CH 33

Chapter 33

The clothes that Fu Jia had came in were completely soaked from rain, so he could only wear Lu Qi’an’s clothes when heading to school. 

Lu Qi’an asked Fu Jia to select something he liked from the closet, but Fu Jia didn’t select anything and directly took his school uniform.

It’s not because he was heading to school and wanted to respect school rules by wearing the uniform, but because… Lu Qi’an was a student, so what he wore most frequently should be his school uniform, right? It might smell like Lu Qi’an. 

He pinched the collar and sniffed it, perhaps it was a psychological effect, but he actually had the impression that he was being hugged by Lu Qi’an. 

Lu Qi'an's clothes were a size too big for him, and the sleeves and pants were too long. Lu Qi’an looked at it and said: “How about you change out of the school uniform?”

Fu Jia shook his head: “No.”

Lu Qi'an fell silent and didn’t try to convince him or ask him for the reason. He helped him roll up his sleeves, and then squatted down to help him roll up his pant legs.

After everything was prepared, Lu Qi'an dragged a large suitcase from the apartment, and took a taxi with Fu Jia to school.

It was currently evening self-study period, and Fu Jia’s roommates haven’t returned yet. Fu Jia opened the door of the dorm room with a key, pressed the light switch, and made a ‘come in’ gesture to Lu Qi'an.

Lu Qi'an pushed the suitcase and walked in. Looking around, it took no effort to identify Fu Jia's bunk.

The barest and cleanest bunk must be Fu Jia's.

Sure enough, Fu Jia walked up to the plainest bunk and asked: “How should we start tidying up? Are we taking away the mattress and duvet?”

The dormitories of No. 6 High School all had loft beds with desks. Lu Qi'an raised his hand and felt around Fu Jia's mattress and duvet, but he didn't feel the puffy softness that a bedding should have, and said: “No need, just bring what you need.”

Fu Jia nodded and opened his wardrobe. The wardrobes in student dormitories were very small, but the inside of Fu Jia’s was far from full. At a glance, there were only a few sets of school uniforms, some tight-fitting clothes, a thin summer quilt, and a spare set of bedding.

After taking away the quilt, Fu Jia quickly emptied out the wardrobe. A few articles of clothes were stacked together, occupying only a pitifully small corner of the suitcase.

Lu Qi'an's face darkened. Fu Jia didn’t notice right away and continued to tidy up his bookcase. Compared with the wardrobe, Fu Jia's bookcase was much more filled out. But compared with his three roommates, it still seemed empty.

The study stations of the three roommates were jam-packed. Two of his roommates stuffed their bookcases full of extracurricular books, and the other filled his space with all kinds of snacks, along with a video game console on his desk. As for Fu Jia, he was counting his textbooks one by one, as if he was counting some remarkable treasure. 

It wasn’t until he organized everything from his desk and was about to pack it into the suitcase that he realized something was wrong with Lu Qi’an. He stopped moving about and asked: “What’s up?”

Lu Qi'an didn't answer but lowered his eyes and looked away. Fu Jia was a little confused, so she followed up and asked: "Why aren’t you talking? You’re not mad, are you?”

Fu Jia unconsciously used the word ‘angry’. Although it was hard to believe, in his opinion, Lu Qi'an was someone who’d get angry anytime and anywhere for inexplicable reasons, and he didn’t know how to coax him even if he tried.

Lu Qi’an’s mood truly wasn’t great. He shook his head and said, "No, packing up to here is enough. Let’s go back.”

Fu Jia was still worrying about the towels and toiletries in the bathroom, but suspecting that Lu Qi'an was angry, he nodded and said: “Okay, let’s go.”

On the way back to the apartment, Lu Qi'an rarely opened his mouth to speak. Fu Jia tried to talk to him a few times, but only received a short answer back, convincing Fu Jia even more that Lu Qi’an was mad. 

After entering the apartment, Lu Qi'an finally spoke first willingly and asked: "Which room do you want?"

Fu Jia's heart tightened.

Here comes the multiple-choice question! Will he pick the right answer and appease Lu Qi’an’s anger, or will he pick the wrong answer and add fuel to fire?

Fu Jia bit his finger, his eyes sweeping back and forth between the guest room and master bedroom, before finally settling his line of vision upon the master bedroom. Just like that, he stared at the master bedroom, but then pointed to the guest room and said: "Guest room?"

There was no change to Lu Qi’an’s expression. 

His heart pounding, Fu Jia muttered ‘no good’ to himself.

"Okay," Lu Qi'an nodded and opened the guest room’s door.

Fu Jia finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Because he stayed overnight before, Fu Jia was very familiar with the guest room, and unpacked his suitcase as if he had returned to home grounds.# He didn’t have many things, so he didn’t ask Lu Qi’an for help, and since Auntie Miao had kept this room clean and made the bed immaculately neat, Fu Jia only had to put away his things and he was done.

At the thought of living here for a long time into the future, Fu Jia couldn’t help but feel somewhat flustered. He reached out to pat the bedsheets and sat his butt down on the edge of the bed.

Watching him goofily grin at the bed and seeming very satisfied with the room, Lu Qi’an’s mood greatly improved. He said: “Rest early, and you can come to me if you need anything.”

“I know,” Fu Jia said with a smile. 

Lu Qi'an nodded, then turned and left the room without forgetting to close the door.

Fu Jia laid down on the bed, his body was comfortable, but his heart felt a little empty and lonely. Was the guest room the right answer? Even if it was for Lu Qi’an, it wasn’t for him. 

He remained paralyzed on the bed, mildly drowsy. To avoid falling asleep just like this, he patted his face to energize himself, then walked out of the room to wash up in the bathroom. On the way, he noticed that the door to the master bedroom was closed, and his heart felt even more empty.

He lingered in the same spot, and in the end, didn’t go back into the guest room. Instead, he walked to the master bedroom, held his breath at the doorstep, then lightly knocked on the door. 

One second, two seconds…

No response. 

Fu Jia couldn’t be sure– was Lu Qi’an asleep or did he not want to talk to him? He gasped heavily. He took two steps back to the guest room, but then turned around again unwillingly. This time, he didn't knock on the door, but opened it directly with the hope that Lu Qi'an didn't lock it.

With a click, the door opened.

Fu Jia froze at the door, staring into the room with wide eyes. Lu Qi'an didn't sleep, he was borrowing the warm yellow glow of the bedside light to read a book. He didn't show any surprise at Fu Jia coming in, he simply watched him quietly and waited for him to speak.

Fu Jia gripped the door handle and stammered: “I…Actually, since this is the first day I’ve moved in, I’m a little afraid… I’m scared to sleep alone, so I wanted to come here and sleep by you, is that okay?”

This excuse was rotten beyond repair. This certainly wasn’t the first time he stayed here. He wasn’t scared the first time he actually did stay over, so why was he suddenly scared now?

Such a rotten excuse, but Lu Qi’an still accepted it. He put the book down, then patted the empty half of the bed beside him and said: “Yeah, come here.”

Fu Jia took a closer look and discovered that there were two pillows on the bed, and there happened to be an empty space big enough for another person next to Lu Qi'an, as if he was waiting for someone.

Fu Jia didn't even know where to put his hands. He closed the door, marched to the edge of the bed with his right arm in sync with the same direction as his right leg, then lifted a corner of the duvet and laid in half his body. 

Lu Qi'an glanced at him, then reached out and turned off the bedside lamp.

The room suddenly plunged into darkness. Fu Jia couldn’t see anything, only hearing the sound of Lu Qi’an lying down, so he also shrank into the duvet and laid himself flat on the bed. 

Fu Jia’s heartbeat was fast and hurried. He didn't dare to move his retracted hands and feet, but Lu Qi'an kept moving. Then, a warm hand stretched out and hugged Fu Jia's waist.

"Come closer, or you'll fall."

Dazed and confused, Fu jia shifted his strength and moved inwards, climbing into his embrace bit by bit. Their bodies stuck close to each other, and their breaths blended together. Fu Jia's eyes gradually adapted to the darkness, and upon making out Lu Qi'an's face and that pair of focused eyes, his face began to flush.

In the dark, Lu Qi'an hugged Fu Jia tightly and slowly kissed him. He didn't use too much force, and he didn't stick out his tongue. He simply kissed Fu Jia's upper and lower lips gently. 

Fu Jia hugged him back just as tight, eagerly pressing against Lu Qi’an and wishing he could melt into his body. In order to comfort him, Lu Qi increased his strength, and then pressed his hand against the back of Fu Jia's head to gently stroke his hair. Fu Jia calmed down quickly and began to kiss Lu Qi'an back in tune with Lu Qi'an's rhythm. He tried hard to learn, but he still couldn’t time his breaths, and soon suffocated to dizziness.

After the kiss, Fu Jia leaned against Lu Qi'an and gasped for air, his hands still tightly clutching his clothes.

Lu Qi'an hugged him, stroking along his back to help calm his breathing, and said: “From now on, you can do whatever you want without asking for my permission.”

His tone was like coaxing a child, and Fu Jia was so coaxed by it that his whole body heated up, and his heart softened into a puddle of water.

“Forget everything about the past,” Lu Qi’an said, “The Lin family’s affairs, the Lu family’s affairs, and your mother’s affairs. If you can, forget all these things and treat today as your first day in life.”

Fu Jia was stunned for two seconds and his throat dried, and then he choked up in an instant. 

He clasped onto Lu Qi'an's neck tightly and said hoarsely: "Y-you’re mine." 

He paused, and then added: "You belong to me alone."

A smile formed within Lu Qi’an’s eyes, and he confirmed: “I’m yours.”