After the conversation in the study, Ye Ci didn't know whether he was moved or simply frightened by the words "move to my room to sleep". Not only did he have a regular schedule like a robot, he also followed Huo Tinglan's instructions to set a medication reminder on his phone and took the medicine obediently as ordered by the doctor.
The symptoms of cloacal development have eased a lot, and the fever has not recurred after a few days. Only a subtle soreness and swelling in the lower abdomen remains, which is vague. When Ye Ci thought about what caused it, he collapsed and clenched his fists.
“… Do you have a lot of homework today?”
Huo Tinglan was holding a folder, flipping through a thick stack of forms of varying sizes inside, and asked nonchalantly.
"It's quite a lot. I'll start by writing half of it today." With Friday and the weekend, the workload for three days is quite large. Ye Ci rummaged through his schoolbag and glanced casually at the folder in Huo Tinglan's hand.
Perhaps it was the aftereffects of accompanying Ye Hongjun to the hospital too many times, he felt that the paper Huo Tinglan was holding looked a bit like a hospital examination report.
However, before he had time to take a closer look, Huo Tinglan had already closed the folder and put it aside, saying in a nonchalant tone: "Someone put something by your bed, you can take some time to take a look."
"Yeah." Ye Ci responded, unable to hide his curiosity. He stacked several homework assignments in order and went back to the bedroom to check.
In the room, there was an extra book beside his pillow.
Perhaps to avoid accidental snooping by servants, the book cover was wrapped in solid vellum and there was no writing on the cover.
Ye Ci became more and more curious. He picked up the book and opened it without any precautions. He glanced at the catalog page and suddenly his face became red.
This is actually a sex education book exclusively for omegas.
It's like an encyclopedia, covering every detail and the content is quite comprehensive.
"Signs before the first omega fever", "Self-protection during the omega fever period", "Body structure changes caused by the fever period", "Precautions during the first fever"... There are blue-black pen marks in front of the titles of these catalogues - four small check marks.
—Huo Tinglan had read this book and even highlighted the key points for him.
Ye Ci bit his lips until they turned white.
It was like a red-hot iron plate hitting his chest, and all the secrets and shame in his heart hissed and turned into white steam.
After just flipping through a few pages of the book, he was so embarrassed that even the back of his neck turned red.
In fact, he has never been able to accept the gender of his secondary differentiated glands.
The alpha, a symbol of strength and leadership, suddenly transformed into the "weak and delicate" omega in the public stereotype, and the sense of shame and dislocation has always lingered.
It's fine if he doesn't mention these things normally. He can deceive himself and pretend that being an omega is no different from being an alpha. But once he is forced to face the reality, he...
Like sleepwalking, he turned another page.
There is another pen-drawn "x" on the catalog page, and the title is "Omega's Character Guidance and Shaping".
For some reason, Ye Ci first turned to the page with the x and took a glance at it.
The content of this page was mostly some clichéd words of advice, such as "Omega's personality traits are gentle, careful, and quiet", and above the page number were two sharp and elegant words written in pen.
—Don't look.
"… "
Ye Ci turned another page.
There were two words written in pen at the same position on the next page.
—Also watching.
Like burying an Easter egg.
The corners of Ye Ci's lips curved up and he was amused.
Apart from these two pages, most of the few X-ed titles in the catalog were in this pedantic style that made Ye Ci so annoyed that he wanted to tear up the book.
Huo Tinglan actually screened the books for him to read in advance. He was so busy at work, but he was still so responsible...
Ye Ci let out a sigh of relief.
The sour and warm feeling of my heart forming a small ball behind my ribs came up again, and my nose bridge felt slightly tight.
He calmed himself down, took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, pinched the filter and took a sip with familiarity.
After smoking most of the cigarette, he rubbed out the cigarette butt, turned to the pages he had checked, and read through them with gritted teeth.
…
After preparing himself mentally, Ye Ci returned to the study half an hour later.
At the desk, Huo Tinglan was concentrating on his work without saying a word.
On the contrary, Ye Ci was afraid that Huo Tinglan would ask him about his study experience, so he stared straight at the paper, but his peripheral vision vaguely framed Huo Tinglan, feeling Huo Tinglan's movements with his whole body and mind.
After a while of stalemate, Ye Ci became more and more uncomfortable.
He felt Huo Tinglan was staring at him.
Another illusion
Ye Ci tilted his head stiffly, his eyes flickering, and he glanced at Huo Tinglan very quickly.
Huo Tinglan supported his chin with one hand leisurely, catching his gaze as if waiting for something to happen.
"… "
Huo Tinglan was really staring at him!
After a moment of silence, Ye Ci withdrew his gaze in shock, hesitated, and then glanced again quickly.
Huo Tinglan had a cat-like smile on his lips and asked knowingly, "Why aren't you paying attention... There are words on my face?"
"No, there are no words." Ye Ci lowered his head and looked at the question.
"Have you read the book?" Huo Tinglan confirmed.
“Uh, well…” Ye Ci responded vaguely.
He wanted to read it, and he insisted on reading a few pages, but the problem was that the popular science book was too detailed. Not only did it have a detailed description of the organs exclusive to omegas, it even had cross-sectional diagrams and a description of the process of permanent marking. He was used to being an alpha. When he was in junior high school, he even took health classes separately from omegas. He was not like some adolescent alphas whose heads were full of pornographic garbage. Therefore, his face became redder and redder as he read more. Words like "knot", "cavity", "lifelong marking" burned hotly on his retina... He guessed that pornographic books were just like this.
He didn't finish reading it.
Feeling guilty and ashamed that he had wasted Uncle Huo's good intentions, he stuffed the book into the bedside table.
The atmosphere was awkward. Ye Ci was eager to change the subject and lied to his conscience: "Look, I've finished it."
"Oh." Huo Tinglan sneered. He saw through it but didn't expose it.
He could almost reconstruct Ye Ci's mental journey in just half an hour.
The young lover was so innocent.
It was so innocent that it made him... hurt.
It seems that I will have to wait until later to do science education myself.
"By the way, there is something I want to discuss with you." Huo Tinglan stopped talking and changed the subject, "You know, nominally, we have been married for more than a month, and my mother is a little anxious..."
Ye Ci tensed up immediately, his eyes widened with alertness.
The "How long have you been married?" statement...
Huo Tinglan's mother was anxious...
What are you trying to urge me to do?!
Ye Ci: “!”
Before Huo Tinglan could finish his words, Ye Ci's vigilance had turned into pupils shaking!
"… Because we haven't held a wedding yet, she plans to hold a simple family dinner for the Huo and Chu families to get together and have a meal, which can be considered as an explanation to the elders on both sides." Huo Tinglan pondered Ye Ci's expression while speaking, and couldn't help asking in a half-incredible and half-mischievous tone, "What were you thinking about just now?"
"No, I didn't expect that." Ye Ci was afraid of being exposed, so he agreed immediately, "I'll have a family dinner, no problem."
Since their marriage, the only thing Huo Tinglan needed him to cooperate with was for the two families to have a meal together, and he naturally couldn't refuse.
Ye Ci agreed readily, but the Huo family was a large family, and no matter how small the family banquet was, there would still be dozens of people, plus the people from the second branch of the Chu family who were attending the banquet... The preparations could not be sloppy at all, and it would take at least half a month.
Huo Tinglan pondered for a moment and said, "When are you free this weekend? I'll take you to make a formal suit for you to wear at the family dinner."
Ye Ci thought about the few items in his closet, sportswear, hoodies and jeans, and realized that he really couldn't attend the banquet, so he had to nod and agree.
The next day, Saturday, Huo Tinglan took him to a handmade tailor shop, a time-honored brand that had been passed down from grandfather to grandson since its establishment in 1913. After years of turbulence, it still occupies a quiet and ancient site. The two-story building used as a storefront has a history of a hundred years. The gate is half hidden behind a lush sycamore tree. It is not ostentatious and only receives familiar old customers, with a kind of stubborn aristocratic nobleness.
This was the first time Ye Ci came to such a place. In his previous impression, tailor shops were something that was being abandoned by the times. They were usually opened in downtown areas, altering the size of clothes and sewing buttons and zippers. He had never known that there were such tailor shops.
He measured the size with the shop owner, and sank into the soft velvet sofa to listen to the conversation beside him. He almost suspected that this was a shady shop. One meter of fabric easily cost tens of thousands of yuan, and the price of a set of clothes was enough for him to run a month's competition. He felt like there was a flame burning under his buttocks, and he was restless. He wanted to speak, but was afraid of offending Huo Tinglan in public. He finally waited until the shop owner left temporarily, and then he got the chance. He twisted his fingers in embarrassment and whispered: "Uncle Huo, no... This is so expensive."
Huo Tinglan stood in front of the sofa, his hands in his pockets leisurely. He lowered his eyes and glanced at him, saying calmly, "I don't think it's expensive. That material suits you very well." After a pause, he said apologetically, "We've been married for more than a month, and I haven't thought of taking you out to buy some things. I was already inconsiderate. If you refuse again... I'll think you're blaming me in your heart."
"Buy something", this kind of intimate wording unconsciously shortened the distance between the two. Ye Ci was young after all, and couldn't handle it. His lips moved a few times, and he only denied: "I... didn't blame you."
Huo Tinglan tried to figure out his attitude: "I'll take you to buy some clothes. You don't want to pay me, do you?"
Ye Ci said nothing, as if he agreed.
He was most afraid of receiving favors from others for nothing. Given his dependent mentality, he certainly felt embarrassed to accept such expensive clothes.
Huo Tinglan was silent for a moment. Fearing to hurt his self-esteem, he teased softly, "I explained the questions to you a lot last night. Do I have to ask you for tutoring fees?"
Ye Ci shook his head vigorously a few times: "No, that's not what I meant."
"Same principle." Huo Tinglan calmly circled the people into his territory, "If two people live together after marriage and have to calculate every account clearly, then what is the difference between them and roommates?"
A business marriage without any emotional basis means everyone lives their own life, which is indeed not much different from being roommates... Ye Ci was confused by Huo Tinglan and was about to retort, but the shop owner came back with several large blueprints.
Huo Tinglan turned his head away, looking like he didn't want to be disturbed, and whispered to the shop owner to discuss the style and details: lapel style, hidden pockets, slits, button choices, and even "worn on the left or right"... He usually left these trivial matters to Uncle He, but this was Ye Ci's first formal suit after he turned 18, and it was of great significance. In his previous life, he failed to protect Ye Ci from the wind and rain when he needed it most, so in this life, he naturally wanted to hold him in his palm, pamper him, and take good care of him. In other words, Ye Ci was still unfamiliar with him, so he didn't dare to go too far, and had to find excuses to order a few sets of clothes, otherwise...
Ye Ci looked at them for a while, unable to get a word in. He sat awkwardly on the sofa, drinking tea and refilling water to hide his uneasiness of being cared for so carefully.
He had never experienced the love from a mature man. It was different from the motherly love from Ye Hongjun, and it was a missing link in his growth. He was softened by the warmth, and gradually, he was not so insistent on "drawing a clear line with Uncle Huo". He even whispered "anything is fine" when Huo Tinglan asked him for his design opinions on a certain detail.
"All right," Huo Tinglan said calmly, "Then just listen to me."
"… Um."
Huo Tinglan turned his head calmly and glanced at Ye Ci.
The red ears look very soft, and the eyes and brows are extremely obedient.
Before Ye Ci noticed his gaze, he turned his head back and the corners of his lips slightly raised.
…
It was a rare opportunity to buy clothes for Ye Ci, so Huo Tinglan ordered a lot of them at once, filling up the old shop owner's three-month schedule. He bought a special expedited service for the formal clothes to be worn at the family dinner, and they were made in just a few days.
That day he took Ye Ci to try on clothes. Knowing that the customer was an omega, the owner avoided opening the door. The dark red velvet door curtain was heavy and thick. Huo Tinglan stood alone outside the curtain waiting.
The expensive fabric rubbed against each other, making pleasant sounds. Ye Ci fiddled with it for a while, then suddenly pushed aside the door curtain. His slender white fingers grasped a mess of black elastic fabric and hesitantly asked, "Uncle Huo, what is this?"
Huo Tinglan maintained a sanctimonious reserve, glanced at him, and said, "Shirt clip to prevent the shirt from sliding up."
As someone who had already worn formal clothes like a second skin, he had no habit of using shirt clips. However, the shop owner was considerate and, perhaps seeing that Ye Ci was young and guessing that he didn't wear formal clothes often and that young people were lively and active, he prepared two pairs for him.
Ye Ci was still confused and asked, "How do I wear it?"
Huo Tinglan turned his head and looked at the dark red slit in the locker room curtain.
Maybe it was static electricity when he took off his pullover, Ye Ci's black hair was disheveled and arousing his reverie, his shirt collar was not buttoned tightly, and the vanilla pheromones brewed in the palm-sized dressing room, becoming sweeter and sweeter, and the warmth flowed out from the gaps...
Huo Tinglan was afraid that his eyes would reveal the secret, so he didn't give himself the chance to look down along the collar. He raised his hand and pinched the door curtain, covering the ambiguous slit.
"One strip on each side," he closed his eyes and remained calm, "tied around the base of the thigh, pull the strip with the metal buckle upwards and clamp the hem of the shirt."
“… Yeah.” Ye Ci retracted his hand from outside the curtain and fiddled with his shirt clip awkwardly.
The atmosphere outside the curtain was solemn.
Huo Tinglan fiddled with his cufflinks, seeming to be thinking about something.
Ye Ci is not the same as he was more than a month ago.
It can be seen that his guard has been lowered a lot, perhaps because he wears his good uncle mask too well. Ye Ci has already welded labels such as "gentleman" and "noble" to him, and is sure that he will not have any bad thoughts about him.
It’s both good and bad.
It’s a good thing that their relationship is close, but I’m afraid Ye Ci will get used to his role as an upright caregiver and guardian, and will shut him up with words like “You’re a good person, but…”
Once an emotion close to family affection is formed, it is not easy to reverse it.
At this moment, a "pop" sound came from behind the curtain.
It's the slight sound of the elastic band hitting the skin, which is ambiguous and seductive.
The noise reminded him of the night when Ye Ci came back from the police station. Ye Ci broke his ankle in a fight with someone. He knelt on one knee to check the injury. Afraid that Ye Ci would step on the ground with his injured foot, he reached out and grabbed it in a hurry, but couldn't help but didn't want to let go.
That handshake was the only physical contact they had had since they got married, and he couldn't help but savor it over and over again.
The calves were thin but strong, as tough and slender as springbok, and one could feel the vigorous and youthful vitality beneath the skin.
If such a pair of legs were tied with an elastic band, no matter how tight the muscles were, they would inevitably be tied...
Don't think about it.
I thought about it but couldn't do anything, and was tortured in vain.
Huo Tinglan waved away those tainted thoughts with self-mockery.
The alpha gland at the back of the neck began to stir again.
His current susceptibility period has been delayed for more than a month by pheromone soothing treatment, and it is almost reaching its limit...
He couldn't bear the responsibility of Ye Ci's words "You are a good person", and he didn't want to bear it anymore.