Lu Jianchuan: “……”
He regretted it.
He should have listened to the Research Institute and not rushed to talk about the egg. For any human being, the news of a male partner being pregnant is explosive.
He forced a laugh and, to avoid being seen as mentally unstable by his spouse, said, “No need, I feel very normal right now. My mental state is very stable.”
Fang Xingzhou looked at him intently without blinking.
Lu Jianchuan, sweating under the gaze, hugged the person in his arms tighter and said, “For a while, I did really want to have a child with you, so I copied that note and even occasionally had some illusions of being pregnant…”
Fang Xingzhou: “You really want a child?”
Lu Jianchuan: “Yes, according to human societal norms, we are at the age to get married, and a complete human family generally needs a child.”
“Who told you these things?” Fang Xingzhou slightly frowned, “Is your family urging you to get married?”
Lu Jianchuan: “…Uh, no. I read it in some books…”
Fang Xingzhou: “Stop reading those random books.”
Lu Jianchuan immediately nodded, indicating he understood.
Fang Xingzhou said, “I’ve had a few cases where males, due to psychological suggestions during their wives’ pregnancies, also experienced symptoms like vomiting. Some even developed delusions, firmly believing they were pregnant.”
Lu Jianchuan: “………”
Although it didn’t sound quite right, it seemed like a good explanation. He found a bit of humor in his situation.
“If you want a child, you can tell me,” Fang Xingzhou said, looking at him, “But if—you’re lying to me.”
Lu Jianchuan quickly said, “How about I tattoo your name on my leg? I’ll go tomorrow… no, this afternoon.”
Fang Xingzhou’s cool and soft hand, steady enough to embroider on an eggshell, moved with the same calm precision when performing extractions, like a machine born for this purpose.
It didn’t seem like a reward, more like a punishment.
Lu Jianchuan was about to cry, especially when Fang Xingzhou left his embrace and sat back in his own chair across the table.
He even suspected that his spouse remembered last night’s events and was intentionally retaliating.
“Zhouzhou…” Lu Jianchuan, seeing no further action, began to eat his breakfast, staring at the fair face opposite him, always feeling a little short of breath, “Are you still angry? How about I also carve your name on my face?”
Fang Xingzhou didn’t respond, seemingly feeling hot, he pulled his collar open a bit, revealing the bite marks on his collarbone.
Just seeing this action… Lu Jianchuan leaned back in his chair, squinting his eyes in a daze, admiring the marks he left on the slender collarbone last night, his chest rising and falling unevenly.
Fang Xingzhou acted as if he didn’t see his gaze, lowered his head to finish the remaining milk, then picked up a shiny knife and started cutting the breakfast meat on his plate.
“No need to go to a tattoo shop,” he cut the meat into perfect five portions, “I’ll do it for you, Deer.”
This was the first time Fang Xingzhou called him Deer after waking up.
Lu Jianchuan was slightly stunned, then his eyes gradually brightened, a smile appearing on his lips. He grabbed a napkin to clean up, then leaned over and bit off the piece of breakfast meat from his lover’s fork.
“Alright,” he agreed cheerfully, his heart warming, “I can’t wait.”
…
They had brunch at home, something they hadn’t done in a long time.
In the afternoon, Lu Jianchuan lay naked on the sofa, his head resting on the back, looking relaxed and comfortable, presenting his entire body unreservedly to his lover, waiting for him to use his skin as a canvas and leave a unique mark.
Fang Xingzhou laid out a complete set of tattoo tools, kneeled on one knee in front of the sofa, half-lowered his eyes, his hand touching the smooth skin, slowly stroking from the shoulder down, looking for a satisfactory spot for the tattoo.
Lu Jianchuan, touched by his hand, made a faint nasal sound, turned his head, and brushed his lips against his lover’s falling hair, deeply inhaling the fresh scent of the shampoo.
“When did you buy the tattoo kit?” he smiled, “Baby, did you want to tattoo something on me for a long time?”
“The night before your engagement party.” Fang Xingzhou slightly closed his eyes, feeling the silk-like touch under his hand, speaking calmly about a bloody plan: “A specimen needs a mark to be meaningful.”
Lu Jianchuan agreed softly, “Hmm… nice idea.”
It seemed like he was talking about something insignificant.
Fang Xingzhou’s hand finally stopped at the abdomen.
Maybe because Lu Jianchuan kept mentioning children, he stared at that piece of skin, feeling an inexplicable attraction, as if there was really something inside, looking back at him through a layer of belly skin.
He was so absorbed that he even held his breath, his heart starting to beat faster.
Lu Jianchuan laughed softly.
“Like this spot?”
Fang Xingzhou almost uncontrollably lowered his head, with a reverent posture even he didn’t notice, and kissed Lu Jianchuan’s abdomen.
Lips touching the warm skin of the abdomen, the surroundings were so quiet that only their slightly heavy breaths could be heard, the sunlight streaming in from behind the curtains, illuminating Lu Jianchuan’s body and Fang Xingzhou’s profile, freezing them into a pair of inseparable sacred sculptures.
Lu Jianchuan’s breath quickened, he slightly opened his mouth, wanting to say something more, when suddenly, a sharp doorbell rang from outside.
The peaceful afternoon was interrupted, Fang Xingzhou woke up like from a dream, quickly hiding his immersed expression, covering Lu Jianchuan with a blanket, and putting away the tattoo tools.
Lu Jianchuan, still immersed in the warmth just now, hadn’t recovered. His high expectations quickly fell. He frowned and looked at the door, “Who is it? Such bad timing.”
Fang Xingzhou: “Get dressed first.”
Lu Jianchuan reluctantly wrapped himself in the blanket and went to the bedroom, hastily put on pajamas. When he came back out, he saw Fang Xingzhou had already opened the door and was talking to the visitor.
He walked to the entrance.
Before he could see who the visitor was, suddenly a series of clicking sounds and a dazzling flash stunned him for a few seconds.
Someone shouted, “Mr. Lu is here!” Then, a round of enthusiastic applause sounded from all around. Lu Jianchuan blinked in confusion, finally seeing that the visitor was Li Xuan.
He was covered in bandages, leaning on crutches, holding an exaggerated red silk flower. Behind him were two men and three women, all members of the Research Institute, holding medals, banners, flowers, fruit baskets… even a person looking like a reporter with a professional camera, immediately snapping pictures of Lu Jianchuan.
The banner read:
“To: Mr. Lu
A hero who bravely fought evil, a righteous and courageous citizen.”
The medal was shiny, with the words “Heroic Model” almost blinding.
Lu Jianchuan: ?
Feeling puzzled, he turned to meet Li Xuan’s eyes.
Li Xuan, seeing he hadn’t caught on, coughed loudly: “Mr. Lu, good afternoon, we are here today to thank you for your great contribution to this special operation!”
Lu Jianchuan: ??
He looked at Li Xuan’s forcefully winking eyes, slowly catching on…
“Great contribution!” Li Xuan repeated, his eyes almost cramping from winking, “You are now a hero citizen!”
Lu Jianchuan: !
He suddenly realized… this was the promised aftermath solution from the Research Institute?
Lu Jianchuan instinctively glanced at Fang Xingzhou, confirming he couldn’t see the eye exchange between him and Li Xuan from that angle, then immediately flashed a bright smile, striding over, shaking Li Xuan’s hand, and said exaggeratedly, “Thank you, Officer Li! How is your health? Did the villain hurt you?”
Li Xuan, feeling Lu Jianchuan’s cold skin, immediately recalled the touch last night and the “Queen Ant” being torn to shreds, shivered on the spot, instinctively wanting to back off.
Lu Jianchuan tightly grasped his hand, not giving him a chance to pull away.
Li Xuan steadied his nerves, said righteously, “Thanks to Mr. Lu’s brave help last night, otherwise I would be a jar of ashes today.”
Lu Jianchuan eagerly wanted to prove he had nothing to do with Wang Fei, quickly asked, “What about that heinous criminal? Have you caught him? How’s the interrogation going?”
Li Xuan glanced at his flat belly.
The criminal was probably already digested to the point where not even bones were left.
The queen ant, which had troubled them for years, was easily devoured. His smile became more sincere, “The suspect is under control, and the case is being processed. We came today to thank you specially.”
Clap, clap, clap, the staff behind Li Xuan clapped again in coordination. Fang Xingzhou automatically stepped aside, moving further away from Lu Jianchuan.
Then, Li Xuan, holding the medal in his left hand and supporting himself with a crutch in his right, limped to Lu Jianchuan’s side, presenting the banner and pinning the medal on him.
Under the flashlights, both wore official smiles, leaving precious photos.
Lu Jianchuan couldn’t wait any longer. As soon as the photos were taken, he carried the banner to Fang Xingzhou, finally having the confidence, loudly said, “Wife, how could I lie to you?”
Fang Xingzhou looked at Lu Jianchuan.
After a few seconds of eye contact, Lu Jianchuan’s nervousness almost seeped from his body into the air, infecting everyone present with a strange tension.
Seven or eight pairs of eyes all stared at Fang Xingzhou.
Until he took the banner from Lu Jianchuan, smiled, and said “Hmm.”
Everyone let out a huge sigh of relief, almost unable to resist applauding again, congratulating their A+ hero for not being kicked out by his spouse.
Lu Jianchuan, deeply moved, walked over, gave Li Xuan a strong hug, “Thank you, come in and have a meal before you go.”
Li Xuan, hearing the word “meal,” immediately felt his stomach churning, almost vomiting on the spot.
The image of tentacles tearing flesh was still vivid in his mind, as the only one who witnessed it, he developed a severe PTSD, unable to eat till now.
He suppressed his nausea, “No need… it’s my duty, eating…”
Lu Jianchuan enthusiastically said, “Don’t be polite, I’ll cook personally, make some chicken soup to nourish you.”
Li Xuan: “……”
Chicken soup… he imagined white chunks of meat, couldn’t hold it, quickly rushed to the roadside trash can, vomiting bile clean.
Lu Jianchuan froze.
He looked puzzledly at Fang Xingzhou, hesitantly asked, “Is my chicken soup that bad?”
___________________
I’m back….
maybe…
