Xu Yiwen glanced at the time, making no effort to mask the refusal in his tone. “It is barely past eight. I am driving you two home.”
Xu Baoan, who was gripping Xu Baoning’s arm, looked panicked for a fleeting second before imperceptibly tugging at Xu Baoning’s sleeve.
Bolstering his courage with volume, Xu Baoning argued loudly, “Eight o’clock is already very late, and it is pitch black outside. How dangerous is that? Besides, Baoan-ge and I are freezing and starving right now. How are we supposed to make it all the way home?”
Xu Yiwen looked coldly at the two of them. They were dressed warmly; they were not going to freeze.
“I will take you out to dinner first. The car is not cold either.”
Xu Yiwen’s meaning was crystal clear: he did not agree to let them stay the night here.
“It just snowed a few days ago, and the roads are so slippery. Are your driving skills even up to it?” Xu Baoning bit his own lip the moment he blurted out that ridiculous excuse.
Xu Yiwen had a long driving history and was a steady driver. Years ago, when Xu Baoning and his classmates got stranded in a rugged area during a trip, it was Xu Yiwen who drove and joined the search and rescue team to extract them.
Because of that incident, Xu Baoning had not given Xu Yiwen any trouble for quite a long time.
“Mountain roads are slipperier than this,” Xu Yiwen said with a fierce, sharp gaze. “The snow from a few days ago melted ages ago. Not just the main roads, even the side roads are clear of snow.”
“If you are still worried, I have snow chains in the trunk.”
As his voice trailed off, Xu Baoan grabbed Xu Baoning with a dramatic pull and persuaded, “Baoning, let us listen to Xiaowen-ge. Let us go home. Do not bother Xiaowen-ge and Xihuan-ge.”
Though Xu Baoan’s words were spoken for Xu Baoning’s benefit, his gaze slanted sideways toward He Xihuan.
He Xihuan observed everything quietly without intervening, instead letting out a low chuckle internally.
Usually when visiting the Xu family, Xu Yiwen accommodated Xu Baoning in every single way. Why had things changed today?
It seemed Xu Yiwen really had taken a hit; moving into the guest room was not targeted at him.
His gaze drifted among the three of them, accidentally locking eyes with Xu Baoan.
He Xihuan’s brows abruptly furrowed.
Xu Baoan’s eyes seemed to carry an irritatingly murky aura.
“Give me the car keys. I am driving them back to the Xu residence.” Xu Yiwen turned around and held out his open palm toward He Xihuan.
He Xihuan’s brows slowly relaxed, his gaze focusing on Xu Yiwen’s eyes.
Both pairs of eyes belonged to people they knew, but while Xu Yiwen’s gaze was admittedly a bit cold, it remained consistently clear, like morning dew naturally condensed, exuding a comforting presence.
While Xu Baoan and Xu Baoning were tugging at each other nearby and He Xihuan still hadn’t handed over the keys, Xu Yiwen made a move to retrieve them himself.
The moment he raised his hand to grab He Xihuan’s arm, He Xihuan suddenly pulled him into an embrace around the waist, his tone brimming with delight. “Since it is rare for your younger brothers to visit, let them stay.”
Xu Yiwen clamped down on the broad palm resting on his waist, his teeth itching with fury.
He had reasoned with them through a whole speech and was on the verge of sending the two away, yet He Xihuan, who had stayed silent the whole time, suddenly dropped a line like that, making it blatantly obvious he was deliberately crossing him.
With He Xihuan’s permission and welcome, Xu Baoan stopped trying to persuade Xu Baoning, offering a bashful nod instead and saying he was sorry to intrude.
Xu Baoning immediately took the lead, pulling Xu Baoan along as they walked briskly toward the car.
“What do you mean by this?” Xu Yiwen’s low-voiced interrogation was met only by He Xihuan’s laughter and the breath he exhaled against the skin of Xu Yiwen’s neck.
He Xihuan pressed a light kiss to his neck, his voice low and magnetic. “Did you not like acting? The audience is already here. How can you walk out on the play now?”
Xu Yiwen turned his head to dodge away.
He felt it was necessary to have a serious talk with He Xihuan. He no longer wanted to play the part of a loving partner with him.
At least, not to the extent of pretending to be lovers who could casually engage in intimate contact.
Upon returning to the villa, He Xihuan and Xu Yiwen each returned to their respective studies, leaving the guests in the care of Housekeeper Chang.
Housekeeper Chang prepared a meal for the two Xu brothers and arranged for Aunt Hong, the cleaner on duty, to tidy up two guest rooms.
The guest rooms Housekeeper Chang intended for Aunt Hong to prepare were on the third floor, but He Xihuan intervened, telling Aunt Hong to simply tidy up any two rooms on the second floor.
Coincidentally or not, the guest room Aunt Hong cleaned up ended up right next door to Xu Yiwen’s bedroom.
As Xu Yiwen emerged from his study to head back to his room, he collided right into Xu Baoning and Xu Baoan.
He had no choice but to feign that he was just checking in on them, then turned on his heel to return to the master bedroom.
Stepping into the room, Xu Yiwen saw with crystal clarity the pillow that was supposed to be in the guest room.
He bit his lower lip, glaring toward the bathroom.
When on earth had He Xihuan taken his pillow back?
Nursing his suppressed anger, Xu Yiwen sat down on the room’s small sofa and pulled out his phone to browse tourism guides for Chuncheng.
It wasn’t until the sound of running water in the bathroom stopped and the door opened that he put his phone down, bypassed He Xihuan as if he were invisible, and went in to shower and wash up.
With a smirk playing at the corners of his lips, He Xihuan dried his hair with a towel, water droplets rolling down his chest from the open collar of his bathrobe.
Just as Xu Yiwen came out of the bathroom, He Xihuan chuckled and asked, “Craving a marking? Why did you suddenly come back to sleep in here?”
Xu Yiwen stared at He Xihuan, who was leaning back against the headboard, feeling profoundly displeased.
So this was the real reason He Xihuan had kept the two Xu brothers around. How utterly childish.
Xu Yiwen turned off the bedroom lights, walked over to the bed, pulled back the covers, and lay down on his side.
Slowly closing his eyes, he chose to completely ignore He Xihuan.
Gazing at Xu Yiwen’s rigid back, He Xihuan crawled back under the covers, wrapped his arms around Xu Yiwen from behind, and pressed against his shoulder, exhaling warm breath. “Can you never break this silent treatment habit of yours?”
With his eyes still closed, Xu Yiwen pushed the head away from his shoulder, his voice cold. “Who is the one really craving it? You know well enough.”
“If you want to do something, just say it directly to me. Keeping them around like this is completely redundant.”
“I am not in the mood to entertain your rutting-teddy-bear routine tonight.”
“Send them away tomorrow. I have something to announce to you.”
Teddy bear? Announce?
When He Xihuan caught those two keywords, he was almost amused to the point of anger.
He leaned down and bit the outer rim of Xu Yiwen’s ear. “Are you calling me a dog?”
Xu Yiwen let out a slight hiss, opened his eyes, and accurately pinched He Xihuan’s ear. “Only mad dogs bite people.”
The expression on Xu Yiwen’s face, conveying that he had cursed him out and wondering what He Xihuan would do about it, caught He Xihuan completely off guard for a second.
For their entire year of marriage, Xu Yiwen had always maintained a gentle demeanor.
As long as they could keep up the facade of a loving couple, Xu Yiwen would accommodate whatever request he made.
Even when he managed to tick Xu Yiwen off, the latter would only quietly retreat to his study without a word.
A few days ago, upon learning the truth about his origins, Xu Yiwen had taken a hit and his tone had grown much colder.
Yet today, Xu Yiwen hadn’t even been provoked by anything external, so why was he suddenly resorting to name-calling?
Just as He Xihuan was preparing to pounce like a starving wolf and show Xu Yiwen what a real mad dog bite looked like, an urgent knock sounded on the door.
“Xu Yiwen! Get out here! Xu Yiwen!”
It was Xu Baoning’s shouting voice, and Xu Yiwen heard it too.
He let go of He Xihuan’s ear, pushed him away, and stood up to walk toward the door.
The moment he opened it, Xu Baoning craned his neck to peer inside. “Where is He Xihuan?”
Xu Yiwen shifted his body sideways to block his line of sight, his tone sharpening. “He is resting. What is wrong?”
“Then hurry up and wake him so he can carry Baoan-ge to the hospital! Baoan-ge’s heat cycle has started!”
Amidst those words, Xu Yiwen indeed caught the faint scent of floral perfume lingering on Xu Baoning.
Xu Baoning’s pheromone was spun sugar, and since he considered his natural pheromones to be better than perfume, he typically never wore any.
The floral scent clinging to him smelled like peach blossoms; it must have been Xu Baoan’s pheromone.
“His pheromones are strong enough to rub off on you. Going to the hospital on the road will only cause trouble. We cannot go.”
Finished speaking, Xu Yiwen furrowed his brows, turned around, closed the door, and flipped the room lights back on.
While pulling out his phone to dial a call, he looked toward He Xihuan and instructed, “Stay in the room and do not come out.”
He Xihuan’s expression of intense displeasure dissolved into a faint smile.
He had heard every word from the doorway.
Asking an Alpha to carry an Omega in the middle of their heat cycle without going to the hospital meant the moment they stepped into a room together, uncontrollable accidents were bound to happen.
Xu Baoning had practically spelled out his exact intentions.
It seemed the Xu family still hadn’t given up. Even after Xu Xiangchuan’s trip to the He residence was rebuffed, they had still sent Xu Baoan in person for another round.
The Xu family really was a nest of fools.
Except for Old Master Xu and Qiu Yao, and except for Xu Yiwen, who was currently making a phone call to summon a doctor, grabbing a pack of suppressants, stepping out, and locking the bedroom door securely behind him.