Chapter 34: Breaking Point

About another ten minutes passed. The atmosphere at the dinner table grew heavy.

Someone lowered their voice and whispered among themselves.

“Didn’t expect their own son to be a bad Omega. Who released that news? Is it accurate?”

“Probably offended someone. Someone’s deliberately messing with him.”

“I’d heard that Lu Shi was close to Shen Zheming. Thought the Chen family would ride their son’s coattails to success. Tsk, looks like that’s off the table now.”

“But leaking someone’s privacy online is illegal. Who would be so bold?”

Chen Qiming listened to the murmurs around him, his face dark as he took a deep breath.

He’d already told Lu Shi in advance that today’s celebration banquet was important. And yet he still managed to screw it up, getting exposed like this.

Whether the news was true or not, it would greatly impact their family. And on top of that, he’d gone to push the cake out ages ago, what was keeping him?

What the hell was Lu Shi doing? Why did he have to cause problems at the most critical moment? The whole evening was ruined by him and his scandal.

In Chen Qiming’s mind, Lu Shi was just a cheap son who’d suddenly started going against him, acting unreasonable, disrespecting his parents and elders, someone who wanted nothing good for himself or others.

He was different from Chen Youxuan. Chen Youxuan wasn’t their biological son, but they had carefully raised him, investing a lot of time and money since his birth.

Where the money goes, so does love. For this son they’d brought back halfway through his life, they had little affection.

Chen Qiming even suspected Lu Shi had leaked the news himself just to sabotage tonight’s banquet, push the Chen family into the spotlight, and deliberately piss him off.

Back in the day, he would have found such a thought absurd. But now, he believed Lu Shi was capable of it.

He’d originally planned to treat Lu Shi better and give him some face because of his good relationship with Shen Zheming. But it seemed that was no longer necessary.

He could tolerate other things, but when it came to the group’s interests, Chen Qiming wouldn’t allow anyone to challenge him at such a critical juncture.

The silence was thick with suppressed anger. Unable to sit still, Chen Qiming stood up to personally retrieve Lu Shi.

Chen Youxuan pulled out his chair. “Dad, I’ll go with you.”

Chen Qiming’s face darkened as he said nothing, which was taken as tacit agreement.

Zhu Wanqing awkwardly addressed the others at the table. “Please, feel free tonight. Don’t worry about formalities. Everyone, eat first.”

But after such a huge incident, who still had an appetite? People craned their necks to look outside, and some even used the bathroom as an excuse to follow.

Chen Youxuan glanced back and saw five or six people coming along to watch the excitement.

Perfect. The more, the better.

It had been over ten minutes since Lu Shi went to get the cake. If nothing went wrong, the induced-rut Alpha, injected with a catalyst and thrown inside, should have woken up by now.

The restroom had excellent soundproofing. Even if Lu Shi called for someone to open the door from inside, no passing waiter would hear him.

A bad Omega falling into the hands of a rutting Alpha wouldn’t just mean a bite. Such a thrilling scene shouldn’t be known only to him and Chen Qiming.

The closer he got to the restroom, the more excited Chen Youxuan became.

After losing face in front of Lu Shi so many times, now it was finally his turn to trample Lu Shi underfoot.

At the door, Chen Qiming pulled twice but couldn’t open it.

Just as he was about to call a waiter, he suddenly smelled the intense Alpha pheromone seeping through the crack.

Chen Qiming froze. “What…”

The others following behind also caught the scent and covered their noses and mouths.

Someone spoke up. “Looks like someone’s in rut. This smell is suffocating.”

Chen Qiming’s hand on the doorknob trembled. He hesitated in mid-air for a moment, then let it drop.

He finally understood why Lu Shi hadn’t returned for so long. As an Alpha himself, he knew all too well what would happen if an Omega went in.

The restaurant manager, seeing a crowd gathered at the restroom door, hurried over with a smile. “How can I assist you?”

Chen Youxuan couldn’t wait for Chen Qiming to order the door opened.

But the next second, Chen Qiming’s lips moved. “No, we’re in the wrong place.”

Chen Youxuan frowned. “Dad, isn’t brother…”

Before he could finish, Chen Qiming snapped, “Get back!”

As long as they didn’t open that door, no one would know who was inside. No one had seen the situation with their own eyes, so no one could spread rumors.

The Chen family had already been a laughingstock in the capital for over two months. They couldn’t afford another bigger scandal.

Chen Youxuan’s calm facade nearly cracked. A flash of shock crossed his eyes.

There was an extremely dangerous rutting Alpha inside, yet Chen Qiming was deceiving himself, preferring not to open the door and leave Lu Shi in there rather than risk gossip.

Alpha ruts lasted several days, and in severe cases, they could lose all reason. If someone resisted, they would resort to violence. And this one had been injected with a catalyst. He might not even realize if he maimed or killed someone.

Chen Youxuan felt a chill of fear.

He’d thought Chen Qiming would either angrily open the door or quickly call for help upon recognizing the danger. At most, Lu Shi would be stuck with that Alpha for half an hour.

He just wanted to humiliate Lu Shi, ruin his reputation, not cause a death.

But who knew Chen Qiming would…

“Open the door.”

A cold, hoarse voice came from behind.

Everyone present widened their eyes and involuntarily made way when they saw who it was.

Shen Zheming still wore a suppression collar around his neck.

Chen Qiming stood blocking the door, staring in shock at the approaching Shen Zheming. “Young Master Shen, why are you…”

“Are you deaf? I said open the door.”

Before anyone could recover from the surprise of Shen Zheming’s sudden appearance, another female voice, dripping with displeasure, followed.

Shen Luo, who had just parked the car, arrived late. She was already unhappy about missing dinner, and now seeing someone blocking Shen Zheming from entering, her mood soured further.

Both siblings from the Shen family were S-class Alphas. Their combined presence suffocated everyone, forcing them to step back a few paces.

The manager, having worked at the restaurant long enough to be sharp, saw that even these influential figures dared not stop the two, confirming their extraordinary status.

He didn’t dare to be negligent and quickly sent someone to find the key.

Chen Qiming felt his mouth go dry. “Young Master Shen, we’ve booked this entire floor for tonight’s celebration banquet. Is there some misunderstanding between you and Miss Shen?”

Shen Zheming, who was usually well-mannered and never erred in public, glanced at him irritably.

“Get lost.”

Chen Qiming, humiliated in front of everyone, had his face turn extremely ugly. But he knew he couldn’t stop them, so he swallowed his words reluctantly.

“Bang…”

The door opened. It was pitch dark inside, and the thick pheromones burst out.

Next to the door lay Lu Shi’s phone, screen off.

Shen Luo frowned at the overwhelming scent of a fellow Alpha’s pheromones. She watched Shen Zheming step over the phone and walk in without changing expression.

When people outside craned their necks to see, Shen Luo released her S-class pheromones like a barrier, keeping everyone several meters away.

She squinted, her tone warning. “You like watching shows so much? Why not go in and watch?”

No sound came from inside.

The cake, originally on the cart, had been knocked over, someone had stepped on it, and cream was smeared everywhere.

By the light of his phone, Shen Zheming found Lu Shi in the corner of the room against the wall.

He looked exhausted, sitting against the wall with one leg propped up and the other stretched out flat. A broken ashtray lay by his hand.

Hearing footsteps approach, Lu Shi barely lifted his eyelids.

Who was it? Chen Youxuan or Chen Qiming?

But when the person crouched in front of him, a familiar, pleasant floral scent enveloped him.

“Shen Zheming?”

“Yeah.”

The vigilance and alertness in his eyes receded like a tide, replaced by dazed confusion.

Lu Shi’s head throbbed, and his neck hurt so much he couldn’t move. He thought he was hallucinating.

Shen Zheming’s gaze swept over him from head to toe. He reached out and wiped off the cream that had somehow gotten on his chin.

Lu Shi’s face was burning hot. His own pheromones were spilling out nonstop, but since he was far from the door, they hadn’t spread outside.

The real touch told him this wasn’t an illusion. The person before him was the real Shen Zheming.

Lu Shi didn’t need a mirror to know he must look a mess. Cold sweat kept pouring from his body, but his breath was hot. Strands of hair were plastered to his forehead, soaked with sweat.

Because he felt hot, he had also pulled his shirt out of his waistband, and his tie hung loosely around his neck.

Sigh. Why did Shen Zheming always catch him at his most embarrassing?

“Where’s the other person?” Shen Zheming asked, his voice deep.

Lu Shi jerked his chin toward the unconscious, dark lump not far away. “Enjoying his eternal rest. Knocked out with a ashtray, didn’t suffer much. He went peacefully.”

Shen Zheming didn’t respond.

Even at a time like this, he could still crack jokes.

He reached out and touched Lu Shi’s eyelashes hidden in the darkness.

Lu Shi, caught off guard, shuddered in his breath. He closed his eyes and shrank back.

Cold. Damp.

Shen Zheming rubbed his fingers together, then moved to lift Lu Shi up.

“I twisted my ankle when I hit him. Didn’t stand steady,” Lu Shi said.

Without hesitation, Shen Zheming reached to scoop him under the knees.

Lu Shi grabbed Shen Zheming’s hand. A bitter smile curved on his lips. His voice was muffled. “Brother Shen, I’ve been humiliated enough today. Can we do this more gracefully?”

But the other didn’t answer. A large coat came down over him, wrapping him in a reassuring pheromone scent.

Lu Shi couldn’t see a thing.

Then, his whole body lifted.

“Don’t worry. Not a word of what happened tonight will get out.”

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