CH 28.1

It was not advisable to take a bath after drinking alcohol as it might lead to alcohol poisoning and hypotension.

–Drinking alcohol while soaking in a hot spring depended on one’s fitness level, however it was important to drink small amounts, at low levels and to not overdo it.

Hence, Liu Bohuai only brought two small glasses of sake which was very low in strength.

[This is how you enjoy life, it’s so relaxing].

–The little guy in the bubble was wearing a pink crocheted shower cap and was stripped down to a pair of navy blue swim trunks, revealing his fat, soft, white arms and legs as well as his fleshy little belly….

Two blushes appeared on his little face and he was lying on a little yellow duck-like swimming ring, spinning slowly in circles in the hot water.

Li Qingzhou was sitting on the edge of the hot spring pool, his hair already damp from the steaming water around him, slightly obstructing his vision.

However he had now smoothed his hair back, which curled it up to reveal his delicate features.

The haze, however, accentuated the side of his face which looked as if it had been drawn with careful precision, his beautiful brow bones, the bridge of his nose, his perfectly curved lips……

The water in the hot spring was crystal clear.

Occasionally a petal would fall from the shore and drift away in a whirl…. until the bright red petal would stain the chest of the person opposite….

Red and white, fair and tender…. clashed and contrasted too sharply, accompanied by the faint scent of sake lingering on the tip of one’s nose, hot and inexplicable.

Liu Bohuai had to control himself in order to avert his eyes, one or two of the buddha beads on the string of beads on his wrist…. twisted as he held them in his hand.

He mentally recited the familiar buddhist sutra.

But then it seemed that the sound of the beads clashing attracted Li Qingzhou’s attention.

He turned his head from the comfort of the hot spring and asked, “President Liu believes in buddhism?”

“En.”

“I wonder when President Liu started to believe in buddhism? I keep seeing you wearing a string of buddhist beads…..”

The original book didn’t describe much about Liu Bohuai’s past, so Li Qingzhou was puzzled and curious.

And it just so happened at the moment that the hot spring was the perfect setting for a chat.

–Getting to know one’s friends better was the first step to a deeper relationship! Only then could one introduce them to people who were compatible, complementary or compatible in every way.

Li Qingzhou was this close to taking a notebook to record all of Liu Bohuai’s likes and dislikes.

When Liu Bohuai heard this, he twirled the buddhist beads.

He started, “When I was twenty years old……”

“Something happened that year. It wasn’t a good thing, but it woke me up– I had to control my reckless and arrogant personality, my temper.”

“Wearing the string is for a calm mind.”

[Reckless, arrogant?]

Li Qingzhou straightened his body slightly.

–The little guy in the bubble couldn’t help but roll over slowly. From lying on his back to lying on his little belly on the little yellow duck swimming ring, he cocked his little head in a curious manner.

After all, from simply looking at Liu Bohuai’s present noble, refined and indifferent nature, Li Qingzhou really couldn’t imagine him being reckless and arrogant when he was young……

And what happened afterwards that made Liu Bohuai want to learn to temper and cultivate his temper slowly?

Li Qingzhou couldn’t help but ask, “What was President Liu’s personality like when you were young? How bad was your temper?”

[Did he hit people at the drop of a hat? Was he a bully in Yanjing at that time? No one dared to mess with….. Oh no, no one dared to mess with him now either].

[Big brother, please accept my bow! You must help me live well and take me to the pinnacle of life in the future… puff hahaha]

–The little guy in the bubble with the pink crocheted shower cap on, his head on the back of the duck’s head, his arms outstretched and his hands in the air, paid his respects.

Then immediately after he finished paying his respects, the little shower cap flew out a bit as he fell over laughing.

[No, I’m going to be a boss myself! Don’t bow your head, the crown will fall off.]

–The little guy in the bubble laughed, then turned serious and put his pink shower cap back on with a serious expression on his face.

Liu Bohuai: “…….”

He tightened his grip on the buddhist beads in his hand, his eyes moving unnoticed from Li Qingzhou’s head to his face and from his unchanging expression to the little guy who had fallen on top of the swimming ring laughing again.

“….. I was hot-tempered, beat people so much that they had to go to the hospital and I often played extreme sports.” Liu Bohuai answered as he came back to his senses.

His stretched out his hand from the hot spring, which brought up a series of crystal clear water droplets which in turn slid down his arm and dripped onto his firm shoulders…..

Pointing to his back, Liu Bohuai said: “There is a cut here from rock climbing. Want to see it?”

[En en, I want to see it.]

Li Qingzhou nodded.

Getting up, Liu Bohuai moved to Li Qingzhou then turned sideways slightly to show him the scar left on his shoulder blade– it was deep and hideous, about the length of a finger.

At this close a distance, Li Qingzhou couldn’t help but hold his breath, then breathed slowly and lightly.

It was unlike earlier when he was suddenly picked up and put into the hot spring and there was no time to feel carefully.

Or rather, his mind had been so preoccupied with shyness and rejection that he hadn’t noticed that the difference in size between him and Liu Bohuai was so obvious.

The person in front of him seemed to envelop him, his presence and oppressiveness overwhelming.

[So close…]

Li Qingzhou muttered in his heart, licked his lips, then reached out to touch the deep and conspicuous scar on his back, slowly tracing it down to the edge……

Liu Bohuai’s shoulders suddenly tensed.

Fortunately, Li Qingzhou withdrew his hand immediately.

He said, “It must have been a dangerous situation. President Liu, how did you get hurt?”

Liu Bohuai: “The hook and loop came loose and I accidentally hit the crag that suddenly jutted out….”