“Actually, I have a birthmark. Do you want to see it?” Chu Ci turned to face He Yuxuan, the corner of the blanket tucked under his chin. He propped his head up with one hand, the other resting naturally on his body. He looked perfectly obedient, his dark eyes serious.
“Huh? Sure.”
“Besides my family, no one else has ever seen this birthmark.” Chu Ci nodded with a soft hum, then added.
He flipped back the blanket and lay down on his stomach next to He Yuxuan. The dip of his waist and the elegant curve of his raised backside highlighted the healthy, beautiful form of a young man.
He Yuxuan felt a little embarrassed to look there; it felt sleazy to stare at a buddy’s body like that. Besides, he’d long thought Chu Ci had a great physique.
Chu Ci’s words genuinely touched He Yuxuan. He really was usually too laid-back.
“The birthmark is on my lower back. Don’t make fun of me.” As Chu Ci spoke, he pulled up his tank top, watching He Yuxuan’s reaction.
On that pale, lean lower back lay a red birthmark the size of a coin. On closer inspection, it actually resembled the shape of a flower. He Yuxuan stared without blinking, silently counting to himself: it was exactly a five-petal shape, though the petals varied in size and shape.
Actually, it was quite pretty… at least by He Yuxuan’s standards.
He had acted in a movie about a demon-god theme once, where a flower demon character had petal-shaped birthmarks on their body. The director even filmed a close-up, capturing its seductive allure, a scene that was widely shared afterward.
It was completely different from the feeling now, with Chu Ci looking at him with those clear, black-and-white eyes tinged with nervousness.
Still, he could understand why someone like Young Master Chu wouldn’t want others to know. It totally clashed with his public persona.
“Why would I make fun of you? It’s pretty nice.” Chu Ci’s willingness to show him made He Yuxuan understand even more clearly his standing as a friend in Chu Ci’s heart.
“It’s too girly.” Chu Ci pouted.
Although Chu Ci was gay, and a bottom at that, he had absolutely none of the coquettishness found in some bottoms. His daily interests were also completely straight-man-like—arguably even more than many actual straight men.
That was why Chu Ci never went shirtless in front of others, even keeping his tank top glued to his body in the gym.
“I don’t think so. It’s quite cute.” He Yuxuan smiled reassuringly.
“Heh, the word ‘cute’…” Chu Ci’s mouth twitched, but since it was He Yuxuan saying it, he didn’t feel the slightest bit annoyed.
Just like he understood that some words from other people might carry malice or shock, but from He Yuxuan’s mouth, they meant exactly what they said—he could feel the goodwill.
“Also, this spot is really sensitive. Do you want to touch it?” Chu Ci added.
He Yuxuan was quite curious just how sensitive it was, so he gently poked it with his finger.
The next second, he saw Chu Ci’s waist nearly bounce off the bed. The muscles there rippled and tightened. The reaction was huge.
A muffled groan also escaped Chu Ci’s lips.
“It’s crazy ticklish and tingly.” Chu Ci suppressed the smile forced out by the intense sensation, his face scrunched up honestly.
That was why he rarely touched that spot himself, only scrubbing it hastily in the shower.
“The rest of my body is thick-skinned and tough. Nothing else is sensitive. I don’t know what’s up with that…”
He Yuxuan watched, equally amazed.
He sat up cross-legged formally on the bed, then started trying to tickle Chu Ci normally.
Chu Ci just looked at him as if watching a show—absolutely no reaction.
A mischievous urge struck He Yuxuan. He gently rubbed Chu Ci’s birthmark again, while pressing down on the young man’s waist to keep him still with his other hand.
“Damn… Hahahaha!” It tickled so much Chu Ci burst out laughing again.
But he was strong; he quickly bounced up and broke free from He Yuxuan’s hold.
“You’re messing with me, right?”
“That’s the first time I’ve seen you laugh so happily.” He Yuxuan shrugged, joking instead.
Chu Ci usually never smiled, or at most just pursed his lips. This was the first time he’d laughed out loud so happily, even if the method was a bit inhumane.
“You’re done for!” Chu Ci said, enunciating each word.
The two messed around in the dorm for a while. Then it was time for Chu Ci to accompany He Yuxuan to his part-time job.
~
“I’ll be busy tonight for four or five hours. You can look around and leave when you’re ready. I’ll make you a milk tea, hahaha. The one I brought you last time was the one I made myself.” Milk Tea Boy He Yuxuan was online, explaining to Chu Ci in advance.
After all, it really wasn’t interesting to watch—incredibly boring.
“Actually, I kind of want to quit too.” It was quite tiring, and now that he occasionally had other ways to earn money, once he saved up enough to buy a cello, He Yuxuan planned to start tutoring instead.
“Then quit.” Chu Ci said immediately. If He Yuxuan didn’t want to, then don’t.
“But I’m still saving up to buy something.” He Yuxuan said without any reservations.
He hadn’t even saved up for his belt yet! But he already had Chu Ci’s gift ready~
“What do you want to buy? I’ll buy it for you.” In Chu Ci’s eyes, this was extremely simple. Anything solvable with money was a minor issue.
“No way. I want something new every day. I’d better save up slowly on my own.” He Yuxuan shook his head.
He wasn’t someone who stood on ceremony. If the Young Master invited him to dinner, he went—after all, they were good friends.
But directly giving him money was something He Yuxuan couldn’t accept, no matter how short on cash he was. It wasn’t a healthy way for friends to get along. He wasn’t hanging out with Chu Ci to be a leech.
Otherwise, he could just maintain this friendship for life and leech off Chu Ci forever without doing anything.
The thought alone struck He Yuxuan as really weird.
Chu Ci didn’t press further.
The Young Master walked into this small milk tea shop, looking completely out of place, as if he’d wandered in by mistake. The guy working alongside He Yuxuan saw that today Little He actually came to work in a luxury car, his eyes went perfectly round. It felt like a TV drama.
He Yuxuan went to the back to change clothes, then started working seriously.
“There aren’t many customers yet. Sit down, and I’ll treat you to a milk tea.” He Yuxuan told Chu Ci, then got straight to work.
Even working hard, a handsome guy had immense aesthetic appeal. It made Chu Ci ignore the surroundings entirely, his gaze fixed solely on He Yuxuan. It was the first time Chu Ci had seen him in uniform; even though it was just the milk tea shop’s simple apron, he looked very cool.
Chu Ci couldn’t help but imagine: He Yuxuan in a suit would probably look really handsome too, much better than him. A mental image started forming of the other wearing an openwork suit, laughing. “Food and sex are human nature”—the young master dismissed the thought the moment it arose.
What was he thinking… way too sleazy.
Watching He Yuxuan’s fluid movements, it was clear he’d been at this for a while. Constant bending and walking around—Chu Ci could easily see it was tiring.
Chu Ci felt a little pang of concern, but still tried his best to respect his roommate’s choices.
The fact that his roommate could endure hardship and hard work surprised Chu Ci a bit. After all, if He Yuxuan ever joined his Corporation someday, no matter what, the difficulties he’d face wouldn’t be few.
“Damn, dude, are you a rich second generation? It’s the first time I’ve ever known someone personally who rides in a luxury car.” He Yuxuan’s coworker asked him quietly.
“Nah, do I look like one? It was my friend over there who gave me a ride today.” He Yuxuan indicated Chu Ci with a glance, then got back to work.
Sigh… Even though he’d been rich once.
“Holy crap, that’s still awesome. You managed to be friends with a rich person.” The other guy was still super envious. Wasn’t this just the coolest thing?
“If that guy surnamed Liao knew, he’d probably be pissed to death, hahaha.” The coworker also felt vindicated on his behalf.
Little Liao was another part-timer, not from their school, but had been working here for a long time.
No one knew if he was jealous of He Yuxuan’s looks or his education, but he’d always ostracized him, frequently making sarcastic remarks like “Why does a top student from Jinghai University need to work part-time at a milk tea shop.”
He Yuxuan didn’t really mind. The guy wasn’t wrong; he was working as a milk tea boy precisely because he couldn’t find anything else.
Anyway, he earned his own money and spent it himself; it didn’t bother anyone.
Only Little Li always defended him daily.
“No way, I gotta take a picture and post it in the group chat to piss him off.” Little Li actually went off to take the photo. He Yuxuan knew his good intentions, so just smiled and let him be.
It wasn’t a big deal anyway.
“Young Master, your Raw Coconut Latte.” He Yuxuan handed it to Chu Ci, giving him a smile.
Chu Ci didn’t really feel bored. Watching He Yuxuan interact with the other guy occasionally, he felt a small twinge of jealousy, but he could control it. After all, his roommate was a normal person—it was impossible to have zero contact with anyone else.
Besides, He Yuxuan was completely open with him. That alone was enough for Chu Ci to soothe himself.
“What’s he doing?” Chu Ci saw Little Li sneaking around furtively and frowned, asking He Yuxuan.
“Hahaha, he’s showing off in the part-time group chat for me, showing off that my friend is rich.”
Chu Ci raised an eyebrow. He didn’t object.
Chu Ci didn’t gulp it down in two swigs like last time. Because He Yuxuan made it personally, he tried his hardest to savor it slowly, and indeed it seemed to taste even better.
“More customers are coming, I probably won’t be able to look after you soon. If you get bored, just head back first.” He Yuxuan told Chu Ci.
Driving him partway here was already pretty generous.
“Mm.”
He Yuxuan put on his daily energy and spirit, greeting customers with a smile.
“For here or to go?”
“Okay, take care, bye!”
It had to be said, business really had improved since He Yuxuan arrived, especially the number of young girls.
As Chu Ci watched, he began feeling something was off.
Normally, He Yuxuan smiled at him quite often too, but the curve wasn’t this big, and the look in his eyes wasn’t this gentle. Especially when soon there was a bunch of little girls.
Chu Ci kept telling himself: This is He Yuxuan’s job, perfectly normal!
But he just couldn’t control it—the more he watched, the darker his expression got. He was very unhappy seeing him smile so happily at others.
Chu Ci knew now he had no right to be upset, so he wasn’t about to throw a tantrum again. It was useless anyway.
He thought back. His roommate himself had said the part-time job was tiring and he wanted to quit. That was a fact.
What was wrong with helping out a little as a friend!
Why must a person endure hardship? Being a bit pampered was nothing. Couldn’t he protect his own people?
Chu Ci convinced himself. Much later, catching He Yuxuan’s concerned glance, he curved his lips into a smile, raising his Raw Coconut Latte slightly to show everything was fine on his end.
“Dude, I really admire you. Your rich friend seems pretty gentle towards you.” Little Li found an opening to chat with He Yuxuan.
To others, though, he seemed rather cold.
But Little He was handsome, and he was happy being friends with a handsome guy, so he completely understood.
“Yeah, he’s great.” He Yuxuan stretched his back to relax his muscles.
He was quite happy working today. Even though he was still tired, looking up and seeing someone there with him… having a friend was really nice.
