IDYTRAA - Chapter 56

Chapter 56 I eat meat, you eat bones, divided equally between man and dog

---

Tian Yuan dozed off, and Pan Lei took a nap before waking up. He had received professional training and was eager to regain his physical strength as soon as possible. Others needed eight hours of sleep, but trained people like him only needed one hour to recover from a day's work. It was a requirement of basic training. He got up and went outside with his phone to call Dean Zhao.

"Look at the front page of today's paper. Tian Yuan was featured in the newspaper. If you continue to say that such a person is not prestigious, Old Zhao, you will immediately need to hire a new doctor. My mother will groom him to be the next dean of the Armed Police Hospital."

Dean Zhao agreed right away. "Enough said. Xiao Tian is a true talent and an excellent candidate for deputy director. Tomorrow, I'll hold a meeting to issue the promotion order. The young man has a promising future ahead of him."

Pan Lei was overjoyed. When he took the newspaper from the mailbox, he noticed the front page headlines. There was a picture of Tian Yuan in a surgical gown, helping the driver's wife get up. 'The angel in white rushed all the way to save people late at night, rescuing the dying and healing the wounded! He is a guardian of life, a civilian hero!'

The headlines made Pan Lei smile. He wondered if he should write a thank-you letter to this newspaper. ‘Forget it; Tian'er deserves this.’ He would withdraw behind the scenes and let Tian'er bask in the glory. He was overjoyed, happier than if this had happened to him.

Pan Lei went downstairs to get some groceries, which included spare ribs, fish, and vegetables. He brought in three large shopping bags, shut the door, and began cooking. Tian Yuan would be able to eat a delicious meal when he awoke.

Tian Yuan was sleeping in a daze, and he smelled food after a while. He squinted half-heartedly, followed the scent, and opened the door. He noticed a table full of delicious food and rice. His stomach grumbled with hunger; he needed to eat.

Pan Lei took the last dish of black soup out and looked at Tian Yuan, who was leaning against the door and touching his stomach. He hadn't opened his eyes, but he was drooling, half-asleep, with a few strands of hair standing up. Pan Lei chuckled and thought this messy, sleepy, and greedy appearance was very cute. He couldn't wait to hug him, rub him, caress him, and kiss him passionately. Pan Lei approached Tian Yuan and kissed him on the forehead.

"I'm starving."

"Hey, hurry up. I'll go serve the meal, and you'll wash up right away. If you're not sitting here waiting to eat when I come out, I'll come and take your pants off, making you take a cold shower to let you wake up completely."

Tian Yuan's sleepy expression vanished after he patted his buttocks. He dashed to the bathroom, took his time brushing his teeth and washing his face, then sat quickly at the table and waited with chopsticks.

When Pan Lei returned with his rice bowl, he noticed Tian Yuan blinking like a puppy, waiting to be fed.

"I made a black soup with wolfberries and rough worm. When I return home, I plan to visit my father's small warehouse. It is said that he has a few boxes of Changbai Mountain ginseng(CMG)^[1] that you can use as a supplement."

Pan Lei scooped up the flesh from the fish's belly and placed it in a bowl. He cleaned all of the spines, big and small, and then poked them a few times with chopsticks to make sure there was no fishbone. The fish meat was then placed in Tian Yuan's bowl.

Tian Yuan gave Pan Lei the half-eaten ribs; there was still some meat on them, but it was difficult to bite. It was a shame to throw it away, so let him eat it.

"I am a young and strong man who does not require that type of food as a supplement. It’ll give me nosebleeds."

Pan Lei gave an evil grin. He lifted Tian Yuan's chin with his index finger and kissed his greasy mouth.

"I'll assist you in putting out the fire. We'll do it all night so that you don’t suffer from excess internal heat."

Tian Yuan threw all of the fish bones and rib bones into Pan Lei's bowl.

"Tian'er, I'd like to inform my mother-in-law that you are oppressing me. You eat fish and then give me fish bones; you eat meat and then give me bones. It's a cruel way to treat people. This is not right."

Pan Lei slammed the table; his husband lacked vitality and desired to rebel. Pan Lei wanted to demonstrate his strength. He wanted Tian'er to know that as the head of the household, as the family's pillar, he was sacred and untouchable.

Tian Yuan ate another rib and tossed the bone to him. "Man and dog now share equally."

Pan Lei exploded, yelled loudly, rushed over, and cradled Tian Yuan in his arms, unwilling to beat him, unwilling to scold him, but unable to take that tone. He could only scratch his itch and pretend to wrestle with him.

Tian Yuan screamed and laughed in his arms, struggling like a fish, ecstatic. 'I dare not, dare not anymore, I will never scold you again, never bully you again,' Tian Yuan yelled.

Pan Lei wouldn't let go, clasped his waist, grabbed his side, and as he watched him scream and cry while laughing, the resentment in his heart vanished.

That was his life - cook for him while Tian'er bullied him, and he bullied Tian'er while laughing and smiling. He'd be laughing even in his dreams if he could live every day like this one. He didn't like many people, but he adored this man. When Tian'er laughed, he was overjoyed. If he didn't laugh, he tried to make him laugh. He wanted to give him the best, to give him everything he desired. He just hoped he'd be able to do it every day. He was content.

Pan Lei kissed the corners of Tian Yuan's red eyes, then kissed the corners of his mouth, which was still smiling, before biting and kissing his upper lip.

Tian Yuan slapped him across the face and touched his mouth. Fortunately, he did not bite it all the way through this time. Otherwise, new scars would appear alongside the old scars on his mouth.

"If you want to kiss, then kiss. Why do you bite me all the time?"

"Oh, Tian'er, my baby, how come you're so adorable?"

Did what he said imply that Pan Lei could kiss him if he so desired?

‘What are you waiting for?' Pan Lei asked himself. ‘Go kiss him.'

It had been more than ten days, and they had talked on the phone every day, but the pain of lovesickness had not been alleviated. Only by exchanging long, lingering kisses and hugging could he be certain that Tian Yuan was present and by his side. He had returned for just a few hours, and he wanted to stay, even if it was only for a minute, to give them more time to get along. He didn't want to be apart from him because he missed him so much.

Meanwhile, Tian Yuan mused, 'I miss you. I miss your teasing, your cooking, your support and warmth. Can you not leave? Can you not remain by my side forever?'

---

Footnotes:

[1] CMG is considered to be a ‘buried treasure medicine’ and is priced higher than other types of ginseng. Ginseng is a herbal supplement used in Chinese medicine.

---

Previous         TOC

Next