After the Omega finished speaking, his outline gradually blurred, his face becoming indistinct and his limbs impossible to make out, as if shrouded in mist across vast oceans and mountains. The Alpha strained to focus his gaze, but all he could see was the Omega’s soft, gentle smile.
The Omega’s mouth opened and closed, murmuring something… He turned around, seemingly inviting the Alpha to kiss his gland. But as the Alpha reached out, his fingertip barely brushing against him, the Omega’s entire body dissipated like smoke…
His vision cleared. He was still in the empty bathroom. The Omega had never entered. The Alpha remained in the same position, holding the Aromatherapy Cup that had been scorched by the fumes.
That faint fragrance was merely the residual pheromones of the Omega lingering at the bottom of the cup. Its hallucinogenic effect had plunged the Alpha into an illusion in an instant, luring him into the trap of his deepest subconscious desire.
The Alpha left the bathroom and walked to the bedside.
Blue satin sheets lay softly across the expansive bed, transforming it into a vast, square expanse of azure sea. The waves were the wrinkles the Omega had bunched up, and the foam was his faintly visible arms. The Alpha stared at the Omega’s neck, his brows deeply furrowed. He leaned down to inspect the nape, where a flesh-colored Barrier Patch was affixed. He couldn’t tear it off here—this spot was even more dangerous than lips…
The sun rose slowly, and the room lay in serene tranquility.
Wen Yan woke in the evening, having slept deeply and comfortably, his body suffused with a satisfying languor. It had been ages since he’d had such a perfect rest. He consciously kept his eyes closed for another ten minutes or so, his hazy mind drifting automatically back to the previous night.
Liang Wangyou was cutting the cake, Lin Yichu had given him a ring, and Liang Shijing was sneaking a smoke.
Whoosh—he bolted upright!
On the sweltering summer night terrace, besides Liang Shijing’s silhouette, there had been an Omega in heat!
In the fractured, swaying fragments of memory… Liang Shijing… Liang Shijing approaching him, Liang Shijing succumbing to the influence… At the thought, Wen Yan slowly lifted the covers. His pajamas were still properly on, and the one-meter Foot Chain remained securely locked around his ankle…
He let out a long breath of relief. Thank goodness nothing had happened. Yes, the doctors had given him an emergency injection of inhibitor later… Yes, it hadn’t repeated the nightmare of six years ago. But why was a certain part of his body a little swollen?
The Omega wallowed in his hysteria for a moment, then slowly touched his feverish cheeks…
Something still felt off, though.
After washing up, Wen Yan went downstairs. Liang Wangyou wasn’t home. Consul Ji stood composedly at the elevator, apparently having waited for quite a while. Normally, Consul Ji always appeared in the most opportune spot with his usual kindly, reassuring smile, but today his expression was markedly different—a look of barely restrained delight.
“What’s wrong?” Wen Yan asked hesitantly, pausing in his steps.
“Nothing at all.” Consul Ji smiled and cleared his throat. “Shall we have breakfast now?”
The floor-to-ceiling windows gleamed spotlessly clean, the last traces of sunset glow falling on the distant white gauze curtains. It was already evening, yet they were only now starting breakfast…
“Okay… um… Has Liang Shijing not come back yet?” After a pause, Wen Yan asked as casually as he could. “When did he get back last night, anyway?”
“Around nine, carrying you back.” Consul Ji replied just as casually, tossing in the bonus detail.
“Carrying me?” At those words, a tingling current raced through his body like a stress response. Wen Yan gripped his pant leg tightly as dim flashes assaulted his mind: the Alpha wanting a kiss, the Alpha saying not here…
Consul Ji maintained his restraint before him, his face a mix of eager listening and reluctance to hear too much. Wen Yan’s face slowly flushed red, and he stammered, “Did I… do anything outrageous? Or say anything inappropriate?”
“I’m not sure about that.” Consul Ji answered with a springlike warmth. “The banquet hadn’t even ended when the Chief carried you back. He stayed in your room all night and only left at dawn.”
Wen Yan stood frozen like a wooden statue.
It was real… not a dream…
“If you don’t believe me, we can check the surveillance footage,” Consul Ji added helpfully.
“…” Utterly mortified, Wen Yan nodded. “Um… I’ll go back upstairs and sleep some more.” As he turned to re-enter the elevator, he suddenly remembered Liang Wangyou. “Is Little You not home?”
“The Young Master is celebrating his birthday with friends from school today,” Consul Ji said.
Yes, Liang Wangyou had mentioned it. Starting this month, he seemed to be having birthdays nonstop. The day before his actual birthday, they’d celebrated as a family. Liang Shijing had cleared his schedule that day—they’d played hide-and-seek, dug in the sand, baked little cookies for Liang Wangyou, gone for a wild ride with Liang Shijing driving, and Wen Yan had read him a bedtime story. The actual birthday yesterday had been like every year, with Liang Shijing taking him to mingle in the Capital’s top social circles. And today, Liang Wangyou was having this fake birthday with his teachers and classmates who didn’t know his true identity.
Wen Yan returned upstairs and stared blankly at the large bed. Then he wandered blankly into the study, gazing at the high-backed chair where Liang Shijing had sat last night… In that instant, clear fragments of memory flashed through his mind again: being teased, the Alpha’s low coaxing words, the Alpha’s slick fingers, the Alpha spanking his ass…
Wen Yan covered his cheeks, wishing he could bash his head against the carpet and die.
What on earth had he done… But Liang Shijing had it rough too… holding back all night long, and in the end, doing nothing to him at all…
He crouched on the floor like that for a long time. When he stood up as usual, a sudden wave of dizziness hit, sending him crashing to the ground. The carpet saved him; otherwise, he might really have cracked his skull… He struggled to his feet, a bit of warmth trickling from his nape. Trembling, he touched it—his fingertip came away bright red.
The Barrier Patch was meant to last twenty-four hours. Since he hadn’t changed it promptly last night, the adhesive on the back had been soaked in blood overnight and lost its stickiness. It didn’t need careful peeling anymore; a gentle tug would do. But Wen Yan didn’t do that, because the blood had pooled inside the patch, swelling it up like a little water balloon. He hurried to the bathroom, stripped naked, and stood under the shower to peel it off. Warm blood cascaded down his back and collarbone in rivulets, vivid red. The painkillers had worn off too, and the pain was gradually returning. He couldn’t endure it for even a minute. Without time to wrap a bathrobe around himself, he stumbled out naked. Only when the painkillers finally slid down his throat did his constantly shaking body begin to steady.
~~~
If Liang Shijing didn’t hate him—perhaps even liked him a little—then that would be something. But Liang Shijing seemed to want him dead. Why else would he have asked that question when they reunited? Of course, it was possible Liang Shijing was just sharp-tongued as always. His words had never been kind, but that didn’t stop him from being a good man at heart.
The timing felt right…
Wen Yan quickly finished his shower and fastened the neck ring around his throat. He hesitated for a long, long time before flipping the alarm switch. The moment he did, it shrieked like mad. In less than half a year, his gland had already degenerated by ninety percent…
There was no way he could keep wearing the neck ring. It was swollen high and flushed bright red.
“Is Liang Shijing home?” Wen Yan asked as he headed downstairs.
“The Chief’s Mansion just called. He has a meeting tonight and will be back late,” Consul Ji replied. “The Chief specifically instructed that you should have dinner on your own after waking up—no need to wait for him.”
He was so busy. But Wen Yan didn’t want to wait any longer. In a quiet voice, he said, “I want to go find him.”
“Of course you can—just please have something to eat first,” Consul Ji said with a smile. “Otherwise, I’ll catch hell for it.”
“All right.”
He really was starving. He hadn’t eaten a thing since last night, aside from the water Liang Shijing had fed him during their mid-session break. If he headed out rashly like this, he might collapse from low blood sugar before even seeing Liang Shijing—or worse, drop dead on the roadside…
Wen Yan forced down his meal without tasting a bite and slipped into the black convoy that had been waiting for some time.
The Chief’s Mansion was as brightly lit as ever. Lamps filled the small white-paneled windows with light, while spotlights on the facade bathed the pristine building in a serene, ethereal glow. After stepping out of the car, Wen Yan entered the airlocked elevator and rode up to the third floor alone.
Whenever he came here before, no matter how busy Cheng Zhu was, he would always wait for him and escort him to Liang Shijing’s office.
The moment they came face-to-face, Cheng Zhu’s brows furrowed deeply.
Wen Yan froze, halting in his tracks.
Cheng Zhu clapped a hand over his mouth and nose and retreated several steps in a hurry.
“Uh…” Wen Yan’s expression turned deeply awkward. “What’s wrong?”
“You have the Chief’s pheromones all over you,” Cheng Zhu answered, his voice muffled. The pheromones of an S-class Alpha exerted an irresistible pressure on ordinary Alphas, making them profoundly uncomfortable. Too much exposure could even cause them to faint—or trigger their susceptibility period outright.
Wen Yan darted into the office. “Sorry about that.”
