最佳契合 (Perfect Match) – 十九瑶
Chapter 69
While this was going on, the Olive Inn was not exactly peaceful either.
While on the phone, Zheng Feiluan was leaning against the French window of the Cranberry Pastry House. The call came from his brother Zheng Feiyi, who informed him that next month, as one of the major shareholders, Jiusheng would be holding a shareholders’ meeting and asked him to be on time. Since they hadn’t seen each other for quite some time and were both free and open, they continued their conversation. When the talk was almost over, Zheng Feiluan found out that the Olive Inn was having trouble.
The gate was crowded with people. They started out as just three or four. As if they were making sure they were in the right place, they all looked around with their phones and took pictures of the Olive Inn signage. Then, all of a sudden, five or six people stormed in, creating a commotion as they ran inside.
Something’s not right!
At Olive Inn, where there are fewer than twenty guests, it’s normal for the place to be fairly empty.
“Sorry, but I have an emergency here. Let’s talk later.”
After abruptly ending the call, Zheng Feiluan frantically pushed open the door. As he had expected, he heard nasty remarks coming from across a bridge. When he walked over, he saw a group of people spitting at Dai Xiao and Cheng Xiu, who both had dark faces. A girl was elated and raised her phone, shouting, “It’s all online. The person is at your inn. Why are you acting like you don’t know anything?!”
“Yeah, stop acting like fools!” A young man standing next to her chimed in as well.
Cheng Xiu cracked his knuckles and gritted his teeth, “Kids, please use your brains and get your facts straight before you stir trouble…”
“Why don’t you use your brain? There are pictures and videos. Have you ever thought about how the victims felt while you protected the offenders?” The girl had a very angry look on her face, and her voice was as strong as a knife’s tip.
“Let him come out!”
“Yeah, come out and get beaten!”
A girl who believed she was being reasonable stood among the shouts. She advised sincerely, “It’s not your fault that your friend cheated. We all make quick judgments about others from time to time. We’re all reasonable people who don’t want to harm the innocent. But if you protect him without question, you’re working with him. You will bring down the whole inn with you! I hope you wake up and turn things around!”
“What the crazy hell are you on about?”
Dai Xiao let out an irritated “tsk,” curled up his sleeves, and drove the person away.
When Zheng Feiluan saw this, he asked out loud, “What’s going on?”
“They showed up here for no apparent reason, claiming a third person was hiding in the inn and demanding that we turn them over…” Cheng Xiu said quickly.
“The owner of this inn slept with Xie Yan’s alpha!” The girl was afraid that people walking by wouldn’t hear, so she retorted in a loud voice, “Xie Yan is so famous; you should know that, right?”
Xie Yan?!
The very mention of this ominous name caused Zheng Feiluan to break out in a cold sweat. As he froze in shock, the girl had already pushed her phone under his nose, “Look, it’s this omega!”
A marketing account called @CelebBusterKing was shown on the screen. It had posted the following:
#XieYanAlphaHusbandCheating #NewsFlash
Recently, Xie Yan’s new drama, Immortals in the Mirror, is currently being intensively filmed in Luotan Film and Television City. It is said that Jiang Bai, his alpha husband, was cheating on his wife when he visited the set and was seen having an intimate relationship with an unknown omega, as well as engaging in a late-night tryst in a hotel room. Reports say that the other person runs a local inn. To get further information, the reporter will reach out to the relevant parties.
A set of nine-grid images is attached below.
Zheng Feiluan clicked on the first photo and analyzed it. A sudden paleness spread over his face. A night vision camera was used to take this picture. He An was lying on his back on the bed, his upper body pressed down by a muscular alpha. The picture was sharp and had a high resolution, so He An’s features were easy to make out.
While staring at it, Zheng Feiluan felt a violent tremor in his wrist.
“Where’s He An?!”
His roar was so ear-splitting that it nearly terrorized people.
Even though Cheng Xiu hadn’t seen the picture and didn’t know why, hearing Zheng Feiluan yell instantly made him nervous, “He… he took Linglan to the market…”
As soon as he was done speaking, Zheng Feiluan quickly pushed aside the people in his way and bolted out.
⋮
The sun was setting below the horizon, casting a reddish hue over the usually white walls. The Mill Square was crowded, and the river and sea were scorching hot. It was even more thrilling than the Chinese New Year. After all, who wouldn’t want to watch the three major dramas after dinner?
He An and Linglan found themselves trapped in the middle. The people watching were rude and relentlessly pushed them while they were taking pictures, which made He An trip and fall. In the face of the swarming crowd, he could only move left and right.
At this exact moment, Linglan’s red, bulging goldfish eyes lit up when she detected a distinct pheromone in the murky air.
“Daddy一!!!”
She cried painfully and stretched her hand towards the pheromone. Within seconds, Zheng Feiluan pushed his way through the crowd and gave her a tight hug. He then wrapped his arm around He An’s shoulders and held him close by his side.
Linglan sat in Zheng Feiluan’s arms, and her fear suddenly disappeared.
A sense of security that she had never felt before engulfed her. It was as solid and strong as an umbrella that had sunk into her very being, protecting her from harm. Linglan hid beneath and developed an unshakable belief: even the most despicable person couldn’t touch even a single hair on her head.
With tears in her eyes, she held up her little head high and glared angrily at the bad guys who stomped on her windmill.
He An also felt a strong pull toward Zheng Feiluan. Similar to relaxing on a stormy day while sitting on the bay window, he felt a gentle current run into his shoulders and put him at ease. Despite the dark clouds outside, he didn’t have to worry about getting rained on.
Dai Xiao followed closely behind and squeezed in next to Zheng Feiluan.
Before he got there, he took off his coat, showing off his strong biceps and tattoos of steel gears and steam engines. He looked like a dangerous person who shouldn’t be messed with. Zheng Feiluan’s eyes were even darker, as if he wanted to eat people alive.
Two ferocious appearances of alphas stood guard around He An and Linglan.
People watching were scared of them and started to spread out like the tide going out.
The lead girl could see that things were not going well and that she would miss her chance to make a difference. Irritated, she rushed forward and yelled, “What are you doing?! Are you going to take that person away?”
Although she yelled loudly, she was feeling weak on the inside. Turning around once more, she noticed that at least twenty cellphones were aimed at her. They were on the right and had the upper hand, so they had nothing to worry about. These people could instead use the chance to show how brave they are. She mustered her courage and asked Zheng Feiluan, “Who are you, and exactly what’s your relationship with him?”
Someone said in a low voice, “The kid just called him daddy…”
“Daddy?”
The leader laughed.
She noticed that Zheng Feiluan looked great, but he was dressed like a waiter—a suit, vest, and shirt. He looked a lot like the poor innkeeper, so she made fun of him even more and told him, “You’re still protecting him. Don’t you know you’re covered in grass?”
Everyone in the crowd laughed right away.
The girl then said, “Two days ago, he slept with someone else’s alpha. You should definitely take the kid in for a DNA test. It’ll save you money on child support if it turns out that she isn’t your real child.”
Blood ties are a slippery slope, and jokes about them can quickly bring people tumbling down. People watching no longer felt scared, so they pushed back and started moving forward even faster because they wanted to catch and chase the alpha as well.
Zheng Feiluan was so angry that he had to grab a piece of the pheromone isolation patch from behind his neck. He hadn’t used the oppression pheromone in a long time, and it was his most powerful weapon. If he tore off the neck patch, he could stop these people from laughing in an instant, make them tremble, and move out of the way.
But… but no.
He An is still with him, and his suffocating pheromones will make He An hurt a hundred times worse than other people.
“It doesn’t matter.”
A soft whisper came into his ear as he thought about it. When Zheng Feiluan turned his head, he saw He An holding a pretty pink sachet and shaking it at him. He then put the sachet over his mouth and nose and gave him an affirming look—
Go ahead and tear them.
When minds are linked, a glance can convey a thousand words.
Zheng Feiluan received He An’s approval before nodding and embracing Linglan tightly. He then removed the isolation patch from his neck.
“What are you going to do…?”
The impact was felt right away. The girl in the lead had just realized something was wrong, but before she could say anything, her face froze, and she turned into a puppet with its hinges taken out, slowly kneeling down with terror in her eyes.
Everyone in Mill Square seemed to lose their composure, and their legs went limp all at once, as if a deadly toxin exploded in the middle of the plaza.
Their strength seemed to have been drained; they were speechless, their jaws chattered, and they felt lightheaded and nauseated, as if a massive wave had smashed into their eardrums. A few of them lost control of their phones and slammed them against the bluestone road; others broke out in cold sweat; their lips turned white as chalk; and the most sensitive omegas even puked.
“Let’s go home.”
Zheng Feiluan slapped the back of his neck again, stuck back the isolation patch, and walked away from the dispersed crowd while protecting He An. Dai Xiao was impressed and said “awesome” before quickly leaving Mill Square.
⋮
By the time the four of them got back to Olive Inn, Cheng Xiu was still protecting the place by himself.
These fans were clearly not from the same group as the ones in Mill Square. Despite the leader girl’s warning, they continued to stand in the way of guests at the inn’s entrance. Some of them were so enraged that they couldn’t even distinguish between beta and omega. One of the people slapped Cheng Xiu because they thought he was He An.
But just as the sharp crack of the slap echoed through the space, Dai Xiao grabbed the man by the collar, hoisted him into the air, and smacked him twice so hard on the face.
“Leave!”
With all his might, Dai Xiao tossed the man away. The man tripped and fell on his heel, which got caught on the door sill, causing him to roll twice over in a submissive manner.
“Are you stupid? I’ve got backup!”
Out of nowhere, Cheng Xiu felt an overwhelming urge to seize the moment and unleash an outburst of punches. But Dai Xiao caught his neck with an elbow and pulled him back. He nudged him gently, saying, “Don’t cause any trouble,” before violently slamming and bolting the door.
⋮
Nobody knows just how serious the situation is.
As soon as the group of people who had just left the chaos started to calm down, guests with suitcases came in to check out. Some were just passing tourists who preferred a more peaceful location and couldn’t tolerate the raucous group of fans outside the entrance. While some of them weren’t fans of Xie Yan, they had heard bad things about this inn on the Internet and wanted to leave as well.
Dai Xiao wasted no time and simply did not collect the room fees for today. He paid the bills himself and left with his bag.
A short time later, guests left the Olive Inn.
Looking out at the emptied yard, Cheng Xiu sighed, “…It’s so damn quiet.”
⋮
Night fell, but Xie Yan’s devoted fans wouldn’t budge. They even brought their own lunch boxes and benches to block the door.
He An continued as usual, turned on the red lanterns along the hallway, prepared a set of dishes, and invited Cheng Xiu and others to dinner, even though the inn was empty. They were sitting on the sofa, swearing at the computer screen while scrolling through “spam marketing accounts.”
“Aren’t you anxious, He An? Your pictures are all over the internet.”
Cheng Xiu’s lungs were on the verge of exploding from his anger. He thought that He An’s world was so high that it was hard to guess.
“Anxious? How could I not be anxious? I’m not perfect, I’m very sensitive.” With a smile on his face, He An retrieved the dishes and explained, “My hands were shaking as I cooked, and I spilled a lot of salt. As soon as you take a bite, you’ll notice… But we need to eat dinner, right?”
“…Let me help you.”
Zheng Feiluan closed his notebook, stood up, and walked to the dining table to set it for He An.
He An’s eyes had a hint of redness, but it was barely noticeable. Zheng Feiluan felt terrible, and he wished she could erase every trace of this terrifying incident from He An’s memory.
He followed him into the kitchen, and as He An served the dishes, he gently wrapped his arms around his waist from behind.
“Don’t worry, things will get better soon. They left too many mistakes, so it will be easy to beat them.” Zheng Feiluan reassured He An by kissing his hair and said, “Trust me, alright?”
“All right.”
He An nodded, leaned back, closed his eyes, tilted his head slightly, and placed his tired head on Zheng Feiluan’s shoulder.
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And I’m back! Chapters will be uploaded weekly now :’)
Translated and edited by janemoyu (06/10/24)
Edit: For some reason, Chapter 69 didn’t update, and it wasn’t published as I scheduled it. This was supposed to be updated on June 10th, and I’m only seeing it now. It said, “Error while saving,” so probably a site bug or something. Sorry about that! 😣
