WP Chapter 60

The next morning, when Si Shaorong got out of bed, the ache between his legs made walking difficult.

Going to the bathroom was especially miserable. He drew in a sharp breath, trying to stay quiet, and only managed to finish after what felt like forever. He came out slowly after washing up, just as Jiang Yibai was setting breakfast on the table.

Seeing his baby looking pale and uncomfortable, Jiang Yibai immediately walked over, frowning in concern. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”

He thought about it for a moment and muttered, “I didn’t even go as hard as you did…”

Si Shaorong said nothing.

Jiang Yibai suddenly remembered the new skill he had unlocked the night before and grinned like a fool. “Hey, hey, did it feel good? Want to try again next time?”

Si Shaorong quickly shook his head. “No, no, that… no.” He felt a mix of shame and awkwardness, and something else he could not quite name. A faint guilt lingered too. After all, Jiang Yibai had gone out of his way to make him feel good.

He could not bring himself to say anything too harsh. He did not want to throw cold water on his boyfriend’s enthusiasm. But doing that again really was impossible. Sure, it had felt incredible at the time, but now, the soreness was all his to deal with. That place had always been delicate and sensitive. It simply could not take that kind of rough handling.

Jiang Yibai reacted faster than he did. He immediately understood what was going on, stepped in closer, wrapped an arm around Si Shaorong’s waist, and asked, “You didn’t like it? Did it feel bad? Are you hurting anywhere else? This is serious, you need to be honest with me.”

Si Shaorong’s ears turned red as he nodded. “It… it hurts a little. Nothing else.”

In truth, it hurt more than just “a little,” but after thinking it over, he still did not want to make his boyfriend feel embarrassed or disappointed.

Jiang Yibai’s heart clenched at once. He kissed Si Shaorong’s forehead and hugged him tightly. “I’m sorry! I didn’t hurt you, did I? Do you want to go to the hospital? I won’t do it like that again. Please don’t be mad at me.”

Si Shaorong was stunned for a moment, then quickly wrapped his arms around him. “Why would I be mad at you? Of course I’m not. Don’t overthink it.”

Jiang Yibai still looked worried and distressed. Uneasy, he said, “Maybe we should go to the hospital anyway? I’m scared I hurt you.”

“It’s alright. I know my limits. It should ease up by the afternoon,” Si Shaorong replied.

Jiang Yibai actually wanted to ask him to take off his pants so he could take a look, but seeing how embarrassed he already looked, he figured Si Shaorong would be too shy to agree. So he held back for now and just guided him over to the table. “Come on, let’s eat first. If you’re still not feeling better this afternoon, you have to tell me. You can’t keep this kind of thing from me, okay?”

Si Shaorong smiled and gently squeezed his hand. “I know.”

The two of them ate together in a peaceful, affectionate atmosphere, chatting casually about trivial nonsense. Jiang Yibai brought up something funny he had seen on Weibo, which made Si Shaorong laugh so hard he nearly teared up.

But in life, there are always things that don’t sit quite right. Even in the cheerful flood of comments on Jiang Yibai’s post, a few sour voices still stood out. Some people left passive-aggressive remarks that made others uncomfortable to read, while others were outright mocking and scornful. There were even comments accusing Si Shaorong of selling CP on purpose, digging up stories about how he had supposedly been on blind dates with women before, painting him as some kind of master manipulator who had hidden everything too well. Jiang Yibai was called a two-faced little green tea bitch, and the two of them were dubbed a match made in hell, trash lids sealing garbage pots, destined for each other by the universe.

But that was just how life worked. Nothing ever went perfectly, and no one could live in an environment completely free of criticism.

Where there were people who liked you, there would be people who hated you. If someone treated you like the moon in their heart, there would be someone else ready to stomp you into the mud.

It was all normal. Just ordinary human nature, after all.

Jiang Yibai and Si Shaorong had long since grown past the phase of arguing over fan theories or getting worked up over every debate. They had been through enough, seen enough people, and learned how to weigh things in their hearts. They knew which words were just nonsense to ignore, and which sounded crude but actually carried a bit of truth.

Ever since Jiang Yibai’s parents passed away, he had lived by two principles when dealing with people and the world. First: “What the hell does that have to do with you?” Second: “What the hell does that have to do with me?” With those two banners of righteousness held high, he had marched through life with ease, living carefree and heartless.

Now that the veil of that so-called “heartlessness” had been pulled back, what lay beneath was a hollow still scabbed over in places, some wounds not yet healed. But it was still a step forward. With Si Shaorong by his side, he had begun learning to make peace with the version of himself he had left behind.

The muggy heat of late summer and early fall gradually faded as cold storms swept in.

It felt like summer break had just passed, and in the blink of an eye, it was winter again.

Jiang Yibai’s extracurricular classes grew busy once more. His days were packed from morning to night. Si Shaorong also settled down and focused seriously on his work. Just before the end of the year, he finally submitted the manuscript for his first romance novel.

His young editor stayed up late reading the entire thing over two nights. When she called Si Shaorong afterward, she was practically crying tears of joy.

“It was so touching! You wrote it so beautifully! When the book comes out, I’m getting all my friends and family to help promote it! You’ll always be my god-tier author! I’m sobbing—”

Si Shaorong was half amused, half helpless. He did not let the flattery go to his head and replied calmly, “What about the revisions?”

The editor whimpered through her tears and sent over the file, with detailed comments marked in red.

“I’ve gone ahead and corrected most of the typos for now. We’ll handle the proofreading once the final draft is locked.”

Si Shaorong began reading through the edits as they spoke. Some of the suggestions he did not agree with, so he discussed them with the editor over voice chat.

“The female lead’s character isn’t that soft,” he said, frowning in concentration. “This detail feels unnecessary. Maybe we could revise it instead?”

“That works too,” the editor replied, her keyboard clicking in the background as she updated the annotations in real time. “I just felt this part was a little sparse, and the transition didn’t quite land. The pacing felt jumpy. You get what I mean, right? Like when a scene cuts too abruptly, and the reader might not have time to react.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.” Si Shaorong held the mouse and edited the red comment directly. “I’ll add a few words to bridge it. Let the side character reflect the meaning a little, fill in the nuance.”

“Sounds good,” said the editor. “These side characters each have their own charm. I think readers will like them. Considering the market trends and popular tropes… for the comment marked number 42, maybe you could make that side character shine a bit more. Just a suggestion though, what do you think?”

“Sure,” Si Shaorong said, rubbing his neck. “Changing that won’t affect anything else.”

They had originally planned to go over it briefly and save the rest for another day, but once they got talking, they couldn’t stop. The two of them ended up working all the way until midnight.

Only when the editor yawned did Si Shaorong realize how late it had gotten. He quickly said, “Let’s leave the rest for later. That’s enough for tonight.”

“Okay, Great Master,” the young editor said in a soft, syrupy voice. “Good night.”

“Good night.” Si Shaorong was in a good mood. Overall, he was still satisfied with the draft. The edits were within reason, nothing that made him grit his teeth.

A few years ago, during his first attempt at publishing, he had gotten so frustrated by the editorial suggestions that he actually snapped. Back then, he had been full of stubborn ideas, and his vision didn’t line up with the market at all. The whole thing ended in a falling-out with the publisher, and his debut book was shelved. It wasn’t until a year later that he signed with a new house.

Since then, aside from a few familiar editors he had worked with multiple times, it was always Zhen Zhen who handled the contracts and negotiations. That cut down significantly on the drama.

By the time he stepped out of the bedroom, the students who had been in the living room for class had long since gone.

The lights were off in the living room, except for a small desk lamp glowing beside the sofa. That warm yellow light cast a soft glow across a small corner of the room. A movie was playing quietly on the television. On the couch, bundled up under a fuzzy blanket, was his warm and cheerful boyfriend quietly munching on snacks, with a cup of coffee sitting on the table nearby.

Si Shaorong went to wash up first, then crawled onto the sofa and slipped into the blanket, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend from behind. He spoke with gentle reproach. “Why are you drinking coffee in the middle of the night? You’re going to have trouble falling asleep.”

Jiang Yibai was completely absorbed in the movie. When his boyfriend squeezed in next to him, he instinctively leaned toward the warmth, curled up in his arms, and found a comfortable position. His eyes stayed fixed on the screen, not blinking once. He barely registered what had been said and gave two distracted hums in response.

Si Shaorong let out a soft laugh and gave his cheek a playful bite.

Jiang Yibai hissed and turned, blindly kissing somewhere near his boyfriend’s lips in the dark, leaving crumbs stuck to the freshly washed corner of Si Shaorong’s mouth. “Shh. It’s the good part. Stop messing around.”

That was all the invitation Si Shaorong needed. If Jiang Yibai said not to tease him, he was definitely going to tease him.

He slid a hand under his boyfriend’s shirt and started to stroke and squeeze. When Jiang Yibai didn’t react, he leaned in and began planting delicate kisses along his ear, watching carefully for a shift in his expression.

Jiang Yibai let out a soft hum and leaned his head against Si Shaorong’s shoulder, trying to steady his breathing. The snack bag was taken from his hands and tossed aside. He still tried to keep his eyes on the screen, willing himself to stay focused, but his boyfriend’s teasing was more powerful than any spell. Before long, he gave up and paused the movie, turning to kiss him instead.

The two of them stayed wrapped in the blanket, arms and legs tangled in the corner of the sofa. Their bodies were pressed so close it felt like they were fused together. The pleasure ran straight up their spines and made their scalps tingle, toes curling unconsciously.

The sound of rustling filled the dark room as Si Shaorong reached for tissues and helped clean them both up. Afterward, they remained wrapped together like two swans with necks entwined, brushing cheek against cheek and murmuring softly to each other. From time to time, they would kiss again, unable to help it, lips lingering and pulling apart only to start again, wet and slow. When they had kissed enough, they continued whispering, low and close.

Outside the window, the winter night was silent. The old neighborhood was completely still. Occasionally, a dog barked in the distance, but it quieted down quickly. Just like their peaceful little life together, calm and warm, with the occasional ripple, but all in all, the best of times.

Jiang Yibai resumed the paused movie and, in a soft voice, began talking about the funny things that had happened during the day.

One student had skipped class and ended up being dragged home by their furious parent. Another, only four years old, had been forced to learn piano and stood in the middle of the living room bawling like he was being sold off by his family. Someone else bought a guitar, snapped a string, and called him demanding a refund. He had to explain that strings could be replaced and that he didn’t even sell guitars. Sun Ying was going away for winter break training, so he probably would not be coming to lessons for a while. And so on.

Si Shaorong found it strange and a little delightful. They lived under the same roof, yet he had not realized Jiang Yibai’s day had been so full of twists and turns.

“I wouldn’t dare disturb you,” Jiang Yibai said with a grin. “Besides, you’ve been so busy, you probably wouldn’t notice even if I did.”

Si Shaorong smiled and asked, “What about Chen Yi and Sun Chen? They’re not coming back?”

“Come back for what?” Jiang Yibai shook his head. “Chen Yi’s dad wants to send him abroad for school. They’re in the middle of that whole mess right now. As for Sun Chen, he got the crap beaten out of him by his family. He’s being watched day and night now, just school and home, nothing else. His mom even came back from out of town to keep an eye on him. Extracurriculars are off the table.”

Si Shaorong raised an eyebrow. “Chen Yi’s going abroad? He’s already a disaster under his parents’ noses. They really think shipping him overseas will help?”

Jiang Yibai burst out laughing. “I said the same thing to his mom. I told her if he’s already this wild here, he’ll be ten times worse out there. But according to her, his dad wants to toughen him up. Looks like they’ve made up their minds.”

Jiang Yibai went on, “Chen Yi’s been spoiled since he was a kid. He’s always gotten whatever he wanted. The second things don’t go his way, he throws a fit until everyone’s turned upside down. He won’t stop until he gets what he wants. Honestly, I can’t say his dad’s wrong. If he can’t be managed at home, then send him somewhere unfamiliar. No friends, no family, nothing to fall back on. Let him live a few days where no one answers when he screams, no one cares when he falls. Maybe after he eats some shit, takes a few hits, he’ll finally straighten out.”

Si Shaorong thought about it and said, “Unlikely.”

Jiang Yibai laughed in spite of himself, both amused and exasperated.

Si Shaorong glanced at the time and turned off the movie. “It’s late. We still need to see Dr. Liu in the morning. Let’s sleep.”

Jiang Yibai pressed his lips together and gave a quiet hum of acknowledgment.