Pheromone Deficiency Syndrome chapter 12

Come with Me

The medicine prescribed by the doctor took effect very quickly, and Gu Jinyi’s fever subsided shortly after, and the redness on his cheeks also faded a lot.

But he still hadn’t woken up.

He had a very long dream, as if he was going through his brief life of twenty years all over again.

He saw himself at the age of five, holding his mother’s skirt as he entered the Gu family’s villa, then saw himself at the age of twenty-three, burning the photos of his past after marrying Chu Miyun, and then at the age of twenty-five, sending Chi Xiaonian to kindergarten, standing outside the door like every doting father, not leaving for a long time…

But all these scenes eventually dissipated, freezing only at Chu Miyun’s funeral.

On a rainy day, he stood in front of the grave in black clothes, surrounded by people with ill intentions from all directions.

But this time Xie Huaizhou didn’t come, he didn’t show up with that marriage contract in front of him.

The person who came was his lover when he was twenty years old, just like when they met back then, with a cold and aloof face, not particularly handsome, with a faint scent of pheromones, which if not carefully distinguished could even be mistaken for a beta.

He walked over in the rain, also dressed in black, like a tall and straight poplar tree, silently holding the umbrella over his head.

“I’ve come to take you home,” he said lightly to him, without the surprise of a long-awaited reunion, nor the deep and passionate love of the past.

Just this ordinary sentence.

Gu Jinyi stared blankly at him. For many years, he deliberately avoided thinking about this person’s name, as if doing so could bury the past more thoroughly.

But in the instant he saw this person’s face, his name surfaced from the depths of his heart once again, etched in the position of his heart.

Fu Chen.

The person he loved was named Fu Chen.

Gu Jinyi didn’t speak. They just looked at each other. The long umbrella above his head shielded him from all the harsh winds and rains outside.

Fu Chen remained calm, apologizing to him on his own: “I’m sorry for being so late. But I’ll fulfill all the promises I made to you. I’ve bought a small house on another planet, with a garden and a swing, and a terrace. On sunny days, you can see the stars, and whenever you’re free, you can invite friends over to hang out.”

He repeated Gu Jinyi’s dream from when he was twenty years old word for word.

Then, after a pause, he stared into Gu Jinyi’s eyes and asked softly, “Yi Yi, will you come with me?”

Gu Jinyi had waited for this sentence for many years.

He had once thought he would never hear it again in his lifetime.

He had sworn never to forgive the person in front of him, never to see him again.

But he had always been weak, and a single sentence made tears stream down his face.

The man’s hand lay open in front of him, large and dry, carrying all his grievances and hopes.

Gu Jinyi reached out uncontrollably, wanting to place his hand on top of it, to grasp the future he had lost.

But just as he touched that slightly cold palm.

This Fu Chen, who had always looked at him calmly, as if he had never loved him, dissipated like smoke.

Without warning, without leaving any words, just like the year he turned twenty.

The long-handled black umbrella fell to the ground. The pouring rain fell heavily, soaking him through.

…

Gu Jinyi woke up.

The moment he opened his eyes, he saw Xie Huaizhou leaning over him, completely different from Fu Chen, with features so handsome they could be a sculptor’s masterpiece, a high nose and thin lips, and a pair of cold eyes.

But perhaps still immersed in his dream, for a moment, he mistook Xie Huaizhou for Fu Chen.

He felt absurd, yet uncontrollably sad.

And Xie Huaizhou looked at him with a complex expression, reaching out to wipe the corners of his eyes, and said calmly, “You’ve been crying.”

It was a statement.

Gu Jinyi then realized that his face was covered in tears, and he had even wet the pillow.

He looked blankly at Xie Huaizhou, who asked him why he was crying, but he didn’t answer. He just sluggishly sat up from the bed.

The room was warm.

This wasn’t G6 Star, nor was it that rainy funeral. The person beside him wasn’t the lover who abandoned him when he was twenty.

Gu Jinyi knew he should say something.

Xie Huaizhou had been very good to him, helping him retain Chu Miyun’s inheritance, taking care of Chi Xiaonian, and being considerate of him in every way.

He shouldn’t ignore him.

But the scent of pheromones emanating from Xie Huaizhou made it impossible for him to wake up from the dream he had just had.

He even felt like he was still running a fever, otherwise why would his heart ache so much?

Seeing Gu Jinyi still not speaking, and not forcing him, Xie Huaizhou checked his temperature and then handed him a cup of warm water.

He had just been dealing with work, so he was wearing glasses, looking even colder and more distant than usual.

But his voice was gentle, as if deliberately restrained.

He asked Gu Jinyi “Did you dream of Chu Miyun? You cried a lot just now.”

That was the most reasonable explanation he could think of.

Gu Jinyi looked at the cup in his hand, remained silent for a while, and then softly replied, “Hmm.”

He agreed with this reason. He didn’t want to mention “Fu Chen” to anyone. It was a mistake in his life, perhaps one he would never be able to let go of.

Xie Huaizhou blinked, then asked him again, “Do you miss her a lot?”

Gu Jinyi knew he was referring to “her,” Chu Miyun.

He did miss Chu Miyun now, because if Chu Miyun were still here, she would definitely scold him for being so stubborn.

But with a pale face, he curled his lips and said, “Maybe, yeah, I miss her a bit.”

He thought he had buried the past completely, but his dreams easily shattered his disguise.

It’s truly… humiliating.

Xie Huaizhou remained silent for a while, not speaking again.

The room was so quiet that only the sound of breathing could be heard.

He had been by Gu Jinyi’s side since the afternoon, and Gu Jinyi had been very obedient. It wasn’t until he heard the faint sobbing that he realized Gu Jinyi was actually crying, crying in a restrained and cautious manner, as if abandoned by the whole world.

He heard Gu Jinyi mumble a few words, sounding like “don’t go…”

“Don’t go.”

He lowered his eyes, suppressed the emotions churning in his chest, raised his hand to press the bedside call button, and said to Gu Jinyi “Since you’re not feverish anymore, get up and have some dinner to replenish your energy.”

Gu Jinyi still looked at him dull-wittedly, eyes reddened, like gemstones washed with water. After a while, he nodded obediently.

“Thank you.” Gu Jinyi’s voice was hoarse, but he still remembered to thank him.

But Xie Huaizhou didn’t want to hear his thanks at all.

Dinner arrived quickly and was eaten on the living room table. Considering that Gu Jinyi’s appetite hadn’t fully recovered, dinner consisted of soft and bland rice porridge, but there were dozens of snacks laid out, afraid that Gu Jinyi wouldn’t find a flavor he liked.

This meal was eaten in heavy silence.

After a while, Gu Jinyi softly thanked Xie Huaizhou again, “Thank you for taking care of me all afternoon, I’m sorry I caused you trouble. We were supposed to go to the art exhibition, but…”

But before he could finish speaking, Xie Huaizhou interrupted him.

“No need to thank me. Any alpha wouldn’t neglect their sick partner,” Xie Huaizhou said casually, “It’s an alpha’s responsibility.”

Gu Jinyi knew Xie Huaizhou was comforting him, but there was nothing he could do to repay this kindness.

But a few minutes later, Xie Huaizhou seemed to remember something and said to him, “I’ll be on a business trip next Wednesday, so get ready to come with me. It’ll probably take about a week.”

Gu Jinyi nodded quickly, “Okay, I’ll ask for leave from the studio.”

Xie Huaizhou didn’t say anything more. He was even quieter today than Gu Jinyi.

After dinner, he fed Gu Jinyi another supplement left by the doctor.

It wasn’t for the fever, but for Gu Jinyi’s physical weakness.

He watched as Gu Jinyi drank the supplement, then put a candy in Gu Jinyi’s palm like rewarding a child.

He said softly, “The supplement is very bitter.”

Gu Jinyi looked at the round candy, wanting to say that he didn’t mind the bitterness, as no one had ever cajoled him to take medicine since he was little.

It was during his time in the sanatorium that Fu Chen would give him pudding after taking his medicine.

But in the end, he didn’t say anything, tore open the packaging, and put the candy in his mouth. It was his favorite strawberry flavor.

Seeing him eat the candy, Xie Huaizhou stood up and returned to the desk, finishing the last of his work. Then he went to the balcony to smoke.

The balcony had floor-to-ceiling windows, and Gu Jinyi could clearly see Xie Huaizhou’s back from the bed.

Tall, broad-shouldered, narrow-waisted, seemingly slender yet muscular, giving a sense of security.

In fact, he had noticed before that Xie Huaizhou’s back resembled Fu Chen’s, so much so that he could hardly distinguish between them.

Actually, during his time on G6 Star, during the years married to Chu Miyun, he hadn’t thought of Fu Chen so frequently anymore.

Since that last plea to Fu Chen before going into surgery, but receiving no response, he had begun to avoid anything related to Fu Chen.

The days on G6 Star were calm, and after a long time, he became numb to it all.

But ever since he came to Baidi Star, to Xie Huaizhou’s side, these memories of his seemed to slowly awaken.

Xie Huaizhou’s pheromones, Xie Huaizhou’s back, Xie Huaizhou’s unconscious habits, all reminded him of Fu Chen.

He knew it was disrespectful to see one person as another, but as he watched Xie Huaizhou smoking on the balcony, his heart couldn’t control the dull ache.

He even thought, if he had fallen in love with Xie Huaizhou back then, wouldn’t it be much easier? At least Xie Huaizhou looked like a gentle and responsible person at first glance. Even if he wanted to leave, he would give him a dignified ending.

…

Xie Huaizhou smoked seven or eight cigarettes on the balcony.

He hadn’t smoked so many cigarettes in a long time because Gu Jinyi didn’t like the smell of smoke.

But his mood was really bad today.

He stared expressionlessly at the wind chimes in the garden, thinking, being a decent person seemed to be of no use.

He tried to play the gentle and upright person that Gu Jinyi liked, but what was the use? Gu Jinyi was still crying for someone else in his bed.

Xie Huaizhou’s expression darkened, and the cigarette in his hand flickered in the night, accumulating a long section of ash, trembling as it broke off and fell onto the windowsill.

Gu Jinyi’s teary eyes were beautiful, but every time he thought that those tears were shed for someone else, the dark side of his heart woke up like a volcano under the sea.

Just two days ago, he was warning Xie Ke not to mess around, but today he was thinking, why bother pretending to be a good person? In the end, it’s all fake.

If he had to wait for Gu Jinyi to slowly forget Chu Miyun on his own, when would that be?

He truly didn’t want to use his kindness to exchange for Gu Jinyi’s compliance, because that wasn’t what he wanted, and even if Gu Jinyi slept with him, it wouldn’t be willingly.

But dealing with the softhearted Gu Jinyi wasn’t just about using kindness to seek repayment.

He knew Gu Jinyi too well, knew every little habit of his, and knew all of his weaknesses.

He extinguished the cigarette in his hand, turned around, and looked at Gu Jinyi through the French window.

Gu Jinyi was wearing soft champagne-colored pajamas, sitting at the head of the bed reading a book. His face was still a bit pale, but the light plated his face with a layer of honey-like light gold.

Xie Huaizhou silently watched him like this for a while.

Perhaps his gaze was too aggressive, Gu Jinyi looked up at him.

Xie Huaizhou smiled at him, very lightly, like a mask carved into his face.

But from such a distance, Gu Jinyi couldn’t see clearly.

Author’s Note:

Chu Jie, Xie Huaizhou’s number one imaginary enemy.