The old town was close to the Preparatory School and it only took ten minutes by car. The alley was narrow, so Lu Heyang parked the car at the side of the road and walked in with Xu Ze.
Xu Ze took a long time to progress what was happening, and only at this point did he start to worry that Lu Heyang might not be accustomed to the food. He hesitantly gave him a heads-up, “The restaurant is small, and it might not be clean.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Lu Heyang turned to look at him and said with a smile, “I used to eat at street stalls with Yunchi.”
Xu Ze relaxed a little and tried to continue the conversation, “What about He Wei?”
It was unexpected that he would keep on asking. Lu Heyang said, “He Wei was abroad for the past few years. He just transferred back this semester.”
“You… have a good relationship.”
For some reason, Lu Heyang felt that Xu Ze was like an AI robot earnestly attempting to communicate with humans—serious and somewhat clumsy. Lu Heyang nodded, “Yeah, the three of us grew up together.”
Xu Ze’s expression suddenly froze. He seemed as though he had something on his mind, but ultimately, he simply pursed his lips and remained silent.
The sky was overcast and it looked like it was going to rain. The restaurant was slightly crowded with people having dinner after work. Lu Heyang and Xu Ze found a small square table in the corner. One side of the table was against the wall, and the other side was next to several beer crates. The two of them could only sit on each side of the table’s corner.
“What do you want to eat?” Xu Ze asked.
The noise in the restaurant made it hard for Lu Heyang to hear Xu Ze’s voice, but he could guess what he was asking from the movement of his lips. But Lu Heyang still said, “What?”
Xu Ze leaned closer to Lu Heyang’s ear and asked, “What do you want to eat?”
“The same as you,” Lu Heyang replied.
“Do you want coriander and green onions, or vinegar and chili?”
“I don’t want any of those.”
Xu Ze nodded and got up to place the order. He stood at the counter, tall with a few small bear band-aids crookedly placed on his neck, appearing young and out of place in this setting.
Not just in this restaurant, but everywhere Xu Ze went, including the octagon cage filled with violence and blood.
Halfway through eating the noodles, it started to rain outside. Xu Ze started to worry again. He didn’t mind whether he got caught in the rain or not; it was no big deal. He never used an umbrella when he was alone—but that didn’t prevent him from firmly believing that Lu Heyang shouldn’t get wet.
Lu Heyang’s phone rang again. He glanced at the screen and told Xu Ze, “I’ll go outside to take the call.”
Through the window, Xu Ze saw Lu Heyang standing on the porch, rain dripping down the eaves and falling 20 centimeters in front of him. Lu Heyang had a cold expression, lowered eyelashes, and everything he said was brief as if he was not in the mood for a lengthy conversation.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Lf delmxis tecu eq atf qtbcf jcv rfaaifv atf ylii joafg gfaegclcu ab atf gfrajegjca. Lf ygbeuta akb uijrrfr bo kjafg jcv qijmfv bcf lc ogbca bo We If.
“Cgfc’a sbe ublcu ab olclrt sbeg wfji?” We If jrxfv.
“Rb.”
“Pc atja mjrf, sbe rtbeiv ub tbwf fjgis.” We If abbx j rlq bo kjafg jcv uba eq, “Qjla, P’ii ub yes jc ewygfiij.”
Lu Heyang grabbed his arm, “Why are you buying an umbrella?”
“It’s raining,” Xu Ze said.
“I know. The car isn’t far from here. We can just run to it.”
Xu Ze was unusually determined, “But it’s pouring.”
Lu Heyang asked him, “Are you afraid you’ll get wet or I’ll get wet?”
“I’m afraid you’ll get wet,” Xu Ze replied honestly, looking at the glass of water on the table.
“I’m in good health so I won’t catch a cold from a little rain,” Lu Heyang said and took the car keys, “Let’s run.”
The two of them rushed out into the rain side by side. They ran through the short alley and got into the car. It had only been ten seconds or so, but they were still drenched. Lu Heyang didn’t start the car. Everything felt sticky due to the stuffy air and the damp rainwater they had brought in; even the pheromones felt humid. In the darkness, the rain on the windshield flowed like a dark river. The raindrops kept pounding on the roof of the car, but it seemed far away as Xu Ze could only hear his own and Lu Heyang’s breathing.
“Tissues,” Lu Heyang said, “Wipe it off.”
Xu Ze reached to take out a tissue and accidentally touched the back of Lu Heyang’s hand. Just as he was about to retract his hand, Lu Heyang took his hand, pressed it on the tissue box, and said, “Here.”
“Mn,” Xu Ze’s throat was hoarse and dry. He swallowed, feeling breathless.
He pulled out two tissues but didn’t use them to wipe his face or hands. Instead, he fumbled to wipe the car seat that he had dampened. In the dim light, Lu Heyang watched him for a few seconds, then abruptly reached out and held Xu Ze’s chin, rubbing his face with his thumb. His hand was wet, and so was Xu Ze’s face. Lu Heyang asked, “Why aren’t you wiping where you should?”
Smelling the faint pheromones on the fingertip, Xu Ze’s face suddenly heated up, and he said, “I’ll just take a shower when I get back.”
Lu Heyang didn’t say anything. His hand dropped down, gliding along the side of Xu Ze’s neck before he started the car.
The trip took about five minutes. During the ride, Xu Ze noticed that Lu Heyang kept glancing at the rearview mirror and the side mirrors. He couldn’t make out Lu Heyang’s expression, but he could sense that Lu Heyang hadn’t been in a good mood from the moment he received the phone call while they were eating noodles.
Lu Heyang parked the car downstairs, only a short distance away from the entrance of the building. Xu Ze was about to say goodbye, but Lu Heyang got out of the car and ran into the hallway with him.
The rain showed no sign of stopping. Lu Heyang stood at the entrance and looked at the rain with a slight frown. As his arms were drenched in rain, Xu Ze didn’t think too much and wanted to wipe it off for him, but Lu Heyang raised his hand to block it.
Xu Ze was taken aback because Lu Heyang rarely expressed his resistance so bluntly. Xu Ze’s hand hung in the air for a second or two before he slowly lowered it.
“I’m sorry,” Xu Ze murmured.
Lu Heyang looked at him but didn’t respond to Xu Ze’s apology. After a moment of silence, he said, “Let’s go upstairs.”
The two of them went up the stairs one after the other. After entering the house, Xu Ze went to boil some hot water. Then he opened the door of his room and looked for a clean towel. Lu Heyang stood by the window, slightly drawing back the curtain and tilting his head to peer downstairs. It was unclear what he was looking at.
Once the hot water was ready, Xu Ze poured half a cup, then added half a cup of cold water to make it lukewarm. He brought it to the bedroom.
He kept his distance from Lu Heyang and stood by the desk. Rain was pouring down outside. Xu Ze felt like his heart had been left in the rain, being beaten up and down. He kept thinking and finally asked, “Is something wrong?”
Lu Heyang looked at him from the side and said with a slight smile, “Just a bit tired.”
Xu Ze found the smile indescribable and didn’t know how to comfort him. He was just an outsider who couldn’t do anything about it.
Xu Ze held the water cup in one hand and used the other to peel off the band-aids from his neck, which were uncomfortable from the rain. When he looked up again, Lu Heyang was staring at his neck.
“You should go back and rest early,” Xu Ze was still pondering what to say to make Lu Heyang less tired. But as soon as the words came out of his mouth, he felt that they were wrong. He quickly changed his tone, “It’s raining a lot, so it’s too dangerous to drive. How about…”
He didn’t finish his sentence because Lu Heyang suddenly walked up to him. Xu Ze couldn’t help but take a step back and bump into the desk. Lu Heyang swiftly grabbed his waist and pulled him forward. Lu Heyang held the back of Xu Ze’s neck and lowered his head. The blazing breath drew closer, and a sharp pain came from his neck. Xu Ze let out a groan. The paper cup slipped out of his hand, spilling water all over the floor.
When he was bitten, his first reaction wasn’t to push Lu Heyang away but to wrap his arms around his neck.
If the price of getting closer was pain, Xu Ze would choose it without hesitation. Pain was the thing he was least afraid of.
Lu Heyang bit Xu Ze’s neck. He slipped a hand under the hem of Xu Ze’s clothes and touched his lower back. Xu Ze’s pupils dilated, losing their focus as he stared ahead, and his breathing quickened. Lu Heyang’s glands were close to Xu Ze. Under the restraint of the wristband, the pheromones only leaked out a little, but it was enough to stimulate Xu Ze. His physiological repulsion instinct urged him to release more pheromones to counteract it.
His glands pulsated fiercely several times. The pheromones caused blood to rush through his body. Xu Ze groaned in discomfort. Lu Heyang’s breathing paused, and then he released his teeth.
The light was not bright enough, and in the shadows, Lu Heyang saw additional blood-red tooth marks next to the strangulation mark on Xu Ze’s neck. There was no blood, but saliva shimmered faintly on it.
The rain pattered against the window, but there was no other sound in the room. Lu Heyang paused for a few seconds before licking the spot on Xu Ze’s neck where he had bitten.
Xu Ze immediately tightened his grip around Lu Heyang’s neck and his back trembled.
Lu Heyang was clearly venting, but Xu Ze didn’t mind. If Lu Heyang was upset, he was willing to be the outlet.
After a long time, Lu Heyang raised his head, and Xu Ze stared into his eyes. Xu Ze’s disguise had always been feeble. As long as Lu Heyang was close to him, he would be so tense that it would all show on his face.
After looking at each other for a while, Lu Heyang moved his hand away from Xu Ze’s lower back. He put his arm around Xu Ze’s waist through his clothes and said, “Stop looking at me like that.”
Xu Ze nodded and looked away.
Even though he didn’t want to. If there were a type of medicine in the world that could make people stop looking at Lu Heyang, Xu Ze would be the first to purchase and take it, so as not to burden Lu Heyang with his annoying stare.
“Earlier downstairs, were you angry?” Lu Heyang asked.
Anger wasn’t the right word. Xu Ze’s character seemed to naturally be devoid of that emotion. Even if he had it, he would never be angry with Lu Heyang. Xu Ze was just feeling a little down, just a little bit. But no rule dictated that Lu Heyang had to consider his feelings, much like no one else had to.
“It doesn’t matter.” Lu Heyang had told Xu Ze not to look at him, so Xu Ze answered while looking at the electric fan. He still didn’t take his hands off Lu Heyang’s neck, greedily wanting to stay for a few more seconds.
Lu Heyang counted Xu Ze’s eyelashes and said to him, “If it doesn’t matter, there won’t be any compensation.”
This sentence made Xu Ze unable to resist looking at him again. He asked in surprise, “Compensation?”
“Mn.” Lu Heyang moved his hand down from Xu Ze’s waist to his hip, and said, “Do you want it?”
“I do.” It was impossible for Xu Ze to refuse. He unconsciously touched Lu Heyang’s hair with his fingers and made a rare request, “Can I choose?”
“Sure. What do you want?”
Xu Ze held his breath for a few seconds, then raised his head and kissed Lu Heyang on the forehead.
Xu Ze looked at Lu Heyang earnestly, as if making a wish after blowing out the candles, and said, “I hope you won’t be unhappy.”
Lu Heyang’s phone rang again, but he stared at Xu Ze without getting disturbed. When the phone quieted down, Lu Heyang finally spoke, “Okay.”
The rain subsided a little. Xu Ze rested his hands on the windowsill. His eyes followed the departing car lights until they disappeared around the corner.
He touched his neck. The place where Lu Heyang had bitten him was hot and throbbing. Xu Ze turned back to the desk and dried the bear band-aids with paper towels. There was no blood or dirt on them. He folded each one individually and wrapped them in a new paper towel.
Author’s note:
Lu Heyang: no words, the bear band-aids aren’t mine.
Tftc!😗
This story gots me in a choke hold too 👀
Oh goodness, I just melted while reading this chapter. I feel so happy and stressed out, I feel like trouble is just around the corner. Our babies are so precious please let them be happy but I know I should braced myself up.
Thank you so much for your consistent updates. You really pampered us so much! I have finally caught up with translation.