Chapter 55: 055 A Step Further
Soothing music played in the cavernous restaurant. The crisp, tinkling decorative notes added a sense of rhythm to the melody, and caused Zhu Ran’s heart to beat slightly faster.
Zhu Ran looked Z in the eye.
A few strands of the man’s golden hair, which had been styled so meticulously, had somehow fallen between his brows, softening his imposing aura.
The yellow gemstone stud at his collar occasionally pulsed with a faint light, making Z’s ascetic formal wear look a bit less stern.
Z was watching Zhu Ran with those beautiful heterochromatic eyes, which were now filled with a shimmering expectation.
He looked a bit like… a big cat crouching obediently, staring with wide, watery eyes.
It was incredibly hard to resist.
It must be because he’d used those cat emojis too much lately; that’s why he kept having these hallucinations of Z as a big cat…
Zhu Ran had to look away to break the spell of that dazzling gold.
He focused his mind on Z’s question, trying to think as rationally as possible. “Jialan Star is indeed on my list of considerations. It is one of the three S-grade planets, and its economy and urban development are among the best in the galaxy. However…”
Zhu Ran wanted to say more, but being watched so intensely by Z left him distracted. He lost his train of thought.
He frowned. “Stop staring at me like that.”
“Alright. As you wish.”
Z withdrew his gaze.
The room felt a bit warm. Z undid the top three buttons of his shirt, exposing his Adam’s apple, collarbone, and a glimpse of his powerful chest muscles.
He looked a bit wild in this state, yet undeniably charming.
“I know Jialan Star very well. If you move there, we can look out for each other. Oh, by the way… I happened to put together some real estate information for Jialan Star. Take a look.”
As he spoke, Z moved his chair closer to Zhu Ran.
He pulled up his optical computer and showed the spreadsheet he’d organized.
The two were sitting very close. The scent of Z soon followed the contact between their arms, staining Zhu Ran with his aroma.
At the same time, Zhu Ran’s unique body fragrance softened Z’s atmosphere.
Zhu Ran was already used to being close to Z during discussions, so he didn’t feel there was anything wrong with their current proximity.
He glanced at the table. The information was incredibly detailed—ranging from basic prices and neighborhood amenities to information on neighbors that an ordinary person could never obtain.
This wasn’t just a real estate list; it was a map of the Jialan Star social network.
He wondered how long it had taken Z to put this together…
Zhu Ran looked up. “You came prepared?”
“You caught me.” Z admitted it frankly. “Zhu Ran, I really want you to move to Jialan Star.”
The bubbles in the sparkling wine made a faint pop-pop sound. Zhu Ran’s hand curled slightly on the table.
Z was unexpectedly blunt today, radiating the effortless composure of a natural leader.
Z wanted him to move to Jialan Star…
During the time they’d lived together, Z had become the person Zhu Ran was closest to in the galaxy. But… under what status was he supposed to accept this kindness? To accept this intimacy?
Zhu Ran’s gaze darkened.
He pushed the optical computer Z had placed in front of him away.
Zhu Ran looked at Z, his expression serious. “Before I decide which planet to go to… didn’t you say you had something to tell me? You can tell me now.”
At those words, Z set down his optical computer.
He rested one hand on the table, his fingers tracing patterns on the tablecloth. He seemed lost in thought.
A moment later, Z looked at Zhu Ran with those heterochromatic eyes—a mixture of heat and coolness. “I’ve hidden some things from you.”
Zhu Ran’s tone remained calm and steady. “I guessed. You still haven’t told me your real name.”
The coolness in Zhu Ran’s voice felt like a knife to Z’s heart.
His fist tightened.
Was Zhu Ran… angry?
Seeing Z’s expression darken, Zhu Ran added, “I can accept that your mission required you to hide your identity.”
Z had moved into Zhu Ran’s home because he was injured on a mission. Zhu Ran understood the need for secrecy during such a time.
Seeing that Zhu Ran was so considerate and hadn’t blamed him for the deception, Z felt guilty—but also a bit dejected.
It seemed Zhu Ran didn’t value him all that much.
Otherwise… anyone else in this situation would have been furious.
Z was silent for a long moment before confessing:
“I had to hide my identity because of the mission. After that first spiritual sea riot, the situation in my family was complicated. Many were eyeing my position, so I had to fake a serious illness and go off the grid to smoke out the masterminds who wanted me dead.”
“Things took a turn for the better last week. We’ve found solid evidence—enough to ensure they never recover.”
“I need to return to the main planet tomorrow to wrap these things up.”
From Z’s words, Zhu Ran’s mind conjured up the image of an unloved son growing up in a powerful family.
Despite being neglected or even bullied, Z had become exceptional through his own strength. The others—jealous of his success and terrified of his growth—had tried every trick to destroy him, causing his spiritual sea riot and forcing him to hide on a wasteland planet like Aispu for a month.
But now the month was up, and Z was going back to reclaim everything.
Hmm… it felt a bit like a novel plot. Those old novels were always written this way…
They say art imitates life; Z’s situation was probably something like that!
With that thought, Zhu Ran’s gaze grew even softer.
Zhu Ran asked with concern, “Is it dangerous?”
“No.”
Everyone Byron had ever contacted was already under Z’s control. There was no way the man could cause even a ripple.
“I’ll tell you who I am and my real name once the dust has settled. It should take about half a month.”
After saying this, Z looked at Zhu Ran again, his gaze heavy, as if he wanted to say more.
Zhu Ran didn’t speak; he just waited quietly for Z.
Z was hesitating.
The composure he’d shown while explaining his situation vanished, replaced by anxiety.
He wavered for a long time before finally speaking: “Can you promise me… that you won’t avoid me once you find out who I am?”
There was a vulnerability and a plea in Z’s voice that he hadn’t even noticed himself.
Zhu Ran was left feeling a bit flustered by Z in this state.
He drank half a glass of the cold sparkling wine before his thoughts cleared.
“Will your identity put me in danger?”
“It would now, but once this is resolved, it won’t.”
“Will you ever do anything to harm me?”
Z’s answer was firm. “Never.”
“Once I know your identity, will we still be friends?”
Z paused. Then, he answered with absolute certainty: “…Not necessarily.”
Z’s features were deep-set, his eyes sunken, radiating a sharpness that made him seem unapproachable at first glance. But when he focused those mismatched eyes on someone, his expression held a profound tenderness.
Even without Z saying a word, Zhu Ran could read his emotions.
They were intense, yet blunt and simple.
Z didn’t want to stop at being just friends.
“Alright. I understand.”
Zhu Ran didn’t shrink away from Z’s blunt gaze.
He reached out and touched the stray hair falling over Z’s ear.
Z’s hair had been styled today, so it felt a bit stiff—not as nice as the feeling of running his fingers through Z’s hair during aromatherapy.
Z let Zhu Ran touch his hair without any resistance.
In fact… Z wanted him to stay there even longer.
Z had thought Zhu Ran cared about him at least a little; why else would he touch his hair?
But Zhu Ran’s next words felt like being plunged into an ice cellar.
Zhu Ran said, word by word, “I cannot promise you that.”
The sound in Z’s world died instantly. The colors faded to grey, and his cheeks—which had been flushed from the wine—went bone-white.
His lips moved, but no sound came out.
“I can’t foresee the circumstances under which I’ll learn your identity, nor can I foresee what my emotions will be at that time. Therefore, I cannot give you a promise right now.”
Zhu Ran spoke bluntly and rationally, and perhaps a bit hurtfully.
But Zhu Ran would never make a promise about the future while things were still unclear.
Zhu Ran’s voice was still beautiful, yet to Z’s ears, it sounded as cold as metal, radiating a non-organic indifference.
Z’s eyes dimmed, and his head bowed. He looked like a wilted blade of grass, stripped of all life and strength.
His chest ached with a hollow feeling, as if a piece of his heart had been carved out. It was unbearable.
After a long silence, Z spoke in a weak, dejected voice.
“It’s okay. I understand.”
It was true. Z was the one who had hidden his identity to be with Zhu Ran, yet now he was demanding that Zhu Ran not avoid him.
He was indeed being unreasonable.
But… it still hurt so much…
Z picked up his sparkling wine and drained it in one go.
“However…”
Seeing Z suddenly become so despondent made Zhu Ran feel a pang of discomfort in his own chest.
He changed the subject. “You can make me like you as much as possible before the reveal.”
Z, still buried in his despondency, looked up in disbelief. His gaze wavered like a candle flame. “You said… what?”
Zhu Ran smiled suddenly—as warm as a spring breeze, carrying a soft, rippling charm.
Zhu Ran had thought of many things the moment Z asked him “not to avoid him.”
He thought of the first time he’d seen Z and been intimidated by his leaked aura.
He thought of the silent but warm-hearted Officer Vier.
He thought of the Z who had pinned him to the floor and bitten him while in a spiritual sea riot.
And… he thought of the assistant Z who had become increasingly clingy during their time together, watching him with eyes that grew more blunt and intense by the day…
Zhu Ran had guessed that Z might like him.
No—Z did like him.
And he certainly had feelings for Z as well.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t be exchanging childish emojis with Z, he wouldn’t have held Z while he was half-asleep, and he wouldn’t feel distracted whenever Z wasn’t around…
Zhu Ran didn’t know when these feelings had started. Perhaps it was the day-and-night companionship; perhaps it was Z’s quiet, repeated encroachments into his personal space; or perhaps it was just those stunning heterochromatic eyes and that enviable physique.
Zhu Ran admitted he had feelings for Z, though he wouldn’t say they were so deep or inseparable yet.
Z was being proactive, even trying to “vaccinate” his future.
Zhu Ran liked Z, so he didn’t mind giving him a chance.
He was honest with himself; he would never run away or act coy.
And so… Zhu Ran stroked the tips of Z’s hair, his voice soft, his vibrant green eyes reflecting only one person.
“I said, you can make me like you as much as possible before you tell me who you are.”
“Who knows? Maybe I’ll love the house as well as the crows, and I won’t mind that you hid your identity.”
In an instant, everything was reborn. The green returned to the world.
A beam of light pierced through Z’s grey, silent world, falling from the heavens onto the wasteland.
Then, as if a switch had been flipped, the entire world was transformed into a garden in full bloom. The sun was warm, releasing waves of enchanting fragrance.
The world became bright again.
Z’s lips trembled slightly.
He gazed at Zhu Ran’s smile, at those eyes that sparkled like a galaxy, and at those… slightly upturned lips.
Zhu Ran had beautiful lips; the peak and corners were very pronounced, so he appeared to be smiling even when he wasn’t. And right now, the sight of Zhu Ran smiling—his red lips stained with the moisture of the sparkling wine—was… incredibly tempting.
In his dreams, Z had stained those lips with his own scent countless times, from the outside in.
Over and over again.
Until the other’s breathing was chaotic and he had lost all strength, unable to even close his mouth. Only then would Z let go.
Only to move on to other places.
The alcohol content of the sparkling wine wasn’t high; Z shouldn’t have been drunk so easily. But because it was Zhu Ran who was speaking to him—the Zhu Ran who was smiling so warmly, the Zhu Ran who said “like me more”…
Z suddenly felt that he was a bit drunk.
Drunk on that shade of green.
Z suddenly desperately wanted to taste that enticing red.
And so, he moved.
Z leaned in, closing the distance between them.
The scent of fruity sparkling wine invaded the territory of floral fragrance—warm, with an intoxicating aroma.
Z’s eyes grew deep, shifting into a shade of dark intensity he had never imagined possible. He was incredibly alluring.
Zhu Ran allowed Z’s approach. The hand that had been on the tips of Z’s hair moved to Z’s shoulder as the man leaned in.
This created the illusion that Zhu Ran was proactively pulling Z close.
Z’s face drew nearer, the heat and the scent of wine drawing closer still.
Zhu Ran suddenly felt a bit tipsy himself. His hand tightened involuntarily on Z’s shoulder.
Finally, just as Z’s lips were about to touch the corner of Zhu Ran’s mouth, Z jerked his head and pressed a light kiss between Zhu Ran’s eyebrows instead.
Even though Z was burning with heat, even though the veins beneath his collar were bulging and his heart was filled with a desire to leave Zhu Ran in disarray… the moment he drew close to that beautiful green and was surrounded by that sweet scent, Z became unexpectedly calm.
He restrained the beast within his heart, touching his “fragrant and soft” treasure with the utmost care.
Zhu Ran was his most precious jewel.
The kiss lasted nearly five seconds before Z pulled away reluctantly.
He retreated to his own seat, appearing perfectly polite… though the fact that half his body was still occupying Zhu Ran’s space suggested he wasn’t quite that disciplined.
Zhu Ran’s pupils were trembling slightly. The shimmering light in his eyes made them look like emeralds submerged in a stream, a color that was purely enticing.
Zhu Ran reached up and touched his brow, where the sensation of Z’s lips still lingered.
They had shared a lot of physical contact, many of which were more intimate than that kiss. Yet, strangely, that simple touch today had made Zhu Ran’s heart race.
It’s so hot…
Zhu Ran picked up his wine and drained the remaining half-glass.
Z’s eyes never left Zhu Ran, his voice sounding a bit hoarse. “Just now… did you hate it?”
Zhu Ran shook his head. “I didn’t.”
Z smiled, his eyes shining brilliantly. “Good. I’ll work hard to make you like me even more.”
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