Chapter 34: Embracing in Sleep Part 2

When Chi Wei finally released the black cat, it leaped up, arched its back on tiptoes, hissed at him defiantly like an enraged black cobra, unrepentant to the death. The white cat nuzzled him to shut up and dragged him back to the nest for grooming.

Chi Wei: “Both of them are male.”

Ye Chengwan paused. “Really?”

Homosexuality was common in nature after all. Curious, he wanted to peek closer, but Chi Wei added, “Interesting. We’ll take them when we leave.”

Li Ran protested immediately. “No way!”

He grabbed Chi Mo’s arm and shook it. “Bro, that’s my little cat. Bro… that’s my little cat. I’ve been feeding them for almost a year.”

Touching the object of his affection unknowingly versus knowingly felt worlds apart. Chi Mo felt his arm soaking up Li Ran’s warmth endlessly. In that moment, he wanted to pull him into his arms.

He wanted to hear that pleading, begging tone say something else.

“Your little cat?” Chi Mo asked.

It was like if the answer was clear-cut, he wouldn’t help. He eagerly anticipated blurring boundaries with Li Ran, starting from every aspect of life.

Li Ran: “…Ours.”

“Ours what?”

Li Ran’s heart fluttered inexplicably. “Our… little cats.”

“Mm.” Chi Mo nodded, looking at his annoying little uncle. “Touch our family cat again, and I’ll tell your wife.”

Ye Chengwan immediately feigned innocence, as if he wouldn’t tattle otherwise, and turned to chat with his parents.

After retirement, Cheng Ai Mei and her husband loved enjoying life. With their savings and a bit of help from their son, they bought this house.

Five years ago, pre-retirement, the house sat empty. Chi Mo was attending high school nearby and lived here, where he met Li Ran.

But the house itself had nothing to do with Chi Mo; it wasn’t his.

That evening at the dinner table, six people—four “outsiders.” Logically, no one should meddle in the house affairs.

But Chi Wei never saw himself as a guest or son-in-law. He interrogated the elders like criminals. “Been checking your blood pressure lately? Taking meds on time? Sneaking sweets or drinks? Staying up late at night?”

The elders chuckled dryly, deflecting vaguely. Hearing Chi Mo mention confiscating their phones and tablets, Chi Wei sneered cuttingly. “Such big ages and you don’t take care of yourselves? Staying up like young folks, thinking you’re made of iron? Waiting till it’s too late to regret?”

“Even Ye Chengwan doesn’t dare stay up—he gets scolded every time.”

Unfairly dragged in as a bad example, Ye Chengwan couldn’t help his parents and got embarrassed under the table, stepping on Chi Wei’s shoe. “Say that again… Shut up.”

Chi Wei turned to Li Ran with a frown. “You got a bunch of bad habits too?”

“Little Uncle,” Chi Mo blocked his overreach, meeting his eyes flatly. “He’s under my care. You handle yourself and Uncle Wan.”

The Li Ran under Chi Mo’s care was ready to rebel.

That night, lying in bed, Li Ran tossed and turned, mangling the sheets into wrinkles. He couldn’t sleep no matter what. He racked his brain but couldn’t figure out when, where, or why Chi Mo had fallen in love with him.

Past two in the morning, unable to sleep, Li Ran got up, sat on the bed’s edge thinking, then quietly opened his door in the dark. He tiptoed to the next room, hardly daring to breathe.

The whole act seemed sneaky.

He extended one finger—not so much knocking as poking the door. His knuckle tapped lightly twice, unsure if he wanted the occupant to hear or not.

He probably just sought some psychological comfort. If Chi Mo opened, he’d talk; if asleep, pretend he hadn’t come.

When he tapped on the door, Li Ran prayed in his heart that it wouldn’t open, that it wouldn’t open—he had at least tried. Unfortunately, his prayers failed. Almost as soon as he reached the door, the tightly shut room door clicked open from the inside with a “ka-da” sound, as if Chi Mo had also stayed up all night, knowing Li Ran would come and waiting specifically for him.

“Bro… bro… brother.” The bedroom light was off, pitch black inside. Li Ran was so nervous that he dragged out a single word like he was stammering a whole sentence.

Chi Mo: “Mm.” He truly hadn’t slept yet; he hadn’t even changed out of his daytime clothes. “What do you have to say in the middle of the night?”

“I… I…” Li Ran hung his head and twisted his hands, staring deeply at his own toes and enduring the strange discomfort as he said, “…I’m rejecting you. Bro, don’t love me anymore.”

“I really have to… I really have to reject you…” Li Ran emphasized nervously.

Chi Mo: “Oh.”

He didn’t hide the aggressive look in his eyes at all, letting his unhealthy, murky gaze linger on Li Ran for a long time. Li Ran felt a gaze that scanned him from head to toe like a visual violation, scalding hot like boiling oil, making his whole body tremble like chaff.

The next second, Chi Mo yanked him fiercely into the room and pressed him against the closed door.

“Mmph…” Li Ran let out a frightened whimper.

Chi Mo covered his mouth. His large hand covered the lower half of Li Ran’s face, not allowing him to make a sound.

Li Ran’s bewildered gaze was fully reflected in Chi Mo’s eyes, making him want to bully him even more.

Chi Mo said, “What to do? You can’t reject me. And it’s impossible for me to let go just because of your one rejection.” Li Ran’s breathing was slightly rapid as it sprayed against his palm. Chi Mo’s fingers pressed even tighter immediately, making Li Ran’s cheeks dent slightly. “I’ll just charge ahead regardless. Begging for mercy probably won’t work either.”

“Promise me”—this kind of demand had permeated almost Li Ran’s entire adolescent life leading up to adulthood.

He had never rejected or thrown a tantrum for himself. When other kids threw fits and rolled on the ground because their parents wouldn’t buy them toys, Li Ran could be quelled with a single “We’re not buying it” from Bai Qingqing. He learned the unintentional cruelty of adults and suppressed his childish whims.

Nothing could truly be suppressed and extinguished. If it didn’t erupt at the time, it just meant the timing hadn’t arrived yet. Once it did, it would come on fiercely. Unfortunately, Li Ran couldn’t figure this out for the moment.

As for “rejection,” it was something Li Ran had learned bit by bit after meeting Chi Mo. This stern-faced man, who was so patient with him, had taught him many things hand in hand. Not only was Li Ran ungrateful, but he even turned it back on Chi Mo—it was utterly unreasonable.

The 18-year “promise” system surged forward after Chi Mo’s words, overwhelming the “rejection” system with unstoppable force.

Li Ran leaned against the door panel, feeling the hard, icy coldness on his back. In the darkness, there seemed to be a cluster of ghostly fire in Chi Mo’s eyes. Li Ran was startled, but the anxiety that had driven him to come and reject Chi Mo inexplicably dissipated.

He even thought to himself: Fine, just promise him. He’s my brother anyway… he’s forcing me.

“Alright. Alright, don’t be scared, Ranran. Be good.” Chi Mo gradually released the tight force from his hand, letting go of Li Ran. His palm lost the right to be touched by those lips, so he curled his fingers, savoring that trace of scorching heat.

Sure enough, a few imprints from the pressure appeared on Li Ran’s face. Chi Mo rubbed them gently with the back of his finger and said, “I was just scaring you. Stop shaking.”

“I-I’m not shaking…” Li Ran hadn’t realized he was shaking until the words slipped out. His voice nearly twisted and flew two miles away. Amid the amplified sensations, another portion of “embarrassment” was added for him to savor and chew on, making his whole face burn like fire.

He was timid to begin with, so this reaction was normal—like asking a stranger for a couple of napkins. Chi Mo had taught him that, and he wouldn’t mock him.

Li Ran no longer felt embarrassed: “You suddenly dragged me into the room… I was afraid you’d pull down my pants and spank me with your big palm again.”

His gaze shifted downward, and he really did cover his butt with both hands. Chi Mo found it amusing and barely managed to put on a serious face: “You didn’t do anything wrong, so why would I spank you with my—’big palm’?”

There was a weird half-second pause midway, as if the “big palm” Li Ran mentioned shouldn’t have been a palm at all, but something else that also started with “da.”

Li Ran trembled: “I-I don’t know either.”

Seeing him protect himself even more fiercely, Chi Mo pursed his lips without speaking, thinking to himself: You should protect it a bit, but if it’s a spanking, it wouldn’t be with a palm anyway.

Chi Mo composed himself and said, “I won’t spank you.”

Li Ran: “Then why…”

“Grandma didn’t say Little Uncle is a huge pervert?” Chi Mo slandered his own little uncle without any qualms. “If he finds out you stayed up all night and came to my room this late, no one’s ears will be safe tomorrow.”

Li Ran: “…Little Uncle talks a lot?”

Chi Mo hummed: “Depends on the situation.” Whether it was because Li Ran didn’t sleep soundly and tossed and turned in bed, or because Chi Mo had been too eager for contact earlier and used too much force, one button on Li Ran’s silk pajama shirt had come undone, slipping diagonally off his shoulder, exposing his collarbone and half his fragrant shoulder. Chi Mo really wanted to lean down and sniff. “In this house, he talks a lot. In the other house, he talks less. When we go back for New Year, you can see his other side. You can be curious about my little uncle, but not too curious—it makes me uncomfortable.”