The Omega was so furious at Xie Wangyuan that his eyes had reddened yet he stubbornly fixed his gaze only on Qin Yu, as if demanding an answer.
“Mr. Qin,” he asked, voice tight with emotion, “is what he said true? Are you really… in that kind of relationship?”
Qin Yu glanced at Xie Wangyuan, who was wearing a smug, self satisfied expression, then looked at the Omega standing opposite him, earnest and unyielding. In the end, his gaze settled on the jewelry box in Xie Wangyuan’s hand. He said nothing, effectively treating it as a tacit acknowledgment.
The Omega’s expression instantly turned ashen, as though he had been struck by lightning. He bit his lip, clenched his fists as if making a tremendous decision and raised his voice.
“Mr. Qin, I don’t mind that you lied to me about the blind date but I still want to say this, no matter what, even if he’s an Alpha, he’s completely unworthy of you! Mr. Qin, I really think you should reconsider.”
His eyes flicked to the dazzling jewelry box. As though it hurt his eyes, he quickly looked away and continued,
“Something as important as a lifetime commitment, chosen so casually, right here at the place where we were on a blind date and with something so simple and crude. That alone shows he doesn’t care about you at all. Not to mention, he’s had so many Betas before! Who knows, maybe he’s just trying to play tricks to deceive you. Once he gets what he wants, he’ll go right back to living it up outside… Someone like that is absolutely not worth entrusting your entire life to!”
“Hey, hey, kid,” Xie Wangyuan dropped his smile and leaned sideways, deliberately blocking Qin Yu behind him. He spoke with obvious displeasure.
“I’m sitting right here, you know. Are you really trying to pry at my corner and sow discord between me and my darling right in front of me? That’s a bit inappropriate, don’t you think?”
The Omega shrank back against the chair, fear flashing across his face. He swallowed hard yet still forced himself to speak loudly.
“You had the nerve to spend one night doing that kind of thing with multiple Betas, why shouldn’t I be allowed to say it? I’m saying this for Mr. Qin to hear, hoping he’ll wake up soon and clearly see what kind of scummy Alpha you are! People like you can never turn over a new leaf!”
Xie Wangyuan grew even more displeased upon hearing this. “Tsk, do you even have any manners, ”
The Omega, having said everything in one breath, no longer dared to provoke Xie Wangyuan further, afraid he might be suppressed by an Alpha’s pheromones. He hurriedly stood up to leave but before turning away, he looked back at Qin Yu with utmost seriousness. “Mr. Qin, you’re an outstanding Beta and you’ve always been someone I admire. You deserve someone better, an Alpha who’s devoted to you and truly respects you!”
“……” Xie Wangyuan stared at the door as it slammed shut, dumbfounded. “Was that really a blind date? That was clearly a little fan confessing to his idol. Did that kid ever join a school debate team or something? He can really go on and on…”
“Second Young Master Xie, thank you for your hard work.”
Xie Wangyuan turned around. Unable to hold back, he laughed, shrugging off his jacket and pushing the jewelry box toward Qin Yu again. Deliberately teasing, he said, “Now that the ‘outsider’ is gone, how about opening it and taking a look, dar, ling?”
Qin Yu ignored him. Finding it boring, Xie Wangyuan rubbed his nose and shrugged.
“Alright, alright, how dull. It’s just a little trinket I happened to buy for you today.”
With one hand, Xie Wangyuan opened the jewelry box, took out the brooch and held it up in midair. Closing one eye, he lined it up with Qin Yu’s eye as if measuring. “When I bought it, I thought it’d suit this… of yours really well. Even though the colors aren’t the same, they match surprisingly well.”
Satisfied, Xie Wangyuan scooted his chair closer and leaned forward, reaching toward Qin Yu’s left chest as if acting on a whim. “Darling, want me to put it on for you?”
The Alpha in front of him had his head slightly lowered. The ruby brooch looked tiny in his palm. He clearly wasn’t used to wearing brooches and fumbled awkwardly with the round clasp at the back, muttering complaints under his breath.
Qin Yu imagined the Alpha’s expression at that moment. His Adam’s apple rolled and he no longer restrained his gaze, letting it roam freely over Xie Wangyuan.
After pressing on it several times without managing to separate the clasp, Xie Wangyuan clicked his tongue impatiently. He simply turned his chair around, straddled it with his legs apart, wrapped his arms around the chair back, rested his chin on top and stubbornly wrestled with the tiny brooch.
Xie Wangyuan never buttoned his shirts properly. His collar was always left open, exposing a large expanse of his neck. Under the lights, his wheat colored skin glowed like honey infused with light. The suppressor patch was firmly stuck in place, its edges tinged with a faint red, giving him an inexplicable hint of vulnerability.
Qin Yu could smell the faint scent on Xie Wangyuan, light, just like the day they had been together in the car. Qin Yu knew it was perfume, used by the Alpha to mask his pheromones.
His gaze lingered on a rebellious strand of hair atop Xie Wangyuan’s head. Without realizing it, Qin Yu rubbed his fingertips together repeatedly.
“Xie Wangyuan,” Qin Yu suddenly said, his eyes shifting back to Xie Wangyuan’s hands. His voice was low, almost like a sigh. “You really are… affectionate everywhere you go.”
After all that fuss, Xie Wangyuan still hadn’t managed to fix the brooch. Instead, the pin pricked his finger. Finally losing all patience, he put the brooch back into the jewelry box and shoved it straight into Qin Yu’s hands. “Affectionate?”
He crossed his arms and leaned against the chair back, smiling. “All my affection is right here with you now, President Qin.”
Xie Wangyuan’s slightly frivolous smile was reflected in Qin Yu’s deep eyes. Qin Yu pressed down on the wide ring on his index finger and gave no reply.
Xie Wangyuan found Qin Yu’s expression at that moment somewhat rare. He suddenly recalled the Beta from Qin Yu’s school that Ren Yi had mentioned before and wondered whether Qin Yu might show more reaction but then he saw Qin Yu checking a message on his phone and was already standing up.
“Second Young Master Xie, I’ll be leaving first,” Qin Yu said calmly as he adjusted his cuffs, as if the fleeting emotion earlier had merely been Xie Wangyuan’s illusion. “I’ll accept the gift.”
Xie Wangyuan raised his brows in surprise and pressed his advantage. “I’ve never stood up before. Remember to make it up to me with a proper dinner next time, somewhere without interruptions.”
Qin Yu’s hand paused on the doorknob for half a second. He said nothing, opened the door and left.
Xie Wangyuan regretfully took out his cigarette case and lit one, muttering to himself, “…Left in such a hurry. Went off to comfort someone?”
As he opened the private room door, Xie Wangyuan collided head on with a waiter pushing a dining cart and about to knock. The waiter looked helplessly at the now empty room. “This is…?”
Xie Wangyuan glanced down at the cart, immediately understanding. He let out a cold laugh. “A couple’s meal for two, right? Serve it.”
Using his fork, Xie Wangyuan thoroughly messed up the two plates like a hurricane had swept through, then casually snapped a photo and sent it to Qin Yu.
[WHY]: Thanks for the treat, President Qin.
[WHY]: But without you, I really can’t stomach it. What a waste of such a carefully prepared couple’s meal.
[WHY]: Next time, we can change the location and eat slowly.
As expected, there was no reply. Xie Wangyuan bit down on his cigarette and dialed Xie Jun.
He didn’t hide anything, telling Xie Jun that he had just sabotaged Qin Yu’s blind date. Then he asked, “Brother, you said before that Qin Group’s internal situation was about to get messy. So what’s the situation now?”
Xie Jun, feeling as though he was getting an early taste of what his own sons’ rebellious phase might be like years down the line, couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on.
“…Qin Yu made some strategic mistakes and moved against quite a few senior executives and projects. Qin Huajie seized on that as leverage. I’ve heard there are other matters as well. Qin Yu probably plans to use a marriage alliance to increase his bargaining power.”
“Strategic mistakes?” Xie Wangyuan scoffed, asking disdainfully, “You actually believe that?”
“Whether Qin Yu truly made mistakes or not, that’s how it looks to outsiders now and even more so in Qin Huajie’s eyes.” Knowing he couldn’t stop Xie Wangyuan’s thoughts anyway, Xie Jun decided not to hide anything further.
“Qin Yu’s ambition is enormous. It seems he doesn’t just want Qin Group, he wants complete control over the entire Qin family. A Beta with that much scheming, you- ”
Halfway through, Xie Jun stopped himself, afraid that the more he said, the more it would provoke Xie Wangyuan’s interest in Qin Yu. “Starting next week, when you go to the company, I’ll arrange for an assistant to follow you.”
“You won’t be at the company?”
Xie Jun coughed awkwardly. “Your sister in law’s health…”
“Got it. May you have an early noble son,” Xie Wangyuan replied smoothly.
“Also, Wangyuan.” Just before Xie Wangyuan hung up, Xie Jun added, “When you have time, go back and see Dad. Since you’ve decided to stay in the country long term, you can’t keep your relationship with the family this strained forever.”
Xie Wangyuan let out another scornful snort. “As long as you’re sure his body can handle getting angry at me. With that narrow mind of his, still unable to see reason after more than twenty years, don’t let him end up in the hospital one day and then come looking for me to settle scores.”
Xie Jun wanted to say more but Xie Wangyuan cut him off directly. “I’ll go back when I have time. Hanging up.”
The text message Qin Yu received was from a caregiver at the sanatorium. Zheng Lan had briefly fallen unconscious that evening. The doctor said it hadn’t reached the final stage yet but the caregiver still contacted Qin Yu.
By the time he arrived at the sanatorium, Zheng Lan was already sleeping peacefully. After checking on her, Qin Yu went out to the terrace, where the caregiver, as usual, reported on Zheng Lan’s condition for the day.
“…She drank a full bowl of porridge this morning, sat here for the entire afternoon and her appetite was pretty good in the evening as well.”
The closer it came to the end, the longer Zheng Lan’s periods of lucidity seemed to last.
The caregiver had been taking care of Zheng Lan for several years now. When Zheng Lan was first admitted to the sanatorium, she was already delirious and mentally unstable, with old injuries all over her body, especially around her glands.
An Omega’s body was already delicate to begin with, not to mention the glands, which were even more sensitive and fragile. It had taken a very long time before they barely recovered. The young boy who came with her back then was also taciturn, filled with wariness toward both the caregivers and the doctors at first.
Over the years, the caregiver had watched this beautiful Omega slowly turn into a dull, lusterless pearl under the weight of illness and excessive worry, until not a trace of radiance remained. She had also watched that once silent boy grow into someone she could no longer fully understand, someone who sometimes even made her feel afraid.
“Mr. Qin, I know you’re very busy,” the caregiver said uneasily. “Although it was only a brief loss of consciousness, I’m afraid…”
Over the years, whenever Zheng Lan regained clarity, she would often murmur Qin Weihong’s name, rarely remembering Qin Yu. The caregiver couldn’t read Qin Yu’s expression but she couldn’t help guessing that perhaps he felt sorrow in his heart as well.
Thinking of the Qin Yu from years ago always reminded her of her own son, whom she rarely saw after her divorce, when he lived with his father. In the end, she couldn’t quite harden her heart.
She was afraid Qin Yu would be left with regrets.
After hesitating for two seconds, the caregiver spoke softly again. “The weather during the day has been pretty good these past few days. It’s not cold at noon either. I was thinking of pushing her downstairs for a short walk.”
There were no lights on the terrace. Qin Yu gazed into the night ahead, borrowing the light spilling out from the living room, imagining what kind of scenery Zheng Lan might have seen when she sat here in the afternoon. After a moment, he nodded. “Thank you for your hard work.”
“Then tonight, you…”
The foggy darkness before him concealed everything. Qin Yu didn’t move. “You should go rest. I’ll stay here tonight.”
The room returned to silence. Qin Yu sat down on a small stool by the terrace, leaning his back against the wall. His phone vibrated in his pocket. When he reached for it, his fingers first brushed against the jewelry box.
In the half dim light, the ruby shimmered with a soft, lustrous glow. The texture beneath his fingers was delicate and faintly cool, smooth to the point that it almost resembled human skin.
It was a message from Xie Wangyuan.
【WHY: Can our Third Young Master really eat street stall food?】
【WHY: I’ll treat you next time?】
【WHY: Or if your conscience can’t take it, you can treat me. One bowl is very cheap.】
The image showed a large bowl of wontons. The plump, glossy white wontons rose above the rim, topped with a layer of cilantro, sending up wisps of steam. A pair of disposable chopsticks, worn smooth from use, rested along the edge of the bowl.
Qin Yu opened the image and looked at it for a long while, then saved it. After that, slowly, he locked his phone screen.
The cool autumn night breeze rattled the plastic canopy, making it rustle noisily. Beneath the canopy, a single lamp was lit. The stove burned brightly, warming the cramped space and carrying with it a damp heat.
The stall owner continued wrapping wontons, smiling as he watched Xie Wangyuan’s actions.
After sending the messages, Xie Wangyuan didn’t really expect a reply from Qin Yu. He put his phone away, picked up his chopsticks and slowly finished the wontons, then drank the soup down to the last drop.
He hadn’t brought cash this time either. After scanning the code to pay, he even paid a bit extra. The stall owner chased after him with phone in hand. “Hey, hey, you paid too much again, ”
Xie Wangyuan waved his hand as he got into the car. “Keep it. I’ll bring friends next time.”
By the time he returned to his place, it was already close to midnight. The laptop screen on the coffee table was still lit. The avatar on the left side of the open chat window was also glowing and a file had been sent half an hour earlier.
【wasd: There are a lot of accounts and it’s pretty messy. I specifically marked the ones from City C for you at the bottom.】
Xie Wangyuan tossed his car keys and jacket aside, accepted the file and scrolled straight to the bottom.
There were many donation records from City C as well, densely packed and dizzying to look at. Xie Wangyuan checked the dates, then scrolled upward, starting from ten years ago and slowly working his way down.
Most of them were corporate accounts, including several large pharmaceutical companies and domestic charitable organizations. Xie Wangyuan marked the personal accounts, planning to investigate them one by one later.
After staring at the screen for too long, his eyes started to ache and blur. Just as Xie Wangyuan was about to take a break, the mouse cursor wavered twice and stopped on a name that caught him completely off guard.
Zheng Jingyu.
✦ ✧ ✦
Vynellia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
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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