CH 41.3

Character ListQiao Zhiya: Half-elf, half-dwarf MC.

Chu Rong: Marshal ML.

Fan Xiangnan: ML’s second-in-command.

Chu Yan: ML’s younger brother. Is the same age as MC, currently attending intermediate college.

Chu Huai: ML’s older brother, he’s in politics.

Gu Yan’an: Chu Huai’s wife. She’s a doctor.

Ning Kongran: A fifth-grader at intermediate college.

Qiu Guangji: Ning Kongran’s best friend.

Liu Hongzi: One of Chu Yan’s enemy. Xiang Kun is currently affiliated to him.

Meanwhile, at school–

Chu Yan won the first place in the final exam without any suspense, while Liu Hongzi missed his next competition because of the damage to his mecha. He ranked 20th with a score of zero, failing to sit on his thousand-year-old second place.

The holiday came as promised, and the students walked out of the school gate while talking and laughing, as they were excited at the prospect of finally going home.

After completing the exams for this semester, Chu Yan slumped in the back seat of the suspension car like a boneless creature. After listening to Qiao Zhiya’s crying rant via his communicator, he was silent for a while with a strange expression. He asked for confirmation, “So the current situation is… my Ge is angry with you and won’t let you sleep with him?”

“Yeah.” Qiao Zhiya’s voice was weak, sounding very listless, “He’s still staying in his study, and his lunch is settled with nutritional supplements. He didn’t even eat the steak I fried for him.”

Chu Yan’s expression became even weirder, and he complained in his heart.

‘Oh my god, my Erge, who is always cold-faced, unexpectedly lost his temper childishly!! He wants to sleep in a separate bed with Qiao Zhiya! And refused to eat Qiao’s delicious cooking!! Fuck, even I, Chu Yan, hasn’t used this naive method since I was seven years old! Truly… this was…’

‘An eye-opener!’

‘Shocking news!’

‘Unheard of!’

He sat up. As he recalled the bloody and tearful history of being bullied by Chu Rong in the past, he thumped the seat hard to vent his excitement at the moment. Then, he realized and tried to stabilize his breathing. With a sincere tone, he replied to the softly sobbing Qiao Zhiya, “Qiao, you know of Erge’s temper right? If you don’t admit your mistakes sincerely, he won’t forgive you easily…”

Qiao Zhiya: “…”

He sobbed harder.

At night, Qiao Zhiya finished his virtual class, then he flipped listlessly on the newly bought bed. After a while, he crept to the door of the study, and put his ear on the door as he tried to eavesdrop. But he couldn’t hear anything. After hesitating, he carefully opened the door of the room.

At the bathroom door, Chu Rong, who was about to go in with his pajamas, looked coldly at the peeking blond head. He asked, “It’s ten o’clock, are you here to be locked up by me?”

Withdrawing his head, Qiao Zhiya slammed the door and ran back to his room.

About twenty minutes later, the door of Qiao Zhiya’s room was pushed open from the outside.

The moment the door was opened, Qiao Zhiya immediately sat up. He hugged the pillow in the corner of the bed and looked over pitifully. With flattened ears, and teary eyes, he whispered, “Chu Rong, I can’t sleep…”

Chu Rong, who came inside the room to take a peek at Qiao Zhiya, didn’t expect that the Bald Chicken was still awake. His body froze, and he quickly hid his emotions with a frown and impatient expression. He took out a few pieces of emerald jade and a box of green fruits from the space button and threw them over. “Go to sleep!” After speaking, he quickly closed the door.

Qiao Zhiya’s slumped ears flinched in fright at the sound of the door closing. He picked on the pattern on the pillow aggrievedly. He glanced at the emerald jade on the bed, pursed his lips, and directly ignored them. After that, he bravely ran out of his room – pillow included – and stood at Chu Rong’s room. After hesitating for a while, he still didn’t knock on the door. Instead, he turned around and went back to his room, took out his quilt, and spread it out at the door of Chu Rong. Then, he laid down on the makeshift futon.

The sound of rustling at the door disappeared. Chu Rong walked around the door twice, silent for tens of seconds, before finally opening the door.

“Ah!”

A soft exclamation sounded. Chu Rong felt as if he stepped on something soft. Hhis heart tightened, and he quickly stepped back and looked down at the door.

Qiao Zhiya, who was lying on the ground, retracted his hand pitifully, sat up and looked at him with reddened eyes. He picked up his pillows, looking as if he was licking his wounds and about to go back to his room.

Chu Rong’s eyebrows jumped, and he rationally told himself that Qiao Zhiya’s cry of pain just now was fake, because he knew he didn’t actually step on Qiao Zhiya’s hand.

Then, he remembered that the Bald Chicken really should be sensitive towards pain.  With a complicated mood, he decided to inspect the hand with a deep frown. “Which part did I step on? Is it painful?”

Qiao Zhiya immediately climbed up to hug and rubbed his head endearingly. With a muffled voice, he said, “It doesn’t hurt… Can you sleep with me? I want to sleep with you.”

” …Qiao Zhiya.” Chu Rong let go of his hand, frowned and called him.

The two were stuck in a stalemate for a few seconds before Qiao Zhiya slowly let go.

“Then, good night…” He whispered, bent down to pick up the pillow on the floor, and continued with increasingly floppy ears, “It’s very late, sorry to disturb you for so long… What do you want to eat tomorrow morning? I’ll cook it for you.”

Chu Rong looked down at him, and it made his Adam’s apple roll. With a fierce frown, he turned around, cursed inwardly, picked up the quilt on the floor, and came back into his room. “Fine. Come in.”

Qiao Zhiya was stunned for a moment, then immediately turned around and hugged his neck, buried his head on the taller man’s shoulder, and rubbed happily while giggling. ‘The White-Haired Monster is really the best and the most soft-hearted!’

“Sleep honestly. Starting from tomorrow, eat well, and properly manage your time reasonably.” Chu Rong stuffed the short youth onto the bed. Seeing him nodding obediently, he finally let out the breath he was holding. He then turned off the lamp and went to bed.

Qiao Zhiya immediately hugged him, leaned his head gently on his shoulder, and said in a low voice, “I will be obedient.”

Chu Rong returned his gesture by patting the fluffy head. “Go to sleep.”

“Yeah!” Qiao Zhiya nodded happily, rubbed himself harder, and closed his eyes. After two seconds of thinking, he opened his eyes, then kissed Chu Rong on the face. Then, like a little thief, he shyly shrunk into the quilt, and said in a soft whisper, “Good night, sweet dreams.”

It was long after the usual rest time. Qiao Zhiya immediately fell asleep after letting go of the messy thoughts he had. He also naturally burrowed into Chu Rong’s arms.

But Chu Rong, who was about to fall asleep immediately, opened his eyes and froze in shock. He let the youth arched into his arms, and reflexively stroked the youth’s back. It took him several seconds before he realized what he had done. Raising his hand to touch his face, he repeatedly recalled the soft touch and the feeling of leaving just now. His traitorous heart beat erratically.

Five minutes later, Chu Rong, who finally fully digested what had happened, sat up from the bed at once. He looked at Qiao Zhiya who was sleeping peacefully with a complicated emotion. Finally, he reached out and grabbed Qiao Zhiya, shook him with burning red ears, “Damn Bald Chicken, what did you just do! You actually kiss, kiss… who taught you! Who!”

Qiao Zhiya, who had already begun to have a sweet dream, was brutally awakened. He stared at him for a long time with misty eyes, stretched out his arms to hug Chu Rong in aggrieved pout. He burrowed even deeper, and mumbled, “White-Haired Monster, let me sleep. I wanna sleep…”

White–

Ancestor Chu got even angrier. He pulled the stupid blond again and shook him, “What did you call me? How dare you call me that, Qiao Zhiya, you— Mpff–”

The dauntless and extremely sleepy Qiao Zhiya leaned over to block the source of the noise—

With his own mouth.

The world was finally quiet. He just dreamed that his parents had quarreled and finally reconciled. Qiao Zhiya withdrew his head, smacked his lips, and flung himself forward to hug Chu Rong again. He imitated the way his father would coax his mother – kissing her, then coaxed her out of her anger. He patted Chu Rong’s hair while saying sweet, soft words. “Hey, kiss me and stop making trouble…” As he spoke, his voice began to peter out, and he fell asleep again with his head on Chu Rong’s shoulder.

Chu Rong let go of the hand that was holding the youth’s back collar. His thin lips, which were rudely smacked by another pair of lips, were drawn thin.

He slowly raised his hand in disbelief to cover it.

‘…what just happened?’

Without support, Qiao Zhiya’s body slid down. The youth quickly stretched out his arms to hug Chu Rong. While the Marshal looked down at the curled up young man on his chest, softly snoring. His blond hair looked messy. He looked innocent.

Chu Rong, meanwhile, could only stare into the nothingness in pure shock.

“………………………”

‘…what the hell happened?’

‘That sensation against my lips…..’

He pursed his lips unconsciously, and traced it with his own finger. Again, he glanced at the peacefully sleeping stupid Bald Chicken – still in his arms – and his eyes immediately locked on the youth’s rosy, parted lips.

His thoughts were completely messed up.

At seven o’clock on the next morning, Qiao Zhiya, who was sleeping drowsily, was packed by Chu Rong with a particularly dark expression and sent to the Chu family’s branch house. While he himself stayed at the military headquarters on the same day, saying that he would reorganize his squadron for the year-end preparation.

Chu Yan, who was brushing his teeth, heard the movement and came down from upstairs. He saw Qiao Zhiya standing at the gate with aggrieved eyes, looking out of the door like a kicked puppy.

Seeing his saozi so downtrodden like this, it took Chu Yan a full two seconds before he could fully register what happened. With an undisguised surprise in his voice, he asked, “Qiao, why are you here? Am I sleepwalking? Where is my Erge?”

Qiao Zhiya turned to look at him. He sniffed, his eyes were really red this time, and whispered, “He went to the army. It’s over, he made me spend my winter vacation here. He even sent me here without even eating breakfast, and didn’t even look at me when I left… He must think I’m too disobedient. He doesn’t want me anymore… “As he spoke, there was actually a hint of sobs in his voice, although in the end he held it back firmly.

Also confused by this situation, Gu Yan’an hugged his shoulders to comfort him. Frowning, she didn’t understand what Chu Rong was up to this time. The year-end reorganization of the military department was finished early tomorrow.

‘Oh my god…’ Chu Yan thought as he wiped off the toothpaste foam. He looked at Qiao Zhiya, who looked downcast and seemed to be abandoned, and looked at the door that was still open. He raised his hand to scratch his hair in confusion. ‘What’s going on? How is this going? Erge doesn’t want Qiao Zhiya anymore? The sky is falling?’

Qiao Zhiya’s sky had indeed fallen. He was sent here inexplicably and hadn’t received a single word of instruction. In his understanding, he was abandoned.

Gu Yan’an finished making breakfast and went to work. Chu Yan sat next to Qiao Zhiya with a bun in his hand, slinging his other arm around Qiao Zhiya’s shoulder to comfort him. “Qiao, be more optimistic. If my Erge really doesn’t want you, how could it be possible to send you here? In Erge’s eyes, only his family can come here. So don’t think too much, ah.” Qiao Zhiya’s dull eyes finally had a spark of hope inside them. He turned to look at Chu Yan as if he finally grasped a life-saving straw. With a trembling voice, he asked, “Really? Chu Rong still wants me?”

“Of course. My Erge loves you so much. He must really be busy, that’s why he acted like that,” Chu Yan continued to comfort him.

“Then when will he come to pick me up?”

“Uh…”

Seeing his hesitation, the light in Qiao Zhiya’s eyes went out again. He lowered his eyes and said in a hoarse whisper, “I know, I was too willful this time. It is normal for him to be angry with me, I should have gone back to sleep by myself the first time he asked me to go to sleep honestly… I shouldn’t have been pestering him…”

Because he felt that things went south because of his meddling, Chu Yan shifted his butt guiltily. He quickly patted Qiao Zhiya’s shoulder to attract his attention, so as not to let him continue to immerse himself in this depressed mood. With a quick smile, he changed the subject and asked, “Why did you pester him yesterday? Can you tell me the details of what happened yesterday? Didn’t you do the secret big move I suggested?”

Thinking of the secret big move, Qiao Zhiya blushed. He temporarily withdrew from his depressed mood. He nodded and replied, “Used, used, but I fell asleep later, I don’t know how he reacted… No, there was a reaction, that is,  he sent me here this morning…” As he replied, he withered back again like a shriveled up sprout. He finally thought about the reason he had been abandoned, and it made him almost cry.

Hearing this, Chu Yan felt even more guilty. Then suddenly he realized the current situation.

‘Qiao kissed Erge last night? Then throw him here today? Still dare not talk to Qiao?’

‘This is definitely tricky!’

Chu Yan’s eyes lit up, and he patted Qiao Zhiyha on the shoulder again. With a serious voice, he said, “Qiao, now that things have come to this, there is only one way to get Erge to to take you home!”

Startled, Qiao Zhiya glanced disbelievingly at Chu Yan, and stammered,”Wh-What method?”

“Fight poison with poison!” Chu Yan pumped up his fist in excitement.

Seeing his confident expression, Qiao Zhiya couldn’t help feeling hopeful in his heart, and asked expectantly, “How to fight poison with poison? I’ll go back by myself?”

“No!” Chu Yan gnawed a mouthful of steamed stuffed bun, roaring proudly, ” Let’s run away from home and scare Erge shitless!”

Lol I really loved whenever the text goes [Qiao Zhiya said, “I’ll be obedient”] and he proceed to be absolutely disobedient because he was fucking stubborn on things going his way.