Ming Ying cried until his whole face was covered in tears. A complete mess.
—And it felt fing amazing.
…
Silence fell inside the car.
Ming Ying slumped to one side, not speaking for a long time.
Lost in a daze, he came to his senses amidst the faint scent of cigarette smoke.
Ming Ying turned his head to look. He saw Silas, his shirt half-open, leaning back against the seat. He was no longer impeccably dressed; his hair was a mess from where Ming Ying had grabbed it, half-scattered across his forehead.
Noticing his gaze, Silas touched his head and asked, “How was that?”
…What the hell kind of question was “how was that”?
Ming Ying didn’t answer. After a pause, his rogue heart flared up again. He said, “Thank you, Baby, I’m very satisfied.”
“…”
He felt the hand on his own head pause.
Silas replied, “Hm.”
Ming Ying stifled a laugh.
The next second, he saw Silas take a drag from his cigarette.
Ming Ying blinked, then coughed. Feeling his throat was a bit sore, he rasped, “Baby, I want… I want a puff too.”
He realized his mistake the moment he said it.
Saying to his teacher that he wanted a smoke—wasn’t that a bit bad?
“Never mind, forget I asked.” Ming Ying cleanly pulled his hand back.
Silas chuckled. “Today’s a special exception.”
Silas pulled Ming Ying over, then placed the cigarette he’d taken a couple of puffs from right into his mouth.
Ming Ying first tasted a faint hint of nicotine, followed immediately by a much thicker taste—the scent of Mr. Aston himself, mixed with the cigarette aroma, washing over him.
Ming Ying had always thought smoking was bitter and scratchy on the throat. He wasn’t exactly a model student, and he’d secretly tried it a few times back in China, but found it both smelled and tasted awful, so he’d never done it again.
But now, maybe it was the magic of an after-sex cigarette? He found the taste in his mouth wasn’t half bad.
Silas watched his changing expressions and asked, “What is it?”
Ming Ying clicked his tongue and answered honestly. “I tried smoking before too. I thought the taste was really awful. But for some reason, since you smoked from this, I think it’s pretty good.”
Silas said, “That’s because mine is very expensive.”
“…”
Silas glanced at him. “Do you need me to tell you the brand?”
Ming Ying made a sound of hesitation. “What kind of teacher are you, huh? Encouraging your student to smoke?”
Silas smirked. “I’m not encouraging it. All things in moderation. Same principle as drinking.”
Ming Ying coughed and muttered, “Can’t win with you,” then just leaned against Silas and stayed quiet.
They sat like that quietly for a while.
Suddenly, Ming Ying scrambled back up and asked, “Hey? I forgot to ask, when did you get here?”
Still holding him with one hand, Silas picked up the now-wrinkled T-Rex pajamas and wrapped them around Ming Ying. “When you made the first phone call.”
“Oh.” Ming Ying accepted the cigarette from his hand, took a little puff, savored it, and then asked, “Why did you come?”
Silas raised an eyebrow. “Ming, I felt like I needed to come.”
“…”
He felt like he needed to come, so he came.
Ming Ying didn’t say anything.
Silas looked at him and asked in return, “Why did you come down?”
Ming Ying answered, “Silas, I felt like I needed to come down.”
Silas smiled slightly but didn’t reply.
Ming Ying, meanwhile, was turning the thought over in his mind. He rarely called Silas by his first name so directly. Foreigners usually used last names; only close friends used given names or nicknames.
But saying it like this, it had a bit of a unique flavor to it.
Then he reconsidered: Wasn’t it a bit disrespectful to be calling the Board Member by his first name?
So Ming Ying politely inquired, “You wouldn’t mind me calling you by your first name, right?”
Silas stubbed out the cigarette and glanced at him. “Whatever you like.”
Ming Ying secretly decided to do it more often.
Just then, Silas patted his back and said, “Get your clothes on properly. Let’s go home.”
“Back to your place?”
“What else?”
Ming Ying coughed. “There isn’t anyone else at your place, is there?”
Silas frowned. “Why would there be anyone else at my place?”
Ming Ying said, “Oh, I was just asking.”
Silas said, “Ming, be clear.”
Ming Ying made an exasperated sound. “I just figured you must have other people. I didn’t want to intrude on your night of passion.”
Silas was utterly tickled by this, giving Ming Ying’s forehead a light smack. “What nonsense are you thinking? I don’t.”
“Oh…” Ming Ying paused, then added, “Neither do I.”
“Hm, I know.”
“Know what?”
“I know you don’t.”
“…”
Ming Ying coughed again and grabbed his collar. “Alright, so my fine virtues of being utterly devoted and maintaining such personal purity have actually been discovered by you. Since you’ve discovered them, then you must abide by my rule—you’re not allowed to have any others from now on either!”
Silas rubbed his back and smiled. “Alright, I understand. Just talk normally; what’s the rush?”
“…”
After tidying up the car, they were ready to leave.
Silas asked, “Do you have plans for the weekend?”
“Hm?” Ming Ying looked up. “I need to prepare for the design competition. What’s up?”
Silas thought for a moment. “Want to go back and get some clothes first?”
His words jumped so fast. Ming Ying processed it and thought his meaning must be that he wanted Ming Ying to come to his place over the weekend to prepare for the competition.
He knew Aston was a competition judge and suddenly felt a bit uneasy. “That’s… not really necessary…”
Silas said, “You have something else going on?”
Ming Ying hesitated. “Well, aren’t you some kind of judge…”
“So?”
“So wouldn’t it be bad… What if… I know I’m devastatingly handsome and irresistibly charming… but I still think I should rely on myself. I’m not that bad…”
Before he could finish, smack. His forehead was tapped again.
Ming Ying clutched his forehead. “What was that for?!”
Silas frowned. “Ming, what are you thinking?”
“What do you mean, what am I thinking?”
“Has Thomas ever explained the competition rules to you?”
“Yes.”
“Then don’t you know it’s a closed-week competition, and we won’t even be able to see each other? So what are you thinking?”
Huh? Was that how it was… Thomas hadn’t mentioned that.
Ming Ying hummed an “Oh” and said, “You know more, you’re so amazing.”
Silas replied, “Yes.”
…Damn it.
Seeing the look on his face, Silas added, “It’s fine if you didn’t know. Your college will arrange a special lecture on Monday to introduce everything to you all.”
Ming Ying just said “Oh.”
Suddenly, he reached out and wrapped his arms around Silas’s neck and asked, “So Boss, will you be able to see our final results?”
Silas took one look at him and knew exactly what he was thinking. “The competition is anonymous.”
“Oh.”
Ming Ying asked again, “Then can you find some way, some method, to see mine?”
Silas laughed. “Don’t count on it.”
“…”
Ming Ying plopped right back into his seat with a thump. “What’s so hard about saying something I want to hear?”
Silas touched his head and said, “Go back and pack some things first, and then we’ll go home.”
Ming Ying huffed coldly. “Don’t I have clothes here at your place—my underwear, right? Yeah, you said you brought my underwear. Where is it?”
Without a change of expression, Silas said, “I used it earlier as a rag to wipe the water off the car seat.”
As for what kind of water…
Ming Ying’s face flushed bright red. He thought to himself: This old pervert’s skill is simply too profound. Can’t win, can’t win.
And so, Silas drove back to the street below Ming Ying’s apartment.
After he parked and unbuckled his seatbelt, Ming Ying saw his movement and quickly stopped him. “Wait, are you getting out?”
Silas said, “Can you walk on your own?”
Damn it.
Ming Ying gritted his teeth. “Of course I can walk by myself. Just stay here, you.”
Silas frowned. “Ming, don’t push yourself.”
Ming Ying thought, Is this about pushing myself? The problem is, I don’t know if those two upstairs are finished!
If he let Silas come upstairs and open his apartment door to see something not suitable for children, how would he explain that?
“I’ll go by myself…”
Silas looked at him. “Is there a treasure at home? Afraid I’ll find it?”
Ming Ying: “…”
Ming Ying took Silas’s hand. In a hoarse voice, impossible to tell if he was serious or not, he said, “You’re the only treasure I have.”
The moment the words were out, they looked at each other. Neither could help but burst out laughing.
Ming Ying laughed, mentally cursing himself out again. That was so cheesy.
So Ming Ying quickly added, “I’m serious. Come again tomorrow. I’m dead tired; I want to go up first.”
Silas didn’t push him, just touched his face and said, “Alright.”
They got to his home when it was almost one in the morning, New York time.
Ming Ying practically clawed his way up by hanging onto Silas’s shoulder—entering, changing shoes, going upstairs.
Silas had wanted to carry him.
But Comrade Ming Ying refused to the death, declaring he would resolutely maintain his straight man dignity.
Hearing this, Silas forcefully rubbed the tail of the T-Rex pajamas. The straight man dignity of the T-Rex collapsed on the spot.
…
After a day and night of exertion, when Ming Ying woke up the next morning, he actually felt refreshed and full of energy.
Wearing clothes that didn’t fit him, he walked out of the bedroom and was immediately met by the sweet, light scent of congee.
He made his way to the kitchen. There was no one there, but there was a fragrant pot of congee with greens and lean meat.
Ming Ying didn’t bother checking where Silas had gone so early in the morning. He was awake from hunger and hurriedly sat down to eat.
Halfway through his meal, his phone buzzed violently.
Ming Ying picked it up and looked. It was a video call invitation from his grandpa!
Ming Ying got a huge fright. If it were a call from Madam Chen Qinqin or Comrade Ming Jianguo, he’d just hang up. After all, it wasn’t like he hadn’t done it before. But if his grandpa was calling, there was absolutely no way he could hang up.
Just then, Silas came back in from the outside yard. He was wearing a house robe and had clearly been out.
Ming Ying signaled that he was taking a call.
Silas walked over to the sofa and sat down, picking up a book to read. Incidentally, he overheard the entire process of Comrade Ming Ying’s criminal lies.
“No, Grandpa, how could I possibly be fooling around with anyone.”
“This is our cafeteria.”
“Yes, who made it?—”
“A very, very good-looking older guy—no, a handsome guy made it.”
“What? My neck? I got hit playing basketball!”
“I’m really not fooling around—”
From the sofa, Silas let out a soft chuckle.
After hanging up, Ming Ying walked over and snatched the book right out of Silas’s hands. “What are you laughing at?”
Silas put his hand down and looked up. “Laughing at your amateur lying skills.”
Ming Ying said, “What do you know? I’m doing it so they don’t worry. Otherwise, if I told them the truth, wouldn’t they die of shock?”
Saying he was hooking up with a school leader—even just thinking about it scared Ming Ying to death.
Silas stood up without speaking.
Ming Ying rubbed his nose and tried to make up for it. “But you know, don’t worry, I definitely won’t lie to you like that.”
The next second, he was hit by a gaze from Silas that practically screamed, You? Think you could lie to me ?
Ming Ying felt truly indignant.
“Hah, don’t be too smug. The older people get, the easier they fall for internet scams. I can see you—”
Silas cut him off. “Ming, it has nothing to do with age.”
Ming Ying raised his brow. “What are you trying to say?”
Silas looked at him. “Aren’t you just someone I caught through an internet scam?”
Ming Ying: !@#$^&
Ming Ying lunged at him. “Oh, so you admit it now, huh?!!! I just knew it! What niece! It was all a lie— Why are you grabbing my waist?!”
Silas replied, “Fooling around.”
…
And just like that, Ming Ying spent three days straight fooling around at the Aston residence.
In those three days, they rarely went out, and Ming Ying’s status had been significantly elevated.
Besides viciously cursing the man during sex, Ming Ying also declared that he was going to occupy Mr. Aston’s study, as if his schoolwork was a hundred times more important than Silas’s work.
Ming Ying said, “I want to be in the study.”
Silas nodded. “Fine, I’ll go to the first floor.”
Ming Ying said deliberately, “Then I’ll go to the first floor too.”
Silas said, “I’ll go to the third-floor screening room.”
Ming Ying also stood up. “I’ll also go to the third-floor screening room!”
Silas looked at him. “Ming, be clear. What do you want to do?”
Ming Ying purely wanted to mess with him. He propped his chin on his hand and said, “Baby, I can’t bear to be away from you for even a moment.”
Silas heard this and didn’t say much. He just turned around and suddenly picked up his car keys.
Ming Ying frowned. “What are you doing?”
Silas said, “I’m going to the school.”
“Then I—” Ming Ying paused. “Then go ahead.”
Silas smirked. “Not going to follow along?”
Ming Ying leaned back in the swivel chair, clasped his hands together, and said, “This humble subordinate is truly very tired. I won’t see you off. Safe journey.”
Silas repeated his words back to him. “Can’t bear to be away from me for even a moment?”
“…”
Ming Ying immediately scooted closer and said with a fawning smile, “Teacher, can we pretend you didn’t hear that?”
…
The final outcome was that the two of them just worked on their own things on opposite sides of the desk.
But, just as Silas had worried, whenever the two of them sat together, the atmosphere would turn a little strange.
At first, it was normal. But as Ming Ying wrote, he got tired. He rubbed his eyes, got up to get a glass of water, and when he came back, he just couldn’t get back into studying for a while.
His gaze drifted from the screen to the person beside him.
First, the hands.
There were several of his teeth marks imprinted on the back of Silas’s right hand.
Then his gaze trailed upward.
Damn. Ming Ying looked at that face. He thought to himself, If this old man didn’t have a face like this, I definitely would have run away a long time ago.
A beautiful man is a source of calamity.
Ming Ying propped his chin up, silently shifted his butt over, and then stretched out his sinful fingers, stealthily sliding them over to mess with him.
The moment his fingers touched the man’s thigh, Silas paused and said, “Ming, sit properly.”
Ming Ying said, “I am sitting properly.”
Silas didn’t say any more.
A little while later.
Silas: “Ming, sit properly.”
Ming Ying: “I am sitting properly.”
Another little while later.
Silas suddenly stood up.
