IMAO Chapter 127

Ji Rong felt his heart might burst from his chest. Despite the noisy street around him, he could clearly hear the pounding of his own heartbeat.

He pressed his lips together slightly. “You’re making it impossible for me to stay human…”

His voice lowered, carrying a hint of breathiness, as if he was desperately holding something back.

Hearing this, Jiang Yuan froze, looking at Ji Rong in confusion.

Ji Rong’s eyes gradually darkened as he held down Jiang Yuan’s retreating body. He placed a gentle kiss on Jiang Yuan’s Adam’s apple, then whispered in his ear with restrained voice, “Today, I can only be a beast.”

…

In the long night, in the dim room.

Jiang Yuan lay on the bed while Ji Rong stared at him, making no effort to hide his desire.

The sensation of touch made him tremble involuntarily, letting out soft pants. These sounds acted like a catalyst, driving Ji Rong even more wild.

Ji Rong grabbed Jiang Yuan’s hand, his eyes red-rimmed. “You’re mine.”

Jiang Yuan wrapped his arms around the man’s neck without speaking, but his action was a silent agreement.

…

After being worn out by Ji Rong all night, Jiang Yuan didn’t wake up until the next afternoon. He wanted to take a shower but found his legs were weak.

Now he finally understood what Ji Rong meant by those two sentences yesterday.

“He really was a beast…” Jiang Yuan muttered under his breath.

But he couldn’t completely blame Ji Rong. What he said last night was a bit too much. He’d only meant to tease Ji Rong. He didn’t expect that one sentence would provoke him so intensely.

“Now I think being a beast is much better than being human.”

Jiang Yuan startled. He saw the man holding him open his eyes, smiling at him. His tone carried both amusement and sincerity.

Jiang Yuan: “…”

After a night of passion, although his body wasn’t seriously hurt, it was covered in ambiguous marks.

He could hide the marks on his body, and could use a scarf to cover those on his neck, but he couldn’t keep wearing a scarf at home, could he?

Jiang Yuan frowned, complaining to the man beside him with some dissatisfaction, “Can you stop biting my neck? Are you a dog?”

Ji Rong just smiled carelessly, speaking with complete seriousness, “Well, since I’ve become a beast, who wants to be human anymore?”

Jiang Yuan: “…”

Did he do something wrong yesterday…

—-

Snow was falling, and the north wind whistled, bringing a biting chill.

Lin Xuan exhaled a breath of hot air, which immediately turned into a cloud of white mist. He rubbed his hands together and waited a while until he finally saw the person he was waiting for.

The boy was impossibly beautiful, with skin whiter than the falling snow, and lips as red as blood. These two stark colors created a striking visual impact.

No matter how many times he saw him, the boy always caught his eye first in a crowd.

When his gaze fell on the boy’s swollen belly, his eyes darkened slightly with faint disappointment, but he quickly concealed this emotion.

“Did you find out?” Lin Xuan asked quietly, noticing the boy’s reddened eyes, as if he’d just been crying.

The boy bit his lower lip, making it appear even redder, and nodded heavily. “Thank you for helping me contact my father’s combat partner. I really troubled you.”

“It’s nothing, just a small matter. I’m glad I could help. Are you heading back now?” Lin Xuan scratched his head and asked awkwardly.

Hearing the question, Qiu Jingming thought for a moment and nodded. “Yes, I’ve learned what I wanted to know, so I’m going back.”

“Oh…” Lin Xuan was somewhat disappointed but still nodded. “Then let me walk you back.”

“No need, I can go back by myself,” Qiu Jingming rubbed his reddened nose and refused. “You go ahead, we’ll keep in touch later.”

Lin Xuan fell silent for a few seconds before nodding, but didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he called a car for Qiu Jingming and only left after making sure he got in.

Once in the car, Qiu Jingming felt tears sliding down his cheeks and quickly wiped them away.

Ever since Song Yirui told him that all the kindness shown to him was because of Jiang Yuan, he hadn’t gone home for almost seven or eight days, and had been staying in hotels instead.

Today, he asked Lin Xuan to help him contact his father’s combat partner to learn how his father really died.

As expected, everything Jiang Tianze said was true. Although he had known this already, he still couldn’t help crying at this moment.

He had hurt the people who had genuinely cared for him.

Hotel room 1012.

The boy pushed open the door and closed it behind him.

Then he slowly crouched down, hugging his knees and burying his head between them as he sobbed.

The room’s lighting system was completely shut off, leaving it pitch black, making it impossible to tell the time.

The boy, beautiful as a porcelain doll, lay calmly on the bed, staring blankly upward. Even though he couldn’t see anything clearly, he continued staring.

Suddenly, a single light source appeared in the pitch-black room, accompanied by the vibration of a communicator.

He reached for his communicator and glanced at it.

There were more than ten unread messages from several days ago. The latest one was just sent by the national system.

[Your partner Mr. Song Yirui has applied to terminate your marriage.]
[Accept/Decline]
[For any questions, please contact the Marriage Registration Center.]
…

Song Yirui, who was holding his communicator, swallowed hard. Since that day, he hadn’t gone home. He didn’t know if Qiu Jingming had returned, but like a coward, he chose to escape to the school dorms. Fortunately, the dorms weren’t forcing students to leave, and quite a few students were still there.

He knew he was trash for applying to end a marriage during his partner’s pregnancy. But he didn’t know what else to do. The guilt in his heart was like hands choking his throat, making it hard to breathe, keeping him awake night after night. He could only numb himself with alcohol.

Just seeing Qiu Jingming’s face reminded him of his betrayal of Jiang Yuan.

He didn’t want to admit his mistakes, but he knew this wasn’t just about Jingming’s seduction. It was more about his own weak resolve. If he had rejected Jingming’s advances from the start, things wouldn’t have turned out this way.

“Buzz.”
The vibration of his communicator pulled him back to reality.

[Information Updating]
[Name: Song Yirui]
[Gender: Alpha]
[Age: 19]
[Marital Status: Divorced]

His hand froze on the communicator, looking at the message with disbelief.

He had prepared himself to negotiate with his partner, thinking it might take two years, three years, or even longer to get divorced. But he never expected that with just one application, his partner would agree.

He felt a hint of happiness, but also emptiness, with a bitter taste spreading in his mouth.
…

On a rare weekend.
Knowing Jiang Yuan was home, Aunt Fang Qing’s family came over too.

In the kitchen, Aunt Fang Qing was talking with Fang Shi, “Jingming’s not home?”

Fang Shi nodded, “No, after that incident, he rarely comes home anymore.”

Fang Qing frowned, speaking with sympathy, “That poor kid, he probably feels awkward about taking Xiao Yuan’s fiancé.”

“But we can’t blame him. Who would’ve thought it would happen like that?”

Fang Qing didn’t know the truth about what happened between Song Yirui and Qiu Jingming, assuming it was all just a coincidence.

“Jie, you all need to let this go. After all, it wasn’t Jingming’s fault.”

Fang Shi nodded with a bitter smile, but remembering what Qiu Jingming had said that day, she let out a silent sigh.

Seeing Fang Shi’s reaction, Fang Qing mistakenly thought she was worried about Jiang Yuan’s feelings and casually said, “I see Xiao Yuan has a boyfriend now, and they seem pretty close. He must have moved on.”

“Xiao Yuan’s boyfriend is really handsome too. They’re classmates and can join the military together. He’s way better than that bastard Song.”

Fang Shi snorted, “That kid’s a bastard too!”

“What?” Fang Qing asked immediately upon hearing this.

She had met Ji Rong today and thought the boy was good-looking and polite, quite nice overall. It was rare to hear her usually gentle sister call someone a bastard.

Fang Shi gritted her teeth and muttered vaguely, “Just a little bastard.”

A few days ago, her son and this boy didn’t come home for the night. When they returned, she noticed the bite marks on her son’s neck. It was obvious what had happened. Although she knew her son had been with this boy who visited their home, she still felt uncomfortable.

Her precious son had been taken advantage of. She hadn’t given that boy a kind look these past few days.

Just as Fang Shi was feeling annoyed, her communicator buzzed. She quickly washed her hands and checked the screen.

At that moment, Jiang Yuan was in the garden chatting with Uncle Liu Huayu when the notification interrupted their conversation.

***: [Ge, I’m sorry.]

He froze, and before he could react, his mother Fang Shi rushed out from the house with her communicator.

She showed him the message. Almost the same words, but this time with a name.

Qiu Jingming: [Mom, I’m sorry.]

Jiang Yuan glanced at it silently.

Seeing her sister rush out, Fang Qing hurried after her. Upon seeing the message, she grabbed the communicator from Fang Shi and turned to Jiang Yuan, “Xiao Yuan, Jingming is your brother. You two grew up together. I know you’ve always been good to him, and I know you’re upset, but we can’t blame him for this. He must be feeling really guilty.”

“Look, Jingming has apologized. Can’t you forgive him?”

While speaking, Fang Qing gave her husband Liu Huayu a look. He immediately chimed in, “That’s right, Xiao Yuan, why don’t you forgive your brother?”

Fang Qing immediately made a call on Fang Shi’s communicator. The call connected quickly, but the other end remained silent.

Fang Qing spoke right away, “Jingming, your aunt hasn’t seen you in so long. Why aren’t you coming home? Your brother isn’t that petty. What happened wasn’t your fault. Come home for the New Year!”

Hearing Fang Qing’s voice through the communicator, Qiu Jingming’s tension eased slightly. “Oh, Aunt. Thank you for your concern… Could you pass the communicator to my mom? I’d like to say a few words to her.”

“Of course, of course, dear. Don’t worry too much about it, what’s past is past.” Fang Qing rambled on.

Jingming responded vaguely, “Mm.”

“Jingming…” Fang Shi took the communicator but didn’t know what to say. Although she wanted her adopted son to come home, she had to consider her own son’s feelings. Her sister’s intervention had only made things more complicated.

Jingming said, “Mom, don’t speak. Just listen to me.”

“Mom, I’m sorry. All these years I’ve misunderstood you all. Everything that happened was my fault. Today I divorced Song Yirui.”

Hearing about Jingming’s divorce, Fang Shi felt a pang in her heart. “Are you still living there?”

Jingming: “No, I’m staying at a hotel.”

Fang Shi glanced at Jiang Yuan and lowered her voice, “Which hotel? I’ll come find you.”

Before she could finish, Jingming cut her off. “Don’t, Mom. You don’t need to come. I’ve already booked a spaceship. I’m leaving this afternoon. I’m planning to live on another planet for a while.”

Fang Shi’s heart clenched suddenly, somehow feeling that her adopted son’s “for a while” meant forever.

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Please consider supporting the author directly.

You can also follow me on Ko-fi to get access to the latest updates on my translation progress and new projects. I appreciate your love and feedback.