Part 2
First a deliveryman, then an assistant.
Was Zephyr playing some kind of role-play game?
After finishing the setup for tomorrowās new release, it was already dinner time.
Z placed the pre-ordered food on the open bar, set the tableware, and called Zhu Ran to eat dinner together.
the new dish, Sour and Spicy Boiled Mutated Beast Meat, tasted pretty good. Its spiciness wasn’t as intense as the Guzi Spicy Stir-fried Mutated Beast Meat, making it very suitable for Zhu Ran’s palate.
And because it used a sour broth as the base, it well-concealed the tart and astringent taste of the mutated beast meat.
The other side dishes were Sweet and Sour Potatoes, Carrot Tempura with salsa, and Tomato Fish Soup.
Each dish was heavily seasoned, and thus, the strange texture of Interstellar food couldn’t be tasted.
Zhu Ran was very satisfied with today’s food, and his smile didn’t fade during the meal.
Z noticed Zhu Ran’s expression and silently noted down today’s dishes, adding them to the favorites list.
As night fell, Zhu Ran brought the humidifier and essential oils into Z’s room, preparing to give Z an oil massage as promised.
As before, Zhu Ran first dimmed the indoor lights to create a peaceful atmosphere, then dripped the essential oil into the humidifier.
Mist mixed with the scent of lavender was released, the light fragrance slowly spreading, quickly filling the room with a peaceful aroma.
Before starting the massage, Zhu Ran glanced at the spiritual sea detector.
[Spiritual Sea Damage Value: 92.2%] [Fluctuation Value: 12]
Although Zhu Ran had only found time to give Z aromatherapy twice over the past few days, Z turned on the aromatherapy machine every day when he went to sleep. Therefore, his spiritual sea damage value was steadily decreasing, and the fluctuation value had become very stable.
Just as Zhu Ran was about to ask Z to lie down and massage his temples as usual, Z remained standing where he was.
Z looked at Zhu Ran and suggested, “Why don’t we try a different massage method? Maybe the effect will be better.”
After a few seconds of confusion, Zhu Ran understood Z’s meaning.
Since starting aromatherapy, Zhu Ran had always massaged Z’s temples and the top of his head. He hadn’t yet tried using essential oil to massage the body.
Then let’s try it! Maybe it would be more effective.
Zhu Ran didn’t think much of it. With the idea of collecting more data, he nodded.
“Okay, then take off your clothes.”
Upon hearing this, Z began to unbutton his loose silk pajamas.
With just a few movements, the pajamasāwhich only had a few buttons fastened anywayāwere unbuttoned from top to bottom and shed, revealing a bare torso.
His skin was fair, glowing softly under the gentle light. However, despite the pale color, it wasn’t weak; the muscle lines were full and brimming with power.
Zhu Ran had seen the other person’s body when helping Z change his bandages, and had even manually wrapped his wounds.
But… perhaps it was because the light in the room was too dim, or perhaps because the scent of lavender was too suggestive.
Zhu Ran suddenly felt a bit embarrassed and instinctively turned his head away.
Z observed Zhu Ranās appearance, and his lips inadvertently curled up slightly.
In the next moment, however, he looked serious again, making it impossible for anyone to see any abnormality: “I just took a shower.”
Only then did Zhu Ran notice that Z was wearing pajamas instead of a knit sweater. His hair had just been washed and wasn’t completely dry; drops of water hung from the tips of his golden hair.
A few droplets fell onto Z’s neck and shoulders, slowly sliding down the lines of his body.
Zhu Ran felt that the scene before him was a bit impactful.
After steadying his mind, he feigned calm: “You’re quite well-prepared.”
Z: “I couldn’t afford to be negligent toward you.”
He took two steps closer to Zhu Ran, and an aura full of male pheromones instantly enveloped Zhu Ran.
Different from the gentle plant scent, Z’s aura was very domineering. Even with the soft vanilla scent of the body wash, it still displayed a fiery possessiveness, filling the space around Zhu Ran without leaving a single gap.
Z’s voice was deep, and a faint light shimmered in his heterochromatic eyes.
He spoke up to ask: “The clothes are off. What do you want me to do next, Zhu Ran?”
Because the distance between the two was very close, Zhu Ran’s gaze naturally fell on Z’s body.
Z’s skin was very good and white, the texture very fine and soft, and the pinkish parts on his chest looked very tender.
Z’s waist was surprisingly narrow, his abdominal muscles were prominent, and the mermaid line followed the muscle flow, disappearing into his pants.
ā¦ā¦
A moment of daze.
Zhu Ran was more than half a head shorter than Z. With his eyes lowered, Z could see the other’s fluffy head, fair neck, and… a faint, lingering fragrance.
He shifted his gaze away, but was still made thirsty by Zhu Ran’s unique scent.
Z spoke again: “Well? Zhu Ran? Do the pants need to come off too?”
The man’s deep voice entered Zhu Ran’s ears. The question made the tone rise slightly, carrying a little hook that made one itch.
Zhu Ranās ears felt a bit hot from the question.
“No need. Take off your limiter; itāll be inconvenient to massage later.”
With a “click,” the sound of a metal buckle unfastening rang out.
Z: “It’s off.”
Zhu Ran spread a towel on the bed and patted it: “Lie face down. I’ll give you a back massage with the oil.”
Z obediently lay down on the soft towel: “Ready.”
Zhu Ran forced himself to focus on the massage and not look at Z’s body.
As before, he poured the massage oil into his palm to heat it, then rubbed his hands together so that his entire palms were stained with a layer of shiny oil.
Heated by the temperature of his hands, the massage oil emitted the scent of lavender.
He placed both hands on Z’s shoulder blades, first applying it upward and then spreading it outward to the arms.
With just a few strokes, the upper half of Z’s back was coated with a layer of supple, honey-colored sheen. Under the light, it glowed with a faint red, looking… quite delicious.
“I’ll spread the oil first to act as a lubricant and skin protector. It’ll be easier to massage after that.”
While speaking, Zhu Ranās hands kept moving across Z’s back, producing a series of rubbing sounds.
The skin-to-skin contact quickly raised a wave of heat, and Z’s exposed back began to warm up.
His body temperature rose.
Seeing that the oil was spread, Zhu Ran used his fingertips to massage Z.
Starting from the posterior hairline of the neck, his thumbs massaged all the way down to the shoulder blades, then from the hollow of the neck toward the outer shoulders.
After massaging like this about twenty times, he moved the battlefield to the vicinity of the spine.
His fingertips followed Z’s beautiful spine from top to bottom, extending all the way from the neck to the waist, ending at the lower back.
Due to the squeezing action of his hands, the muscles on Z’s back trembled slightly.
Trembling along with them were Z’s tightly closed eyelashes.
It was very itchy, very hot, and very… flirtatious…
Z grabbed the quilt with both hands in endurance.
“Is the pressure okay? Should I go lighter?”
“The muscles in your back are a bit stiff. Can you relax a little?”
ā¦ā¦
Zhu Ran spoke as he massaged, telling Z to relax.
The gentle words, amidst the sound of hands rubbing against skin and the puffs of fragrance, were exceptionally evocative.
When Zhu Ran touched the skin on Z’s back with his hands, Z felt his soul begin to quiver.
A feeling of joy and satisfaction rising from within his heart draped his entire being in a different color.
A thumping crimson that couldn’t be stopped.
Skin-to-skin contact without any barriers was even more comfortable than imagined.
The smooth feeling of being like a fish in water made Z, who was extremely defensive, want to stretch out submissively and show himself completely in front of Zhu Ran.
At this moment, even if Z was lying on the bed and only seeing the light-colored towel, he could imagine that Zhu Ran must be looking focused, using those fair hands to move back and forth on his back, touching his skin.
His back was very wide; Zhu Ran’s two palms could probably only cover a quarter of the area.
And both Zhu Ran and his skin were very fair; when layered together, they would harmonize very well.
Zhu Ran’s strength wasn’t small; he wondered if Zhu Ran would feel tired…
Z started to let his mind wander.
He was afraid that if he didn’t do something to distract himself, he would lose his composure.
He also didn’t know why he had proposed to let Zhu Ran massage him.
It was comfortable, but… it was also truly torturous.
The massage continued, and Zās tense emotions relaxed under the comfortable movements and the mist from the humidifier.
Waves of warmth came from his back, flowing into his limbs along the meridians of his back, sweeping away the exhaustion of his entire body.
This was the essential oil massage taking effect.
With the warm aura mixed with the pleasant floral scent, and being next to the person Z trusted completely, his consciousness drifted away.
Z felt as if he were soaking in an outdoor hot spring; his whole body was warm.
And the lavender and vanilla flowers blooming by the hot spring were soothing his spiritual sea along with the bursts of mist, calming that abyss-like storm into a bright, cloudy day.
It was very comfortable.
Feeling that the muscles of the person beneath him had completely relaxed and his breathing had become long, Zhu Ran realized that Z had fallen asleep.
He took a look at the detector.
[Spiritual Sea Damage Value: 91.9%] [Fluctuation Value: 10]
One back massage plus aromatherapy had caused Z’s spiritual sea damage value to drop by 0.3%, which was 0.1% more than the head massage.
Zhu Ran guessed that it might be because the back massage had a larger area of essential oil contact, so the effect was better.
“Now you know how to relax. You were so stiff just now. Do you know how tiring it is to massage tense muscles?”
Zhu Ran moved his sore wrists and complained softly.
But Zhu Ran understood that people in high positions like Z generally had significant alertness.
The fact that Z could gradually relax and enter sleep under his massage was quite rare.
The essential oil on Z’s back had been completely absorbed by the body through the massage; the skin was hydrated, glossy, and elastic.
Also, because the heat from the massage hadn’t faded, his skin was pinkish-white.
It looked… very touchable.
Zhu Ran couldn’t resist poking Z’s back muscles with his hand. The muscles in a relaxed state were as soft as imagined.
Afterward, Zhu Ran pulled up the soft quilt for Z, lest he catch a cold from not wearing a shirt.
“Rest well.”
Saying this, Zhu Ran was just about to leave, but who knew Z would suddenly grab Zhu Ran’s wrist and pull him down.
With a rustling sound, the unguarded Zhu Ran was pulled into Z’s arms without any surprise.
His back pressed against Z’s chest, and the other’s male aura, mixed with the scent of lavender, completely enveloped Zhu Ran.
Z’s arms were very powerful; Zhu Ran had felt them during the massage, with enviable muscle lines.
And at this moment, Z used his powerful arms, one wrapping around Zhu Ran’s waist from below, the other crossing over Zhu Ran’s waist to clasp his wrist.
Zhu Ran tried to struggle a few times but was held tighter by the person behind him.
“Sleepy. Stay with me for a while.”
Translator’s Note
Wang Jingze Meme: The comment “Iāll put my words right here: even if I starve to death… I will absolutely never buy any of these” is a reference to a very famous Chinese meme involving a boy named Wang Jingze. He famously vowed he wouldn’t eat anything at a poor rural house, only to be seen happily eating their rice later. Itās the ultimate “slap in the face” meme.
Little Brother (å°å„å„ – xiĒo gÄ gÄ): A common, affectionate Interstellar/Internet term for a handsome young man.
Limiter: This is the metal collar/bracelet Z wears to help suppress his spiritual sea instability. Taking it off means he is making himself completely vulnerable to Zhu Ran.
This chapter really turned up the heat! Seeing Z’s “vulnerable” side is such a treat. Zhu Ran is really making progress with those massage skills!
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