Chapter 74 – Swiping the Card
The kiss with a hint of coolness fell, and Qiao Huaiyao moved his fingertips, trying to withdraw his hand.
But he had no strength in his half-awake state. He exhaled deeply and hadn’t said anything before Bai Jinyan already grasped his hand, tucking it back under the blanket and thoughtfully tucking him in.
Qiao Huaiyao curved his lips into a smile, squinting his eyes, and grabbed the hem of Bai Jinyan’s clothes, “Brother.”
“Hmm?” Bai Jinyan paused, took off his coat and placed it aside before leaning closer, “What’s the matter?”
Qiao Huaiyao sluggishly moved closer to the edge of the bed, then held Bai Jinyan’s hand. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he hesitated. With part of his face buried in the pillow, he softly said, “Nothing.”
Not fully awake, his voice sounded low and slightly hoarse.
Bai Jinyan sat on the edge of the bed, looking down with a smile as he leaned over and kissed Qiao Huaiyao’s cheek, gently coaxing, “I’ll go change my clothes first.”
Qiao Huaiyao slowly nodded and then let go of the hem of the clothes he was holding.
Qiao Huaiyao, with his eyes closed, loosely pulled the blanket around him but didn’t fall asleep. He listened to the faint, unclear footsteps, feeling drowsy and not knowing what he was thinking.
Bai Jinyan changed his clothes and came back. As soon as he lay down and before he could reach out to hold the person beside him, Qiao Huaiyao snuggled into his arms.
Bai Jinyan paused, his expression gentle as he embraced Qiao Huaiyao, lightly patting his back. A tender kiss landed on his face, “Sleep.”
Qiao Huaiyao obediently responded, “Hmm.”
Bai Jinyan held him and coaxed him for a while, his hand never stopping the light pats on his back, but he faintly sensed something was off.
He raised his head slightly, moving away from Qiao Huaiyao’s ear, and whispered very softly, “Huaiyao.”
“Hmm.”
“…?”
Bai Jinyan slowly raised one eyebrow and looked at Qiao Huaiyao again. He still had his eyes closed, leaning against him as if he were asleep.
Qiao Huaiyao’s lips pressed slightly together as he rubbed his head against Bai Jinyan’s neck, “I don’t want to sleep.”
But he was very tired.
Too tired to keep his eyes open, yet he didn’t want to sleep.
Struggling between exhaustion and trying to stay awake.
“Don’t want to sleep?” Bai Jinyan chuckled softly, patiently asking, “Then what do you want to do? Go out?”
Qiao Huaiyao shook his head.
“Then… get up and have a midnight snack?”
Qiao Huaiyao still shook his head. Perhaps feeling that Bai Jinyan was talking too much, he reached out and covered his mouth.
Bai Jinyan kissed his palm, guiding his hand to wrap around his neck, “Tell me, what do you want to do?”
Qiao Huaiyao remained quiet for a long time. Just when Bai Jinyan thought he had fallen asleep, Qiao Huaiyao softly said, “Bite you.”
Bai Jinyan was stunned for a moment, “What?”
Qiao Huaiyao’s voice was muffled, as if he was talking to Bai Jinyan, but it sounded like he was talking to himself, “I want to bite you.”
In the night, his slightly pursed lips formed a faint curve.
From the moment he opened his eyes, he had been busy all day, working nonstop to adjust his schedule. His tense nerves relaxed the moment he saw Qiao Huaiyao. Now, looking at the person in his arms, his heart was filled with a warm and tender feeling.
He liked Qiao Huaiyao too much.
Liked him so much that he didn’t know what to do.
Looking at the extremely sleepy yet unwilling-to-sleep Qiao Huaiyao, Bai Jinyan’s hand around his waist tightened slightly, trying to pull him closer.
“How about biting me tomorrow?” Bai Jinyan’s deep voice was a bit hoarse. He pulled the blanket that had slipped to Qiao Huaiyao’s shoulder back up and coaxed, “Or maybe just one bite now, then we sleep?”
Qiao Huaiyao was silent for a while, then reached out to pull Bai Jinyan down. When Bai Jinyan leaned in, Qiao Huaiyao gave him a light kiss on the lips, then lay back in his arms, “Good night.”
Bai Jinyan gently stroked his cheek with his thumb, “Good night.”
…
The schedule for visiting the laboratory was very tight, and they had to follow the lab’s timing.
There were fewer people in the morning, so the meeting time was set early.
The supervising teacher had posted several time updates in the group chat. The phone, placed face down on the bedside table, occasionally emitted a sliver of light from the gaps.
Qiao Huaiyao slept deeply, and when he woke up, it was already bright outside.
Remembering the lab visit, Qiao Huaiyao picked up his phone to check the time, noting that there were still more than three hours until the scheduled meeting time.
As he was replying with an [Received] he felt a weight on his back, being pulled into an embrace, “Mm… Brother.”
Bai Jinyan buried his head in Qiao Huaiyao’s neck, “What are you looking at?”
“Messages in the group.” After replying [Received] Qiao Huaiyao put his phone down but could only maintain his previous position.
Bai Jinyan nodded slightly, “I was wondering yesterday how your school suddenly agreed to let you out.”
It turned out to be for that joint exam.
Bai Jinyan had heard about the joint exam at Qing University, where students competed for lab visit slots.
But he felt Qiao Huaiyao wasn’t very interested in such things. If he really liked it, it wasn’t something that couldn’t be bought.
Lab equipment was just a matter of money, not the actual experiment content.
Qiao Huaiyao smiled, looking at him sideways, “Surprised?”
Bai Jinyan glanced at his beautiful eyes and kissed him with a smile, “Of course.” After a pause, he repeated, “Very surprised.”
Qiao Huaiyao wanted to say more, but Bai Jinyan clearly didn’t give him a chance to speak again.
“Mm…”
The hotel bed was large, but Qiao Huaiyao couldn’t even stretch out his hand.
His slender fingers curled slightly, wrinkling the sheets.
It wasn’t until the phone on the bedside table kept vibrating non-stop that Qiao Huaiyao finally had a chance to catch his breath.
Qiao Huaiyao pursed his lips, and Bai Jinyan applied a mint patch for him.
Bai Jinyan’s thumb brushed the corner of Qiao Huaiyao’s eye, and he took the phone for him without letting him go.
Qiao Huaiyao was so wrapped up that he couldn’t move. He looked at Bai Jinyan helplessly, feeling somewhat like when Bai Jinyan clung to him after getting drunk.
The blanket, meant to fit the bed, was now crumpled into a ball.
Qiao Huaiyao, resting his head on Bai Jinyan’s arm, scrolled through messages in their small group chat.
Besides notifying them of lab-related matters, the teacher rarely spoke in the group.
However, the small group chat, with all four roommates present, was lively.
Qiu Shufeng: [Study god! I’ve booked a car to the meeting point, want to join?]
Qiao Huaiyao frowned and typed: [Didn’t the hotel butler arrange transportation?]
Qiu Shufeng chuckled: [They did, but I felt awkward. Besides, I had already booked the car and couldn’t get a refund, so I thought I’d use it. Can’t let it go to waste, right?]
Seeing the last sentence, Qiao Huaiyao didn’t say anything more and just declined: [No, thanks.]
After typing, he didn’t immediately send the message. Glancing at Bai Jinyan, he continued typing: [I’ll be late.]
Qiu Shufeng: [Got it! See you later, top student.]
…
Bai Jinyan, being close, obviously saw the message too.
He placed his hand on Qiao Huaiyao’s waist, his fingers moving idly, “I’ll take you there later. Let’s get up and have breakfast first.”
He wasn’t sure if Qiao Huaiyao had eaten anything after getting off the plane yesterday.
Probably not. Qiao Huaiyao didn’t usually eat airplane meals, nor did he buy food when traveling alone.
The breakfast, prepared in advance by the butler, was already set in the dining area.
“Okay.” Qiao Huaiyao responded, staring at him intently.
Bai Jinyan knew exactly what he meant, but instead of getting up right away, he gave him a kiss, then got up, lifting Qiao Huaiyao in his arms.
Instinctively, Qiao Huaiyao raised his arms to wrap around Bai Jinyan’s neck for balance.
Bai Jinyan adjusted his hold and carried him to the table, gently placing him on a chair.
Four equal-sized lids were placed on the table. One by one, they were lifted to reveal various types of breakfast dishes.
Qiao Huaiyao glanced at the time and asked, “Brother, don’t you have to go to work today?”
“I’ll go in the afternoon.”
Bai Jinyan usually didn’t linger on the red carpet, so there was no need to worry about being late.
Some lesser-known celebrities might buy entry tickets or even skip buying them altogether, simply walking the red carpet to catch some attention.
When photos are taken, as long as they’re captured alongside a more famous person, they consider it a win.
On the same day, they might appear in news articles related to the event, with their names attached to those of the bigger stars.
Some celebrities with a bad temper won’t let this happen and will issue warnings, but some don’t bother. Those who manage to get their picture taken with a big name are secretly delighted.
Moreover, for the former, an apology is usually enough to settle the matter, at most receiving some ridicule. But even that brings them attention, so it’s a win for them.
This red carpet event was different from a movie award ceremony; it was more chaotic, with all kinds of people present.
Bai Jinyan didn’t linger much even at award ceremony red carpets, let alone this one.
Qiao Huaiyao took a bite of a bun. The hotel’s preparation was quite good, especially since they were notified in advance, giving them ample time to prepare the ingredients.
However, he felt it wasn’t quite as good as what Bai Jinyan made.
Having not eaten for a long time, it seemed he had passed the point of hunger.
Now, he didn’t feel hungry. Qiao Huaiyao slowly ate the bun, “Will you be back very late today?”
“No.” Bai Jinyan had already decided to make a brief appearance and then return.
From what he knew about lab visits, they mostly took place in the morning because there were fewer people then. Those who stayed up late doing experiments were usually resting or staying in their personal labs.
After lunch, during the lab personnel’s break, students would have to leave the lab.
Since Qiao Huaiyao would be back early, Bai Jinyan naturally couldn’t stay long either.
Qiao Huaiyao thought for a moment, “If I can come back early, I’ll come to find you.”
Bai Jinyan, having just finished half of his milk, smiled and replied, “Okay.”