A long-established biological clock caused Chu Yanyi to wake up punctually the next morning, just as he always did.
The sky was merely beginning to break day[1]Dawn jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3669638_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3669638_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });, with the distant calls of sparrows and the sounds of flyers taking off and landing floating through the air. Turning onto his side, he yawned as he replied to a few messages, pushed back the quilt, and silently got out of bed to wash up.
Perhaps because the accumulated snow had not completely melted, opening the window brought a surge of chill and dampness pushing against the curtains straight into his face.
A few scattered servants were sweeping below, while the evergreen foliage on the distant hills slowly revealed its natural colors.
It looked vibrant, refreshing, and deeply pleasing to the mind.
Chu Yanyi took a deep breath, tidied his hair slightly in front of the windowpane, picked up his cane, and walked outside.
The servants along the way seemed to have just woken up and reported for duty; seeing Chu Yanyi, they all froze for a second before respectfully offering greetings. In a good mood, Chu Yanyi smiled and nodded in acknowledgment, stopping a servant holding a tray: “Inform the kitchen that there’s no need to prepare milk for breakfast.”
With such a light remark from Chu Yanyi, the person in charge of the kitchen frowned. The menu for the three daily meals in the manor was settled a night in advance; since milk wasn’t to be prepared, a replacement drink naturally had to be provided.
So the problem arose: Chu Yanyi hadn’t specified what to replace it with.
“It’s fine, we know Mr. Chu’s dietary habits well.” The newly hired chef, Jin Du, beamed as he directed his subordinates. “In the future, leave all these matters to us.”
“This… I’m afraid I have to consult Housekeeper Mo…” the person in charge hesitated. He had always considered himself Housekeeper Mo’s trusted confidant; otherwise, he wouldn’t have landed this lucrative position.
Wiping the flour off his hands, Jin Du leaned into the person in charge’s ear and whispered softly: “I have no problem with that, but if we wait for Housekeeper Mo to arrive, I’m afraid Mr. Chu won’t be able to eat his meal on time. Mr. Chu’s thoughts aren’t easy for us to fathom.”
“That may be true…”
Seeing the other party’s displeased expression, Jin Du let out a sigh: “I heard Mr. Chu lost his temper yesterday and replaced everyone who used to work in the kitchen; otherwise, it wouldn’t be our turn. Rest assured, we’ll take full responsibility for Mr. Chu’s meals from now on. You don’t need to say anything to Housekeeper Mo either—just do your surface work well.”
The food emitted enticing steam, and the daylight outside gradually grew brighter. The person in charge stayed silent for a long moment before patting Jin Du’s arm: “We’ll have to trouble you from now on.”
Thus, when Chu Yanyi arrived at the dining room, he saw a cup of coffee, a glass of juice, a cup of clear tea, and a glass of soy milk displayed on the table simultaneously. On the opposite side was an identical set of beverages.
He casually picked up the fruit juice closest to him, glancing at Jin Du, who stood to the side wearing a chef’s hat, rubbing his hands together with a face full of smiles: “Old Jin, I could tell it was you at a glance.”
“As I should, Mr. Chu,” Jin Du replied neither humbly nor haughtily. “I wonder who has the honor of having breakfast with you today.”
Chu Yanyi took a sip of the fruit juice. A flurry of disorganized footsteps sounded near his ears, and Zhou Yi hurried in from outside the door.
He was still wearing the standard, somewhat ill-fitting uniform: a metal badge, white shirt, black jacket, and black gloves. Perhaps because his face was devoid of expression, he appeared upright, cold, and aloof compared to the other servants.
Yet the moment he stepped through the door, a layer of timidness instantly veiled his face.
“With him. His name is Zhou Yi; he’ll be helping in the kitchen every morning.” Chu Yanyi unhurriedly sliced the sandwich on his plate, gesturing for Zhou Yi to sit opposite him.
The moment he saw Zhou Yi’s face, a flash of astonishment crossed Jin Du’s face, though he immediately dropped his head: “Understood, Mr. Chu. Then I’ll head back first. If I may ask one more thing—will you no longer be needing milk for your future breakfasts?”
Zhou Yi had originally been hovering with his head half-lowered, fiddling with the cutlery on the table. The instant he heard Jin Du’s words, he snapped his head up, his emerald-like eyes opening wide and round.
The corners of Chu Yanyi’s mouth curved slightly as he toyed with the decorative rings on his index and ring fingers: “Correct, grew tired of it. Nothing else—you can all go attend to your work.”
Once Jin Du and the crowd of servants stepped outside, Chu Yanyi impaled a small piece of sandwich with his fork, pointed at the row of beverages, and brought the sandwich to his lips: “They prepared quite a variety. Which one do you want to drink?”
He stared at Zhou Yi, chewing his food unhurriedly.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Zhou Yi extended his left hand, picking up the glass of fruit juice farthest from him—the same kind as Chu Yanyi’s.
This morning was indeed quite lovely. Looking at the fruit juice beside his hand, Chu Yanyi suddenly felt a whim to tease him: “Are you a bit of a picky eater?”
Zhou Yi blinked, shaking his head.
“Otherwise, why would you like sweet things so much?” Chu Yanyi rested his chin on his hand, knuckles rubbing against his jaw. The Alpha opposite him continued to look at him foolishly, though his brows were slightly furrowed, as if pondering some monumental puzzle of the century.
Chu Yanyi let out a laugh, taking another sip of the sweet, rich fruit juice: “Just joking, hurry and eat.”
Zhou Yi naturally hadn’t forgotten his task—just as Mr. Chu had said… the way he ate could stimulate Mr. Chu’s appetite.
Though he had no idea why, he was a fool and shouldn’t be thinking about such things.
So he set aside those distracting thoughts, concentrating entirely on using his left hand to tackle the food on his plate.
For a time, the dining room held only the sounds of scraping cutlery and exchanging glasses. Chu Yanyi chewed and swallowed slowly, occasionally clicking through different messages on the virtual screen—deleting some directly, while letting his gaze rest on others for a brief moment.
Under the “coordination” of the Chamber of Commerce President, the people left behind in Ying Yu’s company seemed to have put forward a central figure.
The child of a highly respected elder who had died in an unexpected accident.
As for why it was deemed an “accident,” it was reportedly categorized as such by Ying Yu himself.
It seemed there would be quite a show to watch in the Second District next.
Chu Yanyi raised an eyebrow and set down his fork and knife. Zhou Yi immediately set down his cutlery as well, swallowing the food in his mouth with some difficulty.
He let out a light laugh, resting his chin on his hand as he closed the screen: “Don’t rush, take your time eating.”
Hearing this, Zhou Yi raised his head, a trace of fruit juice still clinging to the corner of his mouth. Clutching the tablecloth anxiously, he explained in sign language with nervous apprehension: “I’m already full.”
“Truly full?” Chu Yanyi tapped his chin with his finger, staring at Zhou Yi’s profile for a moment. Zhou Yi kept his head lowered, his expression hidden. Chu Yanyi bent his fingers with an unreadable smile, tapping the desktop twice: “Then let them come in and clear up.”
Zhou Yi dropped his eyes, standing up to push open the door.
“Wait.” Chu Yanyi called out to stop Zhou Yi, tapping his own corner of the mouth: “Wipe it clean first.”
Leaning against the door, Zhou Yi subconsciously raised his hand, avoiding the gloved area to wipe the corner of his mouth on that same side using his exposed wrist.
Chu Yanyi let out a sigh, shaking his head, half-joking and half-serious: “It’s the other side. You clearly look so clever, how come…”
Receiving such an evaluation, Zhou Yi’s throat tightened instantly. He froze for a second, lowering his head to wipe the corner of his mouth forcefully, then raised his head, seemingly wanting Chu Yanyi to verify it.
“That’ll do.” Chu Yanyi waved his hand. “Remember to come to my study this afternoon.”
What about lunch then?
Zhou Yi was startled by the thought popping up in his mind. He only needed to obey Mr. Chu’s decisions; how could he presume to interfere with Mr. Chu?
Turning around, he gently closed the door, looking at the line of servants waiting outside, meeting the gloomy face of Housekeeper Mo with an even gaze.
Housekeeper Mo let out a contemptuous, cold snort, without so much as glancing at Zhou Yi, leading his people inside.
Chu Yanyi spent the entire day watching movies to pass the time.
Calling it “watching movies” was merely keeping his gaze fixed on the massive screen, yet to outsiders, he appeared immensely focused, so much so that several servants coming and going didn’t dare disturb him.
Lacking interest, Chu Yanyi paused the video feed, picking up his continuously vibrating communicator—it was Chu Yanqi.
“Brother, I heard you sent Chen Ke and the others on leave—a long vacation, no less? What’s going on?” Chu Yanqi lay on a hospital bed, her face full of gossip.
Chu Yanyi rubbed his temples, his gaze sweeping over the closed door: “I need to rest occasionally too.”
“Che—I don’t buy it.”
“If you don’t buy it, so be it. What about you? Is your surgery tomorrow?” Chu Yanyi leaned back, asking.
“So you still remember this sister of yours far away in the Federation…” Chu Yanqi smirked wickedly. “I thought you were spending every day with that slave, completely forgetting the world exists.”
“Xiao Qi, don’t worry. There won’t be any issues with the surgery.”
Having her inner worries called out, Chu Yanqi scratched her hair. Outside the window beside her, patches of starry sky and her partner’s silhouette were reflected: “Ah, I’m not worried. You’re the one who shouldn’t worry; I’ve done this several times already. This time we’re finally going to eliminate all the scars. Remember what we bet back then? Who knew Ying Yu would be gone before my scars were? I feel pretty good about it.”
“What about you? When are you going to treat that leg of yours? Ying Yu is already dead; you should let go of yourself too—including that slave named Xiao… Yi… Since he was Ying Yu’s person, just kill him and be done with it. He certainly never pulled any punches against you.”
Chu Yanyi’s gaze darkened. Back when he hadn’t secured a firm foothold, he had assumed that relying on the scraps of knowledge he had acquired would be enough to carve out a territory in the treacherous landscape of Desert Planet θ.
Yet when he suddenly ran up against Ying Yu, the car crash Ying Yu used to give him a warning shot resulted in Chu Yanqi suffering severe burns.
Standing in the ward listening to the doctor describe Chu Yanqi’s condition, he felt as if he had returned to the entrance of the orphanage. He and the young Chu Yanqi had stood before a pile of corpses, and Chu Yanqi had asked him: “Can we really survive?”
Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath: “Xiao Qi, don’t worry. Things will get better.”
In truth, the person who should have gotten into that car that day was Chu Yanyi himself.
After listening to Chu Yanqi joke around for a few more lines, Chu Yanyi tapped his watch: “Go to sleep; otherwise, you won’t have the energy for surgery tomorrow.”
“Then you…”
Three rhythmic knocks sounded at the door. Chu Yanyi cut off Chu Yanqi’s words, calling out: “Come in.”
Zhou Yi poked his head inside, stepping slowly into the study only after receiving Chu Yanyi’s approval. Upon hearing Chu Yanqi’s voice, he clearly paused.
“Really. I have some business to attend to.” Chu Yanyi turned the screen toward Zhou Yi, then immediately turned it back to himself: “Rest up properly first. Contact me after the surgery is over; no need to rush back either—have fun in the Federation with your partner for a while longer.”
“Ha…” Chu Yanqi’s expression was somewhat subtle. “Fine, fine, no need for you to tell me.”
Chu Yanyi disconnected the call, leaned on his cane to rise, and led the pale-faced Zhou Yi over to the desk. He had arranged in advance for a small tray table to be set up here, complete with paper and pen.
“You can write right here.” Chu Yanyi leaned against the desk, his long legs casually extended forward, relying on his cane for balance as he looked down to chat with others on his device. “Just write whatever you want to write.”
Zhou Yi nodded, sitting down on the small stool. Tall with long limbs, curling up like this made him look rather cramped no matter how one sliced it, yet he quietly picked up the pen.
The sunlight gradually slanted, lengthening their two shadows. Chu Yanyi pulled himself away from a sea of complex affairs, his eyes catching sight of Zhou Yi’s fluffy gray hair and the brand that couldn’t be covered.
Many scars would ultimately fade away, but the brand on Zhou Yi’s neck used a special dye; even if this piece of flesh were cut away, the new skin would grow out with the exact same serial number.
Gazing at Zhou Yi, Chu Yanyi let out a self-deprecating laugh. If Ying Yu really wasn’t dead, how amusing it would be to witness this current scene.
As if sensing something, Zhou Yi raised his eyes, meeting Chu Yanyi’s gaze directly. Chu Yanyi offered a silent smile, so Zhou Yi lowered his eyes, raising sheet after sheet of paper to show Chu Yanyi the words he had just written.
Row after row of news headlines—all detailing the trajectory of Chu Yanyi’s rise to prominence on the surface.
Chu Yanyi couldn’t help but chuckle: “This is what you wanted to write?”
He had originally intended to mock the slave’s clumsy attempt at currying favor without leaving a trace, yet Zhou Yi looked at him earnestly, nodding forcefully.
Those green-infused eyes contained nothing but him.
Even though Chu Yanyi was well accustomed to people driven by survival instincts, even though he had experienced all manner of methods used to flatter him, in this split second, this feeling of being genuinely needed, of being given to without reservation, existed truly and tangibly.
Impossible to ignore.
No wonder Ying Yu kept such an Alpha by his side.
So Chu Yanyi extended his hand, ruffling Zhou Yi’s hair.
What a pity… he used to be Ying Yu’s Alpha.
References[+]