Dizziness and a surging tide of pain yank at Fang Fengqin’s nerves, coming on even more fiercely than every previous pseudo-estrus.
Between waking and sleeping, someone wipes the sweat from his temples with a cool, damp towel. He struggles to lift his eyelids, but fails.
His body subconsciously curls up tight, and his hand covers the back of his neck as if doing so could hide the biggest hidden danger of his life.
Wei Jinlin is too sleepy to keep his eyes open. Seeing that Fang Fengqin shows signs of waking up, he stretches out his leg and kicks Qin Tingfeng, who is sleeping nearby like a dead pig.
“What on earth is wrong with him?” Wei Jinlin clicks his tongue. “I have not even married into the Fang family yet, so he had better not die on me.”
Qin Tingfeng jerks awake, reaches out to touch the gland at the back of Fang Fengqin’s neck, and pours a cup of water for Wei Jinlin to feed him.
“His symptoms do not look good,” Qin Tingfeng says, crossing his legs as he sits to the side in a calm tone. “Pheromone dysregulation syndrome, an incurable disease capable of driving an Omega to death.”
Wei Jinlin’s grip on Fang Fengqin’s chin tightens abruptly, leaving faint red marks against the fair skin.
“Well, that is fine too. I can accept being a widowing spouse.” With an expressionless face, he forces two mouthfuls of water down Fang Fengqin’s throat.
Qin Tingfeng stays silent. The father and son say nothing for a moment, staring silently at the person on the bed.
Both of them know very well that once the news of Fang Fengqin being an Omega is exposed, the Fang family in Rongcheng will likely be turned upside down.
Weather changes as quickly as words, and the rain during the night continues nonstop until morning.
When Fang Fengqin regains consciousness, he does not realize where he is right away.
He props himself up. His body feels relatively refreshed, the blood-stained clothes having already been changed. The clothes he wears are somewhat familiar, and he has a vague sense of having seen them somewhere before.
Footsteps draw closer from far to near, and the newcomer walks over lazily, carrying the damp, earthy scent of wind and rain.
Fang Fengqin turns his head subconsciously, meeting a somewhat familiar face.
“Young Master Fang, you are awake.” Wei Jinlin stands leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed, staring at Fang Fengqin with a smile that is not quite a smile. “Since you are awake, stop playing dead and let us discuss the wedding.”
Fang Fengqin’s brain lags for a moment, and he dizzily reaches toward the back of his neck. The gland lies bare and exposed to the open air.
The color drains bit by bit from a face that was already pale. He parts his lips, and heavy red veins web his eyes.
Accustomed to seeing this young master’s arrogant and haughty demeanor, Wei Jinlin is seeing him in such a wretched state for the very first time.
“I still prefer the look of you throwing bank cards at me,” Wei Jinlin says, narrowing his eyes with a smile like a fox. He steps forward, pinches Fang Fengqin’s sharpened chin, and looks him up and down from side to side.
“Why the look of someone about to cry.” He strokes the slick skin beneath his fingertips and sighs, “I will not expose you.”
From the moment he saw Wei Jinlin, Fang Fengqin knew his identity had been exposed.
He barely suppresses his complex emotions, tilts his face slightly to evade Wei Jinlin’s hand, and says in a low voice, “What are your demands?”
Demands?
Wei Jinlin thinks for a moment, then suddenly lowers his head and leans in. Seeing Fang Fengqin’s slight panic, he smiles and says, “Let me bite you.”
As he draws closer, the sweet, cloying scent of peaches grows heavier. Fang Fengqin presses his lips together. “You are an Omega.”
Wei Jinlin lets out a chuckle. He simply wants to tease Fang Fengqin. “Your father should have already told you about marrying me, right?”
Fang Fengqin falls silent, lifting his eyelids to stare straight at him for a moment. “You still want to marry me now?”
Even knowing I am an Omega, are you willing to throw yourself into the fire like a moth to a flame for this messy situation?
A trace of bizarre emotion stirs within Fang Fengqin’s heart.
As if seeing right through his thoughts, Wei Jinlin suddenly rolls his eyes.
“What I want is the status of the Fang family madam. Did you think I liked you?”
The warmth that had just begun to surface in Fang Fengqin’s eyes freezes abruptly, and he says with an expressionless face, “Oh.”
“Do you know how punchable you are?” Wei Jinlin sneers. “If not for my good temper, you would have been bagged in a sack and beaten up by me long ago.”
He had put in a lot of effort before in order to seduce Fang Fengqin, but this person had never once looked at him properly or even known his name.
The only real progress came that time when that madman Shen Jiyun forcibly induced his estrus and tied him up for Fang Fengqin to bite.
Thinking of Shen Jiyun makes Wei Jinlin’s teeth itch with anger.
“Today, no, right now, go tell your dad that you want to marry me!” He huffs in annoyance. “Young Master Fang, you do not want your true identity to be found out by others, do you?”
Such a terrible line.
Yet Fang Fengqin is like a fish on a cutting board, with no other choice than to let others carve him up.
He lowers his head, thinks for two seconds, and lifts his face again once his expression has returned to its usual calmness.
The news that the young master of the Fang family and the young master of the Wei family are getting engaged spreads all over Rongcheng by the afternoon.
Some say the two grew up as childhood sweethearts in mutual affection, while others say it was love at first sight and a lifelong promise made in secret.
Of course, those with discerning minds think of the medical project recently taken over by the Fang family.
The uncle of the young master of the Wei family is Ji Binglv, the power holder of the Ji family, which is the largest local pharmaceutical industry in Rongcheng.
Releasing this news without warning at such a critical juncture makes it hard for people not to read into it.
When Fang Fengqin leaves Xinghe Road, Qin Tingfeng hands him a letter.
“After you and Jinlin marry, you will also count as my son-in-law.” Qin Tingfeng says in a serious tone, “Do you know that your physical condition is very poor?”
Fang Fengqin holds the letter without speaking, somewhat distracted.
“At the rate you disregard your health, it is hard to say whether you can even live to thirty.” Qin Tingfeng speaks sternly, “Tell me the truth, do you want to be cured?”
Fang Fengqin’s eyelashes tremble slightly. He is twenty-three this year.
The vehicle merges into the main road, and the rain has gradually lightened. The wipers sweep back and forth, and while staring at a red light, he continues to hear Qin Tingfeng’s words echoing in his mind.
“Your symptoms look very much like pheromone dysregulation syndrome. Take this letter and go find Professor Gu. He is my teacher and an expert in this field.”
“He holds consultations the day after tomorrow morning.”
Sit right there and do not move! Gu Song and Song Jiangyan arrive early in the morning downstairs at Lake View Apartment, staking out for half an hour before finally intercepting him.
Fang Fengqin hurriedly shoves the letter into his pocket, looks at the two people outside the car door, and says helplessly, “Let me out of the car first.”
“The Wei family kid? You? The two of you are getting engaged?”
Gu Song reaches out to scratch his ear, saying in disbelief, “Did I hear that right?”
He turns his head to look at Song Jiangyan, asking with exaggerated inflection, “Old Song, am I not dreaming?”
Song Jiangyan delivers a slap straight across his back with a smack.
“Ouch!” Gu Song jumps to the side. “What the hell are you doing!”
“Does it hurt?” Song Jiangyan nods to himself. “Seems it is not a dream.”
The corner of Fang Fengqin’s mouth twitches, and he delivers a kick to each of them. “Get lost!”
Sixth floor of Lake View Apartment.
Fang Fengqin sinks into the sofa, listening to the two flies buzzing incessantly beside his ears.
“It is not that I am talking nonsense, Orange, you are too impulsive. You are only twenty-three years old, why are you getting engaged?” Gu Song still refuses to accept reality. “Do you have any feelings for him?”
Fang Fengqin says with an expressionless face, “I love him to death.”
Gu Song chokes, sitting to the side and nursing some unknown grievance of his own.
Song Jiangyan chimes in gloomily from the side, “It was demanded by your dad, right?”
Fang Fengqin turns his head to look out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the gloomy sky, which is particularly annoying.
That idiot Gu Song finally catches on, pondering for a moment before asking, “Then why not just say it is a commercial marriage? What is with all this nonsense about mutual affection?”
“Idiot,” Song Jiangyan scolds him. “Wei Jinlin’s uncle hates commercial marriages the most. If the truth were told, could the Fang family get any favors from him?”