Chapter 64: Sharing a Bed
After drinking the water, the White Dumpling’s tummy was full. It was round and rolling like a small watermelon, and would even make a sound if you patted it gently.
“Aowu?” Do Ziyu and Brother Xiao Pang want to eat small cakes? The White Dumpling hadn’t forgotten to share, so he dragged his round little belly and took small steps to find Wang Ziyu.
Wang Ziyu was dozing in the break room. Seeing the White Dumpling enter, he scooped him up and leaned in for a sniff.
“The scent of cake!” Wang Ziyu smelled the aroma of cake on the White Dumpling.
“Aowu!” An expert! The White Dumpling responded fluently, using a phrase he’d learned from a TV commercial.
“Is there cake to eat?” As soon as food was mentioned, Wang Ziyu’s foodie nature was instantly revealed.
“Aowu!” Yes! The White Dumpling jumped down and headed out, looking back at Wang Ziyu and wagging his tail, signaling him to follow.
Wang Ziyu understood the White Dumpling’s meaning and followed him. The closer they got to the counter, the stronger the smell of cake became.
“So fragrant!” Wang Ziyu took a deep breath and quickened his pace.
Xiao Pang came over too; he had been exercising with Ergou for half an hour. Although they had rested many times during that period, it still counted as overcoming the first hurdle.
“Smells so good!” Xiao Pang’s mouth was watering, saliva almost dripping out. But he had just resolved to lose weight, and now cake was here to tempt him. What should he do?!
“Brother Lin…” Xiao Pang couldn’t resist the temptation and joined the cake-eating squad. However, he exercised restraint and stopped after eating a few. If it were any other time, he would have annihilated every single cake.
“Are you free tomorrow morning?” Lin Xia took a sip of tea and asked slowly.
“I am. Why?” Tang Yinlang asked back.
“I want to go to the countryside market tomorrow to buy some local produce.” Every so often, Lin Xia would drive to the countryside market, which was about two and a half hours away. On market days, nearby farmers would bring their goods to sell. Aside from the free-range chickens and ducks they raised themselves, and the fruits and vegetables they grew, there were also things they had foraged from the mountains.
Lin Xia wanted to buy free-range chickens, ducks, and eggs—some for themselves, and some to give to Tang Yinlang’s grandmother as a return gift for the small cakes.
“A countryside market?” Tang Yinlang sounded intrigued and asked with great interest.
“In Biantang Township, there’s a market every three days. They sell local produce there, mostly grown or raised by the farmers themselves, so it’s very authentic,” Lin Xia explained.
“We’re going tomorrow morning, right?” Thinking of the family of three going out together, Tang Yinlang could hardly wait.
“Yes, Meng Zheng comes back tomorrow. With him and Ziyu watching the shop, we can go without worrying.” One person couldn’t handle the shop alone; there needed to be two people. Lin Xia’s trip to the market would take half a day, and he wouldn’t feel at ease without two people guarding the store. It was precisely because Meng Zheng was returning to work tomorrow that he thought of going to the market.
“Alright. Do we need to prepare anything?” The corners of Tang Yinlang’s mouth couldn’t help but lift; he was already treating tomorrow’s market trip like a family outing.
“Just bring yourself.” Lin Xia wanted to laugh seeing how serious Tang Yinlang was. Actually, going to the market was pretty much just shopping, except the destination was a bit farther away.
“Aowu!”
Back home, when the White Dumpling heard they were going to the market tomorrow, he was so happy he jumped three feet in the air, shooting straight up like a little rocket. Lin Xia felt the White Dumpling had a real talent for trampolining; perhaps with some training, their family could produce a trampoline champion.
After dinner, Tang Yinlang stayed until it was time for Lin Xia and the White Dumpling to bathe, then got up to return to his small villa.
“Wait a moment.” Lin Xia called out to Tang Yinlang.
“What’s wrong?” Tang Yinlang noticed Lin Xia’s ears slowly turning red.
“Tonight… do you want to… sleep together… like before…” Lin Xia lowered his head, speaking awkwardly. The shame meter in his heart was breaking the scale; he made himself sound so thirsty.
By “like before,” Lin Xia meant sleeping together like when Tang Yinlang was in his animal form.
“Can I?” Tang Yinlang couldn’t maintain his usual cool expression; his eyes were full of surprise.
“Yes.” Lin Xia nodded heavily.
“Thank you!” Tang Yinlang suppressed the ecstatic urge to transform back into his original form and howl, forcing himself to stay calm. But the curve of his lips couldn’t hide the joy in his heart.
“It’s Baby who wants to sleep with you…” Lin Xia turned away and left, pretending not to care as he spoke.
“Thank you, An An!” Tang Yinlang didn’t care who wanted to sleep with him; just being able to stay was good enough.
After returning to human form, Tang Yinlang had been prepared to go back to his own villa. Although he really wanted to shamelessly turn into a big tiger and mooch off their bed, that was just a fantasy. If he really did that, what would Lin Xia and the White Dumpling think of him?
He hadn’t expected his days of happiness to arrive so soon. He was allowed to sleep with them—surely the time to “eat meat” wasn’t far off either…
After bathing, the family of three sat or lay on the bed. The White Dumpling was very happy because both his fathers were by his side, making his tiger life feel complete. Compared to the White Dumpling’s excitement, Lin Xia felt a bit awkward.
The Big White Tiger and Tang Yinlang were different. Although they were the same entity, Tang Yinlang was a handsome man with a great figure. Even though he was wearing pajamas, when his shirt rode up, Lin Xia could clearly see his captivating eight-pack abs, which made his mouth go dry.
“Baby, let me tell you a story.” Lin Xia picked up a storybook, wanting to tell the White Dumpling a story to divert his own attention.
“Aowu!” Okay! The White Dumpling immediately lay down properly, perking up his ears to wait for Lin Xia’s story. Tang Yinlang put down his phone and listened along.
“Today we are going to tell the fable of ‘Waiting by the Stump for a Hare.’ Once upon a time…” Lin Xia’s voice was unhurried, gentle, and clear, like a stream flowing through a mountain ravine; it was very soothing to listen to. Tang Yinlang knew the story, but he was drawn in by Lin Xia’s voice and listened with relish.
By the time the story was finished, the White Dumpling’s eyelids were already fighting to stay open. Within a minute of Lin Xia finishing, he was asleep.
“Goodnight, Baby.” Lin Xia moved the White Dumpling to the inside of the bed and planted a kiss on his forehead.
Now Lin Xia had to face Tang Yinlang, and he couldn’t help but feel nervous.
“Um…” Lin Xia still felt their progress was too fast. He wasn’t quite ready, yet here they were, sharing a bed.
“Goodnight.” Tang Yinlang thoughtfully didn’t make things difficult for him. After saying goodnight, he lay down on his own side, acting like a perfect gentleman.
“Goodnight.” Tang Yinlang’s straightforwardness made Lin Xia feel he was overthinking things, but he also breathed a sigh of relief.
“I’m turning off the light.” After getting Lin Xia’s approval, Tang Yinlang reached out and switched off the light, instantly plunging the room into darkness.
In the dark, human senses seem amplified. Although he couldn’t see, his ears became more sensitive. Lin Xia could hear Tang Yinlang’s breathing and heartbeat, which made him unable to sleep.
“Can’t sleep?” Tang Yinlang suddenly grabbed Lin Xia’s hand and asked softly. Whenever Lin Xia’s mind wandered, his hands would fidget; Tang Yinlang noticed the movement immediately.
“Mn.” Lin Xia opened his eyes. It was pitch black in front of him; he couldn’t see a thing. But Lin Xia was very familiar with the room and knew exactly where everything was placed.
“Count sheep?” He heard counting sheep helped with insomnia. Tang Yinlang hadn’t tried it, but he hoped it would work for Lin Xia.
“…No need. I’ll fall asleep in a bit.” Lin Xia hadn’t expected Tang Yinlang to think he had insomnia.
“Mn.” Tang Yinlang released Lin Xia’s hand and didn’t speak again.
“I’m going to sleep.” Lin Xia forced his brain to stop overthinking.
“Sweet dreams,” Tang Yinlang said.
“You too.”
After a while, Lin Xia fell asleep. Listening to the shallow breathing of Lin Xia and the White Dumpling, Tang Yinlang felt a sense of happiness.
Such a night was truly wonderful. If only he wasn’t suffering from insomnia, it would be even better.
Tang Yinlang sighed and silently counted sheep in his heart.
“One sheep, two sheep, three sheep…”
Author’s Note: Goodnight, wishing my little angels sweet dreams O(∩_∩)O~~
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