In his mind, Huo Xingye's deep, sexy voice sounded especially alluring and pleasant, making him miss it and lose himself in it.
"Do you like it?" came the low, husky question.
"Good boy." Gentle praise.
And, accompanied by sultry breaths and brief chuckles, intimate, doting endearments whispered into his ear and lingering kisses.
Nan Zhou covered half his heated face with one hand.
A faint, almost imperceptible scent of sweet chestnuts lingered in the air.
The phone beside his pillow suddenly rang. The specially assigned ringtone left his mind briefly blank.
His breath caught sharply, then eased a little. He reached over and answered the voice call. "Hello?"
The huskiness in his voice made the person on the other end fall briefly silent.
Then the voice in his head came through the receiver. "Sorry, I seem to have woken you."
Nan Zhou said nothing.
He didn't dare speak, afraid he would give himself away the moment he opened his mouth.
After another brief silence, Huo Xingye's voice sounded again. "Have you... noticed... the dog I keep?"
Nan Zhou thought back briefly and understood what Huo Xingye meant.
Huo Xingye did indeed keep a dog in this West City house, but it was a robot dog.
It sat in a corner of the living room. Even if he wanted to, he could hardly have missed it.
"Mm," Nan Zhou replied.
On the other end, Huo Xingye stopped speaking again.
His manner was a little unusual. Normally, Nan Zhou would have noticed, but right then, he was too flustered himself to spare any thought for anything else.
"Don't you have anything you want to ask?" Huo Xingye asked tentatively.
Ask what?
About keeping a robot dog?
Clearing his throat, Nan Zhou answered, "It's not strange."
"I... ahem, a friend of mine has