Pei Xingzhi wasn’t particularly curious about Xie Nanyi’s illness, but since he had some rare free time at the hospital, he decided to make a detour instead of heading straight back to school. He trotted off to his father’s office, hoping to catch him for a chat.
“You brat, hanging up on me in the middle of our call earlier! I went ahead and booked an appointment for you, only to get an earful from Dr. Li for causing him unnecessary trouble.”
Pei Yi had just finished a busy stretch and was enjoying a moment of peace when his son walked in. Feigning annoyance, he tossed a roll of bandages at him. Pei Xingzhi caught it with a grin and plopped down in the chair opposite his father.
“Ah, I was going to ask Uncle Li for help, but it turned out my classmate already had a doctor lined up. Things were just too hectic at the time, I didn’t get a chance to explain properly.” Even though the school was close to home, it had been a month or two since he’d seen his parents. With no one else around, Pei Xingzhi’s natural tendency to act spoiled came out in full force.
“What’s wrong with your classmate? Is it serious?” Pei Yi adjusted his glasses, his professional instincts kicking in as he began asking questions.
“Probably not too serious…” Hearing his father express concern for Xie Nanyi, Pei Xingzhi couldn’t help but pout, a look of disdain flashing across his face.
Why did he have to care about that annoying guy?
“He’s not going to die, anyway.”
“You, kid…”
“Old Pei, oh, Xiao Zhi, you’re here too.”
Before Pei Yi could launch into a lecture on proper conduct, Dr. Li walked in, interrupting him. Dr. Li was holding a report, his face initially clouded with worry, but it brightened into a smile as soon as he noticed Pei Xingzhi.
“Hello, Uncle Li.” Pei Xingzhi stood up, politely vacating the seat and stepping aside to greet him.
“Xiao Zhi, you’re getting handsomer by the day.” Dr. Li sat down, offering a polite compliment before placing the report on the desk for Pei Yi to examine.
“What’s this?”
The sheet was filled with charts and tables. Pei Xingzhi squinted, stealing a glance, and was surprised to see Xie Nanyi’s name listed as the patient.
Xie Nanyi’s medical report?
“This… hmm, ” Pei Yi glanced at it, exchanging a look with Dr. Li. Both could see the hesitation in each other’s eyes.
“Is there something wrong with this report?”
Pei Xingzhi was majoring in surgery, so the complex numbers and data on the report were still beyond his understanding.
“I’ve been practicing medicine for many years, and this is the first time I’ve seen results like these.” Dr. Li shook his head, his expression grave.
“Is it that serious? Does he have some kind of incurable disease?” Pei Xingzhi’s head snapped up, his voice rising involuntarily.
If Xie Nanyi really was sick and hadn’t been faking it to trick him, then maybe he’d gone too far earlier.
“No, it’s not that.”
Dr. Li waved a hand, urging Pei Xingzhi to calm down. Realizing he’d overreacted, Pei Xingzhi awkwardly tugged at the hem of his shirt, muttering an excuse.
“Xie Nanyi is my classmate. That phone call earlier was about him.”
“So Old Pei really did have a patient. I thought he was just giving me extra work.”
“So what exactly is wrong with Xie Nanyi?”
“There’s an issue with his pheromones. He’s unable to form a match with any Omega.” Dr. Li struggled to find the right words to explain it to Pei Xingzhi.
“Unable to match? But isn’t he a high-quality Alpha?” Pei Xingzhi raised an eyebrow, stroking his chin as he pondered Xie Nanyi’s condition.
A top-tier Alpha whose pheromones can’t match with an Omega, what’s the difference between that and a eunuch who becomes emperor?
“Precisely because he’s a top-tier Alpha, his pheromone level is higher than that of a normal Omega. Plus, he has a bonding mark, and the constraints of the mark mean he can’t seek out a top-tier Omega either, he can only search for his bonded Beta.”
“Then as long as he finds his bonded Beta, it should be fine, right? It can still be treated.” Pei Yi chimed in after Dr. Li, thinking that as long as there was someone compatible, it wasn’t a major issue.
“That’s exactly where the problem lies.” Dr. Li shook his head and continued, “This patient seems particularly resistant to bonding therapy and refuses to let me examine his mark. His bonding mark has been severely damaged multiple times, it was likely carved out before it fully developed, and then it suffered repeated injuries during the recovery process. Now, it’s practically ruined. Even if we find his bonded Beta, it’s useless if the patient refuses treatment.”
Dr. Li’s description was too horrifying. Pei Xingzhi and his father exchanged a glance, shaking their heads in unison as they sighed, “What a lunatic.”
“See, you get it too!” Dr. Li, who had been holding back for so long, finally found an outlet and immediately vented all his pent-up frustration. “Xiao Zhi, I advise you to stay away from this person in the future. He probably has some violent tendencies. Honestly, he shouldn’t even be here, he should be sent straight to a psychiatric hospital! Destroying his bonding mark is one thing, but instead of trying to alleviate his pheromone congestion, he injected volatilizing agents, causing his body to reject them. And he actually endured it, such a severe reaction, and he didn’t make a sound, just gritted his teeth through it. Whenever I asked him anything, he’d just say he was fine. When I told him to speak properly, his assistant, who follows him around like a gangster, told me to watch my tone!”
“You have no idea, such a large dose,” Dr. Li said, gesturing with his hands. “He injected it all into himself when the nurse wasn’t looking. Does that look like someone who wants to get better? If he doesn’t want treatment, he shouldn’t cause trouble here!”
“Wow…” Pei Xingzhi was beyond shocked at this point.
He knew Xie Nanyi was crazy, but he never imagined he could be this insane. What kind of deep-seated grudge did this guy have against himself, going to such extremes to torment himself?
“If he finds his bonded person, can it solve his current problem?”
“If he cooperates properly, it might be possible, but there could still be lingering aftereffects.”
“Is he in a lot of pain right now?”
“Pain? Tsk, tsk, tsk.” Dr. Li shook his index finger. “It’s not just ordinary pain. When it flares up, it’s excruciating, to the point where he can’t even control his pheromones.”
“A top-tier Alpha who can’t control his pheromones, that’s pretty tragic.” The more Pei Xingzhi listened, the more uneasy he felt. No wonder Xie Nanyi clung to him so tightly. When someone’s on the brink of death, of course they’d grab onto any lifeline they could find.
“Precisely because he’s a top-tier Alpha, it’s even more tragic. Losing control of his pheromones makes him a hidden terrorist, he’d definitely be locked up and restrained.”
“Xiao Zhi, you have to stay away from that classmate from now on. Don’t go around showing kindness to everyone, understand?” His son already had trauma from Alpha pheromones. If he encountered another mad dog like this and got hurt, what would they do?
“Hmm…” Pei Xingzhi could see his father’s concern and nodded sheepishly, biting his lip with an awkward expression.
He had received too much information and was struggling to control his expression. If his father found out that Xie Nanyi had been pestering him lately, even claiming that he was his “imprinted one,” Pei Xingzhi had no doubt that his dad would go all out and give Xie Nanyi a beating.
“Your dad is right. Stay away from that kind of person. His family seems quite wealthy, and if anything unexpected happens, it could be troublesome,” Dr. Li chimed in from the side. In just a few words, the two of them had already sentenced Xie Nanyi to social death.
“Dad, Uncle Li, I have class soon, so I’ll head out first.” Pei Xingzhi felt he couldn’t keep up the act much longer and found an excuse to slip out of the hospital.
After running around all morning, Pei Xingzhi dozed off on the bus, only to be startled awake by his ringing phone.
The caller ID showed a string of numbers. Worried it might be something important from one of his teachers, he hesitated for a moment before answering.
The call connected, and heavy breathing came from the other end, followed by silence.
“Hello? Who is this?” Pei Xingzhi tentatively spoke, but there was still no response.
“Hello? Is there something you need?” Pei Xingzhi glanced at the unfamiliar number and frowned, about to hang up, when Xie Nanyi’s weak voice came through the receiver.
“Xiao Zhi…” Xie Nanyi’s voice was soft, like smoke floating in the air, gentle yet intangible.
“What do you want?” Hearing Xie Nanyi’s voice, Pei Xingzhi’s tone turned cold. If it weren’t for concern over Xie Nanyi’s condition, he would have hung up already.
“Why did you leave without saying anything?” The gentle voice sounded like a lover’s complaint. If not for the mutual resentment between them, their conversation might have resembled a couple in the midst of a quarrel.
“I have class.”
“Thanks to Xiao Zhi for taking me to the hospital today. You really do care about me.”
“How did you get my number?” Pei Xingzhi had no intention of playing along with Xie Nanyi’s strange antics. While Xie Nanyi’s condition might require his help, Pei Xingzhi was still an independent individual with no obligation to fulfill that role. More importantly, he wasn’t Xie Nanyi’s “imprinted one” at all.
Besides, judging by Xie Nanyi’s attitude, he didn’t seem to need his help much anyway.
“You wrote it in your nickname in the class group chat.”
“…” Pei Xingzhi had imagined an elaborate stalking scenario, only for the answer to be so mundane.
“Do whatever you want. I’m just fulfilling my duty as a classmate. It’s not because I have any feelings for you, so please don’t misunderstand, Xie.”
“Xiao Zhi…”
“Don’t call me Xiao Zhi!” Pei Xingzhi corrected him sharply. “Just call me Pei Xingzhi.”
Every time Xie Nanyi called him “Xiao Zhi,” it felt like he was saying “little brat,” making Pei Xingzhi feel as if he were being taken advantage of.
“Does Xiao Zhi hate me? But…”
The blaring horn of the bus drowned out Xie Nanyi’s voice, and Pei Xingzhi couldn’t make out what he said, but he doubted it was anything good.
“Anyway, stop bothering me. If you leave me alone, I won’t hate you.”
Blood dripped from his nose onto the phone just as Pei Xingzhi hung up. Xie Nanyi grabbed a tissue and wiped it away roughly, not caring in the slightest whether his method was correct.
“Dad, since you’re already here, why stand outside for so long?”
The man had been lingering at the door for a while. Only after hearing Xie Nanyi’s voice did he push it open and step inside.
“Why must you keep tormenting your own body like this?”
The man was impeccably dressed, his refined demeanor completely out of place in the cramped hospital room. Frowning at his unruly son, he offered a piece of well-intentioned advice.
“There are better treatment options available. Why insist on harming yourself? If you don’t like it, you can just use it and throw it away.”
“Sorry, Dad, but I’m not like you.” With the nosebleed finally stopped, Xie Nanyi looked up and gave Xie Xu’an a rare smile. “I prefer to keep myself clean.”