Chapter 2

Chapter 2

An Nuo was utterly shocked.

An Nuo's face cycled through a rainbow of emotions.

The content was utterly staggering, the conditions far beyond what he could accept. The conversation concluded amidst An Nuo’s dazed panic.

This time, they exchanged contact information, but for several days, neither made the first move.

It wasn’t until a full week later, when even the most shocking premise had become somewhat acceptable, that Lu Yunyan asked An Nuo to meet again.

The second meeting was for afternoon tea.

At the Lu family’s ocean-view hotel, the setting was opulent and serene—and completely empty, with only the two of them on the entire floor.

“I noticed you post many dessert photos on your social media, so I thought of inviting you here.”

Lu Yunyan was as gentle as ever: “Hope you’ll like it.”

An Nuo nodded: “...Yeah, I really like it.”

He meant it sincerely, without any politeness.

Because as he said this, An Nuo had already quickly decided on a strawberry cream Napoleon, a chocolate pudding bread, and a matcha pudding roll.

Lu Yunyan asked: “Have you given it any thought?”

An Nuo didn’t quite understand or hear clearly: “I’d like to order a fruit tart too, but would that be too much?”

“...”

It sounded a bit like feigned ignorance.

But An Nuo’s gaze at the menu pictures was very earnest.

Lu Yunyan chuckled: “Not at all. If you want it, order it.”

After hesitating briefly, An Nuo said: “...Then I’ll order it.”

Another week had passed. Even if the world were ending, he'd had time to process it.

This was already their fourth meeting.

They weren’t exactly familiar with each other, but at least they were no longer strangers.

To be fair, An Nuo felt that Lu Yunyan was quite a decent alpha.

Mature, gentle, calm, and steady.

Despite his advantageous family background, he showed no arrogance or condescension.

In fact, Lu Yunyan could have easily forced An Nuo's agreement. Yet Lu Yunyan had chosen to proceed patiently and gradually.

Even if these outward displays were just a trap to lure him into agreeing, if that were truly the case, why would Lu Yunyan have disclosed his condition to him?

Lu Yunyan could have easily withheld that information, deceived him into consenting, and by the time it was too late, An Nuo’s rage and despair would've been futile.

The exquisitely plated desserts were soon served. An Nuo didn’t hesitate, picking up a spoon to take a bite.

The rich, bittersweet matcha perfectly balanced the potential sweetness of the cream.

The satisfaction brought by food was pure.

In that moment, it was free from outside influences.

Lu Yunyan looked at An Nuo, observing how seriously he was eating the cream roll. It was hard to tell whether there was any deliberate pretense or if he was trying to avoid the topic.

But An Nuo’s eyes were clear and innocent, his every movement natural.

And very cute.

An Nuo was mixed-race. Although details about his birth mother were unknown, his appearance alone revealed how exceptional his mother's beauty genes were.

A near-perfect bone structure combined with delicate features, paired with sapphire blue eyes and a gradient coloring like a Siamese cat's naturally wavy hair.

His skin was pale and translucent, with a few small freckles under his eyes and a tiny, faint mole at the corner of his eye, adding to his gentle, harmless aura.

He exuded a sweet softness and warmth, as if steeped in warm milk.

He was exactly the type of omega most likely to trigger an alpha’s protective instincts.

Lu Yunyan observed carefully, confirming earnestly.

The omega before him probably wasn’t playing dumb to avoid the topic—more likely, he was genuinely oblivious.

An Nuo was focused on eating the cream roll when, from the corner of his eye, he noticed Lu Yunyan smiling. Unconsciously, he slowed down.

It wasn’t out of embarrassment.

Being able to eat so freely and naturally in front of Lu Yunyan, An Nuo still secretly hoped that Lu Yunyan wouldn’t develop feelings for him.

Not wanting to outright say that he was put off by the smile, An Nuo thought for a moment and asked: “...Did I get something on my mouth?”

“No.”

But Lu Yunyan understood what he meant and explained with a smile: “I’m smiling because having you by my side makes me feel very happy.”

“...”

An Nuo’s heart skipped a beat.

Was that... flirting?

Huh?

Just a moment ago, he’d thought Lu Yunyan was an alpha with integrity—how could he drop pickup lines so easily?

Were they at a point in their relationship where such words were appropriate?

Was this really okay?

An Nuo blinked, confused, his blue eyes filled with bewilderment.

“I scent your pheromones. It puts me at ease.”

“...”

So that was it.

Yeah.

What else could it be?

An Nuo lowered his eyes, silently cursing his own wishful thinking for a second.

"Sometimes, just thinking about your existence in the world makes everything feel so magical."

"..."

An Nuo felt that, coming back to it, it couldn’t all be blamed on him overthinking—Lu Yunyan should also take some responsibility for his way of speaking.

"Just half a month ago, we were total strangers. I was hiding my secret, unable to let anyone discover it."

Lu Yunyan took a sip of fruit tea and continued.

"But now, I’ve come clean about everything to you. You know my secret, you hold my biggest vulnerability—the one thing that can never be made public."

"..."

Although An Nuo wouldn’t use this "vulnerability" to do anything to Lu Yunyan—because their power difference was too big, and realistically, An Nuo wouldn’t dare to do anything—Lu Yunyan’s words gave him the feeling that he now held leverage over the other.

And there was also the thrill of getting a peek at the top alpha’s deepest secret.

It was indeed exhilarating.

Lu Yunyan said, "Actually, after all these years, I had long given up hope on this matter."

"But then you appeared, bringing hope to something impossible, and most likely, you now hold sway over my fate from here on out."

Lu Yunyan spoke with deep emotion, his gaze equally sincere.

No matter how you listened, it sounded like love talk.

It seemed as though An Nuo was vitally important, irreplaceable, one of a kind.

"So you should also know."

Lu Yunyan paused intentionally for a moment.

An Nuo set down his spoon, playing along and asking, "...Hmm? What?"

"You are my only hope."

"..."

Is this really not love talk?

Lu Yunyan took another sip of fruit tea: "And now that things have reached this point, you know so many of my secrets. If you end up considering rejection, an apology won't cut it."

An Nuo froze.

An Nuo: ???

An Nuo: ………………???

What?? Seriously??

Where did this come from??

The gentle, candy-like sweetness of those sweet words, once stripped away, revealed the fangs of a threatening snake underneath.

Lu Yunyan had said so many sweet things, making An Nuo’s heart practically float.

Then suddenly, the dagger was drawn.

An Nuo was dumbfounded, completely unsure how to react.

When he looked at Lu Yunyan again, the previous maturity and gentleness seemed to have vanished, replaced instead by sharp intensity and overwhelming, aggressive pressure.

He decided to retract his earlier assessment of Lu Yunyan.

Whether he had alpha ethics was still up for debate, but what could be confirmed with precision was that Lu Yunyan was absolutely a scheming, high-ranking alpha.

He had thought Lu Yunyan’s honesty and patience were signs of sincerity, but it turned out to be a setup from the beginning.

It was the calculated ease and confidence of someone in a position of power.

That’s why he could take his time, willing to give An Nuo all the time he needed.

By the time An Nuo finally realized what was happening, he was already caught in the trap, prey unable to escape.

Their eyes met.

Lu Yunyan’s eyes showed no hint of guilt or nervousness—only satisfied appreciation for his own skill in negotiation and setting traps.

Everything was going exactly according to plan.

This mood shift happened way too fast.

An Nuo stood there frozen. After the shock faded, the first emotion that washed over him wasn’t fear, but a sense of disappointment—like he'd known it all along.

Just as he thought.

Damn alpha, really no good.