Xiao Zhan added an extra set of tableware to the table. He Yan acted like they were old friends, not strangers1. Catching a fragrance as soon as he entered the door, he called out into the kitchen, "It smells so good, what did you make?"

"Sauteed sliced pork with black mushrooms," Xiao Zhan said, "I didn't know you'd come so early, so I didn't prepare much food."

He Yan took off his coat and hung it on the dining chair. He loosened his tie casually, "No problem, I'll just eat a little. I was originally supposed to fly back the day after tomorrow. But there was a last-minute problem with the company here, so I came back early. I tried calling A-Yibo a few times, but there wasn't an answer, so I had to just drop in unannounced."

Wang Yibo came into the room just then carrying his phone, so he said when he heard those words, "My phone's been charging in the other room this whole time. I just saw the missed calls. I'm sorry, Ge."

Seeing that his cousin had returned to his usual appearance, He Yan laughed, "Sorry for what? I'm the one disturbing you. You two young men can just ignore me. I'll stay for three days, but I won't affect your romantic couple's environment2."

Wang Yibo was suddenly embarrassed, "Ge, don't say something like that......"

Xiao Zhan came out of the kitchen carrying the last dish and heard his words, saying, "Ge can stay for a few days, it's no trouble."

Of course, these words were just him being courteous, but He Yan didn't catch that. "Zhan is very sensible, unlike our family's A-Yibo , who wouldn't say such polite words like an adult, really foolish."

"The foolish one is indeed foolish, but he's very clever, so he isn't likely to be abducted."

He Yan saw that he responded naturally and willingly3, free and at ease, magnanimously, without any shyness at all, and felt more and more like they had a natural affinity, "Zhan , how old are you?"

"Twenty one."

"No wonder you're more mature than A-Yibo ! I'm just three years older than you, so just treat me like your own GeGe, no need to use such polite address."

Wang Yibo , who was sitting off to the side, suddenly opened his mouth, "I'm just two years younger than Xuezhang. Also, I'm not that immature......" His words grew softer and softer as he spoke, because he saw Xiao Zhan was shooting him a meaningful glance.

"You still dare to talk back. Who was it who fought someone just earlier today?" Xiao Zhan , who himself treated fights as everyday occurrences, lectured him without either a blush or a racing heart.

Wang Yibo lowered his head and silently stirred up the rice in his bowl. He looked a bit aggrieved, but after eating a bite of food, he couldn't keep from smiling, "The food made by Xuezhang is really delicious." With that smile, the wound at the corner of his mouth was stretched and he let out a small hiss of pain.

Xiao Zhan put his chopsticks down on his bowl, "Look how foolish, I'll give you some medicine later."

He Yan was already curious about Wang Yibo 's injury and took the opportunity to voice his puzzlement. Xiao Zhan described the whole matter in a few succinct sentences. He didn't want He Yan to accidentally find out about their grudges towards Zou Rui, to avoid ruining the good impression he'd just created and making his biaoge think his intentions of getting together with a certain someone were improper and unclear, causing Wang Yibo to become injured.

After dinner, He Yan took the initiative to handle washing the dishes, so Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo went to tidy up the guest room.

"Which room should I sleep in tonight?" Xiao Zhan asked deliberately.

Wang Yibo said shyly, "Sleep in my room, my bed is pretty big......"

"So it's easy to roll around in?"

"N-no, Xuezhang, I didn't mean that!"

"What meaning?" Xiao Zhan embraced Wang Yibo around the neck and snuggled in close. He joked, "What are you thinking about? Don't be so filthy."

Wang Yibo instantly blushed. Xiao Zhan thought that he'd panic from the embarrassment and go silent, so he didn't expect Wang Yibo to suddenly hug him tightly.

"Xuezhang obviously knows exactly what I'm thinking about." Wang Yibo buried his head in the hollow of his shoulder, his voice muffled, "Besides you, what else could I be thinking about."

Fuck, the silly dog has become more and more heart-stirring lately.

Xiao Zhan had been the one to incite the flirtation, but unexpectedly he was the one falling for it. He shoved Wang Yibo away to hide his embarrassment, "Fine, then I'll sleep with you here."

He said it as if he'd been considering staying in another room.

Wang Yibo was very happy, but because he was afraid of hurting his wound, he didn't smile too widely. He gave a little half-grin, which made him look pretty comical. Xiao Zhan couldn't deal with him anymore and went out to the living room. By coincidence, He Yan had just finished washing the dishes. He'd untied his tie to move more easily and also loosened two of his shirt buttons and rolled his sleeves up to his forearms. Though he wasn't exposing much, it seemed he had quite the sturdy figure under his clothes.

The shape of He Yan's brows and eyes were similar to Wang Yibo 's a bit, but it was clear he wasn't mixed-race, with his Eastern features more distinct. His facial features were handsome and also more mature. He exuded from head to foot the elite temperament unique to successful businessmen, confident and unconstrained, kind and charming.

If it were the past, Xiao Zhan would've found Ye Han to be his ideal type, but now that he had someone in his heart, he naturally had no interest in anyone else.

Since Wang Yibo was out of the room, He Yan stepped closer and said with a smile, "I've always known there was someone in my di's heart, but I thought it was some delicate omega. After all, you also know how his temperament is."

Xiao Zhan understood the implication of his words, saying, "We're kind of complementary. I can protect him if anything happens."

He Yan blinked, then burst into laughter, "You really are different, it's no wonder he likes you so much. Not only does he not need you to protect him, he simply has a very good temper. Even when he's bullied, he doesn't utter a word. If he really gets angry, he teaches everyone that he's not lenient."

Xiao Zhan was surprised. "Ge, you've seen him get angry before?"

"I heard about it once. When he was in the second year of junior middle school, one of his classmates fell in love with an omega who liked A-Yibo . That classmate was so angry and bitter that he came to fight with him. He didn't fight back at first, but then that person deliberately took his pen and broke it and A-Yibo got angry instantly. If it weren't for other people pulling him back, he probably would have broken his bones. Afterwards, the parents were called."

"Just because of a single pen?"

"It wasn't just an ordinary pen. According to him, it had belonged to a xuezhang who'd just graduated. He really treasured it."

Xiao Zhan matched the timeline up in his head and figured that xuezhang was 80% likely to be himself, but compared to that, he was more concerned about one other part, "Wang Yibo was very popular?"

"He's always been very popular. Who knows how many omegas have fought over him. Some even tried to seduce him with their pheromones. A-Yibo was also stubborn to death, not listening when the family tried to persuade him, and fought-"

Xiao Zhan was confused, "Fought who?"

He Yan scratched his head and hesitated to say anything more. He glanced over just as Wang Yibo finished up in the room and was walking towards them, "We can discuss it further later. It's late today, I'll go rest early."

Xiao Zhan hadn't noticed yet, so he replied "mhm" and said, "Ge, add me on social media, we can chat later."

"The room is set up. Ge, I'll show you the way," Wang Yibo suddenly inserted himself into the conversation.

"Wait a minute." Xiao Zhan quickly added He Yan as a friend, "Okay, then, Ge, you can go rest."

He Yan was a bit tired after a day of flying, so he said good night and headed to the guest room. Xiao Zhan followed Wang Yibo into his room. Wang Yibo 's bedroom had an en-suite bathroom, and the two of them were used to living together in the dorm, so it didn't feel like there was any big difference, except that the bed was much larger than the ones in the dorm.

When Wang Yibo came out of the bath, Xiao Zhan had already prepared the cotton swabs and topical medicine. He beckoned him over and he obediently sat on the edge of the bed. He tilted his face up, like a pet waiting for his owner's caress.

Xiao Zhan reached out and stroked the side of his face, discovering that he seemed to have matured a little. The innocent, youthful aura from when they had first meant seemed to be nearly gone, replaced by a more handsome, solid profile and a gentle and reliable temperament. The only constant was the dark green in his eyes. When he looked at Xiao Zhan , there always seemed to be affection and warmth within, which could make a certain someone melt inside.

Xiao Zhan composed himself, pressing one knee to the edge of the bed for support and dipping a cotton swab in the medicine. He carefully rubbed it on the area where he was injured, which was small and quickly covered.

"For the next few days, you have to eat only light food."

Wang Yibo nodded.

"You have to get rest."

Wang Yibo nodded seriously.

"You have to clean it well."

Wang Yibo nodded again.

"You have to kiss."

Caught up, Wang Yibo nodded, but after a second passed, he realized what Xiao Zhan had said and his eyes suddenly lit up.

"Seriously? Aren't you worried about the wound cracking back open?" Xiao Zhan laughed.

Wang Yibo whispered, "It doesn't matter......"

"No, I don't want to have to use the medicine again."

The brightness in Wang Yibo 's eyes dimmed a bit, but nevertheless he obediently said, "Okay, just forget about it."

Seeing him be so obedient, Xiao Zhan really felt his heart itch4. "Seeing as you've been obedient, I'll give you a reward. Stick out your tongue."

Wang Yibo didn't understand why, but he opened his mouth a bit, just enough so the wound didn't tear, and extended his tongue just a little. Xiao Zhan instantly took the opportunity and licked him.

Wang Yibo was startled, his entire body going still. He blankly stared at Xiao Zhan stupidly.

Xiao Zhan curved his lips up in a smile. He twisted his soft tongue, wrapping and twirling around Wang Yibo 's tongue where it was exposed in the air. The cool, fresh scent from his bath filled the air between them and the hazy humidity made the mixing of their tongues in this approximation of a kiss even more sticky and lingering.

This still wasn't enough. Xiao Zhan had been particularly stimulated by Wang Yibo 's body temperature and breath. Perhaps it was because his heat was near, but the desire to engrave the alpha into his body was haunting him. He loosened the grip of his tongue and kissed Wang Yibo 's chin, then continued down, lapping at the adam's apple bulge in his throat.

Instantly, Wang Yibo 's throat rolled.

"Where do you want me to lick?" Xiao Zhan took a direct seat on his lap, tone full of arrogance, "Wherever you name, Ge will satisfy you."

Wang Yibo 's brain blue-screened but his body instinctively reacted to the provocation. Xiao Zhan noticed, reaching down and stroking. He immediately felt that incredibly stiff member laying beneath his underwear.

"Let's pause here. Next time, I'll take care of this for you." Xiao Zhan had no experience in that kind of service with his mouth and he didn't want to lose his "Xuezhang" status in front of Wang Yibo . He wanted to go online to learn the tricks from some good examples before doing it for him.

Wang Yibo finally recovered from this series of deliberate seductions, his face having turned red a long time ago. He said in a husky voice, "No, I couldn't bear to......"

"Don't want my hands? Then I'll go to sleep." Xiao Zhan stood up.

Wang Yibo captured his hand.

Then pressed it against his crotch.

His gaze was scorching, the dark green within his eyes becoming more and more captivating.

"......I'll help you, but you can't kiss me," Xiao Zhan ordered.

Wang Yibo was very obedient and he complied with his demands from beginning to end, but in the final moment, the desire and longing in his eyes surged in blazing hot passion, almost overflowing. Xiao Zhan could barely resist as he was stared at so intensely and he quickly broke their eye contact, focusing on finishing him off.

As for himself, he naturally was very calm and dignified as he went off to the bathroom, taking care of himself, well-fed and happy5.

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Footnotes:

1. Familiar from the start (自来熟): slang meaning a person who acts like a friend from a first meeting, very talkative and sociable with strangers ↩

2. Romantic couple's world (二人世界): world of just a couple so they can enjoy isolated time together ↩

3. Readily following good advice (从善如流): idiom, to follow good opinions or well-intentioned advice like water flowing swiftly and smoothly downward ↩

4. Itchy heart (心痒): to feel excited or eager ↩

5. Well-fed and clothed (丰衣足食): idiom, used here as euphemism for satisfied and content ↩

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