The two Alphas hadn’t been inside for long, but Lian Yi felt that time passed very slowly. What should have been just a short moment felt like an eternity.
He kept pacing in the lobby, turning back and forth, and after a while he leaned on the door to eavesdrop.
Wei Juncheng’s loud and angry voice carried through the door, but his own Alpha’s voice was so faint that he could not hear it.
Lian Yi’s heart leaped to his throat, afraid that Qin You would suffer a loss but too hesitant to go in for fear of making him angry. He forced himself to suppress the urge to turn the doorknob, squatted down at the door of the private room, and kept biting his already red nails with his teeth.
A muffled “bang” sounded from inside.
Lian Yi bit down instinctively, his sharp teeth piercing the tender skin beside his nail, drawing a small bead of blood.
Both men emerged one after the other. Qin You walked ahead and immediately spotted the Omega crouched by the door. He raised an eyebrow at the sight.
Hearing the sound, Lian Yi turned around. Seeing that both their expressions appeared normal, he breathed a sigh of relief. After thinking about it, he still felt uneasy, so he pulled Qin You over and examined him thoroughly, from his hair to his toes.
When they were alone, it was fine, but now, with Wei Juncheng present, Qin You felt this was a bit too much, like an overly intimate display. It left him somewhat restrained.
But he didn’t stop Lian Yi from checking him from head to toe, just smiled at him and said softly: “Okay, okay.”
Lian Yi felt relieved and put his hand around the Alpha’s arms again.
As he moved closer to Qin You’s arm, his fingertip accidentally brushed against the back of Qin You’s hand. The sudden pain made Qin You’s brow twitch slightly.
Noticing his expression change, Lian Yi’s face instantly darkened. His sharp gaze shot toward Wei Juncheng, and he reached for Qin You’s hand to inspect it.
Qin You pressed his wrist downward with force, pulling his hand away, and then used it to wrap around the Omega’s slender waist from behind, trying to distract him.
Lian Yi always listened to Qin You, but when it came to anything affecting the Alpha’s health, he refused to compromise.
Without saying a word, he simply stared at Qin You. Qin You had no choice but to raise the back of his hand in front of him.
What had been just a red and swollen area earlier was now visibly puffed up, with a faint bluish-purple hue in the center.
Lian Yi was livid. He immediately turned to confront Wei Juncheng, his momentum was so fierce that the latter took two steps back. Wei Juncheng already felt guilty for injuring Qin You, and now, under Lian Yi’s glare, he hung his head like a scolded child, standing off to the side like a quail. Qin You, watching this, couldn’t help but find him pitiful.
Qin You waved at Wei Juncheng, signaling for him to leave first. Lian Yi’s gaze remained fixed on Wei Juncheng’s retreating back, his expression dark and stormy.
“He’s already gone, still staring? You’re going to make me jealous.”
Lian Yi knew Qin You was teasing, but he couldn’t help retorting, “How could he do that? Your hand is so swollen!”
While speaking, Lian Yi still held his hand, gently touched the purple place with his lips, and blew on it, as if hoping that this would relieve his pain a little.
“Don’t be mad anymore, alright? It wasn’t him—it was my own carelessness that made me bump into the table.”
Qin You used his index finger to lightly tickle the soft palm of the fuming Omega.
The ticklish sensation made Lian Yi reflexively curl his hand but, fearing he might hurt Qin You’s swollen hand, he had to keep it open and let him play around.
I’d be stupid if I believed you, Lian Yi thought to himself.
Even after calming down, he couldn’t shake his anger. The Omega wriggled out of Qin You’s arms and sniffed in the direction Wei Juncheng had left.
“Next time he comes to our house for dinner, we won’t make him any boiled fish.”
Qin You leaned close to the Omega’s ear, as if he was going to punish Wei Juncheng greatly.
This “revenge” was too light, like scratching an itch. Lian Yi rolled his eyes in his heart. But he knew his Alpha had always been softhearted toward those close to him. After all, wasn’t it this very trait that Lian Yi had exploited shamelessly to stay by his side?
Lian Yi complained that Qin You’s ideas were too childish and immature, but he followed his husband’s lead. He had never been principled with Qin You, so he joined the childish plan and whispered in his ear.
“And we’ll add a ton of chili peppers,” Lian Yi said, knowing Wei Juncheng couldn’t handle spicy food.
“Buy a bunch of stinky durians to stink him out,” he added softly, his warm breath brushing against Qin You’s ear.
Qin You kissed the side of his face, pulling him into a tighter embrace, and laughed. “Alright.”
————–
Five years had passed, and even now, Wei Juncheng couldn’t say for sure what the current state of Qin You and Lian Yi’s relationship was.
There was a time when he had firmly believed their marriage was destined to be fleeting.
Once Lian Yi recovered from his glandular illness, he and Qin You would break up and each find their own happiness.
But the two had lived through five years of mutual support, and neither of them seems to have any intention of ending their marriage. They are even getting more and more sweet, and sometimes Wei Juncheng can’t even bear to watch.
Moreover, from his perspective as an outsider, compared to that scoundrel Bai Qi, Lian Yi’s devotion to Qin You was unquestionable. Between the two, Wei Juncheng grudgingly admitted that he still preferred Lian Yi.
Adhering to the idea of ”it is better to demolish a temple than to ruin a marriage”, he constantly reminded himself to keep his mouth shut and not bring up anything about that pretty boy.
Qin You, however, brought up the very topic he wanted to avoid.
“What about Lian Yi? Did we get together back in college?”
Wei Juncheng’s heart skipped a beat. He tried to dodge the question. “Oh, come on, Brother You, you’ve always been so tight-lipped about your love life. None of us knew anything, so I wouldn’t know either.”
Qin You instinctively felt something was off.
He was not the type to hide things, not to mention that Wei Juncheng was his good brother, there was no reason for him to keep his love affair a secret even from his brothers. And he was originally an honest person. If he liked someone, he would probably want to tell the whole world, so how could he keep silent with Wei Juncheng?
He wanted to press further, but Wei Juncheng quickly changed the subject.
“You, you know, since you woke up, you haven’t been back to the company. How about I pick you up today, and we go check out the empire we built together?”
The diversion worked, pulling Qin You’s attention away. He chuckled lightly over the phone. “Alright.”
Seeing his chance to escape, Wei Juncheng hung up faster than a rabbit on the run. “Great, it’s settled. I’m coming to pick you up now!”
He ended the call immediately, leaving Qin You staring at his phone in a daze.
That’s it?
But before he could think further, Aunt Fang knocked on the door. It was almost noon, and per Lian Yi’s instructions, it was time for Qin You to take his medication.
When he was discharged from the hospital, the doctor had prescribed a variety of medications, in all shapes and sizes.
Lian Yi sorted out all the medicines he had to take this week by quantity, type, and time of taking them last night, and put them in an acrylic box on the coffee table with a label on it.
Last night, after getting home, he’d been working on this task. Even right before bed, he was still at it. When Qin You offered to help, Lian Yi refused, saying he was afraid Qin You might mess it up.
“It’s just a few pills. How could I mess that up?”
Qin You felt that he was being looked down upon, and spoke indignantly.
However, the carefree Alpha never understood this kind of meticulous work: “Besides, if it’s wrong, it’s wrong. Eat less today, eat more tomorrow, it’s the same thing.”
Lian Yi was so angry at this nonsensical remark that he stopped talking to the mischievous Alpha and just focused on his own things.
But after a while, he spoke again.
“Because I like doing it. I like doing these things for you.”
Lian Yi’s expression was focused, not even sparing a glance at Qin You, his hands busy. He rarely acted this way around Qin You, not even looking in his direction.
Qin You found this side of Lian Yi refreshing. He didn’t walk away but pulled up a chair, sitting beside him with his arms crossed, watching him organize everything.
Though the daily dose wasn’t much, the variety was vast, ranging from routine vitamin capsules to doctor-prescribed anti-inflammatory medication. Lian Yi sorted them into compartments, labeling them carefully with a marker for Aunt Fang to give to Qin You.
The warm yellow light in the bedroom fell on Lian Yi’s delicate features, outlining his profile with a gentle glow. Qin You knew that this Omega wasn’t as soft and obedient as he appeared. He had negative emotions, moments close to breaking, and had borne immense pressure while Qin You was unconscious.
Yet in front of him, Lian Yi was always full of pure happiness.
What he gave him was always the best of himself.
Qin You couldn’t help but be moved.
The doorbell rang three times, and Qin You pressed the remote button to open the anti-theft door. A flashy red sports car pulled up in the villa’s driveway.
Qin You smiled. His brother’s flamboyant personality was still the same as ever.
The two greeted each other with a solid hug. Wei Juncheng and Aunt Fang helped Qin You into the front passenger seat.
Aunt Fang reminded them to drive carefully. Both nodded and waved her goodbye.
Just as they were about to start the car, Wei Juncheng’s phone rang. They decided to stay parked in the middle of the driveway, letting him answer the call first.
The voice on the other end was female, sounding somewhat older. She spoke non-stop, rattling off a lot in one breath. Wei Juncheng hardly replied, only giving the occasional acknowledgment to keep the conversation going.
Qin You opened the car window, turned his head and stared out the window in a daze, thinking silently in his heart that he would tell Lian Yi to make something more delicious for dinner tonight.
After hanging up, Wei Juncheng stayed silent for a long while, lowering his head to rest his forehead on the steering wheel, lost in thought.
The scent of durian wafted from the Alpha, and the pheromones inexplicably made Qin You feel a little sad. Even looking at his friend’s profile felt melancholic.
Qin You found it odd, worried that something had upset him, and cautiously asked, “Ah Cheng, what’s wrong, what happened? Is it serious?”
Wei Juncheng shook his head.
Sitting in the driver’s seat, he spoke in a dreamy tone, “Lao Qin, my mom set me up on a blind date.”
Well, that was good news.
If anyone knew how much Wei Juncheng wanted a relationship, it was Qin You.
Unlike himself, who never cared about such things, Wei Juncheng had been going on about finding a beautiful Omega, getting married, and starting a family ever since middle school.
Qin You and Zhang Hao had heard it so often they were sick of it.
Wei Juncheng always had good prospects, whether in looks or family background, standing out among Alphas. But ever since he differentiated in high school with durian-scented pheromones, his pool of admirers had dwindled drastically.
Though plenty of people liked the fruit in real life, it was far less appealing as a pheromone.
After differentiation, Wei Juncheng mostly kept up his carefree, joking demeanor. But Qin You could tell that deep down, he was disappointed with the result.
Qin You was about to congratulate his friend but noticed something off about his expression.
Wei Juncheng sat there as if someone had hit him over the head with a hammer, stunned to the point of almost dropping his phone.
He had a weird expression, wanting to laugh but couldn’t, and seemed a little surprised and a little panicked.
The scent of durian continued to emanate from him, alternating between sweet and sour, shifting so often that Qin You was starting to feel queasy.
He nudged the troubled Alpha lightly with his elbow and asked, “Isn’t this a good thing? What are you sulking for, huh? Who are you trying to upset with that face?”
He reached out to rub Wei Juncheng’s face, his friend letting him squish and knead it however he wanted, clearly still lost in thought.
Qin You waited patiently.
After a while, Wei Juncheng finally spoke, his tone still drifting.
“But… my mom said—” He swallowed, his throat dry.
Wei Juncheng continued to speak with difficulty.
“That this Omega… smells worse than I do.”
Qin You and Wei Juncheng exchanged a look, and the two were completely speechless.
