What… what the hell was this?
How did he end up looking like that?
The openly exposed, wheat-colored chest and its deep cleft left Tao Zhi stunned for a good while.
His eyes gradually widened before he hurriedly averted his gaze. His lowered eyelashes trembled several times as he refused to look at the camera, stuttering out his question, “Wh-what are you doing without properly wearing clothes?”
“I just finished showering.” Fu Si Heng’s tone was utterly nonchalant. “I’m not cold anyway.”
Tao Zhi: “…”
“You still can’t just wear it like that.” Tao Zhi scratched at the fluffy fabric he was wearing as he told him.
Fu Si Heng: “Why not?”
Uh.
Tao Zhi seemed to be reminded of something and suddenly froze up.
Yeah, why was that?
They were both guys. Even if he saw a bare upper body, it shouldn’t provoke such a huge reaction, right?
Fu Zheng often went shirtless in the dorm and wandered around half-naked, but Tao Zhi had never found anything wrong with it. At most, he’d just worry about him catching a cold.
So why did seeing Fu Si Heng not dressed properly make his whole body feel off?
Tao Zhi felt like his reaction was a bit too weird. This wasn’t how he should be reacting, so he tried lifting his eyes. The phone’s camera shifted along with them, revealing half his face again.
Like a fluffy little bunny peeking out from behind a corner, cautiously poking its head out to show its eyes—
When his gaze landed on Fu Si Heng’s muscles, his expression still stiffened for a moment.
But Tao Zhi didn’t look away again.
“Pretty big.” Tao Zhi rubbed his nose and murmured softly.
It wasn’t clear if he was talking to himself or telling Fu Si Heng.
“Is that so?” Fu Si Heng heard him.
He leaned back in his chair and said flatly, “It’s alright.”
Tao Zhi: “…”
What kind of conversation was this?
Before turning on the video, Tao Zhi had thought his biggest risk was not wearing his wig or women’s clothes, wondering if he’d be found out.
Who knew that after starting the video, his real danger was confronting Fu Si Heng’s robust and intimidating muscular lines.
The pectoral muscles in the camera frame bulged slightly, his chest still damp—it really looked like he’d just showered.
And…
The outline of those muscles looked really hard, full of power. The cleft between his pectorals trailed downward…
Uh.
There was no downward.
The camera only captured up to there.
After taking it all in, Tao Zhi’s eyes went a little glassy for a second.
In his life, he’d only ever seen two people’s muscles: Fu Zheng’s and Fu Si Heng’s—the two brothers.
He often saw Fu Zheng’s in the dorm, especially in summer. Fu Zheng’s weren’t as exaggerated as Fu Si Heng’s; they were somewhere between youth and boyhood, thin yet powerful layers covering his body.
Not as bulky and tough as Fu Si Heng’s.
Tao Zhi unconsciously started comparing them.
…If only Fu Zheng didn’t know, or he’d never let Tao Zhi hear the end of it.
Fu Si Heng reached for the cigarette pack on the table, and the motion snapped Tao Zhi back to reality.
Tao Zhi couldn’t help blurting out, “You look like you’d hit really hard.”
“Hah. Do I?” Fu Si Heng chuckled, surprised to receive such an evaluation.
“Yeah, yeah.” Tao Zhi nodded quickly, suddenly recalling that bloody scene from the dorm.
He had been standing at the door back then when bang—the door panel shook from the impact, startling him and even alarming the guys in the next dorm over.
Remembering it now, Tao Zhi couldn’t help swallowing.
That action naturally fell into Fu Si Heng’s eyes.
Fu Si Heng’s lips curved up slightly.
…
Tao Zhi was scared.
With such terrifying muscles, he worried that after doing what Fu Zheng claimed he’d done, he might not live to see next year.
He had really gone to help Fu Zheng with a determination to die.
If he didn’t make it… he should transfer the money away first. He couldn’t leave it in his account.
But where could he transfer it to?
Tao Zhi felt pretty troubled for a moment.
“What are you thinking about?” Fu Si Heng saw Tao Zhi’s expression change clear as day.
He lit a cigarette. “You look all worried.”
“N-nothing.” Tao Zhi snapped back.
Of course, he couldn’t voice the worries in his head.
Tao Zhi spotted the rising smoke in the screen and clumsily changed the subject. “Brother Fu, you sure like smoking, huh.”
“You should smoke less. It’s not good for your health.”
“Not really a fan,” Fu Si Heng replied.
He didn’t have a nicotine addiction. Lately, he’d been smoking more because every time he saw Tao Zhi, an unbearable itch rose in his throat, and cigarettes offered some relief.
Fu Si Heng narrowed his eyes, staring through the smoke at Tao Zhi’s fair cheek.
What else could this be but seduction?
It was his favorite left cheek, too.
“You… could you not stare at me like that?” Fu Si Heng’s gaze was blatant, with no attempt to hide it, making Tao Zhi a little uncomfortable.
Also.
“Could you put on some clothes?”
“Why?” Fu Si Heng wasn’t keen.
He liked seeing Tao Zhi flushed and uneasy—it was especially cute.
Not only did he like watching, he also liked saying, “You’re blushing.”
“Feeling shy?”
Tao Zhi: “…”
Whether it was shyness or fear, Tao Zhi didn’t dare look straight at him like this anyway.
Too much oppressive presence.
Even through the phone screen, the digital barrier couldn’t block the invasiveness of his presence and gaze.
“Please put on your clothes.” Tao Zhi urged him.
Fu Si Heng didn’t respond.
Tao Zhi: “…”
Fine.
“There’s a difference between men and women.” Tao Zhi pursed his lips and gave his reason, deliberately playing up his female persona. The pressure made his ears burn. “This isn’t appropriate.”
Fu Si Heng: “.”
Nice. Now he knew how to leverage his gender advantage.
Fu Si Heng was briefly speechless, ash dropping onto his body.
But he quickly felt gratified instead, thinking his kid had grown up a bit and wouldn’t be so naively bullied anymore.
Unfortunately.
He’d grown a little clever, but not much. That kind of talk wouldn’t work on an old hand like Fu Si Heng.
Fu Si Heng brushed the ash off his abs and countered, “That’s the only reason you’re blushing?”
“You’d better get used to it ahead of time, because you’ll be seeing it a lot from now on.”
“Know why you’ll see it often?”
Tao Zhi: “………………”
“No, I won’t.” The honest kid had never been one to argue or lose his temper in his life. No matter how hot-tempered they were, he could always reason calmly with them.
Except in front of Fu Si Heng.
For the first time, Tao Zhi denied it loudly. “I-I won’t be seeing it often.”
Fu Si Heng raised a brow. “That certain?”
Tao Zhi: “Of course.”
His loud voice suddenly turned soft again, and Tao Zhi’s face flushed even more. He tugged at the fluffy pants he was wearing, mustering his courage to remind him, “You promised me…”
“Hm? What did I promise?” Fu Si Heng asked.
Tao Zhi: “…”
Fu Si Heng couldn’t help laughing.
The man’s low chuckle came through.
“Baby, how are you this cute?”
Tao Zhi: “…”
Tao Zhi started scratching at the fluffy pants around his waist again.
In just this short video call, he’d already plucked off several tufts of fuzz.
