Translated by Eve

Edited by Kara

Thank you k for the kofi!

The infirmary was really simple and crude. It looked like it also functioned as a small book room. On one side, there were three yellow, peeling wooden bookshelves filled with books. On the other side, there was a curtain. Behind that curtain was a medicine cabinet. That side was the infirmary.

Song Xuanhe stood at the door, his gaze on the man who was sitting next to the window. The other's expression was insipid, and he was currently carelessly treating his wound. After pouring disinfectant onto his wound, he didn't even wipe off the excess. He also didn't wrap up his wound afterwards and just left it exposed.

“Aren't you going to put gauze over that?”

Song Xuanhe tried to hold himself back, but he couldn't stop himself from speaking up in the end.

Xiao Yuanmu looked up at him, his gaze falling onto the other's slightly furrowed brows. Suddenly, he blinked and asked, “Do you think I killed that dog?”

Song Xuanhe was taken aback. The boy's words just now once again appeared in his mind.

In the past, he had only ever interacted with the Director, who was always kind and amicable, as well as Yuanyuan, who was always lively and cheerful. That was why he had subconsciously thought that the orphanage was actually a warm and harmonious place despite the fact that the orphans didn't have relatives here.

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But, the rock that had been thrown at him and that boy's calm, matter-of-course tone had made him realize just what kind of environment Xiao Yuanmu had grown up in was like.

The still young Xiao Yuanmu holding a puppy in his hands, the corpse of the puppy after it had been murdered, the blood on Xiao Yuanmu, the vigilant and suspicious gazes of the surrounding people—Song Xuanhe was able to clearly picture each and every one of these scenes. These images had then fused together with the cold Xiao Yuanmu in front of him.

The faint traces of the setting sun's rays could not illuminate Xiao Yuanmu's pitch-black eyes. Song Xuanhe pursed his lips. He felt an odd sense of deja vu. The moment the sun had completely set behind the mountain, he turned on the light switch beside him.

The infirmary lit up, and Song Xuanhe asked Xiao Yuanmu in return, “Do you like dogs?”

Xiao Yuanmu squinted, blinded by the sudden light. When he heard Song Xuanhe's question, he regarded the other meaningfully. The moment his eyes met with Song Xuanhe's pure ones, he suddenly understood what the other was thinking.

He didn't know why, but he found this situation a bit funny. Therefore, he chuckled. “Do you believe me?”

He then continued, “Why?”

Song Xuanhe blinked, a puzzled look inside his eyes. “I didn't say that I believed you. I just asked you if you liked dogs or not.”

Xiao Yuanmu's smile only lasted for a second before his expression cooled down again. “No.”

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“Then, forget it.” Song Xuanhe shrugged his shoulders, appearing disappointed. He then walked outside and brought in a whining puppy. “I picked him up for you to take care of. I have no interest in raising pets. Since you don't like dogs,

I'll take him back.”

Xiao Yuanmu didn't look at Song Xuanhe's face. His gaze was on the little ears that were flopped over the other's wrists. He then looked away. “Take him back then.”

“How about I give him to the orphanage's kids?” Song Xuanhe suggested, “I think that those kids seem to like puppies.”

“No.” Xiao Yuanmu's voice was cold. He rejected that proposal at once.

Song Xuanhe raised a brow. “Why not?”

The puppy raised his head, resting his chin on Song Xuanhe's arms. He barked in his sweet little puppy voice while examining Xiao Yuanmu curiously with his black eyes.

Xiao Yuanmu frowned. He walked over to Song Xuanhe but ignored the puppy. In a flat voice, he said, “He won't survive for more than a week if he's left here.”

Song Xuanhe stiffened. He didn't ask why.

“Let's go.” Xiao Yuanmu took a step out of the infirmary first. He said, “It's time for dinner.”

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“What about the dog?” Song Xuanhe subconsciously looked down at the little brown puppy, which was the size of his palm.

After leaving the recreation area earlier, he had made his way to the infirmary after Xiao Yuanmu. It had been at that time he had heard whining coming from the other side of the wall. Out of curiosity, he had made a detour to go see what was making the sound. He hadn't expected to find a little puppy there. At that moment, an idea had popped into his mind. He knew very well what kind of person Xiao Yuanmu was. Usually, if other people got too close to him, the other's expression would get uglier. Therefore, he was even less likely to ever hold something he didn't like. When that boy had said that Xiao Yuanmu had been holding that puppy, Song Xuanhe realized that Xiao Yuanmu probably liked dogs. Or at least, he had liked the dog in his arms back then.

Therefore, when he had seen this dog, Song Xuanhe had thought that he should gift this puppy to Xiao Yuanmu as thanks. It was best to give someone something they liked. Xiao Yuanmu had saved him from a b.l.o.o.d.y accident after all. He couldn't just thank him and leave it at that.

Moreover, he really did want to sound Xiao Yuanmu out. After all, no matter how you looked at him, Xiao Yuanmu didn't seem like the type to like pets. In Song Xuanhe's opinion, people who liked to take care of pets were people who were full of love and a sense of responsibility. Xiao Yuanmu could just barely be described with the latter, but the former had nothing to do with the Xiao Yuanmu he knew at all.

But despite conducting this experiment, Song Xuanhe still couldn't tell if Xiao Yuanmu liked dogs or if he had only liked that one dog in particular.

As he thought of this, Song Xuanhe thought that it would be best to not give Xiao Yuanmu this puppy in the end. He answered his own question. “I'll take him home tonight, and then, I'll have someone take him to an adoption centre tomorrow.”

Xiao Yuanmu incidentally met eyes with the puppy in Song Xuanhe's arms that was wagging his tongue. The puppy sniffed the air and then barked excitedly: “Woof!”

When they had arrived at the dining room, the Director asked about the puppy in Song Xuanhe's lap. When she heard that he had picked the puppy up, she laughed and pet the puppy's head. “Then, you need to take good care of him. He seems to like you a lot.”

Song Xuanhe was slightly taken aback. He looked down at the puppy that had buried itself into his clothes, tail wagging. He wasn't really fond of pets. But right now, when he saw that palm-sized, chubby furball of a puppy vivaciously run around in his lap, he couldn't help but find him cute.

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His eyes curved into a slight smile. He thought that maybe it wouldn't be bad to take the puppy home. Although he'd never raised a pet before, it would be easy to find someone to care for him.

Just as Song Xuanhe had been thinking this, he suddenly felt something warm against his thigh and crotch. When a cold breeze blew through, gooseb.u.mps broke out on the surface of his skin. The scent of urine also wafted into his nose. This all caused Song Xuanhe's smile to instantly turn ashen.

Noticing that Song Xuanhe's expression seemed off, the Director asked in a concerned voice, “What's wrong?”

“Wuwuwu….”

The puppy seemed to have sensed that he had done something wrong. He no longer ran around recklessly. Instead, he trembled as he pawed towards the dry, clean side of Song Xuanhe's clothes as if wanting to avoid the wet spot. However, he wasn't a very steady walker yet. He tottered as he walked, and his hind legs would occasionally slip. The still wet part of him would occasionally rub against Song Xuanhe's suit pants and leave marks.

Song Xuanhe's expression turned even darker. He loved cleanliness since he had been young. No matter what it had been, he had never been willing to touch anything dirty. Now, the puppy had peed on his pants. Instantly, this event had managed to dash all thoughts of raising a dog. He was indeed not suited to take care of pets.

“Woof!”

There had been some alarm in that bark. The puppy had fallen off of his lap while he had been distracted. He reached out, wanting to catch the puppy, but another pair of hands beat him to it.

Xiao Yuanmu still had no expression on his face, but his voice had turned a bit cold. “What are you thinking?”

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Song Xuanhe rolled his eyes. “My pants are wet. If someone didn't know about what had happened just now, they'd think I peed my pants…. How could I not be angry?”

Xiao Yuanmu brought the puppy towards him, but Song Xuanhe stood up abruptly, avoiding the dog. He took a step back. “Don't give him to me. You hold him. There's a pool of pee on my pants…How can I hold him?”

“Are you afraid that he'll pee on you again?” Xiao Yuanmu looked up, a hint of teasing in his smile.

“Who cares if I'm scared or not?” Song Xuanhe's bottom half was wet, and the part that was wet was a very awkward area. He was in a bad mood now. However, even if he was unhappy, he wouldn't take it out on the puppy. Right now, all he wanted to do was change clothes.

The Director had also noticed Song Xuanhe's pants. It was already winter right now. In order to conserve electricity, the orphanage didn't have any heating turned on in the dining hall. They only used a thick curtain to block the door. It was rather cold inside the room at the moment. Concerned, she said, “

Xiao

Song, this won't do. You'll freeze. Yuanmu still has clothes in his room. Go change into something of his.”

As soon as she had spoken, Song Xuanhe and Xiao Yuanmu's expressions changed.

Song Xuanhe was startled. “No need, Director. I'll go back home and change. There's no need to borrow his clothes.”

Xiao Yuanmu hadn't wanted Song Xuanhe to wear his clothes. In some regards, he was a bit of a germaphobe. But when he had seen how unwilling Song Xuanhe was to wear his clothes, he suddenly felt like forcing Song Xuanhe into wearing his clothes.

“Even without traffic, it'll take you half an hour to get home. And if there's traffic, it'll take an hour and a half.” Xiao Yuanmu's expression was calm as if he was just discussing what he thought would be the best course of action. “It would be better for you to change into something of mine.”

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“That's right,” The Director agreed, “You'll definitely catch a cold if you wear wet pants for more than an hour.”

Song Xuanhe also didn't want to wear pants covered in…wet stains. After having considered his options, he eventually chose to wear Xiao Yuanmu's clothes.

Once again, they returned to Xiao Yuanmu's tiny, cramped bedroom. Xiao Yuanmu pulled out a pair of pants from his wardrobe and threw it over to Song Xuanhe. He then continued to rummage through his clothes.

Song Xuanhe caught the pants and then frowned. “What are you looking for?”

Xiao Yuanmu stood up straight and asked him in a flat voice, “Isn't your underwear also wet?”

Song Xuanhe: ….

His underwear was indeed wet, but he absolutely could not accept wearing another man's underwear!

“Are you planning on not wearing any?” Xiao Yuanmu tossed him a pair of dark-coloured underwear, his gaze falling onto a certain part of Song Xuanhe's lower half. The corner of his lips suddenly curled up, and he summarized, “Not that it'll make a difference whether you wear it or not.”

This was a provocation that no one would be able to take lying down!

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Song Xuanhe barked out a derisive laugh. He then snarked back, “Has anyone ever told you not to project onto others? Just by looking at your underwear, I can tell that yours is small, so it probably doesn't matter whether you wear it or not. But, you must be delusional to think that I'm the same.”

After having said this, he raised his chin and folded his arms, putting on an appearance of disdain.

A few seconds later, Xiao Yuanmu chuckled. His bottomless eyes were dark, and his voice was hoa.r.s.e. “Didn't you find out how big I am during our first week together?”

Song Xuanhe's pupils shook. He suddenly remembered the time he had been forced by the System to attempt to “forcefully sleep” with Xiao Yuanmu, only to have ended up being pressed down onto the other's lap. At the same time, he had felt his scalp go numb. Likewise, a sense of danger abruptly emerged within him now.

Xiao Yuanmu pressed in close. “Or, do you want to see it for yourself again? To see if what you just said is true or not?”

Eve: HAHAHAHAHA. SXH are you a child.