His tone was so mournful that it didn’t at all match the image of the sullen, calculating person Huang Xuyao had described.

Jiang Shi was well aware of Cheng Ye’s tendency to take a mile when given an inch, and he refused to indulge him. “Cheng Ye, you’re getting bold now, are you? You even dare to control who I talk to on the phone?”

Sure enough, Cheng Ye immediately backed down in the next second. But even as he behaved, he still felt wronged. “You’ve never talked to me on the phone for twenty minutes.”

Jiang Shi was utterly exasperated with him. “We’re together every day. What’s there to talk about on the phone for so long?”

“If you say another word, I’m hanging up.”

Cheng Ye: “…”

At this hour, most of the food in the cafeteria was gone. The school wasn’t closed on weekends, so Jiang Shi decided to eat out.

The last ray of sunlight disappeared from the horizon, and the chill of winter became more pronounced.

On the phone, Cheng Ye chattered on about what had happened that day, about Huang Xuyao, about Wang Zhuo.

He said, “I’m confident we can successfully negotiate the deal for the game. We’re still too young. This game needs a mature team to go further. In our hands, it will only perish. So selling it isn’t necessarily a bad thing…”

At the end, Cheng Ye paused.

“Jiang Shi, I want to start a small studio.”

…

The next day, when Jiang Shi came out after finishing his last exam, he saw Cheng Ye standing outside.

He was tall, but he stood very straight, still wearing that same black jacket. Jiang Shi hadn’t looked closely at the time, but now he noticed that the cuffs of the jacket were frayed, and there was a tear in the back, probably caught on something, with black threads faintly visible.

Cheng Ye took the bag from his hand. “Let’s go. I’ll take you out to eat.”

He had already made a reservation before Jiang Shi’s exam at a health-focused chicken soup restaurant. Jiang Shi had been studying in the dorm every day for the past two days for the exams. Studying was mentally draining, so he needed to replenish his energy.

Jiang Shi followed behind him. He tugged at the torn part of Cheng Ye’s jacket, revealing the white T-shirt underneath. “You wore this to meet your client?”

“Yeah, what’s wrong?”

“Didn’t I take you to buy a new jacket a couple of days ago? Why didn’t you wear that one?”

Cheng Ye answered honestly, “I was just meeting some unimportant people. I couldn’t bear to wear it.”

Jiang Shi: “…”

He asked, “In Boss Cheng’s esteemed opinion, when will you be willing to wear it?”

“On a date with you.”

Alright, alright…

Jiang Shi gave him a kick.

Cheng Ye took the kick without complaint but didn’t understand why he was being kicked. “I’m not indecently dressed, and my attire wasn’t disrespectful to them. When you’re talking business, what matters is ability. Only those who lack ability try to show off their strength through their clothes.”

Jiang Shi reached his hand through the hole in the jacket and pinched the flesh on his lower back.

The street was bustling with students. The light from the streetlamps was orange-yellow, and the leaves on the trees above were turning yellow. It was a very warm scene, but Cheng Ye leaned in close to Jiang Shi’s ear and said, “Young master, stop scratching. If you keep scratching, I’ll get hard.”

Jiang Shi yanked his hand out instantly. He looked left and right, and after confirming there were no students within a one-meter radius, he turned to glare at Cheng Ye. “Cheng Ye, my fists are getting hard too.”

Cheng Ye looked down. The boy’s hands were clenched tightly by his sides. His skin was pale, and when he used force, it turned a faint pink, the knuckles looking like smudged rouge.

Even hard, it looks good.

A hard fist hit Cheng Ye. Jiang Shi didn’t hold back much force. Cheng Ye was knocked back a step by the blow, and he coughed from the tightness in his chest.

“You’re pretty strong.”

Jiang Shi brandished his fist at him, letting him know why flowers were so red.

Cheng Ye let out a short laugh.

Then he was hit with another punch.

The chicken soup restaurant was about a twenty-minute walk from the school. The restaurant was on the second floor, and the owner was a somewhat plump, amiable-looking woman.

This place was quite famous. Although it looked like an ordinary storefront, the owner’s skills were excellent. The chicken soup needed to be simmered over a low fire, so reservations were required for meals.

Corresponding to its level of refinement was its price.

Jiang Shi didn’t know any of this. Looking at the storefront, he thought it was just an ordinary restaurant. He pulled out a chair and sat down, teasing Cheng Ye, “Boss Cheng is really something else after making money. He can even afford to eat out.”

Boss Cheng very calmly poured him some tea.

The owner first served them some side dishes, and finally, the chicken soup that had been simmered over a low fire.

The chicken soup was golden in color but not greasy. Cheng Ye skimmed off the scallions and ladled a small bowl of soup for him first.

The warm chicken soup went down, and his body, which had been chilled by the night wind, gradually warmed up. Jiang Shi’s fingertips rested on the porcelain-white bowl, his soft hair hanging down, his skin a simple, elegant white.

They were seated by a window that overlooked a small courtyard. A few ginkgo trees were planted in the courtyard, and the ground was covered in a layer of golden leaves.

In front of Cheng Ye, Jiang Shi had never cared much about his image. Whenever there was a chair, he would sink into it bonelessly. His jaw was sharp; even after being well-fed for so long, he hadn’t gained much weight. In fact, he had gotten a bit thinner because of the exams.

Most of the time, he was lazy, even when he smiled. It was a faint smile that would lift the corners of his mouth into a slight curve before, as if tired, it would slowly fall again.

“Time passes so quickly. When I first came here, winter hadn’t passed yet. I can’t believe the next winter is coming so soon.”

Cheng Ye followed his gaze out the window. “It is quite fast.” He paused for a second, then added, “It’s time to buy you winter clothes.”

Jiang Shi no longer expected to hear any sweet words from Cheng Ye. He picked up his chopsticks and took a bite of bok choy. Just as he pulled his hand back, a piece of meat was added to his bowl.

He had been staying up late studying these past few days, so he had little energy and had lost his appetite for greasy things. He pushed the meat out of his bowl. “I don’t want it.”

Cheng Ye added another piece. “You’ve lost weight recently. You have to eat.”

“I won’t eat it. I haven’t lost weight. Have your words been blessed or something? You say I’m thinner, so I’m thinner?”

Cheng Ye didn’t speak, just looked up at him.

“What are you looking at?”

“Fine.” Cheng Ye said flatly, “I’ll have to see for myself whether you’re thinner or fatter.”

“See? How will you see?”

Jiang Shi soon found out how Cheng Ye was going to “see.”

He would never have imagined that there was a hotel right next to the restaurant. Without another word, Cheng Ye dragged him to the hotel and got a room.

The hotel lights were bright, and the heavy curtains blocked the view outside.

Jiang Shi, a grown man weighing over a hundred catties, was easily tossed onto the bed by Cheng Ye, who had an arm around his waist. He was wearing his school uniform. The black pants were loose and came off with just a tug.

The bell on his ankle let out a frantic jingle.

Cheng Ye stood by the bed. The light poured down from behind him, casting a shadow over his face, making the expression in his eyes unreadable. But Jiang Shi could feel his gaze on him, or to be precise, on his butt.

As if suddenly remembering something, he reached to pull at the sheets underneath him.

Cheng Ye bent down and grabbed his hands. His breath fell on Jiang Shi’s face, his tone light and slow. “Little young master, what are you hiding from?” After speaking, he let out a soft laugh, his gaze sweeping backward. “Hmm… blue Spongebob…”

Jiang Shi: “…”

His face flushed red. “I’m not… I don’t…”

He had just grabbed the underwear randomly. It wasn’t until he got back that he realized it had Spongebob printed on it. Jiang Shi had never worn it. The weather had been bad the past two days, and the dorm was damp. His washed clothes wouldn’t dry. Unable to find anything else to wear, he thought it wouldn’t be seen anyway, so he put it on.

Who could have thought Cheng Ye would move with lightning speed, pulling down his pants the moment they got here?

He clutched his uniform pants and shrank back, his two straight legs kicking lightly in front of Cheng Ye’s eyes.

Jiang Shi had a remarkably well-proportioned body. His legs were straight, and the little bit of flesh he had was concentrated on his butt and thighs. With any slightly larger movement, it would tremble and quiver.

He leaned against the headboard, his pants not yet pulled up. Cheng Ye suddenly pressed forward. The pants slipped from his legs, leaving his calves bare. Before he could react, Cheng Ye’s hand was already on his thigh.

The temperature of his palm was frighteningly hot. When he grasped him, Jiang Shi was so scalded that he arched his back.

“Wai-wait a minute… Cheng Ye, what… what are you doing?”

Cheng Ye’s eyes were slightly lowered. Compared to the scorching temperature, his voice was very cold. Having spent a lot of time with Jiang Shi, his Mandarin accent had faded significantly. His voice was deep, and just listening to it could make one’s ears go numb.

“Weren’t we going to see if you’re fatter or thinner?”

Jiang Shi pulled his legs back, trying to push Cheng Ye’s hand away with his foot. The bell jingled loudly. A pink blush visibly crept up his pristine white skin.

“Tha-that’s not how you ‘see’…”

“True,” Cheng Ye said. “Seeing isn’t as accurate as feeling it for myself.”

With that, he reached out and gripped the softly trembling flesh. The rough texture of his palm scraped over every inch. The tender flesh reddened. The web of his thumb closed in, and the trembling flesh gathered in his palm, quivering like soft tofu.

Cheng Ye had a physique that didn’t match other boys his age. He was tall, with long arms and legs, and his hands were also very large. There was little flesh on his knuckles; when spread out, they looked like withered bamboo joints. Blue veins bulged under his skin, and with the slightest exertion, they would pop out. He could palm a basketball with one hand.

Now, such a powerful hand was spread open, grasping Jiang Shi’s thigh.

The white was white, the black was black.

Cheng Ye tightened his fingers, and flesh spilled out from between them. His hand couldn’t encompass it all, leaving a section outside.

“You have gotten thinner,” he commented. “There’s not as much to pinch as before.”

The two were pressed extremely close. Cheng Ye, with malicious intent, knelt between his legs, forcing Jiang Shi’s legs to part on either side of him, a dazzling sight of white.

He clearly hadn’t done anything yet, but Jiang Shi already looked as if he had been bullied terribly. A blush hung on his cheeks, a mist clouded his eyes, and even his voice had weakened.

“I was wrong, Cheng Ye. Don’t be like this. Let me up.”

Jiang Shi thought that as long as he admitted his mistake and begged for mercy, Cheng Ye would let him go. But what he didn’t know was that, in bed, begging for mercy was like a potent aphrodisiac to a man.

Cheng Ye didn’t make a sound, but his gaze darkened. His hand moved another inch inward, almost flush against him. As his thumb brushed past, the person before his eyes arched his back like a shrimp.

“Young master, you’re very sensitive here.”

[…]

Cheng Ye released his hand, looking at the several finger marks left on the inside of Jiang Shi’s thigh.

“So delicate,” he commented.

Jiang Shi’s eyelashes trembled. Just as he lifted his eyelids, a shadow fell over him.

[…]

[…]

Cheng Ye, kneeling, lifted his head and swallowed in front of Jiang Shi.

“Jiang Shi, you’re hard.”