Chapter 61: It’s okay; he will always remember
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An Lan pressed the button of the seatbelt, but the buckle didn’t pop out. Lowering his head to inspect, he realized that when he fastened the seatbelt, the hem of his T-shirt had somehow gotten caught in it.
Now, this was a bit embarrassing.
An Lan tugged at it, but the T-shirt wouldn’t come out.
Gu Liyu, patient as ever, stood by, waiting. An Lan was thinking about pulling the T-shirt loose and wriggling out from between the seatbelt, but at this moment, Gu Liyu leaned in.
“It’s really stuck.”
“Could it be fake stuck?” An Lan was a bit speechless.
Gu Liyu, one hand propping up An Lan’s chair, and the other attempting to open the seatbelt buckle, was engaged in a delicate technical activity. He leaned in a bit more, and An Lan pressed against the backrest, while Gu Liyu’s neck was right in front of him.
From An Lan’s angle, he could see Gu Liyu’s broad but not exaggerated back. An Lan, through his outer clothes, subconsciously outlined the muscles on his back.
Gu Liyu lifted one leg, placing his knee against An Lan’s thigh. This was a rare contact between them in An Lan’s clear-headed state, and it felt somewhat special. All sensory nerves became cautious, afraid of missing something.
In a half-suspended state, Gu Liyu finally opened the seatbelt. His fingers were still hooked on the hem of An Lan’s T-shirt. As An Lan moved, the layer of pure cotton fabric left Gu Liyu’s fingertips for just a moment. An Lan’s side waist was only visible for that brief instant, now covered again by the T-shirt.
“Hu hu, I really thought I had to crawl out from the seatbelt.” An Lan smiled at Gu Liyu and gave him a pat.
Unexpectedly, Gu Liyu couldn’t support himself and suddenly leaned on An Lan’s legs.
Both of them were stunned.
Gu Liyu propped up with the edge of the chair, exited from the door, leaving a faint scent, which was his pheromones.
“Come out.”
If he hadn’t smelled his scent, just by listening to him speak, it would be hard to detect any fluctuations in his emotions.
An Lan leisurely stood up and closed the door. He noticed a thin layer of sweat on Gu Liyu’s neck. An Lan half-closed his eyes, followed behind Gu Liyu, quietly discerning his scent.
When they reached the elevator, Gu Liyu stopped, and An Lan was still distinguishing his scent. An Lan’s nose accidentally bumped into the back of his neck.
“Ah ha, sorry.” An Lan quickly moved to his side.
“What were you just smelling?” Gu Liyu asked.
“I seemed to catch a whiff of your pheromones.” An Lan gestured with his fingers.
Gu Liyu didn’t answer, but the slight redness that had receded from his neck seemed to reappear.
An Lan chuckled inwardly; it seemed that this guy would act silent when embarrassed.
The two entered the elevator, and Gu Liyu pressed the floor button, then said, “Don’t casually smell my pheromones in the future.”
An Lan was a bit confused. Why couldn’t he smell them now, even though he allowed it before?
Was Gu Liyu’s pheromones suddenly considered precious after coming back from such hardships?
“You’re addicted to my pheromones. It’s the aftermath of Eve’s apple.” Gu Liyu said.
“You don’t want me to be around you just because of your pheromones, right?” An Lan asked.
“Yeah. My father lost control because he couldn’t recognize my mother’s pheromones.” Gu Liyu said.
An Lan seemed to understand more from his words. Once he excessively relied on Gu Liyu’s pheromones, if one day he couldn’t recognize this pheromone like Gu Liyu’s father, would he also lose control or even go crazy?
“Let’s talk about this issue in detail when we have time.”
An Lan knew that Gu Liyu wasn’t as indifferent as he seemed. He even seemed anxious about the people around him.
The elevator door opened, and even standing at the door, they could smell the fragrance.
“It’s boiled fish slices! My mom makes delicious boiled fish slices!”
An Lan grabbed Gu Liyu’s wrist and gave it a tug.
Gu Liyu was momentarily stunned, looking down at his own wrist. He didn’t resist, just followed An Lan into the door.
Even standing at the entrance, a clear sound of mahjong could be heard.
“What’s going on here?”
An Lan opened the door and found that his dad, Xu Xingran, and Xiao Chen were already at the table, playing mahjong.
Xu Xingran obviously had mastered the rules, and his expression was very relaxed.
Behind Xiao Chen sat Xiao Le. The little girl kept teaching her brother, “Hey! You should play the two bamboo at this time! Do you want to keep the one-dot and lay eggs?”
“Have you guys arrived? Perfect, we saved you seats! An Lan can pass, his mahjong skills are terrible! Little Gu, come and try!” An Lan’s dad had a cigarette in his mouth, but he didn’t smoke. He just satisfied his oral fixation.
Who knew that An Lan’s mom’s voice came from the kitchen, “Cut it out! Every time you play mahjong, you can’t beat your own son! You just want to bully Little Gu because he talks less.”
Gu Liyu had never seen such a lively atmosphere. Standing by the mahjong table, he didn’t know whether to give the seat to An Lan or sit down himself.
An Lan pressed him into the chair and said with a smile, “Experience the high IQ game of us common folks.”
On the left, Xiao Chen nodded, “You need a bit of IQ, and more importantly, luck.”
On the right, Xu Xingran also smiled, “It’s quite fun. Let’s see which one of us has the lowest IQ and luck combined.”
“An Lan, what about you? Aren’t you going to play?” Xiao Le raised her head and asked.
“I need to make a call to invite Qiao Chuluo for dinner! His WeChat is about to explode on my phone!”
These days, Little Qiao must be worried about him to the point where he couldn’t sleep.
Sure enough, after chatting for just a couple of sentences, Little Qiao said, “You have no idea. I’m worried about you to the point of numbness!”
“How numb?” An Lan laughed.
“I’m calculating in my dreams… What to wear to your funeral!”
“…Have you figured out what to wear?”
“Do you like to see me in a school uniform or a black suit?”
“Where did you get the black suit from?”
“Seize this chance while you’re alive. Hurry up and buy it for me!”
“How about… I make one for you with newspapers? Come over quickly. My mom is preparing a big dinner! There are also heavyweight guests attending. Do you want me to make a black suit for you on the spot?”
“Paper-mache! Keep it for yourself to wear! What heavyweight guests are there?”
“Who else is there, including you, I will have my front back left and right!”
Qiao Chuluo, upon hearing this, couldn’t wait to fly over immediately.
“Oh my, you managed to gather the three campus male gods!”
“Hurry up and come, then I’ll have my four ‘golden boys’!”
When Qiao Chuluo came, the meal was just about to be served.
Boiled garlic ribs, boiled fish slices, stir-fried pork kidneys, and oil-braised prawns. Xiao Le’s eyes widened; she wanted to eat everything.
An Lan’s mom looked delighted at once, “Oh, you enjoy Auntie’s cooking so much?”
“I love it! It tastes like home.” Xiao Le, with a mouthful of egg-yolk chicken wings, mumbled.
Even Xiao Chen felt a bit embarrassed, “Slow down, no one is competing with you.”
“After school, come over to Auntie’s for dinner, okay?” An Lan’s mom was particularly happy that the dishes she made were liked by these young people.
An Lan sat on the left side with Qiao Chuluo and on the right with Gu Liyu. Qiao Chuluo was already familiar with An Lan’s family. If he couldn’t reach a dish, he would simply stand up, extending his arm over half the table. On the contrary, Gu Liyu always only picked the two dishes in front of him.
An Lan knew he had a mild taste, and the dishes his family made were heavily flavored. Just as he was about to pick up garlic ribs for Gu Liyu, An Lan’s mom warmly placed an oil-braised prawn in Gu Liyu’s bowl.
“Classmate Little Gu! Don’t just eat the dishes in front of you! This oil-braised prawn has always been An Lan’s favorite in our family! You should try it too!”
On the opposite side, Xiao Chen and Xu Xingran exchanged glances.
Holding the chopsticks, Gu Liyu lowered his head, looking at the oil-braised prawn on the white rice. The color was clear, and the red oil blossomed on the pure white rice, giving a somewhat… unbearable feeling.
An Lan remembered that Gu Liyu couldn’t eat spicy food much, and there were rumors about his cleanliness. However, when elders served the dishes…
“I’ll peel it for you!”
An Lan was about to take away the shrimp, thinking of eating it when his mom wasn’t paying attention, but Gu Liyu used chopsticks to press the shrimp down.
“It’s okay, I’ll do it myself.”
After saying that, Gu Liyu bit off the shrimp head and then, imitating Xiao Le on the opposite side, used teeth and tongue to remove the shrimp shell.
An Lan quickly poured juice for Gu Liyu and asked in a low voice, “Is it too spicy?”
“I can handle spicy food.” Gu Liyu replied.
It seemed that Xiao Le on the opposite side forgot about eating half of the ribs while watching Gu Liyu.
“What are you doing, little girl?” Xiao Chen raised his chin, asking why she stopped eating.
“I found that Little Brother Gu looks especially handsome when eating shrimp.” Xiao Le replied.
“Ha? Where is he handsome?” Xiao Chen looked completely puzzled.
“He looks both refined and manly.”
Xiao Chen chuckled, “Eating a shrimp can have so many interpretations. Come, come, come, another day Auntie will cook chicken feet. Let’s see if he can still look refined and manly while eating chicken feet!”
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“Okay, another day, I’ll cook chicken feet, and you can all come to see who looks the best while eating chicken feet!”
Qiao Chuluo immediately said, “Then I want to see the class monitor eat chicken feet!”
“Enough is enough.” Xiao Chen shook his head helplessly.
This was the happiest day in the three years of high school for An Lan.
After finishing the meal, everyone helped clean up the table. Xiao Chen and Xiao Le went to wash the dishes, Xu Xingran wiped the table, and An Lan and Gu Liyu went to take out the trash.
Carrying the garbage, they walked downstairs. An Lan opened the trash can, and Gu Liyu threw the sorted garbage inside.
“Is your mom at home today?” An Lan asked.
“She went to see my dad.” Gu Liyu replied.
The light of the street lamp was a bit dim, making Gu Liyu’s face not so vivid, but still beautiful.
He seemed to be in another world.
An Lan subconsciously pulled him, and Gu Liyu turned his face to look at him, “What’s wrong?”
For An Lan, this was “being on Earth.”
“Nothing. If your mom isn’t at home tonight, why don’t you sleep with me? I still have some questions to ask you.” An Lan said.
“Don’t worry, you’ll catch up with the missed knowledge points quickly.”
An Lan: “…”
I’m not talking about academic performance, okay?
“Well, it’s decided, sleep with me tonight.”
“I have something tonight. My cousin will come to my house…”
“Oh, okay. I just wanted to have a candlelit talk with you.” An Lan felt a bit disappointed.
But if Cousin Gu Qingchuan comes, it’s probably about Gu Liyu’s father, which is indeed more important.
“I told my cousin that the reason my father went crazy might be because he couldn’t recognize my mother’s pheromones. My cousin wants to apply for a medical examination for my father from the Alpha Management Committee. This requires my mother’s signature and an application to the police for the research data of ‘Eden.'”
“I understand.” An Lan replied.
“So, does this weekend work?” Gu Liyu asked again.
“Work for what?”
“Sleeping with you, having a candlelit talk.”
An Lan’s heart felt like it had been touched by something. He really didn’t expect Gu Liyu to discuss this matter with him so seriously. It was genuinely a bit adorable.
“Okay.”
After returning home, they saw Xu Xingran and the others sitting on the sofa eating fruits.
Qiao Chuluo casually said, “You two are really interesting, taking out the trash like it’s a lifetime task.”
An Lan wouldn’t have felt embarrassed, but he noticed that Xu Xingran and Xiao Chen looked at each other again. It seemed that they heard what he said downstairs. These two extraordinary hearing alphas probably caught wind of it.
“An Lan, from now on, I’ll come to your house every day for dinner and accompany you in taking out the trash. How about that?” Xiao Chen grinned, with a mischievous smile on his face.
That look was like when he sat on the wall and leaned on An Lan’s shoulder.
“Poo.” An Lan replied unkindly.
Who knew Xu Xingran also raised his hand, “I’m willing to accompany you in taking out the trash.”
The implication was that after taking out the trash, they could sleep together at night.
Gu Liyu sat on the side, looking down with no expression on his face.
But the smiles on Xu Xingran and Xiao Chen faded away.
“My little sister is still here. Take back your pheromones, behave yourselves.” Xiao Chen seriously knocked on the table.
Xu Xingran rested his chin on his hand and coolly said, “Classmate School Grass, pay attention to your demeanor.”
An Lan speculated that the three of them might have secretly competed in emitting pheromones.
Around ten o’clock at night, they finally dispersed.
Xiao Chen and Xiao Le went downstairs, while Xu Xingran accompanied Qiao Chuluo home.
Sitting in a taxi, Xu Xingran and Qiao Chuluo chatted casually.
“Were you and An Lan childhood friends?” Xu Xingran leaned on the car window, looking at Qiao Chuluo sideways.
The night breeze was a bit chilly, and Qiao Chuluo subconsciously adjusted the collar of his school uniform. Xu Xingran’s gaze reminded him of the moonlight on the ground.
Because it couldn’t reflect a sparkling light on the lake, it was often overlooked.
“Yeah. We went to kindergarten together. I’ve seen every embarrassing moment of his.” Qiao Chuluo said with a smile.
“That’s nice.”
“Class Monitor… do you really like An Lan?” Qiao Chuluo asked.
Xu Xingran widened his eyes, “Is it that obvious?”
Qiao Chuluo nodded, “Yeah, quite obvious. The class monitor seems to respond to any classmate’s requests, but it’s only superficial. Only when it comes to An Lan, you’re thorough in helping with everything.”
“But I’ve been given the ‘good guy’ card.” Xu Xingran smiled helplessly.
“Based on what I know about An Lan, he should like you.” Qiao Chuluo added.
“But he likes someone else.” Xu Xingran’s lips still carried a gentle, faint smile.
“So, is the class monitor planning to give up?”
Xu Xingran’s lips curled even deeper, “Liking someone is a feeling in the heart. Once you like someone, you just do. How can you give up by saying so? But clinging persistently is undignified, achieving neither the desired effect nor looking good.”
“What should be done then?” Qiao Chuluo asked.
“Then wait for an opportunity. Life is long, and we’re still young. While we haven’t truly grown up and our hearts are still soft, enjoy the feeling of liking someone.” Xu Xingran said.
Xu Xingran remembered last night when Xu Zhongshuang came to see him.
His father faced all problems with ease. Only when Xu Xingran was taken away by the people from “Eden” did Xu Zhongshuang worry so much that he sprouted several white hairs.
“I tolerate your waywardness this time and share the consequences with you because… I know that if I don’t let you give it your all, you will always have regrets.” Xu Zhongshuang said.
“Then… Dad, have you ever given your all for someone?” Xu Xingran turned his face and asked seriously.
“Of course. What I did was more outrageous than you, but you are braver than me.” Xu Zhongshuang replied.
“What outrageous thing did you do?”
“After the college entrance examination, the Xu family was going to send me abroad for further studies, but I couldn’t bear to leave her. I climbed onto her balcony… and slept with her. That was my first confession and also the last time I saw her. Later, I heard that… she married a decent man, had two children, and lived a simple yet stable life.”
“Was she an omega?” Xu Xingran asked.
Xu Zhongshuang shook his head, “She was a beta. She could never smell my pheromones, no matter how charming others said my pheromones were, it meant nothing to her. But I… will always remember the faint scent of osmanthus on her when she attended classes.”
“So, I’m lucky. I know his scent, and I once used my pheromones to tempt him.”
Xu Zhongshuang smiled.
“Dad, he likes someone else.” Xu Xingran said.
His voice trembled, and his throat was incredibly painful, as if something was being peeled away from deep inside his body.
“It’s okay. He will remember you forever.” Xu Zhongshuang reached out and covered his son’s eyes.
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