Chapter 14: A Restless Heart

Leaving the kitchen, Fu Rangyi calmed his emotions.

He asked a passing maid and learned that Zhu Zhixi was on the lawn in the backyard. He let out a breath of relief he didn’t know he was holding and headed that way.

The night was deep, and the pine and cypress trees were adorned with golden string lights. The gardener had recently trimmed the backyard plants, and the cut branches had only just been cleared that morning. He pushed open the glass door, and a cold wave mixed with the unseasonable scent of fresh grass rushed to meet him.

Following the cobblestone path, Fu Rangyi walked through the garden. Two lush evergreen trees blocked his view. Before he reached the large lawn, he heard Zhu Zhixi’s laughter.

“No way, I’m tired. I need to sit down.” Zhu Zhixi’s voice grew closer, and his figure appeared in the gaps between the leaves. He had given up the game of chase with the puppy and sat down on a long bench.

But Ruby enthusiastically chased after him with the ball in her mouth. Fu Liaoxing also walked over and sat with him on the same bench.

Fu Rangyi heard his brother’s long sigh. This was usually the prelude to him starting a conversation.

“Even though Ruby is old, she still has a lot of energy,” Fu Liaoxing said. “But this is the first time she’s liked a stranger so much. She’s usually very particular about people.”

“Is that so?” Zhu Zhixi’s voice was filled with laughter.

Through the overlapping leaves, a small, clear view was framed. In the dim light, Zhu Zhixi bent down and rubbed Ruby’s head again, stroking her long fur.

“I like you a lot too, Ruby. How can a creature as cute as a puppy exist?”

The voices were getting closer. Fu Rangyi’s steps became lighter, starting and stopping. His mind was a bit empty, his hands numb from the cold, as if only his hearing was functioning.

“Huh? You’re not wearing a wedding ring?”

“Ah.” Zhu Zhixi glanced at his hand. “Haven’t bought one yet.”

“Haven’t bought one yet?” Fu Liaoxing laughed. “That doesn’t sound right. My brother plans even the smallest things in advance and never procrastinates, let alone something so important.”

Zhu Zhixi was silent for a few seconds, seemingly thinking of how to cover for him. Finally, he smiled and said, “It’s because I’m too picky. I didn’t like any of his choices, so we haven’t decided yet.”

“Really?” Fu Liaoxing kept his head tilted. “He’s not that democratic of a person. I would have thought he’d decide himself. It’s so strange. So far, everything related to the wedding doesn’t seem like something he would do.”

Zhu Zhixi’s tone was still light and cheerful, tinged with a smile. “It’s right that it’s not like him.”

“What do you mean?”

“A person who always follows a routine and is used to planning everything suddenly breaks his principles one day, breaks his plans, and gets married impatiently without any preparation. That’s very romantic.”

Fu Rangyi blinked slowly. He was even a little impressed. Zhu Zhixi spun the lie so naturally, with such confidence, as if that was truly how they had gotten together.

But Fu Liaoxing, after hearing all this, stared at him in silence for a long time. A sense of insecurity washed over Fu Rangyi, making him uncomfortable. He decided to step forward and end this overstepping conversation before his cover was blown.

However, his brother spoke first. “If I had known you were so…” Fu Liaoxing struggled with his choice of words, finally settling on a neutral one, “…fun. I would have gone on the blind date myself.”

His footsteps halted. The entire garden, along with the lawn, became very quiet. There was only the soft rustle of wind through the leaves and the continuous panting of the puppy.

Out of an instinctual reaction to a coveted prey, the Alpha pheromones in his body fluctuated violently. In an instant, he became sensitive and violent. Fu Rangyi despised this animalistic instinct; he had spent the first half of his life wrestling with it.

So he tried his best to suppress it all, frowning, forcing himself to turn around. The strawberries were heavy, tiring to hold. They could be eaten anywhere, their meaning was not significant. Making jam was indeed a better choice.

However, a laugh from Zhu Zhixi broke the undercurrent of silence. “There are no ‘if onlys’.”

Zhu Zhixi’s voice was surprisingly calm. The childishness that usually accompanied his every word was gone, reminding Fu Rangyi of how he was in the car.

Clearly, Fu Liaoxing was also a bit surprised and couldn’t find a response for a moment. But Zhu Zhixi didn’t intend to stop there.

“Besides, if it had really been you, I probably wouldn’t be here today.” When he said this, he had a gentle smile, making the words sound less hurtful.

Fu Liaoxing, after hearing this, smiled and asked, “Is that so?”

“Yes.” The smile vanished. Zhu Zhixi was so serious he seemed like a different person—cold and perceptive. “Little brother, our relationship is not suitable for this kind of joke.”

Fu Liaoxing was completely stunned. In the quiet seconds that followed, Fu Rangyi really wanted to see Zhu Zhixi’s face, to know what kind of expression he had, but he could only see his thin shoulders.

Soon, he heard Zhu Zhixi’s cheerful laugh. “Was I too serious? Did I scare you?”

“Sorry about that. It’s because I really like your brother. Hearing that kind of joke, I feel a little offended.” He delivered the lie naturally and sweetly, with utmost sincerity.

“No, no, it was my mistake. I didn’t expect you two to have such a good relationship. Love at first sight happening to my brother is really amazing. He’s… he’s so indifferent to everything.”

“Indifferent… you all think so.” Zhu Zhixi muttered under his breath. “He’s not like that with me.”

Only this last sentence sounded the most like his usual self.

In the darkness, Fu Rangyi felt something glowing. After a few seconds, he suddenly realized the light source was his suppressor bracelet. It had been lit for a long time. He raised his hand and touched it, canceling the abnormal data fluctuation alarm. The firefly-like light gradually dimmed and disappeared.

Fu Rangyi frowned and left the troublesome place directly.

Half an hour later, there was a knock on the bedroom door. Just by the rhythm, he knew who it was. He had already developed an ability to recognize it from being disturbed by this knocking sound at home.

“Come in.”

Sure enough, the knocker opened a small crack, squeezed in, and closed the door.

Fu Rangyi had his back to the door, sitting at his desk looking at a model. He didn’t turn around, but it was still hard to ignore the intruder’s footsteps. Although he had stopped watching long ago, he still closed the video website page out of habit.

“Fu Rangyi,” Zhu Zhixi came to his side and lowered his voice. “What do we do? Your mom wants us to stay the night.”

One hand conveniently tugged at the collar of his pajamas, playing with it like a toy, sliding along the edge.

“My mom?” Fu Rangyi looked at him. The reflection on his glasses obscured his pupils.

Zhu Zhixi immediately corrected himself, “Our mom, our mom.”

After speaking, he finally noticed the strawberries on the desk. “Wow, strawberries,” he said, then, with no sense of propriety, reached out, took one, and popped it in his mouth.

Zhu Zhixi didn’t mention the conversation on the lawn, and Fu Rangyi didn’t say where the strawberries came from. They each hid half the story.

“Mmm! So sweet!” His eyes widened, and he stuffed another large one in. He didn’t say anything, and this person wasn’t curious at all, as if his room was a strawberry patch and it was only natural for a large bowl of strawberries to appear on his desk.

“What do we do?” Zhu Zhixi picked up the fruit bowl and sat down on the single sofa next to the desk. Visually, he was much shorter than Fu Rangyi, curled up there like a small child, his lips stained red by the fruit juice.

He looked up at Fu Rangyi, eating one after another, and said while chewing, “Do we have to stay? Can we find an excuse to go back?”

“It’s difficult.”

“Why?”

“Tomorrow is Saturday. No classes. There’s no reasonable excuse.” Fu Rangyi tossed the hot potato to him. “Otherwise, you think of one and go tell them.”

“Me?” Zhu Zhixi’s face wrinkled. “I can’t think of anything either.” He fell back with a sigh. “If only we had a dog. Then we could say, ‘We have to go back to walk the dog.’ A perfect reason.”

Fu Rangyi’s mood worsened slightly, and his tone became harsher than before. “Addicted to playing with the dog?”

So harsh. But Fu Rangyi was a harsh person by nature, so Zhu Zhixi didn’t find it strange. “Your family’s Ruby likes me too much. She can’t bear to be separated from me.”

“I can see that.” Fu Rangyi turned back to his desk and continued staring at the model.

“So how are we sleeping tonight?” Zhu Zhixi put down the strawberry bowl he had almost emptied, stood up, and paced around with his hands behind his back, stating a fact that everyone could see: “Your room only has one bed.”

“Mm, you sleep on the floor.”

“Fu Rangyi, how can you say such a cruel thing, a thing so devoid of Alpha-morality, so lightly?”

Fu Rangyi typed away nonchalantly, clack-clack-clack. “Mm, I have no Alpha-morality, but I do have mysophobia.”

“Then you can just throw out the sheets and duvet cover after I sleep on it,” Zhu Zhixi retorted, not very politely either. “If not, you can change the bed too. Burn it.”

Fu Rangyi, with his back to him, didn’t answer. Still clack-clack-clack.

“Hey, Fu Rangyi.”

“What?” He was busy replying to a student’s message.

“Nothing. Just turn around for a sec.”

Fu Rangyi really didn’t want to move, but after a couple of seconds of silence, he turned his chair. He looked back, about to ask, “What on earth do you want?” but the next second, he saw Zhu Zhixi sitting directly on his bed, raising his eyebrows very triumphantly.

“It’s over.” Zhu Zhixi deliberately placed his hand on the edge of his bed, touched it, and patted it, his movements slow and deliberate, his tone sticky. “Poor bed, you’re going to be replaced.”

Fu Rangyi closed his eyes, took a deep breath, turned back, and rubbed his temples.

The student’s chat window lit up. For the time being, he ignored the bad thing that had taken over his bed and opened the message.

[Professor Fu, did you make a typo in what you just sent? I didn’t quite understand, and I’m afraid of misinterpreting it. Could you take a look and reply to me again?]

He scrolled back to what he had just sent, and his vision darkened. What is all this nonsense? It’s all because of Zhu Zhixi’s distractions.

Correcting the typos and jumbled word order, Fu Rangyi sent it again.

[Sorry, the little dog at home was causing trouble just now.]

“You still have to work?”

Fu Rangyi was a bit baffled, both at him and at himself. “What do you want?”

“Nothing.” Zhu Zhixi’s tone was light. “Just take a shower, go to bed, and sleep. I’m so tired, I can barely keep my eyes open.”

Fu Rangyi retorted, “So? You want me to wash you?”

“That won’t be necessary, you’re so busy, great professor,” Zhu Zhixi said with a grin. “I just want to borrow a set of pajamas from you. I didn’t think we’d be staying over after dinner, so I didn’t bring anything.”

Fu Rangyi was getting annoyed by him. He stood up directly, opened the closet, took out a brand-new set of pajamas he had never worn, along with new toiletries, and stuffed them all into the young master’s hands.

“Is that all?”

Zhu Zhixi looked up, nodded repeatedly, blinked, and smiled at him.

A rabbit. A cunning rabbit.

Fu Rangyi returned to his desk, listening to the sticky sound of Zhu Zhixi’s footsteps in the slippers, the opening and closing of the door, the sound of running water, and the strange song he was humming.

He took off his glasses, let out a breath, and his eyes drifted to the fruit bowl on the corner of the desk, where a few scattered strawberries remained. He picked one up, hesitated, and then ate it.

It was too sour. So sour that he frowned and drank water to wash it down.

No wonder it could only be used to make jam. How did he eat this? And he finished it all.

Since he finished it all, he probably didn’t think it tasted bad.

By the time he finished dealing with the student’s messages, the bathroom door opened again. He smelled the distinct scent of shower gel and dampness approaching little by little.

Just as he thought Zhu Zhixi would say something like “I’m done washing,” he heard the person behind him let out an inquisitive sound, coming from his nose.

“You took off your bracelet?”

Fu Rangyi frowned and turned around to see Zhu Zhixi holding the bracelet he had just placed on the desk, examining it carefully. And his gaze also moved down from the bracelet. Wrist, cuff, a small section of a fair forearm. This set of pajamas was too big on him, loose and baggy. Coupled with his damp hair, he looked very disheveled. Especially the collar, which was ridiculously large, revealing his entire collarbone.

“It’s quite pretty, the workmanship is really good.” Zhu Zhixi didn’t notice Fu Rangyi’s gaze at all, completely absorbed in playing with the bracelet. Because he didn’t have permission and had never connected to it, the suppressor bracelet showed no reaction in his hand.

He looked down, the red mole on his eyelid as conspicuous as the sour-as-hell strawberries on the desk. “You can’t even tell it’s a suppressor. It looks like a platinum bangle…” The bracelet was very large for him and could be slipped on directly without unlocking. With no sense of boundaries, he tried it on, and Fu Rangyi didn’t stop him.

“So you don’t wear it when you’re at your own home? Is it because you feel more secure at home?”

Because this damn thing keeps alarming for some unknown reason. Once it alarms, there’s a slight electric current, which makes the wearer uncomfortable. Of course, that’s not the most troublesome part.

Fu Rangyi didn’t plan on telling the truth and just made up an excuse. “Because I’m going to take a shower too.”

Zhu Zhixi was stunned. “This thing is so expensive and it’s not even waterproof? What a rip-off.”

Fu Rangyi was silent.

“Next time it’s your birthday, I’ll give you a waterproof one,” Zhu Zhixi said generously, taking it off. “So you don’t have to take it off every time you shower.”

Fu Rangyi wanted to talk even less. Because of the keyword “shower,” some inappropriate images inexplicably appeared in his mind, and he also associated them with some special marks he had never actually seen.

The mole. On his abdomen, hidden by his pajamas.

His phone vibrated several times in a row.

Curiosity shifted. Zhu Zhixi put down the bracelet and tapped Fu Rangyi’s shoulder with his damp fingertips. “Hey, your phone is ringing.”

Fu Rangyi snapped back to reality but didn’t move. Perhaps thinking he hadn’t heard, Zhu Zhixi called him in a questioning tone, “Professor Fu?”, and reached out again, trying to poke him a few more times, but his fingers were caught by his hand.

He only held it for a second before letting go. “I’m not deaf.”

Fu Rangyi picked up his phone, took a deep breath, and unlocked it.

[Li Qiao: Your wife is really an internet celebrity??]

[Li Qiao: I couldn’t find him. Would it be faster to search by face? Send me his picture.]

[Li Qiao: Hey, wait, if you want to see his videos, can’t you just ask him for his account? What’s wrong? I know you two have a rule about sleeping in separate rooms at home, but did you also make a rule about not talking to each other?]

He quickly locked the screen and threw the phone aside.

Zhu Zhixi glanced at the phone that had been thrown in a fit of pique, pouted, saw the glass dish on the corner of the desk, and moved over to pick up a candy wrapped in cellophane.

“Is this good?”

“Are you never full?” Fu Rangyi felt a bit dizzy and supported his temple with his hand. He suspected it was from the scent of Zhu Zhixi’s shampoo.

Zhu Zhixi clicked his tongue and, very rebelliously, unwrapped the candy and ate it directly. As always, when he ate something delicious, his eyes would widen, becoming excessively bright. “So good!”

[Li Qiao: Wait, why are your pheromones so unstable? It even sent me an alarm message. Are you okay? Who pissed you off?]

[Li Qiao: Huh? Why is your bracelet offline??]

After exclaiming in admiration, Zhu Zhixi moved closer, almost leaning against him, and said, his words muffled, “Fu Rangyi, what kind of candy is this?”

Fu Rangyi finally looked up at him, his expression one of utter resignation.

“Our wedding candy.”

---

Author’s Note:

—Little Theater of the Bracelet Guardian—

When Fu Rangyi first bought the suppressor bracelet, he wasn’t even 17. At that time, he didn’t even know you could use a bracelet (he had been using suppressor patches and inhibitors before). He only found out after Li Qiao told him, so he immediately bought one for himself.

The customer service staff told Fu Rangyi that he needed to fill in a guardian. When his pheromones showed abnormal fluctuations or even became disordered, the guardian would be notified first. During his susceptible periods, the other person could also monitor his pheromone data in real-time and provide timely help. It was best to be a family member, followed by your private doctor.

Fu Rangyi found Li Qiao: I’ll give you authorization for my bracelet. You monitor my pheromone levels.

Li Qiao: Huh? I’m not your dad.

Fu Rangyi: But you’re studying medicine (fulfills the second point), and you’re an Alpha. You can control me during my susceptible periods.

Li Qiao: You’re an SA. I don’t think I can…

But he still became Fu Rangyi’s guardian, from adolescence to his working life, for a full ten years, until a certain someone became a husband.

Li Qiao: Fu Rangyi, you punk, be a decent human being! Who watched over you during your susceptible periods since you were a kid? Who was the first one to rush to your house to give you inhibitors every time? You freaking deleted my permission so quickly???

Fu Rangyi: Because someone else now fulfills the first point (callously deletes it a second time, for confirmation).