Chapter 24: Dark-Skinned Rugged Honest Man 24

That very night after Chen Yanyu left, Father Jiang was transferred to a top-tier ward stocked with all sorts of cutting-edge equipment that no one had even seen before.

A massive sum of money also appeared in the hospital’s account.

Jiang Rang couldn’t help but smile bitterly to himself. He never imagined he’d be worth so much.

Hang Liu must have noticed these oddities and even harbored some suspicions, but the beta brushed them all off with talk of platform loans and crowdfunding donations.

Hang Liu had always placed absolute trust in Jiang Rang—not just because he knew the beta’s inherently honest nature, but because he was convinced their bond was unshakable.

Even when he’d glimpsed those borderline suggestive photos from some unknown omega on the young man’s phone, or witnessed the alpha’s ambiguously flirtatious words toward him, Hang Liu saw no real threat in any of it.

What he focused on, always, was Jiang Rang’s attitude.

Hang Liu could see it plainly: Jiang Rang paid no attention to those photos, dismissing them with a glance. And that alpha who showed up at the hospital? Laughable. He came bearing flowers under the pretense of visiting the patient, hoping to play the gallant suitor, oblivious to the fact that the youth only saw him as an arrogant bully—and grew all the more repulsed.

These people wanted to compete with him at every turn, yet they lost to him every time.

He wasn’t just Jiang Rang’s fiancé, adored and cherished by the youth; he’d also cared for Father Jiang over a long stretch and earned recognition as his approved future child-in-law.

How could they possibly compete with that?

Even if they stooped to dirty tricks in a pathetic bid for the young man’s attention, they’d never claim the position of principal wife.

Hang Liu always saw these others as mere travelers at an inn. Only he was Jiang Rang’s true home.

And that was precisely why he could never glimpse the excruciating torment churning inside the youth whenever he met that hopeful, radiant smile of his.

~~~

Jiang Rang’s phone vibrated faintly.

The beta glanced up instinctively at his fiancé, who sat by the window absorbed in a book. Hang Liu had such fair skin, and with his frail constitution, the gentle droop of his eyelids lent him an ethereal beauty—like something untouched by the mortal world, fragile and on the verge of fading away.

His fiancé seemed utterly lost in the pages, blind to the very moment when Jiang Rang veered off course in their relationship.

Jiang Rang lowered his gaze. Once he confirmed Hang Liu hadn’t noticed the vibration, he tapped open the message from an unfamiliar number, as if exhaling in relief.

The text was brutally concise, stabbing like a needle.

“Tonight at nine, XX Hotel Room 3333.”

In an instant, the youth plummeted into an icy abyss. He lost all sensation in his limbs, his heartbeat, everything—his senses drifting infinitely far away. All that remained was the communication device in his hand, growing hotter, more insistently scorching against his knuckles.

“Okay.”

His trembling fingers took ages to type that single word.

Jiang Rang felt his eyes burning and swelling. Crushing guilt, shame, and isolation threatened to devour him entirely.

He tried to bury his humiliating turmoil—or perhaps what he feared most was his fiancé catching sight of his broken, haunted expression and innocently offering comfort, trying to soothe him.

But he was the betrayer. He didn’t deserve it.

So Jiang Rang pinched his arm savagely, his face a blank mask, showing no mercy.

In the hushed pallor of the light, the youth sat there releasing the tension for what felt like forever, until he numbly registered the glaring bruises blooming on his skin. Only then did he slowly curl his fingers back.

“A-Rang.”

The gentle voice brushed his ear like a whisper. Jiang Rang clamped down hard on his fracturing emotions, forcing himself to seem normal, upbeat.

Thankfully, it worked.

His kindhearted fiancé detected nothing amiss. A soft smile played on those lips as he turned warm, tranquil eyes his way. “A-Rang,” he said tenderly, “you haven’t had a proper meal in ages with all this worry over Uncle. Let me cook for you tonight—a real treat to spoil our A-Rang, okay?”

Jiang Rang mustered a smile, clenching his fist out of sight. “A Liu, this is the fourth time you’ve said that this week. Keep feeding me like this, and I’ll blow up like a ball.”

Hang Liu burst into laughter. Tiny sparks danced in the frail youth’s eyes, like stars flung across a pitch-black sky. “Even if A-Rang turns into a ball, you’d be the cutest little Qiuqiu.”

Jiang Rang dropped his gaze. “You’re the only one who’d say that.”

You’re the only one who thinks Jiang Rang—whatever he’s like—is cute. Reliable.

Hang Liu bit his lip, a blush creeping over his cheeks. “Of course! I’m your fiancé, after all. We’ll be husbands soon. How could we ever dislike each other?”

The youth’s words pierced Jiang Rang’s heart like a dagger.

He had no idea if Chen Yanyu would ever let him go—or what fate awaited him and Hang Liu in the end.

Perhaps he would be utterly disgraced, spat upon by others, and even his dad would look down on him for his self-indulgent depravity.

Everything that had happened—and everything that hadn’t—felt like a rotten wooden needle, crudely and bluntly piercing his heart, making the wound fester and rot even further.

Jiang Rang thought that perhaps he had no future left at all.

Hang Liu was still chattering away, planning their wonderful dinner, looking utterly delighted as he sank completely into the illusory romance crafted by a beta.

But Jiang Rang had no choice except to shatter it with his own cruel hands.

The young man fell silent for a long moment before rasping out an apology in a hoarse voice. “Sorry, A Liu. I’m not eating here tonight.”

The lies and deception made him unbearably tense and awkward. Jiang Rang didn’t even dare glance at his fiancé.

“I’ve got friends waiting to talk about a fundraising thing tonight. I can’t push it off.”

Hang Liu’s expression shifted several times before he finally spoke in a gentle, considerate tone. “It’s fine, A-Rang. If you’ve got something to do, go ahead. I’ll wait here for you.”

Jiang Rang rasped out an acknowledgment. He stood and shrugged on an outer coat, and Hang Liu followed right behind him, straightening his collar and sleeves, smoothing out the wrinkles at the hem—like the picture of a gentle, dutiful wife.

The beta didn’t want to trouble him and quickly refused when the young man even offered to see him all the way to his destination.

Jiang Rang set out early, while the sky was still bright.

He bought a cheap boxed meal from a street vendor and squatted by the roadside to eat it.

After finishing, Jiang Rang boarded a city bus. He got on early and sat quietly in the corner.

Unlike others, the young man neither played on his phone nor gazed at the scenery. The beta simply stared blankly ahead, his handsome, well-built frame sitting primly on the narrow seat. His honey-toned face took on a breathtaking beauty in the scattered glow of the sunset.

Quite a few people were drawn to him and deliberately sat nearby, trying to get his contact info.

But they all left disappointed without exception.

The silent beta was utterly immersed in his own world, like a massive tree on the verge of withering. It saw none of the friendly overtures or sources of sustenance, simply waiting quietly for death right up to the final moment.

At nine in the evening, Jiang Rang swiped his room card and slowly entered the opulent hotel.

The attendant, clearly notified in advance, greeted the beta with a polite, professional smile and led him into the rose-gold elevator that went straight up.

Ding—

A deep-colored carpet stretched before him, muffling footsteps almost completely. The hallway walls glowed with warm yellow tones, adorned with exquisite, beautiful murals—mostly provocative portraits of alluring omegas.

This was Jiang Rang’s first time seeing the inside of the hotel. Due to his unease and resistance, the sight of the many doors and the dense numbers above them made the place feel like a row of cages housing monsters.

And soon, the attendant who tended to those monsters led him to one such cage.

At the door to Room 3333, the attendant bowed to the young man and offered a respectful, courteous smile. “Mr. Chen is already waiting for you inside, Mr. Jiang. Wishing you a pleasant stay.”

With those perfunctory words, the attendant departed swiftly.

Jiang Rang’s clenched fist suddenly relaxed, the moisture in his palm evaporating into the air, leaving behind an oddly dry chill.

He had come this far. The young man knew there was no turning back.

So he forced down his emotions, curled his fingers, and pressed the doorbell.

It took a good while before the door was pulled open by a hand with prominent knuckles.

Along with it came a rich, almost cloying floral fragrance.

The man, usually so refined and meticulous about his attire, now wore only a loosely draped pure-white bathrobe, exposing a broad expanse of his pale, undulating chest.

Stray locks of hair at his forehead still clung with tiny water droplets, a few of which fell onto the silver frames of his glasses and slowly slid down the smooth lenses.

The moment he saw Jiang Rang, Chen Yanyu’s brows furrowed slightly. The white light of the hallway reflected off his lenses, lending an air of excessive coldness.

“You’re five minutes late.”

Jiang Rang kept his head lowered, his hand clenched tight, and murmured, “Sorry.”

The beta offered no extra excuses, simply owning up to his mistake.

The alpha’s refined features twisted faintly as he said coolly, “Jiang Rang, your attitude leaves me very dissatisfied. This is the first time, so I won’t hold it against you—but I expect you to have a proper sense of time next time.”

The young man let out another low hum, but his tall, sturdy frame carried an air of reluctant submission.

Chen Yanyu narrowed his eyes and sized him up for a moment before lowering his voice and saying slowly, “Come in. Go wash up first.”

Jiang Rang drew in a deep breath, fighting down the powerful urge to bolt, and stepped into the room.

Steam swirled thickly in the bathroom, laced with the faint, lingering scent of floral pheromones that clung lightly to the youth’s honey-toned, smooth waist and hips.

Betas rarely took such meticulous care when bathing. He’d grown up wild in the countryside, usually settling for a quick rinse and calling it done.

Jiang Rang gazed down at his pruned, wrinkled fingers, continuing to rinse off in silence.

Knock, knock, knock.

A dark silhouette loomed at the frosted glass door. The man’s voice carried a mild warmth, but it was edged with the strain of patience nearly exhausted. “Jiang Rang, how long are you planning to wash?”

There was no reply from inside. The sound of running water continued unabated.

A cold edge crept into Chen Yanyu’s refined features. He raised his hand to knock again when the bathroom door suddenly swung open from within.

Tendrils of fine mist spilled out, curling through the air, and from it emerged the young man in a bathrobe—stunningly handsome, almost impossibly so.

Perhaps from lingering too long in the steamy confines, a healthy pink flush glowed beneath his tanned skin, making it all the more striking. His abs rose and fell in rippling waves, but it was the dramatic contrast between his overly full chest and his lean, powerful waist that truly mesmerized.

Yet what drew the eye most was the beta’s face: stripped of all emotion, casually aloof, coldly handsome.

The young man seemed to have made his peace with it all. No longer wrestling with shame, anger, or guilt, he strode openly toward the man whose intentions were anything but pure. In that instant, his dark eyes gleamed with a piercing malice, obsession, and seduction that could bore through steel.

Chen Yanyu’s gaze grew ever brighter. A strange, lustful fixation began to flicker in the man’s pitch-black pupils.

Chen Yanyu realized it now—he had truly been ensnared by this beta.

The alpha could still vividly recall their first encounter: at the banquet held by the Qi Family.

That was the first time most people in their circle had laid eyes on Jiang Rang.

The young man had worn an outfit matching the one on Qi Yu’s omega, yet he stood behind Qi Yu like a bodyguard. His downturned eyes fixed on the omega with an unexpected intensity and tenderness.

It was enough to make anyone read into it.

Qi Yu’s possessiveness might have warded off advances while he was present, but the moment he stepped away, countless eyes turned hungrily to the now-unguarded Jiang Rang.

The flirty omegas, in particular, swarmed around him like butterflies in heat, their words dripping with temptation.

And the biggest revelation of that night for Chen Yanyu? His half-brother—born to their philandering father’s second wife—seemed to have an unusual fixation on this beta as well.

Chen Jingxu was that woman’s son, yet despite sharing the same blood, he had always been the favorite.

Chen Yanyu was a master of pretense, earning praise from everyone—except Chen Jingxu. From the moment they were born, the two had been at odds.

The people Chen Yanyu loathed most in this world were his father and this reckless, idiotic brother.

He took vicious pleasure in snatching away anything Chen Jingxu cared about.

It had started with trivial trinkets, then pets, money, power.

Now, it was Jiang Rang.

God only knew the exquisite thrill of snapping the beta’s legs and humiliating him right in front of the person Chen Jingxu cherished.

At first, Chen Yanyu had paid little attention to the beta himself. He’d only noticed Jiang Rang because of his brother’s interest.

But things had spiraled beyond his control. Before he knew it, he was addicted to spying on the young man: watching him throw himself enthusiastically into helping others, tending warmly to that repulsive brother of his, flashing that shy smile while haggling over vegetables in the market, remaining utterly unmoved no matter how the omegas tried to seduce him. It brought Chen Yanyu a secret rush of pleasure.

He’d chalked it up to the simple satisfaction of voyeurism.

But now? He wasn’t so sure.

Chen Yanyu knew one thing for certain: Jiang Rang’s body, his movements, his expressions, his emotions… no, everything about Jiang Rang ignited a surging desire within him.

Chen Yanyu had never truly understood why humans were so obsessed with chasing thrills.

It was clearly just physical sensations, mere external pleasures. Chen Yanyu had seen countless men and women lost in them, indifferent to who their partner was as long as they had the right equipment—they could tangle together without a care.

Chen Yanyu found it repulsive.

Even a normal alpha heat cycle filled him with disgust.

He had summoned Jiang Rang to the hotel purely to humiliate him, taking vicious pleasure in the thought of Chen Jingxu’s beloved being defiled right here under his watch.

And for Jiang Rang, the deal was a no-brainer bargain.

Endless money and his father’s life—all he had to do was endure the sting of humiliation.

Chen Yanyu had never imagined things would veer into this uncontrollable mess.

But he didn’t mind letting it play out.

Chen Yanyu drew closer to the young man, his slender fingers slowly lacing through the beta’s, guiding him toward the vast white bed.

Jiang Rang’s bathrobe hung loosely on his frame; by now, the straps had slipped completely off both shoulders. The young man remained eerily calm, even reaching to untie the sash himself.

But Chen Yanyu caught his hand.

A faint flush crept across the man’s porcelain features as he leaned in close to the beta’s flushed ear and murmured, “I unwrap my own gifts.”

Jiang Rang said nothing, offering only a soft “mm.”

Chen Yanyu didn’t register the near-numb blankness in the young man’s expression. He seemed abruptly lost in his own head, blurting out, “Jiang Rang, has anyone else touched you?”

Jiang Rang blinked in confusion, unable to grasp what Chen Yanyu meant or why he was asking. In life, how could anyone avoid all contact with others?

Impatient, he nodded.

Chen Yanyu’s refined features twisted through a storm of emotions. At last, teeth gritted, he rasped, “Who? Hang Liu? Qi Yu? Or Chen Jingxu?”

Jiang Rang paused, then murmured low, “They’ve all touched me.”

The man’s face contorted for a split second; he appeared to mutter something to himself. Only after a long moment did Chen Yanyu declare abruptly, “Jiang Rang, I’ve bought you. From now on, only I get to touch you.”

Jiang Rang thought the man was a little unhinged, but he nodded slowly all the same.

Against power and wealth, a beta had no choice but to yield.

Only then did Chen Yanyu’s expression smooth out.

His gaze fixed hungrily on the lips inches away. After a beat, his throat worked visibly, and he husked, “Kiss me.”

Jiang Rang had next to no experience with kissing; the one time he’d tried, that mad dog Chen Jingxu had bitten him.

Clearly hesitant and flustered, the young man faltered—but Chen Yanyu’s voice was hardening with impatience.

The beta didn’t dare stall. Steeling himself, he leaned in for a direct kiss.

Silver-rimmed glasses bridged the gap between them, jabbing painfully into both their brows and eyes. Jiang Rang didn’t dare pull away, frozen stiff.

Chen Yanyu’s throat bobbed harder, like a parched wanderer in the desert finally finding water, desperate to drink his fill.

Instinct took over as he licked and sucked at the young man’s lips, nipping lightly with his teeth before his tongue forced past the seam, twisting fiercely together.

His fervor built, chest heaving with excitement.

He pressed Jiang Rang back onto the pristine sheets, one hand splayed over the beta’s full chest while the other shook as it ripped off the glasses and flung them aside.

Chen Yanyu bent low, burying his face in the crook of the beta’s neck, trembling uncontrollably.

The floral scent saturating the air thickened to the point of bitterness.

Bang bang bang—

A sudden pounding erupted at the door.

The pair inside paid it no mind.

Bang bang bang bang bang—

The blows turned frantic, verging on deranged.

Jiang Rang pressed a hand to the man’s advancing lips, lashes fluttering as he whispered, “Someone’s…”

Chen Yanyu’s ink-dark eyes, heavy with obsession, pinned the young man. His throat bobbed once more before he wrenched his gaze away, fingers raking back through his close-cropped hair. Irritation twisted his flushed face as he rolled off the bed, muttering curses while stomping to the door.

The instant he yanked it open, a tall, lean figure smashed a fist straight into his nose.

He barely had time to retaliate before black-clothed bodyguards swarmed in, pounding him mercilessly to the floor.

Qi Yu’s pitch-black eyes, veined with bloodshot threads, bored into the fallen man as he growled word by word, “You dare mess with him? I’ll end you.”