TMWTGD CH20

Lu Li paused for a moment before saying, “Alright.”

Xie Jianwei’s eyes lit up, taking his hand as he said, “The bathroom on the third floor is especially spacious; we can together…”

Before he could finish, Lu Li tactfully declined, “I can just wash up on the first floor.”

Disappointment flooded Xie Jianwei’s face immediately. “Is it bad to wash together?”

Lu Li replied, “It is.”

Xie Jianwei was left speechless.

Lu Li ruffled his hair gently. “Be good. Come out to eat after washing up, and rest early tonight.”

Xie Jianwei caught the underlying meaning in his words. “Are you going back?”

Lu Li said, “Yes, it is getting late.”

Pursing his lips, the disappointment in Xie Jianwei’s eyes deepened, clearly reluctant to let him leave.

Pretending not to notice, Lu Li comforted him, “Contact me if you feel unwell anywhere.”

With that, he moved to turn and leave, but Xie Jianwei caught his cuff in an instant, his voice trembling slightly, “Doctor Lu.”

Lu Li looked back at him, “Hm?”

Xie Jianwei pointed at his chest, “I feel uncomfortable here.”

Lu Li paused.

Xie Jianwei looked up at him, “It hurts so much. Can you please not go?”

Lu Li’s chest heaved rapidly for a moment, though his words remained measured and steady. “This is your home.”

Xie Jianwei remained silent, merely looking at him like that.

Lu Li hardly knew how he managed to pry his hand away. “I am not your family.”

Xie Jianwei insisted stubbornly, “Yet you are the best person I have ever met.”

Lu Li smiled faintly. “You have simply met too few people.”

Xie Jianwei shook his head, “No, Doctor Lu, you truly are…”

Lu Li tapped his forehead lightly, cutting the topic short, “Hurry and take your bath. I will wait until you finish before leaving.”

This counted as a concession, but Xie Jianwei remained unhappy, though there was nothing he could do about it.

Failing to secure a shared bath, an authentic youthful Xie Jianwei might have simply accepted it, but how could Military Advisor Xie let such a prime opportunity slip by?

Lu Li refused to come? He had his own ways of bringing him in.

Xie Jianwei took off his clothes and headed into the bathroom, starting the hot water before sitting down to play on his phone.

Judging by the time, he could easily kill more than half an hour.

Out of sheer boredom, Xie Jianwei used the compact device to connect to several private base stations in this world, roughly surveying its technological level and cultural landscape.

Half an hour slipped by in a flash. Xie Jianwei set down the phone and stripped down completely.

Stepping into the bathtub, he lay back with narrowed eyes, pretending to have fainted from the hot soak.

This was entirely reasonable. After all, his body was naturally frail, he hadn’t slept a wink the night before, and he spent half the afternoon crafting pottery vases with Lu Li.

Though shaping on the pottery wheel meant sitting still, it actually demanded considerable physical effort. Handiwork like pulling and molding required focus, or the vase would lose its form.

Physical exhaustion aside, he had also been heartbroken just now. At the thought of Lu Li leaving soon, the repulsive dinner awaiting him, and a solitary night ahead, young Xie’s mood was naturally foul to the extreme.

Under the dual blows to mind and body, fainting in the bathtub was only natural.

Having promised to wait until he finished bathing, Lu Li definitely wouldn’t leave.

And with a bath dragging on for nearly an hour, he would certainly grow worried.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, a knock came from outside. “Are you done?”

Xie Jianwei could hear him clearly, of course, but he had to pretend otherwise. In any case, the door wasn’t locked.

Lu Li called him softly again, while Xie Jianwei diligently played unconscious.

Outside, Lu Li paused. His hand rested on the doorknob, yet he hesitated to push it open.

He didn’t dare lay eyes on a naked Xie Jianwei, didn’t dare imagine the scene inside, and didn’t dare let his thoughts drift further.

Yet he could not tolerate anyone else seeing it either.

Xie Jianwei was frail, and having soaked for so long, he had likely collapsed inside. Someone had to go in and carry him out, and while that person shouldn’t be him, it could only be him.

Lu Li knew he shouldn’t harbor such improper desires toward a youth twelve years his junior, someone who trusted him so deeply.

Yet he could not restrain himself.

From the first time he set foot in this manor, from the first time he saw Xie Jianwei, from the first time he heard his voice, his soul had been captivated.

It felt as if he had waited for him for ages, longed for him for ages, and loved him for ages.

Yet they had clearly just met, and Xie Jianwei was merely an innocent youth who didn’t even understand what love was.

A mere door felt like the dividing line between heaven and hell.

Lu Li had no idea whether stepping inside meant facing hell or heaven, because he could no longer tell where he truly stood.

With a soft click, the door opened after all.

Lined with exquisite tiles, the bathroom was spacious and bright, yet the hazy steam veiled the grandeur, coating everything in an intimate warmth.

Inside the pure white bathtub, the youth leaned back, his jade-like skin flushed a lovely rose from the rising vapor. His eyes were closed, his lips soft as water, his bare frame completely unguarded, innocent yet captivating.

Lu Li took a sharp breath, reaching out to lift him from the water.

Xie Jianwei remained motionless, thinking that if Big Li could still hold back this time, he would truly bow in admiration.

In truth, the instant Lu Li pulled him into his arms, that trembling thread called rationality snapped into eighteen pieces.

Without even drying Xie Jianwei off, he carried him straight to the bed, laid him down, and leaned over to press against his rosy lips.

It was a kiss restrained for ages, heavy with burning longing and brewing with a vast, torrential love.

Even so, Lu Li kept his movements feather-light, terrified of waking the sleeping youth.

Xie Jianwei had originally planned to wake up on cue and force Lu Li into a corner where he couldn’t hide.

Yet in this moment, his heart softened once more.

He vaguely understood Lu Li’s thoughts. Holding back for so long was simply because he considered Xie Jianwei too young. Even if the youth’s body was well-developed, his mind remained immature.

Lu Li could easily lead this boy who trusted him implicitly astray, yet he could not erase that heavy guilt.

And of course, there was another fatal reason.

Even with Xie Jianwei’s yandere persona in place, even with his fierce possessiveness scripted in, Lu Li still did not believe deep down that Xie Jianwei could love him.

Was possessiveness equivalent to love?

If it were Doctor Chen, Doctor Li, or Doctor Wang, wouldn’t Xie Jianwei react the exact same way?

In the end, Doctor Lu wasn’t the one and only, he was simply the sole one present.

Purely because Xie Jianwei had only ever encountered Doctor Lu.

Just like how Xie Jianwei stranded on the barren planet had met only Lu Li.

Thinking of this, Xie Jianwei could only sigh inwardly at what a fool Lu Li was.

Yet he shared the blame as well. Why hadn’t he noticed Lu Li’s insecurity throughout all these years?

True, fighting his way through endless campaigns had brought Lu Li immense power, status, the devotion of soldiers, and the adoration of millions, but deep down, Lu Li remained Lu Li.

He was still that Lu Li on the barren planet who learned to read for the first time, asking dejectedly upon learning the meaning of his name, “Was I given this name because I caused their separation?”

Back then, Xie Jianwei had told him that an ancient verse spoke of brilliant shifting hues and vibrant splendor, and that Lu Li meant bright, magnificent colors.

Like the sun, illuminating Xie Jianwei’s desolate life.

Lu Li’s kisses were dense and reverent, trailing from Xie Jianwei’s lovely chin down to his flat abdomen, finally taking that perked, delicate part into his mouth.

Xie Jianwei played asleep in thorough comfort.

Regrettably, once he reached his release, Lu Li did not proceed further, seeming to snap awake abruptly, preparing to bolt once again.

Making a split-second decision, Xie Jianwei murmured in a daze, “Doctor Lu…”

His naturally soft tone turned even more delicate under the lingering afterglow of release, brushing across Lu Li’s heart like a fine feather, throwing his already chaotic thoughts into further disarray.

Lu Li paused, staying after all. Turning Xie Jianwei over, he found fleeting satisfaction between his thighs.

Teased into a restless fever, Xie Jianwei only managed to hold back from begging him to push inside through sheer willpower.

Afterward, Lu Li carried Xie Jianwei to wash up again.

By the time he laid him back on the bed, Xie Jianwei slowly woke up.

Lu Li had reverted to the proper, disciplined Doctor Lu.

Xie Jianwei said in pleasant surprise, “Doctor Lu, you didn’t leave!”

Lu Li said, “Next time you bathe, remember not to keep the water temperature too high. Your body cannot take it.”

Xie Jianwei couldn’t care less about that, holding Lu Li’s hand as he asked, “Will you stay for dinner tonight?”

Lu Li replied, “It is not appropriate.”

Disappointment crept back onto Xie Jianwei’s face. “Doctor Lu, why aren’t you my family?”

Lu Li said nothing.

Xie Jianwei sighed dejectedly, “How wonderful it would be if you were my family. I want to be with you every single day, never parting.”

His expression as he said this was deeply earnest and irresistibly alluring.

Lu Li did not answer, his eyes merely darkening.

Xie Jianwei opened Lu Li’s hand, nuzzling against his palm like a cat, murmuring softly, “Doctor Lu, I don’t want you to leave.”

Images of Xie Jianwei overcome with desire flashed in Lu Li’s mind. Taking a deep breath, he pulled his hand away and said quietly, “I must return.”

With that, without giving Xie Jianwei a chance to reply, he stood up and left.

Xie Jianwei didn’t try to keep him this time, merely curving his lips slightly. Even if you leave now, you will have to come right back in a bit.

The moment Lu Li stepped past the courtyard gate, his phone chimed.

He had set a unique ringtone for Xie Jianwei, so he knew instantly that the youth had texted him.

Taking out the phone, he unlocked the screen and saw the photo sent by the young man.

It was a stunning selfie, captivating enough that he couldn’t look away even without any filter or editing.

Xie Jianwei wrote, “Doctor Lu, Doctor Lu, Doctor Lu, will you come over tomorrow?”

Lu Li did not reply.

A moment later, Xie Jianwei sent another picture showing himself fully dressed, accompanied by a caption, “Does it look nice? New clothes.”

Lu Li thought to himself, It looks nice, far too nice, so nice I want to peel it off you.

Still, he did not reply.

Yet Xie Jianwei seemed to have found an amusing game, texting him nonstop, each message carrying a photograph.

Sometimes it was a selfie, sometimes other little objects, making it feel as though Xie Jianwei was still right beside Lu Li even after his departure.

Lu Li did not check his phone while driving, but unlocked the screen the moment he parked.

With a single glance, a sharp pang pierced his heart.

The picture displayed a dining table overflowing with rich dishes, followed by Xie Jianwei’s words, “I really want to have dinner with Doctor Lu.”