Chapter 136
News of Xiao Xiao’s location spread quickly.
Li Jie slumped on a chair in the hallway, staring off into space.
Zhang Xiao walked out of the room, looking none too pleased. He knew this little beta, such a valuable subject for their research, was about to be taken away. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do to stop it.
“Xiao Xiao’s heat has stopped,” Zhang Xiao said, “though I suspect it’s just been delayed again. But at least he’s conscious now. Do you want to go see him?”
Zhang Xiao looked at Li Jie, his eyes full of sympathy. He didn’t know the full story, only that Li Jie had rescued the beta he liked from the hands of a very twisted alpha, and had then spent a fortune finding places to get him treated. But now, because Li Jie was outmatched and couldn’t fight against the twisted alpha’s power, he had to give the beta back.
It was just too tragic. Zhang Xiao was almost moved to tears for them.
Sure enough, as soon as he heard Xiao Xiao was conscious, Li Jie immediately got up and went inside.
Maybe it was because he was without Gu Qian’s pheromones, but Xiao Xiao’s condition was getting worse. Even nutritional injections weren’t helping.
When he saw Li Jie, Xiao Xiao asked weakly, his face pale, “When you said I could go back to normal… were you lying to me?”
He could feel his body deteriorating rapidly. His strength was fading, and he had no appetite. There was even a thought, one he was trying desperately to suppress, that was growing uncontrollably in his mind.
He wanted Gu Qian. He wanted to go back to Gu Qian. He wanted Gu Qian’s pheromones.
The urge was strongest when he was in heat, but he had managed to endure it every time. He thought that if he could just get through it, he wouldn’t have to go back. But now that the pain had passed, he felt things weren’t that simple. His body couldn’t take it.
Besides, in his daze earlier, he thought he’d seen Li Jie bite him. But that must have been a hallucination; if Li Jie had bitten him, he would have felt something. He hadn’t felt any pain, nor had he sensed any pheromones. It was as if it had all been a dream.
So, now that he was away from Gu Qian, was he going to die?
Li Jie didn’t answer his question, only saying, “Gu Qian found us.”
Xiao Xiao froze for a moment, then used all his strength to sit up. “Then… are we leaving?”
“Don’t you want to go back? Don’t you want to see him?”
When Zhang Xiao couldn’t resolve Xiao Xiao’s heat and had tried to use another alpha’s pheromones to mark over Gu Qian’s, he had heard Xiao Xiao calling Gu Qian’s name over and over. He was begging Gu Qian to hold him, begging for his pheromones.
In that moment, Li Jie suddenly understood. That morning in the motel, when Xiao Xiao had asked for a hug and called him “husband,” he hadn’t been talking to him. He had mistaken him for Gu Qian.
Xiao Xiao was stunned, not understanding what Li Jie meant.
Li Jie asked again, “If you go back, your heats won’t be so painful.”
Xiao Xiao didn’t understand why Li Jie was telling him to go back. He answered instinctively, “I can endure it.”
Li Jie sighed, hesitating for a moment before saying, “The boss said the mission is over.”
In that instant, Xiao Xiao understood what he meant.
Li Jie had rescued and protected him because of Lu Heng. Now that Lu Heng had told him the mission was over, Li Jie wouldn’t protect him anymore.
He was stunned for a moment, then asked in a small voice, “I understand. But can you… not tell Gu Qian where I am?”
Li Jie didn’t speak. Telling Gu Qian was Lu Heng’s order. But he couldn’t say that. Xiao Xiao and An Le were best friends; if An Le found out, he would surely have a falling out with Lu Heng. So, Li Jie decided to let Xiao Xiao think he was the one who had leaked the information.
Seeing his silence, Xiao Xiao understood. He looked at Li Jie, whose face was grim and had lost all its usual roguish charm. He forced a smile to comfort him. “I get it. Thank you for taking care of me all this time.”
After Xiao Xiao spoke, the room fell silent. After what felt like a long time, Li Jie finally broke the quiet. “Memorize a string of numbers.”
Xiao Xiao was on the verge of sleep. He looked up at Li Jie, confused. “What?”
Li Jie recited a string of numbers, telling Xiao Xiao to memorize them. Xiao Xiao didn’t want to, but Li Jie’s fierce gaze left him no choice but to repeat them along with him. As if afraid he’d forget, Li Jie made him recite them for two hours. By the time Li Jie finally let him stop, Xiao Xiao felt like he was about to throw up.
His face was paler than before. “What’s this for?” he asked quietly.
“If you ever get a chance to leave Gu Qian and you need a place to go or some money,” Li Jie said, “go to any bank, give them my name and these numbers, and you can get two million.”
Xiao Xiao was stunned. He stared at Li Jie, finally asking, “Did… did Lu Heng tell you to do this?”
Li Jie didn’t answer, just said, “Don’t forget.”
With that, he got up to leave.
“Li-ge,” Xiao Xiao called out quickly.
Li Jie paused at the door and turned back. “What is it?”
Xiao Xiao hesitated, then said quietly, “Thank you.”
Li Jie just scoffed. “It’s nothing.” He turned, closed the door for Xiao Xiao, stood there for a few more seconds, and then left.
Xiao Xiao wiped away his tears and silently pulled the covers over himself.
A few minutes later, Xiao Xiao got out of bed, put on his clothes, and walked out the door. He saw Gu Qian rushing in from outside with a group of people in white coats.
The moment he saw Xiao Xiao, Gu Qian lunged forward, pulling him into a tight embrace.
“Xiao Xiao, I finally found you! I finally found you!” Gu Qian was overwhelmed with emotion, his whole body trembling.
His eyes were red as he held Xiao Xiao’s shoulders and explained in a low voice, “I’m sorry, I was wrong before. I shouldn’t have treated you like that. Please don’t be angry with me, okay? Look, I brought doctors. If I have another episode and try to bully you, they’ll give me a sedative to calm me down. Please believe me. Come back with me, okay?”
Xiao Xiao glanced at the doctors behind Gu Qian. He had thought they were for him, but it turned out Gu Qian had brought them for himself. But regardless of who the doctors were for, it wasn’t a decision he could make, was it?
Still, Gu Qian’s embrace was so warm, so comfortable. He leaned into it, closing his eyes in contentment and rubbing his head gently against his chest.
Sensing Xiao Xiao’s dependence on him, Gu Qian’s face broke into a smile. He bent down, scooped him up, and said as he walked out, “Good boy, Xiao Xiao. I’m taking you home.”
Xiao Xiao nodded, whispering, “Okay.”
After experiencing two heats, he could bear it when Gu Qian wasn’t around, but the moment he appeared, he couldn’t hold back anymore. He craved Gu Qian’s embrace; he wanted to be held by him. Just like now, he loved curling up in his arms like a cat. Even in the car, he didn’t want to leave his lap.
Gu Qian felt the same, burying his face in Xiao Xiao’s neck and breathing in his scent. But as he got closer to his gland, he suddenly froze.
A moment later, Xiao Xiao felt himself being pushed away by the shoulders. He looked back curiously to see Gu Qian’s face contorted with suppressed rage. He opened his mouth, his voice soft and delicate. “What’s wrong, husband?”
Gu Qian gritted his teeth. He reached out and touched Xiao Xiao’s gland, rubbing it gently as he asked in a low voice, “Did that alpha, Li Jie, bully you?”
Whether it was an omega or a beta, the gland was an extremely sensitive area. The light touch from the alpha he depended on was almost too much for Xiao Xiao to handle. The heat that had been suppressed began to rise again. His body grew warmer, and his emotions started to fray.
He shook his head and whispered, “No. Husband, I feel awful, I’m not well… I… I want your pheromones…”
The heat came on with a terrifying intensity, completely different from a normal omega’s. For a normal omega, an inhibitor would end the heat for the month. Unless an alpha deliberately used their pheromones to entice them, they wouldn’t go into heat again. But Xiao Xiao was different. His heat could never be completely resolved, only delayed. And now, just a touch on his gland from an alpha was enough to…
Gu Qian held Xiao Xiao, but he didn’t immediately give him his pheromones. Instead, he asked in a low voice, “Xiao Xiao, tell me, how did you get through your heats all this time?”
He had calculated when Xiao Xiao’s heat would start, which was why he had been so frantic when he disappeared. It wasn’t just that he would miss him; he was also worried Xiao Xiao would suffer, that he’d be bullied by other alphas.
Xiao Xiao clung to Gu Qian’s clothes. Hearing the question, he instinctively shook his head. “I endured it, I just endured it… Gu Qian, husband, give me your pheromones, I want your pheromones, please, give them to me, give them to me…”
“Really?” Gu Qian’s expression didn’t change. He subconsciously stroked Xiao Xiao’s gland. “Then where did the teeth marks on your gland come from?”
“Who bit you?”
Hearing that, Xiao Xiao froze, then instinctively shook his head. “I don’t know, I don’t know…”
The teeth marks on his gland truly were a mystery, unless his dream about Li Jie biting him was real. But Li Jie had helped him so much; he couldn’t just sell him out. Otherwise, Gu Qian would definitely retaliate.
Gu Qian clearly didn’t believe him. “Really?” he asked.
Xiao Xiao knew how suspicious Gu Qian was. He told a half-truth, crying, “I don’t know, I’m not sure. After I got here, the researchers helped me manage my heats. I… I haven’t been with anyone else…”
Hearing this didn’t ease Gu Qian’s suspicions, because he knew this research institute. There wasn’t a single alpha on staff. The only one was Li Jie. The bite mark on Xiao Xiao’s gland could only have come from him.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, his body trembling uncontrollably. Xiao Xiao said he didn’t know, so Li Jie must have forced him, he thought. It must be…
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