Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Ultimately, it all boiled down to Lu Yunyan sensing An Nuo's slight recoil.

To nip that thought in the bud and secure his rightful freedom to be intimately close to An Nuo whenever he pleased, Lu Yunyan launched into that lengthy discourse.

And it worked, immediately.

With so much to process, An Nuo couldn't react quickly—so when Lu Yunyan leaned in to nuzzle his face again, he forgot to pull away.

He was simply bewildered.

"While it's true, as you said, that our emotions are influenced by pheromones… what if… and I'm just hypothesizing here, what if I genuinely fall for you, or you for me… what then?"

The fact that he could articulate such a direct hypothesis indicated An Nuo's clear conscience—for now, it truly was just a hypothesis.

"Firstly, once we separate, the effects of pheromones will gradually dissipate. There might be some withdrawal symptoms at first, making it hard to adjust, but after a while, it'll get better. You'll then be able to discern whether your feelings for me stem from genuine affection or are merely influenced by pheromones."

After listening to Lu Yunyan's explanation, An Nuo felt like he'd heard a lot of words that amounted to nothing.

Something was off.

Wasn't this just stating the obvious?

He had no choice but to ask again: "…So if it's genuine, what then?"

Lu Yunyan's attempt to deflect failed, and he let out a soft chuckle.

He looked down at An Nuo in his arms—the little beauty still in his pajamas, the small curls at the back of his head tousled from sleep, cradling two tiny kittens, his body emitting a strawberry-scented pheromone.

His eyes were as round and sparkling as the kittens', like sapphire-blue gems.

And the two little kittens were also looking up at him simultaneously—even the most stoic alpha would unconsciously curl his lips into a smile when faced with three pairs of such round, bright eyes.

The cuteness factor was off the charts.

Especially the omega in his arms—he was like a little mint-strawberry dessert, making one want to devour him whole.

Lu Yunyan suddenly felt his canines itch.

He shouldn't have softened to An Nuo's coaxing last night—he should have at least left a temporary mark on his scent gland.

He was filled with regret.

"…Huh? Why aren't you saying anything?"

An Nuo prompted again, and only then did Lu Yunyan continue.

"We'll be living together for three years. And during these three years, you'll witness all my bad temper and flaws."

"Perhaps even the affection brought on by pheromones won't be enough to outweigh your dislike for these parts of me… If you still feel something for me despite all that, then it must be true love."

"…"

An Nuo fell into a serious silence, forced to admit that Lu Yunyan made a lot of sense.

Indeed.

If he were to be teased by Lu Yunyan for three years like this, he'd probably bolt the moment the agreement expired.

But after considering the conditions for escape, An Nuo asked again, "…What if, what if you really, really like me? What if you can't bear to part with me?"

If Lu Yunyan didn't like him, it would be difficult for them to have a future; upon contract expiration, any feelings would reset to zero.

But if Lu Yunyan fell for him and refused to let him go, An Nuo would genuinely struggle to get away—perhaps even more so than escaping the An family.

Lu Yunyan didn't answer directly, smoothly shifting the topic and countering, "Do you wish for such a situation to happen?"

An Nuo was startled and immediately diverted, hastily denying, "…Of course not!"

"That's good then."

Lu Yunyan said, "I believe there's something you need to know right now."

"What is it?"

"You should know that you're very important to me now, so everything you say and do is viewed through a filter in my eyes. Hearing you make assumptions like this might actually make me develop real feelings."

"…"

An Nuo immediately shut his mouth.

Worry and implication are sometimes separated by only a thin veil.

Once it's pierced and muddled, no one could make sense of it.

"But no matter how much we guess or worry now, it's useless to predict how our feelings will be three years from now." Lu Yunyan joked, "Life has many uncertainties. Perhaps I'll meet an unfortunate end next year, and then you'll have to be my young widow."

An Nuo frowned and quickly said, "Don't say things like that."

But Lu Yunyan was unconcerned: "By then, once the agreement is destroyed, no one will know our marriage was a transaction. You can inherit everything I have and, on your own merit, put your family in their place."

But An Nuo's frown deepened even further.

He didn't like such jokes and felt somewhat offended.

He thought to himself that it wouldn't even take three years—just after saying this, he was already starting to notice Lu Yunyan's flaws.

But before he could express his thoughts, Lu Yunyan added, "But you can't actually try to kill me for this, you know."

"…"

An Nuo glared at him, amused yet helpless.

"I understand what you're trying to say… perhaps you want to comfort me in a lighter way? But still, don't use this kind of phrasing, because it's not a good thing."

When An Nuo glared seriously, it wasn't entirely without impact—it had some bite to it.

"I don't like hearing jokes like this. Don't say them again in the future." An Nuo said very seriously, "If you say something like this next time… then I'll have to ignore you."

—What else could he do?

He couldn't win in an argument, and he was no match physically either. It wasn't like he could poison Lu Yunyan's water to make him mute, right?

The only thing An Nuo could do was give him the silent treatment.

But this kind of kindergarten-level arguing tactic, in Lu Yunyan's eyes, only made An Nuo even more endearing.

Lu Yunyan reached out and wrapped his arms around An Nuo, a smile he couldn't hide on his lips: "You're so sweet, baby. What should I do? I'm really starting to fall for you."

"…"

Not "bro"?

Can you really take advantage of every opening like this?

Seeing Lu Yunyan about to lean in again, An Nuo quickly raised his hands to block him this time.

Lu Yunyan ended up missing An Nuo and kissing the two little kittens in An Nuo's hands instead.

The kittens mewled loudly, seemingly very displeased with the alpha's intimate contact.

Afraid that Lu Yunyan might say something inappropriate again, An Nuo quickly changed the subject: "…The kittens' names! I just thought of one, do you want to hear it?"

Fortunately, Lu Yunyan still knew where to draw the line. Seeing An Nuo like this, he didn’t push further: "What name? Let’s hear it."

In reality, An Nuo hadn’t actually come up with one—he’d just blurted out the first excuse that came to mind in the heat of the moment.

He made something up on the spot: "…The white one, let’s call it Cream Roll!"

Lu Yunyan had no objections. Even if An Nuo had named it Pig's Head, he would have accepted it.

"Mm, okay. What about the other one?"

He hadn’t made up a name for the other one yet.

"…You name the other one. After all, it’s your cat!"

An Nuo silently praised himself for two seconds after saying that.

The kitten named Cream Roll was pure white, with soft, glossy fur that really did resemble cream.

The other kitten had gray patches on its forehead and paws, making it look like it was wearing a hat and gloves at first glance.

Lu Yunyan wasn’t good at naming animals. After thinking for a few seconds, he said: "Then let’s call the other one Grey Ball."

"…"

Although An Nuo didn’t think Cream Roll was particularly special or nice-sounding, the name Grey Ball… seemed pretty lazy, didn’t it?!

Two kittens from the same household, one named Cream Roll and the other Grey Ball?

Is that right?

Does that even make sense?

Just as he was thinking this, the kitten with gray patches let out a long, drawn-out meow in An Nuo’s arms, as if also protesting its displeasure with the name.

But what could An Nuo say?

The house was bought by Lu Yunyan, and the two kittens were also bought by Lu Yunyan… Grey Ball it is, then. At least it wasn’t called Stinky Ball.

An Nuo could even force out a compliment despite his misgivings: "…Mm, let’s call it Grey Ball then. It’s quite cute."

Having been pestered by Lu Yunyan the moment he got out of bed, An Nuo’s guard was fully up.

After changing the subject, he seized the chance and nimbly slipped out of Lu Yunyan’s arms: "…Then I’ll go have breakfast now!"

Lu Yunyan was a step too slow to catch him but didn’t reach out again: "Mm, go ahead."

An Nuo first set the two kittens down.

It was clear he genuinely liked them—after setting them on the ground, he crouched down and petted them for a while. When he stood up, he glanced back over his shoulder every few steps, his eyes full of reluctance.

He looked as if he wished he could hide them in his pocket and take them with him.

The dining room was quite far away. To finish eating quickly and return to play with the kittens, An Nuo simply hurried there.

The household robot had already prepared breakfast. According to the nutritionist’s meal plan, An Nuo’s breakfast this morning was sugar-free yogurt with whole-grain cereal, half an avocado, and an oil-free poached egg.

Very healthy, pretty unappetizing.

Eating this would make a person keel over right after.

An Nuo was never a fan of this kind of breakfast combo. After eating a meal like this in the morning, he’d probably feel down for the rest of the day and end up raiding the fridge in the middle of the night.

So An Nuo just glanced at it and then went to the fridge to find the leftover mille-feuille cake, also making himself a cup of latte with cream.

An Nuo loved sweets—one could even say he was hooked on them. Whether he was in a good or bad mood, he always craved something sweet first.

But just as he finished preparing and before he could even take a bite of the cream, his phone vibrated several times—another message from An’s father.

An Nuo immediately flipped his phone over.

He didn’t want to look. Reading them would surely ruin his mood.

But after being directly confronted by Lu Yunyan last night, An Nuo was curious about how An’s father would react—at the very least, he should be more polite now, right?

The phone vibrated several times, delivering multiple messages.

After fighting with himself for a while, An Nuo couldn’t resist his curiosity and opened them to read.

"Call me back when you have time."

"Don’t be unclear about the situation."

"Do you really think Lu Yunyan can be your support? Your true support can only be your family!"

"You’re still not sensible enough, but I won’t hold it against you. Just call me back when you have time."

Compared to the previous harsh words, An’s father’s tone had softened quite a bit. But after reading it, An Nuo still felt an unavoidable chill in his heart.

Some "support."

Now he’s playing dad again.

He even dares to say he’s not going to make a big deal of it.

It truly made him sick.

An Nuo’s finger hovered over the reply button for a long time before his hands slightly shaking as he typed a reply.

"Now you remember you’re my dad? Didn’t you always refuse to admit it before?"

Having Lu Yunyan as a weapon was great, but An Nuo had thought it over later—relying on others wasn’t a long-term solution.

Moreover, in matters like this, if he didn’t push back, even the best weapon wouldn’t help.

Sooner or later, he would have to handle it on his own.