The Gloomy Overseas Student Rewards His Hubby With Some Thirst Traps - Chapter 54

Chapter 54

The instant noodles Yu Yanshuang had bought were ultimately set aside.

Because Yu Yanshuang refused to go out for Christmas, Sain ordered food delivery from a restaurant. Sain went downstairs to pick it up himself; Yu Yanshuang refused to let anyone appear at the dormitory door.

This “state of high alert” was truly strange.

Halfway through the meal, Yu Yanshuang insisted, “I’m doing this out of patriotism. I simply don’t celebrate Christmas. I refuse any behavior that looks like celebrating it.”

Sain didn’t expose him. In photos from last Christmas, Yu Yanshuang had been running around everywhere wearing a Santa hat.

“Have you thought it through?” Sain didn’t have much of an appetite and ate sparingly. He watched as Yu Yanshuang finished eating, looking like he was ready to accept any price or any form of revenge Yu wanted to dish out.

Yu Yanshuang patted his stomach. The warm food tasted good, though he hadn’t had instant noodles in a while and still craved that specific flavor. Sain, being a foreigner, wasn’t used to Chinese food. So, for the first point of revenge, Yu Yanshuang held up one finger: “Point one: from now on, you must eat the same Chinese food as me every day.”

Sain didn’t care much about culinary pleasures and felt somewhat helpless. “Baby, that’s not revenge at all.”

“Point two! Don’t call me ‘Baby’.”

“Fine, little master.”

“Point three! Don’t call me by any of those titles! Call me by my name.”

Sain lifted his gaze toward Yu Yanshuang across the table, his lips curling into a smirk. “Shuangshuang.”

Yu Yanshuang shuddered at the cloying sweetness and immediately said, “Full name!”

Sain patted his thigh. “Yu Yanshuang, come sit over here and say it.”

“Don’t…”

Somehow, hearing his full name felt even more terrifying. Sain sat there with total composure; after his reputation had soured, he made no effort to hide the fact that he wasn’t a gentleman. The aura of a man in power became even more apparent. Hearing that deep voice call his full name made Yu Yanshuang want to run immediately.

Since there was no sofa in Sain’s dorm, he could only jump off the stool and collapse onto the bed in the bedroom. The lights weren’t on in there. Yu Yanshuang’s voice drifted out: “You should just call me: Yu.”

Sain followed him in without turning on the light. Only a tiny bit of warm yellow light from the living room cast into the bedroom. Yu Yanshuang hid in the shadows where the light couldn’t reach, trying not to reveal his slight nervousness.

Sain stood at the doorway against the light, his silhouette appearing even taller and more imposing, his expression unreadable. “Yu, continue.”

Yu Yanshuang had a feeling that the more obedient Sain acted, the more miserable he would be later. He said nervously, “Fourth, we cannot have… relations.”

Sain entered the room, precisely catching that slender, fragile ankle in the corner of the bed and pulling the boy toward him. He leaned down, bracing himself on either side of Yu. “Yu, that’s so cruel?”

Yu Yanshuang swallowed. He couldn’t see Sain’s expression clearly and felt tense. “If you don’t do it, I’ll go…”

Sain’s thumb pressed precisely against Yu Yanshuang’s lips. Even in the dark, he could see Yu’s trembling eyelashes clearly. He whispered, “I’ll listen to you.” He gently rubbed Yu’s lips, but his tone turned cold and heavy: “But don’t you dare say that sentence again.”

Yu Yanshuang’s eyes widened slightly. That sentence is actually so useful… something is really wrong with Sain…

“Fifth point: no kissing me, no hugging me. Now, get off me. Go turn on the light!” Yu Yanshuang’s courage began to grow.

“Kiss me once, and I’ll turn it on,” Sain said, letting go of Yu and rolling over to lie on his back. The spring mattress creaked and swayed.

Yu Yanshuang reached out sideways, grabbing Sain’s arm. “You said you’d listen to me!”

His eyes finally adjusted to the darkness. He could see Sain’s features—the deep brow, high bridge of the nose, and the faint smile. Those deep grey eyes were watching him with a rare tenderness.

Seeing Sain actually move to turn on the light, Yu Yanshuang suddenly felt more nervous and gripped Sain’s sleeve tighter. Sain had changed into soft, comfortable home clothes; the fabric under Yu’s palm felt incredibly smooth.

“What is it?” Sain leaned in a bit closer.

Their breaths intermingled. Yu Yanshuang instinctively pulled back a bit, looking down. “Don’t turn it on.”

“Continue?” Sain asked, arching an eyebrow. He waited patiently for Yu Yanshuang to be willing to reach out, even just a little.

“Are… are you really going to take over all the Bath family industries?” Yu Yanshuang asked curiously. It was the second time he’d asked.

Sain keenly sensed that Yu was overly curious about this. He said patiently, “What do you want to know?”

Yu Yanshuang unconsciously picked at Sain’s shirt as if trying to poke a hole in it. “Are you going to take a year off from school?” He hadn’t expected the consequences to be so severe that Sain would lose his chance to study. He’d heard Sain missed all his finals, and someone saw Sain’s assistant in the Dean’s office, seemingly processing a leave of absence. Yu Yanshuang knew how important education was; he wouldn’t even have come to America if it wasn’t for school.

But he couldn’t figure out why exactly Sain was taking a leave. Was it to handle the business? Or were things so difficult he had to drop everything else?

Sain blinked slowly, his eyes never leaving Yu Yanshuang. “Are you… worried about me?”

“Is that the point? I’m not worried about you! I want to know how you take over such a huge industry. Once I learn, I can snatch it away and take my revenge!” Yu Yanshuang gave Sain a push.

Sain fell back onto the bed, grabbing Yu’s wrist. Yu Yanshuang accidentally tumbled into Sain’s arms. He immediately struggled to leave, but Sain held his shoulders. “I’ll tell you everything.”

At that, Yu Yanshuang perked up his ears. He stopped struggling and lay on Sain’s chest, looking down at him with curiosity.

“Initially, I just wanted to drive away the annoying branch families,” Sain’s deep voice vibrated, making Yu’s fingertips feel numb. “But a new era has arrived. The people in the Bath family might all be sick—a third of them are gay. They realized the heir is also gay, but unlike Ash, I didn’t give up my inheritance. I chose to fight the old men for it.”

Sain just had to offer a few scraps, and those who had been suppressed by the main branch fought like soldiers for him. The “soft bones” were easily crushed, but the “hard bones” were a bit more trouble.

Sain downplayed the details: “Some branch families aren’t bad. I used some people, and now I’m close to taking it all. The Bath family has lost a lot, and so have I, but none of that matters.”

Yu Yanshuang leaned in closer. “Then what matters most?”

Sain’s lips curled slightly. “I want to graduate with you.”

“……”

Yu Yanshuang pushed Sain away hard and said with a stiff face, “Sain, you’re acting very ‘gay’ today.”

Sain propped himself up, looking at Yu Yanshuang sitting cross-legged beside him. In the near darkness, Yu’s skin was so white it seemed to emit a soft glow. Sain could see him clearly: the flash of his slender waist as he moved, his delicate wrists as he gestured, his pink fingertips as he pointed.

“Is that so? Actually, if you kiss me, I might even transfer all my assets to your name,” Sain leaned in, staring at Yu Yanshuang, who was too embarrassed to look back.

Yu Yanshuang leaned back on the bed, creating distance. “Sixth! No saying such disgusting things!”

“Understood, little Yu. I am not allowed to flirt with you.”

Yu Yanshuang rubbed his ears; they felt burning hot. He almost wanted to run out of the room. Sain was being too obedient; it felt wrong.

Because he was leaning back, his ankles were swinging right in front of Sain. Sain caught his ankle again, as if sensing Yu’s intent to flee. Yu Yanshuang kicked at Sain’s arm—though to Sain, it felt more like a flirtatious nudge.

“So you really are taking a leave of absence?”

Sain’s expression sobered. “Yes. It wasn’t caused by your leak; it was my own choice.”

Yu Yanshuang muttered, “Who cares if it has to do with me… Then… did you really install listening software on the priest’s phone?”

Sain answered without changing his expression, “No, I don’t have time to learn such low-class methods.” Li Longxiao installed the software; it had nothing to do with him.

“Fine, I thought I’d hear some juicy gossip,” Yu Yanshuang said with a hint of regret, though his face turned a bit cold. Lately, the Bath family secrets had been exploding: stealing a father’s lover, being cheated on, brothers within three generations being together. Many said Sain had installed bugs everywhere.

Sain gave a light laugh. “You’ve asked me so much. My turn: why are you hiding in your dorm for Christmas?”

Yu Yanshuang immediately retracted his ankle. “None of your business. Ninth: I am the only one allowed to ask questions. You are not allowed to probe into my affairs!”

“Yu, you’re so cruel.”

“Hmph,” Yu Yanshuang tilted his chin up.

A faint, restrained smile appeared on Sain’s face. In just this short time with Yu Yanshuang, he had smiled more than he had in weeks spent dealing with violent, gloomy family matters. He felt almost all his frustration lift.

Silence fell for a moment.

Yu Yanshuang suddenly leaned close to Sain until their noses nearly touched. They had been in the dark long enough that they could see each other’s expressions clearly. Yu Yanshuang clenched his fists, trying to keep his voice from sounding weak. “Sain, are you very happy that I’m being so easily coaxed by you?”

Sain froze.

Yu Yanshuang continued, “Sain, what will happen to those branch families you’re using once you have total control of the Bath family? Will they be discarded and destroyed like your enemies, never to be looked at again?”

No matter how little he understood, the recent news was full of accusations about how cold-blooded and ruthless Sain was. The elders who had built the Bath empire with Old Bath had been kicked out without mercy. Old Bath, despite no longer believing in Christianity, had never wavered on his loyalty to these people—that was why Ash had given up the fight, because Old Bath still had a spark of genuine feeling. But Old Bath still chose his grandson because his grandson was sharp and unstoppable.

“Are you just coaxing me? Letting me think I’m ‘revenging’ you so I won’t leave, only for you to discard me without mercy once you’re bored?”

Yu Yanshuang’s voice involuntarily carried a hint of a tremble and a sob. He had told himself not to be afraid of being abandoned anymore, that he had his own things now. But admitting his fear felt so pathetic.

“You caught me, Yu,” Sain laughed softly. “You started lying to me the moment we got into the dark? Pretending to be coaxed?”

So that was the ‘carrot.’ He thought his Yu Yanshuang had been won over because every time he spoke of revenge, it felt so sweet that Sain never wanted to break the illusion. It seemed his Yu Yanshuang had learned well and grown up quickly. That was good. Darkness really does allow for a perfect disguise.

“Yes. You’re too obedient. It’s not like you at all. How could you possibly agree to not sleep with me!”

Darkness also makes people honest. Yu Yanshuang was following his grandmother’s advice: always assume the worst of Sain.

Yu Yanshuang leaned even closer, pressing him. “Sain, tell me honestly: did you put listening software on my phone? Don’t lie to me, or you know what will happen.” Did he know Yu Yanshuang was going to use Grandmother’s method to threaten him, and that’s why he was playing along?

Sain’s expression hardened. He reached up and grasped Yu Yanshuang’s fragile neck, holding him firmly so he couldn’t pull away.

“Yes, Yu. I am exactly that kind of hypocritical, insidious, cold-blooded person.” Sain’s voice was almost icy. “They say I have an antisocial personality—that I’m a monster pretending to be normal, without a shred of emotion. So what?” His voice was dark and determined: “You are the only man I’ve ever been interested in in my short life. Don’t think for a second I will ever grow tired of you. Even if you hurt me deeply, I will never let go.”

“Then what about the other things Grandmother said? You heard those too?” Yu Yanshuang asked suddenly, gathering the courage to look Sain in the eye.

Sain knew. He knew Yu Yanshuang wouldn’t actually kill himself, yet he was willing to be threatened by it.

And Yu Yanshuang had been happy being coaxed by him.

Sain’s eyes were dark as he stared back without blinking. “Do you not care that I’m that kind of person?” The always-composed Sain actually sounded a bit nervous.

Grandmother had also said: Sain wants your love now, so his self-esteem forces him to be proud. If he keeps acting like this, he will lose you.

Their heavy breaths mingled. They could smell each other—a familiar scent, as they had exchanged it countless times.

In the dark, Yu Yanshuang whispered, “I’ve known you were that kind of person for a long time. I was the one who was going to expose you, and now everyone knows.” However, curiosity got the better of him. He reached out to touch Sain’s ear and murmured, “Sain, your ear really is so hot.”

Grandmother had also said: Shuangshuang, you don’t seem to hate Sain. You even focus on him unconsciously. But are you always uneasy because you’re afraid if you admit you like him, he’ll abandon you like the Yu family did? Back then, she had patted his head and said: But Shuangshuang, we all like you. It was the Yu family’s mistake to abandon you. Don’t be afraid. Move forward.

They had both heard what she said. They had heard her say: I really hope you two can be a different kind of couple.

“Will we be different?” Yu Yanshuang asked softly—asking Sain, and asking himself.

The darkness seemed to amplify everything: their breathing, their gaze, their body heat, and the feelings hidden beneath their words. The darkness also gave them security; the truth they were too ashamed to admit or too afraid to give seemed to have a safety net here.

No one spoke. Sain let Yu Yanshuang touch his burning ear.

Seconds? Minutes? Hours? No one knew or cared. There was only the other person. Even though their vision was blurred by the dark, it was so clear it felt like they could see into each other’s hearts.

Finally, Sain leaned in first. Before kissing Yu Yanshuang, he said slowly in a deep voice: “You had me at hello, and forever.”

Yu Yanshuang replied before meeting that fierce, burning kiss: “I wanted to destroy you the first moment I saw you.”

“I know, my Yu Yanshuang.”

Sain kissed him passionately. The clock struck the hour. A new year was beginning, and everything would be different.

【THE END】