Chapter 12: 12

After the talk in the study room, Ye Ci didn’t know whether he had been influenced by it or was simply frightened of the phrase “move into my room to sleep.’ Not only did his work and rest routine become comparable to that of a robot, but he also followed Huo Tinglan’s instructions to set a medication reminder on his cell phone, and obediently followed the doctor’s orders to take his medicine.

The symptoms of reproductive cavity development had been relieved a lot. A few days had passed without a sign of fever, but there was still a subtle soreness in his lower abdomen. Although it seemed to be nothing, as soon as Ye Ci thought about what it was, he immediately fell apart and clenched his fists.

“. . . . Do you have a lot of homework today?”

Huo Tinglan held a folder, looking through the thick stack of different-sized lists inside, and asked this a bit nonchalantly.

“Quite a lot. I’ll write half of it today.” Friday plus two days on the weekend, a three-day workload was not ideal. Ye Ci took out his school bag and inadvertently glanced at the folder in Huo Tinglan’s hand.

Perhaps it was because he had accompanied Ye Hongjun to the hospital for so many appointments, but he felt that the paper Huo Tinglan was holding was a bit like a hospital medical report.

However, before he could take a closer look, Huo Tinglan had already closed the folder and set it aside, saying in an understated tone: “I had someone put something by your bedside, you can take some time to have a look at it.”

“En,” Ye Ci responded. Unable to hide his curiosity, he put his homework in order and went back to the bedroom to check.

In the room, there was a book beside his pillow.

Perhaps to avoid unintentional snooping by servants, the book cover was wrapped in solid kraft paper, its surface blank.

Ye Ci became more and more curious, picked up a book, and opened it unpreparedly. He glanced at the table of contents and blood rushed to his face.

This was actually an Omega-exclusive sex education book.

Like an encyclopedia, it was exhaustive and comprehensive.

“The first symptoms of an Omega’s fever,” “Self-protection during an Omega’s fever,” “Body structure changes brought about by the fever period,” “Precautions to take for the first fever.” These chapter titles had blue-black pen marks in front of them – – four little checkmarks.

– – Huo Tinglan had read this book and helped him identify the key points.

Ye Ci bit his lips white.

Like a red-hot slap to the chest, the secrets and shame in his heart evaporated into white steam.

After just flipping through the pages of the book, he was so embarrassed that his neck was flushed red.

In fact, he had never been able to accept his secondary differentiated glandular sex.

The sudden transformation from an Alpha, which symbolized strength and leadership, to the “soft and delicate” stereotype of an Omega, had caused a lingering sense of shame and displacement.

It was fine not to mention these things during ordinary times. He could deceive himself and pretend that there was no difference between being an Omega and being an Alpha. Once forced to face reality, he . . . .

In a daze, he turned another page.

There was one more pen-drawn “X” on the table of contents page. The title was “The Omega’s Character Guidance and Shaping.”

For some reason, Ye Ci first turned to the page marked with the X and glanced at it.

The content of this page contained mostly cliched advice like, “An Omega’s character is gentle, considerate, and demure,” and so on. Above the page number were two sharp and handsome penned characters.

– – Don’t read.

“. . . . . .”

Ye Ci turned another page.

– – Still reading.

It was like finding hidden easter eggs.

The corners of Ye Ci’s lips curved in amusement.

Aside from these two pages, most of the titles with a few sporadic X marks in the table of contents were in this pedantic style that made Ye Ci so annoyed that he wanted to tear up the book.

Huo Tinglan actually screened the book for him in advance. His work was obviously so busy, but he still took such responsibility . . . .

Ye Ci lightly sighed.

That small ball of warmth behind his ribcage reappeared, and the bridge of his nose went faintly tight.

He settled down and took a cigarette out of his pocket, lit it, and took a familiar drag from the filter.

After smoking more than half his cigarettes, he put out the butts, opened the pages that had been checked off, and bravely browsed through them.

. . . . . .

After mentally preparing himself, it was half an hour later that Ye Ci returned to the study.

Beside him at the desk, Huo Tinglan concentrated on his work and didn’t say a word.

Fearing that Huo Tinglan would ask him about his reading experience, Ye Ci stared straight at his paper but watched him out of the corner of his eye, feeling Huo Tinglan’s movements with his whole body.

After a stalemate, Ye Ci became more and more uncomfortable.

He felt that Huo Tinglan was staring at him.

Another illusion?

Ye Ci tilted his head stiffly, eyes flickering, and glanced at Huo Tinglan very quickly.

Huo Tinglan rested his chin on one hand leisurely, and caught his glance like a rabbit.

“. . . . . .”

Huo Tinglan was really staring at him.

After a moment of silence, Ye Ci retracted his eyes in shock. After hesitating, he glanced again.

Huo Tinglan’s lips curled into a cat-like smile, and he asked knowingly: “Why aren’t you concentrating . . . . do I have words on my face?”

“No, no words.” Ye Ci lowered his head down with a swoosh to read a question.

“Did you read the book?” Huo Tinglan asked to confirm.

“Uh, hm . . . .” Ye Ci answered vaguely.

He wanted to read it and insisted on reading a few pages. The problem was that the popular science book was too detailed. Not only were there detailed descriptions of Omega-exclusive organs, but even cross-sectional drawings and a description of permanent marking. He was so used to being an Alpha that he even took Physiology and Hygiene classes separately from Omegas when he was in junior high school. Not as full of yellow crap[1] as some teenage alphas, the more he read, the more he blushed. Words like “knot,” “cavity,” and “lifetime mark” scorched his retinas.

He estimated that the yellow book[2] was also like that.

He didn’t finish reading it.

Huo-shushu’s good intentions were wasted, and he stuffed the book into the bedside table with guilt and shame.

The atmosphere was awkward. Ye Ci was anxious to take the lid off the topic, and consciously told a small lie: “I, I finished reading.”

“Oh.” Huo Tinglan saw through it and smiled, but didn’t expose it.

He could almost picture Ye Ci’s mental journey in this short half hour.

His young lover was too pure and innocent.

That pure innocence made him . . . . ache.

It seemed that his science education still had to wait until the future.

“By the way, there is something I want to discuss with you.” Huo Tinglan stopped before going too far, and changed the subject. “You know, in name, we’ve been married for more than a month, and my mother is a little anxious . . . .”

Ye Ci was immediately tense, his eyes wide and vigilant.

The phrase, “we’ve been married . . . .”

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Huo Tinglan’s mother was anxious . . . .

She wanted to urge, urge them to what?!

Ye Ci: “ ! ”

Before Huo Tinglan finished speaking, Ye Ci’s vigilance had turned into a pupil earthquake![3]

“. . . . Because we’ve never had a wedding, she plans to hold a simple family banquet, and the Huo and Chu families would get together for a meal. It could be regarded as a concession to the elders on both sides.” Huo Tinglan pondered Ye Ci’s demeanor while talking and endured, but couldn’t resist. Half in disbelief and half teasing, he asked, “Where did you think about going just now?”

“I didn’t, didn’t think that.” Ye Ci was afraid of spilling the beans, so he readily said, “I can do a banquet, no problem.”

Since getting married, all Huo Tinglan needed him to cooperate with was just a meal between the two families. Of course he wouldn’t refuse.

Ye Ci agreed straightforwardly, but the Huo family was a big family. No matter how small the family banquet was, there were still dozens of people, plus the people from the second branch of the Chu family who would attend . . . . there was no room for sloppy preparations in this last half of the month.

Huo Tinglan pondered for a moment, and said: “When you are free this weekend, I’ll take you to get formalwear for the family banquet.”

Ye Ci thought about the outfits in his closet – sportswear, sweaters, jeans. He really couldn’t wear those to the banquet, so he just nodded in agreement.

The next Saturday, Huo Tinglan took him to an artisan tailor shop. It was a time-honored brand, passed down from grandfather to grandson. Since its establishment in 1913, after years of turmoil, it was still stationed in a quiet and archaic site. The small two-story western-style building used as a storefront had a century-old history, and the courtyard gate was half-hidden behind lush sycamore trees. Disdainful of publicity, they only received familiar old customers, demonstrating a stubborn, aristocratic aloofness.

This was the first time Ye Ci had visited such a place. In his previous impressions, a tailor shop was a thing abandoned by the times, usually opened in a crowded downtown area, where people would change their clothes to be larger or smaller, or have buttons and zippers sewn on. He never knew there was such a tailor shop as this.

He cooperated with the shop owner to have his measurements taken, and sat on a soft velvet sofa while listening to the conversation going on beside him, almost suspecting that this was a black shop[4] – there were tens of thousands of pieces of fabric, and the price of a set of clothes was enough for him to have to race for a month. He fidgeted like there was an open flame under his ass, trying to speak, and was afraid that he would have to intercede with Huo Tinglan in public. He finally got the chance after the shop owner left temporarily. Wringing his fingers in embarrassment, he whispered: “Huo-shushu, there’s no need . . . . this is too expensive.”

Huo Tinglan stood leisurely in front of the sofa with his hands in his pockets. He swept his eyes toward him when he heard this, and his tone was calm: “I don’t think it’s expensive, that kind of material suits you well.” After a pause, he said apologetically: “We’ve been married for more than a month, but I never thought to bring you out to buy you something. I hadn’t thought about it. If you refuse again . . . . I will feel that you are blaming me in your heart.”

‘Buy you something.’ Such intimate wording narrowed the distance between them automatically. Ye Ci was young, after all, and couldn’t handle it. His lips moved a few times, and he only denied: “I . . . . won’t blame you.”

Huo Tinglan tried to figure out his approach: “I’m taking you out to buy clothes, so you shouldn’t still want to pay me back.”

Ye Ci didn’t say anything, as if in tacit admission.

He was most afraid of being gratuitously favored by someone. Naturally, he was embarrassed to have such expensive clothes by relying on someone else’s charity.

Huo Tinglan was quiet for a moment, afraid of hurting his self-esteem, and teased softly: “I gave you a lot of lectures last night. Did I ask you to pay a tutoring fee?”

Ye Ci shook his head a few times: “No, that’s not what I meant.”

“ – It’s the same thing.” Huo Tinglan calmly herded him into his own territory: “Two people living together after marriage – if every account has to be calculated clearly, how is it any different from being roommates?”

A business marriage without an emotional foundation was indeed not much different from being roommates . . . . Ye Ci was dazed by Huo Tinglan, and wanted to refute, but the shopkeeper had already returned with several large books.

Huo Tinglan didn’t spend much time looking, and with an idle appearance, he discussed the style with the shopkeeper in a low voice and finalized the details: Lapel style, hidden pockets, clothing slits, the choice of buttons, even “dressing to the left or right”[5] . . . . he usually left these trivial matters to Uncle He to worry about, but this was Ye Ci’s first formal suit after the age of eighteen, which was of great significance. In the last life, he failed to shelter Ye Ci from the wind and rain when he needed him the most. In this life, he naturally wanted to hold this person in the palm of his hand, pamper him, and take care of him properly. It was only that Ye Ci was still estranged from him, and he didn’t dare go too far. He had to make excuses when ordering a few sets of clothes, otherwise . . . .

Ye Ci looked at them for a while, but couldn’t intervene, and sat awkwardly on the sofa, using tea and refills to cover up his uneasiness at being cared for by others.

He had never experienced concern and care from a mature man. It was different from Ye Hongjun’s maternal love, and was a missing link in his upbringing.

His whole body was softened by the warmth, and gradually, he became less insistent on “drawing a line with Huo-shushu.” Huo Tinglan even whispered, “It’s okay,” when he was asked for his design opinions on some details.

“Anything will do,” Huo Tinglan said with a confident attitude. “Just listen to me.”

“. . . . En.”

Huo Tinglan turned his face calmly and glanced at Ye Ci.

His red ears were soft, and his expression was obedient.

Turning back before Ye Ci could notice his gaze, the corners of his lips lifted slightly.

. . . . . . 

It was a rare opportunity for Huo Tinglan to buy clothes for Ye Ci, and he ordered a lot in one go, filling the three-month schedule of the old shop owner. He purchased a special expedited service for the formal clothes to be worn at the family banquet, to have them made in a few days.

On this day, he took Ye Ci to try on the clothes. Knowing that the customer was an Omega, the shop owner avoided opening the dark red velvet curtain, and Huo Tinglan stood alone outside of it.

The expensive fabric rubbed together to make a pleasant sound, and Ye Ci fiddled with it for a while before suddenly opening the curtain a crack. Thin white fingers grasped a mess of black elastic cloth, and he hesitantly asked: “Huo-shushu, what, what is this?

Huo Tinglan maintained a dignified restraint. With a brief glance, he said: “It’s a shirt clip to prevent the shirt from slipping up.”

He, who had long been wearing formal clothes as naturally as if they were a second skin, had no habit of using shirt clips, but the owner of the shop was very thoughtful. Likely because Ye Ci was young, didn’t often wear formal clothes, and was a lively and active young man, he had prepared two.

Ye Ci was still confused and asked: “How do I wear it?”

Huo Tinglan turned his head and looked at the dark red gap in the dressing room curtain. Perhaps because of the static electricity when he took off his sweater, Ye Ci’s black hair was so disheveled that it was thought-provoking. The collar of his shirt was not buttoned tightly, and the vanilla scent of pheromones was getting sweeter in the diminutive dressing room, warmly pouring through the gap . . . .

Huo Tinglan was afraid that his eyes would reveal his secret, so he didn’t give himself a chance to look down at that neckline. He raised his hand and pulled the door curtain, covering the ambiguous gap.

“One goes on each side.” He closed his eyes and kept his composure. “Attach it to the leg band and pull the cloth strip with the metal buckle up to clamp the hem of the shirt.”

“. . . . En.” Ye Ci retracted his hand and fiddled with his shirt clip awkwardly.

The atmosphere outside the curtain was heavy.

Huo Tinglan fiddled with his cufflinks, thinking.

Ye Ci was not the same as he was more than a month ago.

It could be seen that his guard had been lowered a lot, probably because his good shushu wore his mask too well. Ye Ci had already welded labels such as “gentleman” and “noble” to him, and was sure that he wouldn’t have any crooked thoughts about him.

For better or for worse.

It was good to have a closer relationship, but he was afraid that Ye Ci would be accustomed to his role as an honest caregiver and guardian, and reject him with, “You’re a good person, but . . . .”

Once familial affection was formed, it was not easy to reverse it.

At this time, there was a “pa” sound from behind the curtain.

It was the slight sound of an elastic band on flesh, ambiguous and seductive.

The sound reminded him of the night Ye Ci came back from the police station. Ye Ci injured his ankle in a fight with someone, and he knelt down on one knee to check the injury, afraid that Ye Ci would step on the ground with his injured foot. He anxiously reached out to grasp it, but he couldn’t help but be unwilling to let go.

That grip was their only physical contact since they’d gotten married, and he couldn’t help but reminisce about it.

Those slender legs not lacking in strength, tough and lanky like a gazelle. He could feel the vigorous youth and vitality under that skin.

If such a pair of legs were restrained by the elastic band, no matter how firm the muscles were, they would inevitably be tightly bound . . . . 

Forget it.

After thinking about it but not being able to do anything, he was tortured in vain.

Huo Tinglan ridiculed those few colorful thoughts with self-deprecation.

The Alpha glands on the back of his neck were agitated again.

His susceptible period had been delayed by more than a month through pheromone pacification, and was almost reaching its limit . . . .

Ye Ci’s “you are very good” . . . . he couldn’t bear it. He didn’t want to bear it anymore.

[1] Yellow crap, 黄色废料, means having sex on the mind all the time. ⮐

[2] Yellow book, 黄书, means erotic literature. ⮐

[3] A pupil earthquake, 瞳孔地震, is an expression of extreme shock. There is also an emoticon for it: ( ; ; @ ) ⮐

[4] Black shop, 黑店, is an unscrupulous business, perhaps a front for something illegal. ⮐

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