Bone-Attached Disaster - Chapter 47:

Chapter 47: Heartbeat

Lu Jie backed away, his upper thighs leaning against the desk. He gripped the desk edge with both hands for support, otherwise, he felt he would collapse.

The hands he thought about day and night were now holding somewhere else, but Lu Jie felt his life was being clenched. He glanced down, couldn’t bear the sight, and tilted his head back, his neck muscles bulging into a perfect line.

Fu Jia’an didn’t stop, chasing him to kiss him, which Lu Jie, of course, couldn’t refuse. His mouth was already half-open, dry inside, and he gasped for oxygen with heavy breaths. Fu Jia’an’s kiss was somewhat elusive, lightly landing on the corner of his mouth, his philtrum, a quick roll of the tongue, then pulling away quickly. Lu Jie swallowed hard, lifting a hand to cup the back of Fu Jia’an’s neck, pulling him back for a fiercer, more prolonged kiss.

A few minutes later, they separated. Fu Jia’an muttered to himself, “Is that not enough?”

Before Lu Jie could figure out what he meant, Fu Jia’an knelt down.

His gaze dropped. Lu Jie met Fu Jia’an’s eyes from below. A blush spread across the fair skin, creeping down from his cheeks. The loose V-neck of his pajamas extended into a deep view. However, the warm light from the study lamp only reached a little below his collarbone. The rest was hidden in the shadow. Because it was unseen, it was even more tempting, drawing him towards the abyss…

Lu Jie cursed under his breath but couldn’t move his eyes. Perhaps his psychological defenses had lowered after the earlier conversation, making the defense for certain other things even weaker. The moment he was enveloped, Lu Jie gave in.

The feeling was too overwhelming; every cell in his cerebral cortex was utterly delighted. After a moment, Lu Jie remembered to pull out some tissues and hand them to Fu Jia’an.

“I’m sorry…”

He covered his face, feeling disgusted with his impulsive, animalistic self, and for exposing such a desperate state of arousal. Perhaps what he hated more was that he had messed up Fu Jia’an like this, leaving a mess on such a beautiful face, yet he felt a kind of unprecedented stimulation and developed even more excessive thoughts.

Fu Jia’an, however, laughed. “What are you sorry for? This is what I wanted to do too.”

Just that one sentence made all the rationality in Lu Jie’s brain fly away. He picked up Fu Jia’an and sat him on the desk. Documents and notebooks scattered on the floor. The sketchpad, where every page held a secret, lay open, pages automatically fluttering.

Fu Jia’an sat higher up, a head above Lu Jie. Lu Jie had often been grateful for his few centimeters of height advantage, but now he didn’t care. He stretched his neck to kiss Fu Jia’an, letting the other remain high above while he held his own stars and moon.

Lu Jie returned the favor he had just received from Fu Jia’an. He gripped the heat, feeling himself tighten up again.

Lu Jie worked at it for a while, eventually forgetting even to kiss, fully focused, until Fu Jia’an finally reached his climax. Fu Jia’an seemed exhausted. His legs hung down, his top slid to one side. He rested against Lu Jie’s shoulder, his chest rising and falling, clearly still in the throes of the afterglow.

“Hey, Lu Jie.”

“Hmm?” Lu Jie was still a bit dazed, looking at what was in his palm.

“Let’s go further.”

“……”

Fu Jia’an’s voice in his ear was like a spell, and also like a fiery confession: “I want you.”

Lu Jie didn’t answer but responded to Fu Jia’an with action. Following his impulse, he pulled him down, turned him 180 degrees, and pinned him on the desk. Fu Jia’an didn’t struggle, tacitly agreeing.

Lu Jie had even agonized over who would be on top before, but now that the moment arrived, everything felt so natural. He used his finger to explore. Fu Jia’an remained motionless, his ears getting even redder. Just as Lu Jie was about to push forward…

The apartment door rang.

“Jia’an?”

“Lu Jie?”

Two voices called from the doorway.

“Are they asleep?”

“No way, the living room light is still on.”

Because the study door was closed, light seeped out from underneath the door gap, allowing Jiang Yan to guess someone was definitely inside. He was about to knock, but before his hand touched the door, it opened.

Lu Jie walked out, looking somewhat sleepy. His sweatpants dragged on the floor, covering his slippers, making his legs look even longer. He put one hand in his pocket, yawning widely as he asked, “Why are you back?”

Jiang Yan didn’t answer, lifting his chin to look inside. “Where’s Jia’an?”

Lu Jie turned and closed the door, saying naturally, “He’s inside looking at documents. Let’s not disturb him for now.”

Shen Rufēi appeared too, slowly saying, “And you were in the room to…?”

Lu Jie raised his other hand. “Grab a book.”

Seeing that the two at the door had no intention of leaving, Lu Jie said, “Then I’ll go back to my room first.”

Lu Jie returned to his room, and not long after, Fu Jia’an opened the door. He looked slightly surprised to see Jiang Yan and Shen Rufēi. “Why are you suddenly both home?”

“We brought late-night snacks,” Shen Rufēi didn’t mention Zhan Qionglou or Fu Jia’an’s recent stressful days, acting as if they had merely dropped by to bring their brother some food.

“Really? I’m hungry,” Fu Jia’an walked towards the dining area. “What did you bring…”

“Don’t you think there’s something off about them?” Jiang Yan secretly asked Shen Rufēi. “Their relationship suddenly improved; they can even chat behind closed doors.”

“Was it purely chatting?” Shen Rufēi smiled, looking at Jiang Yan like a child. “You little fool.”

Lu Jie was eventually called out to eat the late-night snack. He washed his face quickly in his room and took a quick cold shower before coming out. As he sat down, he was thankful he was wearing sweatpants earlier… otherwise, no matter how hard he tried to act calm, it would have been immediately obvious something was wrong.

In those brief few seconds in the study, he and Fu Jia’an had reached a tacit understanding: keep their relationship a secret for now. It wasn’t that they thought Shen Rufēi or Jiang Yan couldn’t accept it; they simply didn’t want the two to enjoy the drama any more than necessary.

Shen Rufēi had ordered three or four dishes, all of which Fu Jia’an loved. It was obvious he had come specifically to check on his brother, but he didn’t mention the hospital.

Lu Jie suddenly realized that no matter how worried Shen Rufēi was, he wouldn’t truly interfere with Fu Jia’an’s decisions. In a situation like this, he was just there to accompany his brother. He suddenly felt a little envious, imagining how his life might have been less suffocating if he had siblings.

He also found an explanation for his inexplicable hostility towards Shen Rufēi.

Lu Jie felt jealous—jealous that Shen Rufēi had been able to stay by Fu Jia’an’s side in the closest relationship all these years.

“We plan to move back in,” Jiang Yan said while sipping a cola.

“This is your home,” Lu Jie replied. “Of course, you can come back whenever you want.” Lu Jie knew they had returned specifically to look after Fu Jia’an. Bringing a late-night snack wasn’t enough; they had to keep an eye on him from morning to night.

Living together as four was certainly… warm, but Lu Jie started thinking about buying a house in the future.

Shen Rufēi, however, was adept at finding the main point. “So, have you two gotten along better recently? Lu Jie often went to the hospital to see Jia’an. I ran into him this week.”

Sure enough, as soon as Shen Rufēi mentioned it, Jiang Yan immediately went into gossip mode.

“What do you say?” Fu Jia’an propped up his chin, flirtatiously teasing Lu Jie. “The surgery is over. Will your humanitarian concern continue?”

Lu Jie played along naturally, feigning indifference: “Wouldn’t it be better if we just got along peacefully from now on?”

“No.”

“….”

“Alright, you two stop fighting,” Shen Rufēi waved his hand to interrupt the topic, raising his glass. “Lu Jie, thanks again for bringing Jia’an home today.”

Lu Jie politely clinked his glass and replied, “It was nothing, no need for thanks.”

After dinner, Shen Rufēi and Jiang Yan cleaned up the dining room, practically pushing Lu Jie and Fu Jia’an back into their respective rooms. The two who wished to cling to each other every second were forcibly separated.

As soon as he lay down on his bedroom bed, Lu Jie received a message.

It was a photo—a close-up of a red mark left on his collarbone by a certain person. Although only a small patch was captured, Lu Jie could easily imagine the marks and bruises further down on the porcelain-white skin.

Looking back, he realized he had been a little reckless, but Fu Jia’an probably wasn’t trying to complain. Lu Jie waited for the rest of his messageOnly noticed the mark here when I got back

Do you think they’ll notice?

Lu Jie internally chuckled: [Are you afraid they’ll notice?]

Lu Jie: [You’re just determined not to let me get a good night’s sleep, right?]

The person on the other side was typing for a long time, but nothing was sent. He could imagine the other person smiling smugly through the screen. So, asking Lu Jie to return his phone before going upstairs was just to send this…

Although they were officially together, Fu Jia’an’s habit of pulling occasional pranks hadn’t changed.

However, Lu Jie realized that he actually liked this about him… even being a little obsessed.

This feeling of obsession could be traced back to the year he first met Fu Jia’an. At that time, Lu Jie had wondered more than once why fate always put them at odds, why every time they almost became friends, a new reason, a new rift, would open up between them.

Now he somewhat understood. It was because he had always cared deeply about Fu Jia’an.

Caring leads to rivalry, resentment, and an inability to let go.

Thinking back to his conversation with Fu Jia’an today, Lu Jie couldn’t help but feel deeply moved. He had confronted things buried deep in his heart, and that motivation and courage were given to him by Fu Jia’an.

Everyone eventually realizes at a certain age that liking and feeling a rush of emotion are the greatest luxuries, and curiosity and the urge to explore are the unique magic that young people use to navigate the world. In the adult world, you have to pretend to be a Muggle to fit in.

Yet, despite this, he still wanted to try. Falling asleep to the sound of his heart pounding—the feeling was unsettling but made him look forward to the next morning even more.

Before sleeping, Lu Jie sent a message to Lu He:

Dad, if you ever find something you want to do, you must tell me.