Liang Ze: ……ZZZZZZZZ……Ikkyu is 10 yuan per pound…10 yuan…
Hang Hang: (Frowned, leaned in closer, obviously he's talking in his sleep =.=) Why's that? (you see he also yawns =.=)
Liang Ze: …bald spot…
Hang Hang: You!
Liang Ze: ZZZZZZZZ……
Hang Hang: Wake up, it's already 10 o'clock! It's already this late!
Liang Ze: …ooo…bald spot…
Hang Hang: …
Unwillingly getting out of bed, Hang Hang rubbed his sleepy eyes and changed his clothes. Yesterday he slept really late. However, it was all worth it. He had finally beguiled the Idiot into becoming his ^_^ although it was still in the early stages. What is love? Love is like a bun, gone as soon as you finish eating; when it's fresh right out of the oven, you have to pay close attention to it to keep it from spoiling.
Just like eating a meal where he would save his favorite part to savor at the end, so he was not eager to force the Idiot into a relations.h.i.+p too soon. Â Â A relations.h.i.+p cannot be rushed. Â Better to put it on a low fire to start and then let it slowly heat up.
The thing was…there were lots of things that Liang Ze had not yet learned to accept just yet. Take last night for example. Hang Hang hugged him to sleep, but he tried to struggle out of it under the quilt creating an awkward atmosphere. When he asked him why, he only said — feeling strange. These two words, "feeling strange," made Hang Hang realize the b.u.mpy road ahead. But after thinking things through, it was not like it was insurmountable. You see, didn't he end up hugging you to sleep throughout the night anyway?
After grooming himself and making a simple breakfast, Hang Hang hurried to finish his portion and, Â putting one aside for Liang Ze, headed downstairs.
Ying Ying had already opened the store. Â She smiled at him and said, "It's rare to see you coming late."
"Oh, I went to sleep pretty late last night."
Ying Ying nodded and looked around before asking, "Where's Long Long?"
Hang Hang suddenly realized he was missing something in his hand — Long Long's cage =.=
"He's upstairs."
"Uh." Ying Ying was surprised as she knew that Long Long and Hang Hang were like each other's shadow.
"That is…he's upstairs with Liang Ze."
"Ah, he hasn't come here for a while."
"Uh, right, he's been busy."
"Has he taken a look at Small Leaf's baby yet?"
Hang Hang was stunned.  Ah right, Liang Ze…came here for what? Yesterday, the Idiot didn't ask so much as a word about Small Leaf and her family. With this thought…Hang Hang laughed to himself realizing that at least he was more important than his chinchillas.
"Boss…" Ying Ying frowned, "Are you alright?" Okay, the look on that face just a moment ago.
"…"
There were not that many customers in the morning. Â Then it was lunch time, but there was still no sight of Liang Ze. Hang Hang wanted to go up to tell him to come down for lunch but then remembered that he must be tired as he had just finished his writing. Consequently, he decided to let him sleep some more. But then half the afternoon pa.s.sed by. Was the man a pig or what? That he could sleep till this hour =.=
The store became busy, and Hai Hong also came to give a helping hand. Hang Hang did not have time to go and wake up that pig.
***
Liang Ze opened his eyes, closed his eyes, and then opened them again.
Dizzy…
Where is this place? He recalled that he was not drunk yesterday….
His memories finally returned to him as he opened his eyes wide. Ah, this is Shuaige's place.
Continuing to retrace his memories from last night, Liang Ze sat up.
Oh My G.o.d. Â You can eat what you want, but you cannot say what you want. He should not have been talking such nonsense.
This…this could be understood to mean he has accepted him…
Right, he did not drink last night, yet he still did something stupid. Could he just chalk this up to brain damage, the residual effects of overworking?
He, actually, agreed, to be, with, a man…that means, they're partners =.=
Hang Hang was not here, so obviously he was downstairs looking after the store.
The thick blanket was so warm and so soft. Liang Ze snuggled under the quilt wanting a cigarette, but there was none, wanting to put on clothes, but they were not there. He covered himself up tightly in pajamas and slipped out of bed and out of the bedroom. Â Â On the coffee table he spied a pack of Zhong Nan Hai, but he immediately felt depressed when looked at the big 0.3. Well, it was better than nothing, right? Flopping down on the couch as he lit up, he immediately spotted a fresh set of clothes in a basket next to the couch.
Blowing out a mess of smoke, Liang Ze felt his mind becoming ever more clear, but the more sober he was, the more fear he felt….what he really needed right now was to be blind drunk.
Even after chain-smoking a few cigarettes, he still felt cold, so he quickly changed into the fresh set of clothes and took a walk around the flat. On the dining table he saw slices of bread and smoked ham had been laid out along with a gla.s.s of milk. Â Under the milk gla.s.s was a piece of paper with a note: there is egg in the microwave, heat it up for three minutes.
Liang Ze held up the paper as he smiled happily.
Forget it. If he cannot get a beauty, at least he still has Shuaige. A beautiful wife he doesn't have, but Shuaige is like a virtuous wife. He has nothing to lose. Think about it: If it was a girl, he would have to coax her, would always be duty-bound to take care of her, would have to always unfailingly meet her needs and fulfill her conditions, would have to deal with her irrationality, somehow….In short, Shuaige is flawlessly perfect!
There is just the matter of gender. However, he doesn't come up short in other attributes. Alright. It is him.
***
Hang Hang rushed to finish his lunch so he could go talk with Liang Ze. At that time there were many customers in the store. Liang Ze motioned that he was occupied and hurried over to Small Leaf and her husband who were in  their own little world of happiness. Once people had cleared out, Hang Hang walked over. Liang Ze seemed to sense his presence and said, "The baby is so big…"
"What's wrong?" Hang Hang could detect the disappointment in Liang Ze's tone.
"Like you said, I'm such an incompetent owner. I completely missed the baby's cub period…I prioritized my work over my baby."
Hang Hang only smiled, rubbing Liang Ze's head, "I looked after them in your place, didn't I."
A casual remark sounds significant to a suspicious listener. For this matter, Liang Ze had already decided that what happened yesterday was just spur of a moment, but after hearing these words, he felt they were not casual. Â Surely there was some kind of underlying meaning in them. With such thoughts, as he turned to look at Hang Hang, the Idiot immediately turned beet red in embarra.s.sment.
Hang Hang was pondering whether to replenish some dog food, but he stood in a daze at seeing the beet red face on the Idiot.  He had never seen this man blush before =.= There were various reasons for thinking this.  He used to think that this Idiot had such thick layer of subcutaneous fat on his face that the blood couldn't reach the surface, but at this moment how did it have such inexplicable redness? But after seeing his red face, without his knowing, that image had slightly disturbed his heart…
When Hai Hong came out after finis.h.i.+ng her lunch, she was met with such a scene — two pairs of eyes ambiguously staring at each other in a strained atmosphere.
"Are you guys having a quarrel?"
They both sheepishly looked away.
Hai Hong did not know whether she said something taboo or not. After she said those words, the atmosphere around them became even stranger, unconsciously stiffening up.
Hang Hang was quite upset with himself. How could the Idiot and he react in unison that way? They seemed to be very anxious? Alright, why should the innocent be so fl.u.s.tered?
Hai Hong said this during dinner time — "One person gets two pieces of beef. Don't pout" — the end. Hai Hong went to feed the cats and dogs in the back, leaving the two of them alone at the front desk. Both Hang Hang and Liang Ze had never wished so badly for a customer to stop by their shop as they did right now =.=
Unfortunately, things don't always go as one would wish.
"You are free now after finis.h.i.+ng your novel?" Hang Hang tried to come up with a topic to get out of this unbearable atmosphere.
"Uh, basically not too busy. I've already submitted the draft. I intend to revise it again when they do the review, he he."
"Not too bad. Anything else?"
"Uh…nothing much. I still have a special column to write for some magazine, and then it's the release of my first novel…"
"Is that so?"
"Ah, ha ha, I've delayed the progress of it for quite some time, now. I'm gathering ideas for a new novel." Liang Ze scratched his head.
"Pretty good."
"Ah?"
"Oh, I mean that it's good that you are continuing with the writing." Hang Hang could feel his heart beating faster than usual. Why was he so anxious?
"Ha ha ha ha, yeah, it's good to write a lot. Especially when ideas are flowing out, too."
Their dialogue stopped here. No one knew what else to say.
The buzzing sound saved them from a pregnant silence. He dashed at twice his normal speed to stand in front of the computer.
Seeing that Hang Hang was busy, Liang Ze found himself playing with the chinchillas.
Both of their hearts prayed in unprecedented unison — Amitabha.
Until the clock struck 10 o'clock, they both said nothing to each other. Seeing Hai Hong leave, it was now time to close the shop. It would be impossible for them to keep their silence any longer.
Liang Ze watched Hang Hang cleaning and packing up for a long time, then suddenly asked, "Can I help you with something?"
Hang Hang was sweeping as he jolted in surprise. He thought that Liang Ze was going to blurt out — I'm going home now. He thought to himself that it might still be possible, so he smiled and said, "It's okay, I will be finished soon."
"Oh, okay." Liang Ze nodded.
By the time they closed the shop, it was ten-thirty, yet Liang Ze did not say anything about going home. Hang Hang thought that this might be a good sign. He did not know about Liang Ze's change of heart. He only noticed that the Idiot did not show any sign of wanting to head back home. Hang Hang was sure that he was the type you would have to chase off the premises or else he would not leave.  He believed that even if he spelled it out loudly, the Idiot would not even budge…
Once he entered his room, Hang Hang went to tease Long Long. Ikkyu and Long Long stayed together in such harmony. Â Yes, it would be great if they were like this from the beginning =.=
Liang Ze also squatted down in front of the cage. As he was about to light a cigarette, Hang Hang immediately said, "Keep some distance so Ikkyu and Long Long won't be choked by the smoke," and sent him away.
Sitting down on the couch, Liang Ze saw the pack of Zhong Nan Hai 0.3 and asked curiously, "Hang Hang, is it true that you never smoked?"
Hang Hang, playing with Long Long, casually replied, "Yeah, that's right."
"Then how come you have a pack of cigarettes here?"
Still that same phrase — a casual remark sounds significant to a suspicious listener. It just popped into Liang Ze's mind, but to Hang Hang these words were not just a simple remark, This was like indirectly asking — who does it belong to, who is the owner of the pack, and what relations.h.i.+p does he have with him.
"Oh, Qi Ji's," Hang Hang answered calmly. He had nothing to hide; he had never brought anyone home even in his previous promiscuous life.
"Oh?"
"Now that you mention it, you guys have met a few times, the guy in gla.s.ses with the golden retriever."
"Ah! Somewhat familiar!"
"He's my childhood friend."
"Oh…" Liang Ze made a thoughtful expression before saying, "Then you should tell him to stop smoking."
"What?"
"It's better that he doesn't contaminate the fresh air here!"
"…." Hang Hang came to understand the situation after hearing that.  Basically it was not human language. Also, this Idiot had a predisposition to…residual brain damage, right?
"Actually, the problem here is that he doesn't want to quit smoking."
"Don't bother about him, go take a shower."
"Ah? Shower?"
"I'm speaking Mandarin, right?"
"I took a shower yesterday already!"
This time, it was Hang Hang who felt like collapsing. "That was yesterday!"
"I'm pretty hygienic. I didn't even go out once today!"
"Downstairs."
"Downstairs is within the perimeter of the shop!"
"There are many animals in the store, plus many customers come to the store as well."
"…." Liang Ze became gloomy.
"Go shower. There's hot water."
"Don't wanna move…"
"Go. I'll set the pajamas out for you."
Hang Hang smiled harmlessly, but Liang Ze could read the coercive meaning in that smile.
Usually the first step of cohabitation is to expose each other's weaknesses, but their cohabitation had not even started….
After Liang Ze washed up, he received the fresh set of pajamas from Hang Hang. Gee…this "little wifey" is not so bad. Liang Ze was the type that whatever was on his mind was displayed clearly on his face, and at that moment he was giggling to himself…
"What are you laughing about?" Hang Hang watched as the other man put on the set of pajamas, wondering why the Idiot was smiling stupidly.
"No, nothing…" Liang Ze was still smiling.
Such a long night, what should…they do? Hang Hang had thought about it while Liang Ze was in the shower, yet he could not figure out what, and when Liang Ze stepped out, he still did not have any idea.
"Hey, you have the "Antarctic World" DVD?" Liang Ze was drying his hair with a towel when he saw a DVD case on top of the DVD player.
"Do you want to watch it?" Yes, finally something to do!
"You haven't seen it? That's great!"
Therefore, the two grown up men made a nest on the sofa and innocently watched "Antarctic World." =.=
Hang Hang did not get a good night's sleep the night before, and he had to wake up early today.  Those two facts combined with the rich baritone voice of the narrator, and….he fell fast asleep.
Liang Ze was watching the show with excitement when he felt his shoulder becoming heavier. He turned and caught a glimpse of Hang Hang, eyes-closed, leaning against his shoulder.
Shuaige sure is Shuaige, so handsome even when sleeping. Liang Ze stared intently at Hang Hang, thinking that his sleeping face was very good looking. He had never had a chance to watch Hang Hang's face as he slept. Â He always was the last one to wake up, so how could he have seen such a sight?
His hand unconsciously reached out to touch Hang Hang's cheek, which was quite refined.
People tend to have some actions that they cannot explain themselves. Liang Ze touched Hang Hang's lips a few times and then leaned in closer, not even worried once. Well, you little rascal, you've kissed me a few times. I should also give you a kiss.
What it does it mean, to backfire? This Idiot was a textbook example.
A kiss at the corner of the lips and Hang Hang stirred. Then suddenly he woke up.
"You…"
Liang Ze was stammering, "That…I was just…that…I…"
Hang Hang immediately pinned down an incredulous Liang Ze. At that time Liang Ze was thinking, Don't tell me Shuaige likes kissing the American way?
This kiss was different from those kisses before. Liang Ze was being kissed until out of breath, his breathing was almost being stopped. He tried to struggle out of it, but the more he struggled the more firmly Hang Hang held him down.
Hang Hang's hands began to roam freely and moved into Liang Ze's pants. Liang Ze began to feel something was not right as he was being kissed. "What…you…," he finally tried to speak out those words. He did not get to finish because his mouth was being blocked again.