Chapter 20: Green Eyes (20)

“The Gene Modification Serum?”

A trace of venomous light flashed in Jace’s eyes, completely ruining his otherwise refined features. “Right. Alphas are nothing but products of their genes… Genes can grant him power, and naturally, they can also destroy him.”

“We can do it, right?” Jace abruptly looked up, his gaze burning into him.

‘Why on earth does he think I would help him?’ Shen Qiuxun was truly baffled. ‘Haven’t I acted like I love Xu Zhiyuan enough?’

【Maybe… he thinks he’s already succeeded in driving a wedge between you two?】

“Where is it?”

Jace didn’t answer immediately. He glanced at the time, then looked up. “I’ve hidden it somewhere. Once it’s been used, we’ll take a spaceship and start over on another planet, okay?”

Shen Qiuxun pondered for a moment. “Mm, let’s go.”

“Really?” Jace’s eyes lit up.

“Yeah. You better not be lying to me.”

Jace gently took his wrist and promised softly, “I won’t lie to you.”

He turned, crouched down, and reached for the side of the desk. Feeling a button, he twisted it. A muffled sound followed, and the filing cabinet rotated forward, revealing a gap—a secret passage!

Shen Qiuxun’s eyelid twitched. Jace grabbed his wrist, and the two of them bent over and entered the secret passage together.

—

In another room, a tall man in an olive-green combat uniform opened the door. He bowed respectfully, keeping his head low as he relayed the message: “Head of the Family, Mr. Shen has left with Jace.”

“The self-destruct chip is running normally.” The moment Jace made any drastic move, activating the chip would cause him to perish instantly.

Xu Zhiyuan stood before a massive holographic screen, hands braced on the desk, his knuckles tapping lightly on the surface. The room’s lighting was dim, hiding half his body in shadow. The murky light slid across his chiseled profile. His dark, intense emerald-green eyes stared at the screen as he answered in a low voice, “Mm.”

He lowered his gaze to the black wrist guard on his arm. The material was cheap, the quality mediocre. It was undoubtedly the least expensive gift he had ever received. He raised his hand and brushed his fingers across the fabric, as if caressing a lover’s face.

He’d been thinking for days: Would it have been better if he had just agreed to Shen Qiuxun on that very first day they met?

But he was also jealous. Jealous that Shen Qiuxun’s initial confession was merely a way to reject Jace. Jace was like a thorn stabbed deep into his heart. He wanted… to be chosen, decisively, just once.

He lifted his hand, letting a kiss fall from the bottom of the wrist guard onto his palm. That faint trace of Shen Qiuxun’s scent intoxicated him.

He would choose him, right?

…

The secret passage was unventilated and cold, with steel on both sides. Fluorite stones embedded in the ceiling at intervals provided light, but it was so dim that one could only barely make out the direction ahead.

After walking for about ten minutes, Shen Qiuxun was exhausted. He finally began climbing a staircase. Opening the door at the top, what greeted him was an abandoned, drafty, four-walled building with only one door. It was on the edge of the city. Looking out the window, all he could see was endless yellow sand stretching to the horizon.

The wind was strong, lifting his bangs and jacket. Strands of fine, soft hair clung to his face like seaweed long frozen in an icy river. He narrowed his eyes slightly, his deep, dark pupils looking out the window. His prominent brow bone and the bridge of his nose were outlined against the gray sky. His complexion was deathly pale, his whole figure so thin he seemed like a scrap of paper about to be blown away by the wind.

Jace stared, slightly dazed. He realized that even at a life-or-death moment like this, he was still captivated by Shen Qiuxun.

Just like that first time he saw him outside the pharmacy, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, dozing off.

His bangs had covered his brows and eyes, his skin was very white, and his clothes sagged loosely, creating several creases at his waist.

He had stopped there for a very, very long time.

“Can a spaceship land here?”

“At the beginning of each month, star pirates dock here. As long as you have enough money, you can smuggle yourself to another place. But you need to be lucky.”

Jace took off his cumbersome suit jacket and laid it aside. He re-covered the passage door, then pulled a brick from the back wall, revealing a box. He opened it, exposing a tube of black liquid inside. It was pitch-black, like sludge from a swamp, or some poison a witch had been brewing for months.

Shen Qiuxun reached out his hand, but Jace didn’t immediately hand it over. Instead, he looked at him earnestly with those eyes, as if stripping away all other bitter and uneasy emotions, simply asking:

“Do you truly want to leave him?”

“Yes, truly.” Shen Qiuxun stuffed his hands into his pockets, his lazy drawl nearly torn apart by the wind. “After these past few days of getting along, I’ve deeply realized how difficult Alphas are to deal with. Moody, temperamental, and highly unstable. When they lose their temper, I always feel like they’re going to hit me. And they’re so arrogant, looking down on everyone as if I’m their servant. Who would willingly put up with that?”

A hint of a smile touched Jace’s eyes. He held the glass tube, yet a shadow of worry still lingered on his face. “But…”

“Sigh, Alphas are really just creatures controlled by pheromones. And Xu Zhiyuan’s gland is even unstable. I’m just a Beta, I can’t secrete pheromones to soothe him. What if one day he loses interest in me, loses control, and tries to kill me? A Beta is still a better partner—emotionally stable and knows how to take care of someone, right?”

Shen Qiuxun’s mouth ran on autopilot. He glanced at the tube of black liquid and pulled his lips into an emotionless smile at Jace.

That faint, alluring smile was captivating, like the moment when night finally gives way to the morning star—thin mist soaking the leaves, drenching them in a clear, cold dampness. It was the moment closest to dawn, yet also the coldest time of the day.

Jace nodded dazedly and reached out to pass him the black liquid. The filthy blackness against the pure white of his hand created a stark contrast.

Just then, a knock came from the door. The sound echoed in the empty concrete room. Shen Qiuxun instinctively clenched the black tube in his hand and looked towards the door.

“You’ll do it… Alphas can only end up with Omegas, but I will only ever be with you.” Jace whispered in his ear.

The door opened from the outside. Xu Zhiyuan stood in the doorway, dressed in an olive-green combat uniform, his head nearly brushing the top of the doorframe. The wind lifted his silver hair, revealing his sharp, striking features. He stood with one hand in his pocket, and just by standing there, he exuded an unspoken, commanding authority. He saw Jace standing so close to Shen Qiuxun and cast an unhappy glance his way. “Move back.”

Jace cautiously retreated two steps, his facial muscles twitching unnaturally. He lowered his eyes to hide the venomous hatred within.

Shen Qiuxun hid the Gene Modification Serum up his sleeve and quietly looked towards the door.

【He definitely heard you talking bad about him.】

‘So what? He talked bad about me too.’

【Makes sense.】

The man at the door looked himself up and down innocently and stepped inside, puzzled. “Did I do something?”

“No.”

Xu Zhiyuan’s lips curved into a slight smile. He opened his arms, his grassy green eyes brimming with mirth. “Come to me.”

Shen Qiuxun clenched his fist. He tilted his head slightly to look at Jace beside him, noticing his hand hidden beneath his sleeve, trembling uncontrollably. Just as Shen Qiuxun was about to step forward, someone grabbed the hem of his clothes.

Jace’s expression was dark and solemn, his eyes fixed intensely on him.

Shen Qiuxun felt that besides nervousness, there was something else in that gaze. But it wasn’t worth his concern.

He walked over to Xu Zhiyuan, still observing Jace’s movements. But suddenly, a large hand cupped his chin and turned his head back. The man seemed a little displeased. “Look at me. Don’t look at him.”

Shen Qiuxun frowned and looked at him, reached up to swat the hand away, and rubbed his chin.

Xu Zhiyuan lowered his head and took his hand, his eyes downcast, his expression unreadable. “Are you going to leave with him?”

A chill ran inexplicably down Shen Qiuxun’s spine.

“…You guess?”