Chapter 48: “Whenever You Call Me Senior, Nothing Good Happens…”

He was together with Ji Huaizhi because of the Love Gu.

He hadn’t even told Lu Yuyang about it.

Ning Shuang got out of the car now and walked home alone because his mood was a bit off. He felt like he needed some quiet time to himself.

The night wind blowing over his body felt rather cold. The dim yellow light from the streetlamps along the road stretched Ning Shuang’s shadow long behind him. He kept his head down, stepping along the white line on the pavement as he slowly made his way home.

“Ning Shuang.”

Suddenly, Ning Shuang heard someone calling his name from up ahead.

He thought he’d misheard at first, but when he looked toward the sound, he saw Ji Huaizhi standing not far away. He was holding a leash, apparently out walking Ning Dundun.

“Huaizhi.” Ning Shuang was a little surprised. Before he could quicken his pace to reach him, Ji Huaizhi tugged Ning Dundun along and ran right up to him, pulling him straight into an embrace.

Ning Shuang found himself enveloped in that cold embrace.

“I thought you weren’t coming home tonight,” Ji Huaizhi murmured, burying his face in the crook of Ning Shuang’s neck.

Ning Shuang patted his back reassuringly. “How could that be? Didn’t I promise you I’d come home?”

Ji Huaizhi didn’t reply, only holding him tighter.

“Let’s head home. The wind’s so cold.” He reached up and clasped the hand resting on his shoulder.

“Okay.” Ji Huaizhi kept one hand on Ning Dundun’s leash and gripped Ning Shuang’s hand tightly with the other.

Seeing how lightly dressed Ji Huaizhi was, Ning Shuang shrugged off his jacket and draped it over him. “Why didn’t you wear more if you were just coming out for a walk?”

Ji Huaizhi said it wasn’t necessary, but Ning Shuang insisted, “Your health isn’t great. What if you catch a cold?”

Ji Huaizhi could feel Ning Shuang’s concern washing over him.

His Adam’s apple bobbed. “Did you sort things out with your friend? Are you going to his place again tomorrow?”

Ning Shuang thought for a moment. “Not sure yet.”

Ji Huaizhi let out a soft “oh,” his eyes dimming a little. But in the darkness of night—and with Ning Shuang preoccupied with his own worries—Ning Shuang didn’t notice the low mood.

Once they were home, Ning Shuang asked while changing his shoes, “What did you have for dinner?”

“Just… something random,” Ji Huaizhi replied.

Ning Shuang picked up on the odd note in his voice. “You didn’t eat at all, did you?”

“Earlier, when I asked what you’d eaten, you told me every detail!” Right there in the entryway, Ning Shuang backed Ji Huaizhi into a corner, cupped his face, and met his gaze. “Did you eat?”

Ji Huaizhi’s eyes flickered. He pressed his lips into a tight line and, under Ning Shuang’s stare, buried his face in Ning Shuang’s neck. “I fixed dinner for Dundun.”

“Tch.” Ning Shuang patted the head in his arms. “I was asking if you ate.”

“You weren’t home, so I didn’t have any appetite,” Ji Huaizhi said, sounding a bit down.

Ning Shuang: “So you didn’t eat?”

Ji Huaizhi: “Are you mad at me?”

Ning Shuang sighed. “I’ll go make you some noodles.”

“I’m not hungry.” Ji Huaizhi grabbed his hand.

Ning Shuang glanced back. “I’m making some for myself too. If you don’t want any, I’ll just make enough for me.”

Ji Huaizhi quickly backtracked. “Then I’ll eat.”

Ning Shuang let out a helpless chuckle. “Alright, go wash your hands and wait. It’ll be ready soon.”

“Mm.” Ji Huaizhi agreed, but he stuck to Ning Shuang like glue, following him everywhere. While Ning Shuang waited for the water to boil, Ji Huaizhi wrapped his arms around Ning Shuang’s waist from behind, resting his chin on Ning Shuang’s shoulder, looking for all the world like he couldn’t bear to be apart even for a second.

Ning Shuang felt the warm breath against his neck.

Staring at the bubbling pot, he started wondering if Ji Huaizhi’s clinginess was really just a side effect of the Love Gu. It seemed excessive somehow. He didn’t mind it, but he worried it might be disrupting Ji Huaizhi’s life.

Before they’d started dating, Ji Huaizhi always had his own things going on. Now, his daily routine seemed to revolve entirely around Ning Shuang.

Or was this simply how Ji Huaizhi was in a relationship?

“Senior.” A puff of warm breath brushed his ear, making Ning Shuang shiver. He still wasn’t quite used to Ji Huaizhi calling him that. “What’s up?”

“Are you annoyed with me?” Ji Huaizhi released his hold around Ning Shuang’s waist and asked.

Ning Shuang turned around at once, grabbing Ji Huaizhi’s hand. Seeing him with his head down, Ning Shuang bent slightly to peer up at his face. There was grievance, sadness, and unhappiness there.

“No! Why would you think that?” Ning Shuang cupped Ji Huaizhi’s face again and planted several quick kisses on his lips and cheeks.

Ji Huaizhi’s voice was aggrieved. “Whenever we’re together, you always seem so distracted.”

Ning Shuang felt dizzy.

“No, I was just thinking about something. It had nothing to do with being annoyed by you.”

“Are the things on Senior’s mind more important than me?”

Ning Shuang’s heart nearly shattered. He gently rubbed Ji Huaizhi’s chest. “How do you come up with these wild ideas?”

“Nothing matters more than you,” Ning Shuang said solemnly.

Ji Huaizhi buried his face in Ning Shuang’s neck again. “Sorry. I overthought it again.”

“It’s fine. It’s my fault. Next time, I’ll tell you everything right away.” Ning Shuang inhaled the faint, clean scent of Ji Huaizhi’s hair, recalling what he’d said earlier.

With parents that strict—who even interfered in who he could befriend—Ji Huaizhi had essentially never had anything of his own. Dating Ning Shuang was, in a way, the first thing he’d truly possessed.

That must be why Ji Huaizhi was so insecure, always afraid he’d leave.

Once he figured it out, Ning Shuang felt even more guilty. He’d turned Ji Huaizhi into this anxious person, yet he couldn’t always be there to soothe those fears because of other commitments.

“Sorry,” Ning Shuang said again.

Ji Huaizhi lifted his head, gazing at Ning Shuang with burning eyes. “Then, Senior… can we kiss?”

Ning Shuang narrowed his eyes knowingly. “So that’s what you were after.”

“No, if Senior doesn’t want to, it’s fine. I don’t really want to anyway.” Ji Huaizhi took half a step back, head still lowered as he mumbled on.

Ning Shuang leaned back against the counter, hands braced on the edge behind him. Playing along, he said, “Alright, if you don’t really want to, then forget it.”

Ji Huaizhi looked up.

He met Ning Shuang’s mischievous grin—and the next second, Ji Huaizhi closed the distance, capturing Ning Shuang’s lips in a kiss.

His tongue lightly grazed the roof of Ning Shuang’s mouth. Ning Shuang let out a soft gasp as an electric thrill shot from the crown of his head straight through his body. He trembled faintly, his legs giving out as he slid into Ji Huaizhi’s arms.

A few minutes later.

Ning Shuang had just been released and was gulping down fresh air. Once Ji Huaizhi saw him recover, he leaned in to continue.

But Ning Shuang suddenly remembered something. He pressed a hand to Ji Huaizhi’s forehead and glanced at the pot of boiling water. “No more kisses. The water’s boiling—time to make the noodles.”

“Oh, okay.” Ji Huaizhi stepped aside to give him room.

“Even if I’m not home in the future, you have to eat on time, got it?” Ning Shuang felt like he was acting the part of Ji Huaizhi’s parent, nagging him with concern like some fussy adult.

Ji Huaizhi smiled softly and drew closer. “I’ll be good.”

“Good.” Ning Shuang smiled back, freeing one hand to intertwine their fingers.

Ning Shuang made two bowls of simple tomato-and-egg noodles. While they ate, he suddenly thought of his plans for tomorrow. To keep Ji Huaizhi from overthinking, he wove a perfectly ordinary-sounding lie in his mind and said, “I’ll probably be late home tomorrow night too. The Student Union has a bunch of stuff I need to handle, so you’ll have to get home and eat alone. That okay?”

Ji Huaizhi nodded. “Sure.”

Ning Shuang was still willing to explain his schedule in detail, which did ease Ji Huaizhi’s mind a little.

Even though he knew it was a lie.

“Okay, eat up then. Get some early sleep after.”

“Mm.”

…

That night, while they showered together, Ning Shuang suddenly noticed the mark on Ji Huaizhi’s wrist.

Ji Huaizhi usually wore a watch, and on previous occasions when they’d showered together, Ning Shuang had been too exhausted to notice.

But now, fully alert, he finally spotted it.

He grabbed Ji Huaizhi’s wrist and examined it closely. “Is this a birthmark on your wrist?”

Ji Huaizhi lowered his gaze to Ning Shuang’s ear and murmured a soft “mm.”

Ning Shuang released his hand, turned around, and pointed to the birthmark on the back of his own neck for Ji Huaizhi to see. “This is mine. Don’t our birthmarks look alike?”

Ji Huaizhi reached out, thumb gently caressing the spot on Ning Shuang’s neck before leaning down to press a kiss to it. “It’s beautiful.”

“But it doesn’t look like it.” In fact, this mark was virtually identical, but Ning Shuang couldn’t normally see it at all. Since Ji Huaizhi said it didn’t resemble the other one, Ning Shuang naturally believed him.

“But they’re both shaped like butterflies, right?” Ning Shuang turned around again, taking Ji Huaizhi’s hand and tracing the outline on his wrist with his fingertip.

Ji Huaizhi’s throat bobbed.

The showerhead above poured water over both of them, drenching their bodies. Ning Shuang still bore the traces of their lovemaking from the night before—bite marks and hickeys scattered across his chest. He simply stood there, and Ji Huaizhi couldn’t get enough of the sight.

When Ning Shuang noticed the gaze fixed on him growing hotter by the second, he quietly released Ji Huaizhi’s hand. Then he turned and hurried out of the bathroom on unsteady feet, grabbing a towel from the vanity to wipe the water from his body.

Ji Huaizhi watched him. “Senior, I won’t do anything.”

Ning Shuang shot him a look. “Whenever you call me Senior, nothing good happens!”

His eyes flicked downward, confirming that this was no place to linger. He wrapped himself in a bathrobe and bolted.

After two straight nights of exertion, Ning Shuang knew he truly couldn’t handle another round tonight.

He dashed back to the bedroom, changed into pajamas, and lay on the bed. Nearly twenty minutes passed before Ji Huaizhi finally returned.

Ning Shuang lifted the covers, scooted toward the inside of the bed, and patted the spot he’d warmed up. “Come to bed quick, darling.”

Ji Huaizhi switched off the room’s lights. In the faint glow of the bedside lamp, he slipped naturally into Ning Shuang’s arms, hugging his waist tightly. Ning Shuang brushed all of Ji Huaizhi’s hair behind him and sighed. “Feels like your hair’s grown a bit longer again.”

“Doesn’t it look good anymore?” Ji Huaizhi asked instinctively.

“How could it not? It looks great.” Ning Shuang pressed a kiss to the top of Ji Huaizhi’s head. The scent of shampoo filling his nostrils was the exact same as his own.

All of a sudden, Ning Shuang realized that back when they’d first met, Ji Huaizhi had smelled like sandalwood dampened by fresh snow—cool and aloof. Yet at some point, the scents on their bodies had become identical.

Ning Shuang’s heart trembled at the thought. This subtle change quietly tugged at him.

It made him aware that he, too, had reached the point where he couldn’t bear to be separated from Ji Huaizhi.

Would that Love Gu have to stay in Ji Huaizhi’s body forever? Ning Shuang knew full well that everything he had gained could vanish just as easily. His unease was no less than Ji Huaizhi’s.