Chapter 104

Chapter 104

Chen Jue spent the day playing with him aside from briefing the medicine workshop on the newly developed formula. He spent a long time playing with him, and even took him for a ride in the evening when he went out to walk the horse.

He strapped Huo Yu to his chest with the well-made baby carrier, the same gear Huo Jilin had used to ride with him before. Huo Yu loved sitting on the horse—from up high, he could see far into the distance.

When they reached the foot of the mountain, he thought of Huo Jilin and pointed at the mountain, babbling: "Da... da, go,"

He could now say two people's names fluently, and could even pop out other single words.

Chen Jue explained to him: "Dada will come back to see you in a few days. You miss him, huh?"

Huo Jilin would probably be busy for another two months—now that the medicine had just been developed, it would take at least a month to contain the epidemic, and another month for the situation to fully stabilize. That was already Chen Jue's shortest estimate.

Chen Jue also told him this at night as he held him to sleep.

Medical scientists still hadn't figured out how smart a toddler could be—maybe they couldn't say it, but when a child looked at you seriously, they were listening to you.

He was processing every word you said.

Chen Jue now treated him like a little adult, giving him a heads-up so he wouldn't be upset when he left tomorrow morning.

"I'll leave tomorrow morning after breakfast, but this time I won't be gone as long—I can come back to see you in about five days, okay?"

Chen Jue patted his little back gently as he talked.

Huo Yu burrowed his head into his chest, squirming a couple of times, his little legs draped over Chen Jue's stomach, softly humming—that meant he wanted a lullaby.

Zhang Xiuer would sing nursery rhymes to get him to sleep. Neither Huo Jilin nor Chen Jue had much musical talent, but humming to soothe him was enough.

After Chen Jue hummed about three songs, Huo Yu was already snoring away.

Chen Jue fell asleep listening to his even breathing. He hadn't slept well in so long—he slept until the sun was streaming in, and Huo Yu was poking at his eyes with his little fingers.

He wasn't using much force, just prying his eyelids open again and again—that was his way of waking him up.

Chen Jue picked his moment and grabbed his little hand, tickling his armpit, making him crack up as he pounced on him, his little legs kicking with surprising strength.

Chen Jue bent his knees, letting him stand on his thighs, then held him and did a few sit-ups.

Huo Yu loved this the most, laughing his head off.

After twenty reps, Chen Jue picked him up: "Come on, let's go potty."

After breakfast, Chen Jue said goodbye to Huo Yu. This time Zhang Xiuer carried Huo Yu and walked him all the way to the bridge.

Chen Jue led the horse, walking alongside Huo Yu the whole way. When they reached the bridge, Chen Jue pointed into the distance and said to him: "This time I'll be quick—I can come back to see you every five days, okay? I'll ride the big horse for you to see, alright?"

Huo Yu's mouth twisted a few times before he finally nodded. Chen Jue swung onto the horse, and before raising the whip, he turned back and waved at Huo Yu.

Huo Yu waved back at Chen Jue with his bone toy.

Chen Jue kept his word, coming back every five days to see Huo Yu, because Huo Jilin had been so busy lately that he almost never had time to come back.

The epidemic in Dongling County was under control, but the neighboring counties needed their help too.

When the magistrate of the neighboring county received the formula, his gratitude went without saying.

He wanted to treat Huo Jilin and the others to a meal, but Huo Jilin still had other places to go.

This was the final stretch.

Chen Jue had already produced the antidote—all that was left was their speed.

Chen Jue had worked day and night developing the medicine to race against time, and now they were in the same race.

Huo Jilin didn't return until another ten-plus days had passed.

Chen Jue was still at the Xishan clinic.

Since patients were still being sent in continuously, this situation would last for a while.

Only when everyone had antibodies would this epidemic truly be over.

From early summer to midsummer, then to late summer—from fighting floods to fighting the epidemic—in these two months, the two of them saw each other rarely and parted often.

The late summer evening breeze already carried a hint of coolness. Huo Jilin sat on his horse and reached out to Chen Jue: "Come on, let's head home together today."

The two went home together. Huo Yu's joy went without saying—during the day, after one person finished holding him, he'd go to the other to be held; at night, he'd crawl from one blanket to the other, lying between them, looking at this one, then that one, clapping his hands and chuckling to himself.

Huo Jilin looked at Chen Jue over the little one, and Chen Jue met his gaze over Huo Yu. Little Huo Yu had no idea what their looks meant—they were both just waiting for him to fall asleep.

There was a curtain divider in the middle of the kang, and Huo Yu had no idea it was for him.

He only knew he was very happy—kissing his daddy, then kissing his dada, each kiss followed by a hearty laugh.

Huo Yu fell asleep quickly when he was happy, and slept deeply. Once he was asleep, he didn't even know he'd been moved to the edge, with quilts stacked beside him and the middle curtain pulled shut.

What was this for?

For sleeping—grown-ups needed to do grown-up things.

Ever since Chen Jue had said he wanted to be friends with benefits, Huo Jilin had been pissed. Although he often snuck into Chen Jue's blanket in the middle of the night, it really was just sharing a blanket—nothing that friends with benefits would do. He kept things strictly... pure with Chen Jue.

Chen Jue hadn't expected Huo Jilin to last that long either. Many times when they were roughhousing under the blanket, kissing until things nearly went too far, Chen Jue could barely hold back, but Huo Jilin would rather freeze outside the blanket than take it all the way.

As if doing anything to Chen Jue would confirm their 'friends with benefits' status.

The phrase 'friends with benefits' seriously defiled his love.

Chen Jue couldn't help but reassess Huo Jilin. Huo Jilin was demanding and picky about everything—apparently about love as well.

So Chen Jue didn't push him. He never quite believed he could love long-term, and wouldn't make Huo Jilin a lasting promise.

If not for this epidemic, he might have continued maintaining this equal... pure... Platonic husband-husband arrangement with Huo Jilin.

If not for the epidemic, he might have thought he still had plenty of time.

It could be said that the epidemic finally made him confront his feelings for Huo Jilin—the buildup from before the epidemic had grown into genuine affection.

This time, Huo Jilin looked him in the eyes and asked again: "Chen Jue, do you love me?"

Chen Jue's Adam's apple bobbed. He hadn't expected to leap straight to love before he'd even said he liked him.

Was the distance between liking and loving that far?

Not really, right? As long as he kept walking with Huo Jilin, long and steady, liking would turn into love.

Huo Jilin was still urging him on, pressing down on him like an interrogation under torture.

His breath curled around Chen Jue's ear, and his sculpted face grew even more striking in the dim light—more refined, more aloof and aristocratic.

That Huo Jilin had such a terrible temper and still hadn't been publicly vilified was all thanks to his extraordinarily handsome face.

It had a bewitching power.

Chen Jue swallowed again and forced out with difficulty, "I like you."

Chen Jue said softly to him, "I like you."

Huo Jilin's brows were already creased with a smile, yet he still nitpicked: "Shouldn't it be love?"

His fingers traced Chen Jue's face, caressing it with genuine fondness.

Chen Jue smiled. "Love."

He now found this man so endearing—even his pickiness became adorable, and his tyranny became devotion.

So it turned out that when you fall in love with someone, their flaws become shining points in your eyes, utterly lovable.

Huo Jilin lowered his head to kiss him, this time a focused and lingering kiss, because there was no longer the frustration of having to pull back before things went too far.

As they kissed, the temperature rose, and the clothes grew fewer.

Chen Jue called out in a gap between breaths: "...Blow out the lamp first... wasting... lamp oil..."

Most importantly, don't get too vigorous and kick the lamp over.

Huo Jilin's voice carried a smile: "Shh, keep it down, don't wake the child."

He even had the nerve to act like the wronged party. Chen Jue reached up, wrapped his arm around Huo Jilin's neck, and pulled him down: "Then hurry up—once he wakes, I'm not doing it anymore."

Huo Jilin's body instantly tensed. Chen Jue really knew how to provoke him. Didn't he know you never challenge a man at a moment like this?

He took a deep breath, braced his arms on either side of Chen Jue, and bent down to kiss him solemnly. He was finally going to make Chen Jue his—truly his.

Even though they already had a child, nothing before this had truly been between him and Chen Jue.

This was truly their first time together.

He kissed him with solemn tenderness, as if handling a precious jewel. Even though his body was taut to the point of bursting, even though his breaths were nearly tearing from his throat, even though his heart was pounding as if it might leap from his chest, he restrained himself and kissed him gently. He wanted to savor Chen Jue properly—not like Pigsy gulping down the magic ginseng fruit in Journey to the West. No matter how urgent, he couldn't swallow it whole.

What followed was the sound of heavy breathing.

Huo Jilin wasn't the only one experiencing this for the first time—Chen Jue was too. In his past life, he'd been busy with work and, being gay, had even fewer opportunities, so he'd stayed single until now.

Chen Jue ended up on the bottom.

He was gay too and would have preferred to be on top, but as a doctor, he had to admit that, from a medical standpoint, two men weren't well-suited for certain acts—neither position was ideal.

Especially for the one on the bottom.

So since he was now the wife in this marriage, with the natural physical advantage, he might as well lie back and enjoy it.

Chen Jue's mind wandered, though he wasn't particularly nervous. Even as Huo Jilin kissed him with lingering passion, it was familiar—this guy had kissed him many times before, just never gone all the way.

Huo Jilin clearly loved kissing him. Of course, he wanted to do more, but he held back—his self-control was remarkable.

Chen Jue's scattered thoughts were soon kissed out of his head. This guy was really going deep tonight, wasn't he?

Huo Jilin bent down and kissed him deeply, from forehead to nose tip, to lips, to Adam's apple, to collarbone, to... their cheeks brushing, their breath mingling, as if for eternity.

He loved kissing Chen Jue so much. Ever since Chen Jue had given him CPR last time, he'd been craving it. So before, even knowing it might lead to losing control, he couldn't resist kissing him. Like someone walking a tightrope, every time his desire flared, he'd have to roll away and endure half the night, tormented between lust and restraint. But now he didn't have to hold back.

Now Chen Jue finally loved him, and they could be together completely—united in body and soul, never to be parted.

That night, Huo Yu whimpered a few times, woken by the noise. Though the heated brick bed didn't creak like a regular bed, the muffled breaths and movements couldn't be concealed by the thin curtain between them.

When it was over, Huo Jilin pulled back the curtain to check on Huo Yu. The boy had kicked off his thin quilt and whimpered twice. Huo Jilin patted his back a few times, and he fell back asleep.

Huo Jilin turned back and gave Chen Jue a thumbs-up. Chen Jue was exhausted and irritable. He ground his teeth but couldn't contain himself, whispering through gritted teeth: "I told you to be gentler! Next time, watch it!"

Huo Jilin looked at him with an amused smile and said softly, "Alright, I'll be gentler tomorrow night."

Tomorrow night? He needed at least two days to recover!

He'd thought before that Huo Jilin, always holding back at the brink, would eventually unleash everything at once—and now it had happened.

Chen Jue couldn't be bothered to argue. He was dead tired. Now that his needs were met, sleepiness washed over him.

He slept in next to Huo Yu until late morning.

After spending a few days at home enjoying that idyllic life—wife, kids, and a warm bed—it was time for those who had jobs to get back to work.

This time, Magistrate Liu hosted a banquet at his home, inviting the married couple Huo Jilin and Chen Jue.

During that month of the epidemic, Magistrate Liu had written three letters of self-criticism and twice prepared to hang himself—truly experiencing the epidemic's dramatic ups and downs.