Jiang Yi soaked in the water-filled bathtub for over an hour, until the water had gone completely cold, and only when 999 spoke up to remind him did he brace himself against the wall and slowly stand up.
He took the bath towel prepared by the hotel, dried his body, scrubbed red, bit by bit in front of the mirror, and wrapped in a bathrobe, stumbled out of the bathroom.
The clothes that had been forcibly torn three days ago were still scattered on the carpet.
He shuffled over in his slippers and looked them over, aside from the sweater and coat, both the base layer shirt and pants had been torn to shreds.
The pants had only had their button pulled off, but the base layer shirt was completely unwearable.
Jiang Yi threw the base layer shirt into the trash, called for room service to bring him a needle and thread, sat on the edge of the bed and mended the pants, then put on the sweater and coat.
After leaving the hotel, the first thing he did was head straight to a pharmacy and ask the clerk for a box of morning-after pills.
He didn’t want this life of his anymore, but he really didn’t want to bring another life into it either.
The pharmacy clerk handed him the medicine he’d asked for, and seeing the redness around his eyes above his mask, couldn’t help glancing at him a few more times. “Sir, your eyes look a little red, and you don’t seem quite right either. Do you have a fever? Should we take your temperature?”
“No need, thanks. I’m fine.”
Jiang Yi’s voice was hoarse beyond reason, like a rusted iron bell, harsh and grating, nothing like the “fine” he claimed to be, but he still brushed off the clerk’s good intentions.
He took out his phone, scanned the code to pay, used the water in the store to swallow the medicine down, and walked out of the pharmacy without looking back.
“Where’s Ying Xun’s address?”
There was no subject in the sentence, but 999 knew it was being spoken to, and immediately popped out, eagerly saying, “What is it, Host? According to the data, the conquest target has several residences, but he’s currently staying at the Cishan Villa. Are you going to go find him?”
“Mm.” Jiang Yi raised his hand and flagged down a taxi, his voice calm. “Take me to find him. I mean the specific address in front of his house.”
999 drifted along with the wind, its tone humble and ingratiating. “The front of his house probably won’t work, the security at that villa is very good, Host, you probably won’t be able to get in. Would the entrance to the residential compound do?”
The taxi arrived, and Jiang Yi pulled open the car door, a faint mocking smile surfacing at the corner of his mouth. “I trust you’ll have a way.”
Around 9:30 at night, Ying Xun finished shooting the last set of endorsement materials, wrapped up, and took his phone back from Miao Xiuwen.
Three texts from an unknown number sprang up in front of his eyes.
One was from three hours ago.
【Unknown number: image.jpg. Teacher Ying, I’m outside your house. When do you get off work?】
One was from an hour ago.
【Unknown number: Teacher Ying, why aren’t you back yet? I’m so tired of waiting. Hurry up and come back, I’m waiting for you outside your house.】
And one was from ten minutes ago.
【Unknown number: Is Teacher Ying busy and didn’t see my texts, or is it that you don’t dare come back because I’m here? Don’t be afraid to come back, I won’t eat you.】
Just from these texts, one could already imagine how disgusting the tone and expression of the person on the other end of the phone must be.
Ying Xun cursed under his breath, his hand gripping the phone clenching tighter and tighter, the veins on the back of his hand bulging, the anger deepening in his bottomless black eyes.
He jabbed the phone off, his face full of anger, his expression grim, and strode straight toward the elevator.
Miao Xiuwen, off to the side and not understanding what was going on, hurried to catch up. “What’s wrong, Brother Xun? What happened?”
The elevator doors opened, and Miao Xiuwen followed Ying Xun in.
Ying Xun reached out and pressed the button for basement level 2, and holding back his anger, squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth, “Have Uncle Liu take you home, I’ll drive myself back.”
Miao Xiuwen looked at Ying Xun’s dark profile and said carefully, “Did something happen?”
“A bit of personal business.”
A “ding” sounded, and they arrived at basement level 2.
Ying Xun left Miao Xiuwen behind and headed straight for his exclusive parking spot where his black Maybach was, pulled open the door, buckled his seatbelt, stepped on the gas, and drove out of the underground parking lot.
Forty minutes later, the Maybach pulled into the Cishan Villa compound.
Looking out through the car window from a distance, in front of building 231-230, someone was crouched carelessly under the dim yellow streetlight.
Who else could it be but Jiang Yi, who’d been texting him?
At this moment, his disgust and anger toward Jiang Yi reached its peak, even worse than when he’d woken up to find Jiang Yi lying completely naked beside him.
Ying Xun cursed under his breath again, raised his hand and slammed it hard on the steering wheel, and flicked on the high beams.
Under the intense light, the sound of braking and a sharp, ear-piercing horn rang out at the same time.
Right after, the car door was pushed open from the inside, then slammed shut hard with a “bang.”
A tall, straight figure strode toward Jiang Yi through the harsh white light.
If not for the ice-cold look in his eyes and his tense expression, judging just from that urgent pace, it might have almost seemed like warmth.
Jiang Yi raised his hand and watched Ying Xun approach him through the gaps between his fingers, the corners of his thin, soft lips curving up lightly, a faint smile of amusement spinning out.
Using his other hand to brace against the lamp post, he stood up unsteadily, and meeting Ying Xun’s furious face, black enough to drip ink, he said softly, full of endless tenderness, “Teacher Ying, you’re finally back. I thought…”
“Mm—”
The words he hadn’t finished saying were cut off by the large hand that grabbed tightly at his collar.
Jiang Yi, like a broken marionette, was yanked to Ying Xun’s side, his limbs, as if the strings had been cut, swaying limply with the force.
The fist raised in midair stopped abruptly, five centimeters from Jiang Yi’s provoking smiling face.
The veins on Ying Xun’s forehead jumped, and gritting his teeth to hold back the urge to punch Jiang Yi hard in the face, he released Jiang Yi’s collar and shoved him forward hard instead.
Jiang Yi’s back slammed hard into the solid perimeter wall, and along with his pained muffled grunt, it made quite a bit of noise in the quiet night sky.
But that lasted only a few seconds, the pained expression vanished in an instant, replaced by a smile even more smug and helpless than before.
“Cough, cough cough… What’s wrong with Teacher Ying? Why are you suddenly so angry for no reason?”
Ying Xun grabbed his collar again, closing in with towering rage, his bottomless black eyes full of ice. “How do you know this address? Who let you in?”
Warm breath sprayed directly onto Jiang Yi’s burning cheek, and at this extremely close distance, the mint and medicinal wood scent of pheromones lingered at the tip of Jiang Yi’s nose.
An omega’s instinctive dependence and attachment to their own alpha made something stir in his soul, somewhere in his body.
A flash of disgust quickly crossed Jiang Yi’s calm eyes, and he turned his face slightly away. “Didn’t I already say, I’d definitely contact Teacher Ying. As for how I know Teacher Ying’s address, and how I got in, I have my own ways. There’s no need to trouble Teacher Ying about it.”
Jiang Yi’s shamelessness and brazenness made Ying Xun’s face grow even darker, and the hand gripping Jiang Yi tightened again, his low voice unable to suppress his anger. “So what do you want? Do you want to use this to cling to me? Don’t even dream about it. I’m not one of your sugar daddies.”
Jiang Yi was choked enough to have trouble breathing, but he still kept his indifferent attitude, a faint smile at the corner of his mouth. “What kind of thing is that for Teacher Ying to say? What do you mean, cling to you? You’re already my alpha. How can it be called clinging when I come find my own alpha?”