Chapter 6: Dark-Skinned Rugged Honest Man 6

The beta inside the office was naturally oblivious to the undercurrents surging around him. The young man pushed open the door and stepped inside. Perhaps due to nerves, the kraft paper document folder in his large hands was already crumpled.

Only then did Chen Jingxu get a clear look at the youth. The beta’s features weren’t particularly striking—merely handsome and upright. His hair was cropped short, likely for practicality on the job, which only accentuated his wheat-toned skin and gave him the air of a bumpkin fresh from the countryside.

The only eye-catching part was his robust build and the slim waist cinched by the black apron. The apron’s crisscrossing straps at the back were tied so tightly that they made his chest bulge slightly.

Chen Jingxu was a fairly traditional alpha at heart. He preferred soft, delicate omegas. Even though Jiang Rang’s physique drew his attention, he chalked it up to the natural rivalry between males.

After all, this beta before him lacked only an alpha’s glands to pass for a full-blooded alpha.

In that light, it made sense why Qi Yu had taken a liking to him. Chen Jingxu sneered inwardly. So the usually aloof President Qi wasn’t all that special after all.

He was an omega at the end of the day. For all his talk of alpha-phobia, he’d still gone and picked a beta who looked just like one.

Of course, it was also possible this beta had some cunning tricks up his sleeve, deliberately seducing him.

After all, a person’s most notable trait was the means at their disposal.

Chen Jingxu’s thoughts didn’t linger long, however, as Qi Yu had already issued his dismissal.

The two were merely business partners at best—far from friends—so the alpha had no intention of overstaying. He leisurely smoothed the wrinkles from his suit jacket. His ink-green eyes met the beta’s gaze without flinching, and with a relaxed smile, he said, “Jiang Rang, right? See you next time.”

“Oh, and,” the man added, dressed in his sharp suit and slacks, a polite smile on his face that didn’t quite reach his eyes—refined and gentle. “I’m Chen Jingxu.”

The youth’s reactions seemed a bit slow. He stared blankly for a moment before nodding, his grin wide, silly, and disarmingly honest.

Like a naive gosling under a spell.

“Mr. Chen, goodbye. Drive safe,” the gosling replied.

The alpha’s smile deepened at that. He’d noticed the omega at the head of the table, whose eyes had grown darker and more menacing, along with the aggressively potent moss pheromones diffusing through the air.

With a slight nod, the man turned and strode calmly out of the office.

“Jiang Rang.”

Qi Yu’s voice carried a chill, coinciding with the sound of the door closing. Bloodshot veins threaded through his pitch-black eyes as he stared at the youth, like viscous slime from a dank, shadowy jungle.

Jiang Rang was no longer as intimidated by his employer’s peculiar gaze and damp demeanor as he’d been at first. Still, he wasn’t used to being stared at like this, so he ducked his head slightly, adopting his usual posture of honest obedience.

The moss scent in the air was so thick it felt like it could squeeze the air from his lungs.

It was a long while before Qi Yu shifted his gaze to the slightly wrinkled documents in his hand. His tone was flat, devoid of any emotion.

“Remember whose man you are.”

The sentence was rather nonsensical to the beta, who was still young and inexperienced. His previous life had been spent in a rural setting, relying on manual labor—he had no way of grasping the implication.

Yet he didn’t dare refute or question it, so he mumbled a vague acknowledgment.

The man said nothing more.

A heavy silence settled over the room.

But Jiang Rang was growing restless. His mind was on the unfinished chores: the mop that needed wringing out, the cleaning tools left in the study, the incense burner in the master bedroom that required refilling…

As his thoughts wandered, his expression turned distracted.

Finally, just as Jiang Rang was about to speak up and ask, the slender, lanky omega rasped slowly, “Go. You’re done here.”

As he spoke, those pitch-black eyes fixed darkly on the beta. The man’s face was as pallid and cold as paper, the shadows in his contours stark against his ghostly skin—making his one spot of color, his lips, look vividly blood-red, as if he’d just drunk his fill.

It was deadly alluring.

When he saw the youth’s face light up with relief, eagerness, even delight at the prospect of leaving his side, Qi Yu slowly lowered his gaze.

His thick lashes veiled all emotion, leaving him as unapproachable and impassive as ever—untouched by anything.

However, those pale wrists on the desk, bulging with veins, grew even tighter, like a bowstring pulled to its absolute limit, ready to snap at any moment.

~~~

Jiang Rang was indeed feeling relaxed now—even a bit pleased. On the way back, he’d heard from a servant he got along with that, aside from their regular rest times, the Li Family allowed a few half-day holidays each month.

The beta figured he could use one of those half-days to mail a letter home, letting Hang Liu and his dad know how he was doing so they wouldn’t worry.

To arrange time off, he needed to talk to the butler. Jiang Rang fiddled with his beat-up old phone for ages before finally getting the call through. While he was at it, he asked to borrow a bit of his salary in advance—just enough to cover mailing the letter.

The young man didn’t dare ask for much. In his mind, he hadn’t even finished his first month’s work, so how could he justify asking for an advance?

But he really had no other choice right now.

Fortunately, the butler knew Jiang Rang was usually obedient and compliant, so he didn’t make things difficult.

Jiang Rang found a bookstore and bought a stack of letter paper. He hemmed and hawed at the entrance for a good half hour before mustering the courage to ask if the clerk could help him write it.

Though he studied and read every day now, his background held him back—he could recognize most characters, but writing them fluidly was still beyond him.

This letter was for Hang Liu, his fiancé, to read. After all, Hang Liu was the only one back home who knew how to read and write. Jiang Rang had seen him copying poetry during the slack farming season, each stroke neat and vigorous, as handsome as the man himself.

Jiang Rang didn’t want his fiancé seeing his own clumsy, childish handwriting.

The bookstore clerk, seeing how earnest the young man was, agreed to help.

And so Jiang Rang sat down at the desk inside the shop, back ramrod straight, just like he did during lessons at the Li Family.

He rambled on and on, his accent thick but his words clear. He spoke slowly, as if afraid the clerk might miss something.

First, he asked about his father’s condition, Hang Liu’s health, and whether the person he’d asked to tend the fields had done a proper job…

He asked about a great many things before finally getting to his own situation.

He said he was working for a big shot now, with a very generous monthly wage and a kind employer. There was no need to worry about him.

Only at the very end did the young man’s face flush faintly as he murmured in a low voice, “A Liu, I miss you.”

~~~

Jiang Rang returned to the Li Family villa as the evening glow began to fade.

After serving for over half a month, he worried that Qi Yu might not be used to having him gone—or worse, might be displeased—so he’d timed his return precisely.

But the moment he stepped through the villa’s front doors, he noticed that the servants, who usually greeted him casually, were all pale-faced. And when they saw him, their gazes turned even stranger.

Some of them seemed to want to warn him, but the butler must have gotten word, because he hurried into the front hall right away.

The butler, who always presented himself so impeccably, had disheveled sideburns now, and his clothes were even splattered with bits of soup and grease. He looked quite disheveled.

The instant he spotted Jiang Rang, the butler lowered his voice and said urgently, “Hurry to the master bedroom. The mister’s having a migraine today. He’s been asking for you nonstop and is throwing a fit right now.”

As he spoke, the butler pressed a small bottle of pills into Jiang Rang’s hand and whispered, “These are for the mister’s headaches. Two at a time. Do your best to get him to take them.”

The honest beta nodded quickly, pocketing the medicine without daring to ask more. He followed the butler upstairs in silence.

As they neared the master bedroom on the third floor, Jiang Rang clearly heard the sound of porcelain shattering inside, followed by the harsh rip of fabric tearing.

The Li Family villa had excellent soundproofing. For these noises to carry, the commotion inside must be even more intense.

The butler gestured for Jiang Rang to go knock. Clearly nervous, the beta squeezed the little pill bottle in his pocket, curled his fingers, and rapped dully on the door.

Almost the moment he knocked, there came the loud crash of porcelain slamming against the door from inside.

A hoarse, grating male voice pierced the air like some beast’s shrill cry, making his eardrums throb uncomfortably.

But Jiang Rang made out the words clearly.

The omega was repeating neurotically, without pause: “Where’s Jiang Rang? Where’s Jiang Rang? Get him out here! Tell him to get his ass in here!”

Jiang Rang had never dealt with an employer losing it like this before. He gently gripped the door handle, his legs going a bit soft from fear, but he knew he had no way out. Taking a shaky breath, he pushed the door open.

What hit him first was the room’s chill, so low it bordered on frigid, laced with the damp, cold moss scent. The cold seemed to seep right into his bones.

Before him stretched a deathly silent darkness, with only faint hazy daylight seeping around the edges of the tall floor-to-ceiling windows, shrouded by heavy curtains.

Jiang Rang felt fine beads of sweat beading on his forehead, but he forced himself to stay calm and quickly shut the door.

The butler had warned him on his very first day: when Qi Yu’s illness flared up, he absolutely could not be exposed to light.

His vision grew dimmer by the second, leaving the young man barely able to make out the path ahead.

The master bedroom’s floor was covered in thick carpeting, but now it lay in chaos. Shards from a shattered vase mingled with fragments of a broken mirror, scattered across the ground like discarded trash. An exquisite incense burner had been knocked over, and the bedsheets were torn to shreds, as if gnawed by some wild beast.

Jiang Rang swallowed hard, mentally composing his words, when the corner of his eye caught a huddled, trembling shadow on the wide bed.

The omega had curled into a tight ball, arms wrapped around his knees, his pale face buried between his legs. A cascade of jet-black hair flowed down his arms like a waterfall, draping over half his body.

He looked utterly terrified, shaking as if he might give in to despair and die at any moment.

The omega’s pheromones drifted toward the beta, laced with fear and timidity—like a tentative probe.

In that instant, Jiang Rang’s heart softened. An inexplicable surge of pity welled up inside him. As a beta with little experience around omegas, he had no idea this was an innate talent of their pheromones.

Omegas were born fragile, and the aura in their pheromones was designed to lower an aggressor’s guard, stirring greater pity for them.

Jiang Rang approached the omega on the bed with slow, careful steps. He softened his voice as much as he could and said gently, “Mr. Qi, I…”

The words had scarcely left his mouth when the world spun wildly around him. An immense force slammed him onto the bed.

Then came the icy, piercing chill at his throat.

A sharp pair of scissors, glinting silver, pressed against his neck. The tall, slender man was half-straddling the beta’s lean abdomen, his long black hair drifting across the young man’s cheek like the tentacles of some monster.

That face, usually pale and shadowed with melancholy, was now flushed a burning red. It drew slowly closer to Jiang Rang’s, those black pupils cracked with bloodshot veins staring intently at the youth. The man’s voice came out hoarse and strangely distorted.

“Jiang Rang… Jiang Rang…”

Pain had drained his cheeks of color, cold sweat streaming down his face, yet he was smiling—a neurotic, exaggerated grin that bared his lips wide as he gasped for breath.

The shrill laughter faded into a low, muffled rumble, as if issuing from deep in his lungs.

The omega lowered his head slowly, his breath ghosting lightly against the clearly startled beta’s ear as he whispered, “Who told you to come seduce me?”

Even as he accused the young man of scheming to get close, the omega’s slender, pale limbs twisted tighter around him, drawing their blood-red lips nearer.

Pale skin tangled with dark, giving birth to an ambiguous intimacy.

Just as their lips were about to meet, the panicked beta threw caution to the wind and shoved the omega off him. His honest, rugged face burned bright red. Jiang Rang wiped at his lips on instinct, his voice thick with anxious protest at the misunderstanding.

“Mr. Qi, you’ve got it all wrong! I’m just a country boy, sent here by my relatives. I ain’t—I ain’t that kinda guy!”