One-way Passage

me,” he remarked, tone tinged with regret.

“Remember what about you?” Xia Wennan probed.

“Remember that I’m your best friend at home, of course,” said Ming Siyan.
“Remember that when we chatted all night long, there was nothing you couldn’t tell me.”

“Sorry, I don’t remember at all,” Xia Wennan said after a moment.
When he heard what Ming Siyan had said, he was a little dumbfounded; the first thing he thought was actually: A beta and an omega spending an entire night together—is that not inappropriate? Was he so unattractive to other sexes, as a beta?

Ming Siyan stayed in his office until lunchtime, when he invited Xia Wennan to go to the cafeteria with him.

Xia Wennan got up, opened the door, and darted out before Ming Siyan could link arms with him.
He then walked in front of Ming Siyan, keeping a short distance away from the latter as he swiftly paced in the direction of the elevator.

It was already quite late when they arrived at the cafeteria, which was packed to the brim with employees eating lunch.

The moment Xia Wennan walked in, he spotted Ming Luchuan sitting at his usual seat, quietly eating alone.

Since Xia Wennan had come with Ming Siyan, he naturally sat with Ming Siyan after fetching his meal, two tables away from Ming Luchuan.

Compared to Ming Luchuan, Ming Siyan was far more approable.
Employees greeted him in a much more casual manner, and at times, they even cracked a few jokes with him.

It might also be due to the fact that Ming Siyan was an omega, unlike an alpha, who exuded a natural air of oppression.

After settling down in their seats, Ming Siyan whispered to Xia Wennan, “Will da-ge get mad at you if you don’t go to his table?”

“It should be fine,” said Xia Wennan, inwardly thinking that Ming Luchuan was already mad at him anyway; it made no difference whether his anger increased by a little or a lot.

Ming Siyan was still speaking in his ear, presenting an intimate image.
“Da-ge’s a really difficult guy.
He’s been like that since he was little.”

Xia Wennan nodded.
“I figured.”

Today, the cafeteria served curry beef brisket, which suited Xia Wennan’s tastes.
Not wanting to keep talking about Ming Luchuan with Ming Siyan lest it affect his appetite, he lowered his head and dug into his meal.

Halfway through their meal, Ming Luchuan had already finished eating and was about to stand up to put his empty plate away when someone in the cafeteria suddenly shouted, “Manager Xia!”

At first, Xia Wennan was unaware that he was being called.
It was Ming Siyan who quietly pointed them out to him.
“Wennan, someone’s looking for you.”

Xia Wennan lifted his head and saw one of his laboratory staff members approaching with a bouquet of flowers in his hand, a somewhat excited grin painting his face.
He walked up to their table and handed Xia Wennan the flowers he’d brought.

“What is this?” Xia Wennan was bewildered.

“Someone left you a gift,” said the employee.
“Your office was locked, so I went ahead and brought it to you.”

Almost every head in the cafeteria was turned their way.
They first snuck a glance at Xia Wennan and the flowers in front of him, then shifted their gazes towards Ming Luchuan at the next table over.

Ming Luchuan was frozen where he stood, similarly staring at the flower bouquet.

Uncomfortable with someone holding up flowers right in front of him, Xia Wennan reached out and took it, saying, “Thanks.” In truth, he was a little unhappy that this person had brought the flowers to the cafeteria and enabled so many people to witness this spectacle.

Ming Siyan was also curious.
“Are those flowers from da-ge?” He carefully examined the bouquet and exclaimed, “Ah! These aren’t flowers.”

The employee who’d brought the bouquet was grinning as he said, “I checked, the flowers are made of chocolate.”

Xia Wennan looked down to inspect the bouquet and discovered that they were indeed not flowers.
With a deep sense of forebody in his heart, he unwrapped one of the chocolates by random and—

“Huh, they’re chocolate truffles,” said Ming Siyan.
“Is da-ge that romantic?”

At the mention of his name, Ming Luchuan’s entire face clouded over.
He picked up his meal tray impassively and left the cafeteria.