Chapter 51: Ambiguous Warmth
Zhu Zhixi woke once in the middle of the night. The room was very dark, everything in his vision seeming to be covered by a vast black veil, hazy and dim.
Yet in that muddled gloom, he actually met Fu Rangyi’s open eyes. They were bright and deep, staring straight at him.
Zhu Zhixi was startled. He thought he was dreaming, so he closed his eyes and opened them again. Fu Rangyi’s expression seemed to soften a little.
Still half-asleep, he leaned over, rubbed against his face, and buried himself in Fu Rangyi’s neck.
“Insomnia…” he mumbled, his hand instinctively touching Fu Rangyi’s lower back.
He did not know if it was a dream or not. Either way, Fu Rangyi answered him and held him. His voice was very low. “No.”
“You… can’t sleep in a strange bed?” Zhu Zhixi was too sleepy. He barely managed to ask before his consciousness blurred again.
He felt Fu Rangyi kiss the top of his hair, then place a hand behind him, gently and softly stroking down from the back of his head to the nape of his neck, then along his spine, again and again, slow and unhurried. The soothing motion dragged his awareness down another layer. Very soon, Zhu Zhixi wrapped his arms around Fu Rangyi’s waist and fell asleep again.
He had no idea what time Fu Rangyi finally slept. In any case, when Zhu Zhixi woke again after nine in the morning, Fu Rangyi was sleeping deeply, holding him from behind, his face buried in the hollow of his neck. His arm was wrapped around Zhu Zhixi, his breathing steady.
Zhu Zhixi quietly came fully awake in his arms. His gaze fell on that arm, and he reached out, carefully slipping his hand into the sleeve of Fu Rangyi’s robe, gently stroking the scars on his forearm.
Yesterday, during all that, he had forgotten to kiss them.
Thinking of this, he felt a little sore all over. He then moved out of Fu Rangyi’s arms with extreme care, used his own pillow as a substitute, and stuffed it into his embrace. But the moment he got out of bed, he crouched down.
His legs were weak. His lower abdomen still ached faintly.
He crept into the bathroom and discovered that Fu Rangyi had actually cleaned everything inside until it was spotless. There was not the slightest trace of crime to be found. Except for one missing bath bomb in the wall niche.
Closing the door, Zhu Zhixi untied his robe, wanting to check himself.
“It’s not torn, right…”
But no matter what position he tried, he could not see clearly. He could only see the bruises on his hip bones and the kiss marks on his body.
Forget it.
It should be fine. Even if it was not, it did not matter. He was a strong, brave Beta with tenacious vitality.
Leaning against the sink, he brushed his teeth in a daze. When washing his face, the flash of the countdown dazzled his eyes.
[33 days, 20 hours, 10 minutes, 09 seconds]
Twenty-eight hours more than yesterday.
Thirty-three days.
Zhu Zhixi let out a long sigh.
When would it disappear?
He wanted so badly to stay with Fu Rangyi forever and ever, to loudly tell him that he liked him and loved him, to chase after him and say it so many, many times, without being timid because he was afraid he might suddenly leave.
He did not want to be the bad person forced to abandon Doctor Dog.
When he came out, Zhu Zhixi casually took a bottle of water from the small fridge in the bathroom, twisted it open, and drank a few mouthfuls. His eyes stayed fixed on the bed the whole time.
Fu Rangyi was still hugging his pillow.
How was he this cute?
Zhu Zhixi lay at the edge of the bed and stared quietly for a long time. When Fu Rangyi finally loosened his arms and turned over to lie flat, Zhu Zhixi lifted the quilt and slipped in like a little snake. He kissed Fu Rangyi’s high nose bridge, then his lips and chin, and softly called his name.
“This still doesn’t wake you?”
Looks like you’re not that calm and in control after all. You’re a little tired too, aren’t you?
Zhu Zhixi tilted his head, and the wicked ideas in his mind started bubbling out. He blinked, lowered his head, and fumbled toward Fu Rangyi’s waist, slowly pulling open the sash. Then he slid down and slipped under the warm quilt.
In this regard, he was a completely blank sheet of paper. All his experience came from this one-on-one physiology teacher. He could only recall the course material while reviewing it and copying what he had learned. Before he had even done much to the other person, his own face had already turned red, his heart pounding in embarrassment.
It was very warm under the quilt, but he had just drunk ice water, so his mouth was cool.
The moment he began the first step, Professor Fu’s long leg moved, and his knee nearly hit Zhu Zhixi in the head.
“Don’t move…” Zhu Zhixi gave the order vaguely.
I know it’s cold. But aren’t you a great iceberg anyway?
Ice in the mouth will melt sooner or later.
He busied himself for a long while, with no technique whatsoever, only feelings.
But not long after, he discovered that feelings… seemed to be enough?
Or maybe his talent was just extraordinary.
The only downside was that it was too hot and stuffy. His brain was lacking oxygen, and before long Zhu Zhixi was dizzy and breathing out with his tongue out, wishing he could simply throw the entire quilt off.
He rested for a while, lowered his head to kiss twice, and was about to gather his courage and complete another round of practical lesson training when the quilt was really lifted.
“What are you doing…” Fu Rangyi had woken up and was leaning against the headboard, looking at him.
His voice carried a trace of nasality, deep and very different from usual. One hand gripped the quilt, his brows furrowed, his eyes narrowed, as though he was trying very hard to see clearly.
Once he truly woke up a little and saw the general situation, his first reaction was actually to reach for his glasses. But the glasses were not on the bedside table. He turned his face and met Zhu Zhixi’s gaze again, tilted his head slightly, and asked once more.
“Zhu Zhixi, what are you doing?” This time his voice was a little hoarse.
“Mm…” Zhu Zhixi was startled like a little hamster forced to spit stored food out of its cheek pouch. He raised his head and blinked innocently. “This is… a morning call!”
Fu Rangyi was not wearing glasses, and his vision was still unfocused. He narrowed his eyes and studied him for a while, then nodded. After that, he suddenly laughed lowly and even greeted him good morning.
“Morning.”
For some reason, Zhu Zhixi was bewitched by this sentence and this laugh, stunned for several seconds. With the rhythm interrupted, he did not even know whether he should continue.
“But you don’t need to do these things.” Fu Rangyi reacted first and even reached out to pull him up.
“Why?” Zhu Zhixi did not like seeing him so calm and composed, too calm, as if he could pull away at any time and would never fall because of him.
Am I the only one getting this carried away? And I’m even a Beta. That’s not right.
He refused to cooperate. Instead, he lowered his head again, imitating Fu Rangyi’s words from last night in a muffled voice.
“Look at me…”
Then he heard the sound he loved hearing, a very low gasp.
“Zhu Zhixi…”
“You taught me.” Zhu Zhixi spoke with shameless confidence. “I’m just returning the move you used on me. Learning the barbarians’ skills to control the barbarians, you little vixen.”
“Compared to you, I’m basically just a little fox who just came down the mountain.”
That said, he could not actually reach Fu Rangyi’s level from last night. Limited by fundamental physical differences, the size gap was right there. Fu Rangyi could pick him up with one hand, while Zhu Zhixi probably would not budge him even with both arms. So he used almost everything he could use.
His eyes occasionally flicked upward, seeing Fu Rangyi’s side of the neck and ears gradually flush red, and also seeing him instinctively tilt his head back.
Even his neck was this beautiful.
“You’re blushing.” He found time to say, his hand not stopping.
Fu Rangyi said nothing and turned his face away. His breathing was heavy and pleasant to hear. The way he did not dare look at him and tried to adjust his breathing was also very cute.
He liked watching Fu Rangyi sink into it, fall into the whirlpool, not so cold and self-controlled, as if he especially needed him.
“Professor Fu, you’re so good-looking.” This sentence became muffled again, but Zhu Zhixi’s lifted eyes were extremely bright.
The shell Fu Rangyi always wore, the one he could put on and take off at will, finally cracked open, revealing the soft, pure innocence underneath. This excited Zhu Zhixi. For some reason, doing these things to someone like him gave rise to an intense sense of taboo.
Even though they were legally licensed.
Winter sunlight crossed the curtains, a narrow golden beam falling inside and landing on Zhu Zhixi’s rising and falling back. His robe had been rubbed half-open under the quilt earlier, one shoulder half exposed, his lowered neck fair and slender.
Without glasses, Fu Rangyi’s vision was somewhat blurry, making it feel even more dreamlike.
Fu Rangyi watched, entranced. Only when he heard Zhu Zhixi cough did he come back to himself. He reached for a tissue, pulled him up, and let him sit in his arms.
“Spit here.”
This really made him look like a husband helping someone catch fruit pits. Zhu Zhixi thought.
He deliberately disobeyed. A moment later, he opened his mouth like a patient letting a doctor examine his teeth and gave an “ah,” then shrugged with a smile. “All gone.”
Fu Rangyi had absolutely no way to deal with him.
Zhu Zhixi even leaned close to his ear and whispered, “There are your pheromones in there.”
Help.
Fu Rangyi’s canines began aching again.
“You even know this? I thought you really hadn’t attended a single physiology class.”
“Because that’s from the first lesson, right?” Zhu Zhixi smiled. “Even someone terrible at English knows how to spell ‘abandon.’”
There it was again. Zhu Zhixi’s strange metaphors.
“Did you like it?” Zhu Zhixi held his face and asked.
Fu Rangyi deliberately did not answer at once, instead changing the subject. “This is probably the kind of sweet dream every Alpha high school boy would have.”
“You had dreams like this in high school? Why do I not believe that at all?” Zhu Zhixi thought, If you so much as had the beginning of that kind of dream, you probably woke yourself up and cut yourself with a knife. Little bitter melon.
Fu Rangyi actually thought about it carefully.
“True. I didn’t.”
He had not had many good dreams.
Nor did he have anyone to dream about. Unless he had known Zhu Zhixi back in high school.
“Then did you like it or not?” Zhu Zhixi circled the topic back again.
Fu Rangyi rested both hands on his lower back, staring at his rosy, full lips. “What do you think?”
“What do I think? I think your mouth is really stubborn.” Zhu Zhixi said, “Certain people weren’t like this last night. Every other sentence was ‘so good,’ ‘you did so well,’ ‘you’re amazing’…”
And all that “baby” this, “baby” that.
How come the moment he opened his eyes, he turned back into this again?
A faint smile tugged at Fu Rangyi’s lips. “You like hearing that?”
“Of course.” Zhu Zhixi was very honest.
Fu Rangyi kissed the tip of his nose and asked, “Like a child. You like being praised.”
“You react really well when I praise you too. Who doesn’t like being praised?”
It wasn’t as if everyone was a masochist like Zhu Zerán, who liked getting slapped.
Fu Rangyi was quiet for a moment. When he spoke again, he became honest. “Just now felt very good.”
The moment Zhu Zhixi heard that, a little flower suddenly bloomed in his heart, and he could not help smiling. But the moment he grinned, Fu Rangyi’s fingers suddenly slipped into his mouth, startling him. “Mm—what are you doing!”
Fu Rangyi did not say anything. He only touched his front teeth and the teeth beside them.
“Nothing.” He patted Zhu Zhixi’s lower back, carried him to the side, and went into the bathroom himself.
Only belatedly did Zhu Zhixi react, shouting, “Are you??ing me because I scraped you?”
Fu Rangyi was brushing his teeth. He poked his head out, his hair messy, eyes narrowed, toothbrush in his mouth as he made a vague questioning sound. “Mm?”
Zhu Zhixi climbed off the bed too, ran barefoot to the bathroom door, and questioned him. “I asked whether you liked it, and you touched my teeth. Were you about to say something mean but held it back?”
Fu Rangyi bit down on his toothbrush and smiled. He pinched Zhu Zhixi’s cheek, then lowered his head and washed up seriously. After wiping his face, he looked down at Zhu Zhixi’s bare feet, picked him up directly, and set him on the sink.
“What are you thinking?” He leaned in very close, both hands braced on the edge of the sink, lifting his face to kiss Zhu Zhixi’s lips. “I just thought your teeth were cute and wanted to touch them.”
“Really?” Zhu Zhixi rested both hands on the back of his neck, wrists crossed.
Fu Rangyi nodded, brushing the tip of his nose against his as he did.
Zhu Zhixi smiled a little smugly, his front teeth showing again, completely unaware of it. He only asked, “Then what score would you give my practical lesson homework? Can I be saved, Great Professor?”
“If it’s full marks, what saving is needed?”
“Sweet talk.” Zhu Zhixi’s fingers restlessly stroked the gland at the back of Fu Rangyi’s neck. Suddenly, he thought of the way Fu Rangyi had stared at him last night, also touching the back of his neck and his back like this.
“Did you not sleep well last night?” Zhu Zhixi kissed the bridge of his nose. “Are you not used to sleeping here?”
“No.”
It was a little separation anxiety. After intimacy, it seemed even worse. Even closing his eyes and not seeing him felt uncomfortable.
“The fireworks outside were too noisy,” he said casually.
Zhu Zhixi believed him. He even imagined Fu Rangyi as a little dog or cat who always got startled by firecrackers and fireworks during New Year.
So cute.
So in this position, he kissed him. The kiss grew deeper and deeper. The minty taste was cool and sweet, and as they kissed, he began to hum softly.
Fu Rangyi tightened his arms and carried him up while still kissing him. The little koala clung obediently to him, leaving the bathroom and reaching the bedside, where he was gently laid down.
Kissing really was more comfortable lying down.
Just as he thought this, a series of vibrations sounded. Zhu Zhixi was caught off guard and startled again. He pushed Fu Rangyi. “Is your bracelet alarming again?”
Fu Rangyi lifted his head. “I’m not wearing it.”
“Mm?” Zhu Zhixi sobered up too.
Fu Rangyi picked up the phone and glanced at the caller ID. “…Little Treasure Xiao’En.”
Those four words were practically squeezed out through gritted teeth.
“Give it to me, give it to me.” Zhu Zhixi got the phone and immediately answered. He rolled over and lay on his stomach on the bed, then cheerfully shouted New Year greetings in the very first second. “Happy New Year, Xiao’En! May you make a fortune! Did you accept the red envelope I sent you last night? Do you want to come to my house for dinner?”
Fu Rangyi was rather speechless. He had already wanted to bite his neck and had been holding back. Now those four big words were running wildly through his mind. In a moment of impulse, he pressed down on Zhu Zhixi’s shoulder from behind and bit him.
“Ah!” Zhu Zhixi cried out in pain. His hand loosened, and the phone fell onto the quilt.
His sharp canines left two shallow marks, but he did not inject pheromones. That would hurt too much. Besides, it would not be useful anyway. Fu Rangyi still had some reason left.
On the other end of the call, Liang Yien called Zhu Zhixi’s name several times. Fu Rangyi picked up the phone and held it by Zhu Zhixi’s ear. “Little Treasure Xiao’En is calling you.”
“What are you doing…” Zhu Zhixi covered his neck. Hearing Liang Yien ask, “Are you okay?” from the other end, he cleared his throat, caught his breath, and said, “I’m fine. Go ahead, I’m listening.”
“Senior, Little Yu woke up. He seems to have recovered a little memory. Do you have time to come over now?”
“Yes!” Zhu Zhixi immediately perked up at this. This was a major matter related to his great longevity plan. “I’ll come right away. Wait for me.”
Half an hour later, Liang Yien opened the courtyard gate. He was a little surprised. The married couple had actually come together, and they were carrying big bags and small bags, looking exactly like newlyweds visiting relatives.
“Professor Fu, you came too.” Liang Yien gave two dry laughs. “Happy New Year.”
Such heavy pheromones…
Help, give an ordinary Alpha a way to live, teacher. His head was about to split open.
He had already been exhausted after being tormented all night.
Yet the certain Beta carrying and continuously emitting top-tier Alpha pheromones knew absolutely nothing about it. He even enthusiastically hugged him. “Happy New Year!”
Not happy at all, Senior. Liang Yien smiled bitterly and was about to hug him back when he suddenly felt a chill. Looking up, he met Professor Fu’s frighteningly gloomy gaze.
He withdrew his hands. “…Come in first, Senior.”
“Did Little Yu really wake up?” Zhu Zhixi walked beside Liang Yien at the front and nudged his waist with his elbow. “What did you two do last night?”
Liang Yien wanted to laugh.
Is turning things around on people your natural talent, Senior?
“Well…” He had only said one word when he vaguely felt his back turn chilly too. When he looked back, it was still Fu Rangyi.
Why was he following so closely?
“Forget it, don’t say it. None of that is important.” Liang Yien consciously kept his distance and rubbed his temples. “Anyway, he’s awake. Senior, ask whatever you want to ask quickly. I’m afraid he’ll turn into an animal again in a bit.”
The three of them walked from the front yard inside. The little dogs barked one after another. Several times, Fu Rangyi almost stepped on Zhu Zhixi’s foot. Zhu Zhixi was a little puzzled. On the way here, he had already felt something strange. Ever since Fu Rangyi woke up in the morning, he had been especially clingy, staying right by his side. Forget “marking” him—whenever they hit a red light while driving, he would take the initiative to hold his hand.
“You stepped on me,” he said.
“Oh.” Fu Rangyi lowered his head slightly. “Sorry.”
“Are you learning how I walk?” Zhu Zhixi leaned close and asked softly, “You’ve been walking right next to me the whole way.”
After being exposed, Fu Rangyi turned his face away and also pulled a little distance between them. But Zhu Zhixi immediately stuck close again, took his arm, and went into the room with him.
As soon as they entered, Zhu Zhixi saw Little Yu sitting on the bed, wearing Liang Yien’s fluffy pajamas. His long silver-white hair was loose, and his expression was dazed.
“Still the adult version!” Zhu Zhixi pointed at him. “Do you still remember me? Great angel.”
Little Yu turned his head. His gaze swept over the two of them and finally landed on Fu Rangyi.
“Dad…”
“…Who’s your dad?” Fu Rangyi wanted to wash his hands again.
Author’s Note:
On the way out, Little Zhu basically had “I fired the New Year’s Eve cannon last night” pasted across his forehead. After doing it, Professor Fu has entered a new stage of separation anxiety. Clingy Alpha puppy mode has automatically activated.
