On the third floor, in a VIP ward, a strikingly handsome man leaned against his pillow, casually flipping through a magazine.
His facial features were sharply defined, his lips dark yet thin, lending him an air of aloof indifference.
Beneath his long, thick lashes, eyes as dark as obsidian held not a trace of emotion—cold enough to send a chill down one’s spine.
Sunlight streamed brightly through the window, spilling over the man’s form before lingering ambiguously on his fingers, casting them in a soft, faint pink.
The entire floor was quiet, so quiet that even the slightest movement outside could be clearly heard.
Sensing movement at the door, the man lifted his gaze. When he saw Liang Shen push the door open and walk in, a subtle crease formed between his brows.
“Weren’t you just going for a check-up? What took so long?”
“Got held up by something along the way.”
Liang Shen and the man had been friends for years, and he was well aware of the other’s limited patience, so he didn’t take it personally.
He set the form Bai Long had filled out on the nearby table, then walked over.
The man was dressed in a blue-and-white striped hospital gown, but not a single wrinkle marred the fabric. Every button was fastened to the very top, giving an impression of restraint and meticulousness.
“By the way, I forgot to mention—because you’ve been taking inhibitors long-term, your body has developed resistance. The previous dosage isn’t effective anymore, so I just administered a double dose.”
Liang Shen gazed down at the man on the bed for a long moment. The calmer and more composed the other appeared, the more concerned he grew inside.
Logically speaking, even an Alpha would struggle to endure a double dose of inhibitors, yet the man before him sat there as if completely unaffected.
“If you’re feeling any discomfort, say something. Don’t be stubborn like last time and try to tough it out. It’ll only cause trouble for me, and you’ll just suffer for nothing.”
Lu Yue didn’t reply, but his hand, which had been flipping through the magazine, stilled.
His thin lips pressed together, and after a pause, he shook his head.
“The gland area still aches a bit. It’s probably because my heat is approaching, so the reaction is a little stronger than usual.”
Watching him talk about his heat cycle as casually as if he were discussing the weather, Liang Shen didn’t know whether to scold him for neglecting his health or praise him for his iron will.
It’s important to understand that after an Omega comes of age, each heat becomes nearly unbearable without an Alpha’s mark to provide relief.
Moreover, with repeated use, inhibitors gradually lose their effectiveness. Even if one grits their teeth and endures, the pain that follows is beyond imagination.
In his years at the hospital, Liang Shen had seen far too many Omegas rushed into the ER due to inhibitor failure. Most passed out from the pain before even reaching the hospital.
Those who didn’t faint often wept and cried out in agony.
Rarely did he encounter a “fierce Omega” like Lu Yue, who could endure solely through sheer willpower.
Precisely because he knew exactly how excruciating it could be, Liang Shen sometimes wondered if the man simply lacked the ability to feel pain altogether.
The thought left him with a complicated expression. In the end, he couldn’t hold back a sigh.
The sigh was faint, but it still reached Lu Yue’s ears.
“Tch, what are you sighing for? I’m perfectly fine. It’s just a heat—nothing to make a fuss about. It’s not like it’s my first time. I’ll just grit my teeth and get through it.”
Lu Yue was a complete workaholic, practically wishing for forty-eight-hour days to work nonstop.
Aside from his heats, it was rare for him to obediently show up at the hospital early in the morning like today to receive an inhibitor injection.
An Omega’s heat occurred once a month and lasted for two days.
He didn’t have a fixed partner, so temporary biting marks weren’t an option. Every single time, he came to the hospital to isolate himself and endure it through sheer will.
“…Well, that’s true. Your endurance is truly astonishing.”
“But this can’t go on forever. Relying on blockers and inhibitors to push through every heat—now it takes a double dose just to stabilize your pheromones. What happens when it requires triple, quadruple, or even five times the amount? Your body won’t be able to handle it.”
Liang Shen frowned. He had repeated these words to Lu Yue every single time the Omega came to the hospital, but the other never seemed to take them seriously.
Or perhaps he knew it all too well—he simply refused to be marked and controlled like other Omegas.
After all, no one understood better than him just how dependent a marked Omega could become on their Alpha.
Mentioning this topic stripped away any remaining patience Lu Yue had for reading. He clicked his tongue irritably, shut the magazine, and replied with clear impatience.
“Alright, that’s enough. What’s the point of saying all this now? We’ll deal with it when I actually can’t handle it anymore.”
“I know what you’re worried about.”
If this had been in the past, Liang Shen would usually drop the subject after Lu Yue spoke like that. But this time, he didn’t.
He picked up the magazine Lu Yue had tossed aside in frustration and casually placed it next to the form. His gaze briefly paused on Bai Long’s name written there.
“Lu Yue, if there were an Alpha whose pheromones matched yours with high compatibility—someone whose rank wasn’t too high, someone who could let you take the lead after marking and wouldn’t dominate your emotions…”
“Would you be willing to give it a try?”
The reason Lu Yue had refused to be marked from the start was twofold. On one hand, he didn’t want to become an Alpha’s accessory. On the other, it was because his own rank was simply too high.
In the past, he had even considered hiring a lower-ranking, easily manageable Alpha to temporarily mark him during his heats.
But Lu Yue was an Omega with S-rank mental energy and A-rank physical ability. Very few individuals had pheromones highly compatible with his, and even those who did were almost exclusively Alphas with dual A-ranks or higher.
The power gap between Alphas and Omegas was simply too vast. An Alpha of that level would only suppress him completely.
Liang Shen was aware of this—in fact, he had been keeping an eye out for potential candidates all along.
But after so many years, realizing how nearly impossible such a situation was, they had both more or less given up.
Now, hearing Liang Shen suddenly bring it up, Lu Yue’s sharp senses immediately picked up on the unspoken implication.
“What do you mean?”
He abruptly looked up, the earlier nonchalance in his expression instantly replaced by intensity.
“You found one? When?”
“Well… you could say that.”
“Just now, a Beta colleague came to get me to re-examine an Alpha who had undergone a genetic mutation. I didn’t think much of it at the time—I figured I’d do the check and come right back. But unexpectedly, even though you’d used blockers, she could still detect your pheromones.”
Liang Shen paused here, watching the man’s expression shift subtly from the corner of his eye.
Seeing the rare flicker of surprise on his face, Liang Shen allowed a slight smile to curve his lips.
“It truly is surprising. Even an Alpha with dual A-ranks would struggle to perceive it, yet she picked it up instantly. This suggests an exceptionally high pheromone compatibility between you two.”
“…What’s her rank?”
“Mental energy: C. Physical ability: D.”
Liang Shen wasn’t sure why, but even though he was just stating Bai Long’s metrics, he couldn’t help feeling a bit embarrassed under Lu Yue’s slightly disdainful gaze.
He awkwardly rubbed the bridge of his nose, fully aware that the numbers were… less than impressive.
“Ahem… though it’s below average for now, once her enhancement stabilizes, her rank should reach at least B.”
Hearing that Bai Long’s post-enhancement rank could reach B, the man’s expression softened slightly.
It wasn’t that he looked down on people with lower ranks—it was just that he had grown up accustomed to standing at the very top of the pyramid. He held himself to rigorous standards, and as a result, his expectations and judgment of others tended to be just as exacting.
Moreover, as a rare S-rank Omega, a certain degree of pride came naturally to him.
If the Alpha marking him didn’t even meet the average standard, his pride would rather let him endure the pain to death than allow himself to settle for such a compromise.
Seeing that Lu Yue’s expression remained relatively calm, Liang Shen thought he had agreed.
“Then… shall I go discuss it with her later?”
Such arrangements weren’t all that uncommon.
In upper social circles, many Omegas disliked being tied down and avoided binding themselves to a fixed partner. Instead, they often chose to hire a low-profile, easily managed Alpha from a humble background to provide temporary marks.
While Lu Yue didn’t exactly reject the idea, he wasn’t ready to agree immediately either.
His Adam’s apple bobbed slightly, and his thin lips pressed into a flat line, revealing little of what he was truly feeling.
“Let’s wait a little longer. I haven’t reached the point where I absolutely need a mark to get through my heat.”
“Come on, what’s holding you back now? I know you’re worried about the dependency period after marking, but it’s better to do this sooner rather than later. For your health, you’ll have to get used to it eventually anyway.”
“And that girl’s rank is already on the lower side. The longer you wait, the harder it’ll be to stabilize your pheromones. By then, you might not even have the option of asking her for a mark.”
Liang Shen was genuinely anxious, and seeing the man still hesitating only fueled his frustration.
After he finished speaking, the room fell into a prolonged silence.
Just as Liang Shen began to think Lu Yue wouldn’t respond, the Omega’s eyes flickered briefly. After weighing his words carefully, he finally spoke.
“Then bring her here.”
“While it’s still not my heat, let her try marking me once. If the effect can’t even compare to inhibitors, we’ll drop it.”
He had agreed.
Realizing this, Liang Shen finally felt a wave of genuine relief.
He smiled and stood up.
“Alright, I’ll go talk to her right now.”
“Wait.”
Just as Liang Shen was about to push the door open, the man inside suddenly called out to stop him.
Sitting by the window, the man’s brows were tightly knit, his strikingly handsome face carrying an inexplicable weight that made Liang Shen pause.
“What about her appearance?”
“Huh?”
“I said, what does she look like?”
Liang Shen was momentarily speechless.
“Why even ask that? I’m about to go get her. You’ll see what she looks like when she gets here. Why bother with this extra step?”
“It’s not an extra step.”
Lu Yue lifted his gaze, glancing over with a cool, detached look.
“If she’s too ugly, then don’t bother bringing her over.”
“I can’t handle it.”
“…Fine. Then just suffer through the pain.”
“Still better than being tormented by ugliness.”