*
Ji Zhaoming, who was in the room, had no idea what the robots were doing.
Judging from their serious expressions, Ji Zhaoming assumed they were discussing something important.
Most of the robots who accompanied the trip attended the council meeting, leaving a few robots behind to protect Ji Zhaoming from the shadows. The little fox returned to her room first. After sitting in her room for a while, Ji Zhaoming was overcome with boundless loneliness.
Strange, he's clearly someone who can tolerate loneliness very well.
Ji Zhaoming was very popular at school. He was well-liked, and even people he had never met before could immediately develop a good impression of him.
He was naturally lovable, so he was always surrounded by people and was the most dazzling person in the crowd.
Strangely, despite having so many people to chat with, Ji Zhaoming privately enjoys his time alone.
He is not afraid of loneliness, but rather of noise.
Perhaps because the robots were too noisy, Ji Zhaoming unintentionally blended into the crowd. After the crowd dispersed, he felt even more lonely than he was alone.
He sat on the stool, listening to the wind outside, staring blankly at the ceiling.
After who knows how much time has passed, have Gu Yunzhou and the others still not ended their meeting?
Ji Zhaoming glanced at the clock.
Only a dozen minutes had passed since they parted ways with Gu Yunzhou.
After thinking for a while, Ji Zhaoming decided to bring the little rabbit and the fox into the room.
The little fox had long been unhappy about living in the same den as the rabbits.
He's a demon! A demon who's gained sentience! What kind of life is it for him to spend all his time with a rabbit who hasn't gained sentience?
Logically speaking, he had already returned to his hometown and met his brother, so he could have easily slipped away from Ji Zhaoming.
The little fox had certainly thought about this as well.
However, when his gaze refocused on Ji Zhaoming, he put the thought out of his mind again.
Ji Zhaoming was his savior, so there was nothing wrong with him staying by his savior's side for a while.
The little fox glanced disdainfully at the rabbit beside it, then tugged at Ji Zhaoming's pants and climbed up.
Ji Zhaoming chuckled softly, bent down to hug the little fox, and tapped its head: "Stop fooling around."
The little fox hummed twice, shook its head, and looked around curiously.
Huh, Gu Yunzhou didn't come along?
That's really rare.
The little fox asked, "Where is their leader?"
Even if it had a hundred lives, it wouldn't dare to call Gu Yunzhou by his name directly. If it used "your leader," it would feel even stranger.
Ji Zhaoming is the supreme ruler of the machine race.
Ji Zhaoming explained, "They're in a meeting."
The little fox drawled out, "Oh, no wonder."
"Hmm? What's wrong?" Ji Zhaoming stroked the little fox's fur and asked.
The little fox felt comfortable being petted, its eyes slightly narrowed, and it felt its mind floating, daring to say anything: "If it weren't for an emergency, how could he possibly be willing to leave you?"
Huh?
At this point, the little fox belatedly realized that something was wrong with what he had said.
If something truly urgent were to happen, Ji Zhaoming should be completely surrounded; this is not in line with Gu Yunzhou's style.
The little fox's fur bristled instantly, and it asked, "What did they go to do?"
Recalling Gu Yunzhou's serious expression, Ji Zhaoming replied, "A meeting? It seems to be something very important?"
The little fox was also in the hall at the time.
However, he certainly didn't think it was anything important.
The little fox flicked its tail and said cheerfully, "It's probably something related to the king."
He had forgotten that Gu Yunzhou would probably be willing to leave for a while if it were related to Ji Zhaoming.
However, it will only last for a short period of time.
Ji Zhaoming increased the pressure slightly and said with a smile, "Or perhaps it's related to the future development of the machine race?"
The little fox scoffed, "How could that be? Their leader wouldn't be bothered by such a thing."
With its two paws nestled between Ji Zhaoming's palms, the little fox's tail swayed back and forth: "The way it looks, it's clearly thinking about the king."
The little fox felt a pang of sadness.
How come Ji Zhaoming is the king of the machine race? What if he's the king of the demon race...?
They will definitely cherish and pamper them.
Such a fine king, given to a machine race, it's truly a tragedy that Heaven is blind.
The hand that had been stroking his chin slowly stopped. The little fox looked up in confusion and asked, "Your Majesty? What's wrong?"
During this time, it didn't learn anything, but it did learn to compete with the machine race for the title of king.
Ji Zhaoming lowered his eyes, smiled and shook his head, continuing to stroke the little fox's chin.
Ji Zhaoming said, "They always have their own things to do."
No sooner had he finished speaking than there were three knocks on the door.
This is Gu Yunzhou's unique way of knocking on doors.
Ji Zhaoming stroked the little fox's fur one last time and replied with a smile, "The door isn't locked, come in."
The door was open, but Gu Yunzhou stopped outside. His eyes immediately fell on the rabbit and the little fox surrounding Ji Zhaoming, and he hesitated to come in.
The little fox felt the air around it suddenly turn cold and curled up in Ji Zhaoming's palm.
The air felt like a deadly sword. The little fox's ears twitched a few times, and it jumped off Ji Zhaoming's body before the cold air dissipated.
As Ji Zhaoming stood up, he asked, "Why aren't you coming in?"
Gu Yunzhou only entered the room after being invited.
Gu Yunzhou: "Does Master have any plans for tomorrow?"
Ji Zhaoming waved his hand: "No, this is my first time on this planet. You can make the arrangements."
There was only one chair in the room, which is the one Ji Zhaoming is sitting in now. When someone came in, Ji Zhaoming naturally got up and said, "You can sit in this chair."
"No need," Gu Yunzhou shook his head. "I can stand."
There's no reason for him to sit while the king stands.
Fortunately, the machine race had prepared the best things for Ji Zhaoming. The chair was spacious enough to comfortably seat two people. Ji Zhaoming moved to the side and said with a smile, "Why don't you sit next to me?"
Seeing that Gu Yunzhou did not agree, Ji Zhaoming stood up: "Otherwise, I won't sit down either."
That won't do.
Gu Yunzhou strode forward and sat down.
Half of the chair was occupied.
Immediately afterwards, the other half of the space was also occupied.
No matter how spacious it was, it couldn't fully accommodate the size of two adults. Their legs were pressed tightly together, and it seemed as if their warmth was being transmitted to each other through their clothes.
Gu Yunzhou thought that, compared to this, Wang looked even smaller.
It's small enough to be picked up easily, and it's not heavy even when placed on your lap.
Just as he was thinking this, Gu Yunzhou saw Ji Zhaoming bend over, revealing a slender, fair waist that could be grasped in one hand. There were two shallow dimples on his back, and sunlight was drawn into them, like a pool of water that could be seen.
Just like his king.
Bewitched, Gu Yunzhou pressed his hand against the dimple on his lower back.
The skin was smooth and radiant, and a light red tinge appeared immediately where the pressure was applied.
Gu Yunzhou suddenly had a strange feeling.
If he exerts just a little more force, he can leave a permanent mark on his king.
As if stimulated by something, Ji Zhaoming suddenly turned around.
*
The morning sunlight streamed through the stained glass windows onto the white sheets. Leaves, resting all night, danced in the spring breeze, their dappled shadows overlapping and entering the room. The eyelashes of the person on the bed fluttered like butterflies, their eyes gazing dreamily out the window.
Ji Zhaoming was so sleepy that he rubbed his eyes. His toes touched the ground, and he was startled awake by the cold floor. He gasped, and his fair toes curled up, turning slightly pink.
The clock on the wall ticked away, the hour hand striking exactly eight o'clock.
It's so late already?
Ji Zhaoming was really groggy yesterday. When he closed his eyes, all he could think about was how he suddenly turned around and saw Gu Yunzhou give him a slight smile.
This is very much in line with Gu Yunzhou's consistent style; he neither laughs loudly nor does he show a hint of a smile in his eyes when he is with Wang Shi.
Ji Zhaoming tossed and turned all day because of that smile, but he couldn't figure out what was wrong until he finally drifted off to sleep in the middle of the night.
Wearing slippers, as Ji Zhaoming passed by the window, he suddenly felt that he had seen this scene somewhere before. His mind raced and he suddenly remembered that it was the scene he had seen a few days ago when he leaned out of the window to look at the robot.
They're not exactly the same, but they're about 80% similar.
No wonder Gu Yunzhou hesitated to speak when he saw the window yesterday.
This was the time the robots most wanted to preserve, so they kept it and reproduced it for their king to see.
The light and shadow fell on Ji Zhaoming's face. He chuckled softly and shook his head. The doorknob made a slight sound as he turned his wrist.
Ji Zhaoming suddenly asked, "Gu Yunzhou?"
The door didn't open, and Ji Zhaoming didn't hear any sound, but he was certain that Gu Yunzhou was outside.
"...Hmm." Gu Yunzhou asked, "Has Master woken up?"
Ji Zhaoming chuckled and asked, "How long have you been waiting? Are you going out again today? When?"