TGMNDIAR - 10
According to his schedule, Xu Mu should be studying and writing down questions on Friday night.
But he's a bit distracted right now.
Why hasn't he come yet...
Xu Mu twirls his index finger around the pen and turns it round and round, until it finally settles back into his palm.
Ye Ye is taking too long to shower.
Maybe...
He is also showering too?
Xu Mu thought for a moment, then slowly got up. Anyway, he's studied enough for now, he'll leave tomorrow's content for tomorrow.
...
"Ah, thank you," Bai Nian also noticed that it was Nades who opened the door, smiling as he asked, "Where is Ah Mu?"
Nades bowed very gentlemanly, "The master is taking a shower."
Bai Nian was also taken aback.
Nades said, "After all, you're visiting, so the master must tidy up his appearance and wait for you."
Bai Nian hesitated as well. Was it really necessary to be so formal?
"Oh, I see," he said, "Then I'll wait for him."
Nades asked, "Would you like tea, plain water, or something else?"
"Just plain water."
Nades handed him a cup, "Is warm water suitable for you?"
Bai Nian smiled as he accepted, "Thank you."
Meanwhile, Xu Mu, oblivious to Nades's nonsense, finished his shower and emerged from the bathroom, immediately spotting Bai Nian sitting in the living room.
"Brother Nian," he greeted, with a towel draped over his head, water dripping from his hair.
Bai Nian was chatting with Nades and looked up at the sound, "Ah, Ah Mu."
"You're here."
"First, dry your hair."
The two voices chimed in unison.
Xu Mu reacted first, "Oh, okay."
Nades, with keen insight, immediately raised the mechanical hand and placed it over Xu Mu's head. A red light flashed from the palm, and white vapor dispersed.
"Done, master."
Xu Mu, who was caught off guard, responded slowly, "Okay, thank you."
Then he asked, "What were you two chatting about just now?"
Nades quickly intervened, "We weren't discussing anything important, just small talk."
Xu Mu looked doubtful, "Really?"
Nades replied, "Of course, Mr. Bai has been waiting for you for a while. Don't delay any longer, hurry up and go study."
Xu Mu then asked Bai Nian, "Brother Nian, when did you arrive?"
Bai Nian chuckled softly, "Not long ago, Nades was exaggerating."
Xu Mu didn’t think too much, and said, "Okay, let's go to my room and talk."
Bai Nian nodded, "Okay."
…
In the room, a black desk with wood-like texture, one edge embedded into the wall, with warm yellow suspended lamp casting a soft light, scattering generously into one corner.
"Brother Nian, please sit," Xu Mu deliberately fetched a new chair.
Bai Nian smiled, "Thank you."
Xu Mu obediently stayed in his old chair, facing Bai Nian's smiling eyes, he felt a bit awkward, even scooting back a little silently.
—Distance, he needed to keep his distance.
Bai Nian didn't notice this at all. Instead, he waved at Xu Mu, "Ah Mu, let me see the drawings you've done recently."
At this, Xu Mu's heart skipped a beat, feeling embarrassed as he said, "Um, they're... probably not showing much progress."
Bai Nian replied gently, "It's okay, let me see them first."
Xu Mu opened his light tablet and hesitated for a few seconds before clicking on the folder. Bai Nian rotated Xu Mu's screen to face himself.
From the first draft to the last, Bai Nian's expression remained unchanged, while Xu Mu was quite nervous.
When it came to conceptual aspects in architecture, such as the foundational knowledge of mechanics and materials, Xu Mu could rely on rote memorization without much of a problem.
However, when it came to design and conceptualization, where art and technology needed to be integrated, he struggled. After all, this aspect emphasized personal aesthetic ability, solid drawing skills, and a certain level of imagination.
As for Xu Mu, he naturally lacked aesthetic sense, had a limited imagination, and almost no concept of beauty. The highest praise he could muster was often just, "It’s so beautiful."
Bai Nian gently tapped his fingers and called out, "Ah Mu."
"Um, yes?" Xu Mu responded immediately, nervously asking, "Is it... ugly?"
Bai Nian chuckled, "Don't be nervous. You're just a freshman, you've just started. No rush."
Xu Mu felt embarrassed, "I'm not in a rush, I'm just afraid this drawing will make you feel uncomfortable."
—He also thought it was too ugly, like something a child could draw with crayons.
"Beginners are all at this level, it's normal," Bai Nian spoke gently, his voice soft but his words clear.
"After all, you've barely dipped your toe in. You can't expect to create masterpieces right away."
Xu Mu: “...”
He touched his nose and offered a sheepish smile.
The gentlest words could still cut like a knife, piercing the heart.
"So, Brother Nian, how do you think I should improve?"
"No need to worry about improvements just yet," Bai Nian replied. "Let's focus on building your fundamentals first. From looking at your initial sketches... you didn't have any drawing foundation before, did you?"
Xu Mu nodded, "That's right."
Bai Nian then asked, "How did you decide to study architecture in the first place?"
Xu Mu hesitated, "..." That was a question for the original owner of this body.
He answered, "I can't remember exactly what I was thinking at the time. I just made the decision impulsively."
Bai Nian nodded slightly, "I can tell. You've been studying for half a year, but it seems like you haven't been attending classes or doing exercises much, have you?"
Xu Mu's back stiffened, and he instinctively looked away. "...I guess I've been more interested in having fun."
Bai Nian adjusted his glasses, curling his fingers lightly and smiling faintly. "Ah Mu, you're sure are honest and willing to share everything."
Xu Mu thought to himself: Not quite everything. If I were more honest, you'd know I've failed six subjects.
He said, "I'll practice more and make up for what I've missed."
Bai Nian smiled, "Alright, take your time. Last time you asked about perspective structure—grab a pen, I'll explain it to you."
"Ah, okay." Xu Mu handed over the pen and leaned in, but then he thought of something and discreetly pulled back his elbow, maintaining a palm’s distance.
"GUI is indeed a good introductory drafting tool, but if you have enough time and energy to explore, you can try using ASQ, which is more autonomous and allows for more experimentation. Once you're familiar with it, drafting can save a lot of time..."
Bai Nian tapped a pen against the screen, swiping a few times, then glanced down slightly. "Here, take a look at this angle first. Do you notice it's crooked? Now, rotate it this way, and you..."
Xu Mu listened attentively, occasionally nodding in response.
Bai Nian was in his element and was more decisive and straightforward, wasting no words and getting straight to the point with various issues.
Time passed unnoticed, and by the time all of Xu Mu's questions were answered, two hours had already gone by.
"...Hmm, is there anything else you don't understand?" Bai Nian asked.
Xu Mu shook his head, "Not at the moment."
"Alright, feel free to ask me anything in the future." Bai Nian smiled, casually closing the pen cap. The black pen contrasted with his slender, fair fingers, and his nails were round and clean, with a faint pink hue.
Xu Mu said, "Thank you for your help today, Brother Nian."
"It was no trouble." Bai Nian shook his head slightly and added, "By the way, I'd like to discuss something with you."
"Alright, go ahead," Xu Mu said, perking up and reflexively straightening his shoulders.
"When Ye Ye gets close to someone, he can be quite mischievous, loves to act spoiled, and sometimes he's a bit greedy. Chocolate is his favorite, but I usually limit how much he eats."
Bai Nian shook his head helplessly. "Have you bought a lot of chocolate at home? His pockets are always bulging full of chocolate.."
Xu Mu scratched his head. "Yeah, I got it for him."
He intentionally bought those snacks. Since Ye Ye got into the habit of coming over to his house to play, he figured, as a kid, he'd always need toys and snacks to coax him.
"Sorry, Brother Nian, I'll pay attention next time," Xu Mu apologized.
Bai Nian spoke gently, "Don't worry, I'm not blaming you. I know you meant well. It's fine for him to have chocolate, just give him an appropriate amount next time."
Xu Mu kept a serious expression and said earnestly, "Alright, I understand."
Seeing his serious expression, Bai Nian softened his tone. "It's not a big deal. Don't take it to heart too much. I wasn't blaming you, just discussing it, okay?"
He teased lightly, and Xu Mu naturally understood, quickly nodding.
"I have something I'd like to ask for your help with, Ah Mu. I hope it won't be too much trouble," Bai Nian said.
"It won't, go ahead," Xu Mu replied.
"Do you have any free time this weekend?" Bai Nian inquired.
"Yes, I do," Xu Mu confirmed.
"Well, Ye Ye really likes a character from an animated series, and recently Qinghai Children's Park has a theme event based on it," Bai Nian explained, pausing for a moment. "But it's a family parent-child activity, and if we want to participate, it requires two parents to accompany him."
Xu Mu immediately understood and answered before Bai Nian could finish asking, "Sure, I have nothing to do at home anyway. It'll be nice to go and accompany Ye Ye to play."
Bai Nian was stunned for a few seconds before giving a gentle smile. "Alright, thank you, Ah Mu."
He stood up. "It's getting late, I'll head back now."
Xu Mu also got up. "Then, see you—"
Clang!
Xu Mu turned towards the sound, it came from the bathroom.
"I'll go check that out," he waved to Bai Nian. "Brother Nian, good night."
"Good night."
Xu Mu hurriedly dashed out of the room to see what was happening.
Meanwhile, Bai Nian prepared to leave. As he lifted his foot, a familiar pain surged mercilessly through the seams of his bones. His breathing became rapid, and his hands trembled as he tried to remove his glasses to put them away.
However, he was unsuccessful. His wrist slammed forcefully onto the tabletop, causing the glasses to tumble and emit a faint sound as they fell.
A few seconds later, Bai Nian transformed into his mimicry, smashing onto the bed behind him.
The light tablet automatically shrank, embedding into his furry ears, and the storage compartment activated its retrieval function, neatly stowing away the fallen clothes.
“...” Bai Nian sighed.
This wasn't the first time he had transformed into his mimicry at Xu Mu's house. Without a sense of panic, he resignedly curled up his limbs, waiting for his strength to gradually return.
Shouldn't he get down? After all, lying on someone else's bed was quite impolite.
—-But he couldn't muster the strength to move.
Bai Nian's eyelids drooped. Oh well, he'd better just rest for a while.
...
"This quality is just too poor... it even explodes on its own," Xu Mu muttered under his breath, diligently cleaning up the debris from the water heater.
Nades remarked, "Master, you should be grateful it didn't explode while you were showering."
Xu Mu's lips twitched slightly. "That's true."
He tossed away the last piece of metal and sighed, "I'll have to spend money to buy a new one again."
Nades suggested, "You could buy a cheaper one for now."
"And have it explode again later?"
Nades comforted, "It's okay. It’ll only be a small injury. You can't die from a skin abrasion, but starvation can kill you."
Xu Mu replied, "Thank you."
He browsed the Starnet for a while, finding a number of options on the shopping page, though the prices weren't too attractive.
After much hesitation, he finally settled on a moderately priced water heating system with many positive reviews.
When Xu Mu returned to the room, he thought Bai Nian had already left. However, he found Bai Nian's glasses on the desk, and exclaimed in surprise, "Huh? What's this?"
Did Brother Nian forget to take his glasses with him?
Xu Mu remembered that Bai Nian seemed to have a few pairs of glasses, so he probably wasn't in a hurry to use them. He could send them over tomorrow.
Deciding on that, Xu Mu stretched his shoulder muscles and cracked his joints, feeling a slight soreness in his neck. He yawned, preparing to lie down in bed.
As he lifted the covers—-
Xu Mu froze, seeing a furry ball curled up next to his pillow.
He blinked and slapped his face with his hand.
Ouch.
It wasn't an illusion.
There was really a rabbit on his bed.
"Tutu..." Xu Mu took a deep breath, trying to control his sinful impulses.
Ah! So soft.
"Hmm, good, you didn't get hurt this time."
"Can I hug you?"
"Hmm? You didn't move... Does that mean you're agreeing?"
"I'll count to three, and if you don't move, it means you're letting me hug you. Three, two, one. Alright, you agreed."
"You won't cry this time, right?"
"Ah, you're so good, are you tired?"
...
Bai Nian was feeling a bit drowsy, still recovering from the pain.
Only now did he realize the source of the burning sensation.
The next moment, he was lifted up by the other person, his vision turned into darkness, but it felt warm.
Then, a faint scent of shower gel filled his nostrils.
Bai Nian also heard Xu Mu speaking, feeling the resonance in his chest.
"...Why aren't you moving? Are you feeling unwell?"
Could it be...
"Is it too cold at night?" Xu Mu pondered. Was that why he came looking for him?
The temperature difference between day and night had been significant these past few days, probably because autumn was approaching.
"How about we sleep together tonight?" Xu Mu suggested.
Bai Nian: ?
Was Xu Mu out of his mind?
"Oh, you're not saying anything, so I'll take that as a yes," Xu Mu chuckled lightly. He didn't care why this lop-eared bunny had come to his house, but since it was here, he might as well accompany it for the night.
He hummed a tune, feeling pleased. "It's indeed cold outside, but it'll be warm sleeping with me."
Bai Nian was too angry to speak, not because he didn't want to, but because he didn't have the strength to do so. He couldn't even kick Xu Mu away.
Xu Mu!
He exerted all his strength to roll over and glared angrily at Xu Mu.
What was wrong with this guy? They had been getting along so well these past few days, and he had even quietly kept his distance from him. Bai Nian had thought maybe he was being too harsh, but to reach this point—
It was all an illusion!
Xu Mu, a lunatic, still acts like a pervert when he sees a rabbit!
"So adorable..." Xu Mu's heart melted shamefully. "Is it uncomfortable lying like this? How about if I change positions? Like this?"
"Ugh, your ears exploded..." he sighed helplessly. "Are you angry? If you're not satisfied, I'll change again."
Ah, even when a rabbit was angry, it was still so cute.
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