Having not slept all night and with a part-time job starting at eight in the morning, Zou Yuqing simply got up and tremblingly pulled open the wardrobe door. On the inner edge of the door hung a tiny mirror, also cracked, reflecting his bloodshot eyes and pale lips. Cold sweat slid down his forehead. Perhaps due to the rough treatment and the sleepless night, his entire condition looked extremely poor.
The scent patch he had put on last night was stained with blood. He gently peeled it off. The glands bitten by Wei Mingjue were in a terribly tragic state, the wound oozing blood and swollen high, while the discomfort coming from below made him grit his teeth and tremble slightly.
Applying a fresh scent patch, Zou Yuqing walked out of the room. His mother was sitting blankly on the couch just like yesterday afternoon, half of her blanket sliding down while the other half still draped over her thin shoulders, looking helpless and desolate.
“Mom, I’m going to work. Wait for me to come back for lunch.” With that, Zou Yuqing tucked the blanket back in for his mother, turned on the fan, and walked out the door.
The July morning sunlight was already fierce. Even though the sky was bright, Zou Yuqing felt a pitch-black darkness all around him, just like his heart. Last night had been like a nightmare, making his world collapse all over again. He didn’t have time to react, feeling in a daze as if nothing had happened, but the marks and pain on his body constantly reminded him that it was all real.
“Oh my, Little Zou, what happened? Didn’t you sleep well last night?” The moment he stepped into the supermarket, the manager hurried over, naturally noticing the blood-stained scent patch. “What’s going on here? Why is it bleeding?”
Zou Yuqing shrank back, covering his glands with his hand as if to hide it, and squeezed out a smile. “It’s fine. I accidentally bumped it and hurt myself last night.”
“This area is so fragile. Even if you are an Alpha, you have to take good care of it.” The manager believed him, but then turned around and murmured softly to the cashier, “It must be his mother having another episode and hurting Little Zou. This kid really has a hard life.”
He pressed his lips together without speaking, walked into the locker room to change into his work uniform, and began arranging the cargo that hadn’t been finished yesterday afternoon. However, because the stretching movements made the pain of the torn area below far too obvious, combined with his dizzy, heavy head, Zou Yuqing’s breathing began to grow ragged, though he gritted his teeth and endured it. He was an Alpha, and he could endure.
He had already asked for so much time off yesterday. He didn’t want to take leave again today. Ever since summer vacation started, more and more students had been coming to the supermarket, and he hadn’t even finished stocking the goods the manager ordered over the past two days, leaving him feeling a bit apologetic.
Although the manager and aunties in the supermarket liked to gossip about his family affairs, he had to admit that they also pitied and sympathized with him. Sometimes they would discount or give him items that were close to expiration and needed to be cleared out, which saved him a lot of expenses.
“Oh right, Little Zou, you haven’t added my niece on WeChat yet from yesterday. Let’s add each other now, shall we?” The manager thought of this again, but seeing Zou Yuqing’s awkward expression, she smiled and waved her hand. “If you don’t want to, forget it. It’s just a bit of a pity. My niece is really very pretty.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to, Sister Zhang. I really don’t want to hold someone back, and besides, she’s your niece.” Zou Yuqing smiled apologetically, then continued organizing the goods.
With his family situation being so wretched, and with what happened yesterday, what qualifications did he have to be with an Omega? He had never imagined that his future would smoothly involve marrying a matched Omega to have a family, and now it was even less possible.
Despite being an Alpha, he was living such a pathetic existence. Zou Yuqing let out a self-deprecating chuckle, thinking of using busyness to numb his heart.
He worked mechanically like a machine, the scene before his eyes already blurry and spinning. Cold sweat kept welling up and falling, but he bit his lips and insisted on carrying the cargo boxes to the warehouse one by one, then coming back out to neatly rearrange the goods. Unawares, brilliant red bloomed on his pale lips.
The moment Wei Mingjue walked into the supermarket, he saw Zou Yuqing squatting in the household goods section organizing toilet paper. That Alpha’s arms looked quite solid, and when he pinned him down last night, he had indeed felt that strength unique to Alphas. At this moment, that person was trembling slightly, not obvious unless looked at closely, enduring it extremely well.
Getting closer, one could see that this Alpha’s complexion was ghostly pale, his lips bitten until they bled. Even though the supermarket had air conditioning, his back was soaked with sweat. While the AC wasn’t quite strong enough, this level of sweating was clearly abnormal.
“Zou Yuqing, you…” Wei Mingjue had just walked up to Zou Yuqing when Zou Yuqing collapsed straight down, leaning against his leg.
He had wanted to have a proper chat with Zou Yuqing, but the sight before him made him raise an eyebrow. Bending down, he hoisted the panting, weak Alpha onto his back.
“Oh, my goodness, Little Zou, what’s wrong? Why did you do so much work if you were sick? Are you a friend of Little Zou’s? Quickly take Little Zou back to take some medicine and rest!” The manager was also startled. This was the first time she had seen Zou Yuqing sick like this.
Wei Mingjue nodded and silently carried Zou Yuqing into his car. Judging by Zou Yuqing’s state, it was undoubtedly caused by his actions last night, but Wei Mingjue felt no remorse whatsoever. He merely glanced sideways at Zou Yuqing in the passenger seat and hooked his lips into a smile.
Taking Zou Yuqing back to Weimin Residential Area was out of the question. Wei Mingjue started the engine, in high spirits as he drove toward the company. Amidst the shocked and gossiping gazes of the staff, he carried Zou Yuqing horizontally into the lounge of the top-floor office, the very place where he often stayed when working overtime.
“So uncomfortable…” As soon as he touched the bed, Zou Yuqing writhed in distress. His head hurt so much, and not just his head, every part of his body was in pain. That kind of agony was rarely experienced by any Alpha, nor did any Alpha ever want to experience it.
Zou Yuqing struggled to open his eyes, only to feel a cool yet soft touch against his lips. Next, water was fed into his mouth, and already parched, he eagerly drank from that sweet spring at that instant, finally managing to survive.
Looking at the chapped lips of the person on the bed, Wei Mingjue originally wanted to let him drink some water properly, but helplessly, Zou Yuqing was delirious with dizziness and incapable of drinking properly, leaving this as the only option. He had done such things with past lovers as a form of flirtation, but today it was to take care of this Alpha right before him.
Yet right now, this Alpha who should have hated him to the core was extremely proactive, even seizing the initiative, wrapping his arms around his neck and refusing to let go, sharply reminding him of last night’s madness.
“Ha, do you even know who I am?” Wei Mingjue amusedly watched the Zou Yuqing beneath him. The current Zou Yuqing had shed that deathly pallor, replaced instead by a flush of red. Despite clearly looking like a rugged Alpha, it made Wei Mingjue’s eyes turn hot, and he even swallowed hard. “Damn it.”
Wei Mingjue cursed under his breath as he walked out of the lounge to call a family doctor. Hanging up the phone, he lowered his gaze to glance below, irritably grabbing his hair. This Alpha was too much to his taste, someone who made him want to press him under his body the moment he laid eyes on him. He just couldn’t do it right now because the person was terribly sick.
A few seconds later, the office door was knocked on, and upon his permission, Xia Fan walked in.
“President Wei, we’ve tracked down the call records between your younger brother and Zou Yuuyang last night. It looks like your brother wants to marry Zou Yuuyang and also has plans to have a child,” Xia Fan said with an expressionless face, dropping news that sent Wei Mingjue into a towering rage. He stood respectfully waiting for instructions after speaking.
“Wei Mingyu wants to marry Zou Yuuyang?” Wei Mingjue’s mouth twitched, his gaze turning pitch black. “Where is Zou Yuuyang right now? Bring him…”
Before he could finish, a faint whimpering came from the lounge once more. Wei Mingjue stood up and strode into the lounge, seeing Zou Yuqing’s agonizing expression, his lips parted as if murmuring something. Frowning, he lowered his head and leaned close to Zou Yuqing’s lips, finally catching what the Alpha was muttering.
“Sister Zhang, I have to go home to cook for my mom…” Zou Yuqing muttered, letting out another muffled groan like a small wounded beast.
Even like this, he was still thinking about going home to cook. Wei Mingjue muttered a low “Got it,” then stepped out of the lounge, instructing Xia Fan under the latter’s puzzled and startled gaze: “First buy some food and take it to Weimin Residential Area for Xu Jie, and then bring Zou Yuuyang here tonight. Don’t let Wei Mingyu find out.”
Right as he finished speaking, another knock sounded at the door, the family doctor he had just called had arrived.
“Go into the room and check his condition,” Wei Mingjue arranged, turning back to see Xia Fan still frozen in place. He furrowed his brows and said, “Xia Fan, aren’t you going yet?”
Xia Fan pressed his lips together, glanced back at the lounge room one last time, and finally nodded, “Going right now.”