HOYSE CHAPTER 51

Chapter 51 — Three Men, One Drama

The girl’s slap came out of nowhere, a sharp crack that echoed through half the cabin.

Chu Yang froze, eyes wide. He had never suffered such humiliation. He shot to his feet, his tall Alpha frame looming.

Using his Alpha’s physical advantage, he leaned in so close the girl in her seat had nowhere to retreat. She saw the look on his face and thought he might actually kill her. Terrified, she lifted her phone, tried to keep her voice steady while tapping to record. “Think very carefully. I’m an Omega. Go on, lay a hand on me and see what happens!”

Chu Yang sneered. “With my status, you should feel honored if I touch you, you ugly freak.”

The girl was no pushover. She blustered back, shaky under the bravado. “Take one more step and I’ll film everything and post it online for the world to see. Don’t think I won’t!”

Raised on indulgence, Chu Yang could not stand being defied.

“Hah, that’s hilarious. Aren’t Omegas just breeding machines? Where did all this superiority come from?” His head pounded. The last few years of memory were a mess, like he had fallen backward into his youth. Irritated to the point of manic, he blurted out the ugliest thoughts in his heart.

He barely understood what he was saying.

It was not only the girl who bristled. Other Omega passengers around them flushed with anger, and even the A’s and B’s glared.

What he said insulted all Omegas. Anyone with a conscience would feel sick.

Chu Yang did not care. He shoved away the flight attendants trying to mediate, snatched for the phone, and was about to slap the girl when a firm hand blocked his swing.

It was Gu Xi.

Gu Xi looked at him, voice cool. “Using violence on a woman is not a good look.”

Chu Yang turned, and the moment he saw Gu Xi’s face, his ordinary headache flared into a spike of pain. The harder he tried to remember, the worse it hurt.

Gu Xi’s features were exquisite to the extreme. Pure-black, almond-shaped eyes held a hint of distance and chill, with a thread of mockery and mild confusion.

Chu Yang’s heart thudded like a drum. He had no memory of this face, yet his heartbeat felt ready to leap out of his chest. Disgust surged in his emotions, but the pull in the depths of his heart did not lie. The two forces collided inside him.

He thought, I’ve fallen in love at first sight.

He also thought, This Omega is irritating in every way.

Why were these two extreme reactions tangled together?

“You… what is your name?” Chu Yang asked hoarsely, torn between the urge to claim and a wave of nausea.

“Me?” Gu Xi looked him over for a beat, then smiled. “

Lei Feng was a model of
selflessness in Chinese propaganda. The context here sarcastically
implies the speaker is pretending
of being overly selfless. Lei Feng No. 2.

”

He suddenly thought of the gentleman who had helped Guan Hongyi and left no name. Gu Xi had never found the man, but he had always been grateful.

The wineglass really had been swapped. There was residue on the inside of the bowl. Judging by Chu Yang’s condition, was this amnesia or some other suffocating trick?

Gu Xi thanked his luck for not drinking and kicking the ball back, so to speak, but a chill prickled at the thought of next time. Would he get away again?

Click, click.

Phones around them aimed at the pair. This flight was wild: public blowups one after another, and now Gu Xi himself was involved. The way he handled it won instant favor. No wonder this Omega was so popular.

Chu Yang had no idea what he was thinking anymore. He ignored the open rage around him and kept fixating on Gu Xi. Instead of going after him, he kept asking for his name. Unfortunately, Gu Xi would not budge, and after what Chu Yang had just said, he had offended the entire cabin. No one would help him.

The girl asked to change to a far seat. Before she left, she cast Chu Yang a look of contempt, then thanked Gu Xi solemnly.

After landing, Chu Yang could not find Gu Xi anywhere.

He picked up his luggage from the carousel, then headed to the hotel he had already booked. On the way, he forced himself through the pain to check his phone. He had forgotten his passcode, but at least his fingerprint still worked.

He discovered the photos in his phone were all of the person he had just fallen for at first sight, and from the angles, most of them were candid shots. He pulled up a chat with his elder female cousin. In the thread he had complained that the contract on Uncle Wu’s side was moving too slowly. Getting the formal composite drug might take forever. He asked his cousin if there were substitutes or semi-finished product she could get sent to the airport soon.

Under his pressure and coaxing, his cousin had someone deliver a semi-finished batch that was slated to be discarded. She said she had no idea what the exact effect would be.

Did he mess up and ingest it himself? Was that why his head hurt now?

While Chu Yang was rummaging through the ruins of his memory, Gu Xi bought the long-stemmed glass from a flight attendant. The attendant was a fan of his and refused to take the money. After asking the captain, they agreed to give the glass to Gu Xi as a gift and hoped he would keep choosing their airline.

The incident ended on a friendly note. Gu Xi planned to take the glass back home for testing.

His expression grew a little taut, his heart uneasy.

After disembarking, his assistant went to get the luggage. Gu Xi handled the arrival photos himself because his agent, Yang Qi, had always treated him like a walking ATM. This time Gu Xi personally set the plan for the airport shoot.

He had no intention of posting right away. He had already had a string of trending topics lately. Audiences get fatigue, and no one wants to see the same star constantly pinned at the top. Gu Xi knew things swing back if you push too far. He meant to keep a low profile for a while, though plans do not always go as planned.

Posing for airport shots while keeping his mind elsewhere, he roused his other personality, 

Gu Feng: I do not know what exactly that drug does, but there might be a next time.

Gu Feng was the name Gu Xi had given the alter. The persona was too wild, too reckless. Since he kept imagining him as a gust of madness, he simply called him Gu Feng, Wind.

Gu Feng: I can take care of him for you.

Gu Xi: No. You are too impulsive. You cannot break the law, and last time he almost spotted you.

That “him” was a code. They both knew who they meant.

Gu Feng: The last sentence is the real point. You are afraid of him finding out you are sick, right?

Gu Xi: Shut up. I only want you to know that if the worst happens and I get hit, you must stay clear-headed.

Gu Feng: Aren’t you overthinking it? You handled it this time. He doesn’t even remember who you are.

Gu Xi thought for a moment. You are the one underthinking it. Being extra careful never hurts. Have we not paid enough tuition in the past?

He felt like those lunatics had some kind of lucky buff. No matter how badly they started, they always managed to turn danger into safety. It was as if heaven itself favored them. Gu Xi did not dare slacken for a second.

The two personalities bickered a bit, neither yielding. Gu Xi finished the photo task, turned off airplane mode, and saw a WeChat from Rong Jing asking if he had landed. They both fell silent at once.

Gu Xi sent back that he was safe. Remembering the slightly awkward moment when they parted, he added, they say the night view here is beautiful. Want to video chat tonight?

Rong Jing did not reply immediately. While Gu Xi waited, he rode with the film team in the festival’s official vehicle. They would all be staying at the same hotel. Today was rest, tomorrow the opening ceremony and the much-discussed red carpet.

Gu Xi was a little distracted. Director Liu Yu thought he was nervous about the awards. “Don’t overthink it. Go in assuming you won’t win. There are five foreign films in competition this year. Given these festivals’ usual attitude toward Huaguo cinema, we are just there to make up the numbers.”

It was rare for a director to be that blunt, but it summed up the current reality of Chinese film caught in a walled city. Some of it was external bias and some of it was internal.

Gu Xi was not brooding over that. He was staring at the growing rash on his arm and could not help scratching.

Right before deplaning, Chu Yang had used the crowd to brush against him several times. He kept shoving his pretty face in closer too, as if being handsome were a hall pass. Gu Xi had fended him off, but the allergic reaction that had calmed down flared again.

The itch was unbearable. Normally he was not that sensitive. Accidental touches did nothing, and contact with Alphas during work had always been fine. Maybe it was the string of foul encounters with Chu Yang. Stress spiked, and the Omega-body’s allergic rejection of Alpha touch roared back like a landslide.

Only a matched Alpha nearby could soothe it.

But right now, he and Rong Jing were separated by the Pacific.

People around him noticed that half of Gu Xi’s exposed skin looked off. Reddish patches crept from his arm to his neck. It was alarming. When everyone thought he needed a doctor immediately, Gu Xi shook his head. “Old problem. Maybe I am a little cold. I will be fine in a bit.”

Inside he was frantic. Maybe he should get some suppressants? But this reaction came from psychological revulsion to a pervert’s touch. Suppressants might not work.

“Cold?” Mo Dian suddenly remembered something and pulled out a stranger’s package from the side. Earlier, when Rong Jing went looking for Gu Xi, he had asked Mo Dian to pick up a parcel at the shuttle stop. A terrifyingly imposing Alpha said it was all prepared for Gu Xi.

Mo Dian had no idea what it was, but he did not dare disobey that Alpha. He had lugged it along.

He opened it and found a wool scarf. He handed it to Gu Xi.

Gu Xi accepted the scarf and caught a familiar scent. He glanced inside the open bag. Hand warmers, a Kindle, gloves, knee warmers, headphones…

“Who sent this?” He had thought it was Mo Dian’s luggage.

No one noticed his voice was trembling. The fear in his eyes was slowly melted by warmth.

“The one who came to see you off. Your friend…” Mo Dian whispered.

Gu Xi’s fingers tightened around the scarf. He buried his face in it and breathed in the scent he knew so well, swallowing his choke quietly.

With matching pheromones easing him, he finally felt better. On the tip of his heart, a dancing little figure began to spin wild circles again.

To keep himself from spiraling, he looked for something related to Rong Jing to steady himself. He opened the fan group to approve new members, then went to the campus forum.

He immediately saw several hot threads.

This is what it means to ignore me back then and now I cannot reach you
A wayward Omega turning back is worth gold. RJ, will you look his way?
Will RJ show up tonight? QY is already a waiting stone
Someone tell RJ. Does he not know about this?

Gu Xi had not clicked in yet, but from the popularity and the hints in the titles, he had a guess. He knew RJ stood for Rong Jing. Forum users often used initials to avoid being too obvious. And QY…

Gu Xi immediately thought of one person, an Omega who had a many-years tangle with the old Rong Jing. Rong Jing had done a lot for that person.

Gu Xi’s heart skittered. After a long hesitation, he tapped into a livestream.

The title read: I am a tiny star waiting for my moon. Will you come tonight?

The number of viewers was climbing steadily.

On screen, under a black sky, candles were arranged in rows forming hearts. A slender figure stood at the center, waiting. Many film school classmates milled around, chatting, filming, egging things on.

The person in the middle smiled like a delicate flower. “Don’t tease me. He might not forgive me.”

The people nearby, moved by that gentle, pitiable look, rushed to comfort him.

“You are the beauty of our department, be confident.”

“You can win him back.”

“He is not blind. He is probably planning a surprise for you right now. Do not be afraid.”

Gu Xi’s face changed little by little.

If he were Rong Jing, and the Omega who had spurned him in the past suddenly turned back with something so romantic and serious, would he go?

Gu Xi thought: yes.

---

Rong Jing had not seen Gu Xi’s message yet. He and Zhou You walked into the dinner and knew at once something was off.

Several veteran bosses were leaning on their seniority and forcing Xie Ling to drink. Xie Ling was already close to losing his senses.

Rong Jing frowned while Zhou You introduced who each boss was. They were from other film companies, basically all the big domestic names.

Xie Ling had been thinking about Rong Jing’s move into entertainment, but Xie Corp did not specialize in it and had little say. After much thought, he set up this dinner to give his little brother some face so the road ahead would be smoother.

But these men, all seasoned, took advantage of his humility. If he would not drink, he would be denying them face. Since he had low-key invited them, he could not refuse.

They had long felt that Xie Corp had turned its luck around too quickly and lived too high. To be blunt, if not for Xie Ling, they would have carved off many projects already. Now he had stepped into his grandfather’s role, and in ten years Xie Corp had soared. And now they were stepping into entertainment to take a slice of the cake. The slice might be small and the company did not value the division much, but who knew what would happen later.

They smiled on the surface, but were not feeling generous. Since he was willing to lower himself for his little brother, they would have some fun.

Rong Jing stepped in and caught Xie Ling as he swayed. Xie Ling’s face was flushed scarlet. Only when he saw Rong Jing did his eyes soften a little. “I am fine.”

Rong Jing motioned to Zhou Xiang to send his big brother to the lounge. In that state, how was he fine? Only if he needed a hospital would it be trouble. Xie Ling’s status was not lower than anyone’s, but he was younger by a generation or two. Rank is hard to bridge.

Rong Jing seldom played the hardliner, but when he did, there was an air that brooked no defiance.

Zhou Xiang hesitated, then decided to take his boss out first, leaving with the worry that the young master might not be able to handle this.

Rong Jing blocked a toast directed at Xie Ling. When the other man was about to get angry, Rong Jing smiled. “My brother does not hold his liquor well. How about I drink with President Zhou instead? I heard you invested most of your recent funds into the series ‘Shanhe Rishang’. We were eyeing that project too, but you saw the gold first. I told my brother it was a pity. He said President Zhou is a real expert. We cannot compare.”

At the door, Xie Ling heard this and almost choked. When did I say that?

Whether others believed it or not, President Zhou did. The stream of smooth, well-aimed compliments soothed him. It was not just flattery. Rong Jing’s info was correct, and, more importantly, he sounded sincere and modest, not like someone just spewing words.

Rong Jing pivoted. “A pity though that an actor had an accident a couple of days ago. The whole crew is paused. We have someone perfect, more famous than the last choice. He has time and is willing to take a friendly rate.”

While Zhou You was whispering bios in his ear, Rong Jing had already run his own research in his head. In his previous life he had hated these dinners, but that did not mean he could not handle them. He knew the rules.

He was telling the truth as he saw it. He had read the script to Shanhe Rishang. It was good, but its rights had been snapped up early. Xie’s entertainment arm had hit a bottleneck lately. Several first and second-tier artists were idle at home. The one he recommended was a veteran looking to transition. He had debuted early, was not old, fairly famous, but had been trapped in bad projects too long. Famous, but the transition had stalled.

Each time he drank a toast with a boss, Rong Jing could name him and give a decent overview of the company. It was what he had memorized in late-night cramming. The bosses wanted to put on a little pressure but knew their limits. When the young master of Xie showed up, they did not take him seriously. Now they looked again. Realizing he is not some brainless rich kid. The glances around the table began to shift. People said Xie Ling was no ordinary fish in the pond. It seemed the Xie family had dragons hidden too.

When Zhou Xiang returned, he saw the same President Zhou, who loved to play big brother, joking with his arm around Rong Jing’s shoulder. What on earth had happened in the minutes he was gone? Young master, what did you do?

During the dinner, Rong Jing asked the stunned Zhou Xiang to send Xie Ling back first. He would handle the rest.

As the banquet wound down, President Zhou delivered a delicate little beauty to Rong Jing and said, drunk and hearty, “This one is new to my company, just signed. You have a good face, kid. I am giving him to you tonight. Look at those eyes, not marked yet. I was worried your brother would make a fuss. Enjoy your night.”

The last line was murmured in Rong Jing’s ear. Several bosses grinned knowingly. Someone sighed that youth had it good.

Rong Jing refused, embarrassed, and the refusals began to undo the rapport he had worked so hard to build. He knew he might have to accept on the surface.

President Zhou even added, “Serve him well or your new show is dead.”

The little beauty, pretty and pitiful, nodded at once and leaned bonelessly against Rong Jing, promising to satisfy him. He had long given up on a good first time and never imagined he would hit the jackpot with a rich, powerful Alpha who was also handsome. He did not dare show how thrilled he was.

After seeing the bosses off, Rong Jing gently peeled the Omega off, voice cool. “Come.”

He could not just leave him on the curb. At least put up appearances.

He had Zhou You drive them to the nearby XieLier Hotel and got two rooms. He sent the little beauty into one, then went to open the other. The beauty, realizing his intent, rushed over with tearful eyes, hugged his waist, and whimpered, “Are you dissatisfied with me in some way?”

Rong Jing did not move. He pried the fingers off his waist. “What is with the talk?”

You are a man. Can you not act so delicate?

He truly could not adapt to the men of this world’s Omega habits. Too soft. Someone like Gu Xi was a rare treasure.

Thinking of Gu Xi, he exhaled a long breath. The alcohol haze lifted.

Gu Xi was one of the few Omegas he could speak with normally, and he admired him deeply.

Just then, a door not far away banged open and a furious voice rang down the hall.

“Get out, you pervert. Ji Jiongjie, are you out of your mind?”

“If you are sick, go get treated. Stop bothering me!”

Ji Jiongjie?

Who was that again?

Rong Jing had too much on his plate and blanked for a moment. Oh. The rose-obsessed man, Wu Hanqi’s nephew, the Ji family’s heir.

He had only just finished a vial of sobering syrup, and his mind connected the dots a beat later.

And that voice. Familiar. Hear it once and you do not forget it.

He turned and saw a disheveled Alpha stumble out. Wu Fuyu was like a lion in a rage. After a few steps, he collapsed to one knee, then propped himself on the wall and struggled up. He noticed people around and was about to curse them all out when his eyes landed on Rong Jing.

Wu Fuyu froze.

Heat burned through his body. He had found an outlet. His eyes blazed. “There you are.”

What he had searched high and low for had appeared in front of him.

He barreled forward without thinking, knocked Rong Jing’s phone out of his hand, and tore the Omega off him.

“Where did this goblin come from, crawling out of what corner?”

The little beauty cried out as Wu Fuyu grabbed him, lifted him off the ground, then looked him up and down with a frown. “Oh, so not some old hag. Still not enough. Beat it.”

He had not seen the old hag’s face at the matching center, but that body and bearing were unforgettable.

Rong Jing was deciding whether to call his father or the hotel manager. “Wu Fuyu…”

Wu Feiyu grunted. “Oh, Young Master Xie remembers Daddy’s name. I am honored.”

Rong Jing thought, only because the pun is unforgettable…

Wu Fuyu tossed the beauty aside. Rong Jing caught him before he hit the floor. The beauty, shaken, tried to throw himself into Rong Jing’s arms for comfort. Rong Jing dodged and he had to settle for cowering behind him.

Wu Fuyu, muzzy and reckless, stooped to pick up Rong Jing’s fallen phone. He stumbled and, with a burst of clumsy strength, shoved Rong Jing and the beauty into the room.

Rong Jing almost fell into the Omega. He steadied the beauty with one hand and grabbed the listing Wu Fuyu with the other.

At that moment, a WeChat video call came through on the phone. Without looking, Wu Fuyu tapped accept.

Gu Xi, who had hesitated and finally decided to call to test the waters, began brightly, “You finally—”

He stopped. On the screen was a close-up of a face he knew, not exactly unfamiliar.

Rong Jing: “…”

---

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