Chapter 86: Love Rival! Commander Du vs. Young Master Liang
Liang Yeta’s pupils dilated slightly, and holding the phone, he couldn’t utter a single word.
On the other end, Du Xun, unaware that the person holding the phone had changed, asked gently:
“Are you done? I’m downstairs.”
Liang Yeta responded instinctively, stammering:
“Commander… Commander Du, hello.”
Du Xun, who had been leaning against the car door, stood up straight and frowned.
“You are… Liang Yeta?”
Liang Yeta forced himself to remain calm, but his fingers couldn’t stop trembling.
Anyone facing the Supreme Commander of the Military would be afraid.
Liang Yeta was no exception.
It was a reverence and fear instilled in him since childhood.
“It’s me. I didn’t expect the Commander-in-Chief to remember me…”
“Where is Shen Zhuo? Has something happened?”
The voice coming through the receiver was heavy with anxiety.
“Shen Zhuo is fine. It’s like this—”
Liang Yeta immediately explained the situation, briefly outlining the cooperation deal regarding the military.
After a moment of silence on the other end, the voice that spoke again had returned to a formulaic coldness:
“We can discuss this further.”
Trembling, Liang Yeta handed the phone back to Shen Zhuo.
Shen Zhuo took it. “Du Xun, why don’t you come up and talk?”
The alpha’s tone changed instantly: “Okay, wait for me.”
Those two short sentences made Liang Yeta lower his eyes and purse his lips.
It seemed Shen Zhuo was very happy now; he showed a relaxation and reliance that was different from when he faced others.
He couldn’t provide the same things Du Xun could.
He wasn’t suitable for Shen Zhuo.
But Du Xun could give Shen Zhuo happiness.
…Happiness was enough.
Liang Yeta watched as the office door opened and the tall man in military uniform strode in with a cold expression.
But the moment Du Xun made eye contact with the young man—
Liang Yeta suddenly felt his own insignificance.
He had never even seen such a deeply affectionate gaze from his own parents.
It was like a frozen lake in winter, where a warm current still survived beneath the ice.
Existing solely to water a single flower.
Liang Yeta wheeled his chair further away from Shen Zhuo.
Leaving space for the two to sit together.
It was true, as Shen Zhuo had said.
He hadn’t learned how to truly like someone yet.
Therefore, until he learned how to love, he shouldn’t get close to anyone.
Liang Yeta had someone bring in a proposal and equipment samples.
Every detail of the transaction was presented clearly, item by item.
After reviewing them, Du Xun nodded directly.
He agreed to cooperate with Liang Yeta.
Liang Yeta breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Shen Zhuo one last time, extending his hand again:
“So, are you willing to agree to my deal?”
Du Xun cast a probing glance.
Under the alpha’s gaze, Shen Zhuo’s fingers lightly gripped Liang Yeta’s hand.
A half-palm handshake—a relationship more distant than friends.
But this was a relationship unique to Liang Yeta and Shen Zhuo.
Liang Yeta smiled.
Today was his happiest day.
Those months of desperate rehabilitation fueled by the obsession to “see Shen Zhuo again.”
Those months of working day and night to run the company just to let Shen Zhuo see his value.
Today, it was finally all worth it.
“Shall we have dinner together? I have a few excellent options.”
After Du Xun signed the contract, Liang Yeta put away his pen and looked at the two of them.
Shen Zhuo shook his head. “We won’t trouble President Liang. Du Xun and I are going home to eat.”
Liang Yeta hadn’t expected Shen Zhuo to agree, so the refusal was within his expectations.
Liang Yeta smiled faintly and stroked his legs:
“Alright then. My legs aren’t convenient, so I won’t see you out.”
“Safe travels, both of you.”
The sight of their retreating backs reflected in Liang Yeta’s eyes.
Two figures leaning on each other, creating a corner of warmth in the surrounding cold air.
“…I wish you both a happy marriage,” Liang Yeta said very softly, very slowly.
It sounded like a blessing, or perhaps a final severance.
If he had known today would be the outcome, perhaps he shouldn’t have opened his eyes on the day he fell in love at first sight.
The young alpha lowered his head, touching his legs that still couldn’t stand, and let out a light laugh.
Resignation, self-mockery, envy—all sorts of emotions were there.
Finally, they blended into a lonely gaze.
And a sigh in the empty office.
——
As an alpha, his sense of smell regarding anyone liking his omega was extremely sensitive.
From the moment Du Xun stepped into the office, he had sensed pheromones from this young alpha that hadn’t been completely suppressed.
Very faint, trying hard to hide.
But perhaps due to the injured gland, some still leaked out.
It was pheromones laced with a hint of ingratiation.
On the way out of Jingyue, Du Xun held Shen Zhuo’s hand, walking very fast.
As if he wanted to leave as quickly as possible.
Shen Zhuo could only speed up his pace, unable to hide the upturned corners of his mouth.
Du Xun didn’t say a word until they got into the car.
Not until Shen Zhuo reached out and touched his face.
“Liang Yeta wanted to give me shares of some of his industries as a wedding gift, but I didn’t agree.”
“He then said he wanted to make a deal with me. He would manage those industries for me and take a cut, in exchange for an opportunity to cooperate with the military.”
Shen Zhuo leaned over amusingly and kissed Du Xun’s stiff face.
“Putting it that way, you’re not jealous anymore, right?”
The severe look on Du Xun’s face finally faded a lot.
But it still didn’t look very good.
“But he likes you. He’s liked you since the entrance exam.”
“I won’t even be friends with him.” Shen Zhuo turned Du Xun’s face towards him and pecked the corner of his mouth again.
“He likes me, but I don’t like him.”
The young man’s brows and eyes were gentle and affectionate: “I only like you.”
Du Xun cupped the young man’s hands in his palms.
Slowly, rhythmically, rubbing them.
“I know there must be many people who like you.”
“I’m just—”
Shen Zhuo raised his hand directly to cover Du Xun’s mouth, blocking what he was about to say, and let out an angry “Shh.”
“Commander-in-Chief Du, please have a little confidence in yourself, and trust me too.”
The young man’s hand was small, soft, and warm. Pressed against his lips, it conveyed the warm scent of Epiphyllum.
Those obsidian-like eyes, rippling like mist, with his chin slightly raised and eyes half-closed.
Exceptionally beautiful.
Du Xun knew he couldn’t change his excessive sensitivity and timidity in a short time.
That was accumulated panic.
A helplessness that stretched into his subconscious like a shadow.
The gland at the back of his neck began to ache violently due to the emotional fluctuations. Du Xun finally kissed Shen Zhuo’s palm.
Before he could say the word “Okay,” the young man wrapped his arms around him and kissed him on the lips.
“Does the gland hurt?”
Du Xun paused slightly.
A habit formed from childhood on the battlefield meant he wouldn’t show pain on his face.
But…
Maybe he didn’t need to be so strong anymore.
A moment later, the man finally nodded, his voice hoarse and sticking in his throat, strands of hair falling to cover his brow:
“It hurts…”
The soothing pheromones in the air grew stronger.
Shen Zhuo kissed him again with heartache.
“Still hurt?”
“Hurts.”
Another kiss.
“It hurts.”
Shen Zhuo: “…”
Is there no end to this!
The young man slapped the steering wheel and sat back in the passenger seat:
“Drive!”
Du Xun couldn’t help but laugh: “Yes, Madam.”
Du Xun didn’t drive home or to the dorm.
Instead, at Shen Zhuo’s repeated insistence, they went back to the hospital.
Jiang Yuening had treated him with his ability for a while.
But because Jiang Yuening had overused his ability time and again in the military, he was no longer in peak condition.
For an S5, it was utterly inadequate—a drop in the bucket.
Only then did Jiang Yuening finally realize his body and abilities were no longer what they used to be. He looked gloomy and stayed alone for a long time.
In the end, it was Shen Xuyin who spent who knows how long coaxing him back to happiness.
Du Xun was gradually recovering.
But relying on self-repair and S3 therapeutic agents could barely maintain the stamina needed for daily work.
And he would still frequently feel pain in his gland.
That unbearable pain couldn’t be completely calmed even when Shen Zhuo released all his soothing pheromones.
“It’s a sequela of injecting an overdose of inhibitors.”
Coincidentally, the doctor today was the same young man Du Xun had taken Shen Zhuo to see last time.
The doctor looked at the parameter sheet and frowned: “Why won’t you listen to advice?”
Du Xun squeezed Shen Zhuo’s hand and whispered, “It’s fine.”
“How is it fine!” The doctor slammed the sheet in front of Du Xun. “Look at yourself. You haven’t rested well lately either, have you? Have you been staying up late? Even an S5 can’t withstand such abuse…”
The doctor seemed never to have seen such a disobedient patient.
He nagged for a long time before taking a sip of water.
“The hospital doesn’t have recovery agents targeting S5s. In this situation, you can only nurse your health slowly and rely on your own recovery system.”
“Then when will he fully recover?” Shen Zhuo asked urgently.
The doctor turned his head: “It depends on him.”
The doctor put it tactfully enough.
To put it bluntly, it meant—
There is no cure.
Whether it’s good or bad, it’s up to fate.
Du Xun nodded and led Shen Zhuo out of the hospital.
On the way home, finally, Du Xun noticed Shen Zhuo’s mood.
Shen Zhuo kept looking out the window.
He had no expression.
But he seemed to radiate a sense of sadness.
“What’s wrong?” Du Xun stopped the car by the roadside, unfastened his seatbelt, and touched the side of the young man’s face.
Shen Zhuo’s mind was in turmoil right now.
What Chu Baixian had told him about Du Xun, what Feng Muya had said to him, the question Jiang Yuening asked him, and the sight of Du Xun dying in the hospital bed.
They played on a loop in his mind.
Helplessness, pain, trance.
Shen Zhuo turned his face and slowly closed his eyes.
He nuzzled against the alpha’s palm.
“If only my ability wasn’t [Listening To The Heart] but healing.”
The boy lowered his gaze, his eyelashes trembling.
Like a butterfly carved of ice crystal resting there, ready to shatter at any second.
Du Xun wanted to respond, but whether it was “It’s okay” or “Don’t think like that,” neither seemed appropriate.
This was his choice.
If he wanted his Epiphyllum to live carefree, he had to create a truly peaceful world for him.
No war, no conspiracy, no class hierarchy.
An equal, peaceful world.
Du Xun had actually prepared everything.
He had saved every way out for Shen Zhuo.
No matter what happened to him, the future left for Shen Zhuo would be safe.
To this end, he had even included himself in his calculations.
But it seemed this didn’t make the boy happy.
A hand slipped into Du Xun’s palm.
Shen Zhuo lifted his face, his pitch-black pupils gazing at him.
“Can you grant me one wish?”
Du Xun could clearly see his own reflection.
He said, “Of course.”
The cool air flowed inside the car.
Mixed with the scent of Epiphyllum, it heralded the boy’s desire and plea.
“No matter what happens, I want you to be safe.”
Du Xun froze.
For the first time, he realized…
He seemed to have done something wrong.
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