[Free] The Years We Missed

Chapter 9

Tian Xu Ning knew all too well that Zi Yu was best at these little acts pretending, putting on a show. And yet, time after time, he willingly fell for it.

He flipped Zi Yu over and lowered his head to kiss him. It was a hurried, forceful kiss, steeped in raw desire and absolute possession.

Pinned against the sofa, Zi Yu obediently lifted his neck to return the kiss. He wrapped his arms around Tian Xu Ning’s neck, fingers tightening as if to pull him closer, craving a kiss that would sink even deeper.

The bathrobe Xu Ning had carefully tied earlier had once again fallen into disarray, hanging loosely and slipping down over Zi Yu’s slender, pale shoulders.

After a kiss so urgent it left them breathless, Tian Xu Ning finally released Zi Yu’s lips and moved on, continuing to explore other territories, places that had once belonged to him alone.

Zi Yu could feel his wet tongue gliding over his body. Everywhere it passed, it left behind waves of numbness and searing heat that made him shudder uncontrollably.

Then a faint sting came from his chest, carrying a teasing itch that drew a soft moan from his lips before he could stop it.

Pleasure flared violently. Zi Yu wrapped his legs tightly around Tian Xu Ning’s waist, silently demanding more.

Beneath the bathrobe, he was wearing nothing but a pair of snug boxer briefs. Tian Xu Ning’s large hand, radiating an alarming heat, slid into the cleft of his buttocks, making Zi Yu jerk violently.

He snapped back to his senses at once and blurted out in a hurry,

“Xu Ning, no, there’s no lubricant at home…”

Tian Xu Ning paid no heed to Zi Yu’s feeble protest. His lips never left Zi Yu’s chest as he murmured in a low voice,

“I have some.”

Zi Yu tried again,

“There’s no protection either.”

Xu Ning lifted his head to look at him, his eyes dark with desire and frustration. Then he reached into the pocket of his windbreaker and pulled out two items, the very things they were about to need.

“I came here tonight to f**k you. Any other problems?”

“Then… what about your girlfriend?”

“There is no girlfriend. Satisfied now?”

Zi Yu pressed his lips together and smiled, giving a small nod. Truth was… he wasn’t any less eager than Tian Xu Ning. They were both men, no one more noble than the other. Once the desire was there, how could anyone stop over such a trivial matter? Not to mention Tian Xu Ning had come fully prepared. Even if he hadn’t, Zi Yu would have shut his eyes and gone through with it anyway.

Tian Xu Ning curled his lips into a grin. He stood up, shrugged off his clothes, then scooped Zi Yu into his arms and carried him straight into the bathroom.

Not long after, the sound of running water filled the space, mingling with ragged breaths, moans rising and falling, and the relentless noise of bodies colliding.

After wreaking havoc in the bathroom, the two moved on to the bedroom. Throughout it all, their naked bodies remained tightly entwined, reluctant to part even for a moment.

Zi Yu was like a fish on the chopping block, able only to let Tian Xu Ning turn him over again and again. After four years without being intimate with anyone, and being taken so forcefully the moment they reunited, his body truly struggled to keep up.

In the end, when the tide of passion finally ebbed, he could only lie facedown on the bed, so exhausted he didn’t even want to lift a finger.

Tian Xu Ning leaned back against the headboard, a cigarette between his fingers. One hand rested on Zi Yu’s bare back, gently stroking it.

Seeing how limp and worn-out he looked, he asked with concern,

“Did it hurt that much?”

Zi Yu shot him a glare.

“What a stupid question. Why don’t you lie down and let me have a go, see if it hurts or not?”

Tian Xu Ning raised an eyebrow, a faint, ambiguous smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

“I already let you be on top earlier. What more do you want?”

Zi Yu pouted and couldn’t be bothered to answer.

That hadn’t been the kind of “on top” he was talking about anyway.

After lying there for a while, when the soreness in his body was no longer as sharp as before, Zi Yu finally pushed himself up. He wriggled into Tian Xu Ning’s arms, snatched the cigarette from his fingers, and took a long drag.

Tian Xu Ning wrapped an arm around his shoulders, letting him lean more comfortably against his chest. Neither of them spoke. One puff from him, one puff from Zi Yu, until the cigarette burned down to the filter.

Only then did Zi Yu hesitate before speaking softly,

“Xu Ning… about that money four years ago…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Tian Xu Ning cut him off,

“It’s already in the past. There’s no need to bring it up again.”

What had happened four years ago was tangled and complicated, involving other people as well. Zi Yu truly didn’t know how to explain it even if he tried. Seeing that Xu Ning had no intention of digging into the past, he let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Yet at the same time, a faint trace of unease and loss still stirred deep in his heart. In the end, however, the joy of being reunited was simply too overwhelming, and he chose to set those feelings aside.

After another long stretch of silence, Zi Yu spoke again,

“And what about you and… Zhao Si Qi?”

Afraid he might misunderstand, Tian Xu Ning immediately explained,

“It’s just work. CP marketing, nothing real, mutually beneficial for both sides.”

Zi Yu nodded and said nothing more.

This time, it was Tian Xu Ning who couldn’t help feeling curious,

“So… you came to Beijing to look for me because you saw the news about me and her?”