Yi Zhe was completely set afire by this movement, the restraint he previously had burning up until not even a shadow of it remained. His kisses grew more forceful, so much so that when he drew in a harsh breath in the middle of a deep kiss, Xu Tangcheng straightened up from the sudden attack and clutched his shoulder.

"You…"

That sharp intake of breath sent Xu Tangcheng into a fluster. He was just about to rebuke him when he felt his feet leaving the floor. His body touched the soft mattress; while his mind was still distracted, he caught an unexpected whiff of a subtle fresh fragrance.

The bedsheets and quilt cover were probably newly changed.

A pair of lips attacked the city and conquered the land, goading Xu Tangcheng into completely forgetting to ask Yi Zhe where he learned those tricks.

The biggest problem had been solved just now and everything that came after went much smoother. Thanks to those two floor lamps, in the middle of this rather charming ambience, Xu Tangcheng did not feel the least bit nervous in anticipation of what was to come. Instead, as Yi Zhe tugged on his sweatshirt and he lifted his arms to remove his clothes, Xu Tangcheng felt as though he was seeing frame after frame of silhouettes that gave him countless fantasies. The firm flesh, the smooth lines, all those were in darkness; only a pair of eyes shone brightly, staring at him.

He brought an arm up to cover his eyes. His throat twitched. A burst of excitement emerged in his heart; he tried to suppress it.

Yi Zhe's body covered his once more, a hand reaching up to pull his hand away.

"It won't hurt…" Yi Zhe kissed him a couple of times and said, "I did a lot of re-"

"Yi Zhe."

Xu Tangcheng interrupted him.

"Hmm?"

For the first time, Xu Tangcheng realised that Yi Zhe's voice was very pleasant on the ears. Very low, sounding a touch nasal and hoarse, teasing his heart until it felt ticklish.

Xu Tangcheng lay on the bed, looking into Yi Zhe's eyes at a very close distance.

"Stop muttering," he said. "Hurry up."

This was putting the arrow to the bow.

The bed that was quite some years old groaned and creaked, every sound knocking on two stimulated mental states. Chest, belly, inner thigh, it seemed like there was not a single spot that wasn't sensitive. Heat flowed without the slightest restraint and neither could say whose breathing was rougher.

Amidst the turmoil of their passions, there was the sudden sound of a door opening. At first, only Xu Tangcheng noticed it. He wasn't very certain but he immediately quivered and pushed Yi Zhe's shoulder, asking vaguely, "Is that the door?"

Yi Zhe propped himself up on his arms and stopped moving. He turned his ear to the side to listen.

"Fuck…"

Xiang Xiyi hadn't been back at all for the entire winter vacation so why did she have to come back at this moment? She had better not say it was to celebrate his eighteenth birthday with him.

"Ignore her. She won't come in."

After saying that, Yi Zhe kissed him again.

"No." Xu Tangcheng pushed him away and said softly, "The soundproofing in this building isn't that good."

"We won't make any noise."

Xu Tangcheng looked at him, unmoving, wondering if this wasn't a little difficult to do.

The person outside entered the house. Yi Zhe heard clearly the sound of high heels being kicked off. It sounded twice.

"Fuck…"

What the hell was this?

He let out another curse. His body dropped down, laying atop Xu Tangcheng.

"Just look at how I am now…" His lower body pressed against Xu Tangcheng's thigh, rubbing lightly. "I can't hold back anymore…"

Their clothes were already off. Xu Tangcheng was no better off than him. But there was someone outside; even if there were a few walls between them, it made him nervous.

"Wait for her to go into her room," Yi Zhe said. "She usually goes straight to her room and sleeps after coming back."

But he had just finished speaking when someone suddenly knocked on the room door. Yi Zhe was very obviously stunned. He didn't understand what the hell was going on today, and why Xiang Xiyi would knock on his door.

Right after that, Duan Xiqiao's voice sounded.

"Yi Zhe! Are you there?"

"Fuck!"

Yi Zhe lay on top of Xu Tangcheng and cursed.

"Who's that?"

"A man." After saying that, Yi Zhe added, "His mind is a bit abnormal."

Neither of them answered but the knocking never stopped.

"We bought cherries, come out and have some! I just tasted them, they're super sweet."

Yi Zhe knew what kind of shitty temperament Duan Xiqiao had; since that man had determined that Yi Zhe was in his room, he wouldn't leave before prying the door open.

The person was right at the door and was even calling out the whole time, making Xu Tangcheng feel unbearably awkward. The heat that had risen in his body gradually cooled down, large swatches of his exposed skin were already feeling the chill, and there were even goosebumps on his arms.

Yi Zhe again kissed Xu Tangcheng for a while. Then, his face impassive, he stared at him for a long while before opening his mouth. "I really want to yell at him."

The awkwardness that was there was completely blown away by this petulant tone. Xu Tangcheng tugged the quilt over the both of them, then hugged Yi Zhe and laughed soundlessly, laughing so hard that his entire body shook.

Even Xu Tangcheng himself wanted to yell at him, much less Yi Zhe.

Duan Xiqiao had switched from knocking to pounding on the door. They could even faintly hear Xiang Xiyi's merciless cursing. Yi Zhe finally drew in a harsh breath and got up, resigned to his fate.

He quickly dug out Xu Tangcheng's clothes from a pile and passed it to him, while hastily putting on a pair of pants himself. When fastening the buttons, the slightly stiff jeans fabric chafed against him until he was taking deep breaths.

Xu Tangcheng had already quickly put on his pants. Yi Zhe walked over with his upper body bare and straightened out Xu Tangcheng's sweatshirt that he had turned inside-out when removing it, helping Xu Tangcheng put it on. Then, he carefully tugged the lower hem to smoothen it out. After making sure that Xu Tangcheng's clothes were neat and tidy, without any problems to them, Yi Zhe finally picked up his own sweatshirt and put it on as he walked to the wall. He switched off the two floor lamps and pulled open the curtains.

Sunshine pierced in.

The various kinds of heated emotions that had accumulated in him for so long burst forth the moment the door was opened. Yi Zhe looked at Duan Xiqiao's radiantly smiling face and had to restrain himself for a long while to suppress the heap of uncivilised words in him. He let out a simple curse, "The fuck is wrong with you!"

With no fear of Yi Zhe's temper at all, Duan Xiqiao held up the box in his hands and chuckled. "Nothing's wrong with me, it's just that these cherries are quite sweet and I want to let you try them."

After saying that, perhaps afraid that Yi Zhe would think he was not sincere enough, Duan Xiqiao even picked up a cherry and passed it over to Yi Zhe. "Try one?"

"Like hell I'll eat them!"

Yi Zhe could not hold back anymore. Right then, Xiang Xiyi came out of the bathroom, patting a facial mask over her face. Yi Zhe opened his room door a little wider, took a step out and yelled at Xiang Xiyi, "Can you stop bringing home these wild men? What do you think this place is? Go get a-"

"Yi Zhe!"

Before Yi Zhe could finish his heated words, he was cut off by Xu Tangcheng's not very loud voice.

The person behind him came forward a couple of steps to stand beside him, then placed a hand on his upper back and patted a couple of times, reminding him to calm down and to mind his words.

Xiang Xiyi's entire face was hidden by the facial mask. Other than her two eyes looking languidly in this direction, she revealed no other emotions.

"Wait a minute…" In the silence, Duan Xiqiao suddenly opened his mouth. "Yi Zhe, I must correct you. My muse does not have 'these men.' There is only me, and I am very gentle and not at all wild."

Yi Zhe turned to look at him. He was just about to open his mouth and mock him when he heard a tittering laugh from Xiang Xiyi.

"Why, you're allowed to bring a man home but I'm not?"

This single line sent Xu Tangcheng into a momentary shock. Yi Zhe's face instantly became even more unpleasant. "What the fuck are you saying?"

"Isn't it?" Xiang Xiyi crossed her arms and idly picked up the remote control. "Amazing, you even know how to go after men…"

"Fuck…"

It was also his voice that brought Xu Tangcheng back to his senses. His immediate reaction was to quickly catch hold of Yi Zhe's forearm, stopping him from walking out.

Xiang Xiyi turned her head to look at the two bowls on the dining table that had yet to be cleared.

"You're really something, aren't you? He-"

"Auntie Xiang." Xu Tangcheng broke his silence by greeting her. His demeanour was calm, not even the least bit apologetic for interrupting Xiang Xiyi's words. "It's been a long time. Happy New Year."

Xiang Xiyi shifted her gaze back and looked at Xu Tangcheng quietly for a while. But in the end, she didn't respond and only let out a laugh. She threw the remote control aside and went into her room.

He could still feel that the muscles were tense. Xu Tangcheng' s hand followed the line of Yi Zhe's forearm down to hold his tightly-gripped hand and gave it a couple of light shakes.

Duan Xiqiao was probably truly not very intelligent; he seemed to not understand the conversation just now at all. At this moment, he was looking at Xiang Xiyi's closed room door with his head in the clouds, then at the two people standing there. Finally, he locked his gaze on Xu Tangcheng.

"If I may ask, are you Yi Zhe's friend? How should I address you?"

Yi Zhe was still shrouded in anger and couldn't be bothered to yell at Duan Xiqiao. Xu Tangcheng pressed his lips together, then said, "Yes. I'm Xu Tangcheng."

Seeing that his attitude was friendly, Duan Xiqiao immediately became much happier. He walked over carrying a box of cherries, earnestly inviting Xu Tangcheng to try them.

Yi Zhe came back to himself. He blocked Xu Tangcheng with an arm and used a very low and very calm tone to say to Duan Xiqiao, "Like hell he'll eat them."

Knowing that it was already not easy for Yi Zhe to suppress his anger to this stage, Xu Tangcheng didn't remind Yi Zhe again. He thought that if Yi Zhe wanted to yell, then let him yell; after all, the way this man knocked on someone's door was really extremely rude.

"Oh." The corners of Duan Xiqiao's mouth dropped but in less than two seconds' time, they curved up again. He bent his body, tilted his head and tried his best to look at Xu Tangcheng while avoiding Yi Zhe. "Hey? Then, can I invite you to attend my solo concert?"

Xu Tangcheng didn't know Duan Xiqiao at aall and for a moment, couldn't adapt to the other man's conversation tempo. Yi Zhe acted decisively, folding his hand behind himself to grab Xu Tangcheng and taking a step back. Before he slammed his door shut, he warned Duan Xiqiao, "No. Fuck off."

Like they had walked onto the wrong stage and suddenly went through a farce, in the silence after the door closed, the two of them stared at each other for a while, neither of them moving. In the end, it was Yi Zhe who first took a step forward and hugged Xu Tangcheng, saying into his ear, "Sorry."

Xu Tangcheng rested a hand on Yi Zhe's upper back. He took his time thinking, mulling over the exact meaning of this apology.

Based on his understanding of Yi Zhe, it should be because of what Xiang Xiyi had said. Just like before, out of habit, he was still taking the hurt Xiang Xiyi caused others and linking it to himself.

It was also because he knew that Yi Zhe would feel this kind of guilt internally that Xu Tangcheng had not let Xiang Xiyi continue talking just now. That wasn't a simple interruption, it was him giving in to Xiang Xiyi and pleading with her for a ceasefire.

Not because he couldn't out-argue her, but because he couldn't bear to let Yi Zhe face that kind of situation.

"It has nothing to do with you. And also, she didn't say anything. I'm not that petty."

"But I can't bear to hear other people talk about you like that." Yi Zhe rested on Xu Tangcheng's shoulder. He continued to say, emphasizing the point, "No one is allowed to."

Right now, the room was not as dim as it had been earlier. It was brightly lit everywhere, the harsh light of reality.

Xu Tangcheng patted Yi Zhe's back, silent. But he was thinking rather worriedly—had Xiang Xiyi seen through them just like that? Had the two of them been so obvious?

"I'm going to rent a place," Yi Zhe said suddenly.

"Hmm?" Xu Tangcheng was thinking about something else and didn't hear him clearly.

Yi Zhe sensed something amiss with Xu Tangcheng. He loosened his arms slightly and looked at his face. "What are you thinking?"

Aware that Yi Zhe was worried about his feelings, Xu Tangcheng explained, "I'm just thinking that Auntie Xiang can probably tell that we're in a relationship."

"So what if she can." Yi Zhe thought nothing of it and hugged him again.

"I'm a guy after all."

"So what if you are." Yi Zhe's mind was languid. Facing the sunlight, he squinted his eyes. "Why would she care about these things? Even if I'm dating a pig, she wouldn't bother with me."

Xu Tangcheng was still mulling over whether or not anything would happen now that Xiang Xiyi knew and when he heard those words, it took him a full two seconds before he smacked Yi Zhe's butt.

"Who's a pig?"

"Huh?" Startled, Yi Zhe quickly ran a self-inspection on what he had just said and immediately found the error. "No, no, that's not what I meant."

It was clearly a serious and disappointing situation but with this unintentional mix-up, Xu Tangcheng also couldn't be bothered to continue thinking about how the matter at hand would develop. He laughed aloud and asked Yi Zhe, "What were you saying just now?"

"Oh, I said I want to rent a place."

"Rent?" Xu Tangcheng stared blankly. "Where? Over here?"

After pausing a couple of seconds, Yi Zhe shook his head.

"If it's over here, then I can't stay opposite you anymore," Yi Zhe said. "When school reopens, I'll rent a place in Beijing. I'll ask Zheng Yikun to help me see if there are any suitable places near campus."

"Near campus? In a school district?" After hearing that, Xu Tangcheng took the chance to joke with him. "Aren't you a rich one, Boss Yi."

Yi Zhe stopped his mouth with a kiss, not letting him continue to tease him for his own amusement.

"I can afford the rent. I don't spend much on other things."

It seemed as though whenever certain matters were brought up, Yi Zhe's eyes would always have that kind of serious look in them. For example, buying a camera. For another example, now, talking about renting a place.

"I just want a place for the two of us where we won't be disturbed and I can go on hugging you."

Xu Tangcheng's heart softened.

They were different after all. At the very least, Xu Tangcheng wouldn't spend large amounts of money to rent an apartment just for the sake of having a space for the two of them. He needed to manage his finances, needed to have ample liquidity on hand to meet any kind of sudden event that could possibly happen.

But with Yi Zhe saying this out of impulse, he was also looking forward to it. So much so that just the thought of that apartment where there would only be the two of them was enough to make his heart feel completely choked-up.

"Okay," Xu Tangcheng said. "If you don't have enough money, let me know."

Just like those red lines earlier that he would never ever take the initiative to touch, it was Yi Zhe who was leading him to explore love.