Chapter 75: Chengnan Bookstore 22
…
Even with the underfloor heating turned off, Yi Ke was still restless and anxious from the excessive heat. He could only press his palms against that silk-like, smooth, and slightly cool waist. Zhuang Ningyu straddled him, lowering his head to unbutton his pajama top, but his wrist was gripped with great force. Yi Ke pulled him into a tight embrace. The lingering scent of shower gel steamed into a humid rose garden in summer. He vaguely felt he was losing control, so he held Zhuang Ningyu even more tightly, not letting him move. The muscles on his arms bulged, sweat slid down the side of his face, and his whole being was like a large, highly tense beast.
Zhuang Ningyu was wearing dark silk pajamas. A large expanse of fair skin was hidden beneath the collar, now flushed pink from his lover’s body heat. He sat in Yi Ke’s lap with his knees bent, held so tightly there was no room to breathe. Even his ankles were held fast by one hand. The slightest movement would be met with an even more intense and uneasy control from the other. Hot breath fell on his neck. Yi Ke closed his eyes, frowned, and said in a hoarse voice, “I’ll hurt you.”
Zhuang Ningyu asked helplessly, “…So what’s wrong with you right now? Should we go to the hospital again?”
Yi Ke lowered his head and bit him discontentedly.
He didn’t hold back much, so the pain was particularly sharp. An S-class evolver’s keen perception of the outside world would amplify any potential danger. Zhuang Ningyu instinctively flinched, and Yi Ke promptly caught this trace of unease. He slightly loosened his restraint, pinched his chin, and leaned in for a kiss, whispering an apology, “I’m sorry, don’t be afraid.”
Zhuang Ningyu took the opportunity to pull his arm free and wrapped it around his back again, patting him comfortingly. The two fell back onto the pillows, lying on their sides and kissing lingeringly for a while. The minty breath was refreshing, like being soaked in a spring rain. Yi Ke’s mood gradually stabilized a little. He watched him without blinking.
The lights in the bedroom were dimmed to their lowest. Zhuang Ningyu carefully wiped the thin layer of sweat from his forehead, his palm moving down along his hard chest. Yi Ke’s breathing instantly became rapid. He wanted to sit up but was held down. He felt the other’s cool, moist hand was like a slippery little snake slithering around, coiling in his fully exposed nerve plexus, carrying sharp fangs and a sweet, fatally thrilling venom.
The temperature rose, and every blood vessel radiated a heat that could burn through the skin. Yi Ke was lost in a daze, nibbling randomly at his neck, somewhat clumsily trying to get the two of them closer. The desire, stretched out by time, seemed as if it would never fade. After an unknown amount of time, Zhuang Ningyu’s wrist grew sore, and he really didn’t want to move anymore. He pressed against that heaving chest, looked up at him, his black and white eyes misty. Yi Ke’s spine tingled from the look. He suddenly tightened his arms, almost wanting to crush the person into his bones.
The room finally quieted down. Yi Ke took a moment to recover, then knelt up and grabbed the tissue box from the bedside table, carefully wiping his fingers clean one by one. Zhuang Ningyu used the back of his other hand to test his forehead temperature. The heat had indeed subsided a bit. He breathed a sigh of relief and kicked him. “I’m going to wash my hands!”
Yi Ke chuckled. He refused to let him walk on his own, carrying him directly to the sink. He also quickly took a shower himself. Zhuang Ningyu changed into another set of pajamas. The obsessive-compulsive patient really couldn’t stand his pajamas being wrinkled into a mess, even if it was an expensive silk product carefully selected by Yi Ke. He changed his clothes, and just as he pulled the covers up over himself, Yi Ke climbed into bed. He asked, puzzled, “Why are you covering yourself so tightly? Aren’t you hot?”
Not hot, just trying to avoid your whining. Zhuang Ningyu said, “Turn off the lights when you’re done.”
Yi Ke propped his head on one hand, leaning beside him. He didn’t turn off the lights, wanting to admire his wife’s beauty a little longer. After a while, he suddenly seemed to remember something and asked warily, “You’re not wearing that old set of father-in-law’s pajamas again, are you!”
The pajamas were good pajamas, 100% pure cotton, better quality than the polyester set. And because they had been washed many, many times, they had an exceptionally comfortable, soft feel. Zhuang Ningyu often wore them at home. When he moved in with Yi Ke, he had worn them once. As a result, after Yi Ke finished his shower, he stood at the bathroom door, refusing to get into bed for a long time. The psychological pressure was too great. The next day, he personally went to the mall and swiped his card to buy his wife eighteen sets of silk pajamas.
Zhuang Ningyu: “No, I’ve already taken them back to Fuxing Court.”
Yi Ke: “Then what are you wearing?”
Zhuang Ningyu: “Guess.”
Covered with a blanket, letting his boyfriend guess his pajama style—the scene was so romantic, like the beginning of a new love affair. Yi Ke actually thought for a moment, then asked, “Is it the 99-yuan-free-shipping men’s fashion pajama set you bought on Taobao last week?”
Zhuang Ningyu was shocked. “How did you know what I bought?”
Yi Ke pulled back the covers and glanced at the pajamas he was wearing. Indeed, he was completely right. He had picked up this package last week. The product name was on the shipping label. He had memorized it all with just a glance. Zhuang Ningyu didn’t believe he had such a good memory and pulled up his purchase history on his phone. “Say it again, what did I buy?”
Yi Ke: “99-yuan-free-shipping men’s spring and autumn long-sleeved lapel pure cotton anti-wrinkle fashion drape pajama set, the style is Dandelion Pale Yellow.”
Zhuang Ningyu: “?”
After finishing his answer, Yi Ke pulled him into his arms and appraised the new pajamas. Not bad, good-looking. My wife looks like a cute little banana wearing this!
He received effective comfort that night and finally had a solid, stable sleep. The next few days were also very normal. So much so that when the medical report arrived, Yi Ke had almost forgotten about the whole thing. He was still on his computer researching how to iron silk pajamas—the cleaning lady had come during the day, and after tidying up the rooms, she was about to organize their closets. But Yi Ke absolutely could not accept the idea of a third person touching the intimate clothing that had wrapped his wife’s butt. So he resolutely decided to do it himself from now on and even bought a high-end steam iron. Zhuang Ningyu thought this person was really crazy and couldn’t be bothered to say more. He took his computer to the study and carefully studied the medical report.
The report showed that Yi Ke’s evolution level was still only A. Although there were minor fluctuations in the relevant indicators, they were not yet sufficient to be considered an evolutionary trend. Zhuang Ningyu frowned and thought for a while, then leaned against the bedroom doorway and asked, “Do you want to go to the medical center again and talk to the doctor about your sex life? I mean, the changes after that night?”
Yi Ke frantically refused.
Zhuang Ningyu: “…Alright, then you should pay more attention to it yourself.”
Since there was no physical problem, Zhuang Ningyu had no reason to ask Huang Huihuang for leave. Yi Ke was, as expected, selected for the rule zone testing roster. Although the training intensity doubled, the advantage was that he would often go to the research group for meetings and training. Whenever this happened, Zhuang Ningyu would go to the office cafeteria in advance to buy him two of the TOP 1 most popular nougat and scallion-oil biscuits, which made He Mo’s teeth ache just watching. “You even have to buy him biscuits to coax him.”
Zhuang Ningyu waved him away. “Are you done with your work? Why are you lazing around in my office sleeping?” He asked, “How’s the iteration of the Zeus Grand Hotel coming along?”
“It’s currently the fifth version,” He Mo said, stretching and sitting up. “Ren Bing and I have analyzed it. We’ll have to wait until at least the twelfth iteration before it’s worth entering. The same goes for the Shiliu Mountain rule zone.”
Zhuang Ningyu nodded and continued to organize the documents on his desk. His phone on the desk chimed with a “ding.” He picked it up and glanced at it. It was a message from Yi Ke—
“I’m done with training. What time do you get off work?”
Zhuang Ningyu grabbed his coat. “I’m leaving.”
He Mo reminded him, “We have overtime tonight!”
“I know,” Zhuang Ningyu jogged off. “I’ll be back for the meeting at nine.”
But in the time before nine o’clock, he could squeeze in a trip to the supermarket. Zhuang Ningyu pushed a cart, following behind Yi Ke as he bought groceries. He then remembered to say, “I watched the video this afternoon. Ni Ruiling didn’t seem to have much of a reaction after learning that Yu Matu was a ‘tool’ sent by the Invisible Giant to destroy her life.”
“Even if she had a big reaction, she wouldn’t have shown it. She would just keep a tally in her heart. After all, the investigators are also her ‘enemies,’ and a narcissistic personality won’t break down in front of enemies,” Yi Ke said, putting a large box of old-fashioned popsicles into the shopping cart. “Is this enough?”
Zhuang Ningyu politely declined, “No, no, let’s not buy them. It’s not healthy to eat too many.”
Yi Ke pushed the cart forward. “The ones you buy yourself at the convenience store downstairs are just as unhealthy.”
Zhuang Ningyu felt a pang of guilt. “…How did you know?”
Yi Ke replied, “Because you used my salary card.”
Zhuang Ningyu remembered. Indeed, that day after eating at the cafeteria, he had stopped by the convenience store at the office entrance. He had taken a bite of an old-fashioned popsicle before realizing he hadn’t brought his phone. He had originally planned to come back and pay after work, but as he walked into the courtyard, he promptly remembered that he had Yi Ke’s salary card tucked behind his ID card. So he turned back to the convenience store—and even bought another popsicle, spending a grand total of three yuan and sixty cents.
Yi Ke had received the transaction notification text message at that moment. The location of the purchase: Fuqido Convenience Store. The amount: three yuan and sixty cents, exactly the price of two one-yuan-eighty-cent popsicles. He didn’t even need to ask.
Zhuang Ningyu, with nothing left to lose, said, “Then I want a case of mung bean popsicles too.”
Yi Ke: “No!”
Zhuang Ningyu: “…” If no, then why did you just entrap me by asking if it was enough!
The two walked home with their shopping bags. The moment the elevator doors opened, a deafening demonic sound echoed from the hallway—
“Werwerwerwerwerwerwer…”
A large-eared dog was squatting at the door, howling like a donkey at the top of its lungs. Yi Ke strode forward in a few steps, clamped the dog’s mouth shut, and angrily took out his phone to ask, “What’s going on!”
“Bro, I’m begging you, just help me watch him for a couple of days,” the mooching friend on the other end of the phone said humbly. “He just destroyed the crystal lamp my sister ordered from Austria. My mom is chasing him all over the world right now.”
U-Shield: “Werwerwerwerwerwerwer…”
Zhuang Ningyu squatted down and hugged its big dog head, rubbing it a couple of times. U-Shield immediately shut up and squeezed out a coquettish “ying-ying-ying” sound from its throat. Yi Ke hung up the phone and said helplessly, “Let’s just watch him for one night. I’ll find someone to take him tomorrow.”
“Okay.” Zhuang Ningyu brought the dog bed and dog food that were at the door into the house. He had never had a dog, or any pet for that matter, so he was filled with a fresh sense of affection for U-Shield. While Yi Ke was cooking in the kitchen, he sat in the living room watching TV with the dog in his arms. He even looked up whether beagles could eat old-fashioned popsicles.
Yi Ke: “No!”
U-Shield, watching the popsicle being snatched away: “Wer!”
The downstairs neighbors complained again. When the property management came to knock on the door, they saw at a glance the scattered mess in the entryway—books, sofa cushions, blankets, remote controls, ashtrays… So they immediately averted their gaze and, very understandingly, didn’t ask any further questions. Domestic disputes, it’s normal to argue and smash a few things.
But the next moment, Zhuang Ningyu came rushing out of the study, bent over, with both hands clamped on the dog’s mouth.
Property Management: “…”
Zhuang Ningyu was exhausted. He couldn’t take it anymore and wanted to call the police.
