Facing Xu Wenyan

Chapter 24

Ye Nanxun sat in a wheelchair.

He Lanxue and Ye Zhineng stood on either side of him. The short walk from the house, combined with the conversation between the two earlier, made it easy to see that they did not have a particularly good relationship.

But that was none of Ye Nanxun's concern.

The art exhibition did not appear to be open to the public. Someone was stationed at the entrance, but upon seeing them, a staff member warmly greeted He Lanxue. Clearly, they recognized the eldest daughter of the great general's family.

He Lanxue smugly shot Ye Zhineng a glance. The latter merely smiled faintly, seemingly unconcerned, though a trace of subtle disdain flickered in his eyes.

Despite the enormous exhibition, they saw only two other visitors after entering.

He Lanxue explained from beside him, "Very few tickets for this exhibition are publicly available. Ordinary people have to book at least half a month in advance to get one."

But a small number of people could enter without tickets, and He Lanxue, with her distinguished family background, was clearly among them.

This was Ye Nanxun's first time attending an art exhibition.

Seeing the paintings with his own eyes was indeed very different from viewing them through a screen on the StarNet.

The young omega in the wheelchair was quickly drawn in by the displayed works.

The theme of the exhibition was Companion Beasts.

Most of the paintings depicted all kinds of Companion Beasts, while the rest were portraits of alpha and omega after partial beastification.

A small number of top-tier alphas and omegas could awaken the ability to partially beastify.

Not only would parts of their bodies take on animal traits, but their physical abilities and personal capabilities would also undergo a qualitative leap.

However, which part of the body beastified was not something an individual could control.

The partially beastified portraits in the paintings came in all sorts of forms.

Some had human bodies and pig heads, while others had horse bodies below the waist and human torsos above.

Ye Nanxun lowered his head and looked at his smooth fingertips. He possessed the ability to partially beastify as well, but his transformation was relatively concealed, with almost no visible change in appearance.

A bright, lively patch of yellow caught Ye Nanxun's attention.

Passing the various bizarre portraits of partially beastified people, the wheelchair stopped before a painting of a little yellow dog.

Sunlight blanketed the earth in the painting. The adorable yellow mutt tilted its round head, its eyes crinkling into happy slits as it smiled among the flowers.

His conversation with Yan Beiyou last night replayed in his mind, sentence by sentence.

Their pheromones had mingled, and they now had an egg.

He had told the alpha about the secret of his pheromones.

His pheromones were not fragrant flowers, nor was his Companion Beast some cute little animal.

It was a Poison Mushroom that had kept him from daring to leave home casually for more than a decade.

A highly poisonous mushroom capable of knocking people unconscious or killing them.

For some reason, Ye Nanxun kept thinking of Yan Beiyou's final words.

Dragons were immune to all poisons.

Ye Zhineng had been secretly watching his beautiful cousin all along.

There were so many magnificent works at the exhibition, yet Ye Nanxun had stopped before an utterly ordinary painting of a little mutt.

His expression was intent, as though he were seriously admiring it, yet also as though he were looking through the dog in the painting at something else, thinking of something else.

Ye Nanxun looked at the painting. Ye Zhineng looked at Ye Nanxun.

Having left the manor, the omega had returned to his usual cold indifference. The softness and tenderness glimpsed at the dining table seemed like nothing more than an illusion.

"If Xiaoxun likes it, we can buy it."

As Ye Zhineng spoke, he watched Ye Nanxun's expression. A hint of hesitation appeared in the handsome omega's eyes.

Ye Nanxun did indeed like the painting, but anything displayed at this exhibition was surely not cheap.

Compared to ordinary people, his family was fairly well-off.

But compared to Dream Star's truly prominent noble families, Ye Nanxun's family was far behind.

He could not bring himself to spend hundreds of thousands, or even millions, on a painting.

Just as Ye Nanxun was about to look elsewhere, a steady yet hurried set of footsteps sounded from nearby.

"When did Young Master Ye arrive? You didn't even let me know." The newcomer wore a crisp suit and carried himself with elegant charm. He greeted Ye Zhineng warmly, while his peripheral vision drifted toward the young omega nearby. "And this is?"

Ye Zhineng stepped forward to shake his hand and introduced him. "This is my cousin, Ye Nanxun."

William and Ye Zhineng exchanged a glance, smiles flashing through both their eyes.

Ye Zhineng had promised Dream Star's young masters that he would introduce Ye Nanxun to them.

On the way to the exhibition, Ye Zhineng had already contacted the exhibition's person in charge, William, a top-tier alpha with an impressive background.

Ye Zhineng said to Ye Nanxun, "Xiaoxun, this is William, the person in charge of the exhibition."

Ye Nanxun's expression remained indifferent, but William enthusiastically introduced the painting to the omega.

As he spoke, William abruptly changed the subject and offered to give the painting to Ye Nanxun as a gift.

William's expression was earnest. "Consider it a meeting gift from me to Mr. Ye."

The overly obvious ulterior motive made Ye Nanxun somewhat uncomfortable.

Ye Nanxun politely declined. "Thank you for your kindness, but this gift is too valuable. I can't accept it."

There was no such thing as a free lunch. Every gift came with an invisible price tag.

William signaled to Ye Zhineng beside him, hoping he would persuade Ye Nanxun to accept it.

He did not expect Ye Nanxun to give him anything in return.

As long as this beautiful SS-rank omega would add him as a friend, William would be satisfied.

Ye Zhineng smiled. "Xiaoxun, William means well. You should accept it."

Ye Nanxun cast Ye Zhineng an indifferent glance.

The moment his gaze met those cool, crystalline emerald-green eyes, Ye Zhineng's heart trembled, and the smile at the corner of his lips suddenly became difficult to maintain.

"What a cute little mutt! I like this painting too. Brother He, buy it and give it to me!"

A sweet voice came from the direction of the stairs. A small, beautiful omega descended the steps while linking arms with a tall, stern alpha.

It was Xu Wenyan and He Yiming.

Ye Nanxun glanced in their direction, just as they were looking at him.

Xu Wenyan's gaze was like a cold, viscous venomous snake, while He Yiming's held an arrogant, indifferent appraisal.

This was the first time he and Xu Wenyan had met since his rebirth.

The fingers hidden in his sleeves curled inward slightly. Ye Nanxun turned his head away, avoiding their gazes.

The smile on William's face stiffened slightly as he said, "Young Master Xu, I'm sorry, but this painting is a gift from me to Mr. Ye."

Xu Wenyan ignored William entirely and clung to He Yiming's arm coquettishly. "Brother He, give it to me!"

He Lanxue came down the stairs behind them and mocked him without any courtesy. "Xu Wenyan, are you sick? Do you have to snatch other people's things?"

Knowing her brother was also at the exhibition, He Lanxue had run upstairs to find He Yiming. She had not expected that annoying Xu Wenyan to be there too.

Ye Zhineng said, "Xiaoyan, if you want to buy a painting, you can look at the others. I'll buy one for you. This painting was the one Xiaoxun liked first."

He Yiming curled his lips but said nothing.

"There's really nothing special about it. Isn't it just a little mutt?"

Letting go of He Yiming's arm, Xu Wenyan jumped down the steps and casually walked over to the painting.

He lifted his chin at Ye Nanxun and smiled provocatively.

Then he suddenly turned, yanked the painting down, threw it onto the floor, and stomped on it.