Why is this top-tier Alpha boss acting like this? - Chapter 24

Cheng Yan lay in bed, tossing and turning with a frown. He flipped over again and again like a pancake on a griddle; finally, he simply sat up, leaned against the headboard, and let out a helpless sigh while staring at the ceiling.

He couldn’t sleep. Even though he was exhausted to the point of body aches and blurred vision, sleep eluded him.

He grabbed his phone from the nightstand: 11:58 PM. Two minutes until midnight. He had been lying there for two full hours without success.

He rubbed his aching stomach, wondering if he should take another dose of stomach medicine. At the group dinner tonight, he seemed to have eaten something bad. His stomach had been hurting since he got home. Although medicine had dulled the pain, the discomfort lingered.

But he knew that wasn’t the real reason he couldn’t sleep.

As soon as he closed his eyes, Song Yang’s face—wearing that half-smile—would appear in his mind, telling him his name was carved into the jade.

Song Yang had parted ways with them immediately after coming down from Mount Qing. It was as if he had shown up solely to deliver those gifts; once the mission was accomplished, the man vanished.

But Cheng Yan didn’t understand. If Song Yang truly just wanted to give them the gifts, why hadn’t he given them out before they left? It would have saved him the trouble of climbing the mountain. Did Song Yang actually enjoy hiking?

Thinking of this, he tutted, finding it a bit ridiculous that he was wide awake at midnight trying to decipher his boss’s logic.

He sat up straighter, turned on the bedside lamp, and pulled the wooden box containing the mutton-fat jade from the nightstand drawer. To understand Song Yang’s increasingly confusing logic, he had to start with the gift itself.

He looked at the object in his hand. Under the dim light, the carvings on the wooden box seemed to come alive, flickering with shadows. When he opened the lid, a faint scent of peppermint pheromones drifted out.

He paused, then suspiciously brought the jade to his nose and took a light sniff.

As expected, the jade carried Song Yang’s residual pheromones.

When Song Yang gave it to him outdoors, he hadn’t noticed any scent. Now that he was indoors, he realized the entire piece of jade radiated Song Yang’s presence. Typically, accidentally transferred pheromones wouldn’t linger this long. The narrow, enclosed space of the box helped prevent evaporation, but the main reason was likely that Song Yang had held this jade in his hand for a very long time.

This realization snapped him back to his senses. He suddenly realized what he was doing.

He was sniffing a piece of jade over and over.

Was he a pervert?

He put the jade back and tossed the box toward the pillow in a fit of pique.

It was too late. He lay back down and forced his eyes shut. A few minutes later, still wide awake, his brow furrowed as he opened his eyes and—as if possessed—reached out to open the box again.

The faint peppermint scent drifted over, traveling through his nasal cavity to the space between his brows. It was cool and refreshing, slowly smoothing away the irritation that had plagued him for half the night.

Drowsiness finally set in, and he eventually fell asleep.

He slept well, and when he opened his eyes, it was already noon the next day. Since it was a holiday and Qin Leyan knew he needed rest, the boy hadn’t disturbed him.

He stretched in bed and turned his head to see the white shadow by his pillow. After a night, the pheromones on the jade had dissipated completely. He frowned, closed the box, and shoved it back into the nightstand drawer.

After crawling out of bed, he scrolled through his messages while walking out of the room. Qin Leyan was busy in the kitchen. He gave a greeting toward the kitchen and went to wash up.

Messages had piled up. While brushing his teeth, he skimmed through them and found a midnight text from Su Runan.

Quack: My mentor wants you to come in a day early for a pheromone test. You’re off today, right? Come to the hospital after dinner.

CY: .

“Brother, are you ready? Food’s on the table.”

Before he finished brushing, he heard Qin Leyan’s voice. Through the mirror, he saw Leyan leaning against the bathroom doorframe.

He rinsed his mouth and asked, “I have to go to Su Runan’s hospital for a check-up tonight. Do you want to come?”

Qin Leyan shook his head, looking a bit listless. “No, I’m going to rest at home.”

Cheng Yan looked back at him. “Did something happen?” Usually, this kid was full of energy. What was wrong today?

Qin Leyan looked at him troubledly and stammered, “I… a relative on my dad’s side is having a big birthday celebration. I might have to leave for a few days.”

Cheng Yan frowned slightly, not understanding why such a small matter would make Leyan look so miserable. He asked, “When are you leaving? Do you need me to help buy a ticket?”

Leyan’s father lived in the neighboring province, about four hours away by high-speed rail. Not close, but not exactly far.

Leyan shook his head and refused somewhat nervously, “No need, I already bought my ticket. It’s for tomorrow. Brother, while I’m not here to cook for you, you have to eat well. Don’t let me come back and find you too tired to even crawl.”

Cheng Yan finished washing up. He wiped the water off his hands and ruffled Leyan’s head as he walked out. “Don’t worry. I’m an adult; I can take care of myself.”

At 7:30 PM, he arrived at Su Runan’s office on time.

Su Runan peered behind him. “Ooh, your little tail didn’t follow you this time?”

Cheng Yan sat in the chair by the desk. “Leyan has to catch a train to see his dad tomorrow morning. He needed early rest, so he didn’t come.”

Su Runan gave an “oh” and moved to the clinical topic. “The main reason I called you in is to figure out why your gland is constantly secreting pheromones despite not being able to handle long working hours. If we can figure it out, maybe we can intervene and make things less exhausting for you.”

If they could intervene, did that mean he wouldn’t have to secrete pheromones until he was fully recovered? That would save a lot of money on blockers.

His eyes flickered. “What tests do I need to do?”

Su Runan stood up and led the way out. “I’ve already ordered them. Just follow me. Not too many extra ones; just the usual plus a ‘gland trigger experiment’.”

Cheng Yan stood up to follow. Just as he was about to step out of the office, he was pushed back forcefully. The office door was slammed shut.

He looked at Su Runan’s back, confused. “What is it?”

Su Runan turned around, his face pale and stiff. “We’ll go out later.”

Cheng Yan quickly guessed that Su Runan had seen someone. He asked in a low voice, “Who did you see?”

Su Runan’s brow was knit tight. He didn’t plan on hiding it. “Zhao Mingxu.”

Su Runan even leaned against the door handle, as if afraid Cheng Yan would open it or that the person outside would push their way in.

Hearing that name, Cheng Yan’s heart skipped a beat. He stood there silently, his face unreadable. The two stood in silence for several minutes before Cheng Yan finally broke it. “It should be okay to go out now.”

Su Runan took a deep breath, cautiously opened the door to peek out, and then opened it fully. “Go, go, go. I’ll take you to the tests. Something filthy has snuck into the hospital; we need to finish this fast.”

With Su Runan pushing for speed, the tests were finished in less than an hour. Su Runan practically shoved him into his car. As Cheng Yan drove away, he saw Su Runan let out a massive sigh of relief.

He drove away from the hospital and returned home safely. Knowing Su Runan would worry, he sent a message to report his safety.

It wasn’t until he was lying in bed that he allowed himself to think: Wasn’t Zhao Mingxu in Haicheng? That’s over 780 kilometers away. Why is he here? What is he doing in Chaos City?

To say the sudden appearance of someone from hundreds of kilometers away didn’t affect him would be a lie. A delayed sense of unease crept into his heart. Unsurprisingly, insomnia found him again. His ability to fall asleep instantly from the past few days seemed to have abandoned him.

He didn’t know how to coax himself to sleep this time. He could only close his eyes and wait for exhaustion. He had no idea when he actually fell asleep, only that when the alarm went off, his brain felt so swollen he wanted to vomit.

Qin Leyan had already left, leaving breakfast and a note telling him to take care of himself. He had no appetite but finished the food anyway before heading to the office.

Monday morning. The air in the office was thick with the “smell of work.”

He turned on his computer and logged into the internal network. When he saw the bold red message floating at the top of the homepage, the unease he’d felt since last night reached its peak.

Announcement: By decision of the Board of Directors, Song Corp will partner with Haicheng’s Zhao Feng Group to expand the Western market. Mr. Zhao of Zhao Feng Group arrives at Song Corp headquarters today to discuss the cooperation plan. All departments are requested to cooperate with reception duties.

Cheng Yan stared at the scrolling announcement, his hand frozen on the mouse.

He knew why Zhao Mingxu was in Chaos City now.

He took a deep breath, opened his work journal, and began adjusting his schedule. He circled all the tasks that required him to leave the office, concentrating them in the morning. He even swapped a task with Xiao Lin to ensure he wouldn’t be in the building for the first half of the day. Ideally, he would even spend his lunch break elsewhere.

He had only one thought in his mind:

Avoid Zhao Mingxu!

Support Why is this top-tier Alpha boss acting like this?