Help! My hunky roommate is begging me to touch his abs!

"Nothing."

Zhao Yuheng looked at Jin Bao'er with a wronged expression.

"Nothing?"

"They work themselves to the bone every day, what else are they doing?"

"You're covered in dirt, aren't you doing anything?"

"Knowing he was allergic, he still insisted on eating that celery!"

"Are you trying to make me feel guilty?"

Jin Bao'er almost shouted it out; her throat was tight.

Her eyes were slightly red, and she raised her hand and shoved him hard.

What he couldn't stand the most was someone like Zhao Yuheng.

You could have scolded him, hit him, or said those things to him.

You insist on being good to him, and you insist on treating him in a way that makes him feel sorry for you.

"no."

"What do you mean, 'not'? Are you even a man? Why are you stammering like that?"

Jin Bao'er couldn't stand it anymore. Wasn't Zhao Yuheng usually quite talkative?

I can't even fart tonight.

"I'm just here to apologize and ask for your forgiveness."

Zhao Yuheng finally spoke up.

"Forgive what?"

"Forgive me for not helping that day when I was dying."

"Didn't you step forward later? It's a favor to help, it's your right not to help. I don't blame you, and you don't need to apologize."

Jin Bao'er turned her face away, deliberately pretending to be nonchalant.

"But I promised to protect you for the rest of my life."

Zhao Yuheng looked up at him, the evening breeze ruffling his short hair. His tone was no longer playful, but unusually firm and fluent.

His voice echoed slowly in the evening breeze.

Jin Bao'er used to be overjoyed to hear those words, but now she's just numb.

A man's words are like a devil's lies; if you believe them, you've already lost.

"In the adult world, I don't even take casual remarks seriously, so why should you?"

Jin Bao'er put on a clear-headed expression.

"Do you think I just said that casually?"

Zhao Yuheng's expression held a different emotion.

"If it wasn't just something I said casually, then what was it?"

"Look, you hate gay men, and I like you. Shouldn't you hate me and stay away from me?"

"I don't dislike you, and I don't want to stay away from you," Zhao Yuheng said, staring with his big, dark eyes.

Jin Bao'er rolled her eyes at him: "What were you doing for the past few months? You didn't talk to me at all."

"I didn't understand it then, but I do now."

"What do you want to understand?"

"I've figured it out, I want to be with you forever."

Jin Bao'er was completely stunned when she heard this, her mind went blank.

Is this something a straight man would say?

My fingertips trembled, and I felt both scared and panicked, yet I dared not disbelieve.

"Jin Bao'er, it's your business if you like me, and it's my business if I want to be good to you and treat you like a brother."

Zhao Yuheng stared into his eyes, speaking slowly and deliberately, as if he had rehearsed it a thousand times.

"If you don't mind, I want to treat you as my closest brother for the rest of my life."

He finally said what he had been holding back for so many days.

Jin Bao'er was completely stunned.

What a silly, straight man, would go to such lengths for him?

"Aren't you afraid I might do something excessive to you?"

"We've been sharing a bed for several nights in a row, we've even seen each other naked, what are you afraid of?"

Zhao Yuheng looked completely at ease, unaware of how ambiguous his words were.

"Come here."

Jin Bao'er said.

Zhao Yuheng thought he was going to touch his muscles, so he sat down next to him without hesitation and even lifted his clothes to let him touch them.

She wanted to prove that she could accept his physical contact.

He thought Jin Bao'er would touch his chest and abs, but to his surprise, her hand suddenly fell down.

Zhao Yuheng froze, instinctively wanting to clench his legs.

But remembering what she had just said, she gritted her teeth and forced her legs open, her ear tips turning bright red.

Jin Bao'er was stunned the moment she made the move.

Seeing Zhao Yuheng's nonchalant attitude, I gritted my teeth and continued.

After holding on for 10 seconds, Zhao Yuheng remained completely still.

Jin Bao'er abruptly withdrew her hand.

It felt good, and the other person had a normal physiological response.

I don't know if it was because of something that triggered me, or because of myself.

But all he saw in Zhao Yuheng's eyes was seriousness, without a trace of desire, and he instantly understood.

This big, goofy guy really treats him like a brother.

They're even willing to tolerate this kind of touching.

"Okay, I understand."

"Did you agree?"

Zhao Yuheng looked at him with delight.

Jin Bao'er hesitated for a moment.

If a straight man has gone to this lengths for him, what more do you want from him?

The other person doesn't mind your liking, or even that you're taking advantage of them.

He dares to say he'll never meet another straight man like that in his lifetime.

"If you want to be brothers, then be brothers. Anyway... anyway, as long as it's you, I'll do anything."

Jin Bao'er turned her face away, her ears turning red, deliberately putting on an indifferent expression.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Yuheng reached out and pulled him into a tight embrace, pressing his head against his warm, firm chest muscles.

Her chin rested on the top of his head; the two were so close that they could hear each other's heartbeats clearly.

Jin Bao'er: "..."

He was no longer bothered by honor or disgrace, after all, he had already tried the next most intimate act.

That night, the moon was big and round, dispelling the regret hidden in Jin Bao'er's heart.

He was actually very grateful to Zhao Yuheng, because he could only be his most authentic self in front of him.

When I got home, Liu Yu was standing at the door.

"Brother, I have something to say to Zhao Yuheng. You go in first."

Jin Bao'er felt a little uncomfortable seeing her younger brother so serious.

He wanted to say something, but Zhao Yuheng nudged him, gesturing for him to go inside first.

Finally, he went inside.

Liu Yu led Zhao Yuheng to the main gate.

"Heng-ge, do you still stand by what you said before?"

Liu Yu had been observing Zhao Yuheng for the past few days and noticed that he was treating Jin Bao'er even better than before, and was even willing to suffer so much for her.

"Yes, it counts."

"Do you know why I was so angry that day and hit you?"

Today, Liu Yu was no longer the usual awkward person; she only looked solemn.

Zhao Yuheng shook his head.

"When my brother was in junior high, he was short and small, but he had good grades and liked to hang out with girls, especially the vice class monitor, who always liked to hang out with him. One day, a boy who liked the vice class monitor led a group of people to surround him and tell him to stay away from the vice class monitor. My brother agreed at the time, but that guy was worried and said he wanted to give him a warning, so he pulled down his pants... and everyone peed on him..."

Liu Yu only recounted the less serious parts of the story, leaving some parts untold.

In the darkness, Zhao Yuheng's fists were clenched tightly, his knuckles clenched so hard that the cracking sound of his bones was particularly clear in the silent night.

The air around him was frighteningly low, and his eyes were filled with a fury and heartache that Jin Bao'er had never seen before. He couldn't utter a sound for a long time.

"So, he developed post-traumatic stress disorder. But thankfully, as long as he's not surrounded by a group of people threatening him, he's no different from a normal person."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know..."

Liu Yu raised her hand to interrupt his apology: "In the end, you still saved him. If it weren't for you, my brother wouldn't have recovered so quickly. I'm the one who should be thanking you."

After he finished speaking, he was about to bow to Zhao Yuheng, but he was stopped.

"No, I'm the bad guy. I'm just watching him get bullied and not doing anything about it."

Zhao Yuheng felt heartbroken whenever he thought of this, and he couldn't sleep all night whenever he recalled Jin Bao'er's screams that day.

"Do you like him?" Liu Yu suddenly blurted out, which surprised even Zhao Yuheng.

Liu Yu noticed his surprise and smiled, "My brother is so skinny and weak, he's probably gay. Only a big, dumb guy like you would think he's straight."

Zhao Yuheng: "..."

"I don't know what heterosexual attraction or homosexual attraction means."

Zhao Yuheng didn't dare to make any absolute statements, as he was truly uncertain about matters of the heart, but his tone was incredibly firm: "But I'm certain that I will protect Jinbao'er for the rest of my life, and no one can bully him."

"Okay, I'm straight too. If there really was a guy who liked me that much, I might not do better than you."

"But he's still my brother. I hope that if your feelings for him fade in the future, we can part ways gracefully, okay?"

Liu Yu looked like an old man as he gave Zhao Yuheng instructions.

Zhao Yuheng immediately felt immense pressure and was extremely uncomfortable.

It was as if his father-in-law was giving him instructions in person; his cheeks were burning, but he still nodded vigorously.

"Okay, I won't let him suffer any injustice."