As for Jiang Ruotang, he had just finished dinner and was sitting on the small sofa with his legs crossed, holding his phone and looking at his chat interface with Lu Guifan.

Ever since this guy connected with Professor Yang, he had become an experiment maniac.

He and Professor Yang had discussed solid-state batteries for a long time. Unexpectedly, Professor Yang, from across the ocean, even found a lab for Lu Guifan at Shengshi University. It was said that even a professor from the Department of Applied Physics brought third-year students to help. This setup looked like they were aiming for some innovation award.

Good heavens, Lu Guifan had been cooped up in the lab for two weeks. Jiang Ruotang didn’t want to disturb him, so he could only send very mundane messages like “Have you eaten?” or “Are you home yet?”… Jiang Ruotang felt sincere admiration for Lawyer Hong. How she could still deeply love Professor Yang in such a “widowed” marriage, perhaps only his looks could explain it all.

After all, among ordinary people, Professor Yang was considered a top-tier handsome man.

He hadn’t expected that the chat box, which had been so silent it made him suspect Lu Guifan had blocked him, would actually pop up with a message!

Jiang Ruotang was so shocked he rubbed his eyes several times.

Illusion? Was he having hallucinations?

[Do you still draw? I can model for you.]

[Which movie do you want to watch? Cave Horrors or Moon Sea Horizon? That movie The Mathematician is probably a biography, you’d probably fall asleep watching it. Leave me a message which one you want to watch, I’ll book tickets.]

[I’ll win your happy beans back for you in Landlord.]

[Never go to a bar alone, you’re very good-looking, I’m afraid something might happen.]

[Pat pat little fox, is the little fox angry?]

Although it was many days late, it was a reply to every message.

Jiang Ruotang’s nose instantly tingled. He replied with a voice message into the microphone: “Master, you’re finally out of seclusion! Your disciple misses you so much!”

Just as Jiang Ruotang was about to say something else, there was a gentle knock on the door.

“Who is it?”

“Ruotang, it’s me. Can I come in?”

“Mom? What’s up?”

Jiang Ruotang immediately composed his teary-eyed expression, making his voice sound serious.

Zhao Yunshu walked in, smiling as she asked, “Didn’t you recommend Sasha’s West Window Ghost Story to me?”

“Yes,” Jiang Ruotang nodded. “Have you finished reading it?”

“I’ve been completely engrossed lately. Even several employees at your father’s company and mine really like it.”

Jiang Ruotang propped his chin and smiled. “So… what are your plans?”

“Hmm… I want to recommend this story to an editor I know… Yanxin Publishing, have you heard of it?”

Jiang Ruotang’s eyes lit up. Yanxin Publishing Co., Ltd.? Of course he had heard of it; this publishing house was a cradle of major IPs!

Whether it was promotion and distribution or post-production editing and manufacturing of books, they were all top-notch.

“Sure, why not?”

“Well… your father and I also plan… after the Drunken Immortal Stage project is completed, we want to try adapting West Window Ghost Story into a high-quality TV series…”

Jiang Ruotang’s smile became even more apparent. “Are you short on money and need me to invest?”

“Get lost, you brat!” Zhao Yunshu pressed his head. “We still have a lot of investment appeal, okay? The main thing is that Sasha was scammed before, so we don’t know if she’s still willing to cooperate with us.”

Jiang Ruotang couldn’t help but laugh. “Sasha trusts our family a lot!”

“So, will you take on the task of persuading her? I can guarantee that all the conditions will be the best for her.”

“No problem, leave it to me!” Jiang Ruotang patted his chest confidently.

“Alright, then you keep playing.” Zhao Yunshu glanced at Jiang Ruotang’s computer and found that the boy was actually watching the biographical film Gravity.

After the door closed again, Jiang Ruotang immediately took out his phone and found that Lu Guifan hadn’t replied to him.

No way? Did he go back into the lab? Was that just a fleeting appearance?

What he didn’t know was that in just a few minutes, Lu Guifan had held his phone to his ear, repeatedly listening to his voice.

Especially the line, “Your disciple misses you so much,” which made Lu Guifan’s blood surge, wishing the taxi would go faster, wanting to install a jet engine on it.

The car dropped him off at the entrance of the residential area. It would still take a while to walk from the entrance.

[Master, have you disappeared again? Don’t you want your disciple anymore?]

Lu Guifan looked at Jiang Ruotang’s message and smiled.

This was probably some plot from a novel, or lines from the TV series Drunken Immortal Stage that Jiang Huaiyuan was currently filming?

Lu Guifan broke into a run, his long legs covering ground quickly. When he reached the front door of the Jiang house, he suddenly realized something.

Jiang Ruotang always said he “smelled good,” but he hadn’t showered in days in the lab.

He touched his chin; it was covered with stubble.

Lu Guifan’s heart skipped a beat. Jiang Ruotang would probably find it off-putting.

He always heard that art students were romantic and passionate, but his current appearance had no connection to romance whatsoever.

He looked like a disheveled uncle.

Lu Guifan exhaled, took half a step back, thinking he should just go home, wash up, and see Jiang Ruotang tomorrow…

Unexpectedly, a clear voice came from above.

“Lu Guifan—Lu Guifan, you’re here!”

Lu Guifan looked up and saw Jiang Ruotang leaning out of the window, his eyes large and bright, like a lighthouse on the dark sea.

Lu Guifan’s heart began to pound violently, as if Jiang Ruotang was holding a drumstick, recklessly beating it inside his chest.

He loved this boy, loved him so much that upon hearing his voice, all reason drowned, leaving only an overwhelming urge to get closer to him.

“Wait for me! I’ll come down and open the door for you!”

After Jiang Ruotang spoke, the head that had been sticking out of the window retracted.

He opened the door and ran out quickly, even Sister Juan, who was coming up to deliver fruit, was stunned.

“Ruotang, are you going out again this late?”

“Lu Guifan is here! I’m going to open the door for him!”

Jiang Ruotang ran as fast as a hundred-meter sprinter. He opened the front door and saw Lu Guifan standing awkwardly at the entrance.

“Ruotang, I…”

Lu Guifan had originally intended to say he would go back to wash up and then come back to see him, but unexpectedly, Jiang Ruotang pulled him into the entryway and then found Lu Guifan’s exclusive dark blue slippers from the shoe cabinet.

“How was your experiment? Was it successful?”

“Yes, it was successful.” Lu Guifan nodded. He knew Jiang Ruotang wouldn’t understand things like ion conductivity, cycle stability, or thermal runaway tests, but Jiang Ruotang’s concern was genuine.

“Haha, that’s great!” As Jiang Ruotang spoke, he seemed to notice something, leaned close to Lu Guifan, and scrutinized him carefully.

Lu Guifan instinctively lowered his head. He must look terrible now, with messy hair and a haggard expression. If Jiang Ruotang saw him, perhaps his filters would all shatter.

At that moment, he could suddenly understand why Lady Li didn’t let Emperor Wu of Han see her before she died.

Beauty used to serve a lord, once beauty fades, love wanes…

Lu Guifan had never thought he could have so many inexplicable and even illogical thoughts.

What he didn’t expect was Jiang Ruotang’s hand reaching out, gently lifting his chin.

“Lu Guifan, is this your stubble?”

Lu Guifan started to pull back, but unexpectedly, Jiang Ruotang, with keen interest, gently scraped it with his finger.

“Wow… so fun! The stubble is a bit hard. I saw online that men with hard stubble are very good in that area, is that true?”

“Cough cough… cough cough cough…” Lu Guifan was completely unprepared for this sudden turn of events and started coughing on the spot.

The instigator, Jiang Ruotang, laughed happily beside him.

“I’ll go back and freshen up first…”

“Freshen up? Not yet, I haven’t drawn you like this before! If you go back and freshen up, you’ll be just like usual, how boring would that be?”

Jiang Ruotang pulled Lu Guifan by the wrist and led him inside.

They happened to pass Sister Juan, who was coming down the stairs. “Oh, Ruotang, Xiao Lu meant that he’s tired and needs a good bath and rest. He’s not a robot that can immediately play with you once wound up!”

“Oh…” Jiang Ruotang paused, then turned to Lu Guifan. “It’s already past ten. Don’t go back, there are spare clothes for you here.”

Jiang Ruotang’s words undoubtedly gave Lu Guifan a reason. He had wanted to stay here all along.

“Okay.”

Jiang Ruotang’s happiness was evident on his face, and his steps going upstairs were much lighter.

Lu Guifan took his change of clothes and entered the bathroom. As warm water poured over his head, Lu Guifan finally returned from another world of only data and logic to the soft human world.

Both the shampoo and shower gel had the exact same scent as Jiang Ruotang.

Lu Guifan exhaled, fantasizing countless times in the void about the person just a wall away.

He hadn’t expected that after pulling all-nighters for days, even though his battery was completely drained, just holding the other person’s hand could make his blood surge, like a vast army marching south.

He didn’t know how much time had passed before he emerged from the shower, looked at himself in the mirror, and ran his slightly long bangs back from his forehead, revealing a pair of seemingly cold, emotionless eyes.

Steam covered the mirror, and he wasn’t wearing his glasses, so he couldn’t see clearly anyway.

When he walked into Jiang Ruotang’s bedroom with a towel draped over him, the scent of Jiang Ruotang filled the air. Lu Guifan’s already settled impulses now charged like a wild horse towards a single-plank bridge.

Jiang Ruotang was currently sitting cross-legged at the foot of the bed, holding his sketchbook. Hearing Lu Guifan’s footsteps, he turned his head unguardedly, his clear, glass-bead-like eyes fixed on Lu Guifan.

Then he propped himself up with one hand on the bed, stretched his neck towards Lu Guifan, and said with an exaggerated, joking tone, “Wow, you look… so desirable…”

“Do I?” Lu Guifan responded faintly.

He didn’t know what “desirable” looked like, because he felt no different from usual.

Except… for the stubble that interested Jiang Ruotang.

But when Jiang Ruotang extended his arm and gently pulled him, his collar twisted to one side, exposing a single collarbone and the hollow of his neck… and his slightly tilted chin and dimpled lips, Lu Guifan really wanted to use the phrase “so desirable” on him.

“I’ll just dry my hair,” Lu Guifan gently patted the back of Jiang Ruotang’s hand, turned his back to him. The sound of the hairdryer temporarily muffled his heartbeat. He closed his eyes, adjusting his breathing, letting the uncontrollable impulses deep within him subside little by little.

He returned to Jiang Ruotang’s presence. Jiang Ruotang, full of enthusiasm, gripped his shoulders and pressed him against the headboard.

“Let me draw you! I sketch really fast! Just a few minutes!”

“Mm.”

Lu Guifan leaned against the headboard. He was about to reach for his glasses on the nightstand when Jiang Ruotang gently grasped his wrist.

“No, don’t. Glasses will cover your eyes. I want to draw your eyes.”

Hearing Jiang Ruotang’s voice, Lu Guifan wanted to wear his glasses even more.

For Lu Guifan, Jiang Ruotang’s voice was intimate, almost like he was cooing.

Lu Guifan really wanted to put on his glasses and clearly see the expression on the other’s face.

The sound of the pencil rubbing against the paper was quick and fluid.

Lu Guifan asked in as calm and seemingly casual a tone as possible, “When you paint, do you need the model to be relaxed and natural? Am I too stiff like this?”

“Hmm?” Jiang Ruotang looked up, not understanding why Lu Guifan asked that.

“Like the painting posted in the group today, the model was asleep.”

“Oh, I posed him at first, but then he got tired and fell asleep on the sofa. Just as dusk was approaching, the light and shadow were good, so I drew him asleep…”

Jiang Ruotang suddenly thought of something, and his brush stopped. He leaned close to Lu Guifan, revealing a mischievous smile, so close that Lu Guifan could clearly see his upturned lips and the cunning in his eyes.

“Oh—did you see what Jian Sha posted in the group?”

“What did she say?”

“Something about my studio being slept in by another man, so it’s no longer pure, or something like that.” Jiang Ruotang shrugged.

Lu Guifan closed his eyes and smiled faintly. “Zhao Changfeng also often slept in there when he modeled for you.”

“Right. What’s wrong with a studio being slept in? It’s not my fault my sofa is especially comfortable.” Jiang Ruotang raised his eyes, relying on the fact that Lu Guifan probably couldn’t see his expression clearly, and said seriously, “Anyway, I’ve only slept with you.”

Lu Guifan’s heart felt as if it had been scratched by a little fox’s claws. His heart rate instantly accelerated, and that uncontrollable feeling returned.

He subtly clenched his fingers, but Jiang Ruotang opposite him lowered his head and let out two “hehe” mischievous chuckles, clearly intending to be ambiguous and tease him.

Lu Guifan felt it was unfair. Why were all his emotions swayed by Jiang Ruotang, while Jiang Ruotang seemed to be teasing him without any real investment?

“Anyway, I’ve only slept with you too.”

Before Lu Guifan could react, the words had already slipped out.

Jiang Ruotang looked up. Lu Guifan, leaning against the headboard, had a calm expression, not at all like he was joking, dead serious.

“Lu Guifan, you’ve actually learned to pick up on my jokes? You didn’t go to do research and experiments, did you? You went to some EQ training class instead?”

Perhaps blocked by the sketchbook, Jiang Ruotang pressed hard on his chest.

If it weren’t for his remaining rationality, fearing that the joke might go too far and Lu Guifan would really stop coming in the future, Jiang Ruotang could have immediately lain down and provoked him—If you’re so capable, then really come and sleep with me!

“You psycho, if you don’t finish drawing, I’m going to fall asleep.”

“Then sleep,” Jiang Ruotang thought, you look good even when you’re sleeping.

Hearing Jiang Ruotang’s words, Lu Guifan seemed to receive a shutdown command. His eyelids gradually drooped, and soon his breathing lengthened.

He was too tired. The desire to see Jiang Ruotang had sustained him until this moment, and he was utterly exhausted. The soft pillow, the beloved scent in the air, and the most desired person by his side—he relaxed completely and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

Jiang Ruotang found Lu Guifan very quiet. Looking up again, he realized the guy had actually fallen asleep?

They had only exchanged a few words!

But, Lu Guifan hadn’t even gone home. The first thing he did after finishing his experiment was to come see him. Did that mean he was special to him? Very, very important?

Jiang Ruotang put down his sketchbook and carefully moved closer to the other person. With every inch he approached, a desire to melt and cover Lu Guifan surged within him, clinging to him, outlining his shape, becoming his soft armor, shielding him from all the harm in this world.

Jiang Ruotang’s fingers gently brushed Lu Guifan’s long eyelashes, his nasal bone, his superior jawline. Jiang Ruotang even wanted to nuzzle his nose against the other’s chin, to feel the sensation of being lightly grazed without any prickle.

Then Jiang Ruotang slowly lay down on Lu Guifan, pressing his ear to his chest, listening to the steady thumping of his heart.

Lu Guifan slept deeply. The sense of security and contentment with Jiang Ruotang by his side finally allowed his over-stressed nervous system to relax.

He slept for over ten hours, until he faintly heard Sister Juan gently knocking on the door, calling them for lunch.

Lu Guifan’s eyelids fluttered. Only then did he remember that he was no longer in the lab, but in Jiang Ruotang’s room.

“Okay, Sister Juan.”

Lu Guifan replied, slowly propping himself up with his elbows. He then felt something pressing against his side.

Turning his head, he saw Jiang Ruotang curled up against him as usual.

His heart instantly softened. Lu Guifan gently stroked Jiang Ruotang’s hair, thinking of the little fox emoji the other had sent him.

The little fox sleeping in is so well-behaved.

Lu Guifan lowered his head. He wanted to kiss Jiang Ruotang. This urge, after their brief separation, became direct and difficult to control, like the instinct to breathe. Once deprived of oxygen for too long, one craves it unrestrainedly.

He propped himself up with both hands on either side of Jiang Ruotang, as if to enclose him within his own world, and lowered his head… His rationality told him he hadn’t confessed yet, Jiang Ruotang hadn’t agreed, and kissing him now would be an offense.

But Lu Guifan’s heart was truly racing uncontrollably, especially recalling Ling Song in Jiang Ruotang’s painting. He truly wanted to bite down hard, leave his mark on Jiang Ruotang, make him remember him through the pain.

Anyway, he had already accidentally kissed his ear before…

Lu Guifan slowly lowered his head, his shadow falling over Jiang Ruotang’s unguarded profile. Just as Lu Guifan was about to bite the soft cartilage of his earlobe, Jiang Ruotang softly murmured, raised his hand to touch Lu Guifan’s position, and then gently grasped the corner of his shirt.

With a helpless sigh, Jiang Ruotang’s subconscious reliance was Lu Guifan’s softener. At this moment, his heart was incredibly soft. Forget biting him; in the end, it was just a gentle nudge with his tongue, and then he gave up.

Lu Guifan slowly got up, preparing to wash up. As he passed the foot of the bed, he saw Jiang Ruotang’s sketchbook casually left there.

He picked it up, wanting to know what he looked like in Jiang Ruotang’s world.

Jiang Ruotang could paint that male model beautifully, so what about him?

Flipping to the first page, Lu Guifan paused.

His tired, sleeping self was sketched by Jiang Ruotang with bright, direct strokes. Yet, despite this, the entire drawing was very gentle. Even his stubbled chin had a mature and sexy allure.

Just by looking at this one sketch, Lu Guifan could understand why Jiang Ruotang looked so surprised and delighted when he saw him last night.

His lips slowly curved into a smile. This at least indicated that Jiang Ruotang’s aesthetic wasn’t limited to types with well-defined facial features.

Even his disheveled appearance could be rendered with great charm by his brush.

He flipped to the next page, and Lu Guifan froze.

This angle could clearly only be drawn by Jiang Ruotang lying sideways next to him.

And some angles… were so close, it made one wonder if the painter was about to kiss him.