Standing in the doorway, Xia Wennan glanced around the room, and without responding to He Yufeng, he turned back to the waiter that had brought him here and asked, “Did we go to the wrong room?”
“This is the private room where Mr. Ming and his friends are meeting,” the waiter replied with a smile.
He Yufeng then inquired again, “What brings you here?”
“I came to pick up Ming Luchuan,” Xia Wennan explained. “Did he drink with you guys tonight?”
Suddenly, an alpha seated in the corner of the room blurted, “Say, no wonder you look so familiar, it turns out you’re President Ming’s wife.”
The face of the docile omega at his side took on a look of astonishment. “President Ming’s wife is a beta?”
The alpha chuckled. “President Ming’s wife is actually a famous big-shot in the perfume industry.” He then motioned the omega over, muttering something into his ear as the omega leaned close.
While they talked among themselves, He Yufeng spoke up to question the others in the room on Xia Wennan’s behalf, “Have any of you seen where President Ming went?”
“I think Luchuan was drunk.” “He just stepped out. I’m not sure if he went to the bathroom or looked for some place to rest.”
“I think Duan Ning accompanied him—” The person who said this suddenly stopped halfway, as though he’d just recalled Xia Wennan’s identity.
“Little junior, come in and sit down first,” He Yufeng said to Xia Wennan. “I’ll have the waiter ask where President Ming has gone off to.”
Xia Wennan gave He Yufeng a smile. “Thank you, Senior He. But I’d better not. I should find Ming Luchuan so we can head home.”
Seeing that Xia Wennan refused to step inside, He Yufeng exited the room himself. He instructed the waiter to inquire about Ming Luchuan’s whereabouts and accompanied Xia Wennan in front of the room.
They were the only ones in the corridor; a gust of wind suddenly came out of nowhere, causing the lantern-style lights to shake and sway.
He Yufeng lowered his head to look at Xia Wennan. “You personally came to pick up President Ming at such a late hour?”
Xia Wennan hummed. “After all, he is my—you know.”
He Yufeng chuckled, watching Xia Wennan wordlessly. Xia Wennan had always felt that the atmosphere between them was a bit strange. “How has Teacher Lin been doing?” he said as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his T-shirt and rocked from side to side.
“Since you said that you won’t be available any time soon, I called Teacher Lin this afternoon and asked after him. The old man said that everything’s fine.”
Xia Wennan nodded.
He Yufeng had messaged at midday today to invite him to visit their graduate advisor together. After a bout of hesitation, Xia Wennan decided to decline. His first reason for turning He Yufeng down was because he didn’t feel that it was appropriate to go see his teacher now, with how he couldn’t even remember what Teacher Lin looked like. If he did go and see him, his vacant mind would only serve to make the old man worry. Second, he wasn’t particularly keen on the idea of going out with He Yufeng, who appeared very open and honest on the surface, but had sent him chocolates and called him ‘little junior’ so intimately, that he’d always suspected him of attempting to seduce someone’s husband.
Before attempting to find a new source of inspiration, he was adamant on not abandoning his Xishui Hall.
“Why aren’t you guys drunk?” asked Xia Wennan. “Why is Ming Luchuan the only one who’s wasted?”
He Yufeng was silent.
“What’s the matter?” Xia Wennan felt off. “Is there something you can’t tell me?”
“He fended off a lot of drinks for Duan Ning,” said He Yufeng.
At his words, Xia Wennan’s brows furrowed. “Why on earth did you guys force Duan Ning to drink?”
“It wasn’t me.”
“Then who was it? How come you didn’t help him fend them off?”
“……”
“How could a bunch of alphas bully an omega?”
As soon as Xia Wennan finished speaking, the waiter who had just departed was already rushing all the way up to them, declaring that he’d found President Ming.
He Yufeng accompanied Xia Wennan to look for Ming Luchuan. The waiter led their way in front of them, explaining that several staff members had seen the inebriated President Ming propped up by an omega, enquiring about a room.
They ventured deeper into the establishment, through a small garden and down a long corridor. The waiter stopped in front of one of the rooms but did not immediately knock on the door, instead addressing Xia Wennan and He Yufeng, “He’s in this room.”
“Is this a hotel room?” asked Xia Wennan.
“The club provides accommodation for its patrons,” answered the waiter.
“So this room’s it?” Xia Wennan made sure.
“Yes.” The waiter nodded.
He Yufeng reached out and pressed down on Xia Wennan’s shoulder. “Don’t be rash, little junior.”
Xia Wennan turned to look at him over his shoulder and played dumb: “Why would I be rash?” When he turned back to face the door, he couldn’t help but grimace, pausing to consider whether he should kick the door open to catch them in the—yet to be proven—act of adultery, or knock nicely so as not to humiliate himself.
In the middle of hesitating, the door was suddenly opened from the inside. Duan Ning jerked to a halt at the doorway; he was impeccably dressed, with not a hair out of place. “Wennan?”
Xia Wennan couldn’t help but peer into the room. Duan Ning instantly pulled the door wide open, turning sideways so Xia Wennan could get a clear view of what was going on inside. “Luchuan had a lot to drink,” he explained. “He just fell asleep.”
The room was shown to be a suit. The external room was a sitting room without a bed, but Ming Luchuan was lying on the sofa, his coat draped over him by Duan Ning.
Xia Wennan walked in. “Little junior,” He Yufeng remained at the door. “Since you’ve found President Ming, I’ll head back first.”
Xia Wennan gave him a nod “Many thanks.”
Duan Ning had originally meant to leave when he opened the door, but changed his mind at Xia Wennan’s presence. He waited until He Yufeng left before closing the door and saying, “Ming Luchuan is drunk. I only helped him here so that he could rest, don’t get me wrong.”
“Of course I won’t.” Xia Wennan smiled, avoiding all mention of the fact that he’d almost kicked the door down on impulse just seconds ago.
Approaching the sofa, he bent down and patted Ming Luchuan’s face, exclaiming, “Hey!”
There was no response from Ming Luchuan save for the sound of his deep breathing, his exhales interspersed with the strong smell of alcohol and the scent of pheromones.
“Someone kept pressuring me to drink tonight.” Duan Ning sat down on the opposite sofa, his words laced with unveiled disgust. “That person is someone I can’t afford to offend, and after Luchuan drank in my place a few times, the man got pissed. It only got worse and worse, I’m afraid Luchuan ended up drinking too much. Sorry.”
Xia Wennan turned to look at him. “What’s there to apologise for, it’s not like it’s your fault.”
“I saw that Luchuan was a little unsteady on his feet when he left for the washroom, so I helped him up as an excuse to get away. I wanted to hide here until they were done so I could go home.”
Xia Wennan laughed. “What’s with the detailed explanation?”
As he rose to his feet, Duan Ning laughed as well. “I’m really afraid that you’d misunderstand.”
“Can I ask you something? Did you know that Ming Luchuan had feelings for you?”
“Can’t you not ask me so directly?” Duan Ning said with a laugh. “But yes, I knew that he liked me.”
“You don’t like him?”
Duan Ning shot a glance at Ming Luchuan who was lying on the sofa, saying, “It wasn’t a matter of like or not-like, I just felt that we weren’t a good match.”
“Care to explain?” said Xia Wennan.
Duan Ning looked at Xia Wennan with a smile, seeming to find him amusing. “Luchuan is an incredibly insecure guy, to the point that he refuses to take the initiative to show his affection to the person he likes. Emotionally, he’s very passive.”
As Xia Wennan listened to Duan Ning speak, the image of the Ming Luchuan he knew gradually overlapped with Duan Ning’s description of the man; constantly angry, constantly displeased, no matter what was on his mind, he’d always sport a foul expression.
Out of nowhere, Xia Wennan asked, “Then how did you find out that Ming Luchuan liked you?”
Duan Ning answered by throwing his question back at him, “How did you find out that Ming Luchuan likes you?”
Standing in the doorway, Xia Wennan glanced around the room, and without responding to He Yufeng, he turned back to the waiter that had brought him here and asked, “Did we go to the wrong room?”
“This is the private room where Mr. Ming and his friends are meeting,” the waiter replied with a smile.
He Yufeng then inquired again, “What brings you here?”
“I came to pick up Ming Luchuan,” Xia Wennan explained. “Did he drink with you guys tonight?”
Suddenly, an alpha seated in the corner of the room blurted, “Say, no wonder you look so familiar, it turns out you’re President Ming’s wife.”
The face of the docile omega at his side took on a look of astonishment. “President Ming’s wife is a beta?”
The alpha chuckled. “President Ming’s wife is actually a famous big-shot in the perfume industry.” He then motioned the omega over, muttering something into his ear as the omega leaned close.
While they talked among themselves, He Yufeng spoke up to question the others in the room on Xia Wennan’s behalf, “Have any of you seen where President Ming went?”
“I think Luchuan was drunk.” “He just stepped out. I’m not sure if he went to the bathroom or looked for some place to rest.”
“I think Duan Ning accompanied him—” The person who said this suddenly stopped halfway, as though he’d just recalled Xia Wennan’s identity.
“Little junior, come in and sit down first,” He Yufeng said to Xia Wennan. “I’ll have the waiter ask where President Ming has gone off to.”
Xia Wennan gave He Yufeng a smile. “Thank you, Senior He. But I’d better not. I should find Ming Luchuan so we can head home.”
Seeing that Xia Wennan refused to step inside, He Yufeng exited the room himself. He instructed the waiter to inquire about Ming Luchuan’s whereabouts and accompanied Xia Wennan in front of the room.
They were the only ones in the corridor; a gust of wind suddenly came out of nowhere, causing the lantern-style lights to shake and sway.
He Yufeng lowered his head to look at Xia Wennan. “You personally came to pick up President Ming at such a late hour?”
Xia Wennan hummed. “After all, he is my—you know.”
He Yufeng chuckled, watching Xia Wennan wordlessly. Xia Wennan had always felt that the atmosphere between them was a bit strange. “How has Teacher Lin been doing?” he said as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his T-shirt and rocked from side to side.
“Since you said that you won’t be available any time soon, I called Teacher Lin this afternoon and asked after him. The old man said that everything’s fine.”
Xia Wennan nodded.
He Yufeng had messaged at midday today to invite him to visit their graduate advisor together. After a bout of hesitation, Xia Wennan decided to decline. His first reason for turning He Yufeng down was because he didn’t feel that it was appropriate to go see his teacher now, with how he couldn’t even remember what Teacher Lin looked like. If he did go and see him, his vacant mind would only serve to make the old man worry. Second, he wasn’t particularly keen on the idea of going out with He Yufeng, who appeared very open and honest on the surface, but had sent him chocolates and called him ‘little junior’ so intimately, that he’d always suspected him of attempting to seduce someone’s husband.
Before attempting to find a new source of inspiration, he was adamant on not abandoning his Xishui Hall.
“Why aren’t you guys drunk?” asked Xia Wennan. “Why is Ming Luchuan the only one who’s wasted?”
He Yufeng was silent.
“What’s the matter?” Xia Wennan felt off. “Is there something you can’t tell me?”
“He fended off a lot of drinks for Duan Ning,” said He Yufeng.
At his words, Xia Wennan’s brows furrowed. “Why on earth did you guys force Duan Ning to drink?”
“It wasn’t me.”
“Then who was it? How come you didn’t help him fend them off?”
“……”
“How could a bunch of alphas bully an omega?”
As soon as Xia Wennan finished speaking, the waiter who had just departed was already rushing all the way up to them, declaring that he’d found President Ming.
He Yufeng accompanied Xia Wennan to look for Ming Luchuan. The waiter led their way in front of them, explaining that several staff members had seen the inebriated President Ming propped up by an omega, enquiring about a room.
They ventured deeper into the establishment, through a small garden and down a long corridor. The waiter stopped in front of one of the rooms but did not immediately knock on the door, instead addressing Xia Wennan and He Yufeng, “He’s in this room.”
“Is this a hotel room?” asked Xia Wennan.
“The club provides accommodation for its patrons,” answered the waiter.
“So this room’s it?” Xia Wennan made sure.
“Yes.” The waiter nodded.
He Yufeng reached out and pressed down on Xia Wennan’s shoulder. “Don’t be rash, little junior.”
Xia Wennan turned to look at him over his shoulder and played dumb: “Why would I be rash?” When he turned back to face the door, he couldn’t help but grimace, pausing to consider whether he should kick the door open to catch them in the—yet to be proven—act of adultery, or knock nicely so as not to humiliate himself.
In the middle of hesitating, the door was suddenly opened from the inside. Duan Ning jerked to a halt at the doorway; he was impeccably dressed, with not a hair out of place. “Wennan?”
Xia Wennan couldn’t help but peer into the room. Duan Ning instantly pulled the door wide open, turning sideways so Xia Wennan could get a clear view of what was going on inside. “Luchuan had a lot to drink,” he explained. “He just fell asleep.”
The room was shown to be a suit. The external room was a sitting room without a bed, but Ming Luchuan was lying on the sofa, his coat draped over him by Duan Ning.
Xia Wennan walked in. “Little junior,” He Yufeng remained at the door. “Since you’ve found President Ming, I’ll head back first.”
Xia Wennan gave him a nod “Many thanks.”
Duan Ning had originally meant to leave when he opened the door, but changed his mind at Xia Wennan’s presence. He waited until He Yufeng left before closing the door and saying, “Ming Luchuan is drunk. I only helped him here so that he could rest, don’t get me wrong.”
“Of course I won’t.” Xia Wennan smiled, avoiding all mention of the fact that he’d almost kicked the door down on impulse just seconds ago.
Approaching the sofa, he bent down and patted Ming Luchuan’s face, exclaiming, “Hey!”
There was no response from Ming Luchuan save for the sound of his deep breathing, his exhales interspersed with the strong smell of alcohol and the scent of pheromones.
“Someone kept pressuring me to drink tonight.” Duan Ning sat down on the opposite sofa, his words laced with unveiled disgust. “That person is someone I can’t afford to offend, and after Luchuan drank in my place a few times, the man got pissed. It only got worse and worse, I’m afraid Luchuan ended up drinking too much. Sorry.”
Xia Wennan turned to look at him. “What’s there to apologise for, it’s not like it’s your fault.”
“I saw that Luchuan was a little unsteady on his feet when he left for the washroom, so I helped him up as an excuse to get away. I wanted to hide here until they were done so I could go home.”
Xia Wennan laughed. “What’s with the detailed explanation?”
As he rose to his feet, Duan Ning laughed as well. “I’m really afraid that you’d misunderstand.”
“Can I ask you something? Did you know that Ming Luchuan had feelings for you?”
“Can’t you not ask me so directly?” Duan Ning said with a laugh. “But yes, I knew that he liked me.”
“You don’t like him?”
Duan Ning shot a glance at Ming Luchuan who was lying on the sofa, saying, “It wasn’t a matter of like or not-like, I just felt that we weren’t a good match.”
“Care to explain?” said Xia Wennan.
Duan Ning looked at Xia Wennan with a smile, seeming to find him amusing. “Luchuan is an incredibly insecure guy, to the point that he refuses to take the initiative to show his affection to the person he likes. Emotionally, he’s very passive.”
As Xia Wennan listened to Duan Ning speak, the image of the Ming Luchuan he knew gradually overlapped with Duan Ning’s description of the man; constantly angry, constantly displeased, no matter what was on his mind, he’d always sport a foul expression.
Out of nowhere, Xia Wennan asked, “Then how did you find out that Ming Luchuan liked you?”
Duan Ning answered by throwing his question back at him, “How did you find out that Ming Luchuan likes you?”
