Chapter 34 - First Night As Roommate 2
Chapter 34 – First Night As Roommate 2
The entire time he was talking Rui Fei was silently looking at him like he was really listening but what he said next made Ji Yao almost blow his top off. "Yao-ge I can't read so….. yea," replied Rui Fei before moving on to the next book.
Ji Yao exhaled deeply before taking out a book similar to the one Ji Wen gave Rui Li earlier. He walked over and slammed the book on Rui Fei's chest with a lot of strength in clear provocation. But before he could take his hand away it was suddenly caught preventing him from pulling back.
Ji Yao felt a chill spread from where he had been touched so he jerked his hand back but failed the first time. His hand was still pressed on Rui Fei's chest with a book in between them so he looked up in confusion only to find the boy who was a head taller than him looking at him like he was watching an interesting show.
This further infuriated Ji Yao so much that he used his full strength to free his hand before swiftly pressing Rui Fei against the wall while twisting the boy's hand behind his back. Rui Fei who had just been manhandled wasn't upset. In fact, he wasn't done poking the bear deliberately saying, "Yao-ge your hands are soft."
Okay, Ji Yao figured it out then that he had just been baited seamlessly. He let go of Rui Fei and fixed the books as he ignored the sensation coming from his hand. It was then that he decided to simply treat Rui Fei like air so he walked back and sat down giving the boy an ice-cold shoulder.
Feeling victorious, Rui Fei looked down at his hand like looking at a trophy. He suddenly felt like this two-year search was worth it. Ji Yao was a genuinely interesting character he wouldn't mind spending the rest of his life hanging out with.
Forgetting that he had been confined to the chaise corner, he sat opposite Ji Yao and asked, "Yao-ge, can you paint a portrait of me?" propping his head with both of his hands on either side of his cheeks.
No response,
"Yao-ge you painted that Jiejie's portrait so why can't you paint me too. I am as good looking as her,"
Dead silence,
"Yao-ge….. George, I can even stand for a long time and not make a single move. How about it? I will pay you?"
Graveyard silence again but Ji Yao's hand on the liner paintbrush tightened which Rui Fei noticed. Realising he had a chance to get Ji Yao to speak he moved closer till his nose was almost touching Ji Yao's forehead.
Being this close Rui Fei caught a whiff of Ji Yao's scent that Rui Li was talking about. A fresh ambrosial fragrance filled his senses distracting him from what he was doing before. His mind turned into a muddled mess as he moved even closer to take a long whiff.
But before he could even do that his face was ruthlessly pushed back by a book till he sat back down. Realising that he had lost himself for a second he cleared his throat with a hint of embarrassment and said, "Yao-ge what do you use that makes you smell that nice? Can I see it?"
This question was the final straw that broke the camel's back. Ji Yao couldn't keep silent anymore so he responded. "No you can't see it and no you can't make a great artist's model because you can't keep your mouth shut for two minutes so no…..," he said before lowering his head to continue.
Rui Fei who had just made Ji Yao talk so much for the first time, "…"
The more Ji Yao spoke the more excited Rui Fei got. Ji Yao's voice was as soothing as his scent calming this young man's heart. He licked his bottom lip before saying, "I can," in a hoarse voice.
Ji Yao raised his head with creased brows seeming confused. Seeing this Rui Fei explained himself. "I can stay silent for two minutes," he said looking straight into Ji Yao's eyes. To get a portrait of himself done by Ji Yao he would stay silent which was going to be very hard.
He could do it with ease when around everybody else except when in front of Ji Yao. Maybe it's because his benefactor had been in his mind for two years that he felt like opening his trap each time he saw Ji Yao. But one thing was for certain he found it hard to keep silent when he was alone with him.
"Fine then prove me wrong, "said Ji Yao before carrying on with what he was doing. He was pretty confident that this chatterbox wouldn't be able to last a minute but he had seriously underestimated Rui Fei.
This boy had been alone ninety-nine per cent of his life which meant he lived in his head all the time. There was no one to talk to in that cold dungeon, not even a rat. That was the coldest and loneliest time of his life. One can only imagine how he felt when he sensed this person's seraphic energy in that compound.
He understood his sister's words but a part of him was doubtful. He had prayed for someone to rescue him in the past fourteen years so how could he easily accept that he was finally going to be released from the shackles that bound him.
So when he sensed this person's presence it was like a bright light shining in the dark abyss. He just wanted to swim over and embrace this source of warmth. The only problem was that when he reached over with his sea of consciousness he couldn't touch the light let alone hug it thus he pulled him into a labyrinth till Ji Yao found himself in that dark prison.
When he told him to stay he wanted to finally embrace that light and say thank you but apparently, he scared Ji Yao away. At that time he thought maybe it was the way he looked or the way he said it that scared Ji Yao away. For two years he thought that. He wanted to show her, as Rui Fei still thought he was she back then, that he wasn't dirty or ugly so she shouldn't be afraid.
But today he found out it wasn't because of how he looked or sounded that day that made Ji Yao flee but his seraphic energy that scared him. His siblings had mentioned that his seraphic energy made them cower when he was upset but he never thought that's what scared Ji Yao away.
This is why he was hiding it otherwise he would lose this opportunity. Yes, Ji Yao would find out someday that he had deliberately altered his seraphic energy, an ability initially meant to conceal his presence to his enemies, but he hoped this older brother would have warmed up to him by then and won't kick him out of his life