Chapter 66 - Satisfaction

Wei Lan did not look out the window, so he replied, “Are you talking about the Commander’s little rabbit? I don’t think it will have grown much.”

“Are you talking about that rabbit?” Zhong Yan walked over with Adrian. He turned his back to them and showed them the bulge in his hood. “It’s in here.”

None of them actually noticed the bulge in the hood of Zhong Yan’s red hoodie. Turns out there was a little rabbit in there.

Adrian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Why’d you put it in your hood? Are you trying to perform a hat trick?”

“I was too busy cooking earlier so I didn’t have any time to send it back to the yard. You didn’t bring the box back either, so now neither the cleaning robot nor the rabbit has a box to stay in.”

“Alright, alright, it’s my fault. I’ll get two new boxes tomorrow, one for the cleaning robot and one for the rabbit to use as a home.”

Fayn said, “Hold on, if the rabbit’s in here, then what’s that outside the window? Wait, that’s not the legendary giant space rabbit, right? The one you burnt? Didn’t they say that giant space rabbits are around a hundred feet tall or whatever?”

When Zhong Yan heard his ignorant words, his eyes lit up. In his heart, Adrian exclaimed: Oh no!

“Dear, let me bring the rabbit back to the backyard.” As he said that, Adrian took out the rabbit from Zhong Yan’s hood and quickly left the scene before anyone could say anything.

Zhong Yan nodded, unbothered, and took a seat on the sofa. Before Adrian walked out the back door, he could hear Zhong Yan’s excited voice coming from the living room. “That’s not true, no giant space rabbit is as big as that. Based on the latest data from last year, the average giant space rabbit is no more than 65 feet in length. There are many varieties within the giant space rabbit species, and their sizes also differ from that. Take for example, the one we have is a lop-eared breed, so…”

Even though the backyard was big enough for the giant space rabbit to stroll around in, it still wouldn’t take more than a few minutes to bring the rabbit back to its nest. Adrian loitered around and manually scooped out the loose greens in the pond. Then, he went over to the rabbit’s nest to see if any parts needed maintenance. He even ruffled the burnt hair on the giant space rabbit’s chest when it came over to nudge him before taking a few photos for future laughing purposes.

And just like that, when he returned to the living room, he heard Zhong Yan going on with, “…Later, the research team found that the compositions of cosmic debris in that star system was different, which led to it being frequented by the rabbits. I’ve been to that tourist planet with Adrian before during one of our school holidays. You can really see rabbits floating in the sky from time to time. We saw one that was black. That color is very rare, I even took a picture. Look…”

Wei Lan seemed to be really interested. He had always been open to accepting new knowledge, but Fayn looked like he was done with life. Seeing Adrian return for him was like seeing his savior, and he cast a look of pleading to him.

Adrian looked at the time. Zhong Yan had already begun to talk about the tour, so he estimated that it was just about time. He cleared his throat and shouted, “Xiao Yan, when is dinner going to be ready? I’m getting hungry.”

When Zhong Yan heard that Adrian was hungry, he abandoned his Giant Space Rabbit Science Mini Class and quickly got up to head to the kitchen. “It’s already done. Ade, lay down the dinner cloth. I just washed them today. Doctor, you can sit wherever you like.”

After Adrian laid out the tablecloth, he helped Zhong Yan plate the steaks on the table. Compared to that super well-rated steakhouse they went to, the ones made by Zhong Yan were actually able to match the store’s almost to a T. Fayn was surprised. “Is this for real? Are you really that good at cooking? I used to think Adrian was just making baseless praises in the past.”

Zhong Yan smiled modestly while he took off his apron. Suddenly, he saw a few long white strands of fur poking out from Adrian’s body.

“Don’t move, there’s fur on you. When did this get on you?” While pulling the hairs out for him, Zhong Yan said, “It couldn’t have been this morning, right? Did none of your colleagues mention it to you today?”

Adrian said, “Oh no, the rabbit rubbed itself on me when I went out to the backyard earlier.”

Fayn watched how Zhong Yan circled Adrian to help him pull out the rabbit hairs while Adrian seemed to be taking it like it was normal. He didn’t look put off in the slightest, almost as if nothing could ever be more normal than this. He was standing very naturally, allowing Zhong Yan to fuss over his clothes. Fayn couldn’t help but feel the image of Zhong Yan he had in his heart subverting a little.

In the past, Zhong Yan had already been a notable person since his time in school, but he did not speak much in front of people. If a normal person did not speak often, others would get the impression that this person was introverted. But when it came to someone as dazzling as this, people would find them proud instead. What’s more, Zhong Yan was the Student Council President and even a member of the debate team. From all the speeches and debates he participated, large or small, his performance on the stage was not like that of an introvert’s at all—though Fayn always felt like he was seeing him through some type of screen every time he watched Zhong Yan’s public speeches. In his opinion, Zhong Yan was indeed proud. Even during dinner parties, he did not speak much, only occasionally saying a few words to Adrian, and he would mostly be speaking directly to his ear so as not to be overheard. Plus, with his not-so-friendly gaze, he gave Fayn a rather gloomy impression.

In those days, Adrian would boast nonstop about how delicious his cooking was, how nice Zhong Yan had cleaned up the dorm, and he would even talk to Fayn privately, discussing if Zhong Yan liked him because he would wash his clothes for him every day. At that time, none of Adrian’s friends believed him. Most of them figured Adrian was just talking out of his ass, including Fayn.

Zhong Yan was usually so proud. Even though Adrian would often explain to his circle of friends that Zhong Yan was “thin-skinned”, that “that’s just how he is, he’s not looking down on people”, and “you’ll know how nice he is once you get to know him”. But clearly, anyone who had been in contact with Zhong Yan could clearly feel that this Student Council President was hardly as extroverted and approachable as the Military Academy’s Chief. It would sound more believable if you told them that Adrian was the one cooking for Zhong Yan every day.

And so, Fayn never understood why Adrian would fall for such a person, but he did not try to bring a curse upon himself by telling his good brother what he thought. After all, just his face alone was enough for him to turn his nose up against the rest of his peers, it wasn’t totally illogical.

It was only today that he finally realized that Adrian’s descriptions were not mere illusions. They were actually true. Zhong Yan, the one described by the young poets in the school forum as a man who “did not partake in the activities of mortals” actually cooked and did the laundry for Adrian in private. He was a considerate man.

The rabbit was too big so it could cover them with fur with just one nudge, but nobody knew why this rabbit enjoyed doing that so much. Zhong Yan was finally almost done picking the hairs out of his clothes, and he had decided to add a handheld lint roller to his shopping list.

After placing the glasses on the table, Zhong Yan said, “I bought a bottle of wine as well. Shall I uncork it for everyone?”

Adrian said, “You can’t drink alcohol right now.”

“I know, but you guys can drink it.”

Wei Lan said, “I have a surgery to perform tomorrow morning, so I can’t drink alcohol tonight either.”

“I still have to drive home tonight, so maybe it’s better if we skip it,” said Fayn as he took a seat next to Wei Lan. Adrian suddenly had an idea.

“Doctor Wei’s not drinking, just let him drive. The two of us can drink,” said Adrian, expression unchanged.

Wei Lan was as dense as dense could be. Even if the entire military command knew that the Adjutant was pursuing their Chief Medical Officer, the Chief Medical Officer himself still thinks that the Deputy had really come looking for him all the time to chat because he was grateful for being saved by him, as the man said himself. If he saw anyone making fun of him, he would even make a serious retort. Adrian had once tried to give advice to Fayn, telling him that he had to do everything the other way when it came to Wei Lan. “For others, you have to confess after getting them to like you more, but when it comes to Wei Lan, you have to inform him clearly from the very beginning that you are pursuing him. Otherwise, the only thing you’re improving with him is your friend zone.”

When Fayn was still in his early twenties, he had told Adrian many times that he did not want to marry or date, he had even refused all the marriage proposals that were thrown his way. He felt that freedom was a life lived alone. He couldn’t stand sticking together with someone else. And these opinions continued until Wei Lan rescued him from the battlefield.

And the worst part was, Wei Lan did not seem like someone who would need love at all. He was even indifferent to regular feelings. He seemed to only be interested in medical knowledge, and the only good news for Fayn was that Wei Lan was born in the Navi System, so his marriage was not the AI’s business. Fayn had pursued him for two years, and as Adrian would describe it, if this was anyone else, they would even have babies by now, but he was still stuck in the stage of running over to him for a quick chat.

Fayn’s temper was a little unpredictable. After Adrian suffered through the great impact in his twenties and calmed down considerably, Fayn seemed to appear much more lively than Adrian, but his late first love caused him much worry, and he shrunk back with timidity. He knew what he meant, but he just couldn’t find the courage to confess. Adrian felt that a little alcohol under the dim moonlight might be able to give him the courage he needed when Wei Lan sent him home tonight.

But clearly, Fayn did not understand his implications. He even answered politely, “Still, if it’s just the two of us, we shouldn’t uncork it. You can just leave it for yourselves to drink.”

“Come on, I want to drink it,” Adrian professed. “Don’t worry about getting back. It’s not like Doctor Wei can’t drive. Xiao Yan, hand me the bottle.”

Zhong Yan handed the bottle of wine to Adrian and, seemingly without much thought, he said, “Small amounts of wine before bedtime can help with sleep. Speaking of which, alcohol does more than just…helping with sleep.”

When Fayn heard that, he raised his head up. His eyes went back and forth between Adrian and Zhong Yan’s face. Zhong Yan’s face was blank, but Adrian was looking at him in a meaningful manner.

In the subtly ambiguous atmosphere, the only one to respond to Zhong Yan was Wei Lan. “Yes, medical alcohol is generally used for disinfection.”

Zhong Yan chuckled. “As expected of a doctor.”

He took the opened bottle from Adrian and helped to pour a third of a glass of wine for the guest, Fayn. Fayn gazed at the wine in the glass for a while, and gritting his teeth, he said, “Fine, but just a bit.”

Adrian looked pleased at Zhong Yan who seemed completely unperturbed. He had never mentioned the relationship between these two to Zhong Yan, and Zhong Yan had only just had dinner once with them. Even Fayn did not react to his words earlier, but Zhong Yan knew exactly what he meant. He then took another glance to Wei Lan who had no idea what was happening and actually thought they were discussing the role of alcohol, and he suddenly felt a little smug.

As expected, my lover satisfies me the most.