Chapter 13: Dark-Skinned Rugged Honest Man 13

Two simple plates of home-cooked dishes came together quickly.

When Jiang Rang carried the food out to the table, he had only loosely tied a gray apron around his waist. The muscles in his bare shoulders bulged slightly, smooth and powerfully toned.

Chen Jingxu sat bolt upright at the cramped little dining table, his posture ramrod straight, not even shifting the position of his hands. He looked for all the world like a massive, perfectly behaved dog.

Jiang Rang had told him not to move around, and so the alpha stayed perfectly still. Only his head and eyes tracked the beta’s every motion.

The young man couldn’t help but chuckle at the man’s excessive obedience.

Jiang Rang wiped the oil from his hands on his apron and slid the bowls and utensils over to Chen Jingxu. Patiently, he demonstrated step by step how to use a spoon to eat.

Chen Jingxu simply stared at him, half understanding, half not. In practice, though, rice still ended up scattered everywhere.

Helpless, the beta didn’t push it. Instead, he fed the little dog by hand, making sure he could see every movement clearly.

The alpha watched with intense focus. But before long, his gaze drifted from Jiang Rang’s hands to the beta’s wheat-toned cheeks, glistening with a fine sheen of sweat.

He seemed to love watching the young man. As long as the beta was in the room, his eyes clung to him with utter devotion.

Jiang Rang didn’t know what to do with him, but he couldn’t bring himself to scold him harshly.

After the meal, the young man carefully reapplied medicine to the alpha’s wounds.

Chen Jingxu’s regenerative abilities were impressive indeed. Even with the most basic salve, in just a day or two, every injury except the deepest ones that cut to the bone showed clear signs of healing.

He was still hurt, though, and even an alpha’s immunity took a hit. A low-grade fever kept coming and going, refusing to break completely.

Deeply worried but too afraid to take the man to a hospital, Jiang Rang resorted to an old country remedy. He piled a thin quilt and some clothes over him, trapping the heat to sweat it out.

But the usually docile Chen Jingxu suddenly refused to settle down and sleep. He grew visibly anxious, letting out muffled whines and woofs from his throat. His ink-green eyes stayed wide open for long stretches, his lashes fluttering like flowers swaying in the moonlight. Beneath the covers, his hands kept scratching restlessly.

Thinking it was the wounds itching as they healed—and with the alpha acting purely on instinct, unable to understand restraint—Jiang Rang lifted the quilt to check.

To his surprise, the strikingly handsome man on the bed wasn’t clawing at his injuries at all. The moment the covers came off, he shrank back toward the wall with all his strength, leaving just enough space on the narrow bed for one more person. A look of longing and caution filled his pale, beautiful face.

It was obvious: the little dog was inviting his master to sleep beside him.

Jiang Rang’s lunch break was short. He hesitated for a moment, then slid onto the bed beside him.

He was afraid that if he didn’t, the insecure alpha would keep fussing all afternoon.

Sure enough, the instant Jiang Rang settled in, Chen Jingxu rolled over and pressed himself into the beta’s arms. He buried his face against Jiang Rang’s chest, his breaths coming soft and shallow, as if terrified that even the slightest exhale might make the beta push him away.

The alpha squeezed his eyes shut tight. His refined, scholarly features had grown gaunt from pain and exhaustion, and even in sleep, he trembled now and then. Jiang Rang watched him for a while before gently patting his back in a soothing rhythm.

The low-rent apartment had no air conditioning, not even a fan. The bed was tiny, and with two grown men crammed together, skin to skin, the beta soon felt the heat building. The alpha’s feverish breath puffed hot against his chest.

Paradoxically, Chen Jingxu was drenched in sweat but acted as if he felt nothing at all. A faint smile even curved his cheek, marked with its web of red scars.

Jiang Rang started to ease himself off the bed, but the alpha’s eyes snapped half-open in instant alarm. The beta froze. Just as he began to lie back down, those eyes drifted shut again. Then came a soft murmur right by his ear, little more than a whisper.

“Jiang… Rang.”

The pronunciation was clumsy and slurred, yet perfectly clear.

It was like a baby cooing its mother’s name.

The beta froze in shock. From the moment he’d found the injured man the night before, he’d never once mentioned his own name.

Chen Jingxu had forgotten every shred of human knowledge and custom. How could he possibly remember that?

Jiang Rang found it baffling, but he had no time to dwell on it. His afternoon shift was fast approaching. He slipped out of bed as quietly as he could, changed clothes, and left.

He still had an evening shift off. As long as Mr. Qi didn’t summon him, he could come back and check on Chen Jingxu.

Truth be told, Jiang Rang’s attentive care for the alpha came with a touch of selfishness.

Chen Jingxu’s status was evident. His current state of ruin was no big deal—as long as he recovered one day, he would surely return to his powerful clan. In that case, Jiang Rang would be his lifesaver.

The young man had no intentions of leveraging that favor for personal gain. If the other party offered compensation, that would be ideal; his family’s exorbitant medical bills were still piling up. If not, the honest beta wouldn’t raise a fuss.

After all, when he’d chosen to save the man at the start, he truly hadn’t thought that far ahead. It had been a pure act of kindness, something that left the youth genuinely pleased.

~~~

The days that followed were far more peaceful.

Chen Jingxu’s wounds healed swiftly, and his ability to pick up new things accelerated with time.

It took just over a week for him to progress from needing Jiang Rang to guide him hand-in-hand through walking, bathing, and even using the toilet, to handling all those tasks smoothly, no different from any ordinary person.

Chen Jingxu could even haltingly utter a few words, or even form a complete sentence.

Yet he was reluctant to speak much. Deep down, the man didn’t seem to view himself as ‘human’ at all. The only reason he complied with those tasks was that they were Jiang Rang’s commands.

The phrase he pronounced most fluidly was Jiang Rang’s name.

Like a young child clinging to his mother, the man nestled against the youth—so much so that merely hearing the beta’s name brought him visible joy.

Delighted by this progress, Jiang Rang decided to push further by having the alpha practice writing his own name.

As expected, Chen Jingxu took to it with keen interest.

Before long, the low-rent apartment was littered with scraps of paper of all sizes, each scribbled with Jiang Rang’s name.

Seeing such rapid improvement, Jiang Rang figured it was time to teach him to write his full name.

The alpha practiced obediently as instructed, but when the youth checked the next day, he simply blinked in confusion, having forgotten everything.

On top of that, there were other baffling matters that left the beta utterly perplexed.

The alpha clearly had a strong grasp of tools—he could even help Jiang Rang with the dishes and household chores—but no matter what, he couldn’t learn to feed himself.

If Jiang Rang steeled himself, put on a stern face, and drilled the lesson home, the alpha would shrink back with a timid, aggrieved expression until the youth relented with a helpless pat on the head.

Then there was the issue of sleeping in separate beds.

Chen Jingxu’s sleep was terribly restless. He depended on the youth far too much; without Jiang Rang by his side, he could lie there awake until noon the next day, only collapsing into slumber once the beta arrived.

Even more awkward to mention was how the alpha behaved like a puppy fixated on the oral stage. He always buried his face in the youth’s chest while sleeping. If Jiang Rang dozed off too, he’d awaken to find Little Dog latched affectionately onto his nipple.

Sometimes the lips had slipped inside the beta’s shirt; other times, they suckled through a thin, damp layer of fabric.

This left Jiang Rang’s chest perpetually red and chafed with soreness during that stretch.

He’d scolded Chen Jingxu more than once, but it did no good. So the youth devised a plan: he prepared food for the alpha in advance, then deliberately went cold, avoiding the low-rent apartment all day long.

When he returned the next day, the cramped, dim room—which had never held much to begin with—was in utter shambles, as if viciously torn apart by some sharp implement.

The tall, strikingly handsome alpha knelt rigidly at the threshold. The moment he spotted the beta, he murmured the youth’s name in a timid apology, his green eyes shimmering with pitiful, bloodshot tears.

He’d reduced himself to a pitiful state, wagging his tail like a true dog begging before his master.

Jiang Rang was utterly at a loss with him. He could only keep a cold expression as he directed the alpha to tidy everything up.

The alpha was obedient to a fault. Even with the beta appearing so stern and distant, he bounced around with glee, his refined, noble features taking on a touch of endearing silliness.

The youth’s heart softened despite himself, but he held firm to his principles. No matter what, he refused to share a bed with the alpha again. He’d made up his mind: pitiful looks, wheedling, and coquettish pleas wouldn’t sway him this time.

Joking aside, setting his own engagement contract aside, an alpha and a beta were still different secondary genders. Propriety demanded they keep their distance.

What’s more, Chen Jingxu hadn’t fully regained his senses yet, but that didn’t mean he never would. The man was nobility through and through—even with the best temper, he might one day recall these events and feel deeply humiliated, leaving Jiang Rang to face the consequences.

Jiang Rang might play the Honest Person in this world, but people didn’t stay static forever. Ever since leaving the countryside for the city, his mindset had already leaped forward in massive strides.

~~~

Qi Yu pressed his aching temples. Lately, the internal strife within the Chen Family and Chen Jingxu’s unexplained disappearance had thrown part of his plans into disarray. Whether to recalibrate or simply to bury the secrets weighing on his heart, he hadn’t returned to the Li Family Villa in nearly two weeks.

The omega’s complexion had turned a sickly ashen gray. His downcast eyes, showing too much white below, hung perpetually low, while the deep bluish shadows beneath them lent him an increasingly cold, pathological air—like a patient in the grip of a terminal illness.

Scorching sunlight poured through the expansive floor-to-ceiling windows, stabbing at the man, yet he seemed on the verge of melting into the blinding glare.

In a fleeting moment of distraction, Qi Yu recalled the past. He had never cared for the sun; it was too fierce, like an ocean of raging flames.

Jiang Rang was different. The beta seemed to thrive on bright, piercing things. Every morning, he would smile as he drew back the curtains, allowing sunlight to flood Qi Yu’s private sanctuary.

If questioned, the young man would reply, “Mister, you should get some sun. It’ll make you healthier… and better looking.”

Qi Yu would always yield to him inexplicably.

His fingertip traced the image of the young man bustling about his morning routine on the surveillance monitor. He could recite the beta’s daily schedule with his eyes closed, no second thought required.

The beta rose before dawn, pulling out dictionaries and books to study. Then he would head to the master bedroom. Even without a trace of the master having slept there, the young man cleaned it meticulously, always replacing the flowers in the vase with the freshest blooms.

Afterward, he threw himself into chores around the rest of the villa, his energy boundless, as if he feared a single idle moment.

Lately, though, the beta had changed. During his breaks, he kept heading out—who knew what for.

Qi Yu’s fingers clenched tight. Across his gaunt cheeks, the play of light and shadow carved an expression of raw yearning.

Abruptly, he dialed the driver, uttering just one curt phrase.

“Head back to the villa today.”

The driver handled the car with steady precision. Before Qi Yu could fully collect himself, they had already pulled up to the entrance.

He didn’t step out right away. Years of erratic meals and bottled-up emotions left him prone to melancholy and outbursts, his chronic headaches a constant shadow.

The omega leaned back against the plush seatback, fishing a small pill bottle from the black pocket at his chest. He swallowed several tablets dry, then slowly raised his face—overcast and ghostly pale, like a bewitching specter.

He exhaled a pent-up breath, catching a faint whiff of rust amid the staleness.

Only after a long pause did the long-haired man grasp the door handle, descending from the car with stiff, icy movements.

By chance, a servant was just then returning through the entrance, cradling a paper bag wrapped with exquisite care.

Spotting the master of the house, the servant tensed visibly. Before the Male Master could speak, he blurted out, “Mister, Jiang Rang asked me to pick this up for him—some clothes. He hasn’t come back yet. Should I give it to you?”

The servant assumed the clothes inside were something the master had ordered privately.

The man’s throat tightened abruptly, realization dawning. A sheer veil of pink bloomed slowly across his unnaturally pale cheeks.

He managed only a low hum, accepting the elegant paper bag.

His heartbeat stirred to life, sluggish at first. Inexperienced in matters of the heart, the man couldn’t help wondering: What did Jiang Rang mean by this? Had he bought it specially… for him?

Were all those recent outings just to have clothes custom-made for him?

Why?

…Because he seemed unhappy, and this was his way of cheering him up?

Qi Yu had never seen himself as some fragile omega in need of coddling. Yet in this moment, he found the idea of being soothed like that… rather nice.

Suppressing the tide of emotions rising within, the man entered the master bedroom and softly latched the door behind him.

The habitually fastidious omega, who prized cleanliness above all, didn’t even pause to shed his outer coat. His dark eyes gleamed with a misty, vaporous light as, with the delicate care of unwrapping a gift, he eased open the beautifully packaged bag.

Nestled inside was a black long trench coat—slim-cut, hardly suited for summer.

Qi Yu owned several like it, each far more refined, superior, and costly.

Yet for once, the man’s brows eased. Strands of long hair draped across his chest, mirroring the swirling, tangled thoughts in his heart.

Heart fluttering with newfound emotion, the omega wondered anxiously: Should he try it on right now? Jiang Rang would be thrilled to see him in it, wouldn’t he?