Chapter 51: A Sudden Urge to Kiss Him part 1
The tractor rumbled to a halt outside the town. It was market morning, and the streets were a cacophony of people.
Stalls lined the road, selling dates, flatbreads, fresh camel meat, and goat’s milk. Almost every Omega here wore a headscarf and a floor-length robe, walking with their heads lowered and steps hurried.
This area was extremely chaotic. If an unmarked Omega was seen moving alone, there was a high probability they would be targeted by criminals.
Abbu led them down a filthy alleyway. The ground was littered with trash and mud. A female tenant yawned as she pushed open a window and dumped a basin of yellowish dirty water into the street. It narrowly missed Abbu, who looked up and began cursing loudly.
“What is this place?” Yu Shi asked in a low voice.
Xie Ren pulled him closer. “It’s a residential area by day and a black market by night. Abbu said they’re very isolated here; only places like this have comms equipment that can reach the outside world.”
He took Yu Shi’s hand and pressed a combat dagger into it. Yu Shi looked down and saw it was the one his grandfather had left him.
“You should keep it,” Yu Shi said.
“My fists are enough.” Xie Ren squeezed his hand, his tone playful. “This is a family heirloom, you know—only for the Xie family’s daughter-in-law. Don’t go losing it.”
Losing a particle dagger would require being hit by an artillery shell.
Yu Shi ignored the teasing and silently tucked the dagger into his waistband.
They walked through the alley to an ironmonger’s shop. The owner was an Alpha stripped to the waist. Abbu spoke a few words to him, and the man began to study Yu Shi with a lewd, lingering gaze, a crude smile spreading across his face.
He asked Abbu, “How much for this Omega?”
Abbu quickly waved his hands. “He’s my guest! He isn’t for sale!”
Xie Ren cracked his knuckles, the sound sharp in the air. “Look at him one more time, and I’ll end you,” he snarled.
The owner didn’t understand the words, but he understood the dark ferocity in Xie Ren’s eyes. He immediately put up his hands in a fake gesture of innocence and pointed toward the back room.
Abbu beckoned them inside. There, they found an ancient comms device.
It was a piece of technology from over a century ago, the size of an optical computer. It required manual cranking and a series of transfers to make a call.
Xie Ren dialed the tower, and after several transfers, he finally reached the communications department of the Falcon Regiment unit stationed in the Ninth Zone.
The downside was that this equipment couldn’t connect to other zones.
Ten minutes later, he stepped out. Yu Shi asked, “Well? Did you get through?”
Xie Ren said with a headache, “I got through, but an emergency conflict has broken out over there. It’ll be about a week before they can come pick us up. To make matters worse, that idiot Li Zheng just left the Ninth Zone. I told them to contact headquarters, but they said comms are currently down. The Ninth Zone can’t reach the other zones.”
“Then we have no choice but to wait,” Yu Shi said.
Xie Ren’s brow remained furrowed. “I don’t want you sleeping in that storage room. Maybe I should ask around for some temporary work so I can earn enough to get us a room in an inn.”
Yu Shi chuckled. “I’m not as picky as you think. I’ve been to the front lines before. Rather than working here where our safety isn’t guaranteed, I’d rather go back and help Abbu with some farm work.”
Xie Ren thought about it and nodded. “Human trafficking is legal here. You’re right—the countryside is safer.”
After returning to Abbu’s house, Xie Ren explained the situation.
Anna looked embarrassed, saying it wasn’t right to take their money and make them work. she tried to refuse, insisting they just stay as guests.
Yu Shi saw her sincerity and made a proposal. “How about this: tell us what needs to be done every day, and we’ll lend a hand. It’s no trouble.”
Anna thought for a moment. “Well, from Monday to Wednesday, I have to go to the factory. I take the boys to school in the morning and carry my daughter with me. Today is Sunday, and I have to go help at the farm with the milking. Our family is minding five sheep for the farm owner; we have to graze them, feed the chickens, cut fodder, weed the fields, and cook.”
Xie Ren’s mouth twitched. “That’s a lot of work. Life isn’t easy.”
Anna smiled. “If you’re truly willing to help, I would be very grateful.”
Abbu returned to the factory after dropping them off, and the two began to divide the chores. Yu Shi helped Anna with the kids, the vegetables, and the chickens, while Xie Ren went to graze the sheep and weed the fields.
Before leaving, Xie Ren gave one last piece of worried advice: “Just help with washing the vegetables. Don’t touch the knife. The way you handle it, you’ll cut yourself and we’ll have to hunt for a medical station. There’s no place to get a tetanus shot here.”
Yu Shi threatened him with the vegetable knife. “I can slice you as smoothly as I slice these vegetables, believe it or not.”
Xie Ren laughed and drove off on the tractor. He was a natural with any vehicle and had learned how to operate it in just two glances.
Anna watched them, smiling as she fed her daughter. “The two of you have such a deep bond. No wonder you eloped.”
Yu Shi slowly chopped a carrot, sounding unnatural. “We’re alright. It’s nothing special.”
Anna’s curiosity was piqued. “Xiao Yu, you look younger than Xiao Ren. How are you his teacher?”
These were the names Xie Ren had fabricated: Xiao Yu and Xiao Ren.
Yu Shi’s lips curved into a smile. “Actually, I’m a year older than him. I started school early and entered the workforce relatively young. He’s just a brat.”
Anna chuckled. “So what did you see in him?”
This question truly stumped Yu Shi. He couldn’t very well follow Xie Ren’s lead and claim he liked the man’s physical strength and farming potential; that sounded indecent.
He thought seriously for a moment. “Don’t let his behavior on the surface fool you. In reality, he’s a dedicated and pure-hearted person. He doesn’t have a devious bone in his body. He’s upright, kind, and incredibly responsible in everything he does. He’s someone who can shoulder the weight of a family.”
Anna smiled. “Those are qualities you only find through spending time together. But what was it that made you realize you liked him?”
Yu Shi’s hand paused on the knife. “…Maybe it’s because he’s like a beam of sunlight. In a terrible situation, he makes me see something that I can actually call hope.”
“Have you ever been in a terrible situation? I thought teachers were the ones who illuminated others,” Anna said. she enjoyed reading Common-language books and sometimes spoke with an unintentional touch of poetic flair.
Yu Shi smiled. “Sometimes the one who illuminates others needs to be illuminated themselves.”
He helped Anna all morning. After lunch, he went to bring food to Xie Ren.
The field was by the lake, and he had to cross a small stream. Fearing he would soak his shoes and socks, Yu Shi took them off and walked across barefoot. the water was cool, and the grass and mud were soft beneath his feet—an incredibly pleasant sensation.
From a distance, he saw Xie Ren sitting under the shade of a tree, tinkering with something. The midday sun was intense, and the man had stripped down to a tank top, revealing the tight, firm lines of his shoulders and back. Sweat glistened on his wheat-colored skin, and the scent of peppermint alcohol drifted on the breeze.
“What’s that tattoo on your back?” Yu Shi asked as he approached.
Xie Ren, focused on his carving, jumped in fright. The tool nearly slipped and poked his palm.
“Where did you come from? You’re like a ghost,” he said.
Yu Shi placed the food container at his feet. “Your hearing is just deteriorating. Here, your lunch.”
Xie Ren followed the line of his gaze down to Yu Shi’s feet. The snowy-white skin was stained with mud, making the contrast startlingly bright. The toes were rounded and perfect, glowing with a healthy pink hue.
What a provocative pair of feet.
His breath hitched. “Can’t you wear your shoes properly?” he snapped. “What if you step on a nail?”
The words were meant to be caring, but his temper was high, making it sound like a lecture.
Yu Shi snapped back, annoyed, “There are no nails in the grass. I’ll walk how I want; leave me alone.”
Xie Ren opened the container gloomily. Inside was bread, sheep’s milk, and carrots.
He held up a carrot stick of uneven thickness. “What is this? One look and I know you cut it. You’re a top-tier researcher whose hands don’t even shake during experiments, yet you can’t even handle a vegetable? I told you not to do it, but you just had to insist…”
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