The Gentle Man Next Door is a Rabbit - 18

 

TGMNDIAR - 18

Xu Mu was originally sitting upright on the sofa closest to the corridor, when he faintly heard the sound of flowing water in his ears, unclear but always able to catch the lingering echoes.

Is his hearing... so good?

Xu Mu took a deep breath and silently moved to the glass window, the farthest diagonal from his previous position.

"Daddy... rain... not hold... wait..."

Ye Ye muttered, playing with his own fingers.

Xu Mu picked up Ye Ye, firmly pressing his woolen hat down, "Because Daddy got caught in the rain and his clothes are wet, so he can't hold you right now, but he will be able to hold you soon."

Ye Ye leaned sticky against Xu Mu's shoulder, whispering, "I know... Daddy is cold, needs a bath."

Xu Mu "Hmm" in response, gently touching the back of his head.

Suddenly, his hand paused.

It's so late... Has Brother Nian still not eaten dinner?

…

Bathroom

Ba Nian also turned on all the warming lamps above his head, and the orange light instantly filled the entire space.

His skin, already numb due to the cold, trembled slightly, causing a shiver of goosebumps.

Ba Nian lifted his stiff fingers and twisted the water outlet of the shower.

The rushing water splashed from the tiles, and the rising steam sparsely obscured the contours of the surrounding objects.

Ba Nian slowly approached, trembling as he removed his close-fitting clothes with his fingertips.

With a click, the old clothes box opened, and the damp clothes piled up, ready for the cleaning process.

Ba Nian stood in the hot water, his pale complexion tinged with an unnatural blush. He closed his eyes, allowing the water to wash over him. A slight pain erupted from his nerve endings, quickly fading away.

Different from the icy shivers in the downpour, in the warm, confined space, his tense heartstrings relaxed. It felt as if the congealed blood was flowing again, warmth sweeping through every vein and bone.

Half an hour later

Ba Nian stepped out of the bathroom.

A chill greeted him.

Despite the heating system being on indoors, there was still a temperature difference compared to the warmth of the shower.

Ba Nian pressed his forehead, unsure if the hot water was too scalding, causing his blood to flow faster. His heart pounded heavily, a slight throbbing in his temples, accompanied by waves of dizziness.

"Daddy..." Ye Ye leaned against the door crack, eagerly watching Ba Nian.

Ba Nian startled, quickly walking over.

"Hug—" Ye Ye opened his arms.

Ba Nian gently embraced him, "Ye Ye, I'm sorry for coming back so late and making you wait for so long."

Ye Ye reached out and touched his face, "Daddy, you're... cold from the rain."

Ba Nian shook his head softly, "I'm not cold."

Ye Ye said, "Eat... dinner."

Ba Nian touched his stomach, "Are you not full? Should I get you..."

"No, I'm not hungry, you're hungry!" Ye Ye's serious little face reached out to pat Ba Nian's stomach.

Ba Nian suddenly realized, "You want me to eat, huh?"

"Yeah!"

Actually, Ba Nian didn't have much of an appetite. The thought of food made him feel nauseous, and he didn't want to eat anything.

He coaxed Ye Ye, "Daddy will drink some nutrient solution later, okay?"

Ba Nian spoke while taking out a small amount of nutrient solution from the storage compartment, reluctantly drinking it under Ye Ye's gaze.

"See, Daddy is not hungry now."

Ye Ye tilted his head, then suddenly grabbed his hand and pulled him outside.

Ba Nian didn't understand, but he followed his lead, reminding him to walk slowly and not to fall.

…

Living room

"Nades, you're amazing," Xu Mu praised sincerely.

Several brightly colored dishes were stacked on white porcelain plates, next to a pyramid of white rice decorated with tomato slices, showing a great sense of artistry.

Nades said, "You flatter me, but you did make a wise choice. I thought you would make a pot of vegetable soup yourself."

Xu Mu was speechless, "Do I seem brainless to you..."

He seemed to sense something and turned his head, "Brother Nian, have you finished washing?"

Ba Nian looked at the tabletop, a hint of surprise fleeting in his eyes.

"Yes, did you... make these?" 

"No, it was Nades," Xu Mu said, "You must be hungry this late, have some."

Ba Nian hesitated, apologizing with regret, "Sorry, Ah Mu, I just drank some nutrient solution earlier, I'm afraid I can't eat now."

Xu Mu responded quickly, "Oh, okay, as long as you're not hungry."

He didn't seem disappointed, efficiently cleaning up the table, preparing to take it away later.

Ba Nian looked at him in a daze.

"Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere? After all, you got caught in the rain—" Xu Mu paused, "By the way, Brother Nian, did anything happen on the way here?"

Ba Nian briefly mentioned the main points of what had happened, and Xu Mu's brow furrowed deeper as he listened, unable to refrain from cursing, "What a despicable person!"

"What happened to the boy in the end?" he asked with concern.

Ba Nian sighed, "We called the police, contacted the boy's grandmother to pick him up, and now he's temporarily separated from his father."

He sounded a bit weary, "But the boy is still young, and I, as a stranger, shouldn't interfere with what happens next."

"No, Brother Nian, you've already done a great job," Xu Mu said, looking him straight in the eye, "You don't need to blame yourself."

Ba Nian fell silent.

Xu Mu changed the subject, "Brother Nian, you should rest early tonight after being in the rain for so long. Take care of yourself."

He took a step forward, asking with concern, "Are you sure you don’t feel uncomfortable anywhere?"

Ba Nian didn't want to worry Xu Mu, so he just said, "No, I'm fine."

"Alright, don't overexert yourself. Leave things to Kadou to handle, I'm leaving," Xu Mu said.

He didn't linger any longer, bidding farewell to Ye Ye by holding his small hand and waving to Ba Nian.

There was a sense of accomplishing his mission and then retiring.

But once back home, Xu Mu collapsed on the sofa, holding his head in pain.

"Master, what are you doing?" Nades didn't understand, "Is there a bug on your back?"

Xu Mu muttered to himself, "Did I cross the line today?"

He scratched his head, "I shouldn't have pushed him to take a shower at that time, and I shouldn't have followed him all the way, and I even brought food over later..."

Xu Mu looked up, staring blankly at the ceiling.

—Who's the weird neighbor with no sense of boundaries?

—Ah, it's me.

Nades asked, "Just because of this?"

Xu Mu said, "What do you mean 'just'?"

Nades said, "...Well, I don't understand you."

Xu Mu: ?

A mentally challenged robot.

He was too lazy to argue with the block of iron that didn't understand human emotions and social norms, so he prepared to take a shower.

Xu Mu showered quickly, probably finishing in about ten minutes.

His gaming queue for today hadn't been accepted yet, so he spent two hours playing in his room. He yawned as he came out to the living room to drink water, and he took the opportunity to tidy up the messy sofa.

Then he found Ye Ye's teddy bear—

Kadou said it was the teddy bear that the other person must hold every night.

Because Ba Nian didn't come back on time at night, Ye Ye cried, and Kadou brought the teddy bear to comfort him.

Xu Mu hesitated for a moment, considering that it was Ye Ye's bedtime companion, so he decided to return it to him.

Better safe than sorry, if Ye Ye couldn't sleep because of the teddy bear, it would be troublesome.

Xu Mu knocked on the door next door, feeling a bit absent-minded, lost in his thoughts.

If Ye Ye had already fallen asleep, then it might be Kadou who would come to open the door.

Brother Nian... should be resting.

But if Ye Ye hadn't fallen asleep yet, and Ba Nian was still comforting him to sleep...

Or if Ba Nian had already fallen asleep, and Kadou had put Ye Ye to sleep. Of course, it was also possible that he hadn't fallen asleep yet.

Click—

"Brother Nian." Xu Mu straightened his back and quickly said, "You're not asleep yet, right? It's like this, Kadou said this is the teddy bear Ye Ye likes to hold when he sleeps. I saw that he left behind and was worried Ye Ye couldn't sleep, so I brought it over."

Ba Nian leaned against the door frame, his head slightly lowered, speaking slowly and softly, "Ye Ye... is asleep. You don't need to worry. Thanks for bringing it over, please give it to me."

Xu Mu didn't quite catch the last three words, subconsciously leaning forward, "What?"

Ba Nian swayed, his arm that was halfway lifted drooped down, and he fell straight forward.

Xu Mu's mind went blank, ignoring the teddy bear falling to the ground as he reached out to embrace Ba Nian tightly.

He looked down in surprise, only to see Ba Nian's cheeks flushed red, lips slightly parted, eyes unfocused, and eyelids drooping low.

"Sorry..." Ba Nian murmured softly, "I feel dizzy, probably... have a fever..."

Intermittent murmurs, accompanied by a scorching hot breath, enveloped Xu Mu's neck. The skin there felt like it was being scorched by fire, causing an intense itching sensation.

Xu Mu froze, and the next moment, he looked around, "Where's the medical robot? Isn't there a Lola?"

Looking at Brother Nian in this condition, why hadn't the robot activated yet?

He grasped Ba Nian's wrist and felt around, but there was no light brain—

So the medical alarm hadn't sounded.

...

Ba Nian's consciousness was fading, and he could barely hear what Xu Mu was saying.

In his daze, he felt like he was holding onto a cold, large sandbag.

It felt so comfortable, so thirst-quenching, and he wanted to press his whole body against it.

"Brother Nian... you need to loosen your grip a bit, I can't move like this..." a voice of helplessness sounded.

So familiar. Where has he heard it before?

It was—Xu Mu?

"Come on, let go, Lola needs to give you an injection..."

Ba Nian only listened to what he wanted to hear, feeling dissatisfied.

Why should he let go? Clearly, when in his mimicry form, it was the young man who insisted on holding him...

The more Ba Nian thought about it, the more displeased he became. What was the other person dissatisfied with? If it weren't for the pitiful look on the young man's face every time he spoke, why would he tolerate all the hugs and listen to his nonsense?

He tightened his arms and forcefully spoke in a low voice, "Don't move..."

Xu Mu hesitated, unsure of what to do.

Suddenly, the person in his arms moved again.

He felt so hot, he liked the cold sandbag...

Ba Nian rubbed his cheek against Xu Mu's neck, his hand blindly seeking coolness, wishing he could press against every available surface.

"So comfortable..." Ba Nian sighed.

His voice was hoarse and alluring, his breath seeking the coolness without pause.

Xu Mu slightly widened his eyes, his Adam's apple rolling violently.

The next moment, his ears turned red, and he pushed the person away with brute force.

Damn...

Xu Mu touched his Adam's apple, feeling the lingering moisture.

He had been bitten.

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