The idea of a top-tier Alpha disguising himself as an Omega for three years just to pursue a man was so absurd it was downright outrageous.
His mind was already conjuring up all sorts of socially mortifying scenarios.
Sikong Sui’s disdainful gaze, Fu Yuan’s shock and disgust upon learning the truth.
He was even starting to consider the possibility of emigrating to Antarctica.
Sikong Nian stood rooted to the spot, the tips of his ears flushed so red they seemed about to drip blood, his entire body stiff as a stone statue.
Sikong Sui tilted her head, blinking as she looked at him, unable to understand why her brother had suddenly turned into a sculpture.
“Brother?” she called out tentatively.
Sikong Nian didn’t respond.
“Bro?”
Still no reaction.
Sikong Sui waved her hand in front of his face. Sikong Nian’s eyes followed her hand, but his body remained petrified.
Sikong Sui couldn’t help but laugh.
She reached out, took Sikong Nian’s hand, and shook it gently. “Bro, don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. As for Fu Yuan, I’ll help you sound him out.”
Sikong Nian finally moved.
He lowered his head, staring at the hand his sister was holding, and remained silent for a long time before gently squeezing her hand in return.
“Don’t meddle,” he muttered, his voice muffled. “This is grown-up business. Kids shouldn’t get involved.”
“I’m not a kid,” Sikong Sui grumbled. “I’ve already undergone Differentiation.”
Sikong Nian didn’t reply, simply reaching out to ruffle the top of her head.
Outside the window, the night had grown deep.
In the distance, the city lights flickered on and off in the darkness.
At the end of the hallway, behind a closed door, a top-tier Alpha leaned against the door panel, listening to the faint sounds of conversation from next door. The corner of his mouth unconsciously lifted into a slight smile before quickly flattening again.
He lowered his head and looked at his hand.
The hand that had held her earlier still seemed to carry the lingering warmth of her body temperature on its fingertips.
Xie Ren shoved his hands into his pockets, turned, and walked deeper into the room, collapsing onto the unfamiliar bed. He stared at the ceiling for a long time.
There was nothing on the ceiling.
But he couldn’t shake the feeling that a shadow was reflected there.
A shadow of a girl, her innocence intertwined with allure, smiling beautifully.
Xie Ren turned over, burying his face in the pillow.
The pillow carried no scent.
He frowned in dissatisfaction. “Sikong Sui…” His hand began to drift downward.
Sikong Sui returned to her room, closed the door, and let out a long sigh.
She walked over to the bed and sat down, lowering her gaze to the slippers on her feet.
“System,” she called softly in her mind.
【I’m here.】
“Does Xie Ren’s favorability already reach 40?”
【Yes. Xie Ren’s current favorability toward the Host is 50. Please take note.】
Sikong Sui was taken aback.
“50?”
“But I haven’t done anything at all.”
【The favorability is indeed 50.】
【Moreover, thanks to this System, you have differentiated into an SSS-level Omega.】
She paused, suddenly recalling the original novel’s setting. In the original story, Sikong Sui was an exceptional S-level Omega.
Her rank wasn’t low, but in the end, jealousy and obsession led her down the path of a cannon-fodder antagonist.
Now, however, because of the System’s presence, she had differentiated into the nation’s only SSS-level top-tier Omega.
Sikong Sui nodded.
“System.”
Sikong Sui’s voice suddenly became a bit cautious, “Although I don’t need to complete an Affection Quest for my brother, can I see his affection level toward me?”
The System fell silent for a moment, as if considering how to respond.
【No need to check. Sikong Nian’s affection level toward Sikong Sui is forever: 100%.】
Sikong Sui froze.
Forever 100%.
No fluctuations, no variations, no need to do anything to maintain it.
Her fingers unconsciously tightened around the bedsheet as she recalled Sikong Nian crouching down to help her put on her slippers, the way he stood between her and Xie Ren.
She remembered the softness in his eyes every time he looked at her, so tender it seemed almost overflowing.
“So that’s how it is.”
She silently thanked this brother whom the original host had never truly understood.
The original host had always believed Sikong Nian was competing with her for the heir position, that his surface-level gentleness was a hypocritical facade, and that he wished she would forever remain just an ordinary Omega.
But the truth was, Sikong Nian had never competed. He had pretended to be an Omega for three years, not because he wanted to take anything away, but because he wanted to leave all the choices to her.
If she wanted to be the heir, he would continue pretending to be an Omega.
Quietly transferring all the resources and connections belonging to an Alpha to her name.
If she didn’t want to be the heir, he would reveal his true identity and shoulder the entire family’s burden for her.
No matter which path she chose, he had already paved the way for her.
Sikong Sui took a deep breath, suppressing the ache in her heart.
“System, can you tell me about Xie Ren?”
【What kind of information are you looking for?】
“Why does he have so many needle marks on him?” Sikong Sui asked, images of those bluish-purple, overlapping new and old needle punctures flashing in her mind. “He’s a top-tier assassin. Don’t his parents care about him?”
The System was silent for a while.
【Xie Ren’s file is classified as high-clearance information. However, considering the Host’s current affection level with Xie Ren has exceeded 50, the System has unlocked some basic information.】
【Xie Ren, 23 years old, the Empire’s top assassin, codename “Blood Rose.” Belongs to the Empire’s Shadow Department’s Special Operations Unit, military rank Colonel. He is the youngest commissioned officer in the Empire’s history and the only special agent to have completed over a hundred S-rank missions before reaching adulthood.】
As Sikong Sui listened, her frown deepened. Twenty-three years old.
【Regarding the needle marks on his body, the System’s file has clear records. Xie Ren began participating in the Empire’s “Enhancement Program” at age 14. This program aims to improve agents’ physical capabilities and pheromone levels through drug injections. The injection frequency is three times per week, continuing to this day, totaling over six hundred injections.】
Six hundred times.
Sikong Sui’s fingertips trembled slightly.
【Side effects of the enhancement drugs include: severe pain, high fever, muscle spasms, pheromone instability, and extreme instability during Rut Periods. Xie Ren is currently the only successful survivor of this program.】
“The only survivor.” Sikong Sui repeated the phrase.
【Yes. A total of thirty-seven experimental subjects participated in the same phase of the program. Aside from Xie Ren, the other thirty-six have all been confirmed deceased. Causes of death include: organ failure, pheromone rampage, nervous system collapse, and…】
“Enough.” Sikong Sui interrupted.
She didn’t want to hear any more.
Thirty-seven people, and only one survived.
“Where are his parents?”
Sikong Sui closed her eyes and asked this question.
[Xie Ren’s father is Xie Yuan, former head of the Empire’s covert division. His mother is the director of the covert division’s intelligence analysis office. Xie Ren was sent to the covert division’s reserve training camp at the age of six. Since then, he has met his parents once a year, each meeting lasting no more than two hours. The enhancement program was approved with a consent form signed by both his parents.]
Sikong Sui felt her blood freeze in that instant.
His parents signed the consent form.
Sikong Sui suddenly remembered how Xie Ren trembled during his rut period.
A child sent to a training camp from a young age—the first thing he learned was certainly not how to kill, but how to swallow all his pain without making a sound.
“System.”
Sikong Sui finally spoke, her voice slightly hoarse. “What is Xie Ren doing now?”
[Xie Ren is currently in his own room. Status: Awake. Heart rate: 82 beats per minute, slightly above the normal range. Pheromone levels: Mild fluctuations, down 78% from the peak of the rut period.]
He wasn’t asleep.
Sikong Sui thought for a moment, then stood up from the bed. Barefoot, she walked to the door, placed her hand on the doorknob, hesitated, and withdrew it.
She returned to sit by the bed, then stood up again after a few seconds.
She repeated this twice before finally sighing, putting on her slippers, and gently opening the door.
The hallway was dark. Her room was at one end, Xie Ren’s at the other.
Between them lay a living room, a bathroom, and the room where her brother was staying tonight.
Sikong Sui tiptoed through the living room and stopped in front of Xie Ren’s door.
She raised her hand, her knuckles hovering above the door panel. After hesitating for about three seconds, she gently knocked twice.
But the person inside clearly heard.
“Who is it?” Xie Ren’s voice came through the door, low and hoarse.
“…It’s me,” Sikong Sui whispered.
Silence.
Then came the sound of the lock turning.
The door opened a crack, just enough for half of Xie Ren’s face to appear.
The hallway was dark, but the light in his room behind him was bright. The backlight blurred his silhouette.
But she could see his eyes, clouded with an unreadable desire.
He looked at her without speaking.
Sikong Sui looked at him and said nothing as well.
The two of them stared at each other through the crack in the door for a few seconds, the air filled with something subtle and indescribable.
“You…” Xie Ren spoke first, his voice kept low, likely to avoid waking Sikong Nian at the other end of the hallway. “Why aren’t you asleep yet?”
Sikong Sui opened her mouth. Some words lingered on the tip of her tongue but ultimately became: “Aren’t you awake too?”
Xie Ren was taken aback.
Leaning against the doorframe, he tilted his head slightly to look at her, his eyes holding something unreadable.
“Can’t sleep?” he asked.
Sikong Sui nodded.
“Come in.”
Sikong Sui hesitated for a fraction of a second before slipping past him into the room.
As she passed by him, she caught his scent.
The scent of Bloody Mary had faded significantly, replaced by the fresh fragrance of shower gel.
The lights in the room were on, the blanket was partially turned back, and the trash can held an excessive amount of tissues and syringes.
Sikong Sui’s footsteps halted.
“Don’t look.”
Sikong Sui turned around, meeting his gaze directly.
“Your Highness Suisui, not sleeping in the middle of the night,” he said, his tone sounding casual, “coming to my room just to watch me get an injection?”
“Does it hurt?” she asked.
Xie Ren looked at her, his expression shifting.
“I’m used to it,” he said.
Sikong Sui suddenly reached out and grasped his wrist.
Xie Ren’s body visibly stiffened. “What’s wrong?”
Sikong Sui’s thumb gently brushed over his wrist bone.
“Xie Ren,” she softly called his name.
Xie Ren lowered his gaze to look at her, his Adam’s apple bobbing once.
“…Hmm.”
Sikong Sui raised her head, looking into his eyes.
“If it hurts in the future,” she said, “you can tell me.”
[System Notification: Xie Ren’s Favorability +10, Current Favorability 60]
Xie Ren opened his mouth, wanting to say something.
Suddenly, a door creaked from the other end of the hallway.
Both of them froze simultaneously.
Sikong Nian’s voice came from the hallway, carrying the hoarseness of someone just awakened: “Xie Ren, what’s that sound in your room?”
Xie Ren and Sikong Sui exchanged a glance.
Sikong Sui’s eyes instantly widened, her expression clearly reading “what do we do what do we do what do we do.”
Seeing her like this, the corner of Xie Ren’s mouth suddenly curved upward.
It was the first time Sikong Sui had seen him smile genuinely, without any defenses.
Then he reached out, gently pulling Sikong Sui behind him, placing himself between her and the door.
“Nothing, just had a nightmare.”
The hallway fell silent for two seconds.
“…Weirdo,” Sikong Nian muttered, and then the sound of footsteps gradually faded away.
Hiding behind Xie Ren, Sikong Sui didn’t dare to breathe loudly.
After about ten seconds, confirming that Sikong Nian had truly left, Xie Ren slowly turned around.
He looked down at her, his eyes holding an indescribable emotion, as if looking at an audacious thief.
One who had stolen his time, his attention, and the embarrassment and vulnerability he should have endured alone during his Rut Period.
“You should go back,” he said, his voice very soft.
Sikong Sui nodded but didn’t move.
Xie Ren didn’t urge her either.
The two of them stood facing each other like this.
Sikong Sui suddenly reached out and lightly touched the back of his hand.
“Goodnight, Xie Ren,” she said.
Then she turned around, tiptoed toward the door, pulled it open, and disappeared into the darkness of the hallway like a nimble cat.
The door gently closed behind her.
Xie Ren stood where he was, looking down at the back of his hand.
Where she had just touched seemed to retain a trace of warmth.
Very faint, very light, like the first breeze of spring brushing against the skin.
He slowly clenched that hand into a fist, then released it.