Fouls Prohibited

Huo Tinglan revealed a rare assertiveness, and brazenly competed with Ye Ci to cover his abdomen again with the palm of his hand.

Ye Ci was too thin, with a narrow waist and belly, as if he was trying to lure him in to hold it, to induce him to do evil.

“. . . . Do you know what’s in your stomach?”

His voice was terribly hoarse.

There was softness under the tips of his fingers.

Due to Omega development, Ye Ci’s originally thin and tight abdomen was covered with a thin layer of fat.

Looking at it with your eyes, you might not be able to see it, but the smooth, suet-like touch didn’t lie, existing at the same time as the toughness of muscle . . . .

Like soft velvet wrapped around gold.

It could really drive him to his death.

At this time, because the abdominal cavity was stimulated, the sweetness of vanilla was suddenly stronger.

— His beloved Omega was throbbing, only half-understanding, and longing for him.

This realization made Huo Tinglan’s arm under his silver suit tremble with excitement, and the bridge of his nose was dashed with sweat. Even his lips and eyes seemed to be stirred by the influx of blood, synchronizing with the rhythm of his heart.

“In the, in the stomach is –” Ye Ci didn’t dare to look directly at the terrifying guess in his heart, and only incoherently tried to break Huo Tinglan’s grip. In his haste, he lost control of his hand strength, and a few red and white finger marks were printed on Huo Tinglan’s wrist like cat scratches. “Huo-shushu, let, let go for a bit . . . .”

All at once, his stomach spasmed and thrashed like a contraction.

It felt strange, indescribable. With a huge sense of shame, Ye Ci’s breath shook, and his clear voice was faintly hoarse: “Let go!”

He was like a wolverine kitten carried off by a beast to its lair to be licked and drooled over. Frightened and pitiful, its fluff was matted down, and it was about to be overwhelmed.

Whether it was his mental state, pheromone-excessive glands, physical strength, or something else . . . . he was already at his limit.

Moreover, there was also a question of whether the immature Omega glands that had not yet been differentiated could withstand a bite from an A-level Alpha.

He couldn’t go any further.

Ye Ci couldn’t bear it.

He had asked for enough tonight.

Huo Tinglan’s eyes were bloodshot, his jaw clenched sharply as he fixed his eyes on Ye Ci. His precarious sanity was entangled with an Alpha’s vicious instincts. He was like a tiger that coveted fresh meat, very greedy, hungry and confused, but he clenched his fists and restrained his frantic, scorching emotions. Slowly releasing his restraints, he let his Omega escape from his arms like he was running for his life, avoiding him at a distance. Enduring the pain of the hunger, thirst, and loss was tantamount to mental whiplash for an Alpha.

. . . . . .

Ye Ci used a cool summer quilt to wrap himself into a chrysalis, a single hand emerging to hold his phone.

He glanced at the time and closed his eyes.

Tomorrow was Monday. With a morning of mathematics, physics, and chemistry, his brain was going to be fried.

He tried forcing himself to fall asleep, but his brows were unconsciously furrowed, his face like a bun with eighteen pleats.

A few minutes later, Ye Ci opened his eyes in discouragement, only to realize that his face was sore.

2:37.

After calculating the remaining time he had left to sleep, he couldn’t sleep at all.

He had been restless since he escaped from the study. He’d crouched on the terrace to empty a pack of cigarettes, his legs shaking. His pulse didn’t slow down, and his heart ached.

Huo Tinglan didn’t seek him out again, and he also didn’t take the initiative to talk.

There was still an illusory sensation in his abdomen, and the heat of Huo Tinglan’s palm still seemed to be scorching him.

“. . . . . .”

Ye Ci turned over anxiously, his face buried in the pillow. His ears were red, his black hair messy, and he didn’t know how many times he had tossed and turned under the quilt.

He had run out. He couldn’t do it if he didn’t run. Something was so wrong with Huo Tinglan tonight.

He could comprehend that something wasn’t right. After all, when an Alpha was susceptible, sometimes they would act in spite of themselves. Especially with high-level Alphas, it was not uncommon for them to lose control, and no matter how strong their willpower was, there was a limit.

But Huo-shushu at that time also really . . . .everyone would say it was excessive . . . .

Ye Ci grabbed the edge of the quilt, pulled it up, and wrapped his head fiercely, as if he could wipe out those messy thoughts in one go.

Too much was too much.

The moment he left the study, he didn’t have many thoughts about escaping, but was more worried and guilty.

He had run away in a hurry, but after thinking about it, Huo Tinglan’s appearance at that time seemed a little wrong.

. . . . In the end, what was wrong?

Ye Ci tried hard to recall.

The only thing that came to mind was a wrist with his fingerprints on it, and a pair of unhinged black eyes trying hard to maintain self-control.

He realized in hindsight that, in fact, even if he hadn’t struggled so desperately, Huo Tinglan wouldn’t have done more.

Ye Ci grabbed his hair, kicked off the quilt, and put on his shoes.

If he didn’t go take a look, his conscience would sting.

The sconce lights along the walls of the hallways were lit, giving off soft halos of illumination.

Huo Tinglan’s bedroom door was left open, revealing a dark gap, and it didn’t look like anyone was sleeping inside.

Ye Ci hesitated for a while, and it was hard to say whether he was more worried or temporarily relieved. He quietly opened the door a little wider, took two steps in, and looked in the direction of the bed.

The light from the wall sconces peeked through.

The unnecessarily large bed was a mess. The graphite satin sheets were twisted up like two thin, sodden towels, and seemed to be ripped in a few places, as if the person lying on them suddenly went mad. On the bedside table was an empty syringe that had been broken in two. There were also several colorful medicine bottles and packages lying or standing, and one bottle was not screwed shut. Small white pills were spilled all over the ground, and the bottle was compressed strangely, as if the person who opened it had lost control of their grip strength.

And he had been told not to take medicine indiscriminately . . . .

This scene didn’t look like a normal medication routine.

The bridge of his nose was suddenly sore and painful, and Ye Ci rushed to the first floor.

On the first floor, Uncle He’s housekeeper’s room was also empty with the door wide open, the blanket on the bed flung aside — it seemed he was in a hurry to get up from the middle of sleep.

The Huo residence was too big. Ye Ci aimlessly pushed open doors to search, and made two calls to Huo Tinglan and Uncle He, but both numbers were out of the service area.

Would the hospital’s signal be so bad?

Ye Ci frowned.

He knew that sometimes high-level Alphas wanted to avoid losing control and hurting people during their susceptible period, and would ask others to help lock them up while they were still sane.

When he was an Alpha, there were a few times when the susceptible period was particularly severe and he was locked in the bathroom of the old house by Ye Hongjun. Once, he was so manic that he kicked the door.

In Huo-shushu’s case, maybe there was a “safe room” . . . .

Ye Ci turned his head and ran towards the stairs leading to the basement.

Sure enough, the stairwell lights were on. He was halfway down when he happened to bump into Uncle He coming around the corner, his highly professional face revealing a rare apprehension.

“Is Huo, Huo-shushu down there?” Ye Ci was out of breath.

Uncle He was stunned for a moment. He had been ordered to cover up this matter, and originally planned to say that Mr. Huo had gone to a special medical institution to recuperate for a few days. He didn’t expect someone to stop him in the basement. In the current situation, to insist that Mr. Huo was not at home would be no different than making a fool of himself. He gave a hollow smile and deliberately avoided the question: “This . . . . It is so late, and Young Master Ye still hasn’t slept. You have to wake up at 6:30 in the morning, otherwise you will . . . .”

“Then, then he’s here.” Ye Ci came to a conclusion and deftly walked around Uncle He.

“Young Master Ye, ai, Young Master Ye!” Uncle He was alarmed and hurriedly chased after him.

There were also many rooms on the basement floor, but Ye Ci just looked straight at one that was different, made of metal. He didn’t need to touch it to know that it was thick and sturdy, appearing at first glance like the door of a vault.

He leaned over to fumble for the switch, and comforted: “I won’t, won’t make it difficult for you, I’ll say that I, I found it myself. That, that is actually the truth..”

Uncle He hesitated.

Would it not be difficult to face Mr. Huo?

It was hard to say.

He wasn’t sure if he should help the other person achieve his goal.

The husband and wife had been married for so long, and without mentioning that they slept in different rooms, they usually didn’t even speak a word of affection. The polite greetings and civility, he saw it all with his own eyes. Moreover, Mr. Huo was in such pain during his susceptible period, and locked himself up to endure it. But anyone with eyes could see that Mr. Huo was incredibly happy with this marriage, and it was Young Master Ye who was unwilling. It was good that he finally sought him out himself, plus this deep concern . . . .

Besides, this Young Master Ye could hop faster than a rabbit, how could this handful of old bones stop him?

“This, ai, all right . . . .” Seeing Ye Ci tinkering at the door for a long time without being able to do anything, Uncle He pushed him aside. With a grim expression on his face, he silently showed Ye Ci how to open the door.

The door opened a crack.

Although the safe room had an independent ventilation system, the aroma of tequila that rushed to his face was still as rich as the real thing. In just one breath, his lungs seemed to be filled with potent alcohol.

The walls and floor were covered with a soft, cotton-like material to prevent Huo Tinglan from hurting himself when he went mad.

There was no signal in the room, but it was equipped with emergency contact equipment that could call several internal numbers in the Huo residence, Huo Tinglan’s parents’ phone number, and those of the city’s emergency centers.

Huo Tinglan sat beside the bed facing him. His legs were spread apart, his elbows resting on his knees, like a silent and tyrannical stone statue.

Hearing the door open, he turned his head and stared at Ye Ci, who was standing at the door. His eyes were as dark as two black holes, burning with passion.

Passion, mixed with greed, possessiveness, thirst, infatuation . . . . concentrated and dense, burned black as pitch.

A used barrier patch stuck to the glands on the back of his neck.

Damp, wrinkled, printed with cyan blue flowers, full of Omega pheromones and sweat. Secretly, paradoxically, with an almost twisted erotic implication, it was stuck to the Alpha’s neck.

In the more than two hours since Ye Ci had left him, he had sat in this safe room, isolated from the world as he repeatedly rubbed the barrier patch to soothe his insatiable restlessness and avoid hurting his still innocent lover.

No one would believe that the dignified head of the Huo family actually satisfied himself with a barrier patch he had used deception and thievery to get his hands on.

Thankfully, most of the patch was covered by his collar.

Ye Ci’s legs were trembling, and he swallowed hard. Against the storm of high-potency Alpha pheromones, he took a step inside the door.

From this angle, he could only see Huo Tinglan’s head hanging between his knees.

Both hands were bandaged, and blood was oozing from his palms.

His fists were clenched.

The muscles in Huo Tinglan’s jaw trembled terribly, and two perfunctory words were squeezed out from between his teeth: “Go back.”

Translator’s Note: A big thanks goes out to Kay for their Kofi donation! As new to this as I am, I’ve never received a donation before, so you’ve made this translator’s day!