Xie Ji thought Lu Xunji was sick, and seriously so.
If he remembered correctly, this man was rather fussy. He would sooner die than touch anything someone else had touched, giving the impression that he kept himself isolated from the entire world.
Yet now he had actually bitten his toe without the slightest reservation!
Truly, the young master of the Xie Household had to come out on top all his life. He really refused to admit defeat.
Muttering, Xie Ji pulled his foot back. He looked at the ring of tooth marks on his big toe, rubbed it against the covers, and quickly tucked it underneath.
Lu Xunji stared at him with dark eyes.
Xie Ji had been pampered at home, never taking more than three thousand steps a day, so the skin on his feet was very delicate. They certainly had no smell and were very clean. He did not find them disgusting or dirty.
He wanted nothing more than to lick Xie Ji from head to toe. To him, there was no part of Xie Ji that was not sweet and fragrant.
Xie Ji rubbed his foot beneath the covers, then rolled over and sat up anyway.
Lu Xunji lifted his eyelids to look at him. "What? Want another bite?"
"No thanks. Tough on the teeth, and not tasty." Xie Ji climbed out of bed and looked for his little slippers. "My mouth tastes of blood. I'm going to brush my teeth."
After searching for ages without finding his slippers, he clicked his tongue impatiently.
Lu Xunji got out of bed, walked around to his side, and knelt at his feet. Reaching out a long arm, he retrieved Xie Ji's slippers from under the bed, then took hold of his ankle and put them on him.
"Go on."
It seemed that waiting on Xie Ji was the most ordinary thing in the world to him.
Xie Ji pursed his lips, quite happy to be waited on, and pattered into the bathroom in his little slippers. A few seconds later, he poked half his head out. "Where's my toothbrush?"
Lu Xunji had brought all his belongings into his own room earlier that day. Logically, his toothbrush should have been there too.
But all that sat on the counter now were two matching electric toothbrushes, one blue and one pink. Even the cups were a pair. Xie Ji's toothbrush was nowhere to be seen.
Lu Xunji fell silent for a moment before saying, "Threw it away."
A lousy manual toothbrush, the cheapest thing in the points shop.
Xie Ji burned with anger. "Threw it away? Why did you throw out my toothbrush? That cost me a whole ten points-"
"Both toothbrushes on the counter are new. You can use them."
Xie Ji instantly beamed. "Thanks, bro. I'll take the blue one, then. Oh, is that cup mine too?"
Lu Xunji said, "...Yes."
Xie Ji happily went off to brush his teeth. As the electric toothbrush buzzed away in his mouth, he asked indistinctly, "But why did you buy a couple's set?"
"...Buying a pair together was cheaper." People always made little unconscious movements when they lied. Lu Xunji instinctively rubbed his thumb against his index finger, then quickly noticed and hid his hand beneath the covers in annoyance.
"Oh, okay." Suspecting nothing, Xie Ji happily continued brushing his teeth.
Before long, Lu Xunji squeezed into the bathroom too.
The bathroom was spacious enough that even several more people would not have made it crowded. Xie Ji instinctively moved one person's width aside and asked through a mouthful of foam, "Whassup?"
Lu Xunji picked up the pink toothbrush beside him. "My mouth tastes of blood too."
Xie Ji gloated, "Then don't brush. My blood is very precious!"
Lu Xunji gave him a sidelong look. "Oh? How precious?"
"It's that panda blood type, you know?" Xie Ji gestured as he explained. "The kind CEOs kill pandas to get in CEO novels. Go to the hospital now and donate this blood for me. Oh, and collect five hundred yuan while you're there."
Lu Xunji said, "..."
He should never have asked.
Xie Ji laughed at him through their reflections in the mirror. "You're actually using a pink toothbrush. Our little Jiji has become Princess Jiji."
Lu Xunji spat out all the foam, lowered his head, and leaned closer, saying softly, "What can I do? There are only these two colors. Why don't you let me use yours?"
Xie Ji immediately backed down. "I was joking. Haha, funny?"
Lu Xunji said, "A cold joke."
Xie Ji's brain short-circuited, and he instinctively veered into nonsense. "If you're cold, cover yourself with more dirt. My heart would ache if you froze."
Lu Xunji said, "..."
Both fell silent. Xie Ji hurriedly offered a placating smile. "Ahem, that was also a joke... Did you think it was f-funny?"
Lu Xunji's hand slowly closed around Xie Ji's neck. He said quietly, "Since you're so good at courting death, have you considered changing jobs? Something like being a ghost officer in the underworld. You should be pretty good at catching wandering souls."
The chill in his eyes was unlike his usual look. His stare gave Xie Ji goosebumps all over, and his face paled a little.
Then Lu Xunji abruptly withdrew his hand and said casually, "Scared already? Surely not. I was joking. Wasn't it funny?"
Xie Ji said, "...Dying of laughter."
Lu Xunji gave him a sidelong look.
"So funny." Xie Ji forced a smile. "Haha."
Lu Xunji reached out and rubbed Xie Ji's hair. The beautiful golden strands were smooth and glossy, feeling like cool silk in his hand.
Unable to put it down, he wound it around his fingertips and played with it, raising an eyebrow. "Very good."
Xie Ji said, "..."
Not funny at all. Ptooey.
After spending half the night fussing about, the two finally lay peacefully in bed.
Xie Ji was truly exhausted. With his back to Lu Xunji, he soon fell asleep.
The system chimed.
[System notice: As favorability has once again fallen below the threshold, the second round of the punishment mechanism will begin. Host, please prepare yourself.]
When Xie Ji opened his eyes, he found himself in a room full of nineteenth-century style.
The room did not look very large, but all its furnishings were exquisite, especially the huge, soft bed. Lace patterns adorned the edges of its snowy-white sheets. There was a row of wooden wardrobes and a small, elegant dressing table, on which sat several distinctly old-fashioned boxes of vanishing cream and similar products.
Xie Ji raised his head in bewilderment.
What kind of dream was Lu Xunji having tonight?!
A hot, humid evening breeze blew through the window. Sticky sweat dampened his golden hair, plastering it to his snowy-white neck. Xie Ji rolled out of bed, only then discovering that he was wearing a white silk... nightdress.
The dress had a very wide neckline. As he moved, one side had already slipped off his shoulder, exposing its rounded curve. Lace also trimmed the hem, which barely reached his knees.
Looking at his reflection in the dressing-table mirror, Xie Ji spat a curse through his red lips.
I knew that brat Lu Xunji had to like girls!
Just as he frantically prepared to open the wardrobe and change into normal clothes, someone knocked on the door.
Xie Ji had no intention of opening it, but the person outside did not seem interested in obtaining his permission either. The next moment, the lock clicked and the door opened straightaway. A figure appeared beneath the dim yellow light.
"Lu..." Xie Ji had only just begun to say that name when he stopped.
Because the person standing in the doorway was not Lu Xunji.
It was...
"Ji Shi?!!!"