Wei Zisu woke up. He rolled over and looked at Yin Zhengchuan on the floor beside the bed. Remembering how he had asked him to mark him last night, he felt his ears grow a little hot.
Still, with an alpha's mark, his heat really wasn't uncomfortable anymore. The room was still filled with the scent of mint and orange, and one deep breath left him feeling refreshed. Over the next few days, as long as he had Yin Zhengchuan's mint pheromones, he would get through it without trouble.
He really had put Yin Zhengchuan through so much trouble last night, asking him to help inject suppressants, then asking for pheromones and a mark and everything. Wei Zisu felt terribly embarrassed about troubling him with so much.
He got out of bed quietly, with no intention of waking Yin Zhengchuan. He would let him sleep a little longer.
But Yin Zhengchuan was lying beside the footstool. To get past, he had to step over his broad body.
Wearing silk pajamas and barefoot, Wei Zisu carefully stepped his right foot across. Before he could move his left, Yin Zhengchuan suddenly woke up, alert.
And so, one lying down and the other standing, one above and one below, they stared into each other's eyes.
Wei Zisu: ...
Yin Zhengchuan: ...
Wei Zisu: If I could turn back time, I would jump over with both feet.
"You're up?" Yin Zhengchuan greeted him with a smile.
It just looked very strange with him between his legs.
Wei Zisu hurried to lift his left foot over, but accidentally caught Yin Zhengchuan's arm. Losing his balance, he landed sitting right on Yin Zhengchuan's lower abdomen.
He had to admit, it was pretty firm.
The words "eight-pack abs," which National Prosperity and People's Strength had revealed, suddenly popped into Wei Zisu's head.
Yin Zhengchuan steadied him by the arms, his expression a mixture of surprise, worry, delight, and embarrassment.
Wei Zisu clambered off him rather awkwardly and explained, "Sorry. I was afraid of waking you, so I was going to step over..."
Yin Zhengchuan sat up and gave two light coughs, the tips of his ears red. "It's fine. I've had enough sleep. How... how are you feeling?"
Wei Zisu said, "You gave me plenty of pheromones last night. I feel great now. Thank you."
"You're welcome." Yin Zhengchuan scratched the back of his head. "Try not to go out while you're in heat these next few days. Once you're feeling better in a few days, I'll take you around."
"Okay."
Another awkward silence fell between them.
Yin Zhengchuan got up first and broke the silence. "I... well... go wash up. I'll see what we're having for breakfast and ask them to make you some extra chicken soup to build your strength."
Yin Zhengchuan ran out. Wei Zisu patted his own cheeks and went into the bathroom to wash up.
After coming out, he changed his clothes and had been planning to head to the main courtyard when he suddenly remembered that his good buddy Cui Xiangxiang hadn't called since running away yesterday.
So he quickly called to check on him.
The phone rang for a full half minute before it was answered. Cui Xiangxiang sounded exhausted, his voice a little hoarse, as though he wasn't fully awake yet.
"Hello."
"Buddy, you're still alive?" Wei Zisu asked with concern.
Cui Xiangxiang said lazily, "Not sure. Probably still alive."
Wei Zisu asked, "Did you manage to get away? Are you still in Shandong?"
Cui Xiangxiang gave a single-word reply. "Yes."
Wei Zisu hurriedly asked, "Where are you? When are you coming to see me?"
Before Cui Xiangxiang could answer, another man's muffled voice suddenly came through the phone. "You've slept for four hours already. Can we keep going?"
Wei Zisu: ???
Why did that sound like Wu Hao's voice?
Cui Xiangxiang seemed to wake up too and said to Wei Zisu in a fluster, "Zisu, I'll call you back another day. I'm really sleepy right now. Let me squeeze in another round first-no, no, no, ugh, I mean go back to sleep! Bye!"
Wei Zisu: !!!
He was utterly shaken!
Yin Baozhu was glum throughout breakfast.
Wei Zisu asked her what was wrong.
She made a series of signs, and Qin Qin translated, "She has a competition in South Korea in October. The coach wants him to train at the sports center, so she'll only get to come home once every ten days or more."
"What kind of competition?" Wei Zisu asked in surprise.
Yin Baozhu proudly puffed out her chest, jumped off her chair, and struck a ready stance.
Wei Zisu guessed at once. "Speed skating!"
Yin Baozhu clapped happily and gave him a thumbs-up.
Qin Qin said, "Yes, she's been interested in speed skating since she was little, so we sent her for training. We didn't expect the coach to say he was quite talented. She's already won several Paralympic Games championships."
"That's amazing!"
Wei Zisu stroked Yin Baozhu's head and showered her with praise. Yin Baozhu was delighted and even shot Yin Zhengchuan a smug look, her challenge all too obvious.
Yin Zhengchuan scoffed. "The house will finally be quiet once you're gone."
Then he signed something to Yin Baozhu that Wei Zisu couldn't understand: "Zisu will be all mine!"
Yin Baozhu's little mouth immediately turned down. She hugged Wei Zisu's arm and swung it back and forth, wheedling.
Wei Zisu simply thought she was reluctant to leave home, so he coaxed her, "Actually, I bought you a little present when I came. You can take it to the sports center. When you finish training, I'll give you a big present too, okay?"
At that, Yin Baozhu nodded vigorously, her eyes shining, and tugged on Wei Zisu's arm, ready to leave.
Yin Changjun said, "Let Zisu finish eating first."
Wei Zisu smiled. "I'm full. Dad, Father, I'll head back to the courtyard to get Baozhu's present."
"I'm full too!"
Yin Zhengchuan immediately set down his bowl and chopsticks and followed them.
He certainly couldn't rest easy leaving Wei Zisu alone with Yin Baozhu. How was that any different from putting silver into a thief's pocket?
Yin Baozhu happily went off to training with the StellaLou plush Wei Zisu had given her.
Only four people remained at home.
With their son's wedding over, Qin Qin and Yin Changjun returned to their company business. Between the hotels, supermarkets, and ten thousand mu of vegetable fields, there were so many things to deal with every day.
After keeping Wei Zisu company through his heat, Yin Zhengchuan also began going out frequently to learn from his parents.
Occasionally, Wei Zisu went along too.
He liked visiting the vegetable fields best, because he could drive all kinds of harvesters. It was so, so much fun. Harvesting vegetables with a machine was both stress-relieving and addictive.
So much so that the workers in the fields thought he had come to steal their jobs.
Yin Zhengchuan also liked taking him out to all sorts of places, whether the aquarium, bars, or pool halls.
Anywhere Wei Zisu was interested in, he would be sure to take him.
But Wei Zisu increasingly noticed how entertainment venues in Shandong differed from those elsewhere.
Take the aquarium, for example.
The Core Socialist Values were on display everywhere. By the end of the visit, Wei Zisu could recite them backward.
Then there were the bars.
Outside Shandong, he had never seen a bar that kept military parade videos playing on its LED screen, much less one with the slogan, "Enjoy a taste of life today, but never forget our great leader."
And then there were the pool halls.
The moment he entered and read those two lines, Wei Zisu unconsciously lifted his head and straightened his chest, as though he were back at military training in school.
Because the slogan at the pool hall entrance read, "Goose-step into the pool hall, sink a shot loud enough for the Party to hear."
There really was... an air of righteousness everywhere. No wonder Shandong could raise an upright gentleman like Yin Zhengchuan.
Before you continue