After Unbinding the Simp System, I'm Targeted by the Villain - Chapter 47

The bedroom was quiet, with light from the living room spilling through the half-open door and onto the edge of the bed.

Yu Chucheng waited for a moment, but there was still no response; it seemed Duan Huaijin was truly asleep. His courage gradually grew, and propping his chin on his hand, he began to openly scrutinize the Alpha before him.

Duan Huaijin’s hair was messy over his forehead, making him look slightly less sharp and cold than usual. His narrow eyes were closed, fringed by thick lashes—it was hard not to steal a few extra glances.

Yu Chucheng studied Duan Huaijin’s eyelashes, thinking to himself, His lashes are so long, they look like feathers. I wonder what they feel like.

As if possessed, Yu Chucheng reached out. By the time he realized what he was doing, his fingertip had already touched Duan Huaijin’s long lashes. Unlike what he had imagined, they weren’t soft; they were actually a bit stiff.

Just then, Duan Huaijin’s brow furrowed slightly, and his eyelashes gave a tiny flutter.

Yu Chucheng was scared half to death. He retracted his hand like he’d been electrocuted, the finger that had touched the lashes feeling as if it were on fire. His heart hammered wildly. He asked in a tiny, uncertain voice, “Are you awake?”

The only answer was the rhythmic ticking of the electronic clock on the desk.

Fortunately, Duan Huaijin hadn’t woken up.

Yu Chucheng breathed a sigh of relief. He wiped away the cold sweat that had broken out on his forehead, pulled a thin blanket from the closet, and walked—limbs moving stiffly in unison—back to the living room.

The other bedroom was just a bare bedframe; it was better to make do on the sofa for the night. As for the master bedroom, he magnanimously ceded it to the drunken Duan Huaijin.

Yu Chucheng curled up on the sofa and turned on the TV, muting the sound. He had no idea that the second he left the room, the person on the bed opened his eyes.

Duan Huaijin reached up and touched his eye. He had been awake the entire time.

This room and the bed were filled with Yu Chucheng’s scent—that sweet peach fragrance that constantly toyed with his nerves. Moreover, he was in his rut; there was no way he could sleep in an environment like this.

Duan Huaijin’s gaze darkened as he propped himself up. His Alpha instincts were urging him to go out and drag Yu Chucheng back, but his reason told him he had to endure and refrain.

A rut was terrifying. Once it started, it took at least three days to end, and during that time, he would be completely controlled by instincts etched into his genes. His desire for destruction and possession would multiply, and even he didn’t know what might happen.

Duan Huaijin held his breath as he got out of bed. He had to leave.

In the living room, perhaps because he was too tired, Yu Chucheng had fallen asleep on the sofa after a short while. The TV flickered silently, casting shifting light across his face.

His sleeping posture wasn’t very elegant; the sofa was too narrow, and the blanket had slid halfway onto the floor. One leg was hitched up haphazardly, and one hand dangled off the edge of the cushions. Since he was asleep, he couldn’t control his pheromones well; the sweet, thick scent spread quietly through the living room.

In a state of half-sleep, Yu Chucheng felt a sudden weightlessness, as if he’d moved from the sofa to the clouds. He felt like he was flying. He instinctively reached out to grab a reassuring anchor point, accidentally yanking open two buttons on someone’s shirt.

Duan Huaijin: “…”

When Yu Chucheng opened his eyes again, it was already late morning the next day.

His first reaction was that sleeping on the sofa for a night hadn’t resulted in the backache he expected. My back is surprisingly resilient.

His second reaction was to stare at the ceiling for a long time. Wait… he was in his own bedroom, on the bed.

If he was in bed, where was Duan Huaijin? Could he have been sleepwalking and kicked the guy out after seeing him hogging the bed?!

Yu Chucheng “snapped” awake faster than ever before, throwing back the covers and rushing into the living room. The TV had been on all night, and the blanket he’d taken was scattered on the sofa.

Where was Duan Huaijin?

Yu Chucheng caught sight of a sticky note on the fridge.

[My rut has started, I can’t stay with you. Thank you for tonight. I’m leaving first.]

It was Duan Huaijin’s handwriting, but the strokes were messier and more forceful than before; the last character had nearly torn the paper.

So he left on his own.

Yu Chucheng looked at the note with mixed emotions. Last night, seeing how drunk Duan Huaijin was, he hadn’t sent him home. He hadn’t expected his kindness to backfire, forcing a drunk person to find their own way back.

Just then, his phone rang. Yu Chucheng assumed it was Duan Huaijin and picked up without looking. “Hey, Duan Huaijin, how are you feeling? Your parents didn’t give you a hard time when you got back last night, did they?”

There was a long silence on the other end.

Yu Chucheng frowned. “Why aren’t you talking?”

Yu Jingchen’s voice was cold enough to freeze the air, sharp and piercing. “Yu Chucheng.”

Called by his full name, Yu Chucheng shuddered. Now it was his turn to be silent. Usually, Yu Jingchen called him “Chucheng” or used his nickname “Chengcheng” like their parents; he only used the full name when he was truly angry.

“Since when were you so close to him?” The anger was palpable in Yu Jingchen’s voice.

He had been too busy lately to check on Yu Chucheng. Having finally finished his work, he called his brother immediately, specifically choosing a time when he thought Yu Chucheng would be awake.

Instead, his dear brother didn’t even check the caller ID and blurted out the name he wanted to hear least (aside from Hao Jia). And the voice was so full of concern—how could he not be angry? He was afraid that if he’d waited a few more days to call, his “house” would have been stolen.

Yu Chucheng scratched his nose sheepishly and quickly tried to change the subject. “No, Brother, did you need something?”

Yu Jingchen was extremely dissatisfied. “I can’t call you unless I need something?”

“I didn’t say that…” Yu Chucheng mumbled softly.

Yu Jingchen was calling to invite Yu Chucheng home for dinner. A project had just been completed, and he could rest for a bit. Since it was Saturday, he had asked the household auntie to prepare extra delicacies.

Hearing he had to go home, Yu Chucheng panicked. The injury on his hand was mostly healed, but the one on his forehead was still visible.

Seeing Yu Chucheng hesitate, Yu Jingchen asked coldly, “Do you have plans with someone else?”

He pointedly emphasized “someone else.” One could guess with their toes who he was referring to.

Yu Chucheng said hurriedly, “No!”

“Then come home.” With that, Yu Jingchen hung up.

Yu Chucheng sighed; his brother seemed truly furious this time.

To cover the wound on his head, Yu Chucheng had to contact Xu Mengshu. He’d heard girls have makeup that can hide blemishes. The wound had already scabbed over; he wondered if it could be covered.

Ji Zhou watched as Xu Mengshu applied layers of makeup to Yu Chucheng’s face with a brush. “You’re so concerned about your image—are you going on a blind date?”

Yu Chucheng gave Ji Zhou a kick. He was about to turn around and scold him when Xu Mengshu grabbed his hair. “Don’t move.”

That evening, Yu Chucheng sat at the dining table looking at the tablet Yu Jingchen had placed in front of him. Suddenly, the food in his mouth lost its flavor.

He scrolled from the first page to the last, using every ounce of strength to keep his voice steady.

“Brother, what is all this? How are you exactly like Mom!”