Every morning, the vegetable market is bustling with shouts and bargaining voices.
In the small park next to the market, Lao Zhang is doing chest expansion exercises while asking Lao Li, who is exercising his wrists next to him, “Why didn’t we see Xiao Du today?”
“Oh, that’s right.” Lao Li stopped and looked around. “Could he be lazy today?”
“Not everyone is like you, always lazy.”
“I take reasonable breaks, do you think we are still in our twenties?”
“You rest too much, that’s why you’re so frail.”
“Why do you have to speak so harshly, old man?”
The little birds on the plane trees chirped and flew to a particularly quiet courtyard.
In the past, the sound and aroma of frying eggs would come from the kitchen window of the courtyard, but today, there was no movement in the bright kitchen.
Sanmao, crouched outside the second-floor bedroom door, using his front paws to scratch the door and making a whimpering sound. However, despite the passage of a long time, there was still no sign of the person inside coming out.
With a drowsy look, the person lying on the bed felt as if a huge mountain was pressing down on him. He tried to turn over subconsciously, but every corner of his body sent signals of soreness, making him obediently lie back on the bed.
“You’re awake?” A lazy voice came from behind, and the warm breath blew on the back of his neck, sending tingles through his skin.
The voice sounded bright and not as hoarse as one would expect from someone just waking up. The person turned his head to look at the mountain pressing down on him, and in a hoarse voice, he asked, “Why aren’t you getting up yet?”
Glancing at the bedside table, he noticed that it was nearly ten o’clock, and normally, Du Chi would have returned from his morning exercise by now.
“I don’t want to get up.” Du Chi removed his hand from around Xiang Mo’s waist, brushed aside his messy hair, and stared at his eyes without moving.
The sunlight filtered through the white gauze curtain, casting a light brown hue on their hair and irises. The soft light gave the room a hazy filter, exuding the unique beauty of the morning.
Sanmao outside the door whimpered again.
Feeling uncomfortable under Du Chi’s gaze, Xiang Mo shifted and tried to avoid his eyes, but from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of several used condoms scattered on the floor.
Memories of last night’s passion suddenly flooded his mind, and the annoyance of being kept awake until three in the morning burst forth. Pushing Du Chi away, he turned to the other side, and his beautiful eyebrows furrowed tightly. “You’re just a horny dog.”
Despite being fully awake, Xiang Mo’s voice remained hoarse. The last syllable of “dog” didn’t come out clearly, carrying a sexy and lazy tone.
“Yeah, I am,” Du Chi leaned closer, trying to kiss Xiang Mo’s lips. Although they had kissed countless times the night before, Xiang Mo still avoided him.
However, he just moved away without saying anything, not really wanting to warn Du Chi.
Xiang Mo had forgotten that the reason he had distanced himself from Tan Song in the first place was that Tan Song had done the same thing as Du Chi—only without success.
“It takes quite an effort to kiss you.” Du Chi chuckled nonchalantly and shifted to kiss Xiang Mo’s chest instead.
The sensitive nipples that had been abused seemed to react instinctively, becoming perky as soon as they touched Du Chi’s lips.
Afraid that the horny dog would be in heat again so early in the morning, Xiang Mo pushed Du Chi’s shoulder, coldly saying, “Take Sanmao for a walk.”
Sanmao outside the door seemed to sense something and changed his whining to protesting barks.
Still lazily lying on top of Xiang Mo, Du Chi didn’t move. “If I take the dog out, who’s making breakfast for you?”
“I don’t have hands?” As if in Du Chi’s eyes, he had become a useless person who could only wait to be served. Slightly displeased, he said to Du Chi, “I’ll make breakfast for you.”
A thick smile appeared in Du Chi’s eyes as he planted a kiss on the side of Xiang Mo’s face. “Sure, my wifey.”
Putting on an apron and opening the fridge, deciding what to make for breakfast became a puzzle.
Boiling noodles or porridge seemed too simple and lacked novelty. Frying eggs or bacon, Du Chi was better at it, so he didn’t want to show off.
After some thought, he glanced at the low-gluten flour left in the fridge and took out the long-neglected egg beater from the cupboard.
When time was entirely his own, he could try anything he wanted.
Baking cakes and hand-brewing coffee were hobbies that he cultivated in his spare time. However, since they were just hobbies, he would only indulge in them on a whim, leaving the egg beater and pour-over kettle mostly unused.
Feeling in a good mood today, he was inspired and decided to use the oven to make soufflé and brewed two cups of uniquely flavored “Gueisha.”
While Du Chi was still not back, he scooped up a soft piece of soufflé with a spoon to taste his handiwork and ensure that he wouldn’t embarrass himself in front of Du Chi.
Just as he put the spoon into his mouth and the pleasant sweetness spread in his mouth, two sturdy arms suddenly wrapped around his waist from behind. Du Chi hugged him and rested his chin on his shoulder lazily, asking, “You made a cake, wifey?”
The tender moment in bed had passed, but Du Chi was still calling him “wifey.”
It was like a habit, or maybe an addiction. The person wasn’t sure what was on this guy’s mind, but since he still had to deal with Qian Kun, he didn’t take it too seriously.
“Soufflé.” He specially made a reduced-sugar version, and he was quite satisfied with the taste.
“Let me try it.” Although there was a golden spoon placed next to Du Chi’s cup of soufflé, he directly took the spoon from Xiang Mo’s hand and scooped a spoonful from the spot where Xiang Mo had tasted.
With the spoon between his lips, he mumbled, “Delicious.”
The simple two words slipped smoothly into Xiang Mo’s heart, making the slight annoyance wither away. However, he still turned to look at Du Chi and frowned slightly, “This is mine, and you should eat the one in your cup.”
“Isn’t it the same thing?” After taking a taste of Xiang Mo’s cup, Du Chi ignored Xiang Mo’s protest.
Originally, the two cups of soufflé were clearly separate—the one belonging to Xiang Mo was Xiang Mo’s, and Du Chi’s was Du Chi’s. But this annoying dog kept dipping into both cups, making Xiang Mo confused about which side he should eat from.
He turned around and leaned against the countertop, looking at Du Chi seriously, “Because you need to pay attention to your figure.”
Du Chi couldn’t help but smile and put down the spoon, wrapping his arms around Xiang Mo’s waist. He asked, “If my figure gets out of shape, you won’t sleep with me anymore, huh?”
The words were crude but had some truth to them. Xiang Mo replied seriously, “Of course not. Bed partners should be responsible for each other.”
“What responsibility do you have towards me?” Du Chi asked.
“I will also take care of myself.” Xiang Mo said, “I have my medical examination reports, and you’d better provide yours too.”
“If I do, can we go without using condoms?”
“That’s still not allowed.” Xiang Mo frowned, “Can you be serious? I’m talking about something important here.”
“Oh, but I’m also talking about something important.” Du Chi whispered into Xiang Mo’s ear, “Can I do you in the kitchen next time?”
“Du Chi!”
Breakfast was too late, so they only had a simple bowl of egg noodles for lunch.
The red roses in the studio that Xiang Mo hadn’t dealt with were still there. He decided to discard the card that Qian Kun had left for him and placed the roses in the center of the studio for the afternoon art class to practice still-life sketching.
Drawing 99 roses was not an easy task, and one of the students asked him how he came up with the idea of buying so many roses for the class. But immediately, another clever student retorted, “How do you know they weren’t given to you by someone?”
“That’s a good point.”
Ignoring the topic altogether, Du Chi’s voice suddenly rang from the direction of the corridor, Wifey.”
Without thinking too much, Xiang Mo instinctively turned his head, “Hmm?”
Immediately regretting the response, he noticed the students giving him knowing looks.
“I bought some nutritional supplements for Sanmei, and they’ve arrived at the delivery station,” Du Chi said as he descended the stairs, naturally wrapping his arm around Xiang Mo’s waist. “Do you have anything to pick up?”
With the students’ eyes on them, Xiang Mo couldn’t say much and simply replied, keeping his composure, “No.”
“Alright.” Du Chi gently pecked the side of Xiang Mo’s face and left the studio in his flip-flops.
The soft background music around them seemed to carry a sense of unease and heat. Xiang Mo looked at the students with meaningful glances and said in a deep voice, “Keep painting well.”
Once the students had averted their gazes, he took out his phone and messaged Du Chi.
【Xiang Mo: Are you getting addicted to this act?】
【Du Chi: Thanks for cooperating. ^^】
【Xiang Mo: ……】
After a while, footsteps approached the courtyard from a distance, but they didn’t sound like Du Chi’s. Xiang Mo went to the door of the studio and found Aunt Zhou standing there, holding a small bunch of red roses.
“That young man asked me to deliver nine roses every day,” Aunt Zhou handed the roses to Xiang Mo. “Doesn’t he know you have a lover?”
Xiang Mo, who was already feeling a headache, was surprised by Aunt Zhou’s words, “Lover?”
“Little Du, I mean,” Aunt Zhou said, “You seem to have a good relationship.”
Recalling how Du Chi had helped resolve the situation yesterday, Xiang Mo immediately realized that Aunt Zhou had misunderstood their relationship.
“That’s not it, Aunt Zhou,” he said, “We’re not in that kind of relationship.”
“Is that so?” Aunt Zhou looked surprised, “I thought…”
“Just good neighbors.” Xiang Mo added.
Indeed, soufflé should not have been mixed with everything else; the blurred lines only led to confusion.
Aunt Zhou nodded, “I see. I misunderstood.”
Just as she finished speaking, the sound of flip-flops suddenly came from the entrance of the courtyard. Du Chi walked in with a bunch of packages in his arms and looked at Xiang Mo, “Wifey, come help me carry these.”
Aunt Zhou looked at Du Chi, then at the person, her expression showing utter bewilderment.
Xiang Mo took a deep breath, put on a polite smile, and said to Aunt Zhou, “Really not.” —
Du Chi: Wifey.
Xiang Mo: Hmm? Don’t call me that casually.
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