Stop Thinking Chapter 32: Smile.

Chapter 32: Smile.

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Gu Xiuhan’s attempt this time greatly exceeded Ruan Yu’s tolerance for intimate contact. Ruan Yu, like a milk-fed kitten being teased by a crazy owner, became completely dazed and collapsed like a flat piece.

His eyelashes glistened with moisture, his cheeks, lips, and even his jaw were all reddened by the sucking. Tears formed into small pearls rolling everywhere, their soft and colorful hues gathering in the messy wrinkles of the sheets.

The pajamas were tossed around, dirty and sticky, and Gu Xiuhan took them away to wash. Although Gu Xiuhan covered Ruan Yu with a small blanket before leaving for the bathroom, paired with Ruan Yu’s absent-minded and tearful little face, it only seemed more conspicuous, and the sense of a pure mermaid prince tragically exploited by wicked humans became even stronger.

Because acknowledging kissing was a reasonable demand, initially Ruan Yu cooperated somewhat, only using the palm of his hand to press against Gu Xiuhan’s chest, symbolically exerting a tiny bit of force that couldn’t even push away a little kitten, against the strong muscles beneath.

Gu Xiuhan made him open his lips, and he shamefully and obediently complied, letting his tongue tremble out a small piece of soft red tip. Gu Xiuhan asked for more, and he gave more, his round eyes curiously and anxiously watching, but Gu Xiuhan made him close them tightly, suppressing his curiosity, and because he closed them so seriously and forcefully, fine, cute lines appeared on his cheeks.

Even the soldiers under Gu Xiuhan’s command couldn’t find anyone more obedient than Ruan Yu. These temptations… went beyond the realm of self-control. If Gu Xiuhan could restrain himself any longer, he wouldn’t be a man. Therefore, the progress afterward could only be described as unrestrained. After cleaning Ruan Yu with a clean nightgown and towel, Gu Xiuhan went to take a shower.

Ruan Yu shook his soft, limp ear fins, listening to the sound of water Gu Xiuhan created in the bathroom, his fish tail twitching involuntarily.

After relaxing for a while, there was still a lingering sense of strangeness in the middle of his tail.

The fish tail of a mermaid looked like a single entity at first glance, with scales arranged neatly, showing no trace of certain structures. That’s because some fish-like structures are hidden beneath the scales. Between the seemingly seamless scales, there are fine hair-like fissures, usually tightly closed to prevent impure water from carrying pathogens.

As a male, Ruan Yu’s structure is basically the same as that of a male fish in appearance. The main difference is that male fish don’t have fins near their tail fins, and they are influenced by higher concentrations of male hormones, often having much stronger physiques than males.

Whether it’s a male or a female, there is something unspeakable hidden beneath the scales in the middle of the front of the fish tail. The only difference lies in their actual functions. The structure of males can connect with the pouches in their abdomen, allowing them to reproduce through them. Except during mating season, these bodily functions of mermaids are in a state akin to hibernation. They don’t consciously think about it. But Gu Xiuhan just now lost control and…

Rubbed against those particularly soft scales due to their special position.

It wore away a little.

Although it didn’t reach the final step, it was still quite excessive, leaving Ruan Yu feeling bewildered and only able to snivel delicately, tears rolling down like tiny pearls whenever he blinked.

Later, he cried almost dehydrated, his fins trembling toward the back of his head, his tail tip wagging instinctively to please, and he kept calling out “brother” repeatedly.

Calling him “brother” was too childish. After Ruan Yu turned ten, he gradually started calling him Brother Xiuhan, only using “brother” or “big brother” on rare occasions when he needed to coax. Calling him that would feel particularly intimate and affectionate, and Gu Xiuhan always fell for it. Just call him “brother” twice before making a request, and then he would agree to whatever was said.

But this time, this ace in the hole backfired. Gu Xiuhan not only didn’t feel a pang of conscience to stop, but burst out with overwhelming endearments like “baby is so cute” and the like.

Then he went even more crazy.

The faint tooth marks on Ruan Yu’s cheeks were the result of calling him “brother”. Actually, it didn’t hurt, but it made the little mermaid feel wronged.

But if you want to blame someone, you can only blame Ruan Yu for having too tender skin, so soft and pink, like a ripe peach holding a pool of sweet syrup. After calling out “brother,” when he pursed his lips and turned his head away to avoid the kiss, the little extra flesh on his cheeks would swell slightly.

It was almost forcing Gu Xiuhan to use his teeth to grasp his soft cheek, being careful, so careful, to gently nibble on it.

After the two had made some progress, Gu Xiuhan became even more excessive than before. What could be euphemistically described as clingy or, less charitably, intermittent bouts of possessive insanity, was so extreme that even Lin Hui, who was often out of it due to their drug use, would have to pause for three seconds to process it. It was like a wolfhound that, having tasted meat, refused to settle for anything less, even on a workday. Gu Xiuhan would carve out time from his already busy schedule to come to the treatment room where Ruan Yu was gathering data for the research institute, seeking opportunities to be close to him.

In the treatment room were several patients who volunteered to try out new therapies. They were all like Qin Yue, former mecha soldiers who had suffered mental trauma on the battlefield and had been transferred to logistical units in the engineering department. As for Qin Yue, ever since he was crushed by Gu Xiuhan in the arena, he had avoided meeting Ruan Yu altogether.

It was embarrassing on one hand, and on the other hand, as men with the same romantic interest, Qin Yue could sense Gu Xiuhan’s hidden feelings for Ruan Yu. He knew it was hopeless and realized that his fleeting infatuation paled in comparison to the years of companionship between Ruan Yu and Gu Xiuhan. So he dared not entertain any fantasies.

Ruan Yu draped himself in a white lab coat reserved for mental health therapists. Because of his small frame, the coat was too big on him, making him look like a teenager who had stolen his father’s clothes. He was oblivious to this fact, looking smug and pleased as he moved around the treatment chairs, reading and recording data from the monitoring instruments.

The gaze of the soldiers couldn’t help but stick to Ruan Yu. It wasn’t that they had any particular thoughts, but he was just so cute that they couldn’t look away.

However, as soon as Gu Xiuhan entered the treatment room with the others, they consciously averted their gaze, afraid of causing any misunderstandings. Because in recent days, it wasn’t just the girls in the base who shipped them; others were starting to catch on—the two of them were a couple!

Apart from the speculative deductions like “Admiral Gu has been coming to the treatment room every day to take the little mermaid back to their quarters,” the most direct evidence came from a message circulated by the military family affairs department: “Admiral Gu specially came to change ‘little brother’ to ‘spouse’ that day. No need to keep it secret; he was afraid no one in the base would know.”

Gu Xiuhan was not a person known for being ostentatious or flamboyant, but when it came to this matter, he seemed almost desperate to spread the news throughout the entire base, even if he was leaving in a few days.

Gu Xiuhan picked an unused treatment chair and sat down. In front of others, he still maintained his stern and rigid image of a war machine, sitting straight as a javelin with eyes as cold as black ice. When he remained motionless in silence, anyone would think he was pondering some military matter while waiting for his mate to finish work.

But Ruan Yu knew he wasn’t. Fortunately, when there were others in the room, he knew how to restrain himself, preventing Ruan Yu from inexplicably blushing.

Once the soldiers finished recording the treatment data and left, leaving the two of them alone, certain imagined scenarios that felt as if they could be pulled into reality like silver threads burst forth.

One of the protagonists in the mental imagery was the treatment chairs in the room. The long sofas designed to help patients relax had soft but resilient padding that reacted sensitively like springs when pressure was applied. The black synthetic leather was matte and pure black.

In contrast, Ruan Yu seemed to emit a radiant white light. The stark contrast between black and white was almost blinding. His legs, slender but actually plump, extended from his warm-white skin, with delicate ankles and toes that seemed ready to kick like a spoiled child, pressing against Gu Xiuhan’s shoulder. But it was clear he wasn’t trying to kick him because there was barely any force behind it, and his toes curled up in embarrassment along with his increasingly flushed face.

There were weak protests like “Don’t… this is too weird,” but they were just verbal refusals, with no real action behind them.

Ruan Yu, “…”

As a subject in this imaginative scenario, Ruan Yu’s face, which had been facing Gu Xiuhan as he reviewed patient data, gradually became tense. He turned away while organizing the data, leaving Gu Xiuhan with only a sullen fish tail.

“Really, you humans are so messed up. Is there anything you won’t put in your mouths? Aren’t you afraid of getting a stomachache?”

Meanwhile, in the continuous stream of mental fantasies, Gu Xiuhan’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed something down. In Ruan Yu’s imagination, he tasted like a blend of honey and milk, sweet and fragrant.

Ruan Yu tensed up, entering a state of high alert, “…”

“How could it taste like milk? Is that really reasonable, Gu Xiuhan? Are you losing your mind?”

[Darling.]

[I know you heard me.]

A cold, clear voice echoed in his mind.

Pretending not to hear, Ruan Yu buried himself in his work, nervously fidgeting with his feet.

Gu Xiuhan stood up and walked over to the table. The sound of his hard military boots was like a clang. His cold metal fingers flicked at Ruan Yu’s ears, which were now so red they looked like they might bleed.

[Once you finish organizing the data, I’ll do what I said.]

[…]

[Do I have your consent, Ruan Ruan?]

Ruan Yu suddenly lifted his head, his small red face resembling a beetroot, glaring at Gu Xiuhan with angry eyes. His toes lifted and dropped aggressively, mimicking the action of swishing his tail in anger. However, the words that came out were much weaker than the fierce expression, sounding more like an old father trying to understand his son’s new hobbies, with a mix of concern and confusion, “You, you shouldn’t eat strange things like that.”

“It’s, it’s unhygienic…”

Gu Xiuhan remained silent, looking at him.

[Ruan Ruan, you’re really adorable.]

Similar sentiments had been repeated countless times from the moment they confirmed their relationship until now, yet it never seemed to be enough.

The cuteness of a lover was more heart-throbbing than being sexy or beautiful, stirring up irresistible emotions. Only cuteness could make someone involuntarily want to raise the corners of their lips and crinkle their eyes, even for the most serious of individuals.

Gu Xiuhan didn’t intentionally keep a straight face or avoid smiling; it was due to his condition. Interventions were effective, but they came a bit late, and he couldn’t effortlessly control his facial muscles to make appropriate expressions like an ordinary person.

However, at this moment, he didn’t need to consciously manipulate or engage any muscles.

He simply smiled naturally.

“You’re so cute.”

It was a gentle voice filled with smiles.

 

 

 

 

 

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