Thinking about it, Xie Jinning wished he could just faint right away, but his long-empty stomach started rumbling again, making loud noises. He had no choice but to accept his fate.
Xie Jinning peeled off the outer layer with his hand, broke off a clean piece, and put it in his mouth. He closed his eyes and chewed quickly, forcing himself to swallow before he could even taste it. Looking at his expression, one might think he was eating poison instead of a corn bun.
Perhaps because it was mixed with flour, the corn bun wasn’t as brightly colored as what the villagers usually ate, but it still felt rough to the touch, lacking the texture of pure refined flour, and had no taste to speak of.
Xie Jinning had a narrow throat, and without proper chewing, swallowing felt like forcing down a stone, as if he was being tortured. The muscles in his neck bulged, and he almost rolled his eyes from choking.
Even eating a corn bun could almost make him pass out.
Yan Yi’s understanding of this pampered young master was once again refreshed. He pressed the rim of the bowl against Xie Jinning’s lips, gently exerting force, and the porridge flowed into Xie Jinning’s mouth.
“Ugh… gulp, cough, cough.”
Even with the liquid, Xie Jinning struggled to swallow it, clutching his heaving chest with a look of lingering fear. His lips parted slightly, the bitten flesh showing a layer of glistening sheen, with a bite mark in the center making it look like a petal bitten into, oozing juice.
Between his white teeth, a flash of wet, tender red softness appeared and disappeared.
“I… I’ve never eaten anything so awful.”
The recent coughing made his throat uncomfortable, and after being “abused” by the corn bun, Xie Jinning’s throat burned, making it hard to speak. He shouldn’t have complained about the snacks on the road being bad; they were clearly dozens of times more delicate than this. Xie Jinning felt like crying but had no tears.
And that lousy coachman, he bought so much food but didn’t leave any for him.
Seeing his features almost scrunched into a ball, rubbing his neck in discomfort, Yan Yi, realizing it wasn’t an act, cupped his jaw with a large hand, gently squeezing to make him open wider.
Sure enough, the back of his throat, worn out, was a mass of red, and his wet, soft tongue, suddenly exposed, seemed unsure where to place itself, trembling slightly at the teeth before retreating in confusion.
It’s all flesh, so why is his so tender?
Too delicate.
Xie Jinning, unable to close his mouth from the squeeze, almost drooled, quickly shaking his head in struggle, mumbling, “What are you doing, let… let go of me.”
“Stop eating for now.”
Yan Yi released him, took the corn bun from his hand without a word, and turned away with the bowl.
Xie Jinning looked at his empty hand, clenched it into a fist, and gently rubbed his sore cheek.
The dull pain behind him tormented his sanity, and he ground his teeth, raising a fist at Yan Yi’s tall, broad back.
He’s the one who makes me eat, and he’s the one who stops me from eating.
So fickle and unreasonable!
…
Holding the corn bun, Yan Yi could still feel the soft, resilient touch in his palm.
The boy lying listlessly on the bed had his clothes in disarray, pants slipped to his knees, the white underpants stretched over a surprisingly slender waist, easily grasped with one hand.
The boy swallowed with a frown, forced to open his lips, revealing tender, delicate flesh, more like…
“Crack.”
His hand was steady, the porridge surface calm, but a fine crack appeared on the bowl’s rim.
Yan Yi snapped back to reality, his pace unbroken, subtly quickening.
Too delicate.
A moment later, he returned to the room with corn bun porridge torn into small pieces and soaked soft, thoughtfully accompanied by a spoon.
Xie Jinning glanced at the unappetizing food, saying nothing more.
He was starving, spooning it into his mouth, yet still eating quietly and elegantly, without a sound of chewing or slurping.
His small Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, and any spilled porridge was gently scooped back with the spoon’s edge.
Sixteen years in the Xie family had ingrained elegant manners and noble demeanor into his bones.
This was what he brought from the Xie family.
But eating while lying down was unsuitable, and as his stomach filled, the pressure made him uncomfortable, causing him to furrow his brows and stop.
“Full?” Yan Yi glanced at the half-full bowl of porridge, frowning in thought.
Such a small appetite, how could he get better without eating much? No wonder he couldn’t even take a few slaps.
Did the Xie family raise him on dew and nectar?
“My stomach’s pressed, it’s uncomfortable.”
Xie Jinning placed the spoon in the bowl, trying to prop himself up with one hand to sit sideways, but it pulled on the wound on his rear, making him groan, eyes misty.
Now, unless one was blind, it was clear where his discomfort came from.
“Let me help you…”
Yan Yi intended to help, but as soon as he reached out, he was met with Xie Jinning’s reproach.
The boy glared at him, hoarsely accusing, “Who told you to hit so hard? Now I can’t sit, can’t lie comfortably, everything hurts, are you satisfied now?”
Perhaps even Xie Jinning himself didn’t realize that when he expressed grievance and dissatisfaction, his lips would unconsciously pout, shiny like ripe, juicy berries.
“Sorry.”
Since Xie Jinning had already eaten, Yan Yi couldn’t keep harping on his initial “wasting food” mistake, his apology more sincere than before.
The man, like a beast with its claws retracted, still had a stern look but no longer exuded an intimidating chill. He said seriously, “I was wrong, I’ll take responsibility.”
Xie Jinning was stunned.
Why did this sound so strange, like a line from a play about a heartless man…
He shivered, glared at Yan Yi again, and huffed, “It was your fault to begin with.”
An injury on the rear was indeed inconvenient, and more than an apology, a solution was needed.
Yan Yi thought for a moment and said, “How about you stand up to eat?”
“……”
Xie Jinning was speechless.
He’s injured, and this guy wants him to stand? Does he have no conscience?
Thinking it, he said it, and Yan Yi awkwardly straightened his lips, slightly turning away from his resentful gaze, adding, “Or you could kneel on the bed, knees apart, shifting your weight forward, that way it won’t hurt…”
“You want me to kneel?!”
This was like poking a hornet’s nest, Xie Jinning was so angry he could barely hold the porridge, and if he didn’t need to drink it, he would have thrown it in Yan Yi’s face.
So big and yet so dumb.
After trying several positions, Xie Jinning still chose to sit sideways, and Yan Yi carefully turned him over, letting him rest his elbows on the bed, legs bent.
When Xie Jinning returned to the village that night, the coachman had held him, saying the bed was too hard for him to sleep on, causing aches all over. Yan Yi had placed a blanket he brought under the sheets and found thick quilts from the Xie family, making the wooden bed less hard.
Now, Xie Jinning couldn’t hold on for long, complaining of arm pain.
Yan Yi folded the quilt on the bed into a block under his elbows, but Xie Jinning still couldn’t manage, now uncomfortable from arms to shoulders, both sore and numb.
He was about to cry.
In these few days, he had shed more tears and suffered more injuries than in the past decade.
The more he thought, the more aggrieved he felt, sniffling, Xie Jinning tried a few more times, sweat beading on his forehead from the pain, still uncomfortable. In the end, he reluctantly agreed to lean half on Yan Yi.
Being helped up, Xie Jinning deliberately shifted his weight, pressing hard against the man, slowing his pace, taking small bites.
Even though the pressure on his waist was uncomfortable, seeing Yan Yi’s clenched jaw and feeling his uneven breathing, his eyes staring blankly into the distance, Xie Jinning’s inner tail wagged proudly, swaying gently.
Being so close to a man must be disgusting, huh? Hmph, I’m suffering too.
Serves you right for hitting me.
“……”
Yan Yi had never felt time pass so slowly.
The overly intimate distance, the boy’s slow, sticky swallowing sounds in his ear, the faint sweet scent in his nose, the soft, light touch in front of him, the fluffy head brushing his neck, stirring an itch…
Everything was an experience Yan Yi had never had.
He sat upright, for the first time losing control of his limbs and muscles, stiff as a board, unsure where to place his hands, gripping the bed’s edge tightly.
Though it was autumn, he felt unbearably hot.
When the person in his arms finished and moved away, Yan Yi finally exhaled a long breath, discreetly wiping the sweat from his forehead, asking, “Are you full? If not, there’s more in the pot.”
Xie Jinning turned pale.
The porridge’s texture was lacking, but the taste wasn’t bad, with the rice fragrance mixed with the corn’s sweetness.
But the porridge was thick, and by the end, Xie Jinning felt a bit of acid reflux, barely managing to finish the bowl.
“Full, full,” he quickly said, his long lashes fluttering uneasily, asking, “Wait, we’re not having this for dinner too, are we?”
There was some left in the pot, and Yan Yi did plan on it, but seeing Xie Jinning’s wide-eyed look, as if saying “if you make me eat this again, I’ll cause a scene,” he asked, “What do you want to eat then?”
Adding, “Not those things you mentioned before.”
“I…” Xie Jinning’s response was caught in his throat again, angrily clenching his fist, gritting out, “I want to eat meat.”
“Okay.”
“But not dried meat, and not that black stuff,” Xie Jinning said, “I want fresh meat.”
“…Alright.”