The clever Alpha looked quite pleased with himself, clearly very satisfied with his own wit.
Standing beside him, Chen Tingyi kept the same fierce, almost intimidating expression he always wore. His face was as unreadable as a stone mask; only those deep brown eyes darkened by a shade, giving away a subtle shift in mood.
Su Xu didn’t respond but Chen Tingyi didn’t seem the least bit surprised by the silence. He simply lifted a foot and kicked the Alpha lightly behind the knee.
The kick carried no real force, more like a warning than an attack. “If you don’t know how to speak like a human,” Chen Tingyi said coldly, “then talk less.”
The man clearly had a good relationship with Chen Tingyi, because he showed not even a trace of fear.
Instead, he grinned, shameless and easygoing, the way a friend would tease another: “Alright, boss, I’ll get lost and go rest first. I pulled an all-nighter yesterday and I’m dead tired. I’ll send the files to your terminal later, take a look when you’ve got time.”
Perhaps because Su Xu was present, he restrained himself and didn’t say anything more.
“Mm.” Chen Tingyi inclined his head slightly. “Good work.”
The Alpha flashed a bright grin. “Come on, don’t be so polite. If you really want to thank me, just give me a bonus. I’m off!”
Su Xu sat on a small stool, one hand propping up his chin as he stared openly at Chen Tingyi.
Sensing the stare, Chen Tingyi turned around. His gaze met Su Xu’s and he asked in a cool, unfazed tone, “What are you looking at?”
“You’ve gotten better-tempered,” Su Xu replied thoughtfully.
Back in their school days, Chen Tingyi had been infamous for his coldness and aloof personality. He barely interacted with anyone. Only when facing Su Xu would the frozen expression on his face occasionally melt enough to show the faintest hint of a smile.
Su Xu remembered clearly, before everyone knew about their engagement, the number of Omegas who wanted to confess to Chen Tingyi had been as overwhelming as a flood.
Yet not a single one dared approach him. Just one indifferent, emotionless glance from Chen Tingyi was enough to suffocate people, making them unable to speak even half a sentence.
Su Xu truly thought that Chen Tingyi’s bad temper would last his entire life.
“It’s not that my temper improved,” Chen Tingyi said.
He lifted his eyes, tone relaxed as he looked at Su Xu. “I just treat people of different values with different attitudes.” A faint, almost teasing smile tugged at his lips. “Wasn’t that what you taught me back then?”
“…”
Why was he bringing that up now?
“So?” Chen Tingyi asked, eyes narrowing with amusement. “When are you going to smile properly for me?”
Su Xu gave an insincere tug at the corner of his lips. “I did smile.”
Without warning, Chen Tingyi reached out and pinched his chin.
His fingers tightened just enough to hurt. “Su Xu, that fake smile is downright ugly. What’s wrong? You can smile at other people but not at me? Or do you need me to teach you how to smile properly?”
“…It hurts.”
Su Xu lifted his hand and tried to pry Chen Tingyi’s wrist away but compared to a top-tier Alpha, his strength was utterly useless, like an insect trying to shake a tree.
Chen Tingyi’s gaze remained perfectly calm but the two gloved fingers gripping Su Xu’s chin pressed harder, pushing upward along his face and forcibly pulling his lips into a curve.
Su Xu’s head tilted back with the motion, exposing the delicate line of his throat. His eyes glistened slightly and no matter how unwilling he was, he had no choice but to reveal that fragile stretch of skin. His Adam’s apple moved visibly with a tense swallow.
Chen Tingyi stared at the sight for a long moment, taking in Su Xu’s helpless posture, before speaking. “Remember your situation.” His voice was lazy, almost drawling. “Behave. Don’t keep making me angry. Hmm?”
Su Xu managed a strained nod.
Only then did Chen Tingyi release him.
While pretending to be frightened, Su Xu silently sighed in his heart.
This performance was getting harder and harder to maintain.
A crisp ringing sounded from the kitchen. The chef walked out, plopped himself down in the seat where he had been playing cards earlier and yelled without looking up, “Hey, Omega, your noodles are done!”
Su Xu answered quickly and got up to fetch them.
He moved away from Chen Tingyi at once.
As he passed by the group playing cards, the Alphas all greeted him cheerfully, caught up in their game and with their backs turned, they hadn’t seen how Chen Tingyi had just treated him.
Su Xu raised both hands and rubbed the part of his face that had been pinched. Curious, he asked, “Are you all usually this relaxed?”
“Not exactly. Sometimes we’re so busy, we don’t even touch the ground for months,” one of them replied while tossing out a card. “But right now we’re in the early preparation stage, so things are a bit slow. You guys don’t want these cards, right? I’m putting down a three. Oh, right, I heard a rumor earlier. Someone said the boss sent a few people to the Imperial Capital recently. Not sure what for, though. Do any of you know?”
“No idea.”
“Oh hey, I’ve got four.” The Alpha chuckled. “Anyway, you don’t need to worry. You’re an Omega, your physical strength is naturally weaker. We all understand. We won’t make you do anything difficult.”
“Yeah, exactly. No pressure.”
…Months of nonstop work?
Su Xu froze. “But our group…” He paused, choosing his words, then decided to ask directly. “Wasn’t this place just formed recently?”
It had only been a little over two months since the Chen family went bankrupt.
According to the original storyline, at this point Chen Tingyi should’ve only just finished recruiting part of his team.
So why did this Alpha say they had existed for years?
One of the men overheard and leaned back as if struck, staring at Su Xu like he’d seen a ghost. “What? Where did you get tricked in from? You don’t even know the basics? We’ve been established for years!”
Shock rippled through Su Xu’s mind. He opened his mouth to ask more but the next second, someone grabbed him by the collar.
Chen Tingyi lifted him effortlessly, like picking up a small animal. “Why aren’t you eating?”
“…Oh.”
The Alphas exchanged startled looks but after Chen Tingyi swept his sharp gaze across them, they all lowered their heads instantly. Understanding dawned in their eyes.
Ah.
With the boss acting this possessive…
This Omega was clearly the future spouse.
Chen Tingyi followed behind Su Xu, shadowing him like a warden escorting a prisoner. His eyes naturally fell on the sliver of pale, slender neck exposed above Su Xu’s collar.
He thought idly that just a little lower… the gland should be right there.
When Su Xu finally sat down with the large bowl of noodles, slurping them quietly, Chen Tingyi also took a seat beside him.
“You think this is a vacation?” he asked coldly. “Daring to ask about my movements right in front of everyone? I just warned you earlier and you already forgot?” He didn’t wait for a reply before adding, “Then again, you’ve never been afraid of me.”
Su Xu pretended not to hear the madness in his tone.
“But this is my territory.”
Chen Tingyi tapped the table lightly with his knuckles, forcing Su Xu to lift his eyes.
He leaned in, close enough for Su Xu to catch the faint scent of leather and cold air on him. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll lose my temper and mark you?”
“You won’t,” Su Xu said calmly.
Forget the fact that Su Xu hadn’t even differentiated yet, even if he had, Chen Tingyi wouldn’t mark him. Otherwise the entire original plot would collapse.
“And why,” Chen Tingyi challenged softly, “wouldn’t I?”
Interest shimmered in his eyes.
His low, raspy voice drifted slowly into Su Xu’s ears. “Not only would I do it, I’d tie you to that same chair as before. You’d have no choice but to watch in the mirror as I bite into your gland and pump my pheromones into you, not to soothe you but to force your body into heat early. You remember what that felt like during your differentiation, don’t you? Your whole body is burning, no strength at all… and craving an Alpha.”
Su Xu’s fingers tightened around his chopsticks.
Chen Tingyi’s voice remained slow and unhurried, lowered slightly as though he were calmly narrating a story with no emotional fluctuation at all.
“You’ll beg me to touch you,” he continued, tone almost gentle. “And although I’m your former fiancé, I’m still a humanitarian person. If you’re suffering that badly… of course I’ll help you. Wouldn’t it be cruel not to?”
He leaned closer, voice dropping to a dark murmur. “I would peel your clothes off piece by piece, take you right in front of the mirror, knot inside you and then permanently mark you. No matter how much you struggle, you wouldn’t be able to escape and everything, every moment of it, you would be forced to watch.”
“…”
Su Xu pressed his lips together. He suddenly didn’t feel like eating anymore.
So that’s what the mirror was for?
He darted a quick glance toward the Alphas still playing cards, not a single one of them was paying attention to this corner.
“Why aren’t you eating? Full already?” Chen Tingyi rose slightly, as if about to stand. “If you’re done, it seems we can head back.”
“Wait.” Su Xu quickly reached out and grabbed the hem of Chen Tingyi’s jacket.
Chen Tingyi lowered his eyes, his gaze landing directly on Su Xu’s pale, slender fingers.
The tips of Su Xu’s ears heated instantly under that stare. He snatched his hand back. “I’m… not done eating.”
A low chuckle escaped Chen Tingyi’s throat as he sat down again.
Su Xu resumed eating. His posture remained elegant, movements neither panicked nor frantic. He didn’t slow down, didn’t hesitate, as if he hadn’t heard a single word of the obscene threat whispered earlier.
Chen Tingyi watched for a long time but the reaction he wanted simply never came. His eyes narrowed faintly.
The meal didn’t take long to finish.
Su Xu drank the last mouthful of broth, stood up and silently followed Chen Tingyi outside.
The planet’s climate was terrible. In the short time they’d been eating, the wind outside had become fierce, dust whipping through the air so violently Su Xu could barely keep his eyes open.
He raised an arm to shield his face, turning sideways against the wind. Without needing Chen Tingyi to guide him, he walked on his own back toward the abandoned factory and sat down on the original chair.
Chen Tingyi remained a small distance away.
Seeing that he wasn’t approaching, Su Xu called out calmly, “What are you standing there for? Weren’t you the one who said we’d come back right after eating?”
Chen Tingyi had indeed said that but he had also implied earlier that if Su Xu would just lower his head and soften toward him even a little, he’d be willing to give ground.
Now, realizing that Su Xu would rather sit here than yield, his jaw tightened sharply.
Without a word, he turned around and left. The door slammed shut with so much force that the entire factory seemed to shake with the echo.
And then, silence.
Only Su Xu remained in the vast, empty space.
He raised a brow.
Has Chen Tingyi forgotten the rope?
Being untied was, of course, much better.
Su Xu stood up and walked over to the mirror. He tapped the glass lightly a few times, studying it closely. After confirming that it was just an ordinary mirror with no hidden cameras, he returned to the stool.
He hadn’t been awake for very long but the lingering headache from earlier had left him exhausted. Before long, drowsiness overtook him. He sat for a while, then gave up on finding a comfortable position and simply lay down on the ground, curling up to sleep.
Some time later, he wasn’t sure when Su Xu surfaced into a hazy half-consciousness.
Something was wrong.
At some unknown point, he had been moved back into the chair.
When full awareness returned, Su Xu’s breath hitched violently.
In the mirror, clear as day, he saw Chen Tingyi standing directly behind him. Terrifyingly close. Those sharp Alpha canines were pressing again and again against the spot where Su Xu’s gland should be.
Su Xu’s shoulders were covered in overlapping marks, dense, messy rows of teeth marks. Some were deep enough to threaten bleeding and nearer to the gland…
“Mm, ” Su Xu forced out a weak sound. His whole body was limp, devoid of strength.
Chen Tingyi lifted his gaze. His brown eyes were now red, so red they looked like they could drip blood.
“Su Xu.” His voice was shockingly gentle as he called the name. He raised a hand and lightly brushed his fingertips across the tender skin where the gland should be. “So you really haven’t differentiated yet.”
✦ ✧ ✦
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
The translator has entered their coffee-deprived final form. (╥﹏╥)
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
← PreviousNext →
ChaptersChapter 1 · The Inner WorldChapter 2 · Pheromone Testing CentreChapter 3 · Low Grade OmegaChapter 4 · Faking to be Top tier OmegaChapter 5 · Zhong YiChapter 6 · The culprit behind the videoChapter 7 · Lecture ticket of powerful military OfficerChapter 8 · Zhong Heng acting like a thugChapter 9 · General ChuChapter 10 · Do you really like that good for nothing, Alpha?Chapter 11 · Chen TingyiChapter 12 · Class AssessmentChapter 13 · Call me HusbandChapter 14 · Almost Like AffairChapter 15 · Lantern BloomChapter 16 · Mild Pheromone overflowChapter 17 · Hi, WifeChapter 18 · Or you can kiss me. I’m not pickyChapter 19 · It’s not too late for you to call off the engagementChapter 20 · My BoyfriendChapter 21 · Kidnapped?Chapter 22 · Sister in LawChapter 23 · So you didn’t differentiateChapter 24 · PrinceChapter 25 · That Alpha… is none other than His MajestyChapter 26 · My mom said you’re too oldChapter 27 · Do you still have me in your heart?Chapter 28 · You Can call me Brother in law or sister in lawChapter 29 · I fell in love with you at first sight.Chapter 30 · What kind of friend? Alpha, Beta, or OmegaChapter 31 · Your current boyfriend is hereChapter 32 · I can protect youChapter 33 · Mental suppressionChapter 34 · It doesn’t matterChapter 35 · Watched another horror movie?Chapter 36 · Did you hear thatChapter 37 · You’d know what it tastes like once you try itChapter 38 · He is my boyfriend, his name is Zhong YiChapter 39 · This is what I just received from your father todayChapter 40 · Who did you return the photos of me and Su Rui to?Chapter 41 · As a result, Rui Rui ran away with meChapter 42 · Constitutes accomplice behaviorChapter 43 · You can’t stay in the second bedroomChapter 44 · No one will think you are inferior anymore.Chapter 45 · I am inferior, what’s it to you?Chapter 46 · Let’s wait until the debt collectors come knockingChapter 47 · Focus on your studiesChapter 48 · Am I that valuable?Chapter 49 · From now on, call me MasterChapter 50 · I have always been tolerant of beautiful MenChapter 51 · Don’t be so recklessChapter 52 · He’ll only get more excitedChapter 53 · Call him sister in lawChapter 54 · You haven’t even fulfilled your obligations yetChapter 55 · What? Grandma Su Xu is sick?Chapter 56 · That wasn’t what he meant at all!Chapter 57 · I could actually share him with youChapter 58 · Why was someone added at the last minute?Chapter 59 · You can’t record videos here.Chapter 60 · I like it tooChapter 61 · Distinguish between two similar pheromones.Chapter 62 · Why do you think I blocked you?Chapter 63 · Why hasn’t Su Xu replied yet?Chapter 64 · His Majesty never comes back to eatChapter 65 · Hide your things wellChapter 66 · Connection?Chapter 67 · Maybe I can even inhale it for some comfortChapter 68 · So you don’t run awayChapter 69 · Will you be with His Majesty?Chapter 70 · Take itChapter 71 · Who is this person?!Chapter 72 · Who did you just call worthless?Chapter 73 · Weren’t we talking about Mr. Su and His Majesty?Chapter 74 · Aren’t you very capable?Chapter 75 · As expected of Wu ChuChapter 76 · Help him sleep?Chapter 77 · Su Xu’s Alpha was His MajestyChapter 78 · You really are something, playing favorites like thatChapter 79 · World of a novelChapter 80 · I simply… know them inside outChapter 81 · Wait for meChapter 82 · But I think you’ve become a lot cuter latelyChapter 83 · The feeling of me kissing you?Chapter 84 · Our Xuxu… is finally becoming an adultChapter 85 · Rare stolen moments for an affair like this.Chapter 86 · What kind of death-level love triangle battlefield was this!?Chapter 87 · It was practically torture!Chapter 88 · What sinful karmaChapter 89 · You weren’t worried I’d get angry?Chapter 90 · I’m going to mark youChapter 91 · Who did you go with?Chapter 92 · Chu Xian….. You really aren’t humanChapter 93 · Did this man actually know how to kiss?Chapter 94 · After all, he’s still the current boyfriendChapter 95 · Did they mark you again?Chapter 96 · It’s not my bloodChapter 97 · Did you seduce another alpha??Chapter 98 · After that, don’t use that kind of thing anymoreChapter 99 · Even at this point, Su Xu is still lying to him!Chapter 100 · What’s wrong with you?Chapter 101 · Don’t tell anyoneChapter 102 · I Think my hear startedChapter 104 · A wedding?Chapter 104 · You’re Wu JiChapter 105 · Exceptionally Beautiful OmegaChapter 106 · If you’re with him, aren’t you afraid of being cheated on?Chapter 107 · “Am I the same person as him?”Chapter 108 · What important matter could Chu Xian possibly have to do?Chapter 109 · Did the boss actually steal someone else’s partner?Chapter 110 · Wu Chu is preparing for his weddingChapter 111 · I know better than you what’s so great about Su XuChapter 112 · Chu Xian had gotten a bit tannedChapter 113 · Su Xu, your boyfriend is here!Chapter 114 · I’ve completely lost face!Chapter 115 · Don’t you think your sister-in-law is interesting too?Chapter 116 · I will definitely tell Wu Chu the truth.Chapter 117 · Didn’t you already meet your boyfriend today?Chapter 117 · Why do I need to take a day off on Saturday?Chapter 119 · This is a TrapChapter 120 · This is the future queen chosen by their monarch!Chapter 121 · Could it be that Su Xu went directly to the scene?Chapter 122 · Slipped the ring on Su Xu’s ring fingerChapter 123 · You have no experienceChapter 124 · I haven’t even mentioned your lover in Galaxy A yetChapter 125 · He suddenly had a strong urge to kiss Qi YanChapter 126 · May I ask what you encountered?Chapter 127 · It’s not Jiang Cang, it’s Jiang CangxingChapter 128 · Where does the money come from for a single line of code?Chapter 129 · This is unbelievable!Chapter 130 · Su Xu slammed the box shut.Chapter 131 · This is so weird!Chapter 132 · This person and Teacher Sang are mutual followers!Chapter 133 · I can finally keep my promise and come see youChapter 134 · Extra 1: He’s mango FlavouredChapter 135 · Extra 2: Boyfriend meets ParentsChapter 136 · Extra 3: The Game (1)Chapter 137 · Extra 4: The Game (2)