Chapter 2: Could He Be Drunk?

Chapter 2: Is He Drunk?

Jolted by the noise, Qin Yan snapped out of it and looked up to find that Su Zhiyu had disappeared from his sight.

He quickly pushed through the crowd and saw the soaked kid lying on the floor, his shut eyes making him look even more fragile and pale.

"Su Zhiyu?"

Ignoring the wound on his hand, Qin Yan crouched down and scooped up the unconscious guy.

Su Zhiyu was scary light, nothing but skin and bones.

Everyone else: ???

"Young master, forget him for now. Your injury's more important."

The servants all started griping: "That Su Zhiyu actually dared to bite you. Why don't we tie him up and lock him in for the night?"

"Exactly. He's got some balls—a lowly omega actually hurting the young master. He needs to be taught a lesson. Lock him in the bathroom."

"A dog that bites its master needs a beating to learn its place. Let's just not give him his suppressant this time."

Listening to everyone trash-talk Su Zhiyu and suggest ways to punish him, Qin Yan felt sick to his stomach.

If the original owner hadn't been so lenient and enabling, these people would never dare talk like that.

Or maybe the original owner's later habit of locking Su Zhiyu up was partly their fault for egging him on.

But Su Zhiyu... hadn't done anything wrong. He just turned down some guy who was into him when he was fifteen.

How was that his fault?

"Young—"

"Enough!" Qin Yan's chest felt tight with frustration. He cut them off, annoyed. "Get out, all of you!"

The servants looked at each other, figuring he was pissed about getting bitten. They didn't dare say anything else and filed out quietly.

"Wait. Bring some clean pajamas that'll fit him."

"Yes."

The room finally fell quiet.

Qin Yan set the unconscious Su Zhiyu down on the sofa and thought back to the comic's plot.

In the comic, the original owner and Su Zhiyu were high school classmates—one a carefree playboy, the other a cold, aloof top student.

The original owner was instantly hooked by Su Zhiyu's face. Arrogant and spoiled, he was a proud young master who always got what he wanted, but Su Zhiyu made him lose face.

In college, the Su family business went under, his dad died, his mom ended up in a coma, and they were drowning in debt.

To save his mom and pay off the debts, Su Zhiyu took a talent scout's offer and made his debut on a talent show, using his looks and skills.

But it wasn't enough. He needed money, needed more chances.

While he was scrambling around at some banquet, he ran into the flashy Young Master Qin.

That year was the start of his nightmare.

Qin Yan was petty and vindictive to the bone. Seeing the former golden boy down in the dirt, he didn't just kick him—he used his power to back Su Zhiyu into a corner until he had no choice but to rely on him.

Later, during Su Zhiyu's heat, he gave in to his animal instincts and forced a mark on him.

From then on, the original owner treated Su Zhiyu like his own property, messing with him whenever he felt like it and locking him up at home to beat him when he was pissed.

Until Su Zhiyu met the Alpha male lead who could save him.

Together, they took down the Qin family, got back everything they'd lost, and slowly, Su Zhiyu's dark past started to fade.

As for the villain Qin Yan, they cut out his gland, leaving him a broken mess and a plaything for the powerful. He suffered through a living hell for years before dying at some crazy banquet.

A secret thrill rose in Qin Yan's chest, like he was cheering on the villain getting what he deserved.

Wait. He was the villain now.

"Mm."

The guy on the bed let out a pained whimper. His face, already pale, was almost white, with a little frown between his brows and his thin lips pressed tight.

Qin Yan's messy thoughts got cut off. He looked over at Su Zhiyu's face.

He finally got a good look at the Omega male lead's face—so finely crafted it was like a masterpiece from the goddess Nüwa. His long, delicate lashes fluttered uneasily, casting a soft shadow.

His eyes moved down, taking in the bony frame and the way his hands and feet curled in on themselves, and he felt a pang of sadness.

He was scared. Terrified.

A kid living under someone else's roof, with no family and nowhere to go, stuck next to a beast like him, but forced to just grit his teeth and take it.

Even when he was reading the comic, Qin Yan had felt bad for this cold, proud Omega.

He was a spoiled young master who, in one night, lost everything—family destroyed, bad luck stuck to him like glue. Other than the male lead Alpha, everyone he met was garbage.

The comic was supposed to be a sweet romance, but more than half of it was about his suffering. The little bit of satisfaction at the end couldn't make up for all the hurt he'd been through.

Damn it.

Qin Yan felt like his chest was caving in, restless and desperate to do something, to let it out.

Knock, knock, knock.

A maid's voice came from outside the door: "Young master, the pajamas are here, and the doctor's here too."

Qin Yan let out a hot breath, pinched his palm to try to hold back the heat rising in him, and said:

"Give me three minutes, then let him in."

"Got it."

Qin Yan grabbed his pajamas and stumbled to the sofa. After hesitating for only three seconds, he peeled the soaked shirt off Su Zhiyu's body.

The young man's pale, delicate skin was covered in scars—whip marks, burns, bruises, and impact wounds, all of them, with a hideous scar on his waist.

How could he have so many injuries on his body?!

Qin Yan's heart lurched in shock. When he read the comic, he'd skimmed over the scenes of the scumbags putting the protagonist through hell, only knowing the original owner was a bastard, but he hadn't paid attention to the details.

He never imagined that when it came to Su Zhiyu, those few quick panels translated into wounds this brutal and horrifying.

"Damn it."

Qin Yan cursed, couldn't tell if it was anger, shock, heartache, or maybe even a little fear.

He gritted his teeth, wrestled him into clean, soft pajamas, then hauled him onto the bed and carefully tucked the covers around him.

After finishing these simple tasks, his legs felt like jelly and his head was spinning, and he nearly collapsed onto the bed.

A fine sweat broke out on his forehead, and his breathing was erratic, every breath reeking of rum.

Was he drunk?

Can an Alpha get knocked out by his own pheromones?

So...

His gaze slowly drifted over Su Zhiyu's long lashes, over the high bridge of his nose, and finally settled on his lips.

When the doctor entered, what he saw was Qin Yan sitting on the edge of the bed, hands braced on the mattress, leaning forward, almost about to kiss—a hell of a scene.

"Sorry, I'll wait outside for a moment."

The doctor pulled back the foot he'd already stepped in with and was about to close the door again.

The butler blocked him: "No, Dr. Li, our young master's wrist got bitten and it's bleeding like crazy. It's bad—patch him up first."

"..."

The doctor shot him a glare.

The butler glared back, firmly blocking his retreat.

The commotion snapped Qin Yan out of it, and he jerked back, his face burning.

What was he doing?

Even someone who's never been laid shouldn't be this desperate to ignore where he is.

"Young master, are you in your rut?" the doctor blurted. He'd been so focused on the drama earlier that he hadn't noticed the thick pheromone scent in the air.

Rut?

Qin Yan blinked in confusion. He hadn't fully adapted to this ABO world setting yet, and had no idea that his uncontrollable state was actually caused by pheromones.

He figured he was just horny.