Chapter 2: Not an Internet Photo
[Baby: Do you like your fiancé more, or do you like me?]
Ruan Zhimian wasn’t a major character. Usually, aside from playing around, he mostly had nothing to do. Currently, he only had one important task: date Shi He online and wait for the breakup.
Due to his health, the amount of time Ruan Zhimian spent at school was very short. His most common leisure activity was basking in the sun in the nursing home garden.
After his second deterioration, he had signed a waiver of treatment and was transferred to the palliative care department. In the last month of his life, he went nowhere, quietly waiting for the death that belonged to him.
Ruan Zhimian was diagnosed with bone cancer at age five, and he lost his parents that same year.
Since the age of five, he had seen many different kinds of people. Some knelt before him and cried, disregarding their dignity just to swindle the inheritance his parents left him. Others pretended to be wicked, yet would rush to the scene every time his condition worsened, leaving quietly once he was stable.
Ruan Zhimian cherished this chance to live again.
Ruan Zhimian rejected several invitations from second-generation rich kids to go racing, horse riding, and drinking, and instead spent the whole day in class at school.
[Mianmian, you have to chat with the protagonist tonight.]
Ruan Zhimian, his snowy-white face hidden under the dusty-pink brim of his hat, looked up at the sky, clearly radiating a sense of protest.
He wanted to break up even more. Ugh.
Not only did he have to chat, but he also had to show Shi He the dress tonight. He had promised it personally this morning.
Ruan Zhimian stared longingly at the avatar on his phone screen. He had waited all day but never received a message from Shi He saying he was busy today or to push it to tomorrow.
His cheeks puffed out, making him look like a limp, beautiful little kitten. He slid down slightly in his chair and whispered softly, entering a self-coaxing mode. “Just wearing it once is fine.”
In the past, he used to coax himself like this for every treatment.
Saying it was one thing, but Ruan Zhimian spent another hour in the dorm immersed in a documentary, then took a shower, continuously doing mental work on himself.
At 8:30 PM, Ruan Zhimian double-locked the dormitory door, pulled the curtains tight, and walked slowly to the mirror. He picked up the little dress hidden in the wardrobe.
It was a complex and exquisite white gauze dress with many layers. The ribbon fabric had a natural shimmering quality and wasn’t heavy to hold. The only unique part was the back, which was an entire panel of gauze with a vivid butterfly embroidered at the small of the back.
No, he couldn’t imagine what Shi He would say.
Ruan Zhimian took out the wine from the cabinet. To complete the task, Ruan Zhimian drank a glass straight.
Five minutes later, Ruan Zhimian rubbed his ears. He took off his pajamas and slipped directly into the dress, pulling it down bit by bit. His soft, obedient hair followed the movement, becoming fluffy as if it were standing on end.
“Did I put it on wrong?”
A beautiful silhouette gradually appeared in the mirror. His porcelain-white neck was lowered, and his two hands were behind him, tying the waistband. The boning clearly outlined his slender waist. The gauze skirt puffed out slightly, revealing his snowy, delicate ankles.
Ruan Zhimian’s gaze slowly moved to the mirror. His eyelashes trembled. Without him noticing, his entire person had turned a translucent pink; he was utterly embarrassed.
Finally, he picked up the white butterfly neck ribbon. His pink fingertips retracted several times before he finally tied it on.
Qiuqiu hovered around Ruan Zhimian, praising him and acting spoiled, using all sorts of persuasion for fear that its host would quit.
[This is the ABO world! Omegas usually wear dresses too; it’s very common clothing. Mianmian looks especially beautiful in it.]
Ruan Zhimian was a Beta, but he was lying to Shi He, saying he was an Omega.
Ruan Zhimian’s earlobes were red enough to drip blood. His voice was tiny. “Qiuqiu, I’m not nervous.”
Not nervous—just his hands were shaking, and his body was shaking too.
Qiuqiu didn’t expose him and consciously floated outside, giving its host plenty of space.
Ruan Zhimian opened his phone and pointed the camera at the mirror in front of him. His thin eyelids lifted, and he sounded almost piteous. “I’ll take them, I’ll take them.”
[Baby: (Photo) (Photo) (Photo)]
[Baby: I didn’t lie to Gege. Look, I just took them.]
[Baby: I like Gege the most.]
Perhaps because he had been drinking, Ruan Zhimian’s courage had grown significantly. Words that usually took a while to type were now being tapped out rapidly, like a kitten rolling around and acting spoiled, incredibly clingy.
On the other side of the ocean, it was daytime. Inside a vast shooting range, the heir to the Shi family—who was rarely seen in public—was dressed in a black tracksuit, his cold phoenix eyes looking into the distance.
He had taken off his hearing aid and put on goggles.
The entire world fell into silence. The Alpha stepped out with his long legs, focused as he raised the firearm at the range. He aimed at a target a hundred meters away, his cold, sharp eyes as precise as a weary yet powerful hawk.
With the vibration of the gun, several bullets landed clearly in the center of the target.
An Alpha whose Easy Period was approaching was not only sensitive and irritable but also had extremely vigorous energy. Even though all the staff in the arena were Betas, they still felt the powerful pressure of an S-grade Alpha.
The next second, Shi He took off his goggles. He pulled out the phone from his pocket, which had a special vibration alert set, and looked at the photos on the chat page.
They were taken a bit clumsily. The little cat was facing the mirror sideways, shooting from the top down. The white hem of the dress was even flipped up. Moving his gaze down, there was a pair of white little rabbit slippers on his feet.
Little scammer. He couldn’t even take good photos to deceive people; he was leaking flaws everywhere.
At least he was being somewhat obedient and didn’t use internet photos to fool him.
Shi He put his hearing aid back on. He put down the gun, strode toward the lounge, looked at the photos repeatedly many times, and called back on video.
Ruan Zhimian was currently lying in the sofa chair in the corner of the dorm.
He was wrapped in a cartoon plush blanket. The head of the incredibly obedient “glutinous rice ball” drooped dizzily; he was dutifully waiting for Shi He to reply to the messages before changing out of the clothes.
Ruan Zhimian didn’t see clearly that it was a video call. When the call connected and he saw Shi He’s face, thud—the phone quickly slipped from his hand.
Immediately after, he heard Shi He’s voice.
“Baby looks very beautiful in a dress.”
“Gege, why did you… make a video call…”
The Alpha on the opposite side nonchalantly took off his gloves. His dark, moody phoenix eyes curled slightly as he put on a pure and harmless front, looking at the video frame aimed at the ceiling. “Baby, because I like you, I want to see you. Don’t you want to see me?”
Little silly cat. His voice was still trembling as he answered him obediently.
“I do… I’m just shy.”
Having finished the wine, Ruan Zhimian’s courage was much greater. He pointed the camera at the hem of his dress. His soft, obedient voice crawled out of the speaker bit by bit, swaying like a cat’s tail. He had no idea how attractive he was.
“It’s okay. Look at me more.”
In front of the lens, Ruan Zhimian’s snowy-white fingertips were clutching a strawberry lollipop.
Shi He stared, asking even though he already knew the answer, “If you talk to me on the phone now, will others hear?”
Yesterday, Shi He had sent him a photo. Every time, he had to take so many pills, which looked very bitter. Shi He said that because he couldn’t sleep due to insomnia, he simply wouldn’t sleep.
He didn’t know what kind of illness it was that required injections too.
“I live in the dorm alone, so I can call Gege. Is your insomnia better?”
Shi He lowered his dark, gloomy phoenix eyes. His canines ground together imperceptibly, and a phantom-like hint of a smile appeared in his voice. He was using this handsome, harmless skin to bewitch the little cat before him. “I will sleep well today.”
Inside the lounge, the amber pheromones belonging to the Alpha became increasingly rich.
“Coax me first. I want to see…”
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