Chapter 62: Exactly the Same
After it ended, neither of them could bear to hang up. Zhu Zhixi curled up under the blanket, staring at the screen. In the frame, Fu Rangyi leaned against the headboard with his eyes closed, breathing deeply.
The last time Zhu Zhixi had seen him this aroused was during his susceptible period. His mouth was slightly open. Even though he had already found release just now, his canines did not seem to have retracted much.
As Zhu Zhixi watched, he reached out and touched Fu Rangyi’s head on the screen with his fingertip.
“Can’t see clearly?” Fu Rangyi suddenly sat up a little, looking at him through the camera, his gaze somewhat dazed.
Only then did Zhu Zhixi realize that those deliberately flirtatious words from earlier seemed to have been running through the drunk man’s mind for a long time. His response system had apparently only just finished loading.
He could not help laughing. Just as he was about to tease him, the camera suddenly zoomed in. Fu Rangyi had picked up the phone and pressed it right up to his face. It was so close that Zhu Zhixi could only see his eyebrows.
“These are eyebrows…” Fu Rangyi spoke very slowly.
The camera moved down.
“Eyes.” His lowered lashes trembled slightly. Fu Rangyi lifted his eyes and looked into the camera. His eyes were narrow, deep-set, and slightly pale in color. Behind lenses, they looked cold and distant; without glasses, his gaze became bright and sharp, like that of a beast on the hunt.
But now, soaked in both alcohol and desire, those eyes were misty. The way he looked at Zhu Zhixi was like a puppy, even a little blank.
“Nose.” The camera wobbled downward as the puppy introduced himself slowly.
Only then did Zhu Zhixi react. It turned out Fu Rangyi was trying to let him “see clearly.”
He smiled. “Such a pretty nose. What else?”
“And mouth…” The mouth he knew best.
Zhu Zhixi felt himself getting worked up again. Was Fu Rangyi pretending to be drunk? Or pretending to be silly? Was he deliberately seducing him?
He said, “I want to see your teeth.”
The lips on screen pressed together for a moment, as if hesitant, but two seconds later, they parted slightly. The canines that had been stimulated out were still sharp and had not retracted.
Zhu Zhixi could even imagine the feeling of those teeth biting through his skin. It was too vivid.
“And your tongue.” Zhu Zhixi smiled, suddenly finding it very thrilling, as if he were forcing himself upon some respectable married man.
Although this married man was already his.
But those lips closed again. Seeing that Fu Rangyi seemed to be refusing, Zhu Zhixi became even more interested and was just about to speak when the lips opened again. Like a puppy sticking out its tongue, the tip rested on the lower lip, though only for a second or two.
“Enough?” The camera shook, then moved farther away, revealing his whole face. Zhu Zhixi did not know if it was his imagination, but Fu Rangyi’s ears seemed even redder.
“I showed you everything,” Fu Rangyi said. “Now you can see clearly.”
“Everything?” Zhu Zhixi smiled wickedly, rolled over under the blanket, and lay on his stomach. “Let me see your abs.”
Fu Rangyi looked confused.
Zhu Zhixi blinked, using the most innocent expression to do something bad. “And below your abs.” He did not actually want to see. He only wanted to tease Fu Rangyi and see if his face would turn even redder.
The screen jolted, and Zhu Zhixi thought Fu Rangyi had agreed. He was so startled that he hurriedly said, “Hey, hey, wait, no, I was joking. Don’t, Professor Fu, the cyber police exist!”
“Mm… my hand is sore.” The camera returned, and Fu Rangyi said slowly, “The phone almost fell.”
Zhu Zhixi: “…I overthought it.”
Fu Rangyi blinked twice, nodded, and said, “Eat more leafy greens.”
Zhu Zhixi was completely confused. “What?”
Fu Rangyi continued answering nonsense. “And beef, shrimp. High protein…”
Zhu Zhixi wanted to laugh. “Are you a fitness coach? Are you starting to plan a fat-loss meal for me?”
“Part-time?” Fu Rangyi shook his head. “We’re not allowed to take part-time jobs.”
Zhu Zhixi laughed uncontrollably. He really wanted to hold Fu Rangyi’s face and kiss him. He must be burning hot right now.
“Protein is good for your body,” Fu Rangyi muttered to himself. “For growing a reproductive cavity, you need more nutrition…”
Zhu Zhixi paused. So that was what he meant.
“Don’t worry anymore. I was teasing you earlier. I know you’ve always cared.” He said, “Tomorrow I’m going to the hospital for a follow-up. I’ll call you then.”
Fu Rangyi nodded. He seemed truly tired. He turned over into a side-lying position and adjusted the pillow, making it into a temporary little support, then propped the phone against it.
Then he said, “Call me more.”
“I’m afraid I’ll disturb your work.”
On the screen, his broad shoulders were fully visible. The warm yellow reading light illuminated the lines of his muscles, making their contours clear.
“Professor Fu,” Zhu Zhixi called softly.
Fu Rangyi was drowsy. Only after several seconds did he look at the screen. “Mm?”
Zhu Zhixi teased, “Do you know what you’d be suitable to wear right now?”
Fu Rangyi could not think of it. “…What?”
“An apron,” Zhu Zhixi said.
“Apron…” Fu Rangyi murmured. “I wear one every time I cook.”
“No.” Zhu Zhixi moved closer and whispered very softly, “I mean wearing only that, like right now.”
Fu Rangyi showed that confused expression again. He probably imagined it, because his brows also furrowed. “You want to mess with me.”
“Mess with you?” Zhu Zhixi felt so wronged. “You can call Zhu Zhixi a pervert, but you can’t maliciously speculate!”
Fu Rangyi closed his eyes. “Zhu Zhixi, I’m sorry.”
Zhu Zhixi raised an eyebrow. “Then say you’ll wear it for me next time, and I’ll forgive you.”
Fu Rangyi nodded with his eyes closed. “Next time, wear it for me…”
Zhu Zhixi nearly rolled his eyes. “No, wear it for… forget it. Say next time you’ll wear it for Zhu Zhixi.”
This time, the drunk man finally said it correctly. “Next time I’ll wear it for Zhu Zhixi.”
“Where’s my little bunny?” Zhu Zhixi asked. “You didn’t really use it as a voodoo doll, did you?”
Fu Rangyi lifted his heavy eyelids and moved the phone a little. The camera shifted downward slightly. Only then did Zhu Zhixi see that the little bunny was being held in his arms, its face buried against someone’s chest muscles.
Had he been keeping the bunny on him the whole time just now?
Why did it feel like the substitute was living better than the real person?
“Fine.” Zhu Zhixi pouted. “Bad bunny.”
Fu Rangyi said, “Good bunny.”
Zhu Zhixi got anxious. “Fake bunny!”
Fu Rangyi did not answer immediately this time. He lowered his head and glanced at it, then agreed, “Mm. Fake bunny.”
That was more like it. Zhu Zhixi hummed twice. In the room, the scented candle had already burned out, and the limited-time pheromone experience card had ended.
Belatedly, a sense of emptiness replaced it and surged up, surrounding him. It was all Fu Rangyi’s fault, Zhu Zhixi thought. He had already gotten used to Fu Rangyi’s comfort after every time it ended: holding him in his arms, stroking his back, kissing his forehead and shoulders, speaking to him in a very gentle voice.
“Baby.”
Zhu Zhixi paused and looked at the screen. “Mm?” He had thought Fu Rangyi had already fallen asleep.
Fu Rangyi’s eyes were indeed closed. He did not open them, and his words were muffled. “…Miss you.”
Zhu Zhixi’s expression stilled. Somewhere inside him suddenly went very, very soft. If he pressed it lightly with a finger, longing would spill out endlessly.
“Me too,” he said softly. “Come back soon. I’m waiting for you every day.”
Fu Rangyi seemed too sleepy to hear him and did not answer.
Zhu Zhixi did not know how long he stared. Slowly, long and even breathing came through the receiver. He still could not bear to hang up. Looking at him, he whispered, “Good night, Niannian.”
Early the next morning, Zhu Zhixi went to the museum for work. In a rush, he took a mirror selfie in the elevator and sent it to Fu Rangyi along with a breakfast check-in photo. But Fu Rangyi seemed to be busy too and did not reply.
[Little Xi Teacher: You drank so much last night. Do you have a headache?]
There was no reply to that either.
Thinking of how Fu Rangyi had said “call me more” last night, Zhu Zhixi hesitated and was just about to call him when his assistant called for him.
“Coming.” Zhu Zhixi put away his phone and went over with his documents.
Once he got busy, he stayed busy until three in the afternoon and did not even have time to eat lunch. His scheduled follow-up appointment was coming up, so he handed over his work and drove to the hospital.
On the way, he received a call from an unfamiliar number. When he answered, the voice on the other end was very familiar.
“Little Yu?” Zhu Zhixi was a little surprised. “Xiao’En bought you a phone?”
The other end was silent for a while before honestly confessing in a muffled voice, “It’s a phone watch.”
Zhu Zhixi froze for one second, then burst into laughter.
“Why?”
“Because he said putting it around my neck would make me easier to find,” Little Yu added, “…when I’m a dog.”
Zhu Zhixi burst into merciless laughter again, laughing so hard tears almost came out.
“Then what are you now?” After laughing, Zhu Zhixi asked with concern.
Little Yu: “A person, obviously. Otherwise how would I call you?”
“That’s true.”
Little Yu began talking business. He told Zhu Zhixi that he had been following Snowball’s owner recently, but Snowball had not shown itself at all, not even once. It felt as if it was deliberately hiding. He suspected Snowball thought that once it appeared, it would be caught.
“Then what do we do?”
“That old lady fell ill again recently and was hospitalized,” Little Yu said. “I think this might be a chance. Maybe Snowball will go see her.”
“Perfect timing. I’m going to the hospital too, I’m already on the way. She gets treated at the same hospital.”
“I know. Xiao’En said you have a follow-up today. He said you grew a reproductive cavity,” Little Yu asked, “Can Alphas grow reproductive cavities?”
Zhu Zhixi blinked. “You really asked the right person… I never listened to a single physiology class.”
Little Yu was silent for a few seconds, then gave him an address. “Can you come pick me up? If I turn into a dog, I can’t get into the hospital. I need someone to bring me in first, then I’ll transform.”
“No problem.”
Twenty minutes later, at a nearby mall popular with anime and cosplay fans, he picked up Little Yu, who was currently being surrounded by a group of girls in cosplay outfits asking for photos.
“I just looked it up. Alphas’ reproductive cavities are atrophied.”
“Mine was too,” Zhu Zhixi said carelessly. “Fu Rangyi made mine develop a second time. Anything is possible.”
In the passenger seat, Little Yu turned to look at Zhu Zhixi and nodded meaningfully.
After entering the hospital and parking the car, a flash of golden light appeared. When it faded, Little Yu had turned into a little hamster. He hid in Zhu Zhixi’s coat pocket and followed him into the hospital like contraband smuggled past security.
Zhu Zhixi went upstairs for his follow-up. Little Yu stayed curled at the bottom of his pocket, quietly resting. But when Director Wang received the electronic imaging results and began analyzing the outcome of the secondary development, Little Yu climbed up a little, and a pair of tiny ears perked out.
“You’re developing very well. It’s basically taken shape. Have you felt any discomfort lately?”
“Still just kind of heavy and stuffy. Growing flesh, I guess,” Zhu Zhixi said casually.
“Any abnormal reactions?”
“Abnormal…” Zhu Zhixi thought of last night and nearly asked, but when he looked down, there was very obviously a chubby little white ball in his pocket, its ears twitching.
He could not possibly say in front of Little Yu that he had vaguely felt fluid down there last night.
“No,” he said through gritted teeth.
Director Wang nodded. “The indicators look fine too. But you are still a Beta after all. Your reproductive cavity is two sizes smaller than an Omega’s, and Little Fu is a top Alpha. When you two usually have sex…”
“Cough, cough, cough!” Zhu Zhixi coughed violently, interrupting him.
Director Wang glanced at him. “What’s wrong? Caught a cold?”
“The seasons are changing lately. My throat’s been a little uncomfortable.” Zhu Zhixi smiled.
“Oh. Drink more water.” Director Wang continued, “Anyway, be more careful. You can stop taking the medicine. Eat more nutritious food. Any other questions about the reproductive cavity?”
“No…” As soon as he said that, he felt his pocket being tugged. The little white rat inside was making a whole mess, pulling and dragging.
Zhu Zhixi immediately understood. “Director Wang, I have a question.”
Director Wang pushed up his reading glasses. “Go ahead.”
Zhu Zhixi asked directly, “Can Alphas undergo secondary development and grow a reproductive cavity?”
At this question, Director Wang’s expression visibly twisted. There was confusion in his doubt, and a hint of shock in his confusion.
“You…” He scratched his head. “What exactly are you two…”
Zhu Zhixi hurriedly shook his head. “No, no, no. You misunderstood. It’s not us. Well, I have an Alpha friend…”
Director Wang let out two dry laughs. “A friend. I understand. As for this matter, it’s very rare, but not unheard of. Usually, it’s caused by intense pheromone stimulation. It belongs to pathological development. It’s best not to pursue this kind of thing, understood?”
Zhu Zhixi smiled and nodded. “Got it, Director Wang. I’ll tell them to be careful.” After saying that, he slipped his hand into his pocket and pinched the fat little hamster. Did you hear that?
After leaving the consultation room, he exited the outpatient building, went downstairs, bought a fruit basket and milk, then called the old lady. When she heard he was coming to visit, the little old lady was very happy and gave him directions.
And just like that, Zhu Zhixi successfully transported the little hamster into Snowball’s owner’s hospital room.
Don’t get mistaken for a rat and beaten to long life… Zhu Zhixi watched him hide behind the curtain on the windowsill and felt a little worried.
He chatted with the old lady for a while. Zhu Zhixi learned that her heart had always been weak, and her last heart attack had left aftereffects. The doctor advised her to undergo surgery as soon as possible, but she kept worrying about Snowball. She was afraid that if the surgery failed, she would never be able to find Snowball again.
“We’ll definitely find it,” Zhu Zhixi comforted her.
After leaving the inpatient department, Zhu Zhixi returned to the car. Little Yu’s phone watch was still in the passenger seat. He first messaged Liang Yi’en to report Little Yu’s whereabouts, then opened the pinned chat.
Of the six messages he had sent today, Fu Rangyi had not replied to a single one.
That was not normal. Usually, even when Fu Rangyi was busy, he would reply during mealtimes, quoting each message one by one.
Zhu Zhixi thought for a moment, then called him. He called three times in a row, but no one answered.
What was going on?
He sent a few more messages and wanted to call again, but his phone suddenly vibrated. A call came in. Thinking it was Fu Rangyi calling back, he looked, only to see it was Zhu Zeran.
Zhu Zhixi was a little disappointed, but he still answered, greeting him weakly, “Hello? What is it?”
“Can’t I call you if there’s nothing?”
“Da Zhu, why do you always sound so annoying? Be careful or you’ll stay single forever.” Zhu Zhixi shot back, put him on speaker, exited the call screen, and returned to his chat with Fu Rangyi.
“Thanks for the blessing.” Then Zhu Zeran’s tone became more serious. “But I really do have something this time. That bastard who harassed you last time, I found some new leads.”
Zhu Zhixi frowned, stopped what he was doing, and asked, “Little Xiang?”
“Mm. Didn’t I tell you before? To get military resources, I took over a pile of crap, paying money to plug the holes in those real estate accounts. More than a dozen projects, all fucking unfinished. Isn’t this a coincidence? The house that bastard bought happened to be one of them. He even participated in rights-protection protests, though it didn’t do anything. The house is definitely never getting finished.”
At that, Zhu Zhixi suddenly remembered that Fu Rangyi had once mentioned that after the incident, Fu’s father had used some connections to make it impossible for Little Xiang to stay in S City, nor could he continue teaching. He could not even run tutoring classes, so he could only return to his hometown, settle down, and buy a house. At the time, Zhu Zhixi had been furious, thinking, Why does someone like that deserve to settle down?
Could it be that the house he bought was never built at all? What was this, karma?
Zhu Zhixi sneered. “Serves him right.”
“I think so too. I followed his property registration form and checked further, asked a few acquaintances, and found that he’s not doing well either. His medical insurance has lapsed several times, but he’s been making reimbursement claims on and off, which means he probably has some illness requiring long-term treatment. I’m still getting people to help me look into the specifics… Do you think he’s a psychological pervert or what?”
“More than just a psychological pervert.” Zhu Zhixi was angry, but did not want to say too much.
Zhu Zeran was quiet for a second or two, then suddenly asked, “The person he harassed probably wasn’t you, right?”
Sure enough, he could not hide it from him. Zhu Zhixi did not intend to struggle and admitted directly, “Mm. He’s the high school physics teacher Fu Rangyi beat up before. That Omega.”
Hearing this, Zhu Zeran actually seemed to let out a breath of relief, but he still warned, “If anything happens, contact me immediately, got it? If you get yourself dragged into this just to stand up for your dear husband, just you wait.”
“I know.” Zhu Zhixi responded while listening to Zhu Zeran nag. He opened the wristband monitoring app.
He had not received any warning texts today, so the pheromone index should not have had any problems, but he still felt uneasy.
The moment he opened it, however, he froze. The wristband was offline.
Zhu Zhixi felt something was very wrong. It was as if countless tiny needles were pricking densely across his face. Countless dangerous images flashed through his mind, along with the clues that had once troubled him: the punctured tire, the repeated harassment messages, that dangerous Omega with a history of malicious inducement. His trembling fingertips continued scrolling up. The data before the device went offline was all scarlet red, the danger level extremely high, exactly like his last susceptible period.
“Zhu Zhixi? Hey, Zhu Zhixi?”
He adjusted his breathing and asked as calmly as possible, “Brother, the unfinished building Little Xiang bought that you just mentioned, where is it? In S City?”
“No,” Zhu Zeran said. “It’s in a county under C City, his hometown.”
