Chapter 41
In the hazy moonlight, amidst the dust-like darkness of the night, a black Bentley drove quietly along the winding mountain road.
The scent of orange blossom filled his chest, and an indescribable sense of security enveloped his heart. Bai Yan leaned against the man’s hot chest, his eyelids drooping, and he closed his eyes without even realizing it.
A steady breathing sound came from in front of him. Pei Tingyu looked down in surprise and saw the young man’s snow-white lashes trembling slightly as they fell, completely covering his eyelids.
The Alpha’s heart suddenly sank. Before his consciousness could react, his hand had already moved, landing on the young man’s forehead.
His fair skin was lightly powdered, making it look even smoother, but the temperature to the touch was not hot.
The man carefully checked the young man’s cheeks and gland again. Only after confirming that Bai Yan did not have a fever, and was just asleep, did he secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
His touch was very gentle, but it still disturbed the young man’s light sleep.
The Omega frowned uncomfortably and nuzzled his soft hair forward. His shoulders uncontrollably tilted toward the man, and he burrowed deeper into the Alpha’s embrace.
A light chuckle escaped Pei Tingyu’s throat. He with difficulty took off his suit jacket, released more pheromones to soothe him, and slightly adjusted his position, letting the young man sit on his lap, leaning more comfortably against his chest.
Once again enveloped in the warm, familiar scent of pheromones, the young man’s furrowed brow finally began to relax.
Pei Tingyu’s gaze lovingly swept over the young man’s peaceful face, and he draped his jacket over the young man’s thin shoulders.
A hint of helplessness flashed through his heart.
His precious thought he didn’t know how many times he had looked up social etiquette on the study computer these past few nights.
And he had even secretly practiced his etiquette posture in the study. The moment he heard the door open, he would rush back to the desk in a panic, pretending to be reading the book laid out on it.
The man had seen him from outside the door several times and couldn’t bear it, almost saying they wouldn’t go.
But thinking of his precious’s personality, Pei Tingyu finally sighed and left quietly.
In the end, he could only frustratedly take Oz for a night run, leaving the study to his precious alone.
Pei Tingyu took one of the young man’s hands and brought it to his lips, placing a light kiss on the back of it.
The man raised an eyebrow in regret. It seemed tonight’s arrangements would have to be postponed again.
He sent a message and a transfer to his assistant, put down his phone, and once again embraced the quiet doll in his arms.
He placed several kisses on the young man’s soft hair, especially on that faint red mole.
You’ve worked hard today, my baby.
And, Happy Valentine’s Day.
The long-prepared banquet was finally over. Bai Yan had settled a matter that had been on his mind, and his anxious heart finally settled down.
Even though he had worked a full day of part-time on Saturday, he was still full of energy on Sunday and spent the whole morning in the laboratory, studying plant cells.
It wasn’t until Mr. Pei helplessly knocked on the laboratory door that the young man was surprised to find it was already lunchtime.
The Omega smiled sweetly in embarrassment, took off his mask and white coat, and happily followed Mr. Pei downstairs for lunch.
The weather was good in the afternoon, and Bai Yan didn’t want to stay indoors. So he went to the lakeside with Oz to play.
The lawn was tender green and soft, spread out like a fluffy carpet. A huge sun umbrella was propped up overhead, blocking the harsh ultraviolet light.
Bai Yan hid in the shade. The cool lake breeze brushed against his cheeks, as soft as a kiss, making his whole body lose its strength.
The jasmine pheromones floated peacefully in the air. The young man lay lazily on his back in the grass, a book covering his face, and comfortably took a nap.
It wasn’t until the Doberman’s tongue licked his neck that the young man suddenly sat up, annoyed and amused, and ruffled the dog’s sun-warmed face.
He wanted to check the time. He stretched out his arm and fumbled around, but the grass beside him was empty. There was nothing.
The hazy sleepiness was instantly gone. Bai Yan looked left and right and suddenly noticed something flashing in the light among the water plants by the lake.
The Omega squinted his eyes and looked closely. What was that shining thing if not his phone?!
It must have been when he was feeding the dog treats just now. He had happened to use his phone to search for the appropriate amount, and the amount he gave was strictly according to the standard, not a bit more.
The Doberman must have held a grudge against this black box and deliberately played a prank.
The young man laughed in exasperation. Thank goodness there was nothing important on his phone, and it was time to replace it anyway.
But he still couldn’t encourage this bad habit in the dog.
“Oz!” Bai Yan put his hands on his hips and glared at the dog, pretending to be angry. “How could you just take my phone! I’m angry. As a punishment, you’re not allowed to have any treats for the next few days.”
“Awoo,” the dog seemed to know it had done something wrong. It sat on the lawn and pawed at its face a few times, whimpering pitifully.
“Hurry up and bring it back.”
The Doberman received the command, ran quickly to the lakeside, stretched out its neck, and picked up the long black box that was tangled in the water plants, rushing back to Bai Yan.
It sat obediently, lowered its head to place the phone on the grass, and wagged its tail, as if presenting a treasure, its front paws fawningly pushing the treasure toward Bai Yan.
Bai Yan was speechless.
If that “treasure” wasn’t his phone that had fallen into the water, he would have really laughed.
“Reflect on what you did wrong this time.”
The Omega picked up the old phone and tried to turn it on a couple of times. The phone screen was too waterlogged, and as expected, there was no reaction.
Bai Yan looked at the pitiful dog helplessly and sighed. He couldn’t bring himself to say anything harsh and was about to go back to the main house.
He turned around and saw Mr. Pei walking toward him.
The Alpha hadn’t gone to the company today either and was wearing a simple V-neck shirt, a silver necklace resting against his beautiful collarbone.
The collar of his shirt was slightly open as he walked, inadvertently revealing a hint of his smooth chest line, making one wonder what beautiful, strong muscles were hidden beneath the fabric.
Pei Tingyu stopped in front of Bai Yan, raised an eyebrow, and asked with a smile, “What’s wrong?”
Bai Yan swallowed, forcing his gaze away from the man’s chest.
He pouted and unhappily handed over the phone in his palm. “Mr. Pei, look at what Oz did. He used my phone as a frisbee.”
He said to the dejected dog, “As a punishment, you won’t get any treats for the next few days. You’ll use your treats to pay for my phone.”
“Awoo.” The Doberman shamefully lifted a paw to cover its face, its head buried even lower.
The young man looked over pitifully. Even though he was complaining, the end of his voice was like a little hook, so soft it was like he was acting coquettishly.
Pei Tingyu’s heart felt as if it had been brushed by a feather, a tingling sensation.
The man coughed to cover it up and lowered his head to pretend to examine the phone seriously.
After a long moment, he regretfully handed it back to Bai Yan. “I’m sorry, it really can’t be repaired.”
“As an apology, can I get you a new phone?”
Eh, that’s not what he meant.
Bai Yan blinked and quickly waved his hands, explaining, “No, no. I was just kidding. My phone was already very old and not worth much. I can just buy a new one tomorrow.”
Because he was afraid his old phone would die at a critical moment, he had stored all his data on his computer.
Besides a rare male model photo in his private album, which he was very sad about losing, the rest didn’t matter.
“No,” the man said, pretending to think, and rejected his proposal. “What if someone needs to contact you urgently?”
“It’s not convenient to buy one now. Yǎyuán happens to have some spare phones. They’re just sitting there. It’s better to put them to good use.”
Bai Yan was too embarrassed to tell Mr. Pei that with his meager social circle, no one would be looking for him for ten days or half a month.
There was no point in refusing any further. Bai Yan simply nodded and gave the man a brilliant smile. “Then thank you, Mr. Pei.”
“Mm,” a smile also appeared in Pei Tingyu’s eyes.
Although Oz had indeed made a mistake this time, it had coincidentally solved a problem for him.
At least, he would never have to see that phone that recorded his precious’s “criminal evidence” again.
When he had woken up that morning, he had just come to terms with his feelings when he saw the young model on his precious’s bright phone screen, smiling brilliantly, his eight-pack on full display.
Heaven knows what kind of mood he was in at that time.
Although he understood that his precious had probably already changed the wallpaper.
But who knew if his precious had hidden any others in his photo album.
It’s good that it’s gone. It’s good that it’s gone.
Otherwise, just thinking about it, Pei Tingyu couldn’t help but want to vomit blood.
Tonight’s dinner was French foie gras. After discovering Bai Yan’s preference for Western food, Chen Shulan had been cooking almost every day, trying different dishes to improve the Omega’s diet.
Bai Yan’s appetite had been very good recently. His thin chin had quickly rounded out, and his complexion was also much rosier. When he stood on the scale, he was both annoyed and surprised.
Therefore, after dinner, when Pei Tingyu invited him for a walk, Bai Yan agreed without much thought.
If he doesn’t exercise, he’s going to get fat like a ball, QAQ.
The setting sun hesitated in the sky, stretching out a long, narrow red cloud. The entire sky was dyed orange-red.
They took the small path today. The temperature had risen, and the gardener had changed the flowers in Yǎyuán.
Irregular, round stones wound their way forward. The tulips on either side swayed in the spring breeze. The path was long and narrow, only wide enough for two people to walk side by side.
Oz fell behind them, his steps light, his tail wagging. He would sniff this flower, then bite that grass.
Hmph, although dog did a bad thing today, his treats were not reduced tonight. Dog is happy, dog won’t say.
The gardener at Yǎyuán had a very high aesthetic sense. Various colored flowers bloomed in succession, complementing each other, creating a soft, oil-painting-like color palette.
The fragrance of the flowers was rich. Bai Yan’s eyes lit up, and he couldn’t help but marvel at Sister Haiqin’s skills.
He also secretly regretted that if he had taken the horticulture elective this year, he would have been able to get an excellent grade without any effort.
Horticulture class, the only pass among his excellent grades. It’s too painful!
The young man suppressed the urge to pick flowers to study and tried his best to be a pure observer, taking in the beauty of the spring night.
The two of them walked deeper and deeper along the winding path.
The sun set, and the night gathered from all directions, enveloping them. The lights at Yǎyuán began to turn on.
The late cherry blossoms swayed in the night breeze, clusters of pale white petals overlapping on the branches, swaying, illuminated by the carved street lamps, hazy, as if shrouded in a cloud.
The young man’s gaze was unrestrained as he admired the view. But the man’s gaze only lingered on the young man.
It seemed that no matter how the spring scenery vied for attention, it was no match for the person before him.
The two of them rounded the cherry blossom forest and suddenly came to an open area.
When he saw what flowers were planted on the ground, Bai Yan finally couldn’t hold back his surprise and ran toward the sea of flowers.
Half-open pink petals unfurled in the moonlight, shining with a faint, bright light. As far as the eye could see, it was a vast ocean of pink.
The young man crouched down by the side of the road and gently touched a flower stem, not having the heart to pick it.
Oz heard the little master’s movement, perked up his ears, and ran toward the sea of flowers, his wet nose sniffing the flowers.
He immediately sneezed several times, shook his head, took a few steps back, and ran away with his tail between his legs.
“Mr. Pei, it’s evening primrose!”
The Omega’s small face turned red. He said to the person beside him with great interest, “This flower usually blooms in the evening. We just happened to catch it.”
The young man was wearing a light-colored sweater today. When he crouched down, the sweater slid forward, just enough to reveal the gland on the back of his neck.
The soft gland was tinged with pink, as obedient and quiet as a small, unopened flower.
“It is indeed beautiful,” Pei Tingyu said, his gaze darkening for a moment. He nonchalantly crouched down, his gaze falling on the flower in the young man’s hand, and asked in a warm voice, “Is there anything special about this flower?”
Bai Yan didn’t look up, his gaze fixed on the small flower in his hand. He pointed to the deep pink veins on the petals.
“We just learned about this plant last semester. Evening primrose belongs to the Onagraceae family, the Oenothera genus, with a rosette of basal leaves①. Do you see how its leaves are lanceolate…”
“The teacher also had us debate whether it’s an invasive plant. I actually don’t think it is…”
Pei Tingyu was speechless.
The Omega chattered on. At first, he could barely keep up with his biology knowledge, but then he completely gave up.
The Alpha’s gaze was dark. He pretended to be listening seriously, but his gaze unconsciously fell on the young man’s opening and closing lips.
They are indeed very pink, he thought.
After the young man finished speaking, he looked at the man expectantly. Pei Tingyu turned his head and coughed, then, after pretending to think, commented, “Listening to you, evening primrose does seem to have many uses.”
“What is its flower language?”
The young man was at a loss for a rare moment. How could he explain to Mr. Pei that he was a botany major, yes, but they rarely touched on more cultural knowledge like flower language.
As he thought this, a thought flashed through his mind.
It seemed that in an elective course on flowers and history, the teacher had mentioned that the flower language of evening primrose was—
His soft lips pressed together as he said softly, “Silent love, unrequited devotion②.”
The young man touched his face in embarrassment and added in a small voice, “It’s been a while. If I remember correctly, that’s it.”
Bai Yan had studied the flowers enough. He patted his pants and stood up. His gaze suddenly fell on the person beside him, who was staring blankly.
“What’s wrong?”
He followed the man’s gaze curiously into the distance. The wind had suddenly picked up, and the late cherry blossom tree had shaken off a few petals. Nothing special.
The young man looked at the man, bewildered.
“Nothing.”
It’s just too much of a coincidence.
Pei Tingyu shook his head, a faint smile on his lips.
Bai Yan was still clueless, simply assuming that Mr. Pei had been thinking of something else.
The tulips by the side of the road fell behind them. The two of them unconsciously walked to the lakeside.
There were no clouds in the sky, and no stars. The moonlight sprinkled on the calm, open surface of the lake, as if covering it with a layer of silver frost.
There weren’t many night lights by the lake. Bai Yan looked at the bright moon in the night sky with relief.
Thank goodness there’s a moon tonight. Otherwise, I would definitely have had a bout of night blindness again.
Ah, a quiet spring night, so beautiful. I can’t help but want to sing.
The jasmine pheromones were released relaxedly into the air. A smile unconsciously appeared on the young man’s face, and he was just about to turn back.
BOOM—
A loud sound suddenly exploded before his eyes.
Bai Yan’s eyes widened as he looked up. A stream of blue fireworks shot straight into the sky, reached its peak, and suddenly burst, the sparks like scattered meteors, instantly streaking across the sky.
Then there were a few more streams, booming in the high sky, the loud roar making his ears ring.
The fireworks lit up the night sky, and also lit up the young man’s eyes.
The orphanage rarely saw fireworks. Only at the end of the year would the Haicheng Civil Affairs Bureau set off a few small barrels to celebrate their performance.
Unfortunately, the orphanage was a little far away, and the children could only press against the cracks in the wall to barely see half of the fireworks.
This was the first time in Bai Yan’s life that he had been so close.
Various dreamy colors intertwined in the night sky, then suddenly scattered, melting into the dark night.
The booming sound continued, and a smell of gunpowder filled the air by the lake. The fireworks continued one after another, gradually filling the young man’s entire field of vision.
His chaotic thoughts finally settled. Bai Yan turned around excitedly to share with Mr. Pei.
But he suddenly froze in place.
The man behind him was not looking at the sky, but at him with a gentle, restrained gaze.
The eyes beneath his long, thick lashes were as black as ink, darker than the unchanging night sky. But when they were lit up by the fireworks, they clearly reflected his image.
The child of the moon, and also my treasure.
The world’s stars reversed, and all things flowed. But in Pei Tingyu’s eyes, there was only him.
Time stood still, the galaxy reversed. The two of them looked at each other through all things, and yet it was as if they were looking at all things.
Because what they saw in each other’s eyes was the whole world.