ACBAM 12: Hit On

Su Shijin didn’t notice anything wrong with what he said, because he was generally slow at picking up on other people’s emotions, and he didn’t catch the odd tone in Gu Weiyang’s voice either.

Seeing Gu Weiyang’s rhetorical question, Su Shijin nodded.

“You mentioned before that the doctor recommended desensitization training for your pheromones. If you need it, I can help.” The last five words, Su Shijin said with utmost seriousness.

From Su Shijin’s perspective, the agreement clearly gave him too many advantages. If he didn’t do something in return, that half of the property would feel like a hot potato in his hands.

But since the money was allocated to him in the agreement, Su Shijin had no intention of turning it down either.

Gu Weiyang didn’t need his help during his susceptibility period, and if it was only for desensitization treatment, Su Shijin could manage that.

Just offering a bit of pheromone—Su Shijin wasn’t stingy about that.

After speaking, Su Shijin sat quietly across from him, waiting for his answer.

Yes, or no.

Gu Weiyang’s Adam’s apple moved slightly. He tossed the tissue dampened by the water on the table into the trash, pulled out two fresh ones, and only after he had wiped the surface completely dry did he lower his head and let out a soft laugh.

To be honest, he had never expected Su Shijin to offer something like this.

Even when he was out and overwhelmed by Omega pheromones to the point that his glands throbbed with pain and he felt a murderous rage, Gu Weiyang had never considered using this marriage to have Su Shijin help him with desensitization treatment.

Because Su Shijin’s pheromones weren’t poisonous to him—they were an aphrodisiac.

Su Shijin clearly had no idea just how tempting his pheromones were to him, which was why he could so casually offer to help with the treatment.

But Gu Weiyang knew very well.

From the first time he met Su Shijin, he had been fully aware of the kind of allure this Omega held for him.

He was deeply worried that, during the desensitization process, his body might react in ways that were less than appropriate.

That might end up scaring Su Shijin.

The temptation dangling in front of him was simply too hard for Gu Weiyang to resist. Even if it meant paying a steep price later, he still didn’t want to say no.

So under Su Shijin’s gaze, Gu Weiyang merely finished wiping the table, picked up his glass and took a sip of water, then nodded decisively. “Alright.”

No one knew what kind of inner struggle and storm had just raged through Gu Weiyang’s mind in that brief moment.

The meal turned out to be fairly enjoyable. As they chatted, Su Shijin realized that Gu Weiyang was nothing like the rumors painted him—he wasn’t some uneducated brute. In fact, Su Shijin even felt that Gu Weiyang had broader horizons than he did. He had been to many places and knew things Su Shijin had never even heard of.

Gu Weiyang didn’t become overly attentive just because Su Shijin was about to become his marriage partner. His manner remained appropriately distant with the occasional touch of consideration, which made Su Shijin feel at ease when talking with him.

He liked this kind of interaction.

—

After the meal, there were still several hours before they could pick up the report. Gu Weiyang asked Su Shijin if he wanted to stop by a nearby café.

He said, “We would just be sitting and waiting at the hospital anyway. I’ve heard the desserts here are pretty special—want to give them a try?”

Gu Weiyang had discovered Su Shijin’s sweet tooth during their last matchmaking meeting.

Back then, because of him, Su Shijin hadn’t finished his ice cream and little cake, which Gu Weiyang found a real shame.

He wanted to feed him more sweets.

Su Shijin glanced at the time and it was indeed too early to head to the hospital now.

“Sure, let’s go.” Su Shijin nodded at Gu Weiyang.

A tall, handsome alpha and a delicate, beautiful omega walking together naturally drew attention. Quite a few people were captivated by their striking appearances, unable to resist turning back for another look.

Some young men and women even huddled together, secretly pulling out their phones to take pictures.

Gu Weiyang cast a calm glance in their direction, his gaze steady and emotionless, yet it was enough to make those with raised phones instinctively lower them.

Then, at the next intersection, Gu Weiyang casually took two steps to the side, positioning Su Shijin on the inside of the walkway.

Compared to an alpha, an omega’s frame was simply too slender.

Just by standing on Su Shijin’s outer side, Gu Weiyang’s tall build completely shielded the delicate omega—so much so that not even the hem of his clothes could be seen.

This possessive gesture was caught by the same group of young people who had just put their phones away. They immediately covered their mouths, huddling together and letting out soft, excited squeals.

“Ahhh, the height difference! I’m shipping them, I’m shipping them!”

Sensing something, Su Shijin looked up slightly only to find himself completely blocked by Gu Weiyang.

?

When did he move to this side?

Noticing his gaze, Gu Weiyang lowered his head slightly and asked, “What’s wrong?”

The sudden closeness between them made Su Shijin blink uncomfortably.

“It’s nothing.” Su Shijin looked away and subtly shifted a small step to the side.

Alphas had such an overwhelming presence. Just by being shielded on the inside by him made Su Shijin feel as though he was completely enveloped by Gu Weiyang.

Gu Weiyang noticed his small movement but simply straightened up and smiled, saying nothing.

The café wasn’t far from where they had lunch. It was on the first floor of a mall, with a fenced-off outdoor seating area made of wooden railings. Since it was a Saturday, the place was already quite busy.

Ordering was done inside. Gu Weiyang glanced around the outdoor seating area and picked a sunny spot for Su Shijin to sit first. Then he went in, took a photo of the dessert menu, and told him to just message what he wanted.

Su Shijin sat on a wicker chair, bathed in the early spring sunlight, squinting slightly from the brightness.

From his seat, he had a clear view through the café’s floor-to-ceiling windows. Gu Weiyang, even among alphass, was notably tall—easy to spot at a glance.

He saw Gu Weiyang lift his phone and take a photo facing away from him, and the next second, Su Shijin’s phone buzzed with an incoming message.

[Gu Weiyang: What do you want to eat?]

[Gu Weiyang: Image]

[Gu Weiyang: Well-behaved and waiting.jpg]

Su Shijin’s eyes instinctively landed on that “well-behaved and waiting” sticker first. It was a cute little white dumpling-like character kneeling on the ground, with the words “well-behaved and waiting” on its head.

It really didn’t seem like the kind of sticker Gu Weiyang would use—the contrast was just too strong.

Su Shijin forced his eyes away from the cute sticker and opened the photo Gu Weiyang had sent. It was the café’s drink menu.

As expected from a coffee shop, most of the menu was filled with various coffee options, with only a small column of desserts printed along the left side.

Feeling a little warm from the sun, Su Shijin ordered an ice cream, a strawberry cake, and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.

He didn’t really like the bitter taste of coffee—no matter how much sugar was added, it still didn’t taste good to him.

He didn’t feel like having hot cocoa today either, since the cake he ordered would already be sweet enough.

After receiving Su Shijin’s reply inside the café, a slight smile tugged at the corner of Gu Weiyang’s lips.

Su Shijin looked cold and hard to approach, yet his taste was ridiculously sweet. He’s just like an ice cream, always needing to be warmed up, to melt…

Gu Weiyang closed his eyes briefly, feeling that letting his thoughts wander further would be disrespectful to Su Shijin. He shook the idea out of his head just as the person in front of him finished ordering, and it was his turn.

What he didn’t expect was that in just these five minutes of waiting in line, Su Shijin had already been approached by another alpha.

Su Shijin had actually noticed that the alpha was wandering nearby with his phone, but he hadn’t thought much of it.

Who knew that just as he relaxed, the alpha would walk right up to him, with his companions behind him egging him on.

“Hi, you’re an omega, right? Can I get your contact info?” The alpha leaned on his table, thinking he looked cool, completely blocking out the sunlight.

“Sorry, no.”

Su Shijin’s voice was calm and polite as he turned him down.

The alpha clearly hadn’t expected to be rejected. His friends in the back were still watching with interest, and his pride took a hit. “Seriously? It’s just contact info—can’t we at least be friends?”

“I mean, you’re here alone, and I’m an alpha. Let’s add each other—maybe we can hang out sometime?”

As he spoke, the alpha even leaned in, trying to catch a whiff of Su Shijin’s pheromones.

Su Shijin frowned and leaned back slightly.

He really hated it when someone wouldn’t take no for an answer especially when they kept pushing closer after being turned down.

It made him feel utterly disgusted.

“Don’t you understand human language?” Su Shijin looked up coldly. “I said no.”

The alpha’s face instantly darkened as he stepped forward. “What’s your problem? What kind of attitude is that?”

“Damn it, I was doing you a favor by asking for your contact, you know?”

But before he could finish stepping forward, a large hand clamped down on his shoulder and yanked him back.

At some point, Gu Weiyang had appeared behind him, still holding the café’s wireless buzzer and order number in his other hand.

He casually set the buzzer down on the table and naturally stepped in front of Su Shijin, blocking him from view. Lowering his gaze to look at the alpha who was a full ten centimeters shorter than him, he let out a soft chuckle. “I’m curious too—what kind of attitude is that?”

“What exactly were you planning to do to my Omega?”

Gu Weiyang’s sudden appearance had clearly caught the alpha off guard. A number of people nearby had noticed the commotion and were now looking over. Even the alpha’s friends behind him were nudging each other, watching the scene unfold.

The alpha’s face went from red to pale under Gu Weiyang’s stare and the weight of everyone else’s attention. He glanced past Gu Weiyang to Su Shijin, who was seated behind him, and blurted out in embarrassment and frustration, “Wow, really? You’ve got an alpha and didn’t say anything? Were you messing with me or what?”

After saying that, the alpha turned on his heel, ready to leave.

He couldn’t wait to get out of the place where he’d just lost all his dignity—his friends were still over there, snickering and enjoying the show.

Just then, Su Shijin pushed his chair back and stood up.

He had never been the type to hide behind another alpha and he wasn’t going to start now.

He was grateful to Gu Weiyang for helping him deal with that clingy guy, but he wasn’t kind enough to let the alpha walk away after throwing out such a misleading remark.

“Did you bother looking in the mirror before you left the house?” Su Shijin’s voice wasn’t loud, but everyone around could hear it clearly.

The alpha turned back, face darkening. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Su Shijin smiled faintly. “Nothing.”

“I just thought the way you were jumping around, directing and starring in your own little act, looked exactly like a clown.”

The atmosphere around them froze in an instant. The onlookers who had been enjoying the scene didn’t even dare to breathe, worried the alpha who’d just been mocked might suddenly explode.

But in the middle of that tense silence, a low chuckle came from behind Su Shijin.

Gu Weiyang leaned in close against Su Shijin’s back, pulling him into a tender embrace. His chin brushed against the ends of Su Shijin’s hair as he nuzzled slightly, his tone teasing and intimate. “Mm, you’re right, baby.”

“He really does look like a clown.”