Martin opened the door of the villa with the remote control, and the aroma of the food turned into wisps of white smoke from the kitchen, rushing straight into his nostrils.
Eno came out of the kitchen with a plate of stir-fried meat, just in time to see Martin sitting at the table, his face expressionless and his nostrils twitching slightly.
Even though he knew he couldn’t see it, Eno gave a small smile and greeted him: “Want some?”
Martin ignored him and turned his head to leave. Eno quickly caught up and held down his wheelchair.
Martin had impatience written all over his face: “What?” Then there was a burst of hot air past the tip of his nose, carrying a familiar strong fragrance. Eno held a slice of meat with chopsticks and brought it to his mouth: “Try some ma1doesn’t mean anything, he’s being coquettish, give some face?”
Martin tilted his head and said coldly: “I said I don’t like Omega, you stay away from me.”
“En en.” Eno said perfunctorily, the slice of meat almost pressed against his rough, puckered lips, “I’ll leave when you’ve eaten.”
They faced each other in silence for half a day before Martin finally opened his noble mouth and bit into the slice of meat.
The rich, slightly sweet sauce exploded in his mouth with the pungent flavour of red and green peppers, evoking distant memories.
The Omega’s lively, sunny smile flashed in front of him from behind a tree and handed him a lunchbox with a grin: “Here, don’t go to the canteen, I brought you lunch.”
He smiled and went to wrap his arms around the Omega’s waist, and the two of them pushed and climbed their way up the rusty rooftop of the school building to sit under the dusty railing and shared a lunchbox. It’s the same kind of stir-fried pork, bright red and oily, utterly tempting.
He took a bite and asked with a smile: “Lea, did you make this?”
The Omega raised his smiling face and smirked wickedly: “You tell me if it’s good first.”
“It’s good.”
“As long as it’s good, I’ll still bring it to you in future.” Lea’s oily lips kissed him sweetly on the mouth, “It’s made by our top chef, I’ll learn more from him in the future and try to let you eat my own cooking soon.”
So…it was made by him.
Martin chewed and swallowed the meat viciously, and suddenly said: “You were also the young madam of the Duke’s family before, is this the etiquette of a noble family?”
Eno froze for a moment and smiled indifferently: “You want to experience the treatment of young Kersi?”
“I dare not.” Martin sneered, “Afraid to die.”
Eno brought the plate over and fed him another piece of meat, saying kindly: “I’ve been in a single cell for three years and I’m really scared of the quiet. I just want someone to talk to, if it bothers you…”
Martin interrupted him impatiently and said, word for word: “The only Omega I ever loved is dead, I don’t want to be involved with any more Omegas, and I only signed the marriage papers because I am kinder. So let’s keep a safer distance, shall we? There will be no results between us.”
“Sir, I think you feel a bit too good about yourself.” Eno said sincerely, “I just want to find someone to talk to, I have someone I like too, I don’t want anything to do with you.”
When Eno met him when he was a teenager, he said that he had a marriage contract, and he didn’t even give him a smiling face. After the wedding date, he immediately married into the Duke’s house. Where else could he have someone he likes? Sure enough, his feelings must have moved during the marriage, this Omega of easy value.
An inexplicable irritation washed over Martin and he blurted out, “Don’t want anything to do with me, you can feed food to the mouths of every Alpha is it?”
“Ah?” Eno was bewildered and innocent, “Because you can’t see. I’m just trying to coax you to talk to me more.”
Martin grunted heavily and pushed his wheelchair away, with Eno calling after him, “Do you want some water? I think my meat is fried a bit salty…”
Martin’s figure darted away into the lift and Eno sighed softly, going back to the table to pour the rest of the stir-fry into his rice and mix it up, stuffing it into his mouth one bite at a time. Still finding it too quiet, he turned on the TV to mute it and watched the evening Federation news on the central channel in silence.
Things were looking up for the Federation, the Alpha birth rate was picking up, the Inhuman sector was in deep trouble and the resistance was losing ground, and there was still no sign of Federation Major General Drake, just the usual three things. As he swallowed his last bite, the news was showing the last piece of Federation news: the Federation Parliament was preparing changes to the domestic violence bill that would better protect Omega’s rights.
Eno snorted and took his empty plate to the kitchen to clean it up, dragging his tired body back to his bedroom and pulling the thin cloth bag out of the bookcase. Inside was an envelope painted with purple irises, with the words ‘To My Love’ written in the bottom right hand corner in a powerful, thin gold script.
It was as if he had been transported back a long, long time ago, in a deserted corner of the school building, being looked down on from above by the tall Alpha, the pheromones lingering around him, even if the smell was extremely faint, he could still feel the dominance in them. Who knew that the Alpha, who had been looking down on him out of the corner one second, suddenly shyly pulled an envelope with warm body heat out of his pocket and slipped it to him.
“Lea’s classmate said he is sick and took the day off.” Drake’s voice was magnetic and pleasant, “I’m going to report to the military academy for a physical examination soon, could you please give him this letter?”
He was struck by lightning and could only take a deep breath and try to keep his voice steady, “I will. You take care.”
“En, thanks a lot.” Drake looked at him a few more times and frowned slightly, “Are you not feeling well either?”
He shook his head in a panic, “No. I’ll leave now if there’s nothing else.”
“Pass another message for me.” Drake didn’t know what had occurred to him, he smiled slightly, his cold face like a spring breeze, his eyes glowing with teenage spunk, “Tell Lea to wait for me at home, I’ll marry him when I’ve saved enough merit points.”
His heartbeat, which had been pounding seconds ago, suddenly fell silent, throbbing raw with pain. He lowered his head, trying not to let Alpha see the tears that were about to slide down his face, and whispered, “Okay.”
The distant sound of the empty, shrill bell of classes was heard in the distance, the military academy experience van was already waiting outside the school and the other Alpha could faintly be heard calling out Drake’s name. Drake didn’t think much of it, waving at him and running towards the assembly area in the field. He pursed his lips to force back his tears and crouched in the corner to watch his back step away, disappearing into a dot in the green. Then he took the envelope back to the classroom, smoothing out the pinched folds, and suddenly realised that it was unsigned.
Words cannot describe the joy and panic he felt at that moment, and the hidden guilt of a teenager grew and tempted him to replace the envelope, quietly leaving behind Drake’s own handwriting. It was as if those three words had been written for him in this way.
He couldn’t remember when he had first started to have a crush on Drake. Maybe it was that summer afternoon shortly after Lea had brought Drake home, when he had followed his etiquette teacher through the empty halls and caught an inadvertent glimpse of him that had led to a secret crush.
“Ge Ge!” Lea called out to him, tugging at the Alpha, who was already a head taller than him, to run up to him and proudly introduce him, “This is my new friend Drake.”
The Alpha, who was the same age as him and already displaying striking good looks. He was taken aback, and habitually put on the most appropriate smile: “Hello. I’m Lea’s brother Eno.”
Drake too had a momentary daze and quickly bent towards him as well: “Hello.”
Drake’s father was just an ordinary field officer. He didn’t have the so-called upbringing from a noble family like Eno, and he didn’t want to have anything to do with their self-proclaimed noble Omega. The hypocritical manners made him feel uncomfortable and he preferred to play with the enthusiastic and lively Lea, who stubbornly took Eno’s hand and said that the three of them would have fun playing hide-and-seek.
The etiquette teacher finally looked away and intervened to stop the lawless young master: “Young master Eno has lessons to learn. Your etiquette class is about to start, isn’t it, has the teacher not arrived yet?”
Lea stuck his tongue out at him: “He can’t come! I put croton powder in his morning tea!”
Eno’s cheeks twitched slightly and he almost lost control of the curve of his mouth, getting a sharp look from the teacher. Lea grinned and tugged Drake away, and Eno gave a lingering glance in the direction they had disappeared, turning to follow his teacher.
“Young Master Eno.” The teacher put down his book and increased his tone of rebuke, “You are not very attentive today.”
He looked up in a panic and apologised: “Ah, I’m sorry.”
The teacher’s face was serious, his long eyebrows furrowed: “Young master, you are going to marry into the Duke’s family, and there are many more rules in the Duke’s family than there are now, you can’t go on like this.”
He bowed his head in shame: “I’m sorry.”
The teacher’s rather thoughtful eyes roamed over him for half a day and finally said: “That’s enough for today, we’ll continue tomorrow.” He ran to the back garden after the teacher had left as if he had been given a pardon, and was surprised to see two figures, one tall and one short, playing football.
He leaned against the pine scented gates and listened to the clear laughter of the teenagers echoing through the shade of the woods. The dirty ball was kicked by Drake into the old magnolia tree in the middle of the garden, the lime green leaves rustling with the sunlight and startling three or two innocent birds.
“You’re amazing!” Lea clapped his hands next to him, “First time I’ve ever seen someone kick a ball higher than me!”
“You’re an Omega and I’m an Alpha.” Drake said amused as he walked over to the tree to pick up the ball, and when he got up, his eyes went right through the gap in the leaves to meet Eno’s curious gaze.
Eno hastily averted his eyes like he’d been electrocuted, and Lea quickly spotted him, laughing as she tugged him towards the garden and shoved the ball into his arms.
He subconsciously took a step back, the manners he had cultivated since childhood making it impossible for him to imagine himself playing with this dirty ball. Drake saw his resistance and grunted disdainfully. Only Lea was unconcerned and asked him, with an innocent smile, “Won’t you play with me, Ge Ge?”
“You play with Drake.” He smiled gently and stroked Lea’s sweat-drenched hair, “Want something to drink to rest?”
“Honey water!”
He smiled in response, turning his head to Drake and saying courteously, “And you?”
“Same as him, thanks.”
Eno left the garden like a fugitive and went into the kitchen to prepare afternoon tea, even baking little chocolate biscuits for Lea. The ingredients had all been prepared by the chef last night, and he’d squeezed a shape in a mould and popped it in the oven. He leaned against the cupboard, watching the biscuits in the oven become fluffy and crispy, and a strange feeling of joy and regret suddenly came over him. The leap of joy he had suppressed by reason came back to him and he found himself wanting to kick a ball, roll in the dirty mud and laugh.
In the end, he couldn’t let go of his reserve and he could only stomp around the kitchen in frustration. Suddenly a stern voice came from behind him, “Eno, what are you doing?”
With a jolt, he turned to see a slim Alpha, his vision sharp and keen hidden beneath gold-rimmed half-rimmed glasses.
“Father.” He said respectfully, “You’re back.”
“En, the lab project is over, came home for two days of rest.” His Alpha father, Ivan, said, “Pay attention to your words and deeds, Eno. I’m going to check on Allie.”
Eno actually saw very little of his father, a little well-known scientist who was busy in the lab all day and rarely came home to visit him and Lea. Their Omega mother, Allie, was in poor health, and spent most of the day in her room to recuperate, and Eno habitually did not bother her. Ivan was from a modest background, but he had entered the Federal Biological Laboratory with his extraordinary scientific talent, and had captured the heart of the Earl’s daughter, Allie, and became a member of the upper class, as well as being related to the Duke of Kersi’s family. It was probably because he had little contact with his father that Eno was a little afraid of him, and he always felt that there was something in the way Ivan looked at him that sent a chill down his spine.
After Ivan left, Eno stayed in the kitchen for a while longer and went to the back garden to look for Lea with his fragrant chocolate chip biscuits, but he couldn’t find the little Omega anywhere.
He put the tray on the small wooden table, and called Lea’s name anxiously. Finally, he was so anxious that he wanted to find the housekeeper, only to hear a grinning voice above his head: “Ge Ge, I’m here ne2another somewhat coquettish word with no meaning.”
He looked up at the sound of the voice and saw Lea sitting on the wall a man’s height, wiggling his two long, thin legs, a sunny smile on his baby face, “Drake taught me to climb trees before he left, would Ge Ge like to come?”
The trace of regret in his heart was quickly covered up by his heartbeat, and he tentatively looked at the top of his head, with eagerness in his eyes that he didn’t know. After a long moment he loosened his clenched fist and held out his hand to Lea: “You teach me ba.”
It was the happiest day Eno could remember. He had covered the legs of his clean white trousers with grey and black mud marks and had finally learnt to climb the wall using the branches of a nearby tree, abandoning all propriety and shaking his legs with Lea without restraint. The hot sun shone on them, casting an intimate reflection on the ground.
Lea wrapped his arms around him, his tone full of excitement: “Drake said I could go out over the wall to play with him later, or he could come to me, so I wouldn’t have to go through the front door and get scolded by the housekeeper. Does Ge Ge want to come along, it’s very fun!”
Before the construction of the two villas, it should be for multiple circles of land. The back gardens are very close to each other, and the two walls are almost next to each other, so it is indeed possible to flip over the wall. Eno gave a slightly bitter smile: “I won’t go.” He drew his hand over the boy’s head and forced it onto his shoulder, “Sit with me for a while ba.”
It was the height of summer and even the air was stirring. The boy couldn’t sit still and before long he was tossing and turning in his arms to chat with him: “Why isn’t Ge Ge playing with us?”
“I’m engaged to be married.” Eno said calmly, “The Duke of Kersi’s family needs an Omega who meets the standards of a nobleman.”
“So that means you’re going to marry Kersi when you come of age?”
Eno reached out and rubbed his head: “En.”
“So have you met the Alpha?” Lea asked expectantly, “Is he handsome? He’ll be nice to you, right?”
“I don’t know.” A hint of helplessness appeared on Eno’s delicate, small face, “I’ve never met little Kersi either…”
Lea bit his finger and suddenly said, “Ge Ge is so nice, he will definitely like you!”
Eno smiled shyly: “I hope so.”
The gale blew suddenly, taking away the hint of anticipation that was deep in his tone. Dark clouds gathered above them, and as it looked like it was going to rain heavily, Eno hastily dragged Lea down the wall. He was not as fit as Lea, who played outside every day, and in his haste, sprained a foot.
They stumbled into the villa before the rain came down, and were scolded by the housekeeper who arrived after them, mainly scolding Eno. Lea was used to doing whatever he wanted, and the old housekeeper didn’t bother to care about him. Eno kept his head down and winked quickly up at Lea as the old housekeeper turned his head to drink his water.
The two boys laughed heartily and the old housekeeper turned around to see them and was angry enough to give them another lecture. Afterwards Eno dragged his highly swollen ankle back to his bedroom to lie down when Lea snuck in, climbed onto his bed and breathed into his ankle.
“Does it hurt ah?”
“It’s okay.” Eno arched an eyebrow, “It doesn’t hurt.”
“Ge Ge needs to get better soon.” Lea crawled into his arms, his voice soft and sticky, “Lea wants to play with Ge Ge.”
Eno reached out and played with his soft, lush hair, saying ruefully: “You’ll have to play with Drake from now on. The housekeeper just said he’s added two classes for me.” He coaxed Lea before he could cry, “Ge Ge will still make you afternoon tea.”
A soft, gentle kiss landed on his cheek, carrying the sweet, creamy aroma of honey water and chocolate chip biscuits.
“Ok.” Lea smiled sweetly.
Two shallow dimples appeared on his fleshy, bulbous face, “Like you the most, Ge Ge.”
