Listening to Zhuang Yan’s questioning, Yue Lu finally opened his mouth to explain his difficulties: “I’m married now. I need to be responsible to you, and I need to be responsible to my wife. Once I’ve handled the matters abroad, and once I can stand on my own two feet and give you a proper status, then we can do those things, okay?”
Focus on the career before starting a family? Zhuang Yan could understand that. After all, there were plenty of Alphas like that. It seemed he had been a bit too eager to push things along.
“Fine, then I’ll reluctantly wait for you.” Zhuang Yan couldn’t exactly drug the man and force himself on him, could he?
It wasn’t that it was impossible. Although he had never “eaten” before, he did like “buffets.”
Current laws mostly protected Omegas in these matters, and what’s more, they were a legal couple. If word got out, Zhuang Yan would only gain a good reputation.
Furthermore, the longer things were dragged out, the harder it would be for Zhuang Yan to find what he wanted.
But with his small frame and thin limbs, how could he possibly overpower him? He might as well just think about it and let it go.
Yue Lu finished his work on this side quickly. Just as they were about to head home, Zhuang Yan was actually a bit reluctant to leave.
He hadn’t eaten enough good food, and he hadn’t had enough fun. How were they leaving just like that?
As soon as they stepped off the plane, Zhuang Yan and Yue Lu ran into someone unexpected.
Though “unexpected” might be the wrong word; his presence at the airport was actually quite logical.
It was Yue Lu’s uncle.
In his early years, Yue Lu’s uncle had been harmed by someone and lost his ability to reproduce. Coincidentally, Yue Lu was not favored by his own parents, so his uncle treated Yue Lu like his own biological son.
Even though the uncle’s company wasn’t doing great, it was still built on the foundations of the Gao family’s years of accumulation. A starved camel is still bigger than a horse; his net worth was still worth a hundred of Zhuang Yan.
“Why are you here?” Yue Lu spoke first.
“What, am I not welcome to pick up my nephew?”
“It’s not that, I just heard Uncle recently took an interest in a little star. I thought you wouldn’t have time to worry about me.” This matter had caused quite a stir; almost everyone in their circle knew about it, though such behavior was hardly dignified.
“Are you blaming your Uncle for not caring about you these past few days? You know, your Uncle only has this one hobby. Just help me out a bit.”
Yue Lu sighed: “You’re always like this. Isn’t it better if both parties are willing?”
“The ‘willing’ kind… who knows how many people have played with them? Too dirty,” Yue Lu’s uncle said with a tone of disgust.
Yue Lu was speechless, but this was his biological uncle after all.
“Alright, alright, stop wearing such a bitter face. Next time I’ll make sure things are handled more cleanly. I won’t disturb you two in your newlywed bliss. I’ve arranged a special car for you. I’m off.”
The uncle waved his hand and left, heading off to enjoy himself somewhere unknown.
Zhuang Yan hesitated to speak, then finally asked: “Is Uncle always this… uninhibited?”
He had tried his best to find a polite word to describe it.
“Yes. When he took me in back then, he had already lost his fertility. His personality became a bit… eccentric. But he is truly good to me, much better than my parents who couldn’t care less.” Yue Lu smiled helplessly. “I am where I am today largely thanks to my uncle. Without him fighting for me, I wouldn’t have a place in the Yue family at all.”
He was a good uncle, but he wasn’t a good person.
Emotionally, Yue Lu wouldn’t report or distance himself from his uncle, but legally, if his uncle truly got into trouble, he wouldn’t interfere too much with the authorities’ investigation.
“What about that little star? What will happen to them afterwards?” Zhuang Yan’s brother had suffered a misfortune once, so he instinctively thought of the star.
Yue Lu shook his head: “I’m not sure. Usually, he settles these things himself.”
True, it was indeed inappropriate for an elder to have a junior settle their messes.
“Let’s go home. You must be tired after such a long flight.” Yue Lu flashed a smile that looked extremely weary.
“Mm.” Zhuang Yan wasn’t actually that tired; at least the flight was much more comfortable than his usual travels.
The driver was driving normally on the road when, at some point, their car was targeted by another black vehicle.
The car kept overtaking and cutting them off; they really weren’t afraid of a collision or the repair costs.
Zhuang Yan was fine, as the car was comfortable, but Yue Lu was starting to look irritable.
After their car was finally forced to a stop, the person in the car ahead parked on the side and stepped out.
“Long time no see, my dear brother.” The person who got out wore sunglasses and clothes that jingled and clattered with every movement. He opened his mouth and called Yue Lu “Brother.”
Could this be some “rotten peach blossom” (unwanted romantic entanglement) Yue Lu had provoked somewhere?
If so, Yue Lu’s taste was truly terrible.
“What do you want?” Yue Lu questioned coldly. “If I run you over, I won’t pay a single cent in medical bills.”
“Don’t be so cold-blooded. You are my biological brother after all. What’s wrong with two brothers catching up?”
So, it was the illegitimate son of Yue Lu’s father.
“Do I have anything to say to you?” Yue Lu looked at him with extreme loathing.
“Oh my, it was my fault last time. I’ve already apologized. You’re a great man, surely you can find it in your heart to forgive me?” Despite the words, the man didn’t look the least bit apologetic.
“So what exactly do you want?” Yue Lu didn’t want to beat around the bush. In truth, this person had committed so many offenses that Yue Lu had long forgotten what he had done specifically the last time.
“I heard Brother has returned, so I specially booked a private room to welcome you back. Brother wouldn’t disrespect me like that, would you?”
Yue Lu said coldly: “Do you have any ‘respect’ to speak of?”
“How can you talk to your younger brother like that?” the man said, feigning hurt. “Little sister-in-law should come too. It’s just a meal, nothing serious.”
The more he said it, the more Zhuang Yan felt there was something suspicious going on.
Yue Lu felt the same. It was likely a trap set specifically for him. He wasn’t stupid; why would he jump into it?
“Regarding my business with him, you’d better not spread rumors outside,” Yue Lu warned.
The man shrugged, responding reluctantly, “Fine then.”
Zhuang Yan was puzzled: Am I really that embarrassing to be seen with?
Forget it. After all, his family background was ordinary and his personality was average. He guessed that if he hadn’t specifically catered to Yue Lu’s tastes, he probably would have been tossed aside by now.
“Where are you going? Didn’t I say you were coming to eat with me?” The man blocked Yue Lu as he tried to return to the car.
“Who agreed to that?” Yue Lu didn’t even spare him a glance.
“You’re so heartless!” The man pretended to be aggrieved.
“Yue Lisong, you know I don’t fall for your acts. You should save your performance for Father.”
Yue Lu reached for the car door again, but was stopped by Yue Lisong once more.
“Want to have a fight, Brother? If we fight, this won’t end so easily. I know you look down on me, but I have ways to make you feel disgusted. What can you do to me? Kill me?”
Suddenly, Yue Lisong pulled out a match from somewhere and tossed it into the car. The flammable materials inside ignited quickly. Fortunately, the car was equipped with a fire extinguisher, but after the fire was put out, the car didn’t look like it could be driven anymore.
“Oh my, Brother, I’m so sorry. I just wanted to have a smoke,” Yue Lisong said, acting completely innocent.
“President Yue, I will arrange for a new car immediately,” the driver said after extinguishing the fire.
“Go ahead. Give the restaurant address to the driver, and have him pick me up there later,” Yue Lu arranged. “I’ll go with you. Stop looking for trouble.”
Yue Lisong had no other talents, but his ability to disgust people was stronger than anyone’s.
“Wouldn’t it have been better if you’d just done this from the start? We would have saved so much trouble.” Yue Lisong considerately closed the car door for Yue Lu, blocking out the smell of burnt upholstery, and led them to his own car. “Don’t worry, my driving skills are excellent.”
Yue Lu gripped Zhuang Yan’s hand. This gesture showed he was irritated to the extreme. Sometimes he truly regretted having such a brother.
Oh, right. Having such a brother wasn’t something he could choose.
The place Yue Lisong had booked was in the suburbs. It looked isolated in the middle of nowhere. If someone were dumped here, they might never be found.
“I shouldn’t have let you come along. His target is me,” Yue Lu regretted bringing Zhuang Yan.
Zhuang Yan shook his head: “It’s fine. Is there anything we can’t face together?”
Don’t underestimate him, okay? He was quite capable of fighting.
“Don’t be so pessimistic! Why act as if my inviting you to dinner is some plot to murder you for your money? We live in a society ruled by law now.” Yue Lisong opened the back door and motioned for them to get out.
“You know exactly what you intend to do.” They were intercepted as soon as they got off the plane was it really just a simple welcome dinner?
Usually, these illegitimate children never gave Yue Lu a nice look; some didn’t even bother with surface-level politeness.
A welcome dinner? Who would believe that?
However, Yue Lisong was right about one thing: he couldn’t actually do anything fatal to Yue Lu.
But just because he couldn’t stab him doesn’t mean he couldn’t set a trap. It was better to be cautious.
Even if you tried to avoid people like this in the future, as long as they wanted to, they would stick to you like chewed gum utterly revolting.
“We shouldn’t have agreed to get in his car earlier. Having our own car would have at least given us a way to escape,” Zhuang Yan said with regret.
But Yue Lu replied: “Even with a car, we might not have been able to get away.”
“Hey, hey, hey! Are you two going to gossip about me right in front of my face?” Yue Lisong expressed his dissatisfaction.
“Why not?” Yue Lu countered. “Of everything you’ve done before, is there a single thing that deserves my kindness?”
“What an incompetent brother,” Yue Lisong grumbled in complaint.
Yue Lisong had indeed booked a private room, and the dishes inside were quite good. At least for now, everything seemed normal.
However, they had no intention of eating. It was better to be safe than sorry.
“I’ve turned over a new leaf. Brother, you have to believe me.” Yue Lisong raised his glass. “Come, let me give you a toast.”
Yue Lu perfunctorily drank the wine in his glass. Turned over a new leaf? Those were just words; Yue Lu had heard them countless times.
“Is the little sister-in-law not drinking?” Zhuang Yan’s glass contained plum juice.
“I don’t like drinking.” Alcohol tasted terrible; he really couldn’t understand why people liked it.
“Little sister-in-law is drinking plum juice… could it be that you’re already expecting? Brother, you’re amazing. I’m going to have a little nephew so soon.”
“Shut up. There’s nothing of the sort yet,” Yue Lu said, fearing he would go out and spread rumors.
“Could it be that you two haven’t… alright, alright.” Yue Lisong was frightened back into his seat by a single look from Yue Lu.
Yue Lu’s discomfort manifested as the meal was nearing its end. Was his rut coming? That was impossible.
A thick scent of pine forest after rain hit Zhuang Yan, nearly making him lose his balance. Usually, it smelled very pleasant, but now it felt incredibly oppressive.
Seeing Yue Lu like this, Yue Lisong stopped pretending. He dropped his chopsticks and said arrogantly: “Hahaha, so my dear brother has a day like this too.”
Yue Lisong was also feeling a bit weak in the knees from Yue Lu’s pheromones, but the joy of the plan’s success completely overcame the discomfort.
“What did you do to him?” Zhuang Yan demanded, forcing himself to withstand the pressure of the pheromones.
“I just added a little medicine to his wine to induce an early rut. Tell me, how does this headline sound: ‘The heir of the Yue Group engaging in a group orgy in the suburbs’? What do you think, little sister-in-law?” Yue Lisong laughed triumphantly. “When the time comes and my brother is ruined, how about you follow me instead?”
At that moment, a group of people pushed open the door to the private room. There were Alphas, Omegas, and Betas.
“I didn’t know what kind you liked, so I brought every type. See how thoughtful I am, my dear brother?” Yue Lisong pinched his nose and leaned in close to Yue Lu’s ear.
By now, Yue Lu was being tortured by the rut and was in agonizing pain. Other than gritting his teeth and telling Yue Lisong to get lost, he couldn’t even move a finger.
“My dear brother, stop trying to be brave. Just enjoy yourself,” Yue Lisong said gleefully. “Little sister-in-law, a moment of such a night is worth a thousand pieces of gold. Don’t let it go to waste!”
“Don’t you dare touch him!” Yue Lu suddenly stood up from his chair.