Ji Xingjian’s desk was clean and tidy, with a handwritten class schedule posted on the left.
They say that handwriting reflects the person. Ji Xingjian’s handwriting was clear, elegant, and filled with resilience, which did not match his mild-mannered demeanor at the moment.
Huo Chengye could not help but start wondering what Professor Ji was like in private.
Picking up the phone that Ji Xingjian had placed to the side, he asked offhandedly, “What is the password?”
His train of thought interrupted, Ji Xingjian mistakenly assumed he was asking about the bank card password he had left behind that day, and thought carefully before answering, “123456.”
Huo Chengye entered it twice, and both times it showed an incorrect password. Frowning, he held the phone up right in front of Ji Xingjian’s eyes. “Wrong.”
“Ah? Oh.” Ji Xingjian realized belatedly that the other man was actually asking for his phone password. “Six eights.”
Soon, Huo Chengye’s phone rang. He casually hung up, saved the number, and asked offhandedly, “The string of numbers you just said would not happen to be a bank card password, would it? How much is inside?”
“Half a million.”
Not long ago, Ji Xingjian had sold a painting, and the money in the card remained untouched.
“How much?” Huo Chengye was shocked by the amount. Previously, he had felt that giving money was an insult to him, but now he felt like he had made a killing. Fifty thousand in a single night, even pie falling from the sky would not land like this.
“Fifty thousand.” Ji Xingjian’s voice lowered significantly, wondering if he had given too little. After careful consideration, he raised his eyes to look at the Alpha. “If you think it is not enough, I can add another ten thousand.”
Huo Chengye was momentarily speechless. Did the man have a number recognition disorder, or did he just have too much money and nowhere to spend it? On second thought, however, Professor Ji was a well-known young painter whose casual strokes were worth a fortune. A mere few hundred thousand was nothing more than the price of a single painting to him.
Even so, Huo Chengye still felt it was not quite right to take so much money. But if he did not take it, how could he maintain his relationship with Professor Ji?
Putting the phone back in its original place, he looked with a half-smile at the person beneath him. “Professor Ji is so generous and extravagant. Are you not afraid your partner will find out and make a scene with you?”
Ji Xingjian shook his head. “Not afraid.”
“Oh?”
“I do not have a partner.” Ji Xingjian lowered his eyelashes, his tone calm and light.
In reading and watching films, he had witnessed countless lofty and intense affections, as well as plenty of desperate, ridiculous, cold, deceptive, and betraying affections in reality.
Therefore, he felt that an Omega with a genetic defect like his could never encounter an Alpha who would love him wholeheartedly. He was destined to be lonely for the rest of his life.
Hearing Professor Ji’s reply, Huo Chengye felt a wave of inexplicable pleasure. Recalling Professor Ji’s performance that night, the corners of his mouth gradually curled upward.
“So, Professor Ji does not have a partner. Could that night have been your first time?”
Ji Xingjian quickly shot him a blank look after being hit right on target. What was wrong with it being his first time? He was not Bluetooth, pairing up with people casually.
Huo Chengye chuckled. “No wonder you were so unpracticed in bed.”
Ji Xingjian grew even more embarrassed. Just as he was about to retort, “You were not much better either,” he met the Alpha’s direct gaze, which lacked any teasing intent, and swallowed the words back down.
After staring at each other for about five or six seconds, Ji Xingjian felt entirely uncomfortable all over and was the first to look away. He relaxed his stiff muscles and then spoke with feigned nonchalance, “We are all adults. Some things are better said clearly. Everyone has needs, and we are just taking what we each require. Since you already took the money, treat it as settled.”
“Fine then.” Huo Chengye shrugged, wearing an expression of whatever you say goes.
Ji Xingjian froze, never expecting that the fierce-looking Alpha would be so easy to talk to. Starting from this moment, this matter could be considered closed. They would treat it as if nothing had ever happened, and in the future, there would be no ties between them outside of coursework.
In reality, Huo Chengye’s thoughts were completely different from Ji Xingjian’s.
Ever since a moment ago, Huo Chengye had been considering the idea of finding a permanent partner, and he increasingly felt that Professor Ji was the only suitable candidate. He could satisfy his physiological needs without dealing with excessive entanglements, and the crucial part was that the man looked good.
Knowing what Ji Xingjian wanted to say, he interrupted him at a crucial moment and deliberately misinterpreted his meaning.
“Professor Ji has both good looks and money. If I refused, it would seem ungrateful. Just being regular sexual partners, I am not losing out anyway. It is settled then.”
“Ah?” Ji Xingjian wore a blank expression, seemingly failing to understand what the other was saying.
Having successfully carried out his scheme, Huo Chengye tried hard to suppress a smile, leaning in closer once again. Using his index finger to hook up the man’s chin, he left no room for refusal. “Professor Ji, see you tonight.”
The direction of events seemed a bit wrong.
By the time Ji Xingjian recovered his senses, one of Huo Chengye’s feet had already stepped out of the office door.