TMDP CH 42

Chapter 42: Han Mingxiu, Can You Wait?

Han Mingxiu drove home, dejected, and entered the house to find that Mrs. Han was still awake.

“Mom, why aren’t you resting yet?” Han Mingxiu noticed his mother arranging flowers late into the night.

“Your sister Mingya is finally bringing her boyfriend home tomorrow. Your second aunt asked me to arrange a few flower pots for her, but I forgot about it. I came downstairs to get some water just now and saw the flowers, so I thought I’d better get it done.” Tang Xi held up a flower, measuring its length, and deftly trimmed the excess stem.

“How about you? You’ve just finished your date with Xia Ye, haven’t you? Things must be going well, judging by the time,” Tang Xi teased while busily working. “So, when can we reschedule your wedding?”

Reschedule the wedding? That dream felt too far-fetched. Han Mingxiu gave a bitter smile and slumped onto the sofa.

“Mom, I really don’t know what to do. Xia Ye feels like a ball of cotton—I can’t get any traction,” Han Mingxiu confessed, utterly drained. He didn’t know who else he could talk to about this.

“What do you mean? I think things are going well with Xia Ye. Isn’t he spending time with you every day, going on dates and all? Your relationship should be progressing smoothly,” Tang Xi replied, puzzled.

“On the surface, it looks like he’s going along with me. He agrees to meet up, eat, watch movies, or stroll around, and he lets me drive him home. We really do have a pleasant time together,” Han Mingxiu admitted, feeling at a loss. “But he always wears someone else’s ring, he always smells like someone else’s scent. When he’s with me, he sprays suppressant, not just on himself but also on me, as if he’s afraid of my scent clinging to him. Sometimes, he even uses blocking patches. It feels like he’s constantly shielding himself from me.”

“But then, why…why doesn’t he guard against others? He seems fine with someone else’s scent lingering on him,” Han Mingxiu became increasingly agitated, clutching his head and pulling at his hair, his anxiety palpable. “Why does he reject me so much?”

Tang Xi’s expression turned odd, almost amused. “He smells like someone else? What kind of scent?”

“I can’t describe it. It’s some sort of woodsy smell. That person must be really weak, so weak that their pheromone characteristics are barely distinguishable.”

Tang Xi couldn’t help but laugh at her son’s cluelessness. “A woodsy smell? Doesn’t that scent seem familiar to you?”

“Of course it’s familiar,” Han Mingxiu replied sulkily. “But it’s not any specific scent I know. It’s just a woody smell.”

Tang Xi sighed. She’d given such an obvious hint, yet he still didn’t get it. But she couldn’t really blame him. Han Mingxiu had only seen the ring a few times as a child—nearly twenty years ago. It had since been altered into a men’s ring, and Xia Ye, being the mischievous kid he was, always kept the wooden crystal stone hidden in his palm. It was understandable that Han Mingxiu couldn’t recall, recognize, or connect the dots.

“I gave him the ring,” Tang Xi revealed, no longer beating around the bush. She explained, “Do you remember when you were little, I used to wear a wooden crystal ring? The one that could emit pheromone-like characteristics? Do you recall that? I had it turned into a men’s ring.”

“A wooden crystal ring?” Han Mingxiu frowned, trying to remember. “Was it the ugly ring you wore whenever Dad was on a business trip for more than a week?”

“What do you mean ugly? Your grandmother designed that ring. Watch out, or she’ll come after you in your dreams,” Tang Xi glared at him before continuing. “Later, when your dad’s trips weren’t as long, I put the ring away. Then, two years ago, when Xia Ye’s situation came up—wasn’t Junzhou saying he refused to undergo gland treatment? He was afraid that once his gonads started functioning normally, it would cause problems. We discussed it and thought it was too risky for him to go off to college on his own. After all, he had been with you, and you even had a child together. Biologically speaking, he could be considered the Han family’s Omega. The wooden crystal was effective for him—it could calm him and protect him.

“So, after discussing it with your father, we decided to lend the wooden crystal to him as a shield. This shield would make other Alphas think he’s a bonded Omega. The stronger the Alpha, the more intense the pheromone-like scent they’d perceive. As long as Xia Ye keeps the ring on, other Alphas with bad intentions won’t dare approach him.

“It’s different with you, though. You’re an Alpha from the Han family, so you’ll only smell a faint woody scent,” Tang Xi explained with a smile. “We told him that if he ever found someone he truly wanted to spend his life with and no longer needed the wooden crystal as a shield, he could return it to me.”

Han Mingxiu stared blankly at his mother, who was finishing up her flower arrangement as she spoke.

“Do you understand now? The reason he keeps wearing the ring and smells like wood is to keep other Alphas away. As long as he doesn’t return the ring, you still have a chance.”

Through a vase of flowers, Tang Xi watched Han Mingxiu’s expression shift from dejection to elation, his smile blossoming brighter than the flowers in front of him. He finally realized, “Mom, are you saying the ring Xia Ye’s wearing is our family’s heirloom, the one meant for…for the eldest daughter-in-law? The wooden crystal?”

Overjoyed, he exclaimed, “Mom, I love you!” He rushed over, hugging his mother and acting like a child. Ever since his family found out about his foolish mistakes with Xia Ye, they had all sided with Xia Ye, showing him no sympathy and refusing to help. Han Mingxiu had always felt like he was fighting a lonely battle.

And Xia Ye—Han Mingxiu had thought he would never give him another chance. Even now, despite Xia Ye allowing his pursuit, it often felt like he was forcing himself into Xia Ye’s life. Xia Ye passively didn’t reject him but also didn’t show any active response. At times, it left him feeling a little disheartened.

Who would’ve thought his family had been helping him in secret? Who would’ve thought Xia Ye had been willing to wear the Han family’s ring so long ago? Moved, Han Mingxiu hugged Tang Xi tightly. “Thank you,” he said, his voice slightly choked.

Han Junze came downstairs to look for his wife. Hearing their conversation, he couldn’t help but interject, “It wasn’t for you. We felt bad for Xia Ye and didn’t want him to suffer anymore.”

Pointing at Han Mingxiu, Han Junze said, “If you’re going to pursue him, then do it properly. Once you win him over, you’d better treat him well. Stop messing up!”

“I got it, Dad,” Han Mingxiu replied, his mood soaring. Even his usually grumpy father seemed endearing to him.

“Alright, go to bed and stop clinging to someone else’s wife,” Han Junze scolded, pushing Han Mingxiu aside and pulling Tang Xi upstairs.

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Xia Ye stood by the window, watching Han Mingxiu’s car drive away before heading back into his room.

Three months. There were still three months left before Xia Ye planned to bring up reconciliation.

Han Mingxiu, can you wait?

Xia Ye didn’t know if Han Mingxiu could, but he knew he himself was running out of patience.

Maybe it was time to start preparing.

He raised a hand to touch the back of his neck, troubled by a sense of uncertainty.

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– End of chapter –

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