Chapter 73: Responsibility
"Feeling better?" An Zhiyan asked, playing with Su Jinli's hair.
"My legs were cramping because it was so cold just now! But I'm much better now." Su Jinli continued to sip his milk tea with relish. The moment he had milk tea, all his troubles would seem to disappear.
After drying Su Jinli's hair, An Zhiyan picked up his leg and asked, "Which leg was cramping? Let me massage it for you."
"The right one," Su Jinli responded, confidently placing his leg on An Zhiyan's lap. By now, he was no longer scared of him and their interaction was natural.
An Zhiyan helped Su Jinli massage his leg, relieving the cramp.
Seeing that An Zhiyan hasn't dried his hair yet, Su Jinli picked up the dryer. "Let me dry your hair for you."
"Sure," An Zhiyan obediently lowered his head.
Su Jinli pointed the dryer at An Zhiyan's head, mimicking his actions as he moved the dryer back and forth.
"Don't keep the dryer in one place, you'll burn me," An Zhiyan complained.
"Oh...," Su Jinli quickly turned off the dryer. He blew cool air onto the spot she'd just heated up, then rubbed it. "Does it feel better now?"
An Zhiyan looked up into Su Jinli's sincere eyes. As their gazes met, there was a sincere connection.
He was steadily watching Su Jinli, eyes unblinking, and then he began to smile.
Su Jinli, if he hadn't recently descended from the demon mountain, with only limited human interaction, was likely not expected to be single, right? His natural charm, felt like a soft feather scratching against An Zhiyan's heart, causing an itching discomfort, but it was unexpectedly soft.
It was truly irresistible.
How could he possibly not enjoy it?
"Everything's fine," An Zhiyan replied.
"Then I will continue," Su Jinli picked up the hairdryer once again intending to blow dry An Zhiyan's hair.
This time around, he didn't concentrate the heat on one spot, impressing An Zhiyan with his improved approach.
An Zhiyan's hair wasn't particularly long, so it didn't take long for it to dry. As Su Jinli put down the hairdryer, An Zhiyan pulled him towards him with a blanket, drawing him so close that he nearly rested in his arms.
"Shouldn't we settle our account?" An Zhiyan asked.
"Huh?" A bewildered Su Jinli looked at An Zhiyan, in confusion.
"You told me this morning, we could no longer be together. But then, just moments ago, you kissed me— for roughly five minutes. What exactly is going on? Hmm?" An Zhiyan asked dominantly, leaving Su Jinli stunned.
"I... I'm sorry... "
"It's no use, the first time when I said something that upset you, you pounced and drained my essence. I could pretend nothing happened. The second time, it was my mistake in speech that led to a misunderstanding; I didn't expect you to suddenly kiss me, but I could overlook that too. But this time? Shouldn't you take responsibility?"
Su Jinli stared blankly at An Zhiyan, at a loss for words.
"In the heat of the moment, I didn't say anything, but we can't just act as if nothing happened, right?" An Zhiyan pressed on, stepping closer, causing Su Jinli to panic.
"No, no, this won't do! If my brother finds out, he'll ignore me!"
"So you're just going to frivolously kiss me and then pretend it never happened?"
Su Jinli shook his head, then raised his hand to ruffle An Zhiyan's hair, saying, "I offer you another blessing."
"I don't want your blessings!" An Zhiyan immediately refused, as if Su Jinli had placed a green hat on his head.
"You're particularly wasteful with blessings. What if I promise to compensate you with ten more later? How does that sound?”
"Not good enough! I want the whole fish!"
"Let's talk this over some more?"
"There's nothing to discuss."
Su Jinli's expression was filled with distress. He struggled to push An Zhiyan away and said, "Let's talk this out calmly. I admit that I was using you today; I was in the wrong. So, I will surely compensate you as much as possible."
"I want a fish."
"I... how many should I catch for you?"
"I just have my sights set on this one."
"But we don't share mutual feelings."
"Trash fish." An Zhiyan immediately cursed and then released Su Jinli, standing up to tidy his belongings in an exaggerated manner.
As expected, Su Jinli nervously stood up and followed him, trying to appease An Zhiyan, "Don't be like this. Can we come up with a win-win solution?"
"Tell me how you can make me feel satisfied?"
"I'll give you some fish scales. You can make them into a protective amulet, which could save your life in critical moments."
Su Jinli's scales couldn't regenerate. If he really were to remove one, there would be a spot that remained unchanged, affecting his appearance and causing pain.
If all the scales were removed, he would probably become a useless fish, utterly disgusting, without any magical power, and unable to bestow blessings ever again.
Su Jinli's willingness to make such a promise was the greatest commitment he could think of.
Most people, upon hearing this promise, would probably be moved.
But An Zhiyan was different. He was just being unreasonable. Otherwise, he would have no hope left.
"No, it will remind me of you when I see the scales," An Zhiyan declined once again.
After An Zhiyan finished packing, Su Jinli, unsure of how to rectify the situation, followed him closely, draped in a blanket and anxious.
An Zhiyan removed a hoodie from his suitcase and put it on Su Jinli.
Su Jinli obediently lifted his arms, letting An Zhiyan easily dress him, like when Shen Cheng used to help him dress when he was young.
Next, An Zhiyan found a pair of sweatpants and handed them to Su Jinli, "Put these on yourself."
Su Jinli put them on immediately. After getting dressed, he rolled up his pant legs and murmured, "Your clothes are a little big on me."
"Am I one size bigger than you?"
"Maybe two. Look how loose this shirt is." Su Jinli showed An Zhiyan the oversized hoodie.
"Well, this type of clothing is meant to be baggy. Even I would find it large."
"Oh..."
An Zhiyan brought over some shoes, and as expected, they were noticeably large for Su Jinli.
An Zhiyan could only give Su Jinli a pair of flip-flops, "Wear these."
Su Jinli put them on immediately.
An Zhiyan stared at Su Jinli's feet for a while, unable to help but remark, "Your feet are so white?"
"Because they're never exposed."
"Do you have athlete's foot?" It didn't seem like it.
"'Athlete's Foot One-Time Cure' claims to eliminate fish odor, but I don't think it works very well. Despite its name, I've used it several times and it hasn't fully worked."
"Does Shen Cheng always carry this around?"
"My brother is very powerful, he doesn't need it."
An Zhiyan nodded, indicating that he understood.
After he finished tidying up, he picked up another cup of milk tea and asked Su Jinli, "Do you want more?"
"Aren't you drinking?"
"I usually drink coffee."
"Drink up," An Zhiyan handed the milk tea to Su Jinli, who immediately started drinking through the straw.
"Let's go, back to the hotel. Staying in this damned place is uncomfortable." Having said this, An Zhiyan picked up his belongings and headed out.
Su Jinli carried his milk tea and followed behind An Zhiyan.
After they left, someone entered An Zhiyan's dressing room to collect his things. These would be directly delivered to the hotel.
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The two walked shoulder to shoulder, got into An Zhiyan's car, and drove off.
As the car passed by the gates, they saw fans still standing in the rain, waiting for them to leave.
An Zhiyan instructed Su Jinli to sit in a corner. He opened the window, waved at his fans for a while before signaling the driver to drive away.
"Being a fan is so hard..." Su Jinli, having finished his milk tea, couldn't help but exclaim.
"Before you empathize with others, think about your own issues," An Zhiyan responded and took out his phone to check his messages, coordinating the schedule of the next few days with Jiang Pingqiu.
"Oh..." Su Jinli responded softly.
Upon their return to the hotel, they were escorted by a group of people. Only after safely arriving at An Zhiyan's presidential suite did the group disperse.
"Get some rest early. I'm heading back to my room now," Su Jinli said while standing at the door.
"The issue isn't solved yet, don't think you can just brush it off," An Zhiyan led Su Jinli into the living room and asked him to sit down. "Think about it peacefully. We have all night."
Feeling desperate, Su Jinli flopped onto the sofa. "Life is so hard... Being a human is so difficult..."
Seeing Su Jinli in such despair, An Zhiyan couldn't help but want to laugh. The most pivotal point in his struggle with Shen Cheng was Su Jinli. Seeing Su Jinli's current state made An Zhiyan hesitate, fearing that pushing him too much would burden him.
Just as he was about to soften his tone, he saw Su Jinli, who was lying on the sofa, turn into a fish as a way to evade reality.
Staring at this big fish, An Zhiyan was both annoyed and amused.
"Do you need me to put you in water being like this?" asked An Zhiyan.
Su Jinli bobbed his fish head, the entire fish swayed as he nodded.
An Zhiyan entered the bathroom and began filling the tub with warm water, careful not to make it too cool for Su Jinli.
After testing the water temperature and finding it suitable, he went to fetch Su Jinli. He gently lifted him out of his clothes and carried him to the bathroom, placing him in the bath.
The bathtub was circular and large, ample enough for three people to bathe in at once, allowing Su Jinli to swim around quite merrily inside.
An Zhiyan, standing by, watched Su Jinli swimming in the bathtub, somewhat helpless. He then exited the room to ask Jiang Pingqiu on WeChat: "How can I warm him up?"
Jiang Pingqiu quickly delivered slices of fresh ginger.
An Zhiyan took the ginger back to the bathroom and tossed them into the bathtub.
Su Jinli, still in his fish form, was terrified. Is this irresponsible man trying to cook him?
Now on the verge of tears, Su Jinli swam around in panic in the tub. He's going to kill a fish!
Despite his fears, An Zhiyan left again after tossing the ginger. Su Jinli, thinking An Zhiyan was going to fetch a pot, crawled out of the tub and dried himself off with a towel.
Before he could put on his bathrobe, An Zhiyan returned, now wearing swim shorts.
Su Jinli hurriedly pleaded in a pitiful tone, "We can discuss the matter of our relationship, but please don't eat me..."
An Zhiyan gave Su Jinli an appreciative once over, exclaiming, "When you transform into a human, you certainly don't lack the necessary parts."
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Author's Notes:
Su Jinli: Of course, I have everything. I'm a boy!
An Zhiyan: Then why is your egg color so light?
Su Jinli: QAQ!!!!!
Already very lucky that Xiao Jiji's color is not golden!
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