When Shen Qingfeng opened his eyes, it was already broad daylight.
His head ached dully. His thoughts seemed to have just been pulled back from the far - off horizon. He felt as if his body was nestled in a soft and warm embrace, which made him let out a soft sigh of comfort.
"Awake?"
A hoarse and magnetic voice suddenly rang in his ear. Shen Qingfeng was stunned. After he recognized that it was Lu Yan's voice, he also took in his surroundings.
He was completely naked, sitting in a bathtub with Lu Yan.
The warm water still gave off a large amount of misty steam in the warm room on this winter day. Shen Qingfeng slowly lowered his head. Through the floating mist, he could faintly see the tightly - pressed skin of the two of them in the water and Lu Yan's arm around his waist.
Shen Qingfeng's eyes widened in shock. The memories of last night came flooding back like a tide - the rhythmic sweat, the disheveled blue hair, and the wrinkled bedsheet that he had clutched.
Every moment of the memory made his face flush and his heart race. It seemed as if his soft pleas for mercy and Lu Yan's domineering and lust - filled words still echoed in his ear: "I won't stop..."
"Splash!" Shen Qingfeng's scalp went numb. He suddenly stood up, but the moment he did, a sharp pain shot through his waist and he started to fall.
"Be careful!" Lu Yan exclaimed. He reached out both hands and pulled Shen Qingfeng into his arms. "You were too tired last night. Don't make such sudden movements."
"..." Shen Qingfeng's face was so red it seemed to be dripping blood. He cursed silently and struggled to get up and escape. But as he started to move, he found that his whole body ached as if it had been broken apart and then reassembled. The pain was unbearable, especially in a certain place behind him...
Seeing Shen Qingfeng's expression suddenly change, Lu Yan let out a soft sigh. He hugged Shen Qingfeng tightly in his arms. After they were both immersed in the warm water again, he reached out and started massaging Shen Qingfeng's waist.
Shen Qingfeng gritted his teeth and lay on Lu Yan's shoulder with a blushing face.
Damn it.
He, a man who had remained chaste for so long, had just given himself away like this?
The more Shen Qingfeng thought about it, the more he felt he had been taken advantage of. But there was also a faint sweetness welling up in his heart. Shen Qingfeng was startled and quickly suppressed those "dirty" thoughts.
Although he, Shen Qingfeng, was not a saint who abstained from lust and desire, as a normal man, being made unconscious by another man was, no matter how you looked at it, a bit... embarrassing.
"Still hurting?" Lu Yan's movements were gentle. He massaged along Shen Qingfeng's waist meridians and asked softly.
Shen Qingfeng ignored him and pretended to be dead on his shoulder.
"Haha..." Seeing his appearance, Lu Yan found him extremely cute and couldn't help but let out a low laugh.
In anger, Shen Qingfeng punched Lu Yan hard on the back. Along with the splashing sound of the water, Lu Yan laughed even louder. Then he slowly stretched out his arms and enclosed Shen Qingfeng in his embrace.
He buried his head in the crook of Shen Qingfeng's neck and, with the glistening water droplets dripping from their bodies, placed a kiss on Shen Qingfeng's neck.
"Qingfeng."
Shen Qingfeng stiffened and remained motionless.
"Qingfeng~" Lu Yan was in an extremely good mood. He hugged Shen Qingfeng and gently swayed from side to side, causing the water in the bathtub to make a soft splashing sound.
Shen Qingfeng continued to ignore him.
"Qingfeng～～～" Lu Yan was persistent.
"... What?" Shen Qingfeng rolled his eyes and replied impatiently. After all, he still remembered how this "beast" had made him pass out last night.
Receiving a response, Lu Yan let out a soft laugh and tightened his arm around Shen Qingfeng's shoulder. "Do you know? I've been waiting for you for a long time."
Shen Qingfeng was immediately stunned.
I've been waiting for you for a long time.
Yes, you've waited for me for a very, very long time, so long that it was a whole lifetime.
The scene of the fire devouring the Mountain and River Hall was still vivid in his mind. Shen Qingfeng's eyes flickered. He gently patted Lu Yan's shoulder and looked up at him.
Lu Yan's handsome face was just inches away. His sword - shaped eyebrows, hawk - like eyes, and the mole under his eye on his wheat - colored skin. Shen Qingfeng reached out and gently stroked that mole with his thumb. "I know."
Lu Yan paused for a moment, pressing his forehead against Shen Qingfeng's. "You don't know."
If it were the Shen Qingfeng from the previous life, he really wouldn't have known, because Lu Yan had really hidden his feelings too well. But -
Shen Qingfeng blinked and looked up at him. "No, I know."
Lu Yan looked at him. There seemed to be a hint of panic in his eyes. "This... This is impossible. How could you?"
Shen Qingfeng let out a sigh and reached out to hug Lu Yan back. "Silly, when I say I know, I know."
Lu Yan was stunned.
Shen Qingfeng didn't want to recall the memories of the previous life, so he said, "Let's not talk about those things, okay? So what if I know? So what if I don't? Aren't we now..."
Shen Qingfeng bit his lip and shyly didn't continue.
He felt special about Lu Yan. He had given his all to the man in front of him. After all, in Lu Yan's arms, he seemed to be able to forget the cold days of the previous life, as if all those unbearable memories had been burned away by Lu Yan's fiery passion. This feeling, which he had longed for but couldn't obtain in countless cold nights in the previous life, he had finally found in Lu Yan in this life.
"Okay, then let's not talk about it." Lu Yan's voice dropped. There really wasn't much to say. Should he talk about how much he had missed him in the past? Or how he had secretly loved him?
It didn't matter anymore.
As long as the person in his arms now was Shen Qingfeng, he could laugh off all the past forbearance and unrequited love.
Lu Yan leaned closer to his ear and bit his earlobe. "But, who are you calling silly? If I'm silly, could I have made you feel so good last night?"
Shen Qingfeng's already fading blush suddenly flared up again at Lu Yan's words.
He gritted his teeth and, despite the discomfort in his body, suddenly stood up. No matter how much Lu Yan tried to pull him back, he wouldn't budge. Moreover, Lu Yan didn't dare to use too much force. He could only watch helplessly as Shen Qingfeng, with a blushing face, stepped out of the bathtub, quickly grabbed a robe, threw it on, and darted out from behind the screen.
Seeing his panicked and fleeing figure, Lu Yan finally couldn't help but burst out laughing, his body shaking from side to side.
The person dressing up outside the screen seemed to be even more embarrassed and angry. He shouted in a slightly scolding tone, "Lu Yan!"
"I won't laugh anymore, I won't laugh anymore..." Lu Yan cleared his throat, stepped out of the bathtub, casually grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist, and walked out with a smile on his face.
Seeing Lu Yan walking out half - naked, Shen Qingfeng scolded, "Can't you put on your clothes?"
Lu Yan walked closer to him and deliberately pressed his chest against Shen Qingfeng. "Qingfeng, help me put on my clothes."
Shen Qingfeng was extremely embarrassed. "You... You're going too far!"
Lu Yan even shamelessly kissed Shen Qingfeng on the face. "Help me put them on, good Qingfeng."
Shen Qingfeng was so embarrassed that he grabbed the clothes beside him and threw them at Lu Yan. "Put them on yourself!"
Lu Yan didn't dare to push Shen Qingfeng too far. He pouted and had to put on his clothes by himself. By the time he had barely managed to get dressed, Shen Qingfeng had already tied up his hair.
He was still wearing a white robe. His blue hair was tied in a loose knot at the back of his head and then tied up with a white ribbon. Lu Yan often thought that with Shen Qingfeng's elegant and otherworldly appearance and such an ethereal dressing style, if someone said he was a celestial being exiled to the mortal world, people might actually believe it.
Lu Yan couldn't help but be mesmerized by his appearance. It wasn't until Shen Qingfeng finished tidying up and turned to look at him. "You're so slow at putting on your clothes."
Lu Yan: "..." It's all because I was looking at you.
Shen Qingfeng was too lazy to pay attention to him. His back was aching so much that even standing was uncomfortable. So he went to sit at the tea table, picked up a pastry and stuffed it into his mouth. While eating, he asked, "Lu Yan, I have a question for you. Answer me honestly."
Lu Yan was stunned. "What?"
Shen Qingfeng swallowed the pastry and patted the crumbs off his hands. Looking serious, he said, "Last night, how did you know where I was?"