Chapter 42

The two embracedfor a while. The house temperature was higher than outside, and Tong Yan hadn’tgotten a chance to take off his coat. In addition to Zhuo Xiang Ming pressinghim down, and the pheromone interference, it became way too hot to stand aftera while. Feeling his face cooking, he begged Zhuo Xiang Ming for mercy, pushinghim away: “Let’s go up, ok.”

Zhuo Xiang Ming grabbedTong Yan’s hand, interlocking their fingers, making a sound that seemed to beboth agreeing and disagreeing. Listening to it, it somehow sounded coquettish,but he was lying on Tong Yan’s body, refusing to move.

A typical pinhold, still thinking that he was acting cute.

Tong Yan was helpless,having no choice but to go along with him, he couldn’t even move his hands. He triedhis best to stretch his face out to rub against him, feeling a bit of coldness onthe tip of Zhuo Xiang Ming’s nose. He spoke in a friendly and quiet voice, “Brother,let’s go up, okay? Don’t stay here, you’re not wearing much clothes, you’llfeel cold soon.”

”Don’t youthink I’m pretending to be drunk?”

Tong Yan quicklysaid: “No way, you’re really drunk.”

”Hmm.”Zhuo Xiang Ming kissed him again, hugging Tong Yan tightly.

The two had quitedifferent statures. At this moment, Tong Yan allowed him to knead and flattenhim like dough, Zhuo Xiang Ming caging him in his embrace like a house pet. ZhuoXiang Ming closed his eyes, sniffing at Tong Yan’s neck, like he couldn’t stop.

”Don’t do this…” Tong Yan didn’t know what to do. He no longer pushed at Zhuo XiangMing, it was useless anyway, and laid limply, immediately wishing he could justdrop dead. He scolded, “If you want to crush me to death, then don’t get up.You won’t be happy until you crush me, right?”

Zhuo Xiang Mingsuddenly let go, but before Tong Yan could let out a sigh of relief, he was huggedagain and lifted up.

Tong Yan knew thatZhuo Xiang Ming was really truly drunk. Before, he estimated that he couldstill prop him up, but now, the tipsiness had set in. But despite this, TongYan believed that Zhuo Xiang Ming would never drop him, so he didn’t struggle, huggingZhuo Xiang Ming’s shoulders, letting him carry him.

Sure enough, Zhuo XiangMing walked steadily, smoothly arriving at the bedroom.

”I’m going totake a bath.” After putting Tong Yan down, Zhuo Xiang Ming announced this,like it was major news, speaking very solemnly. Then he turned and went intothe bathroom.

The bath was quitepeaceful. Tong Yan waited all along for him to be called in, even unhealthily imaginingsome bathroom play. The result was nothing. When Zhuo Xiang Ming opened thedoor and stepped out, his pajamas were tidy, and his hair was neatly blow dried.

He went to the bedand sat down, very silent, a few strands of hair falling onto his forehead. TongYan inexplicably thought that he was very well-behaved, although he had justbeen tormented by him.

”Uncomfortable?”Tong Yan passed him some freshly mixed honey water, “Drink this and go to sleep.”

Zhuo Xiang Mingdrank half the cup, that was apparently enough, because he asked Tong Yan:“Do I have to finish it?”

Tong Yan nodded:“Yes.” So he continued drinking, emptying the cup.

Tong Yan took thecup away and quickly urged him: “Go to sleep.”

Zhuo Xiang Ming laiddown on the pillow. Tong Yan covered him with the quilt, and turned down thelight, saying as if coaxing a child: “Close your eyes.”

Zhuo Xiang Minglooked at him, his face practically expressionless. Tong Yan could still smella little alcohol, so he stroked Zhuo Xiang Ming’s face: “I’m going to takea bath, you sleep first.”

”Okay.”Zhuo Xiang Ming nodded into his palm. Tong Yan completely ignored the seriousface, only finding him obedient and very cute. He couldn’t help but kiss him, andZhuo Xiang Ming asked: “Weren’t you going to bathe?”

Tong Yan teased:“I can’t kiss you?”

Zhuo Xiang Mingthought about it, then said: “You can.”

By the time TongYan was also lying in bed, it was very late at night. He’d had a full day ofexams, then officially met his spouse’s parents. Although they were notstrangers, it still wasn’t particularly comfortable.

In contrast, afterreturning home, Zhuo Xiang Ming harassed him from the doorway to the bedroom,although it was physically demanding, it was actually very comforting.

When he was togetherwith Zhuo Xiang Ming, he was very comfortable.

Jiangdu’s winters havealways been very cold, and this year was no exception, but Tong Yan thought thatit was the best winter he’d ever experienced.

Dating was simplerthan he’d imagined. Wake up in the morning and smile at each other. Hurriedly brushingtheir teeth, holding the toothbrush in one hand, and the other’s hand in theother, then exchanging a long kiss.

But sometimes,dating was also very complicated. At least for Tong Yan, this was his firsttime, and he was always afraid of messing up. Fortunately, his partner was alsoa novice, both of them were willing to endure, and wait.

”TongTong.” A warm body hugged him from behind. Zhuo Xiang Ming hugged Tong Yan’swaist, pulling him into his arms, letting his back closely fit against hischest. His voice was very deep, a little hoarse, “Tong Tong.”

”Hmm?” TongYan placed a hand on his forearm, “Weren’t you asleep?”

Zhuo Xiang Mingburied his face in Tong Yan’s nape: “Uncomfortable.”

”Where are youuncomfortable?” Tong Yan wanted to turn around, but he couldn’t move in ZhuoXiang Ming’s hold.

Zhuo Xiang Mingdidn’t reply. Tong Yan became anxious, asking again, “Where are youuncomfortable? Let me go, I want to see …”

Zhuo Xiang Ming pressedhis lower abdomen to Tong Yan’s back, and Tong Yan suddenly felt the placewhere Zhuo Xiang Ming was “uncomfortable”. Tong Yan stiffened, unableto speak for a while, and Zhuo Xiang Ming also didn’t speak again. He just printedlight kisses across Tong Yan’s nape, his deep and hot breaths hitting Tong Yan’sneck.

”Zhuo XiangMing …”

”Don’t be scared.”Zhuo Xiang Ming’s voice was very restrained and muffled, the bit of alcoholic breaththat still hadn’t dissipated almost made Tong Yan feel drunk. “Just let me hug,okay?”

Tong Yan soothinglystroked the arms that were binding him: “I’m not scared.”

Tong Yan really wasn’tscared, a moment ago, he just briefly didn’t know how to react.

During these pastfew days, the two hadn’t held back on their intimacy. Knowing that he really wasn’topposed, Zhuo Xiang Ming immediately felt relief, and he also lost a bit of control.Tong Yan was actually also addicted, but Zhuo Xiang Ming was always afraid toupset him, so most times, Zhuo Xiang Ming was the one who helped him release,and the times Tong Yan helped out was very small.

Zhuo Xiang Ming helpedhimself, but he couldn’t release even after a long time. He slowly became alittle irritable, kissing Tong Yan erratically, sounding a bit aggrieved.

Tong Yan was immediatelydistressed, coaxing Zhuo Xiang Ming to let him have a go. He’d intended to usehis hands, but for some unknown reason, he changed his mind as soon as heturned around, and drilled into the quilt.

One didn’t want to evade,and the other didn’t hold back. Tong Yan covered his mouth and stared blankly fora long time, then jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom.

When he came out,Zhuo Xiang Ming was already asleep again.

This sight made TongYan very dissatisfied. He pursed his stinging lips, feeling that the corners ofhis mouth were still a little sore. He climbed into bed and slept beside Zhuo XiangMing. He originally wanted to pinch him to vent his anger, but Zhuo Xiang Mingimmediately reached out to hug him, it seemed to be a subconscious action. He wassleeping very deeply, and Tong Yan couldn’t pinch him, helping him pull up hispants instead.

”I’ll punishyou tomorrow.” Tong Yan whispered a warning.

But after gettingup the next day, Zhuo Xiang Ming seemed to completely not remember how he’d tormentedTong Yan last night, even claiming that he’d fallen asleep after taking a bath.Tong Yan was speechless, having no choice but to sigh inwardly and suffer insilence. The ignorant teenager had swallowed Mi Qing.

Even though wintervacation officially started after the exams, he still stayed with Zhuo XiangMing after the family dinner. It was just after New Year’s Day, still early, soTong Li Qin also turned a blind eye, not calling him to return to the familyhome.

During the day, ZhuoXiang Ming went to work, and he stayed home by himself, doing homework andplaying games, he didn’t feel bored. In the afternoon, Zhuo Xiang Ming returnedhome, and time moved faster when the two wasted it together.

After dinner, TongYan continued building his Phantom City, and Zhuo Xiang Ming sat cross-legged nearby,a laptop propped on his leg. He typed continuously, saying a few words to TongYan from time to time, looking very idle.

”You don’t haveto work overtime?” Tong Yan asked, “Why are my brother and dad alwaysso busy?”

Zhuo Xiang Ming lookedup from the laptop, glancing at him: “Am I annoying you?”

Tong Yan was dumbfounded:“Can you not misinterpret me?”

Zhuo Xiang Ming stretchedout his foot, hooking over the part of the power station Tong Yan had just completed,holding it in his hand to observe: “You’re very temperamental ah.”

Tong Yan wassilent, Zhuo Xiang Ming stretched out his foot again, bumping his knee: “Saysomething.”

Tong Yan glared athim: “Are you picking a fight?”

Zhuo Xiang Ming grunted,and Tong Yan crawled over, pushing him down with a kiss.

The two fooledaround on the carpet, finally, Tong Yan was carried upstairs, and they couldn’tleave the bed until eight o’clock the next morning.

Zhuo Xiang Mingwent to work again, before leaving, he said that they would visit his parents tonight.Tong Yan didn’t want to continue doing homework, planning to use the day to completethe power station, so his Xicheng District could be powered, and Zhuo Jia Shuo couldno longer ridicule him for playing with low tech builds.

Unexpectedly, hethought about Zhuo Jia Shuo during the day, and that evening, Zhuo Xiang Ming neededto work overtime, and called Tong Yan to tell him that Zhuo Jia Shuo was nearby.He was on his way to pick him up and bring him to their parents’ home.

Tong Yan randomlypacked his bag and waited. Zhuo Jia Shuo arrived wearing very formal clothes, TongYan was alarmed: “Are you guys hosting a dinner party?”

Zhuo Jia Shuo:“No.”

Tong Yan had never seenhim so proper, not only referring to his attire, but from mood to expression,his whole being was proper.

”I didn’t bringmy car. Go get a key, I want the off-road jeep.” Zhuo Jia Shuo stood inthe doorway and ordered.

Tong Yan went tofind the key for the off-road vehicle, Zhuo Jia Shuo took it and went to thegarage to find the jeep.

The two got intothe vehicle, and Zhuo Jia Shuo stopped talking. Tong Yan wasn’t used to thesilence, so he looked for a topic to chat about, “Do you know what timeZhuo Xiang Ming will come?”

”You think aboutthis?” Zhuo Jia Shuo glanced at him out from the corner of his eye, “Damnlove birds.”

Tong Yan felt thathe was normal again, so he also stopped talking, looking at his cell phoneinstead.

”Hey …”Zhuo Jia Shuo suddenly said, “You two….”

Tong Yan glanced athim: “What?”

Zhuo Jia Shuoturned back: “Never mind.”

Tong Yan: “Justsay it!”

Zhuo Jia Shuo:“I don’t really care, but my mother keeps harping about it all day, and sherefuses to ask this herself … why haven’t you two bonded yet?”

”…”

Zhuo Jia Shuo continued:“It’s pretty illogical, don’t A and O always get super horny when they gettogether? You guys are practically conjoined twins. If the scent wasn’t wrong,I’d think Zhuo Xiang Ming never leaves the house because of the bonding reaction.”

He carefully sizedup Tong Yan: “Hey, does he take you for a son or a wife ah?”

Tong Yan wasfurious: “A wife of course!”

Zhuo Jia Shuo didn’thold back a laugh: “This man is really blessed.”

Tong Yan ignoredhim.

In fact, Tong Yanalso didn’t know. Zhuo Xiang Ming previously promised that he would mark him duringwinter vacation, but the vacation started a few days ago. He hadn’t remembered tobring it up, and it seemed that Zhuo Xiang Ming had also completely forgottenabout this matter. Obviously, since he always looked like he wanted to eat him up.

”I’m not discussingthis topic with you.” Tong Yan said.

He planned to askZhuo Xiang Ming about it tonight.

”Did you buildthe power station?” Zhuo Jia Shuo wasn’t bothered, “Did you do what I toldyou to do last time?”

Some time ago, Tong Yan found out thatZhuo Jia Shuo had a lot of Lego, and they were all very complex sets. In thisregard, he admired Zhuo Jia Shuo a little, and usually asked Zhuo Jia Shuo foradvice if he was stuck on something.

Tong Yan: “Notyet, but it’ll be ready soon, it’s almost done.”

”Hand me abottle of water.” Zhuo Jia Shuo said.

As soon as Tong Yanopened the glove box, a folder fell out. He found a bottle of water, opened it,and handed it to Zhuo Jia Shuo, then he picked up the folder.

Zhuo Jia Shuo asked:“What is it?”

Tong Yan off-handedlysaid: “It’s business stuff.”

He didn’t look atit at first, thinking that Zhuo Xiang Ming had forgotten it there. He didn’tknow whether it was important or not, so he planned to give it to him tonight.

But two papers had fallenout of the folder, and Tong Yan bent down to pick them up, randomly glancingover them. Unexpectedly, it was someone’s resume, looking at it carefully— itwas a painter. Because this person recently held a touring art exhibition, andthe reviews were very good, they’d become a popular topic in the news, so TongYan coincidentally recognized them.

He opened thefolder and looked at the other pages. Tong Yan discovered that the other pageswere an itinerary plan, completely consistent with the latest news, but it had moredetails that outsiders weren’t privy to. Bribing art critics and invitingmarketing firms, furthermore, the feedback estimates and intervals between eachstage were all marked down.

Marketing was virtuallythe same, Tong Yan had been around things like this from childhood, so heunderstood it somewhat. Promotion from a garbage collector to a celebrity, thedifference was only in the amount of money burned. But there was always areturn on the investment, and the return was far higher than the initial investment.

But the thick stackof data in his hand completely disregarded a budget, which was equivalent tousing money to prop up a newly born artist.

The most important point,Zhuo Xiang Ming’s personal seal was affixed below, and it was dated over amonth ago.

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T/N:

pin hold- it said ‘press someone down with the pressure of Mt. Tai’, or BodySlam (the Pokémon move). Either way, it sums up to being pinned down

Mi Qing- slang for semen. For anyone still confused, TT gave ZXM ablowjob, and ZXM came in his mouth.

bondingreaction- AO are inseparable after bonding. ZJS is saying that they actlike a bonded couple, but they don’t smell bonded.

My fingers are starting to cramp upwhenever I touch the mouse, so I’ll keep taking my time with updates.

FOD vol 3 is being slowly but surely re-translated. Almost every sentence needs to be fixed. It’s pretty bad lol