Chapter 16: Injury

A group of well-trained Beta guards in black suits parted to either side, revealing a man in a velvet red suit. No matter how meticulously he dressed, he couldn’t hide the greasy, thuggish air about him.

“You’ve got quite the nerve. It took a lot of effort to corner you.” As he spoke, he released his grip and kicked Cheng Si squarely in the chest.

Cheng Si broke into a cold sweat from the pain. He blinked hard, waiting for the dizziness to recede.

Qin Qizhen curled his lip, staring down at him with a dark expression. “Weren’t you acting tough before? Giving you a chance but you wouldn’t take it… having to handle this personally is your honor.” He smirked. “I’m not an unreasonable man. Like I said before: get on your knees and apologize, and I’ll give the owner of Club 24 a face and let this go. Otherwise, you’re not walking out of here in one piece today!”

“You were the one who broke the rules first,” Cheng Si gasped, his lip line pulled tight. Even with his shoulders pinned, there wasn’t a trace of fear on his face—only a bone-chilling cold in his narrow eyes. He spoke syllable by syllable: “Is your only talent the sneak attack?”

Because he was short on cash, Lu Yinzhi had introduced him to a bouncer job at a private club last semester. The money was fast, and the work wasn’t complicated—he just had to follow the manager and settle conflicts involving drunks. They even allowed him to work part-time only on weekends.

Cheng Si had found the work manageable until last week, when he accidentally caught Qin Qizhen drugging an Omega in the club. He hadn’t thought twice about intervening to help the Omega. Qin Qizhen held a grudge and tried to find trouble for him several times, but each time his goons were beaten back by Cheng Si. He hadn’t expected Qin Qizhen to personally lead such a large gang to ambush him this time.

Cheng Si silently counted. There were at least a dozen of them.

“This is your own damn fault. If I can’t handle trash like you, how am I supposed to keep my reputation in the streets?” Seeing that Cheng Si was unmoved, Qin Qizhen gave his men a look. He signaled them not to hold back. As long as they didn’t kill him, anything went.

“Call me when he’s ready to beg for mercy!” Leaving those words, he lit a cigarette and ignored the violence behind him. He returned to his luxury car, pulled out his phone, and dialed an Omega he’d been seeing lately. “Hey baby… I miss you so much… what a coincidence, you miss me too? Miss which part of me? Hmm?”

Amidst the rhythmic sound of fists hitting flesh echoing from the alley, he whispered flirtatious words to the Omega with a lecherous grin. “I’ll pick you up at school tonight… I can’t come now, I have some trouble to clean up… yeah, be good…” “By the way, when are you going to introduce me to your sisters? With a boyfriend as handsome as me, you’ve got to show me off. I’ll treat them to dinner… don’t worry, I’ll make sure they’re all jealous of you…”

After an unknown amount of time and two phone calls, Qin Qizhen realized no one had come to get him. He growled irritably toward the alley: “Have you lot not eaten? So many people can’t handle one high schooler??”

A man ran out of the alley, his face bruised. He bowed and scraped. “Young Master Qin, that kid’s skills are the real deal. And the alley is too narrow—our numbers are actually a disadvantage…”

“f*cking useless!” Qin Qizhen pulled a stun baton from his trunk and tossed it over. “Use this.” “Yes, yes…” The man grabbed the baton and charged back in.

With the aid of the stun baton, the sounds of fighting finally ceased.

Qin Qizhen unbuttoned a shirt button and strolled over to Cheng Si, who was twitching in a semi-conscious state from the electric shocks. The boy’s school uniform and face were covered in blood, blurring his sharp features.

“Prope him up,” Qin Qizhen said, turning on his phone’s video recording. “Make him kneel.”

Several men in black obeyed, hoisting the limp boy up like a pile of wet clay and kicking him hard behind the knees.

“…!” Cheng Si’s features twisted in agony. His chest heaved as he let out a short, sharp gasp. His whole body was numb, but he gritted his teeth, enduring the excruciating pain to force his legs straight again. His blood-soaked gaze was as fierce as a cornered beast.

Qin Qizhen was startled for a moment, then flew into a rage. He slapped the back of Cheng Si’s head, cursing, “Are you sick in the head? Is kneeling down to apologize going to f*cking kill you?”

Cheng Si said nothing, his thin lips pressed into a blade-like line.

“I’m f*cking done!” A look of sheer malice flashed across Qin Qizhen’s face. Dammit. He was a tough nut to crack.

If he couldn’t get his “face” back today, Qin Qizhen could already imagine how his buddies would mock him when he got back.

After a moment, Qin Qizhen narrowed his eyes and changed his question: “Why won’t you apologize?” Cheng Si coughed, choking up a mouthful of blood. He spat it out and said: “Because you’re the one in the wrong.”

The club where he worked wasn’t owned by the Lu family, but Lu Yinzhi had introduced him to it. If he apologized today and admitted he was “wrong” for saving that Omega, it would mean he accepted Qin Qizhen’s behavior. He refused to do that.

Cheng Si’s eyes were usually cold, but paired with his bloodied face, his narrow eyes were terrifying, as if they held the power to intimidate ghosts and gods. Qin Qizhen felt a prickle of fear. His patience snapped completely. “So you want your dignity over your life, huh? I’ll grant you that!”

Just as he prepared to deliver a heavy kick, Cheng Si suddenly exploded with energy. He broke free from the two guards, grabbed Qin Qizhen’s leg, and twisted it outward. As the man screamed from the torn muscle, Cheng Si slammed his head—covered in short, prickly hair—straight into Qin Qizhen’s face.

Crack. Cheng Si followed up with a punch, driving it with all his strength into the bridge of the man’s nose.

“AAAAAARGH—f*ck!” Qin Qizhen’s head spun. He knelt on the ground, clutching his face, his phone clattering to the pavement. One of his teeth had been knocked out, and his nose was crooked. Blood poured from both nostrils. Trembling with rage, he screamed at his stunned subordinates: “What the f*ck are you looking at? Kill him!”

The men in black snapped out of it, pinned Cheng Si down, and resumed the brutal beating.

By the end, Cheng Si felt as though every inch of his flesh no longer belonged to him. He clawed at the ground to keep from losing consciousness, his over-trimmed fingertips becoming a bloody mess. Terrible veins bulged in his neck. Every breath felt like his chest was going to explode.

During the prolonged beating, a foot stepped down, accidentally crushing the suppression bracelet on his wrist.

The scent of Omega pheromones diffused into the alley. The Betas couldn’t smell it, but Qin Qizhen, an Alpha, could. His rage was suddenly replaced by a lecherous interest.

“An Omega?” Qin Qizhen wiped his bloody nose and walked back to Cheng Si. “If you’d said you were an Omega earlier, I wouldn’t have had to be so violent.” He gave a wicked laugh and released his boastful Alpha pheromones, pressing them down onto Cheng Si bit by bit.

“Stop it—!” A voice full of anger and trembling rang out from the alley entrance.

“I’ve already called the police! They’ll be here any minute! If you don’t want to go to jail, stop now and let him go!” The speaker didn’t seem to want trouble; they were using a megaphone and remained unseen.

Qin Qizhen rolled his eyes. He wasn’t afraid of jail, but with people watching and the police involved, it would be a hassle. He retracted his pheromones.

Before leaving, he gave the mangled Cheng Si a middle finger and grinned. “I’ll let you off easy this time. Next time, I’ll bring a group of Alphas to play with you. No need to thank me.”

As he got into his car, Qin Qizhen’s face soured. From the window, he saw Cheng Si slowly crawling up to sit against the wall. There wasn’t a single uninjured spot on his body, and he looked ready to collapse under the scorching sun, yet he maintained a defensive posture. His back was so straight and his mouth so stubborn that his sheer tenacity was terrifying.

The luxury car roared out of the alley. The person who had pretended to call the police finally dared to appear, running frantically toward Cheng Si. “Hang on! I’m taking you to the hospital!”

Cheng Si breathed with difficulty. Through his blurred vision, he recognized the face—it was the owner of the kebab stand, his neighbor from downstairs.

“Tha… thank you…” Once he confirmed it was a trusted acquaintance, Cheng Si finally allowed himself to let go.

Before falling unconscious, a pathetic thought crossed his mind. I just got out of the hospital.

And this time, even if he was in so much pain he couldn’t breathe, Wen Xi wouldn’t come. He wouldn’t be able to hold onto her like a piece of driftwood again.

At daybreak, Pei Huanzhou finally released Wen Xi’s hand after a long night of tossing and turning.

Wen Xi had brought him home from the restaurant. The moment they entered, he had thrown up several times, followed by constant dry heaving. He hadn’t eaten much, so he couldn’t vomit anything else, making the sound of his retching particularly agonizing.

Wen Xi’s arm had been splattered with vomit, but she didn’t mind at all. She used a wet face towel to wipe his face and fingers. Luckily, his clothes weren’t soiled, or she really wouldn’t have known who to ask to help him change.

Afterward, she carried him to bed, set the AC to a comfortable temperature, and tucked him in. Once he fell into a deep sleep, she let out a long sigh and sat on the carpet by his bed, her long legs stretched out, watching him calmly. Her memory involuntarily drifted back to the moment she picked him up.

When she arrived at the restaurant, Pei Huanzhou was sitting by the window, gulping down alcohol. He hadn’t ordered any food; only a single bowl of cream of mushroom soup sat lonely before him.

“Brother-in-law,” Wen Xi walked to his side and saw his tears falling into the soup, which had already formed a skin of cream. She pulled out a tissue and gently wiped his eyes. “Why did you drink like this?”

Pei Huanzhou looked up with teary eyes. His pupils slowly focused. Seeing that similar face, his emotions exploded. He grabbed her waist and sobbed: “A-Su, A-Su! You came to get me. You finally came to get me…”

Wen Xi had experienced this many times. She didn’t push him away. Instead, she imitated her sister, stroking the back of his head and whispering: “Yes, I’m here to take you home.”

Wen Xi had known about Pei Huanzhou since she was very small. At that time, Wen Su was in a fierce conflict with the family. Wen Su refused to take over the family business and wanted to dedicate herself to medicine. To kill that dream, her father cut off her finances and halted her research projects. Every hospital she applied to turned her away, waiting for her to come crawling back.

Wen Su had a cold, unapproachable face, but she was actually a romantic. After that day, she never returned to the Wen family. Pei Huanzhou took her in.

Wen Xi, still young, could only help her sister in her own way. After many hurdles, she took her allowance to support Wen Su. Wen Su wouldn’t take the money, of course, but she was happy and brought Wen Xi to stay at Pei Huanzhou’s apartment for several days.

During those days, Wen Xi saw a different world.

Wen Su and Pei Huanzhou cooked together, played games, tended to plants, soaked in the sun, and went to eat that delicious cream of mushroom soup. They could lie in bed lazily for a whole day, or stay tense for half a month for a project, seeing each other’s most exhausted sides.

Occasionally, Wen Su couldn’t help but kiss Pei Huanzhou. She would cover Wen Xi’s eyes to block her curious gaze. When Wen Xi finally struggled to pull her hand away, she would always see Pei Huanzhou’s lips red from the kiss. To hide his embarrassment, he would smile at her with forced composure: “Little kids shouldn’t peek.”

Wen Xi had never seen people interact like that. It felt so ordinary, yet the smile on Wen Su’s face was so free and warm—a relaxation she never showed at the Wen house.

So she thought: If my sister doesn’t want to do it, I’ll do it. Even if she had to sacrifice her freedom, dreams, marriage, or anything else, it didn’t matter. She was used to surviving in that environment anyway.

Unfortunately, before she could grow enough to stand in front of her sister, Wen Su died in an “accident” orchestrated by Xu Linshen.

Pei Huanzhou had been helping Wen Xi all these years for Wen Su’s sake, barely holding on. He smiled when sober and wept when drunk. Every time she saw his heartbroken eyes, Wen Xi felt a sharp pain in her chest. She occasionally thought of giving up and letting him move on. He was so good; he deserved a new life.

But when she returned to the Wen house and sat by the window, she could find no familiar traces of her memory, and the loneliness became terrifying. She had no one left except for Pei Huanzhou.

…

“A-Su…” Pei Huanzhou slept fitfully, his brow furrowed in a nightmare. “I’m so scared. Don’t leave me, please…”

“Don’t be scared,” Wen Xi softened her voice, leaning in to hold him tightly. “I’m not leaving.”

As long as Pei Huanzhou stayed with her in this blood-soaked thicket of thorns, she was willing to play her sister’s role.

When Wen Xi returned to school, she didn’t see Cheng Si for several days.

She had been worrying about how to handle their relationship. Since Cheng Si had differentiated into an Omega, and the influence of Omega pheromones far exceeded her expectations, she could no longer treat him simply as a “puppy” who helped relieve her restlessness. She actually had the urge to mark him.

To her surprise, Cheng Si skipped class for three days straight, as if he had vanished into thin air. She sent him a Star-Chat message, but he didn’t reply.

By Friday, he still hadn’t shown up. When Wen Xi returned from the top-floor restroom, she happened to hear classmates gossiping about him.

“Hey, did you hear? Cheng Si differentiated!” “Differentiated? So what? Everyone does.” “No, his case is special. Remember his physical? High probability of being an Alpha. Guess what he turned into? An Omega! An O-mega!” “No way. Is the source reliable?” “For real. I just heard Old Jin calling him in the office!” “And Old Jin gave him an ultimatum. He has to come to school by this afternoon to do a pheromone level test.” “Why?” “C’mon, haven’t you seen his attendance and grades? With his trash scores, if he hasn’t differentiated into a high-level Omega, do you think he can stay in this school?” “Honestly, I still can’t believe Cheng Si is an Omega. It’s too funny. What Omega looks as fierce as him?” “And don’t forget how he was sucking up to Wen Xi in fencing class last week. We all know what he was after… but now? Tsk, his dream of marrying into wealth is shattered.”

Wen Xi narrowed her eyes, her expression darkening as she prepared to enter the classroom.

“I thought Zhao Jie was the only dumbass in class who liked to talk shit. I didn’t expect someone to fill his shoes so quickly after he was expelled.” Jiang Shuo stood with a cold face, looking at the red-haired Alpha who was speaking. He sneered: “Is your mouth so full of shit that you have to taste the sewage to see if it’s salty?”

He spoke loudly enough for the whole class to hear. Many people couldn’t help but snicker.

The red-haired Alpha turned red with rage. “I’m just stating facts!”

“Oh? Facts?” Jiang Shuo sneered. “Yeah, everyone knows you’re just mad you couldn’t even get a chance to suck up to Wen Xi, so you’re spreading rumors about a classmate who stood up for what’s right?”

Stood up for what’s right. With that label, Cheng Si’s image was instantly elevated. Especially after everyone had heard about the disgusting things Zhao Jie had done. There was really nothing to criticize about Cheng Si’s actions that day.

The red-head wanted to argue, but his peripheral vision caught Wen Xi at the door. He immediately swapped to a fawning expression. The other students: “Whoa—” This guy really had two faces.

The red-head walked up to Wen Xi shamelessly. “Student Wen, your fencing is so good. Can you teach me this afternoon?”

“No,” Wen Xi said. “I have no patience for stupidity.” Red-head: “…”

“Stupidity? Are you talking about me?” “Who else?” Wen Xi looked at him expressionlessly. “Do you know how Zhao Jie ended up in prison?”

Her eyes were usually soft, but looking at him askance like this, the red-head felt a jolt of terror. “I… I’ve heard a little.” “With Zhao Jie as an example, you still dare to come looking for death,” Wen Xi’s voice was very calm. “If that’s not being a moron, what is? If you want to die, just say so.”

The threat was so thick even a fool could hear it. The red-head broke into a cold sweat and scurried back to his seat.

Jiang Shuo’s eyes were wide. The last time in fencing class, she had a reason to be harsh to Zhao Jie. But this time, the red-head was just talking about Cheng Si. He hadn’t offended her, yet she showed zero mercy.

Everyone knew Wen Xi was voted the most popular Omega on the forums every year. Besides her looks and family, it was because of her persona as a polite, distant “flower on a high peak.” But now— Polite? Distant? It was bordering on terrifying.

Lin Xiayang had a similar reaction. His heart was a mix of ice and fire. He opened his phone and typed frantically into the “Sugar Overdose” group chat. A-personality fanboying: 【Ahhh! Our Wenwen is so cool when she threatens people!】 B-personality weeping: 【Waaaah, sisters, I think we’ve all been tricked by Wenwen.】 【I’m here! What happened!】 【Tricked us how?】 【If she’s tricking my heart and soul, I actually don’t mind (blushing).】

Lin Xiayang didn’t reply. He had a premonition. He looked out of the classroom and saw a tall figure appear in the hallway. Before he could process it, Wen Xi had already stood up and walked toward him.

Wen Xi spotted Cheng Si immediately. She was sure he saw her too, even though he was wearing a winter school uniform in the middle of summer, along with a mask and sunglasses.

However, the moment their eyes met, he looked away and started walking in the opposite direction of the classroom.

“Cheng Si,” Wen Xi caught up quickly. He was walking with a limp. “What’s wrong with your leg?”

Cheng Si’s back stiffened. He stopped. The oversized jacket made his shoulders look exceptionally broad. His fists were clenched at his sides, and he looked incredibly tense. “Nothing.”

Seeing he wouldn’t tell the truth, Wen Xi changed the question. “Did you see the Star-Chat message I sent you?”

It took a while for Cheng Si to find his voice. “…I saw it.” “You saw it but didn’t reply?”

Cheng Si remained silent, still facing away. It looked like defiance, but it wasn’t. He was just afraid to reply. Wen Xi had asked when he would be back to “talk.” What did she want to talk about? He was terrified she was going to say she chose Pei Huanzhou and didn’t need him anymore.

Wen Xi slowly realized. “So, you turning around just now… were you avoiding me?” Cheng Si: “…”

“Fine, I understand.” Wen Xi gave a polite smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Then that’s that.”

Her tone was dangerous. The second he heard it, Cheng Si forgot everything and spun around. “No!” His voice was urgent and muffled, like the humid air before a storm.

Wen Xi finally saw his get-up. His entire face was covered. “If not, then tell me why?”

Cheng Si looked dejected. He hesitated for a long time, not knowing where to start. His wolf-like eyes were hidden behind the sunglasses, staring unblinkingly at Wen Xi. Finally, he parted his lips: “Anyway… I wasn’t avoiding you.” I can’t miss you enough.

At that moment, the homeroom teacher, Jin Ping, walked over. Seeing Cheng Si’s strange outfit, he frowned. “What’s this? I don’t care if you skip class, but I told you to come for the pheromone test. The dean is here—stop with these gimmicks!” With that, he reached out to snatch Cheng Si’s sunglasses and mask.

He was too fast. Before Cheng Si could react, his face was exposed. The next second. His eyes met Wen Xi’s. His brain exploded.

Wen Xi saw a face that was almost unrecognizable. His eyelids were swollen and bruised, the whites of his eyes were bloodshot, and there were tiny cuts all around his mouth. There was a shocking gash on his jaw, barely covered by a bandage. If his face was this bad, the injuries on his body—his limping leg—must be worse.

Jin Ping’s face changed drastically. He swallowed his scolding. “You… how did you get like this?”

Cheng Si could no longer hear the voices around him. The color drained from his face instantly. He felt like he had been stripped naked and exposed to the sun. His pride was crushed into dust. He didn’t want Wen Xi to look at him with pity.

“Who beat you?” Wen Xi’s expression was unreadable, her dark eyes exceptionally cold.

Cheng Si froze. For once, he was sharp. He realized he didn’t see any pity in her eyes.

“Answer me,” Wen Xi said, her voice hard and full of killing intent. “Who beat you?”

He had never seen Wen Xi this angry before.

…

【Anyway, get ready.】 Lin Xiayang, peeking from the window, typed into the group chat with tears in his eyes. 【The princess is descending to the mortal world.】

It wasn’t a guess; it was a certainty. So— Is it too late to switch from being a “wife-fan” to a “shipper”?

You couldn’t blame him for changing so fast. The height difference between the two was just too cute. He held up his hand to measure. She’s just high enough to eat while standing!