Chapter 14: Good Night

Chapter 14 Goodnight

Jiang Yu stared at the stain on his pants in disbelief. In all his years, he had never been splashed with dirty water.

He stood frozen, looking at the culprit not far away, where a bag of orange-yellow radishes had fallen from the wobbling bicycle and scattered all over the ground.

Each radish was stained with mud, much like Jiang Yu at that moment.

“Xiao Lin.” Cai Gu got out of the car and saw this, immediately calling out to the bicycle as he bent down to help pick up the radishes.

The owner of the bicycle heard Cai Gu’s call and stopped at once, looking around until he spotted Cai Gu behind him.

“Brother Cai!”

Xiao Lin parked the bicycle and hurried over: “Ah, you don’t have to pick those up. What if you get your skirt dirty?”

Xiao Lin greedily stared at Cai Gu, his gaze falling on the open collar.

Cai Gu’s eyebrows curved slightly, revealing fine lines at the corners of his eyes: “It’s nothing. Be more careful next time you ride—the bricks here are unstable.”

Xiao Lin nodded obediently: “Mm-hmm. By the way, Brother Cai, I haven’t seen you these past few days...”

Afraid that Xiao Lin might let something slip, Cai Gu quickly covered his mouth with his hand. His broad palm gave off a faint fragrance, and Xiao Lin’s eyes instantly grew dazed. He took a deep breath, inhaling the scent that wasn’t pheromones.

“Brother Cai, you smell so good...”

“Hmm?”

Just as Xiao Lin leaned closer, a red head forced its way between them. Jiang Yu sat in the wheelchair and glared impatiently at Xiao Lin: “Take me upstairs now.”

“Who is he?” Xiao Lin, nearly knocked over by the intrusion, looked at the unfamiliar young man. Alarms rang in his heart—he could sense a kindred spirit in Jiang Yu.

Cai Gu smoothed down Jiang Yu’s tousled short hair and tucked the stray strands behind his ear, explaining with a smile: “He’s the child of a friend of mine. I’m bringing him to my place to hang out.”

“I’ll be going now.”

After saying goodbye to Xiao Lin, Cai Gu pushed Jiang Yu and poked his forehead with a fingertip: “Don’t be so rude next time.”

Xiao Lin, clutching the bag of radishes, wore a dark expression. He noticed the boy’s expensive clothes and the luxury car he had arrived in.

Since when did Cai Gu have such a wealthy friend?

Because Cai Gu was too dense, people like Xiao Lin, who coveted him, never hid their stares. But then Jiang Yu turned his head from the wheelchair and stared back at him expressionlessly.

Those cold red eyes held no emotion, boring straight into Xiao Lin, overwhelming him like a flood.

By the time Cai Gu’s figure disappeared behind the residential building, Xiao Lin collapsed weakly to his knees, drenched in cold sweat.

His throat felt as if pierced by needles. Xiao Lin clutched his chest and painfully coughed up bloody foam.

There was no elevator in the residential building, so the driver had to carry the wheelchair up the stairs first. Jiang Yu hopped on one foot, complaining as he went: “Your husband is useless. He makes you live in a place like this—shabby and dark.”

This was the apartment Cai Gu had worked over ten years to buy. He couldn’t help but mutter softly in defense: “It’s actually not that bad. The people here are very warm, the neighbors are nice, and my husband... my husband works very hard too.”

Cai Gu’s lovesick demeanor infuriated Jiang Yu. He just couldn’t understand why Cai Gu was so obsessed with his husband.

So obsessed that even Jiang Yu couldn’t help feeling jealous.

Cai Gu looked at the wheelchair blocking the door and rubbed his temples in frustration: “Are you really going to stay here?”

Jiang Yu sent the driver away and nodded matter-of-factly: “Of course. I was kind enough to take you home, and now it’s dark outside. Can’t I stay the night?”

Like a vicious dog, he immediately began looking around without any restraint, as if surveying his own territory.

Cai Gu was soft-spoken and tolerant, especially with children. Besides, he was feeling sticky all over, so he didn’t have time to deal with Jiang Yu. He instructed: “Don’t run around. There’s snacks on the table. Be good. I’m going to take a shower first.”

Jiang Yu was still rummaging around, checking if there was any wild Alpha hidden in the room. The place was small but cozier than he had imagined, filled with traces of Cai Gu’s life.

Even the air carried his scent.

The sound of Cai Gu showering came from the bathroom. Jiang Yu licked his dry lips and restrained himself to only glance once toward the bathroom door. The door was frosted glass, revealing nothing more than a faint shadow.

Dissatisfied, Jiang Yu knelt on the sofa, staring intently at the bedroom, silently cursing the security captain again. What an idiot—couldn’t he have made the bathroom door semi-transparent?

The pungent smell of blood radiated from him. Jiang Yu tugged at his collar, feeling unbearably hot. Just as his irritation peaked, a knock came from outside the door.

Jiang Yu frowned, instantly alert. It might be some lover showing up. He straightened his collar and, while Cai Gu was still in the shower, put his foot down and walked to the door.

There was no one at the door, only an exquisite gift box. Jiang Yu bent down and picked it up. The box was heavy, and the recipient information read Cai Gu’s name.

The bathroom door opened, and white steam poured out. Jiang Yu instinctively looked up. Cai Gu emerged wearing a thin slip-like nightgown, his half-long black hair pinned back, wet strands clinging to his cheeks. Water droplets slid down his neck, past his collarbone and into the hollow of his clavicle.

This was a Cai Gu Jiang Yu had never seen before.

Cai Gu’s gaze dropped to Jiang Yu’s leg in the cast, which was now on the floor. He reminded him quietly: “Doesn’t your leg hurt?”

Jiang Yu quickly lifted his leg and hopped over to the sofa: “I heard the knock, so I hopped over to get it. Here, it seems to be yours.”

Cai Gu’s attention was immediately drawn to the box in his hands. He tilted his head, puzzled. He clearly remembered not ordering anything.

Cai Gu adjusted the strap of his nightgown and sat down on the sofa beside Jiang Yu. The moisture from his body soaked Jiang Yu’s sleeve, and the rich scent hit his face instantly.

The nightgown clung tightly to his chest, leaving almost no gap, only the tempting curve where his pectoral muscles pushed up against the fabric.

“Bang.”

The gift box snapped shut. A faint blush and some panic spread across Cai Gu’s face.

Jiang Yu snapped back to reality. Curious, he wanted to see what was inside the box, but Cai Gu grabbed his arm: “If you’re sleeping here tonight, go take a shower. I’ve set out clothes for you in the bathroom. They’re clean.”

Jiang Yu stood up silently, his hands at his sides. Just as Cai Gu was surprised by his sudden obedience, Jiang Yu pretended to accidentally bump into the table.

He tried to knock something off, but the low table was fixed to the floor. Instead, he only hurt his leg.

Gritting his teeth, he wanted to try again.

Cai Gu rubbed his forehead in exasperation and poked his forehead: “Stop it.”

Indignantly, Jiang Yu headed to the bedroom. Before entering, he turned back to steal a glance, but Cai Gu’s back completely blocked the gift box from view.

Once he confirmed Jiang Yu was in the shower, Cai Gu secretly opened the box again. He took a tissue and carefully extracted the card from inside.

“Don’t go to other Alphas. Use mine. This is custom-made.”

Seeing the silicone object inside the gift box, Cai Gu’s head ached. He immediately guessed it had been left by the thug at the door. He didn’t understand why the other person had suddenly become like this—a young kid harassing an ordinary Beta like himself.

Cai Gu sighed. He closed the gift box, initially planning to throw it straight into the trash. But then he worried Jiang Yu might dig through the trash. So, still in his nightgown, he went downstairs and tossed the gift box into the dumpster before finally relaxing.

.

Night fell. The streetlights in the neighborhood turned on, their orange glow attracting a swarm of insects around the hot bulbs. Various sounds drifted out from the surrounding houses—the clatter of cooking, the noise of arguments, and the cries of children.

And Jiang Yu's whining voice: "Why won't you let me sleep on the bed? You're actually making me sleep on the floor! You think I won't get someone to fire your husband right now, and your whole family will have nothing to eat?"

Jiang Yu covered his face with Cai Gu's blanket, with a selfish motive, using his own pheromones to soak Cai Gu's bed and infuse it with his scent.

Cai Gu knelt on one knee on the bed, his thin spaghetti-strap nightgown bunching up on his thighs. He was completely at a loss with Jiang Yu. His expression fell, almost on the verge of tears: "If you don't come down..."

"Then I'll just sleep on the floor."

The only room in the house with air conditioning was the bedroom. Cai Gu hadn't even wanted to let him sleep in the same room to begin with.

Jiang Yu pulled the blanket off his face. His hair was slightly disheveled as he looked up at Cai Gu.

Although this Beta was pretty and sexy, the fine lines on his face were obvious, revealing that he was no longer young. He gave off a mature vibe, his lips slightly downturned, and the muscles on his arms carried a hint of softness, as if growing softer with age.

His personality was also exceptionally timid, a simple, honest older guy. After being rejected again and again, Jiang Yu became furious and embarrassed: "Do you think I actually want to sleep with you? Hmph, fine—I won't sleep here! I'll just leave right now—"

"Are you leaving now?" Cai Gu's eyes lit up, and his tone rose deliberately. He stood up impatiently: "Do you want to call the driver to come pick you up?"

Jiang Yu could barely catch his breath. He felt like a pathetic simp, desperately trying to get close, only to be kicked away.

Jiang Yu wrapped himself in the blanket, rolled smoothly onto the floor that Cai Gu had just prepared for him, buried his face in the blanket, and lost his cool: "Forget it. You're that old anyway, I won't fight you for the bed. It's all your husband's fault—he's useless—you should just divorce him."

Jiang Yu was covertly driving a wedge between Cai Gu and his "husband" again.

Cai Gu turned off the light. He pressed a finger to his lips and said softly: "Shh, alright, that's enough. It's late. You have class tomorrow. Behave yourself. Good night."

The room was dark, and Cai Gu's voice was unusually gentle in the darkness.

After Cai Gu fell asleep, the young man under the bed suddenly replied.

"Good night."

Author's note:

----------------------

Today's look: a hot mom in a spaghetti-strap top.