âThis is no place to take a bath.â Gu Yaoyang said as he stared into the otherâs eyes, immediately seeing that the other had drunk too much. He did drink a good amount of that wine and it turns out he only looked sober.
âThen⦠Whereâs the bathing place?â Lin Yuyan asked as he circled around in a daze.
Gu Yaoyang held his head and turned him around, taking the other upstairs.
There were two rooms upstairs. One of them was a bathroom. This bathroom was larger than the one on Wenchang street, and there was a huge bathtub inside as well, it looked very comfortable.
Gu Yaoyang never used it, but Lin Yuyan was very interested in the bathtub. Before he filled the tub with water, he laid himself down in the tub but was soon forcibly carried out by Gu Yaoyang.
Gu Yaoyang helped him fill the tub with hot water, but was afraid heâd have an accident because he drank too much, so he stood by the door and didnât leave to watch over his drunk friend.
Lin Yuyanâs attention was attracted by the sound of running water. He squatted in front of the bathtub obediently, and occasionally tested the water temperature. He looked normal when he did that. When the water was almost full, he took the initiative to close the tap, stand up, and slowly start to take off his clothes.
After trying to take his clothes off for a while, he grabbed his collar with one hand and twisted the other hand against the air, as if he was unbuttoning the buttons on his shirt.
Gu Yaoyang raised his eyebrows and watched, he had no intention of helping. Lighting a cigarette, he watched the other busy himself in a hurry.
Two minutes later, Lin Yuyan still hadnât taken his clothes off. He turned his head to look for help. When he saw Gu Yaoyang, he hurriedly walked over to him and asked, âCould you please help me undress?â
He dragged the round-neck pullover on his body and said with a bitter face, âI canât find the button.â
Gu Yaoyang ignored his plea.
Lin Yuyan took his hand and said, âPlease, I want to take a bathâ¦â
Gu Yaoyang slowly chewed on the cigarette and squinted at him.
After staring at him for a while, he rubbed his hair and helped him take off his sweater. There was a buttoned shirt underneath the sweater, so he helped him unbutton the shirt before puffing out a long smoke ring into his face.
Lin Yuyan didnât dodge. He took in a whiff of the smoke, probably because of the alcohol, before raising his hand and taking the cigarette away from Gu Yaoyangâs mouth as he solemnly said, âSmoke less.â
Gu Yaoyang glanced at him and dropped the cigarette to the ground. He stepped on the cigarette butt as he smiled and said, âYouâre quite broad with your management.â
Lin Yuyan didnât have time to refute as he took off the clothes on his upper body. He lowered his head and seemed to think for a while before taking his pants off. Not feeling any shame, he was about to run downstairs naked to grab his toiletries.
Gu Yaoyang grabbed him and asked, âWhat are you doing?â
Lin Yuyan answered, âMy toiletries are still in the suitcase.â
Gu Yaoyang said, âYou wait here, Iâll get it for you.â
Lin Yuyan didnât refuse his help and thanked him. He turned his head in a daze and stumbled on his left foot, falling to the ground with a âplop.â
âOwâ¦â
Gu Yaoyang had taken two steps down when he heard him fall. He immediately ran back, pulled Lin Yuyan up, checked him and made sure that he wasnât seriously injured before exhaling in relief.
Lin Yuyanâs lips trembled from the pain, but he didnât forget about wanting to take a bath. He eagerly looked at the bathtub, wanting to immediately jump inside.
Gu Yaoyang had no choice but to pick him up horizontally and place him in the tub first. After telling him not to move around, he then quickly went down and grabbed some stuff before quickly running back upstairs, fearing the other would accidentally sleep in the water.
Fortunately, this time Lin Yuyan was obedient and kept his head down, not making noise or making trouble.
âDoes your leg hurt?â Asked Gu Yaoyang as he pulled a small stool and sat in front of the tub. When he saw the otherâs swollen knee, he rubbed it and brought Lin Yuyanâs wash bag, pouring some shower gel onto the other.
Lin Yuyan said it didnât hurt, but he still lowered his head and silently cried as if he was enduring something painful.
Gu Yaoyang disliked him for being such a crybaby, but the strength in his hands was obviously light and gentle as it rubbed him. However, Lin Yuyan continued to sob even more, as it seemed that it had nothing to do with the pain in his knees. Gu Yaoyang suspiciously asked, âWhy are you crying?â
Lin Yuyan raised his eyes to meet his and pointed at something between his legs, whimpering as he said, âItâ¦why is it so smallâ¦â
Gu Yaoyang was startled. He looked in the direction of his fingers and burst into laughter.
Lin Yuyan still felt sad in his heart, but for some reason, he was a little happy to hear him laugh.
His emotions were complicated, and his brain was still sluggish due to the alcohol. His tears kept falling down with a âdrip-dripâ sound into the water. At this moment, he didnât care if the person near him was his friend or enemy as he wrapped around Gu Yaoyangâs neck in an attempt to seek comfort in the otherâs embrace. He leaned on the otherâs shoulder and complained, âI canât even wear your underwear⦠it would just fall downâ¦â
Actually, this situation did not give away how drunk the other was. He said what he thought as he clutched onto Gu Yaoyang, refusing to let go. He sobbed profusely, complaining that the sofa was too tiny and narrow and that he preferred to sleep on the bed. He didnât want to sleep on the floor, it was so hard and his whole body hurt when he slept there. He didnât want to watch the horror movie either, he wanted to watch a romance movie! He complained as he rubbed against the otherâs shoulder and acted like a spoiled child.
Gu Yaoyang replied as he washed the other clean then took him out of the water before grabbing a bath towel.
Lin Yuyan seemed to have cried enough. He thought about another thing and asked, âWhy do you always tease me?â
Gu Yaoyang carried him to the second bedroom and wiped his hair for him, âI already told you that thereâs no reason.â
Lin Yuyan: âThere must be.â After thinking about it, he asked, âDo you hate me?â
Gu Yaoyang asked him to lie down, pulled another quilt over him, tapped his nose, and said, âI like you.â
Lin Yuyan: âI donât believe it.â
âI know.â Gu Yaoyang responded casually without explaining too much.
After listening to Lin Yuyan talking nonsense for a while, he waited for him to fall asleep peacefully before picking up his phone that was running out of battery. There were a few missed calls from Sister Ling.
Sister Ling had come to play for a few days before feeling bored, so she went to the airport again to prepare to return to China. She said to Gu Yaoyang, âI asked Shao Zheng to stay to have him be a sparring coach here. You can take care of each other if you run into any trouble.â
Gu Yaoyang was in a good mood, so he responded with a few more words than usual.
Sister Ling: âYou too, pay more attention to yourself.â After a few seconds, she asked, âI really want to know why you suddenly agreed to join the club.â
Whether heâs a player or a coach, at least he now had a decent path to walk on. She actually had a guess in her heart, but she still wanted to hear Gu Yaoyang say it himself.
âFor the ear studs.â
âHuh?â
Gu Yaoyang stood at the door of the bedroom and didnât move for a long time. He looked at the little alcoholic tossing and turning on the bed and said, âAfter all, something so beautiful shouldnât be stuck in the mud.â
It needs to be replaced with something worthy of his attention, after all