It was only many years later that Luo Hai finally understood—on that day, fifteen years ago, Doyle was always going to kill everyone in the orphanage, no matter what.
Taking an unregistered Omega was undoubtedly a crime, and a cautious man like Doyle would never leave behind any loose ends. That was why he had chosen Luo Hai in the first place—an orphan with no connections.
But to the fourteen-year-old Luo Hai at the time, those words were like a thunderclap, the first taste of an Alpha’s oppressive power.
Behind Doyle, the orphanage burned, and his deep, relaxed voice lingered in the air. Without hesitation, Luo Hai lunged at Doyle, using every ounce of his strength to push him into the fire.
The young Luo Hai’s mind was blank. He didn’t understand what murder meant or what crime was—he only knew that he had to perish together with the man who had taken everything from him.
But his small strength was like cotton against an adult Alpha. His wrist was easily caught, and his entire body was lifted effortlessly before being thrown aside.
As his vision blurred from the impact, he barely heard the man’s indifferent command.
“Tie him up. Gag him. We’re leaving.”
…
Doyle’s reason for taking Luo Hai was simple.
The Nantes Prosecutor’s Office, as the core of the central legal system, did not allow any gender other than Alphas.
From the highest prosecutor to the lowest clerk, only Alphas were hired. Not only that, but the entire district surrounding the prosecutor’s office banned Omegas from entering, and all government employees had to undergo strict conduct inspections to ensure they did not bring Omegas into their workplaces.
This was a rule every prosecutor was accustomed to, but Doyle saw an opportunity.
A large number of Alphas working together in the same district for years inevitably led to tension, frustration, and pent-up desires that couldn’t be soothed by the monthly “offering days.”
Most of the Alphas in this system were young, or too buried in work to have time for relationships. Even those who had marked Omegas at home found that distance made no difference.
And an unregistered, orphaned Omega with no social ties? The perfect tool.
Doyle began taking Luo Hai to various social events—banquets, drinking parties, business negotiations, even back-alley dealings for exchanging information.
On normal days, he injected Luo Hai with inhibitors to alter his scent so he would smell no different from an Alpha. But whenever he needed to use him, he would administer a stimulant to forcefully release his Omega pheromones, luring in anyone who could be of use.
As the most stubborn boy in Oddis Orphanage, Luo Hai didn’t submit without a fight.
At first, he would bite anyone who dared to touch him. He would charge headfirst at Doyle whenever he saw him approaching with a syringe. He tried to use cracks in the walls to break the ropes binding his wrists and escape. And when escape failed, he slammed his head against the walls, determined to die rather than give in.
But Doyle never got angry. He never showed any emotion.
He simply walked into the room, injected Luo Hai with three times the usual dose of stimulants, locked the door, and left.
He didn’t need to do anything else. He didn’t need to say a word.
In just a week, even the wildest horse can be tamed into the most obedient livestock.
On the eighth day, Doyle hosted a banquet for a few friends. After they had eaten and drunk their fill, he opened the door to where Luo Hai was being held.
…
Perhaps it was from that moment that Luo Hai realized—an Omega could never truly resist an Alpha.
Obedience was written in their genes. Pleasing and flattering were their instincts.
God must have created Omegas solely to watch them be humble, lowly, and wretched. From the moment of their differentiation, their lives were no longer their own but mere playthings for another gender.
He never chose to be born into such a world, yet he had no right to decide his own death either.
By the time he came to his senses, he had lost everything. All that remained was the man who had stripped him of it all.
…..
In Luo Hai’s second year in Nantes, Doyle was promoted from an ordinary prosecutor to a senior prosecutor.
By the third year, he became the bureau chief, controlling most of the resources and connections within the prosecution office.
By the fifth year, Doyle officially took the position of Chief Prosecutor of the Nantes Prosecutor’s Office and carried out a large-scale personnel reshuffle. Any “friend” who had once engaged in “transactions” with him was either dismissed, reassigned to remote areas, or—worse—found mysteriously dead in a ditch outside the city within a week of his appointment. No one could figure out how or why.
That same year, due to long-term drug injections, Luo Hai’s gland began to fail. The stimulants no longer worked properly to induce heat, his pheromones became chaotic, and he lost most of the functions expected of an Omega.
He was no longer of use to Doyle.
Luo Hai waited.
He waited for Doyle to abandon him, for his corpse to be discovered in a filthy ditch outside the city, for his miserable, rotten life to finally come to an end somewhere.
One evening, as the sky burned with crimson clouds, Doyle summoned him to his room.
Luo Hai was calmer than he expected. He had already prepared himself for anything. Whatever Doyle decided to do to him, he would accept without resistance.
When he entered the room, Doyle slowly turned his chair to face him, reached into his pocket, and took out a piece of candy, handing it to Luo Hai.
Luo Hai said nothing. He took the candy, unwrapped it, and put it in his mouth.
Doyle smiled faintly at him and, after a moment, asked, “Are you interested in law?”
Luo Hai wasn’t particularly interested, nor did he dislike it. Over the years, he had lost all personal preferences.
“It’s okay.”
“What about the prosecutor’s office?” Doyle continued.
Luo Hai didn’t understand what Doyle was getting at but still answered as usual, “It’s okay.”
Doyle curled his lips into a smirk. “Do you want to become a prosecutor?”
Luo Hai’s head snapped up in shock, staring at Doyle in disbelief, unable to understand why he would say such a thing.
“If you can get into Nantes University of Political Science and Law, I’ll let you work at the prosecutor’s office after you graduate. How about it?”
Doyle smirked as he folded the candy wrapper into a simple paper crane and placed it on top of Luo Hai’s head.
“Naughty children get punished, but obedient ones get rewards. You’ve been very obedient lately. Keep it up—don’t disappoint me.”
With that, Doyle stood up from his chair, humming an unfamiliar tune as he brushed past Luo Hai and left the room.
Luo Hai stood frozen for a long time, motionless.
It wasn’t until the fiery clouds in the sky gradually faded into darkness that he finally lifted his hand and took the paper crane from his head.
Because he obeyed, he received a reward.
Because he obeyed, he didn’t end up as a corpse rotting in a ditch.
If that was the case…
If he had chosen to obey five years ago, would he have been spared the torment of that living hell?
If he had chosen to obey from the very beginning, would Aunt Ai, Uncle Mi, and the other kids… have been spared from perishing in the flames?
Oh, and Eugene too.
Chubby Eugene, crybaby Eugene, Eugene who grew taller and more handsome, Eugene who smelled nice.
Eugene, who insisted on treating his wounds, who secretly saved him half a sandwich, who stood guard outside his door for an entire night.
Had that Eugene also died in that tragic fire? Or…
Luo Hai’s head ached.
Memories flashed chaotically through his mind like disjointed film reels, blending scenes from his youth with his present experiences. He couldn’t distinguish one from the other, couldn’t grasp them no matter how hard he reached, only to watch helplessly as they scattered like sand in the wind.
He refused to give in, stubbornly reaching out again. He had never been one to bow easily to fate, let alone to mere fragments of memory…
The third time he reached out, a hand caught his.
Warmth spread from that palm straight to his heart. He paused, suddenly feeling as though reality had snapped back into place.
The bar was noisy and chaotic, neon lights flashing endlessly. The scent of Alphas’ pheromones, thick and suffocating, filled the air as they laughed and joked. The light reflecting off his glass was sharp and blinding.
He heard the bartender with the mustache speak, his tone slightly anxious. “Is this your friend? He sat down without a word and started ordering hard liquor, one glass after another. We were worried something might happen…”
Then, he heard Eugene’s voice.
“Don’t worry, his alcohol tolerance isn’t low. If he really drinks too much, he’ll just pass out—won’t cause trouble for anyone.”
Luo Hai frowned, wanting to argue, but the moment he opened his mouth, a wave of dizziness hit him, forcing him into silence.
“I’ll settle his tab and take him with me. You guys can get back to work, no need to worry.”
The hand gripping him pulled him up, and he stumbled straight into a warm embrace.
A moment later, warmth spread across his neck and shoulders. Luo Hai looked down to find a large scarf, still carrying body heat, draped under his chin.
Eugene didn’t speak, and neither did he.
Outside the bar, the cold wind made it hard to keep his eyes open. At some point, a thin layer of snow had already settled on the ground, and their footsteps left a single line of tracks on the fresh white surface.
“Drowning your sorrows alone with alcohol?” Eugene’s tone lifted slightly, carrying a teasing smile. “Even high school girls don’t do that anymore.”
“Shut up,” Luo Hai groaned, his head throbbing.
“Seriously, sometimes you’re unexpectedly childish.” Eugene kept talking, still chuckling. He tightened his hold slightly, supporting Luo Hai more firmly. “And gin? Do you even realize you smell like you’ve been marked by me?”
Luo Hai turned to look at Eugene.
Eugene was still in his disguise as Enyouge. His short black hair lacked its usual soft curls, and his eyes weren’t the familiar amber shade.
The unfamiliarity unsettled Luo Hai, and that unease bred fear. But he knew how to confirm the truth—knew there was one place where the feeling would never change.
Luo Hai wrapped his arms around Eugene’s neck and kissed him.
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