Enigma's Special Period

Harbor City's wealthiest "beta" and the CR Group's young heir, an "alpha," had been exposed in a romance scandal.

One of the parties appeared in public and refused interviews, while the other had not shown his face since fleeing the wedding.

Ever since Ye Qingpu publicly admitted it before the media, he had offended both the deputy mayor and the CR Group.

Yet he himself seemed not to care, at least until the authorities slapped him with accusations of illegal research. In short, they pinned fabricated charges on him, resulting in his company being sealed.

Ye Qingpu was somewhat troubled. Wasn't this making things difficult for a workaholic?

Hehe, he was pretending.

With this hard-won vacation, he gave his employees subsidies and told them to eat, drink, and not take their troubles to heart. As for Ye Qingpu himself, he could finally focus on caring for Pei Jiaqian at home.

Seeing that Pei Jiaqian spent most of his time asleep, Ye Qingpu felt distressed. He hired a family doctor, who gave Pei Jiaqian nutrient infusions every day.

Looking at the man sleeping uneasily under the covers, Ye Qingpu's heart ached. Supporting himself as he sat by the bed, he reached out and gently stroked Pei Jiaqian's soft hair.

When the young man slept, there was less of his usual brightness between his brows. His features looked softer, but his face was terrifyingly pale.

"Mr. Ye, we'll be injecting Young Master Pei with a Pheromone Healing Agent later. This medication was newly developed and requires a family member's signature. Would that be convenient for you?"

The doctor asked cautiously.

"Pheromone Healing Agent?" Ye Qingpu asked as he accepted the document from the doctor and signed his name.

"Yes. Young Master Pei's gland was damaged, and his body suffered severe injuries. The pain caused his cerebral cortex to activate a self-protection mechanism."

"Young Master Pei's condition is rather unusual. He was injected with medication and forcibly induced into heat, but he did not receive timely comfort from his marked partner's pheromones. Under extreme agony, he chose to lose his pheromones to lessen his suffering and shut himself away. That is also why Young Master Pei has been so lethargic lately."

The doctor explained.

"You mean... he's in heat right now?" Ye Qingpu's eyes darkened.

"That is indeed the case. So, Young Master Pei may become especially dependent on his marked partner recently. His separation anxiety will be more severe, and he may sometimes be very sensitive."

As the doctor spoke, he injected a vial of medication into Pei Jiaqian's gland.

The groggy sleeper seemed to frown from the pain. Ye Qingpu looked displeased and cast the doctor a glance.

"...My apologies, I forgot to mention that injecting this type of medication comes with pain."

The doctor wiped at his sweat awkwardly.

Ye Qingpu said nothing, merely stroking Pei Jiaqian's head in a soothing manner.

After seeing the doctor off, the vast room was so quiet that only the rustle of clothing remained.

With his phone muted, Ye Qingpu leaned against the headboard with his laptop in his arms and began to work.

The person beside him breathed very shallowly. After sleeping for so long, he had not even turned over once.

In Ye Qingpu's memory, Pei Jiaqian had always been a sunny puppy—gentle, considerate, fond of acting spoiled, occasionally whiny, and a little perverted. Seeing him so quiet now felt unfamiliar, but more than anything, it made Ye Qingpu ache for him.

During the time Pei Jiaqian had not contacted him, Ye Qingpu had assumed the brat was secretly living an easy, carefree life... He never imagined he had been suffering so badly that he could only survive by shutting himself away.

Though he was Pei Jiaqian's senior and their relationship remained ambiguous, Ye Qingpu still wanted to curse Pei Jianchang as a piece of shit.

And Jian Wen too. That omega looked rather refined, so why was he so extreme? What electroshock therapy? He had nearly fried the man to a crisp... Even when Ye Qingpu had been harassed and inexplicably slept with, he had never gone that far.

Shit. Two stinking piles of shit.

Ye Qingpu gritted his teeth, then suddenly thought of something. He took a business card from the drawer, scanned it with his phone, and automatically dialed a number.

This was the kind of business card popular among high society to avoid unnecessary harassment. Once the code on it was scanned, it became invalid.

Before long, the call connected, and a rather lazy voice came through.

"Hello, Aiyaret Cavendishl speaking."

"Hello, Mr. Huo," Ye Qingpu said.

The other party paused for a moment before speaking.

"Mr. Ye? Are you calling about cooperation?"

Huo Sili's voice was tinged with... desire, accompanied by an abrupt gasp.

"I wanted to ask about Pei Jiaqian."

Ye Qingpu silently held his phone a little farther away. Apparently, he had called at a bad time.

"Qian? What do you want to know about him?"

"I want to know some details about what he went through a few days ago."

Ye Qingpu remembered that Pei Jiaqian had arrived with Huo Sili, so he guessed Huo Sili might know what had happened.

"I don't know the specifics either. A while ago, he took the initiative to ask me for help."

"...At the time, he did not look well. He had many injuries on him, and after meeting up with me, he fainted. My doctor treated his wounds. After he woke up, he went to find you."

After listening to Huo Sili, Ye Qingpu pondered for a moment before asking again.

"Do you know what happened between him and Jian Wen?"

Jian Wen seemed obsessed with Pei Jiaqian, and he had even said himself that the two of them had lived together abroad.

"Jian Wen? He seems to have had some entanglements with Qian... You'll need to ask Qian himself for the details."

As Huo Sili spoke, he let out a muffled gasp.

Ye Qingpu found the faint other voice coming through the phone strangely familiar. Feeling somewhat awkward, he thanked Huo Sili and promptly ended the call.

Just as he put down his phone, he suddenly discovered that the person beside him had awakened at some point and was quietly watching him through sleepy eyes.

"You're awake?"

Ye Qingpu's tone softened unconsciously.

"Is Brother working?"

Pei Jiaqian reached out, hooked an arm around Ye Qingpu's waist, and sat up to lean against his slender shoulder.

"Mm." Ye Qingpu replied,

"Do you feel better? Does anything hurt? Do you want water? Are you hungry?"

Faced with Ye Qingpu's barrage of questions, Pei Jiaqian tugged at the corners of his pale lips in a smile and answered them one by one.

"I feel better. It doesn't hurt anymore. I'm not thirsty yet. I'll go cook."

As he spoke, he threw off the covers and got out of bed.

"Hey, lie down and don't move..."

Ye Qingpu was troubled. Did this man not know how to take care of himself? His leg was injured like that, yet he was still being stubborn...

"It's okay. I woke up because I thought of cooking for Brother. Brother's leg still can't bear weight, so be good and sit there while I make you something delicious."

Pei Jiaqian pulled on a sleeveless shirt, leaned in, braced a hand against the headboard, and rubbed the tip of his nose against Ye Qingpu's. Then he limped into the kitchen.

Ye Qingpu put down his laptop, picked up his sandalwood cane, propped himself up, and followed him into the kitchen.

Still wearing an apron, Pei Jiaqian had lingering sleepiness on his face and a pair of flushed red eyes. With a helpless look, he stepped forward, wrapped an arm around Ye Qingpu's waist, and lifted him out.

Ye Qingpu was startled. He did not dare struggle too hard for fear of touching Pei Jiaqian's wounds, so he could only brace his hands instinctively against the doorframe.

Pei Jiaqian was tall. With this lift, Ye Qingpu's head had already risen above the doorframe, and almost all his body weight rested on the other man's arms and waist.

"Hey... you're still injured. Stop messing around."

The tips of Ye Qingpu's ears reddened.

"Just let me hold you, okay~ Brother is too thin, so light, like you don't weigh anything at all."

As Pei Jiaqian spoke, he deliberately tightened his hold around Ye Qingpu's backside and gave him a little bounce.

"You brat, you really don't know how to cherish your own body, do you?"

Ye Qingpu looked at him helplessly.

"It doesn't hurt. Brother's the one who needs to be careful. Your leg is injured, so don't walk around. Lower your head a little. I'll carry you out."

Feeling the arms around him tighten, Ye Qingpu's ears turned red. He instinctively bent over and wrapped his arms around the other man's neck.

"Brother, our position right now is very suggestive~"

Pei Jiaqian tilted his head up, and the tip of his nose seemed to brush Ye Qingpu's lips.

"Shut up..."

Ye Qingpu's gaze was somewhat flustered.

"Here~ Brother, sit down."

Pei Jiaqian carried him to the sofa, carefully draped a blanket over him, then turned and headed into the kitchen with satisfaction.

Curled up on the sofa, Ye Qingpu felt warmth surge through his heart.