Chapter 34

——If you want to kiss me, you have to do it this lightly.

How light is “this lightly”? How light exactly?

Fu Cheng didn’t understand.

He only knew that Little Zao was right in front of him.

Closer than the last time Little Zao had kissed his forehead.

He also knew that Little Zao’s mouth was pressed against his mouth.

Since yesterday, he’d been plotting to kiss Little Zao.

His original plan was to be like a hunting beast, crouching in the darkness.

When Little Zao came in to bring him food and change his bandages, he’d pounce when Little Zao wasn’t paying attention, pin the prey to the ground, hold him tight, press him down hard, lock him up, and kiss him solidly a couple of times.

But the moment he saw Little Zao, all his plans flew out the window.

He still couldn’t bring himself to do it.

He couldn’t bear to scare Little Zao, let alone push him to the ground.

In a daze, Little Zao was suddenly right there.

Though the plan had gone wrong, his fantasy had still come true.

Little Zao had kissed his mouth.

But why…

Did this kiss feel different from the forehead kiss?

He didn’t feel any soft touch at all?

The sensation on his mouth was cold and hard, with a bit of a stench.

This wasn’t Little Zao’s mouth; this was…

Fu Cheng opened his eyes, staring fixedly through the motorcycle helmet’s visor at Lin Zao.

Only then did he see that there was still something between them.

So what he’d kissed wasn’t Little Zao’s mouth, but this thing.

This thing was what was keeping him and Little Zao apart.

So—

He had to get rid of this thing!

Fu Cheng lowered his gaze, looking at Lin Zao’s slightly flushed lips. His throat tightened, his Adam’s apple bobbing.

Immediately after, he silently raised both hands.

Little Zao said to be light, so he’d do it gently, quietly.

The next second, Fu Cheng’s arms wrapped emptily around Lin Zao’s waist.

Lin Zao suddenly felt his waist tighten and instinctively looked down.

The second after that, both of them reacted at the same time!

Lin Zao sensed something was wrong, let go of the hands steadying Fu Cheng’s head, turned, and tried to run.

Fu Cheng abruptly tightened his arms, like a hunter pulling in the net, wrapping tightly around Lin Zao’s waist and pulling him into his embrace.

“Brother Cheng… Fu Cheng! Fu Cheng!”

In an instant, Lin Zao’s feet left the ground.

It was all because Fu Cheng had been too obedient, too gentle, too compliant before.

Lin Zao had gotten closer bit by bit, from the window to the door, from bringing food to medicine, from petting his head to kissing.

In front of him, Fu Cheng had always been that obedient and docile, doing whatever he said.

Lin Zao’s courage had grown little by little, mistakenly thinking he’d tamed him, and he hadn’t been too vigilant.

Anyway, Fu Cheng wouldn’t bully him; he was confident of that.

Until this moment, when Fu Cheng suddenly snapped!

Only then did Lin Zao suddenly realize that Fu Cheng was infected with the zombie virus!

He was a zombie! He would bite! He would grab!

“Fu Cheng, what are you doing?!”

Lin Zao panicked a little, kicking his legs furiously, pounding Fu Cheng’s arms with his hands.

“Fu Cheng, it’s me, Lin Zao! You have to listen to me! Let go!”

Yesterday’s kiss had been fine.

Bringing food yesterday had been fine.

Why did a kiss today make him go berserk?

He knew he was wrong! It was all because his mouth was itchy and he had to tease Fu Cheng!

Now he’d done it; he wouldn’t dare kiss Fu Cheng recklessly anymore! No more kisses!

“Fu Cheng, let go! Let go!”

Lin Zao gritted his teeth, yanking at Fu Cheng’s hands.

“No biting! You forgot all the rules I told you!”

“I said you can’t kiss me; only I can kiss you!”

“You’re not obedient at all! You’re not good at all, you… you you you…”

Seeing him struggle like this, panic like this, and hearing his commands, Fu Cheng’s heart sank, thinking he’d done something wrong. His movements paused, and his grip loosened a bit.

Lin Zao seized the chance, pried his hands open, and ran outside.

But right then, Lin Zao said one more thing—

“Wah wah, I’m never kissing you again…”

This sentence was lighter than all the previous ones.

But Fu Cheng still heard it, crystal clear.

This was bad.

Fu Cheng froze for just a second before panicking, lunging forward again to hug Lin Zao anew!

No way! Not allowed! Impossible!

How could Little Zao not kiss him?

He hadn’t even done anything yet; how could he stop kissing him?

Fu Cheng hugged Lin Zao again, pressing him into his chest even harder than before.

Lin Zao saw the iron door right in front of him but couldn’t get out. His heart raced, his steps stumbled, and he twisted to the side, falling over.

For Fu Cheng, this should’ve been a great opportunity.

He was just one step away from completing his plan.

As long as he pinned Little Zao to the ground in time, he could kiss him.

But the moment Lin Zao fell, Fu Cheng still held him tight.

His only action was to shield Lin Zao in his arms, taking the fall behind him, cushioning him.

No matter how much he wanted to catch Little Zao, the priority was keeping Little Zao safe.

Fu Cheng hit the ground, Lin Zao landing on top of him.

The two tumbled together.

Lin Zao came to his senses, wanting to run but also worried Fu Cheng was hurt.

In that second of hesitation, Fu Cheng instantly revived at full strength, hugging his waist tight.

Lin Zao’s heart jolted, thinking he was about to do something else, ready to flee at any moment.

But nothing happened.

That fall seemed to have jolted Fu Cheng awake.

The remnant humanity in his bones finally overpowered the zombie’s feral instincts.

Fu Cheng made no other moves, just holding Lin Zao gently, cradling him in his arms.

He lowered his head, burying his face in Lin Zao’s shoulder, letting out two “hrr” sounds.

Lin Zao, still shaken and with lingering fear, spoke to him soothingly.

“Why’d you suddenly hug me?”

“Hrr—”

Just wanted to hug.

Kissing and hugging went together.

If Little Zao hadn’t run when he hugged him, none of this would’ve happened.

“You chased me; how could I not run?”

“Hrr hrr—”

Not on purpose. He hadn’t meant to.

He just…

Didn’t want to be a helpless zombie, just sitting on the bed waiting for Little Zao to kiss him.

He didn’t want to kiss the helmet; he wanted to kiss Little Zao, to take the initiative once.

He promised he’d be very, very light, never hurting Little Zao.

He hadn’t expected Little Zao’s reaction to be so big.

“No!” Lin Zao gradually regained his composure. “We agreed before: only one kiss a day, and only I initiate.”

Fu Cheng turned his head away, making no more sounds.

It was Little Zao who’d said it; he hadn’t.

He still wasn’t good at talking; he could only say single words.

As they talked, Lin Zao calmed down too.

He’d thought Brother Cheng’s ferocity had flared up, that he wanted to bite him.

Turns out, Brother Cheng just wanted to kiss him.

But even a kiss was scary.

He finally realized clearly how vast the gap was between him and Fu Cheng.

Fu Cheng was as agile as a leopard, as strong as a tiger.

When he suddenly burst into action, he was pure beast—no one could match him.

What was ordinary, effortless for him felt overwhelmingly forceful to Lin Zao!

Like now, with him holding Lin Zao’s waist.

Lin Zao looked down, slapping his sturdy arm hard.

“You bastard, it hurts! I’m suffocating! I’m dying!”

Fu Cheng loosened his grip a little. Lin Zao pried his hands open, dipped his head, then tossed it back, banging Fu Cheng’s head twice with the helmet on his own head before breaking free and running off.

Fu Cheng propped himself up, sitting on the ground with one leg raised, watching him quietly, not chasing anymore.

Fine, Little Zao ran off. So be it.

He’d upset Little Zao again.

Fu Cheng lowered his head, pressing his open palm to his chest.

There was a fire burning inside him.

The moment he opened his eyes and saw Little Zao, it ignited.

He’d been suppressing it, holding back.

But Little Zao had fanned it bigger with soup, caresses, and kisses.

Fanned it up and then ignored it. He wanted to kiss Little Zao to tamp it down.

He thought he’d learned, but he’d still scared Little Zao.

Fu Cheng clutched his chest, feeling the wildly pounding heart inside, and seemed to understand a little.

He liked Little Zao—a lot—but not the way he liked food.

Not appetite; appetite came from the stomach.

It was desire, heart’s desire, from the heart.

He wanted to kiss Little Zao, not bite him, much less eat him.

Fu Cheng only knew zombies filled their bellies by eating.

He didn’t yet know how to fill the heart.

But he absolutely couldn’t eat Little Zao—Little Zao was like rice or noodles; once eaten, he’d be gone.

Lin Zao fled outside, slamming the iron door shut.

Fu Cheng looked up at his hastily departing figure, his eyes inexplicably reddening.

Heart unfilled, eyes filled instead.

Before he could shed tears,

Lin Xiaobao came charging down from upstairs, clutching the clothes-drying pole like a little tractor, chugging along.

“Daddy, I’m here to save you!”

“Monster Big Dad, don’t bully Daddy!”

“Ya ya ya!”

Head down, not watching the path, he charged straight ahead.

Then…

“Little Bao… ah!”

The pole poked right into Lin Zao’s belly.

“Help…”

Lin Zao’s stomach took another heavy blow!

Hearing Daddy’s voice, Lin Xiaobao quickly looked up. “Daddy! You’re out!”

Lin Zao clutched his belly, slightly bent over. “What are you doing?”

Lin Xiaobao planted the pole in the ground, dead serious. “Protecting Daddy!”

He’d been outside feeding the little dog while Daddy fed Big Daddy inside.

But suddenly he heard Daddy cry for help.

So he yanked the pacifier from the little dog’s mouth and prepared to rescue Daddy!

Food could wait, but Daddy needed saving now!

They’d done this before: Big Daddy fixing cars in the shop, all dirty, not bathing, just hugging Daddy and him, kissing them, getting them dirty too.

That’s how he’d saved Daddy before!

So he dashed upstairs, grabbed a handy weapon, and launched the rescue.

Lin Zao sniffed, deeply touched. “Thank you, Little Bao.”

“No biggie, don’t mention it.” Lin Xiaobao waved his little hand, looking concerned. “Daddy, you okay?”

“I’m fine. Big Daddy scared Daddy on purpose again; too mean.”

“Too mean.”

Lin Xiaobao repeated.

Lin Zao ground his molars, viciously saying, “Punish him—no lunch or dinner.”

“Okay…” Lin Xiaobao nodded, but soon looked up. “But… will Big Daddy starve?”

“Depends on his behavior.”

Lin Zao took off the helmet on his head and found the thick visor cracked from Fu Cheng’s headbutts.

He looked down and saw his coat torn by Fu Cheng, his wrists bruised.

No need to lift his clothes; his waist was definitely pinched black and blue too.

What a bastard! Pure bastard!