This night passed in chaos for Ye Ci.

In the first half, after a round of sparring, he was thoroughly kissed above the neck.

He was embarrassed, nervous, and excited, and sweated profusely all over.

After all the tossing and turning was over, Ye Ci was too ashamed to sleep on someone else’s bed while covered in sweat, so he took a shower in the bathroom connected to the master bedroom. After rushing to finish up, he smelled of the same sea salt and cypress wood as Huo Tinglan. This probably hit the man’s possessive nerve again, and he was firmly held in his arms through two thin blankets. 

His cheek was squeezed against a firm pectoral muscle, and Ye Ci was so alarmed that he didn’t even dare to blink, for fear that if he brushed it with his eyelashes, he would make himself a scoundrel. He also thought over and over – – Me and Huo-shushu are really together, it can’t be more true! He was sometimes embarrassed, sometimes throbbing, sometimes in disbelief, and like galloping horses, his thoughts couldn’t stop for half a second.

Therefore, it was not until early morning that he cultivated a little drowsiness and snuggled up to Huo Tinglan to sleep.

At six o’clock in the morning, the alarm on his cell phone rang.

But Ye Ci was too sleepy to open his eyes.

Drowsiness was like heavy black velvet wrapped around his body. The blackout curtains deceived his biological rhythm, the atmosphere was dark and comfortable, and the handmade mattress padded with long horsetail hair and cashmere gave him a sense of comfortable support and envelopment. There was also that tequila fragrance that lingered in his nose, making Ye Ci feel at ease upon smelling it……His eyelids weighed over a thousand pounds, and Ye Ci was so sleepy that he didn’t know what was going on.

“Wake up, it’s time for school……Xiao Ci?” The alarm was too noisy, not soothing enough. Huo Tinglan turned it off and twisted Ye Ci’s earlobe gently, then scratched the tip of his nose. He saw that Ye Ci subconsciously blocked his hand and then itched the place he had scratched, repeatedly performing this act of “a kitten washing its face” in a half-asleep, half-awake state.

“Huo-shushu……” To avoid harassment, Ye Ci hid his smooth, peach-pink face in the pillow and begged, “Just, just five minutes……p-please……”

He acted spoiled without realizing it, as sweet as a spoonful of honey.

Huo Tinglan would have been perfectly happy to let him have a lie-in.

In his difficult and struggle-filled past, how many times had he had the experience of refusing to get up because of sleepiness?

They could be counted on one’s fingers.

This was especially true when his mother was sick. If he didn’t work hard, she would suffer from poverty and even go hungry. A scrawny boy in a baggy convenience store uniform, with white skin and dark bags under his eyes, he would diligently carry over a dozen loads of merchandise. When he was finished stocking shelves, he would take a short break behind the cash register when there were no customers. Tired, but not daring to sleep in order to be on guard against thieves, he could at most hug his arms and hang his head down for a while. Due to his thinness, his spine and shoulder blades would immediately become prominent when his back was arched as he rested, sharp and hard.

The bones were hard, and this person was also very rigid at first glance.

At that time, he never imagined that the days to come would be like this.

He never thought that he would completely remove his disguise and be so soft in front of others.

In a daze, Ye Ci didn’t know how long he lay there – probably more than five minutes. Suddenly, there was a hot aroma and the sound of something rolling, like a dining cart. Then, there was the light clink of ceramic tableware, and the fragrant smell of food became stronger.

Hunger overcame sleepiness as his empty stomach woke up first, his limbs and bones coming back to life. An ankle was gripped by a hot palm, and Ye Ci struggled instinctively, but the hand didn’t let go. On the contrary, it escalated and even caught his toes.

“Hold still.” Huo Tinglan pinched the toes that were as pale as green onions, put one cotton sock on him, and stroked the edges of the sock along the stretched arches. He was clearly waiting upon him, but he coaxed hoarsely, “I’ll put socks on for you.”

His hand was so strong that Ye Ci couldn’t pull his foot back. When he looked again, the other sock had been put on, the school uniform shirt and trousers were stacked at hand, and there was an exquisite blue dining cart parked not far away. A table was set up next to the bed so that he could have breakfast without touching the ground.

“It’s rare for you to act coquettish for me, so I’ll give you a little time to stay in bed.” Huo Tinglan glanced at his legs and smiled gently. “Do you……want to change your trousers yourself?”

Of course he would change his trousers himself!

Ye Ci shrank back like a wild cat and said in fear: “I’ll, I’ll do it myself.” He turned his head to look at the breakfast beside the bed. His emotions were complicated, and his conscience couldn’t bear it, so he mumbled, “You, you don’t have to……to spoil me. Just directly call me down.”

“How is this spoiling……” Huo Tinglan tightened his grip on the foot in his palm. His heart was on fire and his eyes were hot as he said firmly but gently, “I will love you very much from now on.”

This wasn’t spoiling? This was spoiling him to death!

Ye Ci was intensely embarrassed. He had never experienced this sort of thing before. The maternal love Ye Hongjun gave him was as gentle and delicate as a stream, the complete opposite of this thick, fiery love. He didn’t know how to answer these words, so he just tried to pull his foot back again.

As a result, he had barely twitched when Huo Tinglan pulled him over by the calf until he was almost sitting directly on Huo Tinglan’s lap.

“Baby,” Huo Tinglan clasped his leg and looked at him with a pair of passionate and pitiful black eyes. “Let me love you.”

If you wanted to love someone, to pamper someone, to spoil someone, you didn’t need the other person’s permission – you just had to do it. The initiative was in his own hands, but he forced him to agree and wanted to hear him say a “good” word.

The temperature of that gaze washed over him as if it was going to burn him through, piercing through his chest. There was no room to evade or shy away. Ye Ci lowered his eyes and dropped his head, pressing his forehead against Huo Tinglan’s shoulder. After a soft “En,” he added solemnly after a few seconds of silence: “We, we love each other, Huo-shushu……I’m still, still young, and I don’t have anything to offer. You……wait for me to get older, and, and I will treat you as well as you treat me.”

“Alright.” Huo Tinglan’s heart softened even more, and he vigorously rubbed that messy black hair on the back of Ye Ci’s head, saying softly, “I’ll wait for you to get older.”

As if he was afraid that this big talk would seem empty and wanted to provide some evidence, Ye Ci raised his head and glanced at Huo Tinglan with his bright apricot core eyes, but he couldn’t tell what he was thinking about.

Huo Tinglan smiled: “What……”

Before he finished speaking, Ye Ci suddenly leaned forward, tilted his head, and pecked him on the cheek as briskly as a spring swallow skimming water.

After the kiss, in the second that Huo Tinglan was momentarily stunned, he withdrew his leg as if fleeing for his life. For fear of going to school early in the morning with a kiss-swollen mouth, he leaned over the table and hastily stuffed a small steamed bun into his mouth. A drop of golden red crab oil dripped from the corner of his lips as he said, full of the desire for survival: “I still, still have to go to school soon, Huo-shushu.”

His studies were important. Even though Huo Tinglan’s desire was left unsatisfied, he could only stare at him from the sidelines with angry amusement.

Talking was delayed for a time, and Ye Ci had no choice but to thoroughly clear his plate. During these days, Huo Tinglan had taken good care of him. Not only had his face become softer, but he was not so thin in other places, such as his jaw and wrists. The knobs of his spine at the nape of his neck were less bony and sharp, and when Huo Tinglan held his calf and ankle just now, he also felt that it was more supple and sensual than before.

His body……could probably grow some more fat.

Unfortunately, it was invisible.

Just a moment ago, Ye Ci had given him a childlike kiss on the cheek.

But such a pure kiss could not wash clean his “dirty” heart.

Ye Ci was just a young deer restless with emotion, and it never occurred to him that his pious Huo-shushu was actually thinking about his body at this time.

……Otherwise the young deer would probably bang his head against the wall in embarrassment.

After eating, it was time for Ye Ci to change his clothes.

Huo Tinglan timed it right and, without waiting to be shooed away, walked into the master bedroom cloakroom to calmly pick out a shirt, as if he was also preparing to get ready and go out.

Ye Ci saw this and didn’t dare to say anything, for fear of drawing Huo Tinglan’s attention. Taking advantage of Huo Tinglan’s back being turned to him, he seized the opportunity to get naked and put on his school uniform in a panic.

In the cloakroom, Huo Tinglan flicked the rotatable full-length mirror in front of him leisurely, the corners of his lips curled up.

……Just like a jade orchid.^[1]

Round. White. Pink.

Meaty.

Good-looking.

The eagle-eyed eyesight of an A-level Alpha was indispensable.

……It was too indecent and outrageous to actually steal a peek at the little gentleman changing clothes.

Seeing that Ye Ci had fastened the last button on his collar, Huo Tinglan turned the full-length mirror back to its original position, smiled, and ruthlessly belittled himself in his heart.

. . . . . .

Ye Ci talked big in front of Huo Tinglan that morning, asking him to wait until he got older, and that he would be as good to him as he was capable of being in the future.

A boy’s teenage years were when his self-esteem was the strongest and most sensitive. This tough talk was aimed at the object of his love, and was easier to use than struggling through any vague and empty catchphrases. Not to speak of how close it was, he must show Huo-shushu good results in the upcoming final exam of the sophomore year of high school.

So on this day, Ye Ci’s studying was full of energy, as if he had been injected with chicken blood.

During the recess in the afternoon, he summoned up the rare courage to go to the teacher’s office, stuttering as he asked a couple of questions – – Huo Tinglan’s lectures were undoubtedly good, but Ye Ci shouldn’t rely on him for all six subjects, and should ask the teacher.

It was the same after coming home from school. Ye Ci studied until eleven o’clock in the study room. Not only did he finish his homework, but he even did a lot of it by himself, and his eyes shined like a hungry little wolf who couldn’t get enough. If not for Huo Tinglan coming to detain him, he might have been able to study until he fell into a coma.

“Just, just one more question.” Ye Ci pitifully clutched one end of the pen that had been taken away and didn’t let go. “I just, just figured out how to do this type of problem, I need to, to strike while the iron is hot.” As he said that, he actually took advantage of the newly developed coquettish skills from that morning, softly begging, “Huo-shushu, you are the best.”

How could Huo Tinglan bear this? 

His bones were weak, and he stood aside with a smile on his face, looking at the high school student answering questions with enthusiasm.

Finishing a few minutes later, Ye Ci had nothing to say and went back to honestly rest in his room. Halfway there, he suddenly realized that he had gone in the wrong direction. This was not the way back to his bedroom, but to Huo Tinglan’s master bedroom.

“I’m, I’m going the wrong way……” Ye Ci turned his head and wanted to go back.

He thought sleeping with Huo Tinglan last night was a special case – – Huo Tinglan had said he had a headache and worked all night, and so on, and wanted to hold him and rest for a while, but he didn’t say that they would share a room in the future.

“I brought you a change of clothes.” Huo Tinglan smiled, blocked his way, and coaxed him softly, “Don’t sleep in a different room, baby.”

Ye Ci was silent for a moment, and then took a step to the left, wanting to go around.

Huo Tinglan also moved to the left.

Ye Ci moved to the right.

Huo Tinglan smiled and also moved to the right.

Wherever Ye Ci went, he would block him.

Like a little scoundrel harassing an Omega at the school gate.

---

[1] Jade orchid: ⮐

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

Ye Ci heaved a sigh of relief, and hurriedly asked: “What……what method?”

Huo Tinglan smiled softly, found an easy-to-accept entry point, and threw a line: “Did you sleep in my bedroom the day before yesterday?”

“En.” Ye Ci nodded.

“How about tonight too, then?” When Ye Ci opened his mouth slightly in surprise, Huo Tinglan added calmly, “I won’t do anything excessive. We can add a blanket, one for each of us.”

He kneaded his forehead wearily, once to sell his misery, and twice to imply that he was currently out of energy and therefore not dangerous: “I was busy all night last night, and I haven’t closed my eyes up to now. I’m exhausted. I just want to give you a good hug.”

Ye Ci was embarrassed, his mouth closed and his attitude wavering, but he didn’t show a clear expression of rejection.

– – Given a fright by the prior unacceptable outcome, he found himself thinking too much. After giving a sigh of relief, his rate of acceptance also increased briefly.

His negotiation skills were fairly basic, but practical.

Huo Tinglan looked like he was holding the soft nape of a kitten’s neck gently but firmly, with skillful ease, making the inexperienced kitten disoriented and confused.

“Your expression just now……” With a smile, the villain brought a suit against his victim,^[1] teasing in turn: “What are you thinking about?”

Ye Ci looked at him with clear eyes like glass beads, but didn’t try to defend himself, and only blushed.

Because he was indeed thinking wild thoughts.

He would prefer to not say a word and tacitly acquiesce, rather than expose the yellow trash in his brain to Huo-shushu and be teased. He didn’t want to lie to his lover, either. 

“What are you thinking, baby?” Huo Tinglan expressed his curiosity as if he was a big, innocent boy. “Tell me.”

Ye Ci suddenly had a sense of peril, as if he was being targeted by a carnivore – – if he didn’t tear off a piece of meat to sacrifice to those white teeth, he absolutely wouldn’t be able to escape tonight.

– – What was he thinking about?

He thought he was going to sleep under a blanket with Huo Tinglan like a real married person, and for a moment, even vaguely thought about “that kind of thing.”

But how could these words be spoken?

There was only one piece of meat left to tear off for the beast.

His throat tightened, and he forcibly skipped the question in order to compromise: “Then, then let’s add a blanket……”

In the master bedroom, a pair of pillows and two blankets were placed side by side, and the area between was still spacious.

Huo Tinglan went to wash up, and Ye Ci burrowed into his own blanket like a thief. His sleeping position was restrained, with the light blanket tightly covering him, pulled all the way up to the tip of his nose.

He secretly touched his mouth under the edge of the covers.

The painful heat had subsided, and the skin was not broken.

Suddenly, the sound of water in the bathroom stopped.

Ye Ci retracted his hand as if he had received an electric shock, closing his eyes and pretending to sleep.

With his temperament and under these circumstances, it seemed a little fake for him to be able to sleep without a care. He knew this, but hoped that Huo Tinglan would be as graceful as ever, seeing through it but not bringing it up.

The bathroom door opened.

The scent of men’s body wash slowly approached, sea salt mixed with cypress wood.

The side of his body sank down, something blocked the light, and then Huo Tinglan called to him in a low voice: “Baby, are you asleep?”

Ye Ci didn’t move. Not even his eyelashes fluttered.

He pretended quite well.

The corners of Huo Tinglan’s lips lifted slightly. He didn’t say anything, and didn’t turn off the lights. Lying down next to Ye Ci, he stretched out his arms and pulled the thin form wrapped in a light blanket into his arms.

That small sample of a kiss did not satisfy his craving. Instead, it evoked the memory of entangling with his lover in the last life.

Desire was like a shark sensing blood. It was better not to taste it, but once he did, he became mad with greed.

That graphite silk was as deep and dark as the sea. He cruised through it silently and sinisterly, coveting the creamy white flesh in that ocean. The marking period wasn’t over yet, and his Alpha glands began to stir.

After being pacified by an Omega, the glands were supposed to be at rest.

But the painful experience of his spouse’s death made Huo Tinglan’s Alpha glands more sensitive and fragile than in the previous life, and their hormone fluctuations were difficult to predict using normal medical theory.

Huo Tinglan’s eyes darkened, and his hands circled around in front of Ye Ci.

His fingertip touched the blanket that was dampened by Ye Ci’s breath and traced along the line of his lips.

After a while, it stopped in the middle and played with them.

The small breaths gusting on Huo Tinglan’s fingertips suddenly accelerated.

Ye Ci panicked.

Afraid that his breathing rate would reveal his pretense, Ye Ci took a few breaths and then subconsciously held his breath, his body trembling slightly.

This was not pretending to be asleep, but pretending to be dead.

“Ye Ci,” Huo Tinglan suppressed a laugh, his fingers like bait as he rubbed the silly mouth with a poor memory that continued to bite the hook. “Are you really asleep?”

Suddenly waking up at this time would only be more embarrassing.

It was hard to ride a tiger,^[2] better to play the role to the end. Ye Ci resolutely kept his eyes closed. There was sweat on his forehead, and his eyelashes trembled.

“You really are asleep?” Huo Tinglan announced in a low voice, “Then I’m going to do something bad.”

Ye Ci: “…….”

His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly in disbelief.

Huo Tinglan took the edge of the blanket and picked it up.

It was almost like lifting the hem of a skirt, but he could do it without appearing vulgar.

Under the blanket, the collar of Ye Ci’s pajamas was fastened to the top button, and Huo Tinglan flipped the button as if teasing a small fish.

Ye Ci’s eyelashes trembled and he thoroughly crumbled. Too embarrassed to open his eyes, he turned over, plunged into Huo Tinglan’s arms, and begged for mercy: “Huo-shushu, don’t, don’t do it……”

“You pretended to be asleep.” Huo Tinglan gently tugged Ye Ci’s bright red ear.

He saw through it and laid it bare.

No matter how foolish Ye Ci was, he realized that Huo Tinglan was not the same as before he confirmed their relationship. Besides, he wasn’t stupid in the first place. If someone else attempted Huo Tinglan’s actions, he would probably see through it within three sentences.

The fact that he could be hooked with one cast was due to nothing more than preconceived notions. He believed firmly in Huo Tinglan’s pure and good nature, and this filter was too thick to see through.

“Huo-shushu, why are you……” He clenched his fists and hesitated. “Why……are you like this?”

“What am I like?” Huo Tinglan laughed, and the deep vibrations of his chest tickled Ye Ci’s eardrums.

“Like,” Ye Ci struggled to retrieve a precise word that was not a curse, “You’ve become un, ungentlemanly.”

Ungentlemanly.

Huo Tinglan was stunned for a moment. In his life and in his previous life, he had never heard anyone make a comment about him like this.

Not only that, but he was often rated the opposite.

It was said that no one knew a child better than their mother, but even his mother, Lin Yao, often persuaded him to let go of the elite air of being alone all his life. Even if he couldn’t find a matching Omega, at least he could meet a Beta woman……

Moreover, the way he and Ye Ci got along in the last life was not the same as it was now.

Of course it wasn’t a compliment, but he felt a heat up his spine. Being provoked by the aggrieved little lover who vaguely realized he had boarded a pirate ship doubled his agitation.

“Xiao Ci,” Huo Tinglan moved back a little, looked at Ye Ci buried in his chest, and stroked his messy hair. Half coaxing and half serious, he said: “From the moment we established our relationship, you were officially my lover and husband, legally and emotionally. In front of you, I don’t think I need to, or should, put on the air of being a good gentleman. Just like you don’t have to try to be brave in front of me. You can talk to me, you can cry to me, and you can rely on me to your heart’s content……what do you say?”

With just a few words, he integrated his “hooliganism” with his true nature.

Extremely shameless.

Ye Ci wrestled with this for a while. He also pretended to be tough in front of Huo Tinglan. If it was wrong to say that it wasn’t the same, then he probably……didn’t count as innocent?

Besides, flirting with a lover seemed to be okay, it was just that the contrast……

“Do you still like Huo-shushu?” Huo Tinglan asked knowingly.

How could he not like him because of that?

Ye Ci nodded in embarrassment.

“You like me even if I’m not a gentleman?” Huo Tinglan repeated with a smile.

Ye Ci gritted his teeth, and the corners of his jaw flexed sharply. After a few seconds of silence, he admitted: “I like you.”

However, the villain hadn’t even revealed one-tenth of his essence.

“Then……” Huo Tinglan paused. Meeting Ye Ci’s inquisitive gaze, he said quietly, “Will you help? The susceptibility period is about to be drawn out by you, so soothe me……”

Ye Ci was stunned, unable to argue: “I, I drew it out?”

“En.” Huo Tinglan choked back a laugh. His eyes were jet-black and bright, and he had a handsome appearance, but it was a pity that it contained a wicked thing that would toss a black pot to a child.^[3]

“You did……do you know how pretty your blush is?” The black pot smashed him in the face. “You’re still drawing it out.”

Was being inclined to blush a sin? What could be done about an abundance of capillaries?

Ye Ci had a rare rebellious thought and snatched the blanket from Huo Tinglan to cover his face. As a result, as soon as the bridge of his nose was covered, it was pulled back down to his chin. He covered it up again, and it was pulled down to his neck by Huo Tinglan. He was light and quick, half smiling, making them look like a playful and flirtatious couple. Ye Ci noticed that the atmosphere was ambiguous and didn’t dare to grab it again. His flushed face was exposed to the air, and he braced himself to “look good” under Huo Tinglan’s eyes, retorting in a whisper: “Wasn’t your susceptible period……more, more than a month ago? Usually an Alpha……is only susceptible two or three times a year. Besides, it also can’t be drawn out.”

He might know very little, but he had also been an Alpha, and couldn’t be fooled.

“I’m sick.” Huo Tinglan unexpectedly smiled. “I have a disorder.”

Ye Ci stared, going quiet.

Huo Tinglan really was sick – – the susceptibility period syndrome. Not every Alpha’s susceptibility symptoms were as severe as his, which could be considered pathological, and the frequency was indeed uncertain.

“Give me treatment, baby. Think of it like an essay on being a good person and doing good deeds, doesn’t that sound pretty good?” The more he said, the more ridiculous and unscrupulous it became. Holding back a smile, he continued to coax and deceive: “We had a deal to use a way you can accept, other than touching your lips.” He turned over, holding Ye Ci’s hot face like a handful of spring water as he pecked kisses across his red cheekbones, his sweaty hair, his blinking eyelids……

His word was truly trustworthy. Since he said he wouldn’t touch his mouth, he didn’t touch his mouth.

However, at the end, Ye Ci had to keep a deadly grip on his collar and not let go. With a clear, lively voice, he repeatedly emphasized that he was not to put his mouth on his neck. It was just that the collar of his school uniform really couldn’t cover the neck, and his classmates and teachers would see it at a glance.

This just barely saved his neck.

That night, he was only kissed on his face outside of his cocoon.

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[1] 恶人先告状. Literally means the villain sues his victim before he himself can be prosecuted. ⮐

[2] 骑虎难下: The idiom is, ‘If you ride a tiger, it’s hard to get off,’ meaning it’s impossible to stop halfway. ⮐

[3] Throwing a black pot to someone is basically putting the blame on them/letting them shoulder the responsibility. ⮐

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

“Baby.”

His blood was boiling.

Huo Tinglan couldn’t wait at all for him to get used to it. He only intensified and slightly bowed his shoulders, holding Ye Ci’s face to kiss him and crush those small lips out of shape. As if he wasn’t embarrassed enough, he coaxed in a low voice: “Baby’s lips are so soft……”

Just five words, ordinary lovers’ talk, but they were like some kind of spell with the power to drive a person crazy.

His heart suddenly soared into the air and smashed down again, beating desperately at his ribs.

Ye Ci’s eardrums were roaring and his brain was empty, steamed dry. The numbness that penetrated his chest rose and fell with his heartbeat, surging and ebbing like waves. The kiss he imagined was like a dragonfly lightly brushing the water’s surface, similar to a kiss on the face.

This was simply not the same at all.

He couldn’t take it anymore, and was so alarmed that he ducked away, but Huo Tinglan held his face and chased after him. Huo-shushu, who was usually so gentle and elegant, was at this moment so fervent that it was almost obscene, and firmly captured him!

“Huo-shushu,” Ye Ci’s head was about to explode, and he faintly begged for mercy, “Huo, Huo-shushu……is it enough?”

His heart was beating to death, and his nose was obviously working, but he was holding his breath without realizing it.

His mouth was sore from being rubbed, and his lips were so hot that the skin seemed to be broken.

It didn’t seem like he should have confessed in that way……

He regretted it a little, but it was too late.

He twisted like a small silverfish with wet scales. If Huo Tinglan didn’t let him go, he would slide away along the crack in the wall, slip back into the water, and never bite again.

Finally, Huo Tinglan straightened up a little. Brushing the thin cartilage at the tip of his nose, he reminded in a low voice, “Breathe.”

Flustered, Ye Ci took a few big breaths.

Huo Tinglan waited for him to breathe, and then tilted his head again……

“You’re still, still kissing?” Ye Ci shrank back, and rounded those watery apricot seed eyes.

“What?” Huo Tinglan caught Ye Ci’s shock, suppressed the fire in his dark eyes, and brought out his innocent “good shushu” mode, smiling softly. “Wasn’t it just one kiss?”

Ye Ci couldn’t believe it, and repeated, “Just one……”

So, so many actions counted as just one?!

He became increasingly bewildered, unable to speak. After a long while, he licked his red lips, looking stunned and pitiful, as if he was being bullied by a trusted person, pierced by the hook hidden in the sweet bait.

“Can, can you not kiss……a second time, Huo-shushu.” The more he spoke, the quieter he got. “My……my lips are broken.”

“Broken?” Huo Tinglan didn’t believe it, and pushed away Ye Ci’s hand to check carefully.

Where were they broken, they weren’t broken at all, he knew what he was doing. They were just red and hot, giving them the illusion of “broken skin.”

“Not broken.” He told the truth, not choosing what children would like to hear.

“……” Ye Ci drooped his head, not even letting him touch them.

“But you’re in pain, I’m sorry.” Huo Tinglan took a step back and let Ye Ci slip away.

When young teenagers fell in love, if they hadn’t encountered an Alpha who was particularly anxious and confused, they would probably go to school and leave together, accompany each other to do their homework, touch each others’ heads, hold hands, and kiss shallowly and carefully, even more hazy than the moonlight.

The issue was……

Huo Tinglan felt that he was also as hazy as moonlight.

He didn’t even stick his tongue in……

Was that not hazy?

But Ye Ci had been rubbed so hard that his soul flew away, sitting on the small sofa and covering his mouth in a daze.

To Huo Tinglan, it was the touch of a dragonfly upon water, but for Ye Ci, it was a stormy sea.

Huo Tinglan walked over and knelt on one knee in front of the small sofa, tugged at the cuffs of Ye Ci’s pajamas, and coaxed gently: “Are you mad at me?”

Ye Ci hurriedly shook his head: “No, I’m not mad at you.”

It was impossible for him to be angry with Huo Tinglan.

“What happened……can you describe it to me?” Huo Tinglan set the tone for a serious discussion.

“Just,” Ye Ci pursed his lower lip and tried to describe, “My heart was, was beating like I was dying. I don’t know, maybe it’s because I……” He glanced at him timidly, and with a pure and innocent voice, spoke words that could kill a person: “I, I like you so much, I can’t stand the excitement. You let me slow down and take it easy, okay?”

Huo Tinglan took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and repeated, “Slow down……”

A lifetime of perseverance was consumed in this moment.

“Xiao Ci, I’m twelve years older than you, I’m a mature Alpha, and my thoughts and needs regarding these things might be different from yours.” His tone was sincere and apologetic, with a somewhat rare embarrassment. “Maybe my needs will be more than yours. Sorry.”

Ye Ci licked his still aching lips, and with a red face, he unexpectedly gave Huo Tinglan a round of sex education in turn: “Don’t, don’t apologize. What you said is, is actually normal……”

“En, you’re right.” Huo Tinglan smiled, and then, as if it was difficult to speak about, laughed softly at himself. “So what should I do? I have a lot of needs……otherwise,” he teased softly and mischievously, “Is there another method that you can accept?”

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

There was a knock on the bedroom door. The two reserved sounds were like knocks on his heart.

Knowing that Ye Ci would not respond, Huo Tinglan opened the bedroom door on his own after a moment.

Immediately afterwards, a hazy shadow floated behind the frosted glass door of the bathroom.

“Open the door,” Huo Tinglan stood still and coaxed him out like a patient hunter, his voice low and magnetic, “Baby.”

At this change of address, Ye Ci’s face went red and he was so embarrassed that he almost knocked the doorknob off.

“I really miss you.” Huo Tinglan seemed to understand that he had come back very unexpectedly, so he didn’t force him, and just negotiated softly, “Let me see you? I worked all night yesterday and took a 12-hour flight. My head hurts, I just took painkillers……after I see you, I’m going to go rest.”

He was bewitching him.

But Ye Ci’s heart softened quickly, and in a daze, he pulled the door open a crack.

The slit was so narrow that it was only about the width of a raised finger, which was enough to reveal a dark eye peeking at Huo Tinglan.

However.

It didn’t matter how narrow the crack was. Once it was opened, it meant “permission.”

Huo Tinglan grabbed the edge of the door abruptly, relying on Ye Ci’s reluctance to close the door and hurt him, and brazenly pulled it open like breaking apart a weakened clam shell.

The back of Ye Ci’s neck was hot when Huo Tinglan’s hand grabbed it with gentle but irresistible strength. Grasping him like a cat, he took him out of the bathroom and blocked him into a corner.

“You dare to hide……what did you say on the video call?” After catching the cat, Huo Tinglan gently retracted his hand and put it in his trouser pocket. He lowered his smiling black eyes and looked at Ye Ci, and said in a leisurely manner, “Say it again.”

“Didn’t, didn’t you just say…..” Ye Ci, in the wrong, was honestly crowded into the corner. Not daring to resist, he could only open his mouth and mumble with insufficient confidence, “you just, just wanted a look.”

From such a short distance away, he could see Huo Tinglan’s clean as new shirt, straight and tidy. A navy blue silk tie hung down the middle, faintly emphasizing the contours of the full and seductive pectoral muscles on both sides. The cuffs were dazzlingly white, and two expensive canary diamond cufflinks shone brightly. The scent of vetiver aftershave was still fresh – – His Huo-shushu was well-dressed. Perhaps on the plane on his way to see him, like a male beast in courtship boastingly displaying his gorgeous fur and lean body, he did his best to seduce and tantalize him.

Obviously, Huo Tinglan achieved the expected effect.

Ye Ci’s eyes darted to the side first to avoid suspicion, but he couldn’t stop looking back in distress. At the distinct outline of the chest under that shirt, at the extravagant and flashy accessories, at the sharp contours of that handsome face.

He couldn’t refuse to admit it. He was a young visual animal, an adolescent boy. Huo Tinglan was trying to please him, and he was so fascinated by it that he couldn’t help but look again and again.

“……The first words spoken don’t count, right?” Huo Tinglan teased him with a smile, tit for tat.

One’s own promise must be kept.

Ye Ci could only stammer and repeat the words he confessed the night before – – but it wasn’t a perfect repetition. Due to nerves and forgetfulness, the wording wasn’t entirely the same, only a rough imitation.

But Huo Tinglan seemed to have memorized the full text of what he said that day. Whenever there was a subtle discrepancy in Ye Ci’s retelling, he would speak up and force Ye Ci to repeat it.

Extremely evil.

After reiterating the set of confessions, Ye Ci had sweat on the tip of his nose and his face was flushed.

Finally, the last word was repeated.

The room was silent.

Ye Ci glanced sideways at Huo Tinglan. His eyes were bright and dark, a collection of contradictions. Innocent hunger and thirst. Ye Ci still retained the instinct of an Alpha to conquer and possess, but it was also softened by the new Omega instincts. He stood precariously on a balancing rope, waiting for someone to push him, to catch him.

Huo Tinglan lowered his gaze and traced Ye Ci’s lips with his eyes. Thin, but plump in the middle, there was no lack of sensuality, and the cool scent of spearmint lingered on his breath.

“You brushed your teeth?” Huo Tinglan chuckled.

“En, I was, was afraid I would be sleepy after the video call, so I, I brushed them first.” Ye Ci made it more conspicuous by trying to hide it, and his inquisitive eyes were also fixed on Huo Tinglan’s mouth.

He was curious about the feeling of “kissing on the lips.”

After giving it some thought, he was a little eager to try……

The two looked at each other’s lips, breathing together.

The atmosphere maintained a delicate and ambiguous balance.

All of a sudden, Huo Tinglan broke the balance, gently squeezing Ye Ci’s small jaw and tilting his head up to meet his touch.

Tender and greedy, like a bee stealing honey.

He was extremely hungry, and the buds were about to bloom. He cautiously arched open the half-closed petals, burrowed in shamelessly, and brushed the fine, exquisite pollen in the core.

At first, it was just a touch.

Then, he rubbed a little.

Ye Ci was so sensitive that he leaned against the corner made by the two walls and trembled. His spine was so soft that he couldn’t even hold his back straight.

So comfortable.

Formidably comfortable.

Low on oxygen and short of breath, he turned his face away in embarrassment and had difficulty looking directly at his own response.

This was what it felt like to be an Omega. A small kiss transformed into deep spring waters, and his bones went weak and soft. So unfamiliar.

“What is it?” Huo Tinglan pressed his body against him so that he could use his strength to support him.

Then he used his fingertips to turn back Ye Ci’s averted face. His jet-black pupils were keen as measuring instruments, detecting every wisp of Ye Ci’s emotions: embarrassment, confusion, joy……

“Wait, Huo-shushu.” Ye Ci slid down like mud, his sweaty palms clinging to the wall as he tried to stand firm on his own strength. “I can’t, can’t stand up straight anymore……”

Something was beginning to sprout, and its shy appearance was fresh and full of life, like a flower bud showing its slender stamen or a freshly harvested water chestnut peeled of its raw white flesh.

---

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

Ye Ci couldn’t sit still. He covered the camera with his fingertips, pressing hard until his fingers went white.

His voice went continuously lower as he spoke: “Like, like you’re hugging me……”

That night he took the initiative to hug Huo Tinglan, the solid firmness of his chest and the comfort like floating on ocean waves was unforgettable. 

He couldn’t help but think about a simple hug over and over again.

The memory entangled his thoughts, spreading like weeds, squandering nutrients. After just a few days of separation, his heart was so empty that he became agitated.

– – This was not in line with the situation he was worried about previously, and was even the opposite.

He had basically smoothed out the tangled mess.

When one’s heart was set, it was time to speak up.

He wanted to find a time to confess, and had thought about it all night, knowing that he was too introverted, his face was too thin, and it was especially difficult to speak when he was emotional. If he confessed to Huo Tinglan face to face, those good words would be incoherent and fragmented……

So he planned to say it from a distance first, so that when the two met, the news would already be digested in part, the mood would be calmer, and he wouldn’t be so nervous that he was unable to speak.

He planned the formula on his little abacus with a crackling, disordered rattle, not realizing how naive he was in his inexperience. “The temp, temporary mark you gave me is getting weaker and weaker……” Ye Ci swallowed and closed his eyes shyly, as if talking to himself. “But on the contrary……I miss you even more.”

His words were vague, but clear enough.

Not the effects of hormone fluctuations.

Not the confusion of physical attraction.

In the past few days away from Huo Tinglan, he had a lot of time to think independently.

He picked up his own bewildered heart from the warm and aching thoughts, like picking up a pebble from a spring stream. He drained the water droplets off his desire and dried it, only to find that it had been polished clean and soft by love, the texture as clear as an engraving – –

I like Huo-shushu.

I like Huo Tinglan.

I like him more with each passing day, no one else but him.

“……Why do you miss me?”

The question came through the phone, consuming the last bit of silence and patience.

“Because……” Ye Ci took a deep breath, and with the sacrificial sincerity unique to young people, he said, “I like you.”

After he finished speaking, as if he felt that his intentions mustn’t be questioned, he explained before he could be asked: “Not because of the temporary mark, or, or because of my mom……don’t have any doubt. I thought about it for, for days, I just……really like you.”

“……”

Really liked him.

It truly depended on him being far away.

Huo Tinglan loosened his tie and took a deep breath. The blue blood vessels in his temples pulsed slightly, and his sanity was on the verge of collapse.

The matters that he could originally endure were stimulated by Ye Ci’s “provocative” operation, and he feared he could no longer stand it.

The camera was still covered. He wasn’t sure if Ye Ci was looking at him from over there, and had to forcefully control the wicked fire and maintain a false calm: “You’re on video, so far away, and you’re saying this to me……”

He leisurely interrogated: “What sort of evil intentions do you have?”

“No, no evil intentions!” Ye Ci thought he was unhappy, and hurriedly removed his hand covering the camera. His face was burnt through, even his eyes were dyed with a light pink, and his lips were red.

He was so embarrassed that he licked his lips and inadvertently covered them with a layer of moisture, making him even more gorgeous.

He didn’t know that his beloved Huo-shushu was painfully holding back his feelings in private, and wasn’t aware of what it meant to be in a relationship in the adult world. He was also an adult, but after all, this was a recent development and he was still innocent. He used this childish method to analyze a thirty-year-old Alpha who had been single for a long time, as if he was playing youthful love games with boys and girls of the same age. So he thought about it a bit and tried to make up for the sense of ceremony that Huo-shushu might want: “I used, used video to confess, not because……I’m not sincere, or not serious about you. I want to confess again when, when I’m in front of you. I talk clumsily, and I’m afraid that I’ll be too nervous at that time. Since I can’t speak well, I told you over video first…….I’ll say it again.”

He was so sincere to his lover, and could not wait to open his young heart and shine a light on it as he described word by word: “And I felt, now that we’ve both……figured it out, that I should say it as soon as possible and not……leave you hanging.”

As if coaxing a disappointed little girlfriend, he lowered his body in a masculine and beseeching posture and said, “You……don’t be mad at me, okay?”

Huo Tinglan laughed dumbly in spite of himself, and was speechless for a few seconds. 

He was so far away from being angry……

He was clearly holding back his madness, enduring those vicious currents from head to toe. Forbearance on the left and forbearance on the right, he endured!

But Ye Ci didn’t understand this.

Huo Tinglan sighed, the boy’s mental journey as clear as the sun at midday. The workings of that brain and his thoughtful considerations were really green and cute. He was a total softhearted mess.

He could be softhearted, but others may not necessarily emulate that softness.

Rather, they could be as firm as iron and stone.

Huo Tinglan flattened the corners of his lips and threw out a sentence: “No good.”

“……Ah?”

Ye Ci wilted like a snowman in a preheated 200°C oven.

His shoulders collapsed and swiftly melted.

Oh no.

He had screwed up.

Huo Tinglan leaned back in the chair and tapped the table with his fingertips, as solemn as if he were in a business negotiation, but his words were not serious: “When we meet, tell me what you just said again……”

“En!” Ye Ci nodded hurriedly.

“When you’re done talking,” Huo Tinglan said in a low voice, “I’ll kiss you……is that okay?”

“Hmhm, okay.” Ye Ci at first responded wholeheartedly, and after a few seconds, his eyes trembled nervously. His Adam’s apple rolled, and inquired with feigned sophistication, “The same as, as last time? Then when you’re done kissing……you won’t be angry?”

Kiss the face, kiss the eyebrows, kiss the forehead……

He was familiar with these.

Relying on the fact that the other party couldn’t see where his eyes fell on the video call, Huo Tinglan stared at the two alluring, thin red lips on the screen, entirely unscrupulous and almost indecent.

“No.” He smiled, controlled his expression, and answered two questions in turn. “I won’t be angry anymore.”

Seeing that Ye Ci still appeared to consider himself lucky, with an expression that said, “Huo-shushu, such a decent person,” Huo Tinglan lifted his lips and said in a low voice, “I want to kiss your lips, may I?”

“ ! “

Ye Ci was so embarrassed that he almost threw away his phone.

May he?

It seemed like it shouldn’t be impossible.

They had confessed to each other. Ordinarily, this would count as a romantic relationship, and other than being in love, what more proof did they need……

The two were married, and they were in love with each other. If even a kiss on the lips was too much, then life could not continue.

“Oh, I can’t.” Huo Tinglan’s tone was disappointed, but his forbearance remained.

It seemed that as long as Ye Ci didn’t allow it, he could really endure until the end of the world.

“No……you can.” Ye Ci sat cross-legged on the bed and held his forehead in embarrassment. At this moment, even the back of his hand was flushed.

Huo Tinglan took on the style of a rigorous business negotiation. As if he wanted to sign a contract with Ye Ci, he first emphasized the existing conditions: “We are already married in the true sense of the word.” He immediately verified with perfect enunciation, “So how many times can I kiss you?”

“Ah, how, how many kisses?” Ye Ci repeated apprehensively, his breathing uneven.

The way a gentlemanly person in love spoke turned out to be like this?!

You had to ask how many kisses you were allowed to have. Was it a foul if you kissed too much?

Only……

In fact, it was still better to just directly kiss……

Didn’t this make it more embarrassing?!

“Any, any amount.” It was hard for Ye Ci to say a specific value. 

If it was more or less, Huo-shushu would draw him into a negotiation.

“Any amount?” Huo Tinglan used a cough to hide his smile.

It was too much fun to tease the little gentleman.

Truly, endlessly fun.

In the last life, he never teased Ye Ci like that.

First, Ye Ci in the previous life was much more closed off and fragile than he was now. He couldn’t bear to go too far, and besides, twenty-two-year-old Ye Ci was much more mature than he was at eighteen. Unlike now, where he took the bait as soon as he was teased, over and over……

“There is no upper limit.” Huo Tinglan reflected for half a second, then his humanity disappeared and he summed up with a smile, “ That is, infinity.”

Ye Ci couldn’t understand what he was talking about, and nodded in confusion.

Seeing that Ye Ci was about to be played with to tears, Huo Tinglan mercifully hung up the video call.

As soon as the words “call ended” appeared on the screen, Ye Ci set aside his phone as if rescued, collapsed on the bed, and stared at the ceiling in a daze.

It was just a confession……who would have expected it to be like peeling skin.

But ultimately, not bad, Huo-shushu.

He himself was still too thin-skinned, too introverted. Things that were as normal as eating food and drinking water for other couples were difficult for him.

He had to learn to be outgoing, and just kiss him calmly and naturally.

Right!

This determination lasted for more than 40 hours.

He was a cheerful and outgoing person, facing the sea as spring flowers bloomed.^[1]

Until sudden news from Huo Tinglan knocked Ye Ci back into his original shape.

It was nine thirty in the evening. After Ye Ci ate the fruit that Uncle He sent as a late-night snack, he wiped his mouth and wanted to hurry up and finish a set of papers.

By the time he was done, it would be past eight o’clock in the morning in San Francisco. He would make a video call, chat with his mom for a while and talk with Huo-shushu for a while……today, he had a lot of schoolwork. He didn’t touch his phone much all day in order to have time for the video call at night, so he didn’t realize that Huo Tinglan hadn’t contacted him for more than ten hours.

The exam paper had barely been spread out when the cell phone rang.

Ye Ci pulled it over and took a look.

His heart nearly stopped.

[Huo Tinglan]: I’ll be home in ten minutes.

[Huo Tinglan]: Wait for me.

“ ! ”

Gripping the phone, Ye Ci was stunned for a few seconds.

Ten minutes?

Ten minutes!

Had Huo-shushu fallen into a wormhole?!

Had time and space folded?!

[Huo Tinglan]: I was busy all night yesterday, and I’ve finished with the matter over there. I got on the plane this morning and didn’t say anything earlier for fear that you would be thinking wildly all day and not be able to study well.

– – Whether it was really considerate or an ill-intentioned attack to not give Ye Ci any chance to delay or regret, only Huo Tinglan could know.

With shaking hands, Ye Ci helplessly entered a word, squeezing out an “OK.”

Ye Ci put down the phone and was dazed for a moment, then jumped up and rushed to the bathroom to brush his teeth.

After brushing several times very thoroughly, his tongue was numbed by the toothpaste.

There were bright drops of water hanging from his chin as he held the toothbrush, blushing as he stared blankly into the mirror.

There was a sound on the first floor. Huo Tinglan was back.

How could he dare greet him when they would kiss on the lips in a moment?

How many minutes and seconds? Where should he wait? What posture should he wait with? What expression should he wear? What should he say?……In only a few minutes, his anxiety and thoughts were boundless. Every second felt like torture, and he even wished that Huo Tinglan would come to kiss him sooner.

……So why did he tell him in advance?!

Huo-shushu, was he……was he actually a little evil??

Ye Ci had nowhere to vent his shame and anger, and hit the washstand with a punch.

There was a loud bang.

Then, faint footsteps sounded.

Through the door panels of the second-story bedroom and bathroom, they reached his ears.

Ye Ci’s heart beat like a drum, and he listened in panic.

He bowed his head and waited for a kiss on the lips.

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[1] This is a reference to a poem by the Chinese poet Hai Zi. The full line goes: “I have a house, it faces the sea, and flowers bloom in spring warmth.” The poem is about someone who makes future plans to become a different, better person, with warm feelings toward the world and its people. ⮐

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Chapter Twenty-Nine<< Table of Contents >> Chapter Thirty-One

Huo Tinglan took care of Ye Hongjun’s trip to the United States for treatment.

Things went smoothly, and without bothering Ye Ci, he just signed several documents as the patient’s family member and transferred Ye Hongjun out of that sanatorium.

With his seriously ill mother traveling across the ocean to receive medical treatment, even if he knew that the accompanying team would take good care of her, Ye Ci couldn’t help worrying. So he asked for leave from school, and together with Huo Tinglan, they accompanied Ye Hongjun on the plane to San Francisco.

At the end of last year, he was still in the state of discontinuing his studies during the provincial senior exam, and he missed it. He couldn’t afford to miss taking the makeup exam in June this time, and he crammed his studies into these few days of vacation with difficulty. He brought a bag of History and Geography exam materials, even studying on the plane. With sore eyes, he opened the window and looked at the sea of intertwined cotton-white and gray-blue clouds below. Immersed in a calm and peaceful mood, he was quietly in a daze.

The exam period was imminent, and Ye Ci could only stay for three days after landing. There was a sense of novelty in going abroad for the first time in his life, but at the thought of not knowing if he would see his mom in the next few months, he had no intention of wandering around. He would just stick to Ye Hongjun like a small tail, and where his mom went was where he would be.

Three days passed quickly. Seeing that Ye Hongjun had settled in properly, Ye Ci had to return to China.

Staying really wouldn’t help. There was a whole team watching over her, but he couldn’t seem to pull himself away, and Ye Hongjun had to banish him back to school.

Seeing that Ye Ci still looked uneasy, Huo Tinglan continued to stay in San Francisco on the grounds of “handling some backlogs from the American subsidiary.” He said that he could accompany Ye Hongjun for a time as she adapted while handling official business, lest she find herself in a foreign country with only unfamiliar faces all around, making her emotionally unstable.

“……I did originally have work to do here, so I didn’t lie to you.” Huo Tinglan rubbed Ye Ci’s head. It was still early for boarding time. He had also sent an assistant to accompany Ye Ci back to China, and wasn’t afraid of Ye Ci being unused to flying, so he was not in a hurry to let this person go now. “If not for this incident, I would have had to make time to visit in June. It’s all the same.”

“When do you plan to return to China?” Ye Ci had forgotten to ask before, but listening to Huo Tinglan’s nonchalant tone, he subconsciously thought it would only be a few days.

“I’m not sure, we’ll see when my business is finished.” Huo Tinglan estimated, “It’ll be one week to half a month.”

It didn’t matter if the subsidiary company’s affairs were dealt with later, but since he couldn’t leave at present, he would do it now.

Ye Ci was stunned. Plucking the strap of the schoolbag with his fingers, he muttered, “That, that’s a long time.”

“Too long?” Huo Tinglan lowered his eyes and looked at the corners of Ye Ci’s lips, which had fallen like lead weights. Wicked intentions of teasing the child took hold, and his words gradually shifted.

“Yesterday, I said that I would stay here a while to handle official business and accompany your mother at the same time. I saw how happy you were at that moment, and thought it would be okay if I stayed longer……”

Ye Ci frowned and defended in a whisper: “I thought it would be, be three to five days.”

“You don’t want me to spend more time with your mother?”

“It’s, it’s not that.” Ye Ci fiercely shook his head, in a dilemma. He just hated that he couldn’t stay in San Francisco.

“No one will be there to look after you when you go back, so you need to take care of yourself.” Huo Tinglan softened his tone and intimately reminded him of some trivial matters, “Don’t smoke, don’t stay up late, get up early if you want to memorize, eat three regular meals, and if you have a temporary fever, just go to my room and lie down for a while.” He paused, and said with a sort of malicious tenderness, “Call me anytime, no matter the time difference……will you remember?”

Separating for half a month – – although this was still too much – –  was nothing next to being separated for half a year.

Ye Ci’s chest rose and fell quickly a few times at the tone of that villain’s teasing farewell. He had no choice but to clamp Huo Tinglan’s wrist. Gripping firmly with five fingers, he looked at him helplessly.

Pale pink skin, eyes rippling with light. Like a kitten who had been spoiled unknowingly and didn’t usually seem too sticky, but when parting, he hooked the tip of his claws on the person’s cuff and meowed tenderly.

“Huo-shushu,” He suppressed his shyness and requested shakily, “Can you come back……a little sooner?”

Huo Tinglan smiled: “En, I will as soon as possible.”

Ye Ci still didn’t let go.

Huo Tinglan asked gently and knowingly: “What’s wrong?”

What’s wrong was obvious.

But Ye Ci couldn’t say it. He had reached his limit, and those two red and tender lips seemed to have dried up in just a few minutes, looking bashful.

There was silence for a moment.

Huo Tinglan said in a low voice, “You’ll miss me?”

Ye Ci nodded weakly.

So soft.

Like a piece of soft tofu, he had wanted to give it a light poke and watch it tremble softly, but who would have expected it to collapse?

After teasing the child, Huo Tinglan gathered up his broken conscience, pulled it into a small pile again, and comforted: “I’ll try to make it a week, okay?”

It was time to get ready to board.

Ye Ci reluctantly followed the assistant.

Five minutes later:

Huo Tinglan’s cell phone rang.

When he picked it up, there was a message from Ye Ci.

The short three words were the answer to the previous question, more clear-cut than a nod.

[Ye Ci]: I miss you.

. . . . . . .

East Eighth District, night.

The screen of the video call was on, and the thin morning light of San Francisco barely penetrated the fog to spill into Ye Hongjun’s ward through the blinds.

Ye Hongjun smiled and waved goodbye at the camera. He didn’t know if it was a psychological effect, but after taking the new drug treatment, Ye Ci felt that her complexion was slightly better than before.

As soon as the lens turned, Huo Tinglan left the ward.

In order to be able to make a video call with Ye Hongjun, Ye Ci had to go to bed later these days. It was a legitimate reason to stay up late.

After the call connected, he would chat with Ye Hongjun for a while, and then with Huo Tinglan for about ten minutes, so that he could still get to sleep in the first half of the night.

In order to accompany Ye Hongjun conveniently, Huo Tinglan had set up his computer in the ward next to her for the past two days. When he went out and turned left, that was his temporary San Francisco office.

“……Why are the lights so dim?” Huo Tinglan closed the door, narrowed his eyes slightly, and recognized the wall behind Ye Ci. “You’re not in your room?”

The color of the wall paint was obviously wrong.

The air conditioner was also familiar.

When the video call connected ten minutes ago, he hadn’t taken a close look, and kept holding it up for Ye Hongjun to watch.

Ye Ci shook his head, wrapped in a thin summer quilt, and looked a little embarrassed: “I have a little, temp, temporary fever……”

Huo Tinglan lifted his lips. “You’re in my room?”

“En.” Ye Ci closed the quilt around his body in discomfort.

Huo Tinglan’s eyes were fierce as he looked at the misty blue neckline and smiled: “Is my room cold? You’re wrapped up so tightly.”

Ye Ci was red from face to neck: “It’s, it’s a little cold.”

More than a month had passed since that temporary marking.

Huo Tinglan’s Alpha pheromones left in his body had been metabolized, the effect of the temporary mark had weakened, and Ye Ci’s hormone disorder had also been alleviated a lot.

In short, the symptoms of temporary fever were not as severe as they were a month ago.

It could be seen by the state he was in that his mind was clear, his expression was normal, and he was not out of control like last time……hugging and sleeping with Huo Tinglan’s messy quilt.

Huo Tinglan sat down at the temporary desk arranged by the assistant, leaned against the back of the chair in a relaxed manner, and thought for a while before asking shamelessly in a pure tone: “What are you wearing in there?”

– – Ever since he saw Ye Ci’s “I miss you” at the airport that day, he just couldn’t take it anymore.

The thought of those three words made his chest feel hot with excitement, like a house that had been uninhabited for a long time and was now covered in flames that reached to the sky. That boiling hot and deformed gentleman’s mask was completely unstable, and he had to press it with his hands or it would fall from his face at any time.

“Just,” Ye Ci’s words flickered, “a, a piece of clothing.”

“I know it’s a piece of clothing.” Huo Tinglan was silent for a moment, and a shameless  “otherwise, are you sleeping naked in my bed?” twitched on the tip of his tongue. He swallowed it back – after all, their relationship had not yet been determined, and he couldn’t cross the boundary of flirting and harassment. He only asked, “What clothes? Show me.”

His tone was calm, so calm that it was almost absent-minded, as if he was asking for nothing, rather than being a scoundrel in a subtle way.

“Just……a shirt……” Ye Ci was very obedient, and with a red face, he pulled the quilt down.

The clothing was indeed nothing to be ashamed of.

Just a shirt.

Matte blue linen material, a long pointed collar that was retro and coquettish, and polished seashell buttons that were as smooth as white jade.

That was Huo Tinglan’s shirt.

He was dying.

Huo Tinglan’s Adam’s apple bobbed slowly.

Ye Ci was 1.8 meters tall and usually wore an appropriately sized school uniform. Although he looked thin, he was not weak.

But as soon as he put on Huo Tinglan’s clothes, his whole person changed.

His still youthful face in contrast with the mature shirt made him appear more pure.

The thin wrists protruding from the cuffs were obviously more slender than Huo Tinglan’s.

His shoulder muscles were also slender, and couldn’t hold up the fabric.

… …

It didn’t fit.

But it looked good.

He looked so small.

– – – The thought poured into the fire like gasoline.

The fire soared to new heights and immolated his sanity.

Huo Tinglan cleared his throat, but his voice was still hoarse: “What’s with this shirt……did they forget to wash it, or?”

“No, it was, it was washed.” Ye Ci hurriedly defended, “There’s no, no pheromones, I just……” He choked, not knowing where his courage had come from. Perhaps it was incited by the fever period, or if he said it once, it became easier to say again. Or maybe the question that had him tangled up over and over these days finally had an answer. 

Ye Ci lowered his eyes and didn’t dare look at the camera, saying softly, “Just, I’ve missed you so much these past few days.”

A fresh, clean shirt satisfied not the glands, but the spirit.

Suddenly, the screen went black.

Ye Ci had covered the camera.

“Wearing the clothes that you wear, it feels……it feels like……”

He was losing his mind.

This little thing……

Was relying on him from a distance?

Huo Tinglan tugged on his tie, almost unable to sit still: “Like what?”

---

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

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