Last Love chapter 24

The hot pot restaurant and Zeus were very close. The driver took a detour in the northern district, circling two blocks before turning into a secluded alley.

The sign hanging outside the second floor with the words “Du Ji Hot Pot” showed its age. Despite it being midnight, the restaurant was still bustling with customers, indicating it was a genuinely established old brand.

Han Jiangque seemed to be familiar with the owner. After a casual greeting, he handed over the ingredients in the eco-friendly bag for the kitchen staff to handle.

They ordered a split pot, and in addition to what Wen Ke had prepared, they added duck blood, beef tongue, and tripe. The ingredients were particularly fresh, and the broth was spicy and fragrant enough.

However, perhaps due to the restaurant’s popularity, the surrounding noise from the busy crowd made conversation challenging. Speaking across the table required raising one’s voice to be heard.

Given Han Jiangque’s already reserved nature, the unsuitable environment made him even more silent.

Wen Ke had another bottle of ice-cold beer, and his face turned all red from drinking.

He had never consumed so much alcohol in a single night before, and perhaps the excessive alcohol made his heart race.

When they were about to leave, Wen Ke intended to settle the bill, but the owner smiled and said, “No need, it’s an old tradition, just put it on the tab.”

The owner took the opportunity to ask Han Jiangque, “It’s rare to see you bring other friends for late-night snacks. Didn’t Xiaoyu come today?”

“Yeah, he didn’t come,” Han Jiangque nodded.

Wen Ke didn’t know who Xiaoyu was, but he vaguely felt it might be the Omega he saw at the bar.

The restaurant owner was familiar with Han Jiangque and also knew someone called Xiaoyu, but he wasn’t familiar with Wen Ke. So naturally, he referred to him as “other friends.”

Chinese is quite exquisite, and the two words “other friends” could make someone feel a bit melancholic.

When the two stood by the roadside together, perhaps having been overly excited earlier, Wen Ke’s mood inexplicably became despondent.

The time that stood between them was ten long years.

It was indeed too long.

In these ten years, it was enough for him to marry and divorce again; enough for Xu Jiale to find true love, burn love out in marriage, and then go through legal battles for custody.

During these ten years, Han Jiangque’s actions and encounters were entirely unknown to him.

It was this elusive feeling that made him despondent.

So, he wanted to talk to Han Jiangque, say many, many things, but he didn’t even know where to start. As time passed second by second, he became increasingly anxious about what to say next.

If only this moment could be infinitely extended into eternity.

“Wen Ke,” Han Jiangque spoke up, “did you drive here?”

“Ah… y-yes.” Wen Ke thought for a moment before responding slowly. Everything was too chaotic today; he even forgot about the car he had driven. However, having drunk so much alcohol, there was no way he could drive back.

“Okay, give me the car key. I’ll drive it back for you tomorrow.”

Han Jiangque’s voice was deep, and when he made such straightforward arrangements, he suddenly revealed a mature side. Even in such a small detail, it gave a sense of security.

“Alright.” Wen Ke nodded obediently.

He took out the car keys and handed them to Han Jiangque. At that moment, he suddenly wondered, was tonight going to be a farewell?

Although there was still tomorrow, he really didn’t want to part ways.

As Han Jiangque took the keys, he simultaneously held onto Wen Ke’s hand.

He didn’t look at him, facing the road ahead in silence for a while before continuing, “Wen Ke, I’ll take you home.”

“Okay,” Wen Ke suddenly felt happy.

He was like a fool, fluctuating between joy and sadness, logic entirely lost. He shook Han Jiangque’s hand, repeating again, “Okay.”

Sitting in the taxi, the journey that used to take thirty minutes felt strangely short, as if they had arrived at Sega in the blink of an eye.

Han Jiangque accompanied Wen Ke from the gate to Building B, and then to the first-floor lobby. Until they stood at the elevator entrance, with no room to move forward, he still tightly held Wen Ke’s hand without letting go.

“You…”

“Wen….”

Both spoke at the same time, then simultaneously stopped.

“… you, you go first,” Wen Ke hurriedly said.

As he spoke, there was a “ding.”

The elevator door opened in front of them. Wen Ke didn’t step in; instead, he pressed the elevator button from outside and turned to look at Han Jiangque.

Han Jiangque, with his pitch-black eyes, focused on him. After a few seconds of silence, he slowly released Wen Ke’s hand.

“Wen Ke, good night.”

“Good night.”

Wen Ke entered the elevator, also looking at Han Jiangque as he said these words.

He kept staring at the closing elevator door, never reaching out to press the floor button.

He was still wearing Han Jiangque’s suit. Wrapped in the S-rank pheromones all night, even in the pheromone-weakened period, he only felt a slight weakness, and there was no sharp pain in his reproductive organs. Yet, he still felt a bit sad.

Was this the feeling of being in love?

Strange and bittersweet.

Although they would meet again the next day, it still felt uncomfortably intense. He didn’t even want to be separated from Han Jiangque for half a second.

Even though he was approaching thirty, he had subconsciously restrained himself. However, the youthful and clingy emotions seemed to revive overnight.

Childish, clingy, unwilling to part with Han Jiangque—this was how he stood foolishly in the elevator.

Wait…

Han Jiangque’s suit!

He suddenly jerked and frantically pressed the door-open button several times.

Originally, he was waiting to rush out of the elevator and catch up. However, when the elevator door slowly opened, he was astonished to find that Han Jiangque was still standing in place.

Han Jiangque hadn’t left yet.

This realization almost made him tremble all over.

He originally wanted to say he would return the suit, but once he opened his mouth, he couldn’t control himself.

Because in that moment of eye contact, he discovered that their gazes were so similar—

Separated for a second, and they were already yearning.

“Han Jiangque, are you, are you going back tonight?” He trembled and murmured, “I miss you.”

Han Jiangque didn’t say anything. He stepped into the elevator.

Wen Ke felt his body lighten, only to realize he had been lifted up.

Han Jiangque supported his hips, pressing him against the wall, and then turned his face to deeply kiss him. This time, he was skilled, pushing his tongue into Wen Ke’s lips, unabashedly claiming his territory.

Wen Ke’s body went weak. He stretched out his hand to press the floor button before half-closing his eyes.

During the entire ascent of the elevator, they kept kissing without stopping.

There was surveillance in the elevator, but fortunately, kissing wasn’t a misdeed; it was just a bit embarrassing.

The elevator doors opened, yet they continued kissing.

Han Jiangque had been holding him all along, so Wen Ke had to wrap his legs around Han Jiangque’s waist. While they kissed, he fumbled with his pockets, trying to retrieve the keys to open the door.

They stumbled into the apartment, and then Han Jiangque almost rolled with Wen Ke onto the sofa, kissing each other messily.

Wen Ke touched Han Jiangque’s face, and his heart pounded irregularly—

In the dim shadows, this face was unbelievably handsome, with sharp eyebrows and deep eyes. The desire rendered his expression almost fierce.

It was as if the dreams of youth had suddenly descended.

Even now, he still felt a sense of distortion.

Suddenly, the dark living room suddenly brightened.

Wen Ke was startled, raising his body. Han Jiangque also turned his head.

“Oh, fuck.”

Xu Jiale walked out of the bathroom in the living room, holding an electric toothbrush. Since he wasn’t wearing glasses, he had to stare at them with squinted eyes.

His expression was quite spectacular—from a big surprise to a sudden realization, then gradually pretending as if nothing had happened. A series of changes seemed so natural.

“I didn’t see anything.”

Xu Jiale calmly put the final touch to this scene, then promptly turned off the living room lights with a snap.

Interrupted by Xu Jiale, Wen Ke’s entire face was burning.

He had never been so audacious. He was usually tepid and dull, as described by Zhuo Yuan. Although not flattering, it at least summarized his previous life.

He had never imagined that a day would come when an old friend would catch him intimately rolling on the sofa with Han Jiangque.

He snapped out of the passionate moment and almost jumped off the sofa, blushing, and said to Han Jiangque, “I—I’ll get your toiletries ready.”

Han Jiangque looked downcast and pursed his lips but didn’t say anything more.

…

Wen Ke really became like a spring-loaded giraffe.

He was undoubtedly excited. Although he tried to suppress his emotions, his actions of bouncing around the room couldn’t be concealed.

First, he carefully hung Han Jiangque’s suit, then quickly prepared overnight essentials for him.

He found toiletries for guests from the guest bathroom, chose a navy blue toothbrush and glass for Han Jiangque, and grabbed a soft white towel since the spare bath towels were used by Xu Jiale. He awkwardly instructed, “you can use my facial cleanser, toner, and shampoo. I’ll buy you new ones tomorrow during the day.”

Han Jiangque obviously didn’t mind these details, responding boredly.

In the midst of his busyness, Wen Ke suddenly thought of something. He rushed to the kitchen, boiled water from the refrigerator, and made a simple cup of milk tea, mixing it with half a cup of iced milk. Then he handed the warm cup to Han Jiangque with some anticipation.

“Try it.” Wen Ke passed the warm cup to him.

“Sweet.” Han Jiangque frowned without hesitation and pushed the cup back.

“Um, then next time, I’ll put more black tea.” Wen Ke awkwardly took it back, took a sip himself, and said, “Mainly because I was afraid that too much tea before bedtime would keep you awake.”

“I’ll go take a shower Wen.”

Han Jiangque picked up the toiletries Wen Ke had prepared. He didn’t enter the bathroom in the living room but walked straight into the bathroom inside Wen Ke’s master bedroom.

“Okay.” Wen Ke followed him and then realized he had almost followed him into the shower. He quickly retreated and said, “I’ll leave your pajamas outside.”

While Han Jiangque showered, Wen Ke continued to be busy, tidying up the bedroom.

In this apartment, there were only two bedrooms, one of which was occupied by Xu Jiale. Naturally, Han Jiangque would sleep with him.

He brought an extra blanket from the storage room, placed it on the right side of the bed, and gently patted the bed and blanket. This way, it would be softer to sleep on. Then, he remembered to bring a small succulent from the living room and put it on the bedside table on the right side.

When everything was ready, he finally sighed and sat on the bed.

Han Jiangque often came to hang out at his previous home before. Sometimes he stayed overnight, and everything was for his sake.

Whenever Han Jiangque came, although his family wasn’t wealthy, they did their best to accommodate him.

In the summer, they would go downstairs and have a big bowl of ten-yuan cold noodles, adding beef and pickled vegetables, and then chilling it with ice water. They would only eat it together when Han Jiangque arrived.

They would study together, and when they got tired, they would lie on Wen Ke’s bed at night and read martial arts novels together.

Han Jiangque’s reading speed was dreadfully slow. After Wen Ke finished a page, he had to wait for what felt like ages for Han Jiangque to turn the page. During these waiting moments, he would secretly glance at Han Jiangque’s face—

The hot night breeze would blow in through the window, lifting a strand of the youth’s dark hair, and it felt as if his heart had lifted too.

During his first year of high school, the Alphas in their class gave Han Jiangque the nickname “Han Princess,” often teasing him by calling him that.

Han Jiangque didn’t like being called that by others, which was quite understandable, as no Alpha would willingly accept such a title.

So Wen Ke never used that term either.

But sometimes, he felt that he didn’t care about how society viewed Alphas. He would treat Han Jiangque as his princess.

He would dote on him, unconsciously yet willingly.

After marrying Zhuo Yuan, Zhuo Yuan would occasionally mention Han Jiangque, carrying a hint of mockery and a tinge of nostalgia in his tone, saying, “Xiaoke, you’re not as good to me as you used to be to Han Jiangque.”

At that time, he felt truly defeated.

Why wasn’t he good enough?

He had done everything, remembering Zhuo Yuan’s preferences, his tastes, living according to Zhuo Yuan’s thoughts, but Zhuo Yuan still felt it wasn’t enough.

Until now, he seemed to finally understand.

Zhuo Yuan was once his Alpha, but with this kind of cognition and connection, he could only take care of Zhuo Yuan like he would with homework or duties.

But Han Jiangque was so different.

He was happy in front of Han Jiangque. Dancing clumsily was joyful, holding hands was joyful, kissing was joyful. Even if it was just spinning around Han Jiangque, he felt satisfied.

In this world, everyone considered AO’s marks to be so rare.

But Wen Ke suddenly thought that maybe the mark wasn’t that rare after all.

The rare one was Han Jiangque.

He was the only one who could spring him up.