“He couldn’t have lied to me!” The next second, Liang Huan refuted Lin Mingrui without hesitation and turned back to glare at Lin Mingrui fiercely, as if rebuking him for questioning Xing Yeze.
Lin Mingrui jumped in shock, his whole body giving a shudder. “…Boss Huan, look, people’s hearts are hard to read—just because that so-called kind soul saved you doesn’t mean he wouldn’t lie to you. Maybe he has a grudge against Si Xuanhe? Or maybe he likes you and deliberately smeared Si Xuanhe? You’re such a gorgeous Omega—if he’s an Alpha, there’s like an 80–90% chance he’s into you.”
Xing Yeze, struck by two arrows to the knee, twitched at the corners of his eyes.
At this time, Xiao Budian, Da Pang, and Xiao Yanjing also voiced their support for Lin Mingrui——
“Mingrui is right, Boss Huan. We can’t convict Xuanhe based on the one-sided words of a kind-hearted person.”
Clearly, Xiao Budian is once again showing signs of being tempted by Si Xuanhe—just moments ago in the Six Swordsmen group chat, they were calling him by his full name, and now they’re affectionately calling him ‘Xuanhe’.
“Think about it, the news didn’t explain which Alpha cheated on Chen Mengyu. It’s not impossible that this kind-hearted person was just using someone else’s knife to do the killing.”
Da Pang: “To be fair, Si Xuanhe could’ve totally played both Xiao Budian and Xiao Yanjing if he wanted to. Those two simps would’ve thrown themselves at him the moment he crooked a finger.”
Xiao Yanjing also echoed: “Yeah, I can testify to this, Xuanhe’s attitude towards me is not ambiguous at all, he doesn’t even flirt with me, unlike most scumbags.”
“Can’t it be that Si Xuanhe wanted to mess with me, so he held back from messing with you and Xiao Budian? If he were really flirting with you two, would you have kept it from me?! Would I even consider accepting him?!” Liang Huan’s fists clenched so tightly they cracked with tension.
How dare you insult Xing Yeze!?
“Oh, that’s right…” Xiao Budian, Da Pang, and Xiao Yanjing suddenly had an epiphany.
Liang Huan loosened his fist with satisfaction, but Lin Mingrui made things difficult for him again.
“Then what’s the deal with Chen Mengyu? Why would he defend Si Xuanhe? He doesn’t strike me as a liar or some brainless masochist. I mean, how pathetic would someone have to be to still pine after the Alpha who messed them up? Didn’t Chen Mengyu already have his mark scrubbed?”
Scrubbing off the mark means that the Omega’s physical obsession with the Alpha has disappeared.
Besides, if Chen Mengyu was willing to risk his life to have the mark removed, then logically, he must’ve made up his mind to let go of that scumbag Alpha.
“Right!” Chen Mengyu, the person involved, nodded repeatedly, expressing his high agreement with Lin Mingrui’s analysis.
“… Lin Mingrui, are you looking for death?!” Liang Huan suddenly grabbed Lin Mingrui’s neck.
“!!!” Lin Mingrui has been with Liang Huan for so many years, but this is the first time that Liang Huan has choked him.
He is not like Da Pang and Xiao Budian, who have a lot of problems and would annoy Liang Huan from time to time, “What’s wrong, Boss Huan? Hold gently… Did that kind-hearted person give you a drug? You would rather believe him than us… Ahem—it doesn’t matter what our four confidants say, but you have to stay rational and don’t be fooled by the other party…”
Lin Mingrui wasn’t deliberately asking for a beating or trying to provoke Liang Huan—he was genuinely worried that their dear Boss Huan was being deceived by that so-called kind-hearted person.
But Boss Huan’s reaction was off. Lin Mingrui was just stating the facts, that’s all. And yet, the way Boss Huan grabbed him—it felt even rougher than when he grabbed Da Pang. That just didn’t make sense!
“Boss Huan, is that kind-hearted person an Alpha? Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for him—you trust him that much…”
Liang Huan took an emotional hit straight to the knees. Enraged, he tightened his grip on Lin Mingrui and roared like a lion: “Fallen for your head! I’m not into Alphas—not into them, not into them, not into them! He would never lie to me, never!”
Xing Yeze doesn’t maliciously slander others! The two of them—a wild, cool, and badass duo—would never stoop to discrediting others, no matter the situation!
“Alright, alright, let it go, Lord Liang—don’t hold it against Mingrui.” Xing Yeze coaxed Liang Huan like he was soothing a child, reaching out to gently pull the tiger off—and in the same motion, slipped that tiger paw right into his own palm.
Mmm, lending a hand was just an excuse—what he really wanted was to hold hands.
Liang Huan’s heart skipped a beat, and the tiger’s paw struggled a little, “I won’t grab him, let go.”
“I’m just worried Boss Huan might not be able to resist giving your unruly follower another lesson later. Mingrui’s not like Da Pang—he doesn’t have that thick layer of fat to cushion a chokehold.” Xing Yeze still refused to let go, and instead, naturally laced their fingers together—firmly locking that tiger paw in his grasp.
Liang Huan felt very happy when Xing Yeze called him ‘Boss Huan’, so he followed Xing Yeze, and his pretty face flushed unconsciously.
Xing Yeze took in Liang Huan’s reaction and curled his lips in thought.
His Omega is really weird. Sometimes he is happy to be close to him, but sometimes he resists being close to him. Is he like mist, like rain, and like wind to him?[mfn]refers to a title of a romance drama which symbolizes a love so beautiful but hard to grasp[/mfn]
Little scumbag… Xing Yeze pinched the tiger’s paw helplessly and dotingly, which made Liang Huan shudder and his face redder.
The four confidants and shippers tried their best not to scream. Ah, too sweet!!!
This dog food[mfn]it’s slang for couples being lovey-dovey in front of single people[/mfn] was served way too hard—Si Xuanhe’s face turned from pale to green and back again. Liang Huan likes Xing Yeze too? How could that be? If that were true, then why would Liang Huan give up on Xing Yeze and come to him instead? If Liang Huan and Xing Yeze were truly in love, shouldn’t they have gotten together long ago?
“Ahem, Boss Huan…” Ever-loyal Lin Mingrui finally realized this was not the time to be shipping anyone. No matter what, he had to make Liang Huan see the so-called kind-hearted person’s true colors. “Rationality! Stay rational! If Chen Mengyu was the victim, then why is he insisting that Si Xuanhe never marked any Omega?”
Liang Huan’s brows furrowed deeply. He refused to believe that Xing Yeze would ever smear someone’s name out of malice. Even if he had to make things up, he’d defend Xing Yeze to the end. “Did you lose your memory?”
He stared at Chen Mengyu.
It was now Chen Mengyu’s turn to look at Liang Huan like he was an idiot. “I remember exactly how many moles the Alpha who messed with me had on his face. It wasn’t Xuanhe.”
“Oh, then you were bribed by Si Xuanhe and deliberately concealed it for Si Xuanhe. Isn’t that how idol dramas are played? The male lead’s mother asked the protagonist how much money she wanted before she was willing to leave, and the protagonist thought that since she couldn’t marry into their family anyway, she might as well ask for a lot.”
For the sake of my bro, this tyrant can think of ten thousand reasons!
“Are you thinking, ‘Well, I can’t marry into the Si family anyway, and once an Omega’s been marked, their gland can’t go back to normal—plus, I can’t win against Si Xuanhe, so I might as well take his money’?”
Xing Yeze nearly burst out laughing. Being defended so fiercely and unconditionally by Liang Huan—trusted without question—filled his deep, dark eyes with unmistakable tenderness.
Before the four confidants could start giving Liang Huan the ‘are you serious?’ look, Xing Yeze cut straight to the point and asked Chen Mengyu: “Then why did you accuse Si Xuanhe of marking you back then?”
Hiss—Chen Mengyu identified Si Xuanhe as the one who marked him?!
The four confidants were stunned.
Looking at Chen Mengyu being speechless and guilty, it was obvious that he had something to hide.
“So you did slander Xuanhe back then!” Xiao Budian exploded with fury, glaring at Chen Mengyu and demanding justice for Si Xuanhe—clearly itching to deliver the final blow.
“I…” Chen Mengyu looked aggrieved, but he didn’t know how to defend himself.
Seeing this, Si Xuanhe couldn’t bear it and sighed, “I asked him to identify me.”
This time, even Liang Huan was stunned.
What Si Xuanhe actually meant was that he truly hadn’t marked Chen Mengyu—and he even asked Chen Mengyu to identify the person who did. So was it Xing Yeze who misunderstood him?
But why did Si Xuanhe do this? Who would want to throw dirty water on himself?!
Xing Yeze was not very surprised. When Chen Mengyu was anxious to defend Si Xuanhe, he guessed that Si Xuanhe and Chen Mengyu made a deal.
Xing Yeze could guess the reason why Si Xuanhe threw dirty water on himself.
Oh, Lin Yin gave Si Xuanhe all her motherly love, but Si Xuanhe seemed to be even more pitiful than him…
Since it was all exposed, Si Xuanhe simply took this opportunity to clear himself and seek Liang Huan’s forgiveness, “Boss Huan, I have never marked any Omega, I really want to be with you.”
“Hehe, whether you have marked an Omega or not, this tyrant can’t even be friends with you. Using pheromones to suppress Omegas and trying to forcibly mark Omegas has violated the Omega Protection Act. If I wasn’t so sure that your parents would settle all the scandals for you, I would have sued you long ago. Despicable guy!”
“Okay.” Si Xuanhe’s eyes were full of sadness. Seeing Liang Huan’s firm attitude, he stopped pestering and prepared to send Chen Mengyu back. “Then I’ll go first, Boss Huan, Xiao Budian, Xiao Yanjing, Da Pang, Mingrui, see you tomorrow.”
The only person he didn’t say goodbye to is Xing Yeze.
He opened the car door and let Chen Mengyu get in first, and then he got in.
In the car, Chen Mengyu smelled the scent from Si Xuanhe’s gland and was worried. This was not the smell of Alpha pheromones, but the smell of medicine.
“Is your gland okay?” Chen Mengyu couldn’t help but reach out to touch Si Xuanhe’s neck but was avoided by Si Xuanhe.
No one knew just how traditional—almost feudal—Si Xuanhe was deep down. Unless it was the Omega he had chosen, he would never engage in unnecessary physical contact with any Omega.
He felt dirty.
His mother was like this. She had been intimate with more than one Alpha and even had children with more than one Alpha. He felt disgusted and uncomfortable.
“It’s not looking good. The doctor said there’s less than a ten percent chance of recovery. I might really end up disabled—not a top-tier Alpha anymore.”
That day, his attempt to get close to Liang Huan had clearly enraged Xing Yeze—more than when he was a child and insulted Xing Yeze as a bastard, unloved by both parents and born out of wedlock. So Xing Yeze didn’t hold back in the slightest. His pheromones turned into blades of ice, vicious and violent, ruthlessly attacking his gland.
If the hotel security hadn’t rushed in to protect him that day, his gland probably wouldn’t even have a ten percent chance of recovery now.
“Your brother… uh, Xing Yeze is cruel,” Chen Mengyu muttered through gritted teeth, seething with resentment.
Si Xuanhe gave a bitter smile. “It’s my own fault. I used my pheromones to suppress an Omega… and tried to force a mark.”
In addition, Xing Yeze always thought that he had cheated on several Omegas and thought that he provoked Liang Huan because of him and wanted to mess with Liang Huan. Coupled with his possessiveness and desire to protect Liang Huan, it is reasonable that he would attack his gland without mercy.
If you think about it from another perspective, if he were Xing Yeze, he would do the same.
In fact, when interacting with most people, Si Xuanhe is still modest and reasonable, but he always loses his mind when facing Xing Yeze.
For over a decade, he had lived in Xing Yeze’s shadow—been his shadow—so suffocated by Xing Yeze’s presence that he could barely breathe. Whether or not it was Xing Yeze’s intention didn’t matter. The resentment he felt toward him only grew deeper with time.
Maybe, just like Xing Yeze once said, his mind really was twisted.
A big part of the reason why he used such a despicable method of coercion that day was to anger Xing Yeze.
Xing Yeze liked Liang Huan, so he loved to make trouble for Xing Yeze.
“I don’t care, I think Xing Yeze is a scumbag!” Chen Mengyu said indignantly.
Back then, if Chen Mengyu heard about any Alpha using pheromones to suppress an Omega and trying to force a mark, he would’ve flown into a rage—felt like even killing that Alpha wouldn’t be enough. But because it was Si Xuanhe, he couldn’t help but feel heartache instead.
Si Xuanhe smiled again, but this time, there was no bitterness in it. “Thank you… for defending me like that. Defending me so unconditionally.”
Just like Liang Huan did to Xing Yeze.
He could see that Liang Huan trusted Xing Yeze 100%.
“I’m also really glad that, in your heart, I matter more than Xing Yeze. People always mistake me for him—never the other way around. He’s the acknowledged child; I’m not. No matter how hard I worked, I still lost to him in grades and in competitions. The teachers and classmates all liked him more. Even my grandparents only ever saw him as their grandson… they never once looked me in the eye.”
Chen Mengyu snapped, “How could Xing Yeze ever compare to you?! He’s not even worth a scallion in my eyes! Xuanhe, you’re my whole world! I’m not just trying to comfort you—every word I said came straight from the heart!”
The whole world… Si Xuanhe was overjoyed, and even his eyes were wet with emotion.
He reached out, just about to cup Chen Mengyu’s cheek—only to pull his hand back at the last second.
The joy that had just begun to rise in Chen Mengyu’s chest plummeted in an instant.
His face was full of despair, “Will you never accept me?”
Si Xuanhe couldn’t bear to see Chen Mengyu’s desperate expression and looked away and stared at the endless road ahead, “Yes, I must have a child of my own!”
He didn’t mind that Chen Mengyu had been with other Alphas—Chen Mengyu’s situation was different from his mother’s. But Chen Mengyu had undergone scrubbing of a lifelong mark, and the damage to his body was severe. He would never be able to conceive again.
Si Xuanhe, on the other hand, was a top-tier Alpha. His physical foundation was strong. Even with a damaged gland, his fertility remained unaffected.
Perhaps it was the influence of his upbringing, but Si Xuanhe had a deep-seated obsession: adopted children were out of the question—his child had to be biologically his. He wanted a family that was wholly his own, one where his heart and eyes held only his Omega and the child they created together.
No third party, let alone illegitimate children.
He will never let their children go through what he has gone through and endure the suffering he has endured.
He admitted that he initially provoked Liang Huan in order to anger Xing Yeze, but gradually, he was attracted by Liang Huan’s characteristics.
He found that Liang Huan’s personality was also very responsible and family-oriented, especially unlike other Omegas who would be instinctively attracted to Alphas.
He believed that if he were with Liang Huan, they would be loyal to each other, treat each other with respect, and, over time, their bond would only grow deeper through the rhythms of daily life.
Unfortunately, just as he would never accept Chen Mengyu, Liang Huan would never accept him either…
After sending Chen Mengyu home, Si Xuanhe sent a text message to Xing Yeze.
[Please keep the deal between me and Chen Mengyu a secret—especially from my mom.]
Xing Yeze replied quickly, but the content of the text message made Si Xuanhe angry and want to laugh…
A/N: Sorry for not updating, sorry everyone!
I laughed so much when Xing Yeze fakes trying to calm Liang Huan just to hold hands XD