Chapter 190, Return to Daily Life (4400 in )

"Welcome back, go wash your hands first."

When Ling saw Zhuo coming back, he stood up and moved to the side. Then he hesitated for a moment, and then he walked silently to the entrance and took the bag from Zhuo's hand.

"Emm..." Zhuo responded, "Welcome back."

Repeated it.

He is the owner of this apartment, so he should be the one to welcome back.

However, there was a bit of resentment in the tone of "welcome back". After all, there was some resentment for Ling's behavior of disappearing for two months without any explanation and suddenly reappearing without any notice. This resentment was not anger. Where to go, or even not coming back, was Ling's own freedom. Zhuo had no right to control it, and he had no right to control it... So he didn't want to express this kind of resentment similar to that of a young wife who had lived in seclusion for a long time and didn't see the big official... But he couldn't help it.

So Zhuo regretted it as soon as he said it.

It’s too fucking bad.

He almost said it with a pout.

Quickly change the topic.

"Oh, by the way, have you finished your work?"

Zhuo asked with a bit of guilt. After all, he had discussed the matter with Su Enxi behind the scenes about Ling, and also confirmed his own thoughts... But no matter what, these things must not be known to her.

Lingzheng was standing on tiptoe to hang the bag on the hanger, and after hearing his question, her fingers visibly tightened a little.

She turned her head to look at Zhuo, was silent for a moment, and shook her head gently.

"There's nothing to do. The meal is ready, go wash your hands and eat early."

As she said this, she put down her bag and walked into the kitchen.

"Oh."

Zhuo responded.

I don’t know why, but when Ling turned his head and looked at him just now, I always felt that there was something indescribable.

And today she didn’t even wait for Zhuo to cook with her...even though she had just come back and Zhuo had just finished school.

When Zhuo absentmindedly finished washing her hands, Ling had already placed the food on the coffee table, but she was still sitting on the sofa in a daze, and didn't even notice Zhuo sitting next to her.

...Yes, around me.

Although Zhuo has a gentle personality, he also has his own little thoughts. Under the premise that "Utsunomiya's intentions are known to everyone", he keeps the distance between himself and Zero as close as possible, which is his little fist that is cautiously and tentatively declaring his sovereignty.

In the past, when they were unaware of this, this behavior was a trivial daily matter that neither of them cared about. Zhuo was already enjoying Zero's lap pillow. In comparison, sitting close together like this should have been a trivial matter.

But times are different now.

He didn't know what was going on in Zero's mind.

But he is no longer the innocent boy he once was - now he has no good thoughts in his heart, only small thoughts.

However, what Ling Zhuo did not expect was.

When Ling reacted, she trembled all over as if she was frightened. Then she turned her head and happened to meet Zhuo's embarrassed but calm gaze. Then she suddenly turned her face away in silence.

"you……"

"you……"

Zhuo and she spoke almost at the same time, but stopped talking at the same time.

Then Zhuo smiled, retracted his gaze and picked up the chopsticks stuck in the rice.

"You go ahead and talk first."

Still sticking to Ling without moving, Zhuo said so.

In fact, when Zero trembled like a frightened rabbit, Utsunomiya Shuo's heart also skipped a beat - after all, this kind of thing had happened before, and he was afraid that the princess would run away like last time and never be found again.

Fortunately not.

Fortunately!

Ling was silent for a while. He saw Zhuo put a potato in the bowl and started eating with rice. Then he said, "You are doing well in class."

Speaking of classes, Utsunomiya Shuo immediately recalled his classroom experiences over the past two days - he had no memory of anything.

It was at this time that he finally woke up. He had been so confused and dazed during these days. He was like a zombie who could only breathe, with nothing in his mind.

Utsunomiya Shuo is such a loser!
Really useless!

Fortunately, Ling didn't look at him for some reason, so Zhuo was able to suppress the complicated emotions in his heart that made him want to bang his head against the wall.

"Well, it's just the daily stuff anyway, so it's pretty easy to learn."

"That's good," Ling paused and continued, "I have finished my story, now it's your turn."

"End?"

"Ah."

"...Then wait a minute." Zhuo took a mouthful of rice with a spoon and said, "Actually, it's nothing... I just want to ask how you've been doing recently."

The familiar taste of the soup is fresh, fragrant and slightly spicy, and the sweetness is completely covered.

Even the distinct grains of rice have been missing for a long time.

"..."

After swallowing the rice in his mouth, Zhuo still didn't hear Ling's next words, so he turned around and looked at her.

Coincidentally, their eyes met, and Ling's brows suddenly frowned tightly, and he said nothing.

Zhuo rarely saw her so serious, and suddenly he felt like his secret was discovered, or in other words, he felt like he was caught cheating in class by the teacher - Zhuo couldn't help but feel nervous when he saw Ling's expression.

"Nothing else?"

Zero said calmly.

It might be an illusion, Zhuo suddenly felt that Ling's tone was a little cold.

"……Gone."

Zhuo replied, blinking his eyes.

"……" After hearing his answer, Ling looked at him in silence, his brows slowly relaxed, and he said "hmm" in a lukewarm manner.

Turn away.

While looking at Ling's profile, Zhuo was thinking about whether he should tell him about Su Enxi - the reason why he didn't tell him was very simple: no matter what, Su Enxi was Ling's friend, and selling her out like this always sounded like an attempt to sow discord.

"Su Enxi seduced me." It's not nice to say that.

After hesitating for a long time, Zhuo chose to remain silent.

Zhuo slowly relaxed his body and leaned back on the sofa.

Next to me is the returning Zero.

Compared to the past, the physical distance between them has become much closer, and it can even be said to be zero distance.

But it feels a lot worse.

Maybe it's really been too long since we last saw each other, and the power of time is too terrifying. No matter how close we were in the past, there seems to be something missing after we meet again.

This indescribable feeling was very suffocating, but fortunately, the warmth and softness around his legs and waist reminded him that Ling was right beside him at this moment, not somewhere else.

The two of them snuggled together in silence, and all the anxiety and uneasiness they had just felt gradually disappeared.

After a long time.

Zero's voice also returned to calm.

"Will I be a burden to you?"

She looked like she was staring at the wall in front of her in a daze, but suddenly a very strange sentence came out of her mouth, and the tone sounded very serious.

Zhuo couldn't tell whether Ling knew something or guessed something.

But the moment he heard these words, he couldn't help but think of the high and mighty 'gods' in his 'dream'. They were fighting vigorously, and the countless creatures below were just the remnants affected by the aftermath. A light blow would leave nothing behind.

Zhuo hates those guys.

But I don't want to risk all my emotions and possessions to die together with them... Not only is this exchange irreversible, but after going all in, there is a high possibility that I won't even be able to die together with them.

Not worth it.

If you do this, your parents will also be sad.

It is easy for a common man to say that he is angry, but he is still a common man after all.

The reason why gods are gods is not only their strength, but also their wisdom, power, insight... and so on, they are also at the top of these.

If a common man drew his sword and rushed to the palace, even if he was lucky enough to make the king's blood splatter five steps away, his entire family would be executed - this was certain, and the king didn't even need to make special arrangements.

No matter how awesome Lu Mingfei is, if Odin is determined to kill someone, he can't stop him!!!

...It would be better to be more mature and leave early on time.

Of course.

Apart from these factors, Zhuo still has some of his own personal thoughts mixed in.

There was silence for a long time.

The room was silent. Only his and Ling's faint breathing could be heard. No other sounds could be heard.

Zhuo's eyes were fixed on the kitchen, where the pots and pans had just been used and had not yet been put away. A vegetable stalk was sticking out of the trash can in the corner, making its presence felt.

The balcony was open, and the clothes displayed in the closet had been hung outside to dry, gently blown by the wind.

The breath of summer.

There were faint golden threads in front of my eyes that were lifted up by the air conditioner and fell on my face, making me feel itchy.

Zhuo picked up the hair that was sticking to his face and rubbed it between his fingers.

"boring."

He replied. Hearing this, Ling turned to look at him, tightly closing his lips, but seemed to have something to say.

Zhuo still lay there lazily, letting her watch.

a little.

This endless gaze refused to end, and not a single word came out.

Zhuo turned his head against the back of the sofa and found it funny.

Then he reached out to her forehead and gently smoothed her eyebrows.

No resistance was received.

Zero stretched out his lips as he moved, and then his fingers hooked the corners of his mouth, 'forcing' him to pull up a weird smile.

"It's my problem. Maybe I think too much..." Zero's mouth corner was 'forced' to curl up, and his pronunciation was a little unclear, but he was unexpectedly less calm than usual and more silly.

She seemed to be talking to Zhuo, or to herself, "…This is good."

As Ling spoke, he gradually relaxed his shoulders, leaned his head naturally on Zhuo's arm, and closed his eyes.

Zhuo listened to Ling's words "it's good", feeling like hypnosis, and after two months of ups and downs, he finally found his peace.

Zhuo glanced at her.

Look back.

Close your eyes too.

Maybe it’s a good thing that I like you.

...

...

After this night, the way Utsunomiya Shuo and Zero get along seems to have returned to the way it was before.

No one mentioned what each of them was thinking, pondering, experiencing, and deciding during those two months.

They seemed to have tacitly ignored the matter.

Maybe Zhuo was really too young, and didn't understand how terrible the word "like" was. When it was revealed, it began to grow like a vine. Zhuo not only didn't know how to suppress it, but immersed himself in it.

At school, at home, on the road, before bedtime...silently.

And the first thought that came to my mind was to give her a gift, a gift that she liked and that I also liked.

…And then the second thing is to give another gift.

This strange yet familiar behavior gave him an inexplicable sense of déjà vu.

Then one day before going to bed, I suddenly became aware.

——This is fucking dog-licking behavior!!!

I sat up in shock when I was dying of illness. The clown turned out to be me.

Then continue to lie down as if nothing had happened.

It was late at night and the world was still. Zhuo was about to fall asleep and he closed his eyes.

Zero Will you make me a clown?

...

...

Zero appeared in the classroom again for class and was welcomed and treated with great hospitality.

It's okay for girls... I really don't know what those boys are thinking. When Ling was not around, these people didn't make the mistake of chatting with other girls. Now that Ling is here, they can still present their "love-filled" love letters with confidence.

Really cheap.

No, maybe it wasn't their fault.

It's just that I'm the freak.

The classroom is tidy again.

Back to your normal daily life.

But the only difference is.

Utsunomiya Shuo will not go home directly now.

Instead, after school, they waited at the school gate for an Aston Martin that was coming back from shopping for groceries, and then they drove to the apartment at a snail's pace.

……

Friday.

School in the afternoon.

Whether it is school or work, Friday is always the most popular day. Students from central colleges and universities leave the campus in groups, ready to welcome the beautiful weekend.

Because Zero is too popular on campus, the entire class collectively requests her to join the September cultural festival (school festival), so she might have to stay in the classroom for a little longer.

Therefore, Utsunomiya Shuo came to the gate security room and sat down.

Sunny weather.

sunset.

A busy street.

Utsunomiya Sohhe sat on a wooden chair just like he did in the classroom, with his legs against the wall, swaying back and forth, like an old man leaning back in a rocking chair to rest after work.

There is a fiery cloud outside the window.

"Did you see that cloud, Zhuo?" Kiritani Jin's voice came from the window.

"I saw it." Utsunomiya Shuo replied.

"It is a natural phenomenon of atmospheric changes. Because the air layer that sunlight passes through has become thicker, only red and orange light can travel the entire distance, so there will be such a phenomenon as fire clouds. Fire clouds also indicate that the weather will get warmer in the next two days."

"What do you want to ask."

"Excuse me, where did you get this necklace on your wrist?"

Kiritani Jin leaned half of his body through the window and curiously poked the black string necklace tied around his right wrist.

There were no decorations or accessories, just some twine.

Utsunomiya Shuo usually doesn't even wear a watch, so why would he wear such a necklace on his wrist today?

I never took it off even when I was having the luxurious rich woman meal at noon.

"I got it by catching dolls." Utsunomiya Shuo answered truthfully, "It was from a doll machine in front of an old man's convenience store."

"Why is there a necklace in the claw machine?"

"Bracelet." Zhuo raised his wrist.

He did get it by grabbing a doll, and there was indeed no bracelet in the claw machine, so he didn't get anything. The old man felt sorry for him and gave him a bracelet.

That's it.

It's not a lie.

"Bracelet?"

"Correct."

Kiritani nodded thoughtfully, then took out a small black stone from his bag and said, "This is a souvenir I found in Kyoto, from Kiyomizu Temple. Do you want to exchange it?"

His tone was sincere and genuine.

It is sincere.

But what is the mentality behind exchanging stones for bracelets?

And this stone was obviously missed when cleaning the corners of Kiyomizu Temple.

How did you find it out.

Before Utsunomiya Shuo could reply, Kanda Tomokazu behind him had already placed his hand on Kiritani Jin's shoulder: "Kiritani."

"what?"

"This is what Zhuo intends to give to a girl."

"..." Kiritani blinked in confusion, "Really?"

"Isn't it obvious? It's a women's piece." As a 'Prince' who often receives gifts and naturally needs to give gifts in return, his judgment is very authoritative.

And the thin rope that decorates the wrist.

In most cases, no boy would use it as decoration... Of course, rubber bands and head bands are exceptions, which are props used by girlfriends to indicate their identity and assert their sovereignty.

perhaps.

Because these are all hearsay.

After all, he has never experienced this stage.

"You're too reckless and direct," Kiritani Ren scratched his head, "I want Zhuo to speak out little by little."

"…I have to commend you on your insidiousness and cunningness."

After noticing that Kanda himself was on the first floor and Kiritani was on the fifth floor, he gave a thumbs-up in return.

Zhuo was too lazy to pay attention to these two people.

　Thanks to Hanpi Chen for the 100-point reward.

　　Thanks to Lawrence's brother for the 5500 points reward.

　　thank.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)