Chapter 64

Considering that Li Sipei hadn’t eaten before coming over, Mi Zhao pulled him into a restaurant first.

After finding a seat, he glanced out the window.

“You came alone?”

“Li Zhixuan dropped me off, but I told him to leave,” Li Sipei said. “If something had happened at your place and I needed to go upstairs, it wouldn’t have been convenient with him around.”

Mi Zhao raised the menu to cover his face, leaving only one eye exposed as he stared unblinkingly at Li Sipei.

Li Sipei returned a puzzled look but said nothing.

Behind the menu, Mi Zhao’s lips couldn’t stop curling upward. His gaze roamed over Li Sipei’s face, and he suddenly had the urge to kiss him. But since they were in a crowded restaurant, he had to suppress the impulse.

Li Sipei, however, had no intention of holding back. He suddenly reached around the menu and, before Mi Zhao could react, pinched his cheek hard.

Mi Zhao: “…”

Hissing in pain, he swatted Li Sipei’s hand away.

Li Sipei retracted his hand calmly. “Serves you right for smirking.”

“What? I can’t even smile now?” Mi Zhao noticed that Li Sipei had changed—he had become much more hands-on lately, as if he enjoyed initiating physical contact. Annoyed, he grabbed Li Sipei’s half-withdrawn hand and raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you the proactive one now? Just one phone call and you came running. Before, you were like a toad—only moving when poked.”

Li Sipei didn’t even try to break free. The moment Mi Zhao grabbed his hand, he relaxed his grip entirely. His only reaction was a slight furrow of his brows. “When was I ever like a toad?”

“In the past,” Mi Zhao said righteously. “If I didn’t reach out first, you’d never contact me. You’d rather sit around overthinking things than send me a single message.”

Li Sipei pressed his lips together, silent.

Mi Zhao shook his hand. “See? I hit the nail on the head, didn’t I?”

Li Sipei lowered his eyes as if lost in thought.

After waiting for a moment and seeing that Li Sipei still wasn’t responding, Mi Zhao had a sudden idea. He subtly moved one foot to brush against the leg of Li Sipei’s pants.

Li Sipei stiffened instantly, snapping his eyes up to look at him.

Resting his chin on one hand, Mi Zhao flashed him a brilliant smile. His eyes sparkled like stars—no, even brighter. Meanwhile, his foot, far from stopping, grew even bolder as it teased the fabric of Li Sipei’s pant leg.

The restaurant’s bright lights illuminated Li Sipei’s face, which was steadily flushing. He seemed utterly unprepared for Mi Zhao’s audacity. His gaze was filled with shock.

“You—”

Before he could finish, a discreet cough sounded beside them.

A waiter spoke nervously, “Have you two decided on your order?”

Mi Zhao had been too focused on teasing Li Sipei to notice when the waiter arrived. Realizing someone was nearby, his face heated up, and he quickly pulled his foot back, letting go of Li Sipei’s hand in the process.

“Yes,” he replied with forced nonchalance, handing the menu to the waiter.

The waiter took the menu and swiftly retreated.

Mi Zhao, feeling the secondhand embarrassment wash over him, scratched his head and slumped against the back of his chair.

Then the light in front of him dimmed slightly. When he looked up, he was surprised to see that Li Sipei had moved from across the table to sit beside him.

The hands that had just separated found each other again. But this time, it was Li Sipei who took the initiative, interlocking their fingers naturally, as if it were second nature.

The restaurant was full of people, and their seat was right in the middle. This gesture immediately attracted several curious glances from nearby diners.

Sensitive to the attention, Mi Zhao instinctively straightened his back, feeling slightly tense. He was about to comment when he noticed that Li Sipei wasn’t paying the slightest bit of attention to the onlookers—his focus remained solely on Mi Zhao.

Slowly, Mi Zhao relaxed as well.

After all, he didn’t care what others thought. As long as Li Sipei was unbothered, that was enough for him.

“This is my first relationship,” Li Sipei said, looking at him. “The first time I’ve been with someone as a couple. In the beginning, I didn’t know how to handle it.”

The sudden seriousness caught Mi Zhao off guard. He shifted forward slightly, nodding hurriedly. “I know…”

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so indulgent toward Li Sipei.

From the way Li Sipei interacted with Ruan Xin and Li Zhixuan, Mi Zhao had caught glimpses of how he typically dealt with people.

“If there’s something you don’t like, I can change. We have time, don’t we?” Li Sipei gently squeezed his hand, a faint smile playing on his lips. “Just don’t get tired of me.”

Mi Zhao was momentarily stunned before breaking into a grin. He tightened his grip around Li Sipei’s hand, his voice tinged with smugness. “Have I ever gotten tired of you?”

As Li Sipei smiled back, his expression subtly shifted, as if he had just recalled something. The amusement in his eyes dimmed slightly. “Except you have an ex.”

Mi Zhao: “…”

Crap.

Here we go again…

Mi Zhao’s internal alarm bells rang. He eyed Li Sipei warily and, sure enough, saw that his expression had turned unreadable—a smirk that wasn’t quite a smirk.

“You have more experience than me,” Li Sipei commented coolly.

Mi Zhao groaned and pressed his fingers to his forehead. “I only dated—”

The moment that name was about to slip out, Li Sipei’s expression darkened. He glared icily.

Mi Zhao instantly shut his mouth, shrinking slightly. After a brief moment of silence, he carefully rephrased, “I only had one ex. You make it sound like I’ve dated seven or eight people.”

“Oh,” Li Sipei said blankly. “Just one.”

Mi Zhao: “…”

Li Sipei lifted his hand and bit down on the back of it.

He had never been one to hold back, and his bites always carried weight. Mi Zhao winced but, unlike before, didn’t react too dramatically. Instead, he sighed helplessly. “I thought you had a cleanliness obsession. Guess you’re not as picky anymore.”

In the end, Mi Zhao finished the meal with a fresh set of bite marks on his hand.

The snow outside had stopped earlier, but by the time they left the restaurant, small flakes were once again drifting down.

Mi Zhao booked a nearby hotel on his phone. Worried that Li Sipei might not be comfortable, he specifically chose the most expensive one. The hotel was about 500 to 600 meters away, across a street.

This distance didn’t require a taxi. Mi Zhao tightened the scarf around Li Sipei’s neck, and the two walked hand in hand through the falling snow.

Mi Zhao remembered that Li Sipei’s birthday was coming up in a few days. His parents had mentioned that Li Sipei would be hosting a birthday banquet, so he asked, “Where’s your birthday banquet going to be held?”

“I don’t know,” Li Sipei replied.

“Huh?” Mi Zhao was surprised. “You don’t even know where your own birthday banquet is being held?”

Li Sipei pulled Mi Zhao’s hand into his coat pocket. Their bodies pressed together as they walked in sync, the rhythm making him feel at ease. He explained, “My mom is in charge of the banquet. The location and arrangements all go through her. My only responsibility is to invite people I know and show up on the day. So I didn’t really pay attention to the details. But I can ask Li Zhixuan now.”

Seeing that Li Sipei was about to take out his phone to make a call, Mi Zhao quickly squeezed their joined hands inside the pocket to stop him. “No, no, I was just asking casually.”

Li Sipei asked, “Are you coming?”

Mi Zhao looked up and met his gaze. “Do you want me to come?”

Li Sipei seriously thought about it. He seemed torn between nodding and shaking his head. “There’s nothing fun about that kind of event. It’s just a social gathering under the pretense of celebrating my birthday.”

“But do you want me there?” Mi Zhao pressed again.

Li Sipei stopped walking and turned to face him. He lowered his eyes and looked at Mi Zhao for a long time before nodding honestly. “I do.”

Tiny snowflakes landed on their hair and clothes. The bright streetlights stretched their shadows long on the ground, the distance between them gradually shrinking.

Taking advantage of adjusting Li Sipei’s scarf, Mi Zhao leaned in and kissed him on the lips.

Li Sipei took the initiative to part his lips slightly.

Mi Zhao caught his tongue, intertwining with it briefly before swiftly retreating, his tongue brushing lightly over Li Sipei’s teeth.

A thin silver strand of saliva connected them. Mi Zhao wiped it away with his thumb.

“If you want me there, I’ll go. I’m going just for you.” Mi Zhao said solemnly before taking Li Sipei’s hand again. “The snow is getting heavier. Let’s hurry.”

But Li Sipei wasn’t in a hurry. Even so, they still took nearly half an hour to reach the hotel.

Inside the room, the heater was on, and both of them quickly warmed up. Mi Zhao took off his coat and tossed it onto the sofa, then sat on the bed, testing its softness. Turning his head, he saw that Li Sipei was still standing by the bed, unmoving.

“Are you going to take a shower?” Mi Zhao asked.

Li Sipei rarely stayed in hotels alone. He avoided showering outside whenever possible. But Mi Zhao’s question clearly implied more than just taking a shower.

After a moment of hesitation, he reluctantly nodded. “Yeah.”

To his surprise, Mi Zhao’s eyes lit up, and he bounced off the bed. “I’ll shower with you.”

Without giving Li Sipei a chance to refuse, he happily ran into the bathroom in his slippers to check the size of the bathtub.

The hotel room was a couple’s suite. Besides the spacious, soft two-meter-wide bed, there was also a large bathtub big enough for three people. Worried about Li Sipei’s cleanliness standards, Mi Zhao carefully rinsed the tub inside and out with hot water two or three times.

When it came time to undressing, Mi Zhao initially felt a little shy. But when he saw that the other person was even more embarrassed than him, all his shame disappeared in an instant.

The wall behind the bathtub was entirely replaced with a massive floor-to-ceiling glass window. When they turned off the bathroom lights, the dazzling city nightscape outside cast its colorful glow into the room.

From the thirteenth floor, they had a perfect view of the vast cityscape.

Mi Zhao usually showered with a handheld showerhead and rarely used bathtubs—let alone soaking while admiring a night view. Propping his chin on his stacked hands, he lay on the edge of the bathtub, gazing outside.

Behind him, Li Sipei sat with his long legs on either side of him, encircling him.

The dim light cast a faint glow on his perfectly sculpted face. Mi Zhao sighed, sat up straight, and reached out to touch Li Sipei’s leg. “Is this how rich people bathe? Just soaking in the tub while enjoying the view?”

“I wouldn’t know,” Li Sipei answered calmly.

Mi Zhao rolled his eyes at him. “You don’t know anything.”

“I’ve never done it before.” To him, Mi Zhao seemed like an agitated rabbit—though at this moment, he was completely bare, without a single bit of fur. Amused, Li Sipei ran a hand down Mi Zhao’s smooth back.

Feeling the gentle touch, Mi Zhao instinctively relaxed, leaning back against his chest. The water shifted with their movements, making soft splashing sounds.

“What about before?” Mi Zhao turned his head slightly. “It wasn’t a physical struggle for you to bathe back then, right?”

With their bodies pressed together, Li Sipei could only wrap his arms around Mi Zhao’s waist. “I don’t like using bathtubs. I only use the shower.”

Hearing this, Mi Zhao laughed. “But in TV shows, rich people always like to soak in the tub with a glass of red wine in one hand and a phone in the other. Isn’t this supposed to be how they unwind after a long day?”

“If you’re really exhausted, you’d just finish showering quickly and go to bed,” Li Sipei replied with a chuckle.

Mi Zhao pinched him. “That’s way too practical.”

“Life is made up of simplicity and routine. Cooking, grocery shopping, and the daily grind—that’s reality. There’s not as much romance as people think.”

“Which is why you’ve never been in a relationship,” Mi Zhao scoffed, his pinching turning into playful poking at Li Sipei’s chest. “Because you don’t understand romance.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the atmosphere shifted.

Something felt off.

In the next second, Li Sipei grabbed his chin. Their eyes locked. In the dim light, his gaze was piercing, focused solely on Mi Zhao’s face.

“Then why don’t you share some of your past relationship experience with me?”

Mi Zhao: “…”

Crap.

He really shot himself in the foot this time.