Chapter 23
In the deep alley, without streetlights, occasionally there were one or two shops with their doors open, casting light onto the uneven road.
About a hundred meters into the alley, Lin Xiaoran saw the place Chen Hongqiang mentioned—the Dream Network Club.
Although it was called a network club, it was really just an ordinary internet café. This spot seemed to be doing quite well, as even from outside through the glass door, one could sense the buzz inside.
Lin Xiaoran didn’t go in directly; instead, he stood on the opposite stone steps and peered inside.
Directly across was the cashier of the internet café. When a customer approached and said something, the person behind the counter stood up. Wearing a simple T-shirt, tall and trim, with a handsome and sunny face, it was none other than Gu Yang.
Gu Yang turned around, grabbed a pack of cigarettes from the shelf behind him, handed it to the customer, and then sat back down. The cashier counter was too high, so Lin Xiaoran could only occasionally catch a glimpse of his barely visible hair.
Lin Xiaoran was somewhat skeptical when he heard that Gu Yang worked here as a network administrator.
Lin Xiaoran had some understanding of the Gu family background. Even if Gu Yang had never shown off before, he was definitely raised in a privileged environment. If he were to leave home, he would probably seek out those well-off young masters he had good relationships with.
Lin Xiaoran didn’t expect him to actually be working in a place like this and earning money for himself.
After watching for a while, Lin Xiaoran pushed open the door and walked in.
Gu Yang, behind the cashier counter, was playing a game and didn’t even lift his head.
His slender onion-white fingers curled slightly as they tapped on the cashier counter.
Only then did he react, still not lifting his head. “Here to surf the internet? Show me your ID.”
“Just here to chat.”
The clear voice penetrated Gu Yang’s ears, causing him to pause slightly. He slowly raised his head, and when his amber eyes landed on Lin Xiaoran’s face, a hint of surprise flashed through them.
Then he smiled, his eyes curving. “Oh, the study god is also visiting the internet café? What a rare guest. Wait a moment, let’s chat after this round.” With that, his attention returned to the game.
Lin Xiaoran wasn’t in a hurry either. Leaning to the side, he glanced around the environment of the internet café. It was quite clean and tidy, yet a bit smoky. In the farthest corner, a group of people sat, talking loudly and full of profanity, clearly not the most pleasant company.
Working the night shift as a network administrator in a place like this must be troublesome, right?
He turned to look at Gu Yang, who was still playing the game, his head slightly lowered. His long fingers swiftly manipulated the keyboard, exuding a relaxed and leisurely demeanor, just like usual.
Was this guy really carefree, or was he just good at pretending?
“Ah, finally won.” Gu Yang finally finished on his end, leaning back in his chair, adopting an even more relaxed posture.
“Just a game,” Lin Xiaoran remarked.
Gu Yang looked up at him, smiling. “Indeed, but some people always want their record to be flawless. This time, I met one of those people.”
Lin Xiaoran paused for a moment, his thick eyelashes fluttering. “Boosting?”
Gu Yang stood up, grabbed two cans of cola from the shelf behind him, and opened one, handing it to Lin Xiaoran. “No choice, it’s not easy to earn a living.”
However, there was a brilliant smile on his face that didn’t quite match his words.
Lin Xiaoran took the cola and gave him a sidelong glance. “You seem to enjoy it.”
“What else can I do?” Gu Yang took a sip of cola, smiling at him. “I can’t cry over this, can I?”
Lin Xiaoran didn’t speak, leaning against the cashier counter, quietly sipping his cola.
He certainly didn’t think Gu Yang would cry over such a trivial matter, but Gu Yang’s indifferent reaction at the moment still surprised him a bit.
Previously, because of the incident in junior high school, Lin Xiaoran always found Gu Yang unpleasant. Even his smiles seemed annoying, as if he was laughing for no reason.
Now it seemed that Gu Yang was probably just like this, able to treat major events as trivial matters.
If that’s the case, how did things escalate to such an extent between Gu Xiuyuan and Gu Yang?
“Hey, what’s the matter? Every time someone comes to chat, it’s you, but then you don’t say anything. You’re not just here to mooch my cola, are you?” Gu Yang reached over and knocked beside him.
Lin Xiaoran turned around, his clear eyes looking at him, still silent.
Actually, Lin Xiaoran didn’t know why he had come.
He wasn’t here to persuade Gu Yang to go back; after all, if the father and son’s issues weren’t resolved, persuasion from others wouldn’t work.
But when he heard the news, he still came.
So why did he come?
“Is our previous agreement still valid?” He finally remembered why he came here.
Gu Yang had promised him not to skip class.
“Hmm?” Gu Yang paused, chuckling. “I guess I lose then. I haven’t been to school for several days.”
“Special circumstances. These few days don’t count,” Lin Xiaoran said.
Gu Yang looked at him, somewhat surprised.
He knew Lin Xiaoran appeared aloof but was quite childish when it came to winning or losing, disliking losing. So it was rare for him to admit defeat, let alone Lin Xiaoran taking the initiative to concede.
Rubbing his nose, Gu Yang’s lips curled up slightly. Just as he was about to speak, there was suddenly a commotion from the far corner of the internet café.
Both of them turned to look, seeing several people standing up in the corner, pushing each other, seemingly about to start a fight.
“I’ll go check it out.” Gu Yang stood up and walked out from behind the cashier counter. Suddenly remembering something, he turned back to Lin Xiaoran and instructed, “Don’t go over there.”
Among those people were Alphas, and if a conflict arose, their pheromones might get out of control. Gu Yang didn’t want him to get affected.
Understanding his intentions, Lin Xiaoran quietly leaned against the side, watching Gu Yang walk over.
It seemed like it was just a minor matter, a group of troublemakers causing a scene with a regular guy who had come to surf the internet. Moreover, the troublemakers showed no signs of backing down, getting increasingly arrogant.
The leader, a particularly shameless Alpha, completely disregarded the situation and began releasing pheromones randomly.
At this time, there were hardly any Omegas in the internet café, so there wouldn’t be much of an impact. However, Lin Xiaoran still felt somewhat uncomfortable, feeling nauseous, making him want to leave.
But he didn’t move. He wanted to see how Gu Yang would handle the situation.
Standing among the troublemakers, Gu Yang seemed out of place. However, he didn’t seem to find dealing with this kind of situation troublesome. He positioned innocent customers behind himself, smiling as he tried to calm the troublemakers down.
But the troublemakers weren’t having it and were about to throw punches.
Lin Xiaoran’s eyes flickered, about to step forward to help, but then he saw Gu Yang effortlessly blocking the leader’s fist, still smiling. It seemed like he wasn’t using much force, yet the other guy’s face turned paler and he couldn’t break free.
Now the troublemakers didn’t dare to make a move.
They stared at Gu Yang in terror, as if he was a monster.
After all, their leader was the local Alpha, and being pressed down so easily by someone meant that this young man’s combat power was undoubtedly high. Their leader realized he was no match at all.
Afterwards, they left without further trouble.
After this conflict that lasted no more than five minutes, the internet café returned to normal, everyone going about their business as usual.
After exchanging a few words with the innocent customer who got involved, Gu Yang turned and walked back to the cashier counter. Seeing Lin Xiaoran had already put down the cola and picked up his bag, he waved at him. “It’s getting late, I’ll leave first.”
With that, he passed by Lin Xiaoran and went out the door.
Gu Yang turned to look at him, considering whether to accompany him back, after all, he was an Omega. But suddenly, he froze in place.
Sweet pear.
Though faint, there was indeed Lin Xiaoran’s pheromones in the air.
He was still affected!
Gu Yang’s body moved faster than his mind; he chased after him. Lin Xiaoran had just reached the alley entrance, bending down to unlock his bicycle.
Frowning, Gu Yang couldn’t help but furrow his brow.
The closer he got, the stronger the sweet pear scent of pheromones became, abnormally dense.
Although Lin Xiaoran might be affected by Alpha pheromones, the concentration just now shouldn’t have caused him to lose control like this, right?
The last time Gu Jun challenged him to a basketball game, the concentration of pheromones far exceeded what just happened, and Lin Xiaoran’s pheromone concentration didn’t skyrocket to this extent in such a short time.
As he stood there in a daze for a moment, Lin Xiaoran had already mounted his bicycle.
“Hey!” Gu Yang hurried over, reaching out to stop him, grabbing Lin Xiaoran’s wrist.
His wrist felt cold in Gu Yang’s palm, and he could clearly feel Lin Xiaoran trembling.
Just like last time.
Gu Yang froze, looking at Lin Xiaoran.
Coincidentally, there was a fast-food restaurant open at the alley entrance, and the light spilled out, illuminating Lin Xiaoran’s face. His pale complexion had a hint of blush, and his eyes, looking up at Gu Yang, were clouded with a layer of physiological mist. His lips were rosy, tightly pursed, trembling slightly.
“You… are in heat?”
How could this happen? Isn’t an Omega’s heat cycle fixed? Lin Xiaoran’s heat cycle wasn’t today last time.
“Yeah.” Due to being in heat, Lin Xiaoran’s voice seemed to be shrouded in moisture. “My heat cycle is not fixed.”
This was one of the troublesome aspects of being a latent Omega; the heat cycle could suddenly come without warning.
Lin Xiaoran hadn’t expected it to be tonight.
He had felt uncomfortable in the internet café just now, initially thinking it was because of the Alpha’s pheromones, but gradually realized it wasn’t. His head started to feel heavy, and his body weak—it was the precursor to his heat.
Perhaps he was also influenced by that Alpha, causing his pheromones to spiral out of control even faster.
He had only walked a hundred meters from the internet café, and the concentration of pheromones had already soared to this level, not even enough time for him to find a secluded place to stay.
Gu Yang looked at him, not knowing what to do.
He certainly couldn’t let Lin Xiaoran leave like this, but suppressants didn’t work on Lin Xiaoran. What could he do if Lin Xiaoran stayed?
The sweet pear scent in the air became even stronger, and Gu Yang could clearly feel Lin Xiaoran’s wrist trembling more severely.
Must be uncomfortable, right?
“Would lying down help?” His voice was a bit hoarse, even if he tried to restrain himself, Lin Xiaoran’s pheromones would still affect him. “I live upstairs; you want to rest for a bit?”
Lin Xiaoran glanced at him and nodded lightly.
There was no other way; he knew he couldn’t walk in his current state.
Whenever he went into heat before, he always stayed locked in his room alone.
Gu Yang sighed with relief, pulling him towards an entrance next to the internet café, walking up the stairs to the third floor.
At the end was a small room, arranged by the internet café owner for him to stay in.
It wasn’t large, with only a bed.