She was so close that Shiye could kiss her cheek with just a slight tilt of his head or wrap his arms around her waist with a mere lift of his hand.
In a secluded corner behind the apartment building, the dim light was partially blocked by pine trees, ensuring no one would notice the two of them. An intense, uncontrollable impulse surged within Shiye’s heart, a desire to hold her tightly.
But he was more afraid of scaring the omega again with his rash actions.
His hands, which hung by his sides, tightly gripped his pants as he struggled to suppress his impulse. His mind, however, was already captivated by what the omega had said.
Seeing him nod cautiously, Xiaomai rolled her eyes and took a step back, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she pouted. "I’m not just some random omega."
“I never saw you as just any random omega!”
Shiye quickly moved in front of her again, stammering slightly in his anxiousness: “Maybe we haven’t known each other long enough, and most of what I know comes from what Jiang Chicheng said, but I have a pretty good reputation. I’m not the kind of frivolous guy you think I am. What happened in the kitchen today... I lost my mind, and I offended you, but... but I’ve never liked anyone this much before. If you don’t believe me, we can take it slow. What I mean is… can I pursue you, please?”
As soon as he finished, he wanted to bite his own tongue. How could he blurt out such a confession-like statement so clumsily, standing here in pajamas and slippers, without even a bouquet of flowers? Other guys at least set up heart-shaped candles and wear flashy shoes, dancing to background music when confessing.
On one hand, he felt there was no way she’d agree, but on the other, he couldn’t help but look at her with hope, thinking, Even a smile would be good.
As expected, Xiaomai pouted. "I haven’t even forgiven you, and here you are saying all this. Why are you eyeing someone else when you already have me?"
Shiye’s heart sank, and he scratched his head awkwardly. "Sorry, I was too hasty. I don’t even know what I’m saying. If what I said upset you, just forget I ever said it…"
“Xiaoye-ge.” Xiaomai suddenly interrupted him, her voice soft.
“Huh? Yes?”
Shiye looked up, his heart, which had just been doused in cold water, now lighting up like fireworks because of her tone.
“I’m feeling a bit cold.”
Just then, a cool breeze blew, and Shiye quickly shook out the jacket draped over his arm and placed it over her shoulders.
In doing so, they inevitably stood very close, and suddenly, Xiaomai tilted her head, letting her soft cheek rest against his shoulder.
Her warm breath brushed against his neck, and her fragrant scent filled his nose.
It felt like his brain had been struck by a hammer, sending tingles through his scalp. He froze in the position of draping the jacket over her, not daring to move an inch.
After a while, he heard Xiaomai awkwardly speak: “Since you gave me your jacket, I’ll forgive you for the kitchen incident. But from now on, don’t even think about me making popcorn for you ever again.”
Hearing this, Shiye was so overjoyed that he nearly wanted to pick her up and spin her around. He crouched down to zip up her jacket, coaxing her back inside for dinner. Xiaomai, true to her word, had really forgiven him. At the dinner table, she smiled at him as usual, even feeding him with her chopsticks when she noticed his left hand was uncomfortable.
On the surface, everything between them seemed the same as usual, but after the earlier incident, an ambiguous tension had begun to take root between them, growing quickly.
—
Jiang Chicheng returned to his hotel and sent Shiye a message letting him know he’d arrived home safely. He then happily took a hot shower and started making phone calls while drying his hair.
After calling his dad five or six times without any answer—probably blocked—he switched to calling the house landline. This time, it connected on the first ring.
The person who answered was Wang Ma, the housekeeper. Ever since Jiang Chicheng was brought back home, Wang Ma had taken care of all his needs. Knowing how he’d struggled for more than a decade, she pitied him so much that she wished she could even put his shoes on for him.
Hearing his voice, Wang Ma was beyond excited. Ever since he had fallen out with his father and moved out, she had constantly worried about whether he was eating or dressing warmly enough, and now she peppered him with questions.
Jiang Chicheng exaggerated his misfortunes: “I’m lucky if I get to eat in the cafeteria; I barely have time to go out for a good meal. If it weren’t for my buddy offering me a place to crash, I’d probably be sleeping on the streets right now... Winter’s coming, and even the cheapest down jacket on Pinduoduo costs 300 yuan. My scholarship went entirely to tuition. I’m still a student; where would I get any money? It’s not that I don’t wear thermal underwear, I just can’t bear to buy it. And lately, I’ve been craving meat on the weekends…”
“Who is it?” A slightly low, cool voice interrupted from the other end. It was his father.
“It’s the young master,” Wang Ma replied.
She must have put the call on speaker, because his father heard everything Jiang Chicheng had said and let out a heavy grunt: “I warned you that medicine is tough. Not only is the pay low, but the training takes years. You deserve it!”
“Wang Ma, is that my dad? I want to say a few words to him.”
After a moment, he heard footsteps approaching, and a cold voice, tinged with restrained anger, spoke: “Hello?”
“Dad.”
When they had their falling out, Jiang Chi had sworn never to call him “Dad” again, but now the word rolled off his tongue effortlessly.
Xiao Yao grunted in acknowledgment. “If you’ve got something to say, say it. If you need money, forget it.”
Jiang Chi rubbed his nose and spoke softly: “I’m not asking for money, but winter’s almost here. You know my hands didn’t heal properly when I was a kid, and if I’m not careful, I get chilblains in the winter... I’m not worried about the blisters and pus, but I have to perform surgeries. If I get wounds on my hands, the risk of exposure is high… I don’t want to be a bother, but at the very least, I need to pay for heating. I’m thinking about finding a part-time job, but I don’t have time after working until ten every day. I heard there’s a subsidiary of Sifen in Yuancheng... Dad, you don’t want me to be in danger, do you?”
He knew that as soon as he mentioned his childhood, his father would soften.
Xiao Yao frowned and interrupted him: “What nonsense are you spouting? You’ve got a sharp tongue!”
Jiang Chicheng pursed his lips, staying silent and waiting.
Sure enough, after a brief pause, Xiao Yao sighed in compromise. “I’ll arrange something tomorrow. But if you keep talking like that, don’t blame me if I slap you when we meet next.”
Jiang Chicheng smiled. “Thanks, Dad. That’s all, take care of yourself.” He was about to hang up when his father spoke again.
“Wait.”
“…”
“Your susceptible period is coming soon, isn’t it?” Xiao Yao’s voice now carried a note of concern.
“Mm.”
“Are you feeling unwell?”
“Not yet.”
“Okay. What are your plans this time?”
Jiang Chicheng heard the sound of a lighter flicking. His father must not be around; otherwise, he’d never be allowed to smoke.
“What else can I do? I’ll just lie low.”
Not wanting to hear his father nag, Jiang Chi quickly changed the subject: “There’s some good news. The person I like got into Nanhu University.”
“The person you like?” His father’s tone noticeably lightened, even a bit excited. He fired off questions: “That’s great! Which omega’s family are they from? Are you two dating? Our family’s well-off, so we don’t care about matching social status. As long as they’re sincere, I’ll accept them. Will they be with you during your susceptible period? When can you bring them home?”
Jiang Chicheng rubbed his nose again, speaking softly: “It’s a beta. And I haven’t caught them yet.”
“A beta?”
“Mm.”
There was a long silence, followed by a deep drag of his father’s cigarette. “You haven’t caught them yet? Do they like alphas? Can they handle you?”
Jiang Chicheng was displeased. Why would anyone start by doubting their own son?
He plucked at the leaves of the plant on the windowsill and muttered: “They agreed to be with me during my susceptible period.”
His father let out a cold laugh. “Ha, do you have any idea what you’re like during that time? What can a beta do for you? Can they soothe your pheromones or let you mark them? Even if they let you mark them, it’s seven days. What if they can’t handle it and run? Then what?”
“They won’t leave me. They’re not that kind of person.”
“He’s a beta; betas will only bring you more pain!”
“If I like him, I won’t feel pain.”
“It’s precisely because you like him that you’ll feel pain!”
Jiang Chicheng fell silent for a moment: “I don’t believe it.”
“AB relationships don’t have a good outcome. There are so many bloody facts laid out; how can you pretend not to see them? Even if you like an alpha… why do you have to like a beta?” Xiao Yao felt there was no need for further discussion. “I don’t agree; you should come home during your sensitivity period!”
Jiang Chicheng also felt there was no need for further discussion. “I’m not going home!”
After saying that, he hung up the phone. Looking down, he realized he had completely stripped the hotel plants of their leaves.
He raised his hand to touch the back of his neck, feeling a bit annoyed as he scratched his head. At that moment, his backup phone vibrated twice. Jiang Chicheng picked it up to check.
It was a photo from Shiye, showing four large bowls on the dining table, all the food eaten cleanly, with not a drop of broth left.
ShiyeBBQ: Not a single bite left!
ShiyeBBQ: [Gotcha].jpg
Then his main phone vibrated twice, receiving an identical image.
ShiyeBBQ: Bring me some digestive tablets!
ShiyeBBQ: [Gagging].jpg
Jiang Chiqing chuckled, all his earlier troubles forgotten. He flopped onto the hotel bed and began typing with both hands.
---
Xiao Yao listened to the beeping sounds from the phone and angrily slammed the receiver of the landline onto the floor. “How dare he hang up on me?!”
Wang Ma silently picked up the broken receiver.
Xiao Yao was furious, his chest heaving violently, and he turned around in place. “Wang Ma!”
Wang Ma glanced at him and advised, “The young master is still young and going through a rebellious phase. Little alphas are like this; it will get better once he gets through this stage…”
“Don’t give me that rebellious phase excuse! He’s been in this phase for five years since I brought him home at sixteen! Even the most rebellious alpha should understand by now!”
Wang Ma quietly swept the floor without saying anything. Watching him angrily turn around again, he sat down on the sofa, picked up a cigarette, then hesitated and put it down.
“Wang Ma, do you think I’m wrong? He wants to be with a beta during his sensitivity period; isn’t that nonsense? I want him to come home; isn’t that for his own good? Look at his attitude, like I’m harming him or something?!”
Wang Ma quietly replied, “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the young master liking a beta. Whether it’s a beta or omega isn’t important; as long as the young master is happy.”
“It’s not about liking or not…”
Xiao Yao propped his chin thoughtfully for a moment and then took out his phone. “No, I can’t spoil him like this.”
He scrolled through his contacts and called a reliable and tight-lipped aide at the company. To his surprise, when the call connected, Jiang Chicheng was nearby.
After he finished instructing Jiang Chicheng on work matters, he thought for a moment and asked him to hand the phone to Jiang Chizao.
Jiang Chizao took the call, her voice low and cheerful, as if coaxing someone: “Hello, Dad? What’s wrong? You sound upset. Who annoyed you?”
Xiao Yao: “Your younger brother has a crush; has he told you about it?”
Jiang Chizao’s eyes flickered, and after calculating the days, she understood and smiled knowingly. “Oh, you’re talking about that beta? I’ve met him.”
“You’ve met him? What’s he like? How far along are they in their relationship?”
“He’s quite decent; he’s not a messy person. His upbringing is good, and he’s not the money-seeking type, so you can rest assured. As for their relationship… it’s clear that he genuinely cares for that beta, but…”
“But what?”
“It seems that the beta doesn’t like alphas.”
Xiao Yao sneered: “Ha! He just told me he hasn’t pursued the beta yet. I guessed this would be the case!”
Jiang Chizao chuckled: “Dad, don’t be anxious. Is this about Jiang Chicheng’s sensitivity period? This time it’s unrequited love on your son’s part. If the beta rejects him, he might just obediently come home… Don’t worry, I’m not trying to break them up; I know what I’m doing.”
🌟 Translation Update 🌟
Hello, dear readers!
First off, thank you so much for your enthusiasm and support for this novel. It means the world to me as a translator! 😊
This story has fewer than 100 chapters, which gives me the opportunity to focus on providing you with high-quality translations. However, this also means that the translation process will be a bit slower.
I expect to complete the entire translation in about 1 month. I'm planning a mass release of all the chapters on October 28! 🎉 I hope you’re as excited as I am!
Why the slower pace?
My goal is to ensure that every chapter captures the essence of the original text. I believe that taking the time to do it right will provide you with a more enjoyable reading experience.
Support the Original Author:
If you’re eager to read ahead and can’t wait for the translations, I encourage you to support the original author by checking out the raw chapters. You can find the original text here: Read the Novel Here.
Supporting the original work helps authors continue creating amazing stories for us to enjoy!
I really appreciate your understanding and patience as I work through this translation. If you have any questions or just want to chat, feel free to reach out! Your feedback is always welcome.
Thanks for being such a wonderful part of this journey!
Best,
Riceball07
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