TF01 95

Shi Yi had been arranged to sit one row behind Ying Ming, as a guest. Everyone knew he and Ying Ming were friends, and the director assumed he had been specially invited by Ying Ming to show support. His attitude toward Shi Yi was quite courteous. But since it was the premiere, there was little time for small talk. The venue was packed with people there to enjoy the buzz. Tickets had sold out early during online presales, and some attendees had even traveled from China just to see the film. As Ying Ming entered, he could hear people calling out his name.

Overall, the film’s quality was excellent.

This director had always had a clear vision, and it was evident he’d had a strong hand in the editing process too. His personal style came through vividly. The overall tone was somber and heavy, with a lingering sense of pressure, but it wasn’t the kind of oppressive despair that drags you down. Though the film didn’t end with a perfect happily-ever-after, it left behind not despair but a lingering sigh and a quiet sense of regret.

Ying Ming’s and Wang Yiqi’s characters parted ways on a pedestrian bridge, each chasing their own dreams and aspirations, gradually drifting in opposite directions.

When the lights came on in the theater, Ying Ming noticed a few audience members wiping their eyes. He raised an eyebrow slightly and felt a quiet sense of satisfaction in his heart.

A good movie is one that can move people.

And this was proof that taking on this role had been the right choice.

When he went onstage with the director, the host naturally prompted some interaction with the audience. Emotions were still running high for many viewers. A young man in the front row accepted the mic from a staff member, still visibly shaken.

“Director, I just want to say, this is the first time I’ve watched a film about same-sex relationships. I’ve always had a hard time accepting that kind of love. Honestly, I came today just to tag along with a friend.”

The girl next to him, suddenly the focus of attention, gave an awkward smile. The young man looked at Ying Ming.

“But after watching this movie, I feel like no matter what kind of relationship it is, whether it’s between a man and a woman or something else, if it’s genuine, it will move you. I really liked how the two male leads in the film were drawn to each other beyond their control, but ultimately went their separate ways in pursuit of their dreams. It felt like they truly lived, truly loved, and to me, that was beautiful and complete.”

The director responded warmly to the comment. At that moment, Ying Ming glanced over at Shi Yi. The audience’s eyes happened to land on Shi Yi too. Their gazes met, and both expressions were laced with tangled, unreadable emotions.

After the screening, Ying Ming naturally stayed for the post-premiere dinner. Technically, Shi Yi should have been included as well, but he slipped out without saying a word to anyone. Ying Ming sent him a message, but got no reply. It wasn’t until the meal was nearly over that Shi Yi finally texted back with the name of the hotel he was staying at. It wasn’t far from the theater. Ying Ming could walk there.

The director had wanted to keep Ying Ming around to continue the night elsewhere. He was clearly in high spirits, and the enthusiastic audience response had given him new confidence in the film’s future potential.

“Director, I really can’t drink any more. One more glass and I’ll embarrass myself.”

Ying Ming waved him off with a laugh. The director, already tipsy, grumbled a little but didn’t push. A local distributor beside them, however, kept trying to talk Ying Ming into staying. He just smiled and shook his head.

No matter how lively the afterparty got, it wouldn’t be anything new. He had seen all of it before, years ago.

After sending them off, he walked to Shi Yi’s hotel. Since they weren’t in the country, he didn’t have to worry about being tailed by the press. That lightened his mood, and he walked slowly. The alcohol had gone to his head, a slight buzz clouding his thoughts. The crowd had mixed several types of liquor at dinner. Not a lot, but just enough to hit him hard.

Following the instructions in Shi Yi’s message, he got off at the right floor and saw the Do Not Disturb sign lit up. He raised an eyebrow, then knocked on the door.

Shi Yi opened it with his shirt hanging wide open.

His belt was undone, pants hanging loosely on his hips, and the neatly combed hairstyle from the premiere had been tousled into a messy, wild look. He radiated a dangerous kind of sex appeal. Ying Ming froze for a second, then instinctively peered past him into the room.

“I didn’t interrupt anything good, did I?”

Because this really looked like someone had been caught in the middle of foreplay.

Shi Yi stepped aside to let him in, then casually picked up a can of soda from the table and tossed it to him. “If your definition of something good is taking a shower, then yes. I was just about to undress.”

Ying Ming popped the tab and took a sip. He frowned and set the can down. It was far too sweet.

He stood and flicked at Shi Yi’s belt buckle.“You undressing definitely counts as something good to me.”

Since he hadn’t been in the best headspace lately, Ying Ming had been wearing glasses the whole time. Even now, faced with such a blatant tease, he only raised an eyebrow and pretended not to hear it. Shi Yi, for his part, ignored him completely and kept undressing for his shower.

Yeah… he was definitely pissed.

Ying Ming shook his head. Young Master Shi was sulking for real this time.

Honestly, both of them had been on edge lately. There had just been too much going on. Between the company and his family, Shi Yi had been running himself ragged. He was visibly thinner.

Ying Ming vaguely remembered hearing something about his father’s health not being great. Shi Yi had gone home twice in the past month but hadn’t said much about it.

No doubt he got hit with more pressure to hurry up and “settle down.”

If Shi Yi didn’t want to talk about it, it was probably nothing good.

From where he sat, Ying Ming could hear the shower running, water splashing steadily like it meant something more. After a moment of hesitation, he sighed and started undressing too.

When he pushed the bathroom door open, Shi Yi was shampooing his hair.

His eyes were shut tight, brow slightly furrowed, foam piled thick across his head. Maybe the sound of the water had masked the noise, but he didn’t seem to notice the door opening. It was only when a draft of cool air brushed past that his shoulders flinched.

Ying Ming naturally reached out to help him wash. Their fingers brushed for a second, and Shi Yi stilled. “Ying Ming?”

“Who else would it be?”

His voice was scratchy from days of exhaustion. Ying Ming tilted his head, avoiding the stream of water. Shi Yi let his hands fall and leaned back against the tiled wall, eyes still closed, letting him take over.

When he still did not speak, Ying Ming let out a quiet sigh and tried to ease the tension with a gentle prompt. “Is everything at the company alright? You even came all the way out here.”

He didn’t actually care about the answer. He just needed something to say. Even if there was a problem at the company, it wasn’t like he could help.

Shi Yi could hear just how perfunctory that question was. He let out a cold snort. “It’s not going to collapse.”

Then the bathroom once again fell silent except for the sound of running water.

Ying Ming held back for a while before finally losing patience. This guy really had no sense of gratitude. His hand moved a bit rougher as he scrubbed Shi Yi’s hair, tugging at it with some irritation. “If you have something to say, then say it. What, are you sulking now?” Just like that spoiled cat Smoke Ring throwing a tantrum when she didn’t get her favorite food. What the hell was he playing at?

Shi Yi’s eyes snapped open at that. “I’m sulking? Who’s the one who spent the last few days brooding and disappearing from home?”

His eyes were still covered in shampoo. The moment he opened them, foam naturally slipped into them. Ying Ming’s face darkened as he quickly grabbed a towel to wipe him down, then turned off the water.

“Do you have a death wish?”

Shi Yi had injured his eyes before, and his corneas were more sensitive than most. Even the slightest irritation could lead to inflammation. Last time he had not been careful and ended up using eye drops for three days. Ying Ming had stayed up all night at his side for three nights in a row back then.

Seeing how Ying Ming reacted, Shi Yi’s anger finally subsided a little. The two of them stared each other down, both annoyed, until Shi Yi suddenly turned and shoved Ying Ming against the wall, pressing down with a fierce kiss. Ying Ming was still holding the towel he had used to wipe the foam, and could only take it in that uncomfortable position as Shi Yi vented all his frustration. The cold bathroom tiles that had not been warmed by the water sent a chill down his spine. He endured it for a while but eventually could not take it anymore and pushed Shi Yi away.

“Finish washing your hair first.”

The water turned on again. Ying Ming told him to close his eyes and began rinsing his hair. Foam slid down his arm and onto Shi Yi’s body.

Shi Yi’s hand, still resting on Ying Ming’s waist, slowly moved upward, following the water. The foam made every touch slick and electric. He began to stroke, back and forth, with a slow, deliberate rhythm, like he was washing something with care.

With his eyes closed, his sense of touch became sharper.

His lips curled with mischief as his fingers mapped out every reaction on Ying Ming’s body. When he brushed past Ying Ming’s chest, he could feel the faintest twitch.

Whether it was the mood or the tension from their earlier standoff, Ying Ming’s body seemed more sensitive than usual tonight.

Which made it all the more gratifying for Shi Yi. The more he touched, the better it felt. His fingers traced the length of Ying Ming’s collarbones, then circled back again and again. Every sharp edge and ridge beneath the skin was outlined by his hand. His other hand followed the curve of Ying Ming’s neck, down to his jaw. Then his thumb parted his lips and suddenly thrust inside.

Ying Ming’s face twisted slightly.

He was frustrated with Shi Yi’s reckless teasing, yet still forced himself to hold back and not snap. After all, if they both kept pushing without budging, it would only end in a miserable deadlock. Their moods were clearly affected by each other, and pushing one another just to prove a point was nothing short of masochistic. So Ying Ming allowed it, indulging Shi Yi as the foreplay became more and more excessive. By the time Shi Yi was pressed against him, one hand sliding down the curve of his spine and slipping between his cheeks, Ying Ming finally let out a low gasp he could not hold in.

Shi Yi was rubbing against him with his entire body.

Their bodies fit too well together, making the overlapping friction impossible to avoid.
The steam rising in the bathroom only added to the charged atmosphere. Even the heat of the water felt cooler than the burning skin pressing together. Ying Ming braced himself against the tiled wall behind Shi Yi, barely able to maintain their balance.

The curve of Shi Yi’s lips lifted at Ying Ming’s response. He leaned in and murmured by his ear, voice thick with mischief.

“Ying Ming-ge, you’re especially slippery today…”

That one line crossed the line. Ying Ming’s self-control, already stretched thin, snapped. He opened his eyes and grabbed the back of Shi Yi’s neck.

“Don’t push your luck.”

His hoarse voice carried a strain of desire that could no longer be masked. Shi Yi, lowered his head and bit down on Ying Ming’s shoulder. One hand gripped both of their erections, stroking with steady pressure.

The sultry tension in the bathroom thickened, fueled by anger and desire, coiling between them like a live current.

Ying Ming half-opened his eyes and looked past Shi Yi toward the stream of water behind them. Shi Yi still had not opened his eyes once. That cocky, unbearable grin tugging at his lips was far too obnoxious. Ying Ming turned his face away, deciding it was better not to look at all.

They were far too familiar with each other’s bodies. Every nerve and reaction had long been mapped out, and it took no effort at all for their need to climb toward a dangerous peak. But just as Ying Ming’s body began to tighten, Shi Yi abruptly stopped.

He pulled Ying Ming toward the sink counter, then without warning, turned the water to its coldest setting.

Ying Ming, still half-drowned in the heat of arousal, jolted violently as the cold hit him.

“Fuck!”

Shi Yi only kept it cold for a second before turning the water back to warm. He stayed out of the spray, casually slicking his soaked hair back as his eyes roved over Ying Ming’s flushed body. The teasing look in his gaze was practically appreciative. He paid no attention to the string of curses flung at him in fury.

Only when the swearing started to trail off did he finally step closer, bracing both hands on either side of Ying Ming and leaning in to kiss him slowly. Their mouths parted, and a thin string of water-slicked heat clung between them before breaking and sliding down the corner of Ying Ming’s lips. Shi Yi lowered himself, trailing kisses from Ying Ming’s throat down his chest, and then dropped into a crouch, gripping his waist and suddenly taking him into his mouth.

“Ah—”

Ying Ming flinched, fingers tightening in Shi Yi’s hair. A flicker of unease passed through him at the rare, unexpected shift in behavior.

Shi Yi almost never did this. That sense of something being deliberately orchestrated set every nerve in Ying Ming’s body on edge.

But the wariness was quickly scattered by a wave of overwhelming pleasure. Shi Yi’s technique wasn’t refined, but the fact that it was him doing this, on his knees, pleasuring him was enough to fill Ying Ming with a dizzying sense of conquest. It spread through his fingertips and scalp in a rush of heat and satisfaction. He couldn’t help but press Shi Yi’s head lower. When the man grumbled a muffled protest, Ying Ming’s mouth twitched in a smug smile.

Shi Yi happened to look up just then and caught that smirk.

For a second, it felt like something cracked open inside his chest. A hot, turbulent feeling flooded him.

Just as Ying Ming was nearing the edge, Shi Yi suddenly pulled away. He yanked the military tag from his own neck, wrapped it tightly around Ying Ming’s erection, and trapped the climax from escaping. Ying Ming jerked in shock. The cold metal chain bit into his skin with a ruthless, almost vicious pressure. Before he could fight back, Shi Yi had already flipped him around and thrusted his fingers inside.

The sudden shift was hard to process. Ying Ming’s body, already thoroughly worked up, didn’t resist much. But once his mind caught up and he realized what Shi Yi was doing, he frowned and cut in.

“Shi Yi, stop being such a pervert. Let me turn around.”

The frustration of being held back right before release was unbearable. Ying Ming reached down to undo it, only to have Shi Yi grab him by the wrist and yank his waist back. Forced into that position, Ying Ming had no choice but to brace himself against the edge of the sink, his hands now pinned and unable to move.

Shi Yi showed no intention of letting him touch himself, nor did he plan on helping. His intentions were clear. Tonight, he wanted him to come from behind.

Realizing what Shi Yi had been holding back this entire time, Ying Ming’s expression darkened. “Shi Yi, don’t push it.”

He had said it before, he didn’t like this position.

But Shi Yi ignored him, fingers moving inside him, pretending not to see the sharp look in Ying Ming’s eyes. He licked the back of his neck and rested his chin on Ying Ming’s shoulder.

“How many takes did it take to get that sex scene right?”

The question came so abruptly it threw Ying Ming off. Still resisting Shi Yi’s movements, he frowned. “What are you getting at?”

“I kept wondering while I watched it. How many people were on set that day?”

Shi Yi bit down on his earlobe.

“How many times did Wang Yiqi touch you?”

A second finger slid in.

“That blanket was hanging around your waist the whole time. Were you even wearing anything underneath?”

The overlapping fingers kept adjusting their angle inside him, drawing out the stretch and expansion on purpose.

“How much did the director leave in the final cut?”

Shi Yi’s breath came fast and heavy against his ear, alternating with those jealous questions.

“Was the screenwriter picturing you the whole time they wrote those scenes?” Shi Yi’s voice grew increasingly heated with each question, that undercurrent of jealousy now surging just beneath the surface. By the time he got to the last, Ying Ming could not take it anymore and turned his head. “You’re spiraling.”

Even knowing it was jealousy talking, the provocation still crossed his line. He tried to turn away, to escape Shi Yi’s hands, but he could not.

Shi Yi’s determination this time went far beyond what Ying Ming expected. The man who usually yielded under physical resistance was now the one holding him down, locking his limbs in place with sheer force. When Shi Yi felt that Ying Ming’s body was almost ready, he withdrew his fingers and pressed the tip of his erection against him.

“Shi Yi!”

His voice was sharp, packed with fury on the verge of erupting. It was a final warning, cold enough to sting. But the moment his name left Ying Ming’s lips, Shi Yi entered him, not pausing for even a second.

Ying Ming’s entire body stiffened. He could barely suppress the urge to hit him. It felt awful, worse than their first time by far. Shi Yi saw the change in his expression, frowned slightly, but made no move to stop. He wiped the steam from the mirror with one hand, then used his forearm to lift Ying Ming’s chin.

“Watch while I fuck you. The mirror works just fine.”

Their reflections blurred in the fogged mirror. Ying Ming’s half-lidded, furious glare set starkly against Shi Yi’s unwavering, domineering expression. Shi Yi slammed into him hard, watching the twitch of Ying Ming’s brows and taking satisfaction from it. He kept wiping the mirror with one hand, again and again, stubbornly maintaining a clear view.

“Ying Ming,” he growled, repeating it each time he cleared the fog, “I don’t care if it’s Wang Yiqi, the director, or anyone else. You’re mine.”

“Whether it’s my uncle, my family, your family, whether the sky falls, your parents object, your friends object, or the entire world is against us, I’m still not letting you go. Whether you want it or not.”

Ying Ming’s outburst over Chen Cheng had struck Shi Yi like a blaring alarm, clear and undeniable, a crisis he could no longer ignore.

He had tried to talk to Ying Ming, time and again, but each attempt had been met with refusal. Even without dissecting it too closely, the hesitation behind those rejections was plain to see.

But after coming this far, there was no turning back.

“If we hadn’t made this choice, we could’ve told ourselves it was the weight of society, of family, that we couldn’t bear it. We could’ve played the coward. Even if we had to fake it, I could’ve acted like it didn’t matter.”

Just like Ying Ming in the film, parting ways with Wang Yiqi on the overpass, unable to truly let go, yet still walking in opposite directions in pursuit of their own dreams.

But that was a movie.

What they had, was something else entirely.

“You once said, if I never let go, you’d never give up first.” Shi Yi drove into his most sensitive spot with brutal precision, his voice low and dangerous. “You better remember that. For the rest of your life. If we die, we die together.”

Shi Yi could handle all the pressure coming from Chen Cheng. Even if things fell apart in the future, he was prepared for that. But he had no way of interfering with Ying Ming’s family. He could brace himself for his own parents’ judgment, but he couldn’t predict how Ying Ming’s relationship with his family would unravel. That uncertainty was the part that truly ate away at him.

He didn’t dare ask Ying Ming to choose him if it ever came down to an ultimatum.

So this was all he could do. He took that one line Ying Ming had said before and clung to it like a promise, forcing it into a vow with something close to a threat. He no longer felt like the man he used to be. The playful, untouchable Young Master Shi was gone. Even pretending to be carefree felt impossible now.

The pleasure where their bodies met pulsed through him, spreading upward and outward, dulling every thought. In the fogged mirror, Ying Ming’s flushed expression was caught between anger and surrender. He listened to every word Shi Yi said. He wanted to frown, to reply, but in the end, he said nothing. The pressure of the last few weeks had worn them both down to the bone. Every possible version of the future crept into his mind during those exhausted hours at night, trapping him in loops of doubt, fear, and contradiction. It was enough to drive a person mad.

He had once thought he had already let go of everything that could be used against him. That nothing could control him. But standing here now, he realized just how much he still could not let go.

He could shrug off the world’s judgment, but when it came to the people closest to him, even a single test from someone like Chen Cheng had been enough to push him to the brink.

Maybe Chen Cheng had been right. Maybe Shi Yi wasn’t ready.

But maybe, he wasn’t either.

Ying Ming braced both hands on the sink, enduring the force behind him. The mental shock of having his boundaries crossed brought with it a twisted kind of masochistic pleasure. The military tag wrapped tightly around his erection slapped against the base with every thrust, each impact sharpening the surge of pleasure. In the mirror, their blurred expressions warped with each streak of water, twisting into grotesque angles before slowly righting themselves. Just like the façades they both clung to, pretending to keep their pride intact when, in truth, they had long since been bent out of shape.

The groans that slipped from his throat were increasingly beyond conscious control. Shi Yi’s deliberate thrusts against that one spot were driving Ying Ming to the edge. In just a few short months, even the way his body experienced pleasure had been turned on its head. Words could no longer describe the feeling. It was as if, with each movement, Shi Yi was shattering him, tearing him apart, then piecing him back together. In this repeated cycle of breaking and rebuilding, they both lost any semblance of composure, clinging to each other like the only thing they had left in the world.

Why had he fallen so madly for this man…?

Shi Yi could not understand it, and Ying Ming was just as lost.

They had always lived rationally, both of them. Every decision, every trade-off they made before meeting each other was carefully weighed, grounded in logic, because they believed in taking responsibility for their own lives. Everything they did, from the way they laughed to the way they pushed the world away was just a mask. Beneath that easygoing front was a fierce, deliberate control.

Neither of them could afford to lose.

After so many years of pushing forward, of giving everything they had, the idea of becoming some kind of expendable sacrifice was simply unacceptable.

Even when they first got together, that conviction never wavered.

Desire cools. Passion fades. Sex, no matter how intense, eventually becomes just another memory filed away as yesterday.

But now, somehow, they were addicted.

Every push, every thrust, every clash between them felt like it lodged the other even deeper into their hearts. The more they touched, the more they needed. Even when logic overrode emotion, they still could not let go.

No matter how crushing the pressure became, as long as the other was there, it felt like reason enough to keep going.

But why the fuck did it have to be like this?

Ying Ming could no longer stand it. He suddenly raised a hand to wipe away the shifting reflection of the two of them in the mirror. The abrupt motion startled Shi Yi behind him. He watched as Ying Ming pressed his curled fingers hard against the glass, crushing their overlapping images as if he wanted to dig the two of them out of the mirror by force.

No matter how intense the physical pleasure became, it could not drown out the mental addiction. In the end, Ying Ming nearly roared in frustration. Images surged chaotically through his mind. Chen Cheng, his parents, the blinding flashes when he won Best Actor, the laughter he shared with Shi Yi in the jeep, shattered glass, the hospital, Shi Yi’s father. Rage made his body tremble, and desire dragged him into losing control.

The relentless pounding behind him showed no sign of stopping. Shi Yi had clearly decided to do everything from behind tonight. From start to finish, he had never once touched him in front. Even when Ying Ming tried to take care of it himself, his hands had been pinned down.

This was what it meant for two men to be together.

They could not always satisfy themselves however they wanted. There would be moments of forced surrender, when the confidence in who held control was stripped away. In the end, they both sank into a tide of physical and emotional frenzy.

As Ying Ming trembled all over, Shi Yi finally reached forward and laid his hand over his.

Their fingers laced together, one joint at a time. Shi Yi slowly pressed down the fingers Ying Ming had curled tight, easing the tension, then carefully locked their hands together.

He filled every space between their finger, so tightly it almost ached.

Ying Ming let his head rest against their joined arms, too drained to hold himself up. His remaining strength was barely enough to keep up with Shi Yi’s intensity. His lower body had gone numb, left with nothing but the sharp, overwhelming waves of pleasure that tore through him without pause, scattering every thought before he could hold onto it.

Just as he was teetering on the brink of climax, Shi Yi suddenly stopped.

The back-and-forth had worn him out completely, every delay only dragging his body closer to the edge of collapse.
The aching desire for release, denied over and over, left him nearly frantic. He lifted his head and glared fiercely at Shi Yi’s reflection in the mirror, teeth gritted and cursing him silently. But then he saw Shi Yi suddenly lift the chain from around his neck, bringing the military tag to his lips with an expression of tenderness he had never shown before.

Ying Ming froze.

Shi Yi pressed a kiss to the tag, then held it between his teeth. One hand braced against the mirror, the other wrapped around Ying Ming’s waist. The violent heat from before had dissipated, replaced by something quiet and slow. His movements softened, like the way they used to hold each other falling asleep. The edge of lust was now overlaid with warmth, and both of them watched the reflection of the other in the mirror.

The slow friction hit a body already on edge, brought on a new kind of tremor. It spread like ink, soaking into every cell and every bone.

Ying Ming curled in on himself, caught in the unbearable tension between pain and pleasure, wanting to escape but unable to let go of the stimulation.

Shi Yi withdrew briefly, then turned him over and raised his right leg. The military tag was still clenched between his teeth as he entered him again, firm, steady, and unbearably gentle.

Ying Ming wanted to curse him.

In that moment, he would have rather had Shi Yi take him from behind. Even without looking in the mirror, he knew the expression on his face was awash with lust, impossible to conceal. Face to face like this, everything was laid bare.

His body sagged between the sink counter and Shi Yi, and when his leg was suddenly lifted, the position laid him bare in the most obscene way. If he looked down, he would see clearly where their bodies were joined. In the end, he chose to lean back, half-closing his eyes against the vanity lights swaying constantly above him.

The exposed curve of his neck looked especially striking in that open pose.

Shi Yi, utterly entranced, slid his hand from Ying Ming’s shoulder down to his chest. The lean lines of his muscles were even more beautiful than the stylized aesthetics in the film. Shi Yi lowered his head and kissed him, lingering as he moved down to the left side of his chest, then gently bit down. The slow, shallow rhythm of his thrusts made each tug feel more intense, drawing out every breathy sound from Ying Ming’s throat with startling clarity.

He sought out the spot that brought Ying Ming the most pleasure, moving in and out at an unhurried pace. As his body soaked in that overwhelming sensation, he began to circle around the sensitive area like a punishment, until Ying Ming’s grip on his arm tightened so forcefully that it nearly made Shi Yi cry out. He furrow his brows in twisted pain and slam into that spot with full force.

“Shi Yi!”

The second time Ying Ming called his name through gritted teeth, his voice was thick with urgency and pleasure.

Shi Yi laughed, and quickened his pace under the heat of Ying Ming’s sidelong glance.

Fatigue made it easier to surrender to the body’s instincts. Usually so self-controlled, Ying Ming now found himself dazed in the middle of sex. Even when Shi Yi lifted him fully onto the sink counter, he barely reacted. Each deep thrust sent a jolt through him, like electricity crackling across his skin, drawing tremors of pleasure from every inch of his body.

He wanted to curse, but did not have the strength.

His eyes remained half-lidded, his vision blurred and unfocused. Desire pushed him to the edge again and again, nearly driving him insane. His body moved instinctively with Shi Yi’s, every motion drawn taut with heat. He could not tell whether he was desperate for it to end, or unwilling to let it stop.

Time meant nothing. There was no measure but the steady splash of water hitting the bathroom floor.

Shi Yi’s breathing grew heavier with each thrust. Ying Ming’s heat engulfed him like fire. The way his body tightened around him made him want to moan. The urge to dominate had already dissolved, replaced by a reckless, desperate need to bring him pleasure. Every flicker of expression on Ying Ming’s face stirred a deeper desire in him. Every soft sound of pleasure made the heat rush back, doubling in intensity and force.

He wanted to see Ying Ming lose control beneath him. Not the practiced gestures of performance, but real, visceral surrender.

He craved it. He wanted to possess the reactions that no one else could witness. The flush spreading from his chest, the lips parted in lust, the bob of his throat, the way his legs trembled. Everything about this man, every visible detail, told him he was overwhelmed with desire, and that it was all for him. This passion, so raw and uncontainable, was nothing short of intoxicating.

And Shi Yi wanted more.

Shi Yi could not stop himself from moaning Ying Ming’s name. One arm wrapped around that lean, muscular waist, he thrust into him again and again. The sound of their bodies meeting was obscene, soaked in erotic tension, though much of it was swallowed beneath the rush of running water and the heavy, lust-laced air.

Finally, just as Ying Ming was on the verge of collapse, Shi Yi grabbed the chain still draped around his erection and yanked it off with a rough pull. A ragged gasp burst from Ying Ming’s throat as Shi Yi drove into him again, each thrust brutal, each one pushing him past his limit. His release hit in a violent tremor, body seizing as heat spilled between them, breath breaking apart in hoarse, uneven groans. The broken rhythm of his hoarse gasps and the hot mess spilled between them pushed Shi Yi over the edge as well. With two sharp thrusts, he released deep inside Ying Ming.

The moment the tension drained from his limbs, Ying Ming’s knees buckled slightly beneath him.

Shi Yi caught him at once. Feeling the faint twitch of Ying Ming’s brow, he smiled and let go. Then he reached down to clean the traces of himself from inside Ying Ming.

When he looked up, Ying Ming’s back and shoulders blocked most of the mirror, but the few blurred shapes that remained were more than enough to keep his breath unsteady. He reached out, cupped some water in his hand, and slowly cleaned the traces of lust from between Ying Ming’s thighs.

The military tag he had gripped earlier now dangled loosely from his fingers. Shi Yi studied it for a moment, and then, with Ying Ming’s half-lidded gaze fixed on him, gave it a slow, teasing lick.

That one movement sent a spasm through Ying Ming’s abdomen.

Shi Yi let out a satisfied laugh at the involuntary reaction, amused that the man who so often provoked him was now unable to resist his own arousal. He pulled the half-limp figure upright and half-dragged, half-carried him out of the bathroom straight to the bed. With Ying Ming still lying sideways, he thrust back in.

Ying Ming’s body gave a shudder, and this time he made no attempt to stifle the low moan that slipped from his throat.

Another wave of desire surged through them. Shi Yi pressed down against Ying Ming, their bodies tangled together, kissing again and again, as if even full-body contact was still not enough. During a brief gasp for air, Shi Yi leaned in close and whispered against his ear, “Ying Ming, I love you…”

It was the first time he had said something like that. The man beneath him turned his head slightly to glance at him, his eyes flushed from lust and pleasure, tinged with both amusement and a trace of mockery. Under Shi Yi’s silent urging, Ying Ming only furrowed his brows and lazily tossed out a reply. “No shit…”

That answer did not please Shi Yi one bit. What followed was a relentless surge of thrusts, shaking Ying Ming’s breathless moans into fragmented pieces. Even the curses he tried to throw back came out broken, nearly pitiful under the weight of each slam.

His length had gone far past numb, stripped of all sensation except for the jarring jolts of pleasure. Ying Ming clutched at the sheets, trying to tense his upper body in resistance, but the overwhelming tide of desire only grew more frightening, and he quickly realized he had no strength left to fight it.

Shi Yi, still riding on the high of their earlier round, seemed tireless. He gritted his teeth, and drove in again and again, relentlessly hitting the most sensitive spot inside Ying Ming, forcing him to the brink, as if trying to coax out the words he most wanted to hear.

But Ying Ming never gave him the satisfaction.

With no way to fight back physically, he resorted to the kind of resistance he knew best: emotional indifference and cold silence. Even after they both came again, Shi Yi could only sigh in resignation. He pulled Ying Ming into his arms and rolled them toward the center of the bed. Tugging lazily at his hair, he muttered in annoyance, “You seriously didn’t say it? Aren’t you afraid holding it in might kill you?”

He had not expected Ying Ming to be so stubborn. It was not that he had to hear those words, but after saying it himself and getting no response, the imbalance felt unbearable.

Ying Ming had no intention of moving. He shut his eyes completely, tuning out Shi Yi’s buzzing complaints. At last, with a lazy turn of his head, he muttered half-heartedly, “I told your uncle.”

“My uncle?” Shi Yi’s brows lifted in disbelief. “What the hell do you mean, you told my uncle?”

All he could see in his mind was Ying Ming telling Chen Cheng “I love you.” Shi Yi’s face twisted, brows furrowed, as he reached out and tried to yank Ying Ming up. “Why him?”

But before he could pull him up, he was kicked aside. Ying Ming had reached his limit. He did not even bother to speak, just turned away and drifted into sleep.

Fuck this. He had not gotten a proper night’s rest in ages. He was exhausted, all right?

Shi Yi lay there, dazed for a moment, and finally realized what Ying Ming had meant. The corners of his mouth curled in triumph, and he let out a satisfied laugh.

He pressed his forehead against the back of Ying Ming’s head, listening to the slow and steady rhythm of his breathing. Gradually, he closed his eyes too.

Tomorrow could wait.

No matter how fierce the storm that lay ahead, as long as the two of them were still together, he could face it with peace in his heart.

No matter what came their way, they would meet it head-on. Soldiers for the battle, earth for the flood.