Pheromone Deficiency Syndrome chapter 26

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The next morning, Gu Jinyi and Xie Huaizhou left the inn. The landlady bid them farewell warmly and gave Gu Jinyi a small bottle of wine made in her own home.

“Welcome back to Bai Chuan anytime,” she said with a smile.

Gu Jinyi didn’t refuse and hugged the landlady back.

Xie Huaizhou stood by, already used to this scene. Gu Jinyi was always very popular wherever he went. He was a comforting omega, naturally more affable than others, and easy to get along with.

That day, Xie Huaizhou didn’t arrange for them to take the water train again but arranged for a faster aircraft. However, Bai Chuan was a place with many preserved ancient buildings, and in order to maximize the restoration of the era from a thousand years ago, there were no places for aircraft to land. So, they had to walk a distance again.

Passing by a square, Gu Jinyi’s attention was drawn to handmade crafts on the roadside. He stopped to buy souvenirs for Qu Xiaonian.

While picking, he said to Xie Huaizhou, “I wonder who this child takes after. Chu Miyun didn’t like pink or blue little things at all, but Qu Xiaonian likes them very much.”

Xie Huaizhou was now calm after hearing about Chu Miyun and even echoed a few words, “Children don’t always take after their parents.”

In the end, Gu Jinyi chose a whole set of Bai Chuan commemorative albums and also bought handmade wooden dolls and puzzles.

As they were about to leave, Gu Jinyi noticed that there was already an open-air performance on the square. He was a bit curious, so he stood and watched for a while.

The performance depicted the story of the female governor and her beta lover from a thousand years ago.

This story was well-known throughout Roselle because marriages between beta and alpha were much rarer back then. The two of them had also visited Bai Chuan, so it was not surprising that Bai Chuan would perform this drama.

Xie Huaizhou had never had much appreciation for romantic dramas. He asked Gu Jinyi, “Do you like this play?”

Gu Jinyi shook his head. “I’ve seen it many times when I was in school.”

The reason he stopped was that the costumes and jewelry of the actresses were characteristic of Bai Chuan, which was quite interesting, so he watched for a while longer.

“And…” Gu Jinyi looked at the actress playing the female governor, who was promising her lover affectionately, feeling a bit ironic, “My former history professor said that in real history, this story wasn’t so beautiful. This female governor had quite a few lovers.”

The current version of the story circulated that the female governor met this beta when she was in distress. After returning to her family, she lost her memory due to various obstacles, leading to a ten-year separation from her lover. After she married this beta, the two lived happily ever after, never to be separated.

But according to historical research, after this female governor married the beta, she still had several lovers at the same time. This beta probably knew about it, but what could he do?

To say that the female governor didn’t love him was not accurate, otherwise, she wouldn’t have insisted on marrying a beta at the time.

But how much love was there, was something that couldn’t be delved into.

Gu Jinyi watched for a while longer, took a few photos for further study, and then left with Xie Huaizhou.

Walking on the road, he said to Xie Huaizhou, “Actually, I also acted in that play just now when I was in school. One of the drama club members fell ill, so they dragged me in at the last minute.”

Xie Huaizhou didn’t know about this and asked, “What did you play, the lead role?”

Gu Jinyi shook his head with a smile. “How could a last-minute substitute play the lead role? I played the female governor’s fiancé, who broke off the engagement to fulfill her love. This person’s existence is controversial in history, but for the drama club at school, it didn’t matter.”

His role didn’t have many lines, more like a vase, but Chu Miyun and Qu Xi still rallied a bunch of people to cheer for him, even brought flower baskets. Those who didn’t know thought he played some incredible role.

On the flight back, Gu Jinyi was video chatting with Qu Xiaonian, while Xie Huaizhou found the video of Gu Jinyi’s guest appearance in the drama on the star network.

The drama club members uploaded the video to the exclusive station of Lande Academy. The academy was a relatively closed existence, although this video caused quite a stir on campus, not many people uploaded it to the star network.

As soon as Xie Huaizhou opened it, he saw Gu Jinyi’s poster.

He wasn’t the protagonist, but perhaps the drama club thought of using his face to attract the audience, so they made a separate poster for him.

The poster only showed Gu Jinyi’s profile.

He was wearing a pure white suit, with a slender and flexible waist, hands clasped in front of his chest, wrists wrapped with a red bead bracelet, making his skin even more radiant like jade.

A light white veil covered his head, and behind the lace, his face was blurred like a dream. Clearly smiling, but his eyelashes were slightly drooping, with a lingering melancholy.

This was the attire worn at the beta wedding over a thousand years ago.

He played the female governor’s fiancé but never witnessed a wedding.

His waiting silhouette forever frozen in time.

This poster was very successful. Even though the role of the fiancé had little presence, only appearing briefly at the end, the discussion section of the video was filled with students protesting—

“Is the female governor blind?!”

“Who has this beta’s contact information? Urgently needed.”

…

Xie Huaizhou’s face showed a subtle expression as he scrolled down.

But he scrolled down further and saw a comment with a different tone among the chaotic ones.

“Who could disappoint such a beauty? He deserves to be worshiped.”

Xie Huaizhou looked at this comment for a long time, then glanced at Gu Jinyi opposite him.

Gu Jinyi was chatting with Qu Xiaonian with a bright smile. He noticed Xie Huaizhou’s gaze but didn’t restrain his smile.

Those people in the comments were eager to express their admiration for Gu Jinyi, as if he were naturally meant to be loved by everyone, undisturbed by the outside world.

But he knew that Gu Jinyi hadn’t been truly loved in his upbringing.

……

Xie Huaizhou had almost finished dealing with things on Roselle, and considering they had been here for nearly ten days, he verified the final details with the Liu family and was about to return to Baidi Star.

Before leaving, they visited Lande Academy again to bid farewell to Qu Xi.

Qu Xi didn’t say anything to try to keep them. She and Gu Jinyi had long been adults with their own lives, and they couldn’t accompany each other like they did in college.

She was a bit sad but didn’t show it.

After dinner, the three of them parted ways at the intersection.

Qu Xi hugged Gu Jinyi. “Remember to contact me if you need anything.”

Then she glanced at Xie Huaizhou. “Please take good care of him.”

Gu Jinyi couldn’t help but chuckle. Clearly, Qu Xi, who used to be younger than him, now sounded like an elder, earnestly giving instructions.

As he watched Qu Xi’s figure fade into the distance, he remembered the first time he met her. Back then, this girl was not so tall, with her hair tied up in a ponytail, her plain face showing no emotions, feeling out of place with her surroundings.

But now, as she walked down the street, many people greeted her, either intimately or respectfully.

That’s good.

Even without him and Chu Mi Yun, Qu Xi was doing just fine.

Gu Jinyi and Xie Huaizhou left Roselle Star in the afternoon.

After a long flight, the spacecraft landed on Baidi Star.

Chu Xiaonian had just returned from kindergarten, wearing a pea-green jacket, and ran over from a short distance away, throwing himself into Gu Jinyi’s arms.

“Daddy!”

Gu Jinyi lifted Chu Xiaonian from the ground, giving him a little shake, feeling like he had gained some weight.

Chu Xiaonian kissed Gu Jinyi’s face twice, his chubby face pressed against Gu Jinyi’s. “I missed you so much.”

Gu Jinyi felt his heart melting. “Daddy missed you too.”

Chu Xiaonian snuggled with Gu Jinyi for a while before remembering the “Uncle Xie” he had ignored.

He also had a good relationship with Xie Huaizhou, immediately reaching out to him, asking Xie Huaizhou to hug him too.

Because Chu Xiaonian was told by his mother that you only hug someone you like, so he always felt that his hugs were very precious.

As Chu Xiaonian wished, Xie Huaizhou lifted him up and, without hesitation, pointed out his weight gain. “You seem a little heavier.”

Chu Xiaonian: “….”

With one hand holding Gu Jinyi’s hand and the other holding Chu Xiaonian, Xie Huaizhou walked into the house.

All night long, Chu Xiaonian refused to leave Gu Jinyi’s side. Being apart for ten days was already the limit for him, and he couldn’t wait to show Gu Jinyi what he had learned in kindergarten.

It wasn’t until Gu Jinyi received a phone call about his jewelry design work that Chu Xiaonian reluctantly let go of him.

When Gu Jinyi finished his call with the client and returned to the living room, he found Chu Xiaonian sitting quietly on Xie Huaizhou’s lap, listening to Xie Huaizhou reading a fairy tale.

Gu Jinyi couldn’t help but be surprised.

Xie Huaizhou reading a fairy tale seemed out of place; he was naturally suited for business and battle, with no hint of homeliness about him.

But perhaps it was because the room was warm, and the lighting was soft, that Xie Huaizhou’s profile even seemed gentle.

He read the fairy tale word by word, devoid of any emotion, even more mechanical than a robot.

Chu Xiaonian listened absently, more focused on playing with the buttons on Xie Huaizhou’s wrist.

Gu Jinyi couldn’t help but smile.

Instead of walking over, he watched for a while.

The scene before him was almost the perfect image of what he imagined a home to be.

The home he needed wasn’t a specific house or a display in a shop window, but an atmosphere that made him feel safe and warm.

In this home, he would never be hurt, nor would he be shut out.

Chu Miyun had once given him a refuge, allowing him a place to rest when he was at his most vulnerable.

But that home didn’t belong to him in the end because friends and lovers were different; they didn’t belong to each other, and someday they would part ways.

But Xie Huaizhou was different.

Xie Huaizhou said he loved him.

Xie Huaizhou said he was willing to stay by his side forever.

Gu Jinyi was almost enchanted by this scene, as if he could reach out and grasp everything he had longed for in his youth.

But another voice in his mind was sarcastically telling him not to believe.

Someone had once said they would always be with him, but what he eventually got was a breakup notice.

Perhaps he had been standing by the door for too long, and Xie Huaizhou and Chu Xiaonian noticed him together.

Chu Xiaonian couldn’t wait to have someone else tell the story, flapping his chubby hands and calling out to him, “Daddy, come quickly.”

Gu Jinyi walked over and sat on the sofa as well.

He finished reading the story to Chu Xiaonian.

Chu Xiaonian was still sitting in Xie Huaizhou’s arms, but Xie Huaizhou had wrapped an arm around Gu Jinyi.