Chapter 52

Rong Jing reached for his phone, but Wu Fuyu dodged, refusing to let him have it.

Wu Fuyu’s previously drunken gaze sharpened slightly, an aura of mischief surfacing. Seizing the moment, he swung a punch toward Rong Jing’s right cheek.

The punch barely missed, brushing past Rong Jing’s face. If he hadn’t dodged quickly, he would have been knocked down already by Wu Fuyu’s blow.

Just as Rong Jing evaded the punch, Wu Fuyu’s leg shot out in a powerful kick. Rong Jing dodged again, causing Wu Fuyu to miss. Rong Jing then pushed the stunned beauty aside. “Run away from here!”

At that moment, Wu Fuyu, in his haste to attack, flung the phone aside, sending it skidding across the plush carpet.

The explosive auras of the two Alphas instantly ignited the previously tense atmosphere, making it look like they were burning brightly.

The beauty finally felt the full force of the Alphas’ oppressive presence. Every cell in his body seemed to cry out in submission. He quickly distanced himself from the two fighting men, his legs nearly buckling.

Perhaps they were moving too fast for his eyes to follow.

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“You’re too ruthless, young master~” He taunted. The way he addressed him sounded more like a flirty insult.

After all, since the first time he saw Rong Jing until now, he had never shown him any respect.

Rong Jing, slightly out of breath from the recent exercise, asked, “What’s gotten into you?”

Wu Fuyu, who was currently suspected of having AA romantic tendencies, had been controlled by his cousin, Ji Jong Jie, recently. He could only hide in a hotel to avoid him. Who knew Ji Jong Jie would send several drugged Alphas to his room, also filling the room with aphrodisiac scents? Wu Fuyu, who was already drunk at that time, almost fell for it. Enraged, he cursed his cousin and stormed out.

He attacked Rong Jing earlier to see if the fluttering in his heart before was simply an illusion.

He wanted to verify it once more, but this time, the result was no better.

“I just wanna know if I’m going crazy. Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t plan any of this. If you don’t help me tonight, I might lose my chastity.”

Rong Jing thought for a moment, and then refused. “Then I guess you’ll just have to lose it.”

Wu Fuyu’s eyes widened in disbelief, “You can ignore someone in mortal danger?” Isn’t Rong Jing supposed to be a good guy?

Rong Jing was firm, “I can.”

Wu Fuyu, now fuming, turned to the delicate beauty who had been cowering in the corner. “Hey, how about a threesome?”

The beauty shook his head frantically, but when they caught sight of Wu Fuyu’s handsome face, he hesitated. Did they really want to play this dangerous game?

Realizing that Wu Fuyu didn’t appear to be as drunk as he pretended, Rong Jing dusted off his clothes and spat out, “Get lost.”

As he spoke, he bent down to pick up his phone. Just as he was about to say something, he realized the call had been disconnected at some point.

He tried calling back, but no one answered. Rong Jing fell into deep thought. A moment later, he noticed that the group chat for Imperial Power crew was buzzing with talk about the film festival, hoping that the team who went there would bring them back some gifts.

Even Gu Xi occasionally chimed in with a message or two. From the conversation, it seemed there was a large banquet scheduled for the evening.

Rong Jing sent a WeChat message: I had something come up earlier. Are you free now?

This message was not read and seemed to vanish into thin air. Perhaps… he just didn’t see it yet.

At that moment, Wu Fuyu turned to the beauty, who was still nervously eyeing their surroundings, waiting for an opportunity to take action, “Hey, that guy’s just a block of wood. Why don’t you pick someone else to serve? In terms of status, I won’t lose to him.”

The beauty looked over at Rong Jing, whose aura had suddenly become cold and distant. Hesitant, he turned back to Wu Fuyu. He was another striking Alpha, and to him, the fight earlier between them had been incredibly alluring.

Rong Jing, noticing that the beauty wasn’t being forced into anything, simply said, “Suit yourself.”

He had no interest in getting involved in someone else’s business, so he decided to leave the room to them. After he left, Wu Fuyu didn’t actually have the beauty to serve him. Instead, he gave them a large sum of hush money.

Leaning against the door, Wu Fuyu’s mind replayed the scenes from earlier. His hand moved absentmindedly until, in the moment of climax, the face he imagined was that same one that had shown him nothing but contempt.

Wu Fuyu slowly sat down, covering his face with his hands. “You’re done for.”

Meanwhile, Rong Jing headed to the Xie family’s house, where he personally made a bowl of West Lake beef soup for his older brother. The sweet and sour flavor was perfect for curing a hangover. He instructed the housekeeper to keep it warm and serve it once his brother woke up.

When he entered the room, he saw Xie Ling quietly in bed, his usual fierce demeanor softened into gentle contours.

Dark circles faintly rimmed Xie Ling’s eyes—a clear sign of staying up too late many times.

Rong Jing tucked the blanket more securely around Xie Ling and adjusted the central heating to a comfortable temperature before quietly leaving the room.

As the light faded, Xie Ling slowly opened his eyes, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. Then, he turned over and drifted back to sleep.

Rong Jing couldn’t shake his uneasiness as he waited for Gu Xi to reply. With so many twisted people around, and with this world’s way of rewarding scumbags with protection and halo effects, he was worried that Gu Xi might not be able to handle this world’s wickedness.

Just as he got into his car and opened his WeChat again, he noticed several missed voice calls. But Rong Jing didn’t bother checking them. Instead, he opened Gu Xi’s reply first.

It was a polite yet distant message: I was getting ready for the banquet so I had to hang up. Contact me when you can.

Something about the tone of Gu Xi’s message felt different, but Rong Jing couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Perhaps this was just how Gu Xi was.

Rong Jing finally scrolled through his classmates’ messages, urging him to come to the university’s athletic field, saying there was a surprise waiting for him.

That’s when he realized something wasn’t right. Even Ji Leping’s earlier hesitations had been signaling some hidden message.

He opened his social media, but there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. Then, he switched to the university forum. There were so many posts, and new ones come out every second he refreshes the forum. He glanced at the top topic and thought, ‘I knew it. Ditching this ex was going to be a real challenge.’

Rong Jing clicked into a livestream, just as an unknown number flashed across his phone.

From the other end came Qi Ying’s hopeful voice, “Rong Jing, I was wrong. Will you please come back to me?”

Qi Ying’s voice, accompanied by the sound of the wind, was soft and gentle, evoking their innocent memories and beautiful moments from the past.

He had borrowed a classmate’s phone to call since Rong Jing had deleted all of his contact information after their break up.

Rong Jing stared at the livestream on his computer. This was something the original soul had done for Qi Ying before, a grand gesture to win him over. Now, Qi Ying was doing it as well, every detail the same, his sincerity clear.

When the silence from Rong Jing lingered, Qi Ying continued, “You waited here for me once for three hours. Today, I’ve waited nearly six. This time, let me be your little star, okay?”

The students gathered around Qi Ying held their breath, waiting for Rong Jing’s answer.

Rong Jing’s calm voice finally came through the phone, “Have you broken up with Mr. Wen?”

Mr. Wen was Qi Ying’s former wealthy sponsor. He had broken up with him after realizing he couldn’t let Rong Jing go.

With that one question, Rong Jing had managed to shatter the atmosphere, deflating the excitement. He wasn’t about to let his confession be manipulated into something else. If a peaceful break up couldn’t end things, he was going to lay everything bare. At the very least, he wasn’t going to let anyone twist the narrative.

Just thinking about how the original soul of this body had indirectly died because of this overbearing flower left Rong Jing with no patience for pleasantries.

Awkwardly, Qi Ying responded, “Of course, we’ve broken up.” Why was Rong Jing bringing this up in front of everyone? He never used to be this blunt.

Rong Jing continued, “That day, I saw you get into Mr. Wen’s car. I chased after you, watching you leave in a cloud of dust. At that moment, I wondered, in your eyes, is money all that’s important?”

He ignored how pale Qi Ying was becoming on the live stream and went on, “At this moment, I finally get it. Money is important.”

Qi Ying: “…”

The crowd: “…” Whoa, now that’s heartless!

Even though Qi Ying had spent the whole night in the cold, waiting in vain, the sight of his utterly defeated expression somehow made the whole situation feel unexpectedly thrilling.

Rong Jing hadn’t said anything harsh to him, and everything came out sounding cultured and refined. However, each word seemed to carry a world of unspoken meaning.

This man, whose name had stayed for a long time in the university forum, had unknowingly garnered a small but growing sense of admiration from strangers who barely knew him.

*

On the other side of the world.

In the airport terminal, a beautiful blonde staff member smiled at the delicate Asian face in front of her. She had always thought that all Asians looked similar, but this man seemed to break the stereotype, his features so striking that it made her voice soften without her even realizing.

“Are you sure that you want to book a flight back to China right now? The next one is in seven hours. Does that work for you?”

Gu Xi stood in front of her, his movements pausing ever so slightly.

It was as if he had just woken up from a brain fog, suddenly jolted into awareness. He looked around. This was the airport he had just left not too long ago. Why was he back here now?

He recalled the video call he had made earlier, the rush of passion and intensity in what he had seen, the unique tension between two Alphas that had stirred something within him. He had left in a hurry, only to bump into a hotel staff delivering ninety nine roses—a gift he hadn’t anticipated.

After that, everything went blurry, and now, here he was, suddenly clear-headed again.

It was Gu Feng who had taken control of his body again.

Gu Xi politely declined the staff member’s question, then asked the presence in his mind: Why are you buying a ticket back home? Are you some kind of octopus? How did you move so fast?

Gu Feng: Can you for once stop holding yourself back? Whatever you’re itching to do, just act on it. I’m your desire, so I know what you want.

Gu Xi quickened his pace, heading outside the airport. The cold air seeped into his collar, and he pulled his scarf tighter around his face. His eyes dimmed for a moment as he realized who had given him this scarf.

In a short span of time, he had gone from feeling restless to blacking out, then regaining control of his own mind. Gu Xi felt as though he was slowly pulling himself out of a vortex.

Gu Xi: I still have work tomorrow. Could you stop messing things up for me?

Gu Feng: I know you’re freaking out. Aren’t you afraid he’ll be having a threesome with those people?

Gu Xi: What right do I have to ask him? Whether it’s Qi Ying or Wu Fuyu… that’s Rong Jing’s business, not mine.

Gu Feng: Wow, acting all indifferent now.

Gu Xi: Have you forgotten? Rong Jing has helped us so many times, more than we could ever repay. We owe him a debt we could never pay back, even in another lifetime. He agreed to match with me as a friend, not because of any hidden motives! He’s not like those guys with bad intentions. Don’t assume everyone has an agenda.

Gu Feng: So you’re really just trying to be his friend? Fine. If that’s the case, I’ll stop meddling right now.

Gu Xi got into a cab back to the hotel, watching the street lights blur past the window.

His eyes were indifferent and filled with extreme rationality.

He knew one thing: Rong Jing only felt sympathy for him, and maybe a little bit of admiration. However, whoever crossed the current line of their relationship risked shattering everything they had now.

After a long silence, Gu Xi finally responded to Gu Feng: Rong Jing has never wronged me, not even once. As someone who owes him, the least I can do is be the friend he needs and stick to the boundaries he’s set. That’s what he needs from me. You, on the other hand, are being excessive.

Gu Feng: Don’t force me to swear.

Gu Xi: You’re the one who’s always forcing me.

Gu Feng: As if you weren’t temporarily marked or anything.

Gu Xi: That was an accident.

Gu Xi placed a hand over his heart, calming himself before responding: And don’t cancel any more work without permission. Think about how many people have to work overtime and the trouble it causes the crew. If you’re part of a team, you can’t be selfish.

Gu Feng’s restless spirit had nowhere to go. He resigned himself to the scolding, itching to do something, to wake Gu Xi up. However, he knew better than anyone that Gu Xi was someone with incredible execution—if he said it, he would definitely follow through.

Gu Xi: Work hard. Even if no one loves you, you can’t lose your job.

This brief separation had surprisingly pulled him the chaotic emotions that had stirred within him. He had finally seen clearly the things he hadn’t understood before—he couldn’t cross boundaries any longer.

Now that there was still time, he needed to extinguish those flickering flames of desire one by one.

He had already taken several bites out of this overly sweet pancake, and his greed was becoming overwhelming.

Such an insatiable Omega was loathsome, greedy like a leech. Once Rong Jing realizes his true nature, it would already be too late for him to escape from him.

Someone like him, struggling in the mud, shouldn’t be dragging anyone else down with him.

Gu Xi crossed his arms, quietly gazing out the window as he replied to the crew’s inquiries about his whereabouts.

If Rong Jing were here, he would know that this was Gu Xi’s habitual self defense mechanism. It only surfaced when he sensed potential harm.

Gu Xi blink, forcing back the tears welling in his eyes.

He would keep himself in check, refusing to allow himself to sink deeper and cause trouble for Rong Jing.

When Gu Xi returned to the hotel, he ran into his anxious assistant, Mo Dian. “You scared me! I thought you’d gone missing in this unfamiliar place!

Gu Xi smiled, reassuring him, “The night view was stunning. I couldn’t help but take a stroll. I’ll definitely let you know next time.”

Mo Dian hesitated, glancing at the ninety nine roses that had been knocked to the ground. He asked, “What should we do with these?”

These gifts followed Gu Xi wherever he went, turning what was once a heartfelt gesture into something akin to a phobia of roses for Mo Dian, who had gone from being moved to utterly terrified.

Gu Xi didn’t even lift his gaze, likely knowing which creep had sent them. “Throw them away.”

Seeing that Gu Xi seemed unfazed and was even more composed than he had been on the plane, Mo Dian felt relieved and returned to organizing Gu Xi’s luggage.

Gu Xi also found the gift Rong Jing had given him before boarding and made a mental note to check it later. He had originally planned to open it immediately upon landing, but now, leaving it unopened felt like the right choice.

Gu Xi gently brushed his fingers over the surface of the gift box, pushing back his previous anticipation and desire at a suitable distance. He tucked it back into his bag, letting it remain where it belonged.

“You’re good, just way too good.”

He knew he would be ensnared by those who were insatiable.

But he wasn’t afraid, even if he were to become uncontrollable, he couldn’t bear to hurt him in any way.