Chapter 16

"Xiao Chen?"

By sheer coincidence, the dejected Pei Chen ran straight into the two elders who had just returned from a meeting.

The boy was listless, with the word "heartbroken" practically written all over his face.

Xu Chuan had never seen him like this and immediately laughed. "What's wrong? Did your teacher scold you again?"

Pei Chen shook his head and looked at Pei Yizhou with pitiful eyes.

"Acting cute with him won't work." Xu Chuan grabbed the back of Pei Chen's neck. "Tell me. Don't tell me you got dumped?"

Pei Chen choked, his expression changing instantly as he followed the two of them into the company in low spirits.

His reaction only made Xu Chuan laugh harder. "Xiao Chen, you really got dumped? How exactly did that happen? Tell me all about it."

Xu Chuan found it amusing.

Pei Chen was the Pei Family's most difficult child to discipline. After his parents died, Pei Yizhou had taken care of him. The kid was proud and unruly, and Pei Yizhou scolded him plenty on ordinary days.

Kids his age were just beginning to understand romance, and he had received quite a few love letters. Yet aside from fighting and sucking people's blood indiscriminately outside, Pei Chen had never been involved in any rumors of puppy love.

The fact that someone could make him suffer heartbreak was genuinely novel.

Pei Chen puffed out his cheeks and ignored the teasing. He walked over and set a bottle of the takeaway cold drink on the reception desk, leaving his business card for the receptionist as well. "This is from the newly opened milk tea shop in the apartment building across the street. Try it. If you think it tastes good, order a few cups every day. She isn't busy right now, so she should be able to deliver."

Though they were fated to meet but not to be together, he still had to support her business.

Pei Chen let out a long sigh and walked with no energy at all.

After taking the elevator to the top floor, Pei Chen collapsed onto the leather sofa the moment he stepped into Pei Yizhou's office.

His right foot rested on the floor while his left leg dangled over the armrest. He sprawled there lazily, with no regard for appearance whatsoever.

"Sit properly."

The man gave the order sternly, with a trace of displeasure in his tone.

Pei Chen lifted his eyelids and stuck out his tongue at Pei Yizhou, who was not far away. Not daring to keep fooling around, he slowly crawled into a sitting position.

"What did you buy?" Xu Chuan noticed the bag in his hand. He casually pulled it open with his fingertips and touched something icy cold.

Pei Chen answered honestly, "Juice for Great-Grandpa."

Xu Chuan could not help laughing. "Wouldn't that be a waste if you gave it to him?"

Pei Yizhou had a naturally unusual constitution.

He had neither a sense of taste nor smell. He could not perceive sourness, sweetness, bitterness, or spice; all food tasted like flavorless water to him.

This constitution affected him in many ways.

Because his sense of taste was impaired, Pei Yizhou had never craved blood much since childhood, nor did he grow fangs. He often fainted from blood deficiency when he was young.

Of course, this constitution also had its benefits.

The Vampire Clan was a race cursed by the night. The more powerful they were, the more easily they were driven by desire.

When purebloods began growing fangs at the age of five, it signified that they would enter heat like animals upon reaching adulthood at eighteen, when they became capable of reproducing.

To avoid losing their minds and hurting humans while in heat, pureblood vampires usually kept several blood servants for their own use. Pei Yizhou, however, could not be drawn in by scents because he had no sense of smell or taste. He could not enter heat every month, so desire naturally could not control him.

All in all, his lack of sexual desire gave him a strong mind and made it easier for him to work in the human world.

Xu Chuan finished the juice in a few gulps, vaguely feeling that its scent was familiar.

He did not think much of it. He crushed the plastic cup in his large hand and tossed it into the wastebasket, then dragged Pei Chen up from the sofa and asked Pei Yizhou, "Dinner together tonight?"

"No."

Pei Yizhou's sleeves were slightly rolled up, revealing a beautiful, sexy stretch of wrist.

His lashes were lowered as he focused intently on the computer screen. His long fingers typed over the slim keyboard, and his speed did not slow even as he spoke.

"Then I'll take Xiao Chen to my place first. I'll send him to school directly tomorrow."

"Mm." Pei Yizhou answered blandly. Only after the two left did he press the phone button. "Have Secretary Zhao bring the revised documents to my office."

The spacious office fell silent once more.

Then the glass door was pushed open from outside, and a fragrance drifted into Pei Yizhou's nose with the moving air.

The instant he caught that scent, the hands typing on the keyboard froze.

Pei Yizhou looked momentarily dazed and could not help lifting his eyes.

"President Pei, the documents you requested."

Secretary Zhao approached and set down the documents. Her scent was even stronger than before.

The man's sharp eyes stared at her unblinkingly, his dark, profound pupils seeming capable of seeing straight through her.

Secretary Zhao had never seen Pei Yizhou make such an expression. Her scalp tingled, and the smile on her face nearly became impossible to maintain.

Suppressing her fear, she cautiously asked in a small voice, "P-President Pei, is something wrong?"

"You..."

Pei Yizhou's voice was low and hoarse. He spoke only three words.

"Me?"

His expression darkened. "You smell."

A very familiar scent.

The only scent he had ever smelled in his life.

Pei Yizhou quietly clenched his fingers, his gaze narrowing as he noticed a faint water stain on her black A-line skirt.

The scent was coming from there.

Noticing Pei Yizhou's gaze, Secretary Zhao turned pale with alarm and hurriedly explained, "Sorry, President Pei. I accidentally spilled juice on my clothes earlier, and I-I haven't had time to change yet..." Her voice gradually grew softer as she spoke.

She bit her lip tightly as beads of sweat rolled down her forehead.

Pei Yizhou was an employer so serious and disciplined it bordered on pathological. He liked his life orderly, and his eyes could not tolerate even the slightest imperfection.

Being fired over a stain on her clothes was not impossible.

"President Pei, I'll change immediately. Please..."

"Where did the juice come from?"

Secretary Zhao's rushed explanation was abruptly interrupted.

Secretary Zhao froze, then answered anxiously, "Pei Chen. Pei Chen recommended the place to us. We didn't want to embarrass him, so we went. We didn't expect it to taste pretty good..."

The name of the juice was just rather strange.

At first, they thought the owner was joking, but the flavor was unexpectedly good.

They had only ordered a few cups at first. There were too few drinks and too many people who wanted some, and amid the commotion, someone accidentally spilled a cup. Secretary Zhao had happened to be fetching documents then, and her skirt had unfortunately suffered for it.

Pei Yizhou clenched his hand without speaking.

His heart was beating very fast.

With a frantic urgency he had never felt before.

His usually clear and rational mind had been thrown into complete chaos in that instant.

He lowered his eyes, unconsciously rubbing his fingers together.

Pei Yizhou would never forget that day.

Several years ago, he attended a gathering.

At that gathering, Pei Yizhou, who had never perceived any scent before, was drawn in by one for the first time. It was also the first time he entered heat. Driven by both alcohol and desire, he became possessed and did something he should not have done to that girl.

Pei Yizhou had not seen her face, nor did he know her name.

He only remembered that scent. In the end, he had only managed to see the color of her soul through his unique vampire ability.

A faint, glowing green, dazzling like life itself in bloom.

If fate brought them together again someday, the ability within him would allow him to find her at a glance among countless beings.

But—

After that day, the two had never crossed paths again.

Could this time be...

Pei Yizhou did not dare be certain. His heart pounded wildly as if out of control.

"President Pei?"

Seeing that Pei Yizhou had not spoken for a long time, Secretary Zhao tentatively said, "We ordered more juice just now. If you want some, I can bring it to you."

He asked, "Who will deliver it?"

Secretary Zhao froze again and replied, "I-I'll bring it to you?"

Pei Yizhou leaned back in his chair, speaking slowly. "The delivery person, or the shop owner?"

Only then did Secretary Zhao understand what he meant. She hurriedly said, "The owner delivers it personally. Their shop is right across from our company, and they've just opened, so they aren't on any delivery platforms yet."

"Mm." Pei Yizhou nodded lightly. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Then have the owner deliver it personally to my office."

Secretary Zhao found Pei Yizhou's sudden request even more puzzling.

She did not dare speculate too much about her superior's intentions. She nodded in acknowledgment and slowly backed out of the room.

Sunlight spilled gently through the office, and silence filled the room.

The work documents on his desk could no longer hold Pei Yizhou's attention. Unable to restrain his agitation, he rose and walked to the wastebasket beside the sofa. He lowered his eyes and stared at the empty bottle inside for three full seconds before taking out a handkerchief, placing it over the bottle, and lifting it out.

The bottle had a plain, unadorned design, with peach pulp left at the bottom.

Pei Yizhou's fingers tightened around the bottle, making him even more certain.

There was no mistake. It was her.

In this world, she was the only person he would never mistake for anyone else.

An Xiang: It smells like Mommy.

That was it. Pei Yizhou would only be attracted to An Xiang's soul and only wanted to do indescribable things with her.

Heat is a personal setting. A personal setting. A personal setting.

**

Pei Yizhou's ability was seeing the color of souls, Momo's ability was mind-reading, and An Xiang's ability was—acting cute while waiting for her son to support her_(:з"∠)_.

Tomorrow's VIP launch is suddenly here! There'll be a giveaway for those who subscribe to all the VIP chapters, and comments will basically all get red envelopes. It's free, babies! So don't abandon your big baby!

Random red envelopes this chapter.

By the way, since I had nothing better to do, I started another advance collection. The male and female leads' names were still randomly mashed out on a keyboard and might be changed later.

"Transmigrated as the Male Lead of a Tragic Novel's Sister"

Chu Li transmigrated into a novel, and it was even a famous series of tragic novels.

Her three older brothers were the leading male protagonists of tragic novels, each one among the top scumbags on the rankings. Her eldest brother liked digging out the female lead's uterus; her second brother liked massacring the female lead's entire family; her third brother was even more vicious, a future textbook example for criminal law.

When Chu Li transmigrated, her three brutal brothers were viciously beating a boy in the corner.

The boy had been beaten until his head bled and had no ability to fight back. In the end, he looked at them with a weak yet vicious expression and said, "...Just you wait."

Looking at those sinister eyes, Chu Li suddenly remembered—this was the male lead of a comeback novel! In the future, he would be someone who could make City X tremble with a single stomp!

Chu Li stared in shock. What on earth was wrong with this world?!

*

A few days later, Chu Li hid alone in a corner and cried, successfully drawing the affectionate concern of her three brothers.

"Little sister, did someone bully you? Tell your brothers, and we'll avenge you."

"No..." Chu Li sobbed as she tearfully complained, "Shen Zhi... he pinned me against the wall and kissed me."

Without another word, they went to settle the score with Shen Zhi that very day.

The boy leaned against the wall, his expression cold and his gaze full of contempt. "I told you. Just you wait."

"..."

"Wait until you call me brother-in-law."

"...!"

Later, after falling in love with Shen Zhi, Chu Li discovered that she had not transmigrated into a melodramatic tragic novel, nor a comeback novel, but an adult novel from some site! Damn it, she hated this world where Shen Zhi could do indescribable things to her everywhere.