/
The early morning sun shone into the room, Xu Xinghe slowly opened his eyes…
And froze.
He remembered that he and Ling Changfeng had clearly slept back to back last night, but when they woke up, they were face to face.
Fortunately, the two of them were still properly covered in separate quilts, nor did they share a quilt and tangle their arms like yesterday morning.
Xu Xinghe lay in bed squinting for another half a minute, and finally decided to get up and get out of bed.
Originally, he could stay in bed until noon on weekends, but it felt strange to lie down with one other person by his side.
Although he got up as gently as possible, Ling Changfeng woke up immediately as soon as he moved.
Seeing the pair of mismatched pupils glance at him, Xu Xinghe froze again.
Ling Changfeng, who had just woken up, lacked the usual sharpness in his eyes. There was even a hint of confusion that was not easily noticed. However, this confusion only lasted for a second or two before he returned to his usual indifference and clarity.
Marshal Ling rolled over and sat up as if nothing had happened, and his voice was lower than usual when he woke up: “Morning.”
Xu Xinghe stared at him for a few seconds, making sure that he did not intend to launch a “good morning kiss” again, and then relaxed.
Ling Changfeng was stared at for a long time by him for no reason, and suddenly turned to ask him: “Is there something on my face?”
“You got up so late?”
He remembered that Ling Changfeng always got up very early. Usually by the time he washed up and went to the dining room, Ling Changfeng had already finished his morning exercise and was reading the morning paper in his seat.
Ling Changfeng, who was about to change his clothes, paused slightly when he heard the question.
He also found this problem.
Previously, his biological clock would always wake him up at six o’clock in the morning.
But when he slept with Xu Xinghe recently, he always slept soundly.
He woke up at eight o’clock in the past two days, which was almost impossible in the past.
However, Marshal Ling did not answer the question truthfully, but instead said with a light expression: “I remember someone said that staying in bed is the greatest respect for the weekend – why aren’t you sleeping in this weekend?”
Xu Xinghe: “…”
Isn’t it all because of you!
Team Leader Xu was about to say something, but suddenly saw Ling Changfeng unbutton his pajamas, took off his shirt in front of him without hesitation, and started changing.
The sturdy physique and sculpted muscles were unreservedly exposed in front of his eyes.
Ling Changfeng’s figure was perfect, with wide shoulders and narrow waist, and a perfect inverted triangle.
And his biceps, deltoid muscles… Every muscle is full of strength, like a sculpture carefully created by a master craftsman.
However, the appearance of several scars broke this beauty.
Old wounds of different shapes were distributed on his back. The longest scar extended directly from the shoulder blades to his waistline, almost splitting his whole body in half.
Xu Xinghe was stunned, and even forgot to turn around to avoid it.
In a trance, he remembered the feeling of a sharp weapon piercing his skin. It hurt to death.
He shivered uncontrollably.
Ling Changfeng changed his shirt in front of him as if no one else was beside him. While buttoning his shirt with one hand, he glanced at Xu Xinghe.
He discovered something was wrong with this glance, and Xu Xinghe’s face had turned pale.
He originally thought that his little spouse would turn around like a blushing little hedgehog, and then his fragrant pheromones would begin to wildly flow in the air.
But it wasn’t.
Hands pausing, Marshal Ling carefully observed Xu Xinghe’s face, and asked in a low voice, “What’s wrong?”
Xu Xinghe turned around and lowered his head silently, making it difficult to see his expression. “It’s nothing, what are you doing in the daytime…”
“Changing clothes, I have to go out later.”
“Oh.” Xu Xinghe’s voice was muffled, and after a while he suddenly asked, “Does your injury hurt?”
Ling Changfeng was stunned for a moment, and then he realized what he was asking about. “It’s from a long time ago.” After a pause, he added, “It didn’t hurt very much at the time.”
Xu Xinghe drooped his head, appearing a little sad.
Ling Changfeng suddenly regretted it.
It was only then that he realized that his little mate was a little hedgehog who had just grown up and had never been out of the capital city. Even if there were seemingly tough barbs on his body, the thorns were still tender and soft.
“Sorry, did I scare you?” Ling Changfeng asked.
As he spoke, he lowered his eyes and did not look at Xu Xinghe again.
Is his little spouse worried, is he be afraid?
Does he think…the scars on his back are ugly and scary?
“No, no.” Xu Xinghe shook his head quickly.
He seemed to feel something, and suddenly raised his head to look at Ling Changfeng. “It’s quite handsome, these scars—” After thinking about it, he said, “It’s like your merit.”
Ling Changfeng raised his eyelids and looked back at him.
This time, what greeted him was a pair of black doe-like eyes gently gazing back.
Ling Changfeng’s throat rolled slightly.
He turned his back, fastened the buttons without saying a word, and tidied up his appearance.
Even after finishing, his heart was still beating fast.
Xu Xinghe looked at his back and decided to change to a more relaxed topic: “I didn’t expect you to be in such good shape at your age. How do you exercise? How about I exercise with you in the future?”
Ling Changfeng : “…”
He knew that Xu Xinghe deliberately changed the topic to adjust the atmosphere because he had clearly felt the depression from the other party’s emotions just now.
However, he still cared a little – what is this “your age”?
Thinking of the bedtime remarks Xu Xinghe dazedly made last night, Ling Changfeng felt that he had to clarify a little.
He turned around and said solemnly, “According to the most recent census, the average age of Alliance citizens is 215 years, and the longest life expectancy was 309 years.”
Xu Xinghe was stunned for a while.
He thought that he had changed the topic bluntly enough, but he didn’t expect Ling Changfeng to be superior.
Why did he suddenly bring up the census?
Ling Changfeng continued: “Marshal Alex is 180 and still hasn’t retired. “
Xu Xinghe didn’t quite understand what he wanted to express, but he still followed his topic ignorantly: “Doesn’t Marshal Alex have great-great-great-grandsons… so?”
Ling Changfeng said with an expressionless face: “So, my state can be maintained for about a hundred years. “
Xu Xinghe: “?”
He said inexplicably: “If you are referring to muscle state, when the average person reaches 100, their muscles will start to loosen. After 150, they will slowly atrophy… So why are we talking about something that will happen 100 years from now?”
Xu Xinghe thought, who knows where he and Ling Changfeng will be 100 years from now.
At this moment, Xiaoqi dashed into the bedroom, interrupting their embarrassing chat.
She came to Xu Xinghe with a big fluffy tail and raised her head with a meow.
“Good morning, Xiaoqi, are you hungry? Seeing his cat come over, Xu Xinghe smiled slightly, squatted down to scratch Xiaoqi’s head.
But Xiaoqi uncharacteristically did not lie down near his feet, nor rub against his feet, but raised her head and meowed.
Xu Xinghe was stunned. “What’s wrong?”
Then, he reacted. Looking at the time with a dark face, he raised his head and said to Ling Changfeng: “Why is your cat coming earlier and earlier?”
It’s too much! It’s only after eight o’clock in the morning. But if this goes on like this, Xiaoqi will be the one waking him up.
Ling Changfeng was also taken aback, and glanced at the door. “Aaron?”
Although he knew that his Persian cat had a good time with Xiaoqi recently, but since Aaron used to run around all day long, and none of the servants dared to report the love story of the two cats to him, he really didn’t know how good the relationship between the two cats was now. He thought they were just ordinary friends.
Xu Xinghe squatted on the spot, held Ms. Xiaoqi’s two fluffy front paws, and said to her with a serious face: “It’s okay to play together, but you have to protect yourself and don’t overplay! I always feel that Aaron has no good intentions. If he dares to bite the back of your neck, scratch him to death!”
Xiaoqi wagged her tail innocently. “Meow?”
Marshal Ling, who was listening silently: “…”
“Not possible.” Ling Changfeng’s face was a bit weird, but he still helped his cat clarify: “Aaron is a very principled and well-behaved cat. Although his temper may not be very good, he never bullies other things…”
After he finished speaking, he thought of something, and added: “At most, he’ll fight with dogs.”
Xu Xinghe finally beckoned the door to open in response to Xiaoqi’s anxious meowing.
Aaron had been waiting at the door for a long time, and the whole cat looked very imposing.
Seeing the door opened, the Persian cat squatted on the spot without moving, but turned his eyes to the bedroom—
Feline eyes swept across Ling Changfeng lightly, then directly ignoring his master, Aaron turned to greet Xiaoqi, who ran towards him. “Meow.”
Ling Changfeng was used to Aaron’s temper, and took the initiative to walk up, planning to touch its fur.
But just after walking two steps, his footsteps stopped.
He saw his “principled, well-behaved, but not very good-tempered” Aaron stretched out his two front paws, gently embraced Xiaoqi who lay down, and then licked her fur very stickily.
Seeing this, Xu Xinghe’s voice seemed to come out of his throat: “You… can you not be so flirty under my nose?” Really spicy!
The two cats looked back at him in unison, then ran away happily.
Ling Changfeng: “…”
He felt that Aaron might be scratched in the future.
At breakfast time, the two of them sat at both ends of the long table.
Today’s breakfast is Xu Xinghe’s homemade avocado and shrimp sandwiches, Caesar salad, and mocha coffee.
Ling Changfeng who was eating, suddenly raised his head and asked, “Do you really want to exercise with me in the future?”
Xu Xinghe’s previous question was originally very casually asked, but after listening to him, he nodded after thinking about it. “Yes.”
There’s no harm in exercising.
Besides, what male doesn’t want to have a good figure?
To be honest, he’s still a little envious about Ling Changfeng’s figure.
Xu Xinghe asked, “How do you usually exercise?”
Ling Changfeng asked him back, “Is it okay to get up at six o’clock every morning?”
Xu Xinghe seemed to choke, and he replied a little wearily: “To be honest, it’s not possible. I think exercising after dinner every day is also good?”
Ling Changfeng opened his mouth, about to bring out some old sayings that “a day’s plan is in the morning”, when Xu Xinghe continued: “Sleeping late and getting up late is more in line with us young people’s work and rest schedule.”
Ling Changfeng: “…”
He changed his words: “I can’t come back every night.”
Xu Xinghe thought to himself, isn’t this better? He didn’t really want to exercise every night.
He took a sip of coffee slowly. “Then we will exercise together while you are here.”
After breakfast, Ling Changfeng went out, and Xu Xinghe also returned to his room.
The master was away, and the two servants on duty started chatting in the side hall.
Servant A: “What happened to the marshal recently? I saw him standing in front of the mirror for a long time in the morning.”
Servant B: “Speaking of which, I seem to have seen Brother He go get the shaving foam… Didn’t the mashal not use these things before?”
He Han, the steward, happened to pass by. When he heard the conversation between the two, he trained them with a stern face, and thought to himself that the marshal was a little strange recently.
He asked for shaving foam this morning, as if he thought the razor was not clean.
But the marshal had never cared about these details before.
Why did he suddenly start caring about his image now?
XXH fell into the exercise trap himself!
Consider supporting this translation of SMM and get faster updates by buying a ko-fi~ Thank you! Progress for add’l releases, and other ongoing projects, can be found on my ko-fi page.