The family doctor was a young male Beta named Liang Shu. His entire family had served the Wei family, and after his father took an early retirement, it was his turn to be at Wei Mingjue’s beck and call. Carrying his medical kit, he stood by the bed to assess Zou Yuqing’s condition, his brow furrowing slightly before he pulled back the blanket to take a closer look.
The intense gaze fixed on him from the side made it difficult to practice medicine, prompting him to look helplessly at Wei Mingjue. “Boss, do you have to stare like that? Can you step outside for a moment and I will call you back in when I am done? Didn’t you have things to attend to just now?” Anyone would feel nervous being watched so intently.
“I am staying right here. You had better make it quick.” Wei Mingjue wore a smile that looked terrifyingly menacing in Liang Shu’s eyes.
Since Wei Mingjue refused to leave, Liang Shu had no choice but to try his best to ignore the gaze. Taking a deep breath, he gently peeled off the blood-stained scent patch on Zou Yuqing’s gland.
“Did you bite him like this? Boss, he is an Alpha; he cannot handle being bitten like this.” Looking at the horrific state of the gland, Liang Shu drew in a sharp breath. “Do not let him wear a scent patch recently. Keeping it covered like this will cause an infection, and the wound is too deep. It will probably take a week to heal.”
Thinking the condition of the gland was already bad enough, Liang Shu lost his stomach to keep looking when he saw the numerous bruises and marks covering Zou Yuqing’s body. Even an Omega would not suffer such a wretched state, yet an Alpha had been treated so cruelly that his skin bled unconsciously, demonstrating just how immense the pain must have been.
Using a pair of tweezers, Liang Shu carefully held a sterile cotton ball to clean each wounded area. Every wipe drew an unconscious, pained groan from Zou Yuqing in his sleep. Liang Shu softened his movements further, finishing the treatment before finally hooking up an intravenous drip of nutrient solution.
By the end of the procedure, he remained entirely silent. Wei Mingjue did not speak either, his gaze lingering on the Alpha lying on the bed, whose brow remained furrowed even in sleep.
“Mingjue, what is going on here? You were never this excessive before. You can see for yourself that his condition is very poor. If he were not an Alpha, he might have been rushed to the hospital by now, and your reputation would take a severe hit.”
It was not as if Wei Mingjue had never done such things before. Liang Shu had treated several of Wei Mingjue’s former Alpha bed partners, none of whom had ever driven him to such distress. “What on earth happened?”
“It is nothing. You should leave first and help me keep an eye on Wei Mingyu.” Wei Mingjue had no intention of explaining the cause and effect to Liang Shu. He simply finished speaking and stepped over to the side of Zou Yuqing’s bed, staring down at the Alpha on the mattress while lost in thought.
Liang Shu let out a soft sigh, turned, and walked out of the manager’s office, thinking that the two Wei brothers were sent here simply to torture him and squeeze the life out of him.
The door clicked shut, and Wei Mingjue kept his head lowered, staring straight at Zou Yuqing. The latter’s brows remained tightly knitted. With an expressionless face, Wei Mingjue reached out and pressed a finger against that furrowed space between the eyebrows, only lowering his hand once those fine brows smoothed out.
He had no idea what was wrong with him either. He clearly should not treat the culprit who had impregnated Wei Mingyu this way, but upon seeing that stubborn look and unyielding expression, a surge of excitement had overtaken him like a hunter spotting his ultimate quarry, waiting for the right moment to strike.
Now knowing the truth, he thought his collection of prey had grown. Both Zou Yuqing and Zou Yuyang were his targets, though the methods of the hunt would differ. He wanted to tear into Zou Yuqing and let him perish in his jaws, but for Zou Yuqing, he wanted him subdued.
Zou Yuqing was his prey, a target he longed to conquer and possess.
An Alpha’s physique was robust after all. After losing consciousness for two hours, Zou Yuqing opened his eyes. The unfamiliar surroundings left him somewhat dazed, and seeing the intravenous drip hooked to his hand added a layer of confusion to his haze.
He remembered pushing through his physical discomfort while organizing inventory before ultimately collapsing. Even after falling, he vaguely remembered the store manager asking if he was little Zou’s friend, after which he lost consciousness entirely.
Friend? Zou Yuqing pressed his lips together. His friends were few, and none lived anywhere near this area, making it practically impossible for them to show up. Yet, upon second thought, there indeed seemed to be one friend who might find himself with nothing better to do during summer vacation and come looking for him. While he was still pondering, the door swung open.
“Xu Wang?” After turning it over in his mind, the only person it could be was his university roommate and close friend, Xu Wang. The moment the name slipped past his lips, however, Zou Yuqing realized that the person standing right in front of him inside the room was the exact individual who had forced himself upon him last night. That person was currently looking down at him with a half-smile, thin lips parting slightly. “Xu Wang? Is that your partner?”
The moment he saw that face, Zou Yuqing began to tremble uncontrollably. It was a conditioned reflex; last night’s ordeal had left him with deep psychological trauma, making his body ache the moment he laid eyes on Wei Mingjue. Even so, he gritted his teeth and glared angrily at Wei Mingjue like a tenacious little beast. “What are you doing here?”
Wei Mingjue raised an eyebrow and let out a soft laugh. “Why can I not be here? This is the lounge inside my office. Have you forgotten? You fainted at the supermarket, right onto my lap, and I was the one who brought you here.”
“Then why did you bring me here? Why did you come looking for me? I said it already, I am not Zou Yuyang. I said I am not Zou Yuyang!” Zou Yuqing’s emotions flared up again. He opened his eyes wide, shouting before shivering once more. He did not want to react this way, but yesterday’s events were simply too terrifying for an Alpha.
Wei Mingjue curled his lips and stepped closer to Zou Yuqing, watching with satisfaction as the other man maintained direct eye contact despite his trembling. Pushing his upper teeth with the tip of his tongue, he replied, “Indeed, I know you are not Zou Yuyang. That would be your older brother, wouldn’t it? Why would you take it upon yourself to do such things for your brother?”
“I told you yesterday, I am not Zou Yuyang, and I did not do anything to your brother. But you, Wei Mingjue, you refused to believe me, and you even…” Zou Yuqing clenched his fists. How he wished he could throw a punch right across that face, but he knew the consequences would likely be far worse. He could not afford to provoke Wei Mingjue.
All his frustration and agony could only be chewed up and swallowed down over and over again. No one knew what had happened, and no one would ever pity an Alpha. It was too unfair, too degrading. His life had never improved, and it never would.
With a sudden jerk, Zou Yuqing ripped the IV needle out of his skin, bringing a string of small blood droplets along with it. Perhaps the back of his hand would turn bruised by tomorrow, but that sort of pain no longer meant anything to him.
“Since you know I am not Zou Yuyang, let it end here. I did nothing to wrong your Wei family. Do not look for me ever again.” With that, Zou Yuqing pulled on his cheap clothes and strode out of the office.
Wei Mingjue simply watched Zou Yuqing’s every move in silence, the corners of his mouth curving slightly upward.
Trying to draw a clean line between them was out of the question. Once he had tasted a prey that satisfied him to this extent, how could he possibly let him go so easily?