Even if his mother interrupted his rhythm, Zou Yang still wanted to finish what he had to say.

But after such a simple back-and-forth, he realized that his brain, which normally could not be relied on at critical moments, had been drowned out by a roaring noise and tossed out the draft he had prepared.

He looked at Fan Jun, his mind completely blank.

Fan Jun also looked at him, probably waiting for those words of “I have something to tell you.”

“I…” Zou Yang paused, “what I wanted to say, is already said.”

A complex emotion flashed through Fan Jun’s eyes—hard to tell whether it was confusion, surprise, or something else.

“Actually…” Zou Yang hesitated, thinking he should at least force out a few more words.

But Fan Jun suddenly leaned closer.

The two of them were basically face-to-face by the window.

The very first second Fan Jun moved closer, Zou Yang felt the air stir slightly, and someone’s warm breath, he didn’t know whose, brushed over him.

The heartbeat that had just calmed down sped up again almost instantly. In the roaring confusion, he heard his own breathing, hurried and direct.

Zou Yang tilted his head a little, took off his glasses, and before he could even set them aside, Fan Jun’s warmth was already wrapping around his face.

The corners of the eyes, the bridge of the nose, the lips—all those scars on Fan Jun’s face had disappeared from view.

Zou Yang’s vision blurred. All he could feel was the faint scent of grass in the warmth.

No preparation, no thinking; instinct alone was enough to respond perfectly.

Fan Jun’s lips landed at the corner of Zou Yang’s mouth, and a subtle shiver rippled outward.

Zou Yang moved, his lips brushing lightly, then he leaned in and pressed back more firmly.

Fan Jun’s right arm looped around Zou Yang’s shoulders and tightened.

With wet breath and a faint, indistinct sensation pressing in, his heartbeat sounded like a drum being struck. With each deeper exploration and entanglement, it seemed to pulse under the skin along with the hot blood.

In front of his eyes were scattered fragments of light. Losing his sight for the moment only made the sensations more acute.

Within the tangled breathing, the low hums that slipped out during the kiss, the fingertips of Zou Yang sliding from his waist toward his back—every inch of awareness landed sharply on his nerves.

It was a little dizzying. Light flickered before his eyes. His breathing couldn’t keep up with his heartbeat, colliding chaotically between their lips and teeth.

There was an injury on the side of Fan Jun’s lower back. Zou Yang could feel it when his fingertips brushed over it. He pressed down with his palm. On the hot skin, the scar felt cool. The tiny difference in temperature was like feathers lifted by breath, lightly tapping all the way from his palm up his arm.

Outside the window, the sunlight slowly brightened, carrying warmth into the little room on the second floor.

The sounds that had disappeared around them also came back little by little, becoming clear again.

Zou Yang opened his eyes and saw a small patch of light resting at the corner of Fan Jun’s eye—soft and bright gold.

The burning warmth of their lips parted, and in that instant, he felt a hint of coolness, so he wrapped his arms around Fan Jun’s waist again and leaned forward, pressing his face against him.

“Dahei bit my calf,” Fan Jun whispered very low into his ear.

“They can bite now?” Zou Yang said softly, his face still pressed against his. “Did it become the boss while it was out wandering?”

“Yeah.” Fan Jun smiled.

“Why’s Xiaobai so quiet?” Zou Yang loosened his arms and bent down to look for his glasses. “Don’t move. My glasses might be on the floor.”

Fan Jun took his glasses from the windowsill.

“I actually put them on the windowsill?” Zou Yang took the glasses and put them on, astonished that he had managed to set them down so properly in a situation like this.

“I put them there,” Fan Jun said.

“What?” Zou Yang was even more shocked. “You… in a situation like this, you still managed to tidy up someone else’s glasses?”

Fan Jun looked at him and reached out, tracing his hand down along Zou Yang’s forearm.

Zou Yang immediately felt that the breathing he had barely managed to steady was starting to go wrong again.

Fan Jun’s hand kept moving down until it reached his hand, and then lightly brushed across his fingertips. “Like this.”

“What the hell?” Zou Yang froze.

“Just now, I touched your glasses like that,” Fan Jun said. “So I just put them aside.”

“…Oh.” Zou Yang answered, with no memory of it at all.

Zou Yang, you’re too immersed in the erotic.

“Let’s go eat something,” he said, exhaling lightly. “Pizza.”

“Or,” Fan Jun looked at him, “I can make you something first. I originally wanted to eat breakfast before going back to the shop and make it then, but since we’re already back anyway…”

Zou Yang felt like he still hadn’t come back to himself from the sensual haze. In that instant, he went off in over a hundred crooked directions.

“Is that okay?” Fan Jun asked.

“Yes!” he hurriedly answered.

“Wait for me,” Fan Jun said, turning to go downstairs.

Zou Yang pounced and wrapped him from behind.

Fan Jun stopped.

Zou Yang didn’t make a sound. He bit the back of Fan Jun’s neck.

He bit hard enough that even he could feel whether his canine tooth had broken the skin.

Fan Jun hissed and reached back to pinch the back of his neck, tugging.

But Zou Yang still didn’t let go, biting for at least ten seconds.

“Did it break?” he asked.

“You’re asking me?” Fan Jun turned his head to look at him.

Zou Yang couldn’t help laughing, then quickly leaned over and pulled open his collar to check. “Let me see.”

It was red all over, but fortunately, it hadn’t broken the skin.

“It’s fine,” Fan Jun said.

“You just pinched my neck?” Zou Yang reached back and touched the back of his own neck. He might have bitten Fan Jun too hard, because that tug had been pretty strong.

“That’s how I pinched when Dahei bit me,” Fan Jun said.

“Get lost.” Zou Yang laughed and flopped onto the sofa by the window.

“Wait,” Fan Jun said.

“Mm.” He nodded.

Fan Jun went downstairs.

Zou Yang sprawled on the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling lamp.

The kiss by the window just now was starting to hit him in waves.

Only now did he realize that, in the midst of that dark, dizzy haze, thinking he remembered nothing had been wrong—everything had already been carved into his mind. From the beginning to the end, every second had actually been remembered.

At this moment, it was like some switch had been turned on. One vivid, clearly felt image after another kept flashing before his eyes, and each frame made his breathing quicken.

Damn.

He sat up, walked to the window, and opened it, sticking his head out.

A burst of north wind slapped across his face. The cold wind went straight through his nose and into his body, and only then did he finally come back to his senses.

He leaned on the windowsill and watched the street for a while. Just as he felt he was about to be frozen through and was preparing to close the window, he saw Fan Jun walking over from across the street with a bag of unknown contents in his hand.

He said he’d make food for him, but actually he sneaked out to buy it?

Zou Yang hurriedly tried to pull back into the room, worried that it would be awkward if Fan Jun saw him.

But before he could move, Fan Jun had already looked up and seen him.

After all, it was only the second floor, and with his head sticking out like that, he was easy to spot.

“What are you doing?” Fan Jun looked at him. “Aren’t you cold?”

“…Getting some air,” Zou Yang said.

“Go inside and close the window,” Fan Jun said, pushing open the door and walking into the shop.

Zou Yang closed the window and flopped back onto the sofa, feeling that Fan Jun didn’t seem embarrassed at all about being discovered.

Did he buy the ingredients and make it fresh?

Xiaobai had buried its head in Fan Jun’s body, sniffing him all over inch by inch.

“Alright,” Fan Jun had come downstairs in a hurry and only thrown on a random jacket, and he was almost frozen stiff. He pushed Xiaobai back into the nest. “After we finish eating, I’ll bring Dahei and Brother Xiaoyang downstairs to play with you.”

Xiaobai reluctantly retreated into the nest, whining as it lay down.

Fan Jun brought a pile of things back upstairs.

“Cold? You were frozen stiff just now, weren’t you?” He glanced at Zou Yang on the sofa and tossed him the electric heated shawl that had been thrown on the bed.

“I’m not cold.” Zou Yang took the shawl and covered his legs with it, then looked at what Fan Jun was holding. “What all is this?”

“Food,” Fan Jun said, hooking the little table toward Zou Yang with his leg and placing each item on it one by one.

A plate with ice cream, two small forks, a bottle of rum, a jigger, and a blowtorch.

“Holy shit,” Zou Yang reacted quickly. He glanced at the items, then looked up at him. “Fire ice cream?”

“Mm.” Fan Jun drew the curtains and sat down on the carpet. “Last time we ate that tomato-and-egg rice bowl ice cream, there wasn’t any fire.”

“You went out just to buy these?” Zou Yang immediately took out his phone.

“Mm, I bought an ice cream,” Fan Jun said, picking up the blowtorch. “I went to the dessert shop next door and asked for some meringue. But I piped it… a little ugly.”

“These patterns? You piped them?” Zou Yang looked at the ice cream through the camera. It looked like an upside-down cup of scooped ice cream, but there were faint patterns on top.

“Mm. I originally wanted them to help pipe it,” Fan Jun smiled, “but then I’d be doing too little of it myself…”

“Where’s the fire?” Zou Yang aimed the camera at Fan Jun and slowly zoomed in.

Fan Jun looked really good on camera. Looking at him like this through the lens, he was incredibly sexy…

Zou Yang!

Fan Jun placed the ice cream in the middle of the table and glanced at the camera. “I don’t know if it’ll work.”

“Begin.” Zou Yang said.

The blowtorch in Fan Jun’s hand spat out flame, and the white patterns on the ice cream were quickly seared into a faint coffee color, suddenly giving it a three-dimensional look.

“Nice. For safety, let’s not burn it too thoroughly.” Fan Jun set the blowtorch aside and picked up the bottle. “Rum.”

“How many degrees?” Zou Yang asked, and the camera slowly moved from his face to his hand.

Fan Jun’s fingers pinching the jigger were incredibly sexy…

Zou Yang!

“Seventy-five proof,” Fan Jun poured a little into the jigger.

“Using it as alcohol, huh.” Zou Yang laughed.

“Yeah.” Fan Jun drizzled the liquor over the ice cream, then picked up the blowtorch again. “It’s starting.”

“Mm.” Zou Yang slowly pulled the camera back a little so both Fan Jun and the ice cream were in frame.

When the blowtorch flame touched the ice cream, a layer of blue light instantly spread from the tip of the flame, lightly and swiftly covering the ice cream, flickering faintly.

“Damn,” Zou Yang said. “Beautiful.”

Fan Jun smiled and slowly pushed the ice cream plate toward him.

“Say something,” Zou Yang said.

Fan Jun was stunned for a moment. He looked at the ice cream for a little while before speaking: “Happy birthday.”

Zou Yang’s hand trembled. He looked up over the top of his phone at him.

“After we met, it was your first birthday,” Fan Jun also looked at him. “I never got to say happy birthday to you in person, so I’ll make up for it now.”

“Thank you.” Zou Yang held out his hand, palm facing Fan Jun.

Fan Jun quickly reached out too, pressed his hand to his, and tightened his fingers.

After more than ten seconds, the flame slowly shrank and finally disappeared.

Zou Yang’s camera finally stopped on Fan Jun’s face, and then he put the phone away.

Fan Jun lit the bamboo lamp beside them and handed him a fork. “Eat.”

“What kind of ice cream is inside?” Zou Yang poked it with the fork.

“Häagen-Dazs,” Fan Jun said.

“…Big spend, Brother Fan.” Zou Yang cut off a piece with the fork and tasted it. With the outer sugar crust added, the ice cream texture had more layers. Surprisingly, it was really delicious.

He cut another piece. “Good.”

“Eat just two bites,” Fan Jun said. “It’s better to chill it first.”

“Why?” Zou Yang hurriedly took another bite.

“Empty stomach, and you want diarrhea?” Fan Jun took away the plate. “We already got a stomachful of cold wind just now.”

Zou Yang clicked his tongue.

After packing everything away, they put the remaining ice cream into the fridge.

The two of them brought Dahei to the backyard so the two little ones, separated for half a year, could meet again.

Fan Jun held Dahei while Xiaobai buried its head completely in Dahei’s body, sniffing and licking it as it whined.

As a cat, Dahei was relatively calmer than the dog, but it still used its paws to hug Xiaobai’s nose.

After Xiaobai calmed down a bit, Fan Jun put Dahei down on the ground.

Dahei paced around for a while, then finally went into Xiaobai’s nest and lay down. Xiaobai immediately squeezed in too. After turning around twice, it lay down with its belly pressed against Dahei.

Fan Jun crouched in front of the doghouse, watching to make sure Dahei had fully adapted.

Zou Yang sat on a stone marker nearby, watching Fan Jun.

He had a feeling he couldn’t quite describe.

Setting aside the… erotic thoughts in his head, right now when he looked at Fan Jun, he felt very close to him.

Closer than at any time before. Closer than walking side by side. Closer than grabbing hold of Fan Jun. Closer than hugging Fan Jun under the sunlight…

Fan Jun suddenly turned around and stood up.

“Hm?” Zou Yang also got up.

“Someone came into the shop,” Fan Jun said, walking back inside. “Didn’t you hear the bell?”

“…Did it ring?” Zou Yang froze. There was a metal bell on the shop door that would ding when someone pushed it open, but he really hadn’t heard it.

Fan Jun stepped back over, reached out, and snapped his fingers beside both of Zou Yang’s ears. “Can you hear it? Are the sounds the same volume?”

“Yes,” Zou Yang laughed. “Get lost.”

Fan Jun lightly hooked a finger on his face, then turned and went back into the shop.

Two women were standing by the shelves inside, looking at the row of bottles and jars.

“Good morning,” Fan Jun greeted them.

“Morning,” one of the women said, pointing at the shelf. “Do you have smaller jars? Narrow-mouth ones, the older kind.”

“This way,” Fan Jun led her to another shelf by the counter. “The small ones are all here.”

“Mm…” the woman carefully looked over the jars one by one. “Do you maybe have anything more…”

“Yes,” Fan Jun said. “There’s one inside that our boss keeps for himself.”

Xiaobai and Dahei were sleeping in a pile together. Zou Yang went into the shop.

“It could also be used as a vase, or just displayed like this,” Fan Jun was by the tea table introducing that jar that He Chuan had kept for himself to the two women.

Whether it was really reserved for himself or not, it was indeed placed on the tea table.

The two women were obviously very interested.

Zou Yang sat in the chair Fan Jun had lain in the day he came, leaned back, and felt very comfortable.

One eye on the street, one eye on Fan Jun.

Fan Jun had changed a lot. In the past, when he taught classes, he barely spoke more than a few sentences in an hour. Now he could chat back and forth with the two women.

Zou Yang felt a little emotional, unsure whether this was because Fan Jun had always had this side to him, or whether working here had forced such a change.

But it was cute.

This version of Fan Jun was extremely charming.

Zou Yang took out his phone, opened the camera, and pointed it at Fan Jun.

Just as he was about to take a picture, Fan Jun looked up and over at him. After a second of confusion, he quickly shot him a meaningful look.

Only then did Zou Yang snap out of it—the camera still had the two women in it.

He hurriedly put the phone back into his pocket.

Ten minutes later, the woman bought that jar, as well as a somewhat old lacquered incense tube.

“You can add our shop’s WeChat,” Fan Jun said. “When good things come in, we’ll post about them.”

“Mm, sure.” The woman nodded.

After seeing the two women off, Fan Jun turned around and walked up to Zou Yang. “Hey.”

“Mm?” Zou Yang stretched.

“What were you doing just now?” Fan Jun handed him a piece of milk candy.

“I wanted to take your picture,” Zou Yang said, taking the candy and peeling it before popping it into his mouth. “I forgot there were customers beside you.”

“Go eat breakfast,” Fan Jun said, reaching out. “It’s already past ten. If you don’t eat now, it’ll get lumped together with lunch.”

“Then let’s just eat lunch directly.” Zou Yang grabbed his hand and stood up using the force.

“No way. I’ll feel cheated if I skip a meal,” Fan Jun said as he put on his jacket. “Come on.”

Zou Yang followed behind him. When they reached the door, he tugged back on Fan Jun’s jacket.

“Hm?” Fan Jun turned around.

Zou Yang kissed him on the lips.

Fan Jun must have been startled. Zou Yang could even see his pupils widen for an instant.

“You’re doing this on the street…” Fan Jun glanced outside.

“We’re still inside the shop, haven’t gone out yet,” Zou Yang said.

“The glass is that big,” Fan Jun said. After stepping outside, he looked at him again. “If you’re going to do that outside, tell me ahead of time.”

“Why.” Zou Yang laughed.

“My heart can’t take it,” Fan Jun said, hanging up the temporary “out for a while” sign.

By then, the sun had fully come out, and without the wind, the warmth was very pleasant.

Zou Yang and Fan Jun walked side by side on the bluestone-paved street, and within the easy feeling he had not experienced in a long time, there was also a joy he had never experienced before.

“Send me the video later,” Fan Jun said, lightly bumping his shoulder.

“I’ll send it after I edit it,” Zou Yang said.

“Who’s editing it?” Fan Jun turned his head. “Liu Wenrui?”

“I’ll edit it myself,” Zou Yang said. “How could I let someone else do this kind of work.”

Fan Jun smiled and reached out to wrap an arm around his shoulders.

Zou Yang also lifted his arm toward the back of Fan Jun’s waist, but after hesitating, he let it drop. There weren’t many people on the street, but there were still some. He was a little embarrassed.

“Arm”, he said. “Take it away. Switch.”

“Hm?” Fan Jun took his arm away and looked at him.

“I’ll do it.” Zou Yang lifted his arm and wrapped it around Fan Jun’s shoulder, tightening his hold.

Fan Jun sighed with a smile.

Zou Yang tightened his arm again. “You’ve lost weight, Jun’er.”

“Really?” Fan Jun thought about it. “I did lose a little, about ten jin. Is it that obvious?”

“I was just touching your waist…” Zou Yang said, and the moment the words left his mouth, he already felt his face burning. “When… I noticed it…”

“Zou Yang.” Fan Jun laughed.

“What?” Zou Yang clicked his tongue.

“You’re really very likeable,” Fan Jun said.