"Yoyo, over here!" His roommate waved at him.
There were bouquets on the table, all prepared in advance by the student council to be given to the graduates.
As soon as Lin Jianlu sat down, his roommate Wei Lan took out a pheromone-refreshing spray and spritzed it several times between the two of them.
"Jeez, there are so many alphas here today and the scents are all mixing together," Wei Lan said. "Let's get rid of the smell a bit."
The ribbon on the bouquet of yellow roses in front of him had come loose halfway, so Lin Jianlu untied it and re-tied it into a pretty bow.
Xie Wang was about to go on stage when he saw this scene from a short distance away.
The side profile of the omega looked very well-behaved, with clean, delicate earlobes peeking out from under his messy black hair.
For an instant, he even felt a bit envious of the ribbon in Lin Jianlu's hand.
Lin Jianlu lowered his head slightly as he spoke, seemingly saying something to the omega classmate next to him.
What can he even say? Xie Wang thought.
With such a cold and quiet personality, there would hardly be any interesting topics to talk about.
It must be utterly boring.
He scoffed dismissively.
In the audience, Lin Jianlu spoke in a calm tone, "I just saw an alpha; judging by the looks of it, he has a six-pack."
Wei Lan: "!!!"
"Are you sure?" Wei Lan asked, "These days, the quality of alphas is getting worse and worse. A six-pack, huh? Does he look good?"
Lin Jianlu: "Yeah."
What a pity.
"By the way, Yoyo," Wei Lan said, "Did you know that Xie Wang is here today too?"
"Xie Wang?" Lin Jianlu thought he had seen that name just now.
"The one over there." Wei Lan pointed out, "He debuted as a child star and is now a fairly popular actor."
Lin Jianlu: "?"
The direction Wei Lan was pointing to was where that buzzkill married A, whom Lin Jianlu had asserted must have a six-pack, was currently surrounded by a group of underclassmen asking for autographs.
He hadn't really looked at the information form earlier. So he is Xie Wang.
Xie Wang had just come out from backstage.
He was surrounded by a group of sweet little Os, all with smiling faces.
"Senior Xie Wang, I've liked you for so long. Please sign an autograph for me."
"Xie Wang-gege, your work is getting better and better."
Look at that, each and every one of them had little mouths as sweet as honey.
Unlike his family's Lin Jianlu, who had never praised him even once.
And Lin Jianlu...
When he looked up, he happened to meet Lin Jianlu's gaze from not far away.
Xie Wang noticed Lin Jianlu looking at him sideways with his thin eyelids fluttering while he still held a piece of yellow ribbon between his fingers.
Xie Wang's heart skipped a beat. He hesitated, pulling back his hand that was about to grasp the autograph pen.
"Today's schedule is full, so I'm unable to sign autographs," he announced firmly, his tone resolute.
By the time he looked back, Lin Jianlu had already averted his gaze.
Xie Wang: "......?"
That's not right.
Why should he care about Lin Jianlu's reaction when signing an autograph?
Lin Jianlu is not his wife now!
Xie Wang had prepared his graduation speech in advance. Once he recited it on stage and received his diploma from the school, he would be considered to have graduated successfully.
After the speech, the ceremony would proceed to the flower-giving segment.
Xie Wang had always sneered at these redundant formalities, wishing they would end as quickly as possible.
That was until he saw Lin Jianlu walk onto the stage holding a bouquet of yellow roses.
There was a stir from the audience.
Xie Wang understood this atmosphere best.
When he had appeared on stage earlier, the audience had reacted similarly.
Setting aside his personality that made people enter winter with one click, Lin Jianlu was indeed good-looking.
Xie Wang had been married to him for a year and understood this better than anyone.
Now, the boy holding the flowers was walking toward him step by step, with soft black hair, long and thick eyelashes, and eyes as limpid as water.
The collar of the young man's white shirt wasn't fully buttoned, revealing a faint glimpse of a crimson birthmark in the shape of a butterfly wing on his collarbone.
Before his rebirth, whenever Xie Wang was intimate with him, he loved to bite that spot, sucking out hickies on his snow-white neck.
As if he was planting his favorite flower fiercely on a clear glacier.
Only in moments like these did Lin Jianlu's gaze seem a little less indifferent when he looked at him.
Otherwise, it always felt like he was the only one who was out of control.
Forget it.
Xie Wang thought to himself.
After all, Lin Jianlu was about to give him flowers.
He decided to forgive Lin Jianlu for his earlier coldness in the lounge.
Then, Lin Jianlu handed the flowers to another outstanding graduate standing next to him.
Xie Wang: "?"
Xie Wang: "???"
"Senior, congratulations on your graduation," Lin Jianlu's voice was cool and cheerless, almost perfunctory.
Then, the omega walked off the stage without even glancing at Xie Wang.
The other graduate who had just received the flowers was thrilled, but a chill ran down their back. They couldn't shake the feeling that the alpha pheromones of the actor next to them were somewhat going wild.
Grapefruit flavor, sour as hell.
As soon as Lin Jianlu finished giving the flowers, his phone rang.
"What is it?" he asked, "I'm busy."
His fingertip had been pricked by the yellow rose's thorn, and a small bead of blood was beginning to form.
He rubbed his fingertip, as if he couldn't feel the pain.
On the other end of the line was Lin Ming, his alpha father.
"What are you busy with?" Lin Ming sneered, "Writing your songs that no one listens to?"
Lin Jianlu didn't respond.
"I sent you some profiles of alphas. Take a good look," Lin Ming said. "They're all connected to our family's business. Pick one."
"Not interested." Lin Jianlu ended the call.
The alphas Lin Ming had selected were mostly over thirty years old; one of them even had a child almost as old as Lin Jianlu.
Families related by marriage seemed like an inescapable fate for someone of his family background.
But he hated the feeling of losing control.
Before Lin Ming could force him into an arranged marriage, he wanted to find an alpha to mark him—someone who matched his aesthetic, strong yet not overly gentle, yet completely controllable.
If he couldn't find someone like that, he'd just wait and delay things as long as possible.
***
Xie Wang spent two days in a slump at his company.
Freedom turned out to be so boring.
On the third day, he received the news that he had passed the audition.
This was exactly what he had expected.
"Is your susceptible period coming up?" his agent, who came to inform him, asked. "I can contact the production team and arrange for you to join a few days later."
Just… he seemed so moody a few days ago, and he looked a bit depressed these two days.
"I'm not afraid of some stupid susceptible period," Xie Wang said listlessly, "An alpha shouldn't use that as an excuse to avoid work."
The last time his susceptible period hit, he had pinned Lin Jianlu on the dining table edge for the entire night. Lin Jianlu's black hair was damp with sweat, his slightly parted lips soft, and when Xie Wang finally let go, Lin Jianlu collapsed onto the soft carpet, casting a cold glance at him.
He had an omega.
"There's an invitation to a wedding reception," the agent said, placing an invitation in front of him. "You should go and have fun."
Xie Wang actually decided to go.
One couldn't keep dwelling on the same issues forever.
Having a second chance meant he had the opportunity to avoid the accidental lifelong mark.
It wasn't like he even liked Lin Jianlu.
He didn't want to be involved in anything related to Lin Jianlu.
The wedding banquet invitation came from his older brother, Xie Siran.
Xie Wang sat on a sofa, holding a glass of wine in his right hand.
From time to time, small-time celebrities from other families approached him to chat, their perfumes masking the temptation of their pheromones, which gave him a slight headache.
The wedding venue had arranged for some entertainment.
An 18th-tier celebrity was playing the zither on stage, but the music was stiff, more about stage effects than actual skill, making it painful for Xie Wang to listen.
Lin Jianlu would never be like this, he thought.
Meanwhile, Lin Jianlu was waiting for someone.
A television drama's investor wanted to discuss using one of his songs as the ending theme.
The company had arranged for him to meet the investor here to discuss the details in person.
The zither on stage was being played like wailing at death's door, and he found it hard to listen.
The protagonist of the wedding banquet tonight was of high status, with many well-known figures in attendance.
There were also many high-quality alphas with good figures.
But upon closer inspection, they all had some flaws.
The one at the five o'clock position had eyes set just a little too far apart.
The one standing by the wall didn't have a perfect profile.
If he had to pick someone truly good-looking, it would be the one sitting on the sofa—
Xie Wang?
That wasn't an option.
The other party seemed to have noticed his gaze and looked at him. As their eyes met, the slight dullness in Xie Wang's eyes suddenly brightened.
"Lin Jianlu?" Someone approached, blocking his line of sight.
"Hmm?" Lin Jianlu didn't recognize the person in front of him. "Do you need something?"
"Your father should have sent you my photo," the person said, handing him a business card. "I like you quite a bit, and our families are well-matched too."
Lin Jianlu didn't take the card.
"I have work to do, so I'll make a move," he said.
He was so cold that he was almost otherworldly, but some people just liked this type.
"Are you shy?" the alpha teased, reaching out to grab his collar. "Let's have a chat."
"Sure," another voice cut in.
Xie Wang stepped between them and asked in a raised voice, "What do you want to chat about?"
Get lost, and fast.
This sort of ugly thing actually thinks he's fit to hit on my wife!
What a coincidence, he recognized the man in front of him.
A somewhat well-known director in the industry.
Before his rebirth, he had discussed this person with Lin Jianlu and praised one of his works.
In the week following that, he had lost his sex life.
The alpha's pheromones had flared up, as if declaring his own sovereignty.
"Don't touch my wife," he said in a deep voice in the man's ear.
The man was indeed scared off.
But when he turned around, he found Lin Jianlu had retreated to a spot twenty paces away and was watching him.
He walked over, withdrawing the aggressive alpha pheromones, and heard Lin Jianlu thank him coldly.
The young man seemed to have arrived in a hurry, his beautiful lips slightly chapped and looking a bit dry.
"Are you thirsty?" Xie Wang asked. "Let me get you some water."
Lin Jianlu nodded slightly.
It was a bit strange.
The pheromones on this alpha smelled very clean, without any trace of omega scent.
Married, but no sex life?
There were no rumors about Xie Wang's marriage circulating outside at the moment.
Lin Jianlu sat on one side of the sofa, far away from Xie Wang.
The omega took small sips from the glass of water. He was wearing a black hoodie today, which made his skin look even more pale and translucent.
"The fabric of this brand can easily cause skin allergies," Xie Wang pointed out.
Lin Jianlu: "Huh?"
It was strange. Even though this was only their second meeting, this man spoke in an oddly familiar tone.
Isn't he being a bit too casual?
Lin Jianlu moved to another sofa, placing more distance between himself and Xie Wang.
Xie Wang hadn't anticipated falling asleep at the wedding banquet after drinking.
When Lin Jianlu finished discussing the collaboration and came back, he found the alpha slumped on the sofa, completely unconscious from drunkenness.
There were several video recorders around. As a reward for the help earlier, to prevent a certain someone from leaving behind a high-definition black history, Lin Jianlu, in an unusual display of kindness, called Xie Wang's assistant.
"Thank you." The assistant hurriedly helped Xie Wang out.
"Don't drag me," the alpha protested stubbornly.
Xie Wang: "Wife, I'm in my susceptible period, can we do it again?"
Lin Jianlu: "…?"
--------------------
YoYo: Hmph! Married, has a sex life, and still playing around; scumbag A.
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