Chapter 70: I Just Like You
Xi Leng jolted awake, his eyes snapping open.
Dawn arrived early by the sea, a milky light streaming in through the skylight, falling on the messy double bed.
In his blurry, just-awakened vision, the man’s upper body was bare, his smooth and well-defined muscles bathed in the morning light. His movements froze as Xi Leng suddenly woke up, a puzzled look in his dark eyes.
“Why did you wake up so easily?” Min Zhi, holding a blanket, frowned. “I haven’t even covered you yet.”
He didn’t need to ask if Xi Leng had a nightmare, he saw everything, Xi Leng’s body flinching away from him, his eyes wide with fear and panic.
Min Zhi murmured, puzzled, “You’ve never been like this before?”
“Last time on the sofa, I was drunk, the time before that, you were sleeping in the loft, far away.” Xi Leng, his mind clearing, rubbed his forehead, “It’s probably a reflex, that’s why I always live alone, and even when Xiao Yi isn’t home, I lock my bedroom door.”
He didn’t specify what kind of reflex, but it could only be one thing, PTSD, fear of being hit.
Min Zhi was silent for a while, then said, “Is this your excuse for wanting me to… sleep with you for desensitization therapy?”
He paused, lowering his gaze slightly. “…I hope it’s an excuse.”
Xi Leng opened his mouth but didn’t speak.
This time, Min Zhi didn’t change the subject, his gaze fixed on him, sharp and direct, as if seeing into his very soul.
Min Zhi was still holding the blanket. Xi Leng’s gaze followed the blanket to Min Zhi’s hand, then lowered his head, his lips gently brushing against the “keep silent” tattoo.
Min Zhi’s breath hitched, “Acting cute?”
“…” Xi Leng pretended to be half-asleep, slowly letting out a soft, “Hm?”
Min Zhi couldn’t help but smile.
“Are you going back to sleep?”
“No.”
“Okay.”
This time, neither of them was drunk, neither overslept, neither left first. A sunny, refreshing morning, filled with an unspeakable awkwardness, far more unsettling than the passionate night.
Perhaps, they should just go back to sleep?
This thought flashed through Xi Leng’s mind.
But he figured he couldn’t sleep anymore.
He couldn’t ignore the shirtless man beside him, even if he closed his eyes, the image was still there.
Objectively speaking, he liked Min Zhi’s looks and physique.
Or rather, it wasn’t until his feelings were certain that he understood his true preferences. He also realized he was incredibly picky, an entire “type” only containing one person.
Xi Leng casually asked, “…Where are your clothes?”
Min Zhi gave a random answer: “Hm? I’m not cold.”
Xi Leng: “…” Who asked about that.
“I got them dirty last night, and I didn’t bring any spares.” Min Zhi’s seriousness lasted for only two seconds, he suddenly smiled, his dark eyes sparkling mischievously. “And also, to show you my muscles.”
After enjoying Xi Leng’s speechless expression for a moment, he corrected his suggestive words, “Abs, the ones you wanted to see before.”
Xi Leng: “…”
Min Zhi picked up the scarf Xi Leng had given him last night, a simple and versatile gray cashmere scarf. The scarf was large, and he casually draped it around his neck like a towel, brushing his hair back, then tossed his phone onto the bed.
“Take a photo of me.”
Xi Leng nodded in agreement, thanks to his past life’s experience chasing stars, his photography skills were good. He knew how to capture Min Zhi’s best angles.
Just as he opened the camera, Min Zhi said: “I need to post something on Weibo.”
Xi Leng’s movements paused.
The man’s fair and toned upper body was still bare. His good figure was one thing, but with a scarf casually draped around his neck, revealing yet concealing, it was even more suggestive than being completely naked.
“Just like this?” Xi Leng’s expression remained calm as he tactfully made a suggestion, “I’m afraid you’ll be censored.”
These words, for some reason, amused Min Zhi, a smile appearing in his eyes.
Xi Leng belatedly realized, did Min Zhi interpret his words as possessiveness?
Before he could explain, Min Zhi readily compromised: “Then take a photo of my back.”
Xi Leng didn’t object this time, finding the right angle and taking several photos.
Then, his expression unchanged, he deleted the ones that revealed too much.
Min Zhi walked over and looked at the photos, not taking back his phone. When Xi Leng asked him, he finally said: “Post it for me, and add a caption.”
Xi Leng, seeing his bossy demeanor, chuckled and said, “I should learn from you and pack my pants.”
Min Zhi burst out laughing: “Isn’t that my joke?”
Xi Leng, ignoring him, finished his cold joke, “So I become someone who packs pants.”
Min Zhi chuckled, unfazed.
Xi Leng sighed helplessly: “If you’re not trying to act cool, why not post it yourself?”
“Although it seems like I’m being lazy and asking you to post for me,” Min Zhi said with a righteous tone, “the deeper meaning is that you can play with my phone as much as you like.”
Xi Leng: “I don’t like playing with phones.”
Min Zhi: “Then no wonder I like you.”
“…”
Xi Leng was no match for his twisted logic, shoving the phone back at him, “Post it yourself, I don’t write captions.”
Min Zhi said again: “I just like people who don’t talk.”
Xi Leng corrected: “This is typing.”
Min Zhi: “Then did you type?”
Having forced the quiet person into a bickering match, pushing his good temper to its limit, Min Zhi abruptly changed tactics, smiling as he took back his phone and lay down on the bed.
“Alright, I’ll post it myself.”
Xi Leng was completely exasperated.
“Like this,” Min Zhi showed him his phone after editing, “how is it?”
Xi Leng frowned: “These words are…”
“A quote from Leonardo da Vinci, the artist who painted the Mona Lisa.” Min Zhi couldn’t resist showing off, his expression smug. “How come I know more than you? Haha.”
Xi Leng, having read it, gave a random reply: “I only paint, I don’t read.”
Min Zhi, consistent as always: “I like people who don’t read.”
“…”
“Alright, I’ll stop teasing you.” Min Zhi rolled over, facing upwards, looking at Xi Leng, “Go and see the fans’ reactions, after all, this is your photo.”
Xi Leng opened his phone. The first post on his feed was Min Zhi’s latest Weibo update.
@MinZhiV: An artist who isn’t multi-talented isn’t worthy of praise. [Picture]
He even added a comment below the photo, pinned to the top.
quote: Leonardo da Vinci
photography by Leng
Two pretentious foreign phrases, a quote from da Vinci, photography by Leng.
【！！！！！】
【Holy shit, Min-ge, how did you know it’s almost New Year’s? Aaaaaah】
【A photo taken by Leng Leng?? Who died from the sweetness? Oh, it’s me!!!】
【Just joined the fandom from the repo last night, and now this feast… am I dreaming…】
【Damn it, Min-ge, why aren’t you wearing any clothes?? And why not turn around, do you have something to hide??】
【Is there something on your front that we can’t see???】
【I’d rather believe I’m Qin Shi Huang than believe these two didn’t sleep together last night】
【Randomly, Leng Bao’s photography skills are amazing, so all forms of art are connected…】
【Leng Bao is worth at least a million likes!!!】
“It is almost New Year’s.”
Min Zhi suddenly said, sighing calmly, as if he wasn’t the one who had just stirred up another storm on the internet.
Xi Leng, his heart pounding as he read the comments, still couldn’t quite get used to it, muttering: “I don’t even dare to go home now.”
He was truly afraid of being mobbed at the airport, that kind of terror even the usually unflappable Min Zhi had to escape from.
“Then let’s stay here until the second performance.” Min Zhi casually suggested. “I can secretly take you to the training camp to see Xiao Yi, maybe even sneak him out for dinner.”
Abusing his position also had its limits, and Xi Leng said reservedly: “Just seeing him is enough.”
He readily agreed to stay in Nandao for a vacation, arranging for Min Zhi’s assistant to visit Ban Li every day, feeding and cleaning up after her.
Xi Leng belatedly realized what he was getting himself into.
Firstly, the sleeping arrangements at night.
His hotel reservation was only for two days. He either had to pay for an extension or move to Min Zhi’s suite. And if he did anything wrong, Min Zhi would either bring up his deception again or continue his interrogation of those outrageous fan comments.
He decisively moved to Min Zhi’s suite.
The Min Emperor was very pleased.
Them living together, the official reason was desensitization therapy, which was what Min Zhi claimed.
The unspoken subtext, naturally, was clear to both of them.
The five-star hotel room was fully equipped.
Xi Leng wasn’t ready yet to… serve the protagonist gong, and Min Zhi, to his surprise, after directly checking if he was frigid yesterday, was now aloof and distant, like a different person, asking his assistant to buy a bunch of art supplies, delivered to their hotel room.
The largest tubes of oil paint, the largest bottle of turpentine, like a true emperor.
But with so many materials, besides painting himself, there was enough for an amateur to waste.
Xi Leng also remembered a certain promise and asked Min Zhi, “Do you still want to draw me?”
Min Zhi asked deliberately: “Don’t tell me you actually like that Old Man Ding I drew?”
Such twisted logic.
Xi Leng was completely exasperated by him.
Then his neck was held, a teasing kiss on his ear, making him shiver.
After his moment of smugness, Min Zhi whispered in his ear, “You draw me, you haven’t drawn a full-body portrait of me yet.”
“—The naked kind.”
“Okay.” Xi Leng didn’t mind, only reminding him seriously, “Don’t catch a cold.”
Min Zhi took off his shirt, leaving only his underwear, and lay down on the sofa, both out of laziness and to recreate that night’s clumsy Titanic imitation.
Xi Leng, focusing on the task at hand, entered a purely creative state, observing the perfectly sculpted male body like a doctor examining a specimen.
It was Min Zhi who couldn’t lie still.
“Are you really that frigid?”
This time, Xi Leng actually nodded slightly, “…Perhaps.”
Now it was Min Zhi’s turn to be speechless.
“I’ve always agreed with Plato’s concept of spiritual love.” Min Zhi said. “A connection of the souls is more important than physical satisfaction.”
Xi Leng glanced at his underwear and thought silently, is that so?
“My… needs aren’t very high.” Min Zhi shifted on the sofa. “But after meeting you, it’s like… opening the floodgates.”
Xi Leng, still sitting properly, painting, replied, “Actually, Plato was gay, he liked young boys. He had affairs with several of his students.”
“Really?” Min Zhi was only surprised for half a second, then said as if it was expected, “As expected of an artist, impressive.”
“…He was a philosopher.”
“Didn’t he also write poetry? Very artistic.”
“…Can the model please be quiet?” Xi Leng said, unable to argue, resorting to enforcing the rules.
Min Zhi smiled and zipped his mouth shut, imitating Xi Leng’s earlier gesture.
But he couldn’t stay still for long, his restlessness acting up again after a few seconds.
“Xi-laoshi, can I… take care of myself? You can look away, or you can watch.”
“Or you can draw it if you want.”
Xi Leng: “…”
A few days passed, peacefully yet not quite calmly.
After the first performance of “Shining Boys,” half of the 88 trainees were eliminated, a brutal competition. Those who survived the first round didn’t dare to relax, working even harder for the second performance.
Min Zhi spent several days at the training camp guiding them, finally acting like a responsible mentor.
He scolded the trainees relentlessly, but that didn’t stop his fan base from growing, the protagonist halo truly defying logic.
One morning, after they both woke up early, Xi Leng suddenly said: “I want to go to the beach to paint today.”
Min Zhi had already agreed to meet with the program team and his manager, so he could only say: “But I have to go guide those brats today, I can’t accompany you.”
“…I know, I’m not asking you to.” Xi Leng, who was tying his hair, paused, looking at him, a lock of curly hair in his hand, “I’m just informing you. I’ll go by myself, after breakfast, and probably paint until sunset.”
“Oh, I see.” Min Zhi smiled unabashedly, teasing, “Husband material, I understand.”
“…”
In this information age, a celebrity’s secrets and private life were like fire wrapped in paper.
Xi Leng and Min Zhi’s locations had both been in Nandao for half a month!! Who could understand this!!
Actions spoke louder than words. The two, with their matching IP addresses, not posting anything on Weibo, only fueled the fans’ imaginations…
The CP fans’ New Year celebration showed no sign of ending, drums and firecrackers, the super topic lively every day.
