Entering the He Household

Chapter Thirty-Nine

After the guards at the entrance verified his name and identity, they respectfully invited Ye Nanxun to get out and transfer to the He Household's private car, which would take today's guests invited to He Lanxue's birthday banquet to the banquet hall.

Lush green trees lined both sides of the road, with precious flowers blooming everywhere.

The air carried a soothing warmth, without the slightest trace of the biting chill outside.

Ye Nanxun glanced up through the car window and vaguely made out a pale blue light screen covering the entire He Household.

Even the vast Dream Star Imperial Palace only activated its light screen on special occasions, such as the New Year's Eve banquet a few days ago, to keep the central palace square pleasantly warm.

Yet the He Household kept its light screen activated every single day of the year.

After getting out of the car, Ye Nanxun removed his long coat and black-and-gray cashmere scarf.

He wore mid-calf boots today. His black fitted boot pants outlined his long, straight legs and slim waist and hips, while his upper body was clad in a silk shirt with jeweled buttons, shimmering with color, romantic and refined.

Compared with the other guests invited today, Ye Nanxun's family background and status were utterly unremarkable. But as the young, beautiful, elegant, and noble omega stood at the entrance to the banquet hall, most people cast curious looks his way.

"Brother Nanxun!"

A fiery red figure rushed closer like a fluttering fire butterfly running down the steps. He Lanxue dashed up to Ye Nanxun, her gorgeous face brimming with delight.

Ye Nanxun smiled faintly and handed over the exquisite bag he carried in his other hand. "Happy birthday."

"Thank you, Brother Nanxun."

He Lanxue personally led Ye Nanxun into the banquet hall, winding through several corridors until they reached one of the rooms on the second floor.

Quite a few guests had already gathered in the banquet hall downstairs. A sweep of the eye showed hardly any young people their age; that was where the older generation of the He Household socialized.

The spacious, bright room upstairs was a different world altogether. The young, striking faces were lively and vibrant, and the room He Lanxue had brought Ye Nanxun to was filled entirely with omegas.

Not long after He Lanxue came upstairs, her father called her back down again.

Worried that Ye Nanxun's introverted nature would leave him bored here, He Lanxue specifically asked several of her closest friends to look after him before she left.

They said birds of a feather flock together, and that was indeed true.

He Lanxue was frank and lively. Though her close friends had different personalities, being among them made their sincerity and warmth easy to feel.

Ye Nanxun had initially worried that his quiet nature would make him seem unsociable. Fortunately, several of He Lanxue's friends were good at conversation, and while chatting, they often steered the topic toward Ye Nanxun so that he would not feel left out.

"Are all the people in this room omegas?" Holding a glass of juice, Ye Nanxun asked as though casually.

"Yep, everyone in this room is an omega. We can have fun without worry. Those alphas are in the room at the end of the hallway," one person said, then lowered her voice to warn him, "Lan Xue's brothers are all there too. Don't go over there. They play pretty wild."

Ye Nanxun responded with a sound of acknowledgment and lowered his head to take a sip of juice.

The phone in his pocket began to buzz. Ye Nanxun used it as an excuse to stand up. "Sorry, I need to step out and take a call."

The caller ID displayed Ye Zhineng's name.

As he pushed open the door and left the room, Ye Nanxun answered the call. "Hello."

"I'm here, Xiaoxun."

The voice came simultaneously from his right and through the receiver.

Ye Zhineng walked over with a smile from not far away. The alpha's gaze fell on Ye Nanxun, and faint glimmers surfaced in his eyes.

"You look pretty good in that outfit," Ye Zhineng said as he came to stand before Ye Nanxun. "Very handsome."

"Cousin." Ye Nanxun looked down at his clothes. "Lan Xue comes from an eminent family. I was worried I might disgrace our family at her birthday banquet, so I put more thought into my attire."

Ye Zhineng gave an indifferent smile at that.

These wealthy and powerful people would not think more highly of someone just because he dressed well.

His younger cousin's thoughts were still too simple.

Thinking of how he had sent Ye Nanxun invitations several times lately, only for Ye Nanxun to always refuse on the grounds that he was busy, Ye Zhineng's voice carried a trace of displeasure.

"Xiaoxun, do you have some issue with me?"

"No. Why would you say that, Cousin?"

"I messaged you yesterday. Why didn't you reply?"

Ye Nanxun paused, his apology entirely sincere. "Sorry. I've been really busy these past few days. I meant to reply, but I got distracted and accidentally forgot."

He really had been busy.

He really had not wanted to reply, too.

As for whether Ye Zhineng believed his excuse, Ye Nanxun did not care much.

Ye Zhineng frowned slightly and clicked his tongue. "What could you possibly be busy with?"

His offhand words contained undisguised contempt. Ye Zhineng had investigated Ye Nanxun's background. His cousin had been strange and disliked going out in the past; he had not even attended school.

He stayed home all day, did not go to school, and had no job.

Drinking tea and playing the piano—what could he possibly be busy with?

"Doing experiments," Ye Nanxun replied.

Strictly speaking, Ye Zhineng was the one with nothing to do.

The Ye Household's business was not on Dream Star. Ye Zhineng wanted to develop a career on Dream Star, but had no one to show him the way.

The young masters he knew were willing to take him along to have fun, but whenever it came to seriously discussing business and money, they disdained to share their resources with someone from another planet.

Ye Zhineng froze, wanting very much to ask what kind of experiments he was doing.

The question rolled around in his throat, but before he could ask it, Ye Nanxun had already strode past him and called out toward the front.

"Cao Xi?"

Following Ye Nanxun's gaze, Ye Zhineng saw a thin, pale omega standing at the doorway of a room near the entrance to the corridor. At the sound of Ye Nanxun's voice, she shuddered all over.

"P-Professor Ye?"

Having her name suddenly called startled Cao Xi, who was already under extreme mental strain. When she turned and saw Ye Nanxun, surprise appeared in her clear eyes.

Ye Nanxun had already walked over first. "Cao Xi, are you here for Lan Xue's birthday banquet too?"

Ye Zhineng followed him over, his gaze lightly sweeping across the frail omega. He remembered that this omega named Cao Xi had been brought by Jiang Ying to entertain everyone later.

A very clean, unused S-rank omega.

Rather than eagerly tearing her apart and enjoying her, watching the omega panic, tense up, and grow afraid with teasing eyes was another kind of pleasure.

"I..." Cao Xi stammered. She secretly glanced at the alpha behind Ye Nanxun, but after stuttering for a long while, she could not utter another word.

"Xiaoxi is here with me. Schoolwork is demanding, so I brought her out to relax."

Jiang Ying pushed open the door and came out, standing behind Cao Xi. The refined, scholarly alpha politely greeted Ye Nanxun. "Professor Ye."