WP Chapter 31

Jiang Yibai kept rambling on and on, and only belatedly realized that he sounded like a nagging mom. The thought made him laugh a little.

Thinking back to how the Male God had bought so many gifts, he suddenly chuckled and said, “Did you get the wrong idea? Think I had a tragic childhood?”

Si Shaorong shook his head. “I just wanted to get you presents. That’s really all. You…”

He seemed a bit nervous. He sensed this was a good opening, a perfect moment to break through, but he didn’t want to push too hard. Holding Jiang Yibai’s hand, he asked, as if casually, “Everything you said to Chen Yi… was it true?”

“What do you mean, ‘true’ or ‘not true’?” Jiang Yibai looked at him oddly. “Don’t most normal families live like that? Pinching pennies, calculating every little thing? Oh, right, I forgot. Your family’s doing pretty well, aren’t they?”

Si Shaorong had mentioned in a past interview that his parents were executives at foreign companies, with considerable income and a very comfortable life. But Jiang Yibai didn’t know much beyond that.

He vaguely remembered Si Shaorong mentioning that his parents were very independent and had raised him to be the same. It gave the impression that family ties in the Si household were rather faint.

As they looked at each other, Si Shaorong suddenly realized that he had always wanted to know everything about this person. He wanted to hear it straight from Jiang Yibai’s mouth, to be accepted into that tightly sealed heart.

But he had forgotten that he had never talked about himself either. How does that old saying go again? If you want someone to reach out to you, you have to reach out first.

Everyone was the same, afraid that opening up would only lead to pain. From Jiang Yibai’s perspective, he himself had never revealed anything personal. Aside from some trivial facts that could be found online, Jiang Yibai knew almost nothing about him. To him, Si Shaorong was just as impenetrable.

That sense of distance, that emotional wall, was often built by our own hands. Most people just don’t realize it, or they do, but simply don’t want to change.

In that moment, Si Shaorong had a sudden revelation, like he had finally found a hidden path through thick fog that led to someone’s heart.

He quickly followed Jiang Yibai’s words and said, “Yeah, my family’s pretty well-off, but I stopped relying on them after I graduated. Everything since then has been on my own.”

Seeing that Jiang Yibai was getting curious, he went on, “My parents met through an introduction. The two of them are very similar in personality.”

Si Shaorong didn’t often talk about his family. He pulled Jiang Yibai closer, letting him lean against his chest, and wrapped an arm around his shoulder as he said, “They’re both very independent and strong-willed. They’ve got a lot of pride but are also extremely rational. When I was a kid, I used to think they were robots, you know? They never fought.”

Jiang Yibai looked at him. “Isn’t that a good thing?”

“I’m not sure if it is or not,” Si Shaorong said. “Whenever there was a disagreement or conflict, they’d sit down, lay out all the conditions and expectations, and calmly discuss everything until they found a solution that satisfied both sides. They never raised their voices or lost control. They were always composed, like… they always knew exactly what they wanted.”

Jiang Yibai found it all quite amusing. He had never imagined there were couples in the world who interacted like that.

But then he suddenly began to understand why Si Shaorong was so slow and naive when it came to emotions, and why he had no idea how to manage a relationship.

Jiang Yibai turned his hand over and started squeezing Si Shaorong’s palm, kneading it back and forth. He said, “My parents used to fight all the time.”

Si Shaorong’s heart began to pound. He looked at him nervously.

Jiang Yibai didn’t notice his expression. He thought for a moment, then said, “My mom was really jealous. She was a total vinegar jar. She had a lot of bad habits. She liked to check my dad’s phone. When he came home from business dinners, she would sniff his clothes, check his collar and his pockets. It was honestly pretty annoying. I told her to stop so many times, but she never listened.”

Si Shaorong listened with wide eyes. “I’ve never seen my mom do anything like that.”

Jiang Yibai smiled. “My mom also loved looking good. She went to the gym all the time to keep her figure. She was really pretty. People said she had a ton of guys chasing after her back in the day. You know why my dad managed to win her over? Because he was the dumbest one of them all.”

Si Shaorong laughed out loud.

Jiang Yibai stroked the back of Si Shaorong’s hand and said softly, “Back then, my mom used to tell me stories about their past. I never really liked hearing them. I only remember bits and pieces. I wish I had listened more.”

Si Shaorong felt a squeeze in his chest. He was just about to offer some comfort when he heard Jiang Yibai continue.

“My mom isn’t my grandfather’s biological daughter. She was adopted.”

Si Shaorong froze.

Jiang Yibai said, “The story’s way too complicated. I won’t get into it. Anyway, my grandfather loved her a lot. Later on, my dad had a chance to get transferred and promoted in another city, but my grandfather didn’t want to be separated from my mom. He pulled some strings to block my dad’s opportunity. My dad made a scene at work because of it. He fought with my mom and my grandfather, but eventually they just carried on with life.”

“Every family has its own mess. After that, my parents started fighting more and more, though it was usually just small petty arguments. Nothing serious. Then I grew up, hit my rebellious phase…”

Jiang Yibai licked his lips. It took him a while to speak again.

“I stopped listening to them. I kept upsetting them, hurting their feelings, and I thought I was hot shit for it. I kept thinking I had to make my own way in the world, like their concern for me was just a burden. I thought they were holding me back.”

“I guess my dad probably felt the same way too. He must have thought my grandfather and my mom were getting in his way.”

His tone stayed flat the whole time, not much emotion in it at all. But somehow, hearing all of this made Si Shaorong feel like his heart was about to break. His chest tightened until it was hard to breathe. He reached out quickly and pulled Jiang Yibai into a hug, rubbing his back hard and fast.

Jiang Yibai looked confused and let out a laugh. “What are you doing?”

“Your dad might have been angry. He might have been hurt,” Si Shaorong tried his best to comfort him, even if it came out awkward. “But he must have worked through it in the end. Otherwise there wouldn’t have been you, and there wouldn’t be all these days that followed. It’s hard to say how things would have turned out. Maybe…”

He had no idea how to offer real comfort, so he just kept talking nonsense with a straight face.

“Maybe if he had taken that promotion, he would’ve run into all kinds of problems. It’s not like he would have definitely become rich and successful. Maybe things would’ve been worse instead. Nobody knows how the future turns out.”

Jiang Yibai blinked, then suddenly burst out laughing. He wrapped an arm around Si Shaorong’s waist, rested his chin on his shoulder, and said, “You really are a treasure.”

Si Shaorong gave a confused look.

Jiang Yibai snuggled into his arms and blew a breath by his ear. “What do you do when your boyfriend wants kisses and cuddles?”

Si Shaorong flushed red in an instant. This man, even in a moment like this, how could he still be like this?

He might have thought it was inappropriate, but as the saying went, the body never lied no matter what the mouth claimed.

With a red face, he allowed his boyfriend to misbehave and stir up trouble. He took Jiang Yibai’s fingers in his hand and brought them to his lips, kissing each one slowly and deliberately.

The room fell silent. Neither of them spoke. Jiang Yibai stared at the side of Si Shaorong’s face in a daze while Si Shaorong remained fixated on those long, slender white fingers, kissing all ten of them with care and affection.

By the time he finished kissing the last one and raised his head, Jiang Yibai pinched his chin and leaned in to kiss him.

Their tongues tangled, burning hot with shared heat. Jiang Yibai swept through every corner of his lover’s mouth, then took his lower lip between his teeth, licking, sucking, and gently biting. Si Shaorong held him around the waist and let him do as he pleased. The passionate kiss slowly melted into tenderness, and then shifted into the teasing intimacy of lovers. Jiang Yibai’s eyes remained half open, his lashes trembling slightly, spring-laced heat blooming at the corners of his eyes in a way that was devastatingly seductive. His tongue twined gently with Si Shaorong’s in a perfect rhythm, like a dance performed by two partners who knew each other intimately.

Jiang Yibai had never imagined a kiss could feel this good. He had no desire to let go of Si Shaorong. Every pore in his body felt like it was opening under hot water. A wave of relaxed, lazy pleasure spread from the tips of his hair to his toes. Each time Si Shaorong responded to the kiss, his body tensed just a little. This was a kiss filled with lust, but it was even more satisfying than lust itself. It felt like being completely bare, curled up inside a bed of soft feathers, basking in warm sunlight. It felt like soaking in a perfectly heated bath, floating with arms and legs adrift, no need to think about anything at all.

He had no idea how long they had been kissing when he finally tried to pull away slightly, only to be drawn back again by Si Shaorong’s embrace.

He smiled into the kiss, his voice broken into fragments between breaths. “Lately… hmm… your kissing’s improved.”

Si Shaorong brushed his lips softly and murmured, “That’s thanks to Teacher Jiang’s lessons.”

Jiang Yibai blinked in surprise, then broke into laughter. He braced himself against Si Shaorong’s shoulder and sat up straight. Their eyes met, and the warmth in Si Shaorong’s gaze was almost completely unfiltered.

Jiang Yibai grinned and said, “Well, well. So my baby likes a bit of roleplay?”

Si Shaorong looked dazed, his expression unfocused. He had been enjoying the kiss so much that he wished they could just keep going until the end of time. Only now did he realize that Jiang Yibai’s lips were a little swollen, and there was a faint blush on his face. It took a moment for the words to sink in, and when they did, he remembered what he had just said. His ears instantly turned red.

“No, I mean… cough…” He was a little embarrassed, but when he thought about calling Jiang Yibai ‘teacher,’ it actually felt kind of fun.

“Tsk. So my boyfriend isn’t as proper as he looks.” Jiang Yibai gave him a look and pinched his chin with a teasing glint in his eyes. “As your teacher, I’m very responsible. Want me to teach you a few more kissing techniques?”

Si Shaorong swallowed hard. Before he could think it through, the words slipped out of his mouth.

“Can I learn anything else?”

Jiang Yibai froze for a second. The atmosphere suddenly shifted. It was as if a bubble of sweetness had burst with a sharp pop, startling both of them awake.

Si Shaorong realized what he had just said. The color drained from his face.

Jiang Yibai stared at him for a moment, then suddenly smiled. He leaned in and pinched Si Shaorong’s chin, his brows and eyes full of teasing charm, but there was something in his expression that Si Shaorong couldn’t quite read.

Jiang Yibai said, “Sure. What do you want to learn?”

As he spoke, he casually ran his hand along Si Shaorong’s thigh and added, “But let’s get one thing straight. I charge tuition.”

Si Shaorong’s chaotic, buzzing thoughts cleared in an instant. The feverishly pounding heart in his chest slowly began to cool.

Tuition.

Si Shaorong understood exactly what Jiang Yibai meant. Give and take. Mutual consent. In the end, it was still just a transaction.