Uncle Rong had just taken two steps up the stairs when he saw Mu Yan appearing at the landing, carrying Ruan Nian in his arms.
Mu Yan’s brows were tightly furrowed, his thin lips pressed firmly together. Ruan Nian’s pale little face was buried against his chest, and his normally light-pink lips had drained of all color. That sudden, intense pain had drained Ruan Nian of all his strength. At this moment, he could not even utter a single word, leaving him no choice but to let Mu Yan carry him.
The gland on the back of his neck was still throbbing with dull pain, and cold sweat had soaked through his clothes, the thin fabric clinging tightly to Ruan Nian’s back. Suddenly, Ruan Nian felt a chill climb up from his tailbone along his spine, followed by another sharp pain that made his entire body curl up.
Mu Yan’s strong arms held the Omega tightly. A faint, barely audible sob came from his chest, and the shirt fabric, which he had not yet changed since getting home, was gripped tightly by Ruan Nian’s hands. Mu Yan’s entire heart felt as if it were being wrung out.
That scene had been simply too terrifying. The Omega had still been smiling, only for all his color to vanish the very next moment.
If he had not been an Alpha, if he had been even a fraction slower.
The wooden easel would have crashed down onto the young man’s beautiful, delicate butterfly bones. Mu Yan did not even dare to imagine such a scene.
He held the Omega steadily in his arms, not even swaying as he went down the stairs. Uncle Rong was momentarily dazed, and by the time he snapped out of it, Mu Yan was about to reach the entryway.
“Wait! Xiao Yan! It is very cold outside, put a coat on Niannian!”
The sweet, gentle Omega from yesterday was now motionless in the Alpha’s arms, and Uncle Rong’s heart ached just looking at him. In his panic, he grabbed the suit jacket Mu Yan had taken off earlier from the sofa and chased urgently toward the door.
Mu Yan had walked halfway when he heard Uncle Rong’s voice. His lost composure was slightly pulled back. He turned back while holding Ruan Nian, and once Uncle Rong had carefully draped the jacket over him, he took Ruan Nian onto the flyer.
The night on the capital planet was very cold. Mu Yan was only wearing a thin white shirt, but he had no time to spare a thought for himself right now.
His eyes were only on Ruan Nian.
Holding his Omega tightly, Mu Yan no longer cared about anything else. He switched to autopilot, pushed the flyer’s speed to the maximum allowed limit, and flew toward the hospital.
Ruan Nian finally eased up a little from the pain. He struggled to lift his eyelids and forced himself to speak: “Go to Tan Qiyu’s place.” His gland had developed a problem, and no one understood his physical condition better than Tan Qiyu.
His words were fragmented, squeezed out between his teeth one by one, barely audible.
The piercing, heart-wrenching throbs of his gland gradually turned into bone-chilling coldness, and the back of his neck felt as if it were being pricked by fine ice needles. His fingers, which were gripping Mu Yan’s shirt, were white at the knuckles, as if he were enduring immense agony. Ruan Nian struggled unconsciously in Mu Yan’s arms, wanting to reach up and press against the fragile, sensitive gland, but his wrists were firmly clamped by Mu Yan.
“It is okay. It is okay, we will be at the hospital soon. Be good, okay?”
The Alpha’s voice was low and slightly hoarse. He tightened his embrace, and his tequila pheromones flooded the entire space, weaving into a dense web that enveloped Ruan Nian.
It seemed that the pheromone soothing had taken effect. Ruan Nian grew gradually quiet during the second half of the trip, and the pain seemed to lessen slightly, allowing him to barely utter a complete sentence.
Seeing Mu Yan’s grim, guarded expression, he could not help but comfort him: “It is okay, I feel much better now!” Before he could finish his sentence, the gland seemed to defy him on purpose, suddenly twitching violently. Ruan Nian winced in pain, his fingers loosening slightly from Mu Yan’s shirt before immediately tightening again.
“Shut up, rest, and do not speak!”
The Alpha’s tone was fierce, carrying an innate sense of oppression. Ruan Nian obediently shut his mouth, leaning against his chest to adjust his breathing.
The Alpha’s sturdy, powerful arms held him tightly, continuously transmitting warmth to Ruan Nian. Through the shirt, he could feel the muscles beneath the fabric tensing. Ruan Nian secretly buried his head deeper. Perhaps he was a bit delirious from the torment of the pain, but he felt an incomparable longing for this safe, secure embrace.
Just let me lean on it for a little while longer.
The flyer wove nimbly through the traffic, rapidly approaching the destination.
After receiving Mu Yan’s message, Tan Qiyu ran directly to the hospital entrance to wait for them. He paced back and forth anxiously, and only when he saw the black flyer approaching at high speed from a distance did his hanging heart finally settle just a little.
Mu Yan held Ruan Nian tightly the entire way, only letting go once he had been sent into the emergency room.
It was not until the light of the emergency room turned on that Mu Yan realized he had exhausted all his strength. His tense muscles were unable to fully relax for a moment. He sat on a nearby chair, taking a few ragged breaths before barely managing to pull himself together and withdraw his pheromones.
When Mu Yan had carried Ruan Nian into the hospital, he had been like a god of war. The oppressive tequila pheromones made those who happened to pass by feel as if they could not breathe, and the entire hallway remained deathly silent.
Uncle Rong arrived shortly after. Ruan Shi, who was away on a business trip, interrupted his meeting as soon as he received the news from Tan Qiyu and immediately bought the earliest flight ticket back to the capital.
Not long after, the door to the emergency room opened.
Tan Qiyu’s expression was very strange. It was as if he wanted to say something but could not bring himself to do so.
Following behind him was Ruan Nian.
The Omega’s face still looked somewhat pale, but he was far better than when he had been brought in. He was even able to walk behind Tan Qiyu on his own. His hair, damp with sweat, hung messily against his forehead, making the young man, who was not very old to begin with, appear both obedient and innocent.
Ruan Nian himself was also somewhat confused.
As soon as he entered the emergency room, the pain that had been tormenting him the entire way faded away like the receding tide. If it were not for his gland occasionally throbbing with pain, Ruan Nian would have thought the previous misery was just a dream.
Ruan Nian felt his face heat up after being inspected from head to toe countless times by everyone, adding a touch of light pink to his otherwise pale skin. He sat in a chair, drinking water obediently, occasionally blinking his eyes to signal to Tan Qiyu that he was truly fine now.
Beside him, Tan Qiyu remained silent. Seeing that Ruan Nian was moving freely and indeed seemed to be in no serious trouble, Mu Yan and Uncle Rong finally exhaled in relief.
It was just that this turn of events was simply mind-boggling.
It was not until Ruan Nian had finished the entire glass of water under everyone’s gaze that Tan Qiyu called Mu Yan and Ruan Nian into his office with an unreadable expression.
He got straight to the point without any reservation: “Pheromone rampage. How has Mu Yan been taking care of you?”
“Ah?” Ruan Nian was dumbfounded.
The fluctuating pheromones these past few days were why he had moved in with Mu Yan to receive treatment for pheromone disorder. And now he was being told that the disorder had escalated into a pheromone rampage? So, not only did this treatment have no effect, it had actually worsened his condition?
Ruan Nian blankly recalled the events of the past two days. In his memory, it seemed it had only fluctuated slightly when they were at the Information Bureau, but Mu Yan had quickly brought the situation under control, and he had not felt any pain at that time. Come to think of it, Mu Yan and Uncle Rong had actually taken good care of him. Why would such a blunder occur? He really did not know.
Just as Ruan Nian was about to open his mouth to defend Mu Yan, Mu Yan spoke before he could, concisely and succinctly recounting the events of the past few days of living together. Halfway through, he glanced at Ruan Nian before slowly adding the sweet milk-flooding incident at the dinner table.
Ruan Nian: “Oh.”
He really had not realized it at all.
After listening to Mu Yan’s account, Ruan Nian felt somewhat embarrassed, burying his head low. Tan Qiyu, however, had a thoughtful look on his face.
Just then, a knock came at the door. A nurse had delivered the examination report from the emergency room. Tan Qiyu sat behind his desk, carefully reading the report from beginning to end without missing a word, pressing his clasped hands against his lips as he fell into deep thought.
A good while later, he looked up. Looking at the two people sitting before him, he said in a serious tone:
“The follow-up treatment plan has changed. I want both of you to increase your contact.”
Ruan Nian: “What?”
Mu Yan: “Understood.”
Neither of them instinctively responded to his words, and the office suddenly plunged into a strange silence.
Ruan Nian hesitantly spoke: “Dr. Tan, there is no need for that, right? I feel like it is just that I haven’t quite adapted over these past few days, plus the reason of being a bit physically exhausted?” In truth, he had no idea what the reason was. He had occasionally stayed up late rushing manuscripts back on Meng Star, but he had never experienced such a situation.
Tan Qiyu clearly did not believe him, so Ruan Nian had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue.
“Actually, I feel much better now. There is no need for such trouble, really.”
Tan Qiyu stared at him for a long time, only looking away once Ruan Nian started to feel a bit creeped out.
Afterward, as if Tan Qiyu had brushed off his previous words, he started talking about other matters. Ruan Nian had just exhaled in relief, but after hearing clearly what Tan Qiyu was saying, he sucked that breath right back in.
It started off normally enough, explaining the various indicators on the report and instructing Ruan Nian to shorten the interval between his hospital check-ups. But later, it slowly started to veer off track, turning into instructions about going to bed early and rising early, eating more fruits and vegetables, exercising in moderation, and paying special attention to rest. He insisted that he must get up and walk around every half hour of painting.
Ruan Nian felt like a child who had done something wrong, being lectured by a parent. He buried his head lower and lower, while Mu Yan listened with full concentration the entire time.
Tan Qiyu had not even finished speaking when a knock at the door interrupted him. A nurse came over to signal that Ruan Nian needed to go do another check-up.
Tan Qiyu stared at Ruan Nian for a long while more before waving his hand to signal him to follow the nurse to the examination room.
The office door opened and closed. Only Tan Qiyu and Mu Yan remained in the room.
No one spoke for a long time.
Tan Qiyu silently picked up the report and looked at it again, as if ignoring Mu Yan’s existence, before walking over to the bookshelf behind him, taking down a somewhat old file box, and flipping through some paper materials he retrieved from inside.
After another while, just as Mu Yan was considering whether to take the initiative to excuse himself, Tan Qiyu spoke.
“Mr. Mu, I hope you will increase your contact with Ruan Nian.”