Xu Yin was slightly taken aback.
Was it really a dream about him?
Before they actually met in person, Lao Gong had already started dreaming about him?
Usually, 018 would avoid situations like this. After a moment of silence, Xu Yin called him out.
018 understood the situation and said, “Since this is the first time two people have crossed over together, we’re not sure if this is normal or not. Anyway, we haven’t found any bugs in the program… but I feel like I just got a taste of dog food!”
Xu Yin: “…”
Xu Yin: “Okay, you can go now.”
018: I hate this.
Xu Yin looked up again at the man in front of him.
As he continued to look, his heart softened.
He smiled and shifted his thinking.
Speaking of which, this man sometimes furrowed his brows out of excessive shyness, usually because he couldn’t control the heat in his face, or because he was thinking about something… not so proper.
He felt it was inappropriate to imagine those things, but he couldn’t help it, so sometimes he would just furrow his brows and stare into space with a red face.
Just recalling that appearance, Xu Yin found it adorable.
And with that thought, he understood everything.
This man in front of him had dreamed about something embarrassing involving Xu Yin—when his family mentioned the match, he recalled that dream, and whenever he thought about it, he furrowed his brows—his family mistook his reaction as dissatisfaction with the match.
So that’s it, that’s it.
Xu Yin’s smile grew wider.
Suddenly, the young man fell silent. After a few seconds, Qi Yuanchu couldn’t help but glance back, only to see the young man smiling at him.
Those eyes were exceptionally beautiful, bright, and gentle.
Thump.
It was his heart trembling.
Qi Yuanchu’s Adam’s apple bobbed.
… It was incredible. He had never imagined dreaming about a stranger and then meeting him in real life just a few days later.
Normally, he would be cautious and suspicious of such an unbelievable situation.
But in front of this young man, he seemed to be anything but normal.
All his reactions were abnormal.
He didn’t feel defensive; it seemed he couldn’t build any walls in front of this young man.
On the contrary, warmth surged in his chest, and an impulse rose from the bottom of his heart.
Who are you?
He asked this question in his heart, confused and eager.
Have we met before?
He opened his mouth, but before he could speak, the young man looked at him and smiled softly, saying, “…Let’s start with a proper introduction.”
Qi Yuanchu was stunned, his gaze shifting slightly. “…Not talking about the dream?”
“Do you want to?” Xu Yin raised an eyebrow.
Qi Yuanchu: “…”
Xu Yin chuckled and stopped teasing him, “No, since it was a misunderstanding, I’m relieved. Actually, my initial words weren’t my true feelings. I apologize for that, so let me formally introduce myself again.”
“My name is Xu Yin, an orphan, 20 years old. I grew up in this orphanage and have never been to the central city. But Mr. Qi, perhaps you feel the same way—” Xu Yin smiled, gently brushing the man’s ear with his finger, and said softly, “We seem to have met somewhere before.”
Qi Yuanchu’s pupils suddenly contracted.
“I call this love at first sight.”
Thump.
Qi Yuanchu once again heard that sound from within his chest.
In that moment, he nearly abandoned all reason.
He grasped the young man’s hand in return and asked hoarsely, “Will you marry me?”
*
Front hall.
Ever since Mrs. Qi revealed that Qi Yuanchu’s dissatisfaction with the match was a misunderstanding, the headmaster had been on edge.
Mrs. Lu gave her a look, signaling her not to overreact, and then casually said, “What do you mean? I thought Yuanchu would find it strange. After all, while Xu Yin is a good kid, his overall conditions are quite different from Yuanchu’s.”
“Not to mention family background and education level, even Xu Yin’s gene grade is only C. I was surprised when I first heard about this match; I thought there might have been a mistake.”
Mrs. Qi pretended not to catch the undertone in Mrs. Lu’s words, smiling as she replied, “The matching system prioritizes genes above all else; everything else is secondary. But gene compatibility isn’t just about grades; it’s complex. That’s why the system’s results are generally reliable. Isn’t it amazing that someone like Yuanchu, who has never been interested in love, seems to have taken a liking to Xu Yin even before meeting him? The system really works.”
Since entering the front hall, Qi Lian hadn’t sat down, wandering around the room and observing everything.
She turned around and stuck out her tongue, saying, “We thought he was unhappy because of his constant frown, but we forgot that’s just his serious face!”
“Exactly,” Mrs. Qi laughed, shaking her head. “Thinking back, his attitude towards this match was different from the start, but we were too anxious to notice.”
The dean’s face changed multiple times; she couldn’t believe it had come to this.
How could a child raised in Qi Yuanchu’s family be interested in Xu Yin?
If Qi Yuanchu truly liked Xu Yin, what about their Xiao Xiao…
The dean became even more anxious.
Mrs. Lu lowered her gaze, silent for a moment.
Just then, Qin Yuheng returned from the back hall, looking despondent, his eyes slightly red.
Qi Lian glanced at him, meeting Mrs. Qi’s eyes, and shared an amused smile.
Mrs. Qi gave her a playful scolding look.
Of course, Mrs. Lu noticed Qin Yuheng’s unusual expression and frowned slightly but pretended not to see it in front of the Qi family.
She thought for a moment, adjusted her expression, put down her teacup, and beckoned him over.
When Qin Yuheng approached, she skipped the previous topic and said lovingly, “Did you see Yuanchu? Isn’t your brother Yuanchu even more handsome now?”
Qin Yuheng pressed his lips together and nodded.
“Hahaha, just as I thought,” Mrs. Lu affectionately tapped his forehead, then sighed to Mrs. Qi, “Yuheng is at the age where he should be falling in love, yet he keeps saying he’ll stay single forever. I tell him he’s too picky to be satisfied with the alphas in this small town, and he denies it. But now, seeing his brother Yuanchu, he finally admits he’s handsome. Isn’t that high standards?”
Mrs. Qi smiled.
Mrs. Lu continued with a helpless tone, “I don’t know what to do with him. I can’t find another Yuanchu for him.”
Qin Yuheng’s face finally turned red.
He whispered, “Mom!”
Mrs. Lu smiled and patted him.
Mrs. Qi kindly suggested, “Yuheng could also try the matching system. It’s quite effective.”
Qin Yuheng and Mrs. Lu stiffened.
After regaining his composure, Qin Yuheng pouted unhappily, “Who knows what kind of person I’d be matched with? I don’t want that.”
Mrs. Lu pinched him slightly, smiling, “I told you he’s picky. This kid reads too much, has high ambitions, and can’t accept anyone even slightly inferior.”
“Well, that does make it hard to find a partner. Luckily, Yuanchu doesn’t care much about these things; he values what’s in his heart the most.” Mrs. Qi sipped her tea.
Mrs. Lu’s eyes flickered as she advised, “But as a mother, you still need to help him make the right choices. Kids get impulsive and only think about love. But marriage is more complicated and requires careful consideration.”
Mrs. Qi smiled warmly, deflecting, “In our family, we don’t care about other things. As long as the person is good, that’s what matters. And Yuanchu can tell who is truly good.”
Mrs. Lu hadn’t expected that no matter what she said, Mrs. Qi wouldn’t take the bait.
This was indeed beyond her expectations.
She initially didn’t know the Qi family very well, but she assumed that a prestigious family like theirs would be extremely picky about Qi Yuanchu’s marriage partner. How could it be that they truly seemed to only care about Qi Yuanchu’s own preferences?
Even someone as composed as her started to feel a bit anxious.
She pursed her lips, thought for a moment, and then gave the dean a signal.
The dean, having been waiting impatiently, immediately turned to look at the stairs behind her, raising her voice and pretending to be stern, “What are you doing down here?”
At the stairs, a person who had been crouching for a long time, feeling sore in the waist and legs, finally pretended to be suddenly discovered. Startled, he jumped up, standing there in confusion with red eyes, and called out, “Mom…”
This sudden turn of events left Mrs. Qi stunned.
When she looked, she saw a man hiding at the stairway. His hair was long and almost covered his face, but she could still vaguely see many scars on his face.
He was wearing a wrinkled dark T-shirt and shorts, with messy stubble on his chin, looking very disheveled.
Mom? Was this the dean’s son?
Mrs. Qi was bewildered.
“What are you doing down here?” The dean got up and walked over, looking heartbroken, trying to keep her voice down, but her words still carried across the entire front hall, “Didn’t I tell you? No matter how much you like Xiao Yin, you can’t do this. Today is very important for Xiao Yin, and you’re causing trouble for him!”
“Yinyin, I want Yinyin.” Zhou Xiao said dazedly.
“Don’t be like this, you…” The dean started to cry as she spoke.
“I want Yinyin, Mom, I want Yinyin.” Zhou Xiao lamented.
“What’s going on here?” Mrs. Qi couldn’t ignore it any longer and asked reluctantly.
“This child is the dean’s son. He had an accident in the past, got disfigured, and suffered some mental trauma, which made him like this,” Mrs. Lu sighed, “He likes Xu Yin. Ever since he found out Xu Yin was matched with your Yuanchu, he’s been like this… Ah, sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”
Mrs. Qi: “…”
This act was quite crude, but it did manage to make her feel awkward.
Zhou Xiao started to cry, “Mom, where’s Yinyin…”
The dean also cried, “Xiao Xiao, Xiao Yin is not here, don’t do this…”
Zhou Xiao: “But I want Yinyin…”
Dean: “Xiao Xiao…”
The two of them were almost in each other’s arms, crying bitterly.
Mrs. Qi quickly took a sip of tea to calm herself.
Qin Yuheng’s eyes turned red as well, “Xiao Xiao, stop thinking about him. He doesn’t care about you!”
As soon as he said this, Qin Yuheng seemed to realize he had gone too far and nervously glanced at Mrs. Qi.
Mrs. Lu scolded, “What are you saying in front of Mrs. Qi!”
Qin Yuheng pouted stubbornly, “But I’m not wrong! Xu Yin doesn’t care about him. As soon as he found out he was matched with Brother Yuanchu, he couldn’t wait to go with Brother Yuanchu to get away from Xiao Xiao!”
Mrs. Lu: “Yuheng!”
Mrs. Qi took another sip of tea to calm down.
Qi Lian, seeing how things were developing, stepped forward to rescue her aunt.
She smiled and said, “Oh, he likes Xu Yin, but Xu Yin doesn’t like him?”
“Xu Yin despises him…” Qin Yuheng muttered, “But it’s not Xiao Xiao’s fault he got disfigured. Xu Yin is really too much!”
Zhou Xiao and the dean cried even louder.
Qi Lian nodded, looking as if she hadn’t expected this turn of events, and said, “I see. Well, if that’s the case, then Xu Yin’s character is indeed questionable. Dean, you should advise your son to look elsewhere. There are plenty of suitable betas or omegas out there.”
Qi Lian’s words prompted a sly smile from Mrs. Lu, thinking the conversation was finally heading in her desired direction—
But then Qi Lian’s tone shifted, “Xiao Xiao? Is that right? Look here—”
She dramatically extended her arm and declared, “Isn’t there a better omega right in front of you?”
