The Sweet Scent of a Dream

Xu Yi felt a little bewildered. It was rare for someone to transfer so much money after only knowing him for two days.

Could it be that Lu Xingyan genuinely liked his online persona?

Xu Yi came from an ordinary, even somewhat poor, family. After his parents’ accidental deaths, the insurance company paid out a substantial sum, which barely allowed him to support himself.

In his free time, he would leverage his talent for voice impersonation, working as a gaming companion to earn some pocket money.

During winter and summer breaks, he would even take on monthly contracts. If he was lucky and the client was generous, he could earn tens of thousands a month.

However, it was highly unusual for an online romantic interest to transfer such a large sum right off the bat.

Where had Lu Xingyan learned to act like such an overbearing CEO?

After a moment of hesitation, Xu Yi still accepted the money.

“What do you take me for?”

“I’m sorry, I thought this would make you a little happier.”

Xu Yi frowned. In this regard, Lu Xingyan’s apparent simplicity made him feel a pang of guilt.

But then, a thought struck him. Perhaps the other party frequently spent money on women, and a mere thousand yuan was nothing to a rich second-generation heir.

It was likely just a trivial sum to appease a woman.

Xu Yi knew when to stop, but he didn’t appear overly enthusiastic. He scrolled through his photo album, having taken numerous pictures during the holidays specifically to deal with men once school started.

He spent a few seconds selecting a photo of himself lying in bed. This way, it was impossible to tell if he was at home or school.

He wore loose pajamas, and his reclining posture caused the wide neckline of his T-shirt to reveal half a shoulder and a hint of his collarbone.

Xu Yi understood perfectly what men liked to see. This half-concealed, half-revealed look was far more alluring than outright exposure.

“photo.jpg I’m going to sleep.”

“You wear such revealing clothes in your dorm room too?”

“They’re all girls, and this is just a normal T-shirt, what’s wrong with it? Can’t you be less of a country bumpkin?”

“I’m worried you’ll catch a cold.”

Even in the darkness, Xu Yi couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Was he casting pearls before swine?

“Can you stop pretending to care so much about me? Don’t tell me you don’t like looking.”

“I’m not pretending.”

“You can only show me.”

Xu Yi looked at the two latest messages that popped up, his lips unconsciously curving into a smile.

The moment he realized it, he immediately frowned again.

‘They’ve only known each other for a few days, yet he acts as if he genuinely likes me.’

‘Everyone is just driven by lust.’

Xu Yi pursed his lips, growing even more certain that the other party was a playboy from a wealthy family, an old sea king, to be so adept at saying such ambiguous words.

He would never like such a person.

Xu Yi felt a little displeased and retorted sharply.

“Who are you to me, to be so nosy?”

Then he turned off his phone, deciding not to reply. He tugged at his blanket, leaving only his eyes exposed, and unconsciously stared at the door.

About ten minutes later, Lu Xingyan entered the dorm room, bringing with him a trace of the corridor’s muggy heat, then headed straight for the bathroom.

A faint sound of water emanated from within.

Xu Yi found it strange. Hadn’t the other party already showered? Was he doing something while looking at his photo?

Xu Yi’s curiosity gnawed at him. He couldn’t resist glancing at his phone.

After he hadn’t replied, Lu Xingyan had only sent one message.

“Darling, don’t you like it?”

Xu Yi suddenly felt that Lu Xingyan was quite calculating. Even though he had waited outside for so long without a reply, he didn’t send a barrage of messages like those ‘lickspittles’ would.

It avoided making people feel impatient. The message content was intimate, yet his demeanor was very measured.

Xu Yi pondered for a moment, then quietly slipped out of bed. He was too eager to know what Lu Xingyan was doing.

Xu Yi deliberately pretended to have just woken up, unaware that someone was in the bathroom. He yawned as he pushed open the bathroom door.

Cool mist enveloped him. Was Lu Xingyan taking a cold shower? The moment this thought sparked in Xu Yi’s mind, he instinctively glanced down towards the other party’s waist.

‘So… so big.’

****

Lu Xingyan had been consumed by a wave of desire after seeing that deliberately seductive photo. Yet, little Yi had teased him and then vanished.

‘Could they have fallen asleep?’

Feeling a surge of discomfort, Lu Xingyan decided to take a cold shower to calm himself down. He had just turned on the water and hadn’t yet managed to compose himself when the door was abruptly pushed open.

While showering together was a perfectly normal occurrence for boys, it was a different matter entirely when something stood at attention.

Anyone would feel awkward. Lu Xingyan was somewhat annoyed, and he saw it was none other than Xu Yi, whose temper was notoriously bad.

Before he could speak, he noticed that Xu Yi’s face was even redder than his own. And their gaze was fixed intently on *that* area.

‘Is this a normal man’s reaction? Could he be gay?’

For some reason, Lu Xingyan suddenly found himself intrigued. He turned around, making no attempt to conceal anything. “What’s wrong? Are you envious?”

“You can’t take your eyes off it.”

Xu Yi seemed to snap back to reality, the pink blush on his cheeks making him resemble a ripe peach. He looked incredibly soft to the touch.

Noting the panic in the other’s eyes, Lu Xingyan deliberately took a step forward. “We’re all men. Why be shy?”

Xu Yi’s beautiful eyebrows furrowed. He turned his face away, clearly uncomfortable, and said with disgust, “Are you a pervert? A blatant exhibitionist.”

Lu Xingyan curved his lips and casually pulled down the towel hanging nearby, wrapping it around his waist. Yet, the prominent bulge was still visible.

He propped his hand against the bathroom door frame, in a stance that almost encircled the smaller Xu Yi. “You don’t… like men, do you?”

“Are you sick?!” Xu Yi seemed provoked, abruptly pushing Lu Xingyan. However, Lu Xingyan, who had a habit of working out, remained completely unmoving.

He had to lower his head to see Xu Yi’s expression. Xu Yi’s face was even redder, even the collarbone peeking out from his pajamas had a faint pink hue.

‘Wearing such loose pajamas. Just like little Yi. Who is he showing it to?’

Xu Yi seemed to sense his gaze and instinctively looked up. Their eyes met, and Lu Xingyan saw Xu Yi’s pupils visibly contract for a moment, just like a startled kitten.

“Stop disgusting me,” Xu Yi said, almost grinding his teeth. He took a step back, making himself appear less like he was in Lu Xingyan’s embrace.

The faint strawberry scent on the other’s body drifted away with his movement, and Lu Xingyan actually felt a touch of loss. He had just realized that from that angle, Xu Yi was unexpectedly a little cute.

Lu Xingyan recalled a video from a pet blogger he’d seen online: a kitten glaring angrily at its owner, yet the comments section called it ‘adorable’ when a small creature threw a tantrum. ‘Just like this guy, Xu Yi,’ Lu Xingyan mused inwardly.

“Brother Yan? Little Yi? What are you two doing so late at night?”

Li Yuan’s bunk was right next to the bathroom. Although separated by the balcony wall, Xu Yi’s urgent voice just now had not been quiet. It had clearly woken him up.

Before Xu Yi could speak, Lu Xingyan, with good humor, said, “Did we wake you? We were just discussing some philosophical matters.”

“Oh, oh… no, it’s fine, I sleep really well…”

Li Yuan’s words trailed off, and he seemed to have fallen back into an unconscious sleep.

Lu Xingyan looked at Xu Yi. Seeing the other party nervously let out a sigh of relief, he found it quite amusing.

“See, you woke him up. He’ll think you deliberately peeked at me showering.”

Xu Yi glared at him indignantly, then turned to leave. “Weren’t you going to the toilet? Were you deliberately peeking at me showering?” Lu Xingyan’s question wasn’t teasing this time; he was genuinely puzzled. It was past lights out; what was he doing in the bathroom if not to use the toilet?

“You got me all wet, I can’t hold it anymore,” Xu Yi grumbled. “Wet where?” Lu Xingyan instinctively asked, then suddenly realized his words were a little… ‘I’ve talked too much dirty with little Yi; my mind is full of lewd thoughts.’

Seeing Xu Yi’s incredulous gaze, Lu Xingyan felt a bit awkward. He cleared his throat. “I’ll mop it up. Wait a moment.”

With that, Lu Xingyan went to grab the mop and cleaned up the water in the bathroom. Xu Yi waited obediently at the door, then entered with the air of a spoiled young master, as if it were his right.

‘He really doesn’t like to say thank you.’

Lu Xingyan returned to his bed, his body already tired from the cold shower before sleep. He pulled up little Yi’s singing clip, set it to loop, and quickly drifted off to sleep. Perhaps it was little Yi’s sexy singing, but Lu Xingyan had a rare dream.

The scene in his dream was much purer than their daytime conversations. Lu Xingyan was simply walking hand-in-hand with little Yi on campus. Since he hadn’t seen little Yi’s face, Lu Xingyan was led by the other party throughout the dream.

He could only see the back of their head. Little Yi was still wearing the small halter top and ultra-short shorts from the guitar-playing video, which were pulled taut, making their bottom round and perky.

Their legs seemed even thinner than in that photo, fitting the upper body picture even better. Lu Xingyan had never seen the other’s full body, yet the back view in his dream felt strangely familiar.

Until little Yi slightly turned their head. Lu Xingyan saw a familiar face: his ornamental roommate. The beautiful, yet annoying, face suited such a figure perfectly.

For a moment, Lu Xingyan even thought that perhaps little Yi really looked like this. Xu Yi stopped in a corner and smiled sweetly at him. Lu Xingyan’s gaze lingered uncontrollably on the other’s pink, soft lips.

Xu Yi seemed to read his mind, intimately raising a hand to hook around Lu Xingyan’s neck, then stood on tiptoes and kissed him. ‘So proactive.’

Lu Xingyan, who had never been close to the opposite s*x, felt his heart race. He couldn’t help but close his eyes, almost completely immersed in the rich, sweet strawberry milk scent that was cloyingly sweet.

“Monkey King! Monkey King! You’re truly incredible!~~

The loud, chaotic noise jolted Lu Xingyan awake. Opening his eyes, the face of Xu Yi, which had been so close, was gone.

Instead, he saw his plain bed curtain. Lu Xingyan’s gaze was still a bit dazed, his nose seemingly still lingering with the cloyingly sweet scent from his dream.

‘What boy uses strawberry milk-scented shower gel? It’s sickeningly sweet.’

‘No, I clearly dreamed of little Yi; I just didn’t know what they looked like, so I haphazardly put on the face of the person I had a conflict with yesterday. The scent was just something I smelled before bed.’

“Monkey King! Monkey King! You are truly rare!”

“Even with the Golden Fillet spell, it won’t change Sun Wukong’s true nature!”

The alarm’s ringing grew louder, bringing Lu Xingyan fully back to his senses. He expressionlessly pulled back the curtain and saw Li Yuan fumbling down the ladder on the opposite bunk.

“Sorry about that!” Li Yuan finally picked up the phone on his desk that was blaring the stirring alarm. “I forgot to turn off my alarm when I charged it last night.”

Lu Xingyan rubbed his aching temples, probably from the strange dream he had last night, which made him sleep poorly. “It’s fine.”

As he spoke, he realized his voice was a little hoarse, and he felt somewhat muggy and damp. Only then did Lu Xingyan feel the stickiness of his clothes, his expression suddenly stiffening. He didn’t lie back down.

He was now completely awake.