As the fury-laden words fell, Xie Yun didn’t waste a second; he coldly dealt the man another slap. “Say it again. Who is asking for it?”
His expression had completely darkened, and his voice, like cold icicles striking the ground, was tinged with genuine wrath. This wasn’t an instruction from the system. This was him actually being angry. If Cui Yiyang dared to say it one more time, Xie Yun would absolutely start a full-blown fight right there.
As for Cui Yiyang, who had just received two consecutive slaps: ……
His fingers, braced against the wall, curled slightly. He used his tongue to poke the inside of his swollen, burning cheek before turning back to face the exquisite face in front of him. Long eyelashes, bathed in the cold moonlight, trembled slightly, casting a small shadow on snowy-white skin. Xie Yun’s thin lips were pursed, his eyes cold and indifferent. The scent of cedarwood on him remained crisp and sharp.
This second slap actually helped Cui Yiyang calm down quite a bit, but he found it strange—if anyone else had dared to hit him like this, he would have beaten them until their own mother wouldn’t recognize them.
But why?
Cui Yiyang stared at this face and found he couldn’t bring himself to strike back. He even felt a faint sense of… pleasure?
What kind of drug did this person give me? Cui Yiyang felt like he was losing his mind.
Ding The melodious preliminary bell for the end of class rang through the air, vibrating between the entangled pair. Students in groups of twos and threes began hurrying back toward the classrooms. When they reached the corner of the stairs and witnessed this scene: ?
Before their eyes, they saw two tall figures entangled in the night, looking as if they were in the middle of a deep kiss, their long legs overlapping in a blur.
Xie Yun shoved him away and headed back to the classroom. As more and more people appeared following the bell, Cui Yiyang stopped acting out and silently followed behind Xie Yun. However, his gaze remained unruly, staring at the reddened skin near the other’s nape and swallowing hard.
Maintaining a face that was snowy-white yet flushed from his heavy breathing, Xie Yun entered the classroom along with the crowd. Lu Yibing spotted his brother instantly among the people.
Xie Yun’s face was a bit redder than usual, and his tie was slightly disheveled. Lu Yibing’s gaze trailed behind him, and seeing Cui Yiyang following, the light in his eyes dimmed instantly.
“Did Brother really go to see a teacher just now?”
That dim gaze followed Xie Yun as he took his seat. Xie Yun turned his head to meet the speaker’s eyes; those pitch-black pupils were hidden in the night like a pool of dark ink.
Why does his gaze feel a bit strange?
Xie Yun stared back at him silently. It felt like being caught cheating in bed by a lover.
…What kind of description is that?
He knew he couldn’t hide much from this person. Deciding that fewer complications were better than more, Xie Yun turned his head and spoke the truth: “Oh, I was tricked by that psychopath.”
It was a very casual sentence. To the speaker, it seemed like he didn’t care.
But while the speaker was casual, the listener was not. Lu Yibing knit his brows first. “Did he do something to you?”
Brother’s face is so red right now. So beautiful. Lu Yibing dazed for a moment.
“He didn’t do anything. I got into a fight with him in the hallway,” Xie Yun said expressionlessly, seemingly wanting to drop the subject. “But don’t worry, your brother won.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Yibing stole a glance behind him. Seeing that Cui Yiyang’s face was redder than Xie Yun’s—and clearly bore the mark of a palm—he raised an eyebrow.
“Ah, Brother Cui, what happened to your face?” a lackey asked, rushing up to him.
At this moment, Cui Yiyang was in an exceptionally foul mood. He threw out a casual excuse: “A cat scratched me. Ask another question and I’ll punch you.” He even shot the lackey a warning glare.
Moving the pink-and-gold iron box with his pale fingers, Lu Yibing opened it. A few of the small macarons were missing.
“The gift Brother gave me I’ve already eaten a few.”
The youth smiled, his fingertips lightly grazing the crisp shell of a macaron. Then, he used two fingers to pick up a new one and took a slow bite. The strawberry jam mixed with the shell flowed between his teeth. After taking a bite, he actually pressed the rest of the macaron into Xie Yun’s mouth. “It’s very sweet. Brother, you try.”
The sweet, chewy texture was suddenly forced between Xie Yun’s lips. He was stunned for a second, then frowned and pushed him away. “I’m not eating it.”
“Sorry, I almost forgot Brother doesn’t like sweets.”
The item, now dampened with the other’s saliva, was stuffed back into Lu Yibing’s mouth. He stared at the other while chewing the sweet treat, propping his chin on his hand with a smile.
His peripheral vision unintentionally met the gaze from behind him, and Cui Yiyang’s face darkened.
[Field Academy Forum]
[OP]: MAJOR NEWS! XY just had an indirect kiss with LYB!!
[2L]: ?
[3L]: ?
[4L]: ?
[5L]: I was there. I saw it too…
[6L]: Is LYB sick? Putting a macaron he already bit into my baby’s mouth? That’s disgusting.
[7L]: Uh, I just saw F1 and XY at the corner of the hallway… cough cough cough.
[8L]: Are all of you in the Elite Class eating this well?!
[9L]: I seriously can’t take it anymore. I feel like an incompetent husband. I’m going back to the hospital to re-differentiate into an Alpha just to join your class!! Let me have a bite of that beauty too!
[10L]: Well, I’m definitely not getting a “bite” of him.
[11L]: I really can’t stand it either. Someone needs to handle this illegitimate son. Does XY not know he’s raising a wolf by his side? If he doesn’t know, I’ll tell him. Who has XY’s contact info?
[12L]: To the person above—did anyone PM you? Give it to me if you get it.
[13L]: No, really, is no one going to do anything? I’m going to report this to the central authorities. If you Elite Class people won’t handle it, I’m coming over there to find trouble for LYB.
[14L]: Go ahead. XY cares about LYB so much, it’s like he’s under a spell.
[15L]: How did LYB cast it? I’m coming to your class to learn from him.
Cui Yiyang grew more and more agitated as he scrolled through the constantly refreshing thread. He eventually shut off his screen and tossed the phone aside.
Soon, evening study ended, and the butler was waiting at the South Gate for the two young masters. Today was Saturday, and Field Academy students finally had their half-day of freedom tomorrow.
The two returned to the sea-view villa and happened to run into their parents, who were holding bags and preparing to head out. Xie Yun was curious and asked first, “Mom, Dad, where are you going so late?”
Lu Yuan saw her two sons return and smiled. “Your father and I just finished some work. We thought it was late, so we were going to head back to the house in the countryside.”
Suddenly, a bolt of bright purple lightning tore through the clouds. Rumble— heavy rain began to pour down like a deluge. The pitter-patter of rain created trails across the floor-to-ceiling windows, the layers of mist blurring everyone’s vision.
Seeing this, the butler quickly grabbed a black umbrella to go move their car into the garage.
“The rain is quite heavy,” Lu Yibing remarked, looking toward the window. “Mom and Dad, you finally made a trip here. Why don’t you just stay the night?” He smiled at them again.
Xie Yun gripped the strap of his backpack and glanced at him. He felt like that smile wasn’t simple.
“Oh dear, looking at it now, it really is coming down hard.” Lu Yuan knit her brows slightly and looked outside. “Then have Auntie Qian tidy up a guest room. Your father and I will stay there tonight.”
How can I let the elders sleep in the guest room?
It was almost an instinctive thought. Xie Yun immediately replied, “Mom and Dad can sleep in my master bedroom. I’ll sleep in the guest room.”
“It’s fine, we’ll sleep in the guest room,” Xie’s father added.
Xie Yun immediately found a reason, smiling. “My bedroom has its own private bathroom. Doesn’t Dad have the habit of getting up in the night? It’ll be more convenient. Besides, you finally came here; it wouldn’t be right to have you sleep in the guest room.”
Unable to win against the boy, the parents agreed.
A few gusts of cool wind slipped under his clothes and traveled up his spine. Lu Yibing glanced at Xie Yun and smiled.
Returning to his bedroom to change into pajamas, Xie Yun casually left his bag in the master bedroom. His phone went ding-dong, and a message popped up on the screen.
[A]: Can we get to know each other? ^^
Another ding-dong.
[A]: Senior Xie.
His fingertip hovered over the screen. It took Xie Yun exactly zero seconds to guess what kind of “psychopath” this was. Some classmate must have leaked his contact info on the forum.
His thumb lightly rubbed the rim of a transparent glass. A warm stream flowed down his throat as Xie Yun swallowed a mouthful of warm water. He ignored the message for now.
He casually scrolled through his main chat page until he reached the bottom, where he found a collapsed group chat. This phone belonged to the original owner; the group chat was named “One Big Happy Family.”
So that was how Lu Yibing had found him through the group search. He had found it in this group that the original owner had archived. Xie Yun didn’t have a memory of this. He wasn’t sure why the original owner had done it.
He stepped out. At that moment, his parents happened to be coming upstairs. After they exchanged smiles and goodnights, he went to the study to read for a while before heading toward the guest room.
The guest room was some distance from the master and second bedrooms. He reached the door and turned the handle.
Why won’t it open?
Confused, Xie Yun pulled out his phone and sent a message to Auntie Qian, who had just finished her shift.
[X]: Sorry to bother you, but do you know where you put the key to the guest room?
His finger paused in mid-air. He waited for a long time, but there was no reply. Time ticked by, minute by minute, until the phone finally went ding-dong.
[Auntie Qian]: I think I left it in the cabinet in the living room, Young Master. I just put it there after I finished cleaning. Why don’t you take a look?
The living room cabinet.
After seeing the message, he put his phone away.
A silver key hung from a long, pale finger, spinning nimbly around Lu Yibing’s digit before being tucked into his palm. Someone in the shadows let out a soft laugh, silently watching Xie Yun’s back as he waited anxiously for the message.
“Brother.”