“What is it?”
“Nothing.” Shen Louchen pressed his fingers to his brow and asked, “How are you feeling now? Has your recovery gone well?”
“Much better, Mr. Shen.” Fu Xu lowered his gaze.
Just then, Lin Yunzhou pushed the door open and came in. He placed the last blood test report on the bedside table, the tip of his pen skimming across the curved line of numbers with a lightness that carried unmistakable relief. “We’ve basically collected all the data we need. Rest for another two days and you can be discharged.”
He was, for once, not wearing his white coat. The soft grey knit sweater made the sharpness of his features seem a little gentler. “I’ll look into the remaining details myself.”
“Thank you for your help, Doctor Lin,” Fu Xu spoke before anyone else.
Lin Yunzhou scratched his hair, looking a little embarrassed. He knew very well he was not doing this purely for Shen Louchen. More than anything, it was curiosity and the excitement of exploring an unfamiliar medical field that had driven him to such lengths.
Even so, the omega still felt the need to thank him, which made him feel somewhat undeserving.
Shen Louchen opened the insulated container and lifted out a bowl of chicken soup. He blew on it carefully. He had already accepted the matter itself. If not for this unexpected incident, he would have long arranged everything and quietly waited for the end.
But the look in Fu Xu’s eyes made it impossible for him to refuse. He knew this omega could not stay in the Shen residence with an easy heart unless he did something. Otherwise, he would never have agreed.
So he said simply, “He isn’t causing trouble.”
Fu Xu nodded. The next moment, the chicken soup was brought to his lips. He blinked in shock, then hurriedly reached out with both hands. “Mr. Shen, I can…. I can do it myself.”
These past nights, Shen Louchen had always come to the ward in the dead of night. Sometimes the calloused tip of his finger brushed over the marks left by needles on Fu Xu’s wrist.
Fu Xu had never dared to open his eyes. He did not know what expression the man wore, only that this was something an alpha should not be doing.
“Careful, It’s hot.”
“Yes, yes… Mr. Shen.”
Fu Xu took the bowl, drew his legs together, bending his knees slightly, and placed the bowl on them as he took small sips. The warm chicken soup flowed down his throat and settled into his stomach, spreading warmth even into the space around his heart.
Ever since arriving at the Shen residence, his days had already been much better than before. Now… he could even sit in bed and eat.
“There’s still a full body scan you need to do later. If everything looks fine, you can be discharged.” Lin Yunzhou scribbled notes onto the chart. “Follow me to the testing room in a bit.”
Shen Louchen rose, wanting to accompany them, but was stopped immediately by Lin Yunzhou. “It’s only a few steps away. There’s no need for you to follow. Your alpha pheromones will affect the test results.”
The reasoning made sense. Shen Louchen was not entirely convinced, but to avoid ruining the progress they had made, he nodded. “Alright.”
Fu Xu drank a few more sips, and soon his stomach began to churn with dull pain. He really was not someone who could handle food this nourishing.
When the elevator descended to the first floor, it happened to be visiting hours. Several well dressed alphas brushed past them. Their lingering trail of scent swept over him like a sharp gust of wind.
At the entrance of the testing room, Lin Yunzhou asked him to wait a moment for the room to finish disinfecting. Fu Xu sat obediently on the long bench outside. A burst of noise nearby caught his attention.
He looked toward the stairwell. A few companions in patient clothes had gathered in a corner, peering over each other to watch something.
From within the circle came the choked sobs of an omega, thin and desperate, like a kitten whose throat had been stepped on.
Through the gaps in the crowd, Fu Xu saw an alpha in a leather jacket raise his hand and strike the omega across the face. The omega fell against the damp corner of the wall, their clothes smeared with muddy splashes, their hair stuck in messy strands against tear stained cheeks.
One hand instinctively shielded their swollen belly, the other clutched a lunch container with white knuckles. The lid lay rolling on the floor as milky fish soup spilled down the steps.
“You take forever just to deliver one bowl of soup. Who were you flirting with? Which bastard alpha did you run off to see?” The alpha ground his polished shoe over the container. The crack of breaking plastic made Fu Xu jolt violently.
The omega shrank back, curling into the wall, offering only a timid explanation. “I.. I was in line… getting medicine…”
“Medicine? More like going to gaze at other alphas,” the alpha sneered and raised a foot to kick them again.
The spectators erupted into laughter. Someone even took out their phone to record the scene. No one offered help. Their eyes gleamed only with the thrill of the spectacle.
Fu Xu watched, frozen, as the omega shut their eyes tightly, waiting for the blow, a pitiful, ingratiating smile still trembling at the corner of their mouth.
“There’s nothing to see. Come along. We need to do the exam first.” Lin Yunzhou tugged lightly on Fu Xu’s sleeve, but realized the fabric had been gripped in deathly tight fingers.
He looked down and saw Fu Xu trembling violently, his teeth chattering uncontrollably. His eyes were filled with pure terror, like a newborn creature that had been abandoned from the moment it took its first breath.
“But…” Fu Xu’s voice was as thin as a thread and shaking near the edge of collapse.
Lin Yunzhou followed his gaze toward the stairwell. The beaten omega had already struggled upright, carefully picking up the broken pieces of the container.
Even with their cheek swollen high and red, there was no trace of hatred in their eyes, only a twisted, suffocating submission.
Scenes like this happen every day in the hospital. Lin Yunzhou was used to it. He clicked his tongue in annoyance and returned to double check the numbers on the report.
Among the spectators, someone muttered, “Which alpha isn’t like this? This one’s being polite already. At least he didn’t dump her at the breeding facility.”
Another snorted. “She’s just an A grade omega. What did she expect? Heard she works at the Security Department and already has an alpha child. That kid will be protected by the department in the future. Give it some time and she’ll be divorced.”
The words stabbed into Fu Xu’s ears like needles dipped in ice. One after another, relentless.
He remembered the underground cellar of the Fu family’s old house.
He remembered the freezing metal instruments on the differentiation surgery table.. He remembered his father gripping the back of his neck, calling him a useless omega.
Fear surged through him like a tidal wave. His vision swayed.
The alpha at the stairwell smirked, his pheromones spreading like thick smoke. In the narrow space, the concentration was so suffocating it felt impossible to breathe. The pregnant omega’s eyes glazed over as they crawled toward him.
Fu Xu had already been fragile, his glands not yet fully healed. The stimulation sent a searing pain through the back of his neck, sharp as if thousands of needles were piercing him at once.
“Oh? Another omega over here?” The man finally noticed him. From his angle, he had not seen Lin Yunzhou at all. He reached out as if to grab Fu Xu.
Fu Xu stepped back instinctively, barely avoiding his hand.
“Acting like you’re too good for me? You should feel honored that I even looked at you.” The man advanced, voice dripping with arrogance.
Fu Xu’s face turned chalk white. In panic, he grabbed onto Lin Yunzhou at the testing room door.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Lin Yunzhou finally sensed something truly amiss. He turned around, and saw Fu Xu’s face drained of all color, his eyes brimming with overwhelming fear.
“I…” Fu Xu’s mind blanked, words broken, “He…”
“You should go back first…” Lin Yunzhou began, but before he finished, Fu Xu had already collapsed.
The alpha had barely paid Fu Xu any attention, yet his uncontrolled pheromones had already pushed the fragile omega past his limit.
Lin Yunzhou crouched beside him, and when his fingers brushed Fu Xu’s gland area, he felt startling heat. This was bad. If anything happened to this omega, the only hope Shen Louchen had left would be gone.
He lifted Fu Xu in his arms. The omega was far too light, his bones pressing sharply against his sleeves. Even unconscious, his body was curled tight, fingers trembling as though still clinging to something for survival.
Halfway down the corridor, they met Shen Louchen coming from the opposite direction. His black suit jacket was draped over one arm, the top two buttons of his shirt undone.
A faint trail of smoke curled from the cigarette in his hand, blurring his expression.
Shen Louchen approached. The moment his gaze landed on Fu Xu, his brows furrowed sharply. Even before he spoke, a surge of chaotic pheromones hit him.
It was utterly unlike the gentle floral scent from before. It carried fear, pain, panic. Something in it tugged fiercely at his own glands, stirring hot waves of alpha instinct edged with barely noticeable agitation.
“What happened?” Shen Louchen’s voice dropped low. He reached out, wanting to touch Fu Xu’s forehead, but froze at the last moment.
Fu Xu was not supposed to have pheromones.
“He got stimulated by something at the testing room entrance,” Lin Yunzhou said quickly. “It triggered an old trauma response.”
Shen Louchen crushed the cigarette between his fingers, took Fu Xu from him, and carried him back to the room in long strides.
He laid him gently onto the bed. When he lifted the collar of the hospital gown, he saw the flush spreading across the omega’s gland area, the heat practically radiating through the fabric.
Shen Louchen stood beside the bed, his gaze locked on the pale, trembling figure. Even in this state, Fu Xu kept himself curled small, hiding all his unease behind meekness.
His brows were tightly furrowed. Sweat beaded across his forehead. He murmured weakly between uneven breaths, “Please don’t… don’t hit…”
“What exactly happened?” Shen Louchen asked again, voice steady but unyielding.
Lin Yunzhou sighed and briefly described the scene at the stairwell.
As he spoke, Shen Louchen’s expression grew darker and darker. The aloof calm in his eyes twisted into something heavy and silent, an undercurrent gathering like a storm.
The distant hint of other alphas’ pheromones in the hallway mixed with the smell of disinfectant, making the air feel even more oppressive.
Fu Xu suddenly let out a choked sob and curled in on himself, clutching his head. The flush spread from his neck to the tips of his ears as his whole body trembled.
Shen Louchen reached out, gently taking hold of him.
“I’m here. It’s alright.”
The scent belonging to Shen Louchen wrapped around him. Usually cold and imposing, it now felt warm, like a thick quilt that had been resting in winter sunlight.
“Fu Xu,” Shen Louchen murmured softly, “You’re safe. I’m here.”
He hesitated, then rested his hand lightly on Fu Xu’s back, following the curve of his spine in slow, soothing strokes.
The panic gradually subsided, leaving only uneven breaths.
Only when Fu Xu had completely fallen asleep did Shen Louchen ask, voice low as a knife’s edge, “Who was that alpha?”
“I don’t know him,” Lin Yunzhou replied. “And things like this… they’re common. You grew up in the military and didn’t see much of how omegas live. It’s not something worth getting involved in.”
✦ ✧ ✦
Vynellia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
(´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡ a little coffee would be lovely
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
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ChaptersChapter 1 · Substitute MarriageChapter 2 · PleaseChapter 3 · Thank you, Mr. ShenChapter 4 · Mr. Shen, are you going to throw me away?Chapter 5 · You don’t have to please me in everythingChapter 6 · Is This For Him?Chapter 7 · Do you know you don’t have long to live?Chapter 8 · But what about you? What will you be then?Chapter 9 · That’s a vehicle from the logistics department.Chapter 10 · What do you take my Shen family for?Chapter 11 · Can I bite your gland?Chapter 12 · He is not my “medicine catalyst”Chapter 13 · Who is that Alpha?Chapter 14 · Perfectly matched omegaChapter 15 · Perhaps you could call him, baby?Chapter 16 · That’s… Fu Xu’s scent?Chapter 17 · It was made by the masterChapter 18 · Abusing a pregnant omega is a serious crime.Chapter 19 · Mr. Shen is the best alpha.Chapter 20 · Family elderChapter 21 · Shen Louchen’s berserk periodChapter 22 Part 1 · You are my wifeChapter 22 Part 2 · You are my wifeChapter 23 · Aren’t we mutually in love?Chapter 24 · Which alpha did you go to see?Chapter 25 · Fu Xu, tell me you like meChapter 26 · Could Mr. Shen possibly have a little crush on him?Chapter 27 · Get out!Chapter 28 · Stay close to meChapter 29 · Mr. Shen and I are a legally married coupleChapter 30 · Spit it outChapter 31 · He’s been acting increasingly strangely latelyChapter 32 · Do you listen to everyone except me?Chapter 33 · Monthly ExamChapter 34 · Parent Teacher MeetingChapter 35 · The classroom was cold at nightChapter 36 · Court deathChapter 37 · Wife, Kiss meChapter 38 · This omega trying to steal a kiss from him?Chapter 39 · His omega turned out to be a little cunning.Chapter 40 · Is this little omega taking advantage of him?Chapter 41 · “Madam Shen” is your trump card, understand?Chapter 42 · Mr. Shen, I don’t know how to wear it…Chapter 43 · HusbandChapter 44 · Why is Shen Louchen acting like a peacockChapter 45 · I won’t abandon you, and I never willChapter 46 · Omega with a 92% match rateChapter 47 · Are you waiting for him?Chapter 48 · How can someone magically transformChapter 49 · Now it’s all good, two kids.Chapter 50 · Mr. Shen, will you regret it then?Chapter 51 · What is regret?Chapter 52 · If you’ve got the guts, say it again!Chapter 53 · That’s my milk teaChapter 54 · What he wanted to replace was the alphaChapter 55 · How do you know I’m not part of Mr. Shen’s plan?Chapter 56 · Why don’t you just kill me?Chapter 57 · Are we sending him away?Chapter 58 · Are you angry?Chapter 59 · Inhibitor or marker?Chapter 60 · Let Fu Xu mark himChapter 61 · There should be limits to joking, right?Chapter 62 · Do you really not like Young Master Lian?Chapter 63 · Will you still love me after I go to school?Chapter 64 · You are the best husband in the worldChapter 65 · Extra 1Chapter 66 · Extra 2