The Gentle Man Next Door is a Rabbit - 57

 

TGMNDIAR - 57

The black ball was annoying, but Xu Mu couldn't be bothered to deal with it, so he gradually got used to it.

The only good thing it did was to fully restore the memories of the original owner, allowing him to understand the orc world better.

He felt a bit nostalgic when he learned about the original owner's life. At certain times, Xu Mu and the original owner were quite similar—both grew up as orphans, not fond of socializing, but with wild imaginations, capable of spending a whole day in bed imagining a new world.

However, the original owner was even more reclusive, often feeling lonely. Knowing that he was just a character in a book with his future life already planned out made him lose his will to live.

And with the black ball constantly tagging along, warning him that any deviation from the book's plot would result in death, and threatening him with electric shocks, the original owner became mentally exhausted and simply gave up on living.

Unable to commit suicide, he contemplated starving himself to death, but always ended up eating something halfway through. In this dilemma, the original owner struggled, eventually dying from playing games late into the night.

"What do you mean I forced him?" The black ball protested. "I just scared him a bit. The electric shocks were just mild currents. Didn't you try them yourself?"

Xu Mu's ears buzzed. The power of a loud voice was truly terrifying.

"Stop," he pressed his temple. "I get it."

"I'm going out with Brother Nian later. Don't follow us," Xu Mu said.

The black ball followed him around every day, disrupting their intimacy with its incessant noise. 

The black ball grumbled, "But I need to collect the emotional energy from the protagonist's love—"

"You've collected enough, haven't you?" Xu Mu interrupted. "Finish up and go bother the protagonist gong instead of me."

"What if he mistakes me for a monster and beats me up?" the black ball complained.

The protagonist gong's consciousness is connected to the center of the world, if it goes awry for a moment, he will be rejected by this plane.

Xu Mu: "You can transform into a human to approach him."

The black ball looked puzzled, "Human?"

Xu Mu explained, "Pretend to be an orc to get close to him."

He looked the black ball up and down and said intentionally, "What, you can't do it?"

Unable to resist the challenge, the black ball vowed, "Come on, what can't I do?"

Xu Mu praised insincerely, "Then you're amazing."

The black ball raised its head proudly, "Ha, of course, just look who's standing in front of you."

He vaguely felt something was wrong but couldn't articulate it.

...

"Brother Nian, are we leaving now?" Xu Mu leaned against the door of the room, peering in from outside.

"Okay, just a moment." Bai Nian was hesitating while picking out framed glasses.

He woke up in the morning to find his eyes slightly irritated, making it uncomfortable to wear contact lenses.

Since he was going out with Ah Mu, it was like a date, so he wanted to choose glasses that were both stylish and practical.

"This one looks good." A hand dropped from above.

Bai Nian turned his head, his cheek brushing against another, their breath mingling, warm.

Xu Mu leaned in and lightly rubbed, chuckling, "The brown one suits you."

Bai Nian's eyelashes trembled lightly, his head slightly lowered, obediently letting the other person put on his glasses.

From Xu Mu's perspective, the facial contours looked particularly gentle, his skin clean and clear, his lips looked very kissable, tinged with a faint crimson hue.

His steady hand trembled slightly, and he inexplicably leaned in closer. When he realized what he was doing, he cleared his throat lightly.

"...Looks good," he said.

Bai Nian pursed his lips and smiled, "Then I'll wear this one."

Xu Mu murmured a low "Hmm."

"Let's go," Bai Nian patted his arm.

"Just a moment."

"Hmm? What's wrong..." Bai Nian's words trailed off, interrupted.

Their lips met gently, softly rubbing against each other, his lower lip being sucked lightly.

Soon, they parted again.

Xu Mu raised an eyebrow, saying with pleasure, "Alright, let's go."

Bai Nian unconsciously touched his lips with his hand, then smiled at the words, "Good morning kiss?"

Xu Mu shook his head, honestly saying, "I just wanted to kiss you."

Bai Nian was taken aback for a moment, then tiptoed slightly, and their lips met again.

"I wanted to as well."

Bai Nian's kiss was as gentle as he was, tender and non-threatening.

It was like a breeze, fleeting upon touch.

"Recently, it feels like you haven't been hugging me much these days..." Bai Nian's tone was light, with a hint of complaint.

Xu Mu's throat was a bit dry, "Really? Maybe it's because of the move, we've had less time together, so... um, I'll make sure it doesn't happen again."

--- Mainly because the little black ball always follows behind, and every time he makes a move, the little black ball starts squawking.

Even though he was an electronic entity, having an audience staring when you want to kiss was quite creepy. 

Last time, Xu Mu was holding back his annoyance and was willing to tease the other side without any scruples. Now... he couldn't do it. 

Bai Nian hooked his collar with his fingertips, smiling gently, "I'll remember that." 

Xu Mu snapped back to reality, his Adam's apple moving ever so slightly. "Okay."

---

If Xu Mu were shopping alone in a supermarket, his style would always be quick and decisive. But with two people, his pace noticeably slowed down, to the point where one could count each tile on the floor.

Bai Nian belonged to the meticulous type, selecting items with patience and detail. He would thoroughly watch product introduction videos and read instruction manuals placed above the shelves. He would then compare horizontally, inevitably selecting the best one. Of course, personal preference took precedence.

Therefore, Xu Mu always received numerous inquiries, whether it was choosing between two, three, or four items, and so on. 

The worst part was that some items had minor differences in style and almost identical colors. 

At least in Xu Mu's eyes, they looked exactly the same.

"Do you prefer sky blue or azure?" Bai Nian asked while holding two cup samples.

"Either is fine."

Bai Nian glanced sideways, a hint of severity in his expression. "If either is fine, why did I bother asking you?"

When he wasn't smiling, he seemed quite stern.

Xu Mu: “...” Oh no, did he make Brother Nian angry?

 He lowered his head, turned his steps, and leaned his shoulder against the other, nudging back and forth.

Bai Nian's figure slightly paused.

"Azure," Xu Mu said as he rubbed his cheek against Bai Nian's neck. His eyes still hung coldly, his jaw tense, looking very cool.

But unexpectedly, his tone softened as he spoke, "Brother Nian, I'll take the initiative to tell you next time."

A soft smile crept into Bai Nian's eyes, his heart melting. He reached out and caressed Xu Mu's head, speaking softly, "What are you doing? I'm not blaming you."

Xu Mu cleared his throat, "When you look serious, it’s a bit scary."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"I'll smile when I say it next time." Bai Nian's fingertips brushed Xu Mu's temple as he stared, unblinking. "You really look like a puppy sometimes..."

Even though his mimicry was that of a snake, he looked cold, but sometimes, it was easy to imagine him as a dog wagging it’s tail.

Xu Mu raised an eyebrow, straightening up. "What?"

Bai Nian's eyes twinkled. "I said you're cute."

Xu Mu clicked his tongue lightly. "I heard you. You said I'm like a dog."

Bai Nian pondered for a moment, coaxing, "Snakes can be cute too." 

He thought Xu Mu might not like being compared to other animals.

Xu Mu choked, realizing the difference in their thoughts.

Humans and orc were indeed different.

"Just a dog then," Xu Mu said.

Bai Nian suddenly remarked, "Ah Mu, I haven't seen your mimicry much. Except... last time when I went to school to watch your performance."

"Ah, yes," Xu Mu didn't understand why Bai Nian brought this up out of the blue.

Bai Nian remained silent, staring straight at Xu Mu.

Xu Mu hesitated. "What's wrong?"

"Ah Mu, you really like my rabbit mimicry, don't you?"

"Right."

"You almost play with my mimicry every day, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"Is it comfortable to play with?"

"Comfortable."

"Does it make you happy?"

"Happy."

"And you want to cuddle it when you sleep, right?"

"...Um, yes," Xu Mu had a bad feeling for some reason.

Bai Nian's eyes shimmered slightly. "But Ah Mu, it seems like I haven't cuddled your mimicry seriously."

Xu Mu's expression gradually became complicated. "Do you want to cuddle with my mimicry when you sleep?"

Bai Nian lowered his eyelids, speaking softly, "You don't want to?"

"I do, but—" Xu Mu paused, "Won't your hands get cold when you sleep at night?"

"I haven't tried it, Ah Mu," Bai Nian sighed softly.

Xu Mu couldn't resist, saying softly, "Well, I didn't say you couldn't cuddle it."

A smile crept onto Bai Nian's lips. "Then it's settled."

He calculated, "After we finish shopping, you can go back in the afternoon and bring your daily personal belongings and move in directly tonight."

"Tonight?" Xu Mu blurted out.

"Too fast?"

"No!"

Bai Nian laughed, "Then let's not delay."

Xu Mu's heart skipped a beat, "I'm not delaying, we are just moving at a normal pace."

Bai Nian smiled without saying anything.

Xu Mu's gaze drifted, wandering to the shelves. His originally slowed pace subtly quickened.

Bai Nian noticed and directly grabbed Xu Mu's hand, pulling him back slightly.

Xu Mu instantly froze in place.

Bai Nian lowered his gaze, his slender fingers interlocking with Xu Mu's, their fingers tightly entwined, their skin tones contrasting.

"Haven’t we already spent a night together? Why are you still so shy?"

Xu Mu held back, his thumb unconsciously rubbing the soft skin of Bai Nian's hand.

"It's not shyness."

"Oh, then what is it?"

"..."

"Ah Mu?"

"It's excitement."

Bai Nian was surprised, then smiled, "Ah, that's normal. When you just start dating, there's always this phase—"

Xu Mu interrupted, "Brother Nian, do you feel it too?"

Bai Nian's hand moved slightly, the rough texture of Xu Mu's fingertip brushing against his skin, bringing a faint tickling sensation that spread from his pulsing veins to his heart, making it feel tingly and numb.

He said softly, "Yes, I do."

Bai Nian stepped closer, leaning his shoulder against Xu Mu's, their arms tightly pressed together.

"I feel the same as you, maybe even earlier."

Xu Mu lowered his head, their eyes meeting.

Bai Nian smiled, "Sometimes my heart beats so fast I can hardly breathe, but I still can't help but want to be near you."

"Isn't it strange? We've done a lot of intimate things already—" he said, slightly embarrassed, guiding Xu Mu's hand to his chest, "See, it's beating really fast now. It was steady while we were picking out things, but now it's all over the place."

Xu Mu tightened his grip, his knuckles turning white.

Through the thick fabric, he could still feel the pulse—perhaps it was his own? Xu Mu suddenly realized.

"My heart is beating fast too," he said. "Do you want to listen?"

Bai Nian's gaze dropped, and he shook his head slightly, "We're still in the supermarket."

He reminded, "There are cameras everywhere."

Xu Mu pressed his lips together, "Oh." He also came to his senses.

Just now, it felt like he had eaten a poisonous mushroom, with colorful lights flashing before his eyes. The bright, hovering lights became hazy, and he felt as if he were in a swirling illusion, his mind dizzy, his body light and floating.

How terrifying—this is what being in love feels like?

Xu Mu had no doubt that if someone came up and stabbed him, he might only realize it after losing half a pint of blood.

"Is there anything we haven't bought yet?" he asked.

Bai Nian checked the list, "Almost done, just a couple more items."

Xu Mu responded with an "Mm," tightening his grip on Bai Nianye's hand. "Then let's finish quickly."

"And then go home to move things?" Bai Nian added with a smile.

Xu Mu corrected him, "That's for later."

He looked seriously at Bai Nian, "First, we listen to each other's heartbeats, then we kiss and hug, and finally, we move the things."

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