Lop-Eared Guard - Chap 2

Yan Yi sat with his back against the door frame, wanting to leave. The calming alpha pheromones overflowing through the crack of the door was like a powerful adhesive, sticking him to the door. He knew these pheromones were released by Lu Shangjin for the little omega in the room to withstand his blessed seed1, but Yan Yi still couldn’t resist the devil’s temptation, and would rather absorb some of the alpha’s comfort from the overlapping gasps in the room until the pain from his heat was reduced enough for him to stand up.

He bit the corner of his black leather glove that had been plastered to his hand with sweat, and pulled it off, exposing a clean and slender right hand, with an exquisite and peerless platinum ring made of quality workmanship sitting on his ring finger. He took out a cigarette from his pocket, lifting it to his lips, quietly lit a fire and took a drag. Leaning against the open balcony window, he faced the gardener who was pruning branches in the garden, and slowly exhaled a white fog.

He just had a physical examination two days ago. The doctor had held a physical examination sheet with a few indicators ticked off and repeatedly instructed Yan Yi that the heat periods of lop-eared rabbits were not more frequent than that of other species. Like other omegas, the frequent use of inhibitors to suppress one’s heat would lead to drug overdose with numerous side effects. The most important one was that it may cause reproductive disorders, resulting in a high probability of infertility.

Infertile omegas would be ostracized by the whole society, hence Yan Yi could only endure the waves of torment of his heat alone.

He bent his head to look at the ring on his finger as though it were a useless toy that he was unwilling to throw away, tiredly caressing it in fond recollection.

Once, he was also Lu Shangjin’s favourite little omega in bed, with a beautiful appearance and gentle nature, yet unrestrained and called out wildly. His physical strength was surprisingly good, able to serve the ferocious beast Lu Shangjin through the whole night.

Ten years ago, Lu Shangjin stayed in the Golden Triangle to deal with a group of drug dealers. He only took Yan Yi with him, saying he was his real spouse and the pair would always move together.

At the time, Lu Shangjin was extremely gentle. He had left teeth marks that proclaimed his possession on the glands at the back of Yan Yi’s neck, and the intense, passionate marker of the pheromones entered his glands and spread through his entire body. At that moment, although he knew that he was only Lu Shangjin’s guard, Yan Yi still couldn’t help but fall deeper in love with him.

“Yan Yan, does it hurt?” Lu Shangjin hugged Yan Yi from behind, his movements gentle as he gradually kissed his collarbone to his shoulder. The omega beneath him was soft and obedient. Regardless if it hurt or not, he would cater to Lu Shangjin’s pleasure all through the night.

“Jin, Jin ge… can we not do it here…” Yan Yi supported himself on the windowsill and saw the occasional passerby below. He shamefully covered himself with the curtains.

“The scenery is beautiful here, I like it.” The twenty year old Lu Shangjin was vile yet gentle.

After, Yan Yi slept from exhaustion, nestled in Lu Shangjin’s arms. The hand stained with comforting pheromones would then slowly caress his back and soft rabbit ears, attentively taking care of this fragile little white rabbit. Even if a rain of bullets and the flames of war erupted tomorrow, the emotional fluidity of romance would only be needed tonight.

That night was the most unforgettable moment in Yan Yi’s life. His alpha had marked him, and had personally put the ring on his finger, promising him with a deep and low voice next to his ear, “I will love you until my last breath, Yan Yan.”

In fact, when people grow up, they no longer take fairy tales seriously. No matter how affectionate a commitment is, it could not compare to the reality of having a cheque or a black card. In the end, vigorous love may not leave a residue, and one may not even have a single branch to perch on2.

He was still not as good as living the life of Lu Shangjin’s new favourite omega.

Accompanying an emperor was like accompanying a tiger. It had been ten years, and Lu Shangjin had abandoned the life of an outlaw and retired, leaving the world of war and chaos, and the lop-eared rabbit that followed him had also fallen out of favour.

He was too powerful, able to arouse the envy and vigilance of alphas. An alpha who spent his life surrounded by flashing swords and knives no longer needed a strong omega. In contrast, a sweet and yielding omega was the preferable mate for someone as successful as him.

Yan Yi had tasted the heartlessness of Lu Shangjin.

He had pressed Yan Yi onto the operating table and surgically mended his glands, erasing any evidence of being marked. If Lu Shangjin wanted to break up with someone, he would not leave a single trace of himself on the other party.

But.

Yan Yi extinguished the cigarette. He kissed the ring on his finger with his eyes downcasted.

“Jin ge, I’ll wait for you to have enough of your fun. When you turn back, I’ll always be here.”

After a stick of cigarette, the restless activity in the room still had not ended. The omega’s voice became hoarse, the initial pleasurable intimate sounds gradually turned into painful pleas.

Yan Yi didn’t stay any longer. He went into the coatroom to pick up an ironed-flat tuxedo, lifted the collar of his white shirt, skillfully tied a decent bow tie and finally tidied his coat. His slender waist fit perfectly. A butler’s uniform was spotless. After putting on a pair of white gloves, he headed downstairs to prepare tea.

(t/n: Yan Yi’s position as a “butler” and “guard” in this novel is interchangeable. The later chapters will explain this change. Here he is fulfilling his duty as a butler.)

The quartz clock in the living room pointed to 4 p.m. Wearing the clothes left by Yan Yi outside his bedroom, Lu Shangjin followed along the solid wooden steps downstairs. He sat on the sofa, took the schedule prepared by Yan Yi and glanced through.

A pair of eyes that could penetrate through anyone sat beneath cold, wrinkled thick eyebrows. The brow ridges and bridge of his nose are taller and more three-dimensional than the average Asian, and his body was absent of any jewellery that marked his identity and status. The elegance and calmness emitting from his bones allowed him to unconsciously become the main focus of any situation.

Yan Yi stood in front of the table and wiped the porcelain plates. There was a red rose in the vase on the table.

“Xiansheng, a phone call came through just now. The other party spoke resolutely and refused to allow me to take the message.” Yan Yi’s tone was gentle and fitting. The only smell in the living room was Lu Shangjin’s faint pheromones, allowing Yan Yi to relax and feel comfortable.

Lu Shangjin made a sound of acknowledgement, “Who was it?”

Yan Yi took out a notebook from his front pocket, half of the pages had been used up. With familiarity and ease, he flipped to a page, “The number was new. I looked into it and found it was approximately from the Hongye office building in Jiu An city.”

Lu Shangjin raised his eyebrows and picked up his phone to return the call. Looking at his behaviour, the person must not be someone who could be ignored at will.

The other party quickly answered the phone, their tone light and slow. Not paying attention to Lu Shangjin, they deliberately turned on the voice-changing device, the distorted electric sound ear-piercingly noisy.

Lu Shangjin leaned back lazily against the sofa, “Director Xia, if you have any delegations, you can contact my assistant directly.”

The person was stunned for a moment, then turned off the voice-changing device. Coughing, the tone of an alpha returned.

Lu Shangjin listened to the brief tasks on the phone. He lifted his gaze to Yan Yi, who was making tea in front of the dining table, and answered meaningfully, “Really. Want me to get hold of a lop-eared rabbit omega for you.”

The other person said in satisfaction, “ten million yuan, alive and well.”

(t/n: about 1.5 million USD)

The hand that was making tea suddenly stopped. Yan Yi stared at Lu Shangjin, their eyes meeting. Intimidated by the fierce light in Lu Shangjin’s eyes, his fingertips trembled. The little rabbit was easily frightened; calm and tranquil on the surface, but his heart was already quivering, his heart rate rising.

Lu Shangjin’s expression was indifferent. He hung up the phone and threw it in front of Yan Yi.

Yan Yi stood at a loss. Not knowing where to place his rabbit ears, they subconsciously hid in his hair, instinctively afraid of inexplicable harm.

Suddenly, a sweet, soft scent emerged into the living room.

Although the little omega was permitted to stay in Lu Shangjin’s bedroom, he was particularly favoured and was allowed to stay for afternoon tea.

Wearing Lu Shangjin’s shirt, the little omega walked down the stairs barefoot while holding onto the wooden handrail. The two fair slender legs were covered with red traces left by the pinches of crude fingers. For the second time, he asked for Lu Shangjin’s confirmation that he could stay for tea.

He was a beautiful omega, with a slim and proportionate figure, a small attractive mole on his chin, soft golden brown hair, and elegant white eyelashes. A fanciful string of the english word “freedom” was tattooed on his neck, and he had a highly recognizable flattering face.

Yan Yi had just seen him in an advertisement on Weibo today. Yuan Mi. He was holding a small red bottle of skin emulsion lotion that Yan Yi had decided to discard immediately, and spoke with a smile against a bright red background. Once Yan Yi saw it, he hurriedly pressed the skip button on the right corner. However, he accidentally pressed on the wrong button and clicked on the advertisement instead, seeing more suffocating photos from different angles.

Lu Shangjin had a long relationship with Yuan Mi. He liked watching his movies when he was still with Yan Yi. Three years ago, when Yuan Mi provoked someone and was concealed by his company, Lu Shangjin had taken good care of him. With a flick of his finger, he ascended to the position for Best Actor.

Yuan Mi was Lu Shangjin’s captive canary, pampered in the palm of his hand, feeling free from worries. Yan Yi was just a watchdog in the yard, a sharp henchman, loyal and quiet.

Yuan Mi sat at the table. With a neat napkin draped on his left hand, Yan Yi bowed politely and poured a cup of black tea, then arranged a knife and fork next to a plate of pancakes sprinkled with blueberries.

Propping his cheek, Yuan Mi looked at Yan Yi, and as though he was the other owner of this villa, he commanded Yan Yi, “contain your pheromones, I’m lactose intolerant, the smell of milk candy is disgusting.”

This celebrity’s pheromones smelled like Iris perfume. A storm of vile vocabulary that could attack this little superstar appeared in Yan Yi’s mind, but he smiled politely.

In front of alphas, omegas would always break out with malicious friction. For someone like Yuan Mi who was used to being in the bubble of fame in front of the camera, he felt like he was winning. A shining diamond like himself was able to outshine all the other omegas.

Yan Yi turned a deaf ear to the omega’s provocations. With a quiet voice, he slowly introduced today’s Whittard black tea.

Yuan Mi was disinterested in the tea’s origins. He picked up the sharp silver knife, and the tip was immediately pointed against the back of Yan Yi’s hand that was holding the tray. Instantly, blood soaked through the white gloves, and a red flower spread from the flat edge of the knife.

“You really didn’t move your hand,” Yuan Mi held his cheek and smiled at him, “You’re exactly the same as the butlers who serve the wealthy I read about in my scripts.”

Yan Yi’s expression remained indifferent. He went to change a new pair of gloves and poured a cup of black tea for Lu Shangjin.

Lu Shangjin answered the phone again and left the living room.

Yuan Mi wantonly grabbed Yan Yi’s right hand and peeled off the glove. When he saw the platinum ring on his ring finger, he raised his eyes and laughed at Yan Yi, “I heard you and Jin ge once had history.”

The smile full of malice was like stepping on Yan Yi’s most fragile memory. He was most afraid of others mentioning his romantic past with Lu Shangjin, afraid that his incompatibly cherished love would be regarded as inferior and a loss. People were like that; always humbly taking to heart about what they lack.

Just as he regained his composure, Yuan Mi had fallen by the door and was holding onto his fractured leg. When Lu Shangjin heard the loud noise, he hurried back to the living room to investigate. The sofa had toppled over and the person was flipped upside down-

Yan Yi took two steps back, his eyes looking at Lu Shangjin with fear, his rabbit ears drooping. His heart rate soared to its peak, the tip of his nose turned red and trembled slightly, a sign of a rabbit’s fear.

The little star was kicked eight meters away.

Footnotes–

Blessed seed: the idiom used to describe how an emperor’s favourite concubine did not dare to fight for favour with the queen, but was then comforted by the emperor and given his “holy semen” lmao No branches to perch on: from a poem about someone feeling loneliness after a conflict with their partner, like a bird not being able to find a home