“Lin Lan!”
A highly magnetic voice came from behind Lu Yubai. The clear, refined tone was laced with anger. As he approached with long strides, the pleasant scent of cedarwood grew stronger.
His Enigma had arrived.
Under the suppression of the cedarwood scent, the annoying sandalwood aroma on Lu Yubai gradually dissipated. He began to feel comfortable again.
Yan Chi walked up to Lu Yubai’s side and said indifferently, “Why are you here?”
The anger in Lu Yubai’s eyes was forcefully suppressed. He truly could not find it in himself to be happy. After casting a cold glance at Yan Chi, he turned and walked away.
That was a question he should be asking Yan Chi. They were married, yet Yan Chi was attending a funeral with another man. This sort of thing was clearly something only a couple should do. Looking at them now, it felt as if he was the third wheel!
“Damn it.”
Who exactly was the third wheel here? Well, the one who is not loved is the third wheel. He pressed his tongue against his cheek, his face clouded with gloom.
After Lu Yubai left, Yan Chi did not chase after him. His dark pupils constricted, and his expression turned sinister and terrifying. Within a ten-meter radius, an endless chill rolled out, saturated with the scent of cedar.
Faced with the pressure of a powerful Enigma, Lin Lan could not even last thirty seconds. He slumped weakly against the ground, forcing words out of his throat with great effort. “Yan, Yan Chi, what are you doing?”
Yan Chi’s brows lowered, a torrential rage swirling beneath his eyelids. He grabbed Lin Lan by the collar and hauled him up. The brute force nearly tore his clothes.
“Who gave you permission to use pheromones to suppress him?”
Lin Lan was shoved against the wall. The rough stone scraped the skin on his back, making him hiss in pain. He attempted to explain, “Yan Chi, calm down. Lu Yubai was the one who provoked me first. I”
“Do not think that just because you were also the Teacher’s student, I will not touch you.”
He throttled Lin Lan’s neck and slammed his head against the wall. His fingertips dug into the skin, the ferocity in his eyes looking as if he wanted to skin the man alive.
Lin Lan was being strangled to the point of suffocation. His head buzzed, and his face turned red from the lack of air. Three seconds before he would have lost consciousness, Yan Chi released him.
Lin Lan collapsed to the ground like he had been given a second life, gasping for air in large gulps.
Yan Chi looked down at Lin Lan from above and said coldly, “Consider this a warning. If there is a next time, I have plenty of ways to make you get out of Jiangcheng again. Even the Teacher will not be able to protect you.”
His gaze was filled with warning. By the time Lin Lan recovered his senses, Yan Chi was gone.
After leaving, Yan Chi went immediately to wash his hands. It felt absolutely filthy.
While he was washing up, Lu Yubai happened to come out of the restroom. Seeing Yan Chi, his thin lips parted slightly. He felt conflicted for a long time. He wanted to ask something but did not know how to start.
Should he ask why Yan Chi came to the funeral with Lin Lan? Or why Yan Chi was here in the first place? Or perhaps why the two of them were still in contact now that Lin Lan was no longer at the research institute? Did they meet often?
He did not know how to speak up. He was afraid Yan Chi would think he was overstepping. But he cared about this. He cared a lot!
Seeing Lu Yubai scrubbing his hands so hard they turned red without saying a word, Yan Chi uncharacteristically spoke first, “Why are you here?”
Lu Yubai gave him a side-eye, his tone not very pleasant. “I sent you a message, but you never reply! Do you just not use a phone?” If he did not use it, he might as well smash it!
“I, I am sorry.” He truly did not use his phone much.
He pulled out his phone to check, but there was no message from Lu Yubai. Yan Chi was confused. He refreshed it repeatedly. Still nothing. He held the screen up to Lu Yubai. “You did not send me anything.”
Lu Yubai was speechless. He took out his own phone and looked. He had sent it to the wrong person, Lu Xingchuan. He tucked his phone away and said with a straight face, “Your signal is bad!”
Yan Chi did not argue.
After Lu Yubai finished washing his hands, he realized his attitude just now had not been great. He softened his tone, lifting his eyes to look at Yan Chi intently. He asked tentatively, “Do you, like the scent of sandalwood?”
Yan Chi replied, “No.”
Lu Yubai asked, “Then do you like the scent of red wine?”
Yan Chi was silent for a moment. “No.”
Lu Yubai felt a bit annoyed and insisted on a comparison. “Then out of these two scents, which do you hate more? Or which do you prefer?”
Yan Chi stated, “I hate sandalwood.”
With just those four words, Lu Yubai was instantly mollified. He knew it; Yan Chi did not like Lin Lan. He was not the third wheel. His eyes crinkled into crescents, and an involuntary smile spread across his face. Seeing him smile, Yan Chi’s mood improved as well, and his feelings of disgust gradually faded.
The two left the restroom area. Lu Yubai pestered Yan Chi, wanting to hear stories about the late Mr. Yang Shu. He wanted to find clues to complete his mission. That way, his glands could be fully repaired.
Then, he would not have to feel incompetent and insecure because he could not soothe Yan Chi. As long as he could return to how he was before, he would be qualified to stand by Yan Chi’s side again.
Lu Yubai learned many things as he wished. In his youth, Yang Shu and Yan Chi’s teacher, Fang Lingqiu, were fellow disciples. Both were deeply obsessed with cultural relics and hit it off immediately, working together in the restoration industry.
Yang Shu gave almost everything to his work, even neglecting his family. He rarely went home. Even after marrying and having a son, he spent all his days immersed in the restoration room.
During one high-difficulty restoration project, he did not go home for three months. In the final days of the project, his wife died in a car accident. Before she passed, she called him, but because he was so engrossed in his work, his phone was on silent and he missed it. His son, learning the cause of his mother’s death, flew into a rage and rushed to the institute to have a massive row with Yang Shu.
From then on, Yang Shu’s son, Yang Zhi, broke ties and left the family. It was only after Yang Zhi left that Yang Shu felt deep regret.
According to the fifty-year-old maid, Yang Zhi had returned to have a huge argument after Yang Shu’s reputation was ruined, criticizing him because the scandal had brought shame upon him as well.
After learning the full story, Lu Yubai suddenly understood why Yang Zhi refused to attend the funeral. He also guessed what Yang Shu’s last wish was.
While they were talking, a middle-aged woman clutching a list ran over. “Director Yan, this is the inventory for the storage building left by the old gentleman. Is it convenient for you to go and check it now?”
“Yes.” Yan Chi turned his head toward Lu Yubai. “Are you busy in a bit?”
Lu Yubai shook his head.
“Then wait for me to finish the inventory, and we will leave together?”
Lu Yubai nodded.
Led by the woman, the two arrived at the entrance of the storage building, where Lu Yubai saw Lin Lan. A few rays of warm light filtered through the dappled shadows of the trees, falling on Lin Lan. Accentuated by his suit trousers, Lin Lan’s tight backside was particularly eye-catching.
Lu Yubai’s brows furrowed, and his expression darkened. No one would dislike a body like that, right?
Lu Yubai looked around to make sure no one was watching, then, in a rare moment of insecurity, he rubbed his own butt.
“Damn it. I have a great body too!”
He quickly realized something was wrong. He was an Alpha! What Alpha compares things like this?