IROAWTMTFL Chapter 49

They didn’t know how they ended up kissing each other; at that moment, Yan Yan couldn’t even remember who had initiated it. He only knew he wanted to kiss, to be kissed, to hold, and to be held, the kind with a relentless intensity and unrestraint.

Just like in his uncontrollable imagination, they were in a quiet room with no one around. They entwined in kisses, freely exchanging their warmth. Zhuang Yiyun had one hand around his waist and the other clasping the back of his neck, exerting a slight pressure to make him tilt his head upward. His arms were wrapped around Zhuang Yiyun’s neck, and his chest was nestled against him.

This was different from their first kiss where Zhuang Yiyun was fierce and savage and it was more like a brawl than a kiss. In just two days, he seemed to have attended some intensive training in kissing techniques. When the tip of his tongue brushed past, Yan Yan trembled as if electrified. When he gently held Yan Yan’s lips, there was a kind of melting tenderness.

Yan Yan’s forehead and neck were covered in sweat, his eyes and lips were damp and his lips were as red as blood. There was a slight pain, probably from a scrap. Yan Yan gasped and their lips parted slightly. They looked at each other and kissed again.

Zhuang Yiyun’s hand moved down, gripping his waist with a slight force. Yan Yan understood and instinctively raised his legs, hooking them around Zhuang Yiyun’s waist. His slippers fell off, his mind was completely immersed in the moment.

His heart was pounding, and the blood in his veins was boiling. When he was carried to the edge of the sofa, he kicked his legs against the backrest, urging Zhuang Yiyun impatiently. Driven by Yan Yan’s urgency, Zhuang Yiyun lost control and quickly sat down. Yan Yan ended up sitting on his lap, and the two hugged each other and kissed passionately.

Yan Yan was wearing loose and light loungewear. The looseness that was meant for concealment instead emphasized the fabric’s delicacy, outlining his body clearly.

Zhuang Yiyun’s voice had become husky, calling out with passion, “Yan Yan…”

His call ignited Yan Yan’s passion. He embraced Zhuang Yiyun’s neck, tilting his head to capture Zhuang Yiyun’s exposed left earlobe. His demeanor was fierce, as if he wanted to leave a mark on Zhuang Yiyun’s left ear to match the earring on the right.

His response almost made Zhuang Yiyun break his waist. “Mmm… fuck be gentler…”

He gasped for air and his mind felt blank. He felt a rush akin to the one when he was surfing the massive waves two days ago.

He tried to speak, but the unperturbed Zhuang Yiyun released him, flipped him over and enveloped him in the shadows. He attempted to say something again when his voice shattered into fragments, and his mind was filled with molten lava.

Suddenly, the sound of a marimba rang out. The sound was particularly prominent in the quiet space—it was a call on Zhuang Yiyun’s phone.

Zhuang Yiyun ignored it and bit Yan Yan’s lip again.

But the phone continued to ring persistently. After one unanswered call, it rang again. Yan Yan, who was perched on Zhuang Yiyun, reached into his pocket and retrieved the phone.

“It’s annoying. Answer the call.”

“How should I answer it? While doing this?” Zhuang Yiyun’s eyes were predatory, as if he wanted to devour Yan Yan whole. Yan Yan suspected that Dr. Zhuang had learned all his vulgar language just for these moments. They hadn’t even started, and Zhuang Yiyun was already this powerful.

The phone kept ringing. Zhuang Yiyun took it and was about to reject the call when he noticed it was a work call. They wouldn’t contact him during a vacation unless it was urgent, so he had to calm down.

Yan Yan saw his expression and answered the call without hesitation. If you’re going to answer, answer. After that, continue. Why waste time?

It was Zhuang Yiyun’s team member on the line, informing him that there was a problem in the lab, and they needed him to come in. Zhuang Yiyun remained silent throughout the call, only responding with an “Okay” before hanging up.

By the time he ended the call, Yan Yan had already sat up. His shirt slid down as he moved, covering the ambiguous marks on his chest.

Yan Yan looked at Zhuang Yiyun and asked, “Are you going out?”

“Sorry, something came up in the lab. I have to go.”

At times like this, running away wasn’t something Zhuang Yiyun wanted nor could afford. It felt excessive even to himself. However, when the lab faced a problem, and he had to deal with it, it wasn’t just his problem—it was the culmination of their entire team’s painstaking efforts.

Yan Yan wasn’t particularly angry, he was simply frustrated from the unquenched desire. He glanced at Zhuang Yiyun, bit his lower lip and mumbled, “Want a bite? To take a piece of me with you?”

Zhuang Yiyun kissed him back, “As you wish. I’ll make it up to you when I return, baby.”

Yan Yan blushed from being called “baby”.

In the end, Zhuang Yiyun didn’t really bite down. By the time he had packed up and was ready to leave, the heat in his body had subsided, so he decided to unpack his luggage. He opened his suitcase and neatly organized his clothes and daily necessities. After dealing with his luggage, he came out to get a drink and noticed Zhuang Yiyun’s camera bag that was left near the door.

He was curious. The sunlight outside was perfect, so why not try using Zhuang Yiyun’s DSLR camera?

So he took out the camera and casually played with it. He took pictures of the items in the house, the scenery outside the window, and then started flipping through the photo album. After viewing the photos he took, he kept flipping through and couldn’t help but admit there was a huge gap between his photography skills and Zhuang Yiyun’s. Zhuang Yiyun was truly talented in photography.

As he continued flipping, something felt off.

Why were there so many pictures of him?

Although Zhuang Yiyun had given him the exquisite photo “Miracle,” he had always thought it was just a coincidentally well-captured shot. But at this moment, he had a sudden revelation. He quickly flipped through the album and found the day they watched the sunset in Changjiang.

The sunset that day was beautiful, but in Zhuang Yiyun’s camera, there was only him.

Roughly flipping through, there were at least hundreds of pictures taken that day, and of all kinds.

His heart went numb for a moment. He felt like he had discovered something very important.

Did Zhuang Yiyun really like him? A deep liking, the kind that was completely different from what he felt…

There was a clear sense of clarity, like the clouds parting and seeing the moon, yet it brought even more confusion.

He sat on the sofa in a daze, then hurriedly went back to change his clothes and asked Jiang Li out.

“You just came back, and you want me to drink with you?” Jiang Li, who usually napped the whole afternoon when not training, groaned, covering her head and not wanting to move. Yan Yan had better have a good reason, otherwise, she would block him.

“It’s an urgent matter… I got into some trouble. Hurry up and get ready. We won’t be drinking, how about a walk in the park?”

“Huh? A walk in the park? Are you sure you’re Yan Yan?”

“Hurry up!”

Jiang Li reluctantly got up.

Jiang Li still managed to get up. Despite the winter season, she met Yan Yan at the park. As they sat together on a bench by the lake, she felt as if they were already in their seventies or eighties, living as neighbors in a senior citizens’ home.

The sun gradually set. Without its warmth, the cold wind began to assert its power. Yan Yan sat there wrapped in his padded coat, finally completely sober.

After taking a deep breath, he started talking about his despair, “I went soft…”

“What?” Jiang Li dug her ears.

“I almost slept with Zhuang Yiyun just now.”

“Isn’t that a good thing? What’s the problem? Is he so bad at it that you lost interest?” Jiang Li looked at Yan Yan. He seemed expressionless, but he genuinely seemed troubled.

“He wants to date me.”

“What’s the problem with that? Isn’t it natural? He doesn’t seem like a player.”

“Yeah. I didn’t think deeply about it… Ah… fuck…”

Jiang Li couldn’t stand his sighs, so she interrupted, “Stop! Either don’t say it or say it properly.”

Yan Yan nodded and rubbed his hands that were slightly chilled by the wind, and carefully chose his words.

“He seems to really like me. He’s always flirting with me when we go out, and he even took a picture of me.”

“What kind of picture? A nude photo?”

Yan Yan gave her a look and continued, “I used to think he took a good photo because of his high professional skills, and his flirting was merely a sign of affection. His actions toward me… Anyway, when getting closer to each other, I got carried away in the moment… Now looking back, I deceived myself to some extent.

“I understand. You just focused on sleeping with him. You’re displaying the most genuine male soul. Everyone thinks like that; it’s just that some people don’t show it. In reality, everyone thinks from the lower body.”

“Hey, Jiang Lili, what’s gotten into you? Are you comparing those promiscuous scumbags and ugly men to my soul?”

“Okay.” Jiang Li restrained herself from continuing the argument, all for the sake of hearing the story.

Yan Yan fell silent for a moment before continuing his narrative.

“I looked at his camera and discovered that he didn’t accidentally take that photo of me. There are many, many pictures of me in his camera. Do you know how beautiful the sunset on the sea is? I felt like I could ascend right there. But he didn’t capture the sunset; he only photographed me… He even took me skydiving. His friend said he’s never taken anyone before.”

“He even got an ear piercing on one ear. Can you believe it? Dr. Zhuang wore a diamond earring on his right ear. He wore it to the R&D center just now. In the middle of it, he was called away for work. He called me ‘baby’ and asked me to wait for him.”

Yan Yan chattered on like an old-fashioned typewriter, and Jiang Li asked coldly, “So, you realized he really likes you, and then what? What’s the problem?”

Yan Yan usually exuded confidence, as if he could play with pursuers as he pleased and could del with various advances. But at this moment, he couldn’t even maintain his composure, revealing the confusion and helplessness in his heart.

“I think he wants to turn pretense into reality, and after a year, he won’t agree to a divorce.” Yan Yan lifted his head, looking at the glimmering lake that was like the glint from Zhuang Yiyun’s diamond earring.

On hearing this, Jiang Li finally understood where the problem lay and concluded for him, “But you just want to sleep with him, not date him.”

“I never seriously considered… I just want to have some fun and be done with it. Date him? He’s boring and a workaholic. He doesn’t go to bars, drink, or play games. We’re not from the same world. His work is so advanced that I don’t understand it at all. We have no common topics. When we’re together, all we can talk about is dirty jokes.”

“Isn’t talking dirty jokes enough?” Jiang Li retorted. “Do you dislike him, or are you just insecure, Yan Yan?”

“How could that be…”

Yan Yan suddenly remembered the first time he saw the photo of Zhuang Yiyun. His mother adamantly forbade him from harming Zhuang Yiyun. He had stored that screenshot in his phone and showed it to Jiang Li. It was an interview on a national TV station, but which program? He couldn’t recall because he had never cared. Zhuang Yiyun had never flaunted his knowledge or profession in front of him. However, he(Zhuang Yiyun) was indeed impressive, something he could never reach in his entire life.

But feeling inferior? That wasn’t the case.

He might not be as capable as Zhuang Yiyun, but his soul was much more interesting than Zhuang Yiyun’s. Zhuang Yiyun only knew how to work. Oh, no, he had now learned to tell dirty jokes.

“We’re not compatible,” Yan Yan reiterated and emphasized. He could pursue a man just because he looked handsome, but Zhuang Yiyun wouldn’t. Zhuang Yiyun had ignored him before, and when he changed his attitude, it wasn’t about finding a bed partner. It had proven that Zhuang Yiyun had developed genuine feelings for him.

Jiang Li didn’t speak. In her eyes, Yan Yan was acting foolish.

“You don’t know, Orange came to see me a few days ago. I rejected him, and then he… fuck, it’s embarrassing to think about it. He kept crying and happened to see Zhuang Yiyun kissing me…”

“If I reject Zhuang Yiyun, would he cry?”

“Why would you reject him?” Before Yan Yan could answer, Jiang Li seemed to know what he was going to say and continued, “Don’t talk about being incompatible. Do you even know what compatibility is? Aren’t you just all about whether it feels good or not, whether he’s handsome or not?”

“But he likes me. He definitely likes me more than Orange does.” Yan Yan recalled Zhuang Yiyun leaping from the helicopter, soaring like an eagle in the sky. He had a moment of crystal-clear realization— he didn’t want that eagle to lose its wings.

“I’m different from him. I just find him handsome… I’m not trying to deceive him, am I?”

“In that case, you like him.” Jiang Li immediately smacked his head. “The more he likes you, the more you like him. That’s it. Who says liking someone’s appearance isn’t liking? All levels of affection start from the face.”

Zhuang Yiyun’s affection was like a web, and when he discovered it, it surged toward him from all directions, leaving him bewildered and lost. Through his conversation with Jiang Li, the confusion slowly dissipated.

Jiang Li awakened him, and his once-gloomy eyes lit up again. He looked at Jiang Li, his spirit revived, like a dejected puppy regaining its energy.

He confirmed with a general question, “Really?”

“Yes.” Jiang Li nodded with unwavering confidence. They were the best of friends and had grown up together. At moments like this, she needed to provide unwavering support.

“I don’t like him yet.”

“Then take your time. You’re only twenty-one, he’s twenty-seven. He’s not in a rush, so why should you be? Just pretend you don’t know, let him pursue you!” Jiang Li laughed, “Yan Yan, it’s been ten years, and I finally see you acting so timid again. You’re all confident and strong, but in the end, you’re still that little guy when infront of me. I even suspect you were about to cry just now.”

In high school, Yan Yan was indeed a short boy who was bullied. It was Jiang Li and her brother Jiang Ye who protected him, preventing him from being bullied. If others mentioned these things and mocked him for being short, he would surely explode. But Jiang Li could say such things.

Moreover, he was filled with joy now, and was not bothered by emotional conflicts anymore. He felt relaxed in body and mind.

Feeling liberated, he raised his voice and spoke his mind without reservation, “Jiang Lili, how can a perpetually single expert like you be so knowledgeable about love! You’re amazing!”

Jiang Li: “…” ‘Thank you for reminding me of my perpetually single status! Damn it, whoever has to deal with your mouth is unlucky!’

The author has something to say:

In the whole wide world, only Jiang Li managed to get hurt.