"Wash the soil off the shore first before going in."
"Ouch."
After washing off the dirt, Cheng Dahua shouted and jumped high into the hot spring like a duck, slowly floating on the surface like a big black balloon.
"Ouch."
Cheng Dahua let out a comfortable cry, her two leaves swayed gently, and her roots pressed against the rock wall, propelling her forward a short distance.
Cheng Anlang stood to the side watching and couldn't help but admire: "You swim quite well."
Cheng Anlang put the egg that Yaya had given him into the hot spring. Yaya swam over, flapped its wings, and dived down, pushing the egg below towards the center of the hot spring.
Zhang Mingyu, soaking in the hot spring, leaned his lean upper body against the wall and waved to Cheng Anlang: "Why didn't you change your clothes? Is it inappropriate? A towel will do, um... you don't have to wear anything—"
"Wait!" Cheng Anlang's face flushed slightly from the steam. "I'll change right away!!!"
A moment later, Cheng Anlang, wearing shorts and with his thin upper body bare, awkwardly moved step by step into the hot spring.
Even through the fog, Zhang Mingyu could still see the messy, shallow scars on Cheng Anlang's body. He looked at Cheng Anlang, who was five meters away, and laughed, "Why are you standing so far away?"
"N-nothing..." Cheng Anlang faced Zhang Mingyu and moved into the hot spring, shrinking his body into the water until only a small part of his neck and head were exposed.
Zhang Mingyu grabbed the lizard by the tail and dragged it over, then picked up the teacup on its back and beckoned to Cheng Anlang: "Come and try this. There's only a little bit of this tea in the entire Star Alliance. Come and have a taste, it's quite delicious."
Cheng Anlang half-submerged, half-surfaced, like a mysterious water monster only showing its head, then stretched out its arm from the water to take a sip from the small teacup.
Zhang Mingyu asked Cheng Anlang through the lizard melon, "How is it?"
Cheng Anlang smacked his lips; he fully understood.
Without understanding the nuances of tea drinking, one cannot truly appreciate its quality; one can only hold the teacup and say, "It's alright..."
Cheng Dahua silently floated over and opened her mouth: "Ouch."
I'll try it.
Seeing this, Cheng Anlang poured a little into its mouth. Cheng Dahua couldn't stand the taste and opened its mouth to spit into the water, but Cheng Anlang quickly pinched its mouth shut.
"Swallow it, don't spit it into the hot spring!"
Cheng Dahua: "..."
Cheng Dahua swallowed the tea with a wronged expression, and then licked Cheng Anlang's bare shoulder as if in revenge.
"Damn it!" Cheng Anlang shoved Cheng Dahua away. "How many times have I told you! You can only fawn over me!"
"Aww..."
He forgot his son after getting a wife...
Zhang Mingyu frowned and said to Cheng Dahua, "Go and check the eggs to see if they're cooked."
"Huh?"
How can I tell if it's cooked or not?
Zhang Mingyu: "When the eggshell changes color, it's cooked. Go and keep an eye on it. Come back when it changes color."
"Aww!"
Is that even possible? I must see it change color with my own eyes!
Cheng Dahua excitedly and curiously moved the leaves to look at its little eggs.
Cheng Anlang: "..."
Can eggshells change color...?
After the two had tasted the tea, the lizard drifted away on its own, leaving only ripples on the water. Cheng Anlang was face to face with Zhang Mingyu in the water, and instinctively tried to back away, but Zhang Mingyu grabbed him.
Zhang Mingyu gently pulled him closer, touching his arm: "Why are you running? Feeling embarrassed?"
Cheng Anlang was half-heartedly pulled over by him: "No, I'm not embarrassed."
Zhang Mingyu glanced at the water and smoothed Cheng Anlang's hair: "The water's shallow here, aren't you uncomfortable curled up like this?"
"..." Cheng Anlang only showed his head; he still didn't want to expose his upper body. He had too many small wounds on his front, though they were old and not very noticeable, they were still visible up close. And then there was his back—the scar from the cut Xiao Fan had made on his back remained to this day. The scar was long and ugly, and he didn't want anyone to see it, especially Zhang Mingyu...
After he got together with Zhang Mingyu, he secretly searched for scar removal clinics online, but most of them were just ads from search engines, and he wasn't sure which clinic was professional.
He wiped his wet face, tucked the hair from his forehead behind his ear, pressed his back against the stone wall, and silently surfaced.
A thin stream of warm water slid down Cheng Anlang's neck and collarbone, across his pale body, and into the steaming hot spring. Zhang Mingyu looked at the wound below Cheng Anlang's collarbone and couldn't help but reach out and touch it.
"ah!!!"
Cheng Dahua, Ya Ya, and Xi Gua, who were focused on the eggs, were startled by the scream and looked toward the source of the sound.
Cheng Anlang crossed her arms protectively in front of her, looking like a virgin who had been violated, her face flushed as she stammered, "You, you, you—!"
He struggled for a long time but couldn't get anything out; his whole body was red, like a smoking, glowing charcoal.
Zhang Mingyu hadn't retracted his hand yet, completely oblivious to Cheng Anlang's embarrassment. His thoughts drifted back to the video of the garbage planet he'd watched before. Cheng Anlang still had those minor injuries on his body, but what about the slash to his back...?
He looked at Cheng Anlang as if he had X-ray vision and could see right through him. Cheng Anlang felt a chill run down his spine and couldn't help but want to back away: What kind of look was that...?
Startled by his retreating movement, Zhang Mingyu quickly reached out and grabbed him. After hesitating for a moment, he finally asked, "Is the injury on your back healed?"