Chapter 48: The Heterochromatic Cat Emoji Pack part 1
Hot water cascaded down his lustrous body, gathering into small streams at his rounded toes before flowing into the drainage system.
“Mm…”
Low moans and panting were mostly masked by the rhythmic splashing of water, yet they still intermingled with the hazy mist, sounding particularly helpless and heavy with heat.
Zhu Ran tilted his head back, his gaze blurred. His clear green eyes were dyed with a shallow layer of rosy hue from the heat.
His cheeks also flushed with a lovely pink.
The hot water followed the curve of his beautiful neck, flowing over his delicate Adam’s apple, and further down… finally brushing over the back of his hands, making them look crystal clear.
Zhu Ran bit his lip and closed his eyes, letting his desires rise.
Subsequently, a fragrance filled the air, and the entire bathroom was permeated with a unique scent.
…
After he finished, Zhu Ran took a cold shower, which finally suppressed the reaction caused by the Mutated Lavender Essential Oil.
He sat by the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the ice rose on the bay window.
Zhu Ran didn’t really want to recall what had just happened.
However, he hadn’t lost his memory. Whether it was the burning and tingling sensation left behind when Z rubbed his head against him, the way the other man held him with a gaze that didn’t hide his desire, or the other man’s obviously large…
Zhu Ran’s eyes darkened, and he felt a bit hot again.
“It’s all your fault. How could you cause such an effect?”
Zhu Ran looked indignantly at the vine on his wrist.
If the mutated essential oil hadn’t integrated the vine’s genes, and if both he and Z hadn’t been stained with it, the two of them wouldn’t have suddenly become like that… nearly losing control.
Hearing Zhu Ran’s dissatisfied voice, the vine shrank its tip, putting on a “my mistake” look.
Seeing this, Zhu Ran sighed, knowing it wasn’t the vine’s fault.
Still, after more than twenty years of living a detached life, having that peace broken felt both strange and difficult to adjust to.
By the time Zhu Ran had finished his mental preparation and returned to the living room, Hyuna had already brought a doctor to perform an in-depth check-up on Z.
The ventilation system was running in the house. Whether it was the scent of natural plants or the floral fragrance, both had become very faint, almost imperceptible.
Since both of them had resolved their “issues” inside their respective rooms, there was no smell in the living room, but Zhu Ran still felt the air in the house was a bit odd.
The moment Zhu Ran appeared, Z immediately fixed his gaze on him.
The corners of his heterochromatic eyes turned up slightly, as if he were smiling.
Yet, only an hour ago, those same eyes had been filled with a desire so blunt and fiery that it had made Zhu Ran’s heart flutter in panic.
As soon as Zhu Ran met Z’s gaze, he instinctively looked away.
Z retracted his gaze and stopped staring at Zhu Ran, but that slight upward curve of his lips simply wouldn’t go down.
Between the two of them was an atmosphere that no outsider could intrude upon.
Looking at Z’s latest spiritual sea report, the doctor showed a satisfied expression: “The overall damage rate of the spiritual sea has dropped to 90.1%. Compared to last time, the superficial damage value has decreased by 4%, and the deep damage value has decreased by 0.2%.”
“His spiritual sea state is significantly better than it was at the military headquarters; it’s practically a miracle!”
“To have even such severe damage brought under control… I’m truly curious how you managed it.”
Upon hearing that Z’s state had improved, the smile on Hyuna’s face was irrepressible.
“The deep damage value has also dropped? Does that mean he has a chance at a full recovery?”
“Perhaps. Even the hardest-to-conquer deep spiritual sea is showing signs of gradual repair. You might actually be able to look forward to it.”
After the doctor confirmed that Z’s condition hadn’t worsened but was instead improving, Hyuna was happy, but also confused.
Hyuna: “Since His Ma— since Z’s state is so much better than before, why did Zhu Ran sound so anxious when he notified me?”
Zhu Ran’s expression stiffened.
He couldn’t exactly say that because of the mutated oil, Z had accidentally been overcome with desire and lost his clear consciousness…
Zhu Ran quickly came up with a different explanation: “When performing aromatherapy with the Mutated Lavender Essential Oil, some uncommon physical reactions occurred. I hadn’t seen them before and was worried they might be harmful to Z’s body, so I sounded a bit rushed.”
Hyuna: “I see… But no matter what the physical feedback is, as long as the spiritual sea can be healed, His Ma— I mean, even if it’s more difficult than before, Z can accept it!”
In Hyuna’s view, as long as there was a chance for His Majesty’s spiritual sea to recover, what physical reaction couldn’t be endured for a bit?
Just as Hyuna finished speaking, she received a warning glare from Z: “Shut up.”
Zhu Ran pulled the corner of his mouth awkwardly and didn’t make a sound.
Having confirmed that essential oils fused with mutated plants were indeed effective for treating the deep spiritual sea, Zhu Ran turned his attention toward different types of mutated plants.
Zhu Ran pondered: “Different mutated plants should have different effects on the body, so I can try integrating other mutated plants into the essential oil to test the results.”
In any case, after this mistake, Zhu Ran had no intention of ever using the B-rank Mutated Vine as a fusion agent again.
As for that bottle of vine-lavender composite oil that had only been used once, Zhu Ran placed it at the very back of his cabinet, leaving it to gather dust.
He didn’t want to see it ever again.
The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Zhu Ran woke up early.
As soon as he stepped out of his room, he ran into Z in the living room.
Z was wearing a loose grey-blue knit sweater, revealing a large patch of skin at his collarbone. His hair hadn’t been combed yet, and golden strands fell messily across his forehead.
He looked with a touch of early-morning languor and haze.
Z took one look at Zhu Ran and understood: “Are you going out?”
Although Zhu Ran was still wearing a casual hoodie and sweatpants today, he had a backpack on his shoulders, clearly preparing to head out.
“Ah… right, I forgot to tell you. Today I’m with…”
Distracted by yesterday’s sudden incident, Zhu Ran had forgotten to mention to Z that he was going to clear mutated plants with Mu Qingzhou today.
He slowly explained: “…It’s also a good chance to bring back some mutated plant samples to try out new composite oil formulas.”
Zhu Ran spoke reasonably, and his expression showed no abnormality, as if he truly had just accidentally forgotten to tell Z about his plans.
Z gazed at Zhu Ran with his blue and gold heterochromatic eyes, as if asking with his eyes: Are you avoiding me?
But in the end, those words weren’t spoken.
He looked at Zhu Ran for a moment.
The other man’s face was a bit pale, his hair was messy with several strands sticking out, and he had already yawned twice while speaking.
He looked like someone who hadn’t slept well.
Although Z desperately wanted to snatch this vanilla glutinous rice ball back and pin him down to lick and rub all over him, he was afraid that if he were too aggressive, this soft, fragrant rice ball would run away.
Wouldn’t that be a total loss?
“Wait a moment.”
Z retracted his gaze, tied on a light green apron, and entered the open kitchen.
The man, with his broad shoulders and back, rolled up his sleeves to reveal powerful arm lines.
The thin string of the green apron wrapped around his waist, and surprisingly, it looked quite harmonious.
Turning on the stove, frying eggs, arranging the sandwich, and then using a bear-head mold to press it.
In less than three minutes, Z had finished the sandwich.
He placed it in a lunchbox, took out a bottle of fruit milk that had been heated in water, and handed them to Zhu Ran.
“Eat this on the way.”
Zhu Ran paused for a moment before taking the breakfast.
It had been a long time since he’d seen someone busy making breakfast for him; it felt very domestic and warm.
He had to admit, seeing Z busy in the kitchen touched his heart.
He said softly: “Thank you.”
“I’ll walk you downstairs.”
With that, Z put on his disguise device and followed Zhu Ran downstairs.
Mu Qingzhou’s hovercar was already parked below. Its pure white color matched Mu Qingzhou’s temperament perfectly.
Seeing Zhu Ran come out, Mu Qingzhou stepped out of the car.
He first glanced at Zhu Ran, nodding slightly in greeting, then looked at the person following behind Zhu Ran.
The man was tall, his aura cold and sharp, inadvertently exuding a sense of pressure.
Even though he stood behind Zhu Ran in a protective stance, because of his powerful presence, no one could ignore him.
This was Zhu Ran’s… roommate?
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