Awakening early, Wen Ran finished his breakfast before returning to his room to memorize his lessons. Outside the window, the jacaranda tree swayed gently in the morning breeze. Falling into thought, he got stuck with his memorizing. As he lowered his head to refocus, his phone rang. The caller ID displayed only three digits: 339.
Wen Ran answered with a hint of suspicion. The voice on the other end indeed belonged to 339, “Good morning! How did you sleep last night?”
Truth be told, not well. His glands had been feverish since he returned from Gu Yunchi’s house, but he felt no swelling when he touched it gently. Wen Ran had been feeling uneasy. He replied, “Just okay. Is there something you need from me?”
“As much as I’d love to see you, you don’t need to come for tutoring today.”
“Okay.” After a pause, Wen Ran inquired, “Is he still sick?”
“The young master’s body has recovered. It’s just that the teacher had something come up,” 339 laughed mischievously, “Are you worried about him?”
There was actually a considerable amount of acting involved on his part—Wen Ran suddenly had a thought and asked, “He’s not next to you right now?”
“Ah, um…” 339 paused for an unknown reason before responding, “He’s not here. I’m the only one here.”
“Mn.” Wen Ran confidently continued the act while trying his best to maintain a balance so as not to disgust anyone, “I am a bit worried. It’s uncomfortable to be sick, so it’s good that he’s recovering.”
“You’re right. Do you want me to convey your concerns?”
“Absolutely not.” Just the thought made him so embarrassed that he broke into a cold sweat. Wen Ran said, “Just take good care of him. I’ll hang up now.”
“Very well! Have a great day. Bye!”
The screen went dark, leaving Wen Ran lost in thought. He strangely felt guilty about acting to 339, even though the other party was just a robot.
Wen Ran studied on his own in the morning. After lunch, he took out his notebook and a sheet of paper. He opened his phone and played the third lesson of a technical drawing tutorial. This was something he only dared to do behind Chen Shuhui’s back because Wen Ningyuan had been a naval engineer.
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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During those few brief years, Wen Ran had a busy yet patient father, a distant but not indifferent mother, and an older brother who always encouraged him to do bad things to no avail—a seemingly intact family. Perhaps because Wen Ningyuan’s dream to become an engineer didn’t work out, he trained Wen Ran, who shared his fascination with the ship and plane models he disassembled and assembled at home.
Wen Ningyuan passed away when Wen Ran was thirteen. A year after his death on an ordinary day, Chen Shuhui saw the hand-drawn sketches on Wen Ran’s desk. Her voice had a calm coldness as she said, “Don’t mess with these things in the future.”
Wen Ran hung his head and said, “Okay.” Consequently, all the models, technical books, and drawings were shoved into the dark basement. Afterward, they moved and those things were lost forever, maybe thrown out as garbage.
Wen Ran didn’t want Chen Shuhui to be reminded of the past, but he didn’t want to give up his only hobby either. He thought that since his life had become half-dead, it should be excusable to engage in something interesting and harmless, albeit secretly.
Like a thief, Wen Ran stealthily indulged the entire afternoon in his favorite activity and felt momentarily resurrected from the dead. Wen Rui unusually returned home to eat dinner and informed him that they were invited to dinner at Gu Peiwen’s estate the next day.
Wen Ran didn’t understand, “Is there some other meaning behind this?” Gu Peiwen’s time was precious and he wouldn’t invite them for dinner without reason, especially at his private estate where he resided.
“What else? To be honest, I didn’t expect Shengdian to receive support from the Gu family so quickly.” Wen Rui ridiculed rather distastefully, “One of Baiqing’s subsidiaries, a project worth 60 million, was tossed out as a handout to us. That’s why it’s said that a little drop leaking through the fingers of billionaires is enough for others to live for several lifetimes.”
The sum was substantial. Wen Ran remembered they spent around two million before and after his gland implant—undoubtedly a lucrative transaction. Suddenly, he related to Gu Yunchi’s disgust. Gu Yunchi had to be aware of how the Wen family plotted behind the scenes for benefit—Wen Ran began to feel a profound sense of shame.
“Gu Chongze will also be there tomorrow. It is considered a formal meeting between the two families. Following dinner, we’ll conveniently discuss the project as well.” Wen Rui took a sip of soup and added, “Don’t think your task is complete. If the Gu family becomes displeased one day, getting rid of us will be a matter of seconds.”
Feeling suffocated, Wen Ran let out a low, “Oh.”
Wen Rui completely ignored Wen Ran’s mood and continued, “Gu Yunchi is indeed difficult to handle, but don’t forget you have a 97.5% compatibility with him. Besides his indifference toward ordinary omegas, do you know of any other peculiarities?”
“…Frequent dizziness and fever?” Wen Ran speculated based on his observations.
“That’s nothing.” Wen Rui’s tone was flippant, “I’ll keep it a secret for now and tell you next time.”
—
The car drove through countless scenic resorts in Luanshan for what felt like an eternity. Upon arrival, the sun showed no signs of setting, casting golden sunlight on the majestic and elegant main building of the estate. Gu Peiwen was playing with the birds in a pavilion by the fountain. The moment Wen Ran stepped out of the car, Chen Shuhui ushered him over for a greeting.
“Chongze is busy in the study. He’ll come down later.” Gu Peiwen added to Wen Ran, “There’s still time before dinner. Why don’t you hang out with Yunchi for a while?”
The wording was light “hang out”, but Wen Ran knew that trying to hang out with Gu Yunchi was no different from looking for a scolding.
Within two minutes of getting out of the car, Wen Ran found himself on a tour bus. The driver took him past several detached buildings and a golf course on an open field surrounded by high iron fences. Wen Ran glanced over and spotted a structure resembling a climbing frame and a few small gazeboes. Two people stood under one of the gazeboes.
Wen Ran stepped out of the bus and was escorted to the fence. As he got closer, he noticed a seated figure in a gray T-shirt and jeans, lowering his head to pet an oversized cream-colored Labrador retriever. The Labrador sensed someone approaching and lifted its head from the person’s lap. Wen Ran stopped in his tracks, surprised to realize it wasn’t a Labrador at all, but a sub-adult white lion.
Upon closer inspection, the two people standing beside were dressed as a zookeeper and an animal trainer.
Gu Yunchi cast a glance at Wen Ran before reaching out to pat the white lion’s backside. The white lion swiftly got up, its demeanor changing from tame to chilling grimness within seconds. The white lion paced slowly in front of Wen Ran, sniffing from his stomach to his groin, then his dangling hands, and finally his knees.
Wen Ran looked like he was fine, but in reality, he had checked out mentally a while ago. The muscles in his body were tense and stiff. The last time he saw a lion up close was when he was ten at a wildlife park and it was from a safe distance. Now, the lion’s breath was spraying onto his palm.
Wen Ran suppressed his trembling to appear less cowardly and asked, “What’s its name?”
Gu Yunchi ignored him. The zookeeper on the side introduced, “It’s called Dolu, almost two years old, a lioness.”
Dolu suddenly licked Wen Ran’s hand, its tongue feeling rough and warm. Wen Ran’s hair was about to stick up. He was unable to pretend to be calm anymore, “…Will it bite me?”
“It’s quite picky,” Gu Yunchi finally decided to speak and whistled to call Dolu back.
Dolu lifted its head to look at Wen Ran with its blue-gray eyes and playfully nudged his belly with its nose. Then it turned back to leap into Gu Yunchi’s arms, settling down lazily as it exposed the pads of its paws for Gu Yunchi to massage.
Suddenly, Wen Ran kind of missed 339, having fun without it really felt dry.
Wen Ran started feeling the heat after being exposed to the sun for too long. He edged closer to the shelter, looking at Dolu before turning his gaze to Gu Yunchi.
While studying, Gu Yunchi was focused and respectful toward the teacher. He dressed in a simple and laid-back manner in private. His black hair was natural and he wore no extra accessories besides the wristband. If one had to find fault, it would probably be his bad temper and somewhat harsh words, which were purely characteristic of someone with his net worth and status.
Wen Ran had secretly searched for information about Gu Yunchi online. Despite being seventeen, there were no public photos of him. The only one that surfaced was a secret shot of him sitting in a limited edition sports car, visible only through the windshield. The image was blurry, and he was wearing sunglasses that obscured his face, so the Gu family might not have considered it worth addressing. While there was entertainment in his private life, it mostly involved hanging out with friends and didn’t count as sensational news.
If it weren’t for Gu Yunchi’s special physical constitution, the Wen family wouldn’t be able to even touch the mud beneath his feet. Thinking of this, Wen Ran once again related to Gu Yunchi. There was no unprovoked hatred in this world, but if there was, then so be it.
Dolu played with Gu Yunchi for a while before getting up again and walking to Wen Ran’s legs to look at him. The zookeeper and trainer went to the other pavilion to rest and drink water. Wen Ran’s fingers trembled as he asked Gu Yunchi, “Can I touch it?”
“No compensation for death by biting.” Gu Yunchi patted his pants as he stood up and took a bottle of mineral water from the climbing frame to drink.
Wen Ran’s hand trembled just like the day when he reached under Gu Yunchi’s covers and tried to help him take off his wristband. He first reached out to Dolu’s nose, allowing it to sniff his hand, then proceeded to pet its nose and head. It felt like petting a dog. Wen Ran relaxed and squatted down to be at eye level with Dolu. Dolu rubbed its face against his hand. But the next second, it raised its front paws and lunged at him without warning.
Wen Ran couldn’t even let out a scream. Dolu pushed him completely down to the ground, its weight bearing down on him so heavily that he struggled to draw a breath for several seconds. Wen Ran instinctively wanted to seek help from Gu Yunchi. But all he could see was him standing indifferently by the side, unfazed by the mayhem.
Meanwhile, Dolu seemed delighted, purring from its throat as it licked Wen Ran’s face twice. Before long, the zookeeper came over to shoo it away and pulled Wen Ran up while explaining, “Dolu has taken quite a liking to you.”
Wen Ran brushed off the grass on his clothes. It took him a moment to realize that Gu Yunchi had actually let Dolu embarrass and offend him, watching from the sidelines like looking down at his humiliation from up high. Still catching his breath, Wen Ran looked at Gu Yunchi and asked with rare directness, “Isn’t this area too confined for Dolu?”
Considering Dolu’s considerable weight when it pinned him down, Wen Ran thought it should be in a stage where it needed to run freely. While the activity area looked spacious, it still seemed limited compared to forests or grasslands.
Gu Yunchi’s gaze lingered on Wen Ran’s face for an unusual three seconds before he said, “You don’t need to concern yourself with that.”
As he walked toward the exit, he brushed past Wen Ran and added, “The entire mountain behind us is for it.”
Author’s note:
339: I heard someone’s been missing me (walking back and forth) Who is it? (howling up to the sky) Is it you? (grabbing Gu Yunchi) Tell me, is it you? (glaring fiercely) What? Not you? (getting kicked) Then who is it? Who is iiiitttttt? (running away while holding buttocks)
339 in the A/N had me rolling 🤣🤣 and here we have a new lion whisperer, mr wen ran~
Thank you for the translation! Hopefully eventually we also get some nice arts for this novel 🙂 May I ask if you’re planning to translate NSFW chapters too? 😊
Yes! I’ll do the NSFW chapters as well
👍👍👍👅
Thanks for the chapter!!
Gu Yunchi is so cold😭