“It’s okay, it’s okay…” Zhou Rong immediately noticed something was wrong and tightly pressed Si Nan to his chest, forcefully stroking his hair and back, repeatedly whispering in his ear: “Don’t be afraid, I won’t ask anymore… It’s okay, don’t be afraid…”
After a long while, Si Nan’s struggles gradually subsided, lying in his arms with his brow still tightly furrowed.
“Rong-ge was wrong, won’t ask anymore, okay?” Zhou Rong rubbed his cold face, causing Si Nan to dodge uncomfortably.
He exhaled, not daring to ask more related questions.
The warm body was still pressed against him, and in the quiet compartment, even their heartbeats were clearly audible. After a moment, Zhou Rong felt a little itchy and couldn’t help but cough: “Little Si Nan?”
Si Nan was drowsy.
“Do you like Rong-ge?”
“Mm.”
Before Zhou Rong could feel ups and downs, he was stunned by this clear, definitive, and unhesitating “mm”. After a moment, he pleasantly hissed, then mischievously asked, “Do you like Yan Hao?”
This was truly taking advantage of the situation. If Yan Hao were here, he would probably rush over to punch him.
This time, Si Nan hesitated for several seconds, “…Mm.”
Zhou Rong: “?!”
“…” Zhou Rong’s mind raced, “Do you like Chun Cao?”
“Mm.”
“What about Guo Weixiang?”
“Mm.”
“And Ding Shi?!”
“Mm.”
Zhou Rong indignantly said, “Don’t just say ‘mm’! Explain specifically!”
Si Nan made a resistant “mm” sound, probably meaning he didn’t want to explain specifically.
Zhou Rong, like a wolf whose food was forcibly snatched midway, sat there scratching his ears. Suddenly, he narrowed his eyes with a plan and changed his approach:
“So among everyone, you like Rong-ge the most, right?”
Si Nan twisted a bit, looking almost shy, and softly said: “Mm.”
Zhou Rong was triumphant, feeling life was unfolding a golden path before his eyes, almost reaching the peak of collecting wedding gifts and entering the bridal chamber.
He laughed to the sky, pinching Si Nan’s thin cheeks: “Good, Rong-ge likes you too, likes you the most.”
Saying this, he kissed Si Nan’s forehead, stepped on the gas to start the car, driving towards the next town under the falling night.
Zhou Rong touched his palm, which was indeed hot and loosened the blanket slightly: “Now?”
Sinan struggled upward, resting his head and neck more comfortably on Zhou Rong’s solid leg, and uttered another word:
“Water.”
Captain Zhou felt extremely troubled. Because of the slightly changed position, Sinan’s face was now almost pressed against the middle of his thigh, and the Alpha’s boiling male blood rushed downward again.
“Comrade Sinan,” Zhou Rong fed him two sips of water, and seeing Sinan turn his head away, he earnestly lowered his head and asked: “Can we seriously discuss the current posture issue?”
Sinan closed his eyes and emitted a light, steady nasal breath.
Comrade Sinan clearly did not want to talk.
Zhou Rong fell back into the cycle he had been experiencing these past few days – hard – calm down – hard again – calm down. He slumped in the driver’s seat, feeling the sensitivity of that area instantly increase a hundredfold.
Let me make a mistake, he thought desperately.
After that brief and sudden moment of clarity at noon that day, the signs of Sinan waking up gradually increased. The next day, Zhou Rong was feeding him dehydrated vegetables with luncheon meat, and he vaguely called out “Brother Rong”; on the third morning, while leaning on Zhou Rong’s shoulder sleeping, he suddenly woke up in the vehicle’s bumpy movement and softly asked: “…Where are we going?”
Zhou Rong, holding a cigarette in his mouth, said sadly: “Getting a room.”
“
Chinese is profound, and Sinan’s level of comprehension was clearly not at that level, so he drowsily responded with an “Oh.”
However, Zhou Rong was indeed heading to get a room. Before dark that evening, he found a two-story concrete house belonging to a forest ranger in the wilderness, with complete dormitory living facilities, but it hadn’t been inhabited for a long time. Dust covered everything, and there was half a gas canister and some kitchenware in the kitchen.
He cleverly blocked the car at the main door, becoming a solid barrier, with the car door facing the corridor exit to deal with any emergencies at any time. Then he spent half a day cleaning, arranging the bed, boiling hot water, and slowly simmering a pot of warm and fragrant meat porridge.
Zhou Rong retreated outside the door, politely saying: “No need, wash first and then call me.” He then gently closed the door.
Si Nan maintained that tense posture, slowly leaning back into the bathtub, making a splashing water sound.
The hot water soaked his body, gradually penetrating and softening the cold, hard, and sore muscles, numbing deep into his nerves and bones, making his entire body go soft.
“
But before he could think deeply, Zhou Rong pushed open the door, interrupting his thoughts.
When Zhou Rong spoke, Si Nan could even feel something inside his body suddenly loosening just by hearing his voice.
— Not good.
Si Nan closed his eyes, his back leaning against the cool tiles, quickly sorting through the fragmented memories of the past few days. Using the power of rationality, he tried to suppress the strange, soft flowing sensation inside his body, but it wasn’t very effective.
In the rising white mist, it was as if a pool of warm water was gently swaying deep within his body, almost overflowing. When he tried to recall what those idiots from Romulus had interrogated out of him, what kept flashing in his mind was not the pain of electric shocks, but Zhou Rong’s strong, powerful arms.
Si Nan’s mouth twitched, not daring to stay in the hot water any longer. He stood up with a splash and hastily dried himself.
The clean clothes, neatly folded by Zhou Rong, were placed on the shelf. Si Nan put on a clean shirt and casually wiped the mirror, seeing his face flushed red.
“…Okay.”
Zhou Rong was cooking porridge in the kitchen and looked up at the sound.
Si Nan stood at the kitchen doorway, hands behind his back, standing tall.
His tone was steady, his expression calm and upright like a news broadcast host, though his eyes were slightly reddened for some reason.
Although no longer the limp little Si Nan wrap, he looked handsome and clean, with an appealing crisp demeanor. Zhou Rong momentarily felt ashamed of his unspeakable thoughts, coughed, and smiled while putting down the ladle: “I’ll go take a shower too. Watch the porridge, don’t let it burn. There’s salt and sugar on the shelf.”
Si Nan said nothing.
Zhou Rong walked out of the kitchen, brushing past him at the door. In that instant, he felt Si Nan’s gaze quickly glance down his collar.
Zhou Rong: “…?”
Zhou Rong pushed open the bathroom door and couldn’t help looking back. Si Nan walked gracefully and calmly towards the stove, scooping a spoonful of meat porridge and blowing on it carefully.
He must have seen wrong, Zhou Rong thought somewhat regretfully, and closed the bathroom door.
Zhou Rong took a battle shower with cold water and came out energetic, just in time to see Si Nan standing by the stove, secretly adding something to the porridge.
“What’s wrong?” Zhou Rong called out, “It’s already thick! Don’t add canned food!”
Si Nan immediately turned around, hands behind his back: “Okay.” Then he licked the corner of his mouth.
Captain Zhou was mesmerized by his light red lips and didn’t raise enough vigilance immediately.
The second toast is to comrade Chun Cao, comrade Yan Hao, comrade Ding Shi, and comrade Guo Weixiang of the 118th Battalion’s 6th Squad, who have safely arrived at the South China Sea Base and successfully completed the handover with the central government. I also wish the seventeen fallen comrades well in heaven.
