The Gentle Man Next Door is a Rabbit - 23

 

TGMNDIAR - 23

After finishing their meal, Ye Ye felt a bit drowsy, perhaps from playing too vigorously in the afternoon, exhausting his energy. He leaned on Bai Nian's arm, murmuring softly.

Bai Nian gently brushed through his hair and wiped his mouth with a tissue. "Be good, don't sleep right after eating. Rest for a while, then take a bath before going to bed."

Ye Ye rubbed his eyes. "Okay, Ye Ye won't sleep."

Seeing them getting ready to leave, Xu Mu remembered something and got up to fetch it.

"Brother Nian," he handed over a round white porcelain jar. "Here are throat lozenges. Because of the large quantity, the shopkeeper packed them together. If you want to take some out, you can transfer them into the smaller bottle from before."

"Thank you," Bai Nian took it, running his fingertips along the mouth of the jar, feeling its smooth texture. "Thank you for your hard work."

Xu Mu waved his hand. "It's nothing." Then he asked, "Will you come over tomorrow, Brother Nian?"

"Tomorrow..." Bai Nian hesitated.

Xu Mu added, "Nades recently set up a new cooking program and wants to show off his skills."

Nades, "..."

"Isn't that right, Nades?" Xu Mu asked calmly.

Nades replied, "...Yes, my dear master. Nades is full of enthusiasm for cooking, but there's nowhere to showcase it."

Xu Mu turned his head to look at Bai Nian.

Bai Nian held Ye Ye in his arms. "Alright, I'll come over tomorrow."

He asked, "Do you like cream puffs? Ye Ye mentioned that you seem to really enjoy them."

Xu Mu felt a bit embarrassed. "They're delicious."

Bai Nian smiled faintly. "Then I'll make more for you tomorrow afternoon. By the way, do you prefer sweet and spicy or savory boneless chicken feet from last time?"

Recalling its taste, Xu Mu couldn't help but say, "Sweet and spicy."

"Have you grown tired of eating corn juice with salted berries?"

"No."

"Will the cherry sauce cake be too sour?"

"Not at all," Xu Mu replied without hesitation. "It's very delicious."

Bai Nian smiled. "Alright, I understand."

Xu Mu coughed lightly, realizing belatedly, "Brother Nian, you're so busy with work, you don't have to make these desserts all the time."

Inwardly, he lamented, ‘Why does Ye Ye have to spill everything!’

Bai Nian responded gently, "It's alright, I usually make meals and desserts for Ye Ye anyway, it’s just making a bit more."

As the boy in his arms began to slide downwards, Bai Nian adjusted his position.

"Come on, say goodbye to your brother," Bai Nian said softly.

Ye Ye tried to open his eyes wider. "Daddy goodbye..."

Xu Mu rubbed his face. "Okay, goodbye."

Ye Ye waved to Xu Mu, his chubby little hand wiggling. "Daddy, come here."

Xu Mu leaned in, but before he could react, Ye Ye planted a loud kiss on his cheek.

Before he could gather his thoughts, Ye Ye turned to Bai Nian. "Daddy, you too, kiss, we're leaving."

Recently, he had been watching cartoons, where friends bid farewell in this manner.

Xu Mu's mouth twitched. "Ye Ye, you should watch fewer cartoons."

Bai Nian pursed his lips, remaining silent.

Ye Ye persisted, mumbling, "Nylon and Qiqi are... also friends, say goodbye, kiss on face."

As he spoke, he began fussing..

Xu Mu felt a headache coming on, and Bai Nian whispered softly, "Ye Ye, saying goodbye between friends doesn't always have to be like this."

"Be good friends..." Ye Ye pouted, at this age, children were in the stage of "me and the world", "Daddy and Daddy are good friends..."

Bai Nian could only continue to soothe the boy.

Xu Mu pondered for a moment. "Brother Nian."

"Hmm?" Bai Nian looked up, and before him was the looming figure leaning in. He froze, his heartbeat involuntarily accelerating—

He remembered during mimicry, how the other always liked to nuzzle his neck, the scorching breath spraying like fire.

Xu Mu leaned in close to Bai Nian's cheek, using the blind spot in Ye Ye's field of vision to deceive his eyes. "There, I kissed your cheek."

Ye Ye stared with wide eyes. "I didn't see..."

Xu Mu shrugged, saying earnestly, "Well, that's too bad then."

Ye Ye wanted to say something else but Xu Mu covered his mouth with his hand. "Alright, stop muttering. Aren't you tired? Go back, take a shower, and sleep."

"Goodnight, Brother Nian."

Bai Nian's lips moved slightly. "...Goodnight."

"Come to my place for dinner tomorrow."

"Okay."

---

As summer vacation was about to end, today was the day Xu Mu went to the university to attend the opening ceremony, to be precise, it was the opening ceremony for new students. 

The returning students were just there as a backdrop, with formal reporting scheduled for three days later.

To be honest, he was quite nervous.

He was a bit afraid of running into acquaintances of the original owner.

Although the original owner was just as well-off as him, or even better, with a clean list of online friends, there was no guarantee that the other party didn't have some "soul" friends, as they usually maintained their relationships offline.

After all, even though he had been here for over two months, he had only made two new friends—Bai Nian and Ye Ye.

Xu Mu thought of a bunch of messy things, but when the day actually arrived, he didn't have the mind to think about it.

"Why did the temperature suddenly drop..."

Xu Mu got up before dawn. The school's opening ceremony was at six-thirty in the morning. As soon as he opened the window, he shivered from the cold wind. He couldn’t help but hug the plush rabbit in his arms for warmth.

Damn it, isn't it late September now? Why is this place so cold?

"The weather is one reason, and it also depends on your body’s perception," Nades said. "If you're cold, you can wear a winter uniform coat and a long coat."

Xu Mu immediately looked up. "You didn't tell me—"

"Actually, very few people would wear a winter uniform coat in this weather. It's very eye-catching. Didn't you used to dislike drawing attention to yourself?"

"...I've changed, men have to change. Give me the coat, but skip the long coat."

"Alright, please wait a moment," Nades said, then went to the wardrobe to fetch the clothes.

In a few minutes, Xu Mu saw the true appearance of the winter uniform coat. It was also indigo blue, made of woolen fabric, it looked quite stiff. The collar had intricate embroidered patterns with lace designs, and the badge on the chest sparkled, embedded with clear sapphires. The cuffs were accentuated with golden and silver threads, and the buttons gleamed like gold.

Compared to summer attire, the style of the winter uniform coat was undoubtedly much fancier, even bordering on ostentatious.

—It didn't look like a college uniform, it looked more like a suit for receiving awards.

"...Forget it, I'll just deal with the cold."

"You don't want it anymore?"

Xu Mu straightened his back slightly. "I suddenly don't feel cold anymore."

Nades took back the clothes without surprise.

"Alright, my dear master."

After finishing his morning routine and dressing up, Xu Mu styled his hair carefully, although he still felt incredibly tired.

Before he left, Nades asked, "Will you have breakfast?"

Xu Mu waved his hand. "It's too early, I can't eat. I'll have a nutrient drink when I get hungry later."

St. Petersburg University

The school was very close by. Xu Mu took a public flying vessel and arrived at the school gate in about ten minutes.

The gate was made of a special material that mimicked marble patterns, with an automatic integrated design. On both sides of the entrance were exquisite reliefs, carved with intricate and elaborate patterns, and various lifelike animal sculptures stood tall, too numerous to count.

There were quite a few students coming and going, and most of them seemed listless, with faces showing a lack of enthusiasm for life.

Only a very few students seemed lively and full of energy.

—You could tell they were freshmen.

Xu Mu adjusted his collar and kept his hands firmly in his pockets, not wanting to take them out.

He found the area for Sculpture Class 10 based on the announcement sent by the class president in the only StarNet class group he joined.

It was a large square.

The crowd was bustling and noisy, perhaps because it was still dark, everyone seemed a bit lethargic, with few loud noises, only small groups gathering here and there, whispering to each other.

Xu Mu roughly scanned the area and found that Nades had been right. Almost no one was wearing the winter uniform coat.

He arrived at the college sign and found Class 10's area arranged according to their class. Quite a few people were already gathered in the designated area.

He stood at the end of the line, head down, silently waiting.

Buzz buzz buzz—his wrist communicator vibrated.

Xu Mu glanced at the message, it was from the class president who hadn't been in contact for ages.

[Dot is Lost: Hello, Xu, have you arrived? If you have, please check in on the group.]

[Xu: I'm here, I'll check in right away.]

Xu Mu found the function in the group, which wasn't hard to find as it was pinned at the top.

He clicked the red button, and his coordinates and name appeared on the list below.

"Classmate, this is Architecture Class 10." A round-faced girl walked up to him, smiling.

Xu Mu, who had been daydreaming, looked over slowly. "Ah, I know."

"It's Architecture Class 10," the girl emphasized again.

Xu Mu realized, "I'm in Architecture Class 10."

"Ah... are you transferring from another major this year?" the girl asked.

Xu Mu shook his head.

The girl asked, "Classmate, I don't think I've seen you before..." She was the class president and had interacted with almost every classmate due to various matters.

Xu Mu remained silent for a moment before saying, "Maybe you forgot."

Impossible. The girl thought, with a handsome guy like this, if she had seen him, she would have a hard time forgetting.

"Um, do you mind if I ask for your name?"

"Xu Mu."

"Oh, Xu Mu—" The girl paused, then incredulously looking him up and down.

She remembered Xu Mu, a tall and skinny boy, his bangs covering his eyes so his face wasn't clear. He was silent and reserved, with a somewhat gloomy temperament, giving off an initial impression of being unfriendly.

"...Did you have plastic surgery?" The girl accidentally blurted out her thoughts, immediately blushing and apologizing profusely. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I spoke out of turn, that's not what I meant, I was just so surprised and blurted out nonsense, please forgive me..."

"It's okay," Xu Mu replied nonchalantly.

After apologizing several more times, the girl cautiously left, sneaking glances back even after she was far away.

Xu Mu touched his nose, wondering if the change was that drastic. What kind of appearance did the original owner have when attending school?

"Students, please be quiet." A voice from above echoed through the entire square, silencing the vast space.

The speaking teacher seemed satisfied. "The opening ceremony will officially begin in three minutes."

Xu Mu glanced around casually, listened for a while, and found it was all official talk.

He wasn't interested, his eyelids drooping as he continued to daydream.

...

Finally, it was over.

Xu Mu moved his stiff shoulders, finally feeling less like a wooden man.

He adjusted his coat and prepared to head back.

His wrist communicator suddenly rang.

Someone was actually calling him? Xu Mu was surprised as he looked at a row of unfamiliar numbers and pressed the answer button.

"Hello?"

"Xu, this is Teacher Chen, your counselor. Do you have time to come to the college office now?"

Counselor?

Xu Mu pondered for a moment. "Um, sure."

In the office...

"Student Xu, please take a seat." Chen Beiqi sized up Xu Mu. "It's been two months since we last met, you seem to be in much better shape now."

Xu Mu wasn't sure about the relationship between the original owner and the counselor, so he answered cautiously, "Um."

Chen Beiqi said, "Don't be nervous. I didn't call you here for anything serious. I just wanted to ask you if you'd like to participate in the new work-study program the college has approved for the second half of the year. It can offset your tuition fees. Are you interested?"

He paused. "You've already paid half of the tuition fees for last academic year, and the bill for this semester hasn't been generated yet. With the subsidies from the program, if you maintain full attendance until your senior year, you should be able to cover the tuition fees for all four years of college."

Xu Mu thought for a moment. "Teacher, can I take a look at the general content of the program?"

Chen Beiqi had no objection and sent the document to him through the class group chat.

"Up until now, you still haven't added the teacher's StarNet ID," he sighed. "I gave you the number back then, and you said you'd add it when you got back. It's been this long, and you still haven't added it."

Xu Mu: "..."

He really wanted to say he would add it now, but considering the original owner's persona, he remained silent.

—It had to be said, the original owner was really something, so reclusive that Xu Mu felt inferior.

"Teacher, does the project require me to be in my senior year?" Xu Mu asked after roughly going through the document.

"No. You can stop midway, but correspondingly, the subsidy amount will also decrease."

"Teacher, I'll get back to you with my answer later."

"Alright, no rush. Take your time with your schedule. If your studies aren't too busy, you can consider it."

"Thank you, teacher."

-

Xu Mu didn't linger at the school, heading straight home.

As soon as he stepped out of the elevator, he heard Ye Ye crying.

He was somewhat surprised and walked over quickly.

"Ye Ye, come inside first," Bai Nian spoke as gently as usual, but his tone was extremely stern.

Ye Ye choked up, his voice trembling as he said, "I-I don't want... bad daddy... bad... super bad..."

Bai Nian Ye sighed. "Alright, I'm bad, but you come inside first. Crying outside will disturb others."

Ye Ye sniffled. "N-No one... it's daddy... daddy isn't bad... sniff..."

Xu Mu: "..."

Oh no, does this mean he'll have to play the good cop later?

Bai Nian didn't notice Xu Mu, his voice no longer gentle. "Ye Ye, don't make me repeat myself."

Ye Ye cried even louder. "You're bad! You're bad!"

Bai Nian took a deep breath. "You—"

"Who's crying?" Xu Mu walked over from behind, calmly lifting Ye Ye up from behind. "Hey, it's Ye Ye, let me see. You've cried so much, you look like a little kitten crying like that."

When Ye Ye saw Xu Mu, he cried even more miserably. His short arms wrapped around Xu Mu's neck, his nose, tears and snot sticking to him stubbornly.

Xu Mu's brow twitched. "Alright, alright, don't cry. Tell big brother what happened."

"I... don't... want... to... go... Daddy doesn't want me... sniff... I don't want... Daddy's bad... Daddy's a big bad guy... he doesn't want me..."

Ye Ye screamed heartbreakingly, but Xu Mu couldn't make sense of his broken words.

After hesitating for a moment, he looked at Bai Nian.

Bai Nian's face remained tense. "He's over three years old now and needs to go to kindergarten. I took him to register this morning, and he started crying when he found out he has to go there every day. He said he doesn't want to go and just wants to stay at home."

Ah, kindergarten.

Xu Mu wiped away Ye Ye's tears. "Ye Ye, everyone has to go to school. You can't stay at home forever."

"I... I don't want to leave Daddy..."

"Why would you leave? It'll be the same as before. You can video call Daddy at noon and see Daddy at night."

"N-No, it's not the same..." Ye Ye sniffed. "At noon... no... video call... have to... sleep... different... at night... take the bus... can't see Daddy..."

Xu Mu pieced together the general idea. "So, you mean, at noon, you have to nap at kindergarten and can't video call Daddy, and at night, you take the bus home and can't see Daddy right away?"

Ye Ye nodded, whispering, "And... other... noisy... kids."

Xu Mu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "There's no way to solve this. Going to school means you'll definitely interact with other people. If you find the other kids noisy, just stay away from them."

Ye Ye bit his lip, tears slowly rolling down his cheeks.

Xu Mu quickly wiped them away and asked Bai Nian, "Brother Nian, is it mandatory for the kindergarten to keep Ye Ye for lunch and provide bus transportation home in the evening?"

"It's not mandatory," Bai Nian sighed, "but because of my job, it has to be this way."

Xu Mu asked which kindergarten it was, and Bai Nian mentioned the name.

Xu Mu searched on StarNet and found that it was very close to the university, not even more than a flight path away.

"Brother Nian, how about this? I'll pick up Ye Ye for lunch and in the evening since the kindergarten is close to the university."

"No, it's too much trouble for you," Bai Nian refused without hesitation.

Xu Mu said, "It's okay, I have plenty of free time."

Ye Ye's eyes, like black grapes, swirled around, seeming to understand Xu Mu's words. He nestled affectionately against him. "Daddy..."

Xu Mu smiled. "See, Brother Nian? Ye Ye doesn't want to be apart from me either."

Bai Nian whispered, "Ah Mu, this is really too much trouble for you."

Xu Mu lifted Ye Ye up and considered for a moment. "It's really not trouble. I really like Ye Ye, and I'm very happy to spend time with him."

"And," he paused for a moment, speaking sincerely, "I also want to help you out Brother Nian."

Bai Nian was taken aback.

"That's settled then." Xu Mu lowered his head. "Ye Ye, from now on, you'll be with your brother for lunch, and I'll pick you up in the afternoon, okay?"

Ye Ye's voice was hoarse from crying, and he looked carefully at Bai Nian. "Daddy... will you... video call..."

Bai Nian lowered his gaze and slowly squatted down. "Yes, don't cause trouble for your brother."

Ye Ye whispered, "Okay, I won't cause trouble..."

"Then it's settled!" Xu Mu rubbed Ye Ye's face. "Brother Nian, it's almost lunchtime. Do you want to come to my place for lunch? Nades is cooking today."

Bai Nian shifted his gaze slightly. "Okay."

"Let's go, Ye Ye, let's go to your brother's place first."

"Daddy, good..."

"Ah, you have such a sweet mouth."

…

Nades was waiting as usual at the entrance. Xu Mu told him that Bai Nian would come over for dinner later.

"I already heard at the door, so you can rest assured," Nades bowed gentlemanly. "It's time for me to eagerly showcase my extraordinary cooking skills again."

Xu Mu: "..."

He had planned to grab the plush bunny for warmth, but considering Bai Nian’s impending arrival, he feared that he would appear childish, so he refrained.

Ye Ye, exhausted from crying, curled up into a ball and buried himself under the blanket.

"Do you want to play with the toy train?"

"No..."

"What about the toy airplane?"

"Don't want to..."

"How about the toy laser armor of Tessaia?"

"Don't want it..."

Xu Mu finally understood. It seemed Ye Ye was still feeling sulky after the crying episode.

He thought, this won't do.

"Come on, Ye Ye, let your brother talk to you."

"You are three years old and as your big friend…oh no, almost four years old now. Can you be strong?"

"You know, Daddy loves you, right?"

"Do you love Daddy too?"

"When you cry, Daddy gets sad too. Can you bear to see Daddy sad?"

"You don't want that, right? So you..."

...

Xu Mu was almost exhausted from talking so much, but Ye Ye still had his back turned to him.

Nades emerged from behind, saying softly, "Master, no one likes to listen to adults' nagging. When you were this young, you were quite unreasonable."

Xu Mu: "..." Bullshit, I was very obedient when I was young. The sisters in the orphanage loved him, he just didn't like to talk.

"Ye Ye." Xu Mu approached, using his fingertips to poke Ye Ye's cheek. "Hey, can you listen to your brother? Tomorrow, brother will take you out to play—anywhere you want. Really, brother promises, I'll accompany you from day to night, and if it's not enough, we'll continue tomorrow..."

"Will you go? Can you say something?"

Xu Mu's mouth was dry, so he took a sip of water.

"Squeak."

Xu Mu paused, then laughed. "Ye Ye, what did you just say?"

Ye Ye buried his head and muttered, "Squeak."

Xu Mu couldn't contain his smile. This kid was just too cute.

"Okay, I heard you." He cleared his throat. "Come on, let's make a promise?"

A chubby hand reached out with a pinkie raised.

Xu Mu hooked his pinkie with it, "Pinky promise—"

"A hundred years without change..." Ye Ye followed along.

"Great job." Xu Mu praised, standing up. As he turned his head, he saw Bai Nian quietly standing behind them.

The light illuminated his face, revealing a smooth complexion, as delicate and radiant as porcelain glaze.

He was not sure how long he had been watching.

Xu Mu was stunned for a few seconds. "Brother Nian, you're here."

Bai Nian looked up, softly saying, "Yeah, I didn't want to interrupt your conversation."

Ye Ye jumped down from the sofa and ran towards the toy car on the other side, hopping in and driving away.

Xu Mu: "..." He couldn't try to guess what that child was thinking.

Bai Nian's expression remained unchanged, as if he had anticipated it.

Xu Mu hesitated, "He... Ye Ye..."

"It's okay, let him play for a while." 

"Was Ye Ye like this before?"

Bai Nian looked at Ye Ye's back and said softly, "Yes, Ye Ye... he's like his mother, too stubborn."

The last few words escaped like a sigh.

Xu Mu was caught off guard by this topic. Ye Ye's mother... wasn't she Bai Nian's ex?

Subtle emotions flickered through his mind.

Bai Nian didn't delve deeper into the conversation. "Ah Mu, I made a cherry sauce cake that you like. If Nades hasn't prepared dinner yet, you can have some to fill your stomach."

He looked Xu Mu up and down. "Did school start today?"

The young man stood tall, with a cold and dignified demeanor. His well-fitted uniform accentuated his broad shoulders and long legs, while his slender waist exuded youthful vitality.

"Oh, no. School officially starts in three days," Xu Mu replied. "Today is the freshmen orientation ceremony, and we, the returning students, are just background decorations."

"I see," Bai Nian nodded, slightly tilting his head. "You look very handsome."

Xu Mu blinked, a beat behind in response. "Th-thank you."

He felt strangely awkward after hearing that compliment, his hand pressing tightly against his knee.

Bai Nian lowered his head to open the box, the neatly cut slices of cake placed on a plate and handed over to Xu Mu.

“Thank you.” Xu Mu sat up straight and accepted the cake, promptly stuffing it into his mouth.

It didn't take long for him to finish a piece of cake.

Bai Nian was a bit surprised. It seemed the young man really liked to eat sweets. He tentatively offered a few more pieces, and Xu Mu quickly took them, stuffing them into his mouth expressionlessly.

The sweet and tangy flavor exploded on his taste buds. Although the sweetness was somewhat mitigated, Xu Mu himself loved sweets, but his throat was starting to feel overwhelmed.

Yet he didn't stop; whenever Bai Nian offered, he would eat.

The words "very handsome" kept echoing in his mind.

Bai Nian hesitated whether to continue offering because the young man seemed to be lost in thought and wasn't paying attention to how much he was eating.

"Ah Mu?" Bai Nian spoke softly.

As soon as Xu Mu heard it, he reached out, but grabbed nothing.

Bai Nian also spoke softly, "Can you still eat? Isn't it too sweet? Do you..."

"What happened to your hand?" Xu Mu's voice sounded at the same time.

He lowered his head, about to touch it, but something occurred to him, and he stopped midway.

"Brother Nian, was it an act of bravery again?"

Bai Nian looked at his own hand, and recalled, “Oh, it's nothing. Today, when I was taking Ye Ye to enroll in kindergarten, there was a kid in front of us who almost tripped. I saw it and helped him up, but I might have bumped into something at that time—'"

"Don't worry, there's no bleeding, just a bit of bruising." He raised his hand to stop Xu Mu from getting up. "There's no need for ointment, it's too much trouble. I'll just use the therapeutic device at home to treat it."

Xu Mu frowned, unable to resist, he grabbed Bai Nian's wrist and pressed his fingertips against his wrist bone, staring intently at him. "Doesn't it hurt?"

There's bruising already!

"It doesn't hurt, really." Bai Nian pursed his lips.

Compared to the pain, the cold touch of the young man's finger bones against his skin gave him a strange tingling sensation.

Xu Mu let go, his brow furrowing even deeper. "Your skin sensitivity..."

"It's really not a good thing."

Like a rabbit, he had an astonishing ability to endure, never making a sound no matter how uncomfortable.

Xu Mu still went to get the therapeutic device and ointment.

Bai Nian's eyelashes drooped, murmuring a low thank you, while his other hand fumbled around for the blanket on the sofa.

"Master, it's time for dinner." Nades came over to say.

Xu Mu discarded the disposable cotton swab. "Alright, I'll be there in a moment."

"What's this?" Bai Nian hesitated, voicing out.

Xu Mu: !!!

He froze, stuttering, "Uh, it's, uh, a scarf and gloves."

—The last time he went to the shop, he was persuaded by the salesperson with all sorts of talk about free color matching, heartfelt intentions, and how self-made was the best, so he bought them home.

Bai Nian looked at the unfinished piece in his hand. "Did you... knit these?"

"Yeah."

Bai Nian looked at the somewhat small gloves in his hand. "Are these for Ye Ye?"

Xu Mu scratched his face. "No, Ye Ye—when I get better at it, I can knit one for him. This one is not for a person."

Bai Nian's heart skipped a beat. "Then for whom?"

"For a rabbit, it's very cute, I'm afraid it'll be cold in winter."

Bai Nian's thoughts wandered slightly. His hand loosened, and the glove dropped, but Xu Mu swiftly caught it.

He opened his mouth, but no words came out. "Sorry..."

Xu Mu carefully held onto the unfinished pieces, his eyes focused on the scarf and gloves. "Hmm, it's okay."

Bai Nian silently grasped his hand, feeling the pulse's vibrations, seemingly erratic and disorderly.

What a strange feeling...

But also filled with joy.

-

Ye Ye's "little temper" came and went quickly.

Just like any other day, he would stick to Bai Nian, calling him "Daddy" affectionately, which was incredibly cute.

Xu Mu was extremely relieved by this, while Bai Nian had grown accustomed to it, often teasing Ye Ye and making the boy blush, pretending to forget his tantrums.

"Is your honeymoon over?" Bai Nian leaned against the window sill, stroking the white hibiscus flowers.

Shi Lun sighed, "Yeah, finally. It was so annoying."

Bai Nian teased, "Sweet annoyance?"

Shi Lun snorted, "There's sweetness, but also plenty of annoyance."

"Let's not talk about that. I happen to have some free time, so I'll come see you later. Are you going to welcome me?"

Bai Nian chuckled helplessly, "Of course, how could I not welcome you."

"Okay, then the day after tomorrow, are you free?"

"I am."

...

Bai Nian and Shi Lun chatted for a while. Ye Ye tugged at Bai Nian's trouser leg, wanting to be held.

Bai Nian lifted him up and asked with a smile, "Baby, what did you play with at your brother's house today?"

Ye Ye counted on his fingers, listing one thing after another, in an orderly manner.

Bai Nian casually asked, "You didn't go downstairs today?"

Ye Ye shook his head and muttered, "...no, Daddy was holding the rabbit... he didn't let go... didn't come down to play with me..."

Bai Nian was taken aback, his smile fading.

He asked softly, "Ye Ye, what does the rabbit look like?"

Ye Ye played with his hands, mumbling, "...ears, here, fur, like Daddy..."

He pouted, "Daddy, didn't let me touch... stingy."

Bai Nian remained silent, his lips slowly straightening into a line.

Did the young man have another lop-eared rabbit?

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