Chapter 19: Wife, Hug Me

Chapter 19: Wife, Give Me a Hug

After his loved ones had left him one by one, Chu Lanting declined the community's offer to send him to a care facility and began living on his own.

He'd been independent since he was a kid, and even living alone, he got by just fine.

Except for the occasional nights when he thought of his parents and grandmother when he had free time, no one else had ever come into his life—not even after he graduated from university and entered the workforce.

He wasn't bad-looking; in fact, with his slim build, clean appearance, and gentle, courteous demeanor, he'd caught the eye of quite a few women.

Even so, he'd never even thought about dating.

In his short life of just over twenty years, he'd gotten a lot, but lost even more.

He craved love, but was even more afraid of losing it.

So he kept his distance.

He thought he'd grow old alone, but little did he expect fate would pull such a huge joke on him.

"Wife? What's wrong?"

A warm hand cupped his cheek.

Chu Lanting snapped back to reality without thinking.

Seeing that handsome face right in front of him, he took a step back and shook his head. "It's nothing. You hungry?"

There weren't many food shops in the small town, so Chu Lanting would stop by the grocery store after work every day to grab something decent to bring home, to save for Pei Du's breakfast and lunch the next day.

Today the store was closed, so he came home empty-handed, and they just had one pack of nutrient solution.

That stuff could only keep you alive, not fill you up.

Besides, Pei Du was big and tall, so he needed way more food than Chu Lanting did.

Pei Du frowned at that. He leaned down to look at him and spoke softly, "Did Uncle Tian say something to you, babe? What's spiritual power?"

Not that he meant to eavesdrop on his wife and Uncle Tian—his ears were just too sharp.

Even though he'd backed off to a safe distance, he still caught most of what they said.

When the word 'spiritual power' came up, Pei Du felt his heart skip a beat, and his head started spinning.

He frowned harder, shook his head, then reached out and pulled the guy into his arms.

"Babe, it's weird—my head's spinning. Babe..."

Chu Lanting's explanation was still caught in his throat.

The second he heard "dizzy," he panicked and quickly wrapped his arms around Pei Du's waist. "Why're you dizzy? Did you remember something?"

"Let's go inside. I'll go get Uncle Tian, okay?"

"No. Babe, hug me. If you hug me, I'll feel better."

His low, raspy voice sounded all clingy.

Hearing how whiny he sounded, Chu Lanting sighed silently and patted his back. "Is this helping?"

Feeling the guy nod against him, he didn't say anything else and just kept soothing him in the simplest way he could.

It wasn't until his calves started to ache from standing so long that he finally spoke up softly, "A Du, you feeling better now?"

It was completely dark by now.

They'd probably have to fumble around to find the light switch once they got inside.

The town, which was still a bit lively during the day, would go dead quiet once night fell.

So quiet that the two of them standing in the yard could hear each other breathing.

It got colder at night, but Chu Lanting felt hot.

He awkwardly tried to push the guy away, but only started to panic when he got no reaction.

"A Du? You're burning up. Are you sick?"

"I'm not sick."

His low voice came again, calming Chu Lanting's nerves.

He let out a soft breath, pushed the guy again, and said gently, "It's getting late. Let's go inside. I'll heat up some water for you to wash up, okay?"

After spending some time together, Chu Lanting had realized that Pei Du was totally helpless when it came to everyday stuff.

But then again, this guy had accidentally fallen to this planet from the main star. Uncle Tian and the others had said that people on the main star relied completely on high tech—cooking and cleaning were never done by hand.

Luckily, Chu Lanting knew how to take care of people.

Otherwise, if neither of them knew how to take care of themselves, they'd probably starve to death on the street.

Thinking about how he almost became the first transmigrated reader in history to starve to death, Chu Lanting couldn't help but smile.

Pei Du, who had just looked up, caught that smile. Even in the dark, the light in the young man's eyes was startlingly bright.

"Babe, what does 'getting into bed' mean?"

Chu Lanting: ...

He should've told Uncle Tian to shut up earlier.

But at least Pei Du didn't know anything—like a blank sheet of paper he could draw on however he wanted.

He coughed into his fist and said, "Getting into bed means going to sleep. We sleep in the same bed every day, right?"

Seeing Pei Du nod, he smirked.

So easy to trick.

He headed for the door, talking as he walked, "What'd you do at home today?"

"Eat, sleep, wait for you to come home."

The light inside came on, and the warm yellow glow immediately chased away the gloom in the room.

Chu Lanting turned around to look at the guy behind him and noticed his cheeks were flushed in a weird way.

"Are you sure you're okay? Your face is really flushed."

As he stepped closer, before he could reach out to feel his forehead, that warm, large palm grabbed his wrist again.

The next moment, Chu Lanting's vision blurred.

Unsteady on his feet, he instinctively thought he'd fall to the ground, but instead, he found himself in an embrace that was unusually warm.

Chu Lanting had already washed the old clothes he'd bought from Feng Xingyun.

Even though the loose T-shirt Pei Du wore showed off his perfect physique—broad shoulders, narrow waist—to its fullest extent.

At first, Chu Lanting could barely bring himself to look at him, and it took him two days to get used to Pei Du's impressive build.

Now, lying in Pei Du's arms, he felt the scorching body heat seeping through the thin T-shirt.

Feeling a bit awkward, he shifted and spoke nervously, "Is the wound reopening and getting inflamed? Your temperature seems even higher. Let me get you some medicine for the inflammation, okay?"

The man holding him tightly shook his head again, turning down his offer.

Pei Du only felt his body burning hot and his head spinning.

Something seemed to be surging up and down inside him, making his heart race and his mind restless, yearning for an outlet to vent all the frustration building up inside him.

But he didn't know how.

So, he could only hold the only person who could calm him tightly in his arms, burying his head in the crook of his neck, greedily inhaling the subtle, clean scent coming off him.

"Babe, let me hold you a little longer, just a little longer, and I'll be fine."

A pleading tone sounded in his ear.

Seeing him in such discomfort, Chu Lanting remembered how lonely he'd felt when he was sick, and his heart softened. He didn't push him away.