Chapter 29
Tan Ning slept until past ten o’clock the next morning.
He was curled up in soft blankets, his cheeks flushed with a healthy pink from sleep. Although still weak, he appeared more lively than usual.
After finishing his run and showering, Lin Song’an returned to bed.
He gazed at Tan Ning’s beautiful features, puzzled as to why Tan Ning didn’t have any friends.
With such delicate and exquisite facial features, people passing by couldn’t help but look back at him repeatedly. He should have many people wanting to befriend him. Unfortunately, Tan Ning always kept his head down, his long hair covering his face, drifting on the fringes of the crowd. But then Lin Song’an thought, if Tan Ning hadn’t experienced those things in his childhood and had always been cheerful and outgoing, perhaps that day at Lin Qi’s house, he wouldn’t have been drawn to Tan Ning’s unique aura.
Tan Ning’s melancholy was interesting in Lin Song’an’s eyes.
Even extremely adorable.
Lin Song’an gently stroked Tan Ning’s brow with his fingertip. He thought to himself: Why was I so careless? Why didn’t my friend mention your parents’ situation, and why did I forget to ask? If I had known earlier, that day when you pitifully hid in the wardrobe, I should have held you and comforted you.
Also, why couldn’t I see that you’re actually just a little bundle of stubbornness, and yet I kept childishly wanting to bicker with you?
Lin Song’an leaned over and kissed Tan Ning. Tan Ning stirred, moved a bit, seeming to be afraid of the light, so he covered his eyes with his hand and continued sleeping.
Lin Song’an curved his lips into a smile.
He lay on his side, quietly watching Tan Ning.
After a long time, Tan Ning finally woke up groggily. When he opened his eyes and saw Lin Song’an, he was dazed for more than ten seconds, then suddenly pressed his lips together, his mouth flattening into a line, showing an unhappy and distant expression.
Completely different from the Tan Ning who had proactively hugged him last night.
Lin Song’an deliberately moved closer and spoke before Tan Ning could say anything: “After a year, you were gentle only once; let the shelf life be a bit longer.”
Tan Ning looked away.
Lin Song’an had learned a new trick of reading minds; Tan Ning’s silence didn’t mean unwillingness.
After discovering the vulnerability under Tan Ning’s cold exterior, Lin Song’an found him even more adorable as he looked at him. He kissed Tan Ning’s forehead; the scent of mint aftershave wafted over. Tan Ning shrank back to avoid him; Lin Song’an pursued, persistently kissing him.
Tan Ning dodged to the point where he was nearly at the edge of the bed, his chest rising and falling, breathing lightly. Both hands pressed against Lin Song’an’s shoulders.
The two of them faced off for a long time.
Lin Song’an was calm and collected, his eyes deep. Though his shoulders were being held back, his arms moved freely, reaching under the quilt.
“Ning Ning is full of energy.”
Tan Ning glared at Lin Song’an angrily.
Lin Song’an curved his lips into a smile, grabbed Tan Ning’s arm, and with an easy twist, turned him over and wrapped him in his arms. Tan Ning’s back pressed against Lin Song’an’s hot, firm chest; the temperature rose. He bit Tan Ning’s ear, using actions to express his request.
Tan Ning refused, but the refusal was useless.
Lin Song’an rarely did this; Tan Ning had done it before, and Lin Song’an hadn’t seemed very comfortable.
He thought it wasn’t something particularly pleasant, but at this moment, completely controlled by Lin Song’an with one hand, Tan Ning trembled and shuddered in Lin Song’an’s arms, his soul seemingly ascending; He bit his lower lip, not daring to let out any sound. He could only lean back, the back of his neck resting on Lin Song’an’s shoulder, surrendering himself to the culprit. Looking at his fair, porcelain-like neck, Lin Song’an suddenly wanted to bite.
Just like every time in the car, in the dim classroom, in every place that made Tan Ning feel ashamed.
Lin Song’an always wanted to bite him.
To make him remember the pain.
He wasn’t particularly smart in matters of love; he couldn’t find a way to make Tan Ning remember him forever. In fact, over the past year, he’d been using the wrong methods. Pain and resentment only made Tan Ning retreat into his protective shell; only love could make Tan Ning remember him forever.
Only love can awaken love.
Lin Song’an touched Tan Ning’s lips with his fingertip. Tan Ning dodged in disgust, grabbed a pack of wet wipes from the bedside table, and threw it at Lin Song’an. Lin Song’an feigned grievance and said, “So fierce.”
Tan Ning ignored him, looking regretful after the fact.
Lin Song’an leisurely finished wiping his hands and asked Tan Ning, “Want breakfast? I’ll make something simple; we’ll have lunch a bit later.”
Tan Ning nodded and prepared to get out of bed to wash up.
Lin Song’an also got up. Just as he was about to go to the kitchen, his phone rang—it was his mother, Fang Jin.
“Mom?”
Tan Ning’s back stiffened slightly, then he quickly walked to the bathroom.
Lin Song’an watched Tan Ning’s panicked back, a bit surprised for a moment. Tan Ning’s reaction was obviously excessive. Was it simply that he didn’t want to interact with his parents, or did he already know something?
Before he could think further, Fang Jin asked him, “What are you doing? Do you have classes today?”
Lin Song’an walked toward the kitchen while saying, “What classes could I have? I’m lying at home.”
Lin Song’an had almost completed his credits. In the first semester of his senior year, he had no important major courses, only one on International Economic Relations. Whether he went or not didn’t matter; the teacher didn’t manage strictly and often had seniors come to play pre-recorded video lectures.
Lin Song’an had fully invested himself in the work arranged by his father, leaving his remaining time for Tan Ning.
“Why didn’t you reply to the message I sent you? Did you see it?”
Lin Song’an said, “I didn’t see it. What did you send?”
“It’s about that omega,” Fang Jin looked at her chat log and confirmed, “I sent it to you. How could you not have seen it?”
Lin Song’an’s expression darkened.
“Mom wants to help you select an omega whose family conditions are comparable and whose pheromone compatibility exceeds 93%. Initially, I thought it was unlikely, but we actually found one. He’s a year younger than you, currently studying abroad. His parents are in the import-export trade, which has been doing well in recent years. The most coincidental thing is that his family has some distant relations with Ye Ling’s family, which will surely upset that little Ye Ling.”
Lin Song’an felt that fate was toying with him.
So coincidental, yet so unfortunate.
“I asked for you; the boy is currently single. He had a boyfriend before but broke up not long after going abroad. I have his photo here; do you want to see it?”
Lin Song’an hadn’t spoken all along. Fang Jin thought the signal was bad and quickly asked, “Song’an? Song’an? Can you hear me?”
“Mom, what if I don’t like him?”
“There aren’t that many love-at-first-sights. With such a high pheromone compatibility, feelings will develop over time.”
Lin Song’an really wanted to blurt out and tell his mother that he already had someone he liked—it was love at first sight.
But he couldn’t put Tan Ning in danger.
Afraid that Tan Ning would hear, he went outside to the yard.
“Mom, I don’t really want to think about this right now. I’m graduating soon, and there’s a lot on Dad’s side that I need to get familiar with immediately. I don’t have the energy to think about relationships.”
“Oh, that’s true. These two years are indeed quite busy. How about this: I’ll have the boy’s parents send you his WeChat tomorrow so you can start chatting. He’s studying in Germany, and at the end of the year, your father happens to be going there. Our family can go, and we can meet with their family.”
Lin Song’an furrowed his brow. He neither agreed nor disagreed, only replying, “We’ll talk about it later.”
Returning back inside, Tan Ning was standing in the kitchen.
He was frying two eggs, using a spatula to flip them.
His long hair was loosely tied up with a black hairband into a casual low bun, revealing his fair nape. A few strands had fallen loose; Lin Song’an used his fingertips to brush them behind Tan Ning’s ear, then wrapped his arms around Tan Ning’s waist.
“Ning Ning, I want to get married.”
Tan Ning froze, then threw the spatula to Lin Song’an, going alone to the kitchen island to slice tomatoes.
Lin Song’an knew this topic couldn’t continue, so he changed the subject. “Do you still have tutoring this weekend?”
“Yes.”
“Still those two elementary school students?”
“Mm.”
“Lin Qi’s mother called me yesterday, asking if you have time to tutor Lin Qi. If you’re busy, you don’t have to.”
“The student in South City Garden finishes this week. If Lin Qi needs it, we can start next week.”
“Will it increase your workload?”
Tan Ning shook his head.
“After you helped him improve his grades last time, he was smug for a while, but now his grades have dropped back to around thirtieth in the class.”
“Lin Qi is a bit dumb.”
Lin Song’an couldn’t help but laugh. “I think so too, but you can’t say that in front of him or his mother.”
Tan Ning rolled his eyes, thinking that his emotional intelligence wasn’t that low.
He went to Lin Qi’s house as scheduled.
After not seeing him for more than half a year, Lin Qi had lost much of his childishness and wasn’t as spoiled as before. At first glance, he even seemed a bit well-behaved. As soon as he saw Tan Ning, he stood at attention, very restrained.
His pretense of seriousness was somewhat reminiscent of Lin Song’an.
Tan Ning sat down, and Lin Qi scooted over to sit beside him. He couldn’t hold on for even half a minute before grinning and saying, “Teacher Tan, are you my cousin-in-law?”
Tan Ning was startled and quickly looked toward the door.
Fortunately, Mrs. Lin wasn’t around.
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
“I noticed a long time ago. After you finish tutoring me, it’s my cousin who takes you back.”
“So what?”
“His car is precious; he doesn’t even let me touch it usually.”
“We’re classmates, going the same way.”
“I don’t believe it,” Lin Qi blinked, sitting crookedly on the chair. “I want you to be my sister-in-law; I think it’s great! Because I don’t like my aunt; she’s too strict, always talking about compatibility this and compatibility that—so old-fashioned!”
“You’ve differentiated?”
“Not yet,” Lin Qi looked distressed. “But it’ll be in the next few days. The doctor says I’m most likely an omega. So annoying; I want to be an alpha. If not, a beta would be fine. I just don’t want to be an omega!”
Tan Ning chuckled wryly.
“Stop talking nonsense. Let’s start the lesson.”
But they hadn’t even finished two questions when Lin Qi suddenly said he had a headache, a sore neck, and that his whole body felt numb.
Tan Ning immediately called Mrs. Lin, and together they moved Lin Qi to the bed to wait for the doctor.
Lin Qi cried out in pain, hugging Mrs. Lin, “Mom, it hurts. Mom.”
Tan Ning stood there dazedly. He felt he should leave, but he wondered: Is the air now filled with omega pheromones? What are omega pheromones like? Warm, cute, and heart-moving?
Mrs. Lin held Lin Qi, gently comforting him. Soon, the doctor arrived, confirmed that he was differentiating, and did a simple test to confirm he was an omega. He drew blood from Lin Qi to take back to the hospital for further confirmation, saying that a detailed report would follow.
He brought two boxes of pheromone inhibitors and inhibitor patches for Lin Qi to use temporarily.
Tan Ning walked to the table, picked up the box of inhibitor patches, read the instructions, and then reached to touch his own nape.
Smooth and flat, not even a notch.
Tan Ning smiled helplessly. How absurd. People without a notch are the ones despised and ostracized by society.
Mrs. Lin was busy and didn’t have time for him, so Tan Ning picked up his bag and left. At the door, he waited for a while, and Lin Song’an’s car slowly drove up.
Seeing Tan Ning standing at the door, Lin Song’an was a bit surprised. “Finished so soon? I thought you’d be tutoring until after nine.”
He got out of the car and walked toward Tan Ning.
But Tan Ning stepped back. “Don’t come over. Lin Qi has differentiated; I probably have omega pheromones on me now.”
Lin Song’an’s expression changed, and he abruptly stopped; Lin Song’an stood by the car; Tan Ning stood on the steps. They were five or six meters apart, neither daring to take a step forward.
Tan Ning spoke calmly, raising his eyes to look at Lin Song’an. Lin Song’an instinctively avoided his gaze.
Both felt a bit at a loss.
The evening breeze blew Tan Ning’s long hair; the car’s headlights reflected in his amber eyes, no different from when they first met.
What should they do?
A phrase that Tan Ning least wanted to recall, one he hated the most, suddenly surfaced in his mind, but at this moment, he almost blurted it out.
—If only I were an omega.
Tan Ning thought: Yes, if only I were an omega.
If I were an omega, everything would become simple. When you said “Ning Ning, I want to get married” this morning, I would have unhesitatingly replied:
“Okay, then let’s get married.”
