Chapter 24: Green Eyes (24)

When Xu Zhiyuan returned, he found only an empty room. Reason crumbled. The noise in his ears became a sharp, piercing screech, and a blood-red hue crept into the corners of his vision.

Which bastard was it this time, seducing his Little Xun?

Bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard bastard.

He followed the trail of his own pheromones and found him. Unsurprisingly, there was the insect coveting his wife.

It felt like they were back in that dark stairwell, the terror of being crushed imprinted deep in his genes. The gap between an S-Rank and an A-Rank was an impassable chasm.

How could a weakling like him be worthy of touching Xu Zhiyuan’s person? The burning liquor-scented pheromones blanketed the area, ruthlessly suppressing the jasmine fragrance.

The Top-tier Alpha’s mental power struck like a javelin, effortlessly piercing his mental barriers. The joy in Qi Yue’s eyes froze, but he didn’t retreat. He stood ramrod straight against that terrifying pressure, even as every cell in his body screamed in agony.

In the bizarre standoff, Shen Qiuxun, still gnawing on a sand rat leg, finally looked up. He paused briefly upon seeing Xu Zhiyuan. The man’s face was expressionless, his gaze heavy.

“?” Shen Qiuxun glanced at Qi Yue, whose face was pale as death beside him. Belatedly, he tossed a bone at Xu Zhiyuan, nailing him right in the face.

The injury didn’t look as severe as it had this afternoon. An Alpha’s recovery really was impressive.

Qi Yue trembled all over but stubbornly held out the roasted sand rat.

Shen Qiuxun reached for it. But just as his hand was a hair’s breadth from the aluminum foil package, a fierce gale roared past him. In the blink of an eye, Xu Zhiyuan had Qi Yue by the neck, slamming him viciously into the wall. The man grunted, and spiderweb cracks splintered across the solid concrete surface.

“!!!”

The veins on Xu Zhiyuan’s arm bulged as he slowly lifted Qi Yue off the ground. Qi Yue’s face turned purple from the chokehold, yet he still refused to drop the item in his hand.

“What crazy fit are you throwing now, you bitch?” Shen Qiuxun stepped forward and grabbed Xu Zhiyuan’s arm, but it was like trying to bend a steel bar.

Blood trickled from Qi Yue’s nostrils, then the corner of his mouth. His face was deathly pale, cold sweat beading on his skin. Only his eyes, bulging from their sockets, showed no sign of backing down, glaring fiercely at the Alpha before him.

Xu Zhiyuan turned his head. Storm clouds churned deep within his grass-green eyes, his voice taut. “Do you like him?”

“?” Shen Qiuxun looked at Qi Yue’s half-dead state.

“What the hell? Let go!”

“He’s just a bitch who can barely protect himself. He’s an Alpha too. How could he ever compare to me?”

“Huh?”

Shen Qiuxun took a deep breath. “Let. Go. First.”

Xu Zhiyuan shifted his grip, his thumb and index finger pressing against Qi Yue’s throat. But his grass-green eyes stayed fixed only on Shen Qiuxun, his teeth grinding audibly.

A slap would set him straight.

Xu Zhiyuan released his hand. Qi Yue slid helplessly to the ground, coughing uncontrollably like a fish out of water. Blood splattered onto the ground. He was a pitiful, wretched sight.

Slap— Shen Qiuxun smacked Xu Zhiyuan across the face. The force was considerable, snapping the man’s head to the side and leaving a vivid red handprint. Now it was symmetrical.

His green eyes flickered. Xu Zhiyuan grabbed the hand that had slapped him, his expression turning aggrieved. “I don’t like you being with him.”

“Who the hell are you, my dad? Gotta stick your nose in everything?” Shen Qiuxun yanked his hand back with force.

Taking a deep breath, Shen Qiuxun extended his hand again, paused mid-air, then pulled it back.

Xu Zhiyuan seized the opportunity to take his hand. He shot a cold glance at the person on the ground, but when he turned back to Shen Qiuxun, his gaze softened. “Let’s go.”

“Get lost.” Shen Qiuxun pulled his hand free. Feeling a bit guilty, he fished out a few coins and placed them beside the stove. Then he turned and left without looking back, terrified that one more glance at Xu Zhiyuan might drive the man to physically annihilate Qi Yue.

He pulled his scarf tighter, shoved his hands in his pockets, and walked all the way back to the rental house. Without a backward glance, he went into his room and shut the door, leaving Xu Zhiyuan standing in the living room, staring at the closed door with a somber expression.

After a long moment, a message came through on his lightbrain. He looked at the firmly shut door once more, rubbed his brow, then turned and left.

He didn’t understand… why did it always feel like Shen Qiuxun was drifting further and further away?

Once everything was settled, they would have a proper talk.

…

In his room, Shen Qiuxun lay sprawled on his back on the bed, eyes vacant.

[Host, don’t be sad.]

“Bitch, my free roasted sand rat just flew away.”

[.]

“It was probably the last good meal I’d ever have in this life. I’m so sad.”

[Don’t be sad.]

‘You’re terrible at comforting people, you broken System Buddy.’

[.]

Shen Qiuxun sighed and checked the time on his wrist: eight o’clock. Four hours to go.

Maybe because he’d slept too much this afternoon, he wasn’t tired at all now. His lightbrain flashed. Shen Qiuxun opened the call and heard a magnetic male voice:

“Little Xun, look out the window.”

Shen Qiuxun instinctively looked up.

The pitch-black sky suddenly exploded with huge, magnificent blooms of fireworks. Colorful light illuminated half the planet. The exquisitely painted radiance pierced the smoke like molten gold, soaring clouds, and a continuous river of stars… The light cascaded down, bursting into the night sky in arcs as gorgeous as feathered robes, like a newborn star in the universe.

‘So beautiful.’

[Mn.]

“Is that a firework?”

The man’s voice spoke through the call, breaking the silence. His tenderness mixed with a thread of static. “Right. Blew up the enemy’s mecha to show you some fireworks.”

“?”

Time ticked by, second by second. Suddenly, a knock sounded at the door—one heavy, two light. Shen Qiuxun was too lazy to move. He tilted his head. “Who is it?”

Xu Zhiyuan’s voice came from outside. “Me.”

Shen Qiuxun looked away, scowling and silent. He planned to use cold violence to repel this tactless person.

“Little Xun?”

No answer. The noise outside stopped. A long while later, just when Shen Qiuxun thought he’d given up, he heard a click from the door lock. It had been picked.

“…” Truly, teach the apprentice and the master starves.

Shen Qiuxun buried his head in the blanket, playing dead. He heard the man chuckle softly, accompanied by an enticing aroma. A very familiar scent.

“?” He lifted the blanket and looked. On the small table beside his bed sat two roasted sand rats, their skin crackling and aroma overflowing. He couldn’t help but swallow.

Xu Zhiyuan crouched by the bed, fanning the air with his hand. The rich scent drifted straight into Shen Qiuxun’s nose.

“Is this…” Shen Qiuxun looked at Xu Zhiyuan.

Xu Zhiyuan curved his lips into a proud smile. “I made them. Want to try?”

‘Wow, I forgive him for one second.’

[That’s acceptable.]

Shen Qiuxun sat up with affected reserve, watched for a bit, then got out of bed and put on his shoes, heading to the living room. “Let’s eat outside. Quick, quick, quick.”

Xu Zhiyuan picked up the plate and followed him, sitting down beside him. He tore off the front and back legs. The meat was tender, juices flowing, and a glistening sauce dripped onto the plate. He pushed the small dish in front of Shen Qiuxun.

The aroma was intoxicating.

But Shen Qiuxun held back. He shot a glance at the man beside him.

Xu Zhiyuan blinked, looking pitiful. “I practiced for so long. Won’t Little Xun try some?”

“Fine, I guess.” Shen Qiuxun took a dignified bite of a back leg.

Holy mother of god, this is divine!

Xu Zhiyuan was equally entranced by the cuteness. He secretly hooked his pinky finger around Shen Qiuxun’s, leaning closer. His voice was like a warm breeze whispering against Shen Qiuxun’s ear. “Thank god, it’s Shen Qiuxun. We’re saved.”

“?” Shen Qiuxun paused. He glanced at the man beside him, meeting his eyes rippling with grass-green light, then lowered his head and silently continued gnawing on the meat.

Once he’d polished off all four legs and his stomach was round and full, Xu Zhiyuan continued, “There’s still some business on the Capital Planet. I need to go back for a few days. Once it’s handled, I’ll come back to pick you up. Wait for me. Just a few days.”

He paused slightly. “I’m leaving tonight. Five days, five at most. I’ll definitely be back.”

Only now did he feel how utterly inadequate words were. His love, his unease, his hope, and that inexplicable, nameless fear—none of it could be expressed. In elementary school physiology class, teachers taught them: when an Alpha marks an Omega, a connection forms between their spirits. Full marking makes the Omega completely the Alpha’s possession.

But… Shen Qiuxun was a Beta. His pheromones couldn’t sense his presence. A Beta’s clean nape couldn’t hold any scent. He couldn’t mark him. The Alpha’s possessiveness had no outlet. Sometimes he was so afraid—afraid that in the end, everything would turn to foam and vanish into thin air.

He wouldn’t be able to find him.

Shen Qiuxun felt goosebumps rise under the man’s deeply affectionate gaze. He didn’t answer for a long time.

Xu Zhiyuan grasped his wrist, his expression earnest. “Answer me.”

“?” Shen Qiuxun’s eyes darted around, his expression vague. “Mm.”

A light, airy answer, but it was enough.

Only when Shen Qiuxun was full did Xu Zhiyuan reluctantly clean up and leave.

Satiated and freshly showered, Shen Qiuxun flopped lazily back onto his bed. ‘Ah, the feeling of clinging to a big thigh is so great.’

‘So, can’t it really be painless? Even without merit, I have hard work, right?’

The System remained silent.

At exactly midnight, a crackle of static echoed in Shen Qiuxun’s mind, followed by the System’s voice:

[“Truth, Goodness, and Beauty” System mission settlement in progress: Capture Target’s Affection Value rated Excellent… Beep beep… Settlement failed. Capture Target’s asset assessment substandard.]

Several large, blood-red words flashed before Shen Qiuxun’s eyes: [Mission Failed!]

‘No need to emphasize it, I said…’

A moment later, before the death notice could arrive, the System’s voice came through:

[Host, the application report I submitted this morning has been approved. In view of the Host’s positive attitude toward completing the mission, along with uncontrollable factors from the Capture Target, the “Truth, Goodness, and Beauty” System Adjudication Panel has decided, upon deliberation, to grant Host Shen Qiuxun a second mission opportunity. Mission restart will generate a Spacetime Fluctuation. Please cherish this second chance. May you complete the Reformation Mission soon.]

‘Huh?’ Shen Qiuxun shot upright. ‘Again?’

[Do you want to die?]

‘Oh. Then let’s do it.’ Shen Qiuxun lay back down.