AAUMOBIP C21

Chapter 21

“I was afraid that Xiao He wouldn’t like the style tied at the waist, so I specially prepared one that can be worn directly. The tied-at-the-waist kind tends to fall off easily. This way, it won’t slip off.” Yun Jingqiu explained.

He got it totally backwards!

Shouldn’t it be that he doesn’t like it, that’s why he bought the tied-up kind?!

Liu He glared at Yun Jingqiu, gripping tightly the string of the paper bag.

He so dearly wished that he could suddenly awaken some supernatural power like in a fantasy novel, so that he could burn the things in his hand into ashes with just a flame.

But unfortunately, this wasn’t a fantasy world—those things still lay inside the bag he held.

“You’re not allowed to use these.” Liu He, his face red, got out of bed intending to hide them. “I will keep them safe.”

Yun Jingqiu reached out to stop him, speaking regretfully: “These are gifts from me. It’s fine if you want to keep them, but not using them? That’s impossible. I prepared them specially for Xiao He.”

“Just this morning, Xiao He also said he would give me a kiss… can you wear this and kiss me?” Yun Jingqiu pressed further, even using his own birthday as leverage. “Today is my birthday. I want to receive a completely different kind of gift.”

This surprise was way too embarrassing!

The clothes were barely a piece of fabric—what could they cover on the body? Was there any real difference from not wearing anything at all?

In fact, wearing it might be more embarrassing than wearing nothing at all!

Liu He still couldn’t break through the wall in his heart.

He shook his head, intending to leave.

Yun Jingqiu immediately raised the stakes: “How about this, Xiao He chooses one set to wear, and I’ll wear the other?

Do you want to see me as a cat or a rabbit?”

This “bargaining chip” truly swayed Liu He.

Yun Jingqiu’s physique was excellent. If he wore those outfits, it would probably look a bit out of place, yet at the same time, it might also produce a rare beauty.

A beauty that only he was allowed to see.

Human beings are naturally comforted when they’re not doing something alone—when it’s not just yourself doing it, but when your partner joins in too, then it doesn’t feel quite so hard to accept.

Seeing Liu He hesitate, Yun Jingqiu seized the opportunity, taking off his own clothes right there.

He was the one to take action first.

“Which one does Xiao He want to see me wear?”

Liu He instinctively answered: “The cat.”

Yun Jingqiu placed his hand over Liu He’s, prying his fingers open so that the bag slipped from his grasp, its contents once again scattering across the bed.

Yun Jingqiu picked up the cat-eared headband and put it on, then took the thin string with the cat’s tail attached, looped it around his waist, and tied it up.

The cat’s tail was a bit heavy, naturally drooping against his tailbone.

And in an instant, a giant-sized cat appeared right in front of Liu He.

Liu He looked at the rabbit costume left behind, and with his back to Yun Jingqiu, began to change.

“Now, can Rabbit Mister kiss his beloved?”

Liu He had grown bolder, clutching Yun Jingqiu’s arm and placing a kiss on his lips.

Just like the kisses from before—their lips deepened in color and swelled again.

Liu He’s eyes glistened faintly, shimmering with moisture. He blinked his eyes at Yun Jingqiu and kissed him once more.

The two hadn’t gone as far as crossing the line—they merely kissed, and as natural responses arose, they once again helped one another through it.

When Yun Jingqiu tried to go a step further, Liu He stopped him, hastily tugging off the rabbit ears on his head, hugging his own clothes and retreating quickly back to his room.

Looking down at the bed full of “equipment,” Yun Jingqiu clicked his tongue in regret.

Xiao He was still too shy.

But the sight of Bunny-He had been beautiful—Yun Jingqiu felt perfectly content.

Just a slight tease was enough to make Xiao He blush.

Back in his room, Liu He, forgetting he hadn’t put on clothes, burrowed into his blankets, his entire face scarlet.

Rolling around on the bed, he suddenly felt something pressing into his tailbone. Reaching back, he grabbed a fuzzy ball of fur—his rabbit’s tail.

Turns out, he had only tossed the rabbit ears from his head but had forgotten about the rabbit’s tail tied at his waist.

Liu He untied the string, setting the rabbit tail casually on the nightstand, before burying himself back under the covers again.

Before long, the warmth in his body dissipated, and his eyelids grew heavy. Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.

When he next awoke, the sky outside was already dim. A hand reached out from beneath the blanket, fumbling for his phone.

Sleepily, Liu He cracked open his eyes to glance at the time, before nestling back down for another nap.

He woke up again at three in the morning.

Last night he’d gone to bed too early, so naturally tonight he had woken up too early.

After lying there and failing to recapture sleep, he got out of bed in his pajamas.

Last night, huddled in his blankets, he hadn’t even realized he’d fallen asleep completely naked.

He took a shower to freshen himself up, then came into the living room.

Creamy White—the little rabbit in the cage—was still fast asleep, Liu He’s movements quiet enough not to disturb it.

The outside was still dark when Liu He yawned, cocooned himself in a blanket, leaving only his head and hands exposed, and sat on the sofa playing with his phone.

**#Yun Jingqiu’s Lover Revealed to be a Universitytudent?!#

#Yun Jingqiu’s Partner is Male!#

Liu He: ?

What? Had his identity already been exposed? What was he supposed to do now?!

If people publicly labeled him as Yun Jingqiu’s partner, from then on at school he’d constantly be pointed at.

People would pester him for Yun-ge’s autograph and such.

Worse still, many might approach him with insincere intentions, hoping to use him to gain exposure via Yun-ge’s popularity.

It seemed like only past midnight this had started trending. Yesterday’s trending topic had been Yun Jingqiu’s birthday, and now today the trending topic was Yun Jingqiu’s lover.

Clearly, Yun Jingqiu was maintaining quite the presence on Weibo.

Liu He inhaled deeply, steeling himself, and tapped the trending topic.

【Er Yi: #Yun Jingqiu’s Partner is Male# Recently someone spotted Yun Jingqiu near C University. Judging by the car’s license plate number, the same vehicle was seen parked outside a male dormitory there.

So his lover’s a guy? And he’s a college student? Isn’t this an “old cow eating tender grass”? [Pictures attached]】

The photo had actually been taken and posted by a student online—it was a selfie, but the car happened to appear in the background. The license plate hadn’t been blurred, and though grainy, it was still barely legible.

【Yun-ge’s Arm Please Heal Quickly: #Yun Jingqiu’s Partner is Male# So the “sister-in-law” is actually a “brother-in-law”? Who cares what era it is—we shouldn’t still be fussing over that. What’s wrong with a male partner? If it’s what Yun-ge loves, I love it too!】

【Greedy Fish: C University! Turns out brother-in-law and I are schoolmates!】

【Not Child: #Yun Jingqiu’s Partner is Male# Excuse me? Yun-ge barely gets time off to be with his lover—can’t you paparazzi take a break? What right do you have to expose his private life like this?

He’s openly said his lover is an ordinary person who doesn’t want their life disrupted. And yet you so-called paparazzi lack any professional ethics? If you had taken a clear photo of him, his identity would have been exposed—do you realize what kind of impact that could have had on a normal person?】

…

Likely thanks to fan moderators guiding the online conversation, Liu He didn’t see many hostile comments against himself. The public anger was directed at the paparazzi who exposed the information instead.

Most of the posts he saw were supportive, or criticizing whoever started the rumors.

So things weren’t as bad as he feared—his actual identity hadn’t yet been exposed.

Liu He sighed in relief. And then, a notification banner popped up across the top of his phone.

【Yun Jingqiu: Thank you all for caring so much about my private life. It’s true, my partner is male—we are deeply in love. Please refrain from exposing his personal information online, or I will pursue legal action.

C University is a very beautiful campus, and I love not only its scenery, but my beloved who’s there.

My arm injury is healing well. Tomorrow the cast will be removed, and in one week I will begin filming for Crossing the River. Please, everyone, focus your attention on the movie instead. And give my beloved the freedom he deserves.

It’s late—go to bed early, no need to spend so much time staring at me and my beloved.】

The statement had been posted just one minute ago.

Liu He quickly read through it and hit the like button.

Setting the phone aside, he glanced at the still-sleeping Creamy White, then carefully padded into the master bedroom. With a light knock—

“Come in.”

Liu He pushed open the door and entered.

“Did you wake up on your own, or did someone wake you?” Liu He asked, sitting down by the side of the bed.

Yun Jingqiu was leaning against the headrest, the blanket covering most of his body, holding his phone in his right hand as his thumb tapped rapidly across the screen.

How could that thumb type so fast without cramping?

The bedside lamp had been switched on, filling the entire room with a soft, warm light.

The man in gray striped loungewear, his neckline open, exuded a languid allure.

“Someone called me up,” Yun Jingqiu replied honestly.

When the trending topic began to blow up online, Brother Wang had called and woken him, coordinating the strategy to guide public opinion.

Among the few stars who actually controlled their own Weibo account, Yun Jingqiu was unique. It was also because he used Weibo like a personal diary.

Nobody else could match the shameless lovestruck way he flaunted Liu He there.

“Sorry, I’ve dragged you into this mess,” Yun Jingqiu murmured, lowering his phone and suddenly wrapping Liu He into his arms.

Liu He’s body was a bit cool, while Yun Jingqiu’s was warm.

As that warmth seeped into him, Liu He’s own chill slowly evaporated.

“Those paparazzi won’t let me go—they’re still trying to dig out details about you. Good thing I had already hired an anti-surveillance team beforehand,” Yun Jingqiu grumbled.

Then he tugged Liu He under the blanket together with him, still holding his phone and typing replies.

Liu He tilted his head, able to glimpse the phone screen.

Yun Jingqiu had no intent to hide it, letting him see openly.

“Why did Xiao He wake up?” he asked with a smile.

Yun-ge’s blanket was so warm. Mimicking him, Liu He leaned back against the headboard too.

Yawning, Liu He answered, “I went to bed too early last night, so I just woke again.”

“And even bothered to take a shower?” Yun Jingqiu chuckled.

“You heard that noise?”

The sound of him bathing wasn’t that loud—surely it shouldn’t have woken someone. Unless… that person hadn’t been asleep at all just then.

Yun Jingqiu nodded.

“The online chatter about you has mostly been contained. Unfortunately…” Yun Jingqiu sighed softly. “Right now too many eyes are on me. I have to leave.”

He was caught right in the middle of public scrutiny. If he lingered here any longer, there was a real risk of exposing Xiao He.

“I want to keep living with Xiao He,” Yun Jingqiu muttered. “But tomorrow after my cast is removed, I’ll have to head straight for City A, to join the film crew. The unfinished scenes here in City C will only be completed later.”

“I’ll take Creamy White with me. Seeing him will remind me of you.”

Liu He gently clutched his arm, feeling the muscles beneath tense and release as he typed.

He’s really going to leave?

Looking at Yun Jingqiu’s phone screen, Liu He saw the conversation with his manager, Brother Wang:

【Bald Brother Wang: Tomorrow I’ll send someone to pick you up. The company hired you two bodyguards this time, no refusing!】

【Bald Brother Wang: I hate to part with my darling—】

【Bald Brother Wang: —But you still have a career!! Could you stop being such a slave to love already?!】

【Bald Brother Wang: Hurry back to work!】

【Bald Brother Wang: For now, leaving your darling is the best way to protect him.】

【Yun Jingqiu: Oh.】

【Yun Jingqiu: I’ve raised a rabbit.】

【Yun Jingqiu: His name is Creamy White.】

【Bald Brother Wang: I saw it on Weibo already!】

【Yun Jingqiu: But if I take Creamy White with me, what’ll happen to him?】

【Yun Jingqiu: He’s still young, just separated from his daddy.】

【Yun Jingqiu: How could you bear to split up our little family of three?】 (Message sent but rejected.)

【Yun Jingqiu: Don’t you feel guilty tearing our family apart?!】 (Message sent but rejected.)

Those last two messages had glaring red exclamation marks next to them.

Brother Wang, having had enough, had clearly blocked Yun Jingqiu.

“Child?”

“I don’t have the ability to bear children,” Liu He said flatly.

His words were answered by a kiss.

Yun Jingqiu set aside his phone, slipped his right hand around Liu He’s nape, and kissed him—somewhat awkwardly due to the angle, but with intent.

He pulled Liu He down into the blankets.

Liu He tried to wriggle free, but Yun Jingqiu’s legs were entwined around his, and his arm locked tightly against him, leaving him no way to escape.

“Sleep now, there’s still a while until dawn,” Yun-ge murmured softly against his ear.

Footnote:

 

1. Old cow eating tender grass (老牛吃嫩草) – a Chinese idiom meaning an older man dating a much younger partner.