Chapter 166: Lying Together

So, he immediately sat up straight and proper, then grabbed Yun Huizhou’s belt, pulling the man a bit closer to himself.

The two of them were only a hair’s breadth away from being pressed against each other. However, once the distance became this close, Lian Li found it even more awkward.

Because he was sitting, while Yun Huizhou was standing.

No matter how one looked at it, this posture seemed improper.

Yun Huizhou was also rendered speechless by his series of outrageous actions.

He took a step back and changed the subject. “Let’s go for a stroll in Jianggao City tomorrow.”

“Sure,” Lian Li said. “I remember the roast duck at that restaurant Junior Uncle took us to last time was delicious, and the pastries were great too. Last time we were there, I saw everyone else enjoying them so much that I was too embarrassed to eat too many.”

Yun Huizhou replied, “Then we’ll go there to eat tomorrow. We’ll order two portions—one for each of us—and eat until we’re full.”

Lian Li was delighted to hear him say that. Surprisingly, he didn’t say something like, “Since you like it, I’ll order it all for you.” Instead, he directly suggested two portions, one for each.

On second thought, it was normal. That restaurant’s roast duck was indeed unparalleled. Yun Huizhou had similar tastes to his, so it was only natural that he loved it too.

Ordering two portions for two people was better than ordering one to share and not being satisfied. It wasn’t as if they couldn’t afford it.

When it was time to rest that night, the moment Lian Li closed his eyes, the East Island Master’s teasing words suddenly surfaced in his mind.

In an instant, he was so startled that he snapped his eyes open.

The candles had already been extinguished. Although moonlight could filter in, the doors and windows were closed, leaving the room in pitch-black silence. He could hear his own heartbeat and breathing.

He pulled the quilt down a bit and strained his ears to listen for any movement from Yun Huizhou’s side.

It was also quiet there; even the sound of breathing was faint, yet it disturbed Lian Li so much that he couldn’t sleep at all.

He could only toss and turn in bed.

Since he wouldn’t settle down, the commotion on his side wasn’t small.

After a short while, there was movement from Yun Huizhou’s side as well.

Upon hearing it, Lian Li instantly didn’t dare to move, even making his breathing much lighter. However, he heard the sound of Yun Huizhou getting out of bed—specifically, he heard Yun Huizhou walking toward him, step by step.

Lian Li swallowed hard, his whole body stiff and afraid to move.

Before long, he felt Yun Huizhou sit down by his bedside. Lian Li lay there motionless, pretending to be asleep, yet he remained hyper-aware of Yun Huizhou’s every move.

However, everything became so still that it felt as if hearing Yun Huizhou get up and come over had been a hallucination.

Lian Li quietly opened his eyes, only to see a dark shadow sitting by his bed.

Lian Li: “…Yun Huizhou… Why didn’t you say anything after sitting down?”

Yun Huizhou gave a light chuckle and said, “I heard you tossing and turning, unable to sleep, so I wanted to come over and talk to you. But as soon as I moved, you went still.”

Lian Li argued back, “I wasn’t tossing and turning because I couldn’t sleep. If you hadn’t come over, I definitely would have been asleep by now.”

“Is that so?” Yun Huizhou leaned down close to him. “It’s fine if you use those words to fool me, but don’t go fooling yourself.”

Yun Huizhou was very close, yet he never actually touched him. This, however, made Lian Li tremble more than if he had been touched directly.

“I’m not fooling you. Wasn’t I closing my eyes when you came over?” Lian Li continued to be stubborn. “You also watched me open my eyes.”

“As soon as I got close, I heard your breathing. The frequency is different from when you’re usually asleep, so I knew you weren’t asleep at all.”

As Yun Huizhou spoke, he flipped himself onto Lian Li’s bed. Because there wasn’t enough room, he pushed Lian Li further inward.

Lian Li: !!!

Lian Li had no heart to listen carefully to what Yun Huizhou was saying; his mind was filled with the words the East Island Master had said that afternoon.

Could it be… that Senior Uncle’s prediction was really going to come true? They were going to cause a ruckus all night!

Lian Li suddenly became nervous, and he couldn’t help but shuffle backward.

Yun Huizhou propped his head up with one hand, watching Lian Li stare at him intently while shuffling back like a little caterpillar. He found it incredibly cute.

Reaching out his hand, he pulled Lian Li—who had only managed to move a tiny distance away—back until he was pressed tightly against him.

Lian Li didn’t struggle, nor did he think about moving away again. He just lay there obediently without moving, his eyes still staring fixedly at Yun Huizhou.

Fortunately, Yun Huizhou didn’t make any other moves. He just looked at Lian Li and asked, “What is it? Is something on your mind? Usually at this time, you’re so asleep you’re on the verge of snoring.”

Lian Li naturally couldn’t tell him what the East Island Master had said to him that afternoon. “It’s nothing. I’m just happy about the holiday tomorrow, so I subconsciously wanted to stay up late.”

“Then what should we do?” Yun Huizhou’s tone was somewhat nonchalant. “Since you can’t sleep~”

Lian Li felt his tone was a bit dangerous and shrank his neck, not daring to speak.

Seeing his cowardly appearance, Yun Huizhou remembered how Lian Li was always the one to bring up the matter of the Spring Palace pictures. He found it quite amusing.

After pulling up the thin quilt covering Lian Li, he prepared to get off the bed and return to his own side.

Just as he started to get up, the hem of his robe was grabbed by someone. Then, he heard Lian Li’s voice: “You’re already lying here, why walk all the way back?”

Yun Huizhou turned his head to look at Lian Li, only to see that although the man was holding onto him, his gaze was the same as usual—radiating that damn sense of innocence.

It made one feel as if thinking too much was akin to committing some heinous crime.

Yun Huizhou simply didn’t know what to say. He wanted to pull his hem out of Lian Li’s hand and just leave. But upon meeting Lian Li’s somewhat expectant gaze, he couldn’t bear to let him be disappointed.

Yet, looking closer, that expectation was mixed with a bit of timidity.

Yun Huizhou was truly helpless.

It wasn’t as if they hadn’t slept together before. But now that their relationship had changed, why did even the simplest act of lying together require so much hesitation?

He paused in place for a good while, then couldn’t be bothered to think too much. He lifted the quilt, slid inside, and lay down next to Lian Li.

“Fine, sleep, sleep.” After lying down, he closed his eyes directly. “You’d better sleep honestly and don’t move around. Our relationship is different now. If you move around and make it so I can’t sleep, you’d better be prepared.”

Lian Li silently withdrew his hand. Regardless of whether Yun Huizhou could see it, he nodded gently. “I know. We’ll follow the process slowly; you should understand that, right?”

“I understand,” Yun Huizhou said. “Now go to sleep.”

Hearing the tone of Yun Huizhou’s voice, Lian Li knew he was speaking much more gently now. If it were before, it probably would have been a blunt, “Shut up and go to sleep.”

He knew when to quit while he was ahead and didn’t continue to bother Yun Huizhou. He only shifted a bit more to get closer to him.

The moment he leaned over, he noticed the muscles on Yun Huizhou’s body visibly tensed up. Lian Li immediately stopped his small movements and observed Yun Huizhou’s next reaction.

Yun Huizhou turned his head and opened his eyes to look at Lian Li, who was staring at him with a pitiful expression. His heart was filled with nothing but helplessness.