Le Zhuo froze, his mind going completely blank, unable to react for a long moment.
Then came several more sharp smacks, “pa! pa! pa!” and the sting of pain finally snapped him back to his senses.
“Bai Jiao! Ah! What are you doing!”
His struggle was even weaker than when he had resisted bathing together earlier.
“To teach you a lesson.”
Even after his skin had been reddened, Bai Jiao showed no intention of stopping. His voice was cold enough to freeze the air.
“No! Wuwuwuwuwu, let me go!”
Bai Jiao hadn’t even restrained him, what was there to let go of?
“Do you admit you were wrong?” Bai Jiao struck him twice more.
“I didn’t do anything wrong! Why are you saying I’m wrong!” Le Zhuo protested stubbornly.
This time, Bai Jiao increased the force. The crisp sound echoed through the room, making one’s face heat up just from hearing it.
“I’ll ask you one last time, do you admit you were wrong?”
Perhaps it was the icy edge in his tone that made Le Zhuo feel an instinctive fear.
Tears welled up in Le Zhuo’s eyes as he sniffled, voice trembling. “I… I know… I was wrong.”
Seeing him finally admit it, Bai Jiao stopped. He bent down and pulled him into an embrace.
“Then tell me, what was wrong?”
Bai Jiao raised a hand to wipe away the tears at the corners of Le Zhuo’s eyes, then pressed a kiss there.
The kiss was incredibly gentle, carrying a soothing warmth that turned Le Zhuo’s sobs into quiet sniffles.
“I don’t know. I just wanted to protect you.”
“And yet you still admit fault?”
“You hit me…” Le Zhuo said, aggrieved.
“Such a fool.” Bai Jiao held him tighter, rubbing his cheek lightly with the tip of his nose. “Following me, wasn’t that wrong?”
Le Zhuo’s face paled and he fell silent.
“Following me is one thing but you even dared to step into such a dangerous place without considering your own safety. Isn’t that wrong?” Bai Jiao’s voice softened, his gaze helpless as he looked at his lover. “Those sentinels are battle hardened and their mental power is higher than yours. I can ensure I leave unharmed, can you?”
“Baby, I know you wanted to protect me but to me, your safety is the most important thing.”
Bai Jiao let out a quiet sigh. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
The Bai Jiao of the past had been taciturn, never one to voice such thoughts but after experiencing world after world, after loving for hundreds of years, even the faintest emotions had become delicate and profound.
He truly had the ability to protect the one he loved but once a person had a weakness, they inevitably began to fear the unexpected.
Just like in the arena, what if an opponent appeared who was overwhelmingly powerful? What would Le Zhuo do then?
It wasn’t about what was likely, it was about what might happen.
“So you hit me because you were worried about me?” Le Zhuo stopped crying, his cheeks regaining a healthy flush as he tentatively probed Bai Jiao’s feelings.
“Mm. I was worried about you.”
Bai Jiao admitted it without hesitation.
Love nourishes all things, silent yet ever present.
Even a stone, when soaked in affection, would become something soft and beautiful, let alone a person.
“Do you really like me?”
Thinking about how Bai Jiao had custom made a robot in his likeness, Le Zhuo suddenly felt that Bai Jiao must have been unable to obtain what he wanted and so had resorted to that.
Though it was still a bit perverted but…
“Mm. I really like you.”
“Then why do you like me?” Le Zhuo frowned. “If you like me, why are you hitting me?”
“That’s not a contradiction,” Bai Jiao said as if it were obvious. “If you don’t behave, then you get spanked.”
It was something he had once heard from other people’s parents when he was young.
Bai Jiao had no violent tendencies and no particular fondness for fighting. He only wanted to teach the disobedient Le Zhuo a lesson. Even if Le Zhuo continued to misbehave in the future, aside from spanking, Bai Jiao would never strike anywhere else.
Le Zhuo found himself unable to refute him.
Bai Jiao wasn’t wrong. He had followed him and his strength truly wasn’t enough, those were facts.
In the arena, he hadn’t even been able to break free from Bai Jiao’s restraint, forced to watch as Bai Jiao fought others.
“Even so… you still shouldn’t spank me,” Le Zhuo muttered softly.
He was already this old, being spanked was a serious blow to a sentinel’s pride.
“Then where do you think I should hit you?”
“Can’t you just not hit me?” Le Zhuo asked, puzzled. “Do you have violent tendencies or something?”
“You wanted to fight, so I’ll fight you. How does that count as violence? It just means you can’t beat me.”
“……”
Le Zhuo really couldn’t beat him.
Even without actually fighting, anyone could tell he stood no chance against Bai Jiao.
Bai Jiao propped himself up and lifted the bathrobe again to take a look.
Le Zhuo’s skin had turned red but there were no broken blood vessels. It didn’t even count as an injury, it would heal within a day.
Even so, he still took out some ointment and applied it, gently rubbing it in.
“Mm…”
Caught off guard, Le Zhuo buried himself deeper into Bai Jiao’s arms, his body beginning to react uncontrollably.
Bai Jiao frowned slightly, lightening his touch. “Don’t make noise. Be quiet.”
“You won’t even let me make a sound? I’ll make noise anyway, mm, mm, ah, ah, ah, so what?” Le Zhuo was determined to be difficult.
Bai Jiao pinched him lightly.
Le Zhuo: “……”
He immediately behaved, no longer making a sound.
He buried his face into Bai Jiao’s neck, trying to cool himself down. Bai Jiao’s body temperature was always slightly lower, making it comfortable to lean against but for some reason, this time felt a little different.
“Jiao Jiao, why does it feel like something is pressing against my leg?”
Le Zhuo reached down curiously toward where he felt it but his hand was quickly stopped by Bai Jiao.
Without changing his expression, Bai Jiao lied, “Just your imagination. Don’t move. It’ll go away in a moment.”
“This illusion feels way too real. I don’t believe it, you must be lying to me,” Le Zhuo huffed softly. “Let go of my hand. I want to check for myself.”
“Still not behaving?” Bai Jiao squeezed his palm lightly.
“You’re going to hit me again?” Le Zhuo wasn’t afraid.
He refused to believe that Bai Jiao would spank him right after applying medicine.
“I won’t hit you.” Bai Jiao pressed his head into his chest. “Can you be a little more obedient?”
“Like…?” Like a robot?
Le Zhuo startled himself, nearly exposing the thought.
“Like what?”
“Nothing.” Le Zhuo shrank into himself like a quail.
For a long while, neither of them spoke. Le Zhuo felt guilty for lying, while Bai Jiao was simply trying to steady the abnormal stirrings in his body.
Le Zhuo broke the silence, searching for something to say. “There really isn’t that poking feeling anymore. Looks like it really was just my imagination earlier.”
Bai Jiao: “……”
He pinched Le Zhuo’s cheek and asked expressionlessly, “Do you still want to sleep with me tonight?”
Le Zhuo blinked, then asked cautiously, “Can I?”
Then he remembered that Bai Jiao liked him and immediately grew bolder.
“I want to!”
“Then go to sleep now.” Bai Jiao pulled up the blanket, though half of Le Zhuo’s body remained uncovered. “The medicine on your backside hasn’t absorbed yet. Bear with it for now.”
“……”
Leaving his butt exposed like that, how embarrassing!
Why did he feel like he had no dignity at all in front of Bai Jiao? What exactly did Bai Jiao even like about him?
Curious, Le Zhuo asked it outright.
“There’s no reason.” Memories flickered through Bai Jiao’s mind and he curved his lips into a faint smile. “There’s no reason to like someone. That’s how I like you.”
Le Zhuo felt a little shy hearing that. He hugged Bai Jiao and muttered, “But you only like me because you lost your memory. If one day you remember everything…”
“I didn’t lose my memory.”
One sentence from Bai Jiao shattered the sadness Le Zhuo had just begun to gather.
“What? What did you say?” Le Zhuo lifted his head in shock, staring at him wide eyed.
“I said I never lost my memory. I just pretended to, because they were too annoying.” Bai Jiao found his expression adorable, pinched his cheek again and leaned in to kiss him.
The soft “smack” left Le Zhuo completely stunned.
“They were too annoying? But you weren’t like this before.”
“That was all an act. In truth, I find them irritating and I never liked Le Shan. I’ve known about his cheating for a long time.” Bai Jiao spoke calmly.
“When did you find out?”
“Earlier than you. I was on a wasteland planet at the time, so I didn’t take any special action,” Bai Jiao said with a soft chuckle. “When I found out, you were still a truly foolish little thing.”
“You really liked me when I was stupid?”
“The moment I first saw you, I started liking you.” Bai Jiao rested his forehead against his, his voice low and gentle. “Baby, do you like me too?”
“How could I possibly…”
“Think carefully. If you reject me, I won’t appear in your life ever again.”
His voice remained as gentle as his appearance, his movements filled with quiet intimacy but his gaze was unwaveringly resolute.
“I…”
Le Zhuo’s heart suddenly clenched with a sharp, inexplicable pain. “No…”
His body seemed to make the choice for him before his mind could. A vision surfaced, Bai Jiao disappearing, leaving behind nothing but loneliness and desolation.
As if once Bai Jiao left, he would return to being that foolish boy no one understood, no one drew close to, no one loved.
Even if he wasn’t foolish anymore.
“No, don’t…” Le Zhuo tightened his grip, burying his face in Bai Jiao’s chest. “I don’t want you to disappear.”
His panic was like glimpsing a terrifying future, his body trembling, his fear palpable as he clung desperately to the only thing keeping him afloat.
“If you don’t like me, staying by your side would put you in danger.” Bai Jiao lifted his face and leaned in, gently biting his lip.
It was a silent threat, a reminder that he was far from harmless.
If Le Zhuo refused him, Bai Jiao would choose to leave this world entirely.
Because he had already realized he couldn’t bear to hurt Le Zhuo. Even when he spanked him, he couldn’t bring himself to use real force, let alone anything more excessive.
The moment his lover cried, his heart softened.
“I don’t want you to leave me.”
Le Zhuo’s heart still ached, making it hard to breathe as tears fell again.
“Why are you crying? As long as you say you like me, I won’t leave you.” Bai Jiao wiped away the tears at the corner of his eyes. “You don’t like me yet you won’t let me go, are you trying to keep me hanging?”
When Bai Jiao spoke of leaving, he meant it in the truest sense, vanishing completely from this world, leaving behind only a dull, mechanical shell to carry out something like a mindless pursuit.
“N.. No, I… I…”
In this world, Le Zhuo was even more sensitive and insecure. He often said the opposite of what he meant, using childish defiance just to draw Bai Jiao’s attention.
He should have taken time to understand his own feelings but Bai Jiao had suddenly forced the matter, pushing him to confront it far sooner than he was ready for.
Bai Jiao waited patiently, his gaze lingering on Le Zhuo’s reddened lips, as though the moment he answered, he would claim his long awaited reward.
“Baby, do you like me?” he asked again.
The aching in Le Zhuo’s chest gradually faded, replaced by a fierce, pounding heartbeat.
His ears flushed red, his lashes trembling. In a voice as soft as a mosquito’s buzz, he whispered, “I like you.”
Bai Jiao didn’t need him to repeat it.
He simply did what he had wanted to do all along, leaning in to kiss Le Zhuo’s lips, savoring him slowly and carefully, like tasting something sweet.
“Mm…”
Le Zhuo grew flustered under the kiss, wrapping his arms around Bai Jiao’s neck as his thoughts blurred and drifted away.
Bai Jiao’s movements were exceedingly gentle. He teased and entangled himself with Le Zhuo’s tongue, sucking at it unhurriedly, guiding him step by step into matching his rhythm.
Having obtained the answer he wanted, Bai Jiao did not rush to unwrap all of his “sweet treat” at once.
Le Zhuo needed time to accept everything.
He had only just come through the process of awakening from his former foolishness, had just suffered the heavy blow of learning he had been betrayed. For him to now be able to say “I like you” was already something incredibly rare.
Bai Jiao had been a little impatient before but now there was no need to hurry. Everything could proceed slowly.
He pressed a few more kisses to Le Zhuo’s cheek and forehead, coaxing softly, “Go to sleep early tonight. Be good.”
Le Zhuo didn’t respond, as though he was still processing this overwhelming shift.
After a long while, Bai Jiao suddenly heard him speak.
“Did you kiss Le Shan before?!”
Bai Jiao: “……”
“No. I never even held hands with him. Every first I have belongs to you.”
“Then why are you such a good kisser?” Le Zhuo muttered to himself. “You don’t seem like it’s your first time at all.”
“Natural talent,” Bai Jiao replied succinctly.
He had even better skills, Le Zhuo would find out eventually.
“Really? You’re not lying to me?” Le Zhuo still sounded doubtful. “When we first met, you were already getting handsy with me. You looked very experienced. On that wasteland planet, you really didn’t have any other sentinels?”
The more Le Zhuo thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed.
Bai Jiao was a grown man, having physical needs was perfectly normal. In a place like that wasteland planet, providing mental comfort for sentinels, a few accidental sparks flying seemed entirely possible.
But the moment those possibilities crossed his mind, it felt as if a vat of vinegar had been overturned into an ocean, jealousy surged in towering waves.
“Just tell me. Even if there were, I wouldn’t blame you. I just want to understand your past. I really won’t get jealous.”
A blatant lie spoken with eyes wide open.
From that resentful look in his eyes, Bai Jiao could already tell that Le Zhuo had imagined an entire story in his head and was already drowning in jealousy.
If he really made something up, this boy might just stew himself to death in his own jealousy.
“No. You can investigate if you want,” Bai Jiao said calmly. “You can even ask my subordinates. All these years, I’ve kept myself clean. I’ve only ever held hands with you.”
The rumors of Bai Jiao’s self restraint had spread from that wasteland planet long ago and after his return, they had only grown more widespread.
Le Zhuo had once deliberately looked into some gossip about him. It all said the same thing, that no one had ever seen such an upright guide before. Even during mental soothing sessions, he wouldn’t so much as touch a hand, while the deputy general who went with him had already slept with nearly all the sentinels there.
“But your technique is still very suspicious.” Le Zhuo leaned in and took the initiative to kiss Bai Jiao’s lips.
Kissing felt so good. How had he never realized before that it could be this enjoyable and interesting? Just how much fun had he missed out on?
“You can try a lie detector too,” Bai Jiao said, unbothered, completely confident in the truth.
“That would be too distrustful!” Le Zhuo shook his head. “I believe you. No need to test.”
“Mm. Then sleep.”
“I can’t sleep…” Le Zhuo stammered, “I… I’m not sleepy anymore.”
“Then what do you want to do?” Bai Jiao raised a brow.
“K.. kiss a little longer…”
In this world, it was Le Zhuo’s first time being in love. All he knew was that his boyfriend was incredibly good to kiss. He kept clinging to him, kissing him over and over, so excited that he didn’t fall asleep until well past midnight.
Bai Jiao happened to be off the next day, so he let him do as he pleased. The two of them ended up sleeping until late morning before finally getting up.
To be precise, they were woken by a phone call. Somehow, Le Shan had found out Bai Jiao’s day off and invited him out for a meal.
Bai Jiao refused him directly. When he turned back, he found Le Zhuo wearing a wronged expression.
“You already have me,” Le Zhuo said, frowning pitifully. “How can you still have a fiance?”
Bai Jiao raised a brow. “Don’t you have one too?”
Le Zhuo: “……”
Right. He did.
Bai Jiao pulled him into his arms and kissed the corner of his lips soothingly. “The engagement will be called off soon. Don’t worry.”
“You’re already prepared?” Le Zhuo asked curiously.
He had his own plan to break off the engagement, he intended to spread the videos of Le Shan and Bai Feng everywhere, letting them lose all face.
Of course, doing that would also get Le Zhuo arrested for distributing illicit content. That was the only reason he hadn’t done it yet, he had no desire to end up in jail for the time being.
“Mm. I have plenty of plans. So the engagement between me and Le Shan will definitely be dissolved.”
Arranged marriages naturally came with entangled family interests. The reason Le Shan had been paired with Bai Jiao was simply because both of them were tools to maximize their families’ benefits but what if Le Shan was no longer suitable?
Bai Jiao had countless ways in mind to break off the engagement, each one viable. There was no need for concern.
“You didn’t lose your memory… so you really don’t like him at all? He said before that you two had a very good relationship.” Le Zhuo still felt uneasy.
It wasn’t just Le Shan, there were plenty of such rumors outside as well.
A guide could be assigned multiple sentinels yet Bai Jiao had remained “pure” for Le Shan alone. It was something that made countless people envious.
That was one of the reasons Bai Jiao was so highly praised.
“I don’t like him. I only like you.” Bai Jiao pushed him gently down onto the bed and rubbed his backside. “Does it still hurt?”
He was simply concerned.
After his anger had passed, he worried that he might have hit too hard after all. In his eyes, Le Zhuo was as fragile as fine porcelain.
“It doesn’t hurt anymore. Y you, don’t touch.” Le Zhuo pushed against Bai Jiao’s chest, his face flushing bright red.
For some reason, when Bai Jiao touched him, the reaction that should have appeared upon waking yet hadn’t, now suddenly surfaced instead.
Le Zhuo curled up, trying to hide it.
“I… I have something to do today. I need to go home later.”
He told himself that he had to rush to finish the robots Bai Jiao had ordered, that he was very busy, not that he was trying to run away out of embarrassment.
“Just in time, I have something to take care of as well. I’ll send you back.” Bai Jiao withdrew his hand, only relaxing after confirming that Le Zhuo’s injury had fully healed.
However, if Le Zhuo were disobedient in the future, he would still have to be disciplined. Otherwise, this guy would never learn his lesson.
“What do you have to do?” Le Zhuo asked, puzzled. “Your working hours are already over.”
“It’s one step in the plan to dissolve the engagement. Leave it to me, it’ll be resolved soon.” Bai Jiao lifted him up and set him down on the floor. “Go wash up. There’s a toothbrush and a cup for you here.”
“Got it.”
Only then did Le Zhuo realize he hadn’t brushed his teeth. He hurried off to the bathroom, brushed quickly, then ran back to kiss Bai Jiao again.
He really liked kissing Bai Jiao.
When Bai Jiao arrived at the residence where the C grade guide had been placed, it was completely silent inside.
By now, night had fallen. He entered the password and opened the door, only to find the interior pitch black, as if no one lived there.
But Bai Jiao could sense it.
He turned on the lights and sure enough, he saw a thin figure curled up in the corner.
886 let out a puzzled sound. 【Host, the main system has issued a new task.】
“What task?”
Bai Jiao glanced at the figure indifferently and did not approach. Instead, he walked over and sat down on the sofa in the living room.
【A new ‘tragic and powerful beauty’ has been detected. Additional mission unlocked: redeem Xia Gu.】
“Mm. Didn’t the main system discuss this with Dr Yao first?”
【I don’t know but Host, he’s so pitiful. Let’s save him.】886 couldn’t help but feel compassionate whenever it saw someone suffering.
That habit had been nurtured by all those virtue oriented missions.
“I’ll only give him an opportunity to climb upward. Whether he takes it or not is entirely his own decision.”
If even the main mission didn’t align with his preferences, he could ignore it, let alone an optional side task.
Bai Jiao was no saint. The small amount of kindness he possessed had already been entirely given to his lover.
The figure in the corner, seeing that Bai Jiao had no intention of approaching, seemed to hesitate.
He had already been washed clean. The clothes on his body had been replaced with the thinnest gauze, barely covering a few essential parts.
Anyone could guess what those people had sent him here for.
“Sir…”
Xia Gu knelt on the ground. As though he had finally made up his mind, he began crawling toward Bai Jiao, using both hands and feet.
Bai Jiao lifted his eyelids slightly, his gaze falling on the clothes he was wearing, thoughtful.
This was Xia Gu’s first time seeing Bai Jiao’s true appearance and he froze for a moment but when he realized what Bai Jiao was looking at, he bit his lip and lowered his head.
Then he heard Bai Jiao ask, “Where did you buy that outfit?”
There was nothing like this delicate design online.
Xia Gu: “……”
Xia Gu stammered, “Sir, I’m very sorry… this… this was arranged by the arena.”
“Oh.”
Bai Jiao sent a message to the arena staff, asking for the shop where the outfit had been purchased.
Xia Gu, dressed in such revealing clothing, was left kneeling there, ignored. Fortunately, the weather was neither too hot nor too cold, so it didn’t affect him much.
He waited uneasily for Bai Jiao’s next move.
Would he tear his clothes apart or play some other game? In any case, it probably wouldn’t be gentle…
Yet Bai Jiao did nothing. He didn’t even tell him to get up. Instead, he focused intently on shopping and midway through, he received a video call.
“Jiao jiao, what are you busy with? When are you coming home?” Le Zhuo’s slightly coquettish voice came through.
“Buying something. I’ll head back soon.”
Le Zhuo’s sharp eyes caught sight of the gauze on the ground. “What’s that on the floor? Turn on full holographic mode!”
Bai Jiao activated the holographic mode and explained, “This is my father’s illegitimate son. I went to the arena yesterday to bring him back.”
“Would an illegitimate son be dressed like that, kneeling in front of you? Bai Jiao, do you take me for a fool?!” Le Zhuo immediately transformed into his spirit form and rushed out the door, ready to catch him in the act. “Just you wait!”
Bai Jiao: “……”
Xia Gu: “……”?