After being moved to tears by the sworn enemy's pheromones - Chapter 76

It was almost the New Year, and lanterns and festive lights filled the streets. Amid the sea of brightness, a familiar figure approached. Shen Jin paused slightly, then immediately ran over.

“Gu Yu?” Shen Jin hid the flowers behind him and punched Gu Yu lightly on the shoulder. “Where’s your car?”

Gu Yu glanced down at him and simply replied, “I finished work. Left it parked under the apartment building.”

Shen Jin looked up, expecting to be patted on the head, but seeing that Gu Yu made no such move, he felt a bit confused. At the same time, he tightened his grip on the bouquet in his hand, feeling as though the flowers blooming behind him were too radiant to hide for even a moment.

“I got this for you.” So, without asking why Gu Yu didn’t pat him, Shen Jin immediately presented the flowers, practically pushing them against Gu Yu’s chest. “I just bought them. Take them.”

Gu Yu seemed slightly startled and asked, “Are they expensive?”

Shen Jin, a little sheepish in his excitement, replied, “Well, I might have to chew on tree bark for a while, but today they weren’t that bad—40% off.”

He thought Gu Yu would either be happy or blush, or maybe even get flustered, dragging him away while grumbling that he shouldn’t treat him like an “omega.” However, after receiving the flowers, Gu Yu simply tugged at the corner of his mouth, seeming like he had something to say but ultimately said nothing.

Shen Jin stared blankly for a couple of seconds before realizing what was happening. Nervously, he stepped forward, grabbing Gu Yu’s arm in an attempt to play it off. “I just saw the discounted flowers didn’t look too bad… This time, you take them. Next year, when I’m out interning, I’ll have money. Keeping a college guy won’t be a problem.”

Maybe it was the difference between buying a whole bouquet and picking a single flower; the packaging and price must have mattered. Anyone receiving discounted flowers probably wouldn’t be too thrilled.

But Gu Yu just took a deep breath and shook his head. “That’s not what I meant.”

Shen Jin’s guilt hadn’t lessened much; if anything, he was even more worried now. “Then… is something wrong today? You seem upset.”

Shen Jin had had a feeling something was off for a while, but he never expected that, after a long silence, Gu Yu would suddenly ask, “Senior… you bought a high-speed rail ticket for New Year’s Eve. Where are you planning to go?”

Gu Yu’s voice, rough in the cold wind, left Shen Jin dumbfounded, and the playful grip he had on Gu Yu’s arm slackened.

It was clear Gu Yu already had an answer in his heart. “Back to District F?”

Shen Jin froze, panic rising inside him. He just wanted to change the subject. “What nonsense are you talking about? Where did you see that I bought a ticket?”

Gu Yu’s gaze was burning, and his Adam’s apple bobbed slightly. “You chose the wrong payment method. I could see the bill on my side—36 yuan for the high-speed rail ticket. That price is only for a trip back to District F.”

Gu Yu’s analysis was spot on, and for that, Shen Jin’s chest sank. Instinctively, he tried to move his lips to explain himself, but no reason came to mind.

With his years of expertise in “Research and Experience on the Subtle Facial Expressions of Tsundere Young Masters,” Shen Jin could tell that Gu Yu was extremely unhappy with him making this decision on his own.

Shen Jin thought, maybe he’s just afraid I’ll cause trouble if I follow him back to District F.

Unconsciously, Shen Jin lowered his hand, feeling a wave of heaviness inside. …But I just wanted to catch a glimpse from afar. I wouldn’t even run into you or your family. I wouldn’t make a scene at the Gu residence. Why can’t I even do that?

But Gu Yu was free to go home for the holidays. There was no real need for this one glance.

Gu Yu had probably been upset all day because of this, which explained why he hadn’t been very talkative.

“So…”

Shen Jin really wanted to tell Gu Yu that he hadn’t thought things through and could cancel his ticket right now and stay in the university town alone. However, the lingering scent of dampness from the flower stems in his hand made him clench his fist, unable to finish his sentence.

It was as if he had just started looking forward to buying New Year’s groceries, making some grilled chicken wings and fries for a midnight snack, and lying in Gu Yu’s arms to watch the New Year’s Gala, but had suddenly been pulled back to reality, forced to give up his selfish fantasy.

He couldn’t find the words. Instead, Gu Yu spoke for him. “Don’t go back… alright?”

The cold north wind blew, and Shen Jin stared blankly at Gu Yu, his lips frozen as if he couldn’t speak. Only when Gu Yu seemed to grow anxious did Shen Jin snap back to his senses and force a smile, clenching his fist as he replied, “Okay… I’ll cancel the ticket right now, okay?”

He quickly reached for his phone, afraid that if he delayed any longer, Gu Yu would feel pressured. But two seconds later, Shen Jin realized that his hand wasn’t reaching for his phone at all. Instead, he forcefully pushed Gu Yu away and snatched back the bouquet, scattering petals everywhere.

It all happened so suddenly that before Gu Yu could react, Shen Jin, eyes reddening and teeth gritted, snatched the flowers back, holding them to his side. “So… you were ignoring me on purpose today?”

Gu Yu, who had been dazed by the flowers, couldn’t help but look up. “I wasn’t—”

Shen Jin gripped the flowers tightly, his voice lowering. “You weren’t? How weren’t you?”

Even he hadn’t expected his tone toward Gu Yu to become so harsh.

“You can leave whenever you want. Why hide it from me? As long as you tell me, I’d even drive you to the station myself and sing you a farewell song on the platform if you want. I’d never make it hard for you.”

“I just wanted to sneak a glance at District F. I wasn’t going to cause a scene during the New Year. Why won’t you even let me do that?”

“If you think I’m too clingy or annoying, you wouldn’t be wrong to suggest breaking up. After all, the worst that could happen is me being too fragile to live on my own, suiciding over heartbreak, and coming to haunt you every new moon and full moon, asking you to burn some offerings for me. What’s there to be scared of?”

Gu Yu was completely taken aback. “When did I say I was leaving—”

He didn’t understand a single word Shen Jin was saying, his mind consumed only by the thought of breaking up from being scared by Shen Jin. But when Shen Jin lifted his head, the fierce demeanor was gone, and tears were already running down to his chin. Only his eyes still looked angry, staring straight at him.

Then, as if trying to prove something, Shen Jin wiped his eyes and rolled up his sleeve. The purplish-red marks beneath his skin, winding along his arm, were revealed without any attempt to hide them—it was clear they were abnormal blood vessels, stretching over ten centimeters, with signs of swelling that had only recently subsided. It looked alarming.

Gu Yu froze for a moment before grabbing Shen Jin’s wrist, his heart immediately racing faster.

He recognized this all too well—phlebitis. It could vary in severity, but in common cases, it caused redness, swelling, itching, and stinging. There were many possible triggers, and in this case, it was clearly related to an allergic reaction to an IV or a bacterial infection.

“What’s going on?”

“Does it hurt?”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Gu Yu was deeply worried. He wanted to wipe away Shen Jin’s tears, but he also needed to know how serious the problem was. Shen Jin, however, was crying calmly and answered with relative fluency, “The clinic said my flare-up period is coming soon, so my body temperature and sensitivity are changing, which makes this happen. It’ll go away soon; it’s nothing serious.”

Afterward, Shen Jin lowered his sleeve and quickly wiped his tears dry. “It hurt, and I wanted to tell you, but you didn’t seem to have time to respond to my messages lately, and I didn’t dare to bother you too much because…”

Because of what?

Shen Jin wasn’t sure himself. Maybe he was worried that Gu Yu was too busy, maybe he thought it wasn’t a big deal, or maybe he was just holding onto a bit of hope—that if he behaved better, he could move Gu Yu to stay. That was all.

But now, it felt like he was making a small problem bigger than it was.

He wanted to keep up the tough act, to turn around and storm off in anger, forcing Gu Yu to chase after him and make amends. But at the thought of Gu Yu’s sad and worried expression, he just couldn’t do it. His resolve melted, even his words softened.

So he sniffled, lowered his sleeve, and said again, “Never mind… I was being too harsh just now. The day after tomorrow, when you and your sister go home, I won’t come along. Just remember to bring me two boxes of that specialty beef jerky. I haven’t had it in two years.”

In the end, it was only a few days apart. He could buy enough suppressants, and even with the flare-up coming, it wouldn’t be that bad. How he had managed before, he could manage this year too.

But Gu Yu was stunned, as if he hadn’t understood the suggestion. “When did I say I was going home with my sister…?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Yu realized what had happened. He suddenly stepped forward in a panic, “Did you see the messages between me and my cousin?”

Shen Jin immediately shook his head, then clenched his sleeve tightly and slowly nodded. “…I’m sorry, that was my fault.”

Hearing this made Gu Yu feel desperate. He grabbed Shen Jin’s wrist but didn’t dare to use too much force. “Sorry for what? What did you do wrong? Is it really that hard to call me, your alpha, a dumbass and say, ‘You’re the one who let me look at it’?”

Shen Jin clearly hadn’t expected him to say that and was stunned for a while before swallowing. “It’s not hard… But if I insult you, you’ll feel bad…”

The winter night wind was biting cold. Gu Yu, angry, snatched the flowers and dragged Shen Jin back home while saying, “It’s fine, just piss me off until I die, then I won’t feel bad anymore.”

Back at the apartment, Gu Yu set Shen Jin down by the couch, then turned around and pulled a yogurt ball he had bought that afternoon out of his pocket, handing it to Shen Jin. He also wiped the tears from Shen Jin’s face and gave him a small white felt bear keychain.

He knew, no matter how much he had to say at that moment, he needed to make Shen Jin understand the root of the problem first. “The messages you saw were real… but I never intended to go home with my cousin.”

He explained to Shen Jin that he was well aware of his cousin’s fiery temper and that she could come knocking at any time. So, he had agreed on a final time with her as a stalling tactic. By New Year’s Eve, he planned to tell her not to come, as he would take his omega to a hotel instead of staying in the apartment or school. If his cousin ended up beating Jiang Lan and Tao Yan in frustration, he could always make it up to them with two cups of milk tea.

As for why he didn’t tell Shen Jin, it was simply because he thought there was no need to involve him.

But now, he regretted not making things clear from the start.

Just as Gu Yu expected, as soon as he finished explaining, Shen Jin squeezed the little bear and seemed like he wanted to say something.

Gu Yu spoke first, “What does senior want to say? You’ve always understood me, even to the point of understanding that I’m unreliable and leaving you behind to go home. Now that you know it was a misunderstanding, you’re even more eager to apologize and make peace, right?”

Shen Jin, caught in the act, was speechless. Gu Yu clenched his teeth and continued, “And what about me neglecting you all day? You’re not even going to ask why?”

Shen Jin suddenly felt a bit timid and hesitated for a long time before quietly mumbling, “Isn’t it just because you’re busy with your part-time job or didn’t see my messages… Besides, you did talk to me a little when I was at the clinic…”

“You—” Gu Yu’s chest tightened, and it took him a while to catch his breath. “So… no matter how poorly I behave, you don’t need any explanation because you’ll just figure it out yourself?”

That was obviously spoken out of frustration, but Shen Jin paused and, surprisingly, answered stubbornly, “I guess… I mean, my love for Little Strawberry has reached a transcendent level. Even if Little Strawberry hit me, I’d think it’s just for exercise.”

But after saying that, Shen Jin didn’t forget to kick Gu Yu’s leg and mutter, “Besides, you couldn’t beat me anyway.”

It seemed like his anger had disappeared instantly, and he even tried to joke to lighten the mood.

But at that moment, perhaps only the deeply remorseful Gu Yu knew that the sadness in Shen Jin’s heart hadn’t lessened in the slightest.