บท 18: Chapter 8.1 - Date (Part 1)

When they arrived home, Li XinWen made his way to the kitchen in a hurry. He placed the bags of groceries on top of the kitchen counter and came out with a glass of water, which he offered madam Li.

"Ah… thank you Ah'Wen," as madam Li took the glass from her son. Li XinWen slowly ushered madam Li towards the living room and advised her to rest while he takes care of the groceries. He sat her on one of the accent chairs near the living room entrance then disappeared into the kitchen.

By the time he finished organizing the groceries, the digital clock placed in the kitchen read 11:30 A.M.

He knew that Xue Rui would be arriving in the afternoon to pick him up so he decided to start getting ready. He passed madam Li asleep on the accent chair by the living room entrance. 'She must have been tired after our walk back from the supermarket,' he thought, as he approached her and planted an affectionate kiss on her forehead. He propped her legs on the matching footstool and placed the flannel blanket resting on the chair's armrest to cover her.

"Rest well mom," he gently whispered, then made his way upstairs.

Li XinWen carried his bag of chocolates to his room. Excitement and curiosity welled up inside him as the original's memories of eating chocolates filled his mind. In the memories, he saw how much the original enjoyed and savored the different types of chocolates during his lifetime. "I'll sample these later," and placed the bag on the Recamier divan at the foot of his bed. He made his way in front of the full-length mirror in his walk in closet to inspect himself. The sun had already been high up when they walked back from the supermarket. It was extremely hot, and Li XinWen was sweating as they made their way home. He sniffed himself and grimaced.

"Shower it is…" he mumbled to himself as he started stripping off his clothes, leaving a trail of discarded clothing on his way to the bath.

Li XinWen was lean. He wasn't too muscular but had the muscles in all the right places. His body was toned overall and complemented his height at around 183 cm. Xue Rui was a little taller at 194 cm and when they stood side by side they looked like a couple of really handsome men.

Li XinWen entered the bathroom and removed the bandages, which used to cover his wound and wondered whether it was still necessary to wear them. "Let's not create any further suspicion and just put them on for show," he decided. Li XinWen turned the shower tap and let the water wash over his body.

While Li XinWen was in the shower, Xue Rui arrived at the Li residence at 12:00 P.M on the dot. Madam Li greeted Xue Rui at the door and invited him in. Ever the gentleman, he shared with madam Li his plan to take Li XinWen to acquire the jian he wanted.

"So kind of you Rui. It's a good thing for Ah'Wen to go out and get his mind off of the accident even for just a while. But a jian? My my, that boy has been acting out of sorts since he got back from the hospital. So please take care of him Rui," she said as he patted Xue Rui's arm and told him that Li XinWen was probably upstairs in his room.

"Then excuse me for a bit Li mother while I go and check on him," and Xue Rui made his way upstairs to Li XInWen's room.

He stood in front of Li XinWen's room and straightened his tie. He unbuttoned his suit and ran his hand through his hair, inhaling deeply. He was bracing himself for a locked door but was hoping that it was not. He turned the knob and found that it wasn't locked. "The heavens must be on my side today," he said excitedly as he made his way in.

Li XinWen was still in the shower, judging from the sound coming from the bath. Xue Rui walked around the room, brushing his hand on Li XinWen's pillow, as if by doing so he was also brushing Li XinWen's hair. He went to the Recamier divan at the foot of the bed and saw the bag of chocolates.

"Pffft... How adorable, I see that he still has a sweet tooth," he remarked and continued to pace towards the walk-in closet. He ran his hand at the shirts hanging on the closet. He took one from the row of shirts and held it up against his nose, inhaling deeply. He was able to make out faint traces of Li XinWen's scent mixed with detergent and fabric conditioner.

Xue Rui was nearly intoxicated before he caught himself. "Oh XinWen… why am I so crazy about you?" he sighed to himself as he replaced the shirt in the closet. Just as he was about to head out, he saw Li XinWen's discarded clothing leading to the bath. He let out a chuckle and picked up the clothes one by one. "Such a child," he said smiling while shaking his head. He placed Li XinWen's clothes in the hamper and walked towards Li XinWen's bookshelf. He picked out a poetry book and walked back to the Recamier divan, sat down, and started to read quietly, waiting for Li XinWen.

Li XinWen finished his shower and toweled himself as best he could. He replaced the bandage on the spot where his wound was supposed to be and stepped out of the shower. He wrapped a towel around his waist and placed one on top of his head. He started humming an old song he remembered from his days in Long Xing. As he was walking towards the bathroom door, he suddenly sensed a presence in his room.

Instinctively, he reached for a bathrobe and wore it as if it would protect him from whoever was trespassing in his room. Li XinWen sent out a bit of his spiritual energy to probe out the identity of this person. 'Why is Xue Rui in my room?!' he thought as he furrowed his brows and gritted his teeth in annoyance.

Li XinWen knew he was partly to blame since he didn't lock his door. He should have predicted this move from Xue Rui. Left with no other choice, he squeezed his eyes as if to squeeze out all of his irritation as well. He took a deep breath before fixing his facial expression then opened the bathroom door.

Upon hearing the bathroom door open, Xue Rui lifted his head from the book and turned his eyes towards the sound, waiting for Li XinWen to step out.

Li XinWen's eyes met Xue Rui's when he stepped out of the bathroom. Feigning surprise, Li XinWen asked "Rui-ge! What are you doing in my room?!"

For someone who said he had no passion for acting, Li XinWen sure was able to act convincingly. "Anyway, just give me a few minutes and I'll be right back," he added as he rushed to the closet, dropping the towel on his head as he made his way. This time, he made sure to slide the doors to the walk-in closet closed and locked it. There was no way he was going to spend another second in front of Xue Rui in his current state of undress. "Oh god, what was that. Why did Xue Rui look like he was about to pounce at me?" Li XinWen whispered frantically to himself shaking his head.

He put on a white cotton dress shirt from his closet and paired this with a dark blue Giorgio Armani slim-fit half-canvas twill blend Soho suit. He wore a brushed calfskin leather belt, and finished his look with a pair of white leather sneakers and sprayed just a little cologne. "Woah, that smells nice," Li XinWen said surprising even himself. The way he dressed was probably all due to the original Li XinWen's sense of style. He examined himself in front of the full-length mirror and looked extremely pleased.

Outside, Xue Rui's heart was beating hard within his chest. His eyes lingered at the door to the walk-in closet, then he noticed the towel, which fell off of Li XinWen's head as he hurried to the closet. He placed the book he was reading on the divan and walked over to where the towel was. He picked it up and took a whiff of the alluring fragrance that came from the article. He could smell Li XinWen's fragrance as he lifted the towel to his nose. His mind went back to the image of Li XinWen as he stepped out after his bath. He wore a loosely fitted robe, which exposed his chest and his toned abs.

"Ugh… you are driving me crazy XinWen!" he whispered to himself as he clutched the towel in his hand. He imagined stripping the robe off from Li XinWen and the towel underneath to reveal the seductive body that he has been craving so much. Whenever he imagined Li XinWen's naked figure, he would feel his desires overflow and he couldn't help but want to ravish Li XinWen.