KM: Chapter 35

You Chen carried Ji An to the bathroom. Ji An stood under the showerhead, leaning against him, almost dozing off again. He asked softly, "Are you very tired? How about I buy some food and feed you later?" Ji An nodded. His legs were too weak to stand properly, and he certainly couldn't go downstairs to eat. You Chen helped him wash up, carried him back to bed, said a few comforting words, and went downstairs alone to buy food. He returned shortly, carrying quite a lot of things. Ji An, half-squinting his eyes in confusion, watched him from under the covers, not understanding why he bought so much. You Chen placed the items on the coffee table, walked over to pull Ji An out of the covers, but Ji An shook his head and shrank back, stammering, "You didn’t, didn’t dress me." You Chen laughed, leaned over with his hand supporting Ji An's back to stop him from retreating further, and gave Ji An a kiss, saying, "I helped you with the bath, and you're still shy, baby." Ji An pulled the blanket up to cover half his face, leaving only his eyes exposed, looking at him and murmuring, "It’s, it’s different." You Chen raised an eyebrow, remaining silent. Ji An looked at him timidly, trying to curl up into a ball, but You Chen pulled the covers away and picked him up. "You, You Chen!" Ji An’s face flushed red. He was so angry he wanted to scold You Chen, but having never cursed anyone, he could only bite You Chen hard. You Chen didn’t react, holding Ji An’s buttocks as he walked towards the wardrobe, rubbing them absentmindedly. "Baby, you’re too skinny. You used to be soft here." Ji An’s face turned even redder. He struggled hard, kicking his legs, but only calmed down after You Chen gave him a slap on the buttocks. "Be good, baby, didn’t you want to get dressed?" You Chen set Ji An down in front of the wardrobe, opened the door, and said, "Choose for yourself, hmm?" Although Ji An was dazed by the slap, his hands instinctively grabbed a piece of clothing to put on. He dressed in a hurry, not being careful as he bent over, lifting one leg to step into his pants. You Chen looked down at the red handprint on that soft flesh, thinking Ji An was truly delicate, turning red at the slightest touch, perfect for teasing. He was also very naive, completely lacking a sense of danger. In this position, You Chen almost wanted to press Ji An against the wardrobe again. Being in the same space as Ji An, it was hard to maintain rationality. Ji An didn’t know what the person behind him was thinking. Once he was dressed, he immediately turned to escape, but You Chen caught him in his arms, closed the wardrobe door, and pressed him against it for a kiss. Ji An’s tongue was soft and slippery, like jelly; during every kiss, it wouldn’t move, neither pleasing nor daring to evade. If he tried to avoid, he’d be bitten. You Chen wouldn’t pity him, biting until he cried, then soothing him by sucking it back into his mouth. It seemed like comfort, but it was actually a deeper torment, a more leg-weakening tease. The tongue, still hurting, was sucked until numb, both painful and pleasurable, wanting to escape but unable to withdraw. You Chen kissed him for several minutes. Ji An's legs were so weak he couldn’t stand, entirely hanging onto him, his mouth red and swollen, glistening with moisture, marked with a row of teeth imprints. Ji An habitually pursed his lips, looking up at him with red eyes. You Chen leaned in again, scaring Ji An into blurting out, "I… I'm hungry." You Chen laughed, pecked Ji An’s lips, and said, "Then let’s eat. If you’re hungry, you need to eat more." He bent down, picked Ji An up, walked to the sofa, and sat down, holding Ji An as he took out the food from the bag, opening and arranging it. Ji An glanced at it, seeing a box of seaweed soup and boiled vegetables, a bowl of congee, a bowl of rice, and a small bowl of mashed potatoes. You Chen added a few pieces of greens into the congee, holding the bowl to feed him. After half a bowl, he set it down and picked up the bowl of mashed potatoes, feeding it to him spoon by spoon. Ji An didn’t resist; these seemed not to trigger nausea. Watching Ji An swallow the mashed potatoes bit by bit, You Chen suddenly said, "Baby, you look just like you’re eating baby food." Ji An didn’t understand, responding with a nasal "hmm," looking at him in confusion. "Baby food, you know, like when little babies are weaned, they eat it to learn how to swallow, similar to rice cereal." Ji An looked into You Chen’s eyes, feeling as if You Chen really was feeding him like a child. He swallowed the mashed potatoes, opened his mouth to say something, but You Chen took the opportunity to feed him another spoonful. "Eat more." Ji An puffed up his cheeks, finishing the small bowl of mashed potatoes under You Chen’s coaxing, who rubbed his stomach and then picked up the bowl to let him drink seaweed soup. "No." Ji An shook his head, "I can’t eat anymore." "It’s soup," You Chen coaxed, "just drink a few sips, like drinking water, okay?" You Chen wasn’t someone who would coax continuously; usually, it turned into half coaxing, half forcing. Pinching Ji An’s cheeks to make him open his mouth, he tricked him into drinking a few sips, but it didn’t stop, one sip after another, until he’d drunk half a bowl and really couldn’t drink anymore before letting him go. After feeding him, You Chen picked up the bowl of rice and ate it with the leftover boiled vegetables. Ji An asked why he didn’t buy other dishes, and he replied, "I was afraid you’d feel nauseous seeing them." Ji An said nothing more, snuggling into You Chen’s arms with reddened eyes. You Chen lowered his head, nuzzling his face, and fed him a small bite of rice, which he obediently opened his mouth to eat, then fed him a piece of greens. After finishing his meal, You Chen drank the remaining half bowl of congee and seaweed soup. "Baby, I’m going to the company. You’ll be home alone. In the afternoon, I’ll have someone come to move things. Chu Longyu will also come over. Pack your things, no rush, if you can’t finish, he’ll help you." Ji An nodded, "Okay." You Chen carried him back to bed, squatting by the bedside to talk to him for a while, insisting he say "You Chen kiss me." After he said it, he leaned over and gave You Chen a kiss before he left. Fortunately, he didn’t have many things, and after two or three hours, he’d almost finished packing. Ji An sat on the sofa, feeling bored, idly scrolling through his phone, finally opening You Chen’s chat, staring at it for a long time, typing and deleting, deleting and typing, unable to send a single word for a long time. For some reason, he felt inexplicably wronged, wanting to swipe away the chat but accidentally sent a period. Ji An panicked for a moment, just about to recall it when You Chen replied, asking, "What’s wrong?" For a moment, he was dazed, not replying immediately, and You Chen sent another message asking what was wrong. Ji An stared blankly at those words, even doubting if it was really You Chen on the other side. Because he knew You Chen could leave hundreds of messages unread, only giving him a cold "hmm" to show he’d seen it. The person who wouldn’t respond to long strings of messages was now asking twice because of an accidental period. This subtle yet enormous change was truly bittersweet and thrilling. Ji An, with his head down, looked at his phone, tears dropping onto the screen one by one. The phone’s screen dimmed, then suddenly lit up again. It was You Chen’s call. He answered, and the other side immediately asked, "What’s wrong, baby?"