57
Yan Shuang had arranged the golf game at a club. Qiu Ji drove them there.
Besides Yan Shuang, Tang Huaiyuan and a few other A-rank alphas were also present, all of whom Qi Zhao knew.
When Qi Zhao and Qi Wei arrived, they had already played a round, and Tang Huaiyuan was competing with another alpha.
Since it wasn’t a business meeting, they just nodded to each other as a greeting.
And since they were all alphas, although they played together sometimes, they maintained a certain distance, almost like strangers.
Especially with Qi Wei.
And because of Qi Wei, they naturally kept their distance from Qi Zhao as well.
No one here was foolish enough to ask if Qi Zhao could play. Not to mention that Qi Zhao definitely could, but this was someone Qi Wei brought; how could they dare offend him like that?
Even if he couldn’t, Qi Wei would teach him.
Qi Wei asked Qi Zhao first, “Do you want to play?”
The weather was nice today, the sun not too strong, and the air was cool, since autumn had already arrived.
It was refreshing now; exercising would be comfortable, even if it made them sweat.
Qi Zhao nodded. “I haven’t played in a while.”
He smiled at Qi Wei. “Last time I played was a year ago, abroad.”
There had been a problem with the investment project he was in charge of, and he had contacted a manager, “coincidentally” meeting him at a golf course, and resolved the issue during their conversation.
As they were talking, Tang Huaiyuan finished his game and walked over. “I lost again.”
He clicked his tongue softly. “As expected, the higher the alpha’s rank, the better they can understand what you’re thinking.”
He was talking to Qi Wei, who smiled and glanced at Yan Shuang. Qi Zhao guessed what he was referring to. “…You were betting on me?”
Yan Shuang smiled and spread his hands. “Tang Huaiyuan insisted that Qi Wei wouldn’t bring you, saying that you would have a date on your day off.”
Tang Huaiyuan was frustrated and pointed at them accusingly, “So why aren’t you two having your romantic getaway?”
Qi Zhao didn’t answer, just asking, “What did you bet on?”
Tang Huaiyuan became even more frustrated. “Don’t ask, I’m afraid I’ll have to make your life difficult at work tomorrow if I lose.”
He lost that badly?
Yan Shuang: “Is that necessary?”
He said to Tang Huaiyuan, “I’m not asking you to kidnap your cousin, just to relay a message.”
Qi Wei lowered his voice and said to Qi Zhao, “He’s pursuing Tang Huaiyuan’s cousin. You know her.”
He said casually, “He was smitten the moment he saw her at a banquet a few months ago.”
Qi Zhao nodded. “Tang Su, I remember her.”
A rare A-rank omega. Qi Zhao had met her when she was still a minor. She was cute and straightforward, and very close to Tang Huaiyuan, like a younger sister.
So it was normal for Tang Huaiyuan to be annoyed, even if it was just relaying a message.
Tang Huaiyuan wanted to roll up his sleeves and fight Yan Shuang. “She just came of age! She turned eighteen this spring! Look at you, Yan Shuang! You’re practically an old man!”
Yan Shuang: “?”
He clicked his tongue softly. “I’m only a little older than you. You’re insulting yourself too with those words.”
“So be it.”
Tang Huaiyuan was extremely annoyed. “Do you have any self-awareness? You’re ten years older than my sister! Are you even worthy of her!?”
An S-rank alpha being told he wasn’t worthy, yet Yan Shuang wasn’t offended at all, just playing along. “Not worthy, not worthy, I’m just a toad trying to eat swan meat.”
He was truly smitten.
Qi Zhao was a little surprised, but not shocked.
The higher the alpha’s rank, the greater their loyalty.
Because their genes made them obsessive, or in simpler terms, these high-ranking alphas were all a bit crazy. Tang Huaiyuan, also a high-ranking alpha, understood that Yan Shuang wouldn’t give up just because of a few insults or fights, which was why he was so annoyed.
Qi Zhao watched them banter for a while, his eyes smiling. Then a staff member came over and prepared their spot. Qi Wei called softly, “Ah Zhao.”
Qi Zhao turned around, letting them continue their argument, and walked towards their designated spot with Qi Wei.
He touched the golf club, then glanced at the others’, and those placed on the empty spots, and understood. “Your personal clubs.”
Qi Wei smiled. “Not exactly personal, just a set I keep here. I don’t like using other people’s things.”
A common alpha quirk.
Yan Shuang and the others were the same.
Qi Zhao picked up a club, recalling some old memories. “Qi Mu wasn’t the one who taught me how to play this.”
He said to Qi Wei, “It was my second uncle.”
Qi Yi Liu’s father, an omega.
He had passed away two years ago, and Qi Zhao wasn’t particularly close to him.
Perhaps they were closer when he was a child, before the complexities of interests and benefits came into play. After Qi Zhao showed his talent, the family dynamics changed, and that familial affection gradually faded.
Qi Zhao held the club, positioning himself, gauging the distance to the hole, and murmured, “Sometimes, I really hate being born into this kind of family.”
As he finished speaking, he swung the club forcefully, sending the ball flying in a beautiful arc. The other alphas, noticing his movement, turned to look, just in time to see Qi Zhao make a hole-in-one!
Yan Shuang couldn’t help but applaud. “I’ve heard so many legends about you, and seeing a glimpse of your skills today is truly…”
Qi Wei glanced at him, and even though his eyes held a smile and a hint of pride in Qi Zhao’s abilities, Yan Shuang still felt a chill, his words changing direction. “You must have saved the world in your past life to be able to win him over.”
Yan Shuang genuinely thought Qi Zhao was amazing, not just because of this shot. He had indeed heard a lot about Qi Zhao before.
He had met Qi Zhao a few times and always thought he would differentiate into an alpha, perhaps even an S-rank, so he had been incredibly surprised when he heard that Qi Zhao was confirmed as a beta, even suspecting that Qi Wense and Jiang Qingyue were behind it.
—He had even mentioned his suspicion to Qi Wei.
Unlike them, alphas who had genetic advantages, Qi Zhao had reached this point purely through his own talent and hard work.
He had also heard about Qi Zhao winning against Qi Wense at the bidding. Qi Zhao’s seven years of absence from the domestic scene had made some people forget about him, finding his victory unbelievable. Some even suspected that Qi Wei had helped him, since everyone knew he had a close relationship with Yang Shou.
But Yan Shuang was well aware of, and not at all surprised by, Qi Zhao’s victory.
He had heard Qi Zhao’s analysis.
At the time, Qi Zhao was only fifteen, yet he had said, “…Real estate isn’t a long-term solution. It’s prosperous now because the country needs it to build cities, to promote urbanization nationwide. But the blueprint of urbanization has a goal and an end point. Once that end point is reached, it’s also the end of the real estate industry.”
It wasn’t that the industry would die, but it would become like many other industries, a normal industry, no longer offering exorbitant profits, like selling daily necessities.
Something everyone needed, but not something to be hyped up.
Qi Zhao had said seriously, “I believe that after nationwide urbanization is achieved, the country will shift its resources towards new technologies, focusing on artificial intelligence, new energy, and such.”
He was only fifteen years old at the time.
The fifteen-year-old Qi Zhao had predicted the development trend a decade later.
Now, the real estate industry was indeed no longer as hot as before, with various restrictive policies being implemented, its former glory fading.
Those of Yan Shuang’s rank knew that although alpha genes were strong and could determine many things, talent could determine far more than just a secondary gender.
Qi Zhao hadn’t expected Yan Shuang to say that, but Qi Wei didn’t find anything wrong with his words. He hummed in agreement, then took Qi Zhao’s hand, wanting to kiss him, but remembering that Qi Zhao didn’t allow it in public, he just caressed the back of his hand and said softly, “You must have saved the universe in your past life.”
Qi Zhao: “…”
He said earnestly, “That’s a bit much.”
Qi Wei smiled, and so did the others.
They continued playing. Yan Shuang, knowing Qi Wei’s intentions, took a picture of them standing together.
In the photo, Qi Zhao was standing beside Qi Wei, watching him play, half of his face in profile, the light and shadow highlighting his features perfectly.
Yan Shuang sent the photo to their group chat, and a flurry of notifications followed.
Qi Zhao, worried it might be something important, took Qi Wei’s phone and, without asking, entered his birthday as the password, unlocking it successfully… “…”
He said to Qi Wei, who had just finished a shot and was checking his messages, “You should change your password. It’s too easy to crack.”
Qi Wei said okay, then added, “No one can usually touch my phone.”
Qi Zhao: “It’s still not safe.”
“Yes, I’ll change it after reading the messages.”
Then Qi Wei and Qi Zhao looked at the photo Yan Shuang took.
Qi Wei looked at Yan Shuang, and Yan Shuang gestured to him, smiling casually, as if saying, “You’re welcome.”
After doing this, he went to play with Tang Huaiyuan and the others—Qi Zhao and Qi Wei were left to themselves, a little couple playing on their own.
Qi Zhao looked at the photo. “Send me a copy.”
Qi Wei saved the photo and sent the original to Qi Zhao. “What should I change my password to?”
“It’s up to you. Something that’s hard to guess?”
“…The date I first met you?”
It wasn’t a bad idea, but… why did it have to be related to him?
Qi Zhao sighed slightly, and when he met Qi Wei’s gaze, he was momentarily captivated by the intensity and gentleness in his eyes. “…Change it to the date you first approached me, seven years ago.”
Qi Wei raised an eyebrow slightly, obediently changing his password, and asked softly, “Ah Zhao, was that day also special to you?”
He knew how Qi Zhao described him back then; he had asked his friends.
But Qi Zhao hadn’t told them what he had said, just replying, “Nothing, just ignore him,” when they asked, “I heard Qi Wei looked for you? What did he want?”
He had said, “He’s just a crazy person.”
Qi Wei had felt a little dejected when he heard it, but also strangely sweet.
Because Qi Zhao rarely commented on strangers to his friends like that. Him saying that meant he remembered Qi Wei.
He had successfully made Qi Zhao remember him.
And it was fine if Qi Zhao thought he was crazy.
At the time, Qi Wei hadn’t hoped for much from Qi Zhao. He just wanted to find a way to keep Qi Zhao by his side, by any means necessary.
Making him fear him, making him too afraid to leave him, was also fine.
As long as he was by his side.
And now, Qi Zhao, hearing his question, paused, his eyelashes fluttering slightly. “…Yes.”
His voice was soft, almost lost amidst the wind and the laughter of Tang Huaiyuan and the others, but Qi Wei heard it clearly. “That was the first time I truly believed that someone who offered to help me didn’t want money or a business deal, but… me.”
Because he couldn’t see how Qi Wei could benefit from it. At the time, he had thought that if Qi Wei truly was an alpha and could actually give him his gland, there would be no benefit to Qi Wei at all.
The only beneficiary would be Qi Zhao.
So…
Qi Wei just wanted him to be well.
