Not knowing how long they had been swimming, Wen Yu felt an undeniable burning sensation deep within his chest, making every stroke increasingly exhausting. Sensing that the person trailing behind him had nearly exhausted his physical stamina, Fu Chen pulled Wen Yu along and made landfall upon spotting a small island.
This appeared to be an uninhabited island. Seen from a distance, the dark, desolate mass of land looked somewhat eerie.
Both of them were soaked in salty seawater, their clothing plastered tightly against their bodies. With autumn already set in and the night air biting, the sea breeze carried a chilling, bone-piercing cold.
Fu Chen fared better. As an Alpha, his constitution possessed an almost abnormal resilience, far surpassing both Omegas and Betas in physical endurance. Furthermore, during every winter and summer vacation of his childhood, he had participated in survival training camps hosted by the military, enduring plenty of extreme survival tests. Island survival was practically second nature to him, and his stamina far outstripped that of his peers.
Wen Yu was the exact opposite. Being an inferior Omega who had recently undergone such a perilous surgery, combined with a lack of proper nutrition during his growing years, his already frail body was pushed to the brink of collapse.
Right now, he was shivering all over, his pale face looking as though a gust of wind could knock him down at any second.
Fu Chen glanced sideways at Wen Yu before walking over to gather a few relatively smooth and straight wooden sticks and pieces of bark, along with selecting a relatively thin, sharp stone flake. He began carving and scraping the sticks. Once they were reasonably smoothed out, Fu Chen piled the shaved tree bark together into a single cluster.
Immediately following this, Fu Chen used the stone flake to carve a sharp point into one of the sticks, then drilled a hole into a piece of flat wood using the stone. Once the hole was complete, he blew away the fine wood dust accumulated on the wooden piece.
“What are you doing?” Wen Yu asked, trembling all over.
Fu Chen placed the wooden piece atop the pile of bark, picked up the pointed stick, and began twirling it rapidly against the wooden piece. Lifting his eyelids to shoot a glance at Wen Yu, he replied, “Making fire by friction.”
“You actually know how to make fire by friction?” Wen Yu had only ever read about it in textbooks; he never expected to witness a live demonstration.
After drilling for a little over a minute, wisps of smoke began to curl upward. Fu Chen tipped the sparks onto the tinder and started blowing gently until tiny flames flickered into existence, steadily growing larger. He then added the remaining pieces of wood, and within moments, a crackling campfire was blazing away.
Wen Yu sat down beside the campfire, the comforting warmth dispelling some of the cold and easing his shivering considerably.
“You’re amazing,” Wen Yu said sincerely, looking at Fu Chen.
Fu Chen collected a few more sticks to arrange over the fire rack, then began peeling off his wet clothes as he stepped closer to Wen Yu. “There are even more amazing things. Want to try them?”
Clasping his arms tightly across his chest, Wen Yu recalled what Fu Chen had said back at the hotel, as well as their recent kiss, and eyed Fu Chen warily. “What do you want to do?”
Observing the fear and resistance in Wen Yu’s eyes, Fu Chen remarked, “Oh, so you do know how to be scared? Seeing how skilled you were at seducing others earlier, I thought you weren’t afraid of anything.”
Fu Chen draped his stripped garments over the rack above the fire, then seated himself roughly half a meter away from Wen Yu.
Though Fu Chen usually appeared tall, straight, and lean in his regular clothes, stripping down revealed his well-defined back muscles and prominent abdominal muscles. That thin layer of muscle exuded a vibrant, youthful athletic energy.
“I am afraid,” Wen Yu muttered, slowly relaxing once he realized Fu Chen was simply trying to scare him. “I just had no other choice.”
“Since I was blessed with a face like this, what’s wrong with using my own advantages to achieve my goals?” Wen Yu reasoned. Besides, had he not suffered enough malice and wretched treatment over the years precisely because of this face?
“You’re well aware that you look just like a femme fatale,” Fu Chen shot him a sidelong glance.
Wen Yu lowered his eyelids. “I didn’t know at first, but after dealing with enough harassment, I naturally figured it out.”
“Who harassed you? Shen Yuqing?”
“I like him, so that doesn’t count as harassment,” Wen Yu replied. “I meant other people.”
For instance, the Zhou family servants, the mathematics teacher back in elementary school, the neighborhood delinquents during his middle school days, and more recently, Lin Ze and that subordinate earlier, the undisguised, naked desire in all their eyes had made Wen Yu painfully aware of how immensely attractive his face was to both Alphas and Betas alike.
The firelight cast a warm glow across Wen Yu’s face, making those contrasting, clear-cut black-and-white eyes shine brilliantly. His straight, delicate bridge of nose cast a heavy shadow in the play of light and shadow, and as the flames flickered erratically, his tightly pressed lips shifted between vibrant red and deep shadow. Fu Chen couldn’t help recalling the soft sensation beneath the water just moments ago.
Fu Chen threw Wen Yu another look, let out a cold snort, and fell silent.
That bloody well was his first kiss!
Wen Yu definitely hadn’t lost his first kiss, and Fu Chen felt like he had taken a massive loss.
Wearing clothes soaked in seawater was profoundly uncomfortable, and when Wen Yu could finally endure it no longer, he peeled off his outer hoodie and draped it over the rack to dry as well.
Wen Yu’s skin was as white and lustrous as fine porcelain. At the same time, he was remarkably slender, with long, delicate limbs that gave him an impression of fragile beauty.
Droplets of water from his hair kept trickling down Wen Yu’s chest and back, sliding continuously downward until they pooled around his waist and abdomen, eventually disappearing into the more concealed regions below his waist.
Fu Chen casually swept his gaze over Wen Yu’s body, noticing that Wen Yu actually possessed quite a few moles.
There was one nestled in the hollow of his collarbone, one on his left shoulder, one in the dimple of his right waist, and another sitting right upon his butterfly shoulder blades on his back.
The lower half of his body, hidden from view, likely bore moles as well, though there was no telling where they might be placed.
Not just his face, but this Omega’s body possessed enough allure to instantly spark an Alpha’s desire. The placement of those few moles was seductively provocative; initially, Fu Chen had thought the red mole on Wen Yu’s eyelid was already intoxicatingly charming, but it turned out this entire body truly resembled a siren’s.
Such fair, tender skin, even applying the slightest bit of force might leave bruises and red marks that would linger for days.
The neck that had been briefly bound by the chain moments before now bore an extremely prominent red welt, resembling a choker.
Lewd.
Feeling a sudden wave of heat, Fu Chen averted his gaze and looked away from Wen Yu.
“What do we do now?” Wen Yu suddenly asked. “Should we rest a bit and keep swimming, or wait until dawn to set off?”
“We stay right here and wait.”
“Why?”
Fu Chen shook the black band on his wrist. “The bracelet used for monitoring pheromone levels has a built-in tracker.”
“That’s wonderful!” Overjoyed, Wen Yu subconsciously relaxed his arms from around his chest, finally understanding why Fu Chen had remained so completely calm the entire time.
Technology really did change lives; high-end gear definitely had its high-end perks.
As Fu Chen looked over, his eyes caught the pale pink crests on either side of Wen Yu’s chest, causing his brain to ring with a sharp buzz. The blood in his veins reversed direction, sending a fierce wave of heat rushing through his body. Certain parts began acting up uncontrollably regardless of the occasion, and this subtle physical shift flushed Fu Chen’s entire face red down to the tips of his ears.
Was he doing this on purpose?
A moment ago he was covered up properly, so why did he suddenly expose his nipples?
And he had actually seen them!
Jumping abruptly to his feet, Fu Chen turned his back to Wen Yu. Tilting his head, Wen Yu watched him in confusion. “Where are you going?”
“To use the restroom!”
Fu Chen strode into the woods, pressing his back against the trunk of a large tree as he panted heavily.
He cursed himself relentlessly for being so utterly pathetic. How could catching a couple of glimpses of an upper body make him react like this?
When Fu Chen returned with his composure restored, Wen Yu had already slipped back into his hoodie. Because the hoodie was relatively thin, it had dried quickly, whereas his outer jacket still showed no signs of drying anytime soon.
Tilted his head, Wen Yu watched Fu Chen and wondered why he had taken so long. Did he have to go number two? Where on earth would he find toilet paper out in the wild? Leaves? Wouldn’t that sting a bit?
A flurry of questions floated through Wen Yu’s mind, but not a single one dared cross his lips.
Glancing at the clothes on the campfire rack, Fu Chen saw that the thinner shirt had indeed dried completely, so he took it down and put it on as well.
Uncertain when the Fu family rescue team would arrive, Wen Yu occupied himself by idly playing with a tree branch.
Suddenly, Fu Chen spoke up, “Who chased who between you and Shen Yuqing?”
Wen Yu raised his head to look at Fu Chen. Why was he so invested in his relationship history with Shen Yuqing? Showing this level of curiosity about two people’s romantic past could only point to one conclusion in Wen Yu’s mind.
First, ruling out the possibility that Fu Chen fancied him personally, only a single explanation remained.
Fu Chen liked Shen Yuqing?
Weren’t they stepbrothers?
Yet these wealthy upper-class circles always seemed utterly chaotic, so perhaps it wasn’t entirely impossible.
Throughout everything, even though Fu Chen claimed to hate him, he had never actually done anything truly harmful to him, which showed that the guy was mostly all bark and bite.
Could his constant assertions of hating Shen Yuqing be an act as well? An Alpha loving another Alpha?
“You,” Wen Yu looked at Fu Chen with some hesitation, “why do you keep asking about me and Shen Yuqing?”
“Can’t a fiancé inquire about his partner’s romantic history?” Fu Chen snapped aggressively.
“Oh,” Wen Yu nodded, blinking as he answered, “He chased me first.”
“His taste is atrocious,” Fu Chen scoffed coldly.
Sure enough, judging by that tone thick with jealousy and that dismissive expression.
No wonder Song Chengfeng had mentioned that Fu Chen had never shown any romantic interest in any Omega from childhood onward, it turned out he liked Alphas!
And an Alpha who was destined never to be together with him, at that.
Wen Yu suddenly felt that Fu Chen was rather pitiful. Falling for someone he shouldn’t have, Wen Yu understood that feeling all too well. Offering words of comfort, he said, “He’s already engaged anyway. There’s no possibility between us anymore.”
That statement was meant for Fu Chen, but it was also meant for himself.
“What does that have to do with me?” Fu Chen averted his gaze, acting as though Wen Yu’s remark was entirely redundant.
“In each person’s life, we encounter many people, and we also miss out on many others,” Wen Yu lectured sagely. “Look forward, cherish what you already have, and live in the present!”
Fu Chen: “Huh?”
What on earth? Why are we suddenly serving up chicken soup for the soul?
Wen Yu offered Fu Chen a remarkably amiable smile, complete with two dimples. “Keep your chin up.”
Rolling his eyes, Fu Chen retorted, “If you love drinking chicken soup so much, drink it yourself. Stop spoon-feeding it to me.”
Wen Yu smiled. At that exact moment, a blinding beam of light pierced the sky above their heads, instantly tearing through the night and illuminating the surroundings as bright as day.
Both Wen Yu and Fu Chen looked upward. The light source originated from a helicopter.
The helicopter descended slowly in altitude. Turbulence surged around its fuselage as the spinning rotor blades churned the air with a deafening roar. As it neared the ground, it gradually adjusted its posture, and the instant its landing gear touched down, the craft gave a slight tremor before settling firmly into place.
A figure emerged from the helicopter, shouting in a deep voice, “Fu Chen!”