ST CHAPTER 24

Tonight, in the dim and quiet hotel room, Wei Jiayi didn’t say a word, yet his emotions were unmistakably conveyed to Zhao Jing.

Zhao Jing hadn’t been asleep to begin with. Any drowsiness had quickly vanished after lying down, as the thought of Wei Jiayi sitting outside felt like he was keeping vigil for him.

Unable to sleep and unwilling to get up to urge Wei Jiayi to head to the airport, Zhao Jing found himself in a rare moment of indecision. Amid this inner conflict, the bedroom door was pushed open.

Wei Jiayi tiptoed in, holding his breath and moving stealthily, while Zhao Jing remained as calm as ever.

Zhao Jing suspected that Wei Jiayi had come in to check if he was asleep. Planning to catch him red-handed as he left and scold him for his impatience, Zhao Jing closed his eyes and lay still.

But what happened next defied his expectations.

Wei Jiayi didn’t leave after a quick glance. Instead, not long after entering, a hand reached out in the darkness, its touch gentle as it brushed against Zhao Jing’s face. The fingers were soft and slightly cold, resting unmistakably on his skin. Zhao Jing could sense Wei Jiayi leaning closer by the familiar scent of his cologne.

Wei Jiayi had never changed his cologne—it was the same bottle he’d been using since university. Though he hadn’t used it during their time on the island and now applied it sparingly, the sharp blend of alcohol and tobacco left a lasting impression on Zhao Jing. Now, the faint scent mingled with the leathery aroma of Wei Jiayi’s jacket, subtly warmed by the heat of his body.

Zhao Jing had no idea what Wei Jiayi intended to do as he leaned in closer. All Zhao Jing knew was that he suddenly couldn’t figure out how to open his eyes or move. He breathed evenly, allowing Wei Jiayi to touch him.

Wei Jiayi pressed the pad of his finger against the edge of Zhao Jing’s jaw, hesitating as he moved. His fingertip had briefly grazed Zhao Jing’s cheek once before, but it hadn’t felt like this. This time, there was a sense of attachment. It was as if, only because Zhao Jing had fallen asleep, Wei Jiayi was allowing himself to no longer hide his tenderness and reluctance to part.

Zhao Jing wasn’t usually like this. He rarely paid much attention to the feelings of others. But tonight, he chose to be thoughtful, unwilling to interrupt this rare moment of courage from Wei Jiayi. He waited until Wei Jiayi, after touching him for quite some time, reluctantly pulled away. Only then did Zhao Jing turn on the light and sit up.

The faint trace of Wei Jiayi’s scent lingered in the air, almost like a tangible emotion that surrounded him in varying intensities. It felt as though Wei Jiayi’s affection had taken form, filling the room with his presence.

Zhao Jing sat for a while, his skin seemingly holding onto the memory of Wei Jiayi’s touch—so vivid it could be recalled at any moment. Feeling a sense of satisfaction, he sent Wei Jiayi a message. In a relaxed and warm tone, Zhao Jing let him know that he understood his feelings. At the same time, he offered a clear response: in the future, Wei Jiayi wouldn’t need to suppress or hide his affection. If he wanted to touch him, he didn’t have to wait until Zhao Jing was asleep.

After sending the message, Zhao Jing waited for ten minutes. When no reply came, he poked Wei Jiayi.

Finally, Wei Jiayi started typing. Zhao Jing could tell he had seen the message earlier but had avoided responding—perhaps he was feeling shy. After a brief pause, Wei Jiayi replied: “So you weren’t asleep after all?”

“Of course not.” Zhao Jing typed back, a faint smugness swelling in his chest. He felt that their relationship had been solidified from that day forward.

However, Wei Jiayi had already left twenty minutes ago, and it would still be six days before he returned on the 16th. The wait felt excruciating. A thought crossed Zhao Jing’s mind, and he sent another message to Wei Jiayi: “Let’s do more video calls in the future.”

A minute later, Wei Jiayi called him.

Zhao Jing answered, but Wei Jiayi remained silent on the other end.

“What is it?” Zhao Jing asked.

Wei Jiayi said, “Zhao Jing.”

He sounded like he had something to say. In the background, the driver’s voice cut in: “Sir, we’re almost at the airport. Please make sure your documents are in order.”

Zhao Jing waited patiently for over ten seconds before Wei Jiayi finally spoke. “If I ask you to pretend this never happened, that’s probably impossible?”

“What do you mean?” Zhao Jing didn’t understand. Wei Jiayi’s tone seemed strained, even evasive, so he pressed further. “Why?”

Wei Jiayi responded with, “Hold on a second,” and likely stepped out of the car. Zhao Jing could hear him telling his assistant Xiao Chi, “Wait for me—I need to make a call.” Wei Jiayi walked a short distance to a quieter spot. Then he called out to Zhao Jing again.

“…Zhao Jing, I only touched you randomly because I thought you were asleep. Can we just forget about it?” Wei Jiayi sounded utterly helpless, his tone unusually animated.

Zhao Jing hadn’t realized there could be a distinction between “random touching” and “proper touching.” Intrigued, he decided to explore further. “Do you want to try touching again? Honestly, it didn’t seem that random to me. If I were to rate it, I’d say the second time was a bit rushed.”

Wei Jiayi fell silent for a moment. Then, taking a deep breath. “That’s not what I meant.”

Zhao Jing could sense his frustration and stayed quiet for a while too.

Judging by the sound of the wind blowing heavily into the phone’s microphone, Zhao Jing guessed that Wei Jiayi was still outdoors. He imagined him standing in the cold, wearing so little, and said, “Why don’t you go somewhere sheltered from the wind? Or call me again once you’re inside the terminal?”

Wei Jiayi replied, “It’s fine.”

“I’ll just finish saying this here. Otherwise, Xiao Chi might overhear.” His voice was soft but steady. “Zhao Jing, you know I have feelings for you.”

Zhao Jing immediately responded with an “Mm.”

Wei Jiayi wasn’t sure why but paused briefly before continuing, “I’ve been so busy with work that I never really thought about relationships. You know what kind of person I liked before, and besides, you’re very different from others.”

“How am I different?” Zhao Jing asked, sensitive to the underlying meaning in his words.

“It’s not a bad kind of different. You have everything, and in ways that are almost too good. No one else I know is like you,” Wei Jiayi said. “And I don’t want to beat around the bush with you. If you’re willing… can we take things slow?”

His tone was calm, intelligent, persistent, and sincere—just like the hand that had touched Zhao Jing’s face. Zhao Jing clearly understood that every word Wei Jiayi said was truthful; there were no empty pleasantries to brush him off. He could feel that Wei Jiayi had mustered a great deal of courage and vaguely realized that the determination Wei Jiayi needed to say these things was something he himself didn’t require. So even though Zhao Jing didn’t fully understand, he didn’t ask why.

“‘Take it slow’ means very slow,” Wei Jiayi added in a low voice. “Don’t tell anyone. Just give it a try. If this makes you upset, then forget it.”

The “very slow” Wei Jiayi mentioned was particularly abstract. Normally, Zhao Jing would press for details and demand a clear definition. But the wind was still blowing, and Zhao Jing hoped Wei Jiayi would hurry into the terminal because the weather was quite cold. At the same time, Zhao Jing felt as though a part of himself had naturally matured. So, he compromised just as naturally and replied, “If that’s what you want, sure.”

After hanging up the call, Zhao Jing fell asleep. In his dreams, Wei Jiayi lay beside him. They didn’t do anything; they simply lay there. Initially, Wei Jiayi didn’t move, but after thinking Zhao Jing had fallen asleep, he stealthily reached out and held Zhao Jing’s hand.

When Zhao Jing woke up, it was already 8:30. He rolled over, picked up his phone, and saw that Wei Jiayi had taken the initiative to send him a message an hour ago. Wei Jiayi said he had landed and that the place where he’d be working was even hotter than Buderus Island.

Reading the message, Zhao Jing couldn’t help but dwell on the “take it slow” that Wei Jiayi had mentioned. It sounded so sneaky; this whole idea of “give it a try” was completely at odds with Zhao Jing’s forthright outlook on life and his honorable personality. The thought alone filled him with dissatisfaction.

Yet, Wei Jiayi hadn’t left him any alternatives. Beyond “take it slow,” the only other option was to “forget it.” Zhao Jing had no choice. He held back, again and again, and when he finally replied, he refrained from voicing any complaints.

Wei Jiayi hadn’t slept well on the plane. It wasn’t that he had many dreams, but that his sleep was so light that the smallest turbulence conjured an image of Zhao Jing’s face, smugly commenting, “The second time was a bit rushed.”

Due to the time difference, it was still 4:00 AM local time when Wei Jiayi arrived. The plane didn’t dock at a jet bridge, and the sudden wave of tropical heat hit him. Wei Jiayi had already taken off his coat before he even stepped down the stairs.

Wei Jiayi sent Zhao Jing a message before heading to the hotel arranged by the client. After checking in, he managed to squeeze in just over two hours of sleep. Once awake, he had breakfast, drank a large cup of coffee, and met with the client and two photography assistants downstairs. Together, they headed to the backstage area of the fashion show.

On the way, Wei Jiayi remembered to glance at his phone and saw that Zhao Jing was awake. Zhao Jing had replied: “I dreamed that you were touching me again while I was asleep. This time, you touched my hand.”

Wei Jiayi felt his vision go blank and put the phone down, unwilling to face it. He had 10,000 regrets from his actions the previous night. He could already foresee a future where Zhao Jing would never stop bringing it up—assuming they didn’t end up cutting ties completely at some point.

Acting on impulse came with consequences. Not only had he touched Zhao Jing, but he had also ended up in a relationship that felt like they were sneaking around.

Sighing silently, he replied to Zhao Jing: “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

“Not bad.” Zhao Jing sent a photo.

In the photo, Zhao Jing was on a private jet with his computer open for a video conference. Zhao Jing hadn’t turned on his camera but was brazenly taking candid photos while chatting with Wei Jiayi. “On my way home already. I had to schedule three meetings in a row on the plane yesterday to free up time. When I get back today, I’ll probably be busy until at least 8 PM.”

Reading Zhao Jing’s long message, Wei Jiayi sensed he wanted affirmation. Thinking for a moment, he replied: “That sounds exhausting. Thank you for making time to see me despite being so busy. When I saw you yesterday, it seemed like you’d lost weight from all the stress.”

“Not really. This is just my normal work routine.” Zhao Jing immediately typed back, each response coming in long paragraphs: “My weight hasn’t changed. It’s probably because I’ve regained muscle after rehab. Muscle density is three times that of fat.”

Wei Jiayi couldn’t help but wonder if Zhao Jing was even paying attention to his meeting at all.

At that moment, he arrived at the work venue.

As soon as the car door opened, a wave of heat rushed in. Wei Jiayi quickly typed out a message: “I have to get to work now. I’ll call you when I’m done.”

Then, he got out of the car and spotted Pan Yifei’s assistant standing nearby.

Years ago, it was this assistant who had cleaned up the trash Pan Yifei had left behind in the rental apartment. Since then, the assistant had often sought out Wei Jiayi to bring him seasonal foods. As a result, Wei Jiayi was more familiar with the assistant than with Pan Yifei himself.

Wei Jiayi hadn’t carefully checked the guest list for this show. A sense of unease crept over him, mixed with irritation, as he wondered if he should inform Zhao Jing. After all, Zhao Jing knew his schedule like the back of his hand and was sharp. If he saw news coverage of them at the same event, he’d definitely be upset.

While hesitating, his phone buzzed. Wei Jiayi glanced down at the screen.

Zhao Jing replied: “Alright.” A moment later, another message came through: “Wei Jiayi, I think I might be imagining things, but I keep smelling your scent from yesterday. I want to video call with you tonight.”