After dinner, Shangguan Yu wasn’t in a hurry to return to his bedroom. Instead, he moved leisurely around the living room.
Seated nearby with a bowl in his hands, Zuo Zhou watched him, his expression hesitant, as if he wanted to say something but couldn’t bring himself to.
Shangguan Yu happened to catch that look as he turned, so he stopped. “What is it?”
“Nothing.” Zuo Zhou shook his head. “I’ll go wash the dishes.”
With that, he turned and headed to the kitchen.
“?” Shangguan Yu was baffled but didn’t dwell on it. He continued making rounds in the living room.
About ten minutes later, Zuo Zhou finished washing the dishes, tidied up the kitchen, and returned. He stood in a quiet corner of the living room, drying his hands, his gaze once again fixed on Shangguan Yu with that same hesitant look.
“…What exactly do you want to say?” Shangguan Yu finally asked, exasperated. He moved closer to Zuo Zhou, tilting his head up slightly to look at him. “Just say it.”
“I…” Zuo Zhou seemed extra cautious. “Let me clarify first—I’m not trying to meddle or tell you what to do. I just have a suggestion. You don’t have to take it, but… could you, uh, not get mad?”
Shangguan Yu couldn’t help but chuckle at his cautious approach. “I wasn’t mad earlier. I was just speaking seriously. Alright, go ahead—what’s your suggestion?”
“I was thinking… the weather’s really nice tonight. It’s not too hot, not too cold, and there’s a comfortable breeze. Since we don’t have anything to do after dinner, why don’t we go out for a walk?”
As soon as he finished speaking, Zuo Zhou held his breath and carefully watched Shangguan Yu’s reaction.
As expected, Shangguan Yu’s expression turned noticeably colder. He wasn’t exactly angry, but he clearly wasn’t pleased.
“I’m not going. If you want to go, go by yourself.”
“Then I won’t go either. I…”
Initially, Zuo Zhou wanted to say he would stay and chat with Shangguan Yu. But then he remembered that, when he first arrived, Shangguan Yu had explicitly told him to avoid staying in the same room with him whenever possible. So, at the last moment, he changed his words to, “I’ll head back to my room.”
With that, he gave Shangguan Yu a polite nod before turning to leave.
Watching Zuo Zhou’s tall, broad-shouldered figure retreat, looking almost pitiful despite his size, Shangguan Yu found himself at a loss. For reasons he couldn’t quite explain, he actually felt… a little sorry for him.
After all, ever since the accident, he had become withdrawn, impatient, and unable to control his emotions. To outsiders, he probably just seemed like a difficult person.
And Zuo Zhou—so young, forced to work because of his family circumstances—now had to endure the company of a difficult, unpredictable, broken man like himself. That couldn’t be easy.
As Shangguan Yu thought about this, an unexpected feeling surfaced—something almost like concern.
After spending the past couple of days with Zuo Zhou, his impression of him was quite good. If Zuo Zhou could manage his time well, Shangguan Yu didn’t actually mind keeping him around.
But he worried that Zuo Zhou might not be able to put up with his attitude and end up quitting.
So, in an attempt to make conversation, Shangguan Yu called out to him. “Uh… tomorrow’s Monday. Do you have classes at school?”
“Oh, I don’t have to go.” Zuo Zhou turned around and replied respectfully, “I only have one class in the afternoon, but I’ve decided to stay home and take care of you instead.”
“You should go. I won’t need anything in the afternoon.”
Zuo Zhou considered the suggestion carefully before declining. “It’s fine. Tomorrow is my last day of probation. I’d rather stay home and wait for the outcome.”
“…”
Shangguan Yu nearly told him he could give him an answer right now. But saying that so easily would make him seem too soft, too unprincipled. So he held back.
Zuo Zhou stood there for a moment. Seeing that Shangguan Yu had nothing more to say, he gave a small, polite nod. “Then I’ll head back to my room. Just call me if you need anything.”
Shangguan Yu stayed in the living room until 9 p.m., feeling increasingly uncomfortable. He hadn’t bathed the day before—partly due to the lingering anxiety from his last fall, which had cast a shadow over what used to be a simple task. Bathing, which used to be a daily habit, had now become an every-other-day routine.
The other reason was that Zuo Zhou had just arrived yesterday, and Shangguan Yu had felt somewhat embarrassed to ask him for help.
However, as time passed, he reminded himself that Zuo Zhou was here for this exact purpose—to assist with his daily life.
So, after mentally preparing himself for over ten minutes, Shangguan Yu finally gathered the courage to maneuver his wheelchair toward Zuo Zhou’s door, intending to call him out for assistance.
Just as he raised his hand to knock, the door suddenly swung open from the inside.
Zuo Zhou stepped out, a towel draped over his shoulder and a set of clean clothes in his arms—clearly about to take a shower himself.
“…”
Shangguan Yu awkwardly lowered his hand and rolled his wheelchair back a little.
“Brother Yu,” Zuo Zhou blinked in surprise. Without hesitation, he crouched down beside Shangguan Yu’s wheelchair and looked up at him. “Do you need something?”
“…”
Shangguan Yu wasn’t accustomed to someone standing this close while speaking to him. But with the narrow hallway, there was nowhere else to back up unless he wanted to roll straight into the bathroom. So, he forced himself to ignore it.
“Oh, I was going to ask you for help with my bath. But you go first, I’m not in a hurry.”
“!”
Zuo Zhou felt his ears heat up instantly. “Help you… bathe?”
“Yeah. The bathroom floor is too slippery.”
“Oh, oh… uh, sure,” Zuo Zhou stammered, completely flustered. “You go ahead first, I just… need clothes in my room.”
“Hmm?”
“I mean… my clothes, they’re in my room.”
Having barely managed to correct himself, Zuo Zhou abruptly stood up and dashed into his room without sparing Shangguan Yu another glance, slamming the door shut behind him.
The force of it stirred the air, lifting a few strands of Shangguan Yu’s black hair.
Shangguan Yu stared blankly at the now-closed door, utterly baffled by Zuo Zhou’s reaction.
Inside the room…
Zuo Zhou leaned against the door, his body tense, his breathing uneven, and the tips of his ears burning an unnatural shade of red.
His chest rose and fell rapidly, his heart pounding as if it were about to burst out of his ribcage.
Unbidden, certain… highly inappropriate images flashed through his mind—scenes that involved Shangguan Yu’s body, his own body, and the two of them together…
Cough, cough…
“Zuo Zhou?” Shangguan Yu’s puzzled voice came from the other side of the door. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
“No—I mean, I’m fine!” Zuo Zhou’s voice cracked as he hastily responded. “I-I’m just putting a cabinet!”
“……”
“I mean, putting my clothes… in the cabinet!”
Shangguan Yu waited outside for a few minutes before Zuo Zhou finally composed himself enough to reopen the door.
“Let’s go,” Zuo Zhou said, now appearing more collected. “You’re using the master bathroom, right? Do you need me to grab anything?”
Seeing that Zuo Zhou seemed fine now, Shangguan Yu didn’t dwell on it and simply said, “No need, everything’s in my room. Come on.”
With that, he maneuvered his wheelchair and headed toward his bedroom.
Zuo Zhou ran a hand through his hair, carefully using his side locks to discreetly cover his flushed ears before following behind.
As the master suite, Shangguan Yu’s bedroom was significantly larger than the study where Zuo Zhou had been staying.
Stepping inside, Zuo Zhou unconsciously held his breath, treating the moment with an almost solemn reverence.
A faint medicinal scent lingered in the air. The large bed was neatly arranged with deep gray linens, exuding a sense of cold precision and tidiness.
The bay window was completely bare, with nothing placed upon it. The window itself was open, and the sheer white curtains swayed gently with the night breeze, adding a touch of softness to the otherwise stark and orderly room.
Shangguan Yu wheeled himself to the wardrobe, selected a few clean sets of clothing, and headed into the bathroom.
“Just help me onto that stool,” he instructed, pointing to the seat placed under the shower.
Behind him, where Shangguan Yu couldn’t see, Zuo Zhou exhaled a slow, measured breath, steadying himself. “Alright.”
Luckily, this was all Shangguan Yu had requested—had he asked for more, Zuo Zhou worried he might lose his composure and make a fool of himself.
After all, he was still a virgin, and as everyone knew, virgins lacked self-restraint in certain situations.
Shangguan Yu secured the wheels of his chair and wordlessly extended his hand toward Zuo Zhou.
Zuo Zhou carefully let Shangguan Yu grasp his arm, while his other hand hesitantly wrapped around Shangguan Yu’s waist, lifting him from the wheelchair to the stool.
Worried that Shangguan Yu’s motionless legs might drag against the floor, Zuo Zhou exerted all his strength.
Yet, as he actually lifted Shangguan Yu, he was shocked at how impossibly light the man was. And his waist—it was so slender that Zuo Zhou felt like he could snap it if he used just a little more strength.
“All right, you can go now.”
Shangguan Yu’s voice pulled Zuo Zhou back to reality.
Zuo Zhou glanced at Shangguan Yu’s legs, which hung limply over the floor, and asked tactfully, “Are you sure? Do you need me to… do anything else?”
“No need. Just leave. Once I’m done, I’ll call you to help me back into the wheelchair.”
“Alright, I’ll wait outside.”
As soon as Zuo Zhou shut the bathroom door, Shangguan Yu, who had been tense the entire time, finally let out a long breath.
He wasn’t used to physical contact. When Zuo Zhou had helped him earlier, he had to grit his teeth and force himself to ignore the warmth radiating from Zuo Zhou’s body just to maintain his composure.
Sitting on the stool, he took a moment to gather himself before slowly starting to undress.
For Shangguan Yu, the actual bathing process wasn’t long—washing his hair and rinsing off took no more than ten minutes.
What truly drained his energy was the process of undressing and dressing.
Since he couldn’t move his lower legs or stand, he had to carefully lift his hips and bend his waist while seated, inching his way through the process little by little.
By the time he finally pulled on his pants, a thin layer of sweat had formed on his body once again.
Shangguan Yu raised a hand to wipe his forehead, then called toward the door, “Zuo Zhou!”
Almost as soon as the words left his lips, a voice responded from outside, “Coming!”
Through the lingering mist of warm steam, Zuo Zhou’s tall figure suddenly appeared. He walked over, bent down slightly, and met Shangguan Yu’s gaze. Noting the lingering heat in his damp hair, he smiled and said, “Shall I carry you back?”
Axolotl Translations 
Leave a comment