TAO | Chapter 62

As Wei Xiaochi reached his doorstep, he heard Madam Wei’s loud voice, which was so piercing it shook his eardrums.

Standing at the door with the key for a few seconds, Wei Xiaochi finally unlocked it.

When he pushed the door open, the pungent smell of smoke rushed into his nostrils. Since his differentiation, he had become sensitive to smells, and he rubbed his nose instinctively.

Madam Wei, Wei Dongjia, and Fang Yuan were sitting in the living room, while the twins, Wei Zimo and Wei Zixin, were reciting the Three Character Classic beside Madam Wei.

Hearing the door open, they turned to look.

Wei Xiaochi stood frozen by the shoe rack, his throat dry as he said, “Grandma, Dad, Aunt Fang.”

When Madam Wei saw him, her smile disappeared. She gave him a quick glance before turning back to tease Wei Zimo.

Wei Dongjia frowned. “Why are you so late?”

Wei Xiaochi felt his nerves tense up and repeated the excuse Fang Yuan had taught him. “It’s almost exam time, so I stayed behind at school to study with some other classmates.”

Wei Dongjia disapproved of Wei Xiaochi’s meek attitude. His brows furrowed deeper. “Speak up. Stand up straight. Look at you, so weak.”

Wei Xiaochi immediately straightened up, his fingers digging into the seam of his sports pants.

The atmosphere was heavy.

Fang Yuan intervened, “Xiao Chi, have you eaten?”

Wei Xiaochi stiffly nodded, “Yes.”

He lowered his lashes and slowly changed into slippers, heading for his room.

Fang Yuan called out to him, “For the time being, sleep with Zimo. Let Grandma sleep in your room. She’s old, and Zimo is too restless.”

Wei Xiaochi replied, “I know, I’ll just grab a few books.”

Fang Yuan didn’t say anything more and turned to hurry the twins to get ready for bed.

Fang Yuan had already moved Wei Xiaochi’s blanket and pillow to Wei Zixin’s bed.

The twins’ room had wooden bunk beds. On the opposite side, there were two desks pushed together, with graffiti covering them, making it impossible to see the original paint. The walls were covered with more drawings and stickers.

Wei Xiaochi hadn’t finished his homework yet, so while Wei Zimo went to take a shower, he tried to finish a part of his English worksheet.

While working on the reading comprehension, Wei Zimo came running in, his hair still wet. He shook it on purpose, spraying water all over Wei Xiaochi like a little wet puppy.

Wei Xiaochi quickly covered his worksheet, “Stop messing around.”

Wei Zimo shouted, “Transformation!” and charged at Wei Xiaochi like a small cannonball. “Take that, monster!”

Wei Xiaochi was almost knocked off his stool.

Wei Zimo found it fun and shouted again, “Transformation!” Stretching his neck, he charged at him once more.

Wei Xiaochi quickly held him back, “Stop messing around. Go get a towel, I’ll dry your hair.”

Fang Yuan was still washing Wei Zixin’s hair in the bathroom and couldn’t care less about Wei Zimo.

Wei Zimo made a few moves like he was fighting a monster before dropping onto the table in exaggerated exhaustion.

“The monster is dead.” Wei Xiaochi lay on the table with his eyes closed. “Go get your towel.”

Wei Zimo cheered, “Oh, oh, I killed the monster! I’m the most courageous dragon-slayer!”

Wei Xiaochi helplessly opened his eyes. “Go get the towel.”

Only then did Wei Zimo run to the bathroom to grab his personal blue towel.

Wei Xiaochi coaxed Wei Zimo into drying his hair, then carried him to the bed, quickly turned off the room light.

Wei Zimo peered over the bed, “Brother, play with me for a while. I don’t want to sleep.”

Wei Xiaochi lay on Wei Zixin’s bed without saying anything.

Wei Zimo called him, “Brother? Wei Xiaochi? Brother?”

“Brother, talk to me, are you asleep?” Wei Zimo kept calling, “Brother?”

Wei Xiaochi still didn’t answer.

He had experience with kids. Children fell asleep quickly, especially energetic boys like Wei Zimo. As long as you ignored them, they’d fall asleep in one or two minutes.

Wei Zimo kept bouncing on the bed. When he saw that Wei Xiaochi wasn’t responding, he sighed, laid down on the bed, and slowly started to fall asleep.

Ten minutes later, Wei Xiaochi quietly got up from the bed, slipped on his slippers, and glanced at Wei Zimo on the top bunk.

He was already asleep, one little leg hanging over the bed rail, his head resting against the wall, and the blanket caught under his body.

Wei Xiaochi adjusted his leg and gently lifted him back onto the pillow, covering him with the thin blanket.

Getting off Wei Zimo’s bed, Wei Xiaochi turned on the desk lamp and continued working on his English worksheet.

At that moment, Fang Yuan opened the door and stood at the entrance, glancing at the top bunk, quietly asking, “Has he fallen asleep?”

Wei Xiaochi replied, “Just now.”

Fang Yuan said, “Go to bed early. Don’t stay up so late, your body can’t take it.”

Wei Xiaochi nodded, “Mm.”

Fang Yuan still stood by the door. Wei Xiaochi pursed his lips and started tidying his desk. Only then did she leave.

Fang Yuan’s concern was usually just words. As long as Wei Xiaochi didn’t threaten her interests, she didn’t care much about him.

Now, she was probably just worried about Wei Zimo’s rest and didn’t want him disturbed.

Wei Xiaochi packed his worksheet into his bag, washed up, and then went to bed.

Because he hadn’t finished his homework, Wei Xiaochi had to get up early the next morning, yawning as he walked into the kitchen. He added some water to the pot, boiled two eggs, and steamed a bun.

After quickly having breakfast, Wei Xiaochi rode his bike to school.

When he arrived, the dorm students were just finishing their morning run and heading to the cafeteria for breakfast.

Normally, the first people in the classroom were the boarding students, but today, the classroom was empty. Wei Xiaochi seized the opportunity to catch up on his homework.

Before the morning reading session, Wei Xiaochi finally finished his homework, a huge weight lifted off his shoulders, and exhaustion spread through his body.

He massaged his sore temples, ate a piece of chocolate, and flipped through his Chinese book to review “Xiaoyao You.”

Zhang Mingyang arrived later than usual, throwing his heavy bag onto the desk, shaking the surface.

Wei Xiaochi gave him a cool glance but didn’t say anything, continuing to memorize the ancient text.

Suddenly, a bag of sandwich cookies was thrown at him. Without even looking, Wei Xiaochi pushed it back at Zhang Mingyang. “Crossed the line.”

Zhang Mingyang pushed it back towards Wei Xiaochi. “I didn’t cross the line, take it.”

Wei Xiaochi raised his head, looking at Zhang Mingyang, usually known for being stingy. His face showed surprise, and his gaze became questioning.

“No good deed goes unpunished.” Wei Xiaochi tossed the sandwich back onto Zhang Mingyang’s desk. “I don’t want it.”

Zhang Mingyang quickly explained, “Today’s my birthday. My mom said I should do a good deed every day, and I’ll have great fortune in the future. You’re always so frugal, can’t even buy a cake, so I’m giving this to you today to repay my good deed.”

Wei Xiaochi looked at him as if he were a big fool.

A good socialist successor, not believing in the country or science, suddenly believing in fate. Ridiculous.

Wei Xiaochi glanced at the sandwich, still with the price tag on it—4.5 yuan.

Wei Xiaochi: “Your good deed is worth 4.5 yuan?”

Zhang Mingyang: “Take it or leave it, if you don’t want it, I’ll give it to someone else.”

Wei Xiaochi remained unmoved, turning his eyes back to his book. “Suit yourself.”

Zhang Mingyang scoffed, grabbed the sandwich, and turned to the person behind him. “It’s my birthday today, doing a good deed, here, have a sandwich.”

The person behind him brightened, thinking, “Wow, this is a good deal.” “Happy birthday.”

Zhang Mingyang handed over the sandwich. “No problem.”

Turning back, Zhang Mingyang shot a fierce look at Wei Xiaochi, his face saying, “You look down on me now, but one day, you’ll wish you could be friends with me.”

Wei Xiaochi remained unperturbed, like a monk deep in meditation, unaffected by his nonsense.

Zhang Mingyang was petty. His wool wasn’t so easily pulled, and if someone actually took his sandwich, he’d remember it for life and use it against them.

Wei Xiaochi felt it wasn’t worth it. If they were going to mess with him, they should throw cash at him instead.

A thousand bucks, and he’d be at their service.

Unexpectedly, not only was it Zhang Mingyang’s birthday, but it was also Han Ziyang’s.

That night, Han Ziyang planned a big birthday party, inviting all his friends for an all-night celebration since tomorrow was Saturday, and there was no school.

Wei Xiaochi was on the guest list, even a key invitee.

They ate lunch together in the cafeteria, where Han Ziyang enthusiastically invited Wei Xiaochi.

Wei Xiaochi just listened without giving an opinion.

After lunch, Han Ziyang followed him persistently, trying to convince him to come to the party.

Han Ziyang’s enthusiasm was overwhelming, and Wei Xiaochi, who hadn’t made friends in a long time, was at a loss for words as Han Ziyang went on and on about how amazing the party would be.

Jiang Zhan, annoyed at how clingy Han Ziyang was being with Wei Xiaochi, grabbed the back of his collar and pulled him away from Wei Xiaochi.

Han Ziyang kept talking, not stopping, explaining how much fun the party would be and emphasizing the importance of having friends. He even said Wei Xiaochi should come out of his shell.

“You need to step out of that shell and unleash your true nature. You get it?”

“Youth isn’t meant to be restrained. If you don’t play now, when will you?”

“People are steel, fun is iron. One day without fun is exhausting. Look at you, suffering because you have no friends. The whole world’s about studying, studying, studying!”

“Old Wei, not to put you down…”

Wei Xiaochi was almost speechless from Han Ziyang’s nonstop chatter.

Han Ziyang’s mouth wasn’t a mouth—it was a machine gun. No one could escape once he started talking.

If anyone could escape, it was probably Jiang Zhan.

Jiang Zhan threw a cool glance at him. “Annoying, huh?”

Han Ziyang fell silent, his ammo exhausted, but Wei Xiaochi still hadn’t been spared.

After school, Wei Xiaochi was dragged into Han Ziyang’s rented bus and began a tour around the school.

Han Ziyang had told Wei Xiaochi it was just a small party, with only the basketball team from No. 2 High School invited.

Wei Xiaochi knew most of the team, and when they saw him at school, they would greet him as “Teacher Wei.”

If it was just the basketball team, Wei Xiaochi could accept that.

But unexpectedly, Han Ziyang had only told part of the truth. While he had invited the basketball team from No. 2 High, he also invited many people from other schools.

The players from Yiyang Vocational School, who had played fiercely last week at the gym, were also on the list.

In addition, students from other schools like DeYu, SanChong, No. 1 High, and Chongyang—at least thirty people, some of whom were alphas—were all invited. Han Ziyang had to rent two buses.

Among all these alphas, Wei Xiaochi was the only omega.

As each alpha boarded, they immediately noticed Wei Xiaochi, but upon seeing Jiang Zhan’s cold stare, they quickly looked away.

Who dared mess with an alpha in love?

No one dared.

They treasured their lives and avoided Wei Xiaochi.

The bus drove for over an hour, gradually leaving the city center and heading toward the seaside resort.

Wei Xiaochi could smell the salty sea air and, as he looked ahead, was just in time to see a huge wave crash against the cliffs, spraying foam and droplets that glistened like broken jade.

Night had fallen, and the European-style buildings with pointed roofs started to light up.

Tall palm trees were planted along the road, and after passing a rectangular fountain, the bus entered the resort.

Han Ziyang had chosen a three-story villa, with a courtyard full of tulips.

Inside, marble walls, wood-colored floors, and a business bar greeted them. Large windows were covered with white carpets, and a huge round table with chairs sat in the center, with a fresh bouquet of lilies.

The villa was large, with a living room, Western and Chinese kitchens, a movie theater, and even a fitness area on the third floor, with guest and master bedrooms on the second floor.

As soon as they entered the villa, the group scattered like wild horses, each finding a spot to play games.

Li Suilin, leaning on the bar, poured himself a glass of ice water and watched the unruly group, making sure things didn’t get too out of hand.

Han Ziyang’s mother had agreed to let him throw the party because she knew Li Suilin would be attending.

Most of the people invited were from various basketball teams, and they all knew Li Suilin’s style of handling things.

Plus, with Jiang Zhan, the living king of hell, present, things would get rowdy but wouldn’t get out of control.

But once they stepped off the bus, both Jiang Zhan and the only omega in the group disappeared, and no one knew where they had gone.

Wei Xiaochi had never seen the sea before. Although City A was a coastal city, no one had ever taken him to the beach.

When Jiang Zhan heard Wei Xiaochi say he’d never seen the sea, he immediately grabbed him and took him on a sightseeing car to the beach.

The sightseeing car first took a round trip around the resort. The driver showed them around the area.

The resort was designed like an ecological park, with lush greenery. They had even built a treehouse that looked like it was straight out of a Hollywood movie where hobbits would live.

Wei Xiaochi marveled at the resort designer’s talent, leaning out of the car to look at the exquisitely realistic treehouses.

The lights in the area cast a warm glow, and the omega’s clean, sharp features seemed to stand out against the vibrant colors of the surroundings, as if he were the highlight of the painting.

Once the sightseeing car moved on, Wei Xiaochi pulled his head back in, and as he was about to sit up straight, Jiang Zhan cupped his face.

Wei Xiaochi knew what Jiang Zhan was about to do, his pupils shrinking. He instinctively looked at the driver in front.

Jiang Zhan, displeased, turned Wei Xiaochi’s face back toward him and lowered his head, kissing him repeatedly.

Wei Xiaochi:…