Involuntary Symbiosis Chapter 29

See you tomorrow

In the bedroom, Wang Ling finished most of his work and closed his laptop. He touched his neck, feeling his gland. The soft gland had pulsed many times without his conscious awareness.

Wang Ling realized the frequency of the pulsing was quite high. Was he entering his heat cycle? But there was no pain associated with heat cycles when it pulsed, and he didn’t quite believe Fu Yaren could be thinking of him that many times.

At the same time, the doorbell rang. Wang Ling got up, put on his fuzzy house slippers, and the soles made a slight friction sound against the carpet. When he opened the slightly cool doorknob, he saw the person he had just been thinking about.

“What is it?” Wang Ling adjusted his black-rimmed glasses. He distinctly remembered it was past eight in the evening, and he didn’t want to have to serve the neurotic Fu Yaren after finishing his work.

Fu Yaren was displeased with Wang Ling’s tone. He saw Wang Ling wearing black-rimmed glasses, which added to the other man’s sense of composure. However, the beige sweater and fluffy white pants Wang Ling was wearing gave him a reliable and warm, domestic feeling. He also noticed Wang Ling was wearing dark brown fuzzy slippers, and the questioning he had planned to deliver was momentarily forgotten.

Wang Ling noticed his gaze and said, “It’s almost winter. It’s just more comfortable like this at home.” Wang Ling ignored him and walked back inside. Fu Yaren took off his shoes and put on the slippers Shu Hua had previously arranged for him at Wang Ling’s place. The warm indoor heating enveloped Fu Yaren’s face. He could also smell a refreshing green tangerine scent, which kept the room from feeling stuffy at all.

“If Mr. Fu wishes to bond now, I apologize, but I cannot satisfy you,” Wang Ling sat down on the sofa, his tone polite yet distant.

Fu Yaren didn’t pursue Wang Ling’s attitude. He sat down next to Wang Ling. Wang Ling could feel the coldness of the outside world clinging to him, and he smelled the absinthe pheromones. The other man said, “Then why did you allow me to enter?” Hearing this, Wang Ling forced a polite smile. Fu Yaren watched as the indentation on the sofa beside him lessened. Wang Ling stood up, picked up the kettle from the table, and poured him water. The gushing sound of water filled the cup. The alpha said, “When a guest arrives at my door, I wouldn’t go so far as to turn them away.” Once the cup was nearly full, Wang Ling handed the water to Fu Yaren and smiled politely, “Basic courtesy.”

Fu Yaren took the water Wang Ling poured for him, his fingertips brushing against the other man’s warm, moist fingertips. He held the water cup, glanced at it, and then looked at Wang Ling, saying, “This is cold water.”

“It seems Mr. Wang is not very willing to entertain me.” Fu Yaren looked at the alpha standing before him. Wang Ling placed the kettle on the table with a crisp sound and politely said, “Mr. Fu arrived at my door without notice. I truly didn’t have time to prepare hot water for you.”

Fu Yaren found Wang Ling truly interesting. He took a sip of the cold water, which felt like an ice cube sliding down his throat. He said, “I imagine CEO Xu and CEO Nan must enjoy taking you out for negotiations, right?”

“Mr. Fu flatters me,” Wang Ling sat down on the single-seater sofa, watching Fu Yaren calmly. The green tangerine scent emanating from him slowly grew richer. Fu Yaren felt the irritating factors in his own body stabilize. His body instinctively released pheromones to respond to his partner.

Neither of them spoke much. Wang Ling noticed that Fu Yaren made no other moves. Their gazes were fixed on the documentary playing on the television in front of them. The documentary chronicled a person’s life. Fragmented sounds emerged from the TV. The entire documentary had no excessive narration. There was the sound of a baby crying, the scattered chatter of a teenager with peers, the music of a wedding, the aged figure of a person standing silently before their partner’s grave, the sound of a machine stopping in a hospital, and then the cry of a baby emerged again. At the same time, the screen froze on the baby, and the documentary ended.

Neither of them said a word. Wang Ling found it somewhat ridiculous that he could watch a documentary so calmly with Fu Yaren. Wang Ling heard scattered sounds nearby. He checked the clock and saw it was past eleven. Fu Yaren stood up. Wang Ling looked up at him. Fu Yaren’s face was expressionless, and the faint scent of absinthe wrapped around the green tangerine scent one last time. Fu Yaren spoke, “See you tomorrow, Mr. Wang.”

The clock chimed exactly twelve.

Wang Ling didn’t say much, his eyes complex. Finally, he replied, “Mhm.”