Chapter 46: Healed?
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Xu Xingran politely said to Xiao Yun, “Brother Yun, after all, this is Little Uncle Gu’s art exhibition. If there’s anything, let’s discuss it after the exhibition. We’ll take our leave for now.”
“Go ahead. Xiao Nan has a straightforward temper. Don’t take it to heart,” Xiao Yun smiled and nodded.
So, Gu Liyu and the others left.
After they walked away, Xiao Nan lowered his head and whispered to Xiao Yun, “Brother Yun, why are Xu Xingran and Gu Liyu both so protective of Xiao Chen? Just because they’re classmates? Besides, Xiao Chen doesn’t have the temperament to form alliances with people.”
A faint smile gradually disappeared from Xiao Yun’s face as he looked at Xiao Nan. “Today, you’ve behaved quite improperly.”
“I just think they are too annoying to the eye. In the Xiao family, you are the heir, and Xiao Chen is just an outsider…”
“Shut up.” Xiao Yun glared coldly at Xiao Nan. “You’ve grown up. How do you still not understand?”
“Understand what?” Xiao Nan asked, furrowing his brows.
“Whether it’s an alliance or communication between upper-class alpha families, it’s fundamentally about interests. I have a heart condition, and that’s widely known. My health issues will likely prevent me from becoming the helm of the Xiao family. But Xiao Chen… he’s healthy, intelligent, appears unruly but is capable. If Gu Liyu, Xu Xingran, and him are friends, isn’t that more valuable than being friends with me?”
“But your mother has a higher status than Xiao Chen’s mother…”
“So what? Can my mother protect me forever? Xiao Nan, you need to grow up quickly and be able to stand on your own. Things I can’t accomplish can only be entrusted to you,” Xiao Yun said.
This implied that Xiao Yun and his mother would work together to support Xiao Nan.
“What do you mean by things you can’t accomplish? Anyway, your heart condition will definitely be cured, and then we can kick Xiao Chen that wild dog out!”
Just now, An Lan had finished his drink and was returning to put the cup away. However, as soon as he reached the corner, he heard their conversation.
An Lan wasn’t eavesdropping out of curiosity; it was just that Xiao Nan was too careless. He didn’t consider that there were probably many high-quality alphas or omegas among the attendees of the art exhibition. Their keen senses would easily pick up on such conversations.
Or perhaps Xiao Yun did it intentionally, wanting people attending the exhibition, intentionally or unintentionally, to hear it. The Xiao family might not be able to cultivate Xiao Yun, but there was still Xiao Nan, and certainly not just Xiao Chen. This would cut off any thoughts people had about Xiao Chen.
An Lan straightened his back, placed the empty cup down, and calmly walked out.
As soon as Xiao Nan saw An Lan, he fell silent.
An Lan placed the cup down and turned to leave, but unexpectedly, Xiao Yun stopped him.
“An Lan, it seems you’re quite close to Gu Liyu. He cares a lot about you,” Xiao Yun said to An Lan.
An Lan understood that Xiao Yun was testing the relationship between him and Gu Liyu. This was probably the standard protocol for communication between upper-class alpha families, evaluating the value of each individual.
An Lan bent down, looked into Xiao Yun’s eyes, and said, “Brother Yun, am I an omega?”
Xiao Yun was slightly stunned.
“I just get along well with Gu Liyu. Perhaps our thoughts are quite similar.”
After saying this, An Lan straightened his back, picked up a macaron from the snack table, took a bite, found the taste surprisingly good—lacking the overwhelming sweetness that could numb the tongue—so he took another one and turned to leave.
“Is he… not an omega?” Xiao Yun frowned.
This immediately reminded Xiao Nan of an unpleasant memory.
“He… is an inferior alpha. I don’t know why Gu Liyu and Xu Xingran would associate with him.” Xiao Nan disdainfully commented.
“An inferior alpha? Are you sure?” Xiao Yun questioned back.
“I… am sure…”
Xiao Nan had been suppressed by An Lan’s pheromones before. Although everything could be blamed on Gu Liyu’s madness, it was still an experience that left an impression.
“He… is quite attractive. This kind of attraction is… very similar to Ye Yun.”
“Like Ye Yun?” Xiao Nan was dumbfounded. “Brother Yun, Ye Yun is a high-quality omega. How could An Lan possibly be like Ye Yun?”
Xiao Yun turned his wheelchair to face Xiao Nan.
“The higher the quality of an alpha, the more they can sense the attractiveness of a high-quality omega. It’s like when you see Ye Yun, you might think he’s shining and charming, while we, on the other hand, might feel our hearts racing. Of course, Ye Yun has restrained his pheromones very well, so we won’t be misled. This is just a biological instinct rooted in the desire for reproduction and propagation. And An Lan, when I first saw him, I had a feeling… quite similar to when I saw Ye Yun.”
“You mean… he’s a high-quality omega?” Xiao Nan looked like he had heard a joke, wearing an expression of disbelief.
“Whether it’s Gu Liyu or Xu Xingran, when they look at An Lan, it’s the gaze of an alpha looking at an omega.” Xiao Yun furrowed his brows. “Even when Xiao Chen saw An Lan, he was clearly happy. Have you ever seen Xiao Chen happy to see someone?”
“Brother Yun, you’re overthinking. If An Lan is a high-quality omega… No, if he’s an omega, I’ll take my head off and use it as a soccer ball for you!” Xiao Nan patted his chest and promised.
Xiao Yun smiled, “It would be interesting if he’s an omega.”
“What do you mean?”
“Destroying three alpha-bonding alliances only requires one omega.” Xiao Yun smiled, “Let’s go, we came to see the art exhibition, we should give Little Uncle Gu face.”
An Lan had already returned behind Gu Liyu and the others. Watching him eating macarons, Xiao Chen directly took the other one from his hand and ate it in one bite.
“Hey, that was mine.”
“You took it, but it’s not your home.” Xiao Chen smiled in response.
The dispute with Xiao Yun just now didn’t seem to bother him.
“Are you a hippopotamus? Your mouth is big enough to eat everything?” An Lan retorted.
Xiao Chen immediately reached over and grabbed An Lan’s neck from behind, looking angry as he said, “Am I a hippopotamus? Say it again?”
Now An Lan wasn’t afraid of him at all, not even bothering to shrink his neck. “It’s you. Don’t believe me? Look at yourself in the mirror and see if you’re a hippo or not.”
Gu Liyu walked over, removed Xiao Chen’s hand, and then covered An Lan’s neck, pulling him into his arms.
Xiao Nan, who happened to be pushing Xiao Yun’s wheelchair, passed by. Xiao Yun glanced at Gu Liyu’s hand covering An Lan’s neck and lowered his head, smiling.
Xu Xingran turned his head and happened to see Xiao Yun’s smile. Immediately, he pulled An Lan away from Gu Liyu and said, “What about mine?”
“Mine what?” An Lan didn’t turn around.
“My macaron?”
An Lan pointed at Xiao Chen, “It was eaten by the hippo.”
“You want to die!” Xiao Chen immediately went to pat An Lan’s head.
“Why do I feel like Little An Lan has fallen into a wolf’s den?” Ye Yun said as soon as he arrived.
An Lan turned around and saw Ye Yun. He was wearing a white shirt and jeans, looking fresh and handsome. An Lan immediately pushed Xiao Chen away, staring straight at Ye Yun and saying, “Little Yun, you’re so handsome.”
“Tsk, do you want to fall into big brother’s arms? Big brother will take good care of you.” Ye Yun blinked.
An Lan was about to cooperate with Ye Yun to start acting. Before he could pounce into Ye Yun’s arms, he was grabbed by three hands— one on his left shoulder, one on his right shoulder, and one on his back collar.
“Don’t mess around.”
All three of them said in unison.
Ye Yun looked puzzled and showed an unhappy expression. “What do you mean? Little An Lan is such an excellent little alpha, how is it messing around?”
An Lan was also unhappy, turning around and saying, “Pulling my arm is one thing, who pulled my collar?”
Who would have thought that Xiao Chen and Xu Xingran would both point at Gu Liyu in unison.
Okay, I can’t afford to provoke them.
Ye Yun walked over, put his arm around An Lan’s shoulder, and said, “Let’s go, let’s go see the art exhibition with big brother. Let these three play by themselves.”
“Okay.”
Watching Ye Yun and An Lan’s backs, Xu Xingran sighed, “Ye Yun is the target of many people. Being so intimate with Ye Yun, is he not afraid of retaliation from those with ulterior motives?”
Xiao Chen, however, squinted his eyes, seemingly thinking about something. After a long time, he said, “I feel… Little Yun looks more like an alpha.”
As Ye Yun and An Lan walked together, they finally reached the end of the exhibition, where there was the painting “The Youth Above the Clouds.”
Clouds covered the canvas, and the shining sunlight radiated from a distance, illuminating the entire space. The contrast between light and dark clouds seemed to depict a boy sleeping on a desk.
A delicate nose, peacefully falling eyelashes, even his breath seemed to blow away a light cloud.
But it was also ambiguous, as if it belonged to a sky illusion that could disappear at any moment.
“So beautiful…” Ye Yun exclaimed.
“Yeah.”
But what An Lan thought about was Gu Liyu saying that this painting “Young Man in the Clouds” looked a lot like him.
Where did it look alike?
Such beauty only existed in expectations. Like the wind and clouds, visible but unattainable.
“It looks like you…” Ye Yun suddenly said.
“Huh? Who does it look like?” An Lan was dumbfounded.
“Like you.” Ye Yun turned his head to look at An Lan. “I don’t know why, but this quiet, seemingly pure yet inscrutable feeling is particularly like you.”
“Then I think it looks like you.” An Lan said with a smile.
“No…” Ye Yun shook his head. “I remember the first time I saw you shooting, I had this feeling. It’s as if I could face any result calmly, only focusing on the aiming process. Like the sea of clouds in the sky, obviously just clouds, but with various soft and open-minded forms.”
“You two like this painting?” Gu Yunyi’s voice sounded behind them.
Ye Yun and An Lan turned around together, and Gu Yunyi walked over with a smile. “This painting… I rely entirely on imagination.”
“What imagination?”
“Our Gu family is naturally trapped by our own excessively high pheromone concentration. Since childhood, I’ve heard my big brother tell me not to focus too much on one thing, and not to love one person too much. Because indulgent love is a process of self-burning, destroying oneself will also destroy the person you love. Love her less to love her longer.” Gu Yunyi said.
“But loving someone is uncontrollable.” Ye Yun said.
“Yes. Before falling in love with someone, every alpha in the Gu family thinks they can restrain themselves.” Gu Yunyi looked at the painting, as if seeing a distant place. “My eldest brother, Gu Yunli… is the best example.”
Mentioning Gu Yunli, everyone fell silent.
“So, my works rarely express love. Until one day, there was a very outstanding alpha in the family who told me that he fell in love with someone and always wanted to watch him. I said, it’s normal to be attracted to someone; it’s the excessive pheromones in your body causing you to be captivated by appearance.”
Ye Yun laughed when he heard this.
“But he said, if a person’s liking for another person is ‘seeing beauty and being impulsive,’ why hasn’t the other person liked him back?”
“This person is really cute. I didn’t know your Gu family has such a cute person.”
“I haven’t experienced love yet, so I curiously asked him, what made you feel that you fell in love with the other person?”
Both Ye Yun and An Lan looked at Gu Yunyi.
“He said that he subconsciously listens to every word the other person says, distinguishes every scent of the other person, and the way the sleeping youth he fell in love with looks like the flowing clouds in the sky. It seems like every moment has a subtly different posture, yet he dares not touch him. I said, get to know the other person a little more; distance always creates beauty. When you get close to that young man, all the beautiful illusions will shatter.”
“Little Uncle Gu, you’re so bad.” Ye Yun felt deep sympathy for the alpha in the Gu family.
Who would he talk to about such personal matters? Why did he have to find Gu Yunyi?
Gu Yunyi smiled, “Where am I bad? I’m just stating the plain truth, aren’t I? It’s like alphas being attracted by omegas, and omegas yearning to be possessed and protected by alphas. Isn’t this the essence of being impulsive due to nature?”
“What about the person you mentioned?” An Lan continued to ask.
“Oh, that person I mentioned…” Gu Yunyi looked at An Lan, deliberately elongating his voice as if intentionally teasing An Lan, “He said that the person he likes can never use the sweet pheromones of an omega to lure him. But every word the other person says is something he longs to hear. Everything the other person does for him is trivial to the other person but very important to him.”
“So, he’s not attracted by pheromones, but someone finally understanding him,” Ye Yun said.
“Yes. People from the Gu family are always pursuing this kind of spiritual security and sense of belonging for a lifetime,” Gu Yunyi said.
For some reason, An Lan thought of Gu Liyu.
Was he also waiting for someone he could trust to love?
As the art exhibition was coming to an end, An Lan went to the restroom.
There happened to be someone in the restroom—a handsome young man. His profile gave An Lan a familiar feeling, but he couldn’t remember where he had seen him.
The person was also washing his hands, his fingers were long and elegant, yet there was a flexible strength to them.
An Lan’s intuition told him that this was an alpha.
When An Lan lowered his head to wash his hands, the man finished drying his hands and passed by An Lan. Suddenly, he stopped, squinted his eyes, looked at An Lan, and said, “Is it you?”
An Lan was about to turn around and ask, “Do you know me?” Who would have thought that the man would directly pull down the back collar of An Lan.
“It seems… it’s healed.”
“What?”
The man smiled mysteriously and walked out.
An Lan covered his neck, pondering what the ambiguous phrase “it seems healed” meant.
Suddenly, An Lan remembered that his neck had been bitten by a certain alpha.
Only the doctor, family, the police, and Little Qiao knew about it. Why would that person know?
An Lan immediately chased after him, but the man had already walked a short distance. An Lan ran through the entire corridor and reached the exhibition hall.
At this moment, guests were leaving, and An Lan ran towards the entrance, looking for the man’s figure, but he couldn’t see it.
“An Lan! What are you doing?” Ye Yun came to An Lan’s side.
“I’m looking for someone… that person knows that my neck was bitten! He might be the one who bit me!”
But the man had completely disappeared.
“An Lan, you’re really silly. Searching like this is like finding a needle in a haystack! Everyone who came here was invited by Little Uncle Gu. Just ask Little Uncle Gu for a list, and we’ll find a way to get photos of all these people. That should be enough, right?” Ye Yun said.
“Will Little Uncle Gu give me the list?”
“He should… I guess. We’re not prying into others’ privacy. But if you say it’s because someone bit you, Little Uncle Gu might worry about causing trouble for this guest and may not give you the list. Let me ask for you.”
An Lan was extremely grateful to Ye Yun. “Little Yun, thank you so much!”
But Ye Yun’s way of asking Gu Yunli for the list was too… straightforward.
At that time, Gu Yunli was counting the artworks at the art exhibition. He walked over with a friendly appearance and said, “Little Uncle Gu, I’ve taken a liking to a handsome guy at your art exhibition.”
“What? Little Yun, who caught your eye?” Gu Yunli, who had always had a calm face, finally showed a surprised expression.
“I don’t know who he is, but I just feel captivated by his appearance, figure, and the tone of his speech. I want to pursue him.” Ye Yun replied.
Gu Yunli pressed his forehead with a helpless expression. “Little Yun, you’re not usually this impulsive. What happened?”
“This isn’t the first time I’ve seen that person, but I’ve never known who he is. Can I get a list from you, and I’ll find him myself? I don’t want to seek revenge or anything, an omega like me is loved by everyone, after all…”
“Your phone is flipped over too.” Gu Yunli sighed.
“Your invitation list is not some confidential information. Just give it to me. Otherwise, I’ll hack into the surveillance system here, find that person, print out his photo, and ask everyone online to help me identify him.” Ye Yun said.
The author has something to say:
Guess who the man is? If you guess correctly, that alpha belongs to you~
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