Ji Chi looked at the key card, then at the expressionless Huo Jin before him, and suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
Why the hell was he panicking?
Wasn't this perfect? Letting Huo Jin know he had a boyfriend would only make his determination not to submit even clearer.
With that thought, Ji Chi simply picked up the key card.
Holding it between his fingers, he asked Yan Le gently, "How could you be so careless?"
A chill seeped into Huo Jin's dark eyes as he deliberately swept his gaze over the two of them. Whether intentionally or not, his emotions were no longer so hard to read. "Got yourself a little boyfriend?"
For some reason, Ji Chi felt that all the warmth in Huo Jin had vanished when he said that, replaced by a cold indifference that suited his face just as well.
Ji Chi lifted his chin slightly. "Yeah. This is my type."
"You like Milk Candy Scent Omegas?" Huo Jin asked, raising his eyes.
Yan Le pressed his lips together. "Judge Huo, my pheromones have a strawberry ice cream scent, not a milk candy scent."
"Shut up." One look from Huo Jin, and Yan Le immediately lowered his head. "Oh..."
"What kind of Omega I like is none of your damn business," Ji Chi demanded viciously.
"That's your freedom." As he spoke, Huo Jin stepped closer to Ji Chi, his tall figure radiating pressure. "But given your current physical condition, I suggest you don't casually get yourself a boyfriend."
Standing between them, Yan Le suddenly shook his head. "Hey, didn't you say we only had to fool that Song Lin guy just now? Fooling two people costs extra."
Ji Chi's eyes widened. *????*
Someone just kill him!
Ji Chi faintly heard Huo Jin let out a breathy chuckle.
But when he looked up, all he saw was that same stern face.
Ji Chi snorted. The subtle atmosphere between them was strangely awkward. "Stay out of my fucking business."
With that, he turned and headed outside.
Yan Le glanced at Ji Chi, then turned back to Huo Jin. "I don't think he likes Milk Candy Scent Omegas."
Then Yan Le raised his eyebrows at Huo Jin. "But you definitely like Plum Wine Scent Alphas."
Yan Le raised a hand and clenched it into a fist. "You can do it, Senior Huo!"
After Yan Le left, Huo Jin raised a hand and rubbed between his brows.
Huo Jin looked toward Ji Chi's retreating figure, then opened the cabinet behind his desk.
He took out two stuffed rabbits, each about the size of a person's head. "Commemorative Rabbits from the CE Experimental Institute. Take them as keepsakes."
"Are you allowed to just give these away?" Yan Le was so excited that his hands shook.
He remembered that only fifty of these Commemorative Rabbits had been released, and their price had even been driven up to a hundred thousand each.
And now Huo Jin was just casually giving him two?
"Thank you, Judge Huo! I'll pass his along!"
Grinning, Yan Le hugged the two rabbits and ran after Ji Chi. By the time he reached him, he could barely contain his excitement.
"Hey, hey! Judge Huo gave us two Commemorative Rabbits!"
Yan Le waved one of the rabbits in front of Ji Chi.
"Do you know about these rabbits? Because of CE Laboratory's special standing in society, they cost more than designer streetwear. He gave us one each, just like that!"
"They even have the Supreme Authority's logo."
"So cool!"
Ji Chi didn't hear what Yan Le said. All he noticed was the faint cool sandalwood scent of pheromones on one of the plush rabbits.
It was the scent of Huo Jin's pheromones...
There was no denying it. Feelings aside, he liked this scent.
Every limb, every bone, even the blood coursing through his veins liked it. It was a physiological attraction, because Huo Jin had marked him.
Ji Chi stared at the Little Bunny in front of him. After a long while, he couldn't resist reaching out to touch it.
What did Huo Jin mean by this?
Was he afraid Ji Chi wouldn't be able to resist coming to find him, so he'd given him a rabbit carrying his pheromones?
Huo Jin's pheromones really could calm him when he was restless.
They could even help him sleep a little better.
Ji Chi rubbed his knuckles, his thoughts a jumble.
Anyway... he wouldn't be seeing Huo Jin again anyway. There was nothing wrong with accepting a rabbit.
You need to look out for yourself more, Ji Chi.
He pointed at the rabbit carrying the pheromones. "Then I'll take this one."
"Okay." Yan Le handed Ji Chi the rabbit he had chosen. "Here you go."
Ji Chi took the rabbit and got into the car, holding it by its two long ears.
After dropping Yan Le off, Ji Chi only returned home when dawn was approaching.
Once he had washed up and gotten into bed, he set the Little Bunny to one side and turned his back to it to sleep.
Two minutes later, he turned over again. Ji Chi reached out and stroked the Little Bunny's ears. The pheromones on it were faint.
The closer he got, the clearer and stronger the scent became.
Ever since that last time, Ji Chi had spent every day choosing between insomnia and sleeping pills.
He took a deep breath and moved the Little Bunny closer.
The Cold Purple Sandalwood pheromones made Ji Chi feel safe and comfortable, soothing his restlessness. In the end, he simply pulled the Little Bunny into his arms.
These weren't Huo Jin's ordinary pheromones.
They were soothing pheromones.
The faint pheromones lingered over his skin and in his nose. Without realizing it, Ji Chi nuzzled the Little Bunny and even kissed it.
When he realized what he had done, Ji Chi froze for two seconds.
What had he just been doing?
Ji Chi looked down at the rabbit in his arms again. It was just too cute, so he hadn't been able to resist.
Yes, that was it.
Thanks to the soothing pheromones, drowsiness came quickly that night, and Ji Chi slept especially soundly.
The rabbit was very cute, and Ji Chi liked it very much.
The next morning, the housekeeper came upstairs to tidy up. Seeing her reach for the rabbit, Ji Chi quickly walked over and took it. "It doesn't need washing."
"Of course, young master."
"It won't need washing in the future, either."
The housekeeper didn't understand. Wasn't the young master of the Ji family a stickler for cleanliness? She had never heard the words "doesn't need washing" come out of his mouth before. "All right, I'll remember."
"You seem very fond of it. Was it a gift from a friend?" the housekeeper asked with a smile.
"I found it in the trash."
"..." The housekeeper scratched her head. "It's quite cute."
Ji Chi stroked the rabbit's fur and squeezed its face out of shape. "Ugly thing."
For the next month, Ji Chi could only sleep peacefully by holding that rabbit every night.
And every night, as he held it, he would inexplicably think of Huo Jin's face-gentle, wicked, stern, in bed and out of it. All those different sides of him kept lingering in his mind.
Ji Chi hadn't let those memories fade. If anything, thinking about him day after day had only made his memories of Huo Jin clearer.
"Ugly thing!"
The Little Bunny took another punch.
It was the 208th time it had been punched that month.
That morning, Ji Chi got up and went to the dining room for breakfast. The atmosphere at the table was particularly oppressive.
After eating a couple of perfunctory bites, Ji Shengming left for the company, leaving Ji Chi alone with his Omega father, Lin Jun.
Lin Jun had delicate features. At forty, he looked little different from men in their early thirties. Ji Chi didn't get along with his biological father; the only person he listened to in this family was Lin Jun.
Lin Jun set down his chopsticks and glanced at Ji Chi. "Chi."
Ji Chi hummed in acknowledgment and poured Lin Jun half a glass of warm water. "What's wrong, Dad? Did something happen at the company?"
Lin Jun picked up the glass beside him and turned it in his hands, unable to take even a sip. "I heard you know Huo Jin. Is that true?"
At those words, Ji Chi choked on the breakfast in his mouth and immediately began coughing violently.
"Cough, cough, cough..." Ji Chi picked up the ice water beside him and gulped down a huge mouthful.
"I don't know him." The hand holding Ji Chi's glass trembled slightly. "I don't know him."
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