Ji Chi looked toward the voice and saw Huo Jin, who had emerged from the inner office and was standing at the desk, marking something with a pen.
Ji Chi sharply sucked in a breath.
Perhaps because he was concentrating, Huo Jin hadn't looked up when he spoke.
The light in the room mingled with the faint shimmer of countless lights outside the window. It was quiet enough to hear a pin drop, and Huo Jin's focus held Ji Chi's gaze for a moment.
Huo Jin?
Huo Jin was wearing glasses today, too. They added a few traces of exacting seriousness to his gentle yet aloof demeanor, making him seem even more distant and austere.
There was a distance to his cool gentleness that made him seem beyond reach, beyond defilement. With everything effortlessly under his control, every glance made Huo Jin look both sexy and restrained.
It was a poise born of maturity and time, something Ji Chi lacked, radiating from deep within him.
Ji Chi's eyes flickered, and his heartbeat quickened.
Was he... an employee of the CE Research Institute?
This was the Supreme Authority's data control center.
Ji Chi remembered what his father had said while berating him: if he didn't want to be kept under his thumb, he would have to get into the CE Research Institute School...
Ji Chi took two steps back from where he had entered.
This had to be what people meant by enemies always crossing paths.
He was still backing away when the Omega caught his arm.
"Hey, don't get so excited. I've only met Huo Jin a few times myself. He's really nice, so don't be nervous."
Ji Chi frowned. He wasn't worked up because he'd never met him, but because he had!
Not only had they met, they'd slept together, and he'd even acted like a slut in front of him.
Before Ji Chi could process the Omega's words, Huo Jin heard their conversation and looked up.
Until their eyes met, Ji Chi had wanted to hide.
Hiding after being seen would just make him a coward.
He was an Alpha. Surely he wasn't afraid of him.
Ji Chi met his gaze head-on, cool and proud.
Huo Jin was startled at first when he saw Ji Chi. He set down his pen, took off his glasses, and placed them on the thin stack of documents as a paperweight.
Meanwhile, Yan Le pulled Ji Chi into the office. "Hey, once you've stepped inside this office, you can put it on your résumé when you apply for jobs!"
Ji Chi: "..." For fuck's sake...
Dragged over to Huo Jin, Ji Chi stood ramrod straight.
He couldn't run, but staying wasn't an option either.
Suddenly, Ji Chi felt the bewilderment of someone who had gotten into trouble and been hauled before a teacher.
No wonder he'd seen Huo Jin at the hospital. The mud on him last time probably hadn't come from a construction site, either...
"Judge Huo." Yan Le placed the items on the desk. "Here's your delivery."
Then Yan Le tugged at Ji Chi and said to Huo Jin,
"My friend wanted to have a look inside, so I brought him in. I hope you don't mind, Judge Huo. He said he'd always dreamed of visiting the CE Experimental Institute."
Ji Chi: "..."
Ji Chi: Just shut up!
No emotion showed in Huo Jin's deep eyes. His expression remained impassive as he turned his gaze, addressing Ji Chi.
"Next time you want to come in, you can call me."
Yan Le was stunned. Call him?
"You two know each other?" Yan Le looked at Ji Chi in surprise. "You even have Judge Huo's number?"
Ji Chi said, "Not well."
Huo Jin said, "We do."
Yan Le: "..."
Watching their expressions, Yan Le increasingly felt... that it was like two former lovers who had broken up and then somehow run into each other again. That same subtle, strange tension filled the air, impossible to get a handle on.
They clearly knew each other, and just as clearly, there was more to it than that.
Huo Jin glanced at the cold-eyed Ji Chi, the faintest curve touching his lips, and walked slowly over to him.
"Since we don't know each other well, allow me to introduce myself again."
He extended his long-fingered, strong hand. "Huo Jin, adjudicator of the Supreme Universal Council and Chief Judge of the CE Research Center. A pleasure."
His resonant voice brushed past Ji Chi's ears. That mild tone inexplicably weighed on him, making his breathing grow heavy. It radiated dominance, turning a simple introduction into an order that demanded a response.
Ji Chi's eyes widened further and further. In his mind, Huo Jin's words grew huge and bold, complete with an insanely badass soundtrack. Every word shone with golden light. Tacky as it was, that was exactly how it felt.
Fuck...
The Supreme Authority...
Chief Judge of the CE Research Center?
Huo Jin...?
This Huo Jin?
He'd imagined that the Chief Judge of the CE Research Institute had to be a high-ranking Alpha with extraordinary leadership skills. He'd never expected it to be Huo Jin!! The Huo Jin he knew!
That man was his idol!
Something must have gone wrong.
Time to go home and sleep.
In his daze, Ji Chi wasn't even sure whether he'd raised his hand.
By the time he came to his senses, he was undeniably holding Huo Jin's hand.
Ji Chi: *!!!?*
His hand trembled slightly as he snatched it back. Huo Jin must have grabbed it while he was distracted!
Ji Chi turned his gaze aside, recovering his usual chill. "You... whatever your position is, it has nothing to do with me." Yet his nervousness was painfully obvious the moment he spoke.
As he spoke, he grabbed Yan Le and started toward the door. "Come on. We're going home."
Yan Le had been watching their reactions the whole time, and the corners of his mouth hadn't dropped once.
He thought he was starting to understand a little.
"Wait a second. Let me make a call."
Yan Le reached for his phone, and as he fished it out, the room key Ji Chi had given him fell to the floor.
Ji Chi lowered his eyes. The sunflower-yellow room key marked [Golden Imperial Hotel VIP] inexplicably made his hair stand on end.
Ji Chi, could you show a little backbone?
There's nothing between you and Huo Jin.
Why do you feel like you've been caught cheating!
"Oh, your room key fell," Yan Le said softly.
Ji Chi: Did you really have to say that out loud?
Before you continue