20: This False Utopia

If Ji Canghai or he himself were an omega or even a beta, Ling Yunfan would be absolutely certain that Ji Canghai liked him.

But the key is that both Ji Canghai and he are alphas.

Although he was poor and in dire straits, he was indeed an alpha.

Their pheromones would not attract each other, and they couldn’t induce heat or desire.

Upon further consideration, Ling Yunfan felt that his conclusion was too hasty.

After all, the forehead kiss just now was filled with maternal love, cough, friendly love. How could he conclude that the other party liked him because of a forehead kiss?

One should not be too narcissistic.

Moreover, there are photos of omega openly displayed in Ji Canghai’s study.

With mixed thoughts, Ling Yunfan remembered the fight they had in high school over that omega, and his heart was filled with mixed feelings.

Youth is like a cup of wine, whoever drinks it will get drunk.

He didn’t want to overthink it and continued to fiddle with the new phone Ji Canghai gave him.

Ling Yunfan opened the contact list and found only one phone number with the name Ji Canghai.

After some thought, Ling Yunfan dialed a number from memory using his phone.

Soon, a pleasant ringing tone and a mechanical female voice came through his phone, “Welcome to Hao Zai Lai restaurant. Whether it runs on land, flies in the sky, or swims in the water, if it can be eaten, we can make it. You heard it right, we can make it all. If the chef doesn’t know how to make it, we’ll force them to learn. If they still refuse, we’ll throw them in the hotpot. Hao Zai Lai wishes you good luck and welcomes your call. Hehe~”

Just as the recorded message was about to continue, a clear female voice spoke, “Hello, this is Hao Zai Lai restaurant.”

“It’s me, Ling Yunfan,” he replied.

“Ah!” Zheng Siqing’s voice was both surprised and happy. “Yunfan, are you okay? You didn’t come to work at the restaurant yesterday, and my dad was worried about you. He went to your place and heard from a nearby lady that you were caught by loan sharks? We were so worried about you.”

“The loan sharks did come for me, but I’m okay now. A friend helped me,” Ling Yunfan reassured her. “Is everything okay at the restaurant? I’m worried those people might come and cause trouble.”

“No one has come to cause trouble, don’t worry. And even if they do, we’re not afraid. My dad will kick them all out,” Zheng Siqing replied with a laugh.

“That’s good,” Ling Yunfan breathed a sigh of relief.

“Yunfan, where are you? Do you need any help?” Zheng Siqing asked.

“I’m okay, no need. I’ll come find you guys later and continue working,” Ling Yunfan replied.

“You’re really working hard,” Zheng Siqing remarked.

“The sooner I pay off my debts, the sooner I can get out of this mess,” Ling Yunfan replied.

“In that case, I’ll tell the kitchen to make an extra employee meal for you, with your favorite braised pork ribs,” Zheng Siqing said.

“Mmm, thanks.” Ling Yunfan felt a warm feeling in his heart and his tone was lifted.

He hung up the phone and slowly got out of bed. His injuries still hadn’t fully healed and many parts of his body still hurt when he exerted too much force.

Ling Yunfan walked to the dining room and saw the steaming millet porridge and mouth-watering meat buns on the table. His stomach couldn’t help but grumble.

He pulled out a chair and sat down, picked up his chopsticks and spoon, and thought to himself, “Sorry, Ji Canghai, I have to eat another meal from you. You can think of yourself as doing a good deed to the end, sending the Buddha to the west.”

Ling Yunfan satisfied had a full meal, washed his dishes and put them away in the cupboard, folded his sheets neatly, put his books on the bedside table, and placed his new phone on the coffee table in the living room.

After completing these tasks, Ling Yunfan walked to the front door and prepared to leave.

He took a deep breath.

Goodbye, beautiful yet false utopia.

Hello, real and cruel world.

Ling Yunfan exhaled, grasped the doorknob, and imitated Ji Canghai’s previous opening of the door, sliding open the cover of the password lock and pressing down on the center position.

The door did not respond.

Ling Yunfan was puzzled. What’s going on? Did I press the wrong spot?

Ling Yunfan pondered for half an hour, but still couldn’t open the door.

“What’s going on? It was so easy when I saw Ji Canghai open the door earlier.” Ling Yunfan rubbed his hair in frustration and muttered quietly.

How could he still want to leave, but not be able to?

As time passed by, Ling Yunfan’s palms and fingertips became red from the various metal fixtures on the door, but he still couldn’t open it. Ling Yunfan deflated and walked back to the living room in disappointment, picked up his phone from the coffee table, and dialed the restaurant again.

“Hello?” A cheerful voice of a little girl came through the phone.

Ling Yunfan collapsed onto the sofa and said to his phone, “Something came up here, I can’t go to work today. Please apologize to Brother Xiong for me.”

“No problem, don’t worry about it. Rest well and call when you can come over,” Zheng Siqing giggled. “By the way, you can’t have braised pork ribs for lunch? Then I will eat two servings alone, hehe.”

“Who said she was on a diet?” Ling Yunfan laughed.

“After this meal, I can start the diet,” Zheng Siqing said.

“You’ve said that at least eight or nine times,” Ling Yunfan replied.

“Okay, okay, oh, my dad’s calling me. I have to go,” Zheng Siqing said.

“Okay, go ahead.”

After hanging up the phone, Ling Yunfan went to his room and brought the book that Ji Canghai had given him to the living room. He sat on the sofa and flipped through it.

When he had finished reading half of the programming book, he heard the sound of the front door opening in the hallway.

Ling Yunfan put down his book and went out to greet Ji Canghai, who had come in with a thermos in his hand.

“I’m back,” Ji Canghai smiled when he saw Ling Yunfan. He lifted the thermos in his hand. “I went to a nearby restaurant to get lunch to go.”

“Okay,” Ling Yunfan took the thermos from Ji Canghai’s hand. “Let me set the table, and you can go wash your hands.”

“Sure,” Ji Canghai smiled warmly.

Ling Yunfan brought the thermos to the kitchen and placed it on the dining table. He took out the bowls, chopsticks, and plates from the cupboard and arranged them neatly on the table. He couldn’t help but think to himself, Damn, I’ve become so familiar with this place. I’m starting to feel like a real resident here.

Ling Yunfan arranged the tableware and opened the lid of the thermos. He was surprised when he saw the four neatly packed containers inside, with three dishes and a soup, a very satisfying meal.

Ling Yunfan took out the first container and was momentarily stunned when he saw what was inside.

The container was filled with the aroma of braised pork ribs.

Deliciousness is within reach, making one’s mouth water. However, for some reason, it felt strange to Ling Yunfan, as if sharp needles were pricking at his nerve endings. He instinctively looked at his phone that was casually placed nearby.

The phone was the latest model of a popular brand, pristine and unused, just like the room that seemed to have never been inhabited before.

“What’s wrong?” Suddenly, a voice came from behind, startling Ling Yunfan and causing his hand to tremble.

Ji Canghai was quick to catch the takeaway box in Ling Yunfan’s hand, preventing a disaster where the braised pork ribs would have fallen onto the table.

“This, this is…” Ling Yunfan looked at the food in his hand, then at Ji Canghai, stuttering nervously.

“Braised pork ribs, isn’t this your favorite?” Ji Canghai smiled.

Ling Yunfan was confused, “How did you know?”

Ji Canghai’s smile remained unchanged, “I’m your boyfriend, of course, I know.”

But in fact, Ji Canghai was not Ling Yunfan’s boyfriend.

And Ling Yunfan’s favorite food was not braised pork ribs.