Morning sunlight streamed through the half-open gauze curtains and spilled across the gray-blue sheets.
When Qi Xing opened his eyes, the tip of his nose was filled with a rich, comforting red-wine scent.
He shifted and discovered that one of his long legs was still boldly sprawled across a warm, rock-hard body.
He lifted his head slightly and met Huo Shaoyan's deep black eyes, tinged with a hint of sleep-deprived irritation.
"Awake?" Huo Shaoyan's voice was husky with the rasp of early morning, devastatingly sexy. "Then get off me. My back is about to break under your weight."
The Qi Xing of the past would probably have blushed scarlet and leaped out of bed by now, shouting "Who wants to hug you?" while insisting otherwise and frantically hiding his little secret feelings.
But the Qi Xing who had cultivated for over five hundred years merely raised an eyebrow.
Not only did he refuse to get off, he doubled down. He reached out with his slender fingers and poked the faintly visible abs beneath Huo Shaoyan's pajamas, then lifted his hand to run it over that prickly buzz cut.
"President Huo, who was it that held on to me and refused to let go last night, patting the back of my head with such concern?" Qi Xing grinned like a fox that had gotten its way, seductive light shimmering in his peach-blossom eyes.
"I was following your godmother's instructions and personally 'accompanying' you. And now you're trying to tell on me?" The abs beneath his hand suddenly tensed.
Huo Shaoyan's face darkened as he grabbed the hand that was fanning the flames on his body.
The hand was slender and fair, its nails trimmed perfectly clean. In his grasp, it felt soft, almost boneless.
"Qi Xing, don't make a scene first thing in the morning." Huo Shaoyan fixed him with a warning look, his voice dropping several degrees.
An Alpha's morning instincts were already stirring, and this little tyrant was rubbing against him in his arms first thing in the morning. He was practically testing the limits of Huo Shaoyan's saintly self-control.
"Hmph." Qi Xing pulled his hand back, then finally rolled lazily out of bed. As he stretched luxuriously, he showed off the delicate curve of his waist and his fair ankles without the slightest restraint. "I'm hungry. I want breakfast."
Watching that graceful figure sway into the bathroom, Huo Shaoyan drew a deep breath and resignedly rubbed his temples. He had really brought home a little tyrant.
Half an hour later, at the dining table.
Huo Shaoyan wore a crisp white shirt and suit pants, calmly slicing into a fried egg. Across from him, Qi Xing wore silk pajamas a size too large, the collar askew and revealing a broad expanse of exquisite collarbone and the scent-blocking patch at his nape, which had come loose slightly the night before.
"The coffee's too bitter." Qi Xing prodded the cup disdainfully with his spoon. "I want warm milk with a spoonful of honey. And this toast is too dry. I want strawberry jam."
Huo Shaoyan took a sip of black coffee and said coldly, "Qi Xing, don't you have hands? Am I your maid?"
"You're not, but you're Huo Shaoyan." Qi Xing propped his chin in his hand and gazed at him with a beaming smile, brazen indulgence filling his beautiful eyes. "Godmother said that if you don't take good care of me, she'll beat you up. And besides... I want the piece you spread."
The final sentence, "I want the piece you spread," came out soft and pliant, with a hint of coquettishness that was difficult to detect.
Huo Shaoyan's hand, holding his knife and fork, paused.
He lifted his eyes to look at Qi Xing. The other's gaze was utterly naked, filled with an overwhelming dependence and affection that had melted into something impossible to hide. The awkward probing of the past was gone.
The CEO silently set down his coffee cup, reached for a slice of toast, scooped up a generous amount of strawberry jam with a butter knife, and spread it over the surface with meticulous evenness before holding it to Qi Xing's lips.
"Open." Huo Shaoyan forced out the single word.
"Ah—" Qi Xing took a bite with extreme cooperation. The sweet fragrance of strawberries spread through his mouth, and his eyes curved into crescents as he smiled. "So sweet. Shaoyan's really good at this."
Huo Shaoyan watched a spot of red jam cling to the corner of his mouth, and his Adam's apple bobbed unconsciously. He pulled out a tissue and wiped it away—his touch a little rough, but his movements extraordinarily gentle. "Eat your food. Why do you talk so much?"
"Also..." Qi Xing chewed his toast and fixed his attention on the top of Huo Shaoyan's head again. He shook his head in deep dismay. "That buzz cut still looks awful today. With a face like yours, pairing it with that hairstyle is a complete waste. Listen to me and grow it out soon."
"Little Xing, you're getting awfully nosy." Huo Shaoyan was so exasperated he laughed, then raised his hand and lightly flicked Qi Xing's smooth forehead.
"I am nosy." Qi Xing covered his forehead, looking perfectly justified. "If I don't take care of you, who will?"
"I'm going to work."
Huo Shaoyan stood fully dressed in the entryway, briefcase in hand, preparing to change his shoes.
"Wait." The slap-slap of slippers sounded behind him as Qi Xing came ambling over.
The moment Huo Shaoyan turned around, Qi Xing had already moved in front of him.
A slender finger lifted Huo Shaoyan's slightly crooked Windsor knot, and Qi Xing slowly adjusted his tie. The original body's memories included having learned how to tie one.
Because they were so close, the faint, sweet rose scent on Qi Xing, like morning dew, drifted out once more.
Huo Shaoyan stood rigidly still, letting the Omega who was nearly a head shorter than him fuss with his tie.
From his angle, he could see Qi Xing's focused profile perfectly. His long eyelashes were like a small fan, casting a faint shadow over his eye sockets.
"There." Qi Xing finished straightening his tie but did not immediately step away.
Instead, he reached out and lightly traced the hard line of Huo Shaoyan's jaw in a deliberately provocative gesture, a wicked smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "President Huo, come home early after work. If you dare work overtime instead of keeping me company, I'll go tell on you to Godmother and say you neglected me and left me all alone at home."
Huo Shaoyan's gaze turned terrifyingly dark in an instant. His red-wine pheromone could no longer be restrained. It burst out, crushing and enveloping that brazen rose scent.
He suddenly reached out, clasped Qi Xing around the waist, and pulled him into his arms.
"Tell on me?" Huo Shaoyan's voice was so low it seemed to scrape through the bass register of a cello. "Qi Xing, how many times have you provoked me this morning, hmm? Do you really think I wouldn't dare do anything to you?"
Qi Xing leaned against his chest, feeling the powerful beat of his heart. The amusement in his eyes deepened.
He rose slightly onto his toes, turned his head, and fearlessly exposed his vulnerable nape, the scent-blocking patch still clinging to it, right beside Huo Shaoyan's lips.
"Would you dare, Shaoyan?" He leaned close to Huo Shaoyan's ear, his voice light as a feather yet carrying a fatal allure. "If you dare mark me... I'll cling to you for the rest of my life."
In last night's dream, he had remembered that the original body had learned some things about marking at school.
Huo Shaoyan's breathing fell completely out of rhythm. He stared at the scent-blocking patch, slightly crooked against that fair nape, and fought with all his strength to suppress the instinct to bite down.
In the end, the CEO could only viciously pinch Qi Xing's cheek, then let go somewhat awkwardly and turn to pull open the door.
"Behave yourself at home. I'll come back tonight and deal with you."
Watching Huo Shaoyan's slightly hurried figure enter the elevator, Qi Xing leaned against the doorframe and gently stroked the cheek that had been pinched red, letting out a pleased chuckle.
Shaoyan.
In this life, you're still mine.