After Transmigrating into an ABO World with My Rival - Chapter 26

That night, Chen Yanzhi and Fu Tingyue were kept at the old residence. The Old Master insisted they stay for the night and leave the next day. Fu Tingyue’s reluctance to stay had upset the old man, and in the end, it was Chen Yanzhi who stepped in to smooth things over, preventing a full-blown argument between the grandfather and grandson.

After pacifying the Old Master, Chen Yanzhi pulled Fu Tingyue aside and whispered, “Staying for one night isn’t a big deal. We’ll head back tomorrow morning.”

Fu Tingyue nodded obediently. “Okay. Whatever you say.”

In truth, he had only voiced his reluctance because he was worried Chen Yanzhi wouldn’t want to stay. Since Chen Yanzhi had spoken up, he naturally followed suit.

When the two returned, Old Master Fu looked quite displeased. “Done discussing?”

Fu Tingyue looked at him helplessly. “We’ll stay for the night and leave first thing tomorrow morning.”

The Old Master huffed. “When you were little, you couldn’t wait to stay at the old house every day to keep me company. Now that you’re grown, your conscience has vanished along with your height.”

Hearing this, Chen Yanzhi, terrified the old man might notice something was amiss, quickly scurried over to the Old Master to massage his shoulders, his words turning exceptionally sweet.

“Grandfather, Fu Tingyue actually really wants to keep you company. He’s just afraid of disturbing you. Plus, he was worried I wouldn’t be used to staying here. It’s all my fault for not telling him sooner; I actually really wanted to stay the night.”

The Old Master snorted, looking at Fu Tingyue with disdain. “See? Yanzhi is much more sensible than you.”

“No, Fu Tingyue is just overprotective. Deep down, he really wants to stay.” Chen Yanzhi couldn’t stand hearing anyone speak poorly of Fu Tingyue, so he made excuses for him while asking, “Isn’t that right, Fu Tingyue?”

Seeing Chen Yanzhi defending him made Fu Tingyue’s heart feel warm, and his expression softened. “Yes. Zhizhi is right.”

The Old Master sighed, a flash of heartache hidden in his eyes as he looked at Fu Tingyue. “I know you don’t like coming home because your parents favor Baiyu, but this place will always be your home.”

The Old Master had always been very satisfied with this grandson, who had been exceptionally talented since childhood. While he couldn’t control Fu Youmin and his wife’s way of thinking, he did everything he could to show Fu Tingyue care.

It was fine when he was young; Fu Tingyue was close to him and spent most of his time at the old residence. But as he grew older, he became increasingly solitary. Even during holidays, he would return but never stay the night, rushing back to his villa to be alone.

So, when the Old Master heard there was someone by Fu Tingyue’s side, his first reaction was joy. Once he calmed down, he analyzed the situation: if Chen Yanzhi were a Beta, he wouldn’t be able to give the clan elders an explanation, as Fu Tingyue’s top-tier Alpha genes needed to be combined with a top-tier Omega’s to continue.

He had originally intended to use this banquet to see how far the relationship had progressed. If they were truly in love, he would have cleared the obstacles for them even if Chen Yanzhi were a Beta. Heaven be praised, Chen Yanzhi had differentiated into an S-class Omega at this critical juncture, which was the best outcome for both the Fu family and Fu Tingyue.

Being suddenly showered with such concern made Fu Tingyue feel a bit awkward. “I know.”

After that, they accompanied the Old Master for a while longer. When Fu Youmin and his wife entered with Fu Baiyu, the Old Master told the butler to take Chen Yanzhi and Fu Tingyue to rest, likely wanting to avoid a family conflict.

Chen Yanzhi and Fu Tingyue didn’t say a word to the family of three, obediently following the butler out of the front hall.

The Fu family’s old residence was a standard example of ancient architecture. There were slight differences from their original world, but it was largely the same.

Red lanterns on the corridor swayed in the night wind, looking inexplicably eerie.

Chen Yanzhi had been afraid of ghosts since he was a child, yet he was a glutton for punishment and watched plenty of horror movies. The scene before him often appeared in those films. The further he walked, the more frightened he became. His skin crawled, and layers of goosebumps broke out on his arms.

He shrank fearfully behind Fu Tingyue, his hand tightly clutching the back of Fu Tingyue’s clothes. His voice trembled. “Fu Tingyue, do you think there are ghosts here?”

Fu Tingyue turned to him. “No. If you’re scared, walk in the middle.”

Chen Yanzhi cautiously stepped out from behind Fu Tingyue, looking around warily, terrified that something might suddenly pop out.

After walking a long distance without incident, Chen Yanzhi began to relax. Unexpectedly, someone suddenly appeared around a corner. He let out a loud shriek, turned, and leaped into Fu Tingyue’s arms, clinging to his neck while screaming:

“Ahhh! Ghost! Ghost! There’s a ghost in your house! Ahhh!”

Fu Tingyue held onto Chen Yanzhi’s hips to keep him from falling, glancing at the equally startled servant. He whispered, “It’s not a ghost. It’s a person.”

Chen Yanzhi was still screaming, his cries accompanied by a sudden flood of tears; he had been genuinely terrified.

Fu Tingyue held him with one hand and squeezed the back of Chen Yanzhi’s neck with the other. Seeing Chen Yanzhi’s tear-streaked face, his voice turned steady. “Chen Yanzhi, calm down. There are no ghosts. I’m right here.”

The servant lowered their head in panic. “Young Master, I, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”

Hearing the voice, Chen Yanzhi stopped screaming, but he couldn’t calm his emotions, and tears continued to flow uncontrollably.

Fu Tingyue let him lean against his shoulder and said coldly to the servant, “It’s fine. Go back to your work.”

Chen Yanzhi was truly spooked. Even knowing it wasn’t a ghost, he couldn’t settle down immediately. Feeling embarrassed about crying from fear, he buried his face in Fu Tingyue’s shoulder and sobbed silently, soaking Fu Tingyue’s expensive custom suit.

The old butler hadn’t expected Chen Yanzhi to be so frightened, his expression full of worry as he hesitated to speak.

Fu Tingyue carried Chen Yanzhi into the courtyard adjacent to the Old Master’s, saying quietly to the butler, “Thank you, Uncle Chen. You can go about your business; don’t worry about us.”

Uncle Chen looked worriedly at Chen Yanzhi, who was still shivering in Fu Tingyue’s arms. “Is Mr. Chen alright?”

Fu Tingyue shook his head. “He’s fine, just got a scare. Please ask the kitchen to send over some food.”

Uncle Chen hurried off to order a late-night snack for Chen Yanzhi.

Fu Tingyue carried Chen Yanzhi into the room and sat down on a fine rosewood chair, gently patting the other man’s thin back. “It’s okay now, Zhizhi. There are no ghosts here. Stop crying, okay?”

He had wanted to avoid staying here precisely because he was worried Chen Yanzhi would be afraid. According to the original owner’s memories, the decor here looked too much like the sets of the horror movies Chen Yanzhi often watched.

After a long while, Chen Yanzhi spoke in a muffled voice, “I wasn’t crying. Don’t go slandering me.”

Despite soaking the man’s clothes, his mouth remained stubborn.

Fu Tingyue didn’t expose him. Instead, he sighed and said, “It’s good that you weren’t crying. I was actually startled just now too; the corridors outside look far too gloomy.”

“Right?” Finding a kindred spirit, Chen Yanzhi suddenly lifted his head, only to realize his face was still covered in tears. He quickly buried his face back into the shoulder. “I told you it was scary. It was already gloomy enough, and then he just jumped out to say hello. Super scary.”

Fu Tingyue patted his back, silently releasing soothing pheromones. “It’s over now. We won’t come back here to stay again.”

Smelling the pheromones he liked, Chen Yanzhi’s fear began to fade. He whispered against Fu Tingyue’s shoulder, “If I’d known, I would have listened to you and not stayed here.”

Fu Tingyue comforted him softly. “In the original owner’s memories, this place was always eerie. He was even scared to tears when he was little. Later, they renovated the interior to look more modern, which helped a bit.”

Chen Yanzhi leaned in closer, contentedly inhaling Fu Tingyue’s pheromones. He sighed. “I was so embarrassing just now.”

Fu Tingyue said, “It wasn’t embarrassing. Uncle Chen was almost scared onto his knees too. You weren’t the only one startled.”

Chen Yanzhi’s voice regained a spark of life. “Really?”

He had been too busy screaming and crying to notice how the others reacted.

Fu Tingyue hummed. “Really. I was startled too.”

Chen Yanzhi felt slightly better. “Looks like I’m not the only one afraid. If Uncle Chen can still get scared after living here for so many years, it proves this place is genuinely gloomy.”

“Yes. This house is very old. Who knows how many people have died inside,” before Fu Tingyue could finish, Chen Yanzhi quickly reached out and covered his mouth. “Stop it, stop it! If you keep talking, I won’t dare sleep tonight.”

He was already scared; why was Fu Tingyue telling him these things?

Fu Tingyue allowed him to cover his mouth, smelling the faint scent of roses on Chen Yanzhi’s hand. He spoke gently, “I’ll stay with you tonight. Don’t be afraid.”

Chen Yanzhi took meticulous care of himself, never skipping a single step. His hand cream cost tens of thousands of dollars per tube, and he specifically chose a rose scent. He always smelled wonderful.

Chen Yanzhi withdrew his hand and pouted. “I don’t need you to stay with me. I’ll be fine on my own.”

“Alright then. I’ll be in the room next door. Come find me if you need anything.” Fu Tingyue added thoughtfully, “Want to eat some snacks before bed? Otherwise, you’ll be hungry again in the middle of the night.”

Just then, Uncle Chen arrived with food. Having been thoroughly spooked, Chen Yanzhi realized he was indeed hungry now that he had calmed down. He washed his face, ate some food, and then Fu Tingyue showed him around the room.

Fortunately, the interior decoration was modern. If there had been red lanterns hanging inside, Chen Yanzhi really wouldn’t have dared to sleep.

According to Fu Tingyue, this courtyard was where the original owner lived as a child. Because the child was too scared to sleep at night, the Old Master had it renovated; all the other courtyards retained their ancient charm.

After the tour, Chen Yanzhi couldn’t help but sigh with relief. “Luckily we’re staying in this courtyard.”

Fu Tingyue looked at the clock on the wall; it was Chen Yanzhi’s bedtime. He reminded him, “It’s getting late. Go to sleep. We’re going home first thing tomorrow.”

Chen Yanzhi was actually still a bit afraid, but he didn’t want Fu Tingyue to think he was a coward. He forced himself into the bedroom to shower, then sat there in his robe, wrestling with his thoughts.

Truthfully, he didn’t dare sleep alone. But given his current relationship with Fu Tingyue, sleeping in the same bed would make things even harder to explain.

Forget it. I’ll just sleep by myself. It’ll be fine as long as I don’t turn off the lights.

Chen Yanzhi tried to hypnotize himself, but the moment he lay down, the fear returned. His brain uncontrollably replayed every horror movie he had ever seen. Terrified, he decisively grabbed his pillow and went to the next room to find Fu Tingyue.

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