I’m back! Thank you for your well-wishes and patience!
First, thank you Shirayaki for the ko-fi donations! Now it’s currently (1/2) ko-fi for the bonus chapter. However, I’m just back from a hiatus, so I’ll update extra chapter for all my series~ hope y’all enjoy it!
Last but NOT the least, we are living in a shit timeline, when literal genocide are happening, and yet the world leaders just turn blind-eye over it. So, I hope you can educate yourself and support Palestine, be it by boycotting, protesting, donating e-sims, petitioning your govt, or via social media. Thanks y’all!
At first, Zhu Tong didn’t know what was coming out. He only felt a slight itching under his nose. He subconsciously raised his hand and wiped it, and the fingertips that touched them were stained with a drop of blood.
“…”
‘Oh, just a nosebleed.’ Zhu Tong thought indifferently. He has become accustomed to this.
Immediately, there was a humming sound in his brain, and he suddenly widened his eyes, thinking, ‘Wait, why did I have a nosebleed? Now? In front of Shao Ming?!’
Looking up reflexively, Shao Ming was looking at him with a stunned expression, his eyes widening little by little.
Invisible embarrassment spread quickly in the air, one second, two seconds…
“It’s not what you think!” Zhu Tong blurted out.
Young Master Zhu probably didn’t know that there was an idiom precisely about his behavior – attempting to conceal only makes it more conspicuous1欲盖弥彰 “yù gài mí zhāng”. As it’s stated, it does mean like that. It’s often used in situations where someone’s actions to hide the truth are poorly executed, ultimately revealing the truth or drawing more scrutiny than if they had not tried to hide it at all.. Shao Ming’s worry immediately abated. He seemed to realize something, and looked down at his naked upper body.
Zhu Tong’s face quickly flushed when he lowered his head and he covered his nose. “I’ll go to the bathroom!”
“You…”
Before he could be stopped, the blushing young man had already fled.
Shao Ming: “…”
In the bathroom, Zhu Tong screamed in his mind as he turned on the water: ‘Sys! Tem! Come here you scamming, cheap goods!!!’
‘You are the cheap goods!’
Zhu Tong was too lazy to argue with it, ‘Is the reward you give me reliable? Why am I getting a nosebleed?’
Shouldn’t he be impervious to any no minor illnesses or accidents? Why is he getting a nosebleed over this?!
The system said, ‘According to the host’s scanned body data, your body isn’t abnormal. The system’s reward is working as normal. The reason for the host’s nosebleeds is that your blood rushed to your head after being stimulated, and it was too much, breaking through the most vulnerable nasal cavity. Bursting blood vessels is a normal physiological phenomenon.’
Zhu Tong: “…”
“Stimulated”? By what?
Because of seeing Shao Ming’s naked upper body?
Normal physiological phenomenon?
If this is true, he couldn’t wash himself clean even if he jumped into the Yellow River2idiom; no matter what he does, he will not be able to clean his name.!
‘No, no! Calm down!’
Zhu Tong splashed two handfuls of hot water on his face. His nosebleed has stopped, and now the stain was cleaned also. The redness on his face had faded. Very good, he no longer looked affected by that thing. No, nothing had happened. Yes, yes.
He looked up at himself in the mirror and took a deep breath.
–But then, the door of the bathroom was pushed open from the outside with a loud “click”.
He looked vigilantly at the person who appeared at the door, feeling that the nosebleed that had just stopped was about to spurt out again.
‘Abs! Abs!’
‘Shao Ming actually has six-pack abs!! Besides that, all of his front torso was bursting with muscles!! Those pecs, those bulging arms, those… ahh!! He’s like a walking hormone dispenser, who can stand it??!’
‘Why is he not wearing clothes?’
Zhu Tong was screaming in his heart, but he was calm on the surface.
Shao Ming took the lead and asked first, “Are you alright?”
Zhu Tong took a wet tissue and used it to wipe his face. He nodded and said, “I’m fine.”
Throwing the used tissues into the trash can, Zhu Tong calmly walked to the door, lowered his head and asked, “Is breakfast ready? We…”
“—should go and have breakfast” is what he wanted to say.
However, before he could say that, an arm crossed in front of him, blocking his way.
“…”
Zhu Tong suddenly froze in place.
Shao Ming used his hand to prop himself against the door frame, using his body to block Zhu Tong from exiting. He looked down at the boy’s thick eyelashes that were blinking frequently because of nervousness, and said, “Not yet, the eggs were accidentally burnt, so I have to redo it.”
Zhu Tong: “…”
Redo? No problem, he had planned to get up early to make breakfast. Maybe he could…
“Then I…”
“You… why did you have a nosebleed?”
“…”
That voice almost brushed against his earlobe. Zhu Tong felt that he was so skittish that he raised his head and met Shao Ming’s eyes.
Shao Ming’s eyes are beautiful. Dark and deep, but very bright, like stars in the night sky.
If he looks down at a person, the lethality is comparable to a nuclear bomb.
And so, it was enough to make Zhu Tong’s outward calmness melt.
‘Host, stabilize your mood!’ The system suddenly shouted in his mind, ‘Let me analyze it with you. You are young and full of vitality. It’s normal for a boy to be “excited” in the morning, plus you have been living your life without such temptation for a long time! Now, in front of you is a beauty, so what’s wrong with a little nosebleed? Isn’t that just natural? As long as you tell the truth, White Moonlight will definitely understand you!’
Zhu Tong: “…”
Well… that does make sense. But…
‘Do you want me to die?’ He retorted back to the system.
Tell the truth? Then he will be directly destroyed3T/L: destroyed in bed, yes, very true. by Shao Ming!
Getting nosebleeds in front of someone’s naked body means that he’s a wretched pervert, right?
But he’s not! So why did he have a nosebleed? Shao Ming’s figure is very good, but that’s not enough to give him a nosebleed, is it? He was also caught red-handed!
‘If there was a hole in the bathroom, I’d have to get into it… No, no, no. That’s too dirty.’
The system:”…”
After being interrupted by the system, Zhu Tong’s chaotic mind calmed down a little. He looked straight into Shao Ming’s eyes and said with a wink, “I have a nosebleed because I’m sick, do you believe it?”
Shao Ming raised his eyebrows. “Really?”
As he spoke, he suddenly took a step closer to Zhu Tong.
The door of the bathroom was open in the corner, and Zhu Tong was about to exit. In order to avoid Shao Ming, he stood sideways at the door, with the bathroom door behind him.
Shao Ming approached suddenly, he subconsciously retreated, and a hint of coldness fell behind him.
Shao Ming was approaching in front, looked at him with a smile and said, “It doesn’t seem very convincing.”
He sounded a bit serious, but with a light tone.
Zhu Tong couldn’t help but panic again, his eyes blinking faster as he tried to explain, “It’s true, you also know that I’m not in good health. The weather has been abnormally hot recently, so it’s easy for the heat to get into my head. Plus, when I entered the kitchen, the fumes were heavy, and I couldn’t breathe properly for a while, so I…”
“Mhm? Well, that’s my bad. I didn’t know you were gonna wash up so fast today.”
“No, no.” Hearing that Shao Ming took the blame, Zhu Tong panicked even more, “I didn’t greet you… I was going to… Uhm you…”
‘Don’t come any closer ah ah ah ah!!!’
The distance between the two is getting closer and closer, and Zhu Tong’s brain is buzzing. He could only register a vast, fair skin in front of him.
Shao Ming’s skin was very fair, but unlike Zhu Tong’s morbid, sickly pale, it was a healthy tone.
Zhu Tong didn’t dare to raise his eyes, but when he looked ahead, he saw Shao Ming’s bulging Adam’s apple and sharp collarbone. He didn’t know where to look.
Shao Ming’s hand on the door frame loosened at some point, and instead trapped Zhu Tong into a corner. It was even more cramped.
Warm breath gushed on Zhu Tong’s face. He heard a hoarse voice asking, “What are you planning?”
Zhu Tong: “…”
Going to make breakfast!
But he was so nervous that he couldn’t speak. He raised and lowered his hands helplessly, and inadvertently, rubbed against some skin. His fingertips felt cold, but what he touched was burning like fire.
He couldn’t bear it any longer. “You… can you put your clothes on first?”
“…”
The bathroom was quiet, only the breathing of two people could be heard. One steady, one disorganized.
Zhu Tong blushed and buried his head.
However, Shao Ming persistently wanted an answer. “Why?”
Zhu Tong clammed up again. He didn’t dare to look up, so he didn’t see the seriousness on Shao Ming’s face and the glint inside his eyes.
The blushing young man in front of him… Shao Ming originally thought that he would be like an iron-tree – never blooming, never enlightened of worldly desires. Now, he blushed so furiously, he looked like a cute tomato.
‘He doesn’t really know anything?’
–But it turned out that this young man who was always “unfortunate” could also blush and feel embarrassed.
But when did he fall to the point where he could only rely on impressing others purely by his looks?
Shao Ming has met many people in school who confessed to him. And almost everyone said they liked him because he’s “good-looking”.
He used to think those people were superficial. But now, it seems that it’s favorable to him that humans are superficial.
‘Well, isn’t that the surprise here?’ The corners of Shao Ming’s lips kept rising.
Zhu Tong was speechless when asked by him.
Indeed, why does Shao Ming need to wear clothes? Isn’t it normal for boys to go topless at home, especially when the weather turns hot?
But he couldn’t say that Shao Ming looks too… unbearable, could he?
“I…”
Zhu Tong didn’t know what to say. Instead, Shao Ming interrupted him again, “Is it so difficult to admit that I am in good shape?”
“…”
Ah?
The oppression in front of him suddenly retreated a little, and Zhu Tong looked up blankly.
Shao Ming looked at him with a strange gaze.
It made Zhu Tong dumbfounded.
Shao Ming narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Zhu Tong’s hot ears. He knew that if he kept pushing on this matter, the young master would probably be scared away.
He sighed as if compromising. “You know that you have poor health, and yet, you’re still leaning against such a cold glass door. Aren’t you afraid of catching a cold?”
Zhu Tong: “…”
‘Isn’t this because you cornered me?’
Before he could react, the taller boy pulled away from the glass door.
Shao Ming turned around and said, “After washing, come out for breakfast, it will be cold in a while.”
Zhu Tong subconsciously blurted out, “Isn’t it burnt?”
Shao Ming replied without turning his head, “Ah? I lied. I’m just teasing you.”
Zhu Tong: “…”
‘Does this person… have a bad personality?’
As he thought about it, a system prompt rang inside his head: ‘Congratulations! You gained +5% of the white moonlight’s favorability. Your current favorability is 46%.’
“…”
Zhu Tong watched as Shao Ming turned around and walked into the kitchen, while he was still standing alone at the bathroom’s door. It was when Shao Ming brought his breakfast to the table, that he finally walked into the dining room in a daze.
Breakfast was two fried eggs and a ham, the recipe he had planned last night.
It’s just that he didn’t cook it, Shao Ming has already done it by himself.
Zhu Tong “did nothing”, and could only blankly stare at the food on the table.
The change in Shao Ming’s attitude in the bathroom just now seemed a little strange.
He was very concerned at first, but later on, he… wasn’t worried at all. He didn’t sound unhappy. On top of that, his favorability level even increased. It’s all so confusing.
Although it’s a good thing that his favorability level has risen, he still feels embarrassed!
Zhu Tong covered his face.
Suddenly there was a light sound in the direction of Shao Ming’s room. Zhu Tong was startled, and hurriedly picked up the knife and fork and started to eat breakfast.
Shao Ming put on his clothes and came out. Seeing his roommate’s hurried movements, he couldn’t help but smile as he thought, ‘Ah, did he think I went too far? This young master… seems to be quite frightened.’
He walked over slowly, sat down opposite Zhu Tong, and asked softly, “How does it taste?”
Zhu Tong: “It’s… very good.”
Shao Ming stopped talking and concentrated on eating breakfast.
It was past seven thirty after breakfast, and it was not too long before the “appointed” time.
The two simply cleaned up and went straight to the milk tea shop after leaving their shared room.
In the courtyard, Shao Ming pushed out his bicycle, and Zhu Tong planned to sit in the back seat as usual, but his footsteps suddenly paused as he stepped forward.
He looked at Shao Ming on the bicycles, and was immediately flooded by the images he saw in the kitchen.
Shao Ming’s waist, Shao Ming’s back…
He sat on the back seat of the bicycle, grabbing the sides of Shao Ming’s waist, only less than an inch away from his muscled back.
“…”
Zhu Tong, whose brain just calmed down, immediately burned red again.
Shao Ming looked back in confusion.
Zhu Tong instantly felt guilty. “I… I suddenly remembered that I have something to do with Uncle Liu. You can go there first, and I will ask Uncle Liu to take me there in a while.”
Shao Ming: “…”
He really scared the youth master away.
He looked down at his cell phone to check the time. Thinking of the young master’s “sense of responsibility” that was almost engraved in his bones, so he shouldn’t really run away from his part-time job. Shao Ming didn’t disagree, and instead smiled and said, “Okay, then I’ll go over first.”
Zhu Tong nodded, turned and knocked on Uncle Liu’s door.
The door opened quickly, and just opened a crack. Zhu Tong couldn’t wait to get in and closed the door at the same time.
But after a while, a corner curtain was gently lifted by the window.
Shao Ming pursed his lips and held back a smile, pretended not to notice anything, and rode his bicycle out of the courtyard.
Inside the homestay, Zhu Tong hid himself behind the curtains and was relieved when he saw Shao Ming leave.
Behind him, Uncle Liu said with a strange expression, “Young Master, what are you looking at?”
Isn’t today a National Day holiday? Why didn’t you get enough sleep, Young Master? Going into his room early in the morning, all sneaky?
Zhu Tong turned his head to look at Uncle Liu, he didn’t dare to say his embarrassing thing, he just sighed deeply.
Why did he have a nosebleed…?
The system succinctly stopped him, ‘Hold your thoughts.’
Zhu Tong: “…”
‘A boy of your age will have sexual impulses. You used to be in poor health, and so you didn’t experience such a thing. Now your body has recovered a little, and you are suddenly stimulated, so it’s normal that your reaction will inevitably be more intense.’
Zhu Tong: “…”
–But that doesn’t mean that he should be reacting to Shao Ming. Shouldn’t the subject of his “first love” be a girl?
Zhu Tong was taken aback as he reached the logical conclusion:
‘Do I like men instead?’
In the past, he was not in good health, so he never thought about marriage. Naturally, he had no thought about his sexual orientation. Everyone expected him to marry a girl, so he didn’t have any question, nor have any thoughts about anyone.
But he actually had a nosebleed at Shao Ming today.
Thinking of the embarrassing scene in the kitchen, Zhu Tong covered his face again.
Living is not worth it anymore.
Where is his face now!
What should he do?
Shao Ming wouldn’t think he was a pervert, would he?
When Uncle Liu saw that he was very troubled with something, he said with a worried look, “Young Master? Are you all right? Are you uncomfortable? Shall I take you to the hospital?”
Zhu Tong: “…”
“No need,” Zhu Tong said, “Uncle Liu, what time is it now?”
Uncle Liu glanced at his watch. “seven fifty-six.”
Zhu Tong was surprised. “Seven fifty-six?!”
Uncle Liu asked back, “Yeah, what’s the matter, Young Master?”
“It’s over, I’m going to be late.” Zhu Tong pushed Uncle Liu out, “Let’s go, Uncle Liu, take me to Xinxin Plaza now.”
Uncle Liu: “…”
‘What is he late for? Isn’t it a holiday today? What is he doing so early there?’