Brother, Don't Be Afraid, It's Puppy

As his consciousness gradually sank into darkness, Ye Qingpu's heart filled with sorrow, panic, fear, and the intense unease of losing control of his body.

He stared blankly at the glaring white light overhead, using what little awareness he had left to stay intensely focused, refusing to fall asleep no matter what.

"Sir... Mr. Ye isn't being very cooperative. The anesthetic isn't having much effect. Should we inject Mr. Ye with Pheromone Suppressant?"

Someone in surgical scrubs turned back and asked.

Pei Louxuan fell silent for a moment, then nodded.

With a Pheromone Suppressant, the activity of pheromones in the recipient's blood would decrease. It was generally used during the heat of high-grade alphas to prevent their pheromones from going berserk and harming vulnerable omegas. Omegas would become exceptionally weak after receiving the injection, but it could also suppress the active cells in their bodies, producing an anesthetic effect.

Pei Louxuan more or less knew why Ye Qingpu was unaffected by anesthetics. It was likely because when he had been kidnapped at eighteen, he had suffered three stab wounds, four irregularly fractured ribs, a concussion, a broken collarbone, and torn ligaments... Though he had survived after being rescued, he had relied on medication containing painkillers to stay alive for a long time.

This had been beyond Pei Louxuan's expectations, but in order to keep Ye Qingpu by his side, Pei Louxuan felt that making him suffer a little was only right.

With his hands and feet restrained, Ye Qingpu had become unnaturally quiet under the effects of the medication.

This situation, where he could be slaughtered at another's whim, once again dragged him into the nightmare of that rainy night when he was eighteen. His thoughts were pulled back into the past. His unfocused eyes were half-lidded, and the light stung them until tears slid down, soaking the loose strands of hair by his temples.

Just like that rainy night.

Helpless.

Panicked.

In a daze, he remembered why his second differentiation had turned him into a beta.

Lying at the bottom of that pitch-black cliff, pain penetrating his bones and limbs, icy raindrops relentlessly striking his eyes that could not close because of the blood clots... He had been tortured beyond recognition by those criminals, and then personally witnessed the little boy he had saved by jumping off the cliff being buried alive...

The surroundings had been quiet, filled only with the sound of raindrops crashing down... He had been afraid, so afraid that he wanted to die.

The excruciating pain and days of torture had broken his mind. The little boy being buried alive became the final straw that crushed him. His body had neared death, and his brain, receiving the signal, had tried to save him one last time by reducing his bodily functions and pheromone activity to their lowest levels.

What seemed like a hasty differentiation had actually been his brain's desperate attempt at salvation.

The familiar unease enveloped him again. Sorrowfully, the first person Ye Qingpu thought of at a time like this was Pei Jiaqian.

He wanted to see his Puppy. He wanted to stay by Puppy's side.

He was afraid. Unconsciously, Pei Jiaqian's name lingered on his lips.

Pei Louxuan's expression darkened. Without waiting for the medicine to take effect, he waved his hand, signaling for the doctors to begin immediately.

When his legs came into contact with the air, Ye Qingpu's powerless body curled up slightly.

Helplessly, he closed his eyes.

The instant a specialized instrument touched his body, the operating room doors were suddenly slammed open. A burly bodyguard tumbled inside, his face twisted in pain, his nasal bone crooked and blood streaming from it.

Pei Louxuan raised an eyebrow, still seated calmly in his chair, utterly composed in the face of danger.

Pei Jiaqian wore only a thin black shirt. With bloodstained hands, he dragged the unconscious bodyguard at the door by the collar and staggered toward Pei Louxuan, tossing the blood-covered man at Pei Louxuan's feet like garbage.

Before anyone could react, he turned, grabbed a scalpel, seized a doctor's hand, and drove it down.

The people surrounding the operating table scattered in terror, staring fearfully at the disheveled, vicious-eyed man before them.

The doctor whose hand he had grabbed was too terrified to even breathe, trembling as he collapsed onto the floor.

"I know doctors' hands are important... If you don't want to die, please get out of the way."

Pei Jiaqian swept a cold glance over them, unfastened the straps binding Ye Qingpu's hands and feet, then lowered his head and bent over as though all his strength had drained away. He cupped Ye Qingpu's pale face in both hands and brushed the tip of his nose against Ye Qingpu's.

"Brother... Breathe..."

Pei Jiaqian looked at Ye Qingpu's unfocused, terrified eyes with heartbreak and gently reminded him, his breathing uneven from panic:

"Brother, don't be afraid... Don't be afraid..."

Feeling his body fall into a warm embrace, Ye Qingpu's lashes trembled. A choked sound came from his throat, like the whimper of a trapped little beast. In a hoarse, trembling voice, he looked viciously at Pei Louxuan.

"Kill him!"

Pei Jiaqian threaded his arms beneath Ye Qingpu's arms and wrapped him completely in his embrace. Enduring the pain coursing through every bone in his body, he wanted to release his pheromones to comfort his frightened rabbit.

"Mm..."

Ye Qingpu buried his face deep in Pei Jiaqian's neck, his body shaking violently.

"Brother, don't be afraid. It's Puppy. I'll take you home, okay?"

Pei Jiaqian patted his thin back again and again. Feeling the person in his arms calm down somewhat, he reached beneath Ye Qingpu's knees and lifted him into his arms.

"You arrived rather quickly. It seems the people I sent were useless."

Pei Louxuan adjusted his glasses and smiled helplessly.

"Second Uncle, you know I'll really kill you, don't you?"

Pei Jiaqian's eyes curved as he smiled, the chill in it piercing to the bone.

"You little bastard, is that any way to speak to your elder?"

"What kind of elder fucking kidnaps his own nephew's omega?" Pei Jiaqian's gaze abruptly darkened, and his tone turned far colder. "You're still alive only because you changed my diapers when I was little. You dog, think carefully about how you're going to kneel and wait for me to settle this score with you."

"Your omega? Heh, wasn't it you who forcibly transformed him? Pei Jiaqian, when all is said and done, how are you any different from me? Aren't we both willing to do anything to achieve our goals? If Ye Qingpu learns the truth, will he still willingly stay by your side? Shall I wait and see, my dear nephew?"

Pei Louxuan smiled soundlessly, his eyes full of contempt.

Looking down at the person who had fallen asleep in his arms, Pei Jiaqian's heart trembled. He gave Pei Louxuan a cursory glance and was about to leave with Ye Qingpu when several bodyguards at the door blocked his way.

In an instant, the small operating room was filled with the intense scent of alpha pheromones, varied and aggressively invasive.

"Did you think I'd let you take Ye Qingpu away just like that? I've known him for nearly ten years. I want to fight for myself too."

Pei Louxuan rose to his feet and approached at an unhurried pace. The pheromones of a 3S-grade alpha made the omega doctor cowering in the corner faint on the spot.

The two faced each other, and the tension instantly became razor-sharp.

"Old pervert, I think you've really gone senile. Please wake up, okay? Do you really want your own nephew to beat you up?" Pei Jiaqian gritted his teeth and smiled.

"Perfect. I've also been wanting to teach you how to respect your elders."

"I have no use for an elder who acts without dignity. Tell your people to get out of the way, or you'll regret it."

"You can certainly give it a try. I'll show you what a lesson is."

As Pei Louxuan finished speaking, an aged voice suddenly rang out. Both men confronting each other at the doorway froze.

"Who are you going to teach a lesson?"

The bodyguards surrounding the entrance wisely made way. A thin, elderly man in a suit, his back still straight, walked slowly to the doorway. He supported himself with a cane in one hand, his expression somewhat displeased.

Pei Louxuan clenched his teeth and shot Pei Jiaqian a sidelong glance before speaking helplessly.

"Dad, why are you here?"

"Don't call me Dad. I don't have such a useless son."

The old man shot him a similarly disdainful look. When his gaze fell on Pei Jiaqian, however, it softened considerably, and so did his voice.

"Jiaqian, did you come looking for your Second Great-Grandfather because your second uncle bullied you?"

"Second Great-Grandfather, your second son kidnapped your future only grandson-in-law. He even said he wanted to teach me a lesson. Second Great-Grandfather, I'm so scared..."

Pei Jiaqian spoke very softly, tightening his hold around Ye Qingpu as though frightened.

"Pei Louxuan... Is this how I taught you to treat your only nephew? Kidnapping him? You've become quite capable. You'd better have thought of a reasonable explanation to give me."

"..."

When Pei Louxuan met Pei Jiaqian's covertly provocative gaze, he secretly gritted his teeth—despite all his precautions, he had never expected the youngest of the Pei Household to seek help from the person with the greatest authority in the Pei Household... His nephew truly was despicable.