Chapter 123
The moment Gu Qian pushed the door open, Xiao Xiao’s face flushed red. He instinctively took a step back, his hand flying down to cover the hem of his shirt. “It’s not that I meant to wear your clothes,” he stammered in a small voice. “It’s just… I couldn’t find mine.”
He couldn’t find his own clothes, and he could hardly walk out naked, could he?
Gu Qian just smiled and shook his head. “I already washed your clothes. Just wear mine. It looks good on you.”
Xiao Xiao, still flustered, continued to do up the buttons. But then Gu Qian added, “Don’t put on any pants. Just like that. I like it.”
Gu Qian said it, closed the door, and left.
Xiao Xiao was left standing there, his face burning, not knowing what to do.
After a long moment of hesitation, he realized that even if he wanted to wear pants, he couldn’t. There were no pants in the room—not his, and not even Gu Qian’s.
Xiao Xiao pressed his lips together. He had a strong feeling that this was all part of Gu Qian’s plan.
But there was nothing he could do. Dressed in only a white shirt with nothing underneath, he walked out of the room.
Gu Qian had already finished cooking.
Seeing him come out, he smiled warmly. “Xiao Xiao, come on, it’s time to eat. After you’re done, I’ll help you get some rest.”
Xiao Xiao didn’t make a fuss. He just nodded and went over.
After they finished eating, Xiao Xiao finally remembered the question that had been bugging him. “I think I smelled your pheromones today,” he said in a small voice.
Gu Qian’s head snapped up, his eyes wide with excitement. “Really? What did they smell like?”
Xiao Xiao didn’t understand why Gu Qian was having such a big reaction, but he answered anyway. “Mint. But I would’ve known that even if I couldn’t smell them. There’s hardly anyone in the company who doesn’t know what your pheromones smell like.”
Gu Qian was different from other alphas; he never hid his scent. It was a thoughtless question.
“That’s different,” Gu Qian said.
Knowing and actually smelling were two different things. He trusted that Xiao Xiao wouldn’t lie to him about this. And if Xiao Xiao could smell his pheromones, it meant the drink he’d given him was working. His team was getting closer to success.
Soon. Very soon, he would be able to permanently mark Xiao Xiao.
Gu Qian was so happy he couldn’t stop smiling.
Xiao Xiao just sat across from him, watching him laugh. He couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something a little off about Gu Qian. But since this was his boss—and his alpha—he kept his suspicions to himself. After all, if he asked Gu Qian if he was mentally ill, he’d probably get very angry.
It was already past midnight by the time they finished eating. After cleaning up, they went to bed.
The next morning, Gu Qian got up to go to work. He had wanted to let Xiao Xiao take the day off to rest, but Xiao Xiao insisted on getting up and going with him.
Gu Qian was confused. “Weren’t you tired yesterday, Xiao Xiao? Or was it because I didn’t try hard enough that you still have the energy to go to work today?”
“That’s not it.”
Remembering Gu Qian’s vigor from the night before, Xiao Xiao felt a mix of shyness and fear. He quickly shook his head and explained in a quiet voice, “You were amazing. You tried more than hard enough. It’s just… if you’re not here, I don’t want to stay home either. I’m still not used to it.”
He wasn’t used to this strange place being his home. If he was here all by himself, he’d feel uneasy. That’s why he wanted to go to work with Gu Qian.
Hearing Xiao Xiao’s explanation, Gu Qian’s expression finally softened. He went to the closet, took out a property deed, and handed it to him. Then, he leaned down and kissed his forehead. “It’s okay to not be used to it,” he said softly. “But you don’t need to feel insecure. This is your home, after all.”
Xiao Xiao held the deed, looking at Gu Qian with confusion in his eyes.
Gu Qian smiled. “Be good. I’ll make money and take care of you.”
Xiao Xiao hesitated, then, as if under a spell, he nodded. “Okay.”
Gu Qian left.
Xiao Xiao sat on the bed, dazed, and opened the deed. When he saw his name—and only his name—on it, he still couldn’t quite process it.
He’d gone from a poor kid who couldn’t even afford rent to the owner of a massive, luxurious penthouse. It felt completely unreal, like he was in a dream.
He flipped the deed over and over in his hands, muttering to himself, “He’s not tricking me, is he? This can’t be fake, right? Should I get it appraised?”
“Tsk…”
Xiao Xiao sighed. “But with our relationship now, if I go get the deed appraised, won’t he think I’m being unreasonable?”
No, no, he couldn’t do that. Even if he was going to get it checked, he’d have to wait until after they broke up.
Speaking of breaking up, Xiao Xiao froze. With the way Gu Qian was acting, would they ever really have a chance to break up? He used to worry that Gu Qian was just playing with him and would dump him after a while. But now, it didn’t seem like that was his plan at all.
Xiao Xiao frowned, his mood sinking.
He wanted to go out and talk to someone, but he couldn’t tell An Le. An Le didn’t want him to be with Gu Qian in the first place, and with the deep-seated hatred between An Le and Gu Qian’s father, he didn’t know how—and didn’t dare—to tell him.
Besides, An Le was so busy trying to uncover the truth about his mother’s death that he had no time to listen to his messy problems.
With no one to talk to, Xiao Xiao’s only option was to find some comfort in food. He went to the balcony, found the clothes he had washed, and got dressed. After tidying himself up, he prepared to leave.
But when he got to the front door, he realized he couldn’t get out. The door had a passcode, and he didn’t know it.
Not thinking much of it, he took out his phone and called Gu Qian. The call connected, and Gu Qian’s gentle voice came through the phone. “What is it, Xiao Xiao? Are you hungry? I left some food for you in the kitchen. It should still be warm. Eat that for now, and I’ll come back to have lunch with you.”
Hearing that, Xiao Xiao’s initial thought returned: Gu Qian really was a very considerate person.
He smiled and said softly, “I saw it, but I want to go out to eat. What’s the code for the door? I can’t get out without it.”
At that, the laughter in Gu Qian’s voice vanished. For a long moment, he didn’t say a word.
Xiao Xiao was confused. After waiting a while for Gu Qian to speak, he asked, “Why aren’t you saying anything? Did you forget the code?”
“No.”
Gu Qian finally spoke, a note of helplessness in his voice. “Just be good and stay home for me today, okay, Xiao Xiao? Tell me what you want to eat, and I’ll have someone buy it and bring it to you.”
That’s when Xiao Xiao realized something was wrong. He frowned. “Why have someone bring it? I want to go out and eat by myself.”
If someone else brought it, no matter how fast they were, it would take time. Some foods just don’t taste as good after they’ve been sitting around. What was wrong with going to the restaurant himself?
“Just be good, Xiao Xiao. I want you to stay home and wait for me today.”
Though he felt something was off, Xiao Xiao naively replied, “But I’ll come right back after I eat. I can still wait for you at home.”
“It’s not the same.” Gu Qian’s voice was tight. “Xiao Xiao, please don’t go out, okay?”
“Why?” Xiao Xiao asked. “Why can’t I go out?”
What on earth was Gu Qian trying to do? Why wouldn’t he let him leave? Was he trying to lock him up?
Gu Qian didn’t answer his question, instead saying helplessly, “Wait for me. I’m coming back right now. I’ll take you out to eat.”
With that, Gu Qian hung up.
Xiao Xiao stood by the door, completely stunned. He didn’t know what was happening, but just like before, every turn of events was completely outside his expectations. He had no idea what was going on.
Gu Qian… was he… was he even sane?
Unable to leave, Xiao Xiao had no choice but to go back and sit on the sofa, glancing at the door every so often as he waited for Gu Qian to return.
Twenty minutes later, he heard a sound at the door. He quickly looked over and, sure enough, it was Gu Qian.
Xiao Xiao frowned. “You really didn’t have to come back. I can go out to eat by myself.”
He was a grown man. Even if he was a little sore from what happened yesterday, he was perfectly capable of walking around on his own.
Gu Qian didn’t answer his question. Instead, he walked to his side with a smile, wrapped an arm around him, and gave him a kiss before saying, “I know. I was just worried about you. And I want to eat with you, too.”
With that, Gu Qian took Xiao Xiao’s hand and pulled him to his feet. “Come on,” he said, leading him toward the door. “Where do you want to go? I’ll take you.”
Xiao Xiao slowly named a restaurant, and together they left, heading out in the car.
The restaurant was crowded. Even on a weekday morning, it was nearly full. The moment Xiao Xiao walked in, half the customers turned to look at him. He froze instantly, because he saw looks of disgust on the faces of many of the omegas. He saw revulsion in the eyes of the alphas.
For a moment, he thought they all hated him, were disgusted by him. But after a few steps, he glanced back at Gu Qian and it hit him: they were disgusted because they thought he had no decency, no shame, walking around reeking of an alpha’s pheromones.
The realization made Xiao Xiao stop in his tracks. He turned and walked back outside.
Gu Qian followed behind him curiously. “Didn’t you want to eat here?” he asked in a low voice. “Why are you leaving?”
Xiao Xiao didn’t say a word, just hurried forward until he was out the door. Only then did he ask, “You… you left your pheromones on me again, didn’t you?”
Gu Qian nodded without a hint of surprise. “Yes. What’s wrong?”
An alpha’s favorite thing was to mark an omega, to leave their scent on them. But under normal circumstances, omegas would choose to cover up that scent, because it was considered incredibly rude to appear in public reeking of an alpha’s pheromones. It made you look classless. Some people would even think that an omega or beta who ran around like that was shameless.
Omegas, at least, could tell if they carried a scent. Betas couldn’t.
Xiao Xiao had been able to smell Gu Qian’s pheromones yesterday, but for some reason, he couldn’t today. He had assumed Gu Qian had gotten rid of the scent, but it turned out he just couldn’t smell it anymore.
Now, faced with such an embarrassing situation, he wanted to get angry, but he didn’t quite dare. He could only say, “I’m… I’m going to go buy a bottle of pheromone neutralizer.”
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