The villa’s front gate opened, revealing a vast and quiet courtyard. As the two brothers stepped into the main hall, the dining table was already mostly seated. At the head sat Li Yuchong, his hair combed impeccably, dressed in an exquisite dark Tang suit, his expression stern. Ji Minghe had yielded the head seat to him.
Li Yuchong was slowly wiping his hands with a hot towel, exuding a restrained yet powerful sense of pressure that came from long years in a position of authority.
“Greetings, Grandfather.” The two brothers spoke in unison again. A slightly languid, clear voice and a calm, indifferent voice sounded together.
Li Qingchi’s memories of his grandfather were faint, lingering only from age six, when the man had smiled and pressed a red envelope into his hand, that was his most vivid impression of his grandfather.
When Li Yuchong had gone abroad, Li Siyu had been even younger. He had virtually no recollection of his grandfather, knowing him mostly through mentions from other elders. Still, he occasionally read articles Li Yuchong published overseas, a connection of a different sort between the two.
Li Yuchong had only one daughter. After her passing, though he had left the country in despair, his two grandsons had never left his heart.
Seeing the brothers, the pressure radiating from Li Yuchong instantly softened, and he broke into a kindly smile. “You’re here. Come, sit. We’re all family, no need for such formalities.”
Li Siyu walked to an empty seat at the rosewood dining table and sat down, with Li Qingchi taking the seat beside him.
“Both boys have grown so much.” Li Yuchong sighed. “Twenty years gone in a blink.” His gaze swept over the two brothers. “You were both so mischievous as children. Now you’ve become so well-behaved.”
Li Siyu responded, “Grandfather, you say that, but we can’t stay children forever. Working at the War Chain Department now, we have to be more mature.”
Li Qingchi let out a faint, quiet laugh as well.
Once everyone was seated, servants silently brought out the dishes. An array of exquisite delicacies filled the table, appealing in color, aroma, and flavor, yet they stirred no appetite at all.
The air was utterly silent, free of any noise, broken only by the crisp clinking of utensils.
“Qingchi.” Ji Minghe glanced at Li Qingchi before finally speaking. “What happened to the injury on your head?”
Li Qingchi’s expression remained composed. “An accident. I bumped it while treating a patient’s wound. Just a minor injury.” He deliberately kept the explanation vague.
“An accident?” Ji Minghe ladled a spoonful of soup, his tone casual, as if making idle conversation. “Even at the War Chain Department hospital, you can have such a careless accident?”
Delivering a rebuke in a flat tone was Ji Minghe’s signature way of questioning.
No one could guess his true mood at any given moment.
Li Qingchi lowered his eyes. “That was my negligence. I’ll be more careful from now on.”
“Mm.” Ji Minghe acknowledged with a single syllable, as if the brief exchange were nothing more than an inconsequential preamble. He set down his spoon, picked up a napkin, and lightly dabbed the corner of his mouth, then fixed his gaze squarely on Li Qingchi. “You’re not getting any younger. It’s time you considered settling down.”
At those words, Li Yuchong’s attention also turned to him.
Li Qingchi was hardly surprised, this was the true purpose behind their family dinner.
“Zhou Yan, the eldest daughter of the Zhou family, just returned from abroad. She’s well-educated and refined. I’ve met her a few times, gentle and gracious, with an A+ pheromone rating. She’s a good match for you.” Ji Minghe’s tone was not a discussion but a notification. “The Zhou family and ours have been close for generations, a proper match in status. I’ll arrange for you two to meet next week.”
Li Siyu said nothing, merely glancing at his brother. He’d known before arriving at the old estate that this was what it was about.
Ji Minghe took great interest in his brother’s marriage, and for good reason, his brother’s genetic defect was a serious issue. For Ji Minghe, it meant strictly controlling who he marked, ensuring there was no risk whatsoever.
And the best way to do that was to arrange his marriage directly, fix his marking partner, and dictate the terms of his marking rights.
“I’m very busy with work next week.” Li Qingchi’s tone was calm. “I don’t have time.”
“Qingchi.” Ji Minghe’s expression grew slightly more serious than before, though his voice remained unhurried. “This is also your grandfather’s wish. I shouldn’t need to teach you what takes priority.”
“I won’t go.” Li Qingchi refused outright. “I have no plans to marry right now.”
Seeing his firm resolve, Ji Minghe said nothing more on the matter, only remarking mildly, “Fine, don’t go. No plans to marry is fine too. But remember, keep your distance from outside omegas. Don’t let someone trick you into giving away your mark one day.”
Hearing that, Li Siyu curled his lips. The person who could trick his brother into willingly giving a mark probably hadn’t been born yet.
Li Yuchong also set down his chopsticks and looked at Li Qingchi, steering toward another topic. “Qingchi, I heard you’ve been transferred to the War Chain Department affiliated hospital recently?”
“Not exactly a transfer.” Li Qingchi explained. “The hospital is short-staffed, so they sent me temporarily to cover for a few months.”
“I heard they’ve been taking in quite a few patients with pheromone resistance syndrome lately?”
Li Qingchi’s heart tightened. His grandfather had just returned to the country, yet his information was already this well-informed. He kept his expression neutral and replied, “Yes, cases have increased quite a bit recently, and…” He paused briefly, choosing a more concise phrasing, “there’s also a new development, beta infection cases.”
“Beta infection cases?” Li Yuchong’s brow furrowed slightly, his gaze sharpening with focus. “That’s unheard of. As far as I know, pheromone resistance syndrome is a glandular virus. Betas don’t have glands, how could they be infected and fall ill? What are their specific symptoms? Are they markedly different from omega cases?”
“At present, the core symptoms include full-body stabbing pain, uncontrollable tearing, and clouded consciousness. During onset, they also exhibit rejection reactions to anyone’s pheromones except their partner’s. The core symptoms are largely the same.” Li Qingchi answered cautiously, deliberately avoiding the specific case of Wen Zhiyu. “But because beta patients are in a unique situation, their dependence on and rejection of pheromones are more complex.”
He continued, “One of the betas currently suffering from pheromone resistance syndrome was injected with a special drug that caused genetic mutation, leading to the growth of a gland, which made him susceptible to infection, and he was subsequently infected by accident. As for the other beta, I still don’t know the cause of his illness.”
“Making a beta grow a gland…” Li Yuchong said. “That reminds me of some special cases I encountered in my early research. Extreme stress, toxins, or specific drugs, these are all possible inducing factors that could cause a beta to develop a gland.”
“I’ve considered those as well, but speculation is useless. We need concrete investigation.” Li Qingchi said.
“Mm.” Li Yuchong nodded. He picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of steamed fish, and placed it into Li Qingchi’s bowl with a natural motion. “Try this. I remember you loved fish as a child. Working at the hospital is hard, and the pressure is high, you need to take better care of yourself.”
His gaze swept over the wound on Li Qingchi’s forehead and his calm, deep-set eyes before he continued, “Pay special attention to the state of your gland. Suppressing your emotions too much is like forcing a lid tightly onto a boiling pot, leave it too long, and it’s more likely to tip out of balance.”
A subtle reminder, well delivered.
“Thank you, Grandfather. I’ll be careful.” Li Qingchi picked up the fish from his bowl and took a bite.
After the meal, Li Yuchong went to his room to rest, Li Siyu went to chat with his grandfather, and Ji Minghe left after taking a phone call.
Li Qingchi walked out of the old mansion and got into his car. Only after being cut off from the ever-present scrutinizing gazes did he feel like he had a little room to breathe.
He leaned back in the driver’s seat, not starting the engine right away, just closing his eyes.
Too many things had happened recently, too chaotic. He needed to sort them out one by one.
First and foremost, that insufferable beta. He needed an opportunity, a chance to negotiate with him.
Being an on-call pheromone dispenser was utterly unacceptable to him, and he especially hated being coerced. Besides, over the past period, in order to help Wen Zhiyu with his treatment, he’d already been forced to disrupt his plans many times. He realized he couldn’t let this go on.
After a moment of thought, he opened his eyes, picked up his phone, and tapped open the chat window to type.
Li Qingchi: [Let’s meet tomorrow. I want to talk with you.]
After the message was sent, the phone was quiet for a while. Li Qingchi leaned back in the driver’s seat, his fingers unconsciously tapping on the steering wheel, his gaze fixed on the imposing walls of the Li family mansion outside the window.
His intention was clear now, negotiate with Wen Zhiyu, take back the initiative, and end this state of being forced and having his plans disrupted at any moment as soon as possible.
With a ding, the phone screen lit up.
A reply had come.
Xiao Yu: [Dr. Li is proactively asking me out? That’s a rare sight! (Xiao Yu peeking out emoji)]
Xiao Yu: [Sure, you pick the time and place. But I’m telling you now, no late nights, I’m scared of the dark.]
Xiao Yu: [Also, no remote places. I’m afraid you’ll silence me.]
Classic Wen Zhiyu style. Flirtatious probing with a bit of a sting, while also revealing a hint of wariness. Li Qingchi could almost picture him typing, one eyebrow slightly raised, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
He immediately settled on a time and place and sent it over.
Li Qingchi: [5 PM, the observation deck at the east entrance of Riverside Park. Be on time.]
Xiao Yu: [Got it~ Dr. Li, looking forward to a friendly chat with you. (Smiling wave emoji)]
At 4:50 PM, Li Qingchi’s car pulled into the parking lot near Riverside Park. No matter who he was meeting, he always made a habit of arriving early.
Especially when facing Wen Zhiyu, leaving time to observe and adjust was for the best.
The weather was decent today. At four in the afternoon, the sun hadn’t fully set yet, and the last rays of sunset spilled across the sky. The park was shaded by lush green trees, with sunlight filtering through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled patches of light and shadow.
The air was filled with the moist scent of grass and the river, a world apart from the stifling, oppressive atmosphere of the Li family mansion.
He walked toward the agreed-upon observation deck.
From a distance, he could already see a familiar figure waiting there, Wen Zhiyu had arrived even earlier than he had. He stood with his back to Li Qingchi, not on the observation deck itself, but crouched down below it, beside the stone steps near the shrubbery.
Li Qingchi paused mid-step, not immediately calling out to him.