Chapter 21

Now, though, a faint sense of grievance crept up on him. Why wasn’t Zuo Nian here at a time like this? Zuo Nian smelled so good.
When Zuo Nian had been without A‑Beibei, he had been the one to give him comfort, to hold him in his arms. Yet now that his own susceptible period had arrived, Zuo Nian had flown overseas.
So far away. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t drag him back.
Duan Baisui shook his head hard, forced himself upright, and pulled open the bedside drawer. He took out a syringe of inhibitor.
Without the slightest hesitation, he pushed the needle into the vein at his wrist.
Two years ago, the doctor had told him that for an Alpha of his rank, the best way to get through his susceptible period was to find a compatible Omega. Over time, inhibitors would only grow less and less effective.
Back then he’d dismissed it, convinced he would never let instinct control him.
Yet now, he was pacing around the bedroom like a bundle of nerves, and the inhibitor hadn’t made him feel any better at all.
He rushed into the walk‑in closet, scooping up armful after armful of Zuo Nian’s clothes.
What else? What else still carried his scent?
By the time he was done, the bedroom was a complete mess.
The restlessness and violence churning through his body made it impossible to settle down.
He slid down to sit on the floor, burying himself in the pile of Zuo Nian’s clothes.
His tequila‑sharp Alpha pheromones rampaged through the room, baring their fangs and claws, howling for someone to soothe them.
His phone chimed twice with WeChat notifications. He hadn’t meant to look, but some selfish part of him thought that it might be a message from Zuo Nian.
He groped across the nightstand, finally finding his phone in a corner.
Unlocking the screen and opening WeChat, he saw Zuo Nian’s name jump straight to the top of the chat list—it really was him.
Zuo Nian: *Gege, are you asleep?*
A warped little laugh escaped Duan Baisui.
He didn’t reply with text. Instead, he tapped to start a video call.
It was as if Zuo Nian had been waiting, phone in hand; the moment the call went through, he accepted.
On screen, the Omega looked freshly washed, still in his yellow SpongeBob pajama set. His hair was half‑dry, and he sat on the edge of the bed like a small, delicious sponge cake.
“Gege?” he called tentatively.
Duan Baisui had switched off every light in the bedroom. Right now, he could see Zuo Nian clearly, while Zuo Nian couldn’t see him at all.
“Mm,” Duan Baisui answered in a low voice.
“Did I wake you up?” Zuo Nian asked apologetically.
He was in New York. By his calculation, it should be about ten in the evening back in China. Usually at that hour, Duan Baisui either hadn’t gone to bed yet or was still out at a social engagement. Zuo Nian had only messaged on a whim, never expecting him to respond with a video call right away.
Secretly, he was delighted.
But staring at the pitch‑black screen, he couldn’t help feeling a twinge of unease.
“No,” Duan Baisui said. “I just got home.”
“Why aren’t you turning on the light?” Zuo Nian asked in puzzlement.
Clutching a bundle of Zuo Nian’s pajamas, eyes fixed on the face on screen, Duan Baisui said, “I don’t feel like it.”
“Gege, what’s wrong? You sound a little unhappy.” Zuo Nian scooted closer, as if he could peer through the darkness to see him.
Duan Baisui’s grip on the phone tightened. If he could, he would have reached through the glass and dragged Zuo Nian out.
He wanted him pressed against his chest, wanted him to release that sweet scent and wind himself around him.
“Nothing,” Duan Baisui forced down the frenzy in his chest and spoke calmly. “How are things over there?”
“Pretty good. My English is awful, but luckily Dad is with me,” Zuo Nian answered shyly.
“Mm. Do you stay with Dad every day? Met any new friends?”
An Alpha in his susceptible period was hypersensitive and suspicious. If he couldn’t keep his Omega by his side, he couldn’t help but probe.
“New friends? I met a doctor,” Zuo Nian said guilelessly. “He’s Chinese too, so we can talk really well.”
A strange smile touched Duan Baisui’s lips. “Is he an Alpha?”
“How did you know?”
“What do you two talk about?”
Thank goodness he’d turned off the lights—otherwise, Zuo Nian would have seen how dark and frightening his face looked right now.
“We don’t really talk about much,” Zuo Nian said, scratching his head. “Gege, the days here feel so, so long…”
Duan Baisui said nothing.
He kept thinking about what Zuo Nian and that doctor Alpha might talk about.
Did he also speak in that soft, drawn‑out tone, unconsciously acting spoiled?
Did he also smile with his eyes curved sweetly while he chatted with someone else?
Did he also look up at that Alpha with eyes full of admiration?
The more Duan Baisui thought about it, the more agitated he became. His hand holding the phone began to tremble—
Not just with anger, but with a perverse excitement at feeling provoked.
“I can’t get used to the food here. I really, really miss Aunt Liu’s crab‑roe wontons,” Zuo Nian went on.
“But Nian‑nian will be back soon.”
He chattered on for a while, and when he still didn’t get a reply, he finally asked in confusion, “Gege, did you fall asleep?”
“No.”
“Gege, are you sick? You don’t sound very good.”
“I’m fine,” Duan Baisui replied curtly.
His fingertips traced the outline of Zuo Nian’s face on the screen.
So pretty. He’d be even prettier if he cried.
“Honey, are you up yet?” came Ason’s knock at the door.
“I’m up, Dad,” Zuo Nian called back.
“Then I’m coming in.”
“Okay~”
After answering, Zuo Nian turned back to the screen. “Gege, then you should rest early. Nian‑nian’s going to hang up now, okay?”
“Mm.”
“Goodnight, Gege.”
“Goodnight.”
With a soft *beep*, the screen went dark again.
Duan Baisui shut his eyes, working to steady his breathing.
Beads of sweat seeped from his temples. It felt as if thousands of ants were crawling under his skin, every inch of flesh and bone burning and itching.
Clinging to his last shred of rationality, he pulled another syringe of high‑dose inhibitor from the drawer and drove the needle hard into his wrist.
This time, it seemed just barely enough to suppress the violence roaring inside him. The heat under his skin eased, if only a little.
There was a knock at the bedroom door. “Young Master, are you all right?” Aunt Liu’s voice sounded from outside. “Mr. Zuo just called and said you might be sick. Do you need me to call a doctor for you?”
The physical discomfort of his susceptible period had lessened, but two doses of potent inhibitor left Duan Baisui with ringing ears and a pounding heart.
He leaned against the bed, breathing heavily.
“Young Master? Young Master, then I’m coming in, all right?”
As a Beta, Aunt Liu couldn’t smell pheromones at all.
The instant she pushed the door open, the hallway light spilled into the dark room.
Seeing the young man curled up amidst the heap of clothes, she couldn’t help crying out in alarm.
She’d been with the Duan family for many years.
One look told her he was in the middle of his susceptible period—and that this time, things were bad.
She didn’t dare lay a hand on an Alpha in such a state. The approach of an outsider could easily trigger him, driving him to lash out uncontrollably.
With Zuo Nian absent and no Omega pheromones there to soothe him, Aunt Liu hastily closed the door again and hurried to the living room to call the family doctor.
Once the doctor had promised to come as quickly as possible, she called Duan Yan.
He had already been in bed. The moment he heard Aunt Liu’s report, he shot upright.
He was an Alpha himself; he knew all too well what this meant.
For Duan Baisui to end up like this most likely meant the inhibitors had already stopped working on him.
And right now, an Alpha in his susceptible period was extremely dangerous.
Duan Yan threw on his clothes. Xu Yi, having heard Aunt Liu’s words as well, wanted to go with him.
“You’re an Omega, and you’re still sick. Is it really appropriate for you to go?” Duan Yan said anxiously. “Be good and stay home. I’ll let you know as soon as there’s any news.”
Xu Yi sank back onto the bed. Duan Yan couldn’t stand seeing him look so lost. Bending over, he kissed his forehead and said, “Nothing’s going to happen. Don’t worry—wait for my call.”
“Okay.”
The roads were icy with snow, and the driver had to go slowly.
When Duan Yan arrived, the doctor was in the middle of examining Duan Baisui.
The young Alpha had already lost consciousness. Pale‑faced, he lay on the bed, fingers locked around a cartoon pajama top that he refused to let go.
The thick scent of Alpha pheromones in the room made Duan Yan’s head swim, but as his father, he could bear it.
“Dr. Lu, how is my son?” he asked.
Picking up two empty syringes from the floor and checking the codes and letters printed on them, Lu Congqian sighed. “Mr. Duan, these are high‑strength inhibitors. Young Master Duan injected two of them himself, so he fainted. For now his body is fine, but I strongly recommend isolating him and getting his Omega here as soon as possible.”
“His Omega is in America. He may not be able to make it back in time,” Duan Yan said.