TF01 71

“Ugh…”

Half of Ying Ming’s face was buried under the blanket. His brows were slightly furrowed. He shifted a little from the discomfort pressing against his chest.

It started as licking, then upgraded to biting. Soft, scattered nips that weren’t exactly intense, but kept building up into something brewing just under the surface. Ying Ming let out a few irritated grunts and swatted at it.

The harassment didn’t stop. It was getting worse. The moment that faint tingling sensation shot straight up to his scalp, he finally snapped and opened his eyes.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, getting horny first thing in the goddamn morning!”

Had last night not been enough? They had gone at it until well past midnight.

As he shouted, the man in front of the mirror turned to look at him with a puzzled expression. The air from last night’s mess had already been cleared by the morning sun streaming through the window. Shi Yi had opened it early to let in some fresh air. The bed looked like it had been mauled. Ying Ming sat up groggily, still half-asleep, his face twisted with frustration from having his rest interrupted.

In contrast, Shi Yi was already dressed and had washed up. He looked like he had been dropped in from a completely different world. He turned to glance at Ying Ming.
“What kind of dirty dream were you having?”

The moaning from earlier had already started to sound suspicious, and before he could carry out any kind of actual assault, the guy had woken himself up.

The whole situation looked absurd no matter how you framed it.

Ying Ming rubbed at his throbbing temples and ignored the sarcasm. He yanked off the blanket.

Smoke Ring was curled up right on top of him, biting down hard on his nipple and refusing to let go.

Maybe because Ying Ming had sat up, Smoke Ring couldn’t stay curled anymore and ended up half-draped across him. When he tried to pull it off, the cat let out a disgruntled protest. Shi Yi stood there in open disbelief as Ying Ming grabbed Smoke Ring and tossed it off the bed. He ran a hand through the messy strands of hair on his forehead.

“I told you already, you have to shut the door when you sleep!”

“I’m not used to closing the door at home. I forgot…”

Shi Yi responded purely on reflex, still trying to process what had just happened. It wasn’t until the cat shuffled out of the bedroom with its usual blank expression that he finally snapped out of it.

“What the fuck. What kind of pervert cat is that?”

What kind of animal sexually harasses its owner first thing in the morning?

Ying Ming frowned and rubbed at the spot on his chest where the marks still lingered. The scent of animal fur clung faintly to his skin, and the feeling made his back crawl. It got to the point where he couldn’t stand it anymore. He climbed out of bed, pulled on a pair of pants, and headed toward the bathroom. On the way, he tossed a simple explanation over his shoulder.

“When I first got it, it was still really small. It used to shake when it slept alone, so I let it stay in my bed for a while. It likes lying on my chest, probably because it’s warm. But I haven’t let it in for the past two years. It hadn’t done that in a while…”

As he spoke, he glanced back at Shi Yi.

“Ever since you moved in, it’s gotten more and more like you.”

Especially the part about being horny first thing in the morning and throwing little fits for no reason.

Shi Yi’s face darkened. He hadn’t even done anything and was somehow still getting blamed. He looked toward the blank-faced black cat now crouched by the stairs licking its fur and was once again struck by the urge to toss it out of the house.

He had woken up early today because Kou Jing had invited them out to a live show. Haozi’s band had signed up for a competition, one that was no small deal. Ying Ming had mentioned they’d been preparing for quite a while. Today was the top-three elimination.

Ying Ming showered quickly. By the time Shi Yi had finished setting out the dishes downstairs, he was already out, towel in hand, drying his hair. He looked much more awake.

“Well, well. A new man. Making breakfast now, are we?”

Young Master Shi had always been the type who waited for food to be served and clothes to be handed to him. Getting this kind of treatment first thing in the morning, Ying Ming felt almost flattered.

It wasn’t until they started living together that Shi Yi realized just how punchable this man’s mouth could be. When they first met, Ying Ming had come across as someone who chose his words carefully and with restraint. But the more familiar they got, the sharper his sarcasm became.

It just proved that first impressions meant nothing. Nine times out of ten, they were absolute bullshit.

“Shi Yi made breakfast” was a bit of an exaggeration. All he’d done was heat up some of the bread they bought at the supermarket yesterday. The cereal just needed to be mixed with hot water. It was all basic enough. He just scooped everything into bowls and brought it to the table.

Ying Ming didn’t like wearing shirts at home. Draped in a towel, he casually sat down at the table and took a bite of bread, smiling faintly.

He always had a bit of a temper when he first woke up, but once it passed, he would wake up completely. His hair still dripping wet, one hand holding bread, the other holding a bowl. A few stray droplets of water clung to his chest. Morning light framed him in a soft, golden halo. The whole scene radiated a kind of effortless, lazy sensuality.

So this was what it meant to be an actor.

The way he carried himself was like a frame out of some adult lifestyle ad. Like he was always poised, always camera-ready.

Shi Yi had just formed that thought when Ying Ming happened to look up. Their eyes met unexpectedly. For a moment, both of them froze. It was surreal. Shi Yi had never imagined he’d be the kind of person to zone out while staring at another man. He really didn’t want to admit it, but this was happening while he was completely awake and sober. Across from him, Ying Ming’s lips curled into a half-smile, maybe because he had figured out what that glance meant. Or maybe he just felt like smiling.

“I’ve thought about it too, you know.”

The sudden remark broke the silence.

He lowered his head, took a spoonful of cereal, and tore another bite from the bread in his hand.

“I used to think about what life would be like if I ever had a family. Probably something like this. Waking up in the morning to find breakfast already made, sitting down together to eat, tidying up a little before heading out. If there was free time, maybe walking around the city or just doing something to pass the time. Work when I felt like it, and if I didn’t, then something else instead. As long as everyone was together, that was enough.”

He finished most of the bread, then tipped the bowl and drank the rest of the cereal. After wiping his mouth casually with a napkin, he looked over at Shi Yi and smiled.

“Right now, I guess I’ve more or less reached that ideal.”

Except that, back then, he never imagined the person sitting across from him would be a man.

Seeing Ying Ming finish, Shi Yi picked up his pace and cleared his plate quickly. He stretched, let out a satisfied breath, and said,

“I never really imagined what having a family would look like.”

He tilted his head back and smiled.

“But this… this is pretty good.”

In his memory, the only time he’d ever eaten breakfast with other people was back in school. Crowds packed into the cafeteria, noise everywhere, the flow of students around him like a market on full blast.

His family never sat down to eat breakfast together. When he was still in school, he left for class before his parents even got up. By the time he went to bed at night, his father might not have come home yet. It wasn’t unusual to go half a month, even a full month, without seeing each other. Over time, meals just stopped mattering.

Once he left campus and started building something of his own, he moved into a single apartment without hesitation. None of the people he’d dated had ever shared anything like this with him.

It was such a simple thing. Something that should have been completely ordinary. But for someone like him, it carried a strange sense of romance.

After finishing breakfast, Ying Ming went back to drying his hair. His hair was soft, and when it was half-dry, it would puff up slightly. From behind, it gave him a boyish look, made him seem younger than he was. Shi Yi watched for a while, then suddenly stepped up behind him and took the towel from his hands, gently running it through his hair.

They sat together on the couch. Ying Ming sat cross-legged, watching the faint reflections of their silhouettes on the dark screen of the television. It all felt a little off, as if none of it should belong. But something in his chest softened all at once.

Shi Yi’s movements were slow and light. He liked the feeling of his fingers slipping through Ying Ming’s damp hair. It felt calming, like it could smooth out every trace of irritation in his mind.

Time passed quietly in the soft morning light, until Ying Ming’s phone suddenly rang and broke the stillness.

It was Kou Jing.

“Hey, Mingzi. What’s the plan with you and Young Master Shi? Want me to swing by and pick you up?” Judging from the noise in the background, he was already at the venue. The place sounded chaotic.

Ying Ming stood up. “No need. We’ll take one car. It’s the same venue as last time, right? I’ve been there.”

“All right. Keep an eye on the time. Looks like things are running on schedule. Haozi’s band is second on the lineup.”

“Got it. We’re heading out now.”

He hung up and grabbed some clothes, pulling them on quickly. Shi Yi didn’t need to do much. Just threw on his coat and he was good to go. As they stepped outside, the chill of the morning air hit them in the face. Ying Ming added a scarf, tossing it loosely around his neck.

At the end of the street, someone happened to catch sight of the two of them leaving together, one after the other, getting into the car side by side.

From a distance, the scene looked like a painting.

The venue wasn’t exactly close to Ying Ming’s place. Fortunately, there wasn’t much traffic at that hour. They took the expressway most of the way, and it wasn’t until they got near the location that the roads started to get a little congested. Even so, they were still on schedule. After parking the car, the two of them followed the staff passage Kou Jing had texted them and made their way directly into the backstage area.

What caught them off guard was that Wang Yiqi was already there, along with his younger brother, someone Ying Ming had only met a couple of times.

The performance on stage had already started, but it wasn’t Haozi’s band yet. It was the group before them. The vocals were decent, though the lead singer’s voice was too raspy to be clear. Paired with a heavy metal backing, the sound ended up feeling more like a scream than a song. At first, it had a certain edge, but after two songs, it started to wear on the ears.

Ying Ming and Shi Yi slipped along the side and sat down next to Kou Jing.

“Pretty good turnout today,” Ying Ming remarked.

The parking lot outside was nearly full. Because there was a fee, people had filled up every spot along the street instead.

Kou Jing nodded. “I wasn’t expecting this big of a crowd either. But from what I’ve seen, Haozi’s group is still the strongest overall. Shouldn’t be a problem.”

He had heard the final act before. Aside from a distinctive guitar tone, the rest of the group was average at best. And in terms of coordination, they were nowhere near as in sync as Haozi’s band.

Shi Yi and Wang Yiqi exchanged a few brief glances. Shi Yi hadn’t paid much attention to the brothers before, but in broad daylight, it was easy to see that these two looked nothing alike. Both were striking in appearance, but Wang Yiqi, being the celebrity, had a more aggressive look. His entire aura was high-profile, like he was one step away from wearing a label across his forehead. His younger brother, by contrast, was quiet. His features were delicate, but carried a cold, restrained sharpness. The kind of face that clearly didn’t invite conversation.

The fact that they were siblings would’ve been hard to believe without someone saying so.

During a solo guitar interlude between sets, Kou Jing tugged Ying Ming’s sleeve. Ying Ming leaned in, and Kou Jing whispered in his ear.

“Mingzi, I just saw Mao Yu.”

Ying Ming raised his eyebrows. “He’s back?”

“Yeah.”

Kou Jing watched his expression. “You want to see him? He asked me for your number.”

Ying Ming gave a small smile. “No need. That guy has nothing to do with me.”

There was a chill behind the curve of his lips. Shi Yi picked up on the sudden drop in Ying Ming’s mood and glanced between him and Kou Jing, but he couldn’t tell what had happened.