What Are Your Tastes? chapter 59

Come Live at My Place

The heavy rain from the previous night turned into a drizzle, lasting almost all night. The next day, the sun came out, and the puddles on the ground hadn’t dried yet, reflecting light like mirrors.

Their relationship was thus easily decided, as if nothing had happened. But when Zhou Yanchuan knocked on the door across from his again, he felt a difference.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

“Yes, let’s go.”

That day was Lu Yunchu’s twenty-eighth birthday, and it was also the day he started dating Zhou Yanchuan. To him, the latter might be more significant.

Zhou Yanchuan, not knowing it was his birthday until too late, fretted over what gift to give. Lu Yunchu didn’t care much about these things and suggested they go on a date since they had nothing to do on Saturday morning, leaving the planning to Zhou Yanchuan.

They had breakfast at “Changxi” and then Zhou Yanchuan drove towards the outskirts of the city.

“Where are we going?” Lu Yunchu asked curiously.

“You’ll know when we get there.”

The car sped along the elevated road, and soon, their destination was in sight. Lu Yunchu realized Zhou Yanchuan was taking him to the riverside park on the outskirts of the city, the place where fireworks were set off every New Year’s.

Zhou Yanchuan wasn’t sure if his idea was interesting. He felt Lu Yunchu wasn’t fond of crowds, and shopping or watching movies in the city might not be enjoyable enough.

He thought of this park along the river—spacious, not crowded even with many people, and with water, a good place for birdwatching or boating.

However, at the boat ticket window, besides them, there were only families with children, making him doubt the maturity of his suggestion.

As a child, Zhou Yanchuan didn’t have many chances to participate in such activities. Growing up, he was too busy, and later, when he was alone, he felt too self-conscious to join the fun.

“Hurry, get on!” Lu Yunchu, with no mental burden, took the life jacket from the staff and jumped onto a swan-shaped boat first.

“Okay.” Zhou Yanchuan quickly followed.

They chose a pedal boat, harder work than an electric one but easier to control. They paddled slowly, resting on the water when tired, leaning back to relax.

“I’ve never been on this before.” When the boat stopped, Lu Yunchu said.

“You haven’t?” This completely surprised Zhou Yanchuan.

“My parents didn’t like it before…”

The deepest impression from his childhood was his father, Lu Changming, hiring many tutors for various training, ensuring he could speak fluent English before starting school and was ahead in reading and math…

Of course, drawing and crafts were considered useless, especially for boys. If it weren’t for his mother Wu Lan repeatedly assuring it wouldn’t take much energy, Lu Changming wouldn’t have allowed him to touch them.

Besides that, his time was occupied by various social activities. Lu Yunchu could hardly recall any family-only entertainment. Lu Changming had a yacht and occasionally took them out to sea but always invited business friends along. On the boat, Lu Yunchu’s ears were filled with the same tired clichés, never getting any relaxation.

“And you?”

“Once… I made some progress in an exam, and we went boating in a city park nearby.” Zhou Yanchuan was nine that year, the last family outing before his father’s car accident half a month later. He didn’t want to dwell on sad things and quickly changed the subject. “Shall we head to that small island?”

Ahead was a small artificial island, home to many water birds.

“Sure.”

Rounding the island, the water became more open, the riverside scenery changed, and the boat swayed gently with the waves. They stopped moving forward, letting it drift.

“Yunchu,” Zhou Yanchuan looked at the shimmering water in front of him, “why don’t you come live with me?”

Lu Yunchu was a bit surprised. He had considered the idea of living together, but it was a decision for both of them, and he hadn’t yet probed Zhou Yanchuan’s thoughts. Instead, Zhou Yanchuan had brought it up first.

“Do you mean living together?”

Zhou Yanchuan nodded. He hadn’t slept well the previous night, pondering over this matter.

They lived across from each other and had been accustomed to visiting each other even before they got together. In the future, they would do it even more. So why not just live together?

He had never dated a man before and didn’t understand the specific nuances, but essentially, living together is the same. Having a “home” feeling was always better.

“I just think it would be good to have each other’s company,” worried that Lu Yunchu might misunderstand, he explained, “as for other aspects… if you’re not ready, we don’t have to do anything.”

Lu Yunchu didn’t initially understand what he meant, but then he saw Zhou Yanchuan’s face quickly turn red, spreading to his ears. He immediately understood and asked with a smile, “So if I’m willing, does that mean we can do everything?”

Zhou Yanchuan was stunned, his face turning even redder, and he honestly replied, “Yes.”

This person, who appeared shrewd and experienced in front of others, was actually very simple in nature. With each interaction, Lu Yunchu discovered something new.

“Alright,” he said, “let’s live together.”

The boat swayed lightly. Zhou Yanchuan didn’t realize anything until he felt a soft, cool touch on his cheek that quickly disappeared. After leaving this kiss, Lu Yunchu immediately sat up straight, placed his feet back on the pedals, and began pedaling as if nothing had happened.

Unwillingly, Zhou Yanchuan glanced sideways, wanting to do something, but Lu Yunchu suddenly exclaimed, “Hey, look!”

A white bird of an unknown species had landed on the bow of the boat; however, as soon as he spoke, the bird flapped its wings in surprise and flew towards the small island they had just circled.

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That evening, Lu Yunchu packed a few personal belongings and moved to the apartment across the hall.

He had paid a year’s rent for his own apartment, with just under four months left, so he didn’t plan to terminate the lease early. There were too many things in his apartment, and although Zhou Yanchuan’s place was spacious, moving everything at once would be hard to organize, so he decided to take it slow.

The sound of water intermittently came from the bathroom as Zhou Yanchuan took a shower.

Zhou Yanchuan didn’t have many clothes, so the master bedroom’s walk-in closet was not full. Lu Yunchu categorized and stored the clothes he had brought, then looked around: a double bed, a bedside table, a small writing desk, and a storage cabinet almost entirely made of drawers. The room was large, and the furniture didn’t seem like much.

Except for the time he helped bathe Sabrina, he hadn’t been in Zhou Yanchuan’s bedroom since. Now, this would be their shared living space.

“How is it? Enough space for your stuff?” Zhou Yanchuan came out of the bathroom, a towel draped over his head, rubbing his half-dry hair.

“Yes.”

Living together seemed perfectly natural to Zhou Yanchuan. Suddenly sharing a bed with another man didn’t seem to affect him. He only gulped lightly when he met Lu Yunchu’s ambiguous gaze.

“I still have some things… not prepared,” he threw the towel aside and walked to the bed with Lu Yunchu, “so we can’t do anything tonight.”

The words he had said during the day echoed in his mind. Living together would inevitably lead to a more special relationship.

“What do you think I want to do?” Lu Yunchu asked calmly.

Zhou Yanchuan’s face alternated between red and white, silently protesting his teasing.

“Alright,” Lu Yunchu retracted his previous statement, “let’s just talk before we sleep.”

The bed was 1.8 meters wide, just right for two adults. A small lamp on the bedside table cast a faint, blurry light, and Lu Yunchu lazily sprawled in its glow.

“Zhou Yanchuan, do you think you’ll adapt?”

“Adapt to what?”

Lu Yunchu recalled discussing the difference between straight men and straight women with Ning Ruowei. Men are more physiological, and for Zhou Yanchuan, who had no experience with men, it would undoubtedly be a huge shock.

“I mean… I’m not a girl. My body is structured like yours, I’m not small, I’m firm with some muscle, and—”

“I know you’re firm,” Zhou Yanchuan couldn’t help but laugh, “if you were as soft as cotton, there’d be a problem, and you’d need to go to the hospital.”

Lu Yunchu: “I’m being serious!”

“I know what you mean,” he changed his approach, “are you worried that I can’t get hard for you?”

Lu Yunchu was taken aback. How did he suddenly become so good at grasping the point?

“If I really couldn’t get hard for you, wouldn’t that be my problem to worry about?” he continued, “because even if that’s the case, I still want to be with you. It’s my worry that you’d despise me.”

“Why would I despise you?” Lu Yunchu raised his voice, “Even if that were the case, it wouldn’t matter.”

What started as a small joke was taking a wrong turn, making it sound as if he really had that issue.

In the past, Zhou Yanchuan couldn’t imagine being intimate with a man. To understand his orientation, he had even researched relevant details, including some visual materials.

Such behavior between unfamiliar men didn’t arouse any fantasies; in fact, it repulsed him. But imagining it with Lu Yunchu was different. Emotions and physiological responses are not entirely separate, and he didn’t find it difficult to talk about, as long as he was prepared.

Feeling misunderstood, Zhou Yanchuan poked Lu Yunchu’s waist unhappily, “Do you have muscles?” Not feeling much through the clothes, he lifted Lu Yunchu’s pajama hem and poked twice more, concluding, “You really do have some.”

Lu Yunchu: “…”

Someone could make a suggestive move look like an academic research activity.

“Not as much as mine though.” He added.

Lu Yunchu turned halfway and sat up, “Really? Let me feel.” With that, he attacked Zhou Yanchuan’s abdomen with both hands.

“Don’t touch me like that, hahaha… I’m ticklish.”

After a round of laughter and play, Zhou Yanchuan grabbed his hand, turned around, pressed down on him, and kissed his lips.