Chapter Thirty-Six
"Dong—dong—dong—"
The bells rang, and fireworks soared into the sky, endlessly spreading from a small sapling into branches and leaves.
Until they became a green Tree of Life that occupied half the night sky.
When Ye Nanxun opened his eyes, the Tree of Life fireworks outside the window, formed from clusters of brilliantly burning little fireworks, happened to fill his view.
He did not remember when he had gone from the bed to the window.
When he pulled open the floor-to-ceiling glass door to the balcony, the music and New Year cheers that had been shut out before swept over him like a tsunami, swallowing Ye Nanxun whole in an instant.
He blankly took a step back and suddenly realized that this was not a dream.
"Why did you come out without putting on any clothes?"
A warm, heavy overcoat settled onto Ye Nanxun's shoulders.
A tall figure passed by his side before stopping on his right.
No matter how slow Ye Nanxun was, he understood now. He had actually slept through the end of the New Year's Eve banquet, all the way until the New Year bells rang.
"Sorry, I overslept."
His cheeks burned, while the wind blowing toward him carried the chill of snow.
The light screen shrouding the central square vanished the moment the New Year bells rang.
The square was still as lively as ever. People celebrated the New Year amid fireworks and music, singing and dancing without being affected in the slightest by the cold wind and falling snow.
"You don't need to apologize." Yan Beiyou raised his head slightly and watched the fireworks in the distance. "Happy New Year."
The green Tree of Life fireworks had already disappeared.
New fireworks lit up the sky.
Infected by the square's enthusiastic atmosphere, Ye Nanxun was in a very good mood. "Happy New Year, Your Majesty."
"Whoosh—"
It was a large white Big Mushroom firework.
Ye Nanxun stared at the Big Mushroom firework for a moment. He pressed his lips together slightly, wanting to ask something, and also wanting to glance at the alpha beside him.
But in the end, he asked nothing and did not look at Yan Beiyou's expression.
It was probably just a coincidence.
Tonight's fireworks included the green Tree of Life, a fiery red phoenix, a golden giant dragon, and some other strange and unusual designs.
A white Big Mushroom was nothing special either.
Yan Beiyou said, "It's almost half past midnight. Are you staying here tonight?"
Ye Nanxun lowered his head and rubbed his hands together. "I need to go home. I told my parents before I came that I'd be going home today."
Yan Beiyou smiled faintly. "What a good child."
He was no longer a child.
He had just turned nineteen last year and would soon be twenty this year.
Though he had not attended school for many years, he was now a university professor capable of supervising graduate students.
Ye Nanxun opened his mouth, then swallowed the words of protest.
Yan Beiyou had merely said it casually. Taking it seriously and arguing back would only make him seem childish.
"Song Ren has already gone back." Yan Beiyou turned around and pulled open the floor-to-ceiling glass door. "Come on. I'll take you home."
At the Imperial Palace, Yan Beiyou had used his real face while Ye Nanxun had been disguised.
Once they left the Imperial Palace, Yan Beiyou was the one in disguise, while Ye Nanxun returned to his original appearance.
Light green, watery eyes replaced ice-blue irises. In those eyes was reflected the still-lit estate, and Ye Nanxun knew his parents were still waiting for him to come home.
The black hovercar landed smoothly in front of the villa.
The cabin door opened. Just as Ye Nanxun was about to get out, the alpha behind him called out to him again.
"Nanxun."
Ye Nanxun stopped and turned around.
As though performing a magic trick, Yan Beiyou stuffed a pale yellow ball of fluff into his arms. "I've had a lot to do lately and don't have the energy to take care of Little Dragon. Please help me look after him this week."
Little Dragon.
So that little yellow mutt's name was Little Dragon.
Ye Nanxun instinctively reached out and caught the warm, fluffy Little Dragon. Little Dragon yawned and peacefully slept on in the omega's arms.
Had this little dog been in the car the whole time?
Without thinking too much about it, Ye Nanxun nodded. "Okay."
Yan Beiyou seemed to smile. "Has your shoulder healed?"
Even the sprained ankle had healed. A tiny shoulder injury from Zhu Shixin bumping into him had surely healed long ago as well.
Ye Nanxun gave a soft "Mm." "It's already healed."
"Good." Yan Beiyou watched the omega holding the puppy. "Go back, Nanxun. Goodbye."
"Your—" He nearly used the wrong form of address, but Ye Nanxun corrected himself in time. "Goodbye, Mr. Yan."
After getting out of the car, Ye Nanxun realized it had stopped snowing.
A layer of fallen snow covered the ground, crunching beneath his shoes.
When he reached the eaves, he looked back.
Only then did the black hovercar's cabin door slowly close. The inside was completely dark, but he could vaguely make out Yan Beiyou's gaze resting on him.
Ye Nanxun turned back, opened the door, and entered the house.
His parents had indeed been waiting for him. They were very curious about the Little Yellow Dog in his arms.
His mother, Chen Mingzhu, impatiently asked several questions.
"Is this the same car that brought you home last time? Was it that very tall and handsome alpha again?"
"What an adorable little mutt. Are you raising him together?"
Ye Nanxun could not help replying, "We aren't raising him together. He's been busy lately, so I'm looking after him for a week."
Chen Mingzhu smiled meaningfully. "Oh, a week."
Ye Nanxun hurried back to his room.
It was too late to prepare a dog bed now, so Ye Nanxun simply placed the puppy on his own bed.
Little Dragon slept very soundly. Not only was he clean, he also carried a faint rose fragrance.
After settling the puppy in, Ye Nanxun took a shower in the bathroom, changed into pajamas, and returned to the bedroom.
He quietly opened the door, padded downstairs in fuzzy slippers, opened a bottle of fresh milk and poured some into a cup, warmed it in the kitchen, then carried the hot milk back to his bedroom.
The room's main light was off. Only the bedside lamp on his side of the bed was on.
Ye Nanxun leaned against the headboard with a soft cushion behind his back.
He held the cup in one hand and took small sips of milk, while using the other to project his phone screen in front of him and casually browse the day's news.
Before he could even open a website, a new message popped up.
Mr. Yan: Little Dragon is afraid of strangers. Please take him with you when you go out too, Nanxun.
Ye Nanxun immediately replied.
Little Mushroom: Okay, I will.
Mr. Yan: Good night, Nanxun.
Little Mushroom: Good night.
There was no way he could sleep.
Ye Nanxun had slept for several hours that night and had only woken up around midnight. He was unusually alert now and could not fall asleep at all.
After exiting the chat window, a headline pushed across the entire network suddenly appeared in Ye Nanxun's view.
[For the First Time! The Galactic Emperor Dances into the New Year with a Mysterious, Stunning Omega!]
The accompanying image showed his disguised self dancing with Yan Beiyou.
Ye Nanxun felt as though something had exploded inside his head.
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