Deep winter.

The snow was mixed with fine grains of hailstones, which knocked against the windows and added to the tranquility.

The heater in the bedroom was very hot, but Ye Ci’s hands had been frostbitten, and he was more afraid of the cold than ordinary people. According to Huo Tinglan’s instructions, he put his hands in a hand warmer to keep them from getting cold. Spread out on the desk in front of him was a voluminous book, and each page had a large area of test points densely marked out in pen.

Ye Ci’s lips moved silently, reciting the difficult chemical reaction equation as if it was the bible.

A few months ago, he received an admission letter from the top pharmaceutical university in China. His hard work while burning the midnight oil for a year and a half had not been in vain.

It was said that a pharmaceutical major was a trap. It had bad employment prospects, was tiring to learn, and was extremely unfriendly to the retention of students’ hair. As the saying went, “If you choose a major poorly, it will be like taking the college entrance examinations every year.” Their majors had not been easy even since freshman year, but Ye Ci had ambition and didn’t think it was overly difficult. He found it very challenging, and was motivated to learn.

There were a lot of things to memorize in chemistry. Ye Ci’s memory was not bad, and he memorized things quickly and solidly, but he also couldn’t afford to lose too many test points, and at the end of the term, it wasn’t enough to just cram.

The other three students in the dormitory also had the appearance of monks chanting scriptures. They were usually delicate little Omegas, but now they were all disheveled by the scourge of the exam, their upper bodies numbly swaying back and forth with the rhythm of their desperate recitations. 

Every time Ye Ci reviewed ten pages, he took a five-minute break to slack off. It was time for another round of resting, so he picked up his phone and looked through it.

During the exam season, major colleges and universities were entering the final stage one after another, and the WeChat students of Tiancheng’s Class 7 were mourning.

……

[Jian Yan]: I want to die. What about liberal arts?! Why do I still need to learn advanced math, ah ah ah……

[Jian Yan]: I don’t want to work hard anymore.

[Jian Yan]: Cast a magic spell.jpg

[Jian Yan]: Cast a spell to summon a tall and mighty Alpha to raise me.

[Lu Minghan]: Damn

[Lu Minghan]: Is it because I haven’t been here to clean you up that you have such illusions? @jianyan

[Jian Yan]: Eat shit.jpg

[Jiang Yan]: If you are capable of it, don’t come here for the next half month.

[Lu Minghan]: You wait until I finish the exams, and I’ll take you down.

[Ye Ci]: Yan, don’t talk. The leader of the Sports Committee has been summoned by the magic spell.

[Jiang Yan]: ? ? ?

[Jiang Yan]: You also know how to sneak into the chat?

[Ye Ci]: Indeed.

The very irritating “indeed” was in exactly the same tone as Huo Tinglan’s.

[Ye Ci]: Crying cat head.jpg

[Jiang Yan]: Oh my god, where is that Ye Ci that blushed when teased casually back then! Why is the gap between the rich and poor widening!

[Jiang Yan]: Dragon eighteen palm.jpg

[Ye Ci]: Kitten covering head, don’t hurt me.jpg

……

Evidently, under the influence of his idiot classmates, the former lonely boy had learned how to use emoticons. 

And according to Jian Nan, only the soft and cute little Omegas would use offensive emoticons such as “eat shit,” and the more aggressive the Alpha expansion pack, the more it would use cats and dogs.

So Ye Ci, who was spiritually an Alpha, kept a bunch of cute kitties.

Jiang Yan and Lu Minghan had always been quarrelsome but loving friends. Both of them were good at talking, and it was possible that they had been in love with each other all year round as their interactions had become more and more ambiguous after graduation. The two were in different locations, but were only an hour away by high-speed rail. Lu Minghan had been seeking out Jiang Yan every now and then for half a year, and the two often spent time privately together. Anyone with eyes could tell that they were not far from an official announcement.

In the classmate group, Jiang Yan and Lu Minghan flirted, and the crowd provided a string of “yoooo.” Ye Ci returned to the message list with a smile and scrolled down.

Huo Tinglan’s newest message was twenty-four hours ago.

Ye Ci was so dizzy from reciting the book all day that he didn’t pay much attention, but it wasn’t unusual for him to be silent for so long, so he took a picture of the desktop and sent it.

[Ye Ci]: [Image]

[Ye Ci]: I memorized all night and got through 30 pages.

[Ye Ci]: Kitten fainting.jpg

[Ye Ci]: What are you doing?

The other side replied in seconds, as always.

[Huo Tinglan]: You can do it, baby.

[Huo Tinglan]: Not doing anything. I’m very free at work today, so I’m resting.

The answer was quite satisfactory, but Ye Ci just felt that something was off. Perhaps it was an Omega’s keen intuition.

[Ye Ci]: Can you talk?

[Huo Tinglan]: If it’s convenient for you. The roommates aren’t there?

Ye Ci never tried to hide anything. He wore a wedding ring on his finger at all times, so the other students knew he was married not long after enrolling. The three roommates who were the most familiar with Ye Ci had even had dinner with Huo Tinglan, so there was nothing to hide. But Huo Tinglan paid attention to the privacy between the two of them, and would try to get Ye Ci alone before making an audio or video call.

[Ye Ci]: It’s convenient.

After sending, he got up and snuck into the corridor quietly, then sent Huo Tinglan a voice call request.

It was picked up right away.

“Hey, baby.”

He didn’t know if it was his imagination, but Huo Tinglan’s voice seemed deeper than usual and slightly hoarse, rubbing the soft flesh of his ears like sandpaper.

Ye Ci’s ears tingled when he heard this, and he was in a daze, scratching his wrist as he muttered softly: “What were you doing just a moment ago?”

“Huh?” Huo Tinglan’s tone was innocent. He laughed and cleared his throat. “I wasn’t doing anything, just lying down……I closed my eyes to rest. What is it?”

Lying down and closing your eyes to rest.

This sounded like some lonely empty nester.

Ye Ci didn’t know what crossed his mind, but he blushed: “Then why is your voice like that?”

There was a moment of silence over there, and then a deep smile: “You heard?”

It wasn’t that Ye Ci’s hearing was so keen, but mainly because he’d had such an experience before……

Freshman military training lasted for half a month, during which they weren’t allowed to leave school without good reason. During that half month, Huo Tinglan became  increasingly unreasonable. When he called Ye Ci late at night, he coaxed Ye Ci to go to the unoccupied fire escape in the corridor, and tempted him to say some unspeakable words. Ye Ci himself would not say such indecent words, but Huo Tinglan taught him. Huo Tinglan would say something over the phone, and Ye Ci would whisper it back with steam coming out of his head, ridiculously obedient.

Ye Ci originally thought that Huo Tinglan missed him too much and wanted to hear more of his voice, but the words became more and more indecent as they went on, and it was very difficult to classify them as “words of affection.” Huo Tinglan’s voice became deeper and hoarser, mixed with some wet and subtle sounds……only then did Ye Ci come to a realization, and he was so embarrassed that he almost hung up the phone.

Therefore, he was more alert to such vocal timbres, and felt that things were not simple upon hearing them.

“En.” Ye Ci lowered his head and rubbed his shoes against the cracks in the marble hallway floor. He thought for a moment, and then tried to flirt sophisticatedly, “You……miss me?”

“How can I not?” Huo Tinglan cleared his throat again and complained half-jokingly, “You didn’t come home last week.”

The school would randomly check the dorms from Monday through Thursday, and punish students who stayed out at night accordingly. However, if the student’s family had special circumstances, they could report to the counselor and apply for long-term off-campus accommodation.

Ye Ci was married and eligible to apply for off-campus living, but Huo Tinglan offered to let him live in the dormitory for the first school year.

If a freshman moved to live off-campus as soon as they entered school, it would reduce their opportunities to get along with their classmates. The relationships would inevitably become alienated, and Ye Ci himself was not the type who was enthusiastic and talkative, able to get along with strangers in a few words. Huo Tinglan had seen Ye Ci when he was alone and without any friends, and had also seen his appearance when he laughed and chatted with his classmates after integrating into the group. He didn’t want to be dominated by an Alpha’s irrational possessive desire to deprive Ye Ci of the happiness he should enjoy in college life. Therefore, this semester, Ye Ci would return to the Huo residence every weekend and live off-campus. But the mid-month final review was too hectic, and Ye Ci didn’t want to be distracted. He would be unable to read books and look up information from school, so he didn’t go home last weekend.

“……I’ll come home to accompany you when I finish my subject exam on the 12th. It will be soon.” Ye Ci held the phone close, softly coaxing him, “Is that okay?”

“Of course.” Huo Tinglan was fair and reasonable, and said with a gentle, comforting voice, “Concentrate on reviewing at the end of the term. The school has a good learning atmosphere……These two days, I was afraid of disturbing you, so I didn’t dare to take the initiative to send you a message.”

Ye Ci talked to him for a while longer before hanging up, and then immediately turned around and called Uncle He.

After the call ended, Ye Ci quickly walked into the dormitory, packed the books and notes needed for the exam on the 12th into his schoolbag, and hurriedly changed his clothes.

“……Xiao Ci, are you going out?” The roommates looked up, his eyes focusing.

“En.” Ye Ci was well-behaved and put on his gloves. “My husband has a cold and a persistent high fever. I’ll go back and have a look. If the student council comes to check the bedroom……” Ye Ci hesitated for a moment. It was almost eleven o’clock, making it inconvenient to ask the counselor for leave. “Forget it, just let them check.”

During the phone call just now, the more Ye Ci listened to Huo Tinglan, the more he felt that something was wrong, especially when he cleared his throat now and then. It was as if he was trying to cover up a cough.

When he hung up the phone and asked Uncle He, sure enough, he’d had a high fever for two days, and after seeing the doctor, he had an IV drip. But maybe this wave of cold virus was particularly fierce, and since he was on the verge of susceptibility and couldn’t see his own Omega, he got upset and the fever wouldn’t go away. He hadn’t even eaten much in the past two days.

The roommate looked at his phone and said worriedly: “The school gates will close soon, and it’s still snowing. Can youcall a car……”

“I’ll climb over the wall, and call a car while walking. If that doesn’t work, I’ll use a rental bicycle.” Ye Ci overcame all difficulties, threw his schoolbag cooly over his shoulder, and waved to the three roommates. “See you.”

Nighttime in the Huo residence was not tranquil.

After the IV was finished, the doctor withdrew the needle from Huo Tinglan, took his temperature again, and listened with the stethoscope.

His body temperature had only dropped slightly, but luckily his lungs were not impacted. After all, he had a top-level Alpha’s physique, and could handle more hardships than ordinary people.

“How was his diet today?……”

Outside the door, the family doctor was talking to Uncle He in a low voice. Huo Tinglan rubbed the center of his forehead and lay back on the pillow

All at once, there was a rush of footsteps coming from the direction of the stairs. Mixed with someone’s panting breaths, it sounded like someone was taking two or three steps at a time, jumping from the first to second floor in an instant.

Huo Tinglan raised his eyes in disbelief, but before he could sit up, Ye Ci had already rushed in like a gust of wind. There was unmelted snow on his down jacket, a scarf was wrapped tightly around the bridge of his nose, and those soft cheeks were frozen like frosted red fruits. His eyes were bright and his hair blown out of shape by the wind, exposing his forehead and straight eyebrows with a chilly and youthful aura.

“Baby……” Huo Tinglan panicked for a rare moment. “Why are you back?”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were sick? Still treating me like a child,” Ye Ci muttered angrily. He took off his schoolbag and down jacket, tossing them aside before walking to the bed. “Uncle He said that you were approaching the susceptibility period, so I think you’re agitated.”

“Listen to this nonsense.” Huo Tinglan scoffed, and first set aside Ye Ci’s responsibility. “I think you’re right, but I’m not agitated.”

“I’ll talk to the instructor tomorrow, and I’ll be reviewing at home these days.” Ye Ci forcefully made arrangements. 

Huo Tinglan closed his eyes: “Baby, don’t spoil me like this.”

Was Ye Ci angry?

He was indeed angry.

Huo Tinglan didn’t intend to unleash his bad Alpha nature. However, Ye Ci was too considerate and sensible, and had been fanning the flames, fueling the arrogance and possessiveness.

“Just, just get used to it.” Ye Ci’s stuttering had nearly been eliminated, and he only stuttered when his emotions were high. “It’s all mutual, why can you let me get used to it, yet you can’t?”

As he spoke, he hooked the back of Huo Tinglan’s neck and pressed his forehead against the other’s: “It’s so hot.”

“It’s okay, I’ve had an IV drip.” Huo Tinglan’s heart went soft, and he gently brushed Ye Ci’s blushing face with his fingers. “It’s because your forehead is too cold……why is it so cold and red? How did you come back?”

“I got a rental bicycle and rode back. It’s so late, and the city is too far away, so I couldn’t get a car.” Ye Ci was afraid that Huo Tinglan would lecture him, so he acted preemptively, glancing at Huo Tinglan from the corner of his eye as he muttered, “If you had, had told me to come back during the day when it wasn’t snowing, I wouldn’t have had to do this……”

“En, you’re right, I shouldn’t have hidden it.” Huo Tinglan admitted his mistake with good grace.

“Exactly.” Ye Ci looked away and took off his jeans to reveal close-fitting thermal pants, then lifted the blanket and got in.

At a young and vigorous age, he had pedaled his bicycle all the way and his body was like a burning stove, just right for warming the bed of a cold patient.

Unexpectedly, Huo Tinglan grasped the back of his neck and puzzlingly lifted him away. “Let’s sleep in separate rooms tonight.

Ye Ci opened his eyes wide.

Was this still the sex-crazy Huo-shushu he was familiar with?!

“If you get infected, I will blame myself.” Huo Tinglan got out of bed and walked out with the dazed Ye Ci, coaxing, “Baby, I’m very happy you came home.”

For the first time in his life, he was rejected by Huo Tinglan.

Ye Ci stuck to the closed door, digging his nails in like Lin Yao’s cat.

“Huo-shushu……Tinglan……”

He called him over and over.

How could Huo Tinglan be willing to let him stand outside and scratch at the door? The door opened after he called out a few times, and Huo Tinglan grasped Ye Ci’s face, shaking it gently before saying helplessly: “It’s really contagious, what will you do if you don’t do well in the final review? Didn’t you say that you want to make money to support me? Won’t you regret it?”

He was right. Ye Ci pondered for a moment: “Then promise me one condition.”

“Tell me,” Huo Tinglan said.

“Eat something,” Ye Ci said with glistening eyes. “A bowl of porridge is also fine.”

“Feed me?”

He started haggling.

“All right.”

Huo Tinglan stopped being obstinate for once, and was willing to eat something. Uncle He hurriedly ordered the back kitchen to prepare a bowl of vegetable porridge with shredded pork to supplement his nutrition as much as possible.

The grains of rice were steaming hot, and Ye Ci scooped them up with a spoon, blowing on them before feeding them to Huo Tinglan.

They gazed at each other for a long time after the first sip, and Uncle He on the side had to retreat quickly from the sweetness and give them space.

“Tinglan.”

“En?”

“Am I……” Ye Ci coughed and asked in a low voice, “……a good boyfriend?”

As soon as he heard that Huo-shushu was sick, he had jumped over the wall and left school immediately, riding a bicycle back since he couldn’t find a car. He coaxed and fed him, just shy of finding the IV drip and putting it in by himself.

If this didn’t mean he was a good boyfriend, then what would?

Huo Tinglan was silent for a moment, likely holding himself back.

“……En, especially good.”

Ye Ci’s lips curved up shyly and proudly, and he continued to feed him porridge.

The Alpha in his heart was very satisfied.

“It feels like the temperature has dropped a little.”

Ye Ci touched Huo Tinlan’s forehead.

“En, my head doesn’t hurt that much anymore.”

“I think it’s just natural internal heat.”

“En, internal heat.”

That tone was indulgent.

“If this happens again in the future, will you tell me?”

“I will.”

“You’ll tell me if you need me?”

“I’ll tell you.”

Ye Ci nodded in satisfaction.

“……”

It was a quiet snowy night.

The fine snow rustled against the windows, making the people in the house feel more cozy.

Warm inside and out.

When accompanied by loved ones, any season would feel like spring.

【End of Ye Ci’s Boyfriend Power】

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Extra Seven: Happy Chinese New Year << Table of Contents >> Extra Nine: The Wedding