CHAPTER 29: XI-GE, I AM SO COLD, PLEASE WARM ME UP

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Yu Xi jolted awake, breath sharp and shallow, as if dragged from the depths of a storm. His psychic power surged like a tempest breaking free of its cage. It was wild, electric, and furious.

His eyes glowed a deep emerald, the color rich and unnatural, pupils narrowed to slits like a predator sensing danger. The air around him crackled with static, shimmering with invisible threads of force. The floor beneath his boots vibrated, humming with suppressed energy.

Jian Ci, standing by the door, felt it instantly. The wave of psychic pressure hit him like a gust of windless heat. There was no sound and no movement, just the undeniable presence of raw power. Yu Xi’s field had flared open like a blade unsheathed, unfiltered and laced with fury.

Yu Xi sat on the edge of the bed, shoulders tense, fists clenched at his sides. His breathing was steady, but his aura was anything but. It was an instinct. A reflex even.

Espers were volatile by nature, their fields often incompatible. When two interacted without regulation, the result could be catastrophic. Their minds were like charged magnets: powerful, but repelling when brought too close.

Protocol dictated that Jian Ci, a high-ranking esper, should have raised his own field, countered the threat, locked down the space, and neutralized the surge.

But he didn’t.

He stood there, unmoving, his own field dormant. Not out of negligence but he chose not to.

Jian Ci had felt that presence before, that raw, electric aura that hummed like a live wire in the air. He had sensed it before they met and he knew it was Yu Xi. But seeing it fully unleashed, watching the surge of power ripple through the room like a storm breaking, left him breathless.

Those emerald eyes, fierce and narrowed to slits, glowed with a predator’s precision. And all Jian Ci could think, absurdly and inappropriately, was how badly he wanted to ruffle Yu Xi’s hair.

To soothe him like a startled cat, fur bristled and claws drawn. The thought bloomed in his mind with startling clarity: I want to walk forward, press a hand to his head, and say it’s alright. Not to subdue him but to comfort him.

The psychic pressure intensified. Jian Ci’s own field stirred, instinctively responding to the threat. But he held it back, let the tension coil inside him like a breath he refused to release.

Then, something shifted.

Yu Xi froze, his eyes clearing from the fog. He saw Jian Ci standing by the door, startled but steady. The tension broke with a single breath.

Yu Xi’s field flickered, then collapsed inward like a tide receding. His power retreated into its shell, and what remained was an apologetic expression, quiet and vulnerable.

Jian Ci took a step forward, slow and deliberate, his posture relaxed. His voice was calm, almost amused as he said, "You look like you are about to set the ship on fire."

Yu Xi’s lips parted, but no words came. The glow in his eyes had faded, but the tension still clung to his shoulders. Jian Ci smiled, soft and strange, like he was watching a kitten hiss at its own reflection. "I just came to wake you up, so we can have breakfast before we dock."

Yu Xi rubbed his forehead, the remnants of adrenaline still buzzing faintly in his veins. "Sorry. I was startled."

He lay back down, exhaling slowly. Jian Ci tilted his head. "You want to sleep some more?"

"No, not really. I will get ready," Yu Xi said, beginning to get up.

But Jian Ci moved first, climbing onto the bed and flopping down beside him, effectively halting his escape. "We can sleep a little longer. Ten more minutes."

Yu Xi blinked. "Aren’t you going back to your own bed?"

"It’s only ten more minutes. Come on, Yu Xi, let me stay."

Yu Xi, still on his back, shifted slightly to give him space. "Do you sleep with other Espers too?"

Jian Ci, curled on his side, grinned. "No. Just you. What, don’t you feel flattered?"

Yu Xi chuckled. "No. Why should I feel flattered with a big man taking half my bed?"

"Oh oh," Jian Ci said dramatically, shifting his voice into a soft, syrupy imitation. "So you prefer a smaller guide calling out, Xi-ge, I am so cold, please warm me up..."

He fluttered his lashes and put on the saddest puppy dog eyes he could muster, his expression so exaggerated it bordered on theatrical. Yu Xi stared at him, bemused, lips twitching with restrained laughter.

"You are so weird," Yu Xi muttered, shoving him gently.

Jian Ci laughed, unbothered, and moved his hand away from Yu Xi’s chest. He rolled onto his side, settling into the bed like it was his own, eyes fluttering shut with a content sigh.

Yu Xi turned his head slightly, gaze drifting to the face beside him. Their noses were nearly touching just like in the dream. The memory made his heart skip. He wanted to say, I prefer it be you in my bed than some guide, but the words caught in his throat, too heavy to release.

Instead, he looked away and asked, "Are you really sleeping?"

"Yes," Jian Ci replied, voice muffled by the pillow.

Yu Xi smiled faintly and stared at the ceiling, listening to the soft rhythm of Jian Ci’s breathing. It brushed against his ear, feather-light, and an itch spread down his spine to his toes.

Ten minutes passed, then twenty, but neither of them moved.

Jian Rui walked briskly down the corridor. He was looking for Jian Ci, but when he reached his brother’s cabin and found the door ajar with no one inside, he paused. A quiet hunch tugged at him. He turned and made his way to Yu Xi’s cabin. The door was slightly open.

Inside, Jian Ci lay sprawled on Yu Xi’s bed, utterly relaxed, like this was routine. His limbs draped with careless ease, his breathing slow and even. Jian Rui froze in the doorway, watching the scene with a strange look on his face.

Jian Ci had been small when their mother was taken from them. Even then, he hadn’t shared a bed with his brothers. He had wiped his tears in silence and curled up alone, refusing comfort even when Jian Wei had offered to stay with him. Jian Ci had always been like that.

Yet here he was, nestled against Yu Xi like he belonged there.

Jian Rui leaned against the doorframe and said softly, "Ah-Ci."

Jian Ci responded with a sleepy hum, "Mm," and tightened his arms around Yu Xi.

Yu Xi had opened his eyes the moment Jian Rui arrived, but he didn’t move. Jian Ci’s embrace was gentle, but it made his whole body stiffen, breath caught in his throat. He didn’t know what to do with the warmth pressed against him, or the quiet vulnerability it carried.