The Dangerous “White Flower” and the Secret Tail

The image in the photo was actually not very clear, but it happened to face the full-length mirror, which reflected the hazy yet beautiful muscle lines of Ji Yanli’s arms and shoulders.

Chu Ci: “……”

He knew the other person didn’t mean it the way he thought; after all, the lens clearly focused on Ji Yanli’s finger, where a small wound remained on his fair fingertip. However, Chu Ci couldn’t hide the fact that his gaze kept drifting elsewhere.

Chu Ci blinked rapidly, shook his head, and internally cursed his own “filthy” thoughts. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. After clicking “save” on the photo, he was just about to reply to Ji Yanli.

Unexpectedly, the other person beat him to it with a new message.

[Ji Yanli (Willing to Spend Effort for the Emperor Edition)]: “[Image.JPG]”

Perhaps Ji Yanli privately assumed the “steel-straight” Chu Ci hadn’t seen what was in the last photo, because this time, the shot was much more detailed. Chu Ci could see a bit of blood seeping from the wound and even the exact pattern of the broken skin.

BUT!

What was with the two pale, long legs prominently visible in the background!!

Chu Ci sucked in a breath so sharp he almost couldn’t let it out. He clutched his chest and coughed a few times, then grabbed his phone and tapped the keyboard frantically: “Why are you…”

“NOT WEARING CLOTHES??!”

He clicked send with force, throwing the message at Ji Yanli. The “the other party is typing” indicator lasted for several seconds. Nearly a minute later, Ji Yanli sent a voice message.

Chu Ci hesitated for half a second before his trembling finger tapped to play it.

A pitiful, delicate voice immediately drifted from the speaker: “Ah… I’m sorry. I was just changing. When your message came, I was in such a hurry to reply that I…”

The voice message ended abruptly.

Chu Ci pulled the phone away and stared at the quiet screen.

…He definitely stopped there on purpose.

Unfortunately, Chu Ci had no evidence to expose him.

[My Butt is on Fire, Don’t Mess with Me]: “Fine, fine.”

[Ji Yanli (Willing to Spend Effort for the Emperor Edition)]: “Do you not like it? [Pleading Eyes.JPG]”

Chu Ci: ?

He frowned, his gaze landing on the emoji Ji Yanli had sent—a little cat with big, innocent, “moe” eyes. Chu Ci could somehow see a shadow of Ji Yanli in it.

Heh, the many-faced Ji Yanli.

Chu Ci admitted he was pleased.

But he wouldn’t tell Ji Yanli that easily.

[My Butt is on Fire, Don’t Mess with Me]: “Pay more attention next time.”

He didn’t get a text reply. Instead, the other person called him directly.

“Okay, next time I’ll make sure I’m covered up tightly before sending a photo,” Ji Yanli said, his voice laced with uncontrollable laughter.

Chu Ci swallowed. Hearing Ji Yanli’s voice made his heart reflexively soften. He leaned against the window holding his phone. The nighttime campus was quiet, yet the soft rustle of the wind through the treetops couldn’t mask his thundering heartbeat.

He lowered his eyes and asked softly, “Why did you call so suddenly?”

Ji Yanli took a breath, then slowly spoke: “Because I wanted to hear your voice.”

“If you want me to be more direct—it’s because I miss you.”

Those few short sentences turned into a warm current, surging through his veins. Chu Ci’s lashes trembled, and the originally chilly air seemed to carry a sudden heat.

The atmosphere was too ambiguous; the damp sensation of a racing heart made his head go fuzzy. Chu Ci opened his lips to say something, but he truly couldn’t find the words.

Ji Yanli didn’t rush him either. They just listened to each other’s breathing in silence, which, to him, had a different kind of charm.

Chu Ci nervously rubbed the windowsill with his finger, his lips betraying him by curving upward. After a long pause, he muttered, “You’re so clingy.”

So sappy. Ji Yanli was way too sappy.

“You don’t like clingy people?” Ji Yanli tilted his head. “Then what kind do you like?”

The question made Chu Ci find it a bit funny. “Is it possible that no matter what kind I like, you can become that?”

The youth on the other end fell silent for a few seconds.

Then he spoke: “But isn’t the one you like right now… me?”

After a pause, Ji Yanli added: “If you like someone else… it’s too late to regret it now.”

He said it so confidently that Chu Ci was left speechless. After a brief internal brainstorm, Chu Ci couldn’t find a proper rebuttal and could only mutter in concession, “Sophistry.”

Those four light words drifted into Ji Yanli’s ear, met with a few triumphant chuckles.

“You haven’t told me yet what happened to you.” To prevent the conversation from spiraling into other uncontrollable territory, Chu Ci brought the topic back, even though his face was still warm despite the cold wind.

Silence fell on the other end. Ji Yanli didn’t answer immediately. He hesitated for several minutes—so quiet that Chu Ci thought he had hung up—before he finally opened his lips: “It wasn’t much, I just almost got hit by a flower pot on the way back.”

Almost hit by a flower pot?

And that “wasn’t much”??

Chu Ci’s eyes widened in surprise.

“It should have been blown down from upstairs by the wind,” Ji Yanli added. Fearing Chu Ci would overthink, he chose to omit the rest.

“Then the photo you sent me—” Chu Ci asked again.

Ji Yanli lowered his eyes, absentmindedly rubbing his fingertips together against the small wound.

The faint sting stimulated his brain, but he remained calm, saying: “I wanted you to feel bad for me.”

“Or as you put it…”

“I was seducing you.”

Ji Yanli was definitely doing it on purpose!!

Chu Ci sucked in a breath.

He had still underestimated him!!!

“You… you…” His thoughts were jumbled into a mess by Ji Yanli. Chu Ci stammered, his usual sharp-tongued self completely vanished. He truly couldn’t find an excuse, and with his face burning fiercely, his head went hot, and he quickly pulled the phone away and “clack”—hung up on Ji Yanli.

Only when he heard the busy signal did Chu Ci’s frantic heart begin to stabilize.

With a bright red face, he buried his head and dove straight into his blankets, letting the soft bedding hide his entire head. Chu Ci curled up in the darkness, the rhythm of his heart echoing clearly in his chest.

The phone lying to the side lit up; it was Ji Yanli saying goodnight.

Chu Ci blinked his lashes, looking at the bright screen. His dark pupils seemed a shade lighter in the glow. He cupped the phone with both hands, as if holding the soft love transmitted by another person.

His thin lips moved slightly.

He gently mouthed: “See you tomorrow.”

“Chu Ci, have you seen Lin Yu lately?”

The school cafeteria was noisy at noon. Chu Ci and Bai Yu had chosen a corner spot to eat. Ji Yanli had planned to come along before lunch, but unfortunately ran into the homeroom teacher, Wang He, on the way down. Thus, Ji Yanli could only watch helplessly as his boyfriend was “whisked away” by a love rival.

Chu Ci poked a piece of tomato with his chopsticks and looked up at Bai Yu. He frowned in thought. “No, I haven’t seen him since his last birthday.”

Bai Yu gave an “oh” and opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it the moment the words reached his lips, swallowing them back down.

Seeing his hesitation, Chu Ci asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Ah.” Bai Yu sighed. “I ran into him this morning, but he didn’t come to school. He left with a red-haired person.”

Red hair?

Chu Ci’s brow furrowed instinctively. Hearing that description, the image of Zhang Zhuo immediately flashed in his mind.

“And then?” he asked quickly.

“I called out to him a few times, but he didn’t seem to hear me. It wasn’t that late yet, so I thought he just had something else to do with a classmate and didn’t bother him further.”

As Bai Yu spoke, he seemed to remember something. He fished his phone out of his pocket, found a chat record, and pushed it toward Chu Ci. “I think it’s a bit strange, because last night he sent me a nonsensical message and asked to borrow money.”

Hearing this, Chu Ci put down his chopsticks and picked up Bai Yu’s phone for a closer look. Based on the profile picture and name, Chu Ci recognized that it was indeed Lin Yu. But after carefully analyzing the tone of the messages, he became uncertain.

In the original story, Lin Yu’s persona before his “blackening” was so timid it bordered on self-loathing. His family background wasn’t much better than Chu Ci’s original host, and being a tragic product of his parents’ “love,” he had grown up in a completely loveless environment.

Now that he was familiar with Chu Ci and the others, Lin Yu was much more cheerful than before, and even somewhat dependent on Chu Ci.

However…

Chu Ci recalled the night of Lin Yu’s seventeenth birthday. Regardless of his personality or gestures, there was a subtle sense of something being wrong.

“That night, Lin Yu treated us to drinks,” Chu Ci spoke in a low voice. “Does he… have that kind of financial ability?”

To avoid randomly changing the fates of characters other than Ji Yanli, Chu Ci actually rarely initiated contact with them. Furthermore, since the owner of his coffee shop had gone on a honeymoon, the shop had been closed for a while, so he had seen Lin Yu even less frequently.

A sudden, inexplicable sense of unease surged in his heart.

Chu Ci swallowed and slowly lifted his eyes to meet Bai Yu’s. “Where did he get so much money?”

The youth’s gaze was deep and dark; for a moment, Bai Yu thought he saw Ji Yanli. He was startled by Chu Ci’s serious expression and quickly opened his lips to soothe him: “Maybe he found a temporary job.”

“The person you saw this morning used to bully Lin Yu.”

“I don’t believe he would hang out with that person for no reason.”

Chu Ci bit his lip, took his phone out of his pocket, and sent a message to Lin Yu: “Lin Yu, I have something to say to you after school today.”

The other replied very quickly.

[Little Brat Who Acts Good Early On but Isn’t Good Later]: “Ah? Today? I’m sorry, I have something going on at home today. Maybe next time.”

Chu Ci’s gaze darkened. Feeling Bai Yu’s eyes on him, he turned the screen over with a serious face.

“He rejected me.”

Bai Yu’s lashes fluttered. The next second, he looked like he had seen something unbelievable, his eyes widening instantly.

Noticing his expression, Chu Ci nodded in agreement: “You noticed too, right? He’s deliberately avoiding me.”

“No.” Bai Yu’s lips were half-parted as he looked from Chu Ci to the phone and back. His tone sounded extremely hesitant. “Um… your nickname for him—”

Chu Ci waved his hand dismissively. “That’s not important.”

Bai Yu: “?”

That’s not important??!

Having sensed Lin Yu’s abnormality, Chu Ci spent the whole afternoon thinking about how to force the truth out of him.

He finally endured until the end of class in a daze. The moment the bell rang, Chu Ci stood up impatiently, grabbing his backpack.

He was about to leave the classroom, but before his front foot could even step out, his backpack strap was nimbly caught by Ji Yanli.

“Where are you going in such a hurry? We still have tutoring today.”

Chu Ci turned around in a fluster. “I have an emergency. Let’s continue tomorrow!”

He tugged at his backpack a few times but couldn’t pull it back from Ji Yanli’s hand.

Ji Yanli looked up at him and arched an eyebrow slightly, adopting an “I won’t let you go unless you tell me” look.

Chu Ci couldn’t help but “tsk.” Before he could speak, he saw Ji Yanli’s eyes droop, revealing a pitiful expression.

He was actually acting pitiful!

Chu Ci was so frustrated he almost couldn’t catch his breath.

To prevent his plan from being ruined by Ji Yanli, Chu Ci had to take the initiative to tell the truth.

“…That’s the situation, so now I’m going to catch Lin Yu,” Chu Ci said, snatching his backpack back while Ji Yanli was still processing the information. “Come if you want, if not, I won’t force you. Just don’t get in my way.”

As soon as he finished, Chu Ci started to walk out.

Immediately, he was caught by Ji Yanli again.

Chu Ci closed his eyes, an nameless fire rising in his heart.

[Brother, you’re like a stumbling block.]

[I’m in a hurry right now, a real hurry!]

[If you don’t want to help, then forget it. I didn’t beg you anyway!]

He clenched his back teeth, wanting to lose his temper but not daring to actually show it. Only the hem of his shirt, crumpled by his fingers, reflected his current anxious mood.

“No, I didn’t say I wouldn’t help,” Ji Yanli said out of the blue. “But have you thought about it? If you just rush over and catch Lin Yu, will he really tell you the truth honestly?”

“And as you said, Lin Yu has been hanging out with Zhang Zhuo lately. You know exactly what kind of person Zhang Zhuo is.”

Ji Yanli let go of Chu Ci’s wrist and stroked his cheek. His gentle fingertips slid across the skin, slightly soothing his restless heart.

“I know you’re worried about Lin Yu.” He lowered his lashes, the look in his eyes exceptionally gentle. “How about… I accompany you to secretly follow him.”

“First, let’s see what he’s actually doing with Zhang Zhuo.”

Ji Yanli’s finger rubbed Chu Ci’s lip as he cautiously asked for his opinion: “How about it?”

He was patiently smoothing Chu Ci’s “fur.”

Chu Ci looked up to meet Ji Yanli’s gaze. The way the youth looked at him immediately made him feel much more at ease.

He had to admit that even though his real age was older than Ji Yanli’s, in some moments, Ji Yanli was indeed much more reliable than him.

Thinking of this, Chu Ci’s hand that was tightly clutching his hem slowly loosened, and finally, he gave an obedient “mm.”

“Okay.”