UI CH 22

The showerhead in his hand shifted slightly, moving closer, and the water stream focused on Shen Ran’s right chest. Shen Ran laughed from the tickling sensation, releasing Zhao Jiyu’s collar to grab the showerhead.

Zhao Jiyu didn’t let him succeed, simply gazing down at him.
“Do you know what it means when you ask me to take off my clothes?”

“What?” Shen Ran laughed, his body swaying a little.
“It’s weird that you’re wearing clothes. Ming Jin would… if I wore underwear…”

Seeing his clueless expression, Zhao Jiyu considered the feasibility of what he wanted to do tonight.

If he wanted Shen Ran to stay, he couldn’t do anything reckless tonight. Otherwise, Shen Ran wouldn’t agree to stay, no matter what excuse he gave in the morning.

With a sigh of resignation, Zhao Jiyu restrained himself and washed Shen Ran while still fully clothed. However, while washing him, Zhao Jiyu teased Shen Ran several times, each time igniting his desire but not following through.
After the shower, Shen Ran stared blankly at the floor, his cheeks still flushed.

Pretending not to notice his condition, Zhao Jiyu grabbed a towel to wrap him up. The fabric rubbing against his sensitive skin caused Shen Ran to breathe faster. Zhao Jiyu then used a hairdryer to dry his hair. When he helped him stand up, Shen Ran stumbled forward.

Zhao Jiyu took the opportunity to pull him into a hug, tightening his grip around his waist and asking,
“Can you walk on your own?”

Shen Ran’s mind felt as if it were flooded, his head spinning as he rested it on Zhao Jiyu’s shoulder, mumbling, “Soft…”

Bending down to hook his knees, Zhao Jiyu lifted him into his arms and carried him into the bedroom, placing him on his own bed.

Shen Ran let out a sigh of comfort as his back touched the soft, smooth sheets. Zhao Jiyu tucked him in, his gaze lingering on his lips before he turned his head and kissed his flushed cheek.

Shen Ran didn’t feel it; he closed his eyes and didn’t move again. Gently stroking the corner of his eye, Zhao Jiyu got up and returned to the bathroom.

Removing his wet clothes, Zhao Jiyu stood under the shower, the warm water cascading down.

Unconsciously, he pictured Shen Ran sitting on the edge of the bathtub, quietly letting him wash him, and the way he looked when he was aroused by his teasing.
His fingers, braced against the wall tiles, tried to grip, but they slipped and couldn’t hold anything. He looked down at himself, realizing he had been restrained since he started bathing Shen Ran.

The feeling was truly uncomfortable, but compared to scaring Shen Ran away, this bit of endurance was nothing.
Taking a few deep breaths, he ignored the urgent desire and turned the faucet to cold water to wash his hair.

After leaving the bathroom, Zhao Jiyu returned to the master bedroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. He locked the door behind him and, without turning on the light, went to the bedside, reaching under the covers to feel around.

Shen Ran’s arousal had subsided, and he was sleeping soundly, seemingly not to wake up again tonight.

Zhao Jiyu had also drunk quite a bit, and the fatigue intensified after the shower. However, to avoid Shen Ran’s embarrassment in the morning, he found two robes in the closet, dressed Shen Ran in one, and then lay down himself.
However, after lying with his eyes closed for a long time, changing his position several times while holding Shen Ran, Zhao Jiyu still couldn’t fall asleep.

Tonight was different from the yacht incident. That time, Shen Ran hadn’t drunk, so he could only watch Shen Ran’s sleeping face and hold him in his arms. Tonight, Shen Ran was drunk, but he still couldn’t indulge as he did on their first night.

Despite the circumstances, this kind of restraint was something he wouldn’t have tried in the past. His fingertips traced Shen Ran’s handsome features, finally resting on his lips.

The sensation from their kiss that night was still vivid in his memory. He savored the softness of Shen Ran’s lips, stopping only when he realized his tongue had touched another. He looked at the person in his arms with a complex expression.

Shen Ran didn’t react at all, neither tilting his head back to accept his kiss like that night nor biting his tongue and turning away.
That night, Shen Ran had been driven by alcohol-induced impulse, but Shen Ran’s subsequent reactions had convinced him that there was potential between them.

Shen Ran didn’t seem averse to the feeling of intimacy with another man. Perhaps he didn’t have to watch from afar anymore, but could gradually change Shen Ran, drawing him into the twilight and sinking together.

Burying his face in Shen Ran’s neck, Zhao Jiyu smelled his own shower gel on his skin. Then, his arms tightened. Shen Ran turned onto his side, his arm draping over Zhao Jiyu’s waist, and one leg sliding between his.

Neither of them was wearing underwear, and Shen Ran’s thigh was pressed right against Zhao Jiyu’s groin. This pressure made Zhao Jiyu’s breathing uneven, and the urge that had finally subsided was threatening to return.

Zhao Jiyu began to regret being so restrained during the shower.
He shifted his waist back slightly, creating some distance between them, and only embraced him again after calming down.

This time, Zhao Jiyu fell asleep shortly after lying down, and both of them slept soundly through the night.

The next morning, Shen Ran was the first to wake up with a headache.
Holding his temples, Shen Ran paused for a moment before opening his eyes. He saw that he was in a large, clean room, but his mind was still foggy. It wasn’t until the arm around his waist gradually became more noticeable that he turned to see Zhao Jiyu’s face behind him.

That face, which was too delicate for a man, was just as captivating in sleep. His skin was fair and smooth, without the stubble that usually appeared in the morning. His long eyelashes were slightly curled, giving the illusion of looking at a display doll in a shop window.

Holding his breath, Shen Ran watched him for a while before remembering that they had been drinking together last night. He had gotten drunk and fallen asleep on the sofa in the bar.

What happened after that? Where was he?

He had come to Zhao Jiyu’s for dinner a few days ago but hadn’t seen the bedroom. However, the decor of this room didn’t look like a hotel. The minimalist style and white-gray furniture were very much in line with Zhao Jiyu’s taste.

Rubbing his temples, Shen Ran guessed that he was probably at Zhao Jiyu’s place.

Although they were sleeping in
the same bed again, he wasn’t as panicked as he was the first time he woke up. Besides, both he and Zhao Jiyu were wearing clothes… Wait, clothes?

Feeling the silky robe on his arm, he looked down at his chest, which was exposed by the open collar, and then looked at the matching robe on Zhao Jiyu.

Did Zhao Jiyu change his clothes?

He quietly lifted the blanket and almost did a sit-up, nearly gasping for air.
He wasn’t wearing underwear!

Glancing at Zhao Jiyu’s robe, he saw the same morning reaction as his own, and he couldn’t help but cover his face, racking his brains to remember what had happened last night.

Could it be that he got drunk and they did it again?
Having had the experience before, Shen Ran quickly realized that he didn’t feel sore, and his body didn’t have any of the after-effects, so nothing should have happened.

Zhao Jiyu probably just helped him because he thought it was unhygienic to sleep in his outside clothes.
But why did he take off his underwear?

Shen Ran resigned himself to lying there for a while. When he sensed movement from the person next to him, he immediately closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep.
Zhao Jiyu stretched, burying his face in the pillow.

The sound he made wasn’t as soft as a woman’s whine, but it was surprisingly pleasant, at least not unpleasant to Shen Ran. If the arm around his waist hadn’t squeezed him slightly during the stretch, he could have played the sleeping act very convincingly.

Feeling him involuntarily twitch, Zhao Jiyu curled the corners of his mouth, released him, turned over, and sat up, supporting himself on the mattress.

Shen Ran wasn’t sure if his slight movement had been noticed, but Zhao Jiyu got up directly from the bed, walked around the foot of the bed, and went to the bathroom opposite him.

Standing by the door, Zhao Jiyu loosened his belt, and with a movement of his shoulders, the smooth silk robe slid down his arms to his feet, revealing his captivating back muscles.

Shen Ran opened one eye, his gaze following the curve of his waist down to the rounded area below. He knew he shouldn’t be looking, but Zhao Jiyu’s physique was too good. Apart from the lack of visible body hair, his skin was evenly toned from head to toe, and even the curves of his muscles were perfectly pronounced.

Just as he was staring intently, Zhao Jiyu suddenly turned around.
Before he could react, he had seen Zhao Jiyu’s front. His chest felt as if it had been struck by the swaying part, and he almost gasped for air.

Zhao Jiyu, however, didn’t notice that he had opened his eyes. Facing to the right, he went to the adjacent walk-in closet to get a clean towel.

It wasn’t until the sound of water came from the bathroom that Shen Ran dared to sit up, running his fingers through his disheveled hair with a complex expression.

Luckily, Zhao Jiyu hadn’t noticed him peeking, or it would have been incredibly embarrassing.

After sitting on the bed for a while, he heard the water in the bathroom stop and lay back down.
Shortly after, Zhao Jiyu came out, his footsteps approaching the bed. He lightly kneaded Shen Ran’s shoulder with his fingers, calling his name in a low voice.

Seeing that he didn’t react, Zhao Jiyu didn’t disturb him further. He went into the walk-in closet, changed into casual home clothes, and left the bedroom.
Once the room was completely quiet, Shen Ran threw off the blanket and got out of bed, walking barefoot into the bathroom.

Zhao Jiyu’s house was indeed large. The master bedroom’s en-suite bathroom alone was nearly 20 square meters, with a decor style matching the bedroom and a well-defined wet and dry area. He glanced at the spot where Zhao Jiyu had just showered, and the image of him undressing came back to him.

Admonishing himself not to let his thoughts wander, Shen Ran quickly took care of his needs and then searched for his discarded clothes, but they were nowhere to be found in the bathroom. He returned to the bedroom, frowning at the bare room, and then looked at the closed door of the walk-in closet.

Zhao Jiyu probably wouldn’t have put his clothes in the walk-in closet. The most likely place was the washing machine.

Just as he was debating whether to go out and ask, the bedroom door quietly opened, and Zhao Jiyu, holding a glass of honey water, stared at him. Then, he walked towards him calmly, handing him the glass and saying,
“Drink some warm honey water first, it’ll help with the hangover.”