Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Lin Ze heard the sound of a gunshot. When he went downstairs, a servant told him, "The General's back. He's shooting in the training room."

Lin Ze pursed his lips. Seeing the servant preparing breakfast, he said, "I can help you with that."

"N-no, we wouldn't dare. If the General found out, we'd lose our jobs," the servant replied, startled.

"I..." Lin Ze struggled to get the words out.

The servant was perceptive and quickly caught on.

"Our General has been very picky about food since he was young. For breakfast, he only eats bread and steak. The toast can't be too crispy, and the steak can't be cooked too well-done."

Perhaps because his mind was elsewhere, Lin Ze didn't cook the steak well. He said, ashamed, "This... let's throw it away."

The servant simply said, "Could you go call the General for breakfast?"

"Okay."

Lin Ze went to the training room, but it was empty. Only a few guns lay on the table. No alpha could resist the lure of guns, not even an alpha like Lin Ze, who could barely be considered one.

Lin Ze stepped closer for a look. There was only one large rifle; the rest were pistols...

Because he was slim and agile, Lin Ze excelled in close-quarters combat, so the gear issued to him by his superiors tended to be daggers and compact pistols. Of course, he sometimes needed a rifle too...

The models on the table were exactly the same as the ones he had used before...

An animal's howl interrupted Lin Ze's scattered thoughts.

Lin Ze followed the sound outside the manor. Inside the barbed-wire fence stood a doctor in a white coat.

The alpha who hadn't returned for two days was also there. He was wearing only a crisply ironed shirt, which showed off his broad, powerful shoulders.

Keenly sensing the gaze, he suddenly turned his head, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Lin Ze.

Lin Ze immediately averted his gaze and walked over.

In the grass lay a mother wolf, with five or six wolf cubs, their eyes still shut, nestled in her arms, suckling eagerly at her teats.

The doctor beside them said, "Uma has plenty of milk this time. We probably won't need artificial feeding like last time."

Li Xiujin responded with a noncommittal "Hmm."

"Is this your wife, General?" the doctor asked in an admiring tone.

Li Xiujin, who had been conversing well with the doctor just moments before, clenched his jaw and remained silent.

Lin Ze forced a smile and said, "Yes... I am..."

Li Xiujin's expression softened slightly.

After the doctor left, Li Xiujin continued to watch intently as the wolf cubs nursed.

It seemed the doctor's judgment was correct. The cubs, holding onto their mother's chest, soon had their bellies round and full.

Just as Lin Ze felt an inappropriate softening of his heart, he suddenly met Li Xiujin's inscrutable gaze.

Lin Ze said, "The servant has prepared breakfast..."

After the alpha left, Lin Ze suddenly felt ashamed. Had his gaze just lingered on his own chest?

When the servant saw them enter, he quickly brought out the breakfast.

The steak Lin Ze had messed up wasn't thrown away; instead, it was placed in front of the alpha.

The servant even emphasized, "Mr. Lin made this especially for you."

"I didn't do it well..." Lin Ze lowered his eyes.

But the alpha pretended not to hear, eating it bite by bite until nothing was left.

It was clearly burnt...

Even someone as unpicky as Lin Zhuo would spit it out after one bite, so why did he eat it all...

Lin Ze didn't have to work today. After breakfast, the alpha didn't go out either. When Fu Zhi arrived, they went into the study together.

They didn't come out for lunch either. The servant brought the meal upstairs but soon returned with it untouched.

"Why didn't he eat?"

"I don't know. He took one look, frowned, and told me to take it away."

Lin Ze stared blankly at the tightly closed study door.

Lin Ze wanted to go see the mother wolf and her cubs, but he worried that the unfamiliar scent on him might startle her. After all, whether human or animal, they are very alert during pregnancy and nursing. In the end, Lin Ze didn't dare disturb them and returned to his room for a nap.

Perhaps because too much had happened recently, Lin Ze kept dreaming—dreams of his time at the military academy, missions he had carried out, and finally, he fell into the deep sea, his chest aching with suffocation. He gasped for air, but it only made him feel more bloated, as if he were about to die...

Lin Ze woke up in a cold sweat, realizing it was just a nightmare.

But even after waking, the suffocating pain in his chest hadn't disappeared.

Only then did he notice a head buried against his chest...

Lin Ze's cheeks flushed red...

Why hadn't he heard him come in...

"You..."

The alpha stared at him intensely, his voice hoarse. "Unbutton your shirt."

Is it finally happening?

Fear and embarrassment surged together. Lin Ze trembled as he unbuttoned it.

His snow-white, soft chest was exposed...

Hot, heavy breaths brushed against him. The alpha was staring...

His gaze felt tangible, sliding over every inch of his skin...

Lin Ze felt unbearably ashamed and wanted to escape...

Suddenly, a wave of warmth came...

Lin Ze's eyes widened slightly. The alpha had begun to suckle at that shameful place...

Like a wolf pup nursing from its mother...

"No, don't do this..."

The alpha ignored him, clamping his waist as if starving, fiercely sucking and biting...

Lin Ze covered his mouth, trembling all over...

Only the next morning did Lin Ze fasten his buttons, covering the red, swollen marks from the sucking.

His assigned driver had already begun his duties. After getting into the car, Lin Ze saw the alpha was already inside. Memories from the previous night instantly flooded back, and Lin Ze sat down, his eyelashes fluttering.

Throughout the journey, the alpha was preoccupied with work messages, and neither of them spoke.

Upon arriving at the school, the alpha followed him out of the car, his expression darkening as he asked, "How has Li Xiaoyang been performing lately?"

"V-very well."

The alpha said nothing more. "Go on in."

As Lin Ze approached the school gate, he looked back over his shoulder and saw the alpha still standing by the car, watching him.

He quickened his pace.

During a break, Lin Ze replied to messages from a few people.

The first was from Qi Qian. Since leaving her house that day, Lin Ze hadn't known how to explain things to her, but he'd finally figured out what to say.

The second was from Lin Zhuo, sent two days ago.

Replying to Qi Qian was easier, but Lin Zhuo...

- Qi Qian said you married Li Xiujin. Is that true?

- Such a big thing, why didn't you tell me?

- I'm sorry, I didn't know how to tell you.

Lin Zhuo seemed to have been waiting.

- Are you free this afternoon? I happen to have work near your school. Come out and meet me.

- Okay.

Next, Lin Ze opened a chat with a black avatar.

- This is the complete guest list from Qi Qian's engagement party. The person had blond hair and an eyebrow piercing. I didn't get a clear look at their face. It was too dark to see more. That's all I remember for now.

- Received. I'll verify their identity as soon as possible.

- I appreciate it, Lu Mo.

- Just doing my duty.

Lin Ze let out a bitter laugh.

In the afternoon, the school held an assembly for the students, which freed up Lin Ze's schedule. He met Lin Zhuo at a café near the school. After taking a sip of coffee, Lin Zhuo leveled a deep gaze at Lin Ze.

"When I asked about you and Li Xiujin, why did you lie and say you were just acquaintances? In reality, you two were already 'close' by then, weren't you?"

"Xiao Zhuo, I didn't mean to hide it from you..."

"I have to tell you everything, but you? You get married, and to someone like Li Xiujin—if it weren't for Qi Qian, I'd probably die still in the dark..." Lin Zhuo sneered.

"I was planning to tell you at the right time..." Lin Ze replied, ashamed.

Lin Zhuo asked again, "Why did he want to marry you?"

For someone like Li Xiujin, even used condoms are handled by specialists. Marrying him would be like hitting the jackpot. Lin Ze might have been worthy of Li Xiujin in the past, but now...

Lin Ze was too embarrassed to explain the reason, and he fell silent for the first time in front of Lin Zhuo.

Seeing he couldn't get an answer, Lin Zhuo said, "Actually, I was pretty happy when I found out you two got married. Being with him means no one would dare bully you."

Another reason was that with Li Xiujin's connection, things would undoubtedly become much easier for him in the future. Like that piece of land in the northern district—Li Xiujin had given it to him so easily for Lin Ze's sake.

"Brother, over the years, you should have realized that no matter how many merits you earned before, once you make a mistake—even if there's no evidence—people will change their tune. Your and my dad's ideas of selfless dedication are just laughable. In this world, only money and power are truly admired and correct..."

Lin Ze frowned slightly, adopting a parental tone. "Xiao Zhuo."

Lin Zhuo chuckled. "It's fine, just some thoughts."

Lin Zhuo checked his watch. "Alright, I should go."

Relieved, Lin Ze walked out of the café with him. While waiting for the car, he noticed Lin Zhuo's tie was crooked and, out of habit, straightened it like an elder would.

As soon as he finished, a chill ran down Lin Ze's spine...

Fu Zhi looked at the two outside the window. "That must be Colonel Lin's teacher's son, Lin Zhuo."

"When he agreed to marry you, Colonel Lin had one condition regarding him. It seems their bond is deep, though it's understandable. Colonel Lin respected his teacher greatly, and with the uncertainty of whether he was responsible for his teacher's death, he must feel immense guilt toward him..."

Li Xiujin stared darkly at his wife straightening another alpha's tie.

After Lin Zhuo left, Lin Ze, who had reached the school gate, suddenly stopped. His face paled slightly as he looked toward the northeast...

The alpha's car was parked there...

Recalling the chilling sensation from earlier, Lin Ze realized the other had been waiting for him for a long time...