Chapter 15: Be a Good Person
Wen En frowned. This Alpha bastard was making trouble out of nothing again.
“Let’s leave it at that for now,” Wen En said into the communicator before hanging up. Just as he was about to question Romeo, a sudden screech of brakes interrupted everything.
“What are you trying to do—” Before he could finish his sentence, his body lurched forward with inertia, like a wrecking ball.
“Bang—”
The two people in the back seat crashed into each other, but that wasn’t the main point.
Wen En’s eyes were fixed on Romeo, and Romeo was also staring at Wen En. Their lips, by sheer coincidence, pressed together.
“…”
“…”
For a moment, an awkward silence fell over the back seat.
Wen En’s face was expressionless, his body as stiff as a stone sculpture.
Romeo’s cheeks, on the other hand, turned from fair to pink within seconds. The coconut-lemon scent of his pheromones leaked out uncontrollably, filling the entire back seat.
In comparison, the front seat was much livelier.
The taxi driver in the driver’s seat rolled down his window and stuck his head out. He saw two large geese with black necks and white chins, their backs and chests covered in light brown spotted feathers, waddling across the road with their fluffy children.
They ignored the traffic laws as if they were strolling in their own backyard, forcing many cars to a halt.
“Hey, watch the road!” the driver shouted, honking the horn a few times. Urged on by the piercing sound, the goose couple finally waddled to the sidewalk with their children.
“Are you guys okay?” The taxi driver even considerately turned his head to check if Wen En and Romeo had been injured by the sudden stop, but he unintentionally stumbled upon a misleading scene.
“Oh, my apologies. I hope I didn’t disturb you,” the driver said apologetically. After speaking, he even thoughtfully raised the partition between the front and back seats.
“Please continue. I respect the privacy of all my guests. Just please try not to get the back seat dirty.”
Wen En: …
Romeo: …
No, I think you’ve misunderstood.
Romeo’s mind was a tangled mess. He thought, Should I explain to the driver that he and Wen En aren’t in that kind of relationship? They’re not even colleagues at the moment.
The car slowly started moving again. Wen En sat up, his expression still unchanged.
But Romeo looked much more flustered. He scrambled back to his original seat, his face alternating between red and white. He turned his head and stared at the clouds drifting outside the window, at the sunlight that sometimes hid behind them and sometimes reappeared.
The sunlight on his face made Romeo’s face feel even hotter.
Damn it… why is Wen En so calm? Why is he the only one whose heart is in a mess? Romeo felt it was so unfair.
Just then, a hand suddenly appeared in front of him.
This is… Romeo looked closely. It was a button, lying quietly in Wen En’s palm.
“Your button,” Wen En still looked very calm. “Do you still want it?”
For some reason, Romeo felt a little annoyed. “No, I don’t,” he said, frowning and crossing his arms, looking very displeased, though it was unclear what he was displeased about.
“Oh,” Wen En replied. Without much thought, he casually tossed the button into the portable trash bag in the car.
“…” Romeo was silent again. No, you really threw it away? But he was the one who had allowed it, so he couldn’t say anything. This made him even angrier. He shifted in his seat, moving further away from Wen En. This time, he really intended not to say a single word to him.
He glanced at Wen En again. Wen En was staring at the front window, lost in thought, perhaps thinking about that accidental and awkward kiss.
Romeo looked at the scenery outside the window and felt that something was increasingly wrong.
The tree-lined avenue, once bustling with pedestrians, gradually turned into a desolate road with few people and no trees. The clouds also disappeared, and the harsh sunlight on his face made his skin burn uncomfortably.
Romeo was no fool. He paused his one-sided cold war with Wen En and asked, “Aren’t we going back to the K9 Planet Police Department to rest?”
The sunlight cast a shadow on Wen En’s defined features. Wen En turned his face, his deep brown eyes looking at Romeo. Wen En’s voice was not loud, but it was firm, leaving no room for Romeo to argue.
“Change of plans. We’re on a tight schedule. We’re going back to Capital Star now.”
“A tight schedule?”
Wen En nodded. “This is the way to the flight transit station on K9 Planet. Della is on her way with Claire and will meet us soon.”
Every planet had one to three flight transit stations. These stations housed commercial passenger spacecraft and a few military spacecraft. They were essential means of transportation for the residents of the important Interstellar Federation Empire.
These were spacecraft that could travel at two and a half times the speed of light on cosmic routes. Romeo’s azure eyes showed undisguised wariness. Once he boarded the spacecraft, there would be no possibility of escape.
Unless he wanted to be baked into dust by the high temperatures generated by light-speed travel.
“What’s wrong? Do you have other ideas? Or did you leave something behind?” Wen En said calmly. “If you really did leave something behind, you can just buy a new one at a store when we get to Capital Star.”
The blunt edges of his nails dug into the flesh of his palm. Romeo pursed his lips. He was no fool; of course he understood the hidden meaning in Wen En’s words.
Wen En meant for him to stop causing trouble and obediently follow the arrangements.
At this moment, he deeply felt that even if he was angry, it was useless. Wen En had won, both openly and secretly. He had won completely.
Even if he threw a tantrum in this relatively spacious taxi, it would be like punching cotton. No, it would be even worse. His anger and attacks would rebound on him. No one but him would be hurt.
Romeo lowered his head. After a long while, Wen En heard him say, “I have no other ideas.”
“That’s good,” Wen En smiled. This time, it wasn’t a fake smile, but a genuine one from the heart.
Wen En was sure that, at least for the next fifteen minutes, Romeo would not bother him again.
The taxi turned at a fork in the road and finally stopped in front of a building that was wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, like a porcelain bowl.
This was the flight transit station on K9 Planet. K9 Planet had three transit stations, and the one in front of them was the only one with military spacecraft.
“You’ve reached your destination. Have a pleasant journey,” the driver in the driver’s seat said, lowering the partition between the front and back seats and smiling at the two in the back with great service spirit.
“Thank you,” Wen En nodded. After paying the fare, he gave the driver a large tip. The driver grinned from ear to ear.
Wen En opened the car door and got out. He stood by the open door and said to Romeo, who was huddled in his seat like a light-fearing mouse, “Come on, get out.”
Why should I listen to you? —That’s what Romeo thought, but his body was very honest. He obediently and slowly got out of the car.
Soon, the driver left to pick up other passengers. Outside the transit station, Romeo stood next to Wen En and asked, “Aren’t we going in?”
“Let’s wait. Della and the others haven’t arrived yet,” Wen En said, looking around.
“Alright,” Romeo said. But waiting was boring. Romeo wanted to find something to do. So, he asked, “Can I go buy some cigarettes?”
Wen En glanced at him and said, “No. I hate the smell of smoke.”
“Oh,” Romeo silently withdrew his gaze from the convenience store.
“Especially Alphas who smoke. The smell of pheromones mixed with the stench of smoke is even more nauseating,” Wen En added expressionlessly.
“I know, I know. I won’t smoke, okay?” Why are you being so harsh? Romeo muttered.
Actually, he wasn’t a heavy smoker. He just smoked a few when he was stressed. Honestly, standing next to Wen En, anyone, whether an Alpha or not, would feel stressed, right? Could you blame Romeo for that?
Alright, it was partly his fault. If he had chosen to be a law-abiding citizen back then, he wouldn’t be in Wen En’s grasp now.
Romeo was filled with regret. He had never thought that being a good person was that important before, but now, he knew he was wrong. He really wanted to slap his past self twice.
Romeo: I’ve learned my lesson. Please let me go.
Just as Romeo was filled with remorse for the mistakes he had made in his youth, a taxi stopped in front of them. The front passenger and back seat doors opened, and three people got out of the car at the same time.
It was RV and Della. They had brought Claire. They had finally arrived.
Having not seen her for a day, Claire looked much more haggard.
Claire followed behind a female Beta. She was wearing a short-sleeved plain black shirt and jeans, her hair falling over her shoulders. There were dark circles under her eyes, and she looked like she hadn’t had enough rest.
But despite being haggard, Claire’s cheeks were not bruised or swollen. There were no signs of her having been slapped.
Romeo was speechless. Good grief, so after all this, was he the only one who got slapped?
