Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Ji Qingyu simply couldn't fathom Fu Han.

Given the circumstances, why wouldn't Fu Han let go? A divorce now would be cutting his losses. Unable to comprehend, he decided to stop trying.

Fu Han’s fingers brushed against Ji Qingyu’s collarbone, his gaze fixed on the mole there.

He then pulled Ji Qingyu’s collar higher, concealing the mole.

Without a word, they got into the car. The journey was silent, the downpour outside intensifying, large raindrops drumming against the windows, creating a damp, misty atmosphere.

Ji Qingyu’s tablet, still on, automatically played an audition clip for a stage play.

“I love you. Even if I know you’ll never be with me, I can’t stop loving you,” the young omega declared.

The older omega sighed. “There’s no future for us. I have a family, and my husband is powerful. If I were with you, he wouldn’t let us go—and besides, I love him.”

Ji Qingyu fumbled nervously to turn off the tablet, but accidentally hit the volume button instead. The impassioned dialogue blared, jarring and shrill in the dead silence of the night.

He barely dared to glance sideways, covering his face with his hand, wishing Fu Han would temporarily lose his hearing.

“Is this what you usually watch?” Fu Han’s hearing, it turned out, was perfectly fine. His tone remained flat. “Are you planning to cheat on me and run off with someone else?”

Damn it…

Ji Qingyu leaned against the door, pressing his cheek against the cool window, finding a sliver of security in the chill. He remained silent, offering no response.

“What a lovely tale of forbidden love. Cheating is cheating, why sugarcoat it?” Fu Han snatched the tablet from Ji Qingyu, skimmed the script, then powered it off and tossed it aside.

“Ji Qingyu, you’re married. Don’t even think about using my money to support someone else. Marital infidelity means you’ll walk away with nothing in a divorce. If you’re with me for my money, then behave yourself and know your place.” Fu Han seemed to be conjuring up some wild scenario in his head. Ji Qingyu turned his face further away, exhaling softly.

“Understood,” Ji Qingyu murmured, lowering his head to fidget with the bandage wrapped around his hand.

Silence descended upon the car once more. He scrolled through his phone; lately, his social media had been inundated with abusive private messages, and even more private apps had received contact requests from strangers.

He simply disabled all background notifications.

“You have a minor fracture in your hand. It’s best not to go out in this kind of rainy weather,” Fu Han said. “Otherwise, you’ll only suffer for it later.”

Ji Qingyu picked at the car’s interior panel. If not for the heavy rain, he would have jumped out. The ride was smooth, a stark contrast to Fu Han’s reckless driving last time. Feeling slightly better, Ji Qingyu added, “I didn’t write that play. I only composed the music. So, you don’t need to worry about me having any… other ideas.”

*Not that I’d tell you even if I did,* he thought.

He turned to look at Fu Han. His profile had matured significantly since he was eighteen. His suit was loosely unbuttoned, his tie and jacket long discarded. Ji Qingyu observed Fu Han’s profile in the rainy night.

He drifted into a daze for a moment, only snapping out of it when they reached the courtyard. Fu Han parked the car, then leaned over and seized his hand.

“What, stared at me the whole way and still not satisfied?” Fu Han’s gaze dropped to Ji Qingyu’s scent gland. His fingers pressed down dangerously, forcing Ji Qingyu to lift his head. “Your injuries have mostly healed, haven’t they?”

“No, not now…” Ji Qingyu immediately understood Fu Han’s intent. He pushed against him. “I have work. If you mark me, I won’t be able to go out.”

“Oh?” Fu Han calmly lowered his gaze, his calloused fingers rubbing against Ji Qingyu’s neck.

Ji Qingyu trembled, unable to discern if the scent of rain in the air originated from inside or outside the car.

Deep down, Ji Qingyu knew this day was inevitable. An unmarked omega offered poor emotional stabilization to an alpha, and it was rare for a married alpha-omega pair to remain unmarked.

After all, their union was more like a mutually beneficial arrangement—alpha providing protection, omega providing emotional comfort.

The closer Fu Han leaned, the more Ji Qingyu shook. Eventually, Fu Han stopped. He looked down at Ji Qingyu’s hands, where one was unconsciously gripping the other, right over the injury. His fingers trembled slightly.

Fu Han grasped Ji Qingyu’s wrist. “No marking for now. Ji Qingyu, let go of your hand first.”

When Ji Qingyu released his grip, the bandage on his wrist had come loose. His wrist was red and swollen again from the pressure.

“Do you think I’m eager to mark you?” Ji Qingyu heard Fu Han mutter in the darkness. A rare pang of grief washed over him. His jaw tightened, and he bit the inside of his cheek until it hurt.

In the end, they parted on bad terms. Fu Han didn’t even enter the master bedroom, slamming the guest room door shut with a resounding bang.

Ji Qingyu curled up alone on the large bed. He felt nauseous, his consciousness drifting. Lately, he’d been inexplicably down.

Perhaps getting out more and focusing on work would help. Dark spots danced before his eyes. With that thought, he closed them.

He slept poorly. In his dream, he was eighteen again, standing outside a hospital room where a doctor explained his mother Lin Ying’s condition. Back then, Lin Ying was still conscious.

Mid-to-late stage, pressing on nerves, very dangerous, surgery necessary…

The cost—400,000, just for the initial expenses.

“Mom, you’ll be fine after the surgery,” Ji Qingyu said, a heavy weight crushing his chest. He held Lin Ying’s hand, forcing a smile.

He stepped into the hallway, hesitating before desperately dialing Fu Han’s number.

A busy tone answered. The capital's business landscape was in turmoil—Fu Han’s grandfather had passed away. That night, Fu Han wasn’t there. His uncle had seized control. For days, the news had been filled with attacks and slander against him.

Ji Qingyu watched the reports. In photos, Fu Han wore a protective mask, his profile cold and unfamiliar, still appearing invulnerable.

In short clips, Fu Han faced reporters, tilting his head slightly toward the microphone, his gaze sharp, betraying no inner turmoil.

Amid the chaos, a reporter asked, “Regarding the recent suspected power struggle within the Fu family, what are your thoughts? Your uncle has publicly claimed the position of the new group head. Your absence from the board meeting that day—will it affect the succession? The old master always had the highest hopes for you. You’ve just come of age—are you truly capable of handling such responsibility?”

Fu Han defiantly smiled, his eyes filled with disdain and mockery even through the screen. “Anyone who dares to take what’s mine will pay it back double.”

The hospital corridor was empty. Lin Ying was resting. Trembling, Ji Qingyu dialed Fu Han’s number again. Still busy.

He tried over a dozen times, but no one answered.

Ji Ran appeared beside him unnoticed. A thin mist hung in the air. Ji Ran placed a small vial of medication in front of him.

“Made up your mind?” Ji Ran coldly asked. “Your mother doesn’t have much time to wait.”

“Drink this, and I’ll transfer the money immediately.”

Ji Qingyu turned to look at Ji Ran, who smiled unhurriedly, reaching out to touch his cheek.

Ji Qingyu froze, stepping back before bolting out of the building. He called Fu Han countless times, but the line was always busy.

Growing increasingly frantic, he finally stumbled and fell on the asphalt road outside the hospital. The ground was muddy and puddled from the afternoon rain. His palms and knees were scraped raw. He tried to stand but couldn’t find the strength.

Suddenly, his neck began secreting a strong, nearly unbearable scent of pheromones and suppressant. The crowd scattered around him. Dazed, he looked up, meeting the stares of onlookers. The air filled with the rain-scented pheromones he could no longer control.

Ji Qingyu struggled to his feet, stumbling as he clutched his scent gland. He still needed to find Fu Han, to explain everything.

“Having a public hormonal episode in the middle of the street, in broad daylight, with so many male alphas around—do you have any fucking common sense?” a sharp, angry voice rang out from the crowd, echoing in Ji Qingyu’s ears.

He blinked, frozen in place.

Under the heavy gaze of the crowd, he stood up, covering his scent gland, and tried to apologize. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize…”

He wasn't used to using suppressant patches—they felt like thick, sticky pieces of cloth with adhesive. He had always been insensitive to pheromones and thought he could continue like this forever.

The phone rang, and he looked over with hope, but it was Ji Ran. His eyes dimmed slightly. People around him shoved him, saying, "Hurry up and move away! Our alpha is about to enter his rut. What if he goes wild? What about everyone else around? Can you be held responsible?"

"Sorry." Ji Qingyu hung up the phone and ran back to the hospital to buy the suppressant patches. The doctor frowned, looking at him with some confusion. "Young man, where is your alpha? Your pheromones are off the charts. Were you just marked?"

Ji Qingyu wrung his hands together. "I didn't know it would be this serious…"

People in the hospital hurried past. He applied the suppressant patch to the back of his neck, and a sour, unbearable pain radiated from his glands.

The doctor brought cotton swabs and tweezers to clean Ji Qingyu's wounds. Ji Qingyu sat on a wooden bench, his clothes damp with sweat. A thousand thoughts warred within him. He had always been under Lin Ying's protection and never realized how difficult it would be alone without money.

It was as if the protective cocoon Lin Ying had spun for him had been singed open by a lighter. The smell of scorching filled the air, and as he gasped for breath and looked up, he realized he was already close to being burned alive.

"Child, try not to panic," the doctor said, frowning. "Listen to me. It's always like this right after being marked. Go find your alpha and ask him for his pheromones. In the first few days after being marked, an omega's pheromones go haywire, and it's easy to become emotionally unstable. It'll get better after a few days."

"Will it really get better?"

"It will."

"I'll give you these suppressant patches and inhibitors on the house. Don't cry, child. Everything will pass. Listen to me, okay?" The doctor was a middle-aged omega with fine wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. He gripped Ji Qingyu's hand tightly.

Ji Qingyu's senses remained foggy, his forehead covered in fine beads of sweat. He felt lost, anxious, and flustered. He thought, he would go find Fu Han, talk to him properly. Fu Han might seem fierce, but he would definitely listen to what he had to say.

He had to see him. Ji Qingyu picked up the phone again and tried dialing that familiar number, but this time, he was met with an unfamiliar automated message.

The number had already been disconnected.

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Author's note: The next update will be at midnight tomorrow. Don't wait up too early, everyone.