Ruan Shuyang nervously walked through the unfamiliar, upscale club with his fiancé, Pei Siming.
He had been arranged to marry Pei Siming right after he came of age. Initially, he held no expectations for the Alpha chosen by his family, but Pei Siming turned out to be unexpectedly kind.
Pei Siming never scolded him, patiently listened to his words, and even bought him exceptionally delicious pastries.
These were things he had never experienced at home.
He truly liked Pei Siming.
So, when Pei Siming mentioned needing his help today, Ruan Shuyang immediately followed, eager to assist.
Pei Siming led him to a club he had never visited before.
The club exuded luxury. The elevator lobby walls were constructed from gilded marble, their natural golden veins flowing like molten lava beneath glass panels. After ascending to the fourth floor, the corridor walls were adorned with ink-wash wallpaper, reminiscent of a splashed-ink landscape painting.
They walked along the corridor until they reached a private room at the very end. Pei Siming gazed at Ruan Shuyang with a complex expression, then gently touched Ruan Shuyang's soft cheek—it was smooth and delicate, even silkier than the finest satin.
Ruan Shuyang was a strikingly beautiful male Omega, bearing no resemblance to Ruan Jianchuan, but rather to his mother, a former genius jewelry designer.
His skin was like translucent porcelain bathed in moonlight, almost ethereal in its paleness, with a faint pink blush on his cheeks and lips the color of freshly bloomed cherry blossoms. At eighteen, his Omega physique was not yet fully developed—his face was small, his eyes large and almond-shaped, glistening with moisture. His figure was slender, his waist so narrow it could be encircled with one hand.
Such a beautiful, alluring, and obedient Omega always looked at him with unwavering trust, his eyes sparkling brightly every time he met Pei Siming's gaze.
Pei Siming could clearly discern Ruan Shuyang's profound admiration and affection for him.
But alas, he was a bastard.
If not for that, Pei Siming might have considered keeping him around for a while longer, just for amusement.
Remembering that he still needed the young Omega's assistance, Pei Siming gently instructed, "Once we go inside, you'll meet someone crucial for my business. Do whatever he asks. Don't resist, understand?"
Ruan Shuyang instinctively felt something was amiss and looked up, intending to ask a question. However, seeing Pei Siming's gentle expression, he swallowed his words.
*Yes, Pei Siming had been so good to him. It was only right that he reciprocate.*
But lost in his hopeful thoughts, he failed to notice the cold calculation hidden behind that gentle gaze.
Pei Siming only intended to use him.
The door to the private room opened, revealing a tall, robust Alpha in his forties. The Alpha seemed to have neither used suppressants nor worn a suppressor patch. Ruan Shuyang caught a whiff of sulfur-scented Alpha pheromones and felt a wave of nausea.
The way the Alpha looked at him also made him deeply uncomfortable—like a venomous snake flicking its tongue.
The moment Pei Siming stepped inside, he frowned almost imperceptibly, but then casually pulled Ruan Shuyang in as if nothing was amiss.
Once Ruan Shuyang entered, the door closed behind him. The unfamiliar Alpha pheromones in the room made him extremely uneasy. Instinctively, he looked to Pei Siming for help, but Pei Siming seemed utterly oblivious to his distress. Instead, he pulled Ruan Shuyang to sit next to the Alpha, trapping him between two Alphas. The oppressive atmosphere made it hard to breathe, and even the gland on the back of his neck, usually covered by a suppressor patch, began to stir uncomfortably.
Lu Zheng looked down at the Omega Pei Siming had brought—too thin, with shoulders so frail that his prominent shoulder blades were visible through his T-shirt.
He frowned deeply.
He never liked overly thin Omegas—they were too fragile, easily broken after just a bit of rough handling. He usually preferred fuller-figured ones.
So he looked at Pei Siming discontentedly and asked, "Why is he so thin?"
Pei Siming smiled and replied, "There are advantages to being thin. Besides, he's… safe."
Lu Zheng understood what Pei Siming meant by "safe." This pitifully thin young Omega was a bargaining chip pushed out by his family. As long as he wasn't killed, no one would stand up for him even if he were disabled—they'd just compensate his family with more money.
Ruan Shuyang cautiously glanced at the two Alphas beside him, sensing something wrong with their conversation. Just as he was about to ask Pei Siming what was happening, he felt Pei Siming's hand on his shoulder, pressing down with enough force to keep him from standing.
Pei Siming leaned on his shoulder as he stood up and whispered to him, "I'm stepping out for a bit. Stay here and entertain Mr. Lu Zheng."
Before Ruan Shuyang could process what that meant, Pei Siming stood up and left the room, closing the door behind him.
Once Pei Siming was gone, Lu Zheng seemed to shed all restraint. His Alpha pheromones began to spread unchecked, and he swiftly tore off the suppressor patch on the Omega beside him.
Caught off guard, Ruan Shuyang instinctively covered his gland and stared at Lu Zheng in shock.
Lu Zheng revealed a cruel smile.
"Don't you know what's happening?" Lu Zheng said maliciously. "Your fiancé sold you to me—for a very good price. I hope you don't disappoint me."
Ruan Shuyang's eyes widened in disbelief. His body moved faster than his mind—he stood up and bolted for the door.
Lu Zheng grabbed him, his large hand clamping around Ruan Shuyang's wrist like an iron grip. No matter how hard Ruan Shuyang struggled, he couldn't break free.
"Go on, struggle. It's more fun that way," Lu Zheng said mockingly. "I hate Omegas who just lie there like a dead fish—no feeling at all."
Ruan Shuyang barely registered Lu Zheng's words, frantically trying to break free. When he realized he couldn't, he bit down hard on Lu Zheng's wrist.
Despite his delicate appearance, Ruan Shuyang had four sharp canine teeth, and he bit down hard enough to make Lu Zheng cry out in pain.
Lu Zheng winced, instinctively shaking Ruan Shuyang off, his face darkening. "I enjoy watching a fish struggle in its final throes, but I don't like Omegas who resist too much. If you piss me off, you might leave here missing something."
The force of Lu Zheng's throw sent Ruan Shuyang stumbling near the door. Ignoring the pain, he scrambled up and frantically tried to turn the door handle to escape.
Lu Zheng sneered, approaching slowly and deliberately. Pei Siming had undoubtedly locked the door from the outside—Ruan Shuyang was like a rat in a trap, unable to escape. Lu Zheng could enjoy watching his prey struggle.
But then he saw Ruan Shuyang twist the door handle and slip out in a flash.
Lu Zheng was momentarily stunned, unsure what had gone wrong. When he recovered, his face turned livid with anger. By the time he chased out into the hallway, there was no sign of Ruan Shuyang. He immediately kicked open the door to the adjacent room where his bodyguards and secretary were stationed and ordered them to find the Omega.
After escaping the room, Ruan Shuyang instinctively wanted to hide somewhere out of sight from the private room entrance.
Fortunately, the emergency exit a few steps away was unattended. He dashed into the stairwell, hoping to escape through it.
As he descended, he gradually felt his strength fading. His body temperature rose, his legs grew weaker, and the scent of lily of the valley from his unblocked gland grew increasingly cloyingly sweet. Heat waves surged within his body.
An Alpha's pheromones could forcibly induce and accelerate an Omega's heat. The Alpha's unrestrained release of pheromones earlier was likely intended to trigger his heat.
Only an Omega in heat could be permanently marked.
Though Ruan Shuyang detested the sulfur-scented pheromones, his body couldn't help but react instinctively.
The overwhelming heat waves during an Omega's heat drained all his strength. As he clung to the stair railings and reached the stairwell door on the third floor, he suddenly heard voices from below.
"Quick, search up the stairwell—see if that Omega came this way."
Ruan Shuyang's heart raced. Just as he was about to push open the stairwell door to hide from the men searching the stairs, he suddenly heard a familiar voice on the other side of the door.
Through the gap in the door, Ruan Shuyang saw two people standing on the other side—one of them was his fiancé, Pei Siming.
Pei Siming's back was turned, so his expression wasn't visible, but the person beside him asked, "Your little Omega should have already been taken by now. Do you feel any regret?"
"Him?" Pei Siming sneered, his voice dripping with mockery and ice. "A worthless bastard. Even touching him feels dirty. If it weren't for needing a marriage arrangement as a cover to cooperate with Ruan's Jewelry, I would never have gotten engaged to him."
"Is that so? Then I can rest assured—"
Ruan Shuyang felt as if he'd been struck by lightning, the immense blow instantly draining the color from his face, and he nearly collapsed.
But the sound of footsteps from the first floor jolted him back to awareness—he had no time to grieve and needed to escape quickly.
Seeing people chasing him from downstairs, he gritted his teeth and ran upstairs.
The third-floor emergency exit was not an option, and the fourth floor was where that disgusting Alpha's private room was located. The entire club had only five floors, leaving him with no choice but to head to the top level.
**
Pei Siyue had just exited his office on the top floor of the club with his secretary, Jiang Wu, and was about to take the elevator when he heard an unusual sound coming from the emergency exit door.
Jiang Wu immediately stepped in front of Pei Siyue, producing a heavy stun baton and watching warily the direction of the emergency exit.
Normally, security or staff were stationed at the club's emergency exits, and access was restricted unless there was an emergency. Although the person guarding the top-floor emergency exit had been dismissed because Pei Siyue needed to discuss matters with the young master of the Chi family, Chi Hang, other floors should still have guards—no one should be running around in the emergency stairwell...
Worried something was wrong, Jiang Wu positioned himself protectively in front of Pei Siyue while moving to the side, holding the stun baton defensively in front of him.
The emergency exit door was pushed open, and to Jiang Wu's surprise, the person emerging from the stairwell was an Omega who appeared underage.
Moreover, this Omega seemed to have unstable pheromones and was in pre-heat. As an Alpha, Jiang Wu could smell the potent scent of Omega pheromones in the air.
It was lily of the valley.
The Omega lifted his face—innocent, stunning, and alluring.
Jiang Wu had never imagined these three qualities could coexist in one person, but seeing this Omega made it conceivable.
The Omega was exceptionally beautiful, with large almond eyes glistening with unshed tears, lips like ripe cherries—pink and flushed. His features should have been the epitome of purity, but now, with the faint blush on his cheeks and the subtle flush of desire at the corners of his eyes, he exuded a seductive charm.
His cherry lips parted unconsciously, panting softly. His once-clear eyes now looked at them in a daze, misty and filled with longing.
Ruan Shuyang stumbled his way to the top floor, confused to see the two Alphas standing before him.
Having run all the way here, he had reached his limit. His body, overwhelmed by heat, could no longer hold him up, and his legs gave way, about to collapse.
Just as Jiang Wu hesitated, unsure whether to catch him or step aside, he noticed that Pei Siyue—whom he had been protecting—had somehow moved beside him and caught the falling Omega.
Ruan Shuyang fell against the stranger's chest, his first reaction being how cold it felt, as if he had been thrown into icy water. He shivered involuntarily, clutching the Alpha's clothes and murmuring unconsciously, "So cold."
Seeing Pei Siyue holding the Omega, Jiang Wu immediately stood guard nearby and cautioned, "Young Master."
Pei Siyue looked down at the Omega in his arms. In truth, he had recognized the Omega's identity at first glance.
Before returning to the country, he had investigated everyone in the Pei family, including those closely associated with them.
As an Enigma, he possessed exceptional intelligence and memory, having memorized everyone's files. He knew the Omega in his arms was Ruan Shuyang, who had become engaged to his half-brother, Pei Siming, just a few months ago.
He gripped Ruan Shuyang's chin, intending to ask something, when he felt the young Omega in his arms shudder and murmur unconsciously again, "So cold."
Pei Siyue narrowed his eyes slightly, examining Ruan Shuyang curiously.
As an Enigma at the pinnacle of the hierarchy, his pheromone level surpassed that of ordinary Alphas and Omegas. He was naturally immune to Omega pheromones and could suppress all Alpha pheromones.
When he wasn't intentionally releasing his pheromones, this Omega shouldn't have been able to sense anything. Yet, not only did this young Omega sense it—he felt cold.
His pheromones only turned icy when he was in a bad mood, and recent events had indeed left him feeling quite displeased.
This was the first time an Omega had been able to perceive his unreleased pheromones.