Chapter 5
Qiao Yan was rubbing her forehead when Nan Yayin, who had been standing in front of her, suddenly rushed past her with a spatula, shouting, "Didn't you leave yesterday?! Why are you back?!"
"What nonsense are you talking about? This is my home, of course I'll stay here." The hungover man glared with his bloodshot eyes.
"Get out of here!" Nan Yayin swung a shovel, but didn't strike.
"Pah! Who do you think you are, telling me to get out? Without me, you'd be eating shit somewhere!" The man looked at him like he was a madman, swatting away like a fly and walking past him to Qiao Yan's side.
"What's your surname, Miss?" the man asked with a beaming smile. "My name is Nan Ze, and that's my son, Nan Ya Yin. I know you must know him; he's an Omega..."
Before he could finish speaking, a spatula flew over and grazed his cheek. The spatula, which had just been in contact with hot oil, hadn't cooled down completely, and Nanze winced as he was burned.
"Damn it!" He turned around, fist in hand. "You dare hit me? You wouldn't exist without me!"
Qiao Yan saw that Nan Ya Yin was also about to fight, and she sighed. Maybe if they had gone to eat in the new district back then, there wouldn't have been so much trouble.
She grabbed Nanze by the neck and pulled him back, "Do you really enjoy having others watch you beat your son?"
Alpha pheromones have slightly different effects than Omega pheromones, so even her sickeningly sweet, creamy pheromones could choke someone. Nanze was indeed stunned by her pheromones, feeling as if tangible cream was coating his throat.
Qiao Yan touched the back of her neck helplessly. What was there to reveal? There was no need to use pheromones to deal with a middle-aged man with a hangover. It made her feel a little disgusted.
This isn't the front line, Qiao Yan reminded herself. She simply pulled Nan Yayin away after creating some distance between them.
When they were dragged outside, Qiao Yan glanced upstairs; Nan Ze did not chase after them.
"Why won't you let me beat him up?" Nan Yayin squatted beside the car, hugging her legs, her voice hoarse.
“It’s illegal to assault someone,” Qiao Yan said, opening the car door to let him in.
Nan Yayin sat in the back seat and chuckled softly after a long while, "He hit me. Why didn't anyone say that hitting someone was illegal when he hit Shuyin? But it's illegal when it's me?"
He clutched his sleeve, forcefully suppressing the urge to show Qiao Yan his wound. Who was Qiao Yan? What was her relationship to him? Could he really take his anger out on her?
Now things are really messed up. There's no food to eat, and Qiao Yan won't pay the medical bills. Everything was clearly going in a good direction, so why didn't anyone realize that Nan Ze was actually at home?
Why is he so unlucky?
The hovercar moved silently, the scenery outside the car rushing past like a blur.
Nan Yayin finally calmed down, "Where do we go now?"
"Let's go to the new district." Qiao Yan had just made a reservation at a restaurant on the terminal.
"I told you I didn't want to go..."
"Doesn't your sister need to eat?" Qiao Yan now knew very well that her sister was this man's weakness, which gave her more leverage to make the deal work. "Doesn't she still have two fractures?"
Nan Yayin remained silent.
“It’s almost noon now. Maybe you’re not hungry, but I don’t think that little girl in the clinic isn’t hungry,” Qiao Yan said calmly, describing what she had seen. “She’s so thin that her bones are sticking out. She needs nutrition right now.”
What else could Nan Yayin say? He said no, which meant his sister would go hungry, since he wouldn't go back to that place to cook, so he could only agree to Qiao Yan's request.
Qiao Yan chose a private restaurant. She was a regular customer, and they arranged a quiet spot for her as soon as she entered.
"Is there anything you'd like to eat?" Qiao Yan asked him after ordering a few of their signature dishes.
Nan Yayin simply shook her head.
Since he came in, he's been like a cat whose fur has been groomed. I haven't seen him quiet for more than a few seconds since I saw the photos last night.
Qiao Yan looked at him for a while, "Pick a few dishes for your sister to take back. This place is very popular; if you don't order in advance, it will sell out in no time."
Nan Yayin looked up and glared at her, wanting to order everything on the menu, but her hand trembled when she saw the prices next to her.
He lacked imagination; in the end, he ordered one meat dish and one vegetable dish and closed the menu.
"Not taking advantage of the chaos this time?" Qiao Yan narrowed her eyes slightly, but she didn't say anything.
"Do you want your sister to come to the new district for treatment?" Qiao Yan said casually. "Although the fracture can be healed sooner or later, it would be better to go to a big hospital."
"No money." Nan Yayin decisively uttered those two words and then looked at her hands again.
"Aren't you working?" Qiao Yan inquired.
Nan Yayin sneered, "Two thousand interstellar coins a month, that's barely enough for one meal here. If I went to a big hospital, I'd just kowtow to them."
It was only then that Qiao Yan suddenly remembered that Nan Yayin was only 20 years old this year and should be in college at this age.
"Is your sister in school?" Qiao Yan asked again.
"No, I plan to send her to daycare later, and then she can go to primary school when she's old enough," Nan Ya Yin said calmly, but now even the money for daycare has been stolen by Nan Ze.
"And what about you?"
Nan Yayin frowned and picked up her chopsticks. "Are you doing the census? Why are you asking so many questions?"
Just then, the dishes started to be served, and Qiao Yan didn't have time to get his head smashed by his chopsticks.
He always felt that Qiao Yan shouldn't be so kind. Even if she wasn't a bad person, it didn't mean she would care about every single person who was down on their luck.
Why exactly...? Nan Ya Yin came up with a guess that was both the most likely and the least likely to be attributed to her.
Could it be that Nanze was right? It's because he's a good-looking Omega that Qiao Yan wants to date him.
So, was all this gradual approach—taking him out to dinner and paying for Shuyin's medical bills—just to bring up the fact that she wanted to sleep with him?
Nan Yayin gripped her chopsticks tightly. If it were true, he could get the money to send Shuyin to the big city for medical treatment, and maybe even send her to school there.
But Qiao Yan was different from those people at first glance; he didn't look like someone who would stoop to lowlifes.
But if that's really the case, and Qiao Yan is the potential partner... Nan Ya Yin thought about it, and he didn't seem as resistant as she had imagined.
If I can get money in return.
Nan Yayin trembled in fright. How could he have such thoughts? No matter how proper Qiao Yan behaved, he had only known her for a day.
Qiao Yan was picking at her food, and she noticed that the person in front of her was sometimes chewing, sometimes deep in thought, and sometimes seemed to be frozen. Was she possessed by a ghost?
"Cold?" Qiao Yan noticed that Nan Ya Yin was wearing a thin shirt. Although the temperature on Bai Lu Star was generally within the most comfortable range for humans, there were occasional exceptions.
Nan Yayin shook her head and began to scrutinize Qiao Yan. "Why did you come to see me today?"
Just to return the money and apologize?
Qiao Yan was unsure how to start the conversation, but since he had initiated it, she could simply follow along.
Qiao Yan wiped his mouth with a tissue and said, "Although this is the biggest issue, there is indeed something I need to discuss with you."
Nan Yayin disliked this kind of pretentious tone the most, and frowned, saying, "What?"
“You know our pheromone compatibility is 99%, right?” Qiao Yan said.
Nan Yayin nodded somewhat impatiently.
“A long time ago, due to some special reasons, my pheromones became out of control. During my fertile period, they were always very strong and difficult to suppress. Even the current suppressants can't control them. The doctor told me that if I don't make a plan, I might not survive the next fertile period.” Qiao Yan’s expression was calm, as if she wasn’t talking about herself. “I only have one way to safely get through my fertile period: find a suitable Omega to mark me. But it’s obvious that none of the people I’ve talked to are planning to do that. I don’t want to force them.”
Now that things have come to this point, Nan Ya Yin surely knows what she's trying to say: "You think you can force me? What do you take me for?"
Qiao Yan had anticipated his anger and was not surprised by his reaction. "I hadn't considered forcing you before last night, and in fact, it shouldn't even be considered forcing you. The 99% compatibility means that I only need your pheromones to soothe me and I can get through my sensitive period without marking you. I promise I will never overstep the line."
Although Nan Ya Yin had just thought that Qiao Yan might not have resisted so much, that was because he subconsciously believed that Qiao Yan would never do such a thing. He had already placed Qiao Yan in the position of a kind-hearted person, but the result was actually the same.
“After that, I promise to give you a monetary reward, as well as provide Nan Shuyin with medical and educational assistance.” Qiao Yan thought Nan Yayin might refuse, so he added, “Of course, if there is anything else you want, I will give it to you as long as it is within my ability.”
Nan Ya Yin's chopsticks were bent from gripping them so tightly that the food she ate tasted bitter. He knew his position was already incredibly low, and there was no need to remind him every time.
"I refuse." Nan Ya Yin heard herself say, but she regretted it as soon as she said it. It wasn't a physical transaction, there was no marking, just releasing some pheromones to get everything she wanted.
It's such a good deal, so good that he doesn't even dare to gamble.
Qiao Yan could guess this outcome, and she nodded. She knew very well that no matter how well she put it, what she did would sound no different from being a kept woman in other people's ears. For an Alpha to guarantee no marking, even she wouldn't have believed it if she were in Nan Ya Yin's position.
However, her vulnerable period is approaching, and apart from Nan Ya Yin's high compatibility, it seems there is really no other way.
On the way back, neither of them spoke; a tacit silence filled the air.
Until she watched Nan Ya Yin take the packed food to the charity clinic, with two or three meters between them, Qiao Yan paid off Nan Ya Yin's medical expenses for the past two days at the counter, and also advanced some money for the next treatment.
The nurse who greeted her at the door glanced at her twice and then at Nan Yayin, who had just entered the ward.
Although she didn't know how Nan Ya Yin had gotten involved with the wealthy people in the new district, she knew about Nan Ya Yin's life and said, "Be nice to Ya Yin, he's quite pitiful."
Qiao Yan had no idea how to answer, so she just smiled and nodded hastily.
She was pacing outside the door, and it turned out she didn't want to die, even though the antidote was right there nearby.
After much deliberation, Qiao Yan strode into the clinic. Just as she was about to open the ward door, the person inside opened it first.
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