Yang Shao was impatient. The cryptic look on Chen Qiusu’s face made him feel awkward and passive. He was getting anxious. “Say something!”
Chen Qiusu pointed to the flags hanging on the wall. Yang Shao turned around and saw that it was a divination for marriage. He didn’t want to ask anymore; he didn’t care about its meaning.
After finishing the divination, Chen Qiusu’s grandmother seemed quite satisfied and added a generous amount of incense money. She sighed, “Yang Shao is actually two years older than our Qiusu.”
It seemed that being older had its advantages. Yang Shao gave Chen Qiusu a contemptuous look and spoke in a teasing tone, “Oh, 31, huh?”
Chen Qiusu was stunned for a moment. He hadn’t considered the age difference before.
Yang Shao always looked scruffy, and even though he was older, it didn’t feel like something to celebrate. For some reason, it made him feel a bit embarrassed.
The grandmother, used to staying on the mountain for a vegetarian meal before returning, sent the two of them down the mountain telling them not to worry about her.
On the way back, it was already bright, and they could see the bare branches everywhere. The distant mountains were shrouded in a layer of light mist. The temple was somewhat remote, but its peacefulness made it worthwhile.
“I’ll have the driver take you back first.” Chen Qiusu was always considerate, always accommodating Yang Shao.
From what Chen Qiusu said, he wasn’t going home, and Yang Shao definitely didn’t want to face Chen Qiusu’s parents alone. Besides, he had things to do himself. He wasn’t particular and could easily find a bus stop after they left the mountain. He could get on a bus by himself.
“No need. Just drop me off at any intersection.”
Chen Qiusu looked seriously at Yang Shao. He knew Yang Shao wasn’t comfortable in their home, but with the cold weather, Yang Shao couldn’t possibly spend the whole day wandering the streets.
“I’ve already mentioned to my family about moving out. My parents have no objections…”
Yang Shao quickly interrupted, “That’s not what I mean. I’m not rushing you to move out. I’m not going home because I need to check on how my old car is being repaired.”
That car was his livelihood. Although he called it a “junk car,” Yang Shao was usually quite careful with it. But cars are consumables. No matter how careful you are, they eventually wear out and need to be replaced.
Even though he wasn’t comfortable going to the Chen family home, he didn’t want to pressure Chen Qiusu into moving out, making it seem like he was encouraging him to leave his family behind.
Chen Qiusu still wanted to speak but was interrupted again by Yang Shao, “Stop being so fussy, alright?”
In fact, aside from being a bit of a beast, Chen Qiusu was pretty good in most ways. It was just that sometimes he could be a bit too nagging. His approach with Yang Tao, treating him like a child, didn’t work so well with Yang Shao. Yang Shao found it annoying.
“Let the driver take you to the repair shop.”
This area was an industrial park with few people around. The smooth roads had been cracked by years of heavy trucks, and through the car window, Yang Shao could feel the dust entering his nose. It wasn’t the best place to catch a cab.
Chen Qiusu got out of the car at the company’s entrance. The repair shop Yang Shao was going to was farther away, so Chen Qiusu had the driver take him there, telling him not to come back alone. The driver could just wait for him and bring him back.
Without giving Yang Shao a chance to refuse, Chen Qiusu closed the car door and walked toward the insurance company’s entrance.
Yang Shao glanced at the company’s sign. Damn, who would’ve thought that the insurance company he had cursed a hundred times was actually owned by his future spouse’s family? What a small world.
“Let’s go,” Yang Shao said as he closed the car window. He was going to experience a life with a personal driver for once.
His little delivery truck had been sitting at the repair shop for quite a while. Earlier, with his arm injured and lacking money, the boss had called several times asking him to pick up the car. He had procrastinated, but fortunately, they were old friends. Otherwise, the boss might have considered tossing it in the scrap yard.
Yang Shao laughed awkwardly as he apologized to the boss and handed out cigarettes. “Sorry, Ge. My arm’s still not healed. I couldn’t get here earlier.”
“If you don’t pick it up soon, I might just sell it as scrap to cover the repair costs,” the boss said, accepting the cigarette and slapping the hood of the engine. “Let me tell you, this car is already beyond its service life. It’s not worth fixing anymore. If it breaks down again, you’ll probably need to get a new one.”
The car was a secondhand vehicle, which had been patched up and used for several years. When Yang Shao bought it, it cost only a few thousand yuan, and now it could still be sold for a thousand or so as scrap metal, which wasn’t too bad.
“I’ll leave it here for a few more days. I’ll pay for the parking and repairs.”
As long as money was paid, the boss didn’t mind how long it stayed. He brought over the receipt for Yang Shao to check.
Not bothering to inspect it too carefully, Yang Shao quickly glanced at the total. He didn’t have enough money on him.
Damn Chen Qiusu, who had given him an empty promise. He hadn’t given him a penny yet.
Yang Shao felt a bit embarrassed. He told the boss to wait and ran to the door to discuss with the driver, “Hey, can you lend me some money? I’ll have Chen Qiusu pay you back later.”
The driver was perceptive enough. Since Yang Shao was now part of the Chen family, he didn’t need to ask about lending money. He quickly got out of the car. “Mr. Yang, I’ll take care of it. You wait in the car.”
A luxury car was parked at the entrance. The boss of the repair shop immediately recognized it. Watching the driver run inside to pay, he joked to Yang Shao, “Oh, a luxury car? Made it big?”
Yang Shao couldn’t exactly say he was now hanging out with a rich person, so he chuckled awkwardly. “It’s rented.”
He quickly got back into the car and sent a message to Chen Qiusu.
“I borrowed some money from your driver to pay for the repair costs. You can pay him back later, and deduct it from my compensation.”
When Chen Qiusu received the message, he was just asking Agent Qian about Yang Shao’s insurance payout.
Cash like this rarely passed through Chen Qiusu’s hands, and he had forgotten about it himself. Yang Shao probably didn’t have much money to use.
Agent Qian’s brain was about to explode—what exactly did Chen Qiusu mean? Was he really going to compensate or not? Why was he so concerned about Yang Shao’s situation?
“Boss, didn’t you say we would go by the contract last time? If it’s according to the contract, there’s no compensation…”
Salespeople often make verbal promises to clients to boost their performance, but these are unprovable. Chen Qiusu said to him, “Do as we promised at the beginning. Pay the compensation, and keep the procedures simple. Transfer the money by the end of today.”
The instructions were clear, and if Agent Qian still didn’t understand, then he didn’t deserve to work. Before the end of the workday, he was already applying for the transfer with the finance department.
After Agent Qian left, Chen Qiusu hesitated for a moment, then called Yang Shao back. “Sorry, I forgot about the money. You can just have the driver take care of it. Your arm’s still not healed, so let me have someone drive your car back for you.”
It wasn’t economical to leave the car at the garage, and the parking fees were high. At least now, Chen Qiusu gave a reasonable suggestion.
“Okay.”
Chen Qiusu pinched the bridge of his nose, glancing at the desk calendar, “I’ll go pick up Yang Tao from school this afternoon.”
“I’ll go back on my own, have the driver pick you up at the company instead.”
“No need, I’ll call a cab myself.”
The driver worked efficiently. By the time Yang Shao got home, his small truck had already arrived.
When the Chen family’s garage door opened, Yang Shao felt a little embarrassed about parking his old car there. It seemed out of place, like putting a trash can in a palace, lowering the standard.
Hearing the noise, Chen Qiusu’s dad, who had been trimming potted plants in the backyard, quickly came out to see. Chen’s mom, noticing the heavy repairs on the truck, immediately said, “Yang Shao, don’t drive this truck anymore. It looks so dangerous. Let me get you another one.”
If Chen Qiusu offered to get him a new one, he’d accept without hesitation, but he really didn’t want to accept anything else from Chen Qiusu’s parents. “It’s fine, it still works. I just use it to carry goods. I’d be worried about ruining a nicer car.”
…….
Before the end of the workday, Chen Qiusu left the company without having anyone prepare a special car, taking a taxi to a private hospital near Yang Tao’s school.
It was just as well that the driver didn’t accompany him—Chen Qiusu didn’t want his family to ask questions, and the driver might let something slip again. He had been busy with Yang Shao’s matters and hadn’t had any treatments for several days.
….
After the treatment, the results weren’t ideal. Chen Qiusu’s pheromone concentration hadn’t dropped to a safe level. His doctor asked specifically, “Mr. Chen, have you been spending a lot of time with an omega recently?”
Chen Qiusu shook his head, unsure of why the doctor asked.
“The pheromone concentration hasn’t dropped, so we initially thought it might be due to the stimulation from an omega. You’ve remained in an excited state. If it’s not because of an omega, it could be because the gap between treatments has been too long. I recommend that you come in every day for treatment, and always have inhibitors on hand. But don’t resist too much if you meet an omega you like.”
Chen Qiusu remained silent for a while, silently adjusting his clothes. After a long pause, he asked quietly, “Do betas affect me?”
“Betas have a very minimal effect on you.” The doctor’s answer was cautious, essentially confirming that betas didn’t have any significant impact on alphas.
Hearing the doctor’s response, Chen Qiusu breathed a sigh of relief. It made sense—if betas had an effect on alphas, with so many betas around him at work, he would have felt something by now. It was likely just that he hadn’t been to the hospital in too long.
Actually, Chen Qiusu didn’t believe in gods or fate, but that morning’s fortune at the temple had been too coincidental, with so many coincidences making him think more than usual.
The feeling of unconsciousness was a result of irrational thinking.
He was really afraid that what had been stimulating him wasn’t the pheromones, but Yang Shao.
After resting at the hospital for a while, Chen Qiusu got the medication and injection to suppress his pheromone concentration. The doctor reminded him, “Don’t use that inhibitor unless absolutely necessary. It can become addictive.”
At that moment, Chen Qiusu received a text message from Yang Shao. “Thank you, Chen the great benefactor, my insurance payout has been received. All thanks to you.”
The sarcasm was clear in the text. Chen Qiusu could almost imagine Yang Shao’s expression when he sent the message, and he couldn’t help but laugh.
