Vacation

Perhaps influenced by his emotions during the day, Xie Guan had a nightmare that night.

In the dream, he and Huo Mingjun were running wildly on a deserted mountain road. The rain was pouring, and the sound of a car engine behind them grew closer. He shouted at Huo Mingjun, telling him to run faster, when the ground beneath his feet suddenly shook violently, and a massive explosion echoed between heaven and earth.

All the scenery seemed to be torn apart by a distorted space-time. His perspective suddenly shifted from first-person to a god's-eye view, watching himself fall off a cliff.

Xie Guan woke up with a start, drenched in a cold sweat.

Huo Mingjun had already gotten up and gone to work, leaving him a note on his phone, reminding him to eat breakfast on time, rest well, and not forget to change his dressings.

The scene from the nightmare was still clearly imprinted on his retinas. Not even the bright summer morning outside the window could dispel the bone-deep chill of the rain.

Xie Guan raised a hand to cover his eyes and fell back onto the pillow. He thought carefully about the nightmare and felt something wasn't quite right.

The real explosion had happened in the old factory, but in the dream, the location had shifted to an unknown mountain road, and it was raining. He had clearly been hit by a metal frame in the fire, yet the final scene ended with him falling off a cliff.

Moreover, thinking about it, the scene even felt somewhat familiar.

Xie Guan racked his brains for a long while before it hit him: Wasn't it Cheng Sheng who fell off a cliff for Huo Mingjun?

He understood at once. His subconscious must have overlapped Huo Mingjun's two near-death experiences, which explained the change in perspective and the coexistence of the explosion and the highway escape. He had heard Huo Mingjun's detailed description of that scene before, so he had added the corresponding elements to his dream, and combined with his own experience of the explosion, it had formed a chaotic and jumbled nightmare.

He slowly let out a long breath and relaxed.

The bombing case had delayed their vacation plans, but that didn't seem so important anymore. After confessing their feelings for each other, they were quite content just being in the same space. Although they weren't "partners" in the strictest sense, Huo Mingjun and Xie Guan had indeed entered the "old married couple" mode ahead of schedule.

Xie Guan was bored recovering at home. Aside from not skipping his necessary daily physical exercises, he thankfully hadn't forgotten his main job and would watch classic movies or performances. To encourage his studies, Huo Mingjun picked out a few books on the performing arts for him online. After they were delivered to the house, one could always find Xie Guan, academic tome in hand, sleeping in all sorts of crooked positions.

Out of curiosity, Huo Mingjun picked up one of his books as bedtime reading one night, wanting to test just how powerful its sleep-inducing effect was. As a result, he, a layman, finished half the book and his eyes were still bright and alert. He glanced at the yawning Xie Guan beside him... and silently stamped him with the "illiterate" seal in his mind.

Xie Guan wasn't formally trained. Although he couldn't get into the books, his acting skills still stood out among his peers, relying on years of accumulated experience, observation, and imitation. When he was an extra, he had worked with many famous production crews and was able to observe the performances of many talented actors on set. These live demonstrations, coupled with his natural aptitude, supported his own style of acting.

Although Huo Mingjun wasn't a by-the-book academic type, he sometimes felt that Xie Guan should receive some professional training to refine and solidify his system with theory. But after seeing the natural comprehension and expressiveness Xie Guan had when studying a script, he felt that there was something pure and instinctive about him, and that was the part that should least be polished away by 'systematic theory'.

Xie Guan's self-assessment was more to the point: "Acting skills, you say? That's a nice way to put it. Right now, I'm just a 'little fresh meat,' making a living off my looks. I'll be washed up in less than two years. When I'm old and my looks have faded, if I can still stand in front of a camera and be remembered by the audience, that's when you can say I truly have acting skills."

“Thinking that far ahead?” Huo Mingjun raised an eyebrow and praised him, “You're self-aware, but you don't have to be so modest. I think you act very well. I can go ahead and book you for Best Actor ten years from now.”

Xie Guan laughed. “Your word doesn't count. Your couple-filter and fan-filter combined must be a mile thick.”

“Actually, even if your acting is bad and you don't win Best Actor, it doesn't matter,” Huo Mingjun said. “Xuandu Pictures is ours, the investor is your boyfriend. I can promote you however I want...”

Before he could finish, Xie Guan had already collapsed onto him, laughing.

“Your domineering CEO persona is still going strong, paving the way with money. Sounds just like something you'd do,” he said. After he was tired from laughing, he was too lazy to get up, so he just rested his head limply on Huo Mingjun's lap and sighed, “But seriously, being with you is really sapping my ambition. If I took a role now, I definitely wouldn't be able to work properly. I'd just be thinking about making a quick buck and getting out of there so I could go home and sleep with you.”

The tips of Huo Mingjun's ears twitched. He repeated, “‘Sleep with you’?”

“It's fine if you sleep with me, too,” Xie Guan said, sitting up. His hair was a ruffled mess. He said seriously, “It doesn't matter who sleeps with whom. The key is the action of 'sleeping' itself.”

No, the question of who sleeps with whom was still very important.

Xie Guan was eager to try. “So, are we doing it or not?”

Huo Mingjun glanced at him, feeling that this matter had to be put on the agenda. It could wait no longer.

The investigation into the bombing case was progressing step by step. Just as victory was in sight and the criminals were about to be brought to justice, Zhong Heguang suddenly received a call from his boss, telling him to coordinate the work schedule because he was taking a half-month vacation.

Assistant Zhong never would have expected Huo Mingjun to drop everything and run off at a time like this. “Sir, what about Huo Mingfei’s case...”

“Keep investigating for now. If there are any results, do as I said before,” Huo Mingjun said unhurriedly. “Don't touch Huo Mingfei. I'll deal with him when I get back. Unless there's a major incident with the company or the Huo family, don't disturb me.”

Zhong Heguang's mind was crystal clear. He was certain that Hengrui Group was about to have a 'First Lady' from the Xie family. As a mature and considerate assistant, he couldn't possibly cause trouble for his boss at a time like this. He immediately agreed wholeheartedly, subtly expressed his blessings, and promised to look after things at home.

He then immediately turned around and shared this news with his two other buddies in their WeChat group.

Huo Mingjun still didn't know that behind his back, Fang Hui was righteously indignant, gossiping about him 'robbing the cradle' and stealing her male god. Of course, even if he knew at this point, it would be too late to do anything about her.

The 'matter of a lifetime' that was more important than anything else was leaning against the headboard, his limbs stretched out. Under the thin layer of light from the bedside lamp, his features were as beautiful as a painting. He unhurriedly put his phone aside. “Finished showering? Turn off the light.”

He casually flipped the switch.

In the villa on the private island, the night was silent, filled with the gentle rhythm of waves lapping against the shore.

Xie Guan reached out a hand to him. “Come here.”

Huo Mingjun walked to the bed, got in, and was pulled into a long, entangled kiss.

He felt a slight sense of strangeness, but it was quickly drowned by surging desire. A small aromatherapy lamp was lit in the corner of the room, and the scent of roses slowly drifted through the air.

Xie Guan's hand landed on his back, brushing over the smooth skin, repeatedly caressing the light brown, almost faded scar. He called out indistinctly, “Mingjun...”

Huo Mingjun lowered his head to suckle and kiss his neck and collarbone, his reply carrying a soft nasal hum, “Mm.”

The touches and caresses traveled downwards, finally reaching the base of his spine. Huo Mingjun's body stiffened slightly but immediately relaxed as if nothing had happened.

He hypnotized himself in his mind: “It's fine, as long as he's happy...”

Xie Guan pushed him down onto the bed, looking down at him, his gaze deep and fascinated. “Are you really sure?”

Huo Mingjun raised a hand to stroke his hair, the gesture filled with infinite adoration. His voice was husky with desire. “A bet is a bet.”

Xie Guan leaned down and kissed him on the lips.

His hand roamed over the well-defined abdomen, lingered for a moment on the thigh, but when he tried to move it further up, it felt as if it were stuck to the skin.

Xie Guan paused for several long seconds.

He finally couldn't hold back anymore and completely broke character, collapsing onto Huo Mingjun's chest, laughing as he hugged his waist. “I'm sorry, hahaha... I can't do it. You do it. The size difference between us is a bit much. Me on top of you... feels like a little Teddy dog humping a tree, hahahaha...”

Huo Mingjun was immediately doused by his laughter, stuck in an awkward in-between state. Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, he slammed on the emergency brakes, and then also burst out laughing with him as if he'd had a fit.

The romantic mood vanished completely, but the atmosphere became much more relaxed and cheerful.

“Really... what am I to do with you.”

Huo Mingjun hugged the slipping Xie Guan and pulled him up. There was indeed a noticeable difference in their builds. Huo Mingjun was taller than Xie Guan, and because he exercised diligently and ate well, although he had a lean build, he also looked sturdier than Xie Guan. As for Xie Guan, he hadn't yet regained the weight he'd lost recently, and his body type was naturally the slender kind that looked good on camera—he had abs, but they weren't exaggerated, and his strength leaned towards sustained flexibility rather than explosive power.

On the flight to the island, the two had discussed the top/bottom issue. Although Xie Guan was gay, his straight-man mindset hadn't completely changed yet. He firmly believed he should be on top, or at the very least, be versatile (a 0.5).

Huo Mingjun looked calm and was very good at bluffing, but this was actually his first relationship, so he didn't have any fixed ideas about top or bottom. In any case, they were both men with no functional difference. As long as he could make Xie Guan happy, who slept with whom wasn't the most important issue.

So, at Xie Guan's suggestion, the two used the dispute resolution mechanism of rock-paper-scissors, with a best-of-three system, to scientifically and efficiently decide tonight's position.

But things went off the rails halfway through.

The culprit couldn't stop laughing. Huo Mingjun thought he was being incredibly silly, but he couldn't keep the corners of his own mouth from turning up. Helpless and amused, he held him and laughed for a long time.

When you're in love, who hasn't done a silly thing or two?

Xie Guan lay in his arms, his bare back trembling. His waist was so slender it could be encircled with one hand. The heat from his skin slowly transferred to Huo Mingjun's palm, like a piece of warm, smooth brocade.

A shower of soft kisses landed on his temples and behind his ear, bringing a lingering heat and itchiness, as if a small flame had been lit in his veins.

The true fire of desire, dormant deep in his bones, finally began to awaken.

Xie Guan soon couldn't laugh anymore.

His mind started to grow hazy, his limbs weak. Only one place was astonishingly hot. When he opened his mouth, his voice was like a mixture of sugar and sand, the end of the sound both sweet and hoarse: “Mingjun—”