Free Web NovelChapter 70: Playing House (2)
Wenzhi’s face scrunched up after tasting the soup Xinyuan had made.
Xinyuan stood across from him with an expectant look that almost made Wenzhi want to lie.
Almost.
"Water," Wenzhi rasped out.
Xinyuan hurried to grab a glass and handed it over. Wenzhi drank everything in one go before breathing out hard.
"Why is it so spicy?" he demanded, eyes watering.
Xinyuan palmed his forehead. "Fuck."
Wenzhi paused.
That was the first time he had ever heard Xinyuan curse.
And judging by the way Xinyuan was staring miserably at the soup, he clearly hadn’t even realized he said it.
Wenzhi blinked at him while Xinyuan grabbed the bowl and carried it back toward the kitchen.
"Did you just curse?" he asked.
"What?" Xinyuan looked genuinely confused, still distracted by the ruined soup.
"You cursed." Wenzhi stuck his tongue out, trying to recover from the spice.
"Did I?" Xinyuan grabbed another glass of water and handed it to him before turning back to stare mournfully at the soup.
Wenzhi almost laughed.
"Cooking takes time," he said eventually, trying to get him to stop looking so devastated.
Xinyuan frowned harder. "It’s been two weeks."
"Exactly," Wenzhi replied with a shrug. "And I haven’t gotten food poisoning yet, so clearly you’re improving."
That did not seem to comfort Xinyuan at all.
"I can do almost everything else," he muttered. "Why can’t I understand cooking?"
Wenzhi rested back against his chair, watching him quietly for a moment.
Xinyuan was too hard on himself.
But then again, the Esper had been engineered into becoming good at nearly everything. Failure probably felt unfamiliar to him.
"How did you learn how to cook?" Xinyuan asked suddenly, leaning against the table.
Wenzhi leaned back against his chair, rubbing thoughtfully at his bottom lip. "My mother taught me."
Xinyuan visibly stilled. Like he genuinely hadn’t expected Wenzhi to answer so easily.
"Oh," he said after a second. "Did she own a restaurant?"
Wenzhi eyed him carefully.
For the past few days, Xinyuan had been subtly trying to pry into his past whenever he got the chance.
"Yes," Wenzhi answered eventually.
That made Xinyuan’s eyes brighten.
"That explains your cooking skills," he said, bringing his hands together like a mock prayer. "Now please cook something edible."
Wenzhi rolled his eyes but stood up anyway.
~°~
After breakfast, Xinyuan disappeared into his room while Wenzhi settled into the sitting room with the television on.
A drama he had been following played across the screen while he lazily twirled a chop stick between his fingers, his grey eyes reflecting the flickering light.
Eventually, he switched channels.
The news appeared.
"Following recent incidents, the CEA president has announced increased funding toward Red Zone shelters, expansion of evacuation structures, and reinforced protection services through additional Esper deployment for Rift suppression," the news anchor reported smoothly. "This footage was taken from the conference held earlier today."
The screen shifted.
A man in what looked to be his late thirties appeared onstage dressed in a clean dark suit, smiling calmly at the cameras pointed toward him.
"I want to reassure the public," he began. "I understand there is fear after the unfortunate accident at our headquarters that resulted in the loss of many of our people. Individuals who dedicated their lives toward protecting humanity and restoring our world."
Wenzhi scoffed softly.
The man continued without pause.
"We are doubling our efforts regarding Red Zone containment and public safety. We also assure everyone that the perpetrators responsible for the headquarters incident will be found and brought to justice."
His practiced smile never slipped.
"All of the CEA’s actions are for the sake of the people. Our goal remains the same as it always has been: protecting humanity and returning our world to its former glory."
Wenzhi stared at the television in disbelief.
He was surprised they had not simply pasted his face across every news channel already.
Then again, the fact that he was wanted remained internal information for now.
Only high-ranking officials, Espers, and Guides knew the truth.
The public still had no idea that the CEA’s prized disaster-class Esper had disappeared alongside a wanted Guide.
And they definitely did not know the CEA headquarters had been destroyed from the inside. freewebnovёl.ƈom
The organizations were being careful.
If news of internal conflict leaked out now, panic would spread instantly.
People were already terrified enough of the expanding Red Zones.
The last thing the authorities wanted was the public realizing the people supposedly protecting them were tearing each other apart behind the scenes.
Wenzhi switched off the television and headed toward his room.
After showering, he changed into a pair of loose pants and stood by the bed drying his damp hair with a towel when the door suddenly opened.
Xinyuan walked in without hesitation.
At this point, he had invaded Wenzhi’s space so often over the past few days that it had already started feeling strangely normal.
He looked ready to sleep already.
His dark hair was slightly messy and his eyes looked heavy as he rubbed them slowly before his gaze drifted toward Wenzhi’s bare chest.
Then lower.
The freckles scattered across Wenzhi’s skin stood out clearly beneath the soft room lighting, stretching over his chest, stomach, shoulders, and back.
Xinyuan’s ears turned visibly red.
Wenzhi noticed that instantly.
Xinyuan cleared his throat awkwardly before dragging himself toward the bed, though his eyes kept straying back toward Wenzhi like he could not help himself.
"Wenzhi?" he called softly.
Wenzhi blinked at him. "What?"
Xinyuan sat down on the edge of the bed slowly.
"It feels weird," he admitted quietly.
The slight furrow in his brows made it look like he was struggling to explain something much bigger than the words themselves.
Wenzhi tossed the towel onto a nearby chair. "What feels weird?"
Xinyuan stared at him for a moment instead of answering.
His eyes followed Wenzhi’s movements carefully as Wenzhi pushed his damp hair back from his face.
"I..." The words stalled.
Wenzhi ignored whatever crisis he seemed to be having and climbed into bed instead, pulling the blanket over himself.
Almost immediately, Xinyuan followed.
They laid facing each other from opposite pillows, the dim light leaving most of the room in shadow.
For a while, Xinyuan stayed quiet.
Finally, "I feel like this is a dream."
Wenzhi raised a brow.
Xinyuan’s gaze looked distant now.
"Being outside," he murmured. "Being here. All of this."
His voice lowered further. "You."
Wenzhi’s chest tightened at the way he said it. He quickly pushed the feeling away.
"Sometimes it feels like this is all another simulation and I’m still trapped back there." Xinyuan swallowed slowly. "Like they made this too."
Silence filled the room after that.
Wenzhi had no idea what to say.
So eventually, he just muttered, "It’s real. I’m not a goddamn simulation."
Then he turned onto his side. "Now go to sleep."
A few minutes later, Wenzhi’s breathing eventually steadied as sleep pulled him under.
But beside him, Xinyuan remained awake for much longer, staring quietly at the back of Wenzhi’s head like he was still trying to convince himself that this was real too.
