The Scarf Wasn't Being Returned

Chapter 13

The conference room was silent.

The alpha seated at the head of the table had suddenly interrupted the meeting and left the room for a full half hour.

For something like this to happen to Yan Beiyou, who was known for being serious and meticulous, was exceptionally rare.

No one in the entire conference room dared to chat with one another.

Yet, to varying degrees,

they were all secretly speculating.

Just what major event had occurred that required their emperor to suspend the meeting and personally handle it?

The tightly shut doors were pushed open from outside.

The alpha who had just left returned to the conference room.

Yan Beiyou looked relaxed and natural, no different from when he had left.

If there was any difference, it was only that there was now a black-and-gray cashmere scarf draped over the alpha's arm.

Everyone held their breath and watched as the alpha returned to his seat.

He spread out the scarf and looped its long length into a circle, making it look like a nest.

Then, before everyone's widened eyes, Yan Beiyou took an egg from his pocket and placed it into the little nest made of scarf.

The entire process was smooth and effortless, without the slightest hesitation.

After doing all that, Yan Beiyou casually swept his gaze over everyone in the conference room and resumed the work from before.

Two hours later, the meeting ended.

Yan Beiyou did not rise to leave, and no one else dared to leave before the alpha.

Zhu Yucheng, who had witnessed the entire thing, walked over to Yan Beiyou, who was stuffing the egg and scarf into his pocket in one go.

Lowering his voice, Zhu Yucheng asked softly, "Your Majesty, what kind of egg is that? It's quite pretty."

Yan Beiyou patted the egg through his pocket and replied, "A dragon egg."

Almost everyone present was a top-tier alpha or omega, with senses far beyond those of ordinary people.

Zhu Yucheng and Yan Beiyou's conversation fell clearly into everyone's ears.

One alpha who was getting up from his chair silently slowed down.

One omega who had been walking toward the door abruptly stopped and smiled as he greeted a colleague beside him.

Zhu Yucheng sucked in a sharp breath. "Your Majesty—"

Who?

Who had somehow given their emperor a dragon egg without anyone noticing?!

Yan Beiyou glanced coolly at his stunned friend. "What?"

This was not a good place to discuss such private matters. Zhu Yucheng shook his head repeatedly. "N-No, nothing..."

Yan Beiyou left the conference room on his long legs.

The egg in his pocket contained half of his pheromones.

Half dragon, half mushroom.

Song Ren had come to the imperial palace today. With dark circles beneath his eyes from pulling several consecutive all-nighters to research the matter, he told Yan Beiyou of a very slight possibility.

Yan Beiyou's Companion Beast had swallowed the Mushroom Spore, and after its pheromones fused with the Mushroom Spore, it became an egg.

After the egg had remained by Yan Beiyou's side for several days, the fluctuations of spiritual power within the shell became more frequent than before.

"An ordinary creature's egg can hatch successfully in a suitable environment. The egg belonging to Your Majesty and that mushroom gentleman may also have a chance of hatching in a certain pheromone environment."

Song Ren's eyes were dark beneath them, yet they gleamed with excitement at the new discovery. "The result of hatching may be a new Companion Beast that can only be commanded by Your Majesty and the mushroom gentleman."

"Or it may hatch into a humanoid creature."

Ye Nanxun's scarf carried an omega's scent. Yan Beiyou had no intention of returning the scarf to the kind mushroom gentleman.

Back in his room, Yan Beiyou slipped his hand into his pocket and took out both the egg and the scarf.

The rough, slightly callused pads of his fingers kneaded the soft scarf.

The scarf was not particularly new, and some areas had begun to pill, suggesting its owner had used it for many years.

Pilling was normal for pure cashmere. It felt soft and warm to the touch.

Just as he had done in the conference room, Yan Beiyou made a nest for the egg with the scarf and left the egg there without another thought.

He walked into the adjacent walk-in closet, where the clothes he wore every day were hung.

After picking through them, Yan Beiyou took a black-and-gray cashmere scarf from the wardrobe.

At four in the afternoon, Ye Nanxun left the piano practice room.

His slender, pale fingers habitually reached for the neck exposed to the cold air.

They found nothing but empty air instead of soft cashmere.

Right, he had let that very tall alpha take his scarf home wrapped around the puppy.

Pulling up the collar of his coat, Ye Nanxun returned to the parking lot under the guidance of a palace staff member.

He had never taken driver's education classes.

Even if he had a car, he could only use its intelligent self-driving system.

But even if he did not drive himself, regulations required him to sit in the driver's seat.

Ye Nanxun thought,

When the weather gets warmer, I'll get a driver's license.

There were many things he had never done in his previous life, and now he wanted to try them all.

With a plan in mind, Ye Nanxun did not delay and immediately registered online for the driver's license exam.

He would sign up for the online test first.

As for the road test, he was still debating whether to go to driving school or ask his father to teach him.

Soothing, melodious piano music played in the car. As his thoughts settled, a familiar tune drifted past his ears.

It was the piece that very tall alpha had played at the piano that afternoon.

Would that person come tomorrow?

What piece should he play then?

As he pondered, the car slowly drove into the estate on the outskirts.

Ye Nanxun looked out the window and immediately spotted a flashy black sports car parked in front of the villa.

As his gaze slowly swept across the sports car's license plate, a brief gloom flashed between Ye Nanxun's brows.

The car pulled up beside the black sports car.

The villa door opened from within, and Chen Mingzhu was the first to emerge from the house with a smile.

"Xun, your cousin is here today too."

As Chen Mingzhu spoke, a young-looking, refined alpha appeared in the villa doorway. His undisguised gaze roamed over Ye Nanxun, settling on him directly.

He had visited the Ye Household several times, yet each time, he had never run into his homebody cousin.

Was that a coincidence, or intentional?

But if it was deliberate, Ye Zhineng and this cousin of his had never even met before.

The more he failed to see him, the more he wanted to see him for himself.

What exactly was so special about this omega cousin of his, who possessed SSS-grade spiritual power, that so many young nobles could not stop thinking about him?

When the tall omega stepped out of the car, if Chen Mingzhu had not warmly and affectionately called him "Xun," Ye Zhineng would have thought he was an alpha.

That fleeting thought vanished the moment Ye Nanxun's face entered his field of vision.

Before seeing Ye Nanxun, Ye Zhineng had always believed Xu Wenyan was the most beautiful omega he had ever seen.

Light green eyes turned toward Ye Zhineng. Though the corners of Ye Nanxun's lips were lifted, there was a touch of reserved aloofness in his expression.

"Cousin." Ye Nanxun's expression was calm.