Chapter 2536: Non-Human: Xiao Chen

The light at the foyer was soft, illuminating Liang Yanzhe's gently rising and falling chest and lips tinged with watercolor.

He leaned against the cold wall, breathing lightly, calming his disrupted breath and heartbeat.

Reason finally returned, and Liang Yanzhe lifted his gaze toward the Living Room.

He saw Jin Chen already sitting comfortably on the sofa in the center of the Living Room.

He was relaxed, long legs crossed, the black coat's hem hanging down, accentuating his straight, slender legs, elbow propped on the sofa armrest, palm supporting his cheek, gazing leisurely toward the foyer.

In his gray, misty eyes, which should have held no warmth, a faint smile reflected.

Even though that smile added a few points of eerie ghostliness to his handsome yet gloomy face, it was undeniable……

It was simply pleasing to the eye to the utmost.

Liang Yanzhe had originally wanted to put on a stern face and confront him.

But upon seeing that face, the prepared cold words inexplicably got stuck in his throat.

It was really hard to feel angry.

Liang Yanzhe, feeling a bit ill at ease, shifted his gaze, walked into the Living Room, and casually draped his removed suit jacket over the back of a single sofa.

"You……When did you become like this?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he recalled that before going out, that mass of mist had still been lounging on the sofa asleep.

Thus, Liang Yanzhe looked at Jin Chen again, gaining the confidence to question.

"Didn't I tell you not to go to the banquet?"

Jin Chen tilted his head, losing a bit of naivety and gaining a touch of the uncanny, chuckled lightly, "If I don't go, you and Zhao Xītang will both get hurt."

Liang Yanzhe's brow twitched slightly as he thought of Zhou Chengjun, who had come running at the critical moment……

So, Zhou Chengjun's timely appearance then had been guided by Jin Chen.

Seeing Liang Yanzhe silent and speechless, Jin Chen patted the empty spot beside him on the sofa.

Liang Yanzhe hesitated a moment, then still walked over and sat down.

The distance between them drew closer.

Jin Chen stared at him, then suddenly asked, "What is our relationship?"

Liang Yanzhe: "……"

He wondered how to answer; if he said they were friends, this guy would make him understand through actions that friends would never do the things they do between them.

But if he went along with Jin Chen's nonsense and acknowledged that kind of relationship……

Liang Yanzhe's ears grew hot, and no matter what he could not bring himself to say it.

He wanted to change the subject, to avoid Jin Chen's gaze fixed on him.

"You still don't fully understand those kinds of human relationships……"

"Then teach me." Jin Chen readily agreed.

He slowly leaned forward, closing the distance; those gray, misty eyes looked even colder and chilling up close.

But when meeting Liang Yanzhe's slightly dodging gaze, the icy coldness in his eyes suddenly faded, revealing a hint of bewilderment.

"Honey," Jin Chen lowered his voice, "I won't."

Jin Chen knew that Liang Yanzhe, except when losing control in the most intimate moments, usually responds to softness, not hardness.

Sure enough, Liang Yanzhe felt uneasy all over under that gaze, his eyes drifting elsewhere, his Adam's apple twitching as he gave a vague reply.

"Then that's fine."

After agreeing, he immediately regretted it.

Liang Yanzhe rose, "I'm going to wash up; you stay here, don't follow me in."

It was his habitual reminder, which he had given countless times to Heiwu.

Hearing that, Jin Chen sat up straight in a leisurely manner.

He lifted the corner of his crimson lips, "Okay."

Under the light, this appearance seemed to have a bewitching charm.

Liang Yanzhe's heart stirred inexplicably; he lightly coughed to hide his loss of composure, quickly walked into the bathroom, and closed the door.

In the bathroom, Liang Yanzhe looked at his reflection in the mirror, lost in thought:

"It's really strange……How could the human form transformed from the black mist be this good‑looking?"

"It even hits right on his aesthetic points."

"【Villain Heartthrob Value +10, total 50!】"

After finishing his bath, Liang Yanzhe came out wearing a robe, and found that Jin Chen was no longer in the Living Room.

He walked toward the bedroom and pushed open the ajar door.

Jin Chen had taken off his coat, somehow obtained a black sleepwear of decent quality, and was leaning against the headboard, looking as if he were waiting for him to sleep.

Liang Yanzhe stared for a moment, "Don't you need to wash up?"

Jin Chen: "？"

He was a bit dissatisfied, shifted to a more relaxed pose, and said matter‑of‑factly, "I'm already clean."

As a person transformed from the abyssal swamp, he is unstained by dust.

Liang Yanzhe, however, insisted on the principle, "Someone who hasn't bathed cannot get into bed."

Jin Chen: "……"

He rose silently, the pressure of his height descending, he looked down at Liang Yanzhe with cold eyes, appearing somewhat fierce.

Liang Yanzhe, however, gradually grew accustomed to this humanoid form, and even felt that beneath that slightly fierce exterior lay the familiar, troublesome monster.

He extended his index finger and lightly poked Jin Chen's icy cheek, "Humans must be clean to get into bed; that's the rule."

Again, it's the rule.

Jin Chen, who had taken human form, also disliked rules.

Jin Chen pondered for a moment, his thick lashes lowering to cover his gray pupils, "... I won't."

Liang Yanzhe: "?"

Ling Gun Gun: 【?】 What nonsense are you talking?

Liang Yanzhe narrowed his eyes wistfully, reminding him, "You forgot the day you first clung to me, didn't you?"

Jin Chen fell silent for a moment, feeling a bit torn.

If you really have to take a bath...

He wanted to bathe together with his wife.

So, his gaze fell again on Liang Yanzhe's loosely draped sleepwear, his eyes shining with clear intent.

Liang Yanzhe's heart skipped a beat.

Today he had survived the banquet's fright, and then been bullied several times in a row by this shapeshifted monster; he truly had no energy left to toss and turn.

Liang Yanzhe's Adam's apple twitched as he moved closer, planting a quick kiss on Jin Chen's icy cheek.

The touch was soft and fleeting.

"You be good," Liang Yanzhe said softly, calmly coaxing him, "Go wash up, clean yourself… then you can sleep holding me."

Jin Chen stared for a few seconds, weighed the pros and cons, and finally, somewhat unwillingly, muttered something before turning and walking into the bathroom.

His silk sleepwear disappeared as he moved.

Liang Yanzhe didn't have time to look away, catching sight of a smooth, well-defined inverted-triangle silhouette—broad shoulders, narrow waist, proportions astonishingly perfect.

Liang Yanzhe's ears inexplicably heated; he quickly looked away, hurried to the bedside, sat down, picked up the laptop on the nightstand, intending to handle some emails.

But he found he couldn't absorb a single word on the screen; his mind was filled with the impending sound of water from the bathroom, and the fleeting glimpse he'd just caught…

He somewhat irritably closed the laptop, then picked up a business book, forcing himself to focus.

Not long after, the water sound in the bathroom stopped.

After a while, the door opened and Jin Chen walked out.

He wore only a towel; his cold-white skin was flushed with a faint pink from the hot water, his black hair damp and hanging over his forehead, lessening his gloom a bit.

Jin Chen glanced at Liang Yanzhe a few times, then naturally walked to the other side of the bed, lifted the covers, and lay down.

And habitually he reached out, about to slip his hand under Liang Yanzhe's sleepwear.

Liang Yanzhe reacted extremely fast, smacking his hand away with a slap.

Jin Chen:???

Jin Chen was truly aggrieved this time; he jerked his head up to look at Liang Yanzhe, his gray eyes filled with a gloomy cold light, yet it was overwhelmed by disbelief and hurt, making him appear…

pitiful.

As if Liang Yanzhe had done something utterly unforgivable.

"Liang Yanzhe!" he called, using his full name, voice low and cold, accusing, "You won't let me hold you, won't let me get into bed, and now you won't even let me touch you."

Liang Yanzhe was choked by his twisted logic, trying to reason, "But you…"

"It's not the same as before."

"Am I not good-looking?" Jin Chen stared at him, insisting.

Liang Yanzhe truly couldn't bring himself to say it wasn't good-looking.

He could only avoid Jin Chen's pitiful yet obstinate gaze, steeling himself to say, "No means no; you're currently in human form."

Jin Chen couldn't care less about these human definitions and rules.

He only knew this was his wife, and he wanted to touch her.

"I can." He said firmly, forcing his hand into Liang Yanzhe's sleepwear and pressing it against him.

The familiar delicate touch and warmth from his palm came through, and Jin Chen finally felt somewhat satisfied.

He then leaned his head into Liang Yanzhe's neck crook, finding a position.

This position was actually a bit awkward for Jin Chen, but he stubbornly stayed still.

Liang Yanzhe pulled open his collar and glanced; his waist side faintly felt a bit weak.

He sighed, lay down in compromise, and patted Jin Chen's back, saying, "All right, you can touch."

"Don't lean on me like that; it's tiring."

Jin Chen reluctantly adjusted his position, moved in, and sucked on Liang Yanzhe's slightly swollen lips, his hand still moving.

Liang Yanzhe was physically and mentally exhausted; after a few struggles he gave up, actually feeling rather safe, so he leaned into Jin Chen's embrace, closed his eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.