Chapter 3 [The Little Beast is Probing]
“I cannot see him right now.” You Yuanyuan’s long, slender eyelashes blinked slowly. His cold, pristine eyes revealed a lucid clarity.
He felt that he was relatively fragile at the moment. Having just differentiated into an Omega, he still needed time to adapt. Furthermore, he had just experienced a bout of heat, which had only barely been suppressed by the inhibitors. He absolutely could not afford any more triggers that would induce another heat.
Zhou She: “Right. Xing Lie’s S-grade Alpha pheromones are lethal to you; you have absolutely no resistance to them.”
You Yuanyuan pondered seriously, then spoke to the housekeeper outside the door, “Tao Shu, could I trouble you to tell him that it is too late and I am going to sleep.”
“Understood, I will relay the message immediately.” Tao Shu went downstairs.
Zhou She couldn’t help but remind him, “You never used polite language before—words like ‘trouble you,’ ‘please,’ or ‘excuse me.’ So you shouldn’t use them now either. Use a commanding tone. Otherwise, people will get suspicious.”
You Yuanyuan seemed to disagree slightly. That face, untouched by the mortal world, currently looked like a celestial being who had descended to the human realm for the first time, puzzled by many things.
“But that is very impolite. Dad said to treat others with courtesy,” Suddenly, You Yuanyuan felt a slight headache. He closed his eyes and furrowed his brows. “But Mom said that noble people do not need to be humble and polite. Who should I listen to?”
Zhou She’s expression changed. What was wrong with You Yuanyuan? He suddenly felt that You Yuanyuan’s condition was not as simple as amnesia. His parents had both committed suicide one after another when he was twelve, and the outside world never knew why.
There were all sorts of rumors, but this secret was probably something only You Yuanyuan himself knew. So what exactly had he endured at such a young age?
At this moment, Tao Shu knocked on the door three times again and said, “You Ye, Xing Lie said… you are only going to sleep, not that you are already asleep, so he insists on seeing you.”
You Yuanyuan frowned, looking extremely distressed, and said to Zhou She, “Why is he like this?”
Zhou She: “He’s always been like this—eccentric and hard to read. If it were the old you, you would have already thrown something at him and told him to get lost.”
“Ah…” You Yuanyuan’s eyes widened. He wouldn’t dare do that now.
So he said to Tao Shu, “Then please trouble Tao Shu to tell him that I am taking a bath, and by the time I finish, it might be the early hours of the morning. There is no need to wait. Whatever it is, we can talk about it tomorrow.”
“Alright.” Tao Shu went downstairs for the second time to relay the message.
That should work now, right?
As a result, this time Tao Shu hurriedly rushed upstairs, knocked on the door, and said anxiously, “You Ye, Xing Lie said you can bathe as long as you want, he will come up to your bedroom to wait.”
Zhou She: “!”
You Yuanyuan stood up abruptly, knitting his brows. “No matter what, I am still seven years older than him, making me his elder. Moreover, I am his direct superior. How can he be so rude and offensive?”
“This bastard has always lacked respect for hierarchy and has never been polite to you. He frequently provokes and angers you on purpose. What exactly is he trying to do today?!” Zhou She was fuming. If it hadn’t been for Xing Lie’s overly dominant pheromones, You Yuanyuan wouldn’t have regressed and differentiated into an Omega.
You Yuanyuan patted his back, comforting him, “Don’t be angry, don’t be angry. I am not angry either. How about I just stand in the corridor and communicate with him from a distance?”
It was the first time Zhou She had ever been comforted by You Yuanyuan. He was so flattered that his legs went weak. How could he still be angry? Having been used to listening to You Yuanyuan, he instinctively complied now as well.
Consequently, You Yuanyuan opened the door, stepped out into the corridor, and saw Xing Lie standing on the first floor, looking up at him.
Xing Lie had changed his clothes. He wore a black hoodie, black pants, and white skate shoes. At first glance, he looked like a sunny, handsome college student. However, those eyes were like a wild wolf in the desert, exuding an untamed ferocity. Even though his mouth wasn’t open, it felt as though he was baring sharp fangs.
Even separated by a distance of three floors, You Yuanyuan felt a chill run through his body. For a fleeting moment, he felt like prey targeted by a wild wolf, ready to be torn apart and devoured at any second. No wonder Zhou She called him a little beast; wasn’t he just a beast in human skin?
He was truly worthy of being a top-tier Alpha. Just standing there was enough to make the surrounding Omegas and Betas fear and dread him. That was an innate, peerless, and powerful suppression born from his very bloodline.
You Yuanyuan thought about how he used to be a top-tier Alpha as well, so he should have been capable of contending with Xing Lie, right?
“Has You Ye finished bathing?” Xing Lie looked up at him.
At this time, Zhou She was squatting behind You Yuanyuan, in a blind spot hidden from Xing Lie’s angle, teaching You Yuanyuan how to reply. “Just ask him what he wants. Remember, your tone has to be mocking, and your eyes should look at him like you’re looking at a dog. Don’t treat him like a human.”
You Yuanyuan’s expression went blank for a second. He really liked dogs. He couldn’t bring himself to use a mocking tone on a doggy. Thus, he could only look at Xing Lie as expressionlessly as possible and say, “If you have something to say, spit it out.”
Xing Lie’s eyes narrowed slightly, seemingly noticing something amiss. He spoke as he walked towards the stairs, “You Ye, since you won’t come down, I will just have to come up. Actually, I don’t really have…”
Behind You Yuanyuan, Zhou She kept whispering nervously, “Don’t let him come over, don’t let him come over, don’t let him come over… His pheromones will induce your heat.”
“Halt.” You Yuanyuan tightly gripped the railing. His jade-white fingers gripped so hard that the tips turned red.
Xing Lie’s footsteps paused. He slowly turned his head to look at You Yuanyuan, the suspicion in his eyes deepening. Those eyes were full of wildness.
You Yuanyuan raised his hand in a stopping motion and said seriously, “Just stand there and speak. Do not come near me.”
Xing Lie stood straight, leaning his lower back against the handrail of the spiral staircase. He crossed his arms over his chest in a lazy, indolent posture. Gazing at You Yuanyuan from a far distance, he was certain that You Yuanyuan was genuinely acting a bit strange.
For some reason, You Yuanyuan was highly guarded against him. His body was tense, and his entire demeanor lacked that intense aggressiveness he previously had.
“Speak, what is it.” Seeing that he didn’t continue approaching, You Yuanyuan breathed a sigh of relief. Behind him, Zhou She also sighed in relief.
However, Xing Lie abruptly withdrew his gaze, vaulted over the spiral staircase railing, and landed gracefully on the ground. Without looking back, he walked away. “Nothing.”
Zhou She: “???”
You Yuanyuan asked Zhou She, “What’s wrong with him?”
In the underground garage, Xing Lie opened the door of the black G-Wagon and agilely hopped inside. He then took out a cigarette from his hoodie pocket, lit it, and took a drag.
Today at the pool, You Yuanyuan had let him scramble away so easily. Thinking back on it, he guessed that You Yuanyuan must have been feeling unwell. He had excitedly driven over in the dead of night to gloat and see what exactly went wrong with his body.
But there seemed to be nothing wrong with his body.
Instead, something seemed wrong with his mind.
Xing Lie exhaled a puff of smoke. The white smoke wreathed before his eyes in a hazy blur. He recalled the look in You Yuanyuan’s eyes just now—gentle, bewildered, and guarded.
How could such a look appear in You Yuanyuan’s eyes?
You Yuanyuan’s eyes had always been filled with drifting snows and thousand-mile-long freezing glaciers. Pushing people thousands of miles away, freezing them formlessly. Unattainable and as cold as frost. They carried mockery, disdain, and a look reserved only for looking at a dog.
It made him momentarily forget what he had even come here for. His chest felt stifled, an itch he wanted to scratch but couldn’t.
However, it was also possible that because the distance was too far, he had simply misread it.
Xing Lie didn’t even finish the cigarette. He threw it to the ground and crushed it out beneath his foot. What a glutton for punishment. He wasn’t comfortable unless You Yuanyuan looked at him like a dog.
Soon, he drove away from Zunyue Tai.
The two still on the third floor only truly breathed a sigh of relief when they heard Tao Shu report that Xing Lie had driven away.
Closing the bedroom door, You Yuanyuan sat on the bed and asked Zhou She, “Why can he just come and go as he pleases in my house?”
Zhou She, standing beyond the edge of the carpet, said, “This place used to be his home too. And you never explicitly forbade him from coming back.”
“His home?” You Yuanyuan asked.
Zhou She: “Moreover, you almost became his godfather.”
“What happened?” You Yuanyuan asked.
Zhou She began to explain to him, “When you were 22, you took me and Tao Shu to a small county town called Jiangchao. At the Little Red Star Orphanage, you pointed at a 15-year-old Xing Lie and said you wanted to take that child away.”
“But I was only 22, I couldn’t adopt a child.” You Yuanyuan pointed out.
Zhou She: “Right. So at that time, even though you wanted to be Xing Lie’s godfather, your age wouldn’t permit it. Therefore, you had no choice but to register Xing Lie’s household registration under Tao Shu, making him Tao Shu’s adopted son.”
“Then why did he live in my house?” You Yuanyuan asked.
Zhou She: “You were the one who wanted to adopt him in the first place; he was just temporarily registered under Tao Shu. Tao Shu never acted as his father either. Instead, you forced Xing Lie to call you ‘Dad,’ but he never did. After bringing him back, he lived in your house.”
“Why did I want to adopt him?” You Yuanyuan asked.
Zhou She: “I’m not sure. Either way, you had a very strong motive and only wanted him. But I think he’s a stubborn mule—untamable and exceptionally wild at heart. Every day after he finished school, you would personally take him to the forest training base to train him, teaching him various forms of combat and martial arts.”
“Training him to be a bodyguard? But he was only fifteen. Isn’t bodyguard entry training only allowed once they turn eighteen?” You Yuanyuan asked.
Zhou She: “Exactly, so you were merely training him. You didn’t make him officially join, since he was still studying. But who knows how you trained him; he would come back covered in bruises and injuries every single time. Later, no one knew what kind of psychological conditioning you put him through, but he suffered severe psychological trauma. In short, you used to be incredibly ruthless.”
You Yuanyuan pursed his lips, his expression turning solemn. Even though he couldn’t remember what he had done in the past, it certainly sounded entirely too cruel.
Zhou She continued, “The year he turned 22, he graduated from university. He joined your security company, starting from the most basic bodyguard missions. However, you forced him to advance his differentiation from an A-grade Alpha into an S-grade Alpha. He almost died from it and was barely saved. Fortunately, he managed to pull through. After all, if one wishes to advance their differentiation, one must survive a brush with death. Ever since he differentiated into an S-grade Alpha, you started to lose control over him. After that, he moved out of here, registered an independent household, and bought a house in the city center. That brings us to now.”
You Yuanyuan was somewhat dazed. Why did it sound like he was a complete lunatic?
But the key point was… “He originally wasn’t an S-grade, and only later underwent secondary differentiation to advance to an S-grade?”
Zhou She: “Yes. Speaking of which, he should even thank you for that. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to hold the CEO position in our company right now.”
You Yuanyuan felt that he truly had been far too ruthless toward Xing Lie. It was no wonder Xing Lie wanted to split the company.
Granting Xing Lie his wish earlier would also save himself from having to be on tenterhooks every day.
As long as Xing Lie established his own business, You Yuanyuan wouldn’t have to interact with him anymore. Then Xing Lie would no longer pose a threat to him.
You Yuanyuan was quite satisfied with his own idea.
Seeing that he was getting tired, Zhou She said, “It’s too late, You Ye, you should sleep. Rest well and replenish your energy. In a few days, it will be the Summer Talent Bi-directional Selection Fair, and you will need to attend.”
“What is that?” You Yuanyuan’s eyelids drooped slightly; he seemed to fall asleep very easily now.
Zhou She said, “It’s the annual summer job fair. In short, it’s a mutual selection process. After all, nowadays you have to fight for talent. But as long as You Ye sits there, all those outstanding talents will come over on their own initiative. Xing Lie won’t be able to out-compete you; your charisma speaks for itself, after all.”
After saying this, he paused, feeling as if he had offended You Yuanyuan. After all, the current You Yuanyuan was no longer the top-tier Alpha You Yuanyuan of the past.
However, You Yuanyuan didn’t care about this point; instead, he focused on another: “Xing Lie is someone from my company. Why do I still have to fight with him over it?”
Zhou She sighed, “Our company is actually divided into two factions internally. One faction follows Xing Lie’s lead, while the other bows in submission to you. Otherwise, how would Xing Lie dare to split the company from you? Over these past years, he has pulled quite a few tricks behind the scenes. The main issue is that you never cared whether he caused any waves or not. But when the day truly comes that he turns around and bites you, it will be too late…”
“Truly a bastard.” Whenever You Yuanyuan thought of Xing Lie, his heart grew timid. How had he ended up raising a wolf by his own side?
[Author’s Note:]
[In the early stages, Xing Lie is a bad doggy and very hard to train. In the middle stages, he is also crazy, going the forced love route. But it gets better in the later stages with mutual pampering.]
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