Lop-Eared Guard

The streets of the town lit up the night like an old painting. The dim flames flickered in the bar as the coarse and intangible singing spread afar with the sound of guitar strings. 

Ants climbed up the black bricks winding up the flower vine, arranging their feelers on the petals of the Paris daisies. 

Lu Shangjin was walking through the figures swaying to the music in the lobby of the bar, carrying expulsive pheromones as he walked up to the bar counter.

The high-grade M2 pheromones represented the occupancy of a territory by the strongest. When the group of people by the bar felt the scent of a bad aura approaching, they retreated one after another. Several of the alphas who were striking up a conversation with Yan Yi instantly withdrew their frivolous smiles and hurried aside. 

“Surprisingly, there’s an M2 alpha here.” Someone whispered from the side, “He’s set his sights on the little rabbit. It’s all over, don’t compete with the big guy for his prey…”

Lu Shangjin sat on the high stool, his hands crossed under his chin with his elbows on the bar as he watched Yan Yi carefully. 

Yan Yi stood up and lightly rubbed the ring on the ring finger of his right hand in an uneasy manner. He looked down at his white fingertips that had a touch of redness. 

“You scared all my customers away.” Yan Yi complained while looking down. 

The light was reflected on his drooping eyelashes, and a furry shadow covered the skin under his eyes. 

Lu Shangjin stared at him and subconsciously raised his hand to touch his eyelashes.

Yan Yi ducked away slightly and asked quietly, “What do you want to drink?”

The light in Lu Shangjin’s eyes darkened. Suddenly, with one hand supported by the bar, he held the back of Yan Yi’s head and pulled him over for a kiss. 

“There are customers here…!” Flustered, Yan Yi held Lu Shangjin’s chest, but was hooped by the strength of the other’s arms and pulled into his embrace, his refusing hand was grasped to prevent him from pushing Lu Shangjin away. The body that was writhing slightly from avoidance was then held down strongly by the waist. 

Lu Shangjin finally let him go. Yan Yi’s moist lips were soft and red from the kiss as he gasped for breath. 

Lu Shangjin looked like an arrogant beast after declaring “ownership of the territory”. He pursed his lips and said, “Make me a glass of whatever you like.”

He pulled out a card from his coat and pushed it to Yan Yi, “If you’re tired, you can ask for leave and not work.”

Yan Yi rubbed his lips, looking at that card that had unlimited balance, and fell into a daze.

Actually, he didn’t want Lu Shangjin’s money. He just couldn’t accept that Lu Shangjin would give things to others casually, while Yan Yi didn’t have anything. 

But when Lu Shangjin really did give it to him, he was still unhappy. It seemed that he had even lost this special point. 

I really am a contradictory rabbit. 

Yan Yi didn’t pay attention to that card anymore. He took an elegantly-shaped wine glass from the glass holder. 

Lu Shangjin admired the items of entertainment as he watched Yan Yi mix the liquor skillfully. Finally, the slender fingers pushed a glass of light-red cocktail which emitted the sweet and sour scent of cranberry. 

“Don’t I get a flower?” Lu Shangjin seemed as though he was looking at the kindergarten teacher handing out toys but skipping past him, his eyes appearing a little disappointed, “You gave one to all of them.”

Who could reject such a question? 

Yan Yi flipped over his wrist helplessly and caught a rose between his fingers before putting it into the glass. 

Every day, he had clearly arranged the carefully-selected flowers in the flower vase of the dining room for Lu Shangjin. When he stopped bringing flowers home, Lu Shangjin asked for them again. 

He was just a spoiled child. 

Lu Shangjin picked up the glass of wine to have a taste; it’s just an ordinary cocktail, but it also had the elegant taste of fine red wine. 

“Is there a name for it?” Lu Shangjin shook the glass.  

Yan Yi curved his eyes, “Christmas rose.”

There were few opportunities for such mutual dialogue. Yan Yi grew up in isolation at a training camp, and the only places he visited were the differentiation base and the Lu mansion. He really had no knowledge and experience of things. Lu Shangjin rarely asked for Yan Yi’s opinions and often made arrangements for him. 

Yan Yi was also always happy to accept them. No matter what Lu Shangjin asked, he would always answer that he liked it. 

Because at the time, his heart and eyes were full of Lu Shangjin. His world was full of black and white pixels, and only Lu Shangjin was in colour, shining with dazzling light. 

After having a taste, Lu Shangjin smiled with his eyes full of praise, “Really good. It would be better if the sweetness was lighter.” 

Yan Yi’s little rabbit ears shook and stood up before drooping back down cutely. He rubbed his fingers and said briskly, “I’ll try again.”

Lu Shangjin put the rose into his front pocket after finishing the glass, “No need, it’s really good like this too. I’d like to try something else.”

Yan Yi stared at his front pocket. It’s a pity that it’s not the rose that he brought home full of tenderness and affection every day. 

“I have other customers.” Yan Yi received money from another beta and mixed a glass of Alia Fantasy Island. The white mist of the pink and blue cocktail swirled twice between Yan Yi’s fingers before it rotated along the smooth table and slid in front of the beta. 

“Alright then.” Lu Shangjin leaned sideways against the bar. He held the rim of the empty wine glass and asked, “When did you learn how to mix drinks?”

Yan Yi was a little surprised. Lu Shangjin never cared about these trivial matters before, so there was not much they could talk about.  

Because what Yan Yi did every day were trivial matters. 

“When I was training at PBB. There’s everything at the base, and I had nothing to do after training.” Yan Yi shook the liquor blender and spoke easily, “In fact, I’ve learned some foreign languages, but it’s a pity I can’t use them, I’ve probably forgotten most of it.” 

The well-behaved and obedient lop-eared rabbit guard by his side; besides having amazing skills on the battlefield, Lu Shangjin had never really understood the many other outstanding areas that he had.

He was attracted by various other attractive omegas outside, but neglected Yan Yi beside him, inexplicably burying the small treasure. 

Lu Shangjin held onto his heart. 

Without knowing why, he thought that the little rabbit wearing a waistcoat in front of him  looked better than before. 

“What else did you learn?” Lu Shangjin was quite interested so he chatted with Yan Yi. 

“I learned some western instruments, but I don’t have much talent, so I stopped practicing after that.” Yan Yi said this. In fact, training at the base was cruel, the pain was worse than the memories. 

However, some lovely people would naturally forget about cruel things easily and were used to remembering beautiful things. 

The clock pointed to three o’clock in the morning. Gu Wei turned off the live broadcast before sprawling on the soft sofa while hugging his guitar and dozed off with his mouth open. The customers in the shop thinned, groups of twos and threes yawned wearily as they held liquor bottles. 

Yan Yi lied on the bar counter as sleepiness hit him. His little rabbit ears bounced boredly on the counter top, settling down, bouncing up, then settling down again. 

Lu Shangjin didn’t get up until the evening today, so he became the only energetic idler in the bar.

Strolling around in the bar, he found a familiar postcard on the message wall. 

He had long forgotten that he and Yan Yi had written this postcard together, so he was stunned when he saw the familiar handwriting.

‘Yan Yan, I love you until my last breath.’

Lu Shangjin pressed his fingers onto the written lines left by the ball-point pen across the white card, as though he could still feel the distant temperature from ten years ago. 

He frowned. 

It proved that the traces of youth and inexperience they once had actually remained until now. It looked like something embarrassing they did when they were young and he felt a little uncomfortable.

But Yan Yi must have remembered. 

That little rabbit liked to remember these trivial things. 

Yan Yi was lying on the bar, about to fall asleep from flinging his ears around, when suddenly he heard the faint sound of a piano. The sound was silent, but it vibrated his eardrums gently. 

Lu Shangjin was sitting in front of the grand piano in the corner, his long and slender hands with distinct joints pressing gently onto the keys. 

These hands no longer belonged to the little prince in the piano room from ten years ago. The fingers were covered with calluses from holding guns, and the back of his hands were covered with old scars, but these fingers were still jumping over the black and white keys as flexibly and simply as they did when he was a teenager. 

The tune was 《Luv Letter》 .

Gu Wei, who had always been sensitive to music, suddenly woke up. At first, when he saw Lu Shangjin sitting in front of the piano, he was very disdainful, but after listening for a while, he leaned against the wall with his guitar and his fingertips tapped to the rhythm.

Yan Yi sat up and looked at Lu Shangjin in front of the piano with his mouth slightly open. He walked over in a daze and stood beside him, listening quietly.

His eyes moistened with a layer of water. 

Lu Shangjin turned around and hooked his fingers at him, took Yan Yi’s hand, and pulled him into his arms. 

“Do you know this one?” Lu Shangjin leaned his head to the side and kissed his forehead. 

Yan Yi nodded, his hands trembling on the keys. He only pressed a note but couldn’t help sniffing. 

Lu Shangjin smiled lightly and wiped his tears. “Alright. Sit down and I’ll play it for you.” 

He played until Yan Yi fell asleep in his arms from listening. Lu Shangjin carried him gently and stood up, leaning his head on his shoulder. The little rabbit ears were squeezed until they wrinkled. 

When passing Gu Wei on the sofa, Gu Wei lowered his voice and asked, “Are you his alpha?

Lu Shangjin raised his eyebrows, “What else?”

Gu Wei leaned over to pick up the liquor bottles on the ground, speaking thoughtlessly, “He likes you so much that all his stories are related to you, it’s like he hasn’t grown up, living in a fairy tale. I don’t know if he’s stupid or cute.”

Lu Shangjin looked down at the little rabbit’s defenseless sleeping face, frowning and smiling. He carried him to the second floor, stripped his clothes and tucked him into the quilt lightly.

It was only then that his phone showed a dozen missed calls, all from his assistant. 

He had left the company for several days and had to go back.

Turning around to look at the little rabbit curled up as he slept, Lu Shangjin sat by the bed and stroked his hair.