Are His Lips Red Too?

Chapter Nineteen

The culprit had no intention of hiding his malice.

His raised brows and eyes were arrogant and insolent, and a short, contemptuous snort escaped his throat.

Ye Nanxun glanced at him, then lowered his eyes to avoid meeting Zhu Shixin's gaze.

Like a vicious dog bullying others by the roadside, once it accidentally locked eyes with someone, it would bark madly without end.

Zhu Shixin was just such an unreasonable, highly aggressive vicious dog.

In his previous life, Zhu Shixin had tried to grope Ye Nanxun. Though he had failed because of Ye Nanxun's Poison Mushroom pheromones, he had flown into a rage from humiliation and beaten Ye Nanxun viciously.

Pain throbbed through his right shoulder, but compared to being kicked by Zhu Shixin until he vomited blood in his previous life, it was nothing.

Ye Nanxun lowered his head in silence. Now was not a good time to confront Zhu Shixin.

Though he now had some acquaintance with Jiang Yuenian, it was only "some acquaintance."

He was not foolish enough to think that someone would stand up for him merely because of such a tiny connection.

Even someone as high-status as He Lanxue could not control her own life, much less him.

One hand hanging within his sleeve clenched tightly into a fist, then slowly relaxed. A strand of mycelium, nearly impossible to see with the naked eye, slowly extended from his fingertips.

He was simply unwilling to accept it, unable to swallow his anger.

Having deliberately bumped into him from behind, Zhu Shixin flashed a provocative smile at the omega with that aloof expression after getting his way.

He did not see the anger he had expected.

The omega who had been bumped supported his injured right shoulder with his left hand. His fair face was half-hidden behind slightly curled black hair, making it appear even whiter and brighter than the snow around them.

His thick lashes hung low, obscuring the look in his eyes. Only the rounded, upturned tip of his nose was faintly red.

He looked a little aggrieved, as though the collision had hurt him.

Zhu Shixin stared at that spot of red, his gaze traveling downward until it landed on the charcoal-gray scarf covering the lower half of Ye Nanxun's face.

Were this guy's lips red too?

The thought inexplicably surfaced in Zhu Shixin's mind.

He had always done whatever he wanted. Lifting his leg, he started toward Ye Nanxun.

He would pull off the scarf and see the lips hidden beneath it.

"What are you doing, Zhu Shixin?"

He Lanxue's furious shout shattered the silence. Zhu Shixin's leg, which had not yet risen fully, dropped back down.

He Lanxue smiled and greeted Ye Nanxun. "Nan Xun, where do you live? We'll give you a ride home!"

Ye Nanxun had chatted with He Lanxue a little that afternoon, and they had added each other as friends, so they were no longer so formal in how they addressed one another.

Ye Nanxun politely declined. "No need. My dad is already here to pick me up."

Zhu Shixin let out a sneer. "Are you a kid? You still need your daddy to pick you up?"

Unable to stand Zhu Shixin constantly targeting Ye Nanxun, He Lanxue began arguing with Zhu Shixin again.

"Let's go."

A cold voice put an end to their meaningless quarrel.

The tall, upright alpha stepped out of the driver's seat. He Yiming swept a rather indifferent glance over them. "Zhu Shixin, drive."

Rubbing his nose, Zhu Shixin got into the driver's seat.

He Lanxue returned to the car as well, waving at Ye Nanxun through the window. "We're leaving, Nan Xun. Bye-bye."

The phone in his pocket began to vibrate.

The mycelium at his fingertips slowly withdrew. Ye Nanxun took out his phone. "Dad, I'll be right out."

On the way home, Ye Nanxun sat in the front passenger seat and smiled as he told his father about the afternoon's rehearsal.

Once home, he returned to his room alone, and the gentle smile on his face gradually faded.

He took off his scarf and coat, hanging them on the hook. Standing before the mirror, Ye Nanxun used his slender, pale fingers to roll up the hem of his turtleneck sweater.

He removed his upper clothes one by one, revealing smooth, evenly proportioned pale skin. Only the back of his right shoulder was bruised purple-blue.

After finding some ointment and applying it to the bruise, Ye Nanxun put his clothes back on one piece at a time.

He sat quietly by the bed, both palms pressed against the clean, soft bedding on either side. Regarding what had happened that afternoon, a thought in his heart grew increasingly certain.

Some people, some things.

Even if he tried his best to avoid them and never provoked them, they would still come looking for him.

Ye Nanxun appeared relaxed, as though he had not taken Zhu Shixin's malicious shoulder bump to heart.

His unfocused gaze gathered again, its focus falling precisely on the charcoal-gray scarf hanging from the hook.

His eyes froze for an instant.

An eager, restless emotion nearly leaped from his emerald-green eyes, only to be forcibly suppressed.

A buzzing sound came from the bedside not far away.

Glancing at the phone on the nightstand, Ye Nanxun walked over and opened the latest message.

Ye Zhineng: Ye Nanxun, we're going skiing tomorrow. Come with us.

Little Mushroom: Sorry, Cousin. I promised to help Teacher Jiang this week. You all have fun. I won't be going.

After replying, Ye Nanxun turned off his phone screen.

His parents called him downstairs for dinner. Ye Nanxun put down his phone, rose, and left the room.

Elsewhere, Ye Zhineng looked at Ye Nanxun's reply, his gaze settling on the words "Teacher Jiang."

The several young alpha heirs beside him impatiently pressed, "Well? Is Nan Xun coming tomorrow or not?"

They had not even seen him, and they were complete strangers, yet they could so intimately call him "Nan Xun."

Ye Zhineng shook his head.

Someone immediately frowned in displeasure and gave a cold laugh. "Seriously? Ye Zhineng, what's with your cousin? You can't even get him to come out?"

He had refused their friend requests and repeatedly declined invitations to go out.

The little patience they had initially possessed was nearly exhausted.

Another person spoke with a mocking undertone. "Your cousin has quite the temper."

Ye Zhineng turned the phone around in his palm and showed them his chat history with Ye Nanxun.

"He has to help Teacher Jiang this week, so he can't come," Ye Zhineng said.

Seeing the chat screen, the expressions of the alphas, who had been holding back their anger and whose attitudes toward Ye Nanxun had sharply soured, eased somewhat.

The one who had just spoken mockingly suddenly smiled, a glimmer flashing in his dark eyes. "Teacher Jiang? That must be Teacher Jiang Yuenian!"

The alpha who had sneered earlier also became amiable again. "It's General Zhu's birthday this week. In previous years, Teacher Jiang personally planned the birthday banquet. Nan Xun must be helping Teacher Jiang prepare for it."

Ye Zhineng was not from Dream Star, but he had always known how to read the room.

Putting away his phone, Ye Zhineng said casually, "Then Nan Xun will probably perform piano at General Zhu's birthday banquet. If you want to see him..."

Someone cut Ye Zhineng off and said with a bitter smile, "General Zhu's birthday banquet only ever invites a small number of friends. What business would juniors like us have there?"

The group that had previously thought Ye Nanxun was "bad-tempered and stuck-up" now began praising him instead, warmly calling Ye Zhineng brother.

Ye Zhineng sat to one side and listened quietly.

His beautiful cousin was more useful than he had imagined.