Crossdress Ch69part1

The cold kitchen was gradually warming up. Xu Yan looked at Wen Sinian’s face, now so close to his own, then turned his head away, eyes darting nervously.

“No… no, you can’t…”

Wen Sinian stepped back a bit and said gently, “Then can I kiss your cheek?”

This time Xu Yan was firm. He shook his head again. “Still no.”

Wen Sinian could only let out a deep breath and sigh. “Alright.”

He changed the subject. “These past few days, I didn’t dare show up and disturb you. I just waited at home. Do you think I did okay? Are you satisfied?”

Xu Yan purposely said, “So-so.”

“So-so, huh?” Wen Sinian chuckled. “Then I’ll keep working harder.”

Xu Yan replied, “Mhm, you should keep trying.”

After speaking, he slipped out of Wen Sinian’s arms, shoved the milk bottle back into his hands, and left the room with flushed cheeks.

Wen Sinian cleaned the bottle and put it away. When he came out, he found Xu Yan crouched at the living room entrance again, watching the little bunny sleep with full attention.

He quietly said to him, “I’m heading out.”

Xu Yan looked up at him, as if he wanted to say something, but held it back. He just replied stiffly, “Mm.”

Wen Sinian walked two steps away, then turned back. He crouched in front of Xu Yan and draped his coat over his shoulders.

Seeing that Wen Sinian was only wearing a thin cashmere sweater, Xu Yan tried to return the coat, but Wen Sinian held his hands and breathed warm air over them, gently rubbing them.

“Your hands are so cold. Keep the coat on.”

“But won’t you be cold without it?”

“I’ll be fine,” Wen Sinian replied. “Don’t stare at the bunny for too long. The temperature will drop again later tonight. Go to bed soon.”

Xu Yan’s gaze drifted to the sleeping lop-eared bunny. “I’m not sleepy yet.”

Wen Sinian gave his fingers a little squeeze. “Be good, don’t catch a cold. It’s almost Lunar New Year. They say if you get sick around the new year, you’ll be weak all year.”

Xu Yan couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s something you tell little kids.”

Wen Sinian patted his head. “You are a little kid.”

Xu Yan’s ears tingled. He saw Wen Sinian stand up and soon disappear into the darkness outside.

Still wrapped in his coat, Xu Yan buried his face in the fabric and took a sniff.

There was no smell of smoke, just a soft, woody scent, likely from the car air freshener.

The next morning, Xu Yan discovered a lot of gift boxes stacked in the living room. The courtyard had also been tidied up, and aside from the bunny, there were now yellow chicks and ducklings in the fenced-in coop.

He wasn’t good at bargaining and hadn’t seen any for sale at the market in days. He didn’t know where Wen Sinian managed to buy them.

After feeding the chicks and ducklings, he went to find Shen Nanli and Shang Jia. After selling their goods, they didn’t linger outside and came home early, he was in a rush to check on the still-weaning bunny.

Sure enough, Wen Sinian was at home, chatting with Grandma. A few workers were also in the living room, installing a new TV and air conditioner.

Xu Yan ran over and dragged Wen Sinian into his room. “Why are you buying so many things again?”

Wen Sinian explained, “Grandma loves watching TV, so I got her one with a bigger screen that’s easier on the eyes. The house is cold, and your room needs an AC too. The floor heating here isn’t great, and the AC isn’t very effective either. I’ll have someone come check later.”

Xu Yan said, “You don’t have to. I’ll buy everything myself once I start earning money.”

“But I don’t want you to suffer, baby,” Wen Sinian said, gently holding his hand. “I said it before, whatever I earn, I want to spend it on you. Please let me make up for my mistakes. Okay?”

He added, “Are your hands always this cold at home? Is your blanket even warm enough at night?”

Xu Yan was surprised. How could he even think of this?

“It’s warm. I sleep really well at night.”

Lies.

He always woke up curled into a ball, with no warmth from the waist down.

Wen Sinian didn’t call him out on it. When they left the room, the workers had already finished the installation and gone.

Xu Yan played with the bunny, while Wen Sinian went into the kitchen. Soon, three steaming bowls of noodles appeared on the table.

He handed chopsticks to Xu Yan. “Try it.”

Xu Yan took a bite, then looked up at him in surprise. It was like Wen Sinian had secretly trained, why did his cooking suddenly improve so much?

The taste of the noodles was exactly like what he and Grandma used to make.

Grandma silently ate nearby with a satisfied smile, not saying a word.

She had taught the recipe to Wen Sinian. Turned out this kid wasn’t hopeless after all.

Wen Sinian lingered until late at night before leaving. Throughout the evening, he kept glancing at Xu Yan, clearly hoping he’d be asked to stay. But Xu Yan just focused on the bunny and didn’t spare him a second glance.

Wen Sinian couldn’t help but think, maybe buying that little creature had been a mistake.

After helping Shen Nanli sell goods for two more days, Xu Yan came home each time to find Wen Sinian busy around the house. Eventually, he just stopped bothering to chase him off.

One night, before going to bed, Xu Yan went to check on the bunny one last time, only to find it vomiting. The milk it had drunk that afternoon had all come back up, soaking its soft little cloth with white stains.

Xu Yan panicked. He didn’t dare touch it and paced anxiously around the incubator. Then he pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

It connected quickly.

“Hello?” Xu Yan said urgently. “Come back, quickly.”

Wen Sinian’s heart tightened. “What’s wrong?”

“The bunny threw up… a lot of milk. I don’t know what happened. Please come back and look at it. I’m afraid to move it.”

Wen Sinian stayed calm. “I’m coming. Does it have any other symptoms besides vomiting?”

Xu Yan examined it carefully. “I don’t know… I don’t think so.”

“Put your hand in and check its body temperature.”

“Where do I touch?”

“Its belly. See if it feels hot.”

Xu Yan did as told. Sure enough, the bunny felt warmer than usual. “It’s a bit hot. Is it running a fever?”

“Maybe. Don’t panic. Go inside and change into warmer clothes. Wait for me.”

Xu Yan didn’t bother changing. He just threw on Wen Sinian’s coat and rushed outside.

Within two minutes, there was a knock at the door. He ran to open it, eyes already rimmed red. “What took you so long?”

Wen Sinian saw his thin frame bundled in the oversized coat, hair slightly messy, with soft strands clinging to his cheeks. His heart instantly melted. He took his hand and quickly led him inside.

He picked up the incubator, had Xu Yan sit in the passenger seat, and drove straight to the pet store in town.

It was already very late, and the store had long since closed.

Wen Sinian called the emergency number on the door. Xu Yan held the bunny in his arms, watching as its little kicks grew weaker and weaker, tears falling uncontrollably.

It was his fault, he hadn’t taken good care of it.

Finally, the call went through. This was the same store they bought the bunny from, and the owner arrived quickly, bringing them inside.

The frail bunny was taken from the incubator and given a quick examination.

“It’s just exhausted from vomiting. Put it down for now, it’s probably just cold. This incubator seems faulty. That’s our mistake. I’ll get you a new one in a bit.”

Xu Yan was still worried. “It was twitching earlier. Are you sure it’s okay?”

“It’s not serious. It probably just overate. From now on, only one feeding a day. Its digestive system is weak right now. Do this for about three days, then resume normal feeding.”

As he spoke, the shop owner pulled out a fine syringe. “I’ll give it something to lower the fever.”

The sharp needle looked like it was about to pierce the poor bunny’s little bottom. Xu Yan furrowed his brows tightly and didn’t dare to look.

A large hand came up from behind, cupping the back of his head and gently pressing his cheek against a warm chest.

Only after the injection was done did Wen Sinian let him go.

The shop owner replaced the bunny’s incubator and gave them some medicine. “Just mix this into its milk powder and feed it.”

On the way back home from the pet shop, the bunny had already fallen asleep in the box.

Xu Yan placed the box in his room, he was going to keep a close eye on the bunny’s condition throughout the night.

Wen Sinian saw his eyes were still red. He must’ve been terrified the bunny wouldn’t make it.

“It’s not your fault. Don’t blame yourself,” Wen Sinian said gently, as if he could see right into Xu Yan’s heart. “The incubator was faulty. It showed the correct temperature, you couldn’t have known this would happen.”

Xu Yan lowered his head, still feeling guilty.

Wen Sinian cupped his face and comforted him softly, “Don’t cry, alright? Your eyes are already as red as the bunny’s.”

Xu Yan muttered, “Its eyes are pretty…”

“Mm, and so are yours, baby.”

Xu Yan bumped his head against Wen Sinian’s chest in protest.

“If anything happens, call me, okay?” Wen Sinian wiped the moisture from his face. “I’ll show up right away, so you don’t need to be afraid.”

After Wen Sinian left, Xu Yan realized just how quickly he had come earlier, it felt like less than a minute.

Had he not been sleeping either?

Xu Yan glanced at the bunny again, then crawled into bed. On impulse, he picked up the white phone that had always been sitting on his bedside table and opened the surveillance app for the first time. What he saw made him freeze.

A large red dot was flashing on the screen, it was right outside the yard and hadn’t moved.

He stayed there… afraid that Xu Yan might be scared, afraid he might cry… so he waited outside his house all night.

Xu Yan’s lips trembled. He rubbed his eyes and stared at the red dot, thinking that sleeping in a car must be terribly uncomfortable.

But they hadn’t made up yet. They couldn’t sleep in the same bed.

Not to mention, the bed in the study was too small. Wen Sinian was so tall, he’d probably crush Xu Yan in his sleep.

The bed in Senior’s room was bigger, but why was she still living at Shen Nanli’s house? She’d gotten a little too comfortable…

The more he thought, the more his mind drifted. Xu Yan fell asleep clutching his phone.

The next morning, the first thing Xu Yan did after waking was check on the bunny.

Thankfully, after a night of rest, the bunny had perked up again. It was now jumping around in the incubator, completely lively. Xu Yan was finally relieved.

It was Lunar New Year’s Eve today, time to welcome the new year. As tradition, Xu Yan and Grandma would do a full spring cleaning of the house.

But when Xu Yan stepped out of his room, he was surprised to see that Shang Jia and Shen Nanli were already there, one sweeping, the other mopping, working hard and sweating.

“What are you two doing?”