Everyday Life of a Dom Boyfriend

Part Eleven: Inner Circle (8)

—

Ye Qia was very clear on the fact that Xia Zhi was not an M. Anytime there was anything to do with sex, he was always cautious not to overstep boundaries, bringing about pleasure while maintaining a sense of balance. All his tricks were first tried on himself to ensure there weren’t any issues. He wasn’t one of those novices who dared to do anything. Those “novices” would always inevitably walk down a fatal road. Ye Qia had seen much, so he was extremely wary.

This time, he didn’t think he was taking it too far and hadn’t anticipated such a reaction from Xia Zhi.

“I know, I’m sorry. I neglected your feelings,” Ye Qia placated him with this one line. Under these circumstances, insisting on anything else was unwise. One only needed to apologize and say they wouldn’t make such a mistake again. “I won’t do anything else. I’m releasing you, alright?”

Xia Zhi soon calmed down. He pursed his lips as if both aggrieved and indignant and his eyes were still red, glistening with water. He blinked a few times yet his lashes remained wet. Ye Qia quickly freed him and Xia Zhi did not get angry, only dejectedly climbing into bed like a deflated ball. He curled into his blanket and did not budge.

Ye Qia didn’t rush to get to the bottom of things. He tidied up the bedroom and opened the windows to ventilate the room, then waited until the temperature of the room cooled and the scent of sex had completely dispersed before sitting on the side of the bed. Xia Zhi had his eyes closed but Ye Qia could tell this guy wasn’t asleep with one glance. He reached out and stroked Xia Zhi’s side. When he felt the body beneath his hand gradually relaxing, he asked softly, “Did I hurt you just now?”

“No.” Xia Zhi waited a long time before answering. “It didn’t hurt, I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”

“I’m only asking.” Ye Qia slowly laid down in bed. Face-to-face, he rubbed the back of his hand against Xia Zhi’s cheek. “What’s wrong?”

Xia Zhi’s lips were tightly shut as if he had a secret to keep.

“If you don’t want to say, that’s alright. Why don’t you go wash up? Your mom and your aunt will be home soon.”

Xia Zhi got up without a sound and disappeared into the bathroom with the door closed shut. Ye Qia looked at the bathroom door in a daze before sighing and began making the bed.

As expected, Xia Zhi jumped into bed as soon as he came out, rolling himself into a tube within the blanket, unmoving. Ye Qia didn’t say anything either, only drawing in close and hugging him into his arms, gently stroking his back.

“My dad is a scumbag.” Xia Zhi leaned his head into Ye Qia’s arms and was silent for a moment. “But he never hit me. I always thought he still acknowledged me as his son. After he and my mom divorced, there was one time I found a medical record. It had my mom’s name and it was for an injury, but the wrist in the x-ray was extremely thin. I probed into it, and my mom then said it was me. It happened when I was very young. I had completely forgotten it.”

Ye Qia rarely heard Xia Zhi speak of the past and so he didn’t interrupt, only saying more gently, “What happened?”

“He hit my mom and I went to hit him as I cried. There was a worn out wire on the windowsill—you know, old house, those exposed wires that hang out in the open—he used those wires to tie me to the window sill. I raised a fuss and the wires cut into my wrists, which was why my mom took me to get it checked out.” Xia Zhi revealed his wrist and said, “The cut on the right hand was deeper, but it’s hard to see now, it’s very faint.”

Ye Qia took hold of Xia Zhi’s wrist and stroked it. The skin was smooth and unmarred by scars with only the faintest of white lines.

“Now that I think about it, I was useless.” Xia Zhi’s expression revealed some misery. “I couldn’t protect my mom and I couldn’t even recall what that scumbag did. I feel sorry for my mom.” He paused and brushed Ye Qia’s chest. “Sorry, I overreacted just now.”

“It’s nothing.” Ye Qia smiled. “So it was fine when I tied you up before. This time with the added electric shock, you couldn’t stand it.”

“Yeah.” Xia Zhi looked down. “Actually now that I think of it, the shock couldn’t have been too strong and I also wasn’t severely harmed, but I simply wasn’t able to control this kind of fear. Also…I don’t know how to say this—I don’t want to let the past affect the present. I want us being together to always be a good thing, and for the thought of it to bring happiness.”

Ye Qia interjected, “You do bring me a lot of happiness.”

“…”

Ye Qia laughed seeing Xia Zhi’s defeated expression and pulled him tightly into his arms, caressing his spiky hair. He said quietly, “It’s alright now, the past is the past, the present is the present. Your dad can’t do anything to me, nor can he do anything to you now. Don’t worry, you’re okay.”

Xia Zhi hummed in agreement and burrowed into Ye Qia’s embrace. After a few seconds, his hand discreetly slipped down to touch Ye Qia’s thigh, stroking back and forth until Ye Qia calmly spoke up, “Keep touching me and I’ll fuck you.”

“I’m just touching.” Xia Zhi said aggrieved. “Don’t I usually touch it?”

“You already came, I did not.”

“…”

“Was it good just now?”

“It was good.”

“Okay, I understand. I won’t do it again next time.”

“Next time you can do it without tying me up.”

“If I don’t tie you up, will you hit me?”

“…I will.”

“Alright, be quiet and go to sleep.”

“My mom’s coming back…”

Xia Zhi hadn’t finished speaking when the sound of the opening door startled him. Ye Qia got up first.

Mother Xia, his aunt, plus Xiao Gui—these three women were obsessed with shopping. Ye Qia and Xia Zhi lived in a major city. These few days that they had been here, their most important task was buying things and having fun. Of course the expenses all fell on Xia Zhi. Ye Qia had asked if Xia Zhi had enough money and Xia Zhi had given an attitude of “I possess the means to support my mom,” keeping up with appearances while he himself passed the days nibbling on bread and eating white rice in secrecy.

Ye Qia found this amusing and made an exception, giving him an additional 200 bucks towards his “daily expenses” to keep him afloat for a bit.

“Auntie, how was it?” Ye Qia smiled and said, “Xia Zhi tired himself out running around outside today. He has a bit of a cold. He took some medicine and is sleeping now. If there’s anything you need, you can just let me know.”

“Xiao Zhi is sick?” Shopping bags still in hand, Mother Xia grew anxious. “Let me have a look.”

Ye Qia didn’t stop her. When Mother Xia entered the bedroom, he turned and asked Xia Zhi’s aunt, “Auntie, how much do you know about the things that happened when Xia Zhi was young?”

“When he was young?” His aunt looked like she had a toothache. “Sigh, my sis was unlucky and married a bastard. Luckily Xiao Zhi knows better.”

His aunt chatted away about things in the past. Ye Qia patiently listened and asked, “Did Xia Zhi’s father ever hit him?”

“As far as I know, no, but truthfully, I just don’t know.” His aunt wrinkled her brows. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing, I was just discussing the past with Xia Zhi.”

After a bout of silence, Xia Zhi’s aunt sighed. “We old folks only wish for our children to live well and for our family to be happy. The past is the past. Let’s live well from here on out.”

After hearing this, a moment passed before Ye Qia gave an extremely professional smile, nodding as he said, “That makes sense.”

T/N: Even though Xia Zhi is probably crying over his bank account, it’s sweet that he not only takes care of his family, but even insists on funding their shopping sprees.