TAO | Chapter 80

Wei Xiaochi looked like he’d just been fished out of water—his whole body was drenched in sweat, radiating that refreshing scent of his pheromones.

He curled up under the blanket, eyes closed in exhaustion. Maybe he sensed someone staring, because after a pause, he slowly opened his eyelids.

Jiang Zhan was sitting beside the bed, not blinking even once as he stared at Wei Xiaochi with those dark eyes, so intensely focused it was almost too much.

The moment Wei Xiaochi opened his eyes, Jiang Zhan leaned in and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. Then he lay down beside Wei Xiaochi’s pillow, still watching him with that same quiet, devoted gaze.

Wei Xiaochi had never seen him like this before. It was like watching a rowdy troublemaker kid who, on the day you fall sick, suddenly…

Turns soft in this way you can’t even describe—wanting to stay close but afraid of disturbing your rest, holding back that wild nature of his, quietly keeping watch over you.

Wei Xiaochi felt like something was stuck in his chest, something boiling and hot deep inside him like scalding water.

Seeing that Wei Xiaochi still wasn’t going back to sleep, Jiang Zhan leaned in again and planted a light kiss on his eyelid.

Wei Xiaochi instinctively shut his eyes, his throat moving up and down with difficulty.

Eyes closed, he didn’t last long. Eventually, his body’s exhaustion won over, and Wei Xiaochi slipped into a dazed, heavy sleep.

—

The second time he woke up, it was from the heat.

Wei Xiaochi opened his eyes and saw Jiang Zhan lying next to him, arms wrapped around him, head pressed against his shoulder.

Separated by just two thin layers of fabric, the alpha’s body warmth seeped over endlessly. Wei Xiaochi’s heart skipped a couple of unnatural beats.

He was sweating a lot, damp hair clumped into strands that hung down, and his entire neck was flushed red from the heat.

His heart was jittery and unsettled, body trembling faintly, and on top of that, he was super hungry. Probably low blood sugar acting up again.

The room lights weren’t on, and the only source of light was the glowing digits from the clock on the nightstand. Wei Xiaochi squinted at it, making out a blurry set of numbers.

10:45.

No wonder he was this hungry—it was already almost eleven.

Wei Xiaochi pressed his lips together tightly, hesitating as he looked at the peacefully sleeping alpha beside him, unsure if he should wake him up.

But he was just too hungry to bear it. So he gave Jiang Zhan a light push.

Just one push, and Jiang Zhan’s eyes flew open—but his brain wasn’t fully online yet. He stared at Wei Xiaochi in a daze and sniffed in his direction a couple of times.

Then, completely out of nowhere, Jiang Zhan yanked the blanket over both of their heads.

The alpha was like some giant beast that loved curling up in its den, dragging his mate back inside, hugging him tight with clear reluctance to let go. He buried his head into Wei Xiaochi’s neck, eyes narrowing in contentment, looking blissed out.

Wei Xiaochi had no choice but to tilt his head back, his spine stiff as this clingy big pup snuggled and sniffed all over him. His ears burned like they were on fire.

This weird mood only lasted a few seconds before Jiang Zhan snapped out of it, poking his head out from under the blanket.

He looked up at the dark ceiling, then down at Wei Xiaochi whose face blended into the shadows. Finally, his brain fully caught up, and he quickly let go of Wei Xiaochi.

Maybe he felt a bit awkward, because Jiang Zhan’s eyes shifted around. “Still feeling unwell?”

Wei Xiaochi shook his head slightly, the flush on his handsome face obvious and bright.

Jiang Zhan’s gaze accidentally landed on the clock. Seeing the time, his earlier awkwardness vanished. He frowned, lifted the blanket, and got out of bed.

He turned on the lights in the room and left without saying anything.

When he came back, he had a whole pile of food in his arms—desserts, fruit, drinks, even a box of sandwich cookies. He dumped them all into Wei Xiaochi’s lap.

Jiang Zhan said, “Eat these first. I’ll go check what Auntie Zhou left in the kitchen for dinner.”

Wei Xiaochi was cradling an armful of food, dazed as he let out a soft, “Oh.”

Seeing that Wei Xiaochi wanted to get out of bed, Jiang Zhan stopped him. “Eat on the bed.”

—

Auntie Zhou usually didn’t stay the night here. But given the situation tonight, she’d decided to stick around—worried that this young master Jiang Zhan wouldn’t know how to take care of someone.

Hearing clattering sounds from the kitchen, Auntie Zhou quickly came out of her room and kicked the pampered young master right out.

There was a pot of soup that had been simmering gently on the stove. Auntie Zhou turned off the heat, grabbed a thick cloth to lift the lid, and ladled a bowl of soup to hand to Jiang Zhan.

“Take this to Xiaochi. His blood sugar’s low—he shouldn’t be skipping meals or he’ll feel awful.” Auntie Zhou reminded him, “Be careful, it’s hot.”

Jiang Zhan: “I know, I already gave him some cake.”

Auntie Zhou chuckled and teased, “Well now, look who’s turned into a new man in just three days. Having someone you like really changes things.”

Jiang Zhan held the soup bowl, chin lifting in pride. “He liked me first.”

Wei Xiaochi just happened to come out of the bedroom at that moment and heard this. He stumbled on the steps and nearly tripped over his own feet.

This guy… Why does he have to say that everywhere?

Auntie Zhou saw that smug look on Jiang Zhan’s face and couldn’t help but laugh. “Then you better treat him right. Xiaochi’s a good kid—don’t let your young master tantrums scare him off.”

Jiang Zhan snorted a quiet, “None of your business,” and headed upstairs with the soup.

Auntie Zhou had watched Jiang Zhan grow up and knew his temper well. Sometimes when he said “none of your business,” what he actually meant was “I know, no need to say it.”

Seeing him being all tsundere like that, Auntie Zhou smiled and shook her head, then went back into the kitchen to make them dinner.

As Jiang Zhan turned around, he saw Wei Xiaochi walking down from the second floor.

Even though Wei Xiaochi’s face was still red, his lips were pale with that sickly tint, and his energy looked pretty low.

Jiang Zhan frowned, “Why’d you come down?”

Wei Xiaochi mumbled, “I’m fine.”

He’d just eaten a piece of cake and drank some juice—after getting some sugar in his system, he didn’t feel so bad anymore. But lying in someone else’s bed eating food… it just didn’t feel right.

Jiang Zhan placed the soup on the dining table and said to him, “Come drink this.”

Wei Xiaochi responded with an “Mm” and wobbled his way over.

—

Auntie Zhou made them two bowls of noodles with a rich broth.

The creamy soup base was topped with stir-fried shiitake mushrooms, black fungus, dried scallops, and shrimp, along with a few leafy greens. The red and green colors looked super appetizing.

While they ate, Zhou Yun went up to the second floor to change out the bedding, and even laid out a clean set of pajamas for Wei Xiaochi.

Auntie Zhou tossed the used sheets into the laundry room and returned to the dining table, sitting beside Wei Xiaochi and casually chatting him up—asking what his parents did, how many people were in his family.

When she heard that Wei Xiaochi had a pair of twin siblings, she brightened. “Oh, that’s great! Twins often run in the family. Who knows, maybe when you two get married, you’ll have your own pair of dragon-phoenix twins!”

Jiang Zhan’s lips curved up without him even noticing, his heart bubbling over with pink fluffy thoughts.

Whether or not they had kids didn’t really matter to him—what made his heart skip was that one line: when you two get married.

Wei Xiaochi felt super awkward. He opened his mouth, hesitated, then finally squeezed out, “My siblings and I… we’re half-siblings. Same dad, different moms.”

Fang Yuan’s father and her uncle were twins, so the twin genes were on the Fang side—it had nothing to do with Wei Dongjia or with Wei Xiaochi.

Auntie Zhou looked at him in surprise. She hadn’t expected him to be from a single-parent family.

Even Jiang Zhan turned to look.

Wei Xiaochi felt like their gazes were two giant mountains weighing down on either of his shoulders, making his spine cave a little.

Because… he didn’t know how to explain his parents’ divorce.

No matter which side cheated, it always left outsiders with a bad impression.

Wei Xiaochi’s mom, Shen Yueran, had never gotten along with Madam Wei. And after giving birth to Wei Xiaochi, things only got worse—the two of them constantly butted heads.

Back when Wei Xiaochi was still in his postpartum month, Shen Yueran had developed postpartum depression. Her mental state flipped back and forth unpredictably.

Neither Madam Wei nor Wei Dongjia understood what she was going through. Their cold attitudes pushed Shen Yueran to the edge.

Add to that the fact that Wei Dongjia was rarely home, and they hadn’t had any kind of real husband-and-wife relationship in ages. Shen Yueran constantly suspected he was either keeping a mistress or hanging around shady massage parlors.

But without any concrete evidence, and with Wei Dongjia denying everything and calling her crazy, Shen Yueran’s temper got more and more unstable.

In Wei Xiaochi’s earliest memories, they were always arguing. Always.

Shen Yueran would scream and cry hysterically. Wei Dongjia would retaliate with cold silence. Every fight ended with him storming off.

And if Madam Wei happened to be staying over, as soon as her son left, she’d scold Shen Yueran, saying things like, “Don’t know how to act like a proper woman? Got mental issues? Go see a psychiatrist and stop clinging to my son.”

Those years, the house was filled with daily shouting matches.

Wei Dongjia didn’t need to be home for fights to happen. But when he was home, the yelling only escalated.

When Wei Xiaochi finally turned three and started preschool, Shen Yueran went out and got a job.

After that, his memories grew hazier. He vaguely remembered that his mom seemed to cheer up, and the house wasn’t as noisy anymore.

Then when he was five, the fighting exploded again—worse than ever before. That time, it got so bad that Wei Dongjia even dragged him to get a paternity test.

Honestly, Wei Xiaochi could understand his mother. Her life in that house had been nothing but suffocating. So when she left, she did it decisively, without a shred of hesitation.

Maybe in her eyes, he was the symbol of all her misfortunes. Plus, half of his blood came from Wei Dongjia.

So she didn’t look back. After she left, she never came to visit him again—not even once.

—

Thankfully, Auntie Zhou didn’t ask that kind of awkward question. She casually shifted the topic away.

As for Jiang Zhan, he didn’t care one bit about Wei Xiaochi’s family background. The only thought that popped into his head was—

Wei Xiaochi’s parents are divorced… So when we get married, does that mean we’ll have to go visit both sides of his family? Like, one visit to his dad’s, one to his mom’s?

After dinner, Wei Xiaochi went back to the room to take a hot shower.

He’d already sweated a ton before dinner, and then while eating, he broke out into cold sweat again. His clothes were all sticky and uncomfortable.

After showering, he came out wearing Jiang Zhan’s pajamas.

There was a row of body pillows placed down the center of the big double bed. The alpha was sitting cross-legged on one side, hugging a pillow and sneaking glances at Wei Xiaochi every now and then.

Wei Xiaochi’s brain totally lagged—he had no idea what to say.

Earlier when he was upstairs, Auntie Zhou had given him a special reminder. Though she didn’t say it directly, the message was clear: sleep in the guest room tonight, don’t share a bed with Jiang Zhan again.

She was only thinking about safety. After all, Wei Xiaochi was in a special period right now. She was afraid Jiang Zhan wouldn’t be able to hold back.

Holding hands, dating—that’s fine. But the final step? Definitely not okay. They were still too young.

Jiang Zhan clearly didn’t care. He’d put the pillows in the middle, obviously planning to sleep together as usual.

But Wei Xiaochi didn’t have the guts. An adult had already spoken—he couldn’t just pretend he didn’t hear.

So he acted like he didn’t see anything, drying his hair as he walked toward the door.

Jiang Zhan got anxious and propped himself up. “Where are you going?”

Wei Xiaochi mumbled, “I… I’m gonna sleep in the room next door.”

Jiang Zhan’s face dropped. “Come here.”

Wei Xiaochi fumbled, “I’m tired… I just wanna sleep.”

Jiang Zhan stared at him, expression dead serious. Still said the same thing: “Come here.”

Wei Xiaochi didn’t move. He took one timid step toward the door—and immediately felt that fierce alpha glare lock onto him.

His scalp tingled. Face full of dread, he asked, “W-What is it?”

Jiang Zhan was totally pissed. He said gruffly, “Come here. I need to talk to you.”

Wei Xiaochi looked super conflicted and didn’t budge an inch.

Jiang Zhan raised his voice, “Isn’t the day after tomorrow the weekend? Don’t we have work? I found a few job options and wanted to discuss them with you. What, you thought I was calling you over to do something else?!”

Hearing that it was about work, Wei Xiaochi rubbed his nose and gave in to capitalism. He turned back around.

“What kind of jobs?” he asked.

Jiang Zhan gave him a fierce side-eye, grabbed his phone, and pulled up a note. “I found six in total.”

“Six?!” Wei Xiaochi walked over, surprised.

They only had weekends free, so part-time jobs weren’t exactly easy to find. Jiang Zhan somehow dug up six.

Jiang Zhan got a little sheepish and said lowly, “The first three are from my sister. The rest I found myself.”

Jiang Tang had given Jiang Zhan three options: one was helping out at their magazine office, just doing small tasks. 150 a day.

The pay wasn’t high—mainly because the last time she offered a job that paid 300 a day, Wei Xiaochi had said it was too much.

“I asked her. If we go, we’ll just be doing assistant stuff—printing documents, running errands, that sort of thing.”

Besides the magazine job, there were two more: one as a caddy at a golf course, and another tutoring middle schoolers.

Compared to the cushy gigs Jiang Tang found, the ones Jiang Zhan dug up himself were way more down-to-earth—cleaning work, food court shifts, that type.

It was obvious he didn’t use any connections for those three. He really did browse the web and pick them out one by one. Maybe that’s why he felt embarrassed, so he listed those at the bottom.

But his phone notes were super detailed—work hours, locations, pay—all listed clearly.

Wei Xiaochi read through it three times, then slowly tightened his grip on the phone.

“You… ever thought about college?” he asked.

Jiang Zhan looked confused. “What college?”

“I’m planning to apply to J University. What about you?” Wei Xiaochi’s heart thumped wildly, voice slightly tense. “Wanna try applying together?”

Jiang Zhan stared at him, eyes wide.

Looking at the stunned alpha, Wei Xiaochi mumbled, “We don’t have to go to J University. There are other good schools nearby… their admissions scores are a bit easier.”

Jiang Zhan’s ears turned red. His expression got all shy and awkward. “Then… should we rent a multi-bedroom place?”

Wei Xiaochi: “Huh?”

Jiang Zhan: “Didn’t you say we’d go to college together? If I don’t get into J University, don’t I have to rent somewhere close to both schools?”

Wei Xiaochi: ………

⸻

Author’s Note:

Hahaha this dog… what am I supposed to say about you? What exactly goes on in that head of yours all day??

There might be a second update tonight, I’ll try to write it. Better wait until tomorrow to read just in case—I’m not sure when I’ll finish~