Chapter 49: A Bland Look When He Has No Expression…

Jiang Shi laughed.

After laughing, he felt he had lost face and immediately put on a sullen expression. “Move, don’t block my way.”

The blood soaked the paper Cheng Ye was pressing against his forehead. The paper couldn’t hold it all, and a red streak slid down, making his whole face look menacing.

Jiang Shi had never seen such a scene before, and his breathing grew lighter with fear. “Hurry up and treat your wound.”

He then pulled back the covers, wanting to get off the bed. “Or maybe we should just go to the hospital…”

Cheng Ye reached out and grabbed his hand. He replaced the paper with a new one, quickly wiped the blood from his face, and looked up at Jiang Shi.

“I don’t want to go,” he said.

“Young master, I’m aroused.”

Jiang Shi looked down.

Cheng Ye was still bare-chested. The blood from the bite mark on his shoulder had dried, leaving a dark red dental impression.

His breathing was heavy, his abdominal muscles faintly visible with each breath. His black pants were wet from showering in the yard earlier, clinging to his skin and revealing a distinct outline.

It was very…

Hmm…

Impressive.

Jiang Shi was stunned. How could someone, with a face full of blood, be thinking about these things?

“Wait, you…”

The wound on his forehead had stopped bleeding. Cheng Ye tossed the paper aside, climbed onto the bed, and cornered Jiang Shi against the wall.

“I didn’t want to either, but the moment the young master said he liked me, I couldn’t help it.”

His expression looked even more pained than when Jiang Shi had hit him with the stone, but his tone sounded quite gentle.

“Young master, want to touch my abs? I just shaved yesterday, so it won’t be prickly.”

Jiang Shi: “…”

He shrank into the corner, his face flushing red. “Who wants to touch you? Get down, I’m going home.”

“Didn’t you come to study with me?”

“Not study like this…”

Cheng Ye grabbed his hand. “Young master, let’s learn something adults learn.”

He pulled Jiang Shi’s hand and placed it on his abs.

“Touch me, young master. Anywhere is fine. I feel like I was just dreaming.”

He craved any skin-to-skin contact. Only then could he be sure that Jiang Shi was really by his side, that he really wanted to be with him.

The texture under his hand was better than the last time—warm, firm, and filled with a vigorous youthful heat that made Jiang Shi’s fingertips tremble.

Cheng Ye knelt with his legs spread around Jiang Shi, presenting himself openly. In him, Jiang Shi saw no shyness or restraint.

His hand was held fast, unable to break free, his palm pressed against the abdomen, feeling the rise and fall of another person’s breath.

Cheng Ye coaxed in his ear again, “A little lower, okay?”

A little lower, wouldn’t that be…

Jiang Shi gritted his teeth. “Cheng Ye, can you have some shame?”

Shame? When Jiang Shi said he liked him, Cheng Ye was ready to give up his life.

He closed his eyes, seemingly in pain from holding back. “But Jiang Shi, I really can’t control it. The moment I see you, the moment I hear you speak, I can’t hold back. And you even said… you said you like me.”

“If you like me, help me.”

“Please, young master…”

Whether from the heat or something else, a thin layer of sweat broke out on Jiang Shi’s face in the cramped bed. His face was red, but his eyes were filled with a watery mist. Pushed too far, the mist gathered on his lashes, forming a teardrop.

Cheng Ye opened his mouth and licked away the tear on his lashes. He kissed the boy’s trembling eyelid, then slowly moved down to the tip of his nose, and finally to his lips.

As if deliberately trying to please, he kissed very gently, as if holding a treasure—too light and it might slip away, too heavy and it might hurt.

Jiang Shi became breathless from the kiss.

So Cheng Ye released his mouth. He buried his face in Jiang Shi’s neck and licked his pristine white skin.

“Jiang Shi…”

Cheng Ye’s room had no windows; it was pitch black inside. The darkness hid most of the spring scenery. He was trapped in the corner, surrounded by Cheng Ye’s scent.

Darkness easily breeds certain emotions.

Mist rose in Jiang Shi’s eyes. He closed them, reached out his fingers, and unbuckled Cheng Ye’s belt.

---

In October, it was not yet dark at seven in the evening.

A wind picked up at dusk, making Cheng Ye’s dilapidated house whistle.

Gao Xinhe, carrying a basket full of crabs, passed by Cheng Ye’s house. From a distance, he saw two people in the yard.

Jiang Shi was sitting, and Cheng Ye was squatting.

As he got closer, Gao Xinhe saw that Cheng Ye was applying medicine for Jiang Shi. He brandished his spoils from the afternoon. “Brother Cheng, little cousin, want some crab tonight?”

Jiang Shi didn’t look well. Cheng Ye, with a simple gauze patch on his forehead, was shamelessly hovering near him.

He took Jiang Shi’s hand, noticed his palm was a bit red, and suggested, “How about I put some medicine on your hand too?”

Jiang Shi raised his hand and slapped him on the head.

Gao Xinhe’s own head hurt just watching. “What happened to you two?” Only then did he notice the wound on Cheng Ye’s forehead. “Brother Cheng, what happened to your head? Did my little cousin finally get fed up and beat you up?”

Cheng Ye: “…”

He had to admit, in a way, Gao Xinhe had hit upon the truth.

Cheng Ye said, “Are you that free?”

There it was again…

Gao Xinhe felt wronged. “I came over with good intentions to invite you for crab, and you treat me like this.”

Jiang Shi coughed. “I have to go back and ask my mom.” After a pause, he added, “If my mom asks where I was, just say I went to catch crabs with you.”

Gao Xinhe was confused but agreed. “Then remember to come to my place for crab later. I’ll have my mom stir-fry them spicy. They’ll be super crispy.”

He arrived in a gust of wind with his crabs and left in a gust of wind with his crabs.

Cheng Ye took a basin inside to pour hot water. He had changed his clothes; despite the heat, he wore a long-sleeved shirt and pants, looking somewhat dapper again.

He squatted in front of Jiang Shi with the basin of water, washed a towel, and, with his head lowered, wiped the dust that had accidentally gotten on Jiang Shi’s knee.

The sun set, casting a shadow over Cheng Ye’s face. His brows were slightly furrowed, his lips thin. When he had no expression, he had a bland look.

Suddenly, a hand appeared before him. The red mark on the palm hadn’t faded yet. The fingers were long and slender, tinged with a bit of moisture.

Jiang Shi said, “My hand needs wiping too.”

And just like that, the bland look on Cheng Ye’s face changed.

He held Jiang Shi’s hand, his fingertips pressing into the palm. The boy had never done much manual labor; his skin was delicate all over, even the palm of his hand was soft.

Cheng Ye rarely masturbated.

His childhood and entire adolescence had been suppressive and painful. Cheng Jianbin would bring women home and have sex in front of him. Not long after, he had his first nocturnal emission.

He didn’t know if it was the normal onset of puberty or if those nauseating scenes had prematurely matured him, but it happened much earlier for him than for many boys his age. He felt disgusted.

Disgusted by his body’s normal desires, disgusted by his uncontrollable reactions, disgusted by the love between men and women, even disgusted by love itself.

He was disgusted, yet he couldn’t control himself.

In his heart, love and affection were always equated with touch. Spoken words felt hollow; only the body’s reaction was honest.

He longed to touch Jiang Shi, and he longed to be touched by Jiang Shi.

He didn’t truly believe it when Jiang Shi said he liked him. Only when Jiang Shi touched him, touched his body, touched his ugly organ, could he feel that affection.

He was shameless in front of Jiang Shi, but only Cheng Ye knew that before meeting him, he rarely even had the most basic morning erection.

The light in the room at that time was too dim for Jiang Shi to see clearly, but that didn’t mean Cheng Ye couldn’t.

The boy’s eyelashes trembled violently, his face was so red it looked like it could drip blood, and his head was lowered, revealing a long, slender neck.

Cheng Ye reached out and squeezed his neck. He kneaded it gently, as if in encouragement, or perhaps comfort, and then Jiang Shi reached out his hand.

His palm was covered in cold sweat, but it was very warm and soft.

His movements were terribly clumsy, sometimes light, sometimes heavy, and Cheng Ye would pant along with his rhythm.

His panting was too fervent. Jiang Shi couldn’t help but glare at him. “Can you… can you not make any noise…”

The desire in his eyes was the most potent drug Cheng Ye had ever taken, stealing his soul with a single glance.

Even now, he still remembered the feeling, and he stared at Jiang Shi’s palm, lost in thought.

Jiang Shi saw it and snatched his hand back. “What are you thinking about?”

Cheng Ye threw the towel into the basin, kneaded it a few times, then picked it up and wrung it dry. “Nothing. Didn’t you want to wipe your hand? Give it here.”

Jiang Shi said, “I’ll do it myself.”

A slightly satisfied Cheng Ye was easy to talk to. He obediently handed over the towel.

Jiang Shi felt a strong, foreign sensation lingering on his palm. He couldn’t see it, but the smell in the room was so thick, and he couldn’t even wrap one hand around it. It was simply…

At this thought, he quickly glanced down.

Can a person’s be that big?

Cheng Ye met his gaze. “What are you looking at?”

“…”

He added, “It was too dark just now, the young master didn’t get a clear look. Want me to take off my pants?”

Jiang Shi threw the towel at his face.

Cheng Ye muffled a laugh under the towel. A corner of the casually applied gauze on his forehead was snagged by the towel and peeled off.

Jiang Shi looked at the red wound, which was surrounded by bruising, and paused. “You should really go to the hospital.”

“No need.” Cheng Ye pressed a hand to it, and the loose gauze stuck back on. “It’s a small wound.”

Jiang Shi: “…”

His face was almost ruined.

He asked, “Why on earth do you keep a stone in your room?”

Cheng Ye said, “That stone is from the barbecue by the river. You thought it looked nice and wanted to take it home, but then you didn’t want it when you got back to the dorm.”

“So you brought it back because I didn’t want it?”

“I brought it back because you didn’t want it.”

Jiang Shi was speechless and cursed him, “Serves you right!”

Seeing that it was getting dark, he stood up from his seat. “My mom must be home by now. I have to go.”

After a couple of steps, he remembered his books and kicked Cheng Ye. “Pick up my books and give them back.”

Cheng Ye went to get the books, and Jiang Shi followed behind him. “Tell me, what are we going to do?”

“What do you mean, what are we going to do?”

Jiang Shi puffed out one cheek. “Cheng Ye, are you doing this on purpose?”

Cheng Ye laughed and patted the dust off the math book. “We’ll eat what we should eat and drink what we should drink. Auntie Jiang won’t scold you. At most, she’ll just break my legs.”

“…”

That was certainly a rational perspective.

Cheng Ye placed the books back in Jiang Shi’s arms. “I’ll be restrained in front of outsiders. Although I really want to announce it to the whole world, for now, telling anyone won’t do either of us any good.”

“But you don’t need to worry about any of this. You just need to worry about what to eat and what to wear. Leave the rest to me.”

“This time, even if your mom breaks my legs, I’ll crawl back to your side.”

“Young master…” Cheng Ye hooked Jiang Shi’s hand with his finger.

“You’ll just have to be wronged for a while and have an underground romance with me.”