Wang Siyu sat in a semi-enclosed rooftop garden of the Wang family, speaking softly with Fu Qi across from him. A servant stepped forward and said in a low voice by his ear, “Miss Wang Huan has returned and is waiting downstairs to see you.”
“She’s back so soon?”
Wang Siyu was a little surprised. He said apologetically to Fu Qi, “Sorry, excuse me for a moment.”
He walked into the small study downstairs, his tone affectionate: “You’ve worked hard, Elder Sister. I thought it would take you a few more days to come back. Why did you rush back so quickly?”
Wang Huan revealed a somewhat ingratiating smile. “I was afraid of delaying your affairs, so I hurried back.”
After a few words of small talk, Wang Siyu opened the chip in his wristband. With a smile, he looked at the cipher text inside the chip, his fingers sliding over several of the patterns as he asked warmly, “Was everything smooth on this trip?”
“Of course it was smooth. The blue crystal mine has already been bought, the people have been met, and the goods came back with the first batch of blue crystals and have already been put into storage.” Wang Huan watched his expression carefully. Seeing nothing unusual, she probed, “In the future, will I still be in charge of this matter?”
“Of course. There are too few people in the Wang family I can trust right now. Elder Sister has helped me a great deal. This matter is something I only feel at ease entrusting to you.” Wang Siyu’s tone was sincere. “You’ve worked hard. You should rest for now during this period. Next time I’ll have to trouble Elder Sister again.”
Still entrusting this matter to her meant that nothing had changed. Wang Huan finally relaxed, exchanged a few more pleasantries with a smile, and then left.
After she left, Wang Siyu looked at the door she had closed and revealed an expression of irritation, muttering, “What a fool. She can’t even do such a small thing properly.”
Who knows what she went and did on her own initiative again, provoking Brother Yan.
The very first section of the cipher text on the chip clearly said: immediately dispose of Wang Huan.
Although he was indeed short of manpower at present, and Wang Huan was fairly capable in handling affairs, there was no helping it. Since Brother Yan had said so, Wang Huan could only die.
Wang Siyu returned to the rooftop garden. Fu Qi looked at him. “You let Wang Huan go see him. Is she trustworthy?”
Wang Siyu said, “Whether she’s trustworthy or not, she can’t be used anymore. She should be ‘accidentally dead’ very soon.”
Fu Qi did not pursue the matter further and only said, “Then who will you have contact him from now on?”
Wang Siyu showed a troubled expression, tapping his finger against his head. “I’m worrying about that right now. With the Wang family in such chaos, there really aren’t many people who can be used.”
The Wang family head was so ill he could almost no longer see anyone and only let the butler handle affairs. The collateral branches were restless and had seized a great deal of authority from the main branch, and the mortal enemy, the Hei family, had taken advantage of the previous turmoil to massively swallow up Wang family industries. If not for Wang Siyu’s sudden engagement to the Ninth Imperial Daughter and his display of ability, who knew how chaotic the Wang family would be now.
“I have no choice but to seek Brother Yan’s help. He’ll definitely have a way.” Wang Siyu’s face was full of reverence, his expression like that of an innocent youth.
Fu Qi raised his brows. Wang Siyu’s worshipful trust toward Yan Qiongyu made him think of the attitude those people in Utopia had toward Yan Mu. From certain aspects, this mother and son, Yan Mu and Yan Qiongyu, were indeed remarkably similar.
“Let him help… aren’t you afraid he’ll directly turn your Wang family into his ‘Utopia’?”
Wang Siyu smiled with narrowed eyes, his catlike pupils sly. “What is the Wang family worth? Brother Yan wouldn’t even look at it.”
“Speaking of Utopia, Brother Yan also had Wang Huan bring me some of the reagents you use. Are they really that powerful?”
Fu Qi tugged at the corner of his mouth at Wang Siyu’s question. “What’s so powerful about a mental power annihilation reagent? The truly powerful thing is the reagent he’s currently researching. When I escaped, I heard there was already some progress—a reagent that can make alpha and omega pheromones disappear.”
When he fled, almost all of Utopia had become experimental sites. Even Yan Mu, who controlled Utopia, had been swept into this devouring vortex by Yan Qiongyu’s terrifying ambition.
“Does he want to create a completely chaotic world?” Fu Qi murmured.
For so many years, everyone had lived under the influence of pheromones. They not only affected reproduction and combat, but also determined the division of labor and hierarchy of the entire society. Once shaken, what would be redefined would be far more than just the mode of interaction between alpha and omega.
Just thinking about it a little was enough to make one’s heart tremble for the future upheaval; even the extinction of entire populations was possible.
ততততততততততত
The terrifying Yan Qiongyu was standing with his arms crossed in a warehouse rented by Wang Luan, watching her handle spaceship components.
The weather grew hot, and for the convenience of working, Wang Luan wore long pants on her lower body and only a short vest on her upper body. Smooth, clean protective bandages showed on her arms, and when she occasionally stood up, the protective bandage on her abdomen would also be revealed.
She was repairing a somewhat deformed thruster. After washing it with a special solution, the grime on the thruster fell away, becoming bright and clean as new, with only one corner still slightly deformed.
Yan Qiongyu frowned as he looked at the pile of old parts on the ground. “Why don’t you buy some new parts?”
Wang Luan said, “Some parts work better when they’re old, because they’ve already been broken in.”
Seeing her about to use force to bend the deformed corner back into place, Yan Qiongyu frowned again. Looking at the injury on her arm, he stopped her. “Let me do it.”
Wang Luan hesitated and handed him the deformed part in her hands. Yan Qiongyu took it and applied force… the deformed corner did not budge at all.
Seeing his expression turn blank, Wang Luan somewhat suspected that he wanted to throw the part out. She tentatively reached out to save his dignity. “This, actually, is made of very sturdy material. It’s normal that it can’t be bent by hand. We’ll put it aside and bend it later with tools.”
Yan Qiongyu let her take the part from his hand and set it aside. He wiped his hands and said, “I’ll go get you some water. Rest for a bit.”
Wang Luan said, “Okay.”
As soon as Yan Qiongyu left, Wang Luan glanced at the part a couple of times, then still took it over. She slowly applied force with her fingers, little by little restoring it to its original shape. It was indeed extremely hard; with her current strength, it was also quite strenuous to bend it straight.
After bending every corner to the correct angle, Wang Luan hid it in a parts box to the side. Thinking of how Yan Qiongyu had failed to bend the part just now, she didn’t know why, but the more she thought about it, the funnier it became.
She laughed, covering the bandage on her abdomen, and inadvertently turned her head to find Yan Qiongyu standing at the doorway watching her laugh, his expression subtle, half-smiling.
He probably saw her series of actions just now. With the way his mind worked, one turn of his eyes would be enough for him to know why she was laughing like this.
Wang Luan: “…………”
“Ah.” Wang Luan stiffly shook her arm, wanting to divert his attention. “I used too much force just now. The wound on my arm seems to have split open.”
She obediently sat down on a small stool and held out her arm to Yan Qiongyu.
His fingers were nimble, moving very gracefully. He removed her bandage, saw that the wound had indeed split a little, then reapplied medicine and put on a new bandage.
After changing it, he kissed the bandage. It had only been changed a few times, but somehow this habit had formed.
Wang Luan shrank her neck, recalling the first time he had helped treat her wound. With lingering fear, she covered her abdomen, feeling as if there were still a soft sensation there. The most shameful thing was the body’s natural reaction… why did there have to be a reaction! She had almost died of embarrassment.
Yan Qiongyu seemed to have come this time in quite a hurry. The flowers he brought were still the ones she later put into the vase in the living room, and the coat that was usually hung on the living room rack was also taken down by her to be washed.
Moreover, he had already been here for several days this time. During the day, he followed her at the warehouse to watch the spaceship modifications, and at night they went back together to rest. He showed no sign of intending to leave.
“Are you worried about my injury? It’s just a small wound.” Wang Luan asked him while resting.
Yan Qiongyu sat beside her, stretching out his long legs and squinting his eyes in the sun. “I’ve been a bit tired lately too, and want to rest for a while.”
Wang Luan looked at his face. It was indeed somewhat pale. Back when they were still on the Imperial Capital Star, Yan Qiongyu had looked quite glossy and well-fed. Compared to that, he really did look rather unhealthy now, which was why she couldn’t help but stew nourishing soups for him every few days. This time, the soup was something the two of them drank together.
“You’re so concerned about my body—be a bit more concerned about your own body too.” Wang Luan propped her chin, looking at the sky as she spoke, and let out a long sigh.
Yan Qiongyu chuckled, moving a little closer to her. Wang Luan again smelled that faint trace of pheromone emanating from his whole body.
In the past, as long as Yan Qiongyu wanted to, he could keep even a wisp of pheromone from leaking out, smelling just like her—no scent at all.
But in the recent few meetings, it was as if he could not control his pheromones. They would naturally spill out, the scent especially faint, and it seemed to come not only from the glands at the back of his neck, but more like it was emanating from his blood.
Even if she lacked common sense, she now knew that omega pheromones only dispersed from the glands. So she guessed that Yan Qiongyu had gone and messed with his own body again.
Wang Luan suddenly sniffed herself. “It’s been so long, but there’s still no pheromone scent on me. I don’t even know what my pheromones actually smell like. Everyone else has them. Isn’t it too strange for me to be like this?”
Yan Qiongyu held her hand, his cold, pale fingers rubbing against her fingers marked with fine scars, threading into the gaps between them, tightening from loose to firm as he grasped her securely. “No. Being like this is the best. If everyone were like you, that would be ideal.”
Wang Luan felt that the gentle tone of his words was a little frightening. Then she suddenly heard his tone change. “You don’t have the scent of pheromones, but you do have your own unique scent.”
“Do I?” Wang Luan was puzzled. She tugged at her vest and sniffed herself again.
Yan Qiongyu fastened her hand, pulling her in front of him. He bent down close to her neck and lightly inhaled, as if discerning it. “Mechanical parts, the lumu furniture at home, the old-fashioned lightly scented bath soap you use, the soil and flowers in the vegetable garden, the wind of Little Wu District…”
Wang Luan tilted her neck back. “…That sounds like a very chaotic mix of smells.”
Yan Qiongyu said, “Mm. I like it very much.”
That night, she secretly sniffed for a long time in the bathroom, but still couldn’t distinguish any of the smells Yan Qiongyu had mentioned. She could only chalk it up to some kind of artsy-youth, poetry-like imagination—literary diffusion based on personal emotion, with no concrete scent at all, all of it his own mental projection.
She lingered in the bathroom for quite a while before going out. That artsy youth who used sweet words to coax her was already sitting on the bed with the tools for changing dressings, waiting for her. “Don’t wash for so long next time. It’s not good for wound healing.”
Wang Luan gave up and lay sprawled out on the bed, letting him properly tend to all the various big and small wounds on her body.
Most of the time, he looked proper and serious, but the troublesome thing was that in the gaps between that seriousness, he would suddenly take advantage of her guard being down—like a cat suddenly sticking out a paw to make trouble.
“Ow!” Wang Luan suddenly bounced up. “I told you not to touch there anymore! I’m really ticklish!”
Yan Qiongyu said solemnly, “I touched it by accident.”
Wang Luan said, “You’ve done it by accident three times.”
Yan Qiongyu said, “All right, I did it on purpose. Sorry.”
Yes, exactly like this—first he argued, and when he couldn’t argue anymore, he simply admitted it, then wore a perfectly righteous expression.
No, she couldn’t keep tolerating this. After Yan Qiongyu lay down quietly and fell asleep, Wang Luan suddenly opened her eyes, groped her way to his waist, then twisted hard and quickly retreated. Yan Qiongyu had no reaction at all, completely unmoving.
Wang Luan dodged for nothing. She scooted over again, wanting to repeat the trick, but suddenly a blanket was flipped up and thrown over her head, and someone took advantage of the chaos to grab her ticklish spots, steady and ruthless.
Wang Luan was tickled into flustered rage. When she finally broke free of the blanket, she saw Yan Qiongyu standing by the door with a serious expression. “Stop making trouble. Tonight I’ll sleep next door.”
Wang Luan: “…………” Who was it that started making trouble first, you bad cat!
Yan Qiongyu went to the next room. He didn’t lie down on the bed, but instead took out a flickering communicator. When another voice appeared on the other end, the smile on his face had completely vanished.
“Fu Qi, how is it? Has Wang Siyu dealt with Wang Huan?”
“Wang Huan has already ‘died in an accident.’ Wang Siyu listens to you very well.” Fu Qi paused for a moment and asked, “You don’t trust Wang Siyu?”
Yan Qiongyu’s tone was calm. “He is indeed very obedient, but people change easily. I just don’t trust in things that don’t change.”
The brief communication ended. Yan Qiongyu sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the wall, thinking of Wang Luan on the other side of it.
She was probably sulking again. In fact, it wasn’t the first time he had deliberately annoyed her. Even back in the Imperial Capital, it had been like this. Wang Luan never quibbled with him over small matters and loved to sulk on her own.
He was thinking about some issues in the dark room when suddenly there were two knocks on the door. Wang Luan’s gloomy face appeared. “You should still go sleep on my side.”
Yan Qiongyu smiled, stood up, and held out his hand to her. “All right.”
The two lay down again. After a long time, Yan Qiongyu suddenly arched his waist and dodged. “Ah… itchy!”
Wang Luan withdrew her hand in satisfaction, feeling she had reclaimed a round.
In the darkness, Yan Qiongyu looked at her and smiled secretly. These days, he wasn’t very sensitive to pain anymore, and he certainly wouldn’t feel ticklish. He was only playing along with her—otherwise, she probably wouldn’t be able to fall asleep tonight.
Once asleep, people forgot the grudges from before bed and unconsciously drew closer. Her forehead pressed against Yan Qiongyu’s chest. Yan Qiongyu used one hand to stroke the back of her head, his gaze fixed on the void, remaining awake for a long time.
