The reason Xia Wennan disliked Yin Zejing couldn’t be simpler—he didn’t quite believe that a university student alpha would purely be in a relationship with a wealthy, divorced omega who had three kids without having ulterior motives.
Yin Zejing had stated that his family wasn’t well-off, but he had no reservations about using Ming Qin’s money; living in a luxurious residence and wearing famous brands, wasn’t he just a kept man?
Xia Wennan had also grown up poor, but he’d only ever pondered how to make enough money so his grandfather could live comfortably, never once considering finding a wealthy man to provide for him and make his life easier.
From Ming Qin and Yin Zejing’s argument at breakfast that morning, it sounded like Ming Qin didn’t particularly agree with Yin Zejing interning at Ming Yan, but after several days passed, Xia Wennan ended up running into Yin Zejing at the company, and on the latter’s chest hung an intern’s ID card.
It was during lunch, at the cafeteria. Xia Wennan was sitting at his lab co-workers’ table when Yin Zejing brought his meal tray over and took a seat next to him.
The instant Yin Zejing sat down, the entire table fell silent. Xia Wennan noted that several people were clearly sneaking glances at Yin Zejing, yet Yin Zejing didn’t care in the least, smiling as he greeted Xia Wennan.
Xia Wennan shot a look at his work ID and saw that he was interning at the marketing department, so he casually asked, “Are you adjusting to work all right?”
“Pretty much,” said Yin Zejing. “It’s completely different from school.”
Xia Wennan nodded, unsure how to proceed with the conversation.
Yin Zejing chatted with Xia Wennan in a natural manner, even asking why he hadn’t seen Ming Luchuan today, doing nothing to keep his identity under wraps.
In the afternoon, Xia Wennan overheard Dong Liqian and another young beta lady gossiping about Yin Zejing in the lab. Curious, he went over and asked, “Do you guys know who Yin Zejing is?”
Dong Liqian was too embarrassed to respond at first, but at Xia Wennan’s insistence, she said, “Everyone in the company knows about him. Isn’t he a stunner? The moment he turned up, there were rumours that the new handsome little alpha intern was the old boss’s sweetheart.”
Xia Wennan didn’t know what to say to that. He could only nod and say, “Right.” He assumed that by this point, everyone in the company should probably share his dislike for Yin Zejing.
However, Xia Wennan never expected that half an hour later, Yin Zejing, who’d been the talk of the company today, would turn up in front of the lab. He peered inside curiously through the glass and waved to Xia Wennan when he spotted him, pointing to himself, then to the lab, indicating that he wanted to go in. Xia Wennan shook his head.
He stepped out of the lab and said, “Why don’t we go to my office so we don’t disturb the others.”
Yin Zejing grinned and said, “Sure.”
“How are you so idle?” Xia Wennan poured some water into a paper cup and set it down on the desk in front of Yin Zejing. “Haven’t they assigned you any work?”
Yin Zejing shook his head and picked up the cup. “I’m just an intern.”
Xia Wennan sat down opposite Yin Zejing and for a split second, he felt that, compared to Yin Zejing, there was nothing about himself that seemed like a university student. Subconsciously, he substituted himself into Ming Luchuan’s position and said, “Shouldn’t interns be busy? You have to learn everything from scratch.”
Yin Zejing shrugged. “They generally treat interns as free labour. Stuff like photocopying documents, ordering takeout, and filling out forms? They dump it onto interns. I’m not here to learn how to do odd jobs, I genuinely want to learn things at Ming Yan.”
Xia Wennan shot a look at this office door, his thoughts alternating between finding an excuse to leave or throw Yin Zejing out. Ultimately, he said, “What things?”
“Well, actual marketing techniques,” said Yin Zejing. “Currently, the market is anticipating the release of Ming Yan’s new pheromone perfumes, but the new fall products are scented candles and body wash with the same old scents. When the market’s expectations are so high, what marketing strategy should be implemented to stabilise our consumers?”
After a stretch of silence, Xia Wennan said, “Mm, have you drawn up a proposal?”
“I’m only an intern,” said Yin Zejing.
“You can talk to Ming Luchuan.”
Yin Zejing laughed, but instead of staying on that topic, he asked, “How’s our new line coming along?”
“It’s still in progress,” Xia Wennan threw out perfunctorily.
“Wennan.” Yin Zejing called his name out of the blue.
“Mm?” Xia Wennan turned to look at him.
Yin Zejing leaned forward; they were obviously the only ones in the office, but he still lowered his voice when he spoke again, asking Xia Wennan, “Can’t find any inspiration?”
“Why do you say that?” Inwardly, those words had struck a nerve, but on the surface, he decided to deflect.
“Do you remember what you told me about your Emotions line?”
“I don’t remember…”
“You said each bottle of perfume conveys an emotion—not only the emotion communicated by pheromones, but also its fragrance, because that’s the only way that betas who use the perfume can feel it. Plus, each perfume you’ve created is based on the emotions that you’ve personally experienced.”
Xia Wennan was a little astonished. Didn’t he dislike Yin Zejing before? Why would he tell him all that?
“Wennan,” said Yin Zejing. “You don’t remember, and you can’t find the emotions you’ve experienced either.”
Once Xia Wennan was the only one left in the office, he gazed out the window blankly.
He had plenty on his mind, but at the moment, what occupied his thoughts was not whatever strange thing was going on between him and the Ming family, but what precisely Xishui Hall was.
Every day, cleaners came in to clean the office, but there was a smudge on the floor-to-ceiling window near the wall that hadn’t been wiped clean. Perhaps, the spot had escaped the cleaner’s notice each time.
Xia Wennan wheeled the office chair beneath him towards the window, lightly rubbing at the stained spot with his finger. The smudge was easily wiped off, but his fingerprint remained on the glass, so he fetched toilet paper and dipped it in water to wipe it clean.
The glass was finally pristine this time. The blurry smudge had vanished, but the thoughts occupying Xia Wennan’s mind had failed to vanish along with it.
In terms of Xishui Hall, Xia Wennan was completely at sea. He’d pondered over these two words several times, on multiple occasions, and each time, he’d been near Ming Luchuan and had caught a whiff of the man’s pheromones.
An ancient temple deep in the mountains, the ice-cold stream of a monastery; remembering the first time he’d smelled Ming Luchuan’s pheromones in the hospital, these were the images that had sprang to his mind.
At this point, if someone were to tell him that, before he lost his memories, he’d wanted to develop an alpha pheromone perfume inspired by Ming Luchuan, there wouldn’t be a sliver of doubt in Xia Wennan’s mind. But he had amnesia, and he couldn’t remember what mood those two words actually represented; surely it wasn’t as simple as creating a perfume that smells exactly like Ming Luchuan’s pheromones.
Yin Zejing had said that he didn’t have his memories, and he couldn’t find the right emotion, so he’d lost his source of inspiration. In that case, how would he go about getting them back now?
All of a sudden, Xia Wennan’s phone on his desk pinged with the WeChat alert tone. He turned his chair back to face his desk and checked his phone, only to find that He Yufeng had sent him a message.
Chocolate Truffles: Do you have time to see Teacher Lin this week?
Xia Wennan was a bit perplexed. He thought, if he lost his source of inspiration, then should he look for a way to get it back, or should he find a new one?
The reason Xia Wennan disliked Yin Zejing couldn’t be simpler—he didn’t quite believe that a university student alpha would purely be in a relationship with a wealthy, divorced omega who had three kids without having ulterior motives.
Yin Zejing had stated that his family wasn’t well-off, but he had no reservations about using Ming Qin’s money; living in a luxurious residence and wearing famous brands, wasn’t he just a kept man?
Xia Wennan had also grown up poor, but he’d only ever pondered how to make enough money so his grandfather could live comfortably, never once considering finding a wealthy man to provide for him and make his life easier.
From Ming Qin and Yin Zejing’s argument at breakfast that morning, it sounded like Ming Qin didn’t particularly agree with Yin Zejing interning at Ming Yan, but after several days passed, Xia Wennan ended up running into Yin Zejing at the company, and on the latter’s chest hung an intern’s ID card.
It was during lunch, at the cafeteria. Xia Wennan was sitting at his lab co-workers’ table when Yin Zejing brought his meal tray over and took a seat next to him.
The instant Yin Zejing sat down, the entire table fell silent. Xia Wennan noted that several people were clearly sneaking glances at Yin Zejing, yet Yin Zejing didn’t care in the least, smiling as he greeted Xia Wennan.
Xia Wennan shot a look at his work ID and saw that he was interning at the marketing department, so he casually asked, “Are you adjusting to work all right?”
“Pretty much,” said Yin Zejing. “It’s completely different from school.”
Xia Wennan nodded, unsure how to proceed with the conversation.
Yin Zejing chatted with Xia Wennan in a natural manner, even asking why he hadn’t seen Ming Luchuan today, doing nothing to keep his identity under wraps.
In the afternoon, Xia Wennan overheard Dong Liqian and another young beta lady gossiping about Yin Zejing in the lab. Curious, he went over and asked, “Do you guys know who Yin Zejing is?”
Dong Liqian was too embarrassed to respond at first, but at Xia Wennan’s insistence, she said, “Everyone in the company knows about him. Isn’t he a stunner? The moment he turned up, there were rumours that the new handsome little alpha intern was the old boss’s sweetheart.”
Xia Wennan didn’t know what to say to that. He could only nod and say, “Right.” He assumed that by this point, everyone in the company should probably share his dislike for Yin Zejing.
However, Xia Wennan never expected that half an hour later, Yin Zejing, who’d been the talk of the company today, would turn up in front of the lab. He peered inside curiously through the glass and waved to Xia Wennan when he spotted him, pointing to himself, then to the lab, indicating that he wanted to go in. Xia Wennan shook his head.
He stepped out of the lab and said, “Why don’t we go to my office so we don’t disturb the others.”
Yin Zejing grinned and said, “Sure.”
“How are you so idle?” Xia Wennan poured some water into a paper cup and set it down on the desk in front of Yin Zejing. “Haven’t they assigned you any work?”
Yin Zejing shook his head and picked up the cup. “I’m just an intern.”
Xia Wennan sat down opposite Yin Zejing and for a split second, he felt that, compared to Yin Zejing, there was nothing about himself that seemed like a university student. Subconsciously, he substituted himself into Ming Luchuan’s position and said, “Shouldn’t interns be busy? You have to learn everything from scratch.”
Yin Zejing shrugged. “They generally treat interns as free labour. Stuff like photocopying documents, ordering takeout, and filling out forms? They dump it onto interns. I’m not here to learn how to do odd jobs, I genuinely want to learn things at Ming Yan.”
Xia Wennan shot a look at this office door, his thoughts alternating between finding an excuse to leave or throw Yin Zejing out. Ultimately, he said, “What things?”
“Well, actual marketing techniques,” said Yin Zejing. “Currently, the market is anticipating the release of Ming Yan’s new pheromone perfumes, but the new fall products are scented candles and body wash with the same old scents. When the market’s expectations are so high, what marketing strategy should be implemented to stabilise our consumers?”
After a stretch of silence, Xia Wennan said, “Mm, have you drawn up a proposal?”
“I’m only an intern,” said Yin Zejing.
“You can talk to Ming Luchuan.”
Yin Zejing laughed, but instead of staying on that topic, he asked, “How’s our new line coming along?”
“It’s still in progress,” Xia Wennan threw out perfunctorily.
“Wennan.” Yin Zejing called his name out of the blue.
“Mm?” Xia Wennan turned to look at him.
Yin Zejing leaned forward; they were obviously the only ones in the office, but he still lowered his voice when he spoke again, asking Xia Wennan, “Can’t find any inspiration?”
“Why do you say that?” Inwardly, those words had struck a nerve, but on the surface, he decided to deflect.
“Do you remember what you told me about your Emotions line?”
“I don’t remember…”
“You said each bottle of perfume conveys an emotion—not only the emotion communicated by pheromones, but also its fragrance, because that’s the only way that betas who use the perfume can feel it. Plus, each perfume you’ve created is based on the emotions that you’ve personally experienced.”
Xia Wennan was a little astonished. Didn’t he dislike Yin Zejing before? Why would he tell him all that?
“Wennan,” said Yin Zejing. “You don’t remember, and you can’t find the emotions you’ve experienced either.”
Once Xia Wennan was the only one left in the office, he gazed out the window blankly.
He had plenty on his mind, but at the moment, what occupied his thoughts was not whatever strange thing was going on between him and the Ming family, but what precisely Xishui Hall was.
Every day, cleaners came in to clean the office, but there was a smudge on the floor-to-ceiling window near the wall that hadn’t been wiped clean. Perhaps, the spot had escaped the cleaner’s notice each time.
Xia Wennan wheeled the office chair beneath him towards the window, lightly rubbing at the stained spot with his finger. The smudge was easily wiped off, but his fingerprint remained on the glass, so he fetched toilet paper and dipped it in water to wipe it clean.
The glass was finally pristine this time. The blurry smudge had vanished, but the thoughts occupying Xia Wennan’s mind had failed to vanish along with it.
In terms of Xishui Hall, Xia Wennan was completely at sea. He’d pondered over these two words several times, on multiple occasions, and each time, he’d been near Ming Luchuan and had caught a whiff of the man’s pheromones.
An ancient temple deep in the mountains, the ice-cold stream of a monastery; remembering the first time he’d smelled Ming Luchuan’s pheromones in the hospital, these were the images that had sprang to his mind.
At this point, if someone were to tell him that, before he lost his memories, he’d wanted to develop an alpha pheromone perfume inspired by Ming Luchuan, there wouldn’t be a sliver of doubt in Xia Wennan’s mind. But he had amnesia, and he couldn’t remember what mood those two words actually represented; surely it wasn’t as simple as creating a perfume that smells exactly like Ming Luchuan’s pheromones.
Yin Zejing had said that he didn’t have his memories, and he couldn’t find the right emotion, so he’d lost his source of inspiration. In that case, how would he go about getting them back now?
All of a sudden, Xia Wennan’s phone on his desk pinged with the WeChat alert tone. He turned his chair back to face his desk and checked his phone, only to find that He Yufeng had sent him a message.
Chocolate Truffles: Do you have time to see Teacher Lin this week?
Xia Wennan was a bit perplexed. He thought, if he lost his source of inspiration, then should he look for a way to get it back, or should he find a new one?
