After Transmigrating into an ABO World with My Rival - Chapter 25

The voice caught Chen Yanzhi’s attention. Forgetting for a moment his worry about whether the Fu family would try to force an engagement, he poked his head out from behind Fu Tingyue to look at the speaker. “Who is he?”

“Let me think.” Fu Tingyue carefully searched his memory for the person in front of him. After a long while without a hit, he could only give an ambiguous answer. “Probably some distant cousin or something.”

The face was too unfamiliar; he had no memory of it. But since the man had called the old master “Grandfather,” he was likely the child of one of the uncles.

Chen Yanzhi gave an “oh” and turned to greet the man. “Hello, Cousin.”

The cousin ignored Chen Yanzhi, instead glaring at Fu Tingyue with fury. “Fu Tingyue! Don’t go too far. What do you mean ‘some distant cousin’? I am the son of your eldest uncle, your own first cousin!”

Fu Tingyue nodded and looked down at Chen Yanzhi. “I was wrong. He’s a first cousin.”

“Oh, a first cousin.” Chen Yanzhi called out with a smile, “Hello, First Cousin.”

Fu Lin trembled with rage. “You, the two of you!”

Before he could explode, the old butler approached with a smile and said to Fu Tingyue, “Young Master, the Old Master has requested that you bring Mr. Chen over.”

Chen Yanzhi originally wanted to say goodbye to the cousin, but the man had already stomped off in a huff. He had no choice but to follow Fu Tingyue to see Old Master Fu.

As they walked deeper into the residence, the guests grew fewer until they were eventually alone. Chen Yanzhi looked at the winding corridors and whispered to Fu Tingyue, “Have you met your grandfather before?”

Fu Tingyue whispered back, “Met him once.”

Chen Yanzhi winced. “Is he mean? Is he scary?”

Fu Tingyue said, “He’s alright. Not especially mean.”

Chen Yanzhi breathed a sigh of relief and patted his chest. “That’s good, that’s good.”

Fu Tingyue smiled and tightened his grip on Chen Yanzhi’s hand, following the butler into the innermost courtyard.

Chen Yanzhi was so preoccupied with worrying about whether the grandfather was mean that he forgot his hand was still being held. He didn’t realize it even as they entered the courtyard.

A white-bearded old man sitting in the main seat glanced at them, his voice deep. “A-Yue is here. Sit down.”

Despite being over eighty, Old Master Fu looked energetic. Aside from his white beard and hair, he didn’t look eighty at all. His hawk-like eyes, in particular, made Chen Yanzhi’s heart flutter with fear, terrified that the old man would realize he and Fu Tingyue were different souls.

Sitting close to Fu Tingyue, Chen Yanzhi kept his head down the entire time, feeling incredibly guilty.

Fu Tingyue never let go of his hand. Feeling the warmth from his palm, Chen Yanzhi’s nervousness began to ebb away.

The Old Master withdrew his gaze from their interlaced hands, took a sip of tea, and asked, “You haven’t been back in so long. Have you decided to stop recognizing me as your grandfather?”

Fu Tingyue gave a brief explanation: “I’ve been a bit busy lately.”

Old Master Fu huffed. “Busy dating?”

Chen Yanzhi was about to explain when Fu Tingyue beat him to it. “Yes. Haven’t you always been urging me to date? I am now.”

Chen Yanzhi: “????”

What was going on? They hadn’t agreed to play a couple before they came.

Fu Tingyue ignored Chen Yanzhi’s questioning look, though his own palm was breaking into a sweat.

Hearing this, a look of satisfaction flashed in Old Master Fu’s eyes, and his stern face softened with a smile. “That’s good. Originally, I heard he was a Beta and intended to separate you two, but even the heavens are helping you. Since he differentiated into an S-class Omega, the two of you should date seriously. Whenever you want to get married, just tell the family and the elders will handle the arrangements.”

Chen Yanzhi didn’t understand why they had suddenly reached the stage of marriage. He hadn’t even agreed to it yet!

He instinctively raised his hand, his expression dazed, which stood in stark contrast to his bold pink hair.

The Old Master was amused by Chen Yanzhi’s “elementary student” behavior. He took a sip of tea before asking, “Is there a problem?”

“Well, about that. Fu Tingyue and I…”

Chen Yanzhi originally wanted to say they couldn’t get married, but Fu Tingyue suddenly squeezed his hand. His eyes were full of panic. The Old Master didn’t see it, but Chen Yanzhi did.

His heart softened, and the words at the tip of his tongue changed. “Fu Tingyue and I want to date for a few more years. We don’t have plans to marry yet.”

Seeing the panic fade from Fu Tingyue’s eyes, Chen Yanzhi felt a sense of relief.

Fine, he would play along. It wasn’t like they were actually dating. This old man looked like someone you didn’t want to mess with; if he found out they weren’t in that kind of relationship, there was no telling what he would do.

Chen Yanzhi sometimes felt like the people in this world were a bit “extra.” He couldn’t quite understand them. Like Fu Baiyu and his parents, for instance.

The Old Master didn’t agree immediately. Instead, he set down his teacup and asked, “How old are you?”

Chen Yanzhi caught Fu Tingyue’s eye and answered respectfully, “I just turned twenty.”

The Old Master repeated “twenty” several times before suddenly saying to Fu Tingyue, “He has reached the legal age. You could actually get married first and then continue dating slowly.”

Hearing this, Chen Yanzhi quickly scratched Fu Tingyue’s palm. The latter picked up the cue perfectly. “Grandfather, Zhizhi is still in school, and the company hasn’t fully stabilized yet. We don’t have plans to marry for now. Besides, Chen Yanzhi hasn’t accepted me yet. I’m still courting him.”

“???” The script changed again?

Chen Yanzhi looked at Fu Tingyue in total confusion, unable to keep up with his acting.

Old Master Fu huffed and said, “Do you really think I’m so old and blind that I can’t tell? That Omega clearly looks like he’s full of disdain. He doesn’t look like he’s dating you at all.”

Chen Yanzhi and Fu Tingyue exchanged a look, secretly thanking heaven that Fu Tingyue’s nonsense had hit the mark, otherwise they would have been finished.

Fu Tingyue showed no sign of panic. Instead, he smiled and said, “I wanted to make you happy, but you seemed to get a bit too excited and wanted to organize a wedding. It scared Chen Yanzhi so much he almost clawed my palm raw.”

Old Master Fu shook his head and laughed. “You brat. Is it my fault for worrying about your life’s milestones?”

It was clear he was very satisfied with this grandson. Anyone else would have been thrown out long ago.

Fu Tingyue spoke in a gentle tone, “I didn’t mean it that way. I was just worried about scaring our Chen Yanzhi.”

Chen Yanzhi usually seemed carefree, but he was actually quite timid. He was already slow to catch on; if he got a real fright, he would probably never “get it.”

“Alright, stop showing off your affection in front of an old man.” The Old Master waved his hand dismissively and turned to Chen Yanzhi. “Little Chen, come here.”

Chen Yanzhi didn’t want to go, but Fu Tingyue stood up while still holding his hand.

“I didn’t ask you to come.” The Old Master grumbled at Fu Tingyue before gesturing for the butler to bring something forward.

Soon, the old butler returned with a vintage wooden box. He handed it to the Old Master respectfully and stood aside.

The Old Master opened the box and took out the item inside. Seeing Chen Yanzhi’s nervous face, he couldn’t help but laugh. “This is a gift for our first meeting, not an engagement gift. Don’t be nervous.”

Chen Yanzhi looked at the priceless jade bracelet and took a step back, putting his hands behind his back. “This is too precious. I can’t take it.”

The Old Master stroked the bracelet, his eyes filled with nostalgia. “This was left behind by A-Yue’s grandmother. She said it was for her grandson’s wife. Although you and A-Yue haven’t officially started dating yet, I know my grandson. The bracelet is just being given to you in advance.”

Chen Yanzhi didn’t want it, but he didn’t know how to refuse, so he looked to Fu Tingyue for help.

Fu Tingyue spoke up again to save him. “Instead of giving him that, you might as well give him a bank card. He likes money. Give him the bracelet later.”

“If you don’t even have money to support your wife, why are you dating?”

Despite his grumbling, the Old Master took a black card from his breast pocket and handed it to Chen Yanzhi. He put the bracelet back in the box and smiled. “It was my oversight. I shouldn’t have put so much pressure on you for our first meeting. This card has no limit. Take it and spend it however you like. I’m old and don’t know what young people like; have A-Yue take you shopping.”

First the bracelet, then a black card—Chen Yanzhi was completely overwhelmed.

He took the card with both hands and said obediently, “Thank you, Grandfather.”

The Old Master looked at Chen Yanzhi with satisfaction. “You’re welcome. Come visit the old residence often.”

The Old Master had already decided that Chen Yanzhi was his future grandson-in-law. But as he looked at that small, beautiful face, a sense of familiarity suddenly washed over him. However, his memory was failing him in his old age, and he couldn’t recall where he might have seen it.

“Master, we should head to the front hall.”

The butler’s interruption made the Old Master forget the thought. He led the two younger men toward the banquet hall.

Chen Yanzhi tried to secretly press the card into Fu Tingyue’s hand, shaking his head to indicate he didn’t want it.

Fu Tingyue tucked the card into Chen Yanzhi’s pocket and leaned close to his ear. “It’s okay. Just take it.”

Chen Yanzhi turned and whispered into Fu Tingyue’s ear, “I don’t want to marry you.”

Fu Tingyue let out a chuckle. “It’s fine if you don’t marry me.”

It would be the same if he married Chen Yanzhi; as long as the result was the same, it didn’t matter.

Chen Yanzhi wanted to shove the card back, but the Old Master suddenly looked back, scaring him into straightening his back and walking properly beside Fu Tingyue.

Birthday banquets for these major families were always boring. It was just a group of people eating, drinking, and saying flattering things, followed by some covert infighting. There was nothing new about it; Chen Yanzhi was almost falling asleep.

Fu Baiyu watched Chen Yanzhi and Fu Tingyue sitting at the main table, his molars nearly grinding to dust.

Why? He had originally intended to use the banquet to expose the fact that Chen Yanzhi was a Beta. Who could have known he would suddenly differentiate into an Omega—and a top-tier one at that?

Not only were all his plans ruined, but that low-class orphan had even gained the Old Master’s approval.

Chen Yanzhi was in a daze from the food when he suddenly felt a cold gaze. He turned to see Fu Baiyu looking at him with envy, as if he wanted to burn two holes in him.

He nudged Fu Tingyue gently and whispered, “He’s glaring at me. Do you think he’s itching for another beating?”

Fu Tingyue looked back. Fu Baiyu quickly averted his gaze in panic. Fu Tingyue turned to Chen Yanzhi and said, “Don’t pay him any mind. He won’t dare to cause you trouble again.”

Chen Yanzhi clicked his tongue and said in a voice only they could hear, “What a shame. I’ve lost my human punching bag.”

Fu Tingyue said, “I can be your human punching bag.”

“Could I actually bring myself to hit you?” Chen Yanzhi rolled his eyes, only to realize that the entire table was watching them. He buried his head in embarrassment, wishing he could hide his face in his empty bowl.

The elders were teasing him and Fu Tingyue. Fu Tingyue responded with poise throughout, while Chen Yanzhi kept quiet, taking the easy way out.

However, he felt that he really needed to think carefully about his relationship with Fu Tingyue. He couldn’t keep dragging it out and pretending not to know; it wasn’t fair to Fu Tingyue.

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