The special care ward had a constant-temperature air conditioning system.

Therefore, Lin Zhu wasn’t worried about Yan Ruoyun catching a cold.

Having finished the lengthy soothing process, he straightened his back, taking in the full view of the scenery beneath him. If anything, he was more worried about whether the man had burned up with a fever.

Thinking this, he simply reached out and touched Yan Ruoyun’s slightly unfocused face—the temperature felt relatively normal to the touch. At the very least, it was much better than when he had first come in.

It was just that the moment his palm touched the man’s skin, the other man subconsciously flinched.

He looked entirely incapable of withstanding a single touch.

Though that wasn’t entirely true.

At the very least, Lin Zhu had already touched him in many places.

He had provided the man with at least thirty minutes of physical soothing, paying special attention to the other’s gland. His massaging and kneading techniques had drastically improved in that short amount of time.

Lin Zhu glanced again at the monitor on his arm.

The electronic screen still glowed with a dangerous red light, but the reading had already dropped to around four or five hundred and was continuing to fall. It looked like it wasn’t far from the safe range.

Lin Zhu silently let out a breath.

At this moment, the ward’s air circulation and purification system seemed to have become a useless decoration. The entire space was already completely submerged in the scent of sea breeze and mint cigarettes.

Intertwined within it was another subtle scent.

Yan Ruoyun lay there for a while, the light slowly returning to his unfocused eyes. Because his hormone levels had fallen back to a less exaggerated number, his rationality also returned.

The man’s eyes shifted, casting his gaze onto the blond youth who was half-kneeling and half-sitting at the foot of the bed. An unspeakable sense of shame suddenly welled up in his heart.

For no other reason.

Mainly because Lin Zhu’s current appearance was simply too much of a mess.

His hair had been grabbed into a messy state. The collar of his sleeveless tank top had been torn at the seams by someone, currently hanging crookedly on his shoulder, leaving half of his chest exposed.

…Most importantly, the youth’s shirt and shorts were both made of pure cotton meant for sleeping. Once soaked with water, the color would darken by several shades.

Large patches of discoloration spotted the hem of his shirt and the waistband of his shorts, along with traces of murky white.

As the instigator, Yan Ruoyun, who usually held the initiative in conversations, was rarely left speechless. He even felt a strong urge to escape.

So, he silently raised his forearm to cover his eyes, really wanting to just pretend he couldn’t see.

He probably thought this way because he had completely failed to realize what he looked like in Lin Zhu’s eyes right now.

—The man’s skin was exceptionally white. Perhaps because the physiological heat of his heat period still lingered, he was flushed with a faint pink from head to toe, as if every single capillary was packed with scalding blood.

His nape and shoulders were total disaster zones; bite marks and red hickeys from sucking were scattered everywhere, looking utterly shocking.

If one had to use a metaphor to describe it.

The current Yan Ruoyun looked exactly like an overly ripe peach or pomegranate. With just a gentle squeeze, a massive amount of juice would burst forth.

And indeed, that was the case.

Seeing the man cover his face and curl up his legs, Lin Zhu somewhat guessed what he was thinking. With both hands, he grabbed the hem of his shirt and yanked it upwards—

He took off his shirt and casually draped it over the railing at the foot of the bed.

Immediately followed by his shorts, then underwear.

In less than a minute’s time.

Lin Zhu, just like Yan Ruoyun, exposed himself openly to the air.

Through the gap between his elbow, Yan Ruoyun saw his actions, then silently lowered his forearm.

After a few seconds of silence, he suddenly lifted his foot and lightly stepped on Lin Zhu’s knee, complaining at the same time:

“…Throwing them around, so dirty.”

Lin Zhu glanced back, his hand naturally grasping the man’s ankle as he replied: “It’s not dirty. Besides, wouldn’t it be even dirtier if I threw them on the floor?”

Yan Ruoyun tried to pull his leg back, but it wouldn’t budge.

He simply moved his arms, propping his upper body up a bit while lowering his eyes to look at the broken skin on his chest. “Lin Zhu, are you…”

Halfway through his sentence, he stopped.

He recalled their first kiss.

Lin Zhu was very inexperienced, not even knowing to use his tongue during a kiss, yet he carried a savage fierceness in his bones. A simple kiss had been executed with the ferocity of wanting to swallow Yan Ruoyun alive.

After going home, he discovered that his tongue had been bitten and broken, causing him to be restless while eating during his business trip those next few days; he couldn’t even eat anything spicy.

This time was pretty much the same.

Yan Ruoyun swallowed, realizing the root of his tongue was still faintly numb, but he still couldn’t resist speaking that sentence out loud.

He said,

“Were you never breastfed as a baby?” (Note: implying he bites/sucks too aggressively)

Lin Zhu: “…”

How was he supposed to answer that?

Lin Zhu touched his nose and said, “…Sorry, seems like I used too much force. I’ll pay attention next time.”

Next time?

Yan Ruoyun silently repeated these two words in his heart, feeling a bit uncomfortable under Lin Zhu’s gaze, so he tugged his leg again, wanting to turn onto his side.

Unexpectedly, Lin Zhu still didn’t let go, just continuing to grip his ankle.

Unable to break free, he had no choice but to lie flat again.

The blond youth checked the monitor’s readings almost every few moments, seemingly caring about it even more than Yan Ruoyun himself.

After looking at the electronic screen, Lin Zhu pursed his lips: “It’s dropped to two-hundred something… Ge, let’s do one more temporary mark.”

Hearing this, Yan Ruoyun cooperatively turned his head, exposing his nape that had been gnawed on several times over a short period.

On the slightly protruding gland,

Bite marks overlapped each other, some deep, some shallow.

He was a bit afraid of the sensation. Half-closing his eyes, he couldn’t help but urge, “Lighter… I always feel like you’re going to bite the whole piece off and swallow it down your stomach.”

Lin Zhu approached from the side and denied it: “I won’t.”

The hot breath from his words puffed against the side of the man’s neck, bringing waves of shivers, but then abruptly moved away.

The next second.

Yan Ruoyun heard him ask,

“Ge, can you lay on your stomach and let me bite you?”

Lin Zhu still remembered that he didn’t like others pressing against him from behind. Earlier, he had accidentally flipped him over and pinned him to the hospital bed, almost making him cry…

Actually, it wasn’t ‘almost’.

—He did cry.

Thinking of this, Lin Zhu leaned forward again, gently pecking his shoulder, and pleaded: “Just one bite.”

Lin Zhu, shrouded by the ‘Character Persona Buff’, was unbelievably rational. Not only was he thinking about completely soothing Yan Ruoyun, he also firmly remembered the mission plot the System had helped him review earlier.

Just as Yan Ruoyun hesitantly nodded in agreement and took the initiative to roll over—

Lin Zhu immediately pinned the man’s wrists, took a bite out of his gland, and skillfully marked that piece of soft flesh.

The scents of sea breeze and mint cigarettes blended together.

Tonight’s Yan Ruoyun was truly too sensitive. Even if it was just a simple temporary mark, his entire body would tremble, leaking water from top to bottom.

Lin Zhu doubted several times whether he would get dehydrated from this. The volume was simply too much.

This repeatedly reminded him of the melodramatic novels his deskmate Huang Canran had recommended… The System was right; this really could reflect reality and possessed a certain degree of plausibility.

At least on Yan Ruoyun, it was highly plausible.

When Lin Zhu’s canines pierced into the gland once more, Yan Ruoyun softly cried out in pain, unconsciously arching his back, his toes curling tightly inward…

The lines of his calf muscles appeared even more fluid and defined.

A few seconds later, he tilted his head, revealing half a tear-stained face. His eyes lost focus again, lips slightly parted to vaguely expose half of a soft, scarlet, and hot tongue, as if wanting to say something…

Right at this moment.

Lin Zhu, who had first checked the monitor and confirmed the electronic screen had turned to the green color representing health and normality, finally let go of the heavy stone pressing on his heart.

Pinning Yan Ruoyun’s wrists with moderate force, he quietly wiped his hand against the soaking wet bedsheets, then raised his hand to caress the man’s flushed, damp face…

But before his palm could even touch the side of the man’s face, he was discovered. Yan Ruoyun suddenly grew alert, frowning as he said: “It smells… dirty, don’t touch me.”

Lin Zhu’s movements paused. Deciding to pretend he didn’t hear that, he braced himself and recited the key line in a flat, monotonous reading tone: “Neither of us should call the other dirty; you are just like me right now…”

As he spoke, he prepared to smear the man’s own essence right onto his face.

But as luck would have it.

Yan Ruoyun, who currently had his mouth wide open, wanting to speak: “……………”

Lin Zhu: “…Ah.”