After finishing breakfast, Ruan Nian accompanied Uncle Rong for a stroll in the courtyard, ostensibly for digestion. The weather today was excellent. The sun felt warm on his body. For some reason, Uncle Rong was in high spirits and led him around the yard several times.
Leaving behind the dining area that made him feel so awkward he wanted to curl his toes, Ruan Nian felt everything was perfect. There was only one thing he regretted.
He should have eaten a few more small steamed buns earlier.
Uncle Rong suddenly stopped. When Ruan Nian looked up, he realized they had unwittingly walked from the front yard to the backyard, stopping in front of a glass sunroom whose roof he had once glimpsed from afar.
The arched glass sunroom seemed to have been unused for a long time. It was empty inside, without a single plant. However, the glass was clean, suggesting it had been carefully tidied not long ago.
Uncle Rong’s voice carried a hint of nostalgia. This flower room was organized by Xiao Yan’s mother. She was a romantic girl who planted all kinds of flowers here. But after she married Xiao Yan’s father, she never tended to it again.
Ruan Nian felt he might have heard something extraordinary.
Was this kind of wealthy family secret something he should be listening to?
He hesitated, just as he was thinking about how to steer the topic away without anyone noticing, Uncle Rong continued nonchalantly.
You don’t need to overthink it. It’s just that Xiao Yan’s father kidnapped his mother. Uncle Rong laughed for a while, as if remembering something, before continuing. His father was a romanticist. The two fell in love at first sight, got married immediately, and then began traveling around the galaxy. They rarely return, which is why the flower room became empty.
For some reason, hearing this answer, Ruan Nian secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Perhaps Uncle Rong’s smile was too infectious, as Ruan Nian also smiled involuntarily. A young lady from a prestigious family kidnapped by an explorer from who knows where, setting off on an interstellar adventure. This sounded both romantic and exciting.
Sigh, those two were free-spirited and didn’t care about anything, but the child suffered. When Xiao Yan was very young, he was taken in by his grandfather and raised to be the future successor. He endured a lot of hardship to manage the Muyu Group so well. Perhaps that is why Xiao Yan is like a little old man, stiff and boring, without a single romantic cell in his body. At this point, Uncle Rong shook his head, feeling both helpless and sighing.
Ruan Nian was startled upon hearing this. Unconsciously, a picture formed in his mind. While other children were playing outside, little Mu Yan was sitting upright at a table, diligently practicing his calligraphy.
That beautiful handwriting must have taken a great deal of effort to master.
The slight resentment he had felt earlier due to the large-format medical advice vanished completely at this moment.
After a moment, as if he had made up his mind, the young man turned his head and asked Uncle Rong seriously. Can I use this flower room?
He had seen Mu Yan and Uncle Rong’s care and concern for him. Now, he wanted to let romance grow in another form, which could be considered compensating for the regret in Uncle Rong’s heart. Perhaps when the silent Alpha saw it, he would also be reminded of his father and mother adventuring outside.
Thinking of this, Ruan Nian’s eyes dimmed. Father and mother were already somewhat unfamiliar terms to him.
Uncle Rong keenly noticed the Omega’s somewhat downcast mood. He touched Ruan Nian’s head comfortingly and said. This is also your home, of course you can.
Ruan Nian looked at Uncle Rong’s kind smile and suddenly felt somewhat uncertain about his previous thoughts.
Can this place be considered a home?
When he returned to the house, Ruan Nian had a thin layer of sweat on his forehead. He found that Mu Yan had not gone to work yet and was sitting back on the sofa, looking at a book with a composed expression.
The Alpha’s presence was extremely strong. Even sitting there reading, he carried an undeniable aura.
His words from last night still left Ruan Nian feeling lingering fear. Ruan Nian consciously did not go near him, raising his feet to head upstairs, intending to avoid the limelight in his studio.
Unfortunately, things did not go as planned.
Wait. Mu Yan, as if he had eyes on the back of his head, immediately called out to the leaving Omega.
He closed his book and walked slowly to the stairs. Passing by Ruan Nian, he paused and said, intentionally or not. Your studio has not been tidied up yet. Do not go in during the day.
Ruan Nian was slightly startled, remembering the wood fragments all over the floor last night.
Although the white carpet was soft, pieces of debris of various sizes had stuck into it. He wondered how long it would take to clean. Ruan Nian felt a bit worried. If he couldn’t paint, what should he do?
The Alpha was already walking to the top of the stairs when his voice drifted down from above. You can come to the study and read a book for a while.
Read a book?
For some reason, thinking of the Alpha’s malicious behavior before breakfast, Ruan Nian always felt that his proactive invitation was somewhat ill-intentioned.
But Ruan Nian truly craved the ten thousand books in the study.
Unable to make up his mind for a moment, he simply sat down beside the sofa and started browsing StarBlog.
After looking through all the recently posted popular illustrations, Ruan Nian felt bored. He wandered around the house, but nothing caught his interest.
He had to admit that he was indeed thinking about those books.
Ruan Nian quietly went upstairs and ran to the studio door. The robot seemed to still be cleaning inside. He could faintly hear the sound of the machine running.
He hadn’t heard any sound this morning. Mu Yan must have specifically waited until he went downstairs to arrange for the robot to clean the room.
Ruan Nian secretly struck a point off his mental list. For the sake of the robot, he would forgive the Alpha’s little prank this morning.
Having found an excuse to reconcile with the Alpha, even if perhaps it was only Ruan Nian unilaterally holding a grudge, Ruan Nian felt he should be more magnanimous and accept Mu Yan’s invitation to look at the study.
He turned toward the study, his steps light.
Arriving at the door, Ruan Nian instinctively wanted to knock, but the door moved slightly as his knuckles touched the panel. Ruan Nian instinctively pushed inward with the momentum and opened the door directly.
It turned out the door had been ajar from the start and was not fully closed.
Ruan Nian did not enter immediately. He stood at the door, somewhat hesitant. Does this count as entering uninvited?
Just as he was preparing to knock, Mu Yan’s voice came over. Come in.
Ruan Nian lowered the hand he had just raised and walked straight into the study.
It was just that Ruan Nian felt something was strange.
Was this the same study he had seen before?
The large fabric sofa in the center of the room. Was it there before? And the pure white plush carpet looked almost identical to the one in the studio.
Ruan Nian asked instinctively. Was this sofa here before?
Mu Yan, sitting behind the black desk directly opposite the sofa, did not look up. Yes.
Actually, he had arranged it overnight because he couldn’t sleep last night.
Mu Yan told the lie without blushing or skipping a beat.
Ruan Nian’s eyes were somewhat suspicious.
But he had specifically drawn a picture of the study before. He was one hundred percent certain that this wide, soft-looking sofa did not exist before.
This was Mu Yan’s study. Logically, he could change it or add things however he wanted, and Ruan Nian had no opinion at all. But couldn’t he just tell the truth? Why did he have to lie?
Ruan Nian carefully examined the sofa in the center of the room.
Light beige, with several well-sized cushions, and a white wool blanket folded on the sofa bed beside it, looking very soft. Although it was in light colors, it strangely matched the overall steady, dark tone of the study very harmoniously?
A thought suddenly flashed through Ruan Nian’s mind.
He cleared his throat somewhat unnaturally.
Mu Yan, however, looked over in his direction.
Ruan Nian thought the sound of his throat-clearing had disturbed him, so he quickly found an excuse. That, can I take the books here down to read?
Yes. Mu Yan lowered his head again after saying this, looking very busy.
Ruan Nian breathed a secret sigh of relief. Every time he met Mu Yan’s gaze, he would instinctively feel a little nervous.
Afterward, Ruan Nian wandered lightly around the large study.
As his gaze swept over one bookshelf after another, his eyes grew brighter.
The richness and breadth of Mu Yan’s collection left Ruan Nian in awe. Not only did he see many familiar classics, but there were also many limited, rare editions he did not even have.
The complete works of the famous novelist M! The complete pudding flavor collection of the royal pastry chef Tang Bri! Most ridiculously, Ruan Nian saw an entire shelf of the sketch master Jonathan’s collections. He pulled one out at random and opened it. It actually had Jonathan’s own autograph!
This master had retired from the art world for many years. Let alone an autograph, even the number of his collections was pitifully small. His brother-obsessed sister Ruan Shi had spent a fortune and a long time collecting the complete set, which he gave to Ruan Nian as a birthday gift one year.
Ruan Nian decided to stop browsing casually. This shelf alone was enough for him to read with great interest for a long time.
He held the character collection and walked toward the study door, preparing to take it back to his room to read slowly.
His steps were light. If not for the fact that Mu Yan was still working in the room, he would have hummed like a happy little bird. But before his hand touched the door, Ruan Nian was stopped by Mu Yan. Read it here.
Ruan Nian was startled and said somewhat hesitantly. But aren’t you working here? If I read here. Wouldn’t I disturb you?
The second half of the sentence was blocked by Mu Yan. No.
The Alpha’s gaze had not left the screen in front of him from start to finish.
Ruan Nian secretly puffed out his cheeks. Wasn’t he busy? Why did it feel like his thoughts and actions were understood clearly by him?
Under the roof of others, he had to bow his head. Although he didn’t know why Mu Yan wouldn’t let him take the book out, since he didn’t mind, Ruan Nian had no reason to be pretentious.
He simply walked to the sofa in the center of the room, sat down, and quietly flipped through the character collection page by page.
The room grew quiet again, with only the mechanical sound of Mu Yan occasionally typing on the keyboard, and the light rustle of Ruan Nian turning pages.
Sunlight poured into the room through the huge floor-to-ceiling window, landing on their shoulders. At some point, the sweet scent of milk overflowed in the room, and the previously faint, barely noticeable aroma of tequila alcohol grew strong again, gently capping the milk bottle.