TOW 21

They went to a nearby restaurant. It was well past mealtime, and only a few people were inside, but the moment Liang Xuan walked in, he drew everyone’s attention. The server led them to a booth in the back. After they ordered, a young girl approached hesitantly and asked Liang Xuan, “Excuse me… could I get your autograph?”

Liang Xuan looked at her and didn’t refuse. He signed his name on the notebook she handed over. The girl thanked him repeatedly, then turned to Xu Fei and asked, “Can I get yours too?”

Xu Fei raised his eyebrows. “You know me?”

The girl hesitated. “Aren’t you… Xu Fei?”

Xu Fei laughed, took the pen, signed his name, and even took a photo with her and Liang Xuan.

The dishes arrived one after another. All of it was local cuisine from Jinkui, much lighter than what you’d find in Pinghai or Xinjing, which Xu Fei rather liked. He focused on eating, spooning up the tofu from the dish into his bowl without distraction. Liang Xuan saw this and didn’t compete with him, instead picking up some celtuce, taking a bite, and sipping his tea with a calm, composed air like he was in a movie scene.

The entire meal was unusually quiet. Occasionally, Xu Fei would ask something like, “Where else are you going for promotion?” or “What’s your new film about?” Liang Xuan would respond briefly. After a while, Xu Fei leaned back, full, and poured himself a cup of tea. Liang Xuan looked at him and suddenly said, “You have something on your mouth.”

Xu Fei looked up. “Where?” He reached up to touch his lower lip. Liang Xuan’s gaze lingered on his lips before shifting upward to meet his eyes. Xu Fei stuck out the tip of his tongue and slowly traced his lower lip.

Liang Xuan cleared his throat and poured himself a cup of tea. Xu Fei noticed how uneasy he looked and felt a strange hint of happiness in his chest. Then he silently warned himself not to play with fire.

“Bill, please.” He waved the waiter over, then added, “It’s getting late. I need to head back to the hotel.”

Liang Xuan’s hand paused mid-sip. Xu Fei understood what that meant. Whenever the two of them were together, it always ended in bed. Finishing the night after just a meal wasn’t normal. He glanced at Liang Xuan and caught sight of his lips, still damp from the tea. A part of him didn’t want to leave, but there was nothing he could do about it.

“I’m sharing a room with Fu Zichuan,” he explained. “If I don’t return tonight, it’s going to be a mess.”

Liang Xuan paused again. After a moment, he said, “You don’t need to explain any of this to me.” His eyes dropped as he held his cup, and whether it was from the light or something else, the tips of his ears were visibly red. Xu Fei saw it and felt his heart skip a beat.

Damn it. Being around Liang Xuan really caught him off guard every time.

When Liang Xuan drove him back, Xu Fei was still thinking about those red ears. It had been months since he last had sex, and was starting to feel the buildup.

“We’re here,” Liang Xuan said, stopping the car in the underground garage. Xu Fei looked outside, then turned to glance at him. The younger man had his head down, reading something on his phone.

Xu Fei steeled himself, reached out, grabbed Liang Xuan’s chin, and leaned in to kiss him.

The kiss clearly caught Liang Xuan off guard. He froze for several seconds before grabbing Xu Fei’s wrist and kissing him back. It was a rough, urgent kiss. His teeth even bit Xu Fei’s lips a few times. Xu Fei kissed along the corner of his mouth, fingers brushing over his jaw, down his neck, then pressing against his Adam’s apple. Liang Xuan let out a moan.

“Xu Fei…” he gasped in a low voice.

Xu Fei kissed him a little longer before letting go and leaning back into his seat.

“Good night,” he said.

Liang Xuan stared at him in a daze, lips swollen and face flushed. Xu Fei looked at him and thought about having his way with him right there in the car.

But that was definitely out of the question. So he opened the door and got out. From a distance, he glanced back. The car was parked in the corner, lights dimmed, windows tinted. Nothing could be seen inside. He smiled to himself, raising a hand to rub his face before heading to the elevator.

Fu Zichuan had already showered and was sitting on the bed watching TV. When he saw Xu Fei return, he looked sideways and said, “Where have you been? You look all flushed.”

Xu Fei protested weakly, “The hell I do,” and turned into the bathroom. He closed the door and glanced up at the mirror, only to find that his face really was flushed, and there was an unconscious smile in his eyes. Then he recalled the sound of Liang Xuan moaning under his lips, calling his name in that low voice.

“Xu Fei.”

Xu Fei bumped his forehead against the tiled wall.

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.

—

In early April, the theater troupe returned to Pinghai. Xu Fei brought home a poster for his mom and was rewarded with a table full of delicious food. His stomach stuffed, he went upstairs to his bedroom, wandered a lap across the carpet, then flopped onto the bed for a while. After rolling over once, he ended up sending Liang Xuan a thank-you message.

“Thanks for the autograph. My mom was really happy.”

Liang Xuan replied about half an hour later.

“That’s good.”

Xu Fei tossed his phone aside. But not even two seconds later, it buzzed again. He picked it up and saw that Liang Xuan was calling him.

Xu Fei hesitated for a moment, then answered. “What’s up?”

“My agent found out about your mom asking for the autograph.” Liang Xuan’s voice sounded even deeper over the phone. “He thinks it’s a good chance to expand the fanbase.”

Xu Fei was stunned for a second, then burst out laughing. “You mean the middle-aged auntie demographic?”

“He thinks it’s fitting,” Liang Xuan replied.

Xu Fei thought of the neighbors who kept asking about Liang Xuan. All those aunties around his mom’s age, snatching up posters of Liang Xuan at the community center like it was a Black Friday sale. “You know what, you’re right. There really are a lot of aunties who like you.”

Liang Xuan paused for a moment. Then said, “Good to know.”

Xu Fei couldn’t help but laugh again. He lay on the bed, one hand holding his phone, staring at the night slowly falling through the gap in the curtains. He knew he should hang up, but he didn’t have the willpower to do it.

“Where are you right now?” he asked.

“At home,” Liang Xuan replied. “Just finished promotion. Taking a few days off.”

Xu Fei gave a quiet hum and said nothing more. The room was so quiet it felt heavy. Only the faint, muffled sound of the television leaked in through the crack under the door, distant and dreamlike. This is so stupid, Xu Fei thought. But he had no idea what else to say.

They stayed locked in silence over the line for another five minutes. Xu Fei’s arm began to ache from holding the phone, and he finally gave in with a sigh. “If this keeps going, you’re just wasting your phone bill.”

After a pause, he added, “But you probably don’t care.”

Liang Xuan chuckled softly. Xu Fei could almost picture his smile, the way the corners of his mouth curled, eyes gently crinkled. Warm and just right, unlike him, who always smiled too much.

“Are you home alone?” Liang Xuan asked.

Xu Fei switched hands to hold the phone. “Why?”

Liang Xuan went quiet again. Xu Fei waited patiently, crossing and uncrossing his legs, kicking at the blanket out of boredom. It took a while before Liang Xuan finally spoke again, his voice turning hoarse, blending with the static over the line.

“I want to fuck you,” Liang Xuan said.

Xu Fei choked. He coughed a few times before he could speak again, but his cock was already rising to attention in his pants, “You want to fuck me?” He asked.

Liang Xuan didn’t answer.

Xu Fei licked his lips. “How do you want to.. wait, hold on.” His brain cleared for a second, realizing he shouldn’t be playing this game with Liang Xuan. “I’m at my parents’ place.”

“You can keep your voice down,” Liang Xuan said.

His voice grew lower and lower, just like every time they had sex. He would press close and speak right against Xu Fei’s ear, his hoarse voice.

Xu Fei swallowed hard, wanting to say no, but his hand had already betrayed him, slipping into his pants.

“I don’t even moan that loud,” he mumbled.

Liang Xuan let out a quiet laugh. The sound trembled in his voice, making Xu Fei’s knees weak. He grabbed his cock and stroked it roughly a couple of times. “Fine, you win. How do you want to fuck me?”

But Liang Xuan turned the question around. “How do you want me to fuck you?”

Xu Fei closed his eyes. He thought of all the sex dreams he’d had about Liang Xuan. His fingers, his tongue, his cock. “I want you to hold me up against the wall,” he said.

Liang Xuan let out a breathy sound. “Yeah?”

“You could totally lift me. I’m not that heavy. You’ve got all that muscle.” Xu Fei’s cock twitched in his hand, clearly excited by the idea. “I’d hold on tight around you. You’d support my ass. I wouldn’t fall.”

His hand moved faster, jerking off to the image in his mind. He had fantasized about this position more than once. His back pressed to the wall, body wrapped up in Liang Xuan’s arms. Liang Xuan gripping his ass, lifting and lowering him while fucking him deep, the thrusts sinking in farther each time from the momentum.

“Fuck,” Xu Fei cursed. His cock swelled bigger in his grip. Precum leaked from the tip, soaking his fingers. “Are you hard?” he asked. “Do you want to fuck me like that?”

Liang Xuan’s low moan crackled through the line. “Of course. I’d love to… Fuck, Xu Fei.”

His voice shook. Xu Fei bit his lower lip, remembering the way Liang Xuan’s hand trembled when gripping his hair, the breathless, uneven gasps when they were tangled together. “Good,” he said. “Because I’d be too weak to move. You’d have to do all the work. You’d have to fuck me hard.”

Liang Xuan’s breathing grew heavier. Xu Fei swore he could hear wet sounds coming through the phone. So Liang Xuan was just as turned on as he was? Just from fantasizing about him… could he really get this worked up?

Xu Fei moaned, his thumb brushing over the tip before sliding down the sensitive shaft. He wanted Liang Xuan’s mouth on his cock, taking him in deep.

“But not too… not too rough,” Xu Fei said. “I can’t take it… your cock… your cock is too big… and thick…. Liang Xuan…”

His right hand moved faster and rougher. The friction was intense, almost too much. He felt like he was losing control, even his toes were curling. But it wasn’t enough. He needed more. He needed Liang Xuan inside him.

Xu Fei bit down hard on his lip, switched the phone to speaker mode, and reached down with his left hand. He touched his hole and slowly pushed in one finger. The dry stretch made his eyes snap open, and he let out a sharp gasp.

“What happened?” Liang Xuan asked.

Xu Fei panted as his index finger slid in bit by bit, letting his inner walls squeeze around it. “I put a finger in,” he reported. “Fuck…”

He started working the finger inside his hole. On the other end of the call, Liang Xuan’s moans grew louder, closer, more desperate. Xu Fei shut his eyes again, whispering, “Fuck me…”

He pushed a second finger in. The sensation of being stretched open sent a rush of heat to his gut. His head went fuzzy. It felt like Liang Xuan was right there, spreading him open and pounding into him over and over.

“Liang Xuan,” he whispered. “Liang Xuan…”

He came.

His breathing suddenly turned harsh. Choppy, like a broken speaker. The phone buzzed with static, followed by Liang Xuan’s heavy moans. Liang Xuan stammered out a question.

“Did you… did you come?”

Xu Fei didn’t answer. But Liang Xuan let out a muffled groan, then gradually fell quiet.

Xu Fei kept panting for a while longer. His chest rose and fell as he slowly came down from the high. He wiped his hand on the bedsheet, ears catching the faint sound of the TV downstairs.

“That’s impossible,” a woman said. “Things like that just don’t happen in real life…”

Xu Fei closed his eyes and suddenly felt incredibly ashamed.

“Xu Fei?” Liang Xuan called his name through the phone.

Xu Fei cleared his throat, picked up the phone again, and held it to his ear.

“I can’t believe you actually did something like this with me,” he said.

Liang Xuan didn’t respond right away. After a moment, he finally said, “I just…”
His voice was still hoarse. Deep and low, like a subwoofer, so sexy it could kill. Xu Fei raised a hand to cover his eyes and said, “Stop talking.”

Liang Xuan went quiet right away. Xu Fei knew he had misunderstood and added, “Because right now, I really, really want to shove your cock inside my ass.”

Liang Xuan went silent for two more seconds. Then both of them burst out laughing.