Chapter 1
6:00 PM, C City Airport.
An international flight from Country G touched down. The first person to emerge from the first-class cabin was a handsome Alpha with long legs and a towering frame. He was dressed flashy, his shirt loose and unbuttoned at the top three fasteners, revealing a patch of wheat-colored chest.
The Beta following him had a head of blonde hair. He hurried two steps to catch up, hooking his arm through the Alpha’s, and looked up with a suggestive expression. “Hey, Yuan, how about tonight…”
Xie Wangyuan let the Beta cling to him intimately. After clearing customs, he spotted a familiar figure at the exit. Xie Wangyuan tilted his head and smiled. “Looks like tonight is a no-go.”
He walked toward several grim-faced men in black suits, tossing the bag in his hand to the head bodyguard. “Uncle Wang, seriously? I just got off the plane; it’s not like I grew wings to fly back.”
Butler Wang’s expression didn’t change as his gaze swept past the Beta beside Xie Wangyuan. He bowed slightly, speaking respectfully, “Second Young Master, you haven’t been back for years, after all. The Master is worried about your safety.”
Xie Wangyuan scoffed. He rolled his stiff, sore neck and jerked his head to the side, signaling. “Perfect timing, then. Arrange a car to send him off. He is, after all, someone I brought back from abroad.”
The Beta got into the car, waved his phone, and winked at Xie Wangyuan. “Yuan, remember to contact me.”
Xie Wangyuan, who didn’t remember the guy’s name in the slightest, held a smile on his lips. He leaned down, getting close in an intimate, ambiguous posture. “Sure thing.”
Only after the car drove away did Butler Wang withdraw his gaze. Xie Wangyuan dropped the smile and started walking. “Let’s go.”
He wasn’t sure how long the drive took. Xie Wangyuan was slumped in the back seat, half-asleep, when he heard the driver’s voice from the front. “Second Young Master, we’ve arrived.”
The wrought-iron gates slowly opened to reveal a brightly lit estate. Xie Wangyuan spoke in a flat, certain tone. “That Omega is here too, isn’t he?”
“Yes, Second Young Master,” Butler Wang replied. “Young Master Yu specifically cancelled all his announcements today to come back.”
Hearing this, Xie Wangyuan fished out a short-acting inhibitor he carried with him and injected two doses straight into his arm. Once done, he swapped his blocker patch for a fresh one. Only when the car came to a complete stop did he leisurely step out.
Entering the living room, Xie Wangyuan ignored the two people chatting happily and headed straight for the stairs to rest.
“Wangyuan, you haven’t been home in so many years, and you don’t even come over to say hello to your father first?” Behind him, Xie Tiancheng’s voice was displeased and commanding. “We have a guest. Who taught you to be so ill-mannered?”
“Guest?” Xie Wangyuan’s lips curled into a smile that wasn’t quite a smile. He turned around. “I think he’s more than that, isn’t he?”
Sitting on the sofa was a pretty Omega. His palm-sized face was fair, and his eyes looking at Xie Wangyuan were clear and watery. His slightly pursed lips conveyed a hint of shyness.
Xie Tiancheng looked Xie Wangyuan up and down, his brows knitting tight. “Can’t you wear your clothes properly?!”
Xie Wangyuan fished out a cigarette pack, shook one out, bit it, and lit up. He mumbled, “Sorry, Dad. Stayed abroad too long, got used to it.”
Xie Tiancheng looked displeased and asked in a low voice, “I heard the one who came back with you was a Beta?”
“Yeah. My schedule for tonight was originally very ‘full’.” Xie Wangyuan leaned over to flick ash into the fruit bowl on the coffee table, grinning. “But since you missed me so much, Dad, I couldn’t very well bring him here. So… maybe next time.”
Xie Wangyuan didn’t give the Omega nearby even half a glance. He added, “Long flight, I’m exhausted. I’ll go up first so I don’t disturb you two.”
After Xie Wangyuan went upstairs, the Omega turned back, his face pale, biting his lip. “Uncle Xie, Wangyuan, he…”
“Don’t mind him. He’s been spoiled since childhood. Besides, they’re just Betas who can’t be marked; he’s just playing around,” Xie Tiancheng comforted him softly. “Your pheromone compatibility is so high. You’ll have to help me manage him properly in the future.”
Yu Xiele’s expression improved slightly, though he said sheepishly, “I probably won’t be able to control him…”
“With your pheromones, you’re afraid you can’t control him?” Xie Tiancheng smiled kindly, taking Yu Xiele’s hand and leading him toward the dining room. “Enough talk. You must be hungry from waiting. Let’s eat first; the kitchen made all your favorites tonight.”
The room at the far end of the second floor was cold and austere, decorated in black and grey. At a glance, it looked as sterile as a hotel room.
Xie Wangyuan ran a finger over the top of the cabinet, checked for dust, then took a shower. He came out wrapped in a towel, leaning against the window to smoke.
There was one cigarette left in the pack. Three figures appeared in the courtyard below. The slender one got into a car, while the other two followed the slowly moving vehicle to the main gate before turning back.
Not long after, the bedroom door opened. Xie Tiancheng was forced to take a step back, choked by the room full of smoke, his face turning grim.
There was no ashtray, so Xie Wangyuan was flicking ash into a water cup on the windowsill. He spoke lazily, “Dad, even room service knocks first.”
Standing outside the door, Xie Tiancheng said coldly, “I’ll let it slide tonight because you’re tired from the flight, but next time Lele comes back, you are not to behave like this.”
“Save it, Dad. Do you really not know what kind of person I’ve been abroad these past few years?” Xie Wangyuan didn’t even turn his head. “I told you long ago, even if the compatibility is 100%, I won’t touch him.”
Xie Tiancheng looked at the bruises on Xie Wangyuan’s arm and the faint, dark needle marks. “Has your condition improved at all these years? A few days ago, you lost control of your pheromones and injured an Alpha. Other than Lele, who else can cure you?”
“But it won’t work, Dad.” Xie Wangyuan tossed the cigarette butt into the cup and shot Xie Tiancheng a roguish grin. “Forget him—other Omegas won’t work either. Because, when it comes to Omegas, I can’t get hard at all.”
“Nonsense! What do you mean you can’t get hard?!” The muscles on Xie Tiancheng’s face twitched with rage. “Lele’s health hasn’t been good these past few years either. His heat cycles are frequent, and he’s been using inhibitors this whole time, just waiting for you to come back!”
Xie Wangyuan let out a cold laugh and lit his last cigarette.
Xie Tiancheng continued, “Your brother and I thought about how you lost your mother right after you were born. Since you were small, we gave you whatever you wanted and never controlled what you did. You insisted on going abroad back then, but now that you’re back, you will treat your illness properly.”
“Dad, no need to make it sound so noble. I don’t want to spell out exactly why you’re doing this,” Xie Wangyuan smiled, then changed the subject. “Speaking of which, you’ve been single for over twenty years. Why not just keep him for yourself? That way you can look at him every day and reminisce about her.”
Xie Tiancheng’s face turned red, his neck thick with anger as he panted heavily. “Xie Wangyuan!”
“Dad, I’ve always been a scoundrel. Save those high-sounding words so I don’t have to say something ugly and embarrass you. If I actually anger you into a health crisis, my brother will come settle the score with me, and I still plan on mooching off you guys.”
Xie Wangyuan undid the towel at his waist, walked to the sofa, and picked up the clothes he had just taken off to put them back on. “I’m leaving. I won’t stay here and make you miserable.”
“Xie Wangyuan! You…”
The living room still held faint traces of cloying, sweet pheromones. Xie Wangyuan covered the back of his neck, swung his bag over his shoulder, and quickly left the Xie residence.
The villa complex was too large. Before he even reached the main road, Xie Wangyuan was already cursing. “F*ck, suffering just to save face. If I’d known, I would’ve let the driver drop me outside.”
Xie Wangyuan swayed as he walked, pulling out his phone. He scrolled through a contact list that barely had anyone in it and dialed a number.
A faint meow caught his attention.
Xie Wangyuan looked up. At the intersection of the main road ahead, a black-and-white kitten was squatting there, looking dazed as it glanced around.
A Maybach drove out from a side road. It wasn’t moving fast, and the sound of brakes was exceptionally clear in the night air. The car stopped not far from the kitten.
The door opened, and a man with a slender build stepped out. His tall, straight figure was wrapped in a tailored black suit. The wrist exposed by his cuff was cold white, his fingers long and elegant.
The lighting on the small road was dim, and Xie Wangyuan’s night vision wasn’t great. Squinting, he could barely make out a profile of superior, handsome features. He couldn’t help but walk a few steps closer.
The call connected. The background noise on the other end was chaotic, voices distorted by deafening music. “Brother Yuan, how do you have time to call me?”
The man bent down to pick up the kitten. As he moved, a cold metallic glint flashed on his right hand.
When he stood up again, facing the light of the streetlamp, Xie Wangyuan saw the man’s face clearly. Exquisite brows and eyes were suppressed by a cold, indifferent expression, yet a tear mole under his eye made the whole face come alive with a vivid, hidden sensuality.
It was a Beta.
A very good-looking Beta.
Xie Wangyuan ran his tongue over his teeth, wanting to get closer to take a better look.
The man didn’t linger. He got into the car with the cat. Xie Wangyuan tilted his head, muttering a regretful, “Tsk.”
“Brother Yuan, Brother Yuan? What did you say? Damn it! What kind of garbage signal is this…”
Xie Wangyuan rubbed his ear and moved the phone away before asking, “Have you been drinking? Can you still drive?”
“I haven’t been drinking—wait!” The voice suddenly pitched up. “Brother Yuan, you’re back in the country?!”
The old villa district was located in the suburbs, near the mountains and water. The scenery was nice, but the location was too remote, making travel inconvenient.
By the time Ren Yi floored it all the way there, Xie Wangyuan was squatting next to a trash can at the complex entrance, smoking.
He held his phone loosely in one hand, while the other hand, resting on his knee, held a cigarette that glowed scarlet in the dim yellow streetlight.
Ren Yi honked twice, leaned half his body out the car window, and shouted, “Brother Yuan! Get in!”
Having squatted for too long, his legs were numb. Xie Wangyuan grunted a response, grimacing as he stood up unsteadily. He extinguished the cigarette and tossed it into the trash.
Xie Wangyuan opened the car door, tossed his bag inside, and whistled. “Nice car.”
“Hehe, well, I’m just killing time at the family company now.” The autumn night was a bit chilly, but Ren Yi turned down the temperature in the car, afraid the hot-blooded young Alpha might be too warm. “Brother Yuan, when did you get back? You didn’t even tell us.”
“Just today.” Remembering something, Xie Wangyuan spoke with piqued interest. “By the way, I just met a Beta inside. Driving a Maybach. Never seen him before. Keep an eye out for me when you have time.”
Ren Yi, who hadn’t even had time to catch up yet, had a complicated expression. “Brother Yuan, you literally just got back.”
Xie Wangyuan rolled down the window and smiled.
“You don’t know. He looked… especially intense.”
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