Fouls Prohibited

Ye Ci’sexpression showed embarrassment. “If, if I sleep together with you, I……” He was shy, but contradictorily straightforward. “I’ll be too, too excited to sleep.”

“Too excited to sleep with me?” Huo Tinglan repeated with a smile.

Phrased in such a way, if Huo Tinglan didn’t know how pure Ye Ci’s words were……

Ye Ci nodded carelessly, and wanted to slip away again.

“Huo-shushu will coax you to sleep.” Huo Tinglan hugged him. The scoundrel pressed his upper body against him, enfolding him as he moved toward the master bedroom, continuing to coax and tease, “Shall I sing you a lullaby?……”

Ye Ci wasn’t strong enough to resist as he was pulled once again against the swell of ample pectoral muscles. After all, he had the mindset of a young adolescent boy. Consciously eating other people’s tofu, he didn’t dare to move. His face swifty turned red, his vision became unfocused as he yielded after making a show of resistance, and he retreated again and again until his knees knocked against the edge of the bed and bent. He fell on his back with a thud.

This scene was a bit comical. Ye Ci was stunned for a moment, then laughed. Huo Tinglan also laughed, taking the opportunity to lower his head and peck his lips.

Ye Ci was about to struggle again, but a big hand was already pressed against his ribs through his pajamas. As if knowing where his weak point was, it directly attacked his most ticklish fifth rib.

“Huo-shushu!” Ye Ci exclaimed, curling up like a cooked shrimp. 

At first, he silently endured and twisted his body to avoid the tickling, his jaw and the corners of his lips drawn tight. However, the nerve reflex triggered by tickling could not be resisted by willpower. His efforts were in vain, and he laughed: “Stop, stop it, ha ha, Huo-shushu……”

He usually smiled a lot less. First because there was an element of deliberately pretending to be strong and cold, and second because if a pretense was kept up for a long time, it would unknowingly become the new norm. That face was habitually flat toward outsiders, and although he was obedient and soft toward Huo Tinglan, he didn’t smile much.

Therefore, such laughter was rare. A pair of dimples and a row of neat white teeth could be seen, like a ray of light breaking through the clouds in the blue sky.

Huo Tinglan looked slightly stunned, and suddenly leaned forward and kissed him.

He liked it so much. The tip of his tongue entered, as if to draw out a bit of honey.

This kiss could still count as pure, but it was so affectionate and loving that Ye Ci was more embarrassed than ever.

It seemed that in Huo Tinglan’s eyes, he had become something soft and loveable, which was inconsistent with his view of himself.

He hurriedly suppressed his smile, hiding the dimples. In order to dispel the enchantment that made him blush and caused his heart to beat fast, he lightly rubbed Huo Tinglan’s ribs in turn to show that they were just joking around.

Huo Tinglan grabbed his hand and helped him poke his body, saying with half a smile, “I’m not ticklish.”

“You, you really aren’t?” Ye Ci didn’t believe it. How could anyone not be ticklish?

He tried again, and Huo Tinglan leaned on a few pillows with a half-reclined posture, holding in a smile as he indulged him.

Maybe it was because of his physique as a top Alpha. Ye Ci experimented and tested. The neck that would make ordinary people giggle when touched, then the armpit. Huo Tinglan didn’t even respond, but on the contrary, Ye Ci’s little paws drew apart the dark blue nightgown.

Perhaps due to the excitement, there was sweat on his body and the warm light illuminated his light honey-colored muscles with a delicate glow. It was an extremely attractive male body.

The playful energy suddenly dissipated. Ye Ci rushed to withdraw his hand as if he had invited misfortune, and his face turned even redder.

The atmosphere was just right. Huo Tinglan leaned closer and kissed him lightly, like sipping strong wine.

From cautious to lingering.

Huo Tinglan decided to impart some new knowledge to his young lover.

“……Open your mouth, baby?” he asked, testing the waters.

The tip of the tongue brushed between the lips.

Wet and slightly cool.

Ye Ci trembled and shrank back vigilantly: “……Open my mouth?”

With this reaction from him, Huo Tinglan had the illusion that he had become a kidnapper.

He colored on Ye Ci’s white paper with a tone that was as upright as a popular science article, but the content was shameless: “Open your mouth to let our tongues touch each other, this is a real kiss……” He looked as if he had suffered a loss. “The previous ones don’t actually count.”

With their foreheads touching, he held up that confused and flustered face and first made contact that would not make Ye Ci feel uneasy. Shallow kisses, words of love, rubbing their ears and temples together, brushing the corner of the jaw and earlobes with his fingertips. He saw that Ye Ci’s mood gradually changed from apprehensive to hazy, and then to unfocused……like a kitten that had inhaled too much catnip, dazed by the drug, he obediently poked out the tip of his tongue from between his teeth.

There was a star of water on it, soft and bright.

Huo Tinglan lowered his head and seized it all at once.

“Wu……”

In just a few minutes, like a spoonful of condensed honey, fine and flexible, stretched to infinity……

His tongue was sucked numb.

Ye Ci covered his mouth. As if he had no face to see anyone, he drilled into the pile of pillows with a glowing red blush: “I can’t, can’t kiss any more, Huo-shushu.” He felt around and pulled something out of the pocket of his pajama pants. “I didn’t sleep well yesterday because of your, your wild kissing, and I was so sleepy in class. Today I ate……half of this.”

He opened his hand, and in his palm was the leftover half of a peppermint. Printed on the package were the exaggerated words, “Strong and cool, instantly freezes the brain.” 

Ye Ci’s small face wrinkled, and he complained in a bright and youthful manner to his needy lover: “It’s, it’s spicy, hotter than wasabi……” He twisted out a piece and muttered, “If you kiss, kiss me with all your strength again, I’ll……”

Huo Tinglan almost laughed out loud.

What was this……

A suicide attack?

So cute.

In front of him, Ye Ci’s cold, hard shell had been removed more and more cleanly.

He didn’t just act soft toward him, but was obedient to him.

But he was still able to complain a little bit like he was doing now, using mint candies to joke with him……with the vivacity and liveliness that a boy of his age should have.

If it wasn’t for Ye Ci’s academic considerations, he would definitely escalate.

However……

“Understood.” Gentleman Huo Tinglan smiled and captured the mint candy, covered Ye Ci with a blanket, and tucked in the corners. He reached out and turned off the light, saying softly, “Sleep well, good night.”

This time he really didn’t do anything else, and lay down a few centimeters away from Ye Ci.

The two people’s breaths mingled, and the scent of tequila enveloped them heavily in the quiet night.

Being a natural “leader and commander,” the pheromone secretion of an Alpha’s glands would undergo various subtle changes due to fluctuations in the Alpha’s mood, enabling the pheromones to have different effects on the immediate environment according to the Alpha’s needs.

Such as in this moment. Huo Tinglan took the initiative to suppress some of his needs, and the tequila scent was obviously softer than usual. The compositions that could awaken an Omega’s desire were rare, and most had soothing and calming effects.

Ye Ci’s heartbeat, which had been soaring at 180 beats per minute a short while ago, became more relaxed.

Between the soothing pheromones, the 100% genetic matching, plus the fact that he hadn’t slept well last night and was seriously sleep-deprived……even sleeping pills wouldn’t have such a strong effect.

Ye Ci’s eyelids were sore and heavy.

“I promised to put you to sleep.” Huo Tinglan stroked his hair. “Sleep, ba.”

. . . . . .

The final exam for the second semester of school was scheduled for the 7th and 8th of July, and there would be three days off after the exam. After the results were released, the approved high school seniors would usher in the most precious lengthy vacation of the coming year – a full 20-day summer vacation.

This kind of vacation schedule was a bit harsh, but considering that he was about to enter the sprint stage of the third year of high school, Ye Ci had no complaints.

He had officially moved into Huo Tinglan’s room. Aside from the night they confirmed their relationship, which had gone a little out of control, Huo Tinglan was appropriately behaved and didn’t let falling in love delay important matters. In this final exam, Ye Ci had advanced by more than 100 places in his year group. Although he was still at the middle to lower level, considering Tiancheng’s environment of fierce competition and staggeringly high costs, Ye Ci’s ranking in the province would definitely not be bad. At least his undergraduate courses had reached a point of stability. In the next year, if he maintained this momentum and speed of progress, as long as he reached the middle of his year group, the entrance examination would not be a problem at all.

Besides……his potential should be higher than that.

After the results were released, at the last class meeting before the summer vacation, the head teacher called him out and praised him, and also presented him with a “Star of Progress” certificate on behalf of the school. 

That afternoon, Ye Ci returned home with his transcript and certificate of merit. The first thing he did was to stammer and recount to Huo Tinglan what the teacher had praised him for, so that he could hear it word for word.

“……Xu-laoshi said it like that.” After Ye Ci’s retelling, the corners of his lips were half-raised. He tried to appear calm so as not to seem too childish in front of his lover, or excessively excited over such a small score. But he didn’t know that when he glanced at Huo Tinglan, his eyes were as bright as a little wolf’s, and his ears were almost pricked up.

Like a child waiting to be praised.

“That’s really great, you’ve made significant progress.” Huo Tinglan smiled, first giving overall affirmation before spreading out the six test papers one by one, and discussing in detail the areas where Ye Ci was particularly excellent. “Your math test is the best this time, and that is not only reflected in the score.” A blue and gold lacquered fountain pen tapped the math answer sheet, pointing to the penultimate question. “Your problem-solving methods are clear and concise. I only taught you a simple solution to this type of question once last month, I didn’t expect you to remember it……it shows that you not only have a high degree of comprehension, but also listen carefully.”

“You also performed well in physics……”

“Chemistry……”

He single-handedly held an award ceremony for Ye Ci.

After being praised for the second half of the sequence, Ye Ci almost couldn’t even sit in his chair.

He had never received such a high level of praise in his life. He felt like he had asked for a little red flower and was buried by a shipping container of little red flowers. But Huo Tinglan’s demeanor and tone were serious, the praise was well-founded, and there was no edge of teasing or ridicule.

“Huo-shushu.” He couldn’t hold back anymore. Wiping his red face, he quietly refuted, “You’re exaggerating too, too much. If I’m really as good as you say……like this, I can be, be admitted to a prestigious school next year.”

Huo Tinglan looked straight at him, raised his eyebrows slightly, and said what should be said: “With your qualifications, you can of course set a prestigious school as your goal. Your foundation is a bit poor, but it has recovered a lot in the past few months. You are so smart and eager to learn, plus it’s a whole year in the future, I think the odds are good……” As he spoke, he smiled softly and joked, “Why, does our Xiao Ci dislike prestigious schools?”

Ye Ci quickly shook his head. He was amused, and when he finished laughing, his eyes were hot and sore.

“In twenty days, you’ll be a senior in high school.” Huo Tinglan carefully smoothed the corners of the papers and the answer sheet and chatted with him. “Any thoughts on majors or schools?”

He would not restrict Ye Ci, and would at most give him some guidance.

As long as he didn’t go into formula racing……he could do anything he wanted.

Ten mathematicians couldn’t calculate the area of his psychological shadow regarding formula racing.

“I have some, some basic……ideas.” Ye Ci hesitated, and whispered, “I’m interested in, in manufacturing pharmaceuticals……”

The clinical trial in San Francisco that Ye Hongjun was participating in had been going on for four weeks. According to the latest test results, she did indeed show signs of improvement. Follow-up tests would take a long time, and whether she could recover was still inconclusive, but this was already a pleasant surprise.

“I’ve been, been thinking about this for a while.” Ye Ci clenched his fingertips, his eyes bright as he spoke of his dreams. “My mom was able to get, get treatment this time mainly because……you provided her with, with such good……conditions and access. But many people don’t, don’t have this ability. The imported medicines we used before were all……terribly expensive. I think I will study, study medicine in the future, so maybe I can help those kinds of people, and let them all use cheap and, and effective medicine.”

The bitterness of being seriously ill, he understood too well and empathized with too much. He earned his way out of the quagmire through untold hardships, and wanted to turn around and help someone else – – with his own strength.

Scratching his cheek in embarrassment, he said: “It’s a pretty, pretty childish idea, I know it’s not that simple.” When he raised his eyes, there was a glistening light in them and a sort of simple kindness. It was the look of those who had witnessed suffering without losing their heart. “It’s just……a general direction to work towards, don’t laugh at me.”

Huo Tinglan looked at him, and his heart was so soft that he didn’t know how much more he could love and adore him.

“It’s not childish at all,” he said firmly, and stood up.

They were in the study room, talking about life goals……this was a serious occasion and an upright topic, but his impulses were inexplicably ignited.

“I just don’t, don’t know if……the salary in this line of work is high or, or not.” Ye Ci was still making these small calculations in his head. When a man had a family and a house, he couldn’t just think about himself. “I also want to make, make a lot of money in the future and spend it on you and my, my mom……”

Huo Tinglan hugged him then with a reckless and unbridled energy that didn’t match his usual demeanor. With his chest and abdomen full of hot steam, he pressed against him, sweeping away the pile of papers and awards, and pushing him onto the desk in the study. Still on the right side of their unspoken rules, he warmly promised in his ear: “Just study what you want, don’t worry about anything. I’ll invest in you and help you with your projects, okay, baby? Alright?”

“Ah……um, alright……” Ye Ci obediently let himself be kissed while blushing, and felt like an actor who had gone to the wrong set in a daze.

He and Huo-shushu just now……weren’t they just talking about a serious topic?!