Chapter 29: Uncomfortable to Hold

Chapter 29: Uncomfortable to Hold

Chu Lanting's classes would begin after he got off work every day.

In order to provide the children with the best education possible, he had even specially sought advice from Uncle Tian, who came from the wealthy district.

During that period, he was so busy he barely had time to rest, preparing lesson plans whenever he had a free moment and going to bed very late at night.

Too busy to remember to eat, he had visibly thinned out considerably.

Combined with the 'stalemate' in his relationship with Pei Du, no one was looking after Chu Lanting, and he had grown noticeably thinner at a visible pace.

There was still some time before the afternoon break ended.

Chu Lanting sat at the dining table, both hands covering his mouth, his peach blossom eyes full of reluctance.

Beside him, Pei Du was holding a small cake in his hands.

"Not eating anymore? But you've only eaten a small piece of the cake, wife."

Chu Lanting followed his gaze to the cake on the table.

The cake was newly bought; Pei Du had hidden the previous one for two days, and even though it was just a plain sponge cake, it had gone bad anyway.

Pei Du had been upset about that for a good while, and Chu Lanting had comforted him, telling him he was happy even without cake.

Then Pei Du dragged him back to the bakery and bought the largest cake in the store.

As for the small piece of cake Pei Du had just mentioned, it really was just a small piece.

But the cake itself was a full 12 inches, and he hadn't eaten properly in a long time. Having eaten too much at once, his stomach was now painfully full.

Covering his mouth and shaking his head, he barely managed to swallow the bite of cake. Chu Lanting kept his hands over his mouth: "I'm full, A Du. You eat it."

"But you've eaten too little, wife."

The food on Planet 207 wasn't good, and people only ate to survive.

The sponge cake sold at the bakery was just as coarse in flavor, but it was much better than the bread that was hard to swallow.

Chu Lanting certainly understood how precious this cake was, but he truly couldn't eat any more.

He freed one hand to push away the hand holding the cake toward his face: "I really can't eat any more. If I keep eating, I'll get a stomachache."

Sure enough, the moment he finished speaking, Pei Du quickly withdrew the cake in his hands.

Chu Lanting thought he would finish the rest of the cake.

Instead, after pulling his hands back, he set the cake down again.

Then Chu Lanting saw two hands appear in front of him.

As his body was lifted, a familiar hand landed on his waist.

"You've lost so much weight, it's uncomfortable to hold you now."

The voice by his ear made Chu Lanting's heart skip a beat.

Back when he and Pei Du weren't fighting, physical contact between them had been limited to Pei Du clinging to him.

But gradually, he realized it wasn't just Pei Du who clung to him.

He was the same way.

Back when Pei Du still slept in the same bed with him, every morning when he woke up, his hands and feet would be wrapped tightly around Pei Du.

At the time, he had felt embarrassed, but thankfully Pei Du slept deeply. To avoid waking him, he would carefully pull his arms and legs back and then roll off the bed.

Back then, Chu Lanting had been afraid to meet Pei Du's gaze, worried Pei Du might find out what he did in his sleep.

Other than that, they didn't have any other physical contact.

Now Pei Du was saying he'd lost so much weight it was uncomfortable to hold him...

Chu Lanting raised a hand to rub his nose and said softly, "I haven't lost that much weight. I'll eat better from now on. Can I go back to my seat?"

As he spoke, he shifted his legs.

Just as his toes touched the ground, the hand around his waist suddenly slid down to his butt.

Then, a voice full of concern sounded above his head.

"Right here, you've lost so much weight."

Chu Lanting had never had many friends since childhood, and his parents and grandmother had passed away when he was young.

He'd always gone to school alone and lived alone, never imagining someone would barge into his quiet life one day.

The two not only ate and lived together, but Pei Du even, even...

"A Du!"

Flustered, he pushed away the hand on his butt.

Chu Lanting scrambled out of Pei Du's arms.

It wasn't until he stepped into the room and saw the folded blanket by the bed that he stopped.

Gripping the doorframe tightly with both hands, he took a deep breath and turned to look at the young man sitting there in a daze in the living room.

"I'm full. I'll rest for a while, and we'll go to work together later."

With that, he let out a soft sigh, quickly walked into the room, threw himself onto the bed, and buried himself in the blanket.

His heart was still racing.

Pounding like a drum in his ears.

Chu Lanting, who rarely had physical contact with others, had never imagined he would be touched down there.

Even if Pei Du didn't mean anything bad by it, the feeling still left him flustered.

Clutching the blanket tightly, Chu Lanting forced himself to calm down.

Once his heartbeat slowed, the image of him turning back at the doorway just now suddenly came to mind.

Because of his fierce resistance, the young man was still frozen in the pose of holding him, his face blank, looking utterly ridiculous and funny.

He must have scared himself too.

The knuckles gripping the blanket were white.

Chu Lanting stayed hidden under the blanket for a long while before finally lifting it to reveal his head.

He'd planned to get up, leave the room, and explain to the other person why he'd just panicked.

But the moment he opened his eyes, a face so close to his made his pupils shrink in shock.

"A Du, why didn't you say anything?"

Pei Du's stunningly handsome face still had that same helpless look from the living room.

Seeing his wife lift the blanket, he pursed his lips, wanting to reach out and touch her cheek, but then remembering how she'd reacted just moments ago.

He silently curled his fingers and pulled his hand back, like a big dog scolded by its owner, not allowed to touch its favorite toy.

Pei Du blinked, and the fox-like eyes, still red at the corners from crying, began to well up with tears again.

"I'm sorry, wife. Are you angry? I—I'll apologize, okay? Please don't be mad."

"I'll behave, I won't touch you. Please don't ignore me, don't stop talking to me."

His pitiful voice rang out in the room.

Chu Lanting stared blankly at the sight.

Seeing Pei Du's eyes redden again, tears welling up, he quickly got up and pulled the man crouching by the bed into his arms.

His palm gently stroked the broad back, and he felt something patting lightly against his shoulder.

Realizing Pei Du was crying again, Chu Lanting quickly spoke.

"I'm not angry, and I don't want to ignore you or stop talking to you. I just—I'm just not used to being touched that way..."

"A Du, don't cry. I was just too shy a moment ago. I won't do that again."

"You're really upset, aren't you? Punish me, because I made A Du sad."

His gentle, almost whispering voice gradually calmed the young man sobbing against his shoulder.

Hearing him say he wanted to be punished, Pei Du suddenly raised his head, his tear-streaked eyes full of resistance.

"Can't hit wife. Gotta be good to wife, so wife will like me. I like wife, and I want wife to like me too."