Chapter 20: The Twelfth Day (Part Two)

When they stepped back outside, the sky was already darkening.

Su Shengxin and Shang Yin walked back to the wooden cabin in a tacit understanding. Su Shengxin’s mouth still felt strangely empty—their final kiss just moments ago had been nothing more than a tangle of tongues, and Su Shengxin did not feel satisfied with that.

He had filmed many kissing scenes before, often with actors and actresses widely recognized as icons, some playing the sexy type, others the ascetic. Yet, he had never experienced a situation like this.

Shang Yin walked at a measured pace, and Su Shengxin matched his rhythm, making time feel infinitely stretched.

Neither was in a rush. Shang Yin was accustomed to drawing things out to keep people hooked, never letting others see his true cards; in business, he was always the one who remained unhurried. Su Shengxin, for his part, did not want to appear as though he had lost his composure.

They reached the villa quickly.

Once inside, Su Shengxin kicked off his shoes, stepped onto the floor, and made his way to the dining table. He uncorked a bottle of red wine, took a few direct swigs from the bottle, and turned to stare at Shang Yin, waiting for the kiss they had agreed upon.

Now, just like in the short scene from earlier, the taste of alcohol flooded his mouth—only richer, sweeter, sharper, and more intense, demanding a powerful catalyst.

In truth, the drop of alcohol he had tasted while filming that skit had been nowhere near enough. To ensure the show could be filmed normally, the "wine" the actors used was actually a low-alcohol, ten-percent osmanthus wine, used purely for atmosphere.

But this wine was enough to fully indulge in.

Su Shengxin’s stomach, esophagus, throat, and tongue were burning, tingling, and numb, yet he craved even more stimulation.

He walked up to Shang Yin, who was still standing by the door, his lips still glistening with a trace of wine.

He looked at Shang Yin with a calm expression, and Shang Yin looked back. Then, in the next moment, as if something had been ignited, they could no longer control themselves and suddenly began to kiss with frantic intensity.

Bodies pressed together; tongues entwined.

Making the sweetness sweeter, and the pain more acute.

His tongue was already hot, and as Shang Yin coiled around it, rubbing against every part of his mouth with forceful, aggressive strokes, Su Shengxin felt as if he were truly catching fire.

He found it strange. Why, when the other man’s lips and tongue had no flavor—neither sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, nor salty—could his own taste buds be stimulated to such an extreme? Every cell in his body seemed to go wild, his brain seemingly malfunctioning. His tongue no longer felt like a mere organ of taste, but a sexual organ, sending waves of pleasure to every corner of his body.

His pelvis, in particular, felt completely weak and aching.

Before long, a small sound escaped Su Shengxin’s throat.

At the same time, his lips, tongue, and throat grew weak and limp, tethered and controlled by the other man. He could not even swallow. The interior of his mouth grew increasingly damp, making the kiss feel wet and messy. Not wanting to look too disheveled, Su Shengxin pushed at Shang Yin.

Shang Yin let him go for a moment, his palm cupping Su Shengxin’s cheek, his thumb tracing his lips as he asked in a low voice, "Su Shengxin, wasn't it said by some media outlet that you had the 'sexiest lips of the last decade'? Or did I remember that wrong?"

Su Shengxin exhaled softly. With his back against the door and his eyes locked on Shang Yin, he replied, "I don't know. The opinions of those media outlets don't matter."

Shang Yin’s voice seemed to deepen as he pressed, "Then whose opinion does matter?"

Su Shengxin did not shy away. He said, "Yours, of course. Mr. Shang."

Once again, it was a blur of truth and pretense.

Shang Yin did not answer. He pondered, his thumb tracing the other man’s lips over and over—from the cupid’s bow to the corners, and back again. He still looked calm, but his breathing had grown heavy.

Su Shengxin continued to pressure him, asking, "So, what is your answer?"

Shang Yin still didn't speak, but he leaned in, fascinated.

This time, it was no longer an uncontrollable, deep kiss, but a meticulous tasting, a full-hearted experience. Shang Yin began by sucking gently on Su Shengxin’s lips, top and bottom, like a dragonfly skimming the surface of the water. After a while, he teased open his teeth, brushing his tongue against Su Shengxin’s. When Su Shengxin instinctively pulled back, he chased after him, flicking and sweeping, before carefully wrapping around him and slowly tangling together, giving him a long, deep, and incredibly lingering kiss.

In all of Su Shengxin’s previous dramas, kisses always started gentle and ended in a loss of control. It took some new stimulation for the characters to reach that point of no return.

He had never experienced a kiss that started with a loss of control and turned gentle afterward, but he loved it.

By the time he was finally released, he looked into the other man’s eyes, feeling his heart hammering against his ribs, unruly and violent, striking his throat so hard it actually caused a dull ache.

Shang Yin stared at Su Shengxin’s reddened lips and teased, "The sexiest lips... they’ve been kissed swollen, Teacher Su."

Su Shengxin felt the tingling, itchy sensation in his lips, as if a swarm of bees were stinging them. He glanced at Shang Yin, covered his mouth with one hand, and pushed Shang Yin aside to head into the bedroom to change clothes.

He thought to himself, he didn't know if they were truly swollen or not, but if they were, he didn't want to be caught on camera—it would be ugly. Maintaining his best appearance when necessary was a basic professional requirement for an actor.

Shang Yin watched his back and smiled, then went to prepare dinner.

...

Perhaps because these kisses had stirred more than just his taste buds—but his entire body—Su Shengxin found that even with a sumptuous dinner that night, nothing felt particularly interesting to eat.

Not even the sweets.

As an actor, he usually had to control his diet, yet Su Shengxin loved sweets, so he usually felt immense satisfaction every time he ate something like a candy.

But tonight, even after eating quite a bit, he still felt nothing.

He remained empty.

His taste buds seemed to have been upgraded; pure sweetness could no longer please him.

What he wanted now were things that could stimulate his entire body.

He watched Shang Yin quietly while the other man wasn't looking, and darted his eyes away the moment Shang Yin’s gaze returned, pretending he wasn't in any rush.

Shang Yin did the same.

He watched him, but not in any blatant way. After all, on the surface, they were still acting; neither had promised anything.

Finally, at eleven o'clock that night, Shang Yin went to shower first.

Su Shengxin followed.

After washing, Su Shengxin turned off the faucet, wrapped himself in a bathrobe, tied the belt, and took a deep, steadying breath before pushing open the shower door.

The second kiss they had agreed upon was next.

He didn't expect that the moment his fingertips touched the glass, the door would be pulled open from the outside by Shang Yin.

The two stood in the mist, looking at each other in silence.

Shang Yin stood there wearing a bathrobe as well. He was tall and broad, looking remarkably graceful even in such attire.

They read the expressions on each other's faces. A moment later, Shang Yin urged Su Shengxin back, stepped into the shower, and closed the glass door with a bang, shutting out the cameras.

"..." Shang Yin’s presence was always overwhelming, but Su Shengxin was not afraid; instead, he stepped forward, draped his wrists over Shang Yin’s shoulders, and lowered his gaze, offering himself up.

The temperature in the bathroom was high, as was the humidity. Their lips sucked gently, making soft sounds, the entire space damp, turbulent, restless, and dizzying.

Shang Yin explored his mouth again.

This time, it wasn't fierce, but slow and meticulous, exploring every inch as if he wanted to experience every part of him.

Su Shengxin wasn't in a hurry either. It was perfect—he wanted every inch of the other man, too.

Eventually, the kiss turned into heavy, wet licking.

In the bathroom, the feeling of suffocation became more pronounced.

Their nasal passages were burning, and breathing was agonizingly difficult, so they fought for the thin air between their mouths.

Every time they pulled apart slightly, they would gasp, inhaling each other’s breath while exhaling their own. Then, they would embrace once more.

It wasn't just their mouths