Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Pei Siyue carried Ruan Shuyang towards the elevator, his voice unusually cold and deep as he asked, "If you were feeling this miserable, why didn’t you call for help?"

Ruan Shuyang had never heard Pei Siyue speak to him in such an icy tone. He sniffed, so overwhelmed with misery that tears nearly fell.

"Brother, I… I was too weak after getting home."

He hadn’t intentionally avoided calling for help. He’d thought he could rest on the sofa for a while to recover, but the high fever had robbed him of consciousness.

As Pei Siyue held Ruan Shuyang, he could feel the omega’s body burning up against his—even warmer than his own body temperature.

Normally, the omega’s body temperature was lower than his, and during winter, he always liked to snuggle close for warmth.

But now, this scorching heat worried him, as if someone were using that same heat to burn his heart.

Struggling to suppress his anxiety and worry, he kept his voice low and calmly asked, "When did the fever start?"

Ruan Shuyang didn’t dare hide it. "This… this afternoon."

Hearing this, Pei Siyue was so angry that his pheromones nearly threatened to spiral out of control. Ruan Shuyang felt as though he were tossed in icy seawater one moment, only for it to turn scorching hot the next, frightening him.

"Ruan Shuyang." Pei Siyue set him down in the back seat of the car and covered him with his coat, his voice cold and furious. "You’ve had a fever since this afternoon, and you didn’t think to tell me or go see a doctor?!"

This was the first time Ruan Shuyang had been scolded so harshly by Pei Siyue. He felt so miserable that he wanted to cry.

He knew Pei Siyue was only saying this out of concern for him, but when he was sick, he felt especially fragile. His large eyes filled with tears, droplets hovering on the edge of falling.

"I had class this afternoon. Brother, I didn’t mean to hide it from you. I was going to rest at home for a bit and then tell you."

Ruan Shuyang was a good student.

Studying had once been his greatest hope for leaving the Ruan family. He had always worked extremely hard, avoiding taking leave whenever possible. Even in high school, if he fell ill with a high fever, he would push through to finish class before going to the hospital.

This habit carried over into university.

Although many of his classmates skipped unimportant classes, Ruan Shuyang never did. Even for elective courses, he attended diligently, studying seriously and never skipping.

Moreover, this afternoon’s class was a major one. With finals approaching, the professor was reviewing key exam material, so Ruan Shuyang didn’t want to miss the class. He planned to rest at home after class and then decide whether to see a doctor.

When he got home, his fever wasn’t as high. It only spiked after he lay on the sofa for a while.

But he didn’t have the energy to explain. The high fever made him dizzy, feeling as though everything around him was spinning. At that moment, he wasn’t even sure if he was lying in the back seat of the car, because his whole body felt like it was turning.

Pei Siyue got into the driver’s seat and drove straight to Ruiji Hospital.

Once there, Ruan Shuyang was admitted to a VIP room. A nurse came to take his temperature, blood pressure, and a blood sample from his fingertip.

Ruan Shuyang’s fever had reached 40°C.

When they were at home, Pei Siyue had felt his forehead and knew it was very high—otherwise, he wouldn’t have brought him directly to the hospital. For an ordinary fever, resting at home with medication would have been enough.

He quickly helped Ruan Shuyang sit up and fed the omega a fever reducer.

The omega was so feverish he was barely coherent. When he opened his eyes, his gaze was full of confusion, as if he didn’t recognize who Pei Siyue was.

Pei Siyue closed his eyes, unable to suppress the panic in his heart.

What if… what if Ruan Shuyang ended up like Jiang Ruowan…

No, that absolutely wouldn’t happen.

Ruan Shuyang hadn’t undergone mark removal surgery; his immune system was intact. Besides, he was still young—a high fever wouldn’t defeat him.

Rationally, Pei Siyue knew this, but emotionally, he couldn’t help worrying.

He held the small, soft, burning body tightly in his arms, holding him close, so only the real presence and warmth in his embrace could slightly calm him.

He held on tightly, reluctant to let go and lay the omega back on the bed. He needed to hold him himself to feel at ease.

After a long while, he slowly laid Ruan Shuyang down on the bed and lay down beside him, still holding the omega in his arms.

After taking the fever reducer, Ruan Shuyang’s temperature dropped slightly, and he gradually became more alert. He no longer felt the world spinning when he opened his eyes, nor was he too weak to speak.

He closed his eyes for a moment to steady himself, then opened them again. He realized he was lying on his side, held in the arms of the tall Enigma beside him.

His head was buried in Pei Siyue’s chest, so he couldn’t see his expression, but he could sense that Pei Siyue seemed very upset—his pheromones felt both constrained and chaotic.

He vaguely remembered that, before losing consciousness, Pei Siyue had been very angry—angry that he hadn’t sought medical attention immediately and hadn't told him about being sick right away.

Perhaps because of this, Pei Siyue was only holding him, not speaking, and not using his pheromones to comfort him.

At the time, Ruan Shuyang’s mind had been filled with final exam content and the key points highlighted by the professor, so it hadn’t occurred to him to say anything sooner.

Ruan Shuyang felt he had done wrong.

With effort, he lifted his slender arm and placed it on Pei Siyue, his voice soft and obedient as he apologized, "Brother, don’t be angry. Next time I’m sick, I’ll tell you right away."

He was still ill, burdened with an indescribable weariness. Just saying those words took most of his energy. After speaking, he closed his eyes and breathed lightly.

Pei Siyue felt Ruan Shuyang stir in his arms. He didn’t move immediately, wanting to hold him a little longer, when he felt the omega laboriously lift a hand and place it on him, apologizing so obediently.

He was overcome with guilt.

He shouldn’t have been so harsh earlier. Ruan Shuyang was only eighteen—how could he have lost his temper with a sick omega and made someone so young comfort him? Failing to control his emotions was his own fault.

He held Ruan Shuyang tighter, his voice husky as he said, "Ruan Ruan, you don’t need to apologize. It’s my fault—I shouldn’t have scolded you."

"Are you… scared of me?"

Ruan Shuyang didn’t have the strength to move much, so he could only press his face against Pei Siyue’s chest and whisper, "No, brother."

"You didn’t seem that scary then. I wasn’t afraid."

Although he had been feverish and disoriented, he hadn’t been particularly scared because he knew Pei Siyue was out of concern for him and wouldn’t truly harm him.

He had just felt a little hurt. When people are sick, they become fragile and want to be held and comforted, but instead of comforting him, Pei Siyue had scolded him.

But now that Pei Siyue was comforting him, he no longer felt hurt.

Pei Siyue lowered his head and kissed Ruan Shuyang’s feverish forehead. "How are you feeling now?"

Ruan Shuyang closed his eyes for a moment to think about it. "Very hot."

On the way to the hospital, he had felt alternating chills and heat, but his hands and feet had remained cold.

Now, he felt warmth returning to his hands and feet.

Pei Siyue touched Ruan Shuyang’s hand and found the slender, soft hand warm as well, which made him feel slightly better.

For someone with a high fever, cold extremities are the worst sign, as it indicates the fever is still rising. Since Ruan Shuyang's hands and feet are now warm, it means his temperature won't climb any higher.

He gently patted Ruan Shuyang's back for a moment, then sat up, took a cooling patch from the bedside, and placed it on Ruan Shuyang's forehead. After that, he carefully helped him sit up, leaning against his chest, and gave him anti-inflammatory medication with water.

After taking the medicine, Ruan Shuyang still had no strength. Leaning into Pei Siyue, he asked, "Brother, what's wrong with me?"

"Bacterial infection," Pei Siyue explained, pausing before adding reassuringly, "Don't be afraid, Ruan Ruan, you'll get better soon."

"Mm." Ruan Ruan closed his eyes and nestled obediently against him, saying to Pei Siyue, "Brother, don't you be afraid either. I've got a strong constitution—I've always gotten through high fevers and illnesses on my own. I'll be fine."

He had always believed his health was robust. Whenever he fell ill or ran a fever, he would just buy some fever-reducing medicine and get through it in a few days.

This time would be no different.

Pei Siyue pressed his face against Ruan Ruan's neck, breathing in the faint scent of Lily of the Valley, his arms holding Ruan Ruan's waist firmly.

"I'm not afraid."

Ruan Ruan suddenly felt his scent gland itching slightly. He reached out with fever-reddened fingertips, clutching Pei Siyue's clothes, nuzzling against him like a small animal, and whispered, "Brother, I want your pheromones."

He felt miserable being sick and longed for Pei Siyue's company and comfort—especially the comfort of his pheromones.

"Okay."

Pei Siyue kissed Ruan Ruan's forehead again and released a small amount of pheromones to soothe the little omega.

In the quiet hospital room, they held each other silently, drawing warmth and comfort from one another.

**

Illness strikes like a collapsing mountain, but recovery is as slow as unraveling silk.

Although Ruan Ruan felt he would be fine in a couple of days, he still needed time to fully recover.

Over the past few days, his fever kept spiking—the fever-reducing medicine would bring his temperature down, but it would soon rise again. A bacterial infection-induced fever wasn't so easily cured.

Pei Siyue hadn't gone anywhere these past few days, staying in the hospital room to keep him company. Fortunately, it was the weekend, and there wasn't much work.

On Sunday morning, an urgent matter came up. Unwilling to leave the room, Pei Siyue had Jiang Wu bring the documents to him. The moment Jiang Wu entered, he almost buckled under the overwhelming, chaotic Enigma pheromones filling the room.

Trembling, he said, "Boss, control yourself—please don't lose control."

He was terrified his boss might hit his rut cycle. If that happened, he feared Pei Siyue would lose control, cause trouble out on the streets, and end up being subdued and arrested by multiple police squads.

Pei Siyue: "..."

He looked with a blank expression at Jiang Wu without saying a word.

He had been struggling to maintain control these past two days, but it felt incredibly difficult.

The cold winter already put him in a low mood, and with Jiang Ruowan's anniversary approaching, the little omega had been running a recurrent high fever, drifting in and out of consciousness.

All these factors combined made his mood worse than ever. He had already taken three inhibitor shots, but they still couldn't curb the turbulence of his pheromones.

Because of the mark, Ruan Ruan didn't feel the oppressive pressure of the pheromones in the room—he only sensed that Pei Siyue was in a bad mood.

But Jiang Wu, as an Alpha, felt the full intensity of the Enigma pheromones and was almost too afraid to enter the room.

In the end, Pei Siyue stepped out of the room and looked over the documents at the doorway.

After finishing, he returned to the room and closed the door, seeing Ruan Ruan asleep quietly in the hospital bed.

His pale cheeks were still flushed from the fever, and his usually soft, supple lips had become somewhat dry and pale.

It was heart-wrenching to see.

Pei Siyue moistened a cotton swab with water and gently dabbed it on the little omega's lips to hydrate them.

By evening, Ruan Ruan woke up and sat by the bed to eat dinner.

His arms were still weak, but he refused to let Pei Siyue feed him. He felt embarrassed—as a grown person, he didn't want to be fed if he could handle it himself.

It had been more than eight hours since his last dose of fever-reducing medicine, and his temperature hadn't spiked again, staying around 37 degrees Celsius, not going above 37.5.

He felt almost recovered and didn't want to stay in the hospital anymore—he wanted to go home.

After dinner, he mentioned this to Pei Siyue, who agreed.

Ruan Ruan's high fever had mostly subsided, and returning to a familiar environment would aid his recovery.

Wrapped tightly in a thick quilt like a cocoon, Ruan Ruan was carried by Pei Siyue to the car and driven home, then carried back to his room still cocooned.

Once placed on the bed, Pei Siyue removed the quilt, stroked Ruan Ruan's hair, and said softly, "Don't close your door tonight. Call me if you need anything."

Ruan Ruan nodded obediently. "Okay."

His fever had basically broken, but after lying in bed for two days, his body felt achy and weak, and he was a bit dizzy.

Still, he didn't think it was a big deal—he could go to class tomorrow.

He had attended classes with illnesses far worse than this before. In his mind, he wasn't really a patient anymore.

After washing up, he lay down and quickly fell asleep.

His immune system had used up a lot of energy fighting the bacteria, so he had been feeling exhausted these past two days and slept deeply.

He had no idea that Pei Siyue came into his room almost every hour to check his temperature, worried the fever might return.

Fortunately, the night passed without incident.

The next morning, Ruan Ruan set his alarm for 7:00 and got up on time. After checking his temperature—still 37 degrees, not considered a fever—he felt perfectly fine.

Confident he was recovered, he brought up attending classes during breakfast.

This led to the first argument between them since they had met.

Pei Siyue, who had been bottling up his emotions all weekend, snapped when he heard Ruan Ruan wanted to go to class before fully recovering. He ordered sternly, "You're not allowed to go."

Ruan Ruan was stunned, feeling both wronged and confused. "Brother, why?"

He was stubborn about studying well and maintaining attendance. He didn't understand why Pei Siyue wouldn't let him go—his temperature was down to 37 degrees, perfectly fine to attend class.

Many of his classmates attended classes with illnesses much worse than his.

"You haven't fully recovered from the fever," Pei Siyue said, seeing the confusion in Ruan Ruan's wide eyes. He closed his eyes briefly, fighting to control his temper, and explained, "Even after the fever is completely gone, you need to wait another 24 hours to make sure it doesn't return before going to class."

Ruan Ruan was stunned—he had never heard of such a thing.

In his experience, students went to class as long as they didn't have a fever or it wasn't too high, because catching up on missed lessons was difficult.

On this matter, he showed unusual persistence.

"Ge, I'm totally fine now. I can go to class."

Pei Siyue’s face went icy. "You’re not listening to me?"

Ruan Shuyang bit his lip and murmured, "I'm not being disobedient. Ge, I just want to go to class. The final exam is coming up soon, and the professor’s gonna go over what’s on the test. I really want to listen."

"Besides, I'm really fine now."

In the past, he had gone to class even when he was much sicker than this. It really wasn't a big deal now.

"I can take care of your finals," Pei Siyue said without hesitation, looking at Ruan Shuyang and said coldly, "Right now, you should rest at home."

He wasn't fully recovered yet and could still get sick again, yet he wanted to go to class. Was he trying to piss him off?

Ruan Shuyang froze upon hearing this. It was the first time he felt so wronged in front of Pei Siyue. Tears spilled from his eyes and silently fell onto the dining table, as if also striking Pei Siyue's heart.

His voice shook with tears: "Ge, this is my studies, my final exam. I've worked hard for so long. You can't just brush it off like that with a single sentence."

He worked his butt off every day and insisted on attending classes because he wanted to achieve good grades. After working so hard for so long, he also wanted to get something out of it.

But Pei Siyue just tossed out a casual, "I can handle it," and expected him to give up his studies and just stay home?

He didn't want this, really didn't.

He couldn't help but sniff, tears falling one by one.

Pei Siyue was stunned when he saw Ruan Shuyang's tears.

The continuously falling tears reminded him how upset the little omega was at this moment.

His lips moved slightly. He closed his eyes, suddenly balled his fists, got up, and walked out.

He was afraid that if he stayed any longer, he would regret the decision he had made in that instant.

Before he knew it, Pei Siyue had already left. He only heard the sound of the door opening and closing.

He sniffed, wiped away his tears, and looked blankly at the empty living room.

It was the first time they had argued during breakfast and ended in a fight.

He didn't know why Pei Siyue left. Was he angry with him? Didn't want to care about him anymore? Or...

He sat alone at the dining table, lost.

After a while, he quietly finished his breakfast, feeling down, and still decided to go to class.

He didn't want to give up on the studies he had worked so hard for.

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly heard the doorbell. He went to the door and saw Ji Huai outside.

He opened the door and heard Ji Huai say to him, "Mr. Pei asked me to take you to school."

Ruan Shuyang felt a mix of emotions and suddenly wanted to hug Pei Siyue and apologize to him.

In the car, Ruan Shuyang deeply regretted the argument with Pei Siyue and proactively apologized: "Ge, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have argued with you."

By this time, Pei Siyue had already arrived at the company. The atmosphere was worse than ever, so much so that Jiang Wu only reported work at the office door, not daring to step inside. He kept thinking to himself that his boss should just take the day off today. With the Enigma in such a bad mood, he, a weak, pitiful, and helpless Alpha, really couldn't deal with it.

Why hadn't Ruan Shuyang finished his finals yet and come to the company as a winter intern? If he were here, Pei Siyue would definitely chill out, afraid of scaring his omega.

However, halfway through his report, he suddenly felt that Pei Siyue's aura had improved quite a bit. Although it was still intensely oppressive, it no longer made Alphas weak in the knees.

He finally mustered the courage to enter the office and saw Pei Siyue sending a message.

Jiang Wu understood immediately—it must be to his omega. In this world, aside from Ruan Shuyang, he had never seen anyone who could soothe Pei Siyue, this suit-and-tie Enigma brute.

Pei Siyue read the message and felt as though he had been through the wringer this morning. Thinking about how the little omega might be nervously texting him, he replied: "Don’t worry about it. My bad too."

Pei Siyue: "I should respect your efforts."

Afterward, he realized that Ruan Shuyang was so upset because his hard work had been shut down by him.

He really shouldn't have done that. Regardless of whether he had the ability or not, he should have chosen to respect him.

Ruan Shuyang quietly attended his classes for the day and planned to go home to review afterward.

The professor teaching the last class today had an unexpected matter and let them out ten minutes early. Since it wasn't yet the time he had agreed with Ji Huai in the morning, he went downstairs to take a walk around the campus.

After being cooped up in his room for two days, he wanted to breathe some fresh air.

The temperature today was much better than last weekend, above zero. He was dressed very warmly, bundled up like a marshmallow, and didn't feel particularly cold. As he went downstairs, he only felt the air was crisp and clean.

Due to finals week and it still being class time, the walkways on campus were sparsely populated, making it exceptionally quiet. The branches of the trees on both sides of the path were adorned with snow-white decorations, occasionally punctuated by a few red lanterns. The fiery red and snow white popped against each other beautifully.

The winter sunlight filtered through the branches and spilled onto the ground, the dappled light painting a serene picture.

"It's almost New Year's," Ruan Shuyang thought.

Just as he was walking through a quiet hallway, someone suddenly clamped a hand over his mouth and pulled him behind a hidden large tree.

Ruan Shuyang saw Pei Siming, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, and immediately struggled, trying to attract the attention of the campus security.

"Don't move," Pei Siming said, his expression terribly off—desperate yet somewhat crazed. "I'm here to save you. You might be controlled by my brother's Enigma pheromones without even realizing it."

Ruan Shuyang frowned, not believing this, but he couldn't break free from Pei Siming's grip.

They were in a corner of the campus where there were already few people, and today almost no one passed by. Ruan Shuyang's struggles didn't attract anyone's attention.

"My brother is a monster, a demon," Pei Siming panted, his eyes wide open, the protruding eyeballs filled with red veins. "He always tightly grasps and controls what is his. Even if he destroys it, he won't give it to others. He must have planted a tracker or a wire on you, monitoring your every move."

"When we were kids, a cat he owned just played with me twice and then never appeared again. A month later, I heard that cat died. He must have killed it—just because I played with his cat, he felt it no longer belonged solely to him and destroyed it."

"He likes to control the people and things he cares about. He's an Enigma. An Enigma's pheromones can control a person without them even realizing it." Pei Siming's mental state was abnormal, as if he had gone mad, his expression twisted and frenzied. "I heard from your father that you hate mind control the most and should resist it strongly. But who would have thought? In this world, there exists a silent, completely undetectable form of mind control."

"You've been by his side for so long. Have you felt like you can't leave his pheromones, often needing a fix? Sometimes, even though you're thinking about one thing, you unknowingly get led to another. Sometimes, even though you don't want to do something, you unconsciously obey. The scariest part is that you'll feel like these are things you genuinely want to do from the bottom of your heart, without realizing you're being mentally controlled."

Ruan Shuyang's struggles gradually weakened.

He was particularly sensitive to mind control and hated being mentally controlled.

But he realized that he truly couldn't leave Pei Siyue's pheromones now. He often needed a fix—not for treatment, but simply because he wanted them.

When he was hesitant about treatment, Pei Siyue's sweet-talk easily made him agree.

There were things he clearly didn't want to say, but after being coaxed by Pei Siyue, he slowly revealed them bit by bit.

There were indeed times when he was thinking about one thing but was guided to another.

Sometimes, he didn't want to sleep, his mind too preoccupied to fall asleep, but he would unknowingly be lulled to sleep by Pei Siyue.

Seeing Ruan Shuyang gradually stop struggling, Pei Siming eased his hold.

Ruan Shuyang didn’t look at Pei Siming but instead looked at the tree branches in a corner of the campus not far away and said, “I know there’s a tracker on me.”

It was in the necklace—he had felt it before.

**

Pei Siyue was too worried about Ruan Shuyang to stay put, so he decided to take Ji Huai's place in picking him up.

But after waiting a while in the underground parking lot without seeing the young omega arrive, he followed the tracker’s signal to find him.

As an Enigma, his senses were extremely sharp. From a distance, he could see Ruan Shuyang standing with Pei Siming and hear Pei Siming say he was a demon.

Pei Siyue slowed his steps, and after listening briefly, he was about to continue walking over when he suddenly heard Ruan Shuyang say—

“I know there’s a tracker on me.”

He halted his steps and stood quietly out of sight of both, listening intently. His eyes were dark and profound, his handsome face unreadable, as if every emotion was concealed beneath those deep, ocean-like eyes.