LHKE Ch31

Under the clear, cool moonlight, a young man quietly lay by the edge of the hot spring, eyes closed, resting his cheek on his arm. Water marks trailed down his back, creating an intricate pattern around his shoulder blades, resembling faint, watery tattoos.

Lu Changting stood there, momentarily unsure if this was a dream or reality. While he was lost in thought, Shen Li opened his eyes, raised an eyebrow, and smiled at him—a smile that had an inexplicable allure. As if bewitched, Lu Changting walked over.

There were steps by the hot spring, and just as he stood there, Shen Li pulled him into the water. The young man’s hot body pressed against him, clinging like wild-growing water plants, moving in to kiss him, hands restlessly undoing the buttons, revealing his sculpted muscles.

Lu Changting breathed heavily, pressing Shen Li against the edge of the hot spring, slowly caressing his waist, inch by inch, with his fingertips, kissing the wet hair at his temples, lightly nibbling his ear. “Why are you in such a rush?”

Their heated breaths mixed with the warm water, as Lu Changting reached out to grasp Shen Li’s erect member, licking and kissing his lips.

Their bodies were intimately close, with Lu Changting’s erection pressing hard against the cleft of Shen Li’s buttocks. His hand moved up and down, gentle yet patient, driving Shen Li to the edge of control.

Shen Li panted more heavily, a tingling pleasure coursing through his body from his tailbone. His cheeks were flushed, eyes glistening with moisture, and he moved his hips, grinding against the erection behind him, his eyes glistening like the bright blossoms of a peach tree in spring.

Lu Changting’s breath quickened at the sight of Shen Li’s side glance, “I’m coming in.” His rough and hard erection pressed against the entrance, and without waiting for Shen Li’s response, he forcefully entered.

Shen Li’s throat tightened, biting his lip, refusing to make a sound. His fragmented breaths were swallowed by Lu Changting’s soft lips and tongue, his member was stroked up and down, while his backside was thrust into vigorously. The increasing pain and pleasure mixed with the flowing hot spring water, drowning him.

At times, when he couldn’t bear it, he would bite Lu Changting’s shoulder, but not too hard, softly whimpering, licking with his tongue, leaving faint bite marks and ambiguous red traces.

Sweat dripped down Lu Changting’s temples as he looked at the redness around Shen Li’s eyes. He covered Shen Li’s eyes with his hand, leaned down, and kissed him, “Cry out.”

His voice had a coaxing tone, “Be good.”

Shen Li, weak all over and breathing rapidly, finally cried out in a low, suppressed voice.

Sweat covered his entire body, soaking in the water, blurring everything, making it all indistinguishable. He suddenly closed his eyes, his throat bobbing, voice hoarse, “Xiao Gege… ah… slower, slow down.”

His breath was shattered by the relentless thrusts. Lu Changting, now angry, his eyes dark, “Who’s Xiao Gege? Shen Li, look at me.” He scooped a handful of water and splashed it on Shen Li’s flushed face, his voice hoarse, “Who am I?”

Shen Li opened his eyes to look at him, not understanding why he suddenly became so fierce. He couldn’t help but bite his lip again, his thoughts scattered and shattered, repeatedly calling out “Xiao Gege.”

Even at the end, Lu Changting never heard his own name.

…

Sunlight spilled into the room from the balcony, filling it with warmth. The alarm clock rang cheerfully. The man lying in bed was drenched in sweat, his hair damp and messy on his forehead. He opened his eyes, feeling the wetness between his legs, recalling the dream’s scenes. Sitting up, he cursed irritably.

He didn’t know how to describe the dream—a wet dream? A nightmare?

If the dream had only included him and Shen Li, it would have been a wet dream, but the addition of an unrelated person turned it into a nightmare…

Perhaps his subconscious was still hung up on Shen Li’s “Xiao Gege,” leading to such a ridiculous dream.

Suppressing his emotions, Lu Changting turned off the alarm, opened WeChat, and sent Shen Li a “Good morning” message. He then grabbed clean clothes and headed to the bathroom.

After showering, dressing, and leaving the house, the driver had already been waiting in the car for nearly half an hour. He opened the back door, got in, adjusted his seat to a comfortable position, and then opened his Moments to check the comments.

The previous night’s post had been hidden from elders and some relatives, but not from friends and close family members. At this hour, some had already woken up, leaving comments full of blessings and teasing him to bring someone home. With nothing else to do in the car, he responded to each one in good spirits, even sending red envelopes to Lu Changyin and Lu Changge, asking them not to tell the family just yet.

As a notorious gossip, Lu Changyin had already learned about him and Shen Li from Lu Changxu. Although she had been too busy with her work to keep up with her brother’s love life, now that she was home resting, and Lu Changting had successfully pursued Shen Li, there was no better time to ask than now.

So, Lu Changting endured Lu Changyin’s barrage of gossip questions with a mix of helplessness and amusement.

As they chatted, the memory of last night’s dream faded away, but Shen Li remained at the forefront of his mind. The joy of being together hadn’t diminished at all.

This led to the employees of Lu Corporation noticing that their young CEO seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood today.

In a small group chat, it was as if a flock of sparrows had gathered for a lively morning meeting, each chirping away.

“I swear on my 20/20 vision, the CEO was smiling when he entered the company today!”

“I ran into the CEO in the elevator, and he was really smiling! Believe me!”

“Yeah, sure, keep making it up.”

“Wow, seriously, his smile could melt my heart.”

“Wake up, girls, it’s too early for dreams.”

“The CEO really does seem to be in a good mood today.”

“Really? I have to deliver some documents to the CEO’s office later. I’m nervous.”

Wan Qing left the CEO’s office and saw the lively discussion in the group chat. Smiling, she typed: “No need to worry, the CEO is in a really good mood today.”

She poured herself a cup of coffee and stirred in a sugar cube, thinking that if Lu Changting were in such a good mood every day, the happiness of the Lu Corporation employees would surely skyrocket.

Lu Changting was oblivious to the chatter in the group chat. After a busy day at work, he still had several reports and proposals on his desk that he hadn’t finished reviewing as the end of the workday approached. Standing up to stretch, he was about to order takeout when he noticed the red notification bubble on his WeChat conversation with Shen Li. The fatigue he had been feeling instantly lightened.

[Liquor Seller: Good afternoon.]

[Liquor Seller: I just woke up.]

[Liquor Seller: The weather is great today.]

[Liquor Seller: Ah, there’s no food left in the fridge, so I guess I’ll have to go to the supermarket this afternoon.]

[Liquor Seller: I bought ingredients at the supermarket this afternoon and made a bunch of dishes. Do you want me to pack some and bring them to your office?]

[Liquor Seller: I’ll leave right after dropping it off, so I won’t disturb your work.]

[Liquor Seller: Are you still busy?]

After reading the messages, Lu Changting left his office and headed straight out. Shen Li’s messages had come in gradually, and since he had muted his phone for an afternoon meeting and had been busy afterward, they had piled up unread.

The last message was sent ten minutes ago, and he wasn’t sure if Shen Li had already arrived at his office.

He called Shen Li, and after just one ring, the call was answered.

“Hello?”

“Shen Xiao Li, where are you?”

“I’m downstairs.” Shen Li glanced at the wall clock, having planned to call Lu Changting if he hadn’t responded by the end of the workday. There were still a few minutes left until 5:30.

“Wait for me.” Lu Changting stepped into his private elevator and anxiously watched the numbers change as it descended.

Shen Li hadn’t made an appointment, so the receptionist couldn’t let him in and had asked him to wait in the lobby’s seating area. Shen Li didn’t mind; he played on his phone to pass the time until Lu Changting’s call came in.

The receptionist, a young and pretty girl, was idly checking her group chat messages and waiting for the end of the workday when she looked up and saw her coworkers celebrating the end of their shift. Just then, their young CEO stepped out of the elevator and walked straight toward the lobby.

The man sitting there stood up, his handsome face breaking into a smile that left her momentarily stunned.

She thought back to the day’s speculation about why the CEO was in such a good mood and suddenly felt she knew the answer.

“Why didn’t you call me?” Lu Changting didn’t even glance at the receptionist, naturally taking the layered insulated lunchbox from Shen Li’s hands and holding his other hand.

“We’re at your company…” Shen Li instinctively tried to pull his hand away.

“So what?” Lu Changting looked at him with a smile. “You came all the way here; you still want to hide?”

Shen Li had no choice but to lower his head and quickly follow him into the elevator. Once the elevator doors closed, he relaxed a little. “It’s not a good look.”

“What’s not a good look?” Lu Changting replied nonchalantly. “The board has been stressing me out these days. It’d be great if they made a big deal out of this and reported it to my third uncle. They can replace me as CEO so I can have more time to go on dates with my boyfriend.”

He had never been interested in the family business. His third uncle had chosen him to manage it, and he had done his best to keep things running smoothly. The family’s wealth was shared among four households, and he believed he had fulfilled his duties without shame. But not being able to be open about his relationship felt pointless.

In that moment, Shen Li caught a glimpse of the carefree and rebellious youth that Lu Changting had once been. No matter how many years had passed, he was still that unburdened spirit, uninterested in wealth and power.

Shen Li’s gaze softened as he squeezed Lu Changting’s hand, interlocking their fingers.

The elevator door opened with a “ding,” and Lu Changting and Shen Li came face-to-face with Wan Qing, who was just packing up to leave.

Wan Qing, sharp as ever, politely glanced at Shen Li before noticing their clasped hands and quickly lowering her gaze. “Mr. Lu.”

“Yes,” Lu Changting acknowledged, then suddenly remembered something. “Let the front desk know that from now on, when Mr. Shen comes to see me, he doesn’t need an appointment. They can send him directly to my office.”

“Understood.” Wan Qing still didn’t know Shen Li’s name, but she mentally placed this “Mr. Shen,” who seemed to have a special relationship with Lu Changting, on the same level as the other Lu family members like Lu Changxu and Lu Changyin.

Satisfied, Lu Changting nodded. “You can head home now. Thanks for all your hard work recently.”

Wan Qing lowered her head a little more. Perhaps because of Mr. Shen’s presence, their usually stern and decisive CEO had suddenly become considerate and approachable.

Accustomed to the stern and efficient Mr. Lu, she was almost terrified to face this version of Lu Changting…