Not until the car arrived near the restaurant did Dou Changxiao release Ning Zhu’s hand.

During the meal, Dou Changxiao sat across from Ning Zhu, frequently lifting his head to look at him. Ning Zhu felt that the other man’s gaze was quite brazen.

He didn’t really mind it, but being stared at so intently made him feel a bit uncomfortable, so most of the time he simply offered Dou Changxiao a view of his thick, tousled hair.

When Dou Changxiao left on Sunday, he didn’t take his suitcase with him; he’d left it at Ning Zhu’s place. He borrowed one of Ning Zhu’s handbags to pack the electronic devices he had to take with him, then thoughtfully said to Ning Zhu, “No need to see me off—it’s cold outside.”

If he’d had a car, Ning Zhu might have driven Dou Changxiao to the airport himself, but unfortunately, his hotel was very close to his office, so he didn’t need any transportation. So he didn’t stand on ceremony; after watching Dou Changxiao get into the elevator, he waved and headed back to his room.

Just before the elevator doors closed, Ning Zhu saw a flicker of disappointed anticipation in Dou Changxiao’s eyes, and the corners of his lips turned down. It seemed he had actually hoped Ning Zhu would see him off a little longer, and that earlier remark had merely been a polite gesture.

Ning Zhu: “……”

He pretended not to notice and turned to go back to his room.

Once Dou Changxiao was gone, the otherwise spacious hotel suite suddenly felt quiet and empty.

Ning Zhu let his mind wander for a moment. He noticed that several of Dou Changxiao’s clothes were still in his walk-in closet, and some of Dou Changxiao’s toiletries had been left behind in the bathroom. A sense of unease quickly welled up inside him.

That brat… does he really think this place is his home?

The following week, Ning Zhu’s schedule at Lu Corporation was even more packed than the previous two weeks.

The preliminary research and preparation turned out to be more complex than the project team had initially anticipated. If they didn’t pick up the pace, the project might drag on until after the New Year. Naturally, Ning Zhu hoped to spend as little time as possible in Haicheng.

During his business trip to Haicheng, Ning Zhu had to interact with Lu Chao every day. The two shared similar views on many aspects of company management, and even their personalities had some similarities. As a result, the more they spent time together, the more they hit it off, becoming much closer than they had been back in Beicheng.

One morning, after a meeting ended just in time for lunch, Ning Zhu and Lu Chao headed to a restaurant together. As they ate and chatted, the conversation turned to Haicheng cuisine, and Lu Chao began describing the local flavors to Ning Zhu.

Ning Zhu, being a local himself, felt a bit awkward listening to a fellow townsman earnestly extol the virtues of their hometown cuisine.

His response was rather perfunctory, and Lu Chao noticed. After a moment’s thought, he said, “There’s a chef in Haicheng who’s quite famous for his local cuisine. He happens to be in town right now, and this weekend my father has invited him over to cook at our house. Would you care to join us, Mr. Ning?”

Ning Zhu wasn’t particularly keen on wandering around Haicheng; he just wanted to stay put at the hotel.

However, since Lu Chao had extended the invitation, it presented an opportunity to get to know Lu Mao’an. Ning Zhu admitted to himself that he did have some intention of building ties with the Lu family; after all, establishing a stable partnership with such a business titan would be highly beneficial for Qisheng in the future.

He pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

On Thursday, Ning Zhu received some unexpected news from Ji Chi. When he received the message, he was reviewing a feasibility report sent to him by Secretary Xia. Ning Zhu usually didn’t bother to read such theoretical analysis reports in detail; he skimmed through them quickly and just then noticed that Ji Chi had sent him a document via WeChat.

Ji Chi was very meticulous in his work and placed great importance on confidentiality; he always sent any work-related documents to the company’s internal email. Ning Zhu found this odd and was just about to click on the file when Ji Chi’s call came in.

As soon as the call connected, Ji Chi skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point: “Ning Zhu. We’ve got news from the matching database.”

Before Ning Zhu’s brain could process the information in those words, his heart skipped a beat—an instinctive reaction after waiting so long to hear just that.

It wasn’t until he processed it that his heartbeat gradually returned to normal.

Ning Zhu even found it amusing, doubting the credibility of the news: “Are you sure?”

Ji Chi replied, “The preliminary compatibility test results are very encouraging—94.7%, nearly ninety-five percent. If we could conduct a more precise test, the percentage might even go up a bit.”

Ning Zhu didn’t know what to say for a moment and fell into a complex silence. The match he’d waited so long for had finally appeared—just when he no longer needed it. Ji Chi asked, “Ning Zhu?”

Ning Zhu pinched the bridge of his nose before saying, “This is a hassle… Thanks for keeping an eye out for me, but you don’t need to keep watching over me from now on.” 

Ji Chi hesitated. “Why?”

Ning Zhu: “With Dou Changxiao around, I don’t need anyone else’s pheromones.” He already had the best one; he didn’t need any other antidotes.

“…Back at the police station, didn’t you ask me to keep an eye on things for you? Why have you changed your mind now?”

“At the time, my… arrangement with him wasn’t very stable yet.” Ning Zhu chose his words carefully. “It’s much better now.”

There was a moment of silence on the other end. “You and he are now…”

He stopped mid-sentence, choosing not to probe further into Ning Zhu’s relationship with Dou Changxiao.

Ning Zhu: “Delete my files too. Sorry for making you waste your time all this while.”

“…It’s nothing, just a small favor.” Ji Chi paused. “But Ning Zhu, I want to know how confident you are that your deal with that kid will last.”

“……”

Ji Chi: “Or to put it another way, can you guarantee he won’t regret it in the future and call off the deal with you?” Ning Zhu froze for a moment, caught off guard by the question.

He paused for a moment, then smiled. “Who can say for sure? Anyway, it shouldn’t happen anytime soon.”

Ji Chi realized Ning Zhu couldn’t actually be certain. He said calmly, “Ning Zhu, you should know better than I do just how rare this opportunity is. This is a matter of life and death. Even if you don’t need it now, you should at least have a safety net for the future.”

There was some truth to what he said. But the idea of a “safety net” suddenly made Ning Zhu feel a bit uneasy, as if his medicine might indeed leave him one day.

And Ning Zhu knew all too well that this possibility was very real.

His parents—who, in theory, should be the people who loved him most in the world—had once entertained the thought of abandoning him. How much more so, then, for Dou Changxiao?

The smile on his lips faded.

After a long silence, Ji Chi spoke again: “There’s no rush. As for that Alpha, I had my subordinates get in touch with him. He’s already agreed to provide a pheromone sample for further compatibility testing and has even quoted a price. All that’s missing now is your sample.”

Ji Chi continued, “I suggest you don’t make a decision right now. In the meantime, I’ll send someone to Haicheng to collect your pheromone sample. Let’s run a precise test first to see if your compatibility with the other party actually meets the standards. It won’t be too late to decide then.”

Ji Chi’s advice was sound. Ning Zhu couldn’t find a reason to refuse, so he simply said, “…Yeah, thanks.” After hanging up, Ning Zhu took a few minutes to compose himself—a somewhat difficult process.

He then sent a flirty text to Dou Changxiao, who was far away in Beicheng. After receiving a string of replies from him, Ning Zhu smiled before turning his attention back to the tedious report on his computer screen.

Early Saturday morning, Ning Zhu heard the doorbell ring in his bedroom. Assuming it was hotel staff coming to clean or deliver breakfast, he lazily made his way to the door in his pajamas. As soon as he opened it, the tall Alpha walked in calmly and naturally.

He closed the door, looked down, and met Ning Zhu’s gaze.

Ning Zhu: “…”

He couldn’t help but ask, “Are you planning to come over every week?”

Dou Changxiao: “We agreed to meet on Saturday.” 

“……”

Last time, Dou Changxiao had waited a long time in the hotel lobby for Ning Zhu to finish work, but this time he’d come straight up to his room. The chill from the cold air still clung to him; even the fabric of his clothes felt icy.

Ning Zhu first rubbed his knuckles against Dou Changxiao’s coat, then touched his chin—both were ice-cold. At that moment, he recalled his conversation with Ji Chi that day and pressed his lips together tightly.

Dou Changxiao pressed his thumb against Ning Zhu’s tightly pursed lips, as if that spot were a switch that could be released with a single touch.

“Don’t you want me here?” he asked.

Ning Zhu’s expression did indeed relax a little.

“Are you doing this on purpose?” he asked, eyeing Dou Changxiao warily. “Flying all this way without covering yourself up properly—you’re just trying to make me feel guilty, aren’t you? Haha, what a schemer.”

Dou Changxiao: “……”

He said, “Do you feel guilty?” 

Ning Zhu replied, “I do.”

Dou Changxiao studied him for a moment before concluding, “I can’t tell. You look just the same as always.”

Ning Zhu said nothing, cupping Dou Changxiao’s face with one hand. Dou Changxiao stood very straight, tilting his head down only slightly, looking at him in confusion. Ning Zhu struggled a bit to stand on tiptoe to make himself taller.

On the first try, he reached for Dou Changxiao with his lips but missed. On the second try, his lips barely brushed against the tip of Dou Changxiao’s lower lip.

At first, Dou Changxiao froze like a statue, remaining motionless for a few seconds.

It wasn’t until Ning Zhu stood on his tiptoes a third time and failed again—just as he was about to stomp his foot in frustration—that Dou Changxiao suddenly hooked his arm around Ning Zhu’s waist as he was about to fall and leaned down to kiss him.