IM Chapter 23

Chapter 23

The night was quiet. Outside, the wind flowed, but inside, the atmosphere was as heavy as a raging storm, threatening to tear a person apart.

Su Ning didn’t dare to look up, swallowing hard in fear.

“So you’re Su Ning.” The man raised his eyes, casually glancing at the person on the ground.

“Why are you kidnapping me?” He trembled, his hands tied behind his back aching from the tight restraints.

“Don’t be afraid. I’ve invited you here just to confirm something.” Yan Zhugui had him untied. Su Ning didn’t dare resist.

“Hello, little omega. My name is Yan Zhugui.”

“You… You’re Yan Zhugui!” He had only heard the name, never seen the person himself.

He didn’t know when he had offended such a big shot. With the Yan family’s influence in the city, he couldn’t even pretend to be ignorant.

Yan Zhugui stopped in front of him, squatted down, and ruthlessly pinched his chin, forcing the omega to look up. His smile was perfectly natural. “I heard you have a good relationship with Xu Chen. Tell me, how far have you gone?”

The moment Su Ning met the alpha’s eyes, he sensed the danger. His body involuntarily recoiled, but his upper body was immobilized. He stammered, shaking his head incoherently, “We… we haven’t… nothing.”

The alpha’s sharp, cold gaze swept over him, and a single look was enough to make Su Ning retreat, his body trembling uncontrollably.

Yan Zhugui narrowed his eyes, smiling innocently. “Lying comes at a price. I hate liars the most. Don’t try to deceive me.”

“I’m not lying. How would I dare to deceive you, Young Master Yan?” He was close to tears. Yan Zhugui was not Xu Chen. Though Xu Chen was cold, he ultimately had a warm heart.

He couldn’t feel any human warmth from this person, who seemed more like a vengeful ghost, capable of taking a life with ease.

Yan Zhugui’s gaze deepened on the omega’s fearful face. He harshly flung away his face, wiping his own hand with disgust. “Uncle Lu, have someone watch him for me, especially here.” His gaze fell to the omega’s stomach, giving it a sharp look. “It’s better if you don’t cause trouble. If you want to make problems for yourself, be careful with your cheap life.”

Su Ning scrambled back from the ground, sitting on his knees, his hands at his sides clenched in a defensive posture, his thin, jelly-like lips bitten together nervously.

“You… when will you let me go?”

Yan Zhugui didn’t answer.

Uncle Lu, knowing what to do, had someone help him up. Two black-suited bodyguards immediately stepped forward to drag the omega up from the ground.

“You’ll be released when the time comes, but in the meantime, Mr. Su will have to cooperate with our inspection.” Uncle Lu said.

Su Ning argued that he hadn’t done anything wrong, and even if the Yan family was rich, they didn’t have the right to detain him.

Yan Zhugui, who had been smiling, immediately turned cold when he heard the omega’s words. His tone was icy. “You better stay here quietly. If you dare to cause trouble, I can make you disappear without a trace.”

A flash of fear crossed the omega’s eyes, his face instantly turning pale as if drained of blood.

The bodyguards led the omega away. Yan Zhugui walked to the French windows, one hand in his pocket, the other raising his wine glass. The swaying red liquid gently lapped against the glass. Through the rippling liquid, the city’s bright lights outside the glass windows seemed to be draped in a brand-new, luxurious robe.

At night, the wind picked up outside the window.

Shen ChiTai was drifting off to sleep when he heard someone talking next door, or rather, the sound wasn’t normal conversation. He perked up his ears, ready to listen closely, when a soft moan unexpectedly entered his ears, followed by a slightly unfamiliar voice speaking in a deliberately lowered tone.

Yu Xingqiao, in a daze, called out, “Shuyan.”

The two words, mixed with intense desire, sounded particularly jarring. Zhou Chirui froze, but wasn’t angry. The person beneath him grabbed his collar, questioning why he wasn’t reacting.

“He’s my brother, the person you like. I’m just a latecomer, I don’t have the right to be angry.”

The omega laughed instead, rendered speechless by his twisted logic.

“You’re really generous, you can even tolerate that.”

Zhou Chirui: “…”

The bed creaked as if it couldn’t bear the weight, and two figures intertwined like snakes. Shen ChiTai, lying on his side in the next room, occasionally heard fragmented, bird-like melodies.

From the sounds, he could guess who it was. Didn’t they say they were going home? He was just curious. He was a guest himself and had no right to judge others.

When Shang Jue found out he was staying at a friend’s house, his expression was terrifying. Because of what happened before, Shen ChiTai had avoided him for over a month. Even when they lived under the same roof, they rarely had a good conversation. Now, to avoid meeting him, he didn’t even go home.

Avoiding him like the plague, was he really that scary?

Shen ChiTai avoided Shang Jue, and Shang Jue had been unusually quiet for a long time.

The omega continued to shuttle between the shop and Yu Xingqiao’s place every day. Zhou Chirui was there almost every day. At first, Shen ChiTai felt uncomfortable seeing him. But habit is a terrible thing.

As he gradually got used to the alpha’s presence, he could close his eyes and sleep peacefully at night, even when the sounds of passion next door pierced through the walls intermittently.

But as time went on, this situation slowly changed.

Seeing Zhou Chirui actively feeding Yu Xingqiao fruit, serving him tea and water like a errand boy, so attentive. Shang Jue’s face, which he hadn’t seen in a long time, would appear in his mind from time to time.

If the alpha was also by his side, maybe…

Knowing Shang Jue, the man could do even more cloying things.

He also had the thought of going home, but the thought of running into Shang Jue made the omega hesitate. He was the one who had thrown a tantrum and left home. Now, to sneak back on his own initiative, even he couldn’t convince his own guilty conscience.

So, when Shen ChiTai thought a customer had entered the store, and looked up to see Shang Jue appearing before him as if in a dream, the omega couldn’t suppress the intense emotions in his heart. He opened his mouth in shock, staring at him for a long time before hastily looking away.

“A Jue, what are you doing here?”

Shang Jue stared at his slightly panicked face, his pupils darkening, his brow furrowing slightly. “To avoid me, you won’t even go home. If I didn’t come, when would you be willing to come home?”

“I didn’t.” Shen ChiTai avoided his naked gaze, muttering softly.

“You’re denying it, you clearly are.” Shang Jue had barely finished speaking when he couldn’t help but sneeze twice.

The omega’s eyes tightened, and he pushed the man out repeatedly. “Aren’t you allergic to cat hair? Wait outside. I’ll change my clothes and come out.”

Shang Jue stood at the door, watching his brother turn and dash back inside the store.

Li Yuan had originally come to eat near here with a friend. There was a stir-fry restaurant here with a good reputation, and the taste and portions were worth recommending. She had just parted ways with her friend when she saw Shang Jue.

“Lu Ge, what are you doing at the cat cafe?”

Shang Jue tilted his head when he heard the voice, looking at her, then glanced faintly at the store. “Waiting for my brother.”

“I’ve changed.” Shen ChiTai came out of the small room, looked up and saw there was already a girl next to him.

“Senior Shen isn’t planning to open today?” Li Yuan asked with a smile.

Shen ChiTai looked at Shang Jue and said, “There’s something going on at home today, so we’re temporarily closed. But if you want to come in and play with the cats, I can give you the key.”

Li Yuan waved her hand repeatedly. “No need, I came here to eat with a friend, and I’m about to go back to school. It’s hot today, I’ll buy two drinks. What would you like to drink?”

“Let me go,” Shen ChiTai saw that Shang Jue didn’t speak, and looked at Li Yuan again. “How can I let a girl run errands?”

The milk tea shop required crossing the road to the other side. Shen ChiTai took his naturally long legs and glanced left and right when crossing the road. He chose the nearest one. Thinking that Shang Jue didn’t drink milk tea, he only bought two cups, one for Li Yuan, and he drank a cup of kumquat passion fruit.

“Is it good?” Shang Jue leaned over and shamelessly asked him.

“Of course it’s good, why would I buy it if it wasn’t?” Shen ChiTai knew what he was thinking and didn’t bother with the alpha at all.

“I haven’t had mine yet, Lu Ge, drink mine.” Li Yuan handed him the milk tea in her hand.

“No need.” Shang Jue snatched the drink from Shen ChiTai’s hand and took a big sip, the passion fruit in the cup visibly decreasing.

“…”

“So you like to drink what others have drunk.” Li Yuan looked at the two of them with an expression that said she understood.

Shen ChiTai: “…”

“Is there milk in this?” Shang Jue suddenly blurted out.

Shen ChiTai didn’t understand what he meant and honestly replied, “No.”

“Then why does it smell like milk?”

“…” Shen ChiTai seriously tasted the passion fruit and kumquat that remained in his mouth, and confirmed that there was no milky taste, and looked at Shang Jue a little puzzled.

Li Yuan didn’t know what she had connected, and a good, pure girl was blushing.

Seeing that Shen ChiTai still didn’t understand, Shang Jue made a rebellious statement, “Could it be that you secretly drank milk behind my back last night, and it still remains…”

“Cough cough cough…” Shen ChiTai covered his mouth and coughed twice, “If you like to drink it, drink more, and close your mouth by the way.”

“Are you afraid that others will know about our relationship?”

“Shang Jue.” Shen ChiTai warned him with his eyes to think carefully before speaking, you rude brat.

“Delicious.” Shang Jue smiled innocently and said, “I want to drink this next time, kumquat passion fruit, with milk.”

“…” Shen ChiTai was ashamed, and although the two of them hadn’t done anything, he was the one who felt guilty.

Li Yuan parted ways with the two of them at the fork in the road at the school gate.