Chapter 24 – After Midnight

Lu Sheng stepped into his apartment, silence pressing around him like a second skin. He dropped his bag by the door and collapsed halfway onto the couch, one arm flung over his eyes.

> "What a damn day," he muttered.

The taste of matcha still lingered on his lips—and beneath that, Zhihao's laughter echoed in his mind. Charming, easy, safe.

But it wasn't Zhihao who haunted him.

It was Chen.

The café, the tension, the jealousy Chen didn't even understand—Lu Sheng had seen right through it. He knew Chen better than anyone. And what he saw tonight?

Wasn't friendship.

It was fire. Confused fire, sure—but fire, nonetheless.

After a while, Lu Sheng got up, tossed off his clothes, and slipped into an oversized black T-shirt. His bed was cold when he climbed in. The world outside was quiet.

Until—

Ding-dong.

His eyes opened.

Ding-dong.

"Who the hell…" He dragged himself out of bed, bare feet brushing the floor, and walked to the front door.

He opened it—and froze.

Chen.

Hair tousled. Shirt slightly wrinkled. Eyes dark and unreadable.

"Chen?"

Chen didn't say a word. He stepped forward, into the doorway, and grabbed Lu Sheng's wrist gently but firmly.

> "We need to talk."

Lu Sheng pulled back, confused. "What are you doing here? It's almost 2 AM."

> "I couldn't sleep. Not after that café scene."

Lu Sheng folded his arms, unimpressed. "So you're stalking me now?"

> "No. I just—I don't like that guy."

> "Zhihao?"

Chen nodded, lips tight.

> "You don't even know him."

> "I don't have to. I saw the way he looked at you. I saw you laugh with him. Like that used to be us."

Lu Sheng's gaze sharpened. "So it is jealousy."

> "It's not like that—" Chen began, rubbing the back of his neck. "We've always been close. You're my best friend, Lu. I just… I didn't like seeing someone else in that place."

Lu Sheng took a slow step back, voice quiet. "Chen… you are my closest friend. My best. You always have been."

> "Then why did that feel like losing something?"

The air grew heavier.

Lu Sheng's lips parted, his voice barely above a whisper. "Because maybe you don't want to lose me. Not just as a friend."

Chen's breathing deepened. "Maybe I don't."

Lu Sheng looked away, heart pounding. "I'm not a game, Chen. Don't confuse guilt or habit with love."

> "I know that," Chen said roughly. "I just… I don't know what this is. But I can't ignore it anymore."

> "Then stop talking," Lu Sheng whispered.

> "What?"

> "Stop talking," Lu said again, stepping forward, grabbing the front of Chen's shirt—

"and kiss me already."

And he did.

God, he did.

Chen's lips crashed into Lu Sheng's like a dam breaking. Their mouths collided in a desperate, deep kiss—hungry, starved, full of every emotion they'd buried for too long.

Lu Sheng's hands slid up Chen's chest, fingers curling in his collar as their bodies pressed flush. Chen groaned against his mouth, backing Lu into the wall, pinning him there as he kissed down his jaw, across his neck.

> "I missed you," he murmured against Lu's skin.

> "Shut up," Lu gasped, tilting his head back. "Just—touch me."

Their kisses turned frantic, greedy—fingers tugging at clothes, teeth grazing skin, hands everywhere. Chen lifted Lu Sheng up effortlessly, and Lu instinctively wrapped his legs around his waist as Chen carried him to the bedroom.

---

The room was dim, only the streetlights casting slanted gold lines through the window.

Clothes fell away like excuses.

Chen kissed down Lu Sheng's chest, trailing fire across his skin while Lu arched beneath him, gasping his name like a curse and a prayer.

Their hands met and clutched tight. Their bodies moved together with messy rhythm, breathless and burning.

No words.

Just sensation.

Just need.

Just them—finally, undeniably, them.

---

Later, when it was over, they lay tangled in sweat and sheets, Lu Sheng's head tucked under Chen's chin, both their hearts slowly coming down from a high they didn't know they were chasing.

> "This doesn't mean anything's solved," Lu Sheng mumbled sleepily.

> "I know," Chen whispered, pressing a soft kiss to his hair. "But it means something started."

And neither of them denied it.