Chapter 54
A child’s clear and crisp voice rang out. The kiss was abruptly interrupted, and Bai Yan was so startled he quickly jumped away from Pei Tingyu.
The young man covered his burning face, which felt as if it were about to steam, and hastily turned around.
Before he could see clearly, a black sesame ball suddenly rolled into view, its arms spread wide to block him, its round, chubby face flushed red.
The little fatty waved his fists at Pei Tingyu and shouted in a slurred voice, “Bad guy, bad guy, go away! Don’t bully Brother Bai Yan!”
He then raised his head with great effort, his cheeks puffed out with anger, his dark eyes filled with innocence, and said in a soft, glutinous voice, “Brother Bai Yan, don’t be afraid. Yangyang will protect you.”
Bai Yan’s cheeks immediately flushed a light red. Being watched by such a pair of naive and pure eyes, he felt as if he had really done something wrong.
The young man was so ashamed he couldn’t find a place to hide. He stammered, about to explain.
But Pei Tingyu was the first to crouch down, his gaze level with the child’s. A look of remorse crossed the man’s face as he said seriously, “Yangyang, I’m sorry. It was uncle’s fault.”
“Brother Bai Yan is just too cute, even cuter than today’s cake. Uncle couldn’t resist for a moment. Uncle apologizes to Brother Bai Yan, and to Yangyang.”
“Can Yangyang forgive me?”
“Really, really? I, I…” Never having been treated so seriously by an adult, Yangyang’s eyes instantly widened, and even his ears turned red.
He had no experience and could only look at the only trusted adult present. He blinked his moist, shimmering eyes, at a loss, and whispered softly, “Brother Bai Yan, should we forgive him?”
A smile touched Bai Yan’s lips. He also crouched down and gently stroked his head. “Brother Bai Yan forgives him. Is Yangyang willing to give him a chance to correct his mistake?”
The little dumpling twisted his fingers shyly. After a long moment, he said in a voice as soft as a mosquito’s buzz, his face red, “The teacher says that a good child is one who can correct his mistakes. Bad guy, no, good guy, I forgive you. Don’t bully Brother Bai Yan again!”
“Thank you, Yangyang, for being willing to forgive me.”
Pei Tingyu, his face covered in little red flowers, looked serious and said earnestly, “Yangyang did very well this time. No one can bully a little friend like uncle did.”
“If anyone else does this to Yangyang, or to other little friends, Yangyang must report it to the teacher and the director, okay?”
“Mm-hmm!” The praised child excitedly clenched his little fists and nodded seriously.
Pei Tingyu also patted his head in praise. “Yangyang is so sensible.”
Yangyang was so shy his face turned beet red. He nervously pinched the hem of his clothes. He happened to hear the call for cake distribution in the front yard, cheered, and after saying goodbye to the two of them, happily ran outside.
Bai Yan watched the child’s agile back and let out a light laugh, surprised. “I never would have thought you were so good with children, xian sheng. I thought you only dealt with documents and meetings.”
Pei Tingyu raised an eyebrow and said calmly, “There was an elective course in high school on family management for Alphas.”
Bai Yan was even more surprised, his eyes widening in astonishment. “You even took that kind of course?”
Pei Tingyu looked at him and said coolly, “Of course not.”
“The people in the secretarial department occasionally bring their children to work on company family days.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, a simple sentence with a lot of information.
Bai Yan clicked his tongue to himself. Even a big shot like Mr. Pei has to deal with children.
Does he get annoyed when energetic children overturn his desk and run around, but can’t say anything?
As if he knew what Bai Yan was thinking, Pei Tingyu slowly added, “I’ll bring Oz. They usually stay with him in the lounge.”
The image of Oz lying miserably on the carpet, letting the children dress him up and play with him, immediately appeared in the young man’s mind, and he couldn’t help but laugh to himself.
Their gazes met, and they both couldn’t help but laugh.
Bai Yan finally had mercy and took off all the little red flower stickers from the Alpha’s face.
The faint, intermittent sunlight fell on the two of them. The scents of orange blossom and jasmine mingled, the atmosphere romantic, but neither of them had any intention of continuing.
Bai Yan looked up at the few lush apple trees before him. The branches were dense, and the blooming flowers swayed in the wind, making a soft, crisp sound.
“I didn’t expect them to have grown so big. Time flies.”
He then turned to Pei Tingyu and gave him a mysterious smile. “Xian sheng, did you know? These few apple trees are Huixin’s wishing trees. Wishes made under them are very effective.”
Pei Tingyu followed his lead and asked, “Is that so? Why?”
Bai Yan picked up a dry branch from the mud and poked at the weeds under the apple tree, his voice suddenly very soft. “The orphanage didn’t have much spare money before, so we rarely had fruit to eat.”
“Everyone looked forward to autumn, when the apple trees in the back yard would bear fruit, and everyone could get a few apples.”
“In the spring, we would watch over the apple trees and wish in our hearts for more flowers to bloom this year, and more.”
“Later, these few apple trees became wishing trees. We would tell them all our wishes.”
Bai Yan’s tone was nostalgic, a clean, pure smile in his eyes as he shared with Pei Tingyu, not at all feeling that his past life had been hard.
But a fine, stinging pain rose in Pei Tingyu’s heart. He wished he could travel back in time and hug the child from the past, the one who would be happy for a long time just by getting a few apples.
Love is a debt. Even for that distant, unseen child, he would feel deeply indebted.
Why couldn’t he have met him sooner, even sooner?
Pei Tingyu lowered his voice and asked, “Then, did Yanyan’s wishes come true?”
The smiling, eye-crinkling young man suddenly froze. His lashes trembled, and he looked up at the man in a daze.
After a long moment, Bai Yan’s lips curved up, a shimmer of moisture in his eyes as he said softly, “They did.”
“Weren’t you sent to me by fate?”
The light and shadow under the apple tree were mottled, as if returning to a summer afternoon ten years ago. A pale, thin child gently pushed open the door of his room and secretly slipped out.
The child had unusually pale gold hair and a pair of cherry-pink eyes. His porcelain-white skin was almost transparent in the light, so beautiful he was like a celestial being who had fallen to earth.
The afternoon sun was strong, and his skin quickly turned red and sensitive.
He didn’t dare to stay long. He closed his eyes, his fingers clasped together and pressed to his lips, and secretly made a wish in his heart.
Benevolent apple tree god, I will be a good child. Please bless me, so that when I grow up, I can have a family.
A gentle breeze rustled through the leaves, and the apple tree branches swayed, as if to say, “Alright, alright.”
The two of them stood under the apple tree for a while longer and then returned to the front yard. Pei Tingyu was stopped by a sponsor he knew to chat and couldn’t leave for the time being.
Bai Yan wandered around by himself for a while and finally found Lin Yu in a corner.
The Beta friend looked preoccupied, his head bowed in thought, his clothes and hair a mess, and even his mouth was a little moist and swollen.
Bai Yan was worried that his friend had eaten something bad. He was just about to go over and check when he covered his face and rushed away, his words of farewell disappearing in the wind.
Just then, a few reporters with cameras passed by, muttering about how they had actually managed to get a picture of Mr. Pei and Mr. Yu today. The short trip to the orphanage was really worth it.
The Omega’s confusion grew. But the timing was not right, and he knew his friend’s personality. If A-Yu didn’t want to say, no one could pry it out of him.
Bai Yan could only temporarily put aside the small possibility and left with a frown.
The orphanage, which had been bustling all day, gradually returned to quiet.
After the cake was distributed, the tired children, full and satisfied, grew sleepy. They rubbed their eyes and were reluctantly led back to their rooms by the volunteers.
Director Jiang and the teachers were busy with the clean-up, their feet not touching the ground. Bai Yan didn’t want to trouble them and secretly slipped out the back door with Pei Tingyu.
Bai Yan was exhausted after a long day. He couldn’t help but fall asleep in the car.
Pei Tingyu turned up the air conditioning in the car, hugged the Omega in his arms, and shifted him into a more comfortable position.
The man tucked the young man’s stray hair behind his ear and gazed at him with a loving and gentle expression, as if looking at the only treasure in the world.
His long, slender lashes drooped. The young man rested softly against the man’s chest, nuzzling him unconsciously, and instinctively drew in the orange blossom scent in the car.
The jasmine pheromones were momentarily heavy, and then they condensed into a fleeting, sweet taste.
Pei Tingyu’s brow twitched. He seemed to have noticed something and touched Bai Yan’s forehead. As expected, it was slightly warmer than normal.
He then checked his precious’s breathing and heartbeat. His breathing was light and even, but his heart rate was clearly faster.
It was a typical precursor to a heat.
The man’s brow furrowed tightly. According to the typical precursors of an Omega’s heat… his precious’s heat should be next week.
After a long moment, Pei Tingyu picked up his phone, dialed a number, and asked in a low voice, “Are things ready?”
