60: uniform

Hearing this, Yan Zhuohua lifted his head from where he had been nuzzling against Yan Qinghe's chest and gazed at him silently.

Yan Qinghe chuckled and reached out to pinch Yan Zhuohua's cheek. "It's my mistake. Regardless of whether our Zhuohua is in a good mood or acting spoiled, I must coax him properly."

Yan Zhuohua buried his head back in, whimpering and nuzzling for a long while before finally muttering, "Stop making fun of me!"

"Alright, then can you tell me what's making you unhappy?"

Yan Zhuohua quieted down and stopped moving. Yan Qinghe wasn't in a hurry either; he just held him like that, occasionally flicking the tips of Yan Zhuohua's hair.

After a while, Yan Zhuohua calmly recounted his meeting with Qiao Rongjing and the others earlier today.

"So, can Rongjing and I still be brothers?"

Yan Qinghe thought for a moment and said, "Actually, you didn't need to go that far for me. Things haven't reached an irredeemable point after all..."

"No!" Yan Zhuohua looked up. "I have my bottom line. If you say that again, I'm going to get angry."

Yan Qinghe chuckled. "Alright, I won't say it anymore."

He thought it over carefully again and said seriously, "I don't think it's impossible for you two to reconcile. Although Qiao Rongjing and Zhao Zixing are relatives, they don't share the same surname after all. You might have temporary differences, but as time passes, things might get better. As long as you act according to reason, you won't be in the wrong."

Hearing this, Yan Zhuohua finally nodded.

"Feeling a bit happier? Let's go eat. If the food gets cold, it'll be bad for your health." Yan Qinghe dug the person out of his arms and coaxed him over to the sofa for lunch.

While they ate, Yan Qinghe would occasionally look up and gaze tenderly at the person across from him who was buried in his food. Yan Zhuohua had been more proactive in their interactions lately. Did this mean victory was close at hand?

A busy week passed, and this weekend finally had no other matters to interrupt them.

On Friday night, Yan Qinghe once again pulled Yan Zhuohua back home early.

It had been a long time since they'd had a pleasant and stimulating Friday night. With nothing to do this weekend, he had been looking forward to it all day.

In the car, Yan Qinghe drove seriously, but the excitement and joy in his eyes were impossible to hide, causing Yan Zhuohua in the passenger seat to stare at him for a long time. Taking advantage of a red light, Yan Qinghe even turned his head with great interest to lock eyes with Yan Zhuohua, who had been watching him.

Yan Zhuohua instantly retracted his gaze. It wasn't hard to guess what this man was thinking—it was nothing more than the usual Friday night activities. It was just that he was unusually excited today.

Could it be that people get like this when they're starving? The problem was, although he hadn't let Yan Qinghe fully indulge lately for various reasons, he hadn't deprived Yan Qinghe of the 'main courses' or 'sweets' he deserved. Was he really that expectant?

Yan Zhuohua was truly puzzled. He couldn't help but glance at Yan Qinghe again. No, he had to ask clearly, or else by the looks of it, he'd lose his life tonight.

"Why are you so excited?" Yan Zhuohua asked suspiciously.

Yan Qinghe didn't hide it and answered straightforwardly, "The reward you promised me last time—I've made my choice."

"..."

Damn it, how could he have forgotten that!

Yan Zhuohua sat up straight and tried to ask, "Then... what reward did you choose?"

Yan Qinghe gave him a meaningful look before shifting his gaze back to the road.

"You'll find out when the time comes." These words were more terrifying than any other possible answer.

Heaven wants me dead! Yan Zhuohua suddenly became very nervous. He couldn't stop thinking about whether he should find an excuse to go back to the main residence right now. Dragging it out for even one day was better than nothing.

Without even turning his head, Yan Qinghe seemed to read his mind and guessed his thoughts, letting out a soft laugh.

"Don't struggle, just accept your fate."

Perhaps to save time, Yan Qinghe had directly ordered delivery from Restaurant Name. Just as they entered the house, dinner arrived right behind them.

Yan Zhuohua grew even more afraid; he ate the meal without even tasting it.

Right after eating, Yan Qinghe shooed him off to take a shower while he stayed behind to clean up the mess.

Unwilling to face tonight's 'game,' Yan Zhuohua dawdled in the bathroom for a long time. Outside, Yan Qinghe was unwilling to wait any longer and pushed the door open to barge in.

"What are you doing! I haven't put my clothes on yet, get out!" Yan Zhuohua grabbed the pajamas next to him and was about to pull them on.

Yan Qinghe snatched the pajamas from his hand.

"Don't wear these. I prepared new clothes for you." Yan Qinghe's smile was very clean.

They definitely won't be proper clothes! Yan Zhuohua cursed in his heart but didn't dare say it out loud, fearing this rogue in front of him would fabricate some other crime to punish him with.

Yan Qinghe pulled a bag from behind him and stuffed it into Yan Zhuohua's hands.

"Change quickly, I'll wait for you outside." With that, he turned and left, not forgetting to take away the pajamas Yan Zhuohua originally intended to wear.

Yan Zhuohua sighed. The bag in his hand had some weight; it didn't look like something that was the same as wearing nothing. He pulled out a translucent, frosted vacuum-sealed bag that faintly revealed a hint of army green.

Yan Zhuohua suddenly had an ominous premonition. With trembling hands, he opened the bag, and inside was a brand-new training uniform. The style was extremely similar to the one he had worn at the Military Camp a few days ago—it was likely the exact same model.

He'd rather have a couple of scraps of cloth! If he wore this out tonight, he feared he wouldn't be able to look at a training uniform ever again during future drills. In his heart, Yan Zhuohua cursed Yan Qinghe for being a pervert.

He stood in the bathroom with the bag for a long time. Outside, Yan Qinghe, who had been expectant all day, didn't seem in a hurry at all now and didn't come in to rush him.

A few more minutes passed, and Yan Zhuohua finally compromised. If he had to wear it, he'd wear it. At worst, he'd just switch to a different style for training later.

Outside, Yan Qinghe—who was pretending not to be in a hurry but was actually very impatient—finally saw Yan Zhuohua come out dressed in the training uniform. He looked exactly as he had on the training grounds a few days ago: slender waist, long legs, crisp and sharp.

He watched as the person before him slowly approached; it was as if the Yan Zhuohua of that day and the Yan Zhuohua of now had completely overlapped.

Yan Qinghe reached out to grab Yan Zhuohua's waist and pressed him directly onto the bed behind them.

This night was perhaps the one Yan Qinghe found most heart-stirring and exciting, as evidenced by the mottled marks all over Yan Zhuohua's body.

It wasn't until the next afternoon that Yan Zhuohua slowly woke up.

Last night's outfit had been torn open with several large gashes and was tossed in the laundry basket nearby. He didn't know where Yan Qinghe got the strength to rip through fabric of that material.

Enduring the soreness, Yan Zhuohua lifted his arm to reach for his phone nearby to check the time, only to see the wide restraint marks on his wrist at first glance.

The outfit Yan Qinghe prepared yesterday was a full set; besides the underwear, nothing like the belt was missing. Yesterday, he had used the belt from these clothes to bind the hands of the struggling Yan Zhuohua, forcing the man to shed many tears and say many sweet words, but he had simply turned a deaf ear.

Seeing the marks on his hands made Yan Zhuohua involuntarily recall the details of last night. When he was finally driven into a corner with no way out, he had even been forced under Yan Qinghe's 'tyranny' to call him 'husband' several times.

Thinking about it made him want to kill the culprit.