Yan Yan saw Zhuang Yiyun’s message the next day. He hadn’t drunk much yesterday; just a bit of beer. Orange had just joined the team, so he didn’t dare to drink much. He ended up drinking more only after meeting Jiang Li later.
Originally, it was particularly empty returning to his and Zhuang Yiyun’s home. It felt a bit like trying to drown his sorrows in alcohol. But after drinking, he felt even worse. They had been too wild before; there wasn’t a place in this house where he and Zhuang Yiyun hadn’t had a good time. Saying he was touched when recalling those places wasn’t an exaggeration.
He just collapsed into bed.
Now awake, he lazily sent a message to Zhuang Yiyun.
Yan Yan: [Gege, it’s day 59 missing you.]
Checking the time, it was ten o’clock. Well, at this time, his phone was just a message board. As expected, he received a reply only around noon. However, when he opened it, he almost dropped the pen.
Zhuang Yiyun: [Receive a package in the afternoon.]
Yan Yan: [Ah! What did you send me!?]
Zhuang Yiyun: [Check when you receive it.]
After replying to Zhuang Yiyun, Yan Yan lingered in bed for a while. Today was his day off.
He was looking forward to the package, but after waiting for a long time, he still hadn’t received any courier calls by two, three, or four o’clock. He felt a bit restless, and waited until five o’clock before finally receiving it.
It wasn’t sent from Hohhot; It was an online purchase for him. Yan Yan couldn’t wait to open the package and once he saw what it was, his heart started pounding.
Yan Yan: [Gege, I’ve received the package.]
It was naturally impossible to receive a reply at five in the afternoon. He had to leave the items there and went to the kitchen to make himself dinner. However, after cooking and eating, he projected and watched videos on a certain streaming site for two hours. However, his heart remained with that package. He turned up the volume on his phone to the maximum, afraid he might miss the message alert.
He thought he would have to wait until ten or eleven o’clock, but unexpectedly, Zhuang Yiyun’s video call request popped up at around nine o’clock.
Yan Yan was surprised. His mind was still trying to prepare itself, but his hand had instinctively pressed the answer button. When the video call connected, his face immediately flushed. There was a reason; on the other end of the video, Zhuang Yiyun was unbuttoning his shirt, revealing his abdominal muscles.
“Gege…”
“Did you receive it?”
“Yeah.”
Zhuang Yiyun placed his phone on the cabinet, unbuttoned his shirt completely, then picked up his phone and lay back on the sofa with his shirt open.
Seeing Yan Yan’s blushing face, Zhuang Yiyun’s voice slowed down as he asked, “Did you play alone secretly?”
Yan Yan’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. Thinking about what was in the package, he felt his mouth go dry.
“No.”
“Good boy.”
“Have you cleaned up?”
“No, I haven’t taken a shower yet.”
Zhuang Yiyun’s gaze darkened; he realized what Yan Yan meant.
“I meant… the little toy.”
Yan Yan’s face turned crimson. It was too embarrassing. He stammered for a while and couldn’t utter a complete sentence. Even though they had done everything before, just a few words now made him feel incredibly shy. He concluded it was probably because it had been a while.
“Wash up properly.”
Zhuang Yiyun said, his voice deep and commanding. Yan Yan instinctively stood up and went to the bedroom to get that small box.
“Gege… I’m done washing it.”
“Follow the manual and connect it to the home’s smart home network.”
Yan Yan was surprised. He hadn’t read the manual. Was this how it worked? If he connected it, could Zhuang Yiyun control it remotely? His breathing immediately became erratic.
“It’s connected.”
“Good boy. Do you need gege to teach you where to put it?”
“Um, no need.” Yan Yan’s hand was trembling as he placed the phone on the bed. His phone sank into the soft comforter, and Zhuang Yiyun felt like he was enveloped too.
Yan Yan teased, “But I don’t want to put it.”
Zhuang Yiyun raised his phone to his lips. Only his chin and neck were visible through the camera. His sharp Adam’s apple moved up and down, looking incredibly sexy.
“Put it in and let gege control you, just like he is right there with you.”
“It’s in.”
Neither could conceal their reactions. Zhuang Yiyun’s chest heaved, and he pressed the switch button.
Today, he took a two-hour break to educate the boy. However, when he heard Yan Yan’s unbearable voice in his ear, he regretted it. He missed Yan Yan, missed home, and it hurt all over.
“Gege… Husband… it’s not enough, it’s not as big as gege…”
On hearing this, Zhuang Yiyun felt like he was going to lose his mind. Their phone screens were either facing the ceiling or the table, but their disheveled gasps intertwined, and in the end, they reached the peak together.
Zhaung Yiyun completely forgot about Orange and education. His husband’s current appearance didn’t leave any space for others. Not only was he not vulnerable, he was filled with confidence, portraying himself entirely.
“Baby, be good. Let gege kiss you.”
“Where does gege want to kiss?”
“Everywhere.”
Yan Yan lay on the bed panting, slowly wiping his hands with a tissue. After lying down for a while, he couldn’t help but say, “I’ll come to see gege after my exams, okay?”
“Okay. I’ve inquired about the visiting procedure, we need to cooperate with the political review when the time comes.”
“The review is about being upright and positive, but I have unhealthy thoughts when seeing gege, will it be okay?”
Zhuang Yiyun chuckled softly, “It will be.”
In the busy days, time passed quickly. When Yan Yan mentioned the postgraduate entrance exam in August, it felt distant, but looking back, it was as if time had flown by and Christmas had arrived in the blink of an eye. On the night before the exam, Zhuang Yiyun finished his dinner and hung up the video call, urging him to sleep at nine o’clock. After Yan Yan fell asleep, Zhuang Yiyun got up and went to the lab.
Every day, he wanted to achieve results earlier, to go home sooner. Apart from eating, sleeping, and regular exercise, he spent all his time in the lab, working the hardest in the entire project. Professor Xun praised him highly; he was the most diligent among them. His high level of expertise, dedication, and willingness to work hard made him the perfect successor they needed.
This fortunate coincidence also provided Zhuang Yiyun with many invisible conveniences. Originally, he wasn’t part of the system, and as a young person, he initially didn’t have much say in the team full of experts. But Professor Xun’s favor and his talent opened doors. Naturally, he gained more influence over time.
This applied not only to research but also to his personal life. After submitting the application for family visits, the management process at the base went smoothly. Before Yan Yan went to take the postgraduate entrance exam, the political review had already been arranged. Yan Yan booked a flight for the day after the exam, and the base arranged for someone and a dedicated car to pick him up from the airport.
After six months, they met again, they’ll meet again. However, Zhuang Yiyun couldn’t greet him at the base entrance due to a meeting. Family members were not allowed in the work area, and the staff suggested that Yan Yan waits in Zhuang Yiyun’s room, but Yan Yan declined.
He asked, “Can I wait for him at the entrance of the work area? This way, he can see me as soon as he comes out. I won’t wander around.”
The staff member who received him happened to be the same person who received Zhuang Yiyun into the base. He was a straight man, but he felt like he was being bent by these two deeply affectionate people. He couldn’t refuse but he couldn’t leave Yan Yan alone either. So, he found two chairs and sat in the corridor, chatting with Yan Yan.
Yan Yan was usually talkative, but at this moment, his mind was focused entirely on Zhuang Yiyun. He kept glancing at the entrance and had no interest in talking. The staff member tried to engage him in conversation, but Yan Yan rarely responded. The staff member understood and decided to sit quietly with him.
As soon as the meeting ended, Zhuang Yiyun stood up and wanted to leave immediately. However, another researcher was interested in the content of his presentation and caught up with him, asking questions.
The researcher was tall and had long legs but Zhuang Yiyun walked faster. The researcher almost couldn’t keep up, and he chased after him. “Dr. Zhuang, slow down, please elaborate on what you just said.”
Zhuang Yiyun only wanted to know if Yan Yan had arrived or not. He had no interest in replying, so he answered a few questions perfunctorily. They reached the entrance of the work area, swiped their cards to open the door, but before Zhuang Yiyun could react, a voice interrupted the researcher’s inquiries.
“Gege…”
The sound was clear, devoid of the embellishments of a phone call. Zhuang Yiyun suddenly turned his head in shock. The person he had been longing for was right in front of him. They were only four or five steps apart. In the moment he turned around, the young man ran towards him. Zhuang Yiyun took a step forward, and the next moment, he was engulfed in a warm embrace.
The researcher who had been asking questions realized at this moment that Zhuang Yiyun hadn’t wanted to talk to him at all. With the arrival of a family member, who would want to discuss work at such a time?
He said apologetically, “Oh, Dr. Zhuang, I see your younger brother has come. I’ll let you be, please continue.”
His voice had just fallen when he saw Zhuang Yiyun turn his head and kiss the young man’s cheek.
The researcher was dumbfounded. Which brother would kiss his younger brother’s cheek like this? Dr. Zhuang was from overseas but was not a foreigner. Even foreigners didn’t kiss cheeks so intimately.
Just as he was thinking about it, he heard the young man call Zhuang Yiyun, “Husband.”
The colleagues who had just finished the meeting also walked to the entrance of the work area. It was dinner time, and everyone was heading to the restaurant, so they happened to witness this scene.
“He’s not a younger brother, he’s my husband.” Zhuang Yiyun held Yan Yan’s hand, openly introducing him to the curious colleagues.
Now the entire base knew that Dr. Zhuang’s partner had arrived. In the cafeteria, he met Professor Xun, and after enthusiastic introductions from his colleagues, Professor Xun said teasingly, “I knew it. Xiao Zhuang hasn’t taken a day off in six months, but this time, he took three days off. He should rest and spend time with his family.”
After speaking to Zhuang Yiyun, Professor Xun turned to Yan Yan and said, “Xiao Yan, you’ve endured a lot. It’s hardest for young couples to be apart. On behalf of the whole project team, I thank you for your sacrifice and dedication.”
The elderly man, with silver hair but lively spirit, a national treasure-level scientist usually seen only on TV, shook hands with Yan Yan in a solemn and dignified manner. Yan Yan smiled in response. At that moment, he felt genuine pride.
The colleagues from the project team were very warm-hearted. It wasn’t until they returned to Zhuang Yiyun’s room that they could talk privately. Once the door was closed, they were isolated from the outside world. The moment they looked at each other, their lips met. They kissed each other, exchanging warmth and breath, trying to alleviate their longing for each other.
They kissed for a while, both reacting yet neither was in a hurry for the next step. They just embraced each other, observing and assessing each other’s current appearance.
“Gege, you’ve lost weight.”
It wasn’t as obvious in the video, but when Yan Yan held him, he realized Zhuang Yiyun had lost a lot of weight. The muscles on his body weren’t as robust as before.
Yan Yan’s hand moved over Zhuang Yiyun’s abdomen. Knowing what he was thinking without asking, Zhuang Yiyun replied, “I’ve been too busy and couldn’t keep up with my exercise routine, only six-packs are left. Do you mind, Yan Yan?”
“A bit. Also, your skin is rougher than before, and there are dark circles under your eyes. Gege, did you use a beauty filter during our video calls?”
“Mmm.” Zhuang Yiyun chuckled softly.
Yan Yan pretended to be serious, “Gege, you’ll be thirty by the time you’re done with this project. As you age, your abilities naturally decline. You stay up late every night and don’t exercise. While you can still do it, let me enjoy you more.”
Zhuang Yiyun pinched his cheek and asked, “Who can’t do it?”
“You, gege. I’m afraid you won’t be able to do it.”
Zhuang Yiyun’s tongue pressed against his back molars, he will make this ignorant young man understand his limits. Just then, Yan Yan covered his hand and nestled into his embrace.
“So, gege, don’t tire yourself out like this. I feel heartbroken seeing you so worn out. Do it for me, don’t let me feel so distressed, okay?”
