ACBAM 14: Make a Scene

Gu Weiyang was momentarily stunned when he saw the test result.

He had guessed that his compatibility with Su Shijin would definitely not be lower than ninety percent, but he never expected it to be as high as ninety-nine percent.

What does ninety-nine percent mean?

It’s like a paternity test—pheromone compatibility tests never give a result of one hundred percent.

Ninety-nine percent is essentially one hundred percent.

When it comes to pheromone compatibility, the two can practically be considered equal.

It’s not just a matter of rounding up.

A compatibility rate like this is extremely rare—not because few people can reach it, but because out of a population of over a billion, it’s incredibly unlikely for two people with a ninety-nine percent match rate to actually meet.

And once they do, it’s almost impossible for them not to be drawn to each other.

Su Shijin stared blankly at the report in his hand, until someone behind him urged, “Are you two done yet? If you’re done, please make room.”

Only then did Su Shijin snap out of it. He gave a small apologetic nod to the person behind him, then walked over to a corner where he wouldn’t be in anyone’s way, report still in hand.

Gu Weiyang followed behind him, and when he stopped walking, he heard Su Shijin mutter to himself, “Could it be a mistake?”

Gu Weiyang lowered his eyes and said, “It’s not.”

Su Shijin was startled by his sudden response, as if only just realizing that the other person named in the report was still there.

“Sorry, it’s just that the result is so shocking—I was a bit overwhelmed.” Su Shijin handed him the report and asked, “Did you already see it earlier?”

Gu Weiyang took the report and nodded.

Su Shijin hesitated for a moment and asked, “Then… have you changed your mind?”

Gu Weiyang didn’t seem to quite catch his meaning. He frowned slightly and tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

Su Shijin said, “About the contract marriage—should we reconsider it?”

Gu Weiyang seemed both amused and a little exasperated by Su Shijin’s sudden change of heart. His dark eyes fixed intently on him as he countered, “Why?”

“Didn’t you say before that as long as the compatibility result was high, you would agree?”

“Ninety-nine percent. It is still not high enough?”

The words “ninety-nine percent” were spoken with such clarity by Gu Weiyang that even a passerby walking right by them overheard and turned around in shock, exclaiming, “How much?”

The outburst drew the attention of everyone in the hall, their eyes turning toward them. Su Shijin quickly tugged on Gu Weiyang’s sleeve, hoping to get him to talk somewhere else.

On the first tug, Gu Weiyang deliberately didn’t move.

Thinking he hadn’t gotten the hint, Su Shijin reached out and tugged again.

Gu Weiyang looked down at his slender fingers gripping the fabric of his sleeve, the tips turning slightly white from the pressure. When he lifted his eyes again, he met Su Shijin’s gaze.

Su Shijin frowned slightly, as if he didn’t understand why Gu Weiyang wasn’t moving.

It wasn’t until they had been at a standstill for a few seconds, and Gu Weiyang felt he had vented enough of his displeasure, that he finally took a long stride to catch up with Su Shijin. “Let’s go.”

The two of them left the main hall, leaving the passerby standing there scratching his head, still wondering if he had really heard them say ninety-nine percent.

—

On the side of the hospital, there was a small garden with nice greenery. It wasn’t very large, but at this time of day, there weren’t many people around.

Su Shijin found a bench and sat down, and Gu Weiyang followed, taking a seat beside him.

This seemed to be the first time the two of them had sat side by side, aside from riding in a car together.

The bench was only so wide, and once both men were seated, there was barely a two-fist distance between them.

Su Shijin resisted the urge to scoot further away, turned slightly toward him, and brought the conversation back to where they’d left off. He said, “I’m not trying to go back on my word. It’s just that, Mr. Gu, you must understand the kind of attraction a ninety-nine percent match rate creates between an AO pair. Maybe the reason you decided to enter a contract marriage with me the moment we met, was because you were influenced by that compatibility?”

A ninety-nine percent match rate is enough to make two people fall for each other at first sight.

That also explained why, during their initial blind date, even after Su Shijin had turned him down, Gu Weiyang still asked him to reconsider.

Looking back now, Su Shijin figured Gu Weiyang must have already been affected by the match rate back then.

Gu Weiyang, however, didn’t seem to follow Su Shijin’s line of thinking at all. He asked, “Why is it a problem if pheromones influence me? Isn’t a high compatibility rate in pheromones a good thing?”

Su Shijin was silent for a moment before saying, “I think a high compatibility rate can cloud a person’s judgment. Maybe once we really start spending time together, you’ll feel that you only chose me because of the match rate. And when you meet the person you truly want, you’ll start to resent a relationship built on that kind of influence.”

From his words, Gu Weiyang seemed to pick up on something. He vaguely recalled a conversation with Grandpa Su, who had once mentioned that Su Shijin’s parents also had a high match rate. They were originally a loving couple, but for some unknown reason, they eventually drifted apart.

Pheromone compatibility was just a scientific concept indicating the most suitable match between two people. But not everyone could accept their emotions being shaped by pheromones.

Because only beasts are driven by things like heat cycles—and they didn’t want to be that kind of beast.

But as for this—

Gu Weiyang had a different opinion.

“Even if our match rate were zero, I would still choose you,” Gu Weiyang said.

Su Shijin looked up in surprise. “Why?”

Gu Weiyang gave a faint smile and said, “My gland is damaged—a ninety-nine percent match is just a painful stimulus for me. It doesn’t bring me any pleasure, so I won’t be affected by you.”

“Also,” Gu Weiyang paused, his gaze deep as he looked at him, then curled his lips into a smile and said, “it’s just a marriage by contract. The things you’re worried about are problems that might arise between real couples—they shouldn’t happen to us.”

“Or are you worried that you won’t be able to resist the effects of the pheromones and… fall in love with me?”

The last three words were spoken so softly by Gu Weiyang that Su Shijin almost didn’t catch them.

Once he understood what he meant, Su Shijin shook his head repeatedly.

He realized that he’d indeed been stuck in his own thoughts just now. Gu Weiyang was right—it’s just a contractual marriage. Those issues simply wouldn’t come up.

Su Shijin relaxed and gave Gu Weiyang a faint smile. “Then, Mr. Gu, I look forward to working with you.”

Mr. Gu, having successfully talked him into it, was quite pleased to have reached an agreement.

–

The contract signing was scheduled by Gu Weiyang for Monday evening, after Su Shijin got off work.

Originally, Gu Weiyang had wanted to sign the contract and register the marriage the very next day to avoid any unexpected changes, but Su Shijin said he had plans with a friend tomorrow, so Gu Weiyang had no choice but to postpone it by a day.

Still, the contents of the contract did need some final polishing. For instance, Su Shijin had agreed to cooperate with him on pheromone desensitization treatment.

That was important and had to be included.

When the two parted ways, Gu Weiyang didn’t try to find another excuse to invite Su Shijin to dinner—too much would be overkill. They were getting married anyway. Gu Weiyang had plenty of time to take things slow.

On the drive home, Su Shijin received a call from Anshi Animal Hospital. It was a busy Saturday night, with quite a few people bringing their pets in—some had even driven a long way. The on-duty doctors were overwhelmed, and they asked if Su Shijin had time to come in for some extra hours.

Su Shijin happened to be free that evening, so he agreed.

What he didn’t expect was to run into a troublesome customer upon arriving at Anshi.

Su Shijin vaguely remembered her—she was the woman who had brought in a toy poodle for treatment last time and ended up leaving the dog behind because she didn’t want to pay the medical fees.

When Su Shijin arrived, the woman was making a scene on the floor, wailing and accusing the hospital of killing her dog, demanding that someone from the hospital pay with their life.

There were a lot of people sitting in the waiting area with their pets, waiting to see the vet. They were all stunned by the woman’s yelling.

Su Shijin even overheard someone whispering, “Is that true? I thought this place had a pretty good reputation online.”

“She’s crying so hard… I don’t know…” another person murmured, unable to make a judgment.

The receptionist Tian Yaping didn’t know what had happened at the time, but Ran Tian did.

Every time Ran Tian tried to help the woman up and explain the situation, the woman would cry even louder, shouting, “The doctor hit me! The doctor’s trying to beat me up!!”

At only 26, Ran Tian had never encountered anything like this before. She reached out several times, only to be pushed away each time by the woman, and ended up standing there, completely at a loss.

Fortunately, Tian Yaping was more experienced. She waved Ran Tian over and said, “We’ve already called the police. Let’s wait until they get here.”

The moment the woman heard the word “police,” she screamed even louder, making everyone around her feel a splitting headache from the noise.

Su Shijin walked into the hospital and asked, “What’s going on here?”

This issue with the customer should’ve already been resolved by He Lian’s side, so why was she back again?

When Ran Tian saw Su Shijin, it was like seeing a long-lost relative—her eyes lit up instantly.

All the other vets were busy treating animals in the consultation rooms, and Dr. Liu was in surgery and couldn’t leave. That meant, in this large animal hospital, only two receptionists were left to deal with this woman.

As receptionists, they didn’t dare to forcefully kick her out. Now that Su Shijin had arrived, it was like salvation had come.

“Dr. Su, it’s the same woman who left her pet behind and walked out,” Ran Tian quickly stepped up to explain.

The woman’s wailing stopped for a second before she erupted in curses. “What are you talking about, you little brat? I left my pet here so you could save it! You said it could be saved, and now you’re telling me it’s dead!!”

“I don’t care! Either someone dies for it or you pay up! Calling the cops is useless! The police won’t care about this!”

Her gaze shifted, landing on Su Shijin. She pointed at him and yelled, “Ah— I remember you! You were there that day too! Was it you who killed my dog? Pay up! You people owe me money!!”

“Ah—my dog! It was with me for four years! I fed it with a baby bottle, raised it little by little, and now it’s been killed by you heartless vets! Four years! How am I supposed to live with this—”

The woman’s wailing was full of raw emotion, with tears streaming down her face. Her grief was so convincing that the people around her couldn’t help but imagine their own pets in the same situation. Those with strong empathy even began to cry along with her.

“If the hospital really did kill her dog, they should at least give her an explanation,” said a pet owner nearby, gently wiping away tears while cradling her puppy, clearly shaken by the idea that something like this could happen here.

Others nearby began to chime in as well, speaking up one after another in support of the woman.

Su Shijin stood there quietly, listening without saying a word.

Once the people around him saw that he wasn’t responding, they gradually quieted down. Only then did Su Shijin take two steps forward, walked up beside the woman, and slightly bent down, reaching out his hand. “The floor’s cold. If you have something to say, let’s sit down and talk it through, okay?”

No matter why she was making a scene, Su Shijin didn’t want her to keep disturbing the other clients.

But the woman wasn’t done. She suddenly flung his hand away and shouted angrily, “I want answers now! I want compensation!! I’m not getting up unless you give it to me!!”

Pain shot through the back of Su Shijin’s hand, and he instinctively pulled it back.

Ran Tian let out a gasp. “Dr. Su, your hand is bleeding!!”