That was his first kiss, and he had intended to save it for his beloved Xiao Ling.
Fu Baizhou’s body practically filled the entire bathroom. The lighting in the bathroom wasn’t good to begin with, and since Lin Zhuo had been thinking about saving every bit of electricity he could, he hadn’t turned on the light.
Standing there like a human wall, he blocked all the light from the outside.
Lin Zhuo turned off the faucet, the sound of water abruptly stopping and leaving behind absolute silence.
In the dimness, Lin Zhuo couldn’t see Fu Baizhou’s expression clearly, and the goodwill he had managed to build up instantly collapsed the moment that kiss landed.
Without a word, Fu Baizhou took a step forward.
His tall figure carried an immense sense of oppression, tightening Lin Zhuo’s breath so much that he didn’t dare to take a big breath.
He stepped back to put some distance between them.
His heart thumped wildly in his chest until his back hit the cold wall, leaving him nowhere else to run and forcing him into eye contact with Fu Baizhou.
“What do you want to do?” Lin Zhuo swallowed a mouthful of saliva and asked awkwardly.
Putting everything else aside, their body types differed drastically; if they were to get into a physical fight, he would have zero capability to resist.
If he had known better, he wouldn’t have acted so impulsively. It was just a kiss, anyway, so he could just pretend he had been bitten by a dog.
The corners of Fu Baizhou’s lips curved slightly. Lin Zhuo looking frightened like a cat with its fur standing on end was both cute and made him want to tease him.
He stepped closer, placing a hand on Lin Zhuo’s left chest. “Wife, your heartbeat is so fast.”
This posture was a bit too ambiguous.
Red-faced and ears burning, Lin Zhuo yelled, “It’s none of your damn business, stop groping around.”
He slapped Fu Baizhou’s hand away.
Undeterred, Fu Baizhou leaned in closer, his voice trailing upward into a whisper right next to his ear, “Wife, wasn’t it you who said I could eat whatever I wanted?”
His voice was tender and lingering, sounding like sweet nothing whispers between lovers.
Lin Zhuo instinctively retorted, “But I’m not food!”
Fu Baizhou replied, “But my wife smells very good.”
He leaned in close to Lin Zhuo’s neck and sniffed, looking just like a little puppy.
Good your grandpa.
Gritting his teeth, Lin Zhuo trembled with anger.
He really wanted to punch him.
Just as the two of them were locked in a stalemate, the doorbell suddenly rang, acting like a straw for a drowning man. “Auntie must be here. I’ll go open the door.”
Fu Baizhou obediently backed away, and Lin Zhuo let out a sigh of relief before hurrying out of the bathroom.
“System, did Fu Baizhou have murderous intent toward me from the very beginning?”
Not at all, oh.
“Then was he trying to sleep with me?”
The system doesn’t know.
Reaching the doorway, Lin Zhuo took a few deep breaths.
Opening the door, An Wan stood outside holding a fruit basket.
An Wan wore a tight grey turtleneck sweater paired with light-colored jeans, looking youthful and vibrant. “Hi, Xiao Zhuo.”
Lin Zhuo’s eyes lit up. “Wow, Auntie, you look so pretty today. Come on in.”
An Wan smiled gently and gracefully, tapping Lin Zhuo on the forehead. “Such a sweet mouth.”
Rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, Lin Zhuo took the fruit basket An Wan had bought and placed it on the coffee table.
An Wan sat on the sofa, looked around the living room, and then asked Lin Zhuo with a smile, “Are you satisfied with this place?”
Lin Zhuo nodded vigorously twice. “Extremely satisfied, thank you, Auntie.”
An Wan noticed the person standing by the doorway. “Xiao Fu, why are you standing by the bathroom door?”
Not wanting An Wan to know they had quarreled, Lin Zhuo chimed in, “Yeah, why are you standing by the bathroom door?”
Fu Baizhou refused to take the easy way down, asking instead, “Wife, have you forgiven me?”
An Wan immediately cast her gaze toward Lin Zhuo, her look seeming to say: What did you do behind my back?
Inside, Lin Zhuo was freaking out, falling into a rapid brainstorm.
He obviously couldn’t just say they kissed and then he slapped him out of anger.
He… he flirted with other girls, so I was just educating him.
Remembering how Fu Baizhou’s eyes practically wanted to glue themselves to her nephew every time she visited them at the hospital over the past week, An Wan doubted he was capable of flirting with other girls.
Her gaze fell upon Lin Zhuo’s reddened earlobes, and she already had her own verdict on the matter in her heart, but seeing how thin-skinned her nephew was, she decided not to call him out.
With deliberate insinuation, An Wan said, “Is that so? Then he definitely needs a good education.”
Nodding heavily to show agreement, Lin Zhuo completely missed the subtext in An Wan’s words.
An Wan shook her head helplessly; it seemed her nephew was even sillier than she imagined, probably counting the money for someone who sold him.
“What are we having for lunch?” An Wan changed the subject.
The new apartment lacked human warmth and looked cold and desolate.
Volunteering himself, Lin Zhuo said, “I’ll show you my cooking skills.”
“Really? Then Auntie will look forward to it.” An Wan was an expert at hyping people up.
Immediately boosted in morale, Lin Zhuo grabbed Fu Baizhou’s hand and said, “Stop standing around like you’re being punished. Come on, let’s go buy groceries.”
Fu Baizhou’s hand felt slightly cool, making Lin Zhuo’s hand feel scorching hot by comparison.
He smiled and said, “Wife, you’re so cute.”
Giving him goosebumps, Lin Zhuo couldn’t understand why Fu Baizhou thought he was cute.
He immediately let go of the man’s hand and shot him a side-eye.
Lin Zhuo cooked lunch, and An Wan and Fu Baizhou were very supportive, polishing off every last bite.
Seeing the meal he cooked eaten completely clean, Lin Zhuo felt a massive sense of accomplishment.
Not long after finishing lunch, An Wan left.
The sun gradually crept onto the balcony, so Lin Zhuo brought a blanket out from the bedroom, collapsed onto the rocking chair, and scrolled through short videos.
After finishing the cleaning and seeing Lin Zhuo completely engrossed in his own world, Fu Baizhou walked over to him, half-squatted down, and looked at what he was watching.
Too absorbed in his phone, Lin Zhuo hadn’t noticed Fu Baizhou walking over.
He loved watching brainless funny videos and let out a chuckle from time to time.
Fu Baizhou watched those videos too, failing to understand why Lin Zhuo was laughing so happily.
He asked, “Is it funny?”
If it wasn’t funny, why would I laugh?
Fu Baizhou’s voice came so suddenly that Lin Zhuo got startled, dropping his phone right onto the bridge of his nose. He immediately let out a cry of pain, followed by a stream of curses.
Rubbing the spot where he got hit, the pain filled his eyes with tears.
Fu Baizhou immediately lowered his head, his attitude of admitting fault extremely sincere. “Wife, I’m sorry. Do you want me to blow on it for you?”
Seething with anger and wanting to lose his temper, Lin Zhuo worried that Fu Baizhou might hurt him, so he simply turned his back to him to avoid looking at him.
“Wife, pay attention to me,” Fu Baizhou coaxed.
“Fu Baizhou, did you forget everything I taught you at the hospital? Stop rubbing against my neck.” Lin Zhuo pushed his face away.
Fu Baizhou protested, “No cuddling and no kissing either? Wife, you don’t like me anymore.”
Why was such a big man so fond of acting spoiled, yet this tactic actually worked a little bit on Lin Zhuo?
Still, what happened today served as a reminder to Lin Zhuo: he had to maintain a certain distance from Fu Baizhou, otherwise, who knew what else might happen.
“Yes, yes, yes, I don’t like you anymore,” Lin Zhuo brushed him off perfunctorily.
Without a word, Fu Baizhou took advantage of Lin Zhuo’s momentary lapse in reaction to pick him up and place him right on his lap.
Dissatisfied, Lin Zhuo protested, “Put me down right now.”
“Time to sleep!” Ignoring him, Fu Baizhou wrapped his arms tightly around him and closed his eyes to sleep.
After struggling for quite a while, Lin Zhuo ultimately compromised.
With a height difference of around twenty centimeters between them, he looked exceptionally petite and fragile in the other’s arms.
There was a faint fragrance lingering on Fu Baizhou. Breathing in this scent, drowsiness washed over Lin Zhuo.
He put down his phone, closed his eyes, and fell asleep shortly after.
Listening to Lin Zhuo’s breathing gradually steady, Fu Baizhou opened his eyes.
With Lin Zhuo leaning in his arms, he bent slightly forward and affectionately licked Lin Zhuo’s cheek.
Frowning, Lin Zhuo raised his hand to push him away, only for Fu Baizhou to grab his hand in one swift motion, interlocking their fingers and pressing them down.
Fu Baizhou buried his head in Lin Zhuo’s neck and shoulders, greedily inhaling his scent like an addict satisfying a craving.