Chapter 3182: Plane Tree Alley: Bitter Summer 24

Jin Chen stood at Chenshu's front door, leaning against the doorframe, lowered his head to look at the ceramic trinket in his hand for a moment, carefully put it into his pocket, then made the call.

Chenshu usually slept late, so he answered quickly; from the other end came the background sound effect common in horror movies, plus a muffled voice with a popsicle in his mouth, "Xiao Chen?"

Jin Chen's back pressed against the hallway wall, his throat suddenly tightened, "Brother, I have nowhere to sleep."

Chenshu hurriedly got up from the sofa, still holding half an uneaten popsicle in his mouth, one hand holding the phone to his ear, the other supporting the doorknob to open the door, and saw a pitiful, listless little dog.

Chenshu hung up the phone, "What's going on?"

Jin Chen lowered his eyes glumly, hung onto Chenshu's neck, tattling, "My room has been taken over."

Chenshu glanced at Jin Chen's front door, didn't ask further, used his foot to hook the door shut, cupped Jin Chen's face, and asked with a smiling squint, "Sleep in the guest room or with me?"

Jin Chen gripped Chenshu's palm, their fingers intertwined, it was unclear whether it was intimacy or restraint, "Sleep with brother."

This was a very proper and significant matter.

Chenshu leaned on Jin Chen's shoulder, responded happily, "Sure." He pushed Jin Chen toward the bathroom, saw his low spirits, and teased, "Hurry up and wash clean, then go warm my bed."

Jin Chen walked into the bathroom, washed his face, spaced out for a moment, then began his ablutions.

Chenshu knocked on the doorframe outside, the sound transmitted through the door panel, "Xiao Chen, pajamas."

Chenshu stood at the doorway, about to hand over the pajamas, but Jin Chen lowered his eyelids and reached out to grab Chenshu's wrist.

The bathroom's incandescent light illuminated most clearly; Jin Chen's sickly pallid body was suffused with rising steam, turning reddish, his gaze somewhat scattered, appearing low-spirited.

Chenshu's fingertip lightly brushed over Jin Chen's slightly warm cheek, gently asking, "Are you uncomfortable?"

Jin Chen belatedly realized he should have taken his medicine before coming over, otherwise… he would surely frighten his brother.

In the bathroom, steam rose; his breathing gradually became a bit labored, his chest felt tight and stuffy, a hint of moisture appeared in his eyes, he could only nod with difficulty and softly call, "Chenshu…"

Such a faint voice even made Chenshu fearful, afraid that Jin Chen might, in the bathroom when he couldn't see, do something harmful to himself.

Chenshu somewhat flusteredly squeezed into the bathroom, casually putting the pajamas on the rack.

Steam washed over him, carrying the warm scent of shower gel; he didn't care that his own clothes would get wet, reached out to hug Jin Chen, his cheek brushing against Jin Chen's side, affectionately pressing close, "What to do? I broke a sweat watching the horror movie—how about we shower together, Xiao Chen?"

Jin Chen had not expected him to do this at all.

He froze for a moment, even nearly overlooking his slightly swollen head, lowered his gaze to the tiny mole on Chenshu's nose tip, his fingertip lightly pressing over Chenshu's lips as if barely there, "Okay…"

The showerhead turned back on, warm water poured down from above, droplets flying.

Mist rose, blurring the mirror's image.

Chenshu thought, Jin Chen surely didn't know, nor could he imagine, what he looked like right now—usually his brows and eyes were pale, but now his eye corners were red, his lips steamed moist by hot water, so beautiful and enchanting, a stark contrast to the pure sculpture in the living room; one was a lofty deity, the other a bewitching ghost sunk in water.

Chenshu's lips and teeth felt dry, yet he harbored the intention to soothe, lifted his gaze to kiss Jin Chen's lips; water droplets fell from above, sliding down their brow ridges and noses, to be swallowed where their lips and teeth met.

Amid the flying droplets, he grasped Jin Chen's trembling wrist, guiding him to encircle his waist.

Jin Chen Jin Chen seemed finally pulled back from that brief spell of dazedness, gradually forgetting his discomfort, lowered his eyes to pull the person into his embrace and kiss him, seizing Chenshu's breath, demanding his response ever more fiercely.

After a long while. The bathroom's steam grew thick like white mist, blurring both outlines.

Jin Chen drew back a little, his eyes deep and full of affection as he looked at Chenshu, he turned off the shower, took a dry towel from nearby, his fingers even slightly trembling as he wiped the water from Chenshu's face.

He never expected Chenshu could do this; the love and desire in his heart nourished each other, the goldfish in his chest grew frenzied, its golden-red scales flashing in his veins, about to burst through his chest.

The taste Chenshu encountered wasn't great, but thinking it was Jin Chen's, he felt a near-satisfaction welling up from his heart, raised his hand to encircle Jin Chen's neck, fingertips lazily lifting at the nape, his hoarse voice laced with a smile as he kissed Jin Chen's ear, "Do you like this, Xiao Chen?"

Jin Chen's lips were bitten to a vivid red, gaining several degrees of tempting ambiguity, his Adam's apple rolled as if trying to conceal yet reveal, his pale, disheveled face plastered with wet black hair, like a gorgeous water ghost crawled from the lake bottom.

His eyes welled with dark emotions, yet he obediently showed a smile, pulling Chenshu close, "I like, I like…"

Chenshu laughed, tousling his slightly long wet hair, then poked his cheek, "All right, then hug me to sleep, okay? I'm so tired."

——

Morning, Jin Chen was gently awakened by Chenshu.

Last night he had been lulled to sleep by Chenshu, whose palm pressed against his back, patting gently over and over for a long time before he finally closed his eyes in that warmth, but he hadn't taken medicine, so now his head felt stuffed with water-soaked cotton, heavy and dull.

Jin Chen blearily opened his eyes, saw Chenshu sitting on the bedside, then sat up naturally, staring blankly at Chenshu, his hair a messy mess sticking up.

Chenshu gave him a kiss, "Zhang Yue came over calling you, saying your room had been rummaged through by that whatever younger brother, telling you to go check it out."

He placed Jin Chen's clothes beside the bed, "Change first."

Jin Chen sat on the bed's edge, took two seconds to regain his composure, his expression turned cold, he pressed his jaw and replied, "Okay."

After he changed clothes, Chenshu still worried, took his hand, "I'll go with you to have a look."

The two were in the hallway, not yet inside, when they heard Jin Xiu Mei's voice from within, tinged with suppressed anger, "What nonsense are you tattling about! Your brother's room doesn't have anything important, why do you insist on calling him back for this!"

Then came Zhang Yue's voice, indignant, "How am I tattling nonsense! Zhang Kai Le rummaged through my brother's stuff! He even took my brother's…"

Jin Chen pushed open the door.

The living room fell silent for a moment, Jin Xiu Mei still gripping a rag in her hand; seeing Jin Chen enter, her words caught in her throat.

Xu Hong sat on the sofa, legs crossed, slowly sipping tea, as if watching a good show.

Jin Chen strode into the living room with a cold face, saw his room door wide open, his expression so grim and unsightly that it silenced Jin Xiu Mei on the spot, causing her to swallow her prepared words.

The room was in utter disarray.

Drawers had been pulled open, their contents rummaged, cabinet doors also ajar, his clothes shoved to one side, the small box on the nightstand for holding earrings had been opened, the earrings inside scattered, a pair fallen to the floor, and the laptop screen that had been put away last night was shattered.

Jin Xiu Mei stood at the doorway, both hands rubbing the edges of her apron, after a while she spoke, her voice much softer than before: "Jin Chen… just don't quarrel with him… that computer of yours has been used for several years already…"

Jin Chen seemed not to have heard, dazed for a few seconds, then went to search the deep compartment of the cabinet's drawer, which was empty.