IM Chapter 3

This brat has been acting strangely lately. Shen ChiTai just mumbled to himself a couple of times, thinking he was probably just being paranoid.

Shang Jue isn’t a child anymore; he can’t expect the other person to listen to him in everything like when they were little and do everything according to his will.

He raised his eyes to look in the direction the alpha left, his gaze lingering for a moment before slowly retracting, a hint of helplessness and indulgence flashing across his eyes.

The two rooms are only separated by a wall.

After Shang Jue returned to his room, he turned off the lights with a “snap,” lay on the dimly lit bed with his legs crossed, staring at the ceiling he couldn’t see clearly. Hidden in the darkness, his eyes held almost nothing but indifference.

The alpha quietly stared at the ceiling for a while, then, annoyed, he turned over, bent one elbow, propped up his cheek, and closed his eyes, but couldn’t fall asleep at all.

Shen ChiTai heard no movement from next door and figured he must have fallen asleep, so he didn’t think much about it.

After lying down, the omega had nothing to think about and fell asleep quickly, sleeping straight through to the next day.

Someone left the room next door in the morning. Shen ChiTai vaguely heard a door closing, so faint it was almost negligible. Then, he heard footsteps passing outside his room, getting closer and closer at first, then farther and farther away, the sound becoming lighter and lighter.

The omega on the bed barely opened his eyes, turned over, reached out, picked up the phone on the bedside table, and glanced at the time. It was only 6:30.

Someone rarely slept in, put down his phone, covered his head, and slept for another half an hour before getting up.

He quickly washed up, hung up the towel, and just as he turned his head, he bumped into Shang Jue standing behind him, holding clothes and ready to take a shower.

The sweat on Shang Jue’s face hadn’t dried yet, and a few strands of hair stuck to his sweaty face. He must have just come back from a run outside, wearing black sports shorts, a tank top T-shirt, and a white towel around his neck, looking like a sunny, youthful boy.

“Good morning, Brother,” the alpha said with a slight upturn of his mouth when he smiled, as if last night’s incident had no effect on him at all.

Shen ChiTai was stunned for a moment and greeted him good morning as well.

Seeing that he seemed to be in a good mood, he couldn’t help but look at the alpha’s face a little longer. This person really has a childish temper; he gets angry quickly and gets over it quickly. He was sulking last night, but now he’s acting like nothing happened.

“Brother keeps staring at me. Is my face really that good-looking?” There was a hint of ambiguity in Shang Jue’s words. He deliberately moved closer to make it easier for him to see more clearly.

Shen ChiTai reacted and chuckled twice, pulling back a little distance, his ears a little hot. “You brat, be serious. Go take a shower, I’ll go prepare breakfast.”

Shang Jue grinned and chuckled, “I want to eat Brother’s fried eggs, the runny kind.”

Shen ChiTai lazily agreed. Only then did Shang Jue go around him and into the bathroom.

The omega turned his head back, his eyes fixed on his back in silent concentration for a couple of seconds.

Shang Jue’s height has skyrocketed in recent years. In his memory, he was clearly a head taller than the other person when they first met.

A clear door closing sound quickly came to his ears, followed by the sound of the shower spraying water in the bathroom, the sound of water hitting the floor.

Only then did Shen ChiTai wake up from his brief memory, retract his gaze, quickly turn around, go to the living room, drink half a glass of water, and go into the kitchen to start preparing breakfast.

He was quick. He boiled water and cooked noodles, and there was still some leftover chopped green onion from cooking before. He took two eggs from the cupboard, heated the pot and added oil. The whole process of preparing breakfast didn’t take him much time.

Shang Lü left for the company when Shen ChiTai wasn’t awake yet. He only vaguely heard the man instructing Shang Jue.

Shang Jue had no classes this morning and had to go to the company to learn after breakfast.

The sound of water flowing in the bathroom gradually subsided. The movement in between was very soft, until the door of the steamy bathroom opened from the inside. Shang Jue opened the door and walked out, wiping his dripping hair with one hand, still wearing the black silk bathrobe he usually wore after showering.

Shen ChiTai looked up and happened to see Shang Jue walking into the living room, wiping his hair. The bathrobe on his body moved slightly as he wiped his hair, slightly clinging to his body. The curve of that bulging area was also very obvious, and you could tell at a glance the amazing size wrapped inside.

The alpha developed better than many people of the same age. Clearly, when the two first met, the other person was still a little runt, but he didn’t expect his body to develop so quickly now, even his height completely crushing him.

Shen ChiTai suddenly felt that Shang Jue gave him a very unfamiliar feeling, even though he had watched him grow up with his own eyes.

Shang Jue walked over and sat down opposite him with a smile.

Shen ChiTai took a bite of the egg in his bowl and saw that the person sitting opposite him hadn’t moved for a long time. The hand holding the chopsticks also paused slightly. He swallowed the egg in his mouth, looked up at him.

“A’Jue, why aren’t you eating?”

Shang Jue tilted his head, smiling contentedly. “Being able to eat breakfast made by Brother every morning, I feel really happy.”

“…” Shen ChiTai carefully savored his words for a moment, feeling an unspeakable sense of subtlety in his heart. He was still so easily satisfied, always had been since he was a child. It was just a breakfast, and for him, making one portion and making two portions wasn’t that different.

“Then you should obediently finish your breakfast and go to the company. I have to go to the shop later.” His plan was to go to the cat cafe after breakfast and then come back at noon to cook for Shang Jue. But plans can’t keep up with changes, and he might not have time at noon, so he wasn’t planning to tell Shang Jue yet.

Shang Jue picked up the chopsticks on the table and stirred them around in the bowl twice. Shen ChiTai raised his head slightly and looked at him, a smile of relief unconsciously appearing on the corner of his mouth.

The two of them ate breakfast warmly around the dining table, and Shen ChiTai stayed in the kitchen to wash the dishes.

Shang Jue had already gone back to his room to change his clothes, wearing a high-quality white shirt, the collar casually unbuttoned with two buttons a little messy, the tie like a dog leash, but the suit pants below were the exact opposite of the upper body, even the places on the trouser legs that were most prone to wrinkles were very smooth.

“Brother, I’m going to the company,” he said, leaning against the door without leaving.

Shen ChiTai turned his head and glanced over, frowning slightly, then took the towel next to him, wiped his hands dry, turned around, walked a few steps towards him, raised his neck, used his hand to straighten his messy collar, retied the tie, and instructed the alpha, “Be careful on the road, send me a message when you get to the company.”

Shang Jue lowered his eyes, glanced at his neatly tied tie, and obediently smiled and replied, “Okay, I’ll listen to Brother.”

Shen ChiTai raised his eyes and looked at his handsome face, his heart beating inexplicably faster, even his cheeks were hotter. Realizing that his actions might seem a little strange in the alpha’s eyes, he averted his face like a guilty thief, but pretended to be calm, trying not to let the alpha see his strangeness.

Shang Jue originally insisted on driving him to the cat cafe first, but Shen ChiTai told him to go to the company first, it wouldn’t be good to be too late. It wasn’t too far for him to walk there himself. In the end, the alpha had no choice but to agree.

After Shang Jue left, he was the only one left at home.

He went back to his room, changed into some loose and comfortable clothes, locked the door, and went to the shop. On the way, he sent a message to Yu Xingqiao.

If possible, he wanted the other person to cover for him at the shop at noon, so he could go home earlier today. The other side didn’t reply for a long time.

He put down his phone, not in a hurry to check the message.

The sun at nine o’clock was already very hot.

Not far after leaving the house, a high-profile red car stopped in front of him. Xu Chen lowered the car window, and an omega leaned out from the passenger seat first.

Shen ChiTai still remembered this boy. He was an omega in the same class as Xu Chen. He had been following Xu Chen all the time, and he had seen him a few times.

Su Ning greeted him enthusiastically, “Senior, where are you going? Get in, we’ll give you a ride.”

“No need, don’t you have class? I can just walk.”

The omega’s body blocked the man in the driver’s seat. Looking from this side, Shen ChiTai could only barely see the beta’s right hand holding the steering wheel.

“Senior, why are you being so polite with us? We’re all family, no need for formalities. Besides, your boyfriend is in the car, I’m just hitching a ride. Even if someone should get out, it should be me first.” The omega’s voice was sweet, his face overflowing with a bright and likable smile. “Senior, hurry up and get in, it’s so hot to walk. Brother Xu will be worried about you like this.”

Shen ChiTai originally wanted to refuse, but his gaze passed over the omega and inadvertently met Xu Chen’s gaze in the driver’s seat. In the end, he couldn’t resist Su Ning’s enthusiasm and got into the car, sitting in the back seat.

“Senior, where are you planning to go?” Su Ning in the passenger seat turned around and asked him with a smile.

“I’m going to the cat cafe first.”

As soon as the words fell, he turned his head to look at the buildings and green belts speeding backwards outside the car window. No one spoke in the car for a moment, and the air became quiet.