Chapter 46: A Fight Breaks Out
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The sun outside climbed to its zenith, but Shen Yao remained asleep. He was exhausted to the point where he couldn’t even move his fingers. His sleeping face was peaceful and beautiful, with a hint of pitifulness in his swollen eyelids.
Xu Yibai propped his head with his arm, holding him tightly. He hadn’t slept at all, his dark eyes devoid of any signs of drowsiness.
The floor had been cleaned up; the things he had knocked down last night and the fragments of the table lamp had all been picked up by Xu Yibai. He silently lowered his head, and their foreheads touched briefly. After confirming that Shen Yao had no fever, he adjusted their position and lifted Shen Yao a bit higher.
In this way, he could rest his face against Shen Yao’s shoulder and neck.
He could smell the lingering fragrance of apricot blossoms enveloping Shen Yao, and he could feel the temporary marks he left on Shen Yao’s body.
The bite marks were deep, and they should last for a long time. But it wasn’t enough, it would never be enough.
Temporary marks couldn’t keep Shen Yao, only lifelong marks could.
As long as he marked Shen Yao for life, he would resist the scent of other alphas. He was like a free and beautiful butterfly, but his wings would be shackled.
He could only rest on blue wind chimes, landing on his palm.
Unconsciously, Xu Yibai tightened his arm. Hearing a muffled groan from Shen Yao, indicating his discomfort, he didn’t release his grip but instead focused his gaze on Shen Yao’s glands, as if trying to see through them.
His palm gently caressed Shen Yao’s back, feeling the thinness of his bones, the lack of flesh compared to the weight he controlled while dancing.
Time passed, and the person in Xu Yibai’s embrace stirred slightly, slowly opening his eyes.
Xu Yibai finally loosened his hold, at least giving Shen Yao enough space to breathe. He asked, “Are you awake?”
Shen Yao, who had just woken up, furrowed his brows, and his lips moved. Before Shen Yao could speak, Xu Yibai got up and walked out.
After a while, he returned with a cup of warm water. Xu Yibai evaded Shen Yao’s reaching hand and sat by the bedside, personally feeding Shen Yao sip by sip.
He enjoyed the feeling of taking care of Shen Yao, with deliberate and unhurried movements. He would feed for a while, pause, watch Shen Yao’s Adam’s apple move, and then continue feeding.
Shen Yao felt his throat, which had been burning, finally getting better. He turned his head and looked around. Not finding what he was looking for, he then spread his hands towards Xu Yibai and asked, “Xu Yibai, where’s my phone?”
His voice was naturally gentle, devoid of anger, as if the memories from last night didn’t exist.
“What do you need your phone for?” Xu Yibai finished the remaining water in the cup and casually toyed with it before speaking, “If you’re bored and want to play, I can give you mine.”
There wasn’t much in Shen Yao’s phone as he had the habit of regular cleaning. Xu Yibai tried to find traces of Yan Zhixing, but he couldn’t. He could only find a few conversations between Shen Yao and Chen Shuang.
He couldn’t find Guan Shu’s existence either. Despite the lack of evidence, Xu Yibai’s suspicion grew heavier.
Because he couldn’t find his own traces either. The thousands of messages from the past, only he had kept them, while Shen Yao had deleted them all.
For Shen Yao, anything could be erased, let alone chat records with other alphas.
Xu Yibai almost wanted to point at the contacts in the phonebook and question them one by one, but he suppressed that impulse.
“I want to take a leave.” Shen Yao’s open palm remained open, his gaze sharp and fearless in front of Xu Yibai. “It’s almost evening now, and I haven’t shown up at the dance troupe all day. The teacher will be looking for me.”
Xu Yibai scrutinized Shen Yao’s expression and finally returned the phone to his hand. He held Shen Yao tightly from behind, but his gaze didn’t shift from the phone screen.
Following his instructions, Shen Yao only exchanged a brief word with concerned Zhuo Ran, and even handed the phone back again. It was as if he was fully aware of his situation and understood that he had to comply with Xu Yibai’s intentions.
“You installed a tracker on my phone.”
Shen Yao’s eyebrows and eyes were delicately outlined, as if drawn with a fine brush, clean and precise. His pupils were clear, without any impurities.
Only after a while, he added, “Isn’t that right?”
Being so close, Xu Yibai saw his own reflection in Shen Yao’s eyes. His Adam’s apple rolled, and he guessed, “Guan Shu told you, didn’t he? You spent some time with him.”
During that time, Xu Yibai was isolated in the hospital, unaware of everything, unable to stop anything.
Unconsciously, Xu Yibai clenched his fist, and the veins on his neck became visible. His eyes didn’t blink, staring intensely at Shen Yao as he asked, “Do you think you’ve unilaterally broken up with me?! Do you think I won’t bother you anymore, so you went back to sleeping with Guan Shu, is that it?!”
“You said you don’t like him, but I feel like you’re just using me as his substitute?!”
Shen Yao frowned upon hearing this. Xu Yibai had already asked this question yesterday, and he had a serious misunderstanding about Shen Yao’s relationship with Guan Shu.
They didn’t look alike, their personalities were different, yet Xu Yibai seemed eager to cast himself as Guan Shu’s replacement.
“No, it’s not like that.”
Compared to Xu Yibai’s loss of control, Shen Yao calmly replied, “You should remember the alpha I met in my freshman year, right? I ran into him again.”
Xu Yibai was briefly stunned, then he grabbed Shen Yao’s arm and carefully examined him from head to toe, his expression revealing a hint of murderous intent, barely contained. “Did he hurt you?!”
“No,” Shen Yao reassured him and even patted him a few times in return. He smiled faintly, “Guan Shu saved me. Nothing happened between us. What you saw on the tracker was him bringing me home and helping me with medication.”
“I don’t know how you knew he couldn’t come, but you must have heard that he recently got into trouble due to violent law enforcement, right?”
Shen Yao sighed with concern, “Guan Shu got into a fight with a few alphas because of me. He nearly killed them for my sake.”
In this situation, Xu Yibai had no idea how to react when he heard the name that had already consumed him with jealousy.
Just when Shen Yao needed the most protection, Guan Shu appeared. Xu Yibai envied that Guan Shu showed up at that critical moment and did what Xu Yibai should have done.
He also resented himself. Why was he isolated in the hospital at that time?! He didn’t notice anything wrong with Shen Yao lingering in the alley for so long. He didn’t even know that Shen Yao had experienced such a dangerous situation. He simply thought that Shen Yao was cheating on him again.
“Where?” Xu Yibai’s lips trembled as he anxiously asked, reaching out to lift Shen Yao’s clothes to confirm where the injuries were. He wanted to see the bruises inflicted by that alpha.
“He kicked me in the stomach and pulled my hair. This whole area was bruised,” Shen Yao willingly lifted his shirt to show him, his fingers sliding over his abdomen as he described it. However, apart from the marks on his waist, everything else was no longer visible.
Shen Yao continued to explain, “But the ointment Guan Shu gave me was very effective. I used it for a few days, and the bruises disappeared.”
Xu Yibai’s first reaction was to touch the area, just like Guan Shu seeing Shen Yao’s wounds. His eyes became slightly red, “… Does it still hurt?”
Guan Shu… it was Guan Shu again! This was already the umpteenth time today that he had heard this name!
He just wanted time to turn back, to go back a few days. He wanted to be one step ahead of Guan Shu and save Shen Yao.
Xu Yibai was engulfed in darkness, gradually being consumed by it. But in the next moment, his spine stiffened because Shen Yao raised his hand and embraced his waist.
Like a bird returning to its nest, he leaned in, actively seeking comfort in Xu Yibai’s embrace, holding him tightly.
“In that dark alley, I was cornered by him. It wasn’t just him, there were many other alphas. I could sense the repulsive scent of strangers… and I was all alone.”
Xu Yibai’s voice trembled as he held Shen Yao, wanting to envelop him completely in his embrace.
“He said he wanted to mark me for life, and he brought a group of people to gang-rape me,” Shen Yao continued, his grip on Xu Yibai’s clothes tightening with each word. “The wound was so painful at that time, and I was so scared.”
“Brother, why didn’t you handle things properly back then?” Shen Yao didn’t blame him, using the same tone he used to playfully talk to Xu Yibai before, he softly said, “If you had handled it well, wouldn’t I have avoided such danger? Would I have needed Guan Shu to come and save me?”
Xu Yibai’s heart constricted, and he felt no blood flowing through his veins. His limbs became cold and stiff.
He had never experienced such intense remorse. It was because he hadn’t thought through things carefully enough and hadn’t handled the situation properly that the alpha could still find Shen Yao after being released.
A piercing ringing in his ears overwhelmed his brain, and Xu Yibai was filled with overwhelming regret. He couldn’t even form a complete sentence, only able to hear Shen Yao’s voice.
“Xu Yibai, I’m so hungry,” Shen Yao ordered him, “Go cook something for me, okay?”
As he watched Xu Yibai’s figure walk away, Shen Yao finally hid his expression. He lifted his gaze and stared at the clock hanging on the wall. He had no other choice but to delay for as long as possible.
Shen Yao spread open his palm, revealing a thin layer of sweat that betrayed his calm facade.
Xu Yibai walked into the kitchen, having already forgotten his initial preparations. Originally, once Shen Yao woke up, he should have carried Shen Yao back home.
Shen Yao disliked washing dishes and pots, as well as any kind of trouble. He rarely had the chance to cook. His refrigerator contained only a few eggs and some vegetables, while the cupboard still held the noodles that Xu Yibai had bought before, along with various condiments that filled the shelves.
Skillfully, he stood by the stove and lit the fire. His expression finally regained its warmth from before. These ingredients could only support him in making a very simple bowl of clear soup noodles, yet the presentation was surprisingly beautiful.
Shen Yao didn’t like eating in the room, so Xu Yibai carried the noodles outside. Placing the bowl on the table, he was about to call Shen Yao when his footsteps halted, and he looked up towards the door.
“Bang!”
The tightly closed door emitted a booming sound, causing the entire room to tremble. Before there was time for it to settle, the person outside forcefully kicked the door again with a resounding “bang!”
A crack formed in the door, and amidst the continuous noise, it grew wider, turning into a massive black hole.
“Bang!”
With one final strike, the wooden door collapsed after a heavy impact. Standing outside was an Alpha, tall in stature with a handsome face that carried a hint of ferocity. He wasn’t wearing a uniform today, instead dressed entirely in black.
He reached out to support himself on the door frame, abruptly lifting his gaze and locking eyes with Xu Yibai.
As soon as Guan Shu entered, he caught the lingering scent of pheromones in the air, strong and intertwined. With just one sniff, he could deduce what had happened here moments ago.
“Xu Yibai!”
Guan Shu’s face darkened, and he emitted a strong scent of blood. He seemed like a malevolent spirit crawling out of h*ll, instantly pouncing like a rabid dog.
Guan Shu moved swiftly, appearing in front of Xu Yibai in the blink of an eye. He reached out and forcefully yanked him.
“Crash!”
He threw Xu Yibai onto the coffee table, causing it to collapse instantly. The glass surface shattered into large pieces.
Guan Shu half-knelt on the shards of glass, his knuckles covered in wounds. He gripped Xu Yibai’s collar tightly, his voice chillingly cold as he spoke, “Do you think I wouldn’t dare to touch you? Let me tell you, in my entire life, Guan Shu has never feared anyone.”
Xu Yibai experienced intense pain on his back from the impact, along with wounds from the shattered glass, but he endured it without uttering a word of pain.
His hand groped on the ground and found a sharp fragment. With a touch, it cut his finger, and blood began to drip.
Xu Yibai stared intensely at Guan Shu, showing no signs of being in a disadvantaged position. His breathing remained calm as he questioned, “Guan Shu, are you addicted to being the third party? Or are you addicted to destroying other people’s relationships?”
They both harbored extremely malicious thoughts toward each other, wishing for the other’s demise and longing to possess Shen Yao exclusively.
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