“If Yun Xi were an Alpha, or perhaps…”
A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, followed by peals of muffled thunder. In an instant, a torrential downpour began. The sound of raindrops battering the window startled Yun Xi awake. He checked his phone; it was already past eight in the evening.
His throat felt swollen and painful. He wondered if this was divine retribution for faking an illness the night before. Yun Xi climbed out of bed to brew some cold medicine, standing by the floor-to-ceiling window to enjoy the rainy view while he drank.
After finishing his medicine, he went to the study and pulled out the notebook where he had recorded the plot, confirming the timeline once more. It was on a rainy day exactly like this that the power system in the Gu Corporation building failed, trapping Gu Xun and the ever-persistent Yun Xi inside an elevator.
According to the book, it was a weekend. Only the two of them were in the building. Gu Xun had left his phone in his office, Yun Xi’s phone had run out of battery, and the emergency repair button malfunctioned. They could only wait in the darkness for staff to discover them. Worse yet, Gu Xun, as a standard tragic male lead, suffered from claustrophobia.
In the book, upon realizing Gu Xun was in distress, Yun Xi immediately tried to comfort him, only to be violently pushed away. “Get lost! Do not touch me!” Gu Xun had roared, his face deathly pale. Despite being angry at being pushed, Yun Xi had approached the trembling Gu Xun and held him gently. “Do not be afraid. We will get out soon,” he whispered.
In the gloom, Yun Xi could not see Gu Xun’s expression, but he felt the man’s body slowly stop shaking. When Yun Xi tried to pull away, he was suddenly pulled back. Yun Xi had been surprised but did not reject Gu Xun’s reliance. He smelled Gu Xun’s pheromones, which had spiraled out of control due to fear, filling the narrow space with a woody scent. Suddenly, a floral fragrance drifted out, intensifying and intertwining with Gu Xun’s scent.
Yun Xi’s body grew hot. He instinctively touched the gland on the back of his neck and realized that, in an attempt to seduce Gu Xun, he had intentionally removed his suppressant patch. Triggered by Gu Xun’s pheromones, his heat had arrived early.
Gu Xun also smelled the rich gardenia fragrance. The powerful pheromones of a Destined Pair caused an immediate reaction. “What are you trying to do?” Gu Xun had shoved Yun Xi to the floor. “Withdraw your pheromones!”
Yun Xi had fallen, his leg blooming with sharp pain. But he was also reacting intensely to Gu Xun’s scent; his body felt weak and numb, nearly masking the pain in his leg. Driven by the instinct of a Destined Pair, he had only one thought. “Gu Xun, please mark me. I am in so much pain,” he had sobbed, crawling toward the Alpha.
Gu Xun resisted his instincts and pushed him away again. However, under Yun Xi’s persistent approach, Gu Xun eventually succumbed and marked him in a loss of control. When the elevator was finally opened, Yun Xi was a mess. Once the news of their union spread, Gu Xun, no matter how much he loathed it, was forced to marry Yun Xi. That was the beginning of Yun Xi’s tragedy.
Yun Xi closed the notebook and fell into thought. Should he ignore the situation, or ignore it, or ignore it? That was the question.
Late at night, amid the curtain of rain, a sports car slowly approached the Gu Corporation building. Yun Xi parked downstairs and wandered into the building. It was pitch black inside; the power was indeed out. He first called for repairs, telling the staff to arrive as quickly as possible, then trudged up to the fifth floor.
Leaving the stairwell, he heard a banging sound. Following the noise, he confirmed the source was indeed the elevator. Gu Xun was likely having a claustrophobic episode, losing control and trying to kick the door open. Yun Xi stood outside the elevator door for a moment before speaking up. “Gu Xun, if you want to die, keep kicking. I will be sure to burn paper offerings for you when you are gone.”
The banging stopped instantly. After a long silence, Gu Xun’s voice drifted through the door. “Yun Xi?”
The end of his sentence trembled. He was truly terrified. Yun Xi felt a surge of schadenfreude.
“Yun Xi, call someone to open the elevator immediately,” Gu Xun said, trying to sound composed. “I will reward you once I am out.”
“A reward is unnecessary. Why do you not beg me instead?” Yun Xi said with a smile.
“You!” Gu Xun wanted to lose his temper, but his current situation left him no choice. He endured the humiliation and said, “I beg you.”
“Can you say it a little louder?”
“I said I beg you! Please, call someone to fix the elevator!”
“Since you are begging so pitifully, I suppose I will agree. But with this heavy rain and it being a weekend, I am not sure when the staff will arrive.”
Growing tired of standing, Yun Xi used his flashlight to drag a chair from the office area. When he returned to the elevator, he heard Gu Xun calling his name loudly and tensely.
“Why are you yelling?”
Gu Xun fell silent. After a long time, he said, “I thought you had left.”
“Rest assured, I am not leaving.”
Yun Xi thought to himself that he was staying right here to watch Gu Xun’s miserable state. Why would he leave?
Separated by a single door, Gu Xun sat huddled on the floor with his usual arrogance gone. His mind was a mess, and the fear of the dark threatened to swallow him. Only Yun Xi’s presence outside and the faint light filtering through the door gap provided a sense of security. Whenever the light moved away, panic surged. He could not stop himself from calling for Yun Xi, wanting only for him to stay. Fortunately, Yun Xi did not abandon him. The beam of light remained steady, and Gu Xun felt a sense of peace.
The darkness reminded him of secrets buried deep in his heart, specifically memories of being locked in closets and suitcases by that madman, his Omega father. Gu Xun lowered his head, his body beginning to shake again. Suddenly, a soft humming reached his ears. Gu Xun looked up in a daze. It was Yun Xi. Gu Xun had always known Yun Xi had a nice voice, but he had not realized he sang so beautifully. Leaning against the corner, Gu Xun listened to the low humming and gradually calmed down.
Perhaps bored of waiting, Yun Xi hummed several songs but did not strike up a conversation. Usually, Yun Xi would chatter incessantly around him, talking until Gu Xun was annoyed. Gu Xun felt an inexplicable emotion rise in his chest. He pushed it down and asked, “Yun Xi, why are you here?”
Yun Xi, who was swinging his legs, paused. “What, do you want me to say I was following you and discovered you were trapped?”
“What other reason could there be? Today is a day off. I came to work overtime and told no one,” Gu Xun frowned. “I am grateful you saved me, but I still dislike this behavior. No matter how much you follow me, I will not respond. I told you, I will not like an Omega.”
Yun Xi thought Gu Xun was a lunatic. He rolled his eyes, regretting his decision to come. He felt he should have let Gu Xun stay trapped until morning, or let him kick the door until the elevator plunged to the bottom.
When the Omega did not respond, Gu Xun assumed his blunt words had hurt him. He bit his lip, wanting to say something, but then he thought of Su Yanqing. He and Su Yanqing were alumni who met in the skiing club. Su Yanqing was gentle, polite, and had helped him immensely with his studies. He was the person Gu Xun had admired since youth.
That was right. He would not like an Omega. If Yun Xi were an Alpha, or even a Beta, things might be different. Gu Xun cut off the thought. He had already decided that once he officially took over the company and was no longer controlled by his father, he would formally pursue Su Yanqing. He had once subtly asked Su Yanqing about his stance on Alpha-Alpha relationships.
Su Yanqing had said that love should not be affected by such factors. Love is love, and everyone should be able to love whom they choose. Those words had encouraged him. Yes, he would be with Su Yanqing, not the Omega Yun Xi. Gu Xun was certain.
Outside the elevator, Yun Xi was also thinking about Su Yanqing. After his test the night before, he was fairly sure Su Yanqing was a man of extraordinary self-control. Or perhaps Su Yanqing was impotent, and that was why he stayed so calm? He felt he needed to step up his game.
Yun Xi’s eyes sparkled as he stared at Su Yanqing’s profile picture on his phone, a burning determination in his heart. He was currently drafting his sixth plan to make Su Yanqing irresistible when the lights suddenly flickered on. The elevator chimed. Yun Xi stood up and pressed the open button. The doors slid back to reveal the man leaning against the wall.
A voice came from the intercom. “I am sorry, President Gu. The power system is fixed, and the elevator is operational.”
Gu Xun seemed dazed, staring up at the Omega in the doorway. Yun Xi appeared to have rushed out from home; he was wearing pajamas under a thick coat and a mask. His eyes, usually bright, looked tired from illness. Gu Xun thought that explained why his voice sounded muffled.
Gu Xun’s expression was complex. Perhaps he had misunderstood Yun Xi. Dressed like this, he did not look like he had been stalking him. Furthermore, Yun Xi had only appeared after he had been trapped for some time. He wondered if Yun Xi went to his house, found he was not there, came to the company, saw his car, and searched for him. He realized he had just criticized him so harshly. Why had Yun Xi not defended himself?
Seeing the Alpha on the floor cycling through various expressions, Yun Xi frowned deeply. He suspected Gu Xun was still having an episode and hesitated to approach. “Hey, are you going to get up?”
Gu Xun looked at him intensely and reached out a hand. “Give me a hand. My legs are numb.” He thought that even if he could not promise to be with Yun Xi, he could at least satisfy him with this bit of physical contact.
However, Yun Xi did not excitedly grab his hand as he expected. Instead, he took a step back. “Your hands are so dirty.”
Gu Xun was stunned. He looked at his hands and realized that in his panic, he must have touched the dust on the floor. Embarrassed, he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, wiped his hands, and extended his hand again. “They are clean now. Hurry and pull me up.”
Yun Xi gave him a sidelong glance. Seeing that he truly lacked the strength to stand, he reluctantly reached out and grasped the Alpha’s hand. Feeling the touch, Gu Xun was momentarily dazed. The hand he held was warm and soft, much smaller than his own. It felt like holding a soft cloud. It was the hand of an Omega.
While he was distracted, the hand tightened its grip. It did not hurt; it felt a bit itchy. Gu Xun felt a sudden impulse to hold the hand firmly and examine it. Yun Xi wondered if the guy was still having a fit since he was squeezing his hand hard and getting no reaction.
His hand was getting hot, and Yun Xi felt uncomfortable. Just as he was about to pinch Gu Xun out of spite, the man seemed to snap out of it and violently flung his hand away. Gu Xun remained half-kneeling on the floor and said harshly, “Did you release your pheromones? Why am I feeling this?”
Yun Xi found this absurd. As he was searching his mind for an insult, his nose suddenly caught a familiar woody scent.