Chapter 23: Confinement

Chapter 23: Detention

The student council had a dedicated vehicle for transporting students, and it happened to be after school, so a crowd of onlookers had gathered downstairs.

Cai Gu timidly turned his head and buried it in He Yanxing’s chest. The warm breath he exhaled spread across the young man’s chest.

The finely crafted school uniform jacket was draped over him, revealing only half of his profile. His long, curled eyelashes were thick, and the two moles under his eyes had just been rubbed by a student’s thumb pad, making their color vivid.

He Yanxing tightened his grip, forcefully holding his shoulder.

Cai Gu cautiously opened his eyes and whispered, “It hurts.”

He Yanxing remained expressionless: “You’re too heavy.”

Cai Gu looked hurt with wide eyes but didn’t dare to argue back. He vaguely sensed that He Yanxing in front of him held an unusual status at the academy.

Although He Yanxing didn’t speak, he loosened his grip on Cai Gu’s shoulder. He bent down and gently placed Cai Gu onto the seat, while the other four were roughly shoved into the back compartment.

“He Yanxing?”

Hearing a familiar voice, Cai Gu stiffened. He quickly lowered his head, hiding entirely behind He Yanxing, pressing his cheek against his waist.

“Can I borrow your physiology class notes?” Jiang Yu propped one hand on the car door, standing on one leg and casually peering into the vehicle.

He Yanxing calmly blocked his view: “Sure, you can go get them from the dorm yourself.”

“Alright, thanks. Next combat training, I’ll partner with you.” Jiang Yu didn’t ask further about the situation inside the car. Determined to successfully bite Cai Gu, he hadn’t even checked the forum, focusing solely on studying.

Tsk. Still felt it was hard to get first place. Maybe before that, he could trick him and get some cheap favors.

Right, also needed to find a way to make him get a divorce…

Jiang Yu irritably scratched his head, bouncing into the dorm.

Seeing Jiang Yu’s retreating figure, Cai Gu let out a long sigh. He didn’t want Jiang Yu to know he had been caught—it would be a bad influence in front of the kid, worrying him and affecting his studies.

He Yanxing closed the car door. Seeing Cai Gu’s excessive nervousness, a suspicion arose in his mind. He frowned instinctively, his frosty eyes fixed on Cai Gu: “Is he also one of your customers?”

Cai Gu, afraid He Yanxing would bring Jiang Yu over, quickly shook his head: “No, no, I don’t know him. Really, I don’t know him. I’m just a bit scared of being seen here.”

Given Jiang Yu’s bad temper, if he were caught, there would definitely be a fight, and Jiang Yu and He Yanxing might both get life sentences.

He Yanxing looked down to straighten his messy gloves. He curled his fingers, adjusting his silver-rimmed glasses: “He’s not a good person.”

Cai Gu nodded submissively. His side ponytail had long come undone, covering half his face. The handcuffs binding his wrists clinked together, making a crisp clinking sound.

He was too timid and cowardly to even look others in the eye.

Recalling what Cai Gu had said earlier, He Yanxing frowned, grabbed his calf, placed it on the seat, and yanked up his pants.

The shape of his legs was smooth, his thighs plump yet firm, jiggling slightly with the movement. His skin was delicate and soft, but a large bruise on his knee spoiled the look.

A cold glint flashed in He Yanxing’s eyes. He pulled Cai Gu’s other leg onto the seat as well, revealing the bruises on both knees clearly. For someone Cai Gu’s age, such injuries were quite excessive.

With both legs on the seat, Cai Gu could only sit sideways, his soft, plump buttocks pressing a dent into the leather seat.

Cai Gu stared blankly with round eyes, watching He Yanxing rummage for something. Despite his age, his eyes remained clear, pure, and untainted.

There was only ointment in the car, no cotton swabs. He Yanxing removed one glove, scooped out some translucent ointment with his fingertip, and applied it to the two bruises on his knees.

The car was silent. The ointment was cold, and Cai Gu instinctively tried to pull his legs back, but He Yanxing firmly held his ankles, preventing any movement.

After covering the wounds with the ointment, Cai Gu pressed his lips together. His fear of He Yanxing subsided slightly, and he offered a genuine smile: “Thank you.”

He Yanxing didn’t acknowledge his thanks. Instead, he suddenly asked, “What else did they do to you?”

He had only meant to ask if Cai Gu had any other injuries, but Cai Gu clearly misunderstood. He frowned and recalled: “They licked my feet and my face. My right cheek is all covered in saliva. And my nape—they rubbed their teeth against it.”

It was like they were dogs gnawing on a bone.

The more He Yanxing heard, the colder his eyes became. Without a word, he glanced at the four in the back compartment and tapped his fingers lightly on the back of the seat.

An older Beta, weak-willed—probably only selling himself for the sake of his family. He might have a domineering husband, a rebellious child, yet he had to use his body to earn money.

He Yanxing mentally found an excuse for Cai Gu. He pulled out a few wet wipes and held Cai Gu’s chin.

Cai Gu didn’t know what he was doing. His lashes trembled nervously as he stared blankly at He Yanxing, until a damp sensation touched his face. Then he realized He Yanxing was wiping his face.

He Yanxing wiped carefully, first cleaning his face, then his nape, and finally the tops of his feet.

The wipes were used up. The car suddenly stopped. In panic, Cai Gu’s foot stepped on He Yanxing’s face, knocking off his glasses.

He Yanxing tilted his head slightly, holding his breath. Before he could fully react, Cai Gu, terrified, immediately pulled his foot back.

“We’ve arrived at the detention room.” He Yanxing composed himself, opened the door, stepped out first, then picked up Cai Gu from the car.

This time, he was more adept, pressing Cai Gu against his chest and wrapping him in the school uniform jacket.

The scent of sea salt drove away the mixed pheromones that had previously covered Cai Gu. Cai Gu had never been to the detention room; everything around him was unfamiliar.

The detention room was a single small room. Cai Gu had thought he would be locked up with the other four, but He Yanxing carried him in the opposite direction.

When he was set down on a chair, he was still in a daze. His hands rested on the table before him, handcuffed together.

And because his knees were injured, he couldn’t move, effectively trapped in place.

He Yanxing retrieved his school uniform jacket. Cai Gu’s shirt had been torn beyond recognition, even his undershirt hung loosely on him.

But Cai Gu’s build was larger than the students—broad shoulders and a muscular build—so He Yanxing’s clothes wouldn’t fit him.

He Yanxing thought for a moment, took a blanket from the couch, and draped it over Cai Gu. The soft blanket covered his exposed wheat-colored skin.

He Yanxing sat directly across from him, placing several photos neatly on the table in front of him: “Someone on the forum claimed that you offer special services for the school’s Alphas, and they also exposed your contact information on the forum.”

“That… that’s not me.” Cai Gu protested vehemently. “I, I have proof!”

He Yanxing hadn’t expected such an answer. He adjusted his glasses, his eyes sharp behind the lenses: “What proof?”

Cai Gu gestured with his cuffed hands: “Can you untie me first?”

He Yanxing didn’t understand why, but Cai Gu was just an older Beta, no threat to him—even a bit delicate. Without hesitation, he used the key to unlock the handcuffs.

Once freed, Cai Gu let out a long breath. Before He Yanxing could react, he pulled off his thin undershirt, revealing half of his chest. It bounced slightly.

He Yanxing stared in distraction, until Cai Gu tugged him forward. Still dazed, he moved closer, feeling the heat beneath his skin and a faint scent.

“Look, I have a red mole right here.” Cai Gu pointed to it, showing it to He Yanxing.

He Yanxing remained calm, his tone flat. He leaned in closer, the silver frames pressing against the dark muscle, sending a chill that made Cai Gu want to pull back, but he resisted the urge to step back and asked hesitantly, “Right? This red mole is very obvious.”

He Yanxing’s frames kept pressing against it, then the tip of his nose lightly brushed over the red mole, and his Adam’s apple bobbed. “So what?”

Cai Gu’s hands rested on his shoulders, fingers tangled in the soft blue hair. He glanced at He Yanxing with worry—after such an obvious hint, he still hadn’t caught on.

He must be kinda slow, Cai Gu began to worry about He Yanxing’s grades.

Cai Gu gently pushed He Yanxing, who was almost stuck to his chest, and picked up the photos on the table, signaling him to look carefully: “There’s no red mole on these. It's different from me.”

After getting his fill, He Yanxing reluctantly pulled away from the red mole. He watched its color grow brighter and his breathing quickened.

He Yanxing turned his head and looked at the chest in the photo. He frowned, finally noticing the issue—the person who Photoshopped the image hadn’t guessed that after taking off his clothes, Cai Gu’s chest muscles were a few sizes bigger than in the picture.

Fuller and better-shaped.

“It really isn’t you.” He Yanxing stood up and said seriously.

Hearing his judgment, Cai Gu’s eyes sparkled with light, and he nodded quickly: “Mm-hmm.”

The blanket slipped down Cai Gu’s arm, looking more like a shawl. His disheveled black hair spread over his shoulders, making him appear softer: “You’re amazing.”

Such a babying tone made He Yanxing show a stunned expression. He adjusted his glasses, tilting his head awkwardly: “Then who posted that on the forum?”

Cai Gu didn’t know either. He gazed blankly, thinking hard: “Could it be that someone looks like me, and someone mistook me for someone else?”

The forum was only accessible to students inside the school, and Cai Gu didn’t want to think badly of them.

He Yanxing silently dismissed his guess, but before he could speak, there was a knock at the door.

“Come in.”

“President.” A student poked his head in, glanced at Cai Gu, who was still not fully dressed, and lowered his head, blushing: “Yue Xun wants to see him.”

Author’s note:

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

Mom thinks hard… Mom collapses into a puddle… Mom gives up.