158: 4.23 I Like It

4.23 I Like It

Heimo's hand was held tightly through the entirety of the walk. He could focus on nothing but the solid warmth of Jingxue-Jun's broad palm and the stupidity he had done back then. What the fuck are you thinking, Heimo?! Hugging Jingxue-Jun so intimately from behind, whispering into his ears, calling him 'Yi-gege'... all because he was irritated to see the man looking at the two people in front of him! He was so irked, so desperate for Jingxue-Jun's eyes to return to him, to land upon him and him only and the next thing he knew, his body had moved by itself. What the hell, Heimo, are you a three years old child who gets angry when your parents say another child is adorable?!  2

He didn't even behave this unreasonably toward Uncle and Auntie who were the closest parent figures to him. And he had only officially met Jingxue-Jun yesterday! Exactly where did this possessiveness come from? Had he truly been bewitched?!

He tried to search for the answer within himself to no avail. All he knew was that he liked Jingxue-Jun. Okay, 'like' might not be adequate to describe the extent of his feelings. He liked Jingxue-Jun so, so much — there, that's more like it — to the point where he wanted to hog the man all to himself, possibly drag him into a place where there were only the two of them alone so he could soak in Jingxue-Jun's attention like a cat basking in sun beams.

Dangerous. This was getting dangerous.

"What are you thinking about?" Lu Yizhou tugged on their hands that were intertwined with each other, snapping Heimo out of his thoughts and only then did he realize that they had stopped in front of the largest and most expensive restaurant in the city. 

Instead of answering, Heimo glanced around in confusion. "We are—"

"You said you are hungry." Lu Yizhou said in a matter-in-fact tone and dragged him inside, heedless of Heimo's protest. 

He—He had long forgotten about his hunger because of the kiss and he only said that because that was the only excuse he could think of to draw Jingxue-Jun's attention back to him. But how could Heimo tell him that?! And worse, now his brain decided to betray him by replaying their heated kiss earlier, scene by scene, zooming on the sensation of Jingxue-Jun's lips chasing after his, the man's hot and laboured breath, his smothering silver eyes and his thigh between Heimo's legs…

He was so deep in his own thoughts that he didn't notice the waitress greeting them. Lu Yizhou directly booked the nicest room available, preferably where they could have privacy to themselves. He slid two gold coins to the waitress and received a face splitting grin in return. They were then escorted to the second floor, through the hallway into a room that directly faced the river, showcasing the sight of light lanterns floating merrily on the calm surface, the sway of water lilies, and the stone bridge a few distance away where people were either releasing sky lanterns or strolling around leisurely, happiness plastered to their faces. All the while, Heimo floated behind Lu Yizhou like a shadow, not even realizing that the man still hadn't let go of his hand.

"Drink." A cup of warm tea was held to his lips and automatically, Heimo tilted his head to receive the drink. His throat bobbed, sweetness exploding on the tip of his tongue only then did he notice that he had drunk right out of Jingxue-Jun's hand.

"J—Jingxue-Jun!" He stumbled on his breath with a beet red face. Fortunately, the liquid had flown down his throat otherwise he would definitely choke and create another scene that made him wish for death again.

"Have you finished thinking?" Lu Yizhou steered him down onto a chair and went to sit down opposite him and that meant, letting go of his hand. Heimo stomped down the urge to reach out like a clingy, needy child and clenched his fists instead, covering it with his sleeves and wishing that he could erase the lingering warmth there.

"I—" What should Heimo say? 'You're so beautiful that it steals my breath away' 'I can't stop thinking about the kiss' 'Can you please hold my hand and if possible, kiss me silly again?' No! Absolutely not! Heimo took a deep breath, digging past the inappropriate thoughts to piece together a semblance of logic. The heat in his body gradually calmed down and now that he thought about it, he had been extremely rude. Tarnishing Jingxue-Jun's reputation in front of his junior disciples, stealing him away, getting irrationally jealous all by himself… If he were Jingxue-Jun, he also wanted to chuck himself to the river and died a horny ghost. How could Jingxue-Jun still put up with him so patiently? His shoulders slumped down, eyes hanging low in dejection. "This humble one apologizes."

Lu Yizhou's movement of pouring the tea halted. "What are you apologizing for?"

Heimo shrugged, a bit self-deprecatingly. "Everything…?" Jingxue-Jun was such a kind, thoughtful and sincere man whilst he… all Heimo ever did was to lie and use him however he wanted. God, he was such an awful man. He bit the insides of his cheek and braced himself to steal a glance at Jingxue-Jun.

Oh. 

Oh, he had messed up again. 

The tightness around the man's lips, the slight quiver of his lashes, the deliberate blankness of his gaze… Heimo had no idea how he could notice so many micro expressions of Jingxue-Jun in less than a second and fully understand them but he did. He… had made Jingxue-Jun upset, hadn't he? Of course, of course he had. Heimo had kissed him without consent and Jingxue-Jun — through a series of universe's wonders — actually didn't unsheathe his sword and stab him right there and then. Instead, he had kissed back, passionately, willingly. And then Heimo apologized about it as if everything was a mistake. Of course, he would be upset. 

Heimo clenched his fists so hard that his nails sank into the flesh. Still, it couldn't compare to the sharp pain and guilt in his heart. How could he trick such a kind and sincere man? Heimo, what kind of heinous thing have you done?! 

He snatched the cup of tea on the table and gulped it down, grateful for the temperature that scalded his tongue. Then, without any further thoughts, slammed the cup down and blurted out. "I—I don't mean the kiss! I don't regret the kiss and I don't think I will. I… I only apologize for my rudeness in front of your sect's disciples." Heimo hastily corrected his words, because apparently he was the kind of man who ran his mouth loose and forgot courtesy when he was flustered. "This humble one apologizes for his inappropriate behavior."

"Don't."

Heimo snapped his eyes up and upon meeting Jingxue-Jun's eyes, looked down again. Coward, he chided. "Don't what…?"

"Don't speak in such a formal tone. Lan'er is not a lesser one and he will never be." Lu Yizhou reached out to tuck Heimo's hair behind his ear, fingertips brushing against the shell of Heimo's ear. A full body shiver slammed into him with the magnitude of today's earthquake and he looked up in time to see a genuine smile curling on the corner of Jingxue-Jun's luscious lips and his tender gaze that could melt even the sun. Let alone Heimo, this mortal feeble man. "I like it," The man murmured in that warm, deep voice of his. "When you do whatever you like to me."

Heimo sucked in a breath and he swore his heart stopped beating for a few seconds as Jingxue-Jun smiled at him. Fortunately, the waiter knocked on their door in the nick of time, preventing Heimo from blurting out something like 'I want to kiss you again' or 'marry me'. Heimo cleared his throat and looked out of the window because he didn't trust himself not to pounce on Jingxue-Jun again even in the presence of another.

"Please enjoy your meal, Sirs." The waiter bowed and left, leaving the two of them alone again.

Heimo snatched the first chance to break the silence. "The food looks so delicious—" The words died down and he froze, this time really taking in the spread of exquisite dishes on the table. A surprised sound escaped from his throat and his eyes darted to Lu Yizhou, wide and shining in wonder. "These are all my favorites…"

"Really?" Lu Yizhou said in a tone that gave nothing away. "I'm glad that I chose well."

.

.

Mini theater

Lu Yizhou, watching Heimo fumble around in panic: The way to a man's heart is through his stomach.

Of course, he had learned his lover's favorite food by heart, having prepared it for him through decades of their lives together. Furthermore, this was the right compensation, no? He has shattered Lu Yizhou's self-control by suddenly initiating a kiss so it's only fair that Lu Yizhou paid him back in return. He wondered how long Heimo could continue pretending in front of him.

#meanieLYZ is back

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