The castle of the Marshal’s estate had stood here for centuries. Salorian slipped away from the crowd, feeling his way toward the small garden. He wasn’t familiar with this place, and tonight, most of the attendees were Alphas. He was almost overwhelmed by the assault of unfamiliar pheromones.
It was only now that he realized just how “useful” the mark Lu Heguang had left on him was it was like a sign, sparing him a great deal of trouble.
In the past, people would often approach him because of his looks. Now, in the eyes of outsiders, he was already “taken,” so no one would rudely come up to strike up a conversation anymore. Of course, some people’s gazes were still unavoidable.
Salorian glanced back in the direction of his father and older brother, silently praying they wouldn’t worry about not being able to find him. He quickened his pace toward the deserted path.
As expected, he encountered a patrol team, but they didn’t stop him for questioning. Instead, they pointed him in a direction: “Looking for the young master? He’s over there in the pavilion.”
“Ah… thank you.” Salorian felt inexplicably warm in the face. Shouldn’t Lu Heguang have kept this meeting a secret? Why did it seem like everyone knew about it?
The patrol captain watched Salorian’s retreating figure but didn’t pay much mind to his “detour.” When Mitchell was training Lu Heguang, they had been present. They held quite a bit of respect for this young master who had suddenly appeared in their eyes, the typical good student wouldn’t have been able to endure Mitchell’s training intensity, but Lu Heguang gritted his teeth and persevered.
However, his judgment of people still needed consideration.
An Omega from the Hughesman family? Lu Heguang was quite bold. Respect.
Salorian had no idea what the patrol captain was thinking. He had jogged over and felt a bit warm. Looking around and thinking there was no one here anyway, he simply took off his jacket and held it in his hand, loosened his tie, and looked up to see the garden pavilion less than ten steps away.
It was clear that the plants here were well cared for, not overgrown enough to obscure the young master’s figure. Lu Heguang was standing at the entrance of the pavilion, looking up at the sky, lost in thought.
“Senior, you’re here.” Salorian had just taken a step when Lu Heguang heard the rustle of his clothes. “Come sit over here. I brought some snacks.”
“What is this? A primary school spring outing?” Salorian walked into the pavilion and saw a handkerchief spread on the bench with two lunch boxes on it, both containing foods Salorian didn’t recognize. “What exactly do you want to say, inviting me here so late at night? I’ve already given your birthday gift to your butler along with the others.”
“Come sit first. I bet you haven’t had a chance to eat anything earlier, Senior.” Lu Heguang pulled him down to sit, placing one of the lunch boxes beside him. “Try it. I learned it from my dad. It might not taste very good.”
“If it’s not very good, why are you giving it to me?” Salorian picked up suspiciously what looked like a rolled dough, egg roll-like food and sniffed it. Surprisingly, it smelled quite fragrant.
He took a bite. The crispy pastry shell shattered at the corner of his mouth, leaving behind a scattering of crumbs. Inside was a filling of finely chopped bean curd and vegetables, still slightly warm and carrying a hint of saltiness.
“Good?” Lu Heguang picked up one himself and took a bite, looking at Salorian expectantly for his response.
The Omega hummed in acknowledgment. “What’s this called?”
“Spring rolls.” Lu Heguang finished his in a few quick bites. After confirming there was no strange burnt taste, he handed the rest to Salorian. “Eat more, senior.”
“You called me over just to feed me?”
“Of course there’s more.” Lu Heguang glanced up at the stars in the night sky. “Back in my hometown, you could see way more stars than here.”
“Country boy. There’s too much light pollution here, of course you can’t see as many.”
“The stars are still in their places, just hidden.” While Lu Heguang spoke, Salorian had already polished off two spring rolls and sampled some of the other snacks in the box. Judging by the expression on his face, Lu Heguang knew his cooking skills weren’t half bad.
Salorian set down the half-empty snack box. “Are we getting philosophical now? I’m not good at that.”
“You should learn a bit. Some people really eat that up when it comes to romance.” Lu Heguang chuckled. He got up, moved past the snack box, and sat down next to Salorian on the other side. With no distance between them now, their shoulders and knees occasionally brushed.
After surviving the rainforest battle together, Salorian had grown accustomed to such casual touches. Besides, in his mind, he never really saw himself as a typical Omega anyway. If it were any other Omega, their heart might have been fluttering wildly by now.
“What time is your date tomorrow, senior?” Lu Heguang suddenly asked, tilting his head and blinking at Salorian. “Need any help?”
“Of course not. I’m quite the experienced player myself.” Salorian snorted a laugh and picked up the last spring roll from the box. Just as he was about to take a bite, Lu Heguang grabbed his wrist. “What, not letting me eat now? I’m starving.”
“Senior, I’m taking a day off tomorrow. If anyone gives you trouble, remember to tell me.” Lu Heguang stared at the crumbs clinging to the corner of Salorian’s mouth, his thoughts unreadable, but he released his grip. Salorian took a bite, chewing half of it with his mouth full. “Taking the day off? For what? There’s the medal ceremony tomorrow. Won’t you be there as the captain?”
“I’ve already spoken to Wen Zhao. He’ll accept it on my behalf.” Lu Heguang said softly.
Salorian paused, setting down the unfinished spring roll. He cupped Lu Heguang’s face with both hands. “Hey, are you okay?”
“Hmm?”
“Sounds like you’re giving last words.”
Lu Heguang hesitated, his words caught in his throat. He clasped Salorian’s wrists. “Senior, can’t you say something more auspicious. I have other arrangements tomorrow. I’ll be back in the afternoon, but it conflicts with the ceremony, so I asked Wen Zhao to stand in for me.”
“What arrangements?”
“Personal matters.” Lu Heguang rubbed his thumb gently over Salorian’s wrist. “Senior, your hands are so smooth.”
Salorian clicked his tongue and pulled his hands free. “Let’s talk business. You didn’t call me over just for this, right?”
“Of course, I said I’d come collect my birthday gift myself.” Lu Heguang slowly rose to his feet, standing before him. A shadow suddenly fell over Salorian, whose heart gave a startled leap. The next second, a moist sensation brushed past his lips Lu Heguang had actually leaned down and licked away the crumbs at the corner of his mouth!
Before Salorian could even react in surprise, Lu Heguang earnestly pressed his own lips against his.
Logically, this should have counted as a completely unexpected forced kiss, but it was clearly Lu Heguang’s first time doing something like this. Even without moving, Salorian could feel the trembling in his lips.
This kid seemed to have no idea how to kiss at all.
Salorian had no experience either, but as a supposed “seasoned player in the game of love,” acting so awkwardly in front of his junior felt a bit embarrassing.
A sudden competitive urge, born from who knows where, made Salorian take the initiative to part Lu Heguang’s lips. A flicker of surprise flashed in the Alpha’s eyes he clearly hadn’t expected Salorian to be so proactive. The situation instantly shifted from offense to defense.
In the pavilion of the castle’s small garden, the blue-haired Alpha seemed to be crowned with moonlight as he bent down, appearing to whisper something into the Omega’s ear. Yet only the two of them knew that, at this very moment, they were locked in a childish contest.
No, it was only the prideful Salorian competing on his own.
“Se… Senior!” Though reluctant to part from his initiative, Lu Heguang, hearing Salorian’s labored breathing, quickly pulled away. Sure enough, Salorian’s face was flushed red.
Watching him gasp for air in small breaths, a sense of satisfaction rose in Lu Heguang’s heart though Salorian had tried very hard for the sake of his pride, judging by his inability to catch his breath, this was likely his first time being so intimate with someone else.
“Senior, senior,” Lu Heguang crouched before him, resting his chin on Salorian’s knees. “I really love the birthday gift you gave me.”
Not far away, it seemed Mott had come looking for him, probably sent by Fiora. Lu Heguang stood up and glanced back toward the direction of the call, then leaned down to place a kiss on top of Salorian’s head. With a bright laugh, he said, “Senior, I hope your date goes well tomorrow.”
By the time Salorian snapped back to reality and realized just what foolish thing he had done, Lu Heguang had already been gone for a while. Mitchell happened to find him then: “What are you doing here? Father is looking for you; it’s time to head back. Why do you smell like gunpowder?”
Mitchell frowned. “Did someone bring a weapon.”
“Big brother, that’s the smell of my anger.” Salorian scratched his head dejectedly. “I just did something really stupid.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. You’ve never been all that clever anyway.” Once assured his brother wasn’t hurt, Mitchell led him back, completely unaware that his offhand remark had struck a nerve.
What did he mean, ‘never been all that clever’!
Salorian followed his brother’s steps back toward the banquet hall. He couldn’t help but glance back at the pavilion under the moonlight. At some point, the lunchbox had already been cleared away by a passing servant, as if nothing had ever happened there.
The next day, Monday.
Salorian sat expressionless in the lecture hall chair, listening as the teacher on stage announced the names of the winners from the survival challenge Lu Heguang really hadn’t been lying. Since morning, not only were his belongings missing from the dorm, but even now, there was no sign of him.
He turned his head to glance at his date sitting in the same row a very sweet-looking Omega who, noticing Salorian’s gaze, waved at him eagerly.
Salorian could only offer a faint smile in return. This was a date he’d been looking forward to for so long, so why did he feel so utterly unmotivated?
It shouldn’t be like this.
The young man sighed softly just as Lu Heguang’s name was called from the podium. Hearing those three syllables, students who had caught wind of last night’s banquet at the Marshal’s residence couldn’t help but whisper among themselves. While everyone discussed the grandeur of the previous evening, someone who looked nothing like the rumored blue-haired Alpha stood up and walked onto the stage.
Wen Zhao mentally tossed Lu Heguang around three times in his mind why did that guy have to take leave today of all days!
“Is that Lu Heguang?”
“Doesn’t look like him. Is he not here?”
“Probably collecting it on his behalf.”
Salorian watched as Wen Zhao, his expression stiff, descended from the stage. Under the enthusiastic gaze of his date, Salorian quietly got up and went over to sit beside Wen Zhao. “Hey.”
“Senior Salorian.” Wen Zhao hadn’t expected him to come over. “Are you looking for Lu Heguang? He’s not here today.”
“I know, he took leave,” Salorian whispered. “Do you know what he took leave for?”