Chapter 13: Homecoming

Chapter 13: Going Home

Finally, this absurd prayer ceremony was over.

Cai Gu, treated as a statue, was pushed down again by the monks. After they left, he took off the white veil from his head and let out a weary sigh of relief.

He folded the veil and couldn't help but look around. He'd been taken to an unfamiliar room that looked more like a bedroom than the cluttered storage room he'd been in earlier.

Cai Gu tried to move his legs but couldn't break free from the iron shackles. He knitted his brows, looking helpless.

He wondered if that kid would keep his word and let him go.

As Cai Gu was lost in thought, voices came from outside the door, and then the door was pushed open. A boy with long, golden hair walked in barefoot.

He sat on the reclining chair opposite Cai Gu—who was kneeling on the stone platform—staring at him with a faint smile, chin resting on his hand.

He'd long guessed those old men would mess with the statue to ruin the ceremony and make him lose face in front of the rich ladies, turning him into a laughingstock.

So Yue Jin had prepared a new statue well in advance. Letting Cai Gu pretend to be the statue today was way too risky—it almost went wrong in the final step.

Seeing the boy stay silent, Cai Gu nervously whispered, "You said you would let me leave."

Yue Jin twirled his hair around his fingers and nodded lazily: "I did say that. But do you think I'm the kind of person who keeps promises?"

Yue Jin's gaze was like a cold, slimy snake, licking every inch of Cai Gu's exposed skin. He stood up slowly, one hand on the stone platform, the other hand taking a pair of silver scissors from the table and pressing them against the back of Cai Gu's neck: "That night, didn't you see how many people I killed?"

Cai Gu's downcast eyes flew open, filled with terror. He could feel the sharp blade pressed against his gland, separated only by a blocker patch. A little more force and it would pierce through.

"Forget it."

The fear in his eyes was too obvious, so obvious that Yue Jin lost interest in an instant. He twirled the scissors and used them to pick open the shackles from Cai Gu's ankles.

The shackles clattered to the floor. Cai Gu remained frozen in place, unable to react.

Yue Jin looked up and slumped back into the recliner: "Still not leaving?"

At that, Cai Gu scrambled off the stone platform and staggered out without looking back once.

Watching him leave, Yue Jin leaned over the table, his golden hair spilling onto the floor, and muttered, "So boring."

So timid, yet daring to take on a mission to kill him. He wondered what those old men were thinking.

Cai Gu ran out of the church. The sunlight fell on his skin, driving away the chill in his body. His back was drenched, the white dress clinging to his body, and his black hair, loose on one side, softened his features.

He clutched his chest, feeling his heart pounding violently.

Cai Gu found a bench under a tree and sat down. He lifted the hem of his skirt, revealing both knees, which had bruises from kneeling on the stone platform for so long.

He carefully poked the bruises with his finger—they didn't hurt.

Looking at the bruises, Cai Gu was dazed. It was still shocking that the Saint of the Blue Luo Religion was a murderer.

But...

Cai Gu thought back to what Yue Jin had said—if the statue was damaged, he would be driven out too. Could there be more to what happened that night?

"Found you." While Cai Gu was thinking, someone grabbed his wrist in a firm grip, looking particularly stubborn.

Cai Gu slowly looked up, his mouth falling open at the sight of the newcomer. Jiang Yu was sitting in a wheelchair in front of him, with his back to the sun.

Jiang Yu's red hair was lit by the sunlight. His gaze fixed on Cai Gu's lower lip, which was coated with clear lip gloss.

His plump lips looked especially sexy and alluring under the gloss.

Jiang Yu reluctantly looked away, putting on a pissed-off expression: "Why didn't you reply to my messages? Didn't I say I'd wait for you outside the church?"

Cai Gu blinked. He had completely forgotten about that. He guiltily looked away. He'd completely forgotten what Jiang Yu said.

Thinking for a moment, Cai Gu lifted his skirt up to his thigh, showing the bruises on his knees, and lied with a straight face: "I hurt my leg. I wanted to sit here and rest a bit."

Because he was sitting on the bench, the soft, plump flesh of his thighs spilled over the bench, like it would ooze through your fingers.

And because his ass was full, his long legs were also especially plump. When relaxed, his legs naturally pressed together.

Jiang Yu froze, his gaze fixed on the thigh flesh. He licked his dry lips and instinctively put his hand on it—just as he'd imagined, it felt amazing.

"You're touching the wrong spot." Cai Gu turned his knee inward and helpfully guided Jiang Yu's hand to his bruised knee: "Do you have something wrong with your eyes?"

At Cai Gu's dead-serious question, Jiang Yu pulled his hand back in embarrassment, his fluffy hair practically standing on end: "Are you an idiot? Going to a prayer ceremony and getting yourself hurt?"

As if remembering something, Jiang Yu leaned in and asked: "Did someone bully you?"

The first person Cai Gu thought of was the Saint, but...

He shook his head: "No, I fell and hurt myself."

Cai Gu corrected him: "And don't call people idiots casually. That's not a nice word. We're still in school."

Jiang Yu pursed his lips but didn't argue. He leaned back in his wheelchair, frowning: "Can you walk? If you can, follow me to my car and I'll take you home."

"Oh... what? H-home!" Cai Gu was startled and sat back down. He repeated in disbelief: "You mean you'll give me a ride home?"

Jiang Yu lifted his chin smugly, curling his lips into a smirk. He maneuvered his wheelchair toward the school gate, signaling for Cai Gu to follow: "No need to thank me. I'm just naturally kind-hearted."

Cai Gu trotted alongside the wheelchair, hesitating: "My home is very small. Maybe it's better if you don't come. And, and..."

Cai Gu was so anxious that beads of sweat formed on his forehead. He tried to stop Jiang Yu, but Jiang Yu, used to his wheelchair, was surprisingly agile and dodged his hand.

Cai Gu gritted his teeth: "Besides, my husband has the day off. It's not really a good time for you to come over."

Jiang Yu stopped his wheelchair, staring at the green trees in the distance, deep in thought. He pulled out his phone, tapped it a few times, and said: "All right, don't worry. Your husband's working overtime tonight and won't make it home."

Jiang Yu's lips turned down, clearly unhappy: "Why's your husband allowed at your place and I'm not?"

"Or do you have something embarrassing hidden at home?"

Jiang Yu immediately thought of the different Alpha pheromone scents he'd smelled on Cai Gu when they first met. He became alert and urged Cai Gu: "Hurry up, or your husband's job is gone."

Jiang Yu was eager to find out what Cai Gu had hidden at home, like a wife catching her husband's lover.

He found the wheelchair too slow and was so anxious he wished he could pick it up and run to the car.

Cai Gu couldn't stop him, feeling both frustrated and helpless. He could only comfort himself that maybe, with Jiang Yu's nasty temper, he could help scare off the thugs.

Like a watchdog.

Once in Jiang Yu's car, Cai Gu quietly gave the name of a residential area.

The car's AC was blasting, and Cai Gu, in his dress, couldn't help hugging himself and shivering in his seat.

A black school uniform was draped over him. By the time Cai Gu looked over, the young man next to him had already propped his chin on his hand and turned his face away.

"Um..."

Jiang Yu snorted: "Just wear it if I tell you to. No need to thank me—I'm always this nice. If you really want to thank me, then suck up to me and do as I say..."

The thought of Cai Gu looking docile in front of him, revealing the nape of his neck, made Jiang Yu swallow hard.

"No." Cai Gu interrupted him, awkwardly picking up the report card that had fallen onto the seat. "You should take good care of your own things."

The bright red crosses on the report card stood out, and the teacher had also given it a "poor" grade.

For a moment, the atmosphere inside the car became extremely quiet. Jiang Yu silently took the report card and stuffed it back into his pocket.

Seeing that he was unhappy, Cai Gu quickly explained, "I didn’t see your grades, nor the ‘poor’ mark, and I definitely didn’t notice you scored single digits on your physiology test."

Jiang Yu nearly choked in the car at his words. He gritted his teeth and glared viciously at Cai Gu.

But the Beta tilted his head innocently, hands resting on either side, leaning slightly forward, revealing the hollow of his collarbones.

To avoid being too revealing, he had apparently worn a thin vest underneath, the straps hanging loosely over his shoulders, barely visible.

A malicious smirk suddenly curled across Jiang Yu’s lips: "Yeah, my physiology grades really suck. How about this—you act as my model, and I’ll memorize all that stuff."

"What do you think?"

An Alpha’s physiology class covered how to soothe a partner’s body. Most Alphas would choose an Omega; only low-level Alphas would take a Beta as a mate.

Jiang Yu wasn’t interested in that class, but he vaguely remembered that if one had a Beta partner, the Alpha needed to patiently search for the Beta's reproductive cavity, since for Betas, that cavity had degenerated long ago.

But...

He was already so old; he should have matured by now, so it wouldn’t take that much effort to find it, right?

Cai Gu gently pressed a finger against Jiang Yu’s forehead to push him away. "Don’t talk nonsense. You need to focus in class. After you drop me off, go back to evening self-study."

Jiang Yu lifted his leg, which was in a cast, and said matter-of-factly, "Tonight is all physical training. Have you forgotten my leg got hurt because of you? I can’t do P.E. at all. I already got permission from the teacher."

"Young master, we’ve arrived."

The car came to a steady stop. Jiang Yu couldn’t wait to open the door and see what Cai Gu’s home looked like when a bicycle slowly passed by, hit a loose brick, and splashed black muddy water onto Jiang Yu’s pant leg.

His face instantly turned dark.

Author’s note:

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The first Alpha to go home with Mom.