TuxedoTranslations

Chapter 97

That night, the enormous Polaris club only had two people in it: Xia Tong and Lin Mingfei.

The air conditioning was running at full power, making the room warm like spring. After finishing his bath, Xia Tong changed into fluffy pajamas and lazily shuffled out of his bedroom in slippers.

He looked downstairs and saw that Lin Mingfei was still lounging on the sofa, playing on his phone. The alpha leaned sideways against the couch, his broad shoulders and back relaxed, his long legs stretched out freely—straight and slender.

From any angle, his bone structure and posture were flawless.

He looked extremely handsome.

Xia Tong suddenly felt his cheeks heating up. Propping his face on his hands, he leaned over the upstairs railing and stared at Lin Mingfei in a daze for quite a while.

In the end, he couldn’t suppress the fluttering in his heart. He happily trotted downstairs.

At that moment, Lin Mingfei was on Weibo, going all-out in roasting Goblin.

Over the years, after becoming Polaris’s captain, his once explosive temper had mellowed a lot. He had realized that a person’s time and energy were limited. Only by constantly moving forward quickly could you avoid falling behind others and remain undefeated.

So after kicking away obstacles under his feet, turning back to see where those obstacles had rolled off to and how badly they’d fallen was simply a waste of time.

Because of that, he had learned to deal with people he disliked quickly and efficiently, and once the other party suffered a loss, he wouldn’t waste even a glance on them anymore.

But for some reason tonight, the calm, almost Zen-like image he had maintained for years blew up completely with a “boom.”

On the issue of “who Xia Tong belongs to,” he found himself once again filled with the same hot-blooded impulse from his youth—beating up anyone he disliked.

Simply put:

He couldn’t stand it.

After fans started noticing something suspicious, Goblin finally realized how embarrassing the situation looked. He decisively abandoned the “Weibo repost battlefield” and moved the fight into Lin Mingfei’s private messages.

The two of them continued mocking and insulting each other there.

Lin Mingfei typed rapidly with a blank expression, already able to imagine Goblin on the other side of the screen jumping around in rage, face red with anger.

After typing his final sarcastic line, Goblin didn’t reply for a long time.

Lin Mingfei wondered if the guy had coughed up three liters of blood like a tragic character in a movie and admitted defeat.

Rolling his eyes disdainfully, Lin Mingfei muttered to himself:

“Our team’s omega… the centerpiece… and you think you get to flirt with him?”

“You must be dreaming.”

“Who’s trying to flirt with me?”

Suddenly, Xia Tong’s crisp voice rang right next to his ear.

The alpha was startled, and immediately hit by an inexplicable sense of guilt. His hand trembled, and his phone shot up into the air. It bobbled twice in midair before he managed to catch it, narrowly avoiding a second screen-shattering disaster.

Lin Mingfei felt his heart pounding wildly, almost leaping out of his throat. Clutching his phone, he turned around—and saw the freshly bathed little omega standing by the back of the sofa, head tilted curiously, peering at him. Every strand of hair, every eyelash glistened wet and adorable.

The fresh, fragrant scent of osmanthus slowly drifted into his nose, invading his senses.

Startled, Lin Mingfei forced himself to calm down, and murmured, “Who else… Goblin from Sabertooth, of course.”

“Does he want to hear me sing again?” Xia Tong’s eyes brightened. He jumped onto the sofa in a single bound, snuggling into Lin Mingfei’s arms. He looped Lin Mingfei’s arm around his neck, hung it over his chest, and lifted his own hand to hold the alpha’s palm.

Lin Mingfei was forcibly “holding” Xia Tong and froze for a moment in shock at the little omega’s initiative. Then, surprisingly, he found the feeling of holding this precious little one quite nice. He adjusted his arms, letting Xia Tong press closer, and smiled softly: “Yeah… he wants to hear you sing again.”

“Hmph! I’m not a singing performer. I can’t just sing for them all the time! I still have training and matches, you know!” Xia Tong pouted.

Seeing Xia Tong’s reaction, Lin Mingfei felt a little sorry for Goblin. In Xia Tong’s dictionary, “flirting” between the sexes still seemed to exist only at the level of “singing.”

“Just ignore him,” Lin Mingfei said casually. “Asking for your number, tagging you on Weibo… he’s not exactly a well-behaved guy.”

Feeling the soft, fluffy little omega in his arms, Lin Mingfei’s mood lifted. He withdrew his hand from Xia Tong’s palm and took the initiative to wrap an arm around his shoulders, leaning down to sniff: “Smells good. What shampoo did you use?”

“It’s not the shampoo—it’s me! It’s me!” Xia Tong poked himself with a finger, enthusiastically answering.

“Don’t lie to me. I’ve smelled you before. It’s not this,” Lin Mingfei said.

Xia Tong’s little face scrunched up, and he finally tugged on Lin Mingfei’s arm, puffing with frustration.

The little omega was usually gentle, rarely using such direct behavior to express emotions. Lin Mingfei was slightly puzzled—just by identifying the scent of shampoo, he had made this little one so mad. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“You like the shampoo more than you like me! If someone else uses that shampoo, will you like them instead?!” Xia Tong glared at him, earnestly questioning.

Lin Mingfei froze for a good ten seconds, then couldn’t hold back a soft chuckle, which quickly escalated into uncontrollable laughter. He turned sideways, leaning over the sofa back, shoulders shaking as he laughed.

“Why are you laughing?!” Xia Tong protested, feeling that Lin Mingfei didn’t take his words seriously. He pounded his little fist on Lin Mingfei’s thigh: “You’ve changed! You never used to laugh at me! Hmph!”

“No, no… I’m not laughing at you. This isn’t laughing at you,” Lin Mingfei said, tears of amusement in his eyes. He finally regained his composure, turned, and earnestly told Xia Tong, “I’m happy.”

“Happy about what?” Xia Tong asked. “Tell me. Let’s see if I get happy too.”

“Hmm…” Lin Mingfei thought for a moment, holding back a laugh. “I just didn’t expect you to get jealous over a bottle of shampoo.”

Xia Tong blinked in surprise.

“Jealous… what?” he asked, confused. “I’m not jealous.”

“This is what we call jealousy,” Lin Mingfei said, half-smiling. “It’s when you care too much about my attention.”

Being caught out, Xia Tong felt a little embarrassed. He lowered his gaze, cheeks slightly flushed, stammering as he tried to reason. Then, after processing the new term, his eyes lit up.

“So—” he looked up earnestly at Lin Mingfei, “were you jealous of Goblin before?”

Lin Mingfei: “Huh?”

The little omega’s big eyes squinted slightly, showing a familiar mischievous glint. Lin Mingfei finally understood the meaning of “using someone’s own method against them.” He cleared his throat, trying to climb out of the hole he’d dug: “No, me and Goblin—”

“You don’t need to explain!” Xia Tong suddenly covered his mouth with his hand, speaking seriously and with absolute certainty: “You were jealous! I understand everything. You care about me just as much as I care about you!”

Lin Mingfei froze. The soft, fragrant little palm pressed against his lips, like a delicate osmanthus-flavored pastry—pleasant, enticing, yet carrying a weighty pressure that sealed his heart and will, leaving him no room to find excuses.

Yes. The truth was exactly that. Xia Tong was so lovable—how could he not worry someone would try to take him away? He really was jealous of Goblin, and he didn’t even try to deny it out of pride.

“Yes… you’ve got me completely wrapped around your little finger,” he whispered into Xia Tong’s palm, laughing softly. “But… maybe I care about you even more than you care about me.”

“That’s impossible! You don’t know how much I like you!” Xia Tong immediately rejected it. Suddenly, as if recalling something, his cheeks flushed a thin red. His voice lost some of its usual strength. “Right… didn’t you tell me before… to wait a while and see if I still liked you the same?”

Lin Mingfei’s gaze flickered.

“Then… has enough time passed now?” Xia Tong asked.

Lin Mingfei didn’t say anything.

Xia Tong, impatient, quickly said, “Zero, I realized I still really like you—just you. Not only that, I like you even more than before. What should I do? Should I wait a bit longer?”

Lin Mingfei’s lips pressed into a straight line, slightly pale, full of restraint.

The little omega stared at him with pure and earnest eyes, demanding an answer. Lin Mingfei thought, if he could still resist under such relentless pursuit, then either his mind or his body must be seriously broken.

“In that case…” His voice was a little hoarse, his gaze sharp and burning. “Sit a little closer.”

Xia Tong didn’t understand at first, uttering an “Oh,” and shifted his body on the sofa cushion. Before he could react, the alpha suddenly pulled him in, bringing him into his arms. Xia Tong gasped lowly as he landed on Lin Mingfei’s lap, swaying a little. Fearful of falling, he instinctively looped his arms around Lin Mingfei’s neck. Their faces were now nearly level. Lin Mingfei hooked his fingers under Xia Tong’s chin, lifting it gently.

The little omega’s soft pink lips came into view. Whether from nervousness or something else, Xia Tong’s breathing was a bit quick, lips pressing and moving lightly. The sweet scent of osmanthus from his breath wafted onto Lin Mingfei’s face like a catalyst that made his heart race.

“You smell… amazing,” Lin Mingfei whispered.

“I… I also like your scent,” Xia Tong sniffed, far less composed than Lin Mingfei. His little face was flushed, and his high-affinity pheromones wafted into the air. The deep, subtly domineering scent of white sandalwood made his limbs go weak, a deadly attraction written into his genes. He felt like a vine clinging to the alpha’s chest, dependent entirely on him.

“I’m going to kiss you.” Lin Mingfei’s gaze traced Xia Tong’s brows, eyes, nose, and finally his perfectly shaped lips. His desire grew tangible and heated.

“Then… kiss me,” Xia Tong stammered, his voice trembling. “Just… just kiss?”

“Or do you want something else?” Lin Mingfei suddenly chuckled, his low, magnetic voice sending shivers down Xia Tong’s ear. “You greedy little pervert…”

“I’m not—” Xia Tong started, flustered and embarrassed, but Lin Mingfei cut him off.

It was a long-anticipated, mutual moment. Their kiss, inevitable and natural, left both of them satisfied. The air seemed molten, faintly boiling. Eventually, feeling a bit short of breath, they pulled slightly apart, foreheads touching, breathing deeply. The moist exhalations intensified the lack of oxygen, making them light-headed. Xia Tong’s breaths were faster and more panicked than Lin Mingfei’s, eyelashes heavy and damp. Before he could recover, Lin Mingfei cupped the back of his head and leaned down, pressing the small omega onto the sofa, covering him with his taller frame.

His long, strong fingers brushed back the strands of Xia Tong’s hair. Lin Mingfei pressed a gentle kiss to the smooth forehead, but couldn’t resist the beastly desire roaring inside. He captured Xia Tong’s lips forcefully.

The standing lamp flickered, the ceiling seemed to rise endlessly. In the vast house, it was just the two of them—no limits. Pure freedom made them feel euphoric, and private emotions and desires swelled without restraint.

Lin Mingfei’s hand had already slipped between Xia Tong’s inner shirt and flannel pajamas. The little omega’s eyes were tightly shut, cheeks flushed, red at the corners. His damp eyelashes trembled violently as he let out broken little hums, half complaints, half pleas. Lin Mingfei bent his knees, ready to go further, when suddenly a phone rang.

Both froze.

From the sound’s direction, the phone had apparently rolled out of Xia Tong’s pocket while they were moving, landing quite far away. Veins popped on Lin Mingfei’s forehead. Gritting his teeth, he muttered, “Damn it… ignore it…”

“Mm…” Xia Tong murmured.

Though they said it, neither moved, both cautiously listening to the persistent ringing.

The ringtone had serious endurance—it kept ringing for more than ten seconds. Lin Mingfei finally snapped. He jumped off the sofa, stumbling toward the phone.

Incoming call: He Youjin.

Lin Mingfei: “…”

He suddenly remembered He Youjin’s curse before leaving…

“Don’t let me catch you doing anything indecent in the empty base! I’ll call and check!”

Lin Mingfei grimly answered the phone.

He Youjin’s shrill yelling exploded through the line.

“LIN MINGFEI!!! Why did it take you so long to pick up?! What the hell were you doing just now?! Tell me the truth!!!”

Lin Mingfei: “…Aren’t you with Fang Haoyang? Why do you even have time to call me?”

Fang Haoyang’s voice yawned faintly in the background, mixing in a bit of schadenfreude: “Because Youjin is a responsible manager…”

Lin Mingfei almost swore at the two of them for their double standards.

He Youjin continued relentlessly: “Why don’t you answer my question directly?! What were you doing just now?! What were you DOING??? Where’s Xia Tong?! Let Xia Tong answer! I want to hear Xia Tong’s voice!”

Lin Mingfei: “…”

Damn it. Everything in the world was conspiring to stop him from having a relationship!

But… it was just that he didn’t pick up the phone on time—this didn’t mean anything, right? He could easily say he was taking a shower, or accidentally fell asleep, or something else… He Youjin couldn’t possibly fly over from Fang Haoyang’s pillow to the base to inspect in person, could he? No big deal, no big deal.

Lin Mingfei convinced himself of that and gradually calmed down. He handed the phone to Xia Tong and gave him a few subtle glances.

Too lazy or weak to sit up, the little omega lay back on the sofa, still flushed from their previous passion. He lowered his hand to take Lin Mingfei’s phone, bringing it to his ear, only to hear He Youjin’s ominous interrogation:

“What were you just doing, Xia Xiaotong?”

Xia Tong froze, eyes glazing over, drifting blankly toward the ceiling: “Ah… we… we…”

“Confess truthfully and leniency will follow! Resist, and you’ll regret it! Speak honestly, Xia Xiaotong!”

Lin Mingfei frantically gestured for Xia Tong to read the signal, but the little omega didn’t catch on at all. Clearly unable to lie, Xia Tong, after being yelled at twice, nervously stood up with a “shua-la” from the sofa, trembling as he clutched his pants like a scolded schoolchild.

Lin Mingfei’s right eyelid twitched violently, and his heart sank.

Sure enough, the next second, Xia Tong blurted everything out in a whiny rush.

“I’m sorry, Manager He!!! Zero said he wanted to kiss me, so we kissed, qaq! We just hugged and kissed, that’s all, wuwuwu! We won’t do it again, wuwuwu!! Don’t be angry, wuwuwu!!”

Lin Mingfei: “…”

In that moment, Lin Mingfei felt exactly like a wanted criminal surrounded by the police—three years of pursuit, with Debon behind him and He Youjin in front, guns pressed to his head. Raising his hands seemed to be the only option.

What’s harder than winning a championship?

—Having a relationship.

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