HOYSE CHAPTER 52

Chapter 52 — Shrimp and Pig Heart

Rong Jing reached for his phone, but Wu Fuyu dodged and kept it out of reach.

Drunk fog thinned from Wu Fuyu’s eyes, replaced by a wicked gleam. Seizing the opening, he swung a fist at Rong Jing’s right cheek.

The punch only grazed Rong Jing’s cheekbone with the wind of it. If his reflexes had been slower, he would have been floored. As soon as he sidestepped, Wu Fuyu followed with a brutal snap kick. Rong Jing slipped away, making him miss, and shoved the dazed little beauty toward the wall. “Stay back!”

At the same time, Wu Fuyu flung the phone aside to free his hands. It skidded across the plush carpet.

Two Alphas’ explosive auras instantly burned off the lingering hint of flirtation in the room. Heat surged.

Only now did the Omega truly feel the oppressive force of Alphas clashing. Every cell in his body seemed to whisper submission. He scrambled away from the two men who were already trading blows, his silk-wrapped legs going weak with the urge to kneel.

Maybe they were moving too fast. His eyes could barely track them. Pheromones popped in the air like fireworks. The Alpha-thick atmosphere made blood pound.

To an outsider, every hit landed heavy, bone-deep. It hurts just to watch, especially with that Alpha who had stormed in, fighting like he had nothing to lose.

Even Rong Jing took a couple of glancing hits from Wu Fuyu’s ferocity. He had just evaded a one-two of a front and side kick when the door shuddered under Wu Fuyu’s heel.

Xielier Hotel’s fixtures were built like tanks, meant to shrug off punishment. The way the doorframe trembled said enough about Wu Fuyu’s power.

Before this, it had been half play.

Now it was real.

To prevent kidnapping, the Wu family had put their only heir through inhuman training. Wu Fuyu swiped a thumb across the corner of his mouth where Rong Jing had tagged him cleanly once.

“You hit hard, Young Master Xie.” The honorific came out like mockery. From the moment Rong Jing appeared, he had never given Wu Fuyu any face.

Rong Jing’s breath was a touch ragged from the exertion. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Because of his rumored AA tastes, Wu Fuyu had been under the watch of his cousin Ji Jiongjie and had fled to the hotel to lie low. Ji, who ignored AO taboos entirely, sent him in the middle of the night a drugged Alpha to “serve” him, with aphrodisiac incense burning in the room. Wu Fuyu had already drunk too much. Between the scent and the booze, he had nearly fallen for it. He cursed his cousin out and stormed out.

He had attacked Rong Jing just now only to test whether that heart-thudding moment earlier had been an illusion. He wanted to confirm it again, but the answer was no clearer.

“I just want to know if I am losing my mind. Don’t look at me like that. If Daddy does not get help, Daddy’s virtue will not survive tonight.”

Rong Jing considered and refused. “Then your virtue will not survive.”

Wu Fuyu glared. “How can you just watch me die here?” Wasn’t Rong Jing a gentleman?

“I can,” Rong Jing said, unbudging.

Furious, Wu Fuyu turned to the little beauty who had been standing there like a statue. “Hey. He is a block of wood. Want to swap and serve me instead? I do not lose to him in status.”

The beauty shook his head like mad, but one look at Wu Fuyu’s stunning face made him falter. Did he want something this thrilling?

Seeing he was not blackout drunk, Rong Jing dusted off his sleeves and said one word. “Scram.”

He bent to retrieve his phone. He had meant to say something more, but the video call had already been cut off at some point. He tried calling back. No answer. He fell quiet, thinking, then glanced at the Sovereignty crew group chat, which was buzzing about the film festival and begging the directing team to bring souvenirs.

Gu Xi chimed in once or twice. Judging by the messages, there was a large reception that night.

Rong Jing sent a WeChat: Something came up. Do you still have time now?

The message sank without a trace. Maybe he just missed it.

Meanwhile, Wu Fuyu addressed the beauty who was clearly weighing his options and repeated what he just said, “He is wood. You sure you don’t want to switch? I won’t lose to him.”

The beauty, looking between Rong Jing’s suddenly cool aura and this well-kept Alpha, hesitated. Those few minutes of fighting had been dangerously enticing.

Rong Jing saw the Omega was not reluctant. “Up to you.” He had no interest in meddling further. He would leave them the room.

After Rong Jing left, Wu Fuyu did not let the beauty serve him. He tossed him a thick wad of hush money instead. Leaning against the door, he replayed the last few minutes in his head as his hands moved restlessly. When he finally peaked, the face in his mind was the one that always looked at him with cool disdain.

“Wu Fuyu, you are finished.”

Rong Jing, meanwhile, drove to the Xie residence. He cooked something sweet and sour to cut the alcohol, told the housekeeper to keep it warm and serve it when his big brother woke up.

He went into the bedroom. Xie Ling lay quietly on the bed, the iron-clad sharpness of usual days softened to gentler lines.

There were faint shadows under his eyes. Rong Jing pulled the blanket up a little higher, adjusted the temperature, and tiptoed out.

As the light left, Xie Ling’s eyes opened a crack. A smile touched his mouth. Then he rolled over and slept again.

Rong Jing kept waiting for Gu Xi’s reply, unsettled. With so many perverts around and a world that handed halos to scumbags, he worried Gu Xi might get cornered.

He slid back into the car and opened WeChat again. There were several missed voice calls, but he ignored them and tapped Gu Xi’s message first.

It was polite and distant. I have to get ready for the reception. I hung up first. Talk when we are free.

Something felt off in his tone, but then again, maybe Gu Xi had always been like this.

He scrolled to classmates’ messages urging him to go to the school stadium for a surprise. Now he sensed something wrong. Even Ji Leping’s earlier half-words had been pointing to this.

He checked Moments. Nothing. He opened the campus forum. New topics every few seconds. He skimmed the top thread and sighed. Breaking up with this ex was a high-difficulty task.

He tapped into the livestream. At the same time, an unfamiliar number called.

Qi Ying’s voice, hopeful and soft, came through. “Rong Jing, I was wrong. Will you come back to me?”

The wind hissed past his microphone. Gentle and tranquil, that voice could easily tug up a whole string of youthful memories.

Qi Ying had borrowed a classmate’s phone. After the breakup, Rong Jing had deleted every contact method.

Rong Jing’s eyes were on the livestream. This was exactly what the original Rong Jing had once done pursuing Qi Ying. Now Qi Ying was returning it gesture for gesture. It was, admittedly, sincere.

When he stayed silent, Qi Ying continued, “You once waited for me here for three hours. I have been waiting almost six today. This time, let me be your star, all right?”

The students around him fell silent, hanging on Rong Jing’s reply.

Rong Jing’s voice was calm in the receiver. “Have you broken up with President Wen?”

President Wen was the sponsor Qi Ying had found before. He had broken up again after realizing he could not let go of Rong Jing.

One sentence sucked the air out of the crowd’s prepared whoops. If a clean, private parting would not cover it, then lay the cards on the table. At least do not get trapped on the back foot morally.

Whenever Rong Jing thought about how the original had been hounded to death by this domineering flower, he had no patience for polite games.

Qi Ying said awkwardly, “We broke up, of course.” Why was Rong Jing saying this in public? He had never done that before.

Rong Jing went on, “The day I saw you get into President Wen’s car, I chased after it and watched your figure disappear into the distance. I thought to myself then, in your eyes, is money really that good?”

He ignored Qi Ying’s whitening face on the screen and finished, “At that moment, I understood. Money really was good.”

Qi Ying: “…”

Crowd: “…”

Wow.

“Shrimp and pig heart” or (xiā zhū xīn)
is a Chinese internet slang
that mimics the sound of
“You stabbed me in the heart” or (xiā chuō wǒ xīn).
It’s a joking way to say a
comment was unexpectedly harsh or emotional. Shrimp and pig heart

!!!

He had stood in the cold wind and waited all night for nothing. But seeing Qi Ying’s stunned face made it wickedly satisfying.

Rong Jing had not said anything dirty. He sounded well-bred. Yet that one line carried a world of subtext.

The man who had lived mostly as a rumor on the school forum earned a few neutral passersby’s goodwill.

---

Across the ocean.

At the airport, a beautiful blonde agent smiled at the exquisite Asian face before her. She always thought Asians looked similar, but this one broke through any preset standard. So fine-featured that her own voice softened. “Are you sure you want a flight back to Huaguo right now? The soonest is in seven hours. Is that okay?”

Gu Xi froze.

It felt like he woke from a fog. He looked around. This was the airport he had just left. How had he come back?

He remembered the video call, the heated images, the different kind of spark between A and A. His mood had been a tangle. He had stepped outside and run into hotel staff delivering 99 roses. His mind fuzzed. Then clarity again, and now here he was.

Gu Feng had seized his body again.

Gu Xi turned down the agent with a smile and demanded of the voice in his head: Why are you buying tickets home? Are you an octopus? How did you move so fast?

Gu Feng: Stop belittling yourself. Whatever you desperately want to do, I want to do. I am your desire.

Gu Xi strode for the exit. Cold air slipped down his collar. He drew the scarf up over his face. When he realized whose scent lingered there, his gaze went distant.

In minutes, he had gone from anxiety to blackout to being taken over. It felt like crawling out of a whirlpool.

Gu Xi: I have work tomorrow. Stop making trouble for me.

Gu Feng: You are dying inside. Aren’t you afraid he will have a threesome?

Gu Xi: In what capacity do I ask? Whether it is Qi Ying or Wu Fuyu, it is Rong Jing’s choice.

Gu Feng: Wow. So indifferent.

Gu Xi: Did you forget how much he has done for us? Do not twist this. We owe him. We owe him so much that we could not repay it in another lifetime. He agreed to match with me as a friend. He is not like those scumbags. Do not you dare assume everyone has an agenda.

Gu Feng: You only want to be his friend? If yes, I will stop right now.

Gu Xi got into a cab back to the hotel. Streetlights smeared past the window.

His eyes were calm, an extreme ration lighting them from within. He knew one thing. Rong Jing felt sympathy for him, and maybe some admiration. If anyone stepped over that line, what they had could crumble.

After a long time, he answered: Rong Jing has never once wronged me. As the one who owes him, what I can do is be the friend he needs, keep the bottom line. You are the extra one here.

Gu Feng: Don’t force me to swear.

Gu Xi: You are the one forcing me.

Gu Feng: As if you have not been temporarily marked.

Gu Xi: That was an accident.

He pressed a hand to his heart, steadied himself, and added: And stop canceling work without asking. Do you realize how many people end up working overtime, how much trouble you cause the crew? If you live in a group, you do not get to be selfish.

Gu Feng’s restless soul had nowhere to go. He gritted his teeth and took the scolding. He wanted to shake Gu Xi awake, but he also knew how strong Gu Xi’s will was. If he said he would do something, he would.

Gu Xi: Do your job well. Even if no one loves you, you cannot lose your work.

This brief separation had cooled his dazzled crush into clarity. He could now see what he had refused to see inside the whirl. He could not step over the line again. While there was still time, he would stamp out every flicker of reckless longing.

He had already taken more than one bite from this sweet, warm pancake. He was greedy. Greedy enough to disgust himself. An Omega that greedy was like a leech. If Rong Jing learned his true nature, he would run.

Someone struggling in the mud should not drag others down.

Arms folded, Gu Xi watched the city slip by and replied to the crew asking where he was. If Rong Jing were here, he would have noticed that this was Gu Xi’s self-defense posture, the one he took only when he sensed he might be hurt.

He blinked and pushed back the moisture gathering in his eyes.

He would keep himself in check. He would not let himself sink deeper and bring trouble to Rong Jing.

Back at the hotel, he ran into Mo Dian rushing out to look for him. “You scared me half to death in a strange place like this. I thought you were missing!”

Gu Xi soothed him with a smile. “The night view was too pretty. I could not help taking a walk. I will tell you next time.”

Mo Dian glanced at the bouquet of 99 roses he had heard had been knocked to the ground. “What do we do with these?”

Wherever Gu Xi went, the gifts followed. Even Mo Dian had gone from moved to traumatized-by-roses.

Gu Xi did not bother to look. He had a good guess which direction the pervert came from. “Throw them out.”

Mo Dian studied him. He looked calmer than he had on the plane, nothing like a typical Omega. Only then did Mo Dian relax and go back to packing.

Gu Xi also found the gift Rong Jing had entrusted to him before boarding, with a note to open it later.

He had planned to unbox it the moment he landed. Now, not opening it felt like the right choice. He stroked the lid gently, reining in the hope and longing to the proper distance. He slid it back into his bag and left it where it belonged.

“You are so good and that is the trouble.”

People who are too good get clung to by the greedy.

Do not be afraid. Even if I am sick to the bone, I could never bear to hurt you, not even a little.

---

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