Why weren't you behaving?

Ji Chi's tone was fairly polite, and his attitude was better than yesterday.

Ji Chi: Mr. Huo, do you have time now?

Ji Chi: May I come up?

Ji Chi's phone vibrated once before the screen went dark.

Huo Jin: I'm not at the Research Institute.

Huo Jin: Give me two minutes.

Ji Chi replied with an okay and stood on the small steps outside the Laboratory.

He had prepared comprehensive materials today. If Huo Jin refused again, Boshen would have no choice but to wait.

The thought dampened Ji Chi's spirits.

He took the cigarettes out of his pocket, walked to a corner off to the side, and lit one. Wisps of smoke veiled his eyes, but the nicotine couldn't dispel his foul mood.

At least, it wasn't as effective as Huo Jin's pheromones.

He had only smoked half of it when, with his eyes lowered, he noticed a shadow darkening the ground at his feet.

He looked up, and before he could take another drag, the man in front of him plucked the cigarette away.

And stubbed it out.

It was Huo Jin.

After putting out Ji Chi's cigarette, he met his eyes. The thin haze dispersed quickly, leaving the bandage on Ji Chi's pale face particularly conspicuous.

The scrape ran vertically, so no matter how the bandage was positioned, a little of it remained exposed, showing traces of red.

Huo Jin stood directly in front of Ji Chi, the scene unexpectedly harmonious.

Ji Chi watched him toss the cigarette butt into a trash can. His lips parted, but he couldn't force out a single word.

Huo Jin's gaze frustrated him, too.

He felt exactly like a misbehaving student caught red-handed by a teacher.

Even though Huo Jin hadn't said a word.

Still, Ji Chi felt as though he could hear Huo Jin questioning him.

Why weren't you behaving?

"I don't like that smell." Huo Jin looked into his eyes.

"Don't smoke in front of me again."

Ji Chi needed a favor from Huo Jin right now, so naturally, he wouldn't go against his wishes.

He paused for a second before agreeing. Even he thought he sounded obedient. "Okay..."

As soon as he spoke, he saw Huo Jin hold out a hand. The man's handsome face looked more stern than gentle.

At first, Ji Chi didn't understand.

Tsk.

When it dawned on him, his brows drew together, and he took the entire pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and handed it to Huo Jin, along with the lighter.

This really fucking felt like having his things confiscated.

Had Huo Jin been a school disciplinarian before?

Huo Jin took the cigarettes and lowered his eyes to examine Ji Chi's face. "How did this happen?"

Ji Chi's eyes darted away guiltily. "I fell."

Huo Jin's dark eyes narrowed slightly, his gaze passing over the scrape on Ji Chi's face. In the end, he said nothing more.

He walked straight through the Research Institute's entrance.

Ji Chi hurriedly retrieved the documents from his car and followed.

When they reached Huo Jin's office, Ji Chi placed the stack of documents in front of him.

"Looking through these might take up some of your time."

Huo Jin sat in his desk chair and pulled a stool from the side over beside him.

His tone brooked no argument, carrying a faint note of command. "Sit down."

Ji Chi obediently sat beside Huo Jin, expecting him to say something.

What he hadn't expected was for Huo Jin to catch his chin the moment he sat down!

His touch was light, neither forceful nor rough.

Yet Ji Chi still felt that he probably couldn't turn his face away and escape.

Was this the pressure someone powerful exerted?

Holding Ji Chi's chin, Huo Jin used his other hand to peel the bandage off his face.

It was clearly a scrape caused by a blunt object.

It wasn't serious, but Ji Chi hadn't treated it before putting the bandage on.

"Huo Jin..."

Ji Chi tried to speak, but Huo Jin cut him off.

His low, husky voice was sexy, and the tone that left no room for refusal made Ji Chi behave a little better. "Don't move."

Ji Chi tensed his fingertips and stayed still.

Huo Jin took a disposable Iodine Swab from the drawer and dabbed it over Ji Chi's wound.

His face was so close that Ji Chi could see his pores clearly. Ji Chi's throat bobbed, and he tried to retreat, but he had barely moved an inch before Huo Jin caught the back of his head and drew him forward. Ji Chi's hair brushed Huo Jin's face, and the distance between them became even smaller. Their breaths mingled, warmth spilling through the tiny gap; if Ji Chi spoke, his lips might brush Huo Jin's cheek.

Ji Chi's ears burned.

He abruptly pulled back a little. "Mr. Huo, I think we should keep a little distance between us."

"We haven't slept together in almost two months, have we?"

Ji Chi: ?

Why bring that up?

Why suddenly say something like that?!

He had long known that Huo Jin was completely different in and out of bed, but he had never expected him to say something so filthy while wearing that gentlemanly facade. What did he mean?

Was that his answer to being told they should keep their distance?

In Huo Jin's eyes, did distance only mean sleeping together, with everything else left out? Did only sex count as crossing that distance?

Ji Chi was utterly speechless and on the verge of losing his temper. "You fucking..."

His cheek suddenly felt cool, and the soothing sensation cut off his words.

Huo Jin had applied a transparent Snow Fat Cream as well.

"The outer layer of the skin on your face is relatively thin. You're already showing signs of an allergic reaction."

Huo Jin released Ji Chi's face, his warm fingertips brushing lightly over Ji Chi's chin before withdrawing.

The lingering warmth lasted only a few more seconds.

Yet it left Ji Chi flustered.

Huo Jin's expression remained calm. "Don't use a bandage, or the allergic reaction could get worse. The mark will be gone in a week."

Ji Chi looked stunned. The medication felt cool against the wound on his face, and it was indeed much more comfortable.

"Got it." His whole body was tense, partly from nerves and partly from fear that Huo Jin would say something outrageous again.

"Are you done?"

Huo Jin had been too close while applying the medicine.

It had felt as though he might lean in and kiss him the very next second.

Ji Chi could smell the faint fragrance of Huo Jin's body with perfect clarity.

Hot breath had washed over his face until Huo Jin let him go.

Ji Chi still felt as though his heartbeat couldn't settle.

Huo Jin gave a quiet hum of assent and glanced at the documents Ji Chi had placed on the desk. "I still have a report to finish."

Ji Chi lowered his long, thick lashes. "That's all right. I can wait."

"You'll have to wait a little." Huo Jin glanced around. "Look around for a while. I'll call you when I've finished reading."

Actually, Ji Chi had wanted to take a proper look around ever since his first visit.

There were more than ten tiers of petri dishes on one side of Huo Jin's office.

He also kept all sorts of plants, though those were probably a personal hobby.

There were even live specimens that various colleges had to submit applications to obtain.

For a student obsessed with research, this office would count as paradise.

Not to mention getting to tour the CE Laboratory.

Hearing Huo Jin's offer, Ji Chi agreed.

When he saw that Huo Jin was still busy with something else and hadn't looked at the documents he'd brought, he stood up.

There was a separate room off to the side of Huo Jin's office, and the sight inside dazzled Ji Chi.

All kinds of high-tech instruments glowed faintly blue and violet.

Below the rows of instruments were their respective test results.

There were also many little black boxes labeled "Paused."

There wasn't much he could see.

But it was still astonishing.

They had actually cultivated active pheromones with the aggressive properties of an Alpha's pheromones here.

There were even experiments exploring the possibility of an Alpha undergoing a third differentiation.

Ji Chi took out his phone with trembling hands.

He glanced sideways at Huo Jin. "Can I..."

As though he had guessed what Ji Chi meant, Huo Jin answered without looking back. "You can take pictures."

Huo Jin's reply came without warning, making Ji Chi instinctively press the shutter when he heard it.

His view flickered with it.

The accidental shot captured Huo Jin sitting at his desk, writing.

Soft sunlight fell over him. Huo Jin's hand gripping the pen looked strong and steady, and his simple white shirt took on an air of unattainable elegance. There was a hint of softness in his gentle face as he worked, serious and focused.

Ji Chi quickly turned away.

Then he tapped the delete button and, after hesitating for a few seconds, confirmed.

He looked so good.

What a shame.

An old-fashioned stickler like Huo Jin surely disliked having his picture taken, never mind looking that good in one.

Ji Chi continued walking as though nothing had happened.

After spending an hour in Huo Jin's Laboratory, Ji Chi had taken a hundred and eighty photographs, his understanding shaken by one revelation after another.

When he emerged from the side room, Huo Jin was still busy.

Ji Chi's spirits wilted again.

He couldn't rush him.

Since Huo Jin had already agreed to take a look, asking anything more of him would be overstepping.

But Ji Chi saw that his documents were still sitting on the desk.

All his earlier excitement deflated, and he was no longer in the mood to look around.

Ji Chi walked over to the soft sofa behind Huo Jin and sat down.

A faint trace of cool red sandalwood pheromones drifted toward him.

Ji Chi lowered his head to look at the sofa.

He was certain that whenever Huo Jin was especially busy, he often spent the night in this Laboratory.

And slept on this very sofa.

Although the scent of pheromones wasn't strong, it was enough to improve Ji Chi's mood a little. Having slept poorly the night before, he even began to feel drowsy after sitting there for just a few minutes.

Ji Chi gazed at Huo Jin's back with shadowed eyes and held out for a while on the edge of the sofa.

In the end, he hugged a soft cushion and fell into a deep sleep.

Huo Jin put down the documents and turned around to see Ji Chi's obedient sleeping face.

Sunlight spilled over the young man's tousled hair, making its single color shimmer brilliantly. He looked quiet and docile as he breathed softly, his cheeks flushed pink in sleep. Flecks of gold traced winding paths over him, tempting a wicked man's boundless greed.

Huo Jin rose and walked toward Ji Chi.