Chapter 99: An Old Friend of Mine
Ever since Ye Zhile had been frightened by that thing, he had been restless all day. Ji Shuohan stayed home to accompany him, holding Dudu to play with him, but work at the Shouling-bu was heavy; he couldn’t stay for long before he had to go to the study to handle matters.
Ji Shuohan wasn’t comfortable leaving Ye Zhile alone, so he planned to finish his work as quickly as possible to go back down and accompany him. Little did he know that Ye Zhile couldn’t stand to be alone for even a minute. The youth pushed open the study door, holding a tablet and looking at him pitifully. “I want to stay with you.”
Ji Shuohan felt a mixture of sweetness and helplessness. If only Ye Zhile were clinging to him because he liked him, rather than because he was afraid.
“Come in.” Ji Shuohan moved a chair next to his own. “Sit here and watch your show.”
Ye Zhile put on his headphones, found an anime, and sat quietly next to Ji Shuohan to watch.
The two were busy with their own things, and the atmosphere was a rare kind of harmony—until Ye Zhile gradually slumped over the desk while watching. Ji Shuohan reminded him, “Don’t watch while lying on the desk; you’ll become nearsighted.”
Ye Zhile gave him a sidelong glance. “Why do you care? I’ll watch however I want.”
Sure enough, the pitiable act was temporary, and the clinginess was temporary; at his core, the Omega still wanted to do the exact opposite of what Ji Shuohan said.
Ji Shuohan stopped talking and continued with his work.
Ye Zhile stayed in the study with Ji Shuohan all afternoon until dinner was ready and Xiao-ru came up to call them.
Ye Zhile didn’t really want to be alone, especially at night. However, he was a man of his word—he had said one night, so it would be only one night. He absolutely would not cling to Ji Shuohan for a second night.
After returning to his room, Ye Zhile shrank onto his bed. He didn’t even dare to go take a shower. When he heard someone opening the door, he jumped in fright. Looking up, he saw Ji Shuohan walking in with a pillow.
Seeing the youth terrified like a little rabbit, Ji Shuohan forcefully suppressed the upward curl of his lips. He said expressionlessly, “I’m scared. I’m sleeping with you.”
“What does your being scared have to do with me?” Ye Zhile said stubbornly. “I’m not scared anymore.”
“Is that so?” Ji Shuohan paused. Hearing this, he turned as if to leave. “Then I’ll just bear with it and sleep alone.”
Ye Zhile gave a light ‘hmph.’ Seeing that the Omega really didn’t intend to stop him, Ji Shuohan could only find his own excuse to stay. “The weather is too cold; sleeping alone isn’t warm enough.”
As Ye Zhile stood up, Ji Shuohan grabbed his arm. “Where are you going?”
“I’m taking a shower.” Ye Zhile pulled his arm away and went into the bathroom with his pajamas.
Before Ji Shuohan arrived, he hadn’t dared to enter the bathroom alone, fearing that some unknown horror would be waiting for him the moment he closed his eyes.
Halfway through his shower, Ye Zhile called out, “Ji Shuohan?”
“I’m here,” the man replied with a measured tone.
Ye Zhile’s heart settled, and he continued soaking in the tub. But as they say, whatever you fear most is what will happen. Ye Zhile was already naturally timid, and he hadn’t been soaking for long when the light above his head began to flicker and crackle.
He stared blankly as a chill ran down his spine and goosebumps broke out across his limbs. Suddenly, with a loud snap, the light went out, and the bathroom was plunged into darkness!
“Ah!” Ye Zhile let out a loud scream.
Ji Shuohan pushed open the door and entered immediately. Ye Zhile was curled up in the bathtub, his voice thick with a sobbing tone. “Does the Shouling-fu have power outages too? Wuu…”
“Sorry.” Ji Shuohan wrapped him in a bath towel and carried him to the bed. Everything was pitch black, and Ye Zhile hugged him tightly. Ji Shuohan originally wanted to go down and see what was happening, but the person on him wrapped his arms around his neck, refusing to let him leave.
“I’ll go see what’s wrong.” Ji Shuohan reached out to touch him. The Omega had just finished bathing; his skin was smooth and delicate, and he emitted the fresh fragrance of freesias. Ji Shuohan’s entire being became energized, and he didn’t dare touch him any further.
“No…” Ye Zhile didn’t care about anything else and buried his face directly in the man’s neck, not even daring to look at the night. “You can’t go.”
Ye Zhile hadn’t thought much of it because of his fear, and Ji Shuohan didn’t feel much about the darkness itself, but the soft body separated from him by only a bath towel left a deep impression on him. He sighed deeply and put his arms around Ye Zhile’s waist, fearing he might fall.
Ji Shuohan pulled the covers over him, and the two waited in the quiet room. A moment later, the light snapped back on. Right before Ji Shuohan’s eyes was the Omega’s rounded shoulder; he felt the visual impact was a bit much.
Ye Zhile looked up and saw Ji Shuohan’s gaze was dark and unreadable, staring at him intently. He narrowed his eyes, cutting off the man’s fantasies. “If you dare kiss me, I’ll call the Omega Protection Association tomorrow and sue you for harassment!”
“……” This truly and completely cut off any lingering thoughts Ji Shuohan had. He felt that Ye Zhile was actually capable of doing such a thing.
Ye Zhile climbed off him and ordered, “Turn around. I need to change into my pajamas.”
The youth who had been crying from fright just moments ago still had moist eyes, yet he turned around and began bossing him around. Ji Shuohan didn’t dare disobey and turned his back.
Once Ye Zhile had changed, he brought the hair dryer over and handed it to him. He sat on the sofa like a little lord and said righteously, “Since you’re sleeping in my room, you have to serve me, understand?”
“Yes.” Ji Shuohan resignedly picked up the dryer. As his fingers threaded through the strands of hair, he suddenly felt that taking care of the Omega was a kind of accomplishment.
After drying his hair, Ye Zhile was tired. He climbed onto the bed and slept on the far side. “No crossing the line.”
With that, he fell asleep.
Ji Shuohan lay down beside him. Because Ye Zhile was afraid, they slept with the bedside lamp on.
Ji Shuohan stayed at home with Ye Zhile for four or five days until his fear subsided, and only then did he return to work at the Shouling-bu.
Ye Zhile slept until noon before getting up. He ate lunch and played with Dudu. At that very moment, the eyes of a certain gardener in the garden were like ghosts, monitoring Ye Zhile’s every move…
In a remote suburb, several photos came through a fax machine in a retro, magnificent room. They were all pictures of the youth holding the child and smiling brightly, taken from various angles. A man walked over and picked up the photos, admiring them one by one.
“He’s grown up.” The man’s tone seemed somewhat nostalgic. He showed the photos to another man. “Do you like him? A Top Omega. Although you’re an Enigma, if you like him, I can also modify his pheromones into E-level pheromones to match yours.”
The fierce-looking Enigma glanced at the photo and said coldly, “His husband is also an Enigma.”
“So what?” The man chuckled softly. “They’re already divorced. I only thought of you because you’re my son; otherwise, you might not even be worthy of him.”
“Who exactly is he? Why do you want me to monitor him?” The Enigma frowned, his face showing displeasure.
The man scrutinized the photo closely. “Him… an old friend of mine.”
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