Jiang Yumiao had been worried he had nowhere to go back to. He had planned to discreetly ask whether the production team knew his address, and if all else failed, stay at a youth hostel for a few days. But once he got off the plane, a memory automatically surfaced in his mind: the address of the original owner's home.
The production team had the guests' information, so naturally, they knew where Jiang Yumiao lived. Director Yang was on the same flight and, at someone's request, personally drove Jiang Yumiao home.
City A was an international metropolis, densely populated and prosperous, with towering buildings everywhere. Yet the original owner's home had nothing to do with that urban splendor. He lived in an aging residential complex near the outskirts. The security guard was an elderly man in his seventies who was so busy listening to opera when Director Yang drove in that he never even glanced at them.
Director Yang dropped him off and considerately helped lift his luggage out of the trunk. Given that Jiang Yumiao now enjoyed a certain degree of popularity, he also advised him to move somewhere with better security.
The buildings in the complex were four stories tall, with no elevators. Jiang Yumiao's apartment was on the fourth floor.
Director Yang wanted to help carry his luggage upstairs, too, but Jiang Yumiao hurriedly stopped him and said gratefully, "Thank you for driving me home, Director Yang. I only have this one suitcase. I can lift it with one hand, so I can carry it up myself."
Director Yang looked at Jiang Yumiao with the doting gaze of a father. When Jiang Yumiao repeatedly insisted, he could only give up. "All right, then. Getting you here means I've fulfilled my mission. Get some proper rest."
Jiang Yumiao smiled and nodded, watching Director Yang get into the car and leave before hauling his suitcase upstairs.
His omega constitution was too weak. He could lift the suitcase with one hand on level ground, but the stairs were another matter. All he could do was tuck the plush toy under his arm, grip the handle with both hands, and stumble his way upstairs. By the time he reached the fourth floor, he was panting with exhaustion.
The moment he opened the door and saw inside, goosebumps rose all over him. The layout of the apartment, right down to the arrangement of the furniture, was identical to the place he had rented in an old residential complex just after graduation.
He urgently called out to the system in his mind. System, system, what's going on?! This apartment is exactly the same as the one I used to live in!
The system calmly piped up. "Don't panic, host. This was arranged by the system. The original novel never mentioned the original owner's home address, so the system created this residence based on your memories."
Only then did Jiang Yumiao's heart settle back down from his throat. ...If anything like this happens again, tell me beforehand.
Apart from being especially forceful when assigning missions, the system had always granted Jiang Yumiao's requests. Naturally, it agreed at once this time, too.
Jiang Yumiao dragged his suitcase inside. After a week away, a thin layer of dust had settled over the furniture.
He sighed, set the plush toy on his suitcase, and rolled up his sleeves to clean. The familiar layout gave him the feeling that he had truly returned to his own home. After that brief scare, he relaxed completely, growing more energetic as he cleaned. He even put on some music to accompany him and, naturally, failed to notice the new message notification on his phone.
By the time he finished cleaning everything, it was evening. Jiang Yumiao collapsed onto the sofa and only then discovered that someone had sent him a WeChat message.
[N: Home yet?]
It was Ning Chunchi! And he had sent it two hours ago!
Jiang Yumiao sprang upright, his bright eyes fixed on the screen as he quickly typed a reply.
[Eat grapes without spitting out the skins: I'm home! I got here at three this afternoon. I was busy cleaning and only just saw this.]
[N: Mm.]
Ning Chunchi replied as soon as Jiang Yumiao sent his message. Wasn't he working? How could he reply instantly?
Jiang Yumiao had so much he wanted to say. He wanted to ask whether Ning Chunchi was busy right now, what he was doing, whether he had eaten, and when he would return to City A. But he was afraid of disturbing him. His slender fingers tapped away in the input box, typing and deleting, until he finally found a cute cat sticker and sent that instead.
Ning Chunchi didn't reply again. Jiang Yumiao felt a little disappointed and cursed himself for sending a sticker. He had brought the conversation to a dead end.
His gaze shifted to the second male lead's username. Suddenly, he realized he had accepted the friend request so hastily that he hadn't set a contact name for Ning Chunchi. He opened the field and had just entered "Mr. Ning" when he remembered Ning Chunchi saying he didn't like being called that...
He deleted "Mr." and changed it to "Brother Ning," then tossed his phone aside and stared blankly into space.
A little later, he snatched up his phone and, as though afraid he might change his mind, changed "Brother Ning" to "Big brother."
After making the change, Jiang Yumiao stared at those words. His entire face visibly reddened, and even his ears and neck turned pink.
Surely it was all right to indulge himself a little, just on his own phone?
They had only been apart for a few hours, yet he already wanted so badly... to see Ning Chunchi.
He missed him so much.
Compared with City A's extravagant nightlife, City B seemed rather solemn and conservative.
Tonight, however, the Su Estate on Taizhou Mountain in City B blazed with lights. Luxury cars streamed through its gates, carrying people who were either wealthy or influential, all there to celebrate the birthday of the Su Family's patriarch.
Ning Chunchi had just finished a meeting. After changing clothes, he hurried over. Sitting in the back seat, he wearily pinched the bridge of his nose before getting out.
He found these hypocritical gatherings of clinking glasses utterly tiresome. But the Su Family and the Ning Family had close business ties, and Ning Changzhi, the head of the Ning Corporation who had welcomed him back into the family, was his biological grandfather. He had instructed him well in advance to prepare a gift. In business dealings, there were times when the proper courtesies had to be observed.
In a corner of the lavish, high-ceilinged Baroque banquet hall, Su Cheng lounged listlessly beside his grandfather, glancing at the entrance from time to time.
Su Guoli sat in his wheelchair. Seeing his grandson's hopeless behavior, he shook his head lightly and said, "Don't worry. Old Ning told me the person you're waiting for will definitely come tonight."
Su Cheng gave a huff. "It's your birthday, Grandpa. Of course he has to come if he knows what's good for him."
No sooner had he said that than the incomparably handsome, top-tier alpha walked in. Dressed in a bespoke Brioni suit and wearing a gentle, refined smile, he was elegant and distinguished. The moment he entered, every eye in the room turned toward him.
The alpha surveyed the room before his gaze settled on Su Guoli, then strode toward them.
Su Cheng couldn't help straightening up and lifting his proud chin. This was his second time meeting Ning Chunchi. The first had been at the Ning Family's banquet to welcome Ning Chunchi home. Back then, he had decided on the alpha at first sight and gone home demanding to marry him.
He had long heard that Ning Chunchi kept his distance from others and especially despised omegas who clung to him. Yet even someone like that had to attend this banquet at a single word from his grandfather. Of course he wasn't like those omegas who tried every means possible to attract Ning Chunchi's attention. He didn't need to do anything at all; the alpha would come to him.
At the thought, a trace of arrogance crept into Su Cheng's eyes.
Ning Chunchi approached Su Guoli and offered the old man his birthday wishes.
After they exchanged a few pleasantries, Su Guoli gestured toward Su Cheng. "This is my grandson, Su Cheng. You two should have met before. He's four years younger than you, Chunchi. You're close in age, so you're bound to have more to talk about with each other than with an old man like me."
Su Cheng put on the sweet, polite smile he had practiced since childhood. He had a baby face, and everyone said that when he smiled like this, he looked utterly harmless and irresistibly sweet.
As though only just noticing the omega standing beside them, Ning Chunchi looked up and met Su Cheng's eyes.
The smile on Su Cheng's lips abruptly froze. The distinguished alpha before him wore a gentle smile, yet his eyes held a chilling coldness, his gaze as sharp as a sword. Under the lights, those eyes, like icy pools, looked hollow and sinister, sending a shiver down Su Cheng's spine.
No alpha had ever looked at him like that. He had been adored and spoiled by everyone since childhood. Who dared glare at him so fiercely?
The moment Ning Chunchi heard Su Guoli's words, he had seen through their intentions. Only then did he spare a glance for this typical omega raised in the pampered luxury of a wealthy family.
Sure enough, the eyes of this Su-something were filled with the self-importance and insatiable demands he had seen far too often.
Disgusting.
They had met before? He had no recollection of it. Vulgar, unbearable people like this were everywhere.
Ning Chunchi looked away, and a pair of gentle, clear amber eyes suddenly appeared in his mind, their almond-shaped depths brimming with affection.
He missed his little grape.
Before you continue