Top edge chapter 21
Shen Siwei was placed by the sliding door, and Klet threw the bathrobe at him.
The white bathrobe covered Shen Siwei’s head, messing up his golden hair. He expressionlessly took it off and wrapped his naked body, saying, “I won’t say it again, give me back the mask.”
Klet remained unaffected and casually wiped off the water stains on his body with his short sleeved shirt and put on his long pants and Martin boots.
He then opened the sliding door shirtless and took a few steps outside, only to find that Shen Siwei hadn’t followed him.
“The mask,” Shen Siwei crossed his arms in front of his chest and stood still, not moving. “I won’t go without my mask.”
Klet turned around, still holding the wet short sleeves in his hand. He placed his hands casually on his waist and asked , “Are you throwing a tantrum at me?”
Shen Siwei: “?”
Was he throwing a tantrum??
“I’m just asking you to give me the mask,” he frowned.
“Malken already took it are we going or not?”
Even if he wanted to go, without an oxygen mask, he wouldn’t be able to take more than a few steps without running out of breath.
“I’m not going,” Shen Siwei turned his head.
Klet sighed in frustration and suddenly threw the wet short sleeves into Shen Siwei’s arms. “Take it.”
The black short sleeves had a slight smell of sweat mixed with perfume, and when it got wet, the smell turned into a strong masculine scent.
Shen Siwei, wondering why Klet gave him his shirt, saw Klete walking straight to his side and bending down to lift him up.
The cotton slipper on his right foot flew into the air due to inertia, drawing a small parabolic arc before landing with a “clap” on the ground.
Just an hour ago, Shen Siwei had crushed Barn’s skull with his right foot. But now, this right foot hung weakly in the air, and the bony ankle looked fragile and unbearable to touch.
“My slipper,” Shen Siwei protested.
Klet had already turned around and was walking forward, seemingly too lazy to care about the fallen slipper. Shen Siwei had to raise his voice, emphasizing with dissatisfaction, “The slipper!”
His rare outburst of anger finally had some effect, and the two long legs finally stopped.
Klet glanced at Shen Siwei’s right foot, then at the slipper lying on the ground. In the end, he reluctantly turned back, still in the position of carrying Shen Siwei, and bent down to pick up the lonely slipper.
Shen Siwei obediently stayed in Klet’s arms the whole time, but his left foot wasn’t as obedient.
Just as Klet picked up the slipper and hadn’t fully straightened up, Shen Siwei lightly hooked his left foot and kicked the other slipper to the ground.
“And that one,” he tilted his chin, “pick it up for me.”
Klet’s movement halted in mid-air, raising an eyebrow in surprise at Shen Siwei. “Stop messing around will you?”
“No,” Shen Siwei said lightly, “it fell by itself.”
As long as one’s not blind, it was clear that Shen Siwei was deliberately retaliating. But Klet seemed too lazy to expose it, so he bent down again, picked up the other slipper, and then carried Shen Siwei out of the self-service bathhouse.
There were several off-road vehicles parked outside, and about ten people were gathered together smoking and chatting. Shen Siwei vaguely heard words like “Barn” and “he died harshly.”
But that wasn’t the point.
He didn’t expect there to be so many people outside. Originally, he resigned himself to stay in Klet’s arms, but now he felt uncomfortable.
But if he got down from Klet’s arms, he wouldn’t be able to walk without the mask.
So after hesitating for a while, Shen Siwei simply turned his head, burying his face in Klet’s chest, and had a staring contest with the big gorilla tattoo.
“Boss, is he that weak to even walk himself?” someone joked, “he’s just a few steps away, and you’re carrying him like that.”
Klet lowered his gaze, looking at the golden head of hair that hid in his embrace. “He’s too delicate.”
Shen Siwei: “…” Who caused all this? Give me back the mask !
After wandering around in circles for most of the night, they ended up back at Klet’s house.
The broken front door was being repaired by an AI maintenance worker, and two small robots about half a person tall were busy on both sides of the door, knocking and fiddling without worrying about the noise they were creating.
Klet carried Shen Siwei into the house and casually threw him from a distance, tossing him onto the sofa. However, his aim was slightly off, and Shen Siwei landed on the back of the sofa, causing it to tilt and sway before barely stabilizing.
Klet showed no signs of remorse. He walked straight to the refrigerator and took out a bottle of cold water.
Shen Siwei was already angry, and being thrown onto the sofa made him even more furious. He grabbed the wet black short sleeves and threw it at the back of Klet’s head. “When will you give me back the mask?”
Klet, who was drinking water, was covered by the shirt and almost choked on the water. He coughed a few times and wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. “Let the one who’s helping you come and get it.”
“How many times do I have to say,” Shen Siwei was getting a headache, “oh forget it”
Klet ignored Shen Siwei and stood in the center of the room, opening the palm-sized computer in his hand and displaying several surveillance screens.
The screens showed a hallway, a living room, and a balcony. With just one glance, Shen Siwei discovered that the surveillance target was this very room.
“You still have surveillance?” he quickly scanned the corners of the room and indeed found newly installed surveillance cameras.
Klet remained silent and adjusted the angles of the cameras.
From their conversation in the bath house earlier, Shen Siwei probed, “It seems like you’re eager to catch whoever is helping me.”
Klet paused and looked directly at Shen Siwei, saying, “So someone is helping you.”
“no,” Shen Siwei said, “I’m just curious why you’re so fixated on this.”
At that moment, the small robots by the door finished repairing it. After checking, Klet paid them the repair fee.
“I remember you were looking for someone,” Shen Siwei continued, ” so why waste your energy into someone who doesn’t exist, no one is helping me”
Speaking of this, Shen Siwei suddenly thought of a ridiculous possibility.
Could it be that Klet was looking for someone from the military?
But before he could delve deeper into his thoughts, a little head suddenly popped up by the door, and knock looked at Shen Siwei with concern and asked, “Brother, are you okay?”
Shen Siwei didn’t immediately answer, and knock turned to Klet and said, “I heard you killed Barn.”
“It’s none of your business, kid,” Klet pressed knock’s head and turned him around. “Go back to sleep.”
After sending knock away, Klet closed the door and sat down next to Shen Siwei, turning on the television.
The screen showed a yellow sponge wearing a shirt and a tie—it was SpongeBob SquarePants, Klet’s favorite.
“This is ridiculous”, Shen Siwei thought.
He was actually sitting with the leader of the refugees, watching cartoons together.
Cartoons seemed to have a calming effect, making people inexplicably want to escape the conflicts of the adult world. Shen Siwei temporarily set aside his emotions and asked Klet in a casual tone, “Have you known knock for a long time?”
“Not long,” Klet said, “Why?”
“He…” Shen Siwei paused, “Does he just pick up garbage every day?”
“Yes,” Klete said, “The neighbors take good care of him.”
“Do you often stay in City Z?” Shen Siwei asked again.
With one question after another, it felt more like prying rather than casual conversation.
Klet slowly withdrew his gaze from the TV screen and looked at Shen Siwei beside him, asking in return, “Are you that curious about me?”
Shen Siwei pursed his lips. “Yes.”
Klet clearly heard the weariness in that “yes.” He continued to look at the TV screen, opening his mouth and saying, “Not often. I spend most of my time outside the city.”
“So what crime did you actually commit?” Shen Siwei asked again.
This time, Klet didn’t respond anymore, and Shen Siwei immediately realized that he had gone too far with his questions.
He looked at the tattoo on Klet’s shoulder and changed the topic, asking, “Is that the Northern Icefield?”
“Yes,” Klet slightly turned his body to allow Shen Siwei a clearer view, “That little cabin is a rest point on the icefield.”
Shen Siwei had never been to the icefield.
Most people wouldn’t go there, and Shen Siwei hadn’t been on any missions to that place.
But he also knew that some adventure enthusiasts would cross the glaciers to see the auroras that couldn’t be seen from the Tree of Life.
“Is this the TV tower in the Southern Ruins?” Shen Siwei looked at another spot, using his index finger to trace the intricate pattern, “The tattoo looks quite realistic.”
“…Hmm.” Klet’s voice was muffled in his throat, sounding even deeper.
“Is this the complete view of the Desert Underground City?” Shen Siwei’s finger reached Klet’s lower back, following the delicate lines from the spine to the side of his waist. But at that moment, a large hand suddenly grabbed his hand back.
“stop,” Klet leaned back in his chair again, no longer showing his tattoos to Shen Siwei.
Shen Siwei followed Klet’s gaze and looked at SpongeBob SquarePants on the TV, suddenly finding it somewhat amusing, “You seem like a child.”
Klet turned his head to look at Shen Siwei and said lightly, “If you don’t want to watch, then go to sleep.”
Shen Siwei indeed had no interest in cartoons, but he didn’t want to sleep either.
“Klet,” Shen Siwei curled up his legs, crossed his arms around his knees, and rested his chin on his knees, ” Can you please give me back the mask?”
Shen Siwei rarely showed vulnerability, and Klet’s gaze flickered for a moment, but in the end, he looked away and said, “We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”
Shen Siwei was feeling completely out of sorts.
Since he couldn’t sleep anyway, he decided to keep Klet company in watching the yellow sponge. However, he wasn’t sure if it was the old-fashioned animation style that was truly hypnotic, but Shen Siwei gradually felt a bit drowsy. Unconsciously, he fell asleep, hugging his knees.
Such a sleeping position was naturally unstable, and after a while, he slowly leaned to the side, eventually resting on Klet’s shoulder.
The weight on his shoulder was nothing to Klet. He looked at Shen Siwei’s peaceful sleeping face and inexplicably thought that his golden hair wasn’t too bad.
At that moment, the communicator rang, and it was a call from Malken.
“Boss, Barn’s subordinates are causing trouble. You need to come and take a look.”
Feeling annoyed, Klet frowned and said, “Understood. Keep an eye on my home surveillance, and let me know if anyone comes.” He then hung up the communicator.
The person beside him was sleeping deeply, and there was no sign of being awakened by the conversation.
Klet left the sofa and placed a pillow against the side of Shen Siwei’s face. However, before leaving, he turned back and carried the sleeping Shen Siwei to bed.