Chapter 48: Welcome Home

The train station was surging with people, and the cold wind was biting. Lu Zhiyan looked around anxiously, his gaze suddenly locking onto the crowd. Shen Yu was carrying a canvas bag, dragging a small suitcase.

The chill of deep winter was dyeing on his shoulders, his fragmented bangs were slightly ruffled by the wind, and his brows and eyes were clean and handsome. There was no gloom, no fatigue, and no hidden, un-meltable worries.

“A’Yu!”

The instant their eyes met, a brilliant light burst forth from the depths of Shen Yu’s eyes, like sparks in the cold night. He walked quickly through the flow of people, running toward Lu Zhiyan.

Lu Zhiyan met him in a long stride, steadily pulling him into his embrace. The familiar scent mixed with the cold outdoor air blew against his face. He tightened his arms, kneading all his half-year of longing into this hug, his voice low, hoarse, and scalding hot:

“Welcome home.”

Shen Yu buried himself in the scarf at the crook of his neck, the tip of his nose turning slightly sour. It was a long while before he gave a soft response, allowing the other party to lead him out of the crowded station.

Just as they walked to the bus stop, Shen Yu took advantage of when no one was paying attention and quietly tugged at Lu Zhiyan’s hand. His voice was soft, carrying a bit of cautious probing:

“A’Yan, can we go to my place first? My mom said she misses you.”

Lu Zhiyan’s heart felt a pang of ache, and he gently hooked his pinky finger:

“Okay, I miss them too.”

The bus drove slowly through the bustling streets, gradually heading deep into the old city district. Shen Yu’s home was in Xuefu Lane, an area that had always been a residential cluster for faculty and staff from several top-tier local universities. The bluestone road was long and winding, full of a scholarly atmosphere. In the era of welfare housing, it could be considered one of the best family residential compounds in the city.

Shen Yu’s parents were both university professors, modest and low-key people. For so many years, they had always guarded the old house allocated by the unit back then, living there for the better part of their lives.

Both their fathers were old classmates from the National Defense University, and their mothers were longtime best friends. Back then, Lu Zhiyan’s mother, Li Mei, was the one accompanying Shen Yu’s mother, Liu Yuzhu, to visit her boyfriend at the university, and it was through this coincidence that she met Lu Zhiyan’s father, Lu Zhiyuan.

That day, the spring sun was just right. Lu Zhiyuan accompanied Shen Guodong waiting at the school gate, seeing two young girls walking side-by-side against the warm light, laughing with curved eyes. At just that one glance, his gaze fell firmly onto Li Mei, never to move away again.

Precisely because of this bond, the two families were as close as one. He and Shen Yu grew up together, childhood friends and also classmates. Lu Zhiyan was a frequent guest at the Shen household, cherished by Shen Yu’s parents as if he were half a son of their own.

They were silent along the way, yet the temperature of their interlocked fingertips was exceptionally reassuring.

Not long after, the bus stopped steadily at the station near Xuefu Lane. The two got off side-by-side, walking inside along the familiar bluestone road, all the way to the building of the old residential compound, and then stepped slowly upward along the somewhat aged stairs.

The stairwell was quiet enough to hear each other’s breathing. The old walls hid the gentle warmth of the passing years, and every step felt like walking back to the time of their youth.

Shen Yu took out his key and gave it a gentle turn. The instant he pushed open the door, the scholarly atmosphere mingled with a faint floral scent and wafted over. Liu Yuzhu was lowering her head tending to flowers and plants on the balcony, while Shen Guodong sat on the rattan chair beside her, flipping through foreign literature by the sunlight. Hearing the movement, the two looked over at the same time, their eyes full of gentle smiles.

“Uncle Shen, Auntie Liu.”

Lu Zhiyan greeted with a smile.

“Hey! Yanyan is here!”

Liu Yuzhu quickly stepped forward to meet him, pulling him to look him up and down, then turned her head to look at Shen Yu, her brows and eyes gentle, “Hurry and come in, it’s cold outside. Mom stewed silver ear soup for you two, just right to drink.”

Lu Zhiyan changed his shoes and entered the room, handing the tea gift box and silk scarf he had prepared last night to Shen Guodong who was walking over.

Father Shen took the items and gently patted his shoulder:

“You brat, still being formal with us.”

His tone was familiar and intimate, hiding gratification in his eyes, feeling only that this child had been ostentatious and jumpy in the past, but had become much more composed now.

“Sit, eat some fruit first, dinner will be ready in a moment.”

Lu Zhiyan responded and sat down, his gaze inadvertently sweeping across the room, his heart softening slightly.

The room wasn’t large, but it was elegant and warm. The bookshelf was packed full of scientific research books, and photos of the two from childhood to adulthood hung on the wall—from toddlers in split-crotch pants to youths standing side-by-side, frame by frame, all were traces left behind by time.

Looking at those yellowing old photos, Lu Zhiyan’s heart ached violently. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] The sealed memories could no longer be suppressed, surging up like a storm-tossed sea.

Back then after Shen Yu left, Liu Yuzhu couldn’t bear the heavy blow and suffered from severe depression. Shen Guodong took her away from Beicheng, where it was easy to trigger sad memories, and moved back to their ancestral home, guarding the empty, old countryside house and enduring the remaining days, one day at a time.

Those years, no matter how busy he was, he would make time to visit. Every time, Liu Yuzhu would tightly grip his hand and tell him stories about Shen Yu and him when they were little, over and over again. As she spoke, tears would fall silently, her withered, skinny hand gripping him dead-tight without letting go, as if gripping the very last bit of comfort.

Meanwhile, Shen Guodong would always sit silently on the side smoking, and amidst the curling smoke, he hid the bone-eroding pain of an old man burying a young man.

At that time, he had repented in his heart countless times.

Blaming himself for being cowardly, blaming himself for being selfish, blaming himself for being cold-hearted.

Back then, if it weren’t for him being the first to stir up inappropriate thoughts, deliberately teasing that ignorant and clean youth, and forcefully dragging Shen Yu into this lightless relationship, perhaps everything that happened later wouldn’t have occurred.

Shen Yu was not gay by nature. Seeing beautiful, clean girls, he would also be shy and blush, his heart beating faster. He was never the same type of person as him. Yet, at the most restless age of fifteen or sixteen, he had developed the most inappropriate impulses toward the completely defenseless Shen Yu. That thought was secret yet stimulating, growing madly like vines, and he simply couldn’t suppress it at all.

Relying on their relationship of growing up together, he tested and teased him little by little, time after time. At first, he only felt it was taboo and stimulating. Seeing the other party not pushing him away, he became even bolder and even greedier, until their skin touched and they were entwined into their bones.

Yet he was consistently unable to face his own heart, treating all of this as nothing more than the indulgence and novelty of youth, never thinking of reaching today’s step with Shen Yu, much less thinking that he would let a Shen Yu who was that clean and pure drown so deep for him, burn himself out, and ultimately turn into mud and ash…

This heavy remorse kept pressing down on him, making him almost suffocate.

All he could do was try his best to guard Shen Yu’s parents and try to be filial, so that his own heart, which had long since been shattered, could slightly alleviate the bone-eroding regret and pain.

“A’Yan?”

Shen Yu’s voice transmitted over gently, interrupting his momentary daze.

“What are you thinking about?”

Lu Zhiyan forcefully suppressed the surging emotions in his heart, striving to pull out a trace of a smile for him:

“Nothing, it’s just that seeing the photos on the wall made me remember when we were little.”

At this moment, Liu Yuzhu brought over the silver ear soup, clear, sweet, and warm. With one sip, the warmth traveled down his throat straight to the bottom of his heart. The four sat around the living room, eating fruit and snacks, Lu Zhiyan listening to the two elders chatting about domestic trivia, the tone entirely full of unhideable concern and gentleness.

After the meal, he and Shen Yu helped Liu Yuzhu tidy up the bowls and chopsticks, and then accompanied the two elders to drink tea and chat, listening to them caring about their studies, instructing the two to take good care of themselves while away, eat on time, sleep late less often, discuss things when encountering them, and not act tough. Every word and every sentence made one’s heart soften.

This warmth was too real, real enough to make Lu Zhiyan’s nose slightly sour.

After the two elders had returned to their rooms for a noon nap, Shen Yu gently pulled him back to his room, cautiously closing the door, his movements so light it was as if he were afraid of disturbing the quiet, gentle time in this room.

The room remained as it was in his memories. The bookshelf was packed with books, and the matching pen holder they bought together at a stationery store in junior high sat on the corner of the desk. Sunlight shone in through the screen window, casting mottled light and shadows on the floor. The air floated with the faint scent of ink and the clear scent of lemon—it was a smell carved into his bones that made him feel reassured.

Just as Shen Yu wanted to turn around and get the dried fish, his wrist was gently gripped by Lu Zhiyan, causing him to stumble and fall into the other’s embrace.

Lu Zhiyan’s arm steadily circled his waist, his palm pressing against the warm skin of his abdomen, carrying a force that could not be mistaken, wrapped in scalding body temperature, instantly wrapping the person inside.

“A’Yan…”

Shen Yu’s heartbeat abruptly skipped a beat. The roots of his ears turned completely red, his gaze dodging, not daring to look at him, “The door… the door isn’t locked properly…”

Hearing this, Lu Zhiyan backhandedly locked the door with practiced skill, “Locked.” Then he raised his head slightly, the tip of his nose rubbing past his reddened auricle. His voice was pressed very low, carrying an un-meltable tenderness, his warm breath brushing against that sensitive patch of skin, “I just want to hug you.”

Half a year apart, thousands of words over the phone couldn’t compare to the real scent and temperature of the person in his embrace right now. Lu Zhiyan tightened his arms, hugging the person even tighter, resting his chin on his shoulder, feeling Shen Yu’s trembling breathing, deep love churning in the depths of his eyes.

Shen Yu gradually relaxed, raising his hand to cover his hand, his cheek pressing against the side of his ear, listening to his slight breathing as if listening to the steadiest melody in the world.

Lu Zhiyan’s heart felt as if it were soaked in warm water, softening into an absolute mess. He raised his hand and gently caressed the soft hair by Shen Yu’s ear, his fingertips carrying cautious gentleness.

After a moment of tender intimacy, he backed away slightly, gently flipping the person over and raising his eyes to meet that person’s deep black pupils.

Shen Yu looked at him, the depths of his eyes brimming with fine, fragmented light, like crushed stars. His lips pursed into a shallow arc, carrying an un-self-aware, enticing charm. Lu Zhiyan’s gaze fell onto his soft lips, his Adam’s apple bobbing unconsciously, his breathing gradually deepening.

“A’Yu,” his voice grew a few fractions hoarse, his fingertips gently caressing Shen Yu’s cheek, the pad of his finger tracing past warm skin, carrying a scalding temperature, “I want to kiss you.”

Shen Yu’s breathing abruptly stopped, his pupils contracting slightly. He blinked, not speaking, his long eyelashes slowly drooping. Lowering his head slightly, he proactively leaned in a few fractions.

This silent acquiescence was like a switch, thoroughly igniting the flames in the depths of Lu Zhiyan’s eyes. He violently leaned closer, his lips gently covering Shen Yu’s, carrying cautious probing, and also hiding the greed suppressed for a long time.

The kiss was very light, carrying the clear, sweet aftertaste of the silver ear soup, like a feather gently brushing past the tip of the heart. Shen Yu tightened the force of his arms, slightly parted his lips, and responded gently.

Feeling his response, the gentleness at the bottom of Lu Zhiyan’s heart instantly overflowed. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] Following the slightly parted lips of the other party, he deepened this kiss. Between their lingering and grinding lips and teeth, it was entirely filled with longing and cherishment that was too thick to melt away. There was no eager plunder, only gentle lingering; every single movement carried cautious heartache.

Warm breaths intertwined, blurring out a layer of ambiguous white mist in the air. The sound of the wind outside the window seemed to have become distant. The room was left with only the sound of their increasingly heavy heartbeats.

After an unknown amount of time, Lu Zhiyan slowly backed away, forehead resting against his, nose brushing against nose, the depths of his eyes full of un-meltable tenderness.

“Do you miss me?”

His voice was low and hoarse, carrying a smile. His fingertips gently wiped away the water stains on Shen Yu’s lips.

Shen Yu nodded, tightening the force of his arms. His voice was very light, carrying cautious gentleness:

“Miss… miss you every day. I always remember when we were little and did homework together, you secretly stuffing candy for me to eat.”

He murmured softly, his voice gentle as water, “Also remembered the way you smiled at me back then, thinking and thinking until I couldn’t fall asleep.”

Lu Zhiyan’s heart felt as if it had been ruthlessly bumped by something, sour and soft.

‘I’m sorry, A’Yu, for letting you wait so long…’

He raised his hand and gently caressed Shen Yu’s cheek, his movements gentle as if coaxing a child:

“Me too, when studying late into the night, I missed you like I was going crazy.”

Shen Yu raised his eyes, looking at the blood streaks in the depths of his eyes, reaching out to gently caress the corner of his eye, frowning in heartache:

“Are you very tired? Is studying medicine very hard?”

“Not tired.”

‘For your sake, it’s not tiring at all.’

Lu Zhiyan gripped his hand, placing it by his lips to kiss it gently, then raised his eyes to look at him with gentle affection.

Shen Yu was slightly stunned by his actions. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] In the next second, he leaned close and kissed his lips again. This kiss was deep, carrying thick possessiveness. Lu Zhiyan obviously felt the change in Shen Yu’s body.

He responded affectionately and proactively, silently reaching out to caress the scalding heat of Shen Yu’s lower body. Feeling that person’s movements pause obviously, his heart softened, and he kept leaning closer, continuing to tease and provoke with the tip of his tongue, entwining and entangling more deeply and wetly with the other’s warm wetness. His distinct-knuckled, beautiful hands didn’t stop either, gently rubbing through the fabric of Shen Yu’s pants, feeling the increasingly obvious changes there.

When their lips separated, there were still long silver threads pulling between them. Lu Zhiyan looked at the unsuppressible desire in the depths of that person’s eyes and spat out a sentence, “You’re holding it in until it hurts, right?”

Then he curled the corners of his lips, pushed the person to sit on the edge of the desk, crouched down halfway, slowly pulled down that person’s pants, and took the thick, ferocious heat that had caused him to feel like he was ascending to heaven countless times into his mouth completely.

“Mmph!”

Hearing a suppressed muffled groan from the person above his head, a surge of scalding, soft sweetness welled up from the bottom of his heart. He began to lick, swallow, and spit even more uninhibitedly, as if tasting the most delicious delicacy in the world.

After he had caressed enough, he slowly spat out that blazing heat, beginning to meticulously lick, suck, and suckle the two full sacks dangling below. His expression was sexy, bewitching, and incomparably enjoying, occasionally raising his eyes to look with burning gaze at Shen Yu, who was panting hoarsely with passion for his sake.

“A’Yan…”

Shen Yu reached out to gently caress the soft hair on the top of his head, his voice revealing a hoarse sexiness.

“Mhm?”

Lu Zhiyan responded vaguely, yet his mouth’s movements didn’t stop in the slightest, wrapping around that person’s erection once again, licking and sucking for a long time. Only after a few deep sucks that deliberately deepened his force did he reluctantly spit out that hard, searing heat. Using his hand to quickly rub, and licking the water gloss on the corner of his mouth, he raised his eyes to look at Shen Yu, asking hoarsely, “Want to cum?”

“Mhm…”

“Okay, cum, baby. Cum it all in my mouth.”

Saying this, he quickly took in that blazing heat once again, uninhibitedly swallowing and spitting, every single stroke sucked deep and tight. Shen Yu gripped his hair, struggling to control the force of his hand to avoid pulling and hurting him. After a few deep, rapid thrusts, he gave a low moan and released completely into Lu Zhiyan’s warm, soft throat.

Before the afterglow of orgasm could fade, Shen Yu hurriedly pulled two sheets of paper from the desk, leaned over and said softly, “A’Yan, spit it here.”

Lu Zhiyan, however, raised his eyes with a smile to look at the eagerness in the depths of his eyes. He stood up quickly, violently pushed the person down onto the soft bed behind him, leaned down and looked at him with burning gaze. With a bob of his Adam’s apple, he swallowed all the love juices he had just released, and even bewitchingly extended the tip of his wet tongue to lick his lips, saying with a hoarse voice, “Delicious.”

A thick, wild desire instantly rose in the depths of Shen Yu’s deep black eyes.

Lu Zhiyan pressed against his heaving chest, leaned down and moved closer, deep lust also rippling in the depths of his eyes. He murmured softly by that person’s ear, “Not here, A’Yu… I can’t let go of my moans here. Take me to a hotel nearby, I want to moan it out properly for you alone to hear.”