Chapter 025 Royal Banquet 04

Chapter 025: The Palace Banquet (Part 4)

Zhou Mo flew his aircraft away from Plum Blossom Isle.

After some thought, he messaged Noah: "I've given Zhou Younan your contact info. He should reach out to you."

Noah quickly replied: "Thank you."

Recalling those clear, amethyst eyes, Zhou Mo rubbed his index finger along the metal edge of his comm device a few times before tapping it to pull up his contact, Ai Ze.

He messaged Ai Ze: "Do you know Noah Hall?"

Ai Ze didn't respond immediately.

It was Thursday, and Ai Ze was at work.

At 10 AM, with the government offices' lunch break scheduled for 11, Zhou Mo headed to Jiande District.

Traffic in Torikis was jammed as usual—the city was overcrowded.

After navigating through traffic for a while, Zhou Mo arrived in front of the Jiande District government building.

The building’s exterior was white, and to enhance the government’s authority, its smooth walls were free of flashy ads—only a massive clock.

Zhou Mo tilted his head slightly. The black hands of the clock showed exactly 11 o'clock.

Soon, government officials in suits began filing out of the building one after another.

Zhou Mo spotted Ai Ze.

Ai Ze had chestnut-brown short hair, wore black-framed glasses, and looked lost in thought.

Ai Ze noticed Zhou Mo too—after all, Zhou Mo’s striking looks made him stand out wherever he went.

Zhou Mo approached Ai Ze: "Did you tell Noah Hall where I was behind my back?"

Ai Ze, a 35-year-old Beta—two years older than Zhou Mo—was near the same age.

He looked apologetic: "Zhou Mo, I’m really sor—"

Zhou Mo waved a hand dismissively: "Apologies are useless. Coffee's on you, and I’ll consider forgiving you."

Green Café.

Ai Ze ordered two vanilla lattes.

After taking a sip, he set the cup down and let out a long sigh.

Zhou Mo averted his gaze, pretending not to hear.

He took a sip of his vanilla coffee, found it not sweet enough, added two packets of sugar, and only then found it palatable.

"I heard from Noah Hall that, like my brother Zhou Younan, he only recently returned to Torikis. As expected of the Hall family—they’ve kept the news completely under wraps."

"Yeah." Ai Ze sighed again.

"How did Noah Hall know we’re acquainted?"

"He saw a commemorative photo of us training together at Gonggong Port."

Zhou Mo and Ai Ze had been part of the same batch of government recruits and had once trained together, even taking a group photo.

"If he saw that photo, are you close with him? Were you friends?"

Ai Ze gave a solemn shake of his head.

Seeing his reluctance to elaborate, Zhou Mo didn’t push.

He took slow sips of his coffee and asked in a concerned tone, "You’ve been sighing a lot lately. We’re both Betas, and we joined at the same time. If you’re in trouble, you can tell me. Are the Alphas giving you a hard time?"

"No." Ai Ze looked at Zhou Mo, hesitating.

Zhou Mo met his gaze, silently encouraging him to speak.

Ai Ze took a deep breath, his shoulders slumping.

He nearly buried his head in his arms: "Noah Hall... is my fiancé."

Surprise flickered in Zhou Mo’s eyes.

Ai Ze continued: "Our parents arranged it when we were kids. We were close back then. But Noah ran off later, and I never saw him again. Now, I... I have feelings for Bailey Hall—Noah’s cousin."

Zhou Mo traced the rim of his coffee cup, offering a sympathetic smile: "You should follow your heart and make a choice soon."

"But... though Noah’s return to the Hall family isn’t public knowledge, everyone’s aware of it. Noah also says he’s not getting any younger. If I call off the engagement, he’s afraid he'll never find someone."

"So your choice is Noah Hall?"

"No, no... That’s not it. The person I love now is Bailey Hall."

"Then what happens to Noah afterward isn’t your problem, is it?"

"But I... I’m still his fiancé..."

"Did you make him run away from home?"

"No! How could it be me?"

"Then he’s the one who got himself into this mess, isn’t he? Why should you sacrifice your happiness?"

Ai Ze wavered: "I just hate to..."

"Ai Ze, you’re not after the Hall family's backing, are you? If that’s the case, Noah Hall is indeed a much better choice than Bailey Hall."

Ai Ze turned red with anger, glaring at Zhou Mo: "I’m not after the Hall family’s backing!"

"Then you’re just too kind. Kind people always get taken advantage of. You should be a little more selfish and stop worrying about others who aren't your responsibility."

"I’m just a Beta. If I reject a Hall family Omega, I don’t know how it might affect my family." Ai Ze looked troubled.

"Then make a big deal out of it. The Hall family wouldn’t want a scandal. They’d end up a laughingstock, just like the Zhou family."

Finishing his coffee, Zhou Mo tapped Ai Ze over the heart with a finger: "Listen to your heart, Ai Ze."

***

As evening fell, Wei Qing left the room to prepare dinner. Shortly after he left, Zhou Younan received a hologram call request from Luo Luo.

Zhou Younan's eyes sparkled, his fingers quivered slightly as he clicked to accept the call. Luo Luo's round, smiling face gradually appeared before him.

Since boarding the April, two weeks had passed, and Zhou Younan had missed Luo Luo terribly.

Ever since he started taking care of Luo Luo, they'd never been separated—let alone for such a long time.

How was Luo Luo? Had he been eating well? Was he happy at school? Had he made any new friends?

Zhou Younan wished he could grow wings and fly straight to Yaoxing to see him.

"Brother!" Luo Luo's face lit up as he bounced excitedly in place.

The hologram lagged behind his movements, causing the image to blur slightly.

"Luo Luo!" Zhou Younan was equally thrilled, his eyes growing misty at the sight of the person he missed so much.

"Brother, did you get married? Is the Marshal treating you well? When are you coming back to see Luo Luo? Have you been sleeping well lately? Have you been eating properly?"

Luo Luo fired off questions.

Zhou Younan smiled as he asked, "Luo Luo, have you been eating well? Are you happy at school?"

"I've been eating well! The lunch lady has been making lots of delicious food lately. I've even grown taller!"

"Luo Luo is very happy at school. In the last monthly test, I got a little red flower—look!"

Chest puffed out proudly, Luo Luo pointed to the bright red flower pinned to his shirt.

"You're amazing, Luo Luo. Keep it up!"

"Uh-huh! When I grow up and become strong, I'll protect you!" Luo Luo nodded solemnly.

"Alright, I’ll be waiting."

"Brother, you have to eat on time and sleep well, okay? Wait till I grow up."

"I will." Zhou Younan's heart swelled, as if he had eaten candy.

Remembering the candy box, he asked Luo Luo, "Luo Luo, that tin you gave me—did you take it from the research institute?"

Luo Luo looked away. "No, I didn’t take it from the institute. I found it at school!"

Seeing Luo Luo's expression, Zhou Younan knew he was lying.

His voice hardened. "Luo Luo, are you telling the truth? I don’t like children who lie."

Luo Luo looked guilty and whispered, "Luo Luo didn’t steal it. I found it. It was in a dark, old room. Luo Luo picked it up from the floor."

Having gotten the answer he wanted, Zhou Younan pressed further, "Were there many of these metal boxes on the floor?"

"Lots."

"You picked up one?"

Luo Luo shook his head, holding up two fingers. "Two."

Zhou Younan's pulse jumped. "You kept the other one?"

"Mhm. I use it to store candy."

Zhou Younan paused.

If the metal box in his possession contained a hidden capsule, might Luo Luo's have one too?

He didn’t want Luo Luo to see the projection inside the box. He decided to retrieve it himself and confirm whether the capsule was there.

"Brother, we're having Field Day. The teacher said families can come. When are you coming back? Can you come to the school's Field Day?"

Luo Luo's question made Zhou Younan hesitate. "Brother..."

"When is the sports day?" Wei Qing's voice suddenly interrupted.

Zhou Younan jumped, turning toward the door.

Wei Qing leaned against the doorframe, and Zhou Younan had no idea how much he'd heard of his conversation with Luo Luo.

He had been so focused on questioning Luo Luo about the box that he hadn’t noticed Wei Qing at all. Cold sweat prickled his neck, rooting him to the spot.

Wei Qing walked over and sat beside Zhou Younan, slung an arm around his waist.

He raised an eyebrow at the boy in the hologram. "I’m Wei Qing, your brother’s husband. What’s your name?"

"I’m Luo Luo." Luo Luo stiffened slightly, snapping a salute. "Marshal!"

"Mhm. Report: when's Field Day?"

"Next week, sir!"

"Every time you address me, you must add 'Marshal,' understood?"

"Yes, Marshal!"

As the two exchanged words, Zhou Younan's racing heart slowed.

He hadn’t mentioned the word "capsule." Even if Wei Qing had overheard their conversation, he wouldn’t connect it to the capsule—or realize that his fondness for Zhou Younan's pheromones was because of it.

For now, both he and Luo Luo were safe.

"We've got time. We’ll do our best to make it. You can count on it, soldier."

"Yes, Marshal!" Luo Luo beamed.

"Dinner time." Wei Qing turned to Zhou Younan, his voice softening. "End call?"

"Yeah."

At the dinner table, Zhou Younan explained, "Luo Luo was a trafficking victim sold to the research institute. He was only a few months old when I started taking care of him."

Wei Qing nodded. "We could have him live with us in the future."

Zhou Younan's eyes brightened. Bringing Luo Luo over would be a good thing—it would make escaping together easier later.

He smiled genuinely. "Thank you."

"Don’t smile at me like that, Zhou Younan." Wei Qing narrowed his eyes.

Zhou Younan tilted his head in confusion.

"I'm running out of patience. If you keep smiling at me like that, I might blow off the drills and stay home through your heat."

His pale green eyes stared unblinkingly at Zhou Younan, radiating danger.

Zhou Younan stopped smiling, lowered his head, and ate in silence, avoiding Wei Qing’s gaze.

No smiles now.

He wouldn’t deliberately provoke him.

After dinner, they showered and took a walk to help their food settle before going to bed.

Zhou Younan had thought Wei Qing might do something else, but Wei Qing just pulled him close, his warm breath ghosting over Zhou Younan’s neck.

Close to his scent gland, Zhou Younan remained slightly tense.

"How’s your leg?"

"Fine," he murmured.

"Get some sleep. Big day at the palace tomorrow."

"Mhm."

After Wei Qing fell asleep, Zhou Younan kept thinking about one thing.

If Luo Luo had a capsule too, should he still give it to Wei Qing?

Should he? Or shouldn't he? That was the question.

After wrestling with the question for a long time, Zhou Younan slipped into sleep, the question still unanswered.