最佳契合 (Perfect Match) – 十九瑶
Chapter 55
By the time they got back to the inn, Cheng Xiu and Dai Xiao still hadn’t come back.
The rain gushed into the atrium, wet and dark. A tiny koi carp was plucked by Liubailiu from the river and placed in the puddle beside the hallway. He was very careful as he played with it using his little paws.
When he saw Linglan, he meowed excitedly. With his tail raised high, Liubailiu followed the three of them into the living room.
As soon as Zheng Feiluan set down his umbrella next to the wall, a small pool of water quickly formed on the floor. Actually, the umbrella wasn’t that big. He had been shielding He An from the rain and the wind the entire time, so a huge part of his back, arms, and shoulders were soaked. His shirt was nearly transparent and stuck to his body. There was no denying the firm, pronounced outline of his muscles. Even the ribbons around his wrists were soaked.
Fearing he might get a cold, He An hurried to the storage room to grab a hot, freshly dried bath towel. He then shoved it into his arms and muttered the words, “Wipe yourself quickly.”
“Okay.”
Zheng Feiluan shook off the bath towel and wrapped it around his shoulders, feeling warm all over.
Unfortunately, the bath towel didn’t stay warm for long. In just a few minutes, it was cold and soaking wet. He An took Linglan’s shoes and socks off so she could move around on the carpet. Looking back at Zheng Feiluan’s embarrassed face, he quickly told him, “You should change your clothes and dry your hair; it’s easy to get a cold this time.”
“It’s fine, it’s just a little rain.”
Zheng Feiluan wanted to make a good impression on the omega, so he flexed his muscular physique. But He An’s next words caught him off guard, “If you’re fine… I won’t make ginger tea for you, then?”
“I’ll be back right away.”
In an instant, Zheng Feiluan changed what he said. He then went back to his room to quickly change his clothes without waiting for He An to respond.
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He An stood up, propped the sofa up, and smiled as he went to open the closed window. A gust of fresh air blew in, and he took a deep breath in order to ease the discomfort that was starting to build up in his body.
The glands are becoming increasingly sensitive.
Not long ago, he was able to spend half an afternoon chatting with Zheng Feiluan without any problems. It appeared as though the native glands had reawakened after that violent vomiting, sensitive to the presence of the perfectly matched alpha, who was always moving about. Even when he’s far from Zheng Feiluan, he will emit pheromones to tell the alpha who once marked him:
I’m here, come and love me.
He An silently endured the two clashing pheromones, almost brought back to the time he was pregnant with Linglan. He passed out three times a day and was too queasy to eat.
Behind him, Linglan grumbled and crawled around. When she saw Liubailiu jump into the cat bed, she did the same. As they curled into a ball, the girl’s pigtails and the cat’s pointed ears nuzzled each other. Knowing she needed a blanket to sleep, Linglan took a small blanket off the couch and wrapped it around Liubailiu and herself.
When He An turned around, he saw figures moving around under the blanket. Suddenly, a small head popped up and began to giggle and play.
Leaving the child in the living room, he made his way to the small kitchen. There, he took brown sugar, ginger, and longan meat. After washing the teapot, he started to boil water for the ginger tea. This isn’t just for Zheng Feiluan. Later, Cheng Xiu and Dai Xiao will come back in the rain, and they’ll also have a drink.
As he cut ginger, he glanced out the open window and saw Zheng Feiluan’s room on the opposite floor.
The tip of his knife came to a stop, and he lost himself in thought.
More than three months—no, four months—if it weren’t for the glands in the back of his neck, He An almost thought that his time at the Olive Inn was peaceful and quiet: the bar wasn’t as much of a problem, and the Cranberry Pastry House was like a welcome rain. Small mistakes were fixed one by one, occupancy rates went up, and even the thing he was most worried about didn’t happen.
For fear that Zheng Feiluan’s mate-seeking disorder would manifest, he made it a habit to lock his room door each night and place an alarm bell by his side. After all, as long as the mate-seeking disorder remained untreated, Zheng Feiluan could only be a gentleman during the day, no matter how strict his self-discipline was.
Surprisingly, his door was never banged during those long days.
This was supposed to be a good sign, proving that Zheng Feiluan’s mate-seeking disorder had gotten better, but He An wasn’t so sure, because when he cleaned Zheng Feiluan’s room each day, he smelled residual sexual pheromones on the blanket and bed sheets.
Zheng Feiluan had lustful fantasies at night.
And every night.
The smell wasn’t strong at first. He cleaned up and opened the windows to let in some fresh air, but he was barely able to stay conscious. About two months later, the level of sex pheromones became increasingly terrifying. When He An grabbed the blanket, his stomach surged up, and he could feel Zheng Feiluan burning himself with desire just by breathing it in.
Zheng Feiluan ached for him.
He wants to hold him, kiss him, penetrate him deeply, devour him like a wolf, and do a lot of dirty things.
However, when they crossed paths during the day, Zheng Feiluan was someone completely different: he was well-dressed, smelled clean, was friendly, and was pleasant to everyone he met. It seemed as though every trace of late-night activity had magically disappeared, as if it were an illusion.
He An was at a loss.
It was unclear to him whether the night or the day should be trusted. He only knew that the alpha, who was not the same person before sunrise, never went away and was still watching him and staying by his side, making his life uncertain.
So to avoid bumping into Zheng Feiluan, he assigned Cheng Xiu the task of cleaning his room.
One day in March, he asked Cheng Xiu if he smelled anything in Zheng Feiluan’s room. Cheng Xiu looked confused and shook his head. He was taken aback, convinced himself he had been too cautious and had misunderstood Zheng Feiluan.
So at midnight that day, he went to Zheng Feiluan’s door to look into the situation.
Every room in the inn has been painted with pheromone-blocking paint to prevent omega guests from suddenly going into heat and disrupting the rest of the neighbors. Although there was a wall and a window between them, He An could still smell the strong alpha pheromone.
Even worse than it was before.
He was weak all over, with cold sweat soaking his back and numbing his hands and feet. He leaned against the wall and slid down in the hall. A sharp pain shot through his neck, and his native glands, which were already frail, were pumping frantically. He even thought that if he stayed a few seconds longer, Zheng Feiluan would open the door, grab him with his angry red eyes, and rape him violently.
After returning that day, He An took seven or eight pills, and his erratic pheromones were slightly under control, but his face in the mirror remained cold and gloomy.
Then…
Zheng Feiluan, which version of yourself is real?
If both, which one is more rational? Can you actually keep your word and never hurt me again?
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A pot of hot, freshly boiled ginger tea, dates that are sweet and sticky, spicy ginger, or just smelling the heat can help you get over a cold quickly.
On his way back to the living room, He An placed the tea cups neatly on the coffee table and got ready to sit down for a cup of tea when Zheng Feiluan returned from changing clothes. His hair was blow-dried, and he sat radiantly on the sofa as he offered to pour tea for He An, wearing the same gray sweater that He An had gotten him a few days before.
“You… changed the ribbon?”
He An frowned and looked at his wrist in confusion.
The gray satin, which was still damp, has been replaced with a brand new navy blue one.
Zheng Feiluan looked strange as he paused with his arm and said, “…That one is wet.”
“Take it off if it gets wet. It isn’t something that’s physically attached to your body, so why did you have to change it?” He An couldn’t help but laugh. Suddenly, he turned his eyes around and noticed something a bit odd, “Still, is it really something you can’t go without?
“No.” Zheng Feiluan pulled his hand back and said, “I just like it.”
He An realized he didn’t want to talk about ribbons, so he stopped right away and didn’t break the silence to ask more. He then took a hot cup of tea, moved to the corner of the sofa by the window, curled up his legs, put a blanket over his knees, lowered his head, and sipped it slowly.
When Zheng Feiluan saw him scurrying away, it was rude to continue bothering him, so he had to stay at the other corner of the sofa.
There was the sound of rain rustling outside the window, both loud and quiet, and the smell of moist summer grass filled the air. In the cat’s bed, Linglan cooed and rested her head on Liubailiu’s belly.
He An drank half a cup of tea slowly and lightly tapped the cup’s wall with his fingertips. Finally, after much thought, he asked, “Have you had an attack recently…?”
“What?” asked Zheng Feiluan.
“Mate… mate-seeking disorder.”
The air went silent all of a sudden. After a brief pause of five seconds, Zheng Feiluan finally answered, “No.”
“Then… are you back to normal now?” He An asked.
“Probably.” Zheng Feiluan answered vaguely, then asked, “Why, are you scared?”
“Hmm.”
He An gave an honest nod.
It makes sense that he’s scared.
Zheng Feiluan knew that he had abused He An when he was crazy from his mate-seeking disorder, so he understood why he was feeling anxious and told him, “Don’t be scared. This place has been my home for four months; surely I should’ve approached you sooner if I were still sick, right? And…”
He smiled at He An and continued, “Even if I’m still not fully recovered, I can still control myself.”
“Believe me.”
But what happens if you lose consciousness…?
Although He An still had questions, he couldn’t say a word while looking into Zheng Feiluan’s deep eyes. Instead, he could only nod his head and bury his face in the thick, hot mist.
Once again, the subject lasted all of a few sentences before dying out, as if the people speaking were complete strangers who had no reason to be talking.
They just stared at each other in silence, drank one drink, and then had another.
He An was sitting by himself, rubbing his knees, and swaying the tea cup back and forth out of boredom. He was staring blankly at the water’s surface when Zheng Feiluan asked, “Why didn’t you keep studying at Yuan University in the first place?”
“……”
He An was shocked and looked a little lost for a moment: How did you know?
Still, he didn’t ask any more.
Considering Zheng Feiluan’s connections, looking into his past is as simple as taking a slap in the face. It might be possible that even his secret admirers have been found out.
With his lips curled around the edge of his cup, he spoke in a low, muted voice, “My family was in a lot of debt at that time and needed me to help pay it off.”
“And what about now? Is it all paid back? Do you still need help?” Zheng Feiluan asked with a hint of worry.
He An smiled harshly and said, “To be honest, I don’t owe much. My brother got married to a rich local entrepreneur, built a successful life, and paid off our father’s debt.”
“How about you? Now that the debt is paid off, why haven’t you returned to school?”
After looking blank for a long time, He An finally shook his head and said, “No. My family never wanted me to study in the first place, and after what happened, they wouldn’t let me study at all.”
“Why?”
“My family works in foreign trade. We live in a remote city that’s not very big and doesn’t really rank anything. It’s just enough to make ends meet. I have an alpha sister, and my parents have always wanted my brother and I to marry a businessperson as soon as possible so that my sister’s connections could be established. I have no desire to do that at all. I did as well in school as my sister did, so why can’t I go to business school by myself?”
He An clenched his teeth and said, “I don’t have a share in the family business, I admit, but if it means giving up my whole life to help my sister get ahead, then I don’t want it.”
Zheng Feiluan was shocked and devastated to learn about He An’s depressing family relationship. He walked over to He An, kneeled down half way, and caressed the back of his hand to comfort him, “And then?”
“…Then I got into Yuan University, but my family told me to quit. They helped pay for my tuition, but they didn’t cover my living expenses, so I had to work part-time until I was a junior in college. In the middle of my junior year, something terrible happened in my family. The creditors caused problems at school, so I had to stop attending classes and pay off the debts with the money I made from my part-time job. In the end, I had to rely on my brother’s marriage to solve the problem. In my parents’ minds, an omega couldn’t possibly be a student. They won’t even pay the tuition because it’s pointless.”
There was visible emotion in He An’s eyes as he paused for a long time while talking about this.
“Actually, I was treated quite well by the school. Since my grades were above average, they granted me permission to stay as a student and go back to school once I’d saved up enough money. I had several jobs and worked hard to save as much money as possible, but just as I was about halfway there, I… I had Linglan.”
He An slowly put his head down and buried it in his folded arms.
“The little money I had while I was in school wasn’t enough to provide for her. I couldn’t bear letting her go, so I had to stop studying.”
He choked up the last part of his sentence, and after a long time, Zheng Feiluan heard his shaking voice again, “Zheng Feiluan, I raised her, I raised her… I fought tirelessly to raise her, even though I’m completely bad at it. I promised I could do it, you see, I kept my word…”
“Yes, you kept your word.”
Zheng Feiluan clasped his hand and kissed it affectionately, “He An, Linglan may not want to be my daughter, but she will never regret being your daughter. Knowing that her dad loves her so much will make her proud.”
His omega has always worked harder than everyone else to protect a dream that could never come true, and no one has ever felt sorry for him.
Zheng Feiluan wanted to hug He An and tell him that one day he would return to the university campus, where there would be an alpha who loved him and would drive him to school, pick him up after class, and hold his hand as he walked down the sidewalk every day. He won’t have to worry about paying for school or a place to live anymore. Now all he has to do is be a normal student and pursue his dreams without any obstacles in his way.
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I would like to thank those of you who are patiently waiting for the chapters and kept cheering me on, especially bloop and Lolilu (you guys helped me tons!) ♥
Anyway, this chapter was long overdue. but I hope you still enjoyed it~!
Translated and edited by janemoyu (03/24/24)
