Married, but Still Strangers - Chapter 7

This was the first time Zhuang Yan had ever kissed anyone, and the feeling was actually quite nice.

Yue Lu’s lips were very soft, even softer than fruit-flavored gummy bears. They were a bit like a dessert he had eaten once, though he couldn’t remember which dessert it was.

In short, it wasn’t a bad experience.

Zhuang Yan had no intention of ending this kiss. His hand proactively reached into Yue Lu’s clothes; he had wanted to reach out and feel him for a long time, and this time he finally caught the opportunity.

If Yue Lu asked about it later, he would just explain it as, “Love arises without knowing its origin, but once it starts, it runs deep.”

The scent of rum-flavored pheromones diffused throughout a pine forest after the rain, like being heavily drunk after a downpour sober, yet indulging in the sinking feeling.

Yue Lu’s physique was truly well-trained; indeed, a self-disciplined man is the most fragrant.

Yue Lu didn’t stop him, and Zhuang Yan wasn’t going to stop either. He wished he could go even deeper to complete the task sooner.

He considered himself active enough, but looking at Yue Lu, it seemed the man hadn’t reacted yet?

Shouldn’t the Alpha be the proactive one in this kind of situation? Why did it feel like Zhuang Yan was the one pressing Yue Lu down to kiss him?

“Are you a block of wood?” Zhuang Yan felt it was uninteresting and let go of Yue Lu with a lack of enthusiasm.

Could it be that Yue Lu is impotent?

No wonder he specifically had to find an Omega with a 100% pheromone matching rate to get pregnant; so that was the reason.

Or was Yue Lu playing hard to get?

Zhuang Yan had always been very confident in his looks. Facing an “unrivaled beauty” of an Omega like himself, Yue Lu still didn’t have any reaction at all this was a bit too hurtful to an Omega’s pride.

Zhuang Yan was still more willing to believe the first reason.

Thinking of this, Zhuang Yan instinctively looked toward a certain place on Yue Lu.

Well, even through the pants, one could see it was very big.

It seemed… there was a reaction?

He wasn’t quite sure.

“I…” Yue Lu didn’t speak. It was fortunate that Zhuang Yan hadn’t sat on a certain spot just now, or else he would have definitely felt his stiff and erect part.

“You don’t have a fever, do you?” Zhuang Yan reached out to touch Yue Lu’s forehead; it was indeed quite hot.

Not only was his forehead hot, but his face was also flushed.

“We happen to be at the hospital, why don’t we go get it checked?”

“No… no need.” Yue Lu seemed to have a bad signal; not only was his speech stuttering, but his reactions were also half a beat slow. “Let’s go back, I’m fine.”

They had only known each other for a few days, so how was he supposed to say it? Say that he had a reaction? Wouldn’t Zhuang Yan be scared away?

“Are you really okay?” Zhuang Yan expressed doubt regarding this.

“Mm.” Yue Lu tightly gripped the steering wheel, looking straight ahead as he started the car. “Fasten your seatbelt.”

He had to calm down. After taking a few deep breaths, he smelled Zhuang Yan’s pheromones in the car.

Damn it, he couldn’t calm down even more.

“Yours isn’t fastened either,” Zhuang Yan reminded him.

“Ah? Sorry, I forgot.” Yue Lu hurriedly and clumsily went to fasten his seatbelt.

So embarrassing. How could he lose face so badly in front of Zhuang Yan? His image was completely ruined!

“Why are you apologizing to me? You’re the one driving, and this is your car. If points are deducted or the car is impounded, it won’t affect me.” Was this some new type of Omega-flirting tactic? He hadn’t seen it before; it was actually quite interesting.

He had to admit, Yue Lu’s “level” was extremely high.

“Sorry…” Yue Lu felt as if he were about to catch fire; he just wanted to turn into an ostrich and bury his face right now.

Zhuang Yan laughed at him: “Look at you, like an apology machine.”

After Zhuang Yan finished his complaint, he leaned in closer. Yue Lu thought Zhuang Yan was going to kiss him and instinctively closed his eyes, but it turned out Zhuang Yan was only removing an eyelash that had fallen onto Yue Lu’s face.

“Why are you closing your eyes? I’m not going to gouge out your eyeballs. You have to keep your eyes open while driving. Drowsy driving is not advisable; if you’re tired, I can drive.”

If Yue Lu driving was even more dangerous, it wasn’t as if Zhuang Yan couldn’t drive.

After all, he was just out of practice, but if Yue Lu fell asleep, that would be “unmanned driving.”

He also didn’t know if this car had an autonomous driving system.

“I… my eyes felt a bit uncomfortable just now, it’s fine now,” Yue Lu explained randomly.

“It’s good that it’s fine. You shouldn’t hide your illness from the doctor. I see your face isn’t so red anymore; ‘a calm heart naturally keeps one cool’ really makes sense.” Zhuang Yan believed Yue Lu’s words very easily; after all, he couldn’t think of a reason for Yue Lu to lie to him.

Yue Lu’s eyelashes were long, black, and thick. Sitting in the car was somewhat boring, so Zhuang Yan played with that tiny eyelash he had just taken off Yue Lu’s face in his hand.

While playing, he accidentally dropped the eyelash on the floor.

Zhuang Yan had no intention of “searching for a needle in a haystack”; it was just an eyelash, it was gone. If he wanted to play, he could just pick another one up next time.

Secretly pulling one out when Yue Lu wasn’t paying attention might also work; anyway, Yue Lu’s reactions were so slow.

Yue Lu was very focused while driving, staring straight ahead without saying a word to Zhuang Yan, and he didn’t play any music either.

He was attempting to use this method to calm himself down; sometimes having a stiff “discomfort” was indeed hard to bear.

But the “culprit” was sitting right next to him; it was truly difficult for him to be peaceful.

What if he drove back to his own villa?

It was hard to get a taxi there, there was no public transportation around, and it was far from the city center.

That way, Zhuang Yan could only be his.

That way, he could do whatever he wanted to Zhuang Yan.

No, how could he think like that?

The mess at home hadn’t been cleaned up yet; how could he let Zhuang Yan get involved?

I can’t, I can’t, I can’t…

Zhuang Yan was truly bored after losing that eyelash, so he started browsing on his phone.

Perhaps because he had been binge-reading novels these past few days, the homepage inexplicably pushed a strange post to him. It looked like someone’s secret crush diary.

The latest entry was: “I’ve moved into his house. Now I’m lying in his guest bedroom. Just thinking about us living in the same house makes me feel so happy.”

Below, a netizen with the nickname “Thomas Flips Great Sow” replied: “Keep going, I hope you can confess before I am buried in peace.”

“Flower World Drinks Wangzai” replied to him: “Have the requirements already dropped so low that just being able to confess is enough?”

Thomas Flips Great Sow: “He pried that person’s photo off the high school honor roll to collect it, yet he doesn’t even dare to take a misaligned photo together. I’ve been following his posts for three years; if he can say one word to that person, it counts as a huge improvement.”

Flower World Drinks Wangzai: “That ridiculous? Wait for me, I’m going to flip through his previous posts.”

Ya! Tomato: “Don’t treat an Alpha like this, Alphas usually have a lot of pressure in their daily lives, okay?”

Thomas Flips Great Sow: “I can see through your gender in one glance.”

The poster hadn’t replied to a single one of these comments, just silently recording their daily secret crush life.

Zhuang Yan learned from the comments in the section that this poster changed their nickname and avatar according to their mood every day.

For example, today’s nickname was “Light Rain,” paired with a photo of a flower cluster under the rain as an avatar.

All the avatars were of the same flower cluster. Either this flower cluster had some special meaning to him, or it was a flower cluster near his home, and the photos were taken casually.

He was quite the netizen who loved to record life.

The next day was Monday, and Yue Lu had to go to work early in the morning.

Zhuang Yan woke up early to make him a sandwich and porridge.

The porridge had been scheduled in advance the night before, and the sandwich was just assembling ready-made things, so Zhuang Yan actually didn’t wake up very early.

He felt it was early mainly because he was a freelancer and was used to sleeping late and waking up late.

Indeed, two people living together is a constant grinding and blending of two sets of living habits.

“It’s raining today, remember to take an umbrella.” Zhuang Yan randomly brought out an umbrella.

Hilarious the eldest young master of the Yue family, just an umbrella; he wouldn’t even have to ask, a crowd of people would be rushing to give him one. How could he be short of this umbrella from Zhuang Yan?

“Thank you.” Yue Lu naturally took the umbrella. “Are you going out in a bit too? Do you have another umbrella? Do you want me to drop you off?”

He actually took it…

It was understandable, after all, directly rejecting someone’s concern would seem very cold and heartless.

“I have another umbrella. As for dropping me off, it’s not necessary. Taking the subway is just right for me. Besides, that car of yours is a bit too conspicuous.” Although Zhuang Yan didn’t recognize it, who knew if someone else would?

Today, Zhuang Yan had an appointment with some people for a “Cake-Killing Session.” It was a group of people who wanted to eat small cakes gathered together, buying several small cakes and everyone eating a small piece, with the cake money split equally (AA).

Some people were regulars who always formed groups with Zhuang Yan, and there were a few others Zhuang Yan was meeting for the first time.

But regardless of which time it was, Zhuang Yan didn’t want to become the subject of their discussion because of a car.

“Is it very conspicuous?” Yue Lu was puzzled; that car didn’t even cost much money. “Then I’ll go change the car in a bit.”

Rich people are indeed different; they change cars whenever they want.

“It’s okay, you actually don’t need to mind me; after all, you’re the one driving the car.”

Would he really change the car just because of one sentence from him?

If he really changed it, one could only say this Young Master Yue truly has no independent opinion at all; he even has to listen to others’ opinions for the car he drives himself.

Besides, how many cars could Young Master Yue have in his garage that aren’t conspicuous?

Probably none.

The rain outside was thin and dense; if you didn’t hold an umbrella, it felt like a spray bottle misting your face.

Zhuang Yan arrived at the place where they were grouping up just in time, as was his habit.

Most of those who came were Omegas, though there were also Betas and Alphas; most were still students.

Most people had an average economic level and couldn’t afford the price of so many small cakes; saving money together to group up and eat small cakes was a good choice.

Every time Zhuang Yan participated in the groups they formed, he had the illusion that he was still a student.

One can only say, being young is great.

A total of eighteen people came today, and they ordered five 4-inch small cakes, plus various miscellaneous desserts and drinks.

Zhuang Yan liked the Mango Sago Pomelo most this time; the mango flavor was very strong and the toppings were very rich.

“A new dessert buffet opened at Pineapple Station, has anyone eaten there? How does it taste?” one of the people asked.

“If I had the stomach for a buffet, why would I bother coming here to split the order with you guys?” another person shrugged.

“Does this one have mango jam or peach jam inside? I can’t eat mango.”

“It’s written on the box. I remember someone said they couldn’t eat mango, so we specifically chose two flavors.” The person organizing this “Cake-Killing Session” was a student from a nearby university. She had organized it several times before. Her WeChat avatar was a very cute hand-drawn bear; it was heard that her good friend drew it.

“Okay.”

“Next time I’ll be more careful and not pick fruits with colors similar to mango.”

“Then I’ll trouble you.”

Zhuang Yan rarely communicated with them; he basically took his own portion and found an inconspicuous spot to eat.

Back when he chose to stay at home and take commissions to draw, it was because he didn’t want to have too much contact with people outside.

When he first chose this major, Zhuang Yan had thought about becoming an illustrator after graduation, or drawing a manga and holding a book signing in the future to enjoy being sought after.

He had always been a person with a very strong sense of vanity; he liked the feeling of standing in a crowd and receiving praise.

Wang Mengmeng was also like this, so Wang Mengmeng became an actor.

The profession Zhuang Yan chose was much safer than Wang Mengmeng’s, but he simply didn’t want to contact people; he felt very repulsed by the kind of life he had once looked forward to.

Having eaten almost enough, Zhuang Yan took out his phone and browsed randomly. The big data pushed that poster who sent the secret crush diary yesterday to him again.

This time, the poster had changed their avatar and name. If it weren’t for those few familiar and abstract IDs in his comment section, Zhuang Yan really wouldn’t have recognized this person.

“It’s raining today. He gave me an umbrella. He likes me too, right?”

Thomas Flips Great Sow: “Yes, yes, yes, he likes you the most. He likes you so much that since he can’t be by your side himself, he lets his umbrella accompany you.”

Octopus: “Brother, if you really like them, then tell them. If it’s a real secret crush, just keep thinking about it in your heart. What’s the point of posting it? To record how devoted you are so you can cyberbully them when they find true happiness?”

Thomas Flips Great Sow: “Based on my understanding of the poster, if such a day really comes, he will only silently delete his account.”

Octopus: “You’re not him, how do you know he won’t? Little leg-hair (fan), don’t be too obsessed.”

Love Reading Liu Bei Books: “Long press, click ‘not interested.’ If you don’t watch, we still treat it as fun.”

“Excuse me, sorry to bother you.” Zhuang Yan was originally focused on watching the netizens argue when he was suddenly interrupted by a voice. “I’m allergic to strawberries and can’t eat them. I saw the cake you just took is pistachio. Can we swap?”

The person who came was a very clean and fresh-looking boy, wearing simple sportswear, with his hair standing up defiantly.

“If it’s inconvenient, I apologize. I saw that everyone else has already started eating, and only you haven’t eaten yours yet,” the boy explained.

“It’s okay. I happen to love eating strawberries.” Actually, Zhuang Yan loved anything delicious.

“That’s wonderful!” The boy was very delighted. After swapping the cake, he brought over several more desserts for Zhuang Yan. “These are all for you, consider it my thanks.”

“There’s no need for a thank-you gift. If we meet again next time, I’m going to snatch your small cake to eat.” He was already full; what was the point of bringing these over? He planned to pack the remaining few to bring back for Yue Lu to eat.

“Alright, I look forward to our next meeting.”

Oh my god, this is what youth looks like.

Zhuang Yan felt a bit of heartache; once upon a time, he was also a sunny and cheerful college student.

The rain grew heavier and heavier. When he left the house just now, it was like a spray bottle misting water; now it was like buckets of water being hurled down. Visibility on the road was extremely low, and many places were beginning to flood.

Zhuang Yan didn’t dare to take the subway; if the subway got flooded before he could get back, that would be another story.

But in this weather, hailing a taxi wasn’t very easy either.

A group of people stood at the door, hoping the taxi-hailing app would find someone to pick up the order.

At this time, a WeChat message popped up: “I’m coming to pick you up. Black car, license plate 3692.”

Zhuang Yan looked up, and sure enough, he saw a black BYD with license plate number 3692 parked by the roadside.

He held his umbrella and waded through the water. Amidst the envious cries of “When will I ever get a ride?” from behind him, he pulled open the door to the passenger seat.

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