“You’re pretty bold. Why don’t you give it a try?”
“Okay… okay then.”
Chen Huanyi could feel himself trembling, from his thighs all the way up to his neck.
Trembling with the thrill of pleasure.
That person’s voice was still echoing in his ears, deep and cool, just like Chen Huanyi had imagined countless times before.
Chen Huanyi stood outside the laboratory door for a long time, one hand on his phone, the other over his heart.
“Chen Huanyi, are you done yet?” someone yelled from inside the lab. “First you run off to make a call with the culture media half made, then you don’t even come back when you’re finished. Are you trying to start something?”
That Chen Huanyi wouldn’t dare. Remembering just how damn expensive the culture media was, he hurried back into the room.
In the lab, his shixiong [1] looked up, catching sight of Chen Huanyi’s reddened cheeks. “Aiyo, was that your girl?” he snickered.
“Huh?” Chen Huanyi looked like he wanted to bury his own head into the media. “No, I don’t have a girl…”
His shixiong clicked his tongue, not buying it for a moment.
Chen Huanyi diligently finished preparing the culture media. Then he took out his phone and began swiping through some fashion blogger’s “Early Autumn Street Style” post. His shixiong walked by behind him, inadvertently glimpsing a photo of a white shirt, thin beige sweater, stonewashed ankle-length jeans, and canvas shoes. He craned his neck immediately. “That looks so gay…”
Startled, Chen Huanyi glanced at his shixiong’s white tube socks and brown sandals. “…That’s what all the girls are into these days.”
“…Well that explains it,” his shixiong replied thoughtfully.
Chen Huanyi put away his phone. “I’m leaving.”
“What are you leaving so early for today?” his shixiong asked impishly.
“Work life balance,” said Chen Huanyi. “So I can toil for the next fifty years for the health of my country.”
His shixiong couldn’t come up with a suitable response.
The sunlight outside the biology building was especially lovely as it shimmered through the verdant tree-lined walkway onto Chen Huanyi’s soft, wavy hair. The blue sky, light breeze, and lush greenery were all the same as usual.
But he was walking unusually fast.
It was only a bit past five when he got back to his bedroom. He sat down in his chair and opened the notes app on his phone to the instructions he’d copied down from the internet.
It was Chen Huanyi’s habit to list things out and check them off one by one, making sure that he made no oversights or mistakes.
Number one on the list—For the first time, it’s best to find someone of the same sex.
The moment he read these words, that deep, cool voice seemed to echo in his ears, evoking the same spine-tingling feeling as when he was standing outside the lab. He checked the first item off of the list.
Number two—Use your partner’s ID to get a room.
He checked this one off too.
Number three—For safety's sake, let a good friend know before you go.
Ugh. This one.
Chen Huanyi leaned forward slightly, chin in one hand, elbow propped on the desk. With his other hand, he went through his contacts, scrolling through all the names three times. Then he looked at the third item on the list again, which he’d even bracketed off to indicate that it was especially important. Finally, Chen Huanyi heaved a sigh and flicked through his contacts once more, his finger stopping on one of his roommates who hadn’t yet returned.
“Um, I’m staying with a friend tonight, I’ll be back tomorrow morning. Just letting you guys know.” Chen Huanyi’s voice was calm, but he grabbed an eraser off of his desk with his empty hand and subconsciously began to fiddle with it.
This roommate of his was a straightforward person and didn’t pry. Perhaps he even thought it was pretty wimpy for a grown man like Chen Huanyi to give him a heads up like this. “It’s the weekend,” he laughed. “Plenty of the other guys won’t be around tonight either.”
Chen Huanyi blinked, having forgotten what day of the week it was. Those of his roommates with girlfriends had probably all booked hotels, and the local guys had likely gone home. Letting out a small sigh of relief, he hung up. Only then did he discover that his palms were covered in eraser crumbs.
He continued down the list.
Number four—To avoid certain awkward situations, don’t eat too much before you go.
Chen Huanyi turned red. He quickly scrolled to the next item.
Number five—Wash up, inside and out.
He decided to delete this shameful note.
The hotel wasn’t too far from his school. Upon walking into the lobby, he saw a dozen or so clocks, the middle of which displayed 7:20 Beijing time—he was forty minutes early. He didn’t dare go upstairs and knock at this point, so he sat down on an upholstered sofa in the lobby and started playing with his phone. The lobby was very open, with a high ceiling and lots of space between the sofas, so he didn’t feel too awkward. He wasn’t worried about running into classmates here, but his stomach still felt all clenched up, though whether from hunger or nerves he couldn’t tell. Probably it was the latter—after all, he had no experience to speak of.
Yup. No experience with hooking up.
Chen Huanyi, twenty-one, senior in college, had no relationship experience. In this day and age, a twenty-one-year-old who'd never been in a relationship was probably either ugly or some kind of degenerate. Chen Huanyi didn’t think he was all that ugly, so only the degenerate option was left.
In primary school, when other boys started to tease the girls who shared their desks, Chen Huanyi was preoccupied with his schoolwork.
In middle school, when other boys started to tease the boys who shared their desks, Chen Huanyi was preoccupied with his schoolwork.
In high school, when other boys started to study in earnest, Chen Huanyi was more unwilling to fall behind than ever and downloaded a massive compressed folder named “highschoolenglishstudymaterials.zip”.
The extension of the unzipped file was “.avi”.
Chen Huanyi was oblivious. He double-clicked on the file, opening it with the default program.
It did indeed turn out to be in English.
A fair blond man was suspended in mid-air, bound with red ropes and completely naked, his lithe, toned body on full display. The other man was a tall, buff brunette in a black leather jacket and pants through which his sculpted muscles were visible, and he was gripping a long leather fringe whip in his hands. The whip whistled through the air, leaving a vivid red mark on the blond man’s pale skin, an alluring sight to behold. The blond man moaned and gasped, his eyes filling with rapture and satisfaction.
Chen Huanyi’s breaths quickened too as he watched the two men on his screen with narrowed eyes. He couldn’t deny that he envied the blond man tied up with those red ropes. That envy was even tinged with jealousy.
The blond man was let down and untied. He knelt on the floor to lick the brunette man’s feet, and then he started going down on him.
Chen Huanyi stared at the screen, subconsciously stroking himself off. The moment he came, as emptiness and rationality crashed down on him in an instant, he suddenly realized—he was a degenerate.
Back then, the young men around him were like a pack of hot-blooded, overeager carnivorous beasts. Chen Huanyi received a brash invitation to watch straight porn with a bunch of other guys, and then a covert invitation to watch gay porn with a different group. After pondering for a good while, Chen Huanyi ultimately decided to go home and study instead. He would rather be called a nerd or a prude than impotent, or even worse, be labeled a shameful degenerate.
As he sat on the sofa scrolling through his phone, Chen Huanyi recalled these jumbled memories for a while. Then seeing that it was almost time, he stood up to go upstairs.
However, he barely took a couple of steps before he ran into several professors from his school. Chen Huanyi had already obtained some results in his undergraduate research, and his marks were outstanding; he had even conducted a research project with one of these professors. He knew he couldn’t avoid them now and inwardly cursed his terrible luck. Taking a deep breath, he hurriedly greeted them.
The professor nodded and asked, “What are you doing here?”
Chen Huanyi made up a story on the spot. “My cousin’s visiting with his family. They just got to the hotel, so I’m going to say hello.”
The professor cheerfully nodded again. “We were just having dinner together.”
With a smile plastered onto his face, Chen Huanyi watched the professors walk away before turning around and heading to the elevator. Only after he got out upstairs did he realize that his palms were covered in sweat.
His heart was pounding like a drum by the time he reached the room. He took several deep breaths, telling himself to relax and calm down—you’re so handsome, you’ll be just fine. After collecting himself for a while, he rung the doorbell.
He didn’t hear any footsteps from inside.
The door opened quietly.
Chen Huanyi kept his head lowered, not daring to look at the face of the person who came to the door. He only saw a pair of black leather shoes on the thick carpet, and dress pants above the shoes. He only heard that deep voice say, “Come inside. Sit.”
Chen Huanyi hesitantly sat down in an armchair, his eyes flicking up the tiniest bit. The man brought over a cup of water and put it on the coffee table in front of Chen Huanyi. “Are you nervous?”
“Mm.” Chen Huanyi hummed quietly.
“You don’t have any experience at all?”
“Mm.” Worrying that the man might look down on this, Chen Huanyi added in an attempt at humor, “I’ve seen a lot though—I’m good with the theoretical aspects.”
But the other man didn’t smile. “Oh,” he said softly. “These theoretical aspects of yours don’t include anything about punctuality?”
Startled, Chen Huanyi didn’t reply.
The man didn’t ask anything more. Chen Huanyi felt that the silence that followed was a bit oppressive.
Amidst that atmosphere so stifling the room seemed to become airless, Chen Huanyi couldn’t help but raise his head slightly to look at the man.
He was sitting on a sofa to Chen Huanyi’s side, immaculately dressed in a formal suit. His shirt was buttoned up all the way, and his subtly patterned light gray tie was paired with a sapphire clip. Above this was a prominent Adam’s apple and a chiseled, resolute chin. His lips were thin, and a pair of rimless glasses with gold temples rested on his straight nose. The eyes behind those glasses were slightly long and imbued with a decidedly Eastern quality, softening the otherwise solid impression of his features.
Those eyes were looking at Chen Huanyi with a serious, unemotional gaze.
Only then did Chen Huanyi realize that the man was waiting for his answer. “Sorry, I’m a little nervous, so I spent too long standing outside the door.”
The man nodded. “That’s understandable, it’s your first time.”
Chen Huanyi immediately thought of a video he’d seen before: an S in leather pants looked down and sneered, using his whip to tilt up the M’s chin as the other man knelt on the ground. “You were three minutes late,” he said coldly. Then the whip landed mercilessly on the M’s body.
“If you want to continue our arrangement, you must listen with your undivided attention while I’m speaking.”
Coming back to his senses, Chen Huanyi quickly met the man’s eyes and nodded.
“This first time, both of us will learn about each other. Afterward, if we’re both satisfied, we can agree to continue. I have a few questions to ask you, and you can also ask me anything you want. Don’t be scared—we’re not master and slave just yet.” The man folded his hands and put them on his knee. His eyes were calm, and his voice was gentle.
Chen Huanyi nodded again.
“I need to know your age. Take out your ID card or driver’s license—you don’t have to show me your name or the ID number, I just need to see your date of birth.”
The man was very careful, even taking Chen Huanyi’s privacy into account. Chen Huanyi did as he was told.
The man continued, “I also need to know your tolerance level.”
“I don’t have any experience,” Chen Huanyi answered, “so I don’t know what my tolerance level is.”
“Then tell me what you absolutely cannot tolerate,” the man replied understandingly.
Chen Huanyi thought for a moment, his face reddening slightly. “Uh, I’m not okay with anything I’d need to go to the hospital for. And… I won’t do anything in public, or with someone else present, or any… training methods that involve personal exposure.”
A hint of a smile floated up in the man’s eyes. “I won’t let you end up in the hospital.”
Chen Huanyi let out an embarrassed laugh.
“What do you want to ask me?”
Chen Huanyi pondered briefly. The man looked older than him and well-educated. He really couldn’t think of anything worth asking, and he didn’t want the man to think he was prying by asking about his line of work. Finally, he only asked, “How old are you?” [2]
“Twenty-nine. Do you want to see my ID?”
Chen Huanyi shook his head. “No need.”
The man waited for a while before asking, “No more questions?”
“Not for now.”
“Okay.” The man’s voice was as gentle as before, but the words that came out of his mouth made Chen Huanyi shudder. “Get a whip from the case by the wall.”
Chen Huanyi silently walked over to the wall and opened the case, which contained many neatly arranged whips. He didn’t know which one he was supposed to get, nor did he dare ask.
“What are you waiting for?”
“I… I don’t know which one to pick.”
“Pick your favorite one.”
His favorite one… Chen Huanyi’s face was unbearably red. He had never even seen whips like most of these, and he had no clue how he was supposed to choose one. However, he was scared to look through them again, so he grabbed a thin, soft whip and walked to the sofa. His palms were sweaty with nerves, and he didn’t know how he was supposed to give the whip to the man on the sofa. Should he pass it to him with both hands, standing over him like this? Or should he kneel down, like in most of the videos he’d seen?
The man watched him from the sofa, letting his awkwardness and confusion multiply. Chen Huanyi stood before him, his hands still raised to pass the whip to him. After a very long time, by which Chen Huanyi’s arms were so sore it felt like he had just made eighty batches of culture media, the man finally took the whip. He stood up, lowering his head slightly to look down at Chen Huanyi, engulfing him in shadow. “I don’t like being looked down upon. Don’t do it again.”
Chen Huanyi let out a tiny gasp and said obediently, “Mm.”
“‘Mm’ is not an answer,” the man replied.
“Yes,” Chen Huanyi said quietly, “…Master.” He felt a slight sensation in his lower body after uttering these words—he was probably half-hard already.
The man raised his eyebrows, making no comment about this somewhat premature term of address. He turned around and sat back down on the sofa. “Come here.”
Chen Huanyi was very smart and would hardly ever make the same mistake twice. He silently fell to his knees by the man’s feet. He felt a kind of delight from being dominated, completely unlike watching videos of other M’s being humiliated. This was a new feeling that he’d never known before, so thrilling that he could feel his dick throbbing painfully, even though it hadn’t been touched at all.
The man on the sofa asked leisurely, “Did you shower before coming here?”
“I did.”
“Take off your clothes and let me check.”
Chen Huanyi was overwhelmed with shame. After slowly undoing his buttons one by one, he took off his shirt and placed it next to himself after folding it neatly. He could tell that the man wouldn’t be pleased if he just tossed his clothes onto the floor. His shirt gone, he unbuckled his belt and slipped out of his jeans, leaving only his socks and underwear. He waited for the man to give him an order, only to find that the man was simply watching him as calmly as before. Thus, Chen Huanyi took off his socks and underwear, folded them, and placed them next to his jeans and shirt. Completely undressed, he knelt down by the man’s feet again, his face scarlet. Surely the man had noticed that he was completely erect.
The man softly tapped the handle of the whip to Chen Huanyi’s buttock. “Up in the air. Open your legs.”
Chen Huanyi slowly dipped his waist, planting his forearms against the carpet and shifting his weight forward to lift his ass.
The man didn’t move, nor did he speak. He just calmly watched Chen Huanyi hold this position, his butt in the air. The panting breaths from the floor gradually became audible in the otherwise quiet room.
Chen Huanyi felt like he was nearing his limits. This position wasn’t particularly tiring—it was much more relaxed than holding out the whip in his hands. But in this pose, his hole, erection, and balls were all completely laid bare for the man to see. The man’s gaze seemed to be tangible—it felt like he was brushing that soft whip along Chen Huanyi’s body. Chen Huanyi’s breaths became heavier, his groin aching as heat rushed downward, his dick growing even harder.
“Ahh…” After some unknown amount of time had passed, Chen Huanyi couldn’t suppress a moan.
“I never said that you’re allowed to make noise,” the man said, his voice mild.
Chen Huanyi’s eyes were red in the corners, gathered tears squeezing out. “Master…” he begged. “I can’t take it anymore, can I please change positions?”
“You can,” the man said.
Chen Huanyi collapsed onto the floor, drenched in sweat. After taking several deep breaths, he slowly pulled himself back onto his knees, returning to his original position next to the man.
The man stroked his sweat-soaked hair. “Go get a towel from the bathroom.”
Chen Huanyi went obediently. Upon coming back, he knelt before the man again and handed the towel to him with both hands. The man unfolded the towel and held it open. “Stand up.”
Then he wrapped Chen Huanyi in the towel, drying him off.
Chen Huanyi looked at him in shock. The man diligently wiped away Chen Huanyi’s sweat, put the towel aside, and patted him on the ass. “Continue.”
Chen Huanyi knew it wasn’t over—at best, the man had only given him a chance to rest. He went back to prostrating, his stomach pressed low to the ground, his butt raised high in the air. This time, the man didn’t allow him much of an opportunity to catch his breath. He reached out and touched Chen Huanyi’s cock. “Do you want to come?”
Chen Huanyi’s thighs started shaking. He found that the man had come even closer to him, his hand and gaze landing directly on his dick.
“Who gave you the right to remain silent?” The man’s voice grew slightly sterner.
Chen Huanyi swallowed, his breathing labored as he answered, “Yes, I want to come.”
The man continued, “How do you want to come?”
Chen Huanyi didn’t dare stay quiet, but he really didn’t know what to say. He ventured in a shaky voice, “I-I’ll come however you want me to.” He could feel liquid dripping from the tip of his cock onto the carpet.
The man’s fingers stroked his shaft for a while before making their way down to the skin between his balls and his anus. Chen Huanyi felt a tingling sensation that made him clench down irresistibly. The man watched his pale, tight entrance fluttering open and closed. “Have you used your hole before?”
Chen Huanyi’s breaths grew even louder. “…No.”
“Then we’ll use it today. Until you come.”
Chen Huanyi thought to himself, If you keep talking, I’ll come without using anything at all.
“Get onto the bed.” The man patted him on the ass.
Chen Huanyi was suddenly overcome by nerves again. He had made these arrangements to hook up, yes, but they hadn’t discussed whether or not they would have sex. He was still somewhat scared—after all, training was one thing, but sex was an entirely different matter. Although the man in front of him looked fit and healthy, Chen Huanyi still felt a bit resistant—after all, he wasn’t gay, and he didn't have any prior experience. But considering the man’s aura, he didn’t dare hesitate or refuse.
“Lie down and open your legs. Hands around your knees.”
This was an extremely shameful position, even more so than holding his butt in the air. Now, he could easily see the man’s expression, along with his own dick. As he pulled his legs open with his hands on his knees, it was as though he was voluntarily opening up his body to the man, begging him to do something to this perverse vessel of his. As these thoughts occurred to him, Chen Huanyi again felt like he couldn’t take it anymore.
“You got the carpet dirty.” The man glanced at the wet spot Chen Huanyi left where he’d just been kneeling.
“Ah.” Chen Huanyi couldn’t bear to look in that direction. “Master… please punish me.”
The man took a rod-shaped object out of the case and slathered it with lube. “Relax.”
Chen Huanyi felt something at his entrance. He couldn’t help shuddering, his hole likewise twitching away. But that object didn’t stop pressing into him slowly as his breaths quickened. It was no thicker than a finger, neither stretching him open nor causing him pain. The feeling of something moving inside him was only rather strange, as though his internal organs were being stroked.
“…Ah!” When a certain spot inside him was touched, he felt even more like he was about to come. The object quickly retreated by a fraction and didn’t approach his prostate again. Chen Huanyi was pulled back from the edge, only his labored breathing remaining.
“Do you know what this whip is made for hitting?” the man asked, taking in the sight of Chen Huanyi’s legs spread wide, his body flushed pink, his eyes wet with tears.
Chen Huanyi felt like he had lost his ability to reason. Reacting half a beat slower than usual, he eventually answered, “I don’t know.”
The end of the man’s whip lightly swept over Chen Huanyi’s cock. “Here.”
Chen Huanyi’s breath caught in his throat. Before he could process his fear, the whip brushed over his filled entrance. “And here.”
Before the man finished speaking, a lash landed next to Chen Huanyi’s hole, hard enough to send that object deeper inside him. “…Ahh!” Chen Huanyi’s tears started falling at once. This new sensation of pain was washed down by overwhelming arousal, his psychological humiliation overpowering his physical response.
The man gave him a moment to catch his breath. Once Chen Huanyi pulled himself together somewhat, a second lash came down.
“Ahhhhh…” Chen Huanyi could no longer keep his grip on his knees. He felt like he was about to die as the whip shoved the object a little bit further into him, the loose fringed end flicking over the delicate skin at his entrance each time. That area was exceptionally sensitive, the pain particularly stinging. The object buried inside him rubbed against his prostate repeatedly, sapping him of the strength to breathe.
As the final lash filled him to the brim, Chen Huanyi couldn’t even cry out anymore. His dick twitched as he came all over his chest and neck, a couple of drops even landing in his mouth.
Chen Huanyi took one heaving breath after another, barely able to keep his eyes open. It was as though all the bones in his body had been torn out, leaving behind a puddle of soft and sensitive flesh.
The man stood by the bed, looking at Chen Huanyi’s pale, slender body. His skin was flushed, his ass and thighs were covered in alluring thin welts, and his hole was still plugged as he kept trembling minutely. His half-hard cock drooped to the side after his orgasm, and his stomach and chest were covered in his own come.
The man’s eyes darkened slightly behind his glasses.
“Clean yourself up.”
Chen Huanyi shuddered and hauled himself upright on the bed. In the end, he didn’t have the nerve to actually fall asleep like this.
He ran to the bathroom and rinsed off in the shower. Considering that the man would probably need to shower as well, he didn’t dare use the last clean bath towel. Instead, he dried himself with one of the two hand towels, folding it properly before going back out.
“Put on your clothes.”
After Chen Huanyi finished dressing, the man said, “Come here.” This time, he patted the sofa next to him.
Chen Huanyi gingerly sat down by the man, feeling somewhat ill at ease. He noticed that the man hadn’t undone a single button, much less removed any of his own clothing. His suit still looked the same as before, with not a thread out of place. Although Chen Huanyi was dressed again, he still felt unusually ashamed.
The man touched his head. “What do you think?”
“Ah…” Chen Huanyi blinked before realizing that the man was asking him to confirm their relationship. “I have a question.”
The man nodded gently. “Go ahead.”
“Will we… have sex?” Chen Huanyi asked hesitantly.
The man was silent for a moment. “If I think it’s necessary.”
“Oh…”
“What does ‘oh’ mean?”
Realizing this probably went against the man’s rules, Chen Huanyi hurriedly replied, “I mean, I understand.”
“What’s your answer then?”
“I… ask Master to continue instructing me.”
The man smiled slightly. He put his hand on the back of Chen Huanyi’s head, against the dip just above his nape. “Shall I send you home?”
“No need,” Chen Huanyi said. “It’s close by, I can walk.”
Considering that the boy probably didn’t wish to disclose personal information such as his address, the man nodded. “Okay. Send me a message when you get back.”
[1] 师兄 Older male classmate (in this context probably a senior graduate student).
[2] Chen Huanyi uses the formal you, 您, when speaking to the man.