GBROTAH CH24

Shen Bianye, for the first time doing something so furtive, felt his heart rate accelerate as if all the blood in his body was circulating at high speed. Xie Yuanxing’s light breaths stirred his nerves.

Everything around them was quiet, only Xie Yuanxing, just Xie Yuanxing remained.

Moonlight filtered in through the gaps in the curtains, casting faint light into the room. The hand pulling the blanket was long and slender, but the knuckles were taut and white, and the veins on the back of his hand seemed to pulse.

Shen Bianye, with restrained slowness, pulled back Xie Yuanxing’s blanket.

Xie Yuanxing was asleep, his distinct eyelashes like tiny cattail fans, casting shadows beneath his eyes, quietly obedient.

He just wanted to take a look to see if there was anything strange about Xie Yuanxing’s body.

Just one look.

Just one look, confirm, and then leave.

These sentences repeatedly echoed in Shen Bianye’s mind. He spoke to himself, his hand already resting on the waistband of Xie Yuanxing’s pajamas.

The pajamas were silk, he’d had Auntie give them to Xie Yuanxing. They had no buttons, just a tie design, and silk was very easy to untie and very smooth, and easily came undone.

When he gently untied the sash around Xie Yuanxing’s waist, Shen Bianye swallowed.

An Alpha’s physical constitution is excellent, and their vision is also very good. Even with only a faint glimmer of moonlight in the room, he could see everything clearly.

Red plums dotting white snow, the moonlight seemed to shimmer and undulate on this body.

Making Shen Bianye dizzy.

So pale, white like tender tofu, a slender waist, a stomach that seemed only a thin layer, soft, smooth, faintly rising and falling with each breath.

He looked very thin, yet the base of his thighs showed a hint of fleshiness from being constricted, not to mention the buttocks, plump and particularly perky due to being encased in pure white, close-fitting underwear and him lying on his side.

Very white, very beautiful, very soft, but there was nothing strange, as Shen Bianye had expected.

Maybe he really got it wrong…

Xie Yuanxing’s body was quite fine…

Now all he had to do was quietly tie the waistband, then silently retreat from the room, pretending nothing had happened.

Tie the waistband… waistband….

Shen Bianye didn’t know his current gaze was obscure, deep, almost unable to look away. He reached out, but bypassed the waistband, resting his hand on Xie Yuanxing’s lower abdomen.

Just one touch.

Just once.

He just wanted to try if it felt as smooth and tender as it looked.

One touch, no one would know.

Actually, it was nothing. He was just curious, curious why his roommate’s skin was so smooth. That was normal.

Pheromones had silently spread without Shen Bianye’s notice.

His hand was hovering over Xie Yuanxing’s lower abdomen, not quite touching. Xie Yuanxing breathed in his sleep, his lower abdomen rising and falling, the smooth, tender sensation brushing against Shen Bianye’s palm again and again.

Gulp.

Shen Bianye’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He felt an unusual thirst. As if by an impulse, he leaned down, slowly, little by little, drawing closer.

The lingering scent of burning embers slowly enveloped the sleeping person. The deeply asleep person frowned, mumbled a dream-like sound, turned on his side, and buried his face deeper into the pillow, trying to escape the unpleasant smell.

Shen Bianye’s actions were stopped. His senses returned a bit, and he knew he should leave, but not entirely.

Because he still didn’t want to leave.

Shen Bianye’s gaze slowly wandered over the sleeping person, his eyes hot and burning, as if trying to bore through him.

Just as he was about to lean in again, his gaze suddenly stopped at one spot.

It was Xie Yuanxing’s shoulder. Because of the previous movement of burying his head into the quilt, his body was turned more to the side, and the pajamas on his shoulder had slipped down a bit further.

A small section of the area previously covered by the pajamas was vaguely exposed. It was very red compared to the surrounding skin, and faintly uneven.

Shen Bianye instantly calmed down. Without disturbing Xie Yuanxing, he reached out and pulled the pajamas down a bit further, completely exposing that strange spot to his eyes.

On Xie Yuanxing’s right shoulder, there was a palm-sized scar from a burn.

Judging by the scar, it must have been there for a long time, a fiery red patch, located near the top of his right shoulder.

There was also a small, round mark there, above the burn scar, different from the surrounding burns.

But it was also a scar, as if someone had fiercely pressed a cigarette butt onto it, leaving an indelible mark.

This position was unreachable by Xie Yuanxing’s own hand. It wasn’t Xie Yuanxing himself, nor could it possibly have been by himself.

Shen Bianye carefully put Xie Yuanxing’s pajamas back on and tied the sash, but he didn’t leave. Instead, he knelt by Xie Yuanxing’s bedside.

He watched the sleeping person, watching that usually pale and gloomy face become rosy and soft in sleep. He reached out and gently tapped the tear mole under Xie Yuanxing’s eye.

Did you cry then, Xie Yuanxing?

At 5 AM, Zhou Chao, who was sleeping soundly, was woken up by his frantically vibrating phone. Only a few people could call him at such an hour. He barely opened his eyes to see who it was, then answered with a dark expression:

“You won’t live past this morning, what’s the rush?”

Shen Bianye: “Stop barking. I need to ask you something.”

“How can I legitimately see Xie Yuanxing’s body?”

Zhou Chao suspected he wasn’t fully awake. He dug in his ear. “Don’t tell me you stayed up all night just to figure this out?!”

“I don’t care which pervert possesses you, get off my brother.”

Shen Bianye wasn’t in the mood for jokes. He couldn’t laugh at that and didn’t bother with the “I have a friend” excuse anymore. “I didn’t think about it; I already saw it.”

“He was asleep. I went in, lifted his clothes, and took a look.”

Zhou Chao: “…Aren’t you a pure pervert? What, you saw it and want to see it again? And openly?”

Shen Bianye: “Didn’t I say it? I only went to see him because he was acting strange. He has a large scar on his body.”

The burn scar, the cigarette burn scar, and the moderate anemia due to malnutrition on that physical examination report all connected in Shen Bianye’s mind.

And the places that he had already felt were off, now he thought about them more and more.

Xie Yuanxing’s cousin’s dirty words about Xie Yuanxing – Xie Yuanxing could have told his aunt, but he didn’t. Does that mean his aunt doesn’t care at all?

Could that family be treating him badly?

Could those people be… abusing Xie Yuanxing?

Zhou Chao was shocked. He sat up in bed. “No way, you really noticed something wrong just from him blinking twice?!”

“Damn, you’re…”

It was too exaggerated. How could he tell something was wrong with Xie Yuanxing from just two blinks?

After all this time, it turned out his own thoughts were dirty. Shen Bianye was genuinely concerned about him.

Damn it!

But how exactly did he figure it out? How meticulously did he have to observe to notice that? Damn, if Shen Bianye had this ability, he could directly become a secret agent.

Zhou Chao was shocked and puzzled. He couldn’t help but ask again, “No, he just blinked, and you noticed something was wrong?!”

Shen Bianye clicked his tongue, suppressing his impatience, and said, “It’s not as simple as just blinking.”

“And when I went in while he was showering, he got dressed in less than half a minute, putting on clothes while completely wet, and they were dirty clothes. Doesn’t that make you suspicious?”

Zhou Chao found a blind spot, “What were you doing pushing the door open while Xie Yuanxing was showering?”

Shen Bianye felt a flicker of guilt, just a flicker, then said coldly, “None of your business.”

Zhou Chao’s curiosity piqued. He said, “Then if you pushed the door while I was showering, and I quickly got dressed, even putting on dirty clothes, what would you think?”

Shen Bianye frowned, and retorted immediately, “Are you sick? Why would I assume I’m watching you shower?”

“Can you come up with an idea? If not, I’m hanging up.”

Zhou Chao: “If someone doesn’t want you to see, just pretend you don’t know. Why reveal their scars?”

“You insist on seeing, and you insist on seeing openly. What’s your problem?”

Shen Bianye had never considered pretending not to see. He just wanted to intervene.

“If he doesn’t tell me, I can only actively go and see. Only if I see it in front of him can I help him.”

Zhou Chao rubbed his temples, advising, “Xie Yuanxing isn’t telling you because he doesn’t want you to interfere. Why are you so concerned?”

He thought of a possibility, and his voice involuntarily rose a bit, “You haven’t fallen for him, have you?”

Shen Bianye paused at that, then scoffed, “Just because my pheromones are messed up doesn’t mean I am too. Who would like him?”

“I just…” He paused again, then whispered, “I just pity him.”

How could he be bullied like that?

He recalled the taste he usually got when biting Xie Yuanxing’s nape, even in normal times, it was a faintly sour taste, like undercooked mushrooms, or slightly bitter lemon water left out too long.

He just pitied Xie Yuanxing.

And his pheromone disorder needed Xie Yuanxing. He wanted a taste of something sweet, so he had to solve all the things that caused Xie Yuanxing pain.

When Xie Yuanxing woke up and sat up, the collar of his pajamas was slightly open. He didn’t notice anything amiss, assuming it was just from tossing and turning in his sleep.

It wasn’t until he saw the messages on his phone that he felt a vague sense of strangeness.

4:01 AM —

X: “Baby.”

4:07 AM —

The other party retracted a message.

The other party retracted a message.

4:10 AM —

X: “Couldn’t sleep, watching baby until now.”

X: “If we meet, can I hug baby?”

X: “Baby is so thin, so light. I can hold baby completely in my arms. Baby can’t run away, and no one can hurt baby.”

5:12 AM —

X: “Baby, why do you want to save money to buy a big house?”

The other party retracted a message.

X: “That’s a very good dream. Shall I help baby achieve it?”

Xie Yuanxing read through them one by one, feeling strange in his heart, but couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong. “Couldn’t sleep watching me? What does that mean?”

The other person must have been awake all night, as they replied quickly.

X: “Baby, are you awake? Are you hungry? Get up and have breakfast.”

X: “Looking at baby’s photos, there’s only one. It would be great if baby could take more.”

X: “The other party transferred money to you, note: Treat baby to breakfast.”

Xie Yuanxing was surprised. He didn’t understand which family could spend ten thousand yuan on one breakfast.

He pursed his lips, his delicate brows slightly furrowed, and typed, “Don’t transfer money to me, I won’t accept it.”

X: “Why? I’m willing to give it. Can’t I even treat baby to breakfast?”

Xie Yuanxing: “We’re not related, and I haven’t helped you with anything. Of course, I can’t accept the money you transfer.”

Shen Bianye looked at the message, displeased. He frowned and sent a sentence.

X: “But we’re friends, and it’s okay between friends.”

Xie Yuanxing: “It’s not okay between friends either.”

After saying this, he didn’t check if the other person replied. Instead, he washed up and left his room.

As soon as he opened the door, he almost bumped into the person standing directly outside. Xie Yuanxing was silently speechless. He looked at the person standing by his door and said, “What’s wrong?”

Shen Bianye: “Nothing, was about to knock and ask if you were up. Auntie made breakfast.”

He hadn’t slept all night, but he didn’t show any signs of fatigue. There wasn’t even a hint of bloodshot in his eyes.

Xie Yuanxing was led to the dining table and sat down. The breakfast they ate, though only for two, had a dazzling variety: blueberries, eggs, shrimp, corn, steamed dumplings with broccoli, and a bowl of sea cucumber.

Auntie came over, smiling, and said, “I didn’t know what the young student liked to eat, so I just made a little of everything.”

“If there’s anything you want to eat, just tell me, and I’ll make it.”

“The sea cucumber was specially prepared for the young student. I noticed his complexion was a bit pale, so eat more to nourish yourself.”

Auntie was a middle-aged woman, smiling gently with a hint of motherly affection. Xie Yuanxing, however, lowered his head and softly said thank you.

Shen Bianye placed the bowl of sea cucumber closer to Xie Yuanxing, saying, “Even my auntie can tell you’re weak. Eat more, finish this bowl.”

If even an aunt he had just met could tell Xie Yuanxing wasn’t well, wouldn’t the family who raised Xie Yuanxing know?

Xie Yuanxing had no parents and was living with his uncle and aunt. Were they his adopted parents?

Why was his dream to buy a big house?

Did he want his own home?

Thinking of the money Xie Yuanxing refused to accept, Shen Bianye frowned. Why couldn’t friends casually give money to each other?

He wanted Xie Yuanxing to see that friends could indeed casually give money to each other. Not only could they give, but they could also ask for it.

With that thought, Shen Bianye unceremoniously called Zhou Chao, not caring that he had woken him up at 5 AM and the other person had probably only just fallen back asleep.

He put his phone on speaker, placing it on the table.

As soon as the call connected, Shen Bianye unceremoniously began, “Transfer some money to me, I need it now.”

Zhou Chao: “Rare, the day has come when you ask me for money.”

“Tell me, how much, for what, and when will you pay it back?”

Shen Bianye didn’t know the price of the house Xie Yuanxing wanted to buy, but five million yuan was definitely not enough, otherwise Xie Yuanxing wouldn’t still be so tight on money after signing the contract with him.

So, he opened his mouth and said, “Ten million yuan. Consider this money a gift from you; I’m not paying it back.”

The other side suddenly roared, “Shen Bianye! Ten million and you’re not paying it back, you really dare to say that!”

“How much pocket money do I get a month?! I invest a little here and there, and only then do I have extra spare cash.”

Zhou Chao played around, but he also did serious business. He did have ten million in his hand.

Besides, he didn’t spend as wildly as Pink Hair or Baby Face. On the surface, he was genuinely dating, and when he got tired, he would break up and move on to the next.

However, Shen Bianye had made this call specifically with the intention of showing Xie Yuanxing “brotherly affection,” and had deliberately turned on the speakerphone.

As soon as he spoke, Zhou Chao debunked half of his performance.

Shen Bianye’s face showed some embarrassment. He snorted coldly, “If you don’t give it, then forget it. I don’t want it anymore.”

He raised his hand to hang up, but Zhou Chao stopped him, “Wait, wait, I’ll give it, I’ll give it. I didn’t say no.”

“But you shouldn’t be short of money. What do you need it for?”

Shen Bianye: “None of your business.”

Zhou Chao: “…Alright, then how about this: if you call me Brother Chao, I’ll just give you the money for free. How about that?”

Shen Bianye’s answer was to directly hang up the phone.

The phone buzzed twice, and Zhou Chao’s WeChat voice message flashed in, his tone helpless: “You’re my brother, alright? I’ll transfer the money to your card in a bit.”

Xie Yuanxing looked at Shen Bianye, and Shen Bianye was also observing Xie Yuanxing’s expression out of the corner of his eye. Now, he should finally know that friends can also ask for money, right?

Both of them seemed hesitant to speak, preparing to say something.

Shen Bianye, given his identity, found it awkward to speak first, so he simply waited for Xie Yuanxing to say something.

Finally, he got it.

“You… are you short on money? Then the five million yuan agreed upon in the contract, can you still give it to me?”

Shen Bianye: ……

He silently watched Xie Yuanxing for a long time, watching Xie Yuanxing’s head droop lower and lower, before he scoffed coldly and dropped a sentence: “Don’t worry, you won’t be short-changed.”

“I’m not short on money at the moment.”

Xie Yuanxing: “…Oh.”

Shen Bianye’s expression was really bad, so Xie Yuanxing thought for a moment and still asked, “Then why did you ask him for money?”

Shen Bianye looked at him deeply again, and said faintly, “Nothing much. I’ve been annoyed with him lately, so I extorted some money from him.”

“If you’re unhappy, you can also extort him for ten or twenty thousand. He’ll give it.”

Xie Yuanxing: “……No need.”

He had no intention of going down the path of illegal extortion.

That’s too criminal.

Shen Bianye: “You came out with me this time; how about I count an extra portion of money for you, a little bit from the ten million?”

Xie Yuanxing frowned slightly, thinking to himself, can this even be divided?

He shook his head, “No need, the money set in the contract is already enough.”

He could openly accept five million because he had contributed, he was useful for Shen Bianye’s pheromone disorder, and for now, he was indispensable.

But anything extra, Xie Yuanxing couldn’t comfortably accept.

Shen Bianye also frowned and thought for a moment. “You eat first. I just remembered something I haven’t told him yet.”

“After you finish eating, you can go to the game room on the second floor. You can use anything in there.”

“Oh, and tonight I’m going to soak in a hot spring. You come with me, so I don’t lose you if my pheromone disorder acts up. There’s a natural hot spring on this mountain nearby; soaking in it can help you relax.”

With that, he got up to make a call.

Zhou Chao, receiving Shen Bianye’s call for the third time today, was already numb. “What is it now, my young master?”

Shen Bianye: “You don’t need to give me the ten million. Help me think: if someone refuses your money for no reason, but you still want to give it, what do you do?”

Zhou Chao: “How about you just give me the money instead?”

He chuckled, lazily saying, “It’s simple, just start dating! If you’re dating, there’s a reason for everything you give, and it’s all appropriate. If he refuses, you throw a tantrum and ask if he doesn’t love you and wants to break up.”

Shen Bianye slammed the phone down, staring at it in thought for a long time, then worriedly opened his WeChat chat box.

X: “Baby, you’re wrong, friends can also accept money.”

X: “I just want to be better to baby, what’s wrong with that?”

Transfer ten thousand today, ten thousand tomorrow, a hundred thousand or eighty or ninety thousand the day after that, wouldn’t Xie Yuanxing have money to buy a house then?

But this shouldn’t be done under Shen Bianye’s identity.

He was afraid that if Xie Yuanxing misunderstood, was touched, and then fell in love with him and clung to him, it would be troublesome.

So it could only be X.

Xie Yuanxing, who was eating, paused with his chopsticks when he saw these two messages. He pressed the voice message button with his other hand and sent a voice message back.

“Even if we’re friends, no friend would be this good to another friend.”

“There are limits to the relationships between friends.”

Shen Bianye’s heart skipped a beat when he heard these two sentences.

He doesn’t want this, and he doesn’t want that either. So Xie Yuanxing really does like X.

“There are limits to the relationships between friends.” What did that mean? Wasn’t he implying that he didn’t want to just be friends with X?

Xie Yuanxing wanted a deeper, unlimited relationship.

What else could that be but a lover?

Shen Bianye’s expression changed repeatedly—frowning one moment, contemplative the next, then a slight curve of his lips, as if suppressing a laugh or a half-smile.

On one hand, he was annoyed that Xie Yuanxing was so lacking in vigilance, falling for an internet stranger he’d never met so easily just because of a few praises.

On the other hand, he felt a faint sense of triumph, thinking that while sacrificing Shen Bianye wasn’t an option, sacrificing X for an online relationship might not be so bad.

Xie Yuanxing, eating his meal, saw that the other person hadn’t replied, thinking they had given up. Just as he was about to focus on eating, new messages popped up.

X: “There are limits to a friend’s relationship, but are there limits to a boyfriend’s relationship?”

X: “I care about baby, not because we’re friends, but because I like, I like you.”

X: “I can’t sleep thinking about baby, so delicate, so tender, so cute.”

X: “Baby is also good-looking, and has a pleasant voice. Can I be baby’s boyfriend?”

Xie Yuanxing was stunned. His dark, round eyes blinked blankly. He didn’t understand how things had suddenly developed like this.

He liked X praising him, but he didn’t like X praising him all the way to becoming his boyfriend.

Xie Yuanxing had never been in a relationship and wasn’t planning on being in one. He stared at the constantly vibrating phone screen, not knowing how to reply for a moment.

His fingers tightened, and he thought of giving the cold shoulder.

It would be better not to reply, just pretend he didn’t see it.

As he thought this, the other side suddenly started to press on, messages one after another, the phone buzzing incessantly like an urgent催促.

X: “Baby, why aren’t you replying to me?”

X: “I know baby is looking at their phone.”

X: “Are you worried? I’ll be very good to baby.”

X: “I’m not bad looking, and my figure is good, and we’re both Betas, so we’re a good match, baby.”

The buzzing, urgent messages, as if taking a life, paused. After a moment, the other side sent a few sentences and a picture.

X: “Baby, do you want to inspect the goods?”

X: “Image.jpg”

Long, well-defined fingers grasped the corner of clothing, revealing a section of beautifully muscled abs, with a clear V-line disappearing further down the waist.

X: “I can’t show baby my face for now, but I’m really not ugly.”

X: “Let’s date, baby.”

X: “I can’t sleep thinking about baby. Baby, please pity me, okay?”