Pheromone Deficiency Syndrome chapter 42
Farewell
When Xie Huaizhou saw the ring, he instinctively touched the bracelet on his wrist. This ring was one of his mother’s dowries, originally intended as a wedding gift from his grandfather to his mother. However, his mother never gave this ring to Xie Yuncheng during her lifetime. Instead, she gave it to him when he turned eighteen.
Shang Li leaned against the window, sipping his coffee. She was about to rush to the company to handle matters but appeared relaxed and warm as she said to Xie Huaizhou, “I don’t care what kind of perfect partner you meet. Just pick someone who understands you well, so you willingly give away the ring.”
He remembered when he had given this ring to Gu Jinyi, already feeling nervous at heart but maintaining a calm demeanor on the surface. He even told Gu Jinyi a lie that sounded ridiculous even to himself, coaxing him not to take it off.
But lies always had a day of being exposed.
So this ring was abandoned by its owner as well.
Xie Huaizhou looked up at Gu Jinyi. Gu Jinyi’s complexion was somewhat pale today, but sitting in the sunlight, he had a translucent warmth like jade.
Gu Jinyi always exuded a tolerant and gentle aura, making people feel as if they could be forgiven no matter what they did.
But the next moment, Xie Huaizhou heard him speak.
“The gift you gave me back then, I never touched it either. Now I can finally return it to you. This vial of pheromone extract should last several uses, but if you need more in the future, I can still send it to you through special channels.”
“As for the marriage contract between us, forget it. I don’t want it,” Gu Jinyi paused for a few seconds, his eyelids drooping slightly, “You helped me protect Chu Xiaonian, and I voluntarily provided the pheromone. We’re even now.”
“I don’t want it.”
These four words shattered something within Xie Huaizhou in an instant.
He knew very well that what Gu Jinyi didn’t want wasn’t just the marriage contract but him.
For the past few days, they had been living separately but still under the same roof, separated only by a living room, yet it felt like an insurmountable sea.
He couldn’t sleep at night. Every time he closed his eyes, he would dream of Gu Jinyi leaving him.
And now, the nightmare had come true.
Xie Huaizhou asked in a low voice, “Are you leaving?”
“Yeah.”
“Will you come back?”
Gu Jinyi rubbed his empty ring finger, feeling a bit uncomfortable after getting used to wearing the wedding ring. “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll be back soon, maybe I’ll never come back.”
“This time, it’s my turn to leave. You stay.”
He looked up at Xie Huaizhou and gave the first smile of the day, very light and faint, with a slight furrow of his brows, his eyes devoid of any amusement.
He wasn’t trying to punish Xie Huaizhou, nor did he take pleasure in seeing Xie Huaizhou suffer.
He just wanted to go to a place without Xie Huaizhou, to live a calm and peaceful life, rather than agonize over someone day after day.
He said to Xie Huaizhou, “You abandoned me once, now it’s my turn. Let’s call it even.”
He said it lightly, but Xie Huaizhou knew clearly. How could this be considered fair? His departure had pushed Gu Jinyi to the brink of death, yet Gu Jinyi had left him the antidote for his illness.
This person in front of him always left a way out for others, always gentle and compassionate, and could never learn to be ruthless.
He knew very well that he was attracted to the irredeemable tenderness in Gu Jinyi, wanting to be the most special person to him, to possess all his compassion and tenderness.
But he also knew that he had lost the qualification to plead and beg.
No matter what he did, he couldn’t change his fate.
Gu Jinyi sat for a while longer before standing up and saying, “I have to go, Chu Xiaonian is still waiting for me.”
Xie Huaizhou looked up at him and asked, “Can I accompany you?”
“No need.”
Xie Huaizhou could only escort Gu Jinyi to the door. Later, the butler would escort Gu Jinyi to the port to board the aircraft and leave.
Both of them remained silent, while Chu Xiaonian, who knew nothing, teared up and bid farewell to Xie Huaizhou reluctantly.
He asked Xie Huaizhou, “Uncle Xie, will you come to see me and dad?”
Xie Huaizhou glanced at Gu Jinyi.
But Gu Jinyi avoided his gaze.
He patted Chu Xiaonian’s head. Initially, he didn’t have any special feelings for this child. He didn’t like Chu Miyun, but he wouldn’t extend that dislike to a child. However, he was not naturally fond of children. He knew that Gu Jinyi loved this child, putting all his effort into taking care of Chu Xiaonian, which made him slowly learn how to love him too.
He didn’t know if he was a qualified elder, but Chu Xiaonian, who had the same soft heart as Gu Jinyi, had already formed an attachment to him without him putting in much effort.
He gently shook Chu Xiaonian’s hand. “If there’s a chance, we’ll meet again.”
He didn’t want to deceive Chu Xiaonian. Children actually remember things.
Chu Xiaonian looked a bit disappointed, tearfully looking at Xie Huaizhou for a while. But he was not the kind of child who would make things difficult for others. In the end, very slowly, he said, “Okay.”
Gu Jinyi’s heart clenched.
But he still hardened his heart and entrusted Chu Xiaonian to the butler next to him, letting the butler take Chu Xiaonian away first.
He stood with Xie Huaizhou in the corridor. Outside, the trees provided shade, and the railing was covered with lush vines, adorned with flowers he couldn’t name, pink-blue, small and soft, gently swaying in the breeze.
The two of them locked eyes.
Gu Jinyi had been calm all day, as if he had finally broken free from the fear of being abandoned at the age of twenty, learning how to be a calm and independent adult.
But at this moment, he looked at Xie Huaizhou and realized with despair that he still loved this alpha in front of him.
Ever since he arrived at Baidi Star, Xie Huaizhou had set up an overwhelming net for him.
At the Golden Waterfall, he had taken the initiative to ask Xie Huaizhou if he liked him, just wanting to sever the connection between him and Xie Huaizhou cleanly. But Xie Huaizhou didn’t give him that chance.
In this trap, the deeper he fell, the more reluctant he was to wake himself up, preferring to deceive himself that Xie Huaizhou was not the one who abandoned him.
So he whispered to Xie Huaizhou, “Don’t come looking for me, or else I’ll hate you.”
He was afraid that seeing Xie Huaizhou would soften his heart.
This was the first time he had uttered the word “hate” to Xie Huaizhou.
This word pinned Xie Huaizhou in place.
He had never seen Xie Huaizhou in such a panic-stricken and lost expression, whether it was six years ago when he wanted to leave him, or when he confessed in the hotel, Xie Huaizhou always had a kind of near-cruel calmness, as if this indifference had become his instinct.
But now, this lightly spoken word stripped him of his rationality that protected him.
Gu Jinyi saw Xie Huaizhou’s eyes turn red, staring at him blankly for a long time before hoarsely saying, “Okay.”
Gu Jinyi also knew he should leave.
But he felt like he was trapped in this corridor covered with green vines.
Inappropriately, he remembered his first kiss with Xie Huaizhou. At that time, Xie Huaizhou was not this handsome, but his eyes were the same as now, with a kind of cold beauty.
He suddenly smiled, as if for a moment he was back in his carefree twenties.
He tiptoed and gave Xie Huaizhou a kiss.
Soft lips touched another pair of slightly cold lips, eyelashes trembling lightly, concealing all thoughts.
Gu Jinyi’s tears fell from his eyes, wetting both their faces.
This was the most bitter kiss he had ever experienced in his life.
It felt like a century had passed, yet it was as short as a fleeting moment.
When the breeze blew the flowers off the vines, he slowly pushed Xie Huaizhou away, but Xie Huaizhou refused to let go, so he increased his strength.
In the end, Xie Huaizhou’s hand reluctantly loosened from his waist.
“I’m leaving.” Gu Jinyi said to Xie Huaizhou again.
Then he walked out of the corridor without looking back, down the steps.
He was still thin, his light-colored linen shirt exceptionally soft, outlining his slender shoulders and narrow waist.
He walked in the sunlight, not looking back at Xie Huaizhou.
Xie Huaizhou stood on the steps, watching Gu Jinyi get into the car. The hovercar’s speed was extremely fast. After ascending into the air lane, in the blink of an eye, it disappeared.
Only the startled birds fluttered their wings from the branches, making a chirping sound.
Xie Huaizhou stood in the warm summer flowers, bathed in sunlight, yet feeling as cold as if he were trapped on a frigid star.
In fact, he had long been accustomed to waiting. Since the day Gu Jinyi married Chu Miyun, he had been imprisoned in this cage called the Xie family. The revelry outside the cage, the indulgence in pleasure, had nothing to do with him. Like a demon suppressed in an ancient temple, guarding the faint shadow of his beloved, he could endure it.
But unexpectedly, Gu Jinyi briefly opened his cage.
It made his frozen heart start to beat again, longing for the warmth of the mortal world.
………..
Gu Jinyi quickly arrived at the port.
His destination with Chu Xiaonian was Roselle Star, where he had a small villa in a bustling area.
He didn’t want to return to G6 Star. He had originally wanted to take Chu Xiaonian to a slightly farther planet, but he was afraid Chu Xiaonian wouldn’t adapt, so he ultimately chose a place he was relatively familiar with and was bustling.
As he was about to get off the car, the butler looked at him hesitantly, probably wanting to say something but ultimately remained silent.
The butler handed him a silver box.
“Mr. Gu, this is prepared by the private doctor who has been checking on your health. You did a pheromone test a few days ago, and the results were unstable, which caused your heat cycle to be out of control.”
“The doctor has prescribed you some pheromone soothing medicine, as well as the nutritional supplements you have been using to regulate your body. Please accept it.”
Gu Jinyi didn’t take it.
Seeing what he was thinking, the butler sighed and smiled helplessly.
“Mr. Gu, please accept it. This is not something too precious, and you also provided Mr. Xie’s extraction fluid to us, so it doesn’t count as a favor.”
He pretended to plead, “Just give me face, otherwise how can I explain to the doctor?”
Gu Jinyi hesitated for a moment, then took the small silver box.
The butler breathed a sigh of relief and said, “These medications have all been registered for you and can be taken directly onto the aircraft.”
He gave Gu Jinyi a deep look. He was an old man working for the Xie family. From a moral standpoint, he actually held a bit of affection for Xie Huaizhou as his junior.
But in the end, he only said, “Mr. Gu, take care.”
Gu Jinyi smiled at him. “Thank you for taking care of me during this time.”
The port wasn’t crowded that day. Gu Jinyi walked through the VIP channel and soon arrived at his private lounge on the aircraft.
He didn’t like noise. He closed the door, gave Chu Xiaonian some water, took off his clothes, covered him with a small blanket, and skillfully put on an animation for him.
“You can watch for an hour and then rest,” he said to Chu Xiaonian.
Chu Xiaonian was still a bit sulky but was also drawn into the animation, obediently saying, “Okay.”
Seeing Chu Xiaonian completely engrossed in the screen, Gu Jinyi also relaxed, leaned back in his seat, and slowly closed his eyes.
He vaguely remembered the time when Xie Huaizhou picked him up from G6 Star. Time passed so quickly; almost half a year had gone by.
He had once wondered, if Xie Huaizhou hadn’t appeared at his most desperate moment at the age of twenty, would he still love Xie Huaizhou as much?
When he was in the sanatorium, it was the most desperate time of his life. He had lost his only relative, and due to genetic disease, his body was completely destroyed, losing the chance to fulfill his dream of joining the military.
Xie Huaizhou appeared in his life like a gift from heaven, pulling him out of endless despair.
But he would never know the answer to this question.
Because Xie Huaizhou appeared at just the right moment, neither too early nor too late, filling the void in his life.
He remembered when Xie Huaizhou asked him why he stopped loving him.
This question was ridiculous.
Because during these six years, at which moment did he stop loving Xie Huaizhou?
At his wedding with Chu Miyun, he kept looking back. When Chu Miyun asked what he was looking at, he just shook his head.
He was looking at Xie Huaizhou.
At that time, he didn’t know Xie Huaizhou’s identity, but just a glance was enough to make his heart race, as if Fu Chen was sitting under the stage.
This made him uneasy even at his own wedding, requiring all his strength to control himself to complete all the procedures properly.
And during the four years of marriage, Chu Miyun even introduced him to several alphas, each of them outstanding, but he just couldn’t be moved.
He thought that he might spend his whole life feeling numb, but he unexpectedly came to Baidi Star and came to Xie Huaizhou’s side.
The withered wood blossomed in spring, and the dead ashes reignited.
It was still the same flower blooming.