For a moment, time seemed to have stopped. The whole space felt like it was protected by a kind of enchantment. Outside the windows were rustling snowflakes, cold and lively. Inside, on the other hand, it was surprisingly quiet, and one could even feel the flow of the warm light gently surrounding them.

Gu Yanting didn’t move; even his breathing stopped. Only after a few seconds did he slowly move forward, and slowly pressed his lips against Tang Yi’s.

One kiss at a time, leaving slightly and pressing up again. At first the two of them were like funny kissing fish in an aquarium, gently touching and then swirling away. It was only after a dozen times like this that Gu Yanting hugged Tang Yi while his other hand palmed the back of Tang Yi’s head and he used the tip of his tongue to gently pry open the slightly opened lips in front of him.

Sucking sounds and increasingly ragged panting resounded in the room, followed by the greater range of movements. The kisses gradually became more and more impatient, taking on a slightly frantic, bullying flavour. Tang Yi, unable to breathe from the attack, frowned a little and reached out to push Gu Yanting’s face away, but when he raised his hand, he found that he had no strength left, and his hand eventually landed on Gu Yanting’s head, feeling the hardness of his skull and the softness of his short hair under his palm. After a long time, he heard Gu Yanting say hoarsely, “God, today is worth dying for!”

A few kisses alone were definitely not worth it. Gu Yanting meant something, and after a moment of silence, Tang Yi acquiesced. He let Gu Yanting pick him up hurriedly and kiss him all the way to the bedroom, and let his pyjamas, which he had not long put on, be roughly ripped off. Gu Yanting ejaculated shamefully as soon as he touched the good part of his body. It made him lose face, and while blushing in annoyance, he threatened Tang Yi not to laugh, gritting his teeth and cocking his gun again.

Tang Yi’s laughter gradually turned into curses – he hadn’t experienced it for over two years and was having a hard time accepting it. Gu Yanting’s pride was bruised by his laughter and he deliberately held back, slowing his movements. He just got a taste and then pushed in very slowly, brushing against the sensitive spot before reaching the depths and slowly withdrawing again. The movements of the two of them were particularly obvious this way. Tang Yi couldn’t stand it, so he had to lift his hips and arch back without any shyness. Then Gu Yanting held him down and grabbed his hand, licking his fingers one by one.

Tang Yi was full of desire and dissatisfaction. He knew that Gu Yanting was waiting for him to beg for mercy. In the past, Tang Yi didn’t know how many vulgar words would be said at such a moment; but today he had laughed at Gu Yanting’s premature ejaculation, and now there was silence. And Gu Yanting used to like to talk. Last time Tang Yi kicked him out halfway because he said the wrong thing and he didn’t resist, but today he also felt stubborn.

Tang Yi was tormented by alternating feelings of emptiness and pleasure that were so intense that he was almost in panic. The thought that came to his mind as he held on for dear life suppressed his groans was – fuck, Lao Tzu should have known to be on top and fuck you.

The position of the two men in bed had never changed for reasons that were a little ridiculous to say the least. But initially it was – Tang Yi was a total pleasure-seeker, preferring to be served rather than to serve others.

There was also his inclination to appreciate appearances, and when you looked into it, it all came down to beauty. When he and Gu Yanting started dating, both of them were a little nervous, a little excited and curious. Tang Yi was initially hesitant whether he wanted to be the bottom; after all, at that time Gu Yanting was no match for him in terms of physical strength and fighting skills. If he wanted to do Gu Yanting, the latter probably wouldn’t even be able to react. What finally made Tang Yi give up on the idea was the sight he saw that day as he hesitantly lay down, squinting his eyes.

Everything hadn’t started yet. He lay comfortably on the bed, admiring Gu Yanting’s deep eyebrows, sexy slightly curled lips, and the strong and well-proportioned body that was sweaty from holding back. Gu Yanting had no experience either, so he was clumsy and laborious and suppressed his own urges in order to please Tang Yi first. His hands were heavy and gentle.

It was an afternoon in a shabby, cramped rental apartment. The rental apartment was an attic, facing southwest, with a big clearing opposite the building and endless green hills beyond. The two young people full of hormones only pulled a thin layer of gauze curtains, so the afterglow of the setting sun reflected the little patterns on the curtains, softly and pleasantly spreading them all over the attic. At that time, Gu Yanting, who was obviously eager, was like a leopard with tight muscles, half crouching on top of Tang Yi. From his hair to his eyes, to his smooth and well-defined chin, to his slender and powerful calves, everything was plated with a layer of golden light.

Tang Yi was looking at him and for a moment his lust faded, his mind filled with admiration for this beauty.

Neither of them had a great time the first time, yet the impact and psychological satisfaction of the combined experience gave them another sensation more overwhelming than orgasm.

Later on, the two of them gradually got better at this and Gu Yanting learned all sorts of tricks and techniques. The idea of switching also crossed Tang Yi’s mind, but in the end he gave up on it. The reasons for it were much more obvious at this point. Apart from Gu Yanting’s excellent skills, Tang Yi was already in a position of superiority in life and didn’t care about physical positions. Subconsciously, he left Gu Yanting the opportunity to conquer, as more or less some kind of mercy.

If he didn’t think about it carefully, he wouldn’t realise that he had ever had such a deep sense of superiority.

Gu Yanting noticed Tang Yi’s distraction and gave him an irritated push. Tang Yi stifled a moan, the sound surprisingly sweet and seductive in a way he hadn’t expected. Gu Xiao Ting grew in size even more from this moan. The two of them once again gritted their teeth, confronting each other, before Tang Yi finally couldn’t take it anymore and raised his hand to hook Gu Yanting’s neck and press it down viciously.

“Fuck! You can’t fuck anymore?!”

The battle was fierce and crazy. The two of them were like a pair of martial arts masters. From the initial confrontation and fighting contest, they gradually turned to a light, rapid, complicated, grinding match. The ragged, inciting groans were like a long-lost sweet dew. Gu Yanting slowly swallowed it and fed it to Tang Yi little by little. When the last moment came, Gu Yanting was biting the corner of Tang Yi’s lips, and their entangled, taut bodies trembled for a long time before they slowly went still. In the end, the two separated quietly, dream-like, looked at each other for a moment, and then transformed again into a pair of lightly touching kissing fish.

Afterwards, Gu Yanting carried Tang Yi to clean up. The bathroom in the small apartment was narrow and there was no bathtub. Tang Yi’s eyes were half-closed and full of fatigue, so he simply hung on to Gu Yanting and didn’t move. Gu Yanting glanced at him. Even the rascal was not willing to play tricks anymore. He obediently cleaned Tang Yi and then was busy drying him. He carried him back to the bedroom conscientiously, even changing the sheets and quilt carefully. When he finally went to bed, he was very satisfied. Tang Yi was trapped in his long arms and legs, his feet pulled between Gu Yanting’s calves.

But this mature and serious state didn’t last long, and the next day when Tang Yi woke up, Gu Yanting couldn’t hold back.

When Tang Yi woke up, he was still a little uncomfortable. He couldn’t tell what the discomfort was, but at any rate he hadn’t done it for two years. Yesterday, he was pressed down by Gu Yanting in such a position and his old waist, arms and legs were a bit sore everywhere. The first moment he woke up and thought about it, he remembered how Gu Yanting was holding back his bad intentions yesterday.

Gu Yanting had woken up a long time ago but hadn’t been willing to get up. He was looking at Tang Yi with bright eyes. Seeing Tang Yi open his eyes slightly, he leaned forward proudly – he particularly wanted to have another round after waking up in the morning, but Tang Yi slept soundly and he didn’t dare, so he had to hold back and wait. When Tang Yi woke up, he didn’t hesitate, turned over and pounced.

He even showed off his morning erection and rubbed it against Tang Yi’s inner thighs a few times. Who knew that before he could do anything else, he would be grabbed by the butt.

Tang Yi really grabbed it and didn’t spare any effort with his five fingers. After grabbing it, he slapped it hard. When Gu Yanting heard the crisp sound of “pop”, his whole body froze.

Tang Yi looked at him with a smile on his face and asked softly after a while, “Quite capable, huh?”

Yesterday, when Gu Yanting was hard, his heart was beating like a drum. In the past, Tang Yi had always been very cooperative, and when he didn’t cooperate, Gu Yanting just coaxed more, never confronted him. Yesterday when the two of them were fighting hard, he wondered if Tang Yi would be angry with him if he lost. As it turned out, these fears were not unfounded, and Tang Yi did remember to settle the score.

But that somewhat punishing, torturous feeling was particularly addictive, and he could tell that Tang Yi’s feelings were stronger too. Yesterday he screamed several times and almost surrendered outright with his legs weak. Yesterday, the atmosphere was so good and Gu Yanting was so into it that he hadn’t said any of the vulgar things he had been holding back, so now he grunted a little and rubbed against Tang Yi again before saying, “Didn’t you enjoy it too!!”

Tang Yi raised his eyebrows.

Gu Yanting’s big fluffy head butted into Tang Yi’s neck, and then he tilted his head and leaned to Tang Yi’s ear, saying, “You also said, ‘No, don’t stop… it’s so good… come’.”

Tang Yi tilted his face, met his eyes and smiled, “Is there anything else?”

“And you said ‘slow down’, and when I slowed down, you said ‘go faster’ and begged me to fuck you.”

“……”

“You can be hard to serve.”

Gu Yanting said it in one breath, seeing Tang Yi move back and look at him with a smile. Then his body felt cold, and by the time he reacted, Tang Yi had twisted his wrist, everything swayed in front of his eyes and their position was overturned. 

Tang Yi gave him a gentle, creepy smile, grabbed his hands and pressed them upwards, then lowered his head and kissed him.

Gu Yanting’s alarm had just sounded when the kiss was gone. He blinked and was about to deepen the good morning kiss when he saw Tang Yi back up a bit, then use his shirt he grabbed from somewhere and tie it around his wrists a few times.

Gu Yanting: “!!!”

He wanted to resist a little, but looked at the red marks all over Tang Yi’s body and felt some pity, afraid that he might hurt him again if he used force. While he was hesitating, he saw Tang Yi calmly picking up the lube at the head of the bed.

It was the one he found inside Tang Yi’s bedside table last night. The small bottle was still half full. Tang Yi’s original intention was obvious. Who knew that he would freeze after bringing the bottle of lube over.

“What’s wrong…” Gu Yanting even raised his head curiously.

“Nothing.” Tang Yi was silent for a moment, gave him a look and instead got off him, throwing the bottle of lube into the trash while getting dressed, “It’s expired.”

“Huh?”

“Huh, my ass!” Tang Yi suddenly kicked him in annoyance, “You were giving me the expired one? Get up! Go cook!” He wanted to deflower Gu Yanting this morning, but who knew that the lube had expired? Although it didn’t matter since it was for external use, Tang Yi was adamant that the shelf life of some things was there for a reason.

But it was not Gu Yanting’s fault. The apartment was his, the lube was his, and he was the one who took the initiative yesterday. So Tang Yi was particularly depressed.

Gu Yanting was sprayed with this inexplicable anger and raised his hands in some aggravation, “But I’m still tied up here.”

The binding or something was not tied to the head of the bed. Tang Yi gave him a cold look and got up to put on his clothes. Gu Yanting pretended to be unconcerned for a while, and finally got rid of the smirk at the corners of his mouth, then quickly went into the bathroom to solve his morning needs before washing up and going to cook.

Tang Yi had originally thought of going to the office early when he got up, but when he saw the road conditions from the balcony, he simply gave up.

The snow had just stopped falling overnight and there were very few footprints on the thick snow on the road. Tang Yi knew that it was not that no one had gone out, but that the footprints made by people who had rushed to work earlier had been covered by the freshly fallen snow.

He then remembered what he said to Shen Fan yesterday. Shen Fan said that he would consider giving him an answer, but no matter how he replied, Tang Yi would probably have to face those things in the future; this bitter winter had just begun. But Tang Yi would rather have them coming for him; when he thought of Gu Yanting and Mom and Dad Gu, he couldn’t help but feel a little irritable and worried.

Gu Yanting put the pot on the fire and followed him to the balcony to watch the snow. When he came out, he took a cashmere blanket by the way, and when he wrapped Tang Yi into it, he also wrapped his arms around him.

Tang Yi struggled slightly but didn’t break free and said in a low voice, “There’s someone else living across the street.”

“Let them see,” Gu Yanting hummed, maintaining the position of hugging Tang Yi from behind, resting his chin on Tang Yi’s shoulder, “when I was in Guangzhou, there were many young boys holding hands in Shangxiajiu Street. Hey, why weren’t we that bold back then!”

He said it with unbridled envy, which was a bit funny to Tang Yi’s ears, “Weren’t you bold? When I first got a job we went to a barbecue stall to celebrate, you got drunk and grabbed me along the way, singing like a wailing ghost.”

“Ahem, wasn’t that drinking too much?” Gu Yanting finally touched his nose in embarrassment and couldn’t help but feel happy for a while.

People have different pursuits and desires at different stages of life. For example, when he was a child, Tang Yi longed for a cotton-padded coat when it was cold. When he slept, he longed for a quilt. When he was hungry, he longed for a meat bun. As time went by, he slowly grew up, and those trivial desires that entangled him all the time gradually changed from a quilt and meat buns to good grades in the exam and one more part-time job. Later, it became to find a good job and live in a good house.

Gu Yanting’s experience was different from his, but it also had a similar trajectory and flow. Some people conclude that happiness is comparative. For example, if someone else doesn’t have something and you have it, you will easily be happy. Or maybe there is something you lack now, and one day you get it, compared to when you lack it you will be happy. And the reason why happiness is difficult to last is that the goals are constantly being achieved, and the satisfaction they can bring is weakened.

When the two of them graduated, their concern was to find a good job. At that time they didn’t think very far ahead; they just felt that the days of graduating and not having a job were panic-inducing. Tang Yi first found a position with a good salary and benefits. The two were overjoyed at the time, as if they had accomplished a major event in their lives and discussed the celebration. But back then, they didn’t have much money, so they ended up going to a barbecue stall to eat barbecue and drink beer. That night, Gu Yanting drank a little too much and held Tang Yi’s hand along the way, howling as he walked. None of the songs he sang were in tune and he sang louder trying to make up for it with the sheer volume of his voice.

Tang Yi was just a newly graduated student at the time, and no matter how mature he was, it was the first time he walked on the street hand in hand. He was nervous and shy. Fortunately, it was already late at night and there were not many people on the road. So after lowering his head and following Gu Yanting for a while, he slowly raised his head, pursed his lips and smiled.

Later, when they were almost at their apartment, they saw a number of people under the flyover, carrying guns and with two Santanas. They were all bald, with big gold chains, tight vests and Adi’s shoes. The Santanas were probably the standard. Tang Yi had seen a lot of people like this, so he pulled Gu Yanting, who was singing, and turned into an alley. Gu Yanting didn’t know why. After walking around for a while and seeing no one in the dark alley, he thought Tang Yi wanted to play in the open air and was about to take off his pants in a hurry. Finally, Tang Yi beat him up and dragged him home safely.

Although Gu Yanting drank a lot, he didn’t lose his mind and couldn’t stop laughing when he thought about it later. Today he couldn’t hold back either, rubbed his chin on Tang Yi’s shoulder and said with a smile, “That place was really good for a fuck in the open air, with its high walls, nooks and crannies, and no door that could open suddenly. What do you think that alleyway is for?”

Tang Yi didn’t expect that after four or five years, Gu Yanting would still be thinking about outdoors fuck, so he replied back, “I guess it’s for tadpole storage.”

“Huh?”

“Later on, tadpoles will be looking for their moms, tsk, how many little pencils were emptied right there.”

“……” It took a while for Gu Yanting to react before he understood and burst out laughing. Tang Yi was destructive enough, the little pencil’s tadpoles…

The two didn’t speak again for a while. The further they went, the happier was the past.  At that time, they didn’t think long-term. They could be happy for three or four days if they picked up ten yuan. Later, they wanted more and more, and the standard of comparison became higher and higher. On the contrary, there was no longer the time to drink draft beer and shout and sing all over the street.

After a while, Gu Yanting glanced downstairs again, rubbed his hands and pulled Tang Yi, saying, “Let’s go, go back to the house, the pot is about to boil, I’ll cook you noodles.”

Tang Yi followed him back to the house, and when he sat down, he found that the puppy had also woken up and was running towards the toilet. He looked quite similar to Gu Yanting in his impatience.

Gu Yanting put down two bowls of noodles and fried tomatoes and eggs, his old specialty. When he turned around and saw Tang Yi looking at him, he couldn’t help but twist his head in a dejected manner, causing Tang Yi to turn away again speechlessly.

But this complacency didn’t last long as his mobile phone rang untimely while the two of them were eating.

The caller was Lin Rui.

Gu Yanting’s phone was placed on the table, and when he glanced at it, he almost poked the bowl with his chopsticks and cut off the call without thinking.

This reaction was instinctive, without going through his brain for careful thinking of why or what to do. Tang Yi’s strong resistance to the words “Lin Rui” had already conditioned Gu Yanting to think that he would fall into hell again if he made a mistake, so he didn’t care if he was overreacting. He shivered even when he glanced at Lin Rui’s name.

After a few seconds, the phone rang again and was hung up again.

When Tang Yi noticed that something was wrong and looked up, the phone rang for the third time. Gu Yanting looked at it with a white face and couldn’t help but breathe a soft sigh of relief. This time it was Fat Sod.

Fat Sod told him that Skinny Monkey was getting married. Originally, Gu Yanting knew about it and also prepared a red envelope in advance, but he didn’t plan to attend the wedding, so he had forgotten about it a long time ago. Fat Sod knew that he was back yesterday, and it happened that Skinny Monkey was getting married tomorrow, so he wanted Gu Yanting to come and meet.

They were in the same dormitory at the university, and when Gu Yanting was ridiculed and laughed at by others because of various rumours, there were not many people in the dormitory who supported him. Those people were straight and didn’t understand that world or its logic, and one guy in the dorm, Luo Dong, was even slightly repulsed. But Gu Yanting didn’t care and played with them all the way up to graduation. Among these people, Fat Sod was one of the most frequent contacts, while Skinny Monkey was not so frequent, but also belonged to the category of those who would arrive when called upon and give money when needed.

Fat Sod smiled and said, “This kid may be afraid of marriage and he will have a wedding tomorrow. As a result, he told me yesterday that he didn’t want to get married. I asked him but he couldn’t tell what happened. Today, the people in our dormitory get together and set up a table to cheer him up. I didn’t plan on you since you weren’t back. Now that you are back, I think you should come.”

Gu Yanting hesitated for a moment and asked him, “When is the gathering?”

“Just after noon. Skinny Monkey has something to do at noon, so we’ll go to Xiaoyuxiang and wait for him, and then we’ll have a drink together when he’s finished.”

“Okay, you guys go ahead and let me know when you get there, I might be a little late.” Xiaoyuxiang was a restaurant that they used to go to when they were at the university. Gu Yanting was a little nostalgic when he heard Fat Sod mention it. He couldn’t leave today with the snow falling, so he could buy something and come back to cook in the evening.

Tang Yi also heard the general idea. Gu Yanting wanted him to go with him, but he had to meet with Shen Fan so he refused. On the way out, Gu Yanting saw him off and kissed him again at the door before reluctantly letting him go.

Xiaoyuxiang was just opposite the university. The name of the restaurant (Little Fishermen’s Village) was quite euphemistic; it was actually a Sichuan cuisine restaurant. The food was probably not authentic, but it was quite spicy. Gu Yanting kept sneezing all the way as he followed Fat Sod’s instructions to find the private room.

There were six chairs set up in the private room, and when Gu Yanting arrived, the other three people were ordering food. When they saw him coming, they called him “Boss” enthusiastically. Fat Sod smiled and greeted him, hurriedly turning his head again to ask, “Add a chicken plus a chicken!”

Gu Yanting was happy to hear this, slapped him hard and sat down, “Add a chicken? I haven’t settled the account with you yet!”

“Crap! That slap killed me!” Fat Sod glanced at him up and down and tsked, “What account?”

“What did you mean yesterday? Agh? Saying that to Tang Yi, wasn’t that a clear sign of tripping me up!” Gu Yanting moved closer to him and lowered his voice, “He doesn’t like Lin Rui, now I don’t even dare to mention his name. If I mention it again I’ll have to become a monk for the rest of my life!”

He had called Fat Sod yesterday to settle the account, but because Fat Sod had inadvertently said, “Ah, I just came back from Brother Tang’s place, Brother Tang was asked by Shen Fan to go to a hotel”, he was agitated and rushed back here. Of course, only Fat Sod knew whether what he did was really unintentional or not, but Gu Yanting finally remembered his merits and vented his frustration just giving him a hard slap.

Fat Sod glanced at him without saying a word.

Gu Yanting was very satisfied with what he got last night and when he thought about having the same dish tonight, he couldn’t wait to put down roots in T City and go back to his hometown. So he didn’t bother with Fat Sod again and said, “You pay attention to me, from now on, don’t mention that person to Tang Yi.”

“Oh.” Fat Sod nodded, and after a while, suddenly said, “Skinny Monkey invited six people today.”

“Well, I think I know that.” Gu Yanting said, “The six from our dormitory.”

“Five from our dorm,” Fat Sod said, looking at him, “who cares about Luo Dong, there are five from our dorm.”

“……”

“There’s another one, do you know who?” Fat Sod picked up the chopsticks on the table with an expressionless face and slammed them hard; the wrapping burst open with a popping sound, “Lin Rui.”

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