Chapter 106 – The Fourth Partner

Fang Zheng scrubbed himself in the shower until he was almost peeling, and only when he couldn’t find any more ways to stall did he reluctantly shuffle out.

Fifth Brother’s studies had reached a fever pitch, with a whole stack of notes already taken. But when he saw Fang Zheng come out, he immediately hit pause and sat up, scrutinizing the plump Guild Leader from head to toe. “Forty-two minutes. Did you bring a portable bathtub in there or something?”

Fang Zheng felt a bit flustered under the scrutiny and blurted out in a panic, “What are you staring at?!”

Fifth Brother shrugged and tactfully averted his gaze. Fine, if he wasn’t allowed to look, he wouldn’t. It wasn’t like he was into that sort of thing anyway. ╮(╯_╰)╭

He pressed play on the video again, but after just a few seconds, he suddenly felt someone next to him. Turning his head, he was met with the Guild Leader’s face right up close!

“Heh heh, whatcha watching~~” The Guild Leader smiled benevolently.

Fifth Brother looked miserable. “You won’t let me look at you, and now I can’t even look at my computer…?”

“Aiya~~ I was just shy after emerging from the water like a lotus flower~~” The Guild Leader cooed as he squeezed onto the couch. “Come on, let’s watch together~~”

Before Fifth Brother could react, his arm had already brushed against the Guild Leader’s skin. In that instant, his soul was possessed, his hair stood on end, and an ominous aura painted a vivid picture in his mind—the Deputy’s little fangs, the Deputy’s slightly curly hair, the Deputy’s squinty eyes!!

Fang Zheng only felt a sudden pain in his butt before realizing he’d been kicked off the couch.

“Go watch with your man in the bedroom!” Fifth Brother barked urgently, as if exorcising an evil spirit.

The Guild Leader was deeply wounded. He bit his lip, glancing between Fifth Brother and the bedroom door, then back at Fifth Brother, then the door again. Finally, with a decisive turn, he headed back to the bedroom!

The moment the bedroom door closed, Fifth Brother let out a long sigh of relief, then looked up at the corner of the ceiling. “You saw it all, right? He was the one who pounced. I didn’t do anything…”

On the other side of the wall, in the bedroom, Fang Zheng tiptoed toward the bed.

Meng Chudong was lying on his side, already asleep. Half his face was pressed into the pillow, his lips slightly parted, breathing evenly and deeply.

If he’d known the guy would fall asleep so fast, he wouldn’t have been so nervous earlier. Fang Zheng felt a bit wronged by his own anxiety.

Once a person calms down, especially in a relaxed environment, their courage tends to grow—like a certain fatty who, after staring down from above, quietly crouched to get a closer look.

Birdy’s features were actually quite delicate, but his usual deadpan, sharp-tongued demeanor was so overpowering that people unconsciously overlooked it. Now, seeing him asleep, his beauty became apparent—not the kind of striking handsomeness that Diamond had at first glance, nor the mature, accumulated charm of Mad Lad, but simply a pure, pleasant-to-look-at attractiveness that naturally made you like him from the bottom of your heart, compelling you to keep staring.

Unable to resist, Fang Zheng leaned in closer, then closer still, lightly pressing his lips against those slightly parted ones. Afraid of being discovered, he held his breath, leaving only the sensation of warmth and softness—heating his body and melting his heart…

“Huh?!”

Fang Zheng had no idea when the “victim” had woken up. Suddenly, his world spun as he was flipped onto the bed, and the guy who’d just been asleep was now straddling him, his eyes clear and bright, not a trace of sleepiness left.

“You weren’t asleep at all!!” the Guild Leader accused, every word dripping with betrayal.

“I was asleep,” the Deputy replied earnestly.

“Cut the crap! You liar!” The Guild Leader wasn’t buying it.

“Fine, I lied,” the Deputy admitted, still very serious.

The Guild Leader was petrified—all his skills were on cooldown.

The Deputy leaned down, kissing the Guild Leader while casually reaching over to flip the wall switch, plunging the bedroom into darkness.

In the faint moonlight, Fang Zheng experienced his first wet kiss.

Birdy was nothing like his usual gentle, restrained self—he was aggressive, domineering, almost stealing all the oxygen from Fang Zheng’s lungs. Fang Zheng instinctively tried to struggle, but his hands were caught first, fingers interlacing tightly. The resistance vanished like a breeze in the night, disappearing without a trace.

Finally, the kiss ended.

Meng Chudong was still on top of Fang Zheng, lifting his head slightly, breathing a little unevenly, but his gaze was unwavering as he stared at the other. “I thought about it again and again, and I still feel like riding that bus for so many hours wasn’t worth it if I didn’t get my money’s worth…”

The night was quiet—so quiet that even a whisper felt like a drumbeat.

Meng Chudong’s exhales brushed against Fang Zheng’s face, so close, so warm, making Fang Zheng dizzy. “I didn’t prepare any condoms…”

Meng Chudong was speechless. Either you hesitate indefinitely, or you go all the way—was there no in-between?!

The thought that if it were any other man in this position, this guy would also pitifully whine, “No condoms,” made his teeth itch. So he simply bit down on the chubby face in front of him!

Fang Zheng let out an “Ow!” but didn’t dare yell, so it came out more like a whimper.

Meng Chudong didn’t bite hard—the nibbling soon turned into kissing, then licking, and his hands weren’t idle either, sneaking into the other’s pajama pants…

Fang Zheng shuddered all over, an indescribable sensation—pain, numbness, pleasure?—like an electric current shooting through him. Instinctively, he clung to Birdy, his body arching up involuntarily, as if trying to escape but also craving more.

Meng Chudong pushed Fang Zheng’s pajama top up with one hand, quickly exposing a large expanse of chest—soft like dough, sweet like cotton candy. His eyes, now adjusted to the darkness, saw it clearly. He bent down and accurately captured one side with his mouth.

“Ah, stop… don’t do that…” The dual stimulation pushed Fang Zheng to the brink, his voice trembling.

Whether it was the pleading that worked or not, the tormenting hand actually stopped.

But any man would know that “no” at this point was just a synonym for “hurry the fuck up and keep going, harder.” So Fang Zheng swore the bastard was doing this on purpose!

Sure enough, warm breath brushed his ear, followed by Meng Chudong’s hoarse command: “Say something nice.”

Fang Zheng wrapped his arms tightly around Meng Chudong’s back and blew into his ear in return: “Birdy.”

Meng Chudong’s face darkened. “Are you trying to pull aggro…?”

“I like you.”

……

Jiang Yang had once asked, Why, even after meeting in person, would you still like Fang Zheng?

The answer was actually simple—as simple as Fang Zheng himself. No pretense, no hiding, not even a single edited photo. He could’ve at least added a soft filter, but no. He was just like this—real in-game, real in life, real in his interactions with you. Online, he was a bit more shameless; offline, a bit more insecure. But whether shameless or insecure, it was all him. Because he was so consistent, there was no disconnect. Because he was exactly as imagined, it was even a relief, a delight—like a burger ad that says “actual product may vary,” but when you buy it, it looks just like the picture: golden bun, juicy patty, and the first bite is pure bliss.

Why like him?

Because this guy was just so damn likable—exceptionally so.

……

Under Birdy’s ministrations, Fang Zheng thoroughly enjoyed himself. Objectively speaking, his own right hand and someone else’s right hand weren’t physically different, but the psychological gap was vast. So, adhering to the principle of “return what you borrow right away to borrow again easily,” Fang Zheng also provided a service for Birdy.

Though compared to Birdy’s boldness, his decision to hide under the covers the entire time was a bit shameless, Birdy surprisingly didn’t tease him. In fact, after finishing, he stayed silent for a long time, almost as if he was embarrassed. Unfortunately, the lights had been turned off early, so this theory couldn’t be verified.

The next morning, Fang Zheng was the first to wake up.

When he opened his eyes, something felt different from usual. Lifting the blanket, he saw Meng Chudong hugging his belly, sleeping soundly.

Suddenly, Fang Zheng felt uneasy—because he was too happy. So happy it made him guilty, as if some disaster had to follow to balance it out.

[This is an illness that needs treatment.]

The voice in his heart startled Fang Zheng. It wasn’t that he wasn’t used to inner monologues, but this one was in Birdy’s voice! Had that bastard already taken over his neurons?! TAT

“Are you deliberately using your belly’s undulations to remind me it’s time to get up?” The real deal woke up, his sharp tongue further enhanced by a morning grumpiness buff.

Fang Zheng realized he preferred Birdy when he was asleep.

So gentle and clingy >_<

“If you weren’t lying on my stomach, I could’ve slept another half hour.”

“If I weren’t lying on your stomach, what use would your stomach even have?”

“……”

“No rush, take your time to think.”

“Ow, I hate you!”

“I’m the opposite.”

When Fifth Brother woke up, he instinctively glanced at the bedroom—the wooden door was shut tight, no movement.

After washing up and returning to the living room, he checked the bedroom again—same as before.

He turned on the TV for the morning news. Just as it was ending, the front door opened, and the two who should’ve been in the bedroom walked in, glowing with health and carrying soy milk and fried dough sticks.

“Quick, eat while it’s hot!” The Guild Leader beamed.

Fifth Brother was confused. “You two…?”

Guild Leader: “Morning jog. You were sleeping so soundly we didn’t wake you. Wanna join tomorrow?”

After a night of passion, they got up early to run around the city like maniacs?!

Diamond, Fifth Brother is summoning you home to witness the oddballs of the dating world… no, the oddballs among oddballs!

Xiong Yun didn’t hear the summons, so by the time he returned to Fang Zheng’s rented place, it was almost noon. The three of them had just cooked a pot of instant noodles and were about to dig in.

“You’ve got perfect timing,” Fifth Brother teased but still got Diamond a bowl and chopsticks.

Fang Zheng craned his neck to look toward the entrance but didn’t see a second person. “Where’s Mad Lad?”

Unexpectedly, Diamond replied, “He went back. Said he had business to deal with at home and couldn’t hang out with us for long. He went straight to the station after leaving the hotel.”

“Damn,” Fifth Brother frowned. “Couldn’t even stop by to say goodbye?”

Diamond: “Said it was out of the way from here to the station, and he couldn’t be bothered to detour.”

Fifth Brother: “At least a phone call?”

Diamond: “Said having me pass the message was easier and cheaper.”

Fifth Brother: “Fuck, it’d be a crime if he didn’t become a nouveau riche.”

Fang Zheng listened quietly, unusually silent. He felt a bit off but couldn’t pinpoint why. The only thing he was sure of was that it was completely different from the sadness and loss he’d felt the last time they parted. This time, it was just a little discomfort, a little dissatisfaction—like scoring 99 on a test you could’ve aced. Not bad, just not perfect.

If they could’ve said a proper goodbye, maybe it would’ve been 100.

But that was just wishful thinking.

Meng Chudong watched Fang Zheng’s expression change, then suddenly turned to Diamond and Fifth Brother: “Can I join your business partnership?”

Fang Zheng’s thoughts came to an abrupt halt as he turned to stare at Birdy in shock. He’d thought the guy was just making small talk yesterday, but he was serious?!

Diamond was equally stunned: “Huh?”

Only Fifth Brother reacted quickly, immediately grabbing the “fourth partner’s” hand: “Welcome, welcome! Haha!”

Birdy nodded and continued, “What are the conditions for joining?”

Before Fifth Brother could answer, someone bumped him aside, and Birdy’s field of vision was filled with Diamond’s eager face: “Money! The more, the better~~~~~~”

Diamond’s eyes sparkled, and Birdy could clearly see his own reflection in them—though soon enough, that reflection began to warp, eventually turning into a golden piggy bank.