02
It truly had been a long time.
The last time Qi Zhao saw Qi Wei was seven years ago.
Back then, he was seventeen, in his final year of high school. A time when he should have been thinking about which university to attend, he was instead confirmed as a beta for life.
He had just lost his battle with his family and was packing to go abroad.
Not all betas were destined to go abroad. It was just that his situation was special. His family needed to send him away to feel at ease.
It was Qi Zhao’s second time meeting Qi Wei, but Qi Wei blocked his path, telling him not to leave, not to go abroad. He even said something like…
“…Can you wait for me? Wait until I differentiate. I’ll dig out my gland for you. Don’t go abroad.”
Qi Zhao just thought Qi Wei was crazy. First of all, Qi Wei hadn’t differentiated even though he was already an adult, so he was most likely an omega—alphas generally differentiated earlier than omegas. Omega differentiation was slow because their bodies underwent some changes, requiring a long period of gradual transformation. It was impossible for a reproductive cavity to appear overnight. But alpha differentiation truly happened overnight, completely distinguishing them from betas. Not only were they much taller, but their aura was different too.
One of Qi Zhao’s friends had put it well: alpha differentiation was like suddenly transforming from a soldier into a king.
Qi Wei was already nineteen and hadn’t differentiated yet. Even though he wasn’t short, and his face didn’t look as “delicate” as other omegas and undifferentiated omegas, he could only be a low-quality omega.
So Qi Zhao had told him, “You’re crazy. And I don’t need an omega.”
Omegas did have a much better status than betas, but they weren’t the highest-ranking beings in this hierarchical society. Admittedly, high-ranking omegas could also use pheromones to control low-ranking alphas, but at the same level, alphas were the only kings of this society.
Moreover, Qi Zhao didn’t want to be the one responsible for childbirth.
When Qi Zhao boarded the plane, he still felt sorry for Qi Wei.
With his family background and being a low-quality omega, his fate would probably be worse than a beta’s.
But then…
It turned out that not everyone in the world was unlucky. Qi Wei’s late development didn’t mean he was a low-quality omega, but that he was the true top dog in this world, bar none.
The world’s only super S-rank alpha, capable of crushing all S-rank alphas. The most elite alpha.
Now, hearing Qi Wei’s words, Qi Zhao paused slightly, slowly pulling out the chair opposite Qi Wei and sitting down, wondering if he should apologize for what he said back then.
But honestly, after seven years… Qi Wei might not even remember. Even if he did, it was a dark history, and he probably wouldn’t want to bring it up again.
Qi Zhao moved his lips. “…Second Young Master.”
That’s what everyone outside called Qi Wei.
Qi Wei paused briefly, his eyelids drooping slightly.
Qi Zhao’s heart skipped a beat.
Did he call him the wrong thing?
But…
Qi Zhao looked at Qi Wei again.
He had seen Qi Wei many times in the news, in videos and photos. The man’s face was hailed as “the greatest face in the world.” Many people said he must have been Nuwa’s final project…
Qi Zhao also thought Qi Wei was very handsome. Even before differentiation, he was a rare existence. After differentiation, his super S-rank alpha status added a sharpness to him, making his face completely irreplaceable.
Now, up close, Qi Zhao realized that Qi Wei’s face was so perfect that it didn’t translate well to pictures. He was much more handsome in person.
Was this the advantage of being an alpha?
Omegas also had such gender advantages.
In the end, it was only betas who could only rely on their parents’ genes.
“Junior.”
Qi Wei suppressed his emotions and smiled gently, trying his best not to go crazy in front of Qi Zhao, lest he earn another “psycho” and a retreating figure. His tone was gentle. “I know why you’re here, so let’s get straight to the point. We’ll talk business before dinner, so you don’t have to worry and can enjoy your meal, okay?”
Hmm.
Qi Zhao thought that Qi Wei in front of him was a little different from the rumors circulating outside.
Were the rumors all lies, malicious comments spread by Qi Wei’s competitors?
The outside world said that this man was a devilish existence.
Qi Zhao didn’t refuse Qi Wei’s kindness. “Okay.”
To be honest, without resolving this matter, anything he ate would be like chewing wax. He couldn’t relax.
Qi Wei gestured to the man behind him, and the man bowed his head slightly before leaving.
Only he and Qi Wei were left on the open-air balcony.
Qi Zhao wasn’t an alpha or an omega. He couldn’t smell pheromones, and Qi Wei wasn’t deliberately releasing oppressive pheromones to coerce him. So, apart from the tension caused by their “past grievances,” Qi Zhao didn’t feel any discomfort.
Even though Qi Wei sat up a little straighter in his chair, his hands clasped on the table, leaning slightly towards him, Qi Zhao remained calm.
Qi Wei looked at Qi Zhao’s current appearance: deliberately long bangs, large-framed plain glasses, dressed ordinarily with a touch of颓然 (tuí rán – a sense of decline, discouragement, or listlessness)… This shouldn’t be Qi Zhao.
He had seen Qi Zhao at his most spirited. How could he bear to see him so downcast?
Qi Wei said softly, “I can give you anything you want.”
Qi Zhao was still thinking about how to start the conversation. Hearing these words, he lifted his eyelids and met Qi Wei’s eyes with a look of disbelief.
Alpha eyes were deep, their pupils dark, like the abyss of a devil. Once you fell in, you would be doomed—
“I’m serious.”
Qi Wei said, “Money, status, I can give you everything. How much money do you think you need, or what position do you need to be in to make Qi Mu change his mind? I can give you all of it.”
He still couldn’t help himself, just like back then.
If Qi Zhao had a gland back then, he could have stayed in the country… So he couldn’t control himself and sought out Qi Zhao, telling him that he was willing to dig out his gland and transplant it to him, begging him not to leave.
He was too weak back then. If Qi Zhao left… it would take him a long, long time, many years, to have the ability and means to see him again.
But Qi Zhao still left.
What about this time?
This time, Qi Zhao wasn’t doing it for himself, but for someone else, for a family member he cared about. Would he still leave?
Qi Wei said slowly, “Or I can help you change your official records, so everyone knows you’re not a beta, but an alpha?”
Qi Zhao’s pupils constricted sharply.
Seeing this, Qi Wei curled his lips slightly.
He knew Qi Zhao was tempted.
Good.
He held so many cards; at least one of them should be useful.
Qi Wei interlaced his fingers, hooking his chin with the backs of his hands, looking casual. “Changing it to S-rank is too difficult, but A-rank should be possible.”
Qi Zhao took a deep breath.
Fortunately, it was a bit cold in Kyoto today. The night breeze cooled his head, preventing him from acting rashly like a young boy. “Second Young Master, I really am a beta. How are you going to change my information?”
“You don’t need to take a test.” Qi Wei’s casual posture didn’t make it seem like he took this matter seriously. He said, “Here, I have the final say. If I say change, it will be changed.”
Because he was a super S-rank.
Qi Zhao: “…”
That’s right. Qi Wei was a super S-rank alpha.
In this hierarchical society, the world’s only super S-rank meant having the power of speech.
The role of pheromones wasn’t just about scent; it was a signal of submission between ranks.
Qi Zhao calmed down completely. “…Then what about you, Second Young Master?”
He looked at the alpha in front of him and asked the core question of this transaction: “What do you want, Second Young Master?”
Qi Wei’s fingers curled noticeably.
He lowered his hands, looked at his empty hands, and then at Qi Zhao, who was sitting opposite him. Although only separated by a table, it seemed as if they were still thousands of miles apart, just like before.
Qi Wei began to hesitate.
…Would one sister be enough for Qi Zhao to agree?
He lowered his eyelids, his long, thick eyelashes casting a large shadow. Coupled with the lack of a curve on his lips, he looked rather sinister and frightening.
Qi Zhao wasn’t afraid of him, but he was afraid that he wouldn’t be willing to help, or even worse, that he would step on him.
If that were the case, Qi Zhao could only accept it. After all, he shouldn’t have vented his anger on Qi Wei back then.
Just consider it paying for his youthful mistakes…
“Junior.”
Qi Zhao’s thoughts were interrupted by Qi Wei. He saw Qi Wei staring at him intently, a smile once again curving his lips.
His eyes softened. If Qi Zhao were an alpha or an omega, even the lowest rank, he would definitely notice—
Qi Wei was releasing courting pheromones.
The usually aggressive scent of liquor was now gentle, as if blended with other flowers and jam, sweetly enveloping Qi Zhao. It eagerly tried to burrow into Qi Zhao’s body, but because Qi Zhao didn’t have a gland and couldn’t receive it, it could only linger around him frantically, clinging desperately.
Qi Wei’s voice, however, was still soft. “I want you.”
As if afraid Qi Zhao hadn’t heard him, he enunciated each word clearly. “I only want you.”
Qi Zhao: “…”
He looked at Qi Wei uncomprehendingly, feeling that the twenty-six-year-old Qi Wei at this moment overlapped with the nineteen-year-old Qi Wei from seven years ago.
But… why?
They had only met once.
Was it just because he hadn’t gotten what he wanted in his youth, so he had been obsessed with it ever since?
He knew a little about alphas, and he knew that the higher the rank of the alpha, the more likely they were to be obsessive.
Qi Wei… being rejected and still clinging to this obsession until now didn’t seem unreasonable.
But.
Qi Zhao was silent for a long time. “…Second Young Master, but I’m just a beta.”
The union of alphas and omegas was a necessity, an instinct.
Because only those with pheromones could help each other through their ruts and heats.
Qi Wei was the world’s top alpha; he needed an omega’s regulation more than any other alpha.
But the moment he said these words, Qi Wei knew that Qi Zhao had already half agreed.
He laughed lightly, his eyes flashing with the pleasure and relief of a predator catching its prey, even a sense of liberation. “As long as you agree, whether you’re an alpha, an omega, or a beta, from now on… you’re mine.”
Not his alpha or omega, and certainly not his beta.
The person he yearned for day and night was never defined by these secondary genders.
Qi Zhao still couldn’t understand.
Because he truly was just a beta.
So he asked Qi Wei, “Second Young Master, do you want to use me to bring the Qi family under your control?”
Qi Wei: “.”
He seemed a little frustrated and sighed helplessly. “Qi Zhao, I thought you should have known seven years ago that I like you.”
He knew it would be better to agree and then slowly make his move, but he had endured for seven years.
Seven whole years. Even more than seven years.
He couldn’t wait to hold the person in his arms.
“…I only want you.”
Qi Zhao lowered his eyes. Even at this point, he still attributed this to the alpha’s obsession stemming from past rejection.
Because he truly didn’t understand how a beta, without the pull of pheromones, could make the top alpha so infatuated. Alphas and omegas were “pheromone creatures.”
So he took a deep breath and made up his mind. “Second Young Master, you don’t have an omega by your side now, do you?”
Qi Wei raised an eyebrow and chuckled meaningfully. “Here, take out your phone and start recording.”
Qi Zhao didn’t understand, but given the dangerous look in the alpha’s eyes, even though he couldn’t sense pheromones, he could still feel the pressure emanating from him. Years of being a beta had made him accustomed to avoiding other people’s sharp edges. So he obediently started recording.
Qi Wei looked into his eyes and enunciated each word, yet with a hint of nonchalance. At first glance, it seemed like he was coaxing someone, but his words were heart-wrenching, concealing the long years of secret love and pain within, barely holding back the surging emotions.
“I, Qi Wei, ID number XS-0017493152749486, hereby declare that whether in the past, present, or future… until the very end of my life, if I have any emotional or physical entanglement with anyone other than Qi Zhao, regardless of their primary or secondary gender, I will dig out my heart and give it to Qi Zhao, and Qi Zhao will inherit all of my assets, including those already transferred.”
Qi Zhao’s eyes widened in disbelief.
What was Qi Wei saying? Did Qi Wei know what he was saying?!
Seeing Qi Zhao speechless with shock, Qi Wei, in a good mood, helped him stop the recording, then pushed the phone back towards him, not forgetting to remind Qi Zhao, “Keep it safe. Take it for notarization tomorrow.”
Qi Zhao: “…”
It wasn’t necessary to go that far.
He looked at the hot potato on his phone screen. After a long silence, he slowly put the phone away and said to Qi Wei in a low voice, “…I haven’t been in a relationship either.”
Qi Zhao no longer thought that Qi Wei might just want a physical relationship with him. He sighed inwardly and told Qi Wei frankly, “I might not do it well, and I might be averse to physical contact.”
If Qi Wei wanted him to be like an omega, that was almost impossible.
He could save his cousin, but he couldn’t turn himself into a docile pet for her sake.
Qi Wei’s eyes flickered slightly. He softened, his voice becoming gentle again. “It doesn’t matter.”
He smiled sincerely. “Ah Zhao, you don’t need to do anything, just stay by my side.”
Whatever it was, he should be the one to do it.
He was the pursuer, a despicable pursuer who had used his means to secure his position first.
