Chapter 49—House Rules (1)

by Bocchan13

Wang Cheng came back with the beers, to which everyone cheered. They weren’t concerned about zombies…in fact, they had hardly thought of zombies since coming to Song Yu’s home. Uninhibited, they started drinking. Song Yu was unconcerned, because they were going to discuss the basic rules the next day.

Song Yu served up multiple steaks, and everyone took plates and just ate them barehanded. Restaurants would frown at these horrid table manners, but everyone agreed that just gnawing on the steak tasted much better than tiny tidbits of pre-cut meat.

Yu Ci and Xiao Zi were partial to barbeque sauce, whilst the rest opted to just eat it as is. Song Yu had made a few extras in case they wanted it. Looking at Squinty, he also gave him a portion.

Song Yu sighed loudly as he drank a can of beer and hoisted his foot into the Jacuzzi; its jets massaging and soothing his legs. Everyone else was in the Jacuzzi as well, taking into this peaceful like experience.

“So this is paradise, huh? I feel like I can sleep like a baby tonight.” Xiao Zi leaned on Lu Jingxiu’s shoulders.

“Me too.”

“Me as well.”

Lan Zhou cuddled next to Song Yu, his happy expression turning serious.

“This can only happen sometimes. I expect everyone to be bright and early tomorrow morning for a meeting. Are we clear?”

“Yes!” Wang Cheng mocked saluted and continued to eat the steak.

Lan Zhou diligently wiped Song Yu’s mouth every time he got steak sauce. Song Yu felt utterly pampered and a little bit shy, but continued to let Lan Zhou do it.

Their little dinner party lasted for another hour before they cleaned up. Like a well-oiled machine, everyone did their part. Lan Zhou and Yu Ci took the plates downstairs, while Lu Jingxiu took out the coals and cleaned the grill. Wang Cheng turned off the Jacuzzi and put the top on and Xiao Zi swept the floor that had scattered coal bits and dust.

Leaving Song Yu…to do absolutely nothing.

“Umm…is there anything I can do to help?”

“No, no. We got it. Just sit tight and take care of yourself. We will finish up and head off to bed. Get some rest.” Xiao Zi diligently sent Song Yu off.

Song Yu wandered around his bedroom until the sounds on the veranda quieted. Feeling kind of lonely, Song Yu sat down on the desk and took out a sheet of paper. He wrote down all of the points he wanted to cover at the meeting tomorrow. He wanted to be fair and on equal terms with everyone, so the house rules he devised would benefit everyone in the long run.

Just as he finished the outline, he heard a knock on the door. Song Yu paused before smiling, opening the door to see Lan Zhou with his backpack.

“The bed is too big in that room. I’m more comfortable holding something.”

“Another article?” Song Yu led Lan Zhou into the room.

Lan Zhou dropped his backpack on the sofa before wrapping his arms around Song Yu.

“Article #12: Always take advantage of your situation. If you can become closer to your love interest, then do it!”

“I’ve got to see these magazines you use.”

“They’re all gone. I’ve got most of them memorized anyways.”

“Hmm,”

Lan Zhou squirreled Song Yu into the shower where they spent 30 minutes inside. Song Yu could never get tired of how much pleasure Lan Zhou could give him. They didn’t go all of the way, but Lan Zhou personally got him ready for nightly activities. By the time they got out, Song Yu was a messy puddle of goo, waiting to be ravaged.

Lan Zhou was quick to take advantage of him and before long, moaning sounds and the squeaking of the bed could be heard.

…

Bright and early the next day, Song Yu woke up feeling sticky. They had done it way too much last night. Ability user’s libido was truly a sight to behold. They had done every position known to man, and had room to spare. They finished just as the sun came up.

Song Yu’s biological clock still woke him up only a few hours later. Song Yu glared at the peacefully sleeping man next to him and hobbled to the bathroom where he cleaned up the dried mess on his butt. Scrubbing and cursing, he finally didn’t feel so bad and got out, just in time to see Lan Zhou get up.

“Everyone is still probably sleeping, so I’m going to check the indoor mushroom garden. Go take a shower.”

Lan Zhou nodded and drew Song Yu towards him, smelling his lemon scented soap. He inhaled deeply and kissed his shoulders before making his way into the bathroom. Song Yu noted down that Lan Zhou wasn’t a morning person and chuckled lightly.

Putting on the usual casual wear clothing, he went downstairs to the mushroom room. Mushrooms grew in dark, damp, and humid growing environments, while others grew in cooler ones. Song Yu had devised different temperature rooms for several types of mushrooms. Enoki mushrooms were some of his favorites so he made an abundance of it. Another one was pig-ear mushrooms which grew in the soil. So not only does he have two separate rooms, they were also categorized towards either wood growth or soil growth. The only hard part was that due to its fungal state, the zombie virus could latch onto them better. Song Yu had to be extremely sure that what he touched wasn’t anything bad.

If a batch had the virus, he had to fire the entire pit. Luckily, this rarely happened as Song Yu had used purified water to mist the area. Putting on a rubber suit and gloves, Song Yu made his way into the dark room and surveyed the mushrooms.

Many had already matured, so Song Yu picked them, making sure the roots were upended and put them in a basket. He had already finished a batch when he heard the door open slightly.

“You in there?”

“Yep! Don’t come in unless you have the suit on! Its handing on the door!” Song Yu yelled back, still picking the mushrooms. He heard a shuffle and a few curses before he saw Lan Zhou come in. The suit was baggy on Song Yu, but was extremely tight on Lan Zhou. The feet were a problem as his toes were scrunched tight.

“Hahahahah!”

“You look like a gremlin kneeling down on the ground. What are you doing?” Song Yu grabbed his hand and tugged him down.

“C’mere. Let me show you how to do this.”

Lan Zhou patiently watched as Song Yu explained how to pick and nurture the mushrooms.

“The temperature is already set, but you have to watch out for several aspects of their growth. If they….”

Song Yu went on a long tangent, letting Lan Zhou experiment with taking care of it. He watched tenderly as Lan Zhou obediently picked the mature mushrooms and put it in the basket.

“We can have a vegetable hotpot tonight with the mushrooms and the vegetables we picked up a few days ago. I have the seasonal ingredients to make the soup as well. I haven’t touched them since the apocalypse happened because hotpot is usually supposed to be a group meal.”

Song Yu smiled happily as he took more mushrooms. Lan Zhou silently took all of this in, his eyes extremely gentle.

“Okay. We can have a hot pot dinner. Let us help you cook it, okay?”

“Mmn!”

They finished up both rooms and headed to the kitchen. Song Yu got to the sink and washed the mushrooms before patting them on a towel and laid them out to dry. Squinty materialized through the wall and wagged his tail.

“Bark!”

“What’s up now?”

“Bark! Bark!”

Any food for me? The other guys are starving!

Song Yu checked the time and saw that the animals needed to be let out of their pens.

“Okay.” Turning to Lan Zhou, he gave a small nudge.

“I gotta feed the animals. Can you make breakfast?”

“I’ll do it.”

Yu Ci came in yawning. His black t-shirt stretched over his bulging muscles as he stretched his arms over his head.

“Just take care of breakfast; I already know how to feed the animals.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, it’s no big deal.” Yu Ci smiled at the two of them before following Squinty out. Song Yu thanked him and got ready to make breakfast. Lan Zhou watched Yu Ci’s mannerisms before moving towards the door.

“I’ll help him. It will be quicker.”

“Okay…?” Song Yu tilted his head as Lan Zhou left as well.

Lan Zhou caught up with Yu Ci, his hand tapping his shoulders.

“Lemme help.”

Yu Ci paused a little before smiling a little. “Okay.”

They headed to the animal paddock and opened the doors to the pig pens and chicken coops. Lan Zhou took out the feed and opened the gates. The pigs were orderly as they lined up in a row, ready for the food.

“I want to talk to you.” Lan Zhou softly said as he fed the pigs. Yu Ci was next to him, leaning on the fence. Yu Ci had an inkling of what he wanted.

“You know, right?” Yu Ci bitterly lowered his head. “You know I like Song Yu.”

“Yeah.”

Yu Ci sighed a little before meeting eyes with Lan Zhou.

“I’m sorry.”

“Why do you have to be sorry? Song Yu is an amazing person.” Lan Zhou patted Yu Ci on his back.

“You never have to be sorry for falling in love.” Yu Ci grimaced while smiling.

“Don’t you hate me? I harbor feelings for your lover. That alone can be grounds for fighting. What if I don’t know my boundaries and try to steal him away from you. What then?”

Lan Zhou was silent before responding.

“You and I both know you are not like this. I can’t say that I’m not jealous and resentful, but I love you just as much as I love Song Yu. We have been through so many hardships together, so much pain and hurt. I can’t let go of neither Song Yu nor the friendship we have accumulated over 2 lifetimes…If the time comes where we have to separate as friends, I hope that we part with the willingness to reconcile one day.”

Yu Ci teared up a little at this. He knew he was the third wheel. Song Yu doesn’t love him and Lan Zhou would never give him up. Yu Ci was playing this game by himself.

“You are my friend and my brother for life. I can’t let go just yet. Please give me some time.”

Lan Zhou hugged Yu Ci.

“Thank you.”

Yu Ci hugged back, the weight letting up slightly. He might like Song Yu today, but over time, he knew that this decision was for the best. He couldn’t hurt his best friend any more than this.

This entanglement of twisted yarn between the three would unravel with only him tied up. It was better to let go and hope that one day he could find someone who loved him as wholeheartedly as Lan Zhou to Song Yu do.

Lan Zhou and Yu Ci finished feeding the animals and let out Derpy to graze. Yu Ci and Lan Zhou talked about little nothings, like their previous conversation didn’t exist. Yu Ci did not harbor any more guilt when talking to him.

His feelings had been opened, and all was given was absolute acceptance. He would need to move forward one day. But the kind words of Lan Zhou made it absolutely certain that he would be given all of the compassion and understanding a person could ask for. 

If that wasn't true friendship, then what the hell is?

Bocchan13

I'm back! I will be posting on schedule again! Thank you guys for waiting. I'd like to thank Britener who sponsored today's chapter! Thank you for the delicious coffee!