X
Join our Discord server and get release updates for every novel you follow.
Join the ServerTwo-Fifty rolled away lightly.
Shen Zheming set down his cup and walked toward the bathroom.
Inside, the glass door was misted over, filled with the lingering heat of a recent shower.
The clothes Shen Zheming had given Lu Shi were a bit big; the sleeves were too long, and even buttoned to the top, the collar left his neck exposed.
Shen Zheming tore open the package of the blocker patch. “Lu Shi.”
“Mm?”
Lu Shi braced his hands on the cool marble countertop, his voice sounding nasal, as if soaked in steam.
It seemed like the first time Shen Zheming had called him by his full name.
Shen Zheming called out and then fell silent. Just as Lu Shi couldn’t help wanting to ask what he was about to say,
“Don’t casually let an Alpha help you with these things.”
Shen Zheming stood behind him, finding the exposed slender neck dazzlingly white in the air.
Lu Shi, drowsy from the steam, drooped his eyelids. “Okay, I’ll keep that in mind.”
The tone was somewhat perfunctory.
Shen Zheming reasoned that in small towns, biology classes might not be emphasized; teachers probably just skimmed the material, perhaps without proper textbooks. That’s why Lu Shi was so indifferent.
After all, even ordinary Alpha-Omega couples wouldn’t be so blatant as to ask the other to apply a blocker patch for them.
It was no different from flirting, inviting the other to mark them, and then engaging in a vigorous session in bed.
Two inches below Lu Shi’s gland was the needle mark from tonight, the skin slightly red and moist from the shower.
Next to it was a round scar.
The scar was old, a light brown, standing out sharply on his pale skin.
Shen Zheming’s gaze lingered on the scar for a moment, then he covered both the scar and the Omega’s vulnerable gland with the blocker patch.
“Did that family often hit you?” Shen Zheming asked.
Concerning the family that had taken Lu Shi, Shen Zheming didn’t know much, only having heard that the place was a poor county where everyone was very poor.
Lu Shi was momentarily stunned, not understanding why Shen Zheming suddenly brought this up.
Then he looked up at his blurry reflection in the mirror and belatedly remembered the scar burned long ago by Lu Jinguo with a cigarette.
The spot was usually out of his sight; he had almost forgotten it.
Lu Shi had no interest in sharing his suffering with others.
He covered his neck with his hand, seemingly magnanimous but actually evasive. “Anyway, they didn’t let me starve to death.”
Just then, the 250 that had slid away rolled back.
“The room is ready.”
Lu Shi was startled.
This 250 moved without a sound.
Lu Shi took the opportunity to step out of the bathroom.
It was getting too hot in there; if he stayed any longer, his shower would be wasted.
Shen Zheming watched Lu Shi’s back as he headed to the room, silently tossing the torn wrapper into the trash.
The son the Chen family had raised for eighteen years was a fake; the real son had been suffering in a poor county thousands of kilometers away.
When the news first broke, people in the capital talked about it every day.
Shen Zheming had only seen a photo of Lu Shi in the news when Lu Shi was first brought back to the capital.
His face was bruised, his eyes bright with confusion and wariness. Though every inch of him screamed “don’t mess with me,” he stood behind the Chen couple, trying to hide his fierce and annoyed expression.
Shen Zheming had no interest in this real-life version of a makeover where the biological son tries to become a good boy, so he never paid attention afterward.
Not until he attended a banquet at the Chens’ that day did he realize how strange Lu Shi was.
Suddenly, he stopped hiding his emotions, becoming prickly—if a dog barked at him, it would get poked.
At first, Shen Zheming thought he had finally exhausted his month-long act, and there was a novelty in witnessing Lu Shi tear off his disguise and reveal his true face.
Later, he realized Lu Shi had changed, completely different from a month ago.
Lu Shi now seemed simple—saying whatever he wanted, doing whatever he wanted—but actually, he was hazy, like a phantom in a mirror.
What outsiders saw was only what Lu Shi wanted to show; his true thoughts were hidden in an impregnable fortress, unknown to anyone.
Shen Zheming couldn’t read him either, didn’t know what he was up to.
The 250 stood still analyzing for a while. Suddenly, beads of sweat appeared next to the expression on its screen.
Because it clearly sensed a fluctuation in the pheromones in the air—the negative emotions within the pheromones had shot up by a full 5 percent!
Shen Zheming slammed the bathroom door shut.
“Find me some clothes. Don’t stand at the door.”
The first time sleeping at Shen Zheming’s place, Lu Shi couldn’t fall asleep for a while.
The pajamas had a faint scent and were comfortable to wear, but they didn’t seem brand new.
He sniffed carefully, but the scent was too faint to tell if it was just laundry detergent.
Lu Shi lay in bed and opened his phone again, only then noticing that a new group had appeared in his WeChat.
At that moment, Ding Wei and Curly Yu Xi were frantically sending him messages in the group.
Ding Wei: Brother Lu, you and Brother Shen should be home by now, right?
Yu Xi: No fight? It felt tense when we left, and Brother Lu looked really unhappy.
Ding Wei: Probably not. Brother Lu can fight, but judging by build, he shouldn’t be able to beat Brother Shen.
Lu Shi held up his phone, the corner of his eye twitching.
Yu Xi: Brother Shen is that tough?
Ding Wei: Of course. I heard back in high school that he’s always at the gym and has practiced kickboxing and military-style boxing.
Yu Xi: [Shocked Emoji]
Ding Wei: But maybe not necessarily. Brother Lu lacks the size advantage, but he’s scrappy; maybe he can win with technique. And Brother Lu has a bad temper, so with Brother Shen’s upbringing and tolerance, he’d probably let him win.
What the hell, meaning he had no upbringing or tolerance?
Though it was true.
Lu Shi couldn’t stand it anymore and ground his teeth as he sent a voice message.
“We’re getting along just fine.”
As soon as the message was sent, the group was silent for a long time.
Lu Shi thought his phone had run out of credit or data.
“Swoosh—”
Ding Wei: Bro, when did you two… get together? That’s so sudden.
Lu Shi stared at this message, reading it five times before he finally understood that Ding Wei’s brain had misinterpreted his earlier words.
Lu Shi thought for a second.
He decided to go along with the mistake and mess with them.
Lu Shi: We just got together tonight.
Lu Shi: What with the pheromone disorder and an Alpha and Omega alone together, it’s hard not to have something happen.
Lu Shi: Since neither of you could be relied on, I had no choice.
He was hyping it up happily, thoroughly enjoying the gaslighting.
Suddenly, a solid black avatar popped up.
Shen Zheming: Is that so? How come I didn’t know?
Lu Shi’s hand shook, nearly dropping his phone on his face.
He sat up abruptly, his eyes moving to the group member count.
Damn, he had been too focused on Ding Wei and Yu Xi’s concerned messages to notice there were four people in the group, and one of them hadn’t said a word the entire time.
That Ding Wei had actually f*cking invited Shen Zheming into the group!
Ding Wei: ?
Suddenly, the group member count changed from 4 to 3.
If only he could be reborn again.
Lu Shi threw his phone away in despair.
“You have left the group.”
You’ve got to see this next! Crow's Golden Fragment will keep you on the edge of your seat. Start reading today!
Read : Crow's Golden Fragment
If You Notice any translation issues or inconsistency in names, genders, or POV etc? Let us know here in the comments or on our Discord server, and we’ll fix it in current and future chapters. Thanks for helping us to improve! 🙂