Summer in Beidu was intensely dry and stifling.

As early as the beginning of last month, an egg-shaped humidifier had appeared on the nightstand in Lin Zhu and Yan Ruoyun’s bedroom. A continuous stream of cool, white mist rolled out from the top opening, casting a hazy, dreamlike filter over the couple’s late-night conversations.

Lin Zhu’s palms were warm, and his skin felt exceptionally smooth and refined.

Perhaps because his recent live stream reviews had given him a bout of muscle memory, the exact moment his hand pressed flush against the other man, his fingers twitched instinctively. Yet, his voice carried a trace of conflicted hesitation as he asked,

“Brother, when did you find out?”

Lin Zhu suspected that the other man had actually noticed something amiss a long time ago but had simply chosen not to speak up, only becoming fully enlightened when he stumbled upon the live broadcast two days prior.

As it turned out, his hypothesis was correct.

Even though the man’s bathrobe collar was spread wide open, the expression on his face was incredibly serious and upright. He shifted onto his side, propping his elbow up on the pillow and resting his chin in his palm. Tilting his head, he asked, “Puppy Lin, haven’t you looked in the mirror lately? You look…”

“Like you’re overflowing with a guilty, sneaky aura.”

His tone was absolute and unwavering.

Lin Zhu choked for a moment, retorting in a low voice, “…I don’t think so?”

Yan Ruoyun didn’t dwell on the subject of the live stream for too long. Having likely deduced the underlying motive behind Lin Zhu’s actions, he appeared to be in an exceptionally pleasant mood. His peach-blossom eyes narrowed slightly, giving him a shrewd, cunning expression that made him look exactly like a clever fox.

“Are your hands sore? Shall I give you a massage?”

Before Lin Zhu could utter a word, Yan Ruoyun suddenly shifted and straddled him. The muscles in his legs flexed slightly to support his own weight, thoughtfully ensuring he didn’t impose too much of a burden on the youth below.

Following that, he scooped up the youth’s hands, systematically pressing and kneading the muscular pathways and tendons of his left and right hands in turn. His applied pressure was just right, causing Lin Zhu to close his eyes in pure comfort.

However, this interlude didn’t last very long. In less than ten minutes, Lin Zhu opened his eyes, simultaneously drawing his hands back. “Brother, that’s enough. Don’t trouble yourself further…”

Witnessing this, Yan Ruoyun wrinkled his nose at him.

Then, brookingly brooking no refusal, the man took hold of Lin Zhu’s hand, pulling it to his lips to plant a succession of firm kisses. His lips were dry and soft, yet the space between them gradually became hot and damp.

All of a sudden, Lin Zhu felt a wave of heat wash over his fingertips. He watched as the man’s teeth and lips parted and closed halfway, precisely like a Pac-Man, drawing his knuckles inch by inch into his mouth as if he were snacking on finger biscuits.

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

However, within the escalating intimacy they shared daily, this particular routine seemed to serve as a sort of precursor. Lin Zhu understood the implication almost instantly; his body had long since formed a habit, and a sudden surge of heat rushed through him.

What followed next, however, deviated significantly from their usual routine.

Yan Ruoyun arched an eyebrow, promptly releasing Lin Zhu’s two fingers. Instead, he leaned forward and extended his arms, hovering entirely over the youth while reaching out a hand to capture the cluster of cool mist rising from the nightstand.

Lin Zhu was somewhat mystified. Following the man’s movements, he turned his head to look over, half of his face sinking into the down pillow while the other half was cast into shadow by the silhouette Yan Ruoyun threw down.

He inquired,

“Brother, what are you doing?”

Lin Zhu failed to comprehend what Yan Ruoyun was trying to accomplish.

However, the man merely cast a downward glance at him, offering an exceptionally benevolent and concise response:

“—Humidifying.”

Perhaps because the confusion swirling in Lin Zhu’s eyes was far too genuine, the man let out a couple of low chuckles. Leaning close to the youth’s temple, he explained, “Haven’t you exhausted your hands lately? So, I won’t trouble your hands tonight.”

The trailing cadence of his final few words was slightly drawn out, laced with a hint of playful teasing. To Lin Zhu’s ears, the underlying meaning felt particularly profound.

Lin Zhu understood, and his face flushed a brilliant red.

He couldn’t resist casting another glance at the man’s hand hovering directly over the humidifier’s mist outlet. His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he asked hesitantly, “The machine is currently set to cool mist mode. Won’t it be cold?”

Feeling that it was sufficient, Yan Ruoyun curled his fingers and withdrew his arm. He gazed deeply into the youth’s eyes, which were filled to the brim with genuine care. His heart throbbed uncontrollably, and he murmured in a low, husky voice:

“Then won’t it be fine if you make me hot again?”

“After all, you always possess that kind of talent.”

This statement didn’t seem strictly confined to their current situation. Lin Zhu’s earlobes burned fiercely, and his gaze instinctively trailed after the movement of the man’s hand. The other man also deliberately chose to display his actions, unceremoniously tugging away his silk sash with a single pull, even shifting himself to hover higher…

A modest gap opened up between the two of them.

Lin Zhu’s gaze naturally drifted right into that space.

Despite both being male, individual differences existed, and the addition of secondary genders only served to exacerbate those individual differences. Consequently, Yan Ruoyun’s hands were starkly different from Lin Zhu’s. His were significantly more delicate and elegant; the knuckles weren’t nearly as prominent, nor were they excessively long, yet they didn’t appear remotely effeminate or weak.

Lin Zhu felt that Yan Ruoyun had things entirely backward.

Compared to his own unremarkable self, the other man was truly the one capable of setting the entire room ablaze. Every single movement made it utterly impossible to look away, drawing a person in involuntarily until they were completely immersed and enraptured.

He wouldn’t stop until he successfully provoked the baser, more covetous depths of human nature.

Lin Zhu watched as the man’s palm flexed inward toward his wrist. From his fingertips down to half his palm, everything was coated in the fine mist of the humidifier. A solitary drop of water condensed into a bead, sliding down his middle finger, but its speed couldn’t keep pace…

In the next fraction of a second.

The water droplet was swallowed whole.

Lin Zhu lay flat on his back, his head resting squarely in the absolute center of the down pillow. Due to the angle of his perspective, he had no choice but to narrow his eyelids slightly. What he remained entirely oblivious to, however, was that—

This action made his expression appear as though nothing in the world could catch his eye, looking entirely indifferent to the spectacle unfolding before him.

Despite knowing that reality was far from the case, Yan Ruoyun still couldn’t resist pausing for a few seconds to calm his racing heart.

The two of them had cohabited for several months, sharing a bed practically every single night. The number of scent-blocking items they had gone through had long since become uncountable. He had assumed he had already become open enough, and that moments of bashful hesitation would no longer manifest…

This was the location Yan Ruoyun was most intimately familiar with, bar none.

And yet.

—And yet, Lin Zhu was watching.

The moment this realization registered, the man felt the focal point of his vision surge straight to the back of his head, inducing a wave of intense vertigo.

A faint, slender sound squeezed out from his throat.

The corners of Yan Ruoyun’s eyes flushed a faint red, and his words broke off intermittently, blending seamlessly with the equally fragmented and dense sounds of friction. It required Lin Zhu to listen with utmost attentiveness to make out the words clearly.

The man was asking him,

“Does it look good?”

Lin Zhu clearly wasn’t exerting any physical effort at this stage, yet a layer of fine, dense sweat broke out across his temples, and his breathing turned hurried and heavy. He remained silent for a good while before finally asking back in a raspy voice:

“…Brother, can you move a bit faster?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Zhu’s hand—which had been resting idly by his side—clenched into a loose fist. He endured it for a moment, but ultimately unable to restrain himself any longer, he raised it. With a firm grip, he clamped onto the man’s elbow, assisting him with the rhythm.

Yan Ruoyun seemed startled by Lin Zhu’s sudden intervention. His knees buckled slightly, causing his entire body to sway unsteadily. A watery sheen instantly flooded his peach-blossom eyes, revealing a trace of panicked bewilderment.

Yet, Lin Zhu was even more familiar with him than he was with himself. While enthusiastically offering his assistance, he didn’t forget to guide him: “Brother, look for it a little.”

Yan Ruoyun appeared to have entirely relinquished personal autonomy, relying solely on Lin Zhu’s single-handed support to maintain his balance. Arching his neck in a state of near-collapse, he ground his teeth and snapped, “I can’t find it!”

Lin Zhu fell silent for a beat before asking again, “Do you need me to help you?”

“…”

As Lin Zhu grew older and his personality matured, the velocity at which the upper hand shifted between them became faster and faster. It was only due to the youth’s more reserved and introverted disposition that the man frequently appeared more assertive and dominant.

In reality, Yan Ruoyun had long since fallen behind.

In the beginning, he was the one whose heart burned with a desire to tease and provoke, and later on, he was also the one whose voice was entirely saturated with swallowed glottal sounds. Yet, Lin Zhu rarely ever ground to a halt now; the words coming out of his mouth and his actual physical deeds felt like a complete split personality, executing polar opposites.

—It’s almost ready, it will be over very soon.

Lin Zhu kept repeating this refrain.

As for Yan Ruoyun, he could only clutch the youth’s pillow—which was thoroughly saturated with the crisp, cool, and sweet scent of his peppermint pheromones. He was practically incapable of uttering a coherent, complete sentence. Whenever he did speak, his voice was muffled halfway into the pillow, sounding incredibly indistinct.

“Ugh… you lied to me…”

This was what the man said.

In regards to this, Lin Zhu felt profoundly apologetic, though he also had to admit that under certain circumstances, the words a man uttered in specific situations were indeed not entirely trustworthy.

“I am no exception.”

When he lifted the man onto the clean sheets and spoke those words, the other man’s face flushed red with sheer exasperation. He viciously raised his hand to pinch the back of Lin Zhu’s hand, cursing:

“…You little scoundrel!”

Lin Zhu merely felt as though a tiny ant had nipped the back of his hand. Fearing that Yan Ruoyun hadn’t fully vented his frustration, he leaned his face right up to him. “You can pinch my face; I’ve gained some weight recently.”

Right before drifting off to sleep.

The man inquired in a daze, “Little Dog Lin, how much money are you still short of… don’t be in such a hurry, I can wait.”

“I’ll wait, no matter how long it takes.”

In the darkness.

Lin Zhu blinked his eyes. Carefully brushing aside the man’s bangs, he pressed a gentle kiss right between his brows.

“Soon…”

Days slipped by one after another.

June rapidly approached its conclusion.

The couple first arrived at the highly anticipated day when the results of the National College Entrance Examination were scheduled to be released.

The internet was exceptionally congested that day. Yan Ruoyun appeared far more anxious than Lin Zhu himself. While they were attempting to look up the scores, Pei Shurong also placed a phone call over to check on the situation.

“Have you managed to look it up yet?”

Yan Ruoyun sat cross-legged on the sofa, placing his own phone on speakerphone to the side while holding Lin Zhu’s phone in his hands. He entered Lin Zhu’s examination admission number into the official inquiry interface for what felt like the umpteenth time. Seeing that the page refused to load, he clicked his tongue and said:

“Not yet.”

On the other end of the line, Pei Shurong spoke again, “Where is Xiao Lin? Tell him not to be too nervous. As long as he performed up to his usual standard, getting into A University will definitely be a sure thing.”

Yan Ruoyun couldn’t resist letting out a chuckle, his gaze drifting toward a corner of the living room as he replied, “He isn’t anxious at all. It’s his wife who is about to die of anxiety.”

Pei Shurong hadn’t previously realized that her son possessed such a strong penchant for public displays of affection. In the past, he had clearly maintained such a cold, detached disposition, looking down on almost everyone. Who could have anticipated that after he settled down with Lin Zhu—especially after they officially registered their marriage…

Sigh.

Whom did he inherit this trait from?

Holding her phone, Pei Shurong carried a smile across her face, though her words were delivered without an ounce of politeness: “As if no one else has a spouse. You are being incredibly annoying right now; I don’t feel like chatting with you…”

The living room was only so large, and since the mother-son duo was conversing on speakerphone, even though Lin Zhu was crouching by the entryway—the furthest possible distance from Yan Ruoyun—carefully packing up the squishy toys that were scheduled for shipment, he could still hear every word with absolute clarity.

He couldn’t help but glance back, the corners of his mouth curving upward in secret.

Over ten minutes later.

Yan Ruoyun finally succeeded in retrieving Lin Zhu’s entrance exam scores. He leaped up from the sofa, practically launching himself onto Lin Zhu’s back, exclaiming joyfully, “Puppy Lin, do you know how many points you scored?!”

Lin Zhu caught him steadily, shaking his head.

At the exact same moment the man recited the score, the electronic voice of the system suddenly echoed within his mind, broadcasting:

“The system has detected a plot trigger point…”