Chapter 49: Substitute: Fine, I’ll Let You Do It from Now On.
Pei Lian watched with a gloomy expression as Lin Mo leaned down, his shadow enveloping the sleeping Tang Xingye. Pheromones spilled out uncontrollably, the lemon scent wrapped in anger.
He hadn’t expected to stumble upon this scene.
Lin Mo, usually so indifferent and restrained, would actually try to steal a kiss while someone was asleep.
His lips were almost touching the side of Tang Xingye’s neck.
Just a moment before contact, Tang Xingye’s eyelashes suddenly fluttered lightly.
Tang Xingye opened his eyes abruptly.
Lin Mo’s movement froze, maintaining his leaning posture.
Sleepiness still lingered on Tang Xingye’s face. He turned his head slightly, his voice a bit hoarse with the lethargy of just waking up, brows furrowed lightly.
“Why are you so close?”
Lin Mo’s knuckles curled slightly.
“Time’s up.”
“Oh, just tapping me would have been enough.”
Already familiar with the routine, Lin Mo didn’t change his expression. He moved naturally to pick up the clipboard that had fallen on the floor.
He said indifferently, “Time to change the samples.”
Tang Xingye lazily propped himself up, resting his chin on his hand. His eyelids drooped halfway, closed for a moment, then finally opened.
His nose caught the scent of lemonsānot the natural sweetness of fruit, but the acidic sting that irritates the nasal cavity when juice splashes into the air while peeling a lemon.
Tang Xingye turned his head and glimpsed the figure at the door. “…Pei Lian?”
Pei Lian didn’t speak, giving him a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
“Go wash your face since you’re awake,” Lin Mo said, looking at him as if he hadn’t noticed anything unusual.
Tang Xingye frowned slightly, feeling something was off, but the drowsiness hadn’t faded, and his thoughts were still sluggish. He rubbed his temples and got up to walk toward the restroom.
The moment the door closed, Pei Lian finally moved.
Pei Lian walked in quickly, staring tightly at Lin Mo, his voice pitched very low. “What were you… trying to do just now?”
Lin Mo didn’t even look up, his fingertips gently turning a page of experimental data. “None of your business.”
“Picking up the clipboardā” Pei Lian suddenly reached out to hold down that page, pressing a crease into it with his fingertip. “You didn’t need to get that close.”
Lin Mo finally looked up, methodically putting his fountain pen back into his breast pocket. His gaze was indifferent as he swept over Pei Lian’s expression. “You observed so carefully; do you peek often?”
“Like a thief, trying to steal a kiss while someone’s asleep?” Dark gloom surged in Pei Lian’s eyes as he spoke coldly. “Pretending to be ascetic before, but can’t hold back as soon as your injury heals?”
Lin Mo looked at Pei Lian for a few seconds, then suddenly chuckled softly. “How pitiful.”
“What did you say?”
Lin Mo looked at him coldly, equally unwilling to show a pleasant face. “You are truly pitiful right now.”
A trace of mockery surfaced in Lin Mo’s dark eyes. “Never been loved, all attention stolen by your brotherāare you going to be your brother’s substitute now too? Wagging your tail and begging, praying for Tang Xingye to dole out a little love to you?”
Lin Mo deliberately spat out the malicious, contemptuous terms. “Substitute? Third wheel?”
Pei Lian’s expression twisted instantly, causing even more lemon-scented pheromones to spill out. Pei Lian, who was previously submissive, now showed unprecedented aggression. “You are the third wheel! I knew him before you.”
“Your pheromones are the same as Wen Ze’s. Why do you think he looks at you differently?”
“If we’re talking about it, you’re a substitute too. Pot calling the kettle black.”
Lin Mo’s expression changed slightly, the corners of his mouth pressing down. “We are different.”
“We are different,” Pei Lian forced a fake smile. “There are plenty of people with mint pheromones in this world; they’re everywhere. You aren’t special.”
“Is that so?” Lin Mo pulled at the corner of his lips. “What a pity. Even if the one he likes isn’t me, you can only ever hide in the shell of ‘younger brother’.”
Lin Mo watched Pei Lian purse his lips tightly, his eyes dark black, speaking calmly to the point of cruelty. “I didn’t pay attention to those little tricks you pulled, because they don’t constitute a threat.”
His voice lowered, carrying a warning. “Provoke me again, and don’t blame me for not being polite.”
Then Lin Mo retracted his sharpness, his expression returning to that indifferent look as if nothing could move him.
Lin Mo turned toward Tang Xingye, who had just returned, and handed him the data notebook nonchalantly. “Sample data. I marked two errors from before for you.”
Tang Xingye took it, said thanks, and looked down to check.
“There’s an academic lecture on frontier pheromone research this weekend. They invited an internationally renowned professor.”
“Let me check my schedule.”
Lin Mo didn’t speak, his face expressionless. He glanced imperceptibly at Pei Lian, the meaning self-evident.
To Tang Xingye, the most important thing was studying. No emotions could become his stumbling block.
And coincidentally, what Lin Mo was best at… was studying.
Tang Xingye looked at the gauze on Pei Lian’s forehead. The lab lights fell on Pei Lian’s face, making him look excessively pale, his aura somewhat fragile.
He had just woken up and hadn’t looked carefully. Seeing it clearly now, he frowned. “What happened to the injury on your head?”
“Accidentally bumped it,” Pei Lian turned his face away, his tone understating it.
Tang Xingye’s eyes moved slightly. He put the data notebook aside. “Come here, let me see.”
Pei Lian walked up quickly, glancing at Lin Mo out of the corner of his eye. Lin Mo looked indifferent, fingers idly flipping through the experiment report, as if completely uninterested in what was happening in front of him.
Tang Xingye reached out directly, fingertips gently brushing away the hair on Pei Lian’s forehead. The edge of the gauze was faintly seeping dark red. His gaze sank, tone becoming sterner. “You call this accidental? Lying again?”
“Smashed by someone,” Pei Lian said flatly. “An elder.”
Seeing Tang Xingye’s expression wasn’t good, he quickly added, “The doctor said it won’t scar. Don’t worry, I won’t be disfigured. Are you still coming this weekend?”
Tang Xingye didn’t know what to say. “Not coming. Apply your medicine properly and rest at home.”
Unknown if it was Tang Xingye’s illusion, but Pei Lian’s face became even paler, as if losing color.
Pei Lian looked up, tone lost. “Did I make you unhappy again?”
“…”
Tang Xingye couldn’t stand Pei Lian being like this. He was soft-hearted to the soft but hard against the hard.
Usually, if someone disgusted or provoked him, he would retort. Pei Lian usually made small mistakes but was still a good kid. Now showing such a fragile side, Tang Xingye’s heart softened instantly, all anger dissipating.
“No,” Tang Xingye softened his tone, patting his hand to comfort him. “You have an injury on your forehead, and you still want to pick glossy privet fruits? What if the wound opens up?”
Pei Lian gazed at him, tone flat but stubborn. “But that’s raw material for the experiment; it’s very important. My injury will heal quickly; it won’t delay your harvesting. Or I can go get laser treatment; it’ll heal faster.”
Tang Xingye felt like his own forehead was bumped and aching too.
Is an experiment more important than health?
Do I look like a capitalist who mercilessly exploits employees?
Lin Mo’s finger flipping the page paused slightly. The fountain pen bled a small patch of ink onto the paper, staining his knuckle. He closed the file without batting an eye, got up, and walked toward the door. “I’ll go get new samples.”
The moment he turned around, Lin Mo’s expression instantly turned ice-cold, eyes shadowed.
“My injury will be healed before the weekend.” Pei Lian suddenly took Tang Xingye’s hand, pressing it gently against his cheek and rubbing.
Tang Xingye could clearly feel the slightly trembling eyelashes tickling his palm.
“Don’t dislike me. I know my ability can’t compare to Lin Mo’s.”
“When he comes back, you just let him help you watch the samples,” Pei Lian lowered his eyes, a hint of imperceptible grievance in his tone. “You never… handed it over to me.”
Watching samples motionless for hours and recording dataāis that some cushy job?
Tang Xingye was amused by Pei Lian’s train of thought. “You want to do it?”
Pei Lian’s gaze slid slowly from Tang Xingye’s eyes to the tip of his nose, lips, and finally back to his face. His Adam’s apple moved slightly, voice a bit hoarse.
“…Yes.”
Those clear eyes of Pei Lian seemed to hide some obscure expectation. Tang Xingye’s heart softened under his gaze, and as if possessed, he added:
“Fine, I’ll let you do it from now on.”
…
When Lin Mo came back to do the experiment and discuss data with Tang Xingye, Pei Lian couldn’t get a word in, and of course, he didn’t plan to.
Pei Lian leaned against the lab bench, his gaze involuntarily falling on Tang Xingye. Even a common white lab coat looked different on him. Behind the safety goggles, his eyes were beautiful and cold, exuding an intellectual beauty.
“The injured should have the self-awareness of the injured,” Tang Xingye suddenly turned his head, elbow gently nudging Pei Lian. “Go back before the dorm curfew.”
Pei Lian blinked and turned to look at Lin Mo. Those pitch-black eyes met his perfectly. Lin Mo’s gaze was as calm as stagnant water. Pei Lian hooked his lips in satisfaction.
“Aren’t you going to see me off?”
“Dream on.” Tang Xingye scolded laughingly but handed him his backpack.
Tang Xingye and Lin Mo walked out of the lab. The sky outside had long turned dark, the streetlights stretching their shadows long. Tang Xingye suddenly stopped, turned, and said to Lin Mo, “You go ahead, I have to go buy ham for Qiuqiu.”
Lin Mo didn’t speak. He walked straight to the rest area and took a sealed bag from a locker. “No need,” he handed over the bag containing hand-cut dried meat. “It’s teething recently; this is specially made.”
Tang Xingye raised an eyebrow. “So thoughtful? Even knew it was teething.”
“I’m not good with animals,” Lin Mo said indifferently. “Rare that it’s willing to be close.”
Little Mom is here!
Around the corner, Qiuqiu rushed over like a cannonball, its fluffy head rubbing vigorously against Tang Xingye’s calf.
The Shiba Inu’s tail wagged like a propeller. “Woof woof!”
“Haven’t seen me for a day, miss me this much?” Tang Xingye squatted down, fingers sinking into the warm fur to rub.
Qiuqiu barked happily: “Woof woof!”
Miss you, miss you!
Qiuqiu immediately flipped over to expose its soft belly for pets, watery eyes looking pitifully at its pretty Little Mom.
Lin Mo stood quietly aside, watching the interaction between the person and the dog.
Lin Mo suddenly asked, “The lecture this weekend, are you still going?”
Tang Xingye played with Qiuqiu for a while, scratching its chin without looking up. “The lecture is at 7 PM. I’ll finish picking the glossy privet fruits in time.”
Tang Xingye checked the schedule and felt that neither the experiment nor the lecture would be delayed.
Hearing this, Lin Mo’s eyes shifted slightly as he pressed send on a message.
Tang Xingye’s phone rang. Seeing the caller’s name, his expression frozeāit was actually Wen Yuyan calling.
When he stood up, Qiuqiu whimpered in dissatisfaction, rubbing its wet nose against his wrist.
Tang Xingye bent down to pat its head, then walked a bit further away to answer.
Lin Mo bent down, tore open the snack packaging, and the Shiba Inu immediately came over to eat.
“Be good.” He patted Qiuqiu’s head, his gaze landing on the thin, slender snowman figure in the distance.
Voice so light it was almost inaudible, “Don’t get hooked by shady people.”
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