Ren Junzhu examined the person before him, who did not even dare raise his head. His lips were pressed tightly together, biting down on the only full lip pearl. He wore only a plain-colored thin garment, the collar revealing a slender, pale neck that was no different from a frost-covered flower branch in winter, seeming as though it could be snapped with the slightest force.
Once, he had used this very appearance to play Ren Junzhu right in the palm of his hand.
Ren Junzhu withdrew his gaze. He reached out his hand, and a beam of light leaped from his body, falling into his palm and transforming into an exquisite, sharp dagger.
Shen Yue looked at the dagger in astonishment.
Ren Junzhu waved his hand. The dagger gradually lengthened in mid‑air, then turned into an arc and flew toward Shen Yue’s hanging wrists.
A black round buckle locked around his wrists, connected by a chain as thick as a finger. Shen Yue was bound again, not by special‑purpose restraining devices, but by that dagger of profound significance.
“Are you happy now that the gift I once gave you is being used on you like this?” Ren Junzhu said with a smile that did not reach his eyes.
Shen Yue stared blankly at the chain on his hands, unable to react for a moment. Clearly this chain was much lighter than the special restraining devices he had worn earlier, yet now it felt like iron balls weighing ten thousand catties, making even his shoulders slump.
His lips began to tremble, his slender brows tightly furrowed, and his eye sockets instantly reddened.
This dagger was what Ren Junzhu had given him when he proposed. He had forged it with his own hands, using a rib from his own chest and the only refined gold at headquarters. Its blade lines were smooth, its edge capable of slicing through iron as if it were mud, and it could change form at Ren Junzhu’s will, a divine weapon without equal in the world. Yet on this divine weapon’s blade, an exceptionally soft name was carved.
Mu Yue (Moon Admiration).
Ren Junzhu rarely spoke pretty words. Saying even one could cost him his life. This dagger and this name were already all he could think of to express himself.
What was ridiculous, however, was that Ren Junzhu’s body was hard to harm, even a gun could scarcely injure his flesh. Yet this dagger, made from his own blood and bone, could easily cut through his skin and plunge into his heart.
Perhaps it was precisely because emotion had been imbued into this dagger that it had become his only weakness, making him no longer invincible.
Probably remembering what he himself had done with this dagger, Shen Yue held back his bitterness, and a deep, nearly drowning guilt surged up in his heart.
Ren Junzhu waited for a long time, but did not see that dewdrop fall from his slightly lowered, white eyelashes. Only the corners of his eyes took on a faint, delicate red, and even the tear‑shaped mole at the corner showed an inexpressible sorrow.
Ren Junzhu closed his eyes heavily, then sat down on the chair as if he could no longer bear to look at him.
Shen Yue stood there awkwardly. The butler came over, handed him a hat and an apron, and gestured for him to go into the kitchen. Only then did Shen Yue realize this meant he was to cook, it was one of his work duties.
Shen Yue thought of his own cooking skills and hesitantly spoke: “But… I don’t know how to cook.”
During the years he was with Ren Junzhu, not to mention cooking, Shen Yue had never even entered the kitchen.
Affected by their bloodline attributes, awakened individuals more or less have some peculiar habits. As a water attribute, Shen Yue would instinctively stay away from fire. The kitchen’s smoky, fiery atmosphere was too heavy and gave him a strong feeling of repulsion, even though he already had the closest connection with a pure fire attribute person.
In comparison, Ren Junzhu not only knew how to cook, but his skill surpassed that of a great chef. Everyone said Shen Yue was gentle, well-bred, and obedient, letting his husband take whatever he wanted. But in fact, the one who had always been washing his hands and making soup and meals at home was Ren Junzhu.
Shen Yue had a picky palate and his preferences were hard to guess. Only when Ren Junzhu cooked would he eat more. After Ren Junzhu discovered this, he rarely let the chefs come anymore. He almost always cooked for himself. Sometimes, when he had too many military duties and couldn’t make it home in time, he would secretly prepare a small private meal for Shen Yue at the base.
No one could imagine that violent, 3S-rank, hot-tempered colonel, who possessed the world’s top-rank ambergris pheromone, tying on an apron and chopping vegetables and beating eggs in the kitchen.
But Shen Yue had seen that very sight for many years.
Shen Yue silently looked back at Ren Junzhu. Ren Junzhu had naturally heard him and also knew he couldn’t cook. He flipped through documents without raising his head, clearly doing it on purpose:
“Your adoptive father didn’t teach you?”
Shen Yue explained softly: “Truly, he didn’t.”
The training camp only taught how to kill people. How could they teach something as irrelevant as cooking?
“If you can’t do it, then learn. If you still can’t make it… then if you fail to make a meal, you don’t get to eat for that meal.”
Ren Junzhu’s voice was cold. Everyone also understood that this meant no help was allowed. Seeing the situation, no one dared to help.
Shen Yue could only clumsily put on the hat and enter the kitchen, feeling somewhat anxious.
Ren Suixing stood at the doorway, watching Shen Yue’s lonely and bewildered figure in the kitchen. He waved his fists at Ren Junzhu:
“Smelly old man! What are you doing?! I’m going to report you to headquarters! You’re abusing a prisoner! You’re throwing your weight around with your power, you—”
Ren Junzhu said indifferently, “Go ahead.”
“If you report me, nothing will happen to me. But Shen Yue will leave this home. Where he gets assigned will have nothing to do with me.”
“You!” Ren Suixing was so angry his cheeks puffed up. He didn’t want Shen Yue to leave, but he also didn’t want Shen Yue to be humiliated like this by that demon. He gritted his teeth, wishing he could jump up and beat Ren Junzhu. But with his current height, the most he could do was jump up and hit Ren Junzhu’s knee.
He would grow up, Ren Suixing thought, clenching his fists in his heart. One day, when he was taller than the smelly old man, he would definitely pull down his pants and spank his bottom hard in front of everyone!
Ren Junzhu grabbed Ren Suixing by the scruff of his neck and threw him onto a chair. Ren Suixing immediately jumped down and wanted to go squat in the kitchen, but was thrown back by Ren Junzhu again.
“Don’t go over there.” Ren Suixing was about to jump again, but was interrupted by a voice.
The omega who had been drinking medicine earlier had somehow come over and sat down. He leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, and said softly:
“If you don’t want Shen Yue to be punished again, then don’t go over there.”
Ren Suixing frowned at him.
The man said: “The more you care about him, the angrier the Colonel will become instead. Don’t go.”
Ren Suixing seemed half-understanding. He thought it over for a long time before finally not moving again. He sat on the chair, craning his neck and looking eagerly toward the kitchen.
Meanwhile, inside the kitchen, Shen Yue was sweating profusely, trying to figure out how to cook. There was no recipe, no instruction manual. He didn’t even know how to turn on the gas. He could only imagine the cooking process Ren Junzhu used to do and try to copy it clumsily.
The refrigerator was completely full of ingredients. It seemed Ren Junzhu had long been prepared to torment him in this way. Shen Yue let out a breath and carefully picked out a pork rib rack, a handful of prawns, and a few eggs.
He set up the pot clumsily, cut the ribs into small pieces, and cautiously put the meat in. The meat hit the high heat and made a sizzling sound. A few drops of oil splashed onto his hand, making Shen Yue flinch from the burn.
Then he didn’t know what to do next. He was anxious but didn’t know how to proceed. Quite some time had already passed. If he delayed any longer, Ren Junzhu might explode again. Shen Yue walked to the door and secretly peeked outside.
At the wide dining table, three people sat facing him. Ren Junzhu was processing documents. The omega with the teardrop mole sat on the other side. Between the two of them sat Ren Suixing, who was a head shorter. All three were waiting to eat.
From a distance, their atmosphere looked very harmonious. They had probably sat together like this countless times already, as if they were originally a family.
The uncontrollable flesh in his left chest began to pound violently. Then, a numb, gnawing pain like ants biting slowly spread. Shen Yue withdrew his head. He looked at the various ingredients scattered messily in front of him and felt that the burn wound from the oil drops on his hand hurt even more.
It hurt so much he could hardly breathe.
Ren Junzhu finished reviewing a document. He looked at his watch and frowned. Apparently impatient from waiting too long, he threw down his pen and stood up directly.
The man watched his back, was silent for a moment, then put his arm down and propped his chin on his hand, asking: “How long do you think it’ll be before we get to eat?”
Ren Suixing didn’t even lift his head. He was tapping away on his phone, sending messages to his brothers, telling Bai Yanxuan about the situation at his home. Don’t let his first-rank status fool you; he played on his phone no worse than any young person. His short little fingers moved so fast people could barely see the motions.
Only after finishing typing did he look up: “Huh?”
The man motioned toward him.
Ren Suixing turned his head and only then realized that Ren Junzhu beside him had disappeared at some point. He ran over and saw that the door had already been closed.
When did this smelly old man sneak in? He must be bullying Shen Yue!
Ren Suixing glared at the door in front of him, listened to the somewhat chaotic but completely indistinguishable sounds inside, and punched it directly.
Shen Yue was in a flustered scramble putting in seasonings when suddenly the door was closed, making a “click—” sound.
He turned his head and saw Ren Junzhu walking in. As a 3S-rank alpha, Shen Yue’s height was already considered very tall at 183 cm, only because he was relatively thin, with cool fair skin, always giving off a frail feeling. Ren Junzhu’s height, however, exceeded 190 cm. He had just bent down to enter. Shen Yue even wondered if after seven years apart, he had grown taller.
Hadn’t he already passed his growth period?
The villa’s kitchen was very spacious, usually accommodating two or three chefs and several maids helping out. Yet as soon as Ren Junzhu entered, he immediately compressed the space. His tall figure gave people a suffocating feeling.
No one could be alone in a space with Ren Junzhu without feeling oppressed. A 3S-rank alpha inherently possesses a sense of distance that towers over ordinary people, and Ren Junzhu even more so. When facing an alpha of the same level, it was like two male lions meeting, bound to create intense conflict, because in a territory there can only ever be one lion king.
Shen Yue had already regained his identity as a 3S alpha. In terms of bloodline level alone, he was an undeniable superior in front of any awakened individual. Yet now, facing an alpha of the same level, Shen Yue felt a deep sense of timidity and retreat. Apart from his inner guilt, as soon as that familiar ambergris scent approached, his gland would instinctively emit an alluring odor. A familiar burning heat, deep in his bones and memory, climbed from his ankles up his back, his arms, and then rushed to his cheeks.
Seven years had passed. The mark Ren Junzhu had left on Shen Yue had not faded in the slightest. Instead, because of the pause in time and their reunion, it had become even more intense. Shen Yue had long lost the ability to fight him as a male lion. He could only endure with all his might to keep himself from prostrating like a female lion in heat, offering herself up.
Shen Yue was grateful that he was wearing a suppressor collar at this moment; otherwise, he might not be able to stop his legs from going weak and kneeling before Ren Junzhu.
“Why are you so slow?” Ren Junzhu asked.
He had indeed waited too long and come to scold him. Shen Yue gripped the spatula: “It’ll be ready soon.”
Ren Junzhu looked down at the cutting board. “What are you cooking?”
“Sweet and sour pork ribs…” After a moment’s thought, Shen Yue added softly, with a hint of appeasement: “What you like to eat.”
“…”
“…What I like to eat?” Ren Junzhu was silent for a moment, then sneered.
Was it not? Ren Junzhu used to cook this dish often. Although Shen Yue had always been curious why someone like Ren Junzhu would like sweet things.
“…When you make sweet and sour pork ribs, why don’t you remove the blood water?”
Shen Yue defended himself: “I washed them, but no matter how I washed them, I couldn’t get them clean.” But as he spoke, his voice grew softer and softer. He had never cooked before; how would he know that he had to first use cooking water and starch to remove the blood foam before putting them in the pot.
Ren Junzhu didn’t even need to look closely. Just by smelling it, he knew it was called “sweet and sour pork ribs,” but he had only added white sugar and vinegar. There was no light soy sauce, cooking wine, or anything else.
He glanced at the bowl beside him and asked again: “And this?”
“Shrimp stir-fried with eggs.”
“Have you ever seen lobster meat stir-fried with eggs?”
Shen Yue didn’t speak anymore; he really seemed not to have seen that.
Inside was a full bowl of peeled lobster meat. Ren Junzhu picked up one piece: “At least you knew to peel the shells.”
Shen Yue’s lips mumbled. He wasn’t an idiot; he did know that much common sense.
“You don’t remove the shrimp vein either?” Ren Junzhu said.
Shen Yue was stunned, what ‘shrimp vein’ was that?
Ren Junzhu raised his hand and threw the shrimp meat into the trash can: “Throw it all away.”
“Ah?”
“I don’t want food poisoning. Or do you mean to poison me so you can return to your adoptive father’s side?”
As soon as he entered, he had completely negated everything Shen Yue had made, and his words were barbed. Shen Yue didn’t dare speak anymore. He dumped everything he had worked on for over an hour into the trash can.
“Make it again.” Ren Junzhu ordered coldly.
Shen Yue hurriedly opened the refrigerator again to get ingredients.
Only when Shen Yue turned his back to him did Ren Junzhu let his deep, dark gaze fall on his distinctly narrow waist, outlined by the apron.