Husband, Let Me Touch Your Abs - Chapter 177

When a person is in an extremely embarrassing situation, they tend to become calm instead. Just like Lu Yao right now.

He slowly sat up and pulled at the hem of his shirt to cover his lap. “It’s hard to control your body when you’re nervous. If it caused you any trouble, I apologize.”

“No, no problem.” Zhao Beichuan scratched his face. In fact, not only did Lu Yao have a reaction, but he also did. However, since his pants were black and the light was behind him, Lu Yao didn’t notice.

“Let’s call it a day for now. I’m going to take a shower. You can leave after you finish changing.”

“…”

Lu Yao returned to the bedroom, saved the video, grabbed a set of pajamas, and headed to the bathroom.

Zhao Beichuan changed back into his own clothes, reorganized the miscellaneous items in the study, and left silently.

Hearing the door close, Lu Yao’s heart thumped heavily, and his hand movements quickened. Biting his lip, he sent himself to climax.

After washing up, he slumped onto the couch, exhausted. He had never been so embarrassed in his life… How could he be this desperate?

He pulled out his phone to check the time—it was already 11:30. He sent Bai Chi a message: “Are you back?”

A moment later, Bai Chi called him. “Just got back to the hotel. You guys finished filming?”

“Mm…”

“Send me the video account right now. I wanna check it out.”

Lu Yao gave him Zhao Beichuan’s Douyin account, then got up and rummaged through the coffee table for a while before finding a pack of cigarettes. He lit one up.

He actually didn’t smoke. This pack was left behind by a friend who visited last time. But for some reason, today he really wanted to smoke one to ease his mental pressure.

Hearing the sound of the lighter, Bai Chi couldn’t help but tease, “Oh? You’ve picked up smoking now?”

“Nah, just playing around with it.”

“Something on your mind?”

“Bai Chi, do you think same-sex relationships can be stable and long-lasting?”

“How stable are we talking? Growing old together?”

“Something like that.”

Bai Chi chuckled. “Don’t be ridiculous. Even straight couples rarely make it that far, let alone same-sex couples.”

Lu Yao fell silent.

“Don’t tell me… you’re playing the pure love game?”

Lu Yao exhaled a puff of smoke, choking himself until his eyes stung.

Bai Chi let out two dry laughs. “Do you still remember Fang Wei?” He was Bai Chi’s first boyfriend. Back then, Bai Chi was much bolder than he is now—he and Fang Wei loved passionately and openly. In an era when homosexuality was still not widely accepted, they had the guts to hold hands, hug, and kiss openly on campus.

At the time, Lu Yao envied them so much. He thought they could make it to the end. But unexpectedly, they broke up right after graduating from college.

“I never asked before—why did you and Fang Wei break up?”

“He cheated on me.”

…

“Speechless, right?”

Lu Yao stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. “How did you find out?”

“He gave me an STD. I forced him to confess, and that’s how I found out. Even now, just thinking about it makes me feel sick.”

“No wonder you don’t believe in love anymore.”

Bai Chi laid it all out, even his most humiliating experiences. “So, Lu Yao, no matter how deeply two people love each other, in the end, they can still break up. Do I regret it? No, I don’t. Even now, when I think about my time with Fang Wei, I was happy. Even though our breakup was ugly.”

“Life isn’t about chasing a perfect ending. As long as the journey was happy and fulfilling, that’s enough.”

“Mm.” Lu Yao chuckled. “The main issue is that I’ve never dated before, so I don’t know how to start.”

“Tell me, how far have you two gotten?”

“I… I had a reaction to him. Does that count?”

“That just means you’re in heat.”

Lu Yao smiled bitterly. “But he didn’t show any signs of disgust.”

Bai Chi rubbed his chin. “Then there might be a chance.”

Lu Yao walked into his bedroom and started copying the footage from the camera to his computer. “I don’t know if I’m just overthinking, but I feel like he’s interested in me too.”

Bai Chi opened Douyin, found the account Lu Yao mentioned, and scrolled through the videos. “Damn…”

“What is it?”

“He’s basically stripped naked to seduce you, and you still think he’s straight?!”

“Is he?”

“Look at the video from September 24th—watch how many times he swallows while lying on the bed, staring into the camera. You’re really slow, huh?”

Lu Yao froze, then clicked on the video Bai Chi mentioned.

Since the lighting during filming was dim, he hadn’t noticed it while editing. But after increasing the brightness, he saw that Zhao Beichuan’s Adam’s apple kept bobbing up and down.

“And at 37 seconds, pause and zoom in on his pants.”

Lu Yao followed Bai Chi’s instructions and magnified the screen at the exact moment. The computer screen was much clearer than a phone, making the outline unmistakable… How did he miss this size when they were filming?!

“And you still think he’s straight? Tsk tsk, are all straight guys like this?”

This discovery made Lu Yao excited. “So there’s a chance he’s not straight?!”

“Based on my years of experience, even if he’s not completely gay, he’s at least bi.”

Hearing this, Lu Yao started to back out again.

Bai Chi knew him too well. “You should at least try, right? You’re just gonna give up without even making a move?”

“Being bi is even worse than being straight… everyone hates them…”

“Fine, whatever. I’m done talking. I need my beauty sleep. Keep overthinking on your own.”

“Sleep well. I’ll take you out shopping tomorrow.”

“Finally, you have a conscience. If you really like him, let me give you some advice—find a chance to sleep with him first. That body of his shouldn’t go to waste.”

“Get lost.” Lu Yao laughed as he hung up the phone. He couldn’t help but zoom in on that frame of the video again.

The lower half of the shot only lasted for a second—less than that, actually. It wasn’t easy to notice. And because the lighting was dim at the time, he had dismissed it as just a wrinkle in the fabric. But looking at it now… even the shape of the head was visible…

Lu Yao’s heart pounded wildly. If Zhao Beichuan also had a reaction to him, did that mean he actually liked him?

But breaking through this ambiguous barrier was the real problem. As an introverted, single man approaching his thirties, Lu Yao’s only attempt at making a move had been with Bai Chi. That one failure had left him socially crippled for life.

Confess to Zhao Beichuan? Haha. He might as well just kill himself now.

Feeling frustrated, Lu Yao started editing the video. Since it was a single take, there wasn’t much to cut. He simply removed the last part, added a suggestive BGM, and uploaded it.

Perhaps because he stayed up too late, his brain wasn’t functioning properly—he actually forgot to mute the original audio…

The next morning, Lu Yao woke up as usual and instinctively grabbed his phone. He opened the video he had uploaded last night for a quick look.

Then he shot up in bed.

He wasn’t seeing things, right?!

The video he posted last night had 470,000 likes?!

The filming had turned out well, but it shouldn’t have gone viral like this…

Lu Yao quickly opened the comment section, only to find:

“AAAAHHH, I get to watch this for free?!”

“That moaning… it got me so in.”

“So… they definitely did it, right?”

“Uncle-Chuan SZD(it’s real)!”

“A straight guy lightly sells himself, leaving me in pain for a lifetime.”

“Looks like the streamer has found the secret to going viral.”

…

Lu Yao, both shocked and confused, played the video once more. The beginning was still normal, but in the last few seconds—when Zhao Beichuan hoisted him up—his own moans and the two of them panting heavily suddenly appeared…

???

Wait, didn’t he mute the original audio yesterday?

Ahhhhhh!!!

Was it still possible to delete the video now?

He opened the backend, only to see the view count had already reached a staggering 4.5 million. Based on the brand’s payment agreement, this video could earn over 40,000 yuan…

Forget it, money was more important. Face flushed red, Lu Yao pinned the leather goods advertisement in the comment section and tagged the brand.

*

Around ten in the morning, Bai Chi called. “Didn’t you say you’d take me out today? Let’s go.”

“Give me a minute.” Lu Yao frowned, currently arguing with the leather brand’s representative.

Before accepting the endorsement, they had clearly agreed to pay additional fees based on view count. Now that the video had exceeded five million views, the brand suddenly messaged him, saying the video didn’t align with their vision and that they might not be able to pay.

Lu Yao’s brows knitted tighter, fingers tapping furiously on the keyboard. “So you’re planning to break the contract?”

“How can you call it breaking the contract? We already paid you upfront for the video.”

Lu Yao was stunned by their shamelessness. They were at least a known brand, yet they were willing to go back on their word over such a small amount of money.

“You think three thousand yuan is enough to commission a video?”

“But what you filmed doesn’t quite fit our brand’s image.”

“Okay, just tell me—are you paying for the additional views or not?”

“Probably not.”

Lu Yao couldn’t be bothered to argue any further. He logged into the backend and deleted the video outright.

Five minutes later, the brand messaged him again. “Did you guys delete the video???”

“Are you crazy? With such high traffic, you don’t want the followers?”

“We can renegotiate the price. Just restore the video first—”

“Not negotiable. I’d rather lose this wave of traffic than let you take advantage of it.” With that, he blocked them without hesitation.

Even after deleting it, Lu Yao was still fuming. He immediately updated his profile bio: “I will no longer accept advertisements from XX Leather Goods.”

He called Bai Chi. “Where are you? I’ll pick you up.”

“Still at the hotel. Damn, that bar last night must’ve sold fake liquor—my head is killing me.”

“You deserved it. Who told you to drink so much? Which bar doesn’t sell fake liquor?”

“Eh? Did you take gunpowder this morning? Oh~ I get it, you’re sexually frustrated and full of pent-up anger.”

“Screw off, I’m about to explode from rage!” Lu Yao changed his clothes while telling Bai Chi about the incident. “I’ve never met someone so shameless before!”

“Tch, this is nothing. But yeah, that brand is really stingy. Just a few ten thousand yuan for ad fees, and they won’t even cough it up. If they had leveraged this traffic properly, their sales could’ve at least tripled.”

“That’s why I deleted the video outright.”

“I didn’t even get to see it. Send it to me.”

“It’s gone.”

“You definitely have the original file.”

“It’s on my computer.” Lu Yao dodged the question, still unsure how to explain this to Zhao Beichuan.

Originally, the video was supposed to earn around 10,000 yuan based on expected traffic. Now, not only had negotiations fallen apart, but he had also wasted all that effort and gotten pissed off in the process. Whatever, he’d deal with it tonight.

When he arrived at the hotel entrance, Bai Chi soon came downstairs. Today, he was dressed more normally—an off-white sweater layered under a brown casual jacket, making him look especially handsome.

“Where are we going?”

“No idea.” Lu Yao hadn’t gone out for fun in a long time.

“Then let’s eat first. I haven’t had breakfast yet—I’m starving.”

Lu Yao drove him to Er Gu’s Soup Dumplings in Qiaonan. The place looked simple, but the food was amazing. In the mornings, it was nearly impossible to get a seat.

At this hour, the crowd had died down, so they ordered two trays of dumplings and sat at a small table by the entrance.

The table was a bit low, so Bai Chi curled up his legs while eating and laughing. A young master like him had never eaten in a place like this before.

“What are you laughing at?”

“Good thing… I didn’t wear… a suit here, hahahaha…”

“Idiot.” Lu Yao couldn’t help but laugh as well.

By sheer coincidence, Zhao Beichuan happened to ride past on his electric scooter. He saw them but didn’t walk up this time. Instead, he stopped his scooter at a distance and silently watched them.

After a while, Lu Yao’s phone vibrated with a message from Zhao Beichuan.

“Lu-ge, can I still rent your place?”