Pheromone Deficiency Syndrome chapter 27
Preparation
After returning to Baidi Star, Xie Huaizhou’s work visibly became busy. This trip to Roselle Star was considered a vacation, so he had accumulated a lot of work, resulting in several late nights.
Gu Jinyi’s workload, on the other hand, eased up a bit.
He recently turned down several jewelry design projects, leaving only one job in the studio.
There was a prestigious jewelry design competition, the Olsen Design Competition, which was about to begin. He had missed the registration deadline last year due to some issues, so this year he wanted to give himself more time to prepare.
He distributed gifts brought back from Roselle Star to his studio colleagues. They were handmade items, not overly valuable but still beautiful and delicate, warmly welcomed by his colleagues.
He also brought candies and snacks for the students in the art studio. The group of teenagers, suddenly disinterested in drawing, turned the classroom into a tea party.
Many of the students had been to Roselle Star before. A girl with twin ponytails asked Gu Jinyi, “Assistant Gu, did you go see the Golden Waterfall? This year happens to be the flood season.”
Gu Jinyi nodded. “Yes, I did. It was beautiful.”
A chubby boy next to her chimed in, “That’s great. I didn’t see it last time. And I saw on the Star Network that the waterfall was privately booked for the first day this year. I wonder who was so extravagant.”
Gu Jinyi took a bite of his pastry and coughed.
Embarrassingly enough, he was the one who had cleared the Golden Waterfall for a day.
The students didn’t notice, chatting and laughing away.
“I saw that news too. It’s probably someone from the Liu family.”
“I doubt it. The Liu family shouldn’t be so enthusiastic. Most likely, it’s some young master who loves showing off.”
Listening to their conversation, Gu Jinyi couldn’t help but feel amused. The connection between Xie Huaizhou and the “young master who loves showing off” was quite out of place.
But he didn’t let the students chat for too long. After a fifteen-minute break, he urged them back to their drawings.
The students reluctantly picked up their brushes, their faces full of reluctance, but they still obediently started to draw.
After wandering around the classroom for a while and seeing no need for guidance at the moment, Gu Jinyi lowered his head to look at his tablet. Then, at a glance, he saw the message Xie Huaizhou had sent him.
It wasn’t anything special, just a picture of a little cat stuck in a door crack, so chubby that it couldn’t squeeze through.
“This cat sneaked into the company from outside. It’s too fat and got stuck in the crack.”
Gu Jinyi could imagine what Xie Huaizhou looked like when he sent this message, probably expressionless while typing.
He knew Xie Huaizhou sent him the picture because he liked cats.
He couldn’t help but smile and replied, “So now what? Have you found its owner?”
Xie Huaizhou replied quickly, “No, it’s probably a stray cat. It’s been caught by an employee and will be taken to be neutered after work.”
Gu Jinyi stared at the words “neutered” for a while and laughed for a long time.
The students next to him were secretly observing him, exchanging glances, and whispered, “Assistant Gu must be chatting with his husband, that’s why he’s smiling so sweetly.”
“Definitely. But could you please stop reminding me of the fact that Assistant Gu is married? I’ve just managed to forget about it!”
Gu Jinyi chatted with Xie Huaizhou for a while. When he put down his tablet, he suddenly remembered that Xie Huaizhou’s birthday was coming up.
Less than a month away.
In fact, he had already started preparing a birthday gift for Xie Huaizhou because he was a jewelry designer and wanted to design a piece of jewelry for him.
But considering that the Xie family’s treasury probably had countless priceless jewels, he felt a bit embarrassed, thinking his own works couldn’t be considered precious.
So during lunchtime, he earnestly asked his colleagues for their opinions.
Because he was already familiar with his colleagues, he knew that except for Li Xiu and Wu Shan, none of them were single, especially Yan Lian, who, despite being young, had been in several relationships since high school, making him a key person to consult.
“What kind of gifts do Alphas like?” he asked.
Yan Lian put down his fork, seeming a bit disinterested.
“I haven’t received many gifts,” he smiled at Gu Jinyi, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes, “A watch and a tie clip, something practical.”
Gu Jinyi thought about it and agreed.
But Li Xiu and Wu Shan grinned mischievously.
“A watch and tie clip are too ordinary. Assistant Gu, when giving gifts sincerely, you should give what the other person wants the most.”
Gu Jinyi listened attentively.
Li Xiu with a lowered voice, leaned in close to Gu Jinyi’s ear, “What alphas like the most is to have their omega as a gift. Trust me, if you wear some sexy outfit and lie on the bed, any alpha will…”
Gu Jinyi didn’t listen further; he felt his ears were being polluted.
He silently picked up a piece of bread and stuffed it into Li Xiu’s mouth.
“Thanks, but I’ll pass for now.”
Li Xiu wasn’t annoyed at all; she happily finished the bread.
But after asking around, Gu Jinyi didn’t really get any helpful suggestions.
When he was with Fu Chen, who was penniless, he didn’t feel burdened at all. Picking a flower by the roadside could count as a gift, and he confidently placed it in Fu Chen’s hands.
And with Chu Miyun, they were friends, not bound by formalities, often checking each other’s shopping carts and picking something with eyes closed as a gift.
But Xie Huaizhou was different.
He genuinely wanted to be good to Xie Huaizhou. He hadn’t sorted out his feelings for Xie Huaizhou yet, but that didn’t prevent him from considering him very important.
Xie Huaizhou didn’t even remember his own birthday was coming up.
It was his grandfather who reminded him, and then he remembered.
His relationship with the relatives on his father’s side, except for Xie Ke, was not great, but his relationship with his grandfather had always been good.
But his grandfather didn’t live on Baidi Star; the old man was in good spirits and often traveled around, so he didn’t often bother him.
He gestured to his secretary to delay the meeting by twenty minutes and walked to the window to video chat with his grandfather.
His grandfather was seventy-three years old this year, a former soldier, and at this age, he didn’t look old at all, his eyes still commanding respect.
Someone who didn’t know might think he was always angry.
But Xie Huaizhou was used to it and calmly called out, “Grandpa.”
Shang He looked his grandson up and down, confirming that the man hadn’t lost weight, before grunting in satisfaction, “Hmm.”
“Do you remember that your birthday is coming up? Why don’t you come back and have a meal with me?”
Xie Huaizhou glanced at the calendar and realized his birthday was only twenty days away.
He admitted honestly, “I forgot.”
Shang He snorted from his nose, not surprised at all.
“Then what about that person by your side? Doesn’t he remind you? Doesn’t he care about your birthday? It seems you’re not that important to him either.”
Shang He took the opportunity to give Xie Huaizhou a dose of sarcasm.
Xie Huaizhou didn’t respond and didn’t get angry either, appearing indifferent.
Shang He couldn’t hold back, muttering, “Are you coming back or not? You’ve been married for several months, and I haven’t even met your omega yet.”
“You didn’t let me meet him before, saying you were afraid of adding to his psychological burden. But now, after so long, he should have adapted to it. Didn’t you two just go on your honeymoon?”
Xie Huaizhou raised an eyebrow; his grandfather’s words were still as sharp as ever.
He indeed didn’t plan to let Gu Jinyi meet his grandfather and other family members at first, because Gu Jinyi had just arrived on Baidi Star and hadn’t let his guard down. He didn’t want Gu Jinyi to force himself to cope, so he declined all invitations.
On the other hand, he also feared that introducing them formally might make Gu Jinyi realize his intentions. So, he hadn’t even held a wedding ceremony, as if it were truly just a contractual marriage.
“That wasn’t a honeymoon,” he explained to his grandfather, “it was just a business trip, and I took him along to relax.”
“That only proves you’re useless,” Shang He said coldly, “I don’t care, anyway, I want to see my grandson’s legal partner, you figure it out yourself.”
With that said, without giving Xie Huaizhou a chance to respond, he hung up the screen.
Xie Huaizhou looked at the blank screen, already accustomed to his grandfather’s irritable temperament for decades, calmly gesturing to his secretary, “Let’s start the meeting.”