最佳契合 (Perfect Match) – 十九瑶
Chapter 36
When Zheng Feiluan woke up, it was already nightfall outside his window. Soft snowflakes gently fell from the sky, each speck exactly the same as it was one year ago, as if the omega had just left his side.
A year has passed.
It took him a year to finally wake up from his sleep.
He reached for his cell phone, looked up the private investigator’s number on the blacklist, and texted the number. In just a few seconds, the “delivered” below the floating blue bubble changed into “read.” With each passing minute, hope flickered like a candle in the wind… one minute, two minutes—until finally, the message disappeared into the depths of the sea, leaving behind a void of silence.
Zheng Feiluan was sitting in a room that was completely empty and as quiet as a grave, looking at the screen of his phone without making a single move. As the sun sets, he turns into an unknown figure, his face and emotions covered by the shadows.
Like a dark window, the screen has been dark for a long time. But Zheng Feiluan is certain that when it lights up, dawn will come.
Ding ding.
A faint chime echoed through the darkness, and the screen burst into light.
Zheng Feiluan quickly grabbed his phone and was a little surprised to see that the other person had sent a video instead of a text message or picture.
The preview shows an innocently smiling face, and there is a play button that is just barely visible in the middle of the screen.
He pressed it softly.
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The video was taken in a small, sun-drenched courtyard.
You can find the courtyard in the south. It wasn’t snowing, and the weather was warm. Three or two bunches of small red fruits are hanging from the eaves, and golden osmanthus is in full bloom all over the bushes. The air is filled with the sweet melodies of chirping birds, while the gentle breeze rustles through the branches of the osmanthus trees, casting a mesmerizing golden shade on the ground. This scene radiates with the warmth of sunlight, casting away the chilly atmosphere that embraces Zheng Feiluan.
The private investigator coincidentally ran into He An as he carried Linglan to soak up the sun, engaging in a short exchange of words. The camera moved in a gentle manner, effortlessly shifting from side to side, capturing the shifting figures of the father and daughter, vanishing from view for a few seconds.
“Is this your daughter?” the private investigator asked.
“Yes,” He An nodded.
“You look so cute. How old are you, and what’s your name?”
He An replied with a smile, “She’s almost one year old, and her name is Linglan… Um, like the flower that looks like a small bell.”
“What about her real name?” the private investigator asked again.
He An said, “Her real name hasn’t been chosen yet. I had some ideas before, but none of them were as good as Linglan, so maybe she’ll be called Linglan after all.”
After hearing her name, Little Linglan’s head sprang up, her eyes glowing with curiosity, then switched her focus from fiddling with the toy tiger to listening attentively. She was a little embarrassed to see a strange uncle standing in front of her. To hide, she held the little toy tiger up to He An’s cheeks while blushing, smiling, and nuzzling his neck.
He An called out, “Linglan?”
“Mmnn.”
She was shy and refused to talk. She did nothing but raise her eyes and sneak a peek at the camera.
“This name sounds really interesting,” the private investigator asked, “Where did it come from?”
“Where it came from…” He An narrowed his eyes and slowly lost his gentle smile, “It didn’t come from anything. It’s just… a type of flower I like.”
No.
It’s the scent of your pheromones.
Zheng Feiluan noticed the subtle change in his face and felt unbearably guilty.
“Dad… dad.” Linglan opened her lips, her voice gentle and low.
“Hmm?” He An turned his head to look at her.
“Ya-ya.”1*鸭子 (pronounced as Yāzi) is the Chinese term for duck, hence the nickname.
She made two gestures and pointed to the door to the courtyard.
When He An saw this, he gently explained, “Ducky went across town today and won’t be back for a while.”
“…Mmnn.”
It’s likely that Linglan understood, and she pouted a little, feeling cranky.
This little one is so cute. Her cheeks are pink and rosy, and both sides of her face have deep dimples. A smile from her is like a spoonful of honey that can warm someone’s heart. When she’s sad, she looks so pitiful. Her little eyebrows furrowed, and her watery eyes wandered around again; no one dared to bully her.
Zheng Feiluan looked at her and realized, for the first time, that his heart had softened. The foolish things he had heard in the past about fathers who would do anything for their kids could very well be true.
The two talked for a while in the video. Linglan became interested in the private investigator’s phone and reached out to take it, but He An grabbed her wrist and said, “This belongs to Uncle. You can only touch it after asking, okay?”
“Oh.” Linglan appeared to understand, then pointed into the distance, “What ’bout that one?”
There were a few bundles of small fruits hanging from the tile eaves, which were lovely and cute, like acacia beans. Although He An carried her over and tried to reach for them, the omega was too short and couldn’t reach even on his tippy toes.
Linglan got nervous, turned around, and yelled, “Daddy!”
“Hey, sweetie! What’s wrong?”
An enthusiastic male voice in the distance answered her.
After a full rotation of the camera, the yard’s wooden stairs and surrounding bushes came into view.
Gorgeous snow hydrangeas were blooming, and next to them stood a rough-looking man who was very tall and wore a black vest that showed off his bare arm covered in tattoos of gears, bearings, and steam engines. His hairstyle is like a prisoner’s cut, with short, hard strands that poke through the head like steel needles.
Zheng Feiluan quickly tightened his grip on the phone—it was clear that this was an alpha, and it looked like the concentration of the pheromone wasn’t low.
Who is he?
Why are you with He An?
The mere mention of “there is an adult alpha where He An lives” was enough to stir up Zheng Feiluan’s intense hostility, but when Linglan yelled out “Daddy” and the alpha responded enthusiastically, Zheng Feiluan’s jealousy made him unable to hold still.
The alpha is holding a pair of garden shears, with branches and leaves at his feet.
Cheng Xiu, who he hadn’t seen in a while, was also hunched there, thinking about how to fill the clay pot with soil while still holding a potted plant with its roots exposed and scattered. He raised his eyebrows and gave the alpha a mean look, “Hey, Dai Xiao, what’s wrong with your face? Linglan calls me, not you!”
Not paying attention to him, Dai Xiao instead asked He An, “What’s the problem?”
He An explained a few words before Dai Xiao dropped the scissors and walked over. As he stood up, he mistakenly tripped on the ceramic pot held by Cheng Xiu. Cheng Xiu screamed, dropped the pot and flowers, and ran after him furiously.
In comparison to the 2.5-meter-tall beige walls of the inn, the omega and the beta are painfully short. After stopping to look around, Dai Xiao smiled and asked Cheng Xiu, “Aren’t you the daddy? Why don’t you drop what you’re doing and give me a hand?”
“Fine. Just wait, I’ll find some bricks!”
Cheng Xiu was eager to turn around and look for bricks after he finished talking. Dai Xiao pulled him aside and said, “Alright, alright, I’m just kidding.”
Dai Xiao rubbed his hands, stood still with his back to He An, pointed to his shoulder, and said, “Come on, sweetie, ride here.”
It was clear that Linglan had ridden on Dai Xiao’s shoulders before. She leaped for joy at the sight of him in this position and easily stretched her small arms out with ease. He An then carried her to sit on it, while he himself cautiously guarded the side.
Dai Xiao stood up straight, his broad shoulders and long legs supporting him as he lifted the sedan chair and carried Linglan to the edge of the eaves.
Linglan carefully picked the little fruits by hand and adored them. She would hold them in her palm and play with them in bunches, delighted by their beauty.
One daughter, but three dads?
The private investigator is very confused, and the camera moves down to show Dai Xiao’s face as he puts on an undershirt that Linglan walked on in a funny way.
“Are you Linglan’s alpha dad?”
“Yeah.” Dai Xiao gave him a quick look and answered calmly.
“Biological?”
“Of course, it’s biological. We’re as close to being biological as it gets. Can’t you see?” With his tone turning nasty, Dai Xiao arched an eyebrow and glanced suspiciously in the direction of the camera. His knuckles clenched and snapped erratically. “So, are you hoping to start a fight by asking this kind of question?”
As he spoke, the pike-shaped muscles in his arms moved, showing off his brute power and intimidating alpha nature.
He An couldn’t contain his laugh and said, “Don’t be mean to people.”
“I’m not being mean; he just shouldn’t have asked, because it was clear he was skeptical about our relationship.” He stroked He An’s hair and then pointed his finger at the camera. He then stepped closer with Little Linglan on his shoulder and said, “That’s it. Put your phone away and stop recording. Linglan is the face of our inn, and taking pictures with her costs one dollar per minute. Of course, if you book a room now, I can offer you a 10% discount.”
As soon as he was done talking, Cheng Xiu popped up with his cell phone raised and asked, “QR code or cash?”
The private investigator stuttered and answered awkwardly, “Oh, uhh… Cash.”
After that, the camera shook, the screen turned black, and the video ended.
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It was dark, and Zheng Feiluan sat there with his cell phone in his hand for quite a while.
Dai Xiao.
He remembered the name of the place where He An and Linglan were staying temporarily. It was called Olive Inn, and Dai Xiao owned it.
For a long time, he dismissed a significant possibility: He An may not be single anymore.
He had never considered this before, not even a passing notion: Isn’t love something between him and He An? They become one when they’re in love, and they drift apart when they’re not. After he messed up and let He An down, he waited far away, his heart crushed but his love for him unwavering, hoping for him to come back.
He was shocked when he realized that He An was never truly his.
After his pheromone mark washed away, the free omega went back to the alphas’ hunting grounds. He was so kind and loving that even the most heartless alpha couldn’t stand to see him out on his own with his child. It will be natural for them to be together when they meet.
This happened because he was overly arrogant and failed to consider the possibility of things going smoothly.
Zheng Feiluan was tense and on edge as his jealousy consumed him, clouding his judgment and making him anxious: How long did they know each other? How far have they gone? Does the fact that they treat each other like partners mean that… Dai Xiao has touched He An?
The thought of his precious omega being possessed by another alpha was enough to push him over the edge, and he couldn’t even begin to imagine it.
How could He An possibly not be his?
How can Linglan refer to Dai Xiao as “Dad”? He’s Linglan’s real alpha father! Linglan grew from his DNA like a flower, and their blood was so thick that no one could question half of it.
Zheng Feiluan stood up abruptly.
He refuses to admit it!
He refuses to admit that He An’s love has driven him away and reduced him from an involved party to an outsider, and that He An’s heart is capable of holding other alphas. He An adored him, and in comparison to Dai Xiao or any other alpha, he, Zheng Feiluan, had the most special place in his heart!
He An must still have feelings for him; all it would take is for him to show up, and the long-lost affection would reawaken.
Zheng Feiluan was crazy and sure of it.
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After just five minutes, he made an incredible reservation on the inn platform—a full year of bookings at the Olive Inn—and paid for them all at once. After that, he got in his car, drove home, and hurried to the airport after just packing a few items of clothing into his suitcase.
Before heading out, he took a pair of plain rings with him from the safe.
Yan Ning had given it to him.
When he turned eighteen, Yan Ning gave him these rings and told him in a serious voice, “If you find a lover, you must cherish them. There isn’t enough time in the world for people to love each other passionately, so don’t waste it. Understood?”
Zheng Feiluan agreed quickly at the time.
He grew up watching his father’s misfortunes and despised the twisted alpha-omega relationships. Seeing his father’s failure as an example, he chose to ignore Yan Ning’s warning because he reasoned that he would never make the same mistake. After twelve years, when he saw this ring again and thought about what Yan Ning had said, he realized that, step by step, he had gone down the wrong path that his father had taken in the past.
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At midnight, several red-eye flights take off and land alternately. In the waiting room, passengers were entering and exiting; some appeared to be in a rush, while others appeared exhausted; everyone was anxious.
While waiting for the opening of the business class aisle, Zheng Feiluan stood before the floor-to-ceiling window.
He tried to look calm, but the way his fingers were resting on the handle and tapping it once showed how anxious he really was.
Is it already too late?
If he were to apologize, would He An be willing to accept it?
The damage he has done to He An is too great. What are his chances of winning compared to Dai Xiao?
His body and mind were both worn out, so he put his hand to his aching eyes.
He An, I’m awake now, and nothing will cause me to lose control again. I want to return your love, hold Linglan close, and spoil her. I wish to take you back to Yuanjiang University and finish the degree you started but didn’t finish. Am I able to restore the dying light that once glowed in your heart?
Can you… not marry into Dai Xiao’s family?
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At midnight, an A3202a passenger aircraft sharply crossed the runway and took off into the dark clouds without any stars in the sky. As the night sky grew darker, the three-colored wing lights eventually flickered and dimmed.
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The previous translator (Nanes) had announced before that she’s dropping this story, so please don’t be surprised when you see the comments below because those are meant for her! Anyway, yay me for finally catching up! You guys can finally binge-read this now. Haha 🤭
Translated and edited by janemoyu (02/14/24)
