14

The gland was swollen and sore from the neck ring pressing on it. Wen Ran found some ointment and dabbed it on. He couldn't get it checked at a domestic Hospital — if anyone found out the gland was artificial, he'd die ugly. Chen Shuhui would be the first to kill him, and then the Wen Family would get wiped out by the Gu Family.

Wen Ran stared at himself in the mirror. The spot under his eye where Gu Yunchi had pressed his thumb still ached faintly — and it happened to be right where his tear mole sat. He walked out of the bathroom and flopped facedown onto the bed. Without the neck ring on, he couldn't smell his own Pheromone, but he could still remember exactly what Gu Yunchi's smelled like.

Like some half-human, half-ghost freak. Wen Ran buried his face in the blanket.

He'd been turning it over in his head since walking out of Gu Yunchi's Residence. He'd mistaken Gu Yunchi's cold politeness and restraint for silent permission, let his guard down, forgot he was supposed to stay careful every single second.

Last week's overnight stay had already been the lit fuse — sizzling, little flames creeping along — and he hadn't even noticed. Until it finally blew up the powder keg. That family photo.

A photo he treasured, shattered at the feet of someone he couldn't stand. Gu Yunchi's words and actions were beyond reproach. Wen Ran had no complaints. Didn't dare have any.

His Mobile Phone buzzed. A message. Wen Ran picked it up and looked. The sender was BDH-339.

BDH-339: Are you okay? I know it was that family photo that fell on the ground. Is Gu Yunchi really mad? Because those old photos are important — the Chairman looks at them for a long time every time he visits.

Wen Ran lowered his eyes and typed back: I really didn't break the photo, it fell on its own. But could you apologize to him again for me?

BDH-339: I believe you, you wouldn't have touched anything. The cord probably just got old — Gu Yunchi never wanted to switch out the frame. He also won't let anyone put cameras in the little room, so there's no way to prove it. But don't worry, it's just the glass that broke, the photo's fine, we can put it in a new frame.

Wen Ran: That's good. Thanks for telling me.

BDH-339: I've already scolded Gu Yunchi! He was in a bad mood and didn't answer me. Don't take it to heart, don't be sad.

Wen Ran: Thanks. I'm going back to school tomorrow, probably won't come by anymore after this. If we get the chance, see you around.

BDH-339: I'm going to miss you, Wen Ran. You're my forever good friend.

The more he read it, the more it sounded like a eulogy. But somehow it made Wen Ran laugh. He turned off his phone. To keep from pressing on the gland, same as after the surgery, he'd have to sleep on his stomach tonight.

He dreamed of that woman again.

He couldn't remember when the dreams had started. In them the sky was always overcast, and the woman — her face blurred — would ask him over and over, "What's your name?"

Wen Ran answered, "I'm Xiao Shu."

Xiao Shu was the name he'd had at the Orphanage. He couldn't remember exactly how old — probably seven. An overcast evening, squatting in the corner of the playground stacking stones into little houses. Someone approached outside the wall, called through the fence: "Hey, little friend, can you come over here for a second?"

Wen Ran turned his head. The woman wore her hair in a simple ponytail. When she saw his face, her whole body gave a small tremor. She crouched down, urgent, and repeated, "Come here for a second?"

Not far off, other kids were laughing and playing. Wen Ran stood up, a stone still clutched in his left hand, and walked toward the wall.

Just one step away. The woman reached her hand through the fence, almost touching Wen Ran's shoulder — then froze, curled her fingers back. Her lips moved. Softly, she asked, "What's your name?"

Wen Ran answered, "I'm Xiao Shu."

A teacher's voice came from behind him: "Xiao Shu, who are you talking to? Excuse me — who are you?"

The woman scrambled to her feet, pulled her Black Windbreaker tight around herself, and left.

Too far back. A single brush with a stranger couldn't leave much of a mark on a kid's memory. He was too young then to even tell whether she'd been a Beta or an Omega. All Wen Ran remembered was the ponytail and the black windbreaker. Later they turned into strange dreams, showing up a few times a year, until Wen Ran started to wonder if maybe that first meeting as a child had been a dream all along — a dream he'd had while dozing off on the playground.

In the dream, the woman's voice never changed. But the voice answering her went from childish to clear. The him in the dream just kept growing up.

Every time Wen Ran woke from that dream, his left hand was clenched in a fist — as if that seven-year-old stone was still gripped tight in his palm.

Wen Ran's transfer into the class didn't make much of a ripple. An Omega from a family on the verge of bankruptcy — his background drew less attention than his face did. But he'd been out of group life too long. He wasn't used to it. Outside of necessary activities, he almost never left his seat. Wen Rui had been right. He was a sewer rat.

The problem with the gland still got noticed. Thursday morning, Wen Ran was eating breakfast when Wen Rui walked past behind him and said, "What's wrong with your gland?" His tone was teasing. "Don't tell me someone bit you."

Chen Shuhui, just about to head out, stopped in her tracks. Wen Ran knew he couldn't hide it. He sat up a little straighter and said, "Bumped it."

"Let me see." Chen Shuhui set her bag down.

Wen Ran had no choice but to stand up, walk over, and take off the Neck Ring. Chen Shuhui pressed the back of his head for a few seconds, then said coldly, "So careless. You think I have the time and energy to fly you overseas to see a doctor?"

"I'll be more careful in the future." Wen Ran put the Neck Ring back on, all compliance.

"You should know how important that gland is. If something goes wrong with it, you figure out what happens then."

What happens? Easy. Wen Ran thought, almost relieved. I'll just go die right now.

"You know the Gu Family hasn't stopped looking for other high-compatibility Omegas, right? You're not their only option. That gland can't have a single thing go wrong with it." Chen Shuhui picked up her bag again, then asked, "How's school been these past few days? Have you gone to Gu Yunchi's Residence?"

That last question was the real one. Wen Ran answered, "Fine. Still adjusting… started school, so I haven't gone over."

Sure enough, Chen Shuhii's brow furrowed immediately. "You—"

"Enough." Wen Rui cut her off. "Let him focus on school. Why else did you send him to the Preparatory School? Besides, you really think Gu Yunchi is the kind of Alpha who can't keep his legs straight when he smells Pheromone? I bet he's long past sick of this piece of wood."

It took him a second to register that the wood was him. Wen Ran's assessment: pretty on point, actually.

"Of course." Chen Shuhui let out a cold, mocking laugh. "Better than those Alphas who don't even bother checking if the other person has Pheromone."

The target was obvious. Wen Rui gave a perfunctory smile and didn't bite. Chen Shuhui glanced at him and walked out.

"He did it, didn't he?"

Wen Ran had just sat back down in his chair when Wen Rui's question hit him. He froze, then said quietly, "He pulled my Neck Ring."

"How tragic." Wen Rui said. "There are thousands of people out there trying to cozy up to Gu Yunchi. You're probably the unluckiest one."

"But it doesn't matter. No matter how sweet, how attentive an Omega is — if the compatibility's not there, in Old Man Gu's eyes you'll never be worth as much as this piece of wood. If you really can't get anywhere good with Gu Yunchi, just keep things the way they are. Take it one day at a time. Maybe one day you'll get lucky and he'll actually find you tolerable."

"Maybe the day I die." Wen Ran bit into his bread.

Wen Rui laughed. "That'd have to be pretty unforgettable, then. Young Master Gu would be thinking about it for the rest of his life."

Friday. Last self-study period. Wen Ran got a text: Hello, someone will be waiting for you at the school gate after class. Chairman Gu would like to invite you to Luan Mountain for dinner.

Wen Ran read the message over and over. Then he walked out of the classroom onto the skybridge between the teaching buildings and called Chen Shuhui.

"Mom, I got a message. Grandpa Gu wants me to come to dinner."

"I didn't get an invitation on this end. Sounds like it's just you." Chen Shuhui was surprised too. She told him, "Behave yourself. If there's a hard question, just play dumb. Don't mess up."

"Okay. Got it."

By the time he got to Luan Mountain, the sky had just gone dark. Dinner was in the building where Gu Peiwen usually stayed. Wen Ran was led into the study. Gu Peiwen was doing calligraphy. When he saw Wen Ran come in, he looked up. Wen Ran hurried to bow. "Grandpa Gu."

"You're here." Gu Peiwen smiled at him.

The study was clean and bright, but Wen Ran felt like he was about to drown in dread. They'd only met twice. Gu Peiwen's manner was warm, but Wen Ran couldn't relax a single inch in front of him — the man was a business titan who'd been swimming in the game for nearly half a century, and Wen Ran was a clumsy cheat carrying a massive lie, alone and scared out of his mind.

Gu Peiwen didn't bother with small talk. He just said, "The chef came up with some new dishes lately. Thought I'd have you and Yunchi come try them."

At the sound of that name, Wen Ran's fingers curled tight on instinct. He still had to smile. "Thank you, Grandpa Gu."

"Yunchi's playing with the little lion. Want to go see?"

A question, not an order like "you should go see" — Wen Ran got it immediately. Gu Peiwen knew about Gu Yunchi blowing up at him.

Even though he really wanted to pet Dolu again, Wen Ran shook his head. "I won't go bother him."

"This kid Yunchi…" Gu Peiwen dipped his brush in ink but didn't move to write. "He's seen so many people and so many things since he was little. Even though I'm his elder, even if I want to take his side, I can't use 'he's still young' as an excuse."

"He respects me. Seems like he's willing to listen to me. But I can't do anything with him." Gu Peiwen smiled, and sighed as he put brush to paper. "I can't do anything with him."

Chairman of the League Central Bank Council. Chairman of Boqing Group. What flashed through Wen Ran's mind was the image from news reports — the League President stepping forward to shake hands with Gu Peiwen first. A man with that kind of power, sighing that he couldn't do a thing with his eighteen-year-old only grandson.

Wen Ran was clear that Gu Peiwen wasn't making excuses for Gu Yunchi. There was no way he'd go out of his way to explain a small thing to a tool like Wen Ran. So it had to be that there really were some rifts or walls between grandfather and grandson.

But Wen Ran couldn't figure it out. Gu Yunchi hadn't even put up any real resistance to the Wen Family trying to use compatibility to walk through the Gu Family's front door. What else would he dare go against Gu Peiwen on?

Sticking to the rule that the more you say, the more you mess up, Wen Ran didn't dare offer an opinion. He just smiled along.

Ten-some minutes later, the butler came up to say dinner was ready. Wen Ran went downstairs with Gu Peiwen. Gu Yunchi had just arrived at the dining room too. He pulled out Gu Peiwen's chair, waited for the old man to sit, then sat down himself.

Terrified of meeting Gu Yunchi's eyes, Wen Ran didn't even lift his head. He made his way to the table, dodging his gaze the whole way.

Gu Yunchi sat directly across from him. Wen Ran was tense and uncomfortable the entire meal. At least the food went down easy. Gu Peiwen only asked about school, didn't bring up anything else, then turned to remind Gu Yunchi to actually go to class more often.

"I heard Xiao Wei's been going to school properly since coming back to the country."

Gu Yunchi didn't give face to people he disliked — and didn't give face to his brothers either. "He went to school to chase Omegas."

Gu Peiwen laughed. "Then Heyang can't be like that."

"He went to school to date." Gu Yunchi played the villain to the end, blunt as ever.

"Seems everyone's got something to do." Gu Peiwen was still smiling. "Your friends are all at school. You should go study with them more. Once you're grown up, chances like this won't come around as often."

"Mm. Got it."

"Any plans for summer vacation?"

"Tired of it all." Gu Yunchi said flatly. "Nothing in mind for now."

"That's fine. Time to settle down." Gu Peiwen looked at Wen Ran. "Interested in the summer camp during break?"

The Preparatory School's summer camp had a high bar — practically asked for proof of assets. The Wen Family's level was nowhere near it. More importantly, Wen Ran had always felt nothing but dread toward this kind of socializing, never any longing. He answered tactfully, "I probably can't meet the requirements. I'll pass."

"If you're interested, I'll have my assistant get you an invitation. Getting out and meeting people is always a good thing."

Hearing that, Wen Ran's heart sank. Gu Yunchi was definitely going to think he was playing hard to get, scheming. But Gu Peiwen had already said this much. Wen Ran could only accept. "Okay. Thank you."

Dinner was winding down. An assistant came in to remind Gu Peiwen about a video conference. He wiped his hands and stood. "I'll go take the meeting then. You two keep eating a bit. Yunchi — not staying overnight at Luan Mountain tonight?"

"Mm. Meeting friends."

"Then head back to the city with Wen Ran. Be careful on the road."

Gu Yunchi didn't answer. Wen Ran stood up stiffly. "Take care, Grandpa Gu."

"Alright. See you next time."

The dining room went quiet. Wen Ran was desperate to end the alone time with Gu Yunchi — and end his own humiliation. He stared at the utensils in front of him and said quietly, "I'll take the bodyguard car."

"No need." Gu Yunchi's tone was flat.

Probably being read as playing hard to get again. Wen Ran still dodged his eyes, silently shouldered his Backpack, and walked toward the door. He kept his head slightly lowered as he walked, exposing the back of his neck. The gland hadn't fully healed — a ring of redness spreading out past where the Neck Ring covered.

Three bodyguard cars escorted them down the mountain. One in front, two behind. Wen Ran sat pressed against the car door. He didn't look at his phone, didn't look out the window, just stared down at his own knees.

Last time he'd come down from Luan Mountain, he'd still had the nerve to defend himself a little when Gu Yunchi mocked him for being good at pretending. Today, even if Gu Yunchi beat him up in the car, he could keep his mouth shut and take it.

But Gu Yunchi just looked at his phone. Didn't scold him, didn't hit him. Cold as ice. Acting like he wasn't even there.

The car pulled out of the scenic area, winding down the switchback road. Halfway down the mountain, the speed picked up suddenly. Wen Ran noticed the driver tap his earpiece, then start checking the rearview mirror over and over.

Gu Yunchi noticed too. He looked up. "What's going on?"

"Three vans behind us." The driver's voice was low. "Buckle up."