“Just a little bit short!” He Siyang ran over, standing at the edge of the water hazard and staring regretfully at the landing spot in the distance. It was just a hair away from going in. If the first shot was pure luck, how was this one to be explained?
He Siyang thought to himself that Sheng Tingzhou’s golf skills were truly rock-solid.
At this moment, the two people who had been clinging closely together finally separated. Shao Yiqing picked up his club and walked forward a few steps, distancing himself from Sheng Tingzhou as he said, “My fault. I messed up President Sheng’s rhythm.”
His words carried a profound hidden meaning that ordinary people wouldn’t quite grasp. Sheng Tingzhou narrowed his eyes, tracking Shao Yiqing’s figure as the man lowered his head to play with the water. The curved line of his back exposed nothing, yet it was enough to make one’s eyes burn with heat.
Sheng Tingzhou walked off to the side.
Shao Yiqing splashed around in the water for a second, shook off the droplets, and shaded his eyes against the sun to gaze toward the distant hole. “Everyone’s playing better than me. I’m so embarrassed.”
He Siyang was riding a wave of high spirits and wild impulses, seizing the moment to suck up to Shao Yiqing. “What’s there to be embarrassed about? I just got lucky myself. My skills are usually trashy as hell. Today must be because you came, and I’ve been blessed by the heavens to actually sink a shot.”
Whether it offered any comfort or not, He Siyang’s attitude was certainly top-notch. Knowing what He Siyang was usually like, Gao Yanqing and the others were baffled by how his mouth had suddenly learned to act human. Whether Shao Yiqing could see through his intentions or not, anyone present who knew He Siyang could pick up on what was going on.
Shao Yiqing turned his head and flashed a smile at He Siyang.
“My turn?” Gao Yanqing picked up his club and walked toward his ball. “Make way.”
He Siyang was forced to step aside, and Shao Yiqing cleared a path for him too, even though he wasn’t blocking his line of attack. Shao Yiqing silently drifted back to Sheng Tingzhou’s side. Sheng Tingzhou’s Alpha pheromones were overwhelmingly potent; even standing there in silence, merely holding a club, he exuded an inescapable, dominant pressure.
He was undeniably the most sexually charged Alpha present.
Shao Yiqing had every right to make that claim.
Even without knowing him, just looking at Sheng Tingzhou’s robust physique was enough to know how lethal he must be.
Shao Yiqing had read countless people. Some didn’t even need to open their mouths before he could roughly figure out seven or eight-tenths of their character. Casually, he asked, “Did President Sheng study in Switzerland?”
The baseball cap blocked part of Sheng Tingzhou’s vision and perfectly concealed his fierce brow bone. Though his profile was similarly sharp, it managed to mask a portion of his aggressive aura. Sheng Tingzhou replied with an unreadable tone, “Why?”
Those two simple words could be interpreted as Do you have some advice? or Do you have an opinion?
Shao Yiqing was a seasoned veteran in the business world and understood the subtext of any sentence instantly. But Sheng Tingzhou was hard to pin down. His remark sounded like a completely ordinary counter-question, yet due to his extraordinary background, it naturally made people overthink whether there was some hidden meaning they were failing to grasp.
Shao Yiqing wasn’t someone who liked to overcomplicate things. To him, words that sounded multilayered to others were best taken at face value without deep-diving. He simply answered, “Just envious. The Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. What a magnificent institution.”
Sheng Tingzhou remarked indifferently, “Rampant anti-Chinese sentiment. Not all that magnificent.”
Shao Yiqing noted, “Normal. Locals excluding outsiders happens all over the country. The fact that President Sheng managed to test into such a great school speaks volumes about your capability.”
Sheng Tingzhou’s gaze followed the restless group of people, shifting back and forth. “What makes you think I didn’t just buy my way in?”
That sort of thing was practically standard practice in their circle.
Shao Yiqing countered, “Others maybe, but the moment I first laid eyes on you, I dismissed that suspicion entirely.”
Sheng Tingzhou turned his head, his gaze pressing down on Shao Yiqing as he asked softly, “Oh? Based on what?”
On what grounds did a single meeting erase all doubt and validate his capability? Making such a hasty definition was quite bold of him.
Shao Yiqing smiled. “I don’t have much going for me, but I’ve met a lot of people. At a glance, I usually know what someone is thinking, what kind of person they roughly are, and whether they’re faking it or truly possess real substance. None of that is a secret to me.”
Sensing a crucial piece of information, Sheng Tingzhou turned his head back to watch He Siyang, who was currently swinging his club, and asked in a low voice, “So, Mr. Shao can also see through Siyang’s secrets?”
“That’s not a secret. It’s plastered right out in the open.” Shao Yiqing tracked He Siyang’s movements as well and asked, “Does President Sheng know how he and I met?”
Sheng Tingzhou said, “I’d like to hear about it.”
He wasn’t actually interested in how other people met; it held zero significance for him. But concerning Shao Yiqing, he had already wasted time listening to him talk about similar topics twice. Sheng Tingzhou figured it didn’t matter. The great beauty possessed his own charm, and making people willing to listen to him ramble a bit more was only natural. Love for beauty was universal; there was nothing unseemly about it.
So Shao Yiqing recounted his connection with He Siyang. “It’s simple. Mutual friends pulled us together, and a single glass of wine was enough to get acquainted. We didn’t have any earth-shattering encounters; it’s the most ordinary way to meet in the mundane world. We didn’t keep in touch regularly before, but the fact that he’s taking such good care of me today makes his intentions obvious to anyone with eyes.”
Shao Yiqing exposed He Siyang without a shred of mercy.
This was an extraordinary Omega. In many aspects, he was completely different from most Omegas out there. Sheng Tingzhou had realized this much based merely on Shao Yiqing’s few words.
“Since you know,” Sheng Tingzhou looked over, “what are Mr. Shao’s intentions then?”
His tone gave away nothing.
It was utterly calm.
What did Shao Yiqing not understand?
He had spent years rolling around in the romantic arena. If he couldn’t even see through little tricks and shallow intentions like He Siyang’s, he would have wasted his time entirely.
He tossed the question back with a relaxed tone: “What intentions does President Sheng hope I have?”
Shao Yiqing disliked answering questions head-on; he much preferred listening to what was inside other people’s minds.
Sheng Tingzhou stated, “Fostering a happy romance is naturally a good thing. Love at first sight at this age may not be pure, but it’s rare. Is Mr. Shao planning to disappoint him?”
“Oh, listening to President Sheng, you hope my current relationship ends so I can settle down with your friend, is that right?” Without waiting for Sheng Tingzhou to reply, Shao Yiqing continued, “When President Sheng said I deserve someone better, you meant your friend?”
The baseball cap cast a shadow over Sheng Tingzhou’s face, making the emotions swirling in those eyes impossible to read. Unruffled, Sheng Tingzhou remarked, “You think my friend isn’t good enough for you?”
Shao Yiqing twirled his golf club, glanced over at He Siyang, who was looking back at him with a rather foolish yet sincere smile, and said, “Good enough, why wouldn’t he be? With President Sheng playing matchmaker, once my current relationship wraps up, I’ll definitely consider your friend first.”
His smile was far too brilliant.
Far too dazzling.
Anyone indulging in love at first sight at their age was automatically classified by Sheng Tingzhou into the category of idiots. Yet looking at Shao Yiqing, he felt He Siyang wasn’t entirely wrong. Falling in love at first sight with a face like Shao Yiqing’s was completely logical. It only proved that He Siyang was a normal human being, after all.
“President Sheng, care for a round?” Shao Yiqing walked over and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him.
Sheng Tingzhou replied, “Haven’t we been playing all along?”
Shao Yiqing shook his head. “No, I mean a head-to-head showdown between just you and me. Dare?”
Sheng Tingzhou didn’t misunderstand those words; it was a naked, unadulterated provocation.
He Siyang was still basking in the glow of his recent successful putt, about to gloat, when he suddenly saw Shao Yiqing pick up his ball. Puzzled, He Siyang looked over. “Yiqing?”
Shao Yiqing announced, “President Sheng and I are stepping out for now. You guys play.”
With the two of them dropping out, where would anyone else find the heart to keep playing?
Hearing that Sheng Tingzhou and Shao Yiqing were going to play a private match, He Siyang and the others couldn’t help wondering if Shao Yiqing had lost his mind. As several of them retreated to the teeing ground, He Siyang tried to dissuade him: “Yiqing, why are you messing around with him? There’s no suspense. It’s more fun when everyone plays together.”
Shao Yiqing ignored him, turning instead to politely ask Sheng Tingzhou, “May I tee off first?”
Sheng Tingzhou made a polite gesture inviting him to proceed. Failing to talk Shao Yiqing out of his self-destructive madness, He Siyang could only pin his hopes on Sheng Tingzhou, shooting him several meaningful glances to tell him to throw the game. Sheng Tingzhou merely glanced at him once before locking his eyes onto the ball as it was driven away.
With a single swing, Shao Yiqing shattered He Siyang’s little expectations. The ball traveled a straight three hundred yards down the fairway without drifting a single inch. Before He Siyang could say a word, Gao Yanqing couldn’t help blurting out, “Mr. Shao, were you holding back this whole time?”
This opening drive instantly made everyone realize Shao Yiqing had been acting the entire time.
Whether he was sparing someone’s face or accommodating someone else, only now did Shao Yiqing truly reveal his hand, turning to Yi Tao to say, “President Yi, I yield.”
Yi Tao wasn’t about to nitpick; he was utterly dazzled. The illicit desire burning in his eyes toward Shao Yiqing grew even heavier. He clapped his hands for Shao Yiqing, smiling as he said, “Mr. Shao, you played us.”
Shao Yiqing issued his challenge to Sheng Tingzhou.
If his skill level hadn’t been clear before, his momentum right now told Sheng Tingzhou he’d been played with as well. Without holding back, Sheng Tingzhou stepped up to the teeing area and delivered an equally pristine drive.
After the first shot, the one closest to the green was Shao Yiqing. He and Sheng Tingzhou were playing a par-4 hole; whoever could sink the ball in the fewest strokes would win.
Both players reached the green on their second shots, but Sheng Tingzhou was closer to the red flagstick. With his skill level, one more stroke would definitely sink the ball.
He Siyang and the others tagged along as they walked over to the green. “Tingzhou, don’t mess up your execution,” he urged.
Though he said that, in his heart, he was rooting for Sheng Tingzhou to screw up. Sheng Tingzhou was well aware of his petty thoughts, but he didn’t indulge He Siyang, successfully sinking the ball on his third stroke without a hair’s breadth of error.
“Tch,” He Siyang didn’t dare say much else, only sighing, “Fine then.”
He worried for Shao Yiqing.
Yet it was clear he had vastly underestimated Shao Yiqing’s golfing prowess, or rather, he simply didn’t know him. For someone who had been running around golf courses at his father’s heels since the age of seven, there was hardly anything Shao Yiqing was more familiar with than a golf club.
With a crisp thud, Shao Yiqing drove his ball straight into the red-flagged cup from sixty yards away. The surrounding crowd erupted into cheers: “Great shot!”
Sheng Tingzhou didn’t skimp on his praise either, adding, “Truly a magnificent shot.”
He Siyang was even more ecstatic. “Yiqing, you’re a beast! Holy shit, you can sink it straight in from there?”
Shao Yiqing tweaked Sheng Tingzhou’s previous phrase, saying, “Not luck. Pure skill.”
Sheng Tingzhou managed a rare chuckle.
Shao Yiqing successfully saved par, but strictly speaking, Sheng Tingzhou finished in three strokes while Shao Yiqing took four, meaning he lost. Yet it didn’t feel like a complete defeat. If his accuracy was this high and he had the first-shot advantage, he should have matched Sheng Tingzhou’s result by the third stroke. But he hadn’t; he deliberately waited until the fourth stroke to sink the ball, matching Sheng Tingzhou’s technical prowess from a sixty-yard distance.
Seeing Shao Yiqing’s true skill, He Siyang stopped worrying and desperately wanted him to flex more to find a sense of achievement on this course. He immediately tried to set up another game: “Haven’t seen enough yet. Let’s play the full eighteen holes to settle the score. What’s the point of a tie?”
The full eighteen holes covered a massive expanse of land and wasn’t a contest that could be wrapped up in a moment. Given ball-strikers like Sheng Tingzhou and Shao Yiqing, it would take an hour or two to finish. Moreover, Shao Yiqing had clients with him; why would he want to waste time showing off here? Besides, it was just a polite outing for a brief bit of fun. Now that a winner had been decided, he politely declined.
“No need. The company has matters to attend to, so I won’t disrupt everyone’s leisure,” Shao Yiqing said. “Let’s call it a day.”
He Siyang urged eagerly, “It’s no disruption at all, play a bit longer. It’s still early.”
“Time to wrap it up.” Sheng Tingzhou turned around and walked toward the resting area.
Seeing that he couldn’t stop the dispersal, He Siyang hurriedly offered, “Then let me give you a ride out, Yiqing. Come on.”
He personally escorted Shao Yiqing and the others out.
Gao Yanqing followed Sheng Tingzhou back to the resting area and chuckled at He Siyang’s fawning behavior: “Looking like a peacock displaying its tail, killing me.”
Sheng Tingzhou handed him a bottle of mineral water, unscrewed his own cap, and took a sip. The sun was setting, and He Siyang still hasn’t returned.
“How was it?” Gao Yanqing slumped lazily into the chair beside him. After half a day, he’d hit his workout quota. Leaning back, he asked, “Well?”
Sheng Tingzhou removed his cap and tossed it onto the table. An attendant hurried over to offer drinks, but Sheng Tingzhou waved him away, picked up a cigarette from the table, lit it, and replied absentmindedly, “What how was it?”
Gao Yanqing said, “Shao Yiqing, of course. The most famous Omega in all of Xiangjiang. If he claims second, no one dares claim first. Look at how Siyang had his soul hooked right out of him; I have every reason to suspect Shao Yiqing could tell him to jump off a cliff and he wouldn’t hesitate.”
“Then you’re giving him too much credit. He’s not that desperate for sex.” He Siyang’s behavior had been plain for everyone to see, and even Shao Yiqing himself was well aware of it. At that thought, Sheng Tingzhou’s gaze grew profound.
Gao Yanqing continued, “Setting aside his lovestruck fool routine, he’s never looked twice at beauties before. I’m more interested in your opinion. You’ve spent so many years abroad; you must have tasted plenty of fine dishes. For a man of the world like Boss Sheng, what do you think of Shao Yiqing?”
Setting aside Sheng Tingzhou’s background, just based on his looks, he could go work at a host club and have escorts paying him out of pocket. Foreign countries were open-minded, and Sheng Tingzhou possessed chiseled facial features, a high brow bone, deep-set eyes, and fierce bone structure. Putting aside rank and pheromones, he was still top-tier material who could easily live off his looks.
Appearance was the primary entry ticket anywhere. Sheng Tingzhou wasn’t very popular domestically because he looked too menacing. Even when he wasn’t frowning or speaking, he still projected a scowling aura. Frankly speaking, Gao Yanqing, He Siyang, and the others were all more marketable than him because their features were softer and better aligned with local aesthetic preferences. But placed in countries with high institutional support for Alpha-Alpha romances, Sheng Tingzhou would undoubtedly be the prime choice for the community’s ultimate catch.
Omegas were intimidated by Sheng Tingzhou. That was a universally acknowledged fact around him. He was simply too aggressively handsome, which tended to chop his romantic prospects in half. An interested Omega would rather lurk in the shadows and fantasize than dare approach Sheng Tingzhou to strike up a conversation.
That perpetual expression of displeasure, as if he were about to snap someone’s neck, had stripped away at least half his suitors.
To Gao Yanqing’s question, Sheng Tingzhou offered no direct answer. He merely stared at Gao Yanqing, his dim gaze sweeping over him as he asked, “Are you interested in him too?”
Gao Yanqing immediately clarified, “Heaven and earth bear witness, no, absolutely not. I am unswervingly loyal to your younger brother.”
Sheng Tingzhou didn’t press him further. Seeing Gao Yanqing raise his hands in a sworn vow of loyalty as if genuinely spooked, Sheng Tingzhou let slip a rare piece of news: “Jiayu is entering the technical department next Monday. He calls you older brother anyway, so use that identity to go offer some perfunctory care.”
“Really?!” Gao Yanqing’s attention was instantly derailed. “If you give the word, of course I’m happy to. This weekend, no, tomorrow, I’ll go check on him.”
He completely failed to notice that his original question had received zero answer, dissolving into nothingness without a sound.
A moment later, while Gao Yanqing and Sheng Tingzhou were cheerfully chatting about Sheng Jiayu, He Siyang trudged back looking utterly deflated.
The moment he returned, without saying a word, he flopped straight into a chair, his face flushed red. Under the gaze of the other two, he grabbed a bottle of water, chugged a mouthful, and then sprawled flat on his back, panting heavily.
Gao Yanqing teased, “What’s wrong with you? Look like an unsatisfied hound.”
Sheng Tingzhou started looking from his panting thighs upwards. He Siyang sat with his legs splayed, head tilted toward the sky, gripping the armrests tightly as his chest heaved violently.
After catching his breath for nearly two minutes, He Siyang sat up, swallowed hard, and rasped, “I can’t take it. Every extra glance I stole at him dragged me deeper into the abyss. You guys have no idea what was going through my head just now out on the course…”
He Siyang clenched his fists. “Any man would understand.”
Gao Yanqing knew what he meant and chuckled, “Really? Are you out of your mind? Is it because you haven’t vented in so long that your brain’s glitching?”
“What do you know? Don’t tell me you felt nothing.”
Gao Yanqing raised both hands above his head. “Heaven and earth bear witness, my heart belongs solely to Jiayu.”
Too lazy to argue with Gao Yanqing, He Siyang flopped back down onto the rattan chair, wearing the righteous yet aggrieved expression of a man surrounded by drunkards while he alone remained sober. “Why? Am I the only one feeling this way? Shao Yiqing is top-tier. Absolute top-tier! You guys just don’t get it, seriously. You lack romance.”
With that, He Siyang grew even more agitated. “Let me spell it out for you: a guy like Shao Yiqing is mind-blowing. Even though I haven’t gone all the way, I just know. I can picture it. I don’t even know how to describe it to you guys. He’s just intensely amazing.”
Gao Yanqing shot him down: “Why don’t you work on your vocabulary first? Figure out how to describe it before you preach to us.”
“Can’t describe it, just can’t,” He Siyang waved a hand dismissively. “All those other Omegas are boring as hell. Shao Yiqing is the ultimate prize, beyond words. When you guys finally understand what I mean later on, you’ll get it. Just imagining it is incredible, you know?”
“Don’t you mind that he’s given birth to a child?” Gao Yanqing asked.
“Giving birth to a kid means shit,” He Siyang said, stubborn as ten oxen, his infatuation reaching peak delusion. “It’s precisely because he’s had a kid that I find him even more alluring. That kind of mature wife charm. Never mind, you guys wouldn’t get it.”
He felt a sense of pity mixed with secret self-satisfaction, convinced he was the only one in the world who truly understood Shao Yiqing’s charm.
Completely oblivious to the fact that Sheng Tingzhou beside him had just snuffed out his cigarette, nor noticing the turbulent emotions hiding deep within his eyes.
Yi Tao was getting ready to leave.
This round of golf hadn’t brought him joy; instead, it had opened his eyes to Shao Yiqing’s methods and allure. Surrounded by young people, he truly felt out of his depth compared to them. Yi Tao wasn’t one for self-pity; he chose to behave himself because through this golf club encounter, he had witnessed the power standing behind Shao Yiqing.
The Shao family of the capital.
Forget it, he couldn’t afford to provoke them.
Given Shao Yiqing’s background, he could easily have put him in his place directly. Yet he chose not to pull out that kind of heavy-hitting background to intimidate him, preferring instead to spend the effort maneuvering with him. That alone was enough to win Yi Tao over; his gaze toward Shao Yiqing was much purer now, stripped of raw possession and greed.
“Don’t like the tie?” Yi Tao asked before leaving.
Shao Yiqing clapped his hands together, and Deng Su neatly packed away the tie and handed it over, chiming in, “President Shao said it’s too precious and he’s too afraid to wear it, so he told me to keep it safe.”
Yi Tao smiled. “What’s precious about it? Mr. Shao deserves all the best things in this world. If you like it, I’ll have a few more custom-made and sent to you.”
“How could I possibly impose upon you for such extravagance?” Shao Yiqing stroked the tie carefully with his fingertips. “One is enough. I like it very much.”
Both Yi Tao and Shao Yiqing were intelligent people who kept things unsaid. Regardless of whether Shao Yiqing meant what he said or not, Yi Tao had enough surface-level courtesy. At that moment, his secretary walked over to ask if he should prepare to depart, and Yi Tao instructed, “Go get ready.”
The secretary nodded, smiled politely at Shao Yiqing, and returned to the car.
Yi Tao watched his secretary’s retreating figure and asked, seemingly offhand, “With Mr. Shao’s superb golfing skills, I wonder when I’ll have the pleasure of witnessing it again?”
He changed his address from “Mr. Shao” to “President Shao.” Though minor, the subtle shift signaled a change in mindset, proving the other party now knew where the boundaries lay.