Chapter 43: A Night in Prague

Guan Qing and Xie Xu had barely composed themselves when evening approached. The landlady, an elderly woman, knocked on their door to call them downstairs for dinner.

Most of Guan Qing’s thoughts were consumed by worry for his mother, while the rest were entirely dedicated to being angry at Xie Xu. After they quieted down, the atmosphere between them grew awkward.

Xie Xu seemed to want to say something, but in the end, as they went downstairs, he only murmured, “About Auntie… I was wrong. But at least I can guarantee she’s in no danger now.”

Guan Qing clenched his fists. He opened his mouth, but in the end, nothing came out.

The dinner table was warm and lively; everyone chatted merrily. To accommodate Guan Qing, they even deliberately spoke in English. The landlady, with her broken English, asked about Guan Qing’s injury and said she would give him some homemade medicine later.

But… he was still distracted.

His mother’s situation, Xie Xu’s situation—everything was a tangled mess. The truth was shrouded in layers of fog, and he had only glimpsed a vague outline.

After the meal, the old lady invited him to play cards, but Guan Qing politely declined. Xie Xu sat beside him the whole time, helping him with food and such.

Xie Xu spoke little throughout dinner, his eyes a bit swollen. His gaze remained fixed on a small distance in front of him, as if afraid of something, not daring to look sideways.

He didn’t dare look at Guan Qing’s left hand—the stark white of the bandage was so dazzling that it pained him to even glance at it.

After dinner, everyone chatted for a while. Guan Qing was about to return to the bedroom to have a proper talk with Xie Xu when he heard the landlady say something. The other tenants looked at them, whistled, and laughed in unison.

Guan Qing: “…Huh?”

Xie Xu rubbed his arm, a bit embarrassed. “Uh, they said…”

He turned and said something in clumsy Czech to the group, but the landlady raised her index finger and shook her head.

Several young men surged forward, without explanation putting a cotton-padded jacket, scarf, and gloves on Xie Xu. The women gently handed various clothes to Guan Qing. Puzzled, Guan Qing could only put them on.

Then the landlady wiped her hands on her scarf, curled two fingers, and whistled—

“Yoo-hoo—”

Snowflakes drifted slowly, and the whole town lit up one by one with dim yellow lamps. This place felt far removed from modern society, growing quiet by eight o’clock, with faint lights carefully illuminating small patches. Under everyone’s gaze, Guan Qing involuntarily looked into the distance…

A dark figure gradually approached, becoming clearer.

It was a horse-drawn carriage.

The chestnut horse snorted, its four hooves treading on snow, tall and handsome. The coachman, a middle-aged man in his forties, pulled the reins. The horse reared up on its front legs and came to a sudden stop.

The middle-aged man smiled at them and said in broken English, “Hello, tonight’s guests.”

Guan Qing froze, turned his head—Xie Xu was gone.

The landlady winked at him and gestured. Guan Qing followed her gaze—

Xie Xu seemed to have been pushed onto the carriage by the men. At that moment, the carriage door was half open, and Xie Xu brushed a half-snowflake from his head. The tip of his nose was a little red. Dim lamplight fell on him from the side as snowflakes drifted down one by one. In the distance, the sound of an accordion drifted over, as if in a fairy tale.

“I—they insisted…” Xie Xu rubbed his nose, a bit embarrassed and shy. The young people immediately jeered.

Xie Xu had to straighten his face and stop talking. He looked at Guan Qing, the emotion in his eyes reflected in the streetlight, soft beyond belief. He opened his arms to Guan Qing. “Baby, I…”

He switched to Czech and murmured something.

The young people nearby fell silent for a moment, then their voices swelled instantly—whistles, cheers, everyone laughing and clapping. The atmosphere was extremely lively.

Guan Qing was completely confused.

He didn’t understand those words, but Xie Xu’s expression and the reactions of those around him made him vaguely sense something. He felt a little flustered and anxious, but also tasted a secret sweetness—though those emotions were fleeting.

Like the distant accordion sound, it was both illusory and incredibly beautiful, moving to the point of making one doubt it was real, yet it was truly imprinted in his mind. For a moment, he heard the sound of their hearts beating in resonance again.

Immersed in this wonderfully enchanting atmosphere, he asked dazedly, “What did you say?”

He wanted to climb into the carriage himself, but Xie Xu lifted him up entirely, holding him in a tight embrace, and carried him into the carriage while whispering in his ear, “I just said… I want to take you to see Prague at night.”

Definitely not just that.

Guan Qing thought, if it had only been that, there was no need to deliberately switch to Czech.

But Xie Xu seemed to think the time wasn’t right yet.

Snapping back to reality from his trance, Guan Qing’s heart tightened again. Xie Xu’s wound wasn’t healed yet, and Xie Xu hadn’t mentioned it—normally, he shouldn’t be making strenuous movements. So he didn’t look at Xie Xu, but stared out the window and asked, “Your wound… how is it?”

“Didn’t split. Lift your clothes and let me check.”

Guan Qing pretended to glance casually, then nodded.

After a moment, he couldn’t help glancing again, and this time directly met Xie Xu’s gaze.

Xie Xu seemed to have been watching him all along. Their eyes suddenly met. Xie Xu paused, didn’t look away, and said, “I…”

“Why do you have to act tough?” Guan Qing stared at a faint light in the dimness outside the window, his voice a little suppressed.

He wasn’t heavy himself, but he was still an adult male. With that kind of injury, lifting him up… was too much.

“I’m not acting tough,” Xie Xu said. He paused, glanced out the window, and with the same forced casualness said, “No matter how serious my injury, I can still lift you.”

A snowflake stuck to the glass window. The window was not clean, blurry. The snowflake reflected the faint light, fragile yet resilient.

“…”

By the time the coachman whistled and drove away, Guan Qing was still dazed.

The coachman dropped them off at a bustling place that seemed like a night market. A girl in a Scottish headscarf was shouting something in Czech, apparently selling small trinkets. Women gathered to chat, children ran around with candy, and the overhead canopy kept the snow out. Warm white steam enveloped the people—a place full of the smoke and vitality of life, yet beautiful.

In the short time he had been in Prague, the city’s impression on him remained consistent. It was so real, yet so lovely—too lovely to be real.

Xie Xu opened an umbrella that appeared from somewhere, pulled Guan Qing closer, and whispered, “I’m really grateful to Mrs. Marianna—the landlady—and those young people for their kindness, but…”

He leaned close to Guan Qing’s ear. “Next time I’ll take you to have a proper fun. This time, we have something to do.”

Guan Qing was instantly jolted awake. The anxiety and restlessness he had deliberately forgotten surged back. His heart was still suspended in midair—

Mother.

Though they were in the same city, he felt so far away from her.

“Where… is she?”

Xie Xu looked deeply at him, raised his index finger to his lips, and said, “Shh.” Then he put his arm around Guan Qing’s shoulder, like every intimate couple on the street, walking closely together, whispering as they went forward.

“She’s in Prague, with your stepfather.”

Xie Xu said.

They walked slowly through the crowd, the accordion still sounding from afar. Somewhere, it seemed there was a dance party, very distant, but the lively atmosphere still seeped through.

“I want to see her.”

Guan Qing’s throat felt dry. He said softly.

Their posture was extremely intimate. Under the streetlight at the edge of the market, they looked like lovers leaning on each other, whispering sweet nothings.

Xie Xu hesitated for a moment.

“Maybe not yet… I don’t know what Wang Yun really wants.” He paused and said, “She once told me she wanted the Jiang family and wanted me to marry Jiang Lu—but I’ve thought about it a lot. With Wang Yun’s methods, she wouldn’t have to resort to marriage as a last resort to save the situation.”

He and Jiang Lu were no longer possible, and the whole world knew. Before doing that, he had considered that Jiang Lu might get angry and humiliated. But there was no other way.

“I checked the records. She lived in Prague when she was young. That’s strange. She was the pride of heaven all her life, with a perfect resume… Even for studying abroad, she shouldn’t have come to Prague. She might be—” Xie Xu stopped mid-sentence and narrowed his eyes.

Guan Qing followed his gaze.

It was a small photography studio at the edge of the market. An uncle sat at the door smoking a pipe, reading a newspaper, while a radio crackled.

The uncle’s face was deeply lined, giving an unapproachable look.

He glanced at the two of them, his gaze carrying a hint of disdain and contempt, then slowly looked away. He looked down at the old newspaper for a couple of seconds, then suddenly seemed to realize something. His eyes shifted and landed on Xie Xu.

Guan Qing thought he heard Xie Xu sigh, but when he looked, Xie Xu wore his usual expression. Xie Xu led him to the shop door.

Guan Qing was slightly nearsighted, but now he could finally see clearly—a photo hanging at the entrance. The man in it was very young, not looking at the camera but smiling in another direction.

The man’s eyes were a bit light in color, and when gazing at a certain point, they seemed deep and affectionate. Photography technology wasn’t advanced in that era, but this photo…

Sunlight came from the man’s side, bathing him in light. His tousled hair flew in the wind, rebellious and handsome, like he was smiling at someone he liked.

The photo had few colors, but all the light and all the hues converged on that man. He seemed beloved by everything, and by the photographer as well.

Guan Qing froze.

—That man’s features were four or five parts similar to Xie Xu’s.

.

Far away in Prague, the two didn’t know that while they were at the market, eight hours behind in China, a term had become a trending topic on Weibo—

#XieXuGuanQingMarried#

“My Xu Xu forgot his Weibo password again? Guan Qing, can you remind your husband??”

“Qing Qing’s fans say not only has your Xie Xu gone missing, but we haven’t seen Qing Qing for a long time either. [doge]”

“Insiders reveal that Xie Xu’s last WeChat moments location was in Czech.”

“The two disappeared together—could it be—”

“Got married???”

Indeed, since the last plagiarism incident was cleared up, a group of people calling themselves “Qing Qing fans” had emerged.

Some were originally Xie Xu’s fans, others were psychology researchers—a very mixed crowd.

The reason for this fan group’s appearance was… Xie Xu’s brilliant counterattack in the plagiarism incident.

The reversal of that plagiarism incident could almost be recorded in crisis PR case studies. After all, early public opinion was almost one-sided, and the later turnaround surprised everyone—initially, everyone was cursing Guan Qing for plagiarism, with even rational voices drowned out.

It was Xie Xu who first used his influence to forcibly suppress negative comments and take control of the situation. Of course, in the process, many “fans” claimed to have turned against him or unfollowed him, unable to tolerate Xie Xu’s support of cheating.

But soon, Xie Xu called a press conference and presented a series of evidence.

Including one piece—exclusive firsthand data obtained in Peach Blossom Town.

Peach Blossom Town, an extremely isolated place, had provided a crucial piece of data for Guan Qing’s research due to its unique environment. That data was used in a paper published in a renowned journal, but the source could not be cited.

In fact, Xie Xu also listed various clues, including the initial research time and various evidence.

Xie Xu didn’t even attend the press conference—it was called and hosted by a very influential figure in academia. This Professor Xu had already reached the highest positions in China and even internationally; he had no need to curry favor with Xie Xu.

At the end of the press conference, Professor Xu straightened the papers on the table and said slowly:

“Guan Qing is a gifted child. I… just happen to be lacking a last disciple.”

The academic world was stunned.

Professor Xu’s previous student was already someone with their own lab and at the forefront of research. In recent years, Professor Xu only occasionally taught, mainly doing research and lectures. No one expected…

In short, Guan Qing made another splash, in a different way.

He himself, of course, knew nothing about all this.

Then, those who had maintained rational attitudes from the beginning became active, and many of them turned into Guan Qing’s “fans.” They even dug up his Weibo account, which mostly consisted of reposting giveaways, random comments on current events, and occasional ads for a matchmaking agency he once worked for.

Everyone realized he used to be a matchmaker.

“…So cute.”

Unlike previous dislike, this time everyone unanimously expressed satisfaction.

But this wave of popularity didn’t last long.

Suddenly, Jiang Lu announced that… he had been marked by Xie Xu. He even presented so-called “evidence” and tagged the official Weibo account of the Omega Rights Association.

Since omegas make up too small a proportion of the population and are a vulnerable group, the recent trend has been that policies and welfare tilt more toward omegas. So when an omega is marked, whether or not the alpha is responsible, the alpha has to take responsibility.

And the usual method of taking responsibility is… marriage.

The entire entertainment industry fell silent for a moment, then was about to explode.

But this time, Xie Xu reacted even faster. Within half an hour of Jiang Lu’s move, he released his own surgery certificate—

He had undergone surgery to block omega pheromone induction, a year ago.

That surgery hadn’t yet been performed in China, but the technique in the US was relatively mature. However, few people voluntarily underwent it. The surgery was initially designed for soldiers, to prevent untimely passive heat.

Even… unlike those soldiers, the surgery Xie Xu had was permanent.

Xie Xu told no one, not even Guan Qing. At the time, he only told Guan Qing that he was “going to film a movie for about three months.”

During that period, he was taking pre-surgery medication, which more or less affected his mood, making him irritable and prone to anger… Many of his later sequelae, including uncontrollable pressure, were closely related to this.

“The idea came to me about a year and a half ago. I tried directing a movie. Some of you may know it a little—it’s called ‘Ferry Me Not.’ It tells the story of an alpha implicated by an omega’s heat period and the treatment he receives in society afterward. He is forced to separate from his wife, forced to…

Love without being able to love.

As if a relationship with unequal status is the original sin.

The film’s final box office was poor, but it won many awards. Xie Xu was shocked when he first got the script. He thought, there are some things he must say, in his own way, to the world.

Say…

I love him, and I’m not wrong.

But due to its subject matter, ‘Ferry Me Not’ was banned in China, and not many people know about it.

That movie was the fundamental reason that inspired Xie Xu to do this. Secondly, of course, there were other reasons. For instance… Wang Yun’s frequent urging for marriage gave him the idea.

Then, when the surgery was completed, he hid it from Xie Qing but told Wang Yun immediately.

With a hint of boastfulness, a feeling of “turning the tables.”

But Wang Yun turned a deaf ear, continuing to press for marriage and apply pressure. Gradually, Xie Xu understood her meaning—

She didn’t care whether he liked it or not, whether physiologically he was seduced or disgusted; all she needed was a qualified actor.

Because she didn’t love Xie Xu. Not at all.

.

Guan Qing looked at the man in the photo.

A few fewer wrinkles, an extra touch of youth. One could vaguely glimpse the mature yet childish handsome uncle decades later.

—It was actually Xie Qing.

“Uncle, this photo is…”

This was too strange.

Xie Qing’s photos often appeared in financial magazines, but not here. Especially since Xie Qing in this photo looked at most sixteen—he was still a student back then. The Xie family was strict; minors were not allowed to show off.

Moreover, the angle and colors of this photo… were too obvious.

Through the lens, one could see the photographer’s almost desperate, entangled infatuation for the person in the picture.

The camera was positioned very low, slightly looking up, that kind of… humble affection. Like an insignificant weed struggling on the ground, hoping the other would spare one more glance.

Guan Qing knew that emotion all too well.

It was just—

“…” The uncle waved his hand in displeasure and said something.

Guan Qing saw the inscription in the corner of the photo, gently resting beside Xie Qing’s ear, like some secret declaration, even that declaration was tiny to the point of being humble.

It was a string of cursive letters, seeming to be a girl’s English name.

Guan Qing wanted to say more, but the uncle’s brow furrowed even tighter. At that moment, Xie Xu stepped forward, stared straight at the uncle, and opened a photo on his phone for him to see—it was actually an old photo of Wang Yun. He asked in English, “Has this person ever worked in your shop? And the photographer of this photo…”

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