The banquet hall, designed by a master architect in the industry, was a magnificent domed structure spread over a large area, divided into two floors: the reception hall on the first floor and the lounge on the second.

The exterior walls were made of vast amounts of glass, making it transparent from all sides, with stairs spiraling up along the glass walls like a dreamlike glass house. The interior walls were primarily light-toned, ensuring privacy.

Pei Shu had decorated the entire hall beautifully. Even the flowers were picked that very day from their own fields, each bunch fresh and upright, still clinging with dew.

Every drop of dew refracted the light within the hall like radiant, fallen stars—a breathtaking, magnificent sight.

Following the light and shadows, Lin Zhu walked briskly toward the banquet hall.

When he looked up at the second floor again, he noticed Yan Ruojun was no longer on the corridor, which made him quicken his pace.

Earlier, Lin Zhu had remained with Yan Zihong in the open-air venue. Most of the guests who came to talk were older uncles and aunts, while the younger ones had simply greeted them and headed inside.

From far away, Lin Zhu could see the bustling crowd in the first-floor hall. Men and women in formal attire stood in small groups, either laughing quietly with wine glasses in hand or networking with others. The atmosphere was warm and harmonious.

But the moment Lin Zhu stepped through the grand entrance, the dense, fragmented chatter in the hall suddenly fell silent, as if hit by an invisible pause button, taking several seconds to recover.

Secretive gazes shot toward him from every direction.

Curiosity, scrutiny, confusion, and even disdain and contempt… those gazes, mixed with a multitude of emotions, rushed toward Lin Zhu all at once.

It was like a gust of wind carrying thorns.

A little prickly, but it didn’t matter.

Because Yan Zihong was no longer by his side, no one proactively came up to talk to Lin Zhu. Everyone just inspected him with subtle glances while continuing to chat with their companions.

It saved him the trouble of making small talk.

Although Lin Zhu didn’t show it, he breathed a solid sigh of relief. He maintained his usual cold, poker-faced expression; the tactical upward curve of his lips was so slight it was almost negligible.

His pace never slowed. He bypassed the obstacles in front of him with fluid ease, intending to go upstairs to find Yan Ruojun…

Just then.

Lin Zhu’s path was blocked.

The people who stopped him were several Alpha men in suits.

They all looked significantly older than Lin Zhu, perhaps in their late twenties or early thirties, their demeanor somewhat similar to Yan Ruojun’s—shrewd, sharp, and at ease.

It was likely the quintessential “superior” air of this circle.

But Yan Ruojun was different.

Lin Zhu didn’t know how to describe it—he just knew clearly that Yan Ruojun was different from everyone else, and this uniqueness was unparalleled.

“Congratulations…”

The leading Alpha held a glass of champagne and took another one from a passing waiter’s tray, handing it to Lin Zhu, and added, “I heard you’ve already received your marriage certificate with Ruojun, congratulations?”

Lin Zhu stopped, standing less than a meter away from the Alpha. Behind his counterpart stood two other Alphas, though they remained silent.

The amber liquid in the glass swayed before gradually settling.

In stark contrast was the atmosphere in the hall.

Instantly, this area became the focus of everyone’s attention. Many people whispered:

“Wow, isn’t that Su Weiwen? Why did he go over to talk? It can’t be a sincere blessing, right?”

“Thinking too much, how could it be??”

“Exactly, who doesn’t know that back when Yan Ruojun was engaged to Lin Xiujie, he chased after him for over three years regardless!”

“I heard that last year, when that engagement was broken off, he even broke up with his Omega at the time, just to go back and chase Yan Ruojun…”

“Are you sure that was a serious relationship, not some kept mistress or starlet?”

“Who knows…”

“And then?”

“He was definitely rejected.”

Su Weiwen’s smile froze for a second. He had indeed been rejected by Yan Ruojun again, cleanly and decisively, and the reason he gave, dammit, was—”I’m not single anymore!”

Ever since breaking off the engagement with Lin Xiujie, although it wasn’t widely publicized, Yan Ruojun had never hidden the fact that he wasn’t single.

He couldn’t hide it.

Ask any Omega who constantly uses scent-blocking patches, only to suddenly reek of an Alpha’s pheromones so strongly that even the patches can’t cover it.

That was clearly beyond the level of a temporary mark.

In today’s society, there aren’t many restrictions on AO relationships, and examples of people ending up in bed after just dating are everywhere.

But for Yan Ruojun, who had been guarded against Alphas since childhood, it was simply unfathomable.

Not to mention how protective he was of that Alpha, never bringing him out. Privately, they had long speculated whether Yan Ruojun had followed the trend and started keeping a young Alpha.

Until today. Until this banquet.

Su Weiwen finally realized… the reason the Alpha wasn’t brought out was that the other party was a high school senior, busy with the college entrance exams!

Upon learning of Lin Zhu’s identity and that he had actually scored as a city top scorer in the exams, Su Weiwen’s jaw almost dropped.

It was actually that illegitimate son of the Lin family who had been mocked for years? Was there even a marriage because of him??

If this were true, it would be magical realism.

Su Weiwen truly couldn’t suppress the storm of emotions in his heart, so he attended the banquet tonight.

Lin Zhu was unaware of this inner turmoil; he just politely took the glass from the man and took a sip.

“Thank you.”

In such settings, one usually toasts but doesn’t force drinks. However, Su Weiwen raised his glass again, a deep malice hidden in his eyes, and urged:

“Congratulations on your good exam results, too.”

Lin Zhu took another sip.

“Oh, and I wish you success in getting into a good university.”

“…”

The grandeur of this graduation banquet already represented how much the Yan family valued Lin Zhu, so no one would risk offending the Yan corporation to stir up trouble in such a setting.

However, the Su family’s relationship with the Yan family wasn’t bad, and Su Weiwen had known Yan Ruojun for many years.

He was a generation older than Lin Zhu and was now part of the upper management of the Su family enterprise. Just the simple act of toasting the young Alpha in front of him with several drinks…

It couldn’t really count as [stirring up trouble], right?

Lin Zhu sipped drink after drink, finishing three glasses.

Watching the man opposite him take on the posture of an elder and someone who had “been there before,” as if he didn’t realize the malice leaking from his eyes, he continued to urge him to drink.

“Ruojun skipped grades in college, so he’s three years younger than us. I really didn’t expect that among our group, he would be the first to get married…”

“It’s strange; I hadn’t heard anything about it before.”

“I’ve known him for over ten years. How long have you known him?”

“You don’t need to call me Mr. Su; it’s too distant. We’ve known Ruojun since we were kids; we’ve always treated him like a younger brother. You should just…”

Lin Zhu was really getting annoyed.

So he silently raised his glass, nodded, and said:

“—Okay, thank you, Uncle Su.”

Su Weiwen’s next words abruptly got stuck in his throat, and from the crowd of onlookers, a light but piercing laugh rang out:

“Pfft!”

Su Weiwen’s face darkened instantly.

Lin Zhu nodded politely at him once more, intending to place his glass on a nearby table and walk past them, when he heard a familiar voice from the stairs:

“Su Weiwen, are you done chatting yet?”

It was Yan Ruojun.

Lin Zhu’s gaze shifted instantly, seeing the man walk down the stairs, his long legs striding toward him. His peach-blossom eyes were tilted up, and he wore a smile, but it revealed a bit of piercing chill.

He looked a bit like he did when they first met.

Cold, with thorns.

Yan Ruojun walked to Lin Zhu’s side, took the glass from his hand and placed it on a waiter’s tray. With a slight arch of his brow, he snapped, “You’re at the age to be an uncle—is this fun?”

Having said that, he couldn’t be bothered to care about Su Weiwen’s expression and reached out to touch Lin Zhu’s cheek and neck, asking in a low voice:

“How much have you had since coming downstairs?”

Lin Zhu shook his head. In truth, the tall, thin glass was only half-full; the total amount he had drunk wasn’t much, he just had a low tolerance and flushed easily.

In reality, Lin Zhu was still very clear-headed.

He raised his hand as well, placing it on the back of Yan Ruojun’s hand, which was still caressing his cheek, and asked: “Ge, how are you feeling? Are you still nauseous?”

“I’m fine,” Yan Ruojun shook his head, then added in a low voice, “but I’m a little hungry now. I want to eat something sweet.”

Lin Zhu subconsciously squeezed the man’s cool fingertips, then led him directly to the dessert area on the left.

“I saw chocolate brownies over there; the sweetness is moderate. You shouldn’t eat anything too sweet right now.”

“…Oh.”

After a two-second pause, Yan Ruojun asked: “Then can I eat two pieces?” As he said this, he swayed the hand of the Alpha leading the way.

In less than a minute, the little interaction between the two was like an earthquake, shattering the expressions of everyone present.

The crowd fell into a collective state of slack-jawed shock, unable to control their facial expressions, their eyes filled with astonishment—

Damn!!

Who is this pampered princess?! Has he been possessed?!

To all this, Yan Ruojun sneered and ignored it.

By now, he was the one pulling Lin Zhu toward the outside. He turned his head and instructed the youth in a normal tone:

“Remember, next time, just walk away.”

Lin Zhu held his hand, fingers interlaced, while his other hand steadily held the white porcelain dish with two chocolate brownies. He pursed his lips and replied: “Because Mom and Dad put so much effort into tonight…”

So he didn’t want to cause any unpleasantness.

Exiting the banquet hall.

Yan Ruojun took the initiative to pull Lin Zhu toward the artificial lake, where the lights weren’t as bright and there were fewer people—perfect for catching a breeze and sobering up.

Suddenly, Yan Ruojun thought of the gloomy expression Su Weiwen had when Lin Zhu hit him with a “critical strike” by calling him [Uncle], and he couldn’t help but laugh twice.

“You really have a way with words, calling him Uncle. He was furious.”

Lin Zhu’s tone wasn’t sarcastic; it was actually very polite, but his deadpan expression and world-weary aura effortlessly maxed out the mockery.

Yan Ruojun turned around, leaned into his ear, and asked: “He and I are peers, Puppy Lin. Then what am I to you?”

Lin Zhu didn’t even think about it and said directly:

“He is him; you are you.”

Lin Zhu disliked that man talking smugly in front of him about Yan Ruojun’s past, including the age gap between them…

Lin Zhu suddenly stopped, his wrist tensing as he pulled the man easily into his arms, turned his head, and dropped a kiss on the corner of his mouth. “You are my wife.”

Yan Ruojun blinked, amazed: “Wow, you’re a bit pushy now, Puppy Lin.”

Even when the two were sitting on a bench near the artificial lake, looking at the rippling light while eating dessert, Yan Ruojun still found it funny. He held a small silver spoon and asked: “Are you jealous? Think you met me too late?”

In truth, only Yan Ruojun was eating the dessert, and there was only one spoon, but the man insisted on digging out a spoonful and feeding it to Lin Zhu’s mouth every time he ate.

Strictly supervising the man to ensure he only ate one and a half brownies, Lin Zhu took the empty dish and the small silver spoon and set them aside.

He licked his lips and replied abruptly: “Not late.”

After saying this, Lin Zhu suddenly got up from the bench and knelt on one knee in front of Yan Ruojun.

The air grew instantly quiet.

He tilted his long neck and noticed the man’s peach-blossom eyes suddenly widen, completely unaware that there was a smudge of rich chocolate on his lower lip…

Lin Zhu watched him, unable to hold back a smile.

This smile wasn’t a stiff expression counted in pixels, but a natural one—the corners of his mouth turned up, engaging every muscle in his cheeks, and his long, down-turned eyes also curved, his pitch-black pupils seeming to reflect the shimmering lake.

“Ge.”

Lin Zhu called out again unconsciously, “Yunjun.”

He reached out his arms to embrace the man’s neck, pressing his torso down slightly, and then carefully kissed the bitterness and sweetness at his lips into his throat.

“Are you willing to give me the rest of your life?”

Yan Ruojun felt his heart beating wildly.

He half-closed his eyes, suddenly feeling a cold touch on his ring finger, circling the end of the joint, which was quickly warmed by his own body temperature.

Yan Ruojun opened his mouth, just having uttered two syllables: “I am wil—”

The next second.

A wave of nausea surged up.

Yan Ruojun didn’t have time to finish before he dry-heaved!

Lin Zhu: “…”

Yan Ruojun: “…”

Lin Zhu looked at the man’s lower abdomen.

Yan Ruojun also looked at his own lower abdomen.

Three seconds later, the man coughed, his gaze drifting subconsciously toward the ring on his left ring finger, a small dimple appearing on his cheek, complaining in a low voice:

“It’s the child you put inside; I can’t help it.”

Lin Zhu raised his palm, stroking the man’s still-flat abdomen through his clothes, and sighed helplessly.

He hadn’t even finished his sigh.

Yan Ruojun held his palm out in front of him and asked: “Puppy Lin, why did you buy me such an expensive one?”

Lin Zhu was silent for a moment, then said slowly: “…It’s not expensive. Everything I’m wearing—clothes, shoes, jewelry—is all much more expensive than that.”

The man stared continuously at the ring on his finger; his cold, clear voice seemed to be soaked in the lingering sweetness of the chocolate brownie, mixed with the faint scent of alcohol left by Lin Zhu, making him slightly tipsy and dazed.

Yan Ruojun smiled: “There is nothing more expensive than it.”

“—Because this is everything you gave me.”