Chapter 16
The entire Tan family were betas.
His maternal grandparents, his father and mother—all ordinary betas from ordinary backgrounds, living ordinary lives.
Tan Ning had lived in Xuan City before attending university and had never thought there was anything special about his family’s makeup. Many people around him were the same. It wasn’t until he went to A University that he realized there were so many families composed of alphas and omegas.
When he heard his classmates casually discussing the levels of pheromones, something he knew nothing about, Tan Ning always felt like he had stepped into a new world.
As for Lin Song’an, he was from an entirely different world.
Rumor had it that Lin Song’an’s pheromone level was nine. In contrast, during his eighteen years in Xuan City, the highest-level alpha Tan Ning had ever encountered was only level seven.
Xu Qingyang had once said in the dormitory that just passing by Lin Song’an made his heart race and his throat tighten.
Tan Ning couldn’t perceive that kind of physiological constraint.
He thought that if he were an omega, he definitely wouldn’t dare to confront Lin Song’an the way he did now.
No wonder Lin Song’an often became exasperated and said, “Don’t think I can’t deal with you.”
But in fact, he really couldn’t do much about Tan Ning.
After washing up, Tan Ning lay on his bed. As soon as he picked up his phone, he received a message from Lin Song’an:
[You didn’t even think to let me know you arrived safely.]
Here we go again.
Lin Song’an always sent these inexplicable messages.
Tan Ning replied succinctly:
[Safe.]
[Send me your location.]
[Why?]
[No reason. How do I know if you went back home or took the money I gave you to go somewhere else?]
Helpless, Tan Ning sent him his location.
Xuan City, Tianqiao Gardens, No. 32.
After that, Lin Song’an didn’t bother him again. Tan Ning soon fell asleep, feeling the weight of drowsiness. Beside his pillow lay the old gift box that was nearly worn from his touch. Now he had only this companion by his side.
The new one he’d tossed into a corner of his suitcase.
Tan Ning placed his fingertips on the palm-sized gift box. The rustling sound it made as he rubbed it brought him great comfort.
He slept dreamlessly through the night.
Yue Ying didn’t return home until the next day, carrying two large bags of groceries.
“Tan Ning, Mom bought your favorite prawns. Later, I’ll cook braised prawns for you, and we also have lamb.” She placed the plastic bags on the table, frowned at Grandfather, and said, “Dad, can you tidy up the house a bit? The child has come home, and the place looks like a dump. Can you stop playing mahjong?”
Grandfather was munching on sunflower seeds and said, “What’s it to you? I don’t meddle in your affairs; don’t meddle in mine.”
Tan Ning came out of his room, silently picked up a broom, and began to clean. Yue Ying felt a lump in her throat. She snatched the broom from his hands and said, “I’m not talking about you. Leave it; I’ll do it.”
“No need, it’s fine,” Tan Ning took back the broom.
Standing by the table, Yue Ying watched Tan Ning lower his head to clean. She didn’t know what to say. She hadn’t lived with this child for too long; he felt like a stranger, and she had nothing to say. In the end, she retreated to the kitchen to start preparing lunch.
During this time, Yue Ying’s husband called. While frying the prawns, she said, “Didn’t I ask you to pick up the child? Tan Ning is coming home today; I told you last night. Did you forget?”
Tan Ning paused in his movements, suddenly recalling many years ago when his father was still around. Yue Ying worked as an accountant at a construction company, and at the busy end of the year, she couldn’t take care of Tan Ning. She would make similar phone calls, shouting, “Didn’t I ask you to pick up the child? Where the hell are you?”
In a flash, so many years had passed.
Tan Ning didn’t dare think about his father; whenever he did, he felt short of breath. So he picked up the trash bag and went outside.
When he returned, Yue Ying had prepared three dishes and a soup.
“Wash your hands and come eat.”
After Tan Ning sat down, Yue Ying placed some prawns in his bowl. “They probably don’t serve this dish at school, right?”
Tan Ning said, “Thank you.”
Yue Ying sighed, “Do you have to be so distant with your own mother?”
Just as Tan Ning hesitated to speak, Grandfather interjected, “Eat your food; why so much chatter?”
After a while, Tan Ning took the initiative to ask, “How’s your recovery from the surgery?”
Yue Ying forced a smile, “That was ages ago; I’m fully recovered. It wasn’t a big issue.”
“Okay.”
“You need to take care of yourself at school—eat on time. Mrs. Liu’s son is a mess at school, lying in the dorm playing games and skipping classes, always ordering takeout.”
“Xiao Ning wouldn’t do that. He told me yesterday he’s working as a tutor in his spare time to earn money,” Grandfather said.
“Really? You’re still tutoring? How many students do you have?”
“Two, both in elementary school.”
“Oh,” Yue Ying took a sip of soup. “By the way, if you’re free during the vacation, can you help Bebe with his studies?”
Bebe, now thirteen, was Yue Ying’s child from her second marriage.
Tan Ning recalled what Lin Song’an had said:
—”Don’t tutor anymore; give yourself a break.”
He inexplicably thought of Lin Song’an.
He replied, “I’m a bit tired; I want to give myself a break.”
“It doesn’t have to be every day—once or twice a week is fine.”
“I don’t really want to.”
Yue Ying’s expression changed, but she couldn’t say much. She mumbled, “Fine, forget it.”
The rest of the meal was tasteless. Grandfather drank yellow wine while watching TV, indifferent to the atmosphere at the table. After eating, Tan Ning used the excuse of going out to buy batteries for the TV remote and left. Before closing the door, he heard Yue Ying and Grandfather arguing in the kitchen.
Grandfather said indignantly, “Are you even a mother? You haven’t cared for Tan Ning in years, and now you come back and ask him to tutor your son. How can you even ask that?”
Yue Ying replied impatiently, “What do you mean ‘your son’? Aren’t both Tan Ning and Bebe my sons?”
“How much have you done for Tan Ning?”
“Dad, don’t act like you’re such a great grandfather. The child comes all the way home from school, and you don’t even have fish or meat in the fridge for him.”
“Where do I have the money?”
“You have money for mahjong, money to buy a house full of fake medicine, but no money to buy the child something good to eat?”
“He came back unexpectedly without telling me in advance. Don’t talk nonsense. You’re getting more and more unreasonable.”
“What did I do?”
“Selfish!”
“Didn’t I inherit that from you?”
“Hey, you girl—”
“Alright, I’m not going to argue with you. Please take good care of Tan Ning for these two months. I’ll come back in a few days and buy groceries for you, okay?”
Grandfather walked away angrily, hands behind his back.
Tan Ning walked onto the old street outside. At noon, there weren’t many people around; it was quiet.
When Yue Ying came out, Tan Ning was still standing by the street.
She was about to speak when a plump middle-aged woman with permed hair approached. After giving Tan Ning a once-over, she said to Yue Ying, “Xiao Ying, is this your son? He’s changed so much.”
Yue Ying replied with a smile, “Yes.”
“That hair…” The woman frowned, clearly not appreciating Tan Ning’s unusual appearance. “Why does a boy have long hair? It doesn’t look good.”
Yue Ying gave Tan Ning a meaningful look, signaling him to go home first.
But Tan Ning stood his ground, calmly staring at the woman without saying a word, exuding a stubbornness that sent chills down one’s spine.
The older Tan Ning grew, the more his features became cold and distant, like a light ink painting. The sunlight illuminated his amber eyes, making them appear even lighter and more unsettling.
The woman was unnerved by his gaze, her back tingling. She stammered, “What’s wrong with this child?”
Yue Ying quickly pulled Tan Ning behind her. “Sister Wang, have you had lunch?”
“Yes, yes,” Sister Wang hurriedly walked away, frequently looking back as she went.
Now alone, Yue Ying looked at Tan Ning’s over-shoulder-length hair and said helplessly, “Isn’t it hot wearing your hair like this in the summer?”
Tan Ning turned and went back inside.
A few days later, the heat was unbearable.
It was almost impossible to go out during the day; even the asphalt roads seemed to melt. Tan Ning maintained his school routine, but after waking up, he didn’t know what to do. He picked up the small square box and toyed with it repeatedly.
Inside was a men’s bracelet.
It was a new model from last year, not very expensive—just a few tutoring fees’ worth. Back then, he had no experience buying luxury items and thought that something costing a few thousand yuan was already premium. But after seeing the price tags on Lin Song’an’s shirts, he quickly stuffed the small box into his backpack, brought it back to the dorm, and hid it under his pillow, not daring to show anyone.
Tan Ning pressed the box against his face, trying to calm his inner turmoil.
He felt he should find something to do, but when he took out his IELTS books, he couldn’t focus after a few pages.
He looked down at his phone.
No notifications; no one had messaged him.
Finally, by evening, there was a slight breeze, and the stifling heat improved a bit. Just as Tan Ning was feeling drowsy, a burst of laughter drifted through the window, breaking the silence.
“Old Yue, come have some watermelon.”
“Coming, coming.”
“Is your grandson back? Have him join us.”
Grandfather shouted at the top of his lungs, “Xiao Ning, come out and have some watermelon!”
Tan Ning didn’t feel like moving but also didn’t want to embarrass his grandfather in front of the other elders. After some hesitation, just as he was about to get out of bed, Grandfather said, “If he doesn’t want to come out, that’s fine.”
He laughed and complained to those around him, “Kids these days don’t want to move when it’s hot.”
Tan Ning pulled his foot back and lay down again.
A few days later, Yue Ying came by with groceries—chicken wings and ribbonfish. From his room, Tan Ning heard her talking to Grandfather:
“Tomorrow is July 15th, Tan Ning’s birthday. Bebe’s is July 23rd, so the dates are close. I was thinking of holding a joint birthday party for them on July 20th. The two kids have only met a few times over the years and aren’t close. If they aren’t close now, they should support each other in the future. We need to give them a chance to connect.”
Grandfather raised his voice, “A birthday party? How much will that cost?”
“It doesn’t have to cost much. We’ll decorate the house a bit, make a table full of dishes, and buy a cake.”
“Too troublesome.”
“Troublesome or not, Tan Ning can’t go on like this forever. Look at him now—won’t cut his hair, doesn’t talk much. People outside are saying…” Yue Ying lowered her voice, “They’re saying he was traumatized by seeing his father’s accident when he was little.”
Grandfather didn’t respond. After a moment, he said impatiently, “Do as you like, just don’t interrupt my mahjong games.”
At dinner, Tan Ning suddenly said, “I don’t want to celebrate my birthday, and I won’t go over to your place. Don’t bother.”
Yue Ying was speechless, then became angry. “What exactly do you want?”
Tan Ning thought: I’ve never wanted anything or asked anything of you. Why is everyone blaming me?
He lowered his head and said, “Just leave it as it is. You have your family; I have my life.”
Yue Ying turned away, eyes full of disappointment.
Late at night.
Tan Ning leaned against the window, staring blankly at the moon.
His phone suddenly vibrated twice. He quickly put down the small box, climbed over to the headboard, and grabbed his phone, which was charging.
[Three days without contact, not a single message.]
[You don’t even care about what I’m up to lately.]
Tan Ning rubbed his thumb over the screen, unsure how to reply. Before he could think of something, another message popped up.
[If this continues, I might not bother reaching out to you again.]
Tan Ning’s mind buzzed, going blank. Everything before his eyes turned into a hazy gray.
Until his phone vibrated twice more.
[Just kidding. I’m at your doorstep.]
[Come out and celebrate your birthday, you cold-blooded little cat.]
