Chapter 65
Three Years Later
The lawn at Qiao University was once again painted green. The willow branches swayed in the clear blue water, rippling with the spring.
But the mood of the life sciences professors was as changeable as the spring weather in London.
With graduation approaching, Professor Sman had a sudden whim and added a new thesis requirement. As expected, he was met with a chorus of wails from the entire classroom.
When the bell rang for the end of class, the balding professor, in a playful mood, took out a singing sunflower from his bag and, with schadenfreude, laughed heartily as he left.
He didn’t forget to remind the little pigeons in the classroom to prepare well, as he was going to have a pleasant spring break.
The remaining students were long used to his unreliable nature. They packed their bags with long faces and discussed where to eat next.
Bai Yan checked his notes, closed his laptop, and put it in his backpack. He stood up, about to leave.
A British girl from his class was the first to block the aisle, winking at him enthusiastically. “Hey, Yan, are you coming to my party this spring break? It’s full of high-quality male models, and there are even a few Asian Alphas.”
Bai Yan offered a polite smile and said in a pure London accent, “I’m sorry, Lily.”
“I’m going back to China for spring break, so I can’t make it to your party. I hope you all have fun.”
“Going home again,” the girl called Lily said, shaking her head regretfully. She glanced at the sparkling ring on the young man’s finger and teased meaningfully, “Your family really ‘can’t live without’ you, can they? They keep you on such a tight leash.”
Another girl rested her elbow on Lily’s shoulder and raised an eyebrow suggestively. “Is that so hard to understand? You know how popular our Yan is.”
“If I were Yan’s Alpha, I wouldn’t dare to leave him for 24 hours. Right, Yan?”
The Omega before them had pale gold hair and fair skin, but his features were of an oriental, reserved beauty: a small, delicate build, a melon-seed-shaped face, round eyes, and beautiful, exquisite features.
He looked like a cute doll. When he had first started at the school, who knew how many people had wanted his contact information.
Hearing the two of them teasing him, Bai Yan was both amused and exasperated. He smiled warmly and explained, “No. My lover doesn’t keep me on a tight leash. It’s that I miss him.”
Having been around foreigners for a long time, Bai Yan had also grown accustomed to their frankness. He would say whatever was on his mind and openly show his longing for his husband.
He wore a diamond ring on his left ring finger. A circle of small diamonds surrounded a large pink diamond in the center.
Even an outsider would know that it was priceless, a testament to his partner’s love for him.
When he had first come to Qiao University, Bai Yan hadn’t been in the habit of wearing his wedding ring and had just kept it carefully in his apartment.
But once, a Chinese person had struck up a conversation with him, asking if he had a boyfriend in Y Country. Bai Yan hadn’t understood the meaning behind his words and had bluntly said that he was already married.
Who knew that when the person learned he was married, he had been unconcerned, a wicked smile on his face as he said it was okay, that he also had a girlfriend back in his home country. They could just be lovers across the ocean for three years.
Bai Yan had been so scared that he had gone back and found his ring box, and the next day, he had worn his wedding ring on his ring finger.
After saying goodbye to his two classmates, Bai Yan habitually took out his phone, took a picture of the setting sun sinking into the clouds, and sent it to his pinned contact.
SaltedSnow: [Image]
SaltedSnow: [Xian sheng, I’m out of class. The weather is so nice today.]
Bai Yan and his husband contacted each other very frequently.
They would talk for a long, long time about even the smallest things, like Oz digging up another pot of orchids, the golf course at Yǎyuán being renovated, or new varieties being transplanted to the rose wall in the small garden.
He would have a video call with the Alpha every day, sometimes during the day, sometimes at dusk.
The two of them would be busy in their own screens, and even if they didn’t speak, just an occasional glance was enough.
Once, Bai Yan was on a video call with his husband before bed.
At that time, the Alpha had just finished his morning run. The young man hadn’t said more than a few words before he had fallen asleep, exhausted from his experiments.
When he woke up, he found that his husband hadn’t hung up. Eight hours had passed, and on the other end, there was only the faint sound of a keyboard tapping.
He had tentatively called out “xian sheng,” and the other end had replied with an “mm.” The man’s low, magnetic, and gentle inquiry had followed.
When he asked why he hadn’t hung up, Pei Tingyu had chuckled and said that his precious’s breathing while he slept was too cute. Not only had he been reluctant to hang up, but he had also specially recorded it to listen to secretly when he missed his precious.
Hearing this, Bai Yan’s heart had been both sweet and sour. He had thought to himself that his husband was too much of a rule-breaker, and he really wished he could go through the screen and kiss him properly.
As a result, that night, he had been coaxed by his husband into doing bad things through the screen, the fiery clouds on his cheeks so hot they hadn’t faded until the next day.
And their most recent message, just four hours ago, was a picture of Bai Yan’s lunch.
A bland, boiled chicken breast lay in the middle, surrounded by limp broccoli and carrots. Even with sauce drizzled over it, it didn’t improve in the slightest.
Bai Yan had sent a crying emoji.
The other end had immediately replied with a “pat the little rabbit” emoji and a transfer of 5000 pounds.
A low, magnetic voice had gently coaxed him, telling his precious to go home early tonight, that his delicious food was already on the way.
Three minutes later, his husband still hadn’t replied.
Bai Yan knew the Alpha must be working. He put his phone back in his bag and returned to his apartment.
Pushing open the door, the scent of food was already drifting from the kitchen.
The rich, spicy smell of curry filled the living room, instantly awakening his dormant taste buds. It was a world apart from the bland white-people-food at school.
Bai Yan’s eyes lit up, and he was pleasantly surprised. “It smells so good! Auntie Jiang, how did you know I wanted to eat this dish?”
He had just casually mentioned to his husband at noon today that he was craving Chinese-style curry. He wasn’t used to the food at the Thai restaurant, and he hadn’t expected Auntie Jiang to have the same idea.
The young man happily went back to his room and opened his suitcase to pack.
This spring break was a full fifteen days. He had deliberately not told his husband, wanting to give the Alpha a surprise when he returned to Yǎyuán.
The hanging silk jasmine under the windowsill was bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun. The pale white petals were crystal clear and pure, like drooping little pearls.
Next to the flowerpot was a vase-shaped golden trophy, on which was written, “20XX LIO International Competition Team Gold Award.”
Bai Yan finished packing his luggage, walked to the window, and added nutrient solution to the fragile hanging silk jasmine.
This pot of hanging silk jasmine had been sent to him by his husband from Haicheng, thousands of miles away, in his first year of studying abroad.
As his 20th birthday gift, when Bai Yan had just flown from Haicheng to London, the hanging silk jasmine had quietly arrived at his apartment first.
It had landed with its flower language, “gentle longing.”
Even though it had landed safely, maintaining it was a big problem. The winters in England were cold and gloomy. Fortunately, the room had heating and a grow light, so the hanging silk jasmine had survived the first two winters.
Seeing that he was about to graduate this semester, this pot of jasmine would definitely have to go back with him. Bai Yan fiddled with the drooping stamens with his fingertips. After much thought, he still couldn’t find a good solution.
Oh well, I’ll just let my husband decide.
Just as he was thinking, Auntie Jiang’s gentle call came from the dining room. “A-Yan, dinner is ready.”
“Okay, coming.” Bai Yan smiled and went out of the room, placing the utensils on the dining table.
The kitchen door curtain was lifted, and the crystal tassels jingled. The young man looked up at the sound, and the man’s tall figure unexpectedly came into view.
The slender Alpha’s shirt collar was half-open, his handsome features holding a gentle smile as he steadily carried a plate of curry chicken.
“Xian sheng! What are you doing here?”
Before Bai Yan’s brain could react, his body had already instinctively run toward the Alpha. The young man’s eyes immediately curved into two crescent moons, his lips unable to suppress a smile.
His husband had just come over last month for his rut. He had deliberately not told his husband the specific dates of his spring break this time, just to give him a surprise.
He hadn’t expected his husband to prepare one for him instead.
The gentle Beta nanny smiled and closed the door, leaving the apartment to the reunited lovers.
The warm scent of orange blossom pheromones drifted over first, carefully catching his Omega.
The man wrapped his arms around the young man’s waist and lowered his head to gently kiss his forehead. “I happened to have a business trip in Europe recently, so I came over early. My precious is on spring break. Didn’t you want to see me sooner?”
“Of course, I did. I was just afraid you’d be too tired, xian sheng.” The young man buried his face in the Alpha’s chest, his soft hair rubbing gently.
He wanted to say more, but the gluttonous worm in his stomach spoke first.
Bai Yan immediately blushed to the tips of his ears and said quickly, “For the record, I did eat properly at noon. I finished all the chicken breast and broccoli.”
When he had first arrived in London, the young man couldn’t get used to the bland food at the school. He had visibly lost weight in the videos, but he still pretended that everything was fine, smiling and reassuring his husband that he would get used to it.
Pei Tingyu had been so worried that the very next day, he had hired a professional apartment housekeeper at a high salary and had them fly directly to London to take care of his precious.
If he hadn’t been worried that his precious wouldn’t be willing, he would have wanted to open a branch office in London.
The man chuckled to himself but didn’t comment on the young man’s words. He pulled out a chair for him and said in a warm voice, “Let’s eat first.”
He portioned out the curry chicken, paused, and coughed into his hand. “This is my first time making curry… If it doesn’t taste right, there are still dumplings in the fridge.”
“It’s delicious!” Bai Yan put the fragrant, oily chicken into his mouth and immediately smiled. “The taste is perfect. It’s the taste I’ve been missing.”
Even though they chatted every day, it had still been a long time since they had been face to face.
The two of them had endless things to talk about. They sweetly finished the curry chicken and cleaned up the kitchen together.
As they lay on the sofa watching Pride and Prejudice to digest their food, Bai Yan suddenly thought of something. His gaze drifted as he said he wanted to eat the strawberries from the shop downstairs and asked if his husband could go buy them.
Pei Tingyu ruffled the young man’s bangs and, without a second word, put on his coat and went downstairs.
The moment the Alpha left, Bai Yan immediately went back to his room and took out a box from the bottom of his wardrobe.
Ever since Jiang Zhiyi had inherited his mother’s company this year, he had been sending him things every three to five days, under the guise of market research.
He had also mysteriously told him that his company’s products would be very suitable for him and Mr. Pei, and that they were welcome to use them at any time.
When Bai Yan received his international package, he had opened the layers of pink packaging in a daze.
After clearing away the pink foam balls, a little rabbit toy, a lace garter dress that hid nothing, pink handcuffs, and other things he didn’t even know what they were…
Without any concealment, they were all revealed one by one.
Bai Yan’s breath had caught, his cheeks had exploded in a blush, and he had quickly closed the box and sealed it away at the bottom of his wardrobe. Besides the day he received it, he had never taken it out to look at it again.
But… cough, not all of it was unusable.
Since his friend had sent it, he might as well try it. To make the best use of things…
Bai Yan changed his clothes, timidly bit his lip, and shuffled slowly to the full-length mirror, gazing at the unfamiliar Omega within.
With just one look, a rich, mellow, and shy scent of jasmine pheromones instantly flooded the room.
In the mirror, the beautiful young man’s figure was slender, his narrow waist completely encased in a white lace dress.
The skirt, unfortunately, reached just barely above his thighs, revealing two long, straight, and fair legs without a doubt. Even his rounded toes were tinged with pink.
The fabric of the top was so light and thin it offered almost no coverage, the pink skin of his chest faintly visible.
The young man covered his chest and shifted slightly, discovering a small, white, round ball on the back of the outfit, right at his tailbone, which swayed lightly with his movements.
So strange. Is this really how you wear it?
The young man’s face was beet red as he met his own gaze in the mirror. He then struggled into a pair of white, lace-trimmed stockings and slipped on a headband with realistic rabbit ears.
A wave of heat spread over his skin. He didn’t know whether to focus on what was above or what was below.
Bai Yan timidly bit his lip, his two pink eyes moist and shimmering, so full they seemed about to overflow. He looked even more like a rabbit than the stuffed bunny on the bed.
Just as he was wondering what to do, a low chuckle came from behind him, followed by a voice, hoarse to the extreme.
“My sweet little rabbit, do you need Daddy’s help?”