Obsessed with a High-Ranking Esper (BL)-Chapter 181: Who bit you?

Jian Ci carried Yu Xi in his arms, the weight of him warm and pliant. Yu Xi wasn’t difficult when drunk. He was just clingy. He murmured nonsense against Jian Ci’s shoulder, his breath soft against his neck, arms loosely looped around him like he never wanted to let go.

Not that Jian Ci was complaining. He reached the hover car and gently leaned Yu Xi against the side, one arm still bracing him as he fumbled with the door. His communicator buzzed.

Without looking, he answered, assuming it was Jian Rui checking in. "Yeah?" he said, distracted. A brittle voice came through, laced with a sniffle.

"Ci-ge... you celebrated Yu Xi’s birthday and didn’t even invite me? I am your girlfriend. And he... he’s your best friend, but you didn’t invite me." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

Jian Ci froze for a beat, then sighed as he helped Yu Xi into the passenger seat. Yu Xi slumped forward, obedient and pliant, letting Jian Ci buckle him in without protest.

"It’s because I knew you were busy," Jian Ci said, trying to keep his voice even. "And we would be out late. It wouldn’t be safe for you at that hour."

"But Leane was there," Alarna pressed, her voice rising. "Who was going to take her back?"

Jian Ci opened his mouth to respond, only for Yu Xi to suddenly tug him down by the collar, arms wrapping around his neck.

"Gege," Yu Xi mumbled, voice thick with wine and sleep, "I want to drink more..."

Jian Ci stumbled forward, barely catching himself before he fell on top of him. "For fuck’s sake, Little Xi," he muttered, trying to pry him off. "If you keep this up, I am never letting you drink again."

Yu Xi chuckled, mumbling something incoherent before releasing him. Jian Ci sighed, adjusted the seatbelt, and stepped out of the hover car.

Only then did he glance at his communicator and realised it was a video call.

Alarna’s face filled the screen, eyes glassy, lips trembling. "Jian Ci," she said, voice cracking, "do you even care about me? You ignore me. You treat me like I don’t exist. That’s not fair. Not after everything I have been through."

Jian Ci stared at her. He was trying. He really was. But every time he got close to her, something inside him recoiled. It wasn’t fear or guilt. It was discomfort. It was like wearing clothes that didn’t fit, like pretending to be someone he wasn’t.

But he had said he would take responsibility so he had try again. "Let’s talk about this later, okay?" he said gently. "I will take you out on a date during the break. Is that alright?"

Alarna didn’t look pleased, but she nodded. "Fine. Just... call me when you get home."

"I will." She opened her mouth to say something else, but Jian Ci cut in. "I have to go." And he ended the video call. Alarna stared at the blank screen.

Her hand trembled as she raised the communicator, ready to throw it across the room, but she stopped herself. Instead, she dropped it on the bed and collapsed beside it, breathing hard.

She had been stalking Elias’ Starnet account all evening, refreshing it obsessively. And then she saw the pictures. Yu Xi laughing, flushed and radiant. Jian Ci beside him, smiling like the sun. The two of them pressed close, arms around each other, Yu Xi clinging to him like he belonged there. And then just now.

Yu Xi, drunk and giggling, pulling Jian Ci down and calling him Gege in that soft, affectionate voice. Her blood boiled. Who the fuck was Yu Xi calling Gege? That was her man.

Alarna clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms. She wanted to scream. She wanted to smash something, to tear the whole room apart. But instead, she lay there in silence, fury simmering beneath her skin.

Because if Jian Ci wouldn’t come to her willingly, she would just have to use other means to twist his arm.

***

The hovercar glided silently through the night, its self-pilot humming softly as it carried them back to the estate. Inside, the cabin was dim, lit only by the soft glow of the dashboard and the occasional flicker of passing streetlights.

Jian Ci sat in the passenger seat, his gaze fixed on Yu Xi. He wasn’t as clingy as before. Yu Xi sat slumped against the window, his cheek pressed to the cool glass, eyes half-lidded as he watched the blur of city lights pass by. His usual quiet had taken on a different weight. He was less serene and more distant.

Jian Ci’s chest tightened. He wanted to ask. He wanted to know who had touched Yu Xi, who had dared to leave bruises and bite marks on skin that should have only ever known gentleness. But Yu Xi was drunk, and asking now felt wrong and unfair.

So Jian Ci stayed silent. Until Yu Xi shifted, and the collar of his shirt slipped just enough to reveal the fading imprint of a bite on the back of his neck. Jian Ci’s breath caught. He couldn’t hold it in anymore.

"Little Xi," he said, voice low but there was no response. He leaned closer and asked, "Little Xi... are you sleeping?"

Yu Xi’s voice came, slurred but not soft. "What now?"

Jian Ci bit his lip. "Who bit you?" But there was no response, just silence.

He reached out and gently shook his shoulder. "Little Xi."

"Mn."

"Do you... have a boyfriend you didn’t tell me about?" Yu Xi heard him. He wasn’t as drunk as he seemed. He just didn’t want to talk.

Not after hearing Jian Ci’s voice on that call. The way he had spoken to Alarna. The way he’d promised her a date, even if his tone had been flat and reluctant.

Yu Xi had wanted to kiss him. Right then, in front of her, to make it clear who Jian Ci really belonged to, but he hadn’t.

Because he knew Alarna. Knew she was probably recording. Knew she’d use anything she could get her hands on to twist the narrative, to trap Jian Ci in a corner he couldn’t escape from. So he had swallowed it. Swallowed the jealousy, the ache and the bitterness.

And now, he couldn’t even look at him. Jian Ci waited. But Yu Xi didn’t answer, didn’t move or even blink. Jian Ci sat back, defeated. The silence between them stretched, thick and heavy.