Chapter 57: The Scent of Lemon

Zhu Zhixi thought Fu Rangyi would pin him down on the sofa and do some things that would fiercely extend the countdown. This was clearly very logical.

But Fu Rangyi seemed to have frozen, unmoving and silent. This puzzled him, so he stopped the seductive nuzzling by his ear, lifted his head, and faced Fu Rangyi.

He found that Fu Rangyi’s eyes even held obvious confusion. His lips were slightly pursed, with a kind of clear quality of someone trying hard to understand the words.

Zhu Zhixi smiled, pressing his forehead against his. “Did you crash again?”

Only then did Fu Rangyi look up, glance at him, and then walk to the living room, placing him on the sofa. “Do you really get jealous over these things?” he asked in a serious tone, sitting down next to the armrest himself.

Zhu Zhixi was dumbfounded. He had been acting like a spider demon in the Silk-Caved Mountain, but as it turned out, Fu Rangyi hadn’t been ensnared at all. His brain was still stuck on the previous process.

“Of course,” Zhu Zhixi said. “I get jealous often. Have you forgotten? I always throw tantrums and make you coax me.”

Fu Rangyi seemed to be pondering something, his elbow propped on the sofa armrest, his palm supporting his chin. After Zhu Zhixi spoke, he leaned over and rested against his shoulder. “You didn’t notice? Then what was all that jealousy for? Does it just count as me having a bad temper?”

Fu Rangyi tilted his head, burying his face in his palm, but his ears and the back of his neck turned completely red. He paused, then said, “I didn’t say that.”

Zhu Zhixi was stunned. How could there be someone so innocent that they couldn’t even tell when the other person was jealous? He doesn’t really think I’m just looking for trouble for no reason, does he? And he’s still willing to coax me like this?

Is this what a first love is like? In that second, he had a vision that the one sitting next to him wasn’t the present-day Professor Fu, but that teenager in high school experiencing the first stirrings of love, propping his hand on the desk to look cool, while his heart was actually a complete mess.

Fu Rangyi was so contradictory. He was clearly exceptionally talented in his professional field, but in terms of emotions, it seemed to be a complete blank slate. All his care, thoughtfulness, and tolerance were purely subconscious reactions, or rather, corrections made after receiving feedback, not actions born from experience.

Zhu Zhixi simply lay down on his lap, looking up at him, and even reached out to tug at his collar, saying with wide eyes, “I’m going to tell you something you’ve definitely never heard from anyone else.”

Fu Rangyi maintained his face-propped posture, but turned his head, lowered it slightly, and met Zhu Zhixi’s gaze. He asked, “What is it?”

Zhu Zhixi said with a straight face, “You’re so stupid, it’s hopeless.”

He had indeed never heard it before. Fu Rangyi’s shocked expression said it all. “Who are you calling stupid?” This seemed to be an evaluation Fu Rangyi absolutely could not accept.

That was right; after all, this person had a very obvious aversion to stupidity. Zhu Zhixi laughed and started acting roguish. He whimpered a few times, turned his face, lifted his shirt, and burrowed underneath, nuzzling his nose against his abs.

A fluffy head burrowed back and forth.

Zhu Zhixi’s every move was unexpected. Fu Rangyi was getting very ticklish, but he couldn’t just get up and leave. After enduring it for a while, he simply took off his shirt and threw it aside. Now the little rascal suddenly lost his shelter, staring blankly with messy hair.

Then he was pressed into the sofa for a kiss.

Zhu Zhixi was very kissable and very smart; his kissing skills improved quickly. At first, he didn’t even know how to breathe through his nose, but now, in the middle of a kiss, he knew to prop himself up with his hands to chase after the kiss.

But his face still blushed quickly, very vividly. Fu Rangyi could never bear to close his eyes. The more clearly he remembered these vivid details, the more he feared separation.

The ups and downs of this day made his usually stable emotions begin to fluctuate. He thought a lot and had many questions.

What would Zhu Zhixi be like in ten years? Would he still subconsciously knead his gland when they kissed? Would he get tired of staying in this apartment with him? Would his bad habit of not eating properly have changed? How many more corners of the world map would be filled in?

Would he still be like he is now, lightly saying ‘love’ and ‘like’, honestly admitting his jealousy, instead of being like him, only wanting to put countless locks on his own heart?

Would he still be by his side? Could he see ten years into the future?

As they kissed, Fu Rangyi’s eyes actually started to sting. He pulled back a little, and while taking off his glasses, he rubbed his eyes.

Zhu Zhixi didn’t notice anything. He just groggily propped himself up, cupped his face, and smiled like a little flower under the sun, saying to him, “Many people like the smart Fu Rangyi. Only I am different.”

“You are different,” Fu Rangyi repeated in a low voice, then added, “The prerequisites are different.” Only you can see the clumsy me.

Zhu Zhixi didn’t understand this disjointed sentence, but he didn’t seem to mind. Instead, he suddenly remembered something else and grabbed his arm.

The old scars on his arm were glaring. Fu Rangyi suddenly realized he wasn’t wearing a shirt. A sense of insecurity enveloped him. But he couldn’t pull his hand back; Zhu Zhixi was holding on very tightly.

“Oh right, I remembered something. I wanted to say it at the hospital just now.” Zhu Zhixi pulled up his sleeve and raised his left hand. “This bracelet isn’t mine, is it?”

How did he find out? He had been exposed, but Fu Rangyi remained expressionless on the surface, retorting, “What are you talking about?”

Zhu Zhixi squinted his eyes and asked, “You broke this during your susceptible period, and you’re the one who put it back on me. Did you switch my bracelet?” As he spoke, he singled out the small white bead and flipped it over. “This is the proof. Look, my old bracelet’s number was 66. This one is printed with 99.”

Fu Rangyi had never worn the one he received, hadn’t even opened the packaging, so naturally, he didn’t know. He glanced at it and said calmly, “If I remember correctly, a certain someone has always had trouble distinguishing between the numbers 6 and 9.”

“You’re mocking me again!” Zhu Zhixi became anxious. “I might mix up 6 and 9, but I can at least tell the difference when the English letter in front is upside down, can’t I?”

The angrier he got, the more he thought about it. Zhu Zhixi said directly, “Still not admitting it. You’re too mean. I’m taking back everything I just said.”

Fu Rangyi suddenly raised an eyebrow. “Which sentence are you taking back?”

“All of it!” Zhu Zhixi said loudly. The corner of his mouth twitched. He seemed to want to cover it with his hand, but ultimately chose to press his lips together.

Fu Rangyi didn’t speak. He suddenly got up, picked up his shirt, and left while putting it on. Zhu Zhixi wanted to peek at where he was going, but felt it was too pathetic, so he resisted and kept his head fixed. Before long, Fu Rangyi returned.

He sat back down next to Zhu Zhixi, twisted open a cap, and after a moment, handed him a capful of liquid.

“Canker sore. Hold this in your mouth,” Fu Rangyi said casually. “I licked it just now. It’s swollen. You flinched when I touched it.”

Zhu Zhixi was stunned. He was surprised, to a degree no less than being suddenly kissed in the middle of an argument.

His head was dazed, his ears burning. Zhu Zhixi subconsciously took the small capful of medicine and obediently held it in his mouth. But only after holding it did he remember he had questions, so he could only make muffled “mhm mhm” sounds.

But strangely, Fu Rangyi actually understood. “You can spit it out in five minutes.” After saying that, he left again, this time going to the study.

Only a minute or so passed before he returned, holding a small black velvet box in his hand.

“Antarctic animals. I adopted one too, so I also have one of these bracelets.” Fu Rangyi half-knelt in front of him and opened the box.

Mmph? This pose looks like a proposal. Zhu Zhixi’s mind short-circuited. He quickly came to his senses, stared at the scattered little beads in the box, reached out, and picked out the jade-white one. It was indeed inscribed with No.66.

“Hmph!” He shoved the bead in front of Fu Rangyi and snorted loudly.

“I see it,” Fu Rangyi moved a little further away. “I was the one who switched it. I tore yours. I was going to replace it, but I didn’t have any elastic cord, so I gave you mine. I’ve never worn it before; it’s new.”

Zhu Zhixi felt inexplicably happy. So does this count as a couple’s bracelet? And it existed even before we were a couple. What does that mean? It means we’re a match made in heaven, soulmates!

“It’s been about five minutes,” Fu Rangyi turned back, took a cup from the coffee table, and held it to Zhu Zhixi’s mouth.

Zhu Zhixi looked at the cup, frowned, mumbled for a long time, and covered his mouth.

“It’s fine. Isn’t it just a drinking cup?” Fu Rangyi offered it again, using his other hand to move away the hand covering his mouth. “Just spit it in here.”

Zhu Zhixi obediently spat it out. Did my previous neat-freak ghost husband get reincarnated? This is too incredible. “What’s with that expression?” Fu Rangyi asked.

Zhu Zhixi immediately scrunched up his face and complained, “The taste of this mouthwash is so disgusting.”

“Is it?” Fu Rangyi put down the cup, leaned in, and kissed Zhu Zhixi’s cool lips, his tongue prying open the seam of his lips.

“Mmph…” Caught off guard by the kiss, Zhu Zhixi dodged a little. His tongue was gently and softly stirred, and the wet sounds couldn’t be hidden.

But the kiss was brief. Fu Rangyi quickly pulled back and put his glasses back on. “It’s not bad. It’s sweet.”

Leaving Zhu Zhixi alone on the sofa with steam coming out of his head.

He looked at the box beside him, secretly hid it behind his back, and finally took it to his own room.

By careful calculation, there were only three and a half days left before Fu Rangyi had to leave for his business trip to C-City. The person hadn’t even left yet, but he was already getting used to the idea of him being gone. The thought of him digging in the dirt outside, while he not only couldn’t be with him but also had to stay and work at the museum, dealing with a whole crowd of people all day, made Zhu Zhixi very annoyed. He, who usually loved to interact with people, didn’t want to see anyone at the thought of this.

Fu Rangyi, on the other hand, didn’t seem so reluctant to leave, at least he didn’t show much clinginess. He went about his business in an orderly manner every day, with an air of vowing to arrange everything perfectly, busy from morning till night.

In the morning, he would drive Zhu Zhixi to work at the museum, and he would also come to pick him up after work. When they got home, there would be a table of delicious food and the nourishing soup he had stewed. At night, he also had to shoulder the task of helping him extend the countdown, engaging in all sorts of intimate acts, but strictly following the doctor’s advice: only marking, no entry.

He was the husband of all husbands.

“Professor Fu didn’t drive you here today?”

Zhou Ming suddenly appeared and asked this question. Zhu Zhixi had been thinking about Fu Rangyi and was startled by him.

“Ah, right,” Zhu Zhixi smiled. “He has a business trip tomorrow, so he went to the university very early today. I think he has a meeting.”

Zhou Ming nodded, didn’t ask further, and directly switched the topic back to work. “The team for artifact conservation has arrived. Have you had a meeting with them? What do you think of their proposal?”

Speaking of this, Zhu Zhixi got a headache. He stammered, “Um, I’ve met them before, and we’ve scheduled to get the second version of the proposal today, it’s just…”

Before he could finish, an enthusiastic voice came from not far away.

“Morning! Have you all had breakfast? Want to go grab a bite together?”

Both of them turned their heads. The newcomer was a young Alpha, wearing a silver-grey motorcycle jacket and a black beanie, with a fringe of golden medium-length hair peeking out from the edge.

“You haven’t met him yet.” Zhu Zhixi took the initiative to introduce him to Zhou Ming. “This is Sun Qi, who’s in charge of artifact conservation this time.”

Zhou Ming was clearly also a bit shocked. “So young?”

Sun Qi walked over, stopped, and smiled as he extended his hand. “It’s alright, I’m 25. Good morning, Director Zhou.” After shaking hands, he raised an eyebrow at Zhu Zhixi. “Morning, Xiao Xi.”

In just one second, out of a keen sense for his own kind, Zhou Ming judged that this person was interested in Zhu Zhixi.

What he saw was not an artifact conservationist, but a future loser in love. A peacock-type loser.

“It’s not early anymore, it’s almost lunchtime,” Zhu Zhixi said with a smile. “I’ve already told you not to call me that. I’m a year older than you.”

“But you’re cute. You look younger than me. The first time I saw you three days ago, I thought you were an intern here.”

Zhu Zhixi forced a smile, subtly gesturing to show off his not-at-all-low-key wedding ring, and even emphasized, “What intern gets married this early?”

“Right? What a shame,” Sun Qi said bluntly. “Married so young. But the divorce rate among young people is also quite high these days.”

Zhou Ming raised an eyebrow. He really dares to say that.

“What divorce? Can you not jinx me?”

“Just kidding.”

“That’s not funny at all. I’ll never get divorced, not even if I die.”

“So determined? Wow, your husband is so lucky…”

Zhou Ming stood to the side, suddenly feeling the urge to call Professor Fu. There’s a fire in the museum, could you please come and put it out?

And just as he had that thought, the sound of footsteps actually came from not far away. The sound of leather shoes hitting the ceramic tiles was particularly clear in the empty museum. Looking up, Zhou Ming was stunned, then almost burst out laughing.

Speak of the devil.

Zhu Zhixi also looked in that direction. The troubled expression from a moment ago suddenly turned sweet, and he walked over with a smiling face.

“What are you doing here?”

He didn’t hear anything, did he? Please don’t misunderstand.

Fu Rangyi was rarely dressed all in black: a black sweater, black overcoat, black suit pants, and black leather shoes. The only bit of embellishment was the golden buckle of his thin Loewe belt. But incongruously, he was carrying a pink insulated bag—one that Zhu Zhixi had bought—which gave him a strange and adorable look.

“Bringing you lunch,” he said, but his gaze shifted to the young Alpha not far away. His glasses glinted slightly, hiding his eyes.

“Lunch?” Zhu Zhixi was a little surprised, taking the bag and weighing it in his hand. “It’s heavy.”

“There’s soup inside.” Fu Rangyi took the bag back, adjusted his wristband, and then took Zhu Zhixi’s hand, walking towards the two Alphas.

From a distance, he smiled at Zhou Ming and greeted him politely and courteously, “Director Zhou.”

Zhou Ming also smiled. “Professor Fu is here. I was just saying how you didn’t drive Xiao Zhu to work today. He said you had something to do at the university. But you came after all.”

Fu Rangyi: “I was afraid he wouldn’t eat properly here. I went back from the university, and it was still early, so I made some food and brought it over.”

After speaking, he also walked up to the two of them, stood still, and looked at the other somewhat flashily dressed Alpha. His gaze swept over his entire body, finally landing on the tips of his golden hair. He smiled and asked, “And who might this be?”

“Hello, my name is Sun Qi,” Sun Qi smiled brightly and introduced himself. “Teacher Xiao Xi’s colleague.”

Zhu Zhixi closed his eyes.

“Teacher Xiao Xi,” Fu Rangyi repeated in a low voice, turning to look at Zhu Zhixi, the smile on his face unwavering. “That’s a rather novel title.”

This has nothing to do with me, my dear husband. The hand Zhu Zhixi was holding was almost twisted into a pretzel.

Zhou Ming, watching the show from the side, even took the initiative to help with the introduction. “This is Xiao Zhu’s partner, Professor Fu Rangyi from S University’s Archaeology Department.”

In reality, apart from the latter title, the preceding introduction was superfluous. The moment he walked over, any Alpha could feel the pheromones on him, which smelled exactly like the lethal dose of pheromones on Zhu Zhixi.

But Sun Qi still feigned ignorance and said with a smile, “So you’re an expert. That’s so impressive. If I may be so bold as to ask, how old are you? To be a professor at such a young age.”

Hearing this, Fu Rangyi frowned. “”

Zhu Zhixi immediately said, “That’s because he’s brilliant. He skipped grades in school. Whether among colleagues or classmates, he’s always been the youngest. Getting a professorship isn’t based on seniority, it’s based on papers.” After speaking, he pulled Fu Rangyi’s arm and said, “Professor Fu, I’m starving to death. Let’s go find a place to eat.”

“Okay, Teacher Xiao Xi,” Fu Rangyi said, letting his wife drag him away, but his eyes were still fixed on that impolite Alpha.

In the elevator, he deliberately stood a little further away.

“What’s wrong?” Zhu Zhixi pressed against him, almost squeezing him against the elevator wall.

“A strong smell of sandalwood. It’s disgusting, to death” Fu Rangyi said in a huff.

“Ah, you broke the rule,” Zhu Zhixi caught him. “It should be ‘disgusting to longevity.'”

“You broke the rule just now too,” Fu Rangyi said unceremoniously, looking down at his phone. “They cancel each other out.”

When? Zhu Zhixi thought for a moment, then felt something was wrong. “Wait a minute, don’t you like the scent of sandalwood? The air fresheners in our house and car are all sandalwood scented.”

“I’ve just smelled it too much, to the point of being sick of it.” The elevator doors opened, and Fu Rangyi walked out. “I’ll change them all tomorrow.”

“Okay, okay,” Zhu Zhixi smiled.

Does Fu Rangyi’s pheromones really not have a lemon scent?

Finding a break room where they could eat, Zhu Zhixi took the small lunch boxes out of the bag and opened the lids one by one, revealing the dishes inside: sweet and sour pork ribs, quail eggs braised in soy sauce with pork, beef tenderloin stir-fried with choy sum, and stewed chicken soup, plus a box of strawberries.

“They’re all my favorite dishes.”

But Fu Rangyi was looking down, seemingly not having heard, and was seriously playing with his phone.

“What are you doing? You were playing with it just now too.” Zhu Zhixi leaned over, but Fu Rangyi moved the phone away.

On the screen of the phone hidden behind his back was S University’s campus forum, on the anonymous posting page. A post was half-edited, not yet sent.

[Rational discussion, do you think it’s a bad influence for a university professor to have long hair?]