Chapter 25 It’s All Jiang Huaiyan’s Fault

Chapter 25: It's All Jiang Huaiyan's Fault

One second, two seconds, no one in the room responded.

A key turned in the lock, and the door opened. The scents of roses and cedarwood mixed together, the air crisp and sweet.

The scent of another alpha made Zhu Shinian uncomfortable, and it grew closer, making it harder to breathe.

His mind, which had just cleared a bit, grew drowsy again. Instinctively, Zhu Shinian was afraid and wanted to burrow deeper into the arms of the person behind him.

There, it was safe, comfortable, and wouldn't make him feel unwell.

"Why are you hiding like this?" Jiang Huaiyan's voice came from above. "It seems Major General Gu has something to say to you."

Zhu Shinian vaguely realized that his alpha seemed to be urging him to look up, yet the arms holding him never loosened.

"Major General Gu, please retract your pheromones," Jiang Huaiyan said calmly, looking up at Gu Zhen. "There's an omega in the room. It's rude to act like that."

His alpha was right, Zhu Shinian thought. The other alpha's pheromones really made him feel awful.

Behind him, the alpha's gaze was anything but polite, staring at him in a way that sent a chill down his spine.

After Jiang Huaiyan's warning, the alpha's pheromones only grew stronger.

Don't be like this. It makes me feel so bad. Zhu Shinian wanted to say something to remind him, but he forgot he still had the gag in his mouth. He tried to speak, but only managed a few broken whimpers.

Gu Zhen's face turned even grimmer.

Something like a red-hot iron suddenly touched Zhu Shinian's bare shoulder and back, yanking him out of his alpha's embrace, like tearing a newborn clam’s flesh from its shell. He pulled too hard; Zhu Shinian felt pain, and tears immediately fell.

The strange alpha forcefully lifted him by the waist, took off his own clothes still warm with his body heat and pheromones, and draped them over Zhu Shinian. The overwhelming pheromones made it hard for him to breathe, his entire body trembling, but there was nowhere to escape.

Zhu Shinian was in such great discomfort that he wanted to beg him to let go, but the gag kept him from speaking.

What... did I do wrong?

Why are you punishing me like this?

"Major General, you can see he doesn't want to go with you. You've come at a good time actually; I have something I wanted to say to you."

"Xiao Zhu and I are in love. Since I heard from Xiao Zhu that you don't like omegas, why not just give us your blessing? If you feel you're at a loss, the Jiang family's industries span the Empire. I can find you another alpha—a handsome one—I'm sure it won't be hard."

Gu Zhen didn't even look at him, treating him as if he were air.

He set Zhu Shinian down by the bed and retrieved a change of clothes from Zhu Shinian's own luggage, handing them to him.

"Zhu Shinian, I'll give you one minute. Change and come with me, and I won't pursue this."

Leaving his alpha's embrace made Zhu Shinian feel a bit better, but he still couldn't understand what the alpha said. Why should he go with him? Wasn't the person behind him... his alpha?

Zhu Shinian was very afraid of the man in front of him. He only wanted to get as far away as possible. Panicking, he got off the bed, but his legs gave way, and he lost his balance, his knees hitting the floor hard.

The floor was covered in fine wool carpet, but that couldn't be completely painless. Zhu Shinian let out another whimper of pain.

Gu Zhen touched his forehead with the back of his fingers. It was burning hot.

Zhu Shinian seemed terrified of him; he trembled at every touch.

"Zhu Shinian," Gu Zhen sneered, but he still found a suppressant patch and put it on. "Look at what kind of person you've chosen? In all the years we've been together, when have I ever fucked you into a fever?"

"Is that so?" Jiang Huaiyan quickly retorted sarcastically. "Then in all those years with him, you never even considered giving him a title?"

The sound of quarreling...

As the heat gradually faded, the uncomfortable, fearful sensation also slowly dissipated.

Dazedly, Zhu Shinian realized it must be because the other alpha's pheromones in the air had disappeared.

He became clear-headed and saw Gu Zhen's furious face.

For a moment, Zhu Shinian's mind went blank.

Then he remembered Marshal Gu's sharp eyes when he called him to his bedside, remembered the ring that had briefly adorned his finger, remembered Jiang Huaiyan's embrace, cold as jade, during his heat.

And... his own shameful state, crying and throwing himself into Jiang Huaiyan's arms for pleasure.

He had betrayed Gu Zhen. He had wronged Gu Zhen.

It was also he who had seduced Jiang Huaiyan. He had caused the rift between them.

I'm sorry...

He wanted to apologize to Gu Zhen, but because of the gag, all that came out were pitiful whimpers.

The gag wasn't big, but he had worn it for too long. His mouth was sore and weak, and clear drool dripped down his chin.

Zhu Shinian had always been fastidious.

He lowered his head, his eyes reddening. Gu Zhen couldn't bear to see him like this, so he took a tissue and wiped his face clean.

"Alright, don't be afraid of me," Gu Zhen said, reaching out to hold him. Now conscious, Zhu Shinian forced himself not to flinch away. "It's all Jiang Huaiyan's fault. I know. I don't blame you. Come on, let's go home."

"I put on a suppressant patch. I'll carry you back."

Gu Zhen didn't put the military jacket heavily scented with his own pheromones over him again. Instead, he took one of Zhu Shinian's own change of clothes and draped it over him. He lifted him up again, then turned back to look at Jiang Huaiyan.

Zhu Shinian was his. It was only natural to take him back.

If Jiang Huaiyan insisted on blocking his way, Gu Zhen wouldn't mind fighting him. He couldn't guarantee what kind of state he'd leave Jiang Huaiyan in, as long as it didn't result in death.

Unfortunately, Jiang Huaiyan didn't know when to back off.

"He's got my temporary mark," Jiang Huaiyan stood up, blocking the doorway. "If you take him away now, are you trying to make him suffer terribly?"

Gu Zhen stared at him coldly. A C-grade alpha, with leverage in his hands, daring to touch what belonged to him.

"Jiang Huaiyan, I don't know if you believe me, but if you say one more word, you'll be the one in agony tomorrow..."

His sleeve was tugged gently. Zhu Shinian, with tears streaming down his face, shook his head pleadingly.

Gu Zhen didn't know how he still had the nerve to plead for his lover. He even believed that if it weren't for the gag, Zhu Shinian would take all the blame on himself and desperately make excuses for Jiang Huaiyan, saying he seduced him and that Jiang Huaiyan was just helping him out of kindness.

Absolutely... unreasonable.

He should have made Zhu Shinian into an omega the moment he learned he might undergo a secondary differentiation. He should have given him a permanent mark, so that he could never find anyone else.

A beautiful treasure is always coveted by everyone.

He'd known it all along.

Gu Zhen kicked the door open and carried Zhu Shinian out.

He glanced back at Jiang Huaiyan, who looked back at him calmly, not at all like someone who'd lost.

Well, butting into other people's relationships was his specialty.

This time it didn't work, but he was probably already thinking about next time, not like it was the first time.

Maybe Jiang Huaiyan was still thinking that since he'd marked Zhu Shinian, Zhu Shinian wouldn't be able to leave him until his next heat.

Gu Zhen carried Zhu Shinian out of the room, crossing the quiet manor at night, the trees towering like ghosts.

The car door slammed shut, sealing out the night chill.

Zhu Shinian curled up in the back seat, his clothes disheveled, with finger-shaped bruises on his wrists from where someone had grabbed him.

His body, still in the middle of his heat, was unbearably sensitive; touching Gu Zhen's hot, sticky body almost made him shudder involuntarily.

...This wasn't the Alpha who'd marked him.

His body was clearly rejecting this Alpha.

Zhu Shinian instinctively wanted to pull away, but he didn't have the strength or the nerve to defy Gu Zhen, so he just sank weakly into Gu Zhen's arms.

"Open your mouth," Gu Zhen said flatly.

Even though his muscles were almost completely useless, Zhu Shinian obediently opened his mouth as wide as he could. Gu Zhen unclasped the lock behind his head and slowly pulled the gag out of his mouth.

The gag was soaked with saliva. The Alpha's eyes locked onto the wet trail.

He hadn't actually seen Zhu Shinian and Jiang Huaiyan together, but that didn't mean he couldn't imagine it.

He could almost picture it—Zhu Shinian with that gag in his mouth, struggling to breathe, nearly passing out.

He could imagine how pitiful and hot Zhu Shinian must have looked.

"Played with like this by someone else..." Gu Zhen's dark gaze was chilling. "You like being played with like this?"

Zhu Shinian wanted to shake his head, to say it wasn't like that, but it was like he'd forgotten how to speak—he couldn't get a single sound out.

Gu Zhen unscrewed a bottle of water and held it to his lips, cradling the back of his neck.

But Zhu Shinian's swallowing still wasn't back to normal, so some water spilled from the corner of his mouth, trickling down his neck and into his collar, soaking his shirt.

"S-sor...ry..."

Gu Zhen reached out and wiped the water off his chin, his eyes dark.

When he pulled down Zhu Shinian's collar to dry his chest, he couldn't help but see the red marks someone else had left on Zhu Shinian's collarbone.

He stared at them for a long time, torturing himself, mentally cataloging each mark and blaming it on Jiang Huaiyan.

Zhu Shinian had always been good. Over the years, a lot of omegas from noble families had asked Gu Zhen about him, but Zhu Shinian had never shown any interest. The number of omega contacts in his phone could still be counted on one hand, and they were all people Gu Zhen knew, people he had to deal with for work.

Zhu Shinian was good. He'd always been obedient.

It wasn't his fault. It was all Jiang Huaiyan's doing.

"It's not your fault. He forced you, he bullied you. I wasn't with you yesterday." Gu Zhen wiped his tears with his thumb. "Alright, stop crying."

"From now on, listen to me and stay far away from Jiang Huaiyan. He's a snake—vicious and scheming to the core. He has an agenda with everyone he meets. He bewitched you, tricked you."

"Think about it—he's a big shot in the noble circle and also has this reputation for looking out for the common people. Doesn't that seem off to you? He's a sweet-talking, backstabbing bastard."

Gu Zhen held Zhu Shinian, burying his chin in the top of his hair. "Alright, it's okay. Once the engagement is called off, I'll take you back to the Northern Theater. After that, we won't have anything to do with people like him."

Gu Zhen said he didn't blame him.

Gu Zhen was good to him. Gu Zhen had always been good to him, not just this time.

Zhu Shinian's eyes reddened, and tears fell again.

Compared to punishment, compared to possible violence or coercion, what Zhu Shinian actually feared most was this.

He would rather Gu Zhen call him a slut, call him shameless, and lock him in the confinement cell he feared most.

The bitterness welling up in his chest choked him. He lowered his head and buried it in the hollow of Gu Zhen's shoulder, breathing in the other's cold pheromones.

So sad.

His body hurt, and his heart ached.

He wanted to compensate Gu Zhen for something, but his body already belonged to Gu Zhen, and wealth, power... there was nothing else he could do to help Gu Zhen.

Apart from this body and cheap love and apologies, Zhu Shinian was useless.

Even this body had been shamelessly offered to someone else.

"It's okay," Gu Zhen repeated. "Just a temporary mark."

But at that moment, the back of his neck suddenly felt cold as something cold pressed against Zhu Shinian's gland.

"Just a temporary mark," Gu Zhen said. "We'll just overwrite it."

The beautiful treasure would still be his.

Author's Note: