He thought about simply taking his pillow down and making do on the floor for the night.
But as he picked up the pillow, he felt that if he avoided the bed like this, it would instead make it seem as if he had some sort of designs on Lian Li.
The more he avoided it, the guiltier he felt.
Thinking this, Yun Huizhou put the pillow back, turned his back to Lian Li, and began to undress.
He quickly removed his outer robe and draped it haphazardly over the rack by the bed, only to see Lian Li’s clothes already hanging there.
The two sets of clothes were tangled together in a mess, as if they were representations of the two men themselves.
He was doomed; the two little masked figures in his mind seemed to be gradually gaining faces.
Yun Huizhou hurriedly turned his head, not daring to look at the clothes rack again, nor at Lian Li, who was sprawled out on the bed.
He climbed onto the bed with light steps, leaning against the very edge. Half of his body was practically suspended in the air, for fear of accidentally touching Lian Li.
This was completely different from how they usually slept, where they would eventually roll together and end up hugging.
In the past, when they lay together, they would often fight over who got to rest their legs on whom, and most of the time, he was the winner.
On the rare occasions Lian Li won, it was only because he let him; after all, it was no fun if the same person always won.
But today, he didn’t even dare to touch a corner of Lian Li’s clothes.
Lian Li, naturally, had a night of sweet dreams, but the same could not be said for Yun Huizhou.
With half his body hanging off the bed, he finally managed to fall asleep, yet his rest was fitful.
In his dream, he became a naked little masked figure, and Lian Li also became a naked little masked figure.
He discovered that the figure he had become wouldn’t listen to his commands at all. It charged straight toward the figure representing Lian Li, domineeringly wrapping one arm around Lian Li’s waist while the other hand pinned Lian Li’s hands together above his head.
The Lian Li figure struggled with all its might but could not break free from the figure representing him.
He stood to the side, shouting anxiously, Quick, let that little person go! But when he opened his mouth, he found he couldn’t make a sound, and his limbs were completely out of his control.
He watched helplessly as he pinned the Lian Li figure down, about to perform the positions drawn in that booklet.
Yun Huizhou was going crazy; he was being driven mad by his own dream!
Fortunately, that shameful position was not fully completed, but Yun Huizhou did not breathe a sigh of relief.
Because he was kicked away by the Lian Li figure.
At this moment, he realized he wasn’t just a masked figure anymore; he had another identity.
A pimp from Liufang Courtyard.
He didn’t know how it happened, but he saw that his outfit had changed into the style of a pimp from Liufang Courtyard.
He was kicked to the ground by the Lian Li figure and couldn’t move. He watched as the Lian Li figure walked over to him, slowly raised a leg, and with a cold sneer hanging on his lips, aimed at his important parts and stomped down hard.
“Ah!”
Yun Huizhou woke up with a start. After sitting up in bed, he subconsciously reached down to check his important parts.
“Fuck!”
He cursed under his breath. Before he could move, Lian Li rolled over beside him, his leg happening to land right across Yun Huizhou’s lap.
Yun Huizhou lowered his eyes to look at the fair calf resting on him and reached out to grab it.
The skin felt delicate and smooth to the touch, and because of the sweat, it felt slightly sticky.
He held Lian Li’s calf; though it was a normal body temperature, it felt scalding to him.
It wasn’t just his hand that felt burnt; his entire body felt as if it were being consumed by fire, uncomfortably hot.
His fingers twitched. Lian Li seemed to find it itchy and pulled his leg back, while simultaneously reaching out with his hand to unconsciously push the person beside him.
This movement instantly reminded Yun Huizhou of the Lian Li figure in his dream rejecting his own masked figure, causing him to snap into full alertness.
He shoved Lian Li’s calf away. Because the movement was large and the force wasn’t light, he actually woke Lian Li up.
“Yun Huizhou, what are you doing?” Lian Li curled his body slightly, his voice thick and nasal with sleep.
“It’s nothing,” Yun Huizhou’s voice was dry.
Seeing that Lian Li had opened his eyes and was looking around dazed, he immediately flipped out of bed. With his back to Lian Li, he grabbed his clothes from the rack, threw them on, and used a hair ribbon to tie his hair back loosely.
He heard Lian Li get out of bed behind him. The other man didn’t go for his clothes on the rack but instead walked toward him barefoot.
Hearing the person behind him getting closer and closer, Yun Huizhou felt his entire body go stiff.
It wasn’t until the person reached his side that he abruptly turned around, continuing to keep his back to the other.
Lian Li gave him a puzzled look, but because he was extremely thirsty and not yet fully awake, he was too lazy to make a fuss.
He poured himself a cup of water and gulped it down.
Hearing the sound of the person behind him drinking water, Yun Huizhou uncontrollably thought of another illustration from that booklet. The hair on his entire body stood on end.
At the same time, he felt like he was going to explode.
Lian Li, completely oblivious, finished his water and walked to the window to look out, finding the sky still pitch black.
It was already early summer, so the sun rose early. Since it was still dark, it meant morning was still far off; it was still time for sleep.
He glanced at Yun Huizhou, who had been acting very strange since they returned yesterday, and muttered, “If you’re feeling unwell, let’s get up early tomorrow and see a doctor. I feel like you didn’t sleep soundly at all tonight; you kept moving.”
Yun Huizhou didn’t dare face Lian Li at all, nor did he dare say much for fear of his voice betraying him. He only gave a low “Mm.”
Lian Li put down the cup, walked back to the bed, rolled into the innermost spot, and fell back asleep.
Yun Huizhou glanced sideways at the now-slumbering Lian Li, then looked down at himself. He decisively walked behind the screen used to partition the bathing area in the room.
He suppressed himself, not even daring to make a sound.
After resolving the issue, he rinsed himself with the spare cold water in the room and then carried the bucket out.
After pouring out the water, he leaped onto the roof of the inn.
Standing under the night sky, he looked in the direction of Jinzui Tower and took a deep breath.
Jin Manjue, you’d better not give me a reason to come looking for you, otherwise, I’ll beat you so hard your own parents won’t recognize you.
Give me back my pure senior-junior brotherly bond!
Having slept less than four hours the entire night and having performed an energy-draining task, Yun Huizhou stood alone outside until dawn.
When Lian Li woke up again, Yun Huizhou had already returned to the room, looking as if nothing were out of the ordinary.
Except for the two large dark circles under his eyes.
Lian Li was shocked. Martial artists had abundant energy, and Yun Huizhou had been resting normally for the past few days. How could he have such heavy dark circles overnight?
After finishing his morning wash, Lian Li sat down across from Yun Huizhou, looking at him with curiosity. “Did you have a nightmare last night?”
