Chà Chà Novel

Fu Baiqi handed the past few days’ reports to Min Zhi’s assistant and casually asked, “Mr. Min still hasn’t come in?”

The assistant nodded, then added, “But he called this morning. He said he’ll be here tomorrow.”

Fu Baiqi said nothing more. With a barely perceptible frown, he returned to his office.

Too many strange things had happened this week.

First, Min Zhi had stayed away from the company for an entire week. He was intensely career-minded, demanding of his employees and even more demanding of himself. Since joining the company, Fu Baiqi had never known him to be absent for so long.

Then there was Fang Fengzhi.

He still had not returned to the apartment. Fu Baiqi had taken the unusual step of entering his room. His clothes and luggage were all there.

Only he was missing.

Fu Baiqi did not want to contact him first. Yet during their rare phone conversation, Fang Fengzhi had asked for a divorce.

For now, Fu Baiqi did not want to discuss it.

Ordinarily, Fang Fengzhi obeyed everything he said, as though he would quietly endure any treatment. This time, however, he had raised divorce himself and even asked whether Fu Baiqi had been unfaithful.

Fu Baiqi remembered arranging for Bai Zhen to meet Fang Fengzhi. He had specifically told him to make their relationship clear, hoping to plant a thorn in Fang Fengzhi’s heart and persuade him to leave willingly.

Instead, Fang Fengzhi had not asked a single question afterward. Fu Baiqi had found it awkward to bring the matter up himself.

Now that he was suddenly being so firm, Fu Baiqi could not help wondering whether Bai Zhen had said something.

He frowned.

Bai Zhen’s lack of judgment was precisely why he had ended their relationship. A petty, spoiled Omega like that had probably never been dumped before. Taking his resentment out on Fu Baiqi’s wife was hardly impossible.

An indistinct anger rose within him.

He had impulsively marked Fang Fengzhi and then injured him. Afterward, afraid of being affected by his pheromones, he had stayed away.

Only now did he begin to feel that he had gone too far.

The possibility that Bai Zhen had also bullied Fang Fengzhi behind his back made him more displeased.

Unexpectedly, he felt guilty.

These thoughts accumulated into an uncomfortable weight. He took out his phone and looked at the message Fang Fengzhi had sent a week earlier.

He had never replied.

His finger hovered over the call button.

In the end, he did not press it.

Fang Fengzhi sat at his desk, typing without pause.

He had missed a week of work. Although his manager had said little and distributed his tasks among his coworkers, they had still done his work for him. Now he had to return the favor.

Their assignments had piled onto his desk. Since sitting down that morning, he had scarcely stood, even to use the bathroom.

He tilted his neck back and put a few more drops into his dry, aching eyes.

As he blinked, he noticed someone nearby looking at him.

When he glanced over, the person lowered their head.

Fang Fengzhi frowned.

Min Zhi’s pheromones covered him, even more strongly than last time.

He had returned to work yesterday. By then, Min Zhi had recovered considerably and no longer needed his scent constantly. His awareness had also returned.

When the manager called to urge Fang Fengzhi back, Min Zhi overheard and told him to go.

After considerable hesitation, he had returned, asking Min Zhi to call if he needed anything.

On his first day back, he had felt as though he were wearing far too much perfume. Wherever he went, people looked up.

The Omega coworkers who had repeatedly urged him to divorce now rarely approached him. Instead, they watched him secretly.

The uncomfortable pity in their eyes had disappeared.

Resentment and envy had replaced it.

Most people led ordinary, unremarkable lives. When someone more unfortunate appeared, sympathy came easily. They offered kind advice and reassurance, while privately seeking more unhappy details that others did not know.

Proof that plenty of people had harder lives than their own.

Something to make them feel better.

Who could have expected the person they pitied to grow close to his husband so suddenly?

And his husband appeared to be an Alpha of exceptionally high rank.

They must have enjoyed a deeply intimate time together during Fang Fengzhi’s leave. The concentration of pheromones on him was extraordinary. His attempt to conceal himself behind a mask only drew attention.

Someone had accidentally seen him take it off.

His lips were red, slightly swollen, and broken in one place.

For Omegas, plentiful pheromones from a partner brought greater physical and emotional comfort. Like spring water or dew, they could nourish and soothe.

They were not indispensable, but having them was better than going without.

Now Fang Fengzhi seemed sheltered within that scent. A vitality they had never seen in him before had begun to emerge.

It made their former pity look absurd.

Compared with him, perhaps they were the ones who deserved sympathy.

Their own husbands certainly did not possess pheromones that powerful.

Fang Fengzhi was not foolish. He understood what they were thinking.

Since they did not speak to him, he made no effort to explain. He ignored the resentful, envious looks around him.

Without their incessant lectures, life felt considerably easier.

Although his workload was heavy, the moment office hours ended, he hurriedly transferred his files to his laptop and left.

Not because he wanted to slack off.

He worried about Min Zhi being alone at the villa.

Min Zhi had recovered substantially over the past few days. Most of the excess pheromones had been released, though he still occasionally needed Fang Fengzhi’s scent.

When Fang Fengzhi opened the villa’s door, he heard movement in the kitchen.

Assuming the housekeeper had returned, he went to look.

Instead, a tall figure stood inside, making even the spacious kitchen seem smaller.

Min Zhi turned at the footsteps.

He showed no surprise.

“Just finished work?” he asked conversationally.

Meeting his eyes, Fang Fengzhi felt awkward and murmured an indistinct yes.

He had not expected Min Zhi to cook. While the man looked away, he stole a few glances.

He was making noodles.

Of course. For days, he had lived on nutritional supplements. Fang Fengzhi had made porridge a few times, but he had barely eaten any.

Now that he was recovering, he must be hungry.

“Do you need any help?”

Fang Fengzhi worried that he still lacked strength.

“No. It’s ready.”

Min Zhi served the noodles.

There were two bowls.

He carried them to the table and handed Fang Fengzhi a pair of chopsticks.

Fang Fengzhi had not expected a portion for himself. He accepted them in surprise.

“Thank you…”

Min Zhi glanced at him.

“You’re welcome.”

“Wash your hands and come eat.”

Only then did Fang Fengzhi realize he had not even put his bag down. He hurried out and returned shortly afterward.

His hands were still slightly damp as he sat down, feeling self-conscious.

Opposite him, Min Zhi mixed his noodles.

“I’m not much of a cook, but my noodles are fairly good.”

“Try them.”

Fang Fengzhi looked at the generously sauced noodles, sprinkled with chopped scallions.

It was rare for anyone to cook for him.

He blinked, unwilling to disappoint Min Zhi’s kindness. Before he had even tasted them, the words “They’re good” were already waiting in his throat.

But the instant he put them in his mouth, he cried out and hastily let them fall.

They were far too hot.

Min Zhi looked up.

His gaze went first to Fang Fengzhi’s lips.

Red, with a small wound.

He had caused it while kissing him a few days earlier.

By then, he had been almost fully lucid and considerably recovered. A moment’s lack of restraint had hurt Fang Fengzhi.

Even then, Fang Fengzhi had said little. He had made a small sound of discomfort and gone to apply ointment by himself.

He had probably realized Min Zhi was nearly well, but had not confronted him.

He had simply stopped allowing him to kiss him.

Min Zhi kept wondering how someone could be so easy to take advantage of.

His gaze lingered briefly, recalling the chamomile scent of their kisses.

“Burned your tongue?”

Fang Fengzhi nodded. He did not think it serious, though he drew a few uncomfortable breaths.

Min Zhi looked away and went to the refrigerator. Using a pair of tongs, he took a small piece of ice and returned.

“Open your mouth.”

Still dazed, Fang Fengzhi obeyed.

The ice touched the burned spot, making him shiver.

He looked up.

Their eyes met for a second before Min Zhi turned away.

Fang Fengzhi held the ice in his mouth without speaking.

His heart was behaving strangely again.

There it was.

That intimacy that made it difficult to breathe.

Neither mentioned what had happened during his heat.

Fang Fengzhi did not ask why Min Zhi had appeared outside his apartment that day.

Min Zhi did not ask how Fang Fengzhi had known his name while barely conscious.

Each had an explanation.

Min Zhi had merely been passing by, noticed something wrong with Fang Fengzhi’s pheromones, and knocked.

Fang Fengzhi had called his name only because the earlier mark had left a physical memory. Recognizing the scent had brought Min Zhi to mind.

Nothing more.

Those were the explanations they gave each other.

They needed no others.

Any other explanation would be too awkward, too unsettling.

Rationally, they remained within the safe boundary: Min Zhi had helped Fang Fengzhi through his heat, and Fang Fengzhi had returned the favor by helping him release his excess pheromones.

Their relationship ended there.

There should be nothing more.

They could not move any closer.