CH 34

the next day, xiao zhenyun slept until the sun was high in the sky, only waking up with a throbbing headache from a hangover. fortunately, the pain wasn’t too intense. he cursed the ridiculous plotline while struggling to open his eyes.

to his surprise, xiao nian and xiao jiali were sitting upright by his bedside, their hands on their knees, staring at him intently. their expressions were as if he hadn’t just woken up but had died.

“…i’m alive,” xiao zhenyun rubbed his temples, his voice hoarse as if he’d been poked with hot irons. “why are you two sitting here like you’re at a vigil for me?”

“you’re actually alive to see the sun today…” xiao nian said in a skeptical tone. “how did you manage that? did you kneel down and call someone ‘dad’ last night to survive?”

“???”

“last night, senior si di was really fierce,” xiao jiali recalled, shivering at the memory of the intimidating look in si di’s eyes when he came to pick up xiao nian. he couldn’t help but tremble. “he looked like he could swallow a person whole.”

“last night?” xiao zhenyun tried to remember, but his memory was fragmented. he recalled leaning on a table and feeling someone pushing him. he had mumbled something like ‘si…’

si mai…

or maybe it was stalin, xiao zhenyun thought. after all, the original text mentioned him mumbling a name that no one could quite catch. so, who cared whose name he had called; no one understood it anyway.

“i can’t remember anything,” he decisively gave up on trying to recollect. “last night, my brain was completely numbed by alcohol. it’s all a blur. where am i, in a hotel room? did you guys bring me here? and why are you here, xiao jiali?”

“no big deal,” xiao nian was very accommodating at the moment. as long as xiao zhenyun had successfully completed the mission, everything else was secondary.

“it’s a big deal,” xiao zhenyun looked at xiao jiali with suspicion. “and why did you say si di was fierce? what happened?”

xiao jiali innocently shook his head. “i don’t know either. senior suddenly sent me his location, saying you were drunk and asked me to pick up nian nian and bring him home. when i arrived, i saw senior standing at the door like a refrigerator, blowing cold air out, and his fur was all fluffed up.”

xiao zhenyun’s brow furrowed deeper as he listened. he then turned his gaze to xiao nian, who implied, “last night, i was scolded by you and reluctantly dragged to attend the banquet. i was upset and pretended to be ill to go home early. si di saw through it and thought we were colluding to do something against him, so he got very angry. then, on our way back, he received a video call from si chu and saw you, completely drunk, fondling si chu’s ears and tail… and even saying that si chu’s dog tail is like a sunny quasar…”

xiao zhenyun: “…………”

xiao jiali covered his face in embarrassment and peeked at xiao zhenyun’s pale face through his fingers.

“the hotel room was arranged by si chu for you, and si di left me with xiao jiali at the banquet hall entrance before going inside and having a few words with si chu. he even touched si chu’s ears. then, he took the room key and went upstairs.” xiao nian briefly summarized the previous night’s events. “i don’t know what happened after that.”

“so how did i survive?” xiao zhenyun was deeply puzzled. he lowered his head and saw himself wearing a clean hotel robe. “who changed my clothes?”

xiao nian: “…didn’t you change it yourself?”

xiao zhenyun: “with the way i was drunk last night, touching si chu’s ears in front of si di and still having the energy to change my clothes? “

xiao nian: “…”

xiao zhenyun: “…”

xiao jiali curiously asked, “why can’t you touch si chu’s ears in front of senior si? didn’t senior touch them himself later?”

“kids, don’t interrupt the adults,” xiao nian scolded him with a blank expression.

xiao jiali subconsciously lowered his head and mumbled, “oh.”

xiao jiali: “???” what’s going on here?

suddenly, there was the sound of a card swiping and the door unlocking from outside. xiao jiali’s ears perked up, and he awkwardly stood up, mouthing to xiao zhenyun, “it’s senior si di.”

before he could finish, si di had already appeared at the foot of the bed in a swift and graceful manner. he was dressed in a dark jacket, a tank top outlining his well-built chest and lean waist, black jeans tucked into his boots, standing tall at 185 cm with legs measuring 180 cm. the collar and wrist restraints were his usual accessories, and today, he also had a pink and purple multi-layered lunchbox and a paper bag with a cute wolf sticker on it.

tai ji landed with a thud, shook his whole body, and then leaped onto the bed with enthusiasm, licking the left side of xiao zhenyun’s face.

xiao zhenyun turned in shock to meet tai ji’s big eyes, and the next moment, the wolf with a dual personality licked his nose.

tian lu instantly jumped out of the spiritual domain, struggling to maintain a balance between his noble aura and his playful side. today, the stag couldn’t stand steady, influenced by his master’s drunkenness, and he performed a split as soon as he entered the hotel floor, then struggled to get back up.

after not seeing each other for days, tai ji was unusually enthusiastic, giving tian lu a big kiss, which meant that he shoved the entire front of tian lu’s antlers into his gaping mouth.

“awake?” si di took off his sunglasses and said to xiao zhenyun with a smile, “i thought you’d sleep longer.”

then, he casually greeted the other two, “hello there, haven’t had lunch yet? i brought some dishes i made myself.  go wash up, and we can eat.”

xiao nian instantly jumped up from his chair and rushed into the bathroom along with xiao jiali.

while si di was arranging the dishes on the dining table, xiao zhenyun, with his back turned to him, bent over slightly, raising his butt slightly, and xiao zhenyun quickly untied his belt and checked under his pants. there was still no response up front, and there was no unusual sensation at the back. his upper body was clean, without any marks.

he raised his head and met si di’s teasing gaze.

xiao zhenyun suddenly calmed down and said calmly, “what happened last night?”

si di didn’t seem surprised by his question and simply asked, “don’t you remember?”

xiao zhenyun shook his head. “last night, nian nian was being disobedient and arguing with me. i got angry, so i drank a few more glasses. i didn’t expect to get drunk and pass out. nian nian just told me about pretending to be sick and having you take me to the hospital. i’m really sorry for the trouble.”

si di smiled, “what trouble are you talking about with me?”

“…” xiao zhenyun sensed the change in si di’s attitude and asked tentatively, “i heard that you took care of me later?”

si di’s smile deepened, like a white fox, remaining silent.

xiao zhenyun felt his scalp tingle from his laughter and mustered the courage to ask, “i didn’t say anything foolish, did i?”

“before i answer your question, i hope you’ll answer two questions for me first,” si di set the tableware neatly, confidently approached the long-haired guide sitting by the bed, sat on the edge, and leaned in close to xiao zhenyun’s face. “first, the medicine you asked me to fetch was clearly vitamin c tablets. why did you intentionally stall me?”

“…”

si di was quite clever, not easy to deceive… xiao zhenyun thought about the plot he had to follow after this and felt that the task was a bit challenging.

“…well, it’s not a big deal, really. i just felt that single-parenting is too tough. my son has grown rebellious and won’t listen, and i was feeling down and wanted to have a drink,” xiao zhenyun sighed, “but you stopped me, so i thought of a reason to distract you for a while. i didn’t expect you to leave, and my tolerance for alcohol is low, so a few sips got me drunk.”

“okay,” si di seemed to just want a reason and didn’t delve deeper. “now, for the second question, why did you and xiao nian have an argument? what did he do to make you so angry?”

xiao zhenyun: “…he didn’t do anything!”

in the moment of silence, his brain raced, and he immediately realized that the reason xiao nian didn’t explain the cause of the argument earlier was that he didn’t have one.

now, regardless of what reason he gave, there was no possibility of a plot hole, but the premise was that he could come up with a reasonable reason in these few seconds of thinking.

the most common reason children make parents angry is poor grades, but that was absolutely not the case with xiao nian. even si di knew that xiao nian, the shameless adult pretending to be a third-grader, had perfect scores in every subject.

so, what could it be…

“alas…” xiao zhenyun furrowed his brow with sorrow, brushed aside a strand of messy hair from his face, and tucked it behind his ear. “actually, it’s not a big deal. i just felt a bit down… he’s grown attached to someone early.”

“because of that?” si di raised an eyebrow, showing a somewhat serious expression. “eight years old is a bit early for puppy love, but… who does he like? a classmate?”

“it would be better if it was just a classmate,” xiao zhenyun sighed. “he’s fallen for someone he absolutely shouldn’t.”

“…could it be that his first love is his teacher?” si di’s expression turned genuinely serious, as if this question was a grave matter.

xiao zhenyun, who had already prepared his answer beforehand, “…”

a strange desire for victory surged in him. despite this being a situation that could be resolved with a simple nod, he insisted on pushing his brain cells to the limit, determined to come up with a mind-blowing new answer within a blink of an eye.

“it’s not the teacher,” xiao zhenyun lowered his voice and leaned in close to si di’s ear. “nian nian told me he’s fallen for… xiao jingfeng.”

si di: “…”

si di’s expression shattered.

the s-level sentinel xia jiali, who had overly keen hearing in the bathroom, completely fell apart.

xiao nian: “what’s going on? what did he say?”

“…”

xiao zhenyun had a sudden insight, and his thinking became even more agile. “maybe it’s because of my influence. he sees that i have a slightly non-blood-related kinship with you, a 97% match, and that many people admire and bless our relationship. perhaps he thinks this kind of connection is very cool, so he’s shifted his attention to another relative of his.”

“i told him that xiao jingfeng is his great-uncle, but he argued back, saying, ‘aren’t you also brother si’s uncle.’ he even went on about how he wouldn’t marry anyone but xiao jingfeng, which nearly drove me crazy.”

“well, that’s indeed infuriating,” si di bit his lip. “this is a problem… i’ll figure out a way to educate him. he’s still young, probably just a passing phase. he doesn’t even know what real love is like. don’t get angry with him anymore. let’s eat first, and i’ll help you up.”

“don’t change the subject,” xiao zhenyun grabbed his sleeve. “what nonsense did i talk about last night? you’re acting strangely today. what happened?”

“you promised to tell me a secret last night,” si di said. “what secret is that?”

“???”

xiao zhenyun was puzzled. “i don’t even remember when i promised that, let alone what secret i was supposed to tell you.”

“so you do have a secret, or maybe even more than one. that’s why you don’t know which one to tell me.”

“don’t pester me.”

si di laughed. “alright, i won’t tease you anymore. you had quite the drinking skills last night. you didn’t say anything and just went to sleep in the room.”

“really?”

“yes, really. now, let’s get up and eat. the food is getting cold.” si di lifted the blanket, helped xiao zhenyun sit up, and then took off his jacket, draping it over his shoulders. he was wearing only a vest as he walked over to fetch the wheelchair.

xiao zhenyun noticed the rising and falling of his back, the smooth muscles on his arms, clear but not overly pronounced lines, and a belt cinching his waist, accentuating his well-shaped buttocks.

“is this pair of pants too tight?” xiao zhenyun thought. he couldn’t recall seeing si di wear such tight pants before. it didn’t seem suitable for sentinel activities.

just then, he heard a low chuckle in his ear. “is my waist really that slim?”

hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). i hope you enjoyed the story! if you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! check out the link below for early chapters.  (๑>ᴗ