Qin Yu stayed at the sanatorium until half past nine before returning to the Qin residence.
Qin Weihong was in the living room. A dragon headed cane rested at an angle beside the sofa. When he saw Qin Yu come in, he cast a faint glance in his direction.
“You made such a big show of it, mobilizing so many people from the company,” Qin Weihong withdrew his gaze and said indifferently. “Have you already thought through how you’re going to deal with the next board meeting?”
“Over the past few years, Qin Huajie has been far too eager for quick results. He’s no longer suitable for the Qin Group as it is now.” Qin Yu sat down across from Qin Weihong. “Since he’s so eager to take my place, I might as well hand him one of my own weaknesses directly.”
Qin Yu lifted his eyes, his tone calm and steady. “As for whether he can seize it or not, that will depend on whether he actually has the ability.”
A sharp glint flashed through Qin Weihong’s eyes. He picked up his cane, clasping both hands over the dragon head and studied Qin Yu carefully. The deep wrinkles on his face slowly unfolded, his smile growing broader and broader, until he finally let out a relaxed laugh.
“Qin Yu, Qin Yu, so I truly didn’t raise you for nothing. You want to muddy the waters and I doubt this is the only move you’ve prepared, am I right?”
Qin Yu revealed a trace of hesitation.
After hearing him out, Qin Weihong slowly stroked the dragon head beneath his palm. “I’ll make the arrangements. A’Yun has been in Z City for nearly a month now; it’s about time he came back. I’ll explain the rest to him. Even if he holds some resentment toward you, when it comes to the Qin Group, he knows very well what matters more and what matters less.”
With the serious matters settled, Qin Weihong asked casually, “You’ve been going to the sanatorium quite often lately. Seems like you even stay overnight there a lot?”
“She doesn’t have much time left.”
For a brief instant, Qin Weihong’s expression froze but it lasted no more than a second before his brows relaxed again.
“Then go see her more often while you can. Back then… forget it, there’s no need to bring it up anymore. In the end, it was I who failed you both.
“At the time, you were willing to agree to any condition for her sake, just to acquire a small company. Looking at it now, all that research and all those drugs turned out to be somewhat useful after all. For her to have lived until now is no easy thing.
“I won’t have anyone keep the sanatorium matter hidden anymore. Huajie should find out before long. If, even at this point, he still doesn’t make a move, then it seems that the position of vice president really doesn’t suit him.”
Propping himself up with his cane, Qin Weihong stood up. As if recalling something, he added, “You don’t need to bother investigating that brat from the Xie family and you don’t need to pay him any attention either. Don’t worry about offending the Xies, he’s not well regarded in his own family anyway. In the future, I’ll have A’Yun look for a suitable Omega for you. As for the one you had before… if you want to keep him, that’s fine. Just don’t bring him in front of A’Yun.”
Qin Yu responded calmly with a soft “Mm.”
“I’ll go upstairs and rest then.” Qin Weihong nodded in satisfaction. “If you get hungry later, just tell the kitchen.”
Turning the walnuts over in his hand, Qin Weihong walked upstairs in an easy, unhurried manner. Suddenly, Qin Yu spoke up from behind him.
“That company has been developing quite well over the past two years. I’m considering transferring it under the Qin Group after the new drug goes on the market. It just so happens that Qin Group hasn’t yet ventured into the pharmaceutical sector.”
“A new drug?” Qin Weihong’s interest was piqued.
“It’s said to have a certain restorative and stabilizing effect on AO glands and pheromones. The results are fairly good. There’s nothing similar on the market at present. If it’s handled properly, it could completely open up a new market for the Qin Group.”
The walnuts in Qin Weihong’s hand never stopped moving as he replied casually, “That works out nicely. A’Yun mentioned a few days ago that Jingxuan has already woken up. Staying outside hasn’t been of much use anyway, he might as well come home to recuperate.”
He paused, then continued, “What happened back then was admittedly due to Jingxuan’s immaturity but you were present as well. A’Yun inevitably has a knot in his heart and Jingxuan goes without saying. You’ll need to be a bit more tolerant with them.”
Qin Yu lowered his gaze, concealing the dark glimmer in his eyes and turned the ring on his finger once. “I understand, Dad.”
At the other end of the old villa district.
The first to come out and greet him was Butler Wang. “Second Young Master, the sir is in the back greenhouse.”
Xie Wangyuan nodded without much concern, his head lowered as he replied to a text message he had just received.
Butler Wang followed him a couple of steps, hesitating as he spoke. “Second Young Master, the sir has been waiting for you all evening… You haven’t been back, so he didn’t eat dinner and has stayed in the greenhouse the whole night.”
Xie Wangyuan put away his phone, nearly laughing out loud. “What is my dad putting on this time? A Hongmen Banquet followed by a bitter meat act?”
Butler Wang looked utterly helpless. “Second Young Master, the sir actually-”
“Alright, get some rest early, Uncle Wang.” Xie Wangyuan cut him off, his interest clearly piqued. “I’ll go see what exactly he wants to do.”
In the glass greenhouse at the back, a warm orange vintage lamp glowed softly. The glass door stood open and Xie Tiancheng was seated on a rattan chair among the plants.
Xie Wangyuan didn’t go inside. He stood outside the door, cupped his hand to light a cigarette, then lifted his foot and tapped twice against the glass door.
Xie Tiancheng’s hands were smudged with dirt and a small trowel for loosening soil lay nearby. Leaning back into the chair, he said, “Come in and talk.”
Xie Wangyuan took a deep drag from the cigarette and snorted with a laugh. “Better not, Dad. I still haven’t forgotten the beating you gave me when I was a kid. Let’s talk somewhere else.”
Xie Tiancheng slowly stood up, bent over to put away the tools, adjusted the positions of several flower pots and gathered up the books spread out on the table. Only after surveying the space once more did he step out and close the door behind him.
Back in the living room, Xie Wangyuan crossed his legs and propped them up on the coffee table, idly swinging them as he waited for Xie Tiancheng to speak.
“Lele went to be a guest at a concert yesterday. There were too many people on site and some Alphas couldn’t properly control their pheromones. He was already in heat, so he got stimulated a bit.”
“Oh? And what does that have to do with me?” Xie Wangyuan showed no surprise that it was once again about Yu Xile. “Aren’t you people good at paying to suppress hot searches? Besides, I’m not the one who took on that job for him.”
Xie Tiancheng washed his hands and came back, holding two documents. This time, he didn’t scold Xie Wangyuan.
“Go give him a temporary mark.”
Xie Wangyuan had just taken a drag of his cigarette and immediately choked on the smoke. He looked up in disbelief. “…Dad, what did you just say? Have you gone senile?”
“Calling you back today was to make a deal with you.”
Xie Wangyuan raised an eyebrow, genuinely intrigued now. Propping himself up halfway, he leisurely flicked the ash from his cigarette. “What kind of deal?”
“Xie Wangyuan, you’ve never cared about her, nor have you ever cared about the Xie family. There’s no need for me to talk to you about blood ties or family affection anymore.” Xie Tiancheng looked at Xie Wangyuan, who was utterly indifferent. “These are two contracts. As long as you sign them, white paper, black ink, I won’t shortchange you.”
Xie Wangyuan laughed as he listened. “Go on, Dad. I’m all ears, this is quite entertaining.”
“You don’t like Lele. I won’t force you and I’m not asking you to permanently mark him right now,” Xie Tiancheng said. “But why you came back to the country in the first place, you and I both know that perfectly well.”
Xie Wangyuan, utterly unconcerned, casually dug a finger into his ear, waving away the smoke in front of him as if it were a game.
“Wangyuan, there are things I didn’t teach you when you were young but it’s not too late even now. Sometimes money and status really can’t buy everything you want but what if you add blood ties, something you’ve never cared about?” Xie Tiancheng cast a light glance at Xie Wangyuan. “At the very least, in legal terms, you are, forever, always, my son. Since I was able to keep your illness hidden from the outside world, I can also know exactly what you’re trying to hide.”
Xie Wangyuan nodded perfunctorily. “Get to the point.”
“A special effect suppressor. That’s the deal.” Xie Tiancheng tossed the contracts in his hand onto Xie Wangyuan’s legs. “Isn’t that why you came back? One of these is a volunteer confidentiality agreement for their project. If you don’t want outsiders to find out, I can also send people to negotiate further. It’s just a small company, acquiring it isn’t out of the question. The other one is an agreement between you and me.”
“Well? It’s only a temporary mark.” Xie Tiancheng spoke earnestly. “An Alpha who can only spend his susceptible period in a hospital, who has to constantly endure the torment of pheromones on the verge of losing control at any moment… Wangyuan, I believe that as long as you’re a smart person, you’ll know how to choose.”
Xie Wangyuan picked up the contract and shook it twice. He exhaled the last mouthful of smoke, pressed the still burning cigarette butt onto the paper and applied a bit of force. A hole was burned straight through the contract before he tossed it back onto the coffee table.
“Wangyuan, I could completely wait until the day you lose control entirely, until you lose your sanity and dignity,” Xie Tiancheng said, his expression unchanged, his tone unhurried. “But you are her child after all. I don’t want things to get too ugly. Lele can wait. I can wait too. But how much longer do you think your pheromones can wait?”
Xie Wangyuan let out a short, derisive laugh and stood up. He gripped the door handle, then turned back again.
“Oh, right. My brother warned me before, so I came specifically to say hello to you.” He smiled faintly. “That Beta I mentioned earlier, the one who’s both respectable and presentable, is Qin Yu.”
Xie Tiancheng scoffed. “A bastard talking about being presentable? Not to mention that in the past he even schemed against his own brother for some poor Omega from who knows where. You actually think highly of that kind of Beta?”
“Whether a bastard is presentable or not, I don’t know,” Xie Wangyuan said lazily with a grin. “But in my eyes, he’s far better than an orphan and it doesn’t matter if he likes Omegas. I’m the type who enjoys forcing the issue. Suit yourself.”
Pressing down the handle, just before closing the door, Xie Wangyuan added, “You really went to a lot of trouble tonight, talking to me for so long. But there’s something I’d like to say to you as well. Hold on too tightly to an obsession and you might end up hurting others and yourself.”
The lights in the living room stayed on all night. The cigarette burned through the entire night as well. When dawn finally began to break outside, the shadowy figure in the darkness at last stirred.
Xie Wangyuan transferred a sum of money, then clicked into the chat window of the only contact on his laptop. The profile picture was black. Offline, only messages could be left. The fingers holding the cigarette moved slightly and in the end he sent just two words: “As soon as possible.”
Three hours later, the moment the profile picture lit up, a “1” popped up in the chat window and then it immediately went dark again.
Xie Wangyuan closed the screen, finished the cigarette in his hand, tilted his head back and rubbed his aching, dry eyes. Sitting on the floor with his back against the sofa, he fell asleep just like that.
He didn’t know how much time had passed when the sound of someone entering the password at the door woke him.
The position he’d fallen asleep in was far too cramped. Xie Wangyuan felt sore all over. He slowly stretched his legs out while rubbing his neck, which crackled audibly. Letting his head fall back, he looked at Ren Yi walking in, his throat so dry it felt like it was about to catch fire.
“What is it?”
Ren Yi carefully looked him over from top to bottom and finally let out a breath of relief. “Brother Yuan, some friends asked us to go bowling together. You in or not? I can also swing by with you to take a look at that Qin Yu.”
Xie Wangyuan pushed himself up and leaned crookedly against the sofa. Only after his mind cleared a little did he recall something. “Qin Yu had an Omega before?”
“Huh? Never heard of that. Where did you hear it from?”
Xie Wangyuan muttered “It’s nothing,” then quickly brushed it off. “Forget it. It’s not anything important.”
Xie Wangyuan wasn’t in great spirits and didn’t drive. He threw on a light green hoodie, put on a black baseball cap and curled up in the passenger seat, yawning. “We’ll leave after taking a look. I’m not in the mood to tease him today.”
After parking the car, Ren Yi leaned over the window. “Is that Qin Yu?”
The man walking out of the building wore a cold expression, his brows slightly furrowed as he spoke to someone trailing half a step behind him. Ren Yi paused and before Xie Wangyuan could answer, he spoke again uncertainly.
“This guy… why does he look a bit familiar?”
The author has something to say:
_______
Author’s Note:
Xiao Qin (OOC version): Clarification, I have never had an Omega.
Xiao Xie: Even if you had one, it wouldn’t stop me from flirting.
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Vynellia
[Translator]
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☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
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ChaptersChapter 1 · A Beta who looks particularly attractiveChapter 2 · Illegitimate child? BetaChapter 3 · Am I going to kick a hornet’s nest?Chapter 4 · A banquet that only Betas can attendChapter 5 · The young man’s heart was wastedChapter 6 · What’s so fun about Beta?Chapter 7 · Your dad has too many loversChapter 8 · Date with a ‘beautyChapter 9 · Long Time no see…Chapter 10 · He’ll definitely be the dominant oneChapter 11 · Seeing Qin Yu was like a dog seeing a bone.Chapter 12 · Young Master Qin, what a coincidenceChapter 13 · I don’t like things that other people have touched.Chapter 14 · Just call him “little brother”Chapter 15 · Are you going to pursue Xiao Mei O?Chapter 16 · The dead are deadChapter 17 · Qin Yu, aren’t you going to take responsibility?Chapter 18 · Xie Wangyuan and his dog are not allowed insideChapter 19 · Got into his carChapter 20 · He really gave me a hard timeChapter 21 · You actually Like that beta?Chapter 22 · Like an Alpha catching his wife cheatingChapter 23 · How do you want me to repay you?Chapter 24 · An Alpha without pheromonesChapter 25 · I’m determined to get my hands on Qin YuChapter 26 · Whatever service you needChapter 27 · Honey, shall I put it on for you?Chapter 28 · Mr. Qin has a rather unique aesthetic senseChapter 29 · Who says Qin Yu is hard to deal with?Chapter 30 · Please teach me, Teacher QinChapter 31 · These are all he can lose.Chapter 32 · I’m looking for someone who has “disappeared”.Chapter 33 · A new meaning in his lifeChapter 34 · Your birthday is in a few days, right?Chapter 35 · Just the two of us.Chapter 36 · It was like Qin Yu’s O-selection banquetChapter 37 · He saw himself clearly in his eyesChapter 38 · Do those Betas really make you this comfortable?Chapter 39 · Qin Yu, you just wait.Chapter 40 · I’m to blame for stealing tonight’s main characterChapter 41 · If you have only one piece of clothing left, you winChapter 42 · I admit defeatChapter 43 · He is my lover!Chapter 44 · What kind of cult is Yuyuan?Chapter 45 · There are no other BetasChapter 46 · Go to bedChapter 47 · Susceptible periodChapter 48 · Qin Yu, are you a damn dog?!Chapter 49 · It would be best to lock us up completelyChapter 50 · I’ll give you five million, leave my sonChapter 51 · Other Alphas smell awfulChapter 52 · He can’t possibly be like those stupid Alpha dogsChapter 53 · Only youChapter 54 · Go ahead and say what you just said again if you dareChapter 55 · I thought you were going to meet someone at night.Chapter 56 · Swallow it.Chapter 57 · Service fee for the second young masterChapter 58 · He touched it himself and showed it to meChapter 59 · To make an Alpha no longer need an OmegaChapter 60 · They’re kindly taking me in?Chapter 61 · Qin Yu is different.Chapter 62 · HelpChapter 63 · At times like this and that with Qin Yu.Chapter 64 · We will never abandon themChapter 65 · My wife’s surname is QinChapter 66 · Two numbersChapter 67 · Qin Yu and dogs are not allowed insideChapter 68 · Eat a lotChapter 69 · It’s a must-eatChapter 70 · Batian misses youChapter 71 · Earn money to support your wife.Chapter 72 · I hug you like a crossChapter 73 · Use these to exchange for a wish.Chapter 74 · Extra 1Chapter 75 · Extra 2Chapter 76 · Extra 3Chapter 77 · Extra 4Chapter 78 · Extra 5Chapter 79 · Extra 6Chapter 80 · Extra 7Chapter 81 · Extra 8Chapter 82 · Extra 9Chapter 83 · Extra 10Chapter 84 · Extra 11Chapter 85 · Extra 12