Lu Yao stopped at the pet hospital closest to the school. After getting an X-ray for Lili, the doctor pointed to the spot where Lili’s bone was fractured: “The wheel of a bicycle must have run over this area. After the reduction, take off the cast in fifteen days. Avoid getting it wet during this period. You two as parents should keep an eye on that.”
Lu Yao was still nodding at the first half of the sentence, but when the doctor mentioned “parents,” his eyebrow twitched slightly.
His gaze hovered between Ji Cunli and himself, and he finally concluded that the doctor definitely hadn’t been wearing glasses today.
Lu Yao reminded the doctor, “Doctor, two men with separate household registration books cannot be called spouses.”
The doctor looked up from the X-rays and pushed up his glasses: “Then you and your boyfriend should pay attention.”
Silently, Lu Yao scooped up Lili and turned to leave, catching the doctor muttering as he walked out: “These young couples nowadays.”
The door closed with a sharp bang.
Ji Cunli stood up, nodded in thanks to the doctor, and caught up to Lu Yao: “What are you planning to do with him, boyfriend?”
Lu Yao stiffened, abruptly turning his head to see the amused smile tugging at the corners of Ji Cunli’s lips.
Ji Cunli chuckled: “Just kidding.”
Lu Yao was caught off guard by Ji Cunli’s smile, and the swaying vision and muddled brain suddenly cleared up quite a bit.
After twenty-five years of life, he had finally encountered a male Daji.
Damn it, he couldn’t even compare to a single hair of Teacher Lang Si. Pull yourself together!
He averted his gaze to look at the kitten in his arms: “I’ll temporarily take him back to the dorm. My roommate in the next bed has already gone out for an internship, so Lili won’t disturb anyone.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Yao noticed the air was dead silent. He looked up to meet Ji Cunli’s gaze.
Ji Cunli. Lili.
Belatedly, he finally realized that Ji Cunli’s name and Lili’s name matched!
Under Ji Cunli’s gaze, Lu Yao offered an explanation: “His name is Lili because he’s very polite.”
Ji Cunli’s gaze lingered on Lu Yao for two seconds before he spoke in a gentle, warm tone: “Mencius said, ‘A gentleman preserves his heart through propriety.’ That’s why my father named me Cunli.”
Thanks, nobody asked.
At that exact moment, Lu Yao began to ponder whether he should return the courtesy and introduce his own name. The scene was far too bizarre, and combined with what the doctor had said, it gave Lu Yao the creeping illusion that he was on a blind date with Ji Cunli.
So in the end, he only managed to squeeze out: “Senior lives up to his name.”
The lobby of the pet hospital was a revolving door of dogs and cats. The two of them standing awkwardly in the middle of the hall quickly drew a lot of attention, and several bold, gossipy whispers reached Lu Yao’s ears.
“Such a pleasing-to-the-eye family of three!”
“I just heard the long-haired one call the short-haired one his boyfriend! Could this actually be real?!”
“I bet the long-haired one is the top!”
Who are you calling the top?!
Eavesdropping, Lu Yao shot a fierce glare in their direction, and the whispering instantly dissolved into dead silence.
As an adult doujinshi artist, he naturally knew how suggestive he and Ji Cunli looked right then—two guys holding a cat and standing in the lobby in a deep, lingering gaze. If he were a bystander, he’d probably ship them too.
That was assuming the main characters weren’t himself.
Now that it was happening to him, he just found it tedious. Besides, Ji Cunli looked straight as an arrow.
Eager to escape this place of right and wrong as soon as possible, Lu Yao looked up, intending to go pay the bill with Ji Cunli, when suddenly a cool sensation brushed against his forehead.
Ji Cunli leaned in, pressed his hand against Lu Yao’s forehead, and then touched his own. Pulling his hand back, he looked at the stunned Lu Yao and said, “Your face is very red, and your temperature is a bit high. Go wait in the resting area, I’ll go borrow a digital thermometer.”
Before Lu Yao could react, Ji Cunli quickly walked away, leaving him standing frozen in place.
A trace of cool warmth still lingered on his forehead. Ji Cunli’s sudden, close-range move had caught him completely off guard, and by the time he processed it, all he could see was Ji Cunli’s retreating back.
With a complex mix of emotions, he found a seat and sat down, wondering if this newly acquainted senior was being a bit too overly familiar.
While waiting for Ji Cunli, Lu Yao opened his chat window with Cheng Sheng. Their last message from earlier was still a question mark sent by Cheng Sheng.
Watching Ji Cunli a short distance away asking a nurse something, Lu Yao typed into the text box:
[What would you do if someone you met today told you on day one that they were an M?]
Cheng Sheng replied almost instantly: Did you run into a weirdo?
Friendship truly was fragile and unable to withstand tests. Rationally, Lu Yao removed Cheng Sheng from his pinned chats.
Ji Cunli quickly returned with the thermometer, aimed it at Lu Yao’s forehead, and beeped. The screen displayed a reading of 38.5 degrees.
Seeing the number, Lu Yao realized he had a fever. He had assumed his physical discomfort today was just a result of pulling an all-nighter.
After pondering for two seconds, Lu Yao asked, “Can pet hospitals treat humans?”
“I just asked. They only have fever-reducing shots for cats and dogs here.”
“Then…”
“Can’t use them. Different physiological structures.”
Taken aback, Lu Yao hadn’t expected Ji Cunli to know he was about to ask if he could just get a shot meant for dogs.
Since there was no other way, he had no choice but to pay the bill, leave with Ji Cunli, and buy medicine. After taking the pills, the two of them finally hailed a cab back to school.
Ji Cunli walked Lu Yao right up to his dorm door, saying he couldn’t rest easy leaving a sick junior by himself, so he followed him upstairs.
Lu Yao didn’t mind, even feeling a touch of internal warmth at his new senior’s thoughtfulness. However, the moment he pushed the door halfway open and caught sight of the mountains of merchandise covering his desk alongside the half-drawn, un-censored 18+ explicit scene on his monitor, he slammed the door shut with a resounding smack.
Gripping the doorknob tightly, Lu Yao called out, “I’m feeling much better! You can go ahead back.”
He had completely forgotten what was sitting out in his chaotic pigsty of a room.
Hearing this, Ji Cunli’s expression didn’t change much: “Don’t you need me? Can you manage by yourself?”
Lu Yao fired off a triple reassurance: “Yes, no problem, don’t worry about it.”
After a brief hesitation, Ji Cunli ultimately agreed. Before leaving, he instructed Lu Yao, “If you feel uncomfortable…”
“Don’t worry, Senior. I’ve already bought myself a cemetery plot.”
Ji Cunli: “Are you really going to be fine by yourself?”
Lu Yao: “My urn is a cozy little nest tailored just for me. I’m totally fine, Senior.”