Last Love chapter 97
On this New Year’s Eve, it ended on a sour note.
Han Jiangque’s mood remained low, and Wen Ke held his hand, sitting together in the guest room for a while. During this time, Wen Ke tried to ask what had happened. Han Jiangque remained silent for a while and finally mentioned that there were disagreements in some previous collaborations but refused to go into details. Wen Ke didn’t press him further.
Actually, over the time they’ve been together, Wen Ke had somewhat noticed that Han Jiangque’s ability to communicate worsened when he couldn’t control his emotions. When they argued before, once Han Jiangque was genuinely angry, he would fall silent. For him, it seemed that the most adaptive way was to silently digest his emotions.
Wen Ke wasn’t sure if this was a good thing, but upon careful consideration, he realized that even as the person closest to him, he felt helpless during such times.
After a while, Wen Ke took Han Jiangque downstairs.
Wearing thick winter clothes, they built two big and two small snowmen together. Han Jiangque spoke very little, but his expression was very serious. After finishing, he even added a small black button as a nose for the snowman representing Wen Ke.
“You still remembered to bring buttons,” Wen Ke said, “Why not put one on the babies’ snowmen too?”
“It’s not from home.” Han Jiangque flipped up the hem of his coat to show Wen Ke. It turned out the button had been pulled from the inner pocket. Although it seemed a bit wasteful, when he explained it like this, he continued to gaze at the not-so-tall snowman.
There was no smile on his face, only his eyes containing a trace of tenderness. “So, only you have a nose.”
After saying this, he sighed softly while looking at the pitch-black night sky.
In that instant, Wen Ke suddenly realized that in Han Jiangque’s heart, perhaps Fu Xiaoyu was even more important than he had imagined.
Han Jiangque was truly in pain because of the argument. Of course, Wen Ke wasn’t jealous; he just felt a bit melancholic.
Han Jiangque was such a lonely Alpha.
In these ten years, during the times he was absent, it was probably fortunate that Fu Xiaoyu was there for him.
Just for this companionship, he should be grateful.
After returning home, while Han Jiangque was washing up, Wen Ke secretly called Xu Jiale to inquire about the situation.
“Xu Jiale, how’s Fu Xiaoyu? Did you take him home?”
“No.” Xu Jiale’s voice sounded calm. “We chose a quiet bar, chatted for a while, and casually did the complete version questionnaire for the upcoming stages of Last Love—going back later.”
“Thank you. Did he recover? Is he still angry?”
“No problem. Fu Xiaoyu is a workaholic. Distracting him with work is quite effective.” Xu Jiale made a joking remark. “Alright, I’m at the bar counter ordering drinks. I’ll talk to you later.”
Wen Ke sighed in relief after hanging up the phone. With Xu Jiale taking care of Fu Xiaoyu, he felt more at ease.
…
New Year’s Eve passed somewhat tumultuously. After Wang Jinglin officially joined LITE, the Last love app project entered a rapid development phase, and more than ten employees were hired.
However, Wen Ke still went to the Gemini Tower almost every day.
Together with Xu Jiale, they came up with a plan to cooperate with B City’s universities. Before the official launch of the app, they would organize events on various campuses to let college students experience the matching function of the app. Later, they would contact the media to promote it.
As soon as this idea came out, Wen Ke was particularly excited. Intuitively, he felt that this promotion plan should be very successful, both in terms of the target audience and its impact on the internet’s public opinion environment.
However, for some reason, perhaps due to the recent conflicts with Han Jiangque, Fu Xiaoyu did not attend the subsequent meetings.
Wen Ke did send him a few messages, but since he and Fu Xiaoyu weren’t that close, he felt he might be too attentive and could make things awkward, so he decided to leave it for the time being.
But the decision to promote the plan in universities had come down, and unexpectedly, alumni meetings became a necessary event—
Fan Yu, the former class moonitor from high school, was now a lecturer in the Social Sciences Department at B University. This explained why his contact with Xu Jiale was relatively close, as they were both in the same circle of people. However, Xu Jiale had more connections abroad, while Fan Yu’s connections were more domestic.
Therefore, just as Xu Jiale casually mentioned before, everyone was in B City, and once they truly entered society, these interpersonal relationships were simply unavoidable.
Since Wen Ke felt it necessary to attend, Han Jiangque naturally had no objections. For him, the significance of such socializing was probably just accompanying Wen Ke.
The alumni meeting was eventually set at the Treasure Restaurant in the northern city area, with Fan Yu as the host. As he was treating, Wen Ke went to buy two bottles of high-quality single malt whiskey to bring along. After such a long time without seeing high school classmates, he was a bit nervous and excited deep down.
That day, Wen Ke carefully chose a light gray suit and waistcoat with a long black coat on the outside for Han Jiangque. With a height of 1.9 meters, such a triangular outfit might seem too imposing on others, but on him, it was quite stylish. His pitch-black beautiful eyes and sharply defined deep contours made him more suitable for this cold winter.
When Wen Ke and Han Jiangque entered the private room at Treasure Restaurant, they were immediately greeted by a lively and noisy atmosphere.
“The class monitor has finally arrived! Class monitor!”
The first voice to come out was very lively, and even before Wen Ke could see who was sitting inside, he could tell it was the sports committee member, Sun Bin.
After Sun Bin’s shout, laughter erupted inside, and many people stood up to welcome them.
In that moment, the steaming scent of hot scorpion hot pot and the enthusiastic greetings from old classmates suddenly brewed into a strange and overwhelming emotion.
Wen Ke hadn’t even had the chance to see clearly who was coming over to greet him, but he already felt… like he was back.
After ten years, he returned to Class 8 of North Third High School, the collective where he once felt so comfortable.
“Wen Ke, it’s been long. We’ve been wanting to get together with you these past few years!”
The class monitor Fan Yu had gained some weight. As a Beta, he had a gentle temperament, and now his round face looked even more amiable. He shook Wen Ke’s hand firmly and said with a smile, “Han Jiangque is here too. I heard from Xu Jiale that you two are together. Oh, your belly is already so big. Congratulations!”
“He’s the pregnant one. Let him sit first.” Sun Bin said with a smile, “Ah, class monitor, we only have one Omega in our class. It’s like protecting an endangered species.”
After Wen Ke sat down, the heat from the pot made his eyes feel a bit warm. In that moment, he suddenly felt a bit regretful—
In the senior year of high school ten years ago, too much happened to him in a short period. From discovering he was an Omega and hurriedly transferring, to his mother falling seriously ill, and then getting expelled due to involvement in a cheating incident. He felt he couldn’t face those classmates. He thought his gender was shameful, his poverty was shameful, and cheating was even more embarrassing.
Under this wave of continuous blows, he actively chose to distance himself from everything related to high school in the past ten years.
But with the passage of time, when he looked back on those years, perhaps he didn’t need to be so afraid or concerned.
Because what seemed earth-shattering when it happened to him might be just a trivial matter to others after ten years.
Wen Ke took a deep breath and suddenly felt as if there was a murky breath in his chest, slowly dissipating.
There were a total of nine people in the private room, excluding Xu Jiale, Wen Ke, and Han Jiangque. Six classmates from their class were present, three of whom were working in B City, and the other two were in nearby cities, making a special trip to attend the gathering this weekend.
Fan Yu and Sun Bin were very familiar with Wen Ke during high school, and when everyone started chatting, it seemed like the estrangement of the past ten years no longer existed. The warmth felt like a casual class reunion from a decade ago.
Han Jiangque still spoke very little, but everyone was curious about him.
Classmates treated Han Jiangque and Wen Ke differently, and as Sun Bin said, Wen Ke was, after all, an Omega. In this AB class, people treated him more gently and kindly.
But Han Jiangque was an Alpha who dominated the class with pheromones. Other male classmates treated him with a somewhat scrutinizing and comparative attitude.
“Han Jiangque, I’m really curious. After all these years, why do you look more handsome? Do you have any secrets?”
Sun Bin joked while drinking beer.
During this reunion, the classmates who could maintain the same spirited appearance as before were not many. Despite being in their late twenties, they all seemed to carry traces of the passage of time. Fan Yu had gained weight, Sun Bin had become a business director and lost some hair due to overtime, and Wang Jiajia, an Alpha woman, despite applying delicate makeup, couldn’t hide the tiredness on her face.
But Han Jiangque was different.
He was probably the kind of person whose peak attractiveness could be seen in ordinary life, with blurred boundaries between him and celebrities.
Jet-black and glossy black hair, along with the same-colored deep and profound black eyes. The only flaw on his face was the scar between his eyebrows.
You could certainly see the passage of time on him, but it seemed as if a gentle breeze had touched his face in the summer, making even his gaze as clear and beautiful as it was ten years ago.
“I…”
Han Jiangque paused. He wasn’t good at dealing with this kind of situation. Since his teenage years, he had been a marginal figure in this same-sex class. Suddenly becoming the center of attention, he didn’t know how to respond.
“Why bother asking?” Fan Yu laughed, intervening, “Because he’s with Wen Ke.”
“That makes sense.” Sun Bin also burst into laughter and then continued curiously, “Wen Ke is running a company now. What about you, Han Jiangque? Are you running a shop together with him? Or are you busy with your own affairs?”
“I have my own things to do.”
Han Jiangque answered briefly.
“What things?” Sun Bin didn’t let him off, half-jokingly and half-seriously asking. The others also stopped what they were doing, turning their heads to look, apparently eager to know the answer.
This was probably the interesting part of the class reunion that Xu Jiale mentioned.
Everyone was very eager to know each other’s current status and strength; this was the foundation of an Alpha. Just like Sun Bin jokingly mentioned being a busy business director, the real intention was, of course, not to emphasize how busy he was but rather to convey a sense of self-importance—
This subtle comparison mentality, precisely because Han Jiangque’s appearance was so outstanding, made them even more relentless in seeking answers.
Han Jiangque looked at Sun Bin without immediately responding. He obviously wasn’t too happy. He remained silent, and everyone in the room felt somewhat awkward.
Wang Jiajia seized the opportunity to interject, “Hey, Wen Ke, I was just making a call by the window. I saw you driving a Land Rover? Is it a new model? Is it expensive? My family also wants to buy a car, but a Land Rover feels too extravagant. How much is the base model?”
After Wen Ke stated the price, Sun Bin couldn’t help but be surprised for a moment, then immediately laughed loudly, “Impressive, Han Jiangque. So mysterious, looks like you’re also a big boss now.”
“No,” Han Jiangque immediately denied, saying directly, “The car was bought by Wen Ke.”
This statement challenged the understanding of the Alphas to some extent. Even Wang Jiajia, as a female, was undoubtedly outstanding in supporting her family. Her expression became somewhat complex.
“It’s not that mysterious.”
A voice suddenly floated over.
At this moment, everyone turned their heads and saw the door of the private room being opened by a waiter. Zhuo Yuan, holding a large coat, stood at the doorway, smiling and saying this sentence.
Han Jiangque’s face suddenly darkened. Before he and Wen Ke could speak, Fan Yu had already stood up in surprise, “Zhuo Yuan? Didn’t you say you were out of town today, so you wouldn’t come? Look… you didn’t even tell me in advance.”
He seemed a bit embarrassed. As the host, he had invited Wen Ke only after learning that Zhuo Yuan wouldn’t be coming.
Now, with this sudden turn of events, not only he but also the other classmates in the room felt somewhat uneasy. However, he was originally a good-natured person, and for a while, he could only reluctantly complain about this situation.
“I changed my plans temporarily,” Zhuo Yuan pretended not to know Fan Yu’s embarrassment and said with a smile, “So I thought, it’s been so long since we all got together, why not come and take a look? Besides, mainly… I wanted to have a few words with Wen Ke.”
Wen Ke looked at the teacup in his hand, and for a moment, he really felt a feeling like a fishbone stuck in his throat. Ignoring Zhuo Yuan completely in this social setting would be inappropriate, but he really felt extremely uncomfortable with Zhuo Yuan’s sudden appearance.
“Oh, Zhuo Yuan, what did you say just now?” Sun Bin suddenly remembered something at this time, “Not that mysterious? What’s not that mysterious?”
“Oh, I heard you guys talking about Han Jiangque’s profession while I was walking in,” Zhuo Yuan casually hung his coat on a wooden hanger on the side, then turned around to answer, “I happen to know about it. It’s really not that mysterious… Do you guys know about the LM Club in the North City? Han Jiangque is an accompanying Alpha consultant there.”
With his words, the entire private room fell into silence.
But Zhuo Yuan seemed completely indifferent. He took two steps forward, looked at Wen Ke, lowered his voice, and suddenly revealed a very affectionate look, “Xiao Ke, I know you have a lot of dissatisfaction with me in your heart now, so after the divorce, you blocked my WeChat and refused to contact me. That’s fine. But I really care about you, so I came today, really just to remind you of something—”
“You should be careful with Han Jiangque.”
Zhuo Yuan said each word deliberately, “I know you the best, Xiao Ke. You are too naive. I watched you willingly put in so much for him, buying cars, buying houses. I really feel sorry for you.”
“Zhuo Yuan!” Wen Ke suddenly slammed the cup onto the table, saying sternly, “If you came to have a meal, then eat. Today, everyone has finally gathered together. I hope you don’t make the atmosphere so unpleasant. I have no relationship with you now, and I don’t need you to discuss the person I like.”
“Do you really know him?” Zhuo Yuan suddenly raised his voice, almost overpowering Wen Ke’s voice. He passionately continued, “Didn’t you just buy him a Land Rover? Do you know where he lived before living with you? Maxloft in the North City! Do you know how many cars are under his name? The Land Rover can’t even make it to the top three.”
“Do you know who gave him all these things? It’s Fu Xiaoyu from the IM Group! Just a few days ago, he even had a private meeting with Fu Xiaoyu at the LM Club, seen by people from our company. Silly Xiao Ke, don’t you know you’re being played!”