Chapter Fifty
If he were at home, Ye Nanxun would have had a glass of juice or red wine while soaking in the tub, along with some fruit or snacks, then leaned back in the hot water to watch the news or cartoons.
Yan Beiyou had told him to treat this place like his own home and make himself comfortable.
But even so, Ye Nanxun was not familiar enough with him to go that far.
Just soaking in the hot water for a while was already incredibly relaxing, washing away the exhaustion of the day.
After coming out of the bathroom, stepping into his fuzzy slippers, and changing into cotton pajamas, Ye Nanxun made sure Mushroom Egg, which had been placed on the bed earlier, was safe and sound. Then, holding a soft dry towel, he gently dried his half-damp long hair.
Little Dragon's barking sounded from outside the door. Ye Nanxun hurried over and opened it. Mushroom Egg, which had been lying peacefully on the bed as if asleep, rolled off the bed with a rumble.
It landed on the soft carpet with a thud, then rolled out through the doorway right before Ye Nanxun's eyes.
He let out a startled cry. Forgetting all about drying his hair, Ye Nanxun ran out with the towel in hand, keeping his eyes fixed on Mushroom Egg as he followed it farther and farther away.
"Wait, where are you going?"
The omega was a little flustered. Mushroom Egg would usually wriggle around restlessly, but it had never been this disobedient before, directly rolling away like this.
His slender, supple waist bent down as Ye Nanxun reached several times for Mushroom Egg. Just as he was about to touch it, Mushroom Egg suddenly sped up again.
Ye Nanxun was getting annoyed. He glanced down at the towel still clutched in his hand, quickened his pace from a jog into a run, and stared intently at Mushroom Egg.
The mischievous Mushroom Egg suddenly sprang up from the floor with a whoosh.
Ye Nanxun spread the towel open with both hands and pounced.
A large hand reached out and steadily caught Mushroom Egg in midair.
Ye Nanxun's towel missed Mushroom Egg. By the time he saw Yan Beiyou, it was already too late. His body pitched forward, his fuzzy slipper slipped from beneath his smooth sole, and he instinctively shut his eyes.
The entire fall and collision lasted only a second.
The violent impact and pain he had imagined never came.
When Ye Nanxun was little, he had read many fun, adorable picture books and watched cartoons. There were clouds as soft and springy as cotton candy, and with a balloon in hand, one could fly high into the sky and travel around the world.
Later, when he grew up, he learned that clouds were not cotton candy. They were neither soft nor springy, merely collections of tiny water droplets and ice crystals.
When a balloon rose high into the air, it would keep expanding as atmospheric pressure decreased before finally bursting into fragments.
Ye Nanxun felt as though he had somehow wandered into the world of his childhood cartoons.
In cartoons, little characters slipped, sending their slippers flying everywhere.
Adults were battered to pieces by reality, their flesh bruised and their bones aching.
But the little character in the cartoon crashed into a bouquet of rose fragrance infused with sunlight. An unseen force gently bounced his body back, like refreshingly sweet-and-tart jelly, or a fluffy, soft cloud.
Ye Nanxun froze for a moment. He had clearly hit Yan Beiyou—headfirst into the alpha's chest.
Why had it not hurt at all?
The rose fragrance lingering around his nose was real, but had the sensation of being held up by an invisible force just now been real too?
"The towel smells nice," the alpha said, seemingly with a soft laugh.
"Mr. Yan, are you all right?"
The towel had first been used to dry his hair, then to try to capture the mischievous Mushroom Egg. It had failed to catch Mushroom Egg, but it had caught a tall, handsome alpha instead.
Ye Nanxun gripped each end of the towel in his hands, while the middle covered Yan Beiyou's head and face.
Ye Nanxun hurriedly released it, and the towel fell from the alpha's head and face.
Little by little, it revealed a handsome face with a faint smile.
Slightly messy short black hair, a smooth forehead, captivating eyes, a high nose bridge...
Too close.
Even closer than when they had danced on New Year's Eve.
Yan Beiyou's eyelashes were long and black, not curled but naturally lowered. The gaze beneath them was hazy, like shadows of leaves gently swaying in the sunlight.
Even the omega who prided himself on his composure could not help blanking for a moment. Ye Nanxun tried to shift his gaze away from the alpha's as naturally as possible.
But as his gaze lowered, he caught sight of their chests pressed tightly together.
The room was very warm. Having just finished bathing, Ye Nanxun wore only loose, thin satin pajamas. The collar hung slightly open, exposing his beautifully shaped collarbones and a stretch of fair chest still carrying a dewy warmth.
Yan Beiyou had probably returned only recently. His coat hung on a hook nearby, while he wore a thin, breathable black shirt on his upper body.
The warmth and feel of their flesh pressed together vaguely through the two thin layers of fabric.
Yan Beiyou said, "I'm fine."
Ye Nanxun stepped back, trying to silently put some distance between them.
The force around his lower back stopped him.
One of the alpha's hands held Mushroom Egg, while the other had wrapped around the omega's waist when he pounced over.
The sleeves of Yan Beiyou's black shirt were rolled up to his elbows, revealing firm, smoothly defined forearms. Veins stood out faintly beneath his skin, and his large palm, dry and scorching hot, tightly held the omega's slender yet supple lower back.
Yan Beiyou quickly released Ye Nanxun's lower back.
Holding the towel, Ye Nanxun took a step back. One slipper was still on his foot, while the other had flown off somewhere.
The humidity and temperature in the house were always kept at the most comfortable levels, yet the air now somehow felt several degrees more stifling.
Could there possibly be a moment more awkward than this?
His ears reddened, and the toes of his bare foot curled uncontrollably against the floor.
Ye Nanxun gave an awkward laugh. Just as he lowered his head to look for his slipper, Mushroom Egg, which had remained quiet in the alpha's hand, suddenly started acting up again without warning, rolling toward the omega's retreating foot.
"Ah—"
His sole, which had just landed on the floor, slipped across Mushroom Egg's smooth shell, and the omega toppled backward.
The alpha, who had only just released the omega's lower back, caught Ye Nanxun in his arms once again.
This time, he dropped to his knees and held him with both hands.
With one hand around Ye Nanxun's lower back and the other cradling the back of his head, Yan Beiyou guided him down to sit on the floor.
They looked at each other. Then, as if by unspoken agreement, they laughed, breaking the awkwardness.
Yan Beiyou said, "Was this little thing messing with you like that just now?"
Ye Nanxun nodded hard. He could now be certain that Mushroom Egg had done it on purpose.
Yan Beiyou chuckled. "I'll help you teach it a lesson."
Having done something "bad," Mushroom Egg rolled slowly and silently toward the space behind the sofa.
"Little Dragon!" the alpha called.
"Woof—"
Little Yellow Dog pumped his short little legs, bouncing and running as he pounced toward Mushroom Egg.
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