Chapter 56: Is Tang Xingye Training a Dog?: Woof Woof Woof!
“You can’t fix it, so you have to compensate me.”
Zhou Lin thought Tang Xingye playing the rogue was also cute. At this moment, he began to feel somewhat fortunate that he was born into a wealthy family.
That group of second-generation rich kids said Betas were easy to coax—give them some luxury goods, say a few pretty words in bed, or if all else fails, just send some money directly, and they’d be pacified.
None of that was practical. Tang Xingye wouldn’t necessarily be willing to accept it directly; he’d probably think Zhou Lin was plotting to scam him again. As for direct money, Tang Xingye didn’t really lack it, so what could he use to tie him down?
Zhou Lin hadn’t coaxed anyone before, but that didn’t stop him from knowing what Tang Xingye needed. sending charcoal in snowy weather was more memorable than adding flowers to brocade, and having shared good memories was even better.
But given their delicate relationship, prior to this, he had no confidence whether Tang Xingye would accept this gift.
Zhou Lin knew clearly that from birth until now, he had rarely liked anything this much. This freshness drove him to perform a series of actions that didn’t align with rational judgment. After rational analysis, Zhou Lin still abandoned threats, bribery, and deliberate teasing.
Tang Xingye hadn’t thought about spending his life with him, and he didn’t regret it. The way to leave no regrets was to follow his heart. If he didn’t like it later, that was a matter for later. There was no need to make himself uncomfortable now over those worries.
Zhou Lin chose to lay his cards on the table. He refused the arranged marriage. Those old fossils were angry and threatened him with family law, but in the end, they still let him take over the business. He wasn’t surprised at all. The side branches were cowardly and young; they had no choice but to hand the massive business empire to him.
He happily gave that Omega a huge sum in compensation, and the other party stayed silent.
Zhou Lin could tell Tang Xingye was very satisfied with this gift. Seeing other Alphas’ pheromones on Tang Xingye brought a subtle displeasure to his heart.
But on second thought, these pheromones would flow into test tubes, not be injected into Tang Xingye’s body. There was no need for him to be jealous over this.
Only an incompetent husband would accuse his wife of cheating. Even if Tang Xingye really used them… Forget it, don’t think about that scenario.
Zhou Lin fiddled with the kitten plushie’s tail, immediately determining it needed a needle and thread to sew. He didn’t waste time. “Give me your phone, I’ll transfer it to you now.”
Tang Xingye pursed his lips and handed the phone back. The other party looked calm, seeming unbothered that he might have glimpsed some secret, displaying it generously.
Just as it unlocked, several notifications popped up.
[Young Master Zhou, the little lover you brought to the gala last time was really hot.]
[When will you bring him out again for the brothers to play with?]
Zhou Lin clicked into the message extremely fast, deleted the person directly, and then subconsciously looked at Tang Xingye.
“Is that about me?” Tang Xingye looked up at him. “Play what?”
Zhou Lin: “……”
Which idiot sent that message? Just as I made him a bit happier, now there’s another misunderstanding.
Zhou Lin observed Tang Xingye’s expression and tried to explain, “Sent by someone I’m not close with. Met at a dinner, not really a friend.”
Tang Xingye urged him as if unaffected, “Hurry up and pay.”
Zhou Lin added an extra zero and transferred the money. “Do you have anything you want to say?”
Tang Xingye almost couldn’t hold back, wanting to say Dog Alpha, scram.
For the sake of the experimental materials, he gave Zhou Lin a slightly better face.
Tang Xingye didn’t speak. He lowered his head to check the balance, his lips moving slightly without making a sound. Zhou Lin knew exactly what Tang Xingye was thinking.
Zhou Lin: “Are you cursing me in your heart again?”
Caught in the act, Tang Xingye admitted honestly, “Mn.”
Zhou Lin found such honesty amusing and said gently, “I made you angry, it’s only right to curse me. Don’t be angry. What else do you need? I’ll buy it for you.”
Tang Xingye lowered his eyes to look at Zhou Lin. “This is what you deserve.”
I cursed very politely in my heart. You’re the one being cheap and insisting on hearing it.
Zhou Lin heard the subtext in Tang Xingye’s words. Amused by his righteous appearance, he gently rubbed the phone screen with his fingertips. “List the materials you’re missing recently.”
Tang Xingye found it a bit funny. “Is this your apology?”
Zhou Lin looked at Tang Xingye. The light halo falling on his brows and eyes exuded an illusory gentleness.
He could tell Tang Xingye wasn’t truly angry. He knew very well that Tang Xingye didn’t care about the evaluations of insignificant people.
Is it an apology?
Zhou Lin thought about his emotions just now, and the conclusion he reached was: It’s nothing. Then he tested the waters, “Exchange for a chance to give a gift on the Laurel Festival?”
The Laurel Festival was originally a day for Alphas and Omegas to exchange tokens and convey their feelings. Over time, it had evolved into a festival for everyone to express affection to one another.
Tang Xingye gave a vague “Mn” and gently patted his own face with the plush cat’s paw—a habitual small movement when thinking. Whenever Tang Xingye got stuck on a problem, he would poke his face with a pen.
The doctor rushed over and knocked on the door. “Student, time to change the dressing.”
Zhou Lin’s eyes darkened instantly. The eyes that had been overflowing with sincerity revealed a moment of blackness after losing their gentle disguise.
Tang Xingye smiled at him. “Next time, if I’m in a good mood, I’ll consider it.”
Next time… No definite answer, yet giving a hopeful expectation. Whether the mood was good or bad was just a sentence; it depended entirely on Tang Xingye’s thoughts.
Is Tang Xingye training a dog?
Tang Xingye left. Zhou Lin watched his dashing retreating figure. Knowing fully well the other party didn’t even care, the lingering scent in the air still made him think too much.
…
Tang Xingye calculated the amount of S-class pheromones Zhou Lin gave him, reserved a portion for emergencies, and put the rest into the experiment.
He received a message from Professor Ye.
[You can report the metal missing from the experiment to me for reimbursement recently.]
Tang Xingye: “? Teacher, did your account get hacked? When did you become so generous?”
[We master and apprentice can be considered rich. I swindled a few fat sheep and revitalized the project at hand,] Professor Ye replied with a smiling emoji. [Quite a few sponsors have their eyes on your project and want to talk to you. As for the follow-up promotion, you have to go negotiate.]
Tang Xingye understood now. The teacher had gone to harvest leeks again.
Professor Ye taught Tang Xingye the techniques of how to fleece wool from sponsors, ranging from data presentation to sponsor preferences, in great detail.
Tang Xingye had once seen Professor Ye use this routine smoothly. After signing the contract, he asked privately, “Teacher, are we running a pig-butchering scam?”
Professor Ye: “Eh, you didn’t know that we are?”
Tang Xingye: O.O
Professor Ye thought for a moment, paused, pulled a stack of papers from the drawer, and added, “Not really. Our papers and technology aren’t fake.”
He pulled out another stack of contract copies. “The money they gave was also voluntary.” Finally, he lowered his voice mysteriously, “If these big idiots don’t give the money to us, they’ll give it to someone else. This is called… paying for knowledge.”
Tang Xingye expressed deep agreement.
On the way to his mentor’s office, Pei Lian sidled up. After his injury healed, he seemed to have forgotten what happened on that rainy day, acting well-behaved.
This was good. Tang Xingye was too lazy to think about messy things.
Pushing open the door, he saw Lu Zhi already feeding the parrot. Apollo seemed very accustomed to Lu Zhi’s service. Seeing Tang Xingye arrive, it tilted its head, seemingly identifying the owner it hadn’t seen for a long time, and gave a crisp cry: “Mama!”
It fluttered its wings and flew over, rubbing against the side of Tang Xingye’s neck, incredibly affectionate.
“Your pet?” Pei Lian asked Tang Xingye. He hadn’t seen Apollo before.
He stared at the fingers stroking the parrot, the joints tinged with a faint pink.
Pei Lian actually felt a bit envious. If only I were that parrot.
He wanted to be touched too, rubbing against Tang Xingye and calling him Mama.
“It’s the teacher’s.”
Tang Xingye reached out and rubbed the fluffy head. Not seeing it for a while, Apollo felt heavier. He looked at Lu Zhi. “What did you teach it? Why is it calling me that?”
Lu Zhi coughed lightly, avoiding his gaze. “Nothing. It just thinks it should have a mother.”
He couldn’t exactly say he tried to make the parrot call him “Papa,” almost got pecked, and had to settle for the next best thing—taking out Tang Xingye’s photo and teaching it to say “Mama.”
Tang Xingye teased the parrot for a while longer, then pointed at Lu Zhi. “What do you call him?”
Lu Zhi’s eyes were full of expectation, written all over with: Good baby, call me Papa, call me Papa.
Parrot: “Servant.”
Lu Zhi: “……”
Ingrate. Fed you for so long, and you don’t remember a single bit of good.
Pei Lian gave Lu Zhi a cold look. So stupid.
“It learns well. Very smart,” Pei Lian said casually.
“Apollo is very spiritual.” Tang Xingye stroked the bird’s beak. “If you’re interested, you can teach it to speak.”
The snow-white parrot narrowed its eyes in enjoyment, affectionately pecked his cheek with its beak, and then snuggled happily into the crook of his neck.
Seeing this, Lu Zhi felt a bit jealous. He was living worse than a bird… But on second thought, he was now Tang Xingye’s “Little Husband.” In terms of status, he was more important than a bird.
Lu Zhi, unwilling to give up, looked at the parrot and pointed at Pei Lian. “What about him? What do you call him?”
Pei Lian: “……”
Lu Zhi is a retard, right? Who asked you to ask?
The parrot tilted its head, looking at Pei Lian. Pei Lian stared back. Man and bird stared at each other weirdly for five seconds.
Apollo suddenly flapped its wings: “Green Tea!”
Lu Zhi froze, then burst out laughing. He looked gloatingly at Pei Lian’s instantly ugly expression, feeling much more balanced psychologically.
This bird hated every Alpha equally. If it only targeted him, then his behavior of feeding it good food these days would make him no different from a clown.
At least he was still a person/servant. Pei Lian was called a Green Tea.
Tang Xingye watched Lu Zhi’s extremely rich facial expressions change within ten short seconds. He felt speechless inside; the word “Retard” clearly floated in his eyes.
Apollo counted as the little ancestor raised by Tang Xingye. If it scolded Pei Lian like that, did Tang Xingye think so too?
Lu Zhi’s brain heated up. He suddenly leaned close to Tang Xingye, blinking his eyes like a large dog begging for praise, his tone triumphant:
“You said I was different from the others.”
— Of course I’m different! I am Tang Xingye’s rightful “Little Husband,” an Alpha who can enter the house and serve him closely. What is Pei Lian? Is he even worthy to compare with me?
Tang Xingye looked at him expressionlessly for two seconds and gave a faint “Mn.”
Lu Zhi’s eyes lit up, and he immediately pressed his advantage. “How am I different?”
Tang Xingye glanced at him, tone flat. “Think about it yourself.”
— These words instantly ignited a small theater in Lu Zhi’s brain.
“Think about it yourself”? This is clearly testing me! It implies my status is special! It’s asking me to realize the bond between us on my own!
Lu Zhi’s brain circuit instantly merged onto the highway, speeding from “Tang Xingye tacitly agrees I’m the closest person” all the way to “We have a tacit understanding,” screeching to a halt at the “New wife wearing a wedding dress” fantasy station.
The collarbone looming under the pure white veil, the slender waistline outlined by the corset wedding dress, the look of Tang Xingye blushing and saying “I do.”
“Mmph…” Lu Zhi suddenly covered his nose, his Adam’s apple bobbing violently, but the corners of his mouth couldn’t stop curling up wildly.
His eyes were shockingly bright. “Because I’m the most obedient, so you like me the most, right?”
Tang Xingye was about to respond when a small booklet suddenly slid out of his pocket.
The cover read: [Advanced Techniques for Taming Stray Dogs: From Beginner to Master], Subtitle — Veterinarian Exclusive.
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