Chapter 37
Haicheng University’s green cherry blossoms were carefully cultivated by the school’s professors. The branches were dense and lush, with clusters of flower buds bending the branches down. The pale green cherry blossoms were in full bloom, fresh and pleasant.
But they were not as eye-catching as the Alpha under the tree.
The Alpha had a proud brow and deep-set features, his perfect side profile almost flawless.
He was tall and slender, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, and the muscles beneath his clothes were just right. His superior figure, coupled with the high-quality camel-colored trench coat, gave him the air of a runway model.
The man exuded an icy, “keep your distance” aura as he calmly gazed at the distant lake. The lake breeze blew up the hem of his trench coat, like two sharp sails cutting through the waves.
At a glance, he was the epitome of the ascetic type.
The Omega cleared his throat, tucked a strand of wind-blown hair behind his ear, revealing his beautiful features, and walked toward the cold-faced Alpha.
“Hello, classmate. May I ask if you’re a graduate student at our school? I’m a sophomore in the painting department. Can we be friends?”
Pei Tingyu turned his head abruptly at the sound.
The man’s gaze was tinged with a hint of coldness. When his handsome features were expressionless, he looked particularly indifferent.
He took a few steps to the side, drawing a clear line, his deep voice tinged with a distant politeness. “Sorry, I’m already married.”
The man was about to walk away when his gaze suddenly fell on a slender young man not far away.
The rejected Omega looked disappointed and was about to leave, but the Alpha strode toward him, the frost in his eyes completely gone.
Before he could speak, he saw the man rush past him without giving him a second glance.
Pei Tingyu took a sun umbrella out of his trench coat pocket, opened it, and held it over his head.
The man’s posture was elegant, his two long legs in their suit trousers striding steadily forward, toward the beautiful young man under the cherry blossom tree.
A gentle breeze suddenly rippled across the lake. The green cherry blossom branches swayed in the breeze, and a magnificent rain of petals fell.
Bai Yan’s eyes trembled, clearly reflecting the man’s approaching figure, like two spring lakes, suddenly rippled and stained with petals.
The young man’s skin was already fair, and under the light, it appeared almost translucent. The purer his snow-white eyebrows and lashes were, the more his eyes appeared as pink as cherry blossoms.
The naive and pure Omega boy was so beautiful he didn’t seem real, a sight that made the Alpha’s heart ache.
He was afraid that in the next moment, the slender boy would turn into thousands of butterflies, their wings fluttering toward the lake, and quietly fly away from him.
The breeze rustled, and the rain of flowers swayed.
It wasn’t until the umbrella completely fell, blocking the harsh light, that the stunned young man finally came back to his senses.
Bai Yan opened his mouth, but before he could speak, a petal drifted over on the wind and landed on his lips.
“Mmph.” The young man frowned slightly and instinctively pressed his lips together. Before he could spit it out, he felt a strange sensation on his lips.
Bai Yan froze.
The young man looked up with a surprised and naive expression and suddenly met a pair of dark eyes.
The eyes beneath the long, thick lashes were dark and profound, with a faint green light shining within. His own face was clearly reflected in the pupils.
In that instant, Bai Yan almost thought that in the Alpha’s eyes, he was the only one.
Pei Tingyu’s gaze was dark and deep, his eyes almost wanton, yet it seemed perfectly natural as they landed on the young man’s full, moist pink lips.
He restrained the force in his fingertips, gently pressing them against his lips, suppressing the desire that was growing wildly in his blood, and slowly wiped away the petal.
“There.”
“Why did you forget to bring an umbrella? The sun is so strong, and you didn’t even message me.”
Pei Tingyu lowered his gaze and nonchalantly withdrew his hand.
But his other hand was secretly behind his back, his fingertips rubbing the petal, as if savoring the fleeting, moist sensation from a moment ago.
A low, magnetic voice sounded right by his ear, as gentle as a murmur, seeming to contain a hint of almost doting helplessness.
Bai Yan’s crashed brain finally received the information and started working again.
“You didn’t receive my message?”
The young man blinked, and thinking of something, he took his phone out of his crossbody bag.
He pressed the power button, his breath catching. The next moment, he realized.
That was close. Thank goodness I’ve already changed all my male model wallpapers.
He pressed his finger a few times, but the black screen still didn’t respond.
Because he had gone to do his experiment at noon and hadn’t charged it in time, his phone had become a black piece of scrap metal again.
The message he had sent to Mr. Pei earlier probably hadn’t gone through because of this.
“It’s dead. The message didn’t send.” Bai Yan shook his phone a little guiltily, the pink eyes behind his glasses blinking, revealing an innocent expression.
It was as if to say that forgetting to bring an umbrella was entirely because his phone had died.
Pei Tingyu was almost amused by the young man’s logic.
At the same time, he was secretly troubled.
He wanted to get his precious a new phone, new glasses. But his precious would definitely not accept them.
What should I do to give my precious a reason he can’t refuse?
As he thought this, Pei Tingyu’s face showed no sign of it. He said softly, “Let’s go. The car is parked outside.”
“Oh, oh, okay.” Bai Yan touched his nose uncomfortably. Because of his previous exposure to the strong light, a sensitive red mark had appeared there, and it was slowly fading.
Pei Tingyu nonchalantly withdrew his gaze.
He let out a soft sigh in his heart. His precious is clearly the most delicate snow doll in the whole world.
The Omega watched the intimate couple walk away, sighing with regret. As expected, all the high-quality Alphas are already taken.
He was just about to turn and leave when a Beta, who had appeared at some point, suddenly called out to him.
Even though it was already spring, the person was still wearing a thick, dark green sweater, the fine stitches like snake scales wrapping around his entire body.
The person pushed up his glasses and a smile touched his lips. “Sorry, classmate. I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation just now…”
“I really feel bad for you. An Omega as beautiful as you, and that Alpha still rejected you.”
He glanced at the place where the two had left, shook his head, and continued, “And he chose an Omega like that.”
“You don’t know, do you? He’s Bai Yan from the botany department. When he was a freshman, he often didn’t come back to the dorm at night. Who knows what he was doing outside.”
“He’s always surrounded by Alphas, and his relationships are unclear. He changes them every few months.”
“He clearly comes from an orphanage, but look at what he was wearing just now,” Cen Yang said, crossing his arms, a look of contempt in his eyes. “They’re all big brands. You can’t get them for less than ten thousand. Where do you think he got that money?”
“I think that Alpha has no idea about these things, right?” The Beta shrugged, giving him a “you know what I mean” look.
“Enough!” The Omega, who had been holding back his anger, his face growing darker and darker, scolded.
He glared at the Beta. “Classmate, please be more polite. I don’t understand your look, and I don’t want to.”
“I don’t know where you get so much prejudice against Omegas. It’s a match made in heaven for an A and an O. What’s it to you? Why are you gossiping behind their backs?”
“You say it so clearly. Are you a worm in his stomach, or were you hiding under his bed and listening?”
“If you can’t have the swan’s flesh, just say so. Why spread rumors and sow discord like a petty person? Be careful, or you’ll get what’s coming to you!”
The Omega was still not satisfied after a long tirade. He glared at the Beta, clenched his fists, and left in a huff.
Cen Yang’s face was ugly. He stood there stiffly, unable to believe what had just happened.
The two Omegas nearby who had witnessed the whole thing huddled together and whispered, casting reproachful glances at him.
“What are you looking at!” The Beta gritted his teeth and glared at them, veins popping out on his forehead, his eyes so fierce he looked like he was about to eat someone.
The two Omegas were so scared they jumped and ran away in a panic.
Only after everyone was long gone did Cen Yang take out the phone from his pocket, his face dark, and wipe it as if it were a treasure.
Hah, sharp-tongued. All you can do is talk. Just you wait. What I have in my hand is the real deal.
The Beta opened the school forum and quickly typed a line. “This is your painting department’s flower? Foul-mouthed, arrogant, discriminates against Betas…”
Bai Yan and Pei Tingyu walked to the parking spot. An ordinary-looking Audi was parked quietly at the intersection.
The Alpha opened the passenger door. After the young man got in, he closed the sun umbrella, walked around to the other side, and naturally opened the driver’s side door.
The car door locked with a drip. Bai Yan reflexively fastened his seatbelt, his gaze secretly peeking at the man beside him.
A faint scent of orange blossom floated in the enclosed car. Only now did he have the real feeling of “Mr. Pei is taking him home.”
The young man watched with wide eyes as the man skillfully stepped on the brake, started the engine, and shifted gears.
Pei Tingyu felt the young man’s hook-like gaze, a smile touching his lips as he asked, “Do you know how to drive?”
Bai Yan shook his head obediently. “No.”
His previous holidays were either spent busy earning money or busy earning money. He rarely had any free time, let alone the large expense and time required to learn to drive.
But who doesn’t like cars?
Bai Yan’s eyes sparkled. “Every time I watch the car races online, it looks so cool and stylish.”
Pei Tingyu was silent. Unfortunately, today’s car was not suitable.
He asked, “Do you want to learn?”
Bai Yan thought about it seriously and shook his head. “Not for now.”
Pei Tingyu said coolly, “There are a few other supercars in the garage. I’ll take you for a spin on a private track next time.”
Bai Yan’s eyes lit up. “Mr. Pei, do you like driving supercars too?”
“Mm,” the man said, his hands on the steering wheel, his eyes on the road ahead, trying his best to act nonchalant and reserved. “I—I used to like it a lot.”
The young man was delighted. Before he could speak.
Gurgle, gurgle—
An embarrassing sound suddenly echoed in the quiet car.
Bai Yan froze. So embarrassing!
The young man’s face suddenly turned red. He instantly lost the courage to speak and looked down at the source of the sound in annoyance.
Pei Tingyu frowned. After a moment’s thought, he guessed the reason. “You were busy with your experiment at noon and didn’t eat lunch?”
Bai Yan poked his stomach guiltily and said weakly, “I had bread.”
He added understandingly, “It’s okay, Mr. Pei. I’m not hungry right now. Let’s go back to Yǎyuán first. I’ll eat when we get back.”
Gurgle, gurgle—
His stomach let out another loud, inopportune rumble.
Help me!
The jasmine pheromones vanished.
Bai Yan clenched his seatbelt and closed his eyes, wishing he could just disappear from the face of the earth.
A familiar, light chuckle sounded in his ear. Even the orange blossom scent radiated amusement.
Bai Yan tentatively opened his eyes a crack. There was no hint of amusement in the Alpha’s eyes, only a gentle, smiling warmth.
Before long, the car pulled over steadily on the side of the road.
Pei Tingyu unbuckled his seatbelt and raised an eyebrow. “There’s a bakery up ahead. Their bagels are not bad.”
He added with a light chuckle, “Don’t worry, they’re not sweet.”
“Wait for me.”
Bai Yan blinked blankly. “Okay.”
After a long moment, after the man was long gone, the young man unconsciously lowered his head and touched his hot earlobe.
Pei Tingyu returned quickly, sat back in the driver’s seat, and handed Bai Yan the paper bag in his hand.
“Eat.”
Bai Yan no longer stood on ceremony. He took a bagel out of the paper bag, and two candies fell out from the crack of the box.
He instinctively picked up the two candies and held them up to his eyes. The beautifully wrapped candies gave off a slightly bitter, sweet scent.
Bai Yan was slightly stunned. He suddenly remembered what special day it was today.
March 14th, White Day.
