Chapter 59

He'd run through every possible answer — passing through, coming to settle a score, checking how he was doing — but never this. Wen Ran stared at Gu Yunchi in shock. After a long moment, his voice came out hoarse: 'Are you out of your mind?'

'If I had to stay somewhere like that fighting every day, I'd have gone crazy ages ago' — Tao Susu's words surfaced at just the right time. Wen Ran avoided Gu Yunchi's gaze, looked dazedly elsewhere, and said it again with more conviction: 'You're crazy.'

Gu Yunchi lowered his eyes, caught Wen Ran's jaw with his right hand, forced him to turn back.

He stared at the face in his hand. For three years his bodyguards had dutifully sent countless candid shots, but candid shots were candid shots — every single one distant and blurry, nothing like right now. Warm. Soft. Alive. Smelling of Pheromone. Touchable with nothing in between. Real to the point of being unreal.

His hand released, slid down past the ear, over the pulsing vein in the neck, finally settling over the beating heart. Gu Yunchi looked like a doctor confirming a patient's vitals — steady, solemn. Wen Ran's breathing sped up, his skin erupting in goosebumps from the strange gesture.

Gu Yunchi watched his own hand trembling slightly with Wen Ran's heartbeat, then gave a belated agreement: 'Mm. I'm crazy.'

Then his fingers curled and drew a business card from Wen Ran's uniform pocket.

'Every time I see you I'm very happy. I'd like to get to know you better.'

Before Wen Ran could even register what it was, Gu Yunchi was already reading the message on the back. He looked at Wen Ran, flat tone, but his enunciation heavier: 'Better? So you've already gotten to know some of it.'

Instinctively, Wen Ran tried to snatch the card back — wondering if Zhou Zhuo had written it on purpose to play matchmaker — but Gu Yunchi tilted his hand, making him miss. The plastic bag in his hand rustled. Wen Ran held his hand up for a few seconds, then lowered it.

'I don't really understand what you mean.' Confusion showed on Wen Ran's face, along with the panic of having his established routine suddenly shattered. 'Can you just tell me straight — what's your purpose in coming?'

He figured Gu Yunchi came to confront him — accuse him of the lies he'd told, his deliberate approach, interrogate him about whether he'd known about Chen Shuhui and Gu Chongze's conspiracy from the start, then finish with some sarcastic remark about how impressive it was that he'd survived.

Or, more ideally, they could sit down and talk calmly, clear up the old misunderstandings, then say goodbye face to face — making up for the goodbye they'd never properly had all those years ago.

In any case, it shouldn't be about that marriage contract. It sounded more like mockery — because Gu Yunchi had said with his own mouth, 'Impossible to marry you.'

'I already answered.' Gu Yunchi tossed the card onto the floor. A soft slap.

Wen Ran watched him in silence. After a dozen seconds, he suddenly whipped the door open, spun, and ran — but Gu Yunchi immediately caught him around the waist and pulled him back, shut the door with his other hand, leaned in, and pinned Wen Ran against it.

Wen Ran struggled violently, but Gu Yunchi only held him tighter. The Alpha Pheromone in the air thickened, turned dominant. Wen Ran quickly went limp in silence, not moving, only breathing hard, his reddened eyes fixed on Gu Yunchi.

'Don't you think you're being weird?' The distance had been forced close. When Wen Ran looked up to speak, his lips nearly brushed Gu Yunchi's chin. 'Breaking into my home, saying crazy things, suppressing me with Pheromones.'

'You asked me why I'm here. I gave you the answer.' Gu Yunchi admitted a flash of displeasure when Wen Ran had tried to run, but now Wen Ran was in his arms, looking at him, talking to him — and that washed away every unpleasant feeling in an instant. 'As for the Pheromones — not intentional. Lost control for a second.'

'You're an S-Class Alpha!' Wen Ran didn't believe it for a second.

'You're my high-match Omega. Losing control of Pheromones in front of you is completely normal.' Gu Yunchi watched him. 'After all this time, is your biology knowledge still stuck where it used to be?'

Apparently people really do want to yell someone's full name when they're worked up — but Wen Ran held back, looked away, gasping: 'I don't need to know that right now.'

Because he wouldn't be bluntly asking people what his Pheromone smelled like and getting accused of harassment, wouldn't be recklessly running to an Alpha's place for help during heat, wouldn't fail to understand the meaning of a Permanent Mark — none of that would happen again, so not knowing was fine.

'Your temper's gotten bigger.' Gu Yunchi's gaze stayed on Wen Ran's face. An evaluation.

Not mocking, not angry — Wen Ran even thought he caught something like approval in his tone. He glanced at Gu Yunchi quickly, completely unable to read this person's thoughts or intentions, and could only issue a warning with zero threat behind it: 'Active-duty officer, illegal entry, restricting my movement — I'm calling the police. Let me go. Now.'

'Calling the police won't help.' Gu Yunchi recited a short number. 'Military Headquarters complaint hotline. Go report me.'

Then he finally released Wen Ran — but still kept him trapped in the narrow space between the door and his body. His left hand slid along Wen Ran's side neck to the back of his neck, fingertips brushing the Gland, then his palm covered it completely.

His hand was big. Part of his fingers slipped inside the collar, fingertips touching the back.

A long current seemed to shoot through his spine. Wen Ran shivered. He couldn't remember how long it had been since his Gland had been touched like this. Even with his limited biology knowledge, he could tell Gu Yunchi's behavior was seriously abnormal — no different from harassment.

Nowhere to dodge, nowhere to retreat. Wen Ran turned his head away, silent for a moment, just about to remind Gu Yunchi this was sexual harassment — beep beep beep — something rang.

Gu Yunchi ignored it, looked at Wen Ran for a few seconds, finally withdrew his hand, took out the communicator with its flashing red light, glanced at it and rejected the call without hesitation, then turned and entered the bedroom area, circled it like an inspection, turned on the Bathroom light, looked inside.

He was very tall. Moving through the room made the already cramped space feel even tighter. The communicator kept ringing insistently, like an annoying alarm. Wen Ran stood by the door, eyes following Gu Yunchi's footsteps, turning warily.

Two minutes later, Gu Yunchi came back to Wen Ran, leaned down slightly, looked directly into his alert, nervous eyes, and amid the urgent beeping said calmly: 'Sleep well.'

Then he raised his hand, reached past Wen Ran's waist to open the door, straightened up, and walked out.

Orange hallway lights flickered on one after another, from the fourth floor down to the first. Gu Yunchi stepped down the last stair and picked up the communicator.

'Commander Pei, Lieutenant Colonel Gu is on the line.' The officer who'd been dialing on the other end sighed in relief and handed the receiver to his superior.

'Gu Yunchi! Every commander is in Capital City preparing for tomorrow's meeting, Commander Luo asked me where you are! Yeah, the North Theater Command's commander-in-chief just finished a battle and vanished — I want to know where this person went too! Don't you want to make Colonel?!'

Amid the barrage of roars came a few heavy bangs — probably Pei Yan slamming the table. Gu Yunchi waited quietly for him to finish, then said: 'Take care of your health. Big emotional swings at night cause insomnia.'

'Who's the one who made me lose my temper in the middle of the night? What kind of caring act is this? If you really got it, you'd appear in front of me right now!' Pei Yan slammed the table again. 'Do you know, I already figured out how to introduce you and praise you to those old comrades face to face — but you, the moment you left the battlefield you disappeared, didn't even come back to Capital City. Where am I supposed to put my face!'

'I accept all disciplinary measures from my superiors.' Gu Yunchi walked out of the hallway. 'Starting tomorrow I'll be working temporarily at General Headquarters. I'll come back to Capital City in a while to apologize to you in person.'

'So you're in City S?' Pei Yan laughed coldly with rage. 'I'm ordering General Headquarters to turn you away right now. Work on the Capital Road then!'

'Also fine. Whatever you arrange.' Gu Yunchi looked up at a certain window on the fourth floor. Thin curtains let out some pitiful light. 'I happen to have somewhere I'd rather be.'

Pei Yan basically slammed the receiver down.

Gu Yunchi's 'sleep well' was no less than a curse. Wen Ran couldn't sleep a wink all night, had countless strange dreams.

A rainy night. Gu Yunchi, holding a model, sharing an umbrella with him, walking through the dark living room and the old black walnut staircase. In the small second bedroom, Wen Ran hugged Gu Yunchi excitedly.

Asked again: 'Which university are you planning to go to? Will you go abroad?'

Gu Yunchi answered: 'Not sure yet.'

The rain suddenly got heavier. Heavier and heavier. The ground and the house were submerged, became a black ocean. Wen Ran panicked, tried to grab Gu Yunchi's hand — but the person in front of him had become Chen Shuhui.

'You're just a tool to them. Do you think he has feelings for you? It's because of the Pheromones and the match rate, you idiot!'

'Gu Yunchi was abroad for a while recently — not for anything else. He was training. Pre-military-academy training.'

'The League prohibits military academy students from entering marriage during their studies. In other words, the so-called marriage in four years — he'd figured out how to handle it from the start.'

'You're just a medicine to cure him. Now you're completely useless dregs.'

Boom — the house collapsed and shattered. Chen Shuhui's twisted face dissolved. Wen Ran fell into the raging sea, rain still falling. Not far away was the model Gu Yunchi had given him, battered by waves, swaying fragilely. Wen Ran reached desperately — only seawater passed through his fingers.

He gradually sank into the deep sea, closed his eyes — but smelled Cake's fragrance. Someone held his waist and brought him ashore. Opening his eyes, he stood in a dim bar corridor. Turning back, he only saw a black silhouette. Wen Ran chased out — raining again. He fell.

Just wanted to say goodbye.

Wen Ran opened his eyes again. Outside the window was sunlight and bustling pedestrians. He stared at the ceiling, remembered — three years ago, that night, he'd chased out. Just wanted to say goodbye.

He'd thought Gu Yunchi came to say goodbye — to confirm he was still alive — so he could completely let go of any guilt over his 'death,' then leave cleanly, ending everything.

So Wen Ran couldn't understand Gu Yunchi's appearance last night, or anything he'd said.

His head ached faintly. Wen Ran sat up in bed, suddenly sniffed the air — a whole night had passed, and the Alpha Pheromone in the room was not faded but stronger. Completely against common sense.

Puzzled, Wen Ran put on his slippers and walked toward the bathroom, but after exiting the bedroom area partitioned by wardrobe and bookshelf, he suddenly stopped, slowly turned his head, and looked at the source of this impossible event.

Beside the dining table with several boxes of fresh breakfast, Gu Yunchi sat in a chair, one hand propping his face, elbow on the table edge, watching him at his leisure.