Xie Ji stared in bewilderment at the affection score in the system space, which had risen by 20. Thanks to his tireless efforts over the past few days, Lu Xunji's affection had only gone up, never down, and had even successfully reached -120.
Seeing that it was now a full 80 points away from -200, Xie Ji felt reassured.
At least he wouldn't accidentally cross -200 and have to go into Lu Xunji's dreams at night to get kissed now. What wonderful news. What wonderful news.
But why exactly had it gone up by 20 just now?
Had this guy thought of him while taking a shit and suddenly found his bowels moving freely?
Lu Xunji's tastes really were impossible to fathom.
Xie Ji had worked up a sweat copying the self-criticism and had no time to dwell on why Lu Xunji's affection for him always shot up in the bathroom. He hurriedly stood up and handed both self-criticisms to the urban management officer.
But he had been squatting for too long. Standing so abruptly made the soles of his feet feel as though millions of needles were stabbing them, numb and painful enough that he almost couldn't stay upright.
"Bro, come here." Xie Ji quickly beckoned to Lu Xunji. "My legs are numb. I can't stand. Let me lean on you."
The desire Lu Xunji had finally managed to calm threatened to flare up again. How could he dare touch Xie Ji now?
"...Hold on to a chair yourself." Lu Xunji turned his head away, refusing to look at him, and stood almost three meters from Xie Ji. "We've finished the self-criticisms. Can we leave now?"
Xie Ji pouted, but he really did limp to one side on his own and brace himself against the edge of the desk. Having his legs go numb from squatting felt awful. He shifted his weight from foot to foot, sucking in little hissing breaths.
Lu Xunji couldn't take it anymore. "Could you make some noises fit for polite company?"
Xie Ji hissed. "What's... hiss... what's wrong with my noises? Ah, fuck... why aren't they fit for polite company?"
He tipped his chin up like a cat throwing its weight around. "Who doesn't sound like this when their feet go numb from squatting? Ask the officer to judge. Hiss, ah, isn't that..."
Before he could finish, Lu Xunji strode over and clapped a hand over his mouth. "I'll say it again. Shut up. Do you understand?"
Xie Ji blinked to show that he understood.
Only then did Lu Xunji take his hand off his mouth.
Xie Ji licked the lips Lu Xunji's palm had just touched, innocent confusion in his mist-blue eyes. "Why does there seem to be a weird taste?"
Lu Xunji was almost starting to think Xie Ji was doing this on purpose. Perhaps he knew about his filthy, unspeakably sordid thoughts, and that was why he kept tempting him, over and over again.
He took a deep breath, barely maintaining his cool tone. "Is that so?"
Xie Ji frowned and said with certainty, "It's blood. Why does your hand smell of blood?"
"...It's nothing. A wound from a few days ago just opened up a little."
"Impossible. The medicine I put on you was amazing. Little wounds like those would heal completely within an hour." As he spoke, Xie Ji reached for Lu Xunji's hand.
Lu Xunji flinched away, a little oversensitive, but still failed to evade Xie Ji's second attempt.
The moment his wrist landed in that warm, soft palm, the resolve Lu Xunji had struggled to build all but vanished.
Unspeakable thoughts filled his mind, as though his entire being had been swept into a whirlpool of desire. He could even forget to breathe, that person and that act the only things in his eyes and heart.
Lu Xunji turned his hand over and gripped Xie Ji's wrist, drawing on every ounce of willpower he possessed. "Let go."
But Xie Ji noticed several wounds hidden on Lu Xunji's arm. One small cut was still seeping blood; it had definitely just been made.
The cuts were near his elbow. They weren't very deep, but there were several of them.
"What's this?" Unusually serious, Xie Ji refused to release Lu Xunji's wrist. "Who did this?"
He realized the answer as soon as he asked.
Given Lu Xunji's fighting ability, let alone making such skillfully placed cuts in such a concealed spot-painful, yet posing no danger to his life-no one but Lu Xunji himself could have done it.
Did he have self-harming tendencies?
Xie Ji didn't understand. He held Lu Xunji's wrist, his lips pressed tightly together.
Xie Ji, who never took anything to heart, looked at the wounds on Lu Xunji's wrist and felt as though something had slammed into his heart, making it ache for no reason.
He was certain he had no feelings for Lu Xunji beyond those of a mission taker. Yet why did seeing those wounds on the inside of his arm fill him with such overwhelming heartache? Even having his heart dug out on the spot could feel no worse.
Lu Xunji's breathing grew heavy. He flung Xie Ji's hand away as though he had lost control, yanked down his sleeve, and snapped, "Don't touch me!"
The urban management officer stood beside them holding the two self-criticisms, dumbstruck.
Wait, hadn't he just gone to the bathroom? How had they started fighting?
For the first time, Xie Ji looked a little irritated. He redeemed a box of ointment from the system shop and tossed it at Lu Xunji. "You're the one being ridiculous. Why are you taking your temper out on me? Is it wrong for me to care about you?"
Lu Xunji rubbed the wrist Xie Ji had touched with his other hand, almost compulsively.
The lingering sensation of that touch and warmth on his skin was pushing him to the brink. But he hadn't forgotten who Xie Ji was, much less where he was. All he could do was desperately try to rub away that maddening feeling.
Xie Ji's expression turned ugly.
Fucking homo. I haven't even turned my nose up at you!
And you've got the fucking nerve to turn your nose up at me first? You sucked my lips swollen in your dreams. I sure couldn't tell you hated me so much you couldn't stand even a touch!
Xie Ji's expression cooled too. They stood several meters apart, neither taking the initiative to acknowledge the other.
Lu Xunji rubbed for a long while before finally letting out a faint breath and pulling up a chair to sit down. If the desk hadn't hidden him from the waist down, Xie Ji probably would have seen little Lu Xunji standing at full attention.
After checking both self-criticisms, the officer looked up and asked Lu Xunji, "Your name is Lu Xunji?"
Lu Xunji leaned back in the chair, his voice low and hoarse. "Mm."
Right now, all he wanted was to leave this place as soon as possible and get away from Xie Ji. Preferably somewhere he couldn't see his face or smell his scent.
Then he could picture his face and jerk himself off hard.
The officer asked Xie Ji, "Your name is Lu Xunji too?"
Xie Ji sat with his legs crossed, looking aloof. "Xie Ji."
"Then why did you write Lu Xunji after 'Written by'?"
Xie Ji paused. His aloofness instantly shattered, and he craned his neck to look at the self-criticism. "Did I? Really? Oh... I got too absorbed in copying. Sorry."
"Copying the whole thing was bad enough, but you even copied the wrong name. Do you think I'm an idiot?!"
Xie Ji put on a stern face. "I admit I took a gamble."
The officer: "..."
What was he gambling on?
That his gun had no bullets, or that his skull had no brain?!
"Write it again!!"
Cowed by the officer's tyranny, Xie Ji could only miserably write his own self-criticism. Lu Xunji stayed seated behind the desk without leaving and waited two hours for him.
In the end, although Xie Ji's self-criticism was utter nonsense, the officer reluctantly let them go. After imposing a fine of five thousand, he returned the little stall to Xie Ji.
When they walked out through the public security station's doors, Xie Ji glanced at Lu Xunji and asked, "How much do you need for groceries?"
Lu Xunji paused. "What do you mean?"
"How much will today's ingredients cost? I'll transfer it to you, and you can go buy them." Xie Ji gestured. "I won't go with you. You don't like being around me anyway."
Lu Xunji pressed his lips together. "I never said that."
"I'm not the kind of person who needs 'get lost' slapped across my face before I know to leave. It's 'let go' one minute and 'don't touch me' the next, as though I've done something to you." Xie Ji raised an eyebrow and said sarcastically, "Young Master Lu is so precious, no touching allowed. This lowly one admits his mistake. Is that not enough? Or is Young Master Lu scared to go anywhere alone?"
Lu Xunji: "..."
Xie Ji clicked his tongue, looked down at his phone, and transferred two thousand to his dedicated Young Field account, saying generously, "Enough? Message me if it isn't."
With that, he turned to leave.
Lu Xunji instinctively caught his wrist. His Adam's apple bobbed, but he couldn't bring himself to say, "Don't go."
Xie Ji looked back. "What?"
After holding it in for a long while, Lu Xunji asked, "Where are you going?"
Xie Ji swatted Lu Xunji's hand away and smiled with narrowed eyes. "Let go. Don't touch me. Stay out of this young master's business."
Lu Xunji: "..."