ACBAM 8: Dim Sum

Su Shijin wasn’t entirely sure whether that faint scent of alcohol had been Gu Weiyang’s pheromones.

Just like he couldn’t remember if Gu Weiyang had even been drinking at the time.

Since the doctor asked—even if it was just a guess—he answered honestly. “I had dinner with an alpha yesterday, but the closest we got was about half a step apart. There was no physical contact.”

The doctor nodded. “Did you feel any discomfort at the time?”

Su Shijin shook his head. “No, my glands felt normal. I didn’t sense him releasing any pheromones either.”

“But after I got home, I did notice a bit of a scent on me… though I’m not sure if it was…”

The doctor smiled. “Then it’s a possibility. If we assume it was, your compatibility with this alpha might be quite high.”

“According to the test results, what you experienced counts as a pseudo-heat. Your body’s reaction didn’t fully enter a heat phase, but your glands reacted almost as if it did.”

“You took a suppressant before coming in, right?”

Su Shijin nodded. “I got an injection.”

The doctor said, “I’ll prescribe you some medication. If it happens again, no need for suppressants—just take the pills.”

Su Shijin pressed his lips together and asked, “Will it happen again?”

“Yes, it’s possible.” Seeing that he seemed concerned, the doctor smiled and reassured him, “Don’t worry, it’s not a serious issue.”

“Pseudo-heat is usually caused by an omega’s glands being stimulated by an alpha’s pheromones. If you’re uneasy about it, you can do a pheromone compatibility test with that alpha. It’ll give you some peace of mind.”

“Omega are easily affected by high-compatibility alpha pheromones. If you don’t plan to go further with him, you can wear a suppressant patch the next time you see him.”

“But if just a trace of his scent triggered such a strong glandular response…”

The doctor clicked his tongue twice. “Then your compatibility rate is probably over ninety percent. With such a high match, it’s likely that both of you are affecting each other.”

“You might want to ask that alpha if he’s experienced any pseudo-rut—like the urge to mark someone, or do… something.”

The doctor phrased the last part tactfully.

More bluntly, he was suggesting Su Shijin ask if the alpha had wanted to bite him, or have sex with him.

Somehow, Su Shijin picked up on the subtext, and his fingers, resting on his leg, curled slightly without him realizing.

After the doctor finished the prescription, Su Shijin took the slip to the pharmacy. By the time he picked up the medicine and walked out, it was already 11:30 at night.

Standing at the hospital entrance, Su Shijin looked down at the bright words “pseudo-heat” on the test results and couldn’t shake the feeling that his glands were heating up again.

But he knew it was just his imagination.

Pseudo-heat.

High compatibility.

Su Shijin pressed his lips together. He didn’t like making pointless guesses. It was better to just ask the person involved directly.

He pulled out his phone and opened the chat with Gu Weiyang.

Since exchanging contact info with Gu Weiyang last night and adding each other on WeChat, neither of them had sent a message.

So the chat still stopped at the line: [I’ve accepted your friend request. Now we can start chatting.]

Su Shijin glanced at the time. At this hour, Gu Weiyang was probably already asleep.

Su Shijin didn’t want to go to bed with something weighing on his mind. So even if he might not get a reply, he still left a message: [Do you have time tomorrow? Let’s go do a pheromone compatibility test.]

He waited for a while, but there was no response.

Su Shijin figured he really had gone to bed, so he put his phone away and drove home.

By the time he showered and brushed his teeth, it was nearly 1 a.m.

Before sleeping, Su Shijin checked his messages one last time. Seeing that there was still no reply, he set his phone down, wrapped himself in the blanket, and closed his eyes.

—

Gu Weiyang saw the message after 2 a.m.

When he noticed the red dot on the little black cat profile icon, he paused for a moment. His finger hovered over the screen for quite a while before he finally tapped the profile.

[Su Shijin: Do you have time tomorrow? Let’s go do a pheromone compatibility test.]

Gu Weiyang: ！

He pressed down the corners of his lips that were threatening to rise.

Seeing that message, Gu Weiyang was actually a bit surprised.

He had thought Su Shijin would take a long time to think it over. Even though he had said, “Give me a day to consider” when they parted ways, Gu Weiyang hadn’t held out much hope.

Because he knew very well that he was just a stranger to Su Shijin, someone he had only heard of but knew nothing about.

After all, such a favorable agreement, coming from a total stranger—any reasonable person would be suspicious.

Given Su Shijin’s cautious nature, Gu Weiyang had expected a rejection first.

He hadn’t expected an unexpected surprise.

Gu Weiyang resisted the urge to reply right away. It was already so late, and he didn’t want to wake Su Shijin.

But his mood had lifted, and he found it hard to sit still.

He scrolled through the chat interface for a bit, then called a friend. “Wanna grab a drink?”

The other side didn’t respond. Gu Weiyang could only hear his breathing, which at least confirmed he was there.

After a long silence, a hoarse male voice, thick with resentment, came through the phone, “Gu Weiyang, do you even know what time it is?”

Gu Weiyang glanced seriously at the time, “2:21 a.m.”

“You knew and still called me? Don’t I need to sleep too!?”

“Not important. Wanna grab a drink?” Gu Weiyang steered the conversation back to his first line, then added, “My treat. Everything’s on me.”

The other end fell silent again.

Gu Weiyang could hear the other person’s breathing quicken slightly, as if caught in a struggle—hesitating, torn—but in the end, he couldn’t resist those four words, everything’s on me.

“Send me the address.” After some internal battle, the other person gave in and got out of bed.

—

Yelan Bar was located on a bar street behind the commercial street in the city center of Jiang City. Prices were steep—beer that cost three yuan outside could go for three hundred here with a bit of rebranding and a few ice cubes.

The sky-high prices kept many people away, but the bar still made a killing.

Because a lot of rich kids liked to throw parties here, it wasn’t unusual for a single bottle of alcohol they casually opened to cost over ten thousand.

Late at night was when the bar was at its liveliest. Dazzling, chaotic lights, a DJ flipping their hair as they spun tracks, and a crowd packed into the dance floor, writhing against each other. Everything pushed the atmosphere to a fever pitch.

When Gu Weiyang arrived, the person from the phone call was already drinking in a booth.

A tall, broad-shouldered, handsome alpha had his arm around an omega whose origins were unclear, letting the omega hold up a glass and feed him drinks.

When he saw Gu Weiyang, the alpha raised an eyebrow and propped one long leg up on the table. “Finally. Took you long enough.”

“Live far away. Couldn’t be helped.” Gu Weiyang slouched into the seat, lazily poured himself a drink, and gestured at the alpha. “A drink as punishment.”

With that, Gu Weiyang tilted his head back and downed it.

“Hey,” Tan Zhao tried to stop him, but the drink was already gone.

“What the hell’s wrong with you?” Tan Zhao snapped. “I never said you had to punish yourself.”

Gu Weiyang felt the burn of the liquor sliding down his throat and gave a small smirk. “I wanted to.”

Tan Zhao raised an eyebrow. “Well, well, someone’s in a good mood. What’s got the Eldest Young Master Gu so happy that you dragged me out here in the middle of the night?”

Gu Weiyang glanced at the omega in Tan Zhao’s arms.

Tan Zhao, understanding the look, gave the omega’s perky little butt a pat and a squeeze through the hot pants. “Alright, go have fun on your own. Whatever you drink tonight, put it on my tab.”

The omega clung to him, acting all coy for a while, then happily bounced off.

Gu Weiyang poured himself a drink, took a sip, and asked, “Someone new you’re seeing?”

Tan Zhao looked confused. “What? Who are you talking about?”

Gu Weiyang nodded towards the omega who had just left.

Tan Zhao burst out laughing. “No way. I don’t even know his name.”

Gu Weiyang: ?

Seemingly reading the look in Gu Weiyang’s eyes, Tan Zhao put his foot down, poured himself a drink, clinked glasses with Gu Weiyang, and explained, “He clung to me the moment I walked in. I didn’t even get a clear look at his face.”

Gu Weiyang: …

Seeing the indescribable expression on Gu Weiyang’s face, Tan Zhao let out a few loud laughs. “Alright, quit gossiping about me. What about you? What made you so happy tonight?”

Gu Weiyang swirled his glass and smiled with pursed lips. “Something worth celebrating.”

“Yo,” Tan Zhao sat up straighter. “Come on, tell me more.”

Gu Weiyang clinked glasses with him, smiling. “There’s nothing to tell. Just in a good mood, I wanted you to come have a few drinks with me.”

Tan Zhao immediately started griping, “If there’s nothing to tell, then why’d you send that omega away? I barely even got to touch his little hands.”

“Too pungent.” Gu Weiyang said bluntly.

Tan Zhao had nothing left to say. Everyone knew that Eldest Young Master Gu’s glands were damaged and he couldn’t handle omega pheromones. What could he even argue?

“Next time put on a suppressant patch before coming out. Such a hassle,” Tan Zhao said.

Gu Weiyang tapped his fingers rhythmically against his glass, clearly in a good mood and didn’t argue.

By the time they finished drinking, it was already past five. The bar was gradually emptying out. Tan Zhao saw that the omega who had clung to him earlier was now leaving the bar all over another alpha, and didn’t even bat an eye.

Gu Weiyang didn’t comment either. It was clear he knew what kind of person Tan Zhao was.

“Alright, the bar’s about to close. Let’s head out,” Tan Zhao said, glancing at the empty bottles cluttering the table. Clicking his tongue, he remarked, “For you to be this happy and drink this much, that omega must really be something.”

Gu Weiyang didn’t like anyone commenting on Su Shijin, so he gave Tan Zhao a slap on the back to shut him up, then casually paid the bill.

Early spring mornings were still a bit chilly. By the time the two alphas stepped out of the bar, a faint light was already rising on the horizon.

Tan Zhao checked the time. “Well, there’s no point going home now. How about breakfast?”

Gu Weiyang thought for a moment. “Sure.”

Then Young Master Tan watched in astonishment as the Eldest Young Master Gu ordered a whole spread at the dim sum shop.

Tan Zhao quickly reached out to stop him. “That’s too much. We won’t be able to finish it.”

Gu Weiyang glanced at him, then said to the waiter beside the table, “Pack all of this to go.”

Then he looked back at Tan Zhao. “Order whatever you want.”

Tan Zhao: …

Fine, fine, fine.

He was just overthinking. He was nothing but a clown.

Fuming with frustration, Young Master Tan angrily ordered an entire table’s worth of dim sum and ended up eating so much he nearly had to lean against the wall to get out.

Gu Weiyang didn’t stay long at the dim sum restaurant. The place was a bit far from Su Shijin’s place, and he was worried he might not catch him before he left for work, so once everything was packed up, he called a designated driver and left.

The address had been casually mentioned by Grandpa Su before. Gu Weiyang only knew which neighborhood Su Shijin lived in, so he had the driver park on the street outside the complex.

Glancing at the little black cat icon, Gu Weiyang licked his lips. For some reason he couldn’t explain, he didn’t send a message. Instead, he got out of the car, leaned against it, and lit a cigarette.

He waited for about two hours, nearly finishing a pack, before a black sedan drove past his car and suddenly hit the brakes in disbelief. Then, with its turn signal blinking, it slowly pulled into the parking spot right in front of him.

Gu Weiyang held the last unlit cigarette between his lips, leaning lazily against the car door as he lifted his eyelids to take a look.

A cool and aloof omega stepped out from the driver’s seat of the car in front—very beautiful.

He was wearing a light-colored spring trench coat, unbuttoned, revealing a slim waist outlined by a shirt underneath. As he walked over, his legs were long and straight.

Gu Weiyang’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly as he watched the omega walk up to him, eyes full of surprise. His voice was cool and clear, and incredibly pleasant to hear.

He asked, “Gu Weiyang, what are you doing here?”