Chapter 90

Chapter 90

"090"

Xiao Liqin was transferred to the detention center in the capital city.

Xiao Lancui ended the call. Lu Ao, holding the luggage, casually took Xiao Lancui's hand. "Let's head out."

Xiao Lancui didn't resist, allowing Lu Ao to hold his hand.

A private car was waiting in the parking lot. Lu Ao didn't let go the entire way there. Two men holding hands in public, both strikingly handsome, drew more than a few sidelong glances.

Once in the car, Lu Ao still didn't want to let go, until Xiao Lancui said, "It's too hot."

Lu Ao glanced at the air conditioning, fought the urge to turn it down, and reluctantly let go.

But within two seconds, he couldn't help himself, leaning over to press against Xiao Lancui, who had already pulled out his phone.

Lu Ao stopped moving, watching Xiao Lancui glance at his phone, his slender fingers typing on the screen.

He seemed to be replying to a message.

Lu Ao ran his tongue along the inside of his mouth. After about ten minutes, Xiao Lancui was still replying to messages. Lu Ao couldn't hold back any longer. "Brother, who are you chatting with?"

Xiao Lancui continued typing. "Qi Ying."

Lu Ao's tongue pressed against his back teeth, and he froze. His left thumb tapped against his index finger, one tap after another.

It wasn't until they reached the hospital that Xiao Lancui finally put his phone away.

"You head back first." Xiao Lancui opened the door without looking at Lu Ao. "I can handle the check-up alone."

Lu Ao didn't say anything. Xiao Lancui didn't wait for a response, pushing the door open and stepping out. The moment his feet hit the ground, Lu Ao quickly came around from the other side.

Lu Ao closed the car door behind him and, without a word, took Xiao Lancui's hand again, lacing their fingers tightly together. "I can't do it."

He lowered his head, burying it in Xiao Lancui's shoulder, and repeated in a muffled voice, "I can't do it."

Xiao Lancui raised his eyes, looking into the distance. Spring equinox had passed, but the capital was still in the grip of winter—the sky gray, the wind cold.

Only the young man pressed against him was burning hot and full of life.

He looked away and gently patted Lu Ao's arm. "Let's go."

He had agreed.

Lu Ao held on the entire way again, only letting go briefly while Xiao Lancui had his examinations. The accompanying nurse and doctor didn't need to do anything the whole time, silently trailing behind. When the last examination was finished, the doctor finally had a chance to speak. "All results will be available within 24 hours. You can scan this code to log into the hospital's app and see the results in real time."

The nurse handed the examination slip to Lu Ao as well.

Lu Ao took it, pulled out his phone, and scanned the code quickly. Xiao Lancui said to the doctor and nurse, "Thanks."

The doctor smiled. "I've looked at a few of the results that came in. All indicators are within normal range. Don't worry."

Lu Ao also scrolled through several real-time results, staring at each one, scrutinizing every decimal point. A familiar faint fragrance suddenly drew near. His eyelids twitched, and he turned his head, nearly bumping into Xiao Lancui's nose.

Xiao Lancui didn't seem to mind. His long lashes fluttered as he glanced at Lu Ao's phone screen, then moved his gaze to Lu Ao's face. His usually indifferent expression finally softened into a smile. He gave a gentle chuckle. "Don't look so grim."

Xiao Lancui reached out, pinched Lu Ao's cheek, pulling the corner of his mouth into an upward curve, and said with a smile, "I know my own body. I don't need these numbers to confirm it. There's no major problem."

Xiao Lancui paused for a moment, then added, "Don't worry."

Lu Ao pulled him into a fierce embrace, holding him with all his might. Xiao Lancui had actually gained a bit of weight recently, but Lu Ao felt it wasn't nearly enough—he was still too thin. "If you want me to stop worrying, get healthy faster."

Xiao Lancui rubbed his cheek against Lu Ao's chest and replied, "I will."

By the time they left the hospital, it was already dark. Xie Jingfang called. "Lan Chui, are you back?"

"Yeah." Xiao Lancui said calmly, "I'm with my boyfriend. We won't come back today. I'll go to the detention center tomorrow and then head home."

Lu Ao kept watching Xiao Lancui the whole time. At those words, his dark eyes deepened.

Everything was a mess right now. Although Xie Jingfang wanted to meet Xiao Lancui's partner, she had to put it off. "Alright. Your health isn't good—don't overthink things. I'll handle the rest."

Suddenly, the voice on the other end changed to Xiao Mian's. "Brother."

"Yeah."

Xiao Mian was silent for a moment, his breathing heavy. After a long pause, he said, "His body was brought back. It's still in the morgue. I don't want Mom to go, and you don't need to either. I'll pick it up tomorrow, cremate it, and bury it somewhere random. That's it."

Xiao Lancui didn't offer an opinion, only saying, "Take care of Mom. You're an adult now. The Xiao family will depend on you from now on."

Xiao Mian took a deep breath. "I will, brother. From now on, I'll take care of Mom and you."

Xiao Lancui didn't respond to that, ending the call quickly.

As he put his phone away, the gaze beside him was too intense. He thought for a moment, then said, "I want mushroom hotpot tonight."

Lu Ao tightened his grip on Xiao Lancui's hand, looking obedient. "Alright, I'll cook."

*

They went back to the small apartment.

They bought two big bags of groceries at the supermarket. Lu Ao carried them into the kitchen. "Rest for a bit. Dinner will be ready soon!"

Xiao Lancui acknowledged and went into the living room, turning on the TV without changing the channel, just leaving it on as background noise.

He crouched down and opened the coffee table drawer. The iron sword still lay inside. Xiao Lancui took out the sword—the coffee table wasn't long enough to hold the painting—so he carried the sword and the painting tube to the bedroom and stored them together on the bookshelf.

At the same time, he pulled a small box out of his pants pocket.

At the supermarket, while waiting for Lu Ao to buy groceries, he'd spotted condoms at the checkout.

Xiao Lancui knew from the original text that condoms weren't just for men and women—men having sex also needed to use them.

He bought a box of them.

He placed the condoms on the nightstand and went to take a shower. When he came out, Lu Ao had already finished cooking.

The bubbling mushroom soup looked just right. Xiao Lancui ate a bowl of rice and had a bowl of soup. After dinner, he found a documentary to watch. It was nearly midnight by the time it ended, so he turned off the TV. "Any plans tomorrow? If not, come with me to the detention center."

Lu Ao's brow furrowed.

Xiao Lancui was voluntarily bringing him along—he was happy about that, but... his suspicious nature kicked in.

Could Xiao Lancui be worried he'd go cause trouble for Qi Ying, and that's why he wanted to keep him in sight?

Lu Ao smiled. "Sure."

Xiao Lancui was wearing pajamas, the collar open to reveal a sliver of pale skin. Lu Ao's dark eyes deepened. He reached out to adjust Xiao Lancui's collar, then pressed a firm kiss to the corner of Xiao Lancui's mouth. "Good night, brother."

He was about to head back to the guest room when his arm was grabbed.

He turned around, surprised. Xiao Lancui, holding onto his pajamas with one hand, his pale face bathed in the lamplight, with a faint flush.

"Aren't you gonna sleep with me?"

Lu Ao's sanity snapped.

The master bedroom was dark as hell. Lu Ao grabbed Xiao Lancui and shoved him onto the bed, his moves rough and urgent. He fumbled with the pajama buttons a few times, then just ripped them off. The buttons flew across the floor with a soft clatter.

Then it went quiet, leaving only the sound of their tangled breathing.

Lu Ao kissed down from Xiao Lancui's forehead, reaching his cool, thin lips. He pressed and sucked hard, dragging those lips—so untouched by desire—back into the real world, making them burn just like his.

Xiao Lancui closed his eyes. His mind went blank, his body felt weightless, and soon he lost all awareness.

All he could hear was the man's deep, low voice.

"Ah Lan, feel good?"

Xiao Lancui didn't reply. His slender hands, almost absentmindedly, ran through the slightly prickly black hair.

All he could think was: was it because it had been shaved and grown back? Lu Ao's hair was thicker and rougher than his.

After a long pause, he whispered, "Mm."

The moment he said it, Xiao Lancui's skin burned even hotter. He'd never heard himself make a sound like that before.

Like—a cake that was way too sweet.

Xiao Lancui knew it was Lu Ao's turn.

He pulled his hands out of the wet, dark hair. Just then, Lu Ao rolled off him, gritting his teeth and muttering something, about to get up. Xiao Lancui had a pretty good idea what was going on and reached out to grab him.

The second he touched him, Xiao Lancui's eyelid twitched.

Lu Ao's arm was thicker now, hard and tense, with veins bulging clearly under the skin his palm touched.

He hesitated for a second, then said, "I bought some."

"What?" Lu Ao's voice was so low it was almost a growl.

"Condoms." Xiao Lancui's breath was shaky too. "In the nightstand drawer."

Lu Ao's throat bobbed hard. He looked down. In the dim light, Xiao Lancui's face was slick with a thin sheen of sweat, his fine black hair stuck to his smooth forehead, and his dark eyes were glistening in the dark.

Lu Ao let out a low chuckle. Holding himself back, he leaned down and kissed Xiao Lancui's shiny nose tip, then said in a hoarse voice, "Go to sleep. I'll crash in the guest room."

He got up, pulled the blanket over Xiao Lancui, and strode out of the room.

Lu Ao took a cold shower, chanting some scripture—Buddhist or Taoist, he didn't even know—over a hundred times before the urge finally died down.

Leaning against the freezing tiles, he thought about the herbs Qi Ying had researched for those ointments.

That place wasn't made for that kind of thing; condoms alone weren't nearly enough.

Back then, he'd brought Qi Ying in because Qi Ying knew his stuff—how to take it without wrecking the body or messing up daily life later.

He'd also had Qi Ying make all kinds of ointments to protect and nourish, so the body wouldn't get hurt.

But in the end, none of it ever got used.

Lu Ao thought about Xiao Lancui's eyes again—wet, and only him reflected in them. He clenched his fist, slammed it against the tiles, and turned the cold water back on.

The night was quiet. The sound of water from the guest room kept going without a break. Xiao Lancui turned over, pulled the blanket tighter, and stared at some empty spot in the dark without turning on the light. After a long time, as dawn was about to break, he took the box of condoms, locked it in a drawer, and finally shut his eyes.

...

When he opened his eyes again, it was barely ten. After washing up, Xiao Lancui went out. Lu Ao was already up—or maybe he'd never even slept.

Lu Ao was busy in the kitchen, making dumplings and soup buns, with a clay pot of congee simmering on the stove—red date and brown sugar congee, the smell drifting out.

Xiao Lancui had had it a few times before. Good for building up blood and energy.

Lu Ao turned to look at him right away, his hands moving faster as he wrapped the dumplings. "It's still early. Want to sleep a bit more?"

Xiao Lancui shook his head. "I'm hungry."

"Almost ready!"

In no time, a plate of steamed dumplings, a plate of small soup buns, and a bowl of brown sugar congee were set before Xiao Lancui. Lu Ao wiped the chopsticks again and handed them over. "Eat up. Careful, it's hot."

Xiao Lancui nodded. His appetite wasn't great—he ate two steamed dumplings, two soup buns, and a few bites of congee before he couldn't eat anymore.

Lu Ao frowned. "Want to go out and get something else?"

Xiao Lancui wiped the corner of his mouth and stood up. "No. Eat quickly. After you finish, we're going to the detention center."

Lu Ao said nothing, hurriedly finishing the rest of his breakfast, and soon they set off.

Driving out of the neighborhood, Lu Ao still stopped at a convenience store. "I'll grab something."

When he came back, he handed Xiao Lancui a bag.

Xiao Lancui opened it. Inside was—

A matcha ice bread and a box of heated pure milk.

His long lashes trembled a few times. In the end, Xiao Lancui didn't eat it. He slowly tied the bag shut.