CH 50

The day before New Year’s Eve.

As the mistress of the Gu family, Xu Wanling contacted Gu Zhongyi. On the phone, she never mentioned the conflict between father and son, only asking if Gu Zhongyi would come home for dinner on New Year’s Eve.

Gu Zhongyi knew that Xu Wanling would make that call, which was probably on behalf of Gu Zhuang.so he directly refused.

Xu Wanling advised, “Your dad is getting old, and his health hasn’t been great lately. You should be more understanding.”

“I remember Dad is only 48 years old after the New Year, which is not considered old. Moreover, he pays attention to health and exercises regularly, and he has a physical examination every six months. As far as i know, he has always been healthy.”

Gu Zhuang was playing some trick, and Gu Zhongyi didn’t plan to fall for it.

Xu Wanling paused and said, “You’re right.”

She was not Gu Zhongyi’s biological mother, so she couldn’t be bothered to mediate between father and son repeatedly.

When Xu Wanling first arrived at the Gu family, she wanted to take care of Gu Zhongyi. But Gu Zhuang’s authoritarian way of raising his son gave her a headache, and he even said to her that Gu Zhongyi was not her biological child so she didn’t need to interfere.

Over time, facing her stubborn husband and the indifferent stepson, Xu Wanling didn’t want to waste any more time.

Compared to the titles of “wife” and “mother,” Xu Wanling preferred the title of “General Xu.” Unfortunately, compared to Gu Zhuang’s side of the family, the Xu family was more conservative.

In their eyes, Omega was always a step below Alpha and not worthy of handling business.

Fortunately, she was not the kind of person that would loose hope after being bound by the family. On the contrary, with the advantage of her identity, she obtained some privileges in the Gu family and established her own brand business over the years.

Therefore, although the relationship between her and Gu Zhongyi was distant, it was not hostile.

Seeing Gu Zhongyi’s firm attitude, Xu Wanling politely spoke in a gentle tone, seemingly to report to Gu Zhuang.

Gu Zhongyi remembered that in the world where Gu Zhuang was imprisoned, Xu Wanling had already prepared to leave him so Gu Zhongyi didn’t dislike her, but he also didn’t have much affection for her either.

After hanging up the phone, Gu Zhongyi was in the vegetable section of the supermarket.

He walked towards Lin Yuxing not far away and asked, “Did you find it?”

Lin Yuxing took out his phone and checked the time, “Wait one more minute.”

Exactly eight o’clock.

A supermarket staff member walked to the vegetable section and began putting 20% off labels on various vegetables.

So, as the staff member took a step, Lin Yuxing followed suit.

Before long, the shopping cart next to Gu Zhongyi was filled with vegetables. They looked just as fresh as in the morning, all carefully selected by Lin Yuxing from the discount area.

Lin Yuxing opened the calculator on his phone and calculated meticulously, saying, “Today, there’s a discount 5 yuan off for every 50 yuan spent, and 15 yuan off for every 100 yuan spent. It applies to the discounted items as well. We can buy tomorrow’s groceries in advance.”

As soon as his foot got better, Lin Yuxing’s steps became lighter.

Gu Zhongyi held his hand and said, “Slow down.”

Lin Yuxing slowed down a bit and boldly held hands with Gu Zhongyi in the unfamiliar environment. “Senior, the braised chicken wings I made last night were delicious, right? Let’s buy more chicken wings and freeze them. We can have them for many meals.”

“Okay.”

“The seafood gift boxes that Xiao Yuan’s mom gave us will come in handy tomorrow.” Lin Yuxing said happily, “They are really kind. They have already given me enough for tutoring fees, and they even sent New Year gifts. Later, I’ll buy a New Year’s gift for Xiao Yuan too.”

“I’ll go with you to choose one.”

Gu Zhongyi wouldn’t mention that all the tutoring fees were paid out of his own pocket. Anyway, as long as Lin Yuxing was happy.

In the distance, Lin Yuxing heard a familiar voice.

“Yuxing—”

Su Li was pushing a double-layered cart and walking towards Lin Yuxing. It seemed he was shopping alone, and the cart was filled with snacks.

“Su Li, what are you doing here?”

“My parents’ company issued a supermarket card from here. I came to make use of it. I also thought that this place is close to Senior Gu’s apartment, so I bought you some snacks too.”

Su Li pointed to some snacks, saying, “These are for you.”

Both of Su Li’s parents worked at the Gu Corporation and held decent positions. As a result, their supermarket card was never fully used throughout the year.

Lin Yuxing momentarily forgot that he was still holding hands with Gu Zhongyi and gratefully said, “Thank you.”

“Don’t be polite. The steamed buns you gave me were delicious. It’s just reciprocity.”

Su Li glanced at the two holding hands, clicking his tongue in his heart. He never expected that his naive roommate would be in a relationship one day. Fortunately, he was a foresighted person who had mentally prepared himself so that he wouldn’t be caught off guard when Lin Yuxing confessed their relationship.

His eyes gave away his thoughts.

Lin Yuxing blushed and withdrew his hand.

Gu Zhongyi: “…”

During their contractual relationship, Lin Yuxing would always hold hands with Gu Zhongyi wherever they went. Now that they were truly in love, Lin Yuxing would get shy easily and keep a distance when he saw someone familiar.

Gu Zhongyi knew that the two hadn’t seen each other for a while and pointed to the side. “I’ll go over there to buy some more items. You can chat with Su Li.”

After Gu Zhongyi left, Su Li bumped Lin Yuxing’s arm with his elbow.

“You guys have such a good relationship!” Su Li teased and looked into his shopping cart, “Why is everything on sale?”

Isn’t Gu Zhongyi a rich second-generation? So stingy.

Lin Yuxing answered his confusion, “I picked them.”

“You’re already in a relationship with him, and you’re still so economical.” Su Li pushed the cart alongside Lin Yuxing, chatting as they walked. “But it’s good to be thrifty. Gu Zhongyi probably likes this about you.”

That’s how Su Li was. As soon as Gu Zhongyi walked away, he would use his name freely and speak without reservation.

Unexpectedly, it made Lin Yuxing purse his lips in shyness.

suddenly, Su Li  took a deep breath. He couldn’t understand, “Why doesn’t he want to meet me…?”

Lin Yuxing didn’t know what to say.

Just then, a passing Beta who was on the phone happened to say something that reached Su Li’s ears clearly in the noisy supermarket environment.

“What? He’s only 160 cm tall? No way, Mom, I definitely can’t go on this blind date. I’m already 174 cm tall. It would be so awkward for me to meet him.”

She swiftly passed by them like a gust of wind.

Lin Yuxing didn’t pay much attention to it.

Su Li suddenly realized and stopped in his tracks, “Damn, could he really be only 160 cm tall?!”

Lin Yuxing was shocked, estimating Su Li’s height to be 174 cm. If Liang Xie, his online boyfriend, was only 160 cm tall… then it would indeed be difficult to meet.

Lin Yuxing asked, “Can you accept that?”

Su Li countered, “Can you?”

Lin Yuxing imagined for a moment and said seriously, “If it’s Senior, I can.”

“I don’t believe it. If that were the case, you wouldn’t even feel a spark for Gu Zhongyi!”

“If he was short, i wouldn’t mind it, i like him for who he is not what he looks like.”

Just as Gu Zhongyi returned from the seasonings section, he wasn’t aware of their conversation, but he had heard most of it. He furrowed his eyebrows and casually put down a bottle of soy sauce, correcting, “I’m 189 cm tall. Among Alphas, that’s not considered short.”

He deliberately looked at Lin Yuxing and repeated, “not short at all.”

For most Alphas, their height was a radiant highlight they absolutely wouldn’t allow others to look down on.

Su Li couldn’t handle the sweet interaction between the couple and quietly gestured next to Gu Zhongyi, vividly depicting his imagination of Liang Xie, who was only 160 cm tall. He held his forehead in despair.

Gu Zhongyi didn’t understand what Su Li was doing, nor did he have much interest in knowing. He glanced at the time and hurriedly said, “The pork section is starting to discount. Do you want to go and have a look?”

Lin Yuxing abandoned the troubled Su Li and grabbed the shopping cart eagerly, saying, “Yes!!”

Around 9:30, Lin Yuxing and Gu Zhongyi finished their shopping spree in the supermarket.

As Lin Yuxing’s boyfriend, Gu Zhongyi carried the three large eco-friendly shopping bags, while Lin Yuxing went to help Su Li carry his things.

At the entrance, Su Li bid them farewell with a dejected look.

Lin Yuxing patted his arm and said reassuringly, “As long as you like each other, height doesn’t matter.”

“Your boyfriend is 189cm tall, so of course, it’s not a problem for you,” Su Li replied weakly, dragging two large bags of snacks towards the intersection, apparently going to take a taxi.

Seeing Su Li seemingly disheartened, Lin Yuxing felt worried.

Gu Zhongyi called out to Su Li, “Send me your address. I came by car, and we’ll drop you off.”

Su Li, who had never ridden in Gu Zhongyi’s car before, felt a tingling sensation and wanted to experience what it was like to ride in a rich second-generation’s car. Hearing Gu Zhongyi’s invitation, he immediately followed them into the car, thick-skinned, and said, “Alpha 189 cm tall is considerate and generous. Thank you, Senior Gu!”

Gu Zhongyi replied indifferently, “Weren’t you calling me Gu Zhongyi all the time?”

Su Li responded, “An Alpha with a height of 189cm doesn’t mind these things.”

Gu Zhongyi calmly said, “Indeed.”

Lin Yuxing: “…”

Su Li couldn’t get over that hurdle of height. While speaking, he sent a message to Liang Xie, asking  “[I’m 174cm tall. Is that too tall?]”

Liang Xie didn’t reply, probably busy with something else.

Su Li quickly logged into his gaming account and, as expected, saw that Liang Xie was online.

Relentlessly, he sent a friend message, phrasing it differently, “[I think short people are also very charming.]”

Liang Xie finally saw the message.

Liang Xie: “[I believe personal charm has nothing to do with height. What’s wrong?]”

Su Li: “[I’m worried that you might think I’m too tall…]”

Liang Xie: “[?]”

Liang Xie, very seriously: “[At 174cm tall, among male Omegas, you’re not considered tall.]”

Su Li blushed, feeling a bit embarrassed.

[How tall are you, Liang Xie?]

Liang Xie disappeared again, and Su Li switched to the gaming interface, noticing that the other party had gone offline.

After a while, Liang Xie finally replied: “[190].”

After this response, Liang Xie’s ID on the screen continuously showed “typing,” but in the end, he gave up on sending those words.

Su Li was confused, but his expression was like he had won the lottery. Until the moment he got off the car, he was still bubbling with joy. Carrying two heavy bags of snacks, he even bounced happily as he entered his apartment gate.

Unable to contain his joy, while waiting for the elevator, he sent Lin Yuxing a voice message, proudly saying, “My boyfriend is 1 centimeter taller than yours! Hahaha…”

A few minutes later.

Lin Yuxing: [I accidentally had the call on speaker, and Senior Gu heard it.]

Su Li couldn’t laugh anymore.

But soon after, he burst into laughter again, feeling relieved as he said, “Gu Zhongyi is really short!”

…….

On the other end of the phone, Liang Xie sat quietly in his room, lost in thought as he stared at the screen. His handsome appearance stood out even among fellow Alphas.

He kept looking at the chat box with Su Li, those four sentences that he continuously edited and then deleted, back and forth:

[But I can’t stand up. I’m in a wheelchair.]

[I’m a disabled person.]

[Do you mind being with someone like me?]

[Sorry, I didn’t mean to deceive you before. Maybe it’s better if we go back to being friends?]

He still didn’t have the courage to send them.

The chat screen lingered on the perfect moment of “190.”