Chapter 30: First Date

Hearing this, Zhu Zhixi fell silent.

Zhu Zeran thought he had come to his senses and put on the air of an elder brother again, saying earnestly, “Of course, it’s possible he was young at the time, going through puberty and his presentation, the most unstable phase for pheromones. He couldn’t control his pheromones, they went rampant, and that’s why he resorted to violence…”

“This incident might not necessarily be his fault,” Zhu Zhixi interrupted.

Zhu Zeran was dumbfounded. “Zhu Zhixi, how mesmerized are you by that face of his? Do you still have a brain?”

“I’m saying this precisely because I have a brain.” Zhu Zhixi was rather calm. “You said you found out he injured his teacher. Did you find out what his situation was at the time? Was he injured? Or did he suffer any psychological trauma? What was the cause of the incident? Was it because of pheromones? Or was it simply a dispute?”

This time, it was Zhu Zeran’s turn to be speechless.

Zhu Zhixi asked again, “You found out about his illness, probably through an internal hospital system, right? I remember you have connections in many hospitals. Since you found out, you must have also found the record of his first treatment for this malignant syndrome. When was it?”

Zhu Zeran thought for a moment, picked up the file, and as he opened it, he thought to himself, “How did I get manipulated by this little brat again?”

After reading it, he said, “It was right after the incident in high school.”

Zhu Zhixi keenly sensed something. “Then do you know the gender of that teacher?”

Zhu Zeran: “Omega.”

Just as he thought. Zhu Zhixi shrugged. “Isn’t it simple then? A pheromone-related dispute must have occurred between him and that teacher, causing him to exhibit extreme symptoms. In the end, he was sent to the hospital and diagnosed with this illness. The logical chain is complete, and the motive is reasonable.”

“This is all just your speculation,” Zhu Zeran said, taking a deep breath. “You have no guard against people or things, and your Mother Teresa complex makes you want to help everyone you see. Don’t end up playing yourself.”

“I’m not stupid. I’ve already said that my marriage with him is for mutual benefit.” After speaking, Zhu Zhixi took the initiative to walk over to Zhu Zeran and hugged him. “I know you’re worried about me. Thank you, Da Zhu.”

Zhu Zeran’s face fell. “I’ve told you countless times not to call me Da Zhu… Everyone around you has started calling me that because of you.”

“Hee hee.” Zhu Zhixi released him. “It’s so cute. You can call me Xiao Zhu too.”

“Call you my foot. You got fur all over me.” Zhu Zeran brushed his clothes off in disgust. “Anyway, I’ve done my duty. Don’t come crying to me when you get bullied.”

“I know. And don’t you worry so much. It’s annoying enough that you put a tracker on my phone. I didn’t mind it when I was traveling all over the world, but I’m back now. Turn it off.”

“I’m busy as hell every day. Who has time to care where you’re messing around?” Zhu Zeran almost rolled his eyes. “I haven’t opened that app in ages.”

“Fine, fine, Mr. Busy Man can stop worrying about his little brother,” Zhu Zhixi soothed. “I’ll keep what you said in mind. I’ll ask him about it too.”

“Fu Rangyi will tell you?”

Zhu Zhixi’s expression turned a little grim. He paused and said, “He will tell me eventually.”

Although he had spoken such bold words in front of his brother, Zhu Zhixi wasn’t very confident. He knew all too well how tight-lipped Fu Rangyi was. He had found out about the malignant syndrome before Zhu Zeran, not because Fu Rangyi had told him beforehand, but because he had broken the rules and gone home, happened to walk in on it, and happened to run into the knowledgeable Li Qiao.

Thinking about it, Li Qiao probably knew.

But the moment this thought occurred, Zhu Zhixi gave up the idea of asking Li Qiao. He had a gut feeling that Fu Rangyi didn’t bring it up because it had caused him psychological trauma.

Although they hadn’t known each other for long, he understood Fu Rangyi far better than Zhu Zeran did, perhaps even better than Fu Rangyi’s own family. This was a man who would rather cut his own arm to stay lucid than casually find an Omega to get through his rut, who had silently endured harassment for so long, with his only counterattack being to get married to escape being single.

What kind of person would push him to the point of hitting someone?

Zhu Zhixi sighed. He still decided not to proactively poke at Fu Rangyi’s scars.

It was already 10:30 PM when he got home. He thought Fu Rangyi would be asleep, but when he opened the door, the living room light was still on. Fu Rangyi was still working, and at the dining table no less.

Zhu Zhixi changed his shoes, walked over, and sat down opposite him. He took a small sip of red wine from Fu Rangyi’s glass and then said in a super soft voice, “Why are you still working overtime?”

“Aren’t you working overtime too?” Fu Rangyi didn’t look at him, staring at the 3D model on the screen as he asked back softly.

Well, I’m not working overtime.

Fu Rangyi’s nose twitched. “Weren’t you with Eucalyptus?”

“Who’s Eucalyptus?” Zhu Zhixi’s brain short-circuited for a moment before he reacted. “Ah, you mean Director Zhou. We parted ways in the afternoon. I should probably smell like… vetiver and ambergris now.”

Fu Rangyi’s brow furrowed even tighter. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. After a moment of silence, he finally looked up at him. “Whose pheromones are these?”

Zhu Zhixi smiled, leaned in closer, and said in a tiny voice, “Guess?”

Fu Rangyi stared at him quietly for a few seconds, then picked up his laptop and prepared to leave. “I’m not interested.”

Zhu Zhixi immediately grabbed his wrist, forgetting to lower his voice. “Hey, hey, don’t go. It’s my brother. He’s also a top Alpha, so it’ll probably linger for a while.”

Speaking of which… Zhu Zhixi suddenly remembered the machine-gun tirade from Zhu Zeran, and there seemed to be a key point he had almost overlooked.
[Then what’s with the pheromones on you? He put them on you to warn off other Alphas, right?]

Fu Rangyi puts his pheromones on me? Why did he never say anything?
Is it because he thinks I’m a Beta, so I wouldn’t know even if he did it?
So I’ve been walking around everywhere with his pheromones on me every day? Doesn’t that make people think I’m having wild nights at home? Is this the legendary spreading of lewd rumors about a widower?
And it’s being spread by my own pretty widower at home.

After hearing him out, Fu Rangyi just “oh”-ed, as if he wasn’t the one who had just been concerned about the pheromones. He lowered his head and raised the wrist that Zhu Zhixi was holding. “Do you have anything else to say to me? If not, wash up and rest early. Aren’t we going to the cultural festival tomorrow?”

I do have something to say, but I’m afraid if I open my mouth now, you won’t go to the play with me tomorrow. Zhu Zhixi thought for a moment, then looked up and smiled at him. “I do. I didn’t get up this morning, so I didn’t complete today’s life-extending task. Can I extend it now?”

After speaking, he took Fu Rangyi’s hand, forcibly interlaced their fingers, and even swung his arm.

Fu Rangyi didn’t refuse, nor did he speak, just silently stared at their joined hands.

First, he had actually checked in. It’s just that you didn’t know.
Second… holding hands at night felt different from the morning, especially when Zhu Zhixi held his hand while smiling and whispering “Good night.”

“Good night.” When he let go, Fu Rangyi also replied in a low voice.

He didn’t sleep well that night, which rarely happened. As soon as he closed his eyes, he would think about Zhu Zhixi coming to the school tomorrow, touring the campus cultural festival with him, and watching the drama club performance together.

But he, an insider who had studied at S University for many years and was now teaching there, had never once participated in the New Year’s Cultural Festival, even though he knew it was a lively event and the most anticipated day of the year for students.

Since he was an insider, shouldn’t he shoulder the heavy responsibility of being a tour guide? At least do some research? He couldn’t possibly count on Zhu Zhixi for these things, so he had no choice.

Thus, Fu Rangyi, for the first time ever, stayed up late. He searched the campus forum, found the event’s dedicated thread, collected all sorts of information, and finally wrote a guide in his notes, filtering out club booths, food stalls, and game activities that Zhu Zhixi might be interested in. It even included a route for collecting commemorative stamps on a postcard that few people knew about.

Finally, Fu Rangyi checked the weather for the next day. The temperature was very low, and it might even snow at night.

He was well aware of Zhu Zhixi’s bad habit of choosing fashion over function, and nagging him would be useless. To prevent him from catching a cold, infecting him, and affecting his work, Fu Rangyi deliberately wore a very large, thick scarf before leaving in the morning, so he could wrap Zhu Zhixi in it at any time.

This caused his forehead to sweat the moment he entered his office.

Fortunately, he only had two classes for the whole day, and they were both in the morning. Right after class, Fu Rangyi received a message from Zhu Zhixi.

[Bad Rabbit: I’m downstairs at the building where you have class!]
[Bad Rabbit: Would it be awkward for you if we were seen together? If so, I’ll hide.]
[Pretty Widower: Where could you possibly hide? Just wait patiently by the flowerbed downstairs. I’ll be right down.]

After class, a large crowd of students left the teaching building. Fu Rangyi was also submerged in the crowd, but he spotted Zhu Zhixi waiting outside almost at a glance.

The winter scenery was a uniform, chaotic gray. The sky was grayish-white, the ground was dark gray, and in between was a lifeless forest of gray-brown withered trees. The wind was unreasonably strong, blowing everyone into wrinkled, dusty figures.

But Zhu Zhixi was always full of life.

He wore a bluish-purple utility jacket, beige trousers, and a matching beige hoodie underneath. The hood of the hoodie was over his head, and he wore a pair of silver-gray headphones and a white fleece scarf. He carried a slouchy black backpack, and his sneakers were blue. He seemed to have been waiting for a long time, nodding his head to the rhythm of the music out of boredom. With his hands in his pockets, one foot was on the edge of the flowerbed, and the other was extended, resting on a purple skateboard that had come from who knows where, sliding back and forth on the spot.

He looked very much like a college student, or like an iris that had escaped from the flowerbed.

Fu Rangyi walked over. But Zhu Zhixi seemed very immersed in his music and didn’t notice him approaching.

It wasn’t until he reached out and nudged Zhu Zhixi’s headphones that he asked, “Dressed so warmly today?”

Zhu Zhixi was startled and turned his head abruptly. “You’re here?” But because he was too excited, he lost his balance as soon as he spoke and nearly slid away on the skateboard.

“Whoa, whoa—”

He flailed his arms and legs chaotically, but it didn’t save him. Instead, he stumbled messily into Fu Rangyi’s arms, in front of a crowd of students who had just gotten out of class.

Zhu Zhixi looked very apologetic about it, with a guilty expression as if he were afraid of being blamed. But Fu Rangyi didn’t think much of it. He simply lifted him off the flowerbed and placed his clumsy feet firmly on the ground.

Then Zhu Zhixi’s expression became visibly stranger.

Fu Rangyi found it amusing. He pointed at the skateboard that was rolling further and further away, as if wanting to grant itself freedom, and asked, “Where did that come from?”

Zhu Zhixi, with red ears, ran to chase the skateboard back, then ran back panting. “I just bought it at the skateboard club’s booth. Isn’t it cool?” He flipped the skateboard over. “Look, it even has a map of your school printed on the back. I used this map to find this building!”

You actually went exploring on your own.

“Mhm, you did great,” Fu Rangyi said flatly.

“Why do I feel like you’re being sarcastic?” Zhu Zhixi asked, chasing after him.

“You only visited the skateboard club’s booth?” Fu Rangyi asked.

Zhu Zhixi held his index finger up in front of him, wagged it back and forth, and then, as if revealing a playing card, pulled out a postcard. On it were already six colorful commemorative stamps.

“Ta-da! While the great Professor Fu was busy teaching and educating, I’ve already explored a whole lot. Oh, right, I forgot to say, this is this year’s S University Cultural Festival postcard. You can collect seven stamps, but I saw it was almost time so I came over first. Someone like you, who is so devoted to academia, definitely wouldn’t know about these frivolous activities, so I won’t waste your time.”

Zhu Zhixi finished his spiel in one breath. He turned his head and found the person was no longer beside him. He turned back again and saw Fu Rangyi hadn’t followed at all and was looking sullen.

He blinked, bewildered. “What’s wrong now?”

Did I say something wrong?

Zhu Zhixi thought for a moment and added, “Don’t worry, I’ll go get the last stamp myself later. I’ve already asked where it is. A very enthusiastic and beautiful Omega lady just told me.”

After hearing that, Fu Rangyi’s expression seemed to worsen.

“Since you’re so afraid of troubling me, why don’t you go watch the play by yourself?”

Zhu Zhixi immediately ran back. “How could I do that? I still have to introduce you to my good friend.”

“Why?” Fu Rangyi said. “I’m not interested in your overly extensive social activities either.”

“Why else? You’re my husband,” Zhu Zhixi said with a smile. He picked up the skateboard and handed it to him, did a spin on the spot, and said with his back to Fu Rangyi, “Help me put this in my bag.”

Fu Rangyi glanced at the back of his neck. He wasn’t wearing a bandage today, and the bite mark had already faded a lot. But seeing it still lifted his mood considerably.

Between biting him and throwing a tantrum, Fu Rangyi chose to help him put the skateboard away, forcing him to say, “Say thank you.”

“Thank you.” Zhu Zhixi turned around and, quite smoothly, looped his arm through his. “Thank you, hubby.”

The drama club’s performance was in S University’s small theater. Compared to the dance club and music club, there were far fewer audience members here, even more deserted than expected.

The two arrived half an hour early. Just as they got to the ticket checkpoint, Zhu Zhixi suddenly received a call from Liang Yi’en.

“It’s urgent,” Liang Yi’en said on the other end. “It’s a real emergency. Come backstage quickly and help me out.”

So after having his ticket checked, Zhu Zhixi left the arduous task of choosing seats to Fu Rangyi alone and ran backstage without a second word.

How baffling.

Fu Rangyi held Zhu Zhixi’s backpack, which still had a large skateboard sticking out of it. He felt a bit disdainful, but he still slung the backpack over one arm and walked towards the corresponding theater. Seeing the pull-up banner outside with the play’s title—Angel’s Love—he had a vague, bad premonition for some reason.

The name alone sounds pretty bad.

But this was, after all, the first play he and Zhu Zhixi were seeing together.

Fu Rangyi took out his phone and awkwardly took a photo. A BO couple came up next to him, holding their ticket stubs up to their faces and taking a selfie with the poster.

So Fu Rangyi silently deleted the photo he had just taken, took out his and Zhu Zhixi’s two ticket stubs, held them up in front of the poster, and click, took a new one.

In a way, this should also count as…

“Teacher Fu?”

Hearing the familiar voice, Fu Rangyi’s expression changed. He had a massive headache.

He had completely forgotten that Yu Heng was also coming to see this play.

But he still turned around, maintained a certain distance, and didn’t speak.

Yu Heng had clearly misunderstood. There was even a hint of excited joy on his face as he asked directly, “You… you still came? You didn’t reply to my email. I thought you weren’t coming.”

If it were the old Fu Rangyi, he would have undoubtedly turned and walked away without a word, and wouldn’t have watched this play.

But now, he didn’t want to do that.

“I came to see it with someone else.”

Yu Heng’s brow furrowed. “Someone else? But…”

“My partner,” Fu Rangyi said bluntly, wanting to sever his fantasy directly. “His friend gave us two tickets, so we came. We’re treating it as a date.”

As expected, upon hearing the word “date,” Yu Heng’s expression became extremely grim.

Fu Rangyi didn’t want to get too entangled with him. After speaking, he planned to go inside and find a seat. But just as he took a step, he heard Yu Heng speak out without any regard for propriety, “Do you two really have feelings for each other? You’ve only just met, haven’t you? You’re clearly together because of a marriage alliance.”

Fu Rangyi was quite surprised. He hadn’t expected this person to be so shameless. There were so many people coming and going here.

“You’re a top Alpha. Why would you choose a Beta? He can’t soothe you during your rut, and, and you two won’t even have children.”

“Daddy—”

Hearing the child’s voice, both of them froze, especially Fu Rangyi. When he turned his head, he was even more startled.

It was Zhu Zhixi who had returned, and he was holding the hand of a child he didn’t recognize at all. The beautiful but seemingly not-so-bright child was pointing straight at Fu Rangyi and was about to call out a second time, but was muffled by Zhu Zhixi’s strained smile.

“How could you…” Fu Rangyi’s eyes were wide.

Zhu Zhixi walked up quickly, very naturally and smoothly took Fu Rangyi’s hand, and leaned in to whisper a flurry of words in his ear, “Oh, it’s a long story, don’t ask now, I’ll explain everything later. This child isn’t mine or yours. Anyway, let’s go find a seat first.”

After speaking, he even turned his head and smiled at the stunned Yu Heng. “Hello, hello, sorry to interrupt your reunion. I’ll take these two in first. You should come in quickly too, or there won’t be any good seats left.”

Yu Heng was completely shocked. Speak of the devil. Talk about a child, and a child appears? I must be cursed. I need to go get my fortune told.

---

Author’s Note:

The next chapter will be… funny, with all sorts of chaos.
Xiao En: I thought my own eyebrows were on fire, but it turns out it’s everyone’s eyebrows.