Chapter 126: Eldest sister-in-law
Long Zhanye"s military uniform is rather special. The collar and shoulders are black, the b.u.t.tons on his long, camouflage-patterned coat left unfastened all the way through, exposing the white collared shirt beneath. Tailored to fit his lean frame, perfectly pressed and straight black slacks coupled with polished black combat boots complete his outfit, presenting a very smart and handsome image.
Nodding his head in agreement, Huo Zaiyuan smiles. "Un, you were right. It is indeed very smart."
"Naturally. Now, why did you come all the way out here?" Long Zhanye wraps an arm around his shoulders, eyeing the thunderstruck soldiers. "Did they bully you?"
His implication cannot be any clearer. If they bullied you, I"ll take revenge on your behalf.
"I didn"t see you this past couple of days, so I decided to come over…" Huo Zaiyuan replies. "They are all pretty interesting."
The few soldiers tensed the moment they hear Long Zhanye"s words, sweating as though they are about to face the death penalty. But Huo Zaiyuan"s next sentence saves their little lives, moving them to the point of almost getting down on their knees.
Not only did they boast and gossip about their Boss" past conquests, they even mocked this little older brother. But he unexpectedly didn"t say he was bullied by them.
A glare from Long Zhanye is enough to scare them back into standing at attention, afraid to slip up and provoke the demon king"s anger. If that happens, they can only look forward to a beating later.
"I"m hungry, let"s have lunch together." Pulling Huo Zaiyuan to his side with an arm around his waist, Long Zhanye leads him into the command centre, speaking softly as they walk.
"Un, what would you like to eat?"
~~~
Listening to the conversation between those two men, the soldiers standing at attention in a straight line can"t help feeling really curious. As soon as the pair walks out of hearing range, Hao zi is the first to give into his inquisitiveness.
"Oh my G.o.d, was that really the demon king? I must have woken up on the wrong side of bed this morning."
"You didn"t. That really was the demon king." Hui zi answers slowly, still in a daze.
"We are done for. We just leaked out a lot of gossip about the demon king. That child - eh…if that little older brother tells on us, then wouldn"t the demon king skin us alive?!" Curly-hair exclaims as he suddenly realises just how much they let slip in front of Huo Zaiyuan.
"Hao zi said the most. He even said Boss likes a.s.sertive women and that little older brother is too skinny!" Bei zi looks at Hao zi with an expression of "you are doomed".
"Eh…s - so what? Lao Qian even said Boss was pretty intimate with a younger sister who dropped by his office!" Hao zi exclaims, pointing at lao Qian even as his face turns redder and redder with every pa.s.sing second.
"Also, Dong zi (the third person in the car) also mentioned…blahblahblah…"
"Blahblahblah…"
The five of them quarrel, voices growing louder and louder until a fight breaks out between them at the front gates of the command centre. The ruckus attracts quite a lot of survivors who opt to stand around and watch. A few even sit down in preparation for a good show.
~~~
Within Huo Zaiyuan"s s.p.a.ce, it is normal to have a few hot dishes already prepared as well as cooked rice. With Huo Zaiyuan here, the ordinary food in the command centre’s canteen is unable to incite Long Zhanye"s appet.i.te.
Bringing Huo Zaiyuan back to his office, Long Zhanye immediately embraces him from behind, kissing his neck. "I haven"t had a proper conversation with you for three days. Really missed you."
Huo Zaiyuan"s neck has always been sensitive. Long Zhanye"s sudden kiss, as well as the feel of his hot breath upon the skin, causes his heart to palpitate and a numb sensation to spread across his body.
This familiar embrace, this warm hug…Huo Zaiyuan feels his face heating up. Opening his mouth to say something, he eventually closes it again, not uttering a single word.
After holding Huo Zaiyuan in his arms for a while, the two eventually moves to a guestroom for lunch.
"I just need another two days to clear up the last of my work. After that, I will be able to accompany you for the whole day again," Long Zhanye states as he glances at the youth sitting opposite him.
"Idiot, I"m not a woman. Even if you continue to be busy for the rest of the week, I"ll be able to find something to kill time." Huo Zaiyuan returns the stare evenly before flashing a smile.
"Is that so…I"m hurt. It appears you don"t miss me even a little."
The sight of a well-built, handsome man standing at the height of over 185cm pouting would usually make a person shudder, but for some reason, when Long Zhanye makes that face, Huo Zaiyuan can"t help but feel it is a little cute…
"When you"re not around…I"ll think about you. Therefore I came all the way here to find you…" Biting his chopsticks and looking down at his bowl, Huo Zaiyuan admits in a small voice.
Upon hearing these words, the pouting man displaying deep hurt on his face instantly brightens. Shifting his chair over so it is next to Huo Zaiyuan, he pulls him into another embrace and plants a kiss on his cheek.
"I know little Yuan loves me most. Always thinking about me when he can"t see me."
"You…don"t kiss me. My face is all oily." Blushing, Huo Zaiyuan pushes against the tight hold of the person sticking so closely to him.
"I also love an oily little Yuan." Ignoring the other party"s futile struggles, Long Zhanye kisses his lips this time, savouring the sweet taste slowly.
"Mhmm…let…let go…"
Let go? Dream on!
Although Long Zhanye has a habit of eating very quickly, it becomes an exception when dining with Huo Zaiyuan. Adding to the fact that he hasn"t spent any time with his beloved for three days - and his little Yuan actually took the initiative to find him - his mood is extremely good. Hence, he actually spends a little more than an hour to finish lunch today.
Exiting the office after finishing their meal, they step out only to be met with a group of soldiers smiling foolishly at the couple with ambiguous looks on their faces.
"What are all of you standing here for?" Long Zhanye"s eyebrow rises slightly as he scowls at the group of reckless punks.
"Nothing, nothing." Hao zi"s grin is so wide his eyes all but disappear. Inching towards Long Zhanye, he stealthily glances at the serene youth standing beside him before asking in a whisper. "Boss, are you and that little older brother…in that kind of relationship?"
"What do you think?" Glaring at Hao zi, Long Zhanye replies curtly.
Being a smart little cookie who has worked under Long Zhanye for this long, from his Boss" expression alone, Hao zi is able to understand his unspoken words clearly.
"Lovers…"
"Hn." Long Zhanye grunts, then turn to Huo Zaiyuan. "I"ll take my leave first."
"Boss, please don"t worry. In the time when you are not around, we will definitely help you look after eldest sister-in-law properly! Isn"t that right, brothers?!" Beaming, Hao zi jabs a finger towards the ceiling as he shouts his determined declaration.
"Boss, don"t worry! We will help you take care of eldest sister-in-law!"
As they say this with a resolute air, the ten soldiers clad in smart military uniforms form a line and stand at attention, clicking their heels together. This sight is really quite shocking, making Huo Zaiyuan go "囧" in his heart.
This group of soldiers really love to cause a ruckus.
"I am not your eldest sister-in-law." Eyeing Long Zhanye sternly for a while, Huo Zaiyuan turns and walks away.
Staring at Huo Zaiyuan"s departing back, the ten soldiers eventually shift their hesitant gaze to Long Zhanye. "Boss…"
Traces of worry appear in their eyes, afraid that they accidentally stirred up the demon king"s fiery temper.
"Un, not bad. I like it. Hao zi, that was pretty creative." Amazingly, the demon king doesn"t become angry as he nods his head, reaching out to clap the dumbstruck Hao zi on the shoulder. "Continue working hard."
Saying thus, Long Zhanye spins on his heels and walks away.
"Boss…Boss just praised me ah." A foolish grin breaks out on Hao zi"s face as he stares at the tall figure in the distance.
"Yes, yes. We all saw that." Breaking the straight line, the soldiers bunch together once more.
"But why didn"t eldest sister-in-law admit?" One of them wonders aloud.
"Don"t tell me Boss hasn"t won him over yet?" Another questions.
"How can that be? They were inside for so long." Yet another shakes his head.
The little group shares a laugh at that.
"That means eldest sister-in-law is just embarra.s.sed."
"Yeah, yeah." The rest agree, nodding their heads vigorously.
"Then what is everyone still standing around here for ah? Still not going? This safe zone is a snake pit. If eldest sister-in-law is bullied by some random scoundrel, be careful Boss doesn"t catch you and skin you alive."
Later, survivors walking pa.s.s the military command centre bear witness to the strange sight of a group of soldiers in uniform madly dashing out of the gate in various directions.
After parting ways with Long Zhanye, Huo Zaiyuan wants to go over to the safe zone"s infirmary to check on Qin Jun. Before, the infirmary is only a small room with a few beds. Now that the safe zone has expanded, the infirmary also expands from a single room to an entire building. Presently, it is referred to as the "medical bay". Anyone who falls sick or is injured can go to the medic bay to seek treatment.
Opposite the medic bay is the research inst.i.tute, which houses as many scientists as it can possibly contain. Living in the apocalypse now, these people have one major goal: to uncover the reason behind the apocalypse. Other smaller objectives include how to stop zombie infections and where Ability Users gain their powers from.
Consequently, next to the inst.i.tute, another s.p.a.ce has been arranged to house all the Ability Users in the safe zone.
As Huo Zaiyuan wanders pa.s.s that place, he can see a lot of people training, going through drills and other exercises. Males and females, some controlling fire or lightning, others manipulating water or wind…this casual display of powers is able to leave anyone feeling dazed.
"Eldest sister-in-law! Eldest sister-in-law! You came here ah. Took us so long to finally find you." A loud voice yells. It turns out to be Hao zi leading Dong zi and Hui zi in a fast jog over.
Huo Zaiyuan pauses as he sweeps a glance over the smiling faces of these three older brothers. Eventually, he relaxes, offering them a faint smile. "I"m a man. Don"t call me eldest sister-in-law."
"But you are our eldest sister-in-law ah." Hui zi says with an extremely serious expression.
"That"s right ah. That"s right ah." The other two agrees.
"Eldest sister-in-law, why did you come all that way out here? It is dangerous to stay in the vicinity when the Ability Users are training." Hao zi says.
"I"m here to find a friend…"
"Tsk, tsk, bunch of fools calling this kid eldest sister-in-law. Why wasn"t I aware that Long Zhanye likes innocent boys?"
Suddenly, a condescending voice sounds from where the Ability Users" training ground is.