Chapter 10
Bai Yan’s shocked expression froze on his face.
The next second, the young man buried his burning cheeks in his hands, the tips of his ears so red they looked like they were bleeding.
A potent wave of jasmine pheromones exploded in the room.
Daddy, Daddy… He had never used that term. He had no father. He didn’t have one before, and he never would.
That thin piece of paper was astonishingly hot. The fiery warmth still lingered on his fingertips.
After a moment, he lifted his head from his hands.
A deep blush spread all the way to his ears, particularly conspicuous on his fair, small face. His two round, cherry-pink almond eyes were also glistening with moisture.
Bai Yan found the only possible explanation: Assistant Song must have been in too much of a hurry, and not paying attention, accidentally put in the wrong card.
No matter how turbulent the storm in his heart, he still had to maintain proper etiquette.
The Omega clutched his wildly beating heart, took a deep breath, and shakily took out his phone to message Assistant Song.
His hands trembled so much that he mistyped several times.
SaltedSnow: [Thank you for the gift, Assistant Song. I like it very much.]
SaltedSnow: [By the way, how is Xiao Hei? Has he stopped refusing to eat?]
Perhaps it was teatime, because a reply came back quickly.
JianDanYiDian: [Thanks to Young Master Bai Yan’s method of putting him in the dark, he has started eating now.]
JianDanYiDian: [I’m sorry, Young Master Bai Yan, what gift are you referring to?]
Maybe Assistant Song is too busy and forgot for a moment. The young man didn’t think much of it and took a picture of the plush toy beside him to send over.
Of course, he made sure the card wasn’t in the shot.
SaltedSnow: [It’s alright, as long as Xiao Hei is okay.]
SaltedSnow: [Photo]
SaltedSnow: [This one. It’s a very cute little rabbit ^v^.]
Assistant Song’s name showed “typing…” for a long time before the next message appeared.
JianDanYiDian: [Young Master Bai Yan, you’ve misunderstood. This gift was personally selected for you by Mr. Pei. I’m glad you like it.]
Bai Yan froze.
The Omega’s eyes widened, and he was completely stunned.
On the other side, Song Jian, who was presenting a file on his tablet to his boss, had forgotten to log out of his personal account. When the message popped up and his boss gestured for him to reply, he closed his eyes, already planning where he would be buried.
Pei Tingyu twirled a pen in his hand, his arm resting on the edge of the desk. A faint curve touched his thin lips as he asked slowly, “Who is Xiao Hei?”
He hadn’t been aware that his secretary and his future partner had become so familiar.
Not only had they added each other on their personal accounts, but they had also made their social media feeds visible to each other. He probably didn’t even have permission for the latter; at least, he had never seen any “Xiao Hei” on Song Jian’s feed.
Song Jian’s body stiffened. He said weakly, “Mr. Pei, Xiao Hei is my pet king snake.”
“It was sick before, so I posted a request for help on my feed. Young Master Bai Yan said he had dealt with this kind of problem before and told me the solution.”
The man asked, seemingly casually, “Do you and Bai Yan chat often?”
A cold sweat broke out on Song Jian’s back. He chose his words carefully, answering cautiously, “Not often. Apart from the matters you previously instructed me on, Young Master Bai Yan and I rarely chat.”
Pei Tingyu grunted in acknowledgment and gestured for Song Jian to continue his report.
Only after Song Jian had finished did he look up and say nonchalantly, “Kiana is back from her maternity leave next week. You handle her handover.”
“Yes, Mr. Pei.” Song Jian cried out in silent misery, cursing himself for his carelessness.
Kiana was the head of the secretarial department. Her professional skills were, needless to say, top-notch.
But she was a little too enthusiastic, always trying to set up the single young people in the company. As a fellow member of the core team, he had suffered his fair share.
For Mr. Pei to have him handle Kiana’s handover business—wasn’t that just a way of warning him not to get too close to Young Master Bai Yan?
Song Jian wanted to cry but had no tears. Mr. Pei, how have you already picked up those suspicious, overbearing CEO habits before you’re even married?
I’m really just an innocent, hard-working employee, okay?
It was the beginning of the year, and things were busy. Pei Tingyu was working non-stop every day, with meetings running until nine or ten at night. By the time he returned to Yǎyuán, Bai Yan was usually already asleep.
The young man had recovered and been discharged from the hospital, and with the housekeeper at Yǎyuán looking after him, he was naturally at ease.
The Alpha decided to simply live in his office, intending to devote himself entirely to work. Once this busy period was over, he would prepare for the wedding.
Mr. Pei hadn’t come back for several days. At first, Bai Yan was a little worried that he had upset him with his misunderstanding.
But then he remembered what the Alpha had said in the hospital and felt that Mr. Pei wasn’t the type to hold a grudge over such things.
So, Bai Yan stopped dwelling on it. Since the holiday wasn’t over yet and his part-time job at the milk tea shop hadn’t started, he spent his days wandering around the manor with Oz.
A few days later, Assistant Song sent a message saying that Mr. Pei’s work was almost finished.
The day after tomorrow was an auspicious day. If he had no objections, he and Mr. Pei could go register their marriage then.
Assistant Song’s recent messages had become much more formal than before. He had even stopped using the occasional soybean emoji.
Bai Yan wondered if his own emojis had scared the steady Assistant Song, so he, too, began to reply more seriously.
SaltedSnow: [Okay, Assistant Song. I have no other arrangements.]
Bai Yan pressed his lips together and held his warm phone to his chest. His heart was still beating steadily in his chest.
Perhaps Mr. Pei’s words had given him confidence, because he was no longer as nervous as before.
As a qualified contract partner, he had to do his best not to hold Mr. Pei back.
Bai Yan silently cheered himself on. Mm, I’ll start rehearsing our love story with Mr. Pei tonight. I absolutely won’t let any flaws show in front of others.
There had been no sun for the past two days, and the weather was gloomy. Bai Yan had just recovered and didn’t want to go out, so he and Oz holed up in the Yǎyuán study.
The study on the second floor had two rooms, an inner and an outer one. The inner room was where Mr. Pei had him sign the marriage agreement. Thinking that it might be Mr. Pei’s private study and inconvenient to enter, Bai Yan stayed in the outer room with Oz.
The study at Yǎyuán had a large collection of books, some of which were even very obscure biology monographs. Bai Yan had tried to borrow them several times from the school library but had never been able to get off the waiting list.
He hadn’t expected to find them here. Bai Yan held the book with satisfaction, sitting cross-legged on the carpet. When he got tired of studying, he would bury his head in the dog’s fleshy belly to rest.
Oz let out a whimper of protest.
The protest was fruitless. All it could do was lie down to cover its belly, resting its head on its crossed paws to sleep, letting the little master’s hand fall onto its back.
When it woke up from its nap, it climbed up from the floor and nuzzled against the little master’s waist and legs.
The little master smelled very nice and often kept it company. It liked this new master very much.
But who knew the little master would be so engrossed in his book that he wouldn’t even spare a glance away from it? His hand fell back onto its back, stroking it intermittently.
His voice was distant. “Be good, Oz. I’m almost done with this part, then I’ll take you out to play.”
The Doberman seemed to understand, drooping its ears and obediently lying back down.
Suddenly, the dog heard a noise from upstairs. It pushed itself up from the carpet, its ears perked up sharply.
Its eyes darted back and forth between the little master and the upstairs. Then, it quietly got up, tucked its tail between its legs, and slipped through the crack of the door into the inner study.
Bai Yan spent a few more minutes finishing the last chapter.
He closed the book, still not fully back from the world of the book. His hand instinctively reached out to the side, wanting to hug Oz and take a few whiffs.
But after fumbling around several times, he didn’t feel the furry touch of the dog’s body.
Bai Yan called out softly, puzzled, “Oz, Oz, where did you go? Come here.”
As he wondered, a sound like a heavy object falling suddenly came from upstairs.
Yǎyuán was very well soundproofed. Normally, you wouldn’t hear sounds from the next room unless they were particularly loud.
Bai Yan suddenly remembered the staircase in the inner study that connected to the third floor. His heart leaped, and he understood everything at once.
The Doberman must have slipped into the inner room and gone up to the third floor while he wasn’t paying attention.
Afraid that something had happened to Oz, he pushed himself up and walked quickly toward the inner room.
The inner room was as clean and tidy as before. Bai Yan bit his lip uneasily, silently apologizing to Mr. Pei in his heart, and ran up the spiral staircase to the third floor.
The door at the top of the spiral staircase was already open, and light spilled out from the crack.
Bai Yan pushed the door open and walked in, calling out tentatively in a small voice, “Oz, Oz, are you in here?”
He pushed open the door and came face to face with the Doberman, who had jumped onto the solid wood desk. Below the desk lay a small dolphin figurine, broken in two.
The dog had an innocent look on its face, its paws pushing a pot of orchids forward. A small part of the pot’s edge was already off the desk, clearly about to follow in the figurine’s footsteps.
Bai Yan’s heart leaped. He quickly rushed over to snatch the orchid away, placing it securely in the center of the desk.
The young man finally breathed a sigh of relief, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead as he looked at Oz, who had jumped down in front of him.
Oz seemed to know he had done something wrong. He stood up on his hind legs, lifted a paw to cover his eyes, and peeked at Bai Yan guiltily through the gaps between his paws.
Seeing the Doberman like this, the young man couldn’t bring himself to be angry.
A smile touched his lips. He crouched down and stroked the dog’s head, apologizing in a soft voice, “Oz, I’m sorry. I was so focused on my book that I didn’t pay enough attention to you. Can you forgive me?”
“After I clean this up, we’ll go to your room and play with the ball, okay?”
Large dogs are full of energy, and if they don’t get an outlet, they will resort to destructive behavior.
Bai Yan felt guilty. Oz had accommodated him by not going to school today, yet he had been completely self-absorbed.
“Woof woof woof!”
The dog lifted its head and affectionately nuzzled the young man’s cheek, as if to say, I forgive you.
Bai Yan tapped its wet nose with his fingertip, his eyes curving as he joked, “It’s a good thing Mr. Pei isn’t back, or we’d both be in trouble.”
As he spoke, a “drip” sound suddenly came from the closed, dark brown door.
Bai Yan froze.
Is Mr. Pei back?
The young man’s almond eyes widened. He couldn’t be this unlucky, could he?
The door slowly opened inward. The Omega’s face went pale, his body stiff. He instinctively squeezed his eyes shut.
He opened his mouth, about to apologize: “Pei—”
“A-Yan, what are you doing here?”
The apology was cut off by a gentle female voice.
Bai Yan’s eyes flew open in astonishment as he watched Chen Shulan walk toward him step by step.
Chen Shulan took in Bai Yan’s surprised expression, then glanced at the remains of the figurine on the floor and at Oz, who was hiding behind the young man, not daring to look at her. She immediately understood everything.
The Beta housekeeper knew what had happened but deliberately pretended to be angry, saying to Oz, “Oz, because of your mistake, you get no treats tonight. Now, go back to your room and reflect immediately.”
The Doberman heard its punishment and whimpered pitifully. It had wanted to seek comfort from Bai Yan, but seeing the severity in Chen Shulan’s eyes, it didn’t dare to linger. It tucked its tail between its legs and slunk away through the door.
“This is all my fault,” Bai Yan said, frowning guiltily and looking at Auntie Chen with remorse. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have brought Oz into the study.”
As soon as the Doberman was gone, Chen Shulan’s face returned to its usual gentle expression. She picked up the pieces of the figurine from the carpet.
Hearing what Bai Yan said, she raised an eyebrow, looked at the orchid in the center of the desk, and asked, “Was Oz trying to knock this orchid over just now?”
Eh? Bai Yan blinked. “How did you know?”
The Beta housekeeper put the orchid back in its original place and explained with a light laugh, “Oz just can’t stand orchids. He’s already knocked over several pots in Yǎyuán.”
“If they’re planted outside, he’ll even dig them up, not stopping until the orchid is completely out of the ground. Twice, he even slipped into the greenhouse and almost dug up a ghost orchid.”
“Guess what happened in the end,” Chen Shulan said, covering her mouth with a laugh. “That orchid had an alarm installed. The gardener rushed over and saw Oz in the act of mischief, and was so scared he never let him into the greenhouse again.”
Bai Yan couldn’t help but laugh. That was definitely something Oz would do.
With Auntie Chen’s diversion, the young man finally felt less guilty and planned to go back downstairs to continue reading.
“Alright, don’t worry about Oz,” Chen Shulan said, her tone shifting as she suddenly smiled. “Since we’re in the study, would A-Yan like a tour?”
Bai Yan waved his hands, instinctively about to refuse. “This is Mr. Pei’s study. Wouldn’t it be inconvenient?”
Mr. Pei isn’t here. What if there’s something confidential? It would be hard to explain.
Chen Shulan seemed to have read his mind. She smiled and took the young man’s arm, not worried in the least.
“Don’t worry, this is just the Young Master’s study for receiving guests. We’re usually the ones who clean it. It’s fine, come with me.”
It was hard to refuse such a warm invitation. It would be rude for Bai Yan to refuse again, so he obediently followed Auntie Chen into the adjacent room.
The large study on the third floor was decorated with dark brown, solid wood. Although the lighting was good, the decor made it feel a little somber.
The style of this small room, however, was completely different. A floor-to-ceiling window was set diagonally from the door. Cream-white sheer curtains hung down, allowing some light to filter in.
The light was dim, and Bai Yan could only vaguely make out a rocking chair and a long sofa resting quietly by the window. A small bookshelf next to them seemed to hold only a few scattered books.
Auntie Chen turned on the lights in the room, and only then did Bai Yan see that the two walls were inlaid with three-tiered glass display cases, filled with all sorts of golden trophies and certificates.
The housekeeper slowly explained, “This is the small study the Madam prepared for the Young Master. They often spent afternoons here together.”
“The Young Master has been outstanding since he was a child, so the Madam had us clear this space out for him to put his trophies and certificates and things.”
“Look, A-Yan,” Chen Shulan said with a smile, “this is the trophy the Young Master won for the top prize in the Math Olympiad. This is the medal for the national piano competition…”
Bai Yan leaned in curiously and looked at the display cases one by one, from the Math Olympiad at age five to Go at age seven, and then to piano, tennis, equestrianism, skiing in his teens…
The golden trophies filled the glass display cases. Bai Yan couldn’t help but be amazed. There were so many. It was like a miniature history of Mr. Pei’s growth.
Next to one trophy was a photo frame. Bai Yan leaned closer to look and was suddenly taken aback.
The photo in the frame was of a teenage Pei Tingyu.
The sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy had already had his growth spurt. He stood straight and tall on the awards podium, his figure as sleek as a pine tree or bamboo. He held a trophy in both hands, his calm gaze directed at the camera, his handsome features already showing a hint of sharpness.
Mr. Pei is so outstanding. He must have been the most popular type of person in his school days.
Bai Yan pressed his lips together. He was a world apart from him, completely different.
Bai Yan slowly walked forward. The trophies and certificates stopped at the age of seventeen. The last display case held only a single group photo.
The woman in the photo was beautiful. She was bent over, her arm around a child’s shoulder, her face pressed against his, smiling brightly at the camera.
The seven or eight-year-old boy beside her deliberately wore a cold expression, but the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but turn up.
Their features were strikingly similar, but the boy’s slightly harder brow was gentle on the woman’s face. Her identity was self-evident.
She was Mr. Pei’s late mother.
