Chapter 7

Chapter 7

In the afternoon, Wen Yanxu changed into his white uniform and looked up at Wen Jueqian, who was curled up on the sofa scrolling through his holo-terminal.

He asked, "I'm heading to the lab. Coming along?"

Wen Jueqian lifted his head, a hint of a smile playing at his lips. "That place involves Aegis's commercial secrets. I can go too?"

Wen Yanxu stood up, walked over, and bent down, bracing both hands on the back of the sofa on either side of him, boxing him in with his arms, a hint of a smile in his eyes. "It's fine. I'll be your guardian, watching over you."

"Then forget it." Wen Jueqian lowered his head again. "I'm not interested in the lab."

Wen Yanxu sat down on the armrest of the sofa beside him, his hand landing on the back of Wen Jueqian's neck, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Then what are you interested in?"

Wen Jueqian hesitated, as if about to speak, then stopped.

"Those celebrity experience ambassadors," he said, trying to keep his tone casual, "after they finish using the inhibitor, do they have to stay on the island?"

Wen Yanxu's hand paused.

"Yes, there's a fifteen-day observation period." His gaze fell on Wen Jueqian's profile. "Why the sudden interest?"

"I saw your promotional plan. They're going to film a short variety show, documenting the daily lives of Alphas and Omegas after using the 7th-Gen Inhibitor." Wen Jueqian turned his head, meeting his eyes. "I've never seen how a variety show is filmed. I want to go see it."

Wen Yanxu didn't speak, just looked at him.

That gaze was too direct, with a hint of... playfulness.

"Is it that you've never seen a variety show being filmed," he said slowly, dragging each word out on purpose, "or that you've never seen the Omega who's a 90% match for me?"

Wen Jueqian looked away, staring at a spot on the floor. "Both."

Wen Yanxu let out a low chuckle.

The laugh was brief, but Wen Jueqian could hear the pleasure in it. He was savoring Wen Jueqian's concern, savoring his rare moment of fluster.

"Since the kitten brought it up." Wen Yanxu's hand moved up, his fingertip grazing Wen Jueqian's earlobe, which was flushed pink. "If you want to go, go. I'll have Jin Wang go with you."

Wen Jueqian didn't pull away from the hand.

Wen Yanxu's hand moved to Wen Jueqian's shoulder, and suddenly he pulled, drawing him into his arms. Caught off balance, Wen Jueqian stumbled into his embrace, his forehead resting against Wen Yanxu's collarbone.

Wen Yanxu's voice came from above, with an indulgent smile. "You'll feel at ease after seeing it?"

Wen Jueqian said nothing.

Wen Yanxu just held him a bit tighter, lowering his head to press a kiss to the top of his head.

————

The clinical observation area was on the west coast. From a distance, a cluster of white buildings came into view, their exterior walls painted with the Aegis logo.

Wen Jueqian had changed into the green uniform of logistics staff, his cap pulled low and a mask covering the lower half of his face completely.

Jin Wang walked beside him, dressed in the same attire. The two of them walked alongside the workers transporting supplies.

"President Wen is really good to you." Jin Wang suddenly spoke, his tone casual, like small talk. "He lets you go wherever you want."

Wen Jueqian glanced sideways at him.

Jin Wang kept his eyes forward, an unreadable smile on his face.

Jin Wang continued, his tone laced with genuine envy: "Ever since I started working on this project, I've been following President Wen. He's always been a perfect leader. Outside of work, I've never seen him care about anything this much. The moment you arrived, he became a different person entirely."

Wen Jueqian didn't respond. This felt like a standard secretary's dialogue straight out of a TV drama.

"Really." Jin Wang turned to look at him, his smile deepening. "We're all secretly envious. Someone like President Wen being so devoted to you—it's truly rare."

Wen Jueqian stopped walking.

Jin Wang stopped too, his smile unchanged, but something flickered in his eyes.

"Assistant Jin." Wen Jueqian looked at him, the only exposed part of his face—his eyes—held no emotion.

Jin Wang fell silent.

"How long have you been with Wen Yanxu?"

"Two years."

"Two years." Wen Jueqian nodded, his tone as calm as if discussing the weather. "Two years is long enough. You should know what to say and what not to say."

Jin Wang was taken aback for a moment.

Wen Jueqian didn't look at him again, continuing forward.

There was two seconds of silence behind him, then footsteps caught up. This time, Jin Wang fell half a step behind, his tone far more guarded: "The clinical observation area is just ahead. Mr. Wen, for the sake of the variety show, the footage from the cameras here might be edited into the broadcast. Please be careful."

Wen Jueqian gave a soft "mm" in acknowledgment.

He remembered the plot the system had provided.

This short variety show aired later, and Qiao Yuexun gained a lot of fans because of his performance on the show. In the show, he was approachable, polite, and gentle. He would earnestly share his experience using the inhibitor with the camera, and eat and chat with the other experience ambassadors.

He didn't even complain about the nutrition meals, docilely finishing those bland dishes and smiling as he said, "This is way fancier than what I ate at the orphanage."

Audiences loved that kind of star.

To facilitate the variety show filming, an entire building of wards had been cleared out for the celebrities and staff.

The first-floor lobby had been temporarily turned into a supply distribution point, where the ten experience ambassadors were already gathered.

Wen Jueqian glanced over them, recognizing a few faces—all somewhat famous, split evenly between Alphas and Omegas.

Then he spotted Qiao Yuexun standing at the edge of the crowd, a little apart from the others.

Soft chestnut-colored hair fell across his forehead, amber eyes slightly lowered, a high-bridged nose, beautifully shaped lips, and a smooth jawline. His face was so exquisite it didn't seem real—more like a perfect 3D model.

Wen Jueqian looked away after just one glance.

The supplies had already been delivered to the lobby. The head of logistics for the clinical area, a middle-aged Beta woman, was checking the list.

"Weekly supply distribution. Come up when your name is called." The head of logistics raised her voice.

The crowd stirred, and a few people gathered around.

Wen Jueqian lowered his head to search through the labels, handing out the boxes one by one.

"Cheng Ye," he called out a name.

No one responded.

He called again: "Cheng Ye."

"I heard you. What's with all the yelling?"

A male Alpha pushed his way over, looking thoroughly annoyed. He took the box, tore open the seal on the spot, rifled through it a couple of times, and his expression darkened.

"What is this?"

Wen Jueqian looked down at the item list in his hand: "The skincare products and game console you applied for, along with some clothing."

"Is this the brand I asked for?" Cheng Ye held the items up to his face and demanded, "Look closely. Is this the same as what I said?"

Wen Jueqian glanced at it. The brand of skincare products indeed didn't match what was written on the application form, but this wasn't something he'd handled.

"I'm just the logistics guy," he said calmly. "For brand issues, you can report it to—"

"Report to who?" Cheng Ye cut him off, his voice loud enough for the entire hall to hear: "Report to you guys, and then wait a week? I'm stuck on this godforsaken island for fifteen damn days, and I'm counting on this stuff to kill time. By the time you deliver it, I'll already be gone. You can't even get this right?"

The admin head hurried over to smooth things over: "Mr. Cheng, I'm truly sorry. The items on this list were prepared by your agency. Please don't get upset—let me go check on it."

"What's there to ask about?" Cheng Ye swatted his hand away. "Aegis is such a huge corporation, and you can't even manage this? We came here to test your inhibitors, and this is the thanks we get?"

The more he talked, the more riled up he got, pressing forward aggressively.

Jin Wang frowned and began walking over.

Wen Jueqian stood there, unmoving.

"I'm talking to you," Cheng Ye jabbed a finger at him and cursed. "What's with the attitude?"

The hat and mask hid Wen Jueqian's expression. He just raised his hand and grabbed the wrist Cheng Ye had shoved in his face.

Cheng Ye froze for a second and tried to yank his hand back.

It wouldn't budge.

Wen Jueqian was trained in self-defense. As a Beta, his strength wasn't far off from a C-class Alpha like Cheng Ye. He stepped forward, dipping his head just enough for Cheng Ye to see the eyes under the hat.

Those foggy silver-gray eyes were icy.

Cheng Ye went quiet, like someone hit a mute button.

"Mr. Cheng."

A cool, clear voice cut through.

Cheng Ye snapped out of it, and Wen Jueqian let go as well.

Qiao Yuexun walked over and stood between the two of them. He was about Cheng Ye's height—1.8 meters—but slighter in build. Yet that cool, aloof aura meant he held his own in presence.

He looked at Cheng Ye, his tone even: "They're just here to hand out supplies. The items were prepared by the agency. What's the point of giving them a hard time? Just let it go."

Cheng Ye opened his mouth, about to say something, but with these two staring at him, he swallowed his anger.

"Fine," he muttered, gathering his stuff. "For your sake."

With that, he turned and walked off.

Qiao Yuexun didn't watch him go. He turned to Wen Jueqian and asked softly, "You okay?"

Wen Jueqian met his eyes.

Up close, his features were even more delicate. When those eyes looked at you, it felt like he was really listening to what you had to say.

Wen Jueqian: "I'm fine. Thanks."

The corner of Qiao Yuexun's mouth curved up slightly, about to speak.

But he suddenly froze mid-motion.

It was brief—less than two seconds.

Then he blinked and was back to normal.

"You're welcome," he said, his tone a bit stiffer than before.

But the way he looked at Wen Jueqian had shifted. There was something more in it now—Wen Jueqian instinctively recognized it as a searching look, the same way he'd looked at Qiao Yuexun.

"Can I ask," he suddenly said, "are you new staff?"

Wen Jueqian looked at him, a flicker of unease passing through him.

Wen Jueqian replied calmly: "No, I'm just here temporarily to help."

Qiao Yuexun kept looking at him, as if trying to place him.

"Is that so?" He smiled. "Then I must have confused you with someone else."

After that, he didn't say anything else and turned to go.

Wen Jueqian watched him walk away.

This was the Omega who was destined to meet Wen Yanxu in the original novel.

Wen Jueqian looked away and went back to handing out supplies. The rest of the process went smoothly—no one else caused any trouble.

It wasn't until the very end that he replayed that moment and suddenly realized—that two-second pause had looked like someone was talking to Qiao Yuexun.

But he wasn't wearing any comms device.

To sell the act completely, Wen Jueqian not only toured the entire shootable area with Jin Wang, but the assistant director also walked him through the filming process and key shots.

By the time Wen Jueqian and Jin Wang left, it was getting dark. Lights were on in the building, warm yellow light spilling from window after window.

He didn't notice that behind him, on the sixth floor, in a dark window, the curtain was pulled open just a crack. A figure stood at the window, watching his retreating back.

Qiao Yuexun's gaze was completely different now.

No warmth, no distance—just a cold, appraising stare, like someone assessing a variable that needed reassessment.

"Shadow Crow."

He was alone in the room, and his voice didn't carry through the window.

Downstairs, Jin Wang suddenly looked up, glancing toward the upper floors.

Nothing.

The curtains were perfectly still, the window unlit, only moonlight reflecting off the glass in a cold gleam.

Jin Wang looked away and nonchalantly fell into step with Wen Jueqian.

By the window, Qiao Yuexun turned and walked back to sit on the sofa.

His gaze settled on some point in the air, slowly going distant. Like he was talking to someone, or maybe just to himself.

"System, that Beta girl..."

"Is she the target's fiancée?"

Something inside his head answered. He listened for a few seconds, then a slow smile crept across his lips.

That smile held something deeper, laced with interest.

"Wen Jueqian." He said the name again, his voice barely a whisper.

"So it's you, then."

He leaned back into the sofa, lifted a hand, and tapped his fingertips twice on the armrest.

"Interesting," he murmured.

————

Wen Jueqian led the way, with Jin Wang trailing half a step behind.

He ran through his first meeting with Qiao Yuexun, not missing a single detail, trying to size up this opponent from that brief interaction.

Suddenly, Wen Jueqian stopped.

Jin Wang asked, confused, "Mr. Wen, did you forget something?"

It suddenly hit him.

Jueying Island—Aegis's Third Research Center.

The 7th-Gen Inhibitor project, which Aegis had poured massive resources into, was so highly classified that even civilian maps showed no trace of the location.

Why would they let a bunch of people with such mixed backgrounds—none of them from Aegis—come in?

And bring cameras along to film a variety show?

None of this made any sense.

==========Author's Note:==========

Shoutout to our enthusiastic reader, tw.