45: Don’t Covet
It was a bright, breezy day.
Outside the Xie family estate stretched a field of dandelions, swaying gently as white fluff drifted through the air. In the courtyard, the gardener was watering the plants, droplets scattering crystalline reflections under the sunlight.
Five-year-old Shen Jin sat in a child’s chair, holding a drawing board. A small table in front of him was covered in colorful crayons as he focused intently on drawing the garden.
The arguing voices behind him broke his concentration.
Xie Ling had just returned from the airport. Without even stopping to rest, he handed the gift he’d brought back to the Xie family’s second young master, Xie Jisheng.
It was an exquisitely beautiful crystal sports car model, about 1/40th the size of a real car. Inside the transparent crystal shell was a complex mechanical structure, vivid and lifelike.
After seeing the gift, Xie Jisheng vented his displeasure.
“I wanted a real sports car. Its nickname is ‘Crystal,’ from Lamborghini. Not a ‘sports car made of crystal.’ Big Brother, what era are you from? You’re young but so old-fashioned and outdated.”
“You’re not yet of age. You can’t drive,” Xie Ling explained.
“In the end, you just treat me like an outsider, that even when I rarely ask you for a gift, you handle it so perfunctorily!”
Xie Jisheng’s complaints continued endlessly. Xie Ling, who had custom-ordered this gift and only returned after getting it, said nothing more.
Before leaving, Xie Jisheng accidentally flung the crystal car onto the floor. It shattered cleanly into two pieces.
He walked off without looking back. When he passed Shen Jin, he noticed the condemnation in the child’s eyes and found it amusing.
He sneered maliciously. “What, jealous to death?”
“Too bad. You’ll never get it.”
“Big Brother only picked you up because he pitied you. You really think you’re some young master now?”
“You’re just a nobody wants little beggar. How pathetic.”
After Xie Jisheng left, Shen Jin climbed down from the chair and pattered over to the still-silent Xie Ling.
“Geigei, I want it. Is that okay?”
Xie Ling squatted down and stroked the child’s soft hair.
“I’ll buy you another one. This one’s broken.”
“I just want this one.” Ever since coming to the Xie family, Shen Jin had never made a request. Now he asked pitifully.
Xie Ling was quiet for a moment, the coldness in his eyes softening.
“Alright. I’ll piece it back together for you and give it to you.”
…
When he was little, Shen Jin had deeply envied Xie Jisheng.
Hiding under his blanket, he told himself:
Don’t be greedy. Being able to call him “geigei” already makes me the luckiest kid.
He hadn’t expected that years later, he would say that sentence out loud.
“Can I be your little brother, ge?”
The question he’d never dared to ask before could now be asked face to face. Maybe it was because he realized that the person in front of him needed him even more.
Because he was needed, he could move forward without fear.
“Mm.” You already are.
Xie Ling then felt the question sounded strange and added, “You always have been.”
The butler was off to the side, wiping at tears that didn’t exist. Clearly, these cousins only said a few sentences to each other, with nothing particularly moving, but watching them warmed the heart.
The next second though, they returned to normal conversation. Xie Ling asked about Shen Jin’s life at school, and Shen Jin answered one by one.
You really couldn’t expect these two icebergs to express much emotion. The butler sighed helplessly.
After going upstairs, Shen Jin asked, “Which room will I be staying in?”
Xie Ling shot the brat a glance. “Which room? Your room has always been kept.”
What did he mean, which room? Did he think Xie Ling would get rid of Shen Jin’s room? What dream was this kid having?
If it had always been kept, then—
When Xie Ling opened the door, Shen Jin indeed saw a room overflowing with pink Omega aesthetics. A bed with lace trim, dreamy bed curtains, a pastel desk.
It was the room he had lived in at five years old, spotless, clearly cleaned often.
He really didn’t know what kind of misunderstanding Alphas had about Omegas. Why was it always pink?
Seeing Xie Ling about to leave, Shen Jin remembered the huge sum in his bank account.
“Also, the money you transferred to my card—” Before he could finish, Xie Ling’s cold gaze sliced over.
Say one more word and your allowance doubles this month.
“!”
Shen Jin instantly understood the meaning in his cousin’s eyes and was successfully threatened.
Shut up to stay alive.
After showering, Shen Jin, still damp, stood in front of the mirror. He opened the pendant someone had given him and hung it around his neck.
The silver pendant rested against his collarbones, like a protective charm.
There was a knock outside. Xie Ling came in holding a thick stack of tutoring books. That was the birthday gift.
Shen Jin recalled how he’d carried stacks of books for Shen Xie’an before. Turns out, love really was mutual.
He accepted the books and noticed several duplicates. “Ge, give me the receipts. I’ll return these copies to the bookstore tomorrow.”
Xie Ling was still immersed in that “ge,” drifting as he went to fetch the receipts, then drifting back.
Shen Jin’s thriftiness was admirable, but once Xie Ling came back to himself, he realized Shen Jin had never shown a hint of willfulness. Why couldn’t he have a bit more temper?
Xie Ling was about to say something when he noticed the silver chain around Shen Jin’s neck. “Did you buy that yourself?”
Shen Jin touched the pendant. “No. A classmate gave it to me.”
“An Alpha?”
“A Beta. I just thought it was cute.” The gender was still in question, but he definitely couldn’t tell an elder that he suspected his deskmate was disguising his gender.
Xie Ling looked deeply at the delicate-looking necklace.
Giving a necklace carried a different kind of meaning.
[Using it to lock you in.]
Xie Ling was an Alpha. He knew Alpha instincts all too well. Giving something like this also implied marking territory.
It was a warning to other males: don’t covet what’s mine.
*
After parting from Shen Jin, Ke Minghuai returned home with a heavy heart. He sat on the sofa assembling an extremely complex amusement park LEGO set.
Some places, once missed, became lifelong regrets.
He thought his feelings over missing that appointment were just guilt. In truth, when he saw this set while picking gifts, he bought it instantly.
He’d planned to assemble it and give it to Shen Jin.
Ke Minghuai had undergone IQ testing as a child and scored exceptionally high.
After opening one door for him, God had closed another window. He couldn’t form emotional bonds with others, including parents and friends. This was also known as emotional deficiency.
He could interact normally by mimicking others’ emotions.
Over the years, he’d gradually begun to feel guilt and self-blame. After accidentally kissing a stranger, he experienced regret and revulsion for the first time.
Tonight, he ran into a problem.
A very difficult one, with no clear solution.
The package Shen Jin had mailed back had been tossed into the trash outside by his mother, then retrieved by him.
Ke Minghuai opened one of the boxes. It was painfully familiar. All the gifts he’d chosen over the years.
No matter how many gifts there were, Shen Jin wouldn’t spare them a glance.
It seemed no preplanned method would work on Shen Jin.
There was no template to follow.
Panic gradually crept into Ke Minghuai’s gentle gaze.
Thinking of what Shen Xie’an had said, he opened WeChat and found someone he’d once added from the Xie family branch.
Xie Hanzhu had always kept Ke Minghuai’s contact. Since adding him, aside from warning them not to bother Shen Jin, he’d never contacted her again.
She had a branch-family sisters’ group. Many cousins had once taken in Shen Jin, and quite a few were watching closely to see if Ke Minghuai was single.
As long as he was single, plenty of little temptresses would pounce.
In their eyes, Shen Jin was still that kid who used to freeload meals, a servant they could scold at will.
Xie Hanzhu: [Does anyone know what happened after the Ke family talked about ending the engagement recently?]
Replies came quickly.
[Not sure, no news. I heard Minghuai-ge came back early though just to celebrate Shen Jin’s birthday.]
[Looks like they’re still close. If they’d really split, why rush back?]
[No news from the Shen family either, and the Ke family suddenly went quiet. Feels like something big is coming.]
[Honestly, Shen Jin’s pretty miserable. Xie Ling raised him for three years and he still couldn’t squeeze into the main house. Do you ever see Shen Jin at the main estate during holidays? Look at who Xie Ling is, a true heaven-blessed son, first heir of a financial dynasty. Would he really care about some unlucky broom star? Now that Shen Jin’s differentiated, this golden son-in-law from the Ke family is bound to fly away. Watching him strut around these past years, karma really does rotate.]
[That really is a double blow!]
[When will Minghuai-ge announce the breakup? I can’t wait!]
At that moment, Xie Hanzhu suddenly received a message from Ke Minghuai and sucked in a sharp breath.
She took a long time before confirming he wasn’t joking.
Xie Hanzhu: [Minghuai-ge just contacted me. He said we must formally and sincerely apologize to Shen Jin.]
The group went silent for a while.
No one had expected to wait so long, only to receive not news of a broken engagement, but a warning from Ke Minghuai.
He didn’t threaten them, but once he stated his stance, their families would all be in trouble.
But for so many years, Ke Minghuai had never paid attention to what they did behind the scenes. Why was he settling scores now? Even delayed revenge wasn’t this delayed.
[Which Minghuai-ge?]
[The one you’re thinking of.]
[Is he crazy? Why should we apologize to Shen Jin?!]
[Shen Jin’s way too fragile. It was just a few words. Did he lose a chunk of flesh? Running to tattle!]
[Didn’t he already scold us at the Shen family gate last time? Wasn’t that enough? What, only Shen Jin’s precious and we’re all trash?]
[Here’s something unbelievable. I tried asking Shen Jin about it just now and realized he blocked me. What the hell!]
[…He blocked me too!]
[Me too!!]
*
Shen Jin had no idea that a single action of his had stirred huge waves in the Xie branch group. Even if he knew, he wouldn’t dwell on it like he had as a child.
The next day was the weekend. Dark clouds blanketed the sky, and rain continued to fall.
He didn’t let the butler, who’d been grinning nonstop since yesterday, drive him. He took the bus to the bookstore, returned the duplicate books Xie Ling had bought, then read for a while in the book café. When he finally left, he realized the umbrella he’d placed in the stand was gone.
Luckily, it wasn’t the one Qian Kun had given him.
The thought flashed through his mind. Shen Jin looked at the gloomy sky, raindrops splashing countless ripples across the pavement.
He decided to wait for the rain to stop and found a quiet spot.
Bored, he opened his phone and checked the messages he’d been too tired to read last night.
After telling Shen Xie’an he was safe and replying to a few messages, Shen Jin was about to close the app when, on impulse, he scrolled through Moments.
Last night, Qian Kun had posted a late-night snack photo. A bowl of steaming old duck and bamboo shoot soup, rich and fragrant. Shen Jin gave it a like.
He’d seen before that Qian Kun’s friend list was almost full. Every post got hundreds of likes. His was probably buried among them.
Ding.
Shen Jin blinked and made a “Hm?” sound.
He hadn’t expected the other person to notice so quickly. The reply came fast.
CAT: [Up this late?]
Snowball: [I already did my run, morning reading, breakfast, and went to the bookstore.]
His reply looked calm but was secretly provocative.
Who’s late!
CAT: [Then mind adding a self-study room later?]
Snowball: [You didn’t finish your homework?]
CAT: [There are a few questions. Wonder if the class rep could help take a look?]
Shen Jin raised an eyebrow. You finally have a day you need me?
Didn’t Liu Qimai say you were omnipotent? Exaggeration much?
Maintaining a bit of reserve, Shen Jin replied: [I’ll take a look first. No guarantee I can do it.]
Qian Kun asked if he was still at the bookstore and said he’d swing by to pick him up.
Shen Jin sent his location directly. His umbrella had been taken anyway, so he could skip getting soaked.
CAT: [Wait for me.]
Brief and to the point.
A voice sounded nearby, hesitant, like it took some courage to speak.
“I have an umbrella. Want to borrow it?”
Shen Jin turned around and saw an Omega with fair skin and big, round eyes. When he looked at people, his gaze seemed watery, the kind that easily stirred pity.
Shen Jin noticed he only had that one umbrella, yet he was offering it away.
Were there really people this selfless?
Shen Jin declined calmly. “No need. Someone’s coming to pick me up.”
He looked at the curtain of rain ahead. His body trembled slightly as he felt a current rush from his spine through his limbs.
That familiar sensation of surging pheromones.
Author’s Note:
Yes! The second marking is coming~~ Qian Qian’s supposedly solid disguise is about to fall apart, hmph~
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