Chapter 178: Confession

Chapter 178: Confession

Liang Xu fell silent for a moment.

He reached out and ruffled Shi Lv's hair affectionately. Liang Xu wasn’t blind—he saw his own reflection every day when he washed up. He knew exactly what he looked like. Of course, he was handsome, but how could he compare to the youthful charm of the Song family’s Omega in their prime? Moreover, most alphas preferred soft, delicate types—everything he wasn't. No matter how much Liang Xu tried to deceive himself, he knew that the average alpha would prefer the Song family’s Omega.

But Shi Lv showed no interest at all. Instead, he planted tender kisses along the corners of Liang Xu’s eyes, tracing his brow, the bridge of his nose, before finally landing on his lips.

His kisses held more tenderness than desire, as if the person before him was a cherished treasure he couldn’t help but touch and kiss over and over again.

Liang Xu quickly averted his eyes, unsure how to respond.

He wasn’t good at handling this.

Liang Xu excelled at weighing pros and cons, at negotiating exchanges. His circumstances were unique—his parents had passed early, and after entering the Ye family, he had never grown close to anyone. He had almost never experienced intimacy; all his social skills were learned in the business world, copying what he saw, exchanging toasts at banquets, where every word carried calculated intent, devoid of sincerity.

He was accustomed to placing everything on a scale, measuring and comparing, even treating himself as a bargaining chip to be placed on the table. That was why he had asked Shi Lv—whether he cared about the Song family Omega’s soft beauty, whether he cared about the power the Song family represented.

But now, Shi Lv had given him an emphatic rejection.

He had made it clear to Liang Xu—he didn’t care about power, nor did he care about the Omega’s beauty. He simply liked Liang Xu, and he was hurt by Liang Xu's assumption.

The emptiness in his chest seemed to be filled with something.

So Liang Xu drew his alpha in, their lips meeting in a kiss.

One was in the prime of youth, the other had denied himself for years—neither could hold back now. They didn’t even care that the car was parked by the highway entrance, with traffic flowing past. As they shifted against one another, their seatbelts came undone, and Liang Xu was pressed into the corner of the car…

By the time the temperature inside the car began to rise, the scents of fresh rain and the bitterness of Green Bamboo Wine entwined in the air. A car honked sharply outside as it overtook a truck, snapping them out of the moment.

Liang Xu fumbled to put his glasses back on, rubbing his temples wearily.

His stamina had always been worse than Shi Lv’s, and he was older. If they kept carrying on like this daily, he really wouldn’t be able to take it.

Shi Lv coughed awkwardly and obediently returned to his seat, fastening his seatbelt as if nothing had happened. “Are we still going to the beach?”

They had originally planned to take a walk along the shore.

Liang Xu smiled wryly. “Another day.”

In this state, he couldn’t handle a long drive.

In the end, the seafood feast they had booked was canceled. Shi Lv, like a chastened child, remained unusually quiet the whole ride home. Only when they reached the doorstep did he ask, “What should we do about the engagement?”

He could run away—worst case, he could hide out in the mountains for a few days. Or he could try contacting the Song family to call off the engagement, but first, he had no way to reach them, and second, he feared Elder Ye might go mad and tear Haicheng apart searching for him. If their relationship was exposed during the investigation, it would affect Liang Xu too.

But the engagement absolutely couldn’t happen. For one, neither Shi Lv nor Liang Xu wanted it. Secondly, Liang Xu’s goal was to bring down the Ye family. Dealing with Elder Ye alone was troublesome enough—if the two families allied through marriage, the political landscape would grow more complex.

By all logic, this marriage couldn’t be allowed to proceed.

Hearing this, Liang Xu’s hands tightened briefly on the wheel. “...Don’t worry. I have a way.”

That fractional pause didn’t escape Shi Lv. “It won’t harm you, will it?”

Shi Lv trusted Liang Xu, but Elder Ye’s influence was vast, and the Song family was a formidable clan themselves. If the two joined hands, the situation would only become more difficult than before. If Liang Xu could oppose them single-handedly, he wouldn’t have had to lay low for so many years.

Liang Xu chuckled. “...It won’t.”

His tone was calm, his expression unreadable. To anyone else, there would be no trace of deception in Liang Xu’s demeanor. But Shi Lv knew him too well—whenever something was wrong, Liang Xu would instinctively smile, instinctively adjust his glasses, even their usually intertwined scents would pause for a moment.

His confidence was just a front.

Shi Lv frowned, "What do you plan to do?"

But Liang Xu had no intention of explaining further. "Don’t worry. Just stay home for now and avoid going out."

The next two weeks saw Liang Xu visibly buried in work.

Shi Lv rarely saw him. Liang Xu was gone before dawn and back long after dark. He barely showed up at New Leaf Group’s office either, instead spending his days networking outside.

With a quick signature, Liang Xu bumped up Zhang Ping’s salary and assigned him as Shi Lv’s temporary special assistant, responsible for picking him up from work and teaching him how to handle company affairs.

Liang Xu outright neglected his duties at New Leaf Group, leaving Shi Lv overwhelmed in the aftermath. Only now did he realize how much work Liang Xu had been shouldering with such ease.

Shi Lv was still green, barely keeping his head above water, and self-taught at that. While Zhang Ping was quite capable as a special assistant, he wasn’t good at decision-making. They kept talking past each other, and after a few days, Shi Lv began to miss Liang Xu.

With Liang Xu gone, the shareholders started cutting corners, with many funds going unaccounted for. Shi Lv handled a few issues tactfully, then worked his way up to reassure everyone and stabilize the situation.

The relentless pressure forced him to grow up fast. Several times, he wanted to confront Liang Xu after work, but every time he waited until midnight and saw the dark circles under his beautiful partner’s silver-rimmed glasses, he bit back his words and wordlessly warmed some milk.

When Liang Xu got out of the shower and into bed, he noticed Shi Lv’s gaze and chuckled, rubbing his eyes. "That rough, huh?"

He had also seen the dark circles in the mirror.

Shi Lv pulled him into his arms. "No."

Not at all.

Shi Lv muttered into his chest, "I’m just a little upset that I can’t help you."

Liang Xu reached out and ruffled Shi Lv’s hair. "It’s fine. In a few years, you’ll be able to do better."

Shi Lv’s progress was undeniable—he was just inexperienced and needed more time and practice.

Liang Xu was burning the candle at both ends, leaving the couple no time for intimacy. Their only moments together were late-night cuddles and kisses, and whenever things got heated, Shi Lv would shut it down.

After this happened too many times, Liang Xu felt guilty. He kissed his young boyfriend, calculating their sleep time to make up for it, only for Shi Lv to tuck him under the covers. "It’s too late. No. Go to sleep."

Never mind that Shi Lv was the one pent-up, he made it seem like Liang Xu was the unreasonable one.

Liang Xu smiled and accepted his boyfriend’s kindness, falling into a deep sleep.

Many days passed like this until one night, while idly petting Ginger and watching a movie, Shi Lv received a call from Liang Xu.

Liang Xu’s voice came out in a low pant. "Shi Lv, are you home?"

Shi Lv knew instantly—stress had triggered Liang Xu’s heat early. He startled Ginger by yanking her tail, making the cat yowl in pain before indignantly swiping at him and leaping off his lap.

But Shi Lv had no time to worry about Ginger now. "How are you?"

Hearing the commotion on the other end, Liang Xu chuckled hoarsely and reassured him, "It’s fine. I prepared in advance. I’m almost downstairs now. Can you come get me? I can’t make it up on my own."

Shi Lv grabbed his coat and rushed downstairs, just in time to see Liang Xu stepping out of Zhang Ping’s car. He pulled his Omega into a tight embrace, supporting most of Liang Xu’s weight as they hurried upstairs. Their lips crashed together by the time Shi Lv shouldered through the doors.

They kissed from the living room to the dining area, stumbling down the narrow hallway before collapsing onto the large bed. Shi Lv’s T-shirt hung off one shoulder, one slipper lost along the way. Liang Xu’s tie was long gone, his shirt buttons undone, and his glasses sat askew on his nose—until Shi Lv snatched them off just before they snapped, tossing them onto the nightstand.

...

This was Liang Xu's easiest heat cycle yet.

No endurance, no pain. No need to suppress or hide his voice—his beloved alpha was right beside him, their necks nuzzling in intimacy. Shi Lv's scent marked every inch of his skin, as if the turbulent past had been erased along with it. They were just like countless bonded couples in love—no transactions, only pleasure.

Rarely having the chance to play around, they stayed up late into the night. Liang Xu felt as though every bone in his body ached. He drifted off into a dazed sleep, every muscle sore and weak, without even the strength to lift a finger.

Yet even so, he clung to a thread of consciousness. About half an hour later, when Shi Lv's breathing gradually steadied, he turned on the bedside lamp and retrieved a pill from the drawer.

Beneath the pill lay a thick stack of documents, covered in various labels and stamps. Liang Xu peeled open the foil, took the pill, and swallowed it with warm water.

He was utterly exhausted. Shi Lv's presence made him feel too safe, the comforter so warm. His body, relaxed from their lovemaking, felt as though it were soaking in a hot spring. Liang Xu basked lazily in the warmth, his mind free of any vigilance. He collapsed back into the cotton-like bedding, almost forgetting to put the pills away.

He nestled back into his alpha's embrace and fell into a deep sleep.

Shi Lv opened his eyes.

He hadn’t meant to pry into Liang Xu’s secrets. It was just that sleeping pressed together made him too warm, so he’d intended to adjust the air conditioning. But an accidental glance at the bedside made him freeze.

The medication was a common contraceptive. Shi Lv faltered for a moment before remembering—his gorgeous partner was fertile.

He felt both bewildered and weirdly understanding. But when he saw the documents beneath the medication that day, he fell completely silent.

It was a surgical consent form for gland removal.

In the original story, Liang Xu had also undergone gland removal surgery, shedding the constraints of his secondary gender at the cost of chronic frailty and a shortened lifespan.

Such surgeries caused irreversible damage to the body. Like that medicine girl from before, post-surgery, she had suffered chronic weakness, coughing fits, bloody vomit, and exhaustion—all consequences Shi Lv could never accept.

He was stunned. Why, in this completely different life, was Liang Xu still consulting about the surgery?

Silently, Shi Lv flipped through the documents. The listed post-operative complications were even more severe than in the book—organ failure, early death. The lower right corner bore the logo of a medical institution, one Shi Lv recognized as one Liang Xu had invested in.

Liang Xu’s plans had begun long ago, quietly set in motion even before Shi Lv arrived in this ABO-dynamic world.

He sat in silence for a long time, the bedside lamp burning just as long, until Liang Xu stirred awake from his deep slumber.

Lifting his head, he looked at his alpha. Shi Lv sat at the bedside, lips pressed tight, his face the picture of devastated misery. Liang Xu followed his gaze downward and saw the pill and the documents.

He sat up slightly and let out a heavy sigh.

"... Shi Lv."

His negotiation skills that never failed him now failed him completely. He didn’t know how to explain it to Shi Lv, only managing to say, "I’m sorry, but now's not the right time for a baby."

All alphas cared about this. Liang Xu knew it well—an Omega unwilling to bear their child was a deep insult to any alpha's pride.

Shi Lv: "...You don’t need to apologize for that."

He didn’t care about the contraceptive pills. In fact, until today, he hadn’t even realized it. "Your body is yours to decide. I won’t interfere, and I won’t feel hurt. It’s just..."

He picked up the documents. "You’re consulting about gland removal surgery. You know the possible consequences, right?"

The risks were spelled out clearly—dying during surgery, lifelong health complications, early death.

Shi Lv asked, "Why would Liang Xu even think about this?"

He was right here, by Liang Xu’s side, able to provide permanent bonding to protect him, ensuring he walked safely and gracefully through life. Why would Liang Xu consider it?

"..."

After a long silence, Liang Xu sighed softly.

He had always avoided discussing these things with Shi Lv—firstly, because Shi Lv was an alpha and inevitably carried alpha thought patterns; secondly, because he was still young, with a youthful disposition, and overly sharp topics might destroy their relationship; and thirdly, there was still the looming threat of Elder Ye. Until all dangers were resolved, Liang Xu could pretend everything was fine, keeping all conflicts hidden beneath the surface, turning them into hidden turbulent currents.

Among Omegas, Liang Xu had always been the defiant one. He defied conventions and rejected doctrines. His gentle and refined demeanor was just a mask, hiding something far deeper beneath.

Now, the mask had slipped.

He had no choice but to be honest.

Liang Xu gazed calmly at Shi Lv. "...I think it’s completely understandable for me to dislike this gland."

"I could have peacefully finished college. With my qualifications at the time, I could have entered almost any company in the industry. I believed I was capable enough and confident enough to start from the bottom and reach where I am now."

"My origins were humble, but my pheromones matched Ye Xuan's."

Talent, humble origins, and matching pheromones—these three elements together formed the beginning of a tragedy.

Matching pheromones made it easier for the carrier to conceive and produce an excellent heir, which was why Elder Ye had chosen him.

Liang Xu raised his hand and pressed it against the walnut-sized gland on the back of his neck. "For the next seven years, it brought me nothing but disaster and torment."

Eight years without pheromone comfort, yet this gland became Elder Ye’s means of control and punishment. Someone less strong-willed would have gone mad long ago.

Liang Xu: "Even now, it remains the same."

A permanent mark couldn’t be removed. Even in a modern society where alphas and omegas were equal in rights, even when he was dressed in a suit as a top professional, even with Shi Lv by his side—he was still haunted by it.

Liang Xu: "Take today, for example. I was handling business normally, like anyone else. But because of this, I had to cut it short and leave."

The business partners knew the reason for the interruption. They watched Liang Xu leave, their expressions either understanding or knowing.

Liang Xu let out a bitter laugh. "Do you understand, Shi Lv? Like an animal."

Of course, he trusted Shi Lv. But he had also seen far too many cases—couples fighting after marriage, clinging to pheromones, or breaking up in mutual resentment, or one partner meeting an accident. Liang Xu thought that after tasting such sweetness, if that pain were to return, he would truly go mad.

He took the document from his silent boyfriend’s hands and placed it back in the drawer. "I don’t plan to undergo surgery immediately—at least not in the near future. The timing isn’t right now. But... I might keep looking into it."

It was like the apple in the Garden of Eden, dangling just out of reach. Liang Xu had always kept his eyes on it, while the serpent of myth whispered temptations, urging him to take a bite of the forbidden fruit.

And that serpent luring him was... freedom, unshackled by pheromones.

"As for this." Liang Xu took the pills from Shi Lv’s hand and returned them to the drawer as well. "I’m sorry, but likewise, under the current circumstances, I have no plans for children."

This was, of course, a completely defiant statement. No alpha could accept such an Omega, and Liang Xu knew it all too well.

Firm, decisive, and utterly contrary to all societal expectations of an Omega.

An ache welled up uncontrollably in his chest. He didn’t look at Shi Lv’s expression, simply tidying the drawer himself, locking it, then sitting back down in silence to meet the alpha’s gaze.

The customary smile played on Liang Xu’s lips—a little stiff, a little bitter. His deep amber eyes, however, were completely humorless.

But Shi Lv only stared at him, conflicted.

Realizing he needed to say something, yet searching for words, he finally took a deep breath after a moment. "...Of course, if you have no plans, I fully respect your choice. In fact, I didn’t even... Oh, I didn’t even know about it. But what upsets me is..."

Shi Lv pressed his lips together, looking at Liang Xu with a pained expression. "I mean, your health is already bad enough. We’ve had it checked, remember? Hormonal imbalance, all sorts of issues. And contraceptive pills are hormones—they'll just make your condition worse. I assume you know that. If you had told me honestly, we could have..."

His expression shifted, looking somewhat embarrassed as he forced out the words, "Use protection."

Liang Xu's eyes widened.

His fox-like eyes widened into a slightly round shape, almost like peach blossom eyes.

"As for the other issue..." Shi Lv explained, "If—just hypothetically—there were a world where you could completely get rid of your gland, escape all the problems that come with being an Omega, no shortened lifespan, no illnesses, no side effects... but the price is, you’d lose New Leaf Group, lose your current power and status, and become a little poorer..."

"Well, not exactly poor—middle class at least, but definitely poorer than now..."

Shi Lv’s voice grew quieter as he studied Liang Xu’s expression. "If such a world existed, would you go there with me?"