Chapter 105 – King of Entertainment: Loving You Across the World – Tang Tang’s Fantastic Adventure (Part 5) (12)
The little squirrel was fast asleep. The pitter-patter of rain outside sounded like a lullaby, helping it sleep soundly. It rolled over and stretched lazily in Min Gunian’s palm.
Its round, gleaming eyes opened, and it twitched its nose, catching a familiar scent.
“Squeak squeak squeak—”
To help the squirrel sleep more comfortably, Min Gunian had curved his palm into a bowl shape. The squirrel tried to roll over, but couldn’t flip itself upright. Its dark, shiny eyes stared accusingly at the man who was controlling it, full of spirit and expression.
“Hehehe…” Min Gunian chuckled softly. He reached out a finger and poked the squirrel’s soft little belly.
“Squeak squeak squeak—”
Its four tiny paws tried to grab the “offending” hand, but having only just recovered from illness, it was too weak. The fingertip deliberately pressed on its most ticklish spots, making it squeal with laughter.
Seeing the little squirrel so energetic, Min Gunian felt a bit less worried about Bai Tang. After their playful moment, the squirrel collapsed in his wide palm, its belly rising and falling with each breath.
“Tang Tang…”
As the man softly called out, the little squirrel, who had been trying to roll over again, suddenly froze.
Did Min Gunian realize he had turned into a squirrel?
Would he think he was some kind of monster and try to catch him?
With that thought, Bai Tang somehow found the strength to wriggle free from Min Gunian’s hand. Landing on all fours, he darted off and disappeared into a crack between the rocks to hide.
Startled, Min Gunian quickly followed the little squirrel. When he got behind the rock, he saw a fluffy tail blocking the entrance to the crack. The squirrel had tried to squeeze in, but its chubby backside had gotten stuck.
The sight made Min Gunian laugh uncontrollably. How could his precious one be this cute?
Hearing the man’s laughter, the squirrel tried even harder to burrow in.
“Tang Tang, there might be bugs in there, you know.”
Bugs!
The little squirrel froze for a second, then quickly backed out. “Squeak squeak squeak—” Bugs? No way! He definitely didn’t want bugs crawling all over him.
Just the thought of caterpillars wriggling on his body made Bai Tang feel itchy all over.
“Tang Tang,” Min Gunian said, gently brushing the dirt and dust off the squirrel as he cupped it in his hands. “Can you change back?”
Bai Tang suddenly remembered their cold war—Min Gunian hadn’t been speaking to him. What was he about to say now? Was it a breakup… or something else?
Clear, glistening droplets soaked Min Gunian’s palm. Mixed with dust that hadn’t yet been brushed off, it left the squirrel’s fur looking dirty and matted.
The moment Min Gunian saw the squirrel crying, his heart felt like it was being shredded by a razor. Pained, he lifted the squirrel closer to his face, nuzzling its cheek pouch with his own.
“Don’t cry, okay? I was wrong, Tang Tang. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have been so irrationally jealous…”
The man kept apologizing, desperate for the little squirrel to stop crying. Being upset wasn’t good for his health.
A soft glow began to radiate from the squirrel’s body. When the light faded, a completely naked young man had taken its place. His dark eyes were brimming with tears, making him look even more pitiful.
He opened his mouth and choked out in a soft, tearful voice, “I-I thought… you didn’t want me anymore… sob sob sob~~~”
Min Gunian hugged the young man even tighter, his voice hoarse. “I was an idiot. How could I push away my precious one? Tang Tang, please forgive me, just this once, okay?”
Bai Tang wrapped his arms around the man’s neck and cried loudly on his shoulder. “Do you even know… how scared I was… It was so dark… so, so dark…”
Min Gunian didn’t say a word. Bai Tang’s warm tears soaked his clothes drop by drop, each one burning against his skin and filling him with guilt.
“I’m such a bast*rd!” As he spoke, Min Gunian punched himself in his handsome face.
Startled, Bai Tang hiccuped, and his tears stopped immediately.
He grabbed Min Gunian’s fist, stopping him from swinging again. But in doing so, he unexpectedly felt the uneven texture of his skin. Bai Tang looked closely and saw a thin scab forming over the knuckles of Min Gunian’s hand. It was clear the injury was recent.
“Does it hurt~?” Bai Tang blew gently on the wound.
“It doesn’t. It’ll heal soon,” Min Gunian replied. Bai Tang’s concern lit a spark of hope in him. Did this mean Tang Tang was willing to forgive him?
Bai Tang gently touched the dark scab, his heart aching. It must have hurt a lot, he thought.
A soft green glow radiated from Bai Tang’s hand as it hovered over Min Gunian’s wound. In less than half a minute, the skin was smooth and unblemished again.
Fairy magic!
That was Min Gunian’s first thought. He glanced cautiously toward the entrance of the cave. The heavy rain had eased, but it hadn’t stopped completely. The rescue team probably wouldn’t find them anytime soon.
“Tang Tang, you must never tell anyone about your ability to turn into a squirrel, okay?” Min Gunian’s serious expression made Bai Tang instinctively nod.
“Okay.”
Of course he wouldn’t tell anyone—he had no interest in being taken away and experimented on like a lab rat.
“It’s squirrel research, not lab rat research,” the system corrected him.
“Qiu’er, I’m sorry… Don’t be mad at me anymore, okay~?” Bai Tang looked pitifully at the system.
“Alright, alright, I’m not mad anymore!” The system felt a little guilty too. If it had known things would turn out like this, it wouldn’t have argued with Tangtang and let him suffer needlessly.
In the jungle, the temperature difference between day and night was extreme. The wind, mixed with moisture, blew through, making Bai Tang shiver.
It was then that Min Gunian remembered Bai Tang wasn’t wearing any clothes. He quickly found some warm clothes from their supplies and dressed Bai Tang. Then, he picked him up and moved closer to the campfire. The warmth of the flames enveloped them both, and their hands and feet were no longer cold.
“Ah Nian~” Bai Tang’s face was flushed from being too close to the fire. His pink tongue flicked across his dry lips, looking incredibly endearing.
“Are you hungry, or is something still bothering you?” Min Gunian asked, reaching out to feel Bai Tang’s forehead. The temperature was normal, just like his own.
Bai Tang didn’t want any misunderstandings between them because of Zhou Zhiwen. He leaned against Min Gunian’s chest and said, “I like Ah Nian. I don’t like Zhou Zhiwen.”
The young man’s words were warm and intimate. Min Gunian gently replied, “I know, I was jealous and misunderstood you. Can you forgive me this once, Tang Tang? I promise it won’t happen again.”
Bai Tang, listening to Min Gunian’s steady heartbeat, nodded and softly replied, “Only this time.”
“Good, only this time.”
Gradually, Bai Tang fell asleep in Min Gunian’s arms.
Min Gunian, who hadn’t slept for two days and one night, still couldn’t bring himself to rest. It was as if he were holding a rare treasure, reluctant to take his eyes off him. He gently traced the contours of the young man’s face, from his forehead, to his cheekbones, and down to his jaw.
The curled lashes trembled as Bai Tang slowly opened his sleepy eyes. “Ah Nian, aren’t you going to sleep?”
“You sleep first, Tang Tang,” Min Gunian replied.
Bai Tang, barely able to keep his eyes open, still made sure to say goodnight. “Good night, Ah Nian~”
“Good night, Tang Tang.” Min Gunian lowered his head and placed a tender kiss on those pink lips.
Back in the live stream, the audience watched nervously as the rescue team’s helicopter flew through the storm.
“The rain is getting heavier. We can’t see the road ahead,” a rescue worker in the helicopter reported, holding a pager.
“Withdraw the team for now. We’ll resume the search tomorrow,” ordered the rescue team leader at the base camp.
“Withdraw the team.”
The audience immediately grew upset upon hearing this.
[“Why stop the search? The people haven’t been found yet!”]
[“Exactly, there are two people missing. Is the production team just going to give up on them?”]
[“Calm down, everyone. The production team didn’t say they’re stopping the search. The weather is too bad right now, and the rescue team can’t move forward.”]
[“Who’s the person defending the production team? Sounds like they’re a paid supporter…”]
[“Enough with the arguing. I just got news that the high-ups at Min Corporation have already sent their own rescue team. The production team may not be searching, but with Min Corporation’s power, they’ll definitely find them.”]
The live chat buzzed with chatter, and the sound of the helicopter’s “thud-thud-thud” echoed above the jungle.
…
A night passed without any dreams. When Bai Tang woke up, the sun was already up, and the rain had stopped at some point. The sky was clear and bright.
Min Gunian was asleep, leaning against the wall, eyes closed. After days of not washing, his appearance had drastically changed.
His hair was messy, and there was a stubble of a beard growing around his chin.
Bai Tang found it amusing and poked at his face. The newly grown stubble was rough and prickly to the touch.
Bai Tang remembered how Min Gunian had held him down and poked his belly yesterday, so he had a little “revenge” in mind. His five fingers danced across the man’s chin, pressing randomly.
Bai Tang was having so much fun that, suddenly, a large hand shot out of nowhere and caught his mischievous hand.
Min Gunian opened his eyes and kissed each of Bai Tang’s fingers one by one.
“Good morning, Tang Tang.”
“Good morning, Ah Nian.” Bai Tang was caught in the act and sheepishly stuck out his pink tongue.
Min Gunian took a carton of milk from his bag, opened it, and poured it out to heat. Soon, the rich scent of milk filled the entire cave.
After breakfast, Min Gunian stepped out of the cave. The plants above him were dripping with dew, wetting his shoulders.
“Ah Nian, where are we going?” Bai Tang, holding Min Gunian’s hand, took a deep breath of the post-rain air.
The environment in the jungle was much better than the city. There was no car exhaust or factory pollution in the air. The air after the rain was fresh, and Bai Tang seemed to even smell the sweetness of fruit.
“We’re going home,” Min Gunian replied with two words. After a moment’s thought, still a little concerned, he turned to ask Bai Tang, “Can you control your transformation?”
“Of course~” Bai Tang answered decisively.
As soon as the words left his mouth, the young man beside him vanished from sight. A little squirrel climbed up to Min Gunian’s feet, chirping, “Zhi zhi zhi.”
Min Gunian picked up Bai Tang and nudged the little squirrel’s nose with his own.
The squirrel chirped, kicked its legs, and jumped to the nearby tree trunk, quickly climbing to the top.
“Tang Tang…”
The dense green leaves above swayed slightly, shaking off the remaining rainwater. In no time, Min Gunian was soaked through.
“Zhi zhi zhi—” The little squirrel peeked its head out from the branches, looking down at the disheveled Min Gunian.
“Tang Tang.” Min Gunian knew this was Bai Tang’s mischievous prank, but he wasn’t angry. It was good that his Tang Tang was always so lively.
The little squirrel chirped a few more times, and as Min Gunian looked up, it leaped down from the tree.
Instinctively, Min Gunian spread his arms and accurately caught the “threatening” Bai Tang.
Although he knew the squirrel wouldn’t be in danger, Bai Tang’s sudden leap still made Min Gunian’s heart skip a beat.
He raised his right hand and gently pinched one of the squirrel’s paws with his index finger and thumb. “Little rascal, scaring me like that.”
Author’s Note:
I said I’d give some sweetness, so here it is! More to come in the next chapter, hee hee hee~