Shao Yiqing did not readily expose other people’s intentions.
At an age that young people would call a slick veteran, he could see right through everything. Keeping it to himself while acting completely unfazed on the surface was his usual status quo. Exposing someone else’s hidden intentions was impolite; he had always strictly abided by this rule of social etiquette.
As for someone of Sheng Tingzhou’s status, since he hadn’t made it explicit, it meant he didn’t want others to pierce through his intentions. He either wanted to keep them concealed or had other plans. However, once Shao Yiqing brought those words out into the open, the situation changed completely.
Why was Sheng Tingzhou here?
Heishi Yang was his friend, but was he here out of a sense of friendship? No. When Shao Yiqing saw Sheng Tingzhou’s cold, utterly indifferent expression toward all the bustling excitement, he knew that Heishi Yang wasn’t the reason capable of moving him.
It was impolite for an alpha to repeatedly size up an Omega, let alone how Sheng Tingzhou hadn’t even bothered to hide his gaze that day at the Longjiang Pavilion. For a man like him, hiding his intentions should have been effortless; why, then, did he subject Shao Yiqing to such a naked, visual ravishing?
There was only one reason: the other man had never intended to hide it at all.
Sheng Tingzhou had shown an interest in Shao Yiqing from their very first meeting, true to the old saying that everyone loves beauty. Shao Yiqing possessed a magnificent appearance; no matter who the observer was, regardless of their status, it was nearly impossible to remain truly unmoved by him. Those who showed no expression on the outside would still experience a minor shock on the inside. It was a face that completely conformed to aesthetic standards, a figure famous across an entire city for his looks. He was simply incomparable to any of the fluttering blossoms Sheng Tingzhou had witnessed before.
Heishi Yang’s obsession, Gao Yanqing’s endless praise, and Xiao Songhe’s anxiety, none of these were unfounded. Once you saw Shao Yiqing, you understood why those alphas were so eager to turn themselves into obedient dogs for him.
They didn’t mind his age, his past marriages, or the fact that he had given birth to someone else’s child. Had society truly become that broad-minded and open? There were certainly plenty of kind-hearted souls out there. But after laying eyes on Shao Yiqing, Sheng Tingzhou only wanted to say one thing: people certainly knew how to find excuses for themselves.
Blinded by lust, they tried to make themselves out to be paragons of selflessness and magnanimity.
Sheng Tingzhou chuckled aloud.
Shao Yiqing let go of his hand.
Following the brief touch, his fingertips retained a scorching heat. Shao Yiqing pinched his own little finger and looked up into the unfriendly light gleaming within Sheng Tingzhou’s pitch-black pupils.
Sheng Tingzhou stepped forward, walking over to the very spot where Shao Yiqing had been sitting just moments before. Uncomprehending, Shao Yiqing watched as the other man reached out to steady the pink rose that had been drooping over his shoulder, a magnetic voice sounding close behind: “Truly vicious.”
The pink rose trembled gently in Sheng Tingzhou’s grip. Often used as a cheap substitute to be sold as real roses, this variety of garden rose was far more beautiful and enchanting than actual roses could ever hope to be.
Shao Yiqing turned around, facing Sheng Tingzhou’s back in broad daylight. He watched the alpha’s gentle movements, which formed a striking contrast against his otherwise domineering aura. Although he couldn’t see Sheng Tingzhou’s eyes, he could already guess the churning tempest hidden within them.
It was bound to be magnificent.
Just as Shao Yiqing had stripped away his pretense, Sheng Tingzhou showed no mercy in stripping away his opponent’s as well: “Knowing my relationship with Heishi Yang, you seek me out to act as your backing, hoping to turn Heishi Yang and me against each other. Mr. Shao, how have I offended you?”
Shao Yiqing’s intentions were thus exposed.
He looked at Sheng Tingzhou with a sense of pleasant surprise, his eyes devoid of a single trace of guilt or annoyance.
Faced with Shao Yiqing’s initiative, Sheng Tingzhou didn’t take the bait so easily. He detected a profound sense of mockery hidden deep within the other man’s eyes. Even though it was deeply concealed and tightly suppressed, Sheng Tingzhou’s keen instincts managed to capture those subtle traces.
Was Shao Yiqing flattering him?
Was he extending an olive branch?
Was he harboring feelings for him?
Did he genuinely need him as a backing?
If you were foolish enough to believe such innocent notions, congratulations, you were about to be eliminated from the game immediately.
Sheng Tingzhou didn’t know Shao Yiqing well, but the rumors and tidbits he had heard about this person from those around him were enough to let him judge Shao Yiqing’s schemes. Would a romantic, fickle veteran of the love game easily give away his true heart? Someone like Shao Yiqing, who so brazenly laid out his ill intentions, was an absolute anomaly. Almost the moment he opened his mouth, the very second his fingertip hooked forward, Sheng Tingzhou had caught the scent of conspiracy.
Shao Yiqing was playing an even larger game. Not only did he want to utterly crush Heishi Yang, but he had also set a trap for Sheng Tingzhou himself. It would deal Heishi Yang a double blow while simultaneously intensifying the rift between Sheng Tingzhou and Heishi Yang, killing two birds with one stone, achieving two goals with a single stroke.
Clever, ruthless, and vicious.
“Let me think about it,” Sheng Tingzhou paused, raising his voice slightly. “Oh, it is revenge.”
Click.
He snapped the stem of the rose in half.
Sheng Tingzhou turned and walked back. Shao Yiqing stood frozen in place, a dangerous expression on his face. Meeting that hazardous gaze head-on, Sheng Tingzhou stopped right in front of him and said, “Revenge for our failed negotiation, revenge for my acquisition of Lingrui, revenge for bullying your boyfriend. Mr. Shao sure holds a grudge.”
Shao Yiqing offered no denial, no defense, because Sheng Tingzhou had guessed correctly.
After hearing such candid words from Shao Yiqing, Sheng Tingzhou was no longer surprised by any reaction he might have. Raising his hand, he tucked the severed rose directly behind Shao Yiqing’s ear. Shao Yiqing remained utterly indifferent, even cooperatively tilting his head to let him do it. At such close range, he could clearly smell the fresh fragrance of the flower.
Acting as though he were dressing up an exquisite porcelain doll with infinite patience and gentleness, Sheng Tingzhou murmured, “What a pity. Even if I really did have a falling out with Heishi Yang, he wouldn’t dare make a single move. Crushing him would be as easy as crushing an ant for me. That way, your vicious little plan wouldn’t achieve the desired effect at all, and it would only serve to provoke me. What are you even trying to gain from this?”
People had warned him long ago that Sheng Tingzhou was not someone to be trifled with.
Du Dezhong and Xu Mingfu had both cautioned Shao Yiqing repeatedly. Their words and actions made their fear of Sheng Tingzhou crystal clear, but it wasn’t until this exact moment of firsthand experience that Shao Yiqing truly understood where Sheng Tingzhou’s danger lay.
This was a shrewd man. He saw right through you, exposed you, and spoke in an entirely even tone while his eyes remained as calm as still water. It made it utterly impossible to fathom how he would settle accounts with you, whether he would let you off lightly or leave you facing some other unknown consequence.
Everything remained entirely uncertain.
Shao Yiqing raised a hand to lightly stroke the rose blooming behind his ear. Sheng Tingzhou had fastened it securely there. A refreshing fragrance filled the air, and Shao Yiqing even felt the morning dew still clinging to the petals. “I have been seen right through, have I not?” he mused. “What should I do? Is President Sheng going to punish me?”
They looked like a pair of passionately in love companions.
Both of their brows carried a gentle expression, save for a lack of genuine honesty; beneath the watery softness of each person’s gaze lay a tightly wrapped layer of calculation.
Sheng Tingzhou stared unblinkingly. The plucked rose seemed even more bewitching than before, lacking nothing of its vitality and growing increasingly vivid instead.
A fleeting epiphyllum blooming right before its death?
It was even more breathtaking.
“You are the one Heishi Yang has set his sights on. He and I are friends after all, so not bullying him is the right thing for me to do. But if someone else tries to bully him, there is nothing I can do about it either,” Sheng Tingzhou remarked. “Being rejected by the person you love, who has the right to stop that?”
He said he didn’t have the right to stop it.
Not that he lacked the ability to stop it.
The conclusion was clear, Sheng Tingzhou had no intention of stopping it.
And he had used a perfectly reasonable excuse not to.
How utterly high-sounding and hypocritical.
Looking into Sheng Tingzhou’s eyes and listening to his verdict, that was Shao Yiqing’s only takeaway.
Plucking the rose from his ear, Shao Yiqing pushed the flower back into Sheng Tingzhou’s hand. Yet his hand didn’t pull away immediately; after returning the bloom, his fingers rested lightly against the back of Sheng Tingzhou’s hand. “Since you have no right to stop it, why do you not accompany me instead?”
Shao Yiqing took a step forward, stopping just short of brushing his nose against Sheng Tingzhou’s Adam’s apple. “Rest assured, I will not make you my backing. I am merely inviting President Sheng to watch a play.”
Sheng Tingzhou lowered his gaze to watch those dense strands of hair trembling in the breeze. Shao Yiqing’s voice seemed capable of scratching deep into one’s soul, arousing an itchy, numb sort of craving.
“After all, since I have dressed up so elaborately today, I naturally hope that the most prominent person at this banquet can witness it all the way to the end.” Stepping back, Shao Yiqing flashed Sheng Tingzhou a deeply meaningful smile. “President Sheng, that person is you.”
With that, Shao Yiqing turned and walked away.
Sheng Tingzhou watched his retreating figure until Shao Yiqing completely stepped out of view, vanishing from his field of vision. He lowered his head to gaze at the rose resting in his palm, which still seemed to retain the warmth of human skin. As his thumb gently brushed aside the petals, his mind was entirely filled with Shao Yiqing’s ghostly, mesmerizing smile.
It refused to fade away.
True to his word, Shao Yiqing carried out his plan precisely as stated. He accurately anticipated every single move Heishi Yang would make. Nearing the end of the banquet, a group of people suddenly surged forward, surrounding Shao Yiqing under the guise of offering blessings. The most cliche confession routine played out just as expected. At that moment, Sheng Tingzhou was seated off to the side, accompanied by Xiao Songhe and Gao Yanqing.
“He has some nerve,” Gao Yanqing observed, watching the bustling crowd. “I thought he was just joking around, but he actually wants to lock down a relationship with Shao Yiqing. I suppose I still underestimated our Young Master He’s sincerity.”
“He is completely out of his mind, chasing after Shao Yiqing. Has he forgotten how miserably Han Dai was ruined by him?”
“Heishi Yang. Damn, what a lunatic.”
These voices filled the air around them. Xiao Songhe remained entirely silent, only quietly casting a glance toward Sheng Tingzhou’s direction.
Sheng Tingzhou’s fingertips tapped rhythmically against the armrest of the sofa. He watched the rowdy crowd with cold eyes. All the lively noise of the evening party had ground to a halt; everyone was cheering and egging on Heishi Yang’s confession to Shao Yiqing. The two central figures were surrounded on all sides. Although the interior scene was obscured from view, listening to those deafening declarations of love made it abundantly clear how passionate things had become.
“I do not care that you are divorced, or that you have a child who is practically as tall as me. I do not care about any of that! I just want to take care of you, and with you in this lifetime, I will not want anyone else! Yiqing, my heart aches for you! Be with me! I fell in love with you the very first time I saw you, hopelessly in love with you!”
Heishi Yang had lived for thirty years, spending the first half of his life in a blaze of glory, doing everything he should and shouldn’t have done. To these young scions, playing around in the world was completely normal, but openly and grandly pursuing someone like this was not. Among those present, plenty of alphas coveted Shao Yiqing. Many merely kept those thoughts buried deep in their hearts or harbored fantasies of sharing a single night of passion with him, but not a single one genuinely wanted to establish a substantive relationship with Shao Yiqing. After all, Shao Yiqing’s past was far too complicated and absurd, and this Omega was simply too formidable.
He was not an easy man to handle.
Regardless of background, appearance, methods, or any other capability, Shao Yiqing was never someone who would quietly and obediently stay by your side. Even if you managed to conquer him, you would constantly have to worry about losing him due to various other external factors. To most alphas, such an unmatched beauty was someone to be enjoyed for physical pleasure alone, never someone to fall deeply for.
Otherwise, you would end up stripped of your skin and bones.
Han Dai and his ex-husband were living, bleeding examples of that.
With Han Dai’s cautionary tale serving as a precedent, the rest of the restless alphas, no matter how ambitious, would not dare do anything reckless to Shao Yiqing. Heishi Yang’s stunt was simply too bold, instantly firing up the enthusiasm of the entire room.
The alphas formed a circle, shouting for Shao Yiqing to accept him while burning jealousy threatened to drip from their hearts. To be honest, none of them truly wanted such an enchanting, breathtaking beauty to belong to anyone else. Shao Yiqing ought to wander endlessly through the world of blossoms, entirely single, so that perhaps they might still stand a chance someday.
Yet Heishi Yang was playing for keeps.
As he finished speaking, everyone present grew fiercely agitated, everyone except Shao Yiqing himself, who stood beside him completely unmoved. Listening to the confession without a single flicker of excitement or shock on his face, Shao Yiqing casually picked up a glass of wine and asked, “Young Master He, how old am I?”
Heishi Yang hurried to step closer, hovering right beside Shao Yiqing under the assumption that he was being tested on whether he truly understood him. Thank goodness he had inquired beforehand, Heishi Yang replied, “Thirty-five?”
He still was not entirely certain, after all, age was a rather private matter, and things found out through inquiries were not always accurate.
Shao Yiqing didn’t refute him: “And you?”
Unsure of what Shao Yiqing was getting at, Heishi Yang answered with a cautious tone: “Twenty-eight.”
“I am seven years older than you,” Shao Yiqing stated. “I married very early, my reputation is far from stellar, and I have a large, grown-up son. Do you mind none of these things?”
“I do not mind!” Heishi Yang pledged his loyalty. “I do not care about any of that, Yiqing! As long as I can be with you, I will pay any price.”
Shao Yiqing swept a glance over him, listening to the sweet lies before offering a mocking, derisive smile. Completely ruining the romantic mood, he flatly stated, “Well, I mind.”
Heishi Yang froze: “What?”
Shao Yiqing turned and leaned back against the table behind him, which was laden with cakes and champagne. Pushing the platters back a little, he spoke in an indifferent tone: “You know, I am extremely particular about scents. What are you supposed to be, some kind of liquor? I despise the smell of alcohol the most. If you want to be with me, fine.”
Shao Yiqing pointed a finger toward the back of his own neck: “Change the scent of your pheromones.”
Heishi Yang fell into a daze.
Not just him, everyone standing around the perimeter began to stir restlessly. What had they just heard Shao Yiqing say? Change his pheromones? Absurd!
“I am an S-class,” Heishi Yang declared.
Shao Yiqing remained completely unruffled: “Who is not?”
Heishi Yang took two steps forward, his breathing suddenly turning heavy: “Are you making things difficult for me?”
Shao Yiqing showed not a hint of panic. Maintaining his relaxed posture, he met Heishi Yang’s provocative gaze without offering any explanation. Instead, he asked an exceptionally bold counter-question: “Is there a problem?”
He claimed to dislike the smell of alcohol, yet he picked up the glass of whiskey standing nearby and drank it down right in front of everyone.
When that commotion reached the ears of Xiao Songhe and his companions, they could no longer sit still, standing up one after another to push their way into the crowd. Gao Yanqing was lighting a cigarette nearby, holding it between his fingers, he watched the spectacle unfold and remarked with amusement, “Looks like Heishi Yang just hit a wall.”
Sheng Tingzhou stared fixedly at the restless crowd, murmurs rising on all sides.
Heishi Yang was a top-tier alpha whose pheromones belonged to the hard liquor category, a type widely recognized as elite, extremely common among high-level alphas. Tequila pheromones, in particular, were documented in textbooks as superior-grade pheromones, proving an alpha’s physical prowess and excellent genetic lineage.
Heishi Yang was top-tier in every single aspect, traditionally, he was always the one picking and choosing Omegas, or demanding that an Omega alter their glands. When had he ever been the one picked and rejected? Furthermore, alphas held a dominant position in society, whenever an alpha and an Omega suffered from a pheromone mismatch, it was always the Omega pressured to undergo adjustments. To publicly pick flaws in an alpha’s pheromones like this was an immense humiliation and an extreme provocation.
Xiao Songhe instantly rushed forward, smiling amiably as he steadied Heishi Yang’s chest. While offering soothing pats, he addressed Shao Yiqing: “Mr. Shao, there are a thousand and one excuses to turn someone down. This kind of rhetoric is hardly sincere.”
“How do you know I am not being sincere?” Shao Yiqing retorted. “Besides, he was the one who said he would do anything for me. I merely followed up on his own words, how does that make me insincere?”
“If pheromones could be changed at will, would not everyone here reek of tequila?” Xiao Songhe countered. “Mr. Shao, could I say you are encouraging illegal behavior?”
Gao Yanqing stubbed out his cigarette.
As the sparks flew, remaining detached from the hubbub, he gracefully crossed his legs, took a sip from his glass of wine, and murmured, “Spicy indeed.”
This man Shao Yiqing was far too spicy.
Sheng Tingzhou hadn’t spoken a single word the entire time. He simply watched the churning crowd in silence, the table before him littered with the dying pink rose alongside the hard liquor.
Heishi Yang had stoked the atmosphere to a boil.
Shao Yiqing had fanned the flames of arrogance, pushing the tension to its absolute peak. Gunpowder permeated the air in every direction. Standing right there, he made people completely forget that he was supposed to be a frail, delicate Omega.
He was enchanting, ruthless, and audacious enough to demand that an alpha alter his own pheromones, subjecting Heishi Yang to unprecedented humiliation, and doing it all at his birthday banquet, right under the noses of so many other alphas.
And he wasn’t just talking empty words.
Sheng Tingzhou’s eyes grew even more obscure and dark, burning with something that could only be described as excitement.
A short while later, he stood up. Gao Yanqing glanced over in surprise and called out, “Tingzhou?”
He watched as Sheng Tingzhou walked toward the restless crowd.
When Sheng Tingzhou approached from behind, the people in the back seemed to have eyes in the backs of their heads, hastily backing away to clear a wide path for him. Sheng Tingzhou stepped through. At that moment, the scene inside was remarkably ugly, Shao Yiqing’s calm, effortless remarks had left Heishi Yang completely stripped of face, and his trembling fists were a testament to just how vicious Shao Yiqing’s words truly were.
“Even if you do not like him, you should not make such a cruel demand,” Sheng Tingzhou intervened, his voice carrying over the crowd. “Mr. Shao only needs to say a simple no.”
His appearance immediately diluted much of the gunpowder scent Shao Yiqing had ignited. In Xiangjiang, Sheng Tingzhou could rightfully be called all-powerful. This wasn’t his affair to manage, but the moment he stepped in, not a single person dared to make any reckless moves.
“Do not give him a hard time,” Heishi Yang muttered under his breath.
Hearing this, Xiao Songhe slapped him on the arm and snapped, “Are you out of your mind?”
Shao Yiqing had humiliated him to this extent, yet Heishi Yang was still completely bewitched, Xiao Songhe felt a surge of exasperation at his stubbornness.
Sheng Tingzhou didn’t pay attention to what they were saying. He locked his gaze straight onto Shao Yiqing, making no attempt to hide the unfriendliness in his eyes.
“Thank you for your hospitality today, Young Master He,” Shao Yiqing said, ignoring Sheng Tingzhou entirely as he turned back to Heishi Yang. “However, I regret to inform you that you are not my type at all. With such a grand spectacle, I did not want to make you lose face, but who could have guessed your feelings for me ran so deep.”
Pulling something out of his pocket, Shao Yiqing walked right up to Heishi Yang. Within those eyes, still burning with humiliation and lingering anger, a shred of lingering expectation could still be found. Smiling, Shao Yiqing handed the object over: “You need to learn to respect your elders from now on. Stop calling me Yiqing every other breath, we are not that familiar. Since I accepted the invitation today, setting other matters aside, a gift is only proper.”
“Happy birthday, Heishi Yang.”
Shao Yiqing’s nonsensical words had completely dumbfounded everyone present.
Needless to say, Heishi Yang stood rooted to the spot, entirely devoid of movement.
Xiao Songhe accepted the gift on his behalf, equally unable to comprehend Shao Yiqing’s method of handing out a slap followed immediately by a sweet date. Yet he had now witnessed firsthand the sheer ruthlessness of this Omega’s tactics.
Did he want Heishi Yang to hate him, or did he want Heishi Yang to keep right on loving him?
Having handed over the gift, Shao Yiqing turned and walked away. Instead of heading off in some other direction, he happened to pass right by Sheng Tingzhou’s side, where Sheng Tingzhou had cleared a wide lane to ensure nothing obstructed his exit.
Right under everyone’s watchful eyes, Shao Yiqing paused beside Sheng Tingzhou.
He raised his head, locking eyes with that truly top-tier, predatory gaze.
Exchanging a silent look with Sheng Tingzhou, they shared no verbal communication, yet the atmosphere grew as intensely scorching as a wild, frenzied bout of lovemaking. He was virtually raped and pillaged by the accusations in Sheng Tingzhou’s eyes, yet he didn’t shrink back an inch. With untamable, rebellious feral energy, he seemed to straddle the moment and whisper right into the other man’s ear, taunting the only man capable of commanding the entire room with a single sentence: “Come again.”
The stare held for a full ten seconds. During those ten seconds, not a single soul dared to draw a breath, waiting to see how either Sheng Tingzhou or Shao Yiqing would react. After ten seconds elapsed, Shao Yiqing raised those delicate, slender fingers, which should have felt as soft and boneless as silk, and pressed them against Sheng Tingzhou’s waist, feeling the scorching warmth of his torso right through the high-end fabric.
And then, Shao Yiqing pressed down lightly, his index finger tracing a slow line across the fine linen of the shirt before he strode away. He didn’t brush shoulders, he didn’t touch Sheng Tingzhou so much as a fraction of an inch further.
Yet Sheng Tingzhou’s pupils grew deeper and darker still.
Xiao Songhe captured Shao Yiqing’s final gesture.
He glanced over at Sheng Tingzhou’s eyes.
Those eyes lifted, colliding openly and nakedly with Xiao Songhe’s gaze, as if answering the very question Xiao Songhe had asked him days ago.
Heishi Yang suffered a miserable defeat.
There was no need for me to snatch him away.
It was a dignified response.
Yet Xiao Songhe detected an entirely different meaning hidden within that look, or rather, a raw, consuming desire.
Xiao Songhe desperately wanted to gloss it over for Sheng Tingzhou.
As fellow alphas, he ought to cover for Sheng Tingzhou and mask his expression using decorous language to explain away his look.
Yet after fumbling for words for quite a long time, he couldn’t find a single description that did it justice.
Rolling violently within those surging depths was a ferocious storm.
Greedy, ravenous, and bound to conquer.
Moist wine splattered across the pink rose.
Stung by the fiery alcohol, the garden rose lay limp and exhausted upon the wine table. Its stamens had suffered brutal destruction, the heart crushed into ruin. With its petals drooping like a shy plea for mercy, it bowed its head.
Crafted by the hands of someone who understood best how to cherish delicate jade flowers, yet never actually cherished them at all.
It was Sheng Tingzhou’s masterpiece.