Mu Yan had actually done it on purpose.
He did not like the Omega’s usual obediently smiling demeanor, so he could not resist teasing him and appreciating all the vivid expressions on his face.
He wanted to say more, but the slightly aggrieved Omega had achieved his goal, discarded him after use, and hastily found an excuse to retreat back into his studio.
Though he still wanted to tease him a bit more, considering the Omega already looked somewhat depressed, Mu Yan had no choice but to let it go.
Recalling the character sketch Ruan Nian had drawn of him, Mu Yan felt for the first time in a long while that his strategy had failed.
He should not have set up a separate studio exclusively for the Omega.
He should have integrated it directly into the study.
Although his work efficiency for the entire day was somewhat low, his mood was exceptionally light and buoyant.
Ruan Nian did not continue painting upon returning to his studio either. He shuffled slowly over to the wooden cabinet and began organizing the unopened art supplies and pigments according to his own habits.
Working with intense concentration for several hours left him feeling somewhat exhausted. Furthermore, Tan Qiyu had only just warned him to pay attention to rest yesterday, so he dared not push his luck.
Should he overexert himself and end up in the hospital again, it would not only incur Doctor Tan’s wrath, but Ruan Shi would likely no longer indulge him either.
At this thought, the aluminum tube of pigment Ruan Nian was holding suddenly slipped back into its original box with a soft snap.
This matter of him ending up in the hospital.
He seemed to have forgotten to actively tell Ruan Shi about it!
Ruan Nian felt as though the sky had just collapsed.
Even though he knew Doctor Tan must have already told Ruan Shi, knowing Ruan Shi’s temperament, if he did not hear his younger brother personally report that he was safe, he would undoubtedly worry sick!
He could no longer worry about finishing the organization of his art supplies. Ruan Nian bolted toward his room, determined to call his older brother first.
Yet he was still a step too late.
A knock sounded, accompanied by Mu Yan’s voice:
“Ruan Nian, your brother is downstairs.”
Ruan Nian froze in place instantly. The final thought echoing in his mind was: It is over. Everything is completely over.
Upon receiving Tan Qiyu’s communication, Ruan Shi could not even bother with his meeting. He bought the earliest ticket and rushed back in a frantic panic.
Before he even boarded the spacecraft, he received another message from Doctor Tan stating that Ruan Nian was fine and had already returned home.
If he did not know that Tan Qiyu would never joke about Ruan Nian and himself, Ruan Shi might have suspected Tan Qiyu was playing a prank on him.
Standing with his luggage amid the bustling crowd at the starport, the thought that he had been forced into this temporary business trip precisely because Boyu Group refused to loosen its grip on the development rights of a tourist planet made him seethe.
At that moment, he was furious, extremely furious.
Contrary to his usual habits, Ruan Shi did not immediately call Ruan Nian to ask about the situation because he wanted to wait for his well-behaved, sensible younger brother to take the initiative and call to confess his mistake while seeking appeasement.
Yet he toggled his smart brain on and off countless times until he boarded the flying vehicle, without hearing a single notification prompt.
On the sofa to the right of the living room, the exhausted, panic-stricken Alpha who had just experienced a rollercoaster of despair and joy sat expressionless. He sat up straight, his spine rigid, hands loosely clasped and resting entirely on his knees.
Ruan Nian knew that the older brother who had always indulged him unconditionally was genuinely angry this time.
To be fair, it was indeed his fault. Not only had he failed to take care of himself and ended up in the hospital over these past few days, but he had also forgotten to call his brother to report that he was safe. Ruan Shi had every right to be angry.
Enduring his older brother’s blazing gaze, Ruan Nian bit the bullet and spoke up, hoping to randomly throw out something else to divert Ruan Shi’s attention.
“Um… Brother, you are here! Should I bake a cake for you?”
Yet a furious Ruan Shi was completely immune to this tactic. He turned his gaze toward Mu Yan sitting on the other side, his eyes dark and heavy.
“President Mu, may I borrow a space to speak with my younger brother alone for a moment?”
Mu Yan paused mid-action while brewing tea, nodding slightly: “The room to the left of the stairs. Please make yourselves at home.”
Ruan Shi nodded at Mu Yan and strode toward the room first. Ruan Nian hurriedly stood up, trailing obediently behind his brother as the two of them filed into the room one after the other.
No sooner had Ruan Nian closed the door than his arm was grabbed by Ruan Shi.
Ruan Shi turned Ruan Nian around from head to toe, inspecting him meticulously multiple times, even grabbing his arm and rotating his wrist joints to confirm that his younger brother had suffered no fractures or obvious external injuries before finally letting his hanging heart drop back into place.
Ruan Nian stood obediently in place cooperating with his movements, and only spoke up cautiously once Ruan Shi finished his inspection.
“Brother, I am fine. Doctor Tan already checked me twice at the hospital; it was just some pheromone fluctuation.”
Ruan Shi retorted unceremoniously: “You call a pheromone riot being fine? Ruan Nian, did you take proper care of yourself at all?”
The last time Ruan Shi had addressed him by his full first name was when Ruan Nian had stayed up late finishing a manuscript and was caught red-handed by Ruan Shi, who had traveled to Muxing to visit him. Ruan Shi had been so angry he ignored him for a full week, and Ruan Nian had only managed to placate him with a dessert offensive, baking various cakes every day accompanied by promises to sleep early and rest on time.
Knowing he was in the wrong, Ruan Nian mumbled, “I am sorry, Brother. Please do not be angry. I promise to pay attention to rest from now on and go to Doctor Tan’s for checkups every weekend, okay?”
The Omega lowered his gaze, his eyes flickering slightly as he looked up with a cautious expression, resembling a pitiful little animal begging for scraps.
Staring at such a gaze for a long while, even with lingering anger in his heart, Ruan Nian’s pitiful appearance made it impossible for Ruan Shi to stay mad.
Ruan Nian knew all too well how to appease him. Seeing a flicker of wavering in his brother’s eyes, he pressed the advantage: “Brother, I am so happy you came to see me! I will make a cake for you later and bake some cookies too, alright?”
Ruan Shi neither agreed nor refused.
He remained silent for a moment, pulling his younger brother to sit down at the table and chairs inside the room, raising a hand to ruffle Ruan Nian’s hair.
Ruan Nian knew that Ruan Shi had essentially forgiven him. Letting out a silent sigh of relief, he offered no resistance as Ruan Shi messed his hair up completely, slowly recounting everything that had happened over the past few days step by step.
Ruan Shi ruffled his hair distractedly, remaining completely silent throughout the entire narrative.
After finishing, seeing Ruan Nian’s continued silence, anxiety crept back into his heart. Rack his brains as he might for every detail from the past few days, he began blurting things out disconnectedly:
The studio prepared by Mu Yan, Uncle Rong’s taro and pork rib soup, the amusing garden landscaping in the courtyard, the glass greenhouse holding hidden stories.
He tried his best to convey one single message: he was living very well here, and Ruan Shi did not need to worry about him too much.
Ruan Shi listened in silence, his expression growing increasingly elusive.
Ruan Nian’s voice gradually tapered off. Ruan Shi’s reaction left him feeling less and less confident, forcing him to keep talking non-stop: brand-new art supplies, the fabric sofa in the study, Jonathan’s autograph. He even picked out a few amusing comments received on Xingbo to share.
Ruan Nian grew parched from talking, eventually running completely out of things to say.
He swallowed hard. Ruan Shi’s silence filled him with a sense of despair. Just as he was contemplating proactive surrender and reparations, Ruan Shi finally spoke.
“Niannian.”
“Hm?”
“How is Mu Yan treating you?”
Ruan Nian answered without a second thought: “Very well.”
He answered far too quickly.
Ruan Shi was momentarily at a loss for words, plunging the room into a brief silence.
Only then did Ruan Nian realize what he had instinctively blurted out.
He had only interacted with Mu Yan for a mere two days, yet the Alpha’s kindness had already embedded itself so deeply as to become a reflex memory.
In an instant, both Ruan Nian and Ruan Shi experienced a complex tangle of emotions.
After a long while, Ruan Shi broke the quiet, his tone carrying a seriousness and earnestness Ruan Nian had not heard in a long time:
“Niannian, what are your thoughts on this?”
His question came out of nowhere, yet he knew Ruan Nian understood precisely what he was asking.
Ruan Nian gave no answer.
He did not know how to answer.
Fragments of their interactions over the past few days replayed in his mind: the meticulously remodeled studio, the steaming hot meals, the fleeting touch of the Alpha’s lips, those sturdy and powerful arms.
And the reassuring scent of tequila pheromones.
He felt somewhat dazed, and even more at a loss, as no one had ever told him that a mutual-benefit marriage maintaining polite distance would turn out like this. Reality had unconsciously deviated from its preset track, tilting rapidly toward a direction he had never once imagined.
He had arrived fully armored, only to drop his weapons and surrender without a fight in the gentle trap named home woven by Mu Yan and Uncle Rong.
A warm sensation suddenly touched his cheek, accompanied by Ruan Shi’s soothing words.
“It is alright, Niannian. Let nature take its course, okay?”
Ruan Nian pressed his lips together and nodded heavily.
At the dining table, even the sweet and delicious cake failed to alleviate Ruan Shi’s complicated mood.
Possessing a top-tier Alpha pheromone himself, even without deliberately trying to sense it, Ruan Shi could easily catch those two unusual scents hidden beneath the aroma of the food, leaving a single Alpha like him feeling somewhat out of his depth.
Ruan Nian buried his head in his bowl, focusing entirely on eating while daring not to lift his gaze to look at Ruan Shi.
He felt his gland must truly be malfunctioning. Otherwise, why would his pheromones start drifting around wildly the moment he sat down to eat?
Although he had heard Mu Yan and Tan Qiyu discuss this situation at the hospital last time, unconscious pheromone fluctuations and consciously perceiving them were two entirely different matters! This time, he clearly sensed the tequila aroma, meaning his older brother, who was also present, must have felt it too.
At this thought, Ruan Nian felt the rice in his bowl lose all its appeal.
Meanwhile, Mu Yan seemed completely oblivious to the awkward atmosphere at the dining table. He was slowly savoring the small cake Ruan Nian had made by hand, which was soft, delicious, and sweet without being cloying.
He subconsciously reached for another cookie that was salty, savory, crispy, and delicate in texture.
It turned out the Omega’s hands were not only capable of holding a paintbrush, but could also craft such delicious pastries.
What else was there about him that he did not know? He found himself looking forward to it.
Dinner concluded hastily amid everyone’s private thoughts. Right after the meal, Ruan Nian was the first to stand up, using the excuse of helping Uncle Rong clean up the kitchen to make a swift escape from the battleground.
Suddenly, the dining table was left with only two Alphas. Ruan Shi no longer needed to mind his younger brother, cutting straight to the point.
“President Mu, may I have a word?”
Mu Yan paused mid-sip of water and nodded slightly.
The two of them walked side by side toward the courtyard.