TVDC 76: Reward

Qiu Xuning said to him in a soft tone, “You can touch for as long as you want.”

After speaking, he even lifted his clothes a bit higher, revealing a skin as white as snow.

He Zhiyuan: “…”

The vein on his forehead twitched and there was a look of restraint in his eyes. He quickly withdrew his hand and said, “That’s enough.”

Qiu Xuning was stunned and asked, “You’re not touching anymore?”

He Zhiyuan didn’t say anything. Qiu Xuning blushed and boldly said, “You actually still want to touch, right? You don’t need to be shy. Anyway… anyway, you’ve let me touch you before.”

He reached out again to grab He Zhiyuan’s hand, but He Zhiyuan caught it with a backhand, squeezing it in his palm.

Qiu Xuning’s eyes were moist and shimmering, the light dancing in them as he looked at He Zhiyuan’s large hand holding his fingers. His face was still red as he softly said, “You want to touch my hand? That’s fine too.”

His generous response made He Zhiyuan look at him with new admiration.

He Zhiyuan gently squeezed the soft and slightly fleshy palm of Qiu Xuning, his voice hoarse as he said, “I want to touch anywhere, is that okay?”

The indulgent posture could make anyone’s restraint collapse. He Zhiyuan was clearly wavering on this line, his reason reaching its limit.

Qiu Xuning cautiously whispered, “But you can’t touch my butt.”

When He Zhiyuan heard this, his desire immediately deflated by half. He stared at Qiu Xuning and started laughing, then whispered, “Does your butt still hurt?”

Qiu Xuning nodded. He felt the ointment had worked enough, so he withdrew his hand and said, “It still hurts, even when applying the medicine.”

It’s a fracture after all. Although it’s just a minor fracture, it still hurts. It won’t heal in less than a week.

He Zhiyuan didn’t say anything. After a while, he finally said, “Let me take a look.”

Qiu Xuning’s eyes slightly widened. “You still want to look?”

He Zhiyuan glanced at him, his voice still a bit hoarse. “Can’t I look?”

Qiu Xuning shyly buried half his face into the sofa, mumbling, “What’s so good about looking at my butt?”

He Zhiyuan said, “I won’t touch. I’ll just look.”

Qiu Xuning hesitated for a moment but still agreed. However, he didn’t let He Zhiyuan do it. Instead, he pulled his pants down halfway himself. “Have you seen enough?”

He Zhiyuan stared for a while at his soft, round, and pale buttocks, which looked like fluffy steamed buns. His Adam’s apple moved a few times and he said, “Not enough.”

Qiu Xuning only felt a warm hand gently placed there, massaging lightly for a moment before spreading it apart. A wave of coolness made his whole body shiver. His voice carried a hint of panic. “What are you doing?”

He Zhiyuan said, “Let me take a look.”

Qiu Xuning hurriedly reached out and pulled his pants back up, his face turning red as he said, “I told you, you can only look, not touch.”

“Will it hurt if I touch?” He Zhiyuan asked in a hoarse voice.

Qiu Xuning was momentarily speechless, then answered, “It won’t hurt—it’s just that you can’t touch.”

He Zhiyuan smiled and said, “I won’t touch.”

Qiu Xuning felt his face growing much warmer. He awkwardly shifted his body and let the hem of his clothes fall down.

He Zhiyuan suppressed his smile and said to him, “Go back to sleep.”

Qiu Xuning muttered a low “mm”, his face turning red with embarrassment. He got up awkwardly and returned to the bedroom.

He Zhiyuan followed him back to the bedroom, walked to the desk, and glanced at the calendar on it. He reached out, flipped through it, and after flipping eight pages, he finally reached the day that was highlighted with a red marker.

There are still eight months.

He flipped back, and today’s date was still marked with a bright red ‘X’ in the red marker.

After the cultural performance incident, He Zhiyuan’s fame grew even bigger. More and more people began to slip food, drinks, and love letters into his desk during lunch breaks when He Zhiyuan wasn’t around. 

When He Zhiyuan returned to the classroom, he could always pull out a bunch of food from his bag and desk.

Although the school strictly prohibited early relationships, it couldn’t stop the excited boys and girls. However, those love letters had no signatures, as they were afraid of being seen by others.

He Zhiyuan didn’t touch the food, but he did open a love letter and carefully started reading it.

Liu Yulu saw that he really opened and started reading the love letter. She felt anxious inside but suppressed her growing frustration. Pretending to be nonchalant, she walked up to his side and called out, “He Zhiyuan.”

Her way of speaking had a certain charm, with the intonation of her words gently stretched at the end, creating a soft and sweet feeling. It also carried a hint of playfulness. Many boys couldn’t resist the way Liu Yulu spoke.

He Zhiyuan glanced at her before his gaze fell back onto the pink and heart-filled love letter.

Liu Yulu always felt they had a special connection. In their second year of high school, there were 19 classes and 13 of them were science classes, yet they ended up in the same class. Isn’t that quite a coincidence? They even had pets at home, giving them common topics to talk about.

Liu Yulu thought about those coincidences, but half a year had passed since they split into science and arts tracks, yet they still couldn’t have a proper conversation.

She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. She smiled at He Zhiyuan and said in a soft voice, “So I added your younger brother on WeChat, didn’t I? I wanted to send him some dog food, but when I tried to contact him, he didn’t reply. I wanted to ask if there’s something going on?”

He Zhiyuan stopped and finally raised his head to look at her. “You’ve tried to contact him?”

Liu Yulu felt a surge of happiness inside and she nodded. “The dog food at my house that’s going to expire in a few months—didn’t I say I would give it to your dog, An’an? However, I can’t get in touch with your younger brother… Otherwise, tell me where your house is and I’ll deliver it to you.”

He Zhiyuan said in a low voice, “No need. It only eats the dog food I buy.”

Liu Yulu was taken aback. “But your younger brother…”

“The dog is mine,” He Zhiyuan said.

“…” Liu Yulu bit her lower lip and didn’t say anything.

Her eyes kept glancing at the pink letter in He Zhiyuan’s hand. Did she have to be like those girls and write a love letter to He Zhiyuan?

He Zhiyuan noticed her gaze, folded the pink letter, and put it in the drawer.

Liu Yulu watched his series of actions, feeling even more anxious inside.

In a small corner after class, Zeng Jie heard her say some words. With a helpless tone, she said, “Yulu, just give up. If you like a guy, he can’t possibly not know. His attitude clearly shows that he’s rejecting you.”

Liu Yulu said unwillingly, “He never said it, so I still have hope.”

She might as well write a love letter too.

He Zhiyuan didn’t know her thoughts. After school, he went to Qiu Xuning’s classroom, waiting for him to finish class and go home.

The experimental class teacher liked to drag the class on. He Zhiyuan stood for a while before class ended. The crowd was bustling, pouring out toward the classroom door. He Zhiyuan was tall and could see Qiu Xuning’s face from his position in front of the window.

Qiu Xuning was still sitting at his seat while organizing his bag. His rosy lips were slightly pursed. From He Zhiyuan’s angle, he could see his rounded cheeks, looking so soft and squeezable.

He Zhiyuan’s lips curled up slightly. The next moment, he saw a boy behind Qiu Xuning poke him in the back. The boy said something to Qiu Xuning with a cheeky smile. Qiu Xuning turned his head, and his soft, rosy lips formed a small smile. His fair cheeks also slightly flushed.

The curve of He Zhiyuan’s lips faded. It seemed like Qiu Xuning sensed his gaze. He lifted his face and looked over toward the window. When he saw it was He Zhiyuan, his eyes instantly lit up, like little lightbulbs. He quickly packed up his books. In no time, he had neatly placed all the books in his bag, stood up, and turned around to say bye to the people behind him. He then walked out of the classroom with the flow of people.

As usual, He Zhiyuan took the bag from his hand and walked with him toward the staircase.

Qiu Xuning glanced around and, seeing that people were still looking at him, didn’t reach out to hold He Zhiyuan’s hand. He said softly, “You really finish class early every time.”

He Zhiyuan didn’t say anything.

Qiu Xuning keenly sensed He Zhiyuan’s mood. He tilted his head back to look at his expression and asked, “What’s wrong?”

He Zhiyuan glanced at him and calmly said, “You can guess.”

Qiu Xuning didn’t guess and shook his head. “I don’t want to guess. You’re not a girl—why do you always make me guess your thoughts?”

He Zhiyuan reached out and messed up his hair. Qiu Xuning let him mess with his hair but still asked, “Did you wash your hands?”

He Zhiyuan withdrew his hand and said, “I didn’t wash.”

Qiu Xuning’s little face wrinkled up again. He gave him a resentful glance before reaching up to tidy his short hair.

When they reached outside the school, He Zhiyuan took the initiative to reach out and held Qiu Xuning’s somewhat chubby palm. His fingers gently kneaded and pinched Qiu Xuning’s soft fingers. “Did you get along well with the boys in class?”

Qiu Xuning froze for a moment before immediately reacting. He chuckled. “So you’re jealous, huh?”

He Zhiyuan didn’t argue. He just increased the pressure a little on Qiu Xuning’s fingers as he played with them and softly said, “I received a love letter.”

“…” Qiu Xuning stopped smiling. He asked in a low voice, “Is it beautiful?”

He Zhiyuan looked down at him, a hint of a smile in his eyes, but didn’t answer.

Qiu Xuning’s smile faded. With a slightly sour tone, he said, “You’re all adults now, so if you’re in a relationship, does that mean it’s no longer considered early love?”

He Zhiyuan curled his lips and said, “So you’re jealous too.”

Qiu Xuning pinched his finger back and said, “You were the one who got jealous first. They’re just regular male classmates. I don’t have any story with them.”

He Zhiyuan said softly, “Qin Shouze—you said the same thing.”

“…”

After returning home, He Zhiyuan pulled out a stack of letters from his bag and handed them to Qiu Xuning.

Qiu Xuning hesitated for a moment before taking them. “What are you giving me this for?”

He Zhiyuan slightly raised his chin and said, “A love letter, write one for me to see.”

Qiu Xuning’s face immediately turned red. “I write one?”

He Zhiyuan chuckled softly and said, “Write one for me to see.”

Qiu Xuning stammered, “Yo–you want me to write a love letter for you? How could that be??”

He Zhiyuan said, “Not going to write?”

Qiu Xuning’s face turned red as his fingers tightly clenched the letter, not saying anything.

He Zhiyuan stared at him. After a moment of silence, Qiu Xuning softly cleared his throat, then he said with a hint of embarrassment, “This is… this is public execution, do you understand?”

Before He Zhiyuan could answer, Qiu Xuning awkwardly continued, “If there’s no generous reward, I won’t write it.”

He Zhiyuan asked softly, “What do you want?”

Qiu Xuning’s face turned red, and he didn’t dare to look at him. His finger unconsciously traced circles on the table and his voice gradually lowered. “For example, three kisses every day, something like that…”

He Zhiyuan: “…”