Chapter 35

035.

Looking back afterward, Lu Yuan found it hard to put into words that strange sensation—how something that had merely struck his palm could make his heart flutter as if it were trembling.

For a split second, he felt his blood boil like magma, gurgling and bubbling, heat surging from his veins to the surface of his skin. The temperature was so high it made his palm curl inward, and the measuring tape, with nothing to hold it up, dropped—no surprise there—the metal tip grazing Bai Yu's abdominal skin, leaving a thin red mark behind.

Lu Yuan's eyes flew wide open, and he immediately scrambled to scoop up the tape. In his fluster, his fingertips brushed against the man's waistline and thigh through the thin fabric. As he failed to retrieve the tape and the area of contact only grew wider, spiraling out of control, the corner of Bai Yu's eye twitched slightly, and his long fingers caught Lu Yuan's wrist spot-on.

The wrist, unshielded by pajama fabric, was slender, and wrapped in his palm, it made Bai Yu feel like it might snap if he bent it. He instinctively softened his grip, his thumb pressing against the pulse point, as if he could hear Lu Yuan's heartbeat too.

Not as strong, but fast and frantic.

He lowered his lashes, gazing at those slightly flustered eyes. "Just where are you feeling up?"

Lu Yuan: "..."

Recalling the spot near the lower abdomen he'd inadvertently brushed moments ago, his pale neck flushed bright red. He pressed his lips together, his mouth hung open, totally lost. "If I said I didn't mean to, would you believe me?"

Bai Yu's gaze deepened. After a long silence, he hit him with two words that made Lu Yuan want to slam his head against a wall.

He said, "No."

Lu Yuan: QAQ

He totally knew it!

This guy never misses a chance to mess with him!

His embarrassment instantly turned into fierce annoyance. Bold as always, Lu Yuan smacked his hand down on the man's with a sharp slap, breaking free from those long fingers, and put on a stern face to save what was left of his dignity. "I don't take advantage of people when I'm measuring them—"

Bai Yu's voice rang out almost simultaneously. "If you wanna touch, go for the top. Bottom's not appropriate."

Lu Yuan: "..."

The word "habit" got stuck in his throat, so shocked he couldn't speak. He stared back with a blank face, completely lost. "What did you just say?"

Bai Yu lifted his eyes, looking so calm you'd never think he'd just said something so crazy. He could even repeat it nice and slow. "I said, if you wanna touch, go for the top. Bottom's not appropriate."

Lu Yuan: "..."

His other hand unconsciously let go, and the tape, still held at its end, dropped to the floor with a clatter. Freed, Lu Yuan rubbed his face vigorously with both hands, then shuffled past that way-too-attractive body like a ghost, almost tripping over his own feet as he headed for the bathroom.

Muttering as he went, "It's gotta be the heat being too high, frying my brain. I'll go splash some cold water on my face to cool off."

But the moment his fingertips hit the icy water, he hissed and yanked his hand back super fast. Washing his face with cold water to calm down obviously didn't happen, but as time ticked by, his brain cells at least started working again.

He stared at himself in the mirror and suddenly stomped his foot, annoyed at himself.

Clearly, Bai Yu had been teasing him, and he not only missed it but actually ran off in shock!

He should've just played along and actually touched those abs, just to see how Bai Yu would react.

The bathroom door swung open again, and Lu Yuan strode out looking fierce again, no longer that dazed ghost from earlier. Before Bai Yu could speak, he declared arrogantly, "I thought it over. Since you're being so generous, I'll give it a feel and see what the big deal is."

With that, he pressed his palm toward the man's abs.

The gap between them closed, closer and closer, until only an inch or two remained—one breath might close the gap—but Bai Yu still didn't move to stop him. Instead, his brow arched slightly, the slight curve at the corner of his eye seemed to mock Lu Yuan for not daring to actually follow through.

Lu Yuan: "..."

This was seriously underestimating him, damn it.

Smack.

With a sharp smack, the boy's four still-warm fingers pressed against the skin of Bai Yu's abdomen. The direct skin contact, the way the waist tensed up instinctively—it left Lu Yuan's mind blank for a second.

Holy crap, he actually did it.

Why wasn't Bai Yu doing anything?

Did he really want him to keep touching?

But Lu Yuan clearly underestimated how much his hand craved those abs. His mind was still racing, yet his fingers were already curving over the lean muscle, brushing lightly, rubbing back and forth like he'd done it a hundred times.

Lu Yuan: "..."

He really didn't mean to.

But damn, it felt good.

Not satisfied with just fingertip contact anymore, his eyes dropped to the man's tight waist, and he pressed his lips together, slowly pressing down until his whole palm was flat against it. But just a second later, Bai Yu stepped back, and then, as Lu Yuan stared, totally confused, turned and walked toward the door.

Lu Yuan: "..."

What the—what? That pissed? Just up and leaving without a word?

If he can't handle it, why the hell did he provoke him!

Lost for words, Lu Yuan's face twisted into a weird expression. He glanced down at his palm and, totally random, muttered a compliment: "The abs are pretty damn solid, though."

Then he looked at the pajamas left on the bed, craned his neck to watch the man disappear into the master bedroom, then the door clicked shut, and he rubbed the tip of his nose, about to grumble to himself—when the master bedroom door suddenly cracked open, and Stinky Treasure waddled out with a little dinosaur in its mouth, strutting proudly.

Instantly, any thought of Bai Yu being a sore loser was replaced by "aww, kitty's so cute, wahhh." Lu Yuan plopped down cross-legged on the carpet, eyes shining as he waved at Stinky Treasure.

The deliberately squeaky voice made the person behind the door fall silent, and then the door clicked shut.

Without a moment's hesitation.

Lu Yuan: "..."

He scooped up the cat, who was enthusiastically meowing as if greeting him, and shook his head while scolding Bai Yu for his sudden mood swing. "Kid, your daddy's the CEO of a major conglomerate—how can he be so petty? He's the one who told me to touch, and I only touched once... okay, maybe more than once, but my palm wasn't on there for three seconds before he just walked off without a word... pfft."

Stinky Treasure didn't understand, but Stinky Treasure would graciously meow along.

Lu Yuan unilaterally decided that counted as agreement!

Little did he know, in the adjacent master bedroom, water was running, steam thickly fogging the glass and muffling every gasp inside.

The measuring session had been cut short.

When Bai Yu emerged from the master bedroom again, he was fully wrapped in a snug sweater and dress pants—nothing exposed except his hands.

Lu Yuan stared, dumbfounded.

The aftereffects were that severe?

Holding the cat, he shuffled slowly to the dining table, eyed the man's pure black sweater, and muttered under his breath, "Can't blame me for this. You're the one who told me to touch, and now you're acting like I did something awful..."

Chef Charlie had just walked out of the kitchen carrying a tray of food when he paused.

It was that time again—when he couldn't understand a word of Chinese and got to show off his French.

He rattled off a spiel about the breakfast, then didn't stick around and dashed back into the kitchen.

Bai Yu didn't catch what Charlie said, the word "disdain" from the young man echoing in his ears. He took a sip of coffee and suddenly found it hard to swallow. After a long pause, he asked, "You think I disdain you?"

Lu Yuan looked at him like it was obvious, with a "what else would it be?" face.

Bai Yu quirked the corner of his mouth. "Ever think about switching careers to screenwriting?"

Lu Yuan: "...What do you mean?"

Bai Yu: "I mean you're slow."

Lu Yuan was fuming. "Are you gonna make my clothes or what?"

Bai Yu dropped his gaze. "We'll talk tonight."

With no clothes to make for the moment, Lu Yuan went back to his lazy ways, rolling around in bed with Stinky Treasure until his fingers hit a smooth, silky fabric under the covers. He pulled it out, confused, and saw the pajamas Bai Yu had left behind.

The pajamas were all crumpled, like they'd been messed with, with creases that stood out.

Lu Yuan: "...You dragged these into bed, didn't you? No wonder I didn't see them; I thought he'd already had them put away."

The little rascal meowed a couple of times, and Lu Yuan pressed down on the squirming cat and snorted, "You can take these to your daddy later."

Stinky Treasure: "Meow meow meow!"

Whether Stinky Treasure was on board or not, Lu Yuan folded the clothes, stuffed them in a bag, tied it around the cat's neck, and gave its butt a pat to send it off to the master bedroom.

To make sure the plan didn't backfire, Lu Yuan knocked twice on the door, then bolted back to the guest room.

Leaving Stinky Treasure alone to look up at the man who opened the door.

Bai Yu looked down at the cat and asked, "Did the screenwriter not come?"

Stinky Treasure: "Meow meow meow."

He stepped back, but Stinky Treasure didn't take the usual route—he jumped straight onto Bai Yu's calf and scrambled up his trousers.

Bai Yu looked at the snagged threads on his trousers, curled his lip, and said with a smirk, "What a wasteful cat."

Meanwhile, Lu Yuan cracked the door open, saw Stinky Treasure was already gone from the master bedroom doorway, nodded in satisfaction, and went back to bed.

Despite all the commotion, since he'd gotten up so early, it was only around 9:20. Sleepiness began to creep in, and Lu Yuan yawned, soon wrapping himself in the blanket and dozing off.

He woke up to the sound of a message from Ke Yuanfei.

This new friend of Lu Yuan's was already eager to keep in touch the day after they'd met, sending him pictures of all the little clothes and toys he'd made for his cat.

Lu Yuan flipped through the photos one by one, then suddenly asked, "Are you interested in opening a studio? I think the clothes you make for your cats look great and have a lot of potential [cat approving emoji]"

God of Wealth bless you: Really? /crying

God of Wealth bless you: When I win the lottery jackpot, maybe then I'll have the funds to open a studio [rich tonight emoji]

God of Wealth bless you: By the way, I'm planning to visit that famous wealth temple in the neighboring city tomorrow. Want to come along?

Lu Yuan: "..."

He paused, then typed a reply.

Sesame Tangyuan: Maybe you should just worship me instead; I might be more effective than the God of Wealth (¯꒳¯)