HOYSE CHAPTER 80

Chapter 80 — Fire Butterflies

Ji Jiongjie was completely unhinged by what he had just seen. It was a scene he had never dared to place Gu Xi in, even in his imagination, yet it had unfolded right in front of him.

He ignored Wu Fuyu, spun on his heel, grabbed his phone, and issued terse orders to the person on the other end.

Wu Fuyu caught only a few fragments, words like “home” and “make a move.”

Left standing where he was, he watched the person he liked disappear and realized his older cousin seemed to have been pushed far past his limits.

He hesitated. Something about this felt like it was veering into a dangerous, hard-to-predict direction.

Even thinking about Ji Jiongjie’s methods made Wu Fuyu’s skin crawl. The Ji family had a crowded family tree, and Ji Jiongjie, as the elder legitimate son, had always been the focus. Few people knew that there had once been an older brother above him who died at eight. These days, almost no one mentioned that child.

That original heir had been a prodigy loved by all the elders, a boy who racked up awards and treated people with gentleness and courtesy. When people talk now about the most outstanding of the younger generation, they mean Xie Ling, the one who brought the Xie family into a new era.

If the Ji family’s first son had lived, he would have had his own place in that conversation.

That year, Wu Fuyu was a guest at the Ji residence. He was sick from the climate and resting alone in a room.

There was a banquet going on, all the adults dining in the garden, so the main house was relatively empty. From inside he heard raised voices outside. Curiosity won. He cracked the door and, with his own eyes, saw Ji Jiongjie push his brother over the upstairs railing.

He was petrified on the spot, half-hidden behind the door. Servants came running at the noise, sprinting out to call for help, and chaos erupted.

As for Ji Jiongjie, he used those few moments to check whether his brother was still breathing. Once he was sure the boy was gone, he relaxed and smiled. That expression was burned into Wu Fuyu’s mind.

Before the adults arrived, Ji Jiongjie turned into a shocked child and wailed as if his soul had shattered.

No one suspected a seven-year-old could harbor that kind of malice. All attention was on the fallen boy’s injuries.

Already unwell, Wu Fuyu demanded to go home the next day.

That night had nearly scared his spirit out of his body. He did not speak for several days.

By the time Wu Hanqi noticed his son’s condition, he had already seen a parade of specialists. It took half a year before Wu Fuyu recovered.

During that time, he haltingly told his father what he had seen. Wu Hanqi only said, “A promising seed.”

What kind of seed, good or bad, he did not elaborate.

Back then, Wu Fuyu did not understand. Later, seeing how much his father valued his cousin, he finally got the point.

Compared to his own son, his father appreciated the type who would use any means to achieve an end.

At the same time, Wu Hanqi could not bring himself to crush his son. Seeing how badly the boy had been frightened, he did not scold him much.

For his part, Wu Fuyu was timid and naive, and it had been careless to wander alone. His father felt guilty.

Once Wu Fuyu’s mental state stabilized, he was sent to a youth training camp.

It worked. Exhaustion and high-intensity drills eventually stamped out even his fear.

What was Ji Jiongjie? Why should he be afraid?

He had only one thought: he would rather collapse from fatigue than go back to that nightmare.

As for the incident, the Ji family buried it immediately. Whether they knew the truth, he could not say. But in Wu Fuyu’s heart, his older cousin was Danger Number One.

He swaggered back to his room in a bathrobe, soaking up the stares. Watching him march along so righteously, people might have wondered if they had overreacted.

He had no time for them. He kept turning those key words over and over. The more he thought, the more convinced he became.

Damn it, better give a warning.

Even if that “old fox” did not play fair, watching those two A and O fall out would be a show. But if something truly happened, the fallout could splash on him too.

Come to think of it, he really was a one-of-a-kind Alpha.

This time, the monk’s-meat beauty had to see his stunning looks and equally excellent heart.

He dialed Rong Jing with a flourish.

He was about to speak when a pleasant female voice cut in: “The number you have dialed is busy. Please try again later.”

His flashy smile froze.

Chatting with someone else? Fine. He would try again in a few minutes.

About five minutes later, he called again.

“The number you have dialed has been turned off.”

He refused to accept it and tried several more times.

Every time it was some version of the same. He had never hit this wall before. Irritated, he slapped the phone with his palm.

Must be broken!

His manager had watched the whole saga, face shifting through a range of expressions. Finally he ventured, “Young Master… I think I know why.”

Wu Fuyu shot him a sharp look.

“You may have been… added to his block list.”

In his whole life, the crown prince had never been blocked. It took him a second to process the phrase.

When he finally understood, he stared dumbly at Rong Jing’s number.

Inside the car, Guan Hongyi’s eyes kept darting around. It was his first time in a vehicle that cost eight figures. Nerves were to be expected.

He might be a small rich person by net worth, but compared to the man in the back seat the gap was beyond vast, another category entirely. So when they first met and that man seemed so composed, had the earlier awkwardness just been a personal quirk?

His attention soon left the car. With the quiet driver Zhou You steady at the wheel, barely a twitch on the hands gripping the steering wheel, Guan Hongyi could still hear faint rustling from the back seat.

Like this and you are not even curious?

Zhou You seemed to know exactly what he was thinking and continued to listen in six directions and watch eight ways, calm as a mountain.

He had seen storms. This did not make a wave.

Back there, the two had not done much, really. They had waited in the parking lot for Guan Hongyi, and Gu Xi, cool as ever, said he wanted to smell neroli.

Rong Jing was used to this glacial air and did not refuse. Then, just as the car started, Gu Xi leaned in and planted a sudden, quiet kiss on his cheek.

Locked in an earthquake of pupil dilation with Guan Hongyi, Rong Jing felt like a street thug luring a good Omega astray.

He could imagine the inner monologue: he must have drugged Gu Xi.

“Do you know what you are doing?” Rong Jing gritted out.

“What do you think?” Gu Xi did not look repentant at all.

After that, Rong Jing put some space between himself and the fox spirit. With Gu Xi’s friend present, he still wanted to preserve a little dignity.

Gu Xi, though, kept up small mischief. Rong Jing would occasionally push his hand away.

They whispered, thinking they were quiet, but a car is a small space; bits of it carried forward, along with the brush of contact.

Outside, orange streetlights swept over them in broken bars. The air between them churned.

Their joined hands had already been pulled apart. Gu Xi’s head lolled against the Alpha’s shoulder and his finger traced patterns on the Alpha’s thigh.

It slid closer and closer to a very important spot. A vein pulsed at Rong Jing’s temple. He clamped down on the bad hand.

“Are you trying to make me throw you out?”

“Mmm…”

His eyes misted in a heartbeat. Rong Jing startled and let him go at once.

He turned his face away. This was a treasure he could not scold or bark at.

You are drunk. You win.

Fine, touch if you want. He would not lose a chunk of flesh. Not exactly a raw deal, he told himself sternly.

He shut his eyes and tried to ignore the hand.

Seeing him surrender, Gu Xi’s brows curved up, pleased as a cat with cream.

Guan Hongyi hissed under his breath and kept sneaking looks. Something in Gu Xi’s hazy memory seemed to click.

One hand cupped the back of Rong Jing’s head. He leaned in, lips only a few centimeters away, wine-breath drifting.

Those slanted eyes slid toward the Omega watching from the front, and he tossed out a quiet provocation. “Keep watching. He is not yours.”

Guan Hongyi: …

What did I do to deserve this???

He did not dare look back again, but the faint sounds were impossible to ignore.

The Alpha’s restrained, rough breathing filled the tight cabin. Guan Hongyi’s face went bright red. He suddenly felt like a third wheel. If he and the assistant were not here, what would these two be doing?

He cut off the thought. He was starting to feel off himself.

He and Zhou You met eyes and swiveled in unison to the windows.

Rong Jing discovered that drunk Gu Xi came in waves.

One moment ice-cold, the next soft and coy. A shapeshifter.

Now Gu Xi was staring blankly at the city lights.

On the sidewalk a pair of parents strolled with two kids. The boy rode his father’s shoulders, shouting with glee. The girl hopped while holding her mother’s hand.

The ordinary scene tugged at something buried and missing. Gu Xi whispered, “I want to go home.”

“Home?” Which one?

“Home… home… home…”

His eyes went unfocused as he muttered.

In the original text, “home” surfaced occasionally in Gu Xi’s inner monologues.

Not often, which is why it stuck. It was usually after some scumbag hurt him that he clung to the word.

Memories overlapped with the present and left a sour ache in Rong Jing’s chest.

Home, to Gu Xi, carried uncommon weight. It was the deepest wound and the brightest longing.

He had managed to keep distance, but at those words he hesitated and drew Gu Xi against his shoulder. Gu Xi finally quieted.

Rong Jing felt a twinge of guilt toward Guan Hongyi. He had planned to drop him off first. Guan Hongyi was flustered by the kindness. The god in his heart had not cracked; he had become even more appealing.

Apart from the fact that he seemed to be experiencing a crushing heartbreak before the romance even began.

They had just pulled up to Gu Xi’s high-rise when Rong Jing’s phone rang. His expression hardened.

He stared up through the windshield toward Gu Xi’s floor, and as both front doors opened he barked, “Down!”

He heaved Gu Xi close.

Bang.

A thunderous roar. A torrent of flame punched the bedroom windows out. Fire rushed for the open air, devouring the room in an instant.

The shock wave rippled across the cars. Ears rang. Then everyone looked up. Black smoke and fire leapt like mad things.

And something else. A dark flock poured out of the blaze. Wings glittered in the air, embers scattered like stars.

Terrifying, and indescribably beautiful.

One butterfly floated down toward them and landed on the hand Guan Hongyi had on the door.

He opened his palm. The butterfly that had flown out of the fire was black, with a flare of crimson on the tail.

On its wings, a rose picked out in fluorescent powder winked red.

A fire butterfly. A species nearly extinct in this world, bred in some S-class laboratory.

Because of its medicinal properties and striking beauty, it was coveted. At night, as it flew, the wings would shed red dust, like fireflies dipped in blood.

Pet lovers considered it a luxury pet worth a small fortune.

The glowing patterns on their wings were painted on by human hands.

This was Ji Jiongjie’s warning. He was telling Gu Xi that there would be no escape.

In the original story, Gu Xi tried to run several times. After one attempt, just after he left the villa, a blaze erupted. Fire butterflies filled the sky, each marked with a rose. Gu Xi was so shocked he nearly fainted.

He could have escaped, but he had severe PTSD. Even with the exit not far away, he could not move. His soul walked step by step into despair.

Arson, once again used as a weapon, not just destruction, but a message.

This wasn’t the first time. It was a beat from the past, repeating itself.

The home burning was Gu Xi’s.

Gu Xi clawed at Rong Jing’s arm and tried to look, but Rong Jing caught his face in his hands.

“Don’t look,” he said. “It’s not worth seeing.”

He covered Gu Xi’s eyes with his palm. Soft lashes grazed his skin

Gu Xi’s fingers closed over his hand. He did not use much force, but Rong Jing could feel the resistance.

Unable to see the Alpha in front of him, panic tugged at Gu Xi. Only when Rong Jing took his hand away and light returned did Gu Xi fix his eyes on him, unblinking.

The troublemaker from minutes ago fell quiet.

His gaze was so clear it was almost unbearable.

Firelight and shadow flickered over them.

Rong Jing lifted a hand, tracing the soft red curve of Gu Xi’s lips.

Desire that had long been there twitched awake. Maybe the chaos outside offered an excuse to finally act.

He leaned down and, quick as lightning, sealed Gu Xi’s slightly parted mouth with his own.

Unpracticed. Clumsy.

One simply pressed and held. The other, stunned, did not move.

Neither knew how to go deeper.

Their hearts thudded faster.

In the stillness, Rong Jing’s voice came gentler than ever.

“Don’t look at anything else. Look at me.”

Gu Xi kept his eyes open. Rong Jing’s face shrank to a reflection in his pupils.

He watched without blinking, as if one blink would make the man vanish. The familiar scent washed away the last of his defenses.

Outside, fire butterflies wheeled, red light filled the night, sparks drifted.

Inside, tenderness wrapped them as if they were alone in the world.

Gu Xi’s fingers slid up the man’s chest. Over his heart, he pressed lightly.

No sound came out, but his lips shaped a word that stole Rong Jing’s breath.

Home.

Rong Jing’s heart skipped.

So that “home” you spoke of has always meant… me.

In that moment, the impact was like nothing before.

And in that moment, Gu Xi broke through every barrier and rooted himself in Rong Jing’s heart.

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