A knock shattered the dead silence inside the office.
Ruan Nian finished his checkup accompanied by a nurse, the report indicating that everything was normal aside from his pheromone levels being slightly elevated. The moment he stepped off the examination machine, Ruan Nian eagerly hurried toward the office, dying to get home straight away because Uncle Rong had mentioned earlier in the corridor that he was making taro and pork rib soup today.
Though the hour was already somewhat late, Ruan Nian did not mind turning dinner into a midnight snack in the slightest.
Ruan Nian apologized to Uncle Rong with a somewhat embarrassed expression, explaining the situation to the elderly man and repeatedly assuring him that he truly was not seriously hurt. Only then did Uncle Rong’s mind put itself at ease before stating he needed to rush back ahead to warm up the meals so that both he and Mu Yan could head home early.
Awesome! He gets to drink delicious soup again! Ruan Nian felt quite happy, even humming a tune on his way back to the office, looking nothing like someone who had just undergone immense agony.
Mu Yan and Tan Qiyu tacitly put away the expressions on their faces the second Ruan Nian entered the office, their conversation coming to an abrupt and hasty end.
“I am back! The nurse said there is nothing wrong…”
“Huh? You guys… what happened?”
The tone Ruan Nian started with was still bouncy, yet he immediately detected that something was amiss inside the room: the scent of tequila was suffocatingly thick, while the expression on Tan Qiyu’s face held a solemnity and gloominess Ruan Nian had never witnessed before.
With his back turned toward the door, Mu Yan rapidly composed his emotions. He wanted to say “it is nothing,” yet discovered that not a single sound came out.
His chest felt as though it were being pinned down by some heavy object, even the beating of his heart turning muffled. His throat felt agonizingly parched, leaving the simple phrase “it is nothing” reduced to mere breathiness when forced out.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he repeated it once more: “It is nothing.”
He was lying! His voice was completely hoarse, meaning something he knew nothing about had definitely just transpired.
Ruan Nian’s gaze shifted back and forth between Mu Yan and Tan Qiyu, but both of them maintained a pretense of calm as if nothing had happened, clearly determined to keep him in the dark.
Ruan Nian pressed his lips together, simply taking a seat in his original chair and saying no more.
After reviewing the new checkup report, Tan Qiyu stated, “There is no major issue left. Remember what I just said, you two should head back.”
Ruan Nian instinctively assumed it was another one of Tan Qiyu’s parental lectures, the kind whose words had made his ears grow calloused since childhood. He nodded vigorously at Tan Qiyu with bright eyes, putting on the obedient student persona who promised to follow every instruction.
Tan Qiyu could do nothing with him; every single time Ruan Nian looked like he was absorbing every word, yet every single time it went in one ear and out the other. At most, he would restrain himself for a few days after returning before diving right back into staying up late to paint.
He sighed, casually pulled out a prescription pad, jotted down a few key points from the reminders he had just given Ruan Nian, and handed the slip to Mu Yan.
He could only pin his hopes on this Alpha now.
With everything settled, Tan Qiyu escorted Ruan Nian and Mu Yan out to the hospital entrance.
Stepping out past the hospital gates, Ruan Nian finally felt that tonight’s capital planet was indeed somewhat chilly.
He instinctively pulled his lapels together, only to belatedly realize he was wearing Mu Yan’s jacket.
He glanced sideways at Mu Yan. The Alpha wore only a wrinkled shirt with his sleeves half rolled up and his collar unbuttoned, exposing a large swath of skin completely unprotected against the biting wind. Yet the Alpha remained completely unfazed. What should have looked somewhat disheveled took on a wild, rugged aesthetic on his frame.
Ruan Nian felt his hands getting slightly itchy. His immediate reaction to anything beautiful was wanting to capture it instantly, yet time, place, and subject matched none of the criteria.
Coming back to his senses, Ruan Nian rested his fingers on the edge of the jacket, intending to take it off and return it to Mu Yan. “Sorry, your jacket, I…”
“No need.” Before Ruan Nian could finish, Mu Yan cut him off. Not stopping there, he strode right up to Ruan Nian’s side and buttoned up the suit jacket one by one.
His tone carried a hint of cold stiffness, yet the action of fastening the buttons for him was remarkably gentle.
The scent of tequila closed in abruptly, causing Ruan Nian’s earlobes to flush a quiet red.
On the return trip, Mu Yan personally piloted the flying vehicle.
Ruan Nian still harbored thoughts of the taro and pork rib soup, but after going through such an ordeal, the Omega’s energy was nearly exhausted. He managed to force himself to stay awake through the first half of the trip, but by the second half, he could no longer hold on. His head bobbed up and down before he finally leaned against the window and fell fast asleep.
Noticing that he had fallen asleep, Mu Yan turned up the interior temperature of the flying vehicle. His gaze accidentally swept past the smart brain resting to the side, only to discover a new private message waiting at the top.
Mu Yan instinctively switched on autopilot.
He picked up the smart brain and opened the message from Tan Qiyu.
[Tan Qiyu: I hope you will consider what we just discussed. I will communicate with Ruan Shi and use something else to trade with you.]
Mu Yan replied without a single second of hesitation:
[Unnecessary. I agree. Just tell me what to do.]
The sent message showed as read almost instantly, yet Tan Qiyu delayed replying on his end.
With nothing to occupy him for the moment, Mu Yan finally found the time to properly process everything that had happened tonight.
Tan Qiyu’s words began replaying in his mind over and over again.
Unfamiliar emotions crept up inch by inch until they completely engulfed him. His entire heart was submerged in a boundless ocean known as heartbreak.
He turned his head to gaze at Ruan Nian’s peaceful sleeping profile.
The sleeping Omega looked tranquil, his brows furrowed ever so slightly, his complexion still carrying a trace of pallor. Seeming somewhat uncomfortable in his sleeping position, he shifted slightly and found a suitable angle, smoothing out the tension across his features.
His fingers remained tightly clenched around the lapels of the jacket, as though trying to curl himself entirely within the Alpha’s oversized coat.
When the flying vehicle gently came to a halt, Mu Yan finally snapped back to reality.
At some point, he had extended his arm, the back of his right hand coming within a hair’s breadth of touching the Omega’s quiet face.
Mu Yan yanked his hand back as if struck by lightning.
After a brief moment, his arm lifted once more, carrying a measure of hesitation as it slowly approached the sleeping youth again before finally pressing his thumb gently and clumsily against the Omega’s cheek.
It was Mu Yan’s first time doing anything so stealthy, and he momentarily misjudged his own strength. Ruan Nian felt as though something was brushing against his face, causing a mild discomfort. After struggling through a dream for a moment, he slowly fluttered his eyes open.
He suspected he might be half-asleep. Otherwise, why would Mu Yan’s face look somewhat red?
Mu Yan hurriedly blurted out, “Go eat dinner and then sleep,” before immediately opening the door and getting out of the car, carrying a slight air of a hasty escape.
After happily finishing every last drop of the taro and pork rib soup, Ruan Nian returned to his room to prepare for a shower, only to realize he was still wearing Mu Yan’s jacket.
The hour was already quite late, but after a moment of hesitation, Ruan Nian picked up the jacket and stepped out of his room.
At the end of the corridor, the sound of running water subsided, and Mu Yan emerged from the bathroom draped in a white bathrobe worn loosely, the belt tied casually without being pulled tight.
When Ruan Nian knocked on the door, Mu Yan had just seated himself by the bedside. Tan Qiyu had sent him a lengthy wall of text detailing various specifics and precautions on how an Alpha could control their pheromones to soothe an Omega.
Clutching the jacket to his chest at the doorway, Ruan Nian was in the middle of formulating his words when Mu Yan abruptly pulled the door open.
Ruan Nian was met instantly with a vast expanse of the Alpha’s bare chest.
He averted his gaze unnaturally.
“Sorry to disturb you this late. I…” Before he could finish, the Alpha cut him off:
“Come in and talk.” The Alpha’s words were concise, his tone sounding completely calm.
Ruan Nian froze. Did his current appearance somehow give the illusion that he intended to stay for a long time? Ruan Nian opened his mouth instinctively, but Mu Yan had already turned around and walked back into the room without giving Ruan Nian any room for refusal. Left with no choice, Ruan Nian could only bite the bullet and step into Mu Yan’s private quarters.
The room was suffused with the faint, soothing fragrance of tequila pheromones, making Ruan Nian feel instantly enveloped by the Alpha’s presence and sending his nerves into an involuntary tensing. The mental draft he had prepared vanished entirely from his mind, causing Ruan Nian to shrink back into his protective shell as he stammered out:
“About today, I am truly sorry for causing trouble for you and Uncle Rong, I…” The Omega’s speech was interrupted once more.
This time, the Alpha’s tone lacked its previous calmness, carrying an almost teeth-gritting edge.
“No apologies allowed!”
Ruan Nian choked mid-sentence, forcing the rest of his words back down his throat. The Alpha’s gaze was sharp and fierce, his eyes deep and dark.
Ruan Nian thought: What do I do now? I want to run away.
The jacket in his arms suddenly felt scorchingly hot.
The moment the words left his mouth, the Alpha felt a twinge of regret. His tone had sounded a bit too harsh; the Omega stood frozen in place like a frightened statue.
Yet he simply had no other way of dealing with this Omega.
He was always like this, forever maintaining a polite distance. Whenever anything happened, his very first reaction was to apologize to him, readily shouldering all the blame onto himself.
Mu Yan discovered that he never wanted to hear the Omega utter another apology ever again.
He was determined to make this Omega learn how to be willful.
The impulse arrived out of nowhere, yet felt entirely natural.
Ruan Nian had no recollection of how he finally made it back to his room. Once the door was securely shut behind him, he realized Mu Yan’s jacket was still clutched in his arms.
So what exactly had he gone over there for? He had taken a baffling scolding for nothing, and the jacket was still unreturned. Huffing in indignation, Ruan Nian hung the jacket inside his wardrobe, kicked off his slippers, and climbed into bed.
Early the next morning, Ruan Nian went downstairs to find the astonishing sight of Mu Yan skipping work to sit in the living room reading the news.
As usual, Uncle Rong greeted him with a warm smile to come eat breakfast.
Today’s menu featured soy milk and xiaolongbao. As Ruan Nian sat down at the dining table, a mouthful of soy milk he had yet to swallow nearly sprayed right out of his mouth.
Directly facing the dining table, plastered in bold handwriting across the cabinetry, was a long list of characters:
Sleep early and wake up early, eat more vegetables and fruits, exercise in moderation, pay attention to rest.
Tan Qiyu’s wordy instructions had been transcribed word for word, the strokes fierce, bold, and neat enough to be read clearly from a great distance.
Wearing an apron, Uncle Rong smiled from the side as he explained: “Oh, Xiao Yan wrote this up early this morning, said it was doctor’s orders? I am getting old and my eyes are not so good, so I asked Xiao Yan to write it extra-large so I can read it clearly!”
Choking on the soy milk he had nearly spat out, Ruan Nian coughed violently, the flush spreading all the way down to the base of his neck.
He wished he could dig a hole right there in the garden and bury himself.
With absolute composure, Mu Yan finished the last sip of his already-cooled coffee, stood up from the sofa, and placed his cup back down on the dining table right in front of Ruan Nian.
He even meticulously adjusted its angle so that it faced the exact same direction as the other cups.
Ruan Nian strongly suspected he had skipped work today purely to watch him make a fool of himself.
This Alpha is truly too obnoxious!