TGMNDIAR - 78
After a round of playful banter, their exchange finally ended with Xu Mu's teasing words.
Bai Nian's agitation also subsided a bit. His bones felt weak and his waist had no strength, he snuggled into Xu Mu's embrace, his breathing gradually becoming steady.
He clung to Xu Mu's arm, pulling it over his waist, a gesture full of dependence.
Xu Mu found Bai Nian's fluffy ear and pressed tightly against it. Their breathing gradually synchronized.
Another night passed.
The next day, Bai Nian woke up feeling groggy, sensing a faint light through his eyelids. He opened his eyes. The floating light above his head looked both familiar and unfamiliar.
He felt around beside him; there was no one there. Bai Nian's first reaction was that the other had switch to their mimicry form. But after fumbling around under the covers, he didn't find a slippery snake.
Bai Nian got up to wash.
When he reached the living room, Ms. Bai and Ye Ye were playing an educational game called "Picture Recognition and Word Matching."
"Dad!" Ye Ye shouted.
Bai Nian responded.
Ms. Bai smiled, "Awake?"
"Hmm," Bai Nianye nodded. "Have you seen Ah Mu?"
Ms. Bai's expression turned peculiar. "Ah Mu? He's in the kitchen."
Bai Nian was taken aback.
Ms. Bai said, "Early in the morning, he and Uncle Qin have been fiddling with something in the kitchen. Oh, you haven't had breakfast yet, have you? There's food in the thermal container, go eat if you're hungry."
Bai Nian said, "Okay."
He didn't check what was in the thermal container on the table but instead headed straight to the kitchen.
The lights were bright, the pot was bubbling and steaming.
Xu Mu was engrossed in caramelizing a duck, with Qin Yi occasionally giving him pointers, both looking quite content.
Bai Nian spoke up, "Uncle Qin."
Qin Yi responded and smiled, "Came to see Ah Mu?"
Bai Nian said, "I just came to have a look."
Xu Mu waved at Bai Nian, "Brother Nian, look, how's my caramelizing?"
Bai Nian walked closer, "Hmm, looks good. Are you making roast duck?"
"Yes," Xu Mu said, "but I'm actually just the assistant."
Qin Yi laughed again, "Ah Mu's cooking skills are good. I saw him roast a duck; the skin was crispy, the meat was tender, and the sauce he made was delicious. I feel more like the assistant."
Xu Mu modestly said, "No, Uncle Qin, it's because of your good guidance."
As he spoke, he skillfully set up the grill and started roasting the duck.
During this time, he managed to wash vegetables, chop meat, and prepare cold dishes, all while working around Qin Yi.
In just one morning, they had developed perfect coordination.
Seeing this scene, Bai Nian felt a bit of a complex emotion.
Seeing Ah Mu like this... made him look quite virtuous.
"Brother Nian, have you had breakfast?" Xu Mu asked.
Bai Nian snapped back to reality. "No."
"Aren’t you hungry?" Xu Mu raised an eyebrow. He washed his hands, pushed Bai Nian out of the kitchen, and said, "Go, go, go, eat breakfast."
"Did you make it?" Bai Nian asked with a smile.
Xu Mu's lips curved up a bit. "I folded the pleats on the buns."
"You can make buns now?" Bai Nian marveled.
He touched Xu Mu's earlobe. "That's great."
Xu Mu coughed lightly. "Uncle Qin taught me. Mine might be average, I just wanted to show off in front of you."
Bai Nian's eyes curved slightly. "No, with the filling prepared by Uncle Qin, it’s sure to be delicious."
“...” Xu Mu choked a bit and said quietly, "You did that on purpose."
Bai Nian turned his face away, chuckling softly, and picked the ugliest bun to eat.
"You picked the one I made," Xu Mu said with a bit of pride.
"Yeah, this one looks the ugliest," Bai Nian teased him.
"..." Xu Mu's heart broke a little.
Bai Nian touched his face, soothingly. "Just kidding."
"...Too late."
"No way to make it up?" Bai Nian laughed lightly.
Xu Mu, in all seriousness, said, "No."
Despite his words, Xu Mu quietly kissed the corner of Bai Nian's mouth.
Bai Nian was about to say something when he saw Qin Qian coming out of her room. He straightened up slightly, and asked, "Qianqian, good morning. Do you want some breakfast?"
Qin Qian had just gotten up and washed her face. Her hair was a bit messy, and she was in the middle of a yawn. She blushed at the sight of the intimate pair, she replied shyly, "Yes, I'll eat."
Bai Nian pulled Xu Mu aside to make room. "There’s food in the thermal container."
Qin Qian, clearly flustered, walked forward with her head down. "Okay, thank you brother."
The age difference between Bai Nian and Qin Qian was significant, and they didn't have much interaction. By the time she could remember things, Bai Nian was mostly away, only seen a few times a year, sending gifts during holidays.
When she was younger, Qin Qian was bolder. Whenever Bai Nian came home, she would run to hug his leg and call him brother.
But as she grew older and their contact lessened, their conversations became more formal and polite.
Bai Nian and Xu Mu returned to their room.
After closing the door, Xu Mu noticed Bai Nian's earlobes were red.
"Are you embarrassed because your sister saw us?" Xu Mu asked.
Bai Nian grabbed the young man’s collar, giving him a sidelong glance. "What happened to being careful, like you said last night?"
Xu Mu laughed. "Hey, it’s different. It’s just a kiss on the cheek and the corner of the mouth, it’s not a tongue kiss—"
Bai Nian pressed his index finger against Xu Mu's lips.
"I get it, turtle."
Xu Mu's face fell. "Brother Nian, did you have to call me a turtle?"
Bai Nian smiled without saying anything.
-
With two days left until the Prayer Festival, Xu Mu and Bai Nian mostly stayed home and didn’t go out.
On one hand, the recent snowfall had made the roads difficult to navigate.
On the other hand, Xu Mu was diligently "winning over" his future in-laws. When he wasn't chatting with Mrs. Bai, he was in the kitchen with Qin Yi, "learning" culinary skills, bonding, and demonstrating his dependable, non-childish nature.
Mrs. Bai, noticing his efforts, curiously asked if he often helped out in the kitchen at home.
Xu Mu's brow twitched slightly, his eyes glancing at Bai Nian. "My cooking skills aren't as good as Nian's. I'm still learning. When I saw Uncle Qin, I thought it was a good opportunity."
Mrs. Bai repeatedly praised him, saying he was being modest and had a natural talent, especially mentioning the delicious potato chicken casserole he made the previous night.
Xu Mu thought, "..." Crap, the seasoning was actually done by Brother Nian. His own attempt could be described as a disaster sauce.
"Uh, really?... It was okay..." He said, nervously squeezing Bai Nian's hand, pinching the soft flesh between the thumb and index finger.
Bai Nian found it amusing but didn't expose Xu Mu's plan. He said, "Ah Mu's specialty has always been potato chicken casserole."
-
That evening, after his shower, Xu Mu lay on the bed, reading a cookbook titled "180 Recipes."
Suddenly, a new message popped up on his screen.
[Today’s Ever Handsome Lord Karl: It's over... The main character's brain isn't working right...]
Xu Mu glanced at it and casually replied.
[Xu: ?]
[Today’s Ever Handsome Lord Karl: Image.jpg]
Xu Mu opened the attached image.
[Today’s Ever Handsome Lord Karl: This watch is in my hands now...]
Xu Mu was taken aback and enlarged the image.
[Xu: He gave it to you?]
[Today’s Ever Handsome Lord Karl: Yeah]
[Xu: Did he say why?]
[Today’s Ever Handsome Lord Karl: He said to clear out the trash]
[Today’s Ever Handsome Lord Karl: Damn, this watch is too unlucky. I don’t want it, but it’s an important plot item]
Xu Mu pondered for a moment, then asked where the other person was now.
[Today’s Ever Handsome Lord Karl: At home, of course]
[Today’s Ever Handsome Lord Karl: It's really weird... He went back to the capital star and still called me over, and now he’s staying at my place for the Prayer Festival instead of going home. What’s wrong with him?]
[Xu: Do you have money to rent a place?]
[Today’s Ever Handsome Lord Karl: Oh, the protagonist gong got it for me]
[Xu: .]
Xu Mu clicked his tongue, feeling that the little troublemaker was digging his own grave. Who knows what he had done; probably...
He didn’t think too much about it and exited the chat.
The contact on the other end seemed to suddenly cut off too.
Xu Mu didn’t pay much attention and continued reading the cookbook.
"Still studying cooking?" Bai Nian lifted the blanket and snuggled next to Xu Mu.
"Yeah." Xu Mu casually wrapped his arm around Bai Nian, his hand sliding down to play with his tail.
Bai Nian smiled softly, "It's like you’ve been possessed since coming here. Why do you think about cooking every day?"
Xu Mu responded matter-of-factly, "I want to leave a good impression on Auntie. Think about it, Auntie mentioned before that your biological dad was a good cook, Uncle Qin is a good cook, and you are a good cook. Clearly, Auntie has a good impression with people who are good at cooking."
Bai Nian said, "Your perspective is pretty unique."
"It's intuition," Xu Mu continued. "Uncle Qin likes to delve into recipes, and I have free time. Besides chatting with Auntie about your childhood, I can only cook with him, showing my reliable, self-sufficient, and mature side."
Bai Nian laughed, "By cooking?"
"You can see the big picture from the small details," Xu Mu said. "I understand Auntie's concern about our age difference, mainly because she worries about potential conflicts in our daily life. For example, the older one might always be the caretaker—"
He leaned in close to Bai Nian and blew on his fluffy ears, causing his fluffy tail to curl up instantly. Bai Nian's knees bent, and his waist trembled.
Xu Mu said seriously, "I can take care of you too."
He genuinely wanted Bai Nian's mother's approval. It was a strange sort of obsession.
His idealized image of parents made him unconsciously add weight to the symbol of "parents" in his life. He felt that love, blessed and approved by parents, was perfect.
Bai Nian was momentarily speechless. He somewhat understood Xu Mu's point and sighed softly.
"Don't stress too much; Mom already likes you a lot."
"That's one thing," Xu Mu leaned closer, "but feeling reassured is another."
Bai Nian smiled, "Alright."
He touched his lips to Xu Mu's nose. "Thank you for your effort."
"It's not hard at all," Xu Mu followed up with a smile. "Thanks to Brother Nian for not exposing me and for helping out while I was cooking."
"It’s mainly because you're good at sweet-talking. I don't know where you learned it," Bai Nian said mildly. "My mom now treats you like a second son."
Xu Mu playfully nibbled on his lower lip. "Did I used to speak so poorly?"
He wrapped his arms around Bai Nian and rolled around in the blanket.
Bai Nian, caught off guard, exclaimed, "Hey, you... sweet, very sweet..."
Xu Mu then tickled him.
Bai Nian let him play, even though it was a bit childish, he laughed so hard he could hardly breathe.
"Tomorrow is the Prayer Festival. Are we going to pray with Uncle and Auntie?" Xu Mu asked after he got tired of playing, burying his face in Bai Nian's neck and taking a deep breath.
"Sure," Bai Nian's cheeks were flushed, and his brows carried a hint of charm.
"How did you usually go before?" Xu Mu paused. "Wait, I think that was a dumb question."
Bai Nian brushed his bangs aside. "We usually went together, but we could split up later. Mom and Dad would have some time to themselves, Qianqian would meet up with friends, and Fei—well, my other sister—would go out with her friends."
"Then we can have some time to ourselves," Xu Mu suddenly remembered something. "What about Ye Ye?"
Bai Nian pondered. "Maybe we can bring him back first?"
Xu Mu rubbed his nose. "Will Ye Ye be okay with that?"
Bai Nian chuckled. "We can take him out for a bit and then let Nades play with him when we get back. Did you bring Nades?"
"I did," Xu Mu said. "What if Ye Ye doesn't want to come back?"
"You can coax him and sweet-talk him a bit."
"...," Xu Mu was momentarily at a loss.
"He doesn't actually like going out much. Once he's tired of playing, he'll want to come back. We can walk around with him for an hour; that should be enough."
"Really?"
Bai Nian nodded.
"Alright." Xu Mu's lips curved into a smile before he leaned down to kiss Bai Nian softly and gently.
Bai Nian squinted, parting his lips slightly, a faint hum escaping his throat.
The sound made Xu Mu's heart flutter.
For the past couple of days they had been restrained—kissing and hugging, all sorts of intimate actions, but they hadn't gone all the way.
"...Brother, how about I put a towel under you?" Xu Mu propped himself up on his elbow, his voice husky.
Bai Nian's calf twitched, his eyelashes fluttering, curling into delicate strands.
He reached out, pressing his hand against Xu Mu's lips.
Xu Mu kissed his fingers, understanding the message.
"Okay." He gently parted Bai Nian's knees, his fingers pressing into the soft flesh of his thigh.
He let go, leaving behind faint red marks.
...
Boom, boom, boom—suddenly, sounds came from outside the window.
"It’s…fireworks," Xu Mu said, looking up, pushing his bangs back, his forehead glistening with sweat.
He glanced at his light screen and smiled, "It's past midnight, Brother Nian."
Bai Nian's eyes were misty, his expression dazed. After a few seconds, he slowly said, "Midnight..."
"Yes, it's time to pray." Xu Mu pressed his forehead against Bai Nian's, whispering, "May Niewartes bless you."
Bai Nian raised his head up and kissed him devoutly.
"May Niewartes bless you too."
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