LIAH 34. I’m Hungry

This little street inside the neighborhood was rarely used. On both sides were shallow pools half a meter deep, and in the dim glow of night, most people preferred to avoid the path altogether.

Pei Siyin stood pressed in Song Shengyang’s arms, his nose stinging as tears kept falling. When Song Shengyang lowered his head and saw the clear droplets clinging to those long lashes, a dull ache spread through his chest.

“Don’t cry,” he said. “It was my fault.”

“It wasn’t.” Pei Siyin clung tightly to him, his voice muffled and choked with sobs. “I went too far that day.”

Song Shengyang gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze, then raised a hand to brush away the tear at the corner of his eye. After a moment of eye contact, he asked, “How did you know I was here? Did your sister tell you?”

Pei Siyin blinked. “You know my sister?”

Song Shengyang shook his head. “No.”

What he did know was how much he regretted never charging his phone before going out. After landing, he had taken a taxi straight to Pei Siyin’s neighborhood using the address he’d given him earlier. Just after paying the fare, his phone had died.

It was still daylight at the time. He had no choice but to flag down someone nearby who looked friendly and ask to borrow their phone. But just as he was about to make the call, he glanced at the screen and saw a contact saved as “Siyin.”

He remembered Pei Siyin had said he had a sister, and that he was staying longer at home because of his niece’s birthday. One look was all it took for him to put the pieces together.

So he had given up on making the call. He didn’t want to cause trouble for Pei Siyin’s family and decided to wait and ask someone else later.

Instead of someone else, he ended up waiting for Pei Siyin.

“If I hadn’t come,” Pei Siyin asked, “would you have just kept waiting here?”

“Of course not.” Song Shengyang gave a small laugh. “I would’ve asked someone else for their phone eventually.”

Pei Siyin’s face was streaked with tears. He rubbed his face against Song Shengyang’s shirt, then looked up and said, “Why are you so dumb?”

It was his fault for speaking so harshly that day. Now Song Shengyang had traveled all this way to find him, probably waited here for hours in the cold.

“Did you eat? Are you hungry?” Pei Siyin looked up at him, the faint light from behind casting shadows beneath Song Shengyang’s eyes, revealing the signs of sleepless nights. “You haven’t been resting well, have you? You must be exhausted.”

“I’m fine,” Song Shengyang said as he reached out to pinch his cheek. “But I am a little sleepy. My head hurts.”

Pei Siyin immediately grew anxious. “Then let’s get you some rest.”

Because Song Shengyang’s phone had died, Pei Siyin paid for the taxi and the hotel. They took the room card and went upstairs. Inside the mirrored elevator, Song Shengyang tilted his head to look at him and said, “Letting my wife pay for our hotel room… guess I’m hopeless.”

Pei Siyin tilted his head right back and declared, “Can’t be helped. I’m just too capable.”

Grinning, Song Shengyang reached for his hand. “Then keep me for a little longer.”

The elevator ride took a bit of time. They had booked a VIP room on the thirty-sixth floor, the very top of the building.

As soon as they entered, the first thing they saw was the massive floor-to-ceiling window directly across from them. Song Shengyang turned on the light and walked over. From the highest floor, the city’s sparkling lights stretched beneath the moon and neon glow.

Off to the far left, a narrow strip of sea glimmered under the night sky, no wider than two fingers in his hand, waves curling and breaking endlessly at his fingertips.

“The view here’s not bad,” Song Shengyang said.

Pei Siyin walked over and stood beside him. After hesitating for a few seconds, he asked, “How long will you stay?”

Song Shengyang leaned in close, voice barely above a whisper. “How long do you want me to stay?”

With everything between them finally smoothed over, Pei Siyin did not hold back. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Song Shengyang’s neck, tiptoed up, and kissed the corner of his lips. “Stay a few more days. I’ll take you around. Okay?”

“You’re going to be my tour guide?” Song Shengyang held him close and took two steps forward, pressing him gently against the floor-to-ceiling window. “If you’re running around all break long, won’t your parents have something to say?”

“They won’t.” Pei Siyin’s knees parted as his leg nudged between them, and he clung tightly to Song Shengyang. “They’re busy too. I think they’ll only be free on Haha’s birthday.”

“Haha?” Song Shengyang paused for a moment. “Your niece’s name?”

It really was a unique name.

Pei Siyin nodded. Their faces were too close, and Song Shengyang’s warm breath was practically scalding against his skin. “She’s cute, isn’t she?”

“She is,” Song Shengyang agreed.

Then his left hand lifted the hem of Pei Siyin’s shirt. His throat bobbed. “I’m hungry.”

Pei Siyin’s face turned scarlet in an instant. He leaned in and kissed Song Shengyang, tongue curling and sucking eagerly. Their teeth knocked together from the intensity of the kiss.

Their breaths mingled, steeped in each other’s warmth. Pei Siyin was panting, eyes flushed red at the corners. But Song Shengyang pulled back with a grin. “I meant I’m hungry for food.”

Too cruel.

Pei Siyin’s face changed a dozen shades in seconds, but the most obvious was the flush spreading from under his skin. He was burning up. In a huff, he shoved Song Shengyang away, ran to the sofa, and sat down, face buried in his hands from embarrassment.

The television in the suite was still on. As it turned out, Song Shengyang really was hungry, in every sense of the word.

The food they had ordered arrived quickly. Song Shengyang laid it out on the table, then walked over to the sofa and wrapped his arms around Pei Siyin’s waist from behind. “Come eat.”

“I already ate.” Pei Siyin refused to look at him, offering nothing but the sight of his bright red ears.

But Song Shengyang leaned close, lips brushing against the shell of his ear as he whispered, “Let’s eat together. I want to go to bed after.”

Hearing that, Pei Siyin assumed he must truly be exhausted. He probably just wanted to eat and get some proper sleep for once.

He turned his head. The redness in Song Shengyang’s eyes was still there, though not as bad as it had been earlier in the neighborhood. Even so, Pei Siyin’s heart softened.

“Alright.”

He had left home in the middle of dinner, so now that he was seated at the table, the smell of food made his stomach growl right away.

Song Shengyang set out his meal and said, “I already told my mom.”

Pei Siyin’s hand froze halfway through picking up a piece of food. A strange tension gripped him, and he immediately understood what Song Shengyang meant.

“Did she say anything?”

“No,” Song Shengyang replied, taking a sip of water. “She doesn’t ask much of me.”

It was a casual answer, but to Pei Siyin, it sounded almost too easy. Song Shengyang had always liked women, so the fact that he could come home, say he was in love with a man, and have his parents accept it so easily felt almost unreal.

Noticing his confusion, Song Shengyang added, “My mom’s a Buddhist. She has a kind heart. Aside from yelling at me sometimes, she rarely meddles in my business. As long as I don’t break the law, she’s fine with whatever I do.”

Since Song Shengyang had put it that way, there was no need to keep worrying. As long as nothing happened to him, Pei Siyin could feel at ease.

He had not been sleeping well these past few days and was feeling truly exhausted.

After they finished eating, Pei Siyin let out a yawn and rubbed at his eyes, which had been fixed on the TV. The motion helped ease the soreness.

Two faint streaks of moisture were left on his fingers. He blinked a few times, clearly overwhelmed with sleepiness.

Song Shengyang wiped his mouth for him, then stood up and asked, “Do you want to sleep?”

Pei Siyin looked up at him, his gaze hazy and dulled by fatigue. “I want to sleep.”

Song Shengyang bent down and lifted him into his arms, laying him gently on the bed. Pei Siyin nestled his head against the pillow, then remembered he had not told his parents. He grabbed his phone and, still groggy, sent them a message saying a friend had come to visit, so he would not be coming home that night.

Before he could check if they had replied, Song Shengyang pulled him into an embrace from behind. Warm kisses fell against the side of his neck and behind his ear. Pei Siyin was flipped onto his back, pressed down under his weight.

The drowsiness quickly faded. Pei Siyin opened his eyes completely and asked, “Didn’t you say you wanted to sleep?”

“Aren’t we sleeping right now?” Song Shengyang replied as he pulled off Pei Siyin’s shirt.

Pei Siyin was caught up in his word games once again. Song Shengyang’s kisses left his body limp, his brows and eyes tinged with desire. “What kind of person comes back from a trip and turns this bad?”

Song Shengyang gave a soft laugh and leaned in again, his breath warm against Pei Siyin’s skin. “I’m only like this with you.”