Wei Mingjue returned to the office. By this time, the office was already empty. Liang Shu told him that Zou Yuyang had left in a hurry after soothing Wei Mingyu, and afterward, Liang Shu opened all the windows in the office before sending Wei Mingyu back to the main residence.
Even though the windows were open and people had left quite a while ago, Wei Mingjue could still smell the bitter scent belonging to another Alpha, intermingling with his younger brother’s familiar sweet scent, which made his stomach churn.
Both were Alphas, yet why was Zou Yuqing’s pheromone so addictive to him? Recalling the scent of mint he had smelled an hour ago, Wei Mingjue relaxed instantly and called Xia Fan inside.
“Xia Fan, go ahead and ask in every department’s work group at the company whether any department is short on manpower.”
It was almost time to get off work. Xia Fan had planned to have a drink with Liang Shu after leaving, but he was suddenly summoned inside. He didn’t expect Wei Mingjue to ask him to do such a thing, leaving him momentarily dazed, but he quickly replied, “The Quality Control Department and the Administrative Department are both hiring recently. Are you planning to bring someone in?”
Since he managed many affairs of the company, he could quickly think of which departments were short-staffed without needing to do extra work.
“The Administrative Department seems quite suitable. Alright, you can head off first.” Wei Mingjue did not answer Xia Fan’s question directly, instead muttering to himself after thinking for a few seconds.
Though he didn’t know what was going on, Xia Fan still nodded and stepped out. Fortunately, it hadn’t taken long, or else Liang Shu would have been kept waiting for a long time again. It had always been like this. Every time they planned to drink together, he would invariably be summoned suddenly by Wei Mingjue, leaving Liang Shu waiting for at least an hour.
Changing into a black short-sleeved shirt, Xia Fan drove to a cocktail lounge. It was a place where he and Liang Shu often met for drinks. Compared to noisy bars filled with sensual desires, they preferred quiet lounges where they could chat and drink in peace.
“Yo, did Mingjue let you out so fast today? When I got your message, I thought I’d have to drink a few glasses by myself again.” Seeing Xia Fan, Liang Shu waved and smiled at him. “What did he want with you? Was someone making trouble downstairs again?”
Xia Fan sat down and ordered a drink first, then shook his head. “No, he asked me which departments in the company are short on hands. He’s probably planning to bring a newcomer in.”
“A newcomer? I haven’t seen any new faces around him lately. He must be planning to bring that Alpha in,” Liang Shu guessed after taking a sip of his drink. “Seeing how interested Mingjue seems in that Alpha, maybe he wants to make compensation? After all, he mistook the person and did that kind of thing to him.”
“Are you talking about Zou Yuqing?” Xia Fan sat up straight, frowning as he looked at Liang Shu. “Surely not. What would he even do here?”
“What would he do? Soothe the Grim Reaper, of course. Haven’t you noticed how hooked the Grim Reaper is on Zou Yuqing’s pheromones? Besides, he naturally prefers Alphas anyway. Whatever he wants to get, he will always find a way to get it.” Liang Shu watched Xia Fan’s reaction as he spoke. “Haven’t you noticed? What is it that Mingjue wants the most right now?”
What did he want the most? Xia Fan kept his head down, his lower lip bitten hard. Of course he had noticed. Ever since that night, every time Wei Mingjue called him, it was to ask about Zou Yuqing, and he would go looking for that Alpha from time to time. Hearing Liang Shu say this now, the newcomer to be brought in was undoubtedly Zou Yuqing.
“Even if President Wei wants to, Zou Yuqing certainly wouldn’t be willing. He hates us.” With that, Xia Fan took a large, gloomy gulp of his drink. Everything was his own fault. If he hadn’t grabbed the wrong person, Wei Mingjue wouldn’t have been captivated by Zou Yuqing, and his own mood wouldn’t be this restless.
“Having followed Mingjue for so long, do you think he would give up easily? Does Zou Yuqing have any room to choose?” Liang Shu stared at the tear mole at the corner of Xia Fan’s left eye and continued. “As long as Mingjue wants it, the ending will definitely be what he wants.”
Hearing Liang Shu’s words, Xia Fan felt even more depressed. Downing the rest of his drink in one go, he asked the bartender to mix another glass, then turned his face toward Liang Shu, expressionless. “Are you interested in him too? You’ve been bringing him up this whole time.”
“Of course not, I have no interest in him whatsoever.” Liang Shu raised a hand in denial. He had kept his eyes on Xia Fan the whole time. From the very first moment he stepped into the Wei family and saw Xia Fan by Wei Mingjue’s side, his gaze had never been able to move away.
“Then let’s not talk about him. Let’s talk about your end. How is the young master doing?” Xia Fan accepted the drink handed by the bartender and took another sip.
When Xia Fan drank heavily, it didn’t show on his face, but his expression would take on a somewhat drunken daze, his peach-blossom eyes becoming watery and profoundly affectionate. Xia Fan looked somewhat fragile at moments like this. Whenever that happened, Liang Shu desperately wanted to pull the Alpha before him into his embrace, but he had no way to do so. No Alpha liked being treated like an omega, let alone when he was merely a mediocre beta.
No Alpha wanted to be embraced by a beta.
“The young master is doing fine, but I’m not doing too well.” Laughing helplessly, Liang Shu pretended to look very aggrieved. “He got scolded by the Grim Reaper and had Zou Yuyang to soothe him, but I didn’t. I can only drown my sorrows in drinks with my brother here.”
“Aren’t I the same?” Xia Fan glanced sideways at Liang Shu, watching the man five years older than him put on a pitiful act, and a faint smile curved the corners of his mouth.
“Come on! Cheers, hoping the Grim Reaper tortures us less and no more messy troubles pop up at the company.” With that, Liang Shu raised his glass and smiled at Xia Fan.
Seeing Liang Shu so enthusiastic to toast with him, Xia Fan had no choice but to raise his glass with a helpless sigh. Under the warm lighting, the glasses collided with a crisp chime. Liang Shu secretly glanced at Xia Fan, burying another day’s worth of love deep in his heart.
Meanwhile, Wei Mingjue was also drinking red wine in his room. Dressed in a black bathrobe with his hair half-dry, he sat on a high-backed chair, looking at the information about Zou Yuqing that Xia Fan had previously dug up, a gleam in his eyes.
It had truly been a long time since he had wanted someone this badly. The smile on his lips had barely begun to form when a loud commotion suddenly sounded outside the door.
Wei Mingjue reined in his unfully blossomed smile, set his red wine down on the table, rubbed his temples, and walked out of the room, only to find his disastrous younger brother up to something again.
“Wanting to go find your delicate Alpha again? Can’t you stay put even when you’re pregnant?” Wei Mingjue frowned at the shattered vase near Wei Mingyu’s feet. “And why aren’t you staying away from those broken pieces of glass?”
“Yuyang is not delicate at all.” Wei Mingyu looked a bit displeased, but because he had been terrified of his older brother lately, he lacked the courage to look Wei Mingjue in the eye.
“Hah.” Wei Mingjue let out a disdainful scoff, as if he had heard a joke. “So what are you doing right now? Not sleeping in the middle of the night and smashing things to protest, is that it?”
Watching his older brother lean against the doorframe with a deadpan expression, Wei Mingyu slowly stepped out of the broken glass pile and lowered his head. “I bumped into it by accident. I didn’t mean to do it.”
“Oh, so should I interpret this as you trying to sneak out to find him, only to accidentally smash the vase and get caught by me?” Wei Mingjue stared straight at Wei Mingyu, a cold sneer curving his lips.
That was indeed the case. Wei Mingyu had no way to defend himself, yet he didn’t want to admit fault obediently, so he raised his voice and said. “Fine, yes, I wanted to go find Yuyang, but you won’t let me out! By what right? Why is it that you can go find Yuyang’s younger brother whenever you want, but I can’t?”
Wei Mingjue didn’t expect Wei Mingyu to bring up Zou Yuqing. His brows furrowed even deeper, causing Wei Mingyu to shrink his neck back and soften his tone as he continued. “Brother, are you trying to pursue Yuyang’s younger brother? If that’s the case, actually, if Yuyang and I get married, it can solve a lot of trouble. You’ll also always have an excuse to go see him, because once Yuyang and I are married, we’ll all be family.”
Family? Wei Mingjue froze for a moment. As if a thought had suddenly struck him, his smile grew deeper and deeper. He looked at Wei Mingyu, gave a light cough, and with his expression relaxing from its sternness, said. “Stop spouting nonsense. Don’t make a fuss tonight. Just have him come here to see you tomorrow.”
Perhaps not expecting his older brother to say such a thing, Wei Mingyu was stunned for a moment. Once it registered, he dashed over to Wei Mingjue, hugged his older brother, acted spoiled to express his gratitude, and then bounced happily back to his room.
This younger brother of his must be a debt collector sent to plague him. Wei Mingjue helplessly watched his younger brother’s retreating figure, shook his head, and returned to his room to continue drinking.