The White Moonlight is Both Competitive and Predatory - Chapter 11

“Did you suffer from insomnia again last night?”

The touch was fleeting. The brief contact fell somewhere between impulsiveness and restraint, leaving Yan Chi no time to react.

His eyelashes trembled unconsciously. They felt soft as they brushed against Ji Yueting’s fingertips. Both men paused simultaneously before pulling away and returning to their usual composure.

“It was alright. I have just had a lot of work recently, and the pressure makes it hard to sleep soundly,” Yan Chi said with a smile. From this angle, Ji Yueting could see a very small dimple on his right cheek. “I keep having dreams and waking up shortly after falling asleep, but other than that, everything is fine.”

“Is there a soothing perfume for that?” Ji Yueting stared at the dimple, feeling a slight itch in his fingertips again.

Yan Chi stood up. His hair, stirred by the draft, fluttered like a butterfly. “Yes, but it is not very useful for me. I am probably too used to those scents, so I have become immune to them.”

As he spoke, he absentmindedly touched the skin under his eyes. “Are the dark circles very obvious? Do I look like I have no energy?” He always checked his appearance before leaving in the morning and remembered looking fine in the mirror earlier.

“They are not very obvious,” Ji Yueting said. “A business partner gave me some soothing tea recently. I will bring some for you next time.”

“It is a long way to drive out to the suburbs.” Yan Chi was not used to troubling others.

Ji Yueting asked with a laugh, “Is your home off limits? I am talking about the security guard.”

Yan Chi’s eyes widened, but he quickly realized there was no need to be nervous. It was normal for friends to visit each other. Furthermore, it was not as if Ji Yueting had never been to his place. Even though he had only reached the downstairs area back then, he was practically a regular visitor.

“It is not off limits,” Yan Chi muttered as he looked away. “Stop constantly slandering me. That is the second time today.”

As they grew familiar and the distance between them closed, their way of speaking naturally shifted. Yan Chi was not as cold and unapproachable as he appeared on the surface. Anyone close to him knew he was down to earth, liked to joke, and could be quite children-like in his innocence when being serious.

Ji Yueting immediately admitted his mistake. “My fault. I apologize to Teacher Xiao Chi.”

The two stood at the entrance for a while. The staff inside the studio peeked out, quietly observing the situation. Seeing their boss teasing a cat and chatting happily with someone, they felt as if they were facing a great enemy. Sweating and anxious, a single question arose in everyone’s mind. Who is this guy?

The assistants, perfumers, and operations staff all exchanged looks and signals.

“Who is that? How is he so close to the boss?”

“No idea. I have never seen him before. Wait, he is wearing a suppressant patch. Is he an Alpha?”

“Ugh, can I say it? The way he smiles is so suspicious. Does he have feelings for the boss?”

“Nonsense! Have you ever met anyone who does not have feelings for Teacher Yan?”

Qin Siming, the only one who knew some of the inside story, held a dropper and felt quietly annoyed. He wondered if this guy was in the construction business. Why was he here walking a cat? He wondered if he wanted to build a house here too, or if he was trying to bribe the boss with a cat.

“Qin Siming.”

Yan Chi’s cold voice snapped him back to reality. “Here!”

“The dropper. Do not squeeze it, or it will drip.” Yan Chi had a bit of an obsession with cleanliness and frowned slightly. “Are the new samples finished?”

Qin Siming immediately loosened his grip, gave a sheepish laugh, and stumbled back inside.

“Do not just stay here. Let us go to my studio so Chichi can move around. I do not want him to get bored after being cooped up for so long. We can also see what scent of soothing perfume he likes.” Yan Chi moved forward, and the others instantly scattered like birds, returning to their positions as if nothing had happened.

Once they entered Yan Chi’s private studio and closed the door, the public area transformed into a private space. With two men and one cat, it was fortunate the studio was spacious. Otherwise, with Yan Chi and Ji Yueting’s long limbs, they would likely bump into each other within two steps.

Yan Chi was extremely tolerant of the kitten. He was not worried about the cat breaking the bottles and jars in the room and told Ji Yueting to open the carrier.

Chichi was indeed well behaved, or perhaps just a bit timid. He was very wary of the unfamiliar environment and sniffed around for a long time before daring to step out. Despite being called a kitten, Chichi was actually larger than he appeared in the videos. Once out of the cage, he did not dare to walk properly and instead dragged his belly slowly across the floor.

That sight truly lived up to Ji Yueting’s description of a lazy pig.

The scene was somewhat comical, and Yan Chi could not help but take several photos. He stared at the cat’s rear for a while, looking for its bells, and then asked, “Ji Yueting, is it a boy or a girl?”

Ji Yueting thought for a moment and gave a precise answer. “He is not exactly a child. He is more like a middle aged eunuch.”

Yan Chi was stunned by the answer but then laughed uncontrollably. “You are so mean. How can you bully a kitten like that?”

“Am I mean?” Ji Yueting arched an eyebrow. Seeing Chichi turn his head to shoot him a resentful look, he laughed and said, though it was unclear to whom, “That is indeed a bit mean.”

Before they arrived, Yan Chi had blended several types of soothing perfumes. He had consulted his friends in the industry for information and chosen safe materials. Since it was all perfumery work, he could blend scents for pets just as easily as for humans.

Three small bottles were lined up with a short distance between them. Yan Chi knelt down and met Chichi’s eyes. “Come on, pick the one you like.”

It took time to gather courage. Once Chichi became a bit more familiar with his surroundings, he relaxed, slowly lifted his rear, wagged his tail, and revealed two eggshells that had been deflated for years. His ears twitched as he paced between the three glass bottles before finally stopping and letting out a loud meow.

“What scent is that?” Ji Yueting asked, leaning over.

Yan Chi picked it up and sniffed it with his eyes closed. “Valerian, white rose, and a bit of tuberose.”

Ji Yueting’s expression faltered slightly.

“He seems to like it. I will make it into a small scented card so it can be hung in various places without the smell being too strong.” Yan Chi was being thorough and did not notice Ji Yueting’s reaction.

Valerian was a scent cats loved. Beyond that, Yan Chi knew that a master’s pheromone scent would influence a pet, so he had intentionally added some white rose. The tuberose served as a balancing base note and a decoration to ensure the scent was not too monotonous. It was not essential and could have been left out.

“Will the tuberose be too fragrant? If you think the scent is too strong, I can remove it,” Yan Chi asked.

Ji Yueting’s brow was high, and his eyes were shrouded in shadow. “Keep it. It smells good.”

Yan Chi might not have remembered, but on that rainy night in the car, Ji Yueting had said he liked the scent of tuberose.

“Alright, it is settled then.” With the scent decided, Yan Chi went to the desk and wrote down some notes. He wrote quickly, and his handwriting was as beautiful as he was. “Over.”

Chichi became a bit hyperactive. Once he was familiar with a place, he could not help but engage in some light parkour. Of course, due to his age and size, his movements were limited and he did not run fast. He merely thought he was being majestic while he was actually just waddling around.

Yan Chi followed the cat around while Ji Yueting watched with arms crossed, his eyes flickering. After a while, a work-related call came in. Ji Yueting gave Yan Chi a gesture and stepped out to answer it.

Although this place was called a studio, it was comparable to a small office building with complete decor and clearly defined areas. Ji Yueting walked slowly, noticing the clever design details along the way. He could tell they were all Yan Chi’s ideas.

The perfume brand Yan Chi founded was well known in the industry, not only for its unique and captivating scents but also because it was one of the few that brought the perfumer to the forefront. In major fragrance companies, there was an unwritten rule that no matter how many bestsellers were released, the creators remained anonymous. This was a form of monopoly and capitalistic arrogance. A high level perfumer could support an entire brand.

And Yan Chi, a Beta who was considered an outlier in the perfumery world, was undoubtedly the heart of this place.

Ji Yueting walked to the end of the long corridor and stopped in a deserted area. In front of him was a waist high window of a natural wood color, simple and comfortable like the one in Yan Chi’s room. He tilted his head, responding intermittently to the caller while his gaze fell on the wall to his right.

The wallpaper was a light gray leaning toward warm tones, with the brand name and logo printed in the center. Ji Yueting did not have to think twice about who had come up with the name.

“Rose Heart.”

Ji Yueting reached out and brushed his hand over the recessed English letters. His strong and aggressive Alpha pheromones surged wildly beneath the suppressant patch. As for the phone in his hand, the call had long since been disconnected.

He whispered a question. “Yan Chi, when you wrote this, who were you thinking of?”

Yan Chi was having a great time playing with the cat. He loved furry animals, especially since this was Ji Yueting’s cat.

The person who had gone out to make a call had not returned for a long time. Yan Chi looked at Chichi’s bright eyes and suddenly remembered what he had wanted to do last time but had failed.

Although it was a bit childish, Yan Chi playfully squeezed Chichi’s front paw pads and whispered, “Do you know what your master’s pheromones smell like?”

Yan Chi was focused and staring intently. The kitten did not answer, but the studio door opened at some point. The master was leaning against the door as if catching him in the act. “Why not just ask me directly?”

Yan Chi’s ears instantly turned red. He usually did not do anything bad, so why did he fail so miserably the one time he did?

“Why did you come back without making a sound?” He tried to seize the moral high ground by accusing the other person first.

Ji Yueting was not wearing much today. Compared to his usual meticulous suit, he was in casual clothes, making him look younger. His hair was unstyled, with strands falling loosely over his forehead, looking very much like he did in high school.

“Yan Chi, you are changing the subject.” He hit the mark. “So why not just ask me directly?” Ji Yueting persisted.

Having stepped out once, though Yan Chi did not know why, he felt the other man’s mood had soured slightly. He had no choice but to tell the truth. “That would be too impolite. Even though I did not have to take Alpha Omega physiology classes, I still know that much.”

“Know what?” the Alpha probed further.

Yan Chi’s cheeks puffed out, and his dimple appeared and vanished. “You cannot directly ask an Alpha or Omega what their pheromones smell like. That is being a rogue.”

“The books say that, yes. But I do not believe I ever said I would mind someone being a rogue with me,” Ji Yueting laughed. He spoke the shocking words as naturally as possible.

Yan Chi realized the man was teasing him. Ji Yueting picked up the cat from the floor and weighed it. “Now that the party involved is here, if you have questions, you should ask me. What does he know? He is just a fool.”

Chichi was displeased, annoyed, and then surrendered. The cat’s tail flicked, creating a slight breeze. Yan Chi decided to just go for it. “You said it yourself. You are not allowed to turn this back on me.”

“Okay.”

“Ji Yueting, what are your pheromones?” Yan Chi asked very quietly. Being a rogue for the first time, he lacked experience and was afraid of losing face.

Ji Yueting stared at him for two seconds before speaking. “Tuberose.”

“Okay,” Yan Chi nodded to record it, then looked up in confusion. “Wait, what?”

But Ji Yueting did not explain. He simply said, “Yan Chi, my pheromones are tuberose.”