Chapter 27

"The sun was so hot that we all had nosebleeds. We weren't walking, we were moving forward by sheer willpower, while also being careful of the spies' ambushes. At that time, all I could think about was eating a chilled watermelon and jumping into icy water for a bath. We caught a rattlesnake, which would probably scare others away, but we skinned it, took out the gallbladder, cut off the head, and used the little snake blood to maintain our strength. The 20-inch snake was shared among us, and it tasted incredibly good. Under those conditions, having something to eat was a blessing. We had to eat to survive. Somehow, we ended up in the Devil's City. Do you know about it? It's a rocky desert where the wind howls like ghosts and wolves. Even with a compass, you could get lost. The spies were cowards, shivering in fear at night, and that's how we caught them. When we returned, all of us were hospitalized, our skin peeling from sunburn and severe dehydration."

William leaned against the kitchen counter and laughed.

"I ate two ten-pound watermelons in one go, which made me vomit and have diarrhea."

"Are there many spies?"

"With the rise of tourism, many foreigners come to our country. Some people travel around, drawing maps, finding coordinates, and getting close to military restricted areas. They use high-powered telescopes or model planes made by aviation enthusiasts equipped with cameras to spy on the secrets of military restricted areas. These are spies."

"What you've experienced, I haven't. Being a soldier is not easy."

Especially for someone like William, it's really not easy. Every mission is a dance with death. Brian also understood why William would make dishes out of insects. In William's eyes, there's no hierarchy in food, no good or bad taste, or personal dietary habits. There's only the question of whether the food provides enough protein for the body. His food includes everything, as long as it keeps him alive, he can eat anything.

"Nobody has it easy. You too."

William also knew about Brian's difficulties. Earning money is hard, and so is eating shit. Everyone knows that. To maintain his company, Brian also had to work hard.

If a couple always empathizes with each other like this, they'll never part.

Brian chuckled and finished his meal. He took the initiative to wash the dishes.

The water splashed onto Brian's hands, wetting his arms. William watched as he rolled up his sleeves, revealing his slender forearms and long fingers. As the water washed over them, they looked so fair and soft.

He cleared his throat.

Up to this point, he hadn't held his spouse's hand yet.

He could pull him in and say, "Let me read your palm. You're missing me in your life."

That's Theodore's way of flirting, too cliché. It's too soft, it might work on women, but men need to be a bit tougher.

He had an idea.

"I was the best in physical strength in the army."

Brian listened to him bragging, gave him a glance, shook the water off his hands, and said nothing.

"I was unbeatable in arm wrestling in the entire military base."

William puffed out his chest, feeling quite proud of himself.

Brian looked at his wrist again. William was muscular all over, his forearm bulged with muscles when he exerted strength, his skin was a honey color, and he looked full of power.

"Do you want to arm wrestle with me?"

William was eager to try. Arm wrestling would allow him to touch his hand.

"I have a lot of work today. I held a field meeting when I was looking at the land, and I haven't looked at many materials. You should go to bed if you're tired. I want to look at the materials."

"This isn't urgent. You're still holding meetings and doing research tomorrow. When you're home, don't talk about work. Let's arm wrestle."

"I can't beat you."

Last night, when they were fighting over the blanket, he was pulled over along with the blanket. He definitely couldn't win an arm wrestling match.

Besides, a couple arm wrestling at home? Is there nothing better to do?

He's not your comrade, he's not your colleague, he's not going to play childish games with you.

"I'll use one hand, and you can use both. I heard from Theodore that you're pretty good at fighting. Let's try it, let's see who's stronger. Come on, it's not too late, let's play for a while."

Seeing his enthusiasm, Brian thought, why not? He had a meeting tomorrow to hear his subordinates' opinions anyway. If he wanted to play, they could play.

Brian sat on the sofa, and William sat opposite him. There was a coffee table between them, just right for resting their arms.

"You come down to the floor, you can't use your strength on the sofa."

Alright, Brian knelt on the floor, extended his right hand, took off his wristwatch, rolled up his sleeves above his elbow, flexed his hand, rested his elbow on the coffee table, and extended his hand.

"Come on."

William was delighted. Finally, he got to touch Brian's small hand. It felt so good, so white, so soft, and so smooth. There wasn't much flesh, mostly bones, but the fingers were long and the joints distinct. The nails were trimmed very short, and there was a very light pink color on the joints. It felt cool and smooth to the touch. He wanted to touch more, and he wanted to kiss it.