Chapter 41: Ancestor

The morning light filtered through the glass of the skylight, shattering into spots of golden light, falling onto the two people sleeping in an embrace, dyeing the quilt with a layer of warm halo.

Lu Zhiyan was awakened by the sound of the waves. His back was pressed against Shen Yu’s warm chest. That person’s arm was sturdily circled around his waist, the palm comforting against his skin. Shallow breaths brushed past the back of his neck, carrying a warm ticklishness that drilled all the way into his strands of hair.

He didn’t dare to move, afraid of disturbing the sleepiness of the person behind him. He only slightly tilted his head, watching the light spilling in from the skylight cast a layer of warm light gauze onto Shen Yu’s exposed, sturdy arm.

There… hid a slightly sunken scar, quietly lying on the inside of Shen Yu’s arm. Only someone with a sufficiently intimate relationship could see it.

Lu Zhiyan’s gaze softened, his thoughts uncontrollably plunging back to many years ago.

At that time, they were still young, only about eight or nine years old. Near their home was a gloomy unfinished building, a forbidden ground that all the children didn’t dare approach.

But he was not afraid of anything, wholeheartedly only wanting to charge into places no one dared to go. After school that day, seeing no one around, he emboldened himself, climbed over the fence, and ran inside, then quickly climbed up along the unfinished stairs.

Shen Yu nervously followed behind him, his brows tightly furrowed the whole time, repeatedly stopping him:

“A’Yan, let’s go home. Don’t go up there, it’s not safe.”

He stubbornly refused to listen. Breaking free from his hand, he charged toward the platform ahead. The instant he stepped on empty air, his entire person plummeted downward.

Shen Yu lunged over like a madman, dead-gripping his wrist. A section of rusty rebar protruding from the rough wall surface ruthlessly sliced open the inside of Shen Yu’s arm. Blood instantly welled out, dripping down along his arm and landing on his upturned face, warm and glaring.

Shen Yu didn’t utter a single sound. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] His knuckles turned white. Even if he was trembling all over from the pain, he didn’t loosen his strength even half a fraction.

Gritting his teeth just like this, he held on until dusk sank to the bottom and the sky turned completely dark. Anxious shouts from adults came from the distance, and beams of flashlight swept over one by one; only then were they rescued.

To this day, he could still clearly remember how in the hospital, Auntie Liu’s eye sockets were completely red, entirely full of unhideable heartache and lingering fear. Shen Yu bit his whitening lips, his face ghostly pale. Only because he was pressed down dead-tight by Uncle Shen did he barely manage not to move recklessly, allowing the doctor to hold the needle and, stitch by stitch, slowly suture that bone-deep wound.

He was held outside the door by his father, blocked dead-tight from getting close. His mother whimpered in a low voice behind him, her heart and eyes completely full of heartache. His small hands clenched tightly. His heart felt as if it were being densely pricked by countless fine needles, hurting until his tears kept falling, yet he desperately bit his lip, not daring to cry out loud.

‘I just want to properly protect him, letting him suffer a little less harm as much as possible.‘

Yes… Shen Yu had always… protected him with his life.

He reached out, his fingertips trembling lightly as they covered that person’s arm hiding the scar. The delicate and warm touch provoked his nose to turn sour and his eye sockets to flush red.

Shen Yu probably sensed that he was awake. His arm tightened a bit more, and his nose rubbed against the strands of hair at the back of his head. Carrying the lazy hoarseness of just waking up, his low, magnetic voice was as if steeped in warm water, yet also hid a bit of imperceptible caution:

“Awake?”

His force was very light, as if with just a little exertion, the person in his embrace would dissipate like morning mist.

Lu Zhiyan’s heart abruptly turned sour.

In front of him, Shen Yu always carried a bit of cautious restraint.

Afraid of being too close, afraid of being too far, afraid of saying the wrong thing, afraid of doing the wrong thing, not even daring to use force when hugging.

These were all the unease ground out bit by bit by his past coldness and neglect.

Now, he was long since no longer that youth who only knew how to be willful and reckless.

His soul contained thirty-five years of time, contained countless busyness and debts, contained a period of time so long that it had ground away all of Shen Yu’s breath of life.

Only after experiencing so much did he truly see clearly how much he had once missed, and how much he had hurt…

At this thought, Lu Zhiyan slowly turned around, burying himself face-to-face into Shen Yu’s embrace.

He didn’t speak, merely raising his hand, gripping Shen Yu’s arm carrying the scar, and gently pulled it to stretch out.

Shen Yu froze slightly. Before he could react, he felt the person in his embrace slowly lean closer. A warm, soft touch landed on that slightly sunken old scar on the inside of his arm.

Lu Zhiyan kept his eyes lowered, his eyelashes fluttering gently. The tip of his tongue licked past that light-colored scar extremely lightly and extremely gently, as if treating a rare treasure, and also as if making up for the debts of many years ago.

Touching and retracting instantly, yet carrying a scalding heat sufficient to start a prairie fire.

Shen Yu’s entire body trembled almost imperceptibly. A violent palpitation abruptly surged up at the bottom of his heart, and even his breathing was thrown off half a beat.

“A’Yan…”

His voice was low and hoarse, carrying an imperceptible tremble.

Lu Zhiyan raised his eyes, the depths of his eyes brimming with fine, fragmented light. He chuckled gently and dropped a soft, light kiss on that scar:

“From now on, I will protect you.”

Shen Yu’s heart grew scalding hot. His eyelashes fluttered lightly, and his eye sockets instantly turned red.

Lu Zhiyan uncontrollably kissed his reddened corners of his eyes, then rubbed all the way down past his cheek to cover his lips. The tip of his tongue gently pried open Shen Yu’s lips and teeth, wrapping around his tongue to linger and grind wetly with him.

The two kissed intimately and inseparably, separating reluctantly only after a good while. Panting slightly, Lu Zhiyan leaned against Shen Yu’s chest, lounging and refusing to get up, quietly being affectionate. His nose rubbed past his slightly cool collarbone. Every breath was entirely the clean, refreshing lemon scent on the other’s body, mixed with the faint scent of the sea breeze, making one feel reassured into an absolute mess.

It wasn’t until the sunlight gradually grew bright that he finally spoke in satisfaction. His fingertips restlessly drew gentle circles on the side of Shen Yu’s waist, the depths of his eyes brimming with unhideable joy and expectation:

“Hey, A’Yu, today is the weekend, you don’t have classes. That theme park Ji Chaoran mentioned yesterday, do you want to go?”

Shen Yu lowered his head, his gaze falling onto the top of his soft hair. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] His fingertips gently combed through his hair, the depths of his eyes full of un-meltable gentleness. He didn’t even need to think carefully; as long as it was a place Lu Zhiyan wanted to go, he would never refuse.

“You want to go?”

“Mhm.”

Lu Zhiyan raised his head, his eyes sparkling, as if brimming with the morning light, “Just the two of us.”

Shen Yu let out a light chuckle, a low, magnetic sound spilling from his throat, and nodded in agreement:

“Okay, let’s go.”

Lu Zhiyan instantly broke into a smile. He rubbed against his embrace before reluctantly getting up:

“Then let’s get out of bed and wash up first.”

Shen Yu followed suit and sat up. Sunlight fell onto the clean, neat lines of his shoulders and neck; every inch of his silhouette was so gentle it made one’s heart palpitate. As Lu Zhiyan watched, the tip of his heart began to itch again. He reached out and gently hooked his finger:

“Wash up together?”

The tips of Shen Yu’s ears grew almost imperceptibly hot, yet he didn’t refuse. He merely reached out and rubbed his head. The instant he stood up, he took the person along into the bathroom in one smooth motion.

The bathroom of the guesthouse was not large. As soon as the glass door was closed, the space instantly became narrow and intimate. Warm water cascaded down, and mist slowly rose, blurring the two men’s silhouettes until they were soft. Lu Zhiyan pressed tightly against Shen Yu’s warm chest, his heartbeat immediately losing its rhythm.

Shen Yu grabbed the body wash, gently squeezed it into his palm, rubbed it into a lather, and reached out to wash his hair for him. The pads of his fingers gently massaged his scalp, the force just right. It was so comfortable that Lu Zhiyan couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh, subconsciously leaning into his embrace.

“Don’t move around.”

Shen Yu reminded him in a low voice, his voice even softer than the flowing water.

“Not moving around,” Lu Zhiyan tilted his head up. Water droplets slid down his cheeks, carrying threads of gentleness. He then turned around, deliberately brushing the tip of his nose gently past Shen Yu’s chin, his voice sticky, “A’Yu, you smell so good.”

Shen Yu’s movements paused, the tips of his ears dyed a layer of pale red in the hot air.

He lowered his eyes, looking at the person in his embrace blatantly teasing him. Helpless yet doting, he could only reach out and gently press the back of his neck, patiently rinsing his hair clean for him:

“Fool around after we’re done washing.”

But how could Lu Zhiyan hold back?

The water flow slid past their skin, carrying an ambiguous wetness. He reached out, gently encircling Shen Yu’s waist, his fingertips lightly tracing across his back, feeling the other’s taut yet soft lines. Shen Yu’s breathing grew slightly disordered for a moment, yet the movements of his hands remained gentle. It was just that when wiping his body for him, his fingertips inadvertently brushed past the side of his waist, provoking Lu Zhiyan to tremble gently.

“It tickles…”

“You know it tickles and you still move around?” Shen Yu laughed in a low voice.

“It only tickles for you.”

One sentence, spoken candidly and straightforwardly.

Shen Yu was completely out of options. He could only lower his head, gently imprinting a kiss on the side of his hair. His tone was full of helpless indulgence:

“Ancestor.”

Lu Zhiyan immediately looped his arms around his neck, responding in a soft voice: “Aye!”

The corners of his eyes curved into crescents, fine and fragmented light flashing in his eyes, and a sly smile still curving at the corners of his mouth.

Shen Yu looked at him and chuckled helplessly, his heart having long since softened into an absolute mess.

By the time the two finished tidying up, changed into their clothes, and walked out of the guesthouse, the seaside wind was blowing gently. The morning light was not fierce; scattered on their bodies, it was warm and comfortable. Holding Shen Yu’s wrist, Lu Zhiyan sauntered toward the bus stop.

He wasn’t in a hurry at all. Instead, he exceptionally enjoyed this kind of quiet time, with only the two of them.

There weren’t many people on the bus. Lu Zhiyan deliberately chose a window seat, letting Shen Yu sit on the inside.

The bus slowly started moving, traveling forward along the coastline. On one side was the azure sea, and on the other was the retreating street scenery. Lu Zhiyan rested his chin on Shen Yu’s shoulder. Under the cover of the bus seats, his hand was tightly clasped with his, ten fingers interlocked. From time to time, he gently squeezed that person’s palm, and scratched the gaps between his fingers.

Shen Yu allowed him to fool around. He merely turned his head slightly, blocking the wind blowing in from outside the window for him. His gaze remained resting on him from beginning to end, so gentle it could drown someone in water.