Chu Shiye sat beside Ji Mian, looking aggrieved.
The person he was too cautious to touch could freely touch him without a care.
His hesitation, his careful restraint—Su Lan didn’t notice any of it.
…Well, Su Lan really couldn’t see now.
This made Chu Shiye even more frustrated.
Ji Mian couldn’t hear Chu Shiye’s inner turmoil. Realizing the Alpha was sitting there stiffly, he smiled. “Not avoiding me anymore?”
Chu Shiye remained motionless.
But he didn’t pull away this time.
Ji Mian thought to himself: As expected, teasing this Alpha occasionally might have some unexpected effects.
He smiled and patted Chu Shiye’s head.
Chu Shiye: “…”
He slowly lowered his head.
After a while, he got up, seemingly to distract himself, and began tidying the room.
Ji Mian slightly raised his fingertips and released his mental manifestation.
The Light Goddess Butterfly gracefully spread its wings, flitting around the room as it curiously explored the new environment.
Its wingtips scattered tiny specks of starlight. Chu Shiye, mopping the floor, looked up and said, “It’s shedding powder.”
Goddess Butterfly: “?”
Ji Mian: “It’s scolding you.”
Chu Shiye paused for a second. “Mental manifestations can scold people?”
“Yes, it’s very fierce,” Ji Mian said with a smile. “Once you summon your own mental manifestation, they might even start arguing with each other.”
Chu Shiye looked at him.
Su Lan’s tone was so natural, so certain, as if he had complete faith that Chu Shiye would one day summon his own mental manifestation.
From the beginning, Su Lan had always been different from everyone else.
The starlight fell to the ground, flickered for a few seconds, then vanished. Chu Shiye resumed mopping the floor.
The Goddess Butterfly started following him, flying right behind.
Chu Shiye: “…”
Ji Mian: “Stop shedding powder, come back.”
Goddess Butterfly: “?”
In Chu Shiye’s eyes, the disgruntled butterfly seemed to grumble as it flew to the window.
—
The night air was cold. Ji Mian coughed lightly, and Chu Shiye, who had been working at the desk, immediately put down what he was doing and walked over to gently pat his back.
Ji Mian: “I have a question.”
Chu Shiye: “Hmm?”
Ji Mian: “How am I supposed to bathe?”
Chu Shiye: “…”
That was indeed a problem.
Ji Mian: “If you’re willing to help me, I don’t really mind.”
Chu Shiye: “…”
Chu Shiye: “Wait here.”
Ji Mian heard a series of clattering noises. About half an hour later, Chu Shiye said, “It’s ready.”
Ji Mian: “What?”
Chu Shiye: “The bathtub.”
Ji Mian: Oh, how resourceful.
The freshly built bathtub was carried to the bathroom by Chu Shiye, who slowly filled it with hot water.
Ji Mian sat in the bathtub, the warm water rising just below his collarbones. His dark hair, dampened by the water Chu Shiye poured, clung to his skin.
Chu Shiye kept his gaze steady, focusing intently on Ji Mian’s wet hair as he applied shampoo.
Ji Mian: “When I was a kid, I once slipped in the rain because I was playing around. My mom bathed me just like this.”
He still remembered that time—he had been scared his mother would scold him and hid in the garden, refusing to come out. In the end, his mother found him, patted his head, and gently led him back, smiling.
Chu Shiye: “Your mother…”
“She passed away,” Ji Mian said in an even tone. “Two years ago.”
“But when she left, it was very peaceful.”
Chu Shiye was silent for a moment before saying earnestly, “Your mother must have been a very, very good person.”
Ji Mian smiled faintly. “She was.”
Chu Shiye’s fingers moved gently through Ji Mian’s dark hair, his touch soft and soothing.
The warm water soaked the strands of hair, and the rising steam enveloped the room like a soft, floating dream.
After a few minutes, Chu Shiye spoke. “Do you want to—”
He stopped mid-sentence.
Ji Mian’s eyelids had softly closed, and he was silent.
Asleep.
Chu Shiye: “…”
Su Lan’s body was already frail; he really did need the rest.
Chu Shiye sat by the bathtub for a few seconds before standing up. He retrieved a large outer robe from outside.
Draping the robe over Ji Mian, he bent down and carefully lifted him from the bathtub.
Ji Mian rested in his arms, wrapped in the robe. His long, damp eyelashes glistened with tiny water droplets, and a few wet strands of dark hair lay scattered across Chu Shiye’s chest.
Chu Shiye kept his gaze fixed forward, not looking down, and carried him straight to the bed.
He tucked Ji Mian into the soft covers and silently pulled them up a little higher.
Then, he sat by the bed, lowered his eyes, and quietly watched over him.
—
The soft bedding beneath him felt different from the last place Ji Mian remembered lying in.
Ji Mian opened his eyes, his thoughts still a bit fuzzy.
Wasn’t he still in the bathtub?
…Ah.
He remembered now.
Ji Mian sat up and touched a hand. He turned his head.
Although there was no sound, he knew Chu Shiye was sitting silently beside him.
Neither of them spoke.
After a few seconds, Ji Mian said casually, “Thanks.”
Chu Shiye: “No need.”
Ji Mian felt the clothes on his body. It was a set of soft pajamas.
Probably something Chu Shiye had changed him into.
…Forget it, whatever.
Ji Mian quietly pulled up the blanket.
—
Since Ji Mian needed to recover at home, he sent a message to Xiao Zhang, saying he wasn’t feeling well and would take two days off.
But that very afternoon, Xiao Zhang showed up with a group of students to visit him.
“Teacher, did you catch a cold? Here’s some cold medicine from my house.”
“Teacher, drink more hot water. I brought you a thermos of it…”
When it was Nato’s turn, he hesitated before handing Ji Mian a card.
It was a card that read, *“Hope Teacher gets better soon.”* Even though Ji Mian couldn’t see it, he could guess what it was. He smiled. “Thank you.”
Nato looked at him, as if noticing something was wrong. “Teacher, your eyes…”
Ji Mian: “Yes, I can’t see for now.”
The students gasped. Ji Mian added, “But it’s only temporary.”
One of them exclaimed, “Can a cold make you go blind?”
“It can,” Ji Mian said seriously, “which is why you should study hard and avoid catching colds.”
The students: “Ohhh, Teacher is so right.”
The already small house felt even more cramped with so many people suddenly present. Chu Shiye stood near the door, and Xiao Zhang, next to him, remarked, “Ever since Teacher Su came, the students in this class have really changed a lot.”
Chu Shiye said nothing.
At the end of his gaze, Ji Mian was surrounded by the students. When they looked at him, their eyes shone with a special light.
Although Chu Shiye didn’t know much about Ji Mian’s family or past, he always felt Ji Mian was someone who should naturally stand in the spotlight, surrounded by admiration and reverence.
Not here, in this humble little house, with him…
Chu Shiye lowered his head slightly.
At that moment, Ji Mian turned his gaze.
Something warm seemed to flow through his vision. He closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, he caught the fleeting expression on the young Alpha’s face.
The world became clear again—his mental strength had recovered.
Ji Mian blinked.
Just now, did this Alpha seem a little… dejected?
The students didn’t want to disturb Ji Mian for too long. After checking in on him, they left together. Chu Shiye closed the door behind them and turned around.
Ji Mian extended a hand to him. “Come here.”
There was a gleam in his eyes. Chu Shiye paused in surprise before stepping over quickly. “Your eyes…”
“Yes, they’re fine now,” Ji Mian said. “I told you they’d recover quickly.”
Chu Shiye exhaled softly, sitting beside him. He seemed a little happy.
Taking advantage of the moment, Ji Mian released his mental manifestation.
The Light Goddess Butterfly appeared with a swoosh, dissolving into Chu Shiye’s brows.
Chu Shiye: “…”
Ji Mian smiled. “Be good, don’t move.”
This was another round of mental guidance.
His consciousness delved once more into Chu Shiye’s mental world, and the Goddess Butterfly descended gracefully, its radiant light illuminating the abyss.
Chu Shiye stiffened slightly.
Although this was only the beginning of the mental connection, he could clearly feel that this time was different from before.
In previous mental guidance sessions, he felt a warm current flowing through his veins, pooling in his heart like water accumulating behind a dam—ready to burst but never quite breaking through.
But now, deep in his consciousness, it felt as though something… was breaking out of its shell and beginning to grow.
His long-dormant mental power was awakening, responding to him, resonating with him.
The feeling was fleeting, lasting only a few seconds before vanishing before he could fully grasp it. Short-lived, yet real.
It was something he hadn’t experienced in his twenty years of life—a tangible reality.
Ji Mian withdrew his hand. Chu Shiye opened his eyes. “I think… I felt something.”
“Is it real?”
The Goddess Butterfly perched on Ji Mian’s shoulder, and he spoke gently. “Of course it’s real.”
The strength of a mental manifestation directly corresponds to the strength of the ability user’s mental power. Ji Mian’s mental strength was gradually recovering, which meant the Goddess Butterfly was now more powerful than when he first summoned it a few days ago.
He had promised to help Chu Shiye summon his mental manifestation again, and it wasn’t an empty promise.
Unfortunately, this time he still didn’t encounter those unique golden eyes in Chu Shiye’s mental world.
Perhaps he would only see those golden eyes again when Chu Shiye truly summoned his own mental manifestation.
Chu Shiye remained silent, his dark brown eyes rippling like a thawing lake touched by a gentle breeze.
This was Su Lan’s true, complete power, wasn’t it?
Like a savior… capable of bringing someone completely back to life.
Chu Shiye clasped Ji Mian’s hand, his gaze steady on those beautiful dark eyes.
This was his healer, and also his…
Chu Shiye’s eyes held countless unspoken words. Ji Mian thought to himself: Look how happy this kid is.
He said, “I want to ask you something.”
Chu Shiye’s attention was unwavering. “Yes, go ahead.”
“The fruit we ate last time at the hospital,” Ji Mian said, his lips curling into a faint smile, “do we have more?”
Chu Shiye: “…”
Chu Shiye replied, “It’s out of season.”
Ji Mian blinked. “Hasn’t it only been a few days?”
Chu Shiye: “…The seasons change quickly.”
Ji Mian: “Oh—what a pity.”
There was a mischievous glint in his eyes, but Chu Shiye kept a straight face and swiftly grabbed an apple. “Eat this. I’ll peel it for you.”
Ji Mian: “Alright, I guess this works too.”
As soon as Ji Mian finished speaking, Chu Shiye turned and rushed to the kitchen to wash the fruit.
Even though it was just washing fruit, the Alpha’s movements somehow seemed a little stiff. Watching him, Ji Mian smiled and poked the Light Goddess Butterfly.
The Goddess Butterfly fluttered gracefully, circling Ji Mian once before flying over to the kitchen.
It flitted in front of Chu Shiye, blatantly spying on his expression.
Chu Shiye: “…”
Unable to resist, he raised his hand and lightly pinched one of the butterfly’s wings.
At that exact moment, Ji Mian’s fingertips twitched.
Ji Mian: “…”
Ji Mian said flatly, “I’m not talking to you anymore.”
Chu Shiye: “?”
He turned around, slightly confused.
Ji Mian pulled up the blanket and lay on the bed.
In a dull tone, he said, “Don’t talk to me. Anyway, I’m not talking to you.”
Chu Shiye: “…??”
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