Chapter 1

Chapter 1

An Nuo never imagined that one day, he would change his destiny through marriage.

It felt like a dream.

The neglected youngest son of a declining wealthy family, he was fortunate enough to attend a high-society party filled with elites. Thinking he was just an unnoticed, shadowy little mushroom in the corner, he unexpectedly caught the eye of the most sought-after alpha in the room.

It felt like a final hallucination before dying from a suspected counterfeit inhibitor injection.

But the next day, An Nuo saw Lu Yunyan again.

The only son of one of the Federation's most renowned business empires—a man among men, an alpha among alphas.

"Did I scare you last night?"

"..."

By the time this conversation took place, An Nuo had already been guided into Lu Yunyan's car, still in a daze.

A completely enclosed space, intimate emotional topics—it was hardly suitable for an Alpha and Omega to be alone together.

But the car was parked in a well-lit area, the interior spacious, the seats soft and comfortable, and the air carried a faint grapefruit scent, helping to relax tense nerves.

The man sat diagonally across from him, maintaining the maximum possible distance.

"Last night, time was limited, and I didn’t have a chance to explain much. Can you listen carefully now?"

An Nuo lowered his head, fidgeting with his fingers. "...Please go ahead."

He thought to himself that he didn't really have a choice anyway.

He had just finished class and hadn’t even stepped out of the school gate when Lu Yunyan’s bodyguards corralled him, guiding him into the car.

"Last night, when I said I wanted to marry you, I wasn’t joking."

An Nuo clenched his fingers, his heart tightening slightly.

"But it’s only a contract marriage," Lu Yunyan continued. "What I truly need is your pheromones."

Hearing the term "contract marriage," An Nuo slowly lifted his head.

But when he heard that the other needed his pheromones, An Nuo showed a puzzled and confused expression.

"...My pheromones?"

"Yes, your pheromones."

Lu Yunyan’s tone was natural and smooth, yet matter-of-fact, as if discussing a business deal.

"This marriage won’t last long—three years at most. In return, I can help you escape your family and provide you with a generous sum of money, enough to set you up for life."

"..."

"Sorry for looking into your family background without permission, but to persuade you, it was a necessary step."

Although unsure what the other intended to do with his pheromones, An Nuo had to admit that Lu Yunyan’s investigation was right on target—the promise of escaping his family struck his biggest sore spot, outweighing any unease from the background check.

An Nuo pursed his lips. "...What do you need my pheromones for?"

Instead of refusing, he pressed for details.

This indicated that the conditions were effective and that the proposal was promising.

Lu Yunyan adjusted his posture, leaning slightly forward, and said in a low voice, "I have a secret."

An Nuo’s blue eyes flickered slightly.

"It’s a congenital genetic defect that causes an imbalance in my pheromone levels. I need an omega’s pheromones for treatment."

Lu Yunyan sighed.

"But unfortunately, this condition is quite rare. Since my diagnosis, I’ve never found an effective omega pheromone."

"Until I met you last night."

Lu Yunyan looked at him with sincerity. "After catching your scent, I knew you were the one I’ve been searching for... So you’re very important to me. As long as you’re willing to agree, I can meet any request you have."

The offer was tempting.

"But..."

"Hmm?"

Lu Yunyan kept his voice gentle. "But what?"

An Nuo blinked, unsure and confused. "But I... I hardly have any pheromones..."

"..."

An entirely unexpected response.

Silence fell between them.

Two seconds later, Lu Yunyan quirked the corner of his mouth into a faint smile. "Are you rejecting me in this way?"

An Nuo’s pheromone scent was clearly hanging in the air, yet he claimed to have almost none? Was there a more absurd way to reject someone?

An Nuo immediately waved his hands. "No, no, it’s true... My gland has, well, issues. It hardly releases any pheromones. There are medical records that confirm it—I’m not lying..."

An Nuo was telling the truth.

Although his condition wasn’t a congenital defect like Lu Yunyan’s, it was indeed due to long-term hormonal insufficiency, which caused his heat cycles to disappear and his pheromones to become so faint they were almost indistinguishable from a beta’s.

Taking medication helped somewhat, but once he stopped, the problem returned.

Since the side effects of the medication were hard on him and the treatment only treated the symptoms, not the root cause, An Nuo got sick of taking it. Without heat cycles, life was easier, so he eventually stopped the medication.

That’s why he was so puzzled when Lu Yunyan claimed his pheromones were effective.

Others had to get very close to barely smell anything, and even he himself could hardly smell it. How could Lu Yunyan, sitting at that distance, detect it?

"But I can smell it, even now."

Seeing An Nuo’s reaction, which seemed genuine, Lu Yunyan also grew confused.

"It should be a blend of fruit scents, quite sweet—a bit like peaches?"

"……"

Talking about an omega's scent so openly, between two strangers, was pretty much like the opening line of sexual harassment.

But Lu Yunyan was right—An Nuo's scent was indeed a mix of fruit scents.

Most of the time, it was just sweet, and only occasionally would a specific scent emerge.

An Nuo wasn’t lying.

Lu Yunyan was telling the truth too.

After speaking, the two lapsed into silence again.

Both probably found the situation unbelievable and ridiculous.

Finally, Lu Yunyan broke the silence and asked first, "How serious is the issue with your scent glands?"

An Nuo understood what Lu Yunyan meant, twisted his palm, and said vaguely, "...It’s fine, not serious. It'll be okay with medication."

Lu Yunyan’s tone was gentle: "Rest assured, the Lu family has the best medical resources available."

"……"

An Nuo didn’t know what he was supposed to be reassured about.

But judging by Lu Yunyan’s attitude, he seemed determined to secure the outcome of this contract marriage.

An Nuo fidgeted with his fingers and let out a heavy sigh inwardly.

Maybe this was for the best.

If Lu Yunyan had fallen in love with him at first sight, An Nuo would only feel troubled and unsure how to refuse.

But since Lu Yunyan wanted to discuss an arrangement with him, An Nuo felt a huge relief.

An Nuo’s family situation was complicated. For twenty years, he had always been the least favorite child in the family.

But because of the attention he received from Lu Yunyan last night, he momentarily became the center of attention in the family.

It was an unprecedented moment in the spotlight.

Though it was rather sad that this was thanks to a complete stranger, An Nuo had secretly felt pleased about it.

But after the private satisfaction faded, he was afraid Lu Yunyan might actually be interested in him.

If Lu Yunyan really was interested in him, his family would absolutely be eager to push him out.

Using an insignificant younger son to win favor with the Lu family would undoubtedly bring far greater benefits than keeping An Nuo at home. His father who despised him would probably be overjoyed.

But for An Nuo himself, it might not be a good thing.

The other party was a powerful conglomerate family. He had neither a comparable family background nor reliable family members to back him up. Once the novelty of his appearance wore off, he would most likely become a plaything for a top-tier alpha.

Having grown up accustomed to such scheming and calculating, he had long given up on the fantasy that anyone would rescue him.

But now, Lu Yunyan was the one who needed him, wanting to discuss an arrangement and offering such tempting conditions—even if he was still in a weaker position, at least he now had a place at the bargaining table.

It was just too sudden.

An Nuo had never experienced anything like this and couldn't give an answer easily in such a short time.

"I think this is a big matter—I need time to think it over carefully." An Nuo clenched his palm. "I’ll seriously consider the conditions you’ve offered."

Lu Yunyan chuckled, his attitude remaining friendly and gentle: "Of course, you have plenty of time to consider it thoroughly."

—

This was his first conversation with Lu Yunyan, and it ended peacefully.

To persuade him to agree, Lu Yunyan asked him out two more times afterward.

The first time, Lu Yunyan invited him to dinner.

The call went directly to his home, asking if it was convenient for An Nuo to come out.

An Nuo couldn't refuse.

His father, who rarely ever acknowledged him, even hired a professional stylist team to package him up like a present and sent him by car to meet Lu Yunyan.

The cuffs and collar of his clothes were even deliberately spritzed with perfume.

A perfume containing illegal ingredients meant to arouse an alpha.

This made An Nuo feel deeply embarrassed.

After getting out of the car, he immediately took off his jacket.

Even though Lu Yunyan knew about his family situation, it was precisely because he knew that An Nuo didn’t want to be looked down on.

When they met again, Lu Yunyan still appeared dependable and mature, speaking in a gentle tone.

"Sorry for calling your home."

He apologized to An Nuo first.

"I tried contacting you, but you didn’t answer. Did you block unknown numbers?"

"……"

An Nuo was stunned.

Before coming, he was genuinely resentful toward Lu Yunyan, unable to understand why he would contact his home directly.

Knowing full well this was the chains he wanted to escape, was Lu Yunyan using it to pressure him to agree?

Last time, he had acted so friendly and said An Nuo had plenty of time to think.

So cunning.

That damn alpha, you couldn't trust a word he said.

He had secretly cursed hundreds of times, but after venting, he learned that Lu Yunyan had failed to reach him. An Nuo instantly felt a guilty conscience.

"It’s fine…"

What was there to say? He couldn’t possibly voice what he had been thinking.

"Then, how about swapping contact info this time?"

"...Alright."

Lu Yunyan didn’t ask about his decision but instead said, "After some thought, I feel I should tell you the specifics of my condition. It wouldn’t be fair to you otherwise."

"...What?"

"Regarding my genetic defect—it’s actually a very rare condition called pheromone dysregulation syndrome."

An Nuo blinked in confusion, he having genuinely never heard of such a syndrome.

"This condition is caused by hormonal imbalance, but my body can’t synthesize the regulating compounds, which makes the symptoms during my rut cycles particularly intense."

An Nuo listened quietly.

"One of the symptoms, though I really hate to bring it up…"

Lu Yunyan seemed to let out a bitter smile.

"But I have to be clear with you, as the treatment process will require considerable sacrifice from you."

Sacrifices.

The wording seemed a bit severe.

An Nuo became even more curious, his blue eyes blinking. "...What is it?"

"Before and after my rut cycles, I become very irritable and aggressive, while also intensely craving comfort from an omega’s pheromones."

"I’ll want physical contact, to hold, to kiss, and even more—"

After pausing for two seconds, Lu Yunyan continued with a calm expression, "Simply put, it’s a condition similar to sex addiction. I’ll want to have sex with you."

"…………"

An Nuo’s eyes widened immediately, immediately understanding why Lu Yunyan had used the word "sacrifice."

Just a marriage of convenience… and they’d even have to sleep together too?

The word wasn't too strong at all.

In fact, it was spot-on.