Gu Yuanbai woke up the next morning to find his phone call still connected.
They had been connected all night.
He sat up abruptly, his expression changing rapidly, and quickly ended the call.
Within minutes, the other party called back, their voice hoarse and breathy, “Why did you hang up?”
Gu Yuanbai was brushing his teeth, the sound of his electric toothbrush transmitting through the phone. Xue Yuan found the noise peculiar and recorded it, “What are you doing?”
He swallowed the words “baby.”
Gu Yuanbai raised an eyebrow at his reflection in the mirror. His short hair was messy, and his long, slightly curled eyelashes framed his lips, which were perfect for kissing.
Huo Yuan, Xue Yuan…
Feeling both annoyed and elated, afraid it was all a dream, Gu Yuanbai said, “Washing my face.”
They had met less than a day ago, yet he had already fallen asleep so peacefully in this person’s presence. His subconscious was screaming that the most unlikely thing had come true, but faced with the truth, Gu Yuanbai hesitated to ask directly.
Gu Yuanbai’s name hadn’t changed, and his soul and personality were still the same, but his appearance had transformed.
He had become healthy, tall, and filled with a manly grace and handsomeness.
Completely different from the beautiful appearance of the young emperor. If Xue Jiuyao really came here and met Gu Yuanbai, would he like the current version of himself?
Gu Yuanbai silently pulled open his pants and took a look:…
Pretty good-looking.
He should like it, right?
Gu Yuanbai usually wasn’t an emotional person, but now he wanted to act on intuition for once. To get close to Huo Yuan and see if it was him, without breaking the thin layer of window paper, to see if love could still arise despite the different appearances.
After decades together, the love had become more constrained.
“I’m washing my face too,” the other’s laugh tickled his ears, “Want to video call?”
Gu Yuanbai finished washing his face, water dripping from his chin to his collar. He was tempted to accept but also hesitant, “A video call with you?”
“Sure,” Xue Yuan said, “I’m not wearing a vest, just bare-chested. Do you mind?”
Gu Yuanbai: “…” No mistake, this familiar flirtation was definitely Xue Yuan.
Last night’s “typo” was probably a test.
Xue Yuan, both openly and subtly, competed with his wife boyfriend, “Has your boyfriend ever video-called you without clothes?”
Gu Yuanbai blinked slowly, “No.”
Xue Yuan decisively said, “Video call.”
He hung up, and shortly after, the WeChat video call rang. Gu Yuanbai looked at himself in the mirror, his hand trembling, and declined the call.
Another video call invitation came. Gu Yuanbai, still with sleep marks on his face, flipped the camera to show the empty floor.
Xue Yuan appeared on the screen, half-naked, probably just after running, with beads of sweat trickling down his body, at the most enticing age. Gu Yuanbai’s heart was affected by his body, glancing once before looking away.
But in that brief glance, he saw the headphones hanging from the other’s ear.
In a flash of realization, he understood that Xue Yuan had been listening to his breathing while running all morning…
“…” D*mn.
Gu Yuanbai’s face stiffened, unable to show any expression. Xue Yuan leaned close to the camera, puzzled, “Where are you?”
“Dormitory,” Gu Yuanbai replied instinctively.
The dormitory bathroom looked familiar. Xue Yuan recalled an image from memory, “A University?”
Gu Yuanbai hummed in affirmation.
Xue Yuan pressed his lips together tightly.
He had just completed his studies at A University a few days ago.
Should he continue working to visit the young emperor’s tomb, or should he stay here and win back his reincarnated wife from others?
He wanted to do both, he wanted both.
Had his wife reincarnated first because he didn’t wait for him? He felt heartache for his past life’s wife and an intense passion for his current wife.
Xue Yuan felt like a wavering scoundrel.
Outside the dormitory, a roommate yelled, “Brother Bai! Let’s go to Four’s place to watch a movie tonight!”
The bathroom atmosphere froze.
The veins on Gu Yuanbai’s temple bulged, “Sorry, I need to use the bathroom.”
He pressed the red button to end the video call and went out to deal with his roommates.
At ten o’clock, there was a class. Near the end of the class, Xue Yuan sent him a message.
—Where are you?
—Classroom.
After finding out his classroom, Xue Yuan asked: Are you going to watch a movie?
It took Xue Yuan a while to remember what kind of movie this was.
Gu Yuanbai looked up, giving his roommate a cold glare.
—Yeah.
A room full of virgins had already planned to watch an adult movie at Little Four’s place on Friday night.
Coincidentally, Little Four was a local, and his parents weren’t home.
Xue Yuan didn’t reply further, but at noon, he was waiting at A University’s gate. When he saw Gu Yuanbai’s group, he ran up and, with a familiar smile, said, “Can I join you?”
Little Four gave him a surprised look, then happily invited him, “Sure, handsome! What’s your name? That rescue of Brother Bai last time was impressive, just like this!”
He gave a thumbs up.
Xue Yuan naturally put his arm around Gu Yuanbai’s shoulder, gripping with a possessive and slightly indecent force that outsiders couldn’t detect, “Was it impressive? I didn’t think much, just wanted Yuan Bai to be okay.”
Resurrecting from death and encountering a reincarnated lover made Xue Yuan feel like he was on a roller coaster. He didn’t want to think anymore. The stability and deep sense of power he had gained over the years were a burden in this young age, unhelpful in pursuing his wife.
Reviving in a strange world with someone pulling him gave Xue Yuan a sense of joy, joy that made him feel young again.
The hand on his shoulder moved ambiguously, making Gu Yuanbai uneasy. He shrugged, but Xue Yuan only tightened his grip. When Gu Yuanbai looked over, he saw the calloused, slender fingers.
The palm, separated by a layer of fabric, felt hot and sweaty.
The roommates, oblivious and thick-skinned, didn’t notice anything strange. Half an hour later, they arrived at Little Four’s house. The film was paused at the beginning, and the table was filled with takeout and soda.
Gu Yuanbai sat on the sofa furthest from the screen. Xue Yuan sat close by, making the small space feel even more cramped. Little Four turned off the lights, leaving only the awkward sounds of the film.
If it were just the roommates watching, Gu Yuanbai wouldn’t feel so awkward. But with Xue Yuan there, Gu Yuanbai pretended to be calm, pulling his legs back. Suddenly, a mouth whispered in his ear, “Feeling anything?”
The noise of the movie covered the voice, only Gu Yuanbai, who was close, heard it clearly.
A shiver ran down his spine, an electric shock from his tailbone to his neck, “No.”
He glanced down, the faint light from the screen barely revealing, and Gu Yuanbai’s face turned cold, “You are.”
If this poorly-made movie could arouse him, was he really Xue Jiuyao?
Feeling irritated, he got up and walked around the back of the sofa, “Going out for a smoke.”
Xue Yuan quickly followed him, the door briefly let in some light before closing again. Seeing Xue Yuan following him, Gu Yuanbai lowered his eyebrows and strode towards the elevator.
Feeling conflicted, he thought, Xue Yuan getting aroused by a love scene meant he wasn’t exclusively attracted to him.
No, it wasn’t Xue Yuan who felt aroused, it was Huo Yuan.
Xue Yuan ran ahead of Gu Yuanbai, blocking his way while walking backward. His loose sweatpants couldn’t hide his long legs but concealed his arousal, “You smell really good.”
Gu Yuanbai gave him a skeptical look. He hadn’t worn any perfume or used incense from his past life, where did the scent come from?
“You smelled wrong.”
Xue Yuan shook his head, shamelessly, “I could even get aroused by the smell, how could I smell wrong?”
Gu Yuanbai was stunned by his words, his face blank. Xue Yuan missed him so much, he gazed hungrily at Gu Yuanbai’s dazed face, wanting to hug him, touch his hair, face, and back, but he had to restrain himself.
Last night’s research said to be flirtatious but not vulgar; that’s what people liked nowadays.
Ding, the elevator arrived. Xue Yuan glanced back, looking somewhat repulsed.
After riding the elevator once, he never wanted to use it again. The feeling of weightlessness was too uncomfortable; he would rather climb stairs. But his wife had already entered, so he gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, and stepped in. The elevator doors closed, and the confined space felt suffocating. Gu Yuanbai noticed his pale face and became concerned, “What’s wrong?”
Xue Yuan suddenly took two steps forward and hugged him, using all his strength, leaving Gu Yuanbai with nowhere to run. He buried his head in his wife’s shoulder as the elevator plummeted.
The sound of teeth grinding was right by his ear. Gu Yuanbai, drenched in sweat from the heat of Xue Yuan’s body, felt an uncomfortable pressure against his leg, too close.
“What’s wrong…” he repeatedly ignored the strange sensation, “Do you have claustrophobia?”
Xue Yuan shook his head, his short hair scratching Gu Yuanbai’s neck, murmuring, “Just want to hug.”
Gu Yuanbai’s Adam’s apple bobbed, he looked straight ahead, his arm slowly rising as if to embrace Xue Yuan. But before he could touch him, the elevator reached the first floor.
The doors opened wide, and the residents waiting outside were shocked to see them. Gu Yuanbai’s face burned, and he quickly pressed the button for the top floor.
As the elevator ascended and descended rapidly, his wife was still in front of him. Xue Yuan instinctively rubbed against him, their thin summer clothes generating heat, causing awkwardness.
Gu Yuanbai pushed him away with a stern face and ran to the rooftop to wipe his pants with tissues.
He couldn’t keep these pants soaked in Xue Yuan’s scent.
The smell was so strong; how long had it been since Xue Yuan had done it?
After cleaning himself up, he returned to Little Four’s house. Thankfully, the lights were off, and his roommates didn’t notice anything wrong with his pants. He waited impatiently until the evening to rush back to the dormitory to change his pants.
After showering and changing into his pajamas, he laid on his bed and saw that Xue Yuan had called him many times and sent many messages. Gu Yuanbai casually replied: Don’t you care about the phone bill? Use WeChat next time.
Seeing how poor he seemed, probably not even eating well.
Thinking like that, he felt heartache.
Xue Yuan called him on WeChat again, and as they talked, Gu Yuanbai’s expression alternated between smiles and a deliberately stern face. Only one local roommate had returned home, while the others from Fujian and Hunan remained. They exchanged glances, noticing Gu Yuanbai’s unusual behavior.
Quietly, they asked, “Is he in a relationship again?”
The sour smell was almost palpable, the ambiguous atmosphere around Brother Bai was almost visible. Old Zhu sighed deeply, “He just broke up a few days ago, indeed a new relationship is the best cure for heartbreak.”
Old Three was puzzled, “But I haven’t seen Brother Bai with any girls these past few days.”
They looked at each other, their curiosity about the girlfriend growing.
They planned to interrogate Gu Yuanbai after he hung up the phone, but they fell asleep before he did.
Past midnight, time seemed to speed up. Gu Yuanbai glanced at the clock, realizing how late it was, and was about to end the call when Xue Yuan seized the chance to ask, “Want to go on a date on Saturday?”
Gu Yuanbai turned over, glancing at his sleeping roommates, and teasingly replied, “Just to watch a movie?”
His voice was soft and low, with a secretive smile. Xue Yuan’s mind was filled with thoughts of him, feeling so impulsive that he wanted to go for a run in the middle of the night.
“Do you want to watch a movie with me?” Xue Yuan’s chest was flushed red, unable to control himself, “Baby, I want to watch a movie alone with you.”
Gu Yuanbai recalled the scene of his pants getting dirty earlier, the strong male scent making his head dizzy, and he murmured, “I want to see you.”
Xue Yuan: “Hmm?”
Gu Yuanbai snapped back to reality, covering his eyes in silent frustration, his long eyelashes brushing against his palm, but the fluttering in his heart grew louder. He recklessly said, “If I could see you now, I’d go to a hotel with you after the movie on Saturday.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a wave of shame washed over him.
The breathing on the other end became heavier, like a lion before a feast, “Wait for me.”
Xue Yuan put on his clothes and ran out, ready to climb the walls of A University.
