Chapter 33

Sponsored Chapter 33: The Tomb of Emperor Hui of Jin Pt 1

Zhang Qiu knelt on the ground and dared not look back. The chilly coldness on his shoulder and the tender giggles were like ghost dolls in horror film.

“Don’t pester me!” Zhang Qiu cried. A pair of shoes in front of him caught his eyes, he shook all over, slowly raising his head. The moonlight set off the beautiful face to the extreme, his heart suddenly relaxed. The thing on his shoulder issued a “pop!” sound; Zhang Qiu knew what’s on his shoulder.

Once again gave him another spit bubbles.

“Baba, hungry!”

Zhang Qiu's hair was grabbed by a cold little hand, and the little child seemed to roll over it. The child rolled agilely over his head, grabbed his collar with one hand, and crawled down carefully until the child's head nested on his chest.

“Hungry, Baba, milk!”

Under the moonlight, the little child showed two tiger teeth suffused with silver light. Zhang Qiu still felt terrified and panicked when he saw that pair of big panda eyes. He quickly moved his eyes away. The little guy seemed to feel Zhang Qiu’s fear and choked a cry then burst into tears.

Zhang Qiu was at a loss; a little annoyed by the crying, but felt more pitiable. The child and him were both tragedies, all caused by Li Shu!

“Don’t cry.” Zhang Qiu said dryly that the little guy in his arms was crying harder. Zhang Qiu looked around. Fortunately, no one was there. He held the little guy’s butt stiffly in one hand and touched the little guy’s head with the other hand. It was soft and cool, just like holding a mobile air-conditioner.

“Hungry.” The little guy spit out a word in tears.

Zhang Qiu softened his heart and kept a straight face, “Don’t cry, I'll give you something to eat.”

The little guy sniffed his nose and stopped crying, but the tears that just dropped rolled down and wetted Zhang Qiu’s T-shirt. Zhang Qiu felt slightly sticky on his chest and sour in his heart. He looked at Li Shu next to his eyes. “You didn’t give him anything to eat?”

“I did.”

Zhang Qiu still felt afraid and awkward when he talked with Li Shu. “What does he eat?”

“Milk powder.” Li Shu paused. “Or blood.”

Zhang Qiu shivered when he heard the latter. He looked down at the two tiger teeth of the little guy. What zongzi? It was like a vampire.

“Drink milk powder then.” Considering that there was not even a leaf of vegetable in the house, let alone milk powder. The little guy in his arms still rubbed his chest with his little mouth moving around. Zhang Qiu resisted the idea of throwing the little guy out, opened his backpack and stuffed the little guy in. “Shh, I'll buy you food.”

The little guy seemed to be able to understand, he rolled around in the bag and sat barefoot cross-legged on the T-shirt. Knowing that he was naked, he felt shy and clutched his mini-chicken in his hand and acted cutely while nodding his head.

“Milk!”

Upon seeing this, Zhang Qiu could not help but raised his lip a bit, “Good boy.”

He carried his backpack in front of him, and the zipper showed a crack in it. He looked down and could see the little guy rolling around in it.

Li Shu followed him all the time, not far or near from behind. Zhang Qiu clearly was scared to death when he knew Li Shu’s identity, but he had just experienced a frightening moment. At this moment, he felt that in spite of everything, behind him was a very reliable misconception.

There was a supermarket outside the school. Zhang Qiu, who wanted to buy only a can of milk powder, thought that there was nothing at home, so he decided to buy more. He pushed the cart and put the bag in front of him. A few customers in the supermarket looked at him, to be exact, at Li Shu behind him.

Stupid human beings, what’s the use of good looks, if it is a slag man!

A big hand suddenly came on the handlebar of the cart. Zhang Qiu looked up and saw it was Li Shu.

“Let me.” The tone was cold.

Zhang Qiu loosened his hand without taking extra trouble. If you want to do it, then do it. Why is your face so cold?!

Two people first arrived at the milk powder area. The supermarket shopping guide had been off work, two rows full of milk powder to choose made Zhang Qiu dizzied. Let alone the brand variety, how could there be stages? Zhang Qiu looked at the little guy in the bag. According to reason, he should drink from zero to three months, but the little guy did not look like an infant. Except for being mini, and the appearance of teeth, he looked like a two-year-old kid.

Li Shu grabbed the can. “Whatever he drinks is all the same.”

“Good or bad—” was born to me, so rough to get along [过的这么糙]. Zhang Qiu swallowed his words and carefully selected two cans. “Buy the first and second stages.”

He also bought toiletries, fruits, vegetables, rice, noodles, and meat and so on. When he checked out, people suddenly increased. At the back of the queue, a little boy cried for toys with his mother’s thighs in his arms. His mother did not care; let the little boy cried there. The little boy’s voice became louder and louder. Zhang Qiu frowned and was very annoyed. He didn’t pay attention to it. The backpack zipper in front of his chest was slowly pulled down.

“… I don’t care, I don’t care, I want, I want toys.” The little boy’s voice was sharp and thin. Suddenly there was loud clamor, “Mom, something bit me!”

Zhang Qiu felt a tremor in his heart and was frightened into a cold sweat. He looked down and saw that the zipper in the bag had been opened. The little guy was sitting cross-legged and his mouth was red. When he saw Zhang Qiu looked at him, he quickly licked his lower lip and showed a clever/lovable smile.

This kind of smile felt somewhat dreadful in Zhang Qiu’s eyes.

He looked behind. The little boy’s mother didn’t care at all; she played with the mobile phone, possibly because she had been lied to by the little boy too many times. The little boy kept saying that he had been bitten and showed his mother his outstretched arm. His mother looked at him impatiently, and her face suddenly changed.

"What’s the matter? What’s this dental print?"

Zhang Qiu pushed the cart to settle the bill and stuffed his backpack into Li Shu’s arms. His eyes were flustered. “Yours.” Then he ran out in a hurry.

Only when he arrived at the entrance of the community did he thought that Li Shu had no key. His mind was full of the images of the little zongzi licking blood on his lips. Would Li Shu be like this? He had seen Li Shu eat like a normal person, but Li Shu and the little zongzi were the same in nature. Would he be the mobile rations in Li Shu’s eyes?

“Ding-” was the sound of the elevator.

Zhang Qiu was shocked. He was like a bird frightened with a twang of a bow, put up his ears but didn’t hear footsteps. As soon as he was relieved, he saw Li Shu coming slowly while carrying three big shopping bags and the backpack that was still in his arms.

Li Shu looked at him and Zhang Qiu shook unconsciously. Li Shu's eyes were cold, just like when he first saw Li Shu on the train.

Zhang Qiu felt hairy. Li Shu put the things down and got the key from the bag. The little zongzi climbed on his arm. Little zongzi’s tearful eyes looked pitiful and his bare buttocks were red as if he had been beaten.

Li Shu tucked the little zongzi into Zhang Qiu's arms.

Zhang Qiu held him with his body stiffened. The little zongzi cried out without a care, and sobbingly complaint, “hungry, hungry, eat, hit me, hurt.”

Li Shu opened the door beside him. Like he was the owner of the house, he carried things inside, turned on the light, and looked at Zhang Qiu, who was still standing at the door, he frowned, “Come in.”

Zhang Qiu's footstep did not obey him and entered the room. Li Shu turned on the light. The whole room was as daylight as day. Zhang Qiu found a little sense of security. The little zongzi was still complaining. Zhang Qiu understood little zongzi’s meaning; he could not bear hunger until he sucked the little boy’s blood and was slapped on the buttock by Li Shu.

“Baba, don’t want, don’t want me, don’t dare, suck.” Little zongzi’s crying face was crumpled up and his sniffling face looked pitiful.

Zhang Qiu did not yield but somewhat soft-heartened. The fear in his heart just now seemed to have been washed away by the tears of the little zongzi.

However, he also could not indulge the little zongzi to blood sucking; otherwise he would become more addicted. Zhang Qiu could help but remembering the scene of Jin LaoDa gnawing on a zongzi. Indeed, if there was craving, it would be hard to quit.

Keeping a straight face, Zhang Qiu seriously said to the little zongzi, “If you dare to suck blood again in the future, I—I will not want you.”

When the little zongzi heard "not want you", he quickly climbed up to Zhang Qiu’s neck and embraced it. The tears in his eyes dropped splat after splat; looked like he was truly scared. He cried and shook his head while saying, “No—no, only drink milk.”

Zhang Qiu was a little distressed by the little zongzi’s tears. Keeping a straight face, he wiped down the tears and let the little zongzi sat on the paper napkin's box on the table. “I'll make your milk.”

“Baba, milk.”

Li Shu was already fusing the powdered milk like it was a walk in the park. Zhang Qiu had felt that something was wrong when he came into the house. He hadn’t found anything wrong after a long time. Li Shu had made the milk, but back then forgot to buy a bottle, so he had to use a small shallow bowl. He put the bowl on the table. Little zongzi smelled the fragrance and squatted next to the bowl with bare buttocks then lowered his head and licked the milk like a dog.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Qiu had a headache. Li Shu’s child-raising was too rough. It seemed that he had to buy a bottle for the little zongzi tomorrow.

Li Shu finished putting the bowl while not caring about the little zongzi and went into the bedroom with the backpack. Zhang Qiu stood in living room and found out what was wrong. Li Shu was too familiar with his apartment. He had been away from home almost a month, but it was clean and tidy without a speck of dust at all.

The bedsheet in the bedroom had been replaced with a new one, and the bedroom smelled fresh and clean like it had been drying under the sunshine.

Zhang Qiu stood at the bedroom door, after holding back for a while, he asked, “How do you know I live here?”

“I called Hua Ting.” Li Shu took Zhang Qiu’s T-shirt out of the backpack and hung it up.

“When did you arrive?”

“Four o’clock in the afternoon.”

Li Shu arrived at Zhang Qiu's apartment at four o’clock and he virtuously washed the bedsheet, dried it under the sun and tidied up the house like River Snail Girl[1]. Zhang Qiu's heart had a faintly trace of happiness, but his mouth said, “Come in without asking me. Don't you know I’ll call the police to catch you?”

“Will you?” Li Shu raised his eyebrows and asked back.

Zhang Qiu suddenly choked and lost his speech. He was too angry. Then he saw Li Shu pulled out his underwear from the backpack and purposely pinched it in his hand. He blushed like Li Shu did not just pinch his underwear, but pinched something in his underwear.

He hurriedly walked over and grabbed the underwear in Li Shu's hand and stuffed it into the drawer.

Li Shu hugged him from behind, Zhang Qiu unconsciously tensed, heard Li Shu’s cold voice, “You are afraid of me, Zhang Qiu.”

This was the first time that Li Shu called his full name. His heart felt tightness; there was a kind of horror when your mother called your full name.

Li Shu’s chilly breathing seeped into his ears, Zhang Qiu was distracted. He didn’t know how to answer. He listened to Li Shu’s sneering, “Zhang Qiu, since you provoke me, I won’t let you run away.”

“Who provoked you?!” Zhang Qiu said like he had been wronged and retorted loudly, “It’s clear that you went to me first, but also deliberately deceived me. Say, did you treat me as a grain reserve?”

“Yes.”

In a split second, Zhang Qiu’s heart turned cold. He never thought it was really what he thought. At this moment, he was not afraid. He was so angry that he wanted to throw Li Shu out with the little zongzi.

“Zhang Qiu, right now I just want to do you until you cried.” Li Shu said this in a bad, gloomy tone, staring at Zhang Qiu’s white neck, he bit hard. Feeling the slight tremor of the body underneath, Li Shu chuckled, “This is the interest of your punishment today.”

Zhang Qiu himself did not know whether he was afraid or excited. When Li Shu said that he wanted to do him until he cried, he should definitely refute it, definitely and righteously refuse it. Human and zongzi could not be together. Human and zongzi had different paths!

But he still could not help the joy in his heart.

His neck did not feel hurt at all. Instead, a trace of numb with electric current seemed to hit his scalp directly. Zhang Qiu almost couldn’t stand on his feet. He thought to himself that men indeed had a lower body half of an animal; he was easily touched by Li Shu and forgot that Li Shu was the big zongzi.

At the moment, his mind was stuffed with all kinds of little H writing and barrage[2] was scrolling back and forth.

He must had gone crazy but still remained reserved. He could not 'papapa' casually. Some questions needed to be clarified.

“Li Shu, I say if, if I hadn’t fallen, or someone else had fallen–”

Li Shu narrowed his eyes slightly, showing some danger, and said, “No if, it’s you who fell down.”

Zhang Qiu was scanned by Li Shu’s dangerous eyes, he could not say any more, and the next second he was terrified. Forget about dating, it would be better to 'papapa'. Whatever it was, pleasure first then talk again!

Anyway, Li Shu was so beautiful, he did not suffer losses!

The atmosphere seemed to be suddenly ambiguous. Li Shu kissed Zhang Qiu’s ear and Zhang Qiu’s face. Zhang Qiu’s legs had gone as soft as noodles in an instant. Especially since he could only hang on Li Shu’s body. They looked at each other, and Zhang Qiu, who had a sticky and H mood, did not have a face to look.

“Baba, I drink enough!”

Outside the door, a shadow came running barefoot, especially cheerful, and with one jump held onto Zhang Qiu’s wrist. He nodded his small head particularly clever/lovable, “Milk fragrant, blood stink.”

Right now, Zhang Qiu's mind was stuffed with little H scenes. Whose mother still cared about drinking milk or blood?!

The little guy was still pulling his trousers legs and his face was begging for praise. Zhang Qiu just wanted to shout out; all the child cock-blocking would choke him.

With a compassionate look of a father adorned on his face, he bent down and held the little zongzi. Right now, the more Zhang Qiu looked the more he felt that his son[3] was clever, adorable and all kind of handsomeness.

In the evening, Zhang Qiu washed the little zongzi and wrapped him up in a dry towel then put him on the pillow. Later, he remembered Pixian Hui Wang and asked Li Shu, “Where is Second brother's wife?”

The inside of Li Shu's eyes showed faint trace of smile; obviously, he(ZQ) was timid and quite terrified but still like to provoke people.

“Having seen your small place, he decided to stay in a hotel.”

“Second brother's wife is rich!” Zhang Qiu roasted[4] a sentence without thinking. His thought unknown, he stretched out his hand to turn on the lights and rushed to Li Shu's side. In the middle, he remembered there was still little zongzi. Suddenly, something flying and pounced on, a head fell into Li Shu's arms, and Li Shu handily caught it. Li Shu bent his head down and kissed Zhang Qiu's dripping wet head, “what's wrong?”

Zhang Qiu propped up his arm, found it somewhat embarrassing, “I forgot the injury on your back. Let me see—”

“No need.” Li Shu blocked him.

Zhang Qiu’s face changed in seconds, and he acted like he was angry, but in Li Shu's eyes, he looked like a little zongzi who had been slapped on his ass; he looked pitiful. So Li Shu's hands loosened and relaxed. “You can see.”

“Why did you just go to the bathroom with a back injury? Such a big man didn’t know— al—alright!” Zhang Qiu said in surprise, staring at Li Shu’s back. When they went down to the General's tomb, Li Shu's back was touched by the water. Undoubtedly, it was wounded badly. But it was less than a day before the wound was smooth and without scars.

Li Shu took Zhang Qiu’s fixed hand and said calmly, “I said it's nothing, my blood can accelerate wound healing.” After a pause, “Are you scared?”

“No.” Zhang Qiu shook his head. “You were injured for me.” As soon as he remembered the scenes of Li Shu rescuing him many times, he felt that he was too heartless after he knew that Li Shu was a zongzi. With an apology on his face, he said, “You must have been in pain at that time.”

Li Shu was shocked, then hugged Zhang Qiu in his arms and tightened it for a few minutes. No one ever asked him if he was hurt.

Li Shu kissed Zhang Qiu’s forehead with tenderness he didn’t know. Zhang Qiu clung Li Shu’s arm and kept silent for a while before he whispered, “Actually, at first I was a little afraid, but more angry. You deceived me. Hereafter, you can’t deceive me.”

“Ok.”

“Little zongzi can’t always be called little zongzi. Otherwise, named him Zhang Xiaojiang?” Zhang Qiu thought and thought about it. In high spirits he supplemented, "Jiangshi’s jiang(stiff), how eye-catching. Once in kindergarten, the teacher asked which jiang(stiff)? Jiangshi’s jiang(stiff). HAHAHAHA."

“It’s up to you.” Li Shu didn’t know where the laughing point was, as long as Song Bao was happy. [T/N: me too]

“Then, Zhang Xiaojiang it is.”

The newly advance Zhang Xiaojiang who was sleeping at the side: Where am I? What did I do wrong? Why do you treat me like this?

*****

Footnote:

[1] A character in a widely known ancient China folktale. More info

[2] Comments that drifted from the screen while watching online video or reading online novel.

[3] 家儿 jiā ér = particularly referring to the son who resembles his father

[4] (slang) to roast; to ridicule

<

> Chapter 34