Chapter 77: “Like Wife, Like Everything”
No one knew how long that meal dragged on before it finally ended.
But really, it was only Shen Zhuo who finished eating.
Du Xun sat beside him, touching and kissing him constantly, his hands never leaving the boy, and he didn’t even pick up his chopsticks.
In the end, Shen Zhuo had to forcibly straighten his head, lowering his gaze to ask in annoyance, “Aren’t you hungry?”
Only then did Du Xun look at Shen Zhuo, his voice raspy and alluring:
“Hungry… want to eat… Wife.”
“No, you have to finish your meal first.”
Shen Zhuo stopped him from nuzzling closer again, pretending to be angry.
Du Xun, ultimately afraid of upsetting his beloved wife, obediently picked up his bowl.
Then proceeded to eat only plain rice.
Shen Zhuo: …
Shen Zhuo: “Is An’s cooking not good?”
Shen Zhuo asked lightly, “Should I cook for you instead?”
Visibly, Du Xun’s body shuddered violently.
He started picking up side dishes.
Shen Zhuo: Heh.
Shen Zhuo rested his chin on the man’s shoulder and threatened fiercely, “Du Xun, tell me the truth, is my cooking good?”
Last time, Du Xun ate quite a lot.
Although Shen Zhuo hadn’t tasted it himself, surely it wasn’t that bad…
Right?
Du Xun didn’t answer, just shoveled a few more mouthfuls of rice.
Shen Zhuo: “Then I won’t eat with you anymore.”
Du Xun hurriedly wrapped his arms around the boy’s waist.
He kissed Shen Zhuo’s cheek ingratiatingly.
Then, completely contradicting his actions, he answered honestly:
“Bad.”
Standing a few meters away in the corner, An wore an expression that said, “I knew it.”
The butler rubbed his forehead and quietly slipped away from this dangerous place.
Just as he stepped out the door.
He thought he heard his master say something shocking.
“I… have never eaten… anything so bad.”
Du Xun spoke slowly now, but that didn’t stop him from articulating every word clearly.
“But… I’m willing to eat it… I want to eat what you make…”
“Like Wife.”
“Like you, everything.”
Du Xun’s speech gradually became more coherent, his serious demeanor carrying a hint of the lingering ambiguity of his lucid sweet-talking.
Or perhaps, even more honest and direct.
Shen Zhuo felt completely defeated by this version of Du Xun.
No.
Not just this version.
He was helpless against his Alpha in any state.
“Hmph.” Shen Zhuo touched the man’s face and finally laughed out loud.
For the first time, the boy proactively offered his lips.
“Then I’ll let you have a bite.”
The boy leaned into the man’s embrace, obediently raising his head.
Accepting the surging pheromones once more, he sank deep into the whirlpool of waves, rising and falling for a long time.
The night-blooming cereus blossomed, trembling.
——
Just as Shen Zhuo expected.
When he woke up again, it was already night.
Outside the window, it was pitch black.
And his Alpha was holding him.
Such a tall man, curled up pitifully, nestled in the nest built of clothes.
He had school tomorrow. Shen Zhuo rubbed his waist, which had lost all feeling, and prepared to go to the bathroom for a shower.
He was incredibly gentle as he left Du Xun’s embrace.
Didn’t even disturb the clothes.
He thought it would be the same if he just lay back down after showering.
But just as Shen Zhuo was soaking in the tub, trying to soothe his aching back and legs…
He heard the bathroom door open.
The warm yellow light in the bathroom was mostly blocked, and the man was holding a pair of pajamas.
Du Xun stood at the door, sniffing the air as he mumbled:
“Wife, hug.”
Shen Zhuo suddenly felt a headache coming on.
He remembered having lucid moments during his heat.
But Du Xun didn’t seem to have been lucid at all these past few days.
He had been acting like a child the whole time, even worse than Shen Zhuo was back then.
Only when dealing with others would his instinctive sharpness emerge.
But in front of Shen Zhuo… it was like he had lost all ability.
Shen Zhuo found a moment to message Jiang Yuening.
Jiang Yuening replied:
[Too many inhibitors, holding it in for too long, will do this. Especially with your high compatibility. The higher the compatibility, the more dependent an Alpha becomes on you during their susceptibility period.]
Shen Zhuo: [Is there any way to alleviate it, Dad?]
Jiang Yuening was silent for a rare moment.
Then sent a sentence: [Spend more time with him; it’s better to guide it than to block it.]
Just a few simple words, but Shen Zhuo understood.
After putting away his phone, Du Xun, who had just been coaxed to stand outside for five minutes, knocked on the door again.
“Thirty minutes is up.”
Shen Zhuo tried to convince himself.
Better to guide than to block.
Better to guide than to block.
It’ll be better next time.
After saying this, the boy revealed a look of heroic sacrifice and pushed the door open.
Just then, Shen Zhuo received the first phone call in days.
On the other end was a worried Ai Li.
“Zhuo Zhuo, how have you been these past few days?”
Shen Zhuo glanced at Du Xun.
He retracted the foot that had stepped out of the bathroom.
“Du Xun is in his susceptibility period; I can’t go out, I’m keeping him company.”
Ai Li gave a knowing “Oh” on the other end, but then remembered something:
“By the way, I called to tell you that the gland has been found, but Brother Bai says it needs the Commander-in-Chief’s confirmation to proceed.”
“Is it convenient for you… to have the Commander-in-Chief take the call?”
Shen Zhuo observed Du Xun’s state through the glass on the door.
The Alpha leaned against the door, eyes downcast. Hearing no response from Shen Zhuo, he just stood there with pursed lips.
Even his pheromones were a bit wilting.
Like an abandoned big dog.
Pitiful as can be.
Let alone handling business, just opening the door would get him dragged back to bed by Du Xun in this state.
Shen Zhuo sighed deeply.
“It’s not convenient for him right now. Can I relay the message for him?”
Although Shen Zhuo seemed to be doing other things when accompanying Du Xun to handle military affairs, he had carefully observed Du Xun’s working methods.
Ai Li was surprised: “That works, but do you know what to do?”
Shen Zhuo recalled for a moment:
“Initiate file sealing. Hand the gland over to the Research Institute for slicing and sampling, then return it to the family. The specific situation and summary will be decided after the Research Institute’s report comes out.”
The boy’s tone was steady and cool, his expression calm.
He bore a resemblance to Du Xun at work.
Even Ai Li was momentarily dazed by the boy’s tone, instinctively replying: “Okay, understood.”
Shen Zhuo: “By the way, I want to request leave for Du Xun for the next two days. Something came up.”
How could the clever Ai Li not know what Shen Zhuo was talking about.
“Alright, you guys have fun?”
Just as Shen Zhuo wanted to say something else.
Du Xun swatted the phone away and bent down to hug the boy.
Hot breath, a towering body, completely encircling Shen Zhuo in his arms.
The rosemary scent covered him completely.
“Thirty minutes passed a long time ago. When can I get a kiss?”
As Du Xun said this, he was already nuzzling Shen Zhuo’s neck.
Shen Zhuo: ?!!
Shen Zhuo turned his head and saw the phone on the floor, call still connected.
His expression faltered slightly, and he immediately tried to break free to pick up the phone.
Sensing the boy’s resistance, the Alpha held him tighter.
“I waited so long…”
The Alpha was filled with grievance:
“Does Wife not like me anymore?”
Shen Zhuo’s calm expression finally cracked.
The boy immediately pinched Du Xun’s chin, lowering his voice in warning:
“Don’t call me Wife right now.”
Du Xun blinked, unsure how he had upset his wife.
But he obediently switched to a different, clingier term.
“Baby…” Regardless, apologizing first was never wrong, “I was wrong, don’t be angry…”
The man’s eyes were full of blank helplessness, making Shen Zhuo’s heart ache fiercely.
Forget it, forget it.
Shen Zhuo compromised quickly, his night-blooming cereus pheromones soothing the Alpha:
“Call me whatever you want.”
When Shen Zhuo looked at his phone again, he only had time to see the notification that Ai Li had hung up before being scooped up by Du Xun in a princess carry.
.
Six o’clock the next morning.
Shen Zhuo turned off the alarm, too sleepy to even open his eyes.
Yesterday, he had used almost every method to get Du Xun to let him go after midnight.
But six hours of sleep wasn’t nearly enough to recover from the exhaustion of being tossed around for the past two days.
Especially after sleeping, his whole body felt like it was falling apart.
Especially his inner thighs; they trembled with every step.
Du Xun, still in bed, was also awake.
Today’s Du Xun was exceptionally well-behaved.
Probably because the knot was formed and enough pheromones were given.
The Alpha watched the boy wash up and change clothes, then brought a pile of clothes for him to change into.
“Dress yourself?” Shen Zhuo pointed at the clothes, coaxing him like a child. “Can you?”
Du Xun nodded, obediently putting on a loose black tracksuit, plus a black baseball cap, sunglasses, and a mask.
Looking like a celebrity out on the street.
Shen Zhuo then put a pheromone blocker on Du Xun.
Ensuring the man’s messy pheromones wouldn’t disturb others.
Only then did he half-kneel on the bed, cupping the man’s face and saying word by word:
“I’m taking you to class today. Don’t talk to others, and you can’t kiss me in public.”
“Understood?”
Through the sunglasses, Du Xun’s eyes seemed a bit colder behind the dark tint.
He nodded, then shook his head.
“Why can’t I kiss Wife?”
Shen Zhuo patiently explained: “Because I have to attend class and take exams. After class, when we come back, you can kiss me all you want, okay?”
Du Xun gave an “Oh,” unsure if he had truly listened.
But there was no time.
The weekly test was at eight o’clock.
An was still worried when he parked the car at the entrance of Ares.
But letting the Master wreak havoc at home… forget it.
An was a bit selfish; damaging Ares would at least only require monetary compensation.
Shen Zhuo wasn’t afraid of going public.
Wrapping Du Xun up so tightly was just because he didn’t really want others to see Du Xun in such a fragile state.
His Alpha was always powerful and god-like in front of others.
He was the faith of the Empire’s people and soldiers.
An existence forever high above.
He shouldn’t be tarnished like this.
Du Xun’s vulnerability could only, and should only, be revealed in front of his lover.
This was the responsibility belonging to the Commander-in-Chief.
Shen Zhuo would protect this responsibility.
However, the start wasn’t smooth.
He didn’t run into Feng Muya, but instead encountered Ai Li’s arrogant relative, Fu Qishang.
With his blindingly blonde hair, Fu Qishang strolled over from nearby with hands in his pockets, blocking Shen Zhuo’s path.
“Yo, the great hero, coming to school yourself?”
Fu Qishang suddenly saw Du Xun, dressed all in black, following behind Shen Zhuo.
“This wouldn’t be your Alpha, would it?”
Fu Qishang looked Du Xun up and down a few times.
“The clothes aren’t bad, but this getup…”
Fu Qishang had seen too many people’s styles, so he made a judgment based on his first impression.
This black-clad Alpha was an actor or celebrity.
Still a lowly status.
“Seems your taste is just as bad as Ai Li’s.”
Fu Qishang sneered:
“Really embarrassing your family.”
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