Chapter 12: Like a Creepy Stalker

Chapter 12 Like a Creep

The night was cool as still water.

Chu Lanting lay flat on the bed, his eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling in the darkness.

Only after a long while did he shift his limbs, feeling uncomfortable.

Yet the moment he moved his arm, the arms wrapped tightly around him immediately squeezed harder.

The cold night was heated by the furnace beside him, until even the air felt scorching.

He heard muffled breathing, along with the occasional tickle of the man's chin brushing against his neck.

Chu Lanting closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Is this your punishment?"

God knows that just moments ago, when he heard Pei Du say he wanted to punish him, his mind had instantly conjured up eighteen forms of torture.

But Pei Du hadn't done anything to him at all—instead, he'd wrapped him up completely in a blanket, then wrapped his own limbs around him.

Like a koala clinging to a tree...

It made him both laugh and sigh, and as he felt the other man's body heat slowly seep into him, his own body stiffened.

This sleeping position would definitely leave him sore all over when he woke up the next day. After enduring it as long as he could, he finally gave in and spoke up.

"Can you not wrap me up in the blanket? It's a bit tight, and I won't be able to sleep well."

His soft words echoed again in the cramped room.

This time, Pei Du, who was holding him tightly, didn't pretend not to hear. Even though the room was pitch black, he still raised his head to look at the person in his arms. "Is it uncomfortable?"

It wasn't exactly painful—he just didn't like sleeping with his limbs restrained.

But to get Pei Du to let him go, he nodded in the dark. "It's uncomfortable. Can you loosen it up for me?"

"No."

The immediate refusal made Chu Lanting freeze for a second.

Though he hadn't known Pei Du for long, he could vaguely tell that the man was overly persistent about certain things.

But maybe there was nothing wrong with it—he'd lost his memory, had no sense of security, so it was only natural he'd become dependent on him.

He pressed his lips together, about to nod in compromise, when a muttering voice came from beside his ear.

"If I let you go, you'll go sleep on the floor. I wanna hold you while we sleep."

As if talking to himself, Pei Du finished and tightened his arms, pulling the person in his embrace even closer.

Then he lowered his head and took a deep breath, letting out a satisfied grunt.

He really was acting like a creep...

Shaking his head to dispel the absurd thought, Chu Lanting found himself held so tightly it was suffocating, making it hard to breathe.

"I won't go sleep on the floor. You... you can hold me—this is your punishment, right?"

The moment he finished the last sentence, Chu Lanting felt his face burn.

He quickly used the excuse of "leading by example" to calm himself down and steady his emotions.

Sure enough, after he spoke, the young man who had been holding him suddenly sat up in bed. "Really? You're not gonna leave me?"

He really did have a severe lack of security, and he'd become dependent on him.

Chu Lanting let out a sigh of relief and nodded.

The blanket was pulled open and draped over both of them again, and the night that should have been cold turned warm instead.

At some point, it started raining outside. Chu Lanting had thought he'd have trouble falling asleep with someone new beside him.

As it turned out, he'd been overthinking it.

Listening to the fine patter of rain outside and the steady breathing by his ear, he couldn't even remember when drowsiness had crept in.

*

Planet 207 wasn't actually that barren.

The temperature here was pleasant—not too cold, not too hot year-round—making it very livable.

It was just that this place was too far from the main planet, almost at the very edge.

In the early days, people had still paid attention to it, but gradually, even that faded.

The residents of Planet 207 fell into chaos, recklessly draining the planet's resources, even the land itself—which was how it had ended up looking like this today.

He put the freshly packed nutrient packs into the basket. Once the basket was full, these nutrient packs would be handed out to the residents of Planet 207.

This kind of life, where you could see the end at a glance, was filled with numbness and exhaustion, yet no one thought of resisting it.

This was their only hope of survival—without this job, most of them would die of hunger and poverty.

Chu Lanting looked away from the colleague beside him.

He put the items in his hand into the basket at his side, and when he looked up again, the sudden figure beside him startled him.

"Xiao Chu, at lunch break, did you—"

"No."

Before the other man could finish, Chu Lanting refused without a second thought.

Chu Lanting's face had always been deceiving.

His skin was fair, and his features were delicate and soft.

But he rarely smiled, and to protect himself, he always tried to look as fierce as possible in public.

This made those who intended to approach him instinctively back off at the sight of his expression.

Chu Lanting had inherited the original owner's memories, so he knew the original owner's situation was similar to his own.

In this novel's setting, where a partner could be male or female alike, plenty of people pursued the original owner.

But most were scared off by his cold attitude.

Except for one.

He lifted his eyes to look at the man beside him, dressed in a deep blue uniform, with a wild look—especially the scar between his brows, which made him look even fiercer.

Chu Lanting withdrew his gaze and tossed another bag of nutrient solution into the basket.

Feng Xingyun wasn't bothered by the rejection.

He shooed the person at the next workstation over to another spot, then dragged over a tall stool and sat down.

He took out a cigarette case from his pocket, and just as he brought the cigarette to his lips, a cool, crisp voice cut through.

"Smoking in the workshop? That's a five-hundred-yuan fine."

Feng Xingyun paused, caught off guard, then burst into laughter.

He didn't settle down until he'd grabbed just about everyone's attention.

Fiddling with the cigarette in his hand, he propped his chin on his hand and stared at Chu Lanting's face.

What's that old saying?

The more you look, the more you like what you see!

That's exactly how he felt about Chu Lanting.

It's just that Chu Lanting was so cold. He couldn't tell if it was his imagination, but Chu Lanting seemed even colder than before after coming back from leave.

Before, there'd at least be a flicker of disgust in those eyes when he saw him. This time, he just gave him a quick glance.

Then, thinking about the rumors going around and why Chu Lanting had taken leave this time, the smile on Feng Xingyun's face dropped.

He put the cigarette back into the case, and his calloused fingers tapped lightly on the edge of the workbench.

"I heard you picked up a man? Was he one of the survivors from that airship?"