The next day, Yun Xi dawdled until late before getting out of bed, finally driving to the B City Research Institute in the afternoon.
He had tossed and turned for a long time last night before falling asleep, and his sleep quality had been poor. Faint dark circles had formed under his beautiful eyes. This condition felt very much like the precursor to a heat cycle. Furthermore, based on Yun Xi’s experience, this upcoming heat would definitely be exceptionally intense.
He had encountered a similar situation once before. When that heat arrived, the surging waves of passion had almost swallowed him whole. Ordinary suppressants had very little effect. Fortunately, he was at home at the time and had locked his door immediately upon realizing something was wrong. When Yun Wangjiang and Shen Jiu learned of his condition, they rushed home immediately, bringing a doctor and a voluntary aid Alpha with them. However, Yun Xi refused to let any Alpha near him, no matter what. In the end, the doctor could only prescribe several more shots of suppressants and send them into the room, though they yielded little result.
Yun Xi had practically endured that heat cycle through sheer willpower. By the time the heat ended, he had lost several pounds and the baby fat on his cheeks was nearly gone. Shen Jiu had burst into tears the moment he saw him, leaving Yun Xi to comfort his own father instead. This was also why Shen Jiu was so anxious to urge him to find an Alpha. If this happened a few more times, it would scare his father to death.
When he suddenly started pursuing Gu Xun earlier, Shen Jiu was overjoyed, thinking his son had finally seen the light. Who would have thought that Gu Xun would actually dare to look down on Yun Xi? Shen Jiu had immediately gone to Yun Wangjiang to complain, prepared to give that kid a piece of his mind. Although it came from a father’s protective heart, in the original book, the fact that Gu Xun loathed him so much was actually more or less related to this incident.
Logically speaking, now that he knew the plot, the safest bet would be to stay as far away from Gu Xun as possible and cease all interaction. But he did not want to do that. After learning about his tragic ending, however much he had liked Gu Xun before was exactly how much he felt disgusted by him now. To think he had been so picky, only to end up picking such a piece of trash; it was a total stain on his history. He was not planning on committing murder or arson; he just wanted to see Gu Xun jump in anger and suffer a total mental breakdown. He decided to let himself have this.
Gu Xun was too cowardly to confess, so he deserved to be beaten to the punch. Even if Gu Xun did confess, Su Yanqing might not necessarily like him back. Yun Xi recalled the way Su Yanqing’s ears had turned red last night, and the corners of his mouth curled up triumphantly. He had won Su Yanqing over through his own skills! Once he was done messing with Gu Xun and had played enough, he would naturally make his exit. Though it felt a bit unfair to Su Yanqing, he would help Su Yanqing avoid his original death. Asking for a little compensation should not be too much.
“Haah.”
Yun Xi yawned, staring blankly at a red light. This was already the third long red light he had hit since leaving the house. Yun Xi gritted his teeth, feeling irritable. He reached back to touch the suppressant patch on his nape, carefully confirming it was properly attached. The patches produced by the research institute were of excellent quality and felt almost weightless on the gland, yet Yun Xi still felt uncomfortable.
It was not a physical discomfort on the surface, but something coming from deep within his body. The sensation of pheromones being blocked inside, filling his body to the point of bursting, felt like he had eaten ten cakes at once. He was stuffed to the brim.
“Why does it feel even more agonizing than that last time?”
The light turned green. Yun Xi exhaled slowly and started the car. The rest of the way was a string of green lights. Upon arriving at the institute, Yun Xi parked in the lot and walked inside sluggishly. Some researchers who recognized him smiled and nodded in greeting.
“Yun Xi, long time no see. Are you here to see Mr. Qin today?” a Beta female researcher with short hair asked.
“Yeah, I am almost out of suppressants. Is he in his office?”
“I am not sure. I do not think I have seen Mr. Qin today.”
Yun Xi’s heart sank. He had not come all this way for nothing, had he? The researcher asked, “Did you not contact Mr. Qin before coming?”
“Uh, I will ask him now.”
Yun Xi gave a forced laugh and ducked to the side. Ask? How was he supposed to ask? He had blocked and then deleted all of Qin Zhi’s contact information. He could not even find Qin Zhi in his blacklist, and he had forgotten to add him back during their last meeting. There was no way to ask. He could only try his luck. With a “do or die” attitude, Yun Xi walked toward Qin Zhi’s office.
Fortunately, he had been here many times, and coupled with his highly recognizable face, he was not treated as a suspicious intruder. He made it to the door of Qin Zhi’s office without issue. The door was closed. Yun Xi knocked, but there was no response. He tried turning the handle and found that the door was actually unlocked, so he pushed it open.
“Excuse me.”
Yun Xi entered the office and looked around; it was empty. Qin Zhi held a high position at the institute, so he had a private office. Yun Xi glanced at the desk. A document was laid out, and next to it was a thermos with the lid off, containing a small amount of water. One wrong move could easily soak the papers. This was not like Qin Zhi’s usual meticulous style.
Yun Xi kindly screwed the lid on and moved the thermos further away from the files. With a casual glance, he noticed an injection vial sitting in the corner of the desk. It looked exactly like the suppressants he usually used, so he picked it up and tucked it into his pocket. He pulled out his phone, intending to tell Qin Zhi he had taken the suppressant, but then remembered he could not reach him. He put the phone back dejectedly.
There were pens and paper on the desk. Yun Xi took a sheet of paper and wrote in large letters: “I took the suppressant on the desk; it is an emergency.” After a thought, he added his backup phone number: “Remember to add this number. I have something to ask you.” Once finished, he placed the paper in the most conspicuous spot on the desk, weighted it down with the thermos, and turned to leave.
Just as he closed Qin Zhi’s office door, someone stepped out from the neighboring office.
“Yun Xi? Looking for Qin Zhi? He took a leave of absence today.”
Yun Xi looked over. It was a researcher surnamed Li who was quite close to Qin Zhi.
“Why the sudden leave? Did something happen?”
Researcher Li sighed. “It seems something happened to his mother. Last night, I asked him to give me a hand with something. After we finished, he got a call saying his mother had sneaked out of the nursing home and was accidentally hit by a car.”
Yun Xi’s eyes widened. He recalled Yun Wangjiang’s strange reaction after receiving a call the previous night. “How is she now?”
“I am not sure either. He has not picked up his phone.” Researcher Li shook her head. “I am afraid it might not be good.”
Yun Xi frowned deeply, trying desperately to remember if this plot point existed in the original novel, but he came up empty. In the book, Qin Zhi was merely an insignificant minor character, let alone his mother.
“Anyway, did you need something today? Since Qin Zhi is not here, see if I can help,” Researcher Li asked.
Yun Xi snapped out of it. “I am almost out of suppressants, so I came to see if there were any left.” After thinking it over, he described his condition today.
Researcher Li pondered for a moment. “Have you been in contact with an Alpha recently?”
“Eh?” Yun Xi blinked.
Researcher Li smiled. “And does this Alpha happen to have a high compatibility rate with you?”
Yun Xi was shocked she could tell. “Is my current situation related to that?”
“It is very related. When you are in contact with an Alpha for a long time, their pheromones are more or less absorbed by your body. If the compatibility is high, the impact is even greater. Most notably, your pheromones will become more active, and the Omega will develop a craving for the Alpha’s pheromones. This leads to a violent reaction during the heat, and it might even trigger it early.” Researcher Li tapped Yun Xi on the head. “You failed your biology lessons, did you not?”
Yun Xi choked. His biology grades had been quite high; he just tended to forget everything when it came to real-world application.
“So what do I do now? I feel like the suppressants Qin Zhi is currently developing are not effective enough.”
Researcher Li looked at Yun Xi teasingly. “The simplest way is to go find your Alpha. Looking at how red your face is, you must really like him, right? Go find him.”
“No way!” Yun Xi blurted out. “I do not like him.”
He was only using Su Yanqing, pretending to like him. How could he possibly fall for him? It was impossible, absolutely impossible. Researcher Li maintained her enigmatic smile. She had seen plenty of people who were stubborn in speech but soft in heart. Based on the usual signs, she would probably be eating Yun Xi’s wedding candy before long.
Not knowing what she was thinking, Yun Xi huffed twice. “If there is nothing else, I am leaving.”
He walked out with his head down. As he rounded a corner, he accidentally collided with someone.
“Sss.”
Yun Xi clutched his forehead. He was not sure what he had hit, but it felt soft and did not hurt. Just as he was about to look up, a familiar voice spoke.
“Are you alright?”
Hearing that voice, Yun Xi froze instantly and slowly lifted his head. Su Yanqing was frowning slightly, looking down at him with concern.
“You, you, you… what are you doing here?”
Yun Xi did not know why he felt so guilty, to the point that his voice was unintentionally loud. But what the hell? Why was Su Yanqing at the research institute? Was he not teaching at Guanghua University? Wait, Su Yanqing had not heard what he just said to Researcher Li, had he? His persona would be ruined!
And wait again; if it was Su Yanqing, then the place he just bumped into must have been Su Yanqing’s chest. He could not tell just by looking, but Su Yanqing’s chest muscles were quite well-trained. They were actually kind of soft; he almost wanted to give them a squeeze.
No, no, no. The priority right now was maintaining his persona. Yun Xi ordered himself to stay calm. If the enemy does not move, he would not move. He would see how this played out.
The window at the end of the corridor was open, and the wind whistled through, fluttering their clothes. Su Yanqing stared intently at the shifting expressions on the Omega’s face, not missing a single detail. From the moment he heard those words, a faint but sharp buzzing had begun to ring in his ears. Su Yanqing did not show it on his face, only sneering in his heart.
He truly had not been mistaken. Yun Xi was still that same cunning little liar. He needs to be properly disciplined.
He reached out, gently stroking Yun Xi’s forehead, and asked softly, “Did it hurt?”
He still wore the guise of a refined gentleman. Yun Xi watched him for a while and relaxed slightly. It seemed Su Yanqing had not heard his conversation with Researcher Li. The plan was still on track.
“I am fine. But, why are you at the institute?”