T/N: The main story and the Qixi extra were completed in 2018. This new extra was posted in April 2022.
For some unknown reason, Yi Zhe was recently obsessed with a bottle of shower gel. Coaxing and cajoling, he wanted Xu Tangcheng to use it.
The shower gel was brought home by Yi Zhe from a work trip. The price was on the high side of a three-digit number, making Xu Tangcheng frown right away at the sight. But the scent was indeed nice. Every time Xu Tangcheng came out from the shower, he attracted someone who pushed him down without letting go, like the apocryphal story of Concubine Xiang attracting butterflies.
Thinking of a project report due tomorrow, Xu Tangcheng panted for breath and pushed away the head still buried in the crook of his neck. “Alright, why does it seem like… you don’t get enough to eat every day.”
Draped over Xu Tangcheng, Yi Zhe didn’t move. He grumbled softly, “I didn’t even get to eat…”
“Hmm?” A light sound came out of Xu Tangcheng’s throat. “Why, am I mistreating you?”
Hearing that, Yi Zhe immediately let out a laugh and planted a fierce kiss on Xu Tangcheng’s jaw. “Well, no. Let me hug you for another minute.”
“You can’t buy that shower gel anymore.”
“Why not? It smells so good. It suits you.”
Xu Tangcheng answered with a single succinct word. “Expensive.”
“It’s fine, we can afford it.”
“Oh?” Xu Tangcheng flipped over, got off the bed and put on his pyjamas. He couldn’t hold back his laughter. “After getting a promotion and a raise, you’re truly not the same anymore.”
Once he spoke of that, Yi Zhe felt irritated. He frowned and sighed. “Don’t talk about it. I don’t want a promotion, I only want a raise. See, in the past, whenever there was some kind of gathering, I could refuse to go. Now I have to attend the team gatherings. A fine weekend, gone just like that.”
“Aiya, how can you say that? Management skills are also part of one’s abilities. Furthermore, building good rapport with your team is also beneficial to your work.”
Of course Yi Zhe knew all these arguments, but so what? He didn’t want to have a weekend without Xu Tangcheng.
Yi Zhe thought about it, then made a frank and direct suggestion. “Why don’t you come with me to this one? We’re going to a villa this time.”
“Nah, I’ll stand out too much.”
“Why would you stand out? This time, those with their own families are bringing their families, and some are also bringing their friends.” Yi Zhe sat up and pulled the person who had just gotten out of bed back into bed. Arms around Xu Tangcheng, he said, “Go. We need to stay overnight too. I can’t sleep if I’m alone.”
The hand holding his waist was starting to misbehave again. Xu Tangcheng quickly plucked away that hand and said, “Okay, okay, okay. I’ll go.”
In any case, he also didn’t want to spend the weekend alone.
They drove over themselves and when they reached, quite a number of people were already gathered at the villa. Yi Zhe briefly introduced Xu Tangcheng to them, then dragged him to the side to sit.
“Your company has quite a lot of new hires.” Xu Tangcheng had met Yi Zhe’s colleagues before but there were quite a number of unfamiliar faces today, each kid looking younger than the last.
“Mhm, we hired quite a lot of people in the past two years. Can’t get the work done otherwise.”
The two of them were chatting when a sudden round of cheering erupted at the entrance. Xu Tangcheng looked in the direction of the noise and saw that a guy had just come in.
“Lin Xiao, you’re looking damned fine. No wonder you’re so late, you went to get your hair done?”
The guy called Lin Xiao smiled without saying anything. On the other hand, a girl at the side tsk-ed and called out to the guy who had spoken. “You guys are sloppy with your looks so you don’t allow others to look fine? If you ask me, you guys should all clean up yourselves a bit.”
The guy was indeed styled finely and was also quite good-looking. As Xu Tangcheng thought that, he couldn’t help taking a couple more looks. He was just turning his head when, without warning, his eyes met Lin Xiao’s gaze.
Xu Tangcheng gave a nod in his direction.
Everyone had arrived so naturally, they wanted to play something. A group wanted to play board games. As much as Xu Tangcheng and Yi Zhe were uninterested in that, they were still dragged to the living room by a few of the younger ones.
Only the sofa still had space so the two of them sat together.
“Yi Zhe-ge.” Lin Xiao, who was sitting on a chair, smiled and got up. “Why don’t we switch? You guys seemed a bit cramped there. I’m thinner, it’s better for me to be on the sofa.”
“Hmm?” Yi Zhe didn’t immediately get him but he very quickly waved him off. “No need.”
After saying that, like he was afraid he was crowding the person next to him, he scooted closer towards Xu Tangcheng. Xu Tangcheng was terribly squeezed in and he gave Yi Zhe’s thigh a soft push with his hand.
Because the number of people was on the high side, the board game selected was also suitable for many players. For a lot of them, including Xu Tangcheng and Yi Zhe, it was their first time playing it. Lin Xiao was more familiar with the rules so he voluntarily undertook the task of explaining the rules and distributing the cards.
After the first round began, Xu Tangcheng looked at the cards in his hand and suddenly realised that there was one that Lin Xiao seemed to not have explained. He signalled to Lin Xiao and when the other guy came over, he asked, “This card–”
A familiar scent slipped into his nasal cavity. Xu Tangcheng blanked out momentarily, his words unfinished.
“Ah, that’s right, I forgot to explain this card.” When he saw the card, Lin Xiao understood why Xu Tangcheng had called him. “But the game has started now. I’ll just explain it to you alone now. When you play it later, I’ll explain to the rest.”
After saying that, Lin Xiao drew near Xu Tangcheng’s ear and explained in detail the meaning of the card.
During the second half of the game, it was obvious to Yi Zhe that Xu Tangcheng’s attention was elsewhere. One round ended; Xu Tangcheng beckoned a guy who was watching at the side and had him take his seat to play.
“Where’re you going?” Seeing him stand up, Yi Zhe turned his face up and asked.
“Going out for a smoke.”
Xu Tangcheng felt around in his pockets, found them empty and only then recalled that he had changed his outfit at the last minute before leaving the house today. He bent down and slipped one hand into Yi Zhe’s pants pocket. “Give me the cigarettes.”
Yi Zhe naturally leaned to the side so that it would be easier for Xu Tangcheng to take the cigarettes out.
Xu Tangcheng inadvertently caught sight of a pair of eyes fixed intently on him. He let out a laugh in his heart, then bumped Yi Zhe’s knee with the back of his hand. “Come with me for a while.”
A light, pleasant wind was blowing outside. Xu Tangcheng cupped his hand around the cigarette and lit it, then shot Yi Zhe a look.
This posture… Puzzled, Yi Zhe hurried over to ask. “What is it?”
Xu Tangcheng didn’t answer him. He breathed out two smoke rings unhurriedly before looking at Yi Zhe with a smile that was not quite a smile and saying, “You’re really charming, huh.”
Yi Zhe was completely lost.
“What charm?”
He was already at this age, it would be embarrassing to quibble with a kid. Xu Tangcheng thought for a while, then asked, “How did you know about that brand of shower gel?”
“At the duty-free shop, all of them were buying stuff. They said the shower gel smells good and told me to try smelling it. It was really pretty good so I thought of buying a bottle for you.”
“Oh, who was the one who told you to smell it?”
When asked, Yi Zhe truly couldn’t remember it clearly. He spent a few seconds recalling before saying, “Lin Xiao, probably.”
After saying that, Yi Zhe kept studying Xu Tangcheng’s expression. But this man hid himself too well; right now, Yi Zhe couldn’t tell at all what he was thinking.
Xu Tangcheng nodded slightly and jutted his chin in the direction of the villa interior. “Go on, they’re waiting for you. I’ll go in after I finish this stick.”
“Oh.” Yi Zhe’s heart was still a little uncertain. He took a couple of steps, then said worriedly, “Come look for me when you’re done smoking.”
Xu Tangcheng waved him off. “D’you think I can lose my way here?”
After Yi Zhe had gone in, Xu Tangcheng looked in through the window and noticed that Lin Xiao had moved to Yi Zhe’s side at some point.
Xu Tangcheng turned his head back around and looked into the distance. He sighed in his heart. How good it is to be in the spring of life.
He finished smoking the cigarette and went inside. Yi Zhe saw him coming and scooted to the side, forcibly making space for him.
“No need.” Xu Tangcheng stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. “I’m not playing anyway.”
“You can sit and watch.”
In unison, the group immediately let out a long and enigmatic ohhhhh.
Xu Tangcheng raised his brows. He didn’t bother with propriety anymore.
He sat and glanced at Yi Zhe’s other side, then elbowed him. “Scoot over.”
Yi Zhe asked curiously, “Why?”
“It’s warm. You’re too close to me.”
It’s warm?
Despite the misgivings in his heart, Yi Zhe didn’t dare object. He silently shifted a little to the other side.
He had just steadied himself when Xu Tangcheng touched his leg. “Scoot over further.”
“Huh?” Yi Zhe looked at Lin Xiao beside him. If he moved again, they would be too close.
Xu Tangcheng reached up to undo the button on his shirt. “It’s warm.”
Seeing that a section of Xu Tangcheng’s collarbone was about to be exposed, Yi Zhe quickly said, “Okay, okay, okay.”
He shifted a little again. At the same time, his eyes swept over Xu Tangcheng’s neck.
The corners of Xu Tangcheng’s lips curled up slightly. “Keep your eyes on the cards in your hand.”
Yi Zhe turned his head to look at the cards but a sudden fragrant whiff distracted him. He subconsciously turned to look at Xu Tangcheng but Xu Tangcheng was leaning back leisurely.
No, that’s not right.
Yi Zhe sensed something amiss. At this distance, he shouldn’t be able to smell the scent on Xu Tangcheng’s body.
That fragrance…
Yi Zhe sniffed again. When he realised where the fragrance was coming from, he immediately scooted back to Xu Tangcheng’s side like his butt was scalded.
Xu Tangcheng held back his laughter and gave him a push. “What are you doing?”
Yi Zhe looked at him and swallowed.
He finally understood now.
This wasn’t a laughing matter. Yi Zhe alternated between feeling wrongly accused and feeling a chill run down his spine. In the end, he kept rubbing Xu Tangcheng’s thigh with his hand, wanting to speak but hesitating.
Smack. Xu Tangcheng smacked the back of his hand, eyes signalling Yi Zhe to behave himself.
After digesting it for a long while, this matter was finally sorted out from start to end.
“Couples’ shower gel?” His teeth clenched, Xu Tangcheng whispered in Yi Zhe’s ear.
Knowing that Xu Tangcheng was being jealous, after spacing out for a while, Yi Zhe broke out in laughter.
Xu Tangcheng’s hand gripped the back of Yi Zhe’s neck, rubbing it a couple of times like he was giving him a massage. “You seem pretty happy.”
Yi Zhe hunched his neck. Then, his hand came up to pull Xu Tangcheng’s hand down and he put his arm over Xu Tangcheng’s shoulders. He asked softly, “Jealous?”
Xu Tangcheng didn’t say anything. He lowered his head, pretending to be playing with his phone.
Yi Zhe threw a card onto the table, then fished out his phone from his pocket and sent a message.
It’s because of the shower gel, right?
Xu Tangcheng couldn’t be bothered with him. He replied with a “Be quiet” emoji.
You care about me?
Looking at those few words, Xu Tangcheng’s brows furrowed. He decided to stop replying to this person.
Nonsense, did he even have to ask that?
But Yi Zhe obviously didn’t care whether or not Xu Tangcheng replied. The messages popped up one after another, each one more straightforward than the last.
Your attention is on me?
You don’t like other people going after me?
You like me?
You love me?
Xu Tangcheng turned his head and saw that the person next to him was looking at his phone screen and smiling like a fool.
He also ducked his head and smiled. He typed a few words.
Mhm, I love you.
— END OF EXTRAS —