CH 27

in the hospital’s single-patient rooms, there are extra beds for family members, but xiao nian didn’t want to stay. his exact words were, ‘am i a fool to squeeze in here when there’s a big hotel bed waiting for me?’ xiao zhenyun thought his independent behavior didn’t quite fit the image of an eight-year-old. when xiao nian heard this, he almost threw his composition book at him. the first composition in the book was assigned by the homeroom teacher for the start of the school year, with the theme of family. it was supposed to be a 300-word essay.

xiao nian wrote one titled ‘my dad, the vice chairman of the secret service association’ and received the only perfect score in the class.

now, with the new composition also about family, xiao nian reluctantly had to stay up all night to write ‘my chairman uncle.’ the whole thing was written like a dry account of events, and he had no idea how many points it would get in the end.

when everything was quiet at midnight, xiao zhenyun inexplicably woke from his sleep. he turned over drowsily and hoarsely called the terminal on the bedside table, “what time is it?”

a small, pale blue hourglass appeared above the terminal, rotating mechanically as it reported, “it is currently 12:17 am, local time.”

the glowing hourglass illuminated the area beside the bed, and just as xiao zhenyun’s eyelids were about to fall shut, he suddenly widened his eyes. a tall figure was sitting on the edge of his bed, legs crossed, playing with a dagger that shined with cold light in their hand.

“damn!” xiao zhenyun sprang from the center of the bed to the edge, his spine tingling with fear.

suddenly, a soft laugh interrupted his startled reaction, and the light came on. si di was calmly arranging an empty fruit plate from the bedside table, cutting a peeled apple into pieces.

“have a late-night snack?” he wiped the fruit knife clean with a napkin and put it back in its sheath.

“are you out of your mind?” xiao zhenyun, still shaken, gave him no friendly face. “sitting at the edge of my bed like a ghost in the middle of the night!”

“did i scare you?” si di offered the fruit plate and handed over a fork.

muttering aside, he still took a bite of the apple. xiao zhenyun mumbled irritably, “enough chatter, why didn’t you turn on the light?”

“as long as there’s a bit of light, night and day don’t make much difference to me,” he replied calmly.

” … got it, s-class sentinel.” xiao zhenyun crunched on the apple slice, pretending to be casual. “so, what brings you here?”

shifting from a relaxed posture to leaning forward, sentinel turned his gaze upwards, locking eyes with xiao zhenyun. “i’ve got a headache, give me some guide elements.”

from this angle, xiao zhenyun could spot the electric collar concealed beneath sentinel’s collar, blinking with a reassuring green light indicating stable emotions. noticing his gaze lingering, si di couldn’t help but lift up his collar and asked, “don’t you want to?”

“si chu said…” xiao zhenyun paused and, noticing sentinel’s slight frown, continued, “the doctor doesn’t allow you to get out of bed.”

“yes, so i can only sneak over in the early morning when there are fewer people around.”

“why?”

xiao zhenyun had finished half of the apple before he knew it, and when he saw si di’s eyes falling on his hand from time to time, he took the initiative to hand over the remaining apples. si di didn’t move until xiao zhenyun pushed the fruit plate forward again. the other party looked up at him in confusion and said, “don’t want to eat? is your stomach so small that you can’t even hold an apple?”

“i thought you wanted…”

since it was a misunderstanding, xiao zhenyun decisively took back the fruit plate and continued to chew the crispy and sweet apples. “tell me, what are you doing sneaking over here? i don’t believe it’s just to get some guide elements.”

si di looked at him silently. he looked at him until there was only the last piece of apple left on the plate before he quietly said, “i heard you like me?”

“ahem…” xiao zhenyun choked.

“you fell in love with me at first sight…”

xiao zhenyun stuffed the last piece of apple into si di’s mouth, who was momentarily stunned, but then his eyes curved in a mysterious smile, and he willingly accepted this ‘sealing fee.’

for some reason, when he was talking nonsense to his uncle, xiao jingfeng, xiao zhenyun didn’t feel embarrassed at all, and he didn’t mind xiao nian sitting there watching. but when these words came out of si di’s mouth, he felt the belated embarrassment…

after finishing the apple, si di helped xiao zhenyun put the plate back on the bedside table. “so, why did you say you like me?”

if not, call the staff. xiao zhenyun’s gaze shifted to the nearby terminal. this was a tough question, too socially awkward.

watching xiao zhenyun’s evasive gaze, si di’s smile gradually faded, and he stared at him with complex eyes. his voice turned serious in an instant, “it’s for si chu, isn’t it?”

xiao zhenyun hadn’t expected si di to say that, and he stood there, dumbfounded.

xiao zhenyun’s reaction was just as he had predicted—silence, neither denying nor confirming. si di didn’t know if it was disappointment or some other emotion, but he closed his eyes, stood up with his massive black wolf tail dragging on the ground, and his black and white mismatched wolf ears pricked up from his silver hair.

“xiao zhenyun, if your only purpose is to bring them together, there’s no need for these lies. you just need to pull me out of this eternal sleep once,” he said in a deep voice. “i also know they have feelings for each other. my stance has always been clear. as long as i can control myself, i will forever reject ye feiran. no one can change what i’ve already decided.”

xiao zhenyun remained silent, his expression unreadable, revealing nothing of his inner thoughts. si di also fell into silence for a moment, then suddenly smiled. “xiao zhenyun, i really didn’t expect… if you enjoyed finding a substitute who resembled si chu to satisfy your desires before, what does it mean now that you’re willing to let go and make way for someone si chu likes…?”

he turned around. “tomorrow, i will go and explain it to them. uncle harboring feelings for his nephew… it doesn’t sound good when it spreads among ordinary people.”

“i don’t like si chu,” xiao zhenyun finally spoke, and he said it with unwavering certainty. “i only have familial affection for him, absolutely no romantic feelings.”

“so you…”

xiao zhenyun interrupted si di’s question and said seriously, “everything you said, i do want it all, but i still choose to do it this way…”

si di fell silent. his long tail swept over the seat behind him, nervously curling around the chair legs. “so… everything you said is true?”

“well…” xiao zhenyun averted his gaze, feeling guilty. “it’s not entirely true.”

si di: “…”

“but, if you say there’s no truth in it at all… that’s not entirely accurate,” xiao zhenyun’s inner turmoil was far from the calm facade he showed. he lowered his gaze slightly, and his eyelashes trembled like raven feathers. “…i do have some personal motives.”

he left the sentence hanging, unwilling to say more. as the words fell, xiao zhenyun licked his dry lips, reached under the pillow, and pulled out a box of cigarettes he had bought while taking a walk during the day when xiao nian wasn’t paying attention. he skillfully shook out a cigarette, placed it between his lips, lit it with a flick of his lighter. just as he was about to ignite the cigarette, he glanced up casually, only to see si di looking at him with surprise. si di’s cheeks were flushed, the fiery tint spreading from the corners of his eyes to the roots of his ears. his usually sharp, alert emerald eyes were slightly widened, staring at him bewilderedly.

xiao zhenyun also froze, the unlit cigarette still held between his lips, his eyes unmoving as they met si di’s gaze.

after a while, si di couldn’t help but avert his gaze first. his heart was pounding rapidly, his adam’s apple bobbing up and down as he swallowed, and his wolf tail swayed back and forth nervously behind him. he changed the subject, saying, “you can still smoke?”

“pfft…” xiao zhenyun couldn’t help but let out a laugh, removing the cigarette from his mouth and putting it back into the pack. his eyes twinkled with amusement as he said, “i forgot the sentinels can’t stand the smell of smoke. i won’t smoke anymore.”

si di found his reaction a bit strange. after catching the hints in xiao zhenyun’s lingering glances, he absentmindedly touched his own face, which was now flushed with the unexpected warmth.

— another social death case tonight.

xiao zhenyun’s laughter grew louder, like a tender willow branch dipping into a pond, stirring up ripples. si di clenched his teeth, surprised by his own loss of composure and frustrated by xiao zhenyun’s smugness. he felt he had the right to ask directly, “who’s this ‘garry’?”

“hmm?”

“si chu said to me that a young and vigorous sentinel is getting close to you, named garry.” si di squinted suspiciously, “who is he? what’s your relationship?”

xiao zhenyun recalled si chu’s apologetic bow before leaving earlier in the day, as well as the unexplained hostility of the wolfdog towards tian lu, plus si qiaorong’s excessive reactions these past few days. it was confusing that a decisive person like si di actually didn’t come to him with objections…

in a flash, he had a rather ominous guess, “are you sure that’s what he told you?”

si di observed xiao zhenyun’s expression, dangerously licking his canines. “so, how do you think he put it?”

“…” xiao zhenyun pondered for a moment, cursing the world administrator who had written this novel and himself for having such terrible luck to end up in it. dripping with blood, he calmly faced the cruel reality and sighed, “yes, garry is someone i brought out from the peach blossom club.”

si di didn’t say anything, waiting for him to confess.

he actually knew, how did he know?…

so, not only is ‘xiao zhenyun’ a pervert, but he’s also unreliable in handling things? he thought ‘xiao zhenyun’ often frequently visited the peach blossom club and had properly arranged matters with the relevant people. a strict code of conduct and airtight security. however, the reality around him was more like a sieve? anything bizarre he did would be known worldwide the next day?

“…” xiao zhenyun closed his eyes in frustration, “garry… he’s someone xiao nian knew when he was homeless. i used to go to that underground club to let off steam, but it’s been a long time since i last went. the last time i went was because… the manager sent me a batch of new photos and asked if i wanted to come. i was about to decline when xiao nian spotted garry’s photo among them and begged me to save this guy who had helped him a lot.”

“really?” si di found it all incredibly coincidental.

“yes, you can ask xiao nian tomorrow if you don’t believe me.” xiao zhenyun said, “kids don’t usually lie, and even if they do, an eight-year-old can’t possibly make a convincing lie.”

after a moment of silence, si di relaxed and sat back in his chair, propping up his legs. it seemed that xiao zhenyun had passed yet another test of the many trials and tribulations, “so, you don’t have those sadistic tendencies anymore?”

“can we stop talking about these things…” xiao zhenyun tugged at the blanket, “it’s one in the morning, we’re both alone, and with a 90% match. are you asking me if i like sadism?”

“…” si di’s face started to heat up again, and he whispered, “if it’s just some simple whipping and bondage…”

“stop, stop!” xiao zhenyun couldn’t take it anymore, “i don’t have it!”

tl:

i’ve just finished my first translation project, ‘villain alpha is pregnant.’ it’s an amazing novel; be sure to give it a read – vaip! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・゚

hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). i hope you enjoyed the story! if you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! check out the link below for early chapters.  (๑>ᴗ