HOYSE CHAPTER 59

Chapter 59 — Then Go On, Turn Into One For Me

Xie Ling didn’t have a young master’s temper, but the habits of a lifetime were set. He had his own standards for food, clothing, housing, and travel.

On the road he usually stayed in presidential suites. This hotel near the studio zone was one of the better ones but emphasized practicality. Xie Ling was an expert in these things. One glance and he saw the fireproof materials ranged from B2 to A1 grade. Not terrible, just barely acceptable.

“What is this ‘good enough’ supposed to mean,” he said, picking apart the room’s layout. “Did we invest too little or what? Does it need to look this shabby?”

Rong Jing saw Xie Ling walking toward the tightly closed bedroom door. He wanted to stop him, but could not find a good excuse. He knew how heavy an Omega’s reputation weighed in this world. He could not let Gu Xi be misunderstood because of his mistake.

As Xie Ling put his hand on the handle, he suddenly remembered something. “Lately Dad can’t stay quiet in bed. He keeps trying to make trouble for me. I hear someone told him, since big brother isn’t married, I won’t get engaged either.”

Rong Jing’s heart skipped. That got discovered fast.

This one was on him. “Ge, I am still young.” So please help shoulder a little more.

Big brother did not want to shoulder it and wanted to kick the ball back.

Expressionless, Xie Ling did not buy the cutesy act.

Thinking about how he had been dodging the omnipresent “bedtime beauties” and sparring with Xie Zhanhong, he just wanted to string his little brother up and lecture him. The brothers had been close a moment ago; now there was a hint of a squabble.

“Oh, and I am not old either.” So you push blind dates onto me when you don’t want them. “You had better not let me discover you getting close to some Omega. Otherwise you can deal with Xie Zhanhong yourself.”

Thinking of Xie Zhanhong’s enthusiasm, Rong Jing felt that if he found out, there would be no end of fuss and all the firepower would be aimed squarely his way. The beauty whose leg he had kicked and fractured had only just gotten out of the hospital. Under no circumstances could big brother find out about Gu Xi.

Xie Ling opened the door and glanced around the master bedroom, focusing mostly on the bed. He pressed down on it, testing the firmness. Originally, he had planned to take the guest room and was only here to check if this one would suit an actor working under high pressure. Was it comfortable enough? Hearing reports from subordinates was never the same as seeing things for himself.

This time, his little brother had entered the crew by his own ability, fulfilling a childhood dream. He had never said so, but he was proud.

Rong Jing followed, even more nervous than Xie Ling, and scanned with the corner of his eye. No one. Where was Gu Xi hiding?

“Xiao Jing, what are you nervous about.”

“Tomorrow is the first performance. I’m afraid of messing up.” Of course not. In his last life he had seen every scene.

Xie Ling would stay through the opening ceremony the next day before leaving. He did not want to miss his brother’s first performance. Otherwise there was no need to rush over this late at night.

“What is there to be nervous about. Relax and act.” If you mess up, you still have me, but he didn’t say that part.

Xie Ling chose the secondary bedroom. As he finished and headed for its bathroom, Rong Jing suddenly remembered Gu Xi had showered in the main one earlier. “Brother, I just washed. Let me tidy it up.”

Without waiting for a reply, he flew into the bathroom.

Sure enough, Gu Xi’s clothes from changing were still there. He grabbed them into his arms to destroy the evidence. The air still held a faint sweet scent. It wasn’t pheromones, but it was easy to think Omega. Rong Jing sprayed blockers, made sure nothing was left, then came out.

Nervous, like committing a theft.

When he emerged, Xie Ling was standing with the door open, seemingly talking to someone in the hallway.

He heard Xie Ling’s poisonous tongue switch flip on. “I was wondering how you planned to win him back. So that’s it.”

He looked the visitor up and down.

The person flushed with shame and anger but, cowed by Xie Ling’s aura, didn’t dare snap back. Under that pressure, he knew he wouldn’t succeed tonight and could only leave.

Xie Ling closed the door. His younger brother was staring with bright eyes like he was full of admiration.

Xie Ling felt both exasperated and amused. “If you don’t like someone, refuse. Even if you do like someone, look at their character first. Keep your eyes open.”

After they wished each other good night, Rong Jing returned to the master bedroom. He shut the door, locked it. For the moment, safety.

“Gu Xi,” he called.

Silence for a long while. So he wasn’t hiding here.

Just as Rong Jing was about to search elsewhere, a soft answer came from the closet. “In here.”

Rong Jing opened it. His clothes were neatly hung and stacked. Gu Xi was curled up inside, long limbs folded tight, peach blossom eyes shining with a watery sheen as he looked up at him, with an unreadable want, a hint like words hanging at the edge. Rong Jing’s heart skipped without warning.

No Alpha could withstand that gaze. When he focuses on you, it is as if the noise of the world retreats far away.

Those words were from the original text. He remembered every one of them. Now, faced with the real thing, they lined up in his mind, one after another.

As if moved by some unseen hand, he reached out.

A flush rose over Gu Xi’s cheeks. The closet space was cramped, the Alpha scent impossible to ignore, the faint aroma of the room’s diffuser. In a handful of minutes, good smells had wrapped him in layers.

Gu Xi dropped lightly to the floor and stumbled, pitching straight into Rong Jing’s chest.

His nose bumped firm muscle. Gu Xi startled, flustered, and as he struggled, his palms pressed the chest in front of him. They went still.

Rong Jing immediately steadied him, gentleman-hand light at his waist without crossing the line. “Legs asleep.”

“Mm...” Rong Jing always saw right through him, sometimes even before he spoke. He had been squatting too long. Pins and needles spread through his legs, tight and sharp. His face burned. “Can you stay still? It'll go away in a bit.”

Rong Jing knew the feeling. When your legs go numb, anyone touching you makes you want to snap.

“Don’t rush. It’s nothing,” he said, and then when he looked down, he saw that slender soft neck and a faint blush that looked like shyness.

Gu Xi seemed to be easily shy. That kind of shyness tugged at the heart.

He could also see the black cord of the necklace he had given him, against pale skin, stark and eye-catching. Why had he picked a necklace back then? Because long ago he had thought Gu Xi’s neck beautiful, like a swan’s, making one want to soothe it with care.

Realizing his thoughts were straying, Rong Jing yanked his gaze away. He is a man. No matter how beautiful, still a man.

The room had warmed without them noticing.

Gu Xi’s eyes fell on the Adam’s apple so close to him. Gu Feng hadn’t been wrong. He had always found this part of Rong Jing very sensual.

Gu Xi rose on tiptoe.

A knock came at the door.

“Xiao Jing, do you have extra toiletries.”

Rong Jing snapped out of the haze, pressed Gu Xi’s head down, and cleared his throat. “Yes. In the suitcase. The code is three ones.”

Through the thin shirt, Alpha warmth seeped into Gu Xi’s face. He couldn’t tell whether his face was hotter or the other’s body was.

He remembered the sight at the door a moment ago, that clean-cut chest. His hands braced on Rong Jing’s chest, he could not help but give a little pinch.

So it wasn’t just pretty lines to look at. The feel was surprisingly… good.

Hm.

Rong Jing felt the touch, but saw Gu Xi lying obediently against him. A mistake, then.

When Xie Ling’s footsteps receded, Gu Xi whispered, “That was your big brother.” The peak of heaven’s pride in the Xie family.

“Mm. He is staying here tonight.”

“Then I…”

“Wait until he sleeps. I will sneak you out.” Rong Jing paused. “I am sorry to make you hide here for a while.”

The small spark that had just lit inside Gu Xi got doused by a small basin of water. It went out at once.

“Not a problem,” he said quietly. What disappointment. Wasn’t this the normal way?

When enough time had passed and Xie Ling had made no sound for a long while, he should be asleep. Rong Jing opened the door quietly. They crouched low and moved inch by inch, just past the next room.

But Xie Ling had not closed his door, probably worried that his little brother might be nervous before his first day and wanting to keep an ear out. He was a light sleeper and seemed to catch a faint noise.

He turned over and called drowsily, “Xiao Jing.”

“Ge,” Rong Jing blurted, startled.

“Mm. What?”

“Getting up. Bathroom.”

Rong Jing forced himself calm and motioned for Gu Xi not to move. Gu Xi caught his sleeve and nodded, those bright eyes fixed on him, soft and obedient. Rong Jing thought he was unbearably adorable.

They didn’t give up. Rong Jing pretended to use the bathroom and Gu Xi retreated. They stayed quietly in the master bedroom and waited for Xie Ling to sleep again.

Gu Xi sat on the edge of the bed. Maybe the hallway noise had drawn him out earlier, because the director came by to check his room and found it empty. An Omega wandering late at night was dangerous. He called to ask where Gu Xi had gone. Gu Xi fobbed him off with an excuse.

Rong Jing listened at the door. When he was sure Xie Ling had settled, he signaled Gu Xi for a second run.

This time they were even quieter, each step lighter than the last.

Yet Xie Ling seemed to be fitted with radar. He heard the barest scrape of rubber on floor.

“Xiao Jing.”

“I’m getting water.”

“Sleep early. Stop running around at night.”

“I know.”

“If you are nervous, brother can tell you a bedtime story.”

“N… no need.”

Seeing he was about to sit up, Rong Jing wished him good night on the spot. He and Gu Xi shot back into the room like arrows. The sense of being caught by an elder at any moment hung over their heads. When they closed the door this time, both felt a tremor of nerves.

Xie Ling was an extremely light sleeper. The smallest draft might wake him.

Rong Jing suddenly remembered something from long ago, not from the novel, but the original owner’s memory. Xie Ling had been kidnapped once. Later it had been mysteriously dropped without a full investigation. There was probably a story there. In any case, his sleep had never been good since, and he woke easily.

Thinking of that, Rong Jing could not bring himself to try again.

He looked over. In the darkness, only shallow breathing told him where Gu Xi stood. They could only faintly see one another. The window spilled a little moonlight, soft and misty.

Rong Jing hesitated. “How about…”

Gu Xi spoke first. “I will sleep here tonight.”

[What if I turn into a beast?]

Gu Xi heard that thought and couldn’t help it, he nearly laughed out loud.

“Then go on,” he thought. “Turn into one and show me.”

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