Jiangcheng.
In late August, the summer heat had not yet dissipated, and the chill of autumn began to quietly permeate the air.
The Shen residence.
Shen Zhinian stood in the living room, listening to his father’s scolding, reprimands, and the disdain laced within his words.
“The admission letter hasn’t arrived yet, so what do you plan to do? You can’t even get into a university, so what else are you good for?”
Shen Zhinian kept his gaze lowered and said nothing. Twenty minutes had already passed, and from the moment the incident began until now, he had not uttered a single word.
“Your younger brother got into Jiang University. Why can’t you learn from him and be more disciplined and sensible?” Shen Tiancheng said. “One is bringing honor to the family, while the other makes me lose all face.”
“The Shen family only has one son named Shen Mingyi. What I do or don’t do is none of your business, President Shen,” Shen Zhinian finally spoke.
Shen Tiancheng swung his hand and smashed a teacup onto the floor. “Audacious! Is this the attitude you use to speak to your elders?”
Shen Zhinian looked at the fragments on the ground and frowned slightly.
Shen Tiancheng continued, “You even got into a fight with your brother! He is an S-class Alpha. If he hadn’t given way to you, could an Alpha whose level couldn’t even be measured have hurt him? He knew you were his older brother and didn’t fight back, but you? You smashed a vase over his head. I don’t even want to lecture you anymore. Right now, go upstairs immediately and apologize to him.”
Shen Zhinian stood motionless.
“Did you hear me?!” Shen Tiancheng roared.
Shen Zhinian clenched the thin layer of sweat in his palms, lifted his gaze, and sneered, “If he kneels and kowtows to me, I might consider whether or not to apologize to him.”
“Shen Zhinian!” Shen Tiancheng abruptly stood up, walked over to Shen Zhinian, and raised his hand to hit him.
Just as his hand was raised, a loud crash suddenly sounded from the entrance.
Both of them turned their heads toward the door.
It was noon, and the sunlight streaming through the side floor-to-ceiling windows spilled over the person who had just arrived.
He wore a black suit jacket without buttons, secured at the waist by a strap on one side.
His waist was slender, and his legs were long.
His height was visually around 1.85 meters.
His skin was fair, and his facial features were exquisitely refined, as though drawn stroke by stroke by a creator.
Yet the person seemed enveloped in a chilling aura, stern and cold.
After entering, his gaze lingered on Shen Zhinian’s face for a moment before shifting to Shen Tiancheng.
“Pardon me, but seeing the door half-open, I walked right in,” Bo Chengjing said.
Though his words apologized, his face held not a trace of apology. He walked over to the sofa on his own and sat down.
Crossing his legs and leaning back into the sofa, his refined brows and eyes were as cold as ice blades as he looked at Shen Tiancheng. “I seem to have come at an inconvenient time. Is President Shen educating his child?”
Shen Zhinian looked at him and raised an eyebrow slightly.
Bo Chengjing looked at Shen Zhinian and said, “Go pack your things.”
Shen Zhinian glanced at Shen Tiancheng, sneered, and turned to go upstairs.
Shen Tiancheng watched his back, burning with anger, but at this moment he did not dare vent it. He sat back down on the sofa and said, “President Bo, when did you return?”
Bo Chengjing did not answer his question, instead saying, “President Shen seems to have forgotten what I said back then.”
Shen Tiancheng’s eyes trembled slightly.
He remembered those words.
Acknowledging him and letting him return to the family was fine, but if you mistreat him, I don’t mind making the Shen family vanish from this world.
“I… Zhinian and his brother were fighting, and I was just lecturing him,” Shen Tiancheng said, “I suddenly got a bit emotional just now…”
“Did you ask the reason for the fight?” Bo Chengjing looked at him, and with just a single glance, the oppressive weight pressed down like a mountain. “Why is only he standing here being educated while that scoundrel brat isn’t?”
Shen Tiancheng’s breathing hitched. A fierce look flashed in his eyes, and he instinctively wanted to protect his younger son, but the moment he opened his mouth and saw Bo Chengjing, the words swallowed themselves back down.
Shen Zhinian came down from upstairs carrying only a handbag and a computer bag.
Bo Chengjing glanced at him and said, “President Shen should also learn how to be a father. Don’t live in vain to your current age.”
With that, he stood up. Waiting for Shen Zhinian to walk to his side, he took him and left the Shen residence.
…
The car drove out of the Shen family’s estate.
Only then did Bo Chengjing turn his head to look at the person sitting in the passenger seat. “Did your rut happen early?”
Every Alpha had a rut.
Two to three times a year.
The higher an Alpha’s rank, the more intense the rut would be.
They would grow anxious, restless, and irritable, amplifying all emotional fluctuations.
During ruts, Alphas would repel and detest one another, even releasing pheromones to suppress each other.
Therefore, conflicts easily erupted between Alphas during this period.
Based on Shen Zhinian’s ruts from previous years, his rut should have been roughly half a month later.
However, various factors could cause it to happen earlier or be delayed.
Shen Zhinian turned his head to look at him. His gaze softened considerably toward him, and his voice grew much gentler as he nodded and said, “No.”
Bo Chengjing raised an eyebrow. “Is your central nervous system broken? Why are your words and actions inconsistent?”
Shen Zhinian sighed softly. “There’s no rut. Shen Mingyi relies on Shen Tiancheng backing him up, dangling in front of me every day to pick fights. I just couldn’t hold back today.”
Bo Chengjing said, “Did you send me the message before you started fighting? You packed your things already.”
“Yeah,” Shen Zhinian acknowledged, then offered a commentary: “What S-class Alpha? Trash. All he does is cry and report to others.”
Bo Chengjing chuckled. “Your admission letter was mailed to the company.”
“Yeah,” Shen Zhinian said. “Did you look at it?”
“I saw the cover; you can open it yourself,” Bo Chengjing said. “What do you want to eat?”
“Let’s go home,” Shen Zhinian clenched his slightly sweaty hands and said in a calm voice, “Ask the auntie to make something casual.”
In Shen Zhinian’s mind, the Shen residence was not his home; Bo Chengjing’s home was his home.
“Alright.” Bo Chengjing made a U-turn ahead to head home.
“Are you busy this afternoon?” Shen Zhinian asked.
“Why?” Bo Chengjing asked.
“Nothing.” Shen Zhinian looked at his profile, his throat bobbing slightly before he turned his gaze out the car window.
Bo Chengjing felt his gaze and turned to look, but Shen Zhinian was already looking outside, so he missed Bo Chengjing’s expression.
Returning home, the auntie was still cooking.
Shen Zhinian went straight to his own room.
Bo Chengjing felt that something was off with him, but right then a work call came in, so he answered the phone first.
The call lasted for over half an hour, coinciding just right with the auntie finishing the preparation of lunch.
Bo Chengjing went upstairs to call him, knocking on the door outside. “Zhinian, time to eat.”
There was no response after a short wait.
Bo Chengjing’s expression paused. He knocked twice more, but there was still no response from inside.
He placed his hand on the doorknob, and the moment he pressed it down, the door swung open from the inside.
His wrist was grabbed, and he was pulled directly into the room.
The door shut.
Bo Chengjing was pressed against the door.
Just as he was about to resist, he suddenly caught the scent of Shen Zhinian’s pheromones. His legs went weak instantly, and he hurriedly grabbed Shen Zhinian’s arm.
It really was his rut!
Little bastard…
“Shen Zhinian,” Bo Chengjing called out to him with difficulty.
Shen Zhinian locked onto his wrists, lowered his head slightly, and said, “Bo Chengjing, I want pheromones.”
Bo Chengjing’s eyes were filled with shock.
During an Alpha’s rut, apart from taking suppressants to suppress the various symptoms of the rut, one could also use an Omega’s pheromones to soothe them.
If the pheromone compatibility was high, an Omega’s pheromones at such times would actually be far more effective than suppressants.
However…
Bo Chengjing exerted every ounce of his strength to say, “You’re crazy! I’m an Alpha; my pheromones will only make you more frantic!”
Finished speaking, he felt Shen Zhinian’s grip loosen slightly, immediately wrenched his wrists free, pushed him away, opened the door, and went out.
Closing the door, Bo Chengjing immediately steadied himself against the hallway railing.
After catching his breath for a moment, he touched the back of his neck.
And hurried back to his own room.