Obsessed with a High-Ranking Esper (BL)-Chapter 268: Your feet are cold

Roan smirked, his voice low and taunting. "Why? It’s not like you are interested in him... or are you?"

Jian Ci pressed down harder, his forearm digging into Roan’s neck, violet psychic energy crackling violently around them. Roan smirked through the pain, his words cutting like a blade.

"I didn’t expect the tenth prince to be into espers. And here I thought, after what your mother went through, you would refrain from such."

The mention of his mother made Jian Ci snap. His fist swung hard, striking Roan squarely in the face. The impact echoed in the tiled room, blood smearing at the corner of Roan’s lips. Jian Ci swung again, but this time Roan caught his fist, his blue psychic power flaring in retaliation.

The air thickened, violet and blue energies colliding, the bathroom trembling under the pressure of their impending clash. Then the door opened.

Yu Xi stepped inside, his gaze sharp, his presence cutting through the storm. Both men froze, their powers flickering out as they turned toward him.

"Are you done?" Yu Xi asked, his voice calm but laced with steel.

Roan and Jian Ci parted reluctantly. Roan’s face was red, swollen, blood glistening at the corner of his lips. He tried to look helpless, as though he had been bullied by Jian Ci, his expression carefully crafted.

Jian Ci, however, couldn’t even meet Yu Xi’s eyes. Guilt gnawed at him, his mind racing with the fear that Yu Xi had overheard their exchange. He kept his gaze down, his chest tight.

Yu Xi’s voice broke the silence. "Let’s go."

He glared at Roan, the weight of his stare unmistakable, before turning to leave. Jian Ci shot Roan a warning glare of his own, sharp and unyielding, before following after Yu Xi.

Catching up to him in the corridor, Jian Ci walked quietly at his side. He didn’t dare ask if Yu Xi was upset.

He couldn’t help himself. He complained about Roan the entire way back. His voice was sharp, his words relentless. "Insufferable. Annoying. Absolutely unbearable," he muttered, each insult spat like venom.

Yu Xi kept his eyes ahead silent, until Jian Ci tugged at his sleeve and showed him his arm. "Look," Jian Ci said, his tone heavy with grievance.

Yu Xi frowned, thinking it must be serious if Jian Ci was showing him. He leaned closer, inspecting the injury only to find a barely visible nick, so faint it could have been mistaken for a scratch from a thorn. When he looked up, Jian Ci’s expression was pitiful, as though he were suffering from some incurable illness.

If it had been anyone else, Yu Xi would have dismissed the ridiculousness outright. But who told him to fall in love with Jian Ci?

"It will heal quickly," Yu Xi said, his voice softer than he intended.

Jian Ci shamelessly blamed it on Roan. "It’s his fault... he hurt me."

Yu Xi sighed. "I am so sorry. I will scold him for you."

"No," Jian Ci said quickly, grabbing Yu Xi’s hand. His grip was tight, too tight, until he realized it and let go. His voice lowered, serious now. "You should stay away from him. He doesn’t have good intentions."

Yu Xi let him have it. "You are right. I will stay away from him." Jian Ci’s shoulders relaxed, satisfaction blooming across his face.

Suddenly, a high-pitched squeal filled the hover car. Both Yu Xi and Jian Ci turned to look at Xiaobao, who was biting the sleeve of her coat, her cheeks flushed as she tried to restrain herself.

"Some–something’s stuck in my throat," she said quickly, her eyes wide. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

The truth was, Xiaobao had been trying to reduce her presence, not wanting to ruin the atmosphere between them but damn, this was just too cute.

Yu Xi arched a brow. "You should get your throat checked out. You have been squeaking all night. It’s like a squeaky toy is stuck in your throat."

Jian Ci chuckled, leaning back. "Or maybe she’s drunk. Don’t worry Little Xi will hold your hair up if you want to throw up." Xiaobao groaned, burying her face in her coat sleeve, while Yu Xi shook his head, the corners of his lips twitching despite himself.

When they got home, Jian Ci kept acting like he was wronged, his sighs and pitiful glances endless. Yu Xi, however, didn’t seem bothered in the slightest. The two of them were disgustingly sweet in their own way, so much so that Jian Wei’s lips twitched and Jian Rui’s brow arched. Both brothers silently agreed: they couldn’t wait for Yu Xi and Jian Ci to finally be together and end this ridiculous I’m not with you but I act like I am with you drama. Yu Xi broke the moment with his usual calm authority. "I sent you something. You should take a look at it."

Jian Wei and Jian Rui exchanged a glance. They knew exactly what it was. It was an update from Eros about the underground labs. Without hesitation, they pulled up the files, already diving into the details.

Upstairs, Jian Ci lingered close to Yu Xi, his voice soft. "What stuff are you talking about?"

Yu Xi didn’t look at him. "I sent it to you too. I just don’t want to talk about it now... It will put me in a bad mood."

Jian Ci nodded quickly. "Okay."

Since it upset Yu Xi, Jian Ci didn’t want to spoil his mood. He avoided opening the file, knowing that if he did, he would also get upset and if he was upset, tomorrow he would be in a terrible mood, too upset to confess his feelings. He couldn’t risk ruining the atmosphere.

But when he lay down in his own room, sleep refused to come. He tossed and turned, rehearsing words in his head, trying to perfect the exact confession he wanted to make. Every version felt wrong, too blunt, too soft, too pitiful.

By midnight, frustration gnawed at him. He sat up, staring at the door. His heart thudded with reckless resolve. He couldn’t sleep, not without Yu Xi.

Quietly, Jian Ci padded into the room, his steps light, his breath uneven. He told himself he was just going to check if Yu Xi was asleep. But in truth, he was going to crawl into Yu Xi’s bed as usual.

Yu Xi seemed asleep, his breathing steady, his face turned toward the wall. Jian Ci didn’t want to disturb him, but habit won out. He silently crawled into the bed like he usually did, careful not to make a sound. Sliding closer, he wrapped his arms around Yu Xi, pressing his cold feet against Yu Xi’s.

Yu Xi mumbled, half-conscious, "Your feet are cold."