Cheng Yue looked at the pink paper bag, nervously swallowed a large gulp, and slowly got out of bed to walk over to the wardrobe.
The clothes were from the last time Xu Ji Xu took him shopping—a set that looked like some kind of bizarre cat costume.
Cheng Yue thought and thought, and before he knew it, his hand was already touching the bag.
When he dumped the contents of the bag onto the bed, Cheng Yue was somewhat dazed, unsure how to put everything on. He had to take off his current clothes first.
After removing everything except his underwear, Cheng Yue began staring blankly at the pile of items on the bed.
The first thing he picked up was a black collar with a silver bell in the middle.
Cheng Yue picked it up and shook it in front of his eyes. The sound was surprisingly pleasant. After a moment of thought, he decided to put it around his neck. Once it was fastened, Cheng Yue curiously bounced a little, enjoying the sound of the bell and feeling like laughing.
Besides the collar, there were several items similar to ankle chains on the bed. Cheng Yue couldn’t figure out where to attach them, so he decided to focus on the skirt.
The skirt was mostly black but had some white and pink areas that Cheng Yue dared not look at too closely. He tugged it on.
It took Cheng Yue at least five minutes to get the skirt on.
Once dressed, Cheng Yue felt very uncomfortable. He tugged at the skirt’s too-short hem and then looked at the cat tail attached to the back of the skirt, his face slowly turning red.
There was also a pair of over-the-knee socks on the bed. Cheng Yue struggled for a while and couldn’t bring himself to wear them. In the end, he put on the foot straps and the wrist chains.
As he took a step forward, the jingling sounds from the accessories startled him. After standing there, blushing furiously for a while, he walked toward the living room.
Upon stepping outside, he checked the clock and saw it was already nine o’clock.
Thinking that Xu Ji Xu would be coming back soon made Cheng Yue uneasy, and his heart raced. He paced around the sofa several times before finally forcing himself to sit down on it.
As time ticked by, the redness on Cheng Yue’s face slowly turned pale.
The pain in his stomach made it hard for him to stay seated. He ended up lying on the sofa, trying to breathe slowly and not aggravate the injury.
To distract himself from the pain, Cheng Yue began counting seconds by the clock.
He clearly remembered that he lost track of time after counting to ten o’clock. The sofa was too soft, and his body was too tired. Without realizing it, he fell asleep.
Xu Ji Xu, after confirming the collected evidence and information with Tan Minmin and making a backup at the office, returned home.
As he took the elevator from the parking garage of the apartment, he checked his phone and saw it was already 10:30.
He had sent Cheng Yue a message before ten, asking if he had gone to sleep, but Cheng Yue hadn’t replied. He must have fallen asleep.
So, when he opened the door, he tried to be as quiet as possible. Even though opening the door wouldn’t wake Cheng Yue, he subconsciously pushed it open slowly.
The lights on in the living room made him pause momentarily when he entered. He then frowned, changed into his slippers, and walked inside.
As soon as he exited the foyer, he saw someone curled up on the sofa…
When Xu Ji Xu saw the person on the sofa, his pupils dilated in shock. After standing still for a moment, he turned stiffly and walked back toward the door.
Once outside, he gently closed the door and, with a blank expression, slowly took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his nose.
After carefully folding the handkerchief and putting it back in his pocket, he opened the door again.
Cheng Yue on the sofa looked exactly the same as when Xu Ji Xu first entered—the same position, hands by his face, quietly lying there. The short skirt made his legs, which were curled up together, look even more exposed.
For the first time, Xu Ji Xu experienced what it meant to be uncontrollable. His eyes were stormy but he still suppressed it fiercely.
Every step he took towards the sofa made his heart pound, and only when he stood beside the sofa did his heart calm down.
Xu Ji Xu reached into his jacket pocket and took out the soft cat ears he had always carried. He bent down and slowly placed them on Cheng Yue’s head.
As if by some magical spell, the cat would wake up once the cat ears were on.
As soon as Xu Ji Xu let go, Cheng Yue’s eyes opened.
“…Xu Ji Xu,” Cheng Yue squinted, still a bit dazed.
“Why aren’t you in bed?” Xu Ji Xu slowly crouched down to meet his gaze.
“You weren’t back yet,” Cheng Yue’s voice was a bit nasal. He felt his vision was blurry, so he reached out to touch Xu Ji Xu’s face to confirm he was really back.
The moment Cheng Yue’s hand touched Xu Ji Xu’s face, Xu Ji Xu’s carefully controlled emotions surged. He grabbed Cheng Yue’s hand on his face, quickly warming up to the touch.
“Why is your hand so hot?” Xu Ji Xu frowned and placed his other hand on Cheng Yue’s forehead.
“Hm?” Cheng Yue lifted his hand to grasp Xu Ji Xu’s, still a bit dazed but subconsciously remembering his purpose.
So, as Xu Ji Xu leaned in to get a better look at Cheng Yue’s condition, Cheng Yue hugged him.
When Cheng Yue propped himself up to hug Xu Ji Xu, the pain in his stomach was sharply pulled, causing him to groan softly.
“What’s wrong?” Xu Ji Xu knelt on one knee, holding Cheng Yue, whose upper body was half off the sofa. He slowly stroked Cheng Yue’s thin back.
After Cheng Yue managed to ease the pain a little, he took a few labored breaths and said, “…Please don’t be angry.”
“I’m not angry.” Xu Ji Xu patted his back. “Are you in pain?”
Cheng Yue closed his eyes, resting his chin on Xu Ji Xu’s shoulder, and shook his head.
Remembering he had broken Xu Ji Xu’s cup while reaching for a glass of water because of his stomach pain, Cheng Yue felt a bit embarrassed. “I broke your cup…”
“It’s okay.” Xu Ji Xu’s hand was warm but not as hot as Cheng Yue’s forehead.
“I don’t want to go to class tomorrow…” Cheng Yue snuggled closer to Xu Ji Xu.
“Okay.” Xu Ji Xu nodded and carefully lifted him.
Cheng Yue, still a bit dazed, noticed that Xu Ji Xu was unusually accommodating tonight and smiled broadly, “You’re a pig.”
“Yes.” Xu Ji Xu nodded.
Cheng Yue’s face had been pale at the auction, but he hadn’t noticed it.
Cheng Yue looked at the floor, which now seemed much higher, and saw the black leather chain on his hand. He suddenly asked, “Do I look like a cat?”
“Yeah,” Xu Ji Xu’s gaze darkened as he looked at Cheng Yue’s cat tail.
“How do cats meow?” Cheng Yue asked again.
“…Meow?” Xu Ji Xu thought about whether to give Cheng Yue his medicine or first dampen a towel to wipe him down.
“No, that’s not how cats meow. It’s like this…”
Cheng Yue wrapped his arms around Xu Ji Xu’s neck, holding him close, and with a goofy smile said, “Meow~”
The sound of Cheng Yue’s “meow” made Xu Ji Xu’s lower abdomen tense. His hand around Cheng Yue’s waist unconsciously tightened its grip.
Cheng Yue felt uncomfortable as Xu Ji Xu pinched him and groaned a couple of times, only to find that the pinching became even tighter.
Xu Ji Xu looked down at him, barely able to restrain his frustration, and, seeing Cheng Yue’s clearly oblivious expression, muttered angrily, “Just you wait.”
After tucking Cheng Yue into the blankets, Xu Ji Xu, with a face like a sulking wife, wiped the sweat off Cheng Yue’s forehead with a towel, glaring at him while serving him the medicine, clearly not daring to touch him more than necessary.
Once he finished tending to Cheng Yue, Xu Ji Xu was nearly on the verge of exploding. He went into the bathroom and took a cold shower to calm down. As he was about to return to the bedroom, he heard Cheng Yue mumbling in pain.
Initially, Xu Ji Xu thought Cheng Yue was just mumbling in his sleep and didn’t pay much attention. However, after trying to soothe him for a while and realizing Cheng Yue was restless, he sensed something was wrong.
Xu Ji Xu furrowed his brow, turned on the room’s light, and searched carefully over Cheng Yue’s body. Finally, he discovered a large bruise on Cheng Yue’s abdomen.
The bruise was streaked with reddish veins, looking quite frightening against his otherwise pale skin.
Xu Ji Xu’s face turned pale at the sight of the bruise. His hands trembled as he clenched his fists, thinking that perhaps he had been too lenient in just knocking Cheng Yue out today.
After fuming for a while, he finally calmed down enough to find some medicine and gently applied it to Cheng Yue.
Seeing Cheng Yue curled up in pain and continuously moaning, Xu Ji Xu couldn’t fathom how someone could endure such pain for so long without telling him.
After applying the medicine for a while, Cheng Yue stopped crying out in pain and quickly fell asleep.
Xu Ji Xu, holding the sleeping Cheng Yue, still felt something was off.
Cheng Yue seemed to be in good health, enjoyed exercising, went to bed early, and ate well.
However, his frequent fevers were too abnormal. Xu Ji Xu thought he needed to find time to take Cheng Yue to the hospital for a full check-up.
He continued to rub Cheng Yue’s soft abdomen until the early hours of the morning. Once he felt Cheng Yue’s temperature had dropped, he finally fell asleep himself.
In the morning, when Cheng Yue woke up, he tried to stretch his legs but couldn’t move them. When he tried to move his arms but found them unresponsive, he felt something was wrong.
He struggled to open his eyes and was stunned by the face so close to his. His heart raced rapidly as he looked at Xu Ji Xu’s profile first thing in the morning.
Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump…
Once Cheng Yue’s heart settled, he realized he was being held tightly by Xu Ji Xu, causing his heart to race again.
As he was blushing and trying to move, he suddenly became aware that the little Cheng Yue he woke up with every morning was pressed against… Xu Ji Xu.
Cheng Yue was startled and his whole body shivered. After that, he looked at Xu Ji Xu’s face and, seeing that Xu Ji Xu was still asleep, he sighed in relief.
Then Cheng Yue began to carefully move, trying to slip out of bed quietly. However, Xu Ji Xu’s arm around his waist made every small movement nerve-wracking.
Fortunately, Xu Ji Xu didn’t wake up even as Cheng Yue approached the edge of the bed.
Just as Cheng Yue was about to sit up, Xu Ji Xu’s hand, which had been loosely resting on his waist, suddenly pulled him back into his embrace.
Cheng Yue’s eyes widened in shock, and before he could react, he found himself back in Xu Ji Xu’s arms.
His hand, unintentionally, rested on Xu Ji Xu’s bare chest. The sensation was so pleasant that Cheng Yue, stunned for a moment, found himself absentmindedly pinching Xu Ji Xu’s chest.
After pinching, Cheng Yue’s little self became even more energetic…
Cheng Yue cursed inwardly, intending to sneak away again. When he looked up to check the situation, he saw Xu Ji Xu’s eyes were open, though he didn’t know when.
It’s over.
He’s finished.
