Travel through the city of orcs

After the coldest February, the temperature finally began to warm up slowly, and Cheng Chi finally stopped staying at home day and night, and he began to think about renovating his home.

The house that was messed up by the hyena attack last time was simply cleaned up because of Cheng Chi’s injury. Later, Cheng Chi’s injury recovered but he couldn’t do too much tiring work. Now the weather is getting warmer and his body is almost recuperating. Only then did Cheng Chi decide to renovate the house.

Al and Rupert were still very enthusiastic to help, and even Claude, who was still recovering from his injuries, also contributed. The construction speed increased when there were more manpower, and some large parts were left after finishing. Some trivial things need to be purchased and arranged, and Cheng Chi can handle these by himself.

"Ian, open the door quickly, I'm back." Cheng Chi shouted standing at the door of the house holding the big bags bought from the store in the town.

Not long after, the door opened with a creak, and Cheng Chi lightened his hand before saying anything, and the person standing inside the door took all the things, "Why did you buy so many things?"

"Eh? Claude?" Cheng Chi looked at the burly man who hadn't seen him for a long time, and was a little dazed.

"What's the matter?" Claude glanced at Cheng Chi, who was a little dazed, and asked.

"Uh, no, it's nothing." Cheng Chi who came back to his senses shook his head, and followed Claude into the door, "Are you healed from your injuries?"

Claude helped Cheng Chi put the bought things on the long wooden table, nodded and said, "Well, Mr. Barry came here just now, and now he can freely switch between the two forms."

"Oh, that's great," Cheng Chi felt that he was still a little uncomfortable with the sudden absence of the black panther at home and the addition of a burly man, "Where's Ian?"

"Going out to play." Claude replied.

"Oh." Cheng Chi nodded, and then both of them fell silent again.

Claude watched Cheng Chi lower his head and divide the things on the wooden table, and felt that the quiet atmosphere was a bit awkward.

"you……"

"I……"

After sharing the good things, Cheng Chi turned around and looked at what Claude wanted to say. Unexpectedly, Claude also opened his mouth. The two of them were stunned at the same time when they collided with each other. Then they looked at each other and smiled. Cheng Chi grabbed The back of the head said, "You talk first."

Claude also smiled, "You should talk about it first."

Cheng Chi shook his head, "It's okay, you go first."

Claude just nodded, looked around, and finally looked at Cheng Chi who was standing not far from him and listening to him, "That...has disturbed you for so long, and made you bother to take care of me so much For a long time, I really don’t know how to thank you. Now that my injury has healed, I can’t bother you anymore. I think it’s time for me to take Ian back.”

Hearing what Claude said, Cheng Chi's smiling face froze for a moment, and then nodded unconsciously, "Oh, yes, yes, hey, you are too polite, I should take care of you, you have hurt me now Also very happy..."

Claude smiled and pointed upstairs, "Then, I'll go upstairs to pack Ian's things."

Cheng Chi followed Claude's fingers and looked upstairs, nodded, "Yeah."

Claude glanced at Cheng Chi, turned around and went upstairs.

Cheng Chi watched Claude's back disappear upstairs, and suddenly felt stuffy in his heart. He pulled out his chair and sat down, staring at the pile of sundries on the table.If Claude hadn't mentioned it, Cheng Chi would have almost forgotten that he lived alone in this house. Habits are a terrible thing.

Cheng Chi tried his best to ignore the sense of loss that Claude would leave with Ian. Originally, Claude was staying here temporarily, and he was injured because of him, wasn't he?I should take the responsibility of taking care of him out of guilt, right?After the injury is cured, of course he has to go back to his own home, right?Cheng Chi kept telling himself and persuading himself like this in his heart. As for whether Cheng Chi felt better in the end, Cheng Chi himself didn't know.

Maybe time is like this. When you want it to go slower, it always slips away as fast as it is against you. Ian, who was playing with a blushing face, was told by his father when he returned to Cheng Chi's home Upon the news of his return home, his little tail and ears drooped immediately, and he took a peek at Cheng Chi, who was a little out of state, and nodded.

Cheng Chi was silent as he watched Ian check if he had pulled anything down, watched Claude pick up Ian, and heard him politely express his gratitude to him for taking care of him during this time. He raised the corner of his mouth and smiled, reached out and touched the depressed Ian's little head, "I will come here to play when I have time in the future."

Ian nodded, put his small arms around Cheng Chi's neck, and kissed him on the cheek, "Goodbye, Uncle Cheng Chi."

Cheng Chi felt Ian's reluctance, lowered his head and kissed him on the forehead, "Goodbye, my little Ian."

Claude looked down at Cheng Chi who was smiling reluctantly, and said, "Goodbye."

Cheng Chi raised his head and looked into those dark green eyes, trying his best to look happy, "Goodbye."

In the end, Cheng Chi watched Claude hugging his neck and watching Ian, who was on his side, disappear into the corner of the street, leaned against the edge of the door for a while, and then turned back to the house.

Looking around at the clean room that Claude had cleaned up when he was away, Cheng Chi felt a little empty in his heart, sighed silently, turned around, walked to the wooden table, took those things into the cabinet and put them away, and then Starting to prepare today's dinner, looking at the piles of ingredients he had prepared, Cheng Chi regretted that he should have left them for dinner before leaving. Thanks to the cold weather and his own ice cellar, all these things would have been wasted up.

That night, for the first time, Cheng Chi, who was eating at the huge table, felt that eating alone was quite deserted, without Ian's chattering voice, and without the crunching of the black panther hugging his bones Even though the fireplace was lit today like yesterday, Cheng Chi still felt a little cold.

This dinner, Cheng Chi was a little bit in the mood to eat. After finishing the meal, Cheng Chi lay on the recliner and listened to the crackling sound of the firewood in the fireplace. Maybe he should really listen to it. Reberding's suggestion Find a companion to live with?Together with this idea, the first thing that came to Cheng Chi's mind was Claude's appearance, which made Cheng Chi startled, and waved his hand in the air, as if this could drive away the image that appeared in his mind. Cheng Chi patted his face lightly, and said to himself, "It's just that the family has suddenly changed back to the original way, and I'm not used to it, yes, it must be like this."

Here, Cheng Chi is trying to adapt to living alone again. Over there, Claude and Ian, who had dinner very late because they packed up the house they haven’t lived in for a long time, are also a little too quiet at the dining table. The whole room Only the occasional crisp sound of a fork hitting a plate.

After a while, Ian put down the fork in his hand, "Dad, I'm full."

Claude stopped what he was doing and looked at the remaining half of the food on Ian's plate, "I only ate so much? I just helped Dad do so many things, aren't you hungry?"

Ian shook his head, "I'm not hungry. I ate a lot of snacks made by Uncle Cheng Chi this afternoon!" Having said that, Ian paused, "I don't know if Uncle Cheng Chi has had dinner."

Hearing his son mention Cheng Chi, Claude also paused, then stretched out his arm and patted Ian's little head, "You should eat it, Mr. Cheng Chi will take care of himself," said Ian Move the plate in front of you to the side, "Take a break and go take a shower, you must be exhausted after working for so long, take a rest later."

Ian nodded obediently, climbed off the chair and went to his room first to pick up the clothes to be changed in the shower later.

Claude looked at the small figure of Ian who was busy in and out, looked down at the barbecue he made, and felt that he lost his appetite. He put down the fork and cleaned up the dishes, and turned to clean the last untidy place in the house. up.

Busy until midnight, Claude finally cleaned up the house, and Ian had already fallen asleep. After going to the bathroom to wash off the dust, Claude walked into Ian's room softly, tucked the mattress for him, his eyes were on When he touched the doll Cheng Chi made for him that Ian put beside his pillow, he was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head and kissed Ian's forehead before closing the door for Ian and leaving his room.

Back in his long-lost bedroom, lying on the bed he had slept in for many years, Claude actually felt a little uncomfortable. Looking at the bright moonlight outside the window, Claude began to think of the sunny photo of Cheng Chi's house. Matt, began to think of Cheng Chi wearing an apron busy in the kitchen, and began to think of Cheng Chi talking and laughing with Ian at the dining table every day. At this time, Claude realized that he had inadvertently put Many eyes fell on that gentle man.

Now mentioning Cheng Chi, Claude found that he had equated him with his family. Why did he have such an idea?Maybe it started from that winter night when there was heavy snow outside but the house was warm inside. The orange and warm candlelight, the slender man stood in the kitchen and seriously tasted the bone soup that had been simmering in the pot for an afternoon. With a serious and focused expression, Claude, who was lying on Cheng Chi's mattress for a whole day, looked at this scene and felt that this was the most peaceful scene he had ever seen.

Perhaps it was because he longed for such warmth too much, so he cherished every day, watching Cheng Chi cook all kinds of food for himself that he thought could promote wound healing; Looking at his concentration when he was wounded, watching his trembling long eyelashes and tight lips; watching Cheng Chi take Ian to play with the 'bamboo dragonfly' he made in the yard when the weather is good, Even at some point, Claude himself would flash the idea of ​​making the wound heal slower.

No matter how much he wished time to flow slowly, when he was able to transform into an orc again, Claude knew how lost he was. After all, he still had to leave. For Claude, this peaceful and warm time , It seems to be stolen happiness, so beautiful and so short-lived.