Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chun Shijiu lay in the dorm bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep—not that the bed wasn't comfortable. Unlike the Human Race dorm beds, this one, like the dorm's main door, could adapt to students of every race. Even if Chun Shijiu shifted to his original form, there'd be room enough for him to coil.

He'd been sleeping poorly for a while now. The trouble started the day Zhou Mu moved in... how could anyone possibly drift off with someone like that lying right next them?!

Chun Shijiu thought about it, and his honed combat instincts wouldn't allow it anyway. Even though just yesterday he'd been crouching in the washroom with numb legs while Zhou Mu and You Qi carried on outside.

Zhou Mu's breathing was steady. He hugged a blanket and slept soundly, looking as though the weakest child could kill him. Chun Shijiu could only stare blankly at the ceiling, not daring to make any large movements.

At his current distance, it was barely different from pressing right against Zhou Mu—both within the Fierce Beast's alert range. He was terrified that one wrong move and Zhou Mu would eat him as a midnight snack.

Damn You Qi, damn You Qi—why couldn't he just be firm about swapping dorms with me!

Mid-curse, he heard the window shift. Chun Shijiu snapped his head around, alert. The dorm window slid slowly open from outside, and a tall figure crouched at the sill.

The figure noticed he was awake but showed no shame—only a faint puzzlement, as if wondering why Chun Shijiu was here at all.

Chun Shijiu: "…………"

Chun Shijiu nimbly climbed out of bed, gathered his blanket, walked to the dorm door, flipped the lock, shut it behind him, and headed for the opposite side—all in one fluid motion. At the doorway the Door-Protecting Grass started cursing him out, filthy and unfit to repeat, but he was used to it.

You Qi dropped down from the windowsill and pulled it shut behind him.

Zhou Mu had his arms and legs wrapped around the blanket, lying on his side, the soft white flesh of his cheek pressed into a small pout. Without thinking, You Qi walked to the bed and crouched down—and at that exact moment Zhou Mu's eyes flew open, meeting You Qi's gaze with lazy precision.

He patted the bed board and said slowly, 'You're only allowed to lie at the foot of the bed.'

You Qi climbed up at once, rolling to the inside while wrapping Zhou Mu—blanket and all—into his arms.

He lowered his head, wanting to breathe in the skin that grew more translucent under the cold moonlight...

Zhou Mu lay quietly in You Qi's arm. He reached out, traced up from the side of You Qi's neck, past the deadly throat, and suddenly seized the Mouth Cage strap, yanking it back to force You Qi's head up.

You Qi's mouth fell slightly open. A sharp canine showed, and the tip of a tongue darted out to wet his lips—plainly dissatisfied at having touched nothing.

A Fierce Beast who could stay composed through years of confinement, and now he was restless, looking at Zhou Mu in bewilderment.

'You can keep going.' Zhou Mu's gaze slid over You Qi's lips, making his heart stutter—but then added, 'But you can't kiss me.'

You Qi fell silent. '...Why?'

Zhou Mu sat up in his arms, hand still holding the strap, this time pulling him closer. His nose nuzzled against the cold metal, apricot eyes misted with the half-awake dampness of interrupted sleep, looking even more innocent.

His nuzzling manner plainly suggested he was glad to be close, his tone entirely that of someone acting spoiled—no different from the usual way he asked You Qi to fetch this or carry that: 'Because I told you to sleep at the foot of the bed, and you didn't follow it.'

Letting You Qi continue was the special indulgence of a lover; forbidding the kiss was holding to principle—one couldn't give in to everything.

So that was how it was...

You Qi was restless—but it had been he himself who let Zhou Mu put the Mouth Cage on him, who had exposed his throat in front of Zhou Mu again and again, and even before that had broken his own rules for Zhou Mu countless times without realizing what it meant.

If he wanted what he wanted, it seemed the only path was total submission, yielding step by step...

He turned his head. This time Zhou Mu didn't stop him, and he finally reached Zhou Mu's wrist. Zhou Mu's fingers idly brushed past the canine, fearless.

But when You Qi sniffed upward from the collarbone, his lips aiming for Zhou Mu's softly half-parted mouth, Zhou Mu easily dodged: 'Kiss next time.'

You Qi's body, two sizes larger, could have covered Zhou Mu completely. His head dropped onto the pillow, then tilted and buried itself in Zhou Mu's neck, muffled: 'I was wrong.'

...

...

After getting up, You Qi went to the Canteen first to buy breakfast—a lot of it. The Canteen chef already knew what had happened and gave him extra portions, then, as You Qi glanced over, said: 'You deserve it. Keep it up!'

In just one day, many rumors had spread. Apparently the school leadership, hoping to keep Zhou Mu stable, had quietly dipped into their own pockets to give him generous food subsidies—so Zhou Mu wouldn't snack on classmates.

They couldn't do much else, but giving You Qi a bit more to eat was within reach. Heaven protect the poor kid—may he be eaten a few bites less.

You Qi had been enrolled for years, and this was the first time school staff had shown him such care. For a Fierce Beast, the experience was genuinely novel.

By contrast with Zhou Mu, he had somehow become everyone's kin...

'Thank you.' You Qi said nothing more, hoisted the breakfast, and headed back to the dorm.

He set the food on the table. The sleeping Zhou Mu's nose twitched—probably catching the smell. You Qi stepped forward, crouched by the bed, and watched Zhou Mu slowly open his eyes: 'Mm...'

There seemed to be food.

He rolled over, one arm stretching out, wrist and below all spilling past the bed's edge.

You Qi caught that hand, stared at Zhou Mu's lips, and pressed a kiss to the palm.

His eyes were those of a big dog not allowed to leap up without his master's say-so; his movements those of a blocked Fierce Beast. Zhou Mu's hand had strayed past the bed's sealing boundary and was instantly captured, tasted inch by inch.

The brushed palm tickled. Zhou Mu laughed.

'Is it okay now?' You Qi asked.

Zhou Mu said nothing, got up, stripped off his sleepwear, changed into a long T and pants, and went to wash his face. You Qi shadowed him step for step, occasionally reaching out to touch Zhou Mu's ear or fingers, and wasn't stopped—until Zhou Mu sat down and opened a Soup Dumpling.

The fresh fragrance threatened to spill out as the lunchbox opened. The skin was thin, the soup abundant, the edge drooping just past the rim. A Soup Dumpling lifted up, swaying twice, hanging there—your heart lifted with it—

You Qi suddenly seized Zhou Mu's wrist.

Zhou Mu: 'Not yet.'

The Soup Dumpling dropped back. He bit through the skin at the slightly bulging point, and the delicious soup gushed out at once, sweet fragrance curling around the tongue. A less experienced diner would have panicked—or simply reached for a straw.

Zhou Mu, though, took his time, carefully distinguishing each layer of flavor. The dumpling skin was supple enough, soaked through with soup, its texture superb.

Zhou Mu was sucking at the soup. You Qi swallowed for no reason.

He hugged Zhou Mu from behind, head resting on top, nuzzling. He said nothing, but the emotion spilled over.

'Creak...'

The dorm door opened a crack.

Both looked over.

You Qi's dark eyes sharpened further.

F***—can't even eat breakfast without people watching?!

—Chun Shijiu had been lectured by the Door-Protecting Grass all night; even his inner monologue had taken its shape.

He wore an expression on the verge of tears and gestured at the time on his phone: 'Get my books... I'm really going to be late!'

.

The Final Combat Match was three days away. There were clearly other events in between, but the Hualing students' enthusiasm—or any other emotion—seemed to have been spent dry at the Selection Contest. Few went to watch today; even those who did were probably still talking about yesterday.

On the official site and the school forum, this time of year was usually peak Sports Meet traffic. Now, needless to say, it was Zhou Mu.

In this somewhat tense atmosphere, Zhou Mu paid a visit to Luo Guanzhong's Office.

Luo Guanzhong probably hadn't expected him. Today was the day for his disciples' meeting, but Zhou Mu's participation in the Sports Meet meant he could skip it... sigh—though everyone had already known how that would turn out.

The other senior brothers and sisters, seeing Zhou Mu, didn't dare make a sound, trembling. Zhou Mu therefore walked silently up behind Luo Guanzhong and discovered his mentor browsing listings on Beike Zhaofang.

'Teacher, moving?' Zhou Mu asked.

Luo Guanzhong's heart stopped. He nearly died of fright, turned pale-faced, and met Zhou Mu's cute smile.

'I—I'm just browsing...' Luo Guanzhong put down his phone.

Bullshit—he was looking at new houses.

Shell-bearing mollusks came with their own dwelling, but they couldn't just settle anywhere—they needed land. He used to invite classmates over all the time, including Zhou Mu, had even foolishly sent his original form for Zhou Mu to see. Now he regretted it so badly he couldn't sleep at night.

Especially when he thought about how Zhou Mu, since before the term started, had always praised him on WeChat, expressed admiration, and after meeting in person had kept staring at him. He'd always taken it for filial affection—after all, he was a fairly well-known writer.

Now that he knew the truth, he had nightmares constantly—dreams of Zhou Mu slipping over at night to take a quick suck and run.

Shivers down the spine...

So lately Luo Guanzhong had been hunting for a new place, so that at least after work he wouldn't have to worry. As for during school hours? Whatever happened, he just needed to run faster than everyone else.

'Teacher, isn't it the meeting?' Zhou Mu pulled out a notebook, ready to take notes.

'Oh—oh, right.' Luo Guanzhong finished the meeting as if in a dream. His students had been nervous at first, then gradually relaxed, even daring to chat with Zhou Mu.

It wasn't that Luo Guanzhong's nerve was worse than his students'—it was that he'd seen with his own eyes at Jinyuan Zhou Mu beating Xie Rulin and Shou Teacher, and slurping up all that Demon Aura...

After the session, he himself didn't know what he'd been saying. The more he knew, the more frightened he became. But the more frightened, the less he dared show anything off.

When he finally finished, Luo Guanzhong forced out a friendly smile: 'If Zhou Mu has any questions, keep asking Yan Xingke, or me. Also—congratulations on locking in the combat event Champion early. Truly the pride of our sect! As a reward, I'll list the projects for you later—pick whichever you'd like to enter.'

'Thank you, teacher!' Zhou Mu, a newly enrolled junior brother, beamed at the treatment.

At that moment the half-open door was knocked twice. You Qi appeared in the doorway and casually greeted, 'Hello, teacher.'

He walked in and picked up Zhou Mu's bag: 'Go eat?'

You Qi could feel the others' gazes turn friendly at once—a bit like the treatment at the Canteen that morning. Previously, if he'd appeared alone, no one would say they hated him, but no one present would have been especially glad either. Now it was different—he'd stepped up.

Zhou Mu, hearing this, was even happier. 'Great—nothing else, teacher? Goodbye!'

He had been walking behind You Qi. Near the door he quickened two steps into a run and suddenly pounced.

Luo Guanzhong, who had been daydreaming, saw it and cried out: 'Careful!'

Zhou Mu landed steadily on You Qi's back, legs clamping around him, and turned back in confusion.

Luo Guanzhong said lightly, '...Be careful not to fall when you're playing around.'

'Oh, thank you, teacher~' Zhou Mu's figure vanished past the door.

Luo Guanzhong withdrew his gaze and said solemnly, 'We must concentrate the full strength of our sect to cultivate student Zhou Mu, and strive to have him graduate from under my tutelage as soon as possible...'

His students, who hadn't laughed at the mentor's overreaction either, all nodded.

A senior sister rubbed her chin. 'Speaking of which, I heard Zhou Mu is still living in Chun Shijiu's dorm... ah no, should say Zhou Mu is still letting Chun Shijiu live with him.'

But You Qi had been tamed yesterday too—he was the first classmate Zhou Mu kept.

The others, hearing her latest news, couldn't help but start discussing. Although anyone could be food, the nature of gossip couldn't be stopped—they began to chatter mischievously.

'Huh, how did You Qi get in?'

'Is he not as tasty as Chun Shijiu?'

'Obviously, this isn't sorted by combat power.'

'Mm, Chun Shijiu long ago let junior brother Zhou Mu move dorms—probably has some special flavor about him...'

'Some southwestern local dishes, ha.'