Chapter 82: Hoping Pei Du Would Be Kind to Him

Chapter 82: Wishing Pei Du Would Be Kind to Him

When Pei Du came out of the bathroom, it was already quite late.

At first, Chu Lanting felt a bit uneasy, but upon hearing the sound of running water from the bathroom, the knot in his stomach slowly loosened.

He didn't dare to dwell on the words Pei Du had spoken—"If it's for your sake, maybe I'd agree."

Afraid of reading too much into it.

He sat back down at the dining table, picked up his lesson plan, and figured he'd wash the clothes once Pei Du was done showering.

The water never stopped running the whole time. Chu Lanting found it odd for a moment but didn't dwell on it.

A Du and Pei Du were nothing alike.

A Du never spent more than five minutes in the shower, just so he could cuddle up to him sooner.

Pei Du, as the protagonist, might have some cleanliness quirks or his own little bathing rituals.

When the water stopped and the wooden door let out a creak, Chu Lanting was jolted out of his lesson planning and automatically glanced up at the clock on the wall.

Almost forty minutes.

He turned his head toward the bathroom door and saw Pei Du carrying freshly washed clothes. He blinked, then shot up from his chair.

"How did you—"

The place wasn't in great shape, and there was no hot water for showers.

When Chu Lanting first arrived, he'd almost gotten sick from taking cold showers.

Fortunately, he always had a human furnace by his side, which kept him from catching a fever or getting the chills.

Even now, a while after his own shower, his fingertips were still a little cold.

But Pei Du didn't seem bothered by the cold at all. On the contrary, there was a faint flush on his cheeks, and he no longer looked as stern as before.

Kind of like after...

Realizing what he was thinking, Chu Lanting immediately scolded himself in his head.

Pei Du was different from others, and besides, he wasn't the other lead in the book. Pei Du's attitude toward him was probably mostly out of curiosity.

He was a soul from another world, like an alien in this one.

How could anyone do something like that with an alien...

Feeling embarrassed, Chu Lanting rubbed his nose sheepishly: "Just leave the dirty clothes there. I'll wash them and hang them up to dry."

"I got the clothes dirty."

His low voice was still a little hoarse.

Chu Lanting looked up in surprise, then heard him continue.

"With the bathwater. I just washed them while I was at it."

"Ah... oh, okay, give them to me. I'll hang them up to dry."

This time, Pei Du didn't refuse. He handed them to him and watched Chu Lanting walk out to the small courtyard to hang them. Only then did Pei Du look down at his own left hand.

Under the dim yellow light, the tall, robust figure of Major General Pei—who commanded attention across all the major planets—couldn't hide the redness of his ears, even in the faint glow.

He'd lied.

As a major general, he'd lied to an ordinary person for his own selfish reasons.

But then again, the other was his legally wedded spouse, someone who was rightfully his. He curled the fingers of his left hand and looked up at the notebook spread open on the dining table.

The handwriting in the lesson plan was noticeably more hurried than before, a sign of how rushed he'd been.

Even so, the handwriting was still as neat as the man himself.

He must have been startled by that "three days" remark, wanting to prepare something before leaving.

Since he hadn't told him when he'd be back, he was writing as much as he could.

The figure standing by the dining table went rigid. Pei Du's fist tightened. He'd just showered to cool off, but the agitation in his chest came rushing back.

"What's wrong?"

The sudden voice from behind jolted Pei Du back to the present.

He hadn't even noticed someone coming up behind him.

He pursed his lips and turned to look at the person behind him.

Chu Lanting flinched at his look. Frowning, he glanced at the dining table and, seeing what was on it, asked, confused: "Did I do something wrong?"

He'd been sitting here writing his lesson plan right after showering. Why was Pei Du giving him a look like that?

He remembered his lesson plan didn't contain anything controversial or inappropriate.

"Nothing."

It was just his own frustration. Pei Du pressed his lips together.

Chu Lanting's lips curved into a small smile at that. He put the laundry basin back in its place, then returned to sit at the dining table, only to see Pei Du still standing nearby.

"Aren't you going to get some rest? It's already late."

For Chu Lanting, it was actually still early.

Before he'd transmigrated into the book, he'd still be supervising evening study hall at this hour.

After transmigrating, classes were over by now, and he'd be preparing lessons while A Du practiced his handwriting beside him.

Later, once A Du had learned more characters, he'd bring his own diary and sit across from him, scribbling and drawing in it while Chu Lanting worked.

Recording the plain, ordinary days the two of them spent together.

Pei Du had once been diagnosed with emotional detachment disorder. In the doctor's words, he couldn't tell joy from anger, sorrow from happiness—his life could be described as following a set routine.

This personality had its advantages, at least when it came to work.

He wouldn't soften at an enemy's pleas, nor would he let bad apples worm their way into the military through petty favors.

The only downside was probably how cold-blooded he was—he couldn't empathize with others, and he couldn't understand what love was.

When the military doctor suggested he find a partner to help with his psychological turmoil, he just saw a partner as a burden.

But now, he seemed to understand a few things.

Take smiles, for example.

He had seen many kinds of smiles—calculating, teasing, joyful, appreciative...

But never one like the smile on Chu Lanting's face right now.

Or rather, he'd never seen it, but 'A Du' must have seen it plenty.

This kind of doting smile, the kind that only shows up when you're accepted and loved, was something only 'A Du' had ever seen.

His throat tightened, and Pei Du felt like he was stuck in a strange loop.

He was A Du, and A Du was him.

Yet something seemed to stand between them, keeping them from truly fusing.

The headache that had just calmed down started throbbing again, as if a thousand needles were stabbing his skull.

Pei Du's breathing got heavier, but he still didn't leave.

"What about you?"

Noticing his voice sounded even hoarser than when he'd just stepped out of the shower, Chu Lanting froze mid-reach for his pen. As he looked up, his gaze landed on those bloodshot eyes.

"What's wrong with you... I still have work to finish. You look really rough—go rest first."

He swallowed back the words about taking him to see a doctor.

Chu Lanting pressed his lips together, changed the subject, and urged him to go rest.

His lesson plans weren't finished yet, and he didn't know how long he'd be gone after leaving in three days.

The sooner he could return, the better. If Pei Du still had doubts afterward...

He hoped Pei Du would go easy on him, given that he'd saved him and looked after him for a while.