Chapter 16: An Ambiguous Partner

He hadn’t expected him to ask so directly.

Zhu Zhixi suddenly felt a bit awkward. “It’s just…”

Like… someone sleeping naked, then being woken up and frantically grabbing whatever’s nearby and throwing it on. It does look pretty debauched.

He didn’t say it out loud, just hummed a few times like a mosquito, trying to change the subject.

“Your pajamas are all so comfortable.”

Zhu Zhixi stroked the top. “Husband, give me a set,” he said, not standing on ceremony.

“Buy your own.”

“Stingy.”

He heard Zhu Zhixi muttering a few things but couldn’t make out the words. He was sure, however, that they weren’t complimentary.

“Well, let’s go downstairs. I…”

Before he could finish, Zhu Zhixi suddenly felt something was wrong. A warm stream flowed from his nose. He quickly cupped his hand to catch it, tilted his head back fast, and ran for the bathroom.

“Ugh! Why am I getting another nosebleed?”

Bright red blood dripped into the porcelain-white sink. Zhu Zhixi turned on the faucet, and the gushing water diluted the bloodstains into a faint pink.

With a pained look, he glanced at the countdown timer. Several more hours had vanished.

His heart suddenly started pounding. A bell seemed to toll in his mind again. It was a vivid reminder of death. These past few days, he thought he had grasped a life-saving straw and had indeed been floating on air, even starting to meddle in other people’s business.

Forty-six days left. It was time for a follow-up appointment. He wondered if that damned machine could figure out what illness he had.

Drip, drip. The blood was still falling.

Zhu Zhixi grabbed a tissue, stuffed it in his nose, and tilted his head up, wanting to tell Fu Rangyi to go down and eat first. But the next second, he felt a sudden chill on the back of his neck.

Fu Rangyi had also come to the bathroom doorway. His cool fingers covered the back of his neck and, with some force, pressed his newly raised head down.

“What are you doing?” How weird. Zhu Zhixi almost cried out.

But the next second, Fu Rangyi pulled the blood-soaked tissue from his nose and threw it into the nearby trash can.

“Head down.”

After speaking in a low voice, he reached out his left hand, pinching both sides of Zhu Zhixi’s nose with his index finger and thumb, right on the lower part of the nasal septum.

“Mmph!” Zhu Zhixi frowned and let out a dissatisfied grunt, but because his nose was being pinched, it made him sound like Donald Duck being caught.

Fu Rangyi didn’t speak. He just kept pinching, then reached out with his right hand, grabbed two white towels from the rack, turned on the cold water, dampened them slightly, and stuffed one into Zhu Zhixi’s hand, keeping the other for himself.

“Hold this to your forehead,” he commanded without emotion.

Zhu Zhixi suddenly thought he would make a great doctor. He obediently listened, folded the wet towel, and placed it on his forehead.

The next second, the back of his neck felt cold again, making him shrink his shoulders. Fu Rangyi had placed the other cold towel on his nape.

“So cold…” the weak little Donald Duck complained softly.

“You’ll get used to it,” Fu Rangyi said coolly. “It helps constrict your blood vessels.”

His fingers pressed firmly on the back of Zhu Zhixi’s neck through the wet towel. Strangely, he was suddenly reminded of the bizarre dream from last night. Because in the dream, after the younger, meaner Fu Rangyi bit him, he had also bandaged him up. It was oddly similar to the current situation.

Time passed bit by bit. Zhu Zhixi’s neck and forehead were so cold they were almost numb, but his ears were inexplicably hot, as if his body heat had been selectively relocated.

“Is it done yet…?” he asked in a flat voice.

Fu Rangyi estimated the time and thought it was about enough, but he deliberately dragged it out a little longer.

Sure enough, Zhu Zhixi asked again, this time even more pitifully. “It should be done now, right? My neck is so sore.”

Fu Rangyi released his hand and removed the towel. Zhu Zhixi’s originally snow-white neck was slightly red from the cold. Under the light, it was the first time he had seen this person’s nape so clearly.

As a well-mannered Alpha, he had known since puberty that the nape of an AO’s neck held the glands and was a sensitive area, so he had never stared at anyone’s nape for a long time. This was the first time.

And Zhu Zhixi was indeed different from them. The skin on the back of his neck was smooth and soft, without any wounds or marks.

“It seems to have really stopped,” Zhu Zhixi said, looking at himself in the mirror. He touched his reddened nose, then turned to smile at Fu Rangyi. “Thank you, Professor Fu.”

Fu Rangyi washed his hands, head down. “You have no common sense at all.”

“I rarely got nosebleeds before. It’s just been frequent recently…” Zhu Zhixi stopped, looking down to check his pajamas. “Luckily, it didn’t drip on your clothes, or you would’ve killed me.”

“Not that extreme. You’d just have to explain yourself,” Fu Rangyi said, leaving the bathroom.

“Explain what?” He followed him out.

At the bedroom door, Fu Rangyi paused, turned around, and said seriously, “Why did you get a nosebleed the moment I came up to wake you? What happened in between? You’ll have to spin a good tale, great director.”

For the first time, Zhu Zhixi found this person to be quite shameless.

“Fu Rangyi, you’re really something else…”

But the other man didn’t wait for him to finish, directly opening the door and walking out into the hallway. Zhu Zhixi glanced down at his countdown timer. It had been still for a long time, but now it had started counting down again.

The blood and the flashing numbers were a constant reminder. So many days had passed, yet Zhu Zhixi still couldn’t become fully desensitized. Whenever he got carried away, these things would pop up again, punch him, and try to make him accept reality.

Don’t think you’ve really found a life-saving straw. Everyone dies. When your time is up, not even the gods can save you.

Walking down the stairs, Zhu Zhixi suddenly tugged on Fu Rangyi’s sleeve.

“Are you cold?” Fu Rangyi asked without turning his head.

“No.” Zhu Zhixi moved closer and whispered, “Is it possible that I’m about to die?”

Fu Rangyi’s brows furrowed. He looked at him, his eyes filled with confusion.

“Is that a believable reason? I mean, for the nosebleed.” Perhaps because of the recent first aid, his eyes were moist, and his neck, forehead, and the tip of his nose were all red.

“It’s not out of the question,” Fu Rangyi said, pausing his steps.

Right? Because that’s the real reason! Fake husband, I’m really going to die.

“People can die in bed, too. A lecherous ghost is still a ghost,” Fu Rangyi said coolly.

Hearing this, Zhu Zhixi nearly jumped up to strangle him. “Fu Rangyi, is there something wrong with your brain? You’re a professor! A people’s teacher!”

The curse slipped out. The one being cursed actually laughed. Pale golden sunlight streamed through the huge floor-to-ceiling window, filling the spiral staircase. Tiny dust motes danced, landing on his shoulders, which trembled slightly with laughter.

Zhu Zhixi stared at those slightly curved eyes and upturned lips, suddenly frozen in place.

“Shh, keep it down.” Fu Rangyi made a shushing gesture at him, the smile on his face subsiding slightly as he pursed his lips.

“Just kidding.”

After speaking in a gentle voice, he grabbed Zhu Zhixi’s wrist in front of a passing maid and led him to the dining table.

Father Fu had already finished eating and greeted Zhu Zhixi with a smile. “Hurry and sit, eat more, Zhixi. I have a meeting, so I’m leaving first.”

“Ah, Dad, you’re leaving already?” Zhu Zhixi stood by the table, watching him go.

Father Fu put on his coat as he walked to the door. “Yeah. The weather’s nice today. After you eat, have Rangyi take you for a walk nearby, maybe climb a mountain.”

“Oh my, what’s with climbing a mountain? The child doesn’t have the energy for that…” Mother Fu chided, then beckoned for him to sit. “Don’t mind your father, he doesn’t know anything.”

Zhu Zhixi sensed something was off, gave a dry laugh, and sat down obediently.

He didn’t know if it was a coincidence, but compared to last night’s dinner, lunch had many more of his favorite dishes. Not only that, but there was also a fruit platter, half strawberries and half figs cut in half.

Fu Liaoxing sat to Mother Fu’s right, chatting about some company matters during the meal, but perhaps because he was there, it was mostly trivial content. Zhu Zhixi couldn’t be bothered to listen and ate seriously. As he was eating, his phone vibrated twice.

“I’m done,” Fu Rangyi said, standing up just then.

“So soon? Have some soup,” Mother Fu said with a smile, ladling a bowl. “This dried scallop and chicken soup is quite good.”

“I’m full, Mom. You have it.” He even deliberately placed his hand on Zhu Zhixi’s shoulder and said gently, “Don’t rush, eat a little more.”

But on WeChat, he had a completely different tone.

[Pretty Widower: I’m going up to change. You have five more minutes to eat, at most.]

Zhu Zhixi almost rolled his eyes.

[Bad Rabbit: Why? I just came down, and now I have to go up again? What’s the meaning of this? Your mom will think I have a serious addiction.]

[Pretty Widower: What are you thinking about?]

[Pretty Widower: We’re going out later. Are you going in your pajamas?]

[Bad Rabbit: Where are we going? Our mom won’t let me go mountain climbing. She’s afraid it’ll break me.]

[Pretty Widower: Then you can stay and accompany her to her high-society afternoon tea party. You talk so much, you’re sure to be a hit.]

So infuriating.

Zhu Zhixi locked his phone, looked up to drink his soup, and suddenly felt wisps of white mist drifting by his side. For a second, he thought he had suddenly died and become an immortal.

He whipped his head around and saw the maid pushing over a standing aromatherapy humidifier.

That scared me. He continued drinking his soup.

Mother Fu answered a call and stood up, beaming. “Oh, I’ll be there right away. A holiday? What gifts? The men in my family have no romance at all; I haven’t received a single gift.”

Based on the earlier intel, Zhu Zhixi guessed this was the call for the high-society tea party.

Suddenly, only he and Fu Liaoxing were left at the table. Zhu Zhixi glanced at the time. Only three minutes remained before his deadbeat husband’s deadline. He earnestly prayed that Fu Liaoxing wouldn’t speak.

“My brother has really changed.”

I knew it…

Zhu Zhixi smiled and played dumb. He was always good at that.

“Huh?”

Fu Liaoxing propped his face with his hand and said with a low, smiling voice, “He used to be so frigid. Even during his susceptible periods, he’d just take medication and injections, getting through it with sheer willpower. He’s like a different person now.”

“For real?” Zhu Zhixi was genuinely curious. A normal Alpha would experience side effects from relying purely on suppressants for their susceptible periods, let alone a stronger SA.

“For real. But there’s a reason for it. After all, when he was a teenager, he encountered that kind of…”

But he stopped there, abruptly changing the subject. “Anyway, he’s always been pretty indifferent in that respect, barely interacting with the opposite sex. Oh, right, there was one omega, named Yu something? Very pretty, even came to our house. We all thought they were dating back then. My mom even had someone check, and they said their pheromone compatibility was very high. We all thought he were his destined partner. Do you know him?”

How would I know?

Zhu Zhixi’s expression turned a bit grave. He thought to himself, Why wasn’t I informed of such important intelligence beforehand? I have no idea about this.

What if I slip up?

Is this a white moonlight or an ex-boyfriend?

Why was this never mentioned?

Zhu Zhixi knew very well that he should be acting a little jealous right now, but he suddenly didn’t know how to perform it properly. He was a bit dazed.

“Um…”

After a few seconds, he asked again, “I don’t think I know him. Who is he?”

“I think he was a student at their school?” Fu Liaoxing smiled, as if to comfort him, and added, “But it’s okay. I know my brother well. He would only be with someone because he likes them, never because of pheromones. He thinks that’s animalistic, not human. Compatibility, pheromones, none of that matters. You’re already married, anyway. Don’t feel insecure because of this.”

“How could I? I’m super secure.” Zhu Zhixi put down his chopsticks, propped his face with both hands, and said confidently, “Fu Rangyi is super—in love with me.”

Was that too deliberate…?

Fu Liaoxing was stunned for a moment, then laughed. But after looking up, his smile quickly faded, and he respectfully called out, “Brother.”

Zhu Zhixi, who had just taken a sip of soup, nearly choked. He turned his head and saw Fu Rangyi coming down the stairs, adjusting his cuffs as he descended.

He was still wearing his rimless glasses, a coffee-colored shirt with the collar slightly open, revealing a form-fitting black mock-neck knit underneath, and a mocha-colored wool coat over it. The silver cufflinks matched his suppressor bracelet well.

A textbook example of a cultured scoundrel.

A dishonest cultured scoundrel.

If I had a teammate like you in a war, I’d be dead! He vented a few sentences in his mind.

“Still not done eating?” Fu Rangyi walked over, tilted his head slightly at Zhu Zhixi, raised his hand, and tapped his watch twice.

“I’m done!” Zhu Zhixi immediately stood up. “I’ll go up and change right now. In a second. Little brother, take your time eating!” After saying that, he dashed away.

Fu Rangyi stood by the table, reached out to turn off the humidifier, picked up Zhu Zhixi’s phone that he’d foolishly left on the table, and casually put it in his coat pocket.

Then, he looked at Fu Liaoxing, his tone as dark as his expression. “You talk to him less.”

This rare display of aggression was unknown to Zhu Zhixi upstairs.

He didn’t have a change of clothes at Fu Rangyi’s house, so he put on the brown leather jacket he had arrived in and took out the sunglasses he had almost forgotten, placing them on his head. Luckily, the sun was shining outside, and the temperature had risen, so it didn’t feel cold.

The winter air was crisp, like mint hitting the nose, with a faint, almost imperceptible sweetness. He wiggled his nose, sniffing seriously.

Smells so good. If it were mixed with a bit of wood and flower scent, would it smell even better?

“Get in the car.”

“Oh.”

After fastening his seatbelt, Zhu Zhixi felt his pockets and suddenly sucked in a cold breath.

“Oh no, I left my phone at your house!” He quickly unbuckled his seatbelt, about to open the door and get out. But the car doors were already locked.

“Unlock the door first, my phone…”

“It’s with me, in my pocket,” Fu Rangyi said.

“Huh? You got it for me?” Zhu Zhixi remembered; it seemed he had left it on the dining table. He didn’t ask Fu Rangyi for it, just directly reached into his right coat pocket, but found it empty.

“It’s not on this side.” Without thinking much, he propped himself up on the center console with one hand, leaned his body completely over, and reached out to feel his left pocket. But suddenly, he realized the distance was too close. So close that Fu Rangyi frowned.

“Ah, sorry.” Zhu Zhixi sat back properly, blinked a few times, and held out both hands together towards him. “Please give me my phone, thank you.”

Fu Rangyi subconsciously wanted to open the window to air out the scent of another Alpha on him, but a glance at Zhu Zhixi’s red, frozen hands made him turn on the warm air and external circulation instead. He took out the phone but didn’t place it in Zhu Zhixi’s hand, putting it on the center console instead.

“Keep it safe.”

“Oh.” Zhu Zhixi giggled twice, said his thanks, and then asked, “Where are we going? Home?”

Fu Rangyi drove out of the garage. “You’ll know in a bit.”

So Zhu Zhixi fell asleep in the car with peace of mind.

He can eat and sleep well, doesn’t remember things, and doesn’t worry. In Fu Rangyi’s eyes, this kind of person would live as long as a tortoise.

When they reached the first basement level of the mall, Zhu Zhixi was still fast asleep. He was leaning his head against the window, his sunglasses having slipped down to the bridge of his nose, his whole face buried in his scarf, his breathing somewhat noticeable.

So was the red mole on his eyelid.

Fu Rangyi didn’t get out of the car immediately. He sat for a while. It was quiet in the car, and he heard faint music. The source was quickly found: the Bluetooth earbud Zhu Zhixi was wearing.

He frowned, reached over, and gently tapped the earbud with his fingertip twice. The music disappeared.

To be able to sleep so soundly with it this loud, he might as well get rid of his ears.

After doing his good deed, he took out his phone. A few messages popped up, sent by Li Qiao while he was driving.

[Li Qiao: Ain’t I the man? I actually found him. And he’s pretty popular, over 300k subscribers on YouTube.]

[Li Qiao: Don’t you have a proper photo of him? When I asked for a picture, you could only sneak one while he was sleeping?]

[Li Qiao: He’s kinda cute, but your photography skills suck.]

[Li Qiao: By the way, I’m going to ‘prison’ for a few days. The joint closed-door research between the neurology institute and the military is starting. You might not be able to contact me.]

[Li Qiao: Isn’t your susceptible period coming up soon? You have another emergency contact, right?]

Fu Rangyi opened the car window for a breath of fresh air. After two minutes, he finally replied.

[Abstinent Professor (Married Version): Don’t worry about it. Go to your prison.]

[Abstinent Professor (Married Version): Delete the photo.]

Soon, he heard strange, sticky whimpering sounds next to him. He turned his head. The pig that had been sleeping all the way was awake. He hadn’t opened his eyes yet, head down, rubbing his face with both hands in circles.

To be precise, a hybrid of a pig and a rabbit.

“Where is this?” Zhu Zhixi yawned, his eyes moist.

“A slaughterhouse.”

“Huh?” Having just woken up, Zhu Zhixi’s brain was still a bit foggy and couldn’t fire back a quick retort. He stared blankly out the window, squinted, and spotted a glowing billboard in the parking lot. “A mall… you need to buy something.”

To buy a collar for the pig-rabbit.

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Author’s Note:

I’m so sorry, my scheduled posts system forgot to set the time… I’m on my knees before you all…

No ex-boyfriend, no white moonlight, it’s a first love for both of them (Li Qiao: Everyone, don’t listen to my little brother’s nonsense!).