The Academic God Becomes an Internet Sensation After Joining a Dating Show - C28 - Wipe Me

Qing Lin shifted his ankle, his waist giving way as a faint sound of pain slipped from his throat.

Something flickered in Shen Xuzhi’s dark eyes. He stepped forward, shut off the shower, seized a towel, and wrapped it around Qing Lin.

His hair was tousled, water droplets clinging to the curve of his beautiful eyes. Swaddled in the towel, only his small face peeked out—pitiful and delicate.

“What are you doing?” Shen Xuzhi was towel-drying his hair, his voice tinged with mild irritation.

“I want to take a shower.” Qing Lin lowered his head and answered slowly, one word at a time.

Shen Xuzhi looked at his face. The pallor from earlier had faded a little, replaced by a faint, inexplicable flush on his cheeks. His body also felt warm to the touch.

And that tone… it was far too soft. Compared to his usual cold, detached voice, it almost sounded as if he was coaxing him.

“Do you have a fever?” Shen Xuzhi reached out to touch his forehead. “You can’t shower if you have a fever.”

“You can still shower even when you have a fever.” Qing Lin slipped from Shen Xuzhi’s grasp, speaking in that calm, deliberate way of his. “It helps the skin release heat, which cools the body and lowers the temperature. You just can’t stay too long or use water that’s too hot.”

Shen Xuzhi: “…”

Shen Xuzhi stared at him, realizing that something about this didn’t sit right.

And letting him sit on the cold tiles like this was out of the question. His clothes were damp, the floor was freezing. If he caught a chill on top of everything else, they’d have a real problem.

Without another word, Shen Xuzhi slid an arm beneath Qing Lin’s legs, lifting both him and the bath towel in one motion, and set him gently atop the washstand.

Qing Lin sat there in quiet obedience, dazed, as if he were a doll placed on a shelf.

His face, pale yet flawless, carried no expression, but his eyes were faintly unfocused. The quick check earlier reassured Shen Xuzhi that his fever wasn’t spiking just yet.

Leaning in, Shen Xuzhi found Qing Lin didn’t shy away, simply watching as his face drew closer… until he caught the faintest scent near his lips.

Shen Xuzhi slightly frowned. “Did you drink?”

Qing Lin shook his head with quiet obedience. “I don’t drink.”

His pale, delicate face tilted slightly, those large eyes fixed steadily on Shen Xuzhi.

Shen Xuzhi found it strange.

There was no alcohol in the room, yet he seemed faintly drunk.

Then it clicked.

Shen Xuzhi turned and strode to the hospital bed, picking up the box of chocolates Bai Wenle had brought. He read the label, “Liqueur chocolate.”

Liquor-filled chocolates.

Shen Xuzhi’s vision darkened, and he suddenly felt the urge to drag Bai Wenle back to give him a scolding.

It was indeed an authentic liqueur chocolate, expensive, too, the kind one might offer as a sincere gesture of reconciliation. The problem was, traditional liqueur chocolates were usually filled with spirits containing over thirty-five percent alcohol.

He returned to the bathroom, holding out the wrapper. “How many did you eat?”

Qing Lin thought for a moment. “Six.”

Shen Xuzhi: “…”

Shen Xuzhi’s silence spoke volumes.

Qing Lin couldn’t hold his liquor—six pieces were enough to leave him tipsy.

Perched on the washstand, his eyes were half-lidded and misty, the haze in them only deepening instead of clearing, pure and inviting.

On the surface, he didn’t seem much different from usual, but his movements had slowed noticeably. Then, without warning, he tried to jump down from the washstand.

Shen Xuzhi caught him at once. “What are you doing?”

“Shower,” Qing Lin replied.

Shen Xuzhi still couldn’t fathom why he was so set on it, until Qing Lin looked away and said evenly, “The smell on me is too salty. I don’t like it.”

There was no arguing with that tone. Shen Xuzhi could only rub at his hair with the towel, drying the damp strands.

Qing Lin shifted slightly, his eyes narrowing in sudden pain.

“It hurts?” Shen Xuzhi asked quickly.

Did he hurt himself when he fell earlier?

Lowering his head, Qing Lin tugged lightly at his pants. “Seems I bruised my leg.”

Shen Xuzhi knelt halfway down, and he lifted Qing Lin’s calf onto his shoulder to get a better look. Qing Lin’s legs were slender, the lines graceful. When Shen Xuzhi pulled up the fabric of his pants, a patch of deep purple bruising marked the bone of his shin.

“Oh.” Qing Lin looked at the bruise as if it were nothing, not treating it like an injury at all, and once again moved to hop down for a shower.

Shen Xuzhi caught him, drew him into his arms, and set him back on the washstand.

Bracing both hands on either side of Qing Lin, he coaxed patiently, “How about we skip the shower, okay?”

Qing Lin shook his head.

Even drunk, he spoke little, quiet and beautiful, obedient and well-mannered, but that one stubborn streak was drawn even sharper, unyielding.

Shen Xuzhi couldn’t risk letting him bathe alone; he was worried Qing Lin might hurt himself again in the bathroom.

Of course, he didn’t dare help Qing Lin bathe… though he very much wanted to.

So, he tossed the question back to him, coaxing, “Is there something we can do instead of showering?”

Qing Lin’s long lashes trembled, as if he were giving it serious thought. After a moment, he said, “Then wipe.”

“Wipe my body. That’ll get rid of the smell too.”

Shen Xuzhi was momentarily at a loss.

Qing Lin looked straight at him, leaving Shen Xuzhi with the distinct feeling that the boy was absolutely set on having his body wiped tonight.

“…Alright. Wipe it is.” Shen Xuzhi sighed, conceding.

He went to the shower, dampened a towel, wrung it out, and came back intending to hand it to Qing Lin.

But what he saw instead was the tipsy young man holding out his arm toward him. Their eyes met, and Qing Lin tilted his head slightly, dazed.

Shen Xuzhi: “?”

…!

Wait. Was he expecting him to do it?

Shen Xuzhi’s Adam’s apple shifted. He forced himself to accept it, trying to steady his nerves against the unexpected jolt.

It made sense—Qing Lin probably couldn’t manage it himself. And with him still recovering from illness and a little drunk, helping was only natural.

No need to overthink it.

Suppressing the heat in his chest, Shen Xuzhi pressed the damp towel to Qing Lin’s slender forearm.

Qing Lin was pliant in his hands, offering no resistance, letting Shen Xuzhi move him as he pleased. His skin was warm to the touch, smooth and pale, with a faint flush that was almost too beautiful to look at.

Shen Xuzhi exhaled sharply, feeling as though he were enduring a slow, exquisite torture.

Once the arms and legs were done, he didn’t dare move on to the rest. Unsure how to proceed, he carefully asked, “What about your back?”

Expressionless, Qing Lin gave a slight shrug, as if weighing the question with utter seriousness.

It seemed Qing Lin had found his answer.

He turned his back, crossed his hands to grip the hem of his shirt, and pushed it upward.

The fabric rose to his shoulders, revealing a slender, snow-pale back, its lines as smooth as flowing water. At his waist, the tattoo lay bare without the slightest guard, its colors clearer and more vivid under the open air.

Half-dressed like this, he glanced back over his shoulder, eyes narrowing slightly, and said in a calm, unruffled tone, “Wipe.”

Shen Xuzhi: “…”

This was torture.

Heat flared low in his abdomen, and he felt like his nose was about to start bleeding.

It was the first time Shen Xuzhi had seen Qing Lin’s tattoo, a wingless butterfly inked between hip and waist, sensual to the extreme, laced with flames as if ready to burst forth, brimming with vitality.

On impulse, Shen Xuzhi reached out and touched it.

“Tss.”

Unlike the warmth of the towel, the sudden, cooler contact startled Qing Lin. His waist tightened sharply, his spine curving away in an instinctive retreat.

Only then did Shen Xuzhi realize what he’d done. That tiny flinch sent a shiver through him, leaving him momentarily at a loss.

But Qing Lin didn’t react like most people would—no shy “Those tickles” or “Don’t touch there.”

Instead, he frowned lightly, the snow-like face carrying a faint hint of reproach and spoke with mild displeasure. “Hurry up.”

Shen Xuzhi: “…”

Who could endure this?

The kid was far too wild. Swallowing hard, Shen Xuzhi shoved down the thoughts he knew he shouldn’t be having right now.

For the rest, he chose to keep his eyes shut and work fast, wiping him down quickly, changing him into clean clothes, blow-drying his hair, and settling him neatly in bed.

Then Shen Xuzhi returned to the bathroom.

And spent nearly half an hour under a cold shower.

Only after he had completely calmed himself did he step out again. A glance at the clock in the examination room told him it was already late.

Qing Lin wasn’t asleep. Curled beneath the blanket, he looked a little deflated.

“You were in there a long time,” he remarked.

“It’s hot, so I stayed under the water a bit longer.” Shen Xuzhi walked over to the bed, his voice lowered with gentle warmth. “Why aren’t you sleeping?”

Qing Lin pursed his lips, then repeated the same words he’d said earlier—but this time, it wasn’t a question. “Mr. Shen, you’re not leaving.”

Shen Xuzhi figured he was still drunk. Giving in to a selfish impulse, he reached out and pressed his palm to Qing Lin’s cheek, cooling the lingering heat there.

“I’m not leaving,” Shen Xuzhi said softly, his tone coaxing like one would use with a child. “I’ll stay and take care of Linlin.”

Qing Lin looked at him, the corners of his eyes faintly red, his gaze as calm as ever.

Shen Xuzhi was already feeling unsteady under that look when Qing Lin spoke again.

“Why did you compete with me for the questions?”

Shen Xuzhi: “?”

By “competing for questions,” was he talking about that extra recording game, the rapid-knowledge Q&A, where you had to press the button to answer?

Shen Xuzhi wasn’t sure how to respond. Qing Lin, unwilling to wait for an explanation, went on, “Why didn’t you teach me rock climbing? Why did you answer wrong on purpose and get us handcuffed together?”

“The Lover’s Stone and the natural park were obviously better choices.” His tone carried a trace of complaint, but mostly a quiet disappointment. “Mr. Shen, you’re very uncooperative.”

Shen Xuzhi looked at him. He was serious, earnest, even, in his questioning.

The little drunk was… adorable.

“My fault. I was wrong,” Shen Xuzhi said with a helpless smile. “From now on I’ll cooperate. I’ll listen to you. Whatever you want, I’ll go along with it.”

For Qing Lin, that was a fairly satisfactory answer.

He fell quiet, sinking a little deeper into the bed. Under the faint light, his face seemed veiled in something delicate and hard to define.

It was then Shen Xuzhi lowered his head. His voice dropped, carrying a hint of laughter, cool and magnetic, almost teasing. “Why don’t you ask me why I asked if you wanted to kiss?”

Qing Lin tensed visibly.

He thought for a moment, biting his lip. After a brief hesitation, he replied, “Because I saw the task card. One of them had an ‘embrace and kiss’ mission. So that’s why Mr. Shen asked me that at the time.”

Even drunk, his reasoning was clear.

Shen Xuzhi took a slow breath, his voice softening. “Does Linlin want to kiss?”

Qing Lin’s mind went blank for a moment, unable to think at all. But right now, he was obedient, answering whatever was asked. “I’ve never kissed before.”

Shen Xuzhi’s voice curled close to his ear, low and deliberate. “Then have you ever thought about it… kissing?”

That citrus scent again. It was practically becoming Mr. Shen’s personal signature.

Had he ever thought about it?

Qing Lin considered for a moment.

Now that Mr. Shen put it that way, he realized that yes, he had thought about it, but only because he was momentarily surprised.  Still, if Mr. Shen kissed him for the sake of the mission or the contract… it might not be unacceptable.

Because perhaps, he wouldn’t hate it.

The dim light touched Shen Xuzhi as well, casting a shadow along the sharp line of his throat where his Adam’s apple stood out, the angle steeped in subtle intimacy.

Qing Lin hesitated at first, but in the end decided it wasn’t something to overthink.

After turning the thought over and over, the briny scent of seawater faded, giving way to the crisp, lingering fragrance of citrus.

He gave Shen Xuzhi an honest answer.

“Yes.”