45
Qi Wei’s eyes flickered.
He looked at Qi Zhao, his lips moving as if to speak, but ultimately, he remained silent, releasing Qi Zhao’s hand and pulling him into a tight embrace.
Qi Wei was speechless, unable to describe his feelings at this moment.
Simple happiness wasn’t enough to capture it.
He only knew…
“Ah Zhao.”
Qi Wei lowered his eyes, inhaling Qi Zhao’s unique scent, a scent that couldn’t be replaced or replicated. His gland felt both satisfied and thrilled, and amidst these complex, intertwined emotions, a sense of panic arose.
Qi Wei’s voice was soft, tinged with disbelief.
This time, he wasn’t acting, but genuinely asking—
“This isn’t a hallucination, is it?”
The same question again.
A question hoping for a “yes.”
But this time, it was different from before, when Qi Zhao felt helpless and sensed Qi Wei’s dominance, that contradictory and dangerous mix of assertiveness and restraint.
This time, it made Qi Zhao’s heart clench, as if squeezed by a large, invisible hand.
He had long known that Qi Wei liked him very much.
But at this moment, he still couldn’t help but wonder, just how much did Qi Wei like him?
“Yes,” Qi Zhao leaned against him, his arms trapped within Qi Wei’s embrace, unable to raise his hand, so he just tilted his head and rested it against the side of Qi Wei’s neck—thankfully, not where his gland was located. He reassured Qi Wei, “This is real.”
He wasn’t a hallucination brought on by Qi Wei’s rut, nor a figment of his imagination conjured by his pheromones or his own mind to protect himself when Qi Wei’s gland acted up.
Qi Wei’s arms tightened around Qi Zhao, his breathing becoming heavier. “Ah Zhao.”
He murmured, the complex emotions of finally obtaining the treasure he had longed for far surpassing mere satisfaction. “Are you truly willing to be with me?”
Even if it was just a trial.
Qi Zhao was certain that Qi Wei wasn’t in his rut; it had only ended recently.
But for an alpha not in rut to display such insecurity and nervousness spoke volumes.
Qi Wei truly liked him very much.
Qi Zhao nodded again. “Yes.”
He leaned slightly against Qi Wei and whispered, “Qi Wei, you’re someone who can easily capture one’s heart.”
Actually, whether it was seven years ago or now, his heart had been moved.
Although he had called Qi Wei crazy seven years ago, he had been touched on the plane to Country A.
—By Qi Wei’s words.
Transplanting a gland from one person to another sounded incredible, even fantastical. Because betas were different from alphas and omegas.
Betas didn’t have reproductive cavities, pheromones, or glands. Their physiological structure was different.
Alphas and omegas had places for their glands, but betas didn’t.
Although alphas couldn’t get pregnant, they also had closed reproductive cavities that formed during their differentiation. They were there, but they couldn’t conceive and wouldn’t open unless they developed a rare condition and transitioned into an omega.
So what Qi Wei had said was practically impossible.
Qi Zhao knew this, but he was still touched by Qi Wei at that moment.
Just when he had been completely discarded by the family he had tried so hard to belong to, a true outsider reached out to him, willing to give him everything, just to lift him back up.
How could he not be moved by Qi Wei?
“Don’t you find me annoying?”
Qi Wei lowered his voice. “I’m always clinging to you, always wanting to hold you, to be close to you…”
Qi Zhao was aware of Qi Wei’s “habit,” but knowing and hearing Qi Wei say it were two different things.
His ears felt hot, his nerves tingling, his fingertips twitching slightly.
Qi Zhao paused. Perhaps because Qi Wei sounded so fragile at this moment, so in need of something to piece him back together, and that adhesive happened to be in Qi Zhao’s hands, and perhaps because the current Qi Zhao was no longer the one who had just returned, whose goal, even if he had one, was just a small one. Back then, he had been like a drifting duckweed, unsure where he was headed.
And it was under such circumstances that Qi Wei had pulled him into his pond and kept him there.
It was nice.
Qi Zhao genuinely thought it was nice.
He tilted his head up slightly, feeling the alpha’s strong heartbeat against his chest through their clothes, as if it had been placed inside his chest, beating in unison with his own.
“Qi Wei.”
All these factors made Qi Zhao’s voice hoarse as he spoke, but the glue clogging his throat seemed to dissolve, the words finally flowing out.
“No one has held me like this since my mother passed away.”
Although An Xinzhi seemed like a strong omega, she loved hugging.
All his memories of her involved being held in her arms.
“No one has held me while I slept, no one has been this close to me.”
Qi Zhao hadn’t even turned ten when he watched Jiang Qingyue hug and soothe Qi Wense, quietly closing the door behind them, a door that wasn’t completely shut.
Was he envious? Of course.
But he had grown up for the first time the moment An Xinzhi passed away; he had grown up for the second time when Qi Mu brought Jiang Qingyue home and asked him to call her “Mom”; he had grown up for the third time when Jiang Qingyue gave birth to Qi Wense, and everyone surrounded the three of them.
This forced growth was painful.
Qi Zhao thought he had forgotten, that he didn’t care, that it didn’t matter, but now, in the alpha’s warm, strong, possessive embrace, which he knew wouldn’t let go, he felt his nose sting.
He had… longed countless times for Qi Mu to turn around and hold his hand.
As if sensing his emotions, Qi Wei moved, pulling Qi Zhao’s head closer to his chest.
He gently stroked the back of Qi Zhao’s head, caressing his hair. He didn’t continue the topic, but chuckled softly and said, “Ah Zhao, you’re making me greedy.”
His words pulled Qi Zhao out of the pain buried deep within his heart. “…You’re already practically attached to me all the time.”
His voice was still slightly muffled. “How can you be any greedier?”
Qi Wei said seriously, “Find a lock and chain us together, so we’re always together, no matter what we’re doing.”
Qi Zhao: “…”
How ridiculous.
But he laughed through his tears, feeling helpless. “Do you want to be in the news?”
“I’m already in the news every time I’m photographed having dinner; one more time won’t make a difference.”
“…”
He had a point.
But these words were obviously just a joke; he wouldn’t actually do that.
Qi Zhao knew this.
So he changed the subject. “The night breeze is quite cold. Shall we go back to the room?”
Qi Wei must have arranged their accommodation.
Qi Wei hummed in agreement, but didn’t immediately let go of Qi Zhao. He asked, “Can I carry you back to the room?”
Qi Zhao: “…?”
Qi Wei said matter-of-factly, “Since you know I’m clingy, I’ll just embrace my persona.”
Qi Zhao: “.”
He had underestimated Qi Wei.
“No.”
“I’ll have them lower their heads and face the wall.” (Meaning he’ll make the staff avert their gaze)
“I said no.”
“…Oh.”
Qi Wei reluctantly let go, but immediately took Qi Zhao’s hand, interlacing their fingers.
He looked down at the almost imperceptible moisture at the corner of Qi Zhao’s eyes, his heart aching so much that he wanted to travel back in time and punch Qi Mu, then take his precious Ah Zhao, who had suffered so much in the Qi family, away.
Qi Wei moved his fingers, then cupped Qi Zhao’s face in his hands.
Qi Zhao froze, feeling Qi Wei’s warm, dry palms against his face, his fingertips brushing against the corner of his eyes.
He felt a little uncomfortable, a little embarrassed.
As a male beta, Qi Zhao still held onto the notion that “boys don’t cry,” so being caught shedding a few tears by Qi Wei made him embarrassed, wanting to turn his head away and avoid Qi Wei’s gaze.
But Qi Wei lowered his head and kissed his forehead reverently, murmuring, “Ah Zhao, when you wake up tomorrow, you’ll still be my boyfriend, right?”
Qi Zhao: “…”
Qi Wei’s kiss was hot, his breath and voice warm against his skin.
But his words were truly amusing.
“Yes,” Qi Zhao said helplessly, “why don’t you just tell me what I need to do to reassure you?”
He wasn’t an omega. If he were, Qi Wei could give him a temporary mark right now.
A temporary mark from a super S-rank alpha wouldn’t fade in a day or two, or even a week or two. It could even allow the alpha to “locate” their partner.
Qi Wei shook his head. “I don’t know.”
His heart was racing, so fast that he felt slightly dizzy, almost as if he was entering his rut again. He didn’t know what he wanted to hear from Qi Zhao, or perhaps the seven years of longing still needed more time to be filled and confirmed, to truly believe that he had finally won the person he yearned for.
“Can I post about it?”
Qi Wei lowered his voice. “Can I tell Yang Shou and the others?”
Yang Shou was the President. Qi Zhao knew he had a good relationship with the President, but he hadn’t expected it to be to the point of addressing him by his first name.
That was the President!
Qi Zhao, still slightly dazed, replied, “…Yes.”
He met Qi Wei’s bright eyes, feeling that even the full moon behind him couldn’t compare to the light in them. “You don’t have to ask me, you don’t have to be so cautious.”
So Qi Wei took out his phone, took a picture of their hands clasped together, and not only posted it, but also sent it to their small group chat.
Qi Zhao watched from the side, amused, but his heart warmed at Qi Wei’s actions.
He had always thought Qi Wei lacked a bit of “humanity” when he saw him in the news, or even during their interactions, but now he realized he was wrong.
Qi Wei was no different when it came to love.
He had seen it before with Qi Wei’s friends, showing off their relationships from the moment they started dating, posting countless updates every day. That overflowing affection was evident, even to those who knew nothing about love.
Just like Qi Wei now.
Qi Wei was already seriously considering, “Then can I also post your picture on Qi Corp’s intranet?”
Qi Zhao: “…”
He had told him not to be so cautious, not to be so unrestrained.
Qi Zhao said earnestly, “You still want me to work for you, right?”
He had his pride.
Qi Wei understood; this meant no. So he said with a hint of regret, “Okay.”
His Ah Zhao was a bit thin-skinned; he would have to restrain himself.
