In the end, An Zhe completely retracted those two wisps of hyphae.
This game was so childish, even human younglings would not deign to play it.
Lu Feng laughed softly, then scooped up large clumps of hyphae in order to smooth An Zhe's ruffled strands.
By no means did An Zhe need such a service. Every time Lu Feng smoothed down the hyphae, he retracted some of them. Ten minutes later, his body had shrunk by three-quarters of its usual shape. He was now only the size of a coconut.
Lu Feng seemed to suddenly realize something. He asked, "You can get smaller?"
He could.
This was something An Zhe himself had only recently realized as well. He could control his own size, but he didn't know if it had anything to do with how he used to eat things willy-nilly. He obviously hadn't eaten such things in a long time.
Then he heard Lu Feng ask, "Can you get even smaller?"
An Zhe tried hard to retract his hyphae and became the size of an apple.
With further shrinking, he became the size of a ping-pong ball.
... It seemed that he could still keep going.
Feeling his control over his own hyphae, An Zhe continued getting smaller.
His body suddenly felt weightless as it left the ground.
He was startled, but then he realized that Lu Feng had picked him up.
And after that, he was placed in the chest pocket of Lu Feng's uniform.
With a click, the button snapped into place.
"I'll take you out to play," The Colonel said with a relaxed voice, as though he were in high spirits.
An Zhe was rendered speechless.
The Colonel had definitely obtained some kind of strange joy.
An Zhe was in the vehicle.
The early morning sunlight spilled in through the armored vehicle's skylight.
This was the fourth time he and Lu Feng had gone to the Abyss.
He woke up.
But he did not get out of bed.
He also could not get out of bed.
He wrapped himself up in a quilt and refused to get out until Lu Feng had prepared a cup of milk and placed it in front of him.
Lu Feng asked, "Are you feeling a bit better now?"
An Zhe nodded.
"Does it still hurt?"
An Zhe shook his head.
Then he nodded.
With a slight frown, Lu Feng came over to An Zhe and peeled away the thin quilt that he had wrapped himself with. An Zhe allowed him to peel it away.
The surface of the quilt was made from a delicate fabric, both smooth and soft, yet when compared to the translucent and delicate milk-white skin, it seemed coarse.
But now on the skin there were crisscrossing marks, and just below the left side of his chest was broken skin surrounded by a large patch of red. It had originally been nothing at all. An Zhe had gotten up this morning and put on his shirt, but the fabric just happened to rub against the wound, causing it to sting, and he softly gasped.
Lu Feng pulled open a drawer and took out the alcohol, then dipped a cotton ball in it and cleaned the wound before applying medicine.
So the skin turned red again. An Zhe's skin was too delicate, like the white mushrooms newly grown after the rain, leaking juice with only a pinch.
After the medicine was applied, the area around the wound felt chilly. An Zhe wrapped himself up tightly in the quilt again, and he was pulled into Lu Feng's arms along with the quilt, where he rested his head against Lu Feng's right shoulder, leaning against him.
A little while later, it suddenly occurred to him that this man was the culprit responsible for the wound and that he should not peacefully coexist with him.
An Zhe tried to get away, but he had already been restrained in place.
He struggled fruitlessly, and in the process, the fabric of the quilt rubbed against his wound again.
"Don't move," Lu Feng said.
An Zhe was at a loss for words.
This man's tone of voice was not only lacking the slightest hint of guilt, but it also sounded like he was criticizing him for squirming around. It was extremely hateful.
It just so happened that he could see Lu Feng's neck as soon as he looked up. He ground his teeth.
Then he was hugged even tighter, and he could not move at all anymore.
An Zhe mulled over it and was still very unhappy in the end. It was not a temporary unhappiness, but rather a mood that incrementally developed over many days. He had been constantly wishing to find fault with Lu Feng.
This time, there was finally a wound worth noting.
He mumbled, "You're so mean."
Lu Feng asked, "Am I?"
"Yes."
"No I'm not." Lu Feng pulled him over. "I'm being very attentive."
An Zhe did not know what he was talking about.
Supposing all of this was the aftermath of being attentive, then when you are not being attentive, do you take people apart and eat them?
An Zhe frowned. "That's impossible."
"Hm?"
"When you go too far, I struggle every time," An Zhe said, "and I cry."
Lu Feng looked at him.
"But you ignore me," An Zhe said, "and you even become more mean."
The new day began with criticism from a little mushroom—Lu Feng looked down at the mushroom in his arms.
His voice was soft and delicate as he complained under his breath.
An Zhe finished speaking.
But Lu Feng still wished to hear him talk more.
So he asked, "Is there anything else?"
An Zhe glared at him, the meaning of which was, "Is this not yet enough?"
"I thought that was the way to pay attention to you," Lu Feng replied.
An Zhe was confused.
"Is there anything else?" An Zhe asked.
"Yes," Lu Feng said. "You ought to learn to control yourself."
An Zhe did not know what he was talking about.
He could not possibly have done anything wrong.
He looked straight at Lu Feng, his voice cold as he said clearly, "There's something wrong with you."
"See," Lu Feng said, "you're acting childish again."
An Zhe confirmed that there was indeed a species difference between himself and Lu Feng.
If he could reach over to pick up the pillow, the first thing he would do would be to throw the pillow into Lu Feng's face.
But now his hands were both bound by Lu Feng, so he could only maintain a deadlock with this man with his eyes.
After a while, Lu Feng was the first to smile.
He lowered his head to kiss the corner of An Zhe's lips. An Zhe turned his head to avoid his touch, but he was restrained.
First he found himself tilted up by the chin and deeply kissed a few times, only being released after he could not catch his breath. Then Lu Feng gently kissed the corners of his eyes.
Breaths skimmed past his ear. Lu Feng no longer touched him through the quilt, reaching in with his right hand to grasp An Zhe's waist, where there were certainly still red marks from last night.