The duvet slipped down due to the large movement, leaving Huo Chengye completely exposed to the air with his broad shoulders, narrow waist, muscular build, and smooth lines, an absolute model for figure drawing.
Too bad Ji Xingjian couldn’t see it; he was lying face down on the bed with his head buried in the pillow, and the flush had already spread all the way to the tips of his ears. In the struggle, his pajamas had ridden up to his waist, exposing a small patch of his lower back.
Huo Chengye’s palm was groping around the front of Ji Xingjian’s thigh, giving it a squeeze every now and then. Anyone who knew what was going on would know he was trying to locate the key, but anyone who didn’t would think he was taking advantage of the situation.
“Found it, it’s right here.” Huo Chengye said as he slid his hand into Ji Xingjian’s pocket. “Turn a bit to the side. It’s hard for me to get it out like this.”
Ji Xingjian didn’t move, leaving Huo Chengye with no choice but to do it himself.
This was the first time Ji Xingjian felt that a bed being too soft wasn’t a good thing. Even a slight bit of pressure would sink it down, creating a gap between his body and the mattress and giving the Alpha an opening.
“You, get up, I can get it myself.” Ji Xingjian tried to negotiate with Huo Chengye.
Huo Chengye completely ignored him. Ji Xingjian felt that wherever the man’s hand touched, it felt like it caught fire, growing hotter and hotter with the heat threatening to spread everywhere.
The pocket on his pajama pants wasn’t the fixed type; it could sway back and forth.
Because he had spent the last while struggling and wriggling around, the position of the keys had shifted and they were now thoroughly pinned underneath. When Huo Chengye curled his fingers to fish out the keys, he accidentally brushed against him.
Ji Xingjian’s entire body stiffened. He let out a short, light gasp and instinctively wanted to pull away from Huo Chengye’s touch, but he couldn’t move.
Sensing the tension in his body, Huo Chengye chuckled softly. “What are you shouting for? I’m just grabbing a key, is there any need to be this nervous?”
Ji Xingjian didn’t say a word, though he was cursing Huo Chengye a hundred and eighty times over in his heart. Right now, he just wanted Huo Chengye to pull his hand out of his pocket immediately.
Time felt as though it had been set to fast-forward, dragging on much slower than usual.
Once Huo Chengye finally pulled the keys out, the tight grip on Ji Xingjian’s nerves finally relaxed, like a hunted animal that had narrowly escaped.
“Sleeping with a whole bunch of keys, aren’t you afraid they’d dig into you?” Huo Chengye complained while dangling the keys so they jingled.
Ji Xingjian didn’t make a sound. Huo Chengye raised his gaze slightly and caught sight of the man’s bright red earlobes along with the half-exposed shoulder.
For some inexplicable reason, Huo Chengye’s heart suddenly accelerated, and his pheromones began leaking out uncontrollably.
If he were outside, he would definitely exert strict control to avoid triggering an Omega into rut, but he assumed Ji Xingjian was a Beta who wouldn’t be affected by pheromones, so he didn’t bother holding back.
When the Alpha remained motionless for a long time, Ji Xingjian couldn’t help speaking up as a disguised reminder. “I’m thirsty. I want water. So hurry up and let go of me.”
Soon, the hand pinning him down loosened, and the weight pressing on his body vanished. Ji Xingjian hurried to get up. “That… last night was just me failing to think things through properly. I’m sorry for disturbing you. You can go back to sleep, I’ll first…”
Taking in the scene before him, Ji Xingjian’s language processing system instantly crashed. His brain short-circuited, and he stood frozen stiff like a robot.
He had clearly prepared clothes for the Alpha, a pair of shorts he bought previously. Because he hadn’t checked the sizing carefully, they turned out too large, and since he was too lazy to return them, he had just kept them around.
Why wasn’t Huo Chengye wearing them? Did he not see them?
Whatever, thinking about this now was useless. If he wasn’t wearing them, so be it; it wasn’t like he hadn’t seen figure models when he was studying art, they were just lines after all, Ji Xingjian told himself in his head.
Since he had been in a rush last time and didn’t get a good look, he might as well take this opportunity to carefully observe the muscle contours, which would come in handy for drawing human figures in the future.
Due to the dim indoor lighting, Ji Xingjian couldn’t help squinting to get a better look, but as his gaze shifted, the composure he had just rebuilt completely collapsed.
He silently looked down at himself. Although he knew there was a physical gap between Alphas and Omegas, this difference was a bit too ridiculous.
Noticing how obvious Ji Xingjian’s movement was, Huo Chengye followed his gaze. Seeming to guess what he was thinking, the man let out a low hum. “It’s natural. No matter how much a Beta like you envies it, it’s useless.”
Ji Xingjian felt deeply insulted and shot him a sharp glare.
Just as he sat down on the edge of the bed with his feet hovering above the floor, his waist was suddenly seized by a strong pull dragging him backward.
“Professor, where are you running off to?” Huo Chengye pinned him down onto the bed, the two of them pressing extremely close together as the scent of the Alpha’s tequila swirled relentlessly into Ji Xingjian’s nose.
Ji Xingjian turned his head away to avoid eye contact, pressing his hands against the man’s shoulders while trying his best to distract himself.
Huo Chengye’s eyes darkened as his Adam’s apple bobbed. “Wanna go for round two?”
“Huh?” Ji Xingjian hadn’t expected the Alpha to state his intentions so bluntly, leaving him stunned for several seconds. Logic told him he should stay far away from this top Alpha right now, but his body seemed entirely out of his control.
Huo Chengye lacked patience; receiving no answer from Ji Xingjian, he took matters into his own hands.
Ji Xingjian panicked and dodged his touch. “I don’t want to. Get off me!”
“Still talking tough when you’re already like this…” Huo Chengye’s expression turned murky as he pinched Ji Xingjian’s chin, forcing his head straight so he could clearly see his face. “You paid the money, I put in the effort. It’s an honest transaction where each takes what they need. If I turned a blind eye, wouldn’t your money go to waste?”
The Alpha stopped talking nonsense, pouncing like a beast capturing its prey and eagerly swallowing him whole.
Ji Xingjian’s body gave a violent shudder. His hands grabbed wildly at Huo Chengye’s forearm as a mist of moisture welled up in the corners of his eyes.
Last time, under the influence of alcohol and high-concentration pheromones, Ji Xingjian hadn’t felt much pain. But this time was different; he was completely awake, experiencing an indescribable discomfort.
He tried to endure it, but eventually failed, letting out a whimper laden with tears.
Time ticked by second by second, and the scent of tequila in the air grew increasingly dense.
Ji Xingjian had already adjusted to it, and his body had been turned around so that his back faced Huo Chengye.
The back of his neck felt very itchy. The Alpha was nuzzling against it with his nose.
That was supposed to be the location of an Omega’s gland, but Ji Xingjian had a genetic defect, and his gland had never developed properly.
His fingers clenched tightly. Did the Alpha still prefer the matching pheromones emitted by an Omega’s gland the most? Even if Huo Chengye thought he was a Beta, he would still instinctively search for it.
Ji Xingjian lowered his head, not wanting Huo Chengye to continue as a deep sense of inferiority welled up inside him.
“What’s wrong?” Huo Chengye cupped his chin with his palm, forcing him to turn his head so he could see his face clearly. All he saw was a hazy mist clouding Ji Xingjian’s eyes, threatening to let loose tears the next second.
“Does something hurt?”
Ji Xingjian bit his lower lip and stayed silent. He knew that once he opened his mouth, even for a simple syllable, he might just start crying.
Stubbornly, he shook his head, turned away, and buried his face deep into the sheets.