Chapter 340, Morning

"…Zero likes Zhuo…"

Ling said this in his usual tone, as if he was explaining a fact. His voice was small but clear. His light red lips moved closer to Zhuo, shining with an alluring luster.

Suddenly coming to his senses, Zhuo found himself half lying on the bed, and Ling was sitting on his legs making him unable to move.

What’s even more incredible is that I didn’t feel any weight on my legs at all, but my arms were definitely being pressed down and I couldn’t lift them.

But the soft touch and sweet scent of Ling's body seemed so real.

Ling stared at him with his eyes downcast, stretched his hands behind Zhuo's back, leaned up to her, and filled the gap between their bodies. He lowered his head slightly and looked at the neckline of her white nightgown, revealing her snow-white skin that was not usually seen.

Zhuo wanted to look away from the slightly undulating river valley, but Ling seemed to not let Zhuo escape. He put his hands behind Zhuo's neck and brought their faces together.

The exhaled air blows against the lips.

"...Please eat me."

Hearing Ling's murmur, Zhuo picked up the slender body and slowly put his lips close to her.

!!!

Zhuo suddenly woke up, or rather, was startled.

As expected, the place in front of him was the study room on the fourth floor. Not only Zhuo was lying on the bed, but also Ling, who had woken up at some point in time and was resting his head on his arms, silently observing him with his deep blue eyes open.

A ray of morning sunlight shone into the room through the gap in the curtains.

From somewhere came the sound of birds chirping.

Zhuo was forced to wake up from the slumber dominated by comfortable tiredness and warmth. He finally realized what a terrible dream he had just had and what was happening under the quilt at the moment - he covered his face with shame.

When I looked to the side again, what appeared before my eyes was the beautiful light golden river that I was not used to seeing when I was forced to leave my arms and fall onto the pillow.

And a pair of exceptionally bright azure eyes that were staring at him with a mixture of confusion and understanding, containing a double meaning.

Being able to hold back from making any sound should be commended. Facing Rei who was watching him, Zhuo did not make a sound of swallowing but instead let out a deep breath.

…So, it wasn’t all a dream.

I didn't jump up immediately because I remembered it, but even so, the 'thumping thumping' sound of my heart didn't change at all when I got up.

Boom, boom, boom. Zhuo felt a little tight in his chest due to the violent beating of his heart. But after seeing Ling's quiet face, his heart gradually regained its steady beat. After taking a deep breath and calming down, Zhuo looked at Ling.

"…Now, how should I explain it? Zero won't believe me if I say I wet the bed."

Zhuo moved his body gently, moved his numb arms, and changed his posture slightly.

Although he didn't say anything, there was no doubt that Ling had woken up. If he could keep Ling asleep and forget what was happening, Zhuo would feel very lucky even if his arm was numb.

So Zhuo decided to try to fool him.

She smiled at Zero, who had been awake for who knows how long and had no sign of her getting up, and stroked her soft face with her fingers while looking at her without getting tired. At this time, there was a knock on the door.

"Zhuo, get up and have breakfast."

The voice coming through the door belonged to my father.

——It’s finished.

Probably to wake Zhuo up, but if I reply here, my father will probably open the door.

Even if we don't mention the fact that Ling slept in his bed, the fact that he was in such a predicament and was witnessed by Ling was embarrassing enough. Zhuo didn't want to increase the audience, as that would be too pitiful. Zhuo still wanted to get away with it.

But having said that, if there was no reply, he would come in and wake people up, so Zhuo was worrying about what to do - before he could come to a conclusion, the door opened.

Seeing the figure of his familiar father from the other side of the door, Zhuo's face became a little stiff.

In contrast, father Xiuyi looked at Zhuo's bed, his eyes widened, and then he smiled and said "Oh".

Ah, this "oops" is definitely that "oops", right? Zhuo is completely, well, it can't be said that he is completely right, he did kiss Zero. But if this gets to Sa Chiko, she will definitely tease him.

That being said, there was something worse under the quilt - ah, actually it couldn't be considered worse. To be honest, Zhuo didn't believe that the well-read and knowledgeable Ling wouldn't be able to recognize what he was like. Besides, even if he couldn't recognize him, he should have been able to smell it, after all, they were under the same quilt.

Zhuo came to his senses in an instant and showed a look of giving up, looking at his father with an expression that said "there is no hope in life, don't worry about it".

Even without any words, I believe his feelings have been perfectly expressed.

Xiuyi was quite understanding. He shook his head helplessly at Zhuo's expression, smiled at him, waved his hand gently, and quietly walked out of the room. After confirming that the sound of metal parts rubbing against the door and the light footsteps were gradually fading away, Zhuo sighed silently.

"It can't get any worse anyway."

Compared to the fact that Zero couldn't explain it to her, being misunderstood by her parents when her boyfriend and girlfriend slept in the same bed was nothing. Although it was still a little embarrassing.

But let's deal with the matter at hand first.

Having prepared himself mentally for being held accountable by Ling, Zhuo turned his gaze to Ling at the side, and discovered that Ling, who was sleeping on the pillow, had already closed his eyes again and was now making a long and even "hush~hush~" sound.

Even so, Zhuo couldn't simply believe that Ling had really fallen asleep, so he tentatively stretched out his fingers and gently poked her cheek.

"wash……"

There was a low sound in her throat, but Zhuo could still hear clearly that she was calling his name. Then Ling buried his head in Zhuo's chest again as if seeking warmth.

Zhuo was once again filled with pity for Ling's reaction, but if he hugged her impulsively, she might wake up again, and Zhuo was going to change his clothes first, so he just touched Ling's hair.

The air conditioner had automatically shut down, so that's why Zero didn't leave and kept rubbing his face against it?
Is it because it's a bit cold?
I touched her feet with my toes and felt a chill. It was indeed like that.

In that case, the act of lifting the quilt when I woke up just now must be very cold. While reflecting on it, I wrapped my feet around her to pass on the zero temperature, and gently placed my hand on her back to directly pass on the heat.

Zhuo felt very happy about the warmth he felt when they were together, and he no longer cared about his embarrassing behavior. Anyway, he and Ling would experience these things in the future, so there was nothing to be embarrassed about. Zhuo thought that since the two of them decided to go on together, they should not only look at the glorious side of each other, but also tolerate the embarrassing side.

Zhuo believes that Ling will be the same.

Besides, this is a very normal thing.

In other words, if everything were calm, Zero, as a girl, would feel uncomfortable.

Thinking of this, Zhuo relaxed his mind. He wrapped up the soft body and embraced it gently. This time, Ling's body trembled more violently, and he slowly raised his face to Zhuo. His blue eyes were a little misty, and he was confused when he saw Zhuo's face.

"Sorry for waking you a second time."

Zhuo frankly admitted what happened just now, and touched Ling's head with a smile. After hearing what he said, Ling closed his eyes again as if satisfied, but this time he felt at ease and let him do whatever he wanted.

She wondered if Ling had seen through her thoughts, so she fell asleep on purpose to give herself some time. While thinking, Zhuo's fingers stroked her cheeks, and Ling made a very low "hmm~" sound.

"Ouch~ After letting down his guard, Zero actually started to act like a spoiled child—"

This was the first time that Zhuo had real close contact with the sleeping Ling. When he was at home, Zhuo was always the one who fell asleep first and woke up last, so he had no chance to observe her sleeping face up close - it was only now that Zhuo realized how many beautiful mornings he had missed.

Even so, after about five minutes, Zero's eyes opened again.

Zhuo was sure that she was awake, so he kissed her face and said "Good morning", but what he didn't expect and was very interesting was that Ling was still in a stiff state.

"……Good morning."

After hesitating for a long time, Zero finally replied.

"Drowsily asleep?"

"No..." Unexpectedly, Ling paused for a long time again, looking directly into Zhuo's eyes to let Zhuo understand what she was thinking about... Then Ling said something that made Zhuo stiff.

"…Is Zhuo already well?"

“………………Eh hey hey?”

Zhuo was stunned for a moment before she let out a meaningless cry full of sobs. This extreme and shameful behavior also made Ling realize that she should not bring up this topic again, so she lowered her head in Ling's arms and dropped her eyes.

It seemed that just as he guessed, Zero fully understood the situation - but he had no intention of leaving for the time being.

It's really endearing and touching.

Having said that, it is impossible for Zhuo not to care about this matter. Moreover, at such a close distance, Ling must be able to smell the embarrassing smell of the quilt.

"...Well, in that case, let me retreat for now."

"…It's okay. No, I should say I feel safe. I mean in Zhuo's arms. Of course, I don't think that…"

Feeling that he couldn't let Ling Equal to One continue talking, Zhuo hurriedly interrupted the topic.

"Don't you think it's weird?"

"…It's OK. Although it's a little… but I still feel at ease."

"Even if you say so, it's still a very embarrassing thing for a man, especially in front of the girl he likes—"

"wash."

"what?"

Although Ling tried his best not to embarrass Zhuo, this kind of thing was still a bit embarrassing, but Zhuo was still able to face it calmly and talk about it, which showed that Zhuo didn't care much. Even so, Ling seemed to be unable to watch it anymore, or she didn't want Zhuo to feel that this was an embarrassing thing in front of her.

"Zhuo should know some knowledge about hybrids, such as the origin of the first generation of hybrids."

"Almost, but isn't this change of topic a bit too abrupt?"

"After the Black King's bloodbath, humans locked up a large number of women with dragons to reproduce. Only one in ten thousand could get pregnant, and only one in a hundred thousand could successfully give birth. Among these babies, nine out of ten would be dragons."

"Ah."

Although Zhuo knew most of this and was not sure what Ling was going to say, he still responded in time to show that he was listening carefully.

"It is also very difficult for humans and hybrids to have offspring. The higher the bloodline of a hybrid, the harder it is to leave offspring... Zhuo, my bloodline is considered an outlier even among hybrids."

"Ah."

"So in Zhuo's opinion, this is an embarrassing and shameful thing, but it may not be the case in my eyes..."

"Is it possible that I really feel secretly happy?"

"I don't like the word 'secretly delighted'. I do feel joy, after all, it's my body that makes Zhuo very satisfied, which does make me feel relieved. But when it comes to the feeling about this kind of thing, it's probably more of a '...' moment when Ling said this, she looked up and looked directly at her words. Her deep blue eyes were filled with hope that shocked Zhuo. If Zhuo understood correctly, it was hope for the future, for life, and for the future family, "...waste?"

"..."

When Zhuo heard the word "waste", his mind went blank for a moment.

Feels like a waste.

That is to say... there is nothing to say, Zhuo, wake up!!!
Ling seemed to have noticed what Zhuo was thinking. After looking at him deeply, he buried his head in Zhuo's chest again and hid himself.

Zhuo suppressed the trembling in his heart, reflected on himself, swallowed the desire that surged from inside his body, and stroked Ling's head.

"...Next time, don't say that again."

"Ok."

——Boundary line——

To be honest, I have been struggling since I started writing the chapter where the two of them confessed their love, because I had a lot of thoughts in my mind, as I mentioned before.

My original plan for this kiss was not this, but a kiss like this, where we would bite each other after a conflict and refuse to give in.

Later, after thinking it over, I decided to give up and get rid of the conflict. A simple and ordinary life is the real happiness.

And then I wrote this.

I don't know whether you are satisfied or not.

Anyway, Erha is a boastful idiot, and he hasn't finished the extra chapter yet.

I'm a waste.

(End of this chapter)