LOI Chapter 30 — Don't Lie To Me

After freshening up, Rong Ke came to the door of the master bedroom and knocked, but there was no response.

He twisted the doorknob and poked half his body in, asking, “Are you asleep?”

The room was lit only by a bedside lamp, and Yan Zhi lay quietly on the bed, his breathing steady, seeming to be asleep, but his brow was slightly furrowed.

Rong Ke crawled into the bed, got into the quilt, propped his face on his hand, and poked Yan Zhi’s cheek, “Are you still angry?”

Yan Zhi did not respond, but his eyelashes fluttered slightly, indicating that he was awake.

“Don’t be angry, it doesn’t look good on you,” Rong Ke said.

The prince was indeed concerned about his appearance. He smoothed his brow and lifted his eyelids to look at Rong Ke, “Why are you here?”

“To cheer you up.” Rong Ke looked at Yan Zhi and said, “Although I don’t know why you’re so angry, it must be my fault.”

Yan Zhi was silent for a moment, then asked, “Did you used to do this with Jiang Si as well?”

“Do what?”

“Come to comfort me without knowing why I’m angry.”

In fact, Yan Zhi was not really angry with Rong Ke, he was more troubled. But Rong Ke always seemed so good-tempered, unconditionally accepting of him no matter what he did. He found it hard not to think about the fact that Jiang Si had also once enjoyed this treatment.

“Of course, I have to comfort my boyfriend,” Rong Ke said.

The “boyfriend” he mentioned was not specifically referring to Jiang Si, but to the identity of a romantic partner.

“I’m not your boyfriend,” Yan Zhi frowned.

“You’re my rumored boyfriend, same thing.” Rong Ke tried to lighten the mood with a joke, but seeing the atmosphere was off, he shifted from lying on his side to lying on his back, looking at the ceiling and letting out a sigh, “You’re the one who helped me get through the low point, you’re more important than a boyfriend.”

The room fell silent for a moment.

Soon, the sound of the quilt rustling was heard; this time, it was Yan Zhi who shifted to lie on his side, calmly looking at Rong Ke’s profile.

“You said you want to cheer me up.”

“Yes, that’s right.” Rong Ke could feel that Yan Zhi’s mood seemed to have improved, so he seized the opportunity to ask, “What can I do to make you happy?”

“Cook some braised pork ribs for you this weekend?”

“Or should I take you shopping?”

Rong Ke was thinking about the things the prince liked, when suddenly a shadow fell over his eyes, and Yan Zhi’s face appeared above him.

It all happened very quickly.

Rong Ke had already sensed that something was wrong, but his body’s reaction was still half a beat slower, so the mouth he was speaking with was suddenly sealed by Yan Zhi’s lips.

A thunderous sound like a nuclear explosion went off in his head, and Rong Ke’s eyes widened as he tried to push Yan Zhi away, but the agile tongue invaded his mouth, sending tingling sensations all the way to his fingertips, dissipating his instinctive urge to push the man away.

How long had it been since he last kissed someone? Rong Ke thought, a little dazed.

No, that’s not the point.

The space between their lips was filled with a sweet, numbing fragrance, igniting a scorching heat.

Rong Ke stared blankly at Yan Zhi, able to clearly see the trembling eyelashes from the kiss.

So what the hell is this inexplicable situation?

After thoroughly ransacking Rong Ke’s mouth, Yan Zhi withdrew, satisfied, and said, “Good night,” then casually turned off the bedside lamp.

The bedroom was instantly plunged into darkness, and Rong Ke, having just regained his senses, still a little dazed, asked, “Is that it?”

No explanation?

With a “click,” the bedside lamp turned on again, and Yan Zhi raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. “So you want to continue.”

Rong Ke: “Huh?”

Yan Zhi picked up his phone and calmly opened a delivery app. “I’ll order some condoms and lubricant. Orange-flavored, do you like that?”

Rong Ke: “!”

“No, no!” Rong Ke quickly pressed down on Yan Zhi’s hand, crossing over Yan Zhi’s body to turn off the bedside lamp. “Good night.”

The room was plunged back into darkness, and Rong Ke lay beside Yan Zhi, utterly perplexed, wondering if he should just go back to his own room to sleep.

But they had just kissed, and it was a French kiss at that. If he left now, wouldn’t that be too disrespectful to the ‘sister’?

Wait, is that the key point? The key point is why the hell did this ‘sister’ kiss him in the first place!

Rong Ke tossed and turned on the bed, unable to sleep. He came up with countless reasons for Yan Zhi’s actions, all of which led to one conclusion: Yan Zhi must want Rong Ke to fuck him.

In the late night, Rong Ke finally drifted into a light sleep, but his alarm clock rang soon after.

—He had to head back to the set today, he needed to get up early.

Sporting a bird’s nest of a hairstyle and two dark circles, Rong Ke, as usual, put on an apron and started preparing breakfast in the kitchen.

During the days he wasn’t here, the fridge was indeed empty, so he could only make a simple egg noodle dish.

Boil the water, wait for it to boil.

The bubbles in the pan were bobbing up, and as Rong Ke watched them, he suddenly thought of the popular “elderly companion” trend.

Two unmarried best friends living together in retirement, a kind of alternative family.

So, if Yan Zhi had taken a liking to his cooking skills and wanted to spend the rest of his life with him, it might not be so incomprehensible.

The water boiled, and Rong Ke put the noodles in.

Just then, the door to the master bedroom opened, and Yan Zhi sauntered into the kitchen, slippers on his feet. “Up so early?”

Rong Ke involuntarily stiffened his back. “I’ve got something down below¹ for you to eat.”

As soon as he said that, alarm bells went off in his head, and he quickly corrected, “I mean, I’m cooking noodles for you to eat.”

Yan Zhi let out a light chuckle, coming up behind Rong Ke, wrapping one arm around his waist and brushing his abdomen with the other hand, whispering in his ear, “I want to eat what’s down there too.”

The ladle dropped into the water with a “clang.”

Was Yan Zhi flirting with him?

Rong Ke couldn’t help but imagine it – any normal gay man would do this – the sight of Yan Zhi sucking him, and he felt the blood rushing to his head, almost causing a nosebleed.

This beautiful devil’s seduction was truly fatal.

“Yan Zhi,” Rong Ke picked up the ladle with his chopsticks, his tone still relatively calm, “Why did you kiss me last night?”

“You said you wanted to cheer me up,” Yan Zhi leaned back against the kitchen counter, looking at Rong Ke.

“Yes,” Rong Ke met Yan Zhi’s gaze, “So why did kissing me cheer you up?”

“Just consider me horny,” Yan Zhi turned around and went to the sideboard, taking out a coffee grinder and starting to grind coffee beans.

“Didn’t I introduce you to a man?” Rong Ke stretched his neck to look at Yan Zhi.

“I’m not interested in them,” Yan Zhi went to the water dispenser, poured 95-degree hot water, and made two cups of coffee, handing one to Rong Ke.

“It’s not like you have to…” take it out on me, Rong Ke turned off the stove and lifted the coffee cup, drowning the rest of the sentence in the coffee.

“Yesterday, I thought it over carefully, and I think we could be together,” Yan Zhi said.

“No, wait,” Rong Ke looked surprised, “You’re really considering this?”

“Don’t you think I’m good enough?” Yan Zhi tilted his head and asked.

Rong Ke said truthfully that Yan Zhi’s looks and physique were impeccable, and he was also comfortable to be around, aside from the occasional neuroticism.

But the problem was, Rong Ke had never thought of it in that way before.

“Okay, then.” Seeing Rong Ke not responding, Yan Zhi raised his fist, “If I win, let’s give it a try.”

…Huh?

This childish behavior was indeed the prince’s style.

Perhaps out of habit, or maybe wanting to see the result after three rounds, Rong Ke absentmindedly raised his fist as well.

“Rock, paper, scissors.”

Rong Ke had scissors, Yan Zhi had rock, Yan Zhi won.

To be honest, being with Yan Zhi could be quite entertaining, since Yan Zhi was an unconventional person who added a lot of fun to Rong Ke’s life.

In the second round, Rong Ke had rock, Yan Zhi had scissors, Rong Ke won.

But “entertaining” doesn’t mean “captivating,” and since they were the same type, was it really necessary to try?

Before the third round began, Yan Zhi lowered his fist and asked Rong Ke, “What are you going to pick?”

Rong Ke said, “Paper.”

Yan Zhi stared at him for a while, then said, “Don’t lie to me.”

Rong Ke thought for a moment, then made a soft “mm” sound.

They revealed their choices simultaneously – Rong Ke had paper, Yan Zhi had scissors.

Yan Zhi’s mood improved, and he raised the corners of his mouth, taking a step forward to kiss Rong Ke on the cheek, saying, “I’ll take you to the set.”

Rong Ke glanced back at the pot, the noodles completely mush, just like his brain.

He bowed his head and rubbed his brow, thinking that he had clearly intended to throw rock, but his hand just wouldn’t obey.

Oh well.

Rong Ke gave up struggling, feeling that it wouldn’t be so bad to try being Yan Zhi’s husband.

If all else fails… they’ll cross that bridge when they get to it.

–

Today’s filming included a lot of action scenes, and Rong Ke was focused on the fighting and killing, his mind no longer as scrambled.

However, during the breaks, Xin Ran still noticed his distraction and asked, “What are you so worried about today?”

“Is it obvious?” Rong Ke felt he had hidden it pretty well.

“You were just spacing out.” Xin Ran unscrewed the thermos lid, almost as if she had sunflower seeds in her hand, “Come on, tell me what’s bothering you.”

“It’s not exactly bothering me.” Rong Ke leaned back in the resting chair, lacing his hands behind his head. “I have a friend – a real friend, not me – and he’s a bit lonely. Do you have any good ways to help him relieve his loneliness?”

“What kind of loneliness are we talking about?” Xin Ran took a sip of her white fungus soup and asked, “Spiritual or physical?”

“Uh,” Rong Ke said, “Both, I guess?”

Actually, the latter was more prevalent.

He didn’t say it outright, but Xin Ran seemed to have deduced it, leaning in mysteriously and lowering her voice, “Get him some toys, they’re way more fun than men.”

Rong Ke was slightly taken aback. “Huh?”

Xin Ran pulled out her phone and shared a link on WeChat, saying, “I’m only sharing this with you as a sisterly favor, don’t tell anyone else.”

Rong Ke opened the link and was immediately stunned.

It was an adult toy store.

He felt like he had just opened the door to a new world, staring dumbfounded at the various toys.

“Take your time browsing,” Xin Ran said, “I just sent my bestie a lifelike one for her birthday.”

Lifelike?

Rong Ke clicked on that category and made a face, that was just too vulgar.

He imagined what the prince would like, and something cute would be more appropriate.

A fox tail… hmm, not bad, add to cart.

A mini vibrator… also not bad, the prince could play with it at the office.

Rong Ke placed a large order and directly entered the address of Tianyi Yunwan.

The items arrived a bit faster than he expected, and by the next evening, he received a logistics message saying the package had been delivered.

At that time, Rong Ke was having barbecue with Zhou Lin and the others. He purposefully came outside the shop, hesitating between making a call and sending a message, ultimately opening WeChat.

[Rong Ke: I bought you a little something]

No, the wording wasn’t quite right.

Rong Ke deleted the word “something” and replaced it with “gift.”

[Rong Ke: The concierge has left it at the door]
[Rong Ke: Take a look when you have a chance]
[Rong Ke: I hope you’ll like it]
[Yan Zhi: ?]

Truthfully, Rong Ke was still a bit unsure, afraid that just like with the introduction to Zhou Lin, he might have somehow offended Yan Zhi without realizing it.

But two minutes later, the reply from Yan Zhi put him at ease.

[Yan Zhi: Thank you, I really like them :)]

That’s good, Rong Ke thought, looks like it’s to the prince’s liking.

Maybe the prince would use it for a while, then suddenly lose interest in him.

Just then, Yan Zhi sent two more messages.

[Yan Zhi: I’ll use them tonight]
[Yan Zhi: If they’re good, we can use them together when you’re back]

Rong Ke thought about it, he hadn’t used these things before, and was indeed a bit curious, so he replied: [Okay]