Translated by Eve

Apologies for the late release. Looks like the scheduler is malfunctioning.

Thank you k, e & kitty for the kofi!

As Xiao Yuanmu came closer, Song Xuanhe discreetly s.h.i.+fted backwards. However, he was only able to back up another two centimetres. However, he suddenly recalled that Xiao Yuanmu was a bottom, so even if the other were to do anything, Song Xuanhe wouldn't lose out. There was nothing to be afraid of.

Song Xuanhe stopped leaning backwards and straightened his back. He kept his arms crossed and raised a brow to calmly say, “There's no need to check. Regardless, I won't wear someone else's underwear. Can you go outside? I want to change my pants.”

Xiao Yuanmu had originally been planning on just giving Song Xuanhe a bit of a scare. Furthermore, the reason he had walked over was to exit the room in the first place so that Song Xuanhe could change. But when he saw how the other wasn't startled at all and was instead putting on some fearless expression for some baffling reason, he changed his mind.

“It's cold outside.” Xiao Yuanmu stopped moving. He leaned against the wall and looked down towards Song Xuanhe. “Just change like this.”

“Change while you're still here?” Upon noticing how calm Xiao Yuanmu looked, Song Xuanhe immediately changed his tune. They were both guys. What was there to be afraid of? He slowly undid his belt, the corner of his lips rising. “Okay. If you want to look, then look.”

Xiao Yuanmu's expression remained indifferent. He caught every single one of Song Xuanhe's actions. He watched as the other's slender fingers deftly unbuckled his belt. The other's pale fingers were curled as they slowly pulled out the black belt from the loops of his pants, the black a stark contrast against his fair skin. He then watched as Song Xuanhe pulled down the zipper. Then, a pair of long, straight legs appeared before his eyes. There was also that wet, thin cloth that held his….

Xiao Yuanmu looked away discreetly. His lips were already involuntarily pressed into a straight line.. His ears were also unexpectedly flushed.

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Actually, he had seen many naked bodies in his last life. Those people had approached him with all sorts of motives and had used all sorts of methods to try to get with him. They would sneak into his room or orchestrate some kind of 'coincidence' that would allow him to see their perfect, alluring bodies.

But regardless of who had come, all of their bodies had been the same to him. He had never been moved, let alone had he ever developed any urges. Occasionally, he would even feel disgust towards their actions.

But just now, all he had seen was a pair of legs and that cloth-covered area, and that was enough to make his heart thump violently. His breath had also turned heavy. Xiao Yuanmu had discreetly looked away to adjust his breathing. Half a second later, his breath had already gone back to normal. It was just that his throat felt a bit uncomfortable. It felt dry, but also like he wanted to cough. It was like this was the residual effects of the abnormal breathing just now.

Song Xuanhe's gaze fell on Xiao Yuanmu's ears. His lips curled up softly. He kicked his wet pants to the side, appearing unhurried. He then picked up the pair of pants on the bed and shook it out. The sound of the pants whipping through the air echoed through the room but Xiao Yuanmu's eyelashes didn't so much as tremble. It seemed like he wasn't affected at all.

When he noticed that Xiao Yuanmu seemed to show no reaction, Song Xuanhe felt his interest wane. There was no heating in this room. The cold wind seeped through the door's cracks, causing him to break out into gooseb.u.mps. Therefore, he stopped with the unnecessary actions and quickly put on that pair of pants.

Song Xuanhe fastened his belt. When he started to put on his shoes, he discovered that the pants were a bit too long for him.

Xiao Yuanmu had already looked up by the time Song Xuanhe had finished putting on the new pair of pants. Looking down, he noticed that Song Xuanhe was looking at the trousers that were slightly long on him. He said, “It's too long for you.”

“I know.” Song Xuanhe had already expected this. But it was still longer on him than expected. It astonished him because he was a designer who could approximate measurements just by looking at it. This was the first time he had guessed wrongly.

He felt a bit annoyed. He squatted down to roll the cuffs of a bit, thereby giving this simple pair of jeans into a more trendy look. Paired with his shoes and top, it looked pretty good.

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Xiao Yuanmu's gaze s.h.i.+fted away from Song Xuanhe. He stood up, a pensive look hidden in his eyes. “Let's go.”

The two of them left the room. The place Xiao Yuanmu's bedroom was situated was a bungalow. There was a bit of distance between it and the orphanage's main building. It was already dark out but there were a few streetlights to illuminate their way. The light was faint and cast a sinister glow to the overgrown flora on the sides of the path.

A cold breeze blew over, causing a 'wuwu' sound to come from somewhere. Raindrops accompanied the sound as they fell onto Song Xuanhe's face. Song Xuanhe froze and subtly s.h.i.+fted closer towards Xiao Yuanmu. When he noticed the other's gaze on him, he feigned calmness. “Looks like it's going to rain. I can't get sick. I have work tomorrow. Block the rain for me.”

He acted like he expected that Xiao Yuanmu would be willing to block the rain for him. Suddenly, the image of the Song Xuanhe from his last two worlds—the one who really deserved a beating—overlapped with him.

“It's not raining right now.” Xiao Yuanmu looked away and quickened his pace. Only after he managed to draw a distance between himself and Song Xuanhe did he resume his original pace.

The wind blew heavily again, causing the flowers and plants to whip around with the gale. Song Xuanhe's expression turned rigid. He chased after Xiao Yuanmu and stuck closely to the other's side. “It's going to rain for sure. Otherwise, where would this water be coming from?”

When he felt Song Xuanhe stick close to him— intentionally or otherwise— the corner of Xiao Yuanmu's lips rose slightly. He said in a flat voice, “Who said that just because there are airborne droplets of water, it will rain?”

“What else could it be?” Song Xuanhe turned to look at him. “Condensation from an air conditioning unit? A droplet from someone's laundry that's hanging outside?”

“Maybe.” Xiao Yuanmu's cool voice was interrupted by the wind. It sounded especially deep and hoa.r.s.e by the time the wind settled down. “There's also another possibility.”

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“What?” Song Xuanhe asked. Right now, he really needed someone to distract him. It didn't matter what the other said, so long as he spoke.

“All you know is that what touched you was a liquid. But can you be sure that it's water? Maybe it's—” Xiao Yuanmu stopped walking. He gazed at the ground in front of them. His previously calm expression changed slightly. It seemed like he had seen something.

Song Xuanhe had had his eyes on Xiao Yuanmu the whole time. When he saw the other's expression change, he felt nervous. Suddenly, he didn't dare turn his head. He asked, “Why did you stop?”

Xiao Yuanmu didn't speak but his complexion gradually turned ugly. They were close to a streetlight so Song Xuanhe could clearly make out the other's tensed jaw and pursed lips.

“What did you see?” Song Xuanhe swallowed. “Xiao Yuanmu, if you're purposely trying to scare me, I swear to G.o.d I'm going to hit you.”

Xiao Yuanmu didn't speak. He took a step back, heading closer towards the streetlight. Song Xuanhe was able to see his expression even more clearly now. However, he was already terribly nervous because of Xiao Yuanmu's series of actions just now. When he saw the other take a step back, he had no time to pay attention to the other's expression. He promptly took a step back too.

Maybe he was just imagining things, but suddenly, the wind felt even colder than before. Moreover, it felt like he could hear the whistling of the wind even more clearly now. It suddenly sounded like something was shuffling against the floor.

Song Xuanhe's heart caught in his throat. He turned his head, following Xiao Yuanmu's gaze. But contrary to his expectations, there was nothing there. There wasn't a terrifying scene like he had imagined. Immediately, he calmed down. He decided that Xiao Yuanmu must have been purposely scaring him because he had found out about his fear of ghosts at some unknown point in time.

“What are you playing at here?” Song Xuanhe had been scared out of his wits. Now that he thought Xiao Yuanmu had been purposely scaring him, he was furious. He took a step closer to Xiao Yuanmu, who was already very close to him, but the other shouted at him. “Don't move!”

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Song Xuanhe raised a brow. Xiao Yuanmu must have seen that he had turned his head just now. With Xiao Yuanmu's IQ, there was no way he would continue acting. So, did that mean that there really was something there and he had missed it?

Since he knew that it wasn't the terrifying scene he had been expecting, Song Xuanhe turned around again without any fear. This time, he noticed that there was a coiled up snake on the ground. It was a thin one, with black and red markings. It looked venomous.

However, even venomous snakes would have to hibernate in cold weather like this. Even if it came out of hibernation, it would probably be very weak. Most people wouldn't be afraid of it.

Song Xuanhe was about to walk over to it. “That snake probably came out of hibernation to find something to eat. It's probably still sleeping. Let's just go around it.”

He took one step before he quickly realized that Xiao Yuanmu hadn't moved with him. Song Xuanhe turned around to look at him and unexpectedly saw that the other's face was deathly pale. Suddenly, he understood. A mischievous smile abruptly emerged on his face. “Xiao Yuanmu, are you afraid of snakes?”

Xiao Yuanmu's lips were tightly pursed. His face was white as a sheet of paper and his limbs had gone rigid. Right now, he couldn't control his body.

It had already been two lifetimes, but when he saw that snake, it felt like he had been thrown back in time to that night. That night, he had been shut in a pitch-black room. All he had been able to hear was the rustling sound of some things slithering over, slowly approaching him, slowly surrounding him.

Those ice-cold scales had slithered against his legs and wrapped around his wrists and neck. He hadn't known how many little snakes had been in that room that night or whether he would be able to get out alive. He had felt sharp fangs pierce his skin. The snake around his wrist had also slithered up to his shoulder to hiss in his ear. The snake around his neck had then slowly tightened around him and the scent of blood in the air—likely from the wounds on his legs—had thickened.

Coldness, fear, darkness…the snake around his neck had constantly tightened around him and it had gradually become difficult to breathe—

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“Xiao Yuanmu? Are you okay?”

Seeing that Xiao Yuanmu wasn't reacting and that his complexion seemed to worsen with the second, Song Xuanhe finally realized that something was wrong. When he saw that the other's hands were trembling, a preposterous thought popped up in his mind as he linked this to the other's behaviour upon seeing that snake.

He hesitated for a second before reaching out to hold the other's hand. “Xiao Yuanmu? That snake's already dead! I'll go throw it away right now! Don't be afraid. I'm here, so you don't have to be scared. I'll help you get rid of it right away.”

After Song Xuanhe said this, he let go and prepared to walk over to dispose of the snake. But as soon as he let go, a hand grabbed onto his own. He turned around and happened to meet with Xiao Yuanmu's eyes.

Those eyes…were enveloped in darkness, utter despair and pain.

Xiao Yuanmu held Song Xuanhe's hand tightly. His voice was pained and raspy. “Don't go.”

Song Xuanhe nodded. As he spoke, he kept his eyes on Xiao Yuanmu's expression. “I'm not going anywhere. I'm just going to help you get rid of that…thing.”

“I promise I won't go anywhere. Trust me.” Song Xuanhe promised.

Song Xuanhe's warmth slowly transmitted through to Xiao Yuanmu's palm. Gradually, colour returned to his face. However, he only held Song Xuanhe's hand all the tighter. It was like he wanted to suck up all of the other's warmth.

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“Song Xuanhe.” Xiao Yuanmu returned to normal very quickly. When he spoke, he had already calmed down. Nonetheless, there was still a hint of rasp in his voice, but at least it wasn't as hoa.r.s.e as before. He said, “You're the only person in this world that knows that I'm afraid of snakes.”

Song Xuanhe raised a brow when he saw that the other seemed to have gone back to normal and was even in the mood to joke around. “So, are you going to silence me so that no one will ever know your weakness?”

Xiao Yuanmu's pitch-black eyes were pinned on him. It looked like there was a dark and ineffable whirlpool whirling within those eyes. “You have to pay a price for the information you've gained.”

Song Xuanhe smiled. He pointed at the snake. “Are you sure you want to speak to me like this before that thing is taken care of?”

The author has something to say:

One husband, who's afraid of snakes, and the other husband, who is afraid of ghosts, blackmail each other after obtaining incriminating intelligence on the other. GET√

Eve: While my heart aches for Mumu who had to endure such a traumatic experience, SXH being scared of ghosts and SXH telling Mumu he doesn't have to be scared cause he's here is the cutest and sweetest thing I've read in a while ToT