Skin - Chapter 88

Chapter 88 – “You Are Not Allowed To Die Before Me.”

　　Meng Zhao had been to Lu Shichen’s house before, but had never stayed overnight here. Meng Zhao pondered over what Lu Shichen had just said before he got out of the car. Did Lu Shichen mean that the two of them were going to… live together?

　　Meng Zhao looked back at his relationship with Lu Shichen and felt that every step he took was very strange.

　　Before he figured out whether he was really gay, he and Lu Shichen relieved each other’s desires;

　　Before he figured out whether he and Lu Shichen were in love, they slept in the same bed;

　　Now he and Lu Shichen haven’t had any actual relationship yet, but they are just… living together?

　　What’s even more strange is that Lu Shichen’s unconventional pace didn’t make him feel uncomfortable at all.

　　At first glance, it seemed natural for him and Lu Shichen to get to this point, but after thinking about it carefully, Meng Zhao would have a question – how did he and Lu Shichen get to this point?

　　Forget it. Meng Zhao gave up studying this strange rhythm of development. Now that it had come to this point, it didn’t matter whether he could figure it out or not.

　　”This is the bedroom.” Lu Shichen held Meng Zhao’s wrist and pulled him into the bedroom.

　　‘That tone!’ Meng Zhao suddenly realized that Lu Shichen always seemed to speak like this, sounding calm and natural on the surface, but actually conveying a deep message calmly and unquestionably. For example, when he said “This is the bedroom”, Lu Shichen implied that they would sleep there tonight, completely ruling out the option of Meng Zhao sleeping in one of the other two guest rooms.

　　“I can help you with that.”

　　“I thought it was a matter of reciprocity.”

　　“I want to sleep with you.”

　　“Yuhu Bay is closer to the Municipal Bureau, so it will be convenient for you to go to work.”

　　Meng Zhao’s mind suddenly popped up a series of words that Lu Shichen had said, and he thought to himself, ‘is this some kind of unique language system specifically used to develop relationships?!’

　　”What’s wrong?” Seeing Meng Zhao pause and seem to be lost in thought, Lu Shichen asked.

　　”It’s okay…” Meng Zhao returned to his senses and looked at the guest room next to him. “I remember that girl named Qiao Yu, which room did she stay in at that time?”

　　”Um.”

　　Meng Zhao asked tentatively: “You didn’t let her live in this room?”

　　Lu Shichen glanced at him and said, “This is my bedroom, why should I let her live here?”

　　Meng Zhao: “…” These words sounded strangely pleasant.

　　Meng Zhao walked into the bedroom, paced to the window, and looked at the municipal bureau building standing in the night not far away.

　　He thought of the sight that had been following him for half a year. The source of that sight… should be Lu Shichen, right? Thinking of this, Meng Zhao turned around and asked, “Was it you…”

　　Before he finished speaking, he turned around and saw Lu Shichen’s actions, and his breathing stagnated.

　　Lu Shichen was a man who did everything slowly and methodically. At this moment, his slender fingers slowly unbuttoned his clothes, revealing the muscles of his chest and abdomen. His skin was cold and pale, but his body with clear muscles did not look thin. The tight muscles on his lower abdomen looked indescribably abstinent.

　　Although they had done almost everything they should have done and even slept together for a few nights, Meng Zhao was suddenly surprised that this was the first time Lu Shichen changed clothes in front of him.

　　”What about me?” Lu Shichen looked at Meng Zhao, waiting for his next question.

　　After being interrupted, Meng Zhao forgot what he wanted to ask for a moment, and came back to his senses and asked, “What are you doing?”

　　”Changing clothes,” Lu Shichen said, “Can’t you tell?”

　　Meng Zhao was choked, it was obvious that he had just asked a question he already knew the answer to.

　　”I want to take a shower.” Lu Shichen explained. Then he took off his shirt and changed into a black silk pajamas.

　　Watching Lu Shichen bending down to change into his suit trousers, Meng Zhao swallowed his slightly dry throat and said, “You change first. I’ll go to the living room to play with Lu Xiaodao for a while.” After saying that, he walked out of the bedroom.

　　”Yeah.” Lu Shichen said.

　　After Lu Shichen changed his clothes, he walked into the living room and told Meng Zhao, who was playing with the dog, “The bathroom opposite the master bedroom can also be used.”

　　”You wash first.” Meng Zhao threw the toy ball in his hand far away, and Lu Xiaodao immediately ran to chase it.

　　The bathroom door closed, Meng Zhao leaned back on the sofa, raised his hand to loosen the collar of his shirt, and felt his throat a little tight.

　　After spending these days together, he and Lu Shichen had become quite familiar with each other, but the more familiar they are, the more he feels that he has crossed a taboo line when they see each other’s bodies.

　　Lu Xiaodao ran back happily with the ball in his mouth, asking for praise. Meng Zhao lowered his hand and touched his head. After a moment, he sat up straight, then leaned over, looked at Lu Xiaodao and asked, “How many people has he brought back?”

　　Lu Xiaodao didn’t understand what was going on and looked at him with a pair of innocent eyes.

　　”Which one am I?” Meng Zhao continued to ask.

　　Lu Xiaodao still looked at him affectionately and ignorantly.

　　”Is this person a real scumbag or a fake scumbag?”

　　”How many days did Qiao Yu live here?”

　　”Did he just seduce me?”

　　After a series of questions, the ball in Lu Xiaodao’s mouth fell out and he woofed at him.

　　”Stupid dog.” Meng Zhao came to a conclusion, stroked Lu Xiaodao’s head a few times, and then walked to another bathroom to take a shower.

　　Meng Zhao took a shower and walked out of the bathroom.

　　Opposite the master bedroom, the door was open. Lu Shichen was sitting on the bed flipping through a thick book. Tired from playing, Lu Xiaodao lay at his feet, drowsy. Lu Shichen’s hair was not yet dry, and a few strands fell on his forehead, slightly covering his eyebrows. The ceiling light in the bedroom was turned off, leaving only a table lamp. Perhaps it was the warm yellow light that made Lu Shichen, who had never been very popular, look inexplicably gentle at this moment.

　　Meng Zhao walked over and sat in the empty seat. He took his phone and checked the unread messages, then lay down: “Go to bed early.”

　　Lu Shichen was still flipping through the book in his hand. The book was very thick. The words on the cover that appeared between Lu Shichen’s fingers seemed to be a large volume related to psychology. ‘What a cultured person…’ Meng Zhao thought to himself. As soon as he saw the thickness of the book, he began to feel sleepy.

　　Meng Zhao closed his eyes. Lu Shichen flipped through two pages of the book and said casually, “When Director Li of Yancheng asked us to participate in the rescue operation, were you sure that there was no problem between him and Director Xu?”

　　When he mentioned this, Meng Zhao slowly opened his eyes: “I wasn’t sure. I actually suspected that there might be collusion between him and Wu Jiayi. After all, Yancheng is a special place. But in that situation, except for trusting the Yancheng Public Security Bureau, we had no other way to rescue Lin Mai and his son. As for Director Xu…”

　　Meng Zhao paused for a long time before saying, “I actually have always had complicated feelings towards him. When I was a kid, I had no one to take care of me, so I went to the Municipal Bureau with my mother a few times and met Director Xu a few times. At that time, he always had a cold face, which made people feel scared. But it can be seen that he has a pretty good relationship with my mother.

　　”Once my mother took on a very urgent case and left me in the police station. At noon, Director Xu saw that I was alone and took me to the cafeteria to eat. During the meal, he still had a cold face, which scared me. I ate my meal in small bites, and he asked me out of the blue, ‘what do you want to do when you grow up?’ I didn’t have any goals at that time, so I replied saying that I didn’t know. He frowned and told me not to become a policeman. According to him, if I was like my mother, I might end up starving to death one day. This was the only time I talked with Director Xu when I was a child. I just felt that he was very cold and fierce, and it was difficult to approach him.”

　　”Later, my mother passed away. When I arrived that day, many police officers I didn’t know were waiting for the results in the corridor of the hospital. When they saw me coming, they came forward one by one to comfort me, but at that time, my mind was blank. The operation lasted for eight hours, and the number of people waiting in the corridor became fewer and fewer. It was not until midnight that the doctor came out of the emergency room, shook his head at me, and apologised. I cried so hard that I didn’t know how long I cried. At that time, I saw a person standing up from a seat in the corner and walking towards me.

　　”He walked over to me, squatted down, reached out his hand to wipe my tears, and said to me, ‘Don’t cry, your mother has been holding on for you for eight hours. From now on, you have to live bravely for her.’ This happened nearly 20 years ago, but I still remember that cold face and the two clear tear marks on it. Over the years, many times, I relied on his words to get through it.”

　　”Later, I was admitted to the Public Security University and chose to join the public security system when I graduated. In fact, I didn’t apply for Mingtan Public Security at that time, but later I was transferred here inexplicably. Now that I think about it, it should be after my mother and my uncle got into trouble, Director Xu made internal operations in order to protect me.”

　　After Meng Zhao finished speaking, he fell into memories of Director Xu over the years.

　　After a while, Lu Shichen said, “Then you should trust him very much.”

　　”Of course, nine parts trust and one part suspicion. Director Xu is a very cunning person. When I usually interact with him, I often have no idea what he is thinking. Moreover,” Meng Zhao paused and said, “It is undeniable that people change. Sometimes the more I can’t see through him, the more I wonder, what should I do if Director Xu changes? The more I dare not think about it, the stronger this thought sometimes becomes.”

　　Lu Shichen said nothing more and fell silent.

　　Maybe Lu Shichen still couldn’t fully understand feelings, Meng Zhao thought. After a moment of silence, he spoke again: “By the way, what do you think about the car accident that your family encountered that year?”

　　”I don’t remember anything about the car accident,” Lu Shichen said calmly, “Asking me this question is really useless. I really can’t give you any advice. I can only say that the timing of the accident is indeed very suspicious.”

　　”That’s right,” Meng Zhao asked after a moment of silence, “Will your dad accompany you to the hospital for a follow-up checkup tomorrow?”

　　”Um.”

　　”It’s time to have a thorough checkup. It seems your father has listened to what Professor Zhou said.” After thinking for a while, Meng Zhao looked at Lu Shichen, “In fact, sometimes I also find it a little strange. After the car accident, you and your father depended on each other. Logically, the relationship between father and son should be very deep, but why do you and your father seem to be more distant than ordinary fathers and sons when you get along with each other?”

　　Lu Shichen raised his eyes from the page, stared at a certain place in silence for a few seconds before saying, “Maybe it’s because I don’t have emotions like ordinary people, and I don’t have any concept of family affection. After waking up from the car accident, he was no different from a stranger to me. It’s hard to have any father-son affection with someone like me.”

　　Lu Shichen said these words in such a calm tone that Meng Zhao felt a little uncomfortable. After a moment, he said, “I will definitely catch Wu Jiayi and make him confess all the truth. If the car accident was really caused by him, I will make him get the retribution he deserves.”

　　Lu Shichen didn’t respond at first, and after a while he said, “The road ahead may become more and more difficult.”

　　”We have overcome all the difficulties so far,” Meng Zhao smiled, “Besides, aren’t we working together now?”

　　Lu Shichen closed the book in his hand and put it on the bedside table, but he did not lie down immediately. Instead, he leaned over and asked, “How is the wound?”

　　”It’s almost healed,” said Meng Zhao.

　　Lu Shichen reached out and pushed up the sleeve of Meng Zhao’s T-shirt. When it reached his shoulder, the sleeve got stuck and could not be pushed up any further, so only a small part of the wound could be seen. So Lu Shichen reached to the bottom of Meng Zhao’s T-shirt and pushed the shirt up from the top, revealing Meng Zhao’s flat and tight belly.

　　”Hey, what are you doing?” Meng Zhao supported himself on the bed with one hand and sat up.

　　”Let me see how the wound is.” Lu Shichen looked at him, seemingly unaware that there was anything wrong with his actions.

　　”You can just take someone’s clothes off just because they see the wound?” Meng Zhao pulled off the clothes that were pushed to his waist. Seeing that Lu Shichen was staring at him and didn’t seem to change his mind, he admitted defeat after a moment and said, “Forget it, let’s take a look.” Then he pulled the collar of his T-shirt, tore the tshirt off his head and threw it aside. He turned his injured shoulder towards Lu Shichen and said uncomfortably, “Take a look.”

　　Before returning to Mingtan, Lu Shichen accompanied him to remove the stitches. At this moment, the wound had healed and a scab had formed. Lu Shichen touched the wound on Meng Zhao’s shoulder with his hand: “Does it hurt?”

　　”It’s been so many days,” Meng Zhao also turned his head to look at the scab, “it doesn’t hurt anymore.”

　　Lu Shichen stared at the wound for a while and asked in a deep voice: “When Lin Mai raised the gun, did you want to help me block the bullet?” As he spoke, his gaze moved from the wound to Meng Zhao’s face.

　　This look was deep and weighty. Meng Zhao looked at the wound on his shoulder and said, “Didn’t you want to help me block it at that time?”

　　”I blocked it for you because I knew that if you died, life would be very boring for me,” Lu Shichen’s eyes seemed to have that inquiring look again, “Then why did you want to help me block that shot?”

　　Yes, for what reason?

Meng Zhao hadn’t thought about this question carefully. At that moment, he just wanted to give up everything so that Lu Shichen could survive.

　　Without waiting for Meng Zhao’s answer, Lu Shichen looked at him: “Meng Zhao.”

　　”Hmm?” Meng Zhao’s gaze moved up and looked at Lu Shichen.

　　Lu Shichen said seriously: “You are not allowed to die before me.” His tone was flat, but for no reason it revealed an unquestionable command.

　　The tone didn’t sound like a joke, so Meng Zhao simply became serious: “Everyone has their own destiny. Who dies first and who dies later is not up to you and me. Even if I die before you, you have to live well. After your memory and emotions are restored, life will not be boring…”

　　Before he could finish his words, Lu Shichen suddenly reached out a hand and gently pinched his jaw.

　　Meng Zhao frowned and was about to raise his hand to take his hand away, but Lu Shichen moved closer and kissed him.

T/N:
This chapter has a sm*t continuation. Since the website does not allow it, I will not be posting it here. N since my KoFi n PayPal accounts, both have been suspended, I cannot post it until next month.

However, anybody who wants to read the smut part or even advanced chapters, please do drop me a dm at ruel2478 on discord.