IM Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The next morning, before the sky was fully bright, he vaguely heard someone get up and open the door next door, followed by a not-too-light or too-heavy door closing sound. Before long, the living room was quiet again.

He hadn’t been able to fall asleep and turned over, lying flat and staring straight at the ceiling until the alarm clock rang, and he got up to wash and eat breakfast. Only on the way to the cat cafe did he see the message Shang Jue had sent him last night, just one line.

It said he was going on a date and wouldn’t be back for lunch.

Shen ChiTai hesitated again and again but still replied to the message, he couldn’t pretend he hadn’t seen it.

On the other side, Shang Jue stared at the belated “Okay” on the chat interface between the two of them, his already dark pupils becoming even darker, his lips pursed, and not a hint of a smile in his eyes.

A young couple came to the cat cafe at noon. The omega really liked cats, but the male seemed uninterested in these furry animals, instead staring at Shen ChiTai. That familiar look made Shen ChiTai feel an unspeakable sense of rejection.

He turned around to find something to do, so he wouldn’t overthink things when he was busy.

His phone was quiet all day, except for junk ads and marketing calls. At first, he would pick it up and look at it from time to time, afraid of missing someone’s message. But slowly, as the cafe became lively, the loneliness and loss in his heart were briefly thrown aside, and he casually tossed the phone on the counter, ignoring it.

Finally, when the cat cafe closed in the afternoon, he tidied up the cats in the store, picked up a bag of garbage, locked the door, and went home.

There was still no one at home, and even the air was filled with a chill different from the scorching sun outside. He went back to his room to get a set of clean clothes, as he was tired and his back ached from a long day.

The omega took a quick shower and lay back on his bed, ready to rest for a while, when the door of the room suddenly rang.

Someone was knocking. Shen ChiTai even thought it was an illusion, maybe they were knocking on the room next door. His father hadn’t gotten off work yet at this hour, and he knew who it was without even thinking.

The omega climbed out of bed, reluctantly walked over, and opened the door for him.

Shang Jue stood at the door, looking at the tired-looking omega.

Shen ChiTai looked up, staring at the silent man, “What are you doing?”

“Here, milk tea.”

“…”

Shen ChiTai looked down at the milk tea in his hand, a look of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Why did this guy bring him milk tea from his date?

Shang Jue seemed to see his hesitation.

“This is my share. I don’t like it, but it’s a waste to throw it away, so I brought it back for you.”

“…” He might as well have kept his mouth shut. The omega smiled a little forcedly as he took the milk tea from his hand.

“I want to eat.” The alpha leaned against the door, saying stiffly.

Shen ChiTai’s eyes gradually showed a bit of shock, “You didn’t eat on your date?”

Shang Jue’s face darkened, and he turned his face away awkwardly, “I don’t like that stuff, like KFC, and fries and cake, only girls like that stuff.”

The omega’s eyelids twitched.

How awful. He really wanted to slap him in the face. He didn’t know how the girl managed to hold back.

Shen ChiTai felt that this was all his fault. He didn’t teach this ancestor well when he was a child, but spoiled him with all his bad habits. “I didn’t eat at home at noon either, but there’s still leftover food from last night in the kitchen.”

“I’ll eat leftovers.” He was so hungry that his front was sticking to his back. As long as there was food to eat.

He said he was easy to feed, but this guy was still quite picky, Shen ChiTai thought with a low, pursed smile.

The omega heated up two dishes for him, stir-frying the cold dishes in the pot before serving them. Then he sat cross-legged on the sofa, watching the alpha gobble down his food.

Shang Jue scooped rice into his mouth with a vengeance, looking up several times at the smiling omega on the sofa, without speaking, focusing on eating.

Shen ChiTai inexplicably found it a little funny, and wondered what such a good girl saw in this guy? Dating this kind of straight man was not as good as taking a dog out for a walk.

Thinking that this person was his younger brother, he sighed helplessly, the responsibility was all on him.

The phone on the sofa happened to ring twice. He put the milk tea on the table and picked up the phone to take a look.

Yu Xingqiao had just taken a sip of tea when he received the text message he had sent. He popped up the keyboard and replied to the other side, and then heard Zhou’s mother sitting across from him call out “ChiRui” with a smile.

Yu Xingqiao then put away his phone and looked at the boy who had just entered the door and was standing in the living room.

“Dad, Mom, I’m back.”

“You’re just in time. Your brother Xingqiao has come to see us two old folks. You young people should have something to talk about. Your father and I will go to the kitchen to cook.” The two elders tactfully left the space for the two of them.

Yu Xingqiao raised his chin at him, “Why are you standing there? Sit down.”

Zhou ChiRui walked over and sat down opposite him, looking up at him, “You went to the cemetery.”

“Yes, I went there before coming here. Although your brother is gone, I’m still his proper boyfriend, and it’s my responsibility to take care of your uncle and aunt.” He said it as a matter of course. He had gone every year for years, never missing a year, and this year was no exception.

Zhou ChiRui’s dark pupils shrank, he lowered his eyes, and his lips pursed, “It’s been so many years since my brother left, you don’t have to do this much for him.”

Yu Xingqiao’s pupils froze, the smile in his eyes fading a bit, and he raised his eyelids and glanced at him meaningfully, “You brat, he’s your brother.”

“So what if he is?” Zhou ChiRui shouted out of control, “People can’t come back to life, why do you cling to a dead man and refuse to let yourself go?”

Yu Xingqiao was stunned for a few seconds by his sudden actions, and looked at him with increasingly deep eyes, “You actually said that to me.”

Zhou ChiRui also realized that his emotions had been a little agitated just now, and tried to calm himself down, saying, “I’m just telling the truth, you’re too deep in it yourself. My brother is gone, and you’re not the only one who’s sad. I’m his brother, and I have a heart too.”

Yu Xingqiao’s fingers on his lap clenched slightly.

“Why are you always making things difficult for yourself? The living should always look forward. If my brother knew you were like this now, he would definitely be very sad. Do you want to see him restless even in the afterlife?”

Yu Xingqiao got up and walked over, slapping him, his eyes cold, “He’s your brother. Zhou ChiRui, I’m good to you only because of your brother. Do you really think you understand me?” He took back his hot palm, his eyes red with anger, and looked at the alpha whose head had been turned by his slap, his eyes flashing, “Something’s up at home, I’ll go back first, tell your uncle and aunt for me.”

He turned to leave.

Zhou ChiRui grabbed the person who was about to leave and pulled him back, “You always avoid the topic whenever he’s mentioned, who do you think you’re moving by doing this? You’re just deceiving yourself.”

“Zhou ChiRui you…you let me go…”

“Don’t even think about running away.” The alpha grabbed his wrist and walked towards the second floor, Yu Xingqiao was almost dragged by him.

“Bastard, today is your brother’s memorial day.”

“If I mark you today, you’ll never think about his memorial day again.” Zhou ChiRui didn’t stop, continuing to drag him upstairs until he entered the room, slamming the door shut.

Yu Xingqiao’s chest heaved violently as he gasped for breath, but before he could catch his breath, he was turned around by the alpha, his hands pinned behind his back and pressed against the door.

The omega was obviously anxious.

“Zhou ChiRui, if you dare mess around, I won’t spare you.”

Zhou ChiRui rolled up his clothes, revealing half of the omega’s slender waist, his skin fair and translucent, and very delicate. He swept his lips around the omega’s glands.

Yu Xingqiao turned his head in disgust, “Put away your pheromones, they stink.”

Zhou ChiRui’s eyes stiffened for a few seconds, and he leaned down.

Downstairs, Zhou’s mother came out of the kitchen and didn’t see the two of them.

She turned her suspicious gaze to the side and asked the old man next to her, “Where did these two kids run off to?”

“Young people, they probably have some secrets to talk about, nothing to worry about.”

The two of them almost simultaneously looked up towards the direction of the noise coming from the second floor.

In the room.

“Zhou ChiRui, stop it!” The half-recovered sanity made him even more ashamed that he was actually being forced by a man younger than him.

He was pinned against the wall, his back pressed tightly against the wall, and the pheromones filling his nose made his whole body gradually become hot and unbearable. His legs were like stepping on cotton, soft and unable to muster strength. The alpha’s lips licked around his glands, and then he bit down with his teeth.

Yu Xingqiao groaned in pain, his hands tightly clutching his back, the newly grown nails digging into the other’s flesh.

“I’ll take care of you for my brother, what he can give you, I can give you too. Forget him, okay? Let yourself go.”

“I think you’re delusional. You are you, and he is him. You’re not qualified to be his substitute.” Yu Xingqiao frowned tightly in pain, but his tone was deliberately light as he stimulated him, “Zhou ChiRui, I think you’re the one who’s too deeply possessed. To like your own brother’s boyfriend, he’s unlucky enough to have a brother like you.”

Zhou ChiRui didn’t say a word, but just stubbornly blocked his chattering mouth that was deliberately stimulating him to get angry, sealing off the words he wanted to say later.

Yu Xingqiao was doing it on purpose. If he was not having a good time, he didn’t want the other to have a good time either.

The current omega was like a little hedgehog with thorns all over its body, without any scruples, and when it was truly spoiled, it was like a wild rose with thorns, and a careless person would pierce the fingers of the flower picker.

Suddenly, Zhou’s mother’s voice came from downstairs, telling the two of them to come down for dinner. Yu Xingqiao raised his eyes and looked at the man on top of him who was indifferent, and chuckled, a trace of mockery flashing across his lips, “Why don’t you get the hell off me, you can’t wait to disgust me on your brother’s memorial day.”

Zhou ChiRui’s face was pale, and the urging from downstairs continued, and finally, he had no choice but to let him go.

Yu Xingqiao got up and smoothed the wrinkled clothes on his body, as well as the hem of his clothes that had been rolled up, lightly patted his trouser legs, and slammed the door shut and went downstairs with a cold face.

Zhou ChiRui knew that he had completely angered the omega. Yu Xingqiao was always such a person. One second he could talk and joke with people in a friendly manner, and the next second he could completely fall out with someone he hated.

He had always been like this, too lazy to care about anyone’s emotions or thoughts. Perhaps, for him, the person who was worth treating carefully had already died. And even if he, Zhou ChiRui, truly possessed this person, he was clearly not the one who deserved the other’s patient care and honest heart.

He suddenly began to envy his brother.

Jealous of someone who had been dead for so many years, even if his bones had rotted in the ground, he could still be so deeply missed by the other party.

He didn’t know the past between the two, and he didn’t understand what means his brother used to make someone like Yu Xingqiao willingly fall in love with him.

He only knew that if his brother hadn’t been in a hurry to rush back to celebrate his birthday that day, he wouldn’t have taken an earlier flight home, and he wouldn’t have had an accident.

Over the years, Zhou ShuYan’s death had been a nightmare for the two elders. When his brother had just died, he often saw his mother hiding in the room crying, and occasionally when he came back from outside, he would bump into the woman sitting in the living room, secretly grieving, her eyes already red and swollen after rubbing them vigorously.

When the woman cried fiercely, his father would also comfort her, but when he reached a place where the woman and children could not see, even the most resolute man could not resist the two lines of clear tears flowing from his wet red eyes.

All he could do was to replace his brother, to continue to accompany his parents, and to leave a little thought for the two old people.

At the dinner table, Zhou’s mother took good care of Yu Xingqiao, constantly picking food for him and talking to him.

This Yu Xingqiao was one that Zhou ChiRui had never seen before. No, to be precise, this Yu Xingqiao did not belong to him, Zhou ChiRui.

When he spoke, it was like a string of pearls clanging together, his lips moving non-stop, and his mouth was also beautiful, coaxing his parents to laugh from ear to ear.

Although some jokes sounded really cheesy, they were surprisingly effective for the two old people.