Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A dead silence, a suffocating pressure.

Shen Hui’s back and waist were tense, veins bulging on the back of his hand as if he might lunge forward and twist someone’s head off at any moment. In the end, he only tilted his head slightly, avoiding Yan Gui’s triumphant gaze.

He lowered his gaze, dark hair covering most of his face, leaving Yan Gui with only a glimpse of an excessively pale, delicate profile.

Yan Gui wore a victorious smile. "Move over."

After a long silence, Shen Hui shifted inward, making room.

Yan Gui smoothly took the seat. He had arrived seething with rage, intending to confront Shen Hui about his deception and secrecy. But now, seeing Shen Hui’s stubborn, defeated demeanor, his anger gave way to an exhilarating sense of conquest.

He affectionately fastened Shen Hui’s seatbelt. The driver, catching the hint, started the car. Shen Hui had no choice but to be packed up and taken away.

Yan Gui didn’t bring Shen Hui back to his usual downtown apartment. Instead, he chose a villa in the suburban hills, occupying half a mountainside, with strict access control—not even a ride-hailing service could reach within forty miles.

Seeing the somewhat aged Western-style building, Shen Hui recalled that this villa was an inheritance from Yan Gui’s parents and the place where he had first met Yan Gui.

In a daze, he seemed to see the sixteen-year-old Yan Gui, wounded and sitting on the steps, watching him with cold, guarded eyes—like an injured young wolf baring its teeth.

Now, times had changed. The adult alpha naturally and forcefully wrapped an arm around his waist, asking with a triumphant smile, "What are you thinking about?"

Shen Hui remained silent.

Yan Gui led him into the villa, leaving no room for refusal. "Come on, let’s talk inside."

Yan Gui didn’t often return here. The villa was as empty as a period museum. He rummaged through the fridge, found a glass of milk, heated it in the microwave, and placed it in front of Shen Hui.

Shen Hui didn’t touch it. Instead, he turned to look at the blooming trumpet vines outside the floor-to-ceiling window. A fiery cascade of flowers filled his vision, as intense as the scent of Yan Gui’s pheromones.

He stared calmly at the flowers but directed his question at Yan Gui. "What do you want to talk about?"

Yan Gui sat casually opposite him, his long legs sprawled insolently. "Wrong question. It should be: What have you been hiding from me?"

Shen Hui closed his eyes and didn’t answer.

Yan Gui’s earlier delight was completely extinguished by Shen Hui’s unyielding attitude. Remembering Chen Shenzhi’s smug, confident expression and words, the alpha’s possessiveness made him want to tear open Shen Hui’s chest and hold his heart in his hands. But seeing Shen Hui’s pale face, he suppressed all such impulses.

Yan Gui hated his own weakness but couldn’t help asking, "Did you undergo a third glandular catalytic surgery?"

Without hesitation, Shen Hui chose to conceal the truth. "No."

Yan Gui looked at him skeptically.

The gland surgery was part of Shen Hui’s deal with Chen Shenzhi, something Yan Gui couldn’t know yet. So, Shen Hui spent some effort to cover it up: "I have people at the hospital. The surgery was just a cover."

Considering how close Shen Hui had come to slipping through his grasp, Yan Gui tentatively accepted this explanation. But now, he was more concerned with another matter.

"Chen Shenzhi told me that saving and raising me back then was just a transaction."

At this, Shen Hui calmly turned his gaze back to Yan Gui, as if truly seeing him for the first time.

Yan Gui stood out even among alphas—handsome yet fiercely aggressive, with sharp, upward-slanting eyebrows and eyes that carried intense pressure when they swept over someone.

If he released his pheromones now, most alphas and omegas would cower at his feet, trembling.

But Shen Hui was a beta. Even in the eye of the storm, he remained unmoved. He met Yan Gui’s gaze calmly and, after a long moment, replied, "Yes."

The air instantly turned dead silent. If Shen Hui were an alpha or omega, he would have smelled the scorching, lava-like scent of rage, burning the air and making it hard to breathe. But as a beta, he only felt the temperature rise slightly.

The alpha was on the verge of erupting.

Shen Hui, seemingly oblivious, laid his cards on the table: "Six years ago, I planned to leave the Chen family. Old Chen said that if I raised you to become one of them, I could go. It was a good deal."

Yan Gui stared at him intently, searching for any sign of deception. After all, Shen Hui had often lied to him in the past. But the more familiar he was with Shen Hui, the more he knew he wasn’t lying.

"Did you want to leave the Chen family because of Chen Shenzhi?"

Yan Gui was met with prolonged silence.

Chen Shenzhi had once been the only person Shen Hui cared about.

At six years old, growing up in an orphanage, Shen Hui had desperately longed for a unique bond, a true friend, someone who cared only for him. But the orphanage teachers never showed favoritism, and friends would abandon him over a mere biscuit.

Only Chen Shenzhi was different. He only had eyes for Shen Hui, cared only for him, and even insisted on taking Shen Hui along when his wealthy parents found him.

Back then, the ten-year-old Chen Shenzhi extended his hand to Shen Hui: "Come with me. I’ll be your only family."

For sixteen years, Shen Hui had given almost everything for those words, only to be called "defective" by Chen Shenzhi in the end.

It was at that moment Yan Gui entered his life.

Chen Shang, a veteran of the business world, believed Shen Hui had broken with Chen Shenzhi and wanted to squeeze the last bit of value from him—to train a new blade for the Chen family in exchange for his freedom.

Shen Hui agreed. He would forge a blade for them—a blade that would eventually turn on its masters.

That candidate was Yan Gui, whose parents had died unexpectedly, leaving his guardianship in Chen Shang’s hands. The Yan and Chen families were old friends, but Chen Shang seized the opportunity to try to annex the Yan family through Yan Gui.

Their first meeting was a contest of interests, a transaction from the start.

Shen Hui admitted calmly, "Yes."

The temperature in the living room soared abruptly. Even Shen Hui, with his weak constitution, felt the heat, his palms sweating profusely.

Yan Gui’s fists clenched, veins bulging, as he gritted his teeth and asked the question he most wanted answered: "Do you love him?"

Shen Hui had never liked Yan Gui’s stubborn, probing nature. Over six years, he’d learned how to handle it. Instead of answering, he asked, "How is Old Chen doing?"

But this tactic clearly didn’t work on the now fully matured alpha. Yan Gui’s eyes burned with fury, his muscles tensed, as if he might lunge forward and tear Shen Hui apart at any second.

Silence was admission.

Yet Shen Hui simply watched him calmly, his composure like an unshakable mountain, calming the alpha on the brink of rage.

Yan Gui took a deep breath, a mocking smile appearing as he thought of Chen Shang. "Letting the old man die would be too easy. Keeping him barely alive still has its uses." His expression darkened. "But that thing was taken by Chen Shenzhi."

As Shen Hui had expected, Chen Shenzhi had likely used his surgery as a diversion to draw Yan Gui away.

How efficiently he utilized every resource, Shen Hui thought coldly. And Chen Shang’s reaction was off—in terms of cunning, Chen Shenzhi, Yan Gui, and himself combined were no match for the old man.

He sensed something amiss but no longer wanted to get involved.

"You’ve done well," Shen Hui said calmly, a flicker of approval in his eyes.

For six years, Yan Gui developed flawlessly, reclaiming the Yan family assets and defeating Chen Shenzhi—a perfect outcome for both.

Yan Gui abruptly looked up at him. In all these years, Shen Hui had never once acknowledged him—not when he aced his exams, not when he got into a world-renowned university, not when he presented as an Alpha, and not even when he gradually eroded the Chen family's influence. Shen Hui would only watch quietly as Yan Gui came to seek recognition, then tell him, "You can do better."

That phrase was like a distant lighthouse in the dark, deep sea—an unattainable salvation that fueled his competitive spirit, etched into his very bones.

He never imagined that the final acknowledgment would come so calmly from Shen Hui. There was no satisfaction or joy in being recognized—instead, it felt like a piece of flesh had been carved out of him, leaving only emptiness and desolation.

Shen Hui stood up and looked down at his former student, offering a relieved smile. "You've always done well. There's nothing left for me to teach you. You can walk the rest of the path on your own."

With just a few words, Shen Hui soothed the enraged wolf cub. Once certain the Alpha wouldn’t lose control, he turned to leave.

Yan Gui watched his receding back, his eyes filled with fierce, complicated emotions. "Then… Shen Hui, in your eyes, what exactly am I to you?"

Shen Hui turned back, thought for a moment, and gave his answer: "My most perfect creation."

Yan Gui's heart trembled; scorching heat flooded his veins, his fingers shaking slightly.

He had acknowledged his uniqueness—but not the uniqueness Yan Gui had wanted.

From Yan Gui's expression, Shen Hui knew he would likely let go—at least for now. The Alpha wouldn’t erupt and pin him to the ground.

Yan Gui stared at him with a complicated gaze, then finally let out a long, relieved sigh.

"Where do you want to go?"

The tension in Shen Hui eased slightly. "I don’t know. I’ll likely travel aimlessly."

Yan Gui took a bottle of red wine from the cabinet, poured himself a glass, then picked up the still warm glass of milk and brought it to Shen Hui.

"A parting drink," Yan Gui said, appearing to have accepted the situation. "Remember to come back when you have time."

Shen Hui didn’t take it. His eyes held appraisal and wariness. Knowing Yan Gui, even if he reluctantly let him go, he wouldn't do so without lingering resentment. Such generosity was suspicious.

His gaze fell on the glass of milk.

Yan Gui’s grip on the milk glass was firm and steady. Seeing Shen Hui’s hesitation, he smiled calmly. "If I really wanted to keep you, do you think you could leave?"

"Or have you changed your mind and decided to stay?"

Shen Hui immediately reached out, took the milk, downed it in one swallow, and handed the empty glass back.

"I'm leaving."

Yan Gui took a sip of wine as he watched Shen Hui’s receding back, yet still couldn't soothe the parched feeling in his throat.

Baiting a cunning fox was no easy task—he was cold and cautious, but in the end, he still lost.

*Smash!*

Red wine splattered across the floor. Hearing the sound, Shen Hui turned and met Yan Gui’s gaze. A bad feeling washed over him, and he rushed toward the door. But after just two steps, his knees buckled, and he fell to his knees.

Yan Gui closed the distance, looking down at him from above.

"What made you think an Alpha would let go of the prey he’s been craving for so long?" Yan Gui bent slightly, lifting Shen Hui’s chin with his finger, compelling eye contact. With cruel satisfaction, he said, "You lost this round."

Shen Hui’s strength drained rapidly; his body went limp, even his anger feeble.

"What did you put in it?"

"Something to bring you pleasure."