Fuck, this was killing him.
Nan Zhou's Adam's apple bobbed. He thought, Had it been too long since I last got some release?
After all, once he had experienced it, certain desires became more concrete and harder to control.
No, he needed to talk to Huo Xingye.
Ask him if he wanted to.
Thoughts aside, Nan Zhou didn't let them delay the task at hand at all. When Tang Yang wrote "I want to kiss you" on the score, he spoke up. "I want to explore every inch of your skin."
Tang Yang's face flushed. "I'm into pure romance."
"Someone into pure romance wouldn't write 'do it in the car' outright. Tsk, your linguistic soil is so barren that not even grass could grow in it."
Yue Yang covered his mouth and chuckled. "You could change it to 'the car swayed like a jellyfish in the water.'"
[What exactly are you three creating? Facepalm.]
[Is this a love song you can let an Omega hear? An Omega would want to call the police!]
[These three-one A and two Bs-writing a love song for an Omega.]
[You know what, with Nan Zhou's guidance, these bits of melody Tang Yang wrote are actually shaping up pretty well. Even I'm finding them kind of interesting.]
The sky gradually darkened, and the winter wind carried a faint scent of earth.
None of those inside, absorbed in composing and playing music, noticed that rain was about to come pouring down.
Wind blew in through the rolling shutter, rustling the papers and knocking some of the objects in the corners to the floor.
Someone came in from the wind. Light and shadow fell across the outline of his tall, straight figure, as though sculpting some perfect work of art.
Tang Yang, an Alpha, was immersed in composing. The superior senses Alphas possessed were doing absolutely nothing for him; he was no match even for Jia Jia's keen sixth sense.
Humming softly nearby, Jia Jia happened to glance toward the rolling shutter. Her eyes instantly widened, and delighted surprise appeared on her face.
She was just about to speak when she saw him raise a finger to his lips. With a slight upward curve of his mouth, he gestured for her to keep quiet.
The same simple gesture had completely different effects when different people made it.
Jia Jia was instantly so captivated that her body and mind became his marionette.
Nan Zhou was still telling Tang Yang that songwriting required him to use his brain, not rely purely on feelings.
Someone beside him handed him a cup of hot milk tea with a straw in it. He glanced at the label. It was his favorite flavor and sugar level.
"Thanks." His thin lips closed around the straw. He took several long gulps, then resumed his verbal barrage at Tang Yang.
Usually, once he finished, Tang Yang would argue back a little. This time, however, Nan Zhou noticed the kid distractedly glancing beside him, looking as if he wanted to say something but was holding back.
Nan Zhou followed his gaze and turned his head, seeing familiar clothes.
He looked up and met Huo Xingye's deep, dark eyes, which seemed to hold starlight. "What are you doing here?"
Only then did Huo Xingye, who had been there for quite a while without saying a word, give a faint smile.
He bent his knees and crouched beside Nan Zhou, bringing their eyes level. "I came to pick you up from work."
Although his movements seemed casual, his long arms resting on the back of Nan Zhou's chair clearly expressed a possessive desire to enclose him within his territory.
"Work's over?" Nan Zhou's eyes lit up.
Huo Xingye had already been standing very close to Nan Zhou, and crouching brought them even closer.
At that moment, Huo Xingye's knees were practically touching Nan Zhou's.
As they spoke, their warm breaths mingled between them. In the quiet basement at dusk, with a storm approaching, there seemed to be an intimacy of nestling against each other.
Whether it was because of his position or something else, Huo Xingye's voice was a little low and quiet, but it sounded very sexy to Nan Zhou.
"I'm off work, but I don't know whether Teacher Nan Zhou is willing to finish up and come home with me yet?"
[Aaaaaah, calling him Teacher Nan Zhou. I'm losing it.]
[That tone is so doting, does anyone get me?! My brain's already filling up with filthy thoughts!]
[Tsk, tsk, tsk, Xingye, those arms of yours reach so far. Just like a peacock spreading its tail.]
[An A and a B spent the whole afternoon bonding with his wife right in front of him. Our award-winning actor can't wait to whisk him home and get their scent off him.]
[Nobody here would dare fight you for your wife! I'm dying.]
[Yue Yang silently raises his hand: I have something to say.]
[No talking from the heretical shippers!!!!! I've welded the doors of this AO car shut. Yue Yang, please get out from under the car immediately.]
[Tang Yang: I'm an A, so can I be in the car?]
"That's enough work for today," Nan Zhou said immediately.
With that, he rose from his chair.
Who would work overtime when they could clock out?!
Huo Xingye rose unhurriedly alongside Nan Zhou, but his outstretched arm moved naturally from the chair back to Nan Zhou's shoulders.
His gaze swept quickly over Tang Yang and Yue Yang opposite them, then returned to Nan Zhou's face. "What do you want to eat when we get home?"
Nan Zhou replied without thinking, "After a busy day, Master Nan plans to go home and have a packet of Master Kong."
The cameraman following them: "..."
"The production team has arranged a group dinner for all our guests tonight," he said weakly.
Our production team isn't that stingy!
We do have a budget, whatever else you might say. Surely you don't have to eat instant noodles? You're making it look like we mistreat our guests!
"A trap disguised as a feast," Nan Zhou commented.
"..."
Nan Zhou said, "Just tell me, is there a catch to tonight's dinner?"
The cameraman: "..."
Beside them, Tang Yang silently raised his hand. "How about I treat everyone to dinner tonight? An apprenticeship banquet is more respectable than a trap."
[Hahahahahaha, I almost spat out my water.]
[Is being nuts contagious? Why does everyone get so funny after hanging around Nan Zhou?]
[The production team has no idea how to handle this.]
"We'll eat tomorrow, but don't pick McDonald's again. In private, I'll eat any junk, whether it's McDonald's or KFC. I believe in loving them all equally, never favoring one over another."
Nan Zhou picked up his guitar, slung it onto his back, and waved goodbye to Tang Yang and the others.
Tang Yang said, "Oh."
Yue Yang waved back as well. "Talk on WeChat later."
Nan Zhou nodded.
Huo Xingye's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. He was about to say something when Tang Yang called to him.
Huo Xingye said, "Need something?"
His tone was mild, carrying his usual cool detachment.
"I just wanted to ask, does my master actually hit you normally?" Tang Yang walked over and asked seriously in a lowered voice.
He thought he had kept his voice low enough for only the two of them to hear, but he had completely forgotten that Huo Xingye was still wearing a microphone.
The production team and the viewers in the livestream were all left speechless.
The live comments were either ellipses or strings of laughter.
After an entire afternoon of Nan Zhou's verbal attacks, even someone as self-confident as Tang Yang had taken a blow and begun to wonder whether he really was an idiot.
He believed Nan Zhou hadn't been lying when he said you occasionally had to take a beating with a steel rod. Sooner or later, he would be on the receiving end of that rod.
Since he was going to get beaten anyway, he might as well ask Huo Xingye, a fellow Alpha, whether he had any experience worth learning from.
Although Nan Zhou had said he didn't hit his baby, what if his hand slipped by accident?
After all, who would admit to domestic violence, especially when the one getting beaten was an Alpha?! How could he hold his head up if word got out?
At that, Huo Xingye froze briefly, then gave an inscrutable smile the next second.
"You'll understand once you have an Omega of your own."
Before you continue