Husband, Let Me Touch Your Abs - Chapter 174

Lu Yao straddled Zhao Beichuan’s lap, his hands resting on his shoulders, and almost instantly, he had a reaction.

Panicking, he pushed Zhao away and jumped off the bed. “Sorry, I need to use the bathroom.”

Zhao Beichuan reached up, tugged the tie off his face, and watched Lu Yao’s retreating figure in deep thought…

In the bathroom, Lu Yao scooped up a handful of cold water and splashed it on his face, clearing his dazed mind.

What was he doing?

Reacting like that in front of a straight guy—he was really desperate! How was he any different from those gays in his DMs harassing people?

He splashed more cold water on his face, forcing his restless body to calm down completely.

The thought of facing Zhao Beichuan again made him feel guilty. Would Zhao be disgusted by him? Would he find it repulsive?

After being single for so many years, Lu Yao had lost his ability to judge emotions. He didn’t know what kind of feelings Zhao Beichuan had for him, and he didn’t dare to test the waters…

It took him a long time to come out of the bathroom. Zhao Beichuan looked at him with concern. “Are you feeling unwell?”

“N-No.”

“Are we still filming?”

“Let me check.” Although he had nearly fallen earlier, all the necessary shots should have been captured. Lu Yao transferred the footage from the camera to his computer and reviewed it.

The shots were well taken, and the close-ups were especially enticing. Only the last second was a bit shaky, with his own panicked yelp mixed in.

Thinking back to their position just now, Lu Yao blushed furiously and quickly shut the video. “We don’t need to shoot anymore today. I’ll just cut the last part.”

“Oh.” Zhao Beichuan took off his dress shirt and changed back into his own clothes, visibly a little disappointed.

“We’re livestreaming tomorrow, so can you come earlier?”

Zhao Beichuan’s eyes lit up. “Of course!”

“Then, get some rest early.”

“You too.”

After Zhao Beichuan left, Lu Yao pulled up the video again and rewatched it. He couldn’t resist DIY-ing once. Damn, who could hold back from this?!

The client’s products arrived the next afternoon—a heavy box filled with belts, collars, shoulder straps, and some leather fetish gear.

The leather was of excellent quality, and the metal fittings were innovative. Even though Lu Yao had never bought such things before, he found them quite appealing.

As he examined them, his mind was already working on the video concept. He planned to shoot a short film with a storyline this time.

He recalled a scene from an old thriller where the protagonist tied someone to a chair. The moment they turned around to look for a weapon, the captive had already broken free and was charging at them.

If filmed well, this concept would be incredibly thrilling. Excited, Lu Yao started drafting the script and shot list. Once finalized, he opened his video account to check the latest private messages.

Yesterday’s video was still getting good engagement, though it hadn’t gone viral. Views were around 150,000, with over 10,000 likes. The comment section, however, was far more active than before.

The top comment came from a familiar ID: “Grain-Loving Bunny.”

“Wow, blindfold play? Did Uncle shoot this?”

A bunch of curious onlookers asked who “Uncle” was.

“The guy who livestreams with Chuan. He films all the videos.”

“Why call him Uncle?”

“He has a deep, husky voice. It’s sexy and sophisticated! Honestly, I bet Uncle is even hotter than Chuan.”

“Not necessarily. Voice doesn’t equal looks. He could be a river demon for all we know.”

“No way Chuan’s boyfriend would be ugly.”

“Aren’t you guys curious how this was filmed? That close-up top-down shot was practically right in his face. Wasn’t he sitting on Chuan’s waist while filming?”

“You sure he wasn’t sitting on something else? (Not saying what, lol.)”

“Big Socks, you’re too crude…”

…

Lu Yao’s face burned. These people had way too much imagination.

Scrolling further, he found someone had pieced together Zhao Beichuan’s full face from different video clips. Previous videos showed the upper half of his face, and the latest one revealed the lower half. Though there were some discrepancies, the composite was about 70-80% accurate.

The comment section was flooded with [lustful emoji] spam.

“Chuan-ge is so hot! Why won’t he show his full face? Does he think we’re not worthy?!”

“Chuan-ge, do a face-reveal livestream, and I’ll gift you a whole box of Zhonghua cigarettes!”

“Face reveal! Face reveal!”

Lu Yao replied under the post: “At 500,000 followers, we’ll do a face-reveal livestream.”

The account only had about 11,000 followers. At the current growth rate, a face reveal wouldn’t be necessary for at least another year.

Since they had agreed to stream tonight, Lu Yao cleaned up his bedroom early and went to the supermarket around 6 PM to buy ingredients for dinner.

The temperature had dropped a bit, and a strong wind blew as he stepped outside, making him sneeze several times.

When it was cold, Lu Yao liked eating hot pot—something warm and hearty to fight off the chill.

He bought several packs of lamb, tripe, duck intestines, fish balls, and beef meatballs, along with some fresh vegetables. Not knowing if Zhao Beichuan could handle spicy food, he prepared two different broth bases.

On the way back, he passed the liquor section and grabbed a bottle of low-alcohol fruit wine.

Meanwhile, Zhao Beichuan was fixing a water heater for a client.

By the afternoon, most of his deliveries were done, and he got a call from someone in the same neighborhood asking for repairs.

It took him an hour to fix, and after some haggling, he earned 80 yuan.

Packing up his tools, he headed downstairs—just in time to see Lu Yao returning from the supermarket, carrying several bags.

“Lu-ge!” Zhao Beichuan ran up excitedly.

“What are you doing here?”

“Just finished fixing a water heater.” Seeing Lu Yao’s hands full, he instinctively took the bags from him. “I’ll carry these upstairs for you.”

“It’s fine, they’re not heavy.” Lu Yao blushed again, completely against his will.

“Wait for me a sec, let me put my tools away.”

Lu Yao followed him to his living space.

Zhao Beichuan rented a tiny garage nearby—just a few square meters, with no windows and only a rolling shutter door.

When he opened it, the inside was damp and dimly lit. Against one wall was a small folding cot. A single table and chair stood on the other side, with a small electric cooker on top. His clothes were piled in a bag in the corner.

This was all he had.

Lu Yao’s heart clenched. “You live here?”

Zhao Beichuan tucked his tools under the bed. “It’s cheap—only 400 yuan a month. Plus, I’m out working all day, so I only need a place to sleep at night.”

“But this…” Lu Yao hesitated, worried about offending his pride. Zhao Beichuan had taken on multiple jobs to pay for his father’s medical treatment—living here was probably just a way to save money.

But staying in a damp, sunless space long-term could lead to skin problems and arthritis.

Testing the waters, Lu Yao offered, “Want to rent my place instead? I have an empty study room. I’ll charge you the same—400 a month.”

“N-No, that’s okay. I’m fine here…”

The housing prices in this neighborhood aren’t cheap, averaging over ten thousand per square meter. Even the smallest rental units go for more than three thousand a month, and four hundred yuan wouldn’t even get you a shared room. Filming videos was already enough trouble for him; Zhao Beichuan didn’t want to take advantage of Lu Yao any further.

“Alright then. If you ever want to rent it, just let me know. It’s just sitting there empty anyway.”

Zhao Beichuan pulled down the rolling shutter, and the two of them walked toward the building in the back. He only waved after escorting Lu Yao to the elevator. “I’m heading out for more deliveries.”

“Mm, come over early tonight for hotpot. Can you handle spicy food?”

Zhao Beichuan pressed his lips together in a smile and nodded.

*

Tonight was their second live stream, and with the experience from last time, Zhao Beichuan wasn’t as nervous.

After dinner, Lu Yao helped Zhao Beichuan tidy up his outfit. Seeing that everything looked fine, he started the stream.

Probably because the last live stream had gone well, the moment they went live tonight, the viewer count immediately hit triple digits.

Zhao Beichuan wore a black mask and greeted the audience, “Hey, everyone.”

The chat started rolling.

“AAAAAHHHH hubby’s here! Hubby, you’re so handsome! AAAAAHHHH!”

“Bro, could you start streaming earlier next time? We working folks can’t keep staying up late.”

Zhao Beichuan glanced at the time. “We started at 10:30 tonight. That’s already pretty early. Normally, I’m delivering food until 11:30 before I can rest.”

“You’re way too hardworking! Are you making money to buy a big house for Uncle?”

Zhao Beichuan looked puzzled. “Who’s Uncle?” He hadn’t checked the video comment section much these past few days, so he didn’t know where this joke had come from.

“It’s the one who films your videos, Uncle~”

Zhao Beichuan turned to glance at Lu Yao, who was resting his chin on his hand, reading the chat. Because the lighting was dim, he was wearing blue-light-blocking glasses, which made him look both restrained and seductive.

“Uncle has more money than me. He already has a big house.”

The chat paused for a second before speeding up. “Bro, did you just swallow?”

“Are you and Uncle… that kind of relationship?”

“AAAHHHHHH, this is killing me!”

“Ugh, you can’t even hide the desire in your eyes. Do you wanna screw Uncle or what?”

…

Lu Yao felt his cheeks heating up as the comments grew increasingly explicit. He reached over to nudge Zhao Beichuan, signaling him to keep things under control—any further and they might get banned.

Zhao Beichuan coughed and changed the subject. “Why do I stream? To make money.”

“Hahaha, the honesty is refreshing.”

“Bro, show your face, and I’ll send gifts.”

“Wait, are online beggars this blatant now? Just outright saying they want money?” Some people clearly weren’t impressed, and the viewer count dropped slightly.

Zhao Beichuan didn’t mind. He was here to earn money—what else could it be?

Although… he really did enjoy the way Lu Yao filmed him.

“Can Uncle show his face? No, he doesn’t like to.”

“How long have you known Uncle? About half a month, I think.”

“How did you meet? I delivered food to him, then later helped fix his plumbing. That’s how we got to know each other.”

Zhao Beichuan skipped over some of the more suggestive comments, like: Have you and Uncle done it? Who’s the top and who’s the bottom?

“What made you start filming videos? Just to make money. I’m pretty broke, and Lu… Uncle helped me set up an account to shoot videos and earn some cash.”

“Yooooooo~~~ Uncle’s got that baiting charm!”

Lu Yao bit his nails, his face burning, feeling as if he’d been exposed.

“Can Uncle say something again?” Zhao Beichuan turned to him. “Do you want to?”

“What should I say?” Lu Yao’s voice was soft, but the mic still picked it up.

The chat exploded.

“AAAAAAHHHHH, his voice is so smooth, it’s making my scalp tingle!”

“UNCLE!!!!”

“Say something else, please, I’m begging!”

“That voice is unreal… if he moaned, I’d probably explode on the spot!”

Seeing Lu Yao looking tense, Zhao Beichuan reassured him, “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“Uh… hello, everyone…”

The moment he finished speaking, Lu Yao’s face turned red as steam, and he awkwardly pressed his forehead against his knees. Yep, live streaming was definitely not his thing.

Unable to resist, Zhao Beichuan reached out and ruffled his hair.

Both of them froze after that…

*

[Author’s Note]

Sooner or later, I’m making them live-stream a DOI session (left hook, right hook).