Obsessed with a High-Ranking Esper (BL)-Chapter 246: Where have you been

Yu Xi lounged by the poolside, the sun warm against his skin. He wore a pair of shorts, sunglasses perched lazily on his head, his posture relaxed but his thoughts anything but. Beside him, Xiaobao sat cross-legged on her chair, a book in hand, occasionally sipping from her glass of juice with the calm precision of someone who had no worries at all.

But Yu Xi hadn’t seen Jian Ci all day. He didn’t see him at breakfast or their room. When he asked Jian Rui, he had only shaken his head. Jian Wei, half amused and half annoyed, had muttered, "Not since I kicked him out of my room."

The words had stuck with Yu Xi. He thought Jian Ci was avoiding him, but why? Last night, had he been that excessive? They had changed in front of each other countless times before, so why was Jian Ci acting as though Yu Xi had violated some invisible boundary?

Yu Xi’s chest tightened with unease. He wanted to go look for him, but what would he even ask? Should he confront him directly? And if he didn’t like the answer... then what?

He sighed, long and heavy, the sound carrying his frustration.

"Stop sighing," Xiaobao said suddenly, lowering her book. "You are making me feel anxious."

Yu Xi turned to her, brow furrowed. "How is me sighing making you anxious?"

Xiaobao set her juice down, her gaze sharp. She was just about to respond when a shadow fell across the poolside. She and Yu Xi both looked up, their gazes meeting a new face.

The man was tall, strikingly handsome, with long curly hair cascading down his back. His shorts clung scandalously low, barely concealing anything, and his smile carried the kind of confidence that made Xiaobao instantly bristle.

"Can I join you?" he asked smoothly.

Yu Xi’s expression hardened. "She is a minor. Get lost."

Xiaobao glanced at her brother, her eyes narrowing as though to say, let me refuse him myself.

But the man only smiled wider. "No, no, you misunderstand. I meant you. I would like to get to know you."

Xiaobao blinked, momentarily speechless. "...." Then she snapped, "Where on my brother do you see the traits of a guide?"

The young man chuckled. "I didn’t mistake him. I know he’s an esper. I like espers, especially ones as handsome as you."

Yu Xi slid his sunglasses up, his patience thinning. He was about to tune the man out, to dismiss him outright, when suddenly Jian Ci appeared like a phantom in the night, his presence sharp and commanding.

"Well well well," Jian Ci drawled, smirking, though his eyes flashed with warning. "Look who it is."

The young man stiffened. This was lord Archon Virel-Morne’s son, Jasper. His timing was far too interesting to be coincidence.

"Oh, his highness the tenth," Jasper said, feigning surprise. "I didn’t expect you to be here."

Jian Ci’s smirk deepened, his tone edged with steel. "If you knew my movements, then I wouldn’t be a prince, would I?"

Jasper’s lips twitched, the mask of charm faltering for just a moment. The air between them thickened, charged with unspoken history and the promise of conflict.

Jian Ci was like one of those princes you couldn’t invite anywhere. He was too sharp, too unpredictable and too protected by his brothers like a precious treasure locked away. Jasper had never had the chance to mess with him before, but now the opportunity had presented itself. Still, at this moment, Jasper’s attention was fixed elsewhere, on the esper whose view he was blocking.

"As much as I would like to entertain you," Jasper drawled, his smile dripping with charm, "I am busy right now talking to this lovely young man over here."

His gaze slid to Yu Xi, expression openly seductive. Yu Xi met the blatant look without flinching, pulling down his sunglasses with deliberate calm.

Jian Ci’s annoyance spiked, but he restrained himself, his voice deceptively light. "Little Xi, do you want to talk to him?"

Yu Xi’s reply was immediate, flat. "Nope."

Jian Ci’s smirk sharpened. "You heard him. Now get lost."

Jasper blinked, a flicker of surprise crossing his face. He hadn’t expected them to know each other. From afar, he had been watching Yu Xi’s every move, intrigued his charm. When he asked a waiter about him, the man had said he didn’t know much about him.

But Jasper had no scruples. He openly dated espers, flaunting it without shame. His mother had long since grown tired of yelling at him. As long as he married a guide in the future, she let him play his games. And now, who would have thought his next prey was tied to the camp of cowardly prince, Jian Rui?

"I will see you around, Little Xi," Jasper said smoothly, his tone laced with provocation.

Jian Ci’s jaw tightened, his teeth grinding. This was deliberate, a challenge thrown in his face. But he couldn’t fight here, not openly. He had other ways to deal with Jasper, ways that didn’t require his own hand.

His smirk lingered, but his eyes burned with an unmistakable threat.

Yu Xi tilted his head back against the lounge chair, his sunglasses catching the light as he watched Jian Ci’s back. Jasper was gone, but the tension lingered like a shadow.

"Now you decide to show up," Xiaobao said sharply, lowering her juice. "Where have you been?"

Jian Ci smiled, unbothered. "It’s good to see you too." His gaze shifted immediately to Yu Xi, his tone softening. "I want to take you somewhere. You want to come with me?"

Xiaobao cut in before Yu Xi could answer. "He is busy."

Jian Ci ignored her, eyes fixed on Yu Xi. "Little Xi."

Yu Xi adjusted his sunglasses, his voice calm. "What she said."

"Oh, come on, please," Jian Ci pressed, his smile turning boyish. "I have been planning this all day."

"If he goes, I go too," Xiaobao declared, her smug grin daring him to argue.

Jian Ci looked at her like she was deliberately ruining his plans, his jaw tightening. Xiaobao’s grin widened, triumphant until Yu Xi spoke.

"Didn’t you say you wanted to go on a science expedition? Why don’t you take Jian Wei with you?"

Jian Ci blinked, then smirked. "Oh, that’s right. You’d better catch up with him."

Xiaobao swore under her breath as she stood, realizing what was going on.