Lu Xunji took off his bath towel, got dressed, took a jacket from the wardrobe, and walked out.
The summer night breeze was still chilly. Xie Ji was crouched outside the villa in his thin pajamas, fiddling with something.
Lu Xunji walked over and tossed the jacket over him. "Put this on. You'll catch a chill."
"Thanks, bro!" Xie Ji pulled the jacket around himself and went back to fussing over the two puppies.
All the livestreaming equipment in the villa had been switched off. Barely any lights had been left on, either; only the dim little nightlights beneath the eaves were still glowing.
The two little pups had been banned from the villa because they stank too much. Now they were huddled together, shivering in the night breeze.
Xie Ji had somehow procured a small bowl of warm goat's milk and set it outside the cardboard box. Without a nipple, he could only dip his finger in the milk and carefully feed it into the puppies' mouths.
"They're starving," Xie Ji said quietly. "I went to the goat pen specially to milk one. There happened to be a nanny goat about to give birth. But once the shop opens tomorrow, we'll still need to buy them some powdered goat's milk..."
Lu Xunji crouched beside him and watched him feed the puppies. "All by yourself?" he asked softly.
"Oh, no. Zhou Heyu went with me," Xie Ji said casually.
Lu Xunji raised his eyebrows. "I was wondering why you ran straight out after your shower, you little brat. So you had plans with someone."
Xie Ji turned to look at him. "Your tone sounds weird."
"How is it weird?" Lu Xunji asked.
"I don't know," Xie Ji muttered. "It just sounds a little weird."
"Idiot." Lu Xunji snorted. "Didn't you come out with Zhou Heyu? Where is he?"
Ever since he had come downstairs, Xie Ji seemed to have been alone. There had been no sign of Zhou Heyu.
Xie Ji went still for a moment, then stammered, "He went back."
Lu Xunji narrowed his eyes. "Why? Doesn't he care a lot about these two little pups too?"
Xie Ji pouted. "He went back, so he went back. What, are you unhappy you didn't get to see him?"
Lu Xunji fell silent for two seconds, then suddenly chuckled. "Hmm. Your tone sounds weird, you little brat."
Xie Ji looked at him. "How is it weird?"
Lu Xunji suppressed a laugh. "I don't know. It just sounds a little weird."
Xie Ji: "..."
Xie Ji said, "Dolly the cloned sheep only lived for six years."
Lu Xunji said nothing. Xie Ji continued feeding them with his finger for a good while before quietly saying, "When we went into the pen to milk the goat, he went into the wrong one. He accidentally smacked a cow's butt and got kicked by a calf."
Lu Xunji: "..."
What a talent.
"I told him the cowshed was on the left and the goat pen was on the right. Who knew he couldn't tell left from right?" Xie Ji pressed his lips together and said, sounding a little guilty, "I checked his injury. It's on his calf, just a bruise. It probably didn't hurt the bone. Don't worry. I told him to go back and put some medicine on it first. My medicine works really well. The swelling will definitely be gone tomorrow."
Lu Xunji raised his hand and tapped Xie Ji's earlobe. "Who's worried about him?"
Xie Ji huffed and continued feeding the puppies with great care.
"How long is this going to take?" Lu Xunji asked. "That warm goat's milk will turn cold soon. The little pups will get diarrhea if they drink it."
"Then what should we do?" Xie Ji asked worriedly. "Where are we supposed to find nipples that fit them at this hour?"
Lu Xunji thought for a moment. "Actually, there is something."
Xie Ji turned his head. "You have nipples too?"
Could Lu Xunji look like an aloof flower atop a snowy peak on the surface, but secretly be a nineteen-year-old baby who sucked on pacifiers?
"Not nipples. Wait here. I'll go get them." Lu Xunji got up and left.
Two minutes later, Lu Xunji returned with a box in his hand.
By the dim yellow nightlight, Xie Ji made out the slogan on the blue packaging-
"Ultra-thin, barely there. Indulge in silky smoothness."
They were the extra-large baby-be-gone sheaths Lu Xunji had bought at the shop last time to get back at him.
Lu Xunji unwrapped one. "It's the same material as a bottle nipple. The ingredients in this lube are safe to ingest too. It should work once it's washed."
Xie Ji gave him a thumbs-up. "Bro, you're the man. Who could even tell you and Einstein apart?"
Lu Xunji glanced at him, then flicked his forehead. "Shut up."
They took two little packets from the box, washed their contents clean under the courtyard tap, and divided the goat's milk in the bowl between the two little rubber bags.
Lu Xunji found a small knife in the kitchen, carefully made a tiny slit in the protruding tip of each bag, then tied a knot at the other end.
The goat's milk could then drip smoothly out of the bags.
They crouched together, each holding a baby-be-gone sheath and feeding milk into a puppy's mouth.
It was considerably more efficient than Xie Ji feeding them with his finger.
The two puppies smacked their little mouths, thoroughly enjoying their meal.
Soon, a bagful of goat's milk had been fed to each puppy, and they curled up on their bed of grass and fell into a sweet sleep.
Xie Ji set the used little bag aside, took off the jacket he was wearing, and draped it over the cardboard box to keep the puppies warm.
Lu Xunji stood up. "Can you go back and get some proper sleep now?"
Xie Ji nodded hastily. "Yes, yes. I was just worrying about what we'd do if the shop didn't have nipples suitable for puppies this tiny... Let's buy some small ones tomorrow. The large ones are still a bit awkward to use."
"Whatever you like." Lu Xunji reached out and took Xie Ji's hand. Finding his palm wasn't very warm, he enclosed it in his hands and rubbed it. "Let's go back first. We can give them a bath tomorrow when the sun is strong. Once they don't stink, they can come into the living room. They won't get cold."
Xie Ji nodded and let Lu Xunji lead him back to the room.
Both of them, however, very smoothly forgot to throw the extra-large baby-be-gone sheaths they had used to feed the puppies into the trash, leaving them beside the little cardboard box.
It was past midnight by the time they finished feeding the puppies. After all the day's running around, Xie Ji was exhausted too, and soon fell asleep hugging Lu Xunji's pillow.
Ever since he had given half his bed to Xie Ji, he had gradually lost ownership of his pillow as well.
The pillow was practically a suppression talisman for Xie Ji.
Without it, Xie Ji's sleeping positions could leave him draped over Lu Xunji from head to toe, his hands roaming all over him all the while.
He could feel Lu Xunji up until he was burning with lust, then sleep soundly himself, blissfully drooling.
Lu Xunji had grown used to sleeping without a pillow. Lying beside Xie Ji, he soon closed his eyes too, his breathing settling into an even rhythm.