liang Xiao’s gaze darkened as he looked down at him. “You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”

 

Lu Ze traced his fingertips lightly along the back of Liang Xiao’s neck, sending a faint tingling sensation. He smiled and said, “I really love seeing you like this.”

 

Like what?

 

Liang Xiao immediately understood what Lu Ze meant, even before asking. He raised his hand to grip the back of Lu Ze’s neck firmly, forcing him to lift his head, and then bit down on Lu Ze’s lips with a bit more force than usual.

 

Just like this.

 

Lu Ze loved how Liang Xiao usually kissed him gently but would sometimes lose control due to his overwhelming desire and kiss him with intensity. This version of Liang Xiao was fierce, sexy, yet still incredibly tender—even his eyelashes trembled slightly when he closed his eyes.

 

The two kissed in sync as they moved toward the bedroom. Liang Xiao pressed Lu Ze down onto the bed and was just about to speak when his phone suddenly rang in his pocket.

 

Frowning in frustration, he pulled out the phone without even checking the caller ID and answered in a slightly hoarse and clearly impatient voice, “Hello?”

 

The person on the other end paused before teasing, “Looks like I called at a bad time.”

 

Liang Xiao froze for a moment, regaining some composure. Feeling a bit apologetic, he said, “Heng-ge, sorry, I didn’t check who was calling.”

 

Jiang Heng clicked his tongue. “Forget it—it’s fine. I’ll ask someone else. You go ahead and… continue.”

 

Liang Xiao exchanged an awkward glance with Lu Ze and cleared his throat. “Heng-ge, it’s okay—I’m not busy…”

 

“Don’t bother,” Jiang Heng said with obvious amusement in his voice. “I can tell you’re busy. I won’t interrupt—carry on.”

 

Before Liang Xiao could respond, Jiang Heng had already hung up.

 

Lu Ze laughed and said, “Is he some kind of psychic? He figured out I’m your boyfriend just by looking at me once and now knows exactly what we’re doing from just one word.”

 

“…What are we doing?” Liang Xiao’s gaze fell back to Lu Ze’s lips.

 

“Damn,” Lu Ze laughed so hard that even Liang Xiao, who was leaning over him, shook with the movement. “I guess… not much.”

 

Liang Xiao tossed the phone aside and leaned down to kiss him again. “I’ll buy an air conditioner tomorrow. Let’s make do for today.”

 

Lu Ze helplessly ruffled Liang Xiao’s hair. “I was joking—you actually took it seriously?”

 

Liang Xiao paused for a moment before dropping another kiss on the corner of Lu Ze’s mouth and saying softly, “It really is too hot. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

 

Lu Ze covered Liang Xiao’s mouth with his hand. “An air conditioner costs thousands—don’t waste money.”

 

Liang Xiao laughed—not just a small smile but an uncontrollable laugh that shook his shoulders and wouldn’t stop.

 

Lu Ze stared at him in confusion and blinked. “What’s so funny all of a sudden?”

 

Still laughing silently, Liang Xiao buried his face in Lu Ze’s shoulder and mumbled through his chuckles, “Alright, I’ll stop laughing.”

 

He nuzzled against Lu Ze like he was being playful and said, “When you told me not to waste money just now, it felt like we’ve been together for a long time—like we’re already married.”

 

Lu Ze paused for a moment before suddenly asking, “How long have we been together?”

 

Liang Xiao replied instinctively, “A little over two months, almost three.”

 

“Only two or three months?” Lu Ze said in shock. “It really feels like we’ve been together for much longer.”

 

Liang Xiao hummed in agreement and kissed him lightly on the collarbone.

 

Suddenly, Lu Ze felt a strong urge. He wrapped his arms around Liang Xiao’s neck and said with deep affection, “Xiao Xiao.”

 

“Hmm?” Liang Xiao responded softly, “Baby.”

 

Lu Ze held his breath for a moment before blurting out, “…Daddy loves you.”

 

Liang Xiao lifted his head and stared at him with wide eyes for a long time before finally saying, “What the hell.”

 

Lu Ze burst into laughter instantly. Liang Xiao bit him lightly on the cheek, not too hard but enough to make Lu Ze laugh even harder as he dodged. “I was wrong, Xiao-ge…”

 

Liang Xiao looked down at him, his eyes filled with both amusement and helplessness.

 

He felt that Lu Ze seemed like he was about to say something very important but didn’t manage to get it out. Maybe it was because their relationship was still relatively new. Maybe their feelings hadn’t yet deepened to that level. Or maybe Lu Ze, like him, wasn’t good at expressing love.

 

Liang Xiao didn’t know exactly what it meant to love someone, but he knew that his feelings for Lu Ze were already so full that they felt like they might overflow with the slightest nudge.

 

Just as Lu Ze loved to laugh, loved eating apples, and loved pointing his camera at Liang Xiao.

 

Liang Xiao had come to love Lu Ze’s laughter, loved hearing him crunch on apples, and loved being the subject of his camera lens.

 

How much of this “love” would it take to count as true love?

 

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