Ch48 - Love apprentice

Since Xie Zhuxing and Wang Chao had just confessed to each other, this should’ve been the perfect time for them to display their affections and be intimate. Moreover, they hadn’t been worn out from the round before, so they had enough energy to give it another go.

Xie Zhuxing had just pinned Wang Chao down and was about to go for another round when he heard a phone vibrating next to him.

“Who’s so annoying?” Wang Chao was impatient, “Looking for you in the middle of the night?”

Yet, Xie Zhuxing replied: “It’s not mine.”

Wang Chao’s pants had been tossed aside, and the vibrations were coming from the pants.

Xie Zhuxing went to retrieve his phone for him.

It was from Wang Qi.

Wang Chao’s horniness quickly receded as distress began to appear on his face.

Xie Zhuxing asked him: “Answer it or no?”

Wang Chao didn’t dare to. What would he say if he picks it up? Regardless, he would get beat up.

As he hesitated, the vibrations stopped. He had just breathed a sigh of relief when wang qi sent him a message instead: “I’m waiting for you at home.”

His ass had just been spanked by Xie Zhuxing, and it still stung even now. Once he saw the message, it began to sting even more. Furiously, he complained: “Why couldn’t he return to his own home and try to have a sex life? He doesn’t have one himself so he’s forbidding me from having one, he’s so annoying.”

Xie Zhuxing was reluctant to let him leave and said: “Do you have to go?”

Wang Chao frowned: he really wanted to go for this round. He checked the time and asked: “Would you be able to finish in five minutes?”

Xie Zhuxing: “…Do you think I’m on your level.”

Never mind, this round is canceled. He has to go home.

Zhao Zhengyi had been eavesdropping for a while, but he could not decipher what was going on, and the other side had begun to quiet down. Since it seemed that nothing else was going to happen, he prepared to take a shower and head to bed.

His roommate suddenly knocked on his door and requested to borrow his car.

“Where are you going at this time of the night?” He whispered, “You didn’t fight, did you?”

Xie Zhuxing chuckled in reply: “No, we didn’t. He didn’t drive his car here when he came. Since, it’s quite late now, I will drive him home. I will fill the tank back up before I reutrn.”

Zhao Zhengyi handed him the car keys and replied: “No need, no need. You always filled it back up; if you keep it up, I will be too embarassed to lend it to you.”

Xie Zhuxing thanked him again and left with the car key.

Zhao Zhengyi looked outside and spotted Wang Chao standing by the entrance. He was still wearing that thin purple hoodie. Once Xie Zhuxing returned to him after grabbing a jacket from his own room, he then raised his arm for Xie Zhuxing to slip the jacket onto him before they left together.

Zhao Zhengyi closed the door, shook his head, and thought: Despite being an idol, Xiao Xie somehow seems more like a personal assistant than even he does.

When Xie Zhuxing had driven Wang Chao back to his house, he could see that the house was brightly lit across from the fence.

Xie Zhuxing said: “Can you go inside by yourself?”

Wang Chao looked at him, shocked: “Did you want to come inside with me?”

Xie Zhuxing thought about it: Yeah, they have just confirmed their relationships. There’s no point in being impatient. Thus, he replied: “Then hurry up and go inside, that way you might suffer one less kick through the beating.”

Wang Chao looked at Xie Zhuxing, then turned around to look at home. On one side, there was a comfortable heaven. On the other side, there was a miserable hell.

He unbuckled his seatbelts, pressed his lips on Xie Zhuxing’s, and then reluctantly left the car.

When Xie Zhuxing returned home, Zhao Zhengyi’s room was already dark. He then placed the car keys at a visible spot in the living room.

His bed was still a mess. He changed his bedsheets, and while doing so, chuckled to himself.

Bruised and swollen, he put on a hoodie, got himself covered in dirt before he ran to confess to him, and was so moved by his own confession that he broke into tears. Then, just when he’s about to call him pure, he proposed breakup sex. No one’s more unreasonable and arbitrary than him.

He even asked what Xie Zhuxing liked about him.

What does he like about him?

How his face lights up whenever he’s happy. How he curses and complains whenever he’s mad. The fact that despite acting as if he could turn the world upside down, there’s no ill intention behind his dramatic facade, and he always admits defeat before anyone else. He can be totally devoted to the person he loves, and to the person he hates, he wouldn’t even waste another word. He likes his straightforward emotions and a heart that he can see through with one glance. He likes the “gayish purple” on him – the color complements him a lot, and he looks great in it. He likes the way he sleeps on his stomach in white underwear. It makes his butt look soft and perky. He likes how he curses and moans at the same time, and the deeper he goes in, the dirtier the curses get, and the dirtier the moans become too.

This little idiot had probably no idea which part of him was likable; if he did, he’d be as cocky as a peacock. He’s not humble at all.

Once he finished tidying up, Xie Zhuxing went to bed. Yet, he couldn’t fall asleep. He checked his phone every few minutes.

The beating is still not over? No way he got his phone confiscated again?

Wang Chao didn’t receive any beating. Wang Qi had bought some late-night snacks and had been waiting for him to eat them together.

At first, Wang Chao had been cautious from the worry that wang qi may be feeding him a carrot before raising the stick.

Wang Qi commented: “When did you purchase that jacket? Haven’t seen you wearing it before.”

Wang Chao was wearing Xie Zhuxing’s clothes. “It’s not mine,” He answered.

Wang Qi opened the takeout box, pushed it toward him, and said: “Go ahead.”

Roasted kidneys, roasted leek.

Besides spicy crawfish, these are Wang Chao’s favorite late-night snacks.

He was a bit moved. Even though his eldest brother beat him up all the time, he does in fact care about him a lot.

“Da Ge, don’t worry, I won’t fool around outside anymore,” He announced in earnest, “I won’t ever use your card to purchase luxury handbags.”

Wang Qi cast him a sidelong glance.

Wang Chao insisted: “It’s true!”

Wang Qi said: “Don’t raise your voice, wang jin had gone to bed a long while ago.”

Wang Chao lowered his voice and continued: “I’m being serious. I’ll be a great singer, and won’t ever be a source of shame to you again.”

Wang Qi asked him: “Who did you go to when you ran out just now?”

Wang Chao was too afraid to make any eye contact. “My teammate,” He answered while staring at the roasted kidneys in front of him.

Wang Qi continued: “Teammate or boyfriend?”

Wang Chao was shocked: “…What?”

Wang Qi didn’t comment on this anymore. Instead, he only said: “Remember to brush your teeth after you finish eating. Go back to the company tomorrow.”

Wang Chao became excited in an instant. Given Wang Qi’s reply, the sentence he said before probably didn’t contain any other meaning – he thought, dismissing the concern.

He knows how protective Wang Qi is and is worried that he wouldn’t have a high opinion of Xiao Xie. In that case, not to mention finding resources and opportunities for him, Wang Qi may even try to hinder the latter’s career. This is why he’s been particularly secretive – he didn’t want Wang Qi to know.

It wasn’t until a long time later that he learned that Wang Qi had known since this very moment. Liang Xi had let half the secret slip on accident, and Wang Qi’s mind moved too swiftly. It didn’t take him much time to guess that Wang Chao was in a relationship with that teammate surnamed Xie.

Wang Qi didn’t comment on it because he didn’t know how to phrase it, nor did he know how to discipline his brother.

His good old philandering brother had turned gay overnight. This wasn’t something that a few beatings could change.

After finishing his food, Wang Chao excitedly went upstairs to brush his teeth. He looked at himself in the mirror: damn, his face is so unattractive right now that he couldn’t even bear to make eye contact with his own reflection. But even that got Xiao Xie so turned on throughout the kissing and the sex – Xiao Xie must be really into him.

Hehe.

He pounced onto the bed and began to text Xie Zhuxing: “Call?”

Xie Zhuxing replied instantly: “Waiting for you.”

He excitedly rolled back and forth on the bed and instantly dialed Xie Zhuxing’s number.

When they actually began to call, Xie Zhuxing found himself too embarrassed to bare his thoughts. “Your brother finished beating you up?” He asked.

Wang Chao told him everything: his brother not only didn’t beat him up but even bought him roasted skewers, and he told him to go back to the company tomorrow. “Something must have bothered him in the past few days that he’s been venting his frustration on me. Then, today, he must have regained his conscience and tried to please him.” He sighed with emotions.

Xie Zhuxing replied: “Mhm.”

Wang Chao was unsatisfied with his response: “What “mhm”? Do you not want to say anything to me?”

Xie Zhuxing wanted to say a lot, but those weren’t things he could voice through a call. Since they’d meet tomorrow anyways, he then replied: “Go to bed early.”

Wang Chao was even more displeased: “What’s the matter with you? Couldn’t you say something pleasing?”

Xie Zhuxing chuckled and asked: “What counts as ‘pleasing’?”

Wang Chao didn’t know either. He’s never been in a relationship, nor has he ever partake in sweet talk. “Then what did you say in a call with with your ex-girlfriend when you two were still together?” He asked.

Xie Zhuxing thought about it and replied: “Drink more hot water. Spend the money sparingly.”

Wang Chao: “…Then what did she say in response?”

Xie Zhuxing said: “She’d hang up after I said that.”

Wang Chao jibed at him: “So after all, you don’t know how to do this either. Your way isn’t even as good as me gifting luxury handbags.”

Xie Zhuxing: “…” How does he still have the shame to bring up gifting handbags.

Wang Chao was perplexed: “Everyone else I see that are in a relationship are real intimate with each other. How come we aren’t like that at all?”

Xie Zhuxing thought to himself, how much more intimate do you want to get? The only thing left is to superglue themselves together.

Wang Chao yawned and asked: “Are you sleepy?”

Xie Zhuxing replied: “I’m okay. If you’re sleepy, just go to bed.”

Wang Chao said: “The state of my face, should I wear a mask to the company tomorrow?”

Xie Zhuxing said: “Wear one, it’ll be bothersome anyways if someone snipes a photo of you and makes up rumors about it.”

No response came from the other side. Wang Chao had fallen asleep.

Xie Zhuxing waited for a while. He only hung up after light snores began to come from the other end of the call.

Once he did, however, he regretted it. He should’ve listened to it for longer; sometimes he’d grind his teeth, and occasionally he would even talk during his sleep.

He genuinely does – for a bit – want to superglue him to himself so that wherever he goes and whatever he does, they’d be together.

Their captain has finally returned. ID’s members collectively sighed a huge breath of relief. Even though their captain was really annoying, they’ve been in the same group for so long and after overcoming so many struggles together, they more or less had some affection for him as a teammate. Moreover, having someone quit right after they became popular can severely damage their group, particularly since their captain had brought them a lot of excellent performance opportunities through his own influence.

For public and private reasons, no one wanted Wang Chao to actually quit the group.

Duan Yikun naturally thought the same. He even called Wang Chao over to have a serious conversation in private.

November 29th.

Icedream’s Shanghai fan meet at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.

Leo Wang, who had previously announced that he could not attend the event due to health reasons, unexpectedly appeared one-third of the way through the fan meet. His appearance surprised all the fans in attendance. Perhaps because his body hadn’t fully recovered, Leo Wang’s face seemed a little haggard and his participation in the later activities and performances also seemed tenuous. But to reward the fans, he still insisted on performing a slow ballad from ID’s debut album and interacted with the fans in attendance several times.

After the event ended, the members removed their makeup backstage.

Wang Chao wiped his face for a long time. “It’s all my brother’s fault that I had to cover the bruises on my face with this much makeup. How could I look energetic? I even had to use an extra half bottle of makeup remover than the rest of you.” He complained.

Cheng Yao said: “It’s better that you have too much makeup then. This perfectly matches the excuse that the company gave to the fans. If you look too energetic, then everyone would know immediately that you haven’t been sick.”

Gao Siyuan was even a bit envious: “I was scrolling weibo just now, the captain even appeared on trending searches.”

Ji Jie chose to taunt the captain instead: “I mean, you should reflect upon your own mistakes. If you haven’t done anything bad, why would your brother waste time and effort to beat you up?”

Wang Chao rolled his eyes at him in the mirror and was about to counter him.

Xie Zhuxing handed him a water bottle and said: “Drink some water.”

Once he noticed that the bottle was Xie Zhuxing’s, he stopped giving Ji Jie another thought. He twisted the cap open, took a sip from the bottle, and then returned the rest to Xie Zhuxing.

Xie Zhuxing took a sip too.

The two of them exchanged a look and smiled.