Obsessed with a High-Ranking Esper (BL)-Chapter 197: Yu Xi’s playboy status

His words rang with finality, but it was the look in his eyes that made Alarna’s stomach twist. He wasn’t just angry. He was done.

Jian Ci turned on his heel. "I need to study. Go back alone."

Alarna stood frozen as he walked away, the distance between them growing with every step. She had rarely seen him this genuinely upset. The look in his eyes just now had been distant, almost hollow, like he was staring through her. Like she was a stranger or worse, a threat.

It reminded her of that night. The night he had lost control.

The night he had looked at her with that same terrifying stillness, that same quiet fury that made her feel like she was standing in front of something barely leashed.

She knew if she let him go now, he wouldn’t speak to her for two days, maybe longer.

So she reached out and grabbed his wrist. "I was wrong," she said quickly, her voice trembling just enough. "I just... I get jealous sometimes."

Jian Ci stopped. His shoulders rose and fell with a deep breath. He closed his eyes, forcing the tension out of his jaw.

"Just don’t bring that up again," he said, quieter now.

"I understand," Alarna said, nodding. "I am really sorry."

Jian Ci opened his eyes, the storm in them finally receding. "Let me take you back to your class."

She nodded again, and this time, when he walked beside her, his steps were steady. But the silence between them was heavy and she knew it would take more than an apology to lift it.

***

While Jian Ci was gone, Yu Xi waited patiently at his workbench, fingers idly tapping the edge of the console. It wasn’t that he couldn’t complete the task he could, easily. But why bother when Jian Ci was so willing to help him... and touch him in the process?

He liked the way Jian Ci leaned in close, the way his hand would brush his wrist or shoulder under the guise of instruction. He intended on taking full advantage of it.

As he waited, a shadow fell across his bench. "Team leader," came a voice, smooth and cautious. "Do you need my help?"

Yu Xi turned to see Vigil standing there, hands in his pockets, posture relaxed but eyes sharp. Over the years, Vigil had learned to tread carefully. Jian Ci had made it very clear, without ever saying a word, that any esper who got too close to Yu Xi would regret it. But for some reason, Guides never triggered that same reaction.

Vigil had noticed. And he had adapted. Yu Xi raised a brow. "You know I haven’t been your team leader in years."

Vigil sat beside him anyway. "Doesn’t matter. To me, you will always be my team leader."

Yu Xi gave him a flat look. "What exactly do you want?"

Vigil smiled, all charm and calculation. "Like I said. I want to help you."

Yu Xi scoffed, glancing back at the console. "How nice of you. But I am good."

Before Vigil could reply, a sudden commotion behind them made both of them turn.

Elias came barreling into the workshop, hair a mess, eyes wide with panic. "Where is Ci?" he cried. "Ahhh, I am about to get dumped!"

Yu Xi blinked. "What?"

Elias skidded to a stop in front of them, clutching his head. "Leane’s going to break up with me. I can feel it. She said we need to talk. Talk. That’s code for it’s over."

Yu Xi leaned back slightly. "You two fight every other week."

"This is different!" Elias wailed. "She used her calm voice. You know the one. The I am done with your nonsense voice."

Vigil looked vaguely amused. "Maybe don’t be so much nonsense, then."

Elias ignored him. "Where’s Ci? He always knows what to say. He’s like... the Leane-whisperer."

Yu Xi sighed. Elias and Leane had been together for years, but from the outside, it always looked like Elias was chasing a woman who barely tolerated him. Leane didn’t indulge his dramatics, didn’t coddle his tantrums and yet, somehow, they were still together.

Mostly because every time she threatened to leave, Elias ran to Jian Ci like a kicked puppy.

Yu Xi folded his arms. "He stepped out. He will be back soon."

Elias groaned and flopped onto the bench beside them. "I am doomed."

Yu Xi folded his arms, one brow arched as he looked at Elias. "You really think taking advice from Ci is the best thing to do?"

Elias didn’t hesitate. "Yes. His advice always works. It’s never failed me before."

Yu Xi chuckled, low and amused. "That says more about you than it does about him."

Vigil leaned back on the bench, arms stretched behind his head. "The way his relationship with Alarna is going, I wonder what kind of advice he’s giving you."

Elias shrugged. "Who else am I supposed to ask? You two are playboy central in the entire academy."

Yu Xi didn’t even bother denying it. He could have but what was the point? He had his reasons.

Every time Jian Ci had an episode he left behind marks he couldn’t explain. He had no choice but to find a scapegoat. That way if Jian Ci asked he would say, "Oh, that? My boyfriend’s a little intense." It was easier than the truth.

And so, Yu Xi became infamous. He gave Guides a chance to date him. The relationships never lasted more than two weeks. Before anything began, he would lay it out clearly that this won’t lead to anything and for them not to get their hopes up.

Some took it well but others didn’t. Some Guides were easy to break up with. It was graceful exits and polite goodbyes. Others cried, begged and accused him. But Yu Xi never wavered.

Where other Espers might have softened, might have been moved by tears, he was cold and heartless.

Jian Ci had brought it up once, concern flickering in his eyes. You change boyfriends like gloves, he had said. Don’t you think it’s too much?

Yu Xi’s answer had been simple. They didn’t have what I was looking for.

He also had rules. There was no touching and no kissing. They could hold hands in public, sit close, laugh like lovers but that was it. There was no intimacy, no real closeness. Just the illusion of it.

And yet, they still came. One would think, with such strict boundaries, no self-respecting Guide would want to date him. But most of them did. They loved the experience of being Yu Xi’s partner. They loved the attention, the status, the fleeting warmth of being chosen. They just wished he wouldn’t end it. But he always did.