After He Yushen finished speaking, the Omega beneath him seemed not to have heard his words. He just stared blankly at him with eyes brimming with tears.
Looking at the aggrieved and pitiful Omega, He Yushen’s eyes grew hazy. He lowered his head, staring at those flushed red lips.
Nan Yi was terrified. In a panic, he turned his head away.
He Yushen paused, his eyes clearing instantly. He frowned, got up with a cold face, and left the room.
Nan Yi sat up, still shaken. The door was slammed shut with a loud “bang.”
After sitting numbly on the bed for a long time, Nan Yi crawled under the covers and covered his head. The lingering pheromones of the Alpha remained on the bedding, which for some reason, made Nan Yi feel a sense of security.
That night, He Yushen did not return to the bedroom.
Nan Yi only realized this in the morning when he saw that the pillow beside him was smooth and unwrinkled.
Just after waking, he stared at the ceiling in a daze for a long time, once again acknowledging that he was in a strange place.
After getting up and washing, he went downstairs. Song Jing was sitting at the dining table eating breakfast.
His ankle, which he had sprained the night before, was bandaged. Dressed in shorts, the thick layers of bandage on his straight, fair legs were impossible to miss.
Nan Yi felt no guilt. He merely glanced at them, continued down, sat at the dining table, and quietly ate his breakfast.
When Song Jing saw him, he gave a cold snort.
Nan Yi ignored him.
“It is really pathetic to be your younger brother, having his marriage stolen by an inferior Omega brother,” Song Jing said, looking at Nan Yi across the table with a sneer.
Nan Yi remained silent, just eating his food.
“But it seems your brother does not have the fate to reach so high either.”
“As for you,” Song Jing glanced at Nan Yi with disgust.
“If it were not for you using your pheromones to entice him, and Brother Shen just happening to be in his rut, how could he have marked an inferior Omega like you?”
Nan Yi looked up, casting a cold gaze at Song Jing.
Song Jing kept emphasizing that he was an inferior Omega, but Nan Yi had long ceased to care. Because of his low quality, he had suffered countless unfair treatments since childhood. These few words were nothing but painless stings, and he simply acted as if he had not heard them.
After finishing, he set down his utensils, stood up, and walked out.
For the week that Song Jing was resting his foot, whenever the housekeeper was not around, he would spend his time insulting Nan Yi in various ways.
He Yushen had also never returned. Perhaps it was work, or perhaps he was keeping another Omega elsewhere.
Every day, other than eating and sleeping, Nan Yi did nothing. He felt as if he were molding away in the villa.
Then, one day, Song Jing finally removed the bandage from his foot and went to school. Nan Yi watched his back as he left with a hint of envy.
After being forced to take his brother’s place, Nan Yi had only completed half a semester of university before Nan Zhaimin made him drop out. It had always been a regret of his.
Watching Song Jing get into the car and drive away, Nan Yi turned back with a sense of disappointment.
At noon, Nan Yi left the villa, using the same driver as before.
He spent the afternoon wandering around his old school and watching others play ball on the playground for a long time. It was almost dark by the time he finished a bowl of fried rice by the roadside. Not wanting to trouble the driver again, he paid a hefty price for a taxi to take him back to the villa.
“Mr. Nan, you are finally back!”
As soon as he stepped out of the car, the anxious housekeeper waiting outside rushed to meet him.
Nan Yi looked at the housekeeper in confusion and used sign language: “What is wrong?”
“Hurry inside. Young Master He’s rut has started, and even one dose of suppressants did not work. He is currently furious and looking for you.”
Nan Yi froze on the spot, frowning.
He had already had a rut that first night he arrived, had he not?
Remembering the fear from that night, Nan Yi’s legs felt like lead. He stood stiffly, unable to move.
“Mr. Nan, a top-tier Alpha in his rut needs his Omega more than any other Alpha. Young Master He really needs you right now.”
Seeing him motionless, the housekeeper was incredibly anxious, glancing back toward the house in the distance and then urgently at Nan Yi.
Nan Yi had learned in school that during their ruts, Alphas were indeed more fragile and clingy toward their Omegas. A rut can last anywhere from three days to a week, during which time they require the Omega’s soothing pheromones.
But thinking of that night, Nan Yi could not force his legs to move.
He bit his lip, pulled his somewhat weak legs forward, and followed the frantic housekeeper toward the villa at a fast pace.
Within those few dozen seconds, he thought to himself.
Since he had already been abandoned by Nan Zhaimin and had married He Yushen in his brother’s place, perhaps this was his fate.
Even though He Yushen loathed him, he was still the Alpha who had marked him. At the very least, for now, he was his Alpha.
Nan Zhaimin had also obtained many benefits from He Yushen.
He had no reason to refuse to soothe his Alpha’s rut.
As they reached the front door of the living room, the oppressive peppermint pheromones made both of them change expressions. The entire living room was filled with the heavy scent of Alpha pheromones.
“Mr. Nan, Young Master He is upstairs.” The housekeeper frowned. This time, he did not follow Nan Yi further but stood respectfully outside the door.
Nan Yi moved slowly toward the stairs. The closer he got to the bedroom, the stronger the Alpha’s pheromones became.
Under the influence of such pheromones, he gradually began to feel uncomfortable himself.
Standing outside the door, he swallowed nervously and raised his hand to slowly push open the bedroom door.
The peppermint scent in the room was even more intense. Beneath the rug by the bedside were two empty syringes, but the room was empty.
Nan Yi frowned slightly, hesitating before stepping inside.
Calming his heart, he heard faint splashing sounds from the bathroom. He Yushen was taking a shower.
Nan Yi sat on the edge of the bed, lowering his head and clenching his fingers. He appeared calm, but his fingertips had turned white.
“Clang.”
The bathroom door was kicked open somewhat roughly. Just hearing the sound, one could tell how irritable the person inside was.
Nan Yi was startled and looked up.
He Yushen was only wearing a bath towel, barely covering his lower body. His strong chest muscles were covered in a layer of mist, and water droplets were dripping from his hair.
“Where did you go?” He stared at the nervous person on the bed with a dark, unhappy face.
He walked toward Nan Yi on the bed, his eyes becoming increasingly fierce.
“Do not forget the duties for which I kept you.”
He moved closer and gripped the chin of the Omega, who was looking up at him.
Nan Yi frowned in pain and nodded.
The pheromones of an inferior Omega were not strong, but to an Alpha in his rut, they were enough to easily reignite the lust he had just struggled to suppress with suppressants.
His eyes darkened significantly. He Yushen lowered his head toward that sliver of fair neck.
Without any defense, Nan Yi felt pain at the back of his neck. He bit his lip to keep a hoarse sound from escaping, his hands trembling slightly with nervousness.