Mu Yan took off his coat, hung it on the entryway coat rack, loosened his tie, and walked inside. As he passed the sofa, he hesitated for a moment, then turned into the pantry area of the dining and kitchen zone.
After a while, Mu Yan walked over with a cup of coffee and sat down opposite Ruan Nian.
The lighting before them was slightly dim, and Ruan Nian paused in his flipping of the art book, secretly sizing up the person sitting across from him out of the corner of his eye. He felt as though today’s Alpha seemed to have something to say. Sure enough, after a short while, Mu Yan spoke up after weighing his words carefully.
“Those cookies, they said the taste was very good.”
He purposely placed a slight emphasis on the word “they,” making his implication quite obvious.
Having one’s culinary skills affirmed was a very joyful thing, and Ruan Nian subconsciously broke into a broad smile. “Thank you.”
With his mood lifted, Ruan Nian didn’t think too much into it and followed Mu Yan’s line of questioning: “They? Didn’t you eat any?”
Mu Yan was momentarily dazzled by his smile, nearly forgetting his carefully prepared mental draft entirely. But because a certain matter had been on his mind the entire day, failing here was absolutely out of the question.
“No.” His voice was deep, and if one listened closely, a trace of grievance could still be detected within it.
“Song Qi took advantage of my absence and ate the portion I saved.”
It wasn’t just a single portion; it was clearly two.
The Alpha wore a poker face as he said this, striving to maintain his composure, yet the trace of grievance in his words became even more pronounced instead.
For some reason, Ruan Nian felt as though he were looking at a large, dejected dog whose bone had been stolen, drooping its ears as it lay in place, whimpering pitifully and aggrievedly.
This kind of imagery, when paired with the taciturn and towering Alpha, felt somewhat discordant, yet it carried an inexplicable sense of cuteness.
Struggling to hold back the smile at the corners of his lips, Ruan Nian unconsciously relaxed his body, sinking entirely into the soft sofa.
Relaxed in both body and mind, a completely unguarding Ruan Nian had no idea at all that he had fallen for a trap, and still subconsciously offered comfort: “Then I’ll bake some more for you later?”
He succeeded.
“Okay.” Mu Yan replied in practically a split second. The corners of his lips twitched upward involuntarily, but he immediately caught himself, picked up the coffee on the table, and took a sip as a cover.
Although Mu Yan moved with lightning speed, Ruan Nian, who was sitting directly across from him, still caught the flash of cunning amusement that had briefly crossed his face.
Ruan Nian thought to himself.
So he had definitely fallen for it, right?
Is it right? Oh no!
QAQ
Today’s dinner was sweet pumpkin soup. Just as they were finishing up, Mu Yan suddenly received a communication request.
Mu Yan casually answered it, originally thinking it was merely a trivial matter, but he watched as the Alpha’s initially gentle expression slowly turned grave. After a moment, he even set down his tableware with a frown, stood up, and headed upstairs.
Uncle Rong seemed to have long grown accustomed to such scenes. After waiting a little while, both Uncle Rong and Ruan Nian finished their dinners, yet Mu Yan showed not the slightest sign of returning to the dining room.
The old man sighed and cleared away Mu Yan’s tableware. “Xiao Yan’s work is simply too busy. When he first took over Muyu, there were constantly all sorts of sudden issues that required his handling, and sometimes he couldn’t even manage to eat. Even though things have improved somewhat now, the moment he gets to work, he forgets all about everything else.”
Ruan Nian subconsciously felt a twinge of sympathy for Mu Yan. He deeply empathized with Uncle Rong’s sentiments; back in the early years, Ruan Shi had been just like Mu Yan, working desperately hard to the point where no amount of persuasion could stop him, relying entirely on nutritional fluids to barely sustain his body until the Ruan family enterprise finally got onto the right track in recent years, allowing things to slowly improve.
Before dinner, Ruan Nian had still been harboring lingering resentment over being tricked, but at this moment, he was already unconsciously tallying up the remaining ingredients at home in his mind.
Next time, perhaps he could bake some more cupcakes.
The Omega sipped his water in small, slow sips. Although his gaze remained fixed on the art book, his thoughts had already drifted off to goodness knows where.
After taking a shower, Ruan Nian suddenly remembered that the art book he hadn’t finished reading was still on the living room sofa on the first floor.
The hour was getting a bit late, and he wondered if Uncle Rong had already turned in. Moving with light and cautious steps, Ruan Nian walked out of his room, went downstairs to retrieve the art book, and noticed as he passed the corridor that a small section of the second-floor balcony side was illuminated, standing out exceptionally clearly against the backdrop of night.
Ruan Nian stopped in his tracks without even realizing it.
Is he still busy?
The Omega subconsciously retreated to the doorway of the study. He raised his arm, intending to knock, but immediately caught himself and hurriedly pulled his hand back.
This is his personal business. I have no right to interfere.
Ruan Nian pressed his lips together and returned to his room hugging the art book.
His hair was still dripping water, but Ruan Nian temporarily had no mind to dry it. He casually placed the art book on the nightstand and wrapped himself up tight in the duvet like a cocoon.
For some reason, he couldn’t quite fall asleep, his mind constantly lingering on that unextinguished light on the second floor.
Knock, knock! A short, light knock suddenly sounded from inside the room.
Huh? So late at night. Is it Uncle Rong, or is it Mu Yan?
Ruan Nian scrambled up in one swift motion, not even bothering to slip into his slippers, and ran barefooted to open the door.
It was Mu Yan.
Unsure whether the Omega had fallen asleep, Mu Yan had hesitated outside Ruan Nian’s bedroom door for a long time before tentatively giving a knock. When Ruan Nian opened the door, his hand was still suspended in mid-air, maintaining the posture of knocking.
Mu Yan froze for a moment, as if he hadn’t anticipated that the Omega not only hadn’t gone to sleep, but had flung the door open in a flash.
His gaze subconsciously swept over the Omega from head to toe, and then his brow furrowed.
“Why haven’t you dried your hair? And you aren’t wearing slippers either.” The Alpha’s tone was deep, carrying a hint of reprimand.
Before Ruan Nian could even react, his wrist was caught and he was pulled inside the room to sit down.
The Alpha smoothly and familiarly retrieved a hair dryer from the storage compartment of the bathroom, walked back to Ruan Nian’s side, and began drying his hair with utter naturalness.
Ruan Nian was left somewhat dazed by this series of maneuvers. He had only opened a door, so how on earth did things suddenly turn into this?
The Alpha’s cold, crisp scent was within arm’s reach. Ruan Nian swallowed hard, utterly at a loss for how to voice the words he had originally intended to say.
The Alpha’s movements were not particularly practiced, yet they were very gentle, not hurting Ruan Nian in the least.
Judging that the hair was nearly dry, Mu Yan prepared to turn off the hair dryer, but his fingers somehow brushed against something, causing the Omega’s body to tremble slightly as if struck by a mild electric shock, instantly pulling away from his fingertips.
A quick flush rapidly bloomed across the tips of the Omega’s ears, flashing briefly before vanishing back into the fine, soft black strands as the Omega shrank backward.
Only then did Mu Yan belatedly realize that he had probably accidentally brushed against the scent gland at the back of the Omega’s neck.
The scent-blocking spray Ruan Nian had applied had long since been washed off in the shower, and a wisp of milky fragrance leaked out, effortlessly coaxing forth a faint, underlying trace of alcohol scent.
The atmosphere in the room instantly turned ambiguous and unclear.
Ruan Nian pressed his lips together, his body subconsciously scooting backward a bit. After putting a small distance between them, he tilted his head up to look at the Alpha.
Thank you. Is there something you need, so late at night?
Only then did Mu Yan snap back to reality, remembering the purpose of this visit.
He turned off the hair dryer, his fingers lifting slightly as if to help Ruan Nian tidy away the messy strands of hair.
A few wayward wisps of hair rested across the Omega’s forehead. His eyes were dewy and wet, and as he tilted his head up to look at him, they were as bright and pure as a newborn deer’s eyes, teasing without even realizing it.
Before the Alpha’s slender, well-proportioned fingers could touch the youth’s soft cheek, they were swiftly retracted and awkwardly tucked against his side.
He forcefully ignored the Omega’s adorable gaze, trying his utmost to make his voice sound no different from usual.
“There’s an issue with the operations on S Star. I’ll be going on a business trip for half a month, and I’m leaving first thing tomorrow morning.”
“Oh, okay.”
The Omega responded subconsciously, thinking that was the end of it. Yet after waiting patiently for quite a while, the Alpha remained rooted to the spot, showing no intention of leaving whatsoever.
Ruan Nian hesitated, unconsciously licking his lower lip, and softly tacked on a sentence:
Have a safe trip?
Whenever his father used to go on business trips, his mother would always say those words with a smile while sending him off.
It was just that so much time had passed since he last thought of it that the images in his memories had actually grown somewhat blurry and indistinct. Ruan Nian’s emotions dipped into a low ebb, and he instinctively lowered his gaze to keep anyone from catching the fleeting desolation at the bottom of his eyes.
Yet the very next moment, a large hand with faint calluses gently pressed against his chin, halting the Omega’s small attempt to hide the expression on his face.
His pressure was extremely light. If Ruan Nian wished to refuse, a slight tilt of his head would have allowed him to evade it.
Yet Ruan Nian did not.
The heat on his ears not only failed to dissipate, but instead grew increasingly intense, accompanied by the wild, thumping rhythm of his racing heart.
“Your marking,” the Alpha paused, forcefully suppressing the hoarseness in his throat as he spoke word by word, “I think it would be better to deepen it before I leave.”
“May I?”
For a long time, no response came from him.
As expected, I truly am an insatiable person.
Mu Yan thought.
A trace of imperceptible disappointment flashed across the depths of his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by stubborn persistence. The Alpha slowly leaned down, approaching the Omega’s sensitive, vulnerable nape inch by inch at a snail’s pace.
Their scents drew closer and closer, finally intertwining together. Mu Yan could feel the Omega’s somewhat hurried breathing, as well as the gradually spinning-out-of-control scent of sweet milk filling the room.
If he is unwilling, a gentle push will shove me away.
Yet Ruan Nian did not.
This time, unlike last time where he touched and withdrew immediately, the Alpha pressed closely against the Omega’s fragile and sensitive gland, gently licking and leaving behind one damp kiss after another.
The aroma of tequila surged within the stagnant air, pacifying the Omega’s silent whimpers.
Ruan Nian could not remember when Mu Yan had left. Amidst a hazy state of drowsiness, he seemed to hear an exceptionally gentle good night, and then he sank into a deep sleep, enveloped entirely by the scent of tequila.
Ruan Nian’s final thought before falling asleep was that he really seemed to have drifted off into rather strange territory, just as his older brother had worried.
He had clearly feared an Alpha’s approach so deeply once upon a time, and he could clearly have refused right from the very start.
Yet Ruan Nian had not.