Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Xie Licheng saw him running and couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth into a smile.

He chuckled and called ahead to Gu Zhangyuan, "Why are you running so fast? Be careful, don't trip and fall again."

Gu Zhangyuan thought to himself, he was being extra careful this time and definitely wouldn't trip again.

Soon Gu Zhangyuan arrived at the farmstead, where the paths were in better condition than the ones in the village.

Most of the village roads were still dirt tracks, with only a handful paved with stones.

At the farmstead, Xie Licheng could build things himself—whether it was the house, chicken coops, paths, or fences, he could gather materials and upgrade them. He'd paved the farmstead's paths with stones, so they were much smoother than the village roads.

The moment Xie Licheng got back, he headed to the pond to draw water for a bath. Gu Zhangyuan was too shy to follow him and watch him bathe, so he just wandered around the house on his own.

Knowing Gu Zhangyuan was a scaredy-cat and afraid of the dark, Xie Licheng lit a few lamps for him before heading out.

A kerosene lamp was burning in the living room, a solar lamp was hanging in the bedroom, and two candles were placed in the kitchen.

Gu Zhangyuan was really curious about the solar lamp, so he reached out and took it down from the wall.

He turned it over and over in his hands, examining it, but somehow hit a button or something, and the lamp suddenly went dark, giving him a fright.

It was already late at night, and Gu Zhangyuan felt a little scared clutching the dead lamp.

He hesitated for a second, then carried the lamp out of the bedroom.

He decided to go find Xie Licheng and ask if he'd broken the lamp.

When he stepped outside, it wasn't too dark.

There was a moon out that night, and the sky was packed with stars.

Under the cold, veil-like moonlight, Gu Zhangyuan felt his way through the farmstead, searching for Xie Licheng.

It was only then that he realized just how huge Xie Licheng's farmstead really was.

There were fields, two chicken coops, a pond, and even a small grove of trees.

Gu Zhangyuan didn't know where Xie Licheng was. As he walked, he almost stumbled into the grove by accident, so he stopped dead in his tracks and called out softly, "Xie Licheng?"

After calling out once, remembering that Xie Licheng was his husband, he pursed his lips and called again, "Hubby?!"

Xie Licheng, who'd just finished showering and was getting dressed, heard the voice and thought something must have happened to him.

He only had time to yank on a pair of pants before throwing his shirt over his shoulders and striding over to Gu Zhangyuan.

When he saw Gu Zhangyuan and realized nothing was wrong, he asked, sounding a bit helpless, "What's the matter?"

Hearing his voice, Gu Zhangyuan spun around. In the moonlight, he saw Xie Licheng standing not far behind him, his long hair dripping wet, with a shirt casually draped over his shoulders.

Xie Licheng was truly tall, with an upright posture. Standing there like that, he looked like a tall, straight pine tree.

Gu Zhangyuan raised the lamp and said, "This... I accidentally turned it off. I'm scared I might've broken it."

Hearing that, Xie Licheng walked over and noticed the solar lamp in his hands.

Xie Licheng bent down a little, reached out with his big hand, and gently pressed a button on the lamp. The next second, it lit right back up.

Moonlight and lamplight were still pretty different. Earlier, in the moonlight, Gu Zhangyuan could only make out Xie Licheng's rough outline.

Now that the lamp was on, everything around them brightened up, and he could see water still dripping from Xie Licheng's long hair.

A strand of his hair was draped over his shoulder, and water droplets slid down his shoulder onto his solid chest.

Gu Zhangyuan quickly dropped his gaze, not daring to look any longer.

Xie Licheng didn't notice how flustered he was. He lowered his deep, dark eyes to look at Gu Zhangyuan, asking, "Do you know how to use it now?"

Gu Zhangyuan froze for a second, then looked up at him blankly. He'd been too busy staring at other things just now and hadn't paid attention to the lamp at all. Now that Xie Licheng was asking him, he looked a little dazed and dumb.

Seeing this, Xie Licheng didn't think much of it. He took Gu Zhangyuan's hand and started teaching him how to use it, guiding him step by step.

His big hand wrapped around Gu Zhangyuan's slender fingers, guiding him to switch the lamp off and then back on.

Xie Licheng's palm was really warm. When he held Gu Zhangyuan's hand, Gu Zhangyuan felt his own hand heat up too.

This time, Gu Zhangyuan got it. He smiled and tried it himself.

"This is fun."

"If it's fun, then take it and go play with it."

Gu Zhangyuan was about to nod, but then asked with a confused look, "Aren't you coming back with me?"

Xie Licheng: "I'm gonna go patrol the farmstead and be back in a bit."

Strangers couldn't get into his farmstead, but small animals could.

Back when he was a bachelor living here, he didn't care about the little critters that wandered in. But now that he had a fair-skinned, soft wife at home, he worried those little critters might scare him.

If they scared him to tears and he started crying that he wouldn't come here anymore, that would be a real headache.

Everyone wanted a soft, sweet-smelling wife at home, someone they could scoop up anytime to sniff, kiss, and cuddle.

Xie Licheng was just a regular guy. He appreciated beauty, and what he liked most was a beauty like Gu Zhangyuan, who had a bit of a temper.

"How about I come along?"

"No need. You should go get some rest. You've had a long day too."

Gu Zhangyuan shot him a dissatisfied look, but still pursed his lips and turned to head back.

Watching his lonely figure walk off, Xie Licheng felt like he might've upset him.

He thought it over for a second, then decided to skip the patrol after all.

Forget it, the patrol could wait.

Since Gu Zhangyuan rarely came here, he should put his beautiful wife first.

With that thought, Xie Licheng strode forward and quickly caught up to Gu Zhangyuan, who was walking up ahead.

Gu Zhangyuan heard his footsteps, and his eyes beneath his long lashes flickered slightly. Then, as if by accident, he stumbled.

He pitched forward, but didn't actually fall, because a big hand caught him.

Gu Zhangyuan's waist was slim and soft. Xie Licheng's big hand easily caught him around it.

Xie Licheng scolded, "What kind of clueless little piggy are you? You can trip over your own feet just carrying a lamp?"

Gu Zhangyuan felt guilty and kept his mouth shut.

Xie Licheng remembered how high-maintenance he was, so he just sighed, slung the man over his shoulder, and strode home with him.

Gu Zhangyuan was uncomfortable being carried like that, and he muttered discontentedly, "This is uncomfortable. You might as well just carry me in your arms."

Xie Licheng called him high-maintenance, but he still switched to holding him in his arms.

The two of them made it back to the bedroom, and as soon as Xie Licheng entered, he dumped the man onto the bed. He was in a hurry to dry his hair—wet hair plastered to his back was the worst.

Gu Zhangyuan was genuinely startled when he got tossed, but once he hit the bed, he realized Xie Licheng's bed was super soft.

Xie Licheng also knew his bed was soft, which was why he tossed him so carelessly.

Xie Licheng might've been a bit rough around the edges, but he sure knew how to live comfortably.

In his past life, when the apocalypse hit, he'd spent a whole month hunting down a comfortable bed for himself. In the end, he found a super comfy mattress and traded food for a bunch of fancy new blankets.

But sleeping on a soft bed all the time wasn't great for your back. To keep his lower back from giving out, he'd later built another house.

That house was right next door, and now it was used for storage—basically a giant warehouse.

Only when Xie Licheng got sick of this bedroom would he occasionally crash over there for a day or two.

Gu Zhangyuan landed on the super soft bed and took a while to scramble out from under the covers.

He was still in his daytime clothes, and he never slept in his outer layers.

Even if it was Xie Licheng's bed, he wasn't about to rest in his outer clothes.

Plus, he hadn't bathed yet.

Gu Zhangyuan climbed off the bed and looked down to take off his outer clothes.

Then he saw Xie Licheng walk in with a bath towel, and his hands froze mid-unbutton.

Gu Zhangyuan said, "From now on... could you have Xuan Cui or Yuan Qiao come in? I usually need someone to help me wash up, comb my hair, and get dressed."

Xie Licheng roughly dried his hair and chucked the towel aside when he heard that.

He said, "I'll take care of you myself."

Gu Zhangyuan smiled and asked, "You know how to take care of someone?"

"I do."

He didn't know how to serve a master, but he sure knew how to serve his wife.

Gu Zhangyuan was curious. He wanted to see just how Xie Licheng would take care of him.

Xie Licheng was no proper servant—even his whole 'criminal slave' thing was clearly fake. How could someone like that possibly know how to serve anyone?

"Then I want a bath. A hot one."

Xie Licheng nodded when he heard this. "Alright, I'll heat up some water for you now."

Seeing Xie Licheng about to turn and leave, and remembering how hard he'd worked today, Gu Zhangyuan couldn't bring himself to make him do more chores.

He quickly said, "No need to heat water. I'll just wipe myself down with cold water."

He ran cold, and he hadn't done much today, so he hadn't worked up a sweat.

Besides, he didn't plan to consummate things with Xie Licheng tonight, so skipping a bath was no big deal.

Xie Licheng still heated up some water for him anyway. Thinking about how delicate Gu Zhangyuan was, how he loved pretty, fancy things, he even went out of his way to find him a pink basin.

While Xie Licheng went to heat up the water, Gu Zhangyuan slowly peeled off his outer clothes and let down his long black hair. Xie Licheng came back with the hot water.

The moment Xie Licheng walked in, he saw a stunning beauty with loose hair in the bedroom and froze for a second.

He realized his wife was genuinely gorgeous—an absolute stunner.

Xie Licheng brought the hot water over, and Gu Zhangyuan glanced around the bedroom, then waved a hand and said, "This is where we sleep. I can't wipe myself down here."

Xie Licheng nodded and led him to a different room.

Since he'd said he'd take care of Gu Zhangyuan, he didn't leave once they got to the other room.

Gu Zhangyuan glared at him with those pretty eyes of his.

Xie Licheng, bold as brass, said, "Didn't you say you wanted me to take care of you?"

Gu Zhangyuan's ears went red when he heard that. He said, "Never mind. I'm just wiping myself down. I don't need you to take care of me."

Xie Licheng smiled and walked out while saying to him, "Then I'll go find you some clean clothes."

Gu Zhangyuan gave a faint acknowledgment and was about to close the door to wipe himself down.

Then he noticed the room was pitch dark, and the fear from earlier came creeping back.

He thought, what if there are rats, snakes, or bugs in here...

No, no... better to leave the door open.

After all... after all, he was Xie Licheng's husband, so it didn't matter if Xie Licheng saw him.

For this delicate young gentleman, he would rather let Xie Licheng see his body than be alone in a room with rats or anything like that.

He took off his clothes one by one, leaving only a thin, sheer undergarment.

He was too embarrassed to take everything off, so he just loosened his clothes a bit and used a damp towel to wipe himself underneath.

The towel was prepared by Xie Licheng, brand new.

The towel was also a soft pink color, clearly specially chosen for him.

Under the dim yellow light, Gu Zhangyuan wiped himself down thoroughly, then planned to soak his feet comfortably in another basin.

Then, just as he rolled up his pant legs to soak his feet, Xie Licheng returned with the clean clothes.

The door wasn't closed, so Xie Licheng assumed Gu Zhangyuan didn't mind him coming in, and he walked in openly. Gu Zhangyuan quickly glanced at himself and tried to carefully button up his loose collar again.

Xie Licheng saw this and walked over, setting down the clothes while saying to him, "Why bother buttoning it? Aren't you going to change into clean clothes in a bit?"

Gu Zhangyuan heard his words and looked up at him with a dissatisfied glare.

Xie Licheng saw him still glaring, looking fierce and quite arrogant.

He crouched down in front of Gu Zhangyuan and started washing his feet for him.

Seeing this, Gu Zhangyuan hurriedly said, "I can wash them myself."

Xie Licheng snorted with a laugh, grabbed his foot, and squeezed it firmly in his hand.

"Back when you were still at the Gu house, you told me to come to your room—were you trying to get in my pants?"

With his foot now in Xie Licheng's grip, Gu Zhangyuan's earlier cockiness instantly vanished.

His eyes got a little red—not from fear, but from embarrassment.

He kept his mouth shut, not wanting to answer such a dumb question.

Seeing this, Xie Licheng rubbed the calluses on his palm against the bottom of Gu Zhangyuan's foot. Gu Zhangyuan was super ticklish, and he instinctively kicked out in a panic.

With one foot still trapped, he lifted the other to kick.

He was sitting on a little stool, and the movement nearly sent him toppling backward. Xie Licheng quickly reached out and scooped him into his arms.

Now that he was settled in his arms, he wouldn't fall, right?

Holding him close, Xie Licheng kept pressing.

"So you never slept with me back then—was it 'cause you thought I was too skinny?"

Gu Zhangyuan sat on Xie Licheng's lap, one arm slung over his shoulder.

Since the buttons on his collar weren't all done up, the movement made the neckline gape open.

He realized that from this angle, Xie Licheng could definitely see down his shirt.

So instead of answering, he hurriedly used his other hand to press down on the collar.

Xie Licheng hadn't noticed at first, but now he looked over at the movement.

Xie Licheng: "What are you hiding? Let me see."