None had expected General Chi Yin to do such a thing.
Feeling the weight of their stares, Chi Yin gritted his teeth and hissed at his son, “He removed his own gland. I didn’t make him do it!”
Yu Wan chimed in beside him, “Chi Yu, he humiliated you in public! Even after you knelt, he refused to forgive you. And now you’re worried about his fate? The Chi family’s dignity has been trampled!”
Chi Yu stared at his parents in stunned silence, disbelief filling his eyes.
He shook his head instinctively, stepping back as cold sweat broke out on his back. “I never imagined you could be so heartless.” he murmured.
“I didn’t say we’d abandon him,” Chi Yin took a deep breath, stepping closer to his son and lowering his voice. “We’ll go to the hospital and wait for news. But remember this has nothing to do with the Chi family. Yun Xingze brought this on himself.”
All his life, Chi Yu had obeyed his father without question.
As a high-ranking general, Chi Yin had always been the pride of their family, an unshakable symbol of authority.
But now, Chi Yu saw only a stranger someone terrifying.
In the next moment, Chi Yu swung his fist, striking his father squarely in the face.
Chi Yin staggered half a step back, shock flashing in his eyes. “You’d hit me for an Omega?!” he exclaimed.
Ignoring his father’s fury, Chi Yu turned and bolted for the exit.
Amid the murmurs of the crowd, Chi Yin could no longer bear their judging stares. “We’ll go to the hospital and find the Yun family first,” he said darkly to Yu Wan. “We’ll deal with that brat later.”
Inside the medical pod, Yun Xingze drifted into unconsciousness, slipping into a long, vivid dream.
In it, the contents of the novel Love Beyond Pheromones flooded his mind specifically, the latter half of the story.
[Luo Wenchuan, the second prince, grew up on a barren planet, a stark contrast to his pampered elder brother. This left his heart desolate and twisted…]
The second prince?
In the darkness, Yun Xingze stared at the words, dazed.
Luo Wenchuan…
He was royalty?
[Stardate XX: The king announced the second prince, Luo Wenchuan, as his successor. For the first time, he appeared before the public. His expression cold as unmelting ice, the perfect demeanor for a ruler.]
His successor?
Yun Xingze blinked at the words, doubting their truth.
When he first arrived in this world, similar lines of text had appeared before him but those had revolved solely around the original host, with no mention of Luo Wenchuan.
“Da Chuan is actually…” Yun Xingze murmured in astonishment, “…a prince?”
After all this time together, Yun Xingze had never once suspected his identity.
As Yun Xingze recalled the details of his interactions with Luo Wenchuan, everything suddenly seemed to make perfect sense.
Luo Wenchuan had always been aloof and dignified. Though he came from a barren planet, he stood apart from the other students who truly belonged to such harsh origins.
Yun Xingze continued reading.
[Luo Wenchuan’s life was destined to be a tragedy. On the barren planet, he endured hunger, assassination attempts, robberies. Growing up in such darkness, he maintained the manners learned before age seven on the surface, while harboring a bloodthirsty beast within.] These words aligned perfectly with Yun Xingze’s impression of Luo Wenchuan.
The first time Yun Xingze saw Luo Wenchuan compete in the Starsea Military Academy’s campus tournament, he sensed an inherent contradiction in the man’s demeanor.
This contradiction manifested most vividly in his fighting style.
Luo Wenchuan never gave his opponents any chance to recover, each strike lethal in intent. Yet after the match, he would politely nod in acknowledgment.
[Someone like him had already lost the capacity to love. Or perhaps, heaven had stripped him of that right. Luo Wenchuan suffered from severe Omega pheromone allergies, and the pheromone compatibility database showed no highly matched Omegas for him. His heart knew only hatred. Hatred for fate, for the king, for his enemies.] Reading this, Yun Xingze couldn’t help but ache for Luo Wenchuan.
He had done nothing wrong.
Yet fate had forced him to seal his heart away, becoming an iceberg.
The following passage made Yun Xingze’s eyes widen in shock.
[After becoming the heir, the darkness hidden within Luo Wenchuan was fully unleashed. His path of vengeance began. The king, queen, and crown prince died one after another. Court officials and capital nobility all became his pawns. He became the new monarch, ushering in an era of unparalleled darkness.] [In the empire, Luo Wenchuan became synonymous with “tyrant.”]
In other words, in the original story, Luo Wenchuan had turned to darkness after becoming heir, transforming into the primary antagonist of the novel’s latter half.
Yun Xingze couldn’t believe that Luo Wenchuan would become the bloodthirsty, cold, and cruel figure described in the text.
Yet Yun Xingze felt that another personality did indeed lurk within Luo Wenchuan’s heart. Without it, he could never have survived on that barren planet.
Could Luo Wenchuan truly become.
A tyrant?
After reading these words, Yun Xingze remained unsettled for a long time.
He couldn’t bear to see this happen.
Even if the original Luo Wenchuan was a villain, in Yun Xingze’s heart, he was his aloof senior, his empire’s exemplary boss, the only rival who could ignite his competitive spirit, Starsea Military Academy’s strongest solo combatant.
He was no villain.
Suddenly, Yun Xingze’s vision blurred.
His consciousness gradually slipped into slumber, entering another dream.
This time, he didn’t dream of the original story’s content.
He dreamed of Luo Wenchuan.
A strange, icy-eyed Luo Wenchuan.
Standing in a dark castle, looking at Yun Xingze with a faint smile, blood seeping from the wound at the corner of his lips.
The same familiar face, yet in this moment radiating bloodlust.
Making Yun Xingze instinctively afraid.
Luo Wenchuan wasn’t like this.
He couldn’t become like this.
Yun Xingze silently told himself this in his heart.
The next second, Luo Wenchuan’s figure gradually grew indistinct.
He seemed to merge with the Luo Wenchuan from Yun Xingze’s memories.
Luo Wenchuan’s icy gaze, the moment it fell upon Yun Xingze, melted like frozen ice, revealing an unconscious tenderness.
Then, step by step, Luo Wenchuan walked toward Yun Xingze.
Yet, when the familiar Luo Wenchuan stood before Yun Xingze, he still felt like a stranger.
Luo Wenchuan gave a slight nod, his single eyelids clean and handsome, his gaze sharp.
He stared straight at Yun Xingze.
Yun Xingze’s throat went dry.
He wanted to run.
But the next moment, Luo Wenchuan took out a soft black silk ribbon, wrapped it around Yun Xingze’s wrists, and forcefully pressed him into a chair.
In the darkness, sweat trickled down Yun Xingze’s back. He tried to speak, but no sound came out.
He told himself this wasn’t Luo Wenchuan.
But when Luo Wenchuan lowered his head and leaned in, that familiar feeling was exactly the same as the night he had been temporarily marked.
In the darkness, Luo Wenchuan’s cold eyes burned with possessiveness.
“Da Chuan…” Yun Xingze finally managed to speak, his voice hoarse and strained. “Let me go…”
“What are you talking about?” Luo Wenchuan tilted his head slightly, his eyes clear and innocent. Before the corners of his lips slowly curled up. “Don’t you like this?”
With that, he tugged on the black silk ribbon, forcing Yun Xingze’s body to lurch forward, nearly crashing into Luo Wenchuan’s chest.
Then, Luo Wenchuan lowered his head and bit down on Yun Xingze’s scent gland.
A sharp pain shot through the gland.
——
Inside the hospital room.
The medical pod slowly opened as the doctor prepared for surgery.
Luo Wenchuan watched Yun Xingze, unconscious, his brows furrowed in pain, his face pale. His heart ached unbearably.
Luo Wenchuan thought Yun Xingze must be in so much pain right now.
But there was nothing he could do for him.
His chest tightened, making it hard to breathe.
Outside the ward, the Yun family arrived, only to be stopped by a doctor.
The doctor frowned at them. “What are you here for?”
“My son is in there, he just did something reckless,” Yun Changsheng said urgently. “Doctor, you have to save his scent gland. That’s an Omega’s lifeline! No matter what, you have to preserve it!”
The doctor replied coldly, “The patient has lost too much blood and is still unconscious. We’ll treat him based on his injuries. Whether the gland can be saved isn’t our primary concern.”
Yun Changsheng panicked. He hadn’t expected the doctor to say that.
If Yun Xingze’s gland was ruined.
“No, Doctor, he can’t become a Beta!” Yun Changsheng cried out desperately. “If he becomes a Beta—”
“Doctor, please focus on stabilizing Xingze first,” Qin Shuang cut in calmly. “If the gland can’t be saved, so be it.”
Yun Changsheng’s eyes widened as he turned to Qin Shuang. “Have you lost your mind? Qin Shuang, he’s an Omega! We raised him all these years. If he loses his gland, what use will he be in the future? Doctor, you have to save him—”
Regret flooded Yun Changsheng’s heart.
If he hadn’t said those harsh words earlier, maybe Yun Xingze wouldn’t have ended up like this.
The doctor said nothing and turned back into the ward.
Luo Wenchuan stepped out, ignoring Yun Changsheng and Qin Shuang completely as he walked to a bench in the corner and sat down.
The Yun couple hadn’t watched the royal press conference yet, so they had no idea of Luo Wenchuan’s identity.
They sat down not far from him and began talking.
“If Yun Xingze’s gland is really damaged,” Qin Shuang frowned and said seriously, “it might not necessarily be a bad thing. Perhaps his physical abilities will become even stronger. ”
“Enough! What kind of jinx are you?!” Yun Changsheng roared angrily. “Qin Shuang, what’s wrong with you today?! You know perfectly well that if his gland is ruined, the Chi family won’t agree to the marriage alliance!”
“Given the circumstances, what else can we do?” Qin Shuang said coldly. “What you should be considering is Xingze’s future life.”
In truth, the moment Qin Shuang saw Yun Xingze cut his gland, aside from shock and heartache, she suddenly felt a sense of relief.
It was as if she saw a rose breaking free from its cage, blooming brilliantly.
Though its bloom might be brief, it showed Qin Shuang a different possibility.
That an Omega didn’t have to resign themselves to fate.
“If the Chi family breaks off the alliance, our company will be on the verge of collapse!” Yun Changsheng said furiously. “Qin Shuang, you’re usually not this foolish! If he becomes a Beta, who would even want him?”
At this, Yun Changsheng pointed at Luo Wenchuan in the distance and asked Qin Shuang:
“Or do you expect Yun Xingze to marry some poor boy from a backwater planet like him?!”
As the two argued, Luo Wenchuan glanced at them imperceptibly before calmly looking away.
He opened his communicator and was flooded with messages—all announcing the same thing:
Congratulations on becoming the heir to the Imperial Throne of the Star Empire.
Just then, the Chi family arrived at the hospital.
Chi Yu rushed up to Luo Wenchuan and demanded loudly, “How is Xingze?!”
“I suggest you stay out of my sight,” Luo Wenchuan stood up, his gaze icy as he stared at Chi Yu. “I don’t want to resort to violence in a hospital. But rest assured, I’ll settle this with your family later.”
Chi Yu immediately fell silent under Luo Wenchuan’s glare.
Chi Yin and Yu Wan approached Yun Changsheng and the others, feigning concern. “Is Xingze alright?”
“The doctors said his gland might not recover,” Qin Shuang replied calmly.
“What a shame…” Yu Wan sighed, taking Qin Shuang’s hand in a show of comfort. “Qin Shuang, don’t lose heart. You still have an Alpha son, after all.”
“I’m not disheartened,” Qin Shuang withdrew her hand and said coolly. “Thank you for your concern.”
“We’ve always admired Xingze,” Chi Yin cleared his throat and said to Yun Changsheng. “You must know, an Omega as outstanding and independent as him is rare.”
But Yun Changsheng felt a growing sense of foreboding.
“However…” Chi Yin’s tone shifted abruptly. “Since he’s damaged his gland, I’m afraid our families no longer have any ties.”
“Let’s wait until Xingze wakes up!” Chi Yu gritted his teeth and said. “Stop making decisions for me.”
Yun Changsheng also frowned. “General Chi, you’re not blameless in this matter. How can you say such things?”
“But in his condition, how can our family accept him as a son-in-law?” Chi Yin said dismissively. “Besides, he’s the one who cut his own gland, it’s not like I forced him. Everyone at the banquet saw me trying to talk him out of it.”
Yun Changsheng’s eyes widened in fury as he cursed:
“How could I have ever considered an alliance with your family?! I must have been blind!”
“With Yun Xingze in this state now, it’ll be difficult for him to marry anyone in the future,” Chi Yin said slowly. “Please accept my condolences.”
Yu Wan sighed beside him, her gaze filled with pity and sympathy as she looked at the Yun family.
Yun Changsheng and Qin Shuang were both furious, but since Chi Yin was a general, there was nothing they could do to him.
Yun Changsheng gritted his teeth. “What about the technology for the mental amplifier? You promised.”
“Unfortunately, since we can’t become in-laws, I can’t share it with you,” Chi Yin replied calmly. “I’ll be taking it to Liu from Qilin Mecha Corporation instead.”
After speaking, Chi Yin glanced at the Yun couple’s darkened expressions and added apologetically, “I’m sorry, but I must consider the Chi family’s interests. The royal family has just announced the heir, and I’ve been invited to meet them. I must take my leave now.”
Due to the engagement banquet, Chi Yin hadn’t had time to check the messages on his optical computer.
As he and Yu Wan passed by Luo Wenchuan, the latter suddenly let out a soft, mocking laugh.
The sound was quiet but dripping with derision.
Chi Yin knew this young man was his son Chi Yu’s sworn rival.
Deciding to vent some anger on his son’s behalf both to mend their strained relationship and to restore his own dignity he turned back to the Yun couple with a considerate smile.
“Oh, Yun Changsheng,” Chi Yin said pointedly, “it’s not like your son is completely unwanted. Even as a Beta, he could still marry this poor boy here. That wouldn’t be so bad, would it?”
His words were laced with scorn.
Yun Changsheng nearly choked on his rage, his beard bristling.
Satisfied, Chi Yin turned to leave, opening his optical computer to check the news and see what the royal heir looked like.
But the moment he saw the announcement, he froze in place.
A voice came from behind him:
“General Chi Yin, I invited you to meet me? Funny! I don’t recall that.”
Luo Wenchuan’s tone carried unmistakable mockery.
Seated on a bench with his long legs crossed, his calm delivery was like a vicious slap to Chi Yin’s face.
