Chapter 17

The Lazy Young Master — www.asianovel.net · All chapters

Chapter 17

017.

Obviously, Bai Yu was the one who'd taken his pants off.

Remembering what Lu Yan had said about Bai Yu: "Brother Yu, yeah, he's got that whole CEO vibe, but he's also got this harmless little thing—he's a germaphobe."

Lu Yuan was on the verge of tears: "You don't even sleep in my bed, so if you're that germaphobic and can't handle it, just don't look."

Who takes off someone's pants while they're sleeping? Where's the manners in that?

Bai Yu's face was cold, and his tone was just as icy: "You asked me to."

The guy who'd been grumbling nonstop like he'd been violated suddenly shut up at those five words. He froze, and before he could even blurt out "no way," Bai Yu had already seen it coming and said flatly, "After I put you on the bed, you were mumbling about being uncomfortable, and you were kicking at your pant leg with one foot while stepping on the other."

Lu Yuan: "..."

That sounded way too familiar.

Lu Yuan slowly remembered those times in his past life when he'd stayed up too late working on design drafts and just crashed into bed the second he got home. He'd sleep hard, but his clothes would bug him, and half-asleep he'd manage to peel them off before burrowing under the covers. The next morning, his clothes from the day before would be all over the floor.

"Lu Yuan."

The two words that suddenly hit his ears carried a low voice and an indescribable pressure, immediately making the guy who'd wrongly accused him tense up with guilt. Lu Yuan didn't even dare to look up at Bai Yu.

The guy had gone out of his way to carry him to bed, and when he saw he couldn't get his pants off, he'd even helped—only to get accused of being rude.

Given Bai Yu's status and power—

It might not bring down the Lu family, but pissing him off probably wouldn't end well.

He grabbed the corner of the blanket, let out an "um," and before the other guy could say another word, he wisely caved: "I'm sorry, I misunderstood you."

Bai Yu stared at him for a long moment, then patted his knee. "Bend your legs."

At this point, Lu Yuan was like a puppet—whatever Bai Yu said, he did. Swallowing his embarrassment, he obediently bent his legs, body stiff as Bai Yu's arm hooked under his knees and pulled him forward. The gap between them closed again, and his calf, separated by just a thin sweater, seemed to feel the warmth of the other man's arm.

Lu Yuan pressed his lips together as his body was turned and pushed face-down onto the bed.

"It's cold."

Bai Yu's fingers paused, and he pulled the blanket up over his lower half.

His sweater had been rolled up, revealing a slim waist. Under the warm white light, the hollow of his back was as pale as fine jade. The edge of the blanket just covered the curve of his lower back. Bai Yu lowered his eyes and, without warning, pressed the ice-cold towel onto his lower back.

Hiss—

So cold!

His fingers gripping the sheet suddenly tightened, and his legs under the blanket tensed on their own. Before he could squirm, a hand smacked his side: "Don't move."

Lu Yuan's eyes were welling up: "It's freezing."

Bai Yu: "Suck it up."

Lu Yuan: "..."

Sensing his silence, Bai Yu didn't even bother to look up, just said, "Weren't you so good at toughing it out earlier when you were being stubborn and your back wasn't hurt?"

So cold, so heartless—and now he's digging up old grudges.

Burying his face in the pillow, he gritted out each word: "I'll suck it up."

Bai Yu glanced at the back of his head, then checked his watch. "Cold compress for fifteen minutes. I'll come back in two hours to apologize properly."

"Huh? No need for all that." Lu Yuan turned his head a bit, half his face squished into the pillow, fumbling for his phone to check the time. "It's already eleven. Two hours from now it'll be one in the morning—aren't you gonna sleep? I think one round is enough. It actually feels pretty good now."

"You sleep. Don't worry about me."

"...Okay."

The towel gradually warmed up over time, and the mist from the humidifier seemed to carry a soothing scent. Before long, Lu Yuan was dozing off. When the fifteen minutes were up, he was still lying on his stomach, hugging the pillow, a little cheek squished out, breathing evenly.

Bai Yu took off the towel and headed into the bathroom.

The water rushed from the faucet, splashing against the towel and scattering droplets onto Bai Yu's sweater. The freezing cold seeped into his skin, but his expression didn't change. He just looked down at his fingertips, red from the ice water.

The water was freezing, but everywhere—fingertips, palms—that had touched Lu Yuan's skin felt burning hot.

He ran his hands under the cold water for two minutes, then calmly dried them and walked out.

All night long, Lu Yuan was jolted awake by the cold three times.

At one in the morning, three in the morning, and five in the morning.

Amazed at Chairman Bai's insane self-discipline—how he managed to push open the guest room door right on time every single time, not a minute late—Lu Yuan had already gone from shivering at the first touch to just pulling the pillow over his head and letting his lower back get worked on.

Bai Yu looked at the guy who couldn't even be bothered to glance at him now, clearly used to his "attentive care," and curled his lip.

Adapts quickly.

Around nine in the morning, Lu Yuan woke up groggily. His fingers went to his lower back first, but instead of smooth skin, they hit something with a slightly gritty texture. He rubbed it with his fingers and realized it was the pain-relief ointment brought back from Cheng'an.

No wonder it didn't hurt as much.

His body felt stiff and uncomfortable from lying prone for hours, but Lu Yuan tried to turn over. It was slow and careful, but manageable.

Settling into a more comfortable position, he picked up his phone, which was low on battery, and saw the messages Lu Yan had sent last night that he hadn't been able to reply to.