Chapter 8 – Do You Mind?
Novel Title: 长夏醒迟 (Long Summer, Late Awakening)
Author：麦香鸡呢 (McChicken)
Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)
Protagonists: 余炀 (Yu Yang -MC/Gong), 靳吾栖 (Jin Wuqi -ML/Shou)
*Please read at Novels Space.space, the original site of translation. TQ*
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Yu Yang didn’t drink much that night. He extinguished the cigarette under his foot, opened the garage door, and got into his car.
He reversed his car out of the garage and stepped on the gas without hesitation. He drove back towards the hotel where the banquet had just ended.
Over the past few years, Yu Yang’s heart has been like a frozen lake, with a thick layer of ice resisting all external intrusions. But when Jin Wuqi reappeared, a hole was drilled in the lake’s surface, forcing him to accept all those familiar and helpless feelings. What’s worse, Yu Yang found that the entire ice surface was starting to relent. It was as if someone had effortlessly pried open a corner of the ice, irresistibly forcing him to expose his heartfelt sincerity to the sunlight.
Yu Yang thought that his emotions had been chewed over and over many times. He was already familiar with that kind of feeling. In reality, it was just the tip of the iceberg. When he tried to pull it out and remove it, he found that the wild grass of memory had grown wildly over the years, running rampant in his internal organs, evolving into larger roots that grew in his heart. It entwined with his flesh and blood, unable to be moved even a little bit.
Whether it’s love or hate, longing or unwillingness, protective instinct or possessiveness, Yu Yang could not deny Jin Wuqi’s place in his heart.
He just wants to see if, for Jin Wuqi, every alpha is the same as him. If they are also just his pastime when he’s bored.
But ultimately, it was because Yu Yang couldn’t bear the thought of Jin Wuqi being intimate with any other alpha.
If he hadn’t seen it, didn’t know anything, it wouldn’t matter. But today, he witnessed everything so he really can’t remain indifferent.
***
The car stopped in front of the hotel. The banquet was still going on. Yu Yang sat in the car and finished smoking a cigarette. Just as he was about to get out of the car, he saw Jin Wuqi and Song Zhimu walking out of the hotel lobby side by side.
Jin Wuqi was wearing his own suit jacket, with a slightly open shirt collar revealing his delicate collarbones, and a slightly shimmering necklace hanging from his neck.
His steps were somewhat unsteady, indicating that he had drunk quite a bit. Song Zhimu, beside him, was being gentlemanly. He was holding his waist, looking at Jin Wuqi with a smile and was gently saying something.
There were no lewd or indecent actions. Presumably, he was in a winning position and therefore he was not in a hurry. So he was able to maintain his composure.
Yu Yang opened the car door and got out, stepping up to them and standing in front of them.
His gaze fell on Jin Wuqi’s face. He looked at the flushed and intoxicated face, without saying a word.
“Mr. Yu?” Song Zhimu recognized Yu Yang. He smiled and asked, “What’s wrong? Is there something you’d like to say to me?”
Jin Wuqi then looked up. His long eyelashes fluttered like a butterfly about to take flight. There was a faint red gleam in his tea-coloured pupils as he looked at Yu Yang. He also smiled and answered Song Zhimu’s question on Yu Yang’s behalf.
“It’s me he’s here to see,” Jin Wuqi said softly, turning his head. His gaze shifted and he looked at Yu Yang, asking, “Right, Mr. Yu?”
“If you’re done, I’ll take him away first,” Yu Yang said lightly. “I have something to discuss with him.”
Without waiting for Song Zhimu’s response, Yu Yang held out his palm toward Jin Wuqi. Jin Wuqi placed his hand on top of his palm and took a step forward. He leaned against Yu Yang’s body. Then, he raised his hand and gestured farewell to Song Zhimu. “Mister Song, we’ll chat next time.”
Song Zhimu took a step forward and took Jin Wuqi’s hand. He lowered his head and placed a kiss on the back of Jin Wuqi’s fair hand. Then he smiled and said, “You promised me dinner. Can’t break that promise.”
“Of course not,” Jin Wuqi’s tone was sweet, with a convincing charm.
Song Zhimu glanced at Yu Yang, nodded politely, and then left.
Yu Yang put his arm around Jin Wuqi’s waist and led him to his car. Jin Wuqi obediently leaned against him, tilting his head slightly and gesturing using his hands slightly to his own driver, who was standing not far away by the car.
The driver nodded in response and drove away.
***
Yu Yang drove in silence. When he reached a red light, he stopped the car and looked at the intersection ahead, asking, “Where do you live?”
Jin Wuqi, who was leaning back in the passenger seat, slowly opened his eyes and said, “Same as before.”
He tilted his head slightly, looking at Yu Yang’s indifferent profile. He then asked, puzzled, “Didn’t Mr. Yu leave early? Why did you come back?”
Yu Yang felt inexplicably annoyed by Jin Wuqi’s deliberate questioning. He replied coldly, “Did I disturb your time with Song Zhimu?”
Jin Wuqi smiled and turned to look out the window. “I originally arranged for my people to take the bidding for that painting. But Song Zhimu insisted on getting it for me. So I let him have it.”
“Thirteen million for a dinner with you,” the green light came on. Yu Yang started driving, smirking sarcastically. “What a deal.”
“If it was Mr. Yu who bought it, it wouldn’t just be one dinner,” Jin Wuqi lazily glanced at Yu Yang. “It’s a pity that my painting is too ordinary. Mr. Yu has always been indifferent.”
“I’m just not interested,” Yu Yang said.
Jin Wuqi pursed his lips into a smile and leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes.
***
Yu Yang stopped the car at the villa’s entrance and said, “Get out.”
He couldn’t stay a moment longer than this.
Because Yu Yang remembered a few years ago, when Jin Wuqi had drunk at a banquet and called him, acting spoiled and asking him to pick him up. When Yu Yang arrived at the hotel, Jin Wuqi was being harassed by an alpha. The incident ended with Yu Yang kicking the alpha to the ground. Then, he took Jin Wuqi home. It was this villa. In the dimly lit garage, Jin Wuqi straddled him and asked if he wanted to try having car sex.
Of course, they tried it. In the cramped car, the air was filled with the intense scent of lemon soda and rose pheromones. Yu Yang gripped Jin Wuqi’s soft waist, pulling him towards him, biting into the omega’s neck, leaving noticeable marks on the smooth skin. Finally, he moved to the nape of the neck, taking a bite into the fragile, soft gland, infusing the rose with the taste of lemon soda.
The scent of alcohol. The sound of breathing. Their moans, sweat, kisses, and entanglement.
Every word. Every scene. They are still vivid in his mind. That’s why Yu Yang found it difficult to face such a similar situation.
“Get out of the car,” Yu Yang said again.
Jin Wuqi still hadn’t opened his eyes. He reached out to undo his seatbelt and was fumbling. He softly said, “Yu Yang, help me. I feel dizzy.”
Each of Jin Wuqi’s ‘Yu Yangs’ was like a gentle knife, pierced deep into Yu Yang’s heart, causing him pain and anxiety.
Yu Yang undid his own seatbelt. He then got out of the car, walked around to the passenger side, and opened the passenger door. He bent down to help Jin Wuqi undo his seatbelt and then carried him out of the car.
He just wanted to end it quickly. He wanted to take Jin Wuqi into the villa and justify his absurd actions tonight.
Jin Wuqi wrapped his arms around Yu Yang’s neck. When they reached the door, he reached out and unlocked the fingerprint lock.
As they entered, the automatic sensor switch turned on, flooding the living room with light. Yu Yang took a few steps and placed Jin Wuqi on the large sofa. Just as he was about to get up, Jin Wuqi tightened his grip around Yu Yang’s neck and slowly opened his eyes.
His scattered, shoulder-length hair fell across his forehead and cheeks. The lashes cast a shadow under his slightly closed eyes, as if intentionally covering the gem-like tea-coloured pupils, so Yu Yang wouldn’t fall into them.
“Let go,” Yu Yang said.
“Did you never miss me?” Jin Wuqi looked at Yu Yang with drunken, misty eyes. His tone was filled with an unclear grievance. “Yu Yang, don’t you miss me?”
“No. I don’t,” Yu Yang said coldly. “Let go. I’m leaving.”
“Yu Yang…” Jin Wuqi’s voice trembled slightly. He tilted his head closer to Yu Yang’s lips and asked softly, “Can I kiss you?”
In the past, Jin Wuqi would only ask Yu Yang: Can you kiss me?
But now, things are different. His heart, once like a rock, would no longer agree to his requests. He would no longer take the initiative to kiss Jin Wuqi.
Without waiting for Yu Yang’s answer, Jin Wuqi leaned in and gently kissed the corner of Yu Yang’s mouth.
Yu Yang just looked at him coldly, without any sign of relenting, not even a change in the concentration of his own pheromones.
This was their first kiss in over four years. Yu Yang thought his heart would explode. He thought he would tremble all over. He thought his emotions would collapse.
But surprisingly, none of that happened. He maintained a near-indifferent attitude, like a bystander watching a fire from across the river, forcefully detaching himself. His rationality suppressed everything.
Jin Wuqi, like a deer who had found a stream, lowered his head to sip at Yu Yang’s lips. His warm breath carried the scent of roses, wrapping around him like vines climbing a tree, soft and beguiling.
Yu Yang grabbed Jin Wuqi’s delicate neck and pushed him back onto the sofa.
He didn’t use much force. He was just using this firm action to express his resistance. This is because Yu Yang realised that even without emotional fluctuations, letting Jin Wuqi kiss him would lead him to a losing game.
If he continued, he knew he wouldn’t be able to restrain himself. The string in his head had been stretched for too long. It was strong yet fragile. He didn’t want to be destroyed in an instant.
“Enough,” Yu Yang said, looking at him.
Jin Wuqi blinked slowly. He held Yu Yang’s hand, which was gripping his neck, and guided it to the back of his neck. He pressed Yu Yang’s index finger onto his gland.
Yu Yang felt a scar.
No, not just one scar. But many of them were scattered haphazardly across the soft gland.
These were probably marks left by harsh biting. The teeth of some alpha biting down hard on the gland, leaving behind many indelible scars.
These were the glands that Yu Yang had never bitten with that much force when ‘marking’ him in the past. Although his posture was fierce, he never used a tearing force to bite down. This was because the glands were the most precious and attractive part of an omega. It was a treasure in Yu Yang’s eyes.
“Do you mind?” Jin Wuqi’s eyes reflected the bright light of the chandelier above, clearly showing every trace of sadness. “I’ve been ‘marked’ by someone else.”
He looked into Yu Yang’s eyes, with a rare hint of slight panic and confusion. It was as if waiting for an answer, while inevitably feeling afraid.
“I don’t mind,” Yu Yang said softly.
A fleeting bright water-like light flashed in Jin Wuqi’s eyes as he stared at Yu Yang in a daze.
“Whatever you do has nothing to do with me.”
Yu Yang stood up coldly. He pursed his lips as he said these word by word.
Jin Wuqi slowly lowered his eyes. The light in his eyes extinguishing as shadows fell over them. He pursed his lips and smiled bitterly to himself.
Yu Yang turned and walked out of the door. Shortly after, the sound of a car engine could be heard outside, followed by the sound of a car quickly speeding into the distance.
Jin Wuqi slowly reached up to his chest and lifted the necklace around his neck. He held it in front of his eyes.
Under the light, a shining green lemon pendant gently swayed. It was exceptionally beautiful.
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*Author’s Note: There were a lot of conversations between them today, and even a kiss. It’s very sweet. – McChicken
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*Translator’s Note: At this moment, Yu Yang didn’t understand Jin Wuqi’s pain yet. But I do. Because I’ve read until the end. So his words were really harsh to my ears. *Sighs* It’s all about communication, guys! Almost all problems in relationships came when there was no proper communication. Ugh. -K
Next update: 2024.04.15
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Link to Chapter 9: https://freenovels.net/long-summer-late-awakening-chapter-9/
