Chapter 44: Going all out for scientific research

Translator: Abo Dammen

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Case Three: Nucheng’s Past Events 

The sound of the shower echoed against the tiles. The water temperature shifted from cool to warm, steam condensing into mist on the mirror.

He Yixun stood completely naked under the showerhead, bathing as if no one else was there. Water droplets slid down his shoulders and back, over the undulating spinal groove, down his firm, long legs, converging into small streams on the floor.

The cramped space was filled with steam. The damp moisture, mixed with the scent of shower gel, clung to Xu Pei’s exposed skin like a thin film, stickier than sweat. 

Xu Pei felt inexplicably parched. Holding onto the notion of seeing no evil, he turned his back to He Yixun and said, “Can’t you just… take care of it yourself?”

Behind him, there was only the splashing sound of water, sparking wild imaginings. After waiting a good while, He Yixun finally spoke, but not to answer Xu Pei’s question, “You said your pheromones become unstable when you’re on my side.”

“Yeah,” Xu Pei replied, obediently staring at the bathroom door. “My body acts up from time to time because of that. But since returning here, I’ve returned to normal. You won’t see me inexplicably going into heat around you anymore.”

The specific manifestation was that Xu Pei could still smell the juniper fragrance on He Yixun, but he only found it pleasant. His glands no longer had any strange reactions. 

“But I’m not normal,” said He Yixun.

“Huh?” Xu Pei instinctively turned his head. The moment his gaze met the naked body, it felt like being scalded, and he hurriedly turned his head back again.

“I’ve become irritable, short-tempered, emotionally unstable,” He Yixun analyzed. “Since you were affected when you came to my side, it means I will also be affected coming to your side.”

“So that’s it!” Xu Pei exclaimed in sudden understanding, making a fist with his right hand and striking his left palm. 

No wonder He Yixun was angry with him. It was because the magnetic field change was causing unstable hormone levels, just like his own pheromonal imbalance.

And when he was over there, no matter what state he was in, He Yixun had been very tolerant of him. Conversely, he should also be tolerant of He Yixun to properly fulfill his duties as a host.

“It’s okay, I understand if you’re a bit moody,” Xu Pei stated. “I’ll do my best to help you resolve these emotions.”

“I don’t need to resolve them,” He Yixun turned off the water tap. The sound of water in the bathroom ceased, and their voices became exceptionally clear due to the acoustics. “I need to vent.” 

…Vent?

That word sounded familiar, like they’d discussed it somewhere before.

“You asked if I could do it myself,” He Yixun pulled over a bath towel, wiped the water droplets from his body, then tossed the towel onto the rack. “The answer is no.

“You do it.” 

Having said that, He Yixun walked up to Xu Pei, held his buttocks, and lifted him up. “Where’s the bedroom?”

“Ah?” Xu Pei looked utterly bewildered as he wrapped his arms around He Yixun’s neck, his legs instinctively clamping around He Yixun’s waist. “What do you mean I do it? Don’t you have hands yourself?”

Whether it was because he had just showered or not, He Yixun’s skin was very hot. From Xu Pei’s vantage point looking down, he could see the lines of He Yixun’s shoulders and arms tensing from lifting him.

There must be poor ventilation in the bathroom, otherwise why is it so hot and stuffy? 

“Which time wasn’t it me who helped you solve it?” He Yixun carried Xu Pei out of the bathroom and spotted the bedroom door at a glance.

Xu Pei jolted awake from his daze induced by the attractive sight. “What nonsense are you talking about? It was clearly always me who solved it myself!”

He Yixun stopped walking and looked at Xu Pei. “Say that again.”

The distance between the two was very close; He Yixun’s gaze seemed to see right into the depths of Xu Pei’s eyes. 

Knowing he was in the wrong, Xu Pei avoided eye contact and said, “Okay, one time I solved it myself.”

“Using my police uniform.”

The bachelor apartment only had two rooms in total. One door was open, which was Xu Pei’s study. The other door was closed, just a few steps away from the bathroom.

Xu Pei was still holding the measuring gun. When he was thrown onto the bed, the gun slipped from his hand, the button was triggered, and the screen displayed a prompt asking to approach the gland for measurement. However, Xu Pei didn’t need to measure to know his pheromone concentration had risen. 

Of course, it was still within the safe range.

He Yixun wasn’t wearing any clothes, his key areas completely exposed. Xu Pei turned his face away uncomfortably and protested, “Could you have some decency? This is my house!”

“Decency for what? They’re coming off anyway.” It seemed He Yixun had no concept of shame. He leaned over, pressing down, looking down at Xu Pei from above. “You can start now.”

The single bed, originally more than sufficient for Xu Pei alone, now felt like a narrowly confined barrier, leaving him with nowhere to escape. 

Xu Pei never expected that the pleasure he enjoyed in the other world would have to be paid back like this.

To be fair, he did owe He Yixun. Once on the cruise ship, once in the bathtub—both times, He Yixun had single-handedly made him climax.

As for trying to weasel out of it? Basically impossible. Xu Pei knew his own limits. He was well aware he could never win an argument with his “opposing counsel” on this matter. In the end, he’d just have to resign himself to his fate.

Ah, as the old saying goes, you have to pay back what you owe sooner or later. 

Having mentally prepared himself, Xu Pei reached his hand towards He Yixun, but He Yixun promptly swatted it away.

“No hands.”

Xu Pei looked utterly baffled. “No hands? Then what should I use?”

Suddenly remembering the anatomical diagram on the whiteboard, he immediately said warily, “You’re not coveting my reproductive chamber, are you? I warn you, don’t even think about it!” 

“I won’t go in. Keep it for having children with Zhan Gao.”

What is he even saying…

After coolly tossing out that remark, He Yixun lay down beside Xu Pei. “Use your mouth.”

“What?” Xu Pei sat up abruptly, staring at He Yixun in disbelief. “Don’t push your luck, okay!” 

“Did I, or did I not, lick your gland?” He Yixun asked.

Xu Pei: “…..”

It was like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over Professor Xu’s head.

He had a premonition this logic-obsessed guy was about to unleash his power. 

“The gland is part of your reproductive organs. Within twenty-four hours of meeting you, you tricked me into licking it.”

“Tricked you?” Xu Pei felt utterly wronged. “How did I trick you!”

“It was only after I bit your gland and discovered you climaxed that I realized it was your X organ,” said He Yixun. “Just answer, yes or no.”

Xu Pei: …Dammit. 

“The second time I licked your gland, your fluids filled the entire bathtub,” He Yixun continued in a flat tone. “By that time, I already knew the gland was an organ similar to the prostate. But I still overcame my psychological aversion and licked you until you climaxed.

“You know I have mysophobia.”

Xu Pei gritted his teeth. “You made such a huge sacrifice, didn’t you?”

“Therefore, use your mouth,” said He Yixun. “Otherwise, no more research.” 

He actually went for his Achilles’ heel! Professor Xu was so angry his heart and liver ached.

If Zhan Yuan hadn’t escaped and the lab hadn’t been destroyed, Xu Pei might not have been so desperate to research He Yixun. But he now had zero experimental subjects left. If he didn’t study He Yixun, what would he do? Just stare blankly at data?

Moreover, He Yixun was more valuable for research than any other experimental subject. To waste this opportunity would be truly unbearable for Xu Pei.

Stealing a glance at the dormant lion, Xu Pei knew full well what it was like when it awoke. 

Forget it. For the sake of scientific research, I’ll go all out.

“Let me be clear first, I don’t know how to do this,” Xu Pei stated. “If I bite and hurt you, don’t blame me.”

“You won’t,” said He Yixun.

….. 

…..

Xu Pei was stunned.

“Sorry,” He Yixun said lightly. “Missed.”

A wave of fury surged up in Xu Pei, making him so angry smoke seemed to rise from his head. “Damn you, He Yixun! I’m not finished with you!!!” 

“Go sleep on the damn couch tonight!!!”

Xu Pei’s sofa was small, only a two-seater, definitely insufficient for He Yixun’s height. Originally, he had planned to lay out a mattress next to his bed for He Yixun to sleep on the floor—at least there was enough space to sleep comfortably. But now, he just wanted to throw this bastard out of his house.

“Find me some clothes,” He Yixun said, rolling off the bed. He went to the living room, found the tissue box, and cleaned up the mess below.

“And I’m supposed to find you clothes now?” Xu Pei stormed into the living room, snatched a dozen or so tissues from He Yixun’s hand and wiped the stuff off his face. “You can just go streak naked for all I care!” 

“I don’t mind,” He Yixun said with his usual flat affect. “Do you want to see me like this?”

Xu Pei looked down and felt angry just seeing that thing.

He had worked so hard—literally, orally hard, and for a long time too—only to end up with not a single usable sample left.

Back in the bedroom, he plunged headfirst into the wardrobe, throwing out clothes, finally found a pair of his largest-sized sweatpants, and flung them at He Yixun’s face. “Put these on!” 

He Yixun pulled on Xu Pei’s sweatpants. The legs only reached above his ankles, but the waist was very loose, so wearing them as ankle-length pants was fine.

“Are you going to shower?” He Yixun asked.

“What do you think?!” Xu Pei sounded like he’d swallowed gunpowder, black smoke practically billowing out with his words.

“Give me your clothes. I’ll wash them,” said He Yixun. 

The clothes Xu Pei was wearing were all bought for him by He Yixun, especially that rainproof windbreaker, which originally belonged to He Yixun. Thanks to that jacket, he hadn’t gotten very wet.

He stripped everything off in one go, leaving only his underwear, and hurled all the clothes directly at He Yixun’s face. Only then did the pent-up anger in his heart ease a little.

He Yixun was knocked back a step by the impact, raising his hands to catch the clothes, but two items still fell to the floor. He bent down to pick them up, heard the bathroom door slam shut with a bang, and stood there thoughtfully for a moment.

The puppy seems really angry. 

But isn’t this just reciprocity? The puppy bit first.

His brain’s programming couldn’t quite process this situation. He Yixun didn’t dwell on it further and went to the utility balcony to wash the clothes.

Then he dutifully washed the dishes in the sink, tidied up the clutter in the living room and entryway, and neatly folded the clothes Xu Pei had thrown into a mess while searching for pants for him.

So, when Xu Pei finished his shower and came out, he was momentarily stunned by the sight of his clean and tidy doghouse. Did I hire a cleaner? 

Oh, right, he almost forgot there was a diligent Officer He at home.

After looking around the living room and not seeing He Yixun, Xu Pei went to the bedroom and found that He Yixun had already laid out bedding on the floor beside his bed and was now lying on it.

He’s really making himself at home, completely lacking a guest’s self-awareness.

Ahem. To be fair, Xu Pei had been pretty much the same over there. 

Thinking that kicking him out would mean he’d have to put away the bedding himself, Xu Pei turned off the living room light. He just grumbled, “Who said you could sleep here?” but didn’t actually make He Yixun go sleep on the sofa, and simply climbed into bed himself.

His field of vision was filled by the ceiling, with heavy curtains on one side and a light-colored wardrobe on the other. The comforter smelled fresh, like laundry detergent. The mattress was considerably harder than the sofa at He Yixun’s place.

Everything was utterly familiar. If not for the impossible-to-ignore presence by the bed, Xu Pei might have thought the experience of going to another world was just sleepwalking.

“Are you going to the research institute tomorrow?” He Yixun asked in the darkness. 

Xu Pei was still quite pissed off and snapped, “What do you think? After such a big incident, the institute is definitely holding a meeting.”

A phone screen lit up in the dark.

“What time should we get up? I’ll set the alarm.”

Thinking back, He Yixun always woke up earlier than Xu Pei. Every day when Xu Pei woke up, he could eat a hot breakfast. 

Considering that… He Yixun’s earlier act of revenge… maybe wasn’t completely unforgivable.

“Eight o’clock,” Xu Pei said, wrapped in the comforter. “I start work at nine.”

The sound of a phone locking echoed, and the light vanished. He Yixun said, “Good night.”

Xu Pei moved his lips, still a bit angry, and turned over. “I can’t be bothered with you.”