最佳契合 (Perfect Match) – 十九瑶
Chapter 25
Mama Xu brought a pot of ginseng tea and a chestnut cake up the stairs, and as soon as she freed one of her hands to knock on the door, it opened harshly. Zheng Hongming came out with a hard, angry expression, like a bull draped in red cloth; he didn’t try to avoid anyone, and he almost knocked over the teapot.
“Master?”
In a rush, Mama Xu made a small step forward.
Zheng Hongming snubbed her and marched down the stairs, leaving the house despite the snowstorm.
Helplessly shaking her head, Mama Xu went into the study to serve tea for Zheng Feiluan, unaware of the fact that her young master’s complexion had become even more unpleasant, resembling a burnt black piece of charcoal.
Zheng Feiluan sat on the couch, his fingers linked, his jaw supported up by his folded knuckles, and his lips pursed tightly into a line. His gaze was fixed on the coffee table, and he hadn’t blinked his eyelids in a long time.
From the looks of it, the father and son got into a heated argument.
With over thirty years of experience in the Zheng household, Mama Xu is well aware that now is not the time to speak freely. She prepared for tea and pastries to be served, brought in a warm blanket, and carefully wrapped it around Zheng Feiluan before leaving the room and locking the door behind her.
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After Mama Xu went downstairs, Zheng Feiluan grabbed up the teacup, his Adam’s apple moved up and down, and even the steamy soup with ginseng slices was gulped down in one drink. He then banged the teacup heavily on the tray.
He frowned and combed his hands through his hair in frustration.
Just now… he must have gone insane.
Out of the two options that were laid out to him by his father, he chose the second one without even giving it any thought. Zheng Hongming’s mask of great confidence shattered as soon as he heard his response.
He was well aware that his father was, in fact, very serious when he threatened him with Jiusheng.
Only an alpha knows an alpha best.
They were born with a highly competitive mentality, which gave each of them a powerful impulse to secure whatever they could get their hands on. If it’s theirs, they won’t ever give it up easily, especially “power,” a jewel that everyone desires. Jiusheng is not like a toy you can give away today and get back through negotiation tomorrow. There are too many parties involved, and there are too many conflicts of interest. He worries that Zheng Feiyi, once he assumes power, will eliminate any chance of Zheng Feiluan being reappointed by limiting his influence and strengthening his associates.
It is simple to leave Jiusheng’s door, but tough to get back in. How is it possible for Zheng Feiluan, who has been the successor for the past three decades, to be ignorant of this reality?
But he still stubbornly picked the second option.
When Zheng Hongming was about to leave, he gave him a poor assessment, stating that he had “no distinction between priorities, lacked goals, and was an embarrassment for those in authority.” Despite this, he thought that the first option was the actual stupid one: can one prove that a man could have been twisted and bent by bowing down to pheromones? No, it just proves that he has gone insane.
If an alpha in a position of power is always being controlled by an omega, then wouldn’t it be possible for whoever kidnaps the omega to exert control over the alpha as well?
What’s the point of being the perfect decision maker?
Zheng Feiluan’s sense of pride was both priceless and fragile. He could not bear the humiliation of being unable to fulfill his desires.
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Squeak.
There was a gentle thud from the dividing wall, and Zheng Feiluan snapped his eyes open, unconsciously stopped himself from pulling his hair – it was the sound of a wooden recliner being pressed down by something, and its hinges being pulled and pushed together.
Is there anybody else in here?
As soon as he heard the study door open, he turned his head to see, and sure enough, a kind man stepped out the room, carrying a book. The man smiled softly and leaned against the door, reaching up to hold the gold-framed glasses on the tip of his nose.
Zheng Feiluan quickly stoop up, “Dad?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Yan Ning nodded at him, “Sit down.”
The Zheng family has a suite on the second level that includes a study with an inner room and an outer room. Three-quarters of the space is taken up by the outer room, which is bright and open thanks to the floor-to-ceiling windows, and there one can also find a sofa, table, paper and ink, and an inkstone. The inner room is mainly used to store ancient books; it’s a little narrow, and Zheng Hongming rarely goes in. But in the inner room, the one that’s ideal for quiet reading, there is a small, elegant balcony. Yan Ning placed a comfy chair here so he could enjoy the weather throughout the year while tending to his garden in the spring and fall.
When the father and son came in just now, they were both angry, and no one bothered to peek into the inner room. As a result, while the two of them were engaged in an explosive discussion, Yan Ning sat in the recliner with eyes closed, book in hand, listening to the entire argument in relative peace and quiet.
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Zheng Feiluan couldn’t help but stiffen up at the thought of the entire exchange being overheard. On the contrary, Yan Ning leaned back and said, “The two of you are indeed biological father and son. Your deeply rooted alpha mentalities resemble each other remarkably well.”
He went over to the coffee table and put down his book.
A few clumps of still warm ashes remained in the ashtray, and he tossed them into the trash can. He then saw a half-opened pack of cigarettes, and he also swept them mercilessly with his hand.
“I remember that you smoke as well?” He glanced at Zheng Feiluan.
Zheng Feiluan rubbed his hands and said, “From time to time.”
“Quit while you’re still young, and don’t learn this from him.”
Yan Ning opens the window, and the air cleared by the snowflakes comes in nicely, with a little bit of piercing cold, blowing away the dust that had settled on the leaves of the orchid.
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At this point, Yan Ning felt somewhat content, so he poured himself a cup of ginseng tea and relaxed on the couch.
He was wearing a thin sweater and a light brown cashmere vest; despite being in his older years, his waist was still stunning. For twenty years, he taught ancient literary history at Yuan University. The eyes behind the glasses are warm and calm, seemingly never angry. The corners of his eyes have a few crow’s feet, which are shallow wrinkles that remind him of the time he was teaching at the school.
Yan Ning sipped his tea slowly and said, with a smile on his lips, “As for Hongming, I won’t talk about him. I don’t think he’ll ever change; his bad habits have been imprinted on him for too long. But what about you? What’s the matter with you, Zheng Feiluan? You don’t treat an omega like a human being either?”
These words carried a great deal of judgment, especially considering that Yan Ning was still an omega himself.
Zheng Feiluan quickly refuted him and said, “No, Dad, I do!”
Heaven knows that Yan Ning was the person he respected the most. Zheng Hongming may have provided him with financial security, such as his position and wealth, but Yan Ning was the only one who made him feel safe and secure, especially as a child; so how could he not treat him as a human being?
Yan Ning predicted what he would say and shook his head slowly, “I mean, treating every omega like a person.”
“I…”
The words on the tip of his tongue were ripped out of their brackets, breaking apart into incoherent sentences.
Zheng Feiluan couldn’t say anything.
“If you didn’t know me, stripping away our biological relationship, the bond of parent and child, and based purely on our respective genders, would you be willing to spare ten minutes to sit here and listen to me properly?” Yan Ning confronted.
I won’t.
Zheng Feiluan clearly heard the answer in his head and kept silent.
Then Yan Ning laughed, ”You see, your respect is conditional, based on harsh prejudicial beliefs: I nurtured you, and you know me well enough to set me apart from all the other omegas, to be given the ‘privilege’ of engaging in conversation on an equal footing with you – an alpha. You’re basically Hongming’s clone in that sense. When I was younger, he viewed me like a flower or a bird, not as a person with conversational worth, despite the fact that the class I taught was consistently chosen as the most popular by the students every year.”
He fanned the ginseng slices floating in the hot tea with the lid of his cup, closed his eyes, and said softly, “Feiluan, do you think I’m an omega controlled by pheromones?”
Quickly shaking his head, Zheng Feiluan replied, “No.”
“Then what makes you think that simply because your omega likes you, it must be because of pheromones and not out of sincerity?”
“Dad, how can he be comparable to you?” Zheng Feiluan felt the absurdity, “You’ve never seen him before, so it’s easy for you to think the best of him. What kind of person is he? He can’t even find a regular job, and he supports himself by doing odd jobs in flower shops as well as grooming pets. Why bother asking me about sincerity with such an omega?”
“Such an omega? When you say ‘such an omega,’ what do you mean?”
Yan Ning felt extremely disappointed and put down his teacup, ”Do you know what Hongming said about me back then? He once said that teaching the history of ancient literature is nothing more than talking about people laying in coffins and profiting off of the dead; and thirty years later, the way you father and son mock people is exactly the same, as if you have an unspoken agreement.”
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Snowflakes were still falling, and the wind was so chilly that it cut through the glass and caused Yan Ning to cough multiple times.
Zheng Feiluan, seemingly eager to say something, stood up quickly, slammed the window shut, and wrapped the blanket Mama Xu had provided over Yan Ning’s legs.
“Dad.” He got down on one knee next to Yan Ning and said, “Do you want me to bring him here like Father wants?”
“No.”
Unexpectedly, Yan Ning shook his head.
He then added, “Until you change that egotistical alpha attitude, I want you to stay as far away from him as possible.”
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Translated and edited by janemoyu (11/16/23)
