The next day, Liang Xiao didn’t have work, and Lu Ze didn’t have class, so they took the rare opportunity to sleep in together.
Normally, Lu Ze could sleep until noon without issue, but after last night’s wild activities—and insisting on singing a few English songs for Liang Xiao before bed—he woke up feeling parched and struggled to open his eyes.
Liang Xiao’s hand rested on Lu Ze’s waist. The moment Lu Ze moved, Liang Xiao groggily woke up as well, instinctively tightening his hold around him.
Lu Ze whispered, “Go back to sleep. I’ll be right back.”
Hearing the slight hoarseness in Lu Ze’s voice, Liang Xiao opened his eyes and asked, “Do you need water? I’ll get it for you. Is your throat sore from singing last night?”
Lu Ze paused for a moment before turning back with a smile. “No need, I’ll get it myself. Otherwise, people might think you were the only one… doing something last night.”
It wasn’t until now that Lu Ze noticed the state of Liang Xiao’s neck—it looked pretty bad. Or rather, it was very bad.
Seeing Lu Ze staring at his neck, Liang Xiao glanced down at himself. He couldn’t see his neck but noticed the marks on his chest instead—there were quite a few.
He reached up to touch his neck. “What’s wrong? Is it bad?”
Lu Ze turned over and touched Liang Xiao’s neck as well. “Yeah, it’s pretty bad. It’ll probably take two or three days to fade.”
Liang Xiao smiled and asked, “What should we do then?”
Leaning in to kiss Liang Xiao’s neck, Lu Ze teased, “You seem pretty happy about it. Just leave it—it can be your tattoo.”
Liang Xiao laughed while holding him close. “Such a unique tattoo.”
“Of course,” Lu Ze snapped his fingers playfully. “A one-of-a-kind piece of art. No one else can get it from me—I only serve you.”
Liang Xiao kissed Lu Ze’s neck lightly in return. “My tattoo is too light—make it darker next time.”
After chatting for a bit, neither of them felt sleepy anymore, so they got out of bed to wash up.
“We’re out of water,” Lu Ze said while checking the kettle. “I’ll need to boil some.”
He opened the fridge and found a bottle of mineral water. Just as he reached for it, Liang Xiao closed the fridge door.
“Don’t drink cold water right after waking up,” Liang Xiao said as he grabbed the kettle to boil water. “It’ll only take a few minutes.”
Lu Ze clicked his tongue. “But freshly boiled water is too hot to drink right away.”
Liang Xiao walked back over and grabbed the bottle of mineral water from the fridge, shaking it slightly. “Mix it with this.”
“…Right! Why didn’t I think of that?”
With just that one sentence, Liang Xiao found his boyfriend unbearably adorable. He kissed Lu Ze on the cheek and said, “Still half-asleep?”
Lu Ze immediately leaned against him like a human sloth and drawled, “Definitely didn’t sleep enough…”
Using Liang Xiao as a human support beam for a while, he suddenly sighed contentedly and said, “I’m so happy.”
“Hmm?” Liang Xiao hummed in response.
Burying his face in Liang Xiao’s chest, Lu Ze nuzzled against him and said softly, “Just being able to hug you again after waking up—it makes me so happy.”
Liang Xiao’s nose brushed against Lu Ze’s hair as he took a deep breath, fully agreeing with him.
After a moment, he leaned close to Lu Ze’s ear and said, “The water’s ready, baby. Go drink some.”
Lu Ze shook his head, unwilling to let go.
Liang Xiao chuckled softly and rubbed the back of Lu Ze’s neck. “Come on, weren’t you thirsty?”
Lu Ze shook his head again.
Left with no choice, Liang Xiao carried Lu Ze like they were conjoined twins, shuffling step by step to the kitchen. He prepared a cup of warm water for him and said, “Here you go, baby. The water’s ready—drink up.”
Hearing Liang Xiao call him “baby” repeatedly made Lu Ze feel very pampered. He finally looked up at Liang Xiao with a smile and said coquettishly, “Feed me. My hands don’t work.”
Liang Xiao agreed instantly. Carefully holding the cup to Lu Ze’s lips, he reminded him, “Drink slowly.”
Lu Ze took a few sips from Liang Xiao’s hand and teased, “You’re like the legendary perfect boyfriend.”
Liang Xiao smiled faintly and wiped the corner of Lu Ze’s mouth with the back of his finger. “Still far from it.”
Lu Ze took the cup himself and drank slowly while Liang Xiao grabbed a broom to clean up the mess from last night. He also tidied up the magic props and put them away. Meanwhile, Lu Ze trailed closely behind him like a shadow.
“Xiao-ge, I feel like I’ve hit the jackpot,” Lu Ze said.
“Hm?” Liang Xiao looked at him curiously.
Lu Ze grinned. “Other people have to pay 150 yuan an hour just to have such a handsome and thoughtful boyfriend like you—and they can’t even kiss you or touch you. But I get all of this for free, plus I can kiss you, touch you, and even spend your money. Isn’t that a win?”
Liang Xiao froze for a moment. The logic was so sound that he couldn’t argue with it.
After thinking for a while, he said, “But I’m already your boyfriend—do boyfriends come in free and paid versions?”
“Tsk,” Lu Ze clicked his tongue. “Then I must be really lucky. Out of all the boyfriends out there, I found someone as amazing as you.”
Lu Ze was so good at giving compliments that ever since they started dating, Liang Xiao felt like he was constantly being praised. With a helpless tone, he said, “I’m really not that great.”
Lu Ze glared at him. “Hm? Are you doubting my taste in boyfriends?”
Liang Xiao chuckled softly. “I wouldn’t dare.”
After a while, Lu Ze said to Liang Xiao, “Actually, I still have another gift for you.”
“Another gift?”
Lu Ze nodded and picked up a bag from the sofa containing an album. “It was too late yesterday to look at it, so I figured we could go through it today.”
“Oh right—I have something for you too.” Liang Xiao went to the bedroom and returned with two boxes. “Didn’t you say before that your headphones hurt your ears after wearing them for too long? I bought you two silicone ones—try them out and see if they’re comfortable.”
Lu Ze froze for a second. “I’d completely forgotten about that.”
Liang Xiao sat down to look through the album while Lu Ze opened the headphones. Liang Xiao had thoughtfully bought two different types—one wired and one wireless—for him to try out.
Lu Ze said, “You’ve been using those headphones for a while, right? Let’s get a new pair, and we can each use one.”
“They’re both for you,” Liang Xiao replied. “Mine still works fine…”
“One for each of us,” Lu Ze insisted.
“…Alright.”
Lu Ze put on the wired pair. “You keep looking through the album. I’ll go make us something to eat.”
Liang Xiao flipped through the photo album, his ears filled with the sounds of Lu Ze moving around in the kitchen and humming softly. The photos in front of him were from when they visited an amusement park before they started dating. In one picture, Lu Ze had his arm on Liang Xiao’s shoulder and was smiling brightly, though it looked much more reserved compared to how he smiled now.
Back then, Liang Xiao never imagined that just a few months later, their relationship would evolve into this—sleeping in the same bed, waking up at the same time, Lu Ze snuggling in his arms and acting spoiled, and then making breakfast for him.
Truly… there was no other word for it but happiness.
·
After dinner, Lu Ze suggested going out for a walk, but Liang Xiao’s neck posed a problem. Summer clothes didn’t have high collars to cover the marks on his neck.
In the end, Liang Xiao found a rarely worn long-sleeve turtleneck shirt in his closet. After putting it on, Lu Ze circled around him and said teasingly, “Tsk tsk tsk, how do you look good in everything? But isn’t that shirt too hot?”
“It’s fine,” Liang Xiao said as he adjusted the collar. “I don’t get hot easily, and there’ll be air conditioning at the mall.”
“Alright then, wear this.” Lu Ze helped him adjust the necklace so it rested outside the shirt. “Like this—it has to be visible.”
“Okay. Which mall are we going to?” Liang Xiao asked.
“The one nearby,” Lu Ze replied. “The supermarket in the basement has everything we need.”
“Supermarket?” Liang Xiao paused. “Weren’t we going to buy a bed?”
Now it was Lu Ze’s turn to pause. “You’re seriously buying a bed?”
Liang Xiao hesitated for a moment. “…Can you fake-buy one?”
Lu Ze burst out laughing. “I was just joking! Your bed is still perfectly fine. Let’s wait until it actually breaks before replacing it—no one else can hear if it makes noise anyway.”
“If we’re not buying a bed, maybe we could install an air—”
Lu Ze quickly covered his mouth. “Is it that hard not to spend a few thousand yuan? Be good—once it cools down in a few days, you can hug me all you want.”
·
At the mall, they headed straight for the supermarket in the basement. Liang Xiao pushed the cart while following behind Lu Ze, who walked ahead asking questions: “Do we need green beans? Cauliflower? Are we out of tomatoes? We should get some mushrooms too…”
Within half an hour of entering the supermarket, Liang Xiao watched as more and more vegetables piled up in the cart. When Lu Ze tried to add a large pumpkin, Liang Xiao stopped him. “Baby, I haven’t been cooking much at home lately. If we buy this much food, it’ll go bad before we finish it.”
“It’s fine—I’ll cook for you,” Lu Ze replied.
Liang Xiao froze for a moment. “You’ll come over regularly?”
Lu Ze raised an eyebrow. “Why not? Didn’t you say you won’t need to stay at the bar all day anymore? If I have time, I’ll come over.”
Liang Xiao stayed silent for a long time, quietly following behind Lu Ze.
Lu Ze had classes during the day and only had free time in the evenings. Unfortunately, Liang Xiao’s work schedule was somewhat flipped, with nights being the busiest. Even if Lu Ze came over every evening, the most they could do was have dinner together.
Liang Xiao really wanted to see Lu Ze and have dinner with him but didn’t want Lu Ze to go through the trouble of commuting, especially since Lu Ze was so busy this semester. If Liang Xiao suggested meeting for lunch or dinner at Lu Ze’s school, Lu Ze would definitely refuse and come up with a bunch of reasons to stop him.
For most couples, this situation wouldn’t be unusual—both being busy, mismatched schedules, and only meeting once a week or every couple of weeks for a date, with the rest of the time spent texting. Or, if one missed the other, they’d carve out time to meet. It was simple to resolve.
But neither Liang Xiao nor Lu Ze wanted to go that long without seeing each other. At the same time, neither of them wanted the other to sacrifice their time just for a meal together.
As Liang Xiao stared at Lu Ze’s back, he realized just how much he liked him. In his eyes, Lu Ze was perfect—a flawless boyfriend without any shortcomings.
Because of this, Liang Xiao didn’t want Lu Ze to feel even the slightest inconvenience or give him any reason to consider breaking up.
When Lu Ze turned around and saw Liang Xiao staring absentmindedly at him, he called out, “Xiao-ge, what are you thinking about? Do we need eggplants?”
Liang Xiao glanced at their already half-full shopping cart. “Probably not…”
Lu Ze took the eggplants anyway and went to weigh them.
After a brief silence, Liang Xiao smiled faintly and said, “Why even bother asking me?”
Lu Ze placed the eggplants into the cart. “It’s just symbolic. I’ll make stuffed eggplants for you.”
Liang Xiao pressed his lips together and said softly, “Baby.”
Lu Ze was now looking at spices. “Hmm?”
“Are you planning to come over every evening?”
Lu Ze suddenly sighed. “Liang Xiao.”
Hearing his name spoken like that made Liang Xiao’s heart tighten. He quickly asked, “What’s wrong?”
“I’m just a hopeless romantic,” Lu Ze said as he turned to look at him. “Do you know what that means? It means if you don’t reply to my messages, I feel miserable all over. If I don’t see you for a few days, I feel like I’m dying.”
Liang Xiao froze completely. Seeing his expression, Lu Ze almost laughed but held it back.
Clearing his throat, Lu Ze continued, “Maybe I’m exaggerating a bit, but that’s pretty much how it is. I wasn’t like this before—but after meeting you, I became this way. So I don’t find it troublesome at all to come see you every day. Seeing you makes me happy; cooking for you makes me feel great. The only thing that makes me uncomfortable is not seeing you—it’s a hundred times worse than waking up early.”
After finishing his words, Lu Ze didn’t look back at Liang Xiao and kept walking ahead.
Liang Xiao stood there stunned for a moment before silently catching up to him. “I feel the same,” Liang Xiao said softly. “I’m also a hopeless romantic—so why can’t I be the one coming to see you?”
Without turning around, Lu Ze continued picking out spices and replied casually: “Because it’s clearly more worthwhile for me to come see you—I get to cook for you, kiss you whenever I want… even…”
Lu Ze paused mid-sentence as he suddenly remembered they were in a supermarket. Glancing around calmly to make sure no one was nearby, he lowered his voice and added: “…even take things further if I want to. Can you do that if you come see me?”
Liang Xiao had no response—he knew it was true.
Lu Ze raised his hands to push up the corners of Liang Xiao’s mouth, smiling as he said, “Alright, Xiao Xiao, stop overthinking. Why do we need to calculate so precisely who gives more or less? We’re dating, not doing business—it’s all mutual. If you charged me 150 yuan an hour, do you think I’d still go out of my way to find you? I’d just lie in my dorm bed every day, waiting for my ‘high-paying client’ boyfriend to kiss me awake.”
Liang Xiao hadn’t even processed Lu Ze’s words fully before being amused by him. He grabbed Lu Ze’s hand and kissed his palm. “There’s no kiss-wake-up service for 150 yuan an hour.”
Lu Ze glanced at him and smirked. “How much would it cost then?”
Interlacing their fingers, Liang Xiao replied, “It doesn’t cost anything—lifetime free service for my baby only.”
Lu Ze laughed and held onto Liang Xiao’s hand without letting go. When they passed a row of canned goods, Lu Ze stopped and asked, “Do you want some canned fruit?”
“I do,” Liang Xiao replied.
Lu Ze moved closer to the shelf. “Which one? Hawthorn or yellow peach? There’s also strawberry, mixed fruit, bayberry… what’s all this random stuff?”
Liang Xiao chuckled. “Let’s go with yellow peach and hawthorn.”
As they passed the refrigerated section, Lu Ze asked if Liang Xiao wanted milk. Liang Xiao quickly answered, “Yes.”
Lu Ze glanced at him. “Which one?”
Looking at the wide selection of milk in front of him, Liang Xiao hesitated—it was too much to choose from, and he didn’t know which one Lu Ze might like.
Lu Ze laughed and grabbed two packs of Wangzai Milk. “Let’s go with this one. Can’t you have a favorite snack or something?”
Liang Xiao played with Lu Ze’s fingers and said, “I don’t really like snacks—not that I dislike them—I just don’t crave them. But if someone offers me some, I’ll eat them.”
“Tsk, so I’m just ‘someone’ now?” Lu Ze teased.
Clearing his throat, Liang Xiao corrected himself. “If my baby offers me some, I’ll eat it.”
“Alright then,” Lu Ze said as he picked up two packs of cheese sticks. “Have you tried these?”
“No,” Liang Xiao replied. “Aren’t these the ones kids love?”
Lu Ze snapped his fingers. “But adults love them too! One time my mom bought these for my cousin, and my dad and I almost fought over the last one.”
Liang Xiao laughed for a long time before adding two more packs to the cart. Lu Ze looked at him and asked, “Why are you buying so many? Are we going to fight over them too?”
“No,” Liang Xiao said. “But two packs aren’t enough—there aren’t that many in each pack.”
Leaning down to poke at the price tag with his finger, Lu Ze said, “Not only are there few in each pack—they’re expensive too.”
Liang Xiao glanced at the price and said nonchalantly, “It’s fine. Jiang Heng gave me a red envelope yesterday—I can afford it.”
“I see,” Lu Ze said with a grin. “You’re determined to spend that air conditioner money.”
“That won’t be enough,” Liang Xiao joked as he pointed toward the shelf. “Let’s just buy all the cheese sticks in this supermarket.”
