DSMIS CH57

Chapter 57: Why Is It Different From What I Imagined?

Shen Xing had prepared everything needed for brewing the tonic liquor with meticulous care. Beyond the alcohol, he bought rock sugar and a rather expensive aged ginseng root from a traditional Chinese pharmacy. The moment he arrived home, he got straight to work. Ingredients covered the entire table, and he followed every step of the video tutorial with surgical precision, his movements as exacting as conducting a laboratory experiment back in medical school.

Twenty minutes later, staring at the unmistakable yak pizzle steeping inside the glass jar, he still felt a bit sheepish. But he quickly rationalized it: this was entirely for Jiang Lin’s health. Jiang Lin had suffered such horrific injuries in the past, and his vital qi and blood circulation were still compromised. A blood-nourishing and yang-boosting tonic was precisely what the doctor ordered.

Still, as beneficial as the tonic was, leaving it out in plain sight in the living room was undeniably indecent. It would be terrible if a colleague dropped by and got the wrong impression.

Shen Xing paced around the apartment trying to find a discreet home for his “liquor of love.” As he paced, the two furballs trailed right behind him. The white Samoyed, in particular, wove around his shins, paws constantly reaching up to paw at him in a desperate bid for cuddles and pets.

Resigned, Shen Xing bent down, scooped the dog into his arms, and gave it a thorough petting. Suddenly, his eyes landed on an ideal spot: a low shelf compartment at the base of the bedroom wardrobe, the exact size to fit the jar. He hurried back to the living room and carried the jar inside.

Because medicinal liquor is best kept away from direct light, Shen Xing draped the red silk cloth provided by the shopkeeper over the top, securing it around the neck of the jar with a length of string. Qianjin immediately bounded over to gnaw on the red cloth, earning two swift taps on the head from Shen Xing:

“Don’t you dare touch this jar. This is prepared for your Uncle Jiang.”

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Shen Xing admired the red-draped jar with immense satisfaction. He rubbed his palms together, feeling a flutter of nervous anticipation. Truthfully, he was genuinely looking forward to this milestone.

Then again, he had zero practical experience. It would be awful if he ended up hurting Jiang Lin. The more he pondered it, the more apprehensive he became. Asking around about something like this wasn’t remotely realistic either. In the end, Shen Xing shooed both dogs out of the room, firmly closed the bedroom door, drew the curtains shut, and pulled out his phone with the furtive stealth of an undercover agent.

He figured it was best to consult the omnipotent DeepSeek. Unfortunately, after he typed out a detailed string of queries, a prompt popped up stating that the content involved sensitive and adult themes and could not be answered.

Shen Xing: “…”

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Shen Xing concluded that DeepSeek was completely useless. Should he look for legitimate academic sources instead? But opening his laptop, he was immediately stumped again. He was a master at reviewing medical literature, but surely nobody had written formal academic papers on the mechanics of this? And even if they had, what keywords would he even search for?

He racked his brain coming up with a list of keywords, but the search results were nowhere near what he was looking for. Since scholarly routes were a bust, should he search for “other” kinds of resources?

The moment Jiang Lin arrived home, he noticed the living room lights were off and the bedroom door was shut, though light spilled from beneath the door frame. He changed his shoes, walked over, and pushed the door open, only to find Shen Xing sitting cross-legged on the bed with a laptop balanced on his thighs.

The instant the door swung open, Shen Xing slammed the laptop shut with a loud clack. His cheeks and ears flamed a furious crimson, and his wide, guilty eyes locked onto the figure in the doorway like a startled cat whose fur had puffed out on end.

“Why… why didn’t you knock?!”

Director Shen snapped defensively in his flustered embarrassment, completely forgetting that he was currently inside Jiang Lin’s bedroom. Suppressing a laugh, Jiang Lin pulled the door shut and knocked twice:

“May I come in?”

Flushed red, Shen Xing replied:

“Come in.”

Only then did Jiang Lin push the door open again. Shen Xing had already stashed the laptop out of sight. To Captain Jiang’s trained eye, this clumsy cover-up practically had “guilty conscience” stamped across it in bold letters. He stepped forward and lightly tapped the forehead of the man sitting on the bed:

“Why does Director Shen look so guilty?”

Shen Xing slapped his hand away, inwardly grumbling: Who am I working this hard for? Isn’t it so you suffer less? Who am I breaking a sweat for here?

“That’s an occupational hazard—you think everyone looks guilty! Come on, let’s go out and eat. I’m starving to death.”

A venture like that definitely required a full stomach first. Shen Xing promptly ushered Jiang Lin out of the bedroom. With the hour so late, neither felt like cooking, so they opted to grab a quick bite outside. Because parking spots were scarce near the restaurant, they had parked some distance away. Stepping outside after dinner, Shen Xing spotted a supermarket nearby, quickly reached out to tug Jiang Lin’s sleeve, and said:

“I’m stuffed, I can’t walk another step. Go bring the car around, will you?”

Jiang Lin agreed without hesitation:

“Alright. Wait for me here.”

He turned and headed toward the car. The second Jiang Lin was out of earshot, Shen Xing dove straight into the supermarket. Keeping his head down, he swiftly scanned the small boxed items displayed next to the checkout counter, snatching up two of the most expensive varieties.

Only when holding them did he realize these things came in different sizes. Not knowing which would fit, he grabbed one of each size, checked out at lightning speed, and shoved the boxes deep inside his jacket.

Stepping back outside, he saw Jiang Lin’s car idling by the curb with its hazard lights flashing. He zipped his jacket securely and hopped into the passenger seat.

Seeing him emerge from the supermarket, Jiang Lin asked casually:

“Did you go buy snacks?”

“Oh, looking for jelly. But they didn’t have Xizhilang.”

Throughout the evening, Jiang Lin felt Shen Xing was acting rather peculiar. Furthermore, there was suddenly a large, mysterious object shrouded under a red cloth in the bedroom. Just as Jiang Lin reached out to lift the fabric and take a look, Director Shen caught his wrist:

“You’re not allowed to look yet.”

After showering, Shen Xing spent a full minute in front of the bathroom mirror giving himself a pep talk. When he finally emerged, Jiang Lin was propped against the headboard on the phone. Heibao lay beside the bed, while Qianjin was sprawled across Heibao’s back, resting his massive head on the shepherd’s spine like a plush white fox-fur coat.

Listening to a few snippets of the conversation, Shen Xing gathered it was a call from the Tianjin Municipal Bureau; Jiang Lin’s replies were crisp and concise. Spotting Shen Xing, Jiang Lin wrapped up the call in a few sentences and beckoned to him. Shen Xing, who was utterly defenseless against Jiang Lin’s focused, professional aura, immediately launched himself into his arms.

Catching him firmly, Jiang Lin sensed that Director Shen was unusually enthusiastic tonight. Normally, Shen Xing merely indulged in playfully feeling up his waist, but tonight, those wandering hands were considerably bolder.

After lingering along his waist, Shen Xing’s hands slid forward like kitten paws, lightly kneading across his lower abdomen before boldly creeping toward the waistband of his pajama bottoms. If Jiang Lin still couldn’t decipher what was running through Director Shen’s head, he would truly be an idiot.

Pulling Shen Xing flush against his chest, Jiang Lin abandoned any effort to rein in his desire and captured Director Shen’s lips in a deep kiss. Just as he moved to pull Shen Xing down onto the mattress, he realized something was amiss—the person in his arms had pinned a leg over his hips and braced an arm against his shoulder. In an instant, Jiang Lin understood what Director Shen was trying to pull off. Smiling, he obligingly yielded to the pressure and let himself be pinned beneath him on the bed.

Beneath the sheets, Shen Xing busily fumbled under the pillow and pulled something out. Their breathing was ragged. When Jiang Lin clearly saw what was in his hand, he couldn’t resist teasing with a chuckle:

“Did that supermarket really not carry Xizhilang jelly?”

Caught red-handed, Shen Xing didn’t bother feeling embarrassed, blinking boldly:

“We’re both consenting adults. A little extra nighttime activity is only natural.”

The sight made Jiang Lin’s heart itch as if brushed by kitten claws, the heat in his gaze burning with fierce intensity. Completely failing to read the room, Director Shen patted Jiang Lin’s chest reassuringly, making a solemn promise:

“Captain Jiang, don’t worry. Even though I don’t have experience, I will definitely—”

Before the sentence was finished, his hand was suddenly empty—the box snatched away in a flash. In the next breath, the world spun around him. He was flipped clean onto his back and pinned firmly against the mattress! It happened so fast he couldn’t even process the motion before Jiang Lin’s towering frame hovered directly above him:

“You…”

His voice was entirely swallowed by a scorching, suffocating kiss. The man above him shed every ounce of his usual gentle indulgence, moving like a wild wolf fresh off the mountain on the hunt. Under his touch, Shen Xing crumbled within seconds. For the first time, he realized Captain Jiang’s hands carried fire; wherever they trailed, his skin flared with scorching heat.

Though his limbs grew soft as melted wax, Director Shen’s fighting spirit refused to perish. His rebellious soul stubbornly attempted to flip the man beneath him once more. But Jiang Lin seemed forged of solid iron; no matter how hard Shen Xing pushed, Jiang Lin effortlessly dismantled his leverage.

It defied all medical logic! He was an orthopedic surgeon renowned for his exceptional upper-body strength! He tried to use his legs to throw Jiang Lin off, only for a low, husky chuckle to rumble directly against his ear:

“Director Shen, don’t waste your energy.”

The next second, his momentum was smoothly redirected and neutralized. Shen Xing couldn’t even fathom what grappling technique Jiang Lin had used; he was pinned so thoroughly he couldn’t muster an ounce of leverage. He glared up in fierce defiance, but with his cheeks burning crimson and his eyes glistening with moisture from the intense kiss, the glare looked entirely like an outraged kitten puffing up its fur.

Jiang Lin kissed the space between Shen Xing’s brows, trailing down his nose, gently swaying the man in his arms before whispering against his ear:

“I’ll be gentle, alright?”

Though reality had deviated slightly from what he envisioned—fine, drastically deviated—Shen Xing found himself completely incapable of voicing a refusal, letting out a muffled, breathless whimper from the back of his throat.

Jiang Lin’s movements remained as profoundly gentle as the tender care he had always shown Shen Xing. He had no desire to hurt the man before him; he wanted Shen Xing’s first experience to be filled with pleasure and warmth. Even so, Shen Xing’s face initially drained of color from the sharp discomfort. Jiang Lin immediately slowed to a halt, pressing tender kisses to the corners of his lips until he adjusted. Gradually, the flush returned to Shen Xing’s cheeks, and the two settled into a rhythm tailored to each other.

Shen Xing’s breathing grew ragged and fragmented, his fingers digging into the firm muscles of Jiang Lin’s back. The peak of the sensation defied description. With his eyes wet and his mind wiped entirely blank, Shen Xing felt like a lump of pliable modeling clay melted into the mattress, his arms as limp as boiled noodles draped over Captain Jiang’s broad shoulders.

Through the haze, his gaze drifted toward the corner of the bedroom—specifically, toward that ten-jin jar of supreme restorative yak pizzle wine he had painstakingly prepared for Jiang Lin. A sudden, acute wave of grievance washed over him. And to think I planned so considerately for him!

The physiological tears already coaxed out by the sheer intensity of the climax spilled down his cheeks along with this petty sense of injustice. The sight made Jiang Lin’s heart clench with tenderness. Worried that the calluses on his fingertips might scratch Shen Xing’s flushed skin, he dipped his head and gently kissed away the tears. Pulling him close against his chest, he rocked him softly as if comforting a hurt child:

“Did I hurt you?”

With a long, aggrieved face and a hoarse, raspy voice, Shen Xing grumbled:

“Aren’t you injured? Where on earth did you get all that strength?!”

It made zero sense! With all of Jiang Lin’s lingering injuries, how had he overpowered him without leaving him a single opening to counterattack?

Jiang Lin smiled:

“Oh, so Director Shen was intending to take advantage of my physical vulnerability.”

Director Shen kicked his legs under the sheets in stubborn defiance:

“Bullshit.”

Jiang Lin hugged him tighter, coaxing softly:

“Shall I take you to wash up?”

Shen Xing lifted his arms, and Jiang Lin supported him like escorting the Empress Dowager into the bathroom for a warm rinse. Stepping back into the bedroom, they passed the mysterious object draped in red silk.

“What actually is inside this?”

Shen Xing huffed:

“Prepared for you. Remember to drink plenty of it, Captain Jiang.”

Who says only the bottom needs tonic liquor? Tops can suffer from kidney deficiency too, okay? Shen Xing comforted himself stubbornly.

Jiang Lin bent down and lifted the red silk. Experienced and worldly as Captain Jiang was, he froze dead in his tracks the moment he saw the contents:

“This…”

“Hey, don’t get the wrong idea! The boy with the severed arm was discharged, and his family forcibly shoved this local specialty into my hands to express their gratitude.”

Looking at the massive jar of tonic wine, Jiang Lin didn’t know whether to laugh or cry:

“For me?”

Shen Xing reached out and slapped a hand onto Captain Jiang’s waist. Limp as he was, the roguish ambition refused to die:

“Naturally. Wouldn’t want you suffering from kidney exhaustion, now would we?”

Jiang Lin saw right through his petty, defensive retaliation:

“Mm, I definitely need to drink it. Otherwise, I won’t be able to serve Director Shen properly in the future.”

Jiang Lin changed the bedsheets for fresh ones, and only then did Shen Xing collapse onto the mattress. Jiang Lin gently massaged his aching waist and sore arms, drawing contented hums of relief from Shen Xing. Then, remembering something, Shen Xing asked:

“Is your knee alright?”

“Fine enough for another round.”

Hmph. Serves me right for asking.