Chapter 66 – Parallel Extra 05: You Smell Nice

Ye Zhou usually started work at nine, taking half an hour to get from home to the company, which meant he could wake up around eight. Now staying at the hotel, it was only a ten-minute trip to work, so logically, he could sleep in a bit longer. But he not only woke up on time, he even got up earlier than usual, just to avoid the awkward situation of fighting with Guan Heng for the bathroom.

As he opened his bedroom door in his pajamas, coincidentally, the master bedroom door across from him also opened. For some inexplicable reason, his heart skipped a beat.

The impression of Guan Heng in his bathrobe from last night was too vivid; Ye Zhou even suspected that this man was accustomed to sleeping naked, always exposing either his chest muscles or calves. It was early in the morning, and he was afraid of seeing something too stimulating.

However, Guan Heng had gotten up even earlier. Already dressed, his shirt buttoned all the way up, tie neatly tied, and a tie pin fastened, he had even changed into a pair of exquisite cufflinks. He radiated the aloof and restrained aura of a superior, vastly different from the lazy and sexy appearance from last night. He looked even more handsome and captivating.

Although Ye Zhou felt relieved inside, why did he have a slight sense of disappointment? “You… you’re up so early?”

Guan Heng seemed ready to leave, his gaze towards Ye Zhou containing a subtle gentleness. “I have something to handle. Should I pick you up from work tonight? It’s on my way.”

“No…” Ye Zhou had initially wanted to decline. Although confident that he wouldn’t lose to the person Lisheng sent, he thought this might be an opportunity to put them in their place. If he arrived at the venue with Guan Heng, their opponent would likely panic first. So he immediately changed his mind. “Okay, then I’ll trouble Vice President Guan.”

Guan Heng smiled. “I’ll wait for you outside your company at six o’clock tonight.”

“Okay.”

Guan Heng then glanced at the sofa in the living room. “The clothes you sent for laundry last night have been dried and placed there.”

Ye Zhou turned around and saw that Guan Heng had actually folded his clothes for him and even ordered breakfast from the hotel. What great honor was this? “…Thank you.”

After Guan Heng left, Ye Zhou took his clothes back to his room, went to the bathroom to wash up, and after eating breakfast, returned to his room to change. He couldn’t wear the same suit again, so he hung his jacket on a hanger and put it in the closet. Then, above his shirts, he found a handkerchief – the one he had returned to Guan Heng.

Ye Zhou wasn’t sure if Guan Heng had accidentally mixed the handkerchief in with his clothes or if he didn’t want it anymore and was subtly trying to give it to him. After hesitating for a moment, Ye Zhou put on his new suit and stuffed the handkerchief into his breast pocket.

At six o’clock that evening, Guan Heng’s car arrived on time to pick him up. Ye Zhou couldn’t let Guan Heng wait for him, so he arrived at the company gate ten minutes early.

After getting in the car, besides the driver, Guan Heng’s secretary was sitting in the front passenger seat.

When the Alpha secretary learned yesterday that his boss would be staying with Ye Zhou for a few days, his jaw dropped in shock. His boss was so obsessed with cleanliness that he refused to touch others’ belongings and loathed smelling their pheromones. Normally, when on business trips, he would never allow anyone to step foot in his hotel room, let alone stay in the same room. It was unbelievable.

The Alpha secretary couldn’t help but be curious about Ye Zhou. And when he saw the boss’s favorite handkerchief in Ye Zhou’s breast pocket, he made a bold guess. Was the boss interested in this employee? But he looked like an Alpha…

Although the secretary was dying to know, his expression remained controlled. He was an elite secretary who had passed through rigorous screening to sit in this position, and he wouldn’t casually pry into or leak his boss’s privacy.

And Guan Heng noticed the handkerchief in Ye Zhou’s left breast pocket, his smile deepening.

Ye Zhou rubbed his nose, somewhat embarrassed. “Um… I… I didn’t know if you forgot, so…”

Guan Heng’s gaze fell onto Ye Zhou’s left chest. “No problem, you look good wearing it, but it can look even better.”

Guan Heng reached out with his left hand toward Ye Zhou’s chest, gently pulling out the handkerchief. Then, with his slender fingers, he folded it into a beautiful triangular shape resembling a mountain peak and tucked it back into Ye Zhou’s breast pocket. Ye Zhou’s personality was more cheerful, and this slightly ornate style suited him, making him less rigid.

He immediately understood Ye Zhou’s intentions. An Alpha wouldn’t casually wear another Alpha’s personal item, so Ye Zhou must have deliberately worn it for the competition, showcasing the goodwill between Guan Corporation and Zhou International. Although Guan Heng had intentionally left the handkerchief behind, he didn’t mind at all and was, in fact, quite pleased.

Ye Zhou watched dumbfounded as Guan Heng leaned in, his heartbeat inexplicably quickening.

Although separated by his suit jacket and shirt, Guan Heng’s fingers felt as if they were touching his heart. Especially when he inserted the handkerchief into the pocket, it seemed to accidentally brush against his sensitive spot.

Ye Zhou trembled imperceptibly, feeling the car was a bit hot. “…Thank you.”

The driver kept his eyes straight ahead while driving, and the Alpha secretary pretended not to see anything. He had never seen his boss display such a suffocatingly tender expression before; this was clearly flirting.

At seven-ten that evening, Guan Heng’s car arrived slightly late at the business cocktail party venue.

With Guan Heng’s status, no one would dare say anything about him being ten minutes late, let alone half an hour or an hour.

The president of Lisheng personally greeted him at the entrance. He had originally been proud of inviting Guan Heng, but his face turned green when he saw Ye Zhou getting out of the car with him. “Mr. Guan… this is…”

Ignoring the extended hand, Guan Heng said, “This is the business manager handling negotiations with me at Zhou International. I heard you two know each other, so I brought him along.”

The president of Chen’s hand was awkwardly suspended in mid-air, unsure whether to retract it.

Although Lisheng and they were competitors with some mutual animosity, Ye Zhou wouldn’t embarrass the other party in this setting. He shook hands with Guan Heng on his behalf, wearing a business-appropriate smile on his face. “We do indeed know each other. President Chen, long time no see.”

President Chen’s smile was forced. “Haha, Manager Ye is here too. By the way, are you the only one here? Where’s President Wang?”

How could Ye Zhou not understand that the other party was insinuating that his position was too low? He politely countered, “President Wang specifically instructed me to entertain our esteemed guests well. Isn’t it bad manners for someone to try to snatch away the business halfway through negotiations?”

President Chen snorted, “What does a young person know? In business, it’s fair competition. Whoever offers better terms naturally gets the deal. Isn’t that the most basic principle?”

The two exchanged barbs, engaging in a battle of wits.

Guan Heng observed their tightly clasped hands and, knowing that Ye Zhou was competing with the other party, still felt somewhat displeased. He reached out and grabbed Ye Zhou’s arm, forcing him to let go first. “Let’s exchange pleasantries inside.”

Ye Zhou could feel that Guan Heng was very strong, yet he hadn’t hurt him. But he acutely sensed that Guan Heng seemed a bit unhappy and assumed it was due to offending President Chen. He quickly reined in his Alpha aura. “Okay.”

Tonight’s business cocktail party was co-hosted by Lisheng and several other companies with frequent business dealings. To put it simply, those attending the party would speak well of Lisheng. If Lisheng could climb up to Guan Corporation’s level, they could also get a piece of the pie. Therefore, they would certainly strive to facilitate cooperation between both parties. Hence, Ye Zhou appearing alone here was undoubtedly facing enemies on all fronts.

But Guan Heng seemed to have no intention of letting Ye Zhou fend for himself, always keeping him by his side wherever he went.

The first thing Guan Heng did upon entering the venue was to say, “Disinfect first.”

Ye Zhou: “? ? ?”

At this moment, the Alpha secretary kindly explained, “The vice president doesn’t like coming into contact with other people’s pheromones.”

Ye Zhou immediately understood. He had heard from Fang Ji that Guan Heng had a cleanliness obsession, which appeared to be true. He carefully disinfected his hands with alcohol and then intended to spray some on himself, worried that Guan Heng wouldn’t let him ride in the car later.

Unexpectedly, Guan Heng stopped him upon seeing this. “You don’t need to.”

Confused, Ye Zhou replied, “Huh?”

Guan Heng bent down and whispered in his ear, “Your… you smell nice.”

Ye Zhou suddenly felt a tingling sensation in his ears. Before he could react, Guan Heng quickly backed away. He had an inexplicable feeling of being teased, but was he overthinking it?

How could two Alphas fall in love? It would be impressive if they didn’t end up fighting.

The Alpha secretary watched Ye Zhou’s clueless expression, unsure whether to sympathize or pity him. But he couldn’t say anything; he was a dedicated secretary, and he wouldn’t ruin the boss’s hunting fun by revealing the truth.

Guan Heng didn’t really have a cleanliness obsession. When he was a child, before drowning in an accident, he had inhaled a fragrant paralyzing gas. The intent of the other party was clear – to kill him. Since then, Guan Heng disliked coming into contact with anyone’s pheromones, or rather, anything with a lingering scent, except for Ye Zhou’s pheromones, which made him feel safe.

Although he was now powerful enough that no one dared recklessly attack him, this symptom wasn’t a post-traumatic stress reaction or a traumatic disorder, but merely a psychological effect. Only Guan Heng knew the reason – he didn’t want to dilute the memory of the pheromone scent. No matter how much time passed, he would inevitably find that person.

Guan Heng didn’t enjoy socializing, but he was skilled at it out of necessity.

Many people came over to toast with him, probably planning to get Guan Heng drunk and take advantage to seal the deal. A waiter conveniently carried over a tasting glass of wine, as if prepared in advance.

Guan Heng glanced around and spotted a glass of light-colored ice wine among the various wines. “What’s this?”

This time, the sommelier answered, “It’s the TBA white wine from the Egon Muller winery.”

Even a top-tier white wine that could only be purchased at auctions was brought out, showing that Lisheng Trading spared no expense. Guan Heng’s lips curved slightly, seemingly interested. “Give me a glass, open a new bottle.”

Guan Heng never drank drinks that had been opened before, and President Chen probably had this information, so the sommelier didn’t show any signs of difficulty. The secretary watched the entire process of opening the wine.

The fermentation process of wine is an art, with prices ranging from cheap to expensive.

Guan Heng took a sip. It lived up to its reputation as a noble sweet white wine, with a strong and rich taste and an elegant and tempting aroma. His gaze penetrated the crowd and landed on Ye Zhou, who was pushed aside. He wondered if Ye Zhou’s pheromone scent would also be so fragrant and seductive when aroused.

Many people surrounded Guan Heng, chatting and laughing. Although Ye Zhou was intentionally pushed away, if he shamelessly stuck around, it would seem too unsophisticated.

He had planned to wait a while before going over, but more and more people gathered around, almost as if they were trying to intentionally get Guan Heng drunk.

Ye Zhou quickly realized something was amiss. He couldn’t let the competitor succeed and grabbed a random glass of wine to squeeze into the crowd and shield Guan Heng from the drinks.

The alcohol content of white wine wasn’t high, and it certainly wouldn’t get Guan Heng drunk. But when Guan Heng saw Ye Zhou rush in to shield him from the drinks, he felt somewhat intoxicated, immersed in the aroma of white grapes.

Over a decade ago, when he was drowning, did Ye Zhou also bravely step forward like this? The Ye Zhou of the past and the present seemed to overlap at this moment.

Regardless of how experienced Ye Zhou was in socializing and how good his drinking capacity was, he couldn’t match others’ intentional attempts to get him drunk. He ended up getting drunk.

Seeing that it was about time, Guan Heng made up an excuse and took Ye Zhou away.

Ye Zhou was nearly unconscious from drunkenness, but he had good drinking manners. When drunk, he would only sleep, unaware of when he had fallen asleep on Guan Heng’s lap, like a docile cat.

Guan Heng continuously stroked Ye Zhou’s hair and the back of his neck, his gaze never leaving Ye Zhou’s face.

Neither the driver nor the secretary in the car dared to make a sound, just like on the way there, pretending not to see anything even if they did.

However, when they were halfway back to the hotel, Guan Heng’s fingers brushed Ye Zhou’s lips, moistened by spilled wine, as if losing patience. He asked the driver, “When will we arrive?”

The driver replied, “In about twenty minutes.”

“Drive faster.”

Under the premise of ensuring driving safety, the driver raced at the fastest speed of his life.

Guan Heng maintained self-control as he supported Ye Zhou into the hotel and the elevator, until they entered the presidential suite on the top floor. Even though drunk, Ye Zhou seemed to remember he needed to return to the guest room, staggering toward his room.

Guan Heng elegantly removed his coat and loosened his tie, then wrapped his arms around Ye Zhou from behind as he tried to return to his room, dragging him back into the master bedroom.