“Are you ever going to stop? I’m begging you to stay still and let me sleep for a bit.” The Alpha’s voice was hoarse, thick with a heavy sense of grievance. The warm breath he exhaled brushed against the back of Ji Xingjian’s ear, making him shudder involuntarily.
The warmth coming from behind, along with the weight resting on his waist and legs, made Ji Xingjian realize with absolute certainty that this was not a dream. He was indeed lying in an Alpha’s arms.
What made Ji Xingjian’s heart race even faster was the faint sensation of something pressing against him.
True to Murphy’s Law, whatever you fear most happens. Although he knew this was a natural physiological reaction every adult male experienced in the morning, Ji Xingjian still felt awkward and embarrassed, completely clueless about how to face Huo Chengye. Due to excessive tension, the tip of his nose began to sweat.
However, Ji Xingjian’s primary concern right now was what had happened last night. Judging by Huo Chengye’s tone, it sounded as though he had been tossed around all night long.
He carefully lifted a corner of the blanket and peeked inside nervously. Fortunately, his pajamas were completely intact on his body, and he felt no soreness or aches. Presumably, things had not progressed to an irretrievable point.
Confirming this, Ji Xingjian carried out some self-consolation while secretly taking deep breaths. This was his house; he could sleep wherever he wanted. So what if he sleepwalked? It was not against the law. He just needed to explain clearly to the Alpha, and there was nothing to panic about. Relax, face it bravely. Xiao Ye was outside anyway; worst case scenario, he would unleash the dog to bite people.
Huo Chengye showed no signs of waking up, pressing his chin against Ji Xingjian’s shoulder socket and rubbing against it. At the same time, the leg he had draped over Ji Xingjian gave a light hook, pulling the other person closer to him so that their body curves fit together perfectly.
Ji Xingjian’s face turned beet red. Compared to sleepwalking, his current situation was obviously much worse.
When an Alpha is in a bad mood, they typically release pheromones unconsciously. Just like right now, Huo Chengye felt annoyed because Ji Xingjian kept tossing around and disturbing his sleep, causing his pheromones to leak. A faint scent of tequila drifted through the air.
Before the hotel incident, this level of pheromone concentration would not have had any effect on Ji Xingjian, let alone induce heat. But since he and Huo Chengye had already done it once and not much time had passed, Huo Chengye’s pheromones seemed to still linger within his body.
Therefore, facing the owner of those pheromones, even though Ji Xingjian was an inferior Omega, there was still a possibility of having his desires stirred up.
Due to tension and psychological suggestion, Ji Xingjian’s body showed subtle signs of growing warm. Huo Chengye’s body temperature seemed even higher than his own, and the thin pajamas could not block the transfer of heat at all, leaving Ji Xingjian unable to tell whether his rising temperature was his own change or caused by Huo Chengye.
Regaining his composure, Ji Xingjian began to think. Should he sneak away now and pretend nothing had happened, or keep lying here as if he had never woken up? It was a difficult choice.
While he was weighing both options, the Huo Chengye behind him suddenly moved. The arm previously wrapped around his waist lifted up, seemingly intending to let go of him.
Ji Xingjian felt a flicker of quiet joy; perhaps he could use this opportunity to slip away. Unfortunately, before he could celebrate for even a few seconds, Huo Chengye’s arm came right back down, his palm landing uncomfortably close to Ji Xingjian’s lower abdomen.
Although he was an Omega, his primary sex characteristics were male, meaning he experienced all the normal physiological responses.
Even a mosquito’s leg is meat, and though Ji Xingjian could not compare to Huo Chengye, he could still feel it.
Huo Chengye unconsciously stroked Ji Xingjian’s flat lower abdomen, with a subtle tendency to slide further downward.
Ji Xingjian’s blood instantly surged and his head felt like it was about to smoke. He could not endure it any longer; hardening his resolve, he jabbed his elbow back to wake the Alpha up.
Half-asleep, Huo Chengye assumed Ji Xingjian was still in a sleepwalking state and resorted to his previous tactic, imprisoning him once more.
After struggling with all his might to no avail, a furious Ji Xingjian hissed in a low voice, “Huo Chengye, let me go!”
“Huh?” Huo Chengye instinctively frowned, processing it for several seconds before laboringly opening one eye. The curtains had excellent blackout properties, leaving the room dim. He thought it was still pitch black outside. “Do people who sleepwalk talk?”
Anxious and annoyed, Ji Xingjian fought down the urge to curse out loud. “I am awake, and I will not run around anymore. You can let me go now.”
“Oh.” Huo Chengye closed his eyes again, burying his nose against Ji Xingjian’s shoulder to take a deep breath. His voice suppressed a wave of impatience. “I am not awake yet. You tossed and turned all night, and I finally managed to fall asleep. Do not disturb me; I have morning crankiness.”
Noticing that the scent of tequila in the air had grown thicker, Ji Xingjian’s eyelashes fluttered uncontrollably, cutting his momentum in half. “Let go of me so I can go outside, then I will not disturb your sleep anymore.”
Huo Chengye let out a cold hum. “Not letting go. You brought this upon yourself. Besides, holding you feels quite comfortable.”
Ji Xingjian remembered that yesterday Huo Chengye had said he was too thin and felt all bony to hold, so which statement was actually true?
Wait, he almost got thrown off track.
Nervously licking his lips, Ji Xingjian offered a dry, defensive argument. “I reminded you to lock the door when sleeping. You were the one who did not lock it.” So it was not his fault.
Huo Chengye let out a yawn. “I did lock it, but it still could not stop you.”
“No way. The door lock is not broken, and I do not know how to pick a lock.” Ji Xingjian muttered under his breath, clearly refusing to believe Huo Chengye’s words.
Opening his eyes, Huo Chengye spoke in a leisurely tone, “Professor Ji, did you forget that you have a key?”
Ji Xingjian said, “Right, I have a key. How did I forget about that?”
“At first, I thought Xiaoye was just wandering around outside the door, but it turned out to be you. When your first attempt to open the door failed, you actually went back to grab your key. You are quite smart, aren’t you?”
This was clearly just common sense, Ji Xingjian silently retorted.
“After coming inside, you even knew how to turn on the lights. When you got cold, you tried to steal my blanket, going back and forth all night and exploring every single nook and cranny.” Huo Chengye’s low voice methodically listed every crime Ji Xingjian had committed last night.
Ji Xingjian bit his lower lip tightly, not daring to make a sound. Huo Chengye’s words lingered in his ears, conjuring up vivid mental images of the scene. It was utterly mortifying, making his toes curl in embarrassment and his hands grip tightly. Please, let the world end right now.
“I remember you tucked the key into your pocket. Which pocket was it again?” As he spoke, Huo Chengye’s large hand began groping around Ji Xingjian’s body.
Regaining his wits, Ji Xingjian tried to block the Alpha’s actions. His lack of cooperation only made Huo Chengye, whose mood was already sour, even more irritated. With a swift roll, Huo Chengye pinned him directly beneath his body, using one hand to restrain both of Ji Xingjian’s wrists while sliding his other hand toward Ji Xingjian’s pants pocket.
“Not this side, it must be in the pocket on the other side.” Switching hands, Huo Chengye leaned down.