Chapter 85

Today was Yu Xi’s day off, and it happened to be Yi Chen’s day off as well.

Yu Xi chose to stay home, while Yi Chen chose to stay at Yu Xi’s home.

At that moment, Yi Chen was cooking.

Not long ago, Yi Chen had shown up with ingredients in hand, barged right into Yu Xi’s place, planted a kiss on Yu Xi who was lounging on the sofa binge-watching dramas, and headed straight to the kitchen, where he remained.

Yu Xi pulled over the snack cart Yi Chen had set up, tore open a bag of chips.

Lately, Yi Chen had been coming over more and more frequently. Every visit, he stayed the night, and each time he “forgot” some personal items.

The house was filling up with more and more things related to Yi Chen.

“What are we eating today?” Yu Xi asked.

“Sour cabbage fish and big hairy crabs.” Yi Chen thought for a moment, turned his head from the kitchen, “How about crab roe noodles for the staple?”

“Sure. Who’s washing the dishes?”

The atmosphere fell into a brief silence.

Yi Chen: “You don’t have a dishwasher?”

Yu Xi: “Nope.”

Yi Chen: “We can use disposable utensils.”

Yu Xi: “What about the pots?”

Yi Chen looked at Yu Xi. The outcome didn’t matter; he actually enjoyed these little bickering moments with Yu Xi.

Steam filled the kitchen, a faint aroma wafted out, and the homely scent clung to Yi Chen. Yu Xi smiled, got up, and walked over to him. He stuffed two chips into Yi Chen’s mouth, tilted his head up, and pressed a kiss to the corner of his lips.

A chip-flavored kiss.

“I’ll do it.”

Yi Chen: “!”

Yi Chen: “Our Fish Fish Teacher has been incredibly proactive lately.”

“Don’t worry.” Yu Xi leaned against the marble counter nearby and opened a shopping app. “It won’t last long. Buying a dishwasher is more reliable.”

Yu Xi selected a suitably sized dishwasher, placed the order, and just then, Guan Zifan sent a work message. Yu Xi didn’t bother leaving the kitchen and simply stayed by Yi Chen’s side to reply.

He typed away as the two chatted idly.

“Isn’t the Pheromone Matching Degree result coming out soon?”

“Yeah?” Yu Xi hadn’t been paying much attention to it lately. He had too many other things on his mind, so the matching degree took a back seat. “It should be soon, right?”

Yu Xi paused, as if suddenly remembering something. He stopped typing, locked his screen, and looked up at Yi Chen seriously. “Have you tested it? Any Omegas with over 90% match?”

A matching degree over 90% was practically soulmate level. The app would proactively push Omega or Alpha profiles to each other—the higher the match, the stronger the mutual attraction.

“Nope, impossible, doesn’t exist.” Yi Chen’s survival instincts were in overdrive.

“Let me see?” Yu Xi narrowed his eyes.

“Sure, if you want.” Yi Chen finished the hands-on tasks; now it just needed to simmer. He set a timer, removed his apron, reached out, and wrapped an arm around Yu Xi’s waist. “What identity are you checking with now? Rival? Business partner? Old friend? Good bro? Lip friendship?”

He was too close, his breath hot. Yu Xi’s ears turned a bit red, but he couldn’t lose momentum: “What do you think? Where’s your sense of ceremony?”

“Sometimes I get a little impatient.” Yi Chen admitted honestly. “After all, prying open a certain someone’s mouth is pretty tough.”

“Not tough for these five minutes.” Yu Xi leaned in closer, tilted his head up, and gently nipped at his lip.

It was an intense kiss, but not overly so. Their breaths lost control the moment their lips touched. They held each other tightly until the timer suddenly beeped, forcing them to reluctantly part.

Yu Xi’s ears burned, his face burned, and he felt the even hotter spot where he and Yi Chen pressed together—but perhaps this wasn’t the right time to take it further. Yi Chen pulled back first, steadied Yu Xi by the shoulders, ushered him out of the kitchen, turned, and shut the kitchen door.

Yu Xi: “?”

Guan Zifan’s messages came again. Yu Xi disliked long voice notes, and Guan Zifan found typing inconvenient, so he broke the long voice message into countless ten-second clips.

“Weekend Go Where has two more episodes left before it ends. You’ll enter the group shoot next, and after The Boundless wraps, it’s the New Year’s Gala. A few TV stations and platforms have reached out early; I’ve picked some suitable ones—you should review them. Also, your concert next year; we need to start prepping the setlist. I’ll make one here, you make one there, and submit for approval in advance.”

“I talked to The Boundless’s promo team; we’ve roughly settled it. You can do a few live interactions during filming, but not too many. Focus the main promotions during the broadcast period—though you guys handle that yourselves. Oh, right, you two asleep yet?”

Yu Xi: “…”

Yu Xi: “It’s the middle of the day, and you’re asking if I’ve slept?”

Guan Zifan: “Out of all that, you only caught the last sentence?”

Yu Xi: “I heard it all, every word!”

Guan Zifan: “Got it, so you haven’t slept.”

Yu Xi: “…”

He glanced toward Yi Chen in the kitchen, who was humming a tune, shoulders swaying happily to the rhythm.

Yu Xi gritted his teeth: “.”

Guan Zifan hadn’t asked before, but now that he mentioned it, Yu Xi suddenly started pondering.

Including today, plus the heat period when he differentiated into an Omega, plus the first heat after secondary differentiation—how many times had Yi Chen pushed him away now??

The mood was right, the reactions were there, but Yi Chen had this damn sense of ceremony in these matters, stubbornly stopping short of the final step.

Back when they were like dogs in heat every day, even before they talked it out and reconciled, he reacted intensely at the drop of a hat—where was this ceremony talk then?

Could it be… he was getting older, some unspoken issue?

“That’s it for now; heading to a meeting. Remember to send the setlist.” Guan Zifan teased and quickly ended the chat.

Yu Xi: “.”

With no interruptions, Yu Xi began seriously mulling over the issue.

No matter how much ceremony, they were two adults now, an A and an O—things going off the rails would be normal, right?

He hadn’t even said no.

But this wasn’t something to discuss with real-life friends. Yu Xi thought for a bit, opened his alt account, and tapped into the chat with [Geng Shang Lou].

[Zhen Bu Chi Yumi: Sis, got a question to ask.]

[Zhen Bu Chi Yumi: Did you reconcile with your ex?]

[Zhen Bu Chi Yumi: Is your life normal now?]

[Zhen Bu Chi Yumi: My ex and I… he’s super ceremonial, always stops before the last step. You think it’s some unspoken issue?]

In the kitchen, Yi Chen, who was searching for seasoning tutorials, saw the barrage of notifications: “????”

–

Life went on steadily, everything proceeding orderly—except [Geng Shang Lou], who for some reason seemed quite triggered and spent the next few days staunchly defending Yi Chen.

[Geng Shang Lou: He’s just afraid of accidentally hurting you.]

[Geng Shang Lou: You know, sometimes it gets pretty intense; better to wait until the condition’s right.]

[Geng Shang Lou: Let me think—maybe he’s worried about over-marking by accident? Hard to stay rational when excited; understandable.]

[Geng Shang Lou: It’s a sign of respect! Afraid you might not be in the mood and won’t enjoy it!]

[Geng Shang Lou: He’s concerned about your health!]

[Geng Shang Lou: Anyway, no problem—he couldn’t have a problem! Don’t worry!!]

[Geng Shang Lou: Hmm, why are you still calling him your ex? Didn’t you reconcile?]

[Geng Shang Lou: You there? Why no reply, sis? Don’t overthink weird stuff.]

[Geng Shang Lou: No thinking!]

Yu Xi: “.”

These past few days, Yu Wan had sent a ton of messages too, likely prepping for surgery.

Yu Xi didn’t pay much attention, focusing on work instead. Weekend Go Where‘s seventh live episode ended, and the eighth finale was next.

For the eighth episode, all guests headed to the Seaside Resort District.

Two days before departure, Yu Wan appeared before the public again.

It looked like a shaky, blurry video shot impromptu on a staff member’s phone, unstable and wobbly.

In the frame, Yu Wan leaned on a crutch, her expression collapsed in despair, screaming hoarsely: “My leg!! My leg!!! You didn’t prepare properly pre-op, post-op infection—you’ve ruined my leg!!!”