CHAPTER 108: MAKING OUT IN THE OFFICE.

"Your legs work just fine."

Leaning close, Jian Ci whispered next to his ear, his breath warm. "Little Xi, my thighs are burning, and my ankle feels a little painful."

Yu Xi finally understood, his brows lifting. "Are you jealous of Rowland?"

Jian Ci’s lips curved into a sly smile. "Rowland who?"

Yu Xi laughed, shaking his head. "Cheeky bastard."

Jian Ci chuckled, then pressed further. "Why did you carry him? What happened?"

Yu Xi’s lips curled so much he couldn’t control the smile. "Are you really that jealous?"

Jian Ci’s eyes gleamed. "I haven’t even been carried in a princess carry, but others got special treatment."

Yu Xi pulled Jian Ci up with a firm tug, his voice sharp but tinged with exasperation. "Do you know how big you are? I can’t carry you princess style."

Jian Ci’s grin widened, his tone mischievous. "How would you know if you don’t try it?"

Yu Xi felt his ear itch unbearably, the kind of irritation that came only when Jian Ci was deliberately pushing boundaries. He set Jian Ci down with a sigh. "I am tired," he muttered, knowing full well Jian Ci was playing with fire.

Before Yu Xi could step away, Jian Ci suddenly scooped him up into a princess carry. Yu Xi froze, utterly at a loss. His body reacted instinctively, arms wrapping around Jian Ci’s neck for balance. His cheeks burned so hot it was unbearable.

"People are looking," Yu Xi hissed, mortified.

Jian Ci’s eyes gleamed with mischief. "People were looking when you carried that guy. Why are you embarrassed now? Are you shy?"

"Shut up," Yu Xi snapped, his voice cracking with flustered heat. Jian Ci laughed so hard his shoulders shook, carrying Yu Xi all the way to their building entrance before finally setting him down.

By then, the academy’s forums were already buzzing. Posts about "top cadet in love entanglement with a sweet guide" were pushed aside, replaced with new threads: Tenth and his roommate, Tenth in a bromance, Tenth is flirty.

The posters were even generous enough to upload pictures—capturing the two of them taking turns carrying each other, proof of their affection for others to enjoy.

***

Jian Rui sat in his office, the glow of the floating screen reflecting against his sharp features as he meticulously highlighted sections of an important document. The silence was broken when his communicator rang. He glanced over, saw the name, and sighed. It was Stannis.

"What’s up?" Jian Rui answered, his tone clipped but not unfriendly.

"I miss you," Stannis said immediately, his voice smooth, almost teasing.

Jian Rui’s lips curled faintly. "I don’t miss you."

"Come on, babe, stop playing. I know you miss me," Stannis pressed.

Jian Rui chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Call me babe again and you won’t see me for a year."

"You are so cruel," Stannis replied, mock hurt. "I am here."

"Come up," Jian Rui said, glancing at the time. "I have a meeting in twenty, so you will have to wait for me for an hour."

"I can wait," Stannis said easily.

"Don’t you have a fleet to run?" Jian Rui asked, arching a brow.

"I do," Stannis admitted, "but I miss you. Plus, I have some good news."

"What is it?" Jian Rui asked, pausing his work.

"It will cost you," Stannis replied slyly.

Jian Rui stopped highlighting, leaned back, and said, "Okay. What do you want?"

"I will tell you in person."

Five minutes later, Stannis entered the office carrying a lunch bag. Jian Rui glanced at it. "What’s that?"

Jian Rui didn’t even look up from his floating screen, his voice a low grumble of concentration. The sharp scent of his coffee, bitter and black, was the only thing cutting through the sterile office air.

Stannis placed the lunch bag on the corner of the desk with a soft crinkle. "Breakfast."

Jian Rui’s eyes flickered up from the screen looking at him. Stannis was leaning over the desk, a wicked, enchanting smile playing on his lips. He looked predatory and utterly delicious, his fitted shirt straining just a little across his shoulders.

He didn’t stay on the other side of the desk. He moved around it, his steps silent on the carpet, his presence suddenly filling the entire room, sucking out all the oxygen. Jian Rui’s heart started a frantic, heavy rhythm against his ribs. He watched, completely captivated, as Stannis leaned down, one hand braced on the leather arm of his chair, caging him in.

And then Stannis kissed him.

His lips were soft and insistent, moving against Jian Rui’s with a confidence that stole his breath. The kiss was deep from the very first second, a hot, wet slide of his tongue that tasted of mint and something darker, something uniquely Stannis. Jian Rui’s brain short-circuited. All thoughts of work, of spreadsheets, of the outside world dissolved into the sensation of that mouth on his.

A low, guttural sound escaped Stannis’s throat as his fingers speared into the hair at the nape of Jian Rui’s neck, gripping him firmly, tilting his head to get a better angle.

The kiss turned filthy, a wet, open-mouthed rhythm of lips and tongue that was downright obscene in the quiet office. Jian Rui could hear every slick sound, every soft gasp for air, and it made heat pool low in his gut, his own body responding against his will.

Stannis’s free hand came up, his thumb stroking along Jian Rui’s jawline before sliding down, down, over the frantic pulse in his throat, down to the hollow of his collarbone. The touch was electric, a brand through the crisp cotton of his shirt. Stannis’s thumb pressed into the delicate bone, a subtle, possessive pressure that made Jian Rui shudder.

It was that shudder, that sudden, intense wave of pure, undiluted lust, that snapped something inside him. Jian Rui wrenched his head back, breaking the kiss with a wet, gasping sound. A thin string of saliva connected their lips for a breathtaking second before snapping.