AAWOMAHI Chapter95

It was the peak of summer in August, and in the middle of this scorching month, it was time for Yenching University students to go through military training.

 

On the fourteenth, Lu Xingmian returned to school and picked up his camouflage uniform.

 

The uniform was a bit big with the pants feeling very loose on him, but luckily, they came with a belt. The belt along with the camouflage T-shirt made him look sharp and energetic.

 

Lu Xingmian looked at himself in the mirror and then asked Lu Shiran, who was behind him, “Ge, what do you think? Is it too big?”

 

Lu Shiran watched him impassively from behind. The uniform actually highlighted Lu Xingmian’s figure, especially his waist, which looked even slenderer. Only Lu Shiran knew how supple Lu Xingmian’s waist was.

 

He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Lu Xingmian’s waist. “Zai Zai, you’ll be gone for half a month.”

 

They wouldn’t be able to see each other for two weeks.

 

Lu Xingmian said, “It’s fine, they won’t confiscate our phones. We can video call and phone call.”

 

But they had never been apart for this long. Even when Lu Shiran was on business trips, he would be back in five or six days at most. Now they would be separated for a full fourteen days, which means half a month.

 

Lu Shiran held him close. “Mian Zai, I’ll miss you.”

 

Lu Xingmian replied, “I’ll miss you, too.”

 

Lu Shiran kissed his cheek and then the ear stud on his ear, and Lu Xingmian’s legs immediately went weak.

 

“Zai Zai, I really don’t want you to go to military training.”

 

With Lu Shiran acting like this, Lu Xingmian had no resistance, and his face flushed. “Ge, you can do whatever you want today. I’ll listen to you.”

 

Lu Shiran unbuckled the belt with one hand while his palm slid down quickly. The man bit the other party’s ear. “Zai Zai, you said it yourself.”

 

Lu Xingmian, who was clinging to his last bit of reason, said, “Don’t leave any marks on my neck.”

 

“Call me ‘Laogong’ and I won’t.”

 

“Laogong.”

 

Lu Shiran completely lost all self-control.

 

And to this day, Lu Xingmian still hadn’t learned his lesson, he shouldn’t trust anything Lu Shiran said in bed.

 

On the sixteenth, Lu Xingmian and his classmates gathered on time and boarded the bus, which took them to the training camp.

 

As the bus left the school, Lu Xingmian saw a car on the side of the road, it was Lu Shiran’s car.

 

That morning, Lu Shiran had dropped him off at school, and nearly two hours had passed from the time they gathered until they finally left, which meant Lu Shiran had been waiting there for nearly two hours.

 

Several other buses passed by, yet the people inside showed no reaction as if they were in sync. Just as the bus carrying Lu Xingmian was about to pass, Lu Shiran rolled down his car window.

 

Lu Xingmian who was on the bus and Lu Shiran who was in the car met each other’s gaze.

 

That single glance felt like an eternity.

 

Lu Shiran’s eyes were filled with deep reluctance to part.

 

Lu Xingmian leaned against the bus window and made a heart gesture with his fingers.

 

The bus quickly drove past as Lu Shiran watched the bus disappear from his sight. He suddenly understood the feeling Lu Xingmian had before when he watched him leave, however Lu Xingmian had watched him leave countless times, not just once.

 

Lu Xingmian quietly pulled his collar up. There were two very obvious hickeys on his neck, both of which were left by Lu Shiran. He suspected Lu Shiran did it on purpose.

 

[Lu Xingmian: Ge, you should go back now. I’ll be back in half a month, it’ll go by really fast.]

 

[Lu Shiran: Take good care of yourself. If the food isn’t good, tell me and I’ll find a way to bring you some.]

 

Lu Xingmian smiled as he read the messages.

 

[Lu Xingmian: Ge, I’m not a kid anymore. I’ll take good care of myself.]

 

Lu Shiran must have forgotten that Lu Xingmian used to be on his own before.

 

About an hour later, they arrived at the training camp.

 

As soon as they got off the bus, everyone’s snacks were confiscated by their respective drill instructors, who told them they would get everything back when they left.

 

Lu Xingmian’s snacks were all taken, including the dozen packs of spicy strips he had secretly bought. But he was grateful they didn’t confiscate their phones.

 

He could already imagine that if Lu Shiran couldn’t reach him, he would definitely rush over here to find him.

 

The dorms at the training camp weren’t like the ones at school. There were twelve people in the room and most of them were classmates who had already gotten to know each other well over the past year.

 

Lu Xingmian and Jiang Ran were assigned on bunk beds with one above the other.

 

After making his bed, Jiang Ran called his boyfriend. Lu Xingmian also sent a message to Lu Shiran telling him he had arrived at the camp, and then he heard the drill instructor blow a whistle for them to gather.

 

Lu Xingmian and the other students hurried downstairs to assemble and he quickly switched his phone to silent.

 

Everyone thought they would get a break, however they started military training right away.

 

While standing at attention, Lu Xingmian felt the phone in his pants vibrate. It was probably a message from Lu Shiran.

 

It was the hottest time of year and after standing in the blazing sun for a while with a hat on, his forehead was covered in sweat and felt itchy. But no one dared to move. Their drill instructor was very strict; if anyone moved, they would have to do ten push-ups on the spot.

 

Although Lu Xingmian looked slender, he stood completely still and endured the whole time.

 

After an afternoon of training, it finally ended and it was time for dinner.

 

After finishing his meal, Lu Xingmian finally remembered to check his phone.

 

Lu Shiran had sent him many messages but then probably guessed that he had started training and stopped sending more. He just told Lu Xingmian to message him back when training was over so he wouldn’t worry.

 

Lu Xingmian found a quiet spot and made a call. Lu Shiran picked up almost instantly and his voice came through the phone. “Zai Zai.”

 

Hearing that voice, all of Lu Xingmian’s exhaustion from the afternoon instantly vanished.

 

Lu Xingmian said, “Ge, I’m sorry. We started training this afternoon, and I didn’t have time to look at my phone.”

 

Lu Shiran had already figured that out when he didn’t reply.

 

Lu Shiran asked, “Are you tired? Have you eaten?”

 

Even though they had only just parted ways that morning, they now had so much to talk about. The call lasted for over an hour. It was only when Lu Shiran realized that Lu Xingmian was calling from outside that he told him to go back and rest.

 

Lu Xingmian didn’t want to hang up and wanted to hear Lu Shiran’s voice for a little longer. But Lu Shiran coaxed and promised to call before he went to sleep and read him a story like he used to, and only then did Lu Xingmian agree to hang up.

 

Lu Xingmian said, “Perfect. I sweated a lot today, so I’m going to take a shower in a bit.”

 

Lu Shiran, who was about to hang up, suddenly widened his eyes as a question occurred to him. “Zai Zai, is it a communal shower?”

 

“En, of course it is. Why?” Lu Xingmian replied.

 

Why? Why? A communal shower means a lot of people will be showering together!

 

On the other end of the line, Lu Shiran’s face twisted in distress, yet his voice remained calm. “Nothing. Zai Zai, go back and rest. Call me later.”

 

After hanging up, Lu Xingmian thought that Lu Shiran sounded a little off. It seemed like he was troubled about something, but Lu Xingmian decided he was probably overthinking it. What could Lu Shiran possibly be so worried about?

 

Meanwhile, Lu Shiran was paced back and forth on the balcony. The thought of Lu Xingmian showering with so many other people made him feel anxious. Wouldn’t other people be able to see his sweetheart’s body? His sweetheart’s skin is so fair, and he has a slender waist, long legs, a shapely butt, and that incredibly cute little lollipop…

 

The thought of his sweetheart being seen by others made Lu Shiran want to smoke.

 

He told himself, They’re all guys; it’s just a shower; it’s normal. But then he’d think, what if one of them has a different sexual orientation and sees Lu Xingmian’s body…? Lu Shiran’s frustration flared up again as he continued to pace on the balcony.

 

Finally, Xingmian’s call came in again at midnight.

 

“Ge, can you wait for me for another half hour? I’ll call you back by then.” Lu Xingmian said.

 

“What’s wrong?” Lu Shiran asked.

 

“Jiang Ran and I are going to shower now.” Lu Xingmian said.

 

Lu Shiran was confused. “Zai Zai, why haven’t you showered yet? It’s so late.”

 

“There were too many people.” Lu Xingmian replied.

 

Both Lu Xingmian and Jiang Ran had boyfriends and didn’t want to shower with so many other people, so they agreed to wait until the middle of the night, when everyone else was likely asleep.

 

Lu Xingmian had no idea that after he hung up, Lu Shiran excitedly walked around the room.

 

Lu Xingmian showered as quickly as he could, then lay in bed and called Lu Shiran.

 

Everyone except for him and Jiang Ran was asleep inside the dorm with their snores echoing through the room.

 

To avoid disturbing his classmates, Lu Xingmian spoke softly for a couple of sentences before Lu Shiran took over the conversation.

 

He was so exhausted from the day. Listening to Lu Shiran’s voice, Lu Xingmian fell asleep in less than three minutes. It was another twenty minutes before Lu Shiran reluctantly hung up.

 

With no Lu Xingmian to hold and no warmth from him nearby, Lu Shiran couldn’t fall asleep. This was just the first night and there were more than a dozen more to go.

 

The days of military training were busy. By the end of each day, Lu Xingmian was so tired he only wanted to lie in bed and sleep.

 

But every day after training, Lu Xingmian would video call Lu Shiran, and they’d talk for a long time. Then before bed, they would make another call, and Lu Shiran would always lull Lu Xingmian to sleep.

 

Sometimes, Lu Xingmian would leave the video call on by placing his phone by his pillow and looking at Lu Shiran on the screen. Lu Shiran’s side was bright while Lu Xingmian’s was dark, showing only his faint outline. Despite this, Lu Shiran would stare at the sleeping Lu Xingmian, using the sight to soothe his longing.

 

This went on for fourteen days until military training finally ended.

 

As soon as Lu Xingmian walked out of the school gates, Lu Shiran pulled him into the car. The moment he saw Lu Shiran, Lu Xingmian hugged him tightly. “Ge, I missed you so much.”

 

Lu Shiran simply hummed in response.

 

Although they had video calls every day, it felt like they hadn’t seen each other in a long time. Lu Xingmian chattered on and on in the car while Lu Shiran listened quietly and focused on his driving.

 

After a half-month of military training, Lu Xingmian’s skin was still fair and hadn’t gotten tanned at all. He just looked a little thinner, with less fat on his face.

 

Lu Xingmian kept talking excitedly all the way until they entered the house.

 

Before he could react, his mouth was sealed.

 

All the longing from the past two weeks erupted at that moment, and Lu Xingmian was kissed to the point of nearly suffocating.

 

Lu Shiran held his boyfriend’s backside. “Zai Zai, you’ve lost weight. There’s less flesh on your butt. Didn’t you eat well?”

 

“I did eat well. I ate two bowls of rice with every meal.” Lu Xingmian protested.

 

“I need to check if the meat on your front has gotten smaller, too.” Lu Shiran said.

 

Quiet, sobbing sounds could be heard from inside the room.

 

Lu Xingmian felt that the past half month of military training hadn’t worn him out, yet now his legs were shaking from Lu Shiran’s relentless torment.

 

“Zai Zai, call me ‘Laogong’.”

 

“…Laogong, be gentler…”

 

“Zai Zai, we haven’t seen each other in half a month.”

 

“Wuwu…”