The big gray wolf

Gu Cheng froze.

Once again, Ye Ruan made the first move. His fingers slid across Gu Cheng's chest, then hooked around his neck and pulled him down.

Ye Ruan leaned in, rubbing their lips together slowly, clumsy and inexperienced, tracing the seam of Gu Cheng's lips the way Gu Cheng had kissed him earlier.

That single movement sent Gu Cheng's heart racing, and his body soon reacted.

Ye Ruan's kisses were deeply sensual, his soft little sounds slipping into Gu Cheng's ears.

Once Gu Cheng took control of the kiss, Ye Ruan's fingers slid weakly down, tracing the contours of his body... inch by inch.

Finally, they slipped down to clutch Gu Cheng's collar.

Gu Cheng didn't let him off so easily.

In the stillness of the night, only their tangled, uneven breathing could be heard.

Ye Ruan went limp at the waist, pressing his palm over the back of Gu Cheng's hand through his sweater.

"Gege..."

Gu Cheng recovered some of his reason. After a pause, he rubbed those rabbit ears, unable to get enough of them, and kissed his way from Ye Ruan's ears to his hair, then the side of his neck.

Pulling back a little, Gu Cheng rolled onto his back and said hoarsely, "Sorry. This is my first time doing this."

Ye Ruan pulled up the collar Gu Cheng had tugged below his shoulders, then crawled over to lie on his chest.

"All right, we've kissed. Now I want to see the big gray wolf!"

Ye Ruan sounded cheerful as he shook Gu Cheng.

"Fine, fine."

Gu Cheng nipped Ye Ruan's earlobe with his animal fang. "Don't get scared and run away."

"I won't! I'm super brave!"

"Can you see clearly at night?"

Ye Ruan hummed. "We can all see in the dark. Stop changing the subject."

Unable to bluff his way out of it, Gu Cheng could only satisfy his little bunny's curiosity.

In an instant, a magnificent gray wolf two meters long appeared over Ye Ruan.

His fur was coarse and bristly, his eyes glowed green in the darkness, and his sturdy legs framed the sharp fangs bared in his mouth.

Those fangs could snap a prey animal's neck in a single bite.

Out of an animal's instinctive fear, Ye Ruan was a little frightened.

But Gu Cheng wouldn't hurt him.

Ye Ruan knew that, and stared blankly for a while.

Gu Cheng was just about to change back when the little bunny suddenly hugged his neck and vigorously rubbed his wolf head with both hands, as though petting a dog.

"You're actually this big!"

The big gray wolf awkwardly nuzzled the hollow of the little bunny's shoulder, nudging his collar aside to lick his collarbone.

"Your ears! The fur on your ears is so soft."

Ye Ruan tugged a wolf ear, then pried open his mouth to look inside.

The big gray wolf obligingly opened wide, letting the mischievous little bunny inspect his teeth.

"No wonder my mouth hurt earlier," Ye Ruan murmured. "Your fangs caught me."

The big gray wolf nudged him, hovering over Ye Ruan without putting his weight on him, covering him completely.

"I'm going to eat you, you naughty bunny!"

The big gray wolf made a show of opening his jaws wide, then closed them around Ye Ruan's neck.

He didn't bite down. Worried his teeth might scratch Ye Ruan, Gu Cheng teased him briefly before letting go.

After playing for a while, the big gray wolf lay on his side beside Ye Ruan.

His big, fluffy tail swished back and forth.

Curled up beneath the covers, the little bunny rested his head on a wolf leg, treating Gu Cheng as a body pillow and draping a leg over him.

"Time to sleep," Gu Cheng said.

"Then can you stay like this all night?" Ye Ruan nuzzled his head into the big gray wolf's embrace, coaxing him.

Ye Ruan sighed contentedly. "You're so warm to cuddle..."

"I've already let you see me. Why wouldn't I indulge you?"

The big gray wolf drew him closer with a paw. "Sleep. I've got you."

The big gray wolf's body heat drove away the late-autumn chill, and Ye Ruan slept soundly, nestled in his fur.

Even in his sleep, he clutched the wolf's fur, using him entirely as a body pillow. After rolling over twice during the night, he wrapped his arms and legs around Gu Cheng's big tail.

At daybreak the next morning, Gu Cheng returned to human form and carried Ye Ruan back to the vehicle.

"Is it light out?" Ye Ruan rubbed his nose against Gu Cheng's shoulder, his eyes barely open.

"It's still early. Sleep a little longer."

Gu Cheng adjusted the passenger seat to the most comfortable angle and settled the little bunny into it.

"I want the big tail..." Ye Ruan mumbled sleepily.

Gu Cheng's heart melted at the enticement. He leaned down to kiss him twice and coaxed:

"Be good. You can cuddle it tonight."

"Why do you like that big tail so much? Where's my little bunny's fluffy tail?"

Bracing a hand beside Ye Ruan, Gu Cheng leaned close to his ear, his voice low.

"Hidden away." Blushing, Ye Ruan wrapped the thick blanket tightly around himself and rolled over, wanting to go back to sleep.

"Naughty bunny." Gu Cheng laughed. "Always so eager to take advantage of me."

Gu Cheng pinched one of his rabbit ears. "Baby, your ears are so red."

Flustered, Ye Ruan pulled his ear out of Gu Cheng's hand and covered it.

"I'm going to sleep!"

"All right, all right. Go to sleep."

Having finished teasing the bunny, Gu Cheng happily started the Biohazard Vehicle and headed along their agreed route.

Along the way, Ren Fei'er woke up and sat quietly by herself in a corner, reading a magazine Yu Jingjing had left in the vehicle.

Gu Cheng turned the steering wheel with one hand. "Your big brother Ye Ruan saved you. Make sure you live a good life from now on."

Ren Fei'er nodded firmly and whispered, "Thank you."

She could survive if she stayed with them. They weren't bad people.

Ren Fei'er remembered only what the auntie beside her had told her before she died.

Her bad father was dead, and her mother wanted her to live.

She had to be good.

Gu Cheng craved a cigarette, but he was afraid the smoke would bother the bunny, so he could only hold one between his lips.

"How did you find the monster?"

Ren Fei'er put down the magazine. "I noticed that monster a long time ago, but it never came near the yard."

"Then, the day after the crazy auntie got scared and went crazy, the monster came over."

It took Gu Cheng a couple of seconds to realize that the "crazy auntie" she meant was Tang Yi, who had been frightened out of her mind.

Ren Fei'er continued, "The monster couldn't get in, so I cut my arm and used the blood to lure it through the broken mesh in the backyard."

A seven- or eight-year-old girl who could steel herself to cut her own arm was no ordinary child.

Clever, but a little dangerous, too.

Close to noon, they reached the bridge they had to cross on their original route.

With a piece of candy in his mouth, Ye Ruan sat on the hood and looked through a pair of binoculars for a while.

Wrecked vehicles were piled up on the bridge, making it completely impassable.

Gu Cheng got out and walked over to a car burned down to its frame, pulling off a strip of blue cloth tied to it.

"This is..." Ye Ruan tilted his head slightly. "It's from your First Team uniform."

"Yes. Looks like Fang and the others changed routes. They probably haven't gone too far."

Ye Ruan swung his legs. "Then let's hurry and find them. Jingjing must be hungry."

"You care that much about that cat?" Gu Cheng felt a little jealous.

Propping his arms behind him, Ye Ruan blinked innocently. "She's the only one who doesn't eat rabbits. Besides, black cats are cute."

Once, when Yu Jingjing was bored, she and Ye Ruan had changed back into their animal forms and played hide-and-seek in the Biohazard Vehicle.

As soon as that little black ball of fur hid somewhere dark, Ye Ruan couldn't find her at all.

Every time the black cat suddenly appeared, Ye Ruan jumped in fright.

"I don't eat rabbits either."

Gu Cheng took Ye Ruan's hand and brought it to his lips for a kiss.

"This is much better. A few kisses are enough to satisfy my cravings."

Ye Ruan hastily pulled his hand back. Ren Fei'er was still in the vehicle.

They both turned to look at her.

The little girl inside spread her hands helplessly, then slowly covered her eyes.

Gu Cheng laughed, then suddenly caught a flash of white out of the corner of his eye. "Ruanruan, get back in the vehicle first."

"What are you going to do?" Ye Ruan asked.

"There's a shoe shop here. Didn't you say your feet hurt? I'll see if I can find some shoes that fit."

Gu Cheng ruffled Ye Ruan's hair, then couldn't resist leaning in to kiss the corner of the little bunny's mouth again.

Ye Ruan slipped his arms around Gu Cheng's neck and looked around in every direction.

There were no zombies, and Ren Fei'er had her head down, reading.

"Bad wolf," Ye Ruan called him.

"What is it?"

Ye Ruan blinked, then tipped his head up of his own accord and pressed his lips to Gu Cheng's.