Omega Manual chapter 28

Hands Off

The bedroom door remained locked for the whole day.

A whole night passed, and Shelley didn’t hear Irey’s voice again. It was quiet outside the bedroom, with only the faint blue moonlight shining through the window.

Shelley didn’t sleep well all night, waking up several times in the middle of the night, his hand gripping the door handle, then hesitating to let go.

He suddenly regretted getting such a big house. With two doors shut, he couldn’t even hear firecrackers next door.

At around six in the morning, he heard the door of the adjacent bedroom open, followed by the sound of running water from the bathroom.

Shelley couldn’t lie still anymore, sitting up in bed with a turn and opening the door to walk out of the room.

And then he bumped straight into a soaking wet Irey, whose face and hair were dripping with water.

For a moment, a subtle awkwardness quickly spread between the two.

“Good… good morning,” Shelley almost bit his tongue with such a simple greeting.

Irey glanced at him, using his hand to push back his wet bangs, “Good morning, boss.”

Irey’s expression, his voice, were no different from usual, and his pheromone levels were normal, as if everything that happened yesterday was just a dream.

Shelley couldn’t tell if he was relieved or if his mood became more complicated.

“Waking up so early, how did you sleep last night?” Irey took a towel to wipe his face.

“And you?” Shelley hesitated to ask, “How do you feel today?”

“Very good,” Irey said, “I could eat an elephant.”

Shelley frowned, staring straight at him.

Irey suddenly smiled, not a teasing smirk or a casual grin, but an unreserved, sincere smile.

“It’s really okay, don’t worry.” he patted Shelley’s head, wet from the water, “Yesterday was probably just the influence of the environment plus drinking, I’m much better today.”

The sudden intimate contact made Shelley’s face flush, he swatted away Irey’s hand, “Speak properly, don’t touch me.”

Unexpectedly, Irey leaned in closer, like a big dog who got away with something mischievous, lowering his voice, and all the warmth from his words sprayed on Shelley’s ear, “Don’t like me touching you? Then who was it yesterday who said ‘It felt good and was comfortable from start to finish’?”

“Halton!” After a long time, Shelley was once again stunned by the shamelessness of this man.

Just two seconds ago, he was worrying about how to ease the awkward atmosphere, he was simply a fool.

Irey seized the opportunity and stood up straight before Shelley could kick him, “So, what do you want for breakfast? Let’s agree beforehand, I don’t have much money left on me, after buying so many snacks the other day, today I can only make do with vegetarian food.”

Shelley was unconsciously diverted by this, “I was just about to tell you that the new card has arrived from Nantes. How much did you spend? I’ll reimburse you later.”

Irey paused for a moment, folding the towel after wiping his face, “So, when are you planning to set off? Today?”

Shelley shook his head, “After your sensitive period passes, then we’ll talk.”

Irey smiled, “Not in a hurry to leave this time?”

“Why hurry? The mountains are still there, not going anywhere.” Shelley avoided his gaze.

“True, and you haven’t found your wallet yet,” Irey said thoughtfully.

“Why are you still thinking about that crappy wallet?” Shelley couldn’t understand his thought process, “It’s probably already burned to ashes in the garbage incinerator.”

With that, Shelley opened the refrigerator, which was empty except for half a carton of unfinished milk.

“It’s not necessarily gone. In a place like Leisau, thieves don’t just throw away resources.” Irey lit a cigarette, “I’ve seen his face already. If I see him again, I’m a hundred percent sure I can catch him.”

“…,” Shelley closed the refrigerator door, walked over, took the cigarette from Irey’s mouth, threw it into a bowl, and extinguished it.

“Hey——”

“Forget about it. I can easily buy eight hundred of those wallets.” Shelley said, “What you need to do now is to rest quietly, drink more water, and exercise less. I’ll go out to buy groceries, you just wait at home to eat.”

Irey looked surprised, but before he could say anything, Shelley suddenly approached, quickly kissed him on the cheek, as if nothing had happened, then picked up the coat hanging on the door and said, “I’m off.”

The front door of the foyer closed, Irey stood still for a long time in place, then raised his hand to touch the kissed spot, lowered his head and muttered softly, “Damn it.”

The process of buying groceries was smoother than Shelley had imagined. Perhaps it was because the beer festival had just ended, but he didn’t encounter a single Alpha on the way. He met only Betas, and even a few Omegas.

The building that used to be a supermarket had been transformed into a huge outdoor market. Cold wind seeped in through the broken walls, melting snow mixed with mud into a stinking black puddle, lying across the busy pathways.

Shelley frowned as he maneuvered through, thankful that it was winter now. If it were summer, he couldn’t imagine what this place would turn into.

Fortunately, although the hygiene conditions here were worrying, the variety of goods sold was abundant.

Or rather, excessively abundant.

Almost no normal ingredients could be found in the entire market. No rice, no flour, no vegetables familiar to Shelley. There were no chickens, ducks, cows, sheep, or pigs either. Instead, there were various coarse grains ground into powder, wild vegetables that he had never seen or recognized, and all sorts of meats that were horrifying to look at.

Snakes, sparrows, wild fish with scales shimmering blue, and dead cats and dogs lying on the stalls with their bellies slit open.

Shelley suddenly felt his stomach churn, quickly leaving the meat stall and turning his attention to various vegetables and flours he couldn’t understand.

Perhaps he had spent too long standing in front of the stall, as the vendors began to give him unfriendly glances.

“Um…”

Suddenly, a soft female voice came from behind. Shelley turned around and saw a woman carrying a baby on her back smiling at him.

The similar scent told him that the woman in front of him, like him, was an Omega.

“What would you like to do? Maybe I can give you some advice,” the woman said.

Shelley snapped out of his daze, “I… haven’t decided yet, just want to cook some home-cooked meals.”

“Do you want to try blood amaranth? It looks good and has a crunchy texture. It can be eaten after blanching, and it tastes great with sweet potato pancakes,” the woman pointed to another stall, “Or maybe blue amaranth, it’s particularly delicious for making pies. If there are two people, you can also buy some wild mushrooms, stew them or make desserts, it’s all very good, but be sure to cook them thoroughly, don’t eat them raw, they can be poisonous.”

Shelley looked at her with some surprise, nodding, “Thank you.”

The woman smiled, dimples appearing on her cheeks, “You’re welcome, it’s nothing.”

As she smiled, Shelley realized that she wasn’t as old as he had initially thought. It was just because she dressed plainly and carried a baby that he subconsciously thought this woman should be at least thirty.

But now he realized that she was young and pretty, with tight skin, probably not even twenty-five.

The woman bent down to pick a few kinds of vegetables at the stall, and when she was about to leave, the baby in her arms started to cry. She shifted the bag of vegetables to one hand, freeing the other to hold the baby, soothing it gently.

“Is it necessary for you to come out to buy groceries with such a small child?” Shelley couldn’t help but ask, “Can’t your Alpha come out to buy? Or let him take care of the child for a while…”

“Yesterday was the beer festival, he drank too much, threw up all over the place last night, and he’s still sleeping now.” The woman said in a soft voice, “Even if he’s awake, it’s impossible for an Alpha to do this kind of thing.”

Shelley was speechless, not knowing what to say.

“You must have a very good Alpha,” the woman smiled, “It’s really enviable.”

After patting the baby for a while, she stopped crying, and the woman put the baby back behind her, picked up the bag of vegetables, and left.

Shelley couldn’t take his eyes off her back until she disappeared into the gray morning mist.

Carrying the groceries, he walked back to the old house along the path.

The sun occasionally peeked out from deep within the clouds, casting its light onto the road, stretching the shadows of small stones, withered wild grass, and collapsed power poles.

Shelley unlocked the door with a key, shutting the sunlight and shadows behind him.

“Back already?” Irey’s voice rang out. “You’ve been gone so long, I thought you were lost out there.”

Shelley turned around, surprised to see Irey sitting upright on the sofa in the living room, dressed in pure white pajamas with cartoon fox patterns.

“I got delayed while grocery shopping… What are you wearing?” he asked incredulously.

Irey glanced at his pajamas. “I don’t know, found it in the wardrobe. Probably one of the Salt Dealer’s personal favorites.”

Shelley was both exasperated and amused. “What about your own clothes?”

“I accidentally dirtied them and washed them. They’re drying on the balcony,” Irey lazily replied.

“Dirtied them?”

“Spilled some milk while pouring, it’s nothing.”

Shelley furrowed his brow, sensing something amiss. He suddenly realized Irey’s voice, rather than lazy, carried a hint of exhaustion.

Setting down what he was holding, he walked straight towards Irey, pressing his palm against his forehead.

As expected, his palm was uncomfortably hot.

To better gauge the temperature difference, Shelley bent down and pressed his forehead against Irey’s.

“You have a fever,” Shelley frowned. “Since when?”

Irey swallowed, suppressing his breath, slowly exhaling the heat. “Boss, are you sure you want to keep talking to me in this position?”