The White Moonlight is Both Competitive and Predatory - Chapter 1

“Hello, would it be convenient to give me a lift?”

It was early summer. Following a rain shower, the air was humid and sticky. The studio window was halfway open; a few ivy leaves climbed along the edge of the wood-colored frame. The green mingled with pale yellow, creating a picture of quiet comfort.

Yan Chi folded his shirt sleeves up to his elbows, revealing snowy-white forearms where faint blue veins pulsed gently beneath flawless skin. He kept his head down, a scent strip held between his fingers. His long, thick lashes cast shadows, trembling slightly in the breeze.

As Yan Chi raised his arm to sniff, the shirt across his shoulders and back pulled into creases that stopped just at his waist; every fold fell perfectly into place.

“Teacher, how is this scent?” A student looked over eagerly, his palms sweating. “If you feel it is not right, I will try something else.”

Yan Chi did not give an answer immediately. Instead, he let the fragrance drift leisurely through the air for a moment before speaking. “You can adjust the proportion of tuberose; it is a bit too heavy.”

The student started, then nodded vigorously. “Understood, Teacher! I will get on it!” Heaven knew how difficult it was to get anything close to an affirmation from Yan Chi. The student had been adjusting this particular essence for over half a month; today, it had finally passed the rough cut.

At this thought, the student finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Putting down the scent strip, Yan Chi looked at the white roses in a potted plant by the window. Perhaps due to the sweltering heat, a thin layer of sweat had formed on his temples. Coincidentally, water droplets were rolling off the petals of the white roses. As Yan Chi watched, a drop fell with a patter, wetting the windowsill.

“Teacher, it is getting late. Are you heading back? The weather forecast says there will be a heavy downpour tonight. If it is inconvenient for you, I can drive you.”

The student stopped mid-sentence. His gaze lingered on Yan Chi’s face, and he found it difficult to look away. This was not an intentional offense, but rather a natural human reaction because Yan Chi was simply too beautiful.

He had never seen such a stunning Beta. In fact, he had never seen anyone this beautiful before. In his eyes, even those Omega celebrities on giant advertising screens were not a thousandth as attractive as his teacher.

“No need,” Yan Chi declined briefly. “You should head out.”

“Oh, okay!” The student was dazed. His teacher possessed a unique aura that no one else could replicate. He snapped back to his senses a beat late and stumbled his way out of the studio.

A wind chime hung at the front door, one Yan Chi had made himself. It would tinkle with a crisp, pleasant sound every time someone entered or left. A few minutes later, the chime rang.

Seeing that the student had left and the studio was empty, Yan Chi finally could not help but stretch. He sat down on a high stool by the window. He recruited one student every year; the one he took on this year had a solid foundation and a hardworking attitude. It happened that Yan Chi had recently taken on several small projects. Although the pressure was not great, the workload had increased significantly. Having a student around saved a lot of trouble, and Yan Chi was quite satisfied.

Thinking of this, he leaned over to open a drawer and rummaged through a snack basket, pulling out a bar of milk chocolate.

If his mentor from his student days were here, he would likely start shouting at the sight of it, “No! Oh my god! Baby, put it down!”

There was no other reason than the fact that milk chocolate—high in sugar and milk fat—easily leads to increased nasal mucus secretion, which dulls olfactory sensitivity. It was truly unsuitable for a professional perfumer to eat. If one absolutely had to eat chocolate, dark chocolate was the preferred choice.

But Yan Chi found dark chocolate too bitter and unpalatable; it made him frown. Thus, he would occasionally violate his mentor’s teachings and eat a piece of this “contraband” chocolate.

With no one else in the studio and the sky outside turning slightly gloomy, Yan Chi held the chocolate under his tongue. He felt it melt slowly in the warmth, subsequently releasing a sickly sweet aroma. It was delicious. Sweets stimulate dopamine secretion, which really does improve one’s mood.

Just then, the ring of a telephone sliced through the quiet air.

“Liu Muqing?” Yan Chi glanced at the caller ID but did not pick up immediately. Instead, he took a sip from his water bottle. Only after the chocolate had completely melted and he was sure his speech would be clear did he press the answer button. He was always very polite.

The call connected, and Liu Muqing’s voice rushed in frantically with a tone of disbelief. “Xiao Chi, have you heard? He is back in the country!”

“He?” Yan Chi asked, puzzled, tilting his head slightly in confusion.

Realizing late that he had not been clear, Liu Muqing immediately clarified, “It is Ji Yueting. Ji Yueting is back!”

Yan Chi’s expression suddenly froze. His hand stiffened in mid-air, unsure of how to respond.

Ji Yueting? Had he actually returned to the country? When did this happen? Was it today?

After receiving no response for a long time, Liu Muqing grew a bit anxious. He spoke up, “Hello? Xiao Chi, are you still listening?”

“Yes,” Yan Chi answered, his voice a bit hoarse.

“Xiao Chi, you… why…” Liu Muqing hesitated, as if recalling some old memories. He suddenly lowered his voice. “You could not possibly still feel something for him?”

“I do not,” Yan Chi replied with certainty this time. “I am just surprised. Why did he suddenly return? Did the Ji family not move their entire focus abroad a long time ago?”

“I am not sure about that either. To be honest, I only just heard about his return from others.”

“Others?”

Catching the underlying meaning in Yan Chi’s words, Liu Muqing’s eyelid flickered. He said, “The circle of people who used to revolve around Ji Yueting. They also said Ji Yueting lands at Haijing Airport tonight, and they have already called people together to throw him a welcome party.”

Yan Chi said nothing.

Liu Muqing continued, “Actually, it is not that strange. The Ji family still has plenty of industries domestically, after all. It has been so many years; it is normal for him to come back once.”

“Mhm.” Yan Chi sat on the high stool, swinging his legs. His gaze landed nowhere in particular.

“There is one more thing. Xiao Chi, they sent me an invitation to go, and they asked me to check if you are coming.” Liu Muqing was visibly more cautious when asking this.

From his student days to adult society, Yan Chi had never been fond of socializing. Liu Muqing was not only Yan Chi’s best friend but also the only person who knew that Yan Chi had once been infatuated with Ji Yueting during their student years.

The stirrings of puberty are hazy; past people and events are like things shrouded in mist. Since Yan Chi did not take the initiative to mention it, Liu Muqing would not ask further. But if one were to look closely, Ji Yueting was, to some extent, the “White Moonlight” in Yan Chi’s heart. He was so special and so unforgettable.

After Liu Muqing finished asking, Yan Chi pondered for a moment before finally saying, “It is not convenient for me, so I will not go.”

When Yan Chi said it was not convenient, it was not an excuse; it was the truth. A perfumer maintains a light diet and has fixed requirements to protect their senses of taste and smell. Many common foods cannot be easily consumed. As for alcohol or spicy, stimulating things, he avoided them entirely.

A few years ago, at a banquet, a young socialite had secretly added chili extract to Yan Chi’s food, wanting to see him show a different expression. However, Yan Chi had a sensitive sense of smell. Once the dish was served, he did not pick up his chopsticks, but simply asked coldly, “Who did this?”

No one spoke. After a while, that socialite spoke up with a grin, thinking it was not a big deal and that he was just playing around.

Breaking one’s own rules is one thing; someone else playing tricks is another. Regardless of the man’s status, Yan Chi splashed a glass of wine directly at him, then stood up and left the venue without a moment’s pause. Since then, he had never attended such an occasion again. Today was no exception.

Liu Muqing was not surprised by this answer. “As long as you are happy. It is just a party; it does not matter if you go or not. Oh, right, I heard you have been busy lately and recruited a new student. Is he obedient?”

“He is not bad,” Yan Chi chuckled, no longer mentioning that name buried for many years. “You go ahead. Have fun.”

“Alright then, Mr. Asparagus and Poached Shrimp, head home early tonight and be careful on the road.” Yan Chi always ate those two items; Liu Muqing had loved teasing him about it for years.

The call ended. Yan Chi pursed his lips and opened his memo to take a look. Coincidentally, his dinner for today really was asparagus and poached shrimp.

“How can someone be this boring?” Yan Chi muttered to himself. He stood up to close the window and moved the roses to the table. One-fourth of the eight-pack of milk chocolate had been devoured; Yan Chi wrapped the rest and stuffed it back into the cabinet.

Leaving work to head home, Yan Chi carried the newly developed samples and sat in the driver’s seat. The faint, sweet scent of tuberose diffused through the car, causing ripples in his originally calm heart that would not dissipate.

Ji Yueting. Had he really returned to the country? The person who was once far away might now be sitting on a plane crossing the ocean. Soon, he would have a grand welcome ceremony surrounded by a crowd. He would toast and chat with everyone, his gaze drifting without a fixed point. He would be dashing and natural, exactly as he was years ago.

Yan Chi could imagine such a scene. But what did that have to do with him? He told himself to stop thinking about it.

Stepping on the accelerator, the white Aston Martin slowly drove out. Unlike Yan Chi’s refined temperament, the car he drove had an aggressive exterior and a spacious interior. The car window rolled down, leaving a small crack. A humid, hot wind blew in, hitting Yan Chi’s pale face and brushing back the hair at his temples, fully revealing his features. His amber pupils reflected the clouds in the sky, looking as beautiful as a painting.

As a car drove past from the opposite direction, a glimpse through that narrow window gap would give anyone the illusion of seeing a breathtaking vision.

Soothing music played inside the car. Yan Chi seemed to be concentrating on driving, but in reality, his mind was quite cluttered. For the sake of peace and quiet, he had resolutely decided to locate his studio in the suburbs. However, the apartment where he currently lived was in the city, so the daily commute back and forth took up a lot of time.

The roads in this suburban area were wide, but people were scarce. If the timing was wrong, one might not encounter another car for over ten minutes. And just as the student had said, he had not been driving for long before it began to rain. Yan Chi turned on the windshield wipers, switched the lights to high beam, and, amidst his restless mood, stepped on the gas to speed forward.

After driving at the speed limit for a few minutes, a pair of hazard lights flashing through the rain curtain caught Yan Chi’s attention. He slowed down and discovered a black sedan parked by the roadside not far away. It was a black Bentley. He could not distinguish the model, but the license plate was a local Haijing one ending in 999.

Which wealthy socialite broke down here? Yan Chi took a few extra looks. He was not some warm-hearted Good Samaritan and had no intention of helping. He withdrew his gaze and was about to speed past.

At that exact moment, the Bentley’s driver-side door opened. A man looking like a chauffeur approached the Aston Martin with an umbrella, asking politely, “Sir, our car has encountered a problem. May I ask if you are going to the city? My boss has urgent business; I wonder if it would be convenient for you to give him a lift. You can ask for whatever compensation you need.”

The driver asked quite sincerely, but Yan Chi did not want to bring trouble upon himself. His index finger pressed the button to roll up the window.

“No.”

Click.

Unbeknownst to him, the rear door of the Bentley had also opened. A black umbrella extended from within and unfurled. Countless raindrops rolled and slid off the surface of the umbrella, just like the water droplets that had been held on the petals of the white roses earlier that day, falling one by one into Yan Chi’s field of vision at the exact right moment.

The man was dressed in a black formal suit, his shoulders and back broad and sturdy. Judging by his physique, he seemed to be an Alpha. The wind was strong; his tie, embroidered with a dark red pattern, fluttered. Following the upward trajectory of the black umbrella, the man’s face was fully revealed before Yan Chi.

Through the heavy curtain of rain, Yan Chi’s pupils suddenly contracted the moment they touched the man’s face.

“Ji,” Yan Chi lost his voice in astonishment.

The scent of tuberose inside the car grew stronger, overpowering that single quarter of milk chocolate and becoming cloyingly sweet.

The man, the Alpha, or perhaps the Ji Yueting who was supposed to appear at a welcome party, was currently standing in front of his car, bowing slightly with politeness.

He asked Yan Chi, “Hello, would you be able to give me a lift?”