Rat, Rabbit, And Rabbit Transformed Into Humans And Married Their Natural Enemies. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Eyes met, and Bai Zhi felt that Xie Yuzhan’s glasses were better left unworn!

They offered no real concealment, instead highlighting the other party’s increasingly refined and elegant demeanor. Even the tone in which he asked if Bai Zhi wanted to start desensitization therapy with a kiss was imbued with composed temptation!

Yes, exactly, temptation!

Xie Yuzhan’s gaze rested on Bai Zhi’s face. The little rabbit was being good, staring blankly, seemingly quite surprised by the “start” he proposed. But after hugs and hand-holding, a kiss should naturally follow.

It was perfectly reasonable to begin more intimate contact from here.

Bai Zhi’s lips were slightly parted, the pale pink of a peach blossom tip, neither too thick nor too thin, looking soft… very kissable.

And in those clear, crystalline eyes, like polished glass, his own reflection was visible, looking somewhat stunned—perhaps shocked by the suggestion? After all, kissing one’s crush certainly warranted a degree of shock.

The shock of surprise.

And the resulting confusion.

He gently stroked Bai Zhi’s cheek and asked again, “A kiss, is that okay? We’ve already done hugging and hand-holding.”

Bai Zhi was momentarily speechless. Besides hand-holding and hugging, they had also done head-pats and cheek-pinching. Taking the next step to try something new… it really did seem like kissing was next.

He instinctively felt that something wasn’t quite right, but he couldn’t articulate what it was.

A kiss…

Looking at Xie Yuzhan, honestly, he didn’t feel the matter was that difficult.

He nodded, then immediately followed up with a more concrete response. He grabbed Xie Yuzhan’s wrist, straightened up, and leaned in for a kiss. However, he tilted his head and kissed the other man’s cheek instead.

He quickly retreated afterward, resuming his breakfast, only pausing long enough to squeeze out a brief “Done.”

Xie Yuzhan watched Bai Zhi’s reddening ears, the curve of his lips impossible to suppress.

Just as he had imagined, the other man’s lips were warm, softer than a cloud, sweeter than honey. Otherwise, why would the air be filled with floating sweetness?

Although it was a few centimeters off from what he had envisioned, it didn’t matter. This was indeed a good start.

He ruffled the other man’s hair, trying his best to suppress the laughter in his voice. “There must be give and take. You kissed me, so I should return a kiss.”

As Bai Zhi looked over in surprise, he clearly saw the shyness in his eyes and added, “Just like you, a kiss placed on the cheek.”

Bai Zhi nearly shook his head like a little rattle drum!

He shifted sideways, trying to put distance between them, and quickly said, “Not needed right now! Next time, we’ll talk about it next time! Didn’t you say we should proceed step by step?!”

Xie Yuzhan knew when to stop; he intended to proceed slowly and methodically.

He agreed, “You’re right, we should take it slow. Next time. I’m heading out now. I’ll make you steamed egg custard when I get back tonight.”

“Mhm, okay, see you tonight!”

“See you tonight.”

Bai Zhi lowered his head slightly, trying his best to concentrate on eating until the rhythmic sound of footsteps gradually faded away. Only then did he look up in the direction Xie Yuzhan had left, pursing his lips, lost in thought.

The feeling when he had leaned in for the kiss was strange. He was a little nervous, his heart pounding, but he didn’t dislike it or feel afraid. Instead, he felt quite settled inside.

Could it be that Mr. Wolf’s strategy was proving remarkably effective?

He pondered for a long time, ultimately deciding to trust Xie Yuzhan’s twenty-plus years of human experience. It was only natural that he, a little rabbit who had only recently become human, knew less.

When he wasn’t plotting to eat the bunny, Mr. Wolf was quite reliable!

After breakfast, he efficiently watered the plants and flowers on the terrace. He completed his daily live stream in the morning, and after his afternoon nap, he grabbed his laptop and started searching for educational videos related to the animal kingdom.

The so-called desensitization therapy was, plainly speaking, fighting fire with fire!

He would watch documentaries about the grasslands—Tibetan foxes, manuls, wolves, lions, and tigers. Bring them all on. If he watched enough, he would become immune and no longer be afraid.

When Lin Haiyan brought Bai Zhi his afternoon tea, he was curled up in a ball on the sofa, hugging Pikachu, only his head and eyes visible, watching with intense concentration.

She set down the cookies and milk tea and glanced at the TV screen nearby. It was an animal documentary.

She smiled and asked, “Interested in animals? Want to go to the zoo? You can see many wild animals in person; it’s much better than watching TV.”

Hearing this, Bai Zhi involuntarily shivered.

Watching TV was scary enough for a rabbit; going to the zoo to face these animals directly?! Good heavens, he’d rather just be put out of his misery quickly!

He mumbled a response, saying maybe later, maybe later.

After Lin Haiyan left, he continued watching the documentary while eating cookies, feeling chills running down his spine, making his fur stand on end.

By the end, he couldn’t even eat the cookies. He covered his eyes with both hands, leaving only a small gap to watch the screen.

Brave bunny, facing the difficulty head-on!

He was trembling and cautious, not even daring to breathe heavily, afraid of disturbing the hunters on the screen.

Then, a lion opened its bloody maw and lunged toward the screen, as if it were going to jump right onto him. The rabbit was so terrified he nearly rolled his eyes back and fainted!

He couldn’t watch anymore.

He leaped off the sofa, stumbled, grabbed Pikachu, and headed straight for the walk-in closet. No, no, even just watching a documentary was too intense!

Xie Yuzhan finished his work and left the office half an hour early, having promised to make Bai Zhi steamed egg custard.

While cooking, he chatted with Lin Haiyan, who mentioned that Bai Zhi had been glued to animal documentaries all afternoon and had brought up the zoo. Xie Yuzhan’s mind stirred. The weather this weekend looked good, suitable for an outing.

After finishing the custard, he went upstairs to check on Bai Zhi and call him for dinner.

However, there was no response after he knocked.

His brows furrowed slightly. He opened the door and saw only the animal documentary still playing—a leopard hunting.

Quite brave today.

He called out a few times but heard no reply. Remembering Bai Zhi’s behavior the last time he was scared by a thunderstorm, he walked straight to the walk-in closet, heading for that half-height wardrobe.

He expertly crouched down and tapped on the cabinet door, saying, “Dinner is ready. I made the steamed egg custard you asked for. Shall we go eat first? It won’t taste as good if it gets cold.”

Hearing the familiar voice, Bai Zhi slowly pulled open the cabinet door, his eyes trembling slightly. He asked with some hesitation, “Are you free this weekend?”

Xie Yuzhan said calmly, “I have a little work to handle. Why, does Zhi Zhi need something?”

Bai Zhi’s eyes dimmed for a moment. “Yes, I do, but it’s okay if you have work. We can check your schedule for next week.”

Xie Yuzhan reached out and smoothed Bai Zhi’s hair, which had been messed up from rubbing against the cabinet. His expression remained composed. “If you need me to accompany you, the weekend work can easily be handled ahead of time. It’s no trouble, not bothersome at all.”

After Xie Yuzhan withdrew his hand, Bai Zhi stared intently into the man’s dark phoenix eyes, seeing no trace of joking. So, he was serious?

He took a breath and quickly said, “If you can arrange it, could you come with me to the zoo?”

This was more than just a little brave. Xie Yuzhan countered, “You’re afraid watching animal documentaries and have to hide in your nest. Zhi Zhi, are you sure you want to go to the zoo and face those animals directly? Lions, leopards, wolves, pythons, eagles, and falcons—all the little rabbit’s natural predators are there.

“Are you really sure you want to go?

“There won’t be a burrow for you to hide in if you get scared at the zoo.”

Bai Zhi bit his lip, knowing Xie Yuzhan was speaking the truth.

He got scared watching Animal World; how could he not be afraid facing them in person? It was impossible not to be scared, but! Since he needed desensitization, since he was fighting fire with fire, why not go for a drastic measure? Maybe doing it once would help a lot.

However, with Xie Yuzhan, it was probably better to proceed step by step… right?

He couldn’t handle too much stimulation all at once. Besides, honestly, he wasn’t sure what the next step of contact with Xie Yuzhan should be. The other man said he would try to cooperate as much as possible, and that was good—it saved him the trouble of thinking.

He slowly took a deep breath, looked into Xie Yuzhan’s eyes, and said clearly, word by word, “I’m sure I want to go. I’ve decided I must go, so—

“Can you come with me?”

Xie Yuzhan’s lips curved slightly. He countered, “Is Zhi Zhi inviting me?”

“…Mhm.”

“Then I hope Zhi Zhi’s invitation can be a little more sincere.”

Huh? Bai Zhi paused, a little more sincere? What did that mean?

He frowned, trying hard to recall the sociological content he had read, oh, and the few humanities books and video materials. Ways to appear more sincere…

A light bulb went off in his mind. He had it!

He placed Pikachu on the carpet outside the cabinet door, leaned forward, and knelt on the floor, moving closer to Xie Yuzhan.

He tilted his head, curved his eyes into crescents, and softened his voice, drawing out his words, “Good Gege—

“Yuzhan Gege, please come with me~ I don’t want to go with anyone else, just you. Whether it’s… whether it’s lions, tigers, or eagles, if you’re there, I’ll be scared, but I won’t worry that they’ll hurt me. Gege is super reliable.

“I need you, and I only want to go with you. Gege, please come with me, okay?”

After speaking, he didn’t forget to add the action, tilting his head up and rubbing against Xie Yuzhan’s neck—

Cat-like begging! If he was going to learn, he had to learn the whole routine. Rub, rub!

Bai Zhi’s little combination move made Xie Yuzhan freeze. The head rubbing against his shoulder was fuzzy, the soft, fluffy hair fine and warm.

It felt incredibly strange.

With that nudge and rub, in a moment of distraction, his unstable half-crouch lost balance. His center of gravity shifted, causing him and the person rubbing against him to tumble onto the floor.

Bai Zhi was a little stunned when he landed with a thud on top of Xie Yuzhan. He propped himself up slightly with his forearm against the man’s chest, not forgetting to press for an answer. “So… Gege promises?”

Xie Yuzhan looked at Bai Zhi, who was sitting on him and didn’t seem inclined to get up anytime soon. His voice was soft and sounded exceptionally obedient, making him utterly endearing.

And he seemed completely unaware that their current position was inappropriate.

Xie Yuzhan’s gaze suddenly darkened.

After half a minute of silence, he gently hooked Bai Zhi’s chin with his hand, his voice low and deep, “Is Zhi Zhi trying to charm me?”