DLWAV CH158

The reason Gao Zong froze was that he inexplicably felt Ao Ruize harbored improper designs on him.

Even though they were both men, and he and Ao Ruize had only met twice in total.

Zhao Mingyu and the others were different, however; after all, they lived in an era where sharing a bed with fellow squad mates was completely normal, so they didn’t think in that direction in the slightest.

Thus, they only froze because they hadn’t expected someone with as many crafty schemes as Ao Ruize to actually be so cowardly.

Still, they didn’t care about that; so long as nothing happened to Ao Ruize, they would readily agree even if he asked them all to stay awake guarding him.

So, yawning and stretching, they turned right around to head back.

“Alright then, Director Gao, just stay here and sleep with Student Zhang for the night.”

Gao Zong, who had just been about to ask Zhao Mingyu to take his place: “…”

The room fell quiet in an instant.

Ao Ruize patted the empty space beside him with a beaming smile: “Hurry on over, Director Gao.”

Looking for all the world like a streetwalker soliciting clients.

—In Ao Ruize’s view, since it was supposed to be twenty-four-hour close protection, if it wasn’t skin-to-skin close, how could it be called close protection?

Gao Zong: “…”

Gao Zong actually had a solution.

He returned directly to his own room and brought back a bamboo sleeping mat: “No need. I can just sleep on the floor.”

Letting him sleep in the same bed with a reptile was utterly out of the question.

No matter how pleasing to the eye Ao Ruize’s body was.

Ao Ruize: “…”

This was different from what he had envisioned.

Shouldn’t his wife happily—ah no, begrudgingly—lie in the same bed with him, admire his body from up close, and ultimately throw caution to the wind to plunge into his embrace because he couldn’t restrain his natural instincts?

Furthermore, in the brief moment his mind wandered, Gao Zong had already rolled out the mat and lain down.

Naturally, Ao Ruize couldn’t just give up like this: “Director Gao, the floor is quite cold. What if you catch a cold?”

Gao Zong glanced at his bare upper torso, the implication self-evident.

Ao Ruize: “…”

Ao Ruize attempted one final struggle: “Still, sleeping on the floor can’t possibly be as comfortable as sleeping on the bed.”

Gao Zong’s tone didn’t shift in the slightest: “In fact, as a cultivator, if not to conform to the routine of ordinary mortals, I wouldn’t even need to sleep.”

What else could Ao Ruize say?

Ao Ruize could only look up to the ceiling and sigh: “Fine then.”

Mainly, he never expected that there would actually come a day when these moves of his would fail.

Could it be because in the previous world, during the final few years, his wife liked dragging him out to the countryside for a spell, and later he grew addicted to it too, constantly pulling his wife along to ride horses and roll around in cornfields every day, refusing to stop even when people walked by… having gotten a bit too out of hand, his wife was dead set on making him eat vegetarian for a few days first?

Otherwise, why would he adopt a persona of disliking reptiles?

Ao Ruize felt he had figured it out.

Gao Zong had figured things out as well.

Namely, that Ao Ruize indeed harbored improper designs on him.

It was just that he had no intention of seeking a cultivation partner right now.

And even if he wanted to find one, he wouldn’t look for Ao Ruize.

Again: he truly felt nothing for reptiles.

At this thought, he closed his eyes with calm composure.

Ao Ruize: “…”

With soft, warm beauty out of reach, he could only close his eyes along with him for now.

The next morning, having been too excited to sleep all night and only dozing off around dawn, Zhang Jianguo suddenly remembered he had to get up and make breakfast for Ao Ruize. Struggling out of bed and opening his bedroom door, he was greeted by the sight of Ao Ruize bustling away in the kitchen.

He froze on the spot.

Hurrying over, he discovered that Ao Ruize had already finished cooking breakfast.

Fried eggs, shredded chicken congee, shaomai, egg dumplings…

Zhang Jianguo was somewhat incredulous: “Th-These were all made by you?”

Ao Ruize, who over several centuries had long developed the habit of rising early to make breakfast for his wife: “Mm.”

Only then did he recall that the previous host didn’t know how to cook at all and was unwilling to cook, promptly adding: “Didn’t you always wake up early to make breakfast for me in the past? Today I wanted to try it myself, and unexpectedly the results turned out pretty well.”

Zhang Jianguo’s eyes reddened again in an instant; he merely assumed the reason for Ao Ruize’s drastic transformation was that he had finally matured and learned to be filial.

“Good, good, good.”

Ao Ruize: “…”

At almost the exact same time, the neighbor’s child started acting up again: “What’s that smell? It smells so good!”

“It’s the smell of shredded chicken congee—”

“I want shredded chicken congee too! I want shredded chicken congee too! Waaah…”

Sure enough, in the next second, Auntie Zhang’s voice rang out again: “Drink what congee?! If you were as promising as Zhang Ruize, never mind shredded chicken congee, even if you wanted to eat ginseng and bird’s nest every day, I’d sell my own blood to get it for you…”

Ao Ruize: “…”

It seemed he still had to court his wife, because once he won him over, he could take him along to move out—

He felt that if he stayed here any longer, all the unfinished work on the electronics factory’s subsidized housing could be handed over for him to dig out with his bare toes for free.

At worst, he would just restrain himself a little in this world.

Right at this moment, Zhang Jianguo’s voice piped up again: “Still, it seems you made a bit too much.”

Ao Ruize snapped back: “Didn’t a new household just move in next door? They seem to be staff about to start at Qianda, so I plan to take some over to them as well.”

Zhang Jianguo nodded immediately: “It’s good to foster friendly ties in advance.”

At almost the exact same time, hearing the commotion from Auntie Zhang’s house next door, Gao Zong paused while washing his face.

He glanced at the palm-sized, clearly greasy steamed meat buns that Zhao Mingyu and the others had bought back.

Could he say that he wanted shredded chicken congee too?

Who knew that just as he finished washing his face, a knock came at the door.

Zhao Mingyu, being closest to the door, went right over and opened it: “Student Zhang?”

The motion of Gao Zong’s hands paused once again.

Looking up, the visitor was none other than Ao Ruize.

Ao Ruize was looking straight at him as well.

Because the water on his face hadn’t been wiped dry yet, the moment he looked up, droplets of water trailed along his smooth cheeks down to his neck, and then to his collarbones… Most crucially, he was wearing a white button-down shirt; one could well imagine what a stunning sight it was once soaked through.

With practiced ease, before the Little Milk Dumpling could catch sight of it, Ao Ruize severed his connection with it.

Only then did he realize: even if he blocked the Little Milk Dumpling, so what? How old was it anyway? The main issue was that Gao Zong was currently living with three grown men.

So he truly did need to abduct the man back home as soon as possible.

Gao Zong, noticing the shift in Ao Ruize’s expression: “…”

This guy, this guy…

Were it not for considerations toward the government and the contributions on Ao Ruize’s shoulders, Gao Zong would have definitely taught him a proper lesson.

Zhao Mingyu’s voice sounded again.

His eyes fell upon the bowl in Ao Ruize’s hands: “This is?”

Only then did Ao Ruize speak: “Didn’t I cause Director Gao trouble last night? It just so happened I made a bit too much when cooking breakfast this morning, so I brought some over for Director Gao. I only hope Director Gao won’t mind it.”

Zhao Mingyu could only tamp down the craving in his heart: “Director Gao?”

Gao Zong naturally didn’t want to accept it, but fearing Ao Ruize’s relentless pestering even more, he could only keep a taut expression and nod: “Then thank you very much, Student Zhang.”

Ao Ruize left in satisfaction.

Gao Zong then picked up a large steamed meat bun and began eating.

Seeing this, Zhao Mingyu asked: “Huh, Director Gao, aren’t you going to eat the breakfast Zhang Ruize brought over?”

Gao Zong: “No. You all can have it.”

“That works out great!”

Zhao Mingyu and the others didn’t think twice, swarming right over: “I happened to be craving shredded chicken congee too! Thanks, Director Gao.”

“Save some for me, save some for me…”

Watching them eat with such gusto,

Gao Zong suddenly felt that the large meat bun in his hand tasted even worse.

But what Zhao Mingyu and the others hadn’t anticipated was that their gastronomic luck was only just beginning.

That very afternoon, they received chilled jelly sent over by Ao Ruize. Gao Zong still didn’t touch it, and they ate until their bellies were round.

Early the next morning, Ao Ruize sent over a clay pot of rice noodles.

Gao Zong still didn’t eat, and once again they stuffed themselves full.

That afternoon, Ao Ruize had someone deliver a large package of cakes.

Gao Zong still didn’t eat, and once more they ate to their hearts’ content.

…

On the afternoon of the fourth day, Ao Ruize sent over a dozen mooncakes.

Gao Zong still didn’t eat. Stepping onto the scale after finishing them, they had already gained two catties.

Consequently, that night, when Ao Ruize once again “mistook” the laundry drying on the balcony for human silhouettes and was too frightened to sleep, Zhao Mingyu stopped Gao Zong and the others, volunteering to run over and keep Ao Ruize company.

“After all, having eaten so much of Student Zhang’s food, I’d feel bad if I didn’t do something.”

Ao Ruize, who only now learned that of all the food he had fed to Gao Zong over the past few days, Gao Zong hadn’t eaten a single bite and it had all gone straight into Zhao Mingyu’s stomach: “…”

He hadn’t expected that following the failure of his honey trap, his culinary trap would fail as well.

What was he supposed to do now?

Zhao Mingyu also came around to thinking.

If Student Zhang bringing their Director Gao breakfast on the first day was to thank him, then what was the point of sending things to their Director Gao every single day afterward?

Thinking about it further, the frequency with which Zhang Ruize sent things to Director Gao was higher than the frequency with which he fawned over his own wife—

Most importantly, wasn’t their Director Gao’s reaction a bit off as well?

—From start to finish, he hadn’t touched a single morsel of Zhang Ruize’s food.

Zhao Mingyu, who was originally drowsy but suddenly snapped wide awake at this thought: “…”

No, wait—

Then he rationalized it again.

Their Director Gao wasn’t a woman, so why on earth would Zhang Ruize court him?

Zhao Mingyu couldn’t help covering his mouth and yawning.

Besides, even if their Director Gao were a woman, Zhang Ruize clearly wasn’t some saint; if he truly harbored ill designs on their Director Gao, would he lower himself so humbly to court him? He would have long resorted to forceful possession and domineering coercion, wouldn’t he?

At this thought, he peacefully drifted back to sleep.

The Little Milk Dumpling, finally released: “…”

Does he know he said all of that out loud?

Then, as if struck by a thought, it instinctively turned to look at Ao Ruize.

Only to see Ao Ruize nodding in satisfaction.

It seemed the food he sent over truly hadn’t gone to waste; noted, noted with thanks.