As the final announcement abruptly ended, Zhou Shu’s plane took off from Haicheng.
The roar of the engines instantly filled his head, and his body tilted back as the aircraft surged toward the unreachable clouds. Looking out the window at the receding coastline, Zhou Shu felt an indescribable sense of conflict.
Replaying the events of the past hour in his mind, his brain still felt like a chaotic mess.
Jin Yan had said that on the night at "Sea Mist," he was the one who had carried him all the way back to the apartment.
He said he had undergone a secondary differentiation into an Enigma. He hadn't known how to tell Zhou Shu because he was afraid he would mind; he had been too desperate for a formal status.
He also said that when they were kids, he had secretly kissed Zhou Shu many times...
As it turned out, the thing that made his heart race the most was that last sentence. At the thought, an involuntary smile tugged at the corners of Zhou Shu’s lips.
Oh, right—Jin Yan had also said "I love you" today.
He had been so preoccupied with being angry this afternoon that he hadn't properly committed the tone of those words to memory.
Zhou Shu lowered his gaze, his fingers tightening around the red booklet in his hand. Before he could open it, a hand with glitzy, bejeweled nails reached over the cover.
"...What are you doing?" Zhou Shu pulled the booklet away.
"So stingy." Zhu Lili retracted her hand, which was encrusted with pearls and emeralds, and shot him a sidelong glance. "I haven't even had the chance to get angry with you yet, and here you are, acting all prickly."
"What do you have to be angry about?" Zhou Shu asked, his voice a bit soft.
"How can I not be angry?" Zhu Lili leaned closer to the window seat, lowering her voice but maintaining her mocking tone. "My boyfriend went behind my back and became someone else's wife. If it were you, could you swallow that?" She couldn't help herself; she leaned her head on her hand, her shoulders shaking with laughter.
Zhou Shu was speechless, his jaw tight. "I'm going to silence you."
"Don't! Brother Shu, I was wrong." Zhu Lili used a diamond-studded index finger to dab at the corner of her eye, which was tearing up from laughter. The sparkle from her nails nearly blinded him.
He turned his face back to the window, too tired to continue the verbal tug-of-war with this heartless "sea queen."
"Hey, tell me, what’s the deal with you two? From what I heard, Zhou Duo was the one who went to get the certificate?"
"Mm..." Zhou Shu said in a low voice. "I just took a nap, and when I woke up, I’d been tricked into a marriage."
Zhu Lili was tickled by this. She let out a snort of laughter. "Give me a break. I think Duo Duo did you a huge favor. With that stubborn, awkward personality of yours, who knows how long you would have dragged things out."
Zhou Shu frowned. He fell silent for a few seconds before looking at her. "Am I really that awkward?" As he spoke, his posture relaxed, revealing a trace of the helplessness he’d only shown as a teenager. "Why has everyone been saying that to me all these years?"
Zhu Lili froze, her tone softening. "Brother Shu, if you weren't so awkward, Zhou Duo wouldn't have had to step in." Her gaze fell on the red booklet, and she said softly, "Everything will be fine. Jin Yan won't leave again."
Zhou Shu’s breath hitched for a moment, and he gently closed his eyes. The noise in the cabin made it hard to sleep; some knots were sorrows that even alcohol couldn't dissolve.
***
After Zhou Shu’s flight took off, Jin Yan returned to the parking lot. He had finally managed to coax the man into a better mood; at the very least, the misunderstanding was cleared up.
Thinking of this, Jin Yan’s mood brightened considerably. He suddenly realized he had completely neglected his career lately. Just as he was about to pull out his phone to contact his partners, he heard a familiar voice while passing the airport terminal cafe.
"The tranquil elegance of bamboo will transport you to the depths of the white clouds in the blink of an eye. High mountains, flowing water, the cry of the deer... wear this, and you are a white-clad immortal dwelling in the mountains, untouched by the mortal world... You are..." The speaker glanced to the side and stopped mid-sentence.
"I'm what?" The young woman opposite him was clearly full of anticipation.
"Ahem, you are a white-clad immortal dwelling in the mountains, untouched by the mortal world!"
"Huh? You already said that." The woman looked a bit disappointed.
"Doesn't matter! It's okay. If you don't want it, then we'll meet again if fate allows. I have things to do..."
"Wait! Can I scan your code to pay?"
"Deal!"
The notification sound for a mobile payment rang out. Gou Feifei immediately gave the woman his business card, thanked her, and hurried over to where Jin Yan was standing.
Every time he did his side hustle, he seemed to run into his senior and boss. He felt like his professional aura was slowly eroding...
"Brother Jin, what are you doing here?" He tapped his temples twice before immediately answering his own question. "Oh, right, right. Here to see off the Film Emperor, aren't you?"
Jin Yan had stopped when he saw Gou Feifei, waiting for him to finish the transaction. He hadn't expected this guy to have such a fetish for selling goods at the airport.
"You really like selling things at the airport."
"Uh, it's hard to explain, but... not really." Gou Feifei waved it off, though he couldn't hide his smug expression. "I came to see off my girlfriend."
"Hmm?" Jin Yan paused imperceptibly. "Zhu Li... a?" That was close; he almost blurted out her real name.
He hadn't expected Zhu Lili to be tamed by Gou Feifei. Could it be that this Enigma was using gender suppression?
Jin Yan glanced at Gou Feifei out of the corner of his eye. The latter immediately sensed something unusual.
"Brother Jin, I say, you aren't secretly slandering my character in your head, are you?"
Jin Yan gave a light chuckle. "I wouldn't call it slander."
Gou Feifei didn't mind. He excitedly opened his phone to show Jin Yan his photo album, which was filled with pictures he had downloaded from Zhu Lili’s social media accounts.
*They're "boyfriend and girlfriend," yet he still has to download her photos from the internet.* Jin Yan raised an eyebrow slightly but offered no comment.
"By the way, Brother Jin, what have you been up to these past few days? Jiang Rong and I messaged you, but you didn't reply. Luckily, there hasn't been anything major to handle lately."
A look of apology appeared on Jin Yan’s face. He then spoke three words: "My rut period."
"Oh, no wonder. I hate ruts the most. Even though it's only once every six months, that low-grade fever and the loss of my sense of smell for two or three days really kills me." Gou Feifei shook his head at the memory.
Jin Yan stopped in his tracks and looked at Gou Feifei. "Loss of smell?"
"Huh?" Gou Feifei caught a key piece of information in that reaction. "Do you not lose your sense of smell?"
Jin Yan shook his head. "I get a low fever, general weakness, and a decrease in sensory acuity."
Gou Feifei thought for a moment, pausing for a few seconds before slowly speaking. "No wonder. I guess everyone really is different." Jin Yan didn't speak, gesturing for him to continue. "I heard before that because every Enigma awakens a different sense, their reactions during the rut are different. I knew an Enigma before, but we never discussed rut issues. Your reminder just brought it back to me."
Upon secondary differentiation, an Enigma is bestowed with a "talent," which most refer to as an "awakening."
Generally speaking, it is a sensory awakening. All those who differentiate into Enigmas develop a sensitivity to their surroundings that is far beyond that of a normal person. The so-called "talent" is an extreme, specialized sensitivity in one particular area of perception, and the results vary from person to person.
Jin Yan could sense the emotions and ailments of small animals. With his hands, he could touch the source of pathology within their bodies.
"Brother Jin, you can probably guess what my awakened talent is, right?" Gou Feifei asked.
"Is it smell?" Jin Yan answered almost without thinking.
Gou Feifei nodded. "Mine is pretty easy to guess. If you know what my side hustle is, you can pretty much figure it out."
"You don't try to hide it either," Jin Yan said after a few seconds of silence.
Enigmas were an extremely rare and special group. While chosen by nature, they were also subject to the jealousy of their peers. No one wanted to broadcast their status as an Enigma, and even fewer would use their awakened talent as a story to tell.
Gou Feifei, however, was an exception. He practically aired his secrets in front of others—and if they didn't look, he’d chase them down to make sure they did.
"There's nothing to hide. At most, they just think I'm an Alpha. No one has ever suspected I'm an Enigma." He smiled heartlessly at Jin Yan. "You didn't notice at first either, did you?"
That was the truth. At the time, Jin Yan hadn't sensed even a hint of hostility or pheromone suppression from Gou Feifei.
"Then how did you know I was one?" Jin Yan asked.
"I knew with my nose." Jin Yan looked at him, and Gou Feifei smugly tapped his nose, explaining, "I didn't feel much in the terminal, but the moment you stepped out of the airport doors, your aura changed. Yet, I couldn't smell even a trace of your pheromones. I could only feel the pressure. I suspected it then."
Jin Yan processed this for a few seconds before making a statement. "So, you can smell everyone's pheromones."
"Yes, but it's not like I smell them everywhere I go. I can smell them whenever I want to," Gou Feifei explained.
*No wonder he can run that side business,* Jin Yan thought.
"Then why did you study veterinary medicine?"
"Why did I study vet med..." Gou Feifei paused, a flash of sadness appearing in his eyes. He waited a moment before giving a bitter laugh. "I set my heart on it as a kid. By the time I thought about changing careers, I realized I couldn't bear to leave it."
Jin Yan didn't respond, merely nodding slightly as he walked toward the parking lot with Gou Feifei.
The three of them hadn't been in touch for days, and the pet hospital was about to open, so they contacted Jiang Rong to go out for dinner that evening.
As soon as Jiang Rong arrived at the private room, he rushed toward the two of them joyfully. Gou Feifei pressed a hand against his head. "Enigmas and Omegas should keep a respectful distance."
"Psh!" Jiang Rong curled his lip, then switched to a fanboy expression for Jin Yan. "Boss, what have you been doing these past few days? It's been three days without a word. Are you abandoning us?"
Jin Yan’s eyes flickered, and he revealed a meaningful smile as he spoke six words.
"Family first, then the career."
"Oh... Huh?!"
"What the hell?!"
The moment those words left his mouth, the eyes of the two across from him grew wider than teacups. They didn't dare breathe, staring at Jin Yan as if waiting for a more detailed explanation.
Then, they watched as their senior reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small red booklet.
Jin Yan looked up, tenderness seemingly taking root in the depths of his eyes. He rubbed the marriage certificate twice with his hand and said softly to the two across from him, "I'm married."
The next moment, Jiang Rong’s scream erupted from the window of the private room, piercing the long night.
Gou Feifei was also full of shock, squinting his eyes as he sized Jin Yan up. He noticed the man’s expression was natural and relaxed, his tone gentle and steady. But that corner of his mouth...
The clever Gou Feifei keenly captured the 0.1-second upward curve of Jin Yan’s lips and couldn't help but applaud in his heart.
To even land the Film Emperor... as expected, a "closet flirt" Enigma was far more intoxicating than an "overt flirt" like himself.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 觉醒 | Awakening | The manifestation of a unique sensory talent in an Enigma. |
| 天赋 | Talent / Gift | The specific ability granted to an Enigma upon awakening. |
| 闷骚 | Closet flirt / Reserved | Someone who appears quiet or serious but is actually passionate or suggestive. |
| 明骚 | Overt flirt / Flamboyant | Someone who is openly flirtatious or showy. |
| 影帝 | Film Emperor | A title for a top-tier, award-winning male actor (referring to Zhou Shu). |
