Afterward, An Zi Yan somehow managed to get Mai Ding’s wages back. The biggest winner in the whole incident might have been Sister Hua. Gao Guo, whom she disliked, was gone. The manager and his wife were in the middle of a divorce, and Sister Hua comforted the manager every day while he was at his most miserable. Maybe she would become the next manager’s wife. It was possible she had planned all of this, but Mai Ding did not want to imagine human nature as quite that wicked. Back then, Sister Hua could have simply stood aside and waited to see what happened, yet she still spoke up to help him, which was effectively admitting that she herself had been the source of the rumors.
Forget it. Mai Ding shook his head. He shamelessly went back to school, since nobody cared anyway. Graduation was approaching, so it was a good time to return and work on his graduation project, and he could spend more time with An Zi Yan too. Thinking that, he turned his head to look at An Zi Yan sleeping beside him, wriggled up against his back, and draped one leg over An Zi Yan’s. “Wake up.”
An Zi Yan did not react. Mai Ding would have found it stranger if he had. He pushed him. “Time to get up. Did you hear me? Laziness is the behavior I despise most.” An Zi Yan frowned and made a sleepy, irritated sound. “When I got up early that day, I didn’t see you encouraging me.”
“Getting up early is what you’re supposed to do. What, you want me to give you a little red flower and throw you a party to celebrate waking up?”
An Zi Yan stopped answering and fell asleep again. Mai Ding’s eyes shifted as an idea occurred to him. He slipped under the blanket and moved between An Zi Yan’s legs. Sure enough, An Zi Yan woke before long. He reached down and rested a hand on Mai Ding’s head, his fingers sinking into Mai Ding’s hair.
A comfortable breath escaped An Zi Yan. Mai Ding’s warm lips enclosed his erection, moving over it as small, embarrassed sounds occasionally escaped him. He lifted one corner of the blanket, saw that An Zi Yan was awake, blushed, and slowly released him, wiping the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. “S-since you’re awake now, get up. We need to go to school.”
Mai Ding started to climb out of bed, but An Zi Yan caught him, moved quickly, and rolled him beneath himself. “You think I’m going to let you leave?”
“We’ll be late!” Mai Ding had only intended to wake An Zi Yan up, not follow things all the way through. His simple brain had thought of the method without considering the consequences. His protest went completely ignored as An Zi Yan kissed lightly along his neck and collarbone.
“No!” One hundred percent determined. An Zi Yan’s hand slipped beneath the hem of Mai Ding’s clothes, moving slowly over his skin. Mai Ding bit his lower lip as the warmth traveled upward.
“No.” Ninety percent determined. Apparently Mai Ding’s commitment to attending class was still rather strong. He truly was a good student. His resolve had only shaken a tiny bit.
An Zi Yan’s lips moved to Mai Ding’s ear. He caught the earlobe lightly, his low, husky voice destroying the last of Mai Ding’s resistance. “Mai Ding, I want you. Now.”
Zero percent determined. His resolve had collapsed far too severely. Instantly overwhelmed by An Zi Yan, Mai Ding could no longer refuse that voice or his own desire. Perhaps hearing An Zi Yan speak alone was enough to bring him to climax. With his eyes closed, every touch became even more sensitive. In a daze, his hands clenched the pillow when An Zi Yan suddenly entered him; his body repeatedly rocked forward and back, and his legs bent unconsciously.
His broken sounds changed with the rhythm.
Pleasure surged up from deep inside him until reason and thought disappeared. Mai Ding arched and cried An Zi Yan’s name, then his voice gradually weakened. His still-trembling body was covered by An Zi Yan’s, and An Zi Yan bent down to kiss his hair.
After enjoying himself earlier, Mai Ding promptly turned on him. The moment they sat down in the classroom, he said, “See? We’re late. You have to take full responsibility.”
“I was kindly helping you mend your pants,” An Zi Yan said blandly. Mai Ding did not understand at first. Several seconds later, he remembered the code phrase they had once agreed to use whenever they wanted to do something intimate, though they had never actually used it.
“You remember things like that perfectly. Do you know what songs I like?”
“Not interested.”
“Which dish I make tastes best?”
“No impression.”
“This is how you love me?”
“Not that much.”
“Fine, fine. I have nothing to say to you!!” Mai Ding could only glare. Then he asked suspiciously, “Which parts of my body are most sensitive?”
“Your back, inner thighs, and earlobes.” He answered immediately!
“I wish you’d redirect your understanding of me from my body to my mind.” Mai Ding said it angrily, then, deciding An Zi Yan probably would not listen, softened his tone and blinked at him. “Okay?”
“Only a psychiatrist needs to understand your mind.”
“I’m not mentally ill!” Mai Ding failed to control his volume. The teacher at the front coughed lightly, and Mai Ding immediately hid his face behind his book and made a face at An Zi Yan.
Only about half the class remained now. Some had gone to work, some pretended to be working while actually going out to have fun, and the teachers no longer cared much. After taking a trip through society, Mai Ding liked school even more. He did not want to miss the last little stretch of his life as a student. Folding his arms, he thought about his graduation thesis for ages without getting anywhere, until at last he turned to An Zi Yan, who was playing with his phone. “What topic did you choose for your graduation thesis?”
“Ten Thousand Ways to Play with Mai Ding.”
Mai Ding took a deep breath and swallowed his anger, pretending he had not heard such evil words. “Help me choose a topic too. I don’t know what to write about. It’ll be easier if I at least have a general direction.” He put on his most sincere expression, hoping to move An Zi Yan. An Zi Yan ran his bent index finger along his chin and thought for a moment. “Ten Thousand Pleasures of Being Played with by An Zi Yan.”
“I’m not a masochist. Be serious or I’ll get angry. You fool around all day. What are you going to do once you enter society?” Mai Ding pouted and pretended to be angry. Beyond the graduation thesis, he had always worried about An Zi Yan going to work. If An Zi Yan ever ran into something like what had happened to Mai Ding, the next and final step in his life might be prison. The more Mai Ding thought about it, the more worried he became. He grabbed An Zi Yan’s arm and spoke earnestly. “Remember, no matter what happens in the future, absolutely do not kill anyone. I don’t want to lose my husband while I’m still this young.”
“Relax. How could I possibly leave you behind in this world?”
“That sounds terrifying. You’re not planning to take me with you too…”
“You fool around all day,” An Zi Yan said contemptuously, returning Mai Ding’s own words at exactly the right moment as he placed his phone in front of him. “I picked out some topics for you. Look through them yourself.” Mai Ding scrolled through the information on the screen and pouted with an outrageously smug expression. “I’ll temporarily stop being angry with you today. I’ll save it for tomorrow.”
“Stop bothering me.”
“Don’t you need to prepare for your graduation interview?”
“I’m ready.”
“Arrogant bastard.”
The corner of An Zi Yan’s mouth lifted. He smiled, but it was not the kind of smile that made Mai Ding happy or fluttery. “Has it been too long since I dealt with you? Who taught you to disrespect your husband like this?”
“H-have you ever respected me?”
“How many times do I have to tell you? We’re not on the same level.”
“See? Every time, you use things like that to trample all over me!”
“What did you write in that letter of repentance back then? Want me to refresh your memory?” An Zi Yan pinched Mai Ding’s collar between his fingers and rubbed it. Tyrant! Dictator! Mai Ding cursed An Zi Yan thoroughly in his heart while wearing a flattering smile on his face. “No need to bring up ancient history. We should look forward. Sigh, graduation is coming soon. I hope we have a perfect graduation ceremony.” He absolutely did not want to write another humiliating letter of repentance, so he changed the subject awkwardly. But the moment the words came out, he regretted them. He should not have made a wish!! It was practically jumping from one fire pit into another. Every wish he made somehow got twisted. His birthday and wedding were both terrifying examples.
“I take back that wish,” he said quickly.
“What are you muttering to yourself about?”
“Please, whatever you do, don’t prepare a graduation surprise. I’m begging you.”
“Don’t flatter yourself.”
“I just have a bad feeling.” Mai Ding studied An Zi Yan’s face, trying to find some clue. Maybe he really was overthinking it. Surely An Zi Yan was not bored and childish enough to plan some trick to torment him. No, he was absolutely bored and childish! Should Mai Ding trust the man he loved or not? While he was locked in fierce internal conflict, An Zi Yan’s phone rang. Mai Ding looked at the screen in front of him and jumped. The caller ID read Uncle Fu. He handed the phone to An Zi Yan and pretended to read beside him, while his ears stood straight up.
Mai Ding had already heard about the legendary Uncle Fu several times. The first was when An Zi Yan was teaching him to drive and Mai Ding crashed the car; An Zi Yan had called Uncle Fu to deal with it. Mai Ding had heard the name a few more times afterward, but even after all this time he had never seen what Uncle Fu looked like. He only knew from An Zi Yan’s occasional remarks that Uncle Fu managed the An family’s internal affairs and mainly handled matters for Grandpa An. Unless something unusual happened, he would not appear in person.