The moment the case of Kolia’s organization—which had harmed over two hundred alphas—was exposed, the entire world erupted. Not only because her late husband was a hero of Imperial Planet, but also because her grandson Gu Lingzhou, who had inherited his grandfather’s legacy, held enormous influence over Imperial Planet.
Suddenly, all kinds of voices mixed together, rumors spreading everywhere. Some said Gu Lingzhou should be stripped of his General title for covering up for his family. Others said Gu Lingzhou was also a victim—his parents had been framed. But most people focused on the Gu family gossip—which was perhaps its own kind of tragedy.
-Comment 1: Finding out Grandma Gu killed all those people just because her old lover’s illegitimate son had a damaged gland and needed an A-class gland transplant—I’m furious! Ordinary people’s lives aren’t lives? She deserves the death penalty!
-Comment 2: Exactly. The rich can even choose what scent their glands are. We ordinary folks are just petri dishes.
-Comment 3: Can Gu Lingzhou step down! I demand his dismissal! A descendant of a criminal like that—I don’t believe he can protect us. Down with the Gu family!
-Comment 4: Some of you are way too hateful toward General Gu. Everyone knows Gu Lingzhou and Gu Yuanshan led the charge in repelling Zerg attacks on many planets. And Kolia herself confessed that if Gu Lingzhou weren’t a public figure, she’d have taken his gland for Chu Ke too—he’s a victim as well!
-Comment 5: Gu Yuanshan knowing about his wife’s affair and still putting up with it is impressive. Rich people are something else, 666.
-Comment 6: WTF I just woke up—what happened, what happened?!
-Comment 7: General Gu’s grandmother Kolia was exposed as a black-market leader specializing in organ trafficking. Over the past six years, she’s harmed 254 alphas just for their glands. Most of these alphas were A-class, with a few S-class. They’re preparing for the trial on Imperial Planet now—not sure how it’ll turn out, but justice must be served for the victims!
-Comment 8: Go check out what that “” marketing account posted—they analyzed that Kolia had Gu Lingzhou and Shi Yuxing marry just for the gland of their future child. So absurd! Everyone knows Shi Yuxing is a beta—whether he can even have children is a question, let alone produce a high-class alpha.
-Comment 9: I went and checked. Isn’t Shi Yuxing a beta? Even if he successfully mated with an S-class alpha, pregnancy would be difficult, right? I remember when they got married, Gu Lingzhou’s fan club posted mockingly that he was a beta. But he is indeed good-looking and comes from money.
-Comment 10: Quietly whispering—actually, I think what the marketing account said makes sense. He might not be a beta. Kolia isn’t that stupid. If her goal was to save her illegitimate son and needed the same bloodline and A-class or above, then Shi Yuxing would at least be an A-class omega.
-Comment 11: Doesn’t anyone think these two look great together? They’re both so gorgeous—everyone, forget about classifications and just support free love! And General Gu obviously… is also very impressive in that regard. Getting a beta pregnant seems like a piece of cake for him! Finally, I pray for a wife who looks like Shi Yuxing—even if she’s a beta!
-Comment 12 replying to Comment 11: Shi Yuxing has a husband. Don’t be a homewrecker.
-Comment 13: If Shi Yuxing is an omega, he’s definitely above A-class. The omega young ladies and masters of those noble families are said to be S-class—much more valuable than this nouveau riche Shi family kid. I think Shi Yuxing is at least SS-class.
-Comment 14: I’m a doctor. He doesn’t have a gland on the back of his neck—he’s definitely not an omega. Why are you all so sure?
-Comment 15: Because he’s pretty.
-Comment 16: Because he’s pretty.
-Comment 17 replying to Comment 15: He has a husband.
-Comment 18 replying to Comment 16: He’s taken.
-Comment 18 replying to Comment 11: Speaking of which, Shi Yuxing is also a doctor, right? I’d love to have a doctor-patient romance with him. That cold-faced cute type of doctor cries the most beautifully—red eyes, sweet lips… Doctor! Please, punish me however you see fit!
-Comment 19 replying to Comment 18: Harassing a doctor is illegal. Your words are disgusting.
-Comment 20 replying to Comment 19: Who the hell are you? Mind your own business. Who asked you?
-Comment 21 replying to Comment 19: I feel like this account is actually Gu Lingzhou himself… General, is that you?
-Comment 22 replying to Comment 21: I’ve seen this ID under other posts too—always arguing with someone fantasizing about Shi Yuxing. I’m shook [argument screenshot.jpg]
-Comment 23 replying to Comment 22: I’m dying of laughter. The other person just lightly fangirled over Shi, and he chased them down like a mad dog calling them a shameless homewrecker hahahaha. Post the link so I can watch!
-Comment 24 replying to Comment 22: Please delete your comment.
-Comment 25 replying to Comment 24: There it is—the General appears whenever Shi Yuxing is mentioned. I’ll ship them first.
-Comment 26 replying to Comment 25: Thanks.
One minute later, this comment was deleted.
Shi Yuxing had just snatched Gu Lingzhou’s phone and deleted that comment when the phone was whisked away in a gust of wind. “Give it back!” He bared his teeth angrily at Gu Lingzhou. “Give it back—delete all those comments!”
Gu Lingzhou’s face still had droplets of water on it, a few strands of hair damp on his forehead. His bright eyes smiled at him. His raised arm showed smooth muscles, his hand nearly touching the ceiling—clearly not wanting Shi Yuxing to reach it. Shi Yuxing glared at him angrily, then sprang up with a bend of his knees. Several times in a row, his fingertips could barely graze the other’s elbow.
Slap—slippers hit the ground.
“Are you insane?! You’re under attack from so many people right now, and you dare expose yourself like this?!” He craned his neck, half his body leaning against Gu Lingzhou. The slender line of his neck disappeared into the wide collar of his shirt, and Gu Lingzhou could see the red raspberry marks, the edges adorned with neat teeth marks he’d left behind.
Seeing that the hand he could only admire from afar was starting to lower, Shi Yuxing reached even harder—then his waist was pulled tight, and a damp, mint-and-fir-scented kiss landed first. “Mmph!” Shi Yuxing’s eyes flew wide open.
The silver strand broke. Shi Yuxing panted heavily and buried himself in the alpha’s firm chest, biting down hard. A large hand slipped into his pajamas, stroking the smooth hollow of his lower back. His tall nose brushed through the soft hair, inhaling deeply.
Shi Yuxing pushed his face away, wiping his lips haphazardly. “Bastard…”
The next second, Gu Lingzhou’s head dropped onto his shoulder. Shi Yuxing’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Hey—are you really going to the trial tomorrow?”
After a moment, Gu Lingzhou’s deep breathing came from his shoulder, his magnetic voice tingling into Shi Yuxing’s reddened ears: “Will you come with me?”
Logically speaking, as a sensitive figure, Gu Lingzhou could choose not to attend for safety reasons. But if he insisted on going, no one could stop him except Shi Yuxing.
“I don’t want you to go.” Shi Yuxing frowned, stroking Gu Lingzhou’s back and patting it. Gu Lingzhou straightened up and lifted his head from his shoulder. Their eyes met, and Shi Yuxing continued: “There might be haters there. What if they hurt you?”
Gu Lingzhou let out a soft laugh, leaned in, and pecked the corner of his lips. “Why is your mouth so sweet?”
Shi Yuxing ignored his teasing, staring seriously into his smiling eyes. “I’m being serious. Don’t laugh. Your position is very sensitive right now. With Kolia arrested, people who don’t know the truth will drag you down with her. You’ve seen the posts online, haven’t you? Even though some people are defending you, there are still those who hate you. Haters won’t stop just because you’re a victim too—they want nothing more than for you to be worse off than them.” Shi Yuxing rushed through his words, then noticed that Gu Lingzhou’s gaze was growing softer and softer, the curve of his lips widening more and more.
“Are you done?” Gu Lingzhou asked. Shi Yuxing nodded, then shook his head. Gu Lingzhou pulled him into his embrace, and Shi Yuxing could feel the vibration in his chest. “Then do you like me?”
Shi Yuxing stiffened, not understanding what this had to do with anything, but still gave a slight nod, stubbornly adding: “Do I even need to say it?” He was pulled even tighter. The alpha’s body heat radiated into him, soothing his emotions. Gu Lingzhou stroked down his spine, again and again.
“I don’t care if others hate me or like me. I only want you to like me.”
The warm breath gave Shi Yuxing goosebumps. He hissed inwardly—he’d forgotten that this man didn’t fight fair. Ever since putting the ring on him, Gu Lingzhou had taken to blurting out one or two lines that made his head spin. Really… really shameless, without a shred of modesty.
His cheeks burning, Shi Yuxing pressed his forehead against Gu Lingzhou’s shoulder, the protruding bone at the back of his neck leading down toward his lower back. “Smooth talker,” he commented. After muttering that, he looked up at Gu Lingzhou’s handsome face with the scab at the corner of his eye and smirked: “Be careful. If you get another scar and end up disfigured, I’ll find someone else.”
“I won’t get another scar,” Gu Lingzhou said through gritted teeth. His hand on Shi Yuxing’s back suddenly stopped, moving up to grip his slender neck, forcing his chin higher. The alpha’s dark pupils reflected terrifying possessiveness. He pressed his lips against Shi Yuxing’s, the scent of fir invading: “If you dare find someone else, I’ll f*ck you to death, baby.” With that, his crimson tongue slipped through the gap in his lips and began sucking his saliva without further ado.
·
The wind was calm. Fishing rods were set up on the low riverbank. A faint light illuminated a small patch of soil, punctuated by occasional insect chirps.
Two anglers who couldn’t sleep in the middle of the night yawned. One rested his chin on his hand for a nap, while the other scrolled through his phone—all news about the Kolia trial.
“Hey, Bro Lu, you know about this Kolia case? The trial’s today. Wanna go check it out?”
The one called Bro Lu blinked groggily and waved his hand. “Go to hell. None of my business.”
“Hey, but what do you think about Gu Lingzhou? I feel like he must have covered for his grandmother somehow. How could he not know?”
Bro Lu opened his mouth wide, yawned without answering, then a few seconds later stared intently at the water and slapped the person beside him, pointing at the float that had sunk out of sight.
The other angler’s eyes lit up—he wasn’t tired anymore. He grabbed the fishing rod, fighting against the weighted resistance. He thought: Oh ho, a big one. So he reeled in even harder. The fish only struggled for a minute before going still. The angler laughed and quickly reeled in—ecstatic at the thought of posting it on social media—but the moment the object broke the surface, all the color drained from his face. His butt hit the ground, his expression mirroring Bro Lu’s terror.
A piece of cloth was hooked on the line—a severed arm wrapped in bloodstained fabric dangled from it, swaying eerily in the night breeze or from the rod’s momentum. Pale fingertips mixed with blood dripped downward.
The severed arm flopped onto the shore, lying stiff like a dead fish. The soil quickly darkened. Insects buzzed against the dim lightbulb. Bro Lu scrambled to his feet, turned, and ran back to his car to grab his phone and call the police. The other sat on the ground, lips trembling.
Then, bubbles gurgled from the water’s surface. Something hard emerged. The angler trembled and turned his head—only to find a pair of eyes larger than his own staring fixedly at him.
A scream mixed with the bubbling water and vanished. The insects continued battering against the lightbulb.
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