Chapter 289, Christmas Day
The night passed quietly without a word, and it was Christmas Day.

On November 11, the original clear and crisp autumn weather was completely gone, and it became a little colder. Simple shirts and trousers became less and less wearable.

Although it is almost December and time to change into cotton clothes, Zhuo finds it troublesome to take out his winter clothes, so he still wears a shirt and a jacket.

However, in the current weather, even if there is a complete air-conditioning system in the room, it will still be cold when going out for fun and gathering on the road. Considering this, Zhuo thinks it is time to take out the winter cotton clothes and wear them.

"I hope I can still wear last year's clothes."

Zhuo thought about taking out his winter clothes to wear today, so he took out his winter cotton clothes from the storage box in the closet and put them on the clothesline on the balcony.

Seeing Zhuo brushing the dust off his clothes on the balcony and his body obviously much stronger than last year, Ling nodded in understanding.

By the way, Ling is still wearing a shirt and jeans. When he goes to school, he wears a skirt over his jeans. It's an awkward outfit that doesn't reveal anything but is very awkward.

Although she has changed into a warmer coat and a sweater instead of a shirt as winter has arrived, this outfit no longer looks so strange, but she is still wrapped much more tightly than others, which makes people worry whether she will feel hot.

You know, even in January when it snows, you can still see many JKs wearing short skirts on the streets of Tokyo.

Only Zero would not care about other people's strange looks and dress as he pleases. If it were a girl, I guess every girl would want to dress up beautifully, and then show off the beautiful parts of her body to attract the attention of the opposite sex.

"It's true that I don't care about other people's opinions. My body will also feel hot in the summer. Mixed-bloods are not superhuman." Zero looked at him and said lightly.

"Because you are dressed very warmly. You wear pants under your skirt, your shirt is buttoned tightly, and I have never seen you wear sandals."

"If I show it outside, it will attract a lot of attention, so I have to wear it..."

Ling has a petite figure and a beauty that almost everyone can agree on. Even now, she will attract a lot of attention when she walks on the street.

She inevitably attracted attention and easily attracted obscene looks. It was understandable that men would be unconsciously attracted to attractive women of the opposite sex, but even if she didn't care, Zhuo would feel uncomfortable with those evil looks.

Zhuo couldn't think of what to say, so he didn't say anything.

Zero didn't care about it and moved his eyes to the clothes hanging on the balcony.

"Are you planning to wear a cotton coat today?"

"Well, I think it's time to change. And if we want to watch the light show today, it will definitely be very late, and it's so cold today..."

"I see. So, try it on once before the meeting to check it out. After all, your figure should have changed a lot in the past year."

"Are you trying to say that I've gained a lot of weight?"

Because Ling is a hybrid contaminated by dragon blood, her figure will probably never change. Zhuo is different. Zhuo has experienced a lot in this year. Her weight loss and gain are basically related to Ling. Overall, she is definitely fatter now than last year.

But he still wanted to say - let me eat well and then enjoy being thin, right?
Zhuo also knew that Ling had put a lot of effort into maintaining her figure. Apart from other things, she also needed a lot of training for all kinds of fighting skills. Zhuo admired Ling's firm will and self-management ability, and at the same time hoped that he could learn a little bit from her, even if he couldn't pass the test. Of course, the first step was to keep exercising every day.

"…On the one hand, I think you've grown a bit taller, so you might not be able to wear it."

"Really? He has grown taller."

Zhuo had forgotten that he had bought that cotton coat a few years ago. The last time he wore it was last year. The size might not be suitable now.

Zhuo always bought larger clothes in the past, but even so, last year's school uniform felt a little too short.

Zhuo was looking at the cotton clothes drying in the sun on the balcony, planning to try them on after the smell went away.

"You're actually quite tall."

"Well, it should be higher than average."

Zhuo stood up, raised one hand and stroked it across the top of Ling's head who was sitting on the sofa, and then moved it to his abdomen - Ling, who was sitting, could only go this far.

Zero was quite patient with his childish behavior and showed no signs of being angry.

Zhuo is one head taller than Ling. This one head is not a metaphor, but an example. So even when standing, Ling has to look up at Zhuo.

Compared with the average height in Japan, Zhuo is more than a fist taller, so he is indeed tall.

By the way, although Ling is small and has always been called "three-no loli" and "loli body", she is not particularly small. Especially in the country of Neon, her height is not outstanding at all, and can even be said to be ordinary.

Compared to when they first met two years ago, the current Zero has to look up a little taller at Zhuo - the quantitative "Zero" height remains the same, but the "amplitude" of his head raising has become larger, proving that Zhuo has indeed grown taller now.

Normally, in order to reduce Ling's burden, Zhuo would stand a little further away. However, recently Ling would often lean close to him, and often touch his neck. Zhuo was a little worried that Ling's neck would be tired.

As for whether there will be a day in the future when she will need to tilt her head up as high as possible to see Zhuo... After all, Ling's height is fixed forever, while Zhuo is always growing... At present, it seems that there is no need to worry about this problem. Because she is looking at Zhuo's body, as if thinking about something.

"…Do you need me to alter your clothes? I think I can do it."

"Uh... that's a down jacket."

"I know."

Hearing Ling's nonchalant tone, as if to say, "I'm talking about down jackets," Zhuo was speechless. On the contrary, Ling looked at Zhuo with a look of "What's the problem with this?"

"I do have some change, enough to buy new ones. Do you want to buy some?"

"No, change it. It's really too much trouble for you... Thank you. And it doesn't matter even if you say I've gained a lot of weight. Anyway, I think you should eat more and stop staring at me. I know you half-bloods can't be calculative, but you're so thin that I'm worried you might break."

"Wait a mininute."

"Oh."

As Ling said this, he stood up and went back to the bedroom. Zhuo sat on the sofa and waited for a while. Not long after, she came back with a tape measure and needle and thread in her hands. Zhuo didn't remember having sewing tools in his bedroom, so they were definitely not his, but brought by Ling. It was more likely that Ling bought them recently, because it was hard to imagine that the only heir of the Romanov family (although fake) would always have needles and thread and sewing bags.

"Get up."

"Oh."

"Open your arms." "Oh."

Ling took two steps forward and came in front of Zhuo.

She picked up the tape measure and measured the arm length and shoulder width from left to right along Zhuo's arm, like a dancing elf.

Then she tightened the tape measure in her hand, and gently and slowly passed her hands through Zhuo's armpits, finally meeting his vest.

The distance between them was at this moment as close as it could be. Because of their height, even if she tilted her head, her face was almost entirely against Zhuo's chest.

Thanks to Ling, Zhuo doesn't have to worry about diet problems. She even adds food for him based on his recent exercise. She is really considerate.

However, Zhuo felt that he should eat more. He could feel her slender body through her clothes. Although he knew that she was stronger than him, he was still worried about the waistline that could be held by one hand and would break at the touch. Although it was a bit malicious to say this, Zhuo had imagined that Ling would eat until she became a big fat girl, and then he would be the only one who liked her.

In Zhuo's impression, Ling usually eats a lot. Maybe the blood of the dragon race is really so omnipotent that no one knows where all the calories go. To be rude, the little mute can barely explain it, but as for Ling's unchanged figure for ten thousand years, it is really hard to tell where the calories go...

Zhuo felt how thin the girl was standing in front of him, thinking that she was really thin. He stretched out his hand to the thinnest part of Ling's waist and abdomen and grabbed it, and once again sighed in his heart about her slender body... and she suddenly stopped moving. If her arm had not trembled slightly, Zhuo would have thought that the whole world had temporarily stopped breathing.

And Zhuo's thinking came to an abrupt halt.

Christmas morning was quiet and peaceful. A man's clear and serious voice was heard reporting from the TV. The faucet in the kitchen, which was deliberately not tightened, kept dripping. Occasionally, a few birds chirped outside the window, like an embellishment to the music.

Zhuo didn't know what he was thinking, nor did he know what Ling was thinking.

She and Zhuo stopped where they were, seemingly indulging in their morning embrace, but in fact, they did not touch each other at all.

(Zhuo: Later, when we were watching the sunset in the Greek town of Fira, she mentioned this day appropriately. She said that she tried her best to restrain the urge to hug me at that time.)
Zhuo was staring blankly at her long light golden hair which exuded a faint fragrance like pansy.

Stiff limbs.

Brain goes blank.

Zhuo had absolutely no idea what he was doing.

As his eyes moved downwards, he was attracted by her exquisite appearance again. Zhuo didn't know what she was like in the eyes of others, but for Zhuo, she was the best at this moment.

It's strange to say, there is only one set of shower gel, shampoo, etc. in Zhuo's house, and they don't have the habit of using bath waves or bath salts. But every time I get close to Ling, I always feel that there is a strange fragrance exuding from her body. I can't tell what it is, but I just feel that it smells good and tempting. It makes people feel calm and at the same time can't help but want to get closer, like Pandora's box.

Zhuo's breathing was inevitably heavy, and the delicate liquid sprayed on the top of her head. Zhuo could also see the slight rise and fall of the hair on top of Ling's head with her breathing.

Ling raised his head in a daze, and the hot breath they exhaled collided with each other.

Her pair of azure blue eyes trembled visibly, and this was the first time Zhuo saw the pupils tremble so clearly. He himself could not help swallowing.

Zhuo now thinks about it, they haven't had a real hug for a long time.

No longer considering those selfish thoughts, Zhuo really wanted to throw away those rational constraints and impulses for once. In front of him, except for Ling's fair and attractive cheeks and those cherry-white and plump lips, Zhuo could no longer see anything else.

Lingding stood there with his head tilted up, not moving at all. He neither stood on tiptoe nor retracted his face. Only the light in his eyes became brighter.

Before Zhuo could withdraw his hand from Ling's waist...

"…Uh, yeah, I'm sorry."

"……It doesn't matter."

Zai Zhuo suddenly woke up, and like a hound startled by its prey, he turned his head and dodged. After hearing his words, Ling still looked up at him, and it took him a long time to say such a sentence.

Then Ling calmly withdrew his arms from Zhuo's back and rolled up the measuring tape in his hand little by little, saying, "It's okay with me, but it's very rude to touch a girl's belly casually... Some people may feel uncomfortable, so I hope you pay attention to that," and then walked towards the balcony.

"I know, I'm really sorry. I got carried away. If you're angry, I totally accept it. I'm so sorry..."

"It's not as serious as you say..."

No matter how good the relationship is, there are still differences between men and women, not to mention the waist and abdomen, which are very important parts for women.

It's not the head, hands or shoulders, but the waist and abdomen that people don't usually touch.

Or the belly.

Zhuo had rubbed her belly once before when she was not on her menstrual period. It had been too long since then, and Zhuo didn't think he liked her at that time, so naturally he wouldn't have the clear feeling he has now.

With such a thin waistline, one can’t help but wonder how the internal organs were put in.

But what annoyed Zhuo even more now was the embarrassing scene just now.

Ling seemed to have completely forgotten what had just happened, as if nothing had happened. After putting away the down jacket on the balcony, he sat down opposite the coffee table and began to unstitch the down jacket.

"The length and width can still be changed, but the sleeves can't be changed. Can we just leave it like this for this year and buy a new one next year?"

"Oh, oh, of course."

"The meeting time is at 10:30, and the location is at Bunkyo-ku Station, right?"

"Huh? Hmm."

"Don't worry, there should be enough time."

"……Um."

Zhuo sat in the middle of the sofa, holding the iPhone in both hands, his fingertips sliding up and down the screen aimlessly.

Absent-minded.

His attention was always on Zero, who was sewing on the low table. Even when he asked her about the questions just now, her tone and expression were no different from before. He had no idea what she was thinking.

(End of this chapter)