HOYSE CHAPTER 46

Chapter 46 — All-Pervading

A man named Rong Jing was spinning madly on the tip of Gu Xi’s heart.

Gu Xi slowly covered his mouth, his bright, water-lit eyes fixed unblinking in Rong Jing’s direction. Around them, the staff could not help smiling like doting aunties. That look between the two could feed a dozen daydreams.

Then Gu Xi seemed to wake up. The hand that had hovered over the reject button snapped back. He had almost pressed it.

The Alpha security posted outside were used to scenes like this. None of them thought the aloof Omega across the hall would soften. Poor Alphas, lined up and dismissed one by one, fated before they even entered. Omegas were rare and this one was top tier. What a pity.

The next second, a crisp bang sounded through the connected rooms. Simulated fireworks. The sound that meant the green light of acceptance.

One soft chime broke the tension in the room. The guards exchanged glances. Accepted? Just like that? They’d expected this finicky Omega to keep refusing every candidate.

The more handsome the Alpha, the faster the rejection. Some had barely crossed the threshold before being turned away. They had decided this Omega’s standards were so high he would be single for life.

This Alpha looked just as good, so he should be next. Who could have guessed the sudden turn. He had barely taken a few steps when the Omega pressed accept almost instantly, as if pausing a heartbeat would change fate.

The guards watched, though they could not see into the Omega’s room.

Inside, after the green light flashed, Gu Xi sprang to his feet. Everyone nearby could feel him about to burst apart. He pushed open the door, strode to the men’s room, ducked into a stall, and paced in agitation.

He sat at last, feelings tangled and rising too fast to control. He buried his face in his arms and let out a low sob. Trying too hard to suppress it, he dragged in shaky breaths, yet tears still slipped from the corners of his eyes and pattered onto his sleeves.

He had never known an Omega’s tear ducts could be this sensitive. He was not someone who showed weakness. Nothing had ever seemed worthy of his tears. Even during those months of captivity, he had never cried. Giving that psycho the satisfaction felt unbearable.

But the instant Rong Jing appeared, something inside him shot into the clouds. He could not control it.

In more than twenty years of life, this was his first time truly understanding the taste of crying from joy. Bittersweet and warm, impossible to stop once it began.

---

Rong Jing was surprised too when he saw the green acceptance light. The guards grinned at him, and he scratched his head, a little embarrassed.

He had not expected the Omega he rejected earlier to be Gu Xi. Shock fading, he decided to try matching. If others could, why not him?

He could not guarantee absolute restraint; maybe even a bottle of strong liquor would not save him. But remembering how isolated Gu Xi had seemed, he asked the center to run a new match.

He had considered every outcome. Gu Xi might accept out of friendship. He might also reject him, since his aversion to pairing was obvious.

He never expected Gu Xi to be so kind and accept so easily.

Even though Rong Jing did not care much about others’ opinions, the guards’ looks of surprise and respect made him feel oddly singled out. He sat and waited. The other side stayed quiet.

A staffer explained that the Omega had gone to the restroom and would return soon.

By the time Gu Xi came back, he had washed his face and steadied himself. Only a faint redness lingered around his eyes, his expression somewhat taut but composed.

On the way back, a thought seized him. Rong Jing never said he came here to match. What if he was only passing through? If Rong Jing had not planned to match at all, and he had rushed to press accept, would that not be humiliating? His heart pounded until he saw Rong Jing seated in the Alpha room. Only then did he breathe out.

Back in his seat, Gu Xi listened as a staffer said, “Your friend came to submit a voluntary withdrawal, but when he saw your number he realized you were the Omega he had rejected earlier. So we re-ran the match. We hope you are not upset.”

Gu Xi’s face softened, calm as water. The room that had felt like a pit now seemed sunlit at the edges.

He cleared his throat. “I am not.”

He glanced at the match-rate indicator on his right. Black light, meaning over 99 percent. His fingers trembled and the corners of his mouth lifted.

Was heaven, for once, being kind? It seemed his fate had begun to shift from the moment he met Rong Jing.

He tapped to open voice chat.

Gu Xi said, “I stepped out for a bit.”
Rong Jing said, “Ah, got it.”

Silence.

Gu Xi hesitated. A sentence formed and erased itself in his heart, again and again, until the timing slipped by.

Rong Jing thought of the list of conditions Gu Xi had written earlier, compared each against what he could do, and said after a pause, “For your requests, there are some I cannot follow. For example, not asking your name or job since I already know those. Also, no marking fee… As for the rest, I will try my best.”

Gu Xi’s face burned. “You do not have to.” In the surge of emotion he had forgotten how harsh his list sounded. Now he wanted to delete them all. Knowing Rong Jing, he might take them literally.

He glanced at the page of rules beside him. None of it felt right. He muttered, “That is not what I meant,” tore it up, and dropped it in the trash.

“Temporary marking comes with all kinds of uncertainties,” he said, trying to be calm. “Those rules were for an ordinary match. You do not need to mind them. Let things happen naturally, alright?”

He weighed his words, hoping he did not ruin his image yet still showed what he truly meant.

Rong Jing, however, took him for someone who knew exactly what he wanted and was here for a functional arrangement. “You should not lower your standards because we are friends. Keep them as they are.” He straightened like he was at an interview.

Gu Xi: “…” Please do not.

Why had he stayed up writing that stupid list? Sleep would have been better. He thought it would torment those Alphas, but apparently it was tormenting himself.

---

They left the rooms together. The center’s speakers boomed throughout the building: a pair had reached a match rate above 99.9999 percent.

The hall erupted. A heaven-matched pair! Which two? Did anyone know? Would they be on TV?

Staff stopped them to ask if they would accept an interview. It had been years since the center had a heaven match. If they agreed, their faces could be blurred.

Gu Xi glanced at Rong Jing and refused. His face was too recognizable; even blurred, fans would guess.

In the Alpha corridor, guards pestered the staff. “How did it happen so fast?”

“They came together,” the staffer said with a grin.

“You mean an Omega brought his own Alpha to match and then matched with him?” Cruel. Just cruel.

There was a small booth for commemorative photos.

“Want one?” Rong Jing asked.

“You decide,” Gu Xi said. His tone was cool, but if one listened closely, there was a trace of shy awkwardness.

He glanced at the couples taking pictures. So he had a moment like this too. He put his disguise back on and stood beside Rong Jing, quiet and soft, enough to melt any Alpha.

Rong Jing, oblivious to the undercurrent, was thinking about Gu Xi’s heat, how to prepare, what was safe. In the original timeline, after Maya City he never entered heat again. So maybe a year? The thought brought a guilty sense of relief.

Gu Xi, having accidentally caught the tail end of that thought, fell silent.

This photo felt like a marriage-office shot. Rong Jing suddenly found it inappropriate, as if it might tarnish Gu Xi. Gu Xi had agreed out of friendship; he might still be dazed. Pictures could wait.

“Let us skip it,” Rong Jing said. “You are an idol. Too easy to get exposed.”

The blush on Gu Xi’s face vanished. “Oh.”

Matched to an Alpha as dense as a brick wall. He looked up at the sky outside. Not a cloud, bright sun. It felt a little harsh now.

They walked out one after the other. Gu Xi watched Rong Jing’s back. It looked like a wall of iron. His fingers curled. His heart itched and he wanted to do something.

---

Meanwhile, Wu Fuyu, still restrained by bodyguards, was losing his mind. The loudspeaker had just said, “Mr. Gu matched with Mr. Rong.”

Mr. Rong, of that rare surname? Who else but Rong Jing!

A text pinged on the bodyguards’ phones. The Omega their young master intended to meet had successfully matched with someone else. Thank you for participating. As an apology, the center had prepared reward points to redeem later. A consolation prize after a loss. It felt awful.

Wu Fuyu snorted. That Omega had bad taste. He had not even shown up and the guy had already chosen. Whatever. If he wanted an Omega, beauties would line up. Who cared?

He signaled for them to remove the gag. After checking with Ji Jiongjie, they untied him. Wu Fuyu glared. “You will regret this. I hold grudges.”

He sprinted off, found the little beater car the guards had used earlier and went looking for Rong Jing.

---

Gu Xi still had a flight that night and needed to pack. Rong Jing had warned him not to go home alone. Something about Gu Xi’s apartment unsettled him, like a memory he could not pull into focus. Which meant there was a plot event waiting there.

Zhou You drove in silence, aware his young master had rushed morning work to accompany Gu Xi to the match. On the way back, the air between the two felt strange, like a warmth you could not name and no outsider could break.

“Mr. Gu, was the matching smooth today?” he asked.

“Mhm,” Gu Xi said.

“So it was a success?”

Their eyes met for a heartbeat and jolted apart. Silence again. Even Zhou You did not dare pry. Quiet, but not the same as before.

Rong Jing, unsure how to handle the new tension, distracted himself by searching how A and O could share pheromones safely. Surely there were options less invasive than marking.

Results: touch.

His gaze dropped to the knees that had just brushed. His heart gave a small jolt, and he slid his knee away.

Next: hold hands, hug. Definition: let each other’s breath and scent mingle.

His eyelid twitched. Scroll. Kiss, preferably deep. Definition: let your scent permeate the other’s body.

Temporary marking. With kisses and embraces, the effect doubles.

And then the thing he would not even say in his head.

Rong Jing’s face went crimson. His phone clattered to the floor. He turned, stiff as a rusty hinge, to Gu Xi’s serene profile. Please, encyclopedia, be decent.

Gu Xi watched the city slide by, fingers unconsciously brushing the gland at his nape. When would his heat come? It had just ended. With his instability, it could be a few days, or a year.

His heart sank. The thrill of the match was knocked flat by reality. He realized he was getting greedy. At first, he only wanted to watch from afar. Why was he losing control?

What did he want?

He bent to pick up the fallen phone. His fingers touched Rong Jing’s. They looked at each other.

“You first,” Gu Xi said evenly.

Rong Jing nodded. The easy comfort between them felt oddly missing.

---

They reached Gu Xi’s apartment. He had not returned since Xu Shengteng and his men broke in that night. As they arrived, the next-door neighbor opened his door. Fang Juelian, still wearing the outfit from the match center. He must have just gotten home. He smiled gently, like he always did, as if he came with his own soft-focus filter.

“You are finally back,” he said warmly. “You were gone for days. I saw the news online. Are you alright? I wanted to reach out.”

He noticed the tall man beside Gu Xi and hesitated. “And this is…?”

“A friend,” Gu Xi said, not wanting to talk.

He caught Rong Jing’s wrist and closed the security door with a bang.

Fang Juelian’s gaze slid over the place Gu Xi had grabbed, cool and snake-like. His smile retreated. He could feel Gu Xi had gone colder toward him.

They had been neighbors for years. He knew Gu Xi’s life was simple: work and more work. He never brought Alphas home. So why now? Who was this? Gu Xi’s inaccessibility was famous.

Inside, the place was a mess from that night. He had only taken his ID and left. With the police questioning him and the rush to get out, everything had been dropped on the floor. It was too late to hide it from Rong Jing.

“A bit messy. Sit anywhere,” Gu Xi said.

Rong Jing nodded and moved around the room, seeking the reason for his unease. Gu Xi opened a suitcase and began folding clothes. Rong Jing noticed an oil portrait in the living room. A younger Gu Xi, smiling. Sunflowers behind him.

“This painting…,” he asked.

“That guy you just saw painted it,” Gu Xi said. A housewarming gift from a few years ago.

Catching Rong Jing’s look, he added, “Do not be fooled by his nice-guy face. His heart is filthy.”

Rong Jing had been about to warn him, but Gu Xi was already blunt. In the original story, Gu Xi’s mind-reading never kicked in this early, which was why he had been fooled for so long. Had that butterfly already flapped?

Rong Jing studied the piece. Fine brushwork. Soft light. The artist was clearly skilled. But the longer he looked, the more his head throbbed. Whenever that happened, it meant the world’s will did not want him to remember. The key it did not want him to recall this painting.

“Can we take it down?” he asked.

Gu Xi did not see why, but he never refused Rong Jing. They lifted it off the wall. Rong Jing examined the front and back. His gaze fixed on the painted eyes. He touched the surface. There was a thin layer there.

He peeled it back. Both men froze.

A camera.

Someone had been watching Gu Xi constantly. And the watcher, unmistakably, was the one who gifted the painting.

Gu Xi sucked in a breath. The sunlight Rong Jing had brought seemed to dim as the hand of the abyss tugged him back. As if whispering, You do not belong in light. You belong in hell.

He trembled, speechless. The thought that someone had watched every inch of his life made him sick.

“If there is one, there may be another,” Rong Jing said, calling Zhou You to bring the company’s infosec team.

Professionals arrived. Gu Xi sat on the sofa, holding the cup of hot tea Rong Jing had given him, staring blankly. Technicians swept the rooms. One by one they found twelve cameras in the living room, fifteen in the bedroom, one on the balcony. All-pervading, to a deranged degree.

“The bath… was there one in the bathroom?” Gu Xi shot to his feet. Hot tea splashed his hand.

Rong Jing frowned, set the cup aside, and led him to the sink, turning on the cold water. The icy stream ran over his reddened skin. Gu Xi was so fair that the redness was painfully obvious.

“Does it hurt?” Rong Jing asked softly, as if a louder voice might scare him.

Gu Xi’s eyes were vacant. “Was I… seen completely?”

He looked at Rong Jing and suddenly felt filthy, as if dirt that would not wash off clung to his skin. Why did Rong Jing have to know?

Rong Jing had just agreed to be his match, to even provide a temporary mark if his heat came. Did he know how long Gu Xi had wished for someone like him?

This person he had cradled in his palms and hidden in his heart. He never wanted Rong Jing to know about the trash crawling around his life. Yet now…

He had wished he could be clean, untouched, then meet someone as good as Rong Jing.

Turns out, heaven never blessed me. It gave me hope, then threw me back into the pit.

How would he see me now? An Omega seen by other Alphas. All the care I took to get close to him, gone. Rong Jing would never want to mark me again.

Gu Xi felt every inch of him had been licked by a serpent’s tongue. He shoved at Rong Jing in despair, but Rong Jing did not budge. He folded Gu Xi into his arms and held tight.

“Do not touch me,” Gu Xi snarled, voice low and ragged. Do not touch me, I am dirty.

Angry words, yet full of despair and self-loathing. Rong Jing heard it all. He had never seen Gu Xi like this, but it felt more real than the polite professional mask. This was the real him.

After holding back for so long, it finally erupted. His mind was already drifting.

A single knife-hand strike, and Rong Jing stunned the thrashing Gu Xi. Gu Xi sagged, and Rong Jing caught him, holding him close.

“Sleep,” he murmured, looking down at the man in his arms with quiet gentleness. “Sleep, and it will be better when you wake.”

Then he lifted his head. His gaze shifted, cold as ice, toward the living-room wall.

If there is one, there is more. Let us start with you.

---

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