His grandmother’s words left Gu Yan stunned for a long moment.
The elderly couple merely smiled without saying anything.
Then, they couldn’t help sighing to themselves.
Gu Yan really did resemble his mother.
Not only in appearance, but also in his current personality. Even the little gestures he made when nervous were exactly the same as hers.
The housekeeper brought in a plate of fruit.
His grandparents exchanged a glance before suddenly calling to him in a serious tone.
“Yan Yan.”
Gu Yan’s thoughts were interrupted.
“Hm?”
His grandfather rose with the support of his cane and slowly walked over to him.
Gu Yan hurriedly stood up to help him.
“Yan Yan, your grandmother and I have something very important to tell you.”
His grandfather took Gu Yan’s hand.
“From now on, you will be the sole heir to all our assets.”
“All the shares we hold in the company will also be transferred into your name.”
Gu Yan abruptly raised his head.
“What?”
He couldn’t understand why his grandfather had suddenly brought this up.
After all, in the original novel, his maternal grandparents had eventually donated their entire fortune.
His grandmother looked at him affectionately.
“Don’t be so surprised.”
“Actually, your grandfather and I made this decision a long time ago, back when Xiao Tong passed away.”
“It’s just that you were still young and rather unruly over the years, so we never told you.”
She paused before continuing.
“But now we’re both getting old, and you’ve grown up.”
“We feel the time is finally right. It’s time we had a proper conversation with you about your future.”
Her words caught Gu Yan completely off guard.
His mind began racing as he rapidly sorted through the events of the original novel.
Gradually, the scattered pieces of information began falling into place.
According to his grandmother, the family fortune in the original story had actually been intended for the original Gu Yan.
Unfortunately, the original owner had always been reckless and headstrong.
His grandparents had wanted to wait until their grandson became more mature and responsible before telling him.
But before they ever had the chance to say those words, the original Gu Yan died.
With their last hope gone, they could only donate their fortune.
Truly, no one ever knew which would arrive first—tomorrow or an unexpected tragedy.
“But I…”
Gu Yan parted his lips hesitantly.
His grandfather immediately interrupted him.
“No buts.”
“Your birthday is coming up soon anyway. Just consider it a birthday present from your grandmother and me.”
“That’s right, Yan Yan,” his grandmother said with a warm smile.
“The people working under us are trusted subordinates who have been with us for most of their lives. You’ll be able to call upon them whenever you need.”
“Besides, it’s not as though your grandfather and I haven’t been observing you.”
“You really have become much more sensible than before. We believe you’re someone we can entrust everything to.”
The elderly couple held Gu Yan’s hands and patiently persuaded him at length.
In the end, they refused to let the matter rest until he accepted their extraordinary gift.
*
After Gu Yan went upstairs to wash up, his grandfather coughed a few times and sighed.
“The boy really has become more sensible.”
“It’s just… I feel like he’s changed an awful lot.”
In the past, Gu Yan had never been particularly close to anyone, nor had he ever taken the initiative to visit them.
His grandmother gave her husband a mildly reproachful look.
“What are you saying? Yan Yan is perfectly fine the way he is now.”
“Rumors about him dating Xiao Heng have been spreading everywhere.”
“I just hope this inheritance will give our grandson the confidence to hold his head high and protect him from all that malicious gossip.”
“You’re right.”
*
That night, Gu Yan stayed at his maternal grandparents’ house.
After washing up, he lay on the bed and casually replied to a few messages from Wang Zhiliang.
But before he knew it, his thoughts had drifted toward Yi Heng.
Gu Yan mulled over what his grandmother had said earlier that day and realized he was beginning to lose sight of his own feelings toward Yi Heng.
If their relationship was purely based on mutual benefit, wasn’t he paying far too much attention to Yi Heng?
But apart from the interests binding them together, what else was there between them?
Time passed, minute by minute.
Just as Gu Yan began replaying his very first encounter with Yi Heng in his mind—
His phone suddenly rang loudly.
Only then did Gu Yan realize that he had been staring at his conversation with Yi Heng for quite some time.
Who would be calling this late?
Gu Yan rubbed his eyes.
“Hello?”
To his surprise, the caller was a nurse from the hospital.
She had specifically called to remind him to return for his regular follow-up examination for his pheromone disorder.
*
The following day.
Gu Yan went to the hospital early in the morning.
The weather was growing colder.
There were noticeably fewer pedestrians on the streets, while sanitation workers leisurely swept fallen leaves from the roadside.
There weren’t many people at the hospital that morning.
Gu Yan wore a black hooded sweatshirt, his fingers curled deep inside his pockets, unable to retain any warmth in the chilly air.
Coincidentally, Gu Xingxing had brought Shen Yan to the hospital for a full-body examination.
Over the past few days, Shen Yan had been constantly arguing with Gu Chengjing, leaving her increasingly irritable and worked up.
The moment the mother and son entered the hospital, they spotted Gu Yan.
Shen Yan stared at his retreating figure, watching him head toward the Omega department.
Gu Xingxing’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Then he heard Shen Yan ask,
“Is that Gu Yan? What’s he doing in the Omega department?”
Gu Xingxing hesitated for a few seconds.
“Mom, you must have mistaken him for someone else. Gu Yan is a Beta.”
Shen Yan kept glancing back suspiciously.
But Gu Yan had already disappeared around the corner, leaving her no way to confirm what she’d seen.
She silently tightened her grip on her son’s hand.
*
Gu Yan arrived at the consultation room, had his blood drawn, and waited for more than ten minutes.
The same doctor who had examined him previously sat at his desk, frowning at the test results.
“Hmm… these results are rather unexpected.”
The doctor shook his head.
“Your recovery isn’t nearly as good as I’d hoped. The condition of your scent gland isn’t particularly promising either.”
Gu Yan replied,
“There were a few minor incidents during treatment.”
The doctor’s sharp gaze seemed capable of seeing straight through him.
Without the slightest hesitation, he asked directly,
“What exactly have you and your Alpha been doing?”
Gu Yan awkwardly touched his earlobe, stumbling over his words.
“T-Temporary marking.”
“Anything else?”
“That’s… all.”
“That’s all?”
The doctor’s voice rose so sharply that it could be heard from the corridor.
“What about holding hands? Hugging? How often do you do those things?”
Gu Yan hesitated.
“Uh… occasionally?”
“Have you kissed?”
The image of the vanilla biscuit stick immediately flashed through Gu Yan’s mind.
He stammered,
“I-I guess… we have.”
Seeing Gu Yan’s hesitation, the doctor sighed.
“Mr. Gu Yan, I’m going to say this one last time. Please take your treatment seriously.”
“When I previously told you that supplementary treatment was required at least once a week, I was referring to methods such as temporary marking.”
“But other forms of pheromone exchange, such as holding hands, hugging, and kissing, need to happen every single day.”
“Otherwise, the treatment won’t be particularly effective.”
“Don’t you normally do these things when you’re spending time with your Alpha?”
Gu Yan turned to stone on the spot.
The doctor continued sternly,
“Treatment is not a game. You need to exchange small amounts of pheromones every day if you want to recover more quickly.”
Every day?
Exchange?
Pheromones?!
That was an overwhelming amount of information to process!
Gu Yan sat there in a daze.
Even after leaving the hospital, he still hadn’t fully recovered from the shock.
He wanted to take out a cigarette to calm his nerves, but when he reached into his pocket, he realized he hadn’t brought any cigarettes that day.
The doctor had insisted that he take immediate action and go find his Alpha.
His attitude made it seem as though Gu Yan would never recover unless he followed every instruction precisely.
And judging by the doctor’s serious, responsible manner, he certainly didn’t seem to be exaggerating the danger.
Was it really that serious?
Gu Yan unconsciously rubbed the back of his neck.
Yi Heng hadn’t sent him any messages since yesterday.
He had no idea whether Yi Heng had finished dealing with his work.
When Gu Yan passed the Yi Group headquarters, he leaned against a streetlamp outside the building for a while.
In the end, he decided not to disturb him.
It was still early, after all.
He could always contact Yi Heng after work that evening.
*
Gu Yan spent some time sitting in the café across the street.
The previous day, his maternal grandparents had placed all their trusted subordinates at his disposal.
Now that he had people to help him, Gu Yan immediately sent someone to investigate the Camry that had followed Yi Heng.
By the time the sun began setting, his people had already reported back.
As expected, the Camry had been using fake license plates.
After the attempt to follow Yi Heng failed, the vehicle had been driven straight to a repair shop to be scrapped.
“Go directly to the repair shop and check their records. Find out who was driving.”
Gu Yan sat on the edge of a flower bed with one hand tucked into his pocket.
The last rays of the setting sun spilled over him, tinting his hair a warm orange-gold.
It looked as though rain was approaching.
Several dark clouds rolled across the horizon, carrying a blanket of darkness that slowly threatened to swallow the city.
The skyscraper’s automatic doors slid open.
A tall, sharply dressed figure stepped outside.
Gu Yan raised his head.
He saw Yi Heng walking straight toward him.
“Why are you…”
Gu Yan stood up in surprise.
He had merely been wandering around downstairs and still hadn’t figured out how to bring up the doctor’s instructions about exchanging pheromones every day.
The dark circles beneath Yi Heng’s eyes had faded considerably.
However, the pressure of work had left faint red veins in his eyes.
“Did you come to see me about something?” Yi Heng asked.
“Mm.”
Gu Yan lowered his head.
The moment he saw Yi Heng, his grandmother’s words from the previous day echoed uncontrollably in his ears, leaving him flustered.
All of a sudden, he didn’t even know what to do with his hands.
“As it happens, I was looking for you too.”
Yi Heng’s voice drifted through the wind, sounding close one moment and distant the next.
Gu Yan stood rooted to the spot, gazing at him.
“You go first.”
“If you’re free this weekend, come home with me. My parents would like to meet you.”
Yi Heng paused before asking,
“What about you? What did you want to talk to me about?”
Gu Yan parted his lips slightly, trying to process the meaning behind those words.
Yi Heng watched him quietly.
The young man looked particularly beautiful today.
Even the brilliant evening glow in the distance seemed to pale in comparison.
An unknown amount of time passed.
Even Gu Yan himself was beginning to grow frustrated with how much he was hesitating.
Yet Yi Heng didn’t rush him.
He simply waited patiently.
“I wanted to ask you if, from now on… No, I mean, today… The doctor said…”
Gu Yan’s gaze wandered everywhere.
He tried to put on a relaxed smile, but his facial muscles had stiffened so much that the expression came out terribly awkward.
It was as though his entire ability to speak had suddenly shut down.
He struggled for words until even the tips of his ears turned bright red.
“I went to the hospital for a follow-up examination today.”
Finally, as though throwing caution to the wind, he blurted everything out in a rush.
But his voice grew softer and softer toward the end.
“I wanted to ask if… from now on, you could exchange a little pheromone with me every day.”
“F-For example…”
“Could you… give me a hug?”
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