Chapter 30

The one frozen by this embrace, however, was Sebastian.

It wasn't the first time Asher had embraced him.

When they were young and naive, Asher would cling to him every single day. Later, during his transition phase and mating heat, they had also shared a few embraces.

But every single one felt completely distinct compared against this once. Back then, it was soft, dazed, and carried a trace of a playful little swindler.

Although this embrace was rigid, it was conscious, active, and laced with a somewhat awkward friction of comfort.

Sebastian had never anticipated that Asher would genuinely deliver an embrace to him.

He had originally merely intended to tease his "brother," wanting to goad him a bit, yet it suddenly yielded such a colossal surprise.

Sebastian, who was habitually calm, serene, and entirely comfortable across every situation, unexpectedly found his hands and feet at a total loss for a brief moment—merely standing rigidly on the original spot while being held by an equally rigid Asher.

The potential counter-embrace and deliberate teasing he had originally calculated were completely forgotten. The palm of the hand hooking his backpack strap even seeped a thin layer of cold sweat.

Sebastian mocked himself; he truly lacked a single shred of backbone.

And the single embrace Asher had promised would release its grip instantly... refrained from releasing its grip regardless.

The posture of the embrace forced his peripheral vision to catch sight of a scar resting against the back of Sebastian’s neck.

Exceptionally, exceptionally faint—flat against the skin without a single trace of protruding tissue, its color merely a fraction more sallow compared against his naturally cold, pale skin tone. Concealed beneath the hair lines, it was completely impossible to detect without a meticulous evaluation.

"Left a scar?"

Sebastian let out a soft chuckle. "Evaluating me this meticulously, is it because you are reluctant to release your grip?"

Only then did Asher abruptly snap back to what on earth his system was executing, yanking his hands back at lightning speed before aggressively wiping his palms against his pants a couple of times with total disgust. "Who the hell is reluctant? Holding your frame feels hard and digs into my hands, uncomfortable to the absolute core. No wonder everyone prefers to hold Omegas—soft and compliant."

Sebastian squinted his narrow eyes, remarkably skilled at anchoring the principal focus. "You've held an Omega?"

Have I held one? I merely gathered the text from Elliot.

But Asher completely couldn't permit his own face to lose its proud front, stiffening his neck to let out a cold scoff: "Don't you deem that with an Alpha possessing my qualifications, refraining from holding one would be the true abnormality?"

Eleanor was an Omega, and back when Milo was eleven or twelve and hadn't presented yet, he had also held him—passable enough to count, he hadn't delivered an absolute lie.

Asher lifted his chin high into the air, yet his gaze slanted away toward an alternative location with total guilt.

Sebastian refrained from correcting his data layout, nor did he poke through his guilty front, merely nodding his head with total endorsement. "I couldn't see that our Ash was actually this romantic. No wonder you display this exact intensity even after transforming into an Omega. But at this age, packed with volatile blood, it’s remarkably normal after all."

"..."

The somewhat emphasized phrase "packed with volatile blood" relentlessly drove Asher’s memory straight back to the morning on the training field when he had developed a biological reaction toward Sebastian.

In a single flash, his face burned into a full blaze again.

As a taxi ground to a halt just in time, he pulled open the front passenger door directly to drop his weight inside, clutching his backpack as he leaned against the car window, closing his eyes to feign sleep.

Sitting in the rear seat, Sebastian tracked Asher’s flushed cheeks through the rearview mirror, a finger tapping rhythmically against the window frame of the vehicle.

Sour.

An extreme proximity of physical contact had transpired between them multiple times, several instances initiated actively by Asher himself—and Asher could still develop a biological reaction toward his frame, demonstrating that Asher far from rejected intimacy alongside him.

But this brain wiring of Asher's...

It could only be styled that a flawless individual simply didn't exist.

Sebastian believed that at this exact moment, even Asher himself completely lacked the capacity to discern whether his core system aligned as an Alpha or an Omega, whether the model he fancied tracked an Omega or an Alpha, or was merely an ordinary Beta girl.

Asher himself couldn't see it clearly, so how on earth could Sebastian claim a proper certainty? He completely couldn't count on Asher mirroring his own system—disregarding gender entirely, purely loving the individual themselves. A probability of that nature was far too microscopic; he would never allow his mind to luxuriously dream of it.

He merely feared that if, by some catastrophic fraction, he rashly voiced his true intentions and Asher turned out completely unable to accept the reality, tracking along Asher’s temper, vowing an absolute severing of ties and refraining from seeing each other until death would far from be an impossible trajectory.

Sebastian completely couldn't bear the physical loss of Asher, which was why he executed a cautious, stealthy cycle of evaluation and goading one instance after another, consistently utilizing a tiny slice of calculation to force Asher to reflect on exactly what his sensations toward his frame amounted to.

Yet he consistently shrank from taking another step past the boundary before securing a crystal-clear response.

A single embrace, a single wave of fury, a single slice of consideration—every single one would trigger a dense, needle-like prickle of pure joy within his heart, before being meticulously buried deep within his core. Only when his system tasted a drop of intense bitterness would he stealthily retrieve it to savor a sliver of sweetness—yet once the sweetness passed, the lingering aftertaste returned to a sallow, lengthy wave of sour friction regardless.

Repeating the cycle relentlessly, yet thoroughly addicted to the loop.

Desiring to possess your frame, yet terrified of losing your existence—presumably, this remains the solitary cowardice across my entire life.

Mimicking Asher's posture, Sebastian rested his head against the car window, slowly closing his eyes to listen to the autumn leaves hitting the glass surface.

His two arms and his back—the locations encircled by that embrace just a moment ago—warmed up once more.

It remained sweet.

This embrace remained sweet—sweet to an extent that allowed his system to continue loving Asher for an exceptionally, exceptionally long span of time, even if Asher was merely an absolute idiot.

The taxi ground to a halt right between the two European-style townhouses. Stepping down from opposite sides of the vehicle, each marched toward their own gate, too lazy to even voice a goodbye.

The moment Asher pushed open his front door, his eyes locked onto a woman wearing a tailored suit sitting on his living room sofa.

An impeccably tailored, high-end customized suit, hair pinned up without a single strand out of place, and an elegant, straight sitting posture.

From head to toe, she perfectly radiated the absolute, rational self-restraint engineered into the Sebastian family genetics, forming a stark contrast alongside the vivid, innocent Eleanor sitting right next to her.

Yet she remained Eleanor’s absolute best friend regardless.

Asher refrained from shutting the door. "Aunt Abigail, when on earth did you return? Do you require me to go call Sebastian?"

Abigail offered a gentle smile toward his frame. "No need. Come over and sit down quickly; Aunt Abigail has a few words she wishes to deliver to you."

Asher dropped his weight onto the seat tracking her instruction.

Abigail was a female Alpha who remained unmarried to this day. Back when they were children and the two grandfathers lacked the capacity to manage them, the Jian parents supported a relaxed raising methodology, and Sebastian’s dad was too consumed by business to step inside the gate—leaving the task of strictly disciplining the two children entirely onto Abigail's shoulders.

Therefore, both Asher and Sebastian respected her immensely.

Refraining from discussing the two children, even Sebastian’s dad strictly had to yield to his younger sister across multiple fronts on regular days.

A female Alpha who could support half the commercial heavens was bound to be an individual who completely couldn't be underestimated—gentle yet dominant, elegant yet entirely stubborn. Once she locked onto a matter, not a single soul could shake her determination. Sebastian had grown up right beside her frame since childhood, collecting no shortage of her influence; though she was styled his aunt, she differed little compared against an actual mother in reality.

Asher could virtually reach absolute certainty that the matter Abigail desired to discuss alongside him was tied to Sebastian.

Sure enough, Abigail extended her hand to gently smooth the forehead hair that had turned messy due to him resting his head against the car window. "Just returned alongside Sebbie, right?"

"The military camp concluded, several friends went to execute a team meal."

Abigail nodded her head with total satisfaction. "I originally harbored a worry that he would experience a sallow discomfort upon returning, stripped of friends, alongside the fact that transferring from humanities to science tracks might compromise his academic performance. Yet catching wind of the reality that he secured rank one across two exams and currently possesses friends to execute a team meal alongside, my heart relaxes completely. Otherwise, when his dad initiates an interrogation down the line, I truly wouldn't know how to deliver a proper justification."

Asher swiftly anchored the principal focus. "Down the line?"

"Exactly, down the line. Because at this exact moment, his dad is still executing an inspection across the Great Northwest, completely stripped of awareness regarding this matter." Abigail smiled as she took a shallow sip of her tea, exactly as if she were detailing a matter of absolute relaxation.

"..."

The three members of the Jian family froze completely on the spot.

They had originally found it bizarre how on earth an astute, archaic individual like Elder Sebastian could possibly grant his consent to Sebastian’s wild manipulation. It turned out the man was completely blanketed from the reality, stripped of a single shred of awareness?

Then the moment he catches wind of the text down the line, wouldn't the opposite townhouse experience an earth-shattering eruption?

Picturing the pair of aunt and nephew locking their deadpan faces to launch an absolute battle against each other, Eleanor’s hand clutching her teacup shook slightly. "How on earth do the two of you execute whatever random thought hits your minds?"

Abigail remained perfectly serene. "It’s far from being a random thought. From the very start, Sebbie desired to learn science; it was merely my brother who calculated to have him step into politics, resolutely filling his track with humanities. But Sebbie desperately wanted to transform into a physician, delivering an application for assistance straight to my frame. You children possess the awareness regarding Sebbie's stubborn temper—once he locks onto a matter, it completely cannot be yanked back. He initiated self-study of the science track back in the second semester of junior year, stealthily enrolling in tutoring programs, before dedicating his entire summer break to intensive camp training—executing absolutely nothing except mastering the science track. I also possess the awareness that he desires to inherit his dad's legacy, alongside the reality that my brother genuinely owes a profound debt to his dad, so I granted my absolute consent."

A ripple touched Asher’s heart. "Then if a transfer from humanities to science was desired, why on earth did he strictly have to transfer back to Southaven? Although the uniform national examination papers are utilized nowadays, the early-admission resources are far superior after all."

Abigail cast her eyelids low, letting out a flat smile. "Who knows? He merely stated he harbored a deep anchor of concern within Southaven, wanting to return to take a look. As fate would have it, his grandfather’s health has been sallow over the past two years and he missed him intensely, so his grandfather and I blanketed my brother to yank him back here. Even when my brother catches wind of the text down the line, across four members of the household, he alone occupies the enemy track—could he possibly trigger an earth-shattering chaos?"

With Elder Sebastian and Abigail present, an eruption was definitively impossible to sustain. But Sebastian’s anchor of concern within Southaven... what on earth was it supposed to be?

Asher felt his brain was a fraction dysfunctional recently, consistently failing to reach absolute clarity across matters.

Refraining from waiting for his mind to settle down to untangle the lines, Abigail continued in a warm voice: "Autumn has arrived. Sebastian’s Omega dad’s memorial anniversary is about to hit, and Sebastian’s eighteenth adulthood milestone is also approaching fast. Yet his grandfather is resting in the countryside, his dad is stranded in the Northwest, and I strictly must depart in a brief moment—leaving him completely alone in the house. Therefore, my purpose for stepping inside the gate today is to deliver an application for assistance: can you look after Sebastian a bit, accompanying his frame, ensuring this eighteenth milestone of his refrains from turning out far too miserable?"

Eleanor couldn't hold herself back, delivering a gentle complaint. "I completely cannot comprehend what cosmic matter could possibly justify a child being stripped of a single family member to accompany his adulthood milestone. The members of your household truly are far too cold-hearted. If this were our Ash reaching adulthood, I could scale the heavens to pluck the stars down for his frame."

Abigail refrained from throwing a tantrum, her voice peaceful and gentle. "There is zero alternative; not every single child possesses an excellent fortune mirroring Ash's. Furthermore, Sebastian might not necessarily desire to complete the milestone alongside our frames anyway. I evaluate that since childhood, Sebastian merely displays a fraction of heightened joy whenever he stays enclosed alongside Ash. Therefore, I desperately want to request Ash to accompany Sebastian more—except I lack clarity regarding whether Ash willingly consents."

There was no telling exactly what occurred; a young master possessing prominent authority and wealth was abruptly transformed into a pitiful, tragic child across their dialogue lines.

Described with this much misery, even if Asher were entirely unwilling and possessed a heart of absolute iron, he could only grant his consent—and besides, he was far from being unwilling.

Back during the military camp, the thought had already crossed his mind: autumn had arrived, and it was time to purchase a bouquet of lisianthuses once more.

Yet before he could open his mouth, Eleanor had already accepted the task on his behalf: "Accompany him, he strictly must accompany him! You lack the awareness of exactly how excellent the relationship between our Ash and Sebastian is right now—essentially inseparable, sharing every single pace, glued together through thick and thin!"

Asher: "..."

To that extent?

He wanted to remind his mother that idioms completely couldn't be weaponized with this much random distortion. Yet enclosed right between two forty-year-old women, he simply lacked the absolute right to hold a voice. Thus, uttering not a single syllable, the matter was set in stone along that exact trajectory.

Following a highly vibrant send-off for Abigail, Eleanor pulled a glistening black card straight out from her wallet, stuffing it into Asher's palm. "Son, take it to spend—spend it at your absolute pleasure. Purchase whatever model you desire to purchase, consume whatever food you desire to consume. Completely cannot permit Sebastian to suffer a single fraction of an uncomfortable restriction!"

A black card boasting a massive monthly threshold; was Eleanor calculating to have him purchase a Ferrari to serve as an adulthood gift for Sebastian, letting him drive straight onto the highway?

Unnecessary—thoroughly unnecessary.

Asher refrained from accepting it. "Mom, this action of yours crosses the line into absolute exaggeration. Just casually transferring ten or twenty thousand to my card is more than enough."

Eleanor refused to yield. "How on earth could ten or twenty thousand suffice? Nowadays, purchasing a pair of discontinued sneakers outmatches ten or twenty thousand by a wide margin. How can your system lack a single shred of heart? What if Sebastian calculates that our household treats his frame poorly down the line?"

Asher: "?"

"Take it! Strictly must take it! This is far from being a matter concerning your frame alone; this represents the collective heart of our entire household, do you comprehend?"

Arthur’s absolute baseline for existence was: whatever text Eleanor delivered was the absolute command.

Thus, he also joined the track to persuade him: "Since it's handed over, just hold onto it; it's not as if a command is firmly in place forcing you to completely drain the balance. A child like Sebastian merely looks glamorous on the surface; although he excels across every front, his lifestyle has proceeded with absolute cold loneliness since childhood. If our household refrains from treating his frame a fraction better, would we match the heavy blow he sustained to the back of his head for your sake back then? Can your heart process the debt cleanly?"

"..."

Asher was stripped of a single counter-word, forced to accept the card.

For some unknown reason, he consistently felt the attitude displayed by Eleanor and Arthur turned out exceptionally bizarre—perfectly mimicking the elderly couple from a television drama who broke their brains worrying over their own silly son, their minds entirely focused on pleasing the daughter-in-law out of a sheer terror that she would bolt alongside someone else.

Probably, possibly, individuals who were silly and packed with excess funds were all cut from this exact cloth anyway.

Launching an internal text blow against his own parents, Asher returned to his room.

Tossing his backpack aside, he dropped onto his bed, pulling out his phone to sink into deep thought right right before the two dates highlighted across his calendar.

September 13: Sebastian’s Omega dad’s memorial anniversary.

September 15: Sebastian’s birthday.

He still committed to memory the autumn twelve years ago, when he accompanied Sebastian to place a phone call to his Omega dad who was stationed a far distance away.

Sebastian, who clearly still possessed a milky, childlike voice, insisted on putting on the front of a mini-adult—informing his dad with absolute gravity that if his dad was consumed by tasks, refraining from returning was perfectly fine; Sebastian could consume the cake entirely on his own.

The moment a gentle voice drifted over from the other end of the line stating that a flight would be taken to return tomorrow, the mini-adult Sebastian ultimately failed to hold down his childlike nature after all—embracing the little Asher with total delight as they bounced and spun around in a relentless cycle.

Yet in the end, he still failed to secure his dad's return.

His dad, to protect another minor child, departed from the mini-adult Sebastian's existence.

From that moment forth, not a single soul remained to gently accompany him across the spring, summer, autumn, and winter of the unfolding years.

At that juncture, the little Asher had told Sebastian, 'Don't be miserable. Since you are stripped of a dad, from this day forth, I’ll be your dad—call the title at your absolute pleasure, no need to be polite.'

Although it sounded exactly like he was claiming a personal benefit across the text lines right now, at the age of five, the little Asher was merely utilizing a clumsy methodology to inform Sebastian: I’ll accompany you in the future.

Across the future spring, summer, autumn, and winter, swap it out to let my frame accompany you.

Eighteen now.

Twelve years passed.

Asher braced his frame upright, digging out the massive storage container resting in the corner of his cabinet. Sitting along the edge of the bed, he stared blankly at the loose collection of items resting inside.

For some unknown reason, his heart suddenly felt a trace of sour friction. He concluded that Sebastian’s luck truly was pretty freaking sallow.

Sallow to an extent that drove his own system to want to execute a task—changing his fortune for his frame, ensuring his lifestyle following this eighteenth milestone could secure a fraction of excellent luck and heightened joy.

He scratched his head.

Pulling out his phone, he selected several individuals with whom relations were the absolute best, blasting out a generic contact text.

[When you reach your eighteenth birthday milestone, what kind of item would bring your system the absolute greatest joy upon receiving? Disregarding physical labor, disregarding time, and disregarding absolute cost.]