'The iron tree has blossomed,' Chu Jin thought.

He suppressed the urge to smile, afraid of scaring away Shen Mengzhi's extremely rare initiative, and silently sat back down.

Shen Mengzhi knew the back injury could be serious, but after personally seeing the terrifying purple bruise on his waist, he couldn't help but gasp.

He had previously held onto some hope, thinking that since Chu Jin was moving freely, it might not be a big deal. Only now did he realize that the other man was simply toughing it out.

The man lying on the bed seemed to know what he was thinking. He reached out and comfortingly caressed his face. "Don't worry, it'll fade."

Shen Mengzhi was silent for a while before asking, "Did you get hurt anywhere else?"

Chu Jin said, "No."

Shen Mengzhi said, "Then roll up your sleeves and let me have a look."

...

Chu Jin said stubbornly, "Those are just minor injuries."

Shen Mengzhi gave him a speechless look, then finally stood up and walked towards the desk. He hadn't even put his feet on the floor when someone grabbed him from behind.

"Are you angry?" Forgetting his own back injury entirely, Chu Jin instinctively twisted to grab him, only to hurt his back again. Even so, he didn't let go. "Because I lied to you?"

Shen Mengzhi froze. Turning back, he saw the cold sweat of pain on Chu Jin's forehead and blinked. "...I'm going to get some ointment."

Chu Jin also paused. "What ointment?"

"Ointment for bruises and swelling." Shen Mengzhi pulled his hand free, walked to the desk, and took out a wooden box from a drawer. "If you wait for it to heal on its own, it could take months."

Chu Jin's eyes were fixed on the box of ointment. He suddenly let out a sigh of relief, fell back, and lay still.

Shen Mengzhi had wanted to say, 'You seem to have a strong reaction to deception,' but seeing him like this, he couldn't help but find it funny. "This is my bed."

The other man sank into the blankets, his voice muffled. "Senior Brother is so stingy, you won't even let me lie in your bed." He was clearly taking advantage of being a patient. If not for his aching back, he would probably be throwing a tantrum on the floor.

Shen Mengzhi found it funny. He walked over, sat down at Chu Jin's side, scooped up a little ointment, and spread it evenly on his waist. "Who would have thought that the guy who opposed me in every possible way could now sit peacefully with me on the same bed."

Chu Jin smiled, turning his face slightly. His soft, teasing gaze swept over from the corners of his eyes. "That's not nearly enough."

Shen Mengzhi choked. Meeting his eyes, he was momentarily bewitched by his beauty and forgot what he was doing. The ointment he hadn't yet applied plopped onto the bed, smearing a streak of green. Shen Mengzhi shot it an annoyed glance and pushed the restless Heir back down. "Don't move. If you move again, you can wash my bedsheets."

Chu Jin mumbled an assent and lay still.

Without the fellow's interference, Shen Mengzhi could finally focus on the bruise. It stretched from Chu Jin's waist to his back, looking exceptionally gruesome against his fair skin, like a dark cloud.

He applied the ointment again, then began to press on a few acupoints as taught in the books. But this was his first time doing such a thing, so he was a little apprehensive. He asked as he pressed, "How is it? Does it hurt?"

Chu Jin's voice, muffled by the blankets, came through intermittently. "It doesn't hurt... What is this medicine? It's nice and cool... very comfortable."

He said it didn't hurt, but the subtle tremor in his fingers betrayed the truth. Shen Mengzhi freed one hand to grip Chu Jin's right hand, which was lying at his side. "This is Gromwell Ointment," he said softly. "It's very effective. It's bound to hurt when clearing the stagnant blood, so bear with it. If you can't stand it, you can bite my hand."

"How could I do that," Chu Jin chuckled. "Senior Brother's hands are so beautiful. What if I leave teeth marks?"

Despite his words, Shen Mengzhi felt his own fingers being squeezed tighter and tighter, with a force so great he couldn't break free. Yet, he didn't feel any pain, because just as it reached the threshold, the hand gripping his would suddenly loosen, as if afraid of hurting him.

Shen Mengzhi lowered his eyes, trying to concentrate again, but he heard Chu Jin gasp, "Senior Brother, talk to me. Otherwise, what if I cry from the pain in a bit?"

Shen Mengzhi imagined the scene, felt it would be too tragic to behold, and chuckled. "Alright, what do you want to hear me talk about?"

The words had barely left his mouth when Chu Jin, as if he had planned it all along, followed up, "Tell me about Qi Yu."

...

Shen Mengzhi sighed. He had long known that Chu Jin's obsession with Qi Yu was astonishing, reaching the point of forgoing sleep and rest.

He organized his thoughts. "Qi Yu... was one of the first to enter the academy back then. We've known each other for a long time, so we have a relatively good relationship."

Chu Jin asked, "How good?"

Shen Mengzhi thought for a moment. "Close and dear friends."

This could be considered very high praise. Chu Jin let out a laugh, its meaning indiscernible, and suddenly said, "The first time I saw you was in our teacher's courtyard. You were smiling happily at Qi Yu, completely ignoring me."

Shen Mengzhi: "...Did I?"

"You did," Chu Jin said. "The second time, you were at his place brewing medicine, acting intimately. When you saw me, you were dismissive and sentenced me to a month's confinement on the spot."

"I told you, that was a misunderstanding..."

Chu Jin glanced at him, a smile tugging at his lips, his voice light and airy. "Yesterday, the way you were so obedient to him, the way you indulged him, the way you smiled at him... I was going mad with jealousy."

Shen Mengzhi's hand trembled, smearing a patch of ointment aside.

"If he's your close friend, your dear friend, and that's why you treat him that way," Chu Jin straightened up, leaning in close to Shen Mengzhi, his voice practically a whisper against his ear, "then what about me? Don't I deserve something more special?"

His expression was composed, but his heart was urgent, uneasy, full of craving.

He had understood long ago that anything he possessed could be lost at any moment. He had to hold on tightly, terrified that one day, those things would slip through his fingers.

The most untrustworthy thing is a promise, the most clumsy is proof, and the most difficult to obtain is a sincere heart.

Yet, it was precisely these three things that he craved the most.

"You seem very afraid that I might suddenly leave," Shen Mengzhi said with a smile.

Chu Jin's expression stiffened, having been seen through.

But then he heard Shen Mengzhi continue, "I wouldn't apply medicine for a friend like this, nor would I let a friend lie so brazenly in my bed, and I certainly wouldn't let a friend press against my lips to say such things."

He pressed his index finger to Chu Jin's lips, pushing him back just a fraction, and then whispered, "You are already the most special one. Haven't you realized that yet?"

Chu Jin stared at him without blinking, seemingly still processing the meaning of those words.

"No wonder you've been targeting Qi Yu these past few days." The more Shen Mengzhi thought about it, the more amusing it became. "Lie down, I'll apply the ointment to your waist."

Chu Jin obediently lay down. As if struck by something, he remained silent and allowed Shen Mengzhi to tend to him.

The bruising on his abdomen was even darker. Shen Mengzhi frowned and placed his palm over it, intending to use the warmth from his hand to help the ointment absorb.

The skin beneath his hand was firm and smooth, covered by a thin layer of muscle that was neither overly bulky nor soft—it was just right. As Shen Mengzhi's mind wandered, he suddenly felt his palm slowly grow hot, which made him pause.

Gromwell Ointment had a cooling effect, so how could it be generating heat?

Shen Mengzhi leaned over and uncertainly felt Chu Jin's forehead. His temperature was normal.

The other man watched him with a smile and asked, "What's wrong?"

His voice was a little hoarse, but Shen Mengzhi didn't notice. He shook his head, took a little more ointment, and prepared to massage it in. "Tell me if it hurts."

Chu Jin fell silent. His dark eyes were fixed on the person before him, his gaze wandering wantonly from the crown of his head down to his tightly pursed lips.

The sensation on his abdomen was strange. The cool ointment, combined with the other person's fingers, felt like a fire had been lit, burning hotter and hotter inside him.

It hurt a little, and itched a little. It was a little cold, and a little hot.

Chu Jin closed his eyes and exhaled.

Shen Mengzhi took some more ointment, but before he could apply it this time, his wrist was seized by Chu Jin.

Before he could react, the force from his wrist pulled him down, and his fingertips were kissed.

"Senior Brother," Chu Jin's lips curled up, but his eyes held a fire that seemed to burn the corners of his eyes red. "Help me?"

The low, hoarse voice, the abnormal heat...

Shen Mengzhi belatedly came to his senses, but it was too late. The ointment, teetering in his hand, plopped onto the bed once again.

...

In the end, Shen Mengzhi closed his eyes and, as if deceiving himself, uttered, "You can wash the bedsheets."

The author has something to say:

Time for some fluff hehe

They didn't get to home base!!! Their first time will be later, this time was just a five-finger maiden.)