Pheromone Deficiency Syndrome chapter 30

Birthday Gift

Xie Huaizhou’s grandfather was far from how he appeared on the surface.

He was a soldier when he was young, and even as he aged, he didn’t know how to be an affectionate elder. His nicknames for Xie Huaizhou were either “little bastard” or “rabbit cub.”

But he also paid attention to Chu Xiaonian’s preferences, chatting amiably with Gu Jinyi. Knowing that Gu Jinyi used to live on G6 star, he slapped his thigh and said, “Oh, I have an old subordinate who lives there. Haven’t seen him in years, I should pay him a visit sometime.”

Gu Jinyi gradually relaxed.

Although he didn’t have much experience interacting with elders, it didn’t prevent him from feeling that Shang He was a very approachable old man.

There were no rules of silence at Shang He’s dining table. He even showed Gu Jinyi some photos of himself when he was young in the army. The holographic images depicted a young officer full of vigor, a very attractive appearance that drew the gaze of omegas. Just standing there casually, exuded a strong hormonal appeal.

Gu Jinyi looked at the photos and then at Xie Huaizhou, chuckling softly. “Huaizhou looks a bit like you.”

Shang He waved his hand. “He’s nowhere near as handsome as me. I married his grandmother when I was 22, handsome and charming. He tricked you back at 29, a big difference.”

Gu Jinyi couldn’t help but chuckle.

Xie Huaizhou sneered, “You were able to marry Grandma at 22 because you had an engagement with her. Otherwise, Grandma wouldn’t have paid any attention to you. Grandma said she didn’t want to marry you at all.”

Shang He was furious, almost wanting to kick Xie Huaizhou out of the house.

…

After lunch, Shang He took Chu Xiaonian to play, as old people of his age liked children, especially those who were obedient and smiled a lot like Chu Xiaonian.

Meanwhile Xie Huaizhou took Gu Jinyi horseback riding in the back mountains.

Gu Jinyi knew how to ride, but he wasn’t particularly skilled. The Gu family hadn’t taught him properly, so he only learned half-heartedly.

Xie Huaizhou rode with him on the same horse, holding him from behind, claiming to guide his posture. However, their hands held together, shoulders touching. As the afternoon passed, Gu Jinyi may have learned a bit about horsemanship, but he became more proficient in kissing on horseback.

When they returned for dinner, his face was still a bit flushed, especially when he made eye contact with Shang He, he almost didn’t have the courage to lift his head.

Xie Huaizhou, however, remained as dignified and calm as usual, with a faint smile on his thin lips, and beneath his crow-like eyelashes was a pair of dark ink-like eyes.

He was chatting with his grandfather about Xie group’s recent investment projects, but under the table, his leg was against Gu Jinyi’s, knees deliberately or unintentionally touching.

The thin layer of fabric couldn’t block the warmth of their bodies, ambiguous yet concealed.

Gu Jinyi couldn’t help but glance at Xie Huaizhou, who caught his gaze but didn’t restrain himself at all.

He turned to chat with his grandfather, but his hand under the table was holding Gu Jinyi’s hand, forcing him to open his palm and writing in it.

Gu Jinyi wished he were illiterate so he couldn’t guess what Xie Huaizhou was writing.

It was a language that had long been lost, only remaining in written materials. Xie Huaizhou had just taught him this sentence in the afternoon, from a fragment of a love poem.

“In the morning and at sunset, I want to kiss you.”

Xie Huaizhou wrote it very slowly on his hand, as if prolonging the torture.

He glanced at Gu Jinyi briefly during a break in the conversation, a very brief glance, but there seemed to be something hidden in his eyes.

Gu Jinyi couldn’t help but tremble lightly under his gaze.

It was as if a spark had landed in his palm, burning its way into his heart.

…

Fortunately, after dinner, Xie Huaizhou didn’t tease him anymore. The two of them chatted with the grandfather for a while longer before realizing it was getting late and took Chu Xiaonian back to the backyard.

There was a freshly tidied children’s room in the backyard, and someone was taking care of Chu Xiaonian, so Gu Jinyi wasn’t worried.

But Chu Xiaonian was reluctant to part with him. He kissed his father’s face several times before reluctantly letting go.

After comforting Chu Xiaonian, Gu Jinyi went back to the room with Xie Huaizhou.

They stayed in the room where Xie Huaizhou had stayed since he was young, so there were not only many of Xie Huaizhou’s personal belongings but also photos of him and his mother on the walls and bookshelves.

But just like in the Xie family, there were no photos of Xie Huaizhou’s father in any of them.

After taking a shower, Gu Jinyi sat at the head of the bed and picked up a photo to look at.

The photos here were more abundant than those in the Xie family. During dinner, he heard his grandfather mention that Xie Huaizhou’s room was arranged by his mother, and it hadn’t changed since her passing.

He saw what Xie Huaizhou looked like when he was young, probably only five or six years old, not yet differentiated into an alpha, but already taller than peers. Although his face was delicate and cute, he didn’t smile much from a young age, even when being held by his mother, he still had a cool demeanor.

Gu Jinyi smiled, then his gaze fell on Xie Huaizhou’s mother.

Xie Huaizhou’s mother was named Shang Li.

Undoubtedly, she was a beauty, with vitality and pride on her face. Gu Jinyi had heard some stories about her and knew that she was a business tycoon when she was alive, advancing the Xie family’s business a step further.

Unfortunately, she passed away in her forties.

Gu Jinyi looked at several photos and thought, if she were still alive, perhaps Xie Huaizhou would be happier now.

At some point, Xie Huaizhou had also sat next to him and asked, “What are you looking at?”

He saw the photos in Gu Jinyi’s hands.

These holographic photos had no weight in the hand, but they could project the past from all angles, making people feel as if they could touch the past just by reaching out.

But the past would never return.

After looking at them for a while, Xie Huaizhou embraced Gu Jinyi from behind, resting his chin lightly on his shoulder, and asked, “Do you like these photos?”

Gu Jinyi nodded, “You were quite cute when you were young. Your mother was also very beautiful.”

Xie Huaizhou said, “If my mother were still alive, she would have liked you too. Before she passed away, she was still talking about me, saying how I had grown up without any sense and how she had 18 relationships when she was in school.”

Gu Jinyi chuckled, “Your mother seems to have been very popular.”

Xie Huaizhou didn’t deny it.

But after looking at the old photos for a while, he said softly, “Unfortunately, the man she married in the end wasn’t the one she loved.”

Gu Jinyi was a little surprised. In fact, he had guessed that there might have been unpleasantness between Xie Huaizhou’s parents, which led to the poor relationship between Xie Huaizhou and his father.

But he didn’t expect that their marriage didn’t even start from the heart.

Xie Huaizhou held him in his arms and calmly recounted the grievances between his parents.

“There’s nothing strange about it. Theirs was a typical business marriage. They got married after meeting only a few times,” Xie Huaizhou said calmly. “But they later divorced. Unfortunately, she became pregnant with me, and softened, so she didn’t leave in the end.”

“But my birth didn’t change anything. They were fundamentally incompatible. Especially since my mother was much stronger and more outstanding than my father, it made Xie Yuncheng feel insecure. So when I was studying at the Imperial Academy, my mother passed away,” Xie Huaizhou paused, his eyes turning colder. “She did indeed die of illness, but if Xie Yuncheng hadn’t bribed the doctors, she would have lived a few more years.”

Gu Jinyi almost thought he had misheard. He looked up at Xie Huaizhou, whose face showed no joy or anger, as if he were talking about something unrelated to himself.

“Are you surprised? I thought you should have seen news about this,” Xie Huaizhou asked him.

Gu Jinyi had indeed seen it, but he never expected that the most absurd and bizarre stories concocted by tabloids had actually happened.

Actually, growing up in the Gu family, he had seen a lot of such things, but for some reason, thinking that it happened to Xie Huaizhou made him very sad.

He held Xie Huaizhou’s hand. These hands were slender and powerful, but not flawless, with calluses accumulated over many years on the fingertips.

He asked Xie Huaizhou softly, “What about him, Xie Yuncheng… was he also not good to you?”

Xie Huaizhou was stunned for a moment, then replied indifferently, “He probably can’t be considered good. Besides not killing me, he did everything else. But I didn’t lose out either. Since he didn’t want to hand over the Xie family to me, I just took it myself.”

Gu Jinyi frowned. Although Xie Huaizhou spoke casually, he wasn’t a child; how could he not hear the hardships behind it?

Xie Huaizhou reached out and touched his face.

He saw Gu Jinyi looking at him tenderly.

It felt nice, being looked at like this by Gu Jinyi.

He knew that Gu Jinyi was feeling sorry for him, although this pity might not be because of love.

He whispered softly, “Don’t feel sad for me. I don’t care. I’m not a person full of emotions, not even towards my biological father. I hate him not because he didn’t treat me as his own child, but because he harmed my mother, and also made me lose the most important thing…”

He stopped there, not finishing his sentence.

He leaned in slowly and kissed Gu Jinyi’s lips, like the most elegant and polite gentleman in the world, even his kisses were restrained and affectionate.

But there was a fleeting sadness in his eyes.

He pressed his lips against Gu Jinyi’s. “He made me miss out on something very important, something I can’t let go of in this lifetime.”

“Yiyi, I’m very different from what you think. The methods I used against my biological father are not honorable. I’m not honest, not kind, not gentle, not merciful.”

His eyelashes brushed against Gu Jinyi’s, and he asked softly, “Will you hate me?”

He looked at Gu Jinyi, rubbing his nose affectionately against Gu Jinyi’s, like a wild animal seeking mercy.

Gu Jinyi accepted this kiss silently.

In fact, he had long felt that the Xie Huaizhou he saw when he first arrived at Baidi Star was more like a deliberate disguise to avoid scaring him.

Now, this was the real Xie Huaizhou, buried deep in desire, both gentle and dangerous.

He didn’t answer the question, but gently pushed him away when Xie Huaizhou was about to become uneasy.

He glanced at the clock beside him, and it was almost midnight, Xie Huaizhou’s birthday.

“Happy birthday, Huaizhou,” he said, then reached over Xie Huaizhou and took a small black box from the bedside table, handing it to Xie him.

He gestured for Xie Huaizhou to open it. “This is a gift for you.”

Xie Huaizhou glanced at him before opening the box.

Inside was a black bracelet, with a simple and clean design, low-key and elegant. But upon closer inspection, one would notice a small square emblem embedded on it, made of rare and precious materials, faintly showing the pattern of the Lande School.

Gu Jinyi took out the bracelet and helped Xie Huaizhou put it on, fastening the clasp gently and seamlessly.

“This is one of the most meaningful things in my life. I won the Best Commander award at Lande School for the first time. Now I’m giving it to you,” he said seriously to Xie Huaizhou. “I wouldn’t give such an important thing to someone I dislike.”

Xie Huaizhou was stunned.

He certainly knew how important the award from the competition was to Gu Jinyi. It was the only memento of his youthful dreams.

Gu Jinyi lowered his head and fiddled with the bracelet, saying, “You said you wanted something related to me. I thought about it, and this seemed most suitable. I designed the bracelet myself, and the emblem was won by me.”

“I’m giving a piece of my life to you.”

He didn’t know how far he and Xie Huaizhou would go.

But at this moment, he was willing to give everything to make Xie Huaizhou happy.

He was willing to cut out the most important moments of his life and give them to Xie Huaizhou.

Perhaps they would separate, perhaps they would grow tired of each other, but who could predict the future?

He raised his head and smiled at Xie Huaizhou. “Do you like this gif…”

But before he could finish his sentence, he was kissed deeply by Xie Huaizhou.

Compared to the probing tenderness just now, this kiss was fierce, like he wanted to devour him whole.

The wild beast begging for mercy tore off its mask, revealing its fangs.

“I like it.”

Xie Huaizhou answered briefly, then proceeded to cunningly provoke Gu Jinyi’s desire. He was no longer the reserved and elegant gentleman but a libertine and frivolous lover.

He kissed every shameful part of Gu Jinyi and whispered softly into Gu Jinyi’s ear, “You can refuse me.”

But he immediately blocked Gu Jinyi’s mouth, not giving him a chance to speak.

That’s how hypocritical he was.

No matter how he pretended to be cultured and composed, inside, he was a cunning criminal.

The scent of pheromones in the room was thick enough to drive one mad.

Gu Jinyi’s hand was held tightly by Xie Huaizhou. Hands that were skilled in painting and design, slender and graceful, beautiful enough to be considered art.

But now there was a faint redness at the fingertips, pitifully clenched.

But Xie Huaizhou stopped before the final step.

Clearly, the contract he signed with Gu Jinyi had no binding effect on him, and he could break it without anyone blaming him.

Yet he stopped.

Once again, he revealed a tenderness and thoughtfulness that Gu Jinyi found hard to refuse, asking, “How much do you like me now, Yi Yi?”

Gu Jinyi’s heart pounded, seemingly magnified countless times in the quiet room.

He stared absentmindedly at Xie Huaizhou’s face, which was difficult to see clearly due to backlighting, leaving only a handsome silhouette.

Seeing him like this, he really resembled that person from his memory.

So much so that he could hardly tell them apart.

“Maybe a bit more.”

He gave such a vague answer for the first time.