Very good

Cui Yu's soft call seemed to briefly pull Meng Yihe back to a state of clarity from the alcohol-induced confusion.

Meng Yihe shook his head slightly. He raised his eyes, and his hazy gaze met Cui Yu's deep gaze. However, he was clearly still very drunk and was just staring at the person in front of him instinctively.

Cui Yu was about to speak when he was about to say something.

However, Meng Yihe did not give him that chance.

With a drunken yet unusually stubborn strength, he suddenly grabbed Cui Yu's arm and, without a word, dragged him, stumbling through the noisy crowd. They headed straight for a small, empty private room at the edge of the banquet hall.

"Meng Yihe?"

Cui Yu was taken aback by his sudden action, but she did not resist. She simply let him pull her along and called his name in a low, questioning voice.

Meng Yihe remained silent.

He forcefully pushed open the door to the private room, pulled Cui Yu inside, and then slammed the door shut behind him.

It isolates you from all the light and noise outside.

The private room was dark, with only the neon lights of the distant city and the faint glow of the banquet hall outside the window outlining the blurry contours of the furniture and the familiar figures of the people in the room.

In the darkness, their breathing became exceptionally clear, mixed with the faint smell of alcohol on their bodies.

Cui Yu had not yet adjusted to the darkness and had no idea what Meng Yihe wanted to do, so he could only tentatively call out to her again in a low voice.

"Meng Yihe? What happened to you..."

Before she could finish speaking, Meng Yihe abruptly shoved Cui Yu against the cold wall. Then, with a loud "smack," she braced her hands against the wall on either side of Cui Yu's head, trapping him between herself and the wall.

A pose that's almost like a wall slam, imbued with drunkenness and brute force.

Cui Yu was completely stunned, never expecting things to develop this way. He lowered his head slightly, looking at Meng Yihe who was so close to him.

Because of the height difference, Meng Yihe needs to tilt her head slightly to make eye contact with him.

In the dim light, all that could be seen was the outline of the other person's flushed cheeks and their obviously unclear eyes.

Meng Yihe stared intently at him, her chest rising and falling slightly from the alcohol and her earlier actions, her hot breath carrying the scent of alcohol as it brushed against Cui Yu's chin. He didn't speak, just stared, as if confirming something, or as if struggling to find the words to express himself.

Time flowed slowly in silence.

Cui Yu didn't speak again. He just quietly looked at Meng Yihe, whose cold exterior had been stripped away by alcohol.

Suddenly, Meng Yihe's tense body seemed to release its strength, and she leaned forward, pressing her burning forehead against Cui Yu's neck.

This caused Cui Yu's body to freeze instantly, and his breath caught in his throat for a moment.

Then, he heard Meng Yihe's heavily nasal voice coming from beside his neck: "You... smell like another Omega..."

The voice was very soft. Cui Yu was stunned for a moment before realizing that Meng Yihe was referring to the pheromones left by the strawberry-scented Omega earlier. He himself had barely noticed this faint scent, yet it was making the drunken Meng Yihe so concerned?

Before Cui Yu could figure out the implications,

Meng Yihe raised her head again, staring at him once more with those hazy yet stubborn eyes. Her tone was a mixture of willful domineering and panic as she demanded, word by word:

"You shouldn't like other Omegas."

Upon hearing this, Cui Yu was overwhelmed by an incredulous surge of emotion, as if a tsunami was crashing down on his reason. He was almost certain that the long-held fantasy in his heart was becoming a reality.

But he needs final confirmation.

He needed to hear that crucial sentence come from the mouth of this drunken man in front of him.

He suppressed the pounding in his chest, took a deep breath, and tried to make his voice sound steady. He lowered his head slightly, leaned close to Meng Yihe's ear, and whispered, "Why?"

Why can't I like someone else? Why do I have to care?

His voice sounded exceptionally clear in the dimly lit and quiet private room, carrying a bewitching magic.

Meng Yihe seemed stumped by the question, or perhaps he was struggling to organize his thoughts under the influence of alcohol. His arm, which was supporting him against the wall, trembled slightly. He tilted his head back, his hazy eyes fixed on Cui Yu, trying to see the deepest emotions in his eyes.

After a few seconds of silence, it was as if he had finally mustered up enough courage, or as if the drunkenness had completely overwhelmed all his defenses.

Meng Yihe uttered four words in an almost desperate tone: "I like you."

Despite having a premonition, Cui Yu was still completely stunned when those four words came out of Meng Yihe's mouth so clearly.

He could hardly believe his ears.

However, Meng Yihe seemed completely oblivious to his shock. He was lost in his own emotions and, driven by instinct and the effects of alcohol, continued talking to himself.

His voice trembled slightly with emotion: "Could you... like me a little bit too?"

The question was asked with difficulty and vulnerability, completely devoid of his usual aloofness.

He paused, as if recalling the cruelest reality, his eyes dimming: "I know... we're both Alphas, there's no possibility... but..."

He choked up.

As if using all her strength, she finally managed to utter the last words buried deep in her heart, her voice so soft it was almost a sigh: "But... I really like you so much."

After saying these words, Meng Yihe seemed to finally realize how shocking his words were. He lowered his head, his forehead almost hitting Cui Yu's chest, not daring to look into the other's eyes, his thick eyelashes trembling.

He was like a prisoner awaiting trial, exposing his most vulnerable secrets to the air.

The expected push or mockery did not come.

The next second, a warm and strong hand steadily wrapped around his lower back, the force leaving no room for refusal yet tender.

Meng Yihe hadn't even reacted yet. In an instant, their positions reversed. He was pulled by that force, his back gently leaning against the cold wall, while Cui Yu pressed closer, enveloping him in his shadow.

In the darkness, Meng Yihe looked up in alarm, meeting Cui Yu's deep eyes. Within them surged emotions he had never seen before, so intense they seemed to consume him.

Immediately afterwards, Cui Yu raised her hand and gently lifted his chin with her fingertips, forcing him to tilt his face slightly upward.

Then, a warm kiss landed on my lips.

The kiss was neither hasty nor rough; it was slow and tender, with lips pressed together and gently caressing each other, as if savoring a long-awaited sweetness, or as if silently responding to the breathtaking confession just now.

Meng Yihe's pupils suddenly dilated, and her mind went blank.

All the drunkenness and panic evaporated instantly in that kiss.

He stiffly endured it, feeling the warmth of the other's lips and his own uncontrollable heartbeat. The world was reduced to their intertwined breaths and the gentle pressure between their lips and teeth.

After an unknown amount of time, Cui Yu slowly retreated a little.

Their lips parted, leaving a trail of ambiguous silver threads.

Meng Yihe stared blankly at him, her eyes still dazed, not yet recovered from the sudden kiss. Her cheeks were incredibly red, and her lips were moist from the kiss.

Seeing his completely bewildered expression, Cui Yu chuckled softly. He tightened his grip and pulled the still-dazed man into a close embrace.

At the very moment their bodies pressed tightly together.

A powerful, steady, yet irresistibly controlling cedar pheromone emanated from Cui Yu without any concealment, slowly enveloping Meng Yihe in his arms.

These pheromones... wait!

Meng Yihe's body stiffened abruptly.

This is definitely not an Alpha's pheromone!

Alpha pheromones naturally repel each other, but this cedar scent carries an indescribable sense of inclusiveness and pressure.

Instead of being rejected, the cherry brandy pheromones belonging to a top-tier Alpha in his body seemed to be soothed, and his restless mind miraculously calmed down. He even... felt a strange impulse to get closer and rely on them.

Meng Yihe's eyes widened in shock.

He instinctively wanted to break free from the embrace and get an explanation.

But Cui Yu didn't give him a chance. He held Meng Yihe tightly around the waist with one hand, keeping him firmly in his arms, while his other hand gently stroked the back of Meng Yihe's head, his fingertips running through his soft hair, gently massaging it.

Then, Cui Yu lowered his head.

He rested his chin on Meng Yihe's head and whispered in his ear in his deep, magnetic voice, with a smile and tenderness, "Me too."

Meng Yihe suddenly raised her head, trying to see Cui Yu's expression in the dim light, wanting to confirm whether she was hallucinating because she was too drunk. Those usually cold eyes were now filled with disbelief and a wildly growing hope.

"You..." Meng Yihe opened her mouth, her voice terribly dry, "What...did you just say?"

Alcohol dulled his thinking.

Looking at his almost foolish appearance, Cui Yu's heart melted. He tightened his arms around Meng Yihe's waist, bringing them even closer together, close enough to clearly feel the rapid beating of each other's hearts.

“I said.”

Cui Yu stared into Meng Yihe's eyes, repeating each word clearly and deliberately, as if trying to etch every word into the other's heart.

"I also like you."

This time, Meng Yihe heard it clearly, but what followed was even deeper confusion and disbelief.

"But...but pheromones..." He stammered, instinctively trying to break free of the distance to see the person in front of him clearly.

"You're not an Alpha? Then this is..."

He couldn't understand that powerful and peculiar cedar pheromone; it was definitely not something an Omega possessed, and it was fundamentally different from an Alpha's pheromone.

Cui Yu did not let go of him. Instead, at this extremely close distance, she lowered her head slightly, her forehead gently touching Meng Yihe's forehead, their noses almost touching.

"I'm sorry, I've been keeping it from you all this time." His voice was sincere, with a hint of barely perceptible nervousness.

“I am not an Alpha,” Cui Yu continued. “I am Enigma.”

Enigma.

This word was like a lightning bolt, cleaving through Meng Yihe's mind, which was in chaos due to alcohol and emotions. All the details that were previously inexplicable suddenly became clear.

He is actually the extremely rare Enigma, who almost only exists in rumors?

Meng Yihe was completely stunned.

Her mind almost stopped working; she just stared blankly at Cui Yu, who was so close to her, as if she were seeing him for the first time.

Cui Yu was worried that the truth would frighten Meng Yihe and make him shrink back after just opening his heart, so he subconsciously released more gentle cedar pheromones.

"Were you scared?" Cui Yu asked softly. "I didn't mean to hide it from you, it's just that Enigma's identity is rather special, the fewer people who know, the better, and..."

He paused, his voice tinged with self-deprecation and helplessness.

"I'm also afraid I'll scare you away."

After all, in a world generally perceived as ABO, the very existence of Enigma represents the unknown.

After the initial shock, Meng Yihe felt the reassuring and comfortable pheromones enveloping her body.

He is Enigma.

So, it's not entirely impossible for them to be together?

Meng Yihe reached out and gripped Cui Yu's clothes tightly at the waist, his fingers trembling slightly from the force. He looked up, his eyes still tinged with intoxication, yet surprisingly bright, staring directly into Cui Yu's eyes, his tone urgent as he pressed, "So...so what you said about liking me...was it true? You weren't lying to me? We...can we?"

His questions were disjointed, yet they expressed his anxieties and desires.

Seeing the rekindled light in his eyes and that cautious anticipation, Cui Yu chuckled softly and couldn't help but lower his head again to place a brief kiss on his slightly parted lips.

“Of course it’s true.” He pressed his forehead against Meng Yihe’s.

"More real than real gold. Director Meng, I've already kissed you, are you trying to renege on our promise?"

Meng Yihe's tense body completely relaxed, and she leaned almost entirely against Cui Yu's chest, as the aftereffects of the alcohol and the emotional rollercoaster hit her at the same time.

He stopped speaking, burying his burning cheeks in Cui Yu's neck, like a weary bird that had finally found its home, and murmured, "...That's great."

Cui Yu felt the warm breath from the nape of his neck and the complete dependence of the person in his arms, and his heart melted. He tightened his arms, holding the person even closer in his embrace, his chin gently rubbing against the soft top of the other's hair, enjoying this tenderness that he had longed for for so long.

In the dimly lit private room, only the sound of their intertwined breathing and the lingering aroma of cedar and cherry brandy filled the air.