Chapter 7: Encounter
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When Xu Yibai got out of bed, Shen Yao woke up. He didn’t open his eyes or get up, he just turned over and pulled up the blanket, pretending to sleep.
The already faint sound in his ears became even lighter.
Shen Yao’s eyelids were closed, but he wasn’t sleepy at all. The bedroom was on the second floor, and he could hardly hear any sounds from downstairs. He curled up in bed and felt that Xu Yibai should have left by now, so he got up slowly from the bed.
He hadn’t slept well for several days, but Shen Yao felt good when he woke up today.
He didn’t want the suit he wore last night anymore, so he took out the new clothes that Xu Yibai had mentioned and put them on.
Shen Yao stood behind the staircase railing and looked down. There was indeed no one downstairs.
Xu Yibai was very clean and tidy, and everything was arranged neatly, similar to when he had come a while ago.
At that time, he was also standing here, listening openly as Xu Yibai made a phone call.
He couldn’t hear the voice from the other end, but he could infer the order of the conversation from Xu Yibai’s words.
“Don’t let my parents introduce me to any omegas…I’m not going back, I really already have a boyfriend, you know that, right?”
After a few seconds of silence, Xu Yibai tightened his lips and said a little angrily, “We haven’t broken up, nor have we had any big fights. Our relationship is very good.”
He said stubbornly, “Yao Yao just graduated, and when he’s ready, I’ll take him home.”
“Let’s not talk about it now.” Maybe the conversation wasn’t going well, Xu Yibai said, “He’s not playing around, and he didn’t choose me for any other reason than liking me. We’re going to get married.”
Xu Yibai didn’t know he had heard the whole phone call, because when he went upstairs again, Shen Yao was pretending to sleep very well.
Shen Yao supported himself with the stairs and walked down. He took out the ticket from his suit pocket and also took Xu Yibai’s pen and paper.
As he put the pen to the paper, he bit the tip of the pen and thought for a moment. Then he smiled and wrote down the three sentences he had drafted in his mind.
He believed Xu Yibai would like it.
After finishing everything, he clapped his hands and left.
Xu Yibai hadn’t done anything wrong. It was just that their relationship had lasted too long. It was better to leave it here, like a dreamlike paradise.
The solo dance tonight was indeed important to him, but the rehearsal started at 9:00 in the morning, and it was only seven o’clock now. It only took twenty minutes to go from Xu Yibai’s house to the theater.
He had enough time to wait for him here, but Shen Yao had an appointment with someone else.
The coffee shop at this time had few customers. Even the employees had just come to work, feeling drowsy as they prepared and secretly cursing the early-morning customers who had come to the corner of the wall.
The door was pulled open from the outside, and the wind chimes hanging on the handle made a crisp sound. A beautiful Omega walked in, and the staff looked stunned for a second. Their mood, which had been shifted by the early morning shift, improved significantly.
Shen Yao walked to the wall corner and sat down on a chair. He casually asked, “Did you not sleep, or did you just wake up?”
The Omega sitting across from him looked up, smiled without smiling, and said, “I slept for three hours. I probably won’t die.”
Shen Yao nodded, took a sip of the coffee that had been prepared in front of him, and said calmly, “That’s good.”
After all, he and Gao Wenwan had the strongest and most fragile relationship of interest. Although Shen Yao didn’t want to use this disgusting analogy, they were indeed like fleas tied to the same rope.
If Gao Wenwan died, he would be in trouble too.
At the banquet last night, Gao Wenwan was also present, playing the role of a submissive and obedient illegitimate son with great care.
He hid in the far corner, and when his gaze met with Shen Yao’s, he slowly raised his glass in an upward direction.
“There aren’t many Alphas that can make your uncle wary, but there are still several. How come you can’t find any Alpha that you like, and instead choose Yan Zhixing, who is difficult to handle? I saw him at the banquet too. With his high and mighty appearance, I even suspect he’s frigid.”
“I can’t help it.” Shen Yao took another bite of the sandwich in front of him and said sincerely, “I like good-looking Alphas.”
Whether it was Xu Yibai or his first love, although their temperament and type were different, they were both extremely good-looking.
Yan Zhixing was also one of them.
“If I sleep with someone who’s ugly,” Shen Yao paused and said, “I would probably feel nauseous.”
Gao Wenwan couldn’t help but sneer and sarcastically said, “You’re already on your deathbed, and yet you’re still so picky?”
Shen Yao lifted his face and looked out the window with a slightly puzzled expression, “If I really die, what benefit would it be to you?”
He was always like this, whether someone was raging in front of him or being sarcastic, he never got angry.
But his counter-questions always hit people’s sore spots.
Gao Wenwan wasn’t in the mood to continue poking at him, so they both fell into a silent vortex.
Gao Wenwan stirred his spoon in annoyance and asked in confusion, “If Shen Fulin wants to climb the high branches with you, why doesn’t he just arrange a marriage with an Alpha like the Gao family?” He shrugged indifferently and said with schadenfreude, “I thought me being packaged off for marriage next year is already miserable enough, how come you are even more miserable than me?”
His curiosity was not usually so strong, but now he couldn’t help but ask, “Isn’t the marriage alliance more beneficial to the Shen family? Why would Shen Fulin want to treat you as a plaything and give you to so many people?”
It’s because of Shen Fulin’s crazy idea that Shen Yao was anxious to find a protector.
Shen Yao interrupted him softly, “Gao Wenwan, you care about me so much, do you like me too?”
Gao Wenwan knew he had crossed a line. He shouldn’t have pried into so many things about Shen Yao. After a moment of silence, he said, “Yan Zhixing’s whereabouts are very secretive. I only know that he often goes to Youlan Pavilion these days.”
When he heard the name of the club, Shen Yao frowned in disgust, biting the ice in his mouth hard before replying, “Got it.”
Time was almost up, and Shen Yao picked up the bill and stood up.
But Gao Wenwan stopped him and asked again, “What happened upstairs that day? Did you catch Yan Zhixing?”
Shen Yao smiled, his features breathtakingly beautiful, even making Gao Wenwan, an omega, uncomfortable as he swallowed hard.
But the smile disappeared in an instant, and Shen Yao said coldly, “He seems to look down on me.”
Shen Yao didn’t even say goodbye and walked away. Gao Wenwan watched his figure recede into the distance, his thoughts drifting.
The first time he saw Shen Yao was in the family’s flower garden.
Gao Wenwan was a b*stard, brought back by the Gao family because of his omega status. He was still a naive child, but from the disdainful looks of others, he knew he was an unwelcome presence.
He was often taken out to play by his so-called older brothers and sisters. To the other young masters and misses, he was nothing more than a toy that can be bullied and manipulated at will.
Gao Wenwan cried under his covers while calling his mother for help, but the other party responded sharply and demanded that he stayed where he was.
After being bullied for a long time, Gao Wenwan learned to obey without resistance.
At four or five years old, children have the most energy. Dai Xinghui kicked the soccer ball to the other side of the grass and patted Gao Wenwan’s head, whistling from his mouth as if he were ordering a little dog: “Go!”
Gao Wenwan panted as he ran in the direction of the soccer ball, with laughter behind him.
The ball rolled far away, and Gao Wenwan crouched down to stare at it. The ball didn’t stop at the wall like it used to, but hit a pair of clean little white shoes, bounced off, and rolled a few more times.
Gao Wenwan hurriedly picked up the ball and belatedly looked up, then sat on the ground with his mouth open.
Under the huge banyan tree was a small chair, on which an Omega sat with red lips and white teeth, curly eyelashes, and looking as pretty as an angel in a fairy tale that Gao Wenwan had seen before.
But the little angel’s face was cold and his mouth was pursed and red. He looked like a precious young master, but he didn’t hang out with those kids. Not only that, he was far away from them, quietly reading a book.
When the soccer ball hit his foot, he didn’t even react.
Perhaps annoyed by being stared at, the Omega’s gaze shifted from the book to Gao Wenwan, looking at him with those dark grape-like eyes, but still said nothing.
Gao Wenwan fell back onto the ground and quickly ran away with the ball.
He handed the soccer ball back to Dai Xinghui, and this time the ball wasn’t thrown far away but instead hit him.
Gao Wenwan instinctively raised his arm, feeling the pain, but dared not make a sound.
He watched as Dai Xinghui picked up the soccer ball and threw it out again, but this time he didn’t order Gao Wenwan around, and instead ran over to pick it up himself with great enthusiasm.
“Why did Dai Xinghui go to play with Shen Yao again?” An omega who looked similar to Shen Yao curled his lips and said, “Shen Yao doesn’t even pay attention to him, what’s the point of playing with him?”
Shen Yao was probably the name of the pretty omega mentioned earlier, and Gao Wenwan suddenly remembered the name.
He hid nearby, listening to them discussing Shen Yao.
Gao Wenwan finally learned that Shen Yao was not mute. He could not only speak, but also dance. He also heard that the Alphas liked him and gave him sweets and food, wanting to play with him.
But Shen Yao ignored everyone and did not even acknowledge them. He would even throw away the gifts they gave him to his face.
Gao Wenwan saw Shen Yao a few more times and learned that he was also a child who liked to act cute.
He did not pay attention to those Alphas, simply because he didn’t want to. Every time Shen Yao’s parents came to pick him up, he would close his book and obediently hold onto their legs.
Gao Wenwan accidentally heard Shen Yao murmuring that he wanted a hug.
But since that day, Gao Wenwan hadn’t seen Shen Yao for a long time. When he saw him again, he had become even more beautiful, but had lost some of the flesh on his cheeks.
He sat alone in the corner, holding a book. Dai Xinghui approached him with hope, wanting to give him some candy amidst the cheers.
Shen Yao looked down and threw it away without hesitation.
This was probably not the first time that Dai Xinghui had been rejected in public. He heard the mocking laughter of Hu Shengxuan and Zhang Siyu and, in anger and shame, pushed Shen Yao, shouting, “Your parents are already dead! You don’t want my candy! No one will ever buy you candy again!”
Shen Yao almost fell off his chair. He held onto the chair and stared fiercely at Dai Xinghui.
Then suddenly, like a fierce little beast, he pounced forward, grabbing Dai Xinghui’s neck with his thin arm and using all his strength.
Dai Xinghui was kicking his legs and helplessly patting Shen Yao’s hand, as if he were dying.
No one expected him to act, and it wasn’t until they reacted that Hu Shengxuan and Zhang Siyu rushed forward and roughly pulled Shen Yao away.
Shen Yao fell heavily to the ground. He seemed not to feel any pain, but he kept staring at Dai Xinghui, trying to get up.
His arms were pinned down by one person on either side. Dai Xinghui had lost face and forgotten that Shen Yao was an Omega. He punched Shen Yao directly in the temple.
An Omega’s strength couldn’t compare to that of three Alphas, and Shen Yao had no room to resist. He gritted his teeth and slammed his head hard into Dai Xinghui’s forehead.
This sudden turn of events made the children nearby nervous.
Finally, a little girl screamed, and the adults in the room heard it and put an end to the commotion.
The people they bullied were not only Gao Wenwan. After this argument, Shen Yao was also added to their list.
However, they were afraid that Shen Yao would tell his family, so they didn’t dare to use heavy-handed tactics. At most, they just pushed his shoulders or snatched his book and tore it up.
Shen Yao never fought them again, but he never begged for mercy either.
Gao Wenwan had thought that Shen Yao would endure like him.
He continued to run errands, carrying a bunch of snacks and struggling to run up to the fifth floor. It was strange that there was no one in the hallway. He moved slowly towards the sound of faint crying and begging for help.
At the end of the road, Gao Wenwan stopped and stood in front of the closed display room at the end of the hallway. This was the old mansion of the Gao family, and he had entered this room unintentionally. It had not been cleaned for a long time, and the light was dim with broken bulbs. The strange and bizarre furnishings frightened him so much that he cried out loud, but the sound was muffled behind the closed door, as if it were trapped in a closed box.
Shen Yao stood close to the door, holding a bunch of keys in his hand, looking like a beautiful and delicate doll. “Why not take revenge?” Shen Yao spoke to Gao Wenwan for the first time, confused and puzzled. “What’s the point of letting them laugh?”
Gao Wenwan dropped the snacks he was holding, and couldn’t say a word, looking at Shen Yao with confusion.
It was 6:30 in the evening. The stage of the theater was spacious and bright, and the audience seats were sparsely occupied before the show began. Xu Yibai took his seat after his ticket was checked. There were still two empty seats next to him. Shen Yao had given him a ticket in the fifth row with a good view.
He wore a simple and well-fitted black suit, lowered his head to glance at his watch, and then looked up at the temporarily empty stage. Xu Yibai knew nothing about the stage design, including the costumes and dance design. He guessed the style that Shen Yao might like for a while, but in the end, he gave up and shook his head helplessly because he couldn’t figure it out.
Unintentionally, Xu Yibai caught a glimpse of an Alpha coming from the other side of the aisle. He was accompanied by an Omega female, presumably his mother. The blond and blue-eyed Alpha was also dressed in formal attire. He sat down beside Xu Yibai without disturbing his personal space, naturally supporting his right hand on the chair frame. He didn’t seem to be watching the dance performance in the theater, but rather sitting seriously at a negotiation table.
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