CH 39

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Mimosa

Although Xiao Ke did not say it, Xiao Ke’s heart was very touched when Zhou Zui tattooed those words on his leg. It was Zhou Zui’s affection and his determination to take that step in order to be with him by making a decision to go forward.

Xiao Ke also wanted to leave something on his body from letting Teacher Zhou draw it with his own hand one stroke at a time, and he wanted to carry it with him forever until he died.

However, Zhou Zui refused to his surprise.

Zhou Zui said at that moment, “Forget it.”

Xiao Ke was still a bit surprised when asking him, “Why?”

Zhou Zui thought for a while and finally said, “Anyway, don’t.”

Xiao Ke didn’t ask questions while he was on the phone, but he was really uncomfortable.

Xiao Ke was lying on the bed while grumbling to show his vulnerable side to Zhou Zui as he wanted to hear the straightforward love talk from his Teacher Zhou.

However, Teacher Zhou would not say love words unless he was forced to do so, and Xiao Ke wheedled through the night without hearing even a few sentences.

Xiao Ke sighed before hanging up the phone and said, “Teacher Zhou, it’s really hard to hear you say something nice…”

Zhou Zui paused and asked him, “What do you want to hear?”

Xiao Ke smiled and said, “At least give me a name.”

He was usually quite good at addressing people, and now he could call Zhou Zui a whole list of endearing terms like “sweetheart” and “baby.”

He also said “Zhou Liwu” very often, and Professor Xiao really coaxed his partner sweetly. However, Zhou Zui was not that type of a person, and he knew what Xiao Ke meant, but couldn’t open his mouth after trying for half a day so he finally complained, “Professor Xiao, this time, let me go…”

Xiao Ke let out a “pfft” as he laughed and weakly said, “Okay.”

Xiao Ke went to Zhou Zui’s place before dinner that weekend, and the first thing Zhou Zui said to him was, “Does your stomach still hurt?”

Xiao Ke smiled, “No, it doesn’t hurt anymore.”

“I’ll go with you to check and see what’s wrong.” Zhou Zui said.

Xiao Ke had a biannual physical examination to check on his old condition. It was because he was not good at eating breakfast when he was in school so he got a stomach ulcer. He had a few bleeding spots when he was in college but did not suffer badly from it. He secretly touched Zhou Zui’s hand while clasping his fingers for a moment before he let go and said, “It’s okay, it’s an old problem, I usually pay attention to it.”

Zhou Zui said, “Then drink less.”

“Yeah,” Xiao Ke smiled at him, “Okay.”

That night, before the meal started, Zhou Zui put Xiao Ke’s glass down before he set a mug of hot soy milk next to him while giving him a refill every now and then. The old man’s kindness was evident to him as he was genuine and attentive while very good at taking care of him. Others around him would often joke about this, but the two people being teased didn’t care.

Zhou Zui was indifferent to what others said about him as if he couldn’t hear. Xiao Ke would love to be made fun of by others, as long as Zhou Zui got on with these matters. Not only did he not care, but he was really willing to be tied together with Zhou Zui as a joke.

This was very sweet, and no one could tell him otherwise.

Old Cao said, “Xiao Ke, you still drink milk, ah? People are drinking and you’re still regressing.”

Xiao Ke sighed and said, “Teacher Zhou is afraid that I will get a stomachache.”

“Fuck,” Old Cao cursed. “Mr. Zhou, your family can drink! Come on, let me give you a drink, let’s make good things happen, drink.”

Thus, the amount of alcohol Zhou Zui consumed directly doubled that day. However, this person truly had good alcohol tolerance as nobody could even tell if there was anything different about him. That night, Zhou Zui very formally told everyone at the table, “Xiao Ke and I are together now. I’m being serious, you guys know. I don’t care how you joke around, but I care about Teacher Xiao. Interact with him like you would with me. Don’t act strange or unfamiliar.”

Fang Xi laughed and clinked glasses with him as he said, “Brother, why can’t you hold your own position? Now you have to pray that we don’t separate you from Professor Xiao and leave you alone. You have long been removed from the Dog Men’s membership, brother.”

Xiao Ke laughed and put his arm on the back of Zhou Zui’s chair before he winked at him and said with a smile, “Brother Xiao will cover you in the future.”

Zhou Zui’s body leaned back on the back of the chair and touched Xiao Ke’s arm. Xiao Ke’s hand naturally touched his back and stroked him on the neck.

Zhou Zui let everyone pour drinks for him all night, but when the dinner was finally over, his eyes were still clear but a little red. Xiao Ke naturally went home with Zhou Zui, who had been very subdued before, but he wrapped his arms around Xiao Ke to clasp his waist and kissed him with red eyes as soon as he opened the door.

Xiao Ke raised his hand and touched Zhou Zui’s face while biting his lips and vaguely saying, “Did you drink too much…?”

Zhou Zui hummed in a low voice which was a sound that made Xiao Ke react almost immediately, and Zhou Zui took Xiao Ke’s earlobe before he said in a muffled voice, “Too much.”

“Too much, my ass,” Xiao Ke still smiled, and his eyes showed that he favored the man in front of him while he raised his neck for him to kiss. “You’re just fooling around by drinking too much.”

Zhou Zui clasped Xiao Ke before he kissed his mouth and his neck before he bit his collarbone.

The next thing that happened was undoubtedly what Xiao Ke had been looking forward to for a week. This passionate affair where he just wanted to see Teacher Zhou come every day.

Although Zhou Zui did not seem to have drank that much, the alcohol still made him more impulsive and more out of control which made it difficult for him to restrain himself when having sex. Xiao Ke was still inexperienced, and it was really a bit too much later on. Teacher Zhou was too fierce. Xiao Ke smiled bitterly and begged for mercy, “Baby, let me breathe…”

Zhou Zui crouched on top and bit his Adam’s apple while the movements of his lower body did not change. Xiao Ke tilted his head and felt like he was suffocating.

The pleasure was real, but the pain was also real. Afterward, Xiao Ke closed his eyes and said, “Don’t drink in the future.”

Zhou Zui gave a “hmm” sound. Of course, whatever Xiao Ke said was the law, “Okay.”

Xiao Ke laughed helplessly and reached out to pull at his face, “You’re so sexy.”

Zhou Zui said, “You’re more sexy.”

Xiao Ke didn’t know the effect that he had on this man, but a look and a gesture from him could make him confused. It was not just the alcohol that made him lose control, but also Xiao Ke whom he was in love with.

Making love really exhausted them, and the power of sleep put a stop to everything. Xiao Ke fell asleep almost as soon as he closed his eyes and woke up straight away at dawn. He opened his eyes first to look for Zhou Zui but did not find him. Xiao Ke went out barefoot to find Zhou Zui sitting on the sofa, and he smiled at him when he came out.

On that day, Xiao Ke definitely followed Zhou Zui to the store. Lu Xiaobei worked overtime the day before to catch up on a job so he didn’t go to dinner. He slept late at night, so Lu Xiaobei also came late on this day, even after his client was already waiting. He was not a talkative boy, although he did not appear to be that old and seemed to be in college.

Xiao Ke raised his chin in that direction and said to Lu Xiaobei, “Brother Bei, your client is here.”

Lu Xiaobei looked at him and said, “Wait for me.”

The boy said, “There’s no hurry.”

Lu Xiaobei also did not rush while grumbling for half a day as he prepared. Since the tattoo was a row of letters that did not take even an hour to finish, Lu Xiaobei did not rush to get started.

The boy wanted to tattoo some initials which he wanted tattooed on the inside of his wrist.

Most of these were tattooed with the name of a lover, and Lu Xiaobei said before he tattooed him, “Think about it. Don’t get a tattoo on impulse, more than 80 percent of the tattooed names will be removed afterwards.”

The boy was quite determined, “It’s okay, tattoo it, brother.”

Lu Xiaobei worked with a hat and mask on which made him look cool. The tattoo machine was held in his hand as he stressed to him again, “Seriously think about it. The location is exposed to the outside, if you have to cover it later, it will be a problem.

He had always been so straightforward and did not care whether others wanted to hear it or not. Xiao Ke looked at him and shook his head helplessly.

The boy laughed at once and Xiao Ke raised his eyebrows when he smiled since the smile looked quite attractive as he had curved eyes which looked quite sweet. He put his wrist in front of Lu Xiaobei and said with a smile, “You think too much, brother, this is my cat’s name.”

Lu Xiaobei looked up and raised his eyebrows before he nodded and said, “Then you should have told me earlier.”

The boy was still smiling and his other hand tugged at his ear as he said, “You didn’t ask me, either.”

Lu Xiaobei had previously designed the irregular shape of the letters where the size of the letters were different, but the overall look was coordinated and looked very nice. The boy smiled brightly, and his wrist was very white so when Lu Xiaobei’s tattoo machine was next to his wrist, his instinctive reaction was to tremble.

Lu Xiaobei grabbed his wrist and asked, “Does it hurt?”

“A little bit of pain, but it’s okay.” The boy’s eyes curved as he smiled when he spoke, and he clenched his fist as he said, “Thanks for the hard work, brother.”

Being called “brother” by him was quite sweet, and the man was not bad-looking so this put Lu Xiaobei in a good mood. It was rare that he could talk to the customer when he was working. He asked the boy, “How can you smile so much? What are you smiling at?”

The boy smiled and replied, “Actually, I’m just nervous, I feel like laughing when I’m nervous. I’m used to it, because since I was little, my mother wouldn’t let me cry, and when I cried, she beat me, so when I’m nervous, I habitually want to laugh.”

Lu Xiaobei laughed and pulled his mask before he asked, “Why do you have a tattoo of your cat’s name on your wrist?”

The boy pursed his lips and said with a sigh, “She has been with me for thirteen years. Since she turned thirteen-years-old, she hasn’t been able to walk much recently.”

Lu Xiaobei looked up at him and did not say anything as he finally finished the tattoo. Then, in the upper right corner, he added a small cat paw. After the addition, the entire design instantly became a little playful and a little cute.

“Hey, this looks good, will this cost more?” The boy asked.

Lu Xiaobei took off the mask and smiled as he said, “No extra money, it’s for you. In the future, if you want to see your cat, you can look at your wrist, and feel better when you look at it, right?”

“Yes, thank you, brother.” The boy stretched out his wrist for Lu Xiaobei to give him a transparent layer of film, and then he looked at it again with satisfaction.

Xiao Ke sat next to Zhou Zui and watched from afar before he asked Zhou Zui in a low voice, “What’s wrong with my brother Bei today?”

Zhou Zui slightly leaned his head over and also whispered to answer him, “He likes it when people call him ‘brother’.”

Xiao Ke seldom saw Lu Xiaobei not dislike anyone even though he had a mild appearance, and he would often feel very uncomfortable. He suddenly remembered something from two days ago and asked Zhou Zui, “Teacher Zhou, I asked for a tattoo, why won’t you give me one?”

Zhou Zui was looking down as he cleaned the coloring, and he listened to his question without looking up while he just said to him, “Do not mess around.”

Xiao Ke raised his eyebrows, “Mess around? I’m serious.”

Zhou Zui shook his head and stopped talking.

Xiao Ke was a bit surprised by this as he thought that Zhou Zui should not care about these things so he would probably agree to it very quickly and give him a nice design. However, he had asked twice in a row and was met with a wall so he didn’t know what was in Zhou Zui’s mind.

The client was next to Xiao Ke so he couldn’t ask any more questions and put it aside before he went over to watch Lu Xiaobei.

Lu Xiaobei sent the customer out and while walking out, he said, “Do not get it wet today. If the film doesn’t fall off, keep it on. If it does fall off, just keep it off.”

“Okay.” The boy was walking when he suddenly turned around to ask, “Brother, in fact, I have a scar on my leg which I want to cover it, can you hide it?”

Lu Xiaobei nodded, “Yes.”

The boy looked at him and asked, “Then I still want you to do it, okay?” 

“What’s wrong with that? I’m paid to work.” Lu Xiaobei’s hand was in his pocket as he said, “You have the shop’s WeChat? Contact me if you want to get one.”

“I think I know what I want, no need to think about it.” The boy laughed again and raised his hand to rub the tip of his nose as he laughed.

“What are you thinking? Tell me.” Lu Xiaobei said.

The boy lowered his head and, although he was still smiling, he never looked up as he whispered, “I want to get a rainbow flag tattoo.”