Chapter 22 – Someone She Likes
Novel Title: 长夏醒迟 (Long Summer, Late Awakening)
Author：麦香鸡呢 (McChicken)
Translator: K (@kin0monogatari)
Protagonists: 余炀 (Yu Yang -MC/Gong), 靳吾栖 (Jin Wuqi -ML/Shou)
*Please read at Novels Space.space, the original site of translation. TQ*
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Yu Yang returned from his trip, which had lasted for more than half a month.
Lin Jiahan would occasionally chat with him, mentioning that she had quit being a reporter and was now working as a new media editor.
Yu Yang asked her: Didn’t you always love being a reporter?
Lin Jiahan replied: I don’t have to be a reporter. I just like working in a similar field. I like being able to access and convey a lot of new information, feeling like I’m learning new things every day.
Yu Yang: Congratulations. It’s great to be able to do what you love.
Lin Jiahan: But it’s also troublesome. I don’t want to get married. I’ve already moved out and my family is driving me crazy with their nagging.
Yu Yang: Then your future days might not be easy.
Lin Jiahan: It’s been tough for a long time already. But I haven’t thought about compromising at all.
Yu Yang: Will your family resort to using force against you?
Lin Jiahan：I don’t know. Even if they do, even if they force me to marry and get ‘marked’, I will still escape. Maybe I won’t have love in my life. But I can choose to reject a marriage that is destined to fail, right?
Yu Yang：But ‘marking’ has a big impact on Omegas.
Lin Jiahan：Yes. For Omegas, the impact of a permanent ‘mark’ is indeed lifelong. But that doesn’t mean we have to be bound by a ‘mark’. An Omega’s life is not just about Alphas. There are many other things for us to do. Possibly even more than what you Alphas have.
Yu Yang：That’s true.
He put down his phone and took a sip of warm water.
Winter was approaching. The night’s coldness was dry and piercing, with even the moonlight seeming to be covered in a thin layer of ice.
While on a business trip abroad, he had also gone for a health check-up. Coincidentally, he met a doctor specialising in Omega studies. Yu Yang asked him about the circumstances under which an Omega’s heat period would last only one day.
The doctor said, “There are many reasons for this to happen. Such as excessive use of suppressants, insufficient pheromone secretion, or glandular problems. It depends on the specific symptoms.”
“It’s a sudden heat. So we can rule out the possibility of using suppressants. And the pheromones are also normal,” Yu Yang thought for a moment and said.
“Then it should be a glandular problem,” the doctor said. “Generally speaking, varying degrees of glandular damage can lead to different heat period durations. If the heat period lasts only one day as you mentioned, it indicates that the glands have suffered quite severe damage. Normally, the heat period lasts around seven to ten days.”
Yu Yang recalled the scars on Jin Wuqi’s glands.
Why would Jin Wuqi allow an Alpha to treat his glands like that? And even though they were bitten like that, there was still no completely ‘marked’ trace on his body. Did it really have to be so fierce for just a temporary ‘mark’?
***
“Jin!”
Jin Wuqi smiled and opened his arms to embrace the brown-haired, blue-eyed male beta who was running towards him. He asked, “Are you tired?”
“The weather is really nice!” Du Yele let go of Jin Wuqi. There was a gleam in his blue eyes. “I don’t even feel tired!”
“You’ve worked hard,” Jin Wuqi said. “Since everything is settled, stay here and relax.”
“No need to tell me to. I’ve always liked it here!”
Du Yele handed the suitcase to the driver. He then sat in the car with Jin Wuqi, leaning comfortably against the back of the seat. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he sat up and asked, “How are you doing now?”
“I’m okay,” Jin Wuqi was turning on his laptop, “Everything is fine.”
“Have you been working too much?” Du Yele asked, “You came to pick me up at the airport. And now you have to work on the way back?”
“Don’t be pretentious. You’ve been my assistant for so long. Don’t ask when you already know,” Jin Wuqi looked at the computer screen and said with a smile, “Although it’s not as busy as before, it’s still quite hectic every day. I’ll rest for a day and come to the company to take over the work early.”
Du Yele nodded. “I’ll familiarise myself with the work as soon as possible. But are you really okay now? You look thinner again.”
He paused and asked softly, “After you came back, did you go into heat?”
“Yes,” Jin Wuqi nodded. He then paused and said, “It lasted less than a day.”
Du Yele sighed. But then said, “It’s okay. At least the intervals between each heat are getting shorter, which is a good thing. It shows that you’re slowly recovering.”
“Don’t comfort me.” Jin Wuqi focused on typing on the keyboard. He then looked up. “Wei Yi showed up.”
Du Yele widened his eyes in disbelief. “How did he get here? Have you met him?”
“Yes, he showed up out of the blue. And he injected pheromones into his pituitary gland,” Jin Wuqi said.
“What a psycho!” Du Yele cursed under his breath. “Jin, he must have entered the country illegally. We can contact the Immigration Department to have him deported.”
“He threatened me, saying he had something in his hand,” Jin Wuqi turned off the laptop and leaned back with closed eyes. “Without thinking, I let him go. I know, apart from that incident, there is nothing else.”
“If that’s the case, then they’re really despicable,” Du Yele said. His eyes downcast as he spoke coldly. “Can’t we just get rid of him directly? If you don’t want to do it, I’ll do it for you.”
“Don’t go crazy,” Jin Wuqi smiled. “When he comes to see me next time, I’ll talk to him and ask him what he really wants.”
“What’s there to talk about with him?” Du Yele frowned. “Just a lesson on his glands is too light. He should have been killed in the first place.”
Jin Wuqi sighed. “Let’s not talk about that. The Omega Association over there has been in contact with me recently and showed me the latest revised proposal. It’s been over three years. And it’s finally going to be announced.”
Du Yele glanced at the late autumn scenery outside the window and remained silent.
***
In the evening, Jin Wuqi and Du Yele had dinner together and coincidentally met Song Zhimu and Lin Jiahan. They exchanged greetings and then sat at the same table for dinner.
Lin Jiahan was very quiet in front of Song Zhimu, looking meek and quiet. She had an inherent fear of her cousin. No matter how gentle and cultured Song Zhimu smiled, Lin Jiahan still felt afraid.
Today, Song Zhimu was entrusted by Lin Jiahan’s parents to persuade her to accept an arranged marriage.
Du Yele, being his usual self, asked, “For marriage, shouldn’t it be a personal choice? And besides,” he gestured towards Lin Jiahan with an open palm, “Miss Lin is such a beautiful Omega, she must be very popular. Shouldn’t she carefully consider choosing the person she likes the most?”
Jin Wuqi smiled and drank without saying a word, letting Du Yele express himself freely.
Lin Jiahan felt embarrassed. “No. I’m not that popular…”
“Then it must be because you have someone you like,” Du Yele flashed his blue eyes, looking quite distressed as he rested his chin on his hand. “Such a beautiful girl, who is lucky enough to be liked by you?”
Song Zhimu looked at Lin Jiahan. “So, is there someone? If you don’t say now, when you’re forced into marriage one day, you won’t have a chance.”
“It’s just a one-sided thing…” Lin Jiahan buried her head. “Even if it’s not him, I don’t want to get married. I don’t want to be arranged for a marriage.”
“In case the other party has good conditions, there might still be a chance,” Song Zhimu was never optimistic about his cousin marrying an Alpha who was wealthy but had a questionable character. Today, he was entrusted by his parents to persuade her. And he felt weary. He smiled faintly. “Really, you might as well give it a try.”
Blushing, Lin Jiahan lifted her head and said, “His name is Yu Yang.”
Song Zhimu and Du Yele were surprised in unison. Then they looked at Jin Wuqi at the same time.
Jin Wuqi shook his glass and said with a smile, “Yu Yang? Wow.”
“It’s not possible though,” Lin Jiahan was completely unaware of the atmosphere at the table. She said, “He doesn’t have any feelings for me. And… I think he probably already likes someone else.”
Song Zhimu leaned back in his chair, lightly tapping the table with his index finger. While answering Lin Jiahan, his eyes were on Jin Wuqi.
“Mr. Yu’s conditions are really outstanding. And the person he likes should also be very outstanding. You shouldn’t be sad,” he said.
Lin Jiahan nodded. “So I haven’t thought much about it. It’s just admiration on my part. Nothing to be sad about.”
“Miss Lin is really lovely,” Du Yele raised his glass. “May I have the honour of drinking with you?”
Lin Jiahan smiled and pursed her lips into a smile. “It’s my pleasure. I’m glad to meet you too.”
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*Translator’s Note: I kinda agree with Du Yele tho. Why talk to a psycho? Just f*ing end him. -K
Next update: 2024.05.13
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