When Yu Dong came out, he saw Wan Xu still standing on the balcony, stubbornly letting the cold wind blow at him. Carrying a small electric pot, Yu Dong sat down beside him, handed him the chopsticks, and said, “First, eat?”
Wan Xu absentmindedly stirred the food in the pot a couple of times, lost all interest, and set his chopsticks down.
“Is it about that thing again?” Yu Dong asked cautiously.
Wan Xu did not mind talking about this matter with him, so he had not hidden anything from the start. Back in university, he had already told Yu Dong that his family had shoved a fiancé onto him, and that if he did not study hard, he would have to go back and get married. He did not want to get married.
The mere thought of spending half his life with another person, having to split everything he owned in half, accommodating and tolerating the other person’s preferences, and potentially having nothing in common to talk about made his stomach churn. They would just sit in silence, each doing their own thing, lying in the same bed at night while wondering who knows what. It was unbearable.
Truly unbearable.
They should have been two independent individuals, yet they were forced to be bound together by something just to feel complete.
When he was angry, he spoke completely without thinking, and once words left his mouth, they were like spilled water that could not be gathered back. Now, what he had to consider was how to face the old man’s fury and whether he could find that Alpha to muddle through it.
Yes, it was absurd, but he still had to rely on finding a partner to brush this off.
Being forced into heat and tumbling into bed with a stranger was certainly distressing, but the other person’s handling of the situation could be considered decent. If they could talk it over and pretend to be a couple, perhaps his engagement partner would be provoked enough to agree to call off the wedding.
A temporary marking would fade within a week at most. It would be easy enough to fool someone like Wan Jianming who was a Beta, but others would not be so easy to hoodwink.
Wan Xu sighed and picked up his chopsticks again to fish out a mouthful of noodles.
He knew that no matter how much he worried, there was no way to get an immediate good result right now. Better to fill his stomach first.
The first thing to do when waking up in the morning was naturally to remove his cheap old man from the blacklist. Naturally, he also discovered that his small financial reserves had entered the bank’s blacklist as well.
After all these years, Wan Jianming’s methods of tying down his child still lacked any creativity.
He forgot what act of defiance he had committed against Wan Jianming during university; the man had not only cut off his living expenses but had also intentionally reported his account to the bank for suspected money laundering due to abnormal cash flows. He had spent a very long time proving his own innocence.
In the end, he simply relied on part-time jobs to get through that difficult semester.
Wan Xu’s life credo was never to bow for five buckets of rice, but the initial stages of starting a business required money everywhere.
Lu Shen sent him a message asking if he was willing to talk about renting office space. Gritting his teeth, Wan Xu made a concession to Wan Jianming, stating that he would be back tonight and that they should have a proper talk.
Wan Jianming did not reply.
He had no idea where Wan Jianming found out that he still had this card. If he had known earlier, he should have used Yu Dong’s ID card to set up a backup account. There was barely enough money left in his social software wallet for a single meal, let alone spare cash to rent a venue.
Yu Dong woke up later than him, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and asked what was wrong with him.
Wan Xu’s complexion looked even worse than the previous night.
The enterprise of the founding emperor is half accomplished and he has collapsed in the middle of the journey. Wan Xu did not want to pass his negative emotions on to him, so he managed to squeeze out a smile, putting up a brave front as he said his boss was going to sell himself to earn milk money for his child.
With that, he quickly got up, changed into a clean, well-fitting suit, splashed cold water on his face, and walked out the door, leaving Yu Dong alone in the upper bunk in a daze.
Following the address Lu Shen gave him, he caught a bus and called Wan Ting on the way to ask if his brother was busy right now.
On the other end of the line, Wan Ting let out a hum and asked what was wrong.
Can you lend me some money first? Wan Xu’s voice was very low, as if he felt embarrassed, before adding that he would pay it back in a couple of days.
Did you fall out with Second Uncle again?
Wan Xu felt a guilty conscience and did not answer.
Fortunately, Wan Ting seemed to be busy dealing with something urgent and did not press further. The moment he hung up the phone, he transferred a sum of money over.
Nothing compared to the solid balance numbers displayed on a phone screen. Wan Xu felt an urge to rush straight to the company and kowtow to his older brother.
The amount Wan Ting provided was pitched at just the right degree, enough to cover his daily expenses without leaving room for wild spending, but it should be enough to serve as a deposit. If all else failed, there was still Yu Dong. As for commercial loans, he was not going to consider that for now.
After transferring through a few buses, Wan Xu finally arrived at the entrance of the industrial incubation park he had agreed upon with Lu Shen.
He stood at the entrance for a moment, feeling an inexplicable sense of familiarity, though he could not quite place why.
Lu Shen’s voice pulled his thoughts back.
The entire 19th floor just opened up, Lu Shen introduced to him, mentioning that he spoke with management and could offer a thirty percent discount excluding utilities and property management fees, while asking how long Mr. Wan planned to rent it.
The environment was quite nice, even exquisitely decorated. The price was discounted to the point where Wan Xu suspected some acquaintance had pulled strings for him. Renting an office space of around one hundred square meters only came out to about nine thousand a month, which was more than enough for a small studio.
Seeing Wan Xu hesitate with words on the tip of his tongue, Lu Shen guessed that he was suspicious of the unreasonably low price. To avoid exposing things too early, he hastily patched it up by saying there might be an incremental increase.
What Wan Xu cared about was not that at all, asking instead what would happen if he wanted to rent it for a year and keep the right of first refusal for renewal.
Lu Shen pretended to ponder for a moment and agreed very readily that it was possible.
Wan Xu found it somewhat unbelievable and tested the waters to ask if they could sign the contract.
Lu Shen actually nodded.
Wait, just like that?
Thirty per square meter per month for rent, was this charity work or did someone have ulterior motives?
The card only held the money Wan Ting had just transferred to him; miss this village and there would be no such shop.
Besides, his upbringing did not allow him to suddenly sneak away now, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow Lu Shen upstairs.
Upstairs seemed to be another company. The receptionist was very familiar with Lu Shen and respectfully called out President Lu upon seeing him.
Wan Xu was still looking around. Lu Shen’s company seemed to occupy this entire floor, and it was quite large.
Xiao Sun, help me grab the leasing letter of intent, and see if President Nie is around, Lu Shen murmured softly by the receptionist’s ear.
Wan Xu noticed this small action, but did not pay too much attention to it. Before coming here, he had looked up this company online, and everything matched. With rent this low, surely there was no catch.
Perhaps this time he could smoothly talk about securing initial startup capital as well.
Following that, Lu Shen invited Wan Xu to sit over and wait for a moment.
Wan Xu let out an expression of acknowledgment and followed him into the meeting room. He sat on one side while Lu Shen sat at the opposite end of the table, deliberately keeping a distance from him.
During their moments of solitude, Wan Xu could occasionally catch the crisp scent of cedar radiating from Lu Shen. This scent made him feel somewhat uncomfortable, though he could not tell if it was due to the temporary marking.
Outside it had been fine, but now inside a confined space, that scent was infinitely magnified, making him feel dizzy.
The receptionist was gone for a bit, and upon returning, whispered something else into Lu Shen’s ear. Hearing this, Lu Shen smiled and handed a folder to Wan Xu, asking to be excused for a moment.
As expected, Nie Wencheng was waiting by the front desk.
He is right inside. Are you really not going to go see him? Lu Jiangwan walked toward Nie Wencheng with a beaming smile.
It was clear that Nie Wencheng was quite displeased with his private antics. His thick eyebrows knitted together, though he did not utter any harsh words, stating there was no need because the moment he saw him next month, he was going to bring up calling off the engagement.
Do not meddle in my affairs.
From this angle, one could just barely see into the meeting room, catching the blurred figure behind the frosted glass door.
Lu Jiangwan’s smile faded slightly.
As Nie Wencheng turned to leave mid-sentence, Lu Jiangwan called out to ask if he hated him that much.
The scent in the air seemed a bit off. Nie Wencheng did not want to entangle himself with him here and stated directly that what he hated was a forced marriage without regard for personal wishes.
You…
Just as Lu Jiangwan was about to say more, the elevator arrived, and Nie Wencheng retreated inside without looking back.
The closing elevator doors cut off Lu Jiangwan’s voice, yet that abnormal citrus scent stubbornly clung to him like a ghost.
He rolled up his sleeves, loosened his tie, took a deep breath, and tried hard to calm his emotions.
The Omega from that night seemed to be around here.
But he had no time to delve into it; he just wanted to escape. If it truly was the Omega from that night, being this close would be far too likely to cause him secondary harm.
Nie Wencheng felt irritated.
Lu Jiangwan knew his stubborn temper.
He could still talk to him nicely for now, but if the matter of the fiancé was brought up again, Nie Wencheng really would fall out with him.
He muttered under his breath about what kind of people these were, while inwardly complaining why someone would sleep with another person and then pretend not to know them afterwards.
The first time he met Wan Xu, he had smelled the pheromone scent on him. Having sparred with Nie Wencheng since childhood, he knew all too well who that scent belonged to.
He had been wondering when this cold, ascetic man Nie Wencheng had changed his tune, only to realize he was a scum-tier Alpha who slept around and refused to acknowledge it afterward.
Based on Lu Jiangwan’s understanding of him, the probability of him doing such a thing was close to zero, but not entirely impossible.
After all, men after secondary differentiation were well-dressed beasts manipulated by pheromones, and doing such a thing in a state of lost reason was completely normal.
He shook his head, cast those unpleasant thoughts out of his mind, and returned to the meeting room.
The moment he pushed open the glass door, he was startled by the scene before him.
Wan Xu was slumped over the table, clutching the back of his neck. His entire face was flushed red, and his eyes welled with tears.
I am sorry, Wan Xu said with a plea in his voice, asking if he could be taken to the hospital.
Before losing consciousness, the thought crossing Wan Xu’s mind was that fortunately, he had already filled out the letter of intent and signed it.
After Lu Shen left, the cedar scent in the meeting room had faded. But shortly after, a familiar sandalwood scent suddenly wafted over, followed by the heat of esthetization washing over him like a wave, drowning his reason.
The temporary marking that he had not yet managed to wash away took effect, and his body retained the memory of that Alpha, reacting first.
Wan Xu collapsed across the table, desperately clutching the back of his neck to prevent his pheromones from spiraling out of control. His body burned like a piece of charcoal, and every inch of him was restless and agitated.
He spent the night burning with fever in the hospital.
Wan Ting was the first to receive the news and rush to the hospital. Seeing Lu Jiangwan keeping watch by his younger brother’s hospital bed, he suppressed his anger and asked why it was him.
Having just experienced a heat triggered by an aphrodisiac, and now triggered once again by an Alpha’s pheromones, Wan Ting naturally assumed Lu Jiangwan was the one behind this mischief.
Lu Jiangwan hurriedly waved his hands to clear himself, saying it was not him.
Seeing the utter disbelief plastered across Wan Ting’s face, he added that the two of them had been on the same floor today.
Wan Ting lowered the sleeves he had just rolled up and said politely that President Lu should head back first since he would take care of his younger brother.
Lu Jiangwan shrugged and asked if there was no statement at all from President Wan.
Wan Ting stayed silent. Finding himself uninvited, he still pulled Wan Ting back and asked if he knew.
What? Wan Ting was still playing dumb.
That they were already marked before the engagement, Lu Jiangwan said.
Once exposed, Wan Ting simply stopped pretending, admitting that he knew and asking so what.
I have a rather interesting guess. Want to hear it?
Lu Jiangwan wore a mischievous grin, clearly up to no good.
Wan Ting felt a slight displeasure.
Lu Jiangwan’s words carried a mocking tease, revealing that his younger brother had Nie Wencheng’s mark on him, while it seemed President Nie himself had no idea.