IMAO Chapter 140

Planet Deyo.

The sunlight streaming through the window made it impossible to sleep.

Horace opened his eyes, irritably shielding them with his hand. The person behind him knew he was awake and flipped him over without hesitation.

Ji Chong leaned in and kissed him, his tongue slipping into Horace’s mouth, tangling with his and sucking gently.

Only after a long kiss did Ji Chong finally release him.

The first purpose of this trip to Planet Deyo was to revisit a place that held special meaning for both him and Ji Chong. The second purpose was attending his younger brother Hosea’s wedding.

He wasn’t sure what happened in the three years since he abdicated, but somehow his brother Hosea had ended up with Marshal Hans. Horace remembered how Hosea used to grit his teeth at the mere mention of Hans, often referring to him as “that dog.”

They had been touring Planet Deyo for over two weeks now. His brother’s wedding was in five days, and he had already booked their ship tickets for tonight to leave Deyo.

It was worth mentioning that they were staying at the same hotel from twenty-two years ago.

For lunch, they planned to eat at the hotel restaurant.

Horace went to the bathroom. Just as he was about to leave, someone suddenly patted his back.

“Who’s there?”

Horace turned around to see a completely unfamiliar face. The man wore a crisp suit and pulled a suitcase, clearly having just arrived at the hotel. Horace didn’t think he knew this person.

As emperor, Horace had possessed an incredibly domineering aura. But in these three years with Ji Chong, he had deliberately tempered it. While not as overwhelming as before, it was still quite intimidating.

The man was clearly afraid of Horace. His hand snapped back from Horace’s back as if burned. After studying Horace carefully, seeming to confirm something, he said, “You’ve changed so much, I almost didn’t recognize you!”

“Don’t you remember me? I’m Leo!”

Seeing Horace’s confused expression, Leo continued, “Twenty-two years ago, right in this hotel! You had me pretend to be drunk and harass you to trick that Alpha next door. That Alpha broke my nose that day! Afterward you paid me a lot of money to…”

“Say no more, I remember now.” As Leo brought up the past events, Horace finally recalled who he was.

This guy was the actor he had hired back then to trick Ji Chong.

After discovering on the ship that Ji Chong could smell his Omega pheromones, he had looked up Ji Chong’s information and decided to pursue him. But Ji Chong was so unapproachable. He barely spoke two words to anyone. In that situation, no one could have gotten close to him. So Horace came up with a shameless plan.

First, he arranged to stay at the same hotel as Ji Chong and booked all the vacant rooms. Then he hired this actor… to pretend to be a drunk harasser who picked his door lock and entered his room, attempting to do unspeakable things…

Since Ji Chong was in the next room, he naturally heard Horace’s cries for help. As expected, Ji Chong beat the man up. And because the hotel had no vacant rooms, and Horace was “worried” about being harassed again, he conveniently ended up staying in Ji Chong’s room.

The next part of the scheme was much simpler.

Living together, wherever Ji Chong went sightseeing, he would follow. He was quite confident in his own charm, so it wasn’t long before Ji Chong confessed to him, and they naturally became a couple.

“How did you end up here…” Horace asked uncomfortably.

“Oh, you gave me so much money back then, I used it to start a business and got rich! Now I vacation on Deyo every year! Plus, I met my love here – Deyo is my lucky place!” Leo said excitedly. “This place holds so many wonderful memories for me, but they’d be even better if that Federation Marshal next door hadn’t hit me quite so hard.”

Horace froze at those words and looked at Leo. “You know who he is?”

Leo smiled, “Of course I didn’t recognize him then, but now he’s always on interstellar broadcasts. I couldn’t not know him if I tried.”

“Honey, who are you talking to?” The voice was innocent and enchanting, making Leo’s heart tighten.

“Baby, come here, let me introduce you. This is my life’s greatest benefactor. Remember I told you about how I made my fortune? He’s the one who paid me to act that time.” Leo introduced his spouse Bill.

Bill froze upon seeing Horace.

Damn, he was gorgeous!

He’d never seen someone so beautiful!

Too bad this Alpha was gay and liked other Alphas.

In the restaurant, Ji Chong came looking for Horace who hadn’t returned, and found him talking with two people who had their backs to him.

Horace no longer wanted to talk with the pair. He just wanted to grab Ji Chong and leave the hotel, praying that Ji Chong would never run into this guy! But things never go as planned, and Ji Chong just had to come looking for him, and was walking over!

Horace instinctively wanted to tell Leo to leave quickly, but Leo kept chattering away.

Ji Chong noticed Horace’s unnatural expression and hurried over, his voice softening, “Are you feeling unwell? Did something upset your stomach?”

Horace looked with a complicated expression at Leo and his partner, who were stunned into silence at seeing Ji Chong.

Ji Chong and Leo’s eyes met, and he raised an eyebrow. “It’s you.”

He… he recognized him?

Horace never imagined Ji Chong would recognize Leo at a glance!

Damn!

“Ah-haha-you two, you’re together?” Leo’s expression was complex, even a bit fearful, mainly because the trauma from being beaten up was hard to get over.

This wasn’t twenty-two years ago. He knew very clearly the identity of the handsome man before him.

The man was the Federation’s youngest Marshal, and this year he had been transferred from Planet Noth to Earth, the Federation’s capital, clearly preparing for his next step. After Marshal Alfonso retired, this young Marshal would become the head of the Federation’s Eight Marshals and the military’s spokesperson.

Ji Chong: “Got a problem with that?”

“No, no, absolutely not!” Leo shook his head like a rattle drum.

Meanwhile, Bill was completely unsettled. Leo had told him many times about how he got his first bucket of gold to start his fortune. Thinking about it now made his expression complicated.

Just like that…

That kind of trick could catch such a handsome and capable Alpha?!

One who was even a big shot in the interstellar world?

He was jealous, yes.

Who wouldn’t be jealous?

Bill gritted his teeth and turned to Ji Chong, “Did you know he tricked you back then? That my husband was an actor he paid to perform?”

Hearing Bill’s words, Horace looked at the Omega in disbelief. What madness had gotten into him? Worried that Ji Chong would be upset, he nervously avoided Ji Chong’s eyes.

Leo stood dumbfounded beside them, grabbing his lover’s arm with furrowed brows. “What are you saying?”

“Sorry, sorry, don’t listen to my wife’s nonsense. You two enjoy! We’ll be going now!”

Unexpectedly, Ji Chong reached out to stop Leo from leaving. His expression remained cold as usual, his beautiful eyes looking at Bill as he said flatly, “I knew everything you mentioned, because I was willing to be deceived by him. Trying to drive a wedge between married couples isn’t a good habit.”

That last sentence instantly made Bill flush red. It was obvious the man’s final words were aimed at him!

After Leo and Bill hurriedly left, Horace secretly glanced at Ji Chong’s profile, unsure whether Ji Chong truly knew all along or was just saying that to spare him embarrassment in front of Leo’s partner.

Ji Chong looked at Horace and saw his hesitant expression. The corner of his mouth curved up as he said softly, “Don’t be nervous, I’ve known for a long time.”

Horace’s eyes widened. “You really knew? How?”

Ji Chong: “I saw you pick the lock.”

Horace: “…”

Ji Chong: “So you knew from the start that I was in on tricking you?”

Ji Chong remained silent, but the answer was self-evident.

Horace: “Why didn’t you expose me back then?”

Ji Chong: “Why do you think?”

Horace: …

Seeing Horace’s confused expression, Ji Chong couldn’t help but pull him into his arms.

The first time he saw Horace on the ship, he thought Horace was just pretty with no special qualities, and his difficult personality was quite unlikeable. But he could never forget how the young man’s eyes lit up when he scolded him that day. In that moment, it was as if someone had torn open a hole in his heart.

He still remembered saying ‘What are you doing? Releasing pheromones to entice Alphas to commit crimes?’ Back then, he didn’t understand why Horace’s eyes suddenly lit up, but now he knew the reason.

His love was actually an Omega, but due to his unique genes, no one could smell his sweet scent. They could only detect Alpha pheromones. So his love was raised as an Alpha. He could only imagine what his love had gone through all those years.

***

I willingly walked into your trap, and you walked into mine.

For all our remaining days, you are the winter snow, the spring blossoms, the summer rain, the autumn gold. You are the warmth and cold of all seasons. Wherever my gaze falls, there you are.

Author’s Note: The last line is from the song “The Rest of Our Lives[mfn]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2RWhZ2XbZQ&ab_channel=%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD%E9%9F%B3%E4%B9%90%E7%94%B5%E8%A7%86MusicTV[/mfn]”

Raine: And we’re done. Thank you for loving and supporting, Jiang Yuan and Ji Rong until the end. See you again on my next projects.

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