Chapter 116 – Extra 8

Rather than saying Luo Chenzhou crawled into the bathroom himself, it was more accurate to say that Caesar practically carried him in like teaching a toddler to walk. When the two of them squeezed into the bathroom of Caesar’s apartment together, the already compact single-person apartment bathroom felt even more cramped—this wasn’t the architect’s fault. Even if he had racked his brains, he probably wouldn’t have anticipated that one day two rather tall grown men would be crammed into the bathroom of the building he designed.

In the process of being half-pushed into the bathroom by Caesar, Luo Chenzhou’s elbow slammed hard against the doorframe.

Luo Chenzhou, clutching his innocent elbow, was in so much pain he wished he could fly away. However, the man behind him hadn’t even noticed the damage he’d caused. Instead, he was justified in his dissatisfaction with the black-haired young man’s sudden stop and poked his waist with a large hand, saying in a very rude tone, “What are you dawdling for?”

“…Laozi just hit my arm!”

“How can you be so stupid? You can even manage to hit the door while walking,” Caesar said with a tone of disdain. “And by the way, how the hell are you addressing me?”

“…Oh, well then, Mister, may I ask how I should address you?”

The man thought for a moment, then curled his lips into a teasing smile. “I’m old enough to be your dad, kid.”

…Bullshit, don’t slander my old man. When he was ten, he was still a proper fifth-grader singing the Young Pioneers’ song with a red scarf around his neck. Bah, you must have been a Shar-Pei in your past life, right, Big Dog? How else could your skin be so thick? Luo Chenzhou twitched his lips, almost bowing down to the man’s shamelessness.

At the same time, Caesar’s extreme shamelessness and arrogance made Luo Chenzhou realize that even though five hundred years had passed and feudalism had been wiped out completely, in front of Caesar, democracy and freedom still didn’t exist, and resistance was futile—what the boss said was right was right, and what the boss said was wrong was still right.

Silently swallowing the blood that had risen to his throat, he finally understood that no matter how many millennia passed, Caesar would always be that same unaccommodating big master—back in the day, when Luo Chenzhou had been injured countless times on the Wind Fury, he had once hoped that the great captain would wrap a bandage around his neck, but that was harder than reaching the heavens. Because this guy could seriously promise to “be super gentle” while very sincerely tightening the bandage around his neck with enough force to twist it off.

Caesar roughly hauled Luo Chenzhou into the bathroom. The two of them were really a bit too cramped in there, and the man frowned, disliking this feeling of being restrained, even starting to complain about why he had bought such a small single-person apartment in the first place.

“…”

Wait, that’s not right. Why would I need such a big place when I’m living alone?

The man scratched his flaxen hair, feeling conflicted. Glancing at the mirror, he saw the handsome man with slightly messy hair and a melancholic expression. Captain Caesar couldn’t believe he had the honor of seeing such a stupid expression, the kind usually reserved for TV drama protagonists, on his own face—

Casually placing Luo Chenzhou on the toilet, the man walked up to the mirror and began to scrutinize himself seriously.

Meanwhile, Luo Chenzhou, who had been unceremoniously placed on the toilet, was about to lose his mind—

Suddenly rushing to the mirror and obsessively staring at himself, lovingly cupping his face and turning it over and over again, what the hell is this about, buddy—Big Dog, Captain, Boss, Professor—you traveled five hundred years to reunite with me, right? I didn’t misunderstand that, did I? …Now you’re acting like you’re about to fall in love with yourself. Is this some kind of plot twist?

“Um…”

“What?”

“I’m going to take a shower.”

“I’ve already filled the tub for you,” the man paused, finally pulling his gaze away from the mirror. He turned to look at Luo Chenzhou sitting on the toilet, who was staring at him speechlessly, and frowned. “Why are you sitting on the toilet?”

“…” You’re the one who put me here!!

“If you’re going to shower, hurry up. I still need to use the bathroom after you.”

Ignoring the sparks practically flying out of the black-haired young man’s eyes, the man impatiently tugged at his shirt, pulling the soaked, clingy fabric off his body. The expensive brand-name shirt was tossed into the laundry basket next to the sink like it was garbage. When he turned around after finishing this series of actions, he noticed that the person sitting on the toilet was now staring at his upper body with shining eyes—

The man’s chest was broad with not an ounce of excess fat, his muscles taut and firm. His healthy, sun-kissed skin seemed even more alluring under the reflection of the bathroom’s marble surfaces. Caesar’s bathroom had dim, decorative lighting, and when the man turned around, his amber eyes seemed even more striking under the warm, orange glow.

To be able to turn around in a bathroom and make it look like a god had descended from the Olympic Mountains—only Captain Caesar could pull that off.

Luo Chenzhou felt like his eyes were about to be blinded.

“What are you looking at?” Caesar leaned against the sink, tilting his head slightly as he looked at Luo Chenzhou.

Half of his face was hidden in the shadows where the light couldn’t reach. The man’s profile was so perfect it could have been a plaster statue in a museum. When he spoke, the corner of his lips twitched, and his jaw lifted slightly into a cold, aloof curve. His detached, noble demeanor was undeniably pleasing to the eye.

“I need to take my clothes off to shower.”

“Then take them off,” Caesar raised an eyebrow, baffled. “Do you need me to help you? Don’t push your luck, kid.”

“…”

Luo Chenzhou felt like his soul was being crushed.

Even though in their past life they’d seen each other, touched each other, kissed each other, and done everything else there was to do, he could guess with his toes that after a few trips to the underworld, this guy probably wouldn’t acknowledge any of their past romantic entanglements…

Even though right now the man was leaning against the sink with his arms crossed, seemingly ready to watch him bathe and change clothes.

Technically, this is our first meeting, right? You’re the professor, I’m the student. Is it appropriate for you to stand by the bathtub waiting for your student to strip naked on the first day, Professor?

“Are you sure you’re just going to stand here and watch me shower?”

“I’m worried you’ll drown in the tub.”

“…No need to worry, I can swim.”

“What’s a cripple doing swimming?” Caesar sneered, standing up straight from the sink. He glanced at Luo Chenzhou, and suddenly his gaze paused. When he noticed the black-haired young man tense up and stare at him with shining eyes because of his movement, for some inexplicable reason, Caesar felt a playful impulse. He curled his lips into a smirk, leaned down, and his tall figure immediately enveloped the person sitting on the toilet—

“…”

Luo Chenzhou widened his eyes as he watched that handsome dog face descend from above, getting closer and closer and closer and closer…

When Caesar’s waist was almost bent at a seventy-degree angle, one of his strong arms braced against the edge of the toilet. At this point, Caesar’s straight nose was almost touching Luo Chenzhou’s.

Luo Chenzhou realized with great discomfort that the air he was breathing right now was almost completely filled with the man’s familiar and nostalgic scent of tobacco.

Just then!

The man raised his hand!

And then…

Casually grabbed the clean towel from the shelf above Luo Chenzhou’s head.

The man smiled innocently, his rough hand ruffling the young man’s hair, making the already damp strands even messier before he withdrew his hand. “Hurry up and shower,” the handsome dog face was completely natural and harmless, his entire expression screaming “you’re overthinking this.” His deep voice carried a faint trace of amusement. “I’ll bring you clean clothes in a bit.”

The warmth of the man’s fingers brushing through his hair hadn’t completely faded yet. Before Luo Chenzhou could even respond with a single punctuation mark, the man very seriously draped the towel over his shoulder and left the bathroom without looking back—even thoughtfully closing the door behind him.

Staring at the now-closed bathroom door, Luo Chenzhou took a while to snap out of it.

Then he began to deeply regret not following his biological instinct to shove that well-dressed beast’s dog head into the toilet and flush it down the drain…

…

After closing the door, Caesar stood outside for a while, feeling like he was thinking about something, but when he came back to his senses, he realized his mind was completely blank—he hadn’t actually been thinking about anything at all. Pursing his lips, he casually pulled the towel off his shoulder and tossed it to the floor, stepping on the soft carpet of the living room barefoot. The man aimlessly wandered around the room for a bit.

Outside, it was still raining, the gloomy weather making it seem like night had already fallen.

Large raindrops pelted against the floor-to-ceiling windows, forming small streams of water as they slid down the clear, crystalline glass. Outside, the faint lights of cars driving through the heavy rain could be seen flickering, and the buildings across the street had also begun to light up with warm glows. Caesar leaned against the floor-to-ceiling window, staring out absentmindedly, the faint sound of running water from the bathroom reaching his ears.

The man, who had lived alone for over thirty years, scratched his chin and suddenly felt that having another person in the house might not be as troublesome as he had imagined.

Hmm, am I getting horny or something?

The man fell into deep, troubled thought.