Chapter 3: The Life-Saving Straw

Before actually coming on this blind date, Fu Rangyi had refused such arrangements at least five times. Some came from the urging of his parents, others from his advisor, and even the leadership of his department.

“I really don’t get it, Xiao Fu. Your qualifications are so good. Alphas like you are rare. Those worse off than you have long been married with children.”

To be honest, he didn’t get it either. Why did people have such a strong desire to control the marital status of others? Single people seemed to have become heretics, and any married person around them would try every means possible to save them from the path of this “evil cult.”

“Let alone marriage, Professor Fu doesn’t even date. Is it because his standards for Omegas are too high that he’s still single?”

No, it’s just a resistance to contact with Omegas.

But now, for certain personal reasons, Fu Rangyi had no choice but to walk this path against his original intentions.

When his parents learned he was willing to go on a blind date, their first choice was, of course, a marriage alliance that would benefit the family business. What’s more, the father of this marriage partner was a good friend of his advisor. The warm-hearted old professor acted as a matchmaker, pulling the strings. Fu Rangyi knew, even with his eyes closed, how he would praise his prized student in front of the other parents, probably more desperately than a supermarket promoter pushing year-end unsold goods.

But he was clearly a rebellious, unsold product.

He secretly swapped out the information to be submitted to his blind date, removed the photos carefully selected by the matchmaker, and deliberately placed “30 years old” and his profession in the most conspicuous first row, emphasizing that he was beyond the typical marriageable age for an Alpha and that his life was a monotonous two-point line.

Fu Rangyi couldn’t be bothered to open the information sent by the other party. It was a waste of time. He would rather read another paper or a practical report. But he couldn’t escape the message from his advisor. The matchmaker repeatedly claimed that the other party was a quirky, playful young master.

Fu Rangyi was even more relieved. It sounded like a mismatch from the get-go. However, based on the description of just those two words, he had still recognized this young master at first sight. It was a pity that although the other party was born with a pair of large, dark, and bright eyes, their functionality was not very good.

It was clear that in terms of their ability to judge people, they were also a mismatch.

“Are you referring to this gentleman?”

Hearing the waiter’s voice, Zhu Zhixi also froze for a second. He blinked, his gaze quickly switching between the two glasses of sparkling lemonade. Realizing something, he quickly withdrew the hand that was about to be shaken, pointed at himself, and stared at the owner of the other glass of water with those large eyes deemed to be not very useful.

Huh?

The other person didn’t look at him and took a sip of the lemonade on the table.

Zhu Zhixi lowered his head, glanced at the table number, then tilted his head and checked again, asking the waitress standing beside him in a low voice, “Isn’t this 9?”

The girl held back her laughter and pointed to the table where Fu Rangyi was. “Sir, this is table 6. That one is table 9.”

Ah, I got it wrong.

In the past, he would have been very embarrassed, but now, not at all. A person on the verge of death, what’s a little loss of face? Would the blind date he stood up go and make a scene at his funeral, pointing at his memorial photo and accusing him of finding the wrong person during their blind date at the coffee shop on December 10th?

Zhu Zhixi quickly got up, squeezed out a smile for the guy opposite him in apology, said to the waitress, “A cinnamon latte and a soufflé, thank you,” then picked up the glass of sparkling lemonade and moved to the real table 9 to sit down.

And at this moment, his real blind date was leaning against the blue sofa booth, looking at him leisurely.

This face, by any aesthetic standard, was impeccably handsome, reminding him of the plaster statues in the sculpture department back in school. His skin was pale, without much color, and his expression was indifferent. He just stared at him, calmer than a plaster sculpture. Sunlight streamed in from the window lattice. A snow-white coat, broad and straight shoulder and neck lines, forehead, brow bone, eye sockets, nose—every part sharp, every part clean, as if he were a human statue carved out of snow by a pale golden light.

Zhu Zhixi thought, without any apology, that it was perfectly reasonable for him to have made a mistake. This was the first option he had eliminated after entering the coffee shop.

Who would come to a blind date with a face like that?

Qualifications: 30 years old, single, works in archaeology at a university… Did any of these have anything to do with the person in front of him?

But since he had made a mistake, he should apologize first.

Zhu Zhixi smiled. “Um, excuse me, I just…”

Who knew that before he could finish, the person opposite him stood up directly. “It’s fine. Let’s just call it a day.”

“Huh? I haven’t even introduced myself yet,” he said, blinking.

“No need. I don’t think we’re a good match.”

Hearing this, Zhu Zhixi suddenly felt a bit rebellious. He crossed his arms, tilted his head up, and looked at this strange person. “Why not?”

Are you some kind of blind date judge? Passing a death sentence at a single glance?

“You’re also using a suppressor?” the blind date asked instead of answering, his tone so certain it was more like a statement.

“What?”

No wonder he’s single. Good-looking but doesn’t speak human language. We’ve only exchanged a few sentences, and not a single one has been on the same wavelength.

“You’re an Omega,” he said, staring at Zhu Zhixi’s face.

Zhu Zhixi laughed after hearing this. “How can you tell?”

A blind date judge and a gender judge.

The person fell silent. The game of answering questions with questions suddenly came to an end. Seeing the person was about to leave, Zhu Zhixi became unhappy again. He also stood up, grabbed the person’s arm, and forcefully pulled him back into the booth, found his ID card, and handed it over.

“I’m a Beta. Marrying me is equivalent to sterilization.”

It’s more than just sterilization; it’s a terminal illness.

[56 days 20 hours 05 minutes 20 seconds]

I am now a pre-made corpse with one foot in the grave. Anyone who comes is just for good luck. In two months, I’ll be directly packed up and sent to the widower’s camp with a ‘bereaved’ tag, re-entering the marriage market three ranks lower.

Zhu Zhixi took a sip of lemonade, with difficulty swallowing these fragmented thoughts back into his stomach.

But to his surprise, after looking at the ID card, this cold blind date’s attitude took a 180-degree turn. “Beta? That’s very good.”

Zhu Zhixi suddenly narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Doesn’t this Alpha have some weird fetish? It’s not easy for us Betas. Can’t you just mess with Omegas and not extend your demonic claws to us?

“Wait, didn’t you just say we weren’t a good…” he said, taking back his ID and preparing to put it away.

Before he could finish, he suddenly froze and wiped his palm with his sleeve a few times.

[56 days 20 hours 05 minutes 20 seconds]

Why did it stop?!

At this moment, the waitress approached again. She was holding the cinnamon latte and was about to place it in front of Zhu Zhixi when a customer behind her suddenly passed by and accidentally bumped into her, knocking over the cup of coffee.

Zhu Zhixi was still pondering the countdown and didn’t have time to dodge. In that brief moment, his scarf and coat were stained with coffee. By the time he heard a series of apologies and reacted, reaching for a napkin to wipe it, his fingers touched another hand that was also reaching for a napkin.

A very white, very cold hand, wearing a silver metallic suppressor bracelet on the wrist. The moment their fingertips touched, with a snap, a tiny pink spark flashed. The bracelet also emitted a faint, silvery-white glow. It quickly went out.

The waitress recognized the brand of his coat and scarf and was terrified. “Sorry, sorry, guest, I’m really sorry. I, I’ll go get a wet wipe to help you clean it…”

“It’s fine, it’s fine.” Zhu Zhixi waved his hand with a smile, wiping it himself a few times, but his mind was still on what had just happened.

So he secretly opened his left palm. The countdown was showing 5 minutes and 16 seconds, but it wasn’t changing.

It paused again?

He waited silently in his heart for a while with trepidation. Sure enough, after a few seconds, the countdown started changing again.

[56 days 20 hours 05 minutes 15 seconds]
[56 days 20 hours 05 minutes 14 seconds]
…

Zhu Zhixi frowned. A risky thought flashed through his mind—without another word, he reached out and, regardless of anything, grabbed the other person’s hand and held it tightly.

Just like that, at the moment of 5 minutes and 11 seconds remaining, the countdown stopped.

Is this real… I’m saved?

Is this what they call ‘the antidote is within three steps’?

Zhu Zhixi, who had been ready to actively participate in the shroud-wrapping competition, suddenly realized at this moment that this was not a fantasy or horror movie arranged by heaven, but a fairy tale! He was not the chosen one, but the princess who had eaten a poisoned apple and was about to die, waiting for the prince’s true love kiss to revive. Help, what a cliché script.

But this prince’s hand is a bit too cold. Who’s the one about to die? Could this person have kidney deficiency? No wonder he’s resorted to blind dates.

As if by some sixth sense, after he questioned him in his heart, this beautiful but cold hand began to pull away.

This time, Zhu Zhixi was genuinely embarrassed because he realized he might not have to die after all. “Um… your hand is so cold, let me warm it up for you!”

“No need.”

A second ago, Fu Rangyi was still feeling fortunate about his gender. Now, he just thought he most likely had a problem with his brain. No wonder he’s resorted to blind dates.

He tried again to pull his hand back, but unexpectedly, this person still had no intention of letting go.

“Where were we? Oh right, sterilization…” What a great topic.

Zhu Zhixi gritted his teeth and tried to smooth things over. “Actually, sterilization has its advantages, right? You see, a lot of people don’t want to have kids now, they like being DINKs. They should marry us Betas. I…”

Fu Rangyi still forcefully pulled his hand away. “No need. I still think we’re not a good match. It’s my problem. Let’s end this blind date here. I’ll go pay.”

Zhu Zhixi began to regret it. If he had known he was on a blind date with his life-saving straw, he should have listened to his father, dressed more plainly, and acted more obedient and sensible. Maybe he could have gotten rid of this damned countdown!

As he was regretting, the picky and cold blind date judge had already stood up and left. He moved quickly, paid the bill, and directly pushed open the glass door of the coffee shop, leaving without any lingering, striding away.

Zhu Zhixi hesitated whether to chase after him first and try to salvage the situation, but then he heard a sound from the other side. He looked in the direction of the sound and found it was the unlucky waitress from before. She was being scolded.

He glanced at the coffee on his clothes, understood, picked up his scarf, left the booth, and walked towards the owner and the waitress.

Anyway, my life-saving straw is my dad’s friend’s student. His job is stable, he can’t run too far. These few minutes are precious, but not that urgent. Right now, I have more important things to do.

“You made a mistake on such a simple thing. A newcomer should be more careful. You go talk to the customer about the dry cleaning, and you pay for the cost yourself…”

“No need for that,” Zhu Zhixi said, coming up to the two of them with a smile. “Actually, it was my fault just now. I wasn’t paying attention, raised my hand, and accidentally knocked it over. Are you okay? Did you get burned?”

He had a narrow dental arch, his front teeth slightly longer than the others, and his eyes were exceptionally round. When he smiled, he had a natural affability.

The waitress was stunned for a moment. After hearing him, she almost cried, holding back her tears and shaking her head.

Twenty minutes later, she walked Zhu Zhixi to the door with an apologetic look on her face. “Thank you. This is actually my first day at work. If you hadn’t helped me out, I might have been fired. Your clothes… it’s better to have them dry-cleaned. I’ll pay for the cost. I know this outfit is very expensive…”

Zhu Zhixi smiled and said offhandedly, “It’s a fake. Looks pretty real, right? Look at the cuff, the genuine one has embroidery inside.” As he spoke, he rolled up his left sleeve, revealing the beaded bracelet on his wrist. It was glacier-blue, making his arm look snow-white.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, why are you crying?” He dropped his hand, moved closer, and reminded her softly, “Your suppressor patch is peeling off a bit.”

The girl immediately reached up to touch the back of her neck, her face flushing as she stuck it back on, and whispered her thanks.

“You’re welcome.” Zhu Zhixi pushed open the glass door. Cold wind rushed in, and he quickly wrapped his scarf around his neck. “So cold, so cold. I’m leaving. You should go back inside too.” After closing the door, he even waved at her.

The December wind felt like it was mixed with glass shards, scraping against the skin of his cheeks and quickly reddening the tip of his nose. Zhu Zhixi sighed, turned around, but found that his blind date from before was actually standing right outside the door.

Under the setting sun, his white cashmere coat glowed with a subtle sheen. He looked exceptionally tall and outstanding. As expected of an S-class Alpha, his genes are really something else. It would be a real pity if he married me. Zhu Zhixi couldn’t quite describe the feeling, like finding a beautiful kitten and being reluctant to take it to be neutered for a while.

“Why haven’t you left yet?” His curly hair was messed up by the wind, and there were obvious coffee stains on his clothes, making him look a bit disheveled. But he himself didn’t seem to think so at all. “Couldn’t get a taxi? Want me to give you a ride?”

Fu Rangyi didn’t answer. He just walked towards him and stopped. He knew he wasn’t entirely sober right now. He could find many pieces of evidence. For example, after leaving the coffee shop, he could have just left, but for some reason, he had turned back. Perhaps the waitress who had spilled the coffee reminded him of his own clumsy childhood self, so he had zoned out and stood there for so long, and had also seen his blind date approach.

The smiling eyes inside the glass door, and the eyes now slightly widened in surprise before him, both made this strange fellow seem less annoying.

By staying, he had also seen the bracelet on his wrist.

On the street, the smell of hot mulled wine wafted everywhere, the aroma of citrus, apple, and cinnamon rich and fragrant. The warm, fuzzy alcohol made the cold air slightly tipsy and also numbed Fu Rangyi’s nerves. Already not entirely sober, he made an even more irrational decision.

“Excuse me, would you consider a contract marriage?”

---

Author’s Note:

Xiao Xi, your blind date might not storm your funeral and accuse you of getting the wrong person, but in your long remaining life, he will casually and “unintentionally” bring up old matters countless times— “Hello there, blind date. Are you nervous? I’m a very nice person.”

But the antidote is within three steps. You can say to him, “Beta? That’s very good,” and ask him how he feels about it now.