Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 254: The Roots of Love

Morning, kitchen.

Tang Yibu swayed to the music while beating vanilla into the egg mixture in the mixing bowl. This was a recipe he had just found online, and it was said to make very delicious cookies.

The music was upbeat and exciting, and Tang Yibu followed to the beat as he mixed the cookie batter.

Ruan Xian stood on the other side of the kitchen, quietly cooking wontons. They made them together last night, mixing the meat filling themselves. Rang Yibu could eat dozens of them in a single meal.

The iron bead ran around the two of them, waiting with its mouth open for nay kitchen utensils that might fall. With such an enthusiastic mechanical life around, if the two dropped a spatula or a spoon, there was a 200% chance they wouldn’t be able to retrieve it.

“Almond powder~ white powdered sugar~ low-gluten flour~”

Tang Yibu spun around, humming a little tune. “Vanilla pod~ light butter~ fresh eggs~”

Bang—!

Suddenly, with a clattering sound, the stainless steel bowl and mixer filled with batter fell to the ground. The iron bead pounced on it like a lunatic, pressing the stainless steel bowl against its face while it frantically ate it, splattering the batter all over itself.

“Huh?” Tang Yibu looked at his hands.

“What’s wrong?” Ruan Xian asked.

“My hand slipped.” Tang Yibu rubbed the batter on his hand. “What bad luck! The cookies are… Mr. Ruan?”

Ruan Xian immediately turned off the stove and rushed over. He grabbed Tang Yibu’s hand. “Why did your hand slip?”

He had just lost his cookies, and now he was going to lose his wontons too!

Tang Yibu blinked. “My hand just slipped. Maybe it got wet. Mr. Ruan, the wontons need to be soaked.”

“No, your hand doesn’t ‘just slip’.”

Ruan Xian ignored the pot of wontons. He gently massaged Tang Yibu’s hands, from the wrist to the fingers, then to the joints and the fingertips, without leaving out a single piece of skin.

“I have specially modified your nervous system to ensure that you’ll never make any mistakes in battle… Remember, even if you don’t feel pain, you can’t take it lightly.”

Tang Yibu felt quite comfortable being massaged and gave a soft hum.

…It wasn’t until he was dragged into the laboratory by Ruan Xian that he realized something was wrong.

“Mr. Ruan, we haven’t had breakfast yet,” he said pitifully.

“That’s perfect. This way the blood test data will be more accurate,” Ruan Xian said mercilessly. “Just finish the test obediently and then you can eat whatever you want. I’ll make you a hundred dishes.”

“Mr. Ruan, you haven’t had breakfast yet either,” Tang Yibu repeated stubbornly.

Ruan Xian: “It doesn’t matter if my intestines and stomach are gone. Lie die and don’t move.”

Tang Yibu became obedient.

After a series of tests, including blood samples, tissue samples, and CT scans, Tang Yibu lay there feeling completely numb.

After completing the necessary examinations, Ruan Xian placed a cup of coconut water with a straw next to the bed. Tang Yibu turned his head away, sipping the drink and concentrating on watching Ruan Xian’s busy back.

Soon, Ruan Xian came to a conclusion.

“It’s a small bug.” He breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his forehead. “There’s something wrong with the adaptation of the nervous system. Fortunately, it was discovered early… In general, Tang Yibu, you eat too many sweets.”

The sound of Tang Yibu slurping his drink suddenly stopped.

“Your body won’t get fat or age, but it does take in nutrients, which will have an impact on it.”

Ruan Xian was still busy at his desk. “If problems accumulate, your nerve endings will become dull, and you’ll occasionally experience muscle weakness.”

This isn’t fair, Tang Yibu thought sadly. Mr. Ruan was clearly eating candy too—to be more precise, Ruan Xian was even more of a candy eater than he was thanks to his exceptional recovery abilities.

But thinking back, Ruan Xian did limit his sugar intake. This included, but wasn’t limited too, reducing desserts for breakfasts and dinners, cooking as much meat as possible when he was in charge, and eating up all the sweet snacks at home before he did.

When he was playing games and drinking hot chocolate with marshmallows, Ruan Xian would constantly remind him of this.

…Then Tang Yibu would just do it secretly anyway.

After all, sugar high was really addictive. Anyway, his brain and muscles were working at high speed all the time, so he can digest any amount of sugar.

He thought Mr. Ruan was just habitually exuding “fatherly love”. Who would have thought it turned out like this!

It seems life will be less fun in the future, Tang Yibu mumbled dejectedly.

“Hmm… But this is also good. It can adjust your body’s tolerance. If it’s designed like this… Let me think about it…” Several electronic screens floated around at the same time as Ruan Xian quickly wrote something.

Unfortunately, all the wontons they made together ended up in Tang Yibu’s stomach. He tried to drag Mr. Ruan out of the lab or send some hot food in.

However, Ruan Xian didn’t want to waste any time and just swallowed nutritional supplements. He even skipped sleep, prioritizing this bug as if it would cost Tang Yibu his life.

Tang Yibu didn’t bother acting subtly. He dragged a sleeping bag into the lab and slept on the examination table at night to ensure he could see Ruan Xian as soon as he opened his eyes.

Whenever there was a chance, Tang Yibu would appear behind Ruan Xian like a ghost and stuff candies of various flavors into Ruan Xian’s mouth—he couldn’t bear to see his lover taking only nutritional supplements to fill their stomach.

Finally, on the third day, Ruan Xian left the workbench.

“It’s done.”

He took a needle-free syringe filled with golden liquid and said, “As long as you inject this, your sugar tolerance will increase. You don’t have to force yourself to correct your lifestyle habits.”

“It will exist in your body for a long time, autonomously nourishing your nerves, just like a plant takes care of its roots… If you can control it skillfully, you can even adjust the sensitivity of your nerve ending.”

Ruan Xian’s face was a little pale and his eyes were filled with a sense of relief.

“…But it’s a good thing to eat less sugar. Just treat it as daily maintenance,” he finally concluded.

Tang Yibu jumped off the examination table. Without even looking, he quickly injected it into himself and said, “Mr. Ruan, you can rest now.”

“No.” Ruan Xian grabbed Tang Yibu’s shoulders. “I need to do another check. I want to make sure you’re okay—”

“I watched you do it all. I can do it myself.” Tang Yibu kissed Ruan Xian on the forehead. “Go to sleep, Mr. Ruan.”

“No,” Ruan Xian said stubbornly.

Tang Yibu tilted his head, pulled Ruan Xian into his arms, and laid down in the soft sleep bag. “If you don’t rest, we’ll just stay here.”

The advantages of the A-type Prototype were now undeniable. Ruan Xian struggled for a long time, but Tang Yibu didn’t even loosen his grip. Not satisfied, he leaned over to Ruan Xian’s ear and whispered, “Look, my grip has returned remarkably well.”

In the end, Ruan Xian couldn’t resist his own android and fell asleep in Tang Yibu’s arms.

Tang Yibu closed his eyes and felt the warmth of the person in his arms for a while. Ruan Xian was sleeping soundly, but his hands were still tightly grasping his clothes—this was something he would do before.

Mr. Ruan’s concern made him feel itchy inside, as if a warm furball was caressing him. But if he fell ill, Ruan Xian would become particularly worried… The two things balanced each other out, so it was better for him to stay healthy.

Well, he could drink one less sweet drink a day.

……

A month passed.

Morning, kitchen.

Tang Yibu swayed to the music again while stirring the vanilla egg mixture in the bowl to the beat, making clinking noises.

This time, his hands were steadier than a robotic arm and he stirred even faster. It was just as good again.

“Almond powder~ white powdered sugar~ low-gluten flour~”

“Vanilla pod~ light butter~ fresh eggs~”

Tang Yibu spun around, feeling his precise and powerful movements. His balance ability had increased by more than 10% compared to before, making him quite satisfied.

But when it came to adding the powdered sugar, Tang Yibu hesitated for a few seconds and reduced the amount by a third.

As a cost to his health, this would undoubtedly sacrifice some taste. But on the other hand, it could increase the sensitivity of his tongue, allowing him to experience a more delicate sweetness. Ruan Xian’s improvements were successful, and Tang Yibu had thoroughly mastered their use.

Sometimes, he would deliberately increase the sensation on his tongue, fingertips, and skin. The feeling was so wonderful that it was hard to describe; enough to make up for the regret caused by the lack of sugar.

As expected from his Mr. Ruan!

In a light and happy mood, Tang Yibu mixed the cookie batter, squeezed them into heart shapes with a piping bag, and happily put them in the oven. Next, he would prepare another batch with a normal sugar content for Ruan Xian, who wasn’t afraid of high sugar consumption…

“Come here.” Ruan Xian put the spatula down as Tang Yibu stretched out his hand.

Was he asking for his help?

Tang Yibu sniffed the aroma of breakfast and approached Ruan Xian cheerfully. “What’s wrong? I just happened to be… Mr. Ruan?”

Ruan Xian put one hand around his waist and the other around the back of his neck, giving him a long kiss. Between his lips, Tang Yibu tasted a warm, sweet richness.

He hurriedly turned up the sensitivity of his tongue to the highest level and deepened the kiss—a kiss that was extremely sweet in every sense of the word.

The rich aroma of cookies wafted from the oven, while the fried eggs and bacon sizzled on the pan. The morning sun enveloped the entire kitchen, bathing the two in warm, golden light.

It wasn’t until the slight smell of burnt food appeared in the air that the two reluctantly separated, leaving faint traces of each other on their lips and tongues.

“Just now, I saw that you consciously reduced the sugar.”

Ruan Xian slid his fingers through Tang Yibu’s slightly long hair, stroking them. “So I want to give you a little bit of sugar substitute. Do you like it?”

Tang Yibu thought about it seriously for a while. “I can reduce sugar intake five more times today.”

“So active?” Ruan Xian served breakfast and pushed a plate to Tang Yibu.

“I’ve always been a believer in science,” Tang Yibu said solemnly. “If you think about it, living a healthy life isn’t that difficult. I can satisfy my sugar cravings with fresh fruit. Of course, that’s assuming I have at least five times of sugar substitutes.”

He looked at Ruan Xian expectantly, the warm, wonderful sweetness still sliding across his tongue, stimulating his brain.

Before kissing him again, Ruan Xian must have secretly sucked on a special candy. Thinking of the surprise Mr. Ruan had prepared for him without telling him, Tang Yibu felt as soft and happy as if he were walking on cotton.

Across the table, Ruan Xian let out a long hum.

“Five times of sugar substitutes.” Ah, this might be a bit difficult. He picked up a piece of bacon and pointed his chopstick in Tang Yibu’s direction. “I can’t do it. How about I just kiss you five times a day, or maybe ten?”

“Good idea.”

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The author has something to say:

I just love the way they kiss.jpg

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