Chapter 24
Ye Nanxun sat in a wheelchair.
He Lanxue and Ye Zhineng stood on either side of him. During the short walk out, coupled with the earlier conversation between the two at home, it was not difficult to tell that their relationship was only so-so.
But that was not Ye Nanxun's concern.
The art exhibition did not appear to be open to the public. There were dedicated guards at the entrance, but upon seeing them, the staff warmly greeted He Lanxue. Clearly, they knew the eldest daughter of the great general's family.
He Lanxue shot Ye Zhineng a smug glance. The latter smiled faintly as though he did not care, though a trace of subtle disdain flashed through his eyes.
The exhibition was enormous, yet after entering, they saw only two other visitors in total.
He Lanxue explained from beside him, "Very few tickets for this exhibition are publicly available. Ordinary people have to reserve 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 one of them.
This was Ye Nanxun's first time attending an art exhibition.
Seeing paintings with his own eyes was indeed very different from seeing them through a screen on the Star Network.
The young omega in the wheelchair was quickly drawn in by the displayed paintings.
The theme of this exhibition was Companion Beasts.
Most of the paintings depicted all sorts of Companion Beasts, while the rest were portraits of alpha and omega individuals after partial beastification.
A small number of top-tier alphas and omegas could awaken the ability of partial beastification.
Apart from certain parts of their bodies becoming beast-like, their overall physical fitness and personal abilities also underwent a qualitative leap.
But which part of the body transformed was not something one could control by will.
The partial beastification portraits in the paintings came in all kinds of strange forms.
Some had human bodies and pig heads, while others had the lower bodies of horses and the upper bodies of humans.
Ye Nanxun lowered his head and looked at his smooth fingertips. He, too, possessed the ability of partial beastification, but his was rather concealed, with almost no visible change in appearance.
A lively, vibrant patch of yellow caught Ye Nanxun's attention.
Passing by the various bizarre partial beastification portraits, the wheelchair stopped before a painting of a Little Yellow Dog.
Sunlight blanketed the earth in the painting. The adorable little yellow mutt tilted its round head, its eyes narrowed into smiling slits amid the flowers.
His conversation with Yan Beiyou last night replayed in his mind, line by line.
Their pheromones had mingled, and they had an egg.
He had told the alpha the secret of his pheromones.
His pheromones were not fragrant flowers, nor was his Companion Beast a cute little animal.
It was a Poison Mushroom that had kept him from daring to leave home lightly for more than a decade.
A highly poisonous mushroom capable of poisoning people unconscious—or to death.
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 younger cousin the entire time.
There were so many splendid paintings in the exhibition, yet Ye Nanxun had stopped in front of an utterly ordinary painting of a little mutt.
His expression was focused, as though he were seriously admiring it, yet also as though he were looking at something else through the little dog in the painting, thinking of something else.
Ye Nanxun was looking at the painting, while Ye Zhineng was looking at Ye Nanxun.
The omega who had left the manor had returned to his usual cool indifference. The soft tenderness glimpsed at the dining table seemed to have been nothing more than an illusion.
"If Xiaoxun likes it, you can buy it."
As Ye Zhineng spoke, he watched Ye Nanxun's expression. A hint of hesitation showed in the handsome omega's eyes.
Ye Nanxun truly liked this painting, but any work displayed in this exhibition was surely not cheap.
Compared to ordinary people, his family was fairly well-off.
But compared to the truly powerful noble families of Dream Star, 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? Why didn't you tell me?" The newcomer wore a crisp suit and carried himself with elegance. He warmly greeted Ye Zhineng, while the corner of his eye glanced toward the young omega not far away. "And this is?"
Ye Zhineng stepped forward and shook hands with him. "This is my cousin, Ye Nanxun."
William and Ye Zhineng exchanged a look, smiles flashing quickly through both their eyes.
Ye Zhineng had promised those young heirs of Dream Star that he would help introduce Ye Nanxun to them.
On the way to the exhibition, Ye Zhineng had already contacted William, the exhibition's person in charge and 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 looked indifferent, while 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 looked 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 the gift is too valuable. I can't accept it."
There was no free lunch in this world. Every gift came with an invisible price tag.
William gave Ye Zhineng a look, wanting him to help persuade Ye Nanxun to accept it.
He did not expect Ye Nanxun to give him anything in return.
As long as this beautiful SS-class omega would add him as a friend, William would be satisfied.
Ye Zhineng smiled. "Xiaoxun, William means well. Just accept it."
Ye Nanxun cast Ye Zhineng a faint glance.
When his gaze met those clear, cool emerald-green eyes, Ye Zhineng's heart trembled, and the smile on his lips suddenly became difficult to maintain.
"What an adorable 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 petite, beautiful omega came down the stairs arm in arm 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 carried an arrogant, detached scrutiny.
This was his first meeting with Xu Wenyan since being reborn.
The fingers hidden in his sleeves curled slightly inward as Ye Nanxun turned his head away from their gazes.
The smile on William's face stiffened slightly. He said with a smile, "Young Master Xu, sorry, but this painting is a gift I'm giving 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 behind them and mocked without restraint, "Xu Wenyan, are you sick? Do you have to steal other people's things?"
Knowing that her brother was also at the exhibition, He Lanxue had gone upstairs to find He Yiming. She had not expected that annoying Xu Wenyan to be here as well.
Ye Zhineng said, "Xiaoyan, if you want to buy a painting, you can look at the others. I'll buy one for you. Xiaoxun saw this one first."
He Yiming curled his lips slightly 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 sauntered over to the painting.
He raised his chin at Ye Nanxun and smiled provocatively.
Then he suddenly turned around, yanked the painting down, threw it onto the floor, and stomped on it.
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