Separated by a street, both parties became aware of each other’s presence.
However, their last interaction a few years ago was not pleasant.
Ling Che withdrew his gaze, focusing only on the person in front of him: “Where are you going now? Don’t forget you’re joining the crew in a few days.”
Why Xie Rui came back was not important. What mattered was what Xu Tangzhou was thinking.
After the broadcast of the program, Ling Che knew that this day would come. He just didn’t expect it so soon. Fortunately… he already had some clues about certain matters and wouldn’t be in a completely passive position.
Xu Tangzhou’s watery eyes looked at him, seemingly focused only on him as if he couldn’t see anyone else.
Clearly under the influence of alcohol, Xu Tangzhou’s words were not jumbled but rather clear and coherent: “Going to the hotel. I haven’t forgotten.”
Ling Che gently stroked the back of his neck.
His thoughts were racing.
This time, it might not be possible to wait for Xu Tangzhou to remember on his own. Xie Rui would surely tell him everything soon.
“Do you want to go?” Xu Tangzhou wanted to be with Ling Che, and who knows what was going through his mind when he suggested, “Let’s book a room, stay together.”
Ling Che: “……”
Xu Tangzhou thought about it and added, “Don’t worry, we’ll cover with a quilt, just to chat.”
“Who said anything about just chatting?”
Ling Che hummed lightly and let go of his neck.
Because Xie Rui was approaching.
Xu Tangzhou suddenly felt a void at the back of his neck and wished he could spend more time with Ling Che. Before he could utter any more drunken words, Xie Rui was already standing by his side, starting with a smile, “Xiao Che, long time no see. Congratulations, tonight’s concert was a great success.”
As a mother, Xie Rui couldn’t help but be a little more emotional.
Ling Che was even taller than a few years ago. His presence became more imposing, and his S-grade fierce sun pheromones were direct and aggressive. It almost too much for her to handle; she knew he was asserting his dominance.
“Auntie, hello.” Ling Che almost looked down at this elder, saying indifferently, “Zaizai had a bit to drink tonight.”
Xie Rui could see that and said, “Okay.”
Xu Tangzhou followed Xie Rui and left.
He took a few steps and then turned back, as if wondering why Ling Che didn’t want to go with him.
After the taxi disappeared, Ling Che finally turned around to head back.
Ying Chen was standing not far away. When Ling Che approached, he spoke up, “That woman is his mom?”
Ling Che: “Mhm.”
Ying Chen: “They look quite alike.”
Ling Che coldly said, “What are you doing out here?”
“Just wandering around aimlessly.” Ying Chen followed by his side, “To see how the person who dumped you before is going to take you back this time. After all, confessing at a concert is something only teenagers would do. I think you might be going a little crazy.”
Ling Che glanced at him.
Ying Chen pointed to his ear and smiled without saying a word—the boring game of insulting people with perfect pitch, which Ling Che had played once.
“It was indeed something I thought about when I was a teenager, but he’s forgotten all about it,” Ling Che stopped walking and lazily warned, “As long as you keep your mouth shut, he won’t find out.”
Ying Chen scoffed, “I’m not that bored. Oh, by the way, we were just guessing what Xu Tangzhou’s pheromone scent might be. Mo Xiao and the others guessed it’s sweet, at least some kind of fruit scent. I’m guessing it’s floral. Don’t you like flowers?”
Ling Che raised an eyebrow: “And that’s not boring?”
Ying Chen said, “Come on. Tell me, what kind of magical pheromones does it take to attract the attention of an S-grade alpha like you? To chase so desperately, back and forth.”
Ying Chen asked casually, not expecting Ling Che to actually tell him.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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“It’s fresh snow.”
Ling Che paused, then added,
“Number 20354, there are only five cases in the world.”
“That’s high difficulty.” The higher the number, the harder it is to match. Ying Chen didn’t know how to comfort him, so he could only tease, “God Che, you really like to torture yourself.”
“Your dad is willing,” Ling Che said disdainfully before entering the house.
Xu Tangzhou woke up with a splitting headache, and Xie Rui had called for a hangover soup early in the morning.
After drinking a bowl, Xu Tangzhou went back to sleep, and when he woke up again, he felt much better. However, he had hardly ever drunk alcohol before, so he still felt somewhat listless. He only vaguely remembered that he went to the clubhouse with Ying Chen and others last night, where Huang Qian introduced him to everyone and had some drinks. He couldn’t remember what happened after that.
It seemed like he saw Ling Che, but then again, maybe not.
He didn’t even remember how he got to the hotel.
Upon waking up, he found several missed calls on his phone, some from Wu Nana and some from Huang Qian.
When Xu Tangzhou replied, he found out that Huang Qian already knew he was with his family and told him there was nothing urgent today, advising him to rest well.
He had taken off the neck ring himself and placed it on the bedside table. The bite mark on the back of his neck had almost healed, but there were still faint traces. Xie Rui noticed this but didn’t ask any questions.
Seeing Ling Che last night, she had more or less guessed the extent of their current relationship.
Xie Rui was overwhelmed; she could never have imagined that they would meet again.
“I have to leave tomorrow.” Xie Rui looked exhausted, rubbing her face, “So we need to settle this matter today.”
As she spoke, she took out a document from her bag and handed it to Xu Tangzhou.
Xu Tangzhou sat on the bed. and his mind not quite functioning. He just wanted to be a lazy homebody who stay in bed.
He never wanted to drink again.
So, this was why getting drunk was so unpleasant. He wondered why Xu Wei used to drown his sorrows in alcohol, making him take care of the drunken Xu Wei each time, thinking that living in a drunken stupor was something enjoyable.
Xu Tangzhou asked, “What is this?”
Xie Rui gestured for him to open the document: “Take a look first.”
Xu Tangzhou opened the document, and the title that caught his eye was: “AO Gender Biological Compatibility Test Report.”
He looked down with confusion.
In the alpha column, the name was represented by two asterisks, indicating that the tested individual’s identity was confidential, but the pheromone number was written as: 16, S-grade abstract, fierce sun.
His heart skipped a beat. He was one hundred percent certain this was Ling Che.
In the omega column, his own name was written without a doubt.
Name: Xu Tangzhou
Pheromone Number: 20354, fresh snow.
Xu Tangzhou understood something. His gaze quickly scanned over the long list of testing processes and explanations and jumped straight to the final results section.
The column read: Compatibility 18%.
At the bottom, where the signature was, his name was written, and he knew it was his own handwriting.
He was stunned.
Xie Rui was saying something, but he seemed unable to hear, only feeling a ringing in his ears.
One was the extremely high-ranking 16, and the other was the extremely low-ranking 20354. Yet these two individuals with such pheromone numbers had met. What were the odds? He wasn’t good at math and couldn’t calculate it.
According to the World Health Organization, the global average compatibility for AO genders is 65%, and the minimum compatibility required for an alpha to fully mark an omega is 43%.
This meant that their 18% compatibility, not only terrifyingly low compared to the global average, also doomed Ling Che to never be able to fully mark him.
In other words, even if you randomly paired any AO couple off the street, it would be impossible to find such a low compatibility.
Xie Rui felt extremely heartbroken.
The scene from four years ago was replaying. Xu Tangzhou had forgotten, but she had not.
She remembered Xu Tangzhou’s reaction when he first received the results, and how devastating it was for him. She really did not want to see such a scene again.
But to her surprise, Xu Tangzhou gradually recovered, and his first question was: “Does Ling Che… know?”
Xie Rui was puzzled: “You haven’t discussed this topic yet?”
She brought out this report only because she was worried that they were being too headstrong and wanted to use this fact to make Xu Tangzhou see the situation clearly.
Xu Tangzhou nodded: “Yes. He just thinks I have amnesia and doesn’t know that I’m already aware of our past relationship. So… is this why we broke up back then?”
He had called his father a few days ago, but his father had been too busy drinking over those years to even know about his relationship with Ling Che, let alone the reason for their breakup. The only person who could know the reason was Xie Rui, who had taken him to the capital to enter the fashion industry during those years.
Xie Rui was silent for a while, but still told him: “Zaizai, it was me who made you break up.”
Xu Tangzhou: “??”
What does that mean??
“You were very obedient at that time,” Xie Rui said, “You knew you couldn’t be together, so you listened to me and proposed the breakup to Ling Che. You even made up a lie, telling him you met an alpha with an 80% compatibility.”
Xu Tangzhou suddenly looked up.
No wonder!
No wonder that night in Surland, during the summer month when something went wrong, Ling Che asked him that question—”Suppose you are an omega who has just completed differentiation and entered your heat, what would you do in this situation? What if, by chance, there was an alpha with a compatibility of 80% present?”
His answer was that he would go to the hospital.
Then he reversed the question to Ling Che, and he remembered Ling Che’s answer very clearly.
Xu Tangzhou’s heart felt as if it had been dropped into a frying pan, sizzling and causing pain in his every organ. He had imagined many reasons for their breakup, but he had never thought the truth would be like this.
He had broken up with Ling Che so easily!!!
And said those words!
“I hope you can do the same this time,” Xie Rui said. “I came back specially because I was afraid you two weren’t thinking clearly.”
Xu Tangzhou was still in disbelief, sitting as if he had been frozen in place.
Was it really that easy?! To break up just like that??
“Zaizai, listen to me,” Xie Rui said, seeing him like this and speaking earnestly, “From the moment you were born, we knew you were an omega. You have the gender characteristics of an omega, the birth canal, the gland sacs. Ordinary omegas can start differentiating at the age of twelve, but you didn’t show any signs until you were sixteen. You were just growing taller. That’s when I knew your pheromones might be very rare. Sure enough, as soon as you differentiated, the thing I was most worried about happened…”
Xu Tangzhou’s eyes reddened.
“After you and Ling Che broke up, you were very unhappy. So, after you lost your memory, I never mentioned this matter to you again. Fate plays tricks on us. I never imagined that you two could meet again and come together. I thought you were just shooting an advertisement, and he was already so successful, you wouldn’t have any dealings with him again… I was wrong,” Xie Rui’s tone shifted, “Ling Che is also at fault. He knew the results and still proceeded like this. It’s irresponsible towards you and towards himself.”
“No, Ling Che is not at fault,” Xu Tangzhou suddenly spoke earnestly, turning to look at his mother seriously, “It was me who was too selfish at the time.”
Regarding his mother’s comment about being “obedient,” he had a hundred questions in his mind. Why did he do that? Was it because he was too young to take responsibility, or because he didn’t love the other person enough? No matter what, he was truly at fault.
He really hurt Ling Che, and now Xu Tangzhou finally understood why Ling Che had reacted the way he did the first time they met.
Any person who had been hurt would feel that way, wishing never to see the other person again.
Hearing him say this, Xie Rui’s expression changed slightly: “How could it be your selfishness? You did the right thing. Have you forgotten the tragedy of your father and me?”
Xie Rui stood up, turned around agitatedly, and lit a cigarette to calm down.
“I didn’t believe in the so-called bond of pheromones either,” she said. “But the fact proves that love and pheromones are indispensable to each other. Do you know that ninety-nine percent of AO couples who marry for love below the global compatibility average end up divorcing?”
“I once thought we could be that one percent. Your father and I had a compatibility of only 42%. Just 1% below the minimum requirement for a complete mark. It seemed hopeful, didn’t it? Because I couldn’t be fully marked, I even happily took inhibitors every year after getting married, until I developed resistance at the age of thirty-two… and then my heat came. That week is the week we both least want to remember.”
Xu Tangzhou still had memories from before he was twelve.
He remembered his father telling him that they had gone on vacation, disappearing for a whole week before returning.
So that was what had happened.
“The second year,” Xie Rui said, “was even worse than the first.”
They argued, complained about each other, and without the bond of pheromones, they had to face the reality of their fading love.
Xu Wei began to drink heavily.
He retired from his career then and gave up on himself. Xie Rui stopped coming home.
Xu Tangzhou’s childhood was far from happy.
They tormented each other without letting go until a few years ago when Xu Tangzhou had an accident, and Xu Wei finally agreed to a divorce. Although Xie Rui did not remarry, she had found someone with a compatible pheromone level, and she no longer had to suffer during her heats.
Xie Rui revealed the purpose of her return: “So, I’m not trying to pressure you two. I just want to remind you. While your feelings are not deep yet, it’s better to end it quickly rather than drag out the pain. It’s best to cut the mess with a quick knife, like last time. You will both meet other suitable people. Don’t repeat our mistakes.”
If they couldn’t make it, let alone Xu Tangzhou and Ling Che’s exaggerated 18%, even the doctors couldn’t believe such a low compatibility could exist, and they conducted the test three times in a row.
“Alright.” Xie Rui glanced at her watch, “I’ve made it very clear to you, I have work tomorrow…”
“Is it because you didn’t love dad enough?”
Unexpectedly, after listening quietly, Xu Tangzhou’s expression gradually became calm, and he asked such a question.
Xie Rui couldn’t believe her ears: “What did you say?”
Xu Tangzhou sat at the head of the bed, and his complexion almost translucently white. The hangover gave him dark circles, but the chill emanating from him was even more intense than before; he had grown up.
He didn’t mean to be so cold, nor did he intend to hurt his mother’s heart.
He was simply stating the facts: “You often disappear for a month at a time, and when you come back, you don’t stay in the same house as dad. You say you’re busy with work, so you hardly ever call home. You forget his birthday, and you never accompany him to important events. When you are home, you barely talk to him, and you don’t even notice when he and I go out to watch a movie and come back. Even in the years after I lost my memory, the few times you came home were only to go through the divorce with him.”
This time, Xu Tangzhou was unexpectedly not as obedient as before.
Xie Rui was taken aback.
“I don’t think it’s as serious as you imagine,” Xu Tangzhou had thought it through and said, “If you have time, you can watch the program we recorded this time. There’s a guest named Lu Cheng’an. He’s an alpha, but his lover is a beta. Also, Ling Che’s mother is a beta. They don’t have the bond of pheromones, yet they are very loving. You can check this out for yourself.”
Xie Rui sat down, her expression stern: “But you are not a beta! Your physiological structure means you are naturally inclined to desire a complete mark!”
No matter how the omega rights activists push for equality, being an omega meant accepting the physiological facts that came with it!
Xu Tangzhou’s ears slowly turned red.
He said, “Mom, I only have expectations for Ling Che.”
Xie Rui was both angry and frustrated: “You’re too naive! Do you think alphas are any different?! He will also keep trying to fully mark you, until he is completely disappointed!”
“No, Ling Che is different.”
Xu Tangzhou shook his head and said, “He knows everything. He knows our compatibility is low, but he still wants to be close to me.”
“I won’t do that again.” Without looking at Xie Rui’s expression, Xu Tangzhou continued, “Love shouldn’t be solely about pheromones.”
These were words Ling Che had said.
Even if it was like now, where they could only share a single bite, it was still good.
His alpha, he will fight to get him back himself.
How could it end before it even begins?
Go zaizai
So that’s how it was :< Go bubu, fiight for yourself!（ﾉ｡≧◇≦）ﾉ
Thank You for the new chapter ♡〜٩( ╹▿╹ )۶〜♡
Love zaizai fighting!
I recall Ling Chen mentioned in passing during the first few moments of the variety show that Zaizai is “obedient” and not a rule breaker. I see now it has a rather painful background for those comments.