Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸

– Chapter One

At the end of the track, the black and white checkered flag whirled.

The match was coming to an end.

Speeding around the last corner, the one in the lead was still the rare Asian
driver in the international Formula One races, Ye Ci.

He performed as always in this race, his style aggressive and almost crazy.

More than one sports commentator had spoken negatively about his
extreme style of play.

Some thought that this so-called rising star possessed very composed
suicidal tendencies, and one bluntly stated that he didn’t seem to really love
the sport, that the track probably brought him more than just accolades, and
was more of an outlet for his violent emotions. There were also small online
media outlets that vaguely suggested that Ye Ci was suspected of suffering
from some kind of mental illness. Coupled with his rare Asian identity and
Omega gender in this event, and his inhuman arrogance in media interviews
...

In the stands, cheers and boos mingled together.

He had a mixed reputation.

But all of this had no effect on Ye Ci.

The car he drove was matte black, the entire body made of carbon fiber
material edged in pale, dancing gold, like roaring black dysprosium [1]
entwined with golden thread. Unstoppable, it roared past the finish line.

In the VIP stands, a handsome man with a proud smile gave a standing
ovation despite the boos all around him.

In the lounge:

Ye Ci walked with an unsteady gait, staggered, and fell onto the sofa. His
water-drenched hair had been pushed back, exposing a warm face that was
as pink as a spring peach.

For an Omega, a formula race was enough to completely exhaust his

physical strength.

He couldn’t even strip off his racing suit.

This was Ye Ci’s exclusive lounge. Huo Tinglan closed the door and locked
it, and unscrewed the cap of an energy drink. The light blue plastic bottle
touched Ye Ci’s soft, wet red lips as the drink was fed to him.

Ye Ci was quiet and obedient, raising his hand to support Huo Tinglan’s
wrist as he emptied the bottle in this position. A pair of eyes narrowed, their
emotions inscrutable. They were a pale color, like a distant, mist-shrouded
mountain.

Having been married to Huo Tinglan for five years, he had always been like
this.

Cool, restrained, quiet.

Huo Tinglan knew that Ye Ci was just not good at expressing his feelings,
and also knew the cause of his withdrawn and introverted character. He felt
sorry for him, and pitied him even more. In his eyes, Ye Ci was like a
porcelain beauty restored from fragments, seemingly rigid, but in fact
scarred, fragile and brittle. After five years of marriage, during which he
treated Ye Ci with great care and love in every possible way, the results
were unfortunately poor. The only things that could make Ye Ci feel a bit of
relief were racing sports like Formula One. Perhaps only through the life-
or-death stimulation of extreme speed could he feel the beating of his heart
and the vitality still present in his body.

The air was full of sweet vanilla-scented pheromones mixed with sweat
from the soaked one-piece racing suit, drifting freely.

This competition was coming to an end. In order not to waste Ye Ci’s

physical strength, Huo Tinglan had been abstinent for many days. An Alpha
in the prime of his life, like a hungry wolf or a fierce tiger, soaked in his
partner’s 100% compatible Omega pheromones, he could only smother the
fire and ask a gentle question: “Take it easy now?”

Ye Ci nodded and said nothing.

In order to not stimulate Ye Ci too much, Huo Tinglan had to suppress

various “bad” elements of his Alpha nature to cooperate with Ye Ci, and
didn’t dare to be too shameless in front of him. One quiet and restrained,
one tender and gentlemanly, they had respected each other for five years.
There had never been any discord, and although the model of their marriage
was a bit dull, it was at least harmonious.

He couldn’t ask for more.

Huo Tinglan threw away the bottle and got close, pressing Ye Ci against the
back of the sofa as he wrapped him in his arms. He stared at him for a
moment with fiery eyes and said hoarsely: “You have a fever . . . have you
used an inhibitor lately?”

Ye Ci shook his head, then raised his face and looked at him gently and
obediently.

After years of tacit understanding, Huo Tinglan understood that this was Ye
Ci’s way of saying that he could mark him completely.

For Ye Ci, this could be regarded as a very warm invitation.

Huo Tinglan lowered his head and used his thin lips to run over the two wet
red patches, still holding back his urges, pressing down lightly, teasing
patiently.

Ye Ci opened his eyes, and they were like a pair of polished glass orbs, a bit
cool. His emotions were not apparent at first glance, but if you looked
closely, it was clear that he was gradually softening.

“Tinglan . . .”

He called softly.

He couldn’t show too much emotion, so he had to pinch Huo Tinglan’s

diamond cufflinks with two fingers, childishly clinging. He didn’t let him
go, didn’t let him move away, until his fingertips turned red.

“Tinglan . . .”

He called again.

The two were obviously close, but his voice seemed inexplicably distant, as
if he was asking Huo Tinglan for help through a thick and invisible barrier.

Huo Tinglan hugged him tighter, running his fingertips across his sweaty
forehead, whispering comfort, trying to answer his cry for help.

Holding tight, and a little tighter.

It was like trying in vain to grip a slippery fish.

But eventually, it would dive down into the deep sea.

......

Three months later, Ye Ci, at the age of 27, was accidentally killed in a race.

After his death, the outside world was divided.

There were unreliable and outrageous rumors about it, doing their best to
attract people’s attention.
Slightly more reliable ones said that he was disturbed by depression and
other mental problems, resulting in serious mistakes during the race.

There were also the good people who had unearthed the unfortunate early
years of this rising star racing driver, with polarized reviews –

Abandoned by his wealthy biological father at a young age, and living in a

slum with his mother . . . .

Abused and beaten by his stepfather, resulting in a speech impediment . . . .

When he became an adult, he was recognized by a wealthy family and

became a tool for his biological father to compete for inheritance, and was
treated unfairly . . . .

He dropped out of school to work due to his mother’s illness, which led to
his failure of the college entrance examination . . . .

But his mother’s condition deteriorated and she died . . . .

......

Before taking refuge with Huo Tinglan, he experienced too many dark and
painful moments.

Perhaps, his spirit had already been burned to the ground.

No matter how gentle and lingering spring rain was, it was difficult to
moisten scorched earth.

These rumors about Ye Ci’s tragic early life disappeared quite quickly.

Before being completely defeated by the heavy fist of reality, Ye Ci was

strong and did not want to be pitied by others. Huo Tinglan didn’t want his
scars to be what others talked about after dinner. The various spectator posts
often survived for only a few minutes, but it was difficult to stop the small-
scale spread of gossip. There had always been no shortage of gossip lovers
in the news comment threads related to Ye Ci.
Below a certain obituary that had been forwarded more than 100,000 times,
among the mourning voices of many fans, there was a slightly “pretentious”
hot comment –

“It’s hard to imagine how much pain Huo Tinglan must be in. He has lost
his little husband forever.”

A passerby asked curiously about the relationship between Huo Tinglan and
Ye Ci, and some people started gossiping in the thread.

“They had been married for five years. When Ye Ci was only twenty-two
years old, Huo Tinglan happened to see him compete once, and it should be
considered love at first sight. It is said that he chased after him for half a
year. Huo Tinglan was twelve years older than him, so he always called him
Little Sir, and after marriage, the two of them were still very polite to each
other. There was mutual respect between them. Ye Ci himself was a bit
introverted, but this pair was still very sweet, it’s a pity . . .”

“Huo is an A+ grade Alpha, and his compatibility with Omegas is generally

low. He will never meet another Omega that is 100% compatible with him
in this life.”

“What if there’s a second one . . . . the one who knows the whole story
showed that Huo Tinglan is really affectionate. If even he can marry another
one with ease, that Alpha isn’t a good person anymore.”

This topic was brought up, and the comment area gradually started to chat
about it.

An hour later, a new comment was bumped to the top.

“If time could be reversed, if Huo Tinglan could have met his little
gentleman earlier, protected him earlier, would everything be different?”

The crowd below echoed this.

......

When Huo Tinglan woke up, the sky was bright.

His cell phone alarm clock was going off.

It was 6:00 a.m.

Huo Tinglan turned off the alarm clock and closed his eyes again. Reaching
out a hand with bulging blue veins, he groped to the side, looking for the
half-full bottle of tequila.

Ye Ci was gone.

It hurt so much.

There was a hole in the softest part of his heart.

His nerves longed to be drenched in potent alcohol, and the more sluggish
the soaking made him, the better.

However, he failed to touch the cool, delicate and hard bottleneck in his
imagination. Instead, he encountered a smooth LCD screen. The touch was
almost unfamiliar.

“. . . . . .”

Huo Tinglan frowned and slowly opened his eyes.

What came into view was a laptop computer with a brightly lit screen on a
dark black background. It was lined with a variety of ECG-like steep lines
and dense numbers – the interface of a financial software that he was very
familiar with . . .

And he himself was actually lying on a desk as faint golden light shone in
from the blinds.

It was as if he accidentally fell asleep while staying up late last night to

handle official business.

Was it possible?

He had no mind to work.

But how could he be at the company . . .

Did he sleepwalk?

It was too comical.

Huo Tinglan propped up his upper body and grinned in pain.

However, this mocking smile suddenly froze before it could be restrained.

The chaos between dreams and wakefulness faded, and for a moment, he
was suddenly sober.

This place . . . was clearly his office ten years ago.

The body preceded the mind. With just one glance, Huo Tinglan precisely
swept to the lower right corner of the computer screen. His subconscious
had sensed something, and his black pupils were extremely bright.

Saturday, 6:02.

2021/ … …

Huo Tinglan tried his best to hold his breath and unlocked the phone with
his fingerprint. The phone still displayed that date.

When he opened the address book, his hands were shaking so much that he
could barely hold the phone.

According to memory, he called the personal assistant he’d had back then.

At 6:30 in the morning, the opposite side picked up in three seconds.

Such was the style of the personal assistant, a hard-working, always-on-call

Beta.

“Mr. Huo.”

This voice was also familiar.

Huo Tinglan gripped the phone without saying a word, and walked to the
floor-to-ceiling window. The glass in the early morning was shrouded in a
hazy light, reflecting his face.

Handsome, with sharp features and dark eyes that revealed a rare look of
surprise, and . . . he was still young.

This was what he looked like when he was thirty.

This was ten years ago.

Suddenly:

His heart beat wildly, his blood boiled, and the bridge of his nose was sore
and painful.

This year, Ye Ci was only eighteen years old.

Everything was within reach.

......

At two o’clock in the afternoon, the Fengchi Circuit on the outskirts of the
city was bustling with activity.

On the side of the track, a heavy duty motorcycle was parked under the
spotlights.

The metal fittings on its body had heated up in the race just moments
earlier, scorching hot under the blazing white afternoon sun.

Beside the motorcycle, a long leg rested on the ground. The rider was a
teenager who looked like a high school student.

He was wearing a dark sweater with a slightly childish hood design, with a
few strands of soft black hair spilling out from under the brim of the hood.
It was neatly placed across his brow, out of tune with the curiously dressed
drag racing teams around.
Ye Ci, just after his eighteenth birthday, had dropped out of school for more
than a year. He was currently repeating his second year of high school in
Tiancheng Private School. His structural gender was male, his glandular
gender . . . the record on his household registration card had been changed
to Omega a few days ago.

He held a stack of banknotes, counted them, and put them in his pocket.

. . . Still a long way to go.

Ye Ci looked at the track. His pale pupils and skin were cold like thin
porcelain, hard and brittle.

Fengchi Circuit had been operating in the suburbs for many years,
providing tracks and a variety of vehicle rentals – motorcycles, Formula
One, they could all be used. The track was legally operated, but most of the
people who came to race were not good people. Drag racing burned money
– the track, the car, the fuel, real money everywhere. So the custom of
racing for money gradually emerged amongst this subset of people who
often came to compete. At the beginning, it was only small amounts, purely
to subsidize track fees and fuel expenses. Later, this group of people got
used to playing with money, and the amount also rose. Sometimes a win or
a loss could mean tens of thousands of dollars, and if you lost a few big
races in a row, you may even have to relinquish your vehicle to others.

“Want to race?” A blonde-haired man riding a Harley slid toward Ye Ci,

covered all over in ear and lips studs, along with iron chains that might
weigh several kilograms when removed.

Huang Mao was a frequent visitor to the racetrack. His skills weren’t bad
and he was good at tricks, and he’d earned the Harley under his ass through
racing.

Ye Ci didn’t recall such a person, so he simply said, “Okay.”

“How old are you?” Huang Mao licked his lips.

Ye Ci adjusted his helmet and bit into the milk-flavored candy in his mouth:
“It doesn’t matter either way.”

Huang Mao smiled. His slender legs on the ground swayed as if he had
ADHD, and he looked at Ye Ci’s clothes, offering a price that was not
excessive: “Three thousand, dare to play?”

Ye Ci lowered his eyes: “Dare.”

He cherished words like gold.

The two motorcycles slid to the start of the track.

Huang Mao squinted at Ye Ci. His gaze turned sly and landed on Ye Ci’s
feet.

Off-brand sneakers, cheap and worn out but clean, maybe bleached, pure
white.

Huang Mao grinned happily inside his helmet – everyone said that this was
the new and amazing driver who had showed up to play this month, a crazy
and fierce whirlwind. But wasn’t this actually a child?

Engines roared, and the two heavy-duty motorcycles rushed past the
starting line.

The Harley’s momentum was fierce, with a high-horsepower starting speed,

exerting enough energy to make Ye Ci take note of the initial show of
strength. But Ye Ci hit the gas more ruthlessly. Even if his hardware was no
match for it, he still ate up the distance. The battle between the two vehicles
was at a stalemate until they reached the middle of the track. Ye Ci
precisely caught the multiple low pressure areas behind the vehicle in front,
and the hardcore-style Kawasaki motorcycle roared as it brushed past
Huang Mao.

“**** your mother!” Huang Mao couldn’t afford to lose and revealed his
fierceness. “Little bastard!”
He had originally wanted to bully the child and crush him, but
unexpectedly, the little wolf dog was chasing and beating him.

Ye Ci turned a deaf ear and took the third corner at high speed, the distance
between them getting wider and wider.

Three thousand yuan was about to fly, and he was still watching the little
brat thrash him! The veins on the back of Huang Mao’s hands bulged, and
he fought hard to accelerate around the corners.

The two motorcycles kept pace with each other, and the horizontal distance
between them did not exceed one meter. Huang Mao took the opportunity to
release the handlebar with one hand, and unexpectedly squeezed Ye Ci’s
handlebar hard. . .

Forcing the opponent to brake in the middle of a race was not just a trick, it
would not be an exaggeration to say that it was intentional injury.

The body of the motorcycle vibrated violently, jolting and fishtailing. Ye Ci

tried his best to stabilize, kept silent, and then chased after him fiercely. The
distance lost was tied again momentarily. Huang Mao didn’t get another
chance to grab him again. He was utterly dismayed, even belting out curses.

A few minutes later, the two vehicles crossed the finish line, and Ye Ci was
about to dismount.

Huang Mao slid off the track, swaying his legs and playing the rogue: “Yo,
a tie?”

Ye Ci took off his helmet and glanced at him.

“Fuck.” Huang Mao clenched his jaw and gave him a ferocious look.
“What’s with that expression?”

Before he finished speaking, a helmet flew over from a distance and

smashed his mouth bloody. Huang Mao was about to attack, but took a foot
to the shoulder and rolled to the ground. He suffered a few violent kicks
immediately after, and the pain made him unable to straighten his back.
Ye Ci picked up the helmet, looking down at his left hand that had held the
brake, and asked, “Owe a hand?”

Huang Mo sprayed blood: “I **** your mother . . . ah ah ah ah ah!”

The second half of his curses were swallowed back –

Ye Ci stomped on his left hand.

A lot of people gathered around to watch the fun, but no one approached to
fight.

Ye Ci’s appearance gave off a youthfulness that could not be concealed, but
his aura was terrifyingly violent.

He resembled a glass knife, fragile but sharp.

Huang Mao was in pain and fear, but the few blows just now were enough
for him to assess Ye Ci’s strength – He was 80% sure he was an Alpha. He
didn’t dare to say a word and hissed, shrinking into the wall with red eyes.

Ye Ci squatted down and gingerly pinched the hem of the yellow sweater
with his fingernails, raising it to inspect Huang Mao’s upper body with an
indifferent gaze.

“What, what are you doing?” Huang Mao hurriedly pulled the hem of his
clothes down.

Soft tissue contusion with an area of less than 15 square centimeters, oral
cavity damage, broken finger. . . Minor injuries, nothing serious.

He knew exactly what he was doing.

Ye Ci stared at him, took out his cell phone, and seemed to be warmhearted,
but his tone revealed a threat: “Call the police?”

A wise man knew better than to fight when the odds were against him.
Huang Mao shook his head: “Brother, I won’t report it, I really won’t report
it.”
Ye Ci nodded, got up, and said in a clear voice, “That three thousand . . .”

“Yes, yes, 3,000, this is for you.” Huang Mao took out his phone.

Ye Ci shook his head, held his breath unnaturally for a few seconds, and
then said slowly “. . . is for medical expenses.”

[1] A rare-earth element with a metallic silver luster. ⮐

Translator’s Note: I never would have thought when I first got into danmei
that my first translation would be a modern-day A/B/O, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Two

Ye Ci’s face was pale when he walked into the racetrack restroom.

Cold sweat dripped down his spine to wet his waistline, and cool fabric
stuck to his tailbone.

Moments ago, that highly charged scene had triggered his pathological
reaction.

– **** your mother. . .

– Little bastard. . .

Even the rough tone was very similar.

In late spring in the north, the water spewing from the faucet was still cold
to the bone.

Ye Ci wasn’t too cold, so he scooped up water and washed his face

repeatedly. When the skin of his face became numb and itchy, turning the
pink color of spring peach blossoms, he forced himself to stop.

“Augh –” After rinsing his face, Ye Ci leaned on the edge of the ceramic
wash basin and retched a few times.

He didn’t vomit anything since he hadn’t eaten, but inexplicably felt more
relaxed. He rinsed his mouth, wiped the water droplets from his lips, and
looked up at the mirror behind the sink.
There was no one else in the restroom. In the mirror, several toilet stalls
stood silent and empty.

Ye Ci was silent for a moment, and suddenly repeated the lines from ten
minutes ago.

“That three thousand . . .”

“Is for, for medical expenses.”

“That three thousand is for, medical, medical expenses . . .”

He stammered.

Chu Wenlin had thought that he was embarrassing and sent him to a
stuttering correction center for a month, but he still couldn’t coherently
speak more than three words. Maybe it was because his speech impediment
stemmed from deeper problems, and those lessons didn’t get to the heart of
it. Fortunately, he had long been used to this problem since childhood. In
order to avoid ridicule, he usually spoke very briefly, as if he was naturally
cold and reserved.

Just now, he almost embarrassed himself in front of that gangster, but

fortunately held his breath at the critical moment and covered it up.

Only seven words.

He couldn’t even say seven words.

Unreconciled, Ye Ci tried to repeat it several times. As a result, the more

anxious he became, the more he stumbled, and the only gain was that his
face became flushed and red, and the corners of his eyes became damp.

There were footsteps outside the bathroom.

Ye Ci pursed his lips slightly, raised his hood, and remained silent.

The visitor was a tall Alpha racer. When he entered the door, he glanced at
Ye Ci unintentionally and recognized that he was the kid who had just
beaten someone up.

Ye Ci’s face, which was wet and red-eyed a moment ago, switched
seamlessly to a blank slate[1], eyes slanted away indifferently.

The racer looked back and didn’t intend to cause trouble.

After leaving the racetrack, Ye Ci was in a daze for a while on the side of
the road.

As usual, he adjusted himself and cleaned away his weak emotions. Then
he went to the market to buy some daily necessities and fruit with the
money he just earned and rushed to the sanatorium where Ye Hongjun was.

It got dark prematurely in early spring. It was only five o’clock, and the
streetlights in the courtyard were gradually lighting up. Half of the sky was
still purple, the lake was full of glowing lights and shadow, and swans
cruised gracefully on the water. The scenery was pleasant.

Ye Hongjun’s senior ward was on the third floor.

When Ye Ci entered through the door, she was falling asleep, her skin cold
and sickly white, like a pale skeleton. The lingering malady was torturing
her. Even her bones were thin and finely ground, and her pitifully narrow
face sunk deep into the soft pillow.

The highly-paid nurses hired by Chu Wenlin did their best to serve her,
even if she was unable to care for herself. Ye Hongjun was still clean and
decent, and the hospital gown exuded the scent of citrus. A weak forearm
stuck out from the wide cuff of the hospital gown, and the needle marks on
it were densely packed.

Ye Ci stroked Ye Hongjun’s forearm with the pads of his fingers, and the
bridge of his nose felt sore.

She was taking an intravenous injection, and had been stuck with needles
more than 20,000 times. Although difficult to cure, it could prolong life.
However, conscientious nurses, nursing homes, and life-sustaining
injections. . .

It all cost money.

Ye Ci had a ledger, and he recorded every sum of money that Chu Wenlin
spent on Ye Hongjun’s medical treatment. He planned to pay it back slowly
in the future.

The rapid rise in numbers made Ye Ci gradually go from panic to

numbness.

If Chu Wenlin’s conscience still existed, he should have given the mother
and son assistance unconditionally.

He failed to live up to expectations.

Chu Wenlin was Ye Ci’s biological father and the eldest son of the third
branch of the Chu family.

When he was young and flirtatious, because of his passion, he swore to

spend his life with Ye Hongjun, who was born to a small family. He even
instigated Ye Hongjun to give up her studies and run away with him. It was
not until Ye Hongjun, in defiance of the world, took the risk of giving birth
before marriage, that the cries of the baby and the weight of poverty
gradually crushed Chu Wenlin’s illusion.

Marriage, appropriate matches, family poverty . . . he seemed to know these

words for the first time, and felt regret. He was a rich young man from a life
of luxury and extravagance, and could not bear the hardship. He resolutely
returned to his family home to kowtow and accept punishment while the
scandal was covered up, and a year later obeyed the family’s arrangements
and married a well-bred lady.

Ye Hongjun cried, made noise, and begged, gritting her teeth and letting go
of her restraint. Holding Ye Ci, who was rolling around in his swaddling
clothes, she was ultimately unable to recover.
An Omega giving birth out of wedlock was synonymous with suffering. She
grew up raising Ye Ci in the slums. By nature, no matter how many wounds
she suffered, she would not linger on the memory forever and retained a bit
of girlish innocence. She had gone through several boyfriends, Alpha and
Beta, but they didn’t last long and their separations were ugly.

When Ye Ci was young, he tried to find the shadows of his father in those
faces, but couldn’t. His surname followed his mother’s and there was no
clue in this regard.

When he grew up, his thoughts about his father faded away.

The turning point happened a few months ago.

Old man Chu, who had been holding the Chu family’s power and refusing
to let go, was seriously ill and admitted to the hospital. He was able to be
saved, but the grandchildren of the Chu family took this as a dangerous sign
and the battle for the family fortune heated up.

Chu Wenlin was mediocre in talent and selfish, and his eight-year-old son,
Chu Rui, was also stubborn and stupid. In addition, Chu Wenlin’s mother,
the third wife of Mr. Chu, was just a dancer when she was young. Not only
was she from a humble background, but after marriage, there were even
rumors of cheating. Therefore, the Third Household had never been favored
by the old man Chu, and were at an absolute disadvantage in the battle for
inheritance.

Chu Wenlin was unwilling to accept only the scraps that leaked between the
teeth of his brothers and sisters. When he was really clutching at straws, he
thought of the eldest son who could be alive or dead outside, and felt that
the child might have value and could be exploited. Only then did he
investigate the whereabouts of the mother and son, and came to their door
for the first time.

“Mom, I, I ran, ran a race today.” Ye Ci found a piece of good news and
stammered it to Ye Hongjun. “Made, made a lot of money, enough . . . to
treat you.”
In front of his mother, Ye Ci completely removed his disguise.

He became obedient, his eyebrows arched softly, his eyes light, with a
charming appearance.

He was carved out of the same mold as Ye Hongjun.

However, in the slums, the mother and son who were as soft as lambs could
only end up having their bones broken and marrow sucked dry. Ye Hongjun
was weak, so he must be strong.

No matter how soft you were, you had to pretend to be savage and grow
illusory thorns.

Ye Ci stayed in the ward for more than two hours, massaging Ye Hongjun’s
limbs to slow down muscle atrophy and sweeping the floor, but
unfortunately, Ye Hongjun was too weak and never woke up.

He also paced around and talked during those two hours, picking out good
news about school, classmates, the handsome silver motorcycle he saw at
the racetrack, how beautiful the swans were on the artificial lake in the
sanatorium.

He was not really as taciturn as he appeared, but no one but his mother had
the patience to listen to long, stammering speeches.

Finally, he picked up the wilted sunflower in the porcelain vase by Ye

Hongjun’s bed and threw it in the trash, replacing it with a fragrant lily he
bought on the way.

She often missed his visits due to her drowsiness, so Ye Ci would change
the flowers every time he came.

The lily was fresh and tender.

She would know he had been here.

......
After visiting Ye Hongjun, Ye Ci wandered the streets until eleven o’clock,
and he didn’t return to the Chu residence until Chu Wenlin went to bed.

It was good to not have to look at that scumbag.

With the passing of time, the longing for a father’s love had long been
drenched in disappointment. Ye Ci hadn’t called Chu Wenlin father for
several months, and he would never call him that again in the future.

Chu Wenlin was quite dissatisfied with Ye Ci’s late return, so he got up
early in the morning with a sullen face.

Ye Ci turned a blind eye and went back to the bedroom after breakfast to
study English. The cotton gauze curtains were drawn, the door was locked,
and the light was dim.

There were dozens of rooms in the Chu family’s mansion, which was as
convoluted as an ant hill. After Chu Wenlin recognized him, he sank into
the depths of the Chu residence like an ant in a hole, rarely leaving a sign of
his existence.

The house was big enough, but the pilet-like screams of Chu Rui, Ye Ci’s
“legitimate” brother, could still penetrate the thick walls and reach his brain.

Even a trivial amount of unhappiness could elicit such a noise.

The servants coaxed and persuaded, and footsteps drifted to and fro
following the call of the legitimate young master.

Ye Ci pretended not to hear it, and read the English text with difficulty.

There was no one in the bedroom, but he kept his voice very low, as if
afraid that his comical spoken words would be heard by the air.

In order to treat Ye Hongjun, he dropped out of school to work for a year

and a half, and his studies were severely neglected. His worst subject was
English. He had difficulty speaking, and the biggest taboo in learning
English was not opening your mouth. Before he dropped out of school, his
English had always been a crippling subject, and he relied on the other five
subjects to get good grades.

Chu Wenlin gave him the opportunity to go back to school. He should have
cherished it, and shouldn’t have wasted time racing at second-rate
racetracks, but . . . .

The sound of a car came from the window.

Ye Ci walked to the window, opened a slit in the curtain, and peeped out.

In the distance, an unfamiliar car drove into the inner courtyard of the Chu
residence and slowly parked.

The straight waterfall of the air grille and the little platinum figure on the
hood were polished clean and bright. The body of the car was pure black,
dark and expensive.

Ye Ci frowned. He had a bad feeling.

The driver opened the door, and the housekeeper, Uncle Tong, stood there
in attendance. Wenlin greeted him with a loud laugh, in the warm style of
businessmen who had a good relationship.

The visitor was disaffected, and only nodded slightly. Chu Wenlin handled
things smoothly, and hurriedly restrained his excessive smile as he greeted
the visitor.

Ye Ci knew about this person, Huo Tinglan, the head of the Huo family that
Chu Wenlin tried to curry favor with. He was also an Alpha that matched
Ye Ci up to 100%.

This match was quite rare and could be called biological destiny.

But Ye Ci only felt uneasy.

He was originally an A-level Alpha, but now he had become an Omega

because he had a so-called “second differentiation” that normal people
didn’t have.
Secondary differentiation was a relatively rare disorder, mostly caused by
abnormalities in pheromone secretion during puberty. Patients generally
started the second differentiation three to four years after the first
differentiation, and the true glandular sex of the patient was based on the
result of the secondary differentiation.

Ye Ci never knew that he had this problem. Before the start of the second
differentiation, he always thought he was an Alpha.

He was recognized and brought back by the Chu family a while ago, and
Chu Wenlin took him in for a series of examinations, including various
infectious disease screenings and gland tests, and the results also showed
that he was an Alpha . . . . a healthy A-level Alpha.

In the end, about two weeks ago, he developed a brief pseudo-Omega heat.

The heat lasted only about an hour, the symptoms were not severe, and he
was alone in the bedroom when it happened. Even he himself almost didn’t
realize that it was a pseudo-heat, let alone Chu Wenlin.

It was not a good thing for Ye Ci to differentiate into an Omega at this time.

Right now, Chu Wenlin just wanted to add a bloodline to the third house, so
that multiple people could share the inheritance. An Alpha boy was the
more preferred gender when it came to dividing the estate, and the only
thing better was a good-looking Omega. For Chu Wenlin, a beautiful
Omega offspring was a “good deal” up for grabs.

Ye Ci was not stupid and could think clearly about this issue, so he didn’t
intend to let Chu Wenlin know, and wanted to hide it as long as he could.

However, the problem lay in the private hospital where Ye Ci was

examined.

Originally, his gland test had been done, but it turned out that he didn’t
know what the hospital was doing. They actually claimed that the previous
gland results were wrong and that Ye Ci may not be a true Alpha.
Naturally, Chu Wenlin refused to pass up the possible opportunity, and took
Ye Ci in for another examination. This time, the hospital advised them to
carry out a more accurate but also more troublesome genetic testing . . . .
after all this tossing and turning, Ye Ci’s Omega identity was completely
exposed.

What made Ye Ci even more surprised was that Chu Wenlin, who was
overjoyed, was going to “market” him to other families in exchange for
commercial resources. The new head of the Huo family took the initiative
to propose marriage, and the timing couldn’t be more accurate.

No wonder the Huo family was well-informed – that private hospital was
one of the many industries operated by the Huo family. Chu Wenlin’s series
of actions happened under the eyes of others. The Chu family suddenly
produced an Omega that matched Huo Tinglan’s genes 100%. It wouldn’t
be difficult for the Huo family to find out.

......

Ye Ci looked down through the slit in the curtain.

As an A+ grade Alpha, Huo Tinglan was almost 1.9 meters tall.

The weather in spring was difficult to predict, with the temperature at noon
being a lot higher than in the morning and evening. The floor tiles were
dazzling white in the sun, and looked hot, but Huo Tinglan was wearing a
formal three-piece suit to show the importance he attached to this meeting.
The fabric of the suit had a deep luster, and the person wearing it should
look elegant and noble, but that fierce figure revealed an imposing and
beast-like savage sex appeal.

An A+ grade Alpha was really like a beast in some ways . . . .

Suddenly, as if alerted by intuition, Huo Tinglan’s eyes lifted and went

straight to the window of Ye Ci’s bedroom on the second floor.

They looked at each other for a moment. Ye Ci shrank back, startled, and
the fingertips holding the curtain turned white.
His stomach spasmed.

His self-perception was still that of an Alpha male.

Getting up close and personal with another top Alpha . . . . Ye Ci imagined

this scene and resisted until he was sweating all over.

[1] The actual terminology used is “switched seamlessly to a ‘coffin board'” or 棺材板, which is a
Taiwanese snack. These crispy boxes of bread are usually filled with a creamy mix of chicken
products, peas, potatoes, shrimp, etc. The top does indeed look like a blank slate. ⮐

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Three

In the living room of the Chu residence, the visitors had been waiting for a
long time.

Huo Tinglan, along with his personal assistant, lawyer, and notary.

Ye Ci dawdled for a long time before walking into the living room, and took
a seat on the single sofa in the corner.

He was so nervous that his face was as white as bone china, but he still tried
to keep his composure. His straight legs were wrapped in old whitewashed
jeans, deliberately propped apart as he leaned forward with his elbows on
his knees.

It was a rude posture for an Omega.

He presented himself as street stall goods of low quality.

He hoped that Huo Tinglan would dislike him and not dare to go too far.

Because Ye Hongjun’s life was still in Chu Wenlin’s hands.

Chu Wenlin looked gloomy and sent Ye Ci a warning with his eyes.

Ye Ci didn’t look at anyone at all. He lowered his eyes and swiped his
phone quickly with his fingers, as if he was busy with something.

His instincts told him that Huo Tinglan was looking at him, and his gaze
was a heavy weight pressing down on his head like a cold cloud.
Huo Tinglan should be wearing a pheromone blocker, but the pheromones
of an A+ grade Alpha were too powerful, and slight leakage was
unavoidable, so Ye Ci could still smell a trace of a scorching, liquor-like
masculine scent.

The scent of tequila.

Alphas with A+ grade glands were extremely rare, and this was Ye Ci’s first
time coming into contact with one.

Even a Beta, who were resistant to pheromones, would feel faintly

uncomfortable under that sense of oppression and aggression, not to
mention Ye Ci, who was in the Omega differentiation stage.

Like a string pulled from the top of his head to the soles of his feet, yanking
hard, Ye Ci couldn’t wait to curl up into a ball in the crack of the sofa to
avoid Huo Tinglan’s strong presence and scent.

He gritted his teeth to suppress the urge and straightened his body.

“Hello,” Huo Tinglan said.

His voice was low and magnetic, as typical for an Alpha.

Ye Ci resisted so much that his breath shook. He swiped across the cell
phone’s home screen from beginning to end, then from end to beginning,
moving the app icons around. His palms were covered in cold sweat.

After confirming that his voice would not tremble, he said coldly, “Hello.”

Chu Wenlin said that the child was introverted and afraid of strangers, so he
hurriedly cut to the point and discussed the details of the marriage
agreement.

The marriage was a purely commercial act. After the two parties concluded
a marriage contract, the Huo family would cooperate with the Chu family to
develop a huge government project that would bring astronomical returns
for both parties. It was a mutually beneficial win-win situation.
The power of the Chu family was still firmly in the hands of Mr. Chu. After
this project was completed, Chu Wenlin’s share of the benefits would be
limited.

Therefore, for Chu Wenlin, the real key was not the project itself, but the in-
law relationship between the third house of the Chu family and the Huo
family, along with the great contribution he was about to make for the Chu
family. This would become his capital in the battle for inheritance, and
would greatly enhance his status in the mind of Mr. Chu. The first and
second houses, as well as his four half-siblings, wouldn’t be able to keep
up. In exchange, Chu Wenlin would provide his Omega eldest son as Huo
Tinglan’s “human medicine jar.”

As a rare A+ grade Alpha, Huo Tinglan enjoyed the advantages of his

glands and physical abilities, but also had to suffer more tortuous and
frequent susceptible periods than other Alphas. It was double the physical
and mental torture. Those who had not experienced it could not imagine it.
Some A+ level alphas who could not bear the torture would even mutilate
themselves during their susceptible period in order to take their mind off it.

Not only that, but an A+’s overly strong genes made it difficult for them to
match with weak Omegas, making it even more impossible to seek a partner
regardless of genetic matching. A+ class pheromones could cause a low-
match Omega to go into shock or a coma at high concentrations. Therefore,
the vast majority of A+ level Alphas would struggle with frequent and
painful susceptible periods for the rest of their lives, and die alone.

Chu Wenlin knew that for such an Alpha, Ye Ci, who could relieve the
symptoms of his susceptible period, was quite valuable.

Huo Tinglan was also happy to lead him to think so.

On the other side of the sofa, the youthful teenager had a cold face and a
sharp temperament, like a little hedgehog.

He pretended not to care about this transaction, but he never dared to raise
his eyes to look at anyone, and the fingers gripping the phone had turned
white.
In Huo Tinglan’s eyes, this stern coldness that fooled outsiders was as
flimsy as a wet piece of paper that leaked at a touch.

Since miraculously returning to the past, Huo Tinglan was in close contact
with Ye Ci for the first time.

This was what Ye Ci looked like when he was eighteen. . . .

Huo Tinglan stared at him intently.

Ye Ci had never been in the habit of taking pictures, and even had some
resistance against it, so apart from the indifferent high school graduation
photos, Huo Tinglan hadn’t seen many photos from when Ye Ci was young.

Now he saw.

Fresh and full of life, as green as a scallion or the tip of a tea leaf plucked
from a spring bud, stained with morning dew and morning light.

As if afraid of scaring him off, the expression in Huo Tinglan’s eyes was a
mess of gentleness and tenderness.

Eighteen-year-old Ye Ci was too young.

Really too small and too thin.

Even his fingers seemed to be thinner than they were then.

. . . . was he getting enough to eat?

Huo Tinglan’s heart felt stuffy, and his thumb moved to rub the empty ring
finger of his left hand.

Relying on Ye Ci’s daring to raise his head, he carefully glanced over at Ye

Ci’s bright eyes. The tip of his nose was delicate, his jawline distinct and
his lips soft . . . . It wasn’t until that icy little face couldn’t stand it anymore
that his lips ticked up slightly. At the moment when Ye Ci glanced at him
suspiciously, he turned his eyes away along with the greed and nostalgia in
them, without making a sound.
. . . . Huo Tinglan wasn’t staring at him.

It was an illusion.

Ye Ci gave Huo Tinglan a surprise inspection and heaved a sigh of relief,

his tense and aching facial muscles finally relaxing a little.

Over there, Chu Wenlin was finalizing the specific terms with the lawyer.

This marriage agreement had been drawn up prior to the meeting, and the
two parties had communicated numerous times about the important terms.
Huo Tinglan had obviously set his heart on this and was in a hurry to ask
the important members of the Chu family, so all of the conditions were
loosely set, and the marriage agreement and two sets of cooperative projects
did not take more than a few days. Even Chu Wenlin felt that this surnamed
Huo was frighteningly anxious to ask for his wife.

Huo Tinglan had come today to formally sign an agreement with Ye Ci.

Ye Ci pricked up his ears to catch the content of the agreement.

He could understand the gist of the business operations in a foggy way, but
the part about being a human medicine jar for Huo Tinglan was simple and
easy to understand.

According to the agreement, Ye Ci needed to use his own pheromones to

help Huo Tinglan delay the arrival of his susceptible period and help him
relieve the pain after it began. Reading between the lines, Huo Tinglan’s
susceptible period seemed to come more frequently and last longer than a
normal Alpha’s.

Ye Ci had taken a physiology class.

He knew that “helping an Alpha through their susceptible period” often

meant embracing, kissing, temporary marks, borderline sexual behavior,
and . . . .

He couldn’t think about it anymore.

Shame and anger reddened his earlobes and cheeks, and Ye Ci silently
clenched his fists.

Treatment for a susceptible period was a high-sounding thing, but in fact it

was not . . . .

He had already thought about it, and would refuse to embrace all the above
requirements. Anyway, even if he couldn’t beat the A+ level Alpha, he
couldn’t let the opponent do as he pleased. He would do his best to delay,
and when Ye Hongjun got better, he would take her far away, settle down in
another city, and try to dissolve this absurd marriage. He could study and
work part-time, find a place to compete in more races, and slowly return the
treatment fee to Chu Wenlin. If he didn’t owe him anything, he couldn’t be
coerced by him again.

But . . . .

A thought flashed through Ye Ci’s mind.

Would Ye Hongjun’s health really improve?

She was relying on those expensive injections to prolong her life, there was
no hope for a cure for the time being, and Chu Wenlin didn’t care about her
illness . . . .

Suddenly, a light knock interrupted Ye Ci’s chaotic thoughts.

Huo Tinglan flexed his fingers and tapped twice on the corner of the table
in front of Ye Ci with his knuckles, as if reminding an absent-minded
student in class: Listen to the agreement.

His internal turmoil was seen through, and Ye Ci was so embarrassed that
he glanced at Huo Tinglan again.

This person had a very handsome face. The contours of his facial features
had that exclusive Alpha sharpness, and his irises were darker than those of
ordinary people, hiding indistinguishable emotions. He wore a bespoke suit
the color of lapis lazuli, and the front of his shirt was slightly stretched by
his chest muscles. The fabric undulated with his breath, moving with subtle
and ambiguous silky light.

So purely masculine.

Huo Tinglan didn’t even have to do anything; his very existence exuded a
strong sexual overtone.

His eyes seemed to have been scorched by fire, and Ye Ci hurriedly turned
his face away.

It was defiance, and in the eyes of outsiders, it was a little bit like shyness.

It took a few seconds before the lawyer’s flat voice reached Ye Ci’s ears as
he read the rules and regulations.

“. . . . All forms of subjective and intentional physical contact against Party

B will be strictly prohibited, including but not limited to: hugging and
touching . . . .”

“. . . . It is forbidden to harass and make unwanted sexual advances upon

Party B by means of words, texts, images, etc. . . .”

“. . . . Prohibited. . . .”

“. . . . Prohibited. . . .”

“. . . .Only provide pheromones in the form of non-direct contact, including

but not limited to: releasing pheromones into the air and providing items
that contain sufficient pheromones . . . .”

Huo Tinglan’s behavior was regulated and restricted in detail within the
marriage agreement.

As expected, Ye Ci’s face became more visible.

Huo Tinglan stared at him. His dark pupils were like some kind of
measuring instrument, observing and assessing his emotions, and based on
this, he chose words to comfort him. He said soothingly: “I added some
provisions to the agreement. Maybe this will make you feel more at ease.
The Huo and Chu families are friends, and our relationship has always been
close, so you still need to call me ‘Shishu’[1]. . . .”

The two older men were not actually close. If they called themselves
friends, it was definitely the Chu family who had climbed to the moon.
“The two families have a close relationship” was just diplomatic rhetoric,
letting Ye Ci be a bit less panicked at being given to a stranger by his father
as a bargaining chip.

“. . . . I will not use marriage as an excuse to do anything against your will,”

Huo Tinglan said solemnly. “You don’t have to worry so much.”

Ye Ci quickly pursed his lips and said stiffly, “I don’t . . . .”

He wanted to say, “I don’t have any concerns,” but he was afraid of

stammering, so he simply kept silent.

Huo Tinglan looked at him for a moment, then cleverly continued to pick
out the things he wanted to hear: “Considering that you are currently
enrolled in high school, studying should be a priority, and it is not suitable
to publicize the marriage. My personal opinion is that your and my marital
status can be kept secret from the media for the time being. All related
matters will be arranged on the premise that they will not affect your
studies, and that you have the best possible living environment. We’ll try to
keep it low-key and simple, and the wedding can be postponed until after
you graduate from high school, but . . . .” Huo Tinglan paused and said
slowly, “Maybe my considerations aren’t sufficient. If you wish to reveal
this to the outside world or hold a wedding sooner, I would like to respect
your opinion. . . .”

Ye Ci was startled.

The wedding being postponed and kept secret was exactly what he wanted.
Coupled with those gentlemen’s agreements, the situation was much better
than he had imagined. It was like he had picked up a bargain. Afraid that
Huo Tinglan would retract his offer, he hastily and dazedly plunged into the
seemingly harmless net, and quickly said: “I don’t, don’t have an
objection.”

A faint smile flashed through Huo Tinglan’s eyes. He raised his chin, and
the lawyer pushed the final version of the agreement over to Ye Ci.

By signing this, the two would legally change from strangers to a married
couple.

The eyes on him interlaced like a web. The air suddenly became thinner,
and Ye Ci’s chest heaved up and down a few times.

Ye Hongjun’s sick face sunk deep into the soft pillow flashed through his
mind.

He was truly at a dead end.

Ye Ci took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and grabbed the pen, holding it
in his hand.

It was one of Huo Tinglan’s. The pen was heavy, and the golden-blue
painted surface was stained with trace pheromones.

Afraid that the others would see his hands shaking, Ye Ci signed his name
hurriedly and fiercely.

The word “Ci” slashed the contract paper sharply.

The author has something to say:

Dog Huo chased his wife using three steps.

The first step was to sign an agreement and act like a human being.

The second step was to take the wife home.

The third step was to tear up the agreement. 🙂

Young Ci: ￥%&*&

[1] 世叔, or ‘Uncle Shi’ is an appellation applied to those who are younger than their own father
among their parents’ friends.⮐

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Four

In the bedroom.

The door to the storage closet was wide open, and clutter was piled up on
the floor.

Ye Ci squatted in front of the suitcase and stuffed a pair of sneakers

wrapped in a plastic bag into the tight space.

According to the requirements, Ye Ci should cooperate with Huo Tinglan to

complete the relevant civil affairs procedures within one week after the
marriage agreement took effect and move into the Huo residence, in order
to provide Huo Tinglan with pheromones at any time. The formalities were
completed on the day the agreement was signed, but Ye Ci took a few days
to move. Finally unable to delay any longer, during the morning meal, Chu
Wenlin directly ordered the driver to return to the Chu residence at one
o’clock in the afternoon to bring Ye Ci and his luggage to the Huo
residence.

Ye Ci owned very few things. They accounted for less than half of the
suitcase, but after Ye Hongjun’s old house was sold, there were a lot of old
things cleared out, and he was reluctant to throw even one of them away.

The home where he lived with his mother for seventeen years was gone,
and memories this junk carried were ones that he cherished.

When Ye Ci moved from the rental house to the Chu residence, Chu
Wenlin’s wife, Ruan Jiayi, made a special trip to see him. She was a
beautiful Omega who was so well maintained that her age couldn’t be
guessed, and had a gentle demeanor. She stepped into the quagmire and
gingerly lifted her skirt, tiptoeing through the gap between the luggage to
keep her ankles from touching the things on both sides. She didn’t say
anything nasty, just softly instructed Ye Ci to tell her if there was anything
he was unaccustomed to concerning this lifestyle. After she finished
speaking, her eyes swept across Ye Hongjun’s old clothes in the storage
room, and she gently hooked her lips in confusion.

Genuine contempt was often not as bitter and acrimonious as in dog blood
dramas. Some people would maintain the pretense of being well bred and
leisurely, pretending it was accidental while crushing the dignity of others
into the ground.

The nonwoven duffel bag he had used when he arrived was long ago
thrown away by the servants as garbage. Ye Ci collected several sturdy
cardboard boxes. He must take everything away, otherwise the remaining
80% would be swept away by the servants as garbage.

Three full cardboard boxes were packed by Ye Ci and moved to the door,
but there was a lot of junk left in the house. Ye Ci stood in the middle of the
messy bedroom and looked around. A deep sense of exhaustion seeped
from his bones, filling his whole body.

He pulled over the chair and sat down to rest, and his eyes fell on the edge
of the bed.

There were some unfolded clothes spread out there.

Among them was a beautiful camel coat, which Ye Ci bought two years ago
during a sale promotion as a birthday present for Ye Hongjun.

It wasn’t name-brand, but it was still staggeringly expensive after the

discount, and used up all the savings Ye Ci had collected from doing odd
jobs. The cut of the coat was good, but it was also delicate. He was afraid of
crushing it, afraid of breaking it. Ye Hongjun’s treasure was so precious,
and she was careful every time she wore it. After Ye Ci took it out of the
duffel bag last time, he regretted it. He had not treated it well.
Thinking of his mother, his eyes were sore and painful. Ye Ci took a deep
breath and dared not let himself be weak.

Footsteps came from the door of the bedroom at this moment, but Ye Ci
didn’t care. He was an invisible person in the Chu family. Servants passed
by the door many times this morning, but no one came in to help or ask a
question. When Chu Wenlin was not home, in order to please Ruan Jiayi,
the servants tacitly didn’t even call him for dinner.

Unexpectedly, the door was gently knocked on twice. Ye Ci quickly turned

his head, letting the corners of his eyes brush his shoulders as he turned to
look.

It was Huo Tinglan standing outside the door.

He was wearing a graphite-colored shirt. The silk was supple, showing the
outline of his pectoral muscles, and the cuffs were folded up flat. He was
not wearing a watch, his posture ready to work.

Ye Ci refused to let others see through his vulnerability. Bracing himself, he

looked at Huo Tinglan with a trace of water in his eyes, as cool as snow.

“I’m here to pick you up . . . . Your father wasn’t home, so I came up by

myself.” Huo Tinglan’s gaze stopped on the corners of Ye Ci’s reddened
eyes, seeing through something. But he didn’t ask, and moved on
straightaway.

This was a guest room, small in size with simple furniture. A folding study
table stood beside a well-lit window, and the lacquered imitation bamboo
wood grain looked old. Tucked in the corner of the wastebasket were two
wrappers with “coconut bread” and “red bean bread” printed on them. The
plastic sheets gleamed with a cheap, nutrient-deficient gloss.

. . . . No wonder he was so skinny.

Huo Tinglan’s Adam’s apple rolled slowly.

This was Ye Ci’s living environment when he was eighteen years old.
According to Huo Tinglan’s previous investigation, Ye Ci would have lived
here for a long time until Ye Hongjun’s treatment failed and she passed
away.

The tragic news of his mother’s death would completely overwhelm him.
Chu Wenlin, who had successfully divided up the inheritance, would regard
him as a burden and send Ye Ci, who was mentally broken at the time, to a
Youth Behavioral Correction Center.

Ye Ci would be in a world without justice, and suffer torment for a long

time. Many of his mental issues arose during that period.

Afterwards, he managed to escape from that place and cut off his father-son
relationship with Chu Wenlin, driving in races at second-rate racetracks to
make ends meet. At that time, he lived in a shabby rental house. Still
obsessed with reading, he would insist on studying and attempting the adult
college entrance examination, until the manager of the well-known team
with a discerning eye signed him away . . . .

From the age of eighteen to twenty-two, the four years that Huo Tinglan
was absent in his last life were not long.

But for Ye Ci, they were the loneliest and most painful four years of his life.
The malice and devastation from his close relatives was enough to cover an
entire lifetime in a haze.

Presently, the personal assistant was about to come in with a stack of empty
sorting boxes. Huo Tinglan came back to his senses and subconsciously
took a step to the side, blocking the assistant’s sight into the room. He
turned around to take the empty boxes and motioned for his assistant to
remove the packed boxes at the door.

“What can I do to help?” Huo Tinglan asked.

Ye Ci, who had wholeheartedly put on a cold face, was stunned when he
heard those words and refused the help reflexively: “Nothing.”
Huo Tinglan was silent for a while, looked at the storage closet, and
confirmed: “You’re taking all of it?”

“. . . . Right.” Ye Ci was so embarrassed that he could choke. He smoothed

his tongue with difficulty and spoke well, “I’ll pack it myself.”

Huo Tinglan looked at him for a moment, stopped talking, and started to
separate the boxes into stacks. Crouching down and packing things one by
one, his behavior was proper and natural, as if he should have done these
things for Ye Ci in the first place.

A lot of these relics had great commemorative significance: photos of

mother and son, various learning awards from Ye Ci’s Elementary and
Junior High schools, Ye Hongjun’s handwritten parenting diary . . . .
Throughout five years of marriage in his past life, Huo Tinglan had never
seen a single one of them, and didn’t know where they had all gone. He
pulled a silk handkerchief from his shirt pocket, wiping a light coat of dust
from a wooden picture frame. There was a sort of forbearance and love in
the gesture.

Ye Ci’s eyes burned when he saw him cleaning things. Inexplicably

blushing from embarrassment, he felt that something wasn’t right and
couldn’t figure it out, so he was silent for a while.

He hesitated for a while, then dragged an empty box to the base of the wall
diagonal to Huo Tinglan. Using this as a stronghold, he began to pack up
swiftly. He hadn’t been packing for long when Huo Tinglan’s low voice
sounded above his head: “This kind of coat can’t be folded like this.”

Two straight trouser legs stopped in front of him, and Ye Ci was startled. Ye
Honjun’s most precious coat had been taken by Huo Tinglan. Long, steady
fingers brushed the folds, straightened the laces and buckles, and then hung
it on a hanger and put it in a clothing bag. When he was finished, Huo
Tinglan handed the clothing bag to the assistant and instructed him to carry
it downstairs.

While Huo Tinglan was meticulously tidying up the coat, Ye Ci stood far
away, carefully watching him out of the corner of his eyes as he packed.
If you hadn’t been treated kindly in a long time, it would feel unfamiliar, or
even strange.

Besides . . . . the kindness itself was a bit odd.

During this time, the housekeeper, Uncle Tong, sent people to assist – no
matter the etiquette of other people, allowing guests to work would be a
joke.

But Huo Tinglan just threw out the words, “We won’t bother you guys.”
After speaking, he didn’t send them away, but continued to pack up in a
condescending manner, as if putting on a show. The handful of servants and
Uncle Tong dared not insist, let alone just leave. They were left hanging in
the second floor corridor by Huo Tinglan, as if they were in a penalty box.

After being given the cold shoulder for a while, they really couldn’t bear the
constant heavy pressure of an A+ grade alpha. With fine sweat hanging on
their foreheads, they retreated in shame.

The two people and the assistant were busy until twelve o’clock, and
everything was moved.

Ye Ci threw his school bag over his right shoulder and went downstairs
behind Huo Tinglan. He glanced at the man’s tall, straight figure in front of
him, and the conflicted expression on his face intensified.

Huo Tinglan had made a special trip to pick him up. So meticulous, busy as
a bee . . . .

If nothing else, he should be thankful.

This was the most basic courtesy.

He came from a poor background, but his upbringing was no worse than
that of the young ladies and young masters of the upper class. Ye Hongjun
had a demure temperament and was knowledgeable about etiquette. If she
hadn’t been screwed over by Chu Wenlin, she wouldn’t have been reduced
to living in a slum that was incompatible with her whole personality.
The fist concealed in the sleeve of his school uniform clenched and
unclenched loosely. After hesitating a few times, Ye Ci bit the bullet and ran
a few steps to catch up with Huo Tinglan. As soon as he got close, his nose
immediately caught the scorching scent of tequila. Before he could speak,
his cheeks stung with heat.

“What is it?” Huo Tinglan stopped and turned to look at him.

“Today . . . .” Ye Ci licked his lower lip, not sure how to adjust his
fluctuating expression. “Thank, thank you[1].”

Huo Tinglan was too imposing. Coupled with the leaked Alpha
pheromones, there was a strong sense of oppression when he looked at
someone. This caused Ye Ci to perform worse than usual, and he stuttered
for three words in the second half of the sentence.

Disgraceful!

Ye Ci wanted to stretch out his tongue and iron it.

He didn’t want to open his mouth in front of Huo Tinglan for the next year .
...

Huo Tinglan lowered his eyes to look at Ye Ci’s annoyed face, and the
corners of his lips curved slightly. He seemed to be of a mind to tease him,
but after a moment of silence, he said in a normal manner, “You’re
welcome.”

Perhaps having considered that coexisting in a narrow space might make Ye

Ci nervous, Huo Tinglan offered to take two cars with Ye Ci, and the two
arrived at the Huo residence one after another.

Ye Ci had hesitated for a while when he got into the car, reluctant to share
the ride with the A+ grade Alpha and his strong, intrusive pheromones, but
facts proved that his worry was unnecessary. Huo Tinglan remained a
considerate gentleman. Every detail made one comfortable, and it seemed
that he did not intend to do anything to Ye Ci by relying on their legal
marriage relationship.

He was thinking too much . . . .

Mr. Huo wasn’t that bad.

Ye Ci held his school bag, lowering his head as he twisted the strap in
embarrassment, and rubbed his fingers red.

[1] He uses the formal ‘you’ here, 您 ⮐

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Five

The Huo family’s main house was an hour’s drive from the Chu residence.
It was closer to the city center, and also closer to the private school where
Ye Ci was currently studying, making it more convenient to attend school.

The main building where the previous patriarch had lived was weathered. It
did not show signs of decline, but instead embodied the weight of several
generations of the family’s noble ancestry. Two annex buildings for servants
were attached to both sides of the main house, hidden among fountains,
pastureland, and well-manicured garden shrubs. Chu Wenlin’s house looked
a little shabby in comparison.

Ye Ci got out of the car, and several servants trotted out to quietly carry the
luggage. The housekeeper, Uncle He, smiled kindly. Afraid that Ye Ci
would be uncomfortable, Huo Tinglan had instructed him to deliberately
not use post-marriage addresses such as “Mr.”, but to instead call him
“Young Master Ye.” He led Ye Ci into the main building and came to the
bedroom specially remodeled for him.

The square footage of the bedroom was more than double that of his small
room in the Chu residence. It was said to have been renovated, but the main
changes were the furniture and decorations. All of the best environmentally
friendly materials were used, and a professional team had also been hired to
remove all harmful substances from the decorations. Even an Alpha’s dog
nose could not detect the slightest odor.

The main colors of light blue and warm gray gave off a simple and clean
sense of youth. Smart central air-conditioning was readily available, and
there were separate areas for sleeping, playing, and studying in the
bedroom. This was Huo Tinglan’s intent – Ye Ci was new here, and if
something was lacking, or if there was something he wanted to do, he may
not dare to voice it. If the functionality of the bedroom was more complete,
he would feel a little less awkward.

There were several brand new skateboards hanging on the wall behind the
bed, and on the left side of the display case was a row of star-autographed
F1 models. There was even an autographed F1 helmet that was auctioned
off at Sotheby’s in Paris last year. On the right side was a stack of painted
models such as mecha race cars, still in the packaging. A huge projection
screen hung on the wall opposite the bed, connected to several game
consoles. A row of light-colored ash bookshelves stood against the wall in
the study area, half full of books. Most were famous Chinese and foreign
books, and high school study materials . . . .

There was a lot of stuff in the bedroom, but it didn’t feel cluttered. Every
detail was an attempt to please a boy of Ye Ci’s age . . . . no, it was as if it
was precisely made for Ye Ci himself.

Ye Ci was stunned as he looked around the room. He liked everything in

here, but he just stood frozen in the doorway, motionless.

He didn’t truly think that such a well-decorated bedroom would have

anything to do with him.

“This is your room, I got someone to redesign it.” The design plans were
made by Huo Tinglan himself, and he was familiar with every corner of it.
The furnishings in the room, the bedding and books, and even the clothing,
shoes, socks, and underwear in the closet . . . . no matter how big or small,
everything was chosen by him. In order to avoid Ye Ci’s suspicion, he
looked around slowly, pretending to be unfamiliar with it. “I didn’t know
what a boy your age would like, and time was limited. I’ll let you look
around at the layout, and you can tell me if you need anything, don’t be
polite . . . .” Seeing Ye Chi standing at the door, unmoving, his dashing
black eyes look straight at him as he said, “Come in.”

Ye Ci didn’t want to appear timid, so he straightened up and stepped inside.

It didn’t take long for him to lose his courage again, and he didn’t know
where to place his feet.

He knew that according to the marriage agreement, he would live in the

Huo residence long-term, and that before Ye Hongjun’s condition was
stable, he would not file for separation. He calculated that it was necessary
for him to live here for three to five years, and he also knew that for Huo
Tinglan, renovating the room was just a matter of following the agreement.
But in his opinion, this kind of treatment was still too . . . . elaborate.

The grandness of it left him at a loss.

Seeing that Ye Ci was so restrained that he was about to become a

sculpture, Huo Tinglan thoughtfully did not linger. After a few simple
explanations, he took Uncle He away and closed the door.

Ye Ci watched him leave, and noticed that the door frame was also installed
with the kind of anti-theft latch commonly found in hotel rooms. He didn’t
know if they were in every bedroom in the house or if Huo Tinglan saw
past his defenses and put it there so that he could sleep at night with peace
of mind. . . . as if emphasizing that he wouldn’t do anything at night.

It should be . . . . in regard to . . . .

Ye Ci grasped his hair, restless with anxiety and inexplicably embarrassed.

......

Uncle He left first to prepare dinner. Huo Tinglan had replaced a few chefs
some time ago, and at present, all of the chefs were specially poached from
elsewhere by Uncle He according to his instructions and given high
salaries. Those people started work soon after, but Uncle He was not at ease
and had a habit of monitoring them when they prepared meals in the
morning, noon, and evening.

Huo Tinglan didn’t leave, but quietly stood outside Ye Ci’s room.

Through repeated coaxing and deceiving, he had finally brought him home.

. . . . It felt like kidnapping a child.

The corners of Huo Tinglan’s lips tilted up slightly, somewhat self-
deprecating.

A little Omega in the early stage of secondary differentiation, his

pheromones were still weak. Only a faint wisp of warm vanilla could be
vaguely caught from the crack in the door.

The scent of Ye Ci in his memory.

Huo Tinglan took a deep breath and silently pressed his forehead against the
door, caressing the door panel with his fingertips as if stroking the
teenager’s emaciated spine.

As a top Alpha, Huo Tinglan’s five senses were extremely sensitive. He

could clearly hear the slight noises Ye Ci made in the bedroom.

Ye Ci was walking around with the mentality of being under someone else’s
roof. His steps were very light, like a kitten, stopping and going curiously.

He was very greedy for the things in the showcase, but just stood there
looking at them for a while until he was satisfied. Then he conscientiously
went to the writing table in the reading area and took reference books out of
his school bag, stacking them on the table.

Then, there was a soft sigh.

The rustle of pages turning.

The crisp click of a ballpoint pen.

It was probably due to the new environment that he temporarily couldn’t

read the book, and the movement in front of the desk stopped after a while.

Then, from inside the room came the small sound of a zipper sliding and
polyester fabric swishing.

This was the sound of . . . . undressing.

Possibly to change into comfortable house clothes.

Huo Tinglan closed his eyes.

He shouldn’t be here anymore.

Five years of loving marriage had gone up in smoke and only existed in
memory. To Ye Ci, he was now just an unfamiliar Alpha, but he was
standing outside the door full of unspeakable love, eavesdropping on the
subtle noises caused by the rubbing of fabric in the room. . . . it was rather
distasteful, behaving like an old scoundrel. Huo Tinglan was self-
deprecating, but his feet took root. In an ironed suit and trousers, he was
firmly stuck in place, a neatly-dressed scoundrel.

At this time, Ye Ci was halfway through dressing and stopped abruptly.

More cat-like footsteps sounded, getting closer and closer.

Huo Tinglan held his breath and was about to back away, but suddenly there
was a “click” from behind the door. Two crisp sounds rang . . . . the lock
and the anti-theft latch, Ye Ci did it in one go.

“. . . . . .”

Huo Tinglan was stunned for a moment, and then snorted.

This . . . . was he afraid of him rushing in?

Huo Tinglan’s chest was hot and rapidly heaved up and down twice. It was
like his unspeakable thoughts had been seen through.

– – He would like to.

......

The next day, Ye Ci woke up late.

Seeing that it was almost time to leave and there was no movement in Ye
Ci’s bedroom, the housekeeper, Uncle He, had to knock on the door himself
to wake him up.
Breakfast was ready. Ye Ci hurriedly washed up and changed clothes, and
sat down at the table, rubbing his foggy eyes.

He hadn’t rested well last night, and his sleep was light and fragmented.

Years of lacking a sense of safety in life caused him to take longer than the
average person to familiarize himself with the new environment. His nerves
were also tense after going to bed, and the first night in a new place was
definitely not a good night’s sleep.

Ye Ci’s breakfast was already placed on the dining table.

Huo Tinglan knew Ye Ci’s preferences like the back of his hand: His
appetite was larger than the average Omega, and he preferred meat. In
particular, he liked to eat fish, shrimp, crab, and other seafood. He liked
sweets and tropical fruits, and he couldn’t put the brakes on his mouth after
a bite of ripe pineapple shakya[1]. . . . the chef got a detailed list. The two
small workers who began the work got up before dawn to dismantle the
crabs, and brought three small pots of fresh crab material to the national
first-class pastry chef specially poached by Huo Tinglan, and he steamed
two drawers of xiaolongbao[2]. Crab meat, crab roe, and soft crab shell were
the three fillings, each with its own flavor. Uncle He originally wanted to
take credit, but he didn’t expect Ye Ci’s lack of interest in the xiaolongbao.
He controlled himself, averted his eyes from it, and only went to scoop up
the fish filet porridge.

After scooping up a bowl, he drank the porridge and picked up a few side
dishes with chopsticks.

“Young Master He doesn’t like eating crab?” Uncle He asked anxiously.

That wasn’t what Huo Tinglan put on the list for the back kitchen.

“. . . . it’s okay,” Ye Ci said vaguely.

Uncle He had served the Huo family for most of his life. He had a bright
mind, and could see that the status of this young master in the eyes of the
master was quite unusual. He didn’t dare to neglect him at all, persuading
carefully: “This is what Mr. Huo ordered the kitchen to prepare for you, just
thinking that you would like it . . . .”

Ye Ci hummed softly, still drinking porridge and eating vegetables.

Uncle He was in a dilemma when Huo Tinglan walked down from the
second floor into the dining room.

He must have just rushed through a shower. The hair across his forehead
fell naturally, and was particularly jet black because of the moisture. His
face was handsome and dazzling, and the wrists extending from the cuffs of
his bathrobe had distinct blue veins. This was his state after waking up in
the morning and exercising.

– – Those desires that were particularly tumultuous in the early morning

had to have an outlet.

Ye Ci immersed himself in eating and pretended not to notice his arrival,

when in actuality, his ears were almost standing up like a rabbit in a hole
who had spotted an eagle.

An Alpha’s pheromone concentration briefly increased after exercise, and

the strong fragrance of tequila scorched Ye Ci’s exposed skin, irritating it
and turning it excessively red.

Faced with the highly erosive pheromones of an A+ grade Alpha, even an

Omega that matched him 100% needed an adjustment period.

“Morning.” Huo Tinglan’s gaze fell gently on the tip of Ye Ci’s hot red ear.

Ye Ci swallowed a big mouthful of porridge with difficulty, and pretended

to be calm: “Morning.”

Huo Tinglan couldn’t bear to see Ye Ci so nervous that he couldn’t eat well.
Just as he was about to withdraw, Ye Ci pushed the bowl away and stood
up, saying inarticulately: “I . . . finished eating.”

In a hurry, he was reluctant to waste food and drank the bowl of porridge
into which his spoon had been dipped. He gobbled down the last few sips,
his cheeks bulging slightly.

“You’re finished . . . .” Huo Tinglan paused. Sweeping his eyes across the
two drawers of xiaolongbao, he was slightly startled. He had conjectures in
his heart, but didn’t show it on his face, and just said lightly, “How are you
such a picky eater?”

“I’m going -” Ye Ci hurriedly grabbed his school bag. “ – I’m going to be

late.”

He was used to living a poverty-stricken life. From a young age, resources

had been deficient and his mother’s huge medical bills weighed heavily on
his heart, the road ahead uncertain . . . . on the occasion that he saw such
costly and exquisite food, he didn’t dare to move.

He was afraid of remembering the taste of good things, in case he would

miss them often in the future.

The more desires someone had, the weaker they were.

“Don’t be in such a hurry, just ask the driver to drive faster.” Huo Tinglan
looked at him with a soft heart. “Bring some milk and fruit to eat on the
road . . . .”

Uncle He chased after him and stuffed the bottled milk and sealed box that
had been prepared in advance into Ye Ci’s arms. In the box was sliced fruit,
cored and peeled and cut into small pieces. Ye Ci took it in a daze and
slipped away.

If it weren’t for manners, he feared he could have run a 100-meter sprint.

Huo Tinglan sighed deeply.

Ye Ci’s vigilance seemed to be stronger than in the previous life. But those
pale eyes that kept stealing glances at him were also much more lively and
bright than in the previous life.

Timid, but also bright. The flames burning in his eyes had not gone out.
......

On the other side, Ye Ci got into the car, sat in the back seat, and finally
caught his breath.

Faintly, the aggressive fragrance of tequila still lingered in his nose.

He lowered the window a crack and looked down at the sealed box that he
had received at some point.

He didn’t eat his fill that morning, and his belly was still half empty. After
hesitating, he opened the lid and looked at the fruit inside.

The milky white lumpy flesh, which he had never seen before, smelled a bit
like a pineapple.

Ye Ci picked up a piece doubtfully and turned it left and right.

. . . . What was this thing?

Ten minutes later, the car slowly parked diagonally opposite the school
gate, and the driver went around back to open the door: “Young Master Ye,
here we are.”

In the back seat of the car, Ye Ci glanced at the driver as if waking up from
a dream.

Immediately, he wiped the milky white juice of the pineapple sakya from
his lips and hurriedly stuffed the empty box into his school bag as if he was
guilty of something.

[1] A green-skinned hybrid fruit that tastes like pineapple mixed with other
flavors. ⮐

[2] A kind of steamed dumpling. ⮐

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Six

In order to avoid unnecessary contact with Huo Tinglan, Ye Ci did not dare
to get up late from that day forward.

Huo Tinglan was in a high position but was extremely self-disciplined. If he

hadn’t come home late, he would have woken up almost as early as Ye Ci, a
high school student.

After figuring out Huo Tinglan’s daily routine, Ye Ci simply went to bed
early and got up early. He got up at dawn, hurriedly grabbed breakfast, and
went to school. The private high school ended early in the evening, so he
took the initiative to go to the racetrack after two evening self-study classes.
If he felt good, he raced a few more matches, and when he was in poor
condition, he sat in the lounge and read a book.

The amount of medical expenses owed to Chu Wenlin was huge, and he
would not pay it back in a year or two, but on the contrary, he was not in a
hurry. Having more cash in his hand could give him some confidence in a
situation full of uncertainty, not to be kneaded like dough by anyone.
Although after entering a marriage relationship with Huo Tinglan, he could
theoretically get astronomical assets from him, Ye Ci never coveted things
that didn’t belong to him.

Seeing that Ye Ci was not at home all day, obviously hiding from him, Huo
Tinglan was not in a hurry and only ordered the kitchen to remake the meal
plan. He tossed out the excessively extravagant and expensive dishes, and
mainly focused on nutritious and tasty home-cooked meals, letting Uncle
He watch over Ye Ci every day when he ate and left for school.
An eighteen-year-old Omega, married to a strange older Alpha, with no
protection from his family . . . . such behavior was normal.

Like a stray cat that had suffered too much and grown withdrawn and alert,
when he saw people approaching, he would wave his small paws and
posture, fierce and timid.

If he pursued Ye Ci at this time, he would only be regarded as a wicked

scoundrel with bad intentions. Doing too much could have the opposite
effect.

No matter how urgent he felt, how eager, he must be patient and give Ye Ci
enough space to get used to it slowly.

However, some people thought otherwise.

When she heard that her son had quietly picked up a 100% matching little
Omega from Chu Wenlin and placed him at home, Lin Yao swept away her
usual elegance and made three calls that day. She anxiously urged him to
take that person to the old house to show her. She also advised him between
the lines not to miss an opportunity, and that “The purpose of marriage is to
form a strong union between Huo and Chu, and to relieve the symptoms of
the susceptible period.” Her entreaties were full of grievance, and she
wholeheartedly believed that the real purpose of their shotgun wedding
should be to give birth to a little heir to the Huo family.

That night, Huo Tinglan handled official business in the study alone,
flipping through documents. At the same time, he listened with half an ear
to Lin Yao speaking to him gently and tenderly.

“. . . . You are already thirty years old . . . .”

“. . . . The Huo family needs a legitimate heir. At your age, it is time to

consider the matter of children . . . .”

“. . . . I heard that he is studying at Tiancheng, and his academics should be

excellent. I don’t think it matters whether or not it’s the bloodline of the
main house of the Chu family . . . .”
“. . . . It’s such a rare match, and you’re already married, why don’t you try
going on dates? I heard that the two of you can’t exchange a few words all
day long, so how do you know if you’re incompatible? I’ve seen the photos,
it looks so painful, you shouldn’t be celibate . . . .”

Huo Tinglan just listened with a smile on the corners of his lips,
occasionally making a gentle, “En.”

“At the very least, you have to give me and your father some face, don’t
you? Even if the wedding is postponed, we Huo have to pick a time to hold
a family dinner between our Huo and Chu families, otherwise, it’s
inexcusable . . . .”

“A family dinner can be done.” It was rare for Huo Tinglan to agree, but
then the conversation changed again: “We can wait to talk about it when
I’m less busy.”

They were married, the wedding was postponed, and the family banquet
was not held. It was truly unreasonable.

But Ye Ci had always resisted this sort of social situation, and Huo Tinglan
didn’t plan to use these trivial matters to add trouble to Ye Ci before their
relationship broke the ice.

It took a long time to bring him home . . . . what should he do if he was

scared away?

“You . . . .” Lin Yao got angry and started lecturing him again.

After finally dealing with Lin Yao, it was half past nine, and Huo Tinglan
rubbed his brow wearily.

He didn’t know when Ye Ci would be willing to get closer to him.

His next susceptible period was approaching, and for the past few days, he
hadn’t even thought about how to make a request euphemistically so as not
to scare Ye Ci.

He was thinking about this when there was a knock on the study door.
“Please come in.” Huo Tinglan raised his eyes.

“Sir.” Uncle He pushed open the door, looking a little anxious, holding the
phone in one hand as he said in a low voice, “The police station called and
said that Young Master Ye had beat up a few people at the racetrack. He’s
now being held at the station for questioning. Do you want to send someone
to get Young Master Ye out . . . .”

Huo Tinglan was stunned, and said, “I’ll go take a look.” He got up,
grabbed his jacket, and hurried out.

He knew that Ye Ci could fight. After all, Ye Ci’s first differentiation result
was an A-level Alpha. Before the second differentiation, his body had
developed according to the genetic blueprint of a top Alpha. His muscle
tone, explosive power, and reflexes were all excellent. Otherwise, it would
be impossible to succeed in the realm of formula racing.

However, Huo Tinglan only “knew” that at a theoretical level.

In fact, he had never seen Ye Ci fight. First of all, such violent behavior
might lead to an athlete’s suspension. Secondly, based on Ye Ci’s cool and
indifferent temperament in his previous life, he seemed to not care about
anything, and it was impossible for him to raise a fist to someone.

Now, it had been less than half a month, and he had just beaten someone up.

It turned out that the eighteen-year-old Ye Ci was like this.

Huo Tinglan’s heart jumped twice out of rhythm.

......

At half past seven, the school bell rang.

Tiancheng Private High School advocated a free and independent learning

atmosphere. Evening self-study was not compulsory, and half of the
students had already dispersed.
In the last row of the classroom, Ye Ci was leaning his forehead on one
hand. He turned his body slightly at an awkward angle and blocked his
tablemate’s gaze with his arm.

The physics paper given out in his fourth class that morning was said to be
for strengthening their foundations. The other student was in the same class
and at the same table, but he filled out the paper as if he was playing during
his lunch break. Not to mention those top students, who may not even
bother to do such a simple task.

Ye Ci clenched the sweaty pen and skipped another question.

The large blanks on the paper made his scalp tingle – if this was the college
entrance examination, he would have already failed.

Ye Ci had studied at an ordinary high school before dropping out. He could

still rank in the top few grades even with his crippled English, and physics
was his best subject.

However, the standard of teaching of the regular high school he had

attended and this private school was vastly different. He had taken a long
break from school before, and there were too many gaps in his knowledge.
He didn’t know where to start when asking a teacher. A subject teacher had
to be in charge of two or three classes of students, so how could he have
time to waste accompanying him through so many questions? He could
only muddle through books by himself, with poor results. As for his
English, which was already crippled, the private school cracked down so
hard on it that he was completely lost.

Ye Ci felt that he was not even good enough to be called a slacker student.
He was now just a pinch of sand, which would dissipate with a gust of
wind.

“Hey, excuse me, I’m going out.” His tablemate got up to leave, and his
tone was neither hot nor cold.

Ye Ci had transferred over a month ago, and had hardly interacted with his
classmates. Most of the children who could study there were wealthy and
respectable people. They knew each other well and knew that there was no
big family sunamed Ye in B city, so they didn’t take the initiative to
communicate with Ye Ci – nor did they look down on him. It just wasn’t
important. The few Alpha young masters who reached out to him all
experienced his rejection. After that, his classmates knew that he was not
easy to get along with, and fewer people talked to him.

Even in gym class, he would find a place to be alone.

His forehead was hot and damp. It was covered in red marks from the palm
of his hand, but fortunately his hair was covering it. Ye Ci casually tossed
his pen on the table, folded the paper leisurely, picked up his school bag,
and walked out. It looked as if he didn’t intend to answer the questions at
all, and was just wasting time there in order to appease his parents.

The more pitiful he was, the more he was afraid that people would pity him.

Unable to finish his examination paper, Ye Ci was restless and anxious. As

a result, when it rained, it poured, and he encountered things at the
racetrack that doubled his anxiety.

The last time, about half a month ago, he had beaten up a trash fish[1] who
had tried to make him crash on the track. He was in the right, he didn’t do
anything excessive, and he didn’t accept the 3,000 yuan bet that he should
have taken. After all, hitting someone generated medical bills. According to
his previous experience on the streets, this could be considered as taking a
step back, and anyone with self-respect wouldn’t become entangled again.

The problem was that the trash fish was shameless.

After disappearing for half a month, his injuries were healed, and the trash
fish led a few other small trash fish in an attempt to come win back some
face. Ye Ci had an impression of his cheap yellow hair, and recognized him
at a glance. Huang Mao was carrying a steel pipe in his hand, and his
mouthful of vulgar cursing could be heard across the track.

At that time, Ye Ci had just finished a lap with some people and his body
was hot. His sports jacket was open, revealing the blue and white school
uniform underneath, clean and youthful.

The drag racing had eased his mood a bit, and the lump of pent-up
frustration in his chest was blown away by the strong wind that swept
through his body as he raced at high speed. Unfortunately, his good mood
did not last long.

He straddled the heavy motorcycle and quietly looked at the gang of people
approaching from a distance.

There were many people, but their weakness was visible to the naked eye.

Either a skinny monkey like Huang Mao, or a stout, fat man stained with
beer and barbecue, neither were useful.

Before anyone approached, Ye Ci took out a carton of cigarettes and a

lighter.

He was not addicted to cigarettes, and even though the carton was wrinkled,
it was only missing a few, but the posture was familiar. He tilted his head
slightly, his thin eyelids drooping. The burning red butt of the cigarette
lifted up as he took a draw, and his porcelain-like beauty was hidden behind
the smoke. He just appeared like a ruffian.

In a fight, the one with the most imposing manner had already won half the
battle.

“It’s that little bastard!” Huang Mao approached, spat thick phlegm on the
track, pointed at Ye Ci, and the foul language that followed was too dirty to
listen to.

Ye Ci casually glanced at the surveillance camera and finished smoking half

a cigarette. He stepped off the motorcycle and pinched out the cigarette
butt, a few sparks leaking from his fingers.

He rolled up the sleeves of his uniform, showed no expression, and didn’t

say any harsh words. He just said concisely, “Come on.”
“I’ll come, mother**** . . . .” Several people cursed and grabbed at him.
The first one sent a swipe at his shoulder, slamming down with the steel
pipe.

Ye Ci deliberately gave him a heavy shove within range of the surveillance

camera, then stepped sideways to dodge. Five fingers clasped the man’s
wrist and twisted it skillfully. The main quivered in pain, and the steel pipe
fell to the ground. Ye Ci stomped on it so that it bounced up, then grabbed it
with a slap and slammed it into the man’s knee!

That man tumbled to the ground and bloodied his mouth.

This sequence of events only took two or three seconds, and the other
people only understood what had happened afterward.

Ye Ci weighed the steel pipe in his hand, gave a slight nod to the bloody-
mouthed bastard, and said, “Thank you.”

– – That person was considerate enough to come pick this thing up and
provide a weapon for him.

He couldn’t speak well, and he was also disgusted by the provocative way
others spoke, so he had developed the skill of expressing ridicule with the
fewest words possible

“You mother****er . . . .” Huang Mao was stunned for a moment before he

could react, so angry that his face twisted out of shape. With a wave of his
hand, he led the collection of thugs to pounce.

......

At the police station.

In the guard room, Ye Ci sat on the edge of the bed with an English book
rolled up in his left hand, quietly reciting words.

He was not a frequent visitor to the police station, but was also no stranger
to it, so he stayed calm and did as he pleased.
The gangsters who followed that guy to come looking for trouble tonight
were arrogant and conspicuous, and someone had called the police before
they even started. Ye Ci thoughtfully beat them one by one, and then the
police car arrived. After checking his documents, the police saw that he was
still in high school and said that they would inform his family and school.
Ye Ci really didn’t want to see Chu Wenlin, so he struggled through
reporting Uncle He’s phone number.

Not long after the call was made, the door of the guard room was pushed
open. Ye Ci thought it was Uncle He and looked up unprepared, but was
startled to find Huo Tinglan’s tall, straight figure at the door.

Huo Tinglan had a coat over his forearm, and a suit vest and black shirt
emphasized his chest muscles and sharp waist. The collar of the shirt was
open, his hair wasn’t combed, and there was an unfathomable look on his
handsome face, a bit like a smile, but his lips were not curved.

He first inspected Ye Ci from head to toe, and saw that he was not injured
and that his school uniform was even neat, and then said: “You can go
home.”

Ye Ci put away the English book, distanced himself from Huo Tinglan, and
walked out of the room slowly. Auxiliary police officers and a shrewd-
looking man in a suit and leather shoes, maybe a lawyer, were standing in
the corridor. Huo Tinglan nodded at him and went downstairs first with the
guard in charge.

“Have you eaten tonight?” Huo Tinglan asked calmly.

“. . . . No.” Ye Ci paused, as if afraid of being cared for, and quickly added,

“I’m not hungry.”

“Even if you’re not hungry, your stomach can’t be empty all the time. Let’s
go back and eat something simple,” Huo Tinglan said warmly.

Ye Ci was preoccupied and didn’t answer him. After a moment of silence,

he clenched his fists and asked: “You paid, you paid how much . . . .for
medical expenses? I’ll pay you back.”
According to Ye Ci’s experience, if one could be so straightforwardly
released after fighting and brawling, it was certain that he had spent money
to intercede.

The money was nothing worth mentioning for Huo Tinglan, but he had to
bear his own responsibility.

“There was no need to pay.” There was no one in the corridor. Huo Tinglan
stopped and turned to look at him.

Ye Ci was only half a head shorter than him, which was considered tall
among Omegas, but his physique was thin, and looked even smaller hidden
under loose sportswear. The fingers that were clutching the strap of the
school bag were pale and delicate.

“Why, why . . . . is there no need to pay?” Ye Ci asked.

“You are presumed to have been acting in self-defense based on

surveillance and injury reports,” Huo Tinglan explained further. “On the
contrary, the issue of fighting using weapons and provoking trouble are
more serious.”

A charge such as provoking a fight was enough to make that group suffer
for a while.

Ye Ci no longer said a word, but his tense shoulders relaxed.

“One against five.” Huo Tinglan recalled the surveillance footage taken
from the racetrack and his smile finally couldn’t be contained, spreading
shallowly to the corners of his lips. He controlled his tone and jokingly said,
“Nice skills.”

Ye Ci quickly glanced at him, then lowered his eyes again.

He was a teenage boy, and the phrase “nice skills” sounded very good to
him, but he quickly suppressed that proud and shy smile, and said, “En,”
indifferently.
Huo Tinglan noticed Ye Ci’s brief micro-expression clearly, and an idea
occurred to him.

This was an expression he would never have seen on Ye Ci’s face in the
past life. Ye Ci, who was unmoved when he won the Formula Racing
Championship trophy would, at the age of 18, actually jump for joy a little
at being told, “Nice skills.”

So childish, and so cute.

The fierce impulses of an Alpha emerged faintly in his bones, scratching at

the tip of his heart. Huo Tinglan was itched and tickled, but held back and
suppressed that evil fire. Unable to tease Ye Ci, he only said warmly, “Let’s
go.”

The author has something to say:

Smoking is harmful to your health, please do not imitate it. The smoker in
this story is an adult.

(Recently I heard that when there is a smoking scene, I have to add a

statement in my notes to save myself.)

【small theater】

Young Ci: Exhibit B.

Lao Huo: A standing ovation! ! !

Young Ci: (*///_///*)

(Super happy but pretending it doesn’t matter.)

[1] Trash fish, 杂鱼, is an internet term that refers to a person with poor
ability and no brain. ⮐

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Seven

The two left the police station. Huo Tinglan had been in a hurry when he
left home. He didn’t send a second car, so he went around to the front and
sat in the passenger seat, pretending to be a gentleman.

Twenty minutes later, the car drove back to the Huo residence and Ye Ci got
out of the car, trying to hide his unnatural gait. He entered the door and sat
on a stool to change shoes, but as soon as he took off his sneakers, Huo
Tinglan stopped him.

“What’s wrong with your feet?” Huo Tinglan stood by the door and pointed
at his feet with a frown.

Ye Ci pulled up the loose trouser legs of the school uniform and looked
down.

He felt pain in his right ankle. In the previous melee, he had kicked the steel
pipe with one foot, and at that time, the pain made his head buzz. He’d
checked it himself at the police station, and didn’t take it seriously when he
saw that it was just a bruise. He didn’t expect it to be swollen like a steamed
bun now. It looked really scary.

“. . . . It’s fine.” Ye Ci took a perfunctory attitude and put down his trouser
legs, about to go.

In his opinion, it was okay as long as it wasn’t broken. It was enough to

apply ice. Children who grew up in the slums were not so delicate.
“Hold still.” Huo Tinglan squatted directly in front of him on one knee and
said solemnly, “Let me see.”

The tone of the command was so powerful that Ye Ci was startled and
forgot to refuse.

Huo Tinglan held Ye Ci’s bruised ankle with his left hand and pulled up his
trouser leg with his right. There was no actual touch, but across that thin
distance, the vigorous heat of the Alpha’s palm still baked his ankle that
was extra sensitive from the swelling.

Ye Ci clenched the strap of his school bag tightly and stiffly stretched out
his foot.

It was an Omega’s foot, with a slender arch. It was long and thin, tightly
wrapped in pure white cotton socks.

The cotton was half-worn but rinsed white. When it was lifted from the
sneakers, there was no smell at all. The shape of his toes showed through
the tip of his sock, slightly raised due to tension . . . . they were very cute.

“The swelling is so bad, a fracture can’t be ruled out.” In fact, the

inspection process only took two or three seconds, or even shorter. To avoid
suspicion, Huo Tinglan looked away with restraint. “I’ll take you to the
hospital for an x-ray.”

“It’s not fractured . . . . I, I know these things.” Ye Ci noticed the subtle

change in the atmosphere, and his right ankle that was held in the palm of
that hand suddenly became numb. The shame and embarrassment was
intolerable. He suddenly retracted his foot, pulled on his slippers, and was
about to leave.

“Don’t step on the ground yet.” Huo Tinglan subconsciously grasped it.

He had already held this ankle a thousand times, not only holding it, but
kissing and sucking on his shoulders. No matter his thoughts, today was not
yesterday. Ye Ci was still estranged from him, and every second, he warned
himself to pretend to be a gentleman. He wanted to avoid arousing
suspicion, but it was also inevitable that there would be moments of
forgetfulness and loss of perspective.

The sweatpants were made of smooth fabric and covered a nimble, gazelle-
like calf.

Because of his thinness, it was slightly skinnier than before.

Since Ye Ci’s accident in the last life, until now . . . .

How long had it been since they had physical contact?

The one he longed for, his lost and found lover, was so youthful and lovely.
Huo Tinglan’s heart throbbed with heat, and one of the tense strings in his
brain broke. Not only did he not release his hold immediately, but he almost
dragged that ankle in for a kiss.

At the same time, the pheromones of the A+ grade Alpha easily penetrated
the fabric. Ye Ci was scalded as if by red-hot tongs, and the tension inside
him that had been strung tight day and night since he moved into the Huo
residence snapped with a ding.

Before Huo Tinglan could do anything inappropriate, Ye Ci had already

pulled back his feet and shouted fiercely and embarrassedly, “Don’t touch
me!”

Immediately, he limped back to the bedroom with red ears and slammed the
door.

There was a loud bang.

“. . . . . .” Kneeling on one knee, Huo Tinglan came to his senses after a

while, apologetic, and a riot of mixed emotions rose up.

Fortunately, he hadn’t had time to do anything yet.

However, even though he didn’t have time to do anything, he was still

regarded as a scoundrel.
All of his previous efforts had been lost, ah . . . .

Huo Tinglan rubbed his forehead.

In any case, Ye Ci’s foot injury couldn’t be left alone. Huo Tinglan turned
his head. Uncle He was already standing a discreet distance away, busily
pretending to work, as if he hadn’t noticed the predicament of the child and
Huo Tinglan “attempting to take liberties.”

Huo Tinglan inwardly laughed, and ordered him to call his personal doctor
to see Ye Ci. He went back to the study by himself, reluctantly calmed
down, and dealt with the work that had been interrupted earlier.

Huo Tinglan was very efficient when he was immersed in work, and the
remaining contracts were finished quickly. After closing the last document,
Huo Tinglan grabbed the phone and checked the time. Less than an hour
had passed.

He estimated that Ye Ci had calmed down a little by now. He took the cell
phone and wanted to explain that his actions today were not malicious.
When he clicked on Ye Ci’s WeChat, the empty chat interface actually
displayed, “The other party is typing.”

Huo Tinglan was curious as to what Ye Ci would say, and waited patiently.
But three minutes passed, and the top of the interface still intermittently
said, “The other party is typing.”

“. . . . . .” Huo Tinglan smiled and switched the app to his album instead.
There were several clips of the surveillance video from the racetrack, which
he saved at the police station.

The earliest clip had nothing to do with the fight. In the video, Ye Ci and
another driver ended their race. Ye Ci straddled the rugged heavy-duty
motorcycle in his school uniform, took off his helmet, and tossed his fluffy
black hair. With a pretentious sophistication, he took a stack of banknotes
from the other driver and tucked them away. The next few segments were
videos of Ye Ci’s unscathed one against five fight.
Huo Tinglan watched the surveillance videos several times, and his lips
twitched into a smile.

This was the Ye Ci that he failed to understand in his previous life. Hidden
under that cold and fragile ceramic beauty was a little poplar boy. [1]

He just couldn’t see it.

When he switched back to the chat interface, the chat box was still empty.

The other party is typing . . . .

A pause for a few seconds to think about the wording.

The other party is typing . . . .

Pause, enter, pause, enter.

Over and over again.

Huo Tinlan felt sorry and also wanted to laugh a little.

Even an 800-character composition should have been finished by now, was

Ye Ci . . . . impeaching him?

He wanted to send a message first, but he wasn’t sure about Ye Ci’s state at
this time, afraid that a disagreement would cause the child to explode with
shame and anger. Then he locked the screen. He would control himself and
wait.

Over in the bedroom, Ye Ci didn’t know that Huo Tinglan had been waiting
in the study for a long time. Wrapped in a quilt on the bed, he carefully
crafted the words in the dialogue box. His forehead was sweating.

He knew he had overreacted tonight and was quite rude. After his stress
response to the Alpha’s pheromones had subsided, he was so tangled up that
he had twisted himself into a knot. He knew that he should apologize to
Huo Tinglan, but he was ashamed to speak in person, afraid of the effect of
stuttering three words out of nine. But typing didn’t seem to be any better,
and communicating with others had always been his Achilles heel.

Ye Ci typed a bunch of words and deleted a portion of them. After dawdling

for a long time, he finally closed his eyes, physically and mentally
exhausted, and pressed send.

[Ye Ci]: I’m sorry about what happened today, I didn’t mean to yell at you.

Huo Tinglan, who was ready to accept the impeachment, looked at those
words so weak in strength, and was stunned for a moment. Then he slightly
curled the corners of his lips and wrote his response.

[Huo Tinglan]: It’s okay.

[Huo Tinglan]: I was the one who was careless. I want to say sorry to you
too.

He was pretending to be very solemn and serious.

[Huo Tinglan]: Has your foot been seen by the doctor?

Ye Ci heaved a sigh of relief.

[Ye Ci]: He saw it, it’s been dealt with.

[Huo Tinglan]: Good, rest early.

There was silence from the other side.

Like he was frantically mulling over the wording again.

After a while, the message alert sounded.

Ye Ci: En.

Poised and leisurely.

For some reason, Huo Tinglan suddenly remembered the birds swimming
on the lake . . . . the upper half was calm and composed, but a pair of small
feet were desperately paddling underwater.

He smiled lightly and put down the phone.

He didn’t know what those little feet deleted, deleted, modified, and didn’t
post.

......

The incident at the police station had increased Ye Ci’s trust in Huo
Tinglan.

He was neither stupid nor lacking in experience. Gangsters often sought

revenge and fought. Entering the police station was nothing more than some
monetary losses to reconcile accounts. Huo Tinglan must have played a role
in cleaning up those people on the charge of picking quarrels and provoking
trouble.

However, due to the subsequent misunderstanding, the relationship between

the two did not ease significantly. It was true that Huo Tinglan had always
behaved mildly and gentlemanly, but Ye Ci had terribly thin skin. The guy
had three tons of baggage. Even if he had apologized, it was inevitable that
his scalp would tingle with embarrassment when he remembered that scene.

Because of this, he was extra careful to stagger his living time with Huo
Tinglan again. As a result, as soon as he entered the dining room that
morning, he was taken aback to realize that Huo Tinglan, who should have
woken up half an hour later than him, was sitting at the table drinking
coffee.

Not only did he get up early, but he was also well-dressed in a navy blue
suit with a straight half inch of eye-catching white on the cuffs. His fingers
fiddled with the pearl cufflinks leisurely, as if he was deliberately stopping
him here.

Ye Ci was stunned, then took a step back, trying to slip away.

“Morning.” Huo Tinglan raised his eyes and looked directly at him. “You
should finish eating breakfast before you leave.”

“. . . . Morning.” Ye Ci paused. He bit the bullet and said, “I know.”

He moved diagonally to Huo Tinglan and sat down. Feeling vaguely aware
of something, his nose twitched slightly.

Huo Tinglan’s body was filled with the light fragrance of tequila, a trace
amount of pheromones escaping from the barrier patch. Ye Ci was already
used to and familiar with this alcohol-like atmosphere, but he didn’t know if
it was his own illusion that this morning’s aura seemed to be different from
before. It was more intense than before, more aggressive, and also mixed
with a wisp of something – the musky scent of a wild and savage beast.

The back of his neck became faintly hot, and Ye Ci felt so awkward that he
poured a few mouthfuls of milk in a flurry, wanting a quick fix for
breakfast.

Huo Tinglan looked at him quietly for a moment, took a sip of coffee, and
said slowly, “There is something I want to discuss with you in person, and I
got up early for fear that I wouldn’t be able to see you.”

The implication was that it was a special case for him to get up early today,
so that Ye Ci did not have to put so much effort into getting up earlier to
avoid him . . . . he was afraid that a certain child would get up in the middle
of the night to go to school.

Ye Ci squeezed the cup of milk and sighed softly, asking, “What’s up?”

After speaking, he glanced at Huo Tinglan. Without knowing why, he didn’t

think he had woken up early, but had instead had a sleepless night, his
whole body radiating an exhausted excitement.

Indulgence . . . . overindulgence?

Ye Ci abruptly looked away.

It was extremely difficult for A+ grade Alphas to find an Omega, but they
could use pheromone-insensitive Betas to vent their serious excesses . . . .
so what?

“Actually, my susceptible period is about to begin,” Huo Tinglan

interrupted Ye Ci’s wild thoughts. “Without intervention, it will probably
just last these two days.”

The air was suddenly quiet.

Probably last just these two days . . . . just these two days . . . . these two
days . . . .

Ye Ci gulped and muttered, “Oh,” almost crushing the glass of milk in his
hand.

Huo Tinglan tapped the tabletop with his fingertips. His eyes were sharp,
scratching Ye Ci’s blushing face inch by inch. After two seconds of silence,
he smiled self-deprecatingly: “I was afraid you wouldn’t be mentally
prepared, and I didn’t want to tell you. But I’ve made do with medication
for the past few days and feel there is little difference between eating and
not eating. This susceptible period is more serious than before and may not
be easy to control once it starts, so I still want to ask your intentions.”

During their susceptible period, Alpha hormones were secreted in excess,

heart rate and blood pressure increased sharply, and the acuity of the five
senses was raised to the limit of tolerance, and glandular activity was
greatly enhanced . . . . In primitive times, this series of changes was to help
the Alpha find, track, and capture the Omega that belonged to him.

Therefore, an Alpha’s susceptible period could be delayed if it could be

eased by Omega pheromones, because the brain would think that he had
found the right Omega.

This was not a long-term solution. At most, it could delay a susceptible

period for a month or two, but there was no other way.
“If you can help me delay the arrival of this susceptible period, that’s not a
bad thing for either of us . . . .” Huo Tinglan’s tone sank, “I don’t think
you’d want to live with an Alpha who is at risk of going out of control.”

The intensity of an Alpha’s susceptible period was strongly correlated with

their mental state.

Experiencing mental trauma caused by divorce, widowhood, being

chronically single, or an Alpha with a strong desire for a particular Omega,
could make the symptoms more severe and longer-lasting.

– – Unfortunately, Huo Tinglan met all of the above conditions.

So this time his susceptible period would be quite dreadful. Once started,
the gentle and innocuous gentleman’s mask would be difficult to wear.

As far as the current state between the two was concerned, it was natural to
delay as long as possible.

Ye Ci mumbled, unable to speak.

Huo Tinglan didn’t rush, and waited quietly for him to state his position.

The agreement had been signed, and Huo Tinglan had treated him with
ample generosity these days. In light of reason, he should not refuse.

“What do you . . . . need –” Ye Ci’s fingers trembled, and he had to curl

them up into the sleeves of his school uniform. “ – need to do?”

Huo Tinglan stared at the boy who was pretending to be calm, a little
awkward. The following words, written out in black and white, were fine
when written out as terms, but once he said them with his mouth . . . . it
seemed that no matter the wording, it would be difficult to clear himself of
the suspicion of being a scoundrel.

He wouldn’t mind playing a scoundrel properly . . . .

He was just afraid that Ye Ci wouldn’t like him as a scoundrel.

Seeing that Ye Ci was about to collapse while waiting, Huo Tinglan cleared
his throat, making his tone sound businesslike: “According to the
agreement, you can provide me with some pheromone-containing items.”

“. . . . . .” Ye Ci licked his lower lip, completely speechless.

Items containing pheromones seemed like nothing at first glance. However,

those that could contain pheromones, other than the scent barrier patch
attached to the back of the neck, were probably . . . . clothes.

Ye Ci subconsciously raised his hand and stroked the scent barrier patch on
the back of his neck.

The square piece of non-woven fabric that rose and fell with his vertebrae
felt smooth to the touch. Because it was so close to the skin, it was
inevitable that it would be contaminated with sweat, so it felt slightly damp
when peeled off. Soft, full of vanilla-scented Omega pheromones . . . .
Thinking of giving such a private item to Huo Tinglan, Ye Ci’s hand shook
and he retracted it as if he had received an electrical shock.

Barrier patches wouldn’t work.

Then only clothes were left.

Ye Ci squeezed the zipper of his school uniform and hesitated. His brain
had been roasted by the fires of shame, and he asked in a daze: “You, you’re
going to take it . . . . and sniff it?”

His IQ returned as soon as the words came out, and he wanted to sew his
mouth shut in remorse.

“. . . . . .”

Things were complicated and couldn’t be explained in one sentence. Huo

Tinglan was silent for a moment, trying to keep his voice as soft as
possible: “What would I do otherwise?”
The author has something to say:

Huo Dog: Otherwise, could I lick it?

Young Ci: Pinching himself to wake up .jpg

[1] Little poplar, 小白杨, refers to a Chinese military song where the male
character grows from weakness into a soldier. ⮐

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Eight

It would be better if the layer of window paper was not pierced [1], but since
it was pierced, the atmosphere immediately became ambiguous and strange.

Ye Ci lowered his head, squeezed the zipper pull of his sportswear, and
pulled it down. The movement was painfully slow, the zipper teeth
releasing one by one. Blood rushed to his face and painted it red.

Because he didn’t dare to look up, Huo Tinglan stared at him almost
recklessly, like a falcon locking onto its prey. It wasn’t until Ye Ci’s shame
reached a critical point and his fists loosened and clenched as if he was
about to beat someone, that Huo Tinglan restrained his wicked foolishness
and said: “Hold on.”

Ye Ci’s eyes trembled, and he raised his head as if he had been rescued.

Huo Tinglan had returned to his usual gentle and prudent demeanor,
feigning magnanimity, and asked softly: “Is there something like a throw
pillow? Those can possibly be used.”

“There, there are throw pillows.” Ye Ci nodded hurriedly.

He had the habit of holding something to sleep, but he had been so panicked
that he didn’t remember. Afraid that Huo Tinglan would regret it, he rushed
back to the bedroom to get a pillow and hand it over. He lowered his eyes
the whole time, not daring to look at Huo Tinglan’s face.

He thought this calamity was over, but when he was about to go out, Huo
Tinglan stopped him again and told him euphemistically to come back early
from school.

After all, a throw pillow couldn’t hold a lot of pheromones.

At night, he still needed Ye Ci’s help.

Ye Ci was so embarrassed that he was dizzy, and he barely remembered

how he got out the door of the Huo residence.

This morning was so hard to bear.

If Huo Tinglan was as bad as he’d thought, and attempted to use treatment
as an excuse to do something beyond the norm, the situation would have
been easier. He was not afraid of confrontation with people.

But Huo Tinglan was really upright, restrained and polite, and strictly
abided by the rules. The more he was like this, the more at a loss Ye Ci was.
His emotions were held inside without an outlet, causing him to turn red
from his hair to the soles of his feet.

He had been in a daze all day, and before he knew it, evening self-study was
over and he had to go back.

In the inner courtyard of the Huo residence, Ye Ci was walking along the
tree-lined path with his school bag on his back.

He had to treat Huo Tinglan, as he had agreed that morning.

However, his psychological cognition was still that of an Alpha, and if

another Alpha pressed against the back of his neck to smell the glands . . . .

“. . . . . .”

Ye Ci had to punch a tree.

The pain in his hand calmed him down.

In any case, he would have to help sooner or later. If you were going to die
anyway, it was better to fight. It was better to be straightforward than to
dawdle . . . .

Ye Ci clenched his fists, his heart in chaos, and was about to return to the
main building of the Huo residence. When he looked up, he saw Huo
Tinglan standing a few steps away and looking at him.

His shirt collar was unbuttoned, and he could see the undulating lines of his
chest muscles. The tendons in his neck stood out clearly, and the hair over
his forehead fell messily across the ridge of his brow. His pupils were dark,
handsome and somber, and five fingers clamped on to a ravaged and
wrinkled throw pillow . . . . obviously, his torment on this day was not light.

Alphas approaching their susceptible period would gradually become

violent and jealous under the catalyst of pheromones, paranoid and clingy.
They would show an outrageous and unbearable urge to monopolize, along
with a morbid craving for a high-match Omega, and not be their usual self.
With the official start of the susceptible period, these negative emotions
would also reach their peak. The higher the Alpha’s level, the more obvious
these personality changes were during the susceptible period . . . .

But Huo Tinglan’s had obviously not started yet.

It was just in the early stages, and the symptoms were already so serious?

It was no wonder that some A+ Alphas were so tormented that they abused
themselves during their susceptible period . . . .

Ye Ci was startled and took a step back in a conditioned reflex.

“Pardon me, I came out to get some air.” Huo Tinglan hooked his collar.
“Did I scare you?”

His eyes were still calm.

However, it was not the same as his usual composure. At this moment, Huo
Tinglan seemed to be trying his best to hold something back.

Like viscous lava flowing under a slab of rock, the seemingly cold and hard
obsidian had long been burned to the point of melting. That high
temperature came from the illogical possessiveness of an Alpha’s
susceptible period, and the fiery . . . . lust.

Ye Ci’s heart skipped a beat, and his eyes widened. He wanted to take a
closer look, but Huo Tinglan had returned to normal and was looking at him
calmly with a pair of black eyes. The burning, thirsty eyes just now seemed
to be Ye Ci’s fleeting illusion.

Ye Ci was startled, shook his head, and murmured, “I’m not scared.”

Huo Tinglan smiled gently, as if to make up for something, and there was
even a bit of relief on his face. “You came back early today.”

“. . . . En.”

Huo Tinglan slowly confirmed the reason: “Is it because I asked you this
morning or because racing isn’t fun?”

Even in an outdoor environment, Huo Tinglan’s pheromone concentration

was still unprecedentedly high. Ye Ci held his breath and only opened his
mouth a little as he muttered, “Because, because in the morning . . . . you
asked.”

Huo Tinglan rubbed the soft, dry cloth of the pillow with his fingertips,
stared at Ye Ci for two seconds with his handsome face half hidden in the
dim shadow of a tree, and asked softly, “So, can I assume that you are
mentally prepared to treat me?”

Ye Ci’s breath was shaking, and he was silent for a while before making a
vague “En.”

It was already dark at this time, but the courtyard lights emitted warm
yellow halos and there were servants passing by not far away.

“Is it okay to do it here?” Huo Tinglan asked his opinion, like a patient
hunter.

Compared to a closed room, a garden could obviously make Ye Ci feel

more secure.
And a sense of security would mean relaxing his guard.

Ye Ci tried his best to put on a cold and indifferent face, and nodded
casually.

“Then we’ll do it here.” Huo Tinglan still stood unmoving in his original
place. “Will you actively release pheromones?”

“What?” Ye Ci raised his eyes, looking confused. “No, I can’t.”

How long had he been an Omega? His glands weren’t well developed, how
could he do this . . . .

Huo Tinglan was silent for a while, giving Ye Ci space to breathe.

Like holding a slippery, timid little silver fish, the tighter you held it, the
faster the fish would escape your hands.

He had to hold him neither loosely nor tightly, to avoid startling him and
also prevent him from running.

After a while, Huo Tinglan said slowly: “Then I might need to be closer to
you.”

Ye Ci slowed down a bit and forced himself to keep cool: “Whatever.”

Huo Tinglan took a few steps closer, walked around behind Ye Ci, and
reminded him: “The barrier patch needs to be removed.”

“Oh.” Ye Ci’s hands trembled violently. Fearing that he would be found out,
he said firmly, “You tear it.”

The barrier patch had been pasted on for several hours, and the corners had
lost their stickiness, curling slightly. Huo Tinglan pinched it with his
fingertips, carefully not touching Ye Ci, tore off the barrier patch, and held
it in the palm of his hand.

The moist, slightly warm sweat mixed with Omega pheromones penetrated
into the lines of his palm, and Huo Tinglan’s eyes moved nervously.
Ye Ci’s neck had been stimulated by Alpha pheromones to become pink,
and was covered in a thin sheen of sweat. The moment the barrier patch was
removed, the scent of sweet, sticky, creamy vanilla spread out suddenly, and
the comfort brought by the absolute match at the genetic level was like
warm spring water. It wrapped around Huo Tinglan’s violent, manic nerves
and painfully twitching blood vessels, and in an instant, those torturous
symptoms disappered as if they had never existed . . . .

Sweet, happy vanilla.

It was the smell that had soothed him repeatedly in his previous life.

So familiar.

It made him yearn so much.

Huo Tinglan’s breathing suddenly became heavy, and the light blue blood
vessels protruding from his temples were accompanied by the violent
beating of his heart. Like someone on the verge of drowning breaking
through the water’s surface, he panted eagerly. Shaking slightly, he leaned
down, and the distance between him and Ye Ci immediately narrowed.

The hot, rough breath was repeatedly sprayed on the back of his neck. As if
a salivating tiger had climbed onto his back, whether his bones would be
ripped out to suck the marrow or if he would be eaten into its belly
depended on whether the tiger still had a conscience.

Ye Ci suddenly went numb from his spine to the top of his skull. His skin
was sore and itchy from the highly aggressive A+ pheromones, and from
head to foot, the fine hairs on his body all stood up in horror.

“Wait . . . .” Ye Ci couldn’t stand it anymore. He took a step forward and

instinctively wanted to run.

Huo Tinglan tried his best to regain his sanity and avoid scaring Ye Ci
away.
He stretched out his arms to grasp the tree in front of Ye Ci, confining that
person within the circle of his arms. His Adam’s apple trembled and his
voice was hoarse as he almost shamelessly coaxed his young lover: “Don’t
be afraid . . . . it’s just treatment . . . . don’t move . . . .”

Their limbs didn’t really touch, but they were too close. The Alpha’s
muscles were hard and hot, burning his back like red-hot charcoal, and Ye
Ci’s head and face were flushed. He’d thought he could grit his teeth and
endure it, but it turned out that he couldn’t. His willpower and his resistance
to another Alpha twisted against each other, grinding together with a tooth-
aching metallic sound, and the battle between the two forces reached a
critical point. Sparks shot out, and the ambiguous breath between the two
bodies was detonated with a bang . . . without warning, Ye Ci jumped up
like a wild cat.

The back of his head seemed to have hit something, making Huo Tinglan
groan, but Ye Ci couldn’t care about anything. With his face so hot that he
was almost cooked through, he disappeared without a trace.

The garden was quiet again except for the night wind.

The front of his shirt was stained with a few drops of blood. Huo Tinglan
took out a silk handkerchief and folded it in half calmly.

He immediately used the silk handkerchief to cover his nose, which was
hurt by that little head. He was obviously injured, but as if he had gotten a
bargain, he gave a low smile.

......

Huo Tinglan’s alpha glands, which had suffered from illness for many
years, were highly sensitive to Ye Ci’s pheromones. Just a couple of sniffs
up close, and the effects lasted for hours. He did not suffer from his various
symptoms all the way through bedtime.

He leisurely leaned on the bed and flipped through a few less important
documents. The screen of his mobile phone remained on, showing Ye Ci’s
WeChat interface.
He was curious how long Ye Ci would maintain the state of “The other
party is typing . . . .” this time.

Ye Ci really lived up to his expectations, and operated to no avail for more

than 20 minutes.

Huo Tinglan sighed with a smile. After going back and forth between the
choice of teasing the little gentleman or being chivalrous, he finally decided
to maintain his current good image.

He took the phone and typed a few words to help Ye Ci open up the
conversation.

[Huo Tinglan]: I’m not angry. Rest early after finishing your homework.

Perhaps he was finally relieved, because the reply came quickly.

[Ye Ci]: Sorry, did I bump into you?

[Huo Tinglan]: En.

[Ye Ci]: Where did it hit?

Another one followed.

[Ye Ci]: Are you hurt?

[Huo Tinglan]: The nose.

Huo Tinglan first responded to the previous query. Immediately, he stroked

the bridge of his nose, savoring Ye Ci’s unintentionally revealed urgent
concern, and thought.

After pondering for a while, he deleted “it’s not damaged,” smiled, and
retyped three words.

[Huo Tinglan]: It’s bruised.

Ye Ci was silent for a while.

There was not even a “typing.”

Was he . . . . cruelly teasing him?

After getting no response for a long time, Huo Tinglan tapped the screen
with his fingertips, intending to say something to give Ye Ci a way out, and
opened the page.

But at this moment, a series of footsteps suddenly sounded in the corridor

outside his bedroom. Cautious, the steps were lighter than those of a kitten,
and normal people should not be able to hear it. However, as a top-level
Alpha, Huo Tinglan’s hearing was so good that he could hear the rustling
sounds clearly.

That person lingered in the hallway, stopped for a few seconds in front of
the door, and ran away.

Back and forth, as if testing someone.

When this was repeated for the third time, Huo Tinglan finally couldn’t
hold back the itch in his heart like sprawling spring grass. He took a deep
breath, walked to the door, and took the initiative to open it.

The door opened without warning, frightening Ye Ci, who was almost
standing against the door panel. Like a stressed cat, he almost gave Huo
Tinglan a hard punch.

“Why are you here?” Huo Tinglan raised his eyebrows, pretending to be
surprised.

“To give you, to give . . . .” Ye Ci glanced at the bridge of Huo Tinglan’s

nose. He swallowed the second half of the sentence suspiciously, and only
shook the ice back and trauma spray in his hand.

The ice pack and spray were prescribed by Huo Tinglan’s personal doctor
when he injured his ankle last time. The spray was very easy to use, and the
pain would go away after a while. Seeing as there was half a can left, he
brought it. If he had a choice, he wouldn’t want to come even under pain of
being beaten to death, but Huo Tinglan’s nose had been bruised by him. He
had to be responsible, hmm, for hurting it . . . .

The question was . . . . where was his nose bruised?

In an instant, Ye Ci, the “perpetrator,” had a few heartless speculations flash

through his mind.

The author has something to say:

His speculations were all right.

Dog Huo: No bruises, but it’s fractured QAQ

[1] Piercing the window paper refers to shedding light on a subject or

bringing it out into the open. ⮐

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Nine

Huo Tinglan took the ice pack and spray, and said softly, “Thank you.”

Seeing Ye Ci’s eyes flicker and look straight at the bridge of his nose, Huo
Tinglan, who was suffering a crisis of trust, pondered for two seconds and
mixed truth with falsehood: “There was a video conference just now, so I
covered it up a bit.”

“Oh.” Ye Ci was startled. Knowing that Huo Tinglan had seen through his
rude speculation, his shame immediately doubled and he nodded hastily, “I
know, I’m aware.”

Huo Tinglan smiled and changed the subject. “Right, I forgot to thank you .
. . . today’s treatment was very effective and I feel much better.”

“You’re welcome.” For the purpose of humanitarian aid, Ye Ci gritted his

teeth and overcame his embarrassment, “Are those pheromones e–enough?
I, I changed my clothes . . . . I haven’t washed them yet.”

Huo Tinglan burst into laughter and repeated with a bit of playfulness,
“Haven’t washed them yet . . . .”

He really had no self-awareness of being an Omega.

Seeing Huo Tinglan’s profound and intriguing black eyes, Ye Ci suddenly

felt bashful. The heat burned all the way from his cheeks to his butt, and he
dug himself a deeper hole as he explained: “It’s the outer uniform, the
jacket, and . . . . the shirt.”

“I know,” Huo Tinglan said gently. “What else?”

“Nothing, nothing else.” Ye Ci clenched his fists desperately.

This open mouth was truly unstoppable.

He stammered, so where did so many unnecessary words come from?!

Huo Tinglan smiled and didn’t overdo it. “I won’t use them for now. I don’t
feel sick at the moment, your pheromones worked well on me.”

If he kept teasing . . . . Ye Ci might beat him up.

“. . . . That’s good.” Ye Ci nodded hastily, walking back in a mess.

Just a few steps out, Huo Tinglan stopped him again: “Wait a minute.”

Resisting the urge to start running, he turned around and asked, “Why?”

“We can change the way we do the treatment a bit.” Huo Tinglan folded his
arms and leaned against the door frame, stroking the bridge of his nose to
emphasize the injury and pretending to be magnanimous. “Otherwise my
nose might not be able to take it.”

Ye Ci was apologetic, and deflated at once and honestly said: “You speak.”

“From next Monday, you should go home as early as possible after school
every day and come to my study. I work, you do your homework, we spend
a few hours in the same room together. This level of pheromone exchange
can have the effect of treatment for me, and probably won’t make you
uncomfortable either . . . .”

A few hours ago, he was still holding this person in his arms in the shade of
flowers and trees, shamelessly sniffing and coaxing him, and even tore off
the barrier patch and secretly put it in his pocket. Now he put on the mask
of a gentleman again and asked in a warm voice, “Do you think this
arrangement is okay?”

Ye Ci imagined the scene of the two of them busy in the study. It was much
better than getting close for him to sniff the glands. He hastily nodded.
The only problem with going straight home after school was that there was
no way to go to the racetrack. Fortunately, he had saved a lot of money
during this time. And Huo Tinglan treated him so kindly. He didn’t have to
take his mother away like in the worst-case scenario he had imagined
before. Naturally, there was no rush to get money.

Moreover, he was no longer as resistant to Huo Tinglan’s highly aggressive

pheromones as he was at first. Considering how few times they had spent
time together, this kind of adaptation speed was already very fast. A 100%
match was really not for nothing.

......

This monday night, Ye Ci kept his promise and went home early. He spent a
while alone in the living room, and did some mental preparations before he
took the plunge and went into the study.

The door of the study was wide open. Huo Tinglan was sitting behind the
desk reading a few documents, and when Ye Ci came in, he raised his chin
and said: “Take a seat.”

He hadn’t asked anyone to set up an additional study desk. This desk was
big enough for one person and a half, enough to not get in each other’s way.

“En.” Ye Ci nodded carelessly. Circling around, carrying a backpack on one

shoulder and the other shoulder slightly relaxed to maintain balance, he
strode coolly to the desk and sat down.

. . . . His performance was not bad.

Ye Ci unloaded his school bag, took out a set of papers, and tossed them on
the desk. He took a deep breath and realized that his mental preparations
were not in vain.

If he acted shy and embarrassed, the treatment’s atmosphere could also

become complex rather than natural.
Huo Tinglan watched the whole process quietly with strong interest and a
subtle smile.

Ye Ci suddenly seemed to be aware that he was being watched. His eyes

dodged away, and then glanced over vigilantly.

Huo Tinglan was a step ahead of him, having hidden his smile without a
trace and lowered his eyes to read a document.

. . . . Phew.

Ye Ci sighed inwardly, feeling nervous.

The math papers were as difficult as ever. Ye Ci picked out a few simple
questions and did them first, then took out his phone. While Huo Tinglan
wasn’t paying attention, he took a picture of a question and used a search
engine, patiently researching and analyzing the subject.

The explanation given by the application was not detailed enough, and the
difficulty of the problem was high. Ye Ci was stuck on a key step and
couldn’t understand it. Unwilling to copy the answer directly, he was so
anxious that a few beads of sweat appeared on the tip of his nose. Just as he
was feeling embarrassed, Huo Tinglan’s low voice suddenly sounded above
his head: “What are you doing?”

He didn’t know when he had come over, or how long he had been standing
there. As if it was premeditated, it seemed he intended to check his learning
level.

Ye Ci’s hand shook. He locked the screen and said vaguely, “Nothing . . . .”

Huo Tinglan put one hand on the desk and leaned over slightly. He glanced
at the large blanks on the paper and softened his voice, asking gently, “Is
there anything you want to ask?”

Anything he wanted to ask?

There were blank spaces everywhere.

Ye Ci berated himself and clenched his hand.

The palm of his hand was moist, and he was in a hurry to understand the
explanation.

He was anxious, and coupled with Huo Tinglan wanting to talk about the
question, he almost blurted out a sentence.

– – How is this problem calculated?

When these words reached the tip of his tongue, Ye Ci suddenly

remembered what Chu Wenlin had said when he introduced Huo Tinglan to
him: Double degree from a first-class university, a top student in
international finance. There was another specialized Master’s degree with a
hard to pronounce name. He was the elite of the elite . . . .

To let Huo Tinglan teach him these simple high school math problems . . . .
Ye Ci’s face suddenly became hot, and he felt a burst of shame.

“No.” He flipped over the exam paper, appearing to impatiently do his

homework.

He would rather use rebellious behavior to camouflage his embarrassment

and stupidity.

“If you don’t,” Huo Tinglan stretched out his hand and pressed his
fingertips down on the paper on the desk with rare firmness, not allowing
Ye Ci to hide it away in his school bag. His two eyes were dark, with a
penetrating and difficult to fathom expression. “Then write it out yourself.”

Ye Ci couldn’t take the paper. Deeply worried, he grabbed at his hair and
said very stiffly, “I usually . . . . don’t write it out.”

Huo Tinglan stared at him for two seconds, then rolled his eyes and said
slowly, word by word: “You should act like a student, and have the
appearance of a student. You usually seem quite sensible, but I didn’t
expect you to be so laissez-faire academically that you won’t even write out
your homework . . . . although you are an adult, in this matter, I have to
discipline you on behalf of your family.”

Saying that, he withdrew his hand from the paper and said lightly: “If these
papers aren’t finished, you don’t leave today.”

Ye Ci, on the contrary, breathed a sigh of relief after receiving Huo

Tinglan’s lesson, as if he had survived a catastrophe. He flattened the paper,
turned his pen, and started to idle on the job under Huo Tinglan’s eyes.

If he couldn’t go, he couldn’t go.

Anyway, Huo Tinglan had to go back to the bedroom to sleep.

After a period of silence, Huo Tinglan leisurely passed judgment: “Peaceful

protest?”

Ye Ci lowered his head and said nothing.

As if making up his mind to see this through to the end with the problem
child, Huo Tinglan took a pen, tapped the paper with his knuckles, and said
unhurriedly: “Then I’ll go through them with you one by one . . . . let’s start
with this question.”

Ye Ci was startled, and hurriedly pricked up his ears to listen. He

straightened his body unconsciously, and his sitting posture was
inexplicably cute.

Huo Tinglan caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye. The corners of
his lips curled into a smile, which was quickly concealed again.

As a top student in the finance department of a first-class prestigious

school, Huo Tinglan played with high school math problems like they were
a game. His level of explanation exceeded that of the search software by
100,000 miles. Ye Ci was good at mathematics and physics, but he had
dropped out of school and abandoned them for too long. His brain was still
bright, and he listened to Huo Tinglan for a while. Several difficult
problems that had made him want to die before instantly became
transparent.

“. . . . The foundation is weak, but your brain is smart enough to keep up

with me talking so fast.” Huo Tinglan’s tone was a little gentler than before,
and his eyes flashed with a trace of mischief. “You’re just deliberately not
learning, aren’t you?”

“. . . . En.” Ye Ci pursed his lips.

He lied to keep from being embarrassed. Ye Ci’s face burned a little and he
dared not look up.

“Still dare to say ‘En’?” Relying on Ye Ci being unable to look at him, Huo
Tinglan raised the corners of his lips slightly, but his voice was serious, and
he educated the child in deadly earnest.

Ye Ci hung his head and listened, listened, and listened. Doubts grew in his
heart, and his thin and delicate eyebrows trembled slightly. He slanted a
glance at Huo Tinglan, then looked away again.

Somehow, he vaguely felt that . . . . Huo Tinglan was doing this

intentionally.

He knew he had the character flaw of finding it difficult to calmly accept

the gentleness and kindness of others. It would make him embarrassed; he
was more comfortable with being treated harshly. And Huo Tinglan’s
performance tonight was just the right degree of unnatural. Every word was
smooth and deliberate, as if he had seen through him, so that he could
accept help with peace of mind.

But could this be possible?

It was too self-indulgent. Why would he do such a thing?

Ye Ci rationally corrected his thinking.

Huo Tinglan leaned against the edge of the desk, his eyes lowered, studying
Ye Ci’s ever-changing micro-expressions. Holding back a smile, he said
solemnly: “You keep staring at me, why? . . . . Are you surprised I’m
teaching you? You’re not convinced?”

Silly little gentleman. It was so much fun, it was hard to stop.

“I’m not,” Ye Ci had been caught, and stared back at the paper, “I’m not . . .
. staring.”

Huo Tinglan tapped a few more sentences.

Like a frustrated thorny cactus who was tired of studying, so as not to

disturb the peace, Ye Ci promised Huo Tinglan that he would try his best to
complete his homework in the future, and would ask him if he didn’t
understand something.

The goal had been achieved. Only one question was left on the paper. Huo
Tinglan ended the conversation and tapped the question with a pen, saying:
“Continue.”

His actions tonight were not so much to give Ye Ci a way to save face, but
it would be better to say that he had improvised a way for Ye Ci to get
ahead.

Failing the college entrance examination had always been the regret of Ye
Ci’s previous life.

Perhaps due to Ye Hongjun’s serious illness, Ye Ci once wanted to apply to

a medical school, but unfortunately encountered too many setbacks in his
senior year of high school. He was unable to improve his grades, and the
series of events that happened after did not allow him to try again. Later, he
participated in races at the racetrack for a living. He didn’t give up on self-
study during this time, but unfortunately, the adult college examination he
took later was also a failure . . . .

Huo Tinglan wanted to make up for his shortcomings with his own hands.

He hoped that Ye Ci would have the power to make his own choices.
At the end of the paper was a big question with three small problems, which
could not be answered within ten minutes. Huo Tinglan had been leaning on
the desk with one hand for a while, and no matter how great his physical
strength was, he felt a little tired. He read the question, grabbed the swivel
chair, and sat next to Ye Ci.

When he sat down, the distance between the two suddenly narrowed.

The aggressive alpha pheromones sunk in, and Ye Ci subconsciously licked

his lower lip. His lips were smooth and red, and his saliva was filled with
the sweetness of vanilla.

The lingering Alpha pheromones reminded Ye Ci that he had moved from

the bedroom to the study in order to do homework – not to listen to Huo
Tinglan’s lectures, but to provide him with pheromones to delay the arrival
of his susceptible period.

After he returned home, Uncle He had also gently reminded him to rip off
the barrier patch in order to facilitate the spread of pheromones . . . .

In other words, at this moment, Huo Tinglan was smelling him.

. . . . No.

How could normal treatment be like this?

Ye Ci couldn’t control his thoughts, and the more he thought, the more
awkward he felt. As if wanting to rub his spine due to soreness, he covered
the back of his neck with his hand and looked at Huo Tinglan.

As it turned out, Huo Tinglan looked unconcerned, and his profile was
particularly handsome due to his focus.

At a glance, Ye Ci could see that he had made a blind conjecture.

Ye Ci was ashamed for a while, and listened carefully with a correct

attitude.
The subject that caused Ye Ci’s scalp to go numb was quite simple for Huo
Tinglan. He wrote down the arithmetic and explained his thinking, and half
of his mind was still idle.

– – The half that was beginning to stir, his Alpha mind.

Without his authorization, it captured and analyzed every breath that

escaped from Ye Ci’s body.

The vanilla-scented pheromones

Very sweet.

This plant was native to the tropical rainforests and was popular with
European royal families in the old days. Its sweet scent was reminiscent of
cream.

Huo Tinglan didn’t show any trace of his thoughts, looked at Ye Ci calmly
and naturally, and asked him a question about formula substitution.

Ye Ci pursed his lips, afraid that his stammering would be annoying. With
his left hand, he rubbed his neck in a daze, and with his right hand, he wrote
a series of formulas.

He exuded the scent of cream.

This person was indeed like a small spoonful of soft white cream.

Soft, quivering, trying in vain to hide its sweetness. Pretending to be tough,

for fear of being licked.

But the more he tried, the more attractive he was.

An A+ grade Alpha’s sense of smell was too sensitive. Other than Omega
pheromones, Huo Tinglan could passively smell something else.

Bleach from washing the collar and cuffs of his clothing, which smelled
like disinfectant.
There was also a citrus-scented laundry detergent that exuded a warm, clean
smell from his polyester tracksuit.

A small amount of sweat – not unpleasant, very light, hot and fresh like a
small animal. It was soaked into the fabric of the pure cotton fabric inner
layer, warmed up by the boy’s body temperature with a fresh, sweet
sensuality . . . .

This was his eighteen-year-old lover.

Wearing a school uniform, holding a gel pen, his flesh white and tender as if
glowing.

The Alpha glands on the verge of sending him into his susceptible period
were soothed and became calm.

However, something else was just about to move.

Huo Tinglan quietly smelled Ye Ci’s scent. His eyes darkened, his love was
surging, but his tone was level, as if he really didn’t have any evil
intentions. He just adjusted his sitting position and folded his left leg over
his right, blocking the eyes that might catch a glimpse from the side, and
smiled: “. . . . The final answer is this, understand?”

“Understood.” Ye Ci nodded, so excited that he had stopped stammering.

“This line of approach is very novel.”

Huo Tinglan’s problem-solving method was tricky and interesting, and

saved steps. Ye Ci had never seen such wonderful work, and his eyes were
shining. He couldn’t wait to pull out this exercise set from his school bag,
wanting to find a similar problem to do independently while the iron was
hot. However, as soon as the exercise set was opened, he realized that his
“reform” speed was too fast, and his facade of a stubborn boy had collapsed
before it could stabilize. He raised his eyes in embarrassment, meeting a
pair of unfathomable dark eyes, and his heart thumped. Using his finger to
straighten the curled corner of the exercise book, he knew he couldn’t
conceal the truth: “Today, you . . . . you were right . . . . I will change.”
Huo Tinglan nodded, and said with a half smile: “Knowing your faults and
making amends, that is very good.”

Ye Ci thoroughly understood his attitude.

Huo Tinglan did that on purpose, substituting discipline for mercy, quietly
following along so that he could accept help calmly.

Ye Ci’s fingers on the pen’s grip turned white, and he lowered his head to
flip through the exercise set. He seemed to be looking for a question, but in
fact it was to conceal his stinging eyes.

Mr. Huo . . . . was really a very good person.

The author has something to say:

Dog Huo who adjusted his sitting position because he was sniffing the cub :
Indeed

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Ten

Ye Ci flipped through the exercise book, found a few types of problems that
Huo Tinglan had gone over, and did them independently.

After working on them for a while, his mood finally calmed down. Ye Ci
raised his head and looked at Huo Tinglan several times, wanting to thank
him when their eyes finally met, but Huo Tinglan was very focused on his
work. Ye Ci stared so hard that his eyes were sore, and didn’t get an
opportunity.

After hesitating for a while, Ye Ci called out softly, “Mr. Huo . . . .”

He had been in Mr. Huo’s house for so long and had hardly ever taken the
initiative to speak to Huo Tinglan. During their few exchanges, Huo
Tinglan spoke first and he replied, so he never addressed the man.

Huo Tinglan had been watching him for a long time from the corner of his
eye, and sure enough, he was waiting for an awkward “Mr. Huo.”

In his last life, Ye Ci was also like this.

From the time they were acquainted, through the ambiguous courting
period, it was always a polite and unfamiliar, “Mr. Huo.” After getting to
know each other well, he couldn’t defeat Huo Tinglan and finally started
calling him by his first name. But even during the most intimate times, he
only used his name and refused to call him anything else. When he was
ruthlessly teased about it, he blushed with a peach-like face, bowed his
head, clenched his fingertips in embarrassment and said nothing. After
many times, Huo Tinglan knew that he was really unable to speak, not only
because of his personality, but also because of a speech impediment. He
couldn’t bear to tease him like that anymore, so he had to settle for the next
best thing, comforting himself by thinking that it was enough to go by his
first name.

Huo Tinglan pondered for a while, put down the document, and leaned
lazily against the back of the chair. He tapped the table with his fingertips
but did not respond to the “Mr. Huo.” Instead, he changed the topic and said
distantly: “It seems this is the first time you’ve called me.”

“. . . . Really?” Ye Ci became uncomfortable.

Huo Tinglan’s tone was neither hot nor cold: “Why so formal . . . . I thought
you were going to talk to me about business.”

Ye Ci didn’t say a word and lowered his eyes, showing a hint of shame.

After all, they were married and living under the same roof. Calling him
like that showed that he was estranged from Huo Tinglan . . . .

He felt that Huo Tinglan was a little unhappy.

But he really didn’t know how to address him.

“Next time,” Huo Tinglan pondered his expression. A smile appeared in his
eyes, and he tentatively said, “Call me Huo-shushu.”[1]

They were twelve years apart in age. One was a working man and the other
was a student. In addition, the elders of the Huo and Chu families were of
the same generation, so it was reasonable to call him “Shushu.” And the
point was, Huo Tinglan had always been itching for this title.

On certain occasions . . . . it could work wonders.

“. . . . . .” When Ye Ci heard these words, his jaw clenched and the corners
of his mouth flattened. There was an awkward aura of “there is no next
time” all over him.

A few seconds went by.

He turned his face away and gave a very light, “En.”

The Ye Ci of this time had thawed his thin, cool shell of ice, and the little
things hidden inside turned out to be so cute and soft . . . .

Huo Tinglan turned his gaze back as if nothing had happened, and looked at
his documents calmly. The corners of his lips were barely visible, slightly
raised.

......

He deliberately didn’t ask Ye Ci what he had called him for. Five minutes
later, Ye Ci had finally regrouped and stammeringly called: “Huo-shushu . .
. .”

Huo Tinglan smiled, and a low syllable escaped: “Hm?”

Seventeen or eight-year-old boys, strictly speaking, were past the age of

using the duplicate character address of “Shushu.” He thought that with Ye
Ci’s awkward temperament, he would definitely find a way to address him
more rigidly, but he didn’t expect it to be word-for-word.

The clear, youthful voice carried annoyance and embarrassment, but was
obedient and called “Shushu” so softly . . . .

Huo Tinglan sighed tenderly in his heart.

It was really killing him.

“Thank you for your hard work today. You helped me with . . . . so many
questions.” Ye Ci worked out the draft in his mind and completed it in one
go.

“You’re welcome.” Huo Tinglan settled down, closed one document, and
opened another. “Feel free to ask me anytime.”

Ye Ci looked at the thick stack of documents by his hand. “Your work . . . .

are you very busy?”
“It depends on the situation whether I’m busy or not,” Huo Tinglan said
lightly.

Ye Ci understood, and thought he meant that he wasn’t sure when he would

be busy or idle.

Huo Tinglan wrote a few words on a contract and completed the second
half of his sentence: “Learning is an important matter, and if you come to
me with questions, I won’t be busy.”

He looked calm, as if what he said was a normal thing, but Ye Ci seemed to

have been hit by a critical blow. Dizzy, he squeezed out two words: “. . . .
Mm, en.”

Even if he hadn’t seen much of the world, he had lived for eighteen years
and except for Ye Hongjun, no one had ever treated him with such care.

He always knew how to handle people who didn’t welcome him – just
compare fists and see whose was harder.

But no one had taught him how to get along with people who were nice to
him.

He wanted to get close and wait to give the same kindness in return, but he
was afraid he would be awkward and make a fool out of himself.

Huo Tinglan raised his eyes and saw Ye Ci stammering, unable to squeeze
out the whole sentence, and his heart softened. He had finally received a
miracle, and softly soothed: “It’s no trouble at all, it won’t bother me.” He
flicked the paper in his hands and sighed with a smile: “Thinking about this
stuff is more tiring than going over some questions . . . . just help me take
my mind off it, okay?”

“. . . . Okay.” Ye Ci’s eyes shook slightly, and he nodded seriously.

With Huo Tinglan’s guidance, Ye Ci saw hope, and his enthusiasm for
learning rose. In addition to the homework assigned by the school, he also
had to make up for the progress lost when he took a break from his
education. In order to complete the goals he had set for himself, he did not
sleep until the early hours of the morning. After a continuous week of
hunkering down, he was haggard. His skin was still as white and tender as
bamboo shoots, but the bruises under his eyes were also very obvious.

Huo Tinglan was both relieved and distressed, afraid that Ye Ci would be
overwhelmed. At eleven o’clock in the evening, he went to the study room
to expel him, and personally watched him go back to his room to rest.

Ye Ci promised to be obedient, but secretly put the rolls of paper folded into
small tofu cubes into his pockets, smuggled them across the border, and lit
the lights in the bedroom. At night, when he was sleepy, he slipped out to
the terrace to smoke a cigarette.

He had always slept very little, and his body could withstand the abuse. In
order to raise money for Ye Hongjun’s medical treatment, he often worked
day and night during that difficult year. When he was sleepy while working
part-time, he took a nap at the cash register with his head up, and when he
opened his eyes, he had the strength to work again.

However, it may be that Huo Tinglan had coddled him during this period of
time. After staying up all night and studying hard for half a month, Ye Ci
was really tired.

That Friday, Ye Ci routinely woke early, got out of bed, and dug out a few
pills from his school bag.

Fatigue had likely led to low immunity, which was taken advantage of by a
cold virus. He had not been feeling well for the past two days, with repeated
fever, drowsiness, and fatigue. His stomach and intestines were also
affected, and his stomach was inexplicably sore and swollen.

Ye Ci pulled out the pills, gathered a small handful in his palm, and
swallowed them all at once.

Anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, fever-reducer, and pain-reducer . . . .

He had developed this kind of unreasonable drug habit in the past two
years. While working several jobs a day, he had no time to go to the
hospital. He simply adopted a broad-spectrum attack method and took all
the medications that might relieve his symptoms, and got better early to
avoid delaying work.

Unlike before, this cold was quite stubborn. Ye Ci took the medicine for
two days and it failed to work. When he looked ill while eating breakfast,
the truth was revealed.

“Is Young Master Ye uncomfortable?” Uncle He asked with concern.

“It’s nothing.” Ye Ci swallowed the porridge while holding back nausea.

“It’s just . . . . a small fever.”

Uncle He looked at his flushed face and felt that it didn’t look like a low-
grade fever, so he suggested: “I will tell Mr. Huo and ask him to request a
half-day’s leave for you, and call the doctor again to take a look . . . . what
do you think?”

“No, don’t bother him . . . . thank you.” Ye Ci got up and left.

He was afraid that Huo Tinglan would watch him more strictly to get him to
sleep, but he really wanted to catch up to the school’s progress rate ASAP.

As a result, Uncle He spread the word quickly. As soon as Ye Ci arrived at

school, Huo Tinglan called to confirm whether or not he was really okay.

“It’s really fine . . . . I’m on medication.” Ye Ci walked out of the classroom

and into the corridor with his cell phone. Because of the fever, his voice
was extremely faint.

“What medication?” Huo Tinglan asked.

In order to make him feel at ease, Ye Ci stammered out a long list of drug
names.

Huo Tinglan was silent for a while, then took a deep breath before saying:
“Excessive use of cold medicine may cause liver and kidney damage, do
you not know?”

Ye Ci was stunned. He really didn’t know.

What liver and kidney damage . . . . he had never heard of such a thing, and
knew that he was going to get better soon.

Huo Tinglan sighed softly and asked: “What’s your body temperature?”

“I haven’t measured it . . . .” Ye Ci sensed that Huo Tinglan was unhappy,

and hurriedly said, “I’m, I’m sure it must be a low-grade fever.”

He said it was a low-grade fever, but in fact, he had no idea. Anyway, if it

wasn’t burning hot, he would just sit back as usual and treat it as a low-
grade fever.

“Low-grade fever . . . .” Huo Tinglan knew that Ye Ci’s definition of a

“low-grade fever” was different from ordinary people. He furrowed his
brow and instructed: “Go to the infirmary. After measuring your
temperature, take a picture of the thermometer and send it to me. If the
fever is serious, I will pick you up.”

“No need.” Ye Ci licked his lips. “This morning, it’s all, all major subjects,
I, I want to be in school . . . .”

In a rare instance, Huo Tinglan interrupted him in a low, cool voice: “Want
me to measure it for you myself?”

Ye Ci was stunned. After getting along together for so long, it was the first
time he had heard Huo Tinglan speak to him in this tone. His heart thumped
for some reason and he said hurriedly: “No, no need, I . . . . I will measure it
myself.”

He dragged his steps to the infirmary, his head dizzy with fever and his legs
weak due to the dull pain in his lower abdomen. His symptoms were worse
than they were before taking medicine in the morning. He asked the school
nurse for an electronic thermometer and sat down on the edge of the bed to
take his temperature, absentmindedly fiddling with his phone. When his
fingertips brushed the words, “Huo-shushu,” in the call log, an
indescribable feeling suddenly surged in his heart.

Something like . . . . comforting warmth.

The whole of his person seemed to be miniaturized into a small mass and
held securely by a pair of warm palms.

It was a totally unfamiliar feeling.

At this moment, the electronic thermometer beeped.

39.5. [2]

His heart was heated by that warmth. Ye Ci pursed his lips and hesitated for
a while, but finally didn’t try to be brave. He honestly took a picture and
sent it to Huo Tinglan.

It only took two or three seconds before the opposite side quickly replied.

[Huo Tinglan]: Wait for me.

A moment later, he was afraid that Ye Ci would be reckless, so he sent two

more messages.

[Huo Tinglan]: I’ll take you to the hospital now. You can make up for the
missed classes.

[Huo Tinglan]: Be good.

It was an unexpectedly coaxing tone.

Ye Ci was in a daze.

He was a school student . . . .

What was good or bad?

He was coaxed to the point of fidgeting, covering his face with one hand
out of fear that the school nurse would see him.

The skin beneath his fingers was already growing red.

The author has something to say:

Mr. Huo has officially become Huo-shushu, and calling him ‘Shushu’ has
miraculous effects on certain occasions. What are the specific occasions?
The auditor stares and the editor, and the editor dares not say.

[1] 叔叔: Shūshu is a term used for a person’s father’s younger brother, or a
way of addressing a man around one’s father’s age or slightly younger. ⮐

[2] 103.1 degrees Fahrenheit. ⮐

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Eleven

Huo Tinglan arrived quickly, and when he took Ye Ci away from the
infirmary, the self-study period was not over yet.

Accompanying Ye Ci to see a doctor was one of Huo Tinglan’s assistants,

surnamed Lin, a middle-aged female Beta with a friendly face. A person
with such an identification was convenient to accompany an Omega to see a
doctor, so as to avoid arousing suspicion.

The three of them went to a private hospital. There were few people
present, so there was no need to get in line.

Assistant Lin took Ye Ci’s arm naturally. Ye Ci didn’t have the strength to
dodge, and followed her listlessly. She first accompanied Ye Ci to see the
internal medicine department. After they did several tests, she followed the
doctor’s advice and went to the gland secretion department. After the doctor
finished a series of examinations, he saw that Ye Ci was very uncomfortable
and didn’t say much. He opened an infusion order to quickly put him on an
intravenous drip, and asked the family to enter the consultation room to
talk.

Assistant Lin went to the pharmacy and brought back a paper bag stuffed
with medicine. Handing Ye Ci a cup of hot water, she stood at his side to
comfort him: “I asked when I passed by the clinic, and Mr. Huo said there
was no big problem, so don’t worry.”

“En.” Ye Ci took the paper cup. “Thank you.”

“Sure thing,” Assistant Lin said amiably.

Ye Ci held the paper cup in one hand, grabbed the paper bag on the chair
beside him, and gestured shortly: “Please sit down, today . . . . thank you for
your hard work.”

“You’re very welcome.” Assistant Lin sat down according to his words, and
a slight smile appeared in the corners of her eyes.

She was sent by Huo Tinglan to temporarily take care of the child, and
thought it would be difficult to serve a rich and powerful young master of
seventeen or eighteen years old, not expecting such a temperament. At first
glance, he looked rather cold, but after showing kindness to him, he
suddenly became very easy to get along with, well-behaved and polite.

The intravenous drip was obviously right for his symptoms, and after a
while, the abdominal pain was relieved. Ye Ci took a sip of hot water,
pretended to casually pull out a pill box from the paper bag, and looked
down at the instructions.

[Indications:] Suitable for relieving symptoms such as fever, abdominal

pain, etc. caused by the development of Omega reproductive cavity.

Ye Ci, who was seriously lacking physiological knowledge about Omegas,

was stunned for a few seconds, then rubbed his eyes in disbelief: “!”

. . . . What cavity?!

Reproductive what?!

Ye Ci knew that Omegas had that organ, but he’d had an Alpha’s body until
the second differentiation, and it hadn’t grown. He had thought . . . . that it
wouldn’t grow.

Ye Ci’s hand shook and squeezed the pill box flat.

After Huo Tinglan learned about the situation from the doctor, he was about
to return to the infusion room when he caught a glimpse of Ye Ci in the
corner, looking like an embarrassed little tomato.
He had probably just read the instructions for the medication, and that little
face was red as if it had been steamed. His eyes were perturbed and
confused, but he still pretended to be calm, holding his chin and gripping a
deformed pill box in his hand.

Huo Tinglan stopped and looked at him involuntarily, his heart swaying for
a while.

Ye Ci was twenty-two years old when the two met in the last life. At that
time, he had fully accepted his Omega identity, and Huo Tinglan could not
accompany him through this confusing and shameful transition period.

The maturing of an Omega’s body would produce various physiological

changes – –

Hidden cavity development.

A belly that softens to protect the fertilization organs in the body.

Touch became more sensitive.

Suet-like skin, softer than an Alpha’s . . . . .

The Omega part of Ye Ci’s body was maturing.

Like an ovary tightly wrapped in a pod, swelling day by day, plumping up,
growing like a round green bean splitting open from the pod.

And this whole process would be witnessed by him.

Huo Tinglan tugged at his neckline, and his throat tightened for a moment.

The Alpha glands, which had been soothed and suppressed for many days,
started to become active again.

......

In the infusion room, Ye Ci was fiddling with the pill box in a panic, and his
thoughts went back and forth.
The number of male Omegas were few, and like female Alphas, they
belonged to a sexual minority group. He didn’t know about male Omegas,
and also lacked the real sense of being secondarily differentiated. During
this time, aside from the scent of his pheromones going from cold pine to
sweet vanilla, he had never felt anything, and felt lucky that the second
differentiation would continue in this way.

In the end, he received a critical blow from reality.

He was caught off-guard.

He was a boy, and he actually grew a . . . .

And so forth . . . .

He seemed to have overlooked something.

Assistant Lin had said that Huo Tinglan was talking with the doctor in the
consultation room.

At that moment, wasn’t Huo-shushu the one talking to the doctor about the
growth of his new . . . . birth, genital cavity?!

“!!”

Ye Ci was horrified. His eyes widened, and he suddenly raised his head and
looked out the door.

With this glance, he met a pair of eyes that were as dark as a deep pool.

Huo Tinglan was standing outside the glass door of the infusion room,
watching him.

Ye Ci couldn’t understand that look, full of desire, burning and ambiguous.

Like a soft, silky hook, it gently took hold of the pit of his stomach . . . . just
a glance, less than a second. The top of his head went numb, and he looked
away in shock.
When he looked again, Huo Tinglan had pushed through the door, holding a
folded medical report in his hand. He looked at Ye Ci calmly, still the
proper gentleman. Due to the presence of outsiders, he downplayed the
issue: “It’s only a small problem, don’t worry.”

Ye Ci’s throat was dry and his lips moved, but he didn’t know what to ask.

That glance just now . . . . was it an illusion?

He took the medical report with his head down. Thinking that one fold was
not enough, he almost folded it into a tofu cube.

All the way back, he kept secretly shooting glances at Huo Tinglan from the
corner of his eyes.

He seemed normal.

The moment they looked at each other by chance, Huo Tinglan raised his
eyebrows. Innocent and confused, he asked him what was wrong, and his
expression didn’t seem to be fake.

Ye Ci had to wave his hand vaguely. After being caught a few times like
this, he didn’t even dare to take a peek, staring straight ahead, more
disciplined than military training.

It must be his nerves.

He had misread it.

After sending the assistant back to the company, Huo Tinglan led Ye Ci
home. He walked into the study on the third floor and closed the door, then
tidied the desk and said warmly: “Come sit down, we need to talk.”

Ye Ci pursed his lips and sat down, but his face was tense, as if he was
ready to leave at any time.

Fortunately, Huo Tinglan had already prepared the draft on the way back.
He had repeatedly scrutinized every word, trying his best to avoid sensitive
ones.
Really . . . . even business negotiations were not so meticulous.

“I had a brief talk with the doctor,” Huo Tinglan said calmly, controlling his
tone. “This is a normal phenomenon, there’s no need to worry. But you
need to take your medicine on time to relieve the symptoms, and take them
for half a month before going in for a checkup . . . . do you have
questions?”

Ye Ci’s tense shoulders relaxed, and he shook his head.

Huo Tinglan took a marker and wrote on a prominent place on each pill box
as directed by the doctor, three times a day, one tablet at a time. “Also, the
doctor thinks the reason your symptoms were so severe this time may be
related to bad working and sleeping habits. Uncle He said that lately, the
little lamp in your room sometimes stays on until two in the morning. Do
you go back to your room and secretly study instead of sleeping? . . . .
Being motivated is a good thing, but if your body is overwhelmed and your
eyes are strained, what will you do about the college entrance
examination?” He slowly and deliberately counted out Ye Ci’s crimes.
Seeing Ye Ci’s stubborn resistance, his eyelid twitched and he said in a low
voice: “En?”

“. . . . I understand, Huo-shushu,” Ye Ci said reluctantly.

“Will you stay up late in the future?” Huo Tinglan put the several pill boxes
into a paper bag, handed it to Ye Ci, and added, “I was afraid that you
would take the medicine indiscriminately, so I marked them for you.”

Ye Ci lowered his eyes and looked at the sharply written instructions on the
pill boxes. That warm feeling filled his heart again.

He was softened a bit by that warmth, and hesitated before whispering: “I

won’t.”

Huo Tinglan was determined to get rid of Ye Ci’s problem of not caring for
his body. Leaning back in the chair, he tapped the desk with his fingertips.
As if negotiating in the business field, he carefully looked him over, putting
pressure on him, and said solemnly: “Will you really change, or are you
bluffing me?”

Ye Ci’s pupils shook slightly: “Really, I won’t. Also, also I’ll stop randomly
taking medicine . . . . I’m not bluffing you.”

“So it’s settled. Staying up late until the middle of the night,” Huo Tinglan
said in a threatening tone, “If I catch you again . . . .”

Ye Ci was just about to make a promise, when he heard Huo Tinglan add
the second half of the sentence leisurely: “You’ll move into my room to
sleep.”

Ye Ci was stunned for a moment, and was frightened into stuttering. He

shook his head and waved his hands with a red face and ears: “No, no need!
I definitely . . . . won’t, won’t do it again!”

There were almost too many ‘no’s’ in that sentence. Huo Tinglan curved his
lips: “Are you that afraid of me?”

“Not afraid,” Ye Ci automatically denied. They had been living together

peacefully for a month. Huo Tinglan obviously didn’t mind him, and to be
on guard against him acting like a scoundrel was just too . . . . He was afraid
that Huo Tinglan would be disheartened, and urgently explained himself:
“You are good and upright . . . . but I, I’m used to sleeping by myself.”

After saying this, without giving Huo Tinglan a chance to speak, he grabbed
the medicine and fled.

His posture was as if a scoundrel was chasing after him.

As a scoundrel, Huo Tinglan was deeply regretful while recalling those

little red ears hidden behind black hair.

After a few words, he just ran away.

And he still had a belly full of words that he didn’t get a chance to say.
– – According to his observations, Ye Ci’s knowledge of Omega physiology
was close to nothing.

No matter how careless an Omega was, he wouldn’t be ignorant of the

phenomenon of “cavity growth pain,” but Ye Ci was clearly a blank piece
of paper. He was in pain for three days and was still taking anti-
inflammatory drugs ignorantly. But Omegas were restricted by objective
factors, and needed to pay attention to the most problems on a daily basis.

Personally giving a sex education class to a young lover . . . . several rogue

thoughts flashed through Huo Tinglan’s mind, and he couldn’t help raising
the corners of his lips.

It would be his pleasure.

But it was a pity that Ye Ci would die of shame, and maybe even run away.

Eighteen-year-old Ye Ci was much softer than at twenty-two, but he liked to

pretend to be tough.

Like a mimosa, with its tough, slender stem – he was tall and straight, high-
spirited, thinking that he stood like a small tree. As a result, as soon as he
was scratched by a fingertip, he would curl up like a little cactus in a panic.
If Ye Ci was repeatedly scratched and provoked, he feared that he could
even squeeze out cactus juice.

This made people want to take pity on him.

But even more, it made people want to bully him.

Huo Tinglan hooked his index finger into his neckline and loosened his tie.
His eyes were dark.

When the relationship between the two was closer, when Ye Ci trusted him
more and was firmly tied to him, and it was difficult to take a tiny step
away from him . . . . that would be enough.

He could coax and bully him at the same time.

Consider donating via Kofi here!
Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Twelve

After the talk in the study room, Ye Ci didn’t know whether he had been
influenced by it or was simply frightened of the phrase “move into my room
to sleep.’ Not only did his work and rest routine become comparable to that
of a robot, but he also followed Huo Tinglan’s instructions to set a
medication reminder on his cell phone, and obediently followed the
doctor’s orders to take his medicine.

The symptoms of reproductive cavity development had been relieved a lot.

A few days had passed without a sign of fever, but there was still a subtle
soreness in his lower abdomen. Although it seemed to be nothing, as soon
as Ye Ci thought about what it was, he immediately fell apart and clenched
his fists.

“. . . . Do you have a lot of homework today?”

Huo Tinglan held a folder, looking through the thick stack of different-sized
lists inside, and asked this a bit nonchalantly.

“Quite a lot. I’ll write half of it today.” Friday plus two days on the
weekend, a three-day workload was not ideal. Ye Ci took out his school bag
and inadvertently glanced at the folder in Huo Tinglan’s hand.

Perhaps it was because he had accompanied Ye Hongjun to the hospital for

so many appointments, but he felt that the paper Huo Tinglan was holding
was a bit like a hospital medical report.

However, before he could take a closer look, Huo Tinglan had already
closed the folder and set it aside, saying in an understated tone: “I had
someone put something by your bedside, you can take some time to have a
look at it.”

“En,” Ye Ci responded. Unable to hide his curiosity, he put his homework

in order and went back to the bedroom to check.

In the room, there was a book beside his pillow.

Perhaps to avoid unintentional snooping by servants, the book cover was

wrapped in solid kraft paper, its surface blank.

Ye Ci became more and more curious, picked up a book, and opened it

unpreparedly. He glanced at the table of contents and blood rushed to his
face.

This was actually an Omega-exclusive sex education book.

Like an encyclopedia, it was exhaustive and comprehensive.

“The first symptoms of an Omega’s fever,” “Self-protection during an

Omega’s fever,” “Body structure changes brought about by the fever
period,” “Precautions to take for the first fever.” These chapter titles had
blue-black pen marks in front of them – – four little checkmarks.

– – Huo Tinglan had read this book and helped him identify the key points.

Ye Ci bit his lips white.

Like a red-hot slap to the chest, the secrets and shame in his heart
evaporated into white steam.

After just flipping through the pages of the book, he was so embarrassed
that his neck was flushed red.

In fact, he had never been able to accept his secondary differentiated

glandular sex.

The sudden transformation from an Alpha, which symbolized strength and

leadership, to the “soft and delicate” stereotype of an Omega, had caused a
lingering sense of shame and displacement.

It was fine not to mention these things during ordinary times. He could
deceive himself and pretend that there was no difference between being an
Omega and being an Alpha. Once forced to face reality, he . . . .

In a daze, he turned another page.

There was one more pen-drawn “X” on the table of contents page. The title
was “The Omega’s Character Guidance and Shaping.”

For some reason, Ye Ci first turned to the page marked with the X and
glanced at it.

The content of this page contained mostly cliched advice like, “An Omega’s
character is gentle, considerate, and demure,” and so on. Above the page
number were two sharp and handsome penned characters.

– – Don’t read.

“. . . . . .”

Ye Ci turned another page.

– – Still reading.

It was like finding hidden easter eggs.

The corners of Ye Ci’s lips curved in amusement.

Aside from these two pages, most of the titles with a few sporadic X marks
in the table of contents were in this pedantic style that made Ye Ci so
annoyed that he wanted to tear up the book.

Huo Tinglan actually screened the book for him in advance. His work was
obviously so busy, but he still took such responsibility . . . .

Ye Ci lightly sighed.
That small ball of warmth behind his ribcage reappeared, and the bridge of
his nose went faintly tight.

He settled down and took a cigarette out of his pocket, lit it, and took a
familiar drag from the filter.

After smoking more than half his cigarettes, he put out the butts, opened the
pages that had been checked off, and bravely browsed through them.

......

After mentally preparing himself, it was half an hour later that Ye Ci

returned to the study.

Beside him at the desk, Huo Tinglan concentrated on his work and didn’t
say a word.

Fearing that Huo Tinglan would ask him about his reading experience, Ye
Ci stared straight at his paper but watched him out of the corner of his eye,
feeling Huo Tinglan’s movements with his whole body.

After a stalemate, Ye Ci became more and more uncomfortable.

He felt that Huo Tinglan was staring at him.

Another illusion?

Ye Ci tilted his head stiffly, eyes flickering, and glanced at Huo Tinglan
very quickly.

Huo Tinglan rested his chin on one hand leisurely, and caught his glance
like a rabbit.

“. . . . . .”

Huo Tinglan was really staring at him.

After a moment of silence, Ye Ci retracted his eyes in shock. After

hesitating, he glanced again.
Huo Tinglan’s lips curled into a cat-like smile, and he asked knowingly:
“Why aren’t you concentrating . . . . do I have words on my face?”

“No, no words.” Ye Ci lowered his head down with a swoosh to read a

question.

“Did you read the book?” Huo Tinglan asked to confirm.

“Uh, hm . . . .” Ye Ci answered vaguely.

He wanted to read it and insisted on reading a few pages. The problem was
that the popular science book was too detailed. Not only were there detailed
descriptions of Omega-exclusive organs, but even cross-sectional drawings
and a description of permanent marking. He was so used to being an Alpha
that he even took Physiology and Hygiene classes separately from Omegas
when he was in junior high school. Not as full of yellow crap[1] as some
teenage alphas, the more he read, the more he blushed. Words like “knot,”
“cavity,” and “lifetime mark” scorched his retinas.

He estimated that the yellow book[2] was also like that.

He didn’t finish reading it.

Huo-shushu’s good intentions were wasted, and he stuffed the book into the
bedside table with guilt and shame.

The atmosphere was awkward. Ye Ci was anxious to take the lid off the
topic, and consciously told a small lie: “I, I finished reading.”

“Oh.” Huo Tinglan saw through it and smiled, but didn’t expose it.

He could almost picture Ye Ci’s mental journey in this short half hour.

His young lover was too pure and innocent.

That pure innocence made him . . . . ache.

It seemed that his science education still had to wait until the future.
“By the way, there is something I want to discuss with you.” Huo Tinglan
stopped before going too far, and changed the subject. “You know, in name,
we’ve been married for more than a month, and my mother is a little
anxious . . . .”

Ye Ci was immediately tense, his eyes wide and vigilant.

The phrase, “we’ve been married . . . .”

Huo Tinglan’s mother was anxious . . . .

She wanted to urge, urge them to what?!

Ye Ci: “ ! ”

Before Huo Tinglan finished speaking, Ye Ci’s vigilance had turned into a
pupil earthquake![3]

“. . . . Because we’ve never had a wedding, she plans to hold a simple

family banquet, and the Huo and Chu families would get together for a
meal. It could be regarded as a concession to the elders on both sides.” Huo
Tinglan pondered Ye Ci’s demeanor while talking and endured, but couldn’t
resist. Half in disbelief and half teasing, he asked, “Where did you think
about going just now?”

“I didn’t, didn’t think that.” Ye Ci was afraid of spilling the beans, so he

readily said, “I can do a banquet, no problem.”

Since getting married, all Huo Tinglan needed him to cooperate with was
just a meal between the two families. Of course he wouldn’t refuse.

Ye Ci agreed straightforwardly, but the Huo family was a big family. No

matter how small the family banquet was, there were still dozens of people,
plus the people from the second branch of the Chu family who would attend
. . . . there was no room for sloppy preparations in this last half of the
month.
Huo Tinglan pondered for a moment, and said: “When you are free this
weekend, I’ll take you to get formalwear for the family banquet.”

Ye Ci thought about the outfits in his closet – sportswear, sweaters, jeans.

He really couldn’t wear those to the banquet, so he just nodded in
agreement.

The next Saturday, Huo Tinglan took him to an artisan tailor shop. It was a
time-honored brand, passed down from grandfather to grandson. Since its
establishment in 1913, after years of turmoil, it was still stationed in a quiet
and archaic site. The small two-story western-style building used as a
storefront had a century-old history, and the courtyard gate was half-hidden
behind lush sycamore trees. Disdainful of publicity, they only received
familiar old customers, demonstrating a stubborn, aristocratic aloofness.

This was the first time Ye Ci had visited such a place. In his previous
impressions, a tailor shop was a thing abandoned by the times, usually
opened in a crowded downtown area, where people would change their
clothes to be larger or smaller, or have buttons and zippers sewn on. He
never knew there was such a tailor shop as this.

He cooperated with the shop owner to have his measurements taken, and sat
on a soft velvet sofa while listening to the conversation going on beside
him, almost suspecting that this was a black shop[4] – there were tens of
thousands of pieces of fabric, and the price of a set of clothes was enough
for him to have to race for a month. He fidgeted like there was an open
flame under his ass, trying to speak, and was afraid that he would have to
intercede with Huo Tinglan in public. He finally got the chance after the
shop owner left temporarily. Wringing his fingers in embarrassment, he
whispered: “Huo-shushu, there’s no need . . . . this is too expensive.”

Huo Tinglan stood leisurely in front of the sofa with his hands in his
pockets. He swept his eyes toward him when he heard this, and his tone was
calm: “I don’t think it’s expensive, that kind of material suits you well.”
After a pause, he said apologetically: “We’ve been married for more than a
month, but I never thought to bring you out to buy you something. I hadn’t
thought about it. If you refuse again . . . . I will feel that you are blaming me
in your heart.”
‘Buy you something.’ Such intimate wording narrowed the distance
between them automatically. Ye Ci was young, after all, and couldn’t handle
it. His lips moved a few times, and he only denied: “I . . . . won’t blame
you.”

Huo Tinglan tried to figure out his approach: “I’m taking you out to buy
clothes, so you shouldn’t still want to pay me back.”

Ye Ci didn’t say anything, as if in tacit admission.

He was most afraid of being gratuitously favored by someone. Naturally, he

was embarrassed to have such expensive clothes by relying on someone
else’s charity.

Huo Tinglan was quiet for a moment, afraid of hurting his self-esteem, and
teased softly: “I gave you a lot of lectures last night. Did I ask you to pay a
tutoring fee?”

Ye Ci shook his head a few times: “No, that’s not what I meant.”

“ – It’s the same thing.” Huo Tinglan calmly herded him into his own
territory: “Two people living together after marriage – if every account has
to be calculated clearly, how is it any different from being roommates?”

A business marriage without an emotional foundation was indeed not much

different from being roommates . . . . Ye Ci was dazed by Huo Tinglan, and
wanted to refute, but the shopkeeper had already returned with several large
books.

Huo Tinglan didn’t spend much time looking, and with an idle appearance,
he discussed the style with the shopkeeper in a low voice and finalized the
details: Lapel style, hidden pockets, clothing slits, the choice of buttons,
even “dressing to the left or right”[5] . . . . he usually left these trivial
matters to Uncle He to worry about, but this was Ye Ci’s first formal suit
after the age of eighteen, which was of great significance. In the last life, he
failed to shelter Ye Ci from the wind and rain when he needed him the
most. In this life, he naturally wanted to hold this person in the palm of his
hand, pamper him, and take care of him properly. It was only that Ye Ci was
still estranged from him, and he didn’t dare go too far. He had to make
excuses when ordering a few sets of clothes, otherwise . . . .

Ye Ci looked at them for a while, but couldn’t intervene, and sat awkwardly
on the sofa, using tea and refills to cover up his uneasiness at being cared
for by others.

He had never experienced concern and care from a mature man. It was
different from Ye Hongjun’s maternal love, and was a missing link in his
upbringing.

His whole body was softened by the warmth, and gradually, he became less
insistent on “drawing a line with Huo-shushu.” Huo Tinglan even
whispered, “It’s okay,” when he was asked for his design opinions on some
details.

“Anything will do,” Huo Tinglan said with a confident attitude. “Just listen
to me.”

“. . . . En.”

Huo Tinglan turned his face calmly and glanced at Ye Ci.

His red ears were soft, and his expression was obedient.

Turning back before Ye Ci could notice his gaze, the corners of his lips
lifted slightly.

......

It was a rare opportunity for Huo Tinglan to buy clothes for Ye Ci, and he
ordered a lot in one go, filling the three-month schedule of the old shop
owner. He purchased a special expedited service for the formal clothes to be
worn at the family banquet, to have them made in a few days.

On this day, he took Ye Ci to try on the clothes. Knowing that the customer
was an Omega, the shop owner avoided opening the dark red velvet curtain,
and Huo Tinglan stood alone outside of it.
The expensive fabric rubbed together to make a pleasant sound, and Ye Ci
fiddled with it for a while before suddenly opening the curtain a crack. Thin
white fingers grasped a mess of black elastic cloth, and he hesitantly asked:
“Huo-shushu, what, what is this?

Huo Tinglan maintained a dignified restraint. With a brief glance, he said:

“It’s a shirt clip to prevent the shirt from slipping up.”

He, who had long been wearing formal clothes as naturally as if they were a
second skin, had no habit of using shirt clips, but the owner of the shop was
very thoughtful. Likely because Ye Ci was young, didn’t often wear formal
clothes, and was a lively and active young man, he had prepared two.

Ye Ci was still confused and asked: “How do I wear it?”

Huo Tinglan turned his head and looked at the dark red gap in the dressing
room curtain. Perhaps because of the static electricity when he took off his
sweater, Ye Ci’s black hair was so disheveled that it was thought-provoking.
The collar of his shirt was not buttoned tightly, and the vanilla scent of
pheromones was getting sweeter in the diminutive dressing room, warmly
pouring through the gap . . . .

Huo Tinglan was afraid that his eyes would reveal his secret, so he didn’t
give himself a chance to look down at that neckline. He raised his hand and
pulled the door curtain, covering the ambiguous gap.

“One goes on each side.” He closed his eyes and kept his composure.
“Attach it to the leg band and pull the cloth strip with the metal buckle up to
clamp the hem of the shirt.”

“. . . . En.” Ye Ci retracted his hand and fiddled with his shirt clip
awkwardly.

The atmosphere outside the curtain was heavy.

Huo Tinglan fiddled with his cufflinks, thinking.

Ye Ci was not the same as he was more than a month ago.

It could be seen that his guard had been lowered a lot, probably because his
good shushu wore his mask too well. Ye Ci had already welded labels such
as “gentleman” and “noble” to him, and was sure that he wouldn’t have any
crooked thoughts about him.

For better or for worse.

It was good to have a closer relationship, but he was afraid that Ye Ci would
be accustomed to his role as an honest caregiver and guardian, and reject
him with, “You’re a good person, but . . . .”

Once familial affection was formed, it was not easy to reverse it.

At this time, there was a “pa” sound from behind the curtain.

It was the slight sound of an elastic band on flesh, ambiguous and

seductive.

The sound reminded him of the night Ye Ci came back from the police
station. Ye Ci injured his ankle in a fight with someone, and he knelt down
on one knee to check the injury, afraid that Ye Ci would step on the ground
with his injured foot. He anxiously reached out to grasp it, but he couldn’t
help but be unwilling to let go.

That grip was their only physical contact since they’d gotten married, and
he couldn’t help but reminisce about it.

Those slender legs not lacking in strength, tough and lanky like a gazelle.
He could feel the vigorous youth and vitality under that skin.

If such a pair of legs were restrained by the elastic band, no matter how
firm the muscles were, they would inevitably be tightly bound . . . .

Forget it.

After thinking about it but not being able to do anything, he was tortured in
vain.

Huo Tinglan ridiculed those few colorful thoughts with self-deprecation.

The Alpha glands on the back of his neck were agitated again.

His susceptible period had been delayed by more than a month through
pheromone pacification, and was almost reaching its limit . . . .

Ye Ci’s “you are very good” . . . . he couldn’t bear it. He didn’t want to bear
it anymore.

[1] Yellow crap, 黄色废料, means having sex on the mind all the time. ⮐

[2] Yellow book, 黄书, means erotic literature. ⮐

[3] A pupil earthquake, 瞳孔地震, is an expression of extreme shock. There is

also an emoticon for it: ( ; ; @_@ ) ⮐

[4] Black shop, 黑店, is an unscrupulous business, perhaps a front for

something illegal. ⮐

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Thirteen

“Huo-shushu, I’m done.” Just as Huo Tinglan tried to contain all kinds of
“too early” thoughts in his heart, Ye Ci had already put on his clothes,
opened the curtain, and walked out.

Huo Tinglan didn’t choose a calm black and gray fabric for him, for fear
that it would appear too mature. An eighteen-year-old boy was just right for
the clear blue water of a lake. His naturally white skin was dazzlingly set
off by the azure blue, and that black hair and smooth rosy lips were so vivid
and thrilling. A vest of the same color as the jacket cinched a slightly thin
chest, and the waist was so thin that it made one want to hold it in their
hands . . . .

“. . . . Not bad.” As if to avoid suspicion, Huo Tinglan’s eyes jumped from

his waist to the tie in Ye Ci’s hands. He said in a low voice: “Come here, I’ll
tie it for you.”

Ye Ci had never worn this sort of clothing, so he tugged at the hem of his
clothes cautiously, young and inexperienced. Purer than lake water, he
approached him.

Huo Tinglan raised the collar of his shirt and wrapped the tie around his
neck. His fingertips accidentally brushed the back of Ye Ci’s neck through
the shirt and the flesh was soft, exuding unnatural heat around the glands.

With just an inadvertent touch, Ye Ci was so sensitive that his breathing

even stopped for a moment, like a kitten caught by the back of his neck by a
big cat.
This was an Omega’s stress response, not for just any Alpha, but for those
with a high degree of matching and a trusting relationship. It was probably
to make it convenient for the Alpha . . . . a physiological mechanism. Huo
Tinglan noticed that the little bit of Alpha wickedness in his bones couldn’t
be contained. He fastened the tie, put down the collar for Ye Ci, and the
knuckles of his hand brushed the back of his neck again. Sure enough, Ye
Ci froze again, and his eyes widened.

Like a kitten.

Huo Tinglan smiled inwardly.

If a finger lightly scratching his nape made him this silly, then what if . . . .

Huo Tinglan’s smile faded and he said quietly: “Go and look in the mirror.”

Ye Ci was ignorant and didn’t understand what was going on. He thought
that Huo Tinglan didn’t notice his two moments of abnormal behavior, so
he calmed down and walked over to look in the mirror.

An Omega who didn’t know anything . . . . could be bullied too easily.

Huo Tinglan, who couldn’t help bullying the little gentleman a moment ago,
was a little worried.

Ye Ci tried out the formal suit, and Huo Tinglan added some small things to
him, and taught him carefully –

Gentlemen should carry a handkerchief with them, the Astaire-style folding

method was more casual, and the Kennedy style was more suitable for
serious business people; Silk-knot cufflinks were not suitable for dinner
parties, but the chain style was elegant enough; Black lace-up Oxfords were
suitable for all formal occasions in life . . . .

“The little ring under the collar on this side,” Huo Tinglan turned up Ye Ci’s
left collar and picked up a rose from the vase beside him. He passed the
fresh, thin stem through the button and hooked the end of the stem into a
small ring, “can be used to affix flower stems.”
His tone was gentle and slow. Although he said things that Ye Ci didn’t
understand, he didn’t appear arrogant and showy. He just gracefully led a
young boy into the world of men.

Ye Ci looked down at the corner of the mirror, appearing unaffected, but in

fact his ears were pricked up to listen, and his clear eyes trembled slightly.

When Huo Tinglan finished speaking and Ye Ci raised his head again, there
was almost a hint of admiration in his eyes.

Ye Ci felt that everything was fine with the first formal suit in his life, but
Huo Tinglan still picked out a few flaws and asked the tailor to fix them.
When he came to pick up the clothes a few days later, even Huo Tinglan
couldn’t find anything wrong with them. It was a weekend off, and Ye Ci
wore this outfit to attend the family banquet at the old house.

The old Huo residence was located on the outskirts of the city. It was a
manor, where Huo Changyu brought his beloved wife to enjoy life after
delegating power to his son. A private horse farm, hot springs, and a golf
course were all readily available at the manor. In order to ensure that the
ingredients used by the family were natural and of sufficient quality, Huo
Changyu also divided an area as a small pasture and picking garden, and
hired experienced farmers to take care of it all year round. Drones
responsible for real-time environmental monitoring hovered over the manor.

There were nearly 100 guests at this family dinner. When Huo Tinglan and
Ye Ci arrived, it was only two o’clock in the afternoon, and it was still early
for dinner to start.

In the early summer, the sunlight was warm and the wind was mild. Lin Yao
instructed the housekeeping team to arrange an open-air afternoon tea for
the guests by the lake. The waves on the water were as bright as gold foil,
the green of the pastureland was deep, and the dining tables were covered
with crisp white tablecloths. Decorated with flowering vines and spread out
along the bay of the lake, the array was comparable to that of a wedding.

Too extravagant.
Ye Ci had only seen this kind of situation on the 8 o’clock TV series about
rich and powerful families.

For a long time, the family banquet he conceptualized was a few large
round tables set up in a restaurant. Seeing this arrangement in the distance,
he was so nervous that his expression went rigid, and he walked a few steps
in a stiff, robotic manner without realizing it.

Wasn’t it just supposed to be afternoon tea?

Was afternoon tea . . . . so momentous?

Huo Tinglan saw Ye Ci’s dazed eyes, and he stopped to laugh at himself:
“Compared to Lao Huo, the arrogant and extravagant capitalist, I am just a
laborer who barely makes a living being exploited by Lao Huo every day . .
. . “ After a pause, he teased, “You won’t hold that against me, will you?”

This was a strange humble-brag, but Huo Tinglan’s expression was so

serious.

Having said that, Huo Tinglan’s daily duties were indeed heavy, which was
different from the full-time lover presidents in the rich and powerful dog
blood dramas. When he was busy, he would work at the desk until late at
night, and he needed to attend various banquets and entertainment outings.
He often went to sleep later than when he was in high school and could still
lay around in bed.

His state was indeed different from the Huo Changyu couple who enjoyed
life wholeheartedly.

In the terminology of laborers, it was more tiring than 996, and was already
approaching 007[1] infinitely.

The Huo family was occupied with their own business, but . . . .

Ye Ci couldn’t help but think of the young, bald and overworked

programmers on the social news.
He had to quickly glance at Huo Tinglan’s head.

His hair . . . . was rather thick.

With such a good figure, he must exercise, and his heart should also be
healthy.

Huo Tinglan’s self-pitying tale had evoked some random thoughts, and Ye
Ci had no time to be nervous anymore. He looked down at the green lawn
under his feet and pursed his lips: “Then, then when I have the ability in the
future, I’ll try to help, help you share your burden . . . . so that you won’t be
so tired.”

These words from a high school student were inevitably vague and general,
but Ye Ci looked serious. Huo Tinglan was stunned, and a playful smile
flashed through his eyes.

“. . . . Are you not nervous anymore?” Huo Tinglan had achieved his goal
and gestured to the other side of the lawn, “Some of my elders are over
there. I’ll introduce them to you later, you can just say hello.”

The corners of his lips twitch into a smile, his tone soft: “I will say
everything else for you. You are responsible for nodding and smiling . . . .
can you handle such an arrangement?”

“I can.” This was exactly what Ye Ci had wished for, and he nodded.

“Head nods, well done.” Huo Tinglan puts his hands in his pockets.
Bending down slightly, he tilted his head to observe that cold little face, and
joked, “How about a smile?”

Ye Ci was surprised for a moment. The layer of ice on his face melted, the
corners of his lips raised shyly, and he adjusted his demeanor, walking to
the lake side by side with Huo Tinglan.

Lin Yao was drinking afternoon tea with several elders of the Huo family.
Seeing someone approaching, she got up to hold Ye Ci’s arm gently and
affectionately, and led him to sit beside her.
There were not many people at the table, so Ye Ci followed Huo Tinglan’s
lead to greet them one by one. After the courtesies were over, Lin Yao
hurriedly pulled Ye Ci into conversation. She was well-maintained and
didn’t look old at all. When she opened her mouth, her voice was soft and
gentle as she complained: “Tinglan said that you are shy and that your
school workload is heavy, so he kept preventing you from coming to the old
house. I see, he’s just a petty cheapskate who doesn’t want other people to
see his gentleman.”

Huo Tinglan groaned and let Lin Yao happily scold him, as if tacitly
agreeing, and only half-rose out of his chair to pour tea for Ye Ci.

“Alpha newlyweds are just like this, drinking vinegar and being
unreasonable, and wishing they could hide their wife away in a vault, safe
from danger. Chanyu and I were the same when we first got married. I
wanted to go shopping with my friend, and he stood inside the door acting
like a doorman, forcing me to lose my temper with him . . . .” Lin Yao
pretended to be angry, and Huo Changyu apologized and pleaded guilty.
Several Huo family members who were drinking tea at the table laughed
one after another.

The Huo family was prosperous. Although Huo Tinglan was the only son of
Huo Changyu’s family, there were many uncles, aunts, and cousins. These
people knew that his susceptible period was getting worse year by year, and
that it was extremely difficult to find a matching Omega to produce
offspring. The power in his hands would not last long, and would be
divided sooner or later, so they were happy to see it happen.

Unexpectedly, an Omega that matched him 100% appeared out of thin air in
the Chu family. Now Huo Tinglan was not only cured, but also had hope for
descendents. They naturally couldn’t have a good impression of this
Omega.

Due to this, it could not be avoided that some vitriolic rumors circulated in
the family, saying that the Omega was born poor and was an illegitimate
child, he didn’t know his heritage, and he was not qualified to remain in the
Huo family. It was said that Huo Tinglan’s family of three didn’t even care
– he was just a jar of medicine to treat a disease, and the relationship
between the two was not good. The high level of matching was useless, the
probability of conception was low, and it would be difficult to have
offspring. It was even said that the degree of matching between the two was
fake, and was in fact not that high. It was just that Lin Yao was not
reconciled, putting on a show for the other Huo family members with
helpless forbearance . . . .

Lin Yao was high-spirited, and had been pampered by Huo Changyu. How
could she bear this grievance? She was fuming with rage about these
slanderous rumors. During this period of time, she had been holding herself
back, looking forward to the opportunity to finally vent her anger and act
intimate and enthusiastic. What’s more, the child was good-looking and
quiet, which was really endearing. Although she was acting, there were also
seven or eight points of truth to it.

Lin Yao playfully embraced Ye Ci’s shoulders like a young girl, deliberately
irritating: “The more you didn’t show him to me, the more I wanted to see
him. This time you can’t stop it.” She turned to Ye Ci and said softly: “Xiao
Ci, you must stay here for a few days and accompany me.”

Ye Ci was taken aback by Lin Yao’s enthusiastic offensive. Not

understanding this sort of social rhetoric, he nodded honestly and said,
“Okay.”

What a well-behaved child.

Lin Yao felt tenderness in her heart and liked him a little bit more.

Huo Tinglan smiled and shook his head: “He has to go to school tomorrow.
He’d have to get up half an hour early to get to school from here, and there
is a lot of homework on weekends . . . .”

“Xiao Ci, don’t listen to him.” Lin Yao interrupted and angrily lectured her
son, “It’s a rare day out, and you’re still keeping an eye on people’s
homework. Aren’t you trying to cause trouble, ah? Later, you take Xiao Ci
to relax and ride horses and play golf. Making your gentleman happy is
your duty, your obligation.”
Huo Tinglan smiled gently and raised his hands to apologize: “No problem,
I’ll take him there when I finish marking his homework.”

“You . . . .” Lin Yao was so angry that she couldn’t speak, and Huo
Changyu laughed on the side.

The atmosphere at the table was warming up.

In fact, Lin Yao’s performance this time was to express her position to the
Huo family – She was satisfied with the marriage, and also with Ye Ci. The
family of four had a harmonious relationship, and it was not for outsiders to
turn and point the finger of blame. Huo Tinglan’s aunts and uncles at the
table were all sophisticated people, so how could they not be happy? They
all put on friendly smiles to talk to Ye Ci, and their mouths were full of
praise.

As previously planned, Huo Tinglan was able to respond for Ye Ci with

ease. It wasn’t until Lin Yao gently complained about him rushing to speak
before Ye Ci could, thinking that he was being a bully, that Huo Tinglan
defended warmly: “My little gentleman has a quiet personality and doesn’t
like to talk. I’ll say a few more words for him.” Saying that, he turned to
look at Ye Ci, looking henpecked but also loving, and sighed with a smile,
“How could I dare bully him . . . .”

The tone was too ambiguous. Ye Ci looked up apprehensively, and his gaze
collided with a pair of dark eyes that were smiling and full of deep love,
tender and heart-pounding.

His heart felt like it was suddenly suspended in midair. Ye Ci’s fingers
tightened, almost crushing his teacup, and lowered his eyes in confusion
and panic.

. . . . He didn’t know where Huo-shushu had found his acting skills.

Business, business negotiations must be how he practiced.

Lin Yao’s eyebrows curved as she pondered the two of them with interest.
Something had suddenly changed about this image, and the corners of her
mouth started to rise more obviously.

At this time, Chu Wenlin and his wife and young son came to the table and
greeted the Chu family members.

Chu Wenlin’s youngest son was named Chu Rui, and was Ye Ci’s half-
sibling. He had specially picked up his parents’ shortcomings and inherited
them. Born stupid and fat, like a cut and fried sausage, people found him
unlikable at first glance. Huo Tinglan glanced at the three with a cold
attitude and only nodded slightly in greeting, then took Ye Ci to depart on
the grounds of a heavy workload for the upcoming mid-term.

He led Ye Ci to avoid the crowd and walked into the main house from the
secluded garden path, coming to the prepared guest room, where he stood at
the door: “I brought your school bag. You don’t need to come out and
socialize in the afternoon, just study with peace of mind, and let me check
your homework after you finish it . . . .”

“En.” Ye Ci turned his face away and looked a little evasive.

Huo Tinglan looked at him for a moment, understood, and smiled

apologetically as he explained: “I didn’t want to seem too estranged from
you in front of the elders, so I acted a little more intimate . . . .”

“I understand.” Ye Ci’s ears were hot and red. “I, I’ll do my homework . . . .
you go take care of business.”

When he was done, he reached out and closed the door.

The door was half-closed when it was firmly blocked by a forearm. Huo
Tinglan suppressed his smile, made his voice soft, and said lightly: “Are
you mad at me?”

At first glance, it seemed that he was about to apologize for the ambiguous
remarks at the banquet, extremely upright.

When you looked closely, there were all kinds of love hidden in those eyes,
as if he was clearly in the right and was only willing to plead guilty to
indulge the little gentleman.

Taking advantage of Ye Ci’s unpreparedness, he secretly coaxed him.

Secretly overstepping the rules.

[1] 996/007 references a nine-to-nine, six days a week working schedule

and a midnight-to-midnight, seven days a week working schedule. ⮐

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Fourteen

Warning: Depictions of child abuse

Ye Ci was unable to withstand the tricky maneuver and hurriedly denied: “I,
I’m not angry with you.”

He couldn’t figure out where the panic was coming from, but it absolutely
wasn’t anger.

“Really?” Huo Tinglan confirmed.

The two were so close that Ye Ci could almost feel that velvet-thin Adam’s
apple vibrating when Huo Tinglan spoke.

He felt tingly.

Scratching his intolerably itchy ears, he was inexplicably worried: “Really.

Hurry, hurry and get busy.”

“I’ll go. By the way . . . .” Huo Tinglan smiled, staring at Ye Ci’s little red
ears. Ultimately, because those ears were so red that it broke his heart, he
unhurriedly leaned against the door and asked in a low voice: “Dinner may
be a little later today. Are you hungry? Should I have someone bring some
refreshments? What do you want to eat, sweet or salty . . . .”

What he said was clearly serious, but whether it was because his tone was
too gentle or what, it sounded like charming, sultry lovers’ talk.
“. . . .What? That, sweet . . . .” Ye Ci was confused and didn’t know what
was going on. He only knew that voice made his ears numb, and he looked
at Huo Tinglan as if begging for help. “Salty too . . . . either way is fine.”

The Alpha glands on the back of his neck were restless. Huo Tinglan
became increasingly enthusiastic and teased with a smile: “Want something
to drink? Tea? Juice?”

“Which, whichever.”

“Does Darjeeling black tea sound good at the moment?”

“Okay, Huo-shushu, I still have a lot of homework, and I have to hurry up

and write.”

“. . . . . .”

Seeing that Ye Ci would collapse if he kept teasing him, only then did Huo
Tinglan restrain his remarkable abilities, turning around and closing the
door. The room was quiet. Ye Ci sat at the desk and hurriedly spread out the
papers, writing at a tremendous speed. He rubbed his ears from time to time
and the tip of the pen made a rustling sound.

After grinding through the questions for a while, Ye Ci’s mood gradually
settled down and his attention was successfully focused on the paper.

Thanks to Huo Tinglan’s guidance these days, he had made rapid progress.
Both sets of papers were stage test papers, and the knowledge points
targeted were the new content learned in the classroom in the past two
months. Not many of the topics gave him trouble.

The midterm exam was a few days later, and the ranking was hard to
predict. After all, a large portion of the second-to-last exam since the
beginning of school had thrown him, but his score should improve a lot.

After finishing the two sets of papers, Ye Ci finally got back some sense of
how it had felt to do practice questions before he dropped out of school. In
a rare carefree mood, he shook his sore hand and intended to rest for a few
minutes before starting on language and literature.

Just then, a few cries from a cat came from outside the door.

Ye Ci raised his eyes, opened the door, and anxiously looked around the
corridor.

A chubby Napoleon Bantam cat was in the corner, its bright satin-like fur
puffed up slightly with anger. Ye Ci’s “half-sibling” younger brother, Chu
Rui, was shooting rubber bullets at it with a toy gun that he had obtained
from somewhere.

Chu Rui was eight years old this year. He had inherited the vicious
selfishness in Chu Wenlin’s bones and was very spoiled by his
grandmother, so willful that not the slightest bit of cultured upbringing from
a prominent family could be seen. Chu Wenlin and his mother, Ruan Jaiyi,
were attending the tea party just now, and although he reluctantly pretended
to be obedient for a while, as soon as he slipped out of the jurisdiction of
the adults, he immediately revealed his true nature.

Ye Ci hadn’t spoken to him much. Leaving aside not wanting to, there was
just no chance.

– – If one little thing went wrong, he would scream like a scalded pig.

Ye Ci glanced at Chu Rui and didn’t say a word. He quietly picked up the
cat, rubbed the place where it was hurt by the rubber bullet, and turned back
to the room. In his arms, the fat little cat acted coy. Seeing that Ye Ci was
treating him kindly, he wiggled around and meowed, complaining tenderly.

The corners of Ye Ci’s mouth turned up as he ignored Chu Rui’s loud

shouts behind him.

He was simulating the sound of gunshots: “Bang! Bang, bang, bang!”

Immediately after, a rubber bullet hit him in the back of the head.
His skull was struck painfully, feeling as if the little boy had punched him
with all this strength in his defenseless state. There was even a moment of
darkness in front of Ye Ci’s eyes.

The destructive power of this toy gun was incredible, and if aimed at the
eyes, it could knock a person out.

“Hahahaha!” Chu Rui laughed excitedly and jumped around. The fat
mounds of his face were stained with a few uneven patches of red, with a
pair of tiny eyes sunk into the flesh.

Even more like a pig.

Ye Ci took a deep breath and didn’t dare to look back.

He could imagine Chu Rui’s disgusting appearance at this time, and feared
that he would not be able to resist the urge to use violence against an eight-
year-old child.

However, reasoning with this little beast would only bring shame on
himself, not to mention . . . . he also needed the medical expenses provided
by Chu Wenlin, so he couldn’t be impulsive.

Ignoring him was the only way.

He walked back to the room, and an insult suddenly came from behind him:
“Bastard.”

The child’s voice was crisp and bright, but had a natural maliciousness.

As well as a sick excitement.

Seeing that Ye Ci didn’t attack and just walked back quietly, Chu Rui
became more courageous. He smiled and sang like a children’s song:
“Bastard, lowlife . . . .”

He was as excited as a novice experimenter who had stolen several

dangerous reagents and thrown them into the cage, impatiently observing
the reactions of the lab animal.
The eight-year-old child could say childish things, but was terribly cunning
in some ways. He knew that this cheap brother couldn’t afford to offend
him, and if he wanted to bully him, he would bully him.

Ye Ci closed his eyes and pretended not to hear.

Seeing that he was unmoved and ignoring him, Chu Rui was flustered and
took out his trump card, shouting: “My mom said your mom was –”

“!”

With just these few words, Ye Ci’s eardrums buzzed.

His mother was his weakness, the place he couldn’t let others trample upon
him no matter how hard he swallowed back his voice . . . .

But at this moment, Chu Rui’s provocation stopped abruptly.

Huo Tinglan’s voice came from behind, calm and quiet, with no emotion to
be heard: “Which family are you from?”

Ye Ci was startled and turned around.

Huo Tinglan stood beside Chu Rui, one slender-fingered hand covering Chu
Rui’s fleshy head. Lightly and delicately, he directed Chu Rui’s face toward
him and turned it left and right.

The gesture seemed less like identifying a dignified living person, than
looking for a signature on a spherical handicraft.

“Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah!” Chu Rui used his special skill and screamed loudly.

Huo Tinglan nodded knowingly and let go.

“Dad —-! Mom —-!” Chu Rui repeatedly bounced around and made an
unreasonable scene, and then ran off to complain.

Ye Ci watched Chu Rui wailing away, his boiling blood cooled down, and
he regained his sanity.
In fact, he had a very mild temper, and didn’t really get carried away by
anger when he beat people up before, a habit that came from living in the
slums. Most of the people there bullied the weak and feared the strong. If he
didn’t fight and show his power when he encountered a challenge, he and
his mother would live an uneasy life.

But Chu Rui wouldn’t really be able to affect him, there would be little
chance to see him in the future, and the provocation just now had been
interrupted.

So there was no need.

Taking a step back, he didn’t have the endless capital to get into it with
someone just because of a few insults.

“Huo-shushu.” Ye Ci stood tall and straight, like bamboo that was

impervious to wind and snow. He said with a calm tone: “Are, are you
calling me to dinner?”

Huo Tinglan’s tall form stood quietly in the softly-lit corridor, looking at Ye
Ci.

Ye Ci’s fingers on the cat’s ears were shaking.

He was pretending to be composed.

Seeking refuge and comfort in your own – if in name only – Alpha, acting
like a spoiled child and complaining . . . . any of these things were justified
in the eyes of an Omega. For Ye Ci, it was unimaginable.

In the face of difficulties, he always chose to be strong and brave.

After a moment of silence, Huo Tinglan smiled gently and said: “I just
came up to see you . . . . you may have to wait a little longer for dinner, so
why don’t you go back to your room and play with the cat?”

“Okay.” Ye Ci heaved a sigh of relief and hurried back to the room with the
purring cat in his arms.
He had cat hair on his hands, and it was inconvenient to wipe his eyes.

Ye Ci turned his face to the side, rubbed the corners of his eyes on his
shoulders, and then buried his wet face in the fluffy cat’s belly.

The cat’s body exuded the light fragrance of pet shampoo, and its soft, silky
fur absorbed the scent well. Ye Ci was trampled on by those four soft feet
for a while, and the knot in his heart dissipated a little.

At this moment, Chu Rui’s dying-pig squeal came through the floor from
below.

He was probably being punished.

Ye Ci didn’t care, and was used to hearing it.

It was not necessarily the case that he was being punished – that kind of
little brat could get into trouble eight hundred times a day.

But what was different from the past was that Chu Rui’s screams stopped
abruptly after a few seconds. After a moment, the screams turned into
howls. Even Meng Jiangnu[1] couldn’t compete with that kind of grievance
and sadness.

– – Chu Rui truly cried.

Not howling, shouting, or screaming, but crying.

As indifferent as Ye Ci felt, unimaginably, he wanted to know what was

going on.

Afraid of scaring the cat, he put it on the bed and followed the sound to find
it. He didn’t have to walk very far, and only after descending a few stairs,
he saw a few people standing or sitting in a small side hall on the first floor.
Chu Rui’s fat face was imprinted with two bright red symmetrical slap
prints. Chu Wenlin’s face was as ugly as a pig’s liver, and he pointed at Chu
Rui’s nose as he violently shouted: “Go ahead and cry! You cry one more
time!”
Huo Tinglan sat on the sofa, calm and elegant. As if he disliked the specks
of spittle that Chu Rui spattered when he howled, he wiped the front of his
suit with a square napkin. After wiping, he threw the expensive silk scarf
into the wastebasket with a light gesture.

Chu Wenlin’s wife, Ruan Jiayi, was crying and didn’t care about being
dignified. She jumped up and grabbed Chu Wenlin’s raised palm, but was
berated by her husband.

“It’s all the shit you taught him!” Chu Wenlin turned his head and pointed at
Ruan Jiayi, performing for anyone to see and scolding her just as hard for
not knowing how to teach her child.

The disturbance escalated again.

Ruan Jiayi couldn’t bear the humiliation, so with another round of crying,
she left with Chu Rui and did not attend the dinner.

After his wife and son left, Chu Wenlin was humble and pleaded guilty. He
patted his chest and promised that he would strictly discipline his son when
he got home, for fear that the two families would be at odds because of the
younger son’s unintentional remarks, affecting their future cooperation.

“. . . . Mr. Chu’s words are too much.” Huo Tinglan’s wording was
estranged, no matter that this was his father-in-law. “Moreover, there is no
need for you to apologize to me. The object of your apology should be my
little gentleman.”

“Yes, yes, Mr. Huo is right.” Chu Wenlin bowed his back, bowed his waist,
and nodded his head like he was mashing garlic.

“Xiao Ci . . . .” Huo Tinglan tilted his head and calmly swept a sidelong
gaze towards the stairs.

The shadowy kitten who was squatting on the stairs a moment ago had
slipped away, obviously unwilling to come into contact with Chu Wenlin
and disdaining his false apology.
Huo Tinglan smiled lightly and, fearing that the little ears in the wall might
not be able to hear it clearly, turned the conversation and raised his voice: “.
. . . has a generous character and doesn’t bother to care about these little
things. He might turn around and just forget it, so it can only be his husband
who cares in his place.”

Husband . . . .

Ye Ci tripped and almost stumbled on the stairs.

......

When Huo Tinglan went upstairs to call Ye Ci for dinner, Ye Ci had slipped
back into the room and cuddled the cat for a while.

There was a lot of noise in the side hall, and unless one was deaf, it would
be difficult not to hear it. But Ye Ci didn’t know what to say. Someone had
helped him vent his anger and teach others a lesson for him. This
experience was too unfamiliar, and his heart seemed to be in a ball behind
his rib cage, so aching and warm that it practically melted him.

Huo Tinglan leaned against the door with his arms folded, thought for a
moment, and calmly helped him broach the subject: “Did you hear that just
now?”

“. . . . En.” Ye Ci’s thin eyelids twitched slightly.

“I was simply teaching them a few lessons downstairs,” Huo Tinglan

mentioned casually. “The noise was a bit loud, did it affect your studying?”

‘Them’ obviously referred to the Chu Wenlin family of three.

In terms of friendly family relations, Chu Wenlin and Huo Tinglan were
considered peers, and were at least ten years older than him. In terms of
marriage relationship, the father-in-law was a proper elder, and the word
“teaching” was used quite arrogantly and rudely.

Yet, it was enough to work off one’s anger.

Ye Ci’s lips thinned, and he defended the absolute legitimacy of Huo
Tinglan’s actions: “No, it didn’t disturb my studies. I was playing with the
cat.”

Playing with the cat . . . .

Huo Tinglan lowered his head to smile.

Immediately, he suppressed his smile and said resolutely: “A good family

banquet was thrown into chaos because of me. It is also my fault that I have
a bad temper and couldn’t hold back in public, and forgot to save some face
for Mr. Chu . . . .”

He was doing the self-criticism review, but the tone was teasing, and in his
dark eyes there was a sort of tacit mischief with Ye Ci.

“You won’t blame me, will you?” He asked knowingly.

He wanted to get some sweetness from his innocent little lover.

He was taking credit.

[1] Meng Jiangnu is a folk tale heroine whose tears broke down a stretch of
the Great Wall to reveal her husband’s body. ⮐

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Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Fifteen

Blame him?

How could he blame him?

“I won’t!” Ye Ci hurriedly denied.

The emotions in his chest nearly overflowing, he was afraid that he would
look like an arrogant villain, so he tried his best to remain calm and
commented objectively: “Chu Rui is indeed, yes, someone has to . . . .
discipline him a bit.”

Because he was on the verge of susceptibility, the mask of a gentleman was

more and more difficult to wear. Huo Tinglan smiled and looked down at
Ye Ci’s thin lips that were closed like a clam shell. While staring, he
skillfully prized out the nice things inside, using words to stroke out that
clumsy little tongue: “En, I assisted you in disciplining them. What do you
have to say to me?”

What did one say in this kind of moment?

Of course it was to say, “Thank you.” Even kindergartners knew that.

It was his duty under the circumstances to speak a sentence. Ye Ci didn’t

know why, but he felt embarrassed and his voice was lower: “Thank, thank
you, Huo-shushu.”

The room was silent for a few seconds.

Huo Tinglan didn’t receive enough sweetness, and finally failed in self-
discipline. The corners of his mouth were slightly raised, and in a controlled
and upright tone, he asked a shameless question.

“Is Huo-shushu good?”

......

Ten minutes later, when Huo Tinglan and Ye Ci arrived at the main banquet
hall, the heat on Ye Ci’s cheeks was finally dispelled by the evening breeze.

The dusting of color was mellow, and not so red.

– – Is Huo-shushu good?

This question was so simple that he didn’t even have to think, but he was a
mess and put on the spot. After dawdling for a while, Ye Ci squeezed out
the word “good” with a red face.

Along the way, his palms were sweaty, clenching in embarrassment, and
there was a faint sense of shame and confusion at what seemed to have been
an off-color remark.

But that sentence had nothing to do with inappropriate matters, and the tone
was normal.

He wasn’t disgusted, just embarrassed.

If it was really an adult joke, he wouldn’t have reacted like this. He would
be angry.

So it wasn’t.

He thought and thought about it . . . .

It couldn’t have been.

Huo Tinglan helped him vent his anger, then turned towards him and also,
also rubbed the back of his head for a while.
As a result, he speculated so wildly . . . . did he still have a conscience?

Ye Ci regained his senses and felt ashamed. He hurriedly shook off the
thought of insulting Huo Tinglan’s noble character, and sat down with him
at the banquet table.

The atmosphere of the banquet was not damaged by the temporary

departure of Chu Wenlin and Ruan Jiayi. Chu Wenlin knew that he was
wrong, and tried his best to act as if nothing had happened. When asked, he
only said that his youngest son was unwell and was taken home by his wife
to rest.

Since the season was suitable, the proportion of seafood and fish in the
banquet dishes was relatively high. The ingredients were expensive and
extravagant, and the layout was dazzling. Eight out of ten dishes were
obscure to Ye Ci, and he didn’t even know where to place his chopsticks.
But he had the leading role in this family dinner, in the center of everyone’s
line of sight, and there were eyes on him at all times.

He was afraid of exposing his ignorance and inviting ridicule, making Huo
Tinglan lose face by accompanying him. So he didn’t move his chopsticks,
picking up his cup and taking a small sip of juice. After drinking, he put
down his cup and paused, about to take another sip. Huo Tinglan received
another pair of chopsticks from the waiter, put a piece of golden cheesy
crab meat on his plate that was exactly the size of a bite, and whispered
softly: “I don’t know if the chef’s craftsmanship here suits your tastes . . . .
try it first?”

“. . . . En. Okay.” Ye Ci picked up the piece of crab meat as if he had been

rescued.

“Try this, it looks good.” Huo Tinglan picked up a piece of raw fish sashimi
with a snow pattern in a poised manner, selected some wasabi with the tip
of his chopsticks, and then dipped the sauce-free side into the sauce plate
that Ye Ci had at hand. The movement was just right, so that Ye Ci could
clearly see the dipping process of eating sashimi.
Ye Ci was stunned for a moment, and after thinking about it, his eyes shook
slightly, as bright as a thin sheen of water.

Huo Tinglan had seen through his awkwardness, but he was not
uncomfortable. He just felt warm.

Throughout the banquet, Huo Tinglan was always considerate. Acting

humble and empathetic, he couldn’t stop serving the newly married little
gentleman, filling the juice and blocking the wine . . . . He couldn’t wait to
take care of the little things like dipping sauce, and all of his actions
revealed a deep, cherishing love. Compared to his father’s wife-loving
demeanor, he was no less coddling.

The relatives of the main family and the branch family gradually
understood – No matter how many benefits were attached to the marriage,
from now on, Ye Ci was a character whom the Huo family could not afford
to offend. Then they stepped forward to toast to Ye Ci and make a good
impression on him, chatting enthusiastically. Huo Tinglan drank almost all
the wine toasted to Ye Ci.

“Huo-shushu.” In the second half of the banquet, Ye Ci couldn’t help it, and
gently tugged Huo Tinglan’s cuff under the tablecloth.

“En?” Huo Tinglan turned his face slightly.

Ye Ci pointed to his cup: “Don’t, don’t stop me from drinking, I . . . . I can

drink.”

Taking advantage of Huo Tinglan’s unpreparedness, he had secretly poured

himself a beer. Golden bubbles bounced around the mouth of the cup,
exuding the aroma of wheat.

Huo Tinglan stared at him, the corners of his mouth curled up, and he
repeated lightly, “You can drink?”

His throat was soaked with wine, and had a slight drunken hoarseness that
rustled in his ears, a little more sensual than usual.
The articulation was light, almost coquettish.

Like he was teasing.

Ye Ci became increasingly convinced that Huo Tinglan was not too drunk,
so he decided on the merciful way: “Yes, I’m afraid, I’m afraid you are
drunk . . . . and you’ll have a headache tomorrow.” Seeing that Huo Tinglan
was noncommittal, he frowned a little anxiously and raised his voice
without realizing it: “I, I drink very well.”

Speaking of getting drunk . . . . Huo Tinlan had never been really “drunk.”
The physique of a top Alpha was not for nothing, and the alcohol only
excited his nerves.

He didn’t need a little eighteen-year-old Omega to stop him from drinking.

He shouldn’t condone Ye Ci’s drinking. After all, he was only a few months
into adulthood, and it was good to stay away from tobacco and alcohol.

Ye Ci hadn’t finished his weekend homework, so he would need to take a

rest after eating, and then write another set of papers.

Moreover, he remembered that Ye Ci in the previous life couldn’t tolerate

alcohol. After three to five glasses of beer, he would be drunk and delirious.
Right now, he was full of confidence in his drinking capacity.

Huo Tinglan slowly frowned.

The only explanation was that after differentiating into an Omega, Ye Ci’s
constitution gradually changed. His tolerance to alcohol had dropped
dramatically, but he didn’t know it yet.

He remembered what Ye Ci had looked like after drinking in the previous

life – –

Terribly obedient.

Like a fluffy little drunken shrimp.

Even if someone picked it up and stripped the shell, licking all the raw,
tender meat inside and eating it clean . . . . he feared he wouldn’t know how
to resist.

Huo Tinglan’s eyes got darker.

Restrained for a long time, lava-like sensuous desire slowly overflowed

with the wine and the restlessnes of the Alpha glands, boiling and searing
him.

Even his veins and arteries were so affected that they shifted slightly.

“Are you okay, Huo-shushu?” Ye Ci acted recklessly, with an eagerness to

help. His eyes were clear and innocent, wanting to share the burden with
him.

The young man’s heart was pure and precious.

As if coming to a decision, Huo Tinglan slowly curved the corners of his

lips and said with a hoarse voice: “Just this time . . . . but it mustn’t be
repeated.”

“En!” Ye Ci held the beer glass, sat up straight, and stood up to intercept the
alcohol for Huo-shushu.

He looked very handsome when drinking, calm and neat, no-nonsense, with
a sullen face. When the guests who came to toast finished their greetings, he
raised his head for a cup.

Huo Tinglan played with an empty glass, staring at Ye Ci and watching his
small and angular Adam’s apple roll up and down. His eyes darkened.

One cup.

Two cups.

Three cups.

......
When the waiter came up to pour the fourth cup for Ye Ci, Huo Tinglan
suddenly used five fingers to cover the mouth of the cup and waved him
away. Presently, he looked askance at Ye Ci and said teasingly: “The
strength of an alcoholic drink like this came on so quickly . . . . and you still
claim to have a tolerance to alcohol.”

Ye Ci blinked hard, staring around and squinting. Peering at the double

images in front of him with confusion, he rubbed his eyes with the back of
his hand.

“Stop rubbing, your hands are dirty.” Huo Tinglan laughed and reservedly
used two fingers to gently block Ye Ci’s hand from rubbing his eyes.
“Didn’t you take the physical hygiene class in junior high or elementary
school?”

“This beer.” Ye Ci turned his head, his face as pink as a peach as he

attempted to compensate: “The degree, degree of alcohol should be quite
high . . . .”

“All the beer you poured was 6% alcohol light beer”

Huo Tinglan smiled mildly as he reduced him to silence.

Ye Ci was dazed, and wilted.

As the banquet drew to a close, it was somewhat noisy. Huo Tinglan’s voice
was low, and others couldn’t hear what he said. They saw that his
expression was gentle and teasing, as he leaned close to Ye Ci’s bright red
ear and whispered softly, as if the newlyweds were flirting.

Unexpectedly, Huo Tinglan was extremely ruthless. He exposed the alcohol

content of the beer, and on this joyous occasion, still looked after a child in
deadly earnest. “. . . . The physique will change after one differentiates into
an Omega. A high alcohol tolerance before might become low later. You
can still handle three glasses of this light beer, but if you changed to one
with a higher potency, you might be lying down by now. Do you still dare
to drink outside in the future?”
“I know, I understand, Huo-shushu, in the future . . . . I won’t dare.” Ye Ci
hung his head with a look of shame.

That clear young voice was soaked in wine, soft as a feather.

He was indeed the same as the previous life.

So obedient when he was drunk.

“Will you follow my advice and not drink without Huo-shushu there?”

“. . . . En.”

Huo Tinglan lowered his head with a smile.

This could now be ruled out as a major safety hazard.

After the dinner was over, the guests came to say goodbye one after another.

Generally speaking, as the main focus of this family dinner, Huo Tinglan
and Ye Ci should accompany Huo Changyu and Lin Yao to see off the
guests. They should be the last ones to leave, or simply stay overnight. But
in fact, Huo Tinglan took Ye Ci to the car before the guests had left. Before
leaving, he spoke with Lin Yao but didn’t know what to tell her. The
corners of Lin Yao’s mouth suddenly raised so much that she couldn’t hold
back the smile, and she didn’t mention the matter of letting his husband stay
overnight. Huo Tinglan happily drove away with him.

In the car, Huo Tinglan showed a rare look of fatigue and tilted his head
slightly back. He closed his eyes and catnapped, his handsome face
frowning slightly. The blue blood vessels in his temples jumped, as if he
was not very comfortable, and the pungent aroma of tequila wafted through
the car, stronger than usual.

Ye Ci was already used to Huo Tinglan’s pheromones, so he didn’t notice

for a while. He was also worried that he was uncomfortable due to drinking
so much, so he stammered in concern: “Huo-shushu, do you need, need the
car to pull over for a moment? I’ll accompany you . . . . to get out for a
walk, and get some fresh, fresh air.”
Huo Tinglan smiled with his eyes closed: “I’m not drunk . . . .”

Ye Ci shook his head in disbelief and wanted to persuade him, but heard
Huo Tinglan gently toss out the second half of the sentence: “This is the
susceptible period.”

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Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Sixteen

– – This is the susceptible period.

After Huo Tinglan finished speaking, the car was so silent that you could
hear a pin drop.

Since the early stages of the susceptible period to the present, he had
postponed the official susceptible period for more than a month by relying
on the pheromones he obtained from his daily interactions with Ye Ci, and
now there was finally no way to push it back.

The drunkenness from the 6% light beer had been washed away, and Ye Ci
woke up with a fright. His eyes wandered, and he licked his dry lips,
stammering and not knowing what to say.

In the past month, he and Huo Tinglan had gotten along harmoniously, and
he almost forgot about the fact that he was Huo Tinglan’s human medicine
jar.

To help Huo Tinglan delay the susceptible period, he gave him a pillow.

He even let Huo Tinglan smell the back of his neck.

After that, he spent several hours with Huo Tinglan in the study every day.

He could accept this much, which was equal to the requirements in the
agreement.

The issue was . . . .

After the susceptible period officially began, would these things be enough?

If they weren’t, to what extent would it be enough?

After all, Huo Tinglan himself said that this susceptibility period was
particularly serious for some reason.

When Ye Ci was at war with himself, a deep laugh sounded in the car.

“Don’t be afraid.” Huo Tinglan rubbed the pale blue blood vessels that were
throbbing on his forehead. The furrow between his eyebrows deepened, but
he endured it and reassured him with restraint: “I don’t need your help this
time.”

“But,” Ye Ci swallowed and said with a dry mouth, “for, for more than a
month, I have been helping . . . .”

Huo Tinglan sighed: “That was the early stages of susceptibility, and it was
mild. This time, it won’t work.”

The sweet scent of vanilla silently diffused throughout the car.

Sweet and light.

Mixed with tonight’s particularly strong fragrance of tequila, it was difficult

to detect it immediately.

Omega gland differentiation was a long process that often lasted the entire
puberty of adolescents, and it generally took two to four years for the
complete set of Omega organs to develop to maturity.

Ye Ci’s situation was special. The differentiation would be faster, but it

would not come for a year.

In other words, he was not quite a full-fledged Omega yet. Therefore, the
concentration of pheromones in their natural state was lower than the
normal level, and the aroma was also weak, like a flower bud that would
not bloom.
With such a pheromone level, it was fine to deal with the early stages of
susceptibility, but this time, it was really unlikely.

“Your pheromones are too weak,” Huo Tinglan said truthfully.

Ye Ci was anxious: “Then how can they be concentrated?”

“Don’t ask.” Huo Tinglan laughed at himself, his tone soft and helpless. “I
knew I shouldn’t be in the same car with you . . . . I didn’t plan to tell you.
It’s been like this for over ten years, and this time will be nothing. When
you get home, go back to your room . . . .” He paused. “Don’t worry about
me.”

As he was talking, it was probably because his head hurt too much that he
gasped slightly.

Almost inaudible, the hiss was lighter than a gust of wind, but it firmly
impacted the soft part of Ye Ci’s heart and caused its swaying balance to tilt
to one side with a bang.

Such a good Huo-shushu.

Huo-shushu was so kind to him . . . .

Blood rushed to Ye Ci’s face, and words that could not be beaten out of him
rose from his warm chest and agitated the boy’s spirit. He briefly broke
through the restraint of his shyness to blurt out: “Does phys, physical
contact work?”

“Are you sure?” Huo Tinglan looked up, and a faint smile flashed in his
dark eyes. Gently and apologetically, he warned his young lover: “I might
need to hug you . . . . and my personality will be different than usual.”

Alphas would become paranoid, jealous, and clingy, and change in

temperament during the susceptible period.

Huo Tinglan’s eyes were bloodshot in pain, but his expression remained
patient.
He looked . . . . normal.

Ye Ci himself had been an A-level Alpha for three years. He felt that he was
more irritable than Huo Tinglan during the susceptible period, and much
more gloomy. In comparison, Huo Tinglan was very pure and harmless.

But, in fact . . . .

The huge gap between A+ and A-level was unknown to a high school
student such as Ye Ci, who lacked physiological knowledge. Huo Tinglan
was enduring an emotional storm that was a hundred times stronger than his
own back then.

So, for an A+ grade Alpha in his susceptible period to look normal . . . . it

was the biggest abnormality.

Ye Ci was ashamed in hindsight, and almost bit his tongue. “I’m . . . . I’m
sure.”

After he finished speaking, he didn’t dare to look at Huo Tinglan again, and
turned his head to look in front of him.

– – At some point, the privacy windows between the front and rear cabins
had been switched from transparent to milky white.

Ye Ci was so nervous that his eyes went still, and he stared straight ahead at
the window, not noticing the subtlety of it.

The rustling sound of suit fabric rubbed against his ears.

They were separated by a distance . . . .

And that distance was shrinking.

In the corner of Ye Ci’s sight, an arm wrapped in silver-gray fabric stretched

out.

Huo Tinglan’s voice sounded above his head, low and magnetic, along with
the heat exhaled from his lips against his outer ear –
“Hug Shushu.”

Ye Ci’s ears turned red, and he didn’t move.

Huo Tinglan approached further, his chest hard and supple, slowly but
firmly pressing against him.

A hug.

Ye Ci turned his face away in embarrassment.

He couldn’t remember the last time he had been hugged by someone, or by

whom.

Probably Ye Hongjun. Except for his mother, he was unlikely to let anyone
else hug him.

But he couldn’t really remember when that was.

Most boys in their teens resisted intimacy with others, and avoided tender
feelings as if they were snakes and scorpions, for fear of hurting their
fragile rebelliousness.

Luckily, Huo Tinglan didn’t hold him tightly, and only rested against Ye
Ci’s thin back. Like a heavy bough of pear blossoms lovingly hugging a
bunch of new red haitang, unable to bear crushing it.

The fragrance of tequila pressed down on Ye Ci, and it was as heavy as an

attack.

Ye Ci always took for granted putting himself in the position of a healer, but
forgot that the pheromones between Alpha and Omega was never a one-
way effect.

His Omega glands were densely covered in the fragrance of tequila.

The skilled Alpha pheromones solicited and plundered the Omega’s

juvenile glands with ease and cunning. They were too inexperienced, and
after being provoked a few times, they released a high concentration of
pheromones without reservation. The sweetness of vanilla bubbled out,
thick as sap, and set off a chain reaction —-

With just a hug, the vertebrae that held up his body seemed to disintegrate.
Ye Ci was paralyzed, unable to raise his head, so he could only bury his
cheeks against Huo Tinglan’s shoulder and gasp for breath. The heat from
his nose and mouth dampened the fabric.

“Huo-shushu . . . .” He whispered, begging for mercy.

He was too ignorant, and didn’t even know what he was begging for mercy
from. He just followed his instincts and refused to easily fall into the trap of
the Alpha’s unrestrained eroticism.

“En?”

His unhurried voice sounded.

Huo Tinglan slowly tightened his arms. His strength was like cast iron,
suppressing Ye Ci’s weak struggles.

“. . . . Why is this still attached?” In order to prevent possible withdrawal,

he blocked the conversation and changed the subject with a glance at the
back of Ye Ci’s neck. “The scent will be lighter this way.”

A narrow white strip peeked out from under Ye Ci’s formalwear, slightly
wrinkled and damp, and printed with fine, water-blue flowers. It was a
scent-blocking patch. Ye Ci had worn it for the whole day and forgot to
replace it. It was ineffective. Not only could it not stop the scent, but
because it was full of pheromones, the smell was stronger there than in
other places.

Barrier patches were a private thing for Omegas.

Ye Ci was generally aware of this.

But he may not be as sensitive as other Omegas. After all, he was not so
conscious of being an Omega . . . .
Huo Tinglan’s eyes darkened, and he tore off the patch. Craftily clenching it
into his hand, he confiscated the small trophy.

Like a mad dog charging left and right at the border of sanity, the
possessiveness and erotic desire were given a touch of comfort, and the
madness was slightly reduced.

He did this same thing last time, but Ye Ci didn’t ask him about it at all.

“That, give it to me . . . . I’ll throw it out myself.” Ye Ci worked hard, and

begged Huo Tinglan with a blushing face.

His time at school during this period had given him some glandular gender
awareness.

The Omega students in his class, after replacing their barrier patches,
wrapped the old ones in several layers of thick toilet paper before throwing
them away, and an Alpha couldn’t even touch it. His nerves were too thick
in this regard.

“. . . . . .” Huo Tinglan was silent for a while. He didn’t hand it over, but
didn’t say he wouldn’t. Instead, he went off-topic and warned: “Don’t move
around.”

What ‘don’t move around’ meant, any man could understand no matter how
simple he was.

As expected, Ye Ci was well-behaved for a while.

“That patch, still . . . . give it to me.” Ye Ci held still for a minute,

stuttering, then went to open Huo Tinglan’s hand again.

In fact, he didn’t mean to struggle, but Huo Tinglan hugged him too tightly,
and he had to get rid of the confinement first if he wanted to lift his arm.
But this escape-like move happened to hit the inverse scale[1] of an Alpha
during the susceptible period.
Huo Tinglan’s breathing suddenly became heavy. As if fearing that he
would run away, he immediately hugged him tighter.

The tightness hurt Ye Ci, and he subconsciously struggled. Not only did he
not break free, but Huo Tinglan pushed him even harder into the angle
between the door and the back of the seat, using his entire body to hold him
firmly.

“Wu . . . . . .”[2]

“Sorry.” Huo Tinglan regained his precarious sanity, loosening his hold as
he coaxed in a hoarse voice: “I’ll do as I’m told, I’ll throw it away in a
moment . . . . let me take it for a while, just five minutes . . . .”

......

An hour’s drive passed.

Ye Ci was held in the corner between the back of the seat and the door by
Huo Tinglan, and even sniffed the whole way, not daring to move at all.

When he got out of the car, his legs were trembling, his eyes were red, and
his heart was pounding.

The custom suit worth tens of thousands of yuan was wrinkled front and
back like dried plums.

Ye Ci stepped into the Huo residence while clutching the hem of his
clothing and pulling it down. He wanted to straighten it, and was still
thinking about where to find an iron to iron it . . . .

Before taking a few steps, he suddenly felt that something was wrong.

When he turned around, his gaze fell flat on the light teal patterned knot of
a silk tie.

Very close.

So incredibly close.
“You’re . . . .” Ye Ci was startled. “Still not good?”

Even an A-level Alpha could be normal for a long time after inhaling such a
large amount of pheromones.

An A+ grade Alpha . . . . didn’t seem to be the same as he had imagined.

Sure enough –

“What good?”

Huo Tinglan asked faintly, staring at him with a predatory look.

[1] According to legend, there is a white scale under the neck of a dragon
that cannot be touched without misfortune falling upon you. The phrase
“inverse scale” would be similar to “pushing someone’s buttons.” ⮐

[2] 唔, the sound of a cry or a whimper. ⮐

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Seventeen

The still immature Omega glands had continuously released high

concentrations of pheromones for an hour. They were already sore and
exhausted, and his limbs also felt weak, as if they had been drained.

. . . . He, he still wanted it?!

Ye Ci was stunned, and this sense of crisis was long overdue.

Like a sly falcon peeking over a small nest, the cub was coaxed to leave the
nest, and when he left, there was nowhere to hide.

Ye Ci’s mind was in chaos. He swallowed dryly and tried to calm down:
“My homework is un, unfinished. There’s still one set of papers.”

He used his studies as a shield.

Learning was his top priority – Huo Tinglan said it himself when he
disciplined him.

He wasn’t going back on his word and stopping the treatment of the
susceptible period symptoms, he just wanted to take a breather, to have
peace quiet, even for an hour or two. It was too soon – – he couldn’t figure
out what went wrong, why it didn’t work, but it was just . . . . too soon.

“I’m aware.”

Huo Tinglan nodded. His eyes were black with undistinguishable emotions.

“I’m taking the midterm exam soon, I can’t, I can’t be lazy.”

“En.”

That was unexpectedly reasonable.

“I’ll first . . . . go write.”

Ye Ci let out an internal sigh of relief.

“En.”

It was an easy negotiation.

......

Ten minutes later.

There was a set of physics papers spread out on the desk. Ye Ci sat there at
the desk, leaning his forehead in the palm of his hand. A few locks of black
hair were tucked between his fingers to ease his embarrassment, and his
head was ducked low so that the tip of his nose was almost brushing the
paper.

The large swivel chair was barely able to seat the two of them.

Behind him, Huo Tinglan opened a pair of long, straight legs and clamped
him firmly, and his rogue arms wrapped around his thin waist and abdomen,
making him unable to move.

Huo Tinglan let him come to the study to do his homework.

But no one could have imagined that it would be written in such a way.

The mature Alpha’s frame was tall and straight, and Ye Ci, whose
differentiation had stagnated in the middle, was thin and slender. Trapped in
Huo Tinglan’s arms and completely covered, it didn’t matter how hard he
tried to seem indifferent. He could only appear helpless.

He had obtained permission before and, thinking that he could finish

writing the remaining set of papers in a hurry, his guard was relaxed.
Unexpectedly, Huo Tinglan hung behind him without saying a word, and
locked the door as soon as he stepped into the study. Half of him still
maintained the demeanor of a noble gentleman, and half of him had become
foolish and clingy.

He had drawn close to Ye Ci through deception, and his eyes were full of
apology. He spoke as if to talk things through, but the heat splashed on Ye
Ci’s ear was terrifyingly hot: “Sorry, this time the symptoms are more
stubborn. I thought I would last until you finished writing the paper . . . .
Another ten minutes of treatment? . . . .”

“Why are you . . . .” Ye Ci opened his lips slightly, stunned and pitiful.

Half the words were swallowed back.

Why was he like this?

“Sorry, I still scared you . . . .” Ye Ci didn’t say a word, and seemed to be

reviewing something silently. Huo Tinglan gave a light, self-deprecating
smile, as if he was ashamed of not being a gentleman during his susceptible
period. He didn’t give Ye Ci a chance to recover, and left his lofty airs in
the dust to plead in a soft tone that was almost embarrassing: “You write the
paper as usual, just pretend that I’m not here . . . . is that okay?”

Ye Ci was kind, soft-hearted, and didn’t get enough love. When others
treated him well, he was overwhelmed, and could not wait to pay it back. In
the previous life, Huo Tinglan was also like this, and there were endless
ways to break the defenses around Ye Ci’s heart, harmless but shameless.

He met Ye Ci at a race. He wasn’t that keen on formula racing, and was

originally there to kill time. However, his eyes were scorched by the silver-
white race car that was shining like a meteor on the track. That marvelous
handling, the courage to turn quickly, the precise and decisive judgment,
and the madness that was faintly revealed in its pursuit. It made Huo
Tinglan think that the racer in the car was a young and vigorous Alpha, a
fierce little wolf dog with sharp teeth and claws.

He didn’t expect . . . .
The contrast was too great.

Formula racing was an extremely physical sport. If nothing else, the

centrifugal force of up to ten kilograms could break the neck of the racer
when the car was taking a corner quickly. Therefore, formula racing was the
kingdom of Alphas, and even a Beta was rare, not to mention the weaker
Omega. The slender necks and weak muscles of Omegas may not be able to
withstand even a single turn. They just dressed up nicely and appeared on
the field as “racing babies” to liven up the atmosphere.

The thin, beautiful Omega racer mingled with a group of beefy Alphas,
looking out of place.

But also firmly attracted Huo Tinglan’s gaze like a magnet.

He couldn’t help chasing after him.

Of course, Ye Ci’s presence on the racing circuit was not by chance.

Ye Ci became a race car driver half due to his false Alpha differentiation.
The three year high-level Alpha differentiation period in his youth laid an
excellent foundation for his physique, and although he appeared slender, his
muscle strength was quite high. The other half was due to his staggering
amount of training, in which he would do all kinds of extremely high-
intensity endurance training in the off season – he seemed to enjoy the quiet
state of a blank mind after physical exhaustion.

He was just such a person.

As fierce as a wolf dog on the track.

In the face of the public, he was taciturn and kept to himself.

After experiencing a half-year-long pursuit using various methods, only in

front of Huo Tinglan was he peeled open bit by bit, revealing a soft and
sweet core.

It was terribly soft.

Clever and sticky.

Just right for him.

Huo Tinglan was perfectly happy to fall head first.

It was worth another half a year.

Twenty-two-year-old Ye Ci was much colder and harder to approach than

he was as an eighteen-year-old.

Therefore, now it was like Huo Tinglan was turning on a cheat, using that
full-level experience to pursue the lover who was at present pure and
innocent.

Really pure, too pure. He more or less took advantage of this innocence.

But so what?

He would do a hundred times better for Ye Ci, be totally devoted to him,

love him. Even if everything was under false pretenses, there was no
falsehood in his heart.

He readily apologized, his words sincere, his fierce and handsome face
softened by rare guilt.

His body was like a beast, and he grasped the inexperienced boy in his
arms, clamping him tightly. He dragged him to the swivel chair and
squeezed him to the point that his face and ears were red, then
sanctimoniously urged him to write physics problems.

The alpha hormones secreted in excess during the susceptible period finally
stimulated all the evil in his bones. His lost and found lover was in his arms.
He loved him so much that his heart hurt, and he couldn’t do anything about
it.

Huo Tinglan breathed heavily, and the hot air containing rich pheromones
repeatedly gusted against the back of Ye Ci’s neck, forcing the already
exhausted Omega glands to pump out more sweetness.
Ye Ci was holding a gel pen that was slippery and covered in sweat. It
quickly fell, leaving his mind and face blank.

He moved forward quietly, very slowly, trying to steal a little space, one
second of respite. But the iron-strong arms over his waist and abdomen
were more vigilant than he imagined, and they suddenly pulled back,
making the embrace even tighter.

Huo Tinglan had changed.

It was true that an Alpha’s temperament changed greatly during the

susceptible period, but this . . . .

Ye Ci’s brain was working hard.

Not to mention how different it was from when they first met, but even
compared to a few hours ago, it was completely different.

Just as if . . . .

The culture and refinement from before was all pretend.

No.

Don’t speculate about Mr. Huo like that.

In order to vent the violence that had nowhere to go, Ye Ci’s hand on his
forehead clenched into a fist. His knuckles were blueish-white with the
force, and he almost lost a few hairs.

Suddenly, Huo Tinglan asked in a low voice, “Why aren’t you writing?”

He seemed to be trying to maintain the pretense of “just add treatment to

doing homework,” and knowingly asked, “You can’t?”

Ye Ci nodded casually: “En.”

“The first multiple choice question is to apply . . . .” Huo Tinglan repeated

the physics formula, and the vibrations of his Adam’s apple and chest were
transmitted to Ye Ci’s back. Even his insides felt itchy. Ye Ci’s spine swiftly
softened, and if it wasn’t for being firmly sandwiched between two long
legs, he feared he would have slipped under the table.

There was one thing that Ye Ci refused to admit, or to be more precise,

didn’t even think about – Their genes were 100% compatible, and Huo
Tinglan’s pheromones were absolutely attractive to him.

The fierce and fragrant scent of tequila gusting over and over against the
back of his neck, he seemed to . . . . like it.

He couldn’t suppress his blush or his heartbeat.

So strange.

“Do you understand,” Huo Tinglan’s eyes were dark, looking askance at
him, “what to select?”

“Select,” Ye Ci was off in another world and looked towards the cover of
the test paper, startled. “I don’t know . . . . that one, C.”

The first one to rule out was always C.

“Didn’t you listen to anything?” Huo Tinglan asked knowingly.

Ye Ci desperately put on a cold and sharp face, and shirked the

responsibility: “My stomach is not, not very comfortable, so, so I wasn’t
listening.”

He was not very good at lying, and this was not a lie.

His stomach really was uncomfortable, and it started when he was hugged
by Huo Tinglan on the way home, getting heavier and heavier, increasing
until now. Saying it hurt was not very accurate. It was more like soreness or
tightness. Many subtle discomforts were intertwined and nibbling away at
him, making him want to put his hands on his stomach and scratch a couple
of times.

“Did you eat something bad?” Huo Tinglan frowned.

“No, just . . . . I, I don’t know.” Ye Ci twisted uncomfortably. “Still, still not
finished? It should have been . . . . ten minutes.”

After he finished speaking, a large warm hand slid down his stomach,
accurately covering the uncomfortable spot in his abdomen.

“It’s uncomfortable here?” Huo Tinglan confirmed.

“. . . . . . En.”

Huo Tinglan hooked his lips.

Under his palm, thin, soft skin covered the newly developed cavity.

Nerve hyperactivity, mucous membrane hyperemia . . . .

The series of changes made to the inside of the cavity produced a sore
itching that could be compared to a slight pain.

This was a reaction unique to Omegas, preparing for the impending mark.

Ye Ci was unfamiliar with this kind of experience, so he didn’t understand .

...

There was an “uncomfortable” sort of emotion called desire.

He didn’t understand anything, didn’t even realize that he had been seduced
by Huo Tinglan. He was too shy and just wanted to get back to “normal.”

“It’s even worse, don’t . . . .” Ye Ci couldn’t take it any longer. Clamping

Huo Tinglan’s wrist and pulling it to the side, he gritted his teeth and
adopted an unyielding attitude.

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Eighteen

Huo Tinglan revealed a rare assertiveness, and brazenly competed with Ye

Ci to cover his abdomen again with the palm of his hand.

Ye Ci was too thin, with a narrow waist and belly, as if he was trying to lure
him in to hold it, to induce him to do evil.

“. . . . Do you know what’s in your stomach?”

His voice was terribly hoarse.

There was softness under the tips of his fingers.

Due to Omega development, Ye Ci’s originally thin and tight abdomen was
covered with a thin layer of fat.

Looking at it with your eyes, you might not be able to see it, but the
smooth, suet-like touch didn’t lie, existing at the same time as the toughness
of muscle . . . .

Like soft velvet wrapped around gold.

It could really drive him to his death.

At this time, because the abdominal cavity was stimulated, the sweetness of
vanilla was suddenly stronger.

— His beloved Omega was throbbing, only half-understanding, and longing

for him.
This realization made Huo Tinglan’s arm under his silver suit tremble with
excitement, and the bridge of his nose was dashed with sweat. Even his lips
and eyes seemed to be stirred by the influx of blood, synchronizing with the
rhythm of his heart.

“In the, in the stomach is –” Ye Ci didn’t dare to look directly at the

terrifying guess in his heart, and only incoherently tried to break Huo
Tinglan’s grip. In his haste, he lost control of his hand strength, and a few
red and white finger marks were printed on Huo Tinglan’s wrist like cat
scratches. “Huo-shushu, let, let go for a bit . . . .”

All at once, his stomach spasmed and thrashed like a contraction.

It felt strange, indescribable. With a huge sense of shame, Ye Ci’s breath

shook, and his clear voice was faintly hoarse: “Let go!”

He was like a wolverine kitten carried off by a beast to its lair to be licked
and drooled over. Frightened and pitiful, its fluff was matted down, and it
was about to be overwhelmed.

Whether it was his mental state, pheromone-excessive glands, physical

strength, or something else . . . . he was already at his limit.

Moreover, there was also a question of whether the immature Omega glands
that had not yet been differentiated could withstand a bite from an A-level
Alpha.

He couldn’t go any further.

Ye Ci couldn’t bear it.

He had asked for enough tonight.

Huo Tinglan’s eyes were bloodshot, his jaw clenched sharply as he fixed his
eyes on Ye Ci. His precarious sanity was entangled with an Alpha’s vicious
instincts. He was like a tiger that coveted fresh meat, very greedy, hungry
and confused, but he clenched his fists and restrained his frantic, scorching
emotions. Slowly releasing his restraints, he let his Omega escape from his
arms like he was running for his life, avoiding him at a distance. Enduring
the pain of the hunger, thirst, and loss was tantamount to mental whiplash
for an Alpha.

......

Ye Ci used a cool summer quilt to wrap himself into a chrysalis, a single

hand emerging to hold his phone.

He glanced at the time and closed his eyes.

Tomorrow was Monday. With a morning of mathematics, physics, and

chemistry, his brain was going to be fried.

He tried forcing himself to fall asleep, but his brows were unconsciously
furrowed, his face like a bun with eighteen pleats.

A few minutes later, Ye Ci opened his eyes in discouragement, only to

realize that his face was sore.

2:37.

After calculating the remaining time he had left to sleep, he couldn’t sleep
at all.

He had been restless since he escaped from the study. He’d crouched on the
terrace to empty a pack of cigarettes, his legs shaking. His pulse didn’t slow
down, and his heart ached.

Huo Tinglan didn’t seek him out again, and he also didn’t take the initiative
to talk.

There was still an illusory sensation in his abdomen, and the heat of Huo
Tinglan’s palm still seemed to be scorching him.

“. . . . . .”

Ye Ci turned over anxiously, his face buried in the pillow. His ears were red,
his black hair messy, and he didn’t know how many times he had tossed and
turned under the quilt.

He had run out. He couldn’t do it if he didn’t run. Something was so wrong

with Huo Tinglan tonight.

He could comprehend that something wasn’t right. After all, when an Alpha
was susceptible, sometimes they would act in spite of themselves.
Especially with high-level Alphas, it was not uncommon for them to lose
control, and no matter how strong their willpower was, there was a limit.

But Huo-shushu at that time also really . . . .everyone would say it was
excessive . . . .

Ye Ci grabbed the edge of the quilt, pulled it up, and wrapped his head
fiercely, as if he could wipe out those messy thoughts in one go.

Too much was too much.

The moment he left the study, he didn’t have many thoughts about escaping,
but was more worried and guilty.

He had run away in a hurry, but after thinking about it, Huo Tinglan’s
appearance at that time seemed a little wrong.

. . . . In the end, what was wrong?

Ye Ci tried hard to recall.

The only thing that came to mind was a wrist with his fingerprints on it, and
a pair of unhinged black eyes trying hard to maintain self-control.

He realized in hindsight that, in fact, even if he hadn’t struggled so

desperately, Huo Tinglan wouldn’t have done more.

Ye Ci grabbed his hair, kicked off the quilt, and put on his shoes.

If he didn’t go take a look, his conscience would sting.

The sconce lights along the walls of the hallways were lit, giving off soft
halos of illumination.

Huo Tinglan’s bedroom door was left open, revealing a dark gap, and it
didn’t look like anyone was sleeping inside.

Ye Ci hesitated for a while, and it was hard to say whether he was more
worried or temporarily relieved. He quietly opened the door a little wider,
took two steps in, and looked in the direction of the bed.

The light from the wall sconces peeked through.

The unnecessarily large bed was a mess. The graphite satin sheets were
twisted up like two thin, sodden towels, and seemed to be ripped in a few
places, as if the person lying on them suddenly went mad. On the bedside
table was an empty syringe that had been broken in two. There were also
several colorful medicine bottles and packages lying or standing, and one
bottle was not screwed shut. Small white pills were spilled all over the
ground, and the bottle was compressed strangely, as if the person who
opened it had lost control of their grip strength.

And he had been told not to take medicine indiscriminately . . . .

This scene didn’t look like a normal medication routine.

The bridge of his nose was suddenly sore and painful, and Ye Ci rushed to
the first floor.

On the first floor, Uncle He’s housekeeper’s room was also empty with the
door wide open, the blanket on the bed flung aside — it seemed he was in a
hurry to get up from the middle of sleep.

The Huo residence was too big. Ye Ci aimlessly pushed open doors to
search, and made two calls to Huo Tinglan and Uncle He, but both numbers
were out of the service area.

Would the hospital’s signal be so bad?

Ye Ci frowned.
He knew that sometimes high-level Alphas wanted to avoid losing control
and hurting people during their susceptible period, and would ask others to
help lock them up while they were still sane.

When he was an Alpha, there were a few times when the susceptible period
was particularly severe and he was locked in the bathroom of the old house
by Ye Hongjun. Once, he was so manic that he kicked the door.

In Huo-shushu’s case, maybe there was a “safe room” . . . .

Ye Ci turned his head and ran towards the stairs leading to the basement.

Sure enough, the stairwell lights were on. He was halfway down when he
happened to bump into Uncle He coming around the corner, his highly
professional face revealing a rare apprehension.

“Is Huo, Huo-shushu down there?” Ye Ci was out of breath.

Uncle He was stunned for a moment. He had been ordered to cover up this
matter, and originally planned to say that Mr. Huo had gone to a special
medical institution to recuperate for a few days. He didn’t expect someone
to stop him in the basement. In the current situation, to insist that Mr. Huo
was not at home would be no different than making a fool of himself. He
gave a hollow smile and deliberately avoided the question: “This . . . . It is
so late, and Young Master Ye still hasn’t slept. You have to wake up at 6:30
in the morning, otherwise you will . . . .”

“Then, then he’s here.” Ye Ci came to a conclusion and deftly walked

around Uncle He.

“Young Master Ye, ai, Young Master Ye!” Uncle He was alarmed and
hurriedly chased after him.

There were also many rooms on the basement floor, but Ye Ci just looked
straight at one that was different, made of metal. He didn’t need to touch it
to know that it was thick and sturdy, appearing at first glance like the door
of a vault.
He leaned over to fumble for the switch, and comforted: “I won’t, won’t
make it difficult for you, I’ll say that I, I found it myself. That, that is
actually the truth..”

Uncle He hesitated.

Would it not be difficult to face Mr. Huo?

It was hard to say.

He wasn’t sure if he should help the other person achieve his goal.

The husband and wife had been married for so long, and without
mentioning that they slept in different rooms, they usually didn’t even speak
a word of affection. The polite greetings and civility, he saw it all with his
own eyes. Moreover, Mr. Huo was in such pain during his susceptible
period, and locked himself up to endure it. But anyone with eyes could see
that Mr. Huo was incredibly happy with this marriage, and it was Young
Master Ye who was unwilling. It was good that he finally sought him out
himself, plus this deep concern . . . .

Besides, this Young Master Ye could hop faster than a rabbit, how could
this handful of old bones stop him?

“This, ai, all right . . . .” Seeing Ye Ci tinkering at the door for a long time
without being able to do anything, Uncle He pushed him aside. With a grim
expression on his face, he silently showed Ye Ci how to open the door.

The door opened a crack.

Although the safe room had an independent ventilation system, the aroma
of tequila that rushed to his face was still as rich as the real thing. In just
one breath, his lungs seemed to be filled with potent alcohol.

The walls and floor were covered with a soft, cotton-like material to prevent
Huo Tinglan from hurting himself when he went mad.

There was no signal in the room, but it was equipped with emergency
contact equipment that could call several internal numbers in the Huo
residence, Huo Tinglan’s parents’ phone number, and those of the city’s
emergency centers.

Huo Tinglan sat beside the bed facing him. His legs were spread apart, his
elbows resting on his knees, like a silent and tyrannical stone statue.

Hearing the door open, he turned his head and stared at Ye Ci, who was
standing at the door. His eyes were as dark as two black holes, burning with
passion.

Passion, mixed with greed, possessiveness, thirst, infatuation . . . .

concentrated and dense, burned black as pitch.

A used barrier patch stuck to the glands on the back of his neck.

Damp, wrinkled, printed with cyan blue flowers, full of Omega pheromones
and sweat. Secretly, paradoxically, with an almost twisted erotic
implication, it was stuck to the Alpha’s neck.

In the more than two hours since Ye Ci had left him, he had sat in this safe
room, isolated from the world as he repeatedly rubbed the barrier patch to
soothe his insatiable restlessness and avoid hurting his still innocent lover.

No one would believe that the dignified head of the Huo family actually
satisfied himself with a barrier patch he had used deception and thievery to
get his hands on.

Thankfully, most of the patch was covered by his collar.

Ye Ci’s legs were trembling, and he swallowed hard. Against the storm of
high-potency Alpha pheromones, he took a step inside the door.

From this angle, he could only see Huo Tinglan’s head hanging between his
knees.

Both hands were bandaged, and blood was oozing from his palms.

His fists were clenched.

The muscles in Huo Tinglan’s jaw trembled terribly, and two perfunctory
words were squeezed out from between his teeth: “Go back.”

Translator’s Note: A big thanks goes out to Kay for their Kofi donation!
As new to this as I am, I’ve never received a donation before, so you’ve
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Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Nineteen

The room was not large. Ye Ci took a few steps closer.

After tossing about all night, it seemed that some threshold had been
forcibly lifted, and although his voice was so dry that it even felt unfamiliar,
he still expressed himself clearly in the present situation: “Let’s hug again,
hug for a while, ba. Huo-shushu . . . . you can’t just, you can’t go on like
this . . . .”

Even if subjective feelings of pain were set aside, susceptibility syndrome

could cause shock in extreme cases, and the risk was very real.

This was an outdated, absurdly savage mechanism of evolution.

In primitive times, it forced the genetically advanced Alpha to find an

Omega that was highly compatible with itself, and insatiably plunder,
possess, mark, breed . . . .

For primitive humans where instinct prevailed, this was a positive

mechanism.

However, with the birth of civilization, law, and morality, reason and an
increasingly rich and meticulous heart and mind thwarted the progress of
genetic selfishness.

So much love, so much want.

In the eyes of a lover, a sweetheart who was ignorant of worldly affairs had
become a budding flower.
He delicately sniffed and fiddled with it, and sometimes couldn’t help but
reach into the core and steal a drop of honey . . . . yet couldn’t bear to break
it.

But . . . .

Patience had its limits.

Moreover . . . .

He came to the door himself.

Huo Tinglan lowered his eyes and did not look at Ye Ci. Under his thin,
half-closed eyelids, a pair of eyes nervously trembled.

He seemed to be hovering at some critical point.

Burning to the touch.

“I’m, I’m mentally prepared.” Seeing that Huo Tinglan was motionless, Ye
Ci took two steps forward and stood in front of him.

His thin neck and hands were white as jade and lined with lake blue
pajamas.

Inadvertently or not, he used a kind of “feigned calm” posture that diluted

the ambiguity inherent in this mode of treatment: “You, feel free to hug this
time, it’s okay. Before, I just wasn’t, wasn’t used to it . . . .”

Before he finished speaking, the world suddenly turned upside down, and
the astonishing speed and strength of an A-level Alpha was revealed in this
moment. With a bang, Ye Ci was shoved onto the bed. The mattress was
soft, and it didn’t hurt, but it was shocking.

“Huo-shushu!” Ye Ci was about to get up, but Huo Tinglan’s hot hand
grabbed the back of his neck.

He froze from head to foot.

Male cats would bite the back of a female’s neck at certain times to prevent
them from escaping midway, which may be connected to how Omegas were
built. Alphas had similar instincts, and would clamp down on an Omega in
the same way when engaging in intimacy.

And Omegas cooperated sufficiently to evolve corresponding physiological

reflexes. When the back of the neck was restrained by the high-matching
Alpha they had established a trusting relationship with, they would fall into
a state of surrender that was difficult to resist due to a series of stress
responses such as decreased muscle strength . . . . this was very convenient
for the Alpha.

“Wu . . . .” Ye Ci gritted his teeth and struggled to move, but could only do
so weakly.

Huo Tinglan had also underlined this in that well-selected popular science
book on physiological knowledge, but Ye Ci hadn’t read it.

He thought he had a hard enough fist to protect himself, but in reality, he

had to pay the price for his arrogance . . . .

He was going to be “bullied.”

As if tormented by some sweet, sharp torture device, the blue veins on Huo
Tinglan’s neck became prominent. His teeth were clenched so hard that they
rattled.

After everything, he was still persistently enduring.

He forcefully pulled down the back collar of Ye Ci’s pajamas, using his
fingertips to slowly and carefully stroke both sides of Ye Ci’s vertebrae to
check the maturity of the Omega glands hidden under the smooth skin: It
didn’t feel right, too small in size, slow to respond to an Alpha’s touch . . . .
they demonstrated a low degree of development, and even a temporary
mark could cause damage.

After being married for so long, this was actually the first time he had
directly touched it.
The warm touch made both of them shudder at the same time.

Huo Tinglan couldn’t control his strength, and his force was rough.

Therefore, Ye Ci’s feedback came very quickly.

On both sides of his spine, the Omega glands were positively glowing with
an unnatural peach-pink color. Driven by the blood vessels under the skin,
they pulsed weakly and regularly, exuding a surging, extraordinarily
appealing aroma.

— This was a testament to their responsiveness to an Alpha.

And the extent of their softening and volume was also in the range that
could withstand temporary marking.

Before, Huo Tinglan had been looking for an opportunity to take Ye Ci to

do a full set of examinations on the direction of his Omega development,
but knowing that Ye Ci was thin-skinned, he didn’t mention it. He didn’t
expect to do a preliminary inspection in a more straightforward way at this
time.

Due to being slender and having little fat, Ye Ci’s skin looked very thin.

His Omega glands were stimulated and swollen, like a ripe fruit.

The thin skin had to work hard to cover them, pitifully red and swollen,
luring people to bite.

The scent was also quite . . . .

Mixed with the familiar scent of vanilla was a thin layer of fishy sweetness.

That was the smell of desire.

“Huo-shushu . . . .”

With the heat of the Omega glands rising, and unprecedented restlessness
swept through his whole body.
His bones were crumbling.

Huo Tinglan need not restrain him. He couldn’t struggle to break free.

He didn’t know what was going on. Compared to when he had a high fever,
he had less energy, his thoughts were more chaotic, and the saturation of the
colors in his field of vision had risen. Even the soft cream-colored material
covering the walls and floor had a strange splendor under the light.

The sore, indescribable feeling in his abdomen from before also struck
again.

Ye Ci was so restless with anxiety that he kept looking back, wanting to see
what was going on at the back of his neck, like a stupid cat chasing its tail.

Of course he couldn’t see it.

Then he could only ask Huo Tinglan for help.

No matter how slow he was, he was still aware of who the culprit was
behind this series of changes.

But he could only turn to the culprit for help.

“Huo-shushu . . . . what, what’s happening to me . . . .”

Huo Tinglan was silent, and his Adam’s apple rolled.

Originally, he consoled himself with empty hopes to quench his thirst, and
was able to speak fluently.

But Ye Ci was too stimulated at this juncture, and unexpectedly entered the
first phase of fever . . . .

Yet again, he innocently called out to him.

Huo Tinglan looked at the back of Ye Ci’s neck with burning eyes, so hot
that they could burn through.
“Huo-shushu, I’m not, I’m not feeling well . . . . you just, just hug me,
don’t, don’t do anything else . . . . okay?”

In order to break free, Ye Ci twisted like a willow swaying in the wind, and
like tree sap, wrung out a thin layer of sweat on his forehead.

He helplessly called out to that nice gentleman in his mind, stammering for
mercy, wanting to awaken Huo Tinglan’s dormant “conscience” and reason.
There was no turning back. The moment he stepped into the safe room, the
matter was a foregone conclusion. But he had thought he would be shown
mercy.

The lingering heat of that high fever was finally accompanied by the “Huo-
shushu” and “hug me” that his brain clipped out without permission,
igniting everything that was flammable in Huo Tinglan’s body.

There was a roaring in his ears, his vision exploded into white snow, and his
blood surged. When he came back to his senses, his teeth had pierced the
skin, wedged into the glands behind Ye Ci’s neck, and injected a small
stream of pheromones.

Rich tequila blended with sweet vanilla to produce a wonderful chemical

reaction. A brand new compound substance was derived, releasing an
aroma that was somewhere between the two pheromones, but not quite like
either.

This derivative, which symbolized a temporary mark, could solve the

susceptibility period problem at the root.

Huo Tinglan took a deep breath. The torturous pain, the massive jumble of
information brought by the hyper-sensitivity of the five senses, and the
frenzied and chaotic thoughts were all cut down by a lot in an instant.

As comfortable as if he had been reborn.

The tip of his nose brushed the ends of Ye Ci’s sweaty hair. Huo Tinglan
lowered his eyes and gently turned Ye Ci’s face, which was buried in a
pillow.
Ye Ci’s cheeks were as pink as a spring peach.

An Omega’s initial fever would usually be quite severe, and their mental
state would be affected. The current Ye Ci was a good example. With his
eyes wide open, his blank pupils were filled with a kind of drunken
emptiness, clearly not lucid.

Thanks to this lack of sobriety, his last bit of pretense completely

disappeared. Not only did he forget that he used to be an Alpha, he even
forgot to cover up his physical attraction, his desire for Huo Tinglan.

The misty expression in his eyes was thus completely exposed.

The temporary marking was only carried out halfway, and the amount of
Alpha pheromones injected was still very small.

Originally, Huo Tinglan may have stopped here. After all, the symptoms
had been relieved a lot. But right now, he had to use all the self-control he
had to resist the urge to grasp Ye Ci and directly eat him clean. He crushed
the impulse.

He turned Ye Ci over and put one hand next to his ear, teasing the cute
drunken shrimp as he asked in a low voice, “Who am I?”

“You, you are Huo-shushu . . . .” Ye Ci answered honestly. His nose

twitched, smelling him comfortably from a short, safe distance.

Good boy, even when he wasn’t sober, he hadn’t forgotten to use honorifics.

“Who is Huo-shushu to you?”

“He’s . . . . shushu.”

“Wrong.”

Ye Ci got stuck. Hesitating, he answered tentatively: “Or, the per, person

who received a marriage certificate . . . .”
“And the person who received a marriage certificate with you is your
what?”

“But –” Although Ye Ci was not sober, he instinctively avoided this pointed

question, rambling, “Me, me and Huo-shushu are married . . . . it’s, it’s a
fake marriage, it doesn’t count . . . .”

“There is no fake marriage at the legal level. Our marriage relationship is

real and valid, “ Huo Tinglan said, his voice quiet and deep.

“. . . . . .”

Ye Ci didn’t speak.

“The person you have received a marriage certificate with, is your what?”
Huo Tinglan repeated this question hoarsely.

He was unusually persistent, as if asking for a name for what he was on the
verge of doing.

The obvious answer was that the Alpha with the marriage certificate was
the husband.

Even kindergarten children knew this sort of common sense. Ye Ci raised

his clear and beautiful eyes, a little shy, and looked at Huo Tinglan again a
bit evasively.

“It’s your husband,” Huo Tinglan said word by word.

The next second, Huo Tinglan’s chest sank down – –

Ye Ci was so embarrassed that he wanted to escape Huo Tinglan’s predatory

gaze, but there was nowhere to hide.

That little head turned in confusion, dizzy and bewildered, and plunged into
his arms.

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Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Twenty

He had thrown himself into the net.

Even a saint couldn’t endure.

Huo Tinglan wrapped his arms around the thin, fresh, and tough young man
and buried his canine teeth completely into the back of his neck.

The large amount of aggressive and extremely potent Alpha pheromones

were injected without reservation. The heat was scorching, washing through
the red and swollen Omega glands.

In the end, they were A-level pheromones, and if the strength was too high,
it would affect the pain nerves after injection.

The back of his neck was hot and painful, and even though he had lost the
strength in his limbs, Ye Ci still gritted his teeth and struggled. Dizzy and
confused, he forcibly twisted his neck to one side, ignoring that Huo
Tinglan’s teeth were still wedged in his flesh.

If he twisted at this time, Huo Tinglan feared that the light bite that was
easy to heal might open up.

Huo Tinglan would be heartbroken to death. He had sharp eyes and agile
hands, and was quick to hold Ye Ci’s jaw, letting that pointy little jawbone
grind into his bloody palm. He ignored the injury and only tightened his
grip, reveling in the temporary marking.

“Hold still, bear with it,” Huo Tinglan coaxed in a hoarse voice, the
shameless rhetoric that Alphas had used to mark their partners for
thousands of years. Even he was not exempt, but he coaxed more
affectionately and tenderly, “Just be patient, baby.”

Ye Ci shook, and the slender fingers that were clinging to Huo Tinglan’s
shoulders flexed abruptly, tightening as if there was nowhere to vent their
strength.

This indulgent title made him more embarrassed than the temporary mark,
and almost woke him up from his confusion.

In fact, Huo Tinglan didn’t call him that often. In the last life, Ye Ci was too
thin-skinned to bear such strong flirtation.

It seemed to have been bottled up inside, and as soon as the gates were
opened, he kept calling it, his voice low and hoarse like sandpaper against
Ye Ci’s ear, filling the atmosphere with heat and shame: “Baby, Xiao Ci . . .
. Baby . . . .”

Ye Ci’s ears were red, and he wanted to pull back, but he was restrained.

The fever was surging, and he was being coaxed by the highly compatible
Alpha. He was unbearably and inexplicably excited, and even his toes
curled.

Mentally, physically . . . . the undifferentiated immature glands had endured

too much.

The moment the temporary mark was complete, Ye Ci whined like a kitten
from his throat, kicked his bare feet spasmodically, and fainted in Huo
Tinglan’s arms.

For susceptible Alphas, a temporary marking on the back of the neck was
often just the beginning of a series of intimate behaviors.

An appetizer.

The physical pain was relieved, but the spirit was not full. On the contrary,
it enticed a greedy person to keep going.
Huo Tinglan embraced the bamboo-like youth in his arms and greedily
sniffed the scent of spirits blended with vanilla. It was the smell that
symbolized the completion of the temporary marking, and it was familiar
and unfamiliar. It haunted his longing, and had soothed his mania and
relieved his pain countless times.

A certain deep and surging emotion seeped into every breath he breathed.
Heaving up and down in his chest like sea lanterns, the madness, the beastly
desire, the vicious instincts . . . . gradually merged into monstrous love and
shattered into salty white foam.

He held Ye Ci’s thin shoulders, his breathing still heavy and his eyes
bloodshot, but with forbearance and love, he laid Ye Ci down flat like a
piece of fragile porcelain and closed the collar of his pajamas for him.

Immediately, he grabbed the intercom phone on the side.

......

Charity Private Hospital.

East Hospital Building on the third floor.

The newly admitted patient needed to rest. The Huo family had cleared the
area, and except for room 305, there was no one in the other wards on the
third floor. It was so quiet that you could hear the rustling of the willow
branches in the wind outside the window.

Ye Ci had fallen into a deep sleep.

He had inherited Ye Hongjun’s small face. It was cold when he was awake,
his countenance was like snow, and it only showed a little bit of
childishness when he was sleeping and defenseless.

These two months, he had eaten very regularly and nutritiously. He had
gained a few pounds, his bones were no longer so prominent, and his
cheeks had a wholesome arc.

In the morning, it was time to wash his face.

Huo Tinglan stood at his side, took off his watch, and rolled up the cuffs of
his shirt. He dipped a towel in some warm water and wrung it out, then
wiped Ye Ci’s forehead, the corners of his eyes, his cheeks . . . .

For the first time, he had received an A-level Alpha mark. Not to mention
an undifferentiated Omega boy, even a fully mature older Omega would
have inevitably fallen asleep for a day or two.

The intensity of A-level pheromones was too high, and was destructive to
an extent. The body needed to repair itself and assimilate the new
information during sleep, and in this way, adverse reactions would be
alleviated a lot when the same A-level Alpha marked him next time.

Ye Ci had been asleep for three days. His physical examination results were
normal for the moment.

But since he was marked by an Alpha in the middle of differentiation, it

was difficult to say whether or not there would be any short-term
repercussions. Therefore, doctors recommended that he stay in the hospital
for observation for a period of time, so that his hormone fluctuation levels
could be monitored 24/7 and treated at any moment.

His face was ticklish and wet . . . . as if he was being licked by a large dog.

Ye Ci frowned, his eyelashes trembled, and he opened his eyes abruptly.

He had slept so long that his awareness was lax, and he blinked a little
hazily.

He saw the ceiling, walls, and bed sheets, an expanse of white.

There was also a hand with a few blue veins on the back of it. The cuffs of
the fog-blue shirt were rolled flat and smooth. It was a mature man’s hand,
but its movements were so soft, wiping his face with a damp towel.

Dazed, he followed the arm with his eyes.

Huo Tinglan was sitting on the edge of the bed looking at him. His eyes
were dark, and except for tenderness, no other emotions could be discerned.
The rest were buried very deeply.

He was like a frenzied hunter maintaining his calm. Having set up a

thousand traps, he lay in the grass, quietly watching, waiting to see which
pit the precious cub would fall into, so that he could follow him, pick up the
soft bundle, and put it in his pocket.

Memories from before the coma gradually returned.

The family dinner.

Light beer.

Embracing in the back of the car.

......

“Huo-shushu,” Ye Ci rubbed his eyes, “Why am I here . . . .”

Before a word could be said, the long-overdue memories from the safe
room returned.

Like a metal wire that burned orange-red, the fine point unexpectedly
stirred up the ashes into the shining whiteness of hot shame.

The hot pain on the back of his neck, the curled toes, tightly gripping arms
and undulating chest muscles, the sweet and presumptuous sound of “baby”
that caressed his ears. “Baby,” “Xiao Ci,” and the intense, suffocating
emotion in his eyes. So straightforward, so terribly blunt, like a mad beast
that wanted to eat him alive. An Alpha in his susceptible period was
actually like that . . . . Ye Ci couldn’t breathe. His chest still seemed to be
restrained by a constricting arm, and his face flushed red. He rolled,
slamming into the guardrail to avoid Huo Tinglan’s hand that was holding
the hot towel. Stirred up like a girl dodging a scoundrel, if he hadn’t been
fenced in, he would have rolled to the ground.

Huo Tinglan’s hand froze as if someone had agitated the wound, and he was
stunned.
That palm was indeed injured. The bandage had been removed, but four
dark red bloody scabs still remained.

Ye Ci glanced at it, and averted his eyes as if burned.

Huo Tinglan withdrew his hand and threw the towel away to show that he
wouldn’t touch him, and said in a low voice, “I’m sorry.”

This apology came from the heart.

That night, he really didn’t mean to mark Ye Ci. He had crooked thoughts
and wanted to sneak a mouthful of honey, but that was all.

Otherwise he wouldn’t have had to endure so hard at first.

If it wasn’t for Ye Ci coming to his door, perhaps he could have stopped

himself from putting that little neck under those fangs dripping with greed .
...

“I didn’t mean to give you a temporary mark.” Huo Tinglan looked straight
at Ye Ci, not begging for leniency, not shirking responsibility, not coercing.
The pain of being tormented during the A-level susceptibility period, Ye
Ci’s negligence in throwing himself into the net, the gentle care he had
shown Ye Ci these past two months . . . . he didn’t mention a word of it.

“I lost control. I’m sorry.”

He only apologized for his own mistakes.

Like a drowning man clinging to driftwood, Ye Ci grasped the metal guard

rail on the edge of the bed, alertly watching him from the corner of his eye.

Huo Tinglan had come to the hospital to take care of this person and had
not dressed up. With a few strands of hair drooping over his brow, he wore
a casual shirt without a tie, with one button undone. His temperament made
him seem a few years younger, not in line with the “shushu” that Ye Ci was
used to calling him. His straight collar bones gradually disappeared into his
collar, and his muscles propped up that fog-blue shirt material, expensive
and sensual . . . .
His ears roared, suddenly flushed with blood.

Appropriately dressed, sober expression, honest and sincere tone . . . . Ye Ci

turned his face away, as uneasy as if he had looked at a yellow book.

“. . . . Xiao Ci,” Huo Tinglan called to him softly, “I’m really sorry.”

Ye Ci’s Adam’s apple bobbed and he gave an mm-hm, saying faintly, “I

don’t blame you.”

He had forcefully broken into the basement during Huo Tinglan’s

susceptible period. His intentions were good, but had led to these
consequences, and it was difficult to say that he bore no responsibility.

Replace him with any A-level Alpha that night, and it would have been
impossible for them to remember not to mark him.

There was nothing to say. He didn’t blame anyone.

“Really,” he emphasized again in a whisper.

Then, without saying a word, without looking at anyone, he picked and

rubbed at the metallic paint on the guard rail he couldn’t get through,
making his fingers red.

The precious cub froze in place, curled into a small ball, didn’t give a
reaction, and didn’t fall into any traps.

There was no telling what was going on in that little head.

He hid himself again.

The possibility of all his previous efforts going down the drain made Huo
Tinglan feel a rare anxiety in his heart.

Feeling as if two sharp eyes were patrolling his face like ice chisels,
attempting to find a weak point and defeat him in one fell swoop, Ye Ci
hurriedly lowered his head, lay down, and wrapped himself with a blanket.
He had experienced the power of Huo-shushu’s insight.

“I’m still, still tired, I want to sleep for a while.” The voice was muffled by
the blanket as it urged: “You go, go do your own thing.”

Only a few strands of fluffy black hair poked out from the blanket, laying
on the pillow like whiskers.

“Okay.” Huo Tinglan closed his eyes and got up to stand beside the bed, his
voice low. “Call me anytime, your phone is on the bedside table, and it is
fully charged.” After a pause, he spoke again, “With your current situation,
you can be discharged from the hospital as soon as tomorrow. Your school
midterm exam was yesterday and today . . . .”

The figure under the blanket moved slightly.

Ye Ci attached great importance to the midterm exam, and had been looking
forward to the improvement of his score to give himself a boost.

“. . . . I requested an alternate exam paper.” Huo Tinglan had guessed this.

Fearing that Ye Ci would be disappointed, he comforted him in a gentle
voice, “The difficulty is very close to the first exam. The scores can be used
for reference, and you can take the test yourself once you have time.”

The person under the blanket was silent for a few seconds, as if calming
down a certain emotion, and his voice trembled a little when he spoke
again: “Thank, thank you, Huo-shushu.”

“You’re welcome.” Huo Tinglan smiled, was quiet for a moment, and
leaned over slightly. He lightly touched the ends of Ye Ci’s hair outside the
blanket with his knuckles.

Under the blanket . . . .

Ye Ci didn’t notice Huo Tinglan’s small movements, and only covered his
two small, thin ears in vain. It seemed that in this way, he could block from
his ears the sweet and presumptuous “baby” in his memory, and could
contain that electric current that penetrated from the top of his skull, down
his spine to the soles of his feet . . . .

Nibbling away until his bones were limp and numb.

But he couldn’t ward it off, couldn’t stop it.

His heart was beating fast.

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Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Twenty-One

Ye Ci’s negative reaction was much bigger than Huo Tinglan had imagined.

When he was discharged from the hospital, he was checked again inside
and out, and by all indications, he was basically back to normal. The person
himself was still listless, obviously thinking about things.

Huo Tinglan apologized to him, and he had accepted it completely. It didn’t

look like he dared to be angry or speak out. But when he wanted to take the
opportunity to reconcile with Ye Ci again, he would awkwardly shy away.
He often wouldn’t say more than a few words, clumsily using “I’m not
feeling well” and “I’m sleepy” as excuses to avoid communicating with
Huo Tinglan.

It seemed inoffensive but was, in fact, more difficult to deal with than
anger.

In order to not over-stimulate him, Huo Tinglan resisted the urge to ask
questions and press. After putting this matter on the backburner for a couple
of days, the midterm exam papers were sent by Uncle He.

After getting the school’s exam papers, Ye Ci tried his best to dispel the
strange emotions that had been haunting him for the past two days, strictly
following the school’s exam time to monitor himself. After finishing the
sets of test papers in his bedroom, he asked Uncle He for the answers in
order to compare scores.

It was easy to decide how to fill in the blanks, and to follow the steps for
the major questions of mathematics, physics, and chemistry, but he was not
sure about some subjective questions in Chinese and English, especially
regarding composition.

If he scored himself low, he would not be reconciled, and if he judged the

score too high, he would be lying to himself.

After hesitating for a while, he finally took the papers and looked for Huo-
shushu.

“. . . . Huo-shushu.” Ye Ci knocked on the study door.

“Come in.” Huo Tinglan closed a document and gestured at the paper in Ye
Ci’s hand. So as not to make him feel awkward, he took the lead and said,
“How did you do on the exam?”

“I per, performed well.” Ye Ci pursed his lips.

Huo Tinglan wore a dazzling white shirt today, with an imperial collar and a
platinum tie with one side decorated with small stag antlers. He had an
Alpha’s unique power and dignity. With eyes as black and clear as water, he
was extraordinarily handsome.

Ye Ci was as nervous as a thief, swiftly averting his eyes and staring at his
slippers: “That is, some questions, such as composition, I wasn’t sure how
to judge . . . . Can you help take a look at it for me?”

“Okay, bring it to me.” Huo Tinglan reached out to pick it up.

The hand was slender and powerful, strong and lean. The fingers and wrist
were angular, with slightly convex blue veins on the back. An expensive
mechanical watch clasped that wrist, with sapphire glass and a crocodile
wristband, and the dial was painted with a magnificent moon phase
diagram.

Innately handsome, nourished by money, dazzling, calm, and elegant. It

would be difficult for any Omega to resist these charms, but they had fallen
into the eyes of the uninitiated, who had just now noticed them.

He’d used his jawbone to grind into the bloody palm of this hand . . . .
Some ill-timed images burst into his mind. Ye Ci’s heart beat straight into
his throat, and with his face lowered, he redirected his hand to place the
paper on the corner of the table: “Thank, thank you.”

After speaking, and without waiting for Huo Tinglan to respond, he slipped
away faster than a wildcat.

Ye Ci returned to the room, and in order to shake off those blush-inducing,

ear-warming images that were playing repeatedly in his mind, he went to
the terrace to smoke half a pack of cigarettes.

Maybe it was from smoking too much or from crouching for a long time,
but his legs trembled when he got up, soft and heavy like dragging two
lumps of mud.

He washed hastily, and with the chaotic mind of a teenager, slumped onto
the pillow, forcing himself to repeat formulas continuously to expel the
unwanted thoughts. Half-dreaming and half-awake, an unbearable dry heat
rose up in his body, and the sweet fragrance of vanilla drifted. Ye Ci opened
his eyes in a daze, wanting to turn on the air conditioner, but was reluctant
to waste the drowsiness he had cultivated with great concentration. He fell
into dreamland, at a loss.

And in that dream, it was all . . . .

Huo Tinglan’s hand.

The hand he saw in the study that evening.

With sharp angles and sensual blue veins, like that night, it clasped Ye Ci’s
jaw and let him use his jawbone to grind into the palm of that injured hand,
and the faint, sweet scent of blood pervaded.

“Baby . . . .”

A seductive double-bass voice.

A tingling pain in his neck.

The feeling of being possessed by an Alpha.

What it was like to be an Omega . . . .

The vague dream abruptly came to an end.

“Wu . . . .”

Ye Ci woke up suddenly.

A foot spasmed across the sheet, making a long, shallow dent in the pure
white cotton.

The bedroom was sweet and fragrant, and Ye Ci’s body exuded an abnormal
heat, dripping with sweat. His pajamas and even the sheets were soaked
through, his face was the color of a spring peach again, and his mind was a
bit chaotic.

It was very similar to the experience that night.

It was just a difference of degree.

. . . . This appeared to be a mild and brief period of fever.

He had dreamed of Huo-shushu.

He still . . . .

Was he crazy?!

What was he thinking?!

Like a fish out of water, Ye Ci abruptly sat up, resting his elbows on his
knees and covering his hot, embarrassed face with one hand.

He didn’t know what was normal and what was abnormal. He hadn’t had a
competent father who could properly guide a boy through adolescence, and
the pressure of life during his lingering youth never allowed him the
curiosity to explore independently.
He was ashamed, as if he had done a bad thing.

It may have been that his face was too hot and the heat made his eyes sore,
because Ye Ci’s eyes were moist and slightly red, holding a trace of water.

He wiped his eyes fiercely and exhaled. With a cold face, he removed the
sweat-stained sheets and quilt, kicked off his pajamas, and took them into
the bathroom.

As long as the laundry that needed to be washed was thrown into the dirty
clothes basket, the laundry room servant would come to collect it the next
day. The outer garments were okay for them to deal with, but Ye Ci was too
embarrassed to let others touch his underclothes. He had purchased a small
jug of laundry detergent, and for shorts and the like, he washed them as
soon as possible the day after changing them, and then hung them in an
inconspicuous place.

Fortunately, he had been prepared.

He dug out the jug of laundry detergent and scrubbed the sheets with water.

After washing the set, he dared not take it to the terrace to dry, for fear that
people would see and ask him why he was up in the middle of the night
cleaning them, so he took two chairs and set them a distance apart to stretch
the larger pieces out to dry.

After washing, drying, and changing the bedding, he had worked for over
an hour. In addition to the mild fever that still hadn’t gone away, Ye Ci was
so tired that he nodded off while changing the quilt. He didn’t care to
continue beating himself up, and fell asleep.

The next day.

Ye Ci rarely slept late in the morning.

To Ye Ci’s perception, the brief mild fever from the previous night had
subsided and everything was normal.
He was marked by an Alpha in the middle of differentiation and couldn’t
bear it in the end, resulting in the repercussions of hormonal disorder, and
would have irregular and mild pseudo-fevers in the following days. When
he was discharged from the hospital, the doctor told him to keep a few more
barrier patches with him, try not to go other places besides home and school
until his hormones were stable, and pay attention to his personal safety . . . .
As for the treatment of this fever, the first thing was to be patient since the
intensity was mild and was not dangerous to his health. It was enough to
isolate the pheromones so that they wouldn’t affect others. The second thing
was to seek out the Alpha who marked him before for comfort.

Since the active ingredient in the Omega inhibitors on the market was
artificial imitation Alpha pheromones, these “inferior products” would only
stimulate the Alpha pheromones remaining in Ye Ci’s body and make him
more uncomfortable. So until Huo Tinglan’s temporary mark disappeared,
inhibitors were ineffective for Ye Ci.

Of course Ye Ci chose to endure it.

He didn’t go to class for a whole week due to his hospitalization. On

Monday the next day, he grabbed a handful of barrier patches from the
drawer and stuffed them into his shoulder bag.

One layer was not enough, so he pasted on a second, and two layers weren’t
enough, so he pasted on a third.

At last he was done sticking them on.

He got up late, and Huo Tinglan had already left for the company when he
went downstairs for breakfast.

Ye Ci heaved a sigh of relief at not meeting him face to face.

Otherwise . . . .

Thinking of that shameless dream, Ye Ci didn’t know what expression he

should use to face Huo-shushu.
They were out of control that night.

But Huo-shushu was purely affected by his susceptible period, and returned
to normal immediately after it ended. He looked the same as before, still so
gentle and decent.

He was the only one who couldn’t control himself, as if he had awakened
some deep-rooted bad habits, some dark instinct, a mind full of crooked
thoughts and images not fit to be seen.

It was still just a temporary mark for the sake of treatment. He was
unexpectedly dwelling on it over and over, and his soul trembled at the
thought.

If Huo-shushu saw through him . . . .

He wouldn’t need to find a hole in the ground, just directly find a beam to
hang from.

There were two corrected test papers on the table.

The pen marks were handsome and sharp, and the most annotated part was
English composition. He crossed out the spelling and grammar mistakes
and wrote the correct ones to the side, explaining a few sentence patterns.
There were more comments than actual text. After explaining, he did not
forget to leave a few words of encouragement, to the effect that he had
made obvious progress.

Such an ordinary thing somehow made his eyes sting.

Ye Ci re-read it several times.

The score given by Huo Tinglan was very fair, and he did not deliberately
relax his standards in order to indulge him.

He calculated the points and added them together with mathematics,

physics, and chemistry for an exciting score.
It was much better than the test at the beginning of school, and his ranking
didn’t necessarily have to look good. After all, in a place like Tiancheng
Private School, even the slacker students were good enough.

Ye Ci folded the papers and planned to show Ye Hongjun when he visited

her at night – if she was not in a bad state and could chat with him for a
while.

Aside from his mother, the only person in the world who made him want to
share his joy was Huo Tinglan.

Ye Ci stirred the porridge with a spoon in a trance, his cheeks pink and his
eyelashes fluttering.

He remembered that Huo Tinglan helped him clean up his mother’s old
things and cherished the things he cherished, thought of how Huo Tinglan
helped him learn in a roundabout way to maintain his fragile self-esteem,
about the words “Three times a day, one tablet at a time” written by Huo
Tinglan on the medicine box, about Huo Tinglan tirelessly showing him
how to tie his tie over and over again. How he taught him how to eat things
he wasn’t familiar with, helped him vent his anger by teaching others a
lesson on his behalf, and bloodied his hands for him.

In just two months, Huo Tinglan was so good, but he hadn’t thought about
it.

It was too much.

This Huo-shushu was a wealthy heir born with a golden spoon in his mouth,
strong-willed but not a bully.

Like the moon in the sky, the snow on the top of the mountain.

It looked cold and distant, unattainable, but what fell into his arms was clear
light and a spring breeze.

Ye Ci took a sip of porridge.

It was his favorite seafood porridge, but he couldn’t taste it.

He was thinking about his Huo-shushu. His heart clenched, his ears were
burning hot, and he thought about everything that had happened the past
two months, but he couldn’t understand why he was dwelling on it.

It was the first awakening of romance.

Love without knowing.

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Twenty-Two

Ye Ci wanted to talk to someone.

If he kept thinking like this all day, let alone not being able to study, he
would go crazy.

Originally, he would have had a chat with Ye Hongjun. The mother and son
depended on each other for survival, and could trust each other more than
the usual parent-child relationship, but this was the only thing he couldn’t
tell Ye Hongjun.

She didn’t even know about the marriage connecting the Chu and Huo
families.

Since she fell ill, Ye Ci had always reported good news to her instead of the
bad.

Being arranged by Chu Wenlin to marry an Alpha who was 12 years older
than him and whom he didn’t know before, no matter how he presented this
matter, he couldn’t erase the scummy smell of Chu Wenlin selling his son
for glory.

He was lucky to have met Huo-shushu.

What if he had been unlucky?

If Ye Hongjun knew about it, she would probably go crazy. Given her
current physical condition, it was hard to say whether she could bear it.
Moreover, it was difficult for him to explain the current situation without
causing Ye Hongjun to worry. After all, she knew how he always tried to
act brave. The more he hyped Huo-shushu up, the more afraid Ye Hongjun
might be.

So when he visited her last week, he lied and said that he was still living
with Chu Wenlin and everything was fine.

In addition to Ye Hongjun, he used to have some good friends when he

lived on the old street. Later, Ye Hongjun fell ill and he was so busy with
his part-time job that he became estranged from these people and his former
classmates.

Besides, even if he hadn’t distanced himself, he wouldn’t be able to talk to

them about this mess……

Ye Ci hurriedly finished his breakfast, went back to the room, and locked
the door. After thinking about it, he took out his phone and browsed around
for a while, and found an Omega support forum.

No one knew anyone online.

He wouldn’t be afraid of being embarrassed.

He registered a new account and opened a post. He didn’t know where to

start, so he vaguely said that he had agreed to marry an Alpha who was
much different in age, and picked out a few things about Huo Tinglan’s
daily dealings with him, talking about them briefly.

L1: Dude, make a public display of affection.

L2: He asked for help in the title, isn’t that bad advice?

......

L10: . . . . My heart is as cold as my knife.[1]

Yc: That’s not it.

Yc: I often think bad things.

Yc: About him.

33L: What do you mean by bad things? Spousal murder? Domestic

violence? Cheating? . . . .

Dozens of floors were built[1], and no one guessed correctly.

“. . . . . .”

Were netizens so obtuse?

Ye Ci hesitated for a moment, then quickly typed a few colorful words.

After sending it, he threw the phone away as if it was on fire. With a
blushing face, he felt for a cigarette, and after feeling around for a while, he
found that his stock was depleted. He was too good at smoking these days.

He sat on the edge of the bed for a while, then suddenly grabbed his phone.

83L: Taking the liberty to ask OP’s age.

84L: Can’t laugh anymore, I’m dead.

85L: No way, no way, no one these days can’t realize when they’re in love
with someone, right?

86L: Blindly guessing it’s an innocent male high school student, ha ha ha.

......

Yc: 18 years old.

Yc: I’m a high school student. I stayed back a year. What’s the problem?

Immediately below, there was a wave of “cute and pure male high school
student, hug gege/jiejie”. . . .

Ye Ci: “. . . . . .”
Ashamed, he reflexively felt for a cigarette again.

Yc: Is this a joke?

There was another round of hilarity and love below.

Ye Ci was completely taken aback, and accepted the bombardment with

honest confusion.

After a few rounds of laughter and amusement, someone finally answered

the question.

156L: Don’t you just like him? What’s wrong with thinking about someone
you like?

157L: Don’t be ashamed, you’re both adults. Don’t worry about it, there’s
not a problem, you’re normal.

......

Yc: He just takes care of me as my senior, I have the wrong idea.

177L: Alas . . . . the old man is suffering. Let me try the next paragraph – I
thought he took care of me because he liked me, but he actually treated me
like a child.

178L: Also, he’s your father’s friend and there’s a big age difference,
maybe the old man can’t express it out loud.

179L: What’s wrong with having feelings? Besides, who is it that you have
a crush on?

180L: Don’t you live together? Seduce him with pheromones!

......

Further down, the chaos descended and the more they said, the more
outrageous they were, until they were almost sprinting to board the train.
Ye Ci blushed, and dared not look again. He nervously closed the web page,
cleared his browsing history, and then fell back as if he had lost all his
strength, falling heavily on the bed.

The sun was bright all of a sudden, and he covered his face with his arms.
Under the sleeves of the lake-blue pajamas, a small area of hibiscus-pink
jaw was tense, as if he were gritting his teeth and stubbornly resisting. After
a while, the lines gradually loosened and softened.

So, he unconsciously . . . . liked Huo-shushu?

Since when?

He didn’t know, and still couldn’t figure it out up to now.

Like a pot of slowly heating water, he suddenly regained his senses and felt
it was hot, but couldn’t tell at what moment the temperature exceeded the
threshold.

Probably around . . . . hm.

Ye Ci turned over and hid his face in his arms.

Although he didn’t understand, he had learned that he liked someone.

He was done for.

......

Some things didn’t make sense, and once they were figured out, the crisis
would be impossible to control.

When a young man began to fall in love, it was as if a floodgate was

knocked open in his mind. It opened suddenly, but he lacked the experience
to control the flow. Waves rushed toward the sky, and everything was
washed away by that young and reckless love.

Originally, Ye Ci only made mistakes in taking care of himself. He was

always cautious and practical in his studies and work, but these two days, it
seemed that he had become a fool. Things were not going well. Whenever
others asked him questions, he answered without thinking, so absent-
minded that he couldn’t even keep up with the exercises. Going to school,
his body and mind headed out first, and Uncle He chased after him, calling
him with his schoolbag.

In the past two days, he had also redoubled his efforts to hide from Huo
Tinglan and resumed the style of staying aloof just like when he first came
to the Huo residence. The hazy admiration and longing had his heart in his
throat every second. He feared that his expression and the emotions in his
eyes would be revealed, and Huo-shushu would see into the thoughts of
love hidden within him. As a result, he felt doubly ashamed to show his
face.

After school on Wednesday, he returned to the Huo residence, said hello to

Uncle He, and slipped back to the bedroom to do his homework. He used to
go to the study to do his homework so that he could release pheromones in
the same room and help Huo Tinglan relieve the symptoms of the early
stages of susceptibility. But he wouldn’t have to do that again for the next
two or three months, and he was happy to avoid it.

He immersed himself in writing papers, and for the questions he didn’t

know, he went as far as the steps could take him. In the past few days, he
had accumulated a lot of questions, and he wanted to try his luck and wait
for the teacher to cover them in class.

Half of the homework was written, and the long summer day turned into
twilight. The white-hot summer air dissipated, and cool wind blew from the
window, but Ye Ci was hot and uneasy.

The scent of vanilla, like velvet soaked in honey, spread and grew.

It was far from familiar, but the two previous experiences were enough to
make Ye Ci realize that his pheromones were disordered again.

It was that kind of “mild, short-lived fever.”

Ye Ci tore off the barrier patch that had been in use for a long time and
quickly replaced it with a new one.

As if his head had been injected with glue, his thinking gradually became
muddled.

Ye Ci was lying on the study table, hiding his face in the darkness provided
by his arms.

The scene of the temporary marking a few days ago emerged from the
chaos, vivid and fragrant. Like an inexhaustible piece of sugar cane, juicy
and plump, he ate it again and again. It was sweet and moist, and he chewed
it with a kind of embarrassed shame.

On the one side, he was having unrealistic fantasies about his senior and
caregiver. On the other side was the unfamiliar inverted yin and yang love –
that urge belonged to an Omega, not an Alpha. His body could change very
quickly, but his spirit had not turned this sharp corner. What the body
desired was no longer to conquer, plunder, and occupy, but to add a “be” in
front of every word, completely transforming into the yielding, submissive
party . . . . he was afraid and embarrassed.

The tide of love was flowing, its offensive getting stronger, and his body
slid down like mud. He couldn’t stay sitting, staggered to the side of the
bed, and fell down.

He lay down and curled up, making his body appear small. This little one,
trembling pitifully, endured the throbbing alone.

He suspected that the hospital’s judgment was inaccurate. What about this
looked “slight?”

Hours had passed, and there was no sign of the tide ebbing.

Instead, the desire for Huo Tinglan’s pheromones intensified. The fluffy tips
emerged like spring grass, a gust of warm wind blew, and they rubbed
against each other, itching to the core . . . .
“Huff . . . . huff . . . .”

Ye Ci urgently pulled at his neckline. Due to a few threads of blood, his

black and white eyes were not so clear.

Maybe . . . .

An absurd thought popped into his mind.

He couldn’t let Huo-shushu know.

If you didn’t know something, it was almost like it never happened.

He was silent.

Once he had this bad idea, he couldn’t get rid of it.

After another ten minutes, Ye Ci got down from the messy bed and grabbed
the exercise booklet as an excuse of last resort.

Unless he didn’t have much business to take care of that day, Huo Tinglan
would most likely be working in the study at this time.

Ye Ci tiptoed to Huo Tinglan’s bedroom.

The door was open, and he peeked in. No one was there.

There was no one on either side of the corridor.

Ye Ci swallowed hard, stepped inside, and whispered to himself: “Huo-

shushu, are you, are you here?”

Of course, no one responded.

Ye Ci tightened his grip on the exercise book in his hand to gear himself up,
and took a few steps inward: “I have, have some questions that I can’t do . .
. .”
The chilly smell of tequila lingered in the bedroom. Ye Ci moved his small
nose and smelled it so comfortably that his breath even shivered.

It was comfortable to be in the room like this, but he couldn’t stay there
forever, in case Huo Tinglan went back to the room to get something or
change his clothes. It would be too easy to get caught.

Wait, change clothes . . . .

As if he had grasped something very important, he walked toward the

bathroom as if compelled by some kind of spirit.

Huo Tinglan paid attention to appearance and loved cleanliness. In summer,

he changed clothes frequently, often wearing one set in the morning and
another set in the afternoon, so he didn’t have time to clear away the clothes
he changed at noon.

They were all in the laundry basket.

The problem was, on top of the basket of laundry was an item . . . .

Pure black.

Bullet type. [3]

Inexplicably . . . . unassuming, yet intriguing.

Ye Ci glanced around from side to side in a daze. He turned his face away
suddenly, choked, and was so ashamed that he wanted to kill himself in the
bathtub on the spot to show his innocence.

He didn’t sneak in to see this!

By heaven and hell, he didn’t think about it!

Huo-shushu was also strange. He thought that if you sweat, you should
change your shirt, but why were underwear also changed twice a day?!
Ye Ci was so shocked that his palms began to sweat, and he didn’t dare to
think about getting a shirt anymore. As if he were running a drug ring, he
just wanted to get away from the area on the double. But as soon as he
turned around, something even more devastating happened.

[1] “My heart is as cold as my knife” is an internet term to used express

indifference, referring to a marketplace fish butcherer who has been killing
fish so long, he is no longer affected by it. ⮐

[2] “Floors” = comment threads, indicated by L1, L2, etc. ⮐

[3] Bullet type: A type of underwear that look like briefs, but tighter. 😉 ⮐

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Twenty-Three

– – There were clear footsteps in the hallway.

And they were getting closer.

Going straight to Huo Tinglan’s bedroom.

Ye Ci’s face turned white with horror. When his shock faded, he rushed out.

As a result, as soon as he stepped out, he ran into Huo Tinglan head-on. The
two looked at each other and saw one another clearly and distinctly, with no
room for salvaging the situation.

However . . . . the hallway was silent for only a second.

No, maybe not even a second.

Huo Tinglan looked calm, glanced at the exercise book in Ye Ci’s hand that
was on the verge of being crushed, and asked lightly: “Which question are
you having trouble with? Why didn’t you go to the study to find me?”

“. . . . . .” Ye Ci’s throat felt like it was filled with cement, and he hesitated.
Let alone saying nonsense, he couldn’t even squeeze out a single syllable.

But Huo Tinglan seemed to be asking casually. He didn’t give Ye Ci time to

answer and didn’t even look at his panic-stricken face. Instead, he went
straight to the bed and picked up a document from the bedside table that he
had been reading when he fell asleep last night, and said to him: “I have an
emergency meeting.” He looked down at his watch and confirmed the
meeting time. “I’ll try my best to be back before ten o’clock. If you don’t
know the questions, save them and I’ll go over them with you tonight . . . .
is that okay?”

Coming back from death’s door, Ye Ci regained his language ability and
nodded like he was pounding garlic: “O, okay!”

Huo Tinglan’s lips curved into a covert arc. He walked into the cloakroom,
took out a coat and put it on his forearm, and strode toward the stairs like he
was really in a hurry.

Ye Ci didn’t dare to linger any longer and quickly went back to the room,
clinging to the window and looking out.

In the distance, a black Maybach 62 slowly drove towards the gate of the
house.

– – Huo-shushu really went out.

The fever period was making his brain dull, otherwise Ye Ci would have
noticed that Huo Tinglan’s “consideration” was familiar.

Seeing through everything, but staying silent. Just lightly prodding from the
side to provide guidance. It was completely in accordance with Huo
Tinglan’s consistent style.

The miserably suffering brain that was hijacked by the Omega glands
desperately craved Huo Tinglan’s pheromones. Ye Ci had never been in
Huo Tinglan’s bedroom until he went there and tasted how sweet and
comfortable it was to be soothed by an adoring Alpha during the fever
period. That greed and thirst were twice as difficult to contain, and his body
temperature continued to rise.

It would be fine if he didn’t touch what he shouldn’t touch.

For a while, nothing moved in the house.

Huo-shushu wouldn’t return home until ten o’clock.

There was even time to open the windows and ventilate the “evidence” of
the smell.

What was he afraid of?

The brain dominated by love instigated him every minute and every second,
without end.

When he regained his senses, he had already returned to Huo Tinglan’s

room as if sleepwalking.

Their pheromones were so compatible. The burning glands were soothed,

and just like dipping burnt skin into ice water, Ye Ci was immersed in a
kind of extreme comfort that made his muscles and bones go soft.

The object with the most residual pheromones, aside from the laundry
basket in the bathroom, was the big bed in the center of the room. He was
like a cub attracted by bait. He knew he shouldn’t go, but his stomach was
empty. Hungry and thirsty, sniffing the fragrance and anxiously going in
circles, round and round, he couldn’t overcome his instincts in the end and
looked for an excuse to draw near . . . .

Just a sniff.

He wouldn’t touch.

Huo Tinglan’s bedsheets and quilt cover were an identical graphite color
made of satin material, cool and soft, overflowing with a silk-like brilliance.
Ye Ci had never seen anyone use a four-piece bed set like this . . . . he
couldn’t describe it, and only felt that just looking at it could make people
blush.

He stood beside the bed with a dense fog in his eyes, sniffing greedily.

He couldn’t get enough.

It was so strange.

Wave after wave, his hot blood surged.

When the good child did a bad thing, at first, fear and dread interweaved.
But then, a secret and novel excitement quickly fermented, awakening a
part of the green youth that overlapped with his Omega attributes . . . . his
qi and blood flourished, restless and reckless. These things had been lying
dormant inside him all along.

His fingertips rebelled, casually stroking the silky graphite-colored satin

soaked in Alpha pheromones.

It was like licking a dark pool of water with the tip of his tongue.

Sweet and tempting.

Ye Ci’s face and ears were red, his eyes blank and unfocused. It was
difficult to control his throbbing heart, which was like a bad boy coaxing a
little lover to taste the forbidden fruit for the first time. He pricked up his
ears to catch the subtle noises outside the window and the hallway, and kept
glancing at the gap in the door – the soundproofing in Huo Tinglan’s
bedroom was very good. He didn’t dare to lock the door, for fear that he
wouldn’t be able to hear noises from the hallway, or that a servant would
suddenly break in and stumble upon his dirty desires.

Confirming that no one would break in, Ye Ci cautiously lay on his

stomach, resting his head on the side of Huo Tinglan’s pillow.

At first, he tried to hold his bottom line.

He maintained his restraint and tried not to take up space. His thin body was
neatly tucked into a line along the bed, so that he would fall off if he turned
over. He breathed in small sips, as if he were sipping strong wine, but also
as if he would be charged by the millileter for the air he breathed in this
room.

But gradually, this sort of contact was no longer satisfying. He moved

towards the middle impatiently, and no longer lay rigidly like a corpse at a
funeral.
After some time, he began to rub his hot face against Huo Tinglan’s pillow.
His thin lips were open, greedily taking in the pheromones in the air with
his mouth and nose. The soft little red tip of his tongue could be seen
between his teeth. He was addicted and drunk. Like a little cat that fell into
a pile of catnip, he didn’t know what it meant to stop, just wanting to build
a nest with catnip and live there forever.

“Huo-shushu . . . .” In a trance, he sat up and rolled up Huo Tinglan’s quilt,

folded it like a nest, and piled it high with the quilt under his legs and his
face buried in it. The “only ten minutes” that he had thought about before
he came in had long been ejected into the atmosphere. He couldn’t
remember how many “ten minutes” he had lingered on Huo-shushu’s bed.
He had long forgotten to be alert to the sound of vehicles outside the
window, and his ears were full of his frantic, clumsy heartbeat and hoarse
murmurs of, “Huo-shushu . . . .”

At this moment, the sound of footsteps came in through the crack in the
door, neither light nor heavy.

The delirious Ye Ci caught this signal.

The moonlight spilling into the room suddenly became brighter, not like
moonlight . . . .

The scent of tequila became fragrant . . . .

These signs were very weak, and he was still in a daze, but his instinctual
vigilance rose from the chaos, breaking through the surface of the water . . .
.

Ye Ci raised his eyes, took a breath of cold air, kicked the quilt away
suddenly, and bounced up in a single movement.

The bedroom door opened at an angle.

Huo Tinglan stood backlit at the doorway and looked at him quietly.

He woke from his trance.

But it was too late.

He was caught in the act.

“Huo . . . . . .”

Ye Ci’s cheeks lost color. His eyes trembled slightly, staring in disbelief, as
terrified as a criminal caught in the net or a startled wild goose.

Why did he come back this soon?

Was it ten o’clock?

No, that was wrong . . . .

How long had he been there?!

What time was it now?!

To avoid being noticed, Ye Ci hadn’t dared to turn on the lights. It was pitch
dark, and the dim room was gently soaked in the warm light from the wall
lamps in the hallway.

Huo Tinglan was afraid to startle him again, so he didn’t turn on the light.
His sharp figure gradually approached in the haze, and he opened his
mouth, as always, with a gentle and apologetic tone: “Sorry, did I scare
you?”

With Ye Ci’s current state of mind, it was obviously difficult for him to
notice the uncontrolled trembling at the tail end of his words.

It was agreed that he would be back at ten o’clock and it was now 10:01.
Right on time. He couldn’t be called a cheater.

He had been thinking for the past few days that Ye Ci was concealing the
situation from him, but he couldn’t be sure. After all, Ye Ci evaded him too
well.
However, when he ran into him in the hallway tonight, he basically
confirmed it with one glance.

He’d wanted to take the opportunity to grab a few clues and use them to
scratch Ye Ci’s soft, ticklish flesh, to tease him, to play with him. To let him
explain why he wanted to go into his room when no one was there, touching
his clothes and sleeping in his bed. To force that tightly closed little clam
shell to sip some water, and then slowly pry it open.

Unexpectedly . . . .

He simply caught him.

With his eyesight, he could clearly see from the door that captivating,
charming and gentle picture.

At this moment, he could still hold back the wicked fire due to having
endured the past two months, accustomed to playing the role of a good
person.

“I, I wasn’t. So, sorry, Huo-shushu, I’m, I’m not . . . .” Ye Ci returned from
the dead, wanting to prevaricate, but the joints of his mouth were rusted and
hard, and couldn’t be opened.

He wanted to slip away.

But before his toes touched the ground, that cool tequila fragrance
approached and the mattress sank as Huo Tinglan knelt on one knee on the
edge of the bed, cutting off his path.

Ye Ci shrank back and fell onto the stack of quilts, and the blood gradually
poured back into his face.

He could no longer run, dizzy with shame, and the secret excitement of
stealing the forbidden fruit had already been swept away. He was
remorseful, and stammered an apology: “I’m really, really sorry, Huo-
shushu . . . . I, today I’m especially, especially uncomfortable. Sorry, I also
don’t, don’t know what’s wrong with me, it’s like, like . . . .”
Intense self-loathing and tremendous shame made his voice ripple on the
verge of a sob.

He was the very picture of speechlessness.

That word was so shameful.

In front of Huo Tinglan, he couldn’t speak, couldn’t make it come out.

He was finished.

Ye Ci’s slender chest rose and fell rapidly, accompanied by a small and
helpless sob.

He didn’t even remember how old he was the last time he cried in front of
someone.

Disgraceful. He wiped his face with his arm a few times, gritting his teeth
to stifle it.

Suddenly, an arm hugged him firmly and tugged him into an embrace,
while the other pulled over the thin quilt he had stacked into a mountain,
shook it out, and wrapped up his tense, icy limbs as if spinning a silk
chrysalis around a tiny butterfly.

The slight pressure and heat all over made Ye Ci temporarily return to the
present like a soul that had strayed from his body.

“Don’t cry.” Huo Tinglan was reclining on the bed, hugging him. His
posture was very possessive, as if he wanted to completely encircle Ye Ci.
He took out his handkerchief and carefully brushed the corners of Ye Ci’s
eyes, which were scratched red by the sleeves of his pajamas. He softened
his voice to help that soft, clumsy little tongue explain: “It’s close to your
fever period, and you’re very uncomfortable. You can’t use the inhibitors,
so you had no choice but to come to my room and lie down for a while……
right?”

Ye Ci sniffed and nodded lightly as he was coaxed, but felt aggrieved as

another round of tears welled up but didn’t fall.
“That’s a very legitimate need, why didn’t you tell me?” Huo Tinglan
slowly tightened the arm that hugged Ye Ci’s shoulders, asking gently and
knowingly: “You’ve been avoiding me these days…….do you hate Huo-
shushu?”

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Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Twenty-Four

Ye Ci lowered his eyes, shook his head which was exposed outside of the
quilt, and said quietly, “No, I don’t hate . . . .”

He couldn’t lie.

When he shook his head, his cheek brushed against the prominent muscles
of Huo Tinglan’s chest.

The texture was firm and tough, and the shirt material was smooth.

He felt like he had taken advantage. His eyes flickered, and his face was
ridiculously red.

“You don’t hate him.” Huo Tinglan’s eyes were dark. Relying on the
dimness, he stared presumptuously at those two soft, moist lips, flirting and
asking in a low voice: “Do you like him?”

Like Huo-shushu – –

The entanglement of the past few days was suddenly revealed.

A pile of dirty desire not fit to be seen was pulled to the bright side and
illuminated by the sun. Ye Ci reacted as if he had been stabbed, his eyes
widening in astonishment. He couldn’t hold those tears back, and they were
about to fall.

He couldn’t bear to look directly at his urge to succumb to the stronger,

more mature man, and dared not admit it.
Especially after just making that scene . . . .

Just now, he had almost reverted to his appearance from when he was in a
state of delusion – this was clearly the face of a young man, with distinct
and heroic contours, but due to the Omega pheromones, he showed a
delicate, supple, and blushing look at the corners of his eyes. He hugged
Huo Tinglan’s quilt, appearing clingy, confused, and unbearable to look at.
He had turned into an Omega, but he was still a boy after all, so he
shouldn’t be like this. He was so weird, and . . . .

So awful.

All of this was seen by Huo Tinglan.

He was extremely out of sorts, but Huo Tinglan, who was imprisoning him,
was dressed neatly. His shirt was crisply ironed and washed snow white,
and the slender silver collar pin was decorated with a small jadeite leaf.
This close, he could smell the clean fragrance of his aftershave under the
pheromones . . . .

The contrast was great. Ye Ci became increasingly afraid to answer, and

pulled out his forearm from the quilt, covering his face as if it was
something dirty. His body was shaking with shame and inferiority.

“Xiao Ci?” Huo Tinglan grasped Ye Ci’s wrist to pull it aside, wanting to
see his face clearly. He held back his strength at first, but when he saw his
stubbornness, he brazenly pried it open and pinned the arm back on the
pillow.

Ye Ci’s face was exposed, and the tips of his eyes, his cheekbones, and the
sides of his face were all wet and bright red. His eyes were shut as if he
didn’t dare to look at anyone, and he had closed them so hard that a few
tears squeezed out of the lovely fine folds at the ends of his eyes.

He only asked if he liked him or not, and he cried.

“You don’t like him,” Huo Tinglan answered for him.

“. . . .No, I don’t . . . . don’t dislike him.” It was as tiny and fragile as a gnat,
almost inaudible.

“Then you like him,” Huo Tinglan answered for him again.

Like him?

Ye Ci couldn’t make a sound, and his thoughts were chaotic and confused.

The things he couldn’t figure out in his heart were too hard to stammer.

He clenched his hand until his fingertips went numb, then opened his eyes
and looked at Huo Tinglan as if asking for help.

He seemed to be counting on Huo Tinglan’s keen insight, hoping that he

could see through his sick heart and diagnose and treat him.

Unknown to him, that helpless and aggrieved look, overflowing with light,
was saying “yes” to Huo Tinglan.

He couldn’t say it.

Huo Tinglan understood.

His chest was abruptly set on fire by this look, and his heart burned hot and
painful. As if a switch had been pressed, Huo Tinglan suddenly rolled over,
holding Ye Ci’s weakly writhing wrist with one hand. With the other, he
drew up Ye Ci’s jaw and kissed his tear-soaked face.

Ye Ci was stunned. He drew back slightly with a hum, but his chin was
grasped and there was a pillow behind his head. There was no place to
shrink away, and he could only be pressed down by Huo Tinglan and kissed
again.

His soft face, smooth forehead, black eyebrows . . . . those kisses

deliberately avoided Ye Ci’s lips, clearly passionate and full of turmoil, but
containing unexpected caution and restraint. Huo Tinglan’s shoulders
arched slightly, his solid and fierce muscles tense and quivering under his
forcible control, like a gentle beast. Ye Ci was numb and softened by the
kisses, but also panicked and frightened,

Like or not like?

......

He didn’t know. His chest was folded in half and all he knew was that his
heart was about to break free, to jump into Huo Tinglan’s arms like a rabbit.

“Huo-shushu . . . . don’t, don’t . . . .” Ye Ci shuddered and begged for

mercy.

As if awakened, Huo Tinglan sat up abruptly and let go of Ye Ci.

He controlled the violent ups and downs of his chest, adjusted his heavy
breathing, and stroked the scattered hair back from his forehead.

“. . . . I apologize.”

He lowered his eyes and straightened his crooked tie, hiding his aggressive,
tiger-like gaze.

He had made a rare gaffe.

The heat of Huo Tinglan’s lips still remained on Ye Ci’s cheeks.

Ye Ci seemed to be in a magnificent and absurd dream, staring at him

blankly, his eyes vacant.

“I’m not forcing you to respond to me . . . . but I think I need to explain to

you what I just did.” Huo Tinglan closed his eyes, and when he looked up
again, he had returned to his usual mild and elegant appearance. He
pondered, considering his words as usual in order to make them tactful and
appropriate. But after a moment of silence, he smiled in defeat, only tossing
out one sentence softly and solemnly: “Xiao Ci, I like you.”

Ye Ci’s eyes trembled fiercely, and he even held his breath.

After giving Ye Ci a few seconds to buffer, Huo Tinglan explained slowly:
“After agreeing to marry you, I thought we were too different in age and
wanted to be a good ‘shushu’ for you, take care of you and watch you grow
up, but . . . .” Huo Tinglan laughed lightly at his age, his own frivolity, and
the yearning that did not match his years. “I’m 30 years old, but I was just
like you in this respect, a blank sheet of paper. So . . . . I didn’t know what
was going on, but once I realized, I couldn’t help but think of you every
day.” He sighed helplessly. “I was afraid of frightening you and didn’t dare
let you know. If it hadn’t been for this situation today, I might never have
said anything. I’m afraid you’ll think I’m very wicked and took care of you
with impure motives . . . .”

Huo-shushu . . . . liked him?

Not only didn’t dislike him, but also liked him.

Ye Ci stirred uneasily, and white steam nearly poured from the top of his
head because of this series of confessions. He had really never forgotten
when he first called him Huo-shushu. Grabbing the key points, he retorted:
“I, I don’t think you’re wicked.”

“. . . . What about just now?” Huo Tinglan hit the snake with the stick,[1] but
he said with a sincere expression of guilt, “I couldn’t help kissing your face
just now, without asking for your consent. I’m sorry I offended you, I won’t
do it next time.”

“I, I’m not offended, I . . . .” Ye Ci spoke to Huo Tinglan wholeheartedly,

but halfway through, he suddenly felt something was wrong. He closed his
mouth abruptly and almost bit his tongue.

It offended him, so he wouldn’t do it next time.

If it wasn’t offensive . . . .

There was still a next time?!

“What were you just about to say?” Huo Tinglan looked at him with a
gentle and mischievous expression.
“. . . . . .”

Ye Ci pursed his lips silently, and there was a little bit of confusion and
struggle in his eyes.

Huo-shushu . . . . was he a person who would set this kind of trap for
people?

He was 80% sure he was thinking too much.

But whether Huo Tinglan was such a person or not, this little interlude
made Ye Ci’s mood a little less devastated.

Embarrassment and terror at being caught, tears of shame and anxiety . . . .

it was all gradually fading from his face.

“I’ve said all I can say.” Huo Tinglan gently scratched the clumsy little
tongue in the clam shell with his words, calm and unruffled in the midst of
chaos, and tried his luck at digging out a few pearls: “Is there anything you
want to say to me?”

Ye Ci nodded, hesitated, and then shook his head again, his fingertips
clenched white.

Huo Tinglan speculated on Ye Ci’s thoughts. After five years of marriage,

he knew him too well. Linking Ye Ci’s various expressions and reactions
tonight, he could make a close guess.

His guess was perhaps even clearer than what Ye Ci figured out for himself.

“You haven’t figured out what to say to me yet?” Huo Tinglan asked
warmly. “Afraid that the pheromone changes during the marking period will
affect your judgment?”

After a temporary marking, it was indeed easy for Alphas and Omegas to
have a mirror-like yearning for each other due to the fluctuation of hormone
levels, and various dramas such as “friends with benefits become true
lovers” could occur. But when the temporary mark faded, the skin-deep
feeling of pure physical attraction also faded immediately.
But in fact, Huo Tinglan could see that Ye Ci was not like this toward him.

Moreover, spirit and flesh, sex and love, were not separated from each
other.

But there was a generation gap between the teenager and him. Perhaps in
Ye Ci’s view, feelings mixed with too much desire may not necessarily be
real feelings. Ye Ci had a temporary fever at the moment, and during the
fever period, the physiological needs for affection and comfort from an
Alpha were a tangled mess. Based on Ye Ci’s experience, of course it was
all ceaseless chaos.

“. . . . En.”

Ye Ci found it difficult to speak about, and nodded slightly.

Sure enough.

He had guessed right.

If he could, Huo Tinglan didn’t want to wait even a second.

But that would be no good.

Besides . . . .

He really hadn’t expected Ye Ci to care so much about the secondary

differentiation of his glands when he was 18 years old.

The current Ye Ci clearly lacked a sense of identity with the Omega gender.
The Omega fever period made him ashamed, and correspondingly, it was
naturally equally difficult to accept the fact that he “liked an Alpha.”

When asked, “Do you like Huo-shushu,” he suddenly cried and covered his
face with his arms, likely because his “secret and unbearable” thoughts
were spoken, and he was fearful and self-loathing . . . .

This problem needed to be solved.

He needed to guide Ye Ci to accept the fact that “Huo Tinglan was his
Alpha.”

“I understand your concerns.” Trying to fathom Ye Ci’s thoughts, Huo

Tinglan’s heart gradually softened into a mess. “We’ll have a good talk
when the marking period is over……okay?”

“O – okay, Huo-shushu.” Ye Ci gazed at him, his eyes bright.

The room was silent for a moment.

The sweet, intimate smell of vanilla had been frightened away for a while,
but now it became strong again.

“Your temporary fever . . . . isn’t over yet?” Huo Tinglan suddenly said with
concern.

Only then did Ye Ci realize that the greedy glands were still agitated.

“Want to resolve it quickly and go back to your own room?” Huo Tinglan
was simply tempting and testing his inexperienced little lover, trying to see
how far he had actually softened.

Ye Ci quickly glanced at him. Those eyes were not naive, and after a
moment of silence, he just blushed and whispered, “I want.”

Huo Tinglan lifted the corner of the quilt and reached in with one hand.

Ye Ci’s cold hands and feet hadn’t recovered yet from the fright of being
caught.

“Skin contact can efficiently transmit pheromones, that was in the

physiological knowledge book before, remember?” Huo Tinglan said in
earnest, and gently grabbed Ye Ci’s hand.

It was fair and ice-cold.

Like holding a ball of snow.

[1] 打蛇随棍上: ‘Hit the snake with the stick’ basically means to see an
opportunity and strive for greater benefits, or to exploit an opponent’s
flaws. ⮐

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Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Twenty-Five

His hands were so cold, and were sweating from nervousness. In contrast,
Huo Tinglan’s palm was as hot and dry as holding fire, making him fidget.

Relying on the low friction of the silk, Ye Ci slowly slid under the quilt to
lay flat. Half of his face was submerged, and the bridge of his nose peeked
over the quilt along with a pair of bright eyes.

He faintly guessed that those big hands contained evil intentions, but he
didn’t want to believe it and was reluctant to draw away, flustered and self-
deceiving.

Ye Ci was lying on his side, and in order not to make the position awkward,
Huo Tinglan also reclined halfway at the head of the bed, holding the wet
snow with both hands.

Ye Ci’s hands were very slender, the bones sharp and hard. It looked just
like a boy’s hand.

But perhaps it had been affected by the Omega hormones in the past few
months, because that skin was as tender as soft tofu, as smooth as satin, and
the five slender finger bones were like bamboo supports under a paper
umbrella, clearly distinct.

Huo Tinglan’s expression was honest, just wanting to warm him up. He
didn’t bend the rules even a little bit, letting the pheromones blend gently.

After a while, the hand in his palm softened, the muscles losing tension as
Ye Ci eased his guard.
Huo Tinglan then began to rub it in a calm and collected manner, slowly
kneading. First the back of the hand, the edge of the palm, and then he
rubbed Ye Ci’s ten cold, kitten-like finger pads in turn, helping to improve
circulation.

That technique was not improper, as if the only purpose was to warm him
and pass him pheromones.

But Ye Ci lowered his gaze, his eyelashes trembling, and didn’t dare to look
at him.

“Xiao Ci.” As if to distract his attention, Huo Tinglan suddenly spoke, “I

want to make a request of you. May I?”

“What?” Ye Ci raised his eyes. “Okay, you, you can say it.”

This student was so good.

Huo Tinglan pondered for a while, then said warmly: “I hope that when you
encounter trouble in the future, when you experience difficulties, you can
learn to take the initiative to tell me, to let me solve it for you and help you
find a way to handle it.” He soothed Ye Ci’s fragile self-esteem, “Seeking
help from the right person is smart. It doesn’t mean you’re incapable, and . .
. .” He gazed at him, his eyes tender but without pity, as if he were looking
at a young, wounded eagle. “You’re so young, and you’ve endured a lot
more than your peers, but you’re not overwhelmed. You’re a strong, brave
person, and that won’t change just because you need help sometimes……
understand?”

It was very common sense. If someone else said it, Ye Ci would turn a deaf
ear, but when it came out of Huo Tinglan’s mouth, he listened.

“I, I understand……Huo-shushu.” He nodded firmly.

At the same time, the graphite silk rippled delicately.

Five strong and steady fingers snuck between Ye Ci’s lightly sweating ones
without delay.
The lines of their palms overlapped.

Their ten fingers met.

Pheromones blended into the sweat and efficiently soothed Ye Ci’s feverish
glands.

These warm hands and the exchange of pheromones in such a way made Ye
Ci blush and his heart beat faster, and he struggled weakly for a moment.

“This matter tonight, you don’t have to let your imagination run wild when
you go back and feel embarrassed.” Huo Tinglan had considered this
carefully and thoroughly, afraid that the more Ye Ci thought about it, the
more ashamed he would become. “You’re my little gentleman who received
a marriage certificate. Half of this house is yours, let alone a bed. There is
no need to apologize to me. Besides . . . .” He smiled, with a candid but
poised look, “This bed has been laid in by you, and I like it very much.”

He shamelessly spoke nonsense in a gentleman’s tone. Ye Ci was at a loss,

and ignoring the fingers that were overlapping with his, he nodded
carelessly with a scattered mind. “En, I won’t, won’t dwell on it . . . .”

He was flirted with again without knowing it.

The central air conditioner in the Huo residence had a smart temperature
sensing system, which would automatically adjust the indoor temperature to
the range with the highest level of human comfort. The current level was
just right, but Huo Tinglan seemed to be cold, and had covered up with the
quilt at some point.

It may have been that his movements were so elegant and natural, but by
the time Ye Ci noticed, he was already lying under the quilt. The tips of
their noses were close together, separated by only a few centimeters. At first
glance, it seemed intimate and gentle, like a young couple leaning their
heads together to sleep.

Ye Ci’s ears were hot and he blinked frequently, not knowing where to look,
but he didn’t shrink back. Their warm breaths blended together in every
square inch of those ten centimeters.

The tip of his nose, his lips, and his cheeks were warm.

His hands were warm.

His heart was also warm.

Ye Ci’s face was getting redder.

The words were not thoroughly expressed, and they weren’t together, but he
was ignorant and shy, and let this person take advantage of him. He was
lying in bed with another person, and his hands were still red from being
“warmed up.”

Wasn’t this . . . .

Not, not quite right?

“You promise every time, and the next time you encounter something, you
just continue to be brave and don’t tell me . . . . this habit needs to be
changed.” Huo Tinglan’s black eyes were full of laughter, as if he was
teasing a cat with a string, using words to draw up Ye Ci’s mood. He was
being bad, but he had to find a secret outlet for the lust that was boiling like
magma. Otherwise, it would be difficult for him to let Ye Ci go back in one
piece. “So this time, I want to give you a task.”

“What, what task?” Before his shame value could reach a critical point, Ye
Ci’s attention was poked away again.

“Within a week, practice by asking me for one request.” Huo Tinglan

looked at him solemnly and said word by word: “Any request, anything
within my power.”

Ye Ci hesitated in a rare moment of not immediately agreeing.

Proactively asking people.

This skill had long been neglected.

A life of hardship had caused him to grow up prematurely, and during
young Ye Ci’s childhood, he knew that requests could not be made
indiscriminately. His mother was often in financial constraints and needed
to plan their life carefully, so his practice had always been to suppress his
desires and try not to make things difficult for his mother by asking for toys
and snacks. This was even more so as he grew up. He was a man, and he
should stand tall like a big tree and be his mother’s support. He should be
the one to solve the requests.

“I don’t, don’t seem to have anything . . . . to ask for.” Ye Ci tried to take

advantage of a loophole: “Then I’ll request that, that you go over the lecture
topic with me . . . .”

“That doesn’t count.” Huo Tinglan snorted when he saw the child’s
dissatisfaction. “I have the final say.”

In the end, Ye Ci still couldn’t out-talk Huo Tinglan, so he responded in a

daze. The temporary fever gradually subsided under the comfort of
pheromones, but when he climbed off Huo Tinglan’s bed, his legs were still
very weak. With his pajamas and hair also in disarray, he was like a small
balloon that had been inadvertently deflated by someone.

It was easy for ordinary people to ask for things.

He really couldn’t think of any special request. Considering the financial

resources of the Huo family, at least one expensive gift could be asked for.

But as it happened, Ye Ci was stumped. Apart from getting into a good

university, he really didn’t want anything. As for the biggest difficulty he
was facing right now . . . .

That was Ye Hongjun’s illness.

Birth, old age, sickness, and death were sometimes beyond human reach.

He didn’t even dare to think about it. Most of the time, he deliberately kept
this part of his brain in a state of numbness and sluggishness, without
thinking about what would happen if the only person in the world who
loved him left him. Otherwise, he would be trapped in panic and anxiety all
day long, making it difficult to go about daily life.

Saturday afternoon, the summer heat was white-hot. Ye Ci sat on a bench

under the shade of an acacia tree, smoking heavily.

Originally, he was tired of working on questions, so he went downstairs and

strolled through the garden for a while, stretching his muscles and bones.
But as he walked, he remembered what Huo-shushu asked him to request,
and thought about his mother’s illness along the way.

At this thought, his stomach was heavy, as if a block of lead had dropped
into it. He lit a cigarette, and the more he smoked, the more upset he
became, and the more upset he became, the more he wanted to smoke.

On the bench were the neatly arranged butts of his finished cigarettes,
inexplicably pleasing.

He intended to finish off this pack of cigarettes and throw them all away
together.

Ye Ci sat on the bench with his legs crossed, his elbows resting on his
knees, fiddling with his cell phone while holding a cigarette in one hand.

The patient group he added for Ye Hongjun was very lively at the moment,
and was full of news for a long time. Someone posted the registration
information for going to X country to participate in a clinical trial. Several
family members of the patient were discussing visa applications and round-
trip fares. Ye Ci frowned and looked at the information.

When Ye Hongjun first fell ill, he was very sensitive to this sort of news. In
the past two years, he had seen much of it, and had been disappointed many
times. He knew that the majority of them had no choice and would try
clinical trials with various unstable factors. If someone went and couldn’t
be cured, then never mind, but he feared that the patient’s constitution was
weak and couldn’t bear the constant ups and downs, or that an adverse
reaction would have the opposite effect. And the most terrible thing was not
knowing their authenticity or reliability. Some people in the patient group
relied on this to make money, claiming that they had channels to send
patients to participate in any kind of experiment. They would hype them up
and then charge large registration fees to do nothing, and the patient would
wait until death for that Schrodinger’s place . . . .

Ye Ci thought of that “request” again.

Perhaps Huo-shushu would have a way? He could have channels Ye Ci

didn’t know about, or at least help him find out where new treatments
would be more promising . . . .

His heart gave a sudden and violent leap.

Ye Ci was in a daze. He brought the half-finished cigarette between his

fingers to his lips, but halfway there, his fingers were suddenly empty.

“ ! “ Startled, Ye Ci raised his eyes and saw that Huo Tinglan had come to
stand beside him at some point, holding the half cigarette between his
thumb and forefinger and looking at him with raised eyebrows.

“Huo, Huo-shushu!” Ye Ci jumped up from the bench and frantically

tugged at the hem of his clothes. “You, when did you come back?”

He remembered that Huo Tinglan was not at home when he went

downstairs for a walk.

Huo Tinglan didn’t answer, lowered his eyes to look at the seven well-
behaved cigarette butts sitting in a row, and glanced at Ye Ci cooly: “Your
smoking addiction is not small.”

“I’m not addicted, just –” Ye Ci’s voice gradually lowered. “I just smoke for
fun.”

“Is smoking fun?” Huo Tinglan asked leisurely. As if to verify Ye Ci’s

statement, he bowed his head modestly and took a puff from the half
cigarette.

The filter was still slightly damp.

“I smoked, smoked it already . . . . y-you won’t like it . . . .”

Ye Ci seemed to have been scorched by fire, and looked helplessly at Huo-

shushu smoking the cigarette he had already smoked, red from his forehead
to his neck.

– – It was indeed fun.

The tobacco was cheap. Huo Tinglan was choked, coughed lightly, and
almost couldn’t keep the corners of his lips from curving.

“I don’t mind.” Huo Tinglan calmly shook the cigarette in his hand. “The
next time I catch you……”

“There won’t, won’t be a next time!” Ye Ci shook his head and waved his
hand, wishing he could grow a tail and wag it too.

Huo Tinglan opened his palm towards Ye Ci: “Anything else?”

Ye Ci’s face was red, and he very politely handed over the remaining half
pack of cigarettes and the lighter.

The cigarette carton had been kept in Ye Ci’s pocket for two days, and was
wrinkled from being squeezed and fiddled with.

Huo Tinglan nodded slightly and turned to leave.

Ye Ci was frozen in place.

He didn’t see it clearly.

But after Huo-shushu turned around just now, didn’t he . . . .

Bow his head and sniff at that cigarette carton a little bit?

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Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Twenty-Six

Ye Ci really wasn’t addicted to smoking.

He usually smoked less, but these days were just full of worries, many and
complicated, so he couldn’t help but rely on nicotine to soothe his nerves.

Just as soon as the signs of addiction appeared, Huo Tinglan snuffed it out.

Ye Ci couldn’t hide his anxiety as soon as he approached the sanitorium.

When passing a convenience store, he wanted the driver to stop and let him
buy a pack of cigarettes, but the words wouldn’t come out and he
reflexively remembered that scene. Huo Tinglan’s thin lips covering the
moist and slightly deflated filter, white smoke passing over dark eyebrows .
...

His tone and demeanor were both calm, indeed the attitude of correcting a
disobedient child.

Besides . . . . it was just a puff from half a cigarette.

“The next time I catch you . . . .”

If he was caught again . . . . what would happen?

Would he continue to grab half his cigarettes and smoke them by himself?!

Whatever state of mind he was in, maybe out of curiosity, Ye Ci suddenly

regretted interrupting Huo Tinglan’s words.

Of course, he didn’t have the guts to try his hand at it.

He was honest by nature, and once he promised there would “be no next
time,” he was too ashamed to buy cigarettes secretly after struggling with
himself over it for a while. The car was already parked in the sanatorium
parking lot.

Twice a week, Saturday and Sunday afternoon or evening, Huo Tinglan

would send a driver to take him to the sanatorium to see his mother, and Ye
Ci would decide the specific time.

Ye Ci didn’t tell him clearly, but Huo Tinglan probably knew Ye Ci’s fear
that this marriage would upset his sick mother, and never asked to
accompany him to visit as Mr. Ye Ci.

The third floor was the senior ward area, which had always been quiet in
the past, but today, as soon as the elevator doors opened, a scene of chaos
entered Ye Ci’s eyes.

A patient on this floor had passed away.

A gurney was parked in the corridor, and the blanket outlined the shape of a
person. Shriveled by disease, they looked lonely and helpless. Their face
was covered in white cloth. They were no longer alive.

Several family members were sobbing. There was a big Alpha guy as strong
as a brown bear kneeling before the gurney that was comically small next to
him, crying like a sad child.

“Mom – –”

He didn’t have a mother anymore.

The setting sun smeared across the white cloth covering the body.

So red. So desolate.

Ye Ci turned his face away, his heart sinking into his stomach. He hurriedly
walked into Ye Hongjun’s ward and locked the door, isolating that desolate
redness and death outside the door.
Fortunately, Ye Hongjun didn’t wake up.

She didn’t hear the activity in the hallway.

Ye Ci didn’t know if he was imagining things, but Ye Hongjun seemed to be

a little thinner than last week. Her cheekbones were like two shallow reefs
that emerged after the fat and flesh ebbed away, propping up her pale skin
sharply.

When he was recognized by the Chu family, Ye Ci had made many requests
to Chu Wenlin. He used Chu Wenlin’s money to take Ye Hongjun to several
top hospitals in first-tier cities, and also invited experts in the industry who
were hard to find. The expensive imported injections had also been pursued,
and various confirmed and reliable treatments had been tried.

But Ye Hongjun’s time awake seemed to be getting shorter and shorter.

Ye Ci took out the half-dead dianthus in the vase and inserted a few fresh
carnations.

The fingertips holding the stalks trembled with fear from the scene in the
corridor.

Tonight when he went back . . . . he must ask Huo-shushu.

In case he happened to have another way.

They had only known each other for two months, but Huo Tinglan seemed
to be the terminator of all bad luck in his life and the beginning of all good
luck, like a kind of destiny.

So with his mother seriously ill, was it possible that the greatest bad luck in
his life could be reversed by Huo Tinglan?

Ye Ci made up his mind and didn’t dare to let himself think too far ahead,
lest he be disappointed. He threw the dianthus flower in his hand into the
trash can. Sitting on the edge of the bed and firmly grasping Ye Hongjun’s
weak hand, he called softly, “Mom……”
For a boy of his age, it was rare to call out “mom.” He was not too
embarrassed to call her that, but it was usually more comfortable to say
“mother.”

But in some fragile moments, the title “mom” allowed him to draw warm
and practical strength.

“You must, must . . . . be okay.” With a long sigh, he rested his head on Ye
Hongjun’s leg.

After a moment of silence, he chatted about his recent life, omitting some
details and picking out what he could say.

He didn’t know how long he had been talking, but he’d said all he could
say.

“Mom.” Ye Ci rubbed his red eyelids. He buried his face in the quilt,
hesitated, and muttered softly, “I seem to, to have . . . . someone I like.”

“I haven’t, haven’t told him, some, some things are still . . . . not clear.” He
pursed his lower lip. “This, this is such a big deal. I have to take, take
responsibility for others, just in case it’s . . . . a temporary impulse.”

With Huo Tinglan’s age, he couldn’t afford to delay.

But he didn’t dare to say that.

Ye Hongjun slept quietly.

“Later, if there is a chance . . . . I want you to meet him.” Ye Honjun

couldn’ actually hear him. Ye Ci still fought against the void, his body
covered in hot sweat and his face all red. “If you can’t speak, that is your
answer. You promised to wait and see him.”

......

It was already dark when Ye Ci returned home after visiting Ye Hongjun.

Along the way, he thought about how to bring this up to Huo Tinglan, and
made several drafts.

It wasn’t that he was afraid of being rejected if he didn’t phrase it well – if

he opened his big mouth and Huo Tinglan agreed, it would inevitably
involve money and energy. How could these accounts be repaid? He had no
ideas for the time being, but he couldn’t think about that. After all, he didn’t
want to take the other party’s contribution for granted just because Huo
Tinlan said he liked him.

Ye Ci got out of the car and walked to the door of the Huo residence,
mulling things over in his mind. Distracted, he walked through the entrance
without looking up, and almost ran straight into Huo Tinlgan’s arms.

The man had received the driver’s report in advance and met him at the
door.

“Don’t move.” Wearing an expensive white shirt, Huo Tinglan closed the
door and squeezed Ye Ci into the gap between the door and the entryway.
To his back was the door panel, and at his front was Huo Tinglan with both
hands in his pockets. His face was stern, and the corners of his lips were
straight, but there was a faint smile in his eyes. “This is a surprise
inspection.”

“What……are you checking for?” Ye Ci was taken aback, and

subconsciously straightened his posture.

Huo Tinglan gave a slight tilt of his head and leaned over gracefully.

The straight, handsome bridge of his nose drew close.

Whereupon he promptly sniffed Ye Ci’s suddenly closed lips.

He could see how soft they were without touching them, closed up like
crumpled petals.

“You didn’t smoke?”

Thinking that Huo Tinglan was going to kiss him on the mouth, Ye Ci’s
whole body froze. His heart beat hard, and it took him a few seconds to
realize what he had just heard. His face was as red as a ripe fruit, and he
was so embarrassed that he drooped his head desperately, but he hadn’t
forgotten to answer in a low voice: “I didn’t smoke, I, I promised I wouldn’t
smoke anymore…..”

He was an honest kid.

In fact, Huo Tinglan had known without asking.

Ye Ci had been like this in his previous life. He was honest of character,
taciturn and quiet. When he said something, it counted.

“Not bad.” Huo Tinglan gave his approval and made way for him. Without
waiting for him to think about it, he asked with concern, “You went to see
your mother this afternoon?”

Ye Ci sat down on the shoe changing stool and changed into slippers with
light movements: “En…..”

“How is she doing lately?” Huo Tinglan was intending to chat with Ye Ci
about his mother, and led the topic in this direction.

When Ye Hongjun was mentioned, the scene in the corridor that afternoon
suddenly came to mind. Ye Ci clenched his hands fiercely, and without
giving himself time to hesitate, he blurted out: “Huo-shushu, you said a few
days ago that I……should take the initiative to ask you, to make a
request……I’ll ask it now, okay?”

“Of course.” Huo Tinglan softened his voice. “You can say it.”

“Can you, can you help me……help, help my mother?” Ye Ci’s chest
heaved violently. It was not as difficult as he imagined to open his mouth to
Huo Tinglan. There was no sharp pain of injured self-esteem. On the
contrary, the moment he said those words, he actually experienced an
unprecedented lightness and fatigue.
The long-closed area of his mind was broken open, and the pressure that
had already swelled to its limits rushed out. Some hard and deformed thing
quickly collapsed, became soft, and returned to its original appearance.
With reckless and joyful disregard, Ye Ci poured out all the words he held
inside, for fear that if he didn’t say them now, he would become unable to
say them again: “I took her to, to all the big hospitals I could, and tried all
kinds of treatment plans. I, I really don’t know what else to do, I feel like
she, she might not make it this year. I think about it and I’m afraid……I’m
really afraid, Huo-shushu…..”

When speaking of the latter, his already worrying language ability

completely collapsed, and Ye Ci was so out of sorts that he didn’t know
what he was talking about. The floodgates were opened wide and the bitter
water poured out, unstoppable.

He spoke of these few long years, the bitter hardships on the road to seek
medical treatment, the exhaustion and suffering of working multiple jobs a
day in order to raise money for medical expenses, and the disappointment
and despair of failed test results again and again, the hard and cold benches
in the hospital corridor, the meager steamed buns under a hot pot lid, the
empty desk in the classroom that once belonged to him……so much
heartache and grievance that he was used to holding back firmly, never
daring to pour it out. Otherwise once his energy was drained and he was
deflated and soft, who would support him?

Finally, he could talk. He could let himself talk.

He didn’t know how long he spoke and stammered, but his mouth was tired
and his face was sore. Huo Tinglan was next to him, and in order to avoid
interrupting, he had squeezed side by side with him on the shoe-changing
bench in the entryway. He listened quietly, occasionally making a sound to
show that he was still listening carefully, and wrapped his solid arms around
Ye Ci to rub his back, as gentle and patient as if he were coaxing a child.

With his emotions completely vented, Ye Ci only felt that his head was
empty and numb.
He had never unreservedly confided these things to anyone in his life. Once
the impulse had passed, he became embarrassed and slowly moved his little
head away from Huo Tinglan’s shoulder, trying in vain to cover it up by
wiping the wet patch on Huo Tinglan’s white shirt with his sleeve.

Huo Tinglan raised his hand and rubbed his soft, messy black hair. After a
long silence, he said softly, “No problem.”

“……Hm?” Ye Ci sniffed his stuffy nose, still not responsive yet.

“Your request.” Huo Tinglan patted his shoulder and stood up. “I originally
planned to find time to tell you in the next couple of days……come with
me.”

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Twenty-Seven

Ye Ci followed Huo Tinglan to another study on the west side of the third
floor.

He had never been to this room before. It seemed that it was used to store
more important things. The floor was smooth cedarwood, the carpet soft
and plush, and there was a genuine leather safe as tall as a person, dark blue
and inlaid with gold, solid and heavy.

There were several flat drawers in the safe, filled with categorized
documents relating to things such as real estate and stocks, and the one at
the top was reserved for Ye Ci.

There was a thick stack of old certificates with smooth corners and finished
coating: “Three-good Award,”[1] “Certificate of Honor,” “Letter of Good
News,” in festive bronze and red. They lay peacefully together in the
expensive black walnut drawer alongside two big albums and the parenting
diary handwritten by Ye Hongjun, exuding the atmosphere of “My whole
life is worth something…..”

“……Why, why is all of this in the safe?”

There was actually a “Model of Good Health” that Ye Ci received when he

was in the first grade of elementary school.

Ye Ci was so embarrassed that his legs were weak, and he almost knelt
down to Huo Tinglan.
The old boxes he brought in were all packed up by Uncle He, and he had
always thought they were just piled into a storage room. During this period
of time, he had been studying so much that he didn’t even think about
it……

“Why?” Huo Tinglan hooked his lips. Taking out a folder, he concealed his
teasing and asked calmly, “The purpose of a safe is to hold important items.
Aren’t these items important to you?”

“Yes, they’re, they’re important.” Ye Ci was at a loss for words.

But they were not valuable, not worthwhile. This……

“So.” Huo Tinglan gave a smile, admiring the blue smoke sizzling from the
child’s head, “What’s wrong?”

Ye Ci: “………”

Seeing that Ye Ci was silent, Huo Tinglan opened the folder and got down
to business.

The medical reports of all sizes in the folder were arranged by item and
date. The changes in Ye Hongjun’s condition in recent years were clear at a
glance. In addition, there were some documents in foreign languages that
Ye Ci couldn’t understand.

The folder looked familiar. Ye Ci remembered that he seemed to have seen

Huo Tinglan holding it in his hand when he got out of school one day. At
that time, he’d felt that the papers somewhat resembled hospital medical
reports……

They really were.

“In legal terms, your mother is also my mother. Whether due to my feelings
for you or because of law and morality, I should be responsible for her
health……I’m sure you agree. If our roles were reversed, you would do the
same.” Huo Tinglan explained in a natural tone, and also smoothly roped Ye
Ci into his system of logic, as if his actions were normal and it would be
strange if he didn’t do it like this. “So I had a chat with her primary doctor
some time ago and sorted out her medical reports for the past two years,
then got in touch with a biomedical firm in San Francisco……”

Ye Hongjun suffered from a malignant disease related to the Omega

biological system, which carried a certain genetic predisposition.

In the last life, because he was worried that Ye Ci would repeat his mother’s
tragedy, Huo Tinglan had a comprehensive and detailed understanding of
the disease, its risk factors, early signs, prevention methods, and the most
important forms of treatment. Fortunately, a new drug with a breakthrough
therapeutic effect was approved for marketing at that time, and although the
price was high, the treatment effect was excellent. Even if Ye Ci really got
sick in the future, he could be cured by this medicine. Sadly, this new drug
successfully passed the “breakthrough drug” approval certification by the
country’s drug regulation authority in the year of Ye Hongjun’s death. This
project that would be hugely successful in the future had not received much
attention in the country, and its reliability had not been fully proven.

However, Huo Tinglan had experienced the future of this new drug
becoming an effective medicine, and just to be on the safe side, he had
consulted many parties in the past two months and conducted a full
investigation of the research……right now, it was indeed Ye Hongjun’s
only hope for recovery.

“…… The pharma company went public on the Nasdaq last December. The
amount raised reached an astonishing $335 million, and the research and
development funds are sufficient. They currently have seven drug
candidates in their pipeline, and among them, a drug for malignant Omega
gland disease has entered the phase III clinical trial stage, and has become
their main project at this stage.” Huo Tinglan explained the situation, took
out a paper printed with the company information and drug development
status, and handed it to Ye Ci in turn. “I’ve consulted several authorities in
the medical industry during this time, and they have a high evaluation of
this project. There are of course uncertainties in the clinical trial stage, but
under the premise that other treatment options have no obvious effect, I
think……it is worth trying.”
Huo Tinglan thought that this plan was feasible, and its importance could
not be overstated.

Ye Ci gripped the stack of documents that Huo Tinglan handed to him. His
eyes trembled slightly as he anxiously looked them over, and the paper was
wrinkled where he pinched it, as if he was afraid that if he responded too
slowly, the opportunity would leak out from between his fingers.

Huo Tinglan handed the entire folder over to him and said warmly: “I
wasn’t fully prepared before, and I wasn’t sure if it was safe, so I never told
you. I was afraid that if something went wrong, I would give you hope only
to disappoint you……the information on the project so far is all here, take it
back and read it carefully and give me an answer. There is still some time
before the start of the Phase III clinical trials.” He raised his hand and
rubbed Ye Ci’s hair, his calm tone inexplicably convincing. “Don’t worry,
don’t be afraid, your mother is in stable condition now.”

In the last life, Ye Hongjun passed away three months before Ye Ci’s
college entrance examination. That was still far from now, and there would
be no major problems in the near future.

“If she par, participates in the trial……my mother will go to San

Francisco?” Ye Ci asked, his eyes revealing his helplessness.

He could barely even speak Chinese the way he was, and if his English was
applied practically, he estimated that he could recognize a street sign or ask,
“How, how much?” at a convenience store……

But to let Ye Hongjun go to the other side of the ocean alone to participate
in the clinical trial, he couldn’t rest assured.

Huo Tinglan saw through his concerns and smiled softly: “The clinical trial
process is very long, and you wouldn’t be able to care for her. If you are
willing to send your mother to treatment, I will arrange for a medical team
and living assistant to accompany her through the whole process. Your first
priority at the moment is to study……the rest can be left to me.”
As for what sort of medical team accompanied someone through the whole
process and also accompanied them to foreign countries, Ye Ci had limited
knowledge. For a time, he didn’t even think about it at all, and reviewed the
previous experiences of seeking medical treatment abroad.

It turned out that things could be resolved this way.

How could there be such a good person in the world as Huo-shushu?

Ye Ci’s nose was painful and stuffy for a while, but he couldn’t speak.

His surging and turbulent emotions were all stuck in his throat, choking him
to death.

So he stepped forward abruptly and plunged into Huo Tinglan’s arms. Like
a tired bird returning to the forest, he threw himself into the spring breeze
and wrapped his arms around Huo Tinglan’s slim waist, so tight, so hard.
With a childlike clumsy innocence, he didn’t know how to express his
feelings, so he could only hold on tight.

Just as that white shirt showed a hint of drying, it was soaked again.

After a long while, Ye Ci squeezed out a sentence: “I’m not like this
normally, I don’t cry, cry at every turn……”

These days, he seemed to have cried all his tears in front of Huo-shushu.

He wouldn’t feel at ease without explaining.

“En.” Huo Tinglan lowered his head and hugged him. “Xiao Ci won’t cry in
the future.”

For the rest of his life, he would never again cry tears of bitterness.

Ye Ci nodded and didn’t move, just hugged Huo Tinglan like that, like a
sticky little plaster.

This hug, in Ye Ci’s view, was very pure and had nothing to do with desire,
just clean attachment and warmth. That chest was like the sea, gentle and
accommodating, and he floated on the warm, comfortable waves of his
heart, savoring the unprecedented joy and peace. He was reluctant to let go.

After hugging for a while, Huo Tinglan suddenly patted Ye Ci’s back and
reminded him reservedly: “Alright…..it’s been an emotional day, go take a
hot bath and rest early.”

Not only did Ye Ci not let go, but because he was afraid of being chased
away, he hugged him tighter. He rubbed his little head against Huo
Tinglan’s shoulder and shook it twice.

“Be good, Xiao Ci.” Huo Tinglan took a step back for some reason.

“What, what’s the matter, Huo-shushu?” Ye Ci stumbled, still sticking to

him.

“Nothing, it’s time to rest.” Huo Tinglan pinched the back of Ye Ci’s neck
through his shirt collar and used the Omega’s stress response to lift Ye Ci
away like a clingy kitten.

Ye Ci didn’t say a word, his eyes dimmed, and he stood still just a step
away from him.

Huo Tinglan sighed.

A rarely established intimacy……

“We’ve been hugging for five minutes,” Huo Tinglan pondered for a
moment, his expression filled with the innocence of someone who had been
forced by Ye Ci into speaking of indecent things. “I am a healthy, energetic
Alpha and I’ve liked you for a long time. You holding me like this……” He
watched Ye Ci’s confused expression gradually change into one of disbelief,
and said helplessly, “Do you need me to make it clear? I’m afraid it won’t
be polite.”

Ye Ci’s face turned red, and he subconsciously glanced down.

He seemed to be shocked that Huo-shushu, a gentleman, also had the

functions that Alphas should have.
“What are you looking at?” Huo Tinglan laughed in spite of himself and
used a finger to lift Ye Ci’s chin, forcing him to look up. “Look forward.”

“I, I didn’t see anything!” Ye Ci was so frightened that he swallowed his

saliva and stared straight ahead.

Not to mention that the two were not officially together, but even if they
were together, with Ye Ci’s current level of innocence, he couldn’t do much.

Otherwise……

Ye Ci would probably dig a tunnel through the bed and escape overnight.

“Turn around, forward march.” Huo Tinglan couldn’t help laughing. “Go
back to your bedroom to sleep.”

“Good, goodnight, Huo-shushu.” Ye Ci hurriedly turned around with the

information packet. His steps were stiffer than a robot’s and he walked
toward the bedroom on the second floor, dazed.

Huo-shushu just now, did it count as……indecent behavior?

In any case, by his scale, it was hard to determine.

“……”

Ye Ci squeezed his fists.

The blame was on him.

How old was he? He should know better.

He had caused Huo-shushu to play the scoundrel.

[1] The three-good award, 三好学生, recognizes Chinese students with “good
morals, good grades, and good health.” ⮐
Consider donating via Kofi here!
Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Twenty-Eight

The information given by Huo Tinglan was quite detailed and

comprehensive. Ye Ci read it over and over several times, and the more he
read, the more excited he became.

It was said that a long illness makes a patient into a doctor, and this was
true. Ye Ci had a deep understanding of Ye Hongjun’s illness, and could
stumblingly navigate the complicated experimental research report.

Of course he could trust the research project that Huo Tinglan

recommended, but the stakes were very high and he had to know these
things himself.

There was still risk in going to receive treatment, otherwise it wouldn’t be

called a clinical trial, but it was worth a shot at getting a comprehensive
assessment.

If it succeeded, Ye Hongjun would have a healthy second half of her life.

That was impossible with any current treatment plan.

Ye Hongjun was currently weak and frail. She could barely say a few words
when she was awake, but she was still conscious and naturally had to agree
to such an important decision.

As such, there were still many issues that had to be explained.

The clinical trial itself was conducted in the form of recruiting volunteers,
and no treatment fee would be charged, but the miscellaneous expenses
other than the treatment itself could add up to a large amount. Who would
pay these expenses? How did he get the visa? Who did he contact in a
biotech company as far away as San Francisco? Where did the
accompanying medical team and life assistants come from? How could Chu
Wenlin suddenly change his nature and do this for her?

So the next problem before Ye Ci’s eyes became how to circle his words
around it.

Fortunately, Huo Tinglan didn’t let him struggle with this issue for too long.

After confirming that Ye Ci intended to go through with the treatment, Huo

Tinglan personally accompanied him to the sanatorium on Tuesday evening
to discuss the matter with Ye Hongjun. Before coming, Ye Ci used WeChat
to give Ye Hongjun some warning, and vaguely talked about the clinical
trial. He also introduced Huo Tinglan’s identity – – the marriage part, he
planned to ease her into slowly later. It was only explained that the Huo and
Chu families were friends, and Huo Tinglan was the head of the Huo
family. After Ye Ci was recognized back into the Chu family, the two
happened to meet each other. Huo Tinglan had heard that she was ill and
was willing to help.

A lot of key “details” were covered up, but the parts presented were not at
all false.

Perhaps infected by the hope and joy expressed in Ye Ci’s WeChat, Ye

Hongjun had some rare spirit, and for dinner, she forced herself to drink
half a bowl of porridge. She didn’t vomit, and didn’t want to sleep. She
even had the nursing bed raised and sat up against her pillows.

She and Ye Ci were carved out of the same mold, especially their eyes. The
pupils were light in color, as round and large as apricot seeds, naturally
revealing an aura of innocence and charm, and rippled with light.

Ye Hongjun had been fighting against this disease for the past few years.
Her spirit and body had been devastated, and she was as weak as a cut reed,
her skin a sickly blueish white. But when Ye Ci entered the door, likely
because she was afraid that the child would be worried, there was still a
light, soft smile at the ends of her eyes, and she greeted him with
enthusiasm: “Xiao Ci, you’re here.”

After saying this, she also nodded and smiled at Huo Tinglan with some
doubts that could not be concealed, and said in a gentle greeting: “Mr. Huo,
hello. I heard Xiao Ci mention you……”

“Hello,” Huo Tinglan thought for a moment and smiled, “Auntie Ye.”

“……”

As if he had stepped on charcoal with bare feet, Ye Ci stood uneasily for a

second and awkwardly twisted his feet back and forth, his eyes darting.

Ye Hongjun was slightly startled, and hesitantly replied, “Ah.”

She had given birth to Ye Ci at the age of twenty-two and had just passed
forty this year. Young people in their twenties would call her “older sister”
if they were being sweet.

However, she couldn’t figure out Huo Tinglan’s age. Judging by the state of
his skin, he was at most twenty-six or seven, but that deep and noble
bearing made him seem like he was in his early thirties.

“Please take a seat……Xiao Ci,” Ye Hongjun didn’t hesitate, and sat up

weakly, “hurry up and get Mr. Huo a chair.”

Ye Hongjun’s family was ordinary, but her family’s education was strict.
Her father had been a teacher all his life, and he was ruthless with his
students. When he disciplined his daughter, he was even more severe. She
had been dazzled by Chu Wenlin’s sweet words back then and was willing
to dedicate everything to that illusory “love,” so she did that deviant thing.
Over the years, she had been struggling to make a living in the quagmire of
the old part of town, but her well-bred upbringing had long since sunk into
her bones and blood. Not contaminated in the slightest by her vulgar
surroundings, she spoke decorously and politely, and communicating with
her made people feel comfortable.
Huo Tinglan explained to Ye Hongjun all the arrangements that Ye Ci
hadn’t mentioned on WeChat. Even small details such as how he had
chartered a plane for her and equipped it with medical facilities to ensure
her safety on the flight were explained thoroughly. Not only that, but Ye
Hongjun could hear between the lines how Huo Tinglan had meticulously
done his homework on her illness. He knew no less than her, maybe even
more, and he answered all of her questions in detail.

After they were finished with business, the ward was filled with an
unnatural silence that all of them were aware of but didn’t acknowledge.

“By the way, Xiao Ci,” Ye Hongjun suddenly broke the silence and
instructed in a soft tone, “go downstairs and buy Mr. Huo something to
drink……I’m sorry, I’m so sick and confused that it took me a long time to
think about it, it was remiss of me……”

Ye Ci stood up hesitantly.

His mom must want him to leave.

Huo Tinglan raised his eyes, smiled gently, and said, “Mineral water is fine,
thank you.”

Ye Ci didn’t dare make eye contact with him. He lowered his head, gave a
firm hum, and quickly slipped out.

As he left, he took a few steps toward the stairs with his head down. He was
really curious and wanted to know how Huo-shushu would explain their
relationship, so he turned back.

Enduring the flagellation of his conscience, he quietly depressed the

doorknob and pushed the door open a small crack.

They were already chatting inside.

It was Huo Tinglan’s low voice, and the tone was full of an inexplicably
familiar apology and helplessness.
“……I’ve been busy with my career all these years and have very little
personal time, and my matching with Omegas is generally low. As a thirty-
year-old person, let alone falling in love, I’ve never even been on a blind
date. In terms of my love life, you may laugh, but I’m really just a blank
sheet of paper……I saw Xiao Ci by chance at the banquet held by the Chu
family that day, and he never left my mind……”

“……You’re right, I’m not the right age, I’m really too old for him……No,
no need to apologize, you didn’t blunder……You don’t have to worry about
our progress being too fast, I confessed, but Xiao Ci didn’t promise me
anything. With you in this state, he didn’t want you to worry, so he doesn’t
have time to think about me, which I totally understand……I happen to
have resources and channels in this area, and this matter is not as
troublesome as you think. I just can’t bear to watch Xiao Ci work so hard.
I’m paying for him, and I’m delighted to do so. I won’t say fanciful words,
you can judge me by my actions……”

The voice suddenly got closer.

The door fanned closed.

With a click, Huo Tinglan locked it from the inside.

Huo-shushu had discovered his eavesdropping.

Ye Ci’s ears turned red, and he dizzily slipped down to buy water.

It seemed as if Huo-shushu……wasn’t lying.

In order to upset Ye Hongjun as little as possible and beautify the episode of

Chu Wenlin’s forced marriage into a chance encounter, they had discussed
this rhetoric before coming.

But although he couldn’t say why, he felt that between the lines, Huo-
shushu sounded sort of miserable.

Huo-shushu was actually so……so pitiful?!

Ye Ci went downstairs and bought two bottles of water to deliver, and when
he returned, the door of the ward was still closed. He tactfully waited in the
corridor.

About ten minutes later, Huo Tinglan slowly stepped out and looked into Ye
Ci’s slightly complicated eyes. He raised his lips and said softly: “Your
mom agreed to go to San Francisco for treatment……After talking for so
long, she should have a good rest. You go say goodbye and we’ll go back
first.”

Ye Ci entered the ward and saw that Ye Hongjun was already lying down,
and it seemed that she was indeed exhausted.

He didn’t linger long, just helped tuck in Ye Honjun’s blanket and said
goodbye. Ye Hongjun smiled at him tenderly and wearily, and seemed not
to be in a bad mood.

On the way home, Ye Ci couldn’t bear the curiosity. After hesitating for a
while, he asked: “Huo-shushu, what did……what did you and my mother
talk about?”

“Nothing special, to be honest.” Huo Tinglan smiled and joked, “Didn’t you
listen at the door?”

Ye Ci choked. “I just……I listened a little.”

“What?” Huo Tinglan raised his eyes, looking pure and innocent. “Other
than the part we discussed, were there any other parts that didn’t match the
facts?”

“Well……” Ye Ci was searching for a rebuttal when his phone rang.

He picked it up and looked at it. It was Ye Hongjun.

She had sent a long WeChat text.

Ye Ci swept over it at a glance, his eyes trembling.

[Mom]:
Son, mom talked a lot with Mr. Huo tonight, and thought about it a lot. I’m
too embarrassed to say some things in front of you, so let’s communicate
like this.

Sorry, mom has been in poor health in recent years and made you
accompany her to suffer too bitterly. Sometimes mom can’t help crying
when she thinks of it at night. She feels that fate is too unfair, and let her
good boy suffer too much grievance. Mom is incapable. She brought you
into this world, but continuously makes you suffer from poverty. Every time
mom thinks of these things, she will pray to heaven, praying that you will
meet a little luck in the future. She dares not ask for too much, only that you
will be safe and healthy for most of your life, and that you can eat and dress
warmly without working too hard. That would be great.

Perhaps mom’s prayers were not in vain.

Mom didn’t know Mr. Huo well, and we were just strangers before today.

Mr. Huo is a very intelligent person and knows how to talk. Mom can see
this, but mom can also feel his care for you. Mom won’t say too much, we
can also find a way to repay Mr. Huo’s kindness in the future. Your own
thoughts and feelings are the most important. It’s just that mom was
unlucky in her life and failed to meet a sincere person, and had to endure.
She can’t help wanting to nag you a little: A person who treats you with
sincerity is the rarest treasure in this world, and very hard to come by. You
must know how to cherish them, even if you don’t like them romantically.
Be kind to them, and never hurt them or make them sad. Mom hopes that
you can firmly grasp your own happiness……

......

The Alpha suitor, who was twelve years older, should have had a hard time
with the elders. After all, Ye Hongjun was not someone who saw money.
No matter how big the allure of a wealthy family was, she would still worry
about her child.

However, what Ye Ci expected did not happen at all.

He originally had a belly full of mental outlines to encourage his mom to be
at ease.

“……”

Ye Ci’s pupils shook like an earthquake and he turned his head with a
swoosh, staring at Huo Tinglan in disbelief as the man looked out the
window.

Huo-shushu, this……

Was he that good at sweet talking?![1]

[1] This was a little difficult to translate, but what he actually said was,
“Did he boil a pot of ecstasy soup?!” Ecstasy soup, or 迷魂汤, is a metaphor
referring to language or behavior that confuses people into thinking that
something is good.

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Twenty-Nine

Huo Tinglan took care of Ye Hongjun’s trip to the United States for
treatment.

Things went smoothly, and without bothering Ye Ci, he just signed several
documents as the patient’s family member and transferred Ye Hongjun out
of that sanatorium.

With his seriously ill mother traveling across the ocean to receive medical
treatment, even if he knew that the accompanying team would take good
care of her, Ye Ci couldn’t help worrying. So he asked for leave from
school, and together with Huo Tinglan, they accompanied Ye Hongjun on
the plane to San Francisco.

At the end of last year, he was still in the state of discontinuing his studies
during the provincial senior exam, and he missed it. He couldn’t afford to
miss taking the makeup exam in June this time, and he crammed his studies
into these few days of vacation with difficulty. He brought a bag of History
and Geography exam materials, even studying on the plane. With sore eyes,
he opened the window and looked at the sea of intertwined cotton-white
and gray-blue clouds below. Immersed in a calm and peaceful mood, he was
quietly in a daze.

The exam period was imminent, and Ye Ci could only stay for three days
after landing. There was a sense of novelty in going abroad for the first time
in his life, but at the thought of not knowing if he would see his mom in the
next few months, he had no intention of wandering around. He would just
stick to Ye Hongjun like a small tail, and where his mom went was where
he would be.
Three days passed quickly. Seeing that Ye Hongjun had settled in properly,
Ye Ci had to return to China.

Staying really wouldn’t help. There was a whole team watching over her,
but he couldn’t seem to pull himself away, and Ye Hongjun had to banish
him back to school.

Seeing that Ye Ci still looked uneasy, Huo Tinglan continued to stay in San
Francisco on the grounds of “handling some backlogs from the American
subsidiary.” He said that he could accompany Ye Hongjun for a time as she
adapted while handling official business, lest she find herself in a foreign
country with only unfamiliar faces all around, making her emotionally
unstable.

“……I did originally have work to do here, so I didn’t lie to you.” Huo
Tinglan rubbed Ye Ci’s head. It was still early for boarding time. He had
also sent an assistant to accompany Ye Ci back to China, and wasn’t afraid
of Ye Ci being unused to flying, so he was not in a hurry to let this person
go now. “If not for this incident, I would have had to make time to visit in
June. It’s all the same.”

“When do you plan to return to China?” Ye Ci had forgotten to ask before,

but listening to Huo Tinglan’s nonchalant tone, he subconsciously thought it
would only be a few days.

“I’m not sure, we’ll see when my business is finished.” Huo Tinglan
estimated, “It’ll be one week to half a month.”

It didn’t matter if the subsidiary company’s affairs were dealt with later, but
since he couldn’t leave at present, he would do it now.

Ye Ci was stunned. Plucking the strap of the schoolbag with his fingers, he
muttered, “That, that’s a long time.”

“Too long?” Huo Tinglan lowered his eyes and looked at the corners of Ye
Ci’s lips, which had fallen like lead weights. Wicked intentions of teasing
the child took hold, and his words gradually shifted.
“Yesterday, I said that I would stay here a while to handle official business
and accompany your mother at the same time. I saw how happy you were at
that moment, and thought it would be okay if I stayed longer……”

Ye Ci frowned and defended in a whisper: “I thought it would be, be three

to five days.”

“You don’t want me to spend more time with your mother?”

“It’s, it’s not that.” Ye Ci fiercely shook his head, in a dilemma. He just
hated that he couldn’t stay in San Francisco.

“No one will be there to look after you when you go back, so you need to
take care of yourself.” Huo Tinglan softened his tone and intimately
reminded him of some trivial matters, “Don’t smoke, don’t stay up late, get
up early if you want to memorize, eat three regular meals, and if you have a
temporary fever, just go to my room and lie down for a while.” He paused,
and said with a sort of malicious tenderness, “Call me anytime, no matter
the time difference……will you remember?”

Separating for half a month – – although this was still too much – – was
nothing next to being separated for half a year.

Ye Ci’s chest rose and fell quickly a few times at the tone of that villain’s
teasing farewell. He had no choice but to clamp Huo Tinglan’s wrist.
Gripping firmly with five fingers, he looked at him helplessly.

Pale pink skin, eyes rippling with light. Like a kitten who had been spoiled
unknowingly and didn’t usually seem too sticky, but when parting, he
hooked the tip of his claws on the person’s cuff and meowed tenderly.

“Huo-shushu,” He suppressed his shyness and requested shakily, “Can you

come back……a little sooner?”

Huo Tinglan smiled: “En, I will as soon as possible.”

Ye Ci still didn’t let go.

Huo Tinglan asked gently and knowingly: “What’s wrong?”

What’s wrong was obvious.

But Ye Ci couldn’t say it. He had reached his limit, and those two red and
tender lips seemed to have dried up in just a few minutes, looking bashful.

There was silence for a moment.

Huo Tinglan said in a low voice, “You’ll miss me?”

Ye Ci nodded weakly.

So soft.

Like a piece of soft tofu, he had wanted to give it a light poke and watch it
tremble softly, but who would have expected it to collapse?

After teasing the child, Huo Tinglan gathered up his broken conscience,
pulled it into a small pile again, and comforted: “I’ll try to make it a week,
okay?”

It was time to get ready to board.

Ye Ci reluctantly followed the assistant.

Five minutes later:

Huo Tinglan’s cell phone rang.

When he picked it up, there was a message from Ye Ci.

The short three words were the answer to the previous question, more clear-
cut than a nod.

[Ye Ci]: I miss you.

.......

East Eighth District, night.

The screen of the video call was on, and the thin morning light of San
Francisco barely penetrated the fog to spill into Ye Hongjun’s ward through
the blinds.

Ye Hongjun smiled and waved goodbye at the camera. He didn’t know if it

was a psychological effect, but after taking the new drug treatment, Ye Ci
felt that her complexion was slightly better than before.

As soon as the lens turned, Huo Tinglan left the ward.

In order to be able to make a video call with Ye Hongjun, Ye Ci had to go to

bed later these days. It was a legitimate reason to stay up late.

After the call connected, he would chat with Ye Hongjun for a while, and
then with Huo Tinglan for about ten minutes, so that he could still get to
sleep in the first half of the night.

In order to accompany Ye Hongjun conveniently, Huo Tinglan had set up

his computer in the ward next to her for the past two days. When he went
out and turned left, that was his temporary San Francisco office.

“……Why are the lights so dim?” Huo Tinglan closed the door, narrowed
his eyes slightly, and recognized the wall behind Ye Ci. “You’re not in your
room?”

The color of the wall paint was obviously wrong.

The air conditioner was also familiar.

When the video call connected ten minutes ago, he hadn’t taken a close
look, and kept holding it up for Ye Hongjun to watch.

Ye Ci shook his head, wrapped in a thin summer quilt, and looked a little
embarrassed: “I have a little, temp, temporary fever……”

Huo Tinglan lifted his lips. “You’re in my room?”

“En.” Ye Ci closed the quilt around his body in discomfort.

Huo Tinglan’s eyes were fierce as he looked at the misty blue neckline and
smiled: “Is my room cold? You’re wrapped up so tightly.”

Ye Ci was red from face to neck: “It’s, it’s a little cold.”

More than a month had passed since that temporary marking.

Huo Tinglan’s Alpha pheromones left in his body had been metabolized, the
effect of the temporary mark had weakened, and Ye Ci’s hormone disorder
had also been alleviated a lot.

In short, the symptoms of temporary fever were not as severe as they were a
month ago.

It could be seen by the state he was in that his mind was clear, his
expression was normal, and he was not out of control like last time……
hugging and sleeping with Huo Tinglan’s messy quilt.

Huo Tinglan sat down at the temporary desk arranged by the assistant,
leaned against the back of the chair in a relaxed manner, and thought for a
while before asking shamelessly in a pure tone: “What are you wearing in
there?”

– – Ever since he saw Ye Ci’s “I miss you” at the airport that day, he just
couldn’t take it anymore.

The thought of those three words made his chest feel hot with excitement,
like a house that had been uninhabited for a long time and was now covered
in flames that reached to the sky. That boiling hot and deformed
gentleman’s mask was completely unstable, and he had to press it with his
hands or it would fall from his face at any time.

“Just,” Ye Ci’s words flickered, “a, a piece of clothing.”

“I know it’s a piece of clothing.” Huo Tinglan was silent for a moment, and
a shameless “otherwise, are you sleeping naked in my bed?” twitched on
the tip of his tongue. He swallowed it back – after all, their relationship had
not yet been determined, and he couldn’t cross the boundary of flirting and
harassment. He only asked, “What clothes? Show me.”

His tone was calm, so calm that it was almost absent-minded, as if he was
asking for nothing, rather than being a scoundrel in a subtle way.

“Just……a shirt……” Ye Ci was very obedient, and with a red face, he

pulled the quilt down.

The clothing was indeed nothing to be ashamed of.

Just a shirt.

Matte blue linen material, a long pointed collar that was retro and
coquettish, and polished seashell buttons that were as smooth as white jade.

That was Huo Tinglan’s shirt.

He was dying.

Huo Tinglan’s Adam’s apple bobbed slowly.

Ye Ci was 1.8 meters tall and usually wore an appropriately sized school
uniform. Although he looked thin, he was not weak.

But as soon as he put on Huo Tinglan’s clothes, his whole person changed.

His still youthful face in contrast with the mature shirt made him appear
more pure.

The thin wrists protruding from the cuffs were obviously more slender than
Huo Tinglan’s.

His shoulder muscles were also slender, and couldn’t hold up the fabric.

……

It didn’t fit.
But it looked good.

He looked so small.

– – – The thought poured into the fire like gasoline.

The fire soared to new heights and immolated his sanity.

Huo Tinglan cleared his throat, but his voice was still hoarse: “What’s with
this shirt……did they forget to wash it, or?”

“No, it was, it was washed.” Ye Ci hurriedly defended, “There’s no, no

pheromones, I just……” He choked, not knowing where his courage had
come from. Perhaps it was incited by the fever period, or if he said it once,
it became easier to say again. Or maybe the question that had him tangled
up over and over these days finally had an answer.

Ye Ci lowered his eyes and didn’t dare look at the camera, saying softly,
“Just, I’ve missed you so much these past few days.”

A fresh, clean shirt satisfied not the glands, but the spirit.

Suddenly, the screen went black.

Ye Ci had covered the camera.

“Wearing the clothes that you wear, it feels……it feels like……”

He was losing his mind.

This little thing……

Was relying on him from a distance?

Huo Tinglan tugged on his tie, almost unable to sit still: “Like what?”

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Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Thirty

Ye Ci couldn’t sit still. He covered the camera with his fingertips, pressing
hard until his fingers went white.

His voice went continuously lower as he spoke: “Like, like you’re hugging
me……”

That night he took the initiative to hug Huo Tinglan, the solid firmness of
his chest and the comfort like floating on ocean waves was unforgettable.

He couldn’t help but think about a simple hug over and over again.

The memory entangled his thoughts, spreading like weeds, squandering

nutrients. After just a few days of separation, his heart was so empty that he
became agitated.

– – This was not in line with the situation he was worried about previously,
and was even the opposite.

He had basically smoothed out the tangled mess.

When one’s heart was set, it was time to speak up.

He wanted to find a time to confess, and had thought about it all night,
knowing that he was too introverted, his face was too thin, and it was
especially difficult to speak when he was emotional. If he confessed to Huo
Tinglan face to face, those good words would be incoherent and
fragmented……
So he planned to say it from a distance first, so that when the two met, the
news would already be digested in part, the mood would be calmer, and he
wouldn’t be so nervous that he was unable to speak.

He planned the formula on his little abacus with a crackling, disordered

rattle, not realizing how naive he was in his inexperience. “The temp,
temporary mark you gave me is getting weaker and weaker……” Ye Ci
swallowed and closed his eyes shyly, as if talking to himself. “But on the
contrary……I miss you even more.”

His words were vague, but clear enough.

Not the effects of hormone fluctuations.

Not the confusion of physical attraction.

In the past few days away from Huo Tinglan, he had a lot of time to think
independently.

He picked up his own bewildered heart from the warm and aching thoughts,
like picking up a pebble from a spring stream. He drained the water droplets
off his desire and dried it, only to find that it had been polished clean and
soft by love, the texture as clear as an engraving – – I like Huo-shushu.

I like Huo Tinglan.

I like him more with each passing day, no one else but him.

“……Why do you miss me?”

The question came through the phone, consuming the last bit of silence and
patience.

“Because……” Ye Ci took a deep breath, and with the sacrificial sincerity

unique to young people, he said, “I like you.”

After he finished speaking, as if he felt that his intentions mustn’t be

questioned, he explained before he could be asked: “Not because of the
temporary mark, or, or because of my mom……don’t have any doubt. I
thought about it for, for days, I just……really like you.”

“……”

Really liked him.

It truly depended on him being far away.

Huo Tinglan loosened his tie and took a deep breath. The blue blood vessels
in his temples pulsed slightly, and his sanity was on the verge of collapse.

The matters that he could originally endure were stimulated by Ye Ci’s

“provocative” operation, and he feared he could no longer stand it.

The camera was still covered. He wasn’t sure if Ye Ci was looking at him
from over there, and had to forcefully control the wicked fire and maintain
a false calm: “You’re on video, so far away, and you’re saying this to
me……”

He leisurely interrogated: “What sort of evil intentions do you have?”

“No, no evil intentions!” Ye Ci thought he was unhappy, and hurriedly

removed his hand covering the camera. His face was burnt through, even
his eyes were dyed with a light pink, and his lips were red.

He was so embarrassed that he licked his lips and inadvertently covered

them with a layer of moisture, making him even more gorgeous.

He didn’t know that his beloved Huo-shushu was painfully holding back his
feelings in private, and wasn’t aware of what it meant to be in a relationship
in the adult world. He was also an adult, but after all, this was a recent
development and he was still innocent. He used this childish method to
analyze a thirty-year-old Alpha who had been single for a long time, as if he
was playing youthful love games with boys and girls of the same age. So he
thought about it a bit and tried to make up for the sense of ceremony that
Huo-shushu might want: “I used, used video to confess, not because……
I’m not sincere, or not serious about you. I want to confess again when,
when I’m in front of you. I talk clumsily, and I’m afraid that I’ll be too
nervous at that time. Since I can’t speak well, I told you over video
first…….I’ll say it again.”

He was so sincere to his lover, and could not wait to open his young heart
and shine a light on it as he described word by word: “And I felt, now that
we’ve both……figured it out, that I should say it as soon as possible and
not……leave you hanging.”

As if coaxing a disappointed little girlfriend, he lowered his body in a

masculine and beseeching posture and said, “You……don’t be mad at me,
okay?”

Huo Tinglan laughed dumbly in spite of himself, and was speechless for a
few seconds.

He was so far away from being angry……

He was clearly holding back his madness, enduring those vicious currents
from head to toe. Forbearance on the left and forbearance on the right, he
endured!

But Ye Ci didn’t understand this.

Huo Tinglan sighed, the boy’s mental journey as clear as the sun at midday.
The workings of that brain and his thoughtful considerations were really
green and cute. He was a total softhearted mess.

He could be softhearted, but others may not necessarily emulate that

softness.

Rather, they could be as firm as iron and stone.

Huo Tinglan flattened the corners of his lips and threw out a sentence: “No
good.”

“……Ah?”

Ye Ci wilted like a snowman in a preheated 200°C oven.

His shoulders collapsed and swiftly melted.

Oh no.

He had screwed up.

Huo Tinglan leaned back in the chair and tapped the table with his
fingertips, as solemn as if he were in a business negotiation, but his words
were not serious: “When we meet, tell me what you just said again……”

“En!” Ye Ci nodded hurriedly.

“When you’re done talking,” Huo Tinglan said in a low voice, “I’ll kiss
you……is that okay?”

“Hmhm, okay.” Ye Ci at first responded wholeheartedly, and after a few

seconds, his eyes trembled nervously. His Adam’s apple rolled, and
inquired with feigned sophistication, “The same as, as last time? Then when
you’re done kissing……you won’t be angry?”

Kiss the face, kiss the eyebrows, kiss the forehead……

He was familiar with these.

Relying on the fact that the other party couldn’t see where his eyes fell on
the video call, Huo Tinglan stared at the two alluring, thin red lips on the
screen, entirely unscrupulous and almost indecent.

“No.” He smiled, controlled his expression, and answered two questions in

turn. “I won’t be angry anymore.”

Seeing that Ye Ci still appeared to consider himself lucky, with an

expression that said, “Huo-shushu, such a decent person,” Huo Tinglan
lifted his lips and said in a low voice, “I want to kiss your lips, may I?”

“!“

Ye Ci was so embarrassed that he almost threw away his phone.

May he?

It seemed like it shouldn’t be impossible.

They had confessed to each other. Ordinarily, this would count as a

romantic relationship, and other than being in love, what more proof did
they need……

The two were married, and they were in love with each other. If even a kiss
on the lips was too much, then life could not continue.

“Oh, I can’t.” Huo Tinglan’s tone was disappointed, but his forbearance
remained.

It seemed that as long as Ye Ci didn’t allow it, he could really endure until
the end of the world.

“No……you can.” Ye Ci sat cross-legged on the bed and held his forehead
in embarrassment. At this moment, even the back of his hand was flushed.

Huo Tinglan took on the style of a rigorous business negotiation. As if he

wanted to sign a contract with Ye Ci, he first emphasized the existing
conditions: “We are already married in the true sense of the word.” He
immediately verified with perfect enunciation, “So how many times can I
kiss you?”

“Ah, how, how many kisses?” Ye Ci repeated apprehensively, his breathing

uneven.

The way a gentlemanly person in love spoke turned out to be like this?!

You had to ask how many kisses you were allowed to have. Was it a foul if
you kissed too much?

Only……

In fact, it was still better to just directly kiss……

Didn’t this make it more embarrassing?!

“Any, any amount.” It was hard for Ye Ci to say a specific value.

If it was more or less, Huo-shushu would draw him into a negotiation.

“Any amount?” Huo Tinglan used a cough to hide his smile.

It was too much fun to tease the little gentleman.

Truly, endlessly fun.

In the last life, he never teased Ye Ci like that.

First, Ye Ci in the previous life was much more closed off and fragile than
he was now. He couldn’t bear to go too far, and besides, twenty-two-year-
old Ye Ci was much more mature than he was at eighteen. Unlike now,
where he took the bait as soon as he was teased, over and over……

“There is no upper limit.” Huo Tinglan reflected for half a second, then his
humanity disappeared and he summed up with a smile, “ That is, infinity.”

Ye Ci couldn’t understand what he was talking about, and nodded in

confusion.

Seeing that Ye Ci was about to be played with to tears, Huo Tinglan

mercifully hung up the video call.

As soon as the words “call ended” appeared on the screen, Ye Ci set aside
his phone as if rescued, collapsed on the bed, and stared at the ceiling in a
daze.

It was just a confession……who would have expected it to be like peeling

skin.

But ultimately, not bad, Huo-shushu.

He himself was still too thin-skinned, too introverted. Things that were as
normal as eating food and drinking water for other couples were difficult
for him.
He had to learn to be outgoing, and just kiss him calmly and naturally.

Right!

This determination lasted for more than 40 hours.

He was a cheerful and outgoing person, facing the sea as spring flowers
bloomed.[1]

Until sudden news from Huo Tinglan knocked Ye Ci back into his original
shape.

It was nine thirty in the evening. After Ye Ci ate the fruit that Uncle He sent
as a late-night snack, he wiped his mouth and wanted to hurry up and finish
a set of papers.

By the time he was done, it would be past eight o’clock in the morning in
San Francisco. He would make a video call, chat with his mom for a while
and talk with Huo-shushu for a while……today, he had a lot of schoolwork.
He didn’t touch his phone much all day in order to have time for the video
call at night, so he didn’t realize that Huo Tinglan hadn’t contacted him for
more than ten hours.

The exam paper had barely been spread out when the cell phone rang.

Ye Ci pulled it over and took a look.

His heart nearly stopped.

[Huo Tinglan]: I’ll be home in ten minutes.

[Huo Tinglan]: Wait for me.

“!”

Gripping the phone, Ye Ci was stunned for a few seconds.

Ten minutes?
Ten minutes!

Had Huo-shushu fallen into a wormhole?!

Had time and space folded?!

[Huo Tinglan]: I was busy all night yesterday, and I’ve finished with the
matter over there. I got on the plane this morning and didn’t say anything
earlier for fear that you would be thinking wildly all day and not be able to
study well.

– – Whether it was really considerate or an ill-intentioned attack to not give

Ye Ci any chance to delay or regret, only Huo Tinglan could know.

With shaking hands, Ye Ci helplessly entered a word, squeezing out an

“OK.”

Ye Ci put down the phone and was dazed for a moment, then jumped up
and rushed to the bathroom to brush his teeth.

After brushing several times very thoroughly, his tongue was numbed by
the toothpaste.

There were bright drops of water hanging from his chin as he held the
toothbrush, blushing as he stared blankly into the mirror.

There was a sound on the first floor. Huo Tinglan was back.

How could he dare greet him when they would kiss on the lips in a
moment?

How many minutes and seconds? Where should he wait? What posture
should he wait with? What expression should he wear? What should he
say?……In only a few minutes, his anxiety and thoughts were boundless.
Every second felt like torture, and he even wished that Huo Tinglan would
come to kiss him sooner.

……So why did he tell him in advance?!

Huo-shushu, was he……was he actually a little evil??

Ye Ci had nowhere to vent his shame and anger, and hit the washstand with
a punch.

There was a loud bang.

Then, faint footsteps sounded.

Through the door panels of the second-story bedroom and bathroom, they
reached his ears.

Ye Ci’s heart beat like a drum, and he listened in panic.

He bowed his head and waited for a kiss on the lips.

[1] This is a reference to a poem by the Chinese poet Hai Zi. The full line
goes: “I have a house, it faces the sea, and flowers bloom in spring
warmth.” The poem is about someone who makes future plans to become a
different, better person, with warm feelings toward the world and its people.
⮐

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Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Thirty-One

There was a knock on the bedroom door. The two reserved sounds were like
knocks on his heart.

Knowing that Ye Ci would not respond, Huo Tinglan opened the bedroom
door on his own after a moment.

Immediately afterwards, a hazy shadow floated behind the frosted glass

door of the bathroom.

“Open the door,” Huo Tinglan stood still and coaxed him out like a patient
hunter, his voice low and magnetic, “Baby.”

At this change of address, Ye Ci’s face went red and he was so embarrassed
that he almost knocked the doorknob off.

“I really miss you.” Huo Tinglan seemed to understand that he had come
back very unexpectedly, so he didn’t force him, and just negotiated softly,
“Let me see you? I worked all night yesterday and took a 12-hour flight.
My head hurts, I just took painkillers……after I see you, I’m going to go
rest.”

He was bewitching him.

But Ye Ci’s heart softened quickly, and in a daze, he pulled the door open a
crack.

The slit was so narrow that it was only about the width of a raised finger,
which was enough to reveal a dark eye peeking at Huo Tinglan.
However.

It didn’t matter how narrow the crack was. Once it was opened, it meant
“permission.”

Huo Tinglan grabbed the edge of the door abruptly, relying on Ye Ci’s
reluctance to close the door and hurt him, and brazenly pulled it open like
breaking apart a weakened clam shell.

The back of Ye Ci’s neck was hot when Huo Tinglan’s hand grabbed it with
gentle but irresistible strength. Grasping him like a cat, he took him out of
the bathroom and blocked him into a corner.

“You dare to hide……what did you say on the video call?” After catching
the cat, Huo Tinglan gently retracted his hand and put it in his trouser
pocket. He lowered his smiling black eyes and looked at Ye Ci, and said in
a leisurely manner, “Say it again.”

“Didn’t, didn’t you just say…..” Ye Ci, in the wrong, was honestly crowded
into the corner. Not daring to resist, he could only open his mouth and
mumble with insufficient confidence, “you just, just wanted a look.”

From such a short distance away, he could see Huo Tinglan’s clean as new
shirt, straight and tidy. A navy blue silk tie hung down the middle, faintly
emphasizing the contours of the full and seductive pectoral muscles on both
sides. The cuffs were dazzlingly white, and two expensive canary diamond
cufflinks shone brightly. The scent of vetiver aftershave was still fresh – –
His Huo-shushu was well-dressed. Perhaps on the plane on his way to see
him, like a male beast in courtship boastingly displaying his gorgeous fur
and lean body, he did his best to seduce and tantalize him.

Obviously, Huo Tinglan achieved the expected effect.

Ye Ci’s eyes darted to the side first to avoid suspicion, but he couldn’t stop
looking back in distress. At the distinct outline of the chest under that shirt,
at the extravagant and flashy accessories, at the sharp contours of that
handsome face.
He couldn’t refuse to admit it. He was a young visual animal, an adolescent
boy. Huo Tinglan was trying to please him, and he was so fascinated by it
that he couldn’t help but look again and again.

“……The first words spoken don’t count, right?” Huo Tinglan teased him
with a smile, tit for tat.

One’s own promise must be kept.

Ye Ci could only stammer and repeat the words he confessed the night
before – – but it wasn’t a perfect repetition. Due to nerves and
forgetfulness, the wording wasn’t entirely the same, only a rough imitation.

But Huo Tinglan seemed to have memorized the full text of what he said
that day. Whenever there was a subtle discrepancy in Ye Ci’s retelling, he
would speak up and force Ye Ci to repeat it.

Extremely evil.

After reiterating the set of confessions, Ye Ci had sweat on the tip of his
nose and his face was flushed.

Finally, the last word was repeated.

The room was silent.

Ye Ci glanced sideways at Huo Tinglan. His eyes were bright and dark, a
collection of contradictions. Innocent hunger and thirst. Ye Ci still retained
the instinct of an Alpha to conquer and possess, but it was also softened by
the new Omega instincts. He stood precariously on a balancing rope,
waiting for someone to push him, to catch him.

Huo Tinglan lowered his gaze and traced Ye Ci’s lips with his eyes. Thin,
but plump in the middle, there was no lack of sensuality, and the cool scent
of spearmint lingered on his breath.

“You brushed your teeth?” Huo Tinglan chuckled.

“En, I was, was afraid I would be sleepy after the video call, so I, I brushed
them first.” Ye Ci made it more conspicuous by trying to hide it, and his
inquisitive eyes were also fixed on Huo Tinglan’s mouth.

He was curious about the feeling of “kissing on the lips.”

After giving it some thought, he was a little eager to try……

The two looked at each other’s lips, breathing together.

The atmosphere maintained a delicate and ambiguous balance.

All of a sudden, Huo Tinglan broke the balance, gently squeezing Ye Ci’s
small jaw and tilting his head up to meet his touch.

Tender and greedy, like a bee stealing honey.

He was extremely hungry, and the buds were about to bloom. He cautiously
arched open the half-closed petals, burrowed in shamelessly, and brushed
the fine, exquisite pollen in the core.

At first, it was just a touch.

Then, he rubbed a little.

Ye Ci was so sensitive that he leaned against the corner made by the two
walls and trembled. His spine was so soft that he couldn’t even hold his
back straight.

So comfortable.

Formidably comfortable.

Low on oxygen and short of breath, he turned his face away in

embarrassment and had difficulty looking directly at his own response.

This was what it felt like to be an Omega. A small kiss transformed into
deep spring waters, and his bones went weak and soft. So unfamiliar.
“What is it?” Huo Tinglan pressed his body against him so that he could use
his strength to support him.

Then he used his fingertips to turn back Ye Ci’s averted face. His jet-black
pupils were keen as measuring instruments, detecting every wisp of Ye Ci’s
emotions: embarrassment, confusion, joy……

“Wait, Huo-shushu.” Ye Ci slid down like mud, his sweaty palms clinging
to the wall as he tried to stand firm on his own strength. “I can’t, can’t stand
up straight anymore……”

Something was beginning to sprout, and its shy appearance was fresh and
full of life, like a flower bud showing its slender stamen or a freshly
harvested water chestnut peeled of its raw white flesh.

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Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Thirty-Two

“Baby.”

His blood was boiling.

Huo Tinglan couldn’t wait at all for him to get used to it. He only
intensified and slightly bowed his shoulders, holding Ye Ci’s face to kiss
him and crush those small lips out of shape. As if he wasn’t embarrassed
enough, he coaxed in a low voice: “Baby’s lips are so soft……”

Just five words, ordinary lovers’ talk, but they were like some kind of spell
with the power to drive a person crazy.

His heart suddenly soared into the air and smashed down again, beating
desperately at his ribs.

Ye Ci’s eardrums were roaring and his brain was empty, steamed dry. The
numbness that penetrated his chest rose and fell with his heartbeat, surging
and ebbing like waves. The kiss he imagined was like a dragonfly lightly
brushing the water’s surface, similar to a kiss on the face.

This was simply not the same at all.

He couldn’t take it anymore, and was so alarmed that he ducked away, but
Huo Tinglan held his face and chased after him. Huo-shushu, who was
usually so gentle and elegant, was at this moment so fervent that it was
almost obscene, and firmly captured him!

“Huo-shushu,” Ye Ci’s head was about to explode, and he faintly begged

for mercy, “Huo, Huo-shushu……is it enough?”
His heart was beating to death, and his nose was obviously working, but he
was holding his breath without realizing it.

His mouth was sore from being rubbed, and his lips were so hot that the
skin seemed to be broken.

It didn’t seem like he should have confessed in that way……

He regretted it a little, but it was too late.

He twisted like a small silverfish with wet scales. If Huo Tinglan didn’t let
him go, he would slide away along the crack in the wall, slip back into the
water, and never bite again.

Finally, Huo Tinglan straightened up a little. Brushing the thin cartilage at

the tip of his nose, he reminded in a low voice, “Breathe.”

Flustered, Ye Ci took a few big breaths.

Huo Tinglan waited for him to breathe, and then tilted his head again……

“You’re still, still kissing?” Ye Ci shrank back, and rounded those watery
apricot seed eyes.

“What?” Huo Tinglan caught Ye Ci’s shock, suppressed the fire in his dark
eyes, and brought out his innocent “good shushu” mode, smiling softly.
“Wasn’t it just one kiss?”

Ye Ci couldn’t believe it, and repeated, “Just one……”

So, so many actions counted as just one?!

He became increasingly bewildered, unable to speak. After a long while, he

licked his red lips, looking stunned and pitiful, as if he was being bullied by
a trusted person, pierced by the hook hidden in the sweet bait.

“Can, can you not kiss……a second time, Huo-shushu.” The more he
spoke, the quieter he got. “My……my lips are broken.”
“Broken?” Huo Tinglan didn’t believe it, and pushed away Ye Ci’s hand to
check carefully.

Where were they broken, they weren’t broken at all, he knew what he was
doing. They were just red and hot, giving them the illusion of “broken
skin.”

“Not broken.” He told the truth, not choosing what children would like to
hear.

“……” Ye Ci drooped his head, not even letting him touch them.

“But you’re in pain, I’m sorry.” Huo Tinglan took a step back and let Ye Ci
slip away.

When young teenagers fell in love, if they hadn’t encountered an Alpha

who was particularly anxious and confused, they would probably go to
school and leave together, accompany each other to do their homework,
touch each others’ heads, hold hands, and kiss shallowly and carefully, even
more hazy than the moonlight.

The issue was……

Huo Tinglan felt that he was also as hazy as moonlight.

He didn’t even stick his tongue in……

Was that not hazy?

But Ye Ci had been rubbed so hard that his soul flew away, sitting on the
small sofa and covering his mouth in a daze.

To Huo Tinglan, it was the touch of a dragonfly upon water, but for Ye Ci, it
was a stormy sea.

Huo Tinglan walked over and knelt on one knee in front of the small sofa,
tugged at the cuffs of Ye Ci’s pajamas, and coaxed gently: “Are you mad at
me?”
Ye Ci hurriedly shook his head: “No, I’m not mad at you.”

It was impossible for him to be angry with Huo Tinglan.

“What happened……can you describe it to me?” Huo Tinglan set the tone
for a serious discussion.

“Just,” Ye Ci pursed his lower lip and tried to describe, “My heart was, was
beating like I was dying. I don’t know, maybe it’s because I……” He
glanced at him timidly, and with a pure and innocent voice, spoke words
that could kill a person: “I, I like you so much, I can’t stand the excitement.
You let me slow down and take it easy, okay?”

Huo Tinglan took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and repeated, “Slow
down……”

A lifetime of perseverance was consumed in this moment.

“Xiao Ci, I’m twelve years older than you, I’m a mature Alpha, and my
thoughts and needs regarding these things might be different from yours.”
His tone was sincere and apologetic, with a somewhat rare embarrassment.
“Maybe my needs will be more than yours. Sorry.”

Ye Ci licked his still aching lips, and with a red face, he unexpectedly gave
Huo Tinglan a round of sex education in turn: “Don’t, don’t apologize.
What you said is, is actually normal……”

“En, you’re right.” Huo Tinglan smiled, and then, as if it was difficult to
speak about, laughed softly at himself. “So what should I do? I have a lot of
needs……otherwise,” he teased softly and mischievously, “Is there another
method that you can accept?”

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Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Thirty-Three

Ye Ci heaved a sigh of relief, and hurriedly asked: “What……what

method?”

Huo Tinglan smiled softly, found an easy-to-accept entry point, and threw a
line: “Did you sleep in my bedroom the day before yesterday?”

“En.” Ye Ci nodded.

“How about tonight too, then?” When Ye Ci opened his mouth slightly in
surprise, Huo Tinglan added calmly, “I won’t do anything excessive. We
can add a blanket, one for each of us.”

He kneaded his forehead wearily, once to sell his misery, and twice to imply
that he was currently out of energy and therefore not dangerous: “I was
busy all night last night, and I haven’t closed my eyes up to now. I’m
exhausted. I just want to give you a good hug.”

Ye Ci was embarrassed, his mouth closed and his attitude wavering, but he
didn’t show a clear expression of rejection.

– – Given a fright by the prior unacceptable outcome, he found himself

thinking too much. After giving a sigh of relief, his rate of acceptance also
increased briefly.

His negotiation skills were fairly basic, but practical.

Huo Tinglan looked like he was holding the soft nape of a kitten’s neck
gently but firmly, with skillful ease, making the inexperienced kitten
disoriented and confused.
“Your expression just now……” With a smile, the villain brought a suit
against his victim,[1] teasing in turn: “What are you thinking about?”

Ye Ci looked at him with clear eyes like glass beads, but didn’t try to
defend himself, and only blushed.

Because he was indeed thinking wild thoughts.

He would prefer to not say a word and tacitly acquiesce, rather than expose
the yellow trash in his brain to Huo-shushu and be teased. He didn’t want to
lie to his lover, either.

“What are you thinking, baby?” Huo Tinglan expressed his curiosity as if
he was a big, innocent boy. “Tell me.”

Ye Ci suddenly had a sense of peril, as if he was being targeted by a

carnivore – – if he didn’t tear off a piece of meat to sacrifice to those white
teeth, he absolutely wouldn’t be able to escape tonight.

– – What was he thinking about?

He thought he was going to sleep under a blanket with Huo Tinglan like a
real married person, and for a moment, even vaguely thought about “that
kind of thing.”

But how could these words be spoken?

There was only one piece of meat left to tear off for the beast.

His throat tightened, and he forcibly skipped the question in order to

compromise: “Then, then let’s add a blanket……”

In the master bedroom, a pair of pillows and two blankets were placed side
by side, and the area between was still spacious.

Huo Tinglan went to wash up, and Ye Ci burrowed into his own blanket like
a thief. His sleeping position was restrained, with the light blanket tightly
covering him, pulled all the way up to the tip of his nose.
He secretly touched his mouth under the edge of the covers.

The painful heat had subsided, and the skin was not broken.

Suddenly, the sound of water in the bathroom stopped.

Ye Ci retracted his hand as if he had received an electric shock, closing his

eyes and pretending to sleep.

With his temperament and under these circumstances, it seemed a little fake
for him to be able to sleep without a care. He knew this, but hoped that Huo
Tinglan would be as graceful as ever, seeing through it but not bringing it
up.

The bathroom door opened.

The scent of men’s body wash slowly approached, sea salt mixed with
cypress wood.

The side of his body sank down, something blocked the light, and then Huo
Tinglan called to him in a low voice: “Baby, are you asleep?”

Ye Ci didn’t move. Not even his eyelashes fluttered.

He pretended quite well.

The corners of Huo Tinglan’s lips lifted slightly. He didn’t say anything,
and didn’t turn off the lights. Lying down next to Ye Ci, he stretched out his
arms and pulled the thin form wrapped in a light blanket into his arms.

That small sample of a kiss did not satisfy his craving. Instead, it evoked
the memory of entangling with his lover in the last life.

Desire was like a shark sensing blood. It was better not to taste it, but once
he did, he became mad with greed.

That graphite silk was as deep and dark as the sea. He cruised through it
silently and sinisterly, coveting the creamy white flesh in that ocean. The
marking period wasn’t over yet, and his Alpha glands began to stir.
After being pacified by an Omega, the glands were supposed to be at rest.

But the painful experience of his spouse’s death made Huo Tinglan’s Alpha
glands more sensitive and fragile than in the previous life, and their
hormone fluctuations were difficult to predict using normal medical theory.

Huo Tinglan’s eyes darkened, and his hands circled around in front of Ye
Ci.

His fingertip touched the blanket that was dampened by Ye Ci’s breath and
traced along the line of his lips.

After a while, it stopped in the middle and played with them.

The small breaths gusting on Huo Tinglan’s fingertips suddenly accelerated.

Ye Ci panicked.

Afraid that his breathing rate would reveal his pretense, Ye Ci took a few
breaths and then subconsciously held his breath, his body trembling
slightly.

This was not pretending to be asleep, but pretending to be dead.

“Ye Ci,” Huo Tinglan suppressed a laugh, his fingers like bait as he rubbed
the silly mouth with a poor memory that continued to bite the hook. “Are
you really asleep?”

Suddenly waking up at this time would only be more embarrassing.

It was hard to ride a tiger,[2] better to play the role to the end. Ye Ci
resolutely kept his eyes closed. There was sweat on his forehead, and his
eyelashes trembled.

“You really are asleep?” Huo Tinglan announced in a low voice, “Then I’m
going to do something bad.”

Ye Ci: “…….”
His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly in disbelief.

Huo Tinglan took the edge of the blanket and picked it up.

It was almost like lifting the hem of a skirt, but he could do it without
appearing vulgar.

Under the blanket, the collar of Ye Ci’s pajamas was fastened to the top
button, and Huo Tinglan flipped the button as if teasing a small fish.

Ye Ci’s eyelashes trembled and he thoroughly crumbled. Too embarrassed

to open his eyes, he turned over, plunged into Huo Tinglan’s arms, and
begged for mercy: “Huo-shushu, don’t, don’t do it……”

“You pretended to be asleep.” Huo Tinglan gently tugged Ye Ci’s bright red
ear.

He saw through it and laid it bare.

No matter how foolish Ye Ci was, he realized that Huo Tinglan was not the
same as before he confirmed their relationship. Besides, he wasn’t stupid in
the first place. If someone else attempted Huo Tinglan’s actions, he would
probably see through it within three sentences.

The fact that he could be hooked with one cast was due to nothing more
than preconceived notions. He believed firmly in Huo Tinglan’s pure and
good nature, and this filter was too thick to see through.

“Huo-shushu, why are you……” He clenched his fists and hesitated.

“Why……are you like this?”

“What am I like?” Huo Tinglan laughed, and the deep vibrations of his
chest tickled Ye Ci’s eardrums.

“Like,” Ye Ci struggled to retrieve a precise word that was not a curse,

“You’ve become un, ungentlemanly.”

Ungentlemanly.
Huo Tinglan was stunned for a moment. In his life and in his previous life,
he had never heard anyone make a comment about him like this.

Not only that, but he was often rated the opposite.

It was said that no one knew a child better than their mother, but even his
mother, Lin Yao, often persuaded him to let go of the elite air of being alone
all his life. Even if he couldn’t find a matching Omega, at least he could
meet a Beta woman……

Moreover, the way he and Ye Ci got along in the last life was not the same
as it was now.

Of course it wasn’t a compliment, but he felt a heat up his spine. Being

provoked by the aggrieved little lover who vaguely realized he had boarded
a pirate ship doubled his agitation.

“Xiao Ci,” Huo Tinglan moved back a little, looked at Ye Ci buried in his
chest, and stroked his messy hair. Half coaxing and half serious, he said:
“From the moment we established our relationship, you were officially my
lover and husband, legally and emotionally. In front of you, I don’t think I
need to, or should, put on the air of being a good gentleman. Just like you
don’t have to try to be brave in front of me. You can talk to me, you can cry
to me, and you can rely on me to your heart’s content……what do you
say?”

With just a few words, he integrated his “hooliganism” with his true nature.

Extremely shameless.

Ye Ci wrestled with this for a while. He also pretended to be tough in front

of Huo Tinglan. If it was wrong to say that it wasn’t the same, then he
probably……didn’t count as innocent?

Besides, flirting with a lover seemed to be okay, it was just that the
contrast……

“Do you still like Huo-shushu?” Huo Tinglan asked knowingly.

How could he not like him because of that?

Ye Ci nodded in embarrassment.

“You like me even if I’m not a gentleman?” Huo Tinglan repeated with a
smile.

Ye Ci gritted his teeth, and the corners of his jaw flexed sharply. After a few
seconds of silence, he admitted: “I like you.”

However, the villain hadn’t even revealed one-tenth of his essence.

“Then……” Huo Tinglan paused. Meeting Ye Ci’s inquisitive gaze, he said

quietly, “Will you help? The susceptibility period is about to be drawn out
by you, so soothe me……”

Ye Ci was stunned, unable to argue: “I, I drew it out?”

“En.” Huo Tinglan choked back a laugh. His eyes were jet-black and bright,
and he had a handsome appearance, but it was a pity that it contained a
wicked thing that would toss a black pot to a child.[3]

“You did……do you know how pretty your blush is?” The black pot
smashed him in the face. “You’re still drawing it out.”

Was being inclined to blush a sin? What could be done about an abundance
of capillaries?

Ye Ci had a rare rebellious thought and snatched the blanket from Huo
Tinglan to cover his face. As a result, as soon as the bridge of his nose was
covered, it was pulled back down to his chin. He covered it up again, and it
was pulled down to his neck by Huo Tinglan. He was light and quick, half
smiling, making them look like a playful and flirtatious couple. Ye Ci
noticed that the atmosphere was ambiguous and didn’t dare to grab it again.
His flushed face was exposed to the air, and he braced himself to “look
good” under Huo Tinglan’s eyes, retorting in a whisper: “Wasn’t your
susceptible period……more, more than a month ago? Usually an
Alpha……is only susceptible two or three times a year. Besides, it also
can’t be drawn out.”

He might know very little, but he had also been an Alpha, and couldn’t be
fooled.

“I’m sick.” Huo Tinglan unexpectedly smiled. “I have a disorder.”

Ye Ci stared, going quiet.

Huo Tinglan really was sick – – the susceptibility period syndrome. Not
every Alpha’s susceptibility symptoms were as severe as his, which could
be considered pathological, and the frequency was indeed uncertain.

“Give me treatment, baby. Think of it like an essay on being a good person

and doing good deeds, doesn’t that sound pretty good?” The more he said,
the more ridiculous and unscrupulous it became. Holding back a smile, he
continued to coax and deceive: “We had a deal to use a way you can accept,
other than touching your lips.” He turned over, holding Ye Ci’s hot face like
a handful of spring water as he pecked kisses across his red cheekbones, his
sweaty hair, his blinking eyelids……

His word was truly trustworthy. Since he said he wouldn’t touch his mouth,
he didn’t touch his mouth.

However, at the end, Ye Ci had to keep a deadly grip on his collar and not
let go. With a clear, lively voice, he repeatedly emphasized that he was not
to put his mouth on his neck. It was just that the collar of his school uniform
really couldn’t cover the neck, and his classmates and teachers would see it
at a glance.

This just barely saved his neck.

That night, he was only kissed on his face outside of his cocoon.

[1] 恶人先告状. Literally means the villain sues his victim before he himself
can be prosecuted. ⮐
[2] 骑虎难下: The idiom is, ‘If you ride a tiger, it’s hard to get off,’ meaning
it’s impossible to stop halfway. ⮐

[3] Throwing a black pot to someone is basically putting the blame on

them/letting them shoulder the responsibility. ⮐

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Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Thirty-Four

This night passed in chaos for Ye Ci.

In the first half, after a round of sparring, he was thoroughly kissed above
the neck.

He was embarrassed, nervous, and excited, and sweated profusely all over.

After all the tossing and turning was over, Ye Ci was too ashamed to sleep
on someone else’s bed while covered in sweat, so he took a shower in the
bathroom connected to the master bedroom. After rushing to finish up, he
smelled of the same sea salt and cypress wood as Huo Tinglan. This
probably hit the man’s possessive nerve again, and he was firmly held in his
arms through two thin blankets.

His cheek was squeezed against a firm pectoral muscle, and Ye Ci was so
alarmed that he didn’t even dare to blink, for fear that if he brushed it with
his eyelashes, he would make himself a scoundrel. He also thought over and
over – – Me and Huo-shushu are really together, it can’t be more true! He
was sometimes embarrassed, sometimes throbbing, sometimes in disbelief,
and like galloping horses, his thoughts couldn’t stop for half a second.

Therefore, it was not until early morning that he cultivated a little

drowsiness and snuggled up to Huo Tinglan to sleep.

At six o’clock in the morning, the alarm on his cell phone rang.

But Ye Ci was too sleepy to open his eyes.

Drowsiness was like heavy black velvet wrapped around his body. The
blackout curtains deceived his biological rhythm, the atmosphere was dark
and comfortable, and the handmade mattress padded with long horsetail
hair and cashmere gave him a sense of comfortable support and
envelopment. There was also that tequila fragrance that lingered in his nose,
making Ye Ci feel at ease upon smelling it……His eyelids weighed over a
thousand pounds, and Ye Ci was so sleepy that he didn’t know what was
going on.

“Wake up, it’s time for school……Xiao Ci?” The alarm was too noisy, not
soothing enough. Huo Tinglan turned it off and twisted Ye Ci’s earlobe
gently, then scratched the tip of his nose. He saw that Ye Ci subconsciously
blocked his hand and then itched the place he had scratched, repeatedly
performing this act of “a kitten washing its face” in a half-asleep, half-
awake state.

“Huo-shushu……” To avoid harassment, Ye Ci hid his smooth, peach-pink

face in the pillow and begged, “Just, just five minutes……p-please……”

He acted spoiled without realizing it, as sweet as a spoonful of honey.

Huo Tinglan would have been perfectly happy to let him have a lie-in.

In his difficult and struggle-filled past, how many times had he had the
experience of refusing to get up because of sleepiness?

They could be counted on one’s fingers.

This was especially true when his mother was sick. If he didn’t work hard,
she would suffer from poverty and even go hungry. A scrawny boy in a
baggy convenience store uniform, with white skin and dark bags under his
eyes, he would diligently carry over a dozen loads of merchandise. When
he was finished stocking shelves, he would take a short break behind the
cash register when there were no customers. Tired, but not daring to sleep
in order to be on guard against thieves, he could at most hug his arms and
hang his head down for a while. Due to his thinness, his spine and shoulder
blades would immediately become prominent when his back was arched as
he rested, sharp and hard.
The bones were hard, and this person was also very rigid at first glance.

At that time, he never imagined that the days to come would be like this.

He never thought that he would completely remove his disguise and be so

soft in front of others.

In a daze, Ye Ci didn’t know how long he lay there – probably more than
five minutes. Suddenly, there was a hot aroma and the sound of something
rolling, like a dining cart. Then, there was the light clink of ceramic
tableware, and the fragrant smell of food became stronger.

Hunger overcame sleepiness as his empty stomach woke up first, his limbs
and bones coming back to life. An ankle was gripped by a hot palm, and Ye
Ci struggled instinctively, but the hand didn’t let go. On the contrary, it
escalated and even caught his toes.

“Hold still.” Huo Tinglan pinched the toes that were as pale as green
onions, put one cotton sock on him, and stroked the edges of the sock along
the stretched arches. He was clearly waiting upon him, but he coaxed
hoarsely, “I’ll put socks on for you.”

His hand was so strong that Ye Ci couldn’t pull his foot back. When he
looked again, the other sock had been put on, the school uniform shirt and
trousers were stacked at hand, and there was an exquisite blue dining cart
parked not far away. A table was set up next to the bed so that he could
have breakfast without touching the ground.

“It’s rare for you to act coquettish for me, so I’ll give you a little time to
stay in bed.” Huo Tinglan glanced at his legs and smiled gently. “Do
you……want to change your trousers yourself?”

Of course he would change his trousers himself!

Ye Ci shrank back like a wild cat and said in fear: “I’ll, I’ll do it myself.”
He turned his head to look at the breakfast beside the bed. His emotions
were complicated, and his conscience couldn’t bear it, so he mumbled,
“You, you don’t have to……to spoil me. Just directly call me down.”
“How is this spoiling……” Huo Tinglan tightened his grip on the foot in his
palm. His heart was on fire and his eyes were hot as he said firmly but
gently, “I will love you very much from now on.”

This wasn’t spoiling? This was spoiling him to death!

Ye Ci was intensely embarrassed. He had never experienced this sort of

thing before. The maternal love Ye Hongjun gave him was as gentle and
delicate as a stream, the complete opposite of this thick, fiery love. He
didn’t know how to answer these words, so he just tried to pull his foot back
again.

As a result, he had barely twitched when Huo Tinglan pulled him over by
the calf until he was almost sitting directly on Huo Tinglan’s lap.

“Baby,” Huo Tinglan clasped his leg and looked at him with a pair of
passionate and pitiful black eyes. “Let me love you.”

If you wanted to love someone, to pamper someone, to spoil someone, you

didn’t need the other person’s permission – you just had to do it. The
initiative was in his own hands, but he forced him to agree and wanted to
hear him say a “good” word.

The temperature of that gaze washed over him as if it was going to burn
him through, piercing through his chest. There was no room to evade or shy
away. Ye Ci lowered his eyes and dropped his head, pressing his forehead
against Huo Tinglan’s shoulder. After a soft “En,” he added solemnly after a
few seconds of silence: “We, we love each other, Huo-shushu……I’m still,
still young, and I don’t have anything to offer. You……wait for me to get
older, and, and I will treat you as well as you treat me.”

“Alright.” Huo Tinglan’s heart softened even more, and he vigorously

rubbed that messy black hair on the back of Ye Ci’s head, saying softly, “I’ll
wait for you to get older.”

As if he was afraid that this big talk would seem empty and wanted to
provide some evidence, Ye Ci raised his head and glanced at Huo Tinglan
with his bright apricot core eyes, but he couldn’t tell what he was thinking
about.

Huo Tinglan smiled: “What……”

Before he finished speaking, Ye Ci suddenly leaned forward, tilted his head,

and pecked him on the cheek as briskly as a spring swallow skimming
water.

After the kiss, in the second that Huo Tinglan was momentarily stunned, he
withdrew his leg as if fleeing for his life. For fear of going to school early in
the morning with a kiss-swollen mouth, he leaned over the table and hastily
stuffed a small steamed bun into his mouth. A drop of golden red crab oil
dripped from the corner of his lips as he said, full of the desire for survival:
“I still, still have to go to school soon, Huo-shushu.”

His studies were important. Even though Huo Tinglan’s desire was left
unsatisfied, he could only stare at him from the sidelines with angry
amusement.

Talking was delayed for a time, and Ye Ci had no choice but to thoroughly
clear his plate. During these days, Huo Tinglan had taken good care of him.
Not only had his face become softer, but he was not so thin in other places,
such as his jaw and wrists. The knobs of his spine at the nape of his neck
were less bony and sharp, and when Huo Tinglan held his calf and ankle
just now, he also felt that it was more supple and sensual than before.

His body……could probably grow some more fat.

Unfortunately, it was invisible.

Just a moment ago, Ye Ci had given him a childlike kiss on the cheek.

But such a pure kiss could not wash clean his “dirty” heart.

Ye Ci was just a young deer restless with emotion, and it never occurred to
him that his pious Huo-shushu was actually thinking about his body at this
time.
……Otherwise the young deer would probably bang his head against the
wall in embarrassment.

After eating, it was time for Ye Ci to change his clothes.

Huo Tinglan timed it right and, without waiting to be shooed away, walked
into the master bedroom cloakroom to calmly pick out a shirt, as if he was
also preparing to get ready and go out.

Ye Ci saw this and didn’t dare to say anything, for fear of drawing Huo
Tinglan’s attention. Taking advantage of Huo Tinglan’s back being turned
to him, he seized the opportunity to get naked and put on his school uniform
in a panic.

In the cloakroom, Huo Tinglan flicked the rotatable full-length mirror in

front of him leisurely, the corners of his lips curled up.

……Just like a jade orchid.[1]

Round. White. Pink.

Meaty.

Good-looking.

The eagle-eyed eyesight of an A-level Alpha was indispensable.

……It was too indecent and outrageous to actually steal a peek at the little
gentleman changing clothes.

Seeing that Ye Ci had fastened the last button on his collar, Huo Tinglan
turned the full-length mirror back to its original position, smiled, and
ruthlessly belittled himself in his heart.

......

Ye Ci talked big in front of Huo Tinglan that morning, asking him to wait
until he got older, and that he would be as good to him as he was capable of
being in the future.
A boy’s teenage years were when his self-esteem was the strongest and
most sensitive. This tough talk was aimed at the object of his love, and was
easier to use than struggling through any vague and empty catchphrases.
Not to speak of how close it was, he must show Huo-shushu good results in
the upcoming final exam of the sophomore year of high school.

So on this day, Ye Ci’s studying was full of energy, as if he had been

injected with chicken blood.

During the recess in the afternoon, he summoned up the rare courage to go

to the teacher’s office, stuttering as he asked a couple of questions – – Huo
Tinglan’s lectures were undoubtedly good, but Ye Ci shouldn’t rely on him
for all six subjects, and should ask the teacher.

It was the same after coming home from school. Ye Ci studied until eleven
o’clock in the study room. Not only did he finish his homework, but he
even did a lot of it by himself, and his eyes shined like a hungry little wolf
who couldn’t get enough. If not for Huo Tinglan coming to detain him, he
might have been able to study until he fell into a coma.

“Just, just one more question.” Ye Ci pitifully clutched one end of the pen
that had been taken away and didn’t let go. “I just, just figured out how to
do this type of problem, I need to, to strike while the iron is hot.” As he said
that, he actually took advantage of the newly developed coquettish skills
from that morning, softly begging, “Huo-shushu, you are the best.”

How could Huo Tinglan bear this?

His bones were weak, and he stood aside with a smile on his face, looking
at the high school student answering questions with enthusiasm.

Finishing a few minutes later, Ye Ci had nothing to say and went back to
honestly rest in his room. Halfway there, he suddenly realized that he had
gone in the wrong direction. This was not the way back to his bedroom, but
to Huo Tinglan’s master bedroom.

“I’m, I’m going the wrong way……” Ye Ci turned his head and wanted to
go back.
He thought sleeping with Huo Tinglan last night was a special case – – Huo
Tinglan had said he had a headache and worked all night, and so on, and
wanted to hold him and rest for a while, but he didn’t say that they would
share a room in the future.

“I brought you a change of clothes.” Huo Tinglan smiled, blocked his way,
and coaxed him softly, “Don’t sleep in a different room, baby.”

Ye Ci was silent for a moment, and then took a step to the left, wanting to
go around.

Huo Tinglan also moved to the left.

Ye Ci moved to the right.

Huo Tinglan smiled and also moved to the right.

Wherever Ye Ci went, he would block him.

Like a little scoundrel harassing an Omega at the school gate.

[1] Jade orchid: ⮐

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Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Thirty-Five

Ye Ci’sexpression showed embarrassment. “If, if I sleep together with you,

I……” He was shy, but contradictorily straightforward. “I’ll be too, too
excited to sleep.”

“Too excited to sleep with me?” Huo Tinglan repeated with a smile.

Phrased in such a way, if Huo Tinglan didn’t know how pure Ye Ci’s words
were……

Ye Ci nodded carelessly, and wanted to slip away again.

“Huo-shushu will coax you to sleep.” Huo Tinglan hugged him. The
scoundrel pressed his upper body against him, enfolding him as he moved
toward the master bedroom, continuing to coax and tease, “Shall I sing you
a lullaby?……”

Ye Ci wasn’t strong enough to resist as he was pulled once again against the
swell of ample pectoral muscles. After all, he had the mindset of a young
adolescent boy. Consciously eating other people’s tofu, he didn’t dare to
move. His face swifty turned red, his vision became unfocused as he
yielded after making a show of resistance, and he retreated again and again
until his knees knocked against the edge of the bed and bent. He fell on his
back with a thud.

This scene was a bit comical. Ye Ci was stunned for a moment, then
laughed. Huo Tinglan also laughed, taking the opportunity to lower his head
and peck his lips.
Ye Ci was about to struggle again, but a big hand was already pressed
against his ribs through his pajamas. As if knowing where his weak point
was, it directly attacked his most ticklish fifth rib.

“Huo-shushu!” Ye Ci exclaimed, curling up like a cooked shrimp.

At first, he silently endured and twisted his body to avoid the tickling, his
jaw and the corners of his lips drawn tight. However, the nerve reflex
triggered by tickling could not be resisted by willpower. His efforts were in
vain, and he laughed: “Stop, stop it, ha ha, Huo-shushu……”

He usually smiled a lot less. First because there was an element of

deliberately pretending to be strong and cold, and second because if a
pretense was kept up for a long time, it would unknowingly become the
new norm. That face was habitually flat toward outsiders, and although he
was obedient and soft toward Huo Tinglan, he didn’t smile much.

Therefore, such laughter was rare. A pair of dimples and a row of neat
white teeth could be seen, like a ray of light breaking through the clouds in
the blue sky.

Huo Tinglan looked slightly stunned, and suddenly leaned forward and
kissed him.

He liked it so much. The tip of his tongue entered, as if to draw out a bit of
honey.

This kiss could still count as pure, but it was so affectionate and loving that
Ye Ci was more embarrassed than ever.

It seemed that in Huo Tinglan’s eyes, he had become something soft and
loveable, which was inconsistent with his view of himself.

He hurriedly suppressed his smile, hiding the dimples. In order to dispel the
enchantment that made him blush and caused his heart to beat fast, he
lightly rubbed Huo Tinglan’s ribs in turn to show that they were just joking
around.
Huo Tinglan grabbed his hand and helped him poke his body, saying with
half a smile, “I’m not ticklish.”

“You, you really aren’t?” Ye Ci didn’t believe it. How could anyone not be
ticklish?

He tried again, and Huo Tinglan leaned on a few pillows with a half-
reclined posture, holding in a smile as he indulged him.

Maybe it was because of his physique as a top Alpha. Ye Ci experimented

and tested. The neck that would make ordinary people giggle when touched,
then the armpit. Huo Tinglan didn’t even respond, but on the contrary, Ye
Ci’s little paws drew apart the dark blue nightgown.

Perhaps due to the excitement, there was sweat on his body and the warm
light illuminated his light honey-colored muscles with a delicate glow. It
was an extremely attractive male body.

The playful energy suddenly dissipated. Ye Ci rushed to withdraw his hand

as if he had invited misfortune, and his face turned even redder.

The atmosphere was just right. Huo Tinglan leaned closer and kissed him
lightly, like sipping strong wine.

From cautious to lingering.

Huo Tinglan decided to impart some new knowledge to his young lover.

“……Open your mouth, baby?” he asked, testing the waters.

The tip of the tongue brushed between the lips.

Wet and slightly cool.

Ye Ci trembled and shrank back vigilantly: “……Open my mouth?”

With this reaction from him, Huo Tinglan had the illusion that he had
become a kidnapper.
He colored on Ye Ci’s white paper with a tone that was as upright as a
popular science article, but the content was shameless: “Open your mouth
to let our tongues touch each other, this is a real kiss……” He looked as if
he had suffered a loss. “The previous ones don’t actually count.”

With their foreheads touching, he held up that confused and flustered face
and first made contact that would not make Ye Ci feel uneasy. Shallow
kisses, words of love, rubbing their ears and temples together, brushing the
corner of the jaw and earlobes with his fingertips. He saw that Ye Ci’s mood
gradually changed from apprehensive to hazy, and then to unfocused……
like a kitten that had inhaled too much catnip, dazed by the drug, he
obediently poked out the tip of his tongue from between his teeth.

There was a star of water on it, soft and bright.

Huo Tinglan lowered his head and seized it all at once.

“Wu……”

In just a few minutes, like a spoonful of condensed honey, fine and flexible,
stretched to infinity……

His tongue was sucked numb.

Ye Ci covered his mouth. As if he had no face to see anyone, he drilled into

the pile of pillows with a glowing red blush: “I can’t, can’t kiss any more,
Huo-shushu.” He felt around and pulled something out of the pocket of his
pajama pants. “I didn’t sleep well yesterday because of your, your wild
kissing, and I was so sleepy in class. Today I ate……half of this.”

He opened his hand, and in his palm was the leftover half of a peppermint.
Printed on the package were the exaggerated words, “Strong and cool,
instantly freezes the brain.”

Ye Ci’s small face wrinkled, and he complained in a bright and youthful

manner to his needy lover: “It’s, it’s spicy, hotter than wasabi……” He
twisted out a piece and muttered, “If you kiss, kiss me with all your strength
again, I’ll……”
Huo Tinglan almost laughed out loud.

What was this……

A suicide attack?

So cute.

In front of him, Ye Ci’s cold, hard shell had been removed more and more
cleanly.

He didn’t just act soft toward him, but was obedient to him.

But he was still able to complain a little bit like he was doing now, using
mint candies to joke with him……with the vivacity and liveliness that a
boy of his age should have.

If it wasn’t for Ye Ci’s academic considerations, he would definitely

escalate.

However……

“Understood.” Gentleman Huo Tinglan smiled and captured the mint candy,
covered Ye Ci with a blanket, and tucked in the corners. He reached out and
turned off the light, saying softly, “Sleep well, good night.”

This time he really didn’t do anything else, and lay down a few centimeters
away from Ye Ci.

The two people’s breaths mingled, and the scent of tequila enveloped them
heavily in the quiet night.

Being a natural “leader and commander,” the pheromone secretion of an

Alpha’s glands would undergo various subtle changes due to fluctuations in
the Alpha’s mood, enabling the pheromones to have different effects on the
immediate environment according to the Alpha’s needs.

Such as in this moment. Huo Tinglan took the initiative to suppress some of
his needs, and the tequila scent was obviously softer than usual. The
compositions that could awaken an Omega’s desire were rare, and most had
soothing and calming effects.

Ye Ci’s heartbeat, which had been soaring at 180 beats per minute a short
while ago, became more relaxed.

Between the soothing pheromones, the 100% genetic matching, plus the
fact that he hadn’t slept well last night and was seriously sleep-
deprived……even sleeping pills wouldn’t have such a strong effect.

Ye Ci’s eyelids were sore and heavy.

“I promised to put you to sleep.” Huo Tinglan stroked his hair. “Sleep, ba.”

......

The final exam for the second semester of school was scheduled for the 7th
and 8th of July, and there would be three days off after the exam. After the
results were released, the approved high school seniors would usher in the
most precious lengthy vacation of the coming year – a full 20-day summer
vacation.

This kind of vacation schedule was a bit harsh, but considering that he was
about to enter the sprint stage of the third year of high school, Ye Ci had no
complaints.

He had officially moved into Huo Tinglan’s room. Aside from the night
they confirmed their relationship, which had gone a little out of control,
Huo Tinglan was appropriately behaved and didn’t let falling in love delay
important matters. In this final exam, Ye Ci had advanced by more than 100
places in his year group. Although he was still at the middle to lower level,
considering Tiancheng’s environment of fierce competition and
staggeringly high costs, Ye Ci’s ranking in the province would definitely
not be bad. At least his undergraduate courses had reached a point of
stability. In the next year, if he maintained this momentum and speed of
progress, as long as he reached the middle of his year group, the entrance
examination would not be a problem at all.
Besides……his potential should be higher than that.

After the results were released, at the last class meeting before the summer
vacation, the head teacher called him out and praised him, and also
presented him with a “Star of Progress” certificate on behalf of the school.

That afternoon, Ye Ci returned home with his transcript and certificate of

merit. The first thing he did was to stammer and recount to Huo Tinglan
what the teacher had praised him for, so that he could hear it word for word.

“……Xu-laoshi said it like that.” After Ye Ci’s retelling, the corners of his
lips were half-raised. He tried to appear calm so as not to seem too childish
in front of his lover, or excessively excited over such a small score. But he
didn’t know that when he glanced at Huo Tinglan, his eyes were as bright as
a little wolf’s, and his ears were almost pricked up.

Like a child waiting to be praised.

“That’s really great, you’ve made significant progress.” Huo Tinglan

smiled, first giving overall affirmation before spreading out the six test
papers one by one, and discussing in detail the areas where Ye Ci was
particularly excellent. “Your math test is the best this time, and that is not
only reflected in the score.” A blue and gold lacquered fountain pen tapped
the math answer sheet, pointing to the penultimate question. “Your
problem-solving methods are clear and concise. I only taught you a simple
solution to this type of question once last month, I didn’t expect you to
remember it……it shows that you not only have a high degree of
comprehension, but also listen carefully.”

“You also performed well in physics……”

“Chemistry……”

He single-handedly held an award ceremony for Ye Ci.

After being praised for the second half of the sequence, Ye Ci almost
couldn’t even sit in his chair.
He had never received such a high level of praise in his life. He felt like he
had asked for a little red flower and was buried by a shipping container of
little red flowers. But Huo Tinglan’s demeanor and tone were serious, the
praise was well-founded, and there was no edge of teasing or ridicule.

“Huo-shushu.” He couldn’t hold back anymore. Wiping his red face, he

quietly refuted, “You’re exaggerating too, too much. If I’m really as good as
you say……like this, I can be, be admitted to a prestigious school next
year.”

Huo Tinglan looked straight at him, raised his eyebrows slightly, and said
what should be said: “With your qualifications, you can of course set a
prestigious school as your goal. Your foundation is a bit poor, but it has
recovered a lot in the past few months. You are so smart and eager to learn,
plus it’s a whole year in the future, I think the odds are good……” As he
spoke, he smiled softly and joked, “Why, does our Xiao Ci dislike
prestigious schools?”

Ye Ci quickly shook his head. He was amused, and when he finished

laughing, his eyes were hot and sore.

“In twenty days, you’ll be a senior in high school.” Huo Tinglan carefully
smoothed the corners of the papers and the answer sheet and chatted with
him. “Any thoughts on majors or schools?”

He would not restrict Ye Ci, and would at most give him some guidance.

As long as he didn’t go into formula racing……he could do anything he

wanted.

Ten mathematicians couldn’t calculate the area of his psychological shadow

regarding formula racing.

“I have some, some basic……ideas.” Ye Ci hesitated, and whispered, “I’m

interested in, in manufacturing pharmaceuticals……”

The clinical trial in San Francisco that Ye Hongjun was participating in had
been going on for four weeks. According to the latest test results, she did
indeed show signs of improvement. Follow-up tests would take a long time,
and whether she could recover was still inconclusive, but this was already a
pleasant surprise.

“I’ve been, been thinking about this for a while.” Ye Ci clenched his
fingertips, his eyes bright as he spoke of his dreams. “My mom was able to
get, get treatment this time mainly because……you provided her with, with
such good……conditions and access. But many people don’t, don’t have
this ability. The imported medicines we used before were all……terribly
expensive. I think I will study, study medicine in the future, so maybe I can
help those kinds of people, and let them all use cheap and, and effective
medicine.”

The bitterness of being seriously ill, he understood too well and empathized
with too much. He earned his way out of the quagmire through untold
hardships, and wanted to turn around and help someone else – – with his
own strength.

Scratching his cheek in embarrassment, he said: “It’s a pretty, pretty

childish idea, I know it’s not that simple.” When he raised his eyes, there
was a glistening light in them and a sort of simple kindness. It was the look
of those who had witnessed suffering without losing their heart. “It’s
just……a general direction to work towards, don’t laugh at me.”

Huo Tinglan looked at him, and his heart was so soft that he didn’t know
how much more he could love and adore him.

“It’s not childish at all,” he said firmly, and stood up.

They were in the study room, talking about life goals……this was a serious
occasion and an upright topic, but his impulses were inexplicably ignited.

“I just don’t, don’t know if……the salary in this line of work is high or, or
not.” Ye Ci was still making these small calculations in his head. When a
man had a family and a house, he couldn’t just think about himself. “I also
want to make, make a lot of money in the future and spend it on you and
my, my mom……”
Huo Tinglan hugged him then with a reckless and unbridled energy that
didn’t match his usual demeanor. With his chest and abdomen full of hot
steam, he pressed against him, sweeping away the pile of papers and
awards, and pushing him onto the desk in the study. Still on the right side of
their unspoken rules, he warmly promised in his ear: “Just study what you
want, don’t worry about anything. I’ll invest in you and help you with your
projects, okay, baby? Alright?”

“Ah……um, alright……” Ye Ci obediently let himself be kissed while

blushing, and felt like an actor who had gone to the wrong set in a daze.

He and Huo-shushu just now……weren’t they just talking about a serious

topic?!

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Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Thirty-Six

The fact that Ye Ci was lagging behind in Tiancheng Private School had
been widely circulated within the Huo family. This sort of famous and
noble family that had existed for hundreds of years looked down on
ignorant and uneducated playboys. Mediocre offspring implied a drop in
social class and opened the door to family decline. Therefore, “the family
head’s little gentleman is naturally dull” had become a topic of conversation
for those side relatives who coveted the family estate.

Knowing that Ye Ci’s ranking at the end of the term had improved by more
than 150 in one go, Lin Yao couldn’t hold back. She was anxious to show
off to others and let loose her belly full of anger at this small matter. It just
so happened that Huo Changyu had his birthday in July, so she happily held
another family banquet, using Lao Huo as her tool. Half the focus of the
banquet was on birthday celebrations, and the other half was to celebrate Ye
Ci’s academic progress.

“……Xiao Ci, you are too modest, what mid-to-low rank? Besides, can the
middle and lower ranks for Tiancheng and those of ordinary schools really
be considered the same concept?” Beside the dining table, Lin Yao
affectionately held Ye Ci’s arm and eloquently refuted his ‘mid-to-low
rank’ theory. “Furthermore, you took a break from school for more than a
year to take care of your mother, and in the past six months, you’ve
managed to make up over a year of progress. Your subsequent improvement
will only be faster, and you’ll work even harder. It goes without saying that
you’ll get into the top 30 or 50 in your grade with no problem at all. Don’t
you think so, Tinglan?”
Huo Tinglan was using serving chopsticks to fill Ye Ci’s plate. Hearing this,
he first affirmed Ye Ci’s learning ability: “En, there would be no problem,
in theory.” After saying so, he glanced at Ye Ci and gently comforted him,
“But Xiao Ci doesn’t need to stress too much over rankings……”

There was no need to set rigid requirements for himself.

He had originally wanted to reduce the pressure on Ye Ci, but Ye Ci had

been exaggeratedly praised by his elders and entrusted with high hopes,
thoroughly flattered. Before Huo Tinglan finished speaking, that little head
had already nodded toward Lin Yao several times, and issued a military
order: “I will try, try harder. In the second semester of, of the third year of
high school……I will definitely be able to enter the top 30 in my grade!”

His path couldn’t be blocked.

Huo Tinglan smiled.

“Is that right?” Lin Yao’s maternal love overflowed, and she smiled gently.
It was rare for her to lower herself to serve someone, but she raised her
hand to lift the lid of the small cup of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall[1] and
called, “Xiao Ci, taste the stew first, it won’t be fresh once it cools
down……”

This child was so obedient, and had a rare innocence that made people
everywhere fond of him. It was no wonder that her son’s temperament had
changed drastically in the past few months, and he protected this person like
the flesh of his heart.

There was only one point where he was lacking.

When this child talked……it wasn’t very eloquent.

It shouldn’t be difficult to correct stuttering these days, right?

Lin Yao took a sip of the soup, slightly worried, and wanted to wait until the
banquet was over to find a chance to bring it up. But after thinking about it,
she was afraid that hearing such a thing would hurt the child, so she had to
suppress her thoughts for the time being.

The family dinner lasted nearly three hours.

During the banquet, Huo Changyu was urged by Lin Yao as the birthday
star to invite the guests present to toast Ye Ci’s academic progress. Ye Ci
was afraid that not drinking would be disrespectful, so he urgently asked the
nearest waiter to pour him a small half glass of some kind of wine, and then
got up and drank it all in one gulp.

The wine tasted fine and bitingly cold, and the alcohol content seemed to be
quite high. Ye Ci had a hunch that it would get worse.

After drinking and sitting down to see Huo Tinglan looking at his wine
glass with narrowed eyes, Ye Ci was sure that something was going to go
wrong.

Sure enough, the wine was served extremely fast.

When Lin Yao took out the jadeite bracelet passed down to her by Huo
Changyu’s mother in front of the Huo family members, and handed it over
to the husband of the current family head according to family custom, Ye Ci
was already drunk.

Fortunately, he was a well-behaved drunk, not prone to wild drunken

behavior. If it weren’t for the dull eyes, one wouldn’t be able to tell that he
was inebriated. When Lin Yao spoke to him, he let out a soft sound from his
throat.

Lin Yao also hadn’t imagined that he would be that far gone. The corners of
her mouth lifted up and she couldn’t press them back down. With men on
the left and women on the right, she took Ye Ci’s left hand and put the jade
bracelet on him.

Taking advantage of the rare vacation time, Ye Ci had promised Lin Yao
before the family banquet that he would stay for a few days and talk with
her.
After the banquet, Huo Tinglan took him out of the banquet hall with the
intention of letting him take in the night breeze and walk for a bit to sober
up, and walked back to the main house through the garden.

The gardeners had retired for the night, and the garden was quiet. Ye Ci was
simulated by the alcohol, and his gait became more lively as he walked in
front of him in a provocative and tempting manner. Lin Yao liked flower
art, and there were many exotic flowers and plants in the garden. Ye Ci
patted this and touched that, like a curious kitten. Huo Tinglan wore his
formal coat on his forearm, following unhurriedly with a smile on his face.

When the two passed by a flower wall, Huo Tinglan casually glanced at the
top of the wall and raised his hand, calling to Ye Ci: “Xiao Ci, look – –”

It was late and the garden lights were all on, shining brightly to illuminate
the good things on the flower wall – –

A rare variety of rose.

The petals transitioned from bright golden red to cream, and didn’t look like
a real flower. If it was photographed and posted on the internet, there was a
high probability that it would be called a photoshopped image.

The current temperature was no longer suitable for the cultivation of this
delicate and expensive flower variety. For some reason, this one bloomed
exceptionally tenaciously.

Ye Ci raised his head, opened his watery apricot core eyes, and looked over.

“Is it pretty?” Huo Tinglan asked, looking at him with great interest.

He pointed at the flower to show him, just to tease out his innocent and
surprised expression.

“Pretty.” Ye Ci blinked. “Huo-shushu, do you like it?”

“I like it.” Huo Tinglan answered casually, solely admiring the face against
the wall of flowers.
As a result, with such a distraction, Ye Ci tugged his sleeves smartly and
suddenly rushed a few steps toward the flower wall. Stepping on the red
and white bricks exposed between the vines, he jumped up in a parkour
style. His right hand firmly grasped the top of the 3.5-meter-high wall, and
taking advantage of the brief pause, he grabbed the rose with his left hand
and flew down.

He still wore the jade bracelet on his left wrist.

This bracelet could fetch tens of millions at the auction house, but due to his
ignorance and drunkenness, he just jumped up and down like this while
wearing it.

Anyone who hadn’t met him would think he was some family’s young
master who had been spoiled by lack of discipline.

Huo Tinglan couldn’t tell what state of mind he was in, but he suddenly
smiled.

Ye Ci stood firm on the ground. He was so drunk that his mind was
muddled, but he also vaguely understood that he had acted cool just now.
However, he didn’t know what effect being cool would have, and whether it
would move the heart of the person he liked. Seeing Huo Tinglan looking at
him and smiling, he revealed a hint of pride amidst his shyness and handed
the rose to Huo Tinglan, saying in a small voice: “If you like it, I’ll give,
give it to you.”

He was a boy ingratiating himself to his sweetheart.

And his sweetheart was his favorite person.

All of this was hazy like a dream.

Huo Tinglan’s heart was a mess, and he reached out, intending to pick up
the rose, but touched Ye Ci’s hand by chance.

He couldn’t help caressing the back of his hand, rubbing it almost lustfully
and then moving up to caress the strong, thin wrist – – as white as the
moon, surrounded by the thin, delicate green color of something that only
the orthodox “daughter-in-law” of the Huo family could have.

A wife.

Ye Ci was afraid of hearing such gender-reversed titles.

He had differentiated into an Omega, which was the “female” sex at gland
level, so the “male” nature of his body structure had become his bottom
line. He was so sensitive to these things that he couldn’t even crack a joke
about them.

If it really happened, he wouldn’t be angry with Huo Tinglan, but he would

be listless for a long time and lose his energy, with the downtrodden look of
a man whose masculinity had been damaged. So Huo Tinglan only made
this kind of joke once, and after he said it, he regretted it so much that he
hugged the little gentleman for a long time and couldn’t bear to do it again
even on pain of death.

But this kind of address was indeed thought provoking, and when he
mouthed it silently, it made him burn.

“Huo-shushu……” That sort of touch was too strange. It wasn’t normal. Ye

Ci was so embarrassed that he wanted to withdraw his hand, but he was
looking forward to Huo Tinglan picking up his rose, so he had no choice
but to let it hover there in a dilemma and allow the other to be frivolous.

“Let’s go back to the room.” Huo Tinglan finally took the rose, wrapped Ye
Ci’s hand completely in his palm, and dragged him toward the main house
quickly.

The room they were staying in had already been prepared, and Ye Ci was
tossed down by him. Their red faces and hot ears rubbed together, and Huo
Tinglan repeated what he did to Ye Ci’s left hand a few moments ago from
his head to his toes.

Ye Ci was rubbed by him until he couldn’t see straight. With some

drunkenness and reddened eyes, he couldn’t even struggle to resist, and
gave a weak groan.

At present, this was as far as they could go.

“Here……” Huo Tinglan stood up and covered Ye Ci’s abdomen. The cool
linen was warmed by the palm of his hand, looking soft and smooth. His
Adam’s apple rolled and he asked in a low voice, “Has it grown?”

Ye Ci asked in confusion: “What, what’s grown?”

Inside that flat belly……

He didn’t know how far that secret cavity had grown, or if it was mature
enough to bear a permanent mark.

This was different from the glands. He had no way to judge with his sense
of touch and naked eyes, so he could only rely on Ye Ci’s own perception or
go directly to the hospital for a test.

And before confirming this, he couldn’t do anything.

Besides, taking advantage of the moment when Ye Ci was drunk and hazy
to take this step was just……inexcusable.

He believed that every major breakthrough in a relationship happened when

both partners were at least sober and lucid.

Fearing that Ye Ci would have a hangover and a headache, Huo Tinglan

asked someone to bring over sobering soup and a small vase.

He put the rose in a vase and fed Ye Ci the sobering soup all at once, then
coaxed the little drunken cat to change clothes and wash, falling asleep with
his arms around him. He hadn’t given deliberate instructions, so when a
servant cleaned the guest room, they only spread out one blanket, and he
was happy to cover up under the same blanket as Ye Ci.

Soothing tequila pheromones and the sweet scent of roses permeated the
quiet night.
Perhaps because of so much physical contact that day, and because they
slept with their arms around each other intimately in the same bed……

At three o’clock in the morning, Ye Ci woke up from a beautiful dream.

He dreamed of Huo Tinglan again like last time.

The back of his neck felt hot, the sweet and sticky scent of vanilla filled the
room, and his heart was beating wildly.

He had already sobered up from the wine.

If there was even a remnant of drunkenness, it was scared off when he

realized that something was wrong……

And when Ye Ci became more conscious and realized that they were not
even at home, but at Huo Tinglan’s parents’ house, this bad turn of events
became doubly unfortunate.

Ye Ci bit his lips until they turned white, then sneakily lifted the quilt.

He was drenched in sweat, and……there were traces of dampness on the

sheets.

“……”

He was finished.

He would rather die.

[1] Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, 佛跳墙, is a high-protein delicacy named
for its rumored ability to entice vegetarian Buddhist monks away from their
temples to sample the meat-based dish. ⮐

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Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Thirty-Seven

Ye Ci leaned over, squeezing his fingers and twisting them.

There was a soft, powdery feeling between the fingertips.

He was still confused, but had a gut feeling that something was going
wrong. His face was suddenly burning hot, and he clutched the back of his
neck as he stood straight on the ground, the revolving lantern of life
projecting in his mind……

Fortunately, Huo Tinglan was still asleep.

After another half a minute, he swallowed his saliva, leaned over to lift a
corner of the sheet and slowly pulled it.

If his technique was light and careful enough, then maybe it could be pulled
out without alerting Huo-shushu.

The idea was sound, but unfortunately, before it could be implemented, Huo
Tinglan suddenly turned over. He opened his eyes without warning and
stared straight at Ye Ci. His tone was wide awake when he opened his
mouth, as if he hadn’t slept: “What’s the matter, baby?”

Primal instincts of vigilance enabled advanced Alphas to recover energy

quickly through short, light sleep. The higher the gland level, the more
prone they were to sleep light and wake up easily.

Besides, the fishy-sweet vanilla scent was so strong that it could clog the
nose, and it was not hard to wake up.
“N-nothing!” Ye Ci almost jumped at his unexpected and sudden stare.
“You go to sleep, I’m going……to the bathroom.”

What was with Huo-shushu’s sleep patterns……no, why was he so alert?!

Huo Tinglan turned around and turned on the light. Propping up his upper
body with his elbows leaning on the pillow, his heavy eyes swept over him.
He smiled and said teasingly: “Why is there a sweet scent? Did juice spill?”

“Ah, en.” Ye Ci was stunned for a moment. Heart pounding, he babbled

nonsense, “I wasn’t, wasn’t careful.”

“Why are you eating in the dark in the middle of the night?” Huo Tinglan
looked at Ye Ci tenderly, and slowly said with concern, “Did you not get
enough to eat at dinner? Are you hungry?”

“I was very full at dinner,” Ye Ci rambled. “That isn’t why……it’s easy to

get hungry when, when the body is growing.”

“Oh.” Huo Tinglan was silent for a moment, thinking, then smiled as he
reproached affectionately, “You also spilled a pair of pants……be careful
next time.”

Ye Ci’s eyes went blank, and he tried his best to suppress the impulse to
jump out the window and end it once and for all.

Huo Tinglan remained calm and composed: “Next time you get a midnight
snack……bring me one?”

“I, I’ll bring you one next time.” Ye Ci nodded indiscriminately.

“What juice did you drink?”

“S-strawberry.”

“Where did you get it?”

“The, the kitchen refrigerator.”

“You know where the kitchen is?”

His tone was surprised.

“……….”

Seeing that the little gentleman was so ashamed that he would answer
indiscriminately when asked, Huo Tinglan teased him for a long time and
said a lot of nonsense.

His needs as an Alpha were chronically unmet. In addition to losing his

spouse and finding him again, his lover was too young and his glands
weren’t fully developed, so he could always see but never eat……
psychologically, it was inevitable that there would be some serious
illnesses.

With symptoms such as bullying children. The more obedient they were,
the happier he was to bully them.

Ye Ci: “……….”

He had thought Huo-shushu was going to rescue him and give him a way
out.

In the end, it was going more and more wrong……

Only when he saw that Ye Ci was about to be harassed into a coma did Huo
Tinglan mercifully withdraw his supernatural powers. After digging out the
replacement clothes, sheets, and other items from the cabinet, Ye Ci
retreated to the bathroom.

After tidying up in a hurry, Huo Tinglan couldn’t help it and cornered Ye

Ci, puncturing the paper window to give him a few words of “popular
science.”

In short, it was……

Very thorough.
“Can you stop, stop talking about this, Huo-shushu……” Ye Ci drooped his
head. His face was so red that he could boil an egg on it, and he was so
embarrassed that he could cry.

It wasn’t just the glands on the back of his neck. He had thoroughly turned
into an Omega.

However, Huo Tinglan managed to speak in a sincere tone, and with half a
smile, he kept talking to him.

In order to make Huo Tinglan shut up temporarily, Ye Ci wanted to cry but

had no tears as he agreed to the next thing – –

Regarding his lack of education in some respects.

In fact, there was no time to delay. Before their relationship had settled,
there were some things that even Huo Tinglan felt would burn his lips, and
he couldn’t teach them if he wanted to. Now he could finally teach
generously.

“……So it’s settled? We won’t talk about it today, and I’ll talk to you
slowly when we go back.” Huo Tinglan gave an innocent smile and put the
blame on others again. “You didn’t even read the popular science textbook I
gave you earlier. I would have rather taught you personally, but I was afraid
you would be too thin-skinned and misunderstand that I was taking
advantage of you……It’s just in time for summer vacation, and when we go
back in two days, there will be one forty minute class per day until the book
is finished. Do you think this arrangement will work?”

“Fine, it’s all……fine.”

“Then, when will you have time……to go to the hospital to check?” Huo
Tinglan pointed at Ye Ci’s stomach.

How could Ye Ci dare say no? Only hoping that Huo-shushu would stop
quickly, he said whatever he had to say.

Huo Tinglan was satisfied and let him go to sleep.

......

The next day.

Ye Ci didn’t want to let summer vacation wear down his fighting spirit too
much, so he still woke up as early as when he was in school and took
advantage of the morning, when he was most clear-headed, to memorize
ancient Chinese and English words for a while, and then went to have
breakfast.

After breakfast, he went back to his room to quiz himself. Too much
pressure could be counterproductive, and he would be at loose ends.
According to Huo Tinglan’s guidance, he formulated a study schedule and
rested every day when his goals were completed, which could be regarded
as recharging for the coming year.

Huo Tinglan said that after today’s task was completed, he would take him
to have fun. There was a horse farm near the old house, where horses could
be ridden, and a shooting gallery nearby, where you could play with guns.
In the end, he had a playful heart and was full of motivation to learn, so he
completed the task nearly an hour earlier than the expected time and looked
for someone after putting down his pen. Huo Tinglan wasn’t in the room
where they slept last night, and he didn’t message back right away, so he
just asked the random auntie who was cleaning the room. She said that the
other party was drinking tea in the tea room on the second floor. He didn’t
think much about it and went directly to find him, but before he could
knock on the door, he heard Lin Yao’s soft voice coming from the tea room.

“……After all, he is your husband and you’re the head of the Huo family.
He will more or less attend some occasions with you in the future, and it’s
not good to open one’s mouth and speak poorly……”

It turned out to be about his stuttering.

What Lin Yao said was not unreasonable, and her words were also tactful,
but Huo Tinglan still defended him. There was a smile in his voice, almost
mischievous: “It’s not easy for him to speak, but he still has me. I will be
my husband’s spokesperson, all the same……”
“Aiya,” Lin Yao teased him with a smile, “I know that Xiao Ci is the flesh
and blood of your heart and you won’t listen to half a sentence that doesn’t
please your ears.” She was not in a hurry, and persuaded slowly, “I know
you are afraid that he will think you dislike him for not being good enough,
and that his self-esteem will be hurt. I understand, and that’s why I’m
talking with you and not him. This is not an urgent matter, I just wanted to
remind you.”

“I know you meant well.” Huo Tinglan smiled and lightly changed the
subject, no longer speaking with Lin Yao about it.

He knew the cause of Ye Ci’s language barrier.

In the previous life, it was only in the second year after their marriage that
Ye Ci completely let his guard down and confided those things to him.

How it was because of Ye Hongjun’s ex-husband, Ye Ci’s stepfather, a low-

level Alpha.

This person was in love with Ye Hongjun for more than half a year before
they got married, and had always been taciturn and honest, gentle and
sincere, treating mother and son with utmost obedience and meticulousness.
Ye Hongjun mistakenly thought that she and her child had found support for
the rest of their lives.

However, after a few months of marriage, that scumbag gradually tore off
his disguise in front of the mother and son.

He had quite serious violent tendencies.

And that personality flaw was compounded when he became addicted to

drugs.

Maybe he used it to justify the outpouring of violence, or just to spice up

the monotonous brutality – but outside of the regular punching and kicking,
from time to time, he would also torture the seven-year-old Ye Ci in the
name of “reciting texts.”
Of course, the items to be recited were not limited to textbooks for the
lower grades of elementary school. In order to deliberately make things
difficult for him, the stepfather sometimes even found some difficult and
obscure classical Chinese.

In the process of reciting, if little Ye Ci misidentified a character, omitted

something, or stumbled……

This would lead to beatings.

If Ye Hongjun went to stop him, they would be beaten together.

For little Ye Ci, “reciting texts” was synonymous with fear during those
days of purgatory.

And the act of “talking” was often accompanied by sudden and severe
beatings.

During that time, little Ye Ci often went to school with injuries all over his
body, his thin little arms and legs covered with blue and purple bruises.
During the dog days of summer, the tiny little kid was all wrapped up in
long shirts and trousers, otherwise there would be no way to see other
people.

Ye Honjun had been desperately trying to protect her child, but there was a
huge gap in physical strength between her and an Alpha. The marriage
process was difficult and long, with obstacles everywhere, and even after
the divorce was successfully adjudicated, she was constantly harassed. Until
that poisonous worm was imprisoned for drug trafficking, and died
suddenly of a drug overdose several years after being released. The days of
mother and son completely returned to peace.

Unfortunately, this tranquility came too late.

After being abused for a period of time, little Ye Ci gradually realized that
when he was speaking normally, he would often suffer from nervousness,
anxiety, and other emotions that lead to obstacles such as cold sweats and
his mind going blank, as if he was being forced to “recite texts.” The
tension and anxiety caused by this deepened in turn, exacerbating the
problem……and just like that, a vicious cycle was created.

After growing up, Ye Ci, who had differentiated into an A-level Alpha, had
the ability to protect himself. He gradually no longer flinched or felt fear
when thinking of his stepfather, but a speech impediment could be deeply
entrenched and difficult to remove.

To effectively correct Ye Ci’s stuttering, psychological treatment was an

unavoidable hurdle.

Some victims with sensitive self-esteem tended to conceal this type of

violence and abuse, and Huo Tinglan wasn’t sure if the current Ye Ci was
willing to reveal this old scar in front of a therapist.

Therefore, until Ye Ci took the initiative to ask him for help, he would
never put any pressure on him.

……

The tea room fell silent.

Ye Ci didn’t dare to stay any longer, and was about to retreat on tiptoe,
when the cell phone in his pocket suddenly rang.

– – Huo Tinglan had sent him a message back.

The corridor was quiet in the afternoon. Even Lin Yao could hear the sound
clearly, and it couldn’t escape the ears of a top Alpha.

Huo Tinglan hurried out of the tea room. After Ye Ci slipped a few steps
away, he knew he couldn’t escape and stopped in embarrassment in a
corner.

“Still learning how to eavesdrop?” Huo Tinglan first teased in a spry tone to
show that he didn’t mind. Then he pressed the wall beside Ye Ci and caged
him in with his arms, watching his expression.
Seeing that Ye Ci’s face was turning red and he didn’t look like his dignity
had been hurt, he was relieved and tentatively asked: “What did you hear?
Tell me.”

Ye Ci hesitated briefly, and raised his eyes. Those eyes were calm, and there
wasn’t the slightest trace of the painful struggle when baring a scar, only
candidness and a soft, kitten-like dependence.

“Huo-shushu, in fact, I want to, to fix it myself,” Ye Ci said with slight

shyness.

“Baby, why are you so good……’ Huo Tinglan smiled softly. Fearing that
he might be putting on a brave face, he thought about it and said lightly,
“You don’t have to think about things like attending events with me. You
are my husband, and no one can force you to do things you don’t like, to go
where you don’t want to go, or say what you don’t want to say……
understand?”

“It’s, it’s alright.” Ye Ci shook his head, and his expression did not seem to
be fake. “I also never, never mentioned correcting it because I can’t
remember speaking more than, than a few words to people before.
But……” He took a step forward, wrapped his arms around Huo Tinglan’s
slim waist, and tilted his head to rest his face on his shoulder.

From this angle, Huo Tinglan couldn’t see his expression, but he could hear
it.

“I just hope that, that in the future……I can talk to you without barriers.”

There was a smile in his tone.

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Chapter Thirty-Six<< Table of Contents >> Chapter Thirty-Eight

Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Thirty-Eight

“……Alright.”

Huo Tinglan hugged Ye Ci and stroked his head.

He didn’t know when it had started, but Ye Ci was more and more different
from the brittle and fragile person in his memory.

The scarred sapling had sprouted new shoots from the wounds, fresh and
high-spirited. All the humiliation and suffering endured in the past had been
peeled away like an inconspicuous plaster, unable to hurt him anymore.

Warmth surged quietly between the two as they embraced each other.

It was a pity that Huo Tinglan here had lost both his gentleman’s mask and
demeanor, and the warmth lasted no more than three seconds.

“Baby,” Huo Tinglan backed away a little and lightly ran his fingertips over
Ye Ci’s lips, smiling and humbly asking for advice: “Isn’t the usual way to
correct this through mouth-to-mouth? I say something and you say
something back?”

He was playing a scoundrel. Ye Ci glanced at him hesitantly, and honestly

said: “We may have to find a specialized agency, or a psychiatrist……”

Huo Tinglan said, “Okay, I’ll help you find the best one.”

Ye Ci was silent for a moment. His eyelashes fluttered, and his voice
became smaller and smaller: “Just now, you really, really made an
innuendo……”
Huo Tinglan said courteously, “Yes.”

Not with shame, but with pride!

Ye Ci: “……….”

There was silence.

Ye Ci was not reconciled to being harassed by his older lover all day long.
He was so embarrassed that his earlobes were about to drip blood, and he
didn’t dare look at anyone, but stood up straight and said: “Then, then you
try and treat me mouth-to-mouth……”

He was like a young animal trying to hunt with his tiny claws.

Before he finished speaking, Huo Tinglan pushed him against the corridor
wall.

“I’ll give you mouth-to-mouth, and stroke your tongue again……can I,

baby? What do you say?”

Lips rubbed against lips. Not knowing who made the first move, the two
were inseparably entangled.

Those pink lips were sucked bright red and slightly swollen, and it would
be impossible to face anyone for half an hour.

That little tongue was also firmly “stroked’ a dozen times back and forth,
and became not nimble, but doubly clumsy.

After the kiss was over, Ye Ci covered his mouth and hurried back to the
room, unable to utter a single sentence.

He really shouldn’t have flirted with Huo-shushu indiscriminately!

Originally, he wanted Huo Tinglan to take him out to have fun. Now he had
to wait in his room for his mouth to calm down before he dared go out.
Fortunately, he happened to have something to do when he came back – –
those clothes and sheets hanging on the terrace should be collected.
Apart from the big items such as the quilt cover, there were also Ye Ci’s
pajamas and a pair of white cotton underwear……

Huo Tinglan had washed them all by hand.

Yesterday, Ye Ci had to deal with Huo Tinglan’s teasing interrogation with a

head full of steam. He was dazed from embarrassment, and when he came
back to his senses, he was already in the bathroom. Huo Tinglan pushed
him to sit on the changing stool.

The so-called spilled juice was all sticky and wet.

“Take off your pajamas for me.” Huo Tinglan knelt down on one knee in
front of him. Putting aside the teasing look, he said softly, “I’ll go wash
them.”

An Alpha’s desire to possess was illogical. Even if Ye Ci didn’t care about

these items soaked in the scent of vanilla, he couldn’t let others wash them.

“I, I can do it myself……” Ye Ci muttered.

Huo Tinglan tugged at his trouser legs and thoughtfully said: “Juice is not
easy to wash out. Let me do it, I have strong hands and can rub it clean.”

“It’s, it’s not……” Ye Ci got stuck in the middle of his retort. His face
flushed red, his mouth pursed in shame, anger and pitifulness, and he was
clutching his trousers as if they were his last hope.

“Be obedient,” Huo Tinglan said gently, with ulterior motives. “Go take a
hot shower and I’ll clean up the rest.”

“Baby.” Seeing Ye Ci’s refusal, he tossed a sentence out in a lukewarm

manner: “Are you so polite with your husband?”

He said this as if complaining about Ye Ci’s estrangement from him. Ye

Ci’s hands shook as he tentatively let go.

His legs felt cold when he loosened his grip.

The pajama pants were taken off by Huo Tinglan.

That hand speed belonged to a thief, and made one feel ashamed to see it.

Two white, slender, and straight gazelle-like legs were desperately pressed
together. Almost out of breath, Ye Ci pulled the hem of his pajamas to cover
himself.

“Give it all to me,” Huo Tinglan said with a gentle look and a smile. “I just
want to help you wash your clothes, why are you making it look like I’m a
scoundrel……be good, baby, stand up and be obedient……”

Like this, he half-coaxed, half-spurred him to undress.

Ye Ci was as embarrassed as a steamed shrimp, curled up red and hot on the

changing stool. The hem of his pajamas was long enough that nothing could
be seen. He pulled it down with one hand and grabbed Huo Tinglan’s wrist
with the other to prevent him from leaving, pleading in a trembling voice:
“Huo-shushu, throw it away instead, don’t, don’t wash it……”

“Is it a good thing to just throw it away after spilling some juice?” Huo
Tinglan smiled. Kneading the ball of cotton and white cloth into the palm of
his hand, he set up a provisional rule for the Huo family, earnestly
instructing the little gentleman who was extravagant and wasteful:
“‘Tranquility cultivates morality, and frugality fosters character.’ This is the
Huo family’s motto.”

“Then I’ll do it my, myself, the Huo family’s motto should also include……
taking care of, of your own problems, right?” Ye Ci pulled at Huo Tinglan’s
fingers, wanting him to open his hand flat. Huo Tinglan moved his hands
away with a smile, and Ye Ci leaned forward to chase after them, resulting
in his hands wrapping around him. The visual effect was as if he had taken
the initiative to hug Huo Tinglan. As a result, that mischievous man took
the opportunity to kiss his face twice. This didn’t look like he was trying to
grab something at all, it was basically flirting.

“Huo-shushu!” Ye Ci’s eyes widened in disbelief. It seemed that he wanted

to stare at Huo Tinglan’s face, to test how thick it was.
It was just a little unfathomable!

“Be good, take a shower.” Huo Tinglan pulled out a bath towel for Ye Ci to
wrap himself in, and drove him to take a shower.

Ye Ci took one step and turned his head back three times, deeply reluctant
to go. He was itching to take those wet things out of Huo Tinglan’s hands
and stuff them into a rocket to launch into outer space.

The bathroom was designed to keep the wet areas separate from the dry, and
the shower room had a frosted glass door. Nothing could be seen clearly,
and the water vapor hung in the air, making it more hazy.

Huo Tinglan brought a new pair of pajamas and put them on the wash
stand, then went back to the room and removed the dirty quilt cover and
other large items, and even dug out the spare ones to replace them.
Although he hired someone to take care of these things when he was
abroad, it was not as convenient as at home, so he was not bad at taking
care of himself and could even change the quilt and wash the clothes.

Ye Ci cleaned up in a hurry and didn’t wash his hair, so he came out and
changed in less than two minutes.

Huo Tinglan walked into the bathroom with a pile of wet linens. Pushing Ye
Ci out the door, it was as if he doted on the little gentleman and wouldn’t let
him do the work.

Ye Ci stood at the door and heated the room temperature several degrees
with his face. Heaven and man fought for 300 rounds,[1] and there was
really no way to go back to sleep like this, so he mustered up the courage to
push open the door: “Huo-shushu, let me wash it……Huo, Huo-shushu! ! !”

“En?” Huo Tinglan unhurriedly removed the pile from near his nose and
pushed it back into the sink with an elegant gesture, as if he had just wiped
his mouth with a napkin.

Ye Ci’s pupils shook like an earthquake.

“What, what are you……!”

“What did you say? You spilled some juice?”

Huo Tinglan laughed lightly and simply shook off the drops of water on his
hands. Strutting out of the bathroom, he bundled Ye Ci into the corner,
leaned close to his ear, and said in a hoarse voice: “That’s called……
something a mature or near-mature Omega has in some specific
circumstances.” Huo Tinglan lowered his eyes, stared at him darkly, and
said softly, “Xiao Ci has grown up.”

After a moment, he turned Ye Ci’s embarrassed face back with his

fingertips and asked in a low voice, “Did you dream of me?”

Ye Ci turned his face away, not daring to recall.

But Huo Tinglan didn’t let him go. He grabbed his hands in one of his own
and tortured him slowly: “What did you dream about?”

Ye Ci couldn’t bear the torture, and truthfully said, “I just, just dreamed of
you holding me……”

Huo Tinglan didn’t believe it, and forced a confession: “What else?”

Ye Ci swallowed his saliva and lowered his head. Wiping the seams of the
floor with the soles of his feet, he confessed in a voice softer than a
mosquito: “There was a kiss……”

“Anything else?”

“That’s all there was.” Ye Ci shook his head rapidly, honestly assuring,
“Really, that’s it.”

Huo Tinglan knew he wasn’t lying, so he laughed in surprise: “You

dreamed of me……so innocently?”

Whether he had been teased into insanity or to add credibility to the

confession, somehow Ye Ci came up with a sentence: “I don’t, don’t
know……what else can be done, ah.”
As a result……

He bit the bullet and agreed to go back to study the Omega biology book.

How could he take this lesson, ah!

Ye Ci stood on the balcony in a daze.

After a while, he didn’t know what to think and suddenly raised his hand
and punched the balcony railing.

Huo-shushu took care of him well.

But he was also too……too unscrupulous!

[1] When a party refuses to accept and wants to challenge an opponent, the
catchphrase, “Who will fight with me for 300 rounds!” is sometimes used.
⮐

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Chapter Thirty-Seven << Table of Contents >> Chapter Thirty-Nine

Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Thirty-Nine

Ye Ci lived in the Huo residence for a few days, riding horses, playing with
guns, and swinging a few rounds of golf. He was not interested in the
leisurely sport of golf, and after completing his daily study tasks, he went to
the shooting hall. When he touched the gun, his eyes lit up with excitement.
After a few days, he emptied the platinum card that Huo Tinglan’s assistant
gave him, but he still couldn’t get enough of it. It was a pity that he had
stayed in the manor for long enough and it was time to go back to the
house.

On the way back, Ye Ci listlessly stroked the platinum club membership

card whose massive balance was cleared in just a few days. Putting his head
on Huo Tinglan’s shoulder, he whispered: “Huo-shushu, in the future……
just occasionally, is it okay for me to go back and play?”

“……Why are you interested in these dangerous things?” Huo Tinglan

rubbed the back of his neck and sighed quietly. “If it’s not racing, it’s
shooting.”

It could be seen that no matter how soft Ye Ci was in front of him, there
was still a bit of an Alpha’s nature left in his bones, and he naturally
yearned for these dangerous and exciting things.

After all, it was the result of his first gland differentiation, and its influence
on shaping his personality could not be completely erased.

“I’ve been racing for, for a long time, but if you forbid me to go, I won’t
go……” He raised his head and gazed at him with those shining almond
eyes. “I’ll just go do this, okay, Huo-shushu? Okay?”
Huo Tinglan was silent for a moment, then held the card reservedly
between his middle fingers and pulled it away.

Ye Ci fell silent. This was the highest level request he could make, and it
was impossible to pester him further. But he was so depressed that he
almost collapsed into a limp noodle in the back seat.

“What?” Huo Tinglan rubbed his flat stomach and said with amusement,
“Didn’t you say it was empty? I’ll get someone to take care of it and give it
back to you……are you unhappy?”

“I’m happy!” Ye Ci sat up abruptly.

“But you are not allowed to go by yourself. Every time you go to play, you
have to wait for me to coordinate the time to accompany you, otherwise I’ll
worry……can you do that?” Huo Tinglan established his terms.

“I can!” Ye Ci nodded as if he was pounding garlic. Then he paused, afraid

of holding up Huo Tinglan’s time, and tried to speak, “In fact, this shooting
gallery is very formal……it’s pretty safe. I’m already an adult, so even if I
go by my, myself……”

Huo Tinglan cut him off with a smile: “Not allowed.”

“Okay, I’ll listen to you.” Ye Ci shut up obediently. His thoughts drifted,

and he remembered what happened some time ago.

He hadn’t ridden motorcycles for a long time, and didn’t need to make
money by racing with people. It was purely a hobby. But a few days ago,
Huo Tinglan’s attitude was quite profound when he mentioned that he
wanted to go to a regular race track for a few laps during summer vacation.
Out of respect for his lover, he didn’t directly object, but in his words were
a million reasons he was reluctant to let him race, as plaintive as if when Ye
Ci went out to race, he would become an old man with an empty nest……
No, not an empty-nester, but more like a widow……

Of course, Ye Ci obediently didn’t go. It was Huo Tinglan who originally

asked where he wanted to go to relax during summer vacation, and he only
mentioned it. It was not something that had to be done, and there was no
reason to make Huo Tinglan unhappy.

However.

Ye Ci held his chin in his palm and fell into deep thought.

It was the same as drinking at the family banquet before. Huo Tinglan
deliberately let him drink first and allowed him to realize that his drinking
capacity had become extremely low after the second differentiation, telling
him not to drink outside in the future……This safety education was rather
thoughtful ba.

Was he thinking too much, or was Huo-shushu really……insecure?

A top Alpha like Huo-shushu……could feel insecure too?

Before he could come to a conclusion, a more serious matter appeared

before Ye Ci – –

The one session per day 40-minute “Omega General Education Class” was
officially put on the agenda by Huo Tinglan.

Ye Ci couldn’t help delaying the scheduled class time, and showed up five
minutes late.

The health textbook for the second grade of junior high that Ye Ci had
shelved before was placed on the desk in the study in a dignified way. Huo
Tinglan held his chin with one hand in a reserved posture, flipping through
the pages.

On the other corner of the desk, there was also the rose that Ye Ci picked
for him that night when he was drunk.

The rose had been dried with desiccant and other chemicals, and was placed
in a sealed glass container. It was golden red and milky white, fresh and
alive, like a work of art.
It was just a flower, but because it was gifted by Ye Ci, he cherished it so
much.

Ye Ci looked at the glass cover in astonishment. His heart was tender and
warm, and he almost forgot what he was doing in the study.

“You came.” Huo Tinglan nodded slightly and greeted very naturally,
“Please sit down.”

Ye Ci looked around, dazed.

Sit……where?

The swivel chair he sat in while doing his homework had been removed.

“It’s not convenient for two people to read a book while sitting face to
face.” Huo Tinglan smiled apologetically. “Can you make do with……
sitting on my lap?”

Ye Ci was so shocked that his face almost cracked. He stared at the

“apologetic” expression on Huo Tinglan’s face that he was very familiar
with.

Could it be that from the past to the present, every time Huo-shushu showed
such a sorry expression……

He was always secretly playing the scoundrel? !

Ye Ci recognized Huo Tinglan’s true face, was thoroughly unwilling, and

turned around with a pair of red ears to go and find a chair. As a result, as
soon as he took a step from the study, a powerful forearm was inserted
horizontally from the side, hooking around him to prevent him from going.
Immediately afterward, the other hand wrapped around the bend of the knee
and lifted him up lightly and deftly.

“Huo-shushu!” Ye Ci struggled and kicked, and his head almost hit the man
in the nose again.
Huo Tinglan laughed and walked towards the desk. His elegance was three
points like a bandit leader who stole away the women of the people.

The kitten was finally spoiled enough to scratch at him, and he was
overjoyed.

In the end, Huo Tinglan sat in the swivel chair with Ye Ci in front of the
desk.

It was exactly the same as during the previous susceptible period, a familiar
scene.

But this time, it wasn’t even about physics.

The textbook was beautifully printed, and the pages were made of coated
paper with a delicate luster, full of color and various popular science
diagrams.

Ye Ci knew that this was a serious textbook, so he had to treat it with a

correct attitude. But as soon as Huo Tinglan was by his side, he would
inevitably think wildly when he read, no matter how serious the book was.

He felt uneasy and didn’t dare to look, turning his face away awkwardly.

But Huo Tinglan pulled his chin so that he couldn’t help but look, and he
had to read it anyway. After a few glances, he couldn’t hide his curiosity.
His eyelashes dipped and he half-read the book through the cracks in his
eyelids, a contradiction of innocence and curiosity.

Huo Tinglan turned the pages of the book and recited word by word, with
his thin lips at his ear.

“……Different from a Beta, the gland is a structure unique to

Omegas……”

“It is located here.” He marked the key points with a pen.

“An Alpha will mark an Omega.” Huo Tinglan asked in a low voice, “Do
you know how this pheromone chemical reaction process works?”
“I know, you don’t, don’t have to say it.” Ye Ci was so anxious that he tried
to turn the page. “Skip this, this paragraph.”

“As soon as you’re asked, you ‘know’ it.” Huo Tinglan scoffed lightly. This
was like a student who pretended to understand the lesson. Holding the
page, he said, “If you’re asked more difficult questions, you’ll reveal your
secret, and if you take the exam again, it will be difficult to pass.”

So he forced the little gentleman who was ashamed and indignant to explain
it.

When the lesson was finished, the actual time was far more than forty
minutes.

After finally getting out of class, Huo Tinglan released him from his
restraints and Ye Ci hurried back to his room.

Huo Tinglan got up with lazy satisfaction in the corners of his eyes and
brow, and went into the bathroom.

His hands were stained with ink, and he rubbed them slowly. It turned into
dark blue hand wash foam, which was washed away by warm water.

Later, when he was about to go out, he straightened his tie and checked his
appearance.

According to the plan, he would accompany Ye Ci to see a well-known

psychological counselor in the afternoon. It was said that he was very good
at correcting stuttering.

Ye Ci hoped to overcome this obstacle, and of course he supported him, but

he really didn’t mind Ye Ci’s little problem.

Besides……

Huo Tinglan thought about it for a bit, and the corners of his lips raised.

When Ye Ci was bullied by him to the point of shame and indignation, he

couldn’t even say a few words to beg for mercy……it was cute.
When Huo Tinglan got ready and went downstairs, Ye Ci had already
changed clothes and was waiting in the car.

The kid was bullied so badly this time that when he heard him get in the car,
he didn’t even look back, just folded his arms and rested his chin as he
looked out the window, his body stretched like a bowstring.

“Baby.” Huo Tinglan coaxed softly, not afraid that the driver would hear
through the privacy screen. “Are you angry?”

Ye Ci remained silent, pressed against the car door, and tried to distance
himself from the old scoundrel.

Huo Tinglan suppressed a smile, controlled his apologetic tone, and said,
“Isn’t this just helping you with a lesson? I urged you to learn by yourself,
and you didn’t study hard……”

What else could be said……he was teaching a class.

In this world, there was really such a degree of shamelessness.

“You’re still, still speaking in this tone!” Ye Ci, red-faced, rushed to cover
his mouth.

As a result, Huo Tinglan pushed the chair back with his hand.

He bullied him fiercely again in the same way.

The poor innocent high school boy wanted to call the police!

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Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Forty

Half of the precious twenty-day summer vacation had passed in the blink of
an eye.

As for the “health education class,” with emphasis on the quotes, Ye Ci took
it once and refused to honestly take it again. Their relationship had only
been confirmed for so long – how could he be subject to such stimulation?
As a result, Huo Tinglan, who had taken off his disguise, captured him and
brought him to the study every time. As soon as it was time for class, the
dignified head of the Huo family relied on his terrifyingly keen five senses
to catch the little cat all over the house, using his high-quality top Alpha
genes in crooked places.

He himself was a person with heavy desire, and had endured for too long to
match Ye Ci’s pace, so it was understandable for him to do so.

The next round of susceptibility was coming soon, and he could finally ask
his Omega for comfort. Huo Tinglan didn’t deliberately suppress it, and the
medicine for susceptibility syndrome was stopped early. He just let nature
take its course and waited for the susceptibility period to come, stroking and
sniffing Ye Ci every day to relieve the discomfort caused by the pre-
susceptible stage.

In the past few days, taking advantage of the Omega knowledge class, Huo
Tinglan gave Ye Ci several informal “physical examinations.”

It could be seen that Ye Ci’s current development was good, and he would
be able to withstand the intensity of a permanent mark without being
harmed.
However, health was the top priority. Huo Tinglan didn’t intend to take any
risks, so he still took time to take Ye Ci to the hospital for a comprehensive
and detailed examination.

……The meticulousness was a bit much.

Ye Ci sat on a bench in the hospital corridor, his knuckles turning blue as he

clutched the medical report that Huo Tinglan handed to him.

Due to excessive shame and indignation, the paper crumpled.

……The lining is smooth and soft, good dilation, complete development,

no abnormalities……

He wanted to die.

Didn’t they use that unknown instrument to take a few laps up and down his
belly and have that Omega doctor press a few times……

How did they come to such a series of conclusions?

It was already so advanced?!

“Have you read all, all of the report?” Ye Ci asked in a quivering voice,
propping up his forehead with one hand.

Huo Tinglan said tactfully: “I read a bit.”

Ye Ci: “……….”

“Baby, these exams are a must.” Huo Tinglan looked at him tenderly, half
comforting and half suggesting, “My susceptible period is in two days, and
if I don’t hold back, I’ll mark you permanently……I don’t want to hurt
you.”

Moreover, he also couldn’t bear it.

The matter of a permanent mark had finally come to the table.

Ye Ci’s pupils trembled, and he lowered his head in alarm.

Susceptibility syndrome was devastating to an Alpha both mentally and

physically. Since its influence could be permanently eliminated with a
lifetime mark, there was no excuse for Huo Tinglan to continue torturing
himself.

It was also good for an Omega to have a permanent mark. It meant a stabler
mood and hormones, and regular, manageable periods of fever.

Huo Tinglan sat down next to Ye Ci, held his long, thin white hands in his
palms, and asked in a gentle voice: “Would you blame me if I didn’t hold
back?”

Ye Ci licked his dry lips and murmured: “You don’t, don’t need……to
endure it at all.”

Huo Tinglan gave a soft sigh and brazenly said: “Baby, how can you think
of Huo-shushu so much?”

Ye Ci tried his best to fight against his soft heart. His lips were tightly
pursed, for fear that more honeyed words would follow as soon as he
opened his mouth.

“Say it just in case.” Huo Tinglan smiled, teasing him with words, “Baby,
can you accept it?”

He was so shameless that Ye Ci didn’t know how to answer.

Thus,Huo Tinglan changed the question: “So it’s not acceptable, is that it?”

Ye Ci’s chest rose and fell quickly, and he shook his head: “……That’s not
it.”

“It’s not unacceptable.” Huo Tinglan smiled and said unhurriedly, “Double
negation means affirmation.”

“ ! ” Ye Ci’s face went red. He jumped up and slipped away without a trace
along with the full set of medical reports.
He couldn’t be around Huo-shushu for one second!

......

It was two o’clock in the morning.

A groan suddenly sounded in the quiet bedroom.

The tone was hoarse and pained, as if someone had just woken up from a
nightmare.

Huo Tinglan stared at the ceiling. His forehead was covered in sweat, and
his ink-black pupils trembled neurotically.

His heart was beating like it was about to burst.

Fortunately, the warm temperature by his side quickly brought him back to
reality. There was a heavy feeling of pressure on his upper arm. Ye Ci was
resting on it, sound asleep.

……It was a dream.

He slowly tightened the arm holding Ye Ci and rubbed the back of his neck
with the other hand.

The Alpha glands were already boiling hot with excitement, accompanied
by the beating of his heart.

This round of susceptibility had already begun.

No wonder.

The excessive secretion of glandular hormones during the susceptible

period would increase an Alpha’s sensitivity and alertness, thereby
amplifying negative emotions and the dark side of their personality.

Moreover, yesterday was the anniversary of Ye Ci’s death in his previous

life……
He knew that that “future” would never happen again in this one, and had
long been obliterated, but his mood was unavoidably low. He concealed it
impeccably during the day, but after nightfall, he failed to escape the
intrusion of nightmares.

He dreamed of that temple.

Bright yellow walls, green-gray tiles, magnificent snowy mountains, so

white that they shaded to blue. It was late summer, but the altitude where
the temple was located was very high. He wore a windbreaker and could
still feel the chill.

He was an atheist, but Lin Yao held the belief that “if you believe in it, it
exists, and if you don’t believe in it, it doesn’t exist.” She didn’t usually
mention these things, but she had also made offerings to temples. Therefore,
after Ye Ci passed away unexpectedly, she advocated praying for him – –
they prayed for blessings for the dead, but it was actually the living who
were comforted.

Huo Tinglan didn’t care about anything at that time. Lin Yao made up her
own mind and took care of all the big and small matters by herself. The
only thing she asked him to do was to sign the donation agreement for the
temple, and dragged him by force on the day of the ceremony.

He was in disbelief, his face frozen along the way like an empty shell, until
Lin Yao personally offered Ye Ci the ever-burning lamp.[1]

According to her, the ever-burning lamp could be provided to the living to

seek a safe and long life, and it could also be offered to the dead to
illuminate the soul’s way to the next life and accumulate blessings.

“……Xiao Ci had a hard time in this life, and his good fortune was small,
his predestined fate with us was too shallow.” Lin Yao hugged her son’s
shoulders with difficulty, rubbing them in distress. The Alpha’s frame was
tall and broad, but he hardly ate or drank these days, and was worn down to
a skeleton. “Let’s offer a lamp to Xiao Ci, perform a good ceremony, and
accumulate merit for him. In this way, if there is an afterlife, he will surely
live in peace and joy. Perhaps you will meet again in the next life, and your
fate will be deeper, unable to be broken apart. Maybe you can meet him
earlier, protect him earlier, and prevent him from suffering. It’s all arranged
by the heavens, who can say for sure. I believe that sincerity leads to
success. If me, you, and your father all believe in this matter
wholeheartedly, then we will definitely be able to……Tinglan?……”

“……I want this life.” Huo Tinglan shook his head. He hadn’t spoken for a
few days, and when he did speak, his voice was rough and unfamiliar.

– – I want this life.

Approximately this sentence.

He couldn’t remember clearly. He was numb during that time, his mind in a
daze, and his memory was not solid.

What previous life, afterlife……they were too illusory, too ethereal.

He only wanted this life.

In this life, he wanted him to have peace and joy.

In this life, he wanted to have a deep fate with him, which could not be
broken apart.

In this life, he wanted to protect him as soon as possible, so as not to let him
suffer so much……

He knelt down before the Buddha statue.

It was said that sincerity leads to success.

As Lin Yao asked, he had donated the Buddha statue, and the red
sandalwood and silver tiles. The temple hall was rebuilt, along with the
glazed tile pagoda. He did everything, kowtowed, and shed tears. Was it
sincere enough? Would it work?

Tears wet the corners of his eyes, dampening the blue bricks in front of the
Buddha statue.
His mother said that the ever-burning lamp could illuminate Ye Ci’s path to
the afterlife, so that he would not be frightened, miserable, or scared of the
dark.

Could it then give him light to find his way?

......

After that, he lived like the walking dead for a while.

And then, a few months later, he woke up that morning and time had gone
backwards.

He had no way of knowing whether it was true that sincerity leads to

success, or if it was just a coincidence. But in any case, he had miraculously
returned to the year after he turned thirty. The first thing he did was to go to
the Chu family and commit robbery. The second thing was to go to the
temple that Lin Yao took him to in order to fulfill his vows, and donate a
sum of money far more generous than in the past for various repairs in the
ancient temple.

Whether it was true or not, he wanted peace of mind.

Then, another few months passed.

The grief that once pierced his heart and bones had long since disappeared.
However, the psychological shadow had not been completely removed.
Especially when he was affected by the susceptible period, the heartache
and despair of that time would come to haunt him and make him wake up in
the middle of the night when he dreamt of the past.

Huo Tinglan’s breathing gradually became heavy, and he hugged Ye Ci in

his arms tighter and tighter.

Alphas who lacked a sense of security would tend to “mark” their

Omega……

The rich fragrance of tequila madly invaded every inch of Ye Ci’s skin.
The nearly suffocating tightness all over his body and the slight tingling of
his skin woke Ye Ci up.

“Huo-shushu, what……what’s the matter?” He rubbed his bleary, sleepy

eyes. The steel-like arms around him hurt, but he didn’t struggle to get free,
and stroked Huo Tinglan’s back with difficulty using his moveable forearm.

“Baby……” This sort of comfort made Huo Tinglan relax a little, and the
pain from being constricted was no longer so painful. He lowered his head
like a wounded beast, silently buried his face in the socket of Ye Ci’s
shoulder, and sniffed the sweet vanilla pheromones hungrily.

Ye Ci’s neck was pressed against Huo Tinglan’s cheek.

Smooth, damp, and slightly cool.

“Are, are you……” Ye Ci was slightly startled, and was forced to move
back. It was like pushing away a giant, clingy dog. Reluctantly fighting for
a little space within Huo Tinglan’s arms, he twisted his neck desperately to
check Huo Tinglan’s face.

The moist touch and luster……was like tears.

Would A+ grade Alphas be sentimental during the susceptible period?

Ye Ci was anxious and sat up suddenly, hugging Huo Tinglan back with all
his strength.

“If, if something is the matter, you can tell me anything.” He was so

anxious that he couldn’t care about anything, and his speech was much
more agile than usual. “Don’t keep it all inside, I’m worried to see you like
this. Is, is it not going well at work?”

“No……it’s nothing.” Huo Tinglan suppressed his emotions, let out a sigh
of relief, and comforted him, “Let me hold you for a while, baby.”

Ye Ci paused for a moment, then lowered his voice: “Is that an emotional
matter?……”
Huo Tinglan benefited from Ye Ci’s anxious concern, and the aftermath of
the nightmare disappeared without a trace. He smiled and said truthfully, “It
is, ba.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the room fell into silence.

Maybe half a minute later, Ye Ci very slowly withdrew from Huo Tinglan’s
arms and eased into bed.

After a while, his muffled voice, softer than the sound of a mosquito, came
from the bed.

“I didn’t, didn’t say……that I, I wouldn’t let you permanently mark me.”

[1] A light that would be left lit in a tomb until the flame went out by itself.
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Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Forty-One

Huo Tinglan’s eyes showed a rare astonishment, and he almost laughed out
loud.

What kind of strange image did Ye Ci have of him in his head……

He quickly suppressed his leaking emotions and held that silkworm

chrysalis wrapped in a thin quilt in his arms.

“It’s not because of that.” He pretended to be self-deprecating, “It’s just that

sometimes it feels like you may……not like me that much?”

“I, I like you so much, ah!” Ye Ci seemed to have been extremely wronged,
and he straightened up in his arms. Huo Tinglan looked down and lowered
his head, eagerly chasing those forlorn eyes. “Why, why do you think that?”

Even though Huo Tinglan had long been “notorious for his misdeeds,” the
cool, wet tears on his cheeks were real. A top Alpha secretly crying at night
was the epitome of sadness.

……It was impossible for him to have used eye drops.

Huo-shushu should still have his bottom line.

……….

Right, ba?!

Ye Ci hesitated for half a second, then resolutely put aside that dark
speculation and said cautiously: “What am I doing, doing wrong? Just say it
and I, I will change.” He held Huo Tinglan’s hand, sincere and flattering, as
if coaxing a sad little girlfriend. “Point, point out what needs to change.”

Huo Tinglan shamelessly savored the wonderful taste of being coaxed and
pampered by a young lover, and smiled helplessly: “Do I have to make it so
clear?” He didn’t seem too embarrassed, saying in a low voice, “I want to
get close to you, but you always hide, so I just……”

It turned out to be the case, just as he suspected.

He was also worried about whether the two people’s incongruity would lead
to similar misunderstandings, so he had guessed right this time.

Flustered, Ye Ci licked his lower lip as his throat tightened. In order to clear
up the misunderstanding, he forced himself to explain: “It’s not that I don’t
like you, I’m just, just embarrassed……because you’re kind of……” He
stammered, trying to pick a good word, but was unable to. So he could only
whisper, “Too, too……”

“Too what?” Huo Tinglan laughed. He really didn’t hear clearly this time,
and turned his head to put his ear towards him, repeating, “Am I too
amorous?”

Ye Ci blushed and said nothing, looking at Huo Tinglan with a hint of

horror as he said those words aloud.

Too amorous – there was a naivety in this complaint, a taste of innocence.

Huo Tinglan was so excited that it was like a ball of fire burned from his
tailbone to the back of his neck. He turned over and held down the whining
and complaining little thing, and the corners of his lips could not be pressed
down as he tortured him with a smile. As if his innocence had been stained
by Ye Ci, and he wanted to ask for an explanation: “What’s wrong with me,
what did I do, huh?”

“Not, not to mention ordinary times, even during the, the health lessons,
your hands……are not honest,” Ye Ci complained, and when he got to the
crucial point, his volume dropped again, “All the time.”
Huo Tinglan smiled and repeated in a straight voice: “I always touch you?”

The clumsy wording was just too cute.

Why did he have to repeat it so loudly?!

Ye Ci’s eyes rolled and he almost passed out.

“That’s called a physical examination. Physical examination, what kind of

hooliganism……” Huo Tinglan chased him and kissed him while saying
unreasonable things. The kisses made Ye Ci’s cheeks pink and his lips
bright red. Sweat formed and both bodies were hot with excitement, the
pheromones ambiguously blended.

The mood was just right, the moon was full, and the enchanting atmosphere
was heavy……everything was ready, and if he pushed the boat along the
way, he could mark him permanently, but Huo Tinglan resisted the impulse
– – a misunderstanding was a misunderstanding. He stroked his hair and
straightened to prop himself on top of Ye Ci with a smile. “Just kidding, it
wasn’t because of that……”

“……Huh?” Ye Ci’s blurred eyes slowly focused. When he understood

what Huo Tinglan meant, he knew that he was probably being self-
indulgent just now and had also taken the initiative to mention the
permanent mark. His expression gradually changed until it looked like he
had nothing left to live for. “What was it……you said it, it was an
emotional matter……”

That was all he could think of.

Huo Tinglan pondered for a moment, then said softly: “I had a dream.”

“About going back to the past and living it again.” If Huo Tinglan told Ye
Ci about this kind of thing seriously, Ye Ci might not believe it.

Even if he was on the verge of credit bankruptcy with Ye Ci, Ye Ci would

trust him no matter what.

However……
Huo Tinglan privately didn’t want Ye Ci to know what a terrible and
hopeless situation he was in during his previous life. How he had been
trampled and bullied, and died young.

Besides, that gloomy past could no longer even be called “the past.” That
entire space-time had ceased to exist, so why mention it?

It would just add unhappiness.

So he substituted it for a dream.

“A nightmare?” Those few tears became the gold medal for avoiding death.
Ye Ci didn’t care to pursue the matter of being teased a moment ago, and
shakily stroked Huo Tinglan’s head.

The hair that brushed against his palm was thick and smooth. Without the
setting spray, the elitist feeling of being in control of the situation was a bit
less, and he looked real and fragile.

“Tell me, once the nightmare is said, it will be broken and it won’t come
true.”

Ye Ci got up and turned on the night light. The warm light was like a thin
layer of floating mist, tempting people to be honest.

“I dreamed of you……” He began.

Regarding the accident, he tried to describe it concisely, as he was afraid

that his voice would reveal something abnormal.

But Ye Ci could still feel the deep, intense pain hidden in the forbearing
narrative. Not like a frightening dream moments ago, but like years of
mourning were seeping through, overflowing at the slightest touch.

He was at a loss, becoming panicked. He didn’t know how to coax people

in the first place, but now he could only stroke Huo Tinglan’s back and
repeat awkwardly, “But aren’t I okay? Huo-shushu, I’m okay.”
“Sorry, the dream was too real.” Huo Tinglan cleared his hoarse voice and
smiled. “Maybe it’s because I care so much about you……that I can’t
accept this possibility.”

Ye Ci was so anxious that his palms were sweaty. He squeezed Huo

Tinglan’s hand with all his strength, turned over his palm, and slotted his
five fingers between the other man’s. Holding it tightly again, he wished to
exchange all the strength he had nowhere to use for words of comfort – – he
had guessed right, Huo-shushu was indeed an insecure person.

“There……there was no such possibility to begin with.” He desperately

manipulated his tongue, “I am very careful to, to protect myself. I’ve been
racing all, all my life……I won’t do it, don’t worry. Anyway, it’s just a
hobby……actually, it can’t even count as a hobby, I just do it when, when
I’m in a bad mood, and after a few laps, I feel comfortable……”

That depression needed a place to go.

But he didn’t need it now.

“I will never do anything that, that you think is dangerous.” Ye Ci fought

with himself for a while, then suddenly turned over and stood on the
ground. “I’m not, not going to that shooting club either……” He thought
that this was what Huo Tinglan was worrying about. He didn’t want to
make his lover worry about an insignificant hobby, so he wanted to fetch
his membership card and shred it in front of him.

“Come back.” Huo Tinglan was amused, and he grabbed that strong, thin
waist and dragged him back. Cuddling at the head of the bed, he closed his
eyes and sincerely said, “It’s okay to play with guns, as long as I’m with
you. Racing cars……really scares me.”

He was unwilling to restrict Ye Ci’s freedom in the name of so-called love,

but in this matter alone, he would rather be an unreasonable person.

“I understand, I really do.” Ye Ci solemnly nodded. “You don’t have to

think that, that this is……restricting my freedom. I’m an……” He
swallowed the ‘Alpha’ that slipped to the tip of his tongue, and awkwardly
changed the word, “……a man, married, and should let you have a sense of
security.”

This Alpha burden couldn’t be set aside.

Huo Tinglan smiled, enjoying the moment of being forcibly enveloped by

Ye Ci’s boyfriend power. So instead of destroying Ye Ci’s Alpha illusion, he
just said softly, “Okay.”

Ye Ci scrutinized his expression, still uneasy, and organized his words for a
while. Using the way the psychiatrist taught him to speak, he slowed down
his speaking speed, lowered his tone, and said word by word: “Huo-shushu,
don’t you think that my fate with you……is particularly deep? With a
physique like yours, the degree of matching with other people’s genes is so
low, but it is higher than mine. And I also, by chance, secondary
differentiated into an Omega, as if just to meet you.”

“You and I are not from the same world, not to mention……we got married,
and even if there was an intersection, it would have been difficult. But not
only do we match, but, but there are so many good and bad……
combinations of factors, like the Butterfly Effect just pinched us together.”
He had never said such lovey-dovey words to anyone, and his cheeks were
pink with embarrassment, but those clear black and white eyes were full of
resolve. “The fate between me and you must be very deep. Even if we are
separated, it cannot be taken apart. If, if I didn’t meet you, I can’t even
imagine what my, my future would be like……Luckily, I met you early and
was protected by you early on. I feel that these are all things that were
arranged by the heavens.”

“I was born for, for you, to cure your illness in this life,” he concluded.
“You, too, were born for me, to protect me. God can’t bear to let us
separate……don’t be afraid, don’t worry anymore.”

Huo Tinglan stared at his thin, moving lips without taking his eyes off them,
his ears roaring and his blood rushing.

– – Maybe you will meet again in your next life……

– – Fate so deep that it cannot be broken apart……

– – Meet him earlier, protect him earlier……

– – It’s all arranged by the heavens……

Lin Yao’s gentle words in the dream lingered in his ears and gradually
merged with the syllables that dropped from Ye Ci’s mouth. There was a
high degree of overlap, and some sentences were even exactly the same.

Was it a coincidence?

Or were they really destined in this life?

His feeling at that moment was impossible to put into words. He abruptly
hugged Ye Ci, who was trying to coax him with his face up, his voice
trembling slightly.

“I know, baby……”

The melancholy and regret in the depths of his heart were like the ice of a
lake frozen for a long time, then suddenly cracking in the spring.

Spring water gurgled and gradually became turbulent, melting and soothing
the black and blue frostbite in his heart, and his chest was filled with a
warm and wonderful emotion. He hugged Ye Ci tightly. A small piece of
frozen soil was about to come back to life, and spring grass burst densely
out of the ground, making his heart itch unbearably. In order to relieve the
piercing itch, he had no choice but to hold Ye Ci’s face and kiss him
messily, passionately, and sincerely, holding him tightly and recklessly.

He was going to mark him forever, tonight, right now, right now.

“Baby……” A bit later, he pressed against Ye Ci, who was about to turn
into a puddle of water, and inspected the learning results of recent days.
“Do you remember the process of permanent marking?”

Ye Ci nodded lightly.
“Even if you know, I still need to remind you again.” Huo Tinglan touched
his forehead, rubbed the tip of his nose affectionately, then immediately got
up. While talking, he took out a small bottle of capsules from the small
drawer of the bedside table, swallowing two capsules with water. It was a
drug that reduced the activity of a certain reproductive cell to achieve a
contraceptive effect, and it could only be taken by an Alpha – – this drug
was the only method of contraception he could use when giving a
permanent mark……He couldn’t let Ye Ci delay his studies because of his
kind of accident, but he didn’t want Ye Ci to take medicine either, so he had
to take it himself. This bottle of medicine had been placed in this small
drawer for several months.

“Permanent marking is not a 100% pleasant process for the Omega……”

After swallowing the capsules, he continued to give a science lesson.

At first, it was purely pleasurable.

But that was just a trick of the vile laws of nature.

After the real marking phase started, the Omega’s deep cavity needed to be
opened for the first time. This process was often accompanied by pain and a
strong sense of being violated and conquered at the psychological level.
This was the inevitable consequence of the deep fusion of Alpha
pheromones, and had nothing to do with whether the Alpha’s performance
was gentle and considerate.

Therefore, for some Omegas whose temperaments were comparatively

proud, the mental discomfort could even outweigh the physical pain.

“……Especially for an Omega like you whose initial differentiation result

was an Alpha, you may suddenly feel resistance at a certain moment.” The
arrow was on the string, but Huo Tinglan calmed down and gave Ye Ci a
warning, “At that time, I may completely lose my mind. Even if you cry
and beg me, hit me, it will be difficult for me to stop the marking……and a
secure mark needs to be repeated many times, lasting for a few days on and
off. Are you afraid?”
Ye Ci turned his head in embarrassment, opened a pair of almond eyes
filled with tears from being kissed, and fibbed: “I’m not, not afraid.
Besides, I’m not, not the kind of person who cries often……”

With this matter being imminent, he was still clinging to his Alpha baggage.

It was really cute.

Huo Tinglan’s lips twitched, and he leaned over to silence the lingering
sound of his words.

……

……

……

When it was all over, it was four days later.

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Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Forty-Two

Ye Ci, who claimed to be “not the kind of person who cries often,” actually
had his defenses broken down faster than any Omega.

The Alpha portion of his glands had shrunk and lost their function, replaced
by the brand new Omega glands.

But the sort of personality they formed was difficult to erase.

When the arrow was on the string and he realized that he was going to be
marked by a stronger Alpha, Ye Ci struggled like a small silver fish out of
water.

The scales were stained with water droplets, dragging thick and bright
traces of different shades across the graphite silk.

It smelled like sea water.

His pajamas were also damp with sweat.

The omega glands at the nape of his neck had received a temporary mark.

The young skin was as tight as a drum, covering the sharp, bony part of the
spine. Huo Tinglan pierced it with the tips of his teeth, leaving two shallow
round holes, which were oozing blood.

Huo Tinglan pushed down the collar of Ye Ci’s pajamas and gently wiped
away the blood on the back of his neck with a disinfectant wipe.
Immediately throwing away the wet wipe, he put his dry fingertips to the
corners of Ye Ci’s eyes and touched his tears.

Ye Ci was crying.

He had said hours ago, “I’m not the kind of person who cries often.”
Fearing that Huo Tinglan would see, he had buried his face deep in the soft
goose down pillow. A mouthful of small white teeth bit the corner of the
pillowcase tightly, and his eyes were soaked with tears, shining extremely
brightly as he cried secretly and quietly.

How pitiful.

It was a shame that an Alpha in his susceptible period, only a step away
from a permanent mark, was no different from a tiger or a wolf.

A few hours had passed, and his humanity had long since perished.

“Baby, be obedient……” Huo Tinglan comforted him gently, wiping Ye

Ci’s flushed and wet face with the back of his hand, and said without
conscience, “Why are you crying, I haven’t done anything yet……don’t be
afraid.”

He lowered his dark eyes and stared at Ye Ci intently. The corners of his
lips were straight, and the warmth of his usual smile was gone, but his voice
was still soft, coaxing his Omega intimately.

But for some reason, that tone of voice was inexplicably like a villain
coaxing a child in an empty house to open the door……Baby, open the
door, Huo-shushu is not a bad person, don’t be afraid……saying that, he
waved the sweet, bright candy in his hand behind the peephole of the door
as bait – – a bag of candy called pleasure. But once Ye Ci in the empty
house opened the door for him in order to get the candy, he rushed in and
did evil, even seizing the house. On the walls, the furniture, the floor, he
used white graffiti to mark every corner with his message.

“Huo-shushu, I don’t, don’t want to be marked……” Ye Ci buried his face

aggrievedly so that he couldn’t see the Alpha’s sly and vicious expression.
He thought that since he was coaxed by Huo-shushu, Huo Tinglan still had
some reason left.

This misunderstanding caused his defenses to collapse, and he suffered a

catastrophe. The sense of invasion brought on by temporary marks and
permanent marks were not of the same order at all, especially for someone
who had been an Alpha. He thought about this matter too simply, bursting
into tears as he stammered and begged: “Can, can we change it to another
day and, and you can mark me then, Huo-shushu, please……”

“……Okay.” Huo Tinglan grinned, revealing the carnivore-like tips of his

teeth.

His nightgown was slightly unbuttoned, and his shoulders were elegant and
straight. Even with this almost evil expression, he still looked like a
gentleman.

Ye Ci didn’t expect him to agree so happily, and his eyes lit up as if he had
been saved.

The beautiful Omega who stammered and begged him for mercy, his eyes
as clear as frozen ice melting into ripples of water, his clear voice slightly
hoarse as he shyly called “shushu” over and over again……

All of these elements were provoking his dark side as an Alpha.

“……Say it again, baby.”

After a moment of silence, he gave conditions.

Let him stammer that long sentence while unstable with emotion.

Truly, this was not something this person could do.

Ye Ci knew he was bullying, but he could only curl up, sobbing, and repeat
that sentence in a plaintive voice.

“Can we change, change……”

He stuttered again.

“Can, can……”

“Can……”

The more anxious that clumsy little tongue was, the more difficult it was for
him to speak.

“Can we change it to another day and you can mark me then……”

– – When trying for the tenth time, he finally had a hint of being able to
speak fluently, but before the last two words could come out, his lips were
blocked.

“!”

What a scoundrel!

Ye Ci tried to resist, but the last barrier was lifted, and the marking had
officially begun.

The feeling of being possessed, seized, conquered, mixed with unbelievable

pleasure ran through his nerves and veins, eroding every cell.

He had the illusion that he was going to melt into red tears like a candle
from the inside out. Shock and fear interweaved, and he tugged on Huo
Tinglan’s cuffs and pulled at his shoulders, wanting to escape far away. But
out of Omega instinct, he hid shyly in Huo Tinglan’s arms, scratching the
lake blue silk with his fingertips and dragging a few long, bright red marks
on Huo Tinglan’s back.

“Scratch, baby, scratch me to death……” Huo Tinglan was elated at his

aggressiveness, and didn’t care about this little injury at all.

The marking process continued – –

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Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Forty-Three

Ye Ci struggled through the cycle of falling into a coma-like sleep – waking

up – being physically exhausted, and then comatose again for an unknown
amount of time.

This time when he opened his eyes, it was noon on an unspecified day. The
Omega glands at the nape of his neck throbbed from depletion and over-
extraction.

His whole body was warm and dry, smelling of light citrus shampoo, and
his scalp was slightly hot, as if had been blown with a hair dryer just a
moment ago.

Ye Ci finally understood where the rumbling noise in his dreams came

from.

“Are you awake, baby?”

A finger brushed the tip of his nose affectionately. Ye Ci’s eyes, which were
sluggish due to exhaustion, suddenly came to life, and he followed that
finger to look at Huo Tinglan.

The nightgown on his body had been changed a few times. The silk was
fragile, and some of them had been scratched by Ye Ci. After being
scratched, there were some red and white spots like blood and sweat, and
Huo Tinglan threw them directly into the trash.

The light silk fit snugly like waves on water. The opening at the neckline
was suspicious, revealing full, thick chest muscles.
He exercised properly, and his form was excellent. The shape of each
muscle was just right, and there was a shallow and narrow line down the
middle.

Ye Ci’s fair skin was already painted with green and red, and Huo Tinglan
was not much better, with scabbed-over scratches, somewhat comical teeth
marks, reddish fingerprints……

Especially the chest.

Followed by the easily scratchable back.

Like some sort of crazy little cat had wrecked him.

No wonder some people said that the permanent mark between an Alpha
and an Omega was like a battle that lasted for several days.

Feeling guilty, Ye Ci hurriedly lowered his eyes. After a little while, he

asked with a hoarse voice: “What, what date is it today?”

Huo Tinglan smiled and said a date.

“Ah……” Ye Ci counted the days in a daze. It had been four days, and the
first thought that crossed his mind was that his summer study schedule was
now completely invalid, and school was about to start soon. What followed
was four rounds of memory playback from these days and nights. Aside
from drinking water, replenishing his energy with energy bars and sleeping
in a semi-conscious state, the rest of the time……

Insanity.

Was that really him?

Hot blood suddenly filled his head and face, and his eardrums buzzed with
embarrassment.

Huo Tinglan was extremely wicked, trying to figure out Ye Ci’s thoughts
through his micro-expressions. Knowing what he was recalling, he lost no
time in taking the shot and said in a satisfied tone: “I thought you would be
shy, you cried so aggrievedly at first……” Then with a low smile, “I didn’t
expect you to be so enthusiastic later.”

Very different from the previous life.

“!”

“Huo-shushu ! ! ! ”

The innocent male high school student’s pupils trembled violently, his face
flushed, and he wanted to kill someone on the spot!

It wasn’t his fault, after all.

It was Huo Tinglan who saw through his proclivities. Deliberately using his
big chest was not right. It should be said that those pectoral muscles……
seduced him.

He had already been forcibly stimulated into a fever period, and his will
was strangely unstable. Every time Huo Tinglan said, “Just until the mark is
finished,” Huo Tinglan would just, just……

Huo-shushu was shameless!

Ye Ci was as anxious as a little ant on an iron plate. After going round and
round for a while, he suddenly approached, red-faced, and grabbed the
collar of Huo Tinglan’s nightgown to pull it tightly closed, saying with
slight annoyance, “Don’t, don’t show it anymore……”

He really couldn’t go again. His whole body was about to be wrecked by

Huo Tinglan.

Beauty was misleading.

Ye Ci gritted his teeth, imitating Huo Tinglan by putting the blame on

others.

– – He had a distinctly soft temper, and at the moment he actually showed a

bit of a princely appearance.
Huo Tinglan embraced him with a suppressed smile, pressed his lips against
his citrus-scented hair, and said softly, “Alright, baby, I’ll stop teasing you.”

Warmth flowed silently in the small world between them. Ye Ci remained

silent and rested his chin on Huo Tinglan’s collarbone like a kitten. A
permanent mark would make the spiritual connection between an Alpha and
an Omega closer, and Ye Ci felt as if a fruit had grown out of thin air in his
chest, full and swollen. The sweet and sour juice was pounded by his
heartbeat, splashing in the atrium again and again, throbbing happily. He
turned his head unconsciously and rubbed his cheek against Huo Tinglan’s
neck, as if he was so happy that he didn’t know what to do.

“Are you hungry?” After snuggling for a while, Huo Tinglan broke the
silence and rubbed Ye Ci’s slightly concave abdomen.

For the past four days, they hadn’t eaten anything substantial, relying on
energy drinks and energy bars to maintain their strength.

That little stomach was already empty, except for……

Huo Tinglan smirked, reluctantly dismissing those colorful thoughts: “Let’s

go downstairs and get something to eat.”

“En.” Ye Ci nodded obediently, stepped into some slippers, and got up. As a
result, his buttocks were only five centimeters away from the mattress when
Huo Tinglan fiercely grabbed him around the waist and he staggered back
to sit on his lap. The strength of that embrace was downright
ungentlemanly.

Immediately afterwards, Huo Tinglan’s heavy, fiery breath blew on the back
of his neck – – he pressed the tip of his nose against Ye Ci’s glands and took
a few eager, intoxicated breaths without warning, looking like a carnivorous
animal that had suddenly gone berserk at the sight of blood.

Ye Ci shrank his neck in shock.

“……Sorry.” Huo Tinglan still hugged him without letting go, his eyes dark
as his desire surged, dense and fiery. “I only just finished the mark, and I
can’t quite contain myself.”

After the initial establishment of the permanent mark, an Omega would

develop a heightened attachment to the Alpha for a period of time. Even an
Omega who was usually cold and introverted tended to become soft and
sticky. The unusually strong warmth and sweetness that Ye Ci felt before
was because of this change. Correspondingly, an Alpha’s possessiveness
and desire for the Omega would reach its peak during this period. Even the
most calm and stable Alpha would inevitably do all kinds of illogical
things, and Ye Ci’s act of “getting up and leaving” just now had stimulated
Huo Tinglan, who was currently extremely sensitive, tearing away his
presence of “normality” a moment ago.

The duration of this period varied from person to person, and it was
positively correlated with the depth of the relationship between Alpha and
Omega. The deeper the bond, the longer it lasted, which could be weeks to
months as the intensity continued to decrease.

Ye Ci’s physiological knowledge class was not in vain during this time, so
he immediately remembered this phase.

“I’m just, just hungry. I’ll go to the first floor and eat, I won’t, won’t go
outside.” He tried to appease Huo Tinglan with the “talking skills” from the
book.

“I know.” Huo Tinglan closed his eyes and said helplessly, “What can I do,
baby……I don’t want you to leave my bed.”

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Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Forty-Four

In the end, Uncle He sent someone to deliver the food.

It was still the exquisite little dining cart delivered to the door, and Huo
Tinglan pushed it in himself.

The bedroom was filled with Ye Ci’s pheromones, which were extremely
rich.

The sweet smell had changed after the permanent marking. It still smelled
of vanilla, but just like delicate and tender flower buds were swollen, red,
and fully bloomed under the irrigation of fertilizers, Ye Ci’s glands also
exuded a sweet and fragrant smell after the marking, very infectious. Huo
Tinglan, who was at the peak of possessiveness, was so grudging that he
even refused to open the window, let alone allow outsiders to smell the
ambiguous atmosphere.

During the last few days of the holiday, in order to satisfy his unreasonable
possessiveness, Huo Tinglan simply installed a bed table and coaxed Ye Ci
to do his homework like this.

Sometimes even while holding Ye Ci……at the same time, he let him sit at
the desk to do problems, calling it “convenient tutoring.”

Ye Ci knew that Huo-shushu was no longer the good Huo-shushu he had

known in the past, but never thought that he would do such a ridiculous
thing.

It was simply……unreasonable!
The twenty-day holiday ended quickly.

According to Tiancheng’s tradition, in order to temper the perseverance of

the college entrance exam candidates, the school would arrange a week-
long military training every year at the beginning of the first semester of the
third year of senior high school. This tradition had been followed for many
years, evolving to this day. It was more a formality than anything, and they
wouldn’t really try their best to make these high school seniors suffer. Some
training programs were even quite interesting, but the process of isolation
was the real deal.

Not being able to see each other for seven days, but also enduring the
jealousy that fermented as his Omega ate and slept with classmates and
trained together……

For Huo Tinglan, not wanting Ye Ci to go to the military training was just a
matter of telling his assistant to take care of it, but he didn’t want to disturb
Ye Ci’s normal high school life because of his selfish desires. Besides, Ye
Ci’s temperament was so introverted. He hadn’t made any friends in
Tiangcheng for nearly half a year, and probably didn’t have much chance to
socialize with others. These several days of communal living was an
opportunity for Ye Ci to build good relationships with his classmates and
integrate into the class, so he shouldn’t deprive him of it.

Young eaglets could not be raised into canaries.

Reason eventually triumphed over irrationality.

Before delivering Ye Ci to the training base, Huo Tinglan packed his

suitcase with his own hands, going through all the items, big and small, to
make them all smell of his own pheromones. There were two full packs of
scent-blocking patches, and the words “Strong Lemon Mint Fragrance”
were printed on them. After they were applied, an Alpha with a keen sense
of smell could only smell a soulless chemical scent.

“……How many changes of clothes do you want to bring?” Huo Tinglan

opened a drawer in the cloakroom.
Ye Ci’s frequently used items were moved to the master bedroom despite
the fact that they had separate rooms.

There were rows of neatly folded “small square parcels” in the long, flat
drawer. They were mainly pure white cotton, with the occasional black and
fine silk ones, brand new as if just purchased, probably because Ye Ci was
too embarrassed to wear them.

Out of an illogical desire for monopoly, Huo Tinglan folded these

underwear by himself.

He entrusted the housekeeper and the staff to be responsible for all the
trivial matters of his own life. When it was Ye Ci’s turn, especially after the
permanent mark, he was itching to do these things without the help of
others.

“Those……I’ll pack those myself.” Ye Ci hurried over and grabbed three of

them.

It was definitely enough to bring three for seven days. He washed them
every day, and the climate in early autumn was dry, so it was more than
adequate to rotate them.

Huo Tinglan held him back and fiddled with the clothes in his hands
unhurriedly, saying with disapproval: “Just three pairs? You’re going for
seven days.”

“I wash them every day,” Ye Ci explained, “While training and sweating,

these personal things can’t be hoarded……otherwise bacteria will grow.”

“Where will you hang them after washing?” Huo Tinglan chuckled,
pestering him quite unreasonably and making no secret of his jealousy,
otherwise he would have a hard time these days. “Hanging them out in the
dormitory……won’t all your classmates see them?”

“It’s nothing.” Ye Ci stared. “Those who live together……must all be

Omegas, so it doesn’t matter.”
He had a point.

Normal people would think so.

“……Sorry, baby.” Huo Tinglan was silent for a moment, laughed at

himself, and said with sincere apology, “Am I being unreasonable?”

Huo-shushu was here again! It was that expression again!

Ye Ci looked at him from the corner of his eyes. That face was honest, but
was in fact secretly improper. He muttered in a low voice: “As long as you
know, remember not to do it next time.”

After saying so, he just slipped away.

“What?” Huo Tinglan laughed in surprise.

The little gentleman had learned to be wicked.

Which bastard did he learn it from?

His little mouth still stuttered, but would he stop stuttering in the future?
Would he still obediently let him bully?

If the soft method didn’t work, he could only use harder means. He reacted
quickly, and Ye Ci had only taken two steps before Huo Tinglan grabbed
him like a cat by the neck.

“You’ve revealed your true face again!” Ye Ci quickly accused.

Huo Tinglan laughed out loud and stopped pretending. He picked Ye Ci up

and put him on the sofa, pressing him firmly down and even poking his ribs
to profit at his expense. This made Ye Ci laugh and beg for mercy, and then
reluctantly agree to bring seven pairs.

……He was bringing so many, like some kind of underwear maniac. Ye Ci

was so tortured that his eyes filled with physical tears, and he had no choice
but to pray that the desire for exclusiveness brought by the permanent mark
would subside as soon as possible.
On the first day of the third year of high school, more than a dozen buses
drove the group of seniors to the training base.

Male Omegas were rare in the population. Including him, there were only
three in Ye Ci’s class. For the entire grade, they could barely even fill three
six-person dormitories.

Although the dozen or so people were scattered in different classes, many

of them knew each other, and they chatted enthusiastically in twos and
threes from gathering to sleeping. The two cute little Omegas who were in
the same class as Ye Ci put their heads together to watch a dance video of a
certain Alpha internet idol, shrieking and clutching each other from time to
time. Ye Ci didn’t understand, and maintained his usual silence. The other
strange Omega who shared the dormitory with him saw that he was 1.8
meters tall and had a cold appearance, and was a little fearful of him. Ye Ci
glanced at them inadvertently, and the chirping chatter of those several
people dropped down, like a nest of chickens with a hawk hovering above
their heads.

The training intensity of the first day was approximately equal to zero.
After dividing the dormitories and tidying up, the students who had
changed into camouflage uniforms went downstairs to gather for a half-
hour meeting. They listened to the school leaders’ speeches, had a face-to-
face meeting with the instructors, and then got to know the common area
and training ground, and this half day was over. When everyone went back
to the dormitories, a delivery car was parked at the entrance of the building.
The use of high-power electrical appliances was prohibited in the dormitory
building, and there was no place to boil water. Therefore, the school was
responsible for distributing drinking water to the students. Each dormitory
was allocated a lot of boxes of mineral water, and everyone was busily
transporting them into the building.

Those male Omegas were petite and tender, with slender arms and legs, and
they were all young masters who had grown up spoiled. A box of water
weighed more than 20 kilograms, and they had to climb to the fourth floor,
so they couldn’t move them at all. But this dormitory was full of Omega
and Beta girls, and they didn’t know where to start to catch a strong man.
While they were discussing amongst each other, Ye Ci had already picked
up a box and stacked it on top of another. With a weight of nearly fifty
catties, he picked it up lightly and deftly, and slipped upstairs in a hurry.

He ran fast, and when he went downstairs to move more, he bumped into
his temporary roommates who were working together to carry the water up
the stairs. The little faces of the Omegas were flushed with exhaustion, and
they sighed in despair while climbing the stairs.

“……Give it to me, ba.” Ye Ci slowed on the steps and coughed

uncomfortably, glancing at the few people and looking away shyly.

He had rarely taken the initiative to communicate with people like this
before.

On the one hand, he was too introverted, and on the other, he felt inferior
because of his speech impediment, fearful of being ridiculed.

A stutter was often the object of teasing by those badly behaved students in
class.

After seeing experts several times during the summer vacation and actively
cooperating with the training, he could pretty much speak coherently in
short sentences of four to five characters. At home, he often took the
initiative to talk to Huo Tinglan, and could sometimes joke around
naturally. The changes were subtle, and only when he came back to his
senses did he realize that the matter of “speaking up” had unconsciously
become less difficult.

“Then……thank you for your hard work, la.” The little Omega who was in
the same class as Ye Ci raised his face and smiled kindly at him.

“Forget it.” Ye Ci turned his head away, his face suddenly flushed, and
rushed upstairs with two boxes of water.

“……pff.”

“Why do I think that he’s so cute……”

“He blushed when he said that.”

“I remember he was in your class, right?”

They were all the same age and lived in the same dorm. With such a good
starting opportunity, and knowing that Ye Ci was soft-tempered and not as
cold as he looked, communication became natural.

Although the little Omegas couldn’t chat with Ye Ci, this didn’t prevent
them from taking Ye Ci to the cafeteria for a meal after training.

The table was full of classmates, and there was also a place for him. There
was a lot of noise in his ears. From time to time, someone would be afraid
of neglecting him and would simply say a word to him in the middle of the
lively chat.

Ye Ci often put his chopsticks down and responded earnestly.

It was really nice to not feel so alone anymore.

These days, Ye Ci had not been able to find a chance to be alone. There was
a curfew in the dormitory building, and you couldn’t come and go at night.
He and Huo Tinglan mainly communicated with each other by sending
messages.

At eight o’clock in the evening, Huo Tinglan sent a series of messages. Ye

Ci climbed to the upper bunk and sat against the wall so that no one could
see his phone screen.

[Huo Tinglan]: [picture]

[Huo Tinglan]: [picture]

……

The chat box was brushed with the honey-gold color of flesh.

None of them showed a face.

But Ye Ci could recognize them based on the outline of the pectoral

muscles.
Ye Ci’s blood vessels almost exploded upon seeing it, and he hurriedly
locked the screen. No one in the dormitory noticed him, but he was more
nervous than a thief.

“……….”

How did Huo-shushu look like an erotic male model ! ! !

After calming down for a while, Ye Ci unlocked the screen.

[Huo Tinglan]: Do you like it, baby?

[Ye Ci]: Be careful of being banned.

[Ye Ci]: I’m still a student, so you can’t have an intimate chat with me.

After condemning him, he saved the pictures one by one with a blushing
face.

Who could he possibly have learned that sanctimonious energy from.

Huo Tinglan could guess what Ye Ci was doing there, and to match him, he
smiled and pretended to be serious, typing with his eyes down.

[Huo Tinglan]: Okay, no intimate talk.

[Huo Tinglan]: How are you getting along with your classmates? Are you
tired from training?

The corners of Ye Ci’s lips curled up in a soft arc, and he typed a lot of
words quickly.

[Ye Ci]: Very good, I went to the cafeteria with them these two days. I
didn’t stutter much, and they didn’t seem to notice.

[Ye Ci]: In fact, I feel that the students in our school are quite nice.

[Ye Ci]: The training was very easy. In the 400-meter obstacle race this
afternoon, I was faster than many Alphas, and brought back a lot of points
for our group.

He was implicitly proud and shared his joy with Huo Tinglan.

The dozen or so little Omega boys were fascinated by him, and they almost
regarded him as the glory of Omegas.

Ladders, high board walls, single-plank bridges, deep jumping pits……

every time Ye Ci overcame an obstacle, they were screaming on the
sidelines, more excited than when supporting their idols. They rushed up to
hug Ye Ci, who was out of breath, and jumped up and down together.

Ye Ci had no choice but to politely dance with them a bit in embarrassment.

……This couldn’t be told to Huo-shushu.

Otherwise, he would definitely go crazy with jealousy.

As they chatted and chatted, it would soon be time to turn off the lights.

Huo Tinglan was afraid that he would damage his eyes if he looked at his
phone in the dark, so he urged him to put the phone down, take a shower,
and rest.

Ye Ci hesitated for a while, then poked his head out and looked around. The
five roommates who had been chatting and gossiping so much that they
forgot lights-out time were all panicking and preparing to go to the
bathroom with their washbasins and toothbrushes, and no one noticed him.

He had received so many generous pictures from Huo-shushu, so out of

consideration for reciprocity……

Ye Ci blushed, took a photo of himself, and quickly sent it.

He knew that Huo Tinglan would definitely like to see him, but hadn’t
mentioned anything because he feared that it would be inconvenient for him
in the dormitory.

[Ye Ci]: [picture]

[Ye Ci]: I’m going to sleep. Good night, Huo-shushu.

From his head to his toes, he wondered what Huo Tinglan’s next reaction
would be.

He didn’t dare to look anymore, put his phone on silent, stuffed it under the
pillow, then propped himself up on the bed rail and jumped down to wash.

……Reserving countless off-color remarks for the innocent pillow.

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Chapter Forty-Five

Since the military training at the beginning of school, Ye Ci was no longer

an invisible person at school. The communication skills of those little
Omega boys were comparable to a battalion of machine guns. A dozen
people together were noisier than a dozen chicken farms, and getting to
know them was equivalent to getting to know the whole school.

After being chattered around by those little Omegas, Ye Ci’s soft temper
and athletic talent for beating Alphas was undoubtedly exposed in one day
– – there was an Omega in the next class who secretly brought a mobile
phone during training. During Ye Ci’s 400-meter obstacle course, he
recorded a section and spread it widely, and accompanied it with passionate
and dynamic background music. At the end, he typed, “Glory of Omegas”
in a strawberry marshmallow font, which made Ye Ci cover his face with
embarrassment.

The handsome boy who put on a face like a coffin board every day was
actually shy and timid. In fact, after teasing him for a few times, he was
softer than glutinous rice cakes in front of his friendly classmates, but was
so good at sports that it was scary……

It was not just the dozen or so little Omega boys, the girls also found him so
cute that their motherly love was almost overflowing. Among other things,
Ye Ci didn’t need Huo Tinglan to explain when he was stuck on a topic.
Their average age was one year younger than Ye Ci, but still stubbornly
called themselves his “older sister fans” and “auntie fans.” The girls worked
together to raise this single-minded primary school slag who was dedicated
to learning.
Of course, it wasn’t just Omega and Beta girls who were attracted by Ye Ci
after his surge in popularity, but quite a few Alphas. They had previously
been afraid to make a move, for fear of hitting a wall, but now that they
found out he was a paper tiger,[1] they were all ready to try.

But facing the flirtatious Alphas, Ye Ci still maintained his cold face from
before.

Wearing a wedding ring or announcing his marriage status was still too
high-profile for the current Ye Ci. If he couldn’t come clean, he had to be
mentally prepared.

But he knew it himself.

He was a married man……

He needed to keep a lookout.

An Alpha’s possessiveness was unreasonable. Huo Tinglan even drank

vinegar over Omegas, let alone Alphas who were the same age as Ye Ci.
Therefore, Ye Ci concealed the fact that a large number of Alpha suitors had
suddenly appeared after the military training. In addition, he took the
initiative to share with Huo Tinglan all the big and small things that
happened at school: In physical education class, he taught the little Omegas
how to do a three-step layup, and one after another, the ones who learned
shouted, “Ye Ci is so cool, wu wu!” During the lunch break, they taught him
how to play games in turn and even teamed up with him to have a
match……

Although they teamed up for a game about dressing up the Omega

protagonist.

It touched all the blind spots in his knowledge……

Ye Ci’s year-round aesthetic of hoodies, sneakers, and jeans made record

lows for the team one after another, and he was finally kicked off the team
by the tearful little Omegas. Ye Ci was dumbfounded: “I dressed her up,
doesn’t it look good? Why is it F-level?”
The little Omegas collectively mourned Ye Ci’s aesthetics.

Ye Ci licked his lips anxiously: “I’ll give her pink, pink lipstick, doesn’t she
look like a kind of doll?”

Everyone continued to mourn.

Ye Ci was dying, and asked in a low voice, “Isn’t it pretty, ah……?”

“That’s called death to Barbie fans! ! !” All the little Omegas spoke in
unison and burst into tears.

The campus life of youthful vigor, laughter, quarrels, and friends came a bit
late, but it came after all.

Ye Ci’s high school life left no regrets.

After autumn that year, the temperature dropped rapidly, getting colder with
each autumn rain. The rubber track on the sports field seemed to be covered
with gold and red fallen leaves overnight. And then, on a night of self-
study, it was quietly covered with a layer of frosty snow.

Although there was no scientific research to prove it, based on Ye Ci’s own
experience, he felt that the time in his third year of high school had passed
much faster than before.

The crisp sound of firecrackers and the cool smell of gunpowder smoke
seemed like it was just yesterday, but the snow at the edges of the road had
already melted in the warm spring.

Half a month, then a month, all flew by in the blink of an eye, as they had
never passed before.

Perhaps it was also because life was so regimented.

Huo Tinglan didn’t dare to delay Ye Ci’s studies even if he didn’t behave
like a human being. He was ridiculous while taking advantage of the
summer vacation before, but after Ye Ci entered the third year of high
school, he resumed his behavioral pattern of restraint as the mainstay and
hooliganism as the supplement. After the permanent marking, Ye Ci had
two to three days of fever every month, which was very regular. He would
only be presumptuous in these two or three days, and the rest of the time
was spent teasing at most, and letting his desires remain unsatisfied.

In this way, Ye Ci lived a life of endless repetition back and forth between
two places, submerged in a sea of books and learning, hand in hand with his
classmates. Aside from the important study topics and exercises, every day
was like a copy of the previous one. Although enriching, it was inevitable to
feel that time passed quickly.

However, during these months of copy-and-paste routine, a few unusual

things happened, stirring up waves.

The old man of the Chu family fell ill a year ago and was admitted to the
hospital. He was saved, but his body collapsed completely. For the past
year, he had been hanging on by a thread. For some unknown reason, this
old man Chu, who may pass on at any time, had been stubbornly refusing to
make a will. The inheritance battle between the branches of the Chu family
and the heirs of each house had been fought intermittently for a year.
Compared with the second son who used test tube technology to “create a
human” in order to get more property, and got twins with his wife three
months ago, the eldest son of the third house, Chu Wenlin, recognized his
illegitimate son who had been adrift for many years and forced him to
marry in order to cling to the Huo family.

This big family searched and searched but couldn’t pick out a few normal
people.

After all, the old man’s property was a fixed amount. Whoever got more,
the others would get less, and a group of misfit half-brothers and sisters
looked at each other covetously. They all wished they could tear each
other’s flesh and chew it raw, but the battle line was stretched too long, and
the situation gradually reached a stalemate, entering a state of balance, and
no one could deal with each other.

At this moment, Huo Tinglan threw a few pebbles into the backwater of the
Chu family, breaking the balance.
He first repaid Ye Ci’s huge medical expenses that Chu Wenlin had paid for
Ye Hongjun. The debt was cleared, and the father and son had nothing to do
with each other except for the blood relationship on a biological level.

Chu Wenlin was a slick person. After recognizing Ye Ci, he didn’t speak ill
of him to his face. Without saying a word, the coercion was half-hidden and
half-exposed. There were a few rounds of confession drama in the
beginning, such as: Dad is willing to make it up to you and your mother,
Alphas inevitably make mistakes when they are young. Seeing that Ye Ci
didn’t buy it, he stopped all the drama.

In short, during those few months of getting along with Ye Ci, he didn’t
have much trouble with Ye Ci and was a repulsive person with a knife in his
smile. If Huo Tinglan only used Ye Ci as a medicine jar, he naturally
wouldn’t have to be afraid. Huo Tinglan really liked Ye Ci, so no matter
what mistakes he made when he was young, he was their matchmaker and
Ye Ci’s biological father. He would make up for his mistakes so that Huo
Tinglan wouldn’t bear a grudge against him.

– – The abacus clacked.

However, Huo Tinglan already knew that this person was rotten to the bone.
There had been no serious consequences yet, but that was just because Ye
Ci entered the Huo family’s door early this time, and there was no time for
them to occur.

In the previous life, Huo Tinglan also attacked Chu Wenlin in order to vent
his anger for Ye Ci. At that time, he started with Chu Wenlin’s wife, Ruan
Jiayi – – this couple had lived in harmony for many years, and Ruan Jiayi,
as the daughter of a renowned family, had always been arrogant. She always
had to compare herself to others and be better than them in every way.
However, her husband’s private life was corrupt. Not only did he have an
illegitimate child, but he also treated her more and more indifferently and
rudely, and even caused her to catch a sexually trasmitted disease. She had
no one to confide in. Although glamorous on the surface, she was miserable
in reality. Coupled with the fact that the Ruan family business had been
declining over the years, she had no natal family to rely on, so she had to
swallow her anger.
Huo Tinglan saw this and promised to give her some benefits, then tried to
comfort and provoke her in a seemingly gentle manner. Ruan Jiayi really
couldn’t bear it anymore, and shook out all the dirty things that Chu Wenlin
had done over the years at him……

Chu Wenlin was greedy, but Mr. Chu had been clinging to power all this
time. The father and son were the same in this respect.

Chu Wenlin was ruthlessly suppressed. A bottomless pit of greed and

desire, his hands and feet had always been dirty in terms of economic
issues, and he was severely punished by Ruan Jiaji and Huo Tinglan in his
last life.

But in this life, since returning to the age of thirty, Huo Tinglan’s
maneuvers never stopped. With the information given by Ruan Jiayi in the
previous life, he had done many things with half the effort this time. As if
opening his third eye, he didn’t need to check in order to know which
direction to exert his strength.

So at the beginning of this year, just after the Spring Festival, a detailed,
comprehensive, and well-documented report was submitted to the
inspection department.

Chu Wenlin was inexplicably shaken out of the sky. Bribery, tax
evasion……after this case was settled, he would have to squat in jail for a
few years. Not to mention the years of squatting, his messy affairs also
involved several government cooperation projects signed by Mr. Chu
himself and implemented by him, and the entire Chu family was taken over
and inspected. Mr. Chu, who was originally in stable condition, was so
stimulated that he was sent to the ICU, where he almost died.

Chu Wenlin didn’t care about the life and death of Mr. Chu, and he would
not die if he was imprisoned for a few years, but in the future inheritance, it
was hard to say how many leftovers could be picked up from those shark-
like brothers and sisters.

For a villain like him who was greedy for money and profit, this was more
painful than dying after ten years in prison.
Naturally, Huo Tinglan confirmed Ye Ci’s opinion before submitting the
materials.

Ye Ci was kind-hearted and honest, but he also made a clear distinction

between love and hate. Chu Wenlin had harmed his mother and also
regarded him as a tool for forced marriage. As far as Huo Tinglan’s
methods were concerned, he didn’t think they were too much, and could
even be regarded as light.

Moreover, those materials were really not false or slanderous. It was

nothing more than uncovering what Chu Wenlin had done with his own
hands. Chu Wenlin got what he deserved, and couldn’t blame anyone but
himself.

This incident turned the Chu family upside down, but Ye Ci only glanced at
the materials Huo Tinglan handed him while working on questions.

……This could be regarded as taking revenge on that scumbag on behalf of

his mother, right?

In fact, Ye Ci’s heart was not very troubled. Even thinking about it for a
minute more would be a waste of his life. The college entrance examination
was coming up, and all he could think about was brushing up on questions.

There was one other thing that stirred his heart – –

Ye Hongjun came back from San Francisco with the medical team sent by
Huo Tinglan before the Spring Festival.

With a healthy body, free from sickness.

The phase III clinical trial of that biotech company had achieved relatively
gratifying success. Not all volunteers participating in the trial achieved such
a good therapeutic effect, which was probably related to the specific type of
gland structure, but all the members of Ye Hongjun’s group had improved
to varying degrees. Before returning to China, she had undergone repeated
tests. All indicators were normal, and she had fully recovered to her
previous state before she fell ill. She still needed regular checkups and
reports on her physical condition in the follow-up, but the project team was
quite optimistic about her prognosis and believed that her probability of
recurrence was theoretically very low.

The old house had been sold, and she temporarily lived in the Huo
Residence after returning to China.

In the past six months, Huo Tinglan had traveled between the two countries
several times due to business reasons, and no matter how busy he was, he
would make a special trip to San Francisco to visit her. She also often made
video calls with Ye Ci, and with more contact, the relationship between the
two naturally and gradually got through to her. She already had a good
impression of Huo Tinglan, and when she heard the good news, she was of
course happy for her child.

Seeing that Ye Ci not only did not fall behind in his studies, but also
improved by leaps and bounds under Huo Tinglan’s encouragement and
guidance, she felt even more at ease in her heart – – it was completely
different from Chu Wenlin, who persuaded her to give up her studies and
elope to have a baby. Huo Tinglan cherished Ye Ci’s wings in every
possible way.

He really loved him, and would help him soar into the sky wholeheartedly.

After Ye Hongjun returned to China, Huo Tinglan bought her a small two-
storey western-style house only a few minutes’ drive from the Huo
residence.

The inside of the western-style building was not too big. It was suitable for
Ye Hongjun to live in by herself, and could be properly taken care of by
hiring a housekeeper and a gardener. There was a garden on the first floor,
with scattered flowers and trees, and vines hanging on the walls that faced
the sun. After spring, the branches and leaves were full of vitality, and when
the wind blew, the leaves fluttered green and silver alternately. Light yellow
flowers were dotted in the gaps, lining the white bricks and stones, as
beautiful as a fairytale.
It would take some time to renovate the house after purchasing it, and the
mother and son had not seen each other for half a year. Therefore, Ye
Hongjun lived in the Huo residence first, and it happened that she could
personally accompany Ye Ci through the difficult second semester of senior
high school.

Her culinary skills were not as good as those chefs hired by the Huo family,
but she was the only one who could cook Laohuo[2] soup. It was learned
from her mother many years ago, and was a unique secret recipe. No matter
how good a chef was, they couldn’t recreate that unique taste. Before she
got sick, she would cook the health-improving food for Ye Ci once a week.
After her body collapsed, she didn’t go into the kitchen for two years and
Ye Ci never drank such delicious soup again.

At nine o’clock that night, Ye Ci was in the study as usual, immersed in

writing questions.

Huo Tinglan had finished his work for the day and stayed in the study
simply to accompany him. In his hand was a book with a black leather
cover and bronze inscriptions, its title difficult to read.

The study door was ajar, and Ye Hongjun stood at the door, calling out in a
warm voice: “Tinglan, Xiao Ci, I brought you some supper.”

Huo Tinglan got up quickly to meet her. Taking the tray in Ye Hongjun’s
hands, he smiled gratefully and said: “It’s so late, and you still worked so
hard to cook……”

“It’s okay, Xiao Ci likes to drink this.” Ye Hongjun smiled gently. Her body
had healed and she had recovered a bit in the past six months, but her body
was still overall thin. However, her cheeks were much rounder and her
complexion was also pink, with a healthy appearance.

Ye Ci’s calculations on a problem had reached a critical point, and he was

reluctant to stop writing, but he still took time out of his busy schedule to
complain in a distressed tone: “You told me yesterday that you would have
a good rest today, shouldn’t promises be kept?”
“Aiya,” Ye Hongjun retorted, caught out by her son. “It’s not tiring to make
soup. I just sat there and watched the fire, and the chicken was prepared by
others……”

Huo Tinglan smiled and, like a tall and handsome waiter, bent over to put
the two soup cups on the tray onto the table, persuading: “Take a break first
and drink while it’s hot.”

Ye Ci swallowed, scribbled out a few lines of calculations and hurriedly

filled in the answer, then put down the pen.

It was already the end of the third year of high school, and there was still a
small gap between him and the top 50 in his class that he had promised Lin
Yao he would reach, so he didn’t dare relax.

“Mmm……it smells so good.” He had eaten a lot of dinner, but perhaps he

had used his brains too much, because after three hours of writing and
calculations, he was hungry again. Ye Ci rubbed his slightly concave belly
and lifted the lid of the soup pot.

Steam mixed with a fresh fragrance rose up, making his red lips and white
teeth half hidden behind the mist extra vivid.

The light brown soup was very clear, and all impurities were filtered out,
but it didn’t look bland. When scooped with a spoon, the soup was thick
and had a jelly-like texture.

It was simply at a professional level.

Ye Ci drank vigorously, and Ye Hongjun dragged the swivel chair over to

sit down, looking at the child drinking soup with a smile on her face – –
Since Ye Hongjun moved in, the chairs in this study had never been
“missing.” It seemed that even Huo Tinglan still had to save some face in
front of his elders.

“By the way, Xiao Ci……” Ye Hongjun wiped her hands on her apron.
Looking at Huo Tinglan, she was a little embarrassed, but she still asked, “It
will be your birthday in a few days. Is there any gift you want? Mom will
buy it for you.”

After she returned to China, Huo Tinglan opened an account for her and
transferred money into it every month, which was essentially alimony – – It
was a matter of course to support the mother of one’s spouse. But he was
afraid that she would lose face and refuse to accept it, so when he saw her
cook soup for Ye Ci from time to time, he said it was “vegetable money.”

In fact, Ye Hongjun didn’t need to buy vegetables. The ingredients used in

the Huo residence were all delivered by special personnel every day. What’s
more, such a large amount of money was more than enough to buy a few
fresh supermarkets, let alone vegetables.

However, Ye Hongjun knew that Huo Tinglan only wanted to treat Ye Ci’s
family well, and it would be petty to just blindly evade it, so she thanked
him and accepted it.

She took it but didn’t waste the money in it. She was used to hard times,
and her spending habits wouldn’t change for a while, so she wanted to save
it for her child, just in case.

“It seems……there is nothing I want.” Ye Ci hesitated before telling the

truth.

“You can just say a few things casually.” Ye Hongjun stroked the hair at his
temple and said with emotion, “I haven’t given you a real birthday in the
past two years since I was sick. Can’t Mom try to make it up to you……”

“Uh……”

Ye Ci was in a bind.

Huo Tinglan had taken care of him well this year and he really didn’t need
anything. What else could he want besides getting into the top 50 in his
class?
At this time, Huo Tinglan gave a small smile, turning to Ye Hongjun to say:
“You don’t have to worry about Xiao Ci’s birthday celebration. I’ve pretty
much prepared everything.”

Ye Hongjun’s eyes lit up, and she said curiously on behalf of Ye Ci: “It’s all
been done? How did you prepare? Can I be of use?”

Huo Tinglan lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment: “It really
has……I will discuss this in private with you later. Ye Ci shouldn’t know,
so that it’s a surprise when the time comes.”

If you wanted to surprise people, how could you say that in front of them?

Didn’t it hurt people if you don’t tell the whole story? !

“What?” Ye Ci stopped, tugging on Huo Tinglan’s cuff. “Don’t just say

something halfway……”

“What kind of surprise would that be?” Huo Tinglan immediate Ye Ci’s
tone leisurely with a half smile, and gently scratched the tip of his nose with
his fingers. “I won’t tell you.”

Ye Hongjun couldn’t hold down the corners of her lips, so she hurriedly left
the study and closed the door, so as not to disturb the young couple.

The door shut softly, and there were only the two of them left in the study.

“Be coquettish,” Huo Tinglan said softly.

Ye Ci hesitated for a moment, leaned forward, and hugged Huo Tinglan. He

buried his face in his chest, rubbing left and right, soft and slightly jerky:
“Say a little bit, ba, just a little bit. You’re the best, I, I like you the most.”

“Baby is so cute.” Huo Tinglan kissed that glowing red face, then sat back
as if nothing had happened, picking up the half-read book and continuing to
flip through it.

“?”
Ye Ci stood in amazement.

“You’re not……”

“No.” Huo Tinglan expressed a smile.

“You know what I’m asking……”

“I know.”

This was just blatantly bullying a child.

– – He only said to “act coquettish,” but didn’t say “I will tell you if you act
coquettish.”

Falling in love with an old scoundrel was so hard.

Ye Ci had no choice but to nurse a grievance and continue to solve

problems.

In this way, Ye Ci was in a dilemma for a few days. It was almost all he
thought about during the study break, and his expectations were high.

Finally, it was March 17th, just in time for Saturday, when the school was
on a half-day holiday, and he returned from school with two big bags of
birthday presents from his classmates. The car drove to the courtyard of the
Huo residence, where Uncle He was already waiting. Ye Ci got out of the
car, and Uncle He asked someone to take the two bags of presents. Instead
of letting him into the main house, he led him to the banquet hall next to the
auxiliary building.

Huo Tinglan did not have Lin Yao’s sociable and lively character. This
banquet hall was only used a few times a year, and Ye Ci had never been
inside at all. Uncle He opened the door for him, and the afternoon sun
poured warm light into the hall. The glacier-white marble floor was
polished to a bright sheen and there were no lights on in the hall. The
scarlet curtains hanging to the floor had an excellent shading effect, and
distant objects were hidden in darkness. Ye Ci stepped in, and only had time
to glimpse some vague outlines before Uncle He hastily closed the door
behind him with speed like a black shop owner trying to abduct someone.

As soon as the door closed, the huge banquet hall was so dark that you
couldn’t see your fingers.

“Huo-shushu?” Ye Ci called out, his voice fluttering with nervousness.

His heart beat wildly.

Suddenly, there was a light “click” in the darkness, as if a switch had been
flipped.

Then, something not far away was illuminated.

It was a small exhibition stand, square, slender, and tall. A bit like the ones
used to display cultural relics in museums, it had an ebony countertop and
soft, shiny silk, just without the glass cover. The beam of light was very
narrow, like the stage light in a play. It only illuminated this one area, and
the things in the distance were still unclear.

……What was on it should be Huo Tinglan’s birthday present to him, right?

The corners of Ye Ci’s lips raised, and he walked over quickly and
excitedly.

There was a letter on the silk surface along with a silver longevity lock.[3]
The letter paper was folded, and the words “Zero Years Old” was written on
the back of it.

Ye Ci was impatient about the gift, so he picked up the longevity lock and
rubbed it. The lock was silver-gray, with an engraving of a child riding a
horse, and the silver chain was decorated with four small bells. The
engraving was ancient and quaint, the gilt was light, and there was a sense
of wear and tear, as if it were an antique that had been passed down for
more than a hundred years.

Ye Ci unfolded the letter.

On the paper was Huo Tinglan’s sharp, eloquent handwriting.

“……19 years ago today, you were born. I was 12 years old. If I had been
in your life then, I couldn’t be ‘Huo-shushu,’ but ‘the neighbor’s big
brother.’……

“……I heard from your mother that you seldom cried at night, and you
were already so well-behaved after only being a few months old. She also
said that among the rubber toys for exercising your fingers, your favorite
pony had been lost……

“……I happen to have a zero-years-old birthday gift for you, a longevity

lock with a boy riding a horse. This lock was worn by my great-grandfather
when he was a child, and he was a hundred and twelve years old when he
died. No disease and no pain, a happy death. So I think this lock must be
very effective……

“…..A longevity lock, a lock for a hundred years, a lock for a prosperous
life. May my baby live a long life and be free from disaster and diseases.
This is a gift from Huo Tinglan, who was 12 years old at the time.”

Ye Ci clutched the silver lock. It was metal, but it wasn’t cold and hard, and
his palm was filled with a soft warmth.

His eyes suddenly turned red, and he read the letter several times, as if he
wanted to engrave the words and sentences into his heart. Then he folded
the paper carefully and put it back in its original place for the time being – –

The second beam had come on.

With the help of the two lights, he could just barely see into the distance.

There were about a dozen similar gifts and letters in the shadows, but he
couldn’t pick up another until he put the previous one back.

On the next letter, it said “One Year Old.”

The next letter said, “Two Years Old.”

Another and another……

Huo Tinglan made up every birthday gift to him from birth to eighteen
years old, and they were not given indiscriminately. Like the longevity lock,
they were each related to the corresponding age and had profound
meanings. The effort this must have taken was unimaginable.

“……15 years ago today, you were still in kindergarten, listen to what your
mother said……”

“……This is a gift from Big Brother Huo Tinglan, who was sixteen at the
time……”

“It’s a pity that I didn’t appear in your life earlier, I can only make up for it
in this way.”

“……….”

Not only were there gifts, but he also assumed what would have happened
to the two of them if he had appeared in Ye Ci’s life at that time.

“……3 years ago today, you were sixteen years old and completed your
transformation from a child into a teenager. I think that at 28, I would have
given you a real, beautiful horse when you were an Alpha and liked speed
and excitement. I would have liked to respect your hobbies under the
premise of ensuring your safety. I heard from your mother that you secretly
learned to ride a motorcycle with others. This is no good. A horse would be
more suitable. I would teach you how to ride, and until you learned, I would
have to choose to ride with you……”

“……A young Friesian horse, intelligent, easy to control, and gentle,

suitable for beginners in horsemanship. Here is a pedigree certificate, it is
already in the backyard, and you can play with it later……”

“……This is a gift from Mr. Huo, who was 28 years old at the time.”

Ye Ci wiped away tears as he walked.

Afraid that his tears would wet the precious letters, he wiped his face with
his sleeve, and the cuff was full of dark wet marks.

He cried so hard that when he saw Huo Tinglan, who was waiting at the end
of the row of display stands, he couldn’t even speak.

“Baby.” Huo Tinglan opened his arms to him, smiled softly and
handsomely, and said with understanding, “Don’t talk, give me a hug.”

Ye Ci rushed forward and desperately hugged him as if trying to strangle

someone to death, his throat choked up.

How fortunate he was to have met him.

Huo Tinglan’s warm palm rested on the back of his head, hugging him in a
very possessive posture. After he calmed down a while later, he dropped the
last “blockbuster.”

“You haven’t been given your nineteenth birthday present yet……from this
year, I won’t ever miss another one again. Will you accept it?”

Ye Ci straightened up, and in a strong, nasally voice, he said: “Okay.”

Huo Tinglan handed him a thick stack of documents. There was also a key
made of unknown material in the file, and he said with a smile: “Happy
nineteenth birthday.”

Ye Ci wiped his eyes and opened the documents.

……He couldn’t understand half a word.

“What is this?” He flipped through them in a daze, and it was all in the
same unknown language.

Huo Tinglan smirked and said unhurriedly: “You can read it after you learn
it……you just need to remember that this is very important and take good
care of it.” He reminded him, “It can be put together with the jadeite
bracelet.”
The documents came from a city in Central Europe, where more than 120
banks worldwide were headquartered, known as the “Billionaire Capital.”
What Ye Ci had in his hands was documentation provided by one of the
established financial service providers. Their official common language was
German, so of course Ye Ci couldn’t even understand half a word. With this
certificate, the key, and Ye Ci’s own fingerprints, Ye Ci would be able to
open a private vault that Huo Tinglan had purchased for a 100-year service
period, within which were piles of gold that ordinary people would not be
able to squander within dozens of lifetimes. This was an astronomical level
of wealth. Huo Tinglan didn’t intend to tell him directly at the moment, but
Ye Ci would know sooner or later.

“Huo-shushu, I think I’ve probably guessed……what this is.” Ye Ci

pondered for a moment before making a vague guess.

He didn’t entirely understand, but it looked like some kind of document

related to assets. If it could be given away as a gift, it must be expensive.

“Guess, just guess, I won’t take it back.” Huo Tinglan finally used his
scoundrel tendencies in the right place. “It’s nothing to me…….it is my
lifetime guarantee to you.”

In the first eighteen years of Ye Ci’s life, he suffered so much due to

poverty. He only hoped that he would never be in such a predicament for
the rest of his life, no matter what.

Not for one second.

He just wanted him to fly high.

May he soar through the sky, free and light.

May his wings be free from the dust of the world.

“I understand.” Ye Ci gripped the documents and didn’t evade the issue. He

just raised his head, kissed Huo Tinglan lightly on the lips, and whispered,
“Thank you, this is the best birthday I’ve ever had.”
He had already become calm, accepting love and kindness without
resistance.

He was loved and in love.

There was nothing better.

Looking back, the nineteen beams of light behind him formed a bright road
full of love and warmth.

And as the lights in the banquet hall gradually turned on, the road ahead
became clear.

It was a smooth road.

Radiant and splendid.

In this way, full of love and warmth, he would go forward down that road,
running all the way.

【The End】

T/N: There are several extras after this, and I’ll have those posted soon!

[1] A paper tiger, 纸老虎, is someone who looks tough and intimidating but
is actually the opposite. ⮐

[2] Laohuo soup (老火汤) directly translates to ‘old fire soup.’ It is made by
boiling various ingredients for several hours in a pot or pressure cooker. ⮐

[3] A longevity lock is an ancient Chinese tradition. These ornaments are

given to children as sort of a ward against disaster and evil spirits. ⮐
Consider donating via Kofi here!
Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Extra 1: Sports Competition
(Three-Point Throw)

Tiancheng Private School’s summer vacation was only twenty days,

counting the seven days of military training, and soon it was already
September.

It was still sweltering, and the sunshine was strong. There were not many
people on the sports field, and physical education classes had also been
temporarily moved to air-conditioned indoor venues. But even so, a bit of
gossip from an unknown source made the students who had just passed the
holiday and hadn’t had time to calm down stir with restlessness. It was said
this year’s autumn sports competition would be held earlier than in previous
years, and would be held in conjunction with the 30th anniversary
celebration.

The most widely watched game in previous school sports competitions was
basketball. Confrontational sports were already exciting, and this was a
good opportunity to see the Alphas show off.

The Omegas in Ye Ci’s class this year had lost their enthusiasm for
“watching Alphas” – – how could a stinky Alpha compare to their
handsome and fragrant Omega brother? !

Intramural sports competitions were as strict and meticulous as regular

competitive sports, and the contestants were mainly divided by gender.
After all, the impact of glandular sex on physical fitness was far greater
than structural sex. Female Alphas were tied with male Alphas, but male
Betas were usually far inferior to male Alphas. Therefore, if they were
divided according to the “male and female” gender structure, the whole
school would be playing the same games and it would be a sports
competition solely for male and female Alphas.

The Alphas in Ye Ci’s class were all very good, and there were 15 classes in
the year group. In previous basketball games, their Class 7 basically jumped
into the top five, but the Omegas in their class were just okay and had been
at the bottom of the year group for a long time. Perhaps the Omegas with
the least athleticism in the whole school happened to be gathered together
in Class 7, and in previous years, were just asked to do things way beyond
their abilities. But this year, the glory of Omegas was in their class, and it
was time to bravely fight for first place!

Thus, Ye Ci took a few Omegas from his class to the gymnasium to

practice.

The matter of playing ball was decided at the end of the penultimate class in
the afternoon. Ye Ci sent a message to the driver in charge of picking him
up and explained the situation, saying that he would take a taxi back by
himself later that night. The homeroom teacher came in to check on the
class after he sent the message, and Ye Ci turned the phone on silent and
threw it onto the table in a hurry. When the bell rang, he was surrounded by
a group of little Omegas as they walked towards the gymnasium. There
were boys and girls, chirping as they went like a group of little birds
flapping their wings.

“Our class’s Omegas will be the champions this time.”

“I was so afraid that I would lose face in the game that I fouled five times
and was benched……”

“Me too……”

“It’s all up to Xiao Ci! He’s the hope of the whole village!”

Ye Ci’s face went hot from the praise as he repeatedly threw and caught the
basketball in his hands. He sincerely encouraged and comforted: “You guys
just need to practice. Your basketball skills are no worse than mine. If
you’re afraid of fouling, just have fun, and you’ll be fine once you get used
to it.”

“Xiao Ci is so sweet!”

“Hey, who told me before that Xiao Ci can play street basketball?”

“I know a few tricks.” Ye Ci scratched the tip of his nose, seven parts shy
and three parts proud. “The methods are unorthodox and aggressive.”

“We want to see!”

“How naughty, what a thrilling feeling.”

“Ah, ah, ah, if only I had Alpha glands!”

“Alright, when class is over later……I’ll give you a demonstration.”

Ye Ci was flattered by the praise and quickly agreed. As he said that, at a

loss in front of his retinue, he had an idea and spun the ball vertically on his
finger like in a basketball cartoon.

A series of ‘wows’ filled his ears.

In all the excitement, Ye Ci completely forgot to check if the driver had

replied to him.

……

Twenty minutes later.

In the gymnasium.

“I’ll demonstrate it again.”

The venue was quite chilly. Ye Ci wore the thin jacket of his summer school
uniform with the sleeves rolled up, revealing his sharp wrist bones. He
dribbled a few times and then made a deft three-step basket.
This was the most basic shooting technique. There were a few Omegas who
had played with him in his physical education class before, and he had
already taught them this, passing on his techniques.

“Remember the six-character memorization technique.” Ye Ci held up six

fingers, and his earnest appearance was very inspiring. “One big step, two
small, three bounces, the big finger is, is……”

“Is, is what?”

Someone suddenly cut in.

It could be inferred that the low voice was probably from an Alpha. There
was a smile in his voice, and he was stuttering to tease Ye Ci.

It was not necessarily malicious, and sounded very comfortable.

Ye Ci turned away and swept past him indifferently.

It was Cheng Xiao, an Alpha from his class.

He looked very handsome, and was also a young master. In a short period
of two years, his partners changed like a revolving lantern, and everyone
knew he was here to get a date.

When Ye Ci first transferred to Tiancheng, this person often pestered him

and talked nonsense. Ye Ci straightforwardly showed him a cold face,
knowing that he was a professional, and as a result, he regrouped and came
back even stronger with greasy pickup lines.

“Cheng Xiao, aren’t you being childish?” Said a little Omega. “Go back to
your training.”

The Omegas in their Class 7 all knew Cheng Xiao and generally didn’t like
him.

“What do you care? Cheng Xiao raised his eyebrows and went to lightly
push Ye Ci. “Hey, I’m just kidding around!”
“Touch me less.”

Ye Ci seemed to have eyes on the back of his head and stepped sideways to
avoid him.

“Okay, okay, okay.” Cheng Xiao was annoyed. Probably because he thought
it was interesting to see a bunch of Omegas pretending to play basketball,
he stood by, holding a ball and watching with a smile on his lips.

“That is to say……” Ye Ci ignored him and continued to teach the students.

Ye Ci’s enthusiasm for basketball could be considered ordinary, and was

mostly because he didn’t have any other entertainment and would just play
street basketball with those ruffians and gamble from time to time. He was
young at that time, and the gang treated him like a child. They behaved well
towards him, and if they lost, they paid, so they just had a good time.

The ability to play wildly was shut down in standard ball games, and
although Ye Ci was interested, he never went to the school-organized
games.

In this way, when he taught people how to play standard games, it was
inevitable that some novices would rigidly copy him step by step.

Cheng Xiao watched for a while and felt that Ye Ci’s level was “thorough”
and a little graceful. Holding the basketball in his arms, he refrained from
interjecting and giving pointers from the side, just yammering “keep it up,”
“keep it up,” trying to attract Ye Ci’s attention.

Finally, Ye Ci was overwhelmed by the disturbance. He raised his hand and

threw the basketball to a good-looking girl to let her lead the others in
practice, then strode toward Cheng Xiao.

Cheng Xiao was very pleased with himself, aiming a half smile at him:
“What are you up to, ah?”

Ye Ci used his index finger to flip the ball out of Cheng Xiao’s arms and
covered it with one hand: “Come on.”
Cheng Xiao was very happy, thinking that the little Omega was forcibly
playing it cool. Afraid to anger him, he bit his lower lip to hold back and
said in a soft voice: “Okay, ah, let me teach you a few tricks?”

“Thanks, but there’s no need.” Ye Ci was expressionless.

“No need? Are you really comparing yourself to me, ah?” Cheng Xiao
laughed again. “Then, when I win……what can I say?”

“If I win, you go away.” Ye Ci pointed to the Alphas in the distance who
were laughing and looking this way. They were all from Class 7’s
basketball team, and had also come to practice. However, after practice, it
became “watching Brother Xiao pick up an Omega.”

– – From Ye Ci’s point of view, this group of people may still not have
woken up completely after taking a nap.

“Then if I win,” Cheng Xiao lost no time playing the hooligan, and gave his
friends a look like everything was under control, “You’ll go out with me,
ah?”

Ye Ci: “……”

Equally terrible and shameless.

Why did surname Cheng want a pummeling?

“Whatever,” Ye Ci said concisely. “You can’t win.”

“Damn,” Cheng Xiao cursed softly, hooking his finger at Ye Ci. “Come
on.”

While his finger was still hanging in the air, Ye Ci had already thrown the
ball. It was aimed straight at Cheng Xiao’s face, wreathed in a murderous
aura and with such speed and strength that if it hit his face, it would
definitely break his nose. Cheng Xiao subconsciously protected his face,
but Ye Ci’s hand was faster. The ball seemed to be stuck in his palm as he
quickly retracted it.
As soon as he pulled the ball back, Cheng Xiao’s evasion looked ridiculous,
like he was an overly-defensive coward.

The little Omegas who were watching the excitement from the sidelines
burst into laughter.

Cheng Xiao glanced over, distracted.

In less than a second, Ye Ci moved to slam the ball hard at the backboard
with rounded arms. Cheng Xiao twisted his body to grab the ball, and only
halfway through the jump, the ball bounced back into Ye Ci’s hand in the
same way. Cheng Xiao turned around quickly as he landed, but before he
could regain his footing, the basketball had bounced under his crotch. He
turned around to grab it, and Ye Ci passed him like a gust of wind,
controlling the ball to circle around in front of him, as if throwing a
handkerchief.

Cheng Xiao played serious games, and had never met someone who clearly
treated people like monkeys. He spun in a daze, becoming dizzy. Ye Ci
repeated the trick with a vigorous swing of the ball and hit the backboard.
Cheng Xiao saw through his trick and stood still, staring at Ye Ci’s right
hand as he prepared to steal the ball. Ye Ci jumped up to catch the ball in an
instant and scored a jump shot from that spot.

Cheng Xiao was toyed with by him, spun around and around again.
Because he was tall and broad, it was not strictly accurate to say that Ye Ci
was playing with a monkey, but was more fittingly playing with an
orangutan.

The Omega onlookers were all happily stomping their feet, and the sound of
hahaha was endless.

Ye Ci raised a finger toward Cheng Xiao, indicating that he had scored

once. Then he threw the ball to him, turned to those Omegas, and said
calmly: “We had an agreement that I would give, give you a
demonstration.”
“Fuck, you can do it, ah.” Cheng Xiao came back to his senses, and
couldn’t help whistling in appreciation at Ye Ci, his eyes lighting up. “Have
you ever played street basketball?”

He suspected that he had lost his head and was played around with by
others, but he became even more excited.

He had played.

Ye Ci really didn’t enjoy talking to this little rascal, so he nodded faintly.

“Okay, come on, I’ll attack and you defend…….” Cheng Xiao excitedly
asked to change positions.

Defensive Ye Ci was nothing to scoff at. He didn’t participate in the sports

competition last semester, but the whole class had been present to watch the
games. He knew Cheng Xiao’s abilities well.

It wasn’t a question of winning or not, but a question of whether Cheng

Xiao would be broken down into a son or a grandson when he stole the ball.

He and Cheng Xiao changed positions and were about to start. When his
angle of view changed, he saw a familiar figure standing at the entrance of
the gymnasium.

“Wait.”

Ye Ci cherished words like gold as he called a stop to the game.

He feared that another “wait” would be the last straw to crush the jar of
vinegar.

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Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Extra 2: Sports Competition
(Human Nature)

There was no telling how long Huo Tinglan had been standing at the
entrance of the venue. After all, everyone’s attention was focused on Ye Ci
just now, and no one was looking towards the door.

But at this time, following Ye Ci’s line of sight, all eyes turned in that
direction.

The families of the students who came to Tiancheng were probably all
wealthy and respectable people. Some of them had business contact with
the Huo family and visited during New Years and the holidays. Someone
recognized who this was and let out a soft, suppressed exclamation.

“I’m dead! So handsome –”

“Ah, ah, ah, he seems to be looking over here.”

An excited Omega whispered to his companion, the two of them so thrilled

that they were about to twist into pretzels.

“Why is he here?”

“He seems to be one of the school’s directors. I remember that the Huo
family has shares in Tiancheng……”

“Even if he is a school director, why is he here?”

“……”
As a group of students whispered, Ye Ci had already started running
towards Huo Tinglan, and the corners of his blue and white school uniform
suddenly rose.

From the back, his figure was inexplicably joyful.

“Huo-shushu, why, why are you here?” Ye Ci ran so fast and braked so hard
that the soles of his shoes made a sharp noise on the gymnasium floor.

He hadn’t fastened the button on his collar. When Huo Tinglan lowered his
eyes, he saw two collarbones that were white and straight like polished
birch wood, covered in a thin sheen of sweat.

Like flower dew, tempting people to touch.

……No wonder that brat from the Cheng family kept looking at his
neckline.

“The driver had asked for leave the day before yesterday, as there was an
urgent matter in his hometown.” Huo Tinglan looked down and frowned
slightly. “He didn’t tell you?”

“He did!” Ye Ci blurted out first, fearing that he would deduct the driver’s
wages, and then remembered what the driver had said when he sent him to
school the morning before yesterday. At that time, he used the drive to
school to ponder an ingenious competition-level physics problem in the
back seat, his soul trapped in the electromagnetic field, and had forgotten
after casually agreeing.

“He did say that,” Ye Ci stated firmly. “I forgot.”

“……So I’m here to pick you up today.” Huo Tinglan smiled and said
gently: “I waited for you at the school gate for more than half an hour, but
no students came out. Then I sent you a message and didn’t get a reply. I
was worried about what might have happened to you, so I came in to take a
look.”
“Sorry, Huo-shushu.” An eighty-year-old man wouldn’t be as forgetful as
he was. Ye Ci apologized with drooping brows. “As soon as I started
playing, I forgot and didn’t look at my phone.”

“There’s no need to apologize for such a small matter.” Huo Tinglan smiled.
His black eyes were slightly sullen, but the corners of his mouth were raised
and his tone was gentle. After confirming Ye Ci’s safety, those previous
words were unimportant. He was concerned about other things, so the
conversation turned a little abruptly. “Hot, baby?”

“Ah,” Ye Ci was taken aback, “kind of……”

It wasn’t hot before, but his nerves were somewhat tense when confronting
Cheng Xiao.

“Take off your jacket since it’s hot, and I’ll hold it for you,” Huo Tinglan
said softly. “Go play with your classmates for a while, I’ll wait for you.”

“It’s not for fun, it’s just for the, the sports competition in a few days. There
is a basketball game and our, our classmates want to learn how to
play……” Ye Ci explained, taking off his jacket and handing it over.

With this natural handover, the Omegas not far away were so excited that
they let out suppressed screams like the steam from a boiling kettle.

“Ah, ah, ah, ah, he also took clothes from XiaoCi!”

“I’m dead……”

“Did he call you ‘Baby’ just now? Was it ‘Baby’, or am I deaf? !”

“It was ‘Baby!’ Let me tell you that they are not relatives! That look
couldn’t come from a relative! I ship them, you guys are wasting your
energy.”

“Shipping teacher!”

“Good shipping teacher!”

“……”

Ye Ci’s face turned red, and he turned his head to gesture at the group of
Omegas whose eyes had turned into gossip searchlights, explaining:
“They’re all Omegas, don’t think too much about it.”

“En.” Huo Tinglan’s smile was warm like a spring breeze. “That one looks
pretty strong.”

His eyes locked onto the suspicious Chen Xiao.

Ye Ci: “……”

It shouldn’t be too hot after taking off the coat, so Huo Tinglan fastened the
button on Ye Ci’s shirt for him.

“He’s an Alpha.” Ye Ci’s Omega self-preservation skills were still slow, and
only then did he realize something, dropping his head. “We’re just, just
competing, and he really annoys me.”

“All right.” Huo Tinglan didn’t want to lose face in public, and he accepted
everything that Ye Ci said with a smile.

He looked very good-natured.

But Ye Ci sensed that something was wrong.

“I played ball just, just now. Did you see it all?” Ye Ci asked in a low voice:
“Did I……look cool?”

“Cool, baby.” Huo Tinglan smiled and leaned over slightly. He whispered in
his ear in a voice that only these two people could hear: “Go first, don’t
keep your classmates waiting……we’ll talk about this matter when we get
home.”

We’ll talk at home.

This was like what parents might say after a parent-teacher meeting, “See
how I’ll deal with you when we get home.”
But this “dealing with” was obviously not of that kind. Ye Ci, an impure
male high school student whose mind had been polluted, instantly conjured
up several unsightly scenes. On the way back to his classmates, his face
turned increasingly red at a pace visible to the naked eye.

Chen Xiao was quite displeased with those jeering Omegas, and even more
displeased that Ye Ci acted cool and confident in front of him, but the
moment he was next to Huo Tinglan, he became soft like a ball of rice cake.
He pretended not to notice this little episode and asked while dribbling:
“Finished talking? Still want to play?”

“No.” Ye Ci shook his head faintly. “He won’t let me.”

Damn.

Why were these words so ambiguous?”

Half curious and half reluctant, Cheng Xiao said: “No way, Huo Tinglan
won’t let you play ball?”

Huo-shushu was listening!

Ye Ci defended with a strong desire to survive: “He’ll let me play, but, but
not with you.”

“What’s wrong with me?” Relying on Huo Tinglan not lowering himself to
bother with him, Cheng Xiao scoffed and glanced at the door with bravado.
“Your surname isn’t Huo, ah, and he still called you ‘baby, did I hear that
right……” He thought for a moment about what elder would have a
different surname. “What kind of uncle is he?”

As far as Cheng Xiao knew, Huo Tinglan had several cousins.

As soon as he spoke these words, an inexplicable chill ran down his spine.

Cheng Xiao cringed in fright.

The arrogance from a moment ago deflated like a punctured balloon.

Ye Ci glanced at him silently, clenched his fists, and said in a voice that was
not loud, but could be heard by all the students present: “He is my
husband.”

“……Ah?” Cheng Xiao slowly opened his mouth wide. His jaw almost
unhinged in shock.

“Aaaaaaah!”

The little Omegas stomped their feet and made a racket.

In fact, some time ago, a few well-informed students had passed on some of
Ye Ci’s family affairs, saying that he was actually the third eldest grandson
of the Chu family, with his mother’s surname. As for further gossip, since
Ye Ci had long stopped dealing with the Chu family and the Huo family had
always kept a low profile, even the marriage of the family head had been
kept secret and no one was able to find out.

It was inconvenient to ask about other people’s family affairs directly.

Besides, these little Omegas who were close to Ye Ci hadn’t befriended him
because of his family background. Gossip was not always accurate, so
nobody took heed of what others had to say, and didn’t pay attention to it.

This time, it was almost like being struck with a hammer. It was unlikely
that the head of the Huo family would marry an ordinary person with no
background.

Of course, that wasn’t important. The important thing was –

“Xiao Ci is married?!”

“Wuwuwu, I was bent because of him. Wow, I feel like the boss is staring at
me, I’m joking, I’m a straight Omega……”

“How come you never told us!”

“When did this happen? Last Spring Festival, my parents took me to the
Huo family’s house to give New Year’s greetings, and I didn’t see you at
that time. No, you were underage at that time……”
“……..”

Everyone chattered continuously.

With Ye Ci’s communication skills, he would have to grow ten more

mouths to deal with these little Omegas. Thankfully, Huo Tinglan had
already stepped into the gymnasium gracefully and looked over at him with
a smile on his lips.

It would be too embarrassing to gossip in front of others, so the little

Omegas kept silent and pulled Ye Ci to shoot ball. However, all of them had
an excited gleam in their eyes. There was no more he could teach them, but
Ye Ci taught perfunctory for ten minutes and announced their dismissal on
the spot, letting them practice freely. Then he left the venue with Huo
Tinglan under the teasing eyes of his classmates.

The car was parked across from the school gate, and Ye Ci obediently
followed behind Huo Tinglan, tightly holding his breath.

Walking to the car, Huo Tinglan sat in the back seat as usual.

The driver didn’t get out of the car, and he opened the door by himself. Ye
Ci was ill at ease, but he didn’t sense any abnormalities. He assumed that
since Uncle Zhang had gone back to his hometown to run some errands,
Huo Tinglan had temporarily changed to another driver who was not as
proficient in the business. He also sat in the back seat.

As soon as he sat inside, he found that the driver’s seat was empty.

Ye Ci licked his lower lip: “……Where’s the driver?”

Huo Tinglan smiled: “Without a driver, I took the rare opportunity to pick
you up. I drove today.”

“……” There was a moment of silence.

“Then why, why did you sit in the back seat?”

The fragrance of tequila was getting stronger, and Ye Ci had a bad feeling.
He went numb all the way to his tailbone and almost followed his instinct to
escape by opening the door and jumping out of the car.

“I’m getting old,” Huo Tinglan said calmly. “I can’t turn the steering wheel
anymore.”

Ye Ci: “…….”

Was this not him playing the scoundrel?

It was a pity that the dignified formula one racer in the previous life was
now broken down on the side of the road because of his lack of a driver’s
license, unable to move an inch.

“You, how old are you, you’re only thirty, your life is just beginning……”
Ye Ci clumsily coaxed that vat of vinegar. “Even Cheng Xiao can’t compare
to you.”

Huo Tinglan flexed and clenched his fingers, and said with a smile: “It
seems that I have a little strength.”

Huo Tinglan: “Continue.”

Ye Ci: “……”

That was all there was to say.

Ye Ci blushed. The window shades of the car were drawn, it was dark
outside, and there was no one on the road……

It was absolutely safe!

Ye Ci felt relieved, and leaned forward to honestly kiss Huo Tinglan’s

cheek and thin lips. While kissing, he softly asked: “Huo-shushu, do, do
you have the strength now?”

“It’s a little better,” Huo Tinglan said in a low voice. “Kiss me a little
more?”
“……”

After an hour:

Huo Tinglan returned to the driver’s seat and started the car.

The window was open a small crack for ventilation, and the summer wind
outside was clean, with the smell of fresh, moist vegetation.

But it couldn’t hide the sweet and fishy scent inside the car……

It was inconvenient for Ye Ci to get out of the car, so he simply remained in

the back seat. There was no one in the passenger seat, just a pile of laundry
waiting to be washed.

A blue and white shirt, trousers, white cotton socks, a school uniform tie.

They were all dirty and sticky with sweat, unable to be worn anymore.

The only thing still clean was a pair of sneakers.

“Don’t get out of the car when we get home,” Huo Tinglan said leisurely.
“I’ll go get something for you to wear first.”

“……”

Ye Ci was so embarrassed and indignant that he didn’t want to reply.

Did it need to be said?

Who was the one who couldn’t get out?!

“Did you hear me?” While waiting at a red light, Huo Tinglan turned to
look at him.

“Don’t, don’t look back, just focus on the light……” Ye Ci curled up into a
ball, hugging his schoolbag. Above the pair of clean white sneakers were
distinct ankle bones, tight calves, knees……
“I heard you, turn back around!”

He was so embarrassed that he wanted to slam his head on the back of the
car seat and die.

He could never, ever let Huo-shushu get jealous again! ! !

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Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Extra 3: Sports Competition (The
Light)

The story from the gymnasium that evening spread fast. Fortunately, most
of Tiancheng’s students were familiar with the ways of the world and didn’t
look at Ye Ci from the perspective of viewing a rare animal or spread
outrageous rumors. After the initial shock, most of the students returned to
normal, but the group of Alphas who had been waiting to make a move
were drenched in cold water and felt a little dispirited. Among them, Cheng
Xiao’s setback was particularly serious. One second, he was ecstatically
dazzled by Ye Ci’s basketball skills, and the next second, he discovered that
not only did Ye Ci have an Alpha, but he was even married. The little flame
of his wishful thinking had been extinguished by an Alpha who was
stronger and better than himself, slowly crushed and trampled upon. The
Alpha’s dignity was greatly injured, and he had been wilting like a weather-
beaten eggplant for the past few days.

On the other hand, those Omegas who had a particularly good relationship
with Ye Ci couldn’t calm down at all. Whenever they got the chance, they
would excitedly grab Ye Ci and torture him for “details.”

Everyone gossiped in a proper manner, and there was nothing private that
was inconvenient to talk about, so Ye Ci answered honestly.

Every time, there was an exclamation of, “Wuwuwu, so sweet!”

The weather changed, and the suffocating summer heat seemed to dissipate
overnight. The air conditioning in the classroom was shut off, and that date
of the autumn sports competition was finally set.
A notice was issued that this sports competition would be held together
with the 30th anniversary celebration. The opening performance was more
grand than in previous years, and it was said that several outstanding
graduates who were well-known in their respective fields would be invited
to give speeches.

The date had been set, and the declaration of various events was also on the
agenda. The nerves of Class 7’s Omegas were so bad that it was almost
contagious. After four semesters, the Omega events had not been fully
registered. The sprint was fine, they could run 400 meters. For hard-core
events such as long-distance running, the sports committee went about
begging for help. The triple jump was a technical event that always brought
up the rear, and was regarded as “the 30-meter sprint followed by the
standing long jump.” Therefore, the total class points were hovering in the
middle and lower reaches all year round, and the principle of “friendship
first, competition second” was resolutely implemented.

In the last semester of the third year of high school, they finally found a
good seedling. The sports committee spent most of the day chasing Ye Ci
around whenever they had free time, droning and buzzing: “One more,
Brother Ci, sign up for one more and you will be my own brother. Let’s add
the javelin throw, there is only one person signed up for it, and we’re
missing the other, I’ll ask again in the last class……”

Ye Ci hesitated to answer not because he thought he would be too tired, but

because he was too embarrassed to participate in so many competitions. He
just wanted to help the sports committee solve two or three difficult events.
As a result, as soon as he yielded, he was entangled by the sports
committee. The other Omegas also encouraged him wildly, and he was such
a pushover that he had to sign up for two more. But after this happened, the
sports committee still didn’t let him go, but clutched the fat little sheep all
the way from the entrance of the teaching building to the gate after school:
“Brother Ci, we in Class 7 can make a turnaround this time thanks to you,
Brother Ci! ! !”

The little Omegas watching the excitement fanned the flames and also
called sweetly: “Goodbye – Brother –”
Ye Ci shivered, and they almost caused him to stumble.

The little Omegas giggled.

“Don’t, don’t shout……” Ye Ci’s ears turned red, and he looked helplessly
at the sports committee. “Really, that’s the last one. I’ve applied for too
many, no, no other class can compare.”

What he said was the truth, but it sounded very arrogant, and he appeared
extra arrogant because of his sincerity, which caused another wave of
excitement among the students.

During rush hour after school, the traffic in front of the school gate was
crowded, and the students raised their faces and stretched their necks to
look for a familiar vehicle or the person in charge of picking them up.

Amongst the crowd, Huo Tinglan’s figure was exceptionally tall and
straight. The black shirt set off his fair face and dark eyes as he looked over
silently.

With a spouse that every sort of person was attracted to, it was not enough
to only defend against Alphas, but even Omegas could not be
underestimated.

The possessiveness of a top Alpha was also top-notch, and the influence of
the permanent mark had not dissipated. He had to remind himself to
maintain rationality every second of the day.

……

Forget it.

There was no need to drink vinegar over a few children.

At worst……he would get compensation elsewhere.

Someone saw him and hurriedly poked Ye Ci: “Cough, Xiao Ci, that……”
Several students raised their heads, taken aback for a moment, and then
they all came forward to greet Huo Tinglan politely, looking a bit nervous.

Some of their families were friendly with the Huo family, and others had
not been able to develop such a relationship for the time being. Among
them were two faces that looked familiar to Huo Tinglan. They had met
during the New Year’s visit and were juniors from another family.

He smiled, returned the greetings modestly, and explained casually: “I’m

here to take my little gentleman home.”

Little gentleman!

Ye Ci was almost used to hearing this address, but those Omegas were all so
excited that they stared at him crazily as if they wanted to eat him.

Ye Ci: “……”

He blushed and whispered: “I signed up for the sports competition.”

In the past few days, Huo Tinglan had robbed the driver of his job and went
to great lengths to pick him up from school. He refused to wait in the car,
and found it necessary to stand at the school gate and watch from a distance
like other hard-working parents. Moreover, he was a powerful person who
could not be offended, and no one thought to covet what was his anymore.

“Don’t worry, take your time.” Huo Tinglan calmly took Ye Ci’s schoolbag
that was slung across his right shoulder and helped him carry it. Then he
took the school uniform jacket that was draped over his forearm.

The dignified patriarch, like a personal assistant, carried Ye Ci’s bag and
coat in a skillful way that was obviously not for show.

The meaning in this doting action was self-evident.

Naturally, there was also a bit of “declaration of sovereignty.”

Ye Ci was a little slow in this aspect and didn’t get the meaning, but the
Omegas had already seen through it in a second, each of them pursing their
lips and snickering.

Huo Tinglan also smiled at them tacitly.

“Mr. Huo, don’t worry,” a bold Omega said cheerfully. “We’ll watch for
you!”

“Ah?” Ye Ci was at a loss. “Watch what, me?”

Huo Tinglan smiled, said “All right” in a joking tone, and then returned to
the car with Ye Ci.

This time there was a driver in the car.

It had also been several days.

However, as soon as he got into the backseat, Ye Ci had the illusion that the
soles of his feet were burning.

As if he was stepping on something hot, like volcanic rock, or like five

fingers gripping and rubbing his ankles.

“Are you remembering something?” Huo Tinglan asked leisurely, glancing

at him.

“No!” Ye Ci shook his head so hard that it almost went flying off.

“By the way, I heard you discussing the sports competition.” Huo Tinglan
asked with a smile, “Is it going to be held together with the school’s
anniversary?”

Ye Ci raised his eyes and said curiously: “How do you know?”

He was aware that Huo Tinglan was one of the members of the school
board of directors, but with so many properties owned by the Huo family,
Tiancheng Private School was a relatively insignificant one. He didn’t care
about such things, and usually even if there were important matters, they
were handed over to the special assistant. It was estimated that matters on
the level of a school celebration or sports competition wouldn’t even reach
tenth place on the list of things he paid attention to.

“I received an invitation to the school celebration.” Huo Tinglan took a

beautifully printed letter from the pocket of his suit, opened it, and said,
“Outstanding Tiancheng graduates are invited to deliver speeches at the
opening ceremony.”

He had also studied at Tiancheng when he was in high school, and went
abroad to study after graduation.

“After all, I’m still your senior.” Huo Tinglan was in a dilemma, and had a
faint look of distress between his brows. “I’ve been busy with work these
days, so I haven’t decided whether or not to go. Baby, if you want me
to……”

Ye Ci’s bright eyes darted, and he poked his head over to check the
invitation dubiously.

If he listened to half of what Huo-shushu said and discarded the other half,
he would never go wrong.

“What, are you afraid I created a fake?” Huo Tinglan smiled, extremely
innocent, and brushed off the corner of that hard-earned paper, saying
confidently, “You see, the signature of one of the school directors, the seal
of the school……”

It was indeed signed by a school director.

Ye Ci was dumbfounded.

Outstanding Graduate Invited: Huo Tinglan

Inviter’s signature: Huo Tinglan

Above the two horizontal lines, the sharp and elegant handwriting of “Huo
Tinglan” was exactly the same.
Relying on being a school director, this person asked the school for an
invitation letter and invited himself.

What thick skin!

Ye Ci couldn’t help but be amazed.

“I just want to see what it’s like to watch you compete in sports.” Huo
Tinglan didn’t really want to hide it from him at first, so when he was
exposed, he just smiled gracefully. “Can I go?”

“……Yes.” Ye Ci scratched his cheek.

What boy wouldn’t want to look cool in front of his crush?

He had originally wanted Huo Tinglan to watch him compete.

It was just that in the original plan, he was going to ask his classmates to
take some videos he could send to Huo Tinglan……but it would be great if
Huo Tinglan could come in person.

At most, he would be teased by his classmates……and he was already a

little used to it.

On the day of the sports competition, the heavens favored them and it was
cloudy without rain or sun.

The opening ceremony of the school celebration was truly extraordinary.

The student formation was large, and the square groups made up of each
class displayed attention-grabbing ingenuity. In a certain first year class,
there was even a showy young master Alpha who carried the class flag and
rode a horse around the field……Fortunately, Ye Ci did not need to share
the burden of performing at the opening ceremony for Class Seven. The
girls and the male Omegas dressed as girls danced in short skirts. Ye Ci
stood aside and felt proud of his height of 1.8 meters.

The skirts fell short of ten centimeters……

It was hard not to be scared.

After the whole school team entered the arena, various leaders and student
representatives gave speeches, followed by outstanding graduates’ speeches
and wishes for the 30th anniversary celebration. Apart from Huo Tinglan,
several graduates who were quite famous in their respective fields were
indeed invited.

Perhaps out of consideration for the little gentleman who was still standing
at attention on the sports field, Huo Tinglan’s speech was the shortest and
most concise. As soon as he opened his mouth, there was a constant
commotion coming from the student formation, and from time to time there
were a few uncontrollable screams. However, Huo Tinglan was completely
unaffected by the restless atmosphere at the scene. His tone was serious and
calm, and those not in the know would think that he was a proper person.

After the opening ceremony, the sports competition finally started. Ye Ci

hurriedly went to the bathroom to change into a set of half sleeves and
shorts that were convenient for his events. The sports shorts were not much
longer than mid-thigh, and a pair of well-proportioned legs were displayed,
thin, with just the right amount of muscle to not be obtrusive. It may have
been because the skin was so smooth that there was a thin sheen of light
along the slightly protruding muscles of his thighs.

Very vivacious.

Very beautiful.

Very……seductive.

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Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Extra 4: Sports Competition
(Taking Advantage)

After changing his clothes, Ye Ci returned to the sports field. Like a young
seedling that was so green and tender that water could be squeezed out, he
stood tall and straight in the pale sunlight, drawing countless eyes.

Among them, a dark and solid gaze came from the platform.

Wherever Ye Ci went, that line of sight followed.

A high-level Alpha’s eagle-eyed vision was put to unscrupulous work once

more, and at such a long distance, those eyes could still clearly pick out
details that should or shouldn’t be seen.

It made his heart itch unbearably, and there was a scorching fire rolling in
his stomach, but he put on a reserved and steady air, keeping his face
tranquil.

This morning, Ye Ci would be going back and forth between track and field
competitions. Roll-call was held for an event, and then it soon began. When
he easily took first place, the broadcast was full of limericks from Class 7:
“The spring breeze is blowing, the war drums are beating, who is Class 7’s
Brother Ci afraid of……Class 7, Class 7, competing for Tiansheng, Brother
Ci, Brother Ci, salute the outstanding hero……”

Ye Ci had thin skin, and when he first heard the shameful title of “Class 7’s
Brother Ci,” he directly got a stitch in his side while on the track. He
sprinted the remaining 100 meters in pain, and stood beside the finish line
rubbing his stomach. He hung his head fearfully, afraid that people around
would see that he was the domineering “Brother Ci” of legend.

He clearly still lacked a clear understanding of how well-known he was in

other classes.

There were not many people around who didn’t know……

It was only that they were more covert.

After rushing through a few rounds, Ye Ci temporarily returned to the class

stands to rest. Later on, he had the 1,500 meter run, which was a major
event. The sports committee was quite conscientious, studying the race
schedule and digging around to set aside a period of rest for him.

As soon as he appeared, there was a burst of deafening cheers and applause

from Class 7’s area in the stands, with no less enthusiasm than if they were
meeting a celebrity.

Ye Ci smiled shyly and triumphantly, and two small dimples appeared on

his face. He feared that people would notice and tease him, but he couldn’t
hold back his smile, and lowered his head as he walked towards the empty
seat that his classmates had reserved for him.

After several events, he was sweating so much that his back was drenched.
An Omega name Jiang Yan who had accompanied him throughout the run
was afraid that he would catch a chill from the wind, so he put a sports
jacket over his shoulders.

Ye Ci had a well-proportioned figure, with a shorter upper body and long

legs. The jacket hung so loosely that it almost covered the track shorts,
making it look like he wasn’t wearing any at first glance.

Beads of sweat rolled along the muscles, dripping down in liquid streams to
set off those jade-white legs. The traces of Omega pheromones in the sweat
accumulated more and more, and the powerful barrier patch on the back of
his neck couldn’t block them. The sweet scent of vanilla diffused in the
autumn wind.
Damn.

Cheng Xiao stared straight at Ye Ci and turned his head to chase after the
sight of him with a sour feeling in his heart.

An old cow eats young grass.[1] Surnamed Huo was really able to enjoy it.

“Brother Ci, wipe off your sweat!” A sports committee member who was
also an Alpha sensed that something was wrong and threw a freshly opened
towel through the air at Ye Ci.

“Thank you.” Ye Ci raised his hand to catch it.

“Cheng Xiao, stop staring at others!” Jiang Yan was the Omega who told
Huo Tinglan previously that he would “watch” Ye Ci. He had a hot temper,
and seeing that Cheng Xiao still had some hope in his heart, he stood in
front of him and vigorously exposed him. “You don’t have a chance, ah, go
take a look at yourself.”

Cheng Xiao was greedy and jealous, and it was clear that he couldn’t beat
Huo Tinglan. He knew that in the eyes of the other, he was just a brat who
couldn’t even grow facial hair, and estimated that even using a finger to
deal with him would be overkill. He could only vent his anger on others,
and choked out angrily at Jiang Yan: “You’re watching me? The control is
pretty widespread.”

“That’s right, ah, I have a wide range. The school was built by my family,
so why shouldn’t I take care of what goes on at school?” He stared, hands
on his hips, and spoke plausibly.

The project to build the school was indeed taken over by the Jiang family.
Cheng Xiao was dumbfounded. But when an Omega who couldn’t speak so
eloquently uttered a “fuck,” and he lost his temper.

“……”

Ye Ci could hear what they were arguing about, but he didn’t feel offended.
His emotions didn’t even fluctuate for this childish Alpha, and he just gave
Cheng Xiao a light glance and raised his head to drink water.

Cheng Xiao was embarrassed and turned back with a blushing face.

Ye Ci took a chocolate energy bar from his classmate and gnawed on it,
then grabbed his mobile phone from his schoolbag. There was a new
message from Huo Tinglan.

[Huo Tinglan]: Baby, you’re really amazing. How many times have you
won first place?

He had actually counted all the times he’d won, and just wanted to give Ye
Ci a chance to show off to him.

Ye Ci scratched his head and quickly reported his results.

Huo Tinglan didn’t hesitate to praise him, and complimented him

effusively.

Ye Ci reaped considerable benefits. Scrolling on his phone, the corners of

his mouth were raised all the way up. Worried that he was smiling too
widely, he pressed his fist against his lips and squeezed them tightly shut.

– He had been coaxed to show his belly again.

Ye Ci was proud of himself for long enough, and worrying that Huo Tinglan
would get bored, he lowered his eyes and typed.

[Ye Ci]: I won’t have any events today after I finish the 1,500 meter run.
How about walking around the campus with you?

Huo Tinglan had also studied here, so he probably wanted to see the
changes made to his alma mater.

Huo Tinglan smiled and sent an “okay.”

Ye Ci racked his brains to figure out how to entertain him, and suddenly had
a flash of inspiration.
[Ye Ci]: Our school milk tea shop has a grape smoothie that is very
delicious. I usually drink one glass per day.

After posting, he was a little embarrassed. Huo Tinglan was not a student in
his teens or twenties. It was too tasteless to treat someone to a smoothie at a
milk tea shop for less than 20 yuan……

He hesitated, and withdrew the message.

The other party came back quickly.

[Huo Tinglan]: I saw it, I want to eat.

[Huo Tinglan]: Treat me.

It was like a date.

Ye Ci’s heart beat hard a few times.

[Ye Ci]: En, my treat.

That chat history was filled with the atmosphere of campus romance, as
refreshing as lemon and sea salt.

But at this time, Huo Tinglan sent another message.

[Huo Tinglan]: I have something to say, but I don’t know if it is convenient

for me to tell you now……is there a classmate next to you?”

Ye Ci glanced around. Of course there were classmates, but they were all
watching the events with their chins raised, and no one was paying attention
to him.

He was paralyzed by the sweet, fresh atmosphere of love, and replied

unguardedly: Yes, but they’re all watching the races. What do you want to
say?

A few seconds later.

[Huo Tinglan]: Baby’s legs are really white.

“……”

Ye Ci fell silent.

[Huo Tinglan]: I want to taste your sweat.

What followed was even more unsightly.

This person who looked so dignified and elegant was sending this stuff to a
male high school student from the stage.

What was the strength of this wolf in sheep’s clothing!

Ye Ci abruptly looked away. As if he was holding a white-hot poker, he

locked the screen in a rush and tossed the phone into his schoolbag.

Presently, he blushed and raised his butt, pulling down his sports shorts a
little.

An extra centimeter was still a centimeter.

Some people were real scoundrels.

Ye Ci rested, and then the 1,500 meter run commenced.

After three and a half laps around the track, Ye Ci was still running
effortlessly, but the sun that had been hiding his face before slowly emerged
from behind the clouds. There was sweat on his skin, and when it was
exposed to the harsh sun, it became slightly itchy and uncomfortable.

When he crossed the finish line first amidst the joyful cheers of his
classmates, he rushed several meters with the streamer trailing from him,
then stopped to take the mineral water Jiang Yan handed over. He twisted
the top off and took two drinks, then poured it over the top of his head,
simply and roughly driving away the heat and itching all over his body.
The water soaked through his clothes, and the light fabric of the sportswear
firmly stuck to the wet skin.

Ye Ci was not like some fastidious little Omegas who wore tight-fitting
vests under the sportswear to prevent exposure.

So some details and contours……were instantly revealed.

“You, do you want to put on a jacket……”

Jiang Yan averted his eyes, but Ye Ci still thought it was normal to pour
water over his head after strenuous exercise. Wiping the water droplets
from his face, he shook his hands toward the grass and said frankly: “No
need, I’m almost about to, to suffer heat stroke.”

“……Want to go to the locker room and change?”

However, Huo Tinglan’s deep, gentle voice came from behind, and he
couldn’t hear the slightest hint of displeasure. “There is air conditioning
inside the building.”

After the start of the 1,500 meter race, he had left the stage to wait for Ye Ci
at the finish line.

He was a young man as vigorous and nimble as a leopard. The wind blew
his hair back, revealing the entirety of his small face, and his eyes were as
bright as stars……

He had come to the sports field. However, Ye Ci was not distracted during
the race and basically didn’t look to the sides of the track, so he hadn’t seen
him.

“Ah, okay.” Ye Ci turned his head. “When, when did you come?”

“I’ve been standing here for a while to see you cross the finish line.” Huo
Tinglan smiled and raised the paper bag in his hand containing fresh
clothes. Then he stood in front of him unobtrusively and led him towards
the gymnasium.
There was a public changing room in the gymnasium. Ye Ci thought that
Huo Tinglan’s purpose was to let him change clothes, but just as he entered
the door, Huo Tinglan grasped the back of his neck gently. He immediately
softened into a ball and was conscientiously moved to the bathroom.

The standard of hygiene was comparable to that of a five-star hotel. There

was no smell, and no one else in sight. Huo Tinglan carried Ye Ci into a
stall, locked the door, and then leaned in toward his ear and said in a hoarse
voice: “I saw it all, baby.”

Hot breath warmed his ears, and the temperature jumped a bit in the
cramped compartment.

“Saw what?” Ye Ci was slightly taken aback.

“What do you think?” Huo Tinglan twisted the drenched fabric on his chest.

Ye Ci’s face abruptly turned red, and he stuttered badly: “I, I wasn’t paying
attention……I was, was running, and, and it was so hot……”

Huo Tinglan wore a half-smile: “En.”

“I’ll just, just change it.” Ye Ci snatched the paper bag containing the
change of clothes from Huo Tinglan’s hand and put it on the shelf behind
the toilet.

“Wait, put this on first.” Huo Tinglan loosened his own neckline.

Then he undid his tie with one hand and tugged.

The silk tie rubbed against his collar quickly, making a thin, sharp whoosh.

“I thought of this when I saw you put on the tracksuit……” Huo Tinglan
clamped Ye Ci’s wrists with one hand and twisted the hem of the half-
sleeved shirt with the other.

Fingertips poked between Ye Ci’s slightly parted lips along with silky
fabric.
“Bite down,” he whispered.

“……” Ye Ci’s cheeks flushed red and he grabbed the piece of cloth with
his small white teeth, turning his head away shyly.

Huo Tinglan carried out all the ungentlemanly things he had messaged him
on WeChat previously.

He didn’t know if the grape smoothie in the milk tea shop was good, and
had no interest in sweets.

But the fruit in early autumn was indeed sweet.

“Huo-shushu, the, the swelling is pretty obvious……” Ye Ci changed into

the replacement clothes Huo Tinglan had brought, feeling extremely
embarrassed and indignant.

Those red and purple marks and fingerprints were not a problem, and with
trousers covering them, nothing could be seen.

But elsewhere, they were a bit harder to hide.

“Use these.” Huo Tinglan took out a pair of patches from the paper bag.

The bandages were flesh colored and round.

Little things that could prevent similar embarrassing situations.

“Will they work?” Huo Tinglan asked softly.

Ye Ci shook his head in confusion.

In the end, Huo Tinglan took advantage of what could be explained in three
minutes and educated him for ten minutes on the spot.

[1] An old cow eats young grass (老牛吃嫩草) refers to a romance where one
person is significantly older than the other. ⮐
Consider donating via Kofi here!
Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Extra 5: Sports Competition
(Clear Skies and Classmates)

The inner side of the patch was soft and sticky bio-silica gel, which
absorbed into the skin and felt cool.

Like a secret reminder.

Fortunately, it was quickly warmed by body heat.

Huo Tinglan helped Ye Ci stick them on and then exited first. There was no
one else outside. He folded his cuffs back, straightened his shoulders, and
pretended to wash his hands in front of the sink.

Whether it was intentional or not, he was wearing a black shirt today, and
after rubbing against Ye Ci’s wet sportswear for a long time, the front of the
shirt was stained with water that could not be seen on the dark fabric. It
looked no different from a clean shirt.

In the stall, Ye Ci tugged at the hem of his clothes and pushed the door open
slowly, walking out.

Perhaps because his thigh ligaments had been over-stretched, his steps were
unsteady.

The permanent marking had happened over a month ago during the summer
break, and school had started just a few days after. Ye Ci’s study schedule
was very tight and Huo Tinglan was afraid that his energy would be
affected, so over the past month or so, he had been showing restraint. Most
of their intimate contact had been simple touches.

Thus……he had firmly held back.

He also hadn’t done anything too serious just now.

After all, it was impossible for him to really do anything to Ye Ci in the

school bathroom.

When they went home tonight, would Huo-shushu……

Ye Ci recalled the day of the permanent mark during summer break and
curled his fingers up nervously, clenching them together.

Even recalling a few scenes was not good. The back of his neck was faintly
hot, the skin that had finally cooled down flushing a passionate pink, and he
had no choice but to wash his face with cold water.

The events were not over yet, and the students were all gathered on the
sports field. There were not many people in other areas of the campus, but
fortunately, the milk tea shop was open like normal.

“Try it.” Ye Ci handed Huo Tinglan a glass of grape smoothie. “It’s really
delicious.”

Water droplets condensed on the outside of the purple-red cup, and the thick
snow-white cream was dotted with a few round, green grapes. It was a
childish drink, and Huo Tinglan took it and sipped it with a smile: “En, it’s
delicious.”

Ye Ci’s cheeks puffed out slightly as he chewed the grapes without saying a
word, his bright eyes slightly curved with happiness.

The noise of shouting and announcements came from the sports field. The
distance was too great, and the sound quality was a bit muffled. The two of
them sat in the shade of a secluded tree and drank while enjoying the
breeze.
Aside from the age difference, they were like a school couple on a secret
date.

Ye Ci bit his straw, and his mind finally drifted off for a bit as he silently
replayed the 1500 meter run. Did his running posture look cool enough?
Did he look silly when he was sweating and panting? He also regretted that
he didn’t look on both sides of the track and wave at Huo Tinglan or
something……

His thoughts were all rather uncomplicated.

Nothing more than the small thoughts of a teenager, always thinking about
looking cool in front of his lover.

“……What are you thinking about?” Huo Tinglan had been observing him
for a long time.

“I’m, I’m thinking about the competition,” Ye Ci said truthfully.

“Why is your face getting redder?” Huo Tinglan bent his index finger and
pressed the back of it against his spreading blush.

It was soft and hot.

Ye Ci turned his face to look at him. His eyes were very obedient: “I don’t
know.”

“Are your glands hot?” Huo Tinglan lightly touched the back of his neck.

They were hot.

The exuberant heat could be felt through the layers of barrier patches.

“Do you have enough strength?” He smiled with faint ill intentions.

Ye Ci stretched his legs. “……Maybe I’m a little, little tired.”

“Baby,” Huo Tinglan said in a low voice, his eyes dark, “Your fever period
is here.”
Even if it was a few days early.

After the permanent marking, an Omega’s fever periods would become

regular.

And the hormonal fluctuations caused by close contact may cause the fever
to advance within a certain range……

Ye Ci was startled, and touched the back of his neck.

He hadn’t been an Omega for long enough, and often ignored those signs.

“Want to go back and watch the events?” Huo Tinglan softly asked Ye Ci’s
opinion. “Or go home with me first to……deal with it.”

Because of the permanent mark, Ye Ci’s fever symptoms would not be very
serious. Other Alphas would not be sensitive to the soaring pheromone
concentration, but it had a huge impact on Huo Tinglan.

So there was no rush to deal with it.

Ye Ci hesitated for a moment. Today’s sports competition had come to an

end. He wouldn’t be able to stay long once he went back, and his classmates
would see him blushing like this.

It was noticeably his fever period, and in case it got worse……

Ye Ci squeezed the cup that he had unconsciously crushed, sucked up the

grape pieces at the bottom, and pretended to be calm as he said: “It’s not,
not convenient to go back……let’s go home first and, and deal with it.”

As the saying went: First time unfamiliar, second time well-accustomed.

Having experienced such an intense, days-long permanent mark, Ye Ci felt

that there was nothing left to be shy about, so he put on a steady and
experienced look. After returning home, he first went to find his pajamas,
and when he looked up, he saw that Huo Tinglan had also walked into the
cloakroom to look for something. Ye Ci raised his chin toward the
bathroom, his face bright red, and said coolly: “I’m going to take a shower.”
After saying as much, he was about to turn around and leave when Huo
Tinglan embraced him. His thin back pressed against the firm muscles of
his chest, and he felt the vibration as Huo Tinglan laughed.

He had clearly laughed, but his tone regained its composure the next
second.

“Wait a moment, baby, I have something to ask you.”

“What?” Ye Ci felt that it wouldn’t be anything serious.

– Huo-shushu at once acted demure in order to play dirty tricks.

“At the opening ceremony of the sports competition this morning, your
class performed a group dance……” Huo Tinglan smiled, and while
continuing to embrace him from behind, he pulled Ye Ci to sit on the
cloakroom’s changing stool. He wrapped his arms around the other’s arms
and clasped his wrists with his hands, fully encircling the boy who was a
full size slenderer than himself, but his tone was gentle and upright, as if
they were having a heart-to-heart conversation. “Wasn’t it all Omegas who
did it?”

Ye Ci’s intuition wasn’t good, so he pursed his lips and remained silent.

It was a pity that his thoughts were still too pure, so he went over Huo
Tinglan’s words again and again but couldn’t find anything wrong with
them, giving a low “En.”

“What about you, why didn’t you do it?” Huo Tinglan asked softly.

“I……” Ye Ci instinctively ignored the important and dwelled on the

trivial, avoiding the real reason of, ‘seeking to dress a male Omega in a
skirt like a girl,’ and said, “No, since I can’t, can’t dance, I couldn’t do it.”

He felt that he couldn’t mention the skirt business.

“It was because you can’t dance?” Huo Tinglan smiled softly.

“Yes,” Ye Ci insisted.
Huo Tinglan nodded, and said clearly, “Then that means……you have no
objection to wearing skirts.”

“?!”

Ye Ci licked his lips, dumbfounded.

What an unexpected interpretation.

“No, that’s not it,” Ye Ci shook his head vigorously, stuttering out a quick,
“I object, I object.”

Huo Tinglan sighed: “So antisocial.”

Although his popularity was so high that he would be welcomed by the

students as soon as he walked into the stands of Class 7, not wearing a little
skirt along with the other Omegas was antisocial.

– What a good trick to confuse black and white.

Ye Ci stared in amazement, and his lips that had been licked moist and
tender opened in shock.

Could it be that Huo-shushu would block him no matter what he said,

taking advantage of his anxious, clumsy mouth……

Huo Tinglan’s eyes were fixed as he said solemnly: “Huo-shushu is very

worried about you.”

“Could it be that, that you want me to wear……” Ye Ci gulped, unable to

believe it. “But, but today didn’t you see what they, they were wearing?”

There were no short skirts at home!

And, and it was too late to prepare one!

“Indeed.” Huo Tinglan paused for two seconds, then said naturally, “That’s
why the style is not the same.”
A laugh escaped after the slight pause.

He had made an error in his performance.

With this laugh, Ye Ci was instantly enlightened.

……Although it wasn’t flawless Buddhist enlightenment.

Huo Tinglan’s plan was premeditated. It just happened that the Omegas had
danced at the sports competition and Huo Tinglan was there to see it.

The skirt in question was probably not a standard skirt.

It wouldn’t be as good as their dancing skirts! At least those were decent!

This penetrated into Ye Ci’s mind, and his voice trembled with
embarrassment: “Then, then you……”

That voice gradually became fainter, like the buzzing of a mosquito.

“……are being perverted?”

Facing this question, Huo Tinglan fell silent.

Ye Ci thought he was going to play at being decent again and tease him
with ridiculous words such as “Huo-shushu is helping you integrate into the
group” or “other Omegas wear them, Xiao Ci.”

Unexpectedly, Huo Tinglan smiled and said: “Indeed.”

He didn’t even try to conceal it!

It wasn’t that he had special hobbies, it was just that when the little
gentleman’s legs looked so good, a few untoward thoughts surfaced when
he was distracted.

It wouldn’t hurt to try once in a while.

He let go of Ye Ci and leisurely rummaged through the closet.

Ye Ci was in his fever period and couldn’t leave him.

In the changing mirror, his ten fingers were as thin and white as scallions as
they held onto his trousers. His knuckles protruded sharply, and he was so
embarrassed that he wanted to beat someone up. However, he still waited
motionlessly for Huo Tinglan to find a skirt for him to wear, blushing. The
corners of his eyes and the tip of his nose were also stained a slight red,
aggrieved and bullied.

After Huo Tinglan found the clothes, he smiled apologetically: “I didn’t

have you try it on, so I don’t know if it will fit……is it too short?”

Ye Ci glanced at Huo Tinglan’s hand and was too ashamed to speak. He

lowered his head and leaned his forehead on his hand without saying a
word.

“But the stockings are elastic, so they should fit,” Huo Tinglan consoled
him, but gradually couldn’t speak human words. “Baby, will you wear the
skirt? I can help you.”

The swivel mirror in the cloakroom was turned to face the changing stool.

Ye Ci resisted passively, not struggling but not cooperating.

And let Huo Tinglan dress him like a doll.

……

Due to the rise in body temperature, even his white back, chest, and
abdomen were light pink.

The silk and lace rippled with different shades of broken light along with
the movements of his body, complementing that pink skin.

“I, I have an event tomorrow……I’ll need to, to wear a tracksuit,” Ye Ci

said tremblingly. “Don’t touch my, my arms and legs, okay, Huo-shushu?”

Touching, of course, referred to “leaving traces.”

“Okay,” Huo Tinglan responded first, and then asked politely, “Then where
can I touch?”

“……”

“Make me a list?”

After a long silence:

“Face, belly, and……”

So cute.

Huo Tinglan followed his words and kissed his face.

– Then followed the list one by one.

On the second day of the sports competition, Ye Ci had a few events to

participate in, but they weren’t high-intensity.

Events such as the javelin throw only required a short run-up, and was very
friendly to his sore waist and legs. Moreover, the students were not very
good at such professional things, so everyone had fun messing around
together.

After all his events were over, Ye Ci returned to the Class 7 stands to
concentrate on watching the competition.

Today’s sun was unbelievably hot. He and Jiang Yan each contributed a
hand to prop up a school uniform jacket as a sunshade, freeing up the other
hand to eat the potato chips sitting between them.

“I used to think you didn’t like these things.” Jiang Yan frowned. “You’re
so cool, you don’t look at first glance like someone who loves snacks.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t like to eat them, but mainly because he hadn’t eaten
them much before.
“Before, I didn’t know that I could love snacks so much.” Ye Ci’s lips
curled up.

Jiang Yan opened a huge extra-value pack that barely fit when he stuffed it
in-between them: “These cheesy onion ones are also super tasty, try
some……”

Under the simple school uniform awning……

Crunch, crunch.

Crunch, crunch.

Like two happy little hamsters.

Tsk –

A Coke can was cracked open.

“Our class should be number one in total points. I went to ask just now.”

“That is, is a must.”

“Later, you must represent our class to accept the award. The class monitor
and the sports committee have agreed. You have contributed the most and
your appearance is good.”

“……I’m going?”

“There’s no need to make a speech. There are so many representatives, just

bow when it’s your turn.”

“Then……okay, I’ll go.”

“……”

In the distance, another burst of cheers and encouragement sounded.

“Look, look! The head of the sports committee is about to cross the finish
line!”

The students in the front row stood abruptly.

Ye Ci also stood up with potato chips in his mouth, looking up with interest.
He was not accustomed to shouting, but he silently cheered for his
teammate in his heart.

On the synthetic track of the bright green and brick-red stadium, vigorous
figures were striding forward in the autumn wind, cheering and laughing
like a tidal wave.

It was a beautiful autumn day.

【End of Sports Competition】

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Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Extra 6: The Necktie

After the permanent marking, Ye Ci’s fever periods became stable and
regular.

There would be a milk case on a fixed date every month, which would
basically not affect daily life.

Once night, Huo Tinglan got stuck in an impromptu meeting and couldn’t
go home for a while.

“……I understand, Huo-shushu.” Ye Ci was talking on the phone, his voice

extraordinarily soft due to the fever. “I’m okay, not, not particularly
uncomfortable……one hour is no problem……don’t, don’t worry.”

After cutting off the call, he curled up under the blanket that contained Huo
Tinglan’s lingering pheromones.

Beneath the blanket, a number of Huo Tinglan’s personal belongings had

been piled up.

Needless to say, there were clothes picked up from the dirty clothes basket,
a few watches that Huo Tinglan wore frequently, a commonly used fountain
pen, and a few shiny and expensive cufflinks……he was like a little male
bird building a nest, finding many shiny things for himself.

In addition, there was a necktie. Huo Tinglan had fastened it yesterday.

Made of navy blue silk, the delicate fabric had a lion pattern embroidered
with silver thread. It was wrapped around Ye Ci’s left hand, and a line of
smooth luster rolled along the pattern’s angles.
A short section in the middle of the tie had clung to the glands at the nape
throughout the day, soaking in the scent of tequila.

Ye Ci flattened the tie and pressed the tip of his nose against it, his eyes half
closed, and a shallow layer of water gathered in his eyes.

He didn’t intentionally restrain his desire, and there was no one around, so
he was engrossed with each inhale, unconsciously letting out soft nasal
sounds, humming and sighing.

In this way, he didn’t know how much time had passed.

During the fever period, the mind was somewhat chaotic.

Thus, when Huo Tinglan ended the meeting early and rushed back to the
Huo residence, what he saw was this scene –

The light from the wall lamp was dim, and the bedding was wrinkled and
messy. The bulging quilt was covered in mounds and arches, and a few soft
and muffled calls came out from time to time.

“Huo-shushu, Huo-shushu……”

Ye Ci in a normal state would never speak in such a tone.

So this seemed extraordinarily……seductive.

Perhaps the quilt blocked the sound, or he was too focused and had relaxed
his vigilance, but this time Ye Ci failed to hear Huo Tinglan’s footsteps.

A luxurious, overripe aroma hit his face warmly.

Huo Tinglan closed the door behind him, locking the potent Omegas
pheromones in the room. His Adam’s apple rolled slowly.

This scene was very familiar.

Before the two of them got together, Ye Ci had snuck into Huo Tinglan’s
bedroom once during the fever period, sniffed the bedding he slept on, and
“built a nest” with the blanket. In the end, he caught him in that state of
excitement and the other was so frightened that he cried, while Huo Tinglan
tried his best to coax him.

It almost left a psychological shadow on poor Huo-shushu……

Huo Tinglan smiled and behaved in a well-behaved manner when he

received this bargain, standing at the door and watching quietly. After a full
minute, he had seen enough and coughed heavily.

The little blanket shook, and a disheveled head popped out.

“Huo-shushu –”

Naturally, Ye Ci didn’t turn pale with fright like last time. Instead, he
blushed and opened his arms towards Huo Tinglan, begging for a hug.
Those staggeringly expensive diamond jewelry and watches and high-end
clothes were in disarray, lying under the hot and humid blanket. Like a
kitten that had eventually been spoiled, it grinded its tender claws into the
furniture when no one was around.

Huo Tinglan glanced down at the pile of wrinkled clothes and smiled softly:
“Missed me so much?”

Ye Ci nodded lightly and plunged happily into his arms, undoing the tie
against his chest as if looking for something to eat. He pressed the tip of his
nose against his shimmering shirt and inhaled, eagerly sucking in the fresh
Alpha pheromones.

Huo Tinglan keenly grasped his left hand wrapped in the tie.

He had worn this one yesterday.

Because Ye Ci had wrapped it around his hand and pressed his nose against
it, the fine fabric stip had absorbed the sweat from his palms and the heat
from his mouth and nose, making it damp.

Huo Tinglan touched the moisture on the tie and said: “Did you lick it?”
“No, I didn’t.” Ye Ci still retained some sanity, and hurriedly denied, “I just
sniffed it for a while.”

Huo Tinglan knew that Ye Ci would not, but he mischievously pinched the
delicate cartilage at the tip of his nose, pretending not to believe it, and said
in a low voice: “Can sniffing it make it wet?”

“I really just……smelled it. This isn’t saliva but, but the sweat on my
hands.”

“Little liar.”

“……”

The two entangled for a while, and Ye Ci saw that Huo Tinglan was teasing
him, so he didn’t insist on explaining and just sniffed and rubbed.

“Give me five minutes, baby.” Huo Tinglan kissed those two red lips, fed
some pheromones to Ye Ci, and walked towards the bathroom.

“Huo-shushu, where are you going?” Ye Ci wasn’t having it, and hugged
his sharp waist under the suit. He raised his head and pressed his soft cheek
on Huo Tinglan’s shoulder. His temperament was turned upside down by
the fever period, and he became clingy, but his voice was still youthful and
clear. “I’m uncomfortable……”

“I’m going to take a shower.” Huo Tinglan tilted his head to brush against
that dear cheek, coaxing softly, “Baby, be obedient.”

“Don’t, don’t wash.” Ye Ci’s eyes were bright.

“Together then?” Huo Tinglan thought this was what he meant.

Ye Ci shook his head. His voice gradually became as quiet as a mosquito,

and his eyes wandered: “Just don’t, don’t wash……”

He had smelled it just now.

The Alpha’s rich pheromones mixed with a slight amount of light, not
unpleasant masculine sweat……it seemed wild and strong.

The burning hormonal reaction made Ye Ci’s throat go dry.

If it changed to the aroma of shower gel, he would suddenly feel that

something was missing.

Huo Tinglan raised his eyebrows slightly in astonishment, and smiled

implicitly: “I’ve been out all day……”

Ye Ci lowered his eyes in embarrassment, but refused to release his grip. He

said nothing, but his meaning was very clear.

“Baby,” Huo Tinglan grasped his chin and took one bite at a time, pressing
hard against him. “Why didn’t I realize you were so……”

The words that could make Ye Ci explode in shame were swallowed up in a

thin murmur.

……

“Like my tie?” Huo Tinglan asked.

Ye Ci kept clutching the navy blue and silver embroidered tie with his left
hand, and Huo Tinglan wondered if he had discovered some little hobbies
that he didn’t have in his previous life.

“En.”

An affirmative answer.

“Huo-shushu will teach you how to tie a tie……be good.”

Huo Tinglan picked up another slate gray tie that was tossed aside half an
hour ago, slowly tied Ye Ci’s wrists with it, and said: “This one is for the
hands.”
He immediately pulled out the navy blue one embroidered with silver. “Do
you know what this one is for?”

……

When the fever period ended, Huo Tinglan and Ye Ci simply changed
rooms to rest.

The mattress might have to be replaced, and it would take too much time to
sort it out. Huo Tinglan didn’t like outsiders touching things that were
soaked in a lot of Omega pheromones, and he had a full work schedule the
next day, so he had to rest first.

Everything in the guest room was prepared, and the bedding was replaced
regularly to avoid dust even if no guests had used it, so they could go
directly to sleep.

The two of them took a shower, put on clean clothes, and left the original
room, but Huo Tinglan had something extra in his hand.

“What, what is that in your hand?” Ye Ci intuited that something was off.

The corners of Huo Tinglan’s lips curled up. He shook out the navy blue
cloth and said: “A tie.”

It was so wrinkled that it couldn’t even be ironed and looked like it had
been pulled out of the water, heavy and wet.

The male lion embroidered with silver thread had become mottled.

It seemed like a waste.

“You still took it? For what?!” Ye Ci could hardly look at it, and grabbed it
with his hands. “It’s dirty.”

That tie was no good!

Huo Tinglan raised his hand and held it high. The height difference of
nearly ten centimeters was no exaggeration, and Ye Ci couldn’t reach it no
matter what. He was lying up against Huo Tinglan’s chest, and it looked as
if he was throwing himself into his arms.

“If something is dirty, it must be washed quickly.” Huo Tinglan had a gentle
appearance as he taught him diligently, “Otherwise it won’t wash out, and
this is a good tie. Have you forgotten the Huo family motto? ‘Tranquility
cultivates morality, and frugality fosters character.’ I taught you last
time……”

He had the nerve to mention last time.

“Don’t deceive me, I asked mother later and, and there is no such thing as
the Huo family motto!” Ye Ci absolutely didn’t buy it, and jumped up and
down to snatch the tie.

The mother in question was naturally Lin Yao.

Huo Tinglan’s heart burned, and he was even more unwilling to give it over.
This scoundrel even imprisoned Ye Ci, kissing him again and again: “It’s
the newly created family motto, how about it?”

Ye Ci’s fever period had just passed, and his body was weak. In addition, it
was the middle of the night and he was exhausted, unable to move anymore.
After being suppressed by Huo Tinglan a few times, he wilted and had to
give up on regaining the tie, then fell into a deep sleep.

Seeing that he was sleeping, Huo Tinglan pressed the tie against the tip of
his nose and sniffed it for a while, then stuck it to his lips.

At this moment, the concentration of Omega pheromones on it was the

highest.

……He was a bit reluctant to wash it.

Truly perverted.

Huo Tinglan laughed at himself.

The next day was Sunday.

Ye Ci didn’t have to go to school, so after tossing and turning until the early
morning last night, he naturally had to stay in bed. However, Huo Tinglan,
who had a full schedule, had already gotten ready. With a touch of the
fragrance of citrus aftershave, he leaned over and kissed Ye Ci’s forehead.

“Wu……”

Ye Ci’s eyes were half-opened. Sleepy but obedient, he just barely lifted his
head and touched Huo Tinglan’s cheek. Before losing consciousness,
something flashed in front of Ye Ci’s eyes for a moment, but he was too
sleepy. He had no time to think, and fell asleep again like slipping into a
coma.

It was already ten o’clock in the morning when he woke up again. In order
to make up for lost time, Ye Ci didn’t leave the study all day except for
meals and trips to the toilet. Now and then, he thought of something
important that he had overlooked that morning, but couldn’t remember what
it was.

However, when he saw Huo Tinglan again at the dining table that evening,
the “important matter” that Ye Ci had been pondering this morning in a
half-asleep state suddenly broke through.

– Huo Tinglan, who had just come home after a busy day at the company,
was wearing that navy blue and silver embroidered tie around his neck!

That one! ! !

Ye Ci was stunned at first, as if his soul was being sucked out by that tie
through the top of his head. After a few seconds, everything from his ears to
his collarbones boiled with heat. Seeing that there was no one else around,
he opened his mouth: “Why did you put, put it on……”

“This?” Huo Tinglan glanced down at the tie with raised eyebrows. He
looked at Ye Ci innocently and asked softly, “I didn’t sleep most of the
night, so I washed and dried it and rubbed it clean……why can’t I wear it
out, baby?”
“……”

Ye Ci’s fists tightened when he heard this, and he almost broke his
chopsticks.

Washing ties without sleeping in the middle of the night was very
problematic in and of itself, ah!

Was he afraid that washing it too late would destroy evidence of his crime?

“Today,” Ye Ci swallowed, muttering, “What, what did you do while

wearing this tie?”

Huo Tinglan smiled slightly, sat up straight, and reported the itinerary to the
little gentleman: “At nine o’clock this morning, I attended a board meeting,
and at ten o’clock in the morning……”

To put it simply, there was no time that he was idle.

If that was all……

He also took the time to accept an exclusive interview with a famous

financial magazine, and cooperated with the other party to shoot the cover
of the next issue of the magazine.

The revolving lantern of life flashed before Ye Ci’s eyes.

Yes, outsiders didn’t know the significance of that tie.

But Ye Ci did, ah!

He was dead! ! !

After a while, Ye Ci hooked back his soul in a fugue state and looked at
Huo Tinglan with red, accusing eyes.

“You are too, too bad.”

Huo Tinglan nodded, wiped the corners of his lips with a napkin, and
sighed. “Who says otherwise?”

Ye Ci: “……”

What a shameless answer.

Ye Ci put down his chopsticks, stopped eating, and sat on Huo Tinglan’s lap
with a red face, forcibly untying the tie.

“You, you give me this tie……I’m, I’m confiscating it.”

“Are you going to throw it away, baby?”

“It’s none of your business if, if I throw it away or not.”

“How can this be? The Huo family motto, frugality……”

“Why, why doesn’t the Huo family add the motto, ‘One should have self-
esteem and live life with dignity? Are, are you afraid that you will take the
lead in, in violating the family motto every day?

That little stutter was getting worse and worse.

Huo Tinglan laughed and walked toward the second floor with Ye Ci
kicking his arms and legs: “Not eating? Since you won’t eat, we’ll go
upstairs.”

The tie was going to be confiscated anyway.

And then used one more time.

【End of The Necktie】

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Extra 7: Happy Chinese New
Year

The days flew by.

This was especially true for the senior high school students preparing for
the college entrance examinations.

Winter vacation arrived in the blink of an eye. Perhaps worried that the
holiday would kill their fighting spirit and let their muscles and bones
become lazy, the school holiday was rather stingy, just picking out a few
days for the candidates to celebrate the new year.

The Huo family was prosperous and scattered across the world. The family
banquet celebrating the marriage of Huo and Chu before could not be
attended by all. Those relatives who were far away and could not be
contacted more than a few times a year, and the juniors who studied abroad
all year round could only get together one by one during the Chinese New
Year. The New Year’s Eve dinner was arranged in the manor where Lin Yao
and Huo Changyu lived. After all, only the manor could entertain so many
Huo family members comfortably.

In the early morning of New Year’s Eve, Ye Hongjun, Ye Ci, and Huo
Tinglan arrived at the manor together. They were early, and not many other
Huo family members were present, but the ones who had come were close
relatives of the married couple. Ye Ci had met them before at various small
family banquets, and was no stranger to them. He smiled shyly and took the
initiative to say hello to those uncles and aunts.
Except for a few children who got together to play on their gaming
consoles, most of these Huo family members were busy with the
housekeeping team, picking some easy chores to do. Although all the
chores were taken care of by a professional team, some small tasks could be
done themselves in order to create a New Year’s atmosphere.

In the study, Huo Changyu was writing couplets and blessings with a brush.
Huo Tinglan’s calligraphy was also good, but his handwriting was too
sharp, fierce and excessive, with insufficient harmony. Writing festive
words such as “Auspicious and joyful wishes for the whole family” was a
little incongruous, and Lin Yao had complained about it many times.
Therefore, all she could do was roll up her sleeves and grind ink for Huo
Changyu.

On the other side, Ye Ci was enthusiastically helping the housekeeper seal

money in red envelopes. The brand-new bright red bills with consecutive
numbers were crisp and flat enough to cut one’s hand. Flicking and flipping
them made a fresh sound, and just hearing it made people feel comfortable
physically and mentally.

Lin Yao was practically cultivating to become an immortal, so she didn’t

care about these mundane affairs, and pulled Ye Hongjun along to drink tea
and nitpick things in the reception hall. During the Chinese New Year, one
should always buy some new clothes and things like new year’s goods, but
Lin Yao couldn’t be bothered to go out when it was cold. The managers of
various luxury stores took turns to go out and deliver the goods to her home
for her to choose from.

Lin Yao picked through them, looking and commenting. Ye Hongjun didn’t
understand these things, so she held the cup of black tea carefully and
politely, nodding and smiling along with Lin Yao.

The clinical trial in San Francisco had resulted in her miraculous recovery,
and after returning to China, she had been taken care of by Huo Tinglan as
if she were his biological mother. Now she had no worries about food and
clothing, and had a lot of savings, but she was used to living a hard life and
didn’t know how to relax. She dared not spend money, and still tended to be
frugal in terms of food and clothing. Ye Ci had a clumsy mouth and
couldn’t persuade her, and also didn’t know how to encourage her. This
time she and Ye Ci came to the Huo residence to celebrate the new year,
and she simply dressed neatly and decently. Facing a lady like Lin Yao, who
had been pampered and cherished since childhood and was dressed
luxuriously and bedecked with jewels, she lacked some confidence.

Lin Yao noticed this, and intended to work a new philosophy of life into Ye
Hongjun.

“……Their New Year limited design this year is not bad.” Lin Yao picked
up a handbag made of embossed calfskin. It had a white background and a
red wintersweet[1] pattern sketched in a European style, but it didn’t lack
harmony. Those foreign designers rarely came up with Chinese-style
designs that could catch the eye, but this one was elegant and unassuming,
which matched Ye Hongjun’s temperament very well.

“Xiao Jun, try this bag.” Lin Yao picked up the small handbag and stuffed it
into Ye Hongjun’s hands with a calm demeanor. Taking two steps back, she
tilted her head to look and exclaimed softly, “Ai, it looks good. This
handbag suits you well.” She turned her head and told the manager who
was standing beside her, “Bring me that orange one, please.”

“This……” Ye Hongjun was slightly taken aback, and looked worried.

Seeing that she was clearly going to act polite, Lin Yao took another model
with a different color and pattern. Gathering together naturally and
affectionately with Ye Hongjun, she put the two handbags next to each
other and said with irresistible gentleness: “You use wintersweet and I’ll use
hydrangeas. This size is just right to hold red envelopes. How good this is,
now we don’t have to walk around holding a stack of red envelopes. How
about it? Alas, I have never had sisters and haven’t been able to match
styles with someone……”

The style and application of her speech, strength wrapped in tenderness,

was exactly the same as Huo Tinglan.

It could only be said that they were worthy of being mother and son.
And Ye Hongjun was as soft and easy-going as her own son, so Lin Yao
was able to meticulously dress her from head to toe while she was in a daze.

She also had a traveling manicurist do a round of hand care.

It felt like sleepwalking to Ye Hongjun.

She had a good foundation, and looked naturally beautiful and youthful.
Her only shortcoming was that she was less energetic after recovering from
a serious illness, and was too thin. However, Lin Yao had good taste and
knew how to make use of her strengths while avoiding her weaknesses. Ye
Hongjun let her dress her up like this, and she immediately looked radiant.
The scars that had eroded her over the years seemed to have been filled in
and polished by Lin Yao’s skillful hands and expensive clothing and
accessories, and at first glance, she looked like a different person.

“New year, new atmosphere, that’s how it should be. Changing from head
to toe is what the New Year is all about, don’t you think? Lao Huo said that
it was unreasonable to buy, buy, buy, but look at you……”

Lin Yao took Ye Hongjun’s arm affectionately, looking for that lovey-dovey
young couple to take credit. As expected, Ye Ci’s eyes reddened at the
sight, and he took some group photos with Ye Hongjun in silence.

It had been a long time since he had seen Ye Hongjun so resplendent.

That Mom could still do this……was really good.

As the afternoon approached, more and more Huo family members arrived,
and many of them were strangers. Huo Tinglan was afraid that Ye Ci would
feel awkward, so he asked him to accompany Lin Yao and Ye Hongjun to
have afternoon snacks and tea in the reception hall, and also brought the
cute and sweet Napoleon short-legged cat for Ye Ci to pet.

An examinee’s vacation time was precious, so there was no need to waste

energy with endless small talk. Obviously, he should be comfortable and
free.
The short-legged cat knew Ye Ci, and was inexplicably familiar with him. It
turned over to show Ye Ci its fluffy belly, and even pulled at Ye Ci’s wrist
with his paws, beckoning him to play with it.

After delivering the cat to Ye Ci, Huo Tinglan was about to go to the front
hall to entertain guests, but the hem of his clothes was tugged by Ye Ci
when he turned to leave.

“Huo-shushu, wait, wait a minute.” The young man touched his chest twice
with his fair hands, and didn’t wait for him to get the wrong idea,
explaining quickly with red ears, “There were a few……cat hairs stuck.”

After he spoke, the surrounding air subtly went still for a few seconds.

Huo Tinglan also curled his lips in an ambiguous manner.

Ye Ci reacted slowly and belatedly.

He had little contact with Lin Yao before, because he was reserved and
seldom spoke. He mainly gave respectful replies and rarely spent time
together so naturally.

To put it simply……he didn’t seem to have called Huo-Tinglan in front of

her very often.

He called Huo Tinglan “Shushu” with ease, which was originally fine, but
when they were in the same room, he still had to call Lin Yao “Mom.”
Obviously, something was wrong with this seniority.

– This was Ye Ci’s interpretation of the subtle atmosphere just then.

However, in fact……

Tsk, tsk.

Lin Yao had a complicated look of “You youngsters know how to play.”
Wanting to laugh but afraid to embarrass Ye Ci, she lowered her eyes and
sipped her black tea, silently reciting the six-character mantra of, “Laughing
too much will cause wrinkles,” to hold down the corners of her mouth.
It looked like he would have to change the name, Ye Ci pondered while
petting the cat.

At least in front of outsiders.

But……

What should he call him?

If it was too lovey-dovey, he definitely wouldn’t be able to say it, but it

must not appear distant.

Ye Ci mulled it over, and felt that the only way to find out was through trial
and error.

So he could call Huo-shushu……Tinglan?

That, that was too much!

It was a very normal address, but the affection and intimacy seemed to
make his heart beat harder than the previous one.

Huo Tinglan had already gone out to greet the guests. Lin Yao and Ye
Hongjun were sitting on the small sofa opposite Ye Ci, each holding a cup
of black tea. Two pairs of eyes quietly watched Ye Ci’s vacant expression,
as if swimming around in a void, then self-consciously becoming red-faced,
getting redder and redder……

“……”

What was this child thinking?

The two mothers looked at each other tacitly, pursed their lips and the same
time, and couldn’t help but laugh.

The Huo family had a fixed process for celebrating the Chinese New Year.
When dinnertime came in the evening, everyone would have a New Year’s
Eve dinner in the banquet hall, and after the meal, the younger generation
would pay New Year’s greetings and the elders would give lucky money.
After these procedures were over, because Lin Yao was fond of ostentation,
she would also arrange a New Year’s Eve fireworks show at the manner,
planned by a professional team.

In order to avoid having the same performance every year, the theme of the
fireworks show was different each time. She would usually pick a big
happy event that occurred in the Huo family that year and use it as a theme.
Last year, for example, Lin Yao and Huo Changyu chose the theme, “Moon
Palace,”[2] to celebrate Huo Tinglan’s cousin successfully entering the top
famous school in the United States for further study. The fireworks at the
finale were like an icy blue full moon slowly rising into the sky. This year,
to celebrate Huo Tinglan’s marriage, they decided on the theme “Eternal
Love” – the couple was older, after all, and would inevitably expose the
essence of the middle-aged and elderly at certain moments. Ye Ci looked at
the dancing pink heart-shaped fireworks, and was teased by Huo Tinglan’s
unrestrained younger cousins. He froze in embarrassment and didn’t know
where to bury his face. Suppressing a smile, Huo Tinglan pulled him into
his arms and embraced him in a very possessive posture.

After watching the fireworks show, the large group of people went back to
the house. The elders watched the New Years Gala, played cards, and
chatted, while the juniors slipped away to entertain themselves. But at 12
o’clock in the middle of the night, they had to listen to the clock tower
ringing and eat dumplings. This completed the set of traditions, and they
could go back to their rooms to sleep.

As soon as he was able to, Ye Ci went back to the room to put away the
New Years money.

There were many children in the Huo family, so he had prepared a lot of
money for New Year’s greetings and packed a big, thick pile of them. After
New Year’s dinner, when he saw someone younger than him, he shyly
handed over a red envelope. He thought he would be able to clean out his
inventory, but the red envelopes he received numbered many more than
what he sent. The Huo family’s rule was that married people gave red
envelopes, and unmarried people received them. Marriage was used to
determine whether one was “able to live independently.” Although Ye Ci
was married, he was young and his temperament made people adore him, so
the Huo family elders all regarded him as a child in their hearts. Huo
Tinglan didn’t receive half those red envelopes, but Ye Ci’s coat pockets
were bursting as he scrambled to put the red envelopes away.

Huo Tinglan picked Lin Yao and Huo Changyun’s from the pile of red
envelopes, and placed the two heavy ones beside Ye Ci’s pillow, one on the
left and one on the right. He wore a superstitious expression: “The New
Year’s money can only bring luck when placed next to the pillow.”

His tone seemed to be teasing, but Ye Ci wasn’t paying attention. He busied

himself with a red envelope that was kept separate in his coat pocket,
handing it to Huo Tinglan.

The red envelope was very thick, and on the back was Ye Ci’s elegant and
handsome handwriting, made with a golden signature pen. Huo Tinglan
looked down and caught a few key words.

They were mostly blessings and words of love.

“You. you wait a little later, and look at it when I’m not around.” Ye Ci
hurriedly withdrew the red envelope and whispered, “I will send your red
envelopes in the future.”

From Ye Ci’s point of view, this had nothing to do with marriage, and were
just blessings he hoped for on Huo Tinglan’s behalf.

The cash in this red envelope was from his old card, which he had earned
from working and racing. Using this money to give Huo-shushu a red
envelope satisfied Ye Ci’s wish – that no matter how much it was, he was
making money for Huo-shushu to spend.

This successfully created some illusions of earning money to support the

family.

“Thank you.” Huo Tinglan picked up the red envelope, turning his head to
kiss his face. “Happy New Year, baby.”
It was quite ceremonial. Ye Ci laughed and said, “You’re welcome. Happy
New Year, Huo-shushu.”

“By the way,” Huo Tinglan said in a warm voice, remembering what had
happened that morning, “We may have to change the way you address me
when other people are around, otherwise they might……”

“I understand.” Ye Ci nodded hastily. “They will feel that my generation is

wrong.”

Huo Tinglan smiled. He would never tell people’s true thoughts to Ye Ci.

Lest he die of shame.

“What should we do? If you can’t call me “shushu” in front of other

people……” Huo Tinglan smiled helplessly, as if he had suffered a
disadvantage, and teased in a low voice, “How about “gege?”

“……”

Ye Ci choked up for a minute.

Although it was a similar address, he couldn’t call him this.

He pursed his lips with a flushed face, looking at Huo Tinglan silently.

Was Huo Tinglan able to transplant his own face?

“It’s better to, to go with your name,” Ye Ci said dryly. “It’s more……
conventional.”

“Okay,” Huo Tinglan said softly. “Let me hear it.”

Maybe it was because Huo Tinglan’s expression was too serious, but the
little things that originally weren’t a big deal made him shy and
inexplicably caused his heart to hammer.

Ye Ci muttered, his shining pair of eyes as serious as Huo Tinglan’s:

“Tinglan.”
Two short characters.

The voice was exactly the same as in the previous life, but with so much
more in the tone, a torrent that traveled through time and space and fell into
his ears again, into his heart.

In this life, it sounded even more fascinating and taboo than “shushu.”

“Say it again.” Huo Tinglan approached and pressed against Ye Ci, causing
him to stagger and fall back on the couch. Ye Ci couldn’t remain still, but
obeyed and called out again.

“Good boy,” Huo Tinglan said in a hoarse voice. His love was surging and
his heart was sore, in urgent need of venting. He rubbed Ye Ci’s stomach
that was slightly round from New Year’s Eve dinner and asked, “Are you so
full from dinner?”

Ye Ci nodded: “En, it was delicious.”

“If you want to eat dumplings in the middle of the night, can you eat
them?” Huo Tinglan was kind and concerned.

It was said that growing men ate a lot, but at Ye Ci’s age, he could eat five
meals, not to mention a few dumplings.

Ye Ci was puzzled, and said frankly: “I can eat. It was four hours ago, and
I’ve almost digested it.”

Like a confused and upright Alpha who didn’t know how to flirt.

Huo Tinglan laughed and forced the topic back onto the right track, leaning
over to kiss Ye Ci’s lips: “Accompany me for a little exercise? Doesn’t
moving aid digestion?”

……

“Huo-shushu, lightly……”

“How can you forget, call my name……”

New Year’s Eve passed in festive jubilance.

Dawn in winter was late, and at six o’clock in the morning, the sky was still
gray. A warm lamp with weak light was lit in the room, and Ye Ci was
sleeping in a trance. His sense of time was confused by the light, and Ye Ci
opened his eyes in a daze, then closed them again.

He could feel that Huo Tinglan was playing with him, but that was fine.

Huo Tinglan’s energy in some aspects was no less than that of a male high
school student, and may be even a little more exaggerated due to his many
years of abstinence……this kind of thing, being moved around while
sleeping, happened occasionally.

However.

In fact, Huo Tinglan was helping Ye Ci get dressed.

He had mentioned today’s itinerary before, but Ye Ci had fallen asleep like
this and obviously didn’t remember it.

On the first day of the new year, he would go to the temple to offer incense
and pray with Lin Yao and Huo Changyun.

This type of thing was handled by Lin Yao in the past. Huo Tinglan was a
materialist and just followed Lin Yao’s formalities, but this year he
suddenly changed his nature and became more active about these things.

Lin Yao expressed that they would leave at 6:30. Huo Tinglan would think
it was unnecessary in previous years, but this time he did not refuse.

He didn’t dare to neglect anything that could be related to Ye Ci.

Ye Ci was asleep and at his mercy.

During the New Year, people liked to wear red. A few days ago, Lin Yao
had asked someone to purchase a set of bright red thermal underwear for
him……long underwear.
Last night, Ye Ci struggled internally with the ball of scarlet long underwear
for a while. His obedient and soft nature had a tug of war with his “cool
guy” side and finally lost.

He really couldn’t wear them.

Although it was close-fitting clothing that others couldn’t see, it was

shameful, and if he moved too much, a section of red would show at his
ankles or wrists……

This was definitely a devastating blow to an eighteen-year-old boy.

However……

If he wore it under long clothing, no one would be able to see.

The new year brought new weather, and it was normal to go out on the first
day of the new year in new clothes from the inside out.

What bad thoughts could Huo-shushu have?

The corners of Huo Tinglan’s mouth curled up evilly as he unfolded the

socks, passed them over Ye Ci’s feet, and stretched them upward to wrap
around.

White contrasted strongly with the pure red. Perhaps Lin Yao saw that Ye
Ci was so thin and accidentally bought too small a size. The fabric was
tight, the fibers stretched thin, and it felt delicate and light.

It didn’t look as ridiculous as Ye Ci had worried, but……

Huo Tinglan came back to his senses and called out in a deep voice: “Baby,
get up and let’s go burn incense.”

As he spoke, he patted Ye Ci gently.

Nearly a year had passed, and Ye Ci had gained more flesh compared to
when he first moved into the Huo residence.
But he belonged to the category of people with a thin, tall frame. Just by
looking at him, he still seemed thin, but when you patted it, it trembled with
some sensuality.

“You really won’t get up?”

He patted again.

“……”

Ye Ci still stubbornly and lazily slept.

This was quite different from the Ye Ci who was terrified when Huo
Tinglan helped him put on socks before.

Huo Tinglan smiled and continued to help him get dressed.

Ye Ci finally struggled to get up when he even zipped his jeans for him. He
was sleepy-eyed, with strands of hair curled up here and there, like a newly-
hatched chick.

“On the first day of the new year, we have to go early to offer incense. I told
you a few days ago.” Huo Tinglan pinched the soft flesh of his cheek and
looked down at his watch. “Your clothes are taken care of, and I’ll give you
five minutes to wash your face and brush your teeth. Is that enough?”

“……It’s enough!”

Ye Ci was stunned. Feeling himself from top to bottom, he found that he

was indeed dressed. Not thinking much about it, he shook his head to wake
himself up and jumped like a carp onto the floor, rushing to the bathroom to
wash up.

He had slept too late on New Year’s Eve night, and had strenuous exercise
before eating dumplings. Ye Ci got in the car and was still drowsy. He lay
his head on Huo Tinglan’s shoulder and fell asleep with his hands falling
naturally on his lap.
He had once washed dishes as a part time job in the past two years. At that
time, he hadn’t finished high school and didn’t have many choices, so he
was satisfied with the job. The conditions in the small restaurant were poor,
but he dared not quit his job. In winter, the back kitchen was wet and cold,
and the plastic gloves were useless. His hands were stuffed inside for
several hours, and when they were taken off, his fingers were often red and
white, swollen like ten summer radishes. After a few months of washing
dishes, he fell ill as soon as winter came, and his fingers were red, painful,
and itchy.

Last winter, he bought some ointment according to what he found on the

internet, regardless of whether it was useful or not, and smeared it all over
just to try it out. This winter, Huo Tinglan discovered the frostbite on his
hands as soon as some clues appeared, and he was taken to the hospital for
several rounds of treatment, and some ointment was prescribed to be
applied every day. He had been cured now, but Huo Tinglan was worried
that the symptoms would recur, so he watched him apply hand cream every
morning and evening. Ye Ci had forgotten to apply it since he was in a
hurry to go out today.

Fortunately, Huo Tinglan had previously stored a spare in the car.

In terms of these details of life, he was indeed like a thoughtful and

considerate “good uncle.”

He unscrewed the tube of sweet, almond-scented hand cream, squeezed

some into his palm, and then grabbed Ye Ci’s hands to apply it for him.

Ye Ci’s thin calluses from holding the handlebars of his motorcycle and
doing physical labor had long since disappeared. Over the past year, not
only his disposition, but even his hands had been pampered. The skin was
tender and new, the joints and nails faintly pink, and the color was like a
lotus flower, easily arousing an Alpha’s interest.

The two people’s fingers intertwined, and Huo Tinglan rubbed the back of
Ye Ci’s hand in an almost lingering way. The moisturizing hand cream was
very oily and sticky, hard to absorb, and he had applied too much. The oiled
palms and the backs of his hands constantly emitted wet sounds.
The sounds were very ambiguous.

Ye Ci couldn’t maintain his feigned sleep. His eyes were half-closed as he

watched Huo Tinglan apply hand cream, his face reddening.

The atmosphere was enchanting. According to his experience, Ye Ci felt

that something might happen next. Subconsciously peeking from the corner
of his eyes at the privacy screens in the front and rear windows, he had just
confirmed when his hand was held down on the leather seat.

The metallic sound of belt buckles being undone came from below.

Ye Ci held Huo Tinglan’s wrist and said in a whisper: “There’s no, no

change of clothes in the car.”

“I know.” Huo Tinglan’s lips twitched, and he knowingly took liberties.

“I’ll just take a look……what are you wearing today?”

Eighteen-year-old boys would indeed become excited when they were

casually teased by someone they liked.

There was a round, fingernail-sized pattern that bled out of the red. After
being dressed up by Huo Tinglan, he never took the clothes off. At this
moment, following Huo Tinglan’s line of sight, he was stunned.

Ye Ci’s face was red, and he pulled the belt desperately to cover up, quickly
fastening it.

After a moment of silence, Huo Tinglan commented leisurely: “Baby is so

festively dressed.”

“……”

Ye Ci stiffly supported his chin and looked out the window.

He remembered that he was obviously dressed in white when he went to

bed last night.
To be exact, his underwear drawer was basically all white, so he didn’t even
need to think about it.

Thinking back to when Huo Tinglan helped him get dressed early that
morning……

Huo-shushu!!!

Was still here!!!

Huo Tinglan praised sincerely: “The little tiger is very cute.”

Because it was the Year of the Tiger, there was a little cartoon tiger printed
on the front of the long underwear.

His shame doubled.

“Huo-shushu!” Ye Ci was so embarrassed and angry that he wanted to hit

someone. He rushed forward and covered Huo Tinglan’s mouth, but Huo
Tinglan grabbed him into his arms and bullied him.

……

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, pilgrims gathered at the temple.
The inner courtyard where the incense burner was placed was surrounded
by smoke and haze, but the mild sandalwood scent was very pleasant, and
didn’t make people feel like coughing.

Among all the incense sticks, the dragon head incense that Lin Yao offered
was very eye-catching.

Ye Ci had never come to the temple to offer incense, but it was not a matter
of not wanting to. Out of respect, he knelt down on the cushion and prayed
for blessings. During this time, he pulled at the back of his down jacket in a
nervous reaction, worried that if he bent down too much, he would reveal
something red.

After completing a set of procedures for offering incense and praying for
blessings, the group headed back home.
Before leaving, Ye Ci received a silver amulet from the priest of the
monastery. It was small in size, almost half the size of his little finger.
Sanskrit and lotus patterns were engraved on it, and it was said to be
consecrated. In addition to the blessing of peace, it could also make one’s
nature clear and increase their wisdom. Ye Ci didn’t know what the wisdom
of Buddhism referred to, so he understood it in terms of improving
academic performance, and was quite willing to wear it.

The amulet was strung on a red string, and there were two small silver bells
for decoration. Huo Tinglan carefully wound the red string twice around Ye
Ci’s wrist and tied it in place.

Those white wrists were decorated with red string and silver, and the colors
made a person’s heart throb.

Huo Tinglan turned Ye Ci’s palm over, bowed his head, and kissed the
inside of his wrist.

“Huo-shushu……” Ye Ci caught himself halfway and changed his words

awkwardly. “Tinglan.”

“What is it, baby?” Huo Tinglan smiled.

“It seems that you, you really believe in these things.” Ye Ci watched him
adjust the string and said casually, “We got up so early to burn incense.”

“It doesn’t count.” Huo Tinglan stroked the little silver pendant with his
fingertips and smiled softly. “I only believe in things related to you.”

That fingertip seemed to warm his heart along with the silver pendant. Ye
Ci’s eyes trembled slightly, and he rushed forward to hug Huo Tinglan.

On the first day of the new year, there were no other arrangements except
for dinner, and everyone was free to move around.

Those juniors of the Huo family were trying to curry favor, and wanted to
serve Ye Ci well. The young masters and young ladies raised in this sort of
wealthy family that had existed for generations were well-educated and
well-mannered. As he was Huo Tinglan’s spouse, they must have a good
relationship with him.

It was too cold, and playing outdoor sports would be looking for abuse. At
first, someone proposed to accompany Ye Ci in the manor’s indoor
swimming pool. After thinking about the unreasonable possessiveness of an
A+ level Alpha, he thought it might be against his best interests and gave up
on the idea. A group of half-grown children discusses and discusses, and
finally decided that it would be safest to ask Ye Ci to play videogames.

“What does Little Uncle usually play?” Huo Tinglan’s nephew, Huo Wenyu,
was selected to compete against Ye Ci. He was a rare “unworthy
descendent” in the Huo family. His grades were a mess and he played truant
all day long, practicing at all times in his determination to embark upon the
road of e-sports.

These ignorant children of the Huo family thought that Huo Wenyu was the
first choice for “playing chess with the emperor.” He could be sure of losing
or winning, and would not be noticed even when he let Ye Ci win.

“I don’t, don’t usually play games.” Ye Ci took the remote and fiddled with
it.

The Huo residence had all kinds of gaming consoles, but Ye Ci barely had
enough time to study and usually wasn’t in the mood to play.

“Then you can choose one at random.” Huo Wenyu said confidently, “I can
play them all.”

Ye Ci flipped through the disks and smiled shyly: “Is racing okay?”

This was the latest racing masterpiece. It was said that the image quality of
the scenery and the driving details were precise enough to be almost
lifelike, and players could even smell the burning scent of the graphics card
while playing……

“Okay, come on.” Huo Wenyu maneuvered his wrists with skill.
In the first round, Ye Ci, who worked hard to learn the buttons and joystick,
was thoroughly thrashed by Huo Wenyu.

In the second round, Huo Wenyu went easy on him and was able to draw
even with Ye Ci.

In the third round, Huo Wenyu realized that the situation had changed in the
middle of the game and stopped letting him get ahead, but it still wasn’t a
good-looking loss.

“I’m going to be serious, Little Uncle.” Huo Wenyu had gradually lost face
and couldn’t care less about making Ye Ci happy, so he planned to use his
full strength for this round.

After he spoke, as he tried to overtake, Ye Ci swayed from side to side in

front of him in a disorienting way, knocking a row of virtual spectators into
the air.

Huo Wenyu: “…….”

Huo Wenyu became excited and rolled up his sleeves: “Little Uncle, if you
play with such shady tricks, I won’t hold back, ah.”

This was shady?

The corners of Ye Ci’s lips curled up, vaguely revealing the demeanor of
dominating the Fengchi racetrack a year ago, and said concisely: “Don’t
hold back.”

……

Game X, European Town Circuit.

Huo Wenyu was forced by Ye Ci to go up the acceleration ramp when he

shouldn’t be accelerating, and soared into the sky. The Aston Martin hung
on a church spire and got stuck due to a bug.

Game X +1, Hawaiian Gulf Circuit.

Huo Wenyu was swept into the sea by Ye Ci’s fishtail drift, and had a close
encounter with a great white shark.

Gam X +2……

“Little! Uncle!!!”

Huo Wenyu’s heart-piercing wail resounded through the main building on

the first day of the Lunar New Year.

The half-grown children who were onlookers had long forgotten that the
reason for inviting Ye Ci to play games was to build relationships. They
were youthful at heart, after all, and their intention of worming their way
into friendship gradually became true worship. All of them eagerly geared
themselves up. Huo Wenyu, who had lost his dreams and become stuck in
the mire, fought to beat Ye Ci, from racing to fighting and shooting. The
speed of Ye Ci’s brain was ridiculously fast, and no matter what he played,
he became familiar with the controls and commenced the destruction of his
opponent. The whole main building listened to these children make an
uproar.

The group of people played from noon until dinner. Ye Ci exchanged

WeChat IDs with them and agreed to chat after the college entrance
examination.

He had slept too little the day before and started to feel sleepy after eating,
so Ye Ci went back to the room with Huo Tinglan to rest before nine
o’clock.

The short-legged cat seemed to have spotted Ye Ci. As soon as the two of
them lay down, it yowled and scratched at the door. Ye Ci asked Huo
Tinglan for permission and then stuffed the cat into the bed, hugging the
soft, cloud-like ball as he fell asleep.

It was uncertain why, but perhaps due to the pressure of his studies, Ye Ci
had a dream with a rather sad tone.
The color of the dream seemed to have been absorbed by a sponge. The
saturation was low, and the scenes and sounds were chaotic, like an old-
fashioned silent film. It also seemed to have salvaged some extremely old
and vague memories from the depths of his ocean of consciousness.

Ye Ci only remembered when he opened his eyes in a daze.

He’d had a sad dream and couldn’t remember the details. The only clear
scene occurred when he was on the verge of waking up from the dream. A
big hand stretched out from somewhere, warm and powerful, dispelling the
cold haze. The originally gray dream was suddenly filled with color, and the
sky and earth turned brilliantly bright.

“Wu……”

Ye Ci fumbled for the phone under his pillow.

It was eight o’clock in the morning.

The short-legged cat clung to him, purring reassuringly with one soft paw
resting on his chest.

Ye Ci’s movement disturbed it, and it arched its furry head coquettishly into
Ye Ci’s arms.

Huo Tinglan sat by his side, leaning on a pillow and using a laptop to
handle business.

“Huo-shushu……” Ye Ci arched his head against him. He had just woken

up, and his words were not very articulate. “I had, had a nightmare. Give,
give me a hug.”

“What did you dream about?” Huo Tinglan saved his file and put down the
laptop.

“I forgot.”

He answered confidently.
“Forgot?”

Huo Tinglan laughed in spite of himself.

“I remember it was, was very bad……In the end, you caught me.”

“……En, don’t be afraid, baby.”

Huo Tinglan took Ye Ci’s hand that was tied with a red string and pulled
him into his arms.

“I’m here.”

Happy warmth spread across every inch of this corner of heaven and earth.

It was another new year.

【End of Happy Chinese New Year】

[1] Wintersweet is a flowering shrub native to China. The flowers are

usually yellow with a purplish tint inside. ⮐

[2] “Moon Palace” is part of the idiom, “Plucking a branch of osmanthus

from the Moon Palace,” which is a metaphor for passing the Imperial
exams. ⮐

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Extra 8: Ye Ci’s Boyfriend Power

Deep winter.

The snow was mixed with fine grains of hailstones, which knocked against
the windows and added to the tranquility.

The heater in the bedroom was very hot, but Ye Ci’s hands had been
frostbitten, and he was more afraid of the cold than ordinary people.
According to Huo Tinglan’s instructions, he put his hands in a hand warmer
to keep them from getting cold. Spread out on the desk in front of him was
a voluminous book, and each page had a large area of test points densely
marked out in pen.

Ye Ci’s lips moved silently, reciting the difficult chemical reaction equation
as if it was the bible.

A few months ago, he received an admission letter from the top

pharmaceutical university in China. His hard work while burning the
midnight oil for a year and a half had not been in vain.

It was said that a pharmaceutical major was a trap. It had bad employment
prospects, was tiring to learn, and was extremely unfriendly to the retention
of students’ hair. As the saying went, “If you choose a major poorly, it will
be like taking the college entrance examinations every year.” Their majors
had not been easy even since freshman year, but Ye Ci had ambition and
didn’t think it was overly difficult. He found it very challenging, and was
motivated to learn.
There were a lot of things to memorize in chemistry. Ye Ci’s memory was
not bad, and he memorized things quickly and solidly, but he also couldn’t
afford to lose too many test points, and at the end of the term, it wasn’t
enough to just cram.

The other three students in the dormitory also had the appearance of monks
chanting scriptures. They were usually delicate little Omegas, but now they
were all disheveled by the scourge of the exam, their upper bodies numbly
swaying back and forth with the rhythm of their desperate recitations.

Every time Ye Ci reviewed ten pages, he took a five-minute break to slack

off. It was time for another round of resting, so he picked up his phone and
looked through it.

During the exam season, major colleges and universities were entering the
final stage one after another, and the WeChat students of Tiancheng’s Class
7 were mourning.

……

[Jian Yan]: I want to die. What about liberal arts?! Why do I still need to
learn advanced math, ah ah ah……

[Jian Yan]: I don’t want to work hard anymore.

[Jian Yan]: Cast a magic spell.jpg

[Jian Yan]: Cast a spell to summon a tall and mighty Alpha to raise me.

[Lu Minghan]: Damn

[Lu Minghan]: Is it because I haven’t been here to clean you up that you
have such illusions? @jianyan

[Jian Yan]: Eat shit.jpg

[Jiang Yan]: If you are capable of it, don’t come here for the next half
month.
[Lu Minghan]: You wait until I finish the exams, and I’ll take you down.

[Ye Ci]: Yan, don’t talk. The leader of the Sports Committee has been
summoned by the magic spell.

[Jiang Yan]: ? ? ?

[Jiang Yan]: You also know how to sneak into the chat?

[Ye Ci]: Indeed.

The very irritating “indeed” was in exactly the same tone as Huo Tinglan’s.

[Ye Ci]: Crying cat head.jpg

[Jiang Yan]: Oh my god, where is that Ye Ci that blushed when teased

casually back then! Why is the gap between the rich and poor widening!

[Jiang Yan]: Dragon eighteen palm.jpg

[Ye Ci]: Kitten covering head, don’t hurt me.jpg

……

Evidently, under the influence of his idiot classmates, the former lonely boy
had learned how to use emoticons.

And according to Jian Nan, only the soft and cute little Omegas would use
offensive emoticons such as “eat shit,” and the more aggressive the Alpha
expansion pack, the more it would use cats and dogs.

So Ye Ci, who was spiritually an Alpha, kept a bunch of cute kitties.

Jiang Yan and Lu Minghan had always been quarrelsome but loving friends.
Both of them were good at talking, and it was possible that they had been in
love with each other all year round as their interactions had become more
and more ambiguous after graduation. The two were in different locations,
but were only an hour away by high-speed rail. Lu Minghan had been
seeking out Jiang Yan every now and then for half a year, and the two often
spent time privately together. Anyone with eyes could tell that they were
not far from an official announcement.

In the classmate group, Jiang Yan and Lu Minghan flirted, and the crowd
provided a string of “yoooo.” Ye Ci returned to the message list with a
smile and scrolled down.

Huo Tinglan’s newest message was twenty-four hours ago.

Ye Ci was so dizzy from reciting the book all day that he didn’t pay much
attention, but it wasn’t unusual for him to be silent for so long, so he took a
picture of the desktop and sent it.

[Ye Ci]: [Image]

[Ye Ci]: I memorized all night and got through 30 pages.

[Ye Ci]: Kitten fainting.jpg

[Ye Ci]: What are you doing?

The other side replied in seconds, as always.

[Huo Tinglan]: You can do it, baby.

[Huo Tinglan]: Not doing anything. I’m very free at work today, so I’m
resting.

The answer was quite satisfactory, but Ye Ci just felt that something was
off. Perhaps it was an Omega’s keen intuition.

[Ye Ci]: Can you talk?

[Huo Tinglan]: If it’s convenient for you. The roommates aren’t there?

Ye Ci never tried to hide anything. He wore a wedding ring on his finger at

all times, so the other students knew he was married not long after
enrolling. The three roommates who were the most familiar with Ye Ci had
even had dinner with Huo Tinglan, so there was nothing to hide. But Huo
Tinglan paid attention to the privacy between the two of them, and would
try to get Ye Ci alone before making an audio or video call.

[Ye Ci]: It’s convenient.

After sending, he got up and snuck into the corridor quietly, then sent Huo
Tinglan a voice call request.

It was picked up right away.

“Hey, baby.”

He didn’t know if it was his imagination, but Huo Tinglan’s voice seemed
deeper than usual and slightly hoarse, rubbing the soft flesh of his ears like
sandpaper.

Ye Ci’s ears tingled when he heard this, and he was in a daze, scratching his
wrist as he muttered softly: “What were you doing just a moment ago?”

“Huh?” Huo Tinglan’s tone was innocent. He laughed and cleared his
throat. “I wasn’t doing anything, just lying down……I closed my eyes to
rest. What is it?”

Lying down and closing your eyes to rest.

This sounded like some lonely empty nester.

Ye Ci didn’t know what crossed his mind, but he blushed: “Then why is
your voice like that?”

There was a moment of silence over there, and then a deep smile: “You
heard?”

It wasn’t that Ye Ci’s hearing was so keen, but mainly because he’d had
such an experience before……

Freshman military training lasted for half a month, during which they
weren’t allowed to leave school without good reason. During that half
month, Huo Tinglan became increasingly unreasonable. When he called Ye
Ci late at night, he coaxed Ye Ci to go to the unoccupied fire escape in the
corridor, and tempted him to say some unspeakable words. Ye Ci himself
would not say such indecent words, but Huo Tinglan taught him. Huo
Tinglan would say something over the phone, and Ye Ci would whisper it
back with steam coming out of his head, ridiculously obedient.

Ye Ci originally thought that Huo Tinglan missed him too much and wanted
to hear more of his voice, but the words became more and more indecent as
they went on, and it was very difficult to classify them as “words of
affection.” Huo Tinglan’s voice became deeper and hoarser, mixed with
some wet and subtle sounds……only then did Ye Ci come to a realization,
and he was so embarrassed that he almost hung up the phone.

Therefore, he was more alert to such vocal timbres, and felt that things were
not simple upon hearing them.

“En.” Ye Ci lowered his head and rubbed his shoes against the cracks in the
marble hallway floor. He thought for a moment, and then tried to flirt
sophisticatedly, “You……miss me?”

“How can I not?” Huo Tinglan cleared his throat again and complained
half-jokingly, “You didn’t come home last week.”

The school would randomly check the dorms from Monday through
Thursday, and punish students who stayed out at night accordingly.
However, if the student’s family had special circumstances, they could
report to the counselor and apply for long-term off-campus accommodation.

Ye Ci was married and eligible to apply for off-campus living, but Huo
Tinglan offered to let him live in the dormitory for the first school year.

If a freshman moved to live off-campus as soon as they entered school, it

would reduce their opportunities to get along with their classmates. The
relationships would inevitably become alienated, and Ye Ci himself was not
the type who was enthusiastic and talkative, able to get along with strangers
in a few words. Huo Tinglan had seen Ye Ci when he was alone and without
any friends, and had also seen his appearance when he laughed and chatted
with his classmates after integrating into the group. He didn’t want to be
dominated by an Alpha’s irrational possessive desire to deprive Ye Ci of the
happiness he should enjoy in college life. Therefore, this semester, Ye Ci
would return to the Huo residence every weekend and live off-campus. But
the mid-month final review was too hectic, and Ye Ci didn’t want to be
distracted. He would be unable to read books and look up information from
school, so he didn’t go home last weekend.

“……I’ll come home to accompany you when I finish my subject exam on

the 12th. It will be soon.” Ye Ci held the phone close, softly coaxing him,
“Is that okay?”

“Of course.” Huo Tinglan was fair and reasonable, and said with a gentle,
comforting voice, “Concentrate on reviewing at the end of the term. The
school has a good learning atmosphere……These two days, I was afraid of
disturbing you, so I didn’t dare to take the initiative to send you a message.”

Ye Ci talked to him for a while longer before hanging up, and then
immediately turned around and called Uncle He.

After the call ended, Ye Ci quickly walked into the dormitory, packed the
books and notes needed for the exam on the 12th into his schoolbag, and
hurriedly changed his clothes.

“……Xiao Ci, are you going out?” The roommates looked up, his eyes
focusing.

“En.” Ye Ci was well-behaved and put on his gloves. “My husband has a
cold and a persistent high fever. I’ll go back and have a look. If the student
council comes to check the bedroom……” Ye Ci hesitated for a moment. It
was almost eleven o’clock, making it inconvenient to ask the counselor for
leave. “Forget it, just let them check.”

During the phone call just now, the more Ye Ci listened to Huo Tinglan, the
more he felt that something was wrong, especially when he cleared his
throat now and then. It was as if he was trying to cover up a cough.

When he hung up the phone and asked Uncle He, sure enough, he’d had a
high fever for two days, and after seeing the doctor, he had an IV drip. But
maybe this wave of cold virus was particularly fierce, and since he was on
the verge of susceptibility and couldn’t see his own Omega, he got upset
and the fever wouldn’t go away. He hadn’t even eaten much in the past two
days.

The roommate looked at his phone and said worriedly: “The school gates
will close soon, and it’s still snowing. Can youcall a car……”

“I’ll climb over the wall, and call a car while walking. If that doesn’t work,
I’ll use a rental bicycle.” Ye Ci overcame all difficulties, threw his
schoolbag cooly over his shoulder, and waved to the three roommates. “See
you.”

Nighttime in the Huo residence was not tranquil.

After the IV was finished, the doctor withdrew the needle from Huo
Tinglan, took his temperature again, and listened with the stethoscope.

His body temperature had only dropped slightly, but luckily his lungs were
not impacted. After all, he had a top-level Alpha’s physique, and could
handle more hardships than ordinary people.

“How was his diet today?……”

Outside the door, the family doctor was talking to Uncle He in a low voice.
Huo Tinglan rubbed the center of his forehead and lay back on the pillow

All at once, there was a rush of footsteps coming from the direction of the
stairs. Mixed with someone’s panting breaths, it sounded like someone was
taking two or three steps at a time, jumping from the first to second floor in
an instant.

Huo Tinglan raised his eyes in disbelief, but before he could sit up, Ye Ci
had already rushed in like a gust of wind. There was unmelted snow on his
down jacket, a scarf was wrapped tightly around the bridge of his nose, and
those soft cheeks were frozen like frosted red fruits. His eyes were bright
and his hair blown out of shape by the wind, exposing his forehead and
straight eyebrows with a chilly and youthful aura.
“Baby……” Huo Tinglan panicked for a rare moment. “Why are you
back?”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were sick? Still treating me like a child,” Ye
Ci muttered angrily. He took off his schoolbag and down jacket, tossing
them aside before walking to the bed. “Uncle He said that you were
approaching the susceptibility period, so I think you’re agitated.”

“Listen to this nonsense.” Huo Tinglan scoffed, and first set aside Ye Ci’s
responsibility. “I think you’re right, but I’m not agitated.”

“I’ll talk to the instructor tomorrow, and I’ll be reviewing at home these
days.” Ye Ci forcefully made arrangements.

Huo Tinglan closed his eyes: “Baby, don’t spoil me like this.”

Was Ye Ci angry?

He was indeed angry.

Huo Tinglan didn’t intend to unleash his bad Alpha nature. However, Ye Ci
was too considerate and sensible, and had been fanning the flames, fueling
the arrogance and possessiveness.

“Just, just get used to it.” Ye Ci’s stuttering had nearly been eliminated, and
he only stuttered when his emotions were high. “It’s all mutual, why can
you let me get used to it, yet you can’t?”

As he spoke, he hooked the back of Huo Tinglan’s neck and pressed his
forehead against the other’s: “It’s so hot.”

“It’s okay, I’ve had an IV drip.” Huo Tinglan’s heart went soft, and he
gently brushed Ye Ci’s blushing face with his fingers. “It’s because your
forehead is too cold……why is it so cold and red? How did you come
back?”

“I got a rental bicycle and rode back. It’s so late, and the city is too far
away, so I couldn’t get a car.” Ye Ci was afraid that Huo Tinglan would
lecture him, so he acted preemptively, glancing at Huo Tinglan from the
corner of his eye as he muttered, “If you had, had told me to come back
during the day when it wasn’t snowing, I wouldn’t have had to do this……”

“En, you’re right, I shouldn’t have hidden it.” Huo Tinglan admitted his
mistake with good grace.

“Exactly.” Ye Ci looked away and took off his jeans to reveal close-fitting
thermal pants, then lifted the blanket and got in.

At a young and vigorous age, he had pedaled his bicycle all the way and his
body was like a burning stove, just right for warming the bed of a cold
patient.

Unexpectedly, Huo Tinglan grasped the back of his neck and puzzlingly
lifted him away. “Let’s sleep in separate rooms tonight.

Ye Ci opened his eyes wide.

Was this still the sex-crazy Huo-shushu he was familiar with?!

“If you get infected, I will blame myself.” Huo Tinglan got out of bed and
walked out with the dazed Ye Ci, coaxing, “Baby, I’m very happy you came
home.”

For the first time in his life, he was rejected by Huo Tinglan.

Ye Ci stuck to the closed door, digging his nails in like Lin Yao’s cat.

“Huo-shushu……Tinglan……”

He called him over and over.

How could Huo Tinglan be willing to let him stand outside and scratch at
the door? The door opened after he called out a few times, and Huo Tinglan
grasped Ye Ci’s face, shaking it gently before saying helplessly: “It’s really
contagious, what will you do if you don’t do well in the final review?
Didn’t you say that you want to make money to support me? Won’t you
regret it?”
He was right. Ye Ci pondered for a moment: “Then promise me one
condition.”

“Tell me,” Huo Tinglan said.

“Eat something,” Ye Ci said with glistening eyes. “A bowl of porridge is

also fine.”

“Feed me?”

He started haggling.

“All right.”

Huo Tinglan stopped being obstinate for once, and was willing to eat
something. Uncle He hurriedly ordered the back kitchen to prepare a bowl
of vegetable porridge with shredded pork to supplement his nutrition as
much as possible.

The grains of rice were steaming hot, and Ye Ci scooped them up with a
spoon, blowing on them before feeding them to Huo Tinglan.

They gazed at each other for a long time after the first sip, and Uncle He on
the side had to retreat quickly from the sweetness and give them space.

“Tinglan.”

“En?”

“Am I……” Ye Ci coughed and asked in a low voice, “……a good

boyfriend?”

As soon as he heard that Huo-shushu was sick, he had jumped over the wall
and left school immediately, riding a bicycle back since he couldn’t find a
car. He coaxed and fed him, just shy of finding the IV drip and putting it in
by himself.

If this didn’t mean he was a good boyfriend, then what would?

Huo Tinglan was silent for a moment, likely holding himself back.

“……En, especially good.”

Ye Ci’s lips curved up shyly and proudly, and he continued to feed him
porridge.

The Alpha in his heart was very satisfied.

“It feels like the temperature has dropped a little.”

Ye Ci touched Huo Tinlan’s forehead.

“En, my head doesn’t hurt that much anymore.”

“I think it’s just natural internal heat.”

“En, internal heat.”

That tone was indulgent.

“If this happens again in the future, will you tell me?”

“I will.”

“You’ll tell me if you need me?”

“I’ll tell you.”

Ye Ci nodded in satisfaction.

“……”

It was a quiet snowy night.

The fine snow rustled against the windows, making the people in the house
feel more cozy.

Warm inside and out.

When accompanied by loved ones, any season would feel like spring.

【End of Ye Ci’s Boyfriend Power】

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Fouls Prohibited (禁止犯规) by 吕天逸
– Extra 9: The Wedding

When first signing the marriage contract with the Chu family, Huo Tinglan
had taken Ye Ci’s mood into consideration, and also feared that exposure to
the media would lead to curious prying eyes and rumors that would affect
Ye Ci’s studies. Therefore, they only went through a set of customs and
formalities, and the marriage was kept secret from the outside world. Later,
Ye Ci confessed the marriage to his classmates, which caused some waves
in school, but the reaction from the outside world was not too big. After all,
the members of the Huo family were not celebrities with a social media
following, so it was unlikely that the entertainment media would care about
the minutiae of their lives.

After Ye Ci’s college entrance examination, Huo Tinglan put the wedding
on the agenda. After officially announcing the news of the marriage to the
media, Ye Ci’s situation was completely different from before. The media
reporters who followed the announcement appeared at the speed of light,
and even when they went to the convenience store to buy something, they
might encounter paparazzi secretly taking pictures. Moreover, in recent
years, the writing style of inland entertainment media seemed to have been
infected by the gossip tabloids in the Hong Kong area, and most of the news
published was in this style – “Huo Tinglan’s wedding is coming soon. His
twelve-years-younger fiance was originally the eldest son of the third
branch of the Chu family, and is tender and cute.” “The huo husband and
wife showed their love on the horseback riding field, and Huo Tinglan
cared for and accompanied the other throughout the whole process.” “How
rich is this local tyrant? The patriarch of the Huo family married with a
dowry of over 100 million”……The wording was extremely exaggerated,
and Ye Ci’s face was red with embarrassment, his bare toes frequently
curling against the floor.
The public relations team under Huo Tinglan’s special assistant had been
monitoring the trend of public opinion, and false or extremely negative
news was either unable to be published or taken down within a short time.
Huo Tinglan had long been accustomed to interviews and media reports,
and didn’t give them much thought at all, but Ye Ci had never encountered
this scene, and despite Huo Tinglan’s advice, he often couldn’t help but pull
out his phone to search for news about himself.

“……Forget tender and cute.” In the VIP lounge on the third floor of the
shooting club, Ye Ci sat on the sofa and flipped through the news,
scratching his hair in embarrassment. “And then, ‘sweet and lovely’……”

Who was sweet and lovely?!

If you used such basic misnomers in the college entrance examination, you
would lose points!

“And this one, it doesn’ look like, like I’m 1.8 meters, but 1.75 meters.” Ye
Ci anxiously licked his dry lips over and over, pointing to a sneak photo
accompanying the news piece anld feeling like self-realization was an
eternal injustice. “And isn’t this just a normal hug? Why write that I buried
myself in his arms and acted spoiled, I’m not a person who acts spoiled at
every turn……”

Naturally, due to his soft and well-behaved appearance, he appeared to

outsiders as spoiled and cute……Huo Tinglan nodded slightly and avoided
the important issues while embracing the trivial: “Don’t focus on that, let’s
talk.”

“I’m not focusing on it, but they wrote without basis.” The dignity of his
inner Alpha was damaged, and Ye Ci said angrily, “A man who is 1.8
meters tall can’t, can’t be described like that.”

“En, the media are writing without basis,” Huo Tinglan answered the Little
Gentleman, unconscionably perfunctory.

“Let, let the public relations team please withdraw it.” Ye Ci shook Huo
Tinglan’s wrist. “Can it be done?”
And he said he was not a person who acted spoiled at every turn.

He was perfectly proficient at acting like a baby.

“This…….” Huo Tinglan endured, pretended to be troubled, and sighed.

“Baby, these can’t be counted as rumors, after all, so how can they be
withdrawn?”

Ye Ci was silent for a moment, his eyes vigilant: “Do you think that what
they wrote……sounds accurate?”

Huo Tinglan remained silent and used his fist to cover his mouth, turning
his head to the shooting range outside and pretending to look at the scenery.

“I look sweet? Ye Ci stared blankly, pointing to his face and then to his legs.
He was wearing a pair of overalls today with the trousers tucked into his
boots, which made his long legs look straight and thin, dashing and
handsome.

Huo Tinglan deliberately didn’t look at him.

“Huo-shushu!” Ye Ci was anxious, so he got up and moved closer to Huo

Tinglan, leaning one arm on the back of the sofa and leaning down on him,
relentless in his desire to settle the matter.

“They should, should use ‘handsome’ instead of ‘sweet’……” Seeing Huo

Tinglan turning his face to look into the distance, Ye Ci turned his head
back with one hand to force Huo Tinglan to look directly at his face. The
sweetness in his bones shone through the illusion of strength. “Huo-shuhu,
I’m being serious now.”

Huo Tinglan’s true colors were exposed. He scoffed and took advantage of
the opportunity to grab him and kiss him hard. There was no one else in the
lounge, so he turned over and pressed Ye Ci into the sofa, heartily sucking
and biting at soft flesh and the dimples on Ye Ci’s face. In line with the
entertainment gossip accounts, he said lightly: “You’re sweet all over, baby,
so sweet I’m going to die……”
Ye Ci’s cheeks and lips were red from being ravished. After a long while,
he struggled out from between Huo Tinglan’s chest and the couch cushions
and pulled his clothes into place. Unconvinced and unable to deal with Huo
Tinglan and the unscrupulous media, he could only glare insipidly.

Huo Tinglan was amused by his aggrieved appearance and raised his hands
in compromise, saying: “How about I ask them to write a few public
relations drafts that describe you well……how should they describe you?”
Huo Tinglan pondered for a moment, drew his eyes across the entirety of Ye
Ci’s body, and said mischievously, “Masculine and mighty?”

That look was somewhat insidious. Ye Ci choked and didn’t know where
his mind had jumped to, but his face became even redder and he muttered:
“That not, not necessary……can you be a little more serious?”

“I understand.” Huo Tinglan had his fill of teasing children and showed his
reliable side again. “Which report is it? Send me the link, and I will ask
someone to deal with it.”

It was time to be serious. He couldn’t let this trivial matter trouble Ye Ci.

Ye Ci forwarded the news link to him, and then heaved a sigh of relief.

It could be seen that the burden on his ‘cool guy’ side was very heavy.

“Want to go downstairs and play a little longer?” Huo Tinglan gave a brief
order to his assistant, then picked up his phone. “I made an agreement with
the person in charge that the sniper rifle from Cheytak’s new factory can be
tested.”

Ye Ci was startled and immediately forgot about the gossip media, his eyes
so fiery that they could burn Huo Tinglan through: “Really?!”

The shape of the gun was as cool as a prop in a sci-fi movie. It weighed
14.06kg and took a little effort for him to hold it in one hand. The last time
he came to play, he had looked eagerly at the front of the display cabinet for
a long time and felt that even if he could touch one, he would be satisfied.
Domestic weapons control was extremely strict, and for security reasons,
many high-end firearms in this officially operated shooting experience hall
were not open to ordinary members. They were locked in a display cabinet
all year round, and only very senior members could enjoy them under the
full escort of the shooting coach.

“Really.” Huo Tinglan pointed at his own face.

Ye Ci promptly leaned forward in tacit agreement and kissed him on each

cheek.

“Let’s go downstairs.” Huo Tinglan glanced at his watch. “Can we play

until two o’clock? Madam Lin asked the designer to come over at 2:30.”

“Yes!” Ye Ci had already sped down like a gust of wind.

Lin Yao was the sort of person who loved ostentation and saving face, so
she naturally wanted to make her only son’s wedding the top priority in her
life. She insisted on having a special wedding and felt that an Alpha’s taste
was unreliable, so she simply took on the heavy responsibility and
communicated with the wedding planning team in full swing every day. The
wedding venue selected was an ancient castle in a foreign country that had
been converted into a history museum. It was also one of the six largest
palaces in the world, and rent for an exhibition hall was over 100,000 euros.
The real difficulty was that the number of openings was extremely limited,
and only a few couples were selected each year. She had to go through a lot
of scrutiny, but Lin Yao stubbornly won one of those openings.

Lin Yao was concerned about the event venue up until then, not to mention
the outfit design, but it was a pity that the male omega couldn’t wear a
wedding dress. The design of a mens outfit should be based on simplicity,
which left her with a lot of room to play.

Different from the traditional wedding where wedding pictures were taken
beforehand, Lin Yao’s planning meant that the groom could not see the
bride in his wedding outfit before the ceremony. This concentrated the
surprise in the last moment, and even the toughest groom would often cry
on the spot at that first glance. The wedding pictures could be taken later.
Perhaps Lin Yao’s arrangement was sort of kitsch, because Huo Tinglan
hadn’t cried since he was five years old……

In addition to the main outfits during the ceremony, the two grooms needed
to change from dress clothes to casual clothes several times for the
afterparties during the three-day wedding process. In the end, there were
about ten sets each. Just one would make people dizzy, especially Ye Ci,
who was a complete foreigner in this respect. Fortunately, Lin Yao saw this
as a fun thing. She didn’t mind the hard work, and had complete control of
the design. Ye Ci only needed to empty his mind and act as a model for the
designer.

Of course, there were not only these things that needed to be done before
the wedding, but there were also many miscellaneous and trivial matters.
Nearly a hundred handwritten letters from Ye Ci had been sent out. He
usually didn’t feel that he had many friends, but when he held the
invitations, he found that there were quite a few people that he could invite.

Apart from Cheng Xiao and his pack of rogues, there was Class 7. Ye Ci
had a good relationship with the rest of his classmates, and he was close to
several Omegas in other classes.

On the eve of the wedding, Ye Ci boarded Huo Tinglan’s private jet along
with a group of friends and classmates who had been invited to the
wedding. With deep sorrow, Jiang Yan lamented that Ye Ci’s face, which
was already so small that it could make people jealous, seemed to be
thinner again, and his chin was sharper than the last time they met. Lin Yao
got worked up and declared that Ye Ci had to eat five meals per day to
urgently gain weight in the next two days, so as not to shrink his waistline.
After all, a change in size meant that all ten sets of outfits would have to be
altered.

“Can you have mercy on an Omega like me who only eats a little but still
gets fat?!” Jiang Yan grabbed the clothes around Ye Ci’s waist and
complained to Lin Yao, “Auntie, he must have lost weight behind our
backs, look at his waist, ah. You take charge of him!”
The sweater was loose and bulky. Nothing could be seen at first, but then
Jiang Yan gripped the excess fabric tightly and stretched it back to outline a
strong, thin waist. Ye Ci smiled and broke Jiang Yan’s grip. The plane
hadn’t taken off yet, and the two were laughing and joking on the sofa, with
only Lin Yao complaining miserably: “Tinglan really doesn’t know how to
take good care of you……”

“How can that be? There is no Alpha who is more considerate than Tinglan.
It’s only that Xiao Ci has not been able to gain weight since he was a
child……” Ye Hongjun hurriedly defended Huo Tinglan.

Huo Tinglan, who was sitting on the sofa beside her, sighed helplessly and
echoed: “I also want to say that Xiao Ci has gained a few pounds with great
difficulty, and during this period of time, you……”

The scale of the wedding was so big, and there were so many processes to
go through. All the weight that Ye Ci had gained was tossed away. It wasn’t
that he didn’t take care of himself, but that he was just exhausted.

Lin Yao treated Ye Hongjun affectionately, but turned her head silently to
give her son a murderous look.

“……” This was someone that even Huo Chanyu couldn’t afford to offend.
Huo Tinglan had no choice but to surrender unconditionally: “Blame me for
not taking care of Xiao Ci.”

“I will try hard. In the next two days, I must……eat more at dinner and
drink more milk tea.” In order to quell the dispute, Ye Ci seriously issued a
military order, vowing to be fat enough that he would fit the outfits
perfectly.

“Listen to what he just said, ah, I’ve quit milk tea for half a month!” Grief-
stricken, Jiang Yan turned his head and wailed at Ye Ci’s group of Omega
groomsmen. The groomsmen complained loudly, wishing to donate their
extra meat to Ye Ci.

Huo Tinglan had never seen Ye Ci talking and laughing so cheerfully with
his peers in his last life. There were not many chances to see it in this life,
so he didn’t think these children were noisy at all. With a smile on his face
the whole time, he looked at Ye Ci tenderly, as if he couldn’t get enough of
him.

A couple of little Omegas noticed and whispered in Ye Ci’s ear.

“Mr. Huo has been watching you.”

“He can’t take his eyes off you, ah!”

“Oh.” Ye Ci pretended to be calm, but his thin skin was burned through. He
quickly glanced at Huo Tinglan. Those eyes were so gentle that his heart
palpitated for a moment, and he didn’t have the nerve to raise his eyes again
for a long while.

The plane took off in the morning. After a 10-hour flight, the first batch of
guests arrived at their destination smoothly. After landing, they arranged for
pick-up, accommodations, and dinner, but there was a lot of hustle and
bustle, and everyone was very cheerful. The group of teenagers who had
just escaped the bitterness of their third year of high school not long ago
were all excited, chattering and laughing non-stop like a group of cute and
noisy chickens.

The venue layout, the rehearsal……those took some more work. The first
guests to arrive were well-received. The groomsmen on both sides followed
the rehearsal process, and the others were responsible for eating, drinking,
and having fun in the local area. The Huo family took care of the bill, and it
was almost like being tourists.

On the day of the wedding, Ye Ci was taken to the dressing room at dawn
by the good sisters Lin Yao and Ye Hongjun to take care of styling. In order
to maintain a sense of mystery, the dressing rooms of the two grooms were
separated by more than half the hotel, and neither could see the other before
the ceremony officially started.

Ye Ci was young, with red lips and white teeth. He looked good on camera,
and makeup would destroy his fresh and youthful look, so they just
performed some skin care and left his hairstyle mainly natural. Ye Ci
seemed to be cooperating sincerely, but his big amber eyes kept looking
away, restless.

“Is the hair styling finished?” Lin Yao stepped into the dressing room in
high-heeled shoes, holding a bunch of bridal veils and a small crown in her
hands. She said affectionately, “Xiao Ci is well-behaved. Put this on after
the hair styling is finished……”

As if afraid of something, Ye Ci’s eyes widened suddenly. The frightened

cat jumped up and was about to run away, but Ye Hongjun pressed him
back down with a smile, and comforted him softly: “It must be worn by
Omegas when they are married. There is no one who doesn’t wear it……”

“It, it won’t look good on me.” Ye Ci’s inner Alpha was crushed by the thin,
light layer of a veil. He struggled in vain, and seeing that he couldn’t
escape, he begged, “Can I not wear the crown? Can the veil be replaced
with a non-embroidered one?”

How could Lin Yao spare him? The crown that Ye Ci was talking about,
that is, the bride’s tiara, was designed by Lin Yao at a high price, and the
diamonds inlaid on it alone cost nearly two million.

“Aiya, this tiara is specially designed for a male Omega. Look at this style,
it doesn’t have a feminine appearance. Without it, the outfit you’re wearing
will look too plain, and it won’t look like you’re getting married……” It
was too late to change anything now. Lin Yao calmed him down gently and
tenderly while instructing the stylist, “Quickly, put it on.”

Ye Ci, a beautiful young man with exquisite features, looked good wearing
a veil. There was almost no sense of disobedience, but Ye Ci still felt
uncomfortable all over, wishing to tuck the veil into his collar.

There was still more than two hours before the wedding officially started,
and he was afraid of being looked at, so he hid in the dressing room with a
red face and refused to go out. He’d had a large glass of fruit juice with
breakfast and was feeling it now, but he didn’t even want to go to the toilet,
so his legs were shaking. After a few shakes, Ye Hongjun noticed the signs,
so he had to brace himself and go to the restroom. Fortunately, it was right
next to the dressing room. After just a few steps, he bowed his head in
shame, as if he had just stolen millions from someone.

The wedding started at twelve o’clock noon. Several exhibition halls in the
palace had already been cleared, and now were full of guests attending the
wedding banquet. A red carpet was spread all the way from the stage to the
door of the exhibition hall. Sunlight poured in through the stained glass
windows on one side of the corridor, casting warm light onto the red carpet
and extending forward like road signs. After setting off from the hotel, Ye
Ci had gradually entered a state of being so nervous that he couldn’t sit still.
He didn’t worry about the veil and tiara anymore, and just listened to the
wedding music inside the door and the voice of the master of ceremonies.

“….Next, let’s welcome the other groom with warm applause……”

“Go, Xiaci Ci.” Ye Hongjun smiled and handed him a small bouquet of
lilies, patting him on the back.

Ye Ci stepped onto the red carpet.

It may have been that the carpet was too soft, because his already unsteady
steps suddenly staggered. Ye Ci had an introverted temperament, after all,
so it was inevitable that he would be nervous on this occasion. The palms
holding the bouquet were covered in slippery sweat.

Two attendants opened the door at just the right time, and sound burst out
suddenly. Behind the door, at the end of the red carpet, Huo Tinglan was
wearing a pure black outfit with his back facing the entrance. His shoulders
were straight, his figure tall and strong. The moment he saw that figure, Ye
Ci’s wildly beating heart was soothed out of its stage fright, and the
frequency of his heartbeat eased. The red carpet was very long, and Ye Ci’s
steps became steadier as he walked, passing through the beaming guests
and noise to stand behind Huo Tinglan.

Ye Ci took a deep breath. His cheeks puffed up childishly, and he let the air
out again, blowing the hair on his forehead and the veil in front of his eyes
straight up: “Phew –”
Some of the closer guests noticed this little detail and laughed in good
humor. Huo Tinglan’s shoulders also trembled slightly, as if he had heard
Ye Ci’s nervous exhalation.

After a moment of mental preparation, Ye Ci raised his hand, patted Huo

Tinglan’s shoulder, and whispered, “Tinglan.”

Huo Tinglan turned around.

Ye Ci stood tall on the bright red carpet, fresh and high-spirited, gazing up
at him through a layer of tulle. His slender frame was wrapped in white
dress clothes that set off the red beneath his feet. He was like a pearl buried
in a red brocade box, radiant and priceless, a precious treasure.

Huo Tingla raised his eyes in surprise. He had never seen Ye Ci wearing a
veil, and Ye Ci didn’t say anything about it in his previous life.

He didn’t expect……

Huo Tinglan looked down at Ye Ci with curved lips, and after a few
seconds of gazing at each other, he reached out and pulled Ye Ci into his
arms. Arching his broad shoulders slightly, he pressed his burning eyes
against Ye Ci’s shoulder and remained silent.

“……Don’t, don’t cry.” Ye Ci stroked Huo Tinglan’s back and then, as if

infected, he pursed his lips as his eyes reddened.

“Baby.”

“En?”

“I married you.”

“Me, me too.”

He never admitted defeat.

Huo Tinglan smiled indulgently: “En.”

The two simply embraced for a while at the end of the red carpet.

The hall was filled with music and laughter. It was noisy, but gave people
an inexplicable feeling of tranquil warmth.

Huo Tinglan straightened up, his eyes as deep as black jade. Ye Ci raised
his hands to hold his face, and wiped away the wet marks at the corners of
his eyes with his thumbs.

Then Huo Tinglan lifted the veil and leaned over to kiss Ye Ci’s forehead
amidst the cheers and applause of all the guests.

The camera froze this moment for eternity.

Wispy gauze like white mist rose and fell again, enveloping the two
together, and a series of continuous shots faithfully recorded this process.

In the frame, Huo Tinglan held Ye Ci in his arms. The young man was tall
and slender, his lean shoulders hugged by the tall Alpha. He looked happy
and content, like a small boat moored in a calm harbor.

From now on, there would be no more wind and rain. There would only be
the warm sun.

【The End】

T/N: And that’s it! I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed
translating it!

Consider donating via Kofi here!

Extra 8: Ye Ci’s Boyfriend Power << Table of Contents