SCOM - Chapter 56
Chapter 56
Ji Yuezhi never acted by looking only one step ahead. Before returning, he had sensed that Zuo Luohuan was in a bad mood, which was why he wanted to see her. He even brought a medical kit, both genuinely wanting to bandage her wounds and using it as an excuse to get close to her.
The dorm was empty, and Auntie Yi was at work, so Ji Yuezhi guessed Zuo Luohuan would be in the central city. During those few days when he was often tormented by his pheromones, she would pull him aside and speak to him in a low voice to soothe him. Even though Ji Yuezhi's mind wasn't entirely clear, he didn't miss the opportunity to probe, intentionally or not, for some information.
That apartment was a place Zuo Luohuan often went to rest, so Ji Yuezhi decided to look for her there.
There were two cars parked in the school's lot. He deliberately chose the one he rarely drove. It had only a little fuel left, and before setting out, he specifically checked the weather forecast: a heavy downpour was expected in an hour.
Not only that, but before driving into the central city's garage, Ji Yuezhi made a small scratch on the tire, causing a slow leak. If Zuo Luohuan really came down with tools to get him fuel, the next problem would be the flat tire, and he still wouldn't be able to leave.
Fortunately, Zuo Luohuan directly asked him to stay.
Ji Yuezhi was happy, especially when she agreed to sleep in the same bed with him, even though the bed was very large, and they would be far apart even while sleeping together.
He didn't mind. He changed into the thinnest long shirt from the pile of clothes and lay down in her quilt. Originally, Ji Yuezhi was still thinking of an excuse to get closer to Zuo Luohuan, but after lying down and smelling the familiar pheromones in the quilt, he quickly fell into a deep sleep.
After so many days of the military exercise, he was truly tired.
When he woke up, the sky was already bright. Ji Yuezhi opened his eyes and lay in bed for a moment before realizing he had slept in the spot where Zuo Luohuan had been the night before. As he propped himself up, he saw that his white long shirt was wrinkled and disheveled, but he paid it no mind. He walked to the window and saw that it was still raining lightly outside.
After yesterday, the capital was going to start cooling down.
Ji Yuezhi had no idea that late last night, he had snuggled up to Zuo Luohuan's side, delivering himself right into her arms.
After all, Captain Ji had always been a proper sleeper. How could he know that when sleeping with the Alpha he liked, he would unconsciously move closer?
When Ji Yuezhi came out of the bedroom, his expression was natural, his posture lazy, his long, slender, pale calves exposed. Even after washing up, he had no thought of changing his clothes.
It was a habit formed over those few days.
After a few hours, Zuo Luohuan had regained her composure. She had calculated the time Ji Yuezhi would wake up and ordered breakfast in advance, so he could have something hot to eat right when he got up.
"Come and eat something." Zuo Luohuan turned to look at him. "The military exercise is over. Luo Shaoyuan and the others said they want to hang out in the capital, so the school asked us to take them around."
The ones who had come were the three captains from the other schools, so naturally, the guides had to be captains from the First Military Academy. As for Zuo Luohuan, she was purely called along as a bodyguard.
"...Mm." Ji Yuezhi looked at the rich yet light breakfast on the table, perfectly suited for an Omega's nutritional needs.
As Ji Yuezhi walked over, a large expanse of his exposed collarbone came into Zuo Luohuan's view. He looked extremely soft, making the Alpha unconsciously recall the feeling of holding that waist.
Zuo Luohuan came back to her senses, pulled out a chair, reached out to fix his collar, pulling it up and fastening the button. Her movements were careful and gentle, but her tone was as casual as ever, with a hint of teasing amusement. "Captain often says messy clothes get demerits. Aren't you going to lead by example?"
Ji Yuezhi lowered his gaze, watching Zuo Luohuan's nimble fingers buttoning his shirt. His long lashes trembled, and he looked up at her. "Do I get demerits at home too?"
Zuo Luohuan's hand paused. After finishing the button, she let go and met Ji Yuezhi's eyes. After a moment, she said, "Let's eat." She didn't correct his first two words.
After they finished breakfast, Zuo Luohuan waited for Ji Yuezhi to change. When they got to the underground garage, his car not only had no fuel, but one of its tires was also flat.
Zuo Luohuan looked at the deflated rear tire and chuckled. "The car's been at school for too long. Captain, remember to do regular maintenance in the future."
"I don't drive it often," Ji Yuezhi said without a hint of guilt. Zuo Luohuan hadn't been at school for the past year, so she had no idea how many cars he kept parked in the school lot.
Zuo Luohuan raised an eyebrow, remembering how Ji Xixiu often came to the school gate to pick up Ji Yuezhi. Say what you will, Ji Xixiu truly doted on his son. During those few days, even while busy trying to root out the Gashiro agents, he had still taken the time to list out all of Ji Yuezhi's preferences for her.
"I'll have someone tow it and send it to the school in a few days. For today, why don't you take my car?" Zuo Luohuan tilted her head and asked Ji Yuezhi.
"Okay." Although the mission from the school had interrupted his plans, this wasn't a bad outcome either.
This was the second time Ji Yuezhi had ridden in her car, but it wasn't the same one.
This was a typical off-road vehicle with a black body and gilded wheel hubs. The interior was high off the ground, but it was just right for their heights.
As soon as Ji Yuezhi got in, he instantly sensed that Zuo Luohuan must drive this car often. Compared to the ordinary car from last time, her scent was much stronger here.
"You modified it?" Ji Yuezhi glanced around the interior.
"Mm, the glass and body have been reinforced." Zuo Luohuan waited for him to fasten his seatbelt before backing the car out.
"Can it block a light gun?"
Zuo Luohuan's fingers tapped lightly on the steering wheel. Looking straight ahead at the road, she smiled. "If I tell the truth, will Captain report me?"
Light guns were in the hands of army groups, and correspondingly, the materials that could block them were not circulated on the market. Unless purchased on the black market, it was a gray area.
Ji Yuezhi turned his head to look out the window. Back at school, the few times he had threatened her with demerits were just to see her and get her attention. Now... it was time to change his plan.
"I'm not just about giving demerits and reporting people," Ji Yuezhi said, his face turned away from her.
Zuo Luohuan was taken aback. For so long, her provocative and teasing words towards Ji Yuezhi had become her most practiced disguise. She never thought he would take it seriously.
They hadn't been driving for long when Zuo Luohuan braked, turned the steering wheel, and pulled the car over to the side of the road. She turned to face Ji Yuezhi and said seriously, "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that, you..."
Ji Yuezhi turned his face, his long, narrow eyes sweeping lightly over Zuo Luohuan before he said, "I've never been to the black market."
Zuo Luohuan instantly understood his meaning. She leaned her upper body back slightly in a relaxed posture and chuckled. "If you want to go, I can take you to have a look."
"Mm."
The momentarily frozen atmosphere in the car quietly dissipated.
The black off-road vehicle drove from the central city all the way to the entrance of the First Military Academy, where Luo Shaoyuan, An Yingjing, and Cha Lili were already waiting.
"This car is really nice." Before Zuo Luohuan had even come to a complete stop, Luo Shaoyuan leaned in, stroking the smooth car body, practically drooling. She kicked the tire. "Are these wheel hubs custom-made? From the sound of it, the engine's been modified, tsk tsk."
The window of the front passenger seat rolled down, and the three people outside immediately saw Ji Yuezhi inside. A closer look revealed that the person in the driver's seat was Zuo Luohuan.
Luo Shaoyuan stroked the car, reluctant to let go, yet feeling that the people from the First Military Academy were being too pretentious. "Any car would have been fine. Did you two specifically go out to get a nice car just to pick us up?"
Beside her, An Yingjing couldn't help but scoff internally. Nine in the morning, the two of them in the same car, coming from outside... he wouldn't believe nothing was going on. Only a blockheaded Alpha like Luo Shaoyuan would have eyes only for cars.
Cha Lili's thoughts ran a bit deeper, but since he hadn't seen Zuo Luohuan with Ji Yuezhi on the night of the Gashiro attack, he naturally didn't connect the two of them privately.
The three of them sat in the back, and Luo Shaoyuan excitedly listed several places, asking Zuo Luohuan to drive them there.
"That cotton candy place, it's only sold in the capital in the entire Federation." Luo Shaoyuan rubbed her hands together excitedly. "I've wanted to try it for ages, but I was preparing for the military exercise and never went. Anyway, since we lost, I need to console myself."
Sitting next to her, An Yingjing's mouth twitched, finding it a bit hard to believe. "You're an Alpha and you like sweets?"
Luo Shaoyuan immediately expressed her displeasure. "I don't even discriminate against Omegas, why are you discriminating against Alphas? Why can't Alphas like sweets?"
An Yingjing: "..."
"Weekday Cotton Candy?" Zuo Luohuan asked her.
"Right, you must have had it too, right? Is it as delicious as the legends say?" Luo Shaoyuan asked excitedly.
In the passenger seat, Ji Yuezhi's fingertips hooked the seatbelt at his waist, feeling a little uncomfortable. She hasn't had it, I have.
After the second temporary mark, he had felt unwell. The residual pheromones in his glands had been triggered, causing him to unconsciously resist the Alpha's pheromones. That day, Ji Yuezhi couldn't eat anything, ultimately relying on a few nutritional injections to maintain his stamina. In the afternoon, exhausted from the outbreak, he fell into a deep sleep. When he woke up, he was hugging Zuo Luohuan's jacket, and she had gone out to buy him several boxes of cotton candy.
It wasn't just cotton candy; she had bought everything on the list his father had given her.
That day, Ji Yuezhi had no appetite and only managed to eat a little cotton candy.
"There are eighteen flavors in total, you can try them," Zuo Luohuan's voice pulled him back to reality.
"Then let's try them all." Luo Shaoyuan was already impatient.
They drove all the way to the shop and parked across the street. Zuo Luohuan turned her head and asked Ji Yuezhi, "Do you want some?"
Ji Yuezhi was momentarily stunned by the question, then nodded after a moment.
"Strawberry, cheese, peach..." Luo Shaoyuan rattled off flavors from her optical computer, wanting Zuo Luohuan to buy them all.
"Get out and buy it yourself." Zuo Luohuan smiled. "Don't have hands or feet?"
Luo Shaoyuan looked at Ji Yuezhi, then at Zuo Luohuan. "Aren't you going over to buy some anyway?" Look at that long line outside! She didn't want to go!
"Stinky Alpha," An Yingjing muttered, leaning against the window next to him. Only Luo Shaoyuan heard him.
She then remembered that Ji Yuezhi was an Omega. Fine.
Zuo Luohuan and Luo Shaoyuan went out to queue, and it took a full hour.
"The restaurant we're going to closes at 12:30, and they stop serving dishes at 11:00," Cha Lili said, looking at his optical computer. "It's a forty-minute drive from here."
"It's almost their turn," An Yingjing said, looking through the car window.
Five minutes later, Luo Shaoyuan returned carrying a large bag, while Zuo Luohuan beside her only held two boxes.
"How much did you buy?" Cha Lili asked as he let her in, unable to help but stare at the bag.
"Not much, one box of each flavor, and there are only six in a box." Luo Shaoyuan plopped down between the two of them. "We'll finish it if we share."
"We should get going. Let's eat on the way," Cha Lili said to Zuo Luohuan in the front.
After getting in the car, Zuo Luohuan handed the two boxes of cotton candy to Ji Yuezhi, fastened her seatbelt, and drove off.
A rustling sound came from the back as Luo Shaoyuan opened the bag and took out the cotton candy. The car was instantly filled with its sweet fragrance.
"You take a box, you take a box too." Luo Shaoyuan opened them and handed them to the two beside her. She also took two open boxes for herself, placed them on her lap, and started eating from both. "This one's delicious, that one's delicious too."
Although Cha Lili and An Yingjing weren't interested, after trying a warm, freshly made, soft cotton candy, they found it surprisingly delicious—sweet but not cloying—and continued to eat.
Ji Yuezhi opened his two boxes of cotton candy. One had a strawberry filling, the other a sweet orange filling. Both were his favorite flavors.
Taking a piece of cotton candy from the box, Ji Yuezhi didn't eat it immediately. Instead, he turned to Zuo Luohuan. "Want some?"
"I'm driving, you eat," Zuo Luohuan said, her eyes on the road ahead, not turning to look at him.
Ji Yuezhi's gaze swept over the three in the back seat who were busy opening other boxes, then brought the cotton candy in his hand to Zuo Luohuan's lips.
The still-warm cotton candy touching her lips made Zuo Luohuan freeze for a moment. She glanced down and saw a pair of beautiful, slender fingers holding a round, snow-white piece of cotton candy. She opened her mouth, and he pushed it a little further in.
Only after she had bitten into it did Ji Yuezhi withdraw his hand.
Zuo Luohuan bit through the snow-white outer layer, and the sweet orange filling, with a hint of tartness, burst in her mouth, mixing perfectly with the cotton candy.
"Is it good?" Ji Yuezhi asked her.
"...Mm."
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