The information given by Huo Tinglan was quite detailed and comprehensive. Ye Ci read it over and over several times, and the more he read, the more excited he became.

It was said that a long illness makes a patient into a doctor, and this was true. Ye Ci had a deep understanding of Ye Hongjun’s illness, and could stumblingly navigate the complicated experimental research report.

Of course he could trust the research project that Huo Tinglan recommended, but the stakes were very high and he had to know these things himself.

There was still risk in going to receive treatment, otherwise it wouldn’t be called a clinical trial, but it was worth a shot at getting a comprehensive assessment.

If it succeeded, Ye Hongjun would have a healthy second half of her life.

That was impossible with any current treatment plan.

Ye Hongjun was currently weak and frail. She could barely say a few words when she was awake, but she was still conscious and naturally had to agree to such an important decision.

As such, there were still many issues that had to be explained.

The clinical trial itself was conducted in the form of recruiting volunteers, and no treatment fee would be charged, but the miscellaneous expenses other than the treatment itself could add up to a large amount. Who would pay these expenses? How did he get the visa? Who did he contact in a biotech company as far away as San Francisco? Where did the accompanying medical team and life assistants come from? How could Chu Wenlin suddenly change his nature and do this for her? 

So the next problem before Ye Ci’s eyes became how to circle his words around it.

Fortunately, Huo Tinglan didn’t let him struggle with this issue for too long.

After confirming that Ye Ci intended to go through with the treatment, Huo Tinglan personally accompanied him to the sanatorium on Tuesday evening to discuss the matter with Ye Hongjun. Before coming, Ye Ci used WeChat to give Ye Hongjun some warning, and vaguely talked about the clinical trial. He also introduced Huo Tinglan’s identity – – the marriage part, he planned to ease her into slowly later. It was only explained that the Huo and Chu families were friends, and Huo Tinglan was the head of the Huo family. After Ye Ci was recognized back into the Chu family, the two happened to meet each other. Huo Tinglan had heard that she was ill and was willing to help.

A lot of key “details” were covered up, but the parts presented were not at all false.

Perhaps infected by the hope and joy expressed in Ye Ci’s WeChat, Ye Hongjun had some rare spirit, and for dinner, she forced herself to drink half a bowl of porridge. She didn’t vomit, and didn’t want to sleep. She even had the nursing bed raised and sat up against her pillows.

She and Ye Ci were carved out of the same mold, especially their eyes. The pupils were light in color, as round and large as apricot seeds, naturally revealing an aura of innocence and charm, and rippled with light.

Ye Hongjun had been fighting against this disease for the past few years. Her spirit and body had been devastated, and she was as weak as a cut reed, her skin a sickly blueish white. But when Ye Ci entered the door, likely because she was afraid that the child would be worried, there was still a light, soft smile at the ends of her eyes, and she greeted him with enthusiasm: “Xiao Ci, you’re here.”

After saying this, she also nodded and smiled at Huo Tinglan with some doubts that could not be concealed, and said in a gentle greeting: “Mr. Huo, hello. I heard Xiao Ci mention you……”

“Hello,” Huo Tinglan thought for a moment and smiled, “Auntie Ye.”

“……”

As if he had stepped on charcoal with bare feet, Ye Ci stood uneasily for a second and awkwardly twisted his feet back and forth, his eyes darting.

Ye Hongjun was slightly startled, and hesitantly replied, “Ah.”

She had given birth to Ye Ci at the age of twenty-two and had just passed forty this year. Young people in their twenties would call her “older sister” if they were being sweet.

However, she couldn’t figure out Huo Tinglan’s age. Judging by the state of his skin, he was at most twenty-six or seven, but that deep and noble bearing made him seem like he was in his early thirties.

“Please take a seat……Xiao Ci,” Ye Hongjun didn’t hesitate, and sat up weakly, “hurry up and get Mr. Huo a chair.”

Ye Hongjun’s family was ordinary, but her family’s education was strict. Her father had been a teacher all his life, and he was ruthless with his students. When he disciplined his daughter, he was even more severe. She had been dazzled by Chu Wenlin’s sweet words back then and was willing to dedicate everything to that illusory “love,” so she did that deviant thing. Over the years, she had been struggling to make a living in the quagmire of the old part of town, but her well-bred upbringing had long since sunk into her bones and blood. Not contaminated in the slightest by her vulgar surroundings, she spoke decorously and politely, and communicating with her made people feel comfortable.

Huo Tinglan explained to Ye Hongjun all the arrangements that Ye Ci hadn’t mentioned on WeChat. Even small details such as how he had chartered a plane for her and equipped it with medical facilities to ensure her safety on the flight were explained thoroughly. Not only that, but Ye Hongjun could hear between the lines how Huo Tinglan had meticulously done his homework on her illness. He knew no less than her, maybe even more, and he answered all of her questions in detail.

After they were finished with business, the ward was filled with an unnatural silence that all of them were aware of but didn’t acknowledge.

“By the way, Xiao Ci,” Ye Hongjun suddenly broke the silence and instructed in a soft tone, “go downstairs and buy Mr. Huo something to drink……I’m sorry, I’m so sick and confused that it took me a long time to think about it, it was remiss of me……”

Ye Ci stood up hesitantly.

His mom must want him to leave.

Huo Tinglan raised his eyes, smiled gently, and said, “Mineral water is fine, thank you.”

Ye Ci didn’t dare make eye contact with him. He lowered his head, gave a firm hum, and quickly slipped out.

As he left, he took a few steps toward the stairs with his head down. He was really curious and wanted to know how Huo-shushu would explain their relationship, so he turned back.

Enduring the flagellation of his conscience, he quietly depressed the doorknob and pushed the door open a small crack.

They were already chatting inside.

It was Huo Tinglan’s low voice, and the tone was full of an inexplicably familiar apology and helplessness.

“……I’ve been busy with my career all these years and have very little personal time, and my matching with Omegas is generally low. As a thirty-year-old person, let alone falling in love, I’ve never even been on a blind date. In terms of my love life, you may laugh, but I’m really just a blank sheet of paper……I saw Xiao Ci by chance at the banquet held by the Chu family that day, and he never left my mind……”

“……You’re right, I’m not the right age, I’m really too old for him……No, no need to apologize, you didn’t blunder……You don’t have to worry about our progress being too fast, I confessed, but Xiao Ci didn’t promise me anything. With you in this state, he didn’t want you to worry, so he doesn’t have time to think about me, which I totally understand……I happen to have resources and channels in this area, and this matter is not as troublesome as you think. I just can’t bear to watch Xiao Ci work so hard. I’m paying for him, and I’m delighted to do so. I won’t say fanciful words, you can judge me by my actions……”

The voice suddenly got closer.

The door fanned closed.

With a click, Huo Tinglan locked it from the inside.

Huo-shushu had discovered his eavesdropping.

Ye Ci’s ears turned red, and he dizzily slipped down to buy water.

It seemed as if Huo-shushu……wasn’t lying.

In order to upset Ye Hongjun as little as possible and beautify the episode of Chu Wenlin’s forced marriage into a chance encounter, they had discussed this rhetoric before coming.

But although he couldn’t say why, he felt that between the lines, Huo-shushu sounded sort of miserable.

Huo-shushu was actually so……so pitiful?!

Ye Ci went downstairs and bought two bottles of water to deliver, and when he returned, the door of the ward was still closed. He tactfully waited in the corridor.

About ten minutes later, Huo Tinglan slowly stepped out and looked into Ye Ci’s slightly complicated eyes. He raised his lips and said softly: “Your mom agreed to go to San Francisco for treatment……After talking for so long, she should have a good rest. You go say goodbye and we’ll go back first.”

Ye Ci entered the ward and saw that Ye Hongjun was already lying down, and it seemed that she was indeed exhausted.

He didn’t linger long, just helped tuck in Ye Honjun’s blanket and said goodbye. Ye Hongjun smiled at him tenderly and wearily, and seemed not to be in a bad mood.

On the way home, Ye Ci couldn’t bear the curiosity. After hesitating for a while, he asked: “Huo-shushu, what did……what did you and my mother talk about?”

“Nothing special, to be honest.” Huo Tinglan smiled and joked, “Didn’t you listen at the door?”

Ye Ci choked. “I just……I listened a little.”

“What?” Huo Tinglan raised his eyes, looking pure and innocent. “Other than the part we discussed, were there any other parts that didn’t match the facts?”

“Well……” Ye Ci was searching for a rebuttal when his phone rang.

He picked it up and looked at it. It was Ye Hongjun.

She had sent a long WeChat text.

Ye Ci swept over it at a glance, his eyes trembling.

[Mom]:

Son, mom talked a lot with Mr. Huo tonight, and thought about it a lot. I’m too embarrassed to say some things in front of you, so let’s communicate like this.

Sorry, mom has been in poor health in recent years and made you accompany her to suffer too bitterly. Sometimes mom can’t help crying when she thinks of it at night. She feels that fate is too unfair, and let her good boy suffer too much grievance. Mom is incapable. She brought you into this world, but continuously makes you suffer from poverty. Every time mom thinks of these things, she will pray to heaven, praying that you will meet a little luck in the future. She dares not ask for too much, only that you will be safe and healthy for most of your life, and that you can eat and dress warmly without working too hard. That would be great.

Perhaps mom’s prayers were not in vain.

Mom didn’t know Mr. Huo well, and we were just strangers before today.

Mr. Huo is a very intelligent person and knows how to talk. Mom can see this, but mom can also feel his care for you. Mom won’t say too much, we can also find a way to repay Mr. Huo’s kindness in the future. Your own thoughts and feelings are the most important. It’s just that mom was unlucky in her life and failed to meet a sincere person, and had to endure. She can’t help wanting to nag you a little: A person who treats you with sincerity is the rarest treasure in this world, and very hard to come by. You must know how to cherish them, even if you don’t like them romantically. Be kind to them, and never hurt them or make them sad. Mom hopes that you can firmly grasp your own happiness……

. . . . . .

The Alpha suitor, who was twelve years older, should have had a hard time with the elders. After all, Ye Hongjun was not someone who saw money. No matter how big the allure of a wealthy family was, she would still worry about her child.

However, what Ye Ci expected did not happen at all.

He originally had a belly full of mental outlines to encourage his mom to be at ease.

“……”

Ye Ci’s pupils shook like an earthquake and he turned his head with a swoosh, staring at Huo Tinglan in disbelief as the man looked out the window.

Huo-shushu, this……

Was he that good at sweet talking?!^[1]

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[1] This was a little difficult to translate, but what he actually said was, “Did he boil a pot of ecstasy soup?!” Ecstasy soup, or 迷魂汤, is a metaphor referring to language or behavior that confuses people into thinking that something is good.

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Chapter Twenty-Seven<< Table of Contents >> Chapter Twenty-Nine

Ye Ci followed Huo Tinglan to another study on the west side of the third floor.

He had never been to this room before. It seemed that it was used to store more important things. The floor was smooth cedarwood, the carpet soft and plush, and there was a genuine leather safe as tall as a person, dark blue and inlaid with gold, solid and heavy.

There were several flat drawers in the safe, filled with categorized documents relating to things such as real estate and stocks, and the one at the top was reserved for Ye Ci.

There was a thick stack of old certificates with smooth corners and finished coating: “Three-good Award,”^[1] “Certificate of Honor,” “Letter of Good News,” in festive bronze and red. They lay peacefully together in the expensive black walnut drawer alongside two big albums and the parenting diary handwritten by Ye Hongjun, exuding the atmosphere of “My whole life is worth something…..”

“……Why, why is all of this in the safe?”

There was actually a “Model of Good Health” that Ye Ci received when he was in the first grade of elementary school.

Ye Ci was so embarrassed that his legs were weak, and he almost knelt down to Huo Tinglan.

The old boxes he brought in were all packed up by Uncle He, and he had always thought they were just piled into a storage room. During this period of time, he had been studying so much that he didn’t even think about it……

“Why?” Huo Tinglan hooked his lips. Taking out a folder, he concealed his teasing and asked calmly, “The purpose of a safe is to hold important items. Aren’t these items important to you?”

“Yes, they’re, they’re important.” Ye Ci was at a loss for words.

But they were not valuable, not worthwhile. This……

“So.” Huo Tinglan gave a smile, admiring the blue smoke sizzling from the child’s head, “What’s wrong?”

Ye Ci: “………”

Seeing that Ye Ci was silent, Huo Tinglan opened the folder and got down to business.

The medical reports of all sizes in the folder were arranged by item and date. The changes in Ye Hongjun’s condition in recent years were clear at a glance. In addition, there were some documents in foreign languages that Ye Ci couldn’t understand.

The folder looked familiar. Ye Ci remembered that he seemed to have seen Huo Tinglan holding it in his hand when he got out of school one day. At that time, he’d felt that the papers somewhat resembled hospital medical reports……

They really were.

“In legal terms, your mother is also my mother. Whether due to my feelings for you or because of law and morality, I should be responsible for her health……I’m sure you agree. If our roles were reversed, you would do the same.” Huo Tinglan explained in a natural tone, and also smoothly roped Ye Ci into his system of logic, as if his actions were normal and it would be strange if he didn’t do it like this. “So I had a chat with her primary doctor some time ago and sorted out her medical reports for the past two years, then got in touch with a biomedical firm in San Francisco……”

Ye Hongjun suffered from a malignant disease related to the Omega biological system, which carried a certain genetic predisposition.

In the last life, because he was worried that Ye Ci would repeat his mother’s tragedy, Huo Tinglan had a comprehensive and detailed understanding of the disease, its risk factors, early signs, prevention methods, and the most important forms of treatment. Fortunately, a new drug with a breakthrough therapeutic effect was approved for marketing at that time, and although the price was high, the treatment effect was excellent. Even if Ye Ci really got sick in the future, he could be cured by this medicine. Sadly, this new drug successfully passed the “breakthrough drug” approval certification by the country’s drug regulation authority in the year of Ye Hongjun’s death. This project that would be hugely successful in the future had not received much attention in the country, and its reliability had not been fully proven.

However, Huo Tinglan had experienced the future of this new drug becoming an effective medicine, and just to be on the safe side, he had consulted many parties in the past two months and conducted a full investigation of the research……right now, it was indeed Ye Hongjun’s only hope for recovery. 

“…… The pharma company went public on the Nasdaq last December. The amount raised reached an astonishing $335 million, and the research and development funds are sufficient. They currently have seven drug candidates in their pipeline, and among them, a drug for malignant Omega gland disease has entered the phase III clinical trial stage, and has become their main project at this stage.” Huo Tinglan explained the situation, took out a paper printed with the company information and drug development status, and handed it to Ye Ci in turn. “I’ve consulted several authorities in the medical industry during this time, and they have a high evaluation of this project. There are of course uncertainties in the clinical trial stage, but under the premise that other treatment options have no obvious effect, I think……it is worth trying.”

Huo Tinglan thought that this plan was feasible, and its importance could not be overstated.

Ye Ci gripped the stack of documents that Huo Tinglan handed to him. His eyes trembled slightly as he anxiously looked them over, and the paper was wrinkled where he pinched it, as if he was afraid that if he responded too slowly, the opportunity would leak out from between his fingers.

Huo Tinglan handed the entire folder over to him and said warmly: “I wasn’t fully prepared before, and I wasn’t sure if it was safe, so I never told you. I was afraid that if something went wrong, I would give you hope only to disappoint you……the information on the project so far is all here, take it back and read it carefully and give me an answer. There is still some time before the start of the Phase III clinical trials.” He raised his hand and rubbed Ye Ci’s hair, his calm tone inexplicably convincing. “Don’t worry, don’t be afraid, your mother is in stable condition now.”

In the last life, Ye Hongjun passed away three months before Ye Ci’s college entrance examination. That was still far from now, and there would be no major problems in the near future.

“If she par, participates in the trial……my mother will go to San Francisco?” Ye Ci asked, his eyes revealing his helplessness.

He could barely even speak Chinese the way he was, and if his English was applied practically, he estimated that he could recognize a street sign or ask, “How, how much?” at a convenience store……

But to let Ye Hongjun go to the other side of the ocean alone to participate in the clinical trial, he couldn’t rest assured.

Huo Tinglan saw through his concerns and smiled softly: “The clinical trial process is very long, and you wouldn’t be able to care for her. If you are willing to send your mother to treatment, I will arrange for a medical team and living assistant to accompany her through the whole process. Your first priority at the moment is to study……the rest can be left to me.”

As for what sort of medical team accompanied someone through the whole process and also accompanied them to foreign countries, Ye Ci had limited knowledge. For a time, he didn’t even think about it at all, and reviewed the previous experiences of seeking medical treatment abroad.

It turned out that things could be resolved this way.

How could there be such a good person in the world as Huo-shushu?

Ye Ci’s nose was painful and stuffy for a while, but he couldn’t speak.

His surging and turbulent emotions were all stuck in his throat, choking him to death.

So he stepped forward abruptly and plunged into Huo Tinglan’s arms. Like a tired bird returning to the forest, he threw himself into the spring breeze and wrapped his arms around Huo Tinglan’s slim waist, so tight, so hard. With a childlike clumsy innocence, he didn’t know how to express his feelings, so he could only hold on tight.

Just as that white shirt showed a hint of drying, it was soaked again.

After a long while, Ye Ci squeezed out a sentence: “I’m not like this normally, I don’t cry, cry at every turn……”

These days, he seemed to have cried all his tears in front of Huo-shushu.

He wouldn’t feel at ease without explaining.

“En.” Huo Tinglan lowered his head and hugged him. “Xiao Ci won’t cry in the future.”

For the rest of his life, he would never again cry tears of bitterness.

Ye Ci nodded and didn’t move, just hugged Huo Tinglan like that, like a sticky little plaster.

This hug, in Ye Ci’s view, was very pure and had nothing to do with desire, just clean attachment and warmth. That chest was like the sea, gentle and accommodating, and he floated on the warm, comfortable waves of his heart, savoring the unprecedented joy and peace. He was reluctant to let go.

After hugging for a while, Huo Tinglan suddenly patted Ye Ci’s back and reminded him reservedly: “Alright…..it’s been an emotional day, go take a hot bath and rest early.”

Not only did Ye Ci not let go, but because he was afraid of being chased away, he hugged him tighter. He rubbed his little head against Huo Tinglan’s shoulder and shook it twice.

“Be good, Xiao Ci.” Huo Tinglan took a step back for some reason.

“What, what’s the matter, Huo-shushu?” Ye Ci stumbled, still sticking to him.

“Nothing, it’s time to rest.” Huo Tinglan pinched the back of Ye Ci’s neck through his shirt collar and used the Omega’s stress response to lift Ye Ci away like a clingy kitten.

Ye Ci didn’t say a word, his eyes dimmed, and he stood still just a step away from him.

Huo Tinglan sighed.

A rarely established intimacy……

“We’ve been hugging for five minutes,” Huo Tinglan pondered for a moment, his expression filled with the innocence of someone who had been forced by Ye Ci into speaking of indecent things. “I am a healthy, energetic Alpha and I’ve liked you for a long time. You holding me like this……” He watched Ye Ci’s confused expression gradually change into one of disbelief, and said helplessly, “Do you need me to make it clear? I’m afraid it won’t be polite.”

Ye Ci’s face turned red, and he subconsciously glanced down.

He seemed to be shocked that Huo-shushu, a gentleman, also had the functions that Alphas should have.

“What are you looking at?” Huo Tinglan laughed in spite of himself and used a finger to lift Ye Ci’s chin, forcing him to look up. “Look forward.”

“I, I didn’t see anything!” Ye Ci was so frightened that he swallowed his saliva and stared straight ahead.

Not to mention that the two were not officially together, but even if they were together, with Ye Ci’s current level of innocence, he couldn’t do much.

Otherwise……

Ye Ci would probably dig a tunnel through the bed and escape overnight.

“Turn around, forward march.” Huo Tinglan couldn’t help laughing. “Go back to your bedroom to sleep.”

“Good, goodnight, Huo-shushu.” Ye Ci hurriedly turned around with the information packet. His steps were stiffer than a robot’s and he walked toward the bedroom on the second floor, dazed.

Huo-shushu just now, did it count as……indecent behavior?

In any case, by his scale, it was hard to determine.

“……”

Ye Ci squeezed his fists.

The blame was on him.

How old was he? He should know better.

He had caused Huo-shushu to play the scoundrel.

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[1] The three-good award, 三好学生,  recognizes Chinese students with “good morals, good grades, and good health.” ⮐

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Chapter Twenty-Six<< Table of Contents >> Chapter Twenty-Eight

Ye Ci really wasn’t addicted to smoking.

He usually smoked less, but these days were just full of worries, many and complicated, so he couldn’t help but rely on nicotine to soothe his nerves.

Just as soon as the signs of addiction appeared, Huo Tinglan snuffed it out.

Ye Ci couldn’t hide his anxiety as soon as he approached the sanitorium. When passing a convenience store, he wanted the driver to stop and let him buy a pack of cigarettes, but the words wouldn’t come out and he reflexively remembered that scene. Huo Tinglan’s thin lips covering the moist and slightly deflated filter, white smoke passing over dark eyebrows . . . .

His tone and demeanor were both calm, indeed the attitude of correcting a disobedient child.

Besides . . . . it was just a puff from half a cigarette.

“The next time I catch you . . . .”

If he was caught again . . . . what would happen?

Would he continue to grab half his cigarettes and smoke them by himself?!

Whatever state of mind he was in, maybe out of curiosity, Ye Ci suddenly regretted interrupting Huo Tinglan’s words.

Of course, he didn’t have the guts to try his hand at it.

He was honest by nature, and once he promised there would “be no next time,” he was too ashamed to buy cigarettes secretly after struggling with himself over it for a while. The car was already parked in the sanatorium parking lot.

Twice a week, Saturday and Sunday afternoon or evening, Huo Tinglan would send a driver to take him to the sanatorium to see his mother, and Ye Ci would decide the specific time.

Ye Ci didn’t tell him clearly, but Huo Tinglan probably knew Ye Ci’s fear that this marriage would upset his sick mother, and never asked to accompany him to visit as Mr. Ye Ci.

The third floor was the senior ward area, which had always been quiet in the past, but today, as soon as the elevator doors opened, a scene of chaos entered Ye Ci’s eyes.

A patient on this floor had passed away.

A gurney was parked in the corridor, and the blanket outlined the shape of a person. Shriveled by disease, they looked lonely and helpless. Their face was covered in white cloth. They were no longer alive.

Several family members were sobbing. There was a big Alpha guy as strong as a brown bear kneeling before the gurney that was comically small next to him, crying like a sad child.

“Mom – –”

He didn’t have a mother anymore.

The setting sun smeared across the white cloth covering the body.

So red. So desolate.

Ye Ci turned his face away, his heart sinking into his stomach. He hurriedly walked into Ye Hongjun’s ward and locked the door, isolating that desolate redness and death outside the door.

Fortunately, Ye Hongjun didn’t wake up.

She didn’t hear the activity in the hallway.

Ye Ci didn’t know if he was imagining things, but Ye Hongjun seemed to be a little thinner than last week. Her cheekbones were like two shallow reefs that emerged after the fat and flesh ebbed away, propping up her pale skin sharply.

When he was recognized by the Chu family, Ye Ci had made many requests to Chu Wenlin. He used Chu Wenlin’s money to take Ye Hongjun to several top hospitals in first-tier cities, and also invited experts in the industry who were hard to find. The expensive imported injections had also been pursued, and various confirmed and reliable treatments had been tried.

But Ye Hongjun’s time awake seemed to be getting shorter and shorter.

Ye Ci took out the half-dead dianthus in the vase and inserted a few fresh carnations.

The fingertips holding the stalks trembled with fear from the scene in the corridor.

Tonight when he went back . . . . he must ask Huo-shushu.

In case he happened to have another way.

They had only known each other for two months, but Huo Tinglan seemed to be the terminator of all bad luck in his life and the beginning of all good luck, like a kind of destiny.

So with his mother seriously ill, was it possible that the greatest bad luck in his life could be reversed by Huo Tinglan?

Ye Ci made up his mind and didn’t dare to let himself think too far ahead, lest he be disappointed. He threw the dianthus flower in his hand into the trash can. Sitting on the edge of the bed and firmly grasping Ye Hongjun’s weak hand, he called softly, “Mom……”

For a boy of his age, it was rare to call out “mom.” He was not too embarrassed to call her that, but it was usually more comfortable to say “mother.”

But in some fragile moments, the title “mom” allowed him to draw warm and practical strength.

“You must, must . . . . be okay.” With a long sigh, he rested his head on Ye Hongjun’s leg.

After a moment of silence, he chatted about his recent life, omitting some details and picking out what he could say. 

He didn’t know how long he had been talking, but he’d said all he could say.

“Mom.” Ye Ci rubbed his red eyelids. He buried his face in the quilt, hesitated, and muttered softly, “I seem to, to have . . . . someone I like.”

“I haven’t, haven’t told him, some, some things are still . . . . not clear.” He pursed his lower lip. “This, this is such a big deal. I have to take, take responsibility for others, just in case it’s . . . . a temporary impulse.”

With Huo Tinglan’s age, he couldn’t afford to delay.

But he didn’t dare to say that.

Ye Hongjun slept quietly.

“Later, if there is a chance . . . . I want you to meet him.” Ye Honjun couldn’ actually hear him. Ye Ci still fought against the void, his body covered in hot sweat and his face all red. “If you can’t speak, that is your answer. You promised to wait and see him.”

. . . . . .

It was already dark when Ye Ci returned home after visiting Ye Hongjun.

Along the way, he thought about how to bring this up to Huo Tinglan, and made several drafts.

It wasn’t that he was afraid of being rejected if he didn’t phrase it well – if he opened his big mouth and Huo Tinglan agreed, it would inevitably involve money and energy. How could these accounts be repaid? He had no ideas for the time being, but he couldn’t think about that. After all, he didn’t want to take the other party’s contribution for granted just because Huo Tinlan said he liked him.

Ye Ci got out of the car and walked to the door of the Huo residence, mulling things over in his mind. Distracted, he walked through the entrance without looking up, and almost ran straight into Huo Tinlgan’s arms.

The man had received the driver’s report in advance and met him at the door.

“Don’t move.” Wearing an expensive white shirt, Huo Tinglan closed the door and squeezed Ye Ci into the gap between the door and the entryway. To his back was the door panel, and at his front was Huo Tinglan with both hands in his pockets. His face was stern, and the corners of his lips were straight, but there was a faint smile in his eyes. “This is a surprise inspection.”

“What……are you checking for?” Ye Ci was taken aback, and subconsciously straightened his posture.

Huo Tinglan gave a slight tilt of his head and leaned over gracefully.

The straight, handsome bridge of his nose drew close.

Whereupon he promptly sniffed Ye Ci’s suddenly closed lips.

He could see how soft they were without touching them, closed up like crumpled petals.

“You didn’t smoke?”

Thinking that Huo Tinglan was going to kiss him on the mouth, Ye Ci’s whole body froze. His heart beat hard, and it took him a few seconds to realize what he had just heard. His face was as red as a ripe fruit, and he was so embarrassed that he drooped his head desperately, but he hadn’t forgotten to answer in a low voice: “I didn’t smoke, I, I promised I wouldn’t smoke anymore…..”

He was an honest kid.

In fact, Huo Tinglan had known without asking.

Ye Ci had been like this in his previous life. He was honest of character, taciturn and quiet. When he said something, it counted.

“Not bad.” Huo Tinglan gave his approval and made way for him. Without waiting for him to think about it, he asked with concern, “You went to see your mother this afternoon?”

Ye Ci sat down on the shoe changing stool and changed into slippers with light movements: “En…..”

“How is she doing lately?” Huo Tinglan was intending to chat with Ye Ci about his mother, and led the topic in this direction.

When Ye Hongjun was mentioned, the scene in the corridor that afternoon suddenly came to mind. Ye Ci clenched his hands fiercely, and without giving himself time to hesitate, he blurted out: “Huo-shushu, you said a few days ago that I……should take the initiative to ask you, to make a request……I’ll ask it now, okay?”

“Of course.” Huo Tinglan softened his voice. “You can say it.”

“Can you, can you help me……help, help my mother?” Ye Ci’s chest heaved violently. It was not as difficult as he imagined to open his mouth to Huo Tinglan. There was no sharp pain of injured self-esteem. On the contrary, the moment he said those words, he actually experienced an unprecedented lightness and fatigue.

The long-closed area of his mind was broken open, and the pressure that had already swelled to its limits rushed out. Some hard and deformed thing quickly collapsed, became soft, and returned to its original appearance. With reckless and joyful disregard, Ye Ci poured out all the words he held inside, for fear that if he didn’t say them now, he would become unable to say them again: “I took her to, to all the big hospitals I could, and tried all kinds of treatment plans. I, I really don’t know what else to do, I feel like she, she might not make it this year. I think about it and I’m afraid……I’m really afraid, Huo-shushu…..”

When speaking of the latter, his already worrying language ability completely collapsed, and Ye Ci was so out of sorts that he didn’t know what he was talking about. The floodgates were opened wide and the bitter water poured out, unstoppable.

He spoke of these few long years, the bitter hardships on the road to seek medical treatment, the exhaustion and suffering of working multiple jobs a day in order to raise money for medical expenses, and the disappointment and despair of failed test results again and again, the hard and cold benches in the hospital corridor, the meager steamed buns under a hot pot lid, the empty desk in the classroom that once belonged to him……so much heartache and grievance that he was used to holding back firmly, never daring to pour it out. Otherwise once his energy was drained and he was deflated and soft, who would support him?

Finally, he could talk. He could let himself talk.

He didn’t know how long he spoke and stammered, but his mouth was tired and his face was sore. Huo Tinglan was next to him, and in order to avoid interrupting, he had squeezed side by side with him on the shoe-changing bench in the entryway. He listened quietly, occasionally making a sound to show that he was still listening carefully, and wrapped his solid arms around Ye Ci to rub his back, as gentle and patient as if he were coaxing a child.

With his emotions completely vented, Ye Ci only felt that his head was empty and numb.

He had never unreservedly confided these things to anyone in his life. Once the impulse had passed, he became embarrassed and slowly moved his little head away from Huo Tinglan’s shoulder, trying in vain to cover it up by wiping the wet patch on Huo Tinglan’s white shirt with his sleeve.

Huo Tinglan raised his hand and rubbed his soft, messy black hair. After a long silence, he said softly, “No problem.”

“……Hm?” Ye Ci sniffed his stuffy nose, still not responsive yet.

“Your request.” Huo Tinglan patted his shoulder and stood up. “I originally planned to find time to tell you in the next couple of days……come with me.”

---

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Chapter Twenty-Five<< Table of Contents >> Chapter Twenty-Seven

His hands were so cold, and were sweating from nervousness. In contrast, Huo Tinglan’s palm was as hot and dry as holding fire, making him fidget.

Relying on the low friction of the silk, Ye Ci slowly slid under the quilt to lay flat. Half of his face was submerged, and the bridge of his nose peeked over the quilt along with a pair of bright eyes.

He faintly guessed that those big hands contained evil intentions, but he didn’t want to believe it and was reluctant to draw away, flustered and self-deceiving.

Ye Ci was lying on his side, and in order not to make the position awkward, Huo Tinglan also reclined halfway at the head of the bed, holding the wet snow with both hands.

Ye Ci’s hands were very slender, the bones sharp and hard. It looked just like a boy’s hand.

But perhaps it had been affected by the Omega hormones in the past few months, because that skin was as tender as soft tofu, as smooth as satin, and the five slender finger bones were like bamboo supports under a paper umbrella, clearly distinct.

Huo Tinglan’s expression was honest, just wanting to warm him up. He didn’t bend the rules even a little bit, letting the pheromones blend gently.

After a while, the hand in his palm softened, the muscles losing tension as Ye Ci eased his guard.

Huo Tinglan then began to rub it in a calm and collected manner, slowly kneading. First the back of the hand, the edge of the palm, and then he rubbed Ye Ci’s ten cold, kitten-like finger pads in turn, helping to improve circulation.

That technique was not improper, as if the only purpose was to warm him and pass him pheromones.

But Ye Ci lowered his gaze, his eyelashes trembling, and didn’t dare to look at him.

“Xiao Ci.” As if to distract his attention, Huo Tinglan suddenly spoke, “I want to make a request of you. May I?”

“What?” Ye Ci raised his eyes. “Okay, you, you can say it.”

This student was so good.

Huo Tinglan pondered for a while, then said warmly: “I hope that when you encounter trouble in the future, when you experience difficulties, you can learn to take the initiative to tell me, to let me solve it for you and help you find a way to handle it.” He soothed Ye Ci’s fragile self-esteem, “Seeking help from the right person is smart. It doesn’t mean you’re incapable, and . . . .” He gazed at him, his eyes tender but without pity, as if he were looking at a young, wounded eagle. “You’re so young, and you’ve endured a lot more than your peers, but you’re not overwhelmed. You’re a strong, brave person, and that won’t change just because you need help sometimes……understand?”

It was very common sense. If someone else said it, Ye Ci would turn a deaf ear, but when it came out of Huo Tinglan’s mouth, he listened.

“I, I understand……Huo-shushu.” He nodded firmly.

At the same time, the graphite silk rippled delicately.

Five strong and steady fingers snuck between Ye Ci’s lightly sweating ones without delay.

The lines of their palms overlapped.

Their ten fingers met.

Pheromones blended into the sweat and efficiently soothed Ye Ci’s feverish glands.

These warm hands and the exchange of pheromones in such a way made Ye Ci blush and his heart beat faster, and he struggled weakly for a moment.

“This matter tonight, you don’t have to let your imagination run wild when you go back and feel embarrassed.” Huo Tinglan had considered this carefully and thoroughly, afraid that the more Ye Ci thought about it, the more ashamed he would become. “You’re my little gentleman who received a marriage certificate. Half of this house is yours, let alone a bed. There is no need to apologize to me. Besides . . . .” He smiled, with a candid but poised look, “This bed has been laid in by you, and I like it very much.”

He shamelessly spoke nonsense in a gentleman’s tone. Ye Ci was at a loss, and ignoring the fingers that were overlapping with his, he nodded carelessly with a scattered mind. “En, I won’t, won’t dwell on it . . . .”

He was flirted with again without knowing it.

The central air conditioner in the Huo residence had a smart temperature sensing system, which would automatically adjust the indoor temperature to the range with the highest level of human comfort. The current level was just right, but Huo Tinglan seemed to be cold, and had covered up with the quilt at some point.

It may have been that his movements were so elegant and natural, but by the time Ye Ci noticed, he was already lying under the quilt. The tips of their noses were close together, separated by only a few centimeters. At first glance, it seemed intimate and gentle, like a young couple leaning their heads together to sleep.

Ye Ci’s ears were hot and he blinked frequently, not knowing where to look, but he didn’t shrink back. Their warm breaths blended together in every square inch of those ten centimeters.

The tip of his nose, his lips, and his cheeks were warm.

His hands were warm.

His heart was also warm.

Ye Ci’s face was getting redder.

The words were not thoroughly expressed, and they weren’t together, but he was ignorant and shy, and let this person take advantage of him. He was lying in bed with another person, and his hands were still red from being “warmed up.”

Wasn’t this . . . .

Not, not quite right?

“You promise every time, and the next time you encounter something, you just continue to be brave and don’t tell me . . . . this habit needs to be changed.” Huo Tinglan’s black eyes were full of laughter, as if he was teasing a cat with a string, using words to draw up Ye Ci’s mood. He was being bad, but he had to find a secret outlet for the lust that was boiling like magma. Otherwise, it would be difficult for him to let Ye Ci go back in one piece. “So this time, I want to give you a task.”

“What, what task?” Before his shame value could reach a critical point, Ye Ci’s attention was poked away again.

“Within a week, practice by asking me for one request.” Huo Tinglan looked at him solemnly and said word by word: “Any request, anything within my power.”

Ye Ci hesitated in a rare moment of not immediately agreeing.

Proactively asking people.

This skill had long been neglected.

A life of hardship had caused him to grow up prematurely, and during young Ye Ci’s childhood, he knew that requests could not be made indiscriminately. His mother was often in financial constraints and needed to plan their life carefully, so his practice had always been to suppress his desires and try not to make things difficult for his mother by asking for toys and snacks. This was even more so as he grew up. He was a man, and he should stand tall like a big tree and be his mother’s support. He should be the one to solve the requests.

“I don’t, don’t seem to have anything . . . . to ask for.” Ye Ci tried to take advantage of a loophole: “Then I’ll request that, that you go over the lecture topic with me . . . .”

“That doesn’t count.” Huo Tinglan snorted when he saw the child’s dissatisfaction. “I have the final say.”

In the end, Ye Ci still couldn’t out-talk Huo Tinglan, so he responded in a daze. The temporary fever gradually subsided under the comfort of pheromones, but when he climbed off Huo Tinglan’s bed, his legs were still very weak. With his pajamas and hair also in disarray, he was like a small balloon that had been inadvertently deflated by someone.

It was easy for ordinary people to ask for things.

He really couldn’t think of any special request. Considering the financial resources of the Huo family, at least one expensive gift could be asked for.

But as it happened, Ye Ci was stumped. Apart from getting into a good university, he really didn’t want anything. As for the biggest difficulty he was facing right now . . . .

That was Ye Hongjun’s illness.

Birth, old age, sickness, and death were sometimes beyond human reach.

He didn’t even dare to think about it. Most of the time, he deliberately kept this part of his brain in a state of numbness and sluggishness, without thinking about what would happen if the only person in the world who loved him left him. Otherwise, he would be trapped in panic and anxiety all day long, making it difficult to go about daily life.

Saturday afternoon, the summer heat was white-hot. Ye Ci sat on a bench under the shade of an acacia tree, smoking heavily.

Originally, he was tired of working on questions, so he went downstairs and strolled through the garden for a while, stretching his muscles and bones. But as he walked, he remembered what Huo-shushu asked him to request, and thought about his mother’s illness along the way.

At this thought, his stomach was heavy, as if a block of lead had dropped into it. He lit a cigarette, and the more he smoked, the more upset he became, and the more upset he became, the more he wanted to smoke.

On the bench were the neatly arranged butts of his finished cigarettes, inexplicably pleasing.

He intended to finish off this pack of cigarettes and throw them all away together.

Ye Ci sat on the bench with his legs crossed, his elbows resting on his knees, fiddling with his cell phone while holding a cigarette in one hand. 

The patient group he added for Ye Hongjun was very lively at the moment, and was full of news for a long time. Someone posted the registration information for going to X country to participate in a clinical trial. Several family members of the patient were discussing visa applications and round-trip fares. Ye Ci frowned and looked at the information.

When Ye Hongjun first fell ill, he was very sensitive to this sort of news. In the past two years, he had seen much of it, and had been disappointed many times. He knew that the majority of them had no choice and would try clinical trials with various unstable factors. If someone went and couldn’t be cured, then never mind, but he feared that the patient’s constitution was weak and couldn’t bear the constant ups and downs, or that an adverse reaction would have the opposite effect. And the most terrible thing was not knowing their authenticity or reliability. Some people in the patient group relied on this to make money, claiming that they had channels to send patients to participate in any kind of experiment. They would hype them up and then charge large registration fees to do nothing, and the patient would wait until death for that Schrodinger’s place . . . .

Ye Ci thought of that “request” again.

Perhaps Huo-shushu would have a way? He could have channels Ye Ci didn’t know about, or at least help him find out where new treatments would be more promising . . . .

His heart gave a sudden and violent leap.

Ye Ci was in a daze. He brought the half-finished cigarette between his fingers to his lips, but halfway there, his fingers were suddenly empty.

“ ! “ Startled, Ye Ci raised his eyes and saw that Huo Tinglan had come to stand beside him at some point, holding the half cigarette between his thumb and forefinger and looking at him with raised eyebrows.

“Huo, Huo-shushu!” Ye Ci jumped up from the bench and frantically tugged at the hem of his clothes. “You, when did you come back?”

He remembered that Huo Tinglan was not at home when he went downstairs for a walk.

Huo Tinglan didn’t answer, lowered his eyes to look at the seven well-behaved cigarette butts sitting in a row, and glanced at Ye Ci cooly: “Your smoking addiction is not small.”

“I’m not addicted, just –” Ye Ci’s voice gradually lowered. “I just smoke for fun.”

“Is smoking fun?” Huo Tinglan asked leisurely. As if to verify Ye Ci’s statement, he bowed his head modestly and took a puff from the half cigarette.

The filter was still slightly damp.

“I smoked, smoked it already . . . . y-you won’t like it . . . .” 

Ye Ci seemed to have been scorched by fire, and looked helplessly at Huo-shushu smoking the cigarette he had already smoked, red from his forehead to his neck.

– – It was indeed fun.

The tobacco was cheap. Huo Tinglan was choked, coughed lightly, and almost couldn’t keep the corners of his lips from curving.

“I don’t mind.” Huo Tinglan calmly shook the cigarette in his hand. “The next time I catch you……”

“There won’t, won’t be a next time!” Ye Ci shook his head and waved his hand, wishing he could grow a tail and wag it too.

Huo Tinglan opened his palm towards Ye Ci: “Anything else?”

Ye Ci’s face was red, and he very politely handed over the remaining half pack of cigarettes and the lighter.

The cigarette carton had been kept in Ye Ci’s pocket for two days, and was wrinkled from being squeezed and fiddled with.

Huo Tinglan nodded slightly and turned to leave.

Ye Ci was frozen in place.

He didn’t see it clearly.

But after Huo-shushu turned around just now, didn’t he . . . .

Bow his head and sniff at that cigarette carton a little bit?

---

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Chapter Twenty-Four<< Table of Contents >> Chapter Twenty-Six

Ye Ci lowered his eyes, shook his head which was exposed outside of the quilt, and said quietly, “No, I don’t hate . . . .”

He couldn’t lie.

When he shook his head, his cheek brushed against the prominent muscles of Huo Tinglan’s chest.

The texture was firm and tough, and the shirt material was smooth.

He felt like he had taken advantage. His eyes flickered, and his face was ridiculously red.

“You don’t hate him.” Huo Tinglan’s eyes were dark. Relying on the dimness, he stared presumptuously at those two soft, moist lips, flirting and asking in a low voice: “Do you like him?”

Like Huo-shushu – – 

The entanglement of the past few days was suddenly revealed.

A pile of dirty desire not fit to be seen was pulled to the bright side and illuminated by the sun. Ye Ci reacted as if he had been stabbed, his eyes widening in astonishment. He couldn’t hold those tears back, and they were about to fall.

He couldn’t bear to look directly at his urge to succumb to the stronger, more mature man, and dared not admit it.

Especially after just making that scene . . . .

Just now, he had almost reverted to his appearance from when he was in a state of delusion – this was clearly the face of a young man, with distinct and heroic contours, but due to the Omega pheromones, he showed a delicate, supple, and blushing look at the corners of his eyes. He hugged Huo Tinglan’s quilt, appearing clingy, confused, and unbearable to look at. He had turned into an Omega, but he was still a boy after all, so he shouldn’t be like this. He was so weird, and . . . .

So awful.

All of this was seen by Huo Tinglan.

He was extremely out of sorts, but Huo Tinglan, who was imprisoning him, was dressed neatly. His shirt was crisply ironed and washed snow white, and the slender silver collar pin was decorated with a small jadeite leaf. This close, he could smell the clean fragrance of his aftershave under the pheromones . . . .

The contrast was great. Ye Ci became increasingly afraid to answer, and pulled out his forearm from the quilt, covering his face as if it was something dirty. His body was shaking with shame and inferiority.

“Xiao Ci?” Huo Tinglan grasped Ye Ci’s wrist to pull it aside, wanting to see his face clearly. He held back his strength at first, but when he saw his stubbornness, he brazenly pried it open and pinned the arm back on the pillow.

Ye Ci’s face was exposed, and the tips of his eyes, his cheekbones, and the sides of his face were all wet and bright red. His eyes were shut as if he didn’t dare to look at anyone, and he had closed them so hard that a few tears squeezed out of the lovely fine folds at the ends of his eyes.

He only asked if he liked him or not, and he cried.

“You don’t like him,” Huo Tinglan answered for him.

“. . . .No, I don’t . . . . don’t dislike him.” It was as tiny and fragile as a gnat, almost inaudible.

“Then you like him,” Huo Tinglan answered for him again.

Like him?

Ye Ci couldn’t make a sound, and his thoughts were chaotic and confused.

The things he couldn’t figure out in his heart were too hard to stammer.

He clenched his hand until his fingertips went numb, then opened his eyes and looked at Huo Tinglan as if asking for help.

He seemed to be counting on Huo Tinglan’s keen insight, hoping that he could see through his sick heart and diagnose and treat him.

Unknown to him, that helpless and aggrieved look, overflowing with light, was saying “yes” to Huo Tinglan.

He couldn’t say it.

Huo Tinglan understood.

His chest was abruptly set on fire by this look, and his heart burned hot and painful. As if a switch had been pressed, Huo Tinglan suddenly rolled over, holding Ye Ci’s weakly writhing wrist with one hand. With the other, he drew up Ye Ci’s jaw and kissed his tear-soaked face.

Ye Ci was stunned. He drew back slightly with a hum, but his chin was grasped and there was a pillow behind his head. There was no place to shrink away, and he could only be pressed down by Huo Tinglan and kissed again.

His soft face, smooth forehead, black eyebrows . . . . those kisses deliberately avoided Ye Ci’s lips, clearly passionate and full of turmoil, but containing unexpected caution and restraint. Huo Tinglan’s shoulders arched slightly, his solid and fierce muscles tense and quivering under his forcible control, like a gentle beast. Ye Ci was numb and softened by the kisses, but also panicked and frightened,

Like or not like?

. . . . . .

He didn’t know. His chest was folded in half and all he knew was that his heart was about to break free, to jump into Huo Tinglan’s arms like a rabbit.

“Huo-shushu . . . . don’t, don’t . . . .” Ye Ci shuddered and begged for mercy.

As if awakened, Huo Tinglan sat up abruptly and let go of Ye Ci.

He controlled the violent ups and downs of his chest, adjusted his heavy breathing, and stroked the scattered hair back from his forehead.

“. . . . I apologize.”

He lowered his eyes and straightened his crooked tie, hiding his aggressive, tiger-like gaze.

He had made a rare gaffe.

The heat of Huo Tinglan’s lips still remained on Ye Ci’s cheeks.

Ye Ci seemed to be in a magnificent and absurd dream, staring at him blankly, his eyes vacant.

“I’m not forcing you to respond to me . . . . but I think I need to explain to you what I just did.” Huo Tinglan closed his eyes, and when he looked up again, he had returned to his usual mild and elegant appearance. He pondered, considering his words as usual in order to make them tactful and appropriate. But after a moment of silence, he smiled in defeat, only tossing out one sentence softly and solemnly: “Xiao Ci, I like you.”

Ye Ci’s eyes trembled fiercely, and he even held his breath.

After giving Ye Ci a few seconds to buffer, Huo Tinglan explained slowly: “After agreeing to marry you, I thought we were too different in age and wanted to be a good ‘shushu’ for you, take care of you and watch you grow up, but . . . .” Huo Tinglan laughed lightly at his age, his own frivolity, and the yearning that did not match his years. “I’m 30 years old, but I was just like you in this respect, a blank sheet of paper. So . . . . I didn’t know what was going on, but once I realized, I couldn’t help but think of you every day.” He sighed helplessly. “I was afraid of frightening you and didn’t dare let you know. If it hadn’t been for this situation today, I might never have said anything. I’m afraid you’ll think I’m very wicked and took care of you with impure motives . . . .”

Huo-shushu . . . . liked him?

Not only didn’t dislike him, but also liked him.

Ye Ci stirred uneasily, and white steam nearly poured from the top of his head because of this series of confessions. He had really never forgotten when he first called him Huo-shushu. Grabbing the key points, he retorted: “I, I don’t think you’re wicked.”

“. . . . What about just now?” Huo Tinglan hit the snake with the stick,^[1] but he said with a sincere expression of guilt, “I couldn’t help kissing your face just now, without asking for your consent. I’m sorry I offended you, I won’t do it next time.”

“I, I’m not offended, I . . . .” Ye Ci spoke to Huo Tinglan wholeheartedly, but halfway through, he suddenly felt something was wrong. He closed his mouth abruptly and almost bit his tongue.

It offended him, so he wouldn’t do it next time.

If it wasn’t offensive . . . .

There was still a next time?!

“What were you just about to say?” Huo Tinglan looked at him with a gentle and mischievous expression.

“. . . . . .”

Ye Ci pursed his lips silently, and there was a little bit of confusion and struggle in his eyes.

Huo-shushu . . . . was he a person who would set this kind of trap for people?

He was 80% sure he was thinking too much.

But whether Huo Tinglan was such a person or not, this little interlude made Ye Ci’s mood a little less devastated.

Embarrassment and terror at being caught, tears of shame and anxiety . . . . it was all gradually fading from his face.

“I’ve said all I can say.” Huo Tinglan gently scratched the clumsy little tongue in the clam shell with his words, calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, and tried his luck at digging out a few pearls: “Is there anything you want to say to me?”

Ye Ci nodded, hesitated, and then shook his head again, his fingertips clenched white.

Huo Tinglan speculated on Ye Ci’s thoughts. After five years of marriage, he knew him too well. Linking Ye Ci’s various expressions and reactions tonight, he could make a close guess.

His guess was perhaps even clearer than what Ye Ci figured out for himself.

“You haven’t figured out what to say to me yet?” Huo Tinglan asked warmly. “Afraid that the pheromone changes during the marking period will affect your judgment?”

After a temporary marking, it was indeed easy for Alphas and Omegas to have a mirror-like yearning for each other due to the fluctuation of hormone levels, and various dramas such as “friends with benefits become true lovers” could occur. But when the temporary mark faded, the skin-deep feeling of pure physical attraction also faded immediately.

But in fact, Huo Tinglan could see that Ye Ci was not like this toward him.

Moreover, spirit and flesh, sex and love, were not separated from each other.

But there was a generation gap between the teenager and him. Perhaps in Ye Ci’s view, feelings mixed with too much desire may not necessarily be real feelings. Ye Ci had a temporary fever at the moment, and during the fever period, the physiological needs for affection and comfort from an Alpha were a tangled mess. Based on Ye Ci’s experience, of course it was all ceaseless chaos.

“. . . . En.”

Ye Ci found it difficult to speak about, and nodded slightly.

Sure enough.

He had guessed right.

If he could, Huo Tinglan didn’t want to wait even a second.

But that would be no good.

Besides . . . .

He really hadn’t expected Ye Ci to care so much about the secondary differentiation of his glands when he was 18 years old.

The current Ye Ci clearly lacked a sense of identity with the Omega gender. The Omega fever period made him ashamed, and correspondingly, it was naturally equally difficult to accept the fact that he “liked an Alpha.”

When asked, “Do you like Huo-shushu,” he suddenly cried and covered his face with his arms, likely because his “secret and unbearable” thoughts were spoken, and he was fearful and self-loathing . . . .

This problem needed to be solved.

He needed to guide Ye Ci to accept the fact that “Huo Tinglan was his Alpha.”

“I understand your concerns.” Trying to fathom Ye Ci’s thoughts, Huo Tinglan’s heart gradually softened into a mess. “We’ll have a good talk when the marking period is over……okay?”

“O – okay, Huo-shushu.” Ye Ci gazed at him, his eyes bright.

The room was silent for a moment.

The sweet, intimate smell of vanilla had been frightened away for a while, but now it became strong again.

“Your temporary fever . . . . isn’t over yet?” Huo Tinglan suddenly said with concern.

Only then did Ye Ci realize that the greedy glands were still agitated.

“Want to resolve it quickly and go back to your own room?” Huo Tinglan was simply tempting and testing his inexperienced little lover, trying to see how far he had actually softened.

Ye Ci quickly glanced at him. Those eyes were not naive, and after a moment of silence, he just blushed and whispered, “I want.”

Huo Tinglan lifted the corner of the quilt and reached in with one hand.

Ye Ci’s cold hands and feet hadn’t recovered yet from the fright of being caught.

“Skin contact can efficiently transmit pheromones, that was in the physiological knowledge book before, remember?” Huo Tinglan said in earnest, and gently grabbed Ye Ci’s hand.

It was fair and ice-cold.

Like holding a ball of snow.

---

[1] 打蛇随棍上: ‘Hit the snake with the stick’ basically means to see an opportunity and strive for greater benefits, or to exploit an opponent’s flaws. ⮐

---

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Chapter Twenty-Three<< Table of Contents >> Chapter Twenty-Five

– – There were clear footsteps in the hallway.

And they were getting closer.

Going straight to Huo Tinglan’s bedroom.

Ye Ci’s face turned white with horror. When his shock faded, he rushed out.

As a result, as soon as he stepped out, he ran into Huo Tinglan head-on. The two looked at each other and saw one another clearly and distinctly, with no room for salvaging the situation.

However . . . . the hallway was silent for only a second.

No, maybe not even a second.

Huo Tinglan looked calm, glanced at the exercise book in Ye Ci’s hand that was on the verge of being crushed, and asked lightly: “Which question are you having trouble with? Why didn’t you go to the study to find me?”

“. . . . . .” Ye Ci’s throat felt like it was filled with cement, and he hesitated. Let alone saying nonsense, he couldn’t even squeeze out a single syllable.

But Huo Tinglan seemed to be asking casually. He didn’t give Ye Ci time to answer and didn’t even look at his panic-stricken face. Instead, he went straight to the bed and picked up a document from the bedside table that he had been reading when he fell asleep last night, and said to him: “I have an emergency meeting.” He looked down at his watch and confirmed the meeting time. “I’ll try my best to be back before ten o’clock. If you don’t know the questions, save them and I’ll go over them with you tonight . . . . is that okay?”

Coming back from death’s door, Ye Ci regained his language ability and nodded like he was pounding garlic: “O, okay!”

Huo Tinglan’s lips curved into a covert arc. He walked into the cloakroom, took out a coat and put it on his forearm, and strode toward the stairs like he was really in a hurry.

Ye Ci didn’t dare to linger any longer and quickly went back to the room, clinging to the window and looking out.

In the distance, a black Maybach 62 slowly drove towards the gate of the house.

– – Huo-shushu really went out.

The fever period was making his brain dull, otherwise Ye Ci would have noticed that Huo Tinglan’s “consideration” was familiar.

Seeing through everything, but staying silent. Just lightly prodding from the side to provide guidance. It was completely in accordance with Huo Tinglan’s consistent style.

The miserably suffering brain that was hijacked by the Omega glands desperately craved Huo Tinglan’s pheromones. Ye Ci had never been in Huo Tinglan’s bedroom until he went there and tasted how sweet and comfortable it was to be soothed by an adoring Alpha during the fever period. That greed and thirst were twice as difficult to contain, and his body temperature continued to rise.

It would be fine if he didn’t touch what he shouldn’t touch.

For a while, nothing moved in the house.

Huo-shushu wouldn’t return home until ten o’clock.

There was even time to open the windows and ventilate the “evidence” of the smell.

What was he afraid of?

The brain dominated by love instigated him every minute and every second, without end.

When he regained his senses, he had already returned to Huo Tinglan’s room as if sleepwalking.

Their pheromones were so compatible. The burning glands were soothed, and just like dipping burnt skin into ice water, Ye Ci was immersed in a kind of extreme comfort that made his muscles and bones go soft.

The object with the most residual pheromones, aside from the laundry basket in the bathroom, was the big bed in the center of the room. He was like a cub attracted by bait. He knew he shouldn’t go, but his stomach was empty. Hungry and thirsty, sniffing the fragrance and anxiously going in circles, round and round, he couldn’t overcome his instincts in the end and looked for an excuse to draw near . . . .

Just a sniff.

He wouldn’t touch.

Huo Tinglan’s bedsheets and quilt cover were an identical graphite color made of satin material, cool and soft, overflowing with a silk-like brilliance. Ye Ci had never seen anyone use a four-piece bed set like this . . . . he couldn’t describe it, and only felt that just looking at it could make people blush.

He stood beside the bed with a dense fog in his eyes, sniffing greedily.

He couldn’t get enough.

It was so strange.

Wave after wave, his hot blood surged.

When the good child did a bad thing, at first, fear and dread interweaved. But then, a secret and novel excitement quickly fermented, awakening a part of the green youth that overlapped with his Omega attributes . . . . his qi and blood flourished, restless and reckless. These things had been lying dormant inside him all along.

His fingertips rebelled, casually stroking the silky graphite-colored satin soaked in Alpha pheromones.

It was like licking a dark pool of water with the tip of his tongue.

Sweet and tempting.

Ye Ci’s face and ears were red, his eyes blank and unfocused. It was difficult to control his throbbing heart, which was like a bad boy coaxing a little lover to taste the forbidden fruit for the first time. He pricked up his ears to catch the subtle noises outside the window and the hallway, and kept glancing at the gap in the door – the soundproofing in Huo Tinglan’s bedroom was very good. He didn’t dare to lock the door, for fear that he wouldn’t be able to hear noises from the hallway, or that a servant would suddenly break in and stumble upon his dirty desires.

Confirming that no one would break in, Ye Ci cautiously lay on his stomach, resting his head on the side of Huo Tinglan’s pillow.

At first, he tried to hold his bottom line.

He maintained his restraint and tried not to take up space. His thin body was neatly tucked into a line along the bed, so that he would fall off if he turned over. He breathed in small sips, as if he were sipping strong wine, but also as if he would be charged by the millileter for the air he breathed in this room.

But gradually, this sort of contact was no longer satisfying. He moved towards the middle impatiently, and no longer lay rigidly like a corpse at a funeral.

After some time, he began to rub his hot face against Huo Tinglan’s pillow. His thin lips were open, greedily taking in the pheromones in the air with his mouth and nose. The soft little red tip of his tongue could be seen between his teeth. He was addicted and drunk. Like a little cat that fell into a pile of catnip, he didn’t know what it meant to stop, just wanting to build a nest with catnip and live there forever. 

“Huo-shushu . . . .” In a trance, he sat up and rolled up Huo Tinglan’s quilt, folded it like a nest, and piled it high with the quilt under his legs and his face buried in it. The “only ten minutes” that he had thought about before he came in had long been ejected into the atmosphere. He couldn’t remember how many “ten minutes” he had lingered on Huo-shushu’s bed. He had long forgotten to be alert to the sound of vehicles outside the window, and his ears were full of his frantic, clumsy heartbeat and hoarse murmurs of, “Huo-shushu . . . .”

At this moment, the sound of footsteps came in through the crack in the door, neither light nor heavy.

The delirious Ye Ci caught this signal.

The moonlight spilling into the room suddenly became brighter, not like moonlight . . . .

The scent of tequila became fragrant . . . .

These signs were very weak, and he was still in a daze, but his instinctual vigilance rose from the chaos, breaking through the surface of the water . . . .

Ye Ci raised his eyes, took a breath of cold air, kicked the quilt away suddenly, and bounced up in a single movement.

The bedroom door opened at an angle.

Huo Tinglan stood backlit at the doorway and looked at him quietly.

He woke from his trance.

But it was too late.

He was caught in the act.

“Huo . . . . . .”

Ye Ci’s cheeks lost color. His eyes trembled slightly, staring in disbelief, as terrified as a criminal caught in the net or a startled wild goose.

Why did he come back this soon?

Was it ten o’clock?

No, that was wrong . . . .

How long had he been there?!

What time was it now?!

To avoid being noticed, Ye Ci hadn’t dared to turn on the lights. It was pitch dark, and the dim room was gently soaked in the warm light from the wall lamps in the hallway.

Huo Tinglan was afraid to startle him again, so he didn’t turn on the light. His sharp figure gradually approached in the haze, and he opened his mouth, as always, with a gentle and apologetic tone: “Sorry, did I scare you?”

With Ye Ci’s current state of mind, it was obviously difficult for him to notice the uncontrolled trembling at the tail end of his words.

It was agreed that he would be back at ten o’clock and it was now 10:01. Right on time. He couldn’t be called a cheater.

He had been thinking for the past few days that Ye Ci was concealing the situation from him, but he couldn’t be sure. After all, Ye Ci evaded him too well.

However, when he ran into him in the hallway tonight, he basically confirmed it with one glance.

He’d wanted to take the opportunity to grab a few clues and use them to scratch Ye Ci’s soft, ticklish flesh, to tease him, to play with him. To let him explain why he wanted to go into his room when no one was there, touching his clothes and sleeping in his bed. To force that tightly closed little clam shell to sip some water, and then slowly pry it open.

Unexpectedly . . . .

He simply caught him.

With his eyesight, he could clearly see from the door that captivating, charming and gentle picture.

At this moment, he could still hold back the wicked fire due to having endured the past two months, accustomed to playing the role of a good person.

“I, I wasn’t. So, sorry, Huo-shushu, I’m, I’m not . . . .” Ye Ci returned from the dead, wanting to prevaricate, but the joints of his mouth were rusted and hard, and couldn’t be opened.

He wanted to slip away.

But before his toes touched the ground, that cool tequila fragrance approached and the mattress sank as Huo Tinglan knelt on one knee on the edge of the bed, cutting off his path.

Ye Ci shrank back and fell onto the stack of quilts, and the blood gradually poured back into his face.

He could no longer run, dizzy with shame, and the secret excitement of stealing the forbidden fruit had already been swept away. He was remorseful, and stammered an apology: “I’m really, really sorry, Huo-shushu . . . . I, today I’m especially, especially uncomfortable. Sorry, I also don’t, don’t know what’s wrong with me, it’s like, like . . . .”

Intense self-loathing and tremendous shame made his voice ripple on the verge of a sob.

He was the very picture of speechlessness.

That word was so shameful.

In front of Huo Tinglan, he couldn’t speak, couldn’t make it come out.

He was finished.

Ye Ci’s slender chest rose and fell rapidly, accompanied by a small and helpless sob.

He didn’t even remember how old he was the last time he cried in front of someone.

Disgraceful. He wiped his face with his arm a few times, gritting his teeth to stifle it.

Suddenly, an arm hugged him firmly and tugged him into an embrace, while the other pulled over the thin quilt he had stacked into a mountain, shook it out, and wrapped up his tense, icy limbs as if spinning a silk chrysalis around a tiny butterfly.

The slight pressure and heat all over made Ye Ci temporarily return to the present like a soul that had strayed from his body.

“Don’t cry.” Huo Tinglan was reclining on the bed, hugging him. His posture was very possessive, as if he wanted to completely encircle Ye Ci. He took out his handkerchief and carefully brushed the corners of Ye Ci’s eyes, which were scratched red by the sleeves of his pajamas. He softened his voice to help that soft, clumsy little tongue explain: “It’s close to your fever period, and you’re very uncomfortable. You can’t use the inhibitors, so you had no choice but to come to my room and lie down for a while……right?”

Ye Ci sniffed and nodded lightly as he was coaxed, but felt aggrieved as another round of tears welled up but didn’t fall.

“That’s a very legitimate need, why didn’t you tell me?” Huo Tinglan slowly tightened the arm that hugged Ye Ci’s shoulders, asking gently and knowingly: “You’ve been avoiding me these days…….do you hate Huo-shushu?”

---

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Chapter Twenty-Two<< Table of Contents >> Chapter Twenty-Four

Ye Ci wanted to talk to someone.

If he kept thinking like this all day, let alone not being able to study, he would go crazy.

Originally, he would have had a chat with Ye Hongjun. The mother and son depended on each other for survival, and could trust each other more than the usual parent-child relationship, but this was the only thing he couldn’t tell Ye Hongjun.

She didn’t even know about the marriage connecting the Chu and Huo families.

Since she fell ill, Ye Ci had always reported good news to her instead of the bad.

Being arranged by Chu Wenlin to marry an Alpha who was 12 years older than him and whom he didn’t know before, no matter how he presented this matter, he couldn’t erase the scummy smell of Chu Wenlin selling his son for glory.

He was lucky to have met Huo-shushu.

What if he had been unlucky?

If Ye Hongjun knew about it, she would probably go crazy. Given her current physical condition, it was hard to say whether she could bear it.

Moreover, it was difficult for him to explain the current situation without causing Ye Hongjun to worry. After all, she knew how he always tried to act brave. The more he hyped Huo-shushu up, the more afraid Ye Hongjun might be.

So when he visited her last week, he lied and said that he was still living with Chu Wenlin and everything was fine.

In addition to Ye Hongjun, he used to have some good friends when he lived on the old street. Later, Ye Hongjun fell ill and he was so busy with his part-time job that he became estranged from these people and his former classmates.

Besides, even if he hadn’t distanced himself, he wouldn’t be able to talk to them about this mess……

Ye Ci hurriedly finished his breakfast, went back to the room, and locked the door. After thinking about it, he took out his phone and browsed around for a while, and found an Omega support forum.

No one knew anyone online.

He wouldn’t be afraid of being embarrassed.

He registered a new account and opened a post. He didn’t know where to start, so he vaguely said that he had agreed to marry an Alpha who was much different in age, and picked out a few things about Huo Tinglan’s daily dealings with him, talking about them briefly.

L1: Dude, make a public display of affection.

L2: He asked for help in the title, isn’t that bad advice? 

. . . . . .

L10: . . . . My heart is as cold as my knife.^[1]

Yc: That’s not it.

Yc: I often think bad things.

Yc: About him.

33L: What do you mean by bad things? Spousal murder? Domestic violence? Cheating? . . . .

Dozens of floors were built^[1], and no one guessed correctly.

“. . . . . .”

Were netizens so obtuse?

Ye Ci hesitated for a moment, then quickly typed a few colorful words. After sending it, he threw the phone away as if it was on fire. With a blushing face, he felt for a cigarette, and after feeling around for a while, he found that his stock was depleted. He was too good at smoking these days.

He sat on the edge of the bed for a while, then suddenly grabbed his phone.

83L: Taking the liberty to ask OP’s age.

84L: Can’t laugh anymore, I’m dead.

85L: No way, no way, no one these days can’t realize when they’re in love with someone, right?

86L: Blindly guessing it’s an innocent male high school student, ha ha ha.

. . . . . .

Yc: 18 years old.

Yc: I’m a high school student. I stayed back a year. What’s the problem?

Immediately below, there was a wave of “cute and pure male high school student, hug gege/jiejie”. . . .

Ye Ci: “. . . . . .”

Ashamed, he reflexively felt for a cigarette again.

Yc: Is this a joke?

There was another round of hilarity and love below.

Ye Ci was completely taken aback, and accepted the bombardment with honest confusion.

After a few rounds of laughter and amusement, someone finally answered the question.

156L: Don’t you just like him? What’s wrong with thinking about someone you like?

157L: Don’t be ashamed, you’re both adults. Don’t worry about it, there’s not a problem, you’re normal.

. . . . . .

Yc: He just takes care of me as my senior, I have the wrong idea.

177L: Alas . . . . the old man is suffering. Let me try the next paragraph – I thought he took care of me because he liked me, but he actually treated me like a child.

178L: Also, he’s your father’s friend and there’s a big age difference, maybe the old man can’t express it out loud.

179L: What’s wrong with having feelings? Besides, who is it that you have a crush on?

180L: Don’t you live together? Seduce him with pheromones!

. . . . . .

Further down, the chaos descended and the more they said, the more outrageous they were, until they were almost sprinting to board the train.

Ye Ci blushed, and dared not look again. He nervously closed the web page, cleared his browsing history, and then fell back as if he had lost all his strength, falling heavily on the bed.

The sun was bright all of a sudden, and he covered his face with his arms. Under the sleeves of the lake-blue pajamas, a small area of hibiscus-pink jaw was tense, as if he were gritting his teeth and stubbornly resisting. After a while, the lines gradually loosened and softened.

So, he unconsciously . . . . liked Huo-shushu?

Since when?

He didn’t know, and still couldn’t figure it out up to now.

Like a pot of slowly heating water, he suddenly regained his senses and felt it was hot, but couldn’t tell at what moment the temperature exceeded the threshold.

Probably around . . . . hm.

Ye Ci turned over and hid his face in his arms.

Although he didn’t understand, he had learned that he liked someone.

He was done for.

. . . . . .

Some things didn’t make sense, and once they were figured out, the crisis would be impossible to control.

When a young man began to fall in love, it was as if a floodgate was knocked open in his mind. It opened suddenly, but he lacked the experience to control the flow. Waves rushed toward the sky, and everything was washed away by that young and reckless love.

Originally, Ye Ci only made mistakes in taking care of himself. He was always cautious and practical in his studies and work, but these two days, it seemed that he had become a fool. Things were not going well. Whenever others asked him questions, he answered without thinking, so absent-minded that he couldn’t even keep up with the exercises. Going to school, his body and mind headed out first, and Uncle He chased after him, calling him with his schoolbag.

In the past two days, he had also redoubled his efforts to hide from Huo Tinglan and resumed the style of staying aloof just like when he first came to the Huo residence. The hazy admiration and longing had his heart in his throat every second. He feared that his expression and the emotions in his eyes would be revealed, and Huo-shushu would see into the thoughts of love hidden within him. As a result, he felt doubly ashamed to show his face.

After school on Wednesday, he returned to the Huo residence, said hello to Uncle He, and slipped back to the bedroom to do his homework. He used to go to the study to do his homework so that he could release pheromones in the same room and help Huo Tinglan relieve the symptoms of the early stages of susceptibility. But he wouldn’t have to do that again for the next two or three months, and he was happy to avoid it.

He immersed himself in writing papers, and for the questions he didn’t know, he went as far as the steps could take him. In the past few days, he had accumulated a lot of questions, and he wanted to try his luck and wait for the teacher to cover them in class.

Half of the homework was written, and the long summer day turned into twilight. The white-hot summer air dissipated, and cool wind blew from the window, but Ye Ci was hot and uneasy.

The scent of vanilla, like velvet soaked in honey, spread and grew.

It was far from familiar, but the two previous experiences were enough to make Ye Ci realize that his pheromones were disordered again.

It was that kind of “mild, short-lived fever.”

Ye Ci tore off the barrier patch that had been in use for a long time and quickly replaced it with a new one.

As if his head had been injected with glue, his thinking gradually became muddled.

Ye Ci was lying on the study table, hiding his face in the darkness provided by his arms.

The scene of the temporary marking a few days ago emerged from the chaos, vivid and fragrant. Like an inexhaustible piece of sugar cane, juicy and plump, he ate it again and again. It was sweet and moist, and he chewed it with a kind of embarrassed shame.

On the one side, he was having unrealistic fantasies about his senior and caregiver. On the other side was the unfamiliar inverted yin and yang love – that urge belonged to an Omega, not an Alpha. His body could change very quickly, but his spirit had not turned this sharp corner. What the body desired was no longer to conquer, plunder, and occupy, but to add a “be” in front of every word, completely transforming into the yielding, submissive party . . . . he was afraid and embarrassed.

The tide of love was flowing, its offensive getting stronger, and his body slid down like mud. He couldn’t stay sitting, staggered to the side of the bed, and fell down.

He lay down and curled up, making his body appear small. This little one, trembling pitifully, endured the throbbing alone.

He suspected that the hospital’s judgment was inaccurate. What about this looked “slight?”

Hours had passed, and there was no sign of the tide ebbing.

Instead, the desire for Huo Tinglan’s pheromones intensified. The fluffy tips emerged like spring grass, a gust of warm wind blew, and they rubbed against each other, itching to the core . . . .

“Huff . . . . huff . . . .”

Ye Ci urgently pulled at his neckline. Due to a few threads of blood, his black and white eyes were not so clear.

Maybe . . . .

An absurd thought popped into his mind.

He couldn’t let Huo-shushu know.

If you didn’t know something, it was almost like it never happened.

He was silent.

Once he had this bad idea, he couldn’t get rid of it.

After another ten minutes, Ye Ci got down from the messy bed and grabbed the exercise booklet as an excuse of last resort.

Unless he didn’t have much business to take care of that day, Huo Tinglan would most likely be working in the study at this time.

Ye Ci tiptoed to Huo Tinglan’s bedroom.

The door was open, and he peeked in. No one was there.

There was no one on either side of the corridor.

Ye Ci swallowed hard, stepped inside, and whispered to himself: “Huo-shushu, are you, are you here?”

Of course, no one responded.

Ye Ci tightened his grip on the exercise book in his hand to gear himself up, and took a few steps inward: “I have, have some questions that I can’t do . . . .”

The chilly smell of tequila lingered in the bedroom. Ye Ci moved his small nose and smelled it so comfortably that his breath even shivered.

It was comfortable to be in the room like this, but he couldn’t stay there forever, in case Huo Tinglan went back to the room to get something or change his clothes. It would be too easy to get caught.

Wait, change clothes . . . .

As if he had grasped something very important, he walked toward the bathroom as if compelled by some kind of spirit.

Huo Tinglan paid attention to appearance and loved cleanliness. In summer, he changed clothes frequently, often wearing one set in the morning and another set in the afternoon, so he didn’t have time to clear away the clothes he changed at noon.

They were all in the laundry basket.

The problem was, on top of the basket of laundry was an item . . . .

Pure black.

Bullet type. ^[3]

Inexplicably . . . . unassuming, yet intriguing.

Ye Ci glanced around from side to side in a daze. He turned his face away suddenly, choked, and was so ashamed that he wanted to kill himself in the bathtub on the spot to show his innocence.

He didn’t sneak in to see this!

By heaven and hell, he didn’t think about it!

Huo-shushu was also strange. He thought that if you sweat, you should change your shirt, but why were underwear also changed twice a day?!

Ye Ci was so shocked that his palms began to sweat, and he didn’t dare to think about getting a shirt anymore. As if he were running a drug ring, he just wanted to get away from the area on the double. But as soon as he turned around, something even more devastating happened.

---

[1] “My heart is as cold as my knife” is an internet term to used express indifference, referring to a marketplace fish butcherer who has been killing fish so long, he is no longer affected by it. ⮐

[2] “Floors” = comment threads, indicated by L1, L2, etc. ⮐

[3] Bullet type: A type of underwear that look like briefs, but tighter. 😉 ⮐

---

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Chapter Twenty-One<< Table of Contents >> Chapter Twenty-Three

Ye Ci’s negative reaction was much bigger than Huo Tinglan had imagined.

When he was discharged from the hospital, he was checked again inside and out, and by all indications, he was basically back to normal. The person himself was still listless, obviously thinking about things.

Huo Tinglan apologized to him, and he had accepted it completely. It didn’t look like he dared to be angry or speak out. But when he wanted to take the opportunity to reconcile with Ye Ci again, he would awkwardly shy away. He often wouldn’t say more than a few words, clumsily using “I’m not feeling well” and “I’m sleepy” as excuses to avoid communicating with Huo Tinglan.

It seemed inoffensive but was, in fact, more difficult to deal with than anger.

In order to not over-stimulate him, Huo Tinglan resisted the urge to ask questions and press. After putting this matter on the backburner for a couple of days, the midterm exam papers were sent by Uncle He.

After getting the school’s exam papers, Ye Ci tried his best to dispel the strange emotions that had been haunting him for the past two days, strictly following the school’s exam time to monitor himself. After finishing the sets of test papers in his bedroom, he asked Uncle He for the answers in order to compare scores.

It was easy to decide how to fill in the blanks, and to follow the steps for the major questions of mathematics, physics, and chemistry, but he was not sure about some subjective questions in Chinese and English, especially regarding composition.

If he scored himself low, he would not be reconciled, and if he judged the score too high, he would be lying to himself.

After hesitating for a while, he finally took the papers and looked for Huo-shushu.

“. . . . Huo-shushu.” Ye Ci knocked on the study door.

“Come in.” Huo Tinglan closed a document and gestured at the paper in Ye Ci’s hand. So as not to make him feel awkward, he took the lead and said, “How did you do on the exam?”

“I per, performed well.” Ye Ci pursed his lips.

Huo Tinglan wore a dazzling white shirt today, with an imperial collar and a platinum tie with one side decorated with small stag antlers. He had an Alpha’s unique power and dignity. With eyes as black and clear as water, he was extraordinarily handsome.

Ye Ci was as nervous as a thief, swiftly averting his eyes and staring at his slippers: “That is, some questions, such as composition, I wasn’t sure how to judge . . . . Can you help take a look at it for me?”

“Okay, bring it to me.” Huo Tinglan reached out to pick it up.

The hand was slender and powerful, strong and lean. The fingers and wrist were angular, with slightly convex blue veins on the back. An expensive mechanical watch clasped that wrist, with sapphire glass and a crocodile wristband, and the dial was painted with a magnificent moon phase diagram.

Innately handsome, nourished by money, dazzling, calm, and elegant. It would be difficult for any Omega to resist these charms, but they had fallen into the eyes of the uninitiated, who had just now noticed them.

He’d used his jawbone to grind into the bloody palm of this hand . . . .

Some ill-timed images burst into his mind. Ye Ci’s heart beat straight into his throat, and with his face lowered, he redirected his hand to place the paper on the corner of the table: “Thank, thank you.”

After speaking, and without waiting for Huo Tinglan to respond, he slipped away faster than a wildcat.

Ye Ci returned to the room, and in order to shake off those blush-inducing, ear-warming images that were playing repeatedly in his mind, he went to the terrace to smoke half a pack of cigarettes.

Maybe it was from smoking too much or from crouching for a long time, but his legs trembled when he got up, soft and heavy like dragging two lumps of mud.

He washed hastily, and with the chaotic mind of a teenager, slumped onto the pillow, forcing himself to repeat formulas continuously to expel the unwanted thoughts. Half-dreaming and half-awake, an unbearable dry heat rose up in his body, and the sweet fragrance of vanilla drifted. Ye Ci opened his eyes in a daze, wanting to turn on the air conditioner, but was reluctant to waste the drowsiness he had cultivated with great concentration. He fell into dreamland, at a loss.

And in that dream, it was all . . . .

Huo Tinglan’s hand.

The hand he saw in the study that evening.

With sharp angles and sensual blue veins, like that night, it clasped Ye Ci’s jaw and let him use his jawbone to grind into the palm of that injured hand, and the faint, sweet scent of blood pervaded.

“Baby . . . .”

A seductive double-bass voice.

A tingling pain in his neck.

The feeling of being possessed by an Alpha.

What it was like to be an Omega . . . .

The vague dream abruptly came to an end.

“Wu . . . .”

Ye Ci woke up suddenly.

A foot spasmed across the sheet, making a long, shallow dent in the pure white cotton.

The bedroom was sweet and fragrant, and Ye Ci’s body exuded an abnormal heat, dripping with sweat. His pajamas and even the sheets were soaked through, his face was the color of a spring peach again, and his mind was a bit chaotic.

It was very similar to the experience that night.

It was just a difference of degree.

. . . . This appeared to be a mild and brief period of fever.

He had dreamed of Huo-shushu.

He still . . . .

Was he crazy?!

What was he thinking?!

Like a fish out of water, Ye Ci abruptly sat up, resting his elbows on his knees and covering his hot, embarrassed face with one hand.

He didn’t know what was normal and what was abnormal. He hadn’t had a competent father who could properly guide a boy through adolescence, and the pressure of life during his lingering youth never allowed him the curiosity to explore independently.

He was ashamed, as if he had done a bad thing.

It may have been that his face was too hot and the heat made his eyes sore, because Ye Ci’s eyes were moist and slightly red, holding a trace of water.

He wiped his eyes fiercely and exhaled. With a cold face, he removed the sweat-stained sheets and quilt, kicked off his pajamas, and took them into the bathroom.

As long as the laundry that needed to be washed was thrown into the dirty clothes basket, the laundry room servant would come to collect it the next day. The outer garments were okay for them to deal with, but Ye Ci was too embarrassed to let others touch his underclothes. He had purchased a small jug of laundry detergent, and for shorts and the like, he washed them as soon as possible the day after changing them, and then hung them in an inconspicuous place.

Fortunately, he had been prepared.

He dug out the jug of laundry detergent and scrubbed the sheets with water.

After washing the set, he dared not take it to the terrace to dry, for fear that people would see  and ask him why he was up in the middle of the night cleaning them, so he took two chairs and set them a distance apart to stretch the larger pieces out to dry.

After washing, drying, and changing the bedding, he had worked for over an hour. In addition to the mild fever that still hadn’t gone away, Ye Ci was so tired that he nodded off while changing the quilt. He didn’t care to continue beating himself up, and fell asleep.

The next day.

Ye Ci rarely slept late in the morning.

To Ye Ci’s perception, the brief mild fever from the previous night had subsided and everything was normal.

He was marked by an Alpha in the middle of differentiation and couldn’t bear it in the end, resulting in the repercussions of hormonal disorder, and would have irregular and mild pseudo-fevers in the following days. When he was discharged from the hospital, the doctor told him to keep a few more barrier patches with him, try not to go other places besides home and school until his hormones were stable, and pay attention to his personal safety . . . . As for the treatment of this fever, the first thing was to be patient since the intensity was mild and was not dangerous to his health. It was enough to isolate the pheromones so that they wouldn’t affect others. The second thing was to seek out the Alpha who marked him before for comfort.

Since the active ingredient in the Omega inhibitors on the market was artificial imitation Alpha pheromones, these  “inferior products” would only stimulate the Alpha pheromones remaining in Ye Ci’s body and make him more uncomfortable. So until Huo Tinglan’s temporary mark disappeared, inhibitors were ineffective for Ye Ci.

Of course Ye Ci chose to endure it.

He didn’t go to class for a whole week due to his hospitalization. On Monday the next day, he grabbed a handful of barrier patches from the drawer and stuffed them into his shoulder bag.

One layer was not enough, so he pasted on a second, and two layers weren’t enough, so he pasted on a third.

At last he was done sticking them on.

He got up late, and Huo Tinglan had already left for the company when he went downstairs for breakfast.

Ye Ci heaved a sigh of relief at not meeting him face to face.

Otherwise . . . .

Thinking of that shameless dream, Ye Ci didn’t know what expression he should use to face Huo-shushu.

They were out of control that night.

But Huo-shushu was purely affected by his susceptible period, and returned to normal immediately after it ended. He looked the same as before, still so gentle and decent.

He was the only one who couldn’t control himself, as if he had awakened some deep-rooted bad habits, some dark instinct, a mind full of crooked thoughts and images not fit to be seen.

It was still just a temporary mark for the sake of treatment. He was unexpectedly dwelling on it over and over, and his soul trembled at the thought.

If Huo-shushu saw through him . . . .

He wouldn’t need to find a hole in the ground, just directly find a beam to hang from.

There were two corrected test papers on the table.

The pen marks were handsome and sharp, and the most annotated part was English composition. He crossed out the spelling and grammar mistakes and wrote the correct ones to the side, explaining a few sentence patterns. There were more comments than actual text. After explaining, he did not forget to leave a few words of encouragement, to the effect that he had made obvious progress.

Such an ordinary thing somehow made his eyes sting.

Ye Ci re-read it several times.

The score given by Huo Tinglan was very fair, and he did not deliberately relax his standards in order to indulge him.

He calculated the points and added them together with mathematics, physics, and chemistry for an exciting score.

It was much better than the test at the beginning of school, and his ranking didn’t necessarily have to look good. After all, in a place like Tiancheng Private School, even the slacker students were good enough.

Ye Ci folded the papers and planned to show Ye Hongjun when he visited her at night – if she was not in a bad state and could chat with him for a while.

Aside from his mother, the only person in the world who made him want to share his joy was Huo Tinglan.

Ye Ci stirred the porridge with a spoon in a trance, his cheeks pink and his eyelashes fluttering.

He remembered that Huo Tinglan helped him clean up his mother’s old things and cherished the things he cherished, thought of how Huo Tinglan helped him learn in a roundabout way to maintain his fragile self-esteem, about the words “Three times a day, one tablet at a time” written by Huo Tinglan on the medicine box, about Huo Tinglan tirelessly showing him how to tie his tie over and over again. How he taught him how to eat things he wasn’t familiar with, helped him vent his anger by teaching others a lesson on his behalf, and bloodied his hands for him.

In just two months, Huo Tinglan was so good, but he hadn’t thought about it.

It was too much.

This Huo-shushu was a wealthy heir born with a golden spoon in his mouth, strong-willed but not a bully.

Like the moon in the sky, the snow on the top of the mountain.

It looked cold and distant, unattainable, but what fell into his arms was clear light and a spring breeze.

Ye Ci took a sip of porridge.

It was his favorite seafood porridge, but he couldn’t taste it.

He was thinking about his Huo-shushu. His heart clenched, his ears were burning hot, and he thought about everything that had happened the past two months, but he couldn’t understand why he was dwelling on it.

It was the first awakening of romance.

Love without knowing.

---

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Chapter Twenty<< Table of Contents >> Chapter Twenty-Two

He had thrown himself into the net.

Even a saint couldn’t endure.

Huo Tinglan wrapped his arms around the thin, fresh, and tough young man and buried his canine teeth completely into the back of his neck.

The large amount of aggressive and extremely potent Alpha pheromones were injected without reservation. The heat was scorching, washing through the red and swollen Omega glands.

In the end, they were A-level pheromones, and if the strength was too high, it would affect the pain nerves after injection.

The back of his neck was hot and painful, and even though he had lost the strength in his limbs, Ye Ci still gritted his teeth and struggled. Dizzy and confused, he forcibly twisted his neck to one side, ignoring that Huo Tinglan’s teeth were still wedged in his flesh.

If he twisted at this time, Huo Tinglan feared that the light bite that was easy to heal might open up. 

Huo Tinglan would be heartbroken to death. He had sharp eyes and agile hands, and was quick to hold Ye Ci’s jaw, letting that pointy little jawbone grind into his bloody palm. He ignored the injury and only tightened his grip, reveling in the temporary marking.

“Hold still, bear with it,” Huo Tinglan coaxed in a hoarse voice, the shameless rhetoric that Alphas had used to mark their partners for thousands of years. Even he was not exempt, but he coaxed more affectionately and tenderly, “Just be patient, baby.”

Ye Ci shook, and the slender fingers that were clinging to Huo Tinglan’s shoulders flexed abruptly, tightening as if there was nowhere to vent their strength.

This indulgent title made him more embarrassed than the temporary mark, and almost woke him up from his confusion.

In fact, Huo Tinglan didn’t call him that often. In the last life, Ye Ci was too thin-skinned to bear such strong flirtation. 

It seemed to have been bottled up inside, and as soon as the gates were opened, he kept calling it, his voice low and hoarse like sandpaper against Ye Ci’s ear, filling the atmosphere with heat and shame: “Baby, Xiao Ci . . . . Baby . . . .”

Ye Ci’s ears were red, and he wanted to pull back, but he was restrained.

The fever was surging, and he was being coaxed by the highly compatible Alpha. He was unbearably and inexplicably excited, and even his toes curled.

Mentally, physically . . . . the undifferentiated immature glands had endured too much.

The moment the temporary mark was complete, Ye Ci whined like a kitten from his throat, kicked his bare feet spasmodically, and fainted in Huo Tinglan’s arms.

For susceptible Alphas, a temporary marking on the back of the neck was often just the beginning of a series of intimate behaviors. 

An appetizer.

The physical pain was relieved, but the spirit was not full. On the contrary, it enticed a greedy person to keep going.

Huo Tinglan embraced the bamboo-like youth in his arms and greedily sniffed the scent of spirits blended with vanilla. It was the smell that symbolized the completion of the temporary marking, and it was familiar and unfamiliar. It haunted his longing, and had soothed his mania and relieved his pain countless times.

A certain deep and surging emotion seeped into every breath he breathed. Heaving up and down in his chest like sea lanterns, the madness, the beastly desire, the vicious instincts . . . . gradually merged into monstrous love and shattered into salty white foam.

He held Ye Ci’s thin shoulders, his breathing still heavy and his eyes bloodshot, but with forbearance and love, he laid Ye Ci down flat like a piece of fragile porcelain and closed the collar of his pajamas for him.

Immediately, he grabbed the intercom phone on the side.

. . . . . .

Charity Private Hospital.

East Hospital Building on the third floor.

The newly admitted patient needed to rest. The Huo family had cleared the area, and except for room 305, there was no one in the other wards on the third floor. It was so quiet that you could hear the rustling of the willow branches in the wind outside the window.

Ye Ci had fallen into a deep sleep.

He had inherited Ye Hongjun’s small face. It was cold when he was awake, his countenance was like snow, and it only showed a little bit of childishness when he was sleeping and defenseless.

These two months, he had eaten very regularly and nutritiously. He had gained a few pounds, his bones were no longer so prominent, and his cheeks had a wholesome arc.

In the morning, it was time to wash his face.

Huo Tinglan stood at his side, took off his watch, and rolled up the cuffs of his shirt. He dipped a towel in some warm water and wrung it out, then wiped Ye Ci’s forehead, the corners of his eyes, his cheeks . . . .

For the first time, he had received an A-level Alpha mark. Not to mention an undifferentiated Omega boy, even a fully mature older Omega would have inevitably fallen asleep for a day or two.

The intensity of A-level pheromones was too high, and was destructive to an extent. The body needed to repair itself and assimilate the new information during sleep, and in this way, adverse reactions would be alleviated a lot when the same A-level Alpha marked him next time.

Ye Ci had been asleep for three days. His physical examination results were normal for the moment.

But since he was marked by an Alpha in the middle of differentiation, it was difficult to say whether or not there would be any short-term repercussions. Therefore, doctors recommended that he stay in the hospital for observation for a period of time, so that his hormone fluctuation levels could be monitored 24/7 and treated at any moment.

His face was ticklish and wet . . . . as if he was being licked by a large dog.

Ye Ci frowned, his eyelashes trembled, and he opened his eyes abruptly.

He had slept so long that his awareness was lax, and he blinked a little hazily.

He saw the ceiling, walls, and bed sheets, an expanse of white.

There was also a hand with a few blue veins on the back of it. The cuffs of the fog-blue shirt were rolled flat and smooth. It was a mature man’s hand, but its movements were so soft, wiping his face with a damp towel.

Dazed, he followed the arm with his eyes.

Huo Tinglan was sitting on the edge of the bed looking at him. His eyes were dark, and except for tenderness, no other emotions could be discerned. The rest were buried very deeply.

He was like a frenzied hunter maintaining his calm. Having set up a thousand traps, he lay in the grass, quietly watching, waiting to see which pit the precious cub would fall into, so that he could follow him, pick up the soft bundle, and put it in his pocket.

Memories from before the coma gradually returned.

The family dinner.

Light beer.

Embracing in the back of the car.

. . . . . .

“Huo-shushu,” Ye Ci rubbed his eyes, “Why am I here . . . .”

Before a word could be said, the long-overdue memories from the safe room returned.

Like a metal wire that burned orange-red, the fine point unexpectedly stirred up the ashes into the shining whiteness of hot shame.

The hot pain on the back of his neck, the curled toes, tightly gripping arms and undulating chest muscles, the sweet and presumptuous sound of  “baby” that caressed his ears. “Baby,” “Xiao Ci,” and the intense, suffocating emotion in his eyes. So straightforward, so terribly blunt, like a mad beast that wanted to eat him alive. An Alpha in his susceptible period was actually like that . . . . Ye Ci couldn’t breathe. His chest still seemed to be restrained by a constricting arm, and his face flushed red. He rolled, slamming into the guardrail to avoid Huo Tinglan’s hand that was holding the hot towel. Stirred up like a girl dodging a scoundrel, if he hadn’t been fenced in, he would have rolled to the ground.

Huo Tinglan’s hand froze as if someone had agitated the wound, and he was stunned.

That palm was indeed injured. The bandage had been removed, but four dark red bloody scabs still remained.

Ye Ci glanced at it, and averted his eyes as if burned.

Huo Tinglan withdrew his hand and threw the towel away to show that he wouldn’t touch him, and said in a low voice, “I’m sorry.”

This apology came from the heart.

That night, he really didn’t mean to mark Ye Ci. He had crooked thoughts and wanted to sneak a mouthful of honey, but that was all.

Otherwise he wouldn’t have had to endure so hard at first.

If it wasn’t for Ye Ci coming to his door, perhaps he could have stopped himself from putting that little neck under those fangs dripping with greed . . . .

“I didn’t mean to give you a temporary mark.” Huo Tinglan looked straight at Ye Ci, not begging for leniency, not shirking responsibility, not coercing. The pain of being tormented during the A-level susceptibility period, Ye Ci’s negligence in throwing himself into the net, the gentle care he had shown Ye Ci these past two months . . . . he didn’t mention a word of it.

“I lost control. I’m sorry.”

He only apologized for his own mistakes.

Like a drowning man clinging to driftwood, Ye Ci grasped the metal guard rail on the edge of the bed, alertly watching him from the corner of his eye.

Huo Tinglan had come to the hospital to take care of this person and had not dressed up. With a few strands of hair drooping over his brow, he wore a casual shirt without a tie, with one button undone. His temperament made him seem a few years younger, not in line with the “shushu” that Ye Ci was used to calling him. His straight collar bones gradually disappeared into his collar, and his muscles propped up that fog-blue shirt material, expensive and sensual . . . .

His ears roared, suddenly flushed with blood.

Appropriately dressed, sober expression, honest and sincere tone . . . . Ye Ci turned his face away, as uneasy as if he had looked at a yellow book.

“. . . . Xiao Ci,” Huo Tinglan called to him softly, “I’m really sorry.”

Ye Ci’s Adam’s apple bobbed and he gave an mm-hm, saying faintly, “I don’t blame you.”

He had forcefully broken into the basement during Huo Tinglan’s susceptible period. His intentions were good, but had led to these consequences, and it was difficult to say that he bore no responsibility.

Replace him with any A-level Alpha that night, and it would have been impossible for them to remember not to mark him.

There was nothing to say. He didn’t blame anyone.

“Really,” he emphasized again in a whisper.

Then, without saying a word, without looking at anyone, he picked and rubbed at the metallic paint on the guard rail he couldn’t get through, making his fingers red.

The precious cub froze in place, curled into a small ball, didn’t give a reaction, and didn’t fall into any traps.

There was no telling what was going on in that little head.

He hid himself again.

The possibility of all his previous efforts going down the drain made Huo Tinglan feel a rare anxiety in his heart.

Feeling as if two sharp eyes were patrolling his face like ice chisels, attempting to find a weak point and defeat him in one fell swoop, Ye Ci hurriedly lowered his head, lay down, and wrapped himself with a blanket.

He had experienced the power of Huo-shushu’s insight.

“I’m still, still tired, I want to sleep for a while.” The voice was muffled by the blanket as it urged: “You go, go do your own thing.”

Only a few strands of fluffy black hair poked out from the blanket, laying on the pillow like whiskers.

“Okay.” Huo Tinglan closed his eyes and got up to stand beside the bed, his voice low. “Call me anytime, your phone is on the bedside table, and it is fully charged.” After a pause, he spoke again, “With your current situation, you can be discharged from the hospital as soon as tomorrow. Your school midterm exam was yesterday and today . . . .”

The figure under the blanket moved slightly.

Ye Ci attached great importance to the midterm exam, and had been looking forward to the improvement of his score to give himself a boost.

“. . . . I requested an alternate exam paper.” Huo Tinglan had guessed this. Fearing that Ye Ci would be disappointed, he comforted him in a gentle voice, “The difficulty is very close to the first exam. The scores can be used for reference, and you can take the test yourself once you have time.”

The person under the blanket was silent for a few seconds, as if calming down a certain emotion, and his voice trembled a little when he spoke again: “Thank, thank you, Huo-shushu.”

“You’re welcome.” Huo Tinglan smiled, was quiet for a moment, and leaned over slightly. He lightly touched the ends of Ye Ci’s hair outside the blanket with his knuckles.

Under the blanket . . . .

Ye Ci didn’t notice Huo Tinglan’s small movements, and only covered his two small, thin ears in vain. It seemed that in this way, he could block from his ears the sweet and presumptuous “baby” in his memory, and could contain that electric current that penetrated from the top of his skull, down his spine to the soles of his feet . . . .

Nibbling away until his bones were limp and numb.

But he couldn’t ward it off, couldn’t stop it.

His heart was beating fast.

---

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Chapter Nineteen<< Table of Contents >> Chapter Twenty-One

The room was not large. Ye Ci took a few steps closer.

After tossing about all night, it seemed that some threshold had been forcibly lifted, and although his voice was so dry that it even felt unfamiliar, he still expressed himself clearly in the present situation: “Let’s hug again, hug for a while, ba. Huo-shushu . . . . you can’t just, you can’t go on like this . . . .”

Even if subjective feelings of pain were set aside, susceptibility syndrome could cause shock in extreme cases, and the risk was very real.

This was an outdated, absurdly savage mechanism of evolution.

In primitive times, it forced the genetically advanced Alpha to find an Omega that was highly compatible with itself, and insatiably plunder, possess, mark, breed . . . .

For primitive humans where instinct prevailed, this was a positive mechanism.

However, with the birth of civilization, law, and morality, reason and an increasingly rich and meticulous heart and mind thwarted the progress of genetic selfishness.

So much love, so much want.

In the eyes of a lover, a sweetheart who was ignorant of worldly affairs had become a budding flower.

He delicately sniffed and fiddled with it, and sometimes couldn’t help but reach into the core and steal a drop of honey . . . . yet couldn’t bear to break it.

But . . . .

Patience had its limits.

Moreover . . . .

He came to the door himself.

Huo Tinglan lowered his eyes and did not look at Ye Ci. Under his thin, half-closed eyelids, a pair of eyes nervously trembled.

He seemed to be hovering at some critical point.

Burning to the touch.

“I’m, I’m mentally prepared.” Seeing that Huo Tinglan was motionless, Ye Ci took two steps forward and stood in front of him.

His thin neck and hands were white as jade and lined with lake blue pajamas.

Inadvertently or not, he used a kind of “feigned calm” posture that diluted the ambiguity inherent in this mode of treatment: “You, feel free to hug this time, it’s okay. Before, I just wasn’t, wasn’t used to it . . . .”

Before he finished speaking, the world suddenly turned upside down, and the astonishing speed and strength of an A-level Alpha was revealed in this moment. With a bang, Ye Ci was shoved onto the bed. The mattress was soft, and it didn’t hurt, but it was shocking.

“Huo-shushu!” Ye Ci was about to get up, but Huo Tinglan’s hot hand grabbed the back of his neck.

He froze from head to foot.

Male cats would bite the back of a female’s neck at certain times to prevent them from escaping midway, which may be connected to how Omegas were built. Alphas had similar instincts, and would clamp down on an Omega in the same way when engaging in intimacy.

And Omegas cooperated sufficiently to evolve corresponding physiological reflexes. When the back of the neck was restrained by the high-matching Alpha they had established a trusting relationship with, they would fall into a state of surrender that was difficult to resist due to a series of stress responses such as decreased muscle strength . . . . this was very convenient for the Alpha.

“Wu . . . .” Ye Ci gritted his teeth and struggled to move, but could only do so weakly.

Huo Tinglan had also underlined this in that well-selected popular science book on physiological knowledge, but Ye Ci hadn’t read it.

He thought he had a hard enough fist to protect himself, but in reality, he had to pay the price for his arrogance . . . .

He was going to be “bullied.”

As if tormented by some sweet, sharp torture device, the blue veins on Huo Tinglan’s neck became prominent. His teeth were clenched so hard that they rattled.

After everything, he was still persistently enduring.

He forcefully pulled down the back collar of Ye Ci’s pajamas, using his fingertips to slowly and carefully stroke both sides of Ye Ci’s vertebrae to check the maturity of the Omega glands hidden under the smooth skin: It didn’t feel right, too small in size, slow to respond to an Alpha’s touch . . . . they demonstrated a low degree of development, and even a temporary mark could cause damage.

After being married for so long, this was actually the first time he had directly touched it.

The warm touch made both of them shudder at the same time.

Huo Tinglan couldn’t control his strength, and his force was rough.

Therefore, Ye Ci’s feedback came very quickly.

On both sides of his spine, the Omega glands were positively glowing with an unnatural peach-pink color. Driven by the blood vessels under the skin, they pulsed weakly and regularly, exuding a surging, extraordinarily appealing aroma.

— This was a testament to their responsiveness to an Alpha.

And the extent of their softening and volume was also in the range that could withstand temporary marking.

Before, Huo Tinglan had been looking for an opportunity to take Ye Ci to do a full set of examinations on the direction of his Omega development, but knowing that Ye Ci was thin-skinned, he didn’t mention it. He didn’t expect to do a preliminary inspection in a more straightforward way at this time.

Due to being slender and having little fat, Ye Ci’s skin looked very thin.

His Omega glands were stimulated and swollen, like a ripe fruit.

The thin skin had to work hard to cover them, pitifully red and swollen, luring people to bite.

The scent was also quite . . . .

Mixed with the familiar scent of vanilla was a thin layer of fishy sweetness.

That was the smell of desire.

“Huo-shushu . . . .”

With the heat of the Omega glands rising, and unprecedented restlessness swept through his whole body.

His bones were crumbling.

Huo Tinglan need not restrain him. He couldn’t struggle to break free.

He didn’t know what was going on. Compared to when he had a high fever, he had less energy, his thoughts were more chaotic, and the saturation of the colors in his field of vision had risen. Even the soft cream-colored material covering the walls and floor had a strange splendor under the light.

The sore, indescribable feeling in his abdomen from before also struck again.

Ye Ci was so restless with anxiety that he kept looking back, wanting to see what was going on at the back of his neck, like a stupid cat chasing its tail.

Of course he couldn’t see it.

Then he could only ask Huo Tinglan for help.

No matter how slow he was, he was still aware of who the culprit was behind this series of changes.

But he could only turn to the culprit for help.

“Huo-shushu . . . . what, what’s happening to me . . . .”

Huo Tinglan was silent, and his Adam’s apple rolled.

Originally, he consoled himself with empty hopes to quench his thirst, and was able to speak fluently.

But Ye Ci was too stimulated at this juncture, and unexpectedly entered the first phase of fever . . . .

Yet again, he innocently called out to him.

Huo Tinglan looked at the back of Ye Ci’s neck with burning eyes, so hot that they could burn through.

“Huo-shushu, I’m not, I’m not feeling well . . . . you just, just hug me, don’t, don’t do anything else . . . . okay?”

In order to break free, Ye Ci twisted like a willow swaying in the wind, and like tree sap, wrung out a thin layer of sweat on his forehead.

He helplessly called out to that nice gentleman in his mind, stammering for mercy, wanting to awaken Huo Tinglan’s dormant “conscience” and reason. There was no turning back. The moment he stepped into the safe room, the matter was a foregone conclusion. But he had thought he would be shown mercy.

The lingering heat of that high fever was finally accompanied by the “Huo-shushu” and “hug me” that his brain clipped out without permission, igniting everything that was flammable in Huo Tinglan’s body.

There was a roaring in his ears, his vision exploded into white snow, and his blood surged. When he came back to his senses, his teeth had pierced the skin, wedged into the glands behind Ye Ci’s neck, and injected a small stream of pheromones.

Rich tequila blended with sweet vanilla to produce a wonderful chemical reaction. A brand new compound substance was derived, releasing an aroma that was somewhere between the two pheromones, but not quite like either.

This derivative, which symbolized a temporary mark, could solve the susceptibility period problem at the root.

Huo Tinglan took a deep breath. The torturous pain, the massive jumble of information brought by the hyper-sensitivity of the five senses, and the frenzied and chaotic thoughts were all cut down by a lot in an instant.

As comfortable as if he had been reborn.

The tip of his nose brushed the ends of Ye Ci’s sweaty hair. Huo Tinglan lowered his eyes and gently turned Ye Ci’s face, which was buried in a pillow.

Ye Ci’s cheeks were as pink as a spring peach.

An Omega’s initial fever would usually be quite severe, and their mental state would be affected. The current Ye Ci was a good example. With his eyes wide open, his blank pupils were filled with a kind of drunken emptiness, clearly not lucid.

Thanks to this lack of sobriety, his last bit of pretense completely disappeared. Not only did he forget that he used to be an Alpha, he even forgot to cover up his physical attraction, his desire for Huo Tinglan.

The misty expression in his eyes was thus completely exposed.

The temporary marking was only carried out halfway, and the amount of Alpha pheromones injected was still very small.

Originally, Huo Tinglan may have stopped here. After all, the symptoms had been relieved a lot. But right now, he had to use all the self-control he had to resist the urge to grasp Ye Ci and directly eat him clean. He crushed the impulse.

He turned Ye Ci over and put one hand next to his ear, teasing the cute drunken shrimp as he asked in a low voice, “Who am I?”

“You, you are Huo-shushu . . . .” Ye Ci answered honestly. His nose twitched, smelling him comfortably from a short, safe distance.

Good boy, even when he wasn’t sober, he hadn’t forgotten to use honorifics.

“Who is Huo-shushu to you?”

“He’s . . . . shushu.”

“Wrong.”

Ye Ci got stuck. Hesitating, he answered tentatively: “Or, the per, person who received a marriage certificate . . . .”

“And the person who received a marriage certificate with you is your what?”

“But –” Although Ye Ci was not sober, he instinctively avoided this pointed question, rambling, “Me, me and Huo-shushu are married . . . . it’s, it’s a fake marriage, it doesn’t count . . . .”

“There is no fake marriage at the legal level. Our marriage relationship is real and valid, “ Huo Tinglan said, his voice quiet and deep.

“. . . . . .”

Ye Ci didn’t speak.

“The person you have received a marriage certificate with, is your what?” Huo Tinglan repeated this question hoarsely.

He was unusually persistent, as if asking for a name for what he was on the verge of doing.

The obvious answer was that the Alpha with the marriage certificate was the husband.

Even kindergarten children knew this sort of common sense. Ye Ci raised his clear and beautiful eyes, a little shy, and looked at Huo Tinglan again a bit evasively. 

“It’s your husband,” Huo Tinglan said word by word.

The next second, Huo Tinglan’s chest sank down – –

Ye Ci was so embarrassed that he wanted to escape Huo Tinglan’s predatory gaze, but there was nowhere to hide.

That little head turned in confusion, dizzy and bewildered, and plunged into his arms.

---

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Chapter Eighteen<< Table of Contents >> Chapter Twenty