Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Yan Jiu knew rationally that this was Chen Shenzhi’s deception, but his alpha possessiveness made it impossible for him to stay calm. He stared with a masochistic fixation at Shen Hui on the screen, waiting for the inevitable reckoning.

Chen Shenzhi, however, seemed to have guessed his thoughts and deliberately cut out Shen Hui’s response, leaving only a vague, ambiguous blur.

Just as Yan Jiu was left hanging, his breath caught in his throat—even tempted to smash the screen outright for an answer—Shen Hui’s figure reappeared.

The college-aged Shen Hui already bore hints of his current self, though his features were still youthful and his back slender, carrying a touch of teenage stubbornness and aloofness.

He no longer seemed as clingy toward Chen Shenzhi, having become silent and withdrawn, often keeping to himself.

Such an appearance naturally drew attention on a campus buzzing with youthful infatuation. A newly emerged alpha, blushing, stopped him and offered a vibrant red rose, his eyes brimming with unconcealed delight: "Shen Hui, I like you. Will you go out with me?"

Shen Hui’s beautiful eyes gazed calmly at the alpha, instantly sending the other’s heart rate soaring past 180. Stuttering nervously, the alpha asked, "C-could we?"

Shen Hui didn’t respond directly, his voice quiet and somewhat cold: "I’m a beta."

Usually, that statement alone was enough to deter most suitors.

But this alpha was more persistent than others. Though stumbling over his words, his gaze remained earnest: "I don’t care about that. I just like you. I’ve been observing you—"

"Sorry, I don’t like you," Shen Hui replied, his soft, rosy lips uttering words colder than ice and sharper than blades, cutting straight through the young alpha’s heart.

"I... I am—" the alpha tried to struggle, but Shen Hui had already stepped around him and walked away.

Chen Shenzhi stood quietly at the end of the walkway. The moment Shen Hui spotted him, his steps lightened noticeably, and when he reached him, he appeared docile and compliant.

"Let’s go home," Shen Hui said naturally, taking Chen Shenzhi’s hand.

Chen Shenzhi glanced at the alpha and asked casually, "A friend?"

Shen Hui shook his head: "I don’t know him."

"A-Hui, you’re too withdrawn. You should make more friends," Chen Shenzhi suggested sincerely, gently stroking his cheek.

Shen Hui clasped the back of his hand and shook his head, his expression utterly serious: "I have you. That’s enough."

No matter how many times he heard it, such a response always satisfied Chen Shenzhi’s possessive instincts.

He handed Shen Hui a long wooden box: "Open it."

Inside was an antique-style Tang sword, its patterns simple and elegant, the blade gleaming like frost, reflecting Shen Hui’s beautiful, surprised eyes.

Chen Shenzhi could tell he loved it: "It suits you."

Shen Hui treasured it like the priceless gift it was: "I’ll use it to protect you."

A vow no less profound than a confession made Chen Shenzhi’s soul tremble.

So beautiful, so fragile—so utterly tempting to break. The mere thought of his shattered state was enough to send Chen Shenzhi into ecstasy.

But the time wasn’t right yet, and his A-Hui was not to be touched by anyone.

After Shen Hui got into the car, Chen Shenzhi gave his subordinate a meaningful glance. The latter immediately understood and headed toward the rejected alpha.

He would never appear before Shen Hui again.

Later, Shen Hui became the blade of the Chen family. The first time his blade drew blood was on a rainy night.

Shen Hui efficiently eliminated Chen Shenzhi’s greatest enemy. Drenched by the heavy rain, water streamed over his pale, nearly translucent knuckles, washing the blood from the blade.

He stood still, looking down at the gradually cooling corpse. The thick, fresh blood seemed like a crimson whirlpool, threatening to drag him into an endless abyss.

Chen Shenzhi embraced him from behind: "They trafficked hundreds of women and children. They deserved to die."

Shen Hui’s voice was cold and hard: "I know."

Chen Shenzhi sighed softly, then turned Shen Hui to face him, pulling him into an embrace: "If you’re scared, cry. I’m here."

Shen Hui’s voice was muffled, but he didn’t cry: "I said I’d protect you."

Chen Shenzhi’s comforting hand stilled: "Then be my omega."

This time, Shen Hui didn’t refuse.

The years that followed faded into fleeting shadows.

"He’s that Shen Hui who’s always with Young Master Chen? And he’s actually a beta?"

"Shh! Do you have a death wish? Be careful, or Young Master Chen will make you pay!"

"I heard the person who confessed to him still hasn’t been found!"

"A beta, and yet so good at climbing the social ladder!"

...

Shen Hui became increasingly withdrawn. He paid no mind to such gossip, until Chen Shenzhi finally took full control of the Chen family.

At that time, Shen Hui personally led a team abroad to eliminate Chen Shenzhi’s greatest threat. But foreign militants were far more aggressive than domestic ones. Shen Hui fought as if he had a death wish, sustaining multiple gunshot wounds and several broken bones.

He lay in the ICU for more than half a month. The moment he woke, he rushed back to Qinghai to see Chen Shenzhi.

But what greeted him was Chen Shenzhi’s engagement celebration.

Under a rose-adorned corridor, Chen Shenzhi kissed another omega. When he saw Shen Hui, he made no attempt to hide it, introducing his fiancée with easy grace: "This is Shen Hui, my best friend."

Just a friend...

In that moment, Shen Hui felt nothing but terror, as if his entire world had been ripped away.

He grabbed Chen Shenzhi’s hand desperately, wanting to confirm his presence as he always had. Chen Shenzhi let him hold it, his smile the same as always, yet Shen Hui felt as if he were grasping at nothing.

He could no longer hold on.

Chen Shenzhi thoughtfully made an excuse for his fiancée to leave. Alone, he comforted the shattered Shen Hui as he always had: "You’ve worked hard all these years. Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you."

"You know perfectly well..." Shen Hui could no longer support himself, sinking to his knees before Chen Shenzhi. "You know perfectly well..."

"That I love you."

I love you so much.

Overwhelming affection and tears soaked his pale, lovely face.

Chen Shenzhi tilted his chin up, meeting his gaze. In this broken state, Shen Hui was even more beautiful than he had imagined.

But that wasn't enough.

He spoke softly yet cruelly: "But I cannot marry a Beta as my wife."

"I've undergone gland surgery, I will become—"

"The surgery failed. This is the second time." Chen Shenzhi interrupted him calmly. "Another attempt would kill you."

"I'm sorry, A Hui."

A gust of wind blew, causing wild rose petals to flutter down.

Shen Hui's frail, desperate figure was buried in the shower of petals, leaving only low sobs and pleading calls.

"Chen Shenzhi..."

He had loved him so much, even willing to give his life for him.

Yan Gui completely lost his rationality, his roar thick with the scent of blood: "Chen Shenzhi, come out here!"

A wave of scorching energy erupted around him, surging violently in all directions, incinerating everything in sight. Even the steel structures supporting the building began to melt, groaning under the strain.

The entire lab was about to collapse!

Peony cursed the two madmen and quickly retreated, but the blast door behind her slammed shut heavily. Almost simultaneously, the other security doors rapidly descended, and even the dome was sealed shut.

Finally, Chen Shenzhi's command came through: "Hold him back."

Peony laughed in anger: "If you have a problem with me and want me dead, just say it directly."

"How could that be?" Chen Shenzhi's tone remained gentle. "I've placed high-concentration catalysts throughout the lab. Without Shen Hui's pheromones to soothe him, he'll go berserk in at most five minutes. You can escape through exit A8."

Buying just five minutes shouldn't be too difficult. Peony glanced at Yan Gui, who was already red-hot in the center, and roughly guessed what Chen Shenzhi intended to do.

Chen Shenzhi had gained a lot of experience dealing with berserk test subjects over the past two years. Several had combat capabilities on par with Number One, and he had ultimately handled them personally.

Yan Gui in the containment zone clearly also realized Chen Shenzhi's intention. Flames followed his will, instantly melting the catalyst spray nozzles as he attempted to break through the dome, but the flames he unleashed were blocked.

Peony, clad in combat gear, landed nimbly.

Yan Gui's rationality was already hanging by a thread. Recognizing Peony, he could now piece the whole situation together: "After all these years of scheming, is this the only Omega Chen Shenzhi managed to produce?"

Peony remained silent, raising her guard while rapidly retreating, but it was already too late.

Yan Gui closed the distance in the blink of an eye, reaching out to snap her neck. Peony reacted with remarkable agility, grabbing Yan Gui's wrists and using the momentum to kick fiercely at his lower body, forcing him to release her. She then quickly created distance, darting rapidly around the area.

She glanced at the time: "Four minutes thirty seconds."

"Pest." Yan Gui hurled a fireball at her.

But even if she was just a pest, she had indeed captured his attention. The high-concentration catalysts were nearly overwhelming him, and the traces of Shen Hui's pheromones had faded to almost imperceptible levels.

Three minutes.

The thread of rationality snapped abruptly. Yan Gui transformed entirely into a ball of fire, instantly seizing the fleeing Peony and hurling her from a hundred meters high toward the ground.

Peony's back slammed violently against the hardened steel floor, even bouncing up upon impact. Broken ribs pierced her organs, and she coughed up blood and tissue in agony. Ignoring her injuries, she immediately rolled aside, narrowly avoiding Yan Gui's furious fist.

The impact shook the entire space, creating a three-to-five-meter crater in the steel floor. The steel melted into glowing molten metal, which Yan Gui reshaped in his hands into a long spear.

Yan Gui slowly raised the spear, aiming at the stumbling Peony's back.

Chen Shenzhi stood in the darkness, relishing the sight of Yan Gui's complete frenzy, immensely pleased.

The speed of the frenzy was two minutes faster than anticipated, indicating he had frenzied at least twice before.

He chuckled softly: "So it was you who saved him those previous two times."

A long blade pressed silently against Chen Shenzhi's back. As if unaware, he turned calmly, his tone intimate and suggestive: "A Hui."

Shen Hui's voice was cold as ice: "Let them go."

Chen Shenzhi remained in place, studying Shen Hui carefully. The familiar face he could picture perfectly in his mind's eye was now strangely tainted with the scent of others.

"Any request from A Hui, I will agree to."

He glanced at the timer about to hit zero: "Peony, withdraw."

Shen Hui immediately sensed something wrong and slashed downward with his blade, but Chen Shenzhi's figure flickered a few times before vanishing.

A simulated projection?!

"Oh no!" Shen Hui immediately looked at the screen. Yan Gui's eyes were blood-red, completely devoid of reason, his spear thrusting down mercilessly.

But the person in front of him was the terrified Yang Bai.

-----------------------

Author's note: Diao: So you've been abroad all these years just sitting around editing videos to show your research?

Chen Shenzhi: Appreciating different versions of A Hui is inherently pleasurable. The lifelike simulation technology was developed for him too.

Diao: Is this what they call a lovestruck toxic stan?

——

Not feeling well today, felt like the writing was a bit messy. Might revise it later. Will switch to updating at 9 PM from now on, 6 PM doesn't work for me [sobbing].