HOYSE CHAPTER 30

Chapter 30 — Sour and Sweet

Gu Xi carried two unusual things with him. One was a beauty cheat that had been forced on him by fate. Since he never used it, there is no need to talk about it yet. The other was something he was born with: mind reading.

Mind reading meant he could randomly hear other people’s thoughts.

When he was young he thought it was a gift from heaven. Later he realized it was just reality stripped raw, forcing him to face how many people around him were beasts wearing human faces.

This “skill” was passive, which made it a headache. It came and went like his heats, showing up without warning and vanishing the same way. All it really did was let him pick up the inner voices of anyone within about ten meters.

The key word was “random.” Sometimes a flood of useless thoughts would rush in and he would have to sift hard for anything important. Sometimes an entire day went by without a single point worth keeping. And he could not hear every single line, which is why he called it chicken ribs, all bone and no meat.

The one thing he could somewhat control was this: if he was alone with someone and had enough energy to focus, he could lock onto a single target and listen to that person’s thoughts.

But it burned through stamina, and an Omega’s physical reserves were lower than the other sexes to begin with. Most days there was no reason to do something so costly that helped others and not himself.

As a child he had found it fun. Later, as the voices piled up until his head was ready to explode, it stopped being fun and became a burden. As he grew older, what he heard got filthier and more explicit. Some people looked at him like he was a dish on a plate. Some were all politeness on the surface while their minds were busy stripping him bare. He went from shock to numbness, then into a stretch of nausea where he could not keep food down and the old eating disorder relapsed.

A few years ago the mind reading switched off. He had actually felt relieved. At last he did not have to suffocate under so much truth every second.

Maybe once you have seen too much ugliness, you would rather a lie cover your eyes.

Right now, for the first time, Gu Xi was grateful for it.

If he had gone by the deduction he made earlier, then even accounting for today’s kindnesses he still would not trust Rong Jing. No one understood better than he did that once you hand someone your trust, you might never get it back.

He was simply too scared.

His heart felt like it had been soaked in a glass of kumquat tea on a summer afternoon, little bubbles rising and popping. He stared blankly at the man in front of him. There was no contempt in Rong Jing’s eyes, no disgust. He did not make ugly associations because of those bottom-feeding photos. For some reason he chose to believe in Gu Xi’s character completely and did not suspect him at all.

An Alpha like this felt like something he had made up.

Rong Jing, meanwhile, was sick to his stomach from that thick stack of photos. He glanced at Gu Xi, who seemed out of it. He did not notice how Gu Xi’s attitude had quietly shifted in these few minutes. The original book had never mentioned mind reading from start to finish, so of course Rong Jing could not know anything outside the story.

Maybe because the sun was fierce, Gu Xi’s eyes had narrowed, as if holding a sheen of water. Rong Jing ignored the face and focused on how close Gu Xi was to the edge. It was dangerously high. He reminded him, “Stay just like that, don’t move.”

Gu Xi did not argue. He sat still and watched Rong Jing, delicate as a porcelain doll. “Alright.”

Honestly, Rong Jing wanted him to shift farther in. One slip and he would tumble. He swore he would not go any closer himself. A superstar Omega had just been hit with a barrage of shocks. Why would he bother with a sudden, suspicious Alpha. It was already kind of him not to swat Rong Jing away.

He did not expect Gu Xi to sense his worry and scoot a little closer on his own.

What a considerate protagonist shou. Just like the book had said: beautiful, kind, soft as a white flower. Even if this was a spicy little romance, the author had poured all her loveliest words into him. She was a real mom to her characters and a stepmom to the plot.

The next thought Gu Xi caught was only the beginning of a sentence, just “this—,” then it turned into static. Where was the rest?

He frowned in confusion, assumed his concentration had slipped and let it go. He could not hear every line anyway.

Thinking of the misery the book had put him through and looking at the photos, Rong Jing felt Gu Xi really was too unlucky. He could not help saying, “Do not trust Alphas too much. There are not many good ones.”

Gu Xi asked softly, “Including you?”

Rong Jing touched his nose, embarrassed. I should not count… probably?

Gu Xi’s lips curved. “I know.” Better than anyone.

It was his first genuine smile all day.

Only now did Rong Jing notice the difference between a work smile and the real thing. They were worlds apart.

“These photos could go to the police as evidence, except…” He did not finish, because it would put Gu Xi at a disadvantage.

The chance of tracing them was low. Whoever did this was careful, even that note had been printed by machine. There might not be a single fingerprint. And since no physical harm had been done, the police would not prioritize it just because someone called it courtship.

As for the pictures, whether or not Gu Xi had done anything wrong, they absolutely could not be made public. At best they would ruin him.

And the person behind it knew very well that as long as Gu Xi wanted to keep living, the photos would remain a sword over his head.

“Do not hand them in,” Gu Xi said, pleading. If the mastermind feared the police, they would not be so brazen, which meant they were not afraid. He had tried everything these years, like a mayfly tilting at a tree. In the end he was the only one who bled.

“Then let me deal with them,” Rong Jing said. He had not asked where the photos came from. No matter the source, it was disgusting.

“Alright.”

Gu Xi had no idea how to explain himself in a way others would believe, to make them understand he had not seduced anyone. He and Rong Jing were little more than familiar strangers; there were a lot of things he could not say.

He was grateful that Rong Jing did not find him dirty. An Omega fantasized about like this was easy for people to judge from the moral high ground, to assume he must have done something.

Rong Jing pulled out a lighter he habitually carried. The original owner had smoked but he wanted to quit. Keeping the lighter was more like fiddling with a toy to keep his hands busy. He grabbed a potted rose, dumped out the soil, stuffed every photo into the clay pot and set the lot on fire.

Watching the flames leap, he felt a rush, as if he were burning away guilt. Maybe it was also sympathy. Meeting the protagonist shou in real life had made him feel something.

The scent of smoke lingered in the air, dark and acrid. They stood without speaking, a heavy silence between them. A breeze stirred, lifting red petals into the ash. The two swirled together, circling around them like something from a dream turned wrong.

Gu Xi’s fingertips trembled as he watched those scarlet fragments vanish, one by one. Maybe it was all simply too much. His lashes fluttered, unsteady.

Rong Jing noticed. Whether the images were staged or not, seeing your own face twisted in something like that would turn anyone’s stomach.

“Don’t be afraid,” he said. His voice was calm and even, the kind of tone that could steady a storm inside.

Gu Xi gave a slow nod. He wasn’t afraid. He was furious.

Furious at the ones who kept chasing them. Furious at how little he could do.

When the fire finally burned itself out, Rong Jing asked for the burner phone. “I want to trace it back. Maybe it leads nowhere.”

Gu Xi actually wanted to smash it right there and leave the pieces in the ash, but he handed it over without a word. It was a brand-new model, untouched except for a strange SIM card. The default wallpaper was still there, the standard apps untouched, a blank slate hiding something rotten.

Rong Jing already had a guess. Only one of those five men would play this game. Any one of them had the power to make it vanish as a “courtship” and leave Gu Xi holding the bag, maybe even make his situation worse.

Unless there was a smoking gun, even a direct accusation would be brushed off.

Probably not Wu Fuyu. He had not been “fixed” yet and was a not-quite-complete pervert. His hatred for Gu Xi was not at full flame. Their first encounter had been knocked off course by the butterfly effect. So he likely did not even recognize Gu Xi now. Xie Jisheng had just landed in a cell because his buddy assaulted an officer. He would be busy washing his hands clean, not setting up theatrics.

Which left three. All of them were big names. One of them especially liked playing S and M. All three were very interested in Gu Xi. Any one of them could fit.

Rong Jing was still thinking when Gu Xi stood. His legs had gone numb.

He tilted back with the loss of balance. Just as he was about to topple, Rong Jing grabbed him on reflex. They touched for a heartbeat, then sprang apart.

A faint shock ran through both bodies. Their hearts stumbled, then raced.

Rong Jing let go at once and Gu Xi had his balance back. His apology was as cool and clear as ever.

Only now did Rong Jing realize that, whether on campus or in the industry, Gu Xi was technically his senior. His string of decisive actions today might have looked like a subordinate stepping out of line. Fortunately, Gu Xi had not held it against him.

He waited until Gu Xi had walked off the pins and needles, then started to head down and find staff to clear the roses off this platform. After a few steps he realized Gu Xi was not following. He looked back.

Gu Xi was mortified. Of all things, his leg had gone numb, and he’d nearly tumbled off the roof because of it. Just his luck that Rong Jing had to see it happen too. Absolutely humiliating.

Rong Jing, considerately, turned his back and did not tease.

Gu Xi relaxed a little and waited for the numbness to pass. His eyes wandered back to Rong Jing.

He looked at him the way you look at a luxury you can never afford. This kind of clean existence had nothing to do with someone like him, who clawed through mud to live. Every time he remembered those almost-violations, those filthy hands on his skin, he felt soiled beyond washing.

Without thinking, he lifted his hand and touched the air where that tall back had been, afraid it would pop like a bubble and vanish. Beautiful things had never belonged to him.

When Rong Jing saw he had not come, he frowned in puzzlement. Gu Xi snapped out of it and followed with a calm face.

Rong Jing had noticed blood on white earlier and had kept noticing. Gu Xi’s whole body was tight, so saying anything then would only have made him more uncomfortable. Now he offered a tissue and nodded at the cut on Gu Xi’s hand.

Gu Xi paused. The blood had dried and he had forgotten he was even hurt. Warmth spread through his chest again. The little bubbles popped one by one, sour and sweet.

He took the tissue silently and pressed it to the wound.

On their way downstairs, both of them felt the stiffness in the air. They hardly knew each other. Their “suicide” crisis had been handled and now neither knew how to act.

“Just now…”

“Just now…”

They spoke at the same time.

“You first,” Rong Jing said.

“Can you keep a secret?” Gu Xi asked.

“Of course.”

“Stop digging. Courtship is not a crime, and that person will show up again.”

If you keep digging, you will get dragged in.

Rong Jing was quiet for a moment, then muttered, “This is not courtship. This is a pervert. The kind you want to hack into pieces.”

Gu Xi nearly laughed. The frozen air cracked.

For the sake of what little image he had left, he held it back.

He repeated himself, more serious this time. “I gave you the phone, but I hope you do not check it. Do not get involved. This has nothing to do with you.” Just stay well.

The words were cool, but Rong Jing could hear it. Gu Xi was protecting him.

His first instinct had been to keep his distance. He was a cannon fodder who could barely protect his own life. Yet the word “okay” stuck in his throat. He could not get it out. Saying it felt like rubbing salt into Gu Xi’s wounds.

There were Gu Xi stans everywhere in and around the building. They almost ran into one group on the way down. Gu Xi grabbed the first chance to pull Rong Jing aside and dodge them.

They slipped into an unused storage room. The blood on Gu Xi’s hand had clotted, but the scrape looked bad after being dragged across rough stone.

Rong Jing ran out to borrow a basic first aid kit and told Gu Xi to wait. The wound needed proper care. He remembered how Gu Xi had stiffened from his touch on the roof and decided he would drop the supplies and leave, so Gu Xi would not feel trapped.

Then he watched Gu Xi blast his own hand with alcohol without blinking, then reach for gauze.

Rong Jing’s scalp prickled. There were bits of grit in there. Doing it like this would only make it worse. What's next, tetanus?

“You cannot treat it that way. It will leave a problem. Let me do it.” He took the spray.

He had just reached out when he remembered the novel. Gu Xi’s aversion to Alphas was severe. Outside of the set, a touch could mean vomiting or hives. It had become a reflex. He felt this was forcing it. He started to pull back and make a joke to ease things.

Gu Xi laid his wounded hand in his palm. Pale and soft, like a scoop of snow.

The next thought he heard was only the start again, “Gu Xi is—,” then static. Was the power broken from disuse?

Even if he could not hear the rest, the sight of Rong Jing’s open hand felt like a rare sweet flatbread dropped from the sky just for him.

He did not dare eat. He did not deserve it, not with a fate that dragged trouble after him. But if the bread fell into his hands, he was not brave enough to push it away either.

“Be gentle,” he said.

The light voice, the soft manner, made Rong Jing think of the rainbow comments on Gu Xi’s fan page. Things like, “Fairy, thanks for descending to earth, you belong in the heavens.” He had heard his share of those in his previous life. They bounced off him. Now, somehow, they fit Gu Xi.

Gu Xi had perfect hands. Skin so pale it was almost translucent, long refined fingers, a soft cool touch.

Rong Jing was straight, so he only admired them for a beat and then got to work. What had been a small cut had been abraded worse by the scramble on the stone.

He rinsed the wound with bottled water, head bent, voice low. “This might sting a little. Hang on.”

Gu Xi watched his eyes lower, watched the dense lashes like a fan. He closed his own eyes slowly and reminded himself not to be selfish, not to reach for what he should not touch. “It does not hurt,” he said. Not at all.

Rong Jing had trained before. He got hurt often and had learned to patch himself up. His hands were deft. With fine tweezers he teased out the grit, disinfected, bandaged, every movement gentle. Even if the patient was a man, who could be harsh with someone this delicate, like porcelain.

When he tied off the gauze, he remembered how the server boy had tied a bowknot when trussing up the yellow-haired thug. It had been cute. He tied a tiny bow on Gu Xi’s bandage too.

Gu Xi stared at the little “ears” on his hand, half amused. Who would have thought this Alpha had a bit of a girlish streak. Unexpected, and oddly charming.

Because the audition location had leaked, a few fans had gathered with banners outside. After scouting, they decided to slip out the back. Rong Jing was still worried about Gu Xi’s state, but Gu Xi raised his bandaged hand and smiled. “Thank you for the bandage. Do not forget I am your senior. If I cannot get over a little thing like this, how do I teach you juniors?”

Seeing that bright face free of shadows, Rong Jing finally relaxed a little.

As they parted, Gu Xi added, “I look forward to working with you.”

Rong Jing felt the odds were slim. He knew he had not fully shaken the original owner’s shadow, and with so many better options the chance of him getting the role was like winning the lottery. But in front of Gu Xi he still nodded. Deep down, he felt a spark of hope. Maybe a miracle could happen.

Only after Rong Jing’s figure vanished did Gu Xi’s sunshine fade.

He lifted his hurt hand and let the light pass through the gauze as he looked up at the blue sky.

It was like a pair of strong hands had dragged him back into the sun.

He could feel it. The warmth on his skin.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

Not far away, a black sedan idled by the curb. The man inside held a phone. On its screen a single word glowed.

Get lost.

The man's mouth twitched. Another refusal. Still as stubborn as ever.

This high, untouchable flower kept testing his patience. A flower like that did not belong on a cliff. It should be placed in a warm greenhouse, tended with care, then peeled open, layer by layer, until its sweetest essence was his.

His uncle had warned him not to push too far. Corner a rabbit and it bites, and this rose had thorns.

Fine. This time, I let it go, my caged beauty.

Through the tinted glass he looked at the two who had just separated.

“Find out who the man beside him is.”

“Yes.”

“Drive. To XieLier. I need to see my uncle.

---

After parting from Gu Xi, Rong Jing headed for Xie Shi to find Xie Ling. They needed to talk about how Xie Ling had nearly died. The thought still left Rong Jing shaken.

He also needed a professional to look at the phone. Do not ask why an electronic hardware major did not dare crack a phone. His skill points were not in that tree. And who knew if phones in this world were built differently. Better to feel out the path before he blundered.

As soon as he walked into the Xie building and passed the front desk, one sharp-eyed receptionist lit up.

“Hello, young master!”

Zhou Xiang had drilled them last time. This time they would not forget. With a face like Rong Jing’s you would not mix him up anyway.

The other receptionists chimed in like a chorus. “Hello, young master!”

Plenty of people were coming and going on the first floor. Heads turned at the spectacle, and Rong Jing’s ears went red.

The receptionists giggled. Their young master went shy, and it was lethal. Straight-A cute, irresistible.

Rong Jing was about to beat a retreat when a sharp voice behind him froze him mid-step.

“Rong Jing!?”

He turned.

Ah. Looks familiar.

Who was that again.

Right. He remembered now.

The ex-boyfriend came charging in like a storm.

---

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