The next morning, as soon as the alarm clock rang, Shen Shanwu, who had not slept all night, sat up silently, with mixed feelings in his heart.
On the side, Jiang Huan also opened his eyes instantly. His eyelids were slightly swollen, he obviously didn’t sleep much, but his mental state was very good—he even gently said good morning to Jiang Tong.
“…” Shen Shanwu currently finds it a bit difficult to look Jiang Huan in the eye directly. A person’s first impression often determines many things. Even though Jiang Huan was now almost as tall as his real height, in Shen Shanwu’s mind, Jiang Huan was still that soft, tender, pitiful little thing.
Although he is a little greedy for this pitiful little thing’s pectoral muscle…
Well, not just a little; he’s greedy to the point that his heart itches.
“Jiang Tong.” Jiang Huan mentioned unintentionally, “Did you see anything strange when you returned to your bedroom after school last night?”
“No.” Of course Shen Shanwu knew what Jiang Huan was referring to. He put on his shoes and socks, and walked to the bathroom sink. “I put down the cake and left… Did you eat it?”
“I’ve eaten it.” Jiang Huan squeezed the toothpaste for Shen Shanwu’s toothbrush and leaned against the bathroom door when he started brushing his teeth, “Thank you.”
Jiang Huan, bathroom; these two characters can’t appear at the same time. Once they met, Shen Shanwu’s mind went completely out of control; he thought of the glamorous picture from last night. In fact, he didn’t see anything at all; he only heard all the details very clearly, but it was because he could only rely on imagination to make up for it that he could only make last night’s memory more fascinating.
“It’s okay.” Shen Shanwu lowered his head. Jiang Huan noticed that the roots of his ears were crimson. Only he knew that Jiang Tong was embarrassed after being thanked. He raised his hand and gently touched the boy’s neck, but he sensed that the moment his fingers touched the skin, the boy under him trembled suddenly.
Shen Shanwu’s whole face was flushed now, and a crimson and pinkish hue dyed his fair and pale cheeks. In his bright eyes, there was a kind of panic and bewilderment resembling that of a small startled animal, as if Jiang Huan had really done something bad.
It’s a bit cute, Jiang Huan thought. Was Shen Shanwu so cute when he was a child? I want to tell him about Jiang Tong’s existence. If Shen Shanwu is willing to adopt Jiang Tong, then he is Jiang Tong’s father, and I will be Shen Shanwu’s…
Jiang Huan also looked away a little embarrassed, coughed softly, and said, “Hurry up, you’re going to be late for school.”
“…”
At the breakfast table, Jiang Huan distributed the reheated chicken soup to the members who arrived early. Shen Shanwu was, of course, the first beneficiary, and he also got his favorite chicken hearts and gizzards. As the second youngest team member, Yao Wuque got a chicken leg. As he was eating, he began crying, tears running down his face, saying he missed his mother.
The strapping fellow who was 1.8 meters tall cried so hard that he was hiccuping uncontrollably; on the contrary, it was the little boy next to him, only 1.4 meters tall, who passed him some tissues and patted his back to comfort him.
In fact, Shen Shanwu would also often miss his parents. When world turmoil happened, he was only 19 years old – a confused teenager who went far away to attend university, unaware of the wider world. Before his mutation, there was no way for him to travel over 1,000 kilometers across three provinces to return home and look for his family. But after his mutation, he did make a trip back.
Before going upstairs, Shen Shanwu had actually heard everything, but he still insisted on crossing several steps and knocking on the familiar door.
Inside, all was silent, the mutant’s imposing aura keeping any zombies at bay. He knocked slowly on the door, as if this barrier could conceal everything. Facing toward the inside of the room, he began recounting everything that he had experienced since the upheaval first began.
Shen Shanwu said he was scared, in pain, hungry, panicked, and uncomfortable
He said a lot of things by himself.
Shen Shanwu came alone and, in the end, left quietly again by himself.
From that day on, Shen Shanwu was really just by himself. He wandered aimlessly on the streets, with no purpose ahead and no path behind. Occasionally, when he encountered a living person, he would follow along with them for a period of time.
Sometimes it was because when his eye and nail mutations were discovered, he faced rejection and attacks, so he left. Other times, he himself found it all too boring and would quietly slip away in the night. And more often, it was because he saw how those people coveted his abnormal condition, yet Shen Shanwu did not want to offer himself to anyone.
Perhaps one day there would be another person who could move him, make him willing to stay put, and accompany them left and right. Shen Shanwu would always think this way during each lonely night. But even he had not imagined this person would turn out to be a child ten years younger than him, delicately raised, and difficult to handle.
Jiang Huan had changed now, becoming steady and reserved with deep thoughts, able to push through brambles and take a stand alone. He was no longer capable of being nearly tricked out of his body and life by a cup of sugar water and could shove even the most unpalatable food into his mouth without a change in expression.
But when Shen Shanwu saw him like this, it made his heart inexplicably ache.
“Are you certain that you didn’t see any suspicious figures entering or leaving yesterday?” Jiang Huan asked Zhang Xiaowen gravely. Zhang Xiaowen nervously swallowed and said, “No… Jiang Tong and I were on the first floor the whole time. No strangers came in or out of Shanhai. Let alone someone wearing a mask indoors—that kind of person is even more eye-catching. If there were, I would have noticed for sure.”
Shen Shanwu’s motions of gnawing the chicken’s heart paused. He roughly understood that Jiang Huan was investigating whether “Shen Shanwu” or other mutants had been going in and out, wanting to verify the specific source of the eternal flower.
Lu Jingzhi frowned and asked, “Did something happen?” Ever since Jiang Huan had not directly thrown away the chicken soup sent over by the Marshal but instead properly distributed it to the other team members, he felt something was off.
Jiang Huan shook his head but didn’t explain when it was time to.
Lu Jingzhi was even more annoyed, feeling like the expensive alcohol he’d bought yesterday was wasted on a dog.
“Oh right,” Jiang Huan suddenly said, “Clear out the storage room on the outer side of the 4th floor and make it into a private bedroom for Jiang Tong.”
“Huh?” Lu Jingzhi frowned, “Didn’t you say before there was no need? You said there’s no bathroom or toilet inside, very inconvenient.”
“He’s ten now; he should start sleeping alone sooner,” Jiang Huan expressionlessly said, “He can use the bathroom next door in your room.”
“No way!”
Shen Shanwu was also dumbfounded by Jiang Huan’s sudden decision. Though a private room was good news for him, he could hold off on mentioning boarding school for now. But why would Jiang Huan make him sleep out without any warning?
Could it be that Jiang Huan discovered last night that he was faking sleep? Did Jiang Huan feel embarrassed doing that in front of a child, so he decided to separate sleeping arrangements with “Jiang Tong”?
If in the future Jiang Huan were to discover that who he was in front of was not actually a child but the very object of his self-pleasuring… Shen Shanwu shivered, not daring to think further.
He finished the last bit of chicken soup in his bowl, warm and full, ready to pretend to go to school but actually scout for news of new mutants. However, just as Shen Shanwu was putting on his backpack, he suddenly heard Jiang Huan and Xu Yao turn their conversation to Shanhai Unit’s night patrols. Jiang Huan seemed intent on changing the patrol routes and times; this decision was also very sudden. Xu Yao listened in confusion, but since Jiang Huan was using a commanding tone rather than discussing, he promptly took notes and offered his own suggestions.
“…” Shen Shanwu immediately understood, and in the moment of understanding, his face flushed red in shame. Jiang Huan…how could he be like this? So, so impatient… Shen Shanwu didn’t even wait for Zhang Xiaowen and hurried out with his head lowered.
Emptying out the room and the vicinity of any people—what was the intention of doing so? It was none other than to wait for a secretive person whose identity could not be revealed. Jiang Huan was making preparations for Shen Shanwu’s potential nighttime visit.
If he hadn’t known Jiang Huan harbored that kind of feeling for him, Shen Shanwu might have, in order not to disappoint Jiang Huan and to put his mind at ease, scurried over tonight. But because of what happened last night, for a time he unexpectedly didn’t know how to face Jiang Huan and was even more afraid that the moment they met, Jiang Huan would straightforwardly burst the paper window. How, then, should he respond?
…Shen Shanwu decisively decided to go after two days instead.
*
There was outdoor physical training on Tuesday mornings. After the class bell rang, Shen Shanwu’s eyes were restless, constantly observing everything. Right after the pre-class warmups were finished, he swaggered up to Teacher Yao Wuque and stated he wanted to use the bathroom.
“…Do I have to call you brother? Will you just attend class properly?” Yao Wuque could clearly see that this naughty brat just wanted to skip class and escape training.
“I’ll be back in ten minutes, I really need to pee, drank too much chicken soup.” Shen Shanwu spoke very sincerely and even added his signature pleading gesture with clasped hands. Yao Wuque frowned dubiously but ultimately let Jiang Tong go—worst case, he could just tell the captain about him tonight.
The Shen Shanwu, who had promised to return in ten minutes, immediately changed direction after vanishing from sight, heading straight for the mountain behind the school.
He had carefully considered—if the school really was hiding some mutant, and that mutant didn’t have an ability like him to conceal their eye color, teeth, and nails, then they could only be hiding in the rarely visited back mountain.
This could probably be ranked as one of the most lush areas within the coastal base, planted with all kinds of vegetation and even keeping some animals with not very tasty meat, like peacocks, swans, and horses, for the purpose of letting students who had lived cramped in this small parcel of land their whole lives get to witness the diversity of life first-hand and roughly know what the planet used to look like.
Other than the cleaning staff and feeders who would come in the morning and evening, the back mountain very rarely saw people pass through during the rest of the time.
Shen Shanwu cautiously circled the perimeter, confirming there were only two surveillance cameras, unsure if they were operational. He decisively found a hidden blind spot and took out the nail from his pocket.
The Wolf Dog lazily ‘grew’ out and bared its full mouth of sharp teeth at Shen Shanwu, “How’s it going, Top Student? Did you deliver the gift yesterday? What was Jiang Huan’s reaction to finding out you’re not dead, was he moved to tears?”
Shen Shanwu didn’t expect this perverted wolf to open its mouth and spew this, and the key was that he did have a guilty conscience, no longer able to calmly brush off this kind of teasing like usual. After a few seconds of silence, Shen Shanwu awkwardly scratched his head, “Jiang Huan…”
He was really moved to tears, but his eyes weren’t wet; it was below – these words he would never say out loud.
The Wolf Dog noticed Shen Shanwu’s unspoken words and curiously asked, “What’s up?”
“Nothing.” Shen Shanwu tsked, “Enough nonsense, I don’t have much free time. The range the Prophet depicted is within this school. And around where we’re standing is the area I particularly suspect. Leave some nails behind; I can’t sneak out at night, so you can only come investigate alone.”
“What do you mean nonsense? Your relationship with Jiang Huan on a larger scale is the relationship between mutants and humans, concerning the establishment of ties and coexistence between races.” Wolf Dog had the skill to make gossip sound righteous, “What exactly happened? What can’t you tell your buddy? Wasn’t I the first mutant you met?! We’ve known each other for so many years! When you discovered you had the same kind, what did you say, ah? Who was it that held my hand for a long time, unwilling to let go?”
“Okay okay, you got me.” Shen Shanwu heaved a long sigh; he really was quite troubled by this matter. Thinking about it, he might as well just tell the Wolf Dog, “Jiang Huan…doesn’t seem to see me as a brother.”
“That’s for sure; now he sees you as his son.”
“…” Shen Shanwu immediately revealed his sharp nails and scratched the back of Wolf Dog’s hand, drawing blood. He then said, somewhat irritably, amidst Wolf Dog’s pitiful cries, “What I mean is, he has feelings for me as a man and a woman. He wants to… you know.”
“That?” Wolf Dog repeated calmly and then repeated again in shock, “That???”
“That.” Shen Shanwu nodded.
Wolf Dog was even more astonished. “Damn, you’d actually do that with such a small kid?”
Upon hearing this, Shen Shanwu became exasperated. “What do you mean ‘I’d actually do that’? He’s the one who wants to do something to me! I’m just the poor cabbage waiting to be picked by a pig!”
“…” Wolf Dog pursed his lips, clearly unsure how to continue this topic.
Shen Shanwu felt a bit dissatisfied and said, “Moreover, what do you mean by ‘small’? Are you referring to his age, stature, or… something else?”
“…Neither of the first two is ‘small’ and as for the last one, I don’t know, and I dare not ask,” Wolf Dog replied cautiously.
Having seen it with his own eyes, Shen Shanwu gave a fair assessment, “Hmm… that ‘something else’ is not considered ‘small’.”
Curious, Wolf Dog asked, “So, is it usable?”
“…” Shen Shanwu slowly averted his gaze, lowering his voice, “Well, I won’t be needing that since I’m a 11top, gong, seme.”
“That’s a bit of a waste.” Wolf Dog expressed regret, “The other one could be quite versatile, what about you?”
“Well, you have a point, but it’s not like versatility is everything,” Shen Shanwu replied.
“Do you prefer guys who are more versatile?” Wolf Dog asked playfully.
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