บท 38: THE TWO LOVERS 2

To Xuan Tianyi's dismay, Hua Zhendan broke the kiss.

"Damn you," Xuan Tianyi cursed, longing for more of Hua Zhendan.

Hua Zhendan flicked Xuan Tianyi on the chin and asked, "What have I told you about cursing?"

"What did you tell me? You can curse and I can't?" Xuan Tianyi asked rhetorically while rubbing his chin.

"I only curse when you frustrate me to the extent that I forget my manners."

"Well, I was frustrated as well."

Hua Zhendan smiled and shook his head, "You are such a glib talker."

Xuan Tianyi was still rubbing his chin. With a pout, he complained, "I'm sure this borders on domestic abuse."

"Oh! Shut up," Hua Zhendan said with a chuckle. He then clicked the buzzer and spoke into it, "Zhang Lin, I'm feeling a little under the weather. Cancel all my meetings for today and when you're done with that, you can go home."

"Oh! Thank you, Sir. But is there anything I can help you with?" Zhang Lin's voice was earnest.

"No. Just go home."

"You're closing early?" Xuan Tianyi asked. Since Hua Zhendan had never done it before, Xuan Tianyi didn't know that was something he could do.

"Look here," Hua Zhendan pointed under his table.

Xuan Tianyi bent down to look and opened his mouth in surprise. "You have a red button under your desk. What's it for?"

"Why don't you press it and find out?" Hua Zhendan asked with a smirk.

Xuan Tianyi pressed the button. With a look of amazement, he watched as the knob on the door turned, locking the office from inside. The blinds fell over the window and the lights in the office went off.

"I can't see anything," Xuan Tianyi whispered.

Hua Zhendan put on the torchlight of his phone. He then produced three candles from a drawer in his desk, placed them on his office's coffee table, and put them on.

"Where did you get those?" Xuan Tianyi asked.

Hua Zhendan chuckled. "They're the ones I got for the other night. I totally forgot them here."

"I thought they were at home and you forgot to put them on."

"No. I forgot them here."

"You're a mess."

Hua Zhendan didn't bother to answer. He leaned in and gave Xuan Tianyi a small kiss. Then another small kiss. Then a deeper kiss which Xuan Tianyi immediately reciprocated.

Soon, both men were a panting mess trying to catch their breaths.

"See what you do to me," Hua Zhendan led Xuan Tianyi's hands to his lower region so his lover could feel the hardness of his cock.

Xuan Tianyi pressed against Hua Zhendan's erection, then whispered in his ears, "Is that really because of me or your other lover that just left here?"

Hua Zhendan could feel his erection softening. "Are you serious right now?"

Xuan Tianyi chuckled then replied, "No, I'm not." He then grabbed Hua Zhendan by the collar of his shirt and kissed him deeply.

Hua Zhendan pulled away long enough to reach behind Xuan Tianyi and sweep everything his hand could touch down his table. He then lifted Xuan Tianyi and placed him on the table.

"You're so strong," Xuan Tianyi whispered in his ears.

Hua Zhendan roughly pulled off the little black jacket Xuan Tianyi was wearing. In a second, he had removed all of his lover's clothes. He took a step back to admire Xuan Tianyi's completely hairless body illuminated in the orange shade of the candle. "You look ravishing in this light."

With a blush invading his ears, Xuan Tianyi sat up and fingered a button on Hua Zhendan's waistcoat.

Hua Zhendan pulled Xuan Tianyi's hand away from his waistcoat. "Right now isn't about you. I need you to keep calm and let me take care of you." Running a finger along Xuan Tianyi's side, he continued, "I need you to let me apologize to you. With every part of my body. Let me show you how sorry I am."

"Okay," Xuan Tianyi whispered.

"You don't need to whisper. My office is soundproof," Hua Zhendan kissed Xuan Tianyi's left eyebrow.

"I didn't know that," Xuan Tianyi whispered again.

Hua Zhendan kissed Xuan Tianyi's chin.

Xuan Tianyi cleared his throat and in what he presumed was a clearer voice, reiterated, "I didn't know that."

"Now you do." Hua Zhendan cupped his chin and kissed him on his cheek. "Did Zhang Lin see you come in?"

"I guess. She doesn't pay attention when it's me any longer. She just looks at me, then looks away. Do you think she knows about us?"

"No. She still thinks you're my brother in law."

"That's just stupid. I come here a whole lot more than my sister."

"Are you jealous of your sister?"

"No. But I find it unnerving that people can't see that we're together. It's so obvious."

"Don't fret. No one hits on me anyway," Hua Zhendan kissed his neck.

Xuan Tianyi put his lower lip to suppress a moan. "It's because they're all intimidated by you."

"Zhang Lin may know about us though," Hua Zhendan said and ran a tongue along one of Xuan Tianyi's nipples.

Xuan Tianyi released a small moan. After drawing in a deep breath, he said, "I don't think she does. She's a blabbermouth."

"She won't blabber if it'll ruin my reputation," Hua Zhendan kissed Xuan Tianyi's tummy. "What affects my cash flow," he ran a tongue along Xuan Tianyi's navel. "Affects her cashflow"

"But... Oh, God!"

Hua Zhendan ran his tongue on Xuan Tianyi's erection. Causing the latter to forget what he was talking about.

Hua Zhendan took Xuan Tianyi into his mouth.

With a look of pleasurable agony on his face, Xuan Tianyi grabbed on to the edge of the table for dear life.

Hua Zhendan held onto one of Xuan Tianyi's thigh. It was shaky. The company president smiled; he hadn't even started with his lover and the latter was already shaky. He raised his head from Xuan Tianyi's hardness and stuck a finger in his mouth, wetting it as much as he could.

Xuan Tianyi sighed deeply. He wanted to run a hand through Hua Zhendan's hair but he was scared to let go of the table lest he lost his balance.

Xuan Tianyi sighed again when Hua Zhendan took him in his mouth one more time.

Gently, Hua Zhendan teased Xuan Tianyi's browneye with the finger he had just slobbered on. Eliciting a deep moan from Xuan Tianyi.

Hua Zhendan felt Xuan Tianyi's cock throb and knew his lover was close to cumming. He pulled himself up and kissed Xuan Tianyi's nipples.

"Baby," Xuan Tianyi cried in an almost inaudible whisper.

"Yes?" Hua Zhendan looked at him with concern.

"Please, fuck me."

Hua Zhendan ignored him and instead proceeded to tweak his nipples.

"Baby, please," Xuan Tianyi's voice was desperate.

"Okay. But don't touch yourself." Unable to ignore him more, Hua Zhendan removed his clothes.

Xuan Tianyi sat up to stare at Hua Zhendan's body as he undressed. The anticipation of Hua Zhendan inside him caused his heart to beat faster.

Hua Zhendan stroked his own erection and lubed its head with his saliva. Gently, he poked at Xuan Tianyi's browneye.

***

"God, that was terrific," Xuan Tianyi said, still gasping for breath. He was lying on the sofa in Hua Zhendan's office. Wrapped in his lover's arms.

"You know, you don't need to commend me all the time after sex. I know I'm good in bed."

"Because Cheng Jian told you, right?"

"Can you not bring that up again?" Hua Zhendan asked, stroking his boyfriend's head. He didn't have the strength to get mad.

"I can't help it," Xuan Tianyi said with a small shrug. "If you wanted to cheat, he's exactly the type of person you'd do it with. He's so cold and unfeeling, he wouldn't even feel bad about it."

Hua Zhendan sighed, then asked, "Do you want me to delete his number?"

"Huh?"

"It's the only way I can contact him. I'll lose his number to make you happy."

"You'll do that for me?"

"Of course. I mean, I've only known him for four years. But I don't mind throwing all of that away to make you happy."

"Don't blackmail me emotionally."

"I'm not blackmailing you emotionally. I'm just saying. You say the word and his phone number is gone."

It was Xuan Tianyi's turn to sigh. He wasn't sure he wanted Hua Zhendan to cutoff a friend for him. "But, you could never cheat on me, right?"

"Of course not."

"Well, it's okay, I guess. I mean, I don't like him but he had that big, genuine smile on his face when he saw you were happy with me. You can never have too many people who care about you in your life."

Hua Zhendan smiled. "Well, thank you."

There was a moment of silence.

"That shutdown button is the bomb. Don't tell me that was your idea."

"No, it wasn't. I got this office and position three years ago. At the age of twenty-two. Shen Rui designed that. She said, in case I got overwhelmed by work and needed a quick break. I've never used it before."

"God, your mum loves you so much. She thinks about everything in advance."

"Yeah, right."

"Seriously, she does."

"I'm not denying she does. She's caring and very protective. The problem is that she doesn't care enough when it matters."

"I don't think that's true. You need to patch things up with her."

"We're not talking about this anymore. You have no idea about how manipulative she can be. I don't need that kind of bad energy in my life."

"She's your mother. Not some villain from some comic book."

"She's not a villain alright. If she were from a comic book, she'd be a supervillian."

"Don't be so cruel," Xuan Tianyi gave Hua Zhendan a gentle slap on his lap.

Hua Zhendan sighed, "I'm not cruel. The whole thing is complicated, you don't get it."

"Then explain it to me."

"Fine," Hua Zhendan sighed again. "Shen Rui. She loves me terribly. More than all the words in the world could do justice to. I know that. And I love her too. But I'm so mad at her. So much that I hate her just as much as I love her.

"And it hurts me as much as I imagine it hurts her that our relationship isn't so great anymore. But I don't want to patch things up with her. Not until I know she can support me no matter the circumstances."

"It's not that complicated. I think you two just need to sit down and talk."

"Really? You think that's going to solve all the problems. Well then, what have I been doing these past four years? I should have just sat down with her and had a talk."

Xuan Tianyi didn't like Hua Zhendan's tone. It made him feel stupid. To avoid a fight though, he steered the conversation in a different direction. "You know, on my way here, I got you something. And I think this is about good a time as any to give it to you."

"What's it?"

"It's better if I show you."

Hua Zhendan tightened his hold on Xuan Tianyi's body. "If you're thinking of getting up from here, think twice."

Xuan Tianyi smiled then tapped Hua Zhendan's arms lightly. "I'll just get it and come back."

"I'm not letting you get up from here," Hua Zhendan shook his head.

Xuan Tianyi sighed. "Then I'll show you later."

"I don't want to see it later. Tell me now."

"It's better if I show you."

"I can't wait. Tell me."

"You'll ruin it if I tell you now."

"Fine. I'll just figure it out myself."

"You'll never get it."

Hua Zhendan thought about it for a moment. Xuan Tianyi wasn't carrying anything when he came in; so whatever it was, it was in his pocket. There weren't a lot of things you could keep in your pocket. It wasn't a wristwatch because he already got him that. It also couldn't possibly be a neck chain because that wouldn't be very wise. It had to be cufflinks. Or. "Is it a ring?"

"Why... Why would you think it's a ring?" Xuan Tianyi's voice was exasperated. If not for the AC, he might as well have broken a sweat.

"It's a ring, isn't it? An engagement ring? Are you going to ask me to marry you?"

"Well, yes. Yes, and yes," Xuan Tianyi admitted. Unable to deny it any longer.

Hua Zhendan sighed heartily. "God, you fool. I knew it."

"Are you saying no?" Xuan Tianyi asked with a frown on his face.

"Of course, I'm not saying no," Hua Zhendan paused. "But you have to return the ring."

"Don't start. I don't want to fight with you again. Not about this," Xuan Tianyi sat up as he spoke.

Hua Zhendan sat up as well. "I don't want to fight with you either. But I also don't want my boyfriend to be so broke he starts begging his sister or friend for a loan. How does that not embarrass you?"

"I... How do you know about those?"

Hua Zhendan brushed Xuan Tianyi's hair from his face gently. "I've told you before. I'm not against you buying me stuff. Just don't spend all your money on it. It doesn't please me, it irks me."

"This isn't stuff," Xuan Tianyi stood up. "It's an engagement ring. I want to get married to you and spend the rest of my life with you. The ring is a symbol of that. You just need to accept it or reject it. There's no option where you accept it without accepting the ring."

Hua Zhendan tapped a spot on the sofa next to him. "Come sit."

Xuan Tianyi obliged.

"You know we can't get married in China, right?" Hua Zhendan asked in a soft voice.

"I don't care. We'll wait until it's legalized."

"You know what? I'll cut you a deal."

Xuan Tianyi shook his head adamantly. "I'm not sure I'm interested."

"Hear me out first."

Xuan Tianyi nodded but said nothing.

"You return the ring and—"

"No, I'm not interested."

"You return the ring," Hua Zhendan continued nevertheless. "Next weekend, I'll fly you, and four other people of your choice to the States. And we'll get married there."

With a smile, Hua Zhendan watched Xuan Tianyi's eyes sparkle with delight.

"Really? How would that work?"

"I have a US citizenship. I'm not sure how it'll work, but our marriage would be legal in most parts of the world. But not in China."

"Yes, yes, yes. I want to do that," Xuan Tianyi kissed Hua Zhendan on both of his cheeks for what could easily have been a hundred times.

"And you'll return the ring?" Hua Zhendan asked when Xuan Tianyi finally released him.

"Yes. I'll do anything you ask."

"Good boy," Hua Zhendan ran a hand through Xuan Tianyi's hair again.

"Are we really getting married?" Xuan Tianyi's smile had not waned a bit.

"I guess we are."

"You can decide on the details before next weekend."

"The four people are witnesses, right?"

"Right."

"So, there's my sister and Tan Yao. Maybe Zhang Lin and your mum."

"My mum?"

"You're going to invite her to your marriage."

"I wouldn't want to. She'll look for a way to put a halt to it."

"I don't care what you say. I'm asking her to come."

"You don't know her as I do. She'll manipulate you into thinking she's in support of us getting married, then she'll set the church on fire one hour before the wedding."

"Hua Zhendan, this is your mother you're talking about."

Hua Zhendan shrugged. "You know what? Do whatever you want. But don't say I didn't tell you."

"Thank you."

At that moment, they both turned to look at the door. Someone was turning the handle from the outside.

"Who's that?" Xuan Tianyi asked.

"Don't worry about it. They won't be able to open the door unless they have the key."

"I don't think just anyone would have the guts to want to open your door and barge in."

"True," Hua Zhendan nodded. "Who could it be?"

"Well, who has the key?"

"Zhang Lin," After a brief pause, he added. "And Shen Rui."