[Free] The Years We Missed

Chapter 6

In an instant, all the softness that had just begun to surface in Tian Xu Ning’s heart shattered into nothing.

He gripped the balcony railing so hard that the backs of his hands turned white, his jaw clenched tight, and he ground out a curse through his teeth,

“Damn it.”

Who was he putting on that flirtatious display for? He’d gone too easy on him earlier. Zi Yu didn’t just deserve a scolding, he should’ve dragged him back and given him a proper spanking, until his ass was swollen, just to see if he’d still dare go around teasing everyone with that indecent demeanor.

Tian Xu Ning felt like some kind of creep, spying on others from the shadows, yet he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Zi Yu. He knew perfectly well that he should turn around and leave, but his legs felt as if they’d been nailed to the floor, utterly refusing to move.

So he stood there, silently watching as the three of them laughed, exchanged phone numbers, and then left the quiet courtyard together, leaving him alone on the balcony, with an inexplicable irritation and emptiness creeping into his chest.

Zi Yu got home earlier than planned. He took a quick shower, slipped into a wine-colored bathrobe, and held a towel in his hand, wiping the lingering moisture from his hair. Just as he stepped out of the bathroom, the doorbell rang.

Without the slightest hesitation, he draped the towel over his shoulder and headed straight for the living room. A file folder had already been placed on the coffee table; Zi Yu casually picked it up.

Without even glancing through the peephole, he seemed to have already guessed who it was. The moment the door opened, he extended the file forward, his voice still tinged with a lazy softness from the shower.

“You got here that fast already…?”

Before the words had fully left his mouth, Zi Yu suddenly froze.

The person standing outside the door was not Jiang Rui as he had assumed, but Tian Xu Ning - dressed in a loose, dark-colored windbreaker, a black bucket hat pulled low over his head, revealing only a pair of cold, sharp eyes.

“Y-you… what are you doing here?” Zi Yu instinctively stepped back half a pace, his voice betraying unconcealed surprise. “No, how did you even know I live here?”

Tian Xu Ning’s gaze lingered on Zi Yu, who was casually wrapped in a bathrobe, a stretch of pale chest exposed. His damp hair fell across his forehead, droplets of water sliding down his cheek and tracing a path along his neck, lending him an air of lazy allure. The look in Tian Xu Ning’s eyes darkened further.

Tian Xu Ning didn’t answer. He stepped straight into the apartment, closing in on Zi Yu as he asked coldly,

“At this hour, who exactly are you waiting for? Dressing so obscenely, who is it you’re planning to meet?”

Hearing that, Zi Yu almost cursed out loud. He took a deep breath, forcing down the irritation boiling inside him, then lifted his chin and straightened his chest, refusing to let his presence fall short of the other man’s by even a fraction.

His voice rang out, icy and sharp,

“Who I meet is none of your damn business. You’re really overstepping. And besides, who gave you permission to just barge into my place?”

Tian Xu Ning didn’t respond. Without any warning, he reached out, pulled Zi Yu into his arms, lowered his head, and pressed a kiss to his lips.

Zi Yu’s eyes flew wide open, his mind going completely blank in an instant, unable to process what was happening.

Their bodies were pressed close, their heartbeats melding into one. The familiar scent of masculine hormones slipped into his senses, throwing the thoughts in his head into even greater chaos.

Seemingly dissatisfied with Zi Yu’s sluggish reaction, Tian Xu Ning bit lightly at his lower lip. The sudden pain made Zi Yu part his lips instinctively. Seizing the opening, Tian Xu Ning slid his tongue in, then swept dominantly through his mouth.

Past and present tangled together, impossible for Zi Yu to tell apart. For a moment, he lost all sense of resistance, able only to lean weakly against Tian Xu Ning, dazed as he let the other man claim his lips and tongue.

A single deep kiss clearly wasn’t enough for Tian Xu Ning. The bathrobe Zi Yu had only loosely tied around himself was now even more disheveled. One side slipped down, revealing a smooth, pale shoulder and an alluring collarbone.

He released Zi Yu’s lips, lowered his head, and latched onto the tempting hollow of Zi Yu’s throat.

Zi Yu let out a soft, involuntary moan. Tian Xu Ning, eyes tightly shut, looked utterly intoxicated by the moment.

The two of them were so absorbed that they completely forgot the apartment door was still ajar, not yet fully closed or locked.

Suddenly, a voice rang out,

“Mr. Zi, I…”

Jiang Rui didn’t even have time to finish his sentence before the scene in front of him scared him into jumping back.

Their moment abruptly interrupted, Tian Xu Ning lifted his head and looked over. If his gaze could take physical form, Jiang Rui would have been torn to pieces on the spot.

Earlier, after dropping Zi Yu off at the entrance of the apartment complex, Jiang Rui had immediately driven away. However, barely fifteen minutes later, his phone rang, it was Zi Yu calling.

Zi Yu’s voice over the phone carried a hint of apology.

“Sorry to trouble you, but could you come back once more? There’s a file I need to send to Zhuo Yang first thing tomorrow morning, and I won’t be going to the office tomorrow.”

As a salaried employee, Jiang Rui hardly dared to refuse. He could only sigh, turn the car around, and drive back to the apartment complex.

When he arrived at Zi Yu’s apartment and saw that the door wasn’t locked, Jiang Rui assumed Zi Yu had left it open for him. Without giving it much thought, he pushed the door open and walked straight in.

Then he saw his young boss intimately entangled with another man.