Su Yu’s eyes widened, as if he had just seen something utterly impossible.
His lips twitched, like he wanted to say something, but no words would come out.
Silence stretched awkwardly between the three of them.
As the bridge connecting the two, Ji Chenxi spoke first to break it. “You here for the food too?”
Su Yu snapped back to reality, letting out a small, “Ah… so we’re having something tasty today?”
“An all-fish feast,” Ji Chenxi replied simply. After mentioning the meal, he introduced them, “My friend, Su Yu. And this is someone I met recently, Chi Zhuo.”
Ji Chenxi acted completely calm, and Su Yu gradually tucked away his earlier shock. Following the introduction, he greeted Chi Zhuo politely.
As he did, Su Yu quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Looks like he had misunderstood—this manor was Ji Chenxi’s territory, so the chance of eavesdropping was slim. If Ji Chenxi were actually involved with Chi Zhuo, he wouldn’t have introduced him as a “new friend,” he’d have said “boyfriend.”
Chi Zhuo nodded lightly, a cold and distant response.
In truth, the two knew each other. They were both in the Imperial Star; the circle was small. Even without a close connection, they were familiar faces.
Su Yu stepped closer, looping an arm around Ji Chenxi’s neck and resting it on his shoulder. With a smile, he asked, “Little Rose, why are you still holding flowers? Could it be from our Miss Lu?”
Acting casual while separating the two apart, Su Yu felt a chill behind him. He glanced sideways at Chi Zhuo, flashing the kind of roguish smile that came naturally to him.
The moment their eyes met, Su Yu’s smile froze slightly, his heart skipped a beat, and a shiver ran through him.
Just a brief look, and he couldn’t help but tense every muscle in his body, almost wanting to pull Ji Chenxi into his protective space.
A dangerous aura crawled up Su Yu’s spine, sharp and immediate, like a predator in the jungle had set its sights on him.
Just as Su Yu’s vigilance toward Chi Zhuo shot through the roof, his friend completely ignored the danger and even pushed his hand away.
Su Yu glanced over. Ji Chenxi’s expression was calm as ever, and he even teased him with a laugh, “Didn’t you know I hate people touching my neck? And you went and did it on purpose.”
“Hey, I didn’t even touch your neck!” Su Yu protested indignantly.
“I said you did, so you did. And that flower? Not from Miss Lu—it’s from Mr. Chi right in front of you. Now maybe someone should reflect on their manners. Look, he knew to bring a gift when visiting. And you? Empty-handed, just here to mooch. Think that’s proper?”
“We’ve known each other for over ten years! What’s wrong with grabbing a free meal?! Did you bring anything when you came to my place?” Su Yu argued, defiant despite the shaky logic.
“Well, at least I’m better than you. You not only eat but take things too.”
“Who can help it when some things are royal exclusives?! I don’t want them either!”
As their usual back-and-forth continued, the dangerous aura slowly dissipated, as if Su Yu had misread it in the first place.
Su Yu: “…Yeah, right, totally misread.”
After following Ji Chenxi into the main hall, a few previously unnoticed maids appeared, quietly preparing two teapots and serving some small snacks.
Chi Zhuo studied them. They were mostly beautiful, standing casually yet in positions perfectly suited for both defense and attack. But that wasn’t even the real focus. What caught his attention was their low presence. This level of subtlety wasn’t something weaklings could pull off—they were concealing their aura.
If these seemingly ordinary maids ever revealed their true aura, would they still remain so unnoticeable?
At first, Chi Zhuo only observed their stances and the methods they used to hide their aura. It wasn’t until he looked at the small, round ivory table that he noticed the two teapots: one with flower tea, the other with black tea.
The flower tea was the same kind Ji Chenxi had been sipping earlier—clearly his favorite. By contrast, the black tea must be someone else’s preference, for another frequent visitor here.
The maids had prepared it all without any instructions.
Chi Zhuo’s expression stayed calm, but there was a barely noticeable flicker of displeasure in his dark eyes.
Catching Chi Zhuo’s presence out of the corner of his eye, Ji Chenxi placed the flowers he was holding on a cabinet not far from the round table. He glanced at the bouquet, then accepted a vase offered by a nearby maid.
It was a straight, cylindrical vase in a creamy-gray shade, exuding a strong sense of artistry.
Ji Chenxi looked pleased—it was one of his favorite types of vases.
Seeing Ji Chenxi start arranging the flowers, Su Yu took a cup of freshly poured black tea and teased, “Our Little Rose hasn’t gotten flowers for the first time, right? But still has to put them in a vase.”
Su Yu had meant it as a joke, but Ji Chenxi, after a brief pause to recall, confirmed it seriously.
“This is actually the first time I’ve received a bouquet like this.”
“Poor thing, next time I visit, I’ll make sure to get a bouquet for you first.”
“No need,” Ji Chenxi refused instantly.
Su Yu clutched his chest dramatically. “Little Rose, you don’t love me anymore.”
“Never did,” Ji Chenxi replied, cold and ruthless.
Someone who had just been pretending was genuinely wounded now. “Am I not your best friend? Figures… only the new ones get the smiles, the old ones just cry.”
Facing Su Yu’s complaint, Ji Chenxi’s icy tone lasted only two seconds before his sapphire-blue eyes curved into a crescent moon. “Alright, stop bothering me.”
Noticing Chi Zhuo was still there, Ji Chenxi lightly gestured to his two guests, “Make yourselves comfortable. If you see anything you want to eat, just tell them, or look around if something catches your interest.”
With that, Ji Chenxi motioned for a maid to hand them the menu board.
Two maids each handed a menu board to them. One of them leaned slightly closer and asked Chi Zhuo in a soft voice, “Mr. Chi, would you like something to drink?”
“Flower tea is fine,” he replied.
Without hesitation, the maid poured a freshly brewed cup of flower tea for him.
The delicate fragrance of rose tea drifted through the air. From the corner of his eye, Su Yu, casually leaning back with his black tea, glanced toward Chi Zhuo again.
Hah, scheming little devil!
Su Yu cursed silently, thinking Chi Zhuo might be trying to provoke a showdown with him for his best buddy, while also worrying that his best friend might be toying with Chi Zhuo’s feelings.
Meanwhile, Ji Chenxi began to dismantle the bouquet in his hands, trimming the stems carefully before arranging them in the vase that was already half full of water.
He arranged flowers strictly according to his own taste. After inserting just five roses, he paused briefly.
The vase wasn’t very large, but the five roses, arranged unevenly, swayed elegantly—perfectly balanced. Ji Chenxi liked a minimalist style; this was just right. Not too many, not too few. But seeing the pile of leftover flowers, he continued adding them with a blank expression.
When he reached eleven roses, he paused again.
This was already nice, but throwing some away didn’t feel right. Between discarding flowers and filling a vase, Ji Chenxi chose to let them all reunite.
Coldly and precisely, he trimmed and arranged the stems, eventually fitting all twenty-one fully bloomed, vibrant roses into the vase.
Not bad at all. Thankfully, it wasn’t fifty-two or ninety-nine roses—if it had been that many, Ji Chenxi would have refused to arrange them.
After admiring his work a few times, he finally felt a sense of beauty in the full, clustered bouquet.
He curled the corner of his mouth, tilted his head slightly toward the two behind him, and asked, “What do you think?”
Su Yu eagerly encouraged, “It’s great! Really beautiful!”
Ji Chenxi glanced at Chi Zhuo.
Chi Zhuo studied the flowers seriously for a few moments. Ji Chenxi almost thought he had some expertise in floral arrangement, but then Chi Zhuo simply said only one word:
“Beautiful.”
Ji Chenxi smiled again in Chi Zhuo’s direction.
Su Yu: “…”
Just moments ago, Su Yu had been full of praise, but now he suddenly realized something—was his friend asking the question specifically to the illegitimate son of the Chi family? Ha! Definitely not! His friend wasn’t the type to care more about a crush than a friend!
Sure enough, after returning, Ji Chenxi chose a seat a little closer to Su Yu.
Su Yu felt he’d regained a small victory. That earlier focus on Chi Zhuo’s opinion must have been because the flowers were a gift from him.
He started teasing his friend, “Next time I come to see you, I’ll bring you flowers too.”
Ji Chenxi raised an eyebrow and refused immediately. “No.”
“Why not?”
“I have plenty of flowers in my manor. Besides, it was fun before because I hadn’t received one yet. Now that I have, it’s no longer interesting.”
“Really?” Su Yu said, half convinced.
“Then should I bring you a bouquet next time we meet?” Ji Chenxi offered.
Su Yu thought about it for a second and quickly declined. That was when he realized why Ji Chenxi had refused earlier—who sends flowers to another alpha just because they meet? Obviously, this was just a foolish idea from the hopelessly romantic guy of the Chi family!
After the three of them finished dinner in a friendly atmosphere, Su Yu felt things weren’t as awkward as before. Chi Zhuo really was quiet, barely speaking unless spoken to. But when he did, people would notice just how knowledgeable he actually was.
As long as he had no feelings for his best friend, Su Yu thought making friends was fine. At this moment, he had completely forgotten how on edge he had been around Chi Zhuo earlier.
Ji Chenxi looked at him and almost shook his head. The one who seemed like the biggest flirt and playboy—Su Yu—was, in fact, the “purest” among the three of them.
After dinner, Su Yu had wanted to hang out a bit longer, but his phone wouldn’t stop buzzing. His friends were calling him out to play. He had refused a few times earlier, but they kept insisting—there was some event tonight.
Ji Chenxi laughed. “Go ahead, Mister Socialite Su~”
Su Yu rolled his eyes. “What socialite? I’m not going, I’m already here with you.”
“You planning to stay here forever? Go on, go. I’ll come find you another day.”
There really was an event tonight, and Su Yu had organized it himself. He had even handed the responsibility over to someone else, but those people refused—they wanted him to come back and oversee everything.
Su Yu felt a little reluctant and asked Ji Chenxi to walk him part of the way.
After they had walked a bit, Su Yu said, “Remember, you said you’d come find me next time. Don’t make it so I have to come to you again. And don’t let anyone stay overnight, okay? I feel like saying more won’t help. Little Rose, you can’t let yourself get the short end of the stick.”
Ji Chenxi chuckled, agreeing under Su Yu’s disapproving glare.
As he turned to head back, at a corner he had to pass, Ji Chenxi suddenly collided with a pair of eyes as deep and dark as the night.
He smiled at Chi Zhuo. “Want to play a little fun game?”
“What kind of game?”
For a brief second, Chi Zhuo had thought Ji Chenxi was talking about something… a little more intimate. But when he looked at the dice game spread out on the table, he fell silent.
They played this simple little game for over three hours, and Ji Chenxi seemed genuinely entertained.
“See? I told you, Brother Chi Zhou can’t beat me,” Ji Chenxi said with a laugh, guarding his fake fortune in the game with pride.
Chi Zhuo silently set down his dice, completely defeated. Turning the game around now wasn’t going to be easy.
“A kiss,” Chi Zhuo requested.
Ji Chenxi’s eyes curved in a smile, but within that cheerful expression was an unmistakable sharpness. The man with crescent-shaped eyes asked, “Taking it for yourself?”
Chi Zhuo, letting his alpha presence radiate fully, leaned in to claim his kiss for the day.
But just as he got close, Ji Chenxi softened his imposing aura slightly. With one hand hooked behind Chi Zhuo’s neck and the other firmly holding his chin, he took the initiative and gave the kiss himself.
Chi Zhuo’s eyes widened slightly in surprise, and Ji Chenxi blinked, smiling. “Mr. Chi, it’s late. Maybe you should head home.”
Then, still smiling, he added softly, “Mm… goodbye.”
Hello, everyone ヾ(＾∇＾). I hope you enjoyed the story! If you’re feeling generous, please buy me a coffee, share/comment on my translated works! Check out the link below for early chapters. (๑>ᴗ<๑)
