Chapter 9: Introducing His Wife

The next morning, Lin Yan finally seemed to realize that keeping the delicate, quiet Omega he’d been matched with locked inside the room all day probably wasn’t a great idea.

Mainly because he was worried Shen Qingxian would become sick from boredom—and that would only create more trouble.

At breakfast, he looked at Shen Qingxian, who was quietly sipping his porridge in tiny mouthfuls, still too afraid to meet his eyes.

Suddenly, he spoke.

“I’ll take you to meet some people later.”

Shen Qingxian’s hand paused around his spoon.

He looked up, confusion and caution filling his eyes.

Lin Yan explained succinctly,

“They’re Omegas who live here, along with a few Beta family members.”

“They’ll show you around.”

“So you don’t sit around all day with nothing to do, overthinking things.”

His tone remained as blunt and straightforward as ever.

There wasn’t much warmth in it.

It sounded more like he was solving a potential problem than expressing concern.

“Oh…”

Shen Qingxian quietly lowered his head again.

His heart was uneasy.

Yet somewhere beneath the anxiety was the faintest trace of anticipation.

After all…

Spending every day facing Lin Yan—that walking iceberg wrapped in suffocating Alpha pheromones—was incredibly stressful.

After breakfast, Lin Yan kept his word.

He led Shen Qingxian out of the room and toward the opposite side of the dormitory building.

This side clearly felt more lived-in.

Laundry hung drying in the hallway.

There were even a few flowerpots sitting on the windowsills, though the plants inside all looked rather wilted.

Lin Yan knocked on one of the doors.

The person who answered was a gentle-looking Beta woman in her thirties.

She was carrying a baby happily chewing on its own fingers.

“Big Sister Li.”

Lin Yan greeted her, his tone noticeably softer.

“This is Shen Qingxian.”

“My wife.”

Stepping slightly aside, he gently revealed the Shen Qingxian hiding behind him.

“If nothing’s going on, let him spend some time with you all.”

Big Sister Li’s curious gaze landed on Shen Qingxian’s face.

A flash of amazement crossed her eyes before she broke into a warm smile.

“Oh my, so this is Commander Lin’s wife!”

“We all heard about you yesterday.”

“A hundred percent compatibility, right?”

“Come in, come in!”

Inside were two other Omega women.

One was a little older, the partner of a veteran Alpha non-commissioned officer stationed at the outpost.

The other was younger, a nurse from the infirmary whose boyfriend served on the patrol team.

When they saw Shen Qingxian, both greeted him with warm, curious smiles.

Lin Yan gently nudged Shen Qingxian forward and said to Big Sister Li,

“I’m leaving him with you.”

“I’ve got work.”

Having said that, he simply turned around and strode away without the slightest hesitation.

Shen Qingxian watched helplessly as Lin Yan abandoned him in the middle of a room full of strangers.

Immediately, he became flustered.

His fingers unconsciously twisted the hem of his clothes.

“Don’t be nervous.”

“Commander Lin’s always been like that.”

“He’s rough around the edges and terrible at expressing himself.”

“But the fact that he worried you’d get bored and brought you here means he really cares about you.”

Big Sister Li was a cheerful, straightforward woman.

One glance was enough for her to notice Shen Qingxian’s anxiety.

Smiling, she took his hand and led him inside.

“Come in and sit.”

“We don’t have much going on around here anyway.”

“We look after the kids, chat, and do a little handicraft work.”

The older Omega looked him over with a gentle smile.

“You’re really handsome.”

“You look like you’ve stepped right out of a painting.”

“No wonder even someone as stone-hearted as Commander Lin finally opened his eyes.”

The young nurse from the infirmary leaned in a little closer and whispered in amazement,

“Your pheromones smell wonderful!”

“Cool and refreshing, but a little sweet.”

“They’re just a tiny bit unstable, though.”

“I’m Xiao An from the infirmary.”

“If you’re ever feeling unwell, come find me.”

Surrounded by several kind women and feeling their genuine warmth, Shen Qingxian’s tightly wound nerves slowly began to relax.

He had never been good at socializing.

Blushing slightly, he simply answered their questions in a quiet voice.

“So your name’s Qingxian? That’s a beautiful name.”

“How old are you?”

“You came from District A? Wow… that place must be so lively.”

“Are you getting used to it here?”

“Cold at night?”

“Commander Lin’s a bit careless.”

“If you’re missing anything, just tell us.”

They took Shen Qingxian around the residential area, showing him where to hang laundry, where to find slightly warmer water, when the small communal kitchen was available, and even sharing a few pitiful-looking green onions they had managed to grow themselves.

Along the way, they met several other Omegas and Betas who either worked at the outpost or had accompanied family members stationed there.

Big Sister Li enthusiastically introduced Shen Qingxian to every one of them.

Whenever people learned that this was the Omega with whom Commander Lin had achieved a one-hundred-percent compatibility match…

Their reactions were all the same.

First surprise.

Then understanding.

Then warm curiosity.

After all, Shen Qingxian’s appearance and temperament were simply too exceptional.

His cool, delicate, almost fragile beauty stood out all the more against the rugged backdrop of the Northern Frontier.

There had once been Omegas and even Betas at the outpost who had quietly harbored feelings for Lin Yan.

But after seeing Shen Qingxian…

Those lingering hopes were completely extinguished.

The kind of effortless compatibility between them wasn’t because of Lin Yan’s 3S rank—ordinary people couldn’t sense that anyway.

It was because of something far more obvious.

The undeniable sense that they simply belonged together.

Standing beside a powerful Alpha like Lin Yan, it somehow felt as though only an Omega as refined, beautiful, and quietly resilient as Shen Qingxian could truly match him.

By the end of the morning, although Shen Qingxian still spoke very little, the expression on his face had noticeably softened.

He quietly listened as the women chatted.

Only when someone asked him a question would he answer softly.

He helped pass things around when needed, and occasionally found himself curiously watching the soft little baby in Big Sister Li’s arms.

As lunchtime approached, Big Sister Li patted his shoulder.

“Come on, let’s head to the cafeteria.”

“If you’ve got nothing to do in the future, come find us.”

“Don’t keep bottling everything up by yourself.”

Shen Qingxian nodded.

“Thank you, Big Sister Li.”

When he entered the cafeteria again with Big Sister Li and the others, everything felt completely different from yesterday.

He was no longer trailing silently behind Lin Yan all by himself.

Now…

He had his own little group.

Although plenty of eyes still landed on him, there was less scrutiny and more friendliness.

Lin Yan was already sitting in his usual seat, discussing something with several of his subordinates.

When he noticed Shen Qingxian walking in with Big Sister Li and the others, his gaze lingered on Shen Qingxian’s face for a brief second.

He seemed to notice that Shen Qingxian looked more relaxed than he had that morning.

Without another glance, he lowered his head and continued eating.

After getting his meal, Shen Qingxian naturally followed Big Sister Li and sat at the neighboring table.

As they ate, he could hear fragments of conversation drifting over from Lin Yan’s table—training schedules, patrol routes.

At the same time, Big Sister Li’s table buzzed with everyday conversations about family and home.

He remained quiet.

But it was no longer the tense, out-of-place silence from before.

Taking small bites of his food, he occasionally looked up.

His eyes would unintentionally drift toward the man at the next table—the one sitting perfectly straight and eating with remarkable speed.

As though sensing his gaze, Lin Yan suddenly looked up.

Across the short distance separating them, their eyes met for a fleeting instant.

It was as if Shen Qingxian had been burned.

He immediately lowered his head again, the tips of his ears turning pink.

Looking at him, the corner of Lin Yan’s mouth seemed to twitch almost imperceptibly.

Then he lowered his head once more and finished the rest of his meal in just a few bites.

He stood to leave.

As he passed Shen Qingxian’s table, he paused briefly.

He gave Big Sister Li a nod before letting his gaze fall on Shen Qingxian’s lowered head.

In an even, unhurried voice, he said,

“When you’re done eating, head back on your own.”

With that, he left with his men.

Shen Qingxian raised his head, watching the tall, straight-backed figure disappear through the cafeteria entrance.

An inexplicably strange feeling welled up inside him.

This Alpha…

Had brought him here.

Married him.

Held him while they slept.

Yet also…

Pushed him toward other people.

For some reason, he felt a little disappointed.

One day at a time, he thought.

He’s busy.

He really can’t spend all his time taking care of me.

But despite being powerful, rough, quiet, and seemingly cold…

It also seemed that…

In his own clumsy way…

Lin Yan was trying to help him settle in.

Thinking that, Shen Qingxian lowered his head and looked at the food in his lunchbox.

For the first time…

The coarse potato-and-beef stew didn’t seem quite so difficult to swallow.

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