Chapter 37: Medieval Legend
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Next, Xu Xingran poured the sauce onto the tender and elastic rice noodle rolls. Under the translucent skin, pink shrimp and the aroma of leek blended with the sauce. Xu Xingran leisurely picked up a piece, sent it into his mouth, and ate it.
At this moment, An Lan was still checking where the sample of the fragrance, which he had bought on the shopping app, had been delivered. Qiao Chuluo sent a message saying, “I want to smell it too,” and handed it to An Lan. They continued with their heads close together, like underground workers discussing something.
Xu Xingran had eaten one-third and turned his head, “What are you doing?”
“Huh? We’re not doing anything.”
“Your heads are close together, but there’s no sound of conversation. Something’s off,” Xu Xingran said with a hint.
“No, how could there be anything off? Class monitor, you’re overthinking it.”
“Is that so?” Xu Xingran’s voice dragged a bit.
Suddenly, there was a sound of a table moving behind them. An Lan and Qiao Chuluo both turned around to see Xiao Chen standing up.
He walked to Xu Xingran and said, “I’m hungry, I’ll take this.”
But before he picked up the rice noodle rolls, Xu Xingran suddenly held Xiao Chen’s wrist, lifted his chin, and smiled, “If you’re hungry, I’ll order takeout for you. But this rice noodle roll is mine.”
The entire classroom became deathly quiet. Everyone lowered their heads at the same time, and only An Lan looked at them with raised eyebrows.
Xiao Chen’s brows furrowed, and his complexion looked even paler than usual. Thinking about what happened at Xiao Chen’s home, An Lan couldn’t help but wonder if Xiao Chen hadn’t eaten dinner and breakfast, and was now in a hypoglycemic state, prone to anger.
An Lan quickly pulled out Qiao Chuluo’s backpack beside him.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
“I’m afraid they’ll emit pheromones.” An Lan took out two Snickers from Qiao Chuluo’s backpack.
Qiao Chuluo felt a bit distressed, but he also hoped that the two big shots wouldn’t cause any trouble in front of him.
An Lan supported the desktop with one hand, stretched out the other arm, and handed the Snickers to Xiao Chen, “You better eat Snickers!”
“Why? I want to eat this,” Xiao Chen lowered his eyes and looked at the packed box pressed down by Xu Xingran.
“That’s leek and shrimp! After eating it, no matter how many times you brush your teeth, it won’t work, and you can’t suppress it with pheromones.” An Lan earnestly said.
Xiao Chen glanced at Xu Xingran.
“Snickers can replenish energy, and sweet things make people feel happy,” An Lan said seriously as he smoothed Xiao Chen’s fur.
Only then did Xiao Chen let go, took the Snickers from An Lan, bit into the packaging with a snap, and with a fierce force, the Snickers’ packaging opened. He bit down with a fierce momentum, as if it were Xu Xingran’s bones.
Xu Xingran acted as if nothing had happened and calmly finished the rice noodle rolls.
At this moment, An Lan’s phone vibrated. He didn’t pay much attention, took out the Chinese textbook, and was about to memorize ancient texts.
Qiao Chuluo, next to him, bumped him with his elbow and whispered, “Check the group.”
An Lan lowered his head in suspicion, only to find that Xiao Chen had tagged him in the group.
Xiao Chen @ An Lan always wants to sleep: [Bring me breakfast tomorrow, it smells great.]
There was also a shining red envelope, shining.
Just bringing breakfast, An Lan thought it was nothing. He clicked to check and found 200 yuan.
Boss, I can eat twenty boxes of rice noodle rolls!
An Lan replied: [No problem!]
Suddenly, An Lan received several admiring glances from classmates. He was probably the only one in the class who could receive a red envelope from Xiao Chen.
At this time, Xu Xingran tagged An Lan again.
[Thank you for the breakfast, it’s delicious. If you can, bring me some too.]
Then, another jumping red envelope.
An Lan clicked to check, and d*mn, another 200 yuan!
His breakfast fund is getting more and more substantial.
At this moment, the gazes cast upon him were filled with deep respect. An Lan was the first in the class to receive red envelopes from two big shots simultaneously.
Qiao Chuluo, who was next to him, grinned and said, “Let our school grass also send you a red envelope. With three big shots gathering, you’ll be complete. Haha!”
As Qiao Chuluo’s words fell, there was another tremor in the group.
Several classmates in the class exclaimed, “Wow!”
An Lan lowered his head to take a look and almost choked on his own saliva—Gu Liyu sent a red envelope with the words “Complete” written on it.
Clearly, he heard what Qiao Chuluo said!
An Lan turned his head and looked in Gu Liyu’s direction. This big shot still looked as if he were studying with his chin propped up, as if he weren’t the one sending the red envelope.
“Hey, what are you trying to stir up!” An Lan said to Gu Liyu.
Then, he saw Gu Liyu take out his phone and input slowly with one hand.
Gu Liyu: [Tomorrow’s breakfast at my place includes matsutake mushroom chicken soup noodles, steamed cod roe eggs, dried scallop and pea puree, and red date cake.]
An Lan couldn’t help feeling envious.
Gu Liyu hadn’t finished typing his message, the next sentence came: [How about coming to my place tonight to watch a horror movie?]
An Lan scratched the back of his head. This invitation was so strange: [Why a horror movie?]
Gu Liyu: [You’ll get scared after watching a horror movie, and then I can accompany you to sleep. The next day, we can have breakfast together.]
This Gu Liyu!
An Lan couldn’t stop laughing with his eyes covered. Last time, on Gu Liyu’s birthday, in order to make him stay, An Lan lied that he was afraid after watching a horror movie with Qiao Chuluo and asked him to stay and sleep together. Unexpectedly, Gu Liyu took it seriously and even remembered it to this day.
Knowing that Gu Liyu’s mother seemed to be away from home most of the time, An Lan didn’t feel restrained.
An Lan: [Let’s do it after school. But I won’t watch a horror movie with you.]
Gu Liyu asked: [Then what should we watch?]
An Lan: [Let’s do some practice problems! Big shot, the monthly exam is on Thursday and Friday!]
Probably because of the arrangement with Gu Liyu, An Lan felt that today was an exceptionally long day.
During the late self-study after school, An Lan finished all the test papers, even the comprehensive test in Integrated Science, which he disliked the most. Because Gu Liyu was too serious, what if they really didn’t do homework at night and ended up watching horror movies together?
At half past nine in the evening, after the late self-study ended, Bald Qiang repeatedly emphasized from the podium, “The monthly exams are on Thursday. If I catch any of you hanging out in Internet cafes, night markets, and other places after late self-study, I’ll make you stand until the college entrance exam. Don’t sit down before the college entrance exam!”
In fact, Bald Qiang’s “threat” was unnecessary. The two words “monthly exam” were enough to make everyone feel heavy-hearted.
Everyone packed their bags and went home. An Lan and Qiao Chuluo came to the school gate to scan shared bicycles.
An Lan scanned one but didn’t rush to leave. He pressed another bike, not knowing who he was waiting for.
It wasn’t until Gu Liyu, carrying his backpack, walked out that An Lan waved at him.
Qiao Chuluo widened his eyes. “An Lan, are you waiting for Gu Liyu?”
An Lan bumped into Qiao Chuluo with his elbow and whispered, “I’m escorting you home with the school grass. Happy?”
Qiao Chuluo shook his head like a drum. “I’m afraid I’ll be too nervous. I might ride the bike into you.”
“Huh? Why not ride the bike into the school grass?” An Lan didn’t quite understand Qiao Chuluo’s logic.
“Because I’m nervous. I dare not get close to the school grass, so I can only lean on you!”
Gu Liyu walked up to An Lan, took out his phone to scan the code, and said, “When you’re riding towards An Lan, I’ll stop you.”
Qiao Chuluo shivered, feeling threatened by the school grass.
In the envy of many classmates, Qiao Chuluo rode between Gu Liyu on the left and An Lan on the right. He looked like he was performing a zombie bicycle ride, keeping his back straight, creating the acrobatic effect of riding a shared bike on a tightrope. At every intersection turn, he was extremely nervous, fearing he might collide with An Lan on the right.
On the other hand, An Lan chatted casually with Qiao Chuluo, seeming nonchalant.
“Ah Luo, the last question on today’s mini-test in Integrated Science, I initially thought the focus was on calculating buoyancy, but it turned out to be acceleration!”
“Oh, really? I didn’t notice…” Qiao Chuluo’s fingers on the handlebars turned white.
Don’t talk to me! Every time you talk to me, I want to lean onto you!
“Today, the English teacher gave a useful framework for the writing task. However, those classic sentence structures, if everyone uses them, they won’t be so classic anymore.” An Lan tilted his head and looked at Qiao Chuluo. “Alo, what’s wrong with you? Is Li Zhennan, that idiot, bullying you again?”
“It’s not Li Zhennan…” Qiao Chuluo stiffened his neck, not daring to look at Gu Liyu beside him.
“As long as it’s not Li Zhennan.”
Poor little Qiao didn’t know how much he wanted to tell An Lan. Bro, let’s switch positions. You ride beside the school grass, and I’ll be your little tail.
When they arrived at the entrance of Qiao Chuluo’s residential area, little Qiao had a thin layer of sweat on his back. The lights of the residential area gatehouse seemed like the finish line of a 10,000-meter race to him. His tense heart thumped rapidly.
“Uh… Well… I wish you happiness tonight.” Qiao Chuluo patted An Lan on the shoulder and threw out this sentence with no context, then ran away.
Leaving behind a bewildered An Lan.
“Why did he wish me happiness tonight? Wasn’t I happy yesterday?”
“Let’s go.” Gu Liyu patted An Lan’s shoulder.
At first, An Lan thought Gu Liyu’s home would be a luxurious villa, but unexpectedly, Gu Liyu brought him into a high-end apartment complex.
The security here was very strict. Gu Liyu filled out a visitor form for An Lan, and only then did they pass through the security check.
The neighborhood was quiet. An Lan didn’t know if it was right to ask Gu Liyu.
They entered the elevator, and it was only then that An Lan hesitantly asked, “Your home… is it an apartment?”
“This is something I bought myself,” Gu Liyu replied.
“You… bought it yourself? Are you making money now?”
“My mom gives me a fixed amount of money every month to use as I please. I used that money for some investments and then bought this apartment,” Gu Liyu explained.
It sounded like Gu Liyu didn’t live with his family at all.
The apartments here mostly used fingerprint locks. Gu Liyu opened the door, and the apartment’s lights came on. An Lan couldn’t help but feel envious as he peeked inside.
The apartments in this community were mostly one unit per floor, and they were loft-style.
The living room was spacious, with a soft and comfortable carpet. You didn’t even need to wear slippers after taking off your shoes.
An Lan initially thought Gu Liyu’s home would have a cool-toned, minimalist European style, but to his surprise, the apartment had warm tones.
The sofa had light brown cushions, inviting people to lie down and relax.
What impressed An Lan the most was that Gu Liyu had an entire wall of bookshelves filled with various books.
Unlike his own collection of manga and popular novels, Gu Liyu’s bookshelf covered a wide range, including computer technology, human history evolution, and most prominently, books on pheromone decryption, an entire row of them.
“Have you… read all these books?” An Lan asked, casually picking up one titled “The Fusion Potential of Alpha Pheromone.”
The pages were neat, without any creases at the corners, but the worn-out spine indicated that the book had been read.
“Yes,” Gu Liyu replied.
“Your reading is so extensive. But with so many books, how do you manage to finish them all?”
“I read relatively quickly,” Gu Liyu answered.
“What about this book with over three hundred pages? How long does it take you to finish it?” An Lan asked curiously.
For academic books like this, An Lan would usually fall asleep after flipping through the first few pages.
“Twenty to thirty minutes,” Gu Liyu replied.
“So fast?”
“Most of the content in this book is speculative. It discusses whether alpha’s pheromones have mutual attraction, but lacks evidence, so the depth of reading is not very valuable,” Gu Liyu explained.
An Lan put the book back and looked up at the higher shelves. Just within his reach, he found a row of books on European dark magic, which was quite surprising.
“You really read everything.”
His fingertips touched the spine of a book, but taking it out seemed a bit difficult. There was a wooden sliding ladder next to the bookshelf, which could be used to sit and read or push to reach higher shelves.
Since it was his first time at Gu Liyu’s place, the books placed higher might have more significant value. An Lan decided not to reach for them.
“Do you want to read that one?”
Unbeknownst to An Lan, Gu Liyu had come up behind him. Gu Liyu’s chest seemed to lightly touch An Lan’s back. His voice was soft as he spoke, one hand resting on the shelf near An Lan’s ear, and the other arm stretching to effortlessly retrieve the book.
It was a thick book with a hardcover. An Lan could feel its weight when he took it, but Gu Liyu lifted it effortlessly.
An Lan leaned the book against the bookshelf and opened it gently. It turned out to be more interesting than he had imagined, containing many medieval European stories about wizards, magical diagrams, mystical incantations, and some strange or beautiful illustrations.
“My favorite is this story,” Gu Liyu’s arm circled around An Lan, his slender fingers flipping through the pages.
An Lan then realized he was almost encircled by Gu Liyu. As Gu Liyu spoke near his ear, his voice, usually clear and cool, seemed warm and charming, maybe due to the lighting.
This felt a bit ambiguous, and An Lan wanted to move away, but Gu Liyu continued, “At that time, many people considered charming wizards were actually just omegas.”
Turning his head, An Lan noticed Gu Liyu’s gaze fixed on the book. His expression was focused, and he seemed genuinely interested. Comparatively, An Lan felt a bit guilty for thinking of this situation as “ambiguous.”
“What is the story about?” An Lan asked.
“There was a wizard named Helar who discovered the differentiation of humans. He proposed the hypothesis of alpha and omega but failed to convince the church. He was sentenced to be burned at the stake. Helar, as he is known today, was an exceptional omega. During his execution, he could release his pheromones to attract alphas on the spot to save him, but he chose not to.”
“Was… he burned to death?” An Lan asked.
“No. A knight saved him and eloped with him. Later, they lived in hiding, had children, and one of their descendants became a Templar knight and saved the king in a battle. When the king wanted to make him a duke, he refused and told the king that he was the son of the wizard Helar.”
“And then? Did the king believe him?”
“The king believed him, but the church’s power was extremely strong. Fortunately, the country was in turmoil at that time. Helar’s son led the knights to defend the country, and after achieving victory, he openly admitted who his parents were in front of the people. The public appreciated and trusted him, starting the research on alpha and omega. If the church burned or punished the knight, they would lose the people’s trust, so they had to cooperate with the king and acknowledge the entry of humanity into a new gender era. Helar’s son became the first Templar knight with the gender of omega.”
“Oh—I know this story. But many people say it’s just a legend because there is no reliable documentary record or evidence.”
“Until last year, the tomb of a medieval king was discovered, and in his tomb, a statue of this Templar knight has been guarding the king’s coffin. A large number of manuscripts about this knight were also found,” Gu Liyu said.
So, did the church or the king destroy the traces of the existence of this Templar knight?” An Lan was too curious.
“No documents mention the reason. But the church’s records do contain a lot of subtly mentioned information about this Templar knight, mostly positive.”
“So… it’s the king?”
Gu Liyu patted An Lan’s shoulder and said, “Aren’t you going to study tonight? The monthly exam is on Thursday.”
“After you told me such a story, my mind is full of why the traces of this Templar knight’s existence were erased. I don’t have the mood to study now.”
To be honest, Gu Liyu wasn’t really skilled at storytelling because his voice always carried a cold detachment of an observer. However, it was rare to hear Gu Liyu say he liked a particular story.
What really intrigued An Lan was what part of the story Gu Liyu liked.
“How about you tell me, why do you think the traces of this Templar knight’s existence were erased? Don’t treat it as a scientific discussion, don’t bother about logic and evidence. Just tell me based on your feelings?” An Lan held the book and followed behind Gu Liyu.
Step by step, Gu Liyu ascended to the second floor, leading to the loft bedroom. In the partially open space was a large bed and a walk-in closet. Gu Liyu took out a set of pajamas from the closet and handed them to An Lan.
“It’s getting late. If I finish telling you, will you wash up and go to bed?”
“Of course.”
Gu Liyu lowered his gaze, thought for a moment, and said, “Because that king was an alpha. Faced with such a powerful and beautiful omega, his possessiveness was uncontrollable. As a Templar knight, this omega was a divine figure in the eyes of all citizens. The king was ultimately driven mad by his own possessiveness. He wanted to erase not the existence of this omega but the idea that he was an untouchable god in everyone’s eyes. But I guess that omega eventually left the king, disappearing like Helar.”
“So, the king could only create a statue in his mausoleum to pretend that the omega was guarding him, writing everything about that omega, but selfishly only wanting to remember him?”
“I’ve finished speculating. Shouldn’t you go wash up?”
An Lan sighed, placed the book on the bedside table, and said, “If this were a bedtime story, you, the storyteller, would shatter all the children’s fantasies.”
“Sorry, I’m not very romantic.”
Gu Liyu’s apology was sincere.
An Lan smiled. In comparison to unattainable romance, Gu Liyu’s sincerity was the truly beautiful part.
As he raised his head, An Lan caught sight of his shooting suit from the other side of the bedside, which he had worn before.
Qiao Chuluo’s improper speculations flooded An Lan’s mind—Gu Liyu would put An Lan’s shooting suit over his face, close his eyes, and smell his scent, engaging in some undescribable activity.
His heart felt like it had been given a strong shock, and An Lan clenched his fists.
As Gu Liyu approached from behind, An Lan had to be on full alert.
“I can’t fit into that shooting suit, it fits you the best.” Gu Liyu’s calm and composed voice sounded.
“Huh?”
“I’ve already washed it. Do you want to take it with you tomorrow?” Gu Liyu said.
An Lan’s tense heart instantly relaxed. What was he thinking? Gu Liyu just placed the shooting suit on the bedside for him to take away, not for anything else!
An Lan, oh An Lan, have you been brainwashed by Qiao Chuluo? How could you think that Gu Liyu would do such a thing!
“Sure! Thank you!”
Gu Liyu couldn’t fit into it anyway. If An Lan didn’t take it, this high-quality shooting suit would just go to waste, left to collect dust in the corner.
The author has something to say:
An Lan, my dear, your sweetheart Qiao Chuluo suggests that you release him. Otherwise, being escorted after class by several alpha big shots would be too terrifying.
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