Drunk On The Night Breeze - Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Tao Zhi’s move was so sudden that Ruan Lingfeng didn’t even have time to offer any resistance before he was pulled into a tight embrace. In truth, his instincts hadn’t told him to resist; the moment he realized Tao Zhi could move freely, the first thought in Ruan Lingfeng’s mind was actually: That’s great.

He was fine.

Ruan Lingfeng felt his nerves, which had been inexplicably tense since he saw the trending searches, suddenly relax. He hadn’t felt good earlier; knowing nothing and forced to guess wildly, his nature had pushed his thoughts toward the most pessimistic outcomes.

But Tao Zhi was fine. Nothing had happened to him.

Thank goodness.

Ruan Lingfeng didn’t even realize he should be resisting Tao Zhi’s embrace. Once he relaxed, the emotions he had kept locked away desperately needed an outlet. His body’s reflexes acted before his conscious mind—

It was Tao Zhi who first noticed Ruan Lingfeng’s abnormality.

“You…” Tao Zhi loosened his grip slightly. “Are you shaking?”

Ruan Lingfeng finally seemed to realize how ambiguous their current posture was. He struggled, but Tao Zhi refused to let go. Ruan Lingfeng said, “Let go.”

“I won’t,” Tao Zhi held him tightly, though he was careful not to use too much force to avoid hurting the Omega in his arms during the struggle. He rested his chin in the crook of Ruan Lingfeng’s neck and sniffed. “I went through so much trouble to trick you into coming here.”

He added, “I’m fine. It’s my fault… don’t be scared.”

“What would I be scared of?” Ruan Lingfeng repeated. “I don’t like this. Let go.”

Only then did Tao Zhi reluctantly release him. Ruan Lingfeng stood up as if escaping and retreated several steps.

Tao Zhi said, “I said it’s my fault. I deliberately acted like something huge had happened to make you worry and be afraid.”

Ruan Lingfeng thought, What am I supposed to say? According to a standard script, should he be accusing him now? Say, ‘You bastard, do you have any idea how terrified I was?’ And then the two of them would hug and play out some sentimental scene where one cries and the other coaxes? But he had always been a calm person. He didn’t have any desire to blame Tao Zhi; he just felt that as long as he was okay, it was fine. Since he was fine, it was time to go back.

But to Tao Zhi, perhaps this concern was proof of liking and love. Just as he had asked—since that was the case, why refuse to hug him?

So, it was Ruan Lingfeng’s turn to be stubborn. He took a subtle deep breath and quickly regained his calm appearance. “You’re overthinking. I just heard it was serious… you do call me ‘brother,’ after all. I should come see you.”

“Going through all that trouble just to trick me into coming here…” Ruan Lingfeng continued, “Don’t do it again. It’s not just me; many people were worried. Don’t exhaust people’s goodwill.”

“What choice did I have?” Tao Zhi, who had been sitting on the edge of the bed, suddenly stood up and took several steps toward where Ruan Lingfeng was standing. “Someone promised me they wouldn’t avoid me, yet they’ve been finding every excuse to put me off… If I didn’t do this, when would I ever see you? It wasn’t all a setup, either. I really did twist my ankle during filming today, and it really did hurt like hell at the time.”

At this point, Tao Zhi stared intently at Ruan Lingfeng to see any change in expression. He saw the other man’s long eyelashes flutter; his emotions indeed seemed to ripple at those words. But that was all. Ruan Lingfeng didn’t say anything more about it.

“At that moment, I thought if you knew I was in pain, you’d definitely be worried. If you want to say I’m ‘ordinary yet confident,’ I’ll admit to it. But didn’t you give me that confidence? A while ago, I said my stomach hurt because of irregular eating, and for several days you sent me porridge via courier exactly on time. When I couldn’t get up in the morning, you coaxed me like a child to eat something before going back to sleep. And…”

.Don’t you think you’re being a bit overdramatic?”

“Oh, I’m being dramatic,” Tao Zhi was getting angry. “Then I figured I’d just play along and see if you’d really get anxious because I was hurt. The bullshit I made up was so flamboyant and full of holes that even people online could tell I was just hyping things up. Was it only you who took it seriously? You clearly like me.”

Tao Zhi moved further forward, and Ruan Lingfeng had nowhere left to retreat. They stood face to face, almost touching.

Tao Zhi said, “I’m not an idiot. Stop making excuses to fool me. I don’t believe you have no feelings for me. But if you really have some absolute reason why we can’t be together, at least let me know so I can move on.”

Pressed to this point, Ruan Lingfeng had nothing left to deny. He looked up at the young, handsome Alpha before him. Tao Zhi was in his prime, full of spirit and infinite possibilities; there was truly no need for him to waste time on Ruan Lingfeng because of a temporary illusion.

Ruan Lingfeng said, “I do have a reason.”

Tao Zhi truly couldn’t think of what it could be. He felt everything was an excuse. If two people liked each other, what couldn’t be overcome? He asked, “What reason? Your mom won’t let you date someone younger because our zodiacs clash?”

Ruan Lingfeng wasn’t in the mood to entertain this poorly timed joke or sarcasm. He stopped hiding. “Do you remember what the doctor said about our pheromones when we went to the hospital last time?”

After many days, Ruan Lingfeng had indeed received the follow-up results. Just as the doctor had estimated, his glands were different from average people—or rather, he and Tao Zhi were a one-in-a-million pair. He had also rejected the institution’s request to cooperate with research. Whether this “specialness” was good or bad, he didn’t like the feeling of being an anomaly.

Tao Zhi replied, “I remember.”

Ruan Lingfeng said, “I got the results. It’s exactly what was said last time. Our glands and pheromones are special; it’s possible we are the only ones who can smell each other’s pheromones.”

“So?”

“So…” Ruan Lingfeng organized his words, speaking very, very slowly. “I think we might have developed a series of feelings that wouldn’t have existed otherwise, simply because we can smell each other’s pheromones.”

He felt like he was reading his own death sentence.

But he finished anyway: “I don’t think there’s any need to be together because of this illusion. We don’t come from the same world; we’re quite different in many ways. Right now, it’s just a temporary, impulsive rush…”

Tao Zhi didn’t let Ruan Lingfeng finish. He pushed him against the wall, one hand gripping Ruan Lingfeng’s shoulder. He narrowed his eyes, an indefinable aura swirling in his gaze. “Do you want to know what a ‘temporary, impulsive rush’ actually is?”

The Alpha’s pheromones suddenly exploded. The defenseless Omega was pinned against the wall, unable to move. His body went soft, but the Alpha caught his waist with his other hand.

Tao Zhi lowered his head, leaning into Ruan Lingfeng’s neck. He brushed aside the man’s semi-long hair and found the exact spot of the gland, his fingers rubbing back and forth over that small patch of skin. “Do you realize you are currently in an Alpha’s home? It’s just the two of you in one space, no third party here. You have no defense against this Alpha’s pheromones. He could do anything he wants to you.”

The corners of Ruan Lingfeng’s eyes turned red. “You…”

“And you keep saying things he doesn’t want to hear, making him angry,” Tao Zhi said, a hint of a teasing smirk in his tone. “If he were really acting on a ‘temporary impulse,’ think about what would happen.”

Seeing the light in Ruan Lingfeng’s eyes grow increasingly scattered, Tao Zhi finally let go and stopped releasing his pheromones.

“I’ll give two sentences back to you. Don’t be so dramatic, and… don’t exhaust the fact that someone likes you,” Tao Zhi said coldly. “Oh, and as for whether it’s ‘real’ love, I can’t be sure either. I think you have a point. Maybe it really is just pheromone attraction.”