Chapter 63

Chapter 63

Yu Li stared at Gu Yubai in disbelief.

His eyes bulged like saucers, his face clearly screaming, "So this is the real Gu Yubai."

No longer clutching his lower abdomen, he shot Gu Yubai a shy, resentful glare, his face flushed, before scurrying to the bathroom to assess the damage.

Gu Yubai, now wide awake, slipped on his shoes and ambled to the bathroom door, listening intently. Suddenly, the sound of rushing water filled the air.

Cocking his head, Gu Yubai asked with concern, "Brother Yu, should I call 911 for you?"

The moment he finished speaking, the water stopped, and the door flew open. Yu Li’s arms were soaked, his black T-shirt wrinkled and clinging to his casual pants, which were also visibly damp.

Yu Li looked at Gu Yubai incredulously.

"You actually want me to embarrass myself at the hospital?"

Yu Li: "I’m fine! I wasn’t really hurt earlier. Don’t overthink it."

Gu Yubai muttered an "Oh," lowering his head thoughtfully.

Yu Li’s ears turned red as he mussed up Gu Yubai’s hair.

"Quit staring."

As one movie ended, another automatically started playing on the screen.

Yu Li seemed genuinely fine now, but his stomach rumbled loudly. Gu Yubai instinctively glanced over, only for Yu Li to immediately cover his eyes.

Yu Li: "No checking out my abs either."

Gu Yubai struggled. "I wasn’t—"

"—Never mind. I’m hungry. Should we go get dinner?"

Seeing Gu Yubai stop resisting, Yu Li released his hold and muttered under his breath, "You little perv." When Gu Yubai mentioned being hungry, he nodded.

Yu Li asked, "Eat downstairs at the mall or stay here?"

In front of the folding screen, the hotpot broth on the dining table had cooled, but all the side dishes—vegetables, meat slices, and seafood—were still there. All they needed was to turn on the heat, and the spicy aroma would soon fill the air again.

Gu Yubai couldn’t muster the energy to go out. "Let’s just eat here."

He didn’t even bother clarifying that it wasn’t him who was hungry—he had heard Yu Li’s stomach growling. It was obvious the man hadn’t eaten dinner earlier. While watching the movie with him, Yu Li had only polished off a couple of snacks without a word.

The two sat at the dining table. Gu Yubai fumbled with the stove, while Yu Li grabbed milk, lemon water, cola, and Sprite from the assortment of drinks prepared by the cinema manager. He placed them on the table for Gu Yubai to choose.

Gu Yubai side-eyed the options and chuckled. "I’m not a kid anymore—no milk. Cola and Sprite have too much sugar. How about lemon water?"

Yu Li nodded immediately. "Sure."

He moved the other drinks aside and sat next to Gu Yubai, overzealously tucking a bib—where had that even come from?—under Gu Yubai’s chin.

Gu Yubai: "I don’t eat messily. Maybe return this bib to the kid it belongs to?"

Yu Li silently reached out and removed the bib from Gu Yubai’s neck.

He corrected, "It’s a napkin, not a bib. Definitely not... a baby bib."

Gu Yubai smiled gently at him. "I know. And I also know you’re not a teacher."

Suddenly, Gu Yubai realized that whenever he and Yu Li ate together, the locations were never normal. Aside from that one time at the new hotpot place near their neighborhood, the rest had been either riverside barbecues or meals in a restaurant’s Chinese-style garden. Now, they were eating hotpot in a private cinema screening room.

Gu Yubai: "..."

Whatever. No point overthinking it. As long as there was food.

This meal—neither dinner nor late-night snack—lasted over an hour.

After eating, neither lifted a finger to clean up. They simply opened the window to air out the room. Stuffed and satisfied, neither felt like moving, so they lazily leaned against the headboard to watch another movie and digest.

Initially sitting side by side, at some point, Gu Yubai turned and lay in Yu Li’s arms. Yu Li wrapped one arm around him while using the other to fetch hawthorn jelly snacks from the bedside table for Gu Yubai to snack on.

By the time the second movie ended, Gu Yubai was drowsy. He checked his phone—9:30 PM—and quickly sat up, extricating himself from Yu Li’s embrace.

"Let’s wrap things up. I’m sleepy—time to go back."

Yu Li seemed reluctant. "It’s not too late to take you back to campus at 10."

Seeing Gu Yubai brush him off, Yu Li sighed and started putting on his shoes. Halfway through, he suddenly turned to look at Gu Yubai.

His eyes held a hint of shyness as he spoke softly.

Yu Li: "How about... we get another eyeful of these abs?"

Gu Yubai, who had been about to get out of bed, stumbled and nearly face-planted back onto the mattress.

He gaped at Yu Li for a solid five seconds, his expression complicated.

Yu Li was already regretting his cheesy line, but seeing Gu Yubai’s intense gaze, he suddenly felt it wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

After all, he was nearly twice Gu Yubai’s eighteen years.

Gu Yubai was young and tender, while Yu Li was in his prime. But while Gu Yubai could afford to wait for a pure romance, Yu Li couldn’t—if he didn’t take the initiative, he’d really become leftover old cabbage!

He was genuinely afraid of the young men Gu Yubai’s age around him.

The more Yu Li thought about it, the more he felt he needed to put his charms on display. Just as he had once told Gu Yubai—products had to actively display their value to entice customers to linger.

Steeling himself, Yu Li abruptly yanked up his black T-shirt.

Still somewhat embarrassed, he instinctively used the fabric to cover his face. But worried Gu Yubai might bail, his mind blanked, and before he knew it, he was biting the hem of his shirt while reaching out to pull Gu Yubai’s hand toward him—acting with uncharacteristic boldness.

Unable to speak with his shirt in his mouth, Yu Li could only smirk at Gu Yubai. His handsome, porcelain skin was radiant, his dark eyes curved into crescents, though his gaze flickered nervously as he struggled to feign composure.

Gu Yubai couldn’t suppress a chuckle.

Yu Li had porcelain skin, flawless as jade, his well-proportioned frame radiating vitality. His washboard abs were beautifully defined—cut but not overdone.

The way he bit his shirt inexplicably added a tender sweetness to the already intimate atmosphere.

His hand was guided by Yu Li to rest on those abs, while Yu Li himself seemed to have brain short-circuited—as if this was already the limit of his courage.

This guy...

Gu Yubai couldn’t hold back a soft laugh, a playful urge rising in him. His fingers skated over Yu Li’s abs before he suddenly closed the distance.

Leaning close to Yu Li’s ear, he purred, "Brother Yu, is this the only move you know? You used it this morning to mark your territory, and now you’re pressing your advantage, trying to get in my pants."

"It was me!"

Yu Li instinctively opened his mouth to explain himself, making the fabric slip from his lips. He fumbled with his clothes, only to accidentally catch Gu Yubai’s hand inside.

Yu Li: "...So, did it actually work on you or not?"

He still couldn't meet his eyes.

Gu Yubai felt that if he denied it now, this man would probably go home and cry under the covers in secret.

He ought to save his boyfriend some face.

His ears slightly red, Gu Yubai cleared his throat. "What are you even asking? If I... wasn’t into you, why would I agree to be your boyfriend?"

He pulled his hand out from Yu Li’s clothes, his expression calm, as if the earlier interaction hadn’t fazed him at all.

Yu Li breathed a small sigh of relief.

At the same time, a twinge of disappointment rose in his heart.

Was his seduction technique really that bad? Otherwise, why would Gu Yubai—in his prime—react so indifferently?

Frowning slightly, Yu Li resolved to binge more tutorial videos when he got home, especially those from those seduction experts.

------

It was getting late.

Yu Li drove Gu Yubai to the entrance of Mingcheng University, where they kept talking by the car for a while longer. Only when it was almost curfew did Gu Yubai finally say goodbye.

Yu Li said, "I’ll watch you go in first before I leave."

Gu Yubai waved his hand. "No, you should drive off first. I’m already at the entrance—my dorm's right there. But you still have a long way to go before you get home."

Yu Li looked at Gu Yubai, smiling.

After a moment’s thought, he said, "Then I’ll come see you again after work tomorrow."

This clingy already?

Gu Yubai was a little surprised, but he also knew that new couples did tend to stick to each other. Since Yu Li wanted to spend time with him, Gu Yubai naturally couldn’t refuse.

"Alright then. Text me before you come tomorrow, and I’ll wait for you at the school gate."

Yu Li nodded. Reluctantly, he bid Gu Yubai farewell once more before getting into his car and slowly driving away from Mingcheng University.

Even as he turned the corner, Yu Li could still see Gu Yubai standing at the school gates through the rearview mirror.

He felt all warm inside.

Gu Yubai watched as Yu Li’s car disappeared around the bend. Just as he was about to turn and head back into the school, he suddenly heard peals of laughter.

Mingcheng Film Academy was right next to Mingcheng University—their main gates were on the same street, less than five hundred meters apart. At this hour, past ten at night, the entrance of Mingcheng University was nearly deserted, with students either in the study halls or their dorms.

But Mingcheng Film Academy was different. Despite being an academy, its atmosphere was like that of a city that never slept. Even at two in the morning, crowds of beautiful people could still be seen reveling outside the gates.

Unfortunately, tomorrow was also the first official day of classes at Mingcheng Film Academy, so many students had been required to return a day early.

Gu Yubai only glanced in that direction before preparing to leave, but out of the corner of his eye, he thought he spotted a familiar face.

He almost thought he was mistaken and stopped to take a closer look—it really was Su Shengli.

Gu Yubai turned on his heel and left.