Twenty-Three

The summer break between sophomore and junior year was barely a month long. When third year started, all the S-Class got pulled into Class 1 and Class 2. The other classes had smaller reshuffles — Wen Ran's whole class got moved over to Class 4. Tao Susu was still his desk mate.

Her beautiful natural nose had been saved, at least. Tao Susu's maternal love for her little kangaroo came roaring back. Staring at herself in the mirror, she chattered nonstop at Wen Ran, explaining that her little kangaroo was usually very well-behaved, she had no idea what got into him that day, he just suddenly punched her out of nowhere, the baby must have been in a bad mood, mommy could understand... She only shut up when the class bell rang.

The noise beside him went quiet. Wen Ran stared at his textbook, lost. He hadn't gone back to Gu Yunchi's Residence in days. That whole conversation about sexual harassment and anti-sexual harassment had wrecked him. More importantly, he had no idea how to face the Engagement thing — he was terrified of seeing the disgust in Gu Yunchi's eyes.

Their class was on the same floor now, so the odds of running into He Wei and Lu Heyang shot way up — they bumped into them head-on the very first day of school. The two Alphas walked together, no interaction with Wen Ran, but He Wei's eyes, which looked perfectly proper and impartial while actually being seriously cross-eyed, gave away everything he wanted to say but couldn't. Wen Ran understood miserably that they knew too.

Worried that one day Gu Yunchi would show up at the Preparatory School and run into him, Wen Ran started leaving the classroom even less often. Tao Susu got really worried about this and gently suggested he go see a psychiatrist, maybe get his autism treated.

One week wrapped up, everyone bolted, and only Wen Ran was left alone grinding through problems, planning to wait until the school gate thinned out before catching the bus.

"Hey, hey."

Wen Ran looked up. He Wei was gripping the door frame, poking half his head in, a pair of peach blossom eyes on display. He asked, "You free next Saturday night?"

Suspecting he was asking despite already knowing the answer — because next Saturday was Gu Peiwen's birthday — Wen Ran said, "I think I have to go to Grandpa Gu's Evening Banquet that day."

"Yeah, I know, Heyang and I are going too." He Wei showed his whole face, stood up straight. "Just wondering if you're free after dinner wraps up. I have a Birthday Party that night."

So it wasn't a leading question. Wen Ran was a little surprised. "You have the same birthday as Grandpa Gu?"

"Not exactly. My birthday's on Sunday, but my parents are definitely going to throw some huge dinner with a ton of guests, just like Heyang's birthday party last time — super boring. So I'm planning to do an all-nighter the day before. Once it hits midnight at Shi'er Point Bar, it's technically my birthday anyway. Plus we all have to go to the banquet, so when that wraps up we can just head straight to the yacht together. Real convenient."

He wasn't sure whether Gu Yunchi would even be in the mood to come to the party if Gu Peiwen really announced the Engagement, or whether he'd be able to walk out of Luan Mountain alive himself. Wen Ran was in a real bind — he was genuinely pessimistic about how the Evening Banquet would go that night, but he wasn't good at turning people down. After going back and forth, he asked, "Can we play it by ear?"

"Sure, totally get it." He Wei curved his eyes into a smile. "Don't worry, I invited a bunch of friends. It won't be awkward."

Him being so considerate just made Wen Ran feel worse about saying no. "Okay, if I can make it, I'll definitely come."

"Then it's a deal. No gifts, just everyone hanging out." He Wei snapped his fingers. "I'm out. Get home early. Bye."

"Mm. Bye."

Chen Shuhui and Wen Rui had been so busy lately they were basically ghosts — only Wen Ran was left, like a death row inmate waiting for the day to close in. Anxious and restless, Saturday still arrived. In the afternoon, Wen Rui came back alone to wash up and change. Wen Ran stood in front of the mirror in one of the four custom suits, looking kind of blank.

"Ready? Driver's here." Wen Rui passed the second bedroom and knocked on the door.

Wen Ran opened the door. "Ready."

"What's with this dead look on your face?" Wen Rui said, buckling on his watch. "Fake it if you have to, at least look a little happy. It's not like you're getting executed. Half the world would kill for any kind of connection to the Gu Family. You're really not appreciating what you've got."

It was so absurd Wen Ran had zero energy to argue. He just said, "I know. Let's go."

A brand-new business sedan sat outside the main gate. Once they got in and the driver pulled off, he smoothly raised the privacy partition. The backseat went silent. Wen Rui looked at his Mobile Phone and said, "Seeing you like this — how bad did things actually get between you and Gu Yunchi?"

Before, it wasn't that bad. But it was about to get very bad. Half a month without seeing Gu Yunchi, and Wen Ran had no clue what his attitude was now.

"Why so fast." Wen Ran blurted out, no context.

"You mean the Engagement?" Wen Rui glanced at him. "Not really. Just putting on a show for most people, letting them know there's some kind of unclear thing going on between the two families. As for you and Gu Yunchi — only the inner circle closest to the Gu Family will actually know."

But the nature of it was the same. Wen Ran said nothing.

"Stop looking so miserable. From start to finish, your only value to the Gu Family is your Pheromone and your compatibility. You knew that from day one, right? Of course, for the Wen Family, getting engaged means more gain — but the risk goes up too."

Wen Rui snorted a laugh. "After all, whether you can be marked, whether you can get pregnant — all unknowns. If the Gu Family ever finds out the truth, we're all done. So fast is right. It's what's best for us."

Marking. Pregnancy. Words that felt too foreign and too terrifying. Wen Ran said, dazed, "That stuff should be way later, right?"

"Not necessarily. Once Gu Yunchi goes to college, the Gu Family's going to start having him take over Boqing Group. So his condition needs to be dealt with ASAP — and you happen to be useful for that." Wen Rui tapped his knee with one finger. "But don't forget, the Gu Family has another goal: producing the next heir."

"Aren't you actually scared of getting caught?" Wen Ran had understood from the very start what his fate would be, but he'd never been able to figure out how the Wen Family had the nerve to spin a lie that was guaranteed to blow up.

"You don't need to worry about that. Just wait and see. Remember — all you need to do is keep Gu Yunchi happy. You don't need to build any real feelings with him." Wen Rui's tone was loaded. "His Susceptibility Period seems rare, but his sex addiction is different. That hits whenever it wants to."

Wen Ran ran through every interaction they'd ever had. The conclusion was he'd never noticed anything off. He said, "Maybe it's not that serious. I never picked up on it. And he'd probably just find someone else to deal with it."

"Are you kidding? He's impossibly picky — doesn't look at anyone. You really think he's out there sleeping around every day?" Wen Rui rested his elbow on the armrest and leaned a little closer to Wen Ran. "You said you never noticed anything. So let me ask you — does he smoke?"

"Seems like he smokes pretty often."

"There you go." Wen Rui sat back against the seat. "It's not cigarettes at all. It's medicine."

Luan Mountain was buzzing tonight — they'd even brought in the military for security. A whole pack of reporters was held back at the foot of the mountain. The car drove in, passed an invitation anti-counterfeit check and a security gate, and Wen Ran and Wen Rui walked up the central avenue toward the main building. Gu Chongze stood at the front door greeting guests. When he saw Wen Ran, he gave a small nod and a gentle smile.

Wen Ran had never been able to get a read on Gu Yunchi's uncle. The guy came across as low-key, totally above it all — but would anyone really be content holding the smallest share, working themselves to the bone, ready to hand over their position and everything they'd built at a moment's notice, just to dress the wedding gown for the next generation?

Or maybe even if he wasn't content, there was nothing he could do. The second Gu Peiwen opened his mouth, he had to step aside.

After all, Gu Chongze had divorced his wife early on, never had kids from that brief marriage, and there'd never been any whispers about illegitimate children. Took about two seconds of thinking to figure out that was an order straight from Gu Peiwen.

The banquet hall was packed. Gu Peiwen was shaking hands and chatting with the guests. Wen Ran walked over holding his birthday gift in both hands. "Grandpa Gu, happy birthday."

"There you are." Gu Peiwen gestured for his assistant to take the gift, smiling. "That suit looks good on you."

"They all fit perfectly. Thank you."

"Good. Go take a seat first."

He didn't mention Gu Yunchi. Wen Ran didn't see Gu Yunchi anywhere in the hall either, and his chest kept tightening — scared to see him, but desperate to, wanting to read his mood, his thoughts.

The main table was in the inner hall, behind a massive carved golden nanmu screen. The forty-meter-long banquet table was already half-full. The butler guided Wen Ran to a seat fairly close to the head of the table. Wen Ran thanked him and sat down under a dozen different kinds of stares.

Ten-some minutes later, Gu Peiwen, Gu Chongze, and Chen Shuhui entered and took their seats. The inner hall doors slowly closed. The Evening Banquet began.

Right up until it ended, the seat across from Wen Ran stayed empty. Gu Yunchi was absent — on a day as important as Gu Peiwen's birthday Evening Banquet.

Gu Peiwen set down his utensils, lightly dabbed the corner of his mouth. The other guests, taking the cue, stopped eating too. Eyes started drifting over.

In a calm, chatty tone, Gu Peiwen began, "Everyone here is family, so I'll skip the formalities. I'm glad you all could make the time to come. Of course, tonight isn't just about the birthday. There's one more thing — I want to introduce someone. Wen Ran."

He couldn't even straighten his fingers. Wen Ran lifted his head, stiff.

"Chongze, Shuhui, and I talked this over a while back." Gu Peiwen said. "Regarding the marriage of Wen Ran and Yunchi — we're planning to set it four years from now, when they graduate college. Tonight counts as the official Engagement. The two of them are adults, sure, but they're still young, still in school — not the right time for a big production. So we're just sharing the news with everyone here."

Almost no shock, no surprise on anyone's face. The people present had probably been tipped off already. Gu Chongze started the applause, and everyone quickly followed. Chen Shuhui, somewhere in the clapping, shot Wen Ran a look. Miraculously, he still managed to read it — he pressed his hands against the table edge, stood up, and bowed to the head of the table and the guests.

His whole life had just been decided for him, and the other party couldn't even bother to show up. The whole Engagement felt painfully, embarrassingly one-sided.

Then Gu Peiwen announced that Chen Shuhui would be joining the board of a charity foundation under Boqing Group. Wen Ran drifted through it, just listening, unable to actually think.

Finally the main table broke up. Gu Peiwen went out to the outer hall to meet other guests. Wen Ran stumbled out in a fog, walked into someone, said sorry — and heard Song Shuangang's voice: "What's wrong with you?"

"You're here too." Wen Ran caught up, then said, "Oh. I'm looking for someone."

He went into the crowd, then out of it, then outside. Night had fallen. A full moon lit up the mountaintop. Wen Ran figured he probably wasn't going to find Gu Yunchi.

Behind him, the banquet hall blazed with light and noise. Wen Ran rubbed his face, stepped down the stairs, away from all that sound. He suddenly thought of Dolu — wondered if it was sleeping or running somewhere up in the mountain right now. He started walking, following the route from memory, winding around for over twenty minutes, and actually found the place.

The keeper opened the door for him. Wen Ran stepped in, his feet sinking into the soft grass without a sound. A few steps in, he stopped, looking at the Alpha sitting on the ground not far away — just his side profile.

Gu Yunchi was in his suit, the brooch at his collar catching the light in little flashes. Dolu's chin rested on his thigh, eyes half-closed, dozing, tail flicking every now and then. One person, one lion, bathed in the bright moonlight. Quiet. Still. Untouched by any of the noise.

The thing that had been floating in his chest all night — for half a month, really — dropped back into place, weirdly. Like it didn't matter whether Gu Yunchi was about to yell at him or tell him to get lost.

Wen Ran asked, soft, "Are you angry?"