Qiu Yuan glanced to the other side. He didn't know what Xi Zhengqing was smiling at on his communicator this time.
A white cat?
Qiu Yuan fell into thought, then forwarded the South City address to a contact with a default profile picture.
[Go take a look.]
When the sun rose, a new day began.
No matter what mire and chaos the Thirteenth District had fallen into, the Sky-Piercing Tower in the Core District still stood like a pillar holding the sea at bay.
The air in the hospital corridor smelled of disinfectant, and the surroundings were spotless.
The clean environment filled Xi Zhengqing with pleasure.
Even so, by comparison, he seemed to prefer Pei Guangji's study the night before last.
Xi Zhengqing thought of that young man again.
Looking down at him from above, the young man had fair, slender hands. As he tugged on the collar, he also pulled at Xi Zhengqing's nerve endings, sending electric tingles down his spine.
Merely recalling how Xin Hexue had lain on his back on the desk was almost enough to make him react at once.
After yesterday's gathering ended, Xi Zhengqing had arranged a physical examination for himself.
The examination found nothing wrong, whether with his mechanized parts or his original human body.
Yet he kept losing himself in memories of that night.
He was like a drowning man sinking into the sea, bobbing up and down, trying in vain to grab hold of anything that would keep him above water. His futile struggles only tangled him further and dragged him deeper, until all he could see, whether his eyes were open or closed, were waves and shimmering light.
Visits to the intensive care unit were restricted.
But Xi Zhengqing had no intention of going in anyway.
He merely glanced at the unconscious patient in the room, the ECG machine working quietly beside him.
Xi Zhengqing smiled and silently mouthed through the glass, "Good morning, Pei Guangji."
After he turned away, his gray prosthetic eye shifted to pitch-black.
Ever since that one time had left the sole of Xin Hexue's foot stinging when he walked the next day, he had been unwilling to let Xi Zhengqing have such an easy time of it on the occasions that followed.
He ground his foot against the Alpha's member.
Then he sat down on the sofa at his leisure, resting his right leg on his left knee as he calmly watched Xi Zhengqing. The Alpha had already reacted as if by conditioned reflex.
Xin Hexue gave an order. "Take care of it yourself."
One end of a silver chain was attached to a black leather collar, and the other was held in Xin Hexue's hand.
The villa was spacious and quiet. As the Alpha moved, his breathing grew heavier, beyond his control.
Like a venomous snake flicking its tongue as it locked onto its prey, Xi Zhengqing stared intently at Xin Hexue, his prosthetic eye filled with dark, chaotic lust.
The young man was pinned by his gaze, yet seemed completely unaware of it.
He gripped one end of the silver chain while knitting a sweater for the mechanical cat, Puppy. As his hands worked the knitting needles back and forth through the yarn, they also tugged the silver chain, pulling on the collar and giving the Alpha a constant feeling of constraint.
Xin Hexue usually had little to do. During this time, he had learned to knit from online tutorials, and when it snowed, it was easy to pass the time knitting while listening to the radio.
When he lowered his eyes and said nothing, he had a gentle air about him.
Especially now, dressed in warm loungewear and quietly knitting a sweater for his pet.
No one would have imagined that he had put a collar around an Alpha's neck and was casually loosening and tightening the leash.
A tingle ran down Xi Zhengqing's spine.
Xin Hexue cast him a fleeting glance, and his breathing quickened again.
The next second, Xi Zhengqing pounced on him and pinned him to the sofa once more.
Although Xin Hexue had been prepared, his physique was no match for an adult Alpha's assault.
Warm, damp breath washed over Xin Hexue's earlobe, quickly turning the fair, smooth skin pink.
Xin Hexue turned his gaze to the side. The half-finished sweater had fallen to the floor, where the mechanical cat lay atop it.
Xi Zhengqing was about to repeat his old trick. He knew where Xin Hexue's weak spots were, and where to start to make the young man feel so good he would cry.
Xi Zhengqing had already developed the photos from last time. An entire wall had been cleared in the darkroom, waiting to be filled.
A large hand touched the buttons of his loungewear.
Someone stroked Xi Zhengqing's hair, and he met Xin Hexue's eyes.
"Don't, Guangji." Xin Hexue gently tried to dissuade him, then covered his mouth as he succumbed to a cough. "I'm not feeling very well."
Animal.
Don't make me have K shock you.
Xin Hexue thought coldly.
Xi Zhengqing gazed intently at him for a moment, then pushed himself up.
He showed Xin Hexue what he had typed. [Is it a cold?]
Xin Hexue's voice was softer than usual. "A little."
He felt that he had caught a chill that night in the study, when he had let Xi Zhengqing have his way.
Although Xi Zhengqing was a bastard, at least he was good at that sort of thing, enough to make Xin Hexue suspect he secretly practiced tying cherry stems into knots with his tongue.
Xin Hexue asked K, [How many Affection Points does he have?]
K: [Forty-five.]
It was about time to move on to the next step.
They had been training the dog too frequently of late, and Xin Hexue had grown tired of this game of desire.
He released the silver chain and gently rested a hand on Xi Zhengqing's shoulder.
His cool, soft lips brushed against Xi Zhengqing's.
Before today, Xin Hexue had never kissed Xi Zhengqing.
Not even a fleeting touch like this.
Xi Zhengqing's pupils contracted.
It was as if his dopamine secretion had spiraled out of control, bursting through a dam in an instant. An overwhelming rush of pleasure battered his brain. He had no control over his emotions, and his consciousness drowned in that ocean of pleasure.
Faced with such an anomaly, an unprecedented loss of control, Xi Zhengqing fell into a panic.
He even wanted to speak, but realized in time that he was still "Pei Guangji."
Upon realizing this, he suddenly felt less pleased.
He frowned and drew back, his tall figure standing in front of Xin Hexue.
Xin Hexue asked worriedly, "Guangji, what's wrong?"
Xi Zhengqing: [I just remembered I have some troublesome work to deal with. I need to leave first.]
He felt he needed to sort out his relationship with Xin Hexue first.
Xin Hexue saw him to the door and waved like a beckoning cat. "Goodbye."
On his way out, Xi Zhengqing received a delivery confirmation. He explained to Xin Hexue, [That package contains the latest model of bionic android. It'll replace the previous smart butler. You can have it do anything; it has the most comprehensive range of functions.]
Xin Hexue: [Okay.]
Xi Zhengqing had replaced all the robots in the villa. The one he had chosen as butler was a newly developed product from a bionics company that had yet to go on the market.
Xin Hexue looked troubled as he studied the enormous package left at the front gate. He asked the courier, "Could you help me carry it into the living room?"
To get from the front gate to the main building of the villa, they had to cross the garden.
Xin Hexue obviously lacked the strength.
For the courier, however, it was no big deal. His body had been modified and fitted with mechanical arms, and the delivery company had also equipped all its couriers with exoskeletons.
Xin Hexue offered him a cup of hot tea. "Thank you."
While neither of them was looking, a black shadow slipped away from the courier's feet and entered the package.
After the courier left, Xin Hexue found a pair of scissors and opened the enormous package.
The android's specifications seemed to have been designed based on the measurements of an adult Alpha. Judging by its build, this model seemed better suited to being a bodyguard than a butler.
Xin Hexue didn't know whether Xi Zhengqing had done it deliberately, but the android he had chosen had silver hair. That hair color was rare, so there was no chance Xin Hexue would mistake it for him.
Xin Hexue looked the android butler over. It was dressed in a black-and-white butler's uniform.
After starting it up for the first time, he gave his first command. "Take off your clothes."
Without the slightest hesitation, the butler removed its uniform and stood naked before Xin Hexue.
Xin Hexue had never encountered an android before. In his original world, the technology tree had been developed in the direction of beam weapons and combat mechs.
Curious, he raised a hand, his soft fingertips gliding from the android's shoulder down to its chest.
He could feel it beating.
Its skin felt very real, too.
The only exceptions were the blue-violet lines at the joints between its various parts, silently indicating where to begin replacing components, so that even users with no prior knowledge could easily replace the android's malfunctioning body parts.
Aside from those blue-violet lines, everything else made the butler look no different from a real person.
Xin Hexue looked down, one eyebrow lifting slightly in surprise, and said to K, [It's detachable.]
K: [...Don't be curious.]
Chapter 18: Face Blindness (18)
In the end, Xin Hexue did not remove the android's external genitalia.
From a normal person's perspective, that would probably be a frightening thing to do. But even if Xin Hexue had done it, that wouldn't mean he was different from ordinary people; he was only curious.
Cats were naturally curious. It was in their nature.
That was K's assessment.
He could only patiently advise his host, "Don't be curious. Androids aren't necessarily disinfected before they leave the factory."
K knew his host's good habit of liking cleanliness well. His words made Xin Hexue abandon even the idea of trying to remove an arm.
Xin Hexue stepped back twice to put some distance between them, folding his arms across his chest in a reserved posture. His earlier enthusiasm gone, he said coolly, "You can put your clothes back on."
The butler's uniform had been easy to take off, but putting it back on took some time.
This android in particular seemed slow, dressing itself with painstaking care. It was nothing like a satisfactory product that had passed factory testing.
Just as Xin Hexue began to suspect that Xi Zhengqing had fobbed him off with a defective android that had been rejected, an inexplicable rip sounded in the air—