Tl: Hua

Chapter 46

Ji Xuan and Pei Yingye successfully passed through security using their false identities. No one noticed that two unwelcome guests had slipped onto Seraphina.

The hatch closed slowly, and the starship departed the spaceport. Seraphina became a lonely island in the universe, no longer bound by order.

The air was thick with a cloying fragrance. The scents of champagne and cigars mixed together. Combined with the fragmented light refracting from the crystal chandeliers and the elegant silhouettes of the guests, it created a dream of debauchery.

After a brief rest in their room, the two headed to the core area of the ship.

Seraphina Casino was located on the middle deck, adjacent to the bars and restaurants. It was the most crowded place on the ship. According to the clues provided by Aslan, this should be the first place Zakun would head after boarding.

The lights in the casino were dim, with all brightness greedily concentrated on the gambling tables covered in dark green velvet. Cigar smoke drifted in thin, pale veils, appearing a dreamy blue when swept by the light.

Ji Xuan’s appearance drew quite a few looks the moment he entered. However, since everyone on board was either wealthy or noble, no one knew his background and dared not risk offending him. He remained deaf to the murmurs, the crisp clinking of chips, and the whirring of the roulette wheel. His dark eyes, like stagnant water in the dim light, swept listlessly over the tables. Then, as if finding a suitable place to settle, he lazily hooked a finger behind him and strolled toward a Texas Hold’em[1] table currently in play.

He didn’t join. He simply sat in an empty spot nearby, sinking his entire body into the soft sofa.

Zakun was sitting diagonally in front of him. The spot Ji Xuan had carefully chosen was exactly where Zakun would see him whenever he looked up.

Sure enough, as soon as he sat down, Zakun cast a seemingly casual glance over while flipping his cards.

A new face.

Zakun flipped his cards back down.

Ji Xuan kept his eyes lowered, propping his chin with one hand, looking utterly bored as if everything here was beneath him and nothing could pique his desire.

After watching for a while, he lazily raised a hand and reached behind his shoulder.

Pei Yingye stepped forward, his tall frame looming over both Ji Xuan and the sofa. With a practiced motion, he pulled a cigarette case from his coat, selected a slender cigarette, and placed it, reverently and gently, between Ji Xuan’s open fingertips.

Though his movements were respectful, his hand grazed the inside of Ji Xuan’s wrist as he withdrew, perhaps by accident, perhaps by design.

Fortunately, Ji Xuan didn’t seem to care.

Immediately after, Pei Yingye leaned down and, with a “click,” lit a lighter.

A ghostly blue flame leaped up, illuminating his defiant, restless eyes and Ji Xuan’s indifferent, disinterested face. Pei Yingye remained leaned over, his heavy gaze landing on Ji Xuan’s open collar. Against the pale skin of his fragile neck, the multi-layered pearl necklace looked translucent. The neck cast a shadow over the pearls, and his thin chest rose and fell slightly with each breath.

Ji Xuan looked toward the game, catching the glance Zakun threw his way again. He took a drag of the cigarette from his own hand, and a milky white mist drifted from his vivid lips, lingering in the air.

As if receiving a signal, Pei Yingye suddenly straightened and backed away, though his gaze remained fixed on Ji Xuan like a wolf guarding its territory.

A very interesting scene indeed, Zakun thought.

An Omega who seemed indifferent to everything in the world, decadent and carrying a hint of dissipation, and a vicious dog whose neck he had tethered, yet who was ready to snap back at any moment.

He picked up his glass and took a sip.

Ji Xuan acted as if he didn’t feel the gaze at all, solely immersed in his own world.

The poker game proceeded to a new round of betting. The chips in front of Zakun had already piled up very high. From time to time, he cast his gaze toward Ji Xuan. The latter was finally drawn to the game; his drooping eyelids lifted, and a flicker of keen interest appeared on his face.

Thus, Zakun tapped the table, signaling a raise. The amount was quite substantial. Two of the players showed looks of difficulty; after a moment of deliberation, they chose to fold. Only Zakun and another Beta, who wore glasses and looked quite shrewd, remained at the table.

When it was the Beta’s turn to speak, he raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, while his other hand repeatedly checked his hole cards before glancing at the community cards in the center of the table. This indecisive manner did not make Zakun impatient. He leaned back comfortably in his chair, the cigar between his fingers emitting curls of smoke, looking as though victory was already in his grasp.

In this moment of stalemate, the Omega, who had been observing from the sidelines, suddenly let out a laugh.

The laughter was very light, almost melting into the surrounding indulgent sounds. It wasn’t exactly mockery; it was more like the boredom of seeing through a child’s amateur trick, yet it easily shattered the atmosphere Zakun had meticulously cultivated.

Disturbed by him, the Beta jerked his head up, meeting the lazy glance Ji Xuan cast over. He pursed his lips and curled the corners of his mouth slightly, the expression on his face seemingly saying wordlessly: He’s lying to you.

The Beta’s expression shifted, and finally, as if he had made up his mind, he turned his cards over: “I fold.”

The expression on Zakun’s face froze for an instant. He exhaled the cigar smoke, which dissipated into a pale gray curtain of mist.

He had won, but he had lost the pleasure of toying with his prey.

He pushed away the chips he had won and locked his burning gaze onto Ji Xuan: “My friend, since you understand the game so well, why not come and play a round together?”

Ji Xuan raised his hand. The cigarette held between his fingertips was not hurried to his lips; instead, it traced an arc in mid-air. The smoke lazily swirled around his exposed neck, and the pearl necklace emitted a shimmering glow under the light.

“Sure, let’s play,” he said nonchalantly.

Then, pushing himself up from the sofa, he walked toward the card table.

Only then did Zakun realize that his stature was very slender. The hem of his coat swayed slightly with his steps, brushing against his calves and stirring a faint, phantom-like breeze. His jet-black hair was smooth, like silk steeped in the night, pouring down from his shoulders, its tips brushing against his waist.

In a mere six or seven steps, the playfulness in Zakun’s eyes grew progressively intense.

He watched as Ji Xuan chose the seat furthest from him and sat down. He tapped the unextinguished cigarette in the ashtray to flick away the ash; the embers of the cigarette butt emitted a touch of decadent crimson in the dim light.

A waiter presented his chips. Without even looking, Ji Xuan pushed them onto the table at random. He maintained the same lazy posture as he had on the sofa, standing in stark contrast to the other guests sitting upright on either side.

The dealer began to distribute the cards, and the hole cards slid noiselessly in front of everyone.

Ji Xuan used his fingertips to gently lift the corner of his cards. His gaze swept over them, and he immediately set them down. There was no ripple of emotion on his face, as if he had seen nothing more than two pieces of irrelevant scrap paper.

Zakun watched him intently.

The betting began.

Ji Xuan’s play style was unpredictable. In the first few rounds, he would call one moment and fold decisively the next. Chips went in and out as if he were merely playing around, making it impossible for others to grasp his strategy.

But this sense of being out of control easily stimulated an Alpha’s desire for conquest.

A new round of community cards was dealt, and the board began to show the possibility of a flush. Zakun had a good hand; he calculated the odds and pushed out a considerable amount of chips: “Raise.”

His gaze was fixed on Ji Xuan, somewhat expectant of how he would react this round.

Ji Xuan still kept his eyes lowered, his fingertips tracing circles on the dark green velvet of the table, seemingly oblivious to the tense situation before him. Just as the people at the table speculated that he was preparing to fold, he suddenly looked up, not at Zakun, but at Pei Yingye behind him.

“I’m thirsty,” a faint sentence.

Pei Yingye turned immediately and took a glass of wine from a waiter’s tray.

Ji Xuan did not reach out to take it; instead, he beckoned him over with a hook of his finger.

All the onlookers saw was his unidentified Alpha follower quickly comply and lean closer. Pei Yingye supported the bottom of the glass with one hand while the other hand lightly rested on the back of the chair, almost encircling Ji Xuan in a possessive posture. Yet his attitude was exceptionally submissive, like a tamed wild beast; the muscles taut as he served him were beautifully defined.

The wine glass was steadily delivered to Ji Xuan’s lips. Following Pei Yingye’s hand, he lowered his head and took a small sip. The deep red wine stained his lower lip, leaving behind a trace of decadent moisture.

However, just as Ji Xuan signaled that Pei Yingye could withdraw the glass, his wrist accidentally dipped. The rim of the glass knocked against Ji Xuan’s teeth with moderate force.

“Mm…” Ji Xuan let out a muffled groan of pain.

The dark red wine spilled out, snaking down Ji Xuan’s pale jaw, soaking the pearl necklace, and blooming into a small, dark, irregular stain on the collar of his silk shirt underneath.

Ji Xuan half-covered his aching lips and looked up.

Zakun and the other players witnessed this scene; the former quirked an eyebrow subtly.

“Young Master, I…” Pei Yingye’s eyes were dark and obscure, his voice dry and raspy.

“It seems you still haven’t learned how to serve people properly.”

Ji Xuan did not flare up at him immediately. Instead, he slowly and methodically stubbed out the nearly finished cigarette in the ashtray. Then, under everyone’s gaze, he took the unfinished bottle of champagne directly from the tray of the nearby attendant.

He tilted his wrist.

The ice-cold liquid poured down Pei Yingye’s neck, instantly soaking his collar. The expensive fabric clung tightly to his bulging muscles, revealing the tattoos that spread from his shoulders to his chest in indistinct patterns. His Adam’s apple rolled violently, whether from the stimulation or something else. His rising and falling chest was outlined in a wet silhouette. The fists hanging at his sides were clenched so hard that the knuckles turned white.

“What’s this? I bought these clothes for you, and I don’t feel distressed about them; what’s with that expression?” Ji Xuan said teasingly, his low, cold voice extremely pleasant to the ear. “As for you, you’ve made me soil the outfit I meticulously chose for you. How should I punish you when we get back tonight?”

Pei Yingye didn’t dare look at him at all. He feared that with one look, he would do something impulsive and irreversible.

“Do you know your mistake?”

Pei Yingye pressed his lips together and nodded.

Only then did Ji Xuan place the emptied champagne bottle back onto the tray, producing a sharp “clink.”

“Pardon the display,” he said in that same unhurried tone. “A treasure I just got my hands on; he hasn’t been properly broken in yet.”

The interest in Zakun’s eyes grew even more intense. He watched as Ji Xuan wiped the wine from his hands; the silk handkerchief slid over every knuckle, as moving as a meticulously carved piece of art.

“Is it my turn?” He tossed the handkerchief to Pei Yingye and asked in a flat tone. Then, amidst the stunned gazes of Zakun and the other players, he pushed all his remaining chips toward the center of the table.

“All in.”

[1] Texas Hold’em is a popular variant of poker.