Chapter 211: Mutation (Part IX)
Bai Yinnian had joined the military in his youth. Before the descent of 【Heaven’s Punishment】, he had always lived in a collective environment.
A group of grown men sitting around shirtless, bragging and chatting, was the norm for him.
Even though Xiao Ji was also a man, Bai Yinnian had never felt this uncomfortable.
If both parties were awkward, Bai Yinnian might have felt better. After all, as long as the other person is more embarrassed than you, your own embarrassment is somewhat mitigated.
But Xiao Ji appeared perfectly natural. He set his book aside and looked at Bai Yinnian. “Help yourself.”
Bai Yinnian walked to the wardrobe. As he grabbed his clothes, he said to Xiao Ji:
“I didn’t expect you to agree to join us so quickly. I hadn’t planned on bringing you here to live before. It’s too late today, so I’ll clear my things out tomorrow morning.”
Xiao Ji replied politely, “I’ve already caused you enough trouble. No rush.”
The wardrobe was directly facing Xiao Ji.
As Bai Yinnian reached into a storage box for his underwear, he saw Xiao Ji’s clothes neatly folded inside the closet.
He considered simply taking his entire storage bin upstairs, but that would mean he’d have to come back in again for his toiletries.
Xiao Ji saw him hesitating and asked, “Do you need help?”
Bai Yinnian looked back and declined. “No.”
With that, he stepped into the room’s bathroom to grab his towel, shampoo, and body wash.
Turning around, he spotted an unfamiliar, slightly damp bath towel hanging on the rack, right next to his own.
There was only an inch of space between them, making the arrangement look exceptionally intimate.
Bai Yinnian stared at Xiao Ji’s towel, and his mind drifted back to the faint fragrance from Xiao Ji’s hair when the man had leaned against his shoulder earlier that day.
Xiao Ji’s legs were inconvenient; he wondered how the man managed to shower.
Did he sit down? Was the wheelchair waterproof?
As he thought, his mind inevitably returned to that expanse of white chest Xiao Ji had just exposed.
Though not heavily muscled, the lines of his chest were clear and beautiful—full and smooth, like high-quality mutton-fat jade.
As his thoughts wandered, his gaze landed on a hanger opposite the towel rack.
A pair of white underwear, recently washed, was hanging there.
He couldn’t tell what the fabric was, but it was very thin—almost transparent.
The tips of Bai Yinnian’s ears began to redden. He couldn’t understand why a man like Xiao Ji would wear transparent underwear; it was causing way too many images to flash through his mind.
He wanted to curse but didn’t know who to direct it at. Eventually, he muttered a soft:
“F*ck.”
Then he walked to the bathroom door, kept a straight face, and reminded Xiao Ji:
“Washed clothes won’t dry easily in here. There’s a balcony upstairs; you can hang them outside.”
To his surprise, Xiao Ji didn’t show even a hint of shyness upon hearing this. He actually nodded and said to Bai Yinnian:
“Then I’ll trouble you with that.”
Bai Yinnian froze. “I’m supposed to hang them for you?”
Xiao Ji took it as a matter of course. “My legs are inconvenient. I’ll have to trouble you.”
Not long ago, Bai Yinnian had said he would try his best to accommodate Xiao Ji.
Now he felt even more awkward.
It wasn’t that he was unhappy about Xiao Ji ordering him around.
He was the one who had invited the man back, and he was the one who had volunteered to look after him.
But at the end of the day, underwear was such a private item. The fact that Xiao Ji handed the task over so casually made him feel like something was slightly off.
But looking at Xiao Ji’s calm, unruffled face, he felt there was nothing unreasonable about it either.
It was just helping to hang a pair of underwear.
That was normal.
Bai Yinnian quickly convinced himself. He turned back, pulled both towels off the rack, grabbed the hanger with Xiao Ji’s underwear, and walked out with the pile in his arms. He said to Xiao Ji:
“Get some rest early, then.”
Xiao Ji gave a flat “goodnight” and watched as the door was closed.
Then, he said to 037: [Can one shower upstairs?]
037 was confused: [Of course. Although conditions aren’t as good as they used to be, the sanctuary has full water and electricity. It’s very convenient.]
Xiao Ji: [No, the upstairs can’t be used for showering.]
037 was about to argue—it clearly could, why wouldn’t it work?
Just as the words reached its mouth, it suddenly realized Xiao Ji’s intent and rolled its eyes:
[Fine, fine. It can’t be used, it can’t be used. You dead scheming man.]
Bai Yinnian returned to his room on the second floor. He took Xiao Ji’s towel and underwear to the balcony. As he hung them up, he began to suspect he might have just invited a huge headache into his life.
Xiao Ji seemed quiet, but on his very first day, he was already pulling this. He was definitely going to be a high-maintenance “troublemaker” in the future.
While he cursed internally, after hanging the underwear, he instinctively gave the thin fabric a little tug to straighten the edges.
A light breeze blew past, and the faint scent of laundry detergent drifted into Bai Yinnian’s nose.
Bai Yinnian rubbed his nose and quickly turned to leave the balcony.
He stripped off his shirt and stepped into the bathroom. He twisted the faucet, but no water came out.
Bai Yinnian slapped the faucet. It made a couple of gurgling sounds and then went silent.
He checked for a while but couldn’t find the problem. He reached out to turn on the showerhead.
Still nothing.
“Dammit. Of all the times for the water to cut out, it has to be now.”
He cursed under his breath and called the utility management office.
The person on the other end told him that everything in the sanctuary was normal; there was no water outage.
Normally, Bai Yinnian could have toughed it out.
But he had been out on a mission all day and was covered in sweat. Being sticky and greasy felt unbearable.
Bai Yinnian wiped his face. After much hesitation, he eventually chose to knock on Xiao Ji’s door again.
The same response came from inside: “Come in.”
Bai Yinnian pushed the door open, still holding his pile of things. He gave a dry laugh and said to Xiao Ji:
“The shower upstairs is broken.”
Xiao Ji gave an “oh” of understanding and said considerately:
“Then just shower in here.”
Bai Yinnian explained, “I didn’t mean to disturb you. It was just too sudden; I didn’t know it was broken since I haven’t used it before.”
Xiao Ji was calm. “It’s fine. This is your home anyway. Be more casual; no need to be so restrained.”
Bai Yinnian felt there was something wrong with Xiao Ji’s words, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.
He said thanks and went into the bathroom.
The warm flow of water washed away all the previous awkwardness.
After the shower, Bai Yinnian felt much more relaxed.
He had originally intended to walk out wearing just his underwear.
That was how he usually lived at home—whatever was most comfortable.
But Xiao Ji was outside.
Xiao Ji looked very refined, and he was wearing those silky pajamas.
Bai Yinnian wasn’t willing to put his combat uniform back on after a shower.
So, after some thought, he wrapped a towel around his waist and secured it before stepping out of the bathroom.
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