As expected, dealing with Yan Chenghuan yielded results only when one was straightforward.
After a mere two-second silence on the other end of the line, Luo Baixi lost his patience with satisfaction. He pulled the phone away from his ear and was about to hang up when a soft response drifted from the earpiece.
I’ll clean up. Yan Chenghuan’s tone remained completely unaffected, steady and unhurried. Can the young master be home by eight-thirty?
Gu Yuxing, sitting right beside him, instantly straightened up, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.
He had merely known that the eldest young master of the Luo family was on bad terms with the adopted older brother of his household; he was quite used to hearing him speak harshly during phone calls and considered it business as usual. He had assumed their interactions would be confrontational, like fire and water.
Especially given Yan Chenghuan’s reputation, out of everyone in the entertainment venues under his family’s banner, outsiders might remain in the dark, but Gu Yuxing knew full well what kind of striking figures belonged to that circle.
However, being an outsider, it wasn’t a matter for him to delve into deeply.
Yet hearing such a submissive remark from Yan Chenghuan today made him realize they had this kind of relationship? The kind that hardly sounded like anything brothers ought to say.
Where the oddity lay, he couldn’t quite summarize, especially since Yan Chenghuan’s profligate reputation was far too resounding. It was practically known to the older generation of the Luo family, and anyone of their generation who had ever set foot in the clubs of Shangwan’s urban district had heard whispers of it.
Luo Baixi knew that Yan Chenghuan wasn’t speaking softly out of reverence; it was simply because the phone was away from his ear, making the transmission unclear.
A person like Yan Chenghuan had never known shame.
He was still too naive; how could he have ever thought such words could pierce through his armor?
The restlessness stirring within his body grew increasingly pronounced, and his emotions slipped further out of control. Luo Baixi picked the phone right back up and demanded, Have you no shame?
I was only, Yan Chenghuan flipped over the foil-sealed blister pack of pills, brought the used one to the tip of his nose to sniff lightly, and confirmed its origin.
Caring for you, Yan Chenghuan curved his lips and coaxed gently. Neither my father nor mother is at home. Just as you said, even if I were to tip off Elder Luo, there is nothing he could do to you.
Why can’t you trust me just once? Older brother is only worried that if you come home too late, it won’t be safe, Yan Chenghuan cajoled step by step. An S-class Alpha on the verge of differentiation walking out on the streets will only draw the wrong eyes.
Aside from you, no one else is this thirsty. Fragmented, viscous images flashed across Luo Baixi’s mind, bringing color to Yan Chenghuan’s words.
The ambiguous scenes were saturated with Yan Chenghuan’s rich, alluring red rose floral scent and the feverish pheromones that made his cheeks and breath burn.
Along with an Omega’s bare back, long legs wrapped in suit trousers, and a swollen gland
Luo Baixi shook his head. Yan Chenghuan’s character was utterly despicable.
Where was there any genuine care? He was simply seducing him.
Just like how he seduced those other Alphas.
No decent, well-behaved Omega or Beta would ever stoop to targeting an Alpha who might undergo differentiation, save for an indecent Omega like him.
Night fell, and the clear moonlight of the full moon enshrouded the top floor of New Harbor City.
Luo Baixi and Gu Yuxing had already finished their appetizers. Perhaps the crisp and pleasant night breeze had blown away a good deal of Luo Baixi’s irritability.
Several times he turned on his phone screen to find no incoming calls, no messages, and then turned it off again.
Cutting it rather close, aren’t you? If you didn’t show up soon, I would have ended up having a world for just the two of us with Young Master Luo in such a prime venue. Gu Yuxing took the lead in raising his wine glass and turning back.
He froze for a moment upon seeing the newcomer. Chen Chuan was clad in dark gold-velvet fabric that accentuated his slender silhouette, broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and a golden tie clip emitting a faint, flowing radiance.
Tsk, looking rather human for once, Gu Yuxing knew that right now the man possessed the complete posture of a family heir, and shoved a wine glass straight into his hands. Pour three drinks down as a penalty; you’re an adult now. Drink up, you ought to.
Chen Chuan glanced at the red wine glass filled arbitrarily to the brim by the unreasonable fellow, shrugged off his suit jacket and tossed it onto the flowerbed nearby, unbuttoning his shirt cuffs. Bring it on.
Damn, are you looking to start a war? Tonight, whoever collapses first has to call the other daddy! Gu Yuxing rolled up his sleeves.
The atmosphere warmed up rapidly, and Luo Baixi curved his lips; the gloom that had lingered all afternoon temporarily receded.
Gu Yuxing made the biggest fuss yet possessed the lowest alcohol tolerance. He grabbed Chen Chuan’s arm and asked, Isn’t this place gorgeous? Am I, your brother, awesome or what?
Gorgeous. Awesome. Chen Chuan’s glass was jostled by his grip, causing a splash of red wine to spill over and wet Luo Baixi’s entire forearm.
The wine stain dyed Luo Baixi’s pure white school uniform shirt red. He looked over, but Luo Baixi simply shook his head to indicate it was fine.
Possessing a lifelong habit of cleanliness, he didn’t even immediately use the tissue handed over to him.
The chilled red wine trickled and wound its way into his palm, unexpectedly diluting a few parts of his earlier uneasy agitation. His skin seemed to possess heightened sensitivity compared to usual. Luo Baixi wondered if he should just take a cold shower first when he got home; he hadn’t tried that yet.
Hey, as long as my brother is satisfied, Gu Yuxing patted his chest. Since you guys think it’s good, even if we blew this place up tonight, I’d back you up.
Luo Baixi smiled. The evening breeze grew increasingly crisp, and the skin that had just been washed by the cold wine liquid began to radiate heat once more. The fragrance of red wine and blue orchids grew progressively richer.
Unawares, all sensory experiences were magnified multiple times over by an invisible force.
The flowing wind, the intoxicating floral scent, the mellow lingering taste of wine in his throat, and the memories crashing untimely into his mind,
He gradually found it difficult to hear what they were saying around him. The flower beds nearby were clearly planted with blue orchids; since these flowers were artificially cultivated, they shouldn’t possess a scent as rich as red roses.
There shouldn’t be
Luo Baixi wondered if he had drunk too much? How could he possibly smell that person’s pheromone scent lingering within it?
Red roses, tacky and cheap.
Just like Yan Chenghuan himself.
There was no way his alcohol tolerance was this poor.
The back of his neck also began to grow hot; no, it was his palms that were hot. His palms were hot, his arms were hot, his neck was hot.
It wasn’t until Luo Baixi felt the physical reactions of his body being uncomfortably restricted by fabric that he suddenly realized: was he undergoing differentiation?
An Alpha’s rut-phase body temperature typically rose by one to two degrees compared to normal, but it shouldn’t produce such an obvious feverish symptom.
Logically speaking, his differentiation shouldn’t be this blazing hot either. Could it be related to his special rating?
Young Master Luo?
Someone was calling him. Luo Baixi raised his head, and a trace of tulip fragrance spread out, sharp and pure.
An unfamiliar pheromone manifested within the space; it was of extremely high purity, capable of striking straight to the core of one’s lungs.
Even when anchored within a scent as faint and elegant as a tulip, it failed to dilute the presence by even a single fraction. Instead, it carved wantonly through the air like a blade flashing with a cold glint.
Luo Baixi confirmed this wasn’t due to drunkenness; he also perceived that this pheromone originated from within himself; his body was erupting with its most primal desires.
Did you bring inhibitors? Fearing that Luo Baixi might not hear clearly, Chen Chuan leaned close to his ear and asked.
As an S-class Beta, who should have been the least susceptible to any external influences, he was still able to instantly distinguish that this pheromone far surpassed ordinary people in purity and quality.
Luo Baixi shook his head.
Chen Chuan glanced at Gu Yuxing, who had already drunk himself into a stupor without calling anyone daddy, pressed the buzzer, and summoned a waiter.
Luo Baixi furrowed his brows and hung his head, pressing his palms flat against the dining table until his knuckles stood out from the force of his endurance. He lacked experience and still attempted to use sheer willpower to forcibly suppress this desire acting against his will, intending to wait for Dr. Li to arrive and handle it.
It’s useless. Luo Baixi’s clear and crisp voice was completely hoarse with desire. My rating is over-standard call, Uncle Lin.
He could smell the tulip scent growing more abundant in the air, sweeping across and overwhelming all the blue orchid plant fragrances in the setting with a clearing-out momentum.
A novel pheromone experience; he was forcing himself to adapt rapidly.
Chen Chuan remained unaffected, but the drunken Alpha Gu Yuxing was already furrowing his brows tightly. Seeing that Gu Yuxing’s own pheromones were about to be triggered by Luo Baixi, Chen Chuan immediately led him away and handed him over to the arriving waiter: Send Young Master Gu back. Raise the outer glass walls of this floor, seal it completely, and evacuate the crowds five floors down.
As the transparent glass wall rose in a fully sealed formation, Chen Chuan dialed the mobile number of the Luo family’s housekeeper, Uncle Lin: Uncle Lin, this is Chen Chuan. Young Master Luo has begun his differentiation.
With that single brief sentence, the entire Luo household immediately went on high alert.
Compared to the predicted differentiation date on Luo Baixi’s test report, it was arriving nine days early, far too abruptly.
Especially happening out in public, this was exceptionally dangerous.
For an S-class Alpha to undergo differentiation without proper safety measures posed an intensely powerful hazard to others, and if not handled properly, it would severely endanger Luo Baixi’s own physical and mental well-being.
Differentiation was the greatest turning point in everyone’s life, carrying importance equal to the attention required at birth.
Thank you so much, President Chen! Thank you deeply! Are you by Young Master Luo’s side right now? Footsteps sounded in a rush on Uncle Lin’s end as he barked hand gestures to continuously arrange various matters.
I am. I’m a Beta, rest assured. Chen Chuan pressed the back of his hand against Luo Baixi’s lateral neck. Young Master Luo’s current symptoms are high fever, pheromone leakage, and significant emotional stimulation,
He glanced down at Luo Baixi’s legs and reported truthfully: If inhibitors prove ineffective, he may need to rely on the extraction of Omega pheromones to assist him through the differentiation.
Uncle Lin understood instantly.
Chen Chuan added, I have already sent the location to you and Dr. Li.
If the cryo-banks lack matched Omega pheromones, I can provide mine. I am an S-class Beta and can match with any gender’s pheromones,
The lengthy 45-second red light countdown came to an abrupt halt. Yan Chenghuan slammed his foot down on the gas pedal and shot forward, spinning the steering wheel like a soaring dragon to weave past several sluggish vehicles ahead, executed a 180-degree turn at the end of the road, and merged onto the ring highway in a single breath.
Driving within the city limits at the 100-kilometer speed limit of the overpass, he pulled the Bluetooth earpiece from his ear with one hand and tossed it into the center console, pressing his thin lips into a tight line.
A high-society socialite who handled everything comprehensively and effortlessly in public, for once, revealed a trace of gloom.
Before long, Luo Baixi’s phone rang.
He glanced at the screen; right now, he had no energy left to bicker with Yan Chenghuan.
His differentiation was not going smoothly.
It completely failed to follow the expected trajectory of the medical tests.
The phone vibrated continuously, making Luo Baixi’s already tormented mind and body even more impatient.
What are you playing at?! he roared angrily into the phone.
Yan Chenghuan paused. It was the first time Luo Baixi had used such a deep, strained voice, and Yan Chenghuan could immediately tell that a sudden eruption of physiological reactions had impacted his vocal cords and nerves.
If I talk to you for a bit, will you feel a little better? A rare gentleness laced Yan Chenghuan’s tone.
Ever since he differentiated into an Omega, his clear, handsome voice had always carried an alluring, viscous quality.
It added a sense of lingering richness, ridding it of any dullness.
And Yan Chenghuan always struck the exact right balance.
Ever since adulthood, Yan Chenghuan had known how to leverage this subtle viscosity, blending it into his otherwise chilly vocal timbre to project a sense of noble, clinging tenderness.
Whenever he wanted to say something that could disrupt a person’s composure, he would adopt this exact tone, leaving people’s imaginations running wild.
Yet when Luo Baixi heard it in his ears, it only reminded him of how he used this exact same tone to act sweet and tender toward other Alphas.
Young Master, have you forgotten?
Yan Chenghuan spoke slowly: You’ve seen my gland, my body, my skin, and the small cinnabar-colored birthmark on my lower back that you said looked like a blooming rose,
Luo Baixi’s breathing tightened abruptly, turning heavier by the second.
His lip color flushed bright and magnificent, his skin so pale under the moonlight it practically radiated a cold light, and his delicate brows furrowed tightly in endurance of physical pain.
He was a peerless phoenix bathing in fire.
All those fragmented, viscous memories he refused to look back upon resurfaced entirely because of Yan Chenghuan’s alluring tone.
Luo Baixi was an S-class Alpha; even during differentiation, he should have retained far more rationality than an Omega. Therefore, though his body burned in a fiery abyss, his mind still gritted its teeth in fury toward Yan Chenghuan.
How could someone be this utterly devoid of shame?!
Luo Baixi interrupted him mercilessly and viciously: Fuck off!
Chen Chuan handed him a cup of ice water. Luo Baixi gripped the cup, his palm exerting enough pressure to crack internal fractures into the material.
Before he could even pull his hand away, Luo Baixi gulped down several large mouthfuls.
Then he hurled the glass cup straight into the newly raised partition wall.
Chen Chuan felt grateful that the glass cups here were double-layered; the transparent metal wrapping the outer layer would only deform rather than let shards of glass scatter about.
Listening to the violent crashing noises coming through the other end, Yan Chenghuan’s gaze remained calm, the corners of his lips curling into an imperceptible trace of a smile.
Luo Baixi’s phone fell to the ground, only to be picked up amidst a rustling of footsteps and background noise.
When a human voice transmitted through the call once more, it was the same vocal timbre playing from the car stereo that he had monitored through his Bluetooth earpiece earlier:
Young Master Yan, leave a margin for grace in all things. No matter what, Luo Baixi is still your younger brother; whatever grievances exist, there’s no need to provoke him in a state like this.
Yan Chenghuan’s expression remained unchanged. For the first time, he stripped away all his customary polish and gentlemanly demeanor; his tone was flat and waveless, yet yielded not an inch: President Chen, today at the birthday banquet, you assume succession to the central management rights of the Chen Corporation. You are truly talented at a young age, and I did send a congratulatory gift on behalf of the Luo family.
The silver-white sedan drove straight past the entrance of the underground parking garage, blocking arrogantly right in front of the grand gates of New Harbor City.
Before turning off the engine, Yan Chenghuan declared: Therefore, when it comes to the affairs of the Luo family, it is still not an outsider’s place to meddle.