With this groundwork laid, Jiang Chicheng moved out the second and fifth clauses of their agreement as soon as he got home, establishing new rules for Shiye.
1. Must carry a portable charger at all times.
2. Curfew at 8:30 PM (apply in advance for special reasons).
3. Strictly forbidden to read and not reply.
4. Strictly forbidden to hang out outside (with three or more people).
Shiye felt guilty from the start. Although he thought he was old enough and found the rules about curfews and hanging out a bit ridiculous, he gritted his teeth and agreed, until Jiang Chicheng wrote down the last rule on the tablet—
5. Strictly forbidden to talk to other omegas.
Shiye couldn’t sit still anymore: “The last rule is a bit excessive. You know what kind of person I am; there’s no need for this ‘strictly forbidden.’”
Jiang Chicheng sneered, “That’s true; I can’t control you in this regard. I should call my sister to handle it.”
“Is that what you mean? Omegas already face more injustice in society. Are you really going to make me watch them get bullied?”
Under Shiye's strong objection, they both compromised and added a restriction: within a safe social distance (1.5 meters).
Shiye found it inconvenient to shower because of the medicine he was taking. Even though Jiang Chicheng was disgusted by the messy pheromones he had picked up while hanging out, he didn’t force him to wash but urged him to change out of his clothes and throw them into the washing machine.
They had a strength class the next day, but Shiye’s fingers were swollen like radishes, so he asked the coach for a leave of absence.
After asking for leave, Shiye was pondering how to explain things to Xiaomai when she called first. His hand trembled nervously, almost dropping the phone on his face. Remembering the lesson from the night before, he didn’t dare to hesitate and quickly answered the call.
Xiaomai’s worried yet angry voice came through the receiver: “Jiang Chicheng said he hurt your hand?”
Shiye’s back stiffened. He didn’t know what Jiang Chicheng had said and didn’t dare to explain too much. He vaguely replied, “We were arguing at the time; we were a bit impulsive. Well... it was actually my own fault.”
Xiaomai scolded Jiang Chicheng again in front of him, showing concern for his injuries, and then suddenly softened her tone: “I just scolded him, and he said he knows he was wrong. He’ll take care of all the housework this month. Can you not blame him anymore?”
“I wasn’t blaming him in the first place.”
After Shiye said this, he heard a sigh of relief from the other end. She said, “Then... I’ll make chicken soup on Saturday to come see you, okay?”
Shiye jolted up: “You’re coming to my house?”
“Uh-huh, is that convenient?”
Shiye’s eyebrows and eyes lit up: “Of course! Just coming over is fine; you don’t have to bother with the chicken soup. Oh, right, my cat can do backflips! I’ll let it perform for you!”
Xiaomai smiled back at him, and they chatted about other things. The atmosphere was quite pleasant. Just as they were about to hang up, Xiaomai suddenly called out softly, “Xiaoye.”
That call was so soft it seemed like it would disperse with the wind. Shiye felt his heart tug: “What’s wrong?”
“Actually, I wasn’t very happy today.”
“Why?”
There was a long silence on the line, and Shiye could only hear her gentle breathing. He waited quietly until he heard her speak: “Because of you.”
Shiye’s heart skipped a beat. He opened his mouth, his tongue feeling tied: “I... is it because I didn’t reply to your message in time?”
“It’s not just that; it’s because you didn’t reply to me in time, but when I called, you answered quickly.”
“Xiaoye,” Xiaomai paused, her voice slightly hoarse as she desperately suppressed a sob, sounding terribly aggrieved: “I can’t help but overthink. Am I too annoying, and that’s why you didn’t reply? Will you ignore me when I call in the future, and will you take a long time to say you were busy...”
Shiye felt as if a big hand were gripping his heart, tightening a little more with each of her words.
He never expected that his subconscious actions could truly cause someone to feel such deep grievance, as Jiang Chicheng had said.
Shiye regretted it deeply, hurriedly explaining: “I didn’t mean to ignore you. I was at a classmate’s birthday party in the afternoon, and my phone ran out of battery...”
The accusations from Jiang Chicheng echoed in his ears, and he choked on his words, changing his tone: “I’m sorry; I promise this kind of thing won’t happen again.”
Shiye had always been someone who meant what he said, and his words were firm and serious.
Xiaomai smiled again: “I believe you!”
Shiye, who couldn’t sleep because his fingers were swollen and painful, found it even harder to sleep after learning that Xiaomai would come over on the weekend. Glancing at the clock, it was still not even eleven. He hugged his cat and knocked on Jiang Chicheng’s door.
Jiang Chicheng was looking at literature. Shiye wanted him to teach him how to hold hands, but Jiang Chicheng refused, saying he was being too perfunctory, and that it was too early to hold hands now. Shiye felt it was unfair. He was simply inexperienced since it was his first time pursuing an omega. After arguing for a long time, he was just about to show him his heart, and Jiang Chicheng finally relented.
Shiye moved a small round stool and sat next to him.
Jiang Chicheng’s right hand was scrolling the mouse wheel, his gold-framed glasses perched on his nose, reading literature with his left hand outstretched: “If it’s too soft, it’s submissive. If it’s too hard, it’s being a rogue. The attitude is naturally the most important. You need to find that balance... Come on, try holding my hand.”
Shiye nodded, staring at the dangling hand.
That was an alpha’s hand, with a large palm and beautiful fingers. Each finger joint was slender, and his skin, which had long been in contact with disinfectant and wrapped in sterile gloves, was whiter and more delicate than an omega’s. However, the prominent veins on the back of his hand looked quite intimidating.
Shiye had held hands with alphas before during leg stretching exercises in training, but it had always been natural. This was the first time he was doing it so deliberately.
He compared his left and right hands for a long time, as if he had just signed a contract. Finally, his left hand held Jiang Chicheng’s hand.
Jiang Chicheng’s right hand, which had been resting on the mouse wheel, paused. Beneath the cold glasses lenses, his amber eyes glanced at their joined hands and quickly looked away.
He stared at the computer screen: “What does it feel like?”
Shiye replied, “You have sweaty hands.”
Jiang Chicheng swatted his hand, then extended it again. Shiye pouted and reached out to hold his hand once more.
Jiang Chicheng asked again, “What does it feel like?”
Shiye honestly replied, “Hard, long, and warm.”
After a while, Shiye noticed that Jiang Chicheng was staring at him unblinkingly with a strange expression, a hint of a smile playing at the corners of his mouth, like a big wolf in sheep's clothing.
Shiye felt a chill run down his back. “What’s with that look?”
Jiang Chicheng withdrew his hand, which had become sweaty from being held, closed his laptop, and stood up. “Hmm, I guess it’s just not the right atmosphere.”
He walked out to the sofa, turned on the TV, and handed the remote to Shiye, allowing him to pick a movie. Meanwhile, he adjusted the air conditioning to a lower temperature and brought over a blanket.
Considering Jiang Chicheng’s right hand was inconvenient, he sat on the left, asking Shiye to sit on the right.
The day Jiang Chicheng was taken was a thunderstorm day. As a child, he would often be unable to sleep during thunderstorms, so Shiye would pull him under the blanket to watch cartoons. Outside the blanket, it was cold, but inside, it was warm.
From that time on, they unconsciously developed the habit of watching TV under the blanket.
After moving in together, they would snuggle on the sofa to watch movies, also using blankets, but they each had their own blanket. This was the first time they shared one.
Shiye chose a suspense movie. The room cooled down quickly as Jiang Chicheng was on the phone. Shiye crawled under the blanket first, and soon, thunder rolled outside, and it started to rain lightly.
After a while, the sound of the phone conversation faded, and he heard the sound of slippers moving from the left to the right before Jiang Chicheng turned off the lights with a click.
Suddenly, everything fell into darkness, with only the screen emitting a faint, glaring cold light. The space felt as if it had been compressed into a small box, leaving only the sofa and the TV.
Shiye tightened the blanket around himself. Suddenly, he felt the sofa dip beside him.
Jiang Chicheng lifted the blanket and sat down, still feeling cold from the air conditioning. Shiye, wearing a short-sleeved shirt, shivered at the chill and instinctively scooted over, sharing more of the blanket.
Jiang Chicheng leaned close to his ear and whispered, “I’ll hold your hand later.”
The warm breath brushed against his ear, ticklish and inviting. It was hard to tell if it was because Jiang Chicheng was so close or the blanket, but a faint fragrance wafted through the breeze as he leaned in.
After saying that, Jiang Chicheng straightened up. Shiye froze for a moment and replied, “Oh, okay.”
The movie began playing, and their shoulders brushed lightly, their body warmth merging under the blanket.
Shiye’s eyes were fixed on the screen, but his mind was restless. After Jiang Chicheng’s statement, he fell into silence, making it impossible to gauge what he was doing under the blanket, like a knife hanging over his neck, unsure when it might drop.
Unable to hold back, Shiye leaned over and asked, “When are you going to hold my hand?”
Jiang Chicheng replied, “Shh, don’t talk. Just watch the movie.”
Shiye pursed his lips, settling back down. The thought of being held by an alpha still made him a bit awkward, so he secretly hid his hands under his chest, tensing up and paying attention to every little movement.
A minute passed. Jiang Chicheng was still watching the movie. Three minutes passed. Jiang Chicheng was still watching the movie. Five minutes passed. Jiang Chicheng was still watching the movie. Ten minutes passed, and Shiye could no longer endure it. He even suspected that Jiang Chicheng was just playing with him, having never intended to hold his hand; it was just a tease until he couldn’t take it anymore.
The film had just reached its first climax, so Shiye decided to focus on the movie.
Finally, the person beside him calmed down. Jiang Chicheng glanced at him from the corner of his eye. Shiye was frowning, lips slightly parted, eyes glued to the screen in intense concentration. He didn’t even react when Jiang Chicheng shifted his position.
Jiang Chicheng’s hand rested by his leg. After waiting a moment, he suddenly felt the sofa cushion lightly tremble. Shiye’s hand had slid down his knee.
The first climax of the movie had just passed.
Jiang Chicheng lowered his eyelids slightly. Under the dark blanket, his fingers began to explore, gently brushing against Shiye’s fingertips.
Shiye shuddered visibly, his fingertips recoiling like startled snail antennae.
Jiang Chicheng didn’t pull back his hand or pursue it further but patiently waited.
After about a minute, the soft snail antennae cautiously revealed themselves once again.
Jiang Chicheng’s fingertips continued to explore, gently separating Shiye’s slightly pressed fingers. Gradually, they slid along the moist, soft flesh between the fingers, and whenever Shiye tried to withdraw, Jiang Chicheng held him steady until their fingers finally intertwined, soft and warm.
Jiang Chicheng narrowed his eyes, a satisfied sigh escaping his lips in his heart.
Noticing that the person beside him was as tense as a wooden plank, Jiang Chicheng couldn’t help but release a calming pheromone. His thumb rubbed over Shiye’s fingertip, and unexpectedly, this gentle touch caused Shiye to jolt, abruptly pulling his hand away and jumping off the sofa.
His heart raced in panic, eyes wide with fear as he stared at Jiang Chicheng on the sofa, his chest heaving violently.
Seeing this, Jiang Chicheng stood up and turned on the lights.
The sudden brightness made Shiye squint.
Jiang Chicheng sat on the armrest of the sofa across from him, hands tucked into his pajama pockets, maintaining a safely distanced grin as he asked, “How does it feel?”
His lazy demeanor made it seem as though the previous wave of discomfort was just an illusion.
Shiye wiped the sweat from his palms on his pants, ruffling his hair, stammering, “It feels… a bit strange. I wasn’t trying to hide; I don’t know why it felt like I was electrocuted…”
“I’m an alpha. In that kind of atmosphere, it’s normal for you to have a stress response.”
“Is it because of the pheromones?” Shiye remembered smelling them.
“That’s the calming pheromone, which can help relieve tension. I forgot that you can’t sense it.” Jiang Chicheng sat back down on the sofa, attempting to move closer to him. Once he reached a certain distance, he patted the space beside him.
Shiye instinctively sat closer. “Do I also have stress responses around omegas?”
Seeing his unguarded expression, Jiang Chicheng’s eyes curved into a smile as he gently patted Shiye’s shoulder. “It’s not related to pheromones. Your problem now is just getting used to it. The more you hold hands, the more natural it’ll feel.”
Comments