Married Off to My Childhood Enigma | Chapter 21 | The Nature of an Enigma | Novela.app

Jin Yan, the closet show-off, spent the entire evening inadvertently flaunting his little red book. Initially, the atmosphere during the first half of the dinner was harmonious. Jiang Rong, in particular, was a casual fan of Zhou Shu and was beyond thrilled to have a "Movie Star" for a senior-in-law. But by the second half... When Jin Yan lowered his head for the hundredth time to smile at his marriage certificate, the two sitting across from him clinked their bowls together, tacitly choosing to play deaf and blind. Jin Yan didn't say much either, remaining immersed in his own world until a notification from a flight app informed him that Zhou Shu’s plane had landed at the capital airport. He immediately sent a message. [Ge, let me know when you get home. I’ll call you.] It felt like an eternity—long enough to complete nine years of compulsory education—before Jin Yan finally received a reply. [I’m tired. Going to sleep now. You should rest early too.] Jin Yan sighed. He clearly didn't want to talk. There was no telling how long his *ge* would stay angry this time. However, with the pet hospital’s grand opening imminent, Jin Yan was swamped and couldn't fly over to coax him in person. Left with no choice but to weigh his priorities, he sent a message to Julia. [Please look after Zhou Shu for me, Julia. I’ve already pre-ordered a bag from next season’s new collection for you.] When Julia received the message, she had just finished cooking a late-night snack for herself at Zhou Shu’s place. She first replied to another chat window overflowing with red notification circles before opening Jin Yan’s message. She let out a laugh upon reading it. Zhou Shu, standing nearby, shot her a sidelong glance. "Give me a bowl." "Get lost. I asked you just now and you said no. You missed your chance." Julia moved the bowl further away from him, smiling as she typed her reply. Seeing Julia’s beaming face, Zhou Shu gave her a look of pure disdain. He stood up and moved to the lounge chair on the balcony, lighting a cigarette. Come to think of it, he hadn't smoked much lately—not since Jin Yan returned. The wind on the balcony was quite strong. The cigarette burned halfway down, ash accumulating more and more, yet the smoker seemed to have forgotten it entirely. "Hey! If you're not going to smoke it, put it out. Don't waste resources." Julia appeared on the balcony out of nowhere. Startled, Zhou Shu accidentally shook some ash onto his hand. He frowned, flicking the embers away and stubbing the remainder into the ashtray. Just as he leaned back into the lounger, Julia pushed half a bowl of instant noodles toward him. "Only half a bowl. If you eat too much, you'll be bloated for your shoot tomorrow." Julia was already eating as she spoke. "I thought you weren't giving me any?" Zhou Shu gave a stubborn huff, but his body was honest as he picked up the chopsticks. The two of them polished off the noodles and soup within minutes. Julia stretched on her chair and tilted her head. "I'm staying here tonight. Too lazy to go back." Zhou Shu stared blankly into the distance, his thoughts unreadable. After a long silence, he uttered two listless words: "Whatever." Julia couldn't stand seeing him like this. She stood up and leaned in close to him. "Can you stop bottling it up? Just say what's on your mind. I won't charge you a consultation fee." "Piss off." Zhou Shu turned away, ignoring her. Julia gave a cold laugh and sat back down. "How about you call Duo Duo out? I don't want to talk to you either." Zhou Shu’s breath hitched. He sighed, his voice deep. "I can't call him out..." Julia blinked. "What?" "Yeah, he won't talk to me." Zhou Shu pursed his lips helplessly, though his gaze softened slightly. "The kid is pretending to be asleep." Julia burst into laughter. "That little darling. He did a good deed and then went back into hiding." Zhou Shu had no comment on the phrase "good deed." His mood was still at rock bottom. Unknowingly, the night had grown deep. The cold late-autumn wind swirled the cigarette ash, and the air carried a faint scent of something scorched. "I don't know... I don't even know what I'm so frustrated about." It took a long time for Zhou Shu to speak. He seemed to be talking to Julia, yet also to himself. "This should have been the outcome I wanted, but... why do I still feel so uncomfortable?" He knew now. It was Zhou Duo who had gone with Jin Yan to get the marriage certificate using his name. He understood his own personality; Duo Duo had done it to help him. And he knew perfectly well that from beginning to end, the only person Jin Yan ever loved was him. He, too, had dreamed of exchanging marks with that little tag-along. This was clearly the best possible outcome. After the misunderstanding was cleared, he had already managed to talk himself around. Was the blockage in his heart because Jin Yan had hidden the fact that he was an Enigma...? The more Zhou Shu thought, the messier it became. He couldn't untangle the knot. It wasn't until Julia’s voice rang out that Zhou Shu snapped back to reality. "Shu-ge, let me ask you something. If Jin Yan had confessed the moment he returned that he had undergone a second differentiation into an Enigma, and that he could now marry you legitimately, would you have happily gone to register with him?" "I..." Zhou Shu was momentarily speechless. Julia knew she had guessed correctly. "You wouldn't have," Julia answered for him. "Because you would have feared that Jin Yan only wanted to marry you because he became an Enigma, and you wouldn't have believed his explanations so easily." She sighed and shook her head. "You're just that stubborn. You never let yourself live an easy life." Hearing this, Zhou Shu felt a sudden pang in his heart. He knitted his brows and slowly buried his face in his palms. Seeing him like this, Julia felt a twinge of pity. She softened her tone to comfort him. "But don't overthink it. 'Stubborn' isn't necessarily a bad word. From a pathological standpoint, you've controlled your emotions very well for a split-personality patient. After all, Duo Duo is very gentle; you never have to worry about him trying to usurp your host personality." Having said her piece, Julia gathered the bowls and stood up to go inside. "Julia..." Zhou Shu suddenly called out to her. For once, Julia didn't fly into a rage to correct him on her name; she simply paused and waited for him to continue. In moments like this, she truly was a high-EQ, patient assistant. "Have you ever met an Enigma?" Zhou Shu asked as if to himself. "What... what are Enigmas actually like?" Julia’s expression flickered unnaturally for a split second before returning to normal. Her lip twitched slightly, and her voice was a bit raspy as she said, "I don't know. Never seen one." Zhou Shu was lost in thought and didn't notice the strange look on her face. He closed his eyes gently and spoke softly. "If it's Jin Yan, maybe it's not that different..." Julia remained silent for a few seconds. She stood up and looked at Zhou Shu from the side. "Yes, it's no different. Especially since he's the Jin Yan you've doted on since you were kids." With that, she took the dishes and went inside. Right. He was the child he had doted on since childhood... Since they were young, it was always Zhou Shu who coaxed him, spoiled him, and tried to satisfy his every whim, unable to bear seeing him even slightly sad. But now, he was being told that his doll-like little brother was not only not an Omega, but had actually become an Enigma—an Enigma who could mark an Alpha. This gender had never existed in his life before, so he had no way of knowing what kind of species an Enigma truly was. No wonder Jin Yan had said their pheromones didn't clash but were actually quite harmonious. It turned out he was at the very peak of the gender pyramid. Wait, a few days ago was Jin Yan’s susceptibility period. So, are Enigma ruts always like that? Not irritable or restless, just a persistent low fever and extreme fatigue. Even in that state, he still... Zhou Shu thought of something, and his throat suddenly felt tight. In the quiet of the night, he cleared his throat, performing a clumsy cover-up for an audience of only the moonlight. *** | Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 易感期 | Susceptibility period | Also known as a "rut" in ABO/Enigma settings; a period of hormonal instability. | | 二次分化 | Second differentiation | A trope where a character's secondary gender changes or manifests a second time. | | 主人格 | Host personality | The primary personality in a system (Dissociative Identity Disorder). | | 师嫂 | Senior-in-law | Literally "Senior's wife"; used here humorously/affectionately for Zhou Shu. | | 闷骚 | Closet show-off | Someone who appears reserved or cold on the outside but is passionate or smug on the inside. |