Coaxing him

Huo Jin gave a light cough and began explaining earnestly. "I was... out buying groceries. It was my fault."

"You were sleeping so soundly that I didn't wake you."

"Don't be mad anymore, okay?"

Ji Chi shifted without answering.

The clothes he wore that day were still Huo Jin's.

Ji Chi had torn some of his own clothes to shreds.

Huo Jin had torn the rest.

He wore one of Huo Jin's long white shirts. The sleeves and body were a little oversized, giving it an entirely different look on him.

Of course, shoes weren't the only thing he wasn't wearing.

Huo Jin had dressed him before bed the night before. Since his lower body tended to get wet, he hadn't put any pants on him. Ji Chi, who had lost all ability to dress himself, certainly wouldn't put them on himself either. His legs were long and straight, and Huo Jin loved stroking and kissing them.

Huo Jin held Ji Chi close, his hand resting against his warm skin.

Ji Chi was sulking, his displeased pheromones filling the room.

He seemed genuinely, deeply angry.

Huo Jin curled his middle finger. Seeing that Ji Chi still wouldn't speak, he wondered how to coax him.

Taking Ji Chi out in this state was out of the question.

But there really was no food left at home.

Before leaving, Huo Jin had deliberately waited until Ji Chi was sound asleep.

He hadn't expected Ji Chi to wake up anyway.

"Are you really angry?" Huo Jin lowered his eyes.

All he could see was the back of Ji Chi's head.

"Let me see you," Huo Jin said gently.

Ji Chi shifted his head and buried it deeper, clearly unwilling.

Huo Jin frowned slightly and headed into the kitchen, carrying the groceries in one hand and holding Ji Chi with the other.

After setting the groceries on the counter, he carried Ji Chi into the living room.

He had to soothe him before cooking.

Huo Jin gently set Ji Chi on the sofa and crouched in front of him.

Then he took Ji Chi's hand. "I was wrong. I should have told you before I went out."

"Don't be angry anymore, okay?"

Huo Jin reached up to brush aside a few strands of hair covering Ji Chi's eyes, his warm fingertips grazing his skin.

Almost instantly, Ji Chi clasped Huo Jin's hand in return.

He held on and wouldn't let go.

Huo Jin couldn't help smiling as he rubbed Ji Chi's hand.

"Did you get scared again just now?"

"I was going to be back soon, so I didn't wake you."

"I'm sorry," Huo Jin apologized softly.

Then he leaned up slightly and kissed Ji Chi on the lips.

"From now on, I'll tell you whenever I leave, all right?"

Ji Chi frowned and shook his head.

Huo Jin kissed him again. It took Ji Chi two seconds to react before he responded with fierce, scorching eagerness.

Huo Jin released him. Ji Chi clutched his shirt, his cheeks flushed, and whispered two words into his ear, enunciating each one.

Huo Jin chuckled, rose, and carried him into the bedroom.

In the kitchen, the boiling water kept whistling, sending up waves of heat.

When Ji Chi emerged from the bedroom again, he was a little more obedient.

He hugged Huo Jin's clothes and waited quietly for him to cook.

Ji Chi found a spot on the living room sofa with a clear view of Huo Jin and curled up there.

He propped his head on the sofa's backrest, facing the kitchen.

Huo Jin had an exceptional physique. His white shirt set off his firm, well-proportioned muscles, the perfect lines of his waist and back visibly powerful. Even fully clothed, the definition of his flawless body was unmistakable. His slightly rolled-up sleeves revealed lean, strong forearms, and his long legs had the golden proportions found only in comics.

The more Ji Chi looked, the more handsome he found him.

He glanced at the phone on the sofa. It was Huo Jin's.

Ji Chi tried opening it. It wasn't locked.

He opened the camera on Huo Jin's phone and took a few pictures of him.

Afterward, he opened the gallery to look at them. As he swiped through, he found a photo of himself.

He was eating in a restaurant, his cheeks puffed out like a hamster's.

Ji Chi smiled, his eyes curving.

Finding a photo of himself on Huo Jin's phone felt like something worth being happy about.

A warm current filled his heart.

Then another thought struck him. Ji Chi opened the camera again and turned it toward himself.

The camera clearly showed the side of Ji Chi's neck and his collarbones.

Some marks were red, others deep purple, while the newest ones were a pale pink.

Ji Chi reclined on the sofa and took plenty of selfies.

They were practically intimate photos.

He even set one as Huo Jin's lock screen.

He chose the one Huo Jin had taken himself.

When Huo Jin came out, he found Ji Chi fiddling with his phone.

Ji Chi handed it to him.

Huo Jin looked at the lock screen in surprise.

He ruffled Ji Chi's hair and said, "Thank you."

Huo Jin really did like that photo and had considered setting it as his lock screen, but he'd worried it might upset Ji Chi.

That was why he thanked Ji Chi when he handed over the phone.

"I really like it."

While swiping through the phone, Huo Jin noticed that Ji Chi had opened the camera, so he tapped on the photos.

He immediately sucked in a sharp breath.

Huo Jin abruptly turned aside, scrolling through the photos Ji Chi had just taken.

Every single one made his face heat and his heart race.

Huo Jin immediately switched off the screen.

Before turning it off, he quickly tapped several photos and marked them private.

He turned back to Ji Chi. "Who taught you this?"

Ji Chi tilted his head, his eyes languid, their liquid gaze unwittingly seductive. "You..."

"You taught me... all these poses..."

Before he could finish, Huo Jin covered his mouth. "You're not allowed to take pictures like that again, understood?"

Ji Chi lowered his head to look at himself. "Don't I look good?"

Huo Jin drew a deep breath. "You do, but you can't let anyone else see them."

Ji Chi pursed his lips. "Not even you?"

Huo Jin paused for a few seconds, then put the phone in the drawer beneath the coffee table and changed the subject outright. "Let's eat."

Ji Chi held his arms out toward Huo Jin, who glanced at the dining table.

The dining table was barely a dozen meters from the living room. He pinched Ji Chi's cheek. "Can you really not walk a single step?"

Without another word, he simply picked him up.

Everything Huo Jin had cooked was Jinjiang cuisine. Ji Chi already had little strength left after everything he'd been put through.

Seeing a table full of his favorite dishes brought his appetite back.

Huo Jin picked up a piece of sweet-and-sour fish and fed it to Ji Chi, whose mind was filled with how amazing his Enigma was.

Ji Chi looked at Huo Jin solemnly and tapped his bowl. "You can't cook for anyone else."

Amused by Ji Chi's seriousness, Huo Jin's lips curved into a lovely smile.

He answered softly, "I've only ever cooked for you."

Satisfied with that answer, Ji Chi kissed Huo Jin. "That's your reward."

Huo Jin turned his head and laughed, raising a hand to touch the cheek Ji Chi had kissed.

I even get a reward.

After dinner, Huo Jin put the dishes in the dishwasher. Ji Chi, who had been sitting at the dining table, somehow appeared behind him and wrapped both arms around him from behind.

The scent of plum wine made his head spin.

Huo Jin had completely underestimated this Alpha...