Pheromone Deficiency Syndrome chapter 54

Offering Oneself

Xie Huaizhou and Gu Jinyi’s wedding was arranged very discreetly.

When they say discreet, it was basically impenetrable. Apart from their own invited friends and relatives, not even some of Xie Huaizhou’s acquaintances in the business world were invited.

They vanished completely from the public eye, their wedding being a private affair just for themselves.

Xie Ke received numerous calls inquiring about it. It wasn’t clear where the information came from, but they were testing the waters to see if they should congratulate Xie Huaizhou.

He just laughed it off every time, not mentioning anything about a wedding, just saying his cousin was happily in love and celebrating his wedding anniversary.

It was unclear whether the people on the other end believed him or not, but they couldn’t ask further. They could only exchange a few words with Xie Ke indifferently before hanging up.

Xie Ke silently set his phone to reject calls mode.

But when he browsed the entertainment section of the StarNet, he couldn’t blame people’s curiosity about gossip.

Because his cousin had been appearing on the headlines of StarNet’s entertainment section quite frequently lately.

And each time, he wasn’t alone, but with Gu Jinyi.

Although Xie Huaizhou had married Gu Jinyi, the marriage was somewhat clandestine. Even though the wedding ring had long been proudly worn, and never taken off, he never appeared with Gu Jinyi in public, and hardly ever mentioned him, not even releasing a single photo together.

This made his marital status quite mysterious.

Not only were the onlookers puzzled, but many people in their circle couldn’t understand his actions either. They had discussed it several times over tea and meals, not knowing whether Xie Huaizhou’s relationship with his mysterious partner was good or bad.

So, on StarNet, discussions about Xie Huaizhou’s marriage became even more abundant, with one version more bizarre than the next. The most absurd one was speculating that Xie Huaizhou had never been married, and his partner was purely fabricated.

Sometimes, Xie Ke would click on these discussions, enjoying rolling around on the couch.

But now, as he opened the entertainment section again, he noticed his cousin’s photos were particularly eye-catching, with videos attached below.

He curiously clicked on one.

Although the video quality was average, it was still possible to see Xie Huaizhou’s excellent figure and side profile. And in Xie Huaizhou’s arms, anyone could see a slender figure wrapped in a soft white knitted sweater. Although the face wasn’t visible, even if it was blurry, the beauty could still be felt.

In the video, Xie Huaizhou didn’t make any overly intimate gestures, but the way he looked down at the person in his arms was unmistakably affectionate. Regardless of what the person said, he listened attentively, occasionally showing a faint smile.

Not to mention those who knew the inside story like Xie Ke, even bystanders were a little dazed.

Xie Huaizhou was also a favorite target of the media for tracking and reporting, with topics, looks, and family background. He had made numerous public appearances.

But in all those videos, he had hardly ever smiled.

He seemed to lack emotional fluctuations naturally, no matter how chaotic things were, he always remained aloof.

Some media had once sarcastically said that the head of the Xie family was probably too involved in AI development and robotics research, so much so that he had started living like a robot himself.

But now, everyone knew.

Turns out, he could be gentle when he smiled.

But only towards a specific person.

After this video came out, many media outlets successively captured many videos and photos of Xie Huaizhou with this person going out, but none showed their faces.

At first, there was a lot of buzz on StarNet, and many people believed that this person was not Xie Huaizhou’s partner at all.

But later, the official account of the Xie Group came out and claimed it.

The person in the video was indeed Xie Huaizhou’s legitimate partner.

It was the other owner of the Xie Group.

When Xie Ke saw this message, he didn’t know what to feel for a moment. He felt amused and sad at the same time.

The speculations from the outside world all thought that this marriage was being hidden by Xie Huaizhou, thinking that Xie Huaizhou didn’t want it to be public.

However, the truth was quite the opposite.

Everyone thought his brother was dominant, with such a vast business empire, and he was a top-notch alpha.

But in his opinion, the one who was always gentle and had a beautiful smile, Gu Jinyi, was the truly powerful one between them.

But fortunately, no matter what happened in the past, these two were finally about to start a new chapter.

As his younger cousin, he could consider his mission accomplished.

Xie Ke closed the Star Network page, lying on the balcony’s rocking chair, pondering whether he should also find a partner.

A few days before the wedding, Gu Jinyi and Xie Huaizhou returned to the sanatorium where he had once stayed.

It wasn’t a deliberate decision, just one night, while flipping through inventory photos, he suddenly remembered this.

So they went.

The entire sanatorium had been bought by Xie Huaizhou, right after Gu Jinyi married Chu Miyun.

Everything inside remained the same.

The white villa where he had lived was located on the west side of the sanatorium, with a red roof. Sparse flowers were planted in the yard, and there was a small porch in front of the villa, where one could sit and enjoy the cool breeze.

When Gu Jinyi stepped into the yard, he stood at the door for a while without moving.

From here, it seemed like time had truly frozen six years ago.

He had picked up Xie Huaizhou from the forest and settled him in a small room on the first floor, then fell in love with this person in their daily interactions, only to ultimately lose him.

All of this happened in this inconspicuous little villa.

He glanced sideways at Xie Huaizhou, who had no expression, but he could clearly see Xie Huaizhou was nervous.

He couldn’t help but smile.

But he didn’t say anything and walked in with Xie Huaizhou.

Now it was autumn, and the osmanthus in the yard was blooming, emitting a faintly sweet and soft fragrance, reminding him of the flower honey his mother used to make when he was a child.

He and Xie Huaizhou sat together under the porch, drinking sweet-tasting wine. The evening breeze was gentle, blowing their hair, and the setting sun cast a golden glow on the wooden floor.

During these years apart from Xie Huaizhou, except for the initial days of waiting, Gu Jinyi had never returned to this little planet.

He didn’t even want to think about this place.

But now, sitting here with the evening breeze blowing, leaning on Xie Huaizhou’s shoulder, with the faint fragrance of osmanthus flowers all around, he felt a calmness in his heart that he had never experienced before, and he didn’t particularly want to recall those heart-wrenching past events.

Instead, he remembered stealing a kiss from Xie Huaizhou on the porch.

At that time, Xie Huaizhou had already begun to have feelings for him, but he didn’t know if this person liked him or not. His eyes followed Xie Huaizhou everywhere, his feelings about to overflow, but he refused to reveal them.

Xie Huaizhou pretended not to know about his feelings and continued to interact with him as usual.

Then one rainy afternoon.

Xie Huaizhou was resting on the veranda, looking as if he was asleep. He passed by, and as if under a spell, he couldn’t move, and he stared at Xie Huaizhou for a long time.

Now, when Gu Jinyi recalled it, he felt he had been incredibly foolish.

Xie Huaizhou was so obviously trying to bait him, how could he not notice and even foolishly walk into the trap?

But at the age of twenty, he knew nothing about Xie Huaizhou’s tricks.

He watched anxiously for nearly half an hour, as if finally confirming that Xie Huaizhou wouldn’t wake up.

The garden was too quiet, with only sporadic bird calls. It had just rained, and the air was mixed with the fragrance of flowers, fresh and moist, suitable for the beginning of all romantic stories.

He was like a naive little thief, sneaking up to Xie Huaizhou, who was lying on the porch, and gently kissed him on the lips.

It was the purest kind of kiss, like flower petals brushing softly against lips, like a dragonfly landing on water.

He could almost hear his own heartbeat, thumping loudly, almost drowning out all other sounds.

Just this simple touch satisfied him, and a smile crept onto his lips, as if he had just received some great blessing.

However, clumsy thieves are bound to be caught.

Just as he was about to sneak away, the alpha, who should have been asleep, wrapped an arm around his waist.

Before he could even panic, he was met with a pair of eyes, smiling yet sharp, sharper than a blade yet gentler than a stream.

“Stealing a kiss and wanting to run?” Xie Huaizhou looped an arm around his waist, while the other played with his lips. “There’s no such easy thing.”

He panicked, inexperienced in doing something wrong for the first time.

But before he could come up with a reasonable excuse,

His vision spun, his shoulder hit the wooden floor, and someone’s hand cushioned his head.

And then, he received a real kiss.

The scent of red tea mixed with a hint of sea breeze, the air so humid it felt like it could drip, the flowers in the yard falling to the ground, the birds chirping melodiously.

He was kissed until tears blurred his vision. Even though he was the one who stole the kiss, he was the one left dazed.

In a daze, he heard Xie Huaizhou say, “You have to take responsibility for kissing someone.”

Now, when Gu Jinyi recalled that time, and looked at Xie Huaizhou beside him, he couldn’t help but feel that two big words were written on the man’s face — big liar.

Kissing someone meant taking responsibility.

His kiss in front of Xie Huaizhou, at most, was child’s play.

This made his gaze towards Xie Huaizhou a little less friendly.

Xie Huaizhou immediately noticed, turning to ask him, “What’s wrong?”

Gu Jinyi pursed his lips slightly. “I remembered the time you tricked me.”

“Back then, you were right here in this corridor, pretending to be asleep, tricking me into kissing you.”

Gu Jinyi glared at him angrily, and in an instant, his expression seemed to return to that naive and innocent young man from back then.

Xie Huaizhou couldn’t understand Gu Jinyi’s words for a moment.

After a while, he finally understood that Gu Jinyi was talking about six years ago, when they had just gotten together.

He really was pretending to be asleep.

Because Gu Jinyi was just too easy to understand, his affection written all over his face, with a pair of innocent and sincere eyes, always following him.

Looking at the twenty-six-year-old Gu Jinyi in front of him, Xie Huaizhou couldn’t help but smile.

Gu Jinyi glanced at him unhappily. “All you know is to trick me, tricked me into kissing you, tricked me into thinking you like me, and even told ghost stories at night to scare me.”

The more he spoke, the more indignant he became.

Xie Huaizhou was indeed much more of a jerk six years ago than he was now. His mind was even more cunning, and he told ghost stories with ulterior motives, all just to trick Gu Jinyi into bed.

Xie Huaizhou rubbed his nose, unable to deny it.

But as he looked at Gu Jinyi’s profile in the sunset, the curve of his lips grew bigger and bigger, until he couldn’t help but lean in, pulling him into his arms.

He buried his head in Gu Jinyi’s neck.

“It really was my fault, I was too much of a jerk,” he apologized as he kissed Gu Jinyi’s neck, “What should I do? I can only apologize by offering myself.”

The fingers Gu Jinyi had placed on the corridor curled up.

His face turned red, but he didn’t refuse Xie Huaizhou’s offer to apologize by offering himself.

He lowered his head and looked at the ring on his finger. In two days, it would be their wedding.

Xie Huaizhou really was going to make up for it, because they still had many, many years of companionship ahead of them.