Married now, money for the wife

With that, Ji Chi dragged Huo Jin out of the marriage registration office.

The two Alphas were still reeling in shock.

"So Judge Huo likes this kind of icy Alpha..."

"Maybe he's a sucker for a pretty face..."

"And henpecked, too?"

Even after leaving the marriage registration office, Ji Chi was still in a daze. Huo Jin glanced sideways at him.

He watched Ji Chi pull a cigarette from his pocket and light it. Smoke curled upward. Whatever was going through Ji Chi's mind, he was walking very fast.

Huo Jin caught up with him. Ji Chi reached the car, opened the door, and climbed straight in.

Huo Jin cleared his throat. "Should I take you home, or would you like to come to the CE Experimental Institute and keep me company while I work?"

Ji Chi glanced at him. "Who wants to keep you company at work?"

"Then I'll take you home."

"Who wants to go home?"

Huo Jin started the car. "Then come to work with me."

"Who wants to go with you?"

Huo Jin drew his brows together and asked softly, "Did I do something wrong?"

Ji Chi said nothing. Huo Jin produced a card from somewhere and handed it to him.

Ji Chi took it instinctively. "What's this?"

"My salary card. There's no PIN. Your spouse is linked automatically, so you can use facial recognition."

Ji Chi's eyes flickered. Huo Jin really seemed serious about marrying him...

"Do you earn a lot?" Ji Chi asked curiously.

"Not much." Huo Jin's expression was calm. He looked at Ji Chi, tenderness mingling with the darkness in his eyes. "But enough to support you."

It was the first time Ji Chi had ever heard anything like that.

It really made him nervous.

Ji Chi handed the card back to Huo Jin. "I don't need it."

If there was one thing he had never lacked in his life, it was money.

Besides the shares from his father, Ji Chi had invested in entertainment companies and signed performance-based agreements with several artists.

There were risks, but Ji Chi didn't care. He could afford any losses, no matter how large.

Perhaps because of that attitude, he always ended up raking in money.

He couldn't compete with Huo Jin in status, but Ji Chi was confident that he was richer.

Even if he could never reach Huo Jin's heights in his lifetime, a stack of his money could.

Huo Jin's voice was gentle. "Then I'll leave the card on the bedside table in the bedroom. Just take it whenever you want to use it."

Ji Chi propped his chin on his hand. "My own money is enough to last me into my next life."

"I know." Huo Jin chuckled. "Where would you like to go, little young master? I'll drive you."

Something suddenly occurred to Ji Chi, and he said solemnly, "From now on, you're not allowed to call me your wife in front of other people."

Huo Jin's hands paused on the steering wheel. "So I can when we're alone?"

"You can't do it at any time!"

"I don't believe you." Huo Jin's sudden reply carried an unexpected hint of boldness.

At Huo Jin's words, Ji Chi's gaze flickered. I'm so shameless during my heat...

There's nothing I wouldn't say. I even took the initiative to...

He covered his eyes with his hand. A surge of irritation rushed to his head, and he kicked the car.

Sometimes, a person just needed to lose it a little.

Ji Chi glared fiercely at Huo Jin and snatched his card back.

"I'll use it right now and spend all your money."

"All right." Huo Jin's gentle voice held no trace of annoyance.

"Can I buy a house?"

"Yes."

"Can I invest in declining industries?"

"You can use it however you like," Huo Jin replied.

Ji Chi gripped the card tightly. He realized he was utterly helpless against Huo Jin.

He leaned back in his seat, then suddenly grew angry again. "How can you have such a good temper?"

"Don't you ever get angry?"

"Tell me, what could I say to make you angry?"

The frustration of being unable to anger Huo Jin was enough to drive Ji Chi mad.

Huo Jin glanced sideways at Ji Chi. "I do get angry."

As he spoke, a cold, fierce pheromone began to swirl through the car.

It was difficult to distinguish the pheromone's type from its initial notes. Ji Chi could only tell that Huo Jin's pheromone had come on fiercely and intensely.

Ji Chi immediately panicked. He grabbed the door handle and frantically tried it several times, but the door wouldn't open.

It seemed to be locked.

His fingers numb, Ji Chi looked at Huo Jin in alarm and grabbed his arm. "Pheromone suppression within a marriage counts as domestic abuse..."

Only after he finished speaking did Ji Chi identify the type of pheromone Huo Jin was releasing.

It was...

An A-Class Soothing Pheromone.

Ji Chi withdrew his hand and awkwardly rubbed his nose. "Releasing pheromones so suddenly is really scary."

Huo Jin suddenly turned toward him and pulled the seat belt across to buckle it for him, bringing them impossibly close.

Warm breath brushed Ji Chi's face, and he instinctively tightened his grip on the hem of his clothes.

A husky voice reached him, making his ears grow warm. "I do get angry, but I have plenty of patience for you."

Too close.

"When something happens, you have trouble keeping your emotions steady, and you get irritable." Huo Jin's voice was quiet. "If I'm the problem, you can tell me. Don't just stew in silence."

Huo Jin's words left Ji Chi feeling defeated again.

He was so perfect that Ji Chi couldn't find a single fault.

Ji Chi instinctively turned to look out the side window.

This really felt like being utterly outclassed.

The warm breath receded, and Huo Jin started driving.

Ji Chi looked at Huo Jin without realizing it.

Someone like Huo Jin...

If he ever truly got angry, it would have to be over something very, very serious.

What would that look like?

After dropping Ji Chi home, Huo Jin headed to the CE Experimental Institute.

Standing outside the car, Ji Chi cleared his throat. "I'm going to bed at eleven."

What he meant was: You have to be back before eleven.

Huo Jin nodded. "I'll come back at noon to cook for you. You can buy some things you like to eat."

Ji Chi's expression was cool. "It doesn't matter during the day. Just come back at night. I can order takeout."

"I have my own things to do, too. I might not be home at noon."

Huo Jin nodded. "Can you tell me where you're going?"

Ji Chi half-lowered his eyelids. "Why do you sound like my dad?"

Then he immediately retorted, "No."

With that, Ji Chi went straight inside.

Usually, going home didn't mean much to Huo Jin. Sleeping was sleeping, wherever he did it.

He rarely came back when he was busy, but that day, unusually, he left the Laboratory before dark.

Even the security staff found it surprising. "Judge Huo, do you have something on today? You're leaving so early."

Huo Jin frowned. "Early? I used to leave too late."

"Ah, right, right, right. Hahaha. We're used to you leaving in the middle of the night, so this feels a little strange." The security guard chuckled.

"Mm." Huo Jin gave a quiet hum. "I have to go home and cook."

"Cook?" The older security guard looked baffled. "The food at our CE Experimental Institute is so good. Why would you need to cook?"

Huo Jin pressed his lips together. "My wife likes my cooking."

"Huh?" The older guard scratched his head. What was Huo Jin talking about?

What wife? Since when did Huo Jin have a wife?

Before he could process it, Huo Jin had already walked away.

Huo Jin arrived home at five.

Meanwhile, after finding that the takeout he ordered either wouldn't be delivered because he was too far away or tasted terrible, Ji Chi had started cooking for himself.

Young Master Ji was accustomed to being pampered, and his standards for food were almost absurdly high.

He wouldn't eat anything too spicy, too sweet, or too bitter. No ginger, sour foods, traditional desserts, animal blood, offal, fatty meat, or fruit and melons with the skin still on.

He was allergic to nuts.

When he wasn't hungry or was angry, he could make do with whatever for a meal.

But when he was hungry, his pampered nature came out.

He was every bit a difficult little young master to keep fed.

The moment Huo Jin opened the door, he was met by thick, acrid smoke.

He looked toward the kitchen. Ji Chi was standing two meters from the pan...

Was he trying to stir-fry something?

Ji Chi held a spatula. Cooking really was asking a bit too much of the little young master.

Watching the oil spit and splatter in the pan, Ji Chi took another step back.

"Aah!! You might as well starve to death, Ji Chi!" Ji Chi viciously cursed himself.