Chapter 24

Chapter 24

By the time Su Xingze got home, his legs had gone completely dead from sitting, numb to the point of having no sensation at all. The second he moved, they ached with a sharp, stabbing pain.

To make matters worse, Lu Xingwen's legs had also gone numb from Su Xingze sitting on them. The two remained frozen in their previous position, neither able to get up nor settle down.

Assistant Yin couldn't go home today. The boss's pheromone surges were far too erratic, and as a top-tier Alpha, his pheromones were more than ordinary Omegas could withstand. If anything went wrong, he needed to be there for emergencies.

So Assistant Yin got out first and opened the boss's car door—the kind of foresight expected of a good corporate grunt.

Su Xingze squirmed impatiently, making Lu Xingwen grimace and let out a pained hiss. "Sss..."

He immediately froze and sat there quietly, behaving himself.

Staying like this would only make their legs go more numb. Su Xingze gave Lu Xingwen's thigh a firm thump and said with a playful grin, "Hurry up and think of a way to get us out of this car."

Lu Xingwen flinched from the pain and grabbed the spot that was hit, taking a moment to recover.

He'd picked this position himself, so now he had to deal with the fallout. Pushing through the pins and needles, he lifted Chen Chen off of him and set him down in the adjacent seat.

But as he picked him up, one of his wrists wouldn't cooperate. Worried someone might notice, he used his elbow for leverage instead.

Su Xingze grimaced from the soreness, pounding his thighs hard a few times before chasing Lu Xingwen down to hit him. "It's all your fault! I hurt so bad!"

Lu Xingwen limped out of the car, stomping his feet hard to get the blood flowing and shake off the numbness.

Assistant Yin watched from the side and nearly winced in sympathy. This method of dealing with it—now that's a real hardcore one!

Since the boss and his missus were separated, Assistant Yin pointed to the car behind them and asked, "What should we do with the Omega who came with the missus?"

Lu Xingwen had mostly recovered, though walking still felt quite uncomfortable. He instructed a few bodyguards, "Take good care of him and send him back to the Fu family."

"No." Su Xingze rolled down the car window and popped his head out. "He can't go back to the Fu family in his current state. Otherwise, they'll think we did something to him."

Assistant Yin pulled Fu Yao out of the car and examined him. Fu Yao still stared straight ahead, eyes glazed over, like a soulless shell.

Su Xingze said, "Wait until tomorrow, when he's recovered, then send him back."

Lu Xingwen agreed. The Fu family was one of the top families in Zecheng with deep roots. He was new money, having climbed up just recently—if they got the wrong idea and thought he'd hurt their only son, doing business in the future would be a pain.

Fu Yao was put in the room farthest from the master bedroom—a guest room on the third floor of the villa. Assistant Yin was placed in an even more remote spot, in the corner of the third floor.

Fu Yao closed his eyes and fell asleep the moment he hit the bed. Assistant Yin was smart enough not to crash the couple's cuddle time.

They'd had hot pot that afternoon. When Su Xingze went to his room to shower, Lu Xingwen did the same, though the latter finished faster and even found time to make some hawthorn pear soup and bring it up. By the time Su Xingze came out, the soup had cooled to just warm.

Su Xingze sipped the soup in small mouthfuls. Hawthorn helps with digestion and cuts the grease, while pear soothes the throat and settles the stomach—just right for settling the hot pot they'd had for dinner.

Xiaolu really thinks of everything!

He scrolled through his phone with his right hand and discovered that today's events had briefly hit the trending searches. A tabloid account had even slapped on a bold headline:

#Omega Runs Away, Domineering Alpha Loves Hard#

Someone had also filmed a video. The Alpha punched the man in the mask in front of him, then hoisted the fleeing Omega onto his shoulder and shoved him back into the car.

The Alpha was tall and handsome, radiating an air of refined nobility that made people weak in the knees. The Omega was gorgeous and cute, and his confused expression had the comment section screaming.

A wave of shippers flooded in, completely overwhelming Ying Ying's fans. Within just a few hours, a fan base had been set up and fanfic was already half-written.

And the trending search about Ying Ying was actually right below this one.

#Ying Ying, Beaten at Hotpot Restaurant at Zeda University#

Fans were heartbroken and started cursing out whoever had hit their idol without knowing the truth.

After a while, someone finally noticed that these two trending searches were connected—same scene, same people, even the same bystanders in the background. They were just edited differently, highlighting different aspects.

Then someone realized—the domineering Alpha had actually hit Ying Ying!

According to people in the know from Zeda University in the comments, the domineering Alpha and the Omega were childhood friends. But the Omega was simping for Ying Ying, while Ying Ying had a thing for the Omega's first love, and the Omega and the first love were friends.

This tea was so hot that people pulled up chairs in the comment section to feast. Both trending topics were actually still climbing.

However, no one managed to doxx them. Accounts that tried to post their backgrounds or real names for clout were quickly shut down by Lu Xingwen—the moment they posted, it got taken down, and their accounts got throttled and blacklisted.

So the tabloid accounts were smart and blurred everyone out, only focusing on Ying Ying for the traffic.

The comment section also used substitutes for names, never mentioning real ones. The situation didn't blow up—Ying Ying was the one humiliated, and Su Xingze was happy to let it ride.

He even hung out in the comments for a bit, catching up on five years of drama, and saved a few fanfics. Only then did he log off and head downstairs to wash some fruit.

Xiaolu found the file he wanted and cast it to the big screen—it was the OA physiology course that Lu Yeqing had sent over earlier.

Su Xingze had always hated these kinds of lessons—full of jargon and painfully boring. They put him to sleep, were dull, and dragged on forever. He shoved a grape into his mouth and asked, "This is what you're punishing me with?"

Lu Xingwen adjusted the brightness and set up the throw pillows on the couch. "That's right. You have to watch this whole lesson today and keep it firmly in your head."

Su Xingze obediently took his punishment. But he could tell Xiaolu was still hung up on what happened today, hinting to him, both directly and indirectly, that Alphas out there weren't safe.

On screen, the lesson started with the most basic stuff. Omega anatomy, Alpha anatomy, the differences between them, where the glands are, and how pheromones interact.

They'd already covered these basic ABO physiology lessons back in middle school. To make sure they didn't forget, the school reviewed it again freshman year.

But since he'd willingly accepted the punishment, he couldn't just doze off now, could he?

Su Xingze took the initiative to start a conversation: "Today I met Ying Ying with Fu Yao. The second he saw Ying Ying, it was like he turned into someone else. Then he went all dazed and vacant. In the real world, there shouldn't be anyone with that kind of power, right?"

The first part of the physiology lesson really was pretty boring. To help with the rest of the lesson, Lu Xingwen responded, "What you're talking about probably isn't human. But anything carbon-based can be killed..."

Su Xingze quickly clapped a hand over his mouth. "What's all this kill talk? We live in a lawful society—you can't be getting twisted ideas over some dumbass."

"And you?" Lu Xingwen reached up and covered Su Xingze's hand with his own.

Su Xingze blinked, confused. "What?"

Lu Xingwen phrased it carefully. "After seeing him, would you turn out like Fu Yao?"

"No, I'm still me." Su Xingze spotted a loophole. "Do you think I might've been controlled by Ying Ying these past five years, just like Fu Yao? That's why every time I see him, I do stuff that normal people wouldn't understand."

"Very likely." Lu Xingwen agreed, but didn't continue down that line of thought.

Because Su Xingze wasn't controlled—the person inside him had been replaced.

Su Xingze patted his chest in relief. "That scared me! At least my good name is still intact! I was really worried I'd actually fallen for some manipulative psycho like that."

Hearing that, Lu Xingwen finally cracked a smile. He handed over a huge strawberry for Su Xingze to eat. Su Xingze went "om nom" and bit off the tip of the strawberry, his eyes crinkling into crescents, both dimples showing as he smiled.

On TV, the physiology lesson finally moved to the second section—AO Avoidance Protocols.

A bust of a Beta researcher appeared on screen, using simple, easy-to-understand language to explain how Omegas should keep their distance from Alphas and reduce pheromone secretion and exchange.

"The normal social distance between an Omega and an Alpha is 46 centimeters. Don't get too close, as it accelerates pheromone exchange."

"For an Alpha and Omega, the biggest taboo is sharing the same food or using the same cup or bowl. Pheromones in saliva are second only to those in the glands. Intense pheromone exchange can cause significant reactions in AOs who aren't in heat."

Since no one in the room was speaking at the moment, Su Xingze heard these two segments very clearly.

He turned his head and happened to see Xiaolu eat the bottom half of the same strawberry, then pick up the bowl he'd used for soup and take a big gulp.

Su Xingze: "???"

He looked at the screen, his attention finally drawn to the physiology class.

"If an Alpha does any of the above to an Omega, it means the Alpha is into that Omega. If it's not mutual and they're not mated, the Omega should try to avoid such contact."

"Additionally, Omegas should avoid being alone with Alphas, especially at night. All Alphas are potentially dangerous—don't treat biology as a lucky break."

"If an Omega gets temporarily marked by an Alpha, they'll carry the Alpha's scent, which takes over a month to fade away. If fully marked, it never fades—the Alpha's scent stays for life."

"Next, let's watch a video on temporary AO marking."

Two bald, featureless figures appeared on screen, clearly computer-generated. Soon they were embracing, one biting the other's neck. The camera zoomed in for a close-up of the gland and detailed shots of the marking.

The strawberry Lu Xingwen was feeding him froze mid-air. He hinted a few times, but Chen Chen was completely glued to the TV.

He coughed twice to get the Omega's attention: "We've already done temporary marking, no need to watch further. I remember the school sports meet is the day after tomorrow, and there's a food festival too—wanna go?"

He had no interest in the sports meet. But the food festival was definitely very appealing. Su Xingze nodded, no longer paying attention to the TV: "Yes, yes, let's go together!"

Su Xingze was fed several more strawberries. Just as he was thinking about what to eat tomorrow, he vaguely heard from the TV: "Next, we will watch the final video—full marking. Please have Omegas watch this in a private environment."

"Mm... ah..."

Su Xingze turned to look. The two figures on screen were lying on the bed, passionately entangled, with no shyness or restraint, fully indulging in the fusion between AO.

Su Xingze's toes curled and he sat up straighter.

No one had told him Omega physiology class was this intense, right? Just... straight-up live demonstration?

He was a normal male, but Xiaolu was still right there! If he got a reaction in front of him, how awkward would that be?