After I Stopped Being a Simp, My Husband Fell for Me on His Own - Chapter 18

“Why are you crying?”

Yu Yi was crying so intensely that he completely failed to notice someone opening the door and walking inside. He quickly wiped his face, but his hands were covered in orange juice. Rubbing it into his eyes only made the stinging sensation worse.

Yu Yi was so blinded by the irritation that he could not open his eyes, yet he remained stubborn. “I am not crying. Why would I be crying?” After speaking, he tilted his face upward and sniffed hard, attempting to force the tears back. He did not succeed, and the effort only made his facial features look particularly distorted.

Ji Xingxiao remained silent.

Once the stinging in his eyes had been washed away by his tears, Yu Yi pretended as if nothing had happened and stuffed a piece of orange into his mouth. This incredibly expensive orange had almost no flavor and was completely inferior to the fruit at Bai Ziqi’s birthday banquet. When he ate it along with his tears, it even tasted slightly bitter. Yu Yi began to wail loudly. “These two oranges cost me eight hundred Star Coins! Why do they taste so terrible?”

Ji Xingxiao remained silent.

“Eight hundred! For these two things! And they are not even sweet!” Yu Yi continued to howl. “Is this highway robbery? Are they swindling me of my money? Boo hoo!”

He used the situation as an excuse to vent his true sadness, and his tears began to fall once more.

Ji Xingxiao remained silent.

“Everything is so expensive! Why is living here so expensive? I can barely survive anymore.”

Ji Xingxiao watched Yu Yi, unsure if he was acting foolish again, and felt utterly speechless. Given Ji Xingxiao’s social class, he had never encountered anyone who truly could not survive because of money. Today, he was seeing it.

“Stop crying.” Seeing that Yu Yi’s wailing was growing louder, Ji Xingxiao felt a bit at a loss. He felt that he should not get involved, but Yu Yi was simply too noisy. He finally spoke. “What oranges? I will give you the money. Just stop making so much noise.”

In truth, he could have simply gone straight to his room. The dormitories at the Command Academy were built to the standards of Federal military officers, and the soundproofing was excellent.

“No.” Yu Yi looked up. His delicate face was a mess of tears and juice. He choked back a sob and said, “I will be fine after crying for a while. Go and rest. Do you not have to go to the Contaminated Zone tomorrow?”

“Yes,” Ji Xingxiao nodded. “That is correct. I need to rest early today.”

Yu Yi had reminded him that now was not the time to waste energy. This upcoming mission would require seven days of continuous work without rest. While seven days was not considered high-intensity for a high-tier Alpha like Ji Xingxiao, his professional rigor demanded that he ensure he had sufficient rest before a mission.

For a noble Alpha of his age, Ji Xingxiao had virtually no recreational activities. He was entirely focused on his studies and missions. He disliked appearing before many people, and he especially hated it when others stared at the birthmark near the corner of his eye. After speaking, he moved to walk past Yu Yi toward his room.

This was far too cold.

Yu Yi buried his face in his hands again, but he could no longer cry. He had indeed harbored a small hope that Ji Xingxiao might soften his heart and take him to the Contaminated Zone if he saw him crying. Clearly, he was dreaming.

Ji Xingxiao reached out to touch the door sensor. Just as he was about to enter, Yu Yi scrambled to his feet and called out, “Wait!”

Ji Xingxiao paused and turned back to look at him. Half of his face was shrouded in the blue light of the water wall, which made his black birthmark appear somewhat softer.

Yu Yi found himself unable to speak. He was afraid of making Ji Xingxiao angry, so he simply stood there and held out the orange in his hand. “Um, would you like some orange?”

“I do not eat them.” Ji Xingxiao looked visibly stunned. A flash of confusion crossed his face before he politely declined. “Thank you.” He turned to enter his room again.

“Wait!”

Yu Yi called out once more.

Ji Xingxiao looked at him with confusion.

“Um, are you tired today?” Yu Yi asked, trying to find something to say.

“It was average,” Ji Xingxiao frowned. “Is there something you need?”

After a day of high-intensity physical training, he was exhausted even after undergoing pulse relaxation. It was clear that he was not in a good mood.

“Nothing, it is nothing.” Yu Yi was intimidated by his sour expression and did not dare to say more.

Ji Xingxiao said nothing else and entered his room.

“Wait!”

Just as the door was about to close, Yu Yi shouted one last time. Unfortunately, the door had already shut completely. A look of disappointment washed over Yu Yi’s face. It was as if the closing door represented the end of his last hope. He let out a heavy sigh.

One hundred and eighty thousand. Where was he supposed to get one hundred and eighty thousand? At the thought of this, his nose stung, and his tears began to fall again.

“What exactly is the matter with you?”

Ji Xingxiao’s voice suddenly rang out. He was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, looking at Yu Yi with impatience.

Yu Yi looked up blankly. His face was covered in half-dried tear tracks. Although he did not want to notice, the light reflected off the two prominent, crooked streaks on his face.

“I, it is just,” Yu Yi spoke softly. “About the Contaminated Zone, can you?”

“I have already told you,” Ji Xingxiao’s expression changed instantly.

“I know! I was just asking! I did not mean anything else! If you do not want me to ask, I will not ask anymore! Just pretend I was talking nonsense! I am going to take a shower now!” Yu Yi spoke these words rapidly without pausing for breath. Once finished, he turned around with a stiff, military-like posture and headed toward the bathroom.

After a moment of silence, Ji Xingxiao’s voice came from behind him, sounding slightly perplexed. “Are you crying over something like that?”

Yu Yi stiffened. “No, I am not.” He did not dare to turn around, yet he did not want to let go of this faint opportunity that seemed to be flashing before his eyes. He grabbed onto it. “What if I am?”

Ji Xingxiao seemed to let out a short, soft laugh behind him. “You are lucky. One of the guys does not want to go.”

Yu Yi froze. He quickly realized what Ji Xingxiao meant. “Does that mean you agree?”

Ji Xingxiao did not speak. He tilted his head slightly. The deep blue gemstone on the communicator hidden in his dark hair flashed for a moment as it connected. There was a faint beep from the other side.

“Hello? I am currently practicing! I am on my fourth set of three hundred push-ups. Do not rush me.” Qin Feng was panting on the other end. The sound of rhythmic machinery from the weight training equipment could be heard. “I promise that my endurance will meet the standard before tomorrow, okay?”

Qin Feng was not a student of the Command Academy; he belonged to the neighboring Combat Academy. He had known Ji Xingxiao since childhood. Although he was not a very serious person, his abilities were decent. Like Ji Xingxiao, he possessed water-based abilities and could assist Ji Xingxiao in completing missions, so they had remained partners. With special permission, Qin Feng spent almost all of his time in Ji Xingxiao’s private training room outside of regular classes.

However, this was not what he wanted at all. He felt forced into this high-pressure lifestyle. Ji Xingxiao had been the perfect child next door since they were young, but Qin Feng was not like that!

“You do not need to go on this mission,” Ji Xingxiao said calmly.

“What?” Qin Feng’s heavy breathing stopped abruptly. “Why?”

The other end fell into silence. Qin Feng sensed some unspeakable secret within that silence. He began to shout. “No way! Are you taking that Beta from the other day? The one from that day?”

Ji Xingxiao’s silence deepened. A wordless silence was the most obvious answer.

“Taking your wife? Alright, alright.” Qin Feng’s tone immediately lightened. “You should have said so earlier. No problem, I understand.”

Even though he knew Yu Yi could not hear him, the word “wife” made Ji Xingxiao’s face feel slightly warm. He gritted his teeth and retorted, “That is not it.”

Qin Feng replied, “What? Is he the husband then?”

“Qin Feng,” Ji Xingxiao said each word slowly. His voice was cold enough to freeze the air. The water wall standing in the living room swayed a few times and made a faint cracking sound as it began to ice over. “You do not need to come here ever again.”

“You are choosing romance over your friends!” Qin Feng shouted theatrically.

However, Ji Xingxiao had already cut the communication signal cleanly. Although Qin Feng sounded dissatisfied, his expression was relaxed. He scrambled up from the floor, exhaled, and collapsed onto the sofa like an exhausted dog. He could not stop the corners of his mouth from turning up. He took a moment to offer a silent prayer for Ji Xingxiao’s fiancé. Ji Xingxiao was simply not human! The intensity of his training was not something a normal person could endure. Finally, Qin Feng was free! For over a decade, he had suffered under Ji Xingxiao’s nearly inhuman demands for perfection. Now, he was finally free!

Yu Yi had no idea about any of this. When he heard that Ji Xingxiao had kicked a teammate out for him, he wanted to hug Ji Xingxiao’s leg and call him his benefactor.

“Thank you so much. I, I can never repay you.” Yu Yi’s eyes were filled with tears and his voice was choked with emotion, but his mouth still lacked a filter. “I will dedicate my life to you, husband!”

Ji Xingxiao choked. He instinctively reached for the communicator on his ear, terrified that the connection had not been cut and that Qin Feng had heard. Fortunately, it was disconnected. He breathed a sigh of relief and then looked at Yu Yi with irritation.

“In your dreams!” Ji Xingxiao said, sounding exasperated. “If you ever dare to call me that during a mission, I will throw you directly into the Contaminated Zone. Do you understand?”

“Yes, yes, I know I was wrong.” Yu Yi nodded obediently. He raised his hand to his mouth and mimed pulling a zipper shut. Then, he spoke in a muffled voice through the cracks of his lips. “I promise to be obedient. If you do not want me to call you husband, I will definitely not call you husband!”

The repeated use of the word made Ji Xingxiao even more frantic. This guy was definitely doing it on purpose! How could someone be so shameless?

Seeing that Ji Xingxiao had not spoken for a long time, Yu Yi quickly changed his tune. “No! If you tell me to go east, I will never go west!”

At these words, Ji Xingxiao’s expression softened slightly. He scanned Yu Yi from head to toe. Yu Yi’s physical evaluation report had been sent to the Ji family before the engagement. He was a very ordinary Beta with average physical fitness and no outstanding talents.

Actually, there was one. Because his mother had been a male Beta who had given birth, Yu Yi’s reproductive chamber had not degenerated as much as those of other Betas. While it was not as easy for him to conceive as an Omega, he had a high fertility rate for a Beta.

How exactly was that considered an advantage?

At the thought of this, Ji Xingxiao suddenly looked away and refused to think about it any further. It was clearly too late for intensive training. Ji Xingxiao could only teach him the most basic safety protocols. As for the rest.

“Follow me closely tomorrow. Maintain total silence throughout the process. Unless there is an emergency, stay inside the safety pod until the mission is over.” Ji Xingxiao said coldly, “I do not require you to do anything, and you must not touch any equipment. Do you understand?”

It was truly a free ride. Yu Yi nodded silently. “I understand.”

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