DL Chapter3

Ever since that incident, Min Zhi always had an indescribable feeling when looking at Fu Baiqi.

 

He first heard the name Fu Baiqi because of his work ability. It was several years ago, back when the company had just started to improve. He heard people saying a promising newcomer had joined, but he didn’t pay much attention to him at the time.

 

But in just a few years, he had been promoted to deputy director, so it was no longer possible to ignore him. When he saw Fu Baiqi at a meeting, his first impression was the scent on him—then, his face.

 

In the world of Enigma, scents are keenly perceived—they encounter all kinds of pheromones every day. Yet, in an instant, he found himself drawn to the pheromone on Fu Baiqi. And the Alpha who carried that scent just happened to have such a cool, beautiful face—it was as though he had been carved directly from Min Zhi’s heart.

 

He started paying attention to this person—and the more he looked, the more he liked him. Whether it was his looks and build or that sharp, ambitious drive—Fu Baiqi was exactly Min Zhi’s type.

 

Min Zhi gradually tried to get closer to him, only to find that this person was indifferent to everyone—including him. He treated Min Zhi just like any other superior, without the slightest hint of flattery at all.

 

With such a beautiful face, yet looking down upon everyone.

 

The two of them had a decent relationship privately, but he had never heard of anyone being close to Fu Baiqi. The Omega who had come to the company to pick him up a while ago was already the limit of what he could accept—who would have thought that now there was yet another person involved?

 

But what shocked him even more was that the pheromone he liked the most came from his cohabiting partner, who turned out to be an Omega.

 

When they spoke during lunch, he once again caught the scent of that Omega’s pheromone on him. He couldn’t help but wonder what the two of them had done last night—because the scent on him was even stronger now.

 

Min Zhi couldn’t help but furrowed his brows before walking away.

 

His feelings for Fu Baiqi were complicated. Of course, he liked him, but in his eyes, Fu Baiqi was nothing more than an elite Alpha entirely focused on work, someone disconnected from base desires. Min Zhi couldn’t even imagine what Fu Baiqi might look like in heat, with that Omega in bed.

 

For a while after that, the Omega never appeared at the company door again, but when Min Zhi smelled Fu Baiqi’s scent, it didn’t have the same effect on him as before. The thought that the pheromone came from the Omega made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.

 

On the weekend, his mother arranged a blind date for him, and he couldn’t refuse.

 

He was already thirty this year, well past the age when he should have married, but he was quite picky. He couldn’t even find someone to be a bed partner, and his parents were growing more and more worried about him.

 

Of course, this was a problem every Enigma faced.

 

They wanted an Alpha wife, but very few Alphas were willing to humble themselves, to lie beneath someone else, and to give up their original gender to become an Omega.

 

Of course, there were exceptions.

 

Originally, he had only planned to go through the motions, but when he sat down and realized that the person across from him was a genuine Alpha, it truly shocked him.

 

The other party greeted him gently, “Hello.”

 

“Hello.”

 

He hadn’t expected that an Alpha would still show up after learning about his gender. Just as he was puzzled, the other party spoke up. “Mr. Min, I heard you’re an Enigma?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“This is the first time I’ve seen an Enigma,” He said, clearly intrigued by Min Zhi. “I was actually startled when you stood in front of me just now.”

 

“You’re much taller than many Alphas.” He remarked.

 

The joke lightened the atmosphere, and Min Zhi smiled. “A lot of people say that.”

 

As they were talking, he suddenly caught the scent of a familiar pheromone.

 

Though the scent was faint, Min Zhi immediately noticed it. He furrowed his brows but couldn’t help himself—he turned his head toward the source. He saw the man who had been with Fu Baiqi at the company entrance last time walking toward a table near the window. There was someone sitting there as well… Min Zhi recognized that face—it was the Omega who had come to pick Fu Baiqi up from work. Even though Min Zhi wasn’t interested in Omega, he had to admit that the person was incredibly attractive, the kind of beauty that was unforgettable at first glance.

 

“Is it someone you know?” The Alpha sitting across from him suddenly spoke, looking at him.

 

Min Zhi pulled his gaze away, shaking his head. “It’s nothing. Just someone who looks like a friend.”

 

He didn’t dwell on the small incident. His blind date for the night was actually a good person, and they shared some similar interests. Unfortunately, Min Zhi didn’t feel any desire to continue with him. Right now, his mind was still focused entirely on Fu Baiqi, and he just couldn’t bring himself to think about anyone else.

 

After dinner, Min Zhi went to the parking lot to get his car. Unexpectedly, he ran into the beautiful Omega. The Omega was talking on the phone while walking briskly, and as he passed by Min Zhi, he looked up and met his gaze. Noticing Min Zhi was looking at him, he flashed him a smile.

 

He was pouting at the person on the other end of the call. “So annoying. I’ve been talking until my mouth is dry already, and he’s just sitting there not saying anything, like a mute.”

 

Whatever the person on the other end said seemed to irritate the Omega, as his tone turned a bit frustrated. “Hurry up and take care of it. Do you have any idea how bad the smell on you is?”

 

Min Zhi opened the car door, and the Omega had already walked away. He vaguely heard the Omega’s words, “…Come to my place tonight…”

 

On the way to drop the Alpha off at home, Min Zhi chatted with him as usual, but his face showed no expression—his mood seemed dark, like something was bothering him.

 

Fang Fengzhi returned to his dark, stuffy home. The heat outside was intense, and he was drenched in sweat, feeling uncomfortable and sticky. After changing his shoes, he glanced toward the study—the door was open, and the light was off inside. He unlocked his phone and looked at the message he had sent to Fu Baiqi an hour ago, still with no reply.

 

He took the fruit in his hand to the kitchen. Seeing the breakfast he had made for Fu Baiqi still untouched on the table, its colors no longer fresh, he thought about putting it in the fridge. But as he neared, he smelled the scent of it starting to spoil, so he reluctantly threw it into the trash instead.

 

As he looked at the pile of mixed-up food in the trash can, tears suddenly fell from his eyes.

 

He knew that Fu Baiqi had someone else outside.

 

A long time ago, he had already noticed the scent of other people on his husband. Each time, it was different. He had questioned Fu Baiqi about it, but Fu Baiqi always came up with various excuses to brush him off, never admitting anything. And so, he deceived himself into believing it, trusting Fu Baiqi’s explanation of “colleagues.”

 

But it wasn’t until last month that he realized the pheromones on his husband came from the same person each time and that Fu Baiqi had started frequently not coming home. A sense of crisis grew in him, which was why he went to the company entrance to find him.

 

Fu Baiqi had been quiet for a few days, but who would have thought that today, Fu Baiqi’s affair partner would boldly come to find him?

 

The beautiful Omega name’s Bai Zhen. He said he was Fu Baiqi’s first love, seemingly to prove how deeply they were in love, he went on to tell Min Zhi every little detail of their past, recounting how good Fu Baiqi had been to him and how much Fu Baiqi had loved him.

 

These were things he had never received.

 

In the end, he said he hoped that he would divorce Fu Baiqi.

 

It felt as though, in his words, they were always meant to be together and that he was the one who had intruded on their relationship as the third party.

 

But clearly, back then—when they got married, when they went to the registry office, when they held the wedding in the hall—it was Fu Baiqi himself who was there with him. Those vows had come from Fu Baiqi’s own mouth as well.

 

How did it end up being all his fault in the end?

 

He lowered his eyes, staring at the few drops of tears that had fallen onto the stove. Just a few small drops, easily wiped away with his hand, leaving no trace behind.

 

The phone in his pocket suddenly rang. He took it out and saw that it was Fu Baiqi’s mother calling.

 

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

 

“Hello, Mom.”

 

“Xiao Zhi, what are you doing?”

 

Fang Fengzhi tried to make his voice sound normal, suppressing the tightness in his chest. “Just finished eating and washing the dishes.”

 

“You’re eating this late? Do you have any plans after dinner?”

 

“No, Mom, is there something you need?”

 

The person on the other end chuckled. “It’s nothing much, just about what I mentioned last time. You’ve been married for over a year now. You can’t just keep avoiding having kids, can you…”

 

The woman kept talking on and on, but for the first time, Fang Fengzhi interrupted her. “Mom…”

 

“We don’t want kids yet…” He thought about what Bai Zhen had said to him today. It was the first time he realized that Fu Baiqi, too, could be impulsive and do things for the person he liked, just like a young, inexperienced man. “And… I think we might not be suited for each other.”

 

The person on the other end went silent for a moment, and her tone became sharp. “Not suited for each other?”

 

Fang Fengzhi’s heart suddenly tightened.

 

“How can you not be suited for each other with a 100% pheromone match?”

 

“Xiao Zhi, you didn’t say that when you got married ah.”

 

“No, it’s just that I think Baiqi should be with someone he truly likes. He might not feel the same way about me…”

 

The woman cut him off. “Then what do you want?”

 

“Divorce?”

 

Fang Fengzhi’s grip on his phone tightened slightly. “…En.”

 

“Enough.” The woman didn’t want to hear any more. “Don’t give me those excuses. Divorce is out of the question.”

 

“We’ve helped your family so much—you should know how to be grateful, shouldn’t you?”

 

Fang Fengzhi clenched his teeth, unable to say a word.

 

“That’s it. I’ll talk to him tomorrow. As for the rest, you two can figure it out yourselves. You’ve been living together for so long; surely there’s some kind of feeling.” After saying that, she didn’t wait for Fang Fengzhi to respond and hung up the phone.

 

Staring at the screen showing the end of the call, Fang Fengzhi finally slipped the phone back into his pocket and numbly continued with the remaining tasks for the night.