Chapter 25
Selfish.
The word lingered heavily in Jiang Li's mind as he stepped into the enormous lobby of Shen Biotech. Bright white lights reflected against polished marble floors while employees in tailored suits walked past him with hurried footsteps and quiet conversations.
Yet Jiang Li barely noticed any of it.
His thoughts remained tangled elsewhere.
On Shen Yu.
Always Shen Yu.
And the more he thought about him, the more suffocating the guilt inside his chest became.
Because he truly had been selfish.
From the very beginning.
How many times had he secretly followed Shen Yu just for the comfort of seeing him from afar? At the time, Jiang Li never stopped to consider how invasive or unsettling it would feel if the man ever discovered it.
Seeing him had simply become enough.
Enough to calm him.
Enough to make lonely days feel bearable.
And then there was the night at the club.
Jiang Li's fingers curled tightly inside the sleeves of his hoodie as the memory surfaced again.
Back then, he had genuinely believed Shen Yu was an Alpha. He knew he was close to heat, yet he still walked willingly into that club knowing exactly what could happen if an Alpha reacted to his scent.
Part of him had wanted Shen Yu to react.
And in the end—
he did.
Even now, Jiang Li could still remember the overwhelming scent of whiskey and rosewood surrounding him that night, the way Shen Yu had held him as though instinct had stripped away every ounce of restraint he possessed.
At some point during everything, Jiang Li's rabbit mask had slipped off entirely.
Yet afterward, Shen Yu still failed to recognize him.
That memory should have humiliated Jiang Li more than anything else. Instead, guilt and happiness became tangled together so tightly inside him that he could no longer separate the two.
Because despite the lies, despite the manipulation, despite knowing how wrong it had been—
some selfish part of him had still been happy.
Happy that Shen Yu wanted him.
Even if it had only been instinct.
Jiang Li lowered his gaze as he walked toward the administration desk.
He used to think love was supposed to make people gentle.
But somewhere along the way, his feelings for Shen Yu had twisted into something desperate enough to hurt them both.
And now, after seeing the devastated look on Shen Yu's face earlier, Jiang Li finally understood the damage he had caused.
Still—
he came here anyway.
"Sir?"
The voice pulled Jiang Li from his thoughts.
A woman sat behind the front desk, her manicured fingers resting lightly against a keyboard. Her makeup was polished and elegant, bright red lipstick contrasting against slightly tanned skin.
A beta.
Jiang Li recognized it instantly from the complete absence of pheromones.
"I want to see Kim Taehyun," he said quietly.
The woman glanced up properly at him for the first time, and something flickered through her expression almost immediately.
Recognition.
Judgment.
Because anyone could tell Jiang Li was an omega.
His pale skin, soft features, and naturally delicate appearance made it obvious.
And unfortunately, he was beautiful enough to attract attention without trying.
The woman's eyes narrowed slightly as another face likely surfaced in her mind.
He Lian.
The omega often seen standing beside Kim Taehyun.
Ah.
So this was the situation.
Jiang Li saw the exact moment her attitude changed.
People had always been easy to read.
If even strangers misunderstand this... then what did Shen Yu think?
The thought alone made his chest tighten painfully.
"You can't just walk in here demanding to see the CEO," the woman said coldly. "Even executives need appointments. Who exactly are you?"
Without responding, Jiang Li quietly placed the black card onto the desk. Along with it came the thin white paper Taehyun had told him to show anyone who stopped him.
The woman's expression instantly paled.
All hostility disappeared so quickly it almost felt absurd.
"I apologize," she said hurriedly while standing up. "Please wait a moment."
After quickly checking Kim Taehyun's schedule, she directed Jiang Li upstairs.
The walk through the company felt unbearably long.
People stared openly as he passed them. An omega dressed in an oversized black hoodie and sweatpants looked painfully out of place among expensive suits and polished shoes.
Whispers followed quietly behind him.
Jiang Li kept walking anyway.
Eventually, he stopped in front of a large wooden office door and knocked twice.
"Come in."
Kim Taehyun's voice sounded calm and deep from the other side.
Jiang Li pushed the door open slowly.
Taehyun sat behind his desk signing papers lazily, though the moment he looked up and saw Jiang Li standing there, a slow grin spread across his face.
The expression irritated Jiang Li immediately.
The Alpha looked far too pleased.
Jiang Li stepped inside and quietly closed the door behind him while Taehyun rose from his chair and leaned casually against the edge of the desk, arms folded loosely across his chest.
Like he had been expecting this all along.
"Let's skip the unnecessary conversation," Jiang Li said tiredly. "I'm exhausted."
Taehyun chuckled softly.
"Straight to business?"
Jiang Li ignored him.
"Can you really do what you promised?"
For a moment, Taehyun simply stared at him before opening one of the drawers behind him and pulling out a plain white bottle.
No label.
No information.
Nothing.
Jiang Li frowned immediately.
"Why is it blank?"
Taehyun glanced toward him lazily.
"What? Did you want Shen Yu to find out you're trying to turn him into an Alpha?"
The words made Jiang Li freeze.
"Especially when he already hates Alphas."
Silence filled the room.
Because suddenly, Jiang Li realized there was still so much he didn't know about Shen Yu.
Hates Alphas?
Since when?
And if that was true… then what exactly was Jiang Li trying to force onto him?
His fingers tightened slowly.
Was this really love?
If he truly loved Shen Yu, shouldn't he accept him exactly as he was?
Then why did he keep trying to change him?
Taehyun noticed the hesitation almost instantly.
Slowly, the Alpha stepped closer.
"People tend to resent the things they were never allowed to have," Taehyun said quietly. "When someone spends their entire life denied something, eventually they convince themselves they hate it."
His dark eyes remained fixed on Jiang Li.
"But once they finally gain it…" he continued softly, "that resentment disappears surprisingly fast."
Jiang Li remained silent, though his hands had already begun trembling.
"You wouldn't be the only one benefiting from this."
Taehyun lowered his voice.
"Don't you want Shen Yu to stay beside you properly?"
The words slipped directly into Jiang Li's deepest fears.
"Don't you want him to help you through your heats?"
Jiang Li's breathing turned uneven.
"Don't you want to become real mates?"
The room suddenly felt smaller.
Warmer.
"You already know he can't fully protect you like this."
Then gently—
Taehyun placed the bottle into Jiang Li's trembling hands.
"Take it."
Jiang Li stared silently at the pills resting inside the bottle.
And despite every warning screaming inside his chest—
his fingers slowly closed around it.
...
"Stay close to Shen Yu," Taehyun had said before Jiang Li left. "Giving him the pills will be easier that way."
Those words repeated endlessly in Jiang Li's mind as he stood outside Shen Yu's penthouse later that evening.
But things were no longer that simple.
Not after the way he had left earlier.
Not after the expression on Shen Yu's face.
Jiang Li exhaled quietly before lifting his hand to knock.
Yet before his knuckles could touch the door—
it suddenly opened on its own.
"Shen—"
The name died instantly in his throat.
A terrifying wave of pheromones slammed directly into him.
Jiang Li froze.
The scent of whiskey and rosewood filled the penthouse so heavily it almost felt physical, pressing against his lungs and skin until breathing became difficult.
His omega instincts screamed immediately.
Run.
Submit.
Bare your neck.
Yet beneath the fear was something far more dangerous.
The scent was intoxicating.
His knees weakened almost instantly.
Heat flooded through his body so violently that Jiang Li nearly stumbled.
His face burned red.
Warmth pooled low in his stomach before a strange dampness spread slowly between his thighs.
Jiang Li's eyes widened in panic.
What was happening to him?
Breathing unevenly, he forced himself deeper into the penthouse—
and finally saw Shen Yu kneeling on the living room floor.
The man looked completely unlike himself.
Sweat soaked through his clothes while damp strands of black hair clung to his forehead and neck.
His breathing came out rough.
Uneven.
Almost animalistic.
As though he were fighting desperately for control over his own body.
Then his eyes suddenly snapped open.
Gold.
Bright, predatory gold.
Jiang Li stopped breathing.
Every omega learned to fear those eyes from childhood.
Because there was only one thing they could mean.
Rut.