Chapter 7: Dark-Skinned Rugged Honest Man 7

Jiang Rang was truly dying of anxiety.

He had never imagined that the male master’s misunderstanding of him had run so deep.

Seduction? A word like that back in their rural village would spark endless gossip! Come holidays or festivals, the old folks at the village entrance would drag it out as the punchline for their jokes!

The beta desperately wanted to clear things up right then and there, but the omega he had pushed away had curled into a tight ball once more.

The man’s face was flushed, veins bulging at his temples, his hands clamped tightly over his head as if some demon entity were about to burst free from his skull. He was clearly out of his mind.

Only then did Jiang Rang remember the medicine. With trembling hands, the young man fished out the pill bottle and shook out two tablets.

The beta cradled the pills in his palm, forcing his voice to soften as he soothed, “Mr. Qi, you’re sick. Let’s get this medicine down you first, okay…?”

All that answered him was the faint, chilling chatter of teeth knocking together.

Jiang Rang swallowed hard, steeling himself to go all in—feed the pill quick and be done with it.

But moments later, the young man sensed something was off.

A thick, nauseating stench of blood wafted from between the other’s lips and teeth.

A flash of realization hit Jiang Rang like lightning. The sturdy beta’s brows furrowed sharply. He tossed the pills aside, gripped the man’s sharp, emaciated jaw with one hand to force his mouth open, and used his thumb on the other to pry apart the omega’s teeth.

Blood trickled down alongside saliva. Qi Yu was clearly beyond reason, lost to pain; unable to gnash his tongue, he sank his teeth into the young man’s thumb instead.

At the hazy border between chaos and shadow, waves of moist moss scent mingled with the metallic tang of blood.

His mind blazed with searing agony like raging flames, his vision a blur of dark silhouettes. Qi Yu heard mocking laughter swirling around him, growing ever more distorted.

“He’s just an omega—who knows how he snagged those projects?”

“Give an omega a little kindness, and he’ll hook up with any alpha who comes along.”

“With looks like that, no wonder the Li Family Young Master died so young. Probably cursed to death by him.”

~~~

Before the deeper darkness could swallow him whole, a warm, broad palm gently patted his back with the lightest touch.

The cacophony of voices receded in an instant, like water draining away.

Qi Yu heard the young man’s low, murmuring voice, laced with worry and urgency.

“How did it get this bad? You can’t bite yourself, no matter how much it hurts…”

Suddenly, Qi Yu felt parched. He instinctively pursed his lips—only to sense something amiss.

A familiar, warm finger pressed between his lips and teeth, twitching slightly as he moved.

After a long moment, the beta seemed to notice he was coming around a bit. He let out a soft breath of relief, then added as if remembering something, “Mr. Qi, we need to get that medicine in you quick.”

The pale-faced man gazed quietly at the young man before him.

There wasn’t a trace of fear in the beta’s eyes. He had witnessed the full madness of Qi Yu’s episode firsthand—had felt those teeth pressed against his own neck, endured the probing and the misunderstandings—yet the young man hadn’t changed one bit.

The pressure in his mouth eased slowly. Jiang Rang finally withdrew his thumb, but he paid no mind to the wound, merely flicking his hand casually. Then, like handling a treasure, he carefully drew the pill bottle from his pocket, extracted two tablets, and offered them to the omega.

“Mr. Qi, you need to take this medicine quick,” the young man said. “Otherwise, it’ll just keep hurting.”

“Want some water? Right, right—I’ll pour some now. And I’ll grab some sweets too. Sir, don’t move. I’ll be right back.”

Qi Yu wasn’t sure what expression crossed his own face, but he saw a relieved smile break across the beta’s honest, rugged features. The young man left in a hurry, shutting the door swiftly behind him—as if afraid Qi Yu might come to any harm.

Qi Yu pressed his lips together tightly, his grip on the pills tightening in his hand. Slowly, ever so slowly, a smile cracked across his pale, gaunt features.

His slender fingers relaxed. The ashen man lowered his gaze, staring at the tablets for a long moment before extending his scarlet tongue, threaded with blood, to slowly draw the youth-touched pills into his mouth.

The omega’s furrowed brows gradually smoothed.

The door opened again.

The omega tilted his head slightly toward the newcomer and murmured softly, “Bitter.”

“Jiang Rang… bitter.”

The beta hurried over, fussing as he set things down. “Mr. Qi, I brought a few kinds of pastries. The butler said these cakes won’t interfere with the medicine. Here’s the water—right by your hand. Rinse your mouth first…”

“Your tongue’s injured, sir, so eating might sting a little. But the doctor’s on his way.”

After Jiang Rang finished speaking, he subconsciously glanced at the man. The omega’s pitch-black eyes had been staring fixedly at him, and their gazes met perfectly in that moment. The young man averted his eyes first. The honest beta seemed to recall something, his earlobes turning red as he uncomfortably took a step back.

Qi Yu lowered his gaze. His cold, brooding brows and eyes softened into a gentle aloofness. He obediently rinsed his mouth and slowly began nibbling on the pastries without so much as a frown.

The man’s table manners had always been impeccable, each movement carrying an elegant grace that was easy on the eyes.

Jiang Rang had assumed the omega would only manage a couple of bites before the pastries were cleared away, but to his surprise, the other showed no sign of stopping.

The beta worried a little about the wound on his employer’s tongue, yet Qi Yu displayed a remarkably hearty appetite, polishing off an entire small stack of the overly sweet treats.

Jiang Rang couldn’t help thinking it was probably because the medicine had been so bitter. He gazed at the omega’s ghostly pale, emaciated face and the deep purple shadows beneath his eyes, remembering how the man had gripped that knife for self-defense even while enduring pain on the verge of breakdown. The young beta sniffled despite himself.

He suspected that Mr. Qi must have it pretty rough too, in all the ways no one else could see.

As Jiang Rang gathered the dishes and turned to leave, the man’s low, raspy voice suddenly spoke from behind him.

“My chronic illness flared up today. I wasn’t fully conscious.”

He spoke calmly, though a sharp sting pierced his tongue. In his mind, though, flashed the memory of the taut muscles he’d felt beneath him on the young man’s abdomen—and that scorching body heat in the darkness, enough to set his blood racing.

“Even if I don’t remember what happened, I know what my episodes are like. If you can’t handle it, you can collect your pay and go right now. Of course, if you decide to stay on, I’ll have the butler bump up your salary and benefits.”

Nothing seemed amiss in the man’s expression, but those ink-black eyes bored into the young man’s back with such intensity that blood vessels threatened to burst.

“Mr. Qi.” The young man whirled around.

Qi Yu’s spine went rigid for a split second, his gaze flicking away.

The beta from the countryside regarded the man before him with utmost sincerity. “I’m not leaving. You’re a great employer, Mr. Qi. My family’s not well off, but you gave me this job. You even taught me to read and write, helping me adjust to life here.”

“I’ve never met anyone kinder than you, sir.”

In the man’s eyes, this young, dim-witted beta was hopelessly naive.

He had forgotten—or never even grasped—the omega’s subtle tests. He understood nothing, simply treating this omega, reviled and shunned by all the world, like some saint.

Qi Yu’s throat worked visibly. His dark hair veiled a face pale as death yet now faintly flushed, like a corpse stirring back to unholy life.

The omega lowered his brows and murmured softly, “I understand.”

The honest beta’s smile widened just a touch. His tall, sturdy build lacked the alpha’s intimidating presence; if anything, it put others at ease.

~~~

When the doctor in his white coat descended the stairs, the butler hurried over and questioned him at length.

“A portion of Mr. Qi’s condition is psychological in nature. In most cases, as long as his environment and emotions remain stable, it won’t worsen or relapse.”

The butler asked anxiously, “In your professional opinion, then, what triggered this episode?”

The doctor frowned, absently rubbing his thumb along the handle of his medical kit. “Mr. Qi’s mental walls are sky-high; pinpointing the exact cause is no easy task. But one thing I can say for certain—”

He paused, his tone measured, then turned to the beta standing nearby with his head bowed. In a warm voice, he said, “You’re Jiang Rang, right?”

The young man blinked in surprise, then raised his eyes and nodded sheepishly.

The young doctor smiled. “Mr. Qi trusts you deeply. On a subconscious level, he sees you as safe—someone he can rely on. He…”

The doctor knitted his brows, searching for the perfect word.

“Likes you. Yes, he likes you a great deal.” That was how he put it.

The butler shot the doctor a subtle glance. For a fleeting moment, their eyes locked.

Jiang Rang, oblivious to the undercurrents, stood there at a loss. This upright beta, unaccustomed to such praise in his modest life, flushed a vivid red across his handsome, sun-darkened features.

The seasoned butler, ever the diplomat, chimed in agreeably and saw the doctor to the door.

Night had fully cloaked the sky outside. The middle-aged man, his temples streaked with frost-white hair, watched the car’s taillights fade into the distance. After a long silence, he sighed softly. “Xiao Jiang, you had a tough day. On second thought, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”

Jiang Rang had a vague sense of what the other man meant. It was probably related to Qi Yu’s condition.

“I’ve watched Mister grow up over all these years, and he’s never had it easy,” the butler said.

“Mister was born into a prestigious family like the Qi Family, and he’s never known true freedom. As a child, while other kids put in one part of effort, he had to give ten times as much. And as an omega, he still came in first in every single subject—even outshining alphas with exceptional talent.”

The tall beta’s expression froze for a moment. Only after a long pause did he hear the butler continue. “It was precisely because of that envy that those alphas ganged up to bully him. In the end, a massive fire devoured everything.”

“Mister was the only one who escaped alive. But from that day on, he began suffering from severe migraines and alpha-phobia. His body grew frailer and weaker by the day.”

“Xiao Jiang.” The butler’s eyes reddened, his voice turning hoarse. “You’re the only person he’s allowed to get close to him in all these years.”