Chapter 26: Half False, Half True
“White moonlight?”
After hearing this, Fu Rangyi thought for a moment and remembered the scene in the mall atrium that day. At the time, he had almost lost control of his pheromones, yet Zhu Zhixi had still been asking whether that person was his white moonlight.
He let out a long breath, took off his glasses, leaned back in his chair, and stared directly at Zhu Zhixi’s flushed face with a serious expression.
“I’ll say it again. I don’t have any white moonlight.”
Most importantly—
“And how is he pretty?” Fu Rangyi could not restrain the disbelief on his face. “You think he’s pretty?”
Zhu Zhixi had both feet on the chair, hugging his knees. He slowly nodded. “Pretty. Omegas are all pretty. He… he’s considered very good-looking among Omegas too, isn’t he?”
Fu Rangyi’s expression grew even worse. He lowered his head, took a sip of water, and set the cup down heavily. “I don’t think so.”
“How can you just—”
“I have face blindness. I have no ability to appreciate whether someone is beautiful or ugly.”
“Well, well!” Zhu Zhixi slapped the table. “You exposed yourself! You just praised me for being good-looking earlier… after all that, you were insulting me.”
Fu Rangyi was somewhat speechless and felt as if he had trapped himself in his own words.
He choked for a long while and finally only said, “In any case, I don’t think he’s pretty.”
Zhu Zhixi laughed softly, propped his chin in his hand, stared at him for quite a while, then asked stickily, “Then… what’s your relationship? Your younger brother said… said your match rate was very high… Oh, I know. He’s your susceptible object…”
At most, he was an inducing object.
Susceptible object…
Fu Rangyi looked at the drunkard before him.
Who else could it be except this one?
Shouldn’t the protagonist of all the obscene thoughts currently filling my mind be my true susceptible object?
“Don’t talk nonsense, and don’t listen to his nonsense either. Fu Liaoxing runs his mouth.”
Zhu Zhixi nodded and demanded with a thick tongue, “Then I order you to say it.”
If it were another person, or another situation, Fu Rangyi absolutely would not have opened his mouth. But now, facing the drunk Zhu Zhixi, his defenses lowered again and again.
Drunk like this, maybe he’ll forget tomorrow.
“It’s just a teacher-student relationship.” Fu Rangyi lowered his eyes, staring at the pattern on the porcelain plate on the table. Although he clearly did not want to talk about it, he still slowed his speech, afraid the drunkard would not understand.
“His name is Yu Heng. He’s an undergraduate student in the department, currently in his third year. Last year, another advisor and I took them on field practice. He was there too. During his heat period, he was almost harassed by a local rogue Alpha. I happened to come across it and helped him call the police. Afterward, he kept coming to me.”
More accurately, he kept confessing.
The first time was through email. It was not the first time Fu Rangyi had encountered such a thing, so he ignored it directly. But later, it turned into letters, many letters, and even blocking him at his office, blocking him outside his home.
Those overly fervent words, the things he said, and even the obsessed expression on his face all triggered Fu Rangyi, making him think of bad experiences from the past.
“In short, even now, he still hasn’t given up.”
Hearing this, Zhu Zhixi froze for a little while.
He was actually somewhat surprised. He had guessed that perhaps Yu Heng was Fu Rangyi’s ex-boyfriend. After all, having dated before was only human, not to mention Fu Rangyi was a top Alpha. He had also thought it might be some ambiguous relationship that had failed to develop because of the teacher-student dynamic.
But he had not expected it to be so simple.
Just one kind act of help had brought him such a long period of… harassment.
“That’s harassment!” Zhu Zhixi drunkenly slapped the table again. “Releasing pheromones in public to induce an Alpha is major harassment!”
Fu Rangyi suddenly smiled after hearing this.
But that trace of a smile vanished in an instant.
“It should be called pursuit. It’s just that I… have a physiological disgust toward other people’s pursuit.”
After hearing this, Zhu Zhixi thought of bits and pieces of what Li Qiao had said.
Fu Rangyi had fully differentiated at around fifteen and had been taking medicine ever since. At that time, he was right in adolescence. Even a Beta like Zhu Zhixi had been pursued by many people, let alone AOs who could be affected by pheromones.
He keenly guessed that perhaps Fu Rangyi had experienced something back then. Was that why he was so guarded?
But if he kept asking, he definitely would not get an answer. Their relationship was not yet solid enough for them to completely open their hearts to each other.
Fu Rangyi picked up the bite guard and gazed at it carefully. “It sounds ridiculous to say this, but it seems I simply can’t accept other people’s goodwill or love. The stronger it is, the more passionate it is, the less I can bear it.”
Like ice approaching fire—sooner or later, it would melt and disappear.
Hearing this, Zhu Zhixi once again felt as if something had been injected into his heart, swelling until it ached and burned.
Unable to accept passionate love…
But you clearly want it too.
He thought of how Fu Rangyi had looked on the day of their blind date. He clearly had disliked him very much. Just from his expression alone, it was obvious he thought there was something wrong with Zhu Zhixi’s brain. Yet in the end, he had still waited for him at the door and asked whether they should enter a contract marriage.
“So… you and I…” He took a deep breath. “This fake marriage. You wanted a married status to help you drive away some troublesome people, right?”
Fu Rangyi raised his eyes and found Zhu Zhixi looking at him, then shifted his gaze away again.
Who knew what he was thinking. In any case, after a while, he answered.
“Mm.”
The riddle was solved.
It really was to ward off unwanted admirers.
But was this something unexpected? Zhu Zhixi thought. Hadn’t he guessed this long ago? Today had only completely verified it.
Besides, he himself had a purpose too.
He lowered his head and glanced at his palm. The slowly pulsing numbers scattered into tiny stars, then gathered again, and finally seemed to form four words—impure motives.
Zhu Zhixi hummed and buried his face in his palm, wanting to escape reality.
“Are you drunk?” Fu Rangyi asked.
Zhu Zhixi did not lift his face, his voice buried in his palm. “I’m not drunk.”
“Drunkards all say that.”
I’m really not drunk! I’m pretending! Idiot.
“Should I help you back to your room to rest?” Fu Rangyi asked again.
“No.” Zhu Zhixi deliberately said, “Are you… addicted to entering my room now?”
Fu Rangyi’s eyes widened. He did feel somewhat guilty. “That was…”
Zhu Zhixi lifted his face and loudly said, “‘Even if you invite me, I won’t go to your room!’ Who said that…”
Fu Rangyi: “…”
“If I had known you were this kind of untrustworthy person, I would’ve brought a recorder every time I talked to you.” Zhu Zhixi muttered softly. “Not only did you go in, you even made my tent a mess…”
Your tent was already a mess to begin with, Fu Rangyi wanted to say, but he held it back.
“That was…” nesting.
He could not say it.
But the drunkard pressed him step by step. “Why did you go into my tent? Didn’t… didn’t you say my clothes were messy? I thought a thief had broken into the house…”
After Zhu Zhixi asked, he guessed Fu Rangyi would not honestly confess. He just enjoyed teasing him and did not care about the answer.
“Because your scent smelled good.”
Zhu Zhixi froze. The heel of the foot resting on the edge of the chair nearly slipped down.
“But… I’m not an Omega. What scent would I have…”
“It’s just a kind of smell,” Fu Rangyi said. “During my susceptible period, I get very anxious. When I smell it, I feel… safe.”
Zhu Zhixi suddenly could not speak. He felt as if he really were drunk. He wanted to say something, but his tongue was tied, and nothing came out.
He was about to lose the act. He buried his face against his knees, trying to bluff his way through.
The dining table fell silent. A moment later, he heard Fu Rangyi ask softly, “You haven’t blacked out, have you?”
Zhu Zhixi did not answer.
Fu Rangyi paused. His voice grew even softer than before, like he was talking to himself. “No vigilance at all…”
Who says I have none? If you dare come over and bite me, I’ll tie you up directly.
He heard a few tiny sounds. With a click, there was the sound of something locking. Fu Rangyi had obediently put the bite guard back on himself.
A moment later, he softly called his name. “Zhu Zhixi?”
Zhu Zhixi gave a vague hum in response.
“I… I have never dated anyone. In other words, I have never had an intimate relationship.”
Zhu Zhixi’s heart suddenly sped up.
“I also haven’t marked anyone before, except you.” After saying this, he added, “Of course, I know that for you Betas, this doesn’t count as a mark.”
Why… suddenly say this?
He did not dare lift his face. He rubbed against his knees a few times and adjusted his breathing deeply.
“Originally, I wanted… to take advantage of your drunkenness and ask clearly what exactly I did.” He suddenly confessed his intention. “But just now, I realized something. Questioning you like that would be a second injury to you. If it were me, I wouldn’t be willing to bring it up again. And I also just remembered…”
He suddenly stopped speaking.
Hearing all this, Zhu Zhixi’s heart rose and fell, feeling very complicated.
You’re so upright, and I’m still pretending to be drunk to fish for information. It makes me seem really bad.
However, Fu Rangyi’s confession was not over yet.
“I once promised with absolute certainty that I would never touch you, never do anything that crossed the line. In the end, I still broke my word and even let you see me in such an… ugly state.”
Ugly state??
“It was actually pretty beautiful…” Especially when you cried.
It was over.
Only belatedly did Zhu Zhixi realize that he had actually hummed those inner thoughts out loud.
“What did you say?”
Fortunately, Fu Rangyi had not heard clearly. Zhu Zhixi quickly hummed and mumbled a few more times, lying on the table and giving a silly little laugh in an attempt to muddle through.
“Zhu Zhixi.”
“Mm?”
“Aren’t you a little too soft-hearted?”
How is it my problem again? Zhu Zhixi was very unconvinced. Sure enough, this person could never stay good for long before revealing his true colors.
Fu Rangyi’s voice lowered a little. “If it weren’t me, and it were some other Alpha… would you help him like this too?”
The room was very quiet. The scent of mulled wine had mostly faded, leaving only the smell of Fu Rangyi’s pheromones, still very strong.
Just as expected, he did not receive Zhu Zhixi’s answer, but he still waited as long as he could, another full minute.
He suspected Zhu Zhixi had never considered this question at all.
He also suspected his susceptible period had not passed at all. He was still sensitive and emotional. He had clearly wanted to take advantage of Zhu Zhixi’s drunkenness to fish for information, but in the end, it had turned into him using Zhu Zhixi’s unclear consciousness to reveal himself, confess, and test him.
So foolish.
Knowing it was foolish and still doing it made him even more foolish beyond saving.
“Just like when you were at my house.” Fu Rangyi realized that his brain and his mouth seemed to have split into two independent systems, neither listening to the other. While cursing himself inwardly, he still said it out loud. “I heard you talking to Fu Liaoxing, but not on purpose. You made up lies to stand up for me. If it were someone else, you probably would have done the same.”
Still silence.
This bright, warm dining room seemed, in a daze, to truly turn into a narrow, dark confessional. Through the black mesh partition, the priest’s appearance was hazy, his face blurred. Fu Rangyi kept pouring himself out, waiting for the priest to recite scripture to him and tell him that the Lord would forgive him.
“Actually, you didn’t have to say those things for me. My family relationships are more complicated than you imagine, very different from the environment you grew up in. I…”
But the “priest” suddenly raised his head and looked at him with a flushed face. Those clear eyes were a little wet, as if carrying a trace of anger.
“Fu Rangyi, what do you think a partner is? A piece of paper? A status to fend off admirers? Or an umbrella propped up so you won’t be ostracized by other boring humans?”
Fu Rangyi frowned slightly. It was like the priest had suddenly kicked over the partition of the confessional. He was too shocked and was, for a moment, speechless.
Zhu Zhixi bit his lip and stared at him. “Speak. I order you to answer me.”
Only then did Fu Rangyi speak. “What do you think it is?”
Zhu Zhixi had long since gotten used to this evasive template of answering questions with questions. He did not want to argue about it. He simply loudly expressed his own view. “It’s a kind of promise. It’s priority in a relationship.”
“Since we’re married and have become each other’s partners, whether it’s real or fake, at least in interpersonal relationships, you have priority over other people in my eyes. You fall within the category of family. So I absolutely cannot let others belittle you or look down on you in front of me. In my presence, they don’t have the right to do that.”
Fu Rangyi’s voice became somewhat hoarse. “…Even if this relationship is fake?”
“Yes, exactly, even if it’s fake. Since we’re fake, then my relationship with your parents and siblings is even faker. That means they’re even less qualified to do that. Besides, is real or fake really that important? So what if a marriage is real? People still deceive and betray each other. How many people are forever loyal to their partners? Those so-called destined-pair partners, don’t Alphas still force Omegas when the Omegas don’t want it? But you won’t. You’re sicker than all of them, but you didn’t bully me.”
His heart was beating too fast. When Zhu Zhixi spoke such long, complex sentences, he could barely catch his breath. He paused and took a deep breath, and his momentum weakened too.
“In short… you’re a very good person. You’re worth defending.”
Fu Rangyi blinked rapidly several times and parted his lips slightly, but he could not say anything.
He suddenly realized that the person sitting across from him was not a priest at all.
It was a tiny god of love.
Seeing Fu Rangyi stare straight at him like that, Zhu Zhixi suddenly sobered up.
Oh no. How is my mouth this smooth? Did I expose myself? Did he realize I’m acting?
Zhu Zhixi grew a little panicked. He thought of how Fu Rangyi had been angry earlier because he had pretended to choke on a fishbone, and began thinking about how to act his way through this and muddle past it.
Just then, the doorbell suddenly rang. It was practically the bell of salvation.
“Some—someone… is knocking…” Zhu Zhixi pretended to be drunk and climbed off the chair.
He walked toward the entrance like a soft-legged shrimp. This part was not acting. It was because his sitting posture had been wrong, and his legs had gone numb. Staggering crookedly, Zhu Zhixi made it to the entryway. The moment he opened the door, Fu Rangyi followed as well, standing behind him and lightly supporting his elbow.
Outside the door stood a staff member in a branded uniform. He was an Alpha.
The moment the door opened, his already prepared smile suddenly stiffened, and his brows twisted into a pretzel.
How rude, Zhu Zhixi thought.
But the staff member quickly smiled again and delivered his prepared lines. “Hello, Mr. Fu! Thank you for your patronage. These are the rings you customized with our brand. We need your signature here…”
But the little drunkard “accidentally” interrupted, though in reality he was deliberately teasing. “My surname is Zhu.” He shook his head. “Not Fu…”
“It’s me.” Fu Rangyi sighed, took it, and signed. “Thank you.”
“All right. Thank you again for your…”
“It’s my wedding ring!” The drunkard tore open the packaging excitedly and raised the jewelry box inside high, looking at the delivery staff with sparkling eyes as he announced with a thick tongue, “I’m married!”
The staff member was somewhat at a loss. He quickly glanced at the sober Fu Rangyi, then looked back at the drunkard and smiled while clapping. “Yes, haha. Congratulations on your marriage!”
But the drunkard still did not let him off. “Happy?”
He pursed his lips, hugged the ring box to his chest, and shook his head, starting to fake-cry. “But my husband doesn’t love me, and I also…”
Before he could finish his accusation, the Alpha behind him yanked him into his arms, covered his mouth, smiled, thanked the staff member again, and added, “You should still have a lot of work to do, right?”
Ah. The delivery guy smiled. “Yes, yes, I still have other…”
“Take care. I won’t see you out.” Before the other man could finish, Fu Rangyi quickly shut the door.
But Zhu Zhixi refused to let it go. “Let go of me! Th-this, what is this?” Playing dumb, he shoved the ring box into Fu Rangyi’s hands.
“Our wedding rings.” Fu Rangyi sounded somewhat helpless. “Didn’t you just say that?”
“Just now?” Zhu Zhixi pretended to be dizzy and unable to stand, throwing himself into Fu Rangyi’s arms. “What? We’re married?”
“We’ve been married for a while.”
This was too fun. Fu Rangyi must be going crazy. He had to pretend again next time.
“But…” Zhu Zhixi lifted his flushed face and squeezed out an aggrieved expression. “You never proposed to me!”
“Proposed?” Fu Rangyi’s expression management was almost collapsing. “We—we need to…”
Zhu Zhixi’s mouth turned down, his watery big eyes looking as though they could squeeze out tears in the next second. “I knew it. I was deceived. When I was little, I looked forward to it so much. When I played house… I always played the groom.”
Fu Rangyi frowned. “…”
“Forget it.” Zhu Zhixi sniffed and secretly wiped tears against his chest. “A fortune-teller once said my marriage fate would be rough. Sure enough, it came true…”
“…Then what do you want to do?”
“You propose to me.” Zhu Zhixi hiccuped.
Wouldn’t this drive the sharp-tongued ghost insane? Haha.
Sure enough, Fu Rangyi said nothing. He had truly become a mute groom.
Zhu Zhixi wanted to peek at him, but was afraid of giving himself away. Unexpectedly, Fu Rangyi suddenly lifted his arm and helped him over to the shoe-changing bench at the entrance. “Sit properly.”
Zhu Zhixi hiccuped again. This time, it was from fright.
He isn’t really going to propose, is he? No way, right? I was just messing with you.
Then Fu Rangyi really picked up the ring box in his hand and bent down. This movement scared Zhu Zhixi so badly that he directly grabbed his hand. He sprang to his feet, afraid Fu Rangyi would actually kneel on one knee. But he stood up too quickly and became dizzy, almost falling over.
“N-no…”
Fu Rangyi frowned, caught him with one arm, and looked very confused, not quite understanding what Zhu Zhixi wanted. “What do you mean…” After saying it, he changed his wording. “If you have any thoughts, you can directly order me.”
Zhu Zhixi’s mind spun rapidly, and he immediately came up with a new line. “There’s no witness! Not even one… It’s just the two of us. I don’t want it.”
Fu Rangyi took a deep breath, looking as if his patience was about to run out.
Sure enough, in the next second, he pressed Zhu Zhixi back onto the bench. Then he opened the door himself, went out, and shut the door.
Huh?
Zhu Zhixi was dumbfounded. After freezing for a second, he got up too, pressed himself against the door, and pricked up his ears to eavesdrop.
Why did he suddenly run away? Was he scared off? Or had he realized Zhu Zhixi was lying and gotten angry?
Zhu Zhixi raised his hand, subconsciously wanting to bite his nails. But suddenly, he heard the sound of the fingerprint lock unlocking. He immediately sat back in the distance, tilted his head up, and panted, pretending to be unconscious.
But the person who returned was not alone. Fu Rangyi had brought one more person with him.
“Um… Mr. Zhu.”
Zhu Zhixi lowered his head in a daze, frowned, and stared at the embarrassed delivery guy. “…Why is it you again? Does your brand buy one wedding ring, get one free?”
“No, no, no.” He glanced at the frightening Alpha beside him.
Just now, he had finally waited for the elevator and had already stepped inside, only for the elevator doors to suddenly open. Standing outside was that top Alpha from earlier, the one wearing a bite guard and so terrifyingly possessive. He had already prepared an apology speech, expressing that he absolutely had no intention of coveting the man’s wife, although the wife was indeed beautiful.
Unexpectedly, the customer outside the elevator spoke first.
“I asked him to come be… that witness.” Fu Rangyi was still breathing slightly, lowering his head as he opened the ring box. “Now it isn’t just the two of us.”
The delivery guy looked at him with some surprise.
No, handsome guy. When you chased after the elevator just now, what you clearly asked was: Could I trouble you to act as our marriage witness? My partner wants to make up a proposal ceremony.
How come, in front of your wife, the words “marriage witness” suddenly burn your mouth? But he did not dare say it aloud. He could not offend a customer, especially since this customer was a top Alpha.
Fu Rangyi moved a little closer, coming before Zhu Zhixi, who was almost acting himself into a breakdown. In a very soft voice, he asked, “Then do you still want… it now?”
Author’s Note:
Gossip Group Chat After the Delivery Guy Went Back
[I’m telling you, you guys have no idea. I delivered a ring today and ate such a huge melon. The moment the door opened, the pheromone smell almost split my head open. Definitely susceptible period. But when he opened the door, that Alpha was wearing a bite guard, and I was so confused. Isn’t that taking your pants off just to fart—completely unnecessary?]
[Maybe the bite guard is a kink, hhhh.]
[That makes sense! His possessiveness toward his wife was insane. I looked one extra time and his face immediately fell.]
[Alphas in susceptible period are terrifying, okay? Their possessiveness goes off the charts, and they’re impulsive. They easily do things they’d never do normally. You’d better be careful.]
[What happened after that? He didn’t do anything to you, right?]
[…He asked me to be his marriage witness. I delivered a ring and inexplicably got fed a mouthful of dog food watching those two do a proposal. Did they do that on purpose?]
[???]
[They’re that in love and he hadn’t proposed yet??]
[Also, I didn’t dare look at his wife the whole time. I was afraid if I looked, he’d file a complaint with the company…]
[That petty? That insecure? He probably doesn’t look that good, right?]
[Uh, no. He’s so handsome it’s deadly. If I posted the proposal video online, that bite guard would sell out the next day.]
[There’s a video??? Send it over.]
[I’d die if I sent it… Customer privacy.]
[Then why did you record it?]
[Bite-guard handsome guy told me to record it… If I didn’t record it, I’d also die.]
[That’s definitely a workplace injury. Pat pat.]
Three minutes later, the delivery guy sent three new messages in a row.
[Never mind, everyone.]
[He transferred me a sky-high tip. Smile.]
[Handsome guy, your wife will love you forever! Love you to death and never leave you!!]
