Chapter 011 Wedding Ceremony 03

Chapter 011 The Wedding Ceremony 03

Zhou Younan stood alone before the grand arched entrance of the hall, and to say he wasn't nervous at all would be a complete fabrication.

Though Zhou Mo had promised to protect Luo Luo, Zhou Younan still couldn’t rest easy leaving Luo Luo alone in the Zhou household for long.

He had to rescue Luo Luo from the Zhou family as soon as possible.

Make Wei Qing swallow the capsule, and ensure his own survival.

Then find a chance to escape and save Luo Luo.

Take Luo Luo far away from all this.

The success of the plan hinged on Wei Qing taking the capsule.

It had to succeed—failure was not an option.

"Please welcome the other groom!" Old Marshal Yuan’s voice echoed from within.

The doors before him were slowly opened by attendants, and blinding light flooded his vision.

Zhou Younan cautiously took a few steps forward, entering the hall. The place was packed—Old Marshal Yuan had said he’d invited some friends to fill out the crowd.

Zhou Younan wished he hadn’t. The more people there were, the harder it would be to drug Wei Qing.

Suppressing his nerves, Zhou Younan scanned the hall amid the enthusiastic applause, searching for his target—Wei Qing.

Wei Qing had long golden hair, making him easy to spot.

He sat leisurely in the corner of the hall, one leg crossed over the other, radiating calm arrogance.

Dressed in a black military uniform adorned with silver accessories, a red-yellow-blue ear stud on his left ear, and a colorful silk sash draped over his left shoulder to signify his role as the groom.

Yet even such a formal, vibrant ensemble couldn’t mask the sinister air of the teardrop tattoo beneath his eyes.

Half-shrouded in the shadows of the curtains, he watched Zhou Younan with a faint, mocking smile.

Their eyes met—and Wei Qing crushed the wine glass in his hand.

Was this a power move?

Zhou Younan’s blood ran cold.

This was their first meeting, yet Wei Qing already seemed to despise him this much.

Enough to shatter a glass in his grip.

The man was terrifying.

No matter how Wei Qing felt about him, Zhou Younan had to push forward regardless.

Under the gaze of the crowd, Zhou Younan took a step forward—toward Wei Qing, this fearsome man, this man who despised him, this man who was about to become his husband.

With every step, Zhou Younan couldn’t help but wonder—how did it come to this?

There were many reasons: his blind trust in the Zhou family, Zhou An’s existence, his failed attempt to escape the marriage…

Zhou Younan knew fixating on the past was useless—time only moved forward.

Wei Qing splayed his fingers, letting the glass shards scatter carelessly at his feet.

Zhou Younan thought life was like sifting through garbage.

Most of the time, what you found was useless, not what you wanted. Like returning to the Zhou family—that was grabbing worthless trash.

Marrying Wei Qing was like grabbing a live grenade.

Getting the capsule was like arming the bomb.

Now, all he had to do was install the timer, and he’d have a ticking bomb he could control—for now.

If he could just make Wei Qing swallow the capsule, this awful marriage might actually work in his favor.

Zhou Younan had witnessed death before—one thought for life, one for death.

Forcing the capsule on Wei Qing that would make him attracted to his pheromones was wrong, but it was self-preservation. He was forced into it.

Zhou Younan’s resolve hardened with each step as he approached Wei Qing.

Wei Qing, seated on the sofa, stood up and began walking toward him.

Zhou Younan hesitated mid-step.

Once Wei Qing was on his feet, Zhou Younan realized just how impossibly tall he was.

He loomed over the other officers by a head, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long legs. Years of commanding authority had left him with an intimidating, commanding presence that put people on edge.

Zhou Younan clenched his fists at his sides.

Luo Luo’s smile burned in his memory.

For Luo Luo!

Zhou Younan stepped forward to meet him.

Standing before Wei Qing, he only reached his chest, making him crane his neck slightly to meet those pale green eyes.

Wei Qing’s sharp, sculpted features made him even more striking than in photographs, his long golden hair glowing under the lights. At this angle, he almost looked like a storybook angel.

But the tattoo beneath his eyes and the icy contempt in his stare instantly shattered the illusion.

No—he was a fallen angel.

This was Wei Qing. His husband.

Ever since he presented as an Omega at 15, Zhou Younan had never given much thought to love.

One day at the research institute, he’d witnessed a broke couple. For money, they willingly became research subjects.

After the experiments, they’d hold each other tight, trying to soothe each other’s pain.

For a time, Zhou Younan had thought love could be as strong as family.

Later, they betrayed each other, each praying the other suffered more.

Director Xu Qi shot them a sneer Zhou Younan would never forget, saying, "Love’s the flimsiest thing there is."

Zhou Younan knew he was average-looking at best, and his scent nothing special.

A chronic lack of sunlight and food had left his current health precarious.

What kind of Alpha/anyone would ever like an Omega like him?

If he were Wei Qing, he would never like an Omega like himself either.

So Zhou Younan had no choice.

Wei Qing gave him a cold look: "Zhou..."

He paused.

Zhou Younan thought bitterly: See, he doesn’t even remember my name.

"Young Master Zhou..."

Zhou Younan reached out, his hands trembling slightly, and grabbed Wei Qing’s collar.

He bit into the capsule in his mouth and let out more pheromones.

He rose onto his tiptoes.

With clear purpose, he pressed his lips against Wei Qing’s slightly parted ones.

Would it succeed?

Before closing his eyes, Zhou Younan sent up a silent prayer in his heart that he would succeed.

***

Wei Qing came from the Beastfolk world.

There, it was all forests, grasslands, and valleys—the air was fresh, food was abundant, and the tribes lived in harmony.

Once, while chasing prey, Wei Qing accidentally fell off a cliff. When he woke up, he found himself in another world.

In this world, humanity’s stage was the cosmos. There were no forests or grasslands, only cities.

Cities—cold, lifeless places, all concrete, steel, and gears.

At first, Wei Qing was fascinated.

But soon, he grew tired of the nauseating neon lights.

Food was in short supply in this world—or rather, it wasn’t that food was scarce, but that it was always controlled.

In the Alliance, food was rationed per person. In the Empire, it was controlled by the noble houses.

Common folk could barely get by. As a Beastkin with a faster metabolism, Wei Qing was constantly starving.

It put him on edge.

What made him even more irritable was that the people in this world not only couldn’t transform into mighty beasts, but some even carried strange odors.

Though his sense of smell wasn’t as sharp as a canine’s, the jumble of scents made him sneeze constantly.

It left him drained for a while.

The interstellar world also had people-eating insectoids. The first time Wei Qing saw them, he was so frightened he instinctively transformed.

Revolting!

This damned world was absolutely revolting!!!

Wei Qing didn’t like this world. He had been looking for a way home to the Beastfolk world.

From age twelve to thirty-four, twenty-two years had passed. Now, he was a marshal of the Tyrell Empire, yet he still hadn’t found a way home.

Fortunately, his position as marshal finally allowed him to eat whatever he wanted, as much as he wanted. The issue with his sense of smell was also solved with snuff.

Since he couldn’t return to the Beastfolk world for now, Wei Qing had considered other pursuits—like catnip.

In the Beastfolk world, catnip was an extremely rare and precious plant.

In his tribe, members only received a single dried leaf during their rite of passage. Only the chieftain and the priest knew where catnip grew and could obtain small branches of it periodically.

Wei Qing had smelled his brother’s leaf—even dried, its faint, elusive scent had left him utterly captivated.

Catnip was rare in the Beastfolk world, but maybe it was different in the interstellar world!

This thought excited Wei Qing. He began imagining himself surrounded by an entire house of catnip, sleeping in its embrace after transforming.

But after speaking with a botany Ph.D., Wei Qing was crushingly disappointed.

Catnip did exist in the interstellar world—but only on Old Earth.

Earth had stopped rotating before the interstellar era. Though interstellar humans hadn’t abandoned it, still devoting time and money into its restoration, results had been minimal.

There might be catnip on Earth now, but it was just an insignificant weed—no one cared about it.

No one cared?! *I* care!

Wei Qing was disappointed, but not entirely.

Because this world was so wretched, and catnip was such a pure thing—this metallic, stinking space-age world didn’t deserve it!

From then on, Wei Qing gave up his pursuit of catnip.

Now, at this very moment, in this freezing metal metropolis, in this hall filled with clashing stenches, he detected the fragrance of the catnip he had pined for.

Wei Qing didn’t like Zhou Younan as a person. He was an Omega, had worked in a research institute, and had thwarted the Emperor’s plans, setting back Wei Qing’s investigation.

It might not have been his fault, but Wei Qing petulantly blamed him for everything.

The moment he saw Zhou Younan, he felt a sense of predestination.

Hair long enough to cover his eyes, giving off gloomy vibes.

But his pheromones were the scent of catnip?!

Pheromones could smell like catnip?!

This godforsaken world still had something beautiful in it!!!!!!

Earlier, Henry had said Zhou Younan just smelled like ordinary grass—what crap!

How could catnip be ordinary grass?!

Tendrils of catnip aroma drifted through the air, and Wei Qing’s willpower crumbled. He was helpless against catnip.

With catnip right here, why would he need snuff? Wei Qing never deprived himself.

He tossed aside the broken pieces in his hand, rose from the sofa, and strode toward Zhou Younan.

The silk ribbon slung over his left shoulder, sending his golden hair streaming behind him in a carefree arc.

The closer Wei Qing got to Zhou Younan, the more comfortable he felt.

All the chaotic scents around him vanished, leaving only the sweet whiff of catnip coming off Zhou Younan lingering at the tip of his nose.

This felt fucking incredible! Wei Qing squinted with satisfaction, thoroughly enjoying this blissful moment.

Since arriving in this world, it was the first time Wei Qing had felt true happiness, deep down!

His pale green eyes zeroed in on the youth walking toward him.

The white pearls on his headband gleamed softly, and his golden earrings swung as he moved, catching the light.

Wei Qing's body lurched forward almost against his will, but a voice in his heart screamed inappropriately: *You don’t like him! Not at all! Stay away from him!*

But staying away meant missing out on that intoxicating scent. Wei Qing gave Zhou Younan another glance.

His dark eyes were quite lovely too—shiny and wet, like a forest deer.

Standing right in front of Zhou Younan, Wei Qing spoke first: "Zhou..."

Then his brain short-circuited.

He... couldn’t remember the name of the person before him.

The voice in his heart cackled mockingly: *See? You don’t even like him. You can’t even remember his name. He won’t like you either—after how you treated him, he’ll only fear you, despise you. Once he learns you’re a beastman, he’ll think you’re a filthy freak.*

A cold glint flashed in Wei Qing's pale green eyes.

Lowering his gaze at the small figure before him, he spoke again: "Young Master Zhou..."

The last word vanished between their lips.

Zhou Younan closed the distance and kissed him.