Chapter 21 (2/2)

“I lost another bet.”

…What kind of person was this? Xu Zheyi was speechless. After a while, he asked, “What kind of gambling?”

Ruka was probably sleepy, and childishly rubbed his eyes. He tried his best to think, and then guessed, “It seemed like we were playing cards. I was drunk and I didn’t remember it, but my friend told me the next morning.”

This was a fraud, right? Xu Zheyi was speechless, and could not help asking, “Have you ever considered the possibility that your friend was cheating you?”

“Why would he lie to me?” Ruka asked in a puzzled voice.

Judging clearly, Xu Zheyi suddenly felt his mind fill with complex thoughts, and immediately changed the topic by asking, “Is he a good friend?”

“We have known each other since childhood. Although he is an asshole, his filming skills are excellent.” In a flash, Xu Zheyi thought of the owner of the online album who had photographed Ruka’s cheerful smile.

Without examining his state of mind, he pretended to be indifferent and inquired, “What kind of work has he done?”

Ruka thought a moment, and then answered, “I didn’t ask him that, but all of my AVs were filmed by him.”

Xu Zheyi frowned, and felt that this story was growing more and more strange. Ruka didn’t seem to think anything of it. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a few fireworks, and handed one to Xu Zheyi, “Shall we?”

Xu Zheyi had no good reason to say no. The two people sat up and cooperated to push part of the firework’s tube into the sand, then lit the fuse. They watched as colourful flowers were painted across the sky, and then sunk down to the ground.

Xu Zheyi still felt that two big men in the middle of the night on the seaside setting off fireworks was almost sissy. Despite that, occasionally sneaking out to do something like this actually felt a bit good.

“It would be even more perfect if we had some beer right now,” he lamented, unable to stop from sighing after speaking.

Ruka heard his words, and then the corners of his mouth slowly rose up. Xu Zheyi was still thinking about it when he saw him slowly pull a bottle of beer from the inside of his coat.

“…May I check your pockets?” Xu Zheyi requested, surprised.

Ruka tried to endure, but he could not help laughing, and he revealed his two tiger-like fangs. His appearance was quite manly, and when his face was expressionless he appeared to be much more mature. However, as soon as he saw those tiger teeth, his aura of indifferent distance dropped, and his remaining childishness was quite lovely.

Xu Zheyi looked at his smile for two seconds, and clearly felt that this man had the charm to win over men and women alike.

Unfortunately, Ruka misunderstood his slow response. His smile waned, and then frowned all of a sudden and asked, “Is it ugly?”

“What’s that?”

Xu Zheyi had no clue what he was saying all of a sudden. Ruka brushed his fingers across the corner of his mouth, and was a little embarrassed, “My friend said when I smile or laugh it’s hard to look at.”

…How could he say that?

Xu Zheyi could not understand why his friend would say such a thing, and he even began to doubt his own aesthetic. “I don’t know, laugh and smile for me again,” he said.

Ruka must really be very drunk; he became completely obedient and well spoken. He immediately acquiesced to the audience’s request and smiled. Even his eyes were crinkled, and the look was very innocent—as well as tempting.

Xu Zheyi felt his heart pounding wildly, but the thought that maybe someone else had seen this expression did not sit well with him. “Well,” he said, smiling wryly at his own hypocrisy, “It’s not very good-looking.”

Ruka instantly put away his smile, and his face was once more impassive, “I already told you it was like that.”

Xu Zheyi looked at Ruka. He was not sure why he could tell, but he could unexpectedly feel that underneath that cold face was a feeling of being depressed, and his heart softened. “I don’t mind you smiling at me like this, but in front of others, I think it’s best to control yourself a little bit,” he said. Xu Zheyi felt more and more guilty as he spoke. As he was talking though, he immediately noticed something was wrong. “Hold on, could it be that the same friend who told you not to smile in front of others also said that the same words as me?”

Ruka frowned as he thought back, “He did say that I should not laugh around others, lest I frighten the people around me.”

Xu Zheyi paused and thought that his friend’s mouth was too cruel, and then continued to cautiously say his deductions, “Is it possible that this was said by your photographer friend?”

“How do you know?” Ruka asked confusedly.

Bingo! Xu Zheyi could not help but admire his own detective ability. He roughly put together the clues provided by Ruka. When he thought about it, Ruka’s friend was very strange. Not only did he set him up to film AVs exclusively shot by himself, but it was also clear that he desired to have Ruka’s smiles all to himself…

Just as he intended to imply to that Ruka that his photographer friend obviously had some deeper feelings for him, he noticed that the other man’s ears were red. Ruka softly insisted, “He is only an ordinary friend, you don’t need to be unhappy.”

It took Xu Zheyi three seconds to understand what Ruka was getting at. He hurried to try and explain that it was not what he thought, but as soon as he saw the gentle look in Ruka’s eyes, the words that he had intended to blurt out were withdrawn, and he simply uttered, “En.”

The atmosphere immediately became strangely ambiguous. The two men who had just been laughing and chatting fell silent. After a moment, they leaned forward and lit the final firework together, as if they had a tacit understanding.

“Do you want to kiss?” In in front of the colourful fireworks, Ruka’s inquiry came off a bit unnaturally.

Xu Zheyi did not even have time to refuse, and Ruka’s lips had already found their mark.

It was a very light kiss, without even a bit of tongue; soft and sweet as a first kiss. They had obviously done far more obscene things together, but Xu Zheyi felt that this kiss inexplicably caused his heart to race, and a blush spread across his face.

For this novel, this was a long chapter! I found it to be extra sweet, and we got a little more background on Ruka. Also, if you like this novel and want more good smutty reading with a sweet story, I suggest Picked Up a Strange Knight. It’s a similar total length to this one. You certainly will not regret reading it!! You can find it on novelupdates or