Chapter 29: Horse Riding
…Lying in bed with his whole body feeling refreshed, memories were like depth charges, exploding uncontrollably in his brain.
He didn’t want to return to that weak and powerless past. He clenched his hands tightly onto the things beside him. An arm reached out, pulling him by the shoulder and carefully holding him in an embrace.
“…Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid.”
His tense back was soothed over and over with tireless patience. Samuel used his pheromones to wrap the person in his arms airtight, his palm caringly sliding down Jiang Zhaoshengâs trembling shoulder blades, offering comfort to the person caught in a seizure as if soothing a child.
The frequency of his breathing gradually returned to normal. Jiang Zhaoshengâs furrowed brow relaxed, and he finally fell into a state of calm.
The colorful images in his mind gradually pieced themselves together. Jiang Zhaosheng finally saw the scene before him, and it wasn’t actually that part of the pastâthe ceiling was within reach, and silent, tall bodyguards surrounded him. His field of vision was abnormally high.
Jiang Zhaosheng didn’t have many memories from when he was very young. This scene was brand new to him.
At the same time, he realized why his vision was so highâas a child, he must have been sitting on someone’s neck.
The view was very high, high enough to be a bit dizzying. The man held him steadily, as if he were some fragile item, using all his muscles to maintain stability.
In the next moment, Jiang Zhaosheng saw that he was clutching a marker he had picked up from somewhere, and was intently scribbling on the man’s smooth forehead.
In the memory, he was drawing very seriously, muttering to himself.
“Ex…clu…sive… ride…”
He spoke as he wrote, the strokes crooked and wobbly. He got stuck; these characters were too difficult for a child.
“Baby, how many of those four words do you know how to write?”
the man whose features he couldn’t see laughed softly, holding the pen barrel and asking back. Jiang Zhaosheng saw himself stubbornly pulling the pen backâ
“Big… Horse…”
He eventually gave up and chose another word he was familiar with and that was simpler.
Thus, on the man’s forehead, he left behind a ridiculous, childish script:
ăSheng Sheng’s Big Horseă
Little Zhaosheng seemed very satisfied with this result. Feeling it wasn’t enough, he added a few crooked suns and little flowers around it, almost covering most of the man’s face.
He was playing so intently that he didn’t notice when the surroundings had become so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Those guards in black uniforms, faces expressionless, were all frozen in place. Some were gasping in horror, their eyes filled with unbelievable fear, their gazes darting frantically between himâan ignorant little childâand the man beneath him whose face was being used as a canvas.
They were afraid of the man he was sitting on.
Little Zhaosheng finally got tired of drawing. He put down the pen and blinked curiously, not understanding why everyone was looking at him like that. He subconsciously looked down and used his small, ink-stained hand to pat the man’s head, as if soothing a truly gentle mount.
“Horse…” he called out indistinctly.
The man he was ridingâfinally moved.
He didn’t get angry, nor did he even raise a hand to wipe away those ridiculous doodles on his face.
“Born with a knack for humiliation.”
A somewhat rough hand accurately captured the ink-stained hand of the little, carefree culprit on his shoulder.
The younger version of himself seemed to perceive some unusual atmosphere and unconsciously gripped the man’s hair tightly.
…
The memory images stopped abruptly there, like a signal being forcibly cut off.
Jiang Zhaosheng suddenly sat up in bed, his heart thumping wildly in his chest as if it were about to break out.
The morning light was faint. A reassuring sea breeze scent still lingered in the room. The calm brought by the pheromone soothing was gradually fading. Samuel was about to reach out to hold him when he was heartlessly slapped away by Jiang Zhaosheng.
Despite having done nothing, the man insisted on making the atmosphere feel like an “aftermath.”
Jiang Zhaosheng pinned Samuelâs arm against the headboard, leaned down, and met Samuelâs obsessed gaze.
The memory from just now had suddenly popped up. Looking at the way Samuel lowered his eyes in expectation, Jiang Zhaosheng suddenly felt like trying to write something on the man’s face.
“…”
Stop, stop, stop. Don’t be controlled by pheromones.
The restless thought was suppressed. Jiang Zhaoshengâs face looked even darker. Just as Samuel was wondering if he had done something wrong, Jiang Zhaosheng reached out, covered his mouth, and forcefully turned his head to the side.
The bite mark on the gland had already scabbed over; it wasn’t as serious as he had imagined.
Jiang Zhaosheng breathed a sigh of reliefâhe had lost consciousness a bit yesterday. If he had destroyed the excited Alpha’s gland and left the man disabled, it would be bad.
Samuel, this idiot, actually pulled the quilt up to cover his broad, barn-door chest, and spoke to him “shyly”:
“Zhaozhao, I think you really like being the S… I can cooperate with you…”
Seeing how his blue eyes were full of happiness, Jiang Zhaosheng raised his hand toward him and then put it down expressionlessly.
He didn’t know if he was a sadist, but this guy was definitely a true masochist.
What if he hit him and it just made him itch for more?
“Thank you, honey.”
His high-raised hand suddenly dropped, resting against Samuelâs pleasantly surprised cheek. He patted it lightly, making a “pah-pah” sound, but leaving no mark.
“Your pheromones smell good and are quite effective,” Jiang Zhaoshengâs eyes were clear and aloof, without a trace of the previous night’s affection. His tone was like he was evaluating a perfume. “If I have a need again next time, I’ll find you.”
He let go of his hand and even quite flippantly hooked Samuelâs chin with his fingertip.
Samuel was momentarily dazed because of the hint of “next time” in his words. Jiang Zhaosheng misunderstood this as him condemning his “heartlessness.” He leaned his forehead lightly against Samuelâs shoulder, rubbed it affectionately, and then moved away.
“…Itâs just too hard on the teeth.”
He muttered softly, his warm breath brushing against Samuelâs skin.
After saying this near-spoiled complaint, Jiang Zhaosheng didn’t wait for Samuelâs reaction. He withdrew from the ambiguous atmosphere, rolled out of bed, tied the sash of his robe, and returned to his aloof self.
Morning light filtered through the gaps in the heavy curtains, casting a long, narrow strip of light on the carpet.
Jiang Zhaosheng was leisurely eating breakfast, the sound of silver cutlery cutting food clearly audible.
Samuel sat opposite him, his gaze still glued to him, his eyes sparkling as if he were still immersed in yesterday’s treatment.
At this time, there was a soft knock on the bedroom door.
“Come in.”
Samuelâs voice instantly switched to the cold hardness of a leader.
Jiang Zhaosheng, with a fork in his mouth, raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Luigi walked in with his head down, holding a thin folder in his hand, his expression respectful but tense.
He didn’t dare look much at the two people at the table, especially the black-haired gentleman with the cold aura who was casually draped in a robe.
“Sir,” Luigiâs voice was very low, “the preliminary investigation results are out.”
Samuel took the folder and scanned it quickly, his brow furrowing deeper and deeper.
“That Omega is male, about 20 years old. We haven’t found any legal identification information; itâs like heâs been an unregistered person since birth.”
Luigi reported cautiously:
“However, we found the companion who brought him in, an Alpha.”
Jiang Zhaoshengâs action of cutting bacon stopped. He looked up, a hint of realization flashing in his blue-green eyes. It was likely the man who had tried to hit on him on the ship.
Samuel felt jealous just seeing him sink into memory. He closed the folder and said in a deep voice: “Where is he?”
“Outside…”
“Bring him in.”
Samuel ordered, while unobtrusively moving a bit closer to Jiang Zhaosheng.
Two tall bodyguards pushed in a pale, trembling Alpha.
It was indeed that idiot on the ship who had belittled Lin Xuan and been ignored by Jiang Zhaosheng.
At this moment, his previous arrogance was long gone. His suit was wrinkled and messy, and his eyes were filled with extreme terror.
Samuel was in no hurry to interrogate him. He just scrutinized him with a cold gaze, making the man tremble even more violently.
Jiang Zhaosheng put down his knife and fork, picked up a napkin to wipe the corners of his mouth, leaned back in his chair, stretched out his leg, and kicked the kneeling Alphaâs shin.
“Tell me, where did you get that Omega?”
The Alpha was scared out of his wits. The Jiang Zhaosheng before him was a completely different person from the cold beauty he had first met. The deathly pressure brought by his looking down on him even exceeded that of the man next to him.
Tears and snot flowing, he stammered out a panicked answer:
“It… it… itâs from ‘Eden’! He was brought from ‘Eden’!”
“Eden?”
Jiang Zhaosheng raised an eyebrow slightly and kicked him again, signaling him to continue.
“Itâs… itâs a place… a club only open to a few top-tier Alphas…”
“You sure have a nice way of saying ‘brothel’.”
Jiang Zhaosheng said with some annoyance.
The Alpha was so scared he nearly lost control of his bladder. He spilled everything like pouring beans out of a bag:
“They… they specialize in selling Omegas who have undergone special training… absolute obedience, absolute… satisfaction for any need…”
“That… that Omega is one I just bought from there not long ago… I wanted to bring him to the auction to see the world… I didn’t expect… I didn’t expect him to…”
“I was tricked! How could I know this would happen? I didn’t even touch him!”
When he reached this point, he seemed to think of the Omega’s death and the even more terrifying things that might happen afterward. He was so frightened he couldn’t speak.
Samuelâs face had turned grim. He had heard rumors of Eden’s existenceâit was a filthy industryâbut he had never thought it would crash into his auction in this way and involve Jiang Zhaosheng.
“The location of that place, and everything you know.”
The Alphaâs body went limp with fear. He began to stammer out everything he knew about the entrance and the referral methods, but he knew very little about the true operators, only vaguely knowing there were other powers backing it.
After the limp Alpha was dragged away, the atmosphere in the room remained heavy.
“Zhaozhao, leave this matter to me.” Samuel turned to Jiang Zhaosheng. “You can’t go to that kind of place; itâs too dangerous.”
Jiang Zhaosheng acted as if he hadn’t heard. His fingers tapped unconsciously on the white tablecloth. He kept his eyes lowered, making his emotions unreadable.
“Dangerous?” he repeated softly. “A nest for training Omegas produces a ‘commodity’ that ends up a corpse in a secret room. Samuel, this is very unusual.”
“This bait is both blunt and clumsy, yet the person who threw it knows I will definitely take it to heart.”
His tone was flat, but Samuel could keenly perceive the… imperceptible excitement beneath that calmness.
The Alphaâs heart sank. He knew this look of Jiang Zhaoshengâs too wellâwhenever he encountered something highly unique or a challenge that might even endanger his life, he would show a hunter-like focus and interest.
“Zhaozhao.”
Jiang Zhaosheng suddenly looked at him. “Samuel, the person who threw this bait is targeting me. This is an open scheme (yĂĄngmĂłu).”
“He calculated that I would investigate Eden.”
“So youâre really going?!”
Jiang Zhaosheng suddenly smiled. The smile appeared faintly and then vanished. “Who said Iâm jumping into a pit? He knows I will go, and I know that he knows I will go.”
He stood up, looking down at the grim-faced Samuel. He added one final sentence, providing comfort while drawing a clear line.
“As for me, I have my own arrangements. Don’t forget, before I became the one you need to protect…”
He paused subtly:
“I am, first and foremost, Jiang Zhaosheng.”
[Authorâs Note: There will be another update at twelve oâclock.]
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