Idol Chapter 169

Pei Ruye lowered his head and took a sniff.

Huo Ren had just returned to the hotel, still carrying the scent he usually wore when facing the outside world.

Guerlain’s Habit Rouge, characterized by the intense aroma of red roses.

The top notes are full of aggression, with a strong male hormone presence.

Lime and Brazilian rosewood intermingle, creating a hint of wildness detectable in the breeze as one walks by.

The middle notes are red rose, cedarwood, and sandalwood.

Vivid, flamboyant, and rich enough to slightly mesmerize those nearby.

The base notes are amber and frankincense, subtly reining in the sharpness that came before.

Fruit, wood, and flower aromas blend deeply and harmoniously, much like he has completely transformed today.

Huo Ren seldom sits on his lap outside of blindfolded scenarios, but now, feeling Pei Ruye’s movement, he starts to speak with slight discomfort.

“Does it… smell not so good on me?”

They always carry two scents, both externally and internally, like a beast baring its fangs in the dark while exposing its soft throat to its beloved.

Pei Ruye always carries the deep-sea scent during business negotiations, shedding all sharpness after a bath at home, blending the aroma of white roses by his lips.

Huo Ren, naturally as conspicuous as a red rose when outside, soaks in a bathtub scented with gin perfume after work, allowing his secret personality to fully emerge.

The two roles alternate, like an unspoken secret between them.

Pei Ruye comes back to his senses and hugs Huo Ren a bit tighter.

“It smells good.” He lowers his head against the youth, his nose right beside the soft nape, making his voice a bit muffled: “Ren Ren, explain.”

Touched by him, Huo Ren’s mind races, and he whispers: “There’s nothing to explain.”

“Did I reject you, hmm?”

The man reaches into his neck, retrieving the pendant that had slipped to his chest.

“…And you kissed this in front of the camera?”

Huo Ren hastily denies: “That was for the show—”

“Hmm, for the show.” Pei Ruye allows him to lean in his embrace, gently caressing the smooth, warm, silver-green clover: “Any other explanations?”

Huo Ren looks sideways at him playing with their engagement token, feeling as if he is the one being touched by those fingertips, his face heating up again when he speaks.

“Teacher, as I’ve said,” the youth explains with the same freshness as in his youth: “One day, they will all know, no need to hide.”

Pei Ruye doesn’t pay attention to his rapid breathing, lowering his gaze to kiss the silver pendant.

The kiss lands where Huo Ren kissed during a dance.

After falling ill, Huo Ren has never kissed Pei Ruye again except in scenarios involving a black ribbon.

He watches how the man treats that clover, feeling the excitement of falling in love all over again.

“What will they know?” Pei Ruye finally looks sideways at him.

That I am yours, and you are mine.

That your mark is on my heart, I love only you, only you.

For a moment, Huo Ren feels like retreating under Pei Ruye’s gaze, as if his most secret and burning secret has been fully exposed.

But even a slight move would be fixed back to the original position by the arm.

“To know… that I am engaged to you, and will… get married.”

Simple words, yet his body trembles slightly as he speaks.

How deeply had he been confined before.

Always maintaining the same smile before countless interviews, not allowed to show personal emotions, a refined product for the camera, an idol tied to this world by acceptance.

Yet now, he has become so rebellious.

He will tell everyone that he now has someone he deeply loves, willing to be exclusively each other’s…

Pei Ruye maintains a semblance of calm on the surface, but inside, he is equally stirred by Huo Ren’s murmured confession.

In fact, these words were just repeated too many times in Huo Ren’s heart, leading him to mistakenly believe he had shared them with Pei Ruye.

Pei Ruye has always been concerned about his career, unwilling to let him be too attacked by public opinion.

Now that Huo Ren has voiced these intentions, both feel somewhat unreal.

So much so that there was silence for a long while.

It’s unclear how much time passed before Pei Ruye finally relaxed his clenched fingers, gently touching his forehead.

“Try it.”

“What?”

“Try it,” Pei Ruye guides patiently, just like many times before in their teachings.

“Ren Ren, look up at me.”

Huo Ren gazed at him, stunned.

“Then kiss me.”

Time froze once again.

Even when they were in the past, their stolen kisses were always with eyes closed.

This act shuts off most external perceptions, concentrating the nerves on the intricate and warm touch.

Huo Ren watched Pei Ruye, his vision incredibly clear under the warm glow of the floor lamp.

The man’s eyes brimmed with passionate love, the long-suppressed desire for recognition and openness now fully satisfied, lending his aura a hint of aggression.

A beast just like him, baring its fangs yet revealing its throat.

The youth hastily nodded, inching closer.

He realized again that eye contact was even more intimate than kissing.

Their noses slowly approached and touched, their breaths almost mingling.

Countless dark memories filled with guilt, sin, and suffocating pain melted away at this moment like ice.

Approaching Pei Ruye, he felt as though he was also allowing himself to truly approach the world again.

“…I love you,” he whispered softly.

“Ruye, you’re actually my heartbeat.”

Then, leaning forward, he kissed him quickly.

The kiss was brief.

Huo Ren barely touched his lips before quickly pulling away, then looked at him with a mix of nervousness and joy.

Pei Ruye, touched by his naïve reaction, nearly had his nerves fried, yet still maintained a composed demeanor, softly coaxing, “Try again.”

Huo Ren quickly complied, wrapping his arms around his neck and kissed him again.

It was a kiss with eyes open, clear yet utterly lost in depth.

The intricate, warm touch was like a light, scattered spring rain, swirling in the breeze, falling onto the heart.

Huo Ren suddenly realized this act was even more taboo than the black ribbon.

He awkwardly broke and resumed the kiss, mindful of his breathing yet bewitched by Pei Ruye, as if trying to do too much at once, unable to focus on anything.

He knelt in his embrace, wrapped tightly around his neck, caressed his hair ends, and touched his palms.

Then, with a sigh, he sought another kiss.

It’s unclear how much time passed before he collapsed into the man’s chest, breathing heavily.

“Actually…” Huo Ren buried his face in his heart, allowing Pei Ruye to gently massage his neck. “I want to release an album on your birthday.”

Pei Ruye laughed, “You’re practically wearing your heart on your sleeve.”

“Too many people like you.” Huo Ren complained, “Have you seen the comments online lately? They’re all calling you ‘husband,’ saying they’re secretly married to you, your girlfriend…”

Pei Ruye rubbed his hair, “Holding grudges?”

“Can’t I?” Huo Ren propped himself up to look at him, asking as if whining, “Release the album the day after tomorrow, on your birthday, okay?”

Pei Ruye suddenly felt that Huo Ren might still be stuck at seventeen.

Like a high school boy with a bizarre desire to boast.

Although he wasn’t much better, at least he maintained a decent public image.

“Hmm.” The man paused for a few minutes, seemingly weighing the pros and cons, “Not bad.”

The young wolf happily agreed, tilting his head into his embrace and texting his secretary on the phone.

“Right,” Huo Ren stared at the phone screen, typing quickly, pretending not to be nervous, “On your birthday…”

“Hmm?”

“Should we do that thing?” As soon as he asked, he felt too obviously exposed, then deliberately slowed his speech, wagging his tail, “Giving gifts, will you accept?”

Pei Ruye thought for a few seconds, then shook his head, “No rush, let’s keep things as they are for now.”

Feeling the response a bit cold, he reached out to wrap his arms around Huo Ren’s waist, adding warmly.

“I’ve already received the gift, and I love it.”

And wouldn’t mind a few more kisses from you.

Huo Ren paused, sitting up straight with the phone, pursing his lips at Pei Ruye, “Don’t you want to do it with me?”

Pei Ruye laughed, “You really want to do it with me, huh?”

“We’ve been at the appetizers for half a year…” Huo Ren murmured, “I want the main course.”

Why wait until marriage? A birthday is a great reason to celebrate.

We’re both adults with normal needs…

“It’s not that I don’t want to,” Pei Ruye continued massaging his neck and shoulder, leisurely saying, “The main course is too big, you can’t handle it yet.”

Huo Ren shuddered, with vivid and burning memories immediately surfacing in his mind.

He suddenly realized.

Wait!!

“Your body is too sensitive, and you’re afraid of pain,” the man continued to explain calmly.

“On your birthday, we’ll start a new round of adaptation, and then you’ll have to learn to get used to another kind… of overly stimulating pleasure.”

Huo Ren quickly covered his mouth: “I get it, I get it.”

He was so embarrassed he almost wanted to hide.

Pei Ruye raised an eyebrow with a smile: “No need to explain?”

“Those things—” Huo Ren said awkwardly: “You don’t have to teach them so explicitly.”

“But you’re very hungry,” the man sighed. “Hungry yet afraid of pain, and still greedy. I’m not sure how best to nourish you.”

Huo Ren, flustered and annoyed, kissed him again.

He couldn’t seize the initiative at all!

He hadn’t expected this guy to not only handle the Han family and the talent show’s trivial matters thoroughly but also to plan every step of being devoured cleanly—

Are all businessmen this shrewd?

“There’s one more thing,” Pei Ruye thought of something, holding him and asking: “This time, I saw that the album sample from the manufacturer has only eleven songs. Are you not planning to write the last one?”

“Eleven songs are enough,” Huo Ren spoke deliberately: “Strive for perfection.”

And there’s one more song hidden.

I’ll sing it for you personally on the day of the concert.