As soon as Lin Zhu finished speaking, he felt a large patch of wetness on the side of his neck and even the hollow of his collarbone. Yan Ruojun buried his face, clasping him tightly with all four limbs, his cavity also doing everything in its power to hold him back.

Tender flesh and blood shriveled like a heart.

Lin Zhu felt as if he had been split in two. Half of him was deeply mired in the fire of fierce desire, while the other half was soaking in the deep sea. The intertwining of cold and heat was exactly like his body’s instincts pulling against his rationality.

He flipped his hand to touch Yan Ruojun’s face.

His palm met complete wetness.

Suddenly, Yan Ruojun spoke with a heavy nasal voice: “I stood in the hallway for a long time after I went out. I thought you would come out to look for me, but you didn’t.”

Lin Zhu’s hand paused.

“I know, I saw you from the balcony…” He opened his mouth, saying silently, “You only took the elevator down and drove out of the estate after 3 p.m.”

Yan Ruojun: “…You were looking from upstairs the whole time?”

Lin Zhu gave a low “mm,” wiping the skin under the man’s eyes with his thumb stroke by stroke. Then he curled his finger, using his clean knuckle to rub away the condensed moisture from the other party’s eyelashes.

Yan Ruojun’s anger flared up from nowhere. He turned his head to dodge his hand and said indignantly: “I was going crazy with anger! And you were in the mood to watch, in the mood to clean the house! Didn’t you know your wife ran away!”

Lin Zhu said, “I wasn’t cleaning the house the whole time. I took my phone and went downstairs to wait for you. I originally wanted to call you…”

He hesitated for a long time, and his phone died and shut down.

Lin Zhu added, “Then I went upstairs to charge my phone, and while waiting, I just tidied up a bit.”

After charging, he went downstairs to wait again.

But this wait lasted until past 10 p.m.

In the end, Lin Zhu didn’t make a single call. He stared at Yan Ruojun’s WeChat profile picture in a daze for a long time, typing words into the input box only to delete them, and typing them again.

Hearing this, Yan Ruojun suddenly sensed something was wrong and asked him: “Exactly how long did you stand downstairs? Wearing so little?”

Lin Zhu only said, “It wasn’t cold.”

He truly didn’t feel cold; in fact, he felt a bit hot right now.

After a good while.

Yan Ruojun slid his hand into Lin Zhu’s pajamas, felt the young man’s upper back, and then pressed the back of his hand against the side of his neck and forehead for a moment before saying with some uncertainty:
“Lin Zhu, you seem to have a fever.”

“…”

The intimate act stopped right halfway.

The argument hadn’t finished either.

Lin Zhu felt he was fine, but Yan Ruojun climbed out of bed, went to the storage cabinet in the living room, rummaged out the home medical kit, and found an unopened mercury thermometer.

He tore off the box, casually tossing it into the trash can next to the coffee table. With a glance, he saw a few crumpled, balled-up tissues thrown inside.

The tissues were stained with spots of blood, though not very conspicuously.

As he looked, Yan Ruojun suddenly did something he had never done in his life—he actually dug through the trash can.

After pushing aside the tissues, he saw a dirty capsule lying at the very bottom.

The capsule was covered with oxidized, coagulated liquid stains.

Yan Ruojun: “…”

In the bedroom.

Lin Zhu was sitting propped up against the headboard. The heat that had been forcefully stirred up had mostly subsided. He slowly slid off the thing the man had put on him and threw it into the trash can.

It was completely empty inside.

He hadn’t used this kind of thing in a very long time; suddenly using it again actually felt unfamiliar.

Right at this moment.

The man walked in from the living room, his robe hanging on his shoulders. The belt had long been ripped off by himself and was nowhere to be found. With his walking motions, the two sides of the robe constantly swung backward.

Although Lin Zhu was in no mood for intimacy right now, an Alpha’s robust energy couldn’t dissipate in a short time. He could only pull the corner of the blanket to cover his lower abdomen.

Yan Ruojun sat on the edge of the bed, vigorously shook the mercury thermometer, then had him lift his arm and clamp it tight.

Lin Zhu followed every instruction.

Taking a temperature reading requires at least five minutes of stillness.

During these few minutes, the man sat on the edge of the bed the entire time, his arms crossed, his face sinking like water. As for Lin Zhu… he occasionally raised his eyes to gaze at his profile, looking as if he wanted to say something, but keeping his mouth shut.

Like a mute.

Like a mute who makes people both angry and helpless.

Lin Zhu knew Yan Ruojun was still angry at him, and rightfully so. With one arm clamped tight around the thermometer, he fumbled near the pillow with his other hand, fishing out a silk sash, and then handed it to the side of the man’s leg.

The next second, it was thrown onto the floor by Yan Ruojun.

Lin Zhu fell silent. He picked up the blanket again to cover the man’s calves and whispered: “…You’ll catch a cold.”

As he withdrew his hand, Yan Ruojun caught sight of the several pale, waterlogged scar marks on his palm. His nasal cavity suddenly blocked, and his heart full of fury drained away completely.

He didn’t know why.

Yan Ruojun suddenly felt an intense heartache.

Lin Zhu’s attention had always been on the man. Seeing his chest heave a few times, and a crystal-like glimmer seemingly swirling in his eye sockets, he couldn’t help but lean forward and touch his face.

Good. It’s dry.

Lin Zhu’s heart panicked intensely. After mumbling for a long time, he only squeezed out one sentence, “Ge, if you’re angry, just scold me, don’t be like this.”

[He stood] up, staring down at him from a commanding height, his expression exceptionally displeased. After a long while, he finally said:
“[It’s my] fault.”

Hearing Yan Ruojun say this, Lin Zhu truly panicked. Just as he moved, [Yan Ruojun said], “Don’t move, we’re taking your temperature.”

“A child is a matter for two people. I didn’t [discuss it with you], that was my mistake…” Yan Ruojun continued, “Besides, I [am not currently suited to] welcome a new life.”

“Good thing I’m not pregnant.”

The calmer and more rational the man’s tone was, the more panicked Lin Zhu became. A fine layer of dense sweat broke out on his forehead—it was hard to tell if it was from the feverish heat or from anxiety.

A good few seconds passed.

Yan Ruojun suddenly said: “…So, you won’t hate me, will you?”

But to Lin Zhu’s ears, no matter how he heard it, it felt as if the other party was saying:

—Please don’t leave me, will you?

In an instant, Lin Zhu’s heart burst into violent tremors, making him unconsciously hold his breath. Immediately after, a massive ringing in his ears spiraled through his brain, emitting a sizzling, static sound.

This ringing in his ears was truly too loud, so much so that Lin Zhu completely missed the electronic voice of the System, which had been gone for a long time:

“…Ahem, Host, I’m back~”
“H… Host…”
“Host, don’t cry, don’t cry, ahhhhh!”