Ever since Lu Yue returned to the company these past couple of days, the atmosphere at Chen Yue has been extremely tense.
In the past, although Lu Yue was strict at work and had a short temper, as long as no major mistakes were made, he was generally quite lenient with the staff.
But lately, he’s been like a walking powder keg, ready to explode at the slightest spark.
Not only does he have a dark cloud hanging over him all day, but if anyone makes even a small mistake at work and gets caught by him, they’ll be torn to shreds verbally.
Yesterday, a new employee had just joined the company. Still unfamiliar with their assigned tasks, they printed some documents but didn’t organize them in the required order before sending them to the office.
In truth, those documents weren’t urgent—she could have just been told to take them back and reorganize them properly.
If it had been before, seeing she was a young woman, Lu Yue might have let it slide. But yesterday, his temper was especially fiery, and he ended up scolding her until she cried.
Today, when the young woman came to work, her eyes were still swollen.
“Hey, what do you think is up with the boss? Judging by the timing, his heat should be over by now, right? So why did he come back from the hospital more unstable than he was during his heat?”
Chen Yue Company has its own dedicated staff cafeteria.
Over the past few days, everyone had been on edge due to Lu Yue’s persistently foul mood. It was only when they gathered to eat in the company cafeteria that their tense nerves finally got a slight break.
They had just gotten their food and were chatting together, originally discussing some recent gossip when someone suddenly brought this up. The conversation abruptly fell silent.
No particular reason—Lu Yue’s intimidating presence was deeply ingrained in them, and even mentioning him triggered a reflexive hush.
“Pfft, look at you all, scaredy-cats. This isn’t work hours—this is the employee cafeteria. The boss isn’t here. It’s fine to chat a little.”
Lu Yue valued quality of life and had high standards for food and daily comforts. Besides, the place was crowded and noisy, which he disliked. Apart from occasional inspection visits, he was rarely seen here anyway.
With that reminder, the tense atmosphere gradually eased.
“Sigh, can you blame us for being timid? You know how bad the boss’s temper is these days—he blows up over the tiniest, most trivial things.”
An Alpha who worked on the top floor in the CEO’s office sighed, poking at the food on her tray while muttering in frustration.
Lin Yu was Lu Yue’s secretary—a graduate of a top university, highly capable and efficient, one of the rare Betas at Chen Yue Company.
Yet even someone as competent as her hadn’t escaped Lu Yue’s scolding over the past couple of days.
She hadn’t intended to join the conversation, but when that person mentioned her, everyone instinctively glanced her way.
“…Why are you all looking at me like that?”
“Well… Sister Lin Yu, you’re the boss’s secretary. You’re usually the first to know if something’s up with him. You’ve seen how no matter how careful we are lately, we still manage to set him off. If you know anything… could you give us a hint? Just a little heads-up?”
“You’re asking the wrong person. This time, I really don’t know. But I’d guess it’s probably side effects from overusing inhibitors. The boss isn’t feeling well physically, so naturally, his mood isn’t great either.”
She wasn’t deliberately brushing it off—she genuinely had no idea.
Lu Yue’s moods had fluctuated since returning from the hospital, but never this severely.
If it weren’t for the fact that no one could detect any trace of his pheromones anymore, some might have thought he was still in heat.
“Instead of worrying about this and that, you’d all be better off focusing on your own work and doing it well. As long as you handle your responsibilities properly, even if the boss is in a terrible mood, he won’t be nitpicking over nothing.”
“But… don’t you think the boss’s condition seems a lot like… the dependency period?”
A girl sitting in the corner, hair tied in a high ponytail, had been listening for a while and finally couldn’t hold back her doubts.
As soon as she finished speaking, before anyone else could react, Lin Yu, who was beside her, frowned and shot the girl a displeased look.
“Xiao Qin, you can take medicine carelessly, but you can’t speak carelessly. You’re a senior employee here. You should know what’s appropriate to say and what isn’t.”
Lu Yue was different from other Omegas. To avoid being bound by an Alpha’s pheromones, he had relied solely on willpower to endure his heats since coming of age.
It was only in the last two years, when his body couldn’t take it anymore, that he started using inhibitors.
Lin Yu had worked for Lu Yue for many years and understood his character better than most.
In her view, the girl’s remark might have been just an offhand guess, but to a certain extent, it could already be considered “slander” against Lu Yue.
After being scolded like that, the girl realized it wasn’t appropriate to say something so baseless and wisely fell silent.
“It’s true…”
The new employee who had been yelled at by Lu Yue the day before sniffled, then cautiously raised her head, her eyes still red and swollen.
“When I went to deliver the documents earlier, I smelled a very faint trace of pheromones. Even though the boss uses blockers, the scent was so intense it couldn’t be fully masked.”
She thought back, trying hard to identify what the pheromones smelled like, but the double dose of blockers made it impossible to pinpoint.
“It was a little sweet, like fruit or something. It didn’t seem aggressive at all, but as soon as I got close, it felt overwhelming—like a mountain pressing down on me.”
“Are you sure it was an Alpha’s pheromones? I’ve been in and out of his office so many times and never smelled anything.”
Not just Lin Yu—one or two others who had interacted with Lu Yue lately also said they hadn’t noticed any unusual pheromones.
“Maybe because Sister Lin Yu is a Beta and isn’t as sensitive to pheromones.”
“Honestly, I didn’t smell it at first either. It was only when I accidentally brushed his hand while handing over the documents that the Alpha’s pheromones flared up…”
At this point, the girl seemed to recall something and awkwardly scratched her nose.
“And, um, I think you might have misunderstood something. I did get scolded by the boss yesterday for messing up at work, but that’s not why I cried.”
“I was scared to tears. QwQ.”
The implication was clear.
She had been frightened into crying by Bai Long’s pheromones.
The moment the girl finished speaking, the cafeteria, which had been lively with conversation and laughter just moments before, suddenly fell silent.
So quiet you could have heard a pin drop.
But the silence didn’t last long. Soon after realizing what explosive news they had just heard, everyone erupted.
“F*ck, President Lu has an Alpha now? My youth is over.”
“…Um, is anyone else wondering who’s top and who’s bottom?”
“Kid, that’s a narrow-minded perspective. Since they both have… equipment, why can’t they switch?”
“…”
…
Meanwhile, in his office, Lu Yue had no idea that news of his marking had already spread like wildfire.
After that wild night, Bai Long’s pheromones had flowed from his gland throughout his entire body—a sweet, sticky strawberry scent that clung to every inch of his skin. Even multiple doses of inhibitors couldn’t fully mask it.
Thinking of that, Lu Yue felt the back of his neck begin to heat up again.
His thin lips pressed together as he subtly reached up to tug his collar a little higher, trying to cover the skin there.
Liang Shen had said that this time, the marking was thorough—enough to prevent a secondary heat. But at the same time, the deeper the mark, the longer and more intense the dependency period would be.
At the time, Liang Shen had reminded him repeatedly to contact Bai Long if it became unbearable.
It had been three days since his discharge. He hadn’t just avoided contacting her—he hadn’t even added her as a contact.
He didn’t know what was wrong with himself. They were just a simple transactional relationship—he had paid for the service. If he was uncomfortable, he could just call and ask her to come over.
But Lu Yue didn’t want that. What he wanted more… was for her to take the initiative.
Yet three days had passed. He hadn’t made a move, and Bai Long hadn’t budged either—she was as still as a rock.
Realizing that waiting for Bai Long to reach out first was basically a pipe dream,
Lu Yue gritted his teeth, expression dark, and pulled out his phone to open WeChat.
Just as he hesitated, about to send a friend request, his phone buzzed as if on cue.
A new contact request had just come in.
Seeing the familiar ID and profile picture, Lu Yue froze for a moment, his heart skipping a beat before he instinctively went to accept.
But then it occurred to him—accepting too quickly might make it seem like he’d been waiting by his phone just for her.
So he deliberately waited ten minutes before finally accepting Bai Long’s friend request.
Almost the instant he did, the person on the other end sent a message.
【Little White Dragon: Mr. Lu?】
【Lu: What is it?】
After sending this, Lu Yue paused. He was used to giving orders, and even his texts carried a commanding tone.
He thought about adding something to soften it but decided it would sound too deliberate and let it go.
Fortunately, Bai Long was naturally easygoing and already accustomed to his usual attitude, so she didn’t mind much.
【Little White Dragon: It’s nothing really. Dr. Liang told me to add you today—he said three days is probably your limit for holding out.
Little White Dragon: He said since you’re an Omega, I shouldn’t always wait for you to take the lead. I should be more proactive too.】
“…”
He had been pleased that Bai Long took the initiative to add him—until he saw those two lines, which nearly made him drop his phone in frustration.
What does she mean, “Dr. Liang said I couldn’t hold out any longer, so I should add you”? If Liang Shen hadn’t reminded her, would she have just never added him?
And what was that about him being an Omega? Was she implying he was being petty?
Bai Long had no idea that every word she’d said was stepping on Lu Yue’s sore spots. Seeing he hadn’t replied, she kept messaging on her own.
【Little White Dragon: Mr. Lu, I don’t have work today. Do you need me to come keep you company?】
The man stared at his phone screen for a long moment, unsure whether he felt more anger or disappointment.
The light reflected in his eyes, his long lashes trembling slightly as his gaze grew unfathomably dim.
It’s just a transaction, Lu Yue. She has no obligation to care about your feelings.
Don’t let the pheromones affect you.
He kept repeating this to himself.
Then he let out a deep breath, forcing himself to stay as calm as he would during a business negotiation or signing a contract.
【Lu: Mm.】
【Lu: Wait at the school gate after class. I’ll come pick you up.】
After sending the message, Lu Yue drifted into a daze, feeling an unexpected sense of calm settle over him.
See? She’s just a stranger I’ve met a few times. I don’t need to care too much.
Once the dependency period is over, everything will be fine.
It’s just a transaction.
…