The strain was evident—he was fighting it with everything he had. His eyes burned with a deep crimson hue, and his lips were bitten raw, on the verge of bleeding.
Body rigid, Hang Liu knocked on the door.
Silence lingered inside for a long moment. At last, he caught the faint sound of running water and steady breaths.
Before he could make sense of it, the male master’s raspy voice drifted out lazily. “Come in. Make it quick.”
Hang Liu pressed his lips together and stepped slowly into the dimly lit master bedroom.
The Master Bedroom wasn’t actually messy. The bed was merely shifted out of place, with scattered clothes littering the floor. The air was thick with an overpowering scent—cloyingly sweet, to the point where prolonged exposure induced a dizzying haze.
Hang Liu didn’t dare look around too much. He busied himself tidying up while inwardly cursing the faithless widower as a utter scumbag. Pregnant with child, yet still so restless and unfaithful.
It took quite a while before he reached the bedside. By chance, he glanced at the scene on the bed, and his pupils contracted sharply. A rush of blood surged through him like a reversal of flow, leaving his entire body trembling uncontrollably despite his efforts to hold it back.
There, on the expansive dark bed, the long-haired omega lay half-reclined in the beta’s arms. The young man seemed not fully awake, his upper body bare, brows slightly furrowed in uneasy sleep.
They were entwined as if one being. The youth’s broad palm gripped the omega’s waist tightly, while the man half-propped himself at his side. Slender, pale fingers idly traced the beta’s facial contours. The Male Master’s long hair draped over the youth’s shoulder, his vermilion lips glistening with fresh moisture as they pressed against the honeyed skin of the other’s neck.
In that moment, he looked seductively venomous, like a beautiful serpent coiled around its prey, ready to constrict and kill.
After a long pause, the man seemed to notice the other pair of eyes—sharp and lacerating. He glanced over languidly, his ominous red lips curving into a vivid, alluring arc.
With a chuckle, he drawled mockingly, “No manners at all. Once you’re done cleaning, don’t you know to scram?”
Qi Yu slowly propped himself up, methodically straightening his clothes. His posture was leisurely and composed, as if this were just an ordinary morning and he had merely awakened from a night of tender intimacy with his husband.
“Slut!”
Hang Liu had never felt such a blaze of fury before. The events of the past few days spun endlessly in his mind—Jiang Rang’s broken promise, Chen Jingxu’s provocations, Qi Yu’s flaunting. Every single incident piled up until he could no longer contain his rage.
The frail youth unleashed a strength he never knew he had. He roughly seized the long-haired man on the bed by the hair and dragged him to the floor, then slapped him hard across the face.
The Male Master clearly wasn’t one to take such treatment lying down. He had never imagined that a coward like Hang Liu would dare such a thing. Caught off guard, the slap left him stunned, his long hair veiling half of his pallid, chilling face.
A scarlet handprint bloomed faintly on his cheek, as if scorched by countless sparks.
But Hang Liu wasn’t done. He shoved Qi Yu forcefully. Seeing the other instinctively shield his belly, a furious inferno nearly incinerated what remained of his reason.
In a frenzy, he wanted to pummel that belly. Through gritted teeth, he snarled like a madman, “You slut, you slut, you slut! Why hasn’t that bastard spawn in your belly died yet—”
“Wahhh—”
The youth fell instantly silent.
Jiang Rang, shirtless, tremblingly clapped a hand over Hang Liu’s mouth and locked him tightly in his embrace.
He clearly hadn’t anticipated Hang Liu walking in on such a sordid scene. His mind went blank for a moment, but he quickly noticed Qi Yu’s terrifying expression. It was like being doused with a bucket of ice water.
All he could do was restrain the berserk youth, soothing him softly, “A Liu, A Liu, calm down. Go back to your room first, okay? I’ll explain everything to you later. I—”
Hang Liu’s eyes burned red with hatred. He had lost all reason, thrashing like a rabid beast to break free from Jiang Rang’s grasp.
He rasped hoarsely, “Jiang Rang, you slept with him!!!”
“It’s only the second day—just the second day since you got back! This is how you treat me? This is how you treat me? Are you trying to drive me to death? Huh? Are you trying to kill me? Fine, I’ll die right now for you to see!”
Screaming, he snatched the nearby toiletries brush by its sharp other end and, shaking violently, aimed it at the throbbing veins on his own neck.
Jiang Rang was terrified out of his wits. The youth’s face drained of all color. He wrested the brush from Hang Liu’s hand with every ounce of strength and hugged him desperately.
Qi Yu clutched his belly, his face ashen, looking utterly shaken.
Jiang Rang didn’t dare glance at him. Head bowed, he said in a subdued voice, “Mister, I’m sorry. I’ll take A Liu back to his room first.”
Qi Yu no longer showed that fleeting glimpse of twisted gloom from before. His face deathly pale, long hair falling over one side and exposing the swelling red cheek on the other. His voice trembled, sounding almost pitiably frail: “Alright… Jiang Rang, come back soon. I’m scared.”
The Pregnant Husband’s damp eyes fixed on the youth. One hand protected his belly, his lips quivering. Just looking at him stirred an urge to take pity.
Jiang Rang, already wracked with guilt, nodded without a second thought.
Hang Liu, seeing the omega pull that green tea bitch act, nearly lost it all over again.
Jiang Rang hurriedly tried to pull the man away, but the beta resisted fiercely. Unable to tolerate it any longer, he simply scooped the other man up into a horizontal carry and hauled him out of the master bedroom.
“Bang.”
The sound of the door slamming shut was piercingly harsh. Qi Yu’s face turned ice-cold in an instant as he stroked his belly and began murmuring softly to himself.
The man’s voice was eerie and unsettling, as if he were speaking directly to the child inside him. His face remained utterly expressionless, but his eyes burned with a sickly, feverish excitement.
“Baobao, did you hear that? He cursed us. Your dad will definitely stand up for us, won’t he?”
He tilted his head slightly and listened in silence for a moment, as though he’d heard a response. A ghastly smile crept across his deathly pale face.
“Yeah, I did it on purpose. I wanted him to see it. I wanted him to lose his mind.”
“Why does he always put on that pure, innocent act to seduce people? We need to rip off that facade and let your dad see exactly what kind of filthy creature he really is.”
The man let out a soft chuckle and settled at the head of the bed. He ran his fingers through his disheveled long hair like a comb, smoothing it out bit by bit.
He had always cherished this thick, jet-black mane—because Jiang Rang loved to clutch it in his mouth at the peak of ecstasy.
He couldn’t let it get messed up.
~~~
Jiang Rang deposited Hang Liu in his small room. His own face was ashen white, and he still hadn’t recovered his composure.
Hang Liu was still struggling, though his efforts had weakened considerably.
Jiang Rang shut the door behind them. In that instant, he gnashed his teeth like a cornered beast. “A Liu, snap out of it!”
“Have you forgotten our plan?”
Hang Liu’s entire face flushed beet red. He gritted his teeth. “I haven’t forgotten, Jiang Rang… but…”
He shook his head, choking back sobs. “I can’t take it anymore! I just can’t!”
The young man jabbed a finger toward the door, his cries turning shrill and desperate. “Do you know what they say about me? I’m supposed to be your fiancé, but they call me the whore who seduced you!”
Jiang Rang’s eyes reddened as well. He parted his lips, the veins at his temples bulging prominently.
Hang Liu closed in on the young man. His eyes were puffy and red as he suddenly shoved the beta down onto the bed with all his strength.
He fought to suppress his sobs, bringing his fair, pinkish face right up to the youth’s. Through clenched teeth, he demanded, “Jiang Rang, just answer me this one question: do you love me or not?”
Jiang Rang didn’t reply right away. Fat teardrops welled up in the young man’s eyes and plummeted straight onto the beta’s face.
Jiang Rang knew the other man wasn’t thinking straight at the moment. Terrified something might go wrong, he gritted his teeth and coaxed, “I love you.”
Hang Liu sobbed, “Love what? Love that slut, or love me?”
Jiang Rang’s voice trembled. “You. I love only you.”
Hang Liu’s crying cut off abruptly. His bloodshot eyes bored into the young man. The air hung heavy and still, filled only with the sound of their breathing.
His expression twisted savagely as he asked, “Then why have you never touched me?”
“You say you love me, but you have no desire for me.”
His voice came out hoarse and raw. “I don’t believe in your love.”
Jiang Rang squeezed his eyes shut, his tone nearly defeated. “Then how do you want me to prove it?”
Hang Liu leaned down slowly, pressing his body fully into Jiang Rang’s embrace. In a soft whisper, he said, “Let’s do it right now.”
Jiang Rang’s eyes grew misty, and he suddenly found it hard to breathe.
The honey-skinned young man gently caressed the beta beneath him. His voice was rough and gravelly, rusted over like he’d been coughing up blood.
Jiang Rang’s eyes burned red. “If that’s what you want, then as you wish.”
“But…” Tears trailed from the corners of the beta’s eyes as he cried, “We’re supposed to be leaving any day now.”