Liang Shu felt that he was truly miserable. The moment he relaxed after receiving a message from Xia Fan, he was summoned right back by Wei Mingjue’s death-call. Upon seeing the situation inside the office, his heart tightened involuntarily.
As a Beta, he could barely smell pheromones, and they had no effect on him. Precisely because of this, however, he was able to observe the various reactions of Alphas and Omegas with greater accuracy and detail. Right now, for instance, Wei Mingyu’s and Zou Yuyang’s pheromones were likely intermingling, while Wei Mingjue was frowning, exercising strict self-control to keep from releasing his own pheromones and ruining the beauty before him.
In short, Wei Mingjue was on the verge of exploding.
“What is going on here? Didn’t I tell you not to experience such drastic emotional swings?” Liang Shu walked over to Wei Mingyu to check up on the ill-fated kid’s current condition. It was actually fine; thanks to the stabilization provided by his own Alpha pheromones, there was no loss of control.
“Drastic emotional swings? He ran so far away, so his emotions were bound to be through the roof!” Wei Mingjue gritted his teeth as he watched his younger brother nestle into Zou Yuyang’s arms, the kid’s eyelids twitching unconsciously. “How is he right now?”
Liang Shu was startled and too afraid to speak, managing only an awkward laugh as a reply. “He is in a stable state right now. Omegas during pregnancy require soothing from Alpha pheromones, so…”
“Meaning this person has to stay by Wei Mingyu’s side all the time?” Wei Mingjue laughed out of sheer anger. He rubbed his temples, cast a dark look at Zou Yuyang, and then turned back to Liang Shu. “What would happen if we went to get an abortion and cleared the mark right now?”
“Brother! Can you please stop doing this? I really do not want to abort the child, and I am not going to get the mark cleansed. Yuyang is my Alpha, and I want to marry him!” Upon hearing the words abortion and cleansing the mark, Wei Mingyu grew agitated all over again. As he wept, he unconsciously released a wave of pheromones that caught both Zou Yuyang and Wei Mingjue off guard.
Surrounded by his Omega’s pheromones, Zou Yuyang quickly reacted, his face turning instantly pale as he wavered between raw desire and the terror of facing Wei Mingjue. Clinging tightly to Wei Mingjue’s younger brother, Zou Yuyang began to intensify the release of his own pheromones, not as a provocation toward Wei Mingjue, but as an act of pacification for Wei Mingyu.
However, Wei Mingjue’s eyes were bloodshot and the veins on his forehead were bulging. The scents of bitter orange and grapes blended together into an intensely sweet, cloying odor that made him want to vomit.
“Mingjue, hold it in. If you release your pheromones right now, your brother will pass out from the shock of the two colliding scents.” Knowing that Wei Mingjue was at his limit, naturally loathing Zou Yuyang for marking and impregnating his precious younger brother, yet unable to retaliate with pheromones, Liang Shu figured he could understand. “Let us talk in the meeting room. Your brother’s emotional state is a bit unstable right now. Let him calm down first.”
Surveying the scene before him, Wei Mingjue could say no more. With reluctant bitterness, he followed Liang Shu out the door, though he glanced back just before leaving, only to see Wei Mingyu tilt his head up and kiss Zou Yuyang, sending his fury climbing even higher.
“Can you tell what on earth makes Zou Yuyang worthy of Wei Mingyu liking him so much?” Stepping into the adjacent meeting room, Wei Mingjue kept his teeth clenched. He stared at Liang Shu, his face full of wrath.
Liang Shu swallowed hard, pondering how to answer Wei Mingjue’s question without making the man in front of him even angrier. Carefully, he offered, “I cannot really tell. The contact time has been a bit short.”
“That effeminate Alpha is even more cowardly than Wei Mingyu,” Wei Mingjue sneered. After a brief pause, he asked again, “Is Wei Mingyu’s physical condition right now suitable for an abortion procedure?”
“It is quite risky. Minyu’s physical condition is already poorer than that of an average Omega. If he undergoes an abortion and cleanses the mark on top of that, it could cause indelible damage to his body, so we must consider this very carefully.” Finishing his sentence, Liang Shu lowered his gaze. He knew Wei Mingjue disliked Zou Yuyang, but Wei Mingyu’s health truly could not handle such a surgery.
Wei Mingyu had been born to his mother through a difficult labor, weighing less than an ordinary infant at birth, though saving both mother and child was already a miracle. Frail and sickly since childhood, Wei Mingyu had been doted on like the center of the universe by the Wei family because of his hard entry into the world and poor health, though thankfully the young master’s constitution had improved somewhat as he grew up.
“Meaning giving birth is the best choice.” Wei Mingjue hit the nail on the head.
“Yes.” Liang Shu nodded, looking as though he had more to say. Finally, biting his bullet, he raised his head to look at Wei Mingjue. “If Minyu likes him, there must be a reason. Mingjue, would you consider trying to understand?” Otherwise, their future relationship would undoubtedly remain ice-cold.
“Understand? I could kill him.” Wei Mingjue clenched both fists so tightly that his knuckle joints emitted a crisp cracking sound, discouraging Liang Shu from speaking another word.
How was he supposed to understand his younger brother falling for an Alpha like that? What kind of Alpha completely marks a newly acquainted, just-turned-adult Omega and gets him pregnant?
“Liang Shu, keep an eye on them. I feel a bit nauseous right now.” Wei Mingjue tugged at his collar. The earlier pheromone clash had made him want to retch, yet at that moment, a memory of that crisp mint fragrance stirred within him. Taking a deep breath, peace finally settled into the depths of his gaze. “I am going to go smell something pleasant.”
With that, ignoring Liang Shu’s puzzled expression, Wei Mingjue strode out of the meeting room, headed down to the underground parking garage, and drove off along a familiar route.
Parking at the entrance of Weimin Residential Area was inconvenient. Due to the narrow road and insufficient parking spaces within the old surrounding community, overflow vehicles often chose to park along the roadside, making an already cramped path even narrower. Many drivers refused to turn onto this street. Those who actually dared drive in possessed superb driving skills and had no fear of scraping other cars.
Wei Mingjue belonged to the category of people with superb driving skills who hated driving in. He preferred wide, open roads where he could drive to his heart’s content. On a narrow alley like this, he would inevitably grow furious, and the liquid dripping from the locust trees always managed to soil the car body. Today, however, he did not care. Right now, he only wanted to see Zou Yuqing quickly and greedily inhale the scent of his prey.
Dinner break had arrived. Zou Yuqing took off his hat, exchanged greetings with the older women at the store, and prepared to rush home to cook for Xu Jie. Having just suffered another episode, he feared his mother’s mental state might deteriorate even further. He had worried about her the entire time he was at work, and the moment his break started, he raced home.
Just as he reached the bottom of the stairs, however, he spotted Wei Mingjue standing at the stairwell smoking a cigarette. Even though summer dusk fell late, the overhanging structure of the dilapidated apartment building blocked out the light, leaving the stairway shrouded in shadow. The tip of the lit cigarette flickered with an orange ember, followed by wisps of exhaled smoke that drifted into the air before dissipating.
“What are you doing here?” Zou Yuqing widened his eyes in shock, watching the figure standing in the gloom step out bit by bit, revealing his haughty posture under the light.
“Did you run all the way back?” Wei Mingjue did not answer the question. He tossed the cigarette butt away, ground it out beneath his heel, and flashed a smile. “Did you know I was coming?”
Zou Yuqing pressed his lips together, eyeing Wei Mingjue as if facing a formidable enemy. For every half step the man drew closer, Zou Yuqing retreated half a step, his body beginning to tremble slightly. He did not want to react this way, but he could not help it.
Naturally, Wei Mingjue noticed the Alpha’s trembling. He was in high spirits, the anger from an hour ago vanishing by more than half. “Are you afraid of me? Do not be afraid. There were some misunderstandings between us, but they are gone now. I am not going to do anything to you.”
“If there are no misunderstandings left, then let this be the end of it. I already told that person as well not to come looking for me anymore.” Zou Yuqing looked straight into Wei Mingjue’s eyes. Despite the lingering hint of fear in his gaze, he possessed the same unyielding spirit that had captivated Wei Mingjue from the very beginning.
“Xia Fan? Speaking of him, your mother smashed him up pretty badly. Xia Fan is my most capable assistant, and right now he cannot even help me work.” Wei Mingjue feigned a look of deep regret, maintaining direct eye contact with Zou Yuqing.
It was a fact that his mother had injured Xia Fan. Zou Yuqing frowned and spoke up, “How much money do you need? I will transfer it to you.”
Wei Mingjue froze. The number of times he had heard someone ask him how much money he needed could be counted on one hand, and he could not help laughing out loud. “Do you take me for someone short on cash? How about this: I have not eaten yet. Let me go to your house for a meal, and we will call this matter settled. How does that sound?”
“I would rather just give you the money.” With that, Zou Yuqing picked up his phone and got ready to scan the QR code for a transfer.
Yet how could Wei Mingjue possibly give Zou Yuqing his payment code? Chuckling softly as he watched the slightly shorter Zou Yuqing, he stepped directly forward, hooked his arm around that sturdy neck, and murmured with a crooked smile, “Alright now, do you not still need to cook for your mom? Just make an extra portion, can you not?”
Zou Yuqing did not reply. The moment Wei Mingjue hooked his arm around him, his mind went blank. A churning, turbulent nausea rolled through his stomach, but he forced himself to swallow it down.