Chapter 20

Because the first episode had incorporated a great deal of footage from the trainees' initial evaluation stages, the runtime stretched to three and a half hours.

Yun Zhi started feeling his eyelids grow heavy toward the second half, but he didn't want to miss the premiere and held on until past eleven.

"I'm going to sleep. Good night, brother. Tomorrow I want to sleep in — no need to wake me." He squinted, yawned, and stood up, his words coming out a little slurred.

"Mm. Good night." Jin Zeli also rose from the sofa, and the two parted ways at the second floor corridor.

After a thoroughly luxurious bath, Yun Zhi curled up in bed and couldn't resist sneaking a peek at Weibo before sleeping. His follower count had doubled — over a million. Fang Yixing's was rising rapidly as well, nearly catching up with his.

What surprised him was that their CP fans already numbered over fifty thousand, and in the span of a few hours, over a thousand posts had gone up.

No wonder they were called shipping scholars — their capacity for manufacturing content out of thin air and their associative creativity were truly something.

That evening, 101 Days: Omega Idol Cultivation Plan had exploded onto the trending charts several times over, and the ranking for his and Fang Yixing's shared tag had climbed rapidly — #YunZhiFangYixingDivineFacesCP held a spot near the top of the trending list for several hours.

The big CP fan who had finished watching the show posted in the fan super-topic and still wasn't satisfied — they excitedly edited a compilation video of Yun Zhi and Fang Yixing's interactions and put it out, determined to let more people experience the sweetness.

The tag had originally been hanging at the bottom of the trending list, but as many viewers who had just finished the show clicked in out of curiosity and started liking and sharing, it climbed steadily upward.

Part of it was simply that both of them were so visually striking — genuinely memorable — and their skills were strong. They didn't compete or stir things up, and viewers had a universally positive impression of them.

And it had to be said — in the footage, they really did give off a tremendous amount of CP energy. Through the CP fans' re-editing, the subtle, slightly shy sweetness between them was just right — the kind that made people involuntarily recall what it felt like the first time they liked someone, that quietly buried longing that half-hoped to be discovered.

Something intangible, landing right on the spot.

Yun Zhi didn't habitually check the trending charts, and on top of that he fell asleep while replying to fan messages — he had no idea he and Fang Yixing had trended together.

He lay on his side, right hand still holding his phone, the screen casting a faint glow that stimulated his retinas.

Every few minutes, a new fan DM would arrive and the phone would buzz twice in his palm, preventing him from sinking into deep sleep.

His eyes were closed but he could still sense the changes around him.

The door handle turned twice. The sound of the lock mechanism grinding carried through. Yun Zhi was slow to register it for a second or two — and then jolted fully awake.

In an instant, the original host's words from the textbook floated up in his mind: He came into my room again last night. Even with the lock on he still gets in...

The door was locked.

Right — Yun Zhi had hesitated before sleeping, and chosen to lock it.

He was willing to trust his brother, but somewhere in his subconscious, he still didn't feel entirely safe.

The movement outside the door stopped. But Yun Zhi didn't hear any retreating footsteps.

After ten or so seconds, Yun Zhi pushed the blanket aside and got out of bed. He shuffled to the door in his slippers, opened it, and blinked when he found Jin Zeli there.

"Brother — it's you. I thought I was dreaming." He lowered his head slightly and rubbed his sleepy eyes. His eyes themselves were perfectly clear and alert.

"Did I wake you?" Jin Zeli's gaze shifted past him and settled on the door lock. There was a slight coldness in his voice.

"I wasn't sleeping that deeply." Yun Zhi followed his gaze toward the door and made an exaggerated show of realizing. "Oh, oh — sorry, brother. I've gotten used to locking my door at night in the training camp. I didn't think you'd come by. Did you need something this late?"

The sharpness in Jin Zeli's eyes softened. He gave a small smile. "Nothing in particular. I just wanted to come and check whether you'd kicked off your blanket. Go back to sleep — cover yourself properly."

Yun Zhi returned to his room and sat on the bed, staring at the door for a long while. Locking it again now would seem hard to explain — but with the door unlocked, he couldn't quite settle his heart.

He lay flat on his back, closed his eyes, and found sleep wouldn't come.

His ears couldn't help but stay fixed on the door, wondering whether his brother would come again.

Yun Zhi turned over to face the pitch-dark door, and decided to simply lie there awake until dawn.

When the first sliver of light came in through the gap in the curtains, Yun Zhi finally surrendered to exhaustion and sank into a deep sleep.

He didn't know how long had passed when a particularly obnoxious, piercing laughter jolted him awake.

"Hahahaha, where's that little parasite Yun Zhi! Don't you stop me — this is my brother's house, who are you to block me, you servant!"

"Young master Jin, the young little master doesn't like people coming to the second floor without his consent." The housekeeper stood one step below the person he had addressed as Young Master Jin, his courteous tone carrying an unmistakable warning.

"What do you mean 'people' — I'm his blood brother! Which Yun Zhi is not!"

Jin Zeyong shoved away the housekeeper's hand blocking him, dropped this sentence that shocked every servant in the villa, and barged forward.

Yun Zhi came out of his room in his pajamas and stood in the corridor, looking down at this man who made him deeply uneasy.

The man looked like a textbook spoiled rich kid — every item on his person a recognizable label at a glance. Thin, single-lidded eyes with the outer corners angled sharply upward, exuding the unmistakable air of someone not to be trifled with.

Having his identity disclosed by this person, Yun Zhi felt no anger. It was simply the truth, and besides, his brother had said that even without a blood connection they were the closest of family.

What concerned him more was the identity of the person in front of him. He had just heard the man say he was his brother's blood brother.

Did his brother have other family? Then why weren't they living together?

This villa had always seemed to be just him and his brother. Was his brother's blood relative hostile toward him because he felt Yun Zhi had usurped his place?

"Hello." Yun Zhi politely greeted him. Even if this person had a difficult temperament, he was still his brother's family.

"Tsk tsk tsk — sleeping until noon, hm? My brother really does treat you well." Jin Zeyong's tone dripped with sourness. Being looked down upon from above by an Omega of low birth doubled his irritation — but thinking of what was going to happen in a few days, he suddenly burst into laughter. "Have you enjoyed occupying my place all these years? Hm? Must feel pretty good, right?"

Yun Zhi had told himself to stay calm and polite — but hearing these abrasive words, he still found his brow furrowing. He had no desire to talk to him.

Yun Zhi gave a single nod. "Sorry — I need to go wash up first. Uncle Liu, would you please take... this gentleman to rest somewhere."

The housekeeper quickly assented. The situation was not one he could easily intervene in — the best thing to do was notify the young master as quickly as possible.

Yun Zhi turned back to his room, went into the ensuite bathroom, and scooped a handful of cold water to splash on his face and calm himself down.

So — was today's visit from his brother's blood brother just to mock him, or was he here to drive him out?

"Looking at you like this... you're not bad, actually — better than the ones outside." He didn't know when his bedroom door had been opened. Jin Zeyong was now leaning in the doorframe, his slanting eyes moving over Yun Zhi's face and then drifting to the pale skin visible in the open collar of his pajamas. His gaze went heavy, the meaning unclear.

Yun Zhi turned to look at him, water droplets falling from his lashes. His voice was cold. "I didn't invite you into my room. Please leave."

"Heh." Jin Zeyong let out a contemptuous laugh, apparently amused by the presumption.

He ignored Yun Zhi's demand and walked straight into the room, pushing into the bathroom after him.

Yun Zhi tried to get out, but was blocked. He was backed into the corner, chin up, glaring at him with fury. "What are you doing?! Even if I'm not brother's blood relative, he won't take your side if you bully me!"

"Looks like my brother made things very clean," Jin Zeyong said, eyes dropping to the Omega's alluring collarbone, something stirring in him. "He's planning to wait until the paperwork is done and then throw you out for good." A bad feeling rose in Yun Zhi's heart, and he looked up in bewilderment, eyes wide. "What do you mean..."

"My brother sent someone to the household registry office today. He's planning to remove you from the Jin family household register. What do you think that means?" He gave a wild laugh, then moved his face close to Yun Zhi's. "Though, if you're willing to let me be the first to bite after you differentiate — I could keep you on the outside. What do you say?"

Yun Zhi didn't respond for a long time.

Yun Zhi seemed to be processing for a very long time. His expression remained blank. Jin Zeyong was losing patience and was just about to lift a hand to grab his face — when Yun Zhi suddenly let out a scream from the depths of his throat. A piercing, gut-wrenching scream.

The nearby servants came running immediately.

Yun Zhi saw them arrive and raised a hand to point at Jin Zeyong. "Uncle Liu — he tried to assault me! He said he was going to mark me!"

The housekeeper sent several male servants charging into the room to drag Jin Zeyong out.

The housekeeper knew he would face severe punishment for failing to keep watch over Jin Zeyong and allowing Yun Zhi to be frightened — but his mind wasn't on that right now, because Yun Zhi's expression wasn't right. Yun Zhi had always treated him with warmth, and to him, Yun Zhi was something like a second son he had never had.

Yun Zhi was crouched on the floor, arms wrapped around his knees, his face as white as a blank sheet of paper, lips drained of color.

Afraid of startling him twice, the housekeeper didn't dare approach too closely. He lowered his voice to coax him gently. "Yun Zhi, don't be scared, don't be scared — he's gone."

After several long minutes, Yun Zhi finally opened his mouth. His voice was small and strained. "Uncle Liu, can you let me be alone for a while?"

The housekeeper withdrew. "Of course, of course — call me if you need anything. Uncle Liu will be right outside."

The door closed. Yun Zhi stared blankly into the void for quite some time before he managed to haul himself off the floor, picked up his phone, and called Fang Yixing without a second thought.

That characteristically warm, low voice came through the line. "Hello, Yun Zhi?"

Yun Zhi held the phone. The moment he heard his voice, two streams of tears rolled down his face.

He sobbed quietly. "Yixing... my brother doesn't want me anymore..."

"He's — hic — he's planning to abandon me. In a few days, he's going to throw me out of the house..."

The more he said, the sadder he felt, the tears flowing without stopping. Between his hiccupping sobs he managed: "I — I'll have nowhere to go. Can you — can you take me in for a few days..."