The air was terrifyingly silent. After a “snap,” a pair of black-and-white eyes appeared beneath the yellowed journal.
“So, not only did you go to the Old Mansion behind my back, but you got caught?” His tone was icy cold, his gaze sweeping over the three of them, finally landing on the slender Shi Yuxing.
Shi Yuxing’s slightly parted lips were about to form a syllable when someone cut in: “The butler said he wouldn’t tell Grandmother.”
Gu Lingzhou’s eyes shot over like blades. “He said he wouldn’t, so he won’t?” Warm light fell on Gu Lingzhou’s head, the shadow cast by his brow bones making his face look especially terrifying.
Da Ling picked up the coffee on the coffee table. “The butler seems to know about the biological lab, and even knows that Chu Ke is the illegitimate child.” He took a sip of caffeine, then suddenly frowned. “Having been around him for so long, I think he no longer wants to continue helping Kolia, which is why he tacitly allowed our actions.”
The tea-colored pupils trembled.
Those eyes, hidden behind the lenses, had closed with the words: “I won’t tell anyone, Young Masters.” And, as they’d fled in panic, Shi Yuxing had caught in the midst of his racing heart: “None of you are the young master, are you.”
He’d noticed. Gu Lingzhou wasn’t Gu Lingzhou.
The beta rubbed his arms. The three alphas were still bickering, no one paying attention to his movements.
“Um…” Shi Yuxing stepped in front of them. “There’s one most important thing—I think he might already know about you three.”
Three pairs of eyes swept over simultaneously, all pausing in shock.
“The three of you… I’m a little scared.” Shi Yuxing stretched out his hands, gripping the fabric of his clothes. His thin lips pressed tightly together, his tea-colored eyes fixed on a spot on the coffee table, his lashes trembling more rapidly.
His shoulders quivered slightly, his heartbeat erratic. A swaying blade seemed to hang above his head, ready to drop and pierce through him at any moment.
The next second, his wrist was pulled—he fell into an embrace carrying the scent of wood.
Xiao Zhou jumped up from the sofa. “Hey! You!”
Gu Lingzhou was already a head taller than him. His eyes were close to the other’s chest. Gu Lingzhou’s chin rested on the top of his head, his hand gently stroking his back. “Nothing will go wrong.”
His ear pressed against the alpha’s chest, the sound echoing in his ear—he couldn’t tell if it was his own heartbeat or Gu Lingzhou’s.
“Hey!” Xiao Zhou fumed, circling around to reach for Shi Yuxing’s arm.
A sound of “Ouch” came from the sofa.
Shi Yuxing pulled away from Gu Lingzhou and turned his head—to see Da Ling doubled over, clutching his stomach, his features twisted.
“What’s wrong with you?” Shi Yuxing rushed over. This guy had been having stomach issues this afternoon—could something be wrong? He sat down beside Da Ling. The moment his butt touched the leather sofa, weight pressed down on his thigh.
Huh?
Then, his waist was seized. “Let me lie down for a bit. Not feeling well.”
Shi Yuxing: ?
Wait a minute—had he been tricked?
The two alphas he’d abandoned seemed to emanate black fumes, their identical faces dark as iron, as if ready to hack the man on his lap to pieces.
Gu Lingzhou strode over and claimed the empty spot on his other side. Xiao Zhou yelped and had no choice but to hug Shi Yuxing’s neck from behind the sofa. The fir scent in the air clashed back and forth, weighing Shi Yuxing down.
Before he could complain, the phone on the coffee table rang.
It was Gu Lingzhou’s phone. Shi Yuxing shot him a look to answer it. Gu Lingzhou clung to him, unmoving. Left with no choice, Shi Yuxing dragged his heavy body to reach for it.
“It’s An Bao.”
He answered. On the other end came heavy breathing and urgent footsteps—sounding like he’d stepped in a puddle.
“Huff… huff… little brother, I know I shouldn’t be calling you right now, but huff… I need a favor. Can you contact the stationed troops near Ck07 Planet and have them use professional tracking equipment to check for any suspicious flyers in the area recently? Fuck—let those bastards get away.” An Bao cursed, the friction of his soles against the ground gradually softening, his words becoming more solid.
With the speaker on, his voice grew louder: “I found the person Chu Xiaoyun mentioned—at the black market on Ck07 Planet. Damn it—they got away.”
“The one Chu Xiaoyun stabbed?” Shi Yuxing dug up the information from the depths of his memory.
“Little sister-in-law, you’re there too.” An Bao still found time to greet him. “It’s him. You have no idea what I’ve been through—the opportunity I traded with my own life got away just like that. Hard to catch as a loach.”
An Bao’s words were confusing. Gu Lingzhou: “I can make the contact, but catching criminals is your police department’s job. Military equipment requires approval from higher-ups.”
“Fuck, you think I don’t know that?” An Bao scratched his head in frustration, then glanced back at the cuffed omega—who was as limp as dead meat, not even struggling. He frowned, turned back, and clicked his tongue. “Tch. If it weren’t for the corruption in this godforsaken place—not even a decent satellite tracking system—I wouldn’t have let them get away. Now they’re in the sky, and I’ve got no leads.”
Shi Yuxing roughly pieced together what had happened: An Bao had found the organization of Wuchang and his people, but due to local police incompetence, they’d escaped.
“But it’s not a total loss—caught a few small fry.” An Bao rubbed his throbbing temples, his gaze returning to the seductive omega. “First, help me ask. It’d be best if you can track where they’re heading. Ugh, headache. Gotta go.”
He hung up the phone, took a deep breath of the pungent air, and his sharp gaze locked onto the black market members they’d arrested. “Take them back for thorough interrogation. If anyone else escapes, I’ll report to Imperial Headquarters. The police department here needs a full cleansing.” He squinted, wishing he could strangle the local officers who had arrived late on the scene.
No manpower, no technology—all the technical funds allocated from above had been swallowed into the dogs’ bellies.
“Captain,” his assistant hurried over in a panic, “should we take everything from that street back as well?”
An Bao closed his eyes. “Do I even need to say that? Bag it all and take it back.”
…
Steam squeezed out of the bathroom, steaming the person inside even paler and more delicate.
“A shower feels so good.” Shi Yuxing towel-dried his dripping hair, looking at the three people sitting on the bed. “Have you all showered too?”
The next second, the three found their positions under the covers, leaving a gap in the middle.
Shi Yuxing waved his hand. “I’ll go to the next room to dry my hair.”
The whirring of a hairdryer was brought in from next door. Shi Yuxing sat on the bed while the person behind him dried his damp hair.
Xiao Zhou kneaded his calves, crouching on the floor and looking up with a sly grin. “Wifey, does that feel good? Want me to go lighter?” The next second, the pressure on his shoulder increased, and Shi Yuxing yelped: “Ah! Gu Lingzhou, are you trying to kill me?!”
The hairdryer fell silent. Da Ling rubbed his soft, fluffy hair. “All done, Yuxing.”
Shi Yuxing immediately crawled under the covers. Someone quickly pressed up against him. He glared at the person who’d squeezed his shoulder too hard. “You’re warming my feet tonight.”
Xiao Zhou shoved him aside, gleefully hugging Shi Yuxing: “Hear that? It’s your turn to sleep at the foot of the bed.”
Gu Lingzhou said nothing, just looked at him with those deep eyes. Shi Yuxing showed no mercy, turned over, and closed his eyes.
In the darkness, the distant glow of neon lights intruded. Shi Yuxing frowned and sank into a nightmare.
He touched each cylindrical glass container—the people locked inside, eyes closed and mouths open, as if begging for help. He turned to examine the fleshy spheres bottled on the table—were they alpha glands or omega glands? Or perhaps, like him, beta glands?
Suddenly, he sensed something. He leaned in—the gland before him twitched, then pulsed again and again, mirroring the rhythm of a heartbeat, imitating his breathing.
He stepped back warily and bumped into something. His heart skipped a beat. “Gu Lingzhou?”
He turned around—but was met with eyes as dark and round as Gu Lingzhou’s. “Xingxing, now that you know my secret, you’ll become nutrients here too.” In the blink of an eye, something seized his shoulders, forcing him to his knees.
His tea-colored eyes lost their usual calm composure. Dust fell from above, vibrating with him. “Let go of me! Let go!”
Then, all the people immersed in the cylindrical glass containers opened their eyes, frantically pounding the glass. Shi Yuxing froze in terror—in his pupils, all those naked figures had Gu Lingzhou’s face.
Behind Grandmother appeared a reflective lens, as she elegantly removed her white gloves. “Guess which one is the real young master?”
Shi Yuxing tried to reach for the person choking in the solution, but his body wouldn’t move, gradually losing strength.
When he opened his eyes again, searing liquid filtered over his body. His throat was parched. Before his eyes was blue liquid—and a distorted world seen through glass.
“Ha—mmph!” The person in bed fluttered his lashes rapidly, showing signs of waking.
The dense fir scent was inescapable. Gu Lingzhou traced his lip shape, hooking onto the softness once more.
“Mmhm~” Shi Yuxing whimpered softly, swallowing a flood of saliva.
Night twisted together steam and breath. Faint wind and light rain composed a symphony, entering the exposition with drums beating against the musician’s heart.
The cold air made the exposed pale skin shiver, the soft belly rising and falling. Suddenly, his lower back lifted into the air—like a wounded swan pierced by an arrow, suddenly falling. The beautiful white swan, stained with blood, had its white feathers plucked, its plump flesh roughly kneaded.
The development section of the symphony was free and fervent. Scalding hot water baptized the swan’s entire body. The swan’s tea-colored eyes opened, wanting to take one last look at the world—only to see a dark-eyed burly man walking into the dim cave.
“You!” Shi Yuxing dizzily tried to lift his eyes, but exhaustion forced them shut again.
The messenger of hell drew out silver threads, locking Shi Yuxing’s soul. The person in bed covered his eyes, his racing heart surging outward—and touched a handful of tears.
Gu Lingzhou’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He leaned in, his scorching body pressing down. At the corner of his eyes, several fluids intertwined, Shi Yuxing’s cheeks moist and glistening like a juicy peach. “Wifey’s tears are sweet too.” The alpha sighed by his ear.
Through the thin chest of the beta, one could see the beating of his heart. Weakly, he thought—was he still not awake yet? This was far more terrifying than the nightmare.
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