The entrance light fell on the person bending at the doorway. The fine hairs at the nape of his neck brushed against his pale, slender neck. Gu Lingzhou suddenly lifted him up, and amid Shi Yuxing’s startled yelp, his butt hit the shoe cabinet.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Xiao Zhou reached out to pull him down. Shi Yuxing braced his hands against the top of the cabinet. His ankle was gently lifted, the protruding bone on the outside rubbed by rough fingertips, stirring a ticklish sensation.
His nails dug into the wood, his fingertips turning pale from the pressure. Gu Lingzhou slipped the slippers onto his feet: “What else? Putting on your shoes.”
“Click—” The villa’s lights all came on at once. Da Ling said: “Want to eat something more? I’ll make it.”
Shi Yuxing shook his head, letting Gu Lingzhou lift him down from the shoe cabinet. “Don’t do that next time. There’s a bench right there for changing shoes.” Shi Yuxing pointed at the neglected bench beside the cabinet. “If you break it, you’re buying me a new one. With your money.”
“Exactly, exactly.” Xiao Zhou fanned the flames from the side. “No sense of economy at all.”
Gu Lingzhou shot him a cold glance, radiating malicious energy: “I have money. Unlike some freeloader.” He dragged up old scores. The young alpha’s temper flared instantly, his fist swinging to teach Gu Lingzhou a lesson. Gu Lingzhou caught his fist, the two locked in a glaring match amid trembling limbs. Just then, a voice cut in from the side: “Let’s go wash some fruit. Yuxing, let’s go.”
Both alphas turned their heads at once—the “mantis” was already leading Shi Yuxing away leisurely, leaving behind two frozen figures, uncertain which was the “mantis” and which was the “cicada.”
Then, both pairs of feet hit the floor in pursuit. Hearing the sound, Shi Yuxing turned and pointed at the floor. “Change your shoes before stepping on it. The floor will get dirty.”
Rather than washing fruit, Shi Yuxing essentially just washed his hands and stood by waiting to be fed. Suddenly, his phone vibrated in his pocket. The two alphas leaned in. Shi Yuxing looked at the link from the family doctor and understood. Xiao Zhou voiced what he was thinking: “Ah—I almost forgot. The physical results are out today.”
His fingertip tapped the link. No time to buffer—good network wasn’t always a blessing. The blue progress bar shot across in nearly a second, the report page popping up fresh and clear. The most eye-catching was the bold, enlarged text at the top, followed by—
“After testing and analysis, congratulations! Your secondary gender is: OMEGA!”
Why was this something to congratulate? Shi Yuxing pinched the bridge of his nose, a headache setting in. He’d mentally prepared himself for the possibility of going from beta to omega—after all, this was his field. But seeing the results still made his heart skip a beat.
Xiao Zhou spoke up: “It’s really omega? Does it say what pheromone scent it is?”
These past few days, the three alphas had taken turns releasing calming pheromones, overpowering even the scent of body wash on Shi Yuxing. If he hadn’t sprayed himself all over with blocker before leaving the house, the patients coming for consultations would have been scared off by the fir scent.
Even with such high-intensity pheromone saturation, not a single person had smelled any pheromones emanating from Shi Yuxing. Gu Lingzhou had once casually asked his future self about it, but that guy had kept his mouth shut—not a single piece of information leaked.
After days of smelling nothing from Shi Yuxing, he’d thought it might be a misdiagnosis. It wasn’t until this report confirmed it that his doubts were cleared. But that also made him anxious—omegas were scarce and fragile. Shi Yuxing had become an omega because of him. Having been a beta for over twenty years, would he be able to accept it all at once?
The General’s expression darkened. The sound of running water beside him couldn’t wash away his tangled thoughts—instead, like the dirt falling off the fruit, they accumulated in the filter, growing larger. He carefully observed his wife scrolling through the screen—things he didn’t understand rolling across his tea-colored pupils.
The phone’s glow made his face even paler and brighter, his lashes drooping like crow feathers. Gu Lingzhou suddenly wanted to lock all the doors and windows. When Shi Yuxing was still a beta, he’d already had plenty of admirers. If he were an omega—that would be a disaster!
“Do you want to test our compatibility?” Gu Lingzhou didn’t know what possessed him to ask that. Shi Yuxing’s fingers paused. He finally looked up, curling his lips. “What? Not confident?”
Caught red-handed, Gu Lingzhou’s expression didn’t change: “Just want to confirm.” In case someone with higher compatibility appeared in the future.
The report wouldn’t scroll any further. Shi Yuxing took a deep breath. Da Ling set down the washed fruit. “What rank did it come back as?”
All eyes focused on him, converging into one point.
“Blood tests can only roughly tell what flower scent it might be. The rank is uncertain too—the gland just developed and isn’t stable yet.” He smiled, as if he’d discovered something interesting. “…However, the prediction is that my pheromone rank might exceed S-class. All three of you would be beneath me.”
“An omega over S-class? Wifey’s amazing!” Xiao Zhou beamed with surprise, wrapping his arm around his shoulder as they headed for the sofa.
The alpha carrying the fruit wore a grave expression, his eyes fixed on Shi Yuxing’s back without moving. Gu Lingzhou said: “You know what his pheromone and rank are, don’t you?” The man’s body stiffened. He turned and looked straight at him.
“I’ve asked you several times. Why won’t you tell me?” Gu Lingzhou stared at him, trying to find a flaw in this version of himself.
But this person was himself—eight years older.
“What do you know?”
Da Ling lowered his gaze and said: “After Yuxing falls asleep, study.” Then he turned and walked away.
The alpha on the sofa went boneless, collapsing onto Shi Yuxing’s shoulder. Spotting the fruit platter on the coffee table, he said pitifully: “Wifey, I’m so hungry. Not eating with you at the restaurant—I couldn’t even swallow.” This wasn’t even a hint anymore. Shi Yuxing teased him: “How did you eat when I was at work before?”
Xiao Zhou’s pout could have hung a soda bottle on it. He lied: “I ate while looking at your photo…” The next second, he was yanked back by the collar from behind. He turned his head. “What is it, Old Man Number Two? If there’s no seat for you, just stand there quietly.”
Dark eyes fixed on Shi Yuxing’s neck, a palm resting on it—smooth and slender. “Gu Lingzhou, what are you doing? Trying to strangle me?” Having recovered from his weak sick period, Shi Yuxing had reverted to his old self. Gu Lingzhou still preferred the wife from three days ago—soft, damp, and misty, making everything between them sticky and sweet.
Gu Lingzhou’s lowered gaze shifted up to Shi Yuxing’s face. He spoke: “Your mentor—I think something’s off about him.”
Hearing this, Shi Yuxing said: “Mm—how to put it? There is something. If I weren’t going to see him at the hospital anyway, I’d have wanted to turn down the meeting.” He leaned back into the sofa. “Ugh—dining with a mentor is exhausting.” Gu Lingzhou came from a military academy background and had never even dealt with research or mentors, let alone dining with one.
“So, what did that teacher say?” The person beside him asked.
Shi Yuxing rested his head on the leather sofa cushion, closing his eyes. “He said he knows Grandmother.”
“—Your grandmother hasn’t had it easy over the years.” Jiang Chusheng’s brows and eyes hadn’t moved, only the corners of his lips curving upward. Recalling it now, that smile had been a bit fake.
Xiao Zhou said: “That’s it? Nothing else?”
Shi Yuxing shook his head. He tilted his head back—from this angle, he could see the shadow under Gu Lingzhou’s chin. “You suspect he’s collaborating with Grandmother?” Shi Yuxing sat up straight. “Director Jiang isn’t that kind of person. I’m his last disciple. All my senior classmates have high praise for him. Plus, I was interested in his research topics during undergrad, which is why I chose him as my mentor. He’s strict, but truly brilliant.”
The three listened quietly.
“And he’s the type who closes his eyes and prays before dissecting a cadaver. I firmly believe he would never participate in such cruel experiments.” Shi Yuxing’s tone was certain. Gu Lingzhou had never seen him defend anyone so fiercely—and that person wasn’t even him. His heart soured, spilling bitter fluid.
The skin on his cheek twitched slightly. “Mm. Everything needs evidence.”
“That Chu Mushan—Chu Ke’s father—have you found anything?” The wrinkles at the corners of Da Ling’s eyes deepened. He squinted at Gu Lingzhou, as if ready to eviscerate him with his words if he dared say he’d found nothing.
Gu Lingzhou: “Not that fast. And we’ve barely found any information on Chu Ke—there’s no way Grandmother would expose this Mr. Chu.”
“Not necessarily. Didn’t Grandfather manage to find out?” Xiao Zhou cut in, taunting: “Looks like you just didn’t look hard enough.”
Seeing another fight brewing, Shi Yuxing laughed awkwardly and grabbed Gu Lingzhou’s hand, heading upstairs. “Time for bed. Work tomorrow.” The one being led looked down, the fire in his heart instantly doused. “Baby’s right.”
·
Darkness settled. Shi Yuxing’s breathing was steady—clearly asleep.
Da Ling quietly got up. His movement immediately made General Gu on the other side open his eyes. Two pairs of eyes, one high and one low, met, then looked at the alpha lying on top of Shi Yuxing. They exchanged signals. Then they grabbed the person—one covering his mouth, the other binding his body.
Xiao Zhou’s eyes snapped open wide, staring in terror at their dark, heavy gazes.
“Let’s talk.” Gu Lingzhou’s voice was very low. The person in bed flinched slightly. With the sudden loss of several warm furnaces, cold air crept in from the side, making him shiver and stretch his foot out—like he’d missed a step in a dream.
Before leaving, Gu Lingzhou tucked the blanket around him. His chest rose and fell gently, his peaceful face like an exquisite porcelain doll—each of his features beautiful on its own.
He leaned down and pressed a light, fleeting kiss on the porcelain doll’s lips.
Xiao Zhou: !!!
Da Ling: . . .
The two at the door turned back. Gu Lingzhou straightened up, his nonchalant demeanor infuriating. Xiao Zhou raised his fist, pointing at the sleeping wife with the other hand, his eyes wide with protest. The next second, the space between them was pushed apart—Da Ling shoved them both aside. Just as Xiao Zhou thought he was stopping their fight, the old man bent down and planted a kiss on Shi Yuxing’s cheek.
Xiao Zhou: !!!!!!!
Before he could sneak in a kiss of his own, Gu Lingzhou climbed onto the bed and planted two more kisses on Shi Yuxing’s cheek and forehead. The person in his arms, disturbed by all this fuss, had a hole knocked into his dreams even in the depths of sleep.
Shi Yuxing was surrounded by a pack of big dogs. One tackled him, and soon, all the dogs extended their tongues to lick his cheeks. Then the ground beneath him collapsed, and he hugged the nearest dog’s head.
“Mm…” The beauty under the moonlight furrowed his brows, his arm around Gu Lingzhou’s neck tightening as he mumbled two syllables softly. After a moment, his brows relaxed, his moist, kissed lips smacking twice. Under the three pairs of dark gazes, he fell back into a deep sleep.
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