Omega Manual chapter 16

Try it

“Leave you alone to freeze?” Irey’s tone lifted at the end, as if he heard something amusing. “Do you think I’m that heartless in your eyes?”

Shelley was a little angry.

“Why do you think I would definitely freeze without you? What do you take me for? As long as I make a call, a helicopter will come directly to pick me up from Nantes.”

Irey raised his arms in a gesture of surrender. “I was joking, young master, don’t take it so seriously.”

Shelley suddenly felt a bit embarrassed, feeling too childish for getting angry at Irey for a single sentence.

He wouldn’t have been like this before. It must be because he had spent too much time with Irey Halton, this street ruffian.

Irey poked at the bonfire with a stick, tossing the wrapping paper from their earlier bread into it. “I don’t have any compelling reason to leave. You pay me such a high salary; where else could I find such a good job?”

Shelley didn’t look at him, only stared at the bonfire in front of him. Irey’s coat carried a faint scent of pheromones, not strong enough, but enough to subconsciously make him feel at ease.

“But I have a quirky temper, lack common sense, and often act high and mighty,” Shelley said, “I suddenly want to drive across several continents to the snowy mountains.”

“…” Irey sat up straight, “Are you still holding grudges?”

Shelley shrugged.

“You haven’t seen what a truly quirky temper is; you’re not even close.” Irey took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it with the flame from the bonfire. “I used to have an employer who liked to spy on his wife having affairs with other people. Every weekend night, he would ask me to drive and follow them, then stop under the hotel window. I would be driving in front, and he would be masturbating behind.”

Shelley stared at Irey in astonishment.

“Some people like to abuse cats and dogs, specifically hiring me to dispose of the scattered bodies of stray cats and dogs. Some people like to smell various scents, hiring me to collect urine and feces from homeless people on the streets. And some like to Omega…” Irey didn’t continue, “This era is not short of lunatics; I’ve seen all kinds of people.”

Shelley remained silent for a while. “It seems like I paid you too much; I’m not a common employer to find.”

“You? Come on.” Irey laughed, exhaling a puff of smoke that dispersed into the cold night. “I’ve never seen such an abnormal Omega like you. Sometimes I really don’t know if you’re completely clueless or if you’ve gone crazy long ago.”

Shelley turned to look at Irey, but before he could say anything, he was choked by the smoke and coughed several times in a row.

“You—either put out the cigarette or move farther away to smoke.” Shelley said impatiently.

Irey lowered the cigarette a bit, but showed no intention of putting it out. He squinted his eyes, “Are you allergic to tobacco?”

“I just hate the smell, can’t I?” he wrinkled his nose and coughed twice again, “What’s the difference between smoking and burning paper in front of your nose? It’s choking.”

He simply couldn’t understand people who liked smoking.

Irey looked at him with a smile, “You look like you were the obedient type of student in school.”

Irey’s words made Shelley sneer; he wrinkled his nose and emphasized each word, “I attended the Nantes Noble Academy, the best school on the continent.”

“The best school didn’t have students who secretly learned to smoke?” Irey shrugged, flicking the ash off his cigarette, a small clump falling into the bonfire, “I don’t believe it.”

Shelley’s momentum waned because Irey was right.

Even in the best noble academy, there were always some “bad students.” Shelley had once seen a few students gathering in a small grove smoking. They were laughing and joking around, and there were several couples huddled together embracing.

Shelley’s first reaction, of course, was to keep his distance from these people and condemn their self-indulgent behavior. But after walking away, another small thought emerged in his mind: why were they so happy? Was happiness something so simple, something that could be obtained with just a little smoke?

As if seeing through Shelley’s thoughts, Irey’s eyes became more cunning.

“Aren’t you curious at all?” he leaned closer, whispering, “Why do so many people like this stuff that’s so irritating?”

The sudden closeness made the hairs on Shelley’s arms stand up.

Too close, so close that Irey’s low voice sounded like it was directly echoing in his ears, and the airflow from his speaking brushed against his temples, causing the strands of hair there to sway slightly.

And the smell. Different from when they argued, Irey’s pheromones now were calm and gentle, like a breeze passing through a summer sky, enveloping every sense of Shelley’s body.

Irey’s profile was illuminated by the bonfire, appearing more three-dimensional in the patches of light and shadow. A wisp of smoke curled between his fingers, then floated upward, disappearing into the pitch-black night sky.

“Do you want to give it a try?” Irey teased, his lips curling up.

Shelley felt as if he had been ensnared, lost in Irey’s deep eyes, nodding involuntarily.

But the next moment, Irey’s actions surpassed Shelley’s expectations by far. He brought the cigarette to his lips, took a drag, then leaned in and kissed Shelley.

Shelley’s mind went blank instantly, forgetting to refuse or push him away.

Body memory was clearer than mental memory; as their lips touched, many images flooded Shelley’s mind. Irey’s lips were softer than that night, his tongue more agile, quickly slipping past his lips while he was distracted, parting his closed teeth and slipping into his warm mouth.

Then, unexpectedly, a mouthful of choking smoke poured in.

Shelley pushed Irey away, coughing violently, while Irey, like a mischievous child, laughed heartily, struggling to hold onto his cigarette.

“Halton!” Shelley yelled angrily, his eyes red.

“You agreed to it yourself; I didn’t force you,” Irey said between laughs. “It was just a small kiss; why such a big reaction?”

Shelley threw the cigarette butt into the fire and stormed out of the tent.

Only then did Irey realize he might have taken the joke too far. He quickly cleared his throat and followed, “I’m sorry, boss, I didn’t mean to, just wanted to tease you… I apologize.”

Shelley ignored him, walking away without looking back. Irey took a few steps forward, trying to catch up. “Hey, are you really mad? I was just joking—”

Before he could finish his sentence, Shelley turned around abruptly. Irey stumbled, almost losing his balance, then felt something icy hit him in the face and even into his mouth.

“Ptui, ptui!” he wiped his face and realized it was a snowball. Shelley stood ahead, shoulders shaking with laughter, holding a handful of snow.

Irey looked incredulously at his mischievous boss. After wandering the world for so many years, it was the first time he had been counter-attacked like this.

“All right, all right, I apologize sincerely, can you forgive me?” He rolled up his sleeves, also grabbing some snow from the ground.

Shelley’s smile gradually faded as he took a few steps back. “Halton, I’m your boss.”

“So what?” Irey molded the snow in his hand into a ball.

“I warn you, your salary is in my hands…”

“Hmm.”

“If you dare lay a hand on me, your pay today will—”

Before Shelley could finish, Irey struck. Shelley quickly dodged, but the snowball hit his back, shattering into countless tiny fragments on his coat.

Irey didn’t give his boss a chance to catch his breath; he grabbed more snow from the ground and formed another snowball. Shelley, unwilling to admit defeat, prepared to retaliate. But his actions were always a beat slower, and he was left breathless by the onslaught.

“Halton, stop! Stop! I give up!” Shelley shouted, running until he couldn’t run anymore, finally surrendering.

Only then did Irey stop throwing snowballs, laughing as he and his boss lay on the ground covered with dry grass, catching their breath.

At that moment, the night sky seemed brighter than ever, the moon casting a blue glow, the galaxy and stars veiled in a hazy color.

White mist rose with each breath in the cold air.

“I’ll deduct half of your pay for today,” Shelley said weakly, “No, two-thirds.”

Irey chuckled, his chest heaving. “Whatever you say, boss.”

Shelley glared at him, his beautiful blue eyes filled with silent accusation. “…I’ve seen shameless people, but never someone as shameless as you.”

Irey shrugged, indifferent. “Well, now you have.”

Shelley felt both angry and amused, realizing that arguing with this man was meaningless. Irey Halton seemed to live in a world beyond his understanding, unaffected by the life experiences he had accumulated over thirty years.

The light in the corner of his vision dimmed, and Shelley sat up, patting Irey on the back. “The fire’s out.”

Irey jumped up from the snow, “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“Isn’t that your job?” Shelley raised an eyebrow.

Irey cursed under his breath, brushing off the dirt from his butt, and hurriedly went to add more wood to the fire.

Shelley watched him rush towards the tent like a rabbit, then bent his knees and looked towards the direction of the blue lake. A piece of plastic, seemingly debris from Tiancheng, drifted into the lake, its colorful banner tattered and faded, reflecting some light.

He waited until it washed ashore, revealing the blurry and broken inscription: “Beautiful New World.”