The next morning, only Ruan Nian and Uncle Rong were at the dining table.
The third day, the fourth day. Following that, every single day for the next several days remained just as quiet.
Ruan Nian found it strange: clearly, when Mu Yan was home, he spent most of his time in the study, and was very quiet during meals—it seemed to make no difference whether he was there or not. Yet once he left temporarily, why did the massive villa suddenly feel a bit desolate?
Ruan Nian went about his usual routine, painting in the studio by day and occasionally tidying up the courtyard and glass greenhouse with Uncle Rong. When inspiration struck, Ruan Nian would also paint for a bit at night. The difference was that the omega would occasionally take his sketchbook and slip into the empty study, staying there for half a day at a time.
A throw pillow from the tatami mat in the studio disappeared today, and a fleece blanket disappeared tomorrow. Unknowingly, things were gradually moved out and completely transferred to the French windows of the study.
With the master absent, the omega’s painting tools were audibly and blatantly left all over the floor by the study’s French windows.
Time unhurriedly ticked closer to the day the alpha had promised.
Ruan Nian was somewhat absent-minded all day. After smearing paint in the studio for half a day, he still felt like something was missing, and finally gave up painting altogether, sitting on the first-floor sofa to look through Jonathan’s art collection.
Yet until late into the night, when Uncle Rong urged him to rest early, the entryway remained completely quiet without a single sound of movement.
Feeling an inexplicable stuffiness in his chest, Ruan Nian uploaded all his messy draft artwork from these past few days to Xingbo in one go, buried his head, and fell asleep.
The next day, two days, then three days—Mu Yan still hadn’t returned. While eating dinner, Ruan Nian casually asked Uncle Rong, “Uncle Rong, hasn’t Mu Yan returned yet?”
Uncle Rong’s knife and fork paused mid-motion. “Xiao Yan sent me a message yesterday saying he was temporarily delayed by some matters, but he didn’t specify when he’ll be back. If Niannian is worried, why not call and ask?”
The teasing and banter in Uncle Rong’s words made Ruan Nian somewhat embarrassed. After hesitating for a moment, the omega pursed his lips and shook his head.
“Um, work matters. I shouldn’t disturb him.”
“Is that so?” There was obvious regret in Uncle Rong’s words, but since the omega outwardly looked unmoved, the old man had no choice but to let the matter drop.
Time unknowingly reached the evening of the seventh day. While Ruan Nian was in the courtyard studying flower transplanting, he suddenly received a communication request.
Opening his smart brain, two glaring characters appeared on the communication interface:
Mu Yan.
The omega subconsciously puffed out his cheeks, gripping his smart brain a bit tighter, a strange and inexplicable sense of tension rising in his heart.
The wind in the courtyard was a bit strong. After coughing twice, Ruan Nian connected the call.
“Qin Mo, Xerophyte Bar. Send an inhibitor over to me. Make it quick.”
His long-absent deep voice came through. He spoke very quickly, and coupled with the noisy background noise, it took Ruan Nian a moment to barely make out what he had said, making his reply half a beat slower.
The alpha had probably dialed the wrong number. Ruan Nian hurriedly spoke up, “I…” But before he could finish, Mu Yan had already hung up on that end.
Recalling the alpha’s somewhat urgent tone, Ruan Nian quickly got up and walked toward the house. “Uncle Rong, do you have Qin Mo’s contact information?”
Time rewinds to one week ago.
Some directors and competitors from S Star’s branch colluded internally and externally, leaking the project proposal that Muyu had spent half a year preparing. This major flaw almost ruined the government cooperation project that had previously been a done deal.
With the bidding imminent, too busy to sort out responsibilities, Mu Yan immediately began dealing with the mess left by the leadership as soon as he arrived at the branch. He spent three days pulling all-nighters with the entire planning department to rush out a completely brand-new proposal. Mu Yan utilized certain methods and personal connections to barely salvage the project. Emerging from the bidding site, Mu Yan showed no emotion on the surface. After returning to the hotel to rest for a night, he used thunderous methods to completely purge the entire middle and upper management of the group. The leadership of Muyu Group was reshuffled, and some hidden scandals were uprooted. The list of implicated personnel became more startling the longer one looked at it. Mu Yan did not drag his feet at all, handling things cleanly and decisively. From the beginning to the completion of internal restructuring, the business world didn’t catch a single whisper of it.
The originally scheduled half-month business trip was continually extended. Without an omega to soothe him, Mu Yan was completely different from before the trip, the most direct manifestation being his increasingly ruthless and merciless approach to work.
He was like a perpetual motion machine. Even Tang Xian had to take turns on duty with other special assistants just to barely keep up with Mu Yan’s work intensity. Yet Mu Yan himself acted as though he didn’t need rest, only sleeping for a few short hours when utterly exhausted, waking up to start working all over again. He repeated the cycle tirelessly without ever feeling weary. In the middle of it, Qin Mo was called over, leaving Song Qi to hold down the fort at the main company in the capital.
With the addition of an effective helper, the seemingly endless work finally had an end in sight. As it neared the conclusion, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. This sudden battle was truly difficult, but fortunately, the result was quite gratifying.
After explaining the cleanup tasks one by one, the portable high-strength inhibitors he carried had been used up entirely. The irritable emotions triggered by the top-tier pheromones made the alpha unwilling to stay a moment longer; he just wanted to return to his omega as quickly as possible.
Yet reality often runs counter to wishes. On his way to the starport, Mu Yan received a communication request from Count Brandon of S Star, inviting him to attend a gemstone appreciation gathering.
This noble was a close friend of the elder Mr. Mu. Although the elder Mr. Mu had passed away, the friendship between the two families remained deep, and Mu Yan could not refuse his invitation. The flyer already parked at the starport entrance had to turn around and head back.
The coronation crown of the first royal family, the scroll-pattern carved emerald ring, the top-quality ruby-inlaid flowers. Every single piece on the black velvet cloth was extraordinary. But Mu Yan had matters on his mind, so he could only forcefully suppress the irritable discomfort of his pheromones, skimming through them reluctantly.
As he prepared to leave, a flash of blue suddenly darted across his vision.
Mu Yan subconsciously took a few extra glances.
Ruan Nian was somewhat rushed when he left, but he didn’t forget to give himself a shot of high-strength inhibitor and carefully apply the blocker patch.
Draped in a camel-colored coat grabbed at random, he still wore the white turtleneck sweater he had worn at home. Ruan Nian casually selected a car from the garage, turned on autopilot, and headed toward the bar Mu Yan had mentioned. In the car, Ruan Nian recalled Qin Mo’s words from a few minutes ago, feeling that tonight was simply an unprovoked disaster:
“Asking me to send him an inhibitor?! He must be drunk!” When Qin Mo received the call, he instantly blew his top. Wasn’t it that bastard Mu Yan who had told him to come to S Star to do hard labor a few days ago while running off early himself?!
The moment he thought about himself doing manual labor on S Star while Mu Yan was living it up in a capital bar, Qin Mo’s anger flared up. If this call had come from Mu Yan, he definitely would have chewed him out until he sobered up! But since the person calling was Ruan Nian, Qin Mo had to swallow his anger and said, “His old ailment is acting up again; his pheromones are restless, it’s no big deal. Are there still his inhibitors at home? Just grab them and send them straight to him. I’m tied up with things here, hanging up now.”
He rattled it off in one breath like a machine gun, giving Ruan Nian no chance to chime in. Before the call hung up, Ruan Nian only heard Qin Mo muttering softly on the other end:
“Making a fuss over all this in the middle of the night. Doesn’t he have an omega of his own? The moment you go over, he’ll be fine immediately, what does he need an inhibitor for?”
Ruan Nian: ……
The final result was that Ruan Nian stood at the entrance of Xerophyte Bar carrying the inhibitor.
An attendant dressed in a tailcoat proactively stepped forward to ask if Ruan Nian needed any assistance, and was politely refused by Ruan Nian. The attendant’s gaze toward him held a hint of surprise and suspicion, as if unable to understand why a marked omega would come here alone at night.
Ruan Nian didn’t know precisely where Mu Yan was, and calling him consistently showed no answer. He had no choice but to bite the bullet and go inside alone to find him.
Entering the bar, the faint music from the entrance was amplified manifold. The low bass of the bass guitar was smooth and enchanting, and the liquor in the champagne tower misted. Under the dim lighting, overlapping figures appeared exceptionally ambiguous. In the corners, alphas and omegas clung closely together, the scents of various pheromones intertwining. The hidden gazes were stifling and naked, filled with bestial ambition beneath well-dressed appearances.
The omega who burst in was completely out of place with the decadent bar atmosphere. He was pure and radiant from top to bottom, his eyes clear and clean, like a little deer stumbling into a dark forest. He looked both docile and innocent, as if he could be easily controlled. Although he carried the distinct scent of having been marked, the omega’s pheromones were far too faint, making it look in the eyes of those with ill intentions as though he were deliberately tempting others to approach.
Those covert evaluations made Ruan Nian somewhat uncomfortable, causing his whole body to tense up instinctively. Subtly avoiding a figure that deliberately bumped into him, Ruan Nian gripped the inhibitor syringe in his pocket tighter, wanting nothing more than to find Mu Yan quickly.
Yet the lighting in the bar was simply too dark, and the omega’s unconscious wandering gaze only attracted more cryptic looks. Gazes crossed in secret, stirring up a hunter’s desire for conquest. Several alphas even set down their wine glasses directly and walked toward Ruan Nian’s direction.
After searching to no avail, Ruan Nian grew somewhat anxious. Having repeatedly declined several alphas and betas who came forward to question him, he finally spotted a familiar back on the second floor.
The omega’s eyes lit up instantly as he hurried upstairs.