Chà Chà Novel

The Parched Land — Chapter 37

Fang Fengzhi rested against Min Zhi, struggling to catch his breath. What had happened had overwhelmed him, leaving little clarity in his mind.

Min Zhi still clung to the last of his reason.

If he left an irreversible mark on Fang Fengzhi, there would truly be no excuse.

He would be like a thief entering someone else’s home. Stealing was already contemptible enough; to leave an unmistakable trace behind, as though he belonged there, would be worse.

He lowered his eyes and loosened his arms, remaining still for a long moment.

Chamomile filled the room, driving his pulse faster.

Lately, his visits to the research institute had increased from once a week to every other day. Even that could not guarantee he would remain lucid in circumstances like these.

He could feel the pheromones in his body rising rapidly.

If he lost control, he might mark Fang Fengzhi again.

Perhaps permanently.

The second possibility troubled him most.

Fang Fengzhi lay weakly against him, cheeks flushed, lips parted for breath. The pheromones escaping Min Zhi only clouded his awareness further.

Min Zhi clenched his teeth.

And yet he felt incapable of stopping.

Their intimacy continued, becoming increasingly overwhelming. Held in his arms, Fang Fengzhi could not determine its pace. Fear and the confused responses of his body tangled together until he scarcely knew what to do.

Then he was lowered onto the bed.

Min Zhi bent to kiss him. The kiss was not fierce; it was almost gentle. Even so, Fang Fengzhi could feel the urgency behind it.

He gripped the fabric at Min Zhi’s waist.

His greatest fear remained that the man would cross the final boundary and leave a mark that could never be undone.

What followed blurred into exhaustion.

By the time everything subsided, Fang Fengzhi could not move a finger. He dimly saw the figure before him rise.

Then his awareness disappeared.

Min Zhi’s expression was grim.

The urge to mark him had not faded. The ache in his teeth had become too real to dismiss as imagination.

He took medication from the drawer, swallowing ordinary suppressants together with sleeping pills and crushing the tablets between his teeth.

Bitterness spread through his mouth, finally overwhelming the lingering chamomile.

When Fang Fengzhi opened his eyes, morning had come.

Whether he had slept poorly or for some other reason, he woke a few minutes before his alarm.

His body felt heavy and sore. He forced himself upright, only then noticing someone beside him.

Min Zhi was asleep on the other side of the bed.

His breathing was steady. He seemed deeply asleep, undisturbed by Fang Fengzhi’s movements.

Fang Fengzhi paused.

He thought he should get up immediately, yet remained still, staring at the man’s face.

He rarely had the chance to look at Min Zhi so closely.

The man was tall enough that Fang Fengzhi always had to look up to speak to him. His imposing presence usually made Fang Fengzhi glance away almost at once.

Now he looked different.

Relaxed. Softer.

Fang Fengzhi had always known he was handsome. Not with Fu Baiqi’s softer beauty, but with a striking sharpness.

Long eyes, dark brows, a pronounced brow line, and a high nose.

When he frowned, he looked fierce. Even expressionless, he made people hesitant to approach.

Only in sleep did those features settle, losing their severity.

A phone suddenly rang.

Fang Fengzhi startled and hurriedly looked for it, as though he had been caught doing something wrong.

Min Zhi took much longer to open his eyes.

He seemed barely conscious. Only after a while did he move and sit up.

When their eyes met, he visibly paused.

Fang Fengzhi’s heart quickened, and he turned away.

Min Zhi continued looking at him.

The medication had left his thoughts sluggish. It was not until Fang Fengzhi picked his clothes up from the floor that the previous night abruptly returned to him.

He turned toward the window, almost as though seeking refuge.

His mind was not yet clear enough to think carefully. He merely opened his mouth.

“I…”

He had not decided what to say.

Probably another apology.

But Fang Fengzhi spoke first.

“Mr. Min.”

Dressed now, he stood beside the bed.

“About last night… I think we were both a little impulsive.”

Not under the influence of pheromones.

Merely impulsive.

But why?

They both knew, though neither could easily say it.

Too much stood between them: morality, fidelity.

For a moment, they had stepped past all of it, surrendering to closeness and desire at the expense of what they once believed.

But what came after that moment?

What were they to each other?

There was desire between them, perhaps even feelings neither knew how to face.

Yet this was still an affair—a relationship that should never have begun.

Min Zhi turned to look at him.

Fang Fengzhi was fully dressed and ready to leave.

“I’m sorry.”

He said it anyway.

As though his conscience could not settle until he did.

“It’s all right.”

Fang Fengzhi inhaled, then slowly let the breath go, trying to sound composed.

“I’ve already decided to divorce him.”

Min Zhi went still.

Something abruptly caught hold of him.

Divorce?

He stared at Fang Fengzhi.

Perhaps afraid he would misunderstand, Fang Fengzhi added, “It’s because of the problems between us. I made that decision a long time ago.”

Then he collected his things, opened the door, and left.

Min Zhi remained on the bed for a long time.

In truth, hearing the word “divorce” had not made him fear their affair had ended the marriage, as Fang Fengzhi apparently thought.

His first reaction had been relief.

Then that other possibility would not happen.

What had happened between Director Zhang’s spouse and the third party.

All morning, Min Zhi was distracted.

He kept thinking about Fang Fengzhi’s words.

For some reason, each time the word “divorce” returned to him, an unnameable impulse stirred.

Once divorced, Fang Fengzhi would be on his own.

He would no longer be bound to that other man.

Logically, it had nothing to do with Min Zhi. There was no reason for it to move him.

But he could not help it.

Perhaps there ought to be some connection between him and Fang Fengzhi.

After everything they had shared, they should not simply become strangers.

Yes.

Without that moral constraint, perhaps they ought to face the feelings that had arisen at the wrong time.

Perhaps they could grow closer.

At the very least, they should explain those kisses that had not been driven by pheromones.

At that thought, Min Zhi could wait no longer.

He took out his phone and called Fang Fengzhi.

Meanwhile, Fang Fengzhi was preparing for the evening departmental meeting when his phone began vibrating insistently in his pocket, as though someone were terribly impatient.

He took it out.

The caller’s name made him pause. Then he stepped outside to answer.

“Hello?”

Fu Baiqi’s mother spoke from the other end.

“Fengzhi…”