“I love Gu Xun to death. If I can’t have him, no one else will.”
“I know, I know. I will avoid his sharp edges. Is that enough?”
Yun Xi’s voice was casual, which took Shen Jiu by surprise. After all, when Yun Wangjiang first brought Qin Zhi home, Yun Xi had been as explosive as a firecracker. He had thrown a massive tantrum and nearly smashed a priceless porcelain vase that Shen Jiu had recently acquired.
Shen Jiu wondered if his son was truly over it or if he was brewing more trouble. Knowing Yun Xi’s temperament all too well, he could not help but feel anxious.
Regardless of Shen Jiu’s internal emotional roller coaster, Yun Xi truly did not plan to waste any more energy dealing with Qin Zhi. After hanging up the phone, he started his car. About half an hour later, Yun Xi drove into a manor on the outskirts of City B. The butler, Uncle Wang, had known he was coming and was already waiting for him.
“Uncle Wang.”
“Xixi, you are back,” Uncle Wang responded with a doting gaze. “The Master is currently meeting a guest in the study. The kitchen has prepared your favorite tea and snacks. Should I send them over? You look like you have lost weight.”
“I have not.” Yun Xi stepped out of the car and asked, “Has Qin Zhi arrived?”
“Mr. Qin arrived twenty minutes before you.” Uncle Wang thought for a moment, leaned closer, and whispered something to Yun Xi.
Yun Xi’s gaze shifted. “Understood.”
He handed his tea set to Uncle Wang and walked toward the house. Within a few steps, he bumped into a man whose face looked as green as a wilted vegetable.
“Bai Jingchen?” Yun Xi curled his lips into a smile. “What a rare guest.”
Bai Jingchen was standing by a giant floor vase near the entrance, looking as though he had been lying in wait for Yun Xi. Seeing Yun Xi’s face, which remained as radiant as ever, Bai Jingchen ground his teeth. “Yun Xi.”
It was all because he had fallen for Yun Xi’s nonsense. He had actually believed that Gu Xun had functional issues in that department. But having harbored a secret crush on Gu Xun for so many years, it was not something he could drop so easily. After much agonizing, Bai Jingchen had gone to Gu Xun’s house to confess, even stating that he did not mind a platonic relationship.
He was then promptly kicked out by a furious Gu Xun. That day could easily be ranked as the darkest in Bai Jingchen’s life. And the culprit showed no remorse whatsoever, standing right there smiling at him.
“What is wrong? You look terrible. Are you sick?” Yun Xi asked playfully.
Bai Jingchen looked around and pulled Yun Xi toward a small side garden. Yun Xi, feeling bored anyway, followed him obediently.
“What is the big secret? Do we really need a private spot?”
The small garden had been designed by Shen Jiu and was planted with many precious flowering trees. In the center sat a stone table and several stools, a perfect place for a conversation. Yun Xi wiped a stone stool with his handkerchief and sat down composedly.
Bai Jingchen gave a subtle look toward the trees behind them, took a deep breath, and spoke. “Yun Xi, why did you lie to me before?”
“What did I lie about?”
“You!” Bai Jingchen lowered his voice. “You lied to me and said Gu Xun was impotent.”
Yun Xi let out a long “Oh.” “That? Honestly, I was just joking. You actually took it seriously?” He feigned shock. “You did not actually go to Gu Xun and ask if it was true, did you? How offensive!”
Bai Jingchen clenched his fists tightly, suppressing the urge to punch Yun Xi. He reminded himself not to forget the most important thing. He turned his head away to avoid Yun Xi’s punchable face and raised his voice.
“Yun Xi, just admit it! You only made up that shameless lie because you did not want me to take Gu Xun away from you! You have been slandering Gu Xun’s reputation just to keep him for yourself. All that talk about not liking him anymore is a lie too. To use such underhanded tactics, Yun Xi, you do not deserve to love Gu Xun at all!”
He had rehearsed these lines many times in his head and delivered them without a single stumble. Expecting to see Yun Xi look flustered after being exposed, Bai Jingchen turned back only to see Yun Xi with his legs crossed, calmly playing a match three game on his phone.
Bai Jingchen shouted, “Yun Xi! Are you even listening to me!” He was beyond furious and snatched the phone away.
“Tsk.” Yun Xi was nearly through that level. He wanted his phone back, but Bai Jingchen held onto it tightly. Yun Xi had no interest in playing a game of tag, so he said lazily, “Is this the only reason you called me over here?”
Bai Jingchen snapped, “You must give me an explanation!”
Yun Xi glanced at the swaying shadows behind Bai Jingchen and a flash of playfulness crossed his eyes.
“Fine, you caught me. I spread those rumors because I did not want Gu Xun to be taken away. I love Gu Xun to death. If I cannot have him, no one else will. I am just a wicked Omega like that. Why do you not call the police?”
Yun Xi gave Bai Jingchen exactly what he wanted without any psychological burden, then added with a smiling twist of the knife, “But what is the point of you jumping around like this? Even if you expose my true colors to Gu Xun, will he fall in love with you? I doubt it. You know as well as I do that your Brother Gu Xun does not like Omegas. No matter how much you do, he will never like you.”
Bai Jingchen’s face turned various shades of pale. Yun Xi was right. Gu Xun had been hurt so deeply in the past that he would never like an Omega. No matter how hard he tried, it was futile. But ever since he had seen Gu Xun in such a vulnerable state while drunk, he had vowed to heal him and give him warmth. He wondered how he could give up so easily.
Bai Jingchen bit his lip and asked, “Then what is the point of you doing all this?”
“The point is huge.” Yun Xi leaned back against the stone table in a relaxed posture. “Since he can never love me, let him hate me instead. The more he hates me, the more he will think of me. At least that way, I will occupy a space in his heart.”
After saying this, Yun Xi felt a wave of internal disgust. He was sacrificing quite a lot just to irritate Gu Xun. However, Bai Jingchen was clearly stunned. The devoted Omega stood frozen in place, a look of realization dawning on his face.
Having stirred the pot enough, Yun Xi stood up, took his phone back from Bai Jingchen, patted the man on the shoulder, and walked back toward the house. A moment later, a figure stepped out from behind the trees.
Bai Jingchen snapped back to reality and looked at the newcomer. “Brother Gu Xun, you heard that, right? Yun Xi’s intentions are so…”
Gu Xun raised a hand, cutting Bai Jingchen off. He had been forced by his father to come here and apologize. He had intended to just leave the gift and go, but Bai Jingchen had been persistent about exposing Yun Xi’s true face and would not let him leave. Gu Xun was full of impatience, yet for some reason, he had stayed.
After that recent performance at the live house, he kept thinking the person in Su Yanqing’s arms looked like Yun Xi, but logic told him it was impossible. After hearing Yun Xi’s confession just now, Gu Xun was finally one hundred percent certain that the person was not Yun Xi. Yun Xi clearly loved him to such a desperate degree.
Gu Xun sneered inwardly, finding Yun Xi pathetic, yet he could not suppress a sense of immense satisfaction. He glanced at the nervous Bai Jingchen and said heartlessly, “Yun Xi is right. I will never like an Omega. I do not even want Yun Xi, let alone you.”
With those words, Bai Jingchen’s face turned deathly pale. Gu Xun did not even give him a second look before turning and leaving. Bai Jingchen slumped to the ground, soul shaken. Gu Xun’s contemptuous gaze felt like a knife stabbing into his heart. He stared blankly at the sky, and Yun Xi’s words flashed through his mind.
On the second floor balcony, Yun Xi was in high spirits after watching the show. He held a glass of ice water and took a small sip. The freezing liquid flowed down his throat, making him shiver. Just then, a cold wind blew by, and Yun Xi could not help but sneeze.
“Your constitution is weak. You should not drink ice water in this weather.”
A voice suddenly came from behind him. Startled, Yun Xi spun around. A figure had appeared behind him at some unknown point. Qin Zhi stood there with a neutral expression. He was dressed in casual clothes, tall and handsome, with a pair of rimless glasses that gave him a scholarly air.
“Why did you not come to the institute at the beginning of the month?” Before Yun Xi could answer, Qin Zhi asked again, “Is this month’s heat over?”
Yun Xi gripped his glass, feeling a headache coming on. He tilted his head and finished the ice water in one gulp. “What? Do I need to report my visits to the institute to you?”
Qin Zhi frowned slightly. “If you wish to terminate the research plan, please contact me to clarify. Accordingly, I will refund the remaining research funds to your account.”
Yun Xi took a deep breath, a familiar sense of helplessness washing over him. That was right. Before Qin Zhi became his older brother, he had another identity. He was the researcher specifically responsible for studying Yun Xi’s irregular heat cycles and developing specialized suppressants for him.
Originally, Yun Xi had not cared much about it. Feeling miserable once or twice a month was something he could endure; it was better than sleeping with some random Alpha he had no interest in. Until one time, while wandering the streets alone, his heat suddenly hit him.
The pheromones of a high level Omega are no different from the strongest aphrodisiac to an Alpha. Immediately, several Alphas were induced into their own ruts and surrounded him. It was only because Qin Zhi happened to be passing by that the Alphas were subdued and Yun Xi was saved. Standard suppressants did not work well on Yun Xi, and his symptoms remained severe. Fortunately, Qin Zhi was a Beta and could not smell Yun Xi’s pheromones, which allowed him to successfully bring Yun Xi to the institute for further treatment.
After that incident, Yun Xi followed Qin Zhi’s advice and went to the institute every month to monitor his pheromone levels and help formulate suppressants tailored to his body. And this month, Yun Xi really did not want to see Qin Zhi’s face. He had not only deleted Qin Zhi’s contact information but also skipped the institute entirely.
In the book, Qin Zhi was always described as indifferent, appearing not to care much about anything. Yun Xi, on the other hand, would mock him with cold words every time they met, acting like a typical vicious cannon fodder. But looking at it now, Yun Xi realized it was not entirely his fault. He saw Qin Zhi pull out a small notebook and start writing this down as a task.
Up until the very end of the story, Qin Zhi never did anything out of line. He would just occasionally visit the house. Yun Wangjiang had once offered to help him build an independent research institute, but Qin Zhi had politely declined. He truly seemed to have no ambition.
Yun Xi steadied his breathing and said as calmly as possible, “I am not terminating it. When did I ever say I was terminating it? I am just busy right now. I will go when I have time.”
Qin Zhi paused, put the notebook back in his pocket, and said, “Fine. Please contact me in advance. If there is nothing else, I will leave.”
With that, Qin Zhi turned to go. Yun Xi called out to him, hesitated, and asked, “Are you not staying for dinner?”