By the time the Production Team finished sorting through the footage from Hot Spring City, it was already midnight. They still hadn't received a call from Ning Chunchi or Jiang Yumiao.
Director Yang pursed his lips and told the crew, "Get some rest, everyone. Those two are probably enjoying their alone time. They won't let us film them."
One of the "two" Director Yang had mentioned was currently fast asleep, his head resting on the other's arm as he sank into a sweet dream.
The other, Ning Chunchi, let his gaze linger on Jiang Yumiao's peaceful sleeping face, his eyes filled with an intensity of feeling he hadn't even recognized himself.
After a long while, he closed his eyes too, slipping into dreams with the Omega in his arms.
Jiang Yumiao felt as though he'd had a long, wonderful dream. It had been ages since he'd slept so peacefully, without having to worry about getting up early for work the next day or whether his living allowance would cover the month's expenses. Something warm enveloped him, as if all he needed to do was stay beside it and sleep soundly.
He opened his eyes, his long, curled lashes lifting to reveal Ning Chunchi's chest.
His drowsiness vanished instantly. Jiang Yumiao's eyes flew wide as scenes from the night before flashed through his mind.
Help-had he drunk some dodgy booze last night? First he'd suspected the second male lead of seducing him, then he'd taken the initiative and invited him to mark him. And finally, he'd spent the whole night sleeping in his arms!
It had to be this room's fault, and this bed's!!!
Why did they have to put up such suggestive bed curtains!
Jiang Yumiao's face burned crimson. He glanced up at Ning Chunchi and found his long lashes lowered, his eyes firmly shut. He hadn't woken yet.
Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the bed curtains and fell across Ning Chunchi's face, bathing his sleeping features in a holy glow. There was no trace of the fiercely aggressive man from last night.
Jiang Yumiao stayed quietly in Ning Chunchi's embrace, blushing as he admired the second male lead's sleeping face for a while.
Ning Chunchi really was so handsome...
His brows and eyes had an elegant nobility, his nose was high and straight, and his features were sharply defined. When he wasn't smiling, the curve of his lips carried an innate hint of cold indifference.
Jiang Yumiao buried his face in his embrace and secretly breathed in the scent of cedar and ocean. Fully recharged!
He couldn't keep lingering in these arms. It would only make him greedier, make him want to beg for more.
Jiang Yumiao slowly sat up and climbed out of bed with gentle movements, afraid of waking the Alpha.
Little did he know that Ning Chunchi had opened his eyes the moment he sat up. More precisely, he had woken before Jiang Yumiao and had already spent an hour watching the Omega before he woke.
Watching Jiang Yumiao enter the bathroom, Ning Chunchi lazily rolled onto his back and raised the arm Jiang Yumiao had slept on all night to cover his eyes. How could he never get tired of looking at him...?
Cold water splashed against his face and trickled down his cheeks. Only then did Jiang Yumiao feel fully awake.
The subtle sensation at the back of his neck kept reminding him that Ning Chunchi had reinforced the temporary mark.
Jiang Yumiao reached back to touch his gland. A grape-patterned gland patch covered it again. Ning Chunchi must have put it on him after he fell asleep.
The corners of the Omega's mouth in the mirror lifted into a sweet smile. Jiang Yumiao happened to look up and caught sight of himself.
Fuck, why did he look so lovestruck! Jiang Yumiao hurriedly cupped some water in both hands and patted his face twice, trying to suppress that smile. He failed.
In the end, Jiang Yumiao let himself smile. After all this, how could he still be unsure of his feelings? He really had fallen for Ning Chunchi.
Jiang Yumiao liked Ning Chunchi.
Just thinking that sentence made him blush and his heart race.
He'd been single his entire life. This was the first time anyone had made him feel something so extraordinary.
When Jiang Yumiao came out, Ning Chunchi had already changed.
Before they'd left for Hot Spring City yesterday, Director Yang had asked everyone to bring a change of clothes. That way, anyone chosen to stay overnight could have a fresh look the next day.
Ning Chunchi wore another impeccably chosen black shirt today. The island's warm climate would have allowed for short sleeves, but that wasn't the second male lead's style.
The contrast between his refined, restrained appearance in public and his unbridled, obsessive nature in private was so great that Jiang Yumiao couldn't resist him.
Jiang Yumiao couldn't help thinking, Only I know... what the second male lead is like in private.
That realization sent inexplicable ripples through his heart, along with a faint trace of possessiveness.
These were all feelings he had never experienced before.
Seeing Jiang Yumiao come out, Ning Chunchi smiled at him, then went into the bathroom to wash up himself.
Just then, Ning Chunchi's phone rang on the table.
Jiang Yumiao leaned over to look. It was a call from Yang Qi. He called toward the bathroom, "President Ning, Director Yang's calling."
Ning Chunchi's voice came through the door, telling Jiang Yumiao to answer.
Jiang Yumiao paused, then gently picked up Ning Chunchi's phone, his ears turning pink. He had few friends and had always felt that answering someone else's phone was something only people with a very close relationship could do.
Director Yang said casually, "Is our big-shot CEO Ning awake? Feeling pretty pleased with yourself last night, huh?"
Jiang Yumiao gave a soft cough. "...Director Yang, it's Jiang Yumiao. President Ning's washing up. He asked me to answer for him."
Director Yang sucked in a breath, seemingly startled, then did his best to suppress it and quickly recovered. "Huh? Oh, it's you, Yumiao. Well, haha, uh, how was last night? Were you happy with the luxury king room the Production Team booked?" Before Jiang Yumiao could answer, he lowered his voice and added, "You're okay, right? President Ning didn't do anything to you, did he?"
Jiang Yumiao fell silent for a moment. Did being marked again count as "doing anything"?
"I fell asleep as soon as I lay down last night. I slept really well," Jiang Yumiao replied after some thought. "President Ning took good care of me. Don't worry, Director."
Director Yang said sheepishly, "That's good. You're still in your special phase, so taking part in an activity like this was quite a risk. But Ning Chunchi had already given you a temporary mark, so it was all right as long as you were paired with him. If you'd been with another Alpha, the Production Team probably would've had to change this segment."
"I understand," Jiang Yumiao agreed. "Sorry for all the trouble."
Director Yang laughed heartily. "It's our job as the Production Team. Don't worry about it. You don't need to go back to the house later. Head straight to the yacht marina on East Xia Island. Today's activity will be aboard a yacht."
Jiang Yumiao checked the time. It was already ten in the morning.
Director Yang added, "Have lunch before you come over. We're meeting at one this afternoon. There's something planned for tonight, so we'll probably be filming pretty late."
"Okay," Jiang Yumiao replied.
Once the call ended, Ning Chunchi emerged, having finished getting ready. The loose strands over his forehead had been swept back, revealing his smooth forehead and making his finely drawn features and cool, refined bearing even more striking.
Jiang Yumiao stared, entranced, for another few seconds. When he heard the second male lead chuckle softly, he hurriedly looked away and repeated what Director Yang had said.
Ning Chunchi nodded in acknowledgment.
Jiang Yumiao was wearing the outfit Amelia had put together for him yesterday: a crew-neck base layer beneath a flowing long robe patterned with misty, ink-wash clouds, giving him a distinctly Zen air.
But he didn't know how to tie his hair up, so he could only comb it and leave it loose down his back. Once he went outside, the sea breeze would probably blow it into such a mess that he'd look like a little lunatic.
As he worriedly ran his fingers through the silky long hair in his hands, Ning Chunchi suddenly approached, narrowed his eyes as he studied him for a moment, then picked up his phone and made a call.
Jiang Yumiao heard Ning Chunchi say into the phone, "Come to my room now."
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