After I Stopped Being a Simp, My Husband Fell for Me on His Own - Chapter 22

Seeing Yu Yi suddenly wither, looking as if he wished he could crawl into the crevices of the safety cabin, the three men who had been deeply immersed in gossip finally noticed the sound of Ji Xingxiao’s footsteps. They straightened up instantly, pretending to be preoccupied with checking their equipment.

Wen Ruxu muttered under his breath, “How did the signal get blocked?”

Gu Han’s eyes wandered aimlessly. “Yeah, yeah.”

Chen Yanqing chimed in, “So strange, isn’t it?”

Yu Yi did not dare to speak, let alone turn around to look at Ji Xingxiao.

The boots paired with the protective suit were specially made. To add weight, a piece of metal was embedded in the heel, making the sound of each step on the floor crisp and distinct.

The three men had already feigned business and moved away from the safety cabin. Yu Yi had nowhere to run. He sat inside like he was facing a wall, listening to Ji Xingxiao’s footsteps approaching step by step. As the sound grew clearer, he nearly reached his breaking point.

Ji Xingxiao stopped at the transparent door of the safety cabin. Even with his back turned, Yu Yi could feel a cold gaze landing on his spine.

Yu Yi’s mind raced, desperately trying to figure out how to talk his way out of this. However, Ji Xingxiao did not say a single word; he simply turned and walked away.

By the time he reappeared before the group, he had already cleaned off the blood of the Grade 2 pollutants, changed into a fresh protective suit, and sat back down in the main pilot’s seat.

On the journey back, Ji Xingxiao did not speak again until they returned to the Upper District.

After returning, Ji Xingxiao remained silent.

The moment the dormitory door closed behind them, a wall of water suddenly surged up from the floor, blocking Yu Yi and preventing him from moving forward a single inch.

Ji Xingxiao turned around and looked at him with a piercing, severe gaze.

“Explain,” he commanded.

“I, I really heard it,” Yu Yi stammered.

“I did not issue any commands. Who spoke to you?”

“I…” Yu Yi was also confused. Thinking back carefully, the voice had been familiar, yet it did not seem to belong to anyone in particular.

“Do you realize this incident is enough to charge you with the attempted murder of your teammates? If convicted, you would spend the rest of your life in prison!”

“I really did not know.” Hearing such severe consequences, Yu Yi panicked. He did not know how to begin explaining himself. “I…”

“You did not know? Then surely you know what the central inhibitor is!” Ji Xingxiao said angrily. “Is that the kind of thing you can just turn off whenever you like?”

“The inhibitor… is the inhibitor not only for the susceptibility period?” Yu Yi attempted to explain that he truly had not realized the central inhibitor was so vital to them.

As a Beta who grew up in the Lower District where 80% of the population were Betas, Yu Yi’s knowledge of inhibitors was pathetically limited, even though his father was the business chairman in charge of inhibitor distribution in the Upper District.

“Do you only know about the susceptibility period?” Ji Xingxiao narrowed his eyes. Even through the wall of water, the pressure he exerted was overwhelming.

“I,” Yu Yi spoke honestly, “I really do not know much about these things.”

Ji Xingxiao’s expression shifted from scrutiny to utter speechlessness.

Yu Yi felt lost. He was acutely aware that Ji Xingxiao had helped him. Seeing that Ji Xingxiao remained silent, he said gratefully, “Thank you for helping me hide this. I…”

“I am not helping you hide it,” Ji Xingxiao interrupted sharply. “If this matter were reported, you would be taken to the Interstellar Court the moment you stepped into the Upper District. With your current status, if you entered the Interstellar Court, it would damage the reputation of the Ji family.”

His father, Ji Feng, was currently campaigning for the position of Supreme Commander of the Federal Military District. Barring any accidents, he would become the longest-serving commander in the Central Star System.

Ji Xingxiao was meant to follow his father’s path, using ten years to complete the purification of this planet to add to his military achievements, then heading to other planets to continue missions, and finally inheriting his father’s position without any suspense.

But the Beta in front of him had disrupted his life. He simply did not want anything to go wrong. That was all.

There was one more thing he needed to clear up.

“You stayed in the Contaminated Zone alone for twenty minutes?” Ji Xingxiao had roughly calculated the time Yu Yi was away from the mecha.

“It was more than half an hour,” Yu Yi estimated. It had been too dark outside, and he had walked in the wrong direction, only managing to find his way back with great difficulty. “I could not find you guys.”

“Your body,” at this point, Ji Xingxiao turned his head away impatiently, not wanting to appear as if he cared about Yu Yi, “do you feel anything abnormal?”

Did Yu Yi expect Ji Xingxiao to care for him after doing something like that? Ji Xingxiao felt extremely irritable. But he had to ask. If this Beta died in the dormitory because of contaminated pheromones, it would be a huge hassle. Ji Xingxiao forcibly ignored the slight flicker of unease in his heart.

“No,” Yu Yi replied, shaking his head.

“Oh.” Ji Xingxiao turned away with feigned indifference. “I will continue to investigate this matter. If you have lied to me in any way…”

“I really did not lie to you,” Yu Yi said, nearly ready to swear an oath.

Ji Xingxiao gave a cold snort, slammed the door heavily, and entered his own room.

For a Beta, the pheromones in the Contaminated Zone were not that lethal. They were inherently insensitive to pheromones. Half an hour was the absolute limit. Furthermore, after returning, the purification system inside the mecha and the safety cabin would have flushed out any contaminated pheromones. Theoretically, there should be no major issues. The other team members had finished their purification, so no contaminated pheromones would remain in Yu Yi’s body.

Yu Yi stared at the closed door, dazed. He had not even been reprimanded for the nonsense he talked with the teammates.

“I really made a terrible mistake,” he thought.

Three days after the mission ended, Yu Yi received a notification on his phone that his credits had increased. He closed his phone with a complicated expression. For a moment, he could not focus on his mecha maintenance class.

He had caused a disaster, and Ji Xingxiao had covered for him. Moreover, they had not spoken for three days. Actually, it was not just that they had not spoken; he had not even seen Ji Xingxiao for three days. It was as if Ji Xingxiao had completely vanished from the dormitory. Yu Yi could not hear a single sound from behind that closed door.

Thinking of this, Yu Yi felt a sense of loss. His feelings toward Ji Xingxiao were very complex now. At least on the surface, Ji Xingxiao was his only backer in the Upper District. The Cheng family did not care whether he lived or died. If his relationship with Ji Xingxiao remained this cold, he would be kicked out of the dormitory as soon as the next semester began.

At that point, Cheng Sui would only make him return to the Lower District. Yu Yi was not willing to let that happen. During his time stubbornly staying in the Upper District, he had seen cutting-edge technology and gained a better understanding of the world. He realized his own insignificance, but he also developed a stronger desire to stay. Having seen such a world, how could he be willing to go back?

Yu Yi shifted his gaze back to the mecha fragment in his hand and sighed quietly. He would likely fail this mecha maintenance class again. Yu Yi watched listlessly as his classmates pulled out brand-new, shiny mecha fragments, while his own assignment had only been brushed with maintenance oil once and remained dull and gray.

The price of that maintenance oil made his heart ache. Classes like this were essentially just a blatant way to burn money.

“Whatever. If I fail, I fail. My credits for this semester are enough anyway,” he decided.

The priority was to ease the tension with Ji Xingxiao. Yu Yi slumped on the desk, holding the free mecha maintenance oil he had been given earlier. Only a tiny bit of azure liquid remained at the bottom. The color reminded him of the water wall Ji Xingxiao created in the dormitory using his natural ability.

Yu Yi remembered that on the first day he moved in, there were several simulation fish inside. Since he had moved in and caused Ji Xingxiao’s emotions to fluctuate several times, the fish had mostly cracked, and he had not seen anything swimming in the water wall since.

Did Ji Xingxiao put those simulation fish in there himself? He did not seem like the type, yet he apparently had such an interest.

Yu Yi thought, “Maybe I should give some simulation fish to Ji Xingxiao? They do not look very expensive.”

No sooner said than done. Yu Yi decided to start there. After class, he headed straight for the city center train and went to the supermarket. However, after a lap around the store, he did not see any simulation fish. He had to ask a shopping guide robot.

After hearing Yu Yi’s description, the robot’s eyes flashed with blue light for a moment before it answered, “You can go to the ecological supermarket on the third floor.”

When Yu Yi arrived on the third floor, he was stunned. There were indeed fish, but they were all live fish.

Yu Yi called over a guide robot. “Do you have any simulation fish? Like, fake fish?”

“Yes, please follow me.” The robot gave a small smile and led Yu Yi to a tank at the very end. Inside lay several large soft-shell turtles.

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Ji Xingxiao’s life over the past few days had not been great. The contaminated pheromones he inhaled in the Contaminated Zone had caused his susceptibility period to arrive a month early. Even injecting inhibitors afterward did not help. After taking a leave of absence, he stayed in his bedroom to rest.

Pheromones he could not fully control permeated the air. It was clearly a fresh citrus scent, but at this moment, it was so dense it smelled somewhat bitter. Ji Xingxiao forced himself to focus his attention elsewhere, but he could not stop wondering why he had helped Yu Yi hide the truth.

The primary reason was that his father was campaigning for Supreme Commander. Yet, even so, a person like Yu Yi could not influence much. By hiding it for Yu Yi now, the reputation of the Ji family would be truly affected only if the matter were exposed later.

Reporting Yu Yi’s behavior now and letting the Central Star System investigate would have been the best choice. Yu Yi might have gone to prison until the truth was found, but Ji Xingxiao would not have to endure living in the same dormitory as him, nor would he have to endure Yu Yi constantly calling him husband. He could even apply for a restraining order after Yu Yi went to prison, allowing him to stay far away from this shameless Beta forever.

But the command Yu Yi heard in the mecha was full of suspicious points. He had listened to the recordings afterward, and there was only Yu Yi’s own voice. As a commander, he should analyze things rationally rather than crudely sending Yu Yi to prison for his own benefit.

How could Yu Yi, a Beta with zero authorization, open the lock of the safety cabin? How could he accurately know the location of the control switch for the central inhibitor? All of this might be related to…

His heart suddenly gave a violent, intense thud. Ji Xingxiao could no longer think deeply. This susceptibility period came with a vengeance, far exceeding any previous instance. Even though he had injected an inhibitor three hours ago, the surging impulses within his body made it impossible to stay calm.

His pheromones were out of control. Ji Xingxiao leaned against the headboard. Beside his hand was an empty tube of inhibitor. The water glass on the nightstand had already frozen and shattered due to his uncontrolled natural ability. He was desperately trying to suppress his instincts: possession, marking.

Ji Xingxiao had always believed that Alphas were perfect beings. Whether in terms of physical strength or special abilities, they far surpassed Omegas and Betas. Except for this inescapable, primitive animal nature that seemed not to have fully evolved since ancient times.

He reached his limit and slammed his fist against the edge of the bed. The specialized metal of the bed frame withstood his violent force, but it could not withstand his natural ability. In an instant, the silver-gray metal was covered in frost. The temperature in the entire room plummeted immediately, turning it into an ice cave. Ji Xingxiao desperately used this coldness to keep himself conscious.

Knock, knock.

A knock suddenly came from the door.

“Um, are you in there?” It was Yu Yi’s voice, sounding a bit timid. “I have something I want to say.”

Yu Yi did not know what had gotten into him, but he actually bought a soft-shell turtle and brought it back. He had probably imagined a scene where a turtle swam slowly through the water wall. The image was too bizarre. But he bought it!

Only after returning home did he realize this was supposed to be an apology gift. But since he had already bought it, he was stuck. He tentatively walked to Ji Xingxiao’s silent door and knocked a few times.

“Um, are you in there? I have something I want to say.”

Before he could finish his sentence, a cold hand suddenly shot out from inside the room and grabbed his wrist. Then, with an irresistible force, he was violently dragged inside!

Bang!

Before he could react, Yu Yi’s body was slammed heavily against the cold door panel. He let out a muffled groan of pain. He looked up and slammed right into a pair of dark, clouded eyes that hid a terrifying madness.

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