UCTOOT CH93

The crowd outside had long since dispersed, and the ice blocks radiated faint wisps of coolness. As he was kissed, Shi Shu’s previous resistance faded, his fair chin gently held by a hand.

The lips pressing down were warm, carrying the faint scent of sandalwood clinging to the man. First, Shi Shu’s face was cupped for a soft peck, followed by a deeper kiss pressing against his lips and teeth.

Shi Shu gripped the corner of the quilt. Everything unfolded naturally. As Xie Wuchi’s tongue brushed against his, his eyelashes fluttered, letting out a soft “Mm.” He neither resisted nor blindly submitted, remaining lucidly aware of what was happening.

Their lips and teeth tangled together, wet sounds of intimacy mingling with the brushing of their tongues.

Movement was difficult with Shi Shu’s injuries, so Xie Wuchi supported his chin to prop the pillow higher. An intensely intimate kiss that seemed on the verge of losing control was reined in to accommodate Shi Shu’s body, transforming into a restrained, lingering passion, drawing out the tenderness as long as possible.

Shi Shu closed his eyes, the tips of his ears flushing crimson as Xie Wuchi’s breath brushed against his ear. They kissed for a while before parting, their eyes meeting.

In that moment of gaze-locking, a glistening thread lingered on Shi Shu’s reddened lips. Glancing at him once, he shifted his eyes away, a powerful flutter seizing his heart. Just as he turned his head aside, his chin was stroked once more as Xie Wuchi leaned in for another kiss.

“Mmm…” Shi Shu kissed him back.

Xie Wuchi threaded his fingers through Shi Shu’s hair and tightened his hold. Looking up, there was Shi Shu’s fair, refined face, still carrying a youthful boyishness. Shi Shu kissed him until he was breathless, his head swimming with dizzying warmth.

Xie Wuchi asked in a husky whisper, “Do you like kissing me?”

Shi Shu’s heart trembled. He knew exactly what was being asked, keeping his lips tight. But as time flowed quietly through the air, Xie Wuchi waited patiently for an answer. After a moment, Shi Shu gave a faint, somewhat hurried nod: “I… I like it.”

That single phrase was like a crashing tidal wave. Xie Wuchi kissed him again. The calluses on his fingers were rough and feverish. Under his touch, Shi Shu felt stripped of part of his masculine pride, finding it hard to fully accept. Yet Xie Wuchi’s palm was searingly warm, shielding him from the cold.

Tongues tangled as they kissed deeply. Shi Shu allowed Xie Wuchi to dictate the tempo of their passion, their lips grinding softly together. Beside his ear, Xie Wuchi’s voice suddenly spoke: “Shi Shu, when did you start training in athletics?”

Shi Shu: “Around four or five, I guess.”

Xie Wuchi kissed his eyelids: “Did your parents make you act like a little tough guy growing up—never complaining when in pain, never complaining when tired?”

Shi Shu looked puzzled, but opened his eyes to reminisce for a moment. At home, his parents loved him dearly, though running with his dad from a young age had indeed been exhausting. He remembered not wanting to get out of bed, not wanting to run, not wanting to bake in the sun. His dad had always told him to be brave and strong like a little man, occasionally throwing in traditional lectures like “real men don’t carry umbrellas.” And Shi Shu had indeed lived up to it, never whining about pain or exhaustion.

Looking at him with brown eyes, Shi Shu asked, “Why do you ask?”

“You avoid emotional vulnerability. Perhaps your family was too strict.”

“…” Drained of all energy from the kissing, Shi Shu lay flat without responding. The scent lingering from Xie Wuchi faded slightly—a clean, sun-baked aroma, wholesome and comforting, making his chest feel inexplicably ticklish.

Left without a comeback, as Shi Shu pondered those words, Xie Wuchi had attendants bring in the food and lay it out on the low dining table. Everything was light, easily digestible, and nourishing: cordyceps pigeon soup, mushroom and luffa soup, and several other dishes. Shi Shu instinctively tried to push himself up to dig in, only to wince as the pain flared.

Xie Wuchi remarked, “Avoidance.”

“…………”

Shi Shu collapsed back down. Xie Wuchi returned to his side, bringing his scent along with him. Shi Shu rested his head down, relaxing a fraction.

“What avoidance? What nonsense, that’s just psychological jargon! I just don’t like being waited on hand and foot, and it’s too troublesome for you,” Shi Shu muttered.

Xie Wuchi fed him soup, tasting it first to check the temperature.

Watching him blow on each spoonful, Shi Shu’s ears flushed red. After a moment, he said, “You act just like a father fussing over his son. I really can’t imagine you being a dad.”

Xie Wuchi said, “I do not like children. I was always strictly vigilant against premarital intimacy, lest someone poke a hole in a condom with the calculated intent to get pregnant.”

Swallowing the soup offered to him, Shi Shu hummed with a questioning gulp, “Huh?”

Xie Wuchi recounted the story as if speaking of someone else: “After I came of age, my family arranged for me to produce the next generation early. The two of them had premarital relations and signed a prenuptial agreement before marriage to only have one child—me. Yet they remained obsessed with having an abundance of offspring, hoping I would spread multiple seeds to expand the family line. From the moment I turned eighteen, they frequently sent pre-selected women straight to my room, setting up encounters with one of them every time I returned home. There were many; they didn’t care who it was, or how many, so long as pregnancy resulted. The condoms they provided had pinpricks in them.”

Ripples stirred in Shi Shu’s chest: “What? Who does that sort of thing?!”

“I do not like children. But if you were my child, I would make a good father.”

Blushing, Shi Shu retorted with feigned haughtiness: “What are you trying to pull now?”

“Open your mouth.” Xie Wuchi lifted the congee, spooning it into Shi Shu’s mouth.

Shi Shu: “Heaven-sent nuisance of a dad.”

The savory flavor of meat spread over his palate. Blinking, Xie Wuchi’s words lingered stubbornly in Shi Shu’s head: “They treated you way too cruelly.”

Xie Wuchi: “Mm. They likely viewed me as some sort of breeding stallion.”

Shi Shu was at a loss for words. Grasping his sleeve with one hand, he obediently parted his lips to let Xie Wuchi feed him, reminded of Xie Wuchi dressed in Buddhist robes back at Xiangnan Temple. This room looked quite similar to the one at Xiangnan Temple, and just as when they first met, the man cared for him with meticulous, gentle attentiveness.

Shi Shu watched him blow on the boiling-hot soup until it cooled, testing the heat before saying, “Here.”

Shi Shu had the urge to muss his own hair: “Xie Wuchi.”

You really do act just like my dad and my mom!

Every mouthful grew harder to swallow under this sheer doting. Unable to bear it, Shi Shu reached to take the bowl: “I can do it myself—”

Xie Wuchi said, “You are allowed to rely on me.”

Shi Shu went quiet, lost for words, when Xie Wuchi added, “Besides, you resemble a puppy.”

Shi Shu: “Huh? Where do I look like a dog? Xie Wuchi, you’re the one who looks like a dog!”

“You don’t believe me?” Xie Wuchi offered another spoonful of food.

Shi Shu opened his mouth to argue, saw the spoon arrive, and took the bite. Swallowing, he barked, “Woof, woof, woof!” Xie Wuchi fed him another spoonful; Shi Shu ate it, then chattered on: “You’re the dog here! By the way, when you say dog, you mean an ordinary dog like Laifu, right? Not some weird kink kind of dog, right?”

Xie Wuchi: “An ordinary dog.”

Just as Shi Shu was about to bark again, another mouthful of food was shoved into his mouth.

“…………”

“Why don’t I believe you?” Shi Shu mumbled around his food. “Xie Wuchi, I know you have peculiar tastes—BDSM, roleplay, and all the rest. I’m definitely not playing along with any of that.”

Xie Wuchi: “Oh?”

“Things like master and dog, non-con roleplay, conditioning, sadomasochism… Even if we’re together, I’m never indulging you in that stuff, you pervert!” Shi Shu’s face burned bright red.

Xie Wuchi’s expression darkened slightly as he caressed his ear: “Stop talking, good boy.”

Shi Shu: “Did talking about that turn you on?!”

Xie Wuchi: “You understand me rather well.”

Shi Shu: “Holy crap, Xie Wuchi, you are completely shameless.”

The pad of Xie Wuchi’s thumb rubbed softly across his lips without stopping.

Feeling the heat of his fingertip, Shi Shu knew that beneath this magnificent facade lay blazing, twisted affection and desires unfit for the light of day. He offered no denial. Transgressions and warped dynamics perhaps resonated with the missing pieces of his psyche, where greater pain paradoxically yielded deeper pleasure.

Though modern relationships were open and people pursued sexual autonomy, spiritual traditions often preached asceticism, viewing carnal desire almost as an original sin through which dark impulses could be glimpsed.

Xie Wuchi was precisely that: composed, brilliant, rational, and aristocratic by day, yet an untamed, twisted beast once his robes were shed.

Shi Shu chattered on for quite a while, while Xie Wuchi kept his fingertip pressed against his lips without much outward reaction. Looking up, Shi Shu met his dark, unblinking pupils, devoid of expression, cool silver light grazing the bridge of his nose—he had clearly been provoked.

Shi Shu’s heart stalled. Xie Wuchi was practically a patient; ordinary standards could never be applied to him.

The pad of his finger was burning hot, the callused skin conveying a tightly reined-in fever. Beneath the surface, the roaring beast within his veins was being fiercely restrained. Shi Shu realized at once: never casually provoke his feral side.

Shi Shu quickly clamped his teeth onto the spoon: “Hungry. Eating.”

Xie Wuchi snapped out of it and calmly retracted his hand. If he truly became Xie Wuchi’s lifelong partner, after adjusting to one another, physically satisfying his desires and indulging him in play was practically a foregone conclusion.

Xie Wuchi had a massive physical appetite. If it came down to climbing into his bed, fulfilling his bedroom desires might actually make achieving the ultimate goal far easier.

A thought suddenly occurred to Shi Shu, and he asked, “Xie Wuchi, aside from me, does anyone else know about your tastes?”

Xie Wuchi: “My parents know as well.”

“And nobody else?”

“No. Others do not even know my orientation. I maintain heavy guards against people; the more one speaks, the more mistakes one makes. Telling them the truth is far less amusing than lying, and having more people know of this is not good.”

Shi Shu hummed an “Oh.” So even Xie Wuchi considered it inappropriate.

Regardless, Shi Shu lowered his gaze. His willingness to confide this—did it mean he had placed his Achilles’ heel into Shi Shu’s hands? Honestly, having unconventional kinks wasn’t a crime, was it? Yet Xie Wuchi was so clearly haunted by it.

As Xie Wuchi had attendants clear the table and silence returned to the room, Shi Shu called from behind: “Xie Wuchi.”

“What is it?”

“Is your twenty-sixth birthday coming up soon?”

Xie Wuchi: “You remember.”

“Twenty-six.” Shi Shu yawned. “You’re living like an ascetic monk, too.”

With Xie Wuchi’s power and authority, locking someone away for a forced-love scenario would take mere minutes, yet he hadn’t done that. Instead, he maintained this lukewarm restraint, battling his desires daily, living like a celibate widower.

Those devoid of desires lived easy lives; Xie Wuchi, cursed by cravings that burned through him daily like wildfire, suffered all the more.

And the weakness Xie Wuchi handed over would ultimately lead to him being slain… Was this hell?!

Shi Shu’s eyes darted around: I really am a terrible man… a monster…!

Muttering to himself, Shi Shu was scooped up by Xie Wuchi, who began wiping the sweat from his skin with a damp cloth. Shi Shu sat awkwardly on the wooden stool. The bedding had to be changed, as did the pillows. Once replaced, Xie Wuchi wrung a cloth in a basin of warm water to wash Shi Shu’s body.

Shi Shu asked, “What do you want for your birthday?”

Xie Wuchi replied, “I have no attachment to birthdays, nor do I consider the day any different. Do not waste effort fretting over it; whatever you give is good.”

Having his face wiped with the warm cloth, Shi Shu stared at him: “Alright then…”

Just as well, since I couldn’t think of anything anyway.

Xie Wuchi focused on sponging him down. Bare of clothing, the youth’s fair chest and back were exposed. The atmosphere was already somewhat awkward; by the time Xie Wuchi wiped down his legs, Shi Shu had turned his head completely away.

Throughout the night, as Shi Shu slept, Xie Wuchi got up periodically to check on him.