FIO CH54

Chapter 54: Lu Fangchi Has No Intention of Taking Responsibility

The young man lying in bed fluttered his eyelashes twice, slowly opening his eyes. A dull ache throbbed in his temples, yet he felt a sense of satisfaction from a good night’s sleep. He closed his eyes again for a moment to fully shake off his drowsiness. Once the urge to sleep was completely gone, Lu Fangchi opened his eyes again and lazily got up.

As he moved, the arm draped over his waist slipped off. Following the arm, Lu Fangchi saw its owner—Zhou Zheng.

Lu Fangchi’s relaxed eyebrows immediately furrowed into a frown, and he raised his hand to flick off Zhou Zheng’s arm.

The alpha, jostled by the movement, shifted and changed his position. He turned over, exposing the back of his neck.

Lu Fangchi’s brows furrowed even deeper. The gland area on the alpha’s neck was in a terrible state. It was covered with bite marks in various directions, layer upon layer. The fragile skin was red and swollen, and there were even two spots where the pheromone-laden bite marks had seeped a bit of blood. Anyone who saw it would exclaim that the bites were too harsh and that he had been ravaged.

There were only two people in this room: Zhou Zheng and himself. There was no third person. Unless he could transform like the seventy-two changes, he didn’t have the ability to bite in that spot. Given Lu Fangchi’s past behavior, it was obvious whose doing this was.

Lu Fangchi pursed his lips into a straight line, pinched the bridge of his nose with a headache, and wondered when he would break the bad habit of biting people’s glands at will.

Zhou Zheng didn’t sleep soundly. His eyebrows were knitted together as he tossed and turned, and then he slowly opened his eyes. His first instinct was to look for Lu Fangchi, and he turned over to meet Lu Fangchi’s gaze.

They had just been arguing fiercely, vowing never to see each other again, and now they were lying in the same bed, exposed to each other. The situation was awkward, and silence spread between them.

Lu Fangchi pursed his lips as he watched Zhou Zheng turn over, sit up, and then get out of bed. The moment his feet touched the ground, his knees buckled uncontrollably, and he had to hold onto the bedside table to steady himself.

Without the blanket to cover him, he was completely exposed. Lu Fangchi saw his condition clearly. From the gland area down, there were bite marks of various sizes on his collarbone, arms, and waist, as if they were stamps marking ownership—mine.

Lu Fangchi felt his face grow hot, incredulous that his bed behavior could be so poor.

Zhou Zheng pursed his lips and quietly asked, “May I use the bathroom?”

Lu Fangchi was too embarrassed to say no. He opened his mouth but was momentarily speechless. After clearing his throat, he managed to croak out a hoarse word, “Go ahead.”

“Thank you,” Zhou Zheng nodded in agreement, bent down to pick up the T-shirt that had been discarded on the floor, and walked towards the door.

Just as Lu Fangchi wondered why Zhou Zheng hadn’t gone to the bathroom, the alpha returned, holding a glass of water. He had intended to hand it to Lu Fangchi but paused for two seconds before placing it on the bedside table.

Lu Fangchi still remembered the issues between them and, by principle, shouldn’t accept Zhou Zheng’s gesture of goodwill, such as drinking that glass of water. But Zhou Zheng’s attitude was too humble, especially with the bite marks all over his body and his right hand that had just held the glass.

That right hand, now free of the initial redness and swelling, looked even more alarming. All five fingers were bruised in a purplish hue, as if they had been subjected to torture. Although it was his own fault, combined with the bite marks and the intense gaze, Lu Fangchi indeed found it hard to refuse.

After a two-second silence, Lu Fangchi reached for the glass, took two sips. The warm liquid slid down his throat, soothing the burning sensation, and he felt much better.

Zhou Zheng, seeing Lu Fangchi finish drinking, turned around without a word and walked towards the bathroom.

…It felt somewhat absurd. Lu Fangchi had referred to the T-shirt he was wearing, which had a large upward-pointing index finger on the back, quite abstract.

What an ugly shirt, Lu Fangchi silently criticized in his mind, and then his mind went blank as some strange images flooded into his brain.

“Can’t you help me?”

“You’re not in your right mind right now…”

“Can you?”

“Forgive, forgive.”

“Then can you hug me?”

“Hold me and take me to the sofa.”

In the end, taking advantage of the situation, he bit the other person’s gland.

Lu Fangchi: …

Regret filled his face as he raised his hand to cover it.

Lying in bed, Lu Fangchi felt utterly hopeless, his mind a blank slate. Regret or not, it had already happened.

The sound of movement came from the direction of the bathroom. Lu Fangchi reflexively closed his eyes, unsure of how to face the situation, deciding to play dead.

With his eyes tightly shut, Lu Fangchi listened intently. Footsteps approached and stopped beside him. He caught a whiff of dampness, and Zhou Zheng likely took a look at him before stepping back.

The footsteps started again, and he left.

Lu Fangchi let out a sigh of relief, but his heart tightened again as the door opened and footsteps approached. He had returned.

Zhou Zheng looked down at the person on the bed. His face was flushed, his lips pursed, and his eyelids trembled slightly—it was obvious he was pretending to sleep.

Lu Fangchi had no intention of taking responsibility.

And he had no right to demand that he take responsibility.

Zhou Zheng’s eyes drooped in disappointment as he placed the bowl in his hand on the bedside table and whispered, “I’ve cooked some porridge for you.”

Lu Fangchi’s eyelashes fluttered, but he didn’t respond.

Zhou Zheng continued, “I took the liberty of asking for three days off for you at the company. Don’t be angry.”

Lu Fangchi’s eyelids twitched, but he still didn’t reply.

Realizing he wouldn’t get a response, Zhou Zheng’s face fell, and he pursed his lips, saying softly, “I’ll leave now. Rest well.”

He took very small steps, looking back every three steps, but Lu Fangchi never opened his eyes.

…Thud. With the sound of the door closing, Lu Fangchi endured another five minutes of pretending to sleep, making sure Zhou Zheng was far enough away before he opened his eyes.

He sat up and saw the bowl on the bedside table, filled with white porridge mixed with white chicken shreds, emitting an enticing aroma that made Lu Fangchi’s stomach rumble with hunger.

Lu Fangchi pursed his lips, a hint of hesitation flashing in his eyes, but ultimately his appetite won out—Zhou Zheng wasn’t there anyway.

He reached for the porridge, and his phone nearby “ding-dong”ed. Lu Fangchi glanced at it and saw a text message from Zhou Zheng.

Huh? What does this mean?
Lu Fangchi picked up his phone and took a look; it seemed to be a new one. He had a hunch and swiped the screen to read the text message from Zhou Zheng—I’ll compensate you for the phone you broke.

Lu Fangchi frowned slightly. No matter what had led to it, breaking the phone was his own doing and there was no need for Zhou Zheng to compensate him.

“Ding-dong,” another new message popped up—I took the liberty of removing you from my blacklist. I’m sorry.

The way this was phrased… Lu Fangchi scratched his warm earlobe and pursed his lips. Now that he thought about it, his uncontrollable behavior that day had been influenced by his susceptible period, but it was still too emotional, with crying, throwing the phone, and blocking him—it was utterly embarrassing.

The heat spread to his cheeks. Lu Fangchi put down the phone and took a deep breath to calm himself. The phone “ding-dong”ed again.

Zhou Zheng: Can you stop blocking me?

Sober now, Lu Fangchi couldn’t bring himself to impulsively block someone again, but he didn’t reply either. Not blocking someone didn’t mean he would respond.

He picked up the bowl, scooped a bit of porridge with a spoon, blew on it gently before it reached his lips, and only took a bite once the porridge no longer steamed. It tasted good, satisfying his taste buds instantly. The flavor was familiar; he could tell it was made by Zhou Zheng. Lu Fangchi had to admit that Zhou Zheng’s cooking really suited his taste.

His movements quickened, and in no time, half a bowl of porridge was gone.

“Ding-dong,” the phone rang again.

Lu Fangchi continued eating while looking at the message from Zhou Zheng: . ( likely a test message to see if he was blocked)

He saw through Zhou Zheng’s cautious intentions at a glance. Ignoring the phone as the screen dimmed, Lu Fangchi continued to drink his porridge until the bowl was empty.

He placed the bowl on the bedside table and stretched contentedly. The susceptible period had passed relatively well this time. Maybe his waist was a bit sore, but he felt refreshed, far from the miserable state Zhou Zheng was in.

Lu Fangchi picked up his phone to check work when a “ding-dong” notification popped up on top.

Zhou Zheng: [Picture]

Unable to see the content from outside, he had to click in. But clicking in would mark it as read. Lu Fangchi had been peeking at the screen from outside, pretending it was unread. He suspected this was one of Zhou Zheng’s tricks.

Not good, Lu Fangchi thought.

“Ding-dong,” another floating window popped up.

Zhou Zheng: [Picture]

Another picture. This time, Lu Fangchi was sure Zhou Zheng was subtly testing him.

Ignoring it, Lu Fangchi swiped left to delete the floating window, out of sight, out of mind.

He logged into DingTalk, entered his account and password, and quickly scanned through his work to-dos. Everything was fine; the company was running smoothly without any hitches during his three-day absence. And most importantly, the final approval from HR had been withdrawn, rendering Liang Shuang’s resignation application invalid.

He wasn’t leaving anymore, and the problem of the new project being unregulated was solved.

Another move by Zhou Zheng, who always acted on a whim. Speaking of which, why had he suddenly gone quiet?

Lu Fangchi accidentally opened the message bar and pondered over Zhou Zheng’s unread messages. What were these two pictures?

After much hesitation, Lu Fangchi decided to take a look. It didn’t really matter if it was marked as read without a reply.

The first picture was of Zhou Zheng’s neck. The dog bite, which had been seeping blood, had broken the skin and was now bleeding more.

This looked terrible. Lu Fangchi frowned and looked at the second picture.

An electronic thermometer with a screen displaying 38.8°C.

One of the side effects of an alpha being marked and injected with pheromones—fever.

Lu Fangchi’s eyebrows furrowed into a frown, and he covered the screen with his hand. As the culprit, he had to reply: How are you?

Zhou Zheng replied instantly: Not good, in the hospital.

Lu Fangchi: What did the doctor say?

Zhou Zheng: He asked why the person who marked me didn’t come together.

…Lu Fangchi was speechless, not quite sure how to respond.

Zhou Zheng: Just kidding.

Zhou Zheng: The doctor said it’s nothing serious, just a fever shot, and the rest will be metabolized.

So it’s the same as last time. Lu Fangchi replied: Remember to treat the wound.

Zhou Zheng: Okay.

Zhou Zheng: [Picture]

The gland area on the back of his neck was wrapped in white gauze.

Lu Fangchi reminded: And your hand.

Zhou Zheng: [Picture]

Swelling reduced, anti-inflammatory medication.

Treating the symptoms was enough. Alphas had a decent healing and recovery ability. Lu Fangchi finally felt relieved: How much is the medical bill?

Zhou Zheng: 520.

This amount… Lu Fangchi frowned slightly and opened Alipay to enter the amount: 1000.

The other party has added you to the blacklist and cannot transfer money to them.

The other party has rejected your friend request.

Lu Fangchi ground his molars, cursed Zhou Zheng’s childishness under his breath, and then switched to WeChat to remove him from the blacklist.