Deliberate Mark

Chapter 8: The Taste of Pheromones

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: tutturuuu~ KarateChopMonkey

QC: Kirio

 

Ye HongFeng wasn’t ashamed to boast that he had seen a lot of things in this world, conquered countless battles, killed the enemy bravely, got in the middle of many schemings for power, but this… this sentence struck at him like shocking thunder. Thanks to his years of experience, he managed to keep his jaw from falling to the ground, shattering his pride.

Dad? Who is he calling? Me? He was just a man, doing nothing but sitting in the dormitory and a child fell from the sky?

Ye HongFeng had always been an upright and outstanding person, who lived and behaved decently. But suddenly an unknown child appeared in front of him and called him ‘Dad’, oh, was he ever so wronged.

Maybe there was something wrong with this child’s brain so he got the wrong person or did this kid Ye Fei promised to spend the rest of his life with this person behind his back, so this future son-in-law of his was just trying to familiarize himself to call him Dad? That was why he did what he did?

No, something must have been wrong with his hearing lately and he misheard.

“Are you calling me,” Ye HongFeng looked at the handsome teenager and repeated the question again, just to confirm, “Dad?”

An attractive voice, like a magnet, with the end of the sentence carrying a tone of doubt, cracked as he spoke.

Gu Ang’s jaw fell open in response. He was so embarrassed, he wanted to disappear from where he was standing. His fingers gripped so hard on the door handle, it almost crushed it. He and Ye HongFeng were quite close even before he got married to Ye Fei, so he had changed his way of addressing his dad way earlier. So, he had been calling him Dad for quite a long time and it had been really long since he’d seen him too.

He had a better relationship with Ye HongFeng than his own father. To Ye Fei, he was a stern parent, but to Gu Ang, he was a gentle tough guy. Their interaction often made Gu Ang feel like he was a rose that was being carefully cared for by a fierce tiger.

Gu Ang was very fond of him, and he used to talk about how he and Ye Fei would respect and take care of him for the rest of their lives.

However, they divorced.

He was no longer Dad, but Uncle Ye.

His usually useful brain felt like it had rusted, and creaked as he tried to think of an excuse.

He couldn’t possibly say, ‘I traveled back in time from eight years in the future. Surprise, surprise!’ 1

Gu Ang’s throat went dry and he nervously licked his lip, “No… I must have mistaken you for my own father… No… It’s not that either, I feel a familiar aura of affection that reminded me of a father’s love!”

His tongue was tied and his scalp was tingling. Gu Ang’s excuses were only making things worse, he just smashed the pot to pieces just because it was cracked2, “Aih, forget it, can you just pretend it was a slip of the tongue?”

Ye HongFeng pondered for a few seconds, and his words carried a probing tone, “Be honest with me, are you Ye Fei’s boyfriend?”

Who would believe that someone could have a slip of tongue and call another person Dad?

“No.” Gu Ang hastily denied, “Really not.”

Fearing that Ye HongFeng wouldn’t believe him, Gu Ang added, “We are both Alphas, straight Alphas, how is it possible for us to be together?”

Ye Fei entered the room at that moment. He didn’t catch what the two had talked about before but only heard the last sentence, which felt like a stab into his heart. His sincere heart was broken into pieces and his gaze fell, “Dad, you’re early.”

Ye HongFeng ignored him and scanned back and forth between the two, his eyes fixed on Gu Ang: Neat and poised, it gave him an indescribable feeling of pleasantness to his eyes, “What’s your name?”

“Gu Ang.”

“Mn, I’ll remember that.” Ye HongFeng got up and nodded towards him, “Ye Fei and I have some important things to talk about today. Let’s have dinner together next time.”

Gu Ang moved out of the way and sat on the edge of the sofa, “Okay, Ye… Uncle Ye.”

Damn, this sounds so weird3.

Ye Fei leaned against the door as he watched Gu Ang and his terrible acting skills. He was fidgeting, completely devoid of his usual flair.

Ye HongFeng strode to the door and gestured for Ye Fei to follow.

“Dad, wait a minute.” Ye Fei remembered the important thing, took out his communicator and handed it to Gu Ang, “Input your ID into it.”

Gu Ang froze, and took the communicator half a beat slower.

Exchanging contacts in front of your father? That’s really kind of you.

He couldn’t refuse, so he could only defeatedly take over the communicator slowly and entered his ID.

The communicator in his hand dinged.

“Done.”

“This is for you. I’m leaving.” Ye Fei stuffed a black plastic bag into his hand, turned around and followed Ye HongFeng, closing the door behind him.

Only when the two disappeared from his view did Gu Ang let out a long sigh of relief. He sat on the couch lazily and switched on his communicator, accepting Ye Fei’s friend request.

The person’s avatar was a system default gray one, which looked particularly lackluster.

What was the point of adding each other as friends?

It was unlikely for them to even chat anyways.

Gu Ang pinched his palm to remind himself once again.

You can’t make the same mistake again, stay away from him.

Only then did he realize his palms were sweating from nervousness and on his index finger was the bag Ye Fei gave to him. Gu Ang opened the bag and there was a jar of military burn cream lying inside.

How did he know…?

As Gu Ang moved his right hand, there was a stinging pain in his palm.

When dismantling the mecha just now, he used too much force when pulling the cooling box out of duct No.7 and scraped his palm against the surface of the burning mecha. He must have gotten burned by the high temperature.

For a soldier, this blister was a small injury, it was nothing worth mentioning.

So Gu Ang didn’t take it seriously, let alone tend to it. He just went straight to the canteen with Bai SiNing. But Ye Fei, from where he was standing… how did he notice it? He was so observant that he could clearly notice that he had injured his palm?

And he even… considerately brought him some burn cream.

Gu Ang twisted the cap off of the medicine jar, scooped out some of white ointment and applied it on his palm. The room was instantly filled with a faint smell of medicinal herbs. He could feel his sealed shut heart flutter slightly and his insides went numb, before everything turned into a feeling of bitterness.

The communicator on his wrist beeped, so he looked down and checked the message.

Message from a blank avatar: [Remember to apply the medicine.]

Gu Ang didn’t reply to the message, just pulled his legs up and placed his injured hand on his knee, airing it while staring into space.

Maybe it was the ointment that stung, tears welled up in his eyes.

Ye Fei, he… is a really good person.

It was just that… he didn’t deserve this man, so he shouldn’t waste any more of his time.

— 

Ye Fei typed the message with one hand and put the communicator back into his pocket while suppressing a smirk. The father and son duo sat in a tea room in the more secluded areas of the campus, the scent of tea leaves filled the air.

“Okay, let’s talk about what’s next.” Ye HongFong, who was seated across, said as he casually picked up the cigar from the table and lit it after he placed it in his mouth.

“Please continue.” Ye Fei also fished the cigarette case out of his pocket and bit into one, holding it in his mouth as they looked at each other.

“I have a secret mission for you.” Ye HongFeng pulled out a key from his pocket as he spoke and tossed it over.

The exquisite copper key was covered in intricate patterns and looked like it was worth a lot of money.

Ye Fei raised his eyebrows, took the key in his hand and played with it, asking, “This is?”

Ye HongFeng didn’t answer right away, but slowly took a full puff of his cigar that was in his hand and said in a lowered voice, “Are you aware that a secret battle will be held once every hundred years among the top ten families of the Empire and those finishing in the top five place will be regarded as the top? In other words, only the victors will be able to enjoy the most sought after prize of the game; to hold the highest power in the Empire.”

Ye Fei gave a hmmm, signaling him to continue.

Ye HongFeng put down the cigar in his hand and took out an ancient scroll from his carry-on bag, then slowly opened it and spread it on the table between the two. “This is the map of the upcoming battle, containing the whereabouts of thirty-two markers. You have one year. The first five people who capture the highest number of markers will naturally be the final winners.”

Ye Fei looked at the dense symbols and numbers on the scroll, and felt a wave of emotions overwhelming his heart.

In his freshman year before traveling back, there was also such a scroll, and with it started a bloody battle. There were deaths and injuries, and some people continued to sit and enjoy the glory of the next hundred years, including the Ye family.

Back then, it took him a few months to decipher the map code, and it was a nightmare. Even when he had his eyes closed, he could see numbers swirling in his head, it was an endless torture.

He didn’t expect that, even after traveling back, this didn’t change nor did the tasks.

Tsk, can’t even hide or run from this.

“Then, this key?” Ye Fei looked up. There was no such thing before.

Between the gap of time, the butterfly’s wings fluttered and began to dance.

“The key to the secret room of the 13th piano room of Red Flame,” Ye HongFeng breathed out a thick puff of smoke, “there’s a disguise machine in there.”

The corner of Ye Fei’s mouth twitched, “Who came up with it?”

“Those crazy people from [XuanBird] came up with this to pass time and to assist you to complete the tasks. But you can only change your appearance for a day, and only once a month.”

Ye HongFeng knew Ye Fei was not too interested in the family’s matters so he took the initiative to explain, “If you can, take more time to learn about these secret matters.”

The [XuanBird] was the Ye family’s secret intelligence troop that only took direct orders from the Ye family’s current family head. Of course he understood his family’s secret, but… 

Just how idle were they to come up with something like a disguise machine?

“The other candidates don’t get this?” Ye Fei grasped the key.

Ye HongFeng looked at him, “No, but they will definitely have something up their sleeves that we don’t know about.”

Ye Fei put out his cigarette and nodded.

To be able to completely hide oneself in the Dark Forest and even plant evidence on the opponent was already a huge advantage. But at the moment, what bothered him the most was the vague uneasiness he felt.

Last time he was all alone, so he wasn’t hesitant to participate and fight without fear in the battle. But this time, he had to partake in this, along with his love for Gu Ang.

He was now his fatal weakness.

Not only did he have to protect his family name, but also Gu Ang.

“That’s all I have to say. I have confidence in you.” Ye HongFeng chuckled, “Let’s talk about something else. When I went to see you today, Gu Ang called me Dad. It was so funny.”

Ye Fei raised his eyebrows, a little surprised, “He really called you that?”

“Yes, very instantly and very smoothly too. What’s going on between you two?” Ye HongFeng pushed the small cup of tea forward, “Taste it, it’s new.”

“I don’t drink tea.” Ye Fei leaned back against the seat, “And there’s nothing between us…”

…yet, he added mentally.

“How come I feel like that’s not true?” Ye HongFeng pushed the teacup forward again, “It’s white peach oolong, it’s really good.”

Ye Fei was too lazy to continue the conversation. He helplessly picked up the cup of tea and took a sip.

A very faint scent of white peach interspersed with the aroma of oolong, smooth and gentle caressing his Adam’s apple as he swallowed. Its taste was fleeting, lustrous, yet tantalizing. It was his first time tasting something like this. At first it was slightly bitter and the aftertaste was sweet. An oddly familiar sweetness.

As if it was alive, the aroma flirted wantonly with his consciousness.

Tea obviously had a cooling effect but it was arousing the fire in him, making him feel hot and thirsty for more.

“It smells really good.” Ye Fei’s Adam’s apple bobbed and he couldn’t help himself and gulped it down in one go. He tapped the teapot and Ye HongFeng refilled his cup.

The two of them were silent, enjoying the quiet atmosphere of the evening.

Outside the window was the brilliant evening sunset, with a few sparrows occasionally flying about, breaking some of the overly still silence.

After Ye Fei boiled the third pot of white peach oolong, Ye HongFeng finally couldn’t help but interrupt, “You won’t be able to sleep later if you drink too much. If you like it that much, just buy some and take it back.”

“Hmm.” Ye Fei called the waiter and bought ten packs in one go.

Ye HongFeng was shocked, “Y-you… only had two sips and you fell in love with it already?”

Ye Fei replied meaningfully, “The taste hasn’t changed, I might keep liking it.”

When the white peach oolong went down his throat, familiar memories instantly returned.

It reminded him of the many late nights when he pressed himself against Gu Ang’s neck and smelled the scent that made him lose control.

It was the smell of Gu Ang’s pheromones.

 

The author has something to say:

Ye Fei: He smells so good.

Poor Ye Fei, since he can’t taste his wife he can only get some tea to quench his thirst.

Translator Notes:

This sentence has its own meme! Even associated with Stephan Chow. https://pic.ruoyo.com/file/20190420/cc00qxalfbk.jpg Write oneself off as hopeless and just act recklesslyKirio: Original text reads, “Damn, this does not read smoothly.” Because he got used to calling his husband’s Dad ‘Dad’.