CR: Wine and Sugar – Extra Five

Lu Jiuchuan saw that Tang Ci had no objection and immediately found an open space to set up the tent.

In fact, the two of them had slept in a tent together in the Card World but there were teammates such as Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang around at the time. In addition, it was a survival secret room and they could be besieged by beasts or hunters at any time when camping in the desert. The two of them didn’t have the heart to think about other things. They were tense all night and didn’t dare to be careless.

Now it was different. They came to the grassland of the real world and it was a scenic spot with many tourists. There were no ferocious beasts to threaten their safety. At most, they saw a few cattle and sheep raised by herdsmen.

Camping here was very safe.

It took only 10 minutes for Lu Jiuchuan to set up the tent. Tang Ci stood beside him and couldn’t help, so he went to the car to get some food. The camping place was far from the town and they had to prepare their own dinner.

As a result, he opened the trunk and saw that Lu Jiuchuan had actually prepared a barbecue grill?

Tang Ci was stunned and turned around to ask a question. “Brother Jiu, do you want to eat barbecue at night?”

Lu Jiuchuan’s voice came from the other side of the tent. “Yes, I have prepared the tools for a barbecue. The lamb we bought in town today at noon can be grilled and eaten.”

Tang Ci nodded and moved the grill to a nearby open space.

Lu Jiuchuan finished setting up the tent. He walked to the car and took out a gray toolbox from the trunk. Tang Ci saw him seemingly ‘digging in a treasure chest’ as he continuously pulled out a folding chair table, a table cloth, two folding chairs and things like barbecue skewers, various dipping sauces, peppers, dishes and chopsticks…

Tang Ci couldn’t help wondering, “Are you traveling or moving?”

Lu Jiuchuan explained with a smile, “I used to like going on picnics with some good friends when I was on vacation. These tools were bought a long time ago. I’ll make you some skewers tonight.”

Tang Ci couldn’t help looking forward to it after hearing this.

The two of them sat down on a small bench. Lu Jiuchuan lit a fire next to the tent, cut the fresh meat into small pieces with a kitchen knife, skewered it and set it on the barbecue grill along with peppers. In a few moments, Tang Ci could smell the rich aroma of cooked meat.

Lu Jiuchuan flipped the skewers over and over and golden oil dripped onto the charcoal fire, making sizzling sounds.

Tang Ci couldn’t grill meat so he sat down and waited quietly.

Lu Jiuchuan quickly cooked more than a dozen skewers of lamb. He sprinkled a layer of dipping sauce on it and handed it to Tang Ci. “Taste it?”

Tang Ci took a bite. The cooked meat wasn’t greasy in the mouth and there was no mushy taste. The addition of the seasoning made the meat skewers fragrant. He quickly ate a bunch of them and couldn’t help praising it. “It is very delicious.”

Lu Jiuchuan smiled slightly. “Eat more. I bought a lot to feed you.”

Of course, they couldn’t just eat meat skewers for dinner. Lu Jiuchuan also prepared some vegetables for barbecuing such as mushrooms, melons, potatoes, etc. Tang Ci had fallen asleep in the car in the afternoon and hadn’t expected Lu Jiuchuan to buy so many things when passing through the town. 

The sumptuous barbecue made Tang Ci very satisfied. His stomach was warm and even his heart warmed up.

Don’t look at Brother Jiu’s usual carelessness. Once he really wanted to do something well, he would actually be very careful.

Then Tang Ci was soon slapped in the face.

The two of them finished up the barbecue and put out the fire. They cleaned up the scene and Lu Jiuchuan asked Tang Ci to wash up and prepare to rest.

Tang Ci simply washed his face and rinsed his mouth. Then he bent down and entered the tent, only to find there was only one quilt in the tent.

The size of the double tent was very spacious and the tarp under their feet was covered with a thick blanket. There was a duvet that was very warm at first glance and two pillows.

It was one bed and a double quilt.

Tang Ci’s heart thumped uncontrollably and he asked seriously, “Is there only one quilt?”

Previously in the Card World, he and Brother Jiu stayed in a double tent with two quilts and didn’t disturb each other. Yet today… it wasn’t known if Brother Jiu was careless or did it intentionally but he only prepared one quilt?

Tang Ci had been inwardly praising him for being careful just now. However, Lu Jiuchuan was careless when it came to such an important matter?

Lu Jiuchuan heard this question and coughed slightly. He explained, “The tent I bought in the supermarket came with a duvet. I didn’t open the package to look at it carefully. I thought that a double tent should come with two quilts. I just opened it and found it was only one…” He patted his forehead and looked remorseful. “It is my fault. I should’ve prepared an extra quilt.”

Tang Ci’s heart was beating like a drum but his face was calm. “It’s fine. It is just one bed and there is no need to pay much attention to it. It is fine as long as we can sleep.”

Lu Jiuchuan sighed with relief and smiled. “That’s good. It is late. Get ready to rest.”

The two of them took off their shoes at the entrance. Lu Jiuchuan lifted the quilt and quickly took off his jacket and t-shirt. He lay down on the bed in only a pair of pants.

Tang Ci clearly saw the muscles of the man’s body.

There wasn’t a trace of extra fat on his upper body and his abdomen had a clear eight pack. The neat lines of his shoulders and the strong chest muscles gave people a strong sense of security…

What would it be like to be held by such a man?

Tang Ci heard his heartbeat which seemed to be coming from a distance.

After all, Lu Jiuchuan was a soldier and his figure was even better than Tang Ci imagined. Tang Ci was a bit embarrassed and immediately looked away. He turned his back to Lu Jiuchuan and dawdled for a long time before taking off his coat.

Lu Jiuchuan saw that Tang Ci was wearing a short-sleeved shirt as he slipped under the quilt and couldn’t help wondering, “Won’t you feel uncomfortable wearing a shirt to sleep?”

Tang Ci thought for a moment before unbuttoning one of the buttons at his neckline to breathe.

Lu Jiuchuan, “……”

He really wanted to rip this shirt off on the spot.

Yet in response to Tang Ci’s serious expression, Lu Jiuchuan withdrew the hand that was about to move and joked, “We are both men. Are you still shy?”

Tang Ci, “……”

He was a bit shy in his heart but he was serious on the surface. “This is a grassland and it might be cold at night. It is better to wear clothes to sleep so as to not catch a cold.”

“Okay, it is up to you. I’m used to sleeping naked and I always feel that I’m not free enough when wearing clothes.”

Tang Ci looked at him doubtfully. “However, you’ve never slept naked in the Card World.”

Lu Jiuchuan raised an eyebrow. “That is different. In the Card World, we had to run for our lives at any time. I can’t kill a hunter in the middle of the night while being naked. It is even more impossible to run naked in front of my brother, right?”

Tang Ci, “……”

It made sense.

It was just that Tang Ci couldn’t tell if Lu Jiuchuan’s habit was real or not.

It was already dark. Lu Jiuchuan turned off the lights in the tent and pointed to the transparent top. “I bought this tent with a transparent roof. We can see the stars. Look—”

Tang Ci followed his gaze.

In the night sky on the prairie, countless stars dotted the dark sky. This was the most brilliant starry sky that Tang Ci had ever seen.

Tang Ci was so shocked by the vast starry sky that he couldn’t speak.

Suddenly, a meteor streaked across the sky. It was immediately followed by another meteor that seemed to be joining the fun, dragging a long, silver tail.

Lu Jiuchuan said, “Xiao Tang, I heard that your wish will come true if you make a wish on a meteor. Do you believe it?”

Tang Ci’s mind returned and he shook his head seriously. “I don’t believe it. Meteors are cosmic dust particles and solid blocks traveling in interstellar space. They get close to Earth and due to the gravity of Earth, they break into the atmosphere. The light trails are produced by friction and combustion in the atmosphere. Meteors are essentially just broken stones. Making a wish on a meteor is just human self-comfort.”

Lu Jiuchuan didn’t become angry due to these words. He instead smiled. He looked at Tang Ci’s serious face and whispered, “Then do you think that every phenomenon can be explained by science?”

Tang Ci was stunned. “That isn’t true. There are still many questions that human beings can’t explain scientifically. For example, humans have bizarre and rich dreams, a strange sixth sense, etc.”

Lu Jiuchuan was silent for a moment. Then he spoke like he was inadvertently bringing it up, but he also seemed to be discussing it seriously. “Also, how can you explain this feeling of liking someone?”

Tang Ci’s entire body stiffened. Then he turned his head and met Lu Jiuchuan’s deep eyes.

The man had a shallow smile on his face but his eyes were extremely gentle. Tang Ci saw a clear projection of himself in the other person’s eyes. Such a simple gaze seemed to be looking into the other person’s heart.

Tang Ci’s heart was beating violently.

What did Brother Jiu mean by this? Could he also?

Tang Ci couldn’t believe it at all.

He and Lu Jiuchuan had known each other for a long time. Lu Jiuchuan’s performance was like a straight man. Brother Jiu cared for everyone in the team like an older brother. Tang Ci sometimes even thought that if he hadn’t lost his legs in the Nightmare Room, Brother Jiu’s attitude toward him wouldn’t be any different from his attitude toward Huaying and Senior Gui.

During that time, Brother Jiu had always been by his side. Perhaps it was out of sympathy and distress?

Tang Ci was greedy for the warmth of this man but he didn’t dare to let himself fall too deeply.

Lu Jiuchuan never said if he liked men or not. Lu Jiuchuan’s squad had as many handsome men as clouds and they were all strong and handsome. If he liked men, shouldn’t he have found a boyfriend a long time ago?

The fact that Brother Jiu was single for so many years made it highly likely that he liked women. It was because there were too few women in the army that he never had a chance to get a girlfriend. This explanation was the most reasonable.

Tang Ci had secretly liked Brother Jiu for a long time but he never dared to say it or show any emotion of liking the other person. He was worried that if he confessed, Brother Jiu would say something like ‘I only treat you as a brother’ and he would be embarrassed!

It was better to hide this pure love deep in his heart.

Now Brother Jiu suddenly mentioned the word ‘like’ to him. What did it mean?

Tang Ci was in a daze. Then the next moment, Lu Jiuchuan suddenly turned over and pressed Tang Ci under him. His lips slowly approached and stopped when they were five centimeters away from Tang Ci’s lips.

Tang Ci’s heart almost stopped beating. His entire body was stiff like a statue and his hands gripped the quilt tightly.

Lu Jiuchuan didn’t hesitate any longer and kissed him fiercely.

“Um…”

Tang Ci’s eyes widened.

Lu Jiuchuan was pressing down on him and blocking the light in front of him so he couldn’t even see the starry sky through the transparent tent top. He could only see Lu Jiuchuan’s handsome face up close.

There was a gentle smile in the man’s eyes as he pried open Tang Ci’s teeth and kissed him deeply…

This type of domineering but gentle kiss made Tang Ci tremble and his cheeks instantly turned red.

He forgot to resist and he forgot to respond. He only knew that he was holding the blanket like a robot whose pause button was pressed. He was motionless as he was kissed by Lu Jiuchuan for five minutes.

Lu Jiuchuan withdrew from his mouth and joked with a smile, “Did our Xiao Tang crash just now?”

Tang Ci, “………”

Could he beat up this person?

Seeing Tang Ci’s blushing appearance, Lu Jiuchuan thought, ‘It turns out that Xiao Tang looks so good when he is shy.’

It was countless times better than his usual serious expression!

He resisted the urge to continue bullying Tang Ci and took a deep breath to adjust his emotions. He put his forehead against Tang Ci’s forehead and asked in a low voice, “In fact, I made a wish on the meteor just now. Do you want to know what it is?”

Tang Ci instinctively asked, “What?”

Lu Jiuchuan answered, “I told the meteor that I wanted to kiss someone I liked. I hoped that if I kissed him directly, he wouldn’t hit me… this wish has now come true.”

Before Tang Ci could react, Lu Jiuchuan lightly kissed his forehead. “Xiao Tang, I like you.”

Proofreader: Paranoid Kitten