Shen Louchen had already noticed earlier that Fu Xu was walking with a slight limp. His right foot barely touched the ground, as though he dared not put any weight on it, moving with careful, hesitant steps.
The doctor who had examined him that day had only performed a brief and superficial checkup, unable to determine the true extent of the injury. Because the physiology of an Omega differed greatly from that of an Alpha, many advanced medical instruments could not be safely used on them.
In the end, the doctor had simply prescribed a few anti-inflammatory medications, leaving the matter unresolved and uncertain.
Now, as Shen Louchen’s fingertips brushed against Fu Xu’s back, a slow warmth began to spread beneath his hand. It was quickly followed by a faint metallic scent in the air. His palm shifted slightly, and he realized that blood had already soaked through Fu Xu’s clothes, staining his own fingers red.
Just as he had suspected, there were open wounds beneath the fabric.
Without a second thought, Shen Louchen lifted Fu Xu into his arms, supporting him easily with one arm while grabbing the medical kit with the other. He carried him upstairs in long, steady strides.
Fu Xu trembled faintly in his hold. His breathing came unevenly, short and shallow, but he tried his best to steady it. He was terrified that Shen Louchen would be displeased, so he bit down on his lower lip and endured the pain silently until Shen finally laid him gently down on the bed.
“Let me see your back,” Shen said quietly, his tone deep and controlled.
He lifted the back of Fu Xu’s shirt with deliberate care. Beneath the thin fabric, the pale, delicate skin of the Omega’s waist came into view, and Shen Louchen’s breath caught in his throat.
Fu Xu’s back was covered in rows upon rows of terrifying scars. The marks were thick and jagged, like crawling centipedes etched into fragile skin. They were darker in some places, lighter in others, each one a cruel reminder of suffering long endured.
Many of the older wounds had never healed before new ones were inflicted. The scabs had been torn open again and again, leaving the flesh unable to regenerate properly. What remained was a landscape of agony carved into white skin, each scar a testimony to relentless pain.
The sight was worse than that of many battle-hardened soldiers who had faced the brutality of war.
“Mr. Shen.” Fu Xu’s voice trembled softly. He had not expected Shen Louchen to lift his shirt without warning.
Frightened, he sat up abruptly, clutching the hem of his shirt tightly to his chest and turning away in panic. His voice shook as he said, “It’s too ugly. You shouldn’t look at me.”
He remembered what the director of the orphanage used to say. An Omega had to be gentle and obedient, beautiful and fragrant, their pheromones pleasant enough to soothe an Alpha. That was their worth.
But he was hideous now, his body was covered in scars. How could Mr. Shen possibly like someone like him?
“Don’t move. I will put medicine on it,” Shen Louchen said calmly.
He was not entirely sure if his own pheromones could still be released to soothe an Omega, but he decided to try. He carefully controlled his pheromonal output, and soon a faint warmth spread through the air, wrapping gently around Fu Xu like a soft blanket.
The Omega’s tense shoulders gradually relaxed.
Shen Louchen let out a quiet breath of relief. So, even though Fu Xu himself had no pheromones, he could still respond to those released by others. That was good.
Fu Xu’s head felt light and dizzy. Before he could process what was happening, he found himself held gently in Shen Louchen’s arms as the man began tending to his wounds with quiet precision.
Shen Louchen cleaned the blood that had seeped from the reopened cuts using a cotton swab. His movements were gentle yet methodical. Then, with steady fingers, he applied a thin layer of anti-inflammatory ointment over each wound, careful not to press too hard.
He could not help but wonder how an Omega like Fu Xu had survived such cruelty.
“Do you have any other injuries?” Shen asked after a moment. His tone remained calm, but there was a firm edge to it. “I mean all of them.”
He doubted Fu Xu would answer truthfully, so he added, “If you don’t tell me, I will send you back to the Fu family.”
Fu Xu flinched like a frightened rabbit, his body trembling. His eyes widened with fear, and the words spilled from his lips in a rush, desperate and pleading.
“I… my leg, there’s still something wrong with my leg. My right knee… it hurts whenever it’s cold. And my gland, it doesn’t work. I can’t be marked. I don’t know about anything else.”
Those were all the wounds he could recall, the ones that had left traces visible or hidden.
“Hmm.” Shen Louchen made a low sound in response, neither angry nor sympathetic. Without asking permission, he lifted the hem of Fu Xu’s pant leg.
What he saw made his eyes darken. Fu Xu’s lower legs were also covered in scars, thin and pale, some deeper than others, the remnants of repeated lashings. The marks matched the cruelty of those on his back.
“Will you still send me away?” Fu Xu asked timidly, looking up with wide, frightened eyes.
“I was just scaring you,” Shen Louchen said flatly. After finishing with the medicine, he called Zhong Yuan to bring up a set of clean sleepwear. When it arrived, he handed it to Fu Xu. “Change into this.”
Fu Xu’s strength was nearly gone. By the time he finished changing, his eyelids drooped heavily. No matter how hard he tried to keep them open, they sank shut, and he drifted into a deep, exhausted sleep.
He dreamed.
In the dream, it was the day he first arrived at the Fu family’s house. His mother had smiled gently, taking his hand as she led him into the hospital.
Then came the searing pain at the back of his neck as the doctors forcibly cut open his gland. Hot blood had trickled down his skin.
“Where is the heart?” the doctor had muttered in confusion, slicing deeper with a cold scalpel. The blade twisted and pried his flesh apart, relentless and mechanical. The torment went on for what felt like forever before finally stopping.
“He is defective,” the doctor said at last, his voice detached and clinical. “Even after secondary differentiation, he will never become an S-class Omega. There is no point wasting resources on him.”
With that one sentence, his fate had been sealed.
His mother’s expression changed immediately. Fu Jiaze appeared, and before Fu Xu could even react, the whip came down, again and again, each strike sharper than the last.
“You useless waste,” Fu Jiaze spat. “Go to the Shen family and die there.”
The scene shifted abruptly. It was the day he had been sent to the Shen family.
Black crows circled above, their cries echoing through the air. Shen Louchen’s sharp claws hovered only a few millimeters from his throat, gleaming with deadly intent. The man’s striking face radiated cold fury.
“Defective Omega,” Shen Louchen snarled. “How dare you think yourself worthy to be my wife? Die.”
The steel claws slashed across his neck. Blood splattered, filling his vision with red.
“No!” Fu Xu screamed in the dream. He did not want to die. He begged for mercy, voice hoarse with desperation. Why was it that in this world, he had to live such a miserable life? Was it truly a crime to be born without pheromones?
Shen Louchen, who had thought Fu Xu was asleep, had gone back to his study to work. His white beast ears twitched faintly, always sensitive to sound. The moment Fu Xu cried out, he heard it.
He immediately rushed to the bedroom and pushed the door open.
Fu Xu was huddled in the corner, trembling violently, his face pale, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.
“Please don’t kill me,” he begged, his voice shaking uncontrollably. “I… I can do many things. I just want to live. Please, don’t kill me.”
“I will not kill you,” Shen Louchen said softly. He approached slowly, his tone calm and reassuring. “Come here. No one will hurt you.”
“Mr. Shen…” Fu Xu’s eyes were unfocused, still trapped in the nightmare. “No, Fu Jiaze… don’t hit me… Mother… Mother…”
His panic deepened, spiraling toward hysteria. Shen Louchen had no choice but to release a wave of soothing pheromones to calm him.
“Mr. Shen…” Fu Xu’s tears slipped silently down his cheeks. “Will you hit me too?”
“I do not have that kind of strange hobby,” Shen Louchen replied, his voice low and steady.
Fu Xu seemed weightless, fragile, like a doll made of glass, so delicate that even a whisper might shatter him. Shen Louchen thought to himself that this boy needed psychological help.
Fu Xu frowned faintly, catching the faint scent of red wine that lingered in the air. It was Mr. Shen’s scent.
“It is alright now,” Shen Louchen murmured, holding him close. He whispered soothingly until the trembling finally subsided.
When Fu Xu’s breathing evened out again, and the faint floral fragrance of his body filled the room, Shen Louchen carefully laid him back onto the bed. Once he was certain that Fu Xu had fallen asleep, he stepped out of the room and made a call.
“What did you just say? You found a suitable Omega?” Lin Yunzhou’s voice nearly cracked with excitement through the phone. He drove over at once, the tires screeching to a halt outside Shen Louchen’s home before he even turned off the engine.
“It is like this,” Shen Louchen said, leading him into the living room. “But he does not have pheromones.”
“What?” Lin Yunzhou’s eyes widened in disbelief. “An Omega without pheromones who can still stabilize your condition? Are you serious? That is impossible.”
Shen Louchen explained everything calmly, describing the strange occurrences he had noticed over the past few days and ending with his personal theory.
“So you are saying you suspect that this Omega’s pheromones only appear under certain conditions?” Lin Yunzhou rubbed his chin, frowning. “That is absurd, but… possible.”
Shen Louchen nodded slightly, taking a slow sip of coffee. “I am not certain yet, but it does seem to follow a pattern.”
“Then what are we waiting for? Let me see him,” Lin Yunzhou said eagerly, almost unable to sit still.
“He just fell asleep. Tomorrow,” Shen replied curtly, clearly unwilling to let him stay the night.
“Relax, I will not wake him. I only need a quick look. Your condition cannot wait, Louchen. What if this truly is the solution?” Lin Yunzhou’s words carried reason, and Shen Louchen finally relented.
Together, they went to Fu Xu’s room.
Lin Yunzhou inhaled deeply, activating his sharp Alpha senses. As a great white shark Alpha, he had an exceptionally keen sense of smell. Even in sterilized spaces, he could detect faint traces of pheromones. It was precisely this ability that made him one of the top inspectors in the field.
But here, there was nothing.
The air carried only the lingering trace of Shen Louchen’s own pheromones and the faint sterile scent of suppressant spray. Not a single hint of Omega pheromones could be found.
He frowned slightly. Was Shen Louchen’s illness beginning to affect his mind?
“I need to do a gene test first,” Lin Yunzhou said at last, slipping on a pair of gloves. “Otherwise, I cannot make any conclusions.”
He glanced briefly at Shen Louchen. The man’s face remained impassive, his golden eyes calm and unreadable.
That was how Shen Louchen had always been, collected, rational, never showing attachment to anything or anyone. When Zhong Yuan had first told Lin Yunzhou that Shen was treating an Omega differently, he had been surprised. But seeing him now, detached as ever, Lin realized nothing had changed.
Lin Yunzhou took out a small medical instrument and placed his hand lightly on Fu Xu’s forehead. The temperature was normal, which meant the patient was stable.
“What are you planning to do?” Shen Louchen asked suddenly, his voice quiet but firm.
“I will open the gland and take a sample for testing,” Lin Yunzhou answered. “It is the simplest and fastest way. The results will be immediate.”
But as soon as the cold edge of the scalpel brushed the back of Fu Xu’s neck, his body jerked violently. Still lost in the depths of his nightmare, the Omega flinched, twisting as if to escape that cold, invasive touch.
“Enough,” Shen Louchen said sharply.
He sat down beside the bed and pressed his warm palm against Fu Xu’s gland. Only then did the young man’s furrowed brows begin to relax.
He had been too hasty.
Desperation made people reckless. In his fear of his own deteriorating condition, Shen Louchen had called Lin Yunzhou, hoping to find a way to treat himself without marking an Omega.
But in doing so, he had forgotten the vow he once swore never to break.
“You are not giving up the test, are you?” Lin Yunzhou asked, his voice rising with urgency. “If you are right and his pheromones can really stabilize your illness, this could save your life!”
“We will discuss it later.”
“Discuss it later? Louchen, you know how serious your condition is! You can feel it, can’t you? You will not live past this year if you do nothing!” Lin Yunzhou’s voice trembled with anger and helplessness. They had grown up together; he could not bear to watch his brother die.
Shen Louchen pressed a hand to his forehead. The golden pattern in his pupils flickered faintly, and his breathing grew unsteady.
“Stay here and watch him,” he said at last. His beast ears and tail appeared, a sign that his self-control was slipping. The veins in his arms stood out sharply as he struggled to contain the violent surge within him.
He could not stay there any longer.
He had to leave, before he completely lost control.
✦ ✧ ✦
Vynellia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
This is your completely normal and non-suspicious request to buy coffee.
☕ 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