The Pain of Losing Pheromones Reached Every Limb and Bone

Ye Qingpu felt that in this life, he neither stole nor robbed, and he was quite clean.

How clean was he?

Clean enough to sweep the floor with his dignity...

When Jiang Jifu entered the room again, the two of them were cursed at and chased off to change clothes at lightning speed.

The embarrassment made the tip of Ye Qingpu's nose turn red, while Pei Jiaqian seemed to be enjoying himself.

"You two really gave me quite the surprise."

Jiang Jifu grumbled inwardly as he took out the late-night snacks he had brought, casting sidelong glances at the two seated opposite him.

Ye Qingpu awkwardly looked away. It would have been bad enough for anyone to see them, but it had to be his own nephew...

"Why did you suddenly come back again?"

Pei Jiaqian leaned back slightly with both hands braced on the floor as he looked at Jiang Jifu and asked.

"The comeback period ended. The artists got a break, and I thought it was pretty sad that my uncle was all alone, so I rushed back overnight."

Jiang Jifu took out two pairs of chopsticks.

"I didn't know Assistant Director Pei was here too. If you want to eat, get your own chopsticks."

"I already ate."

Pei Jiaqian casually shook his head.

Looking at Jiang Jifu's white hair, Ye Qingpu seized the chance to find a topic.

"Why did you dye your hair again?"

"It was for the comeback styling. A lot of fans wanted to see it, so I bleached it again."

As Jiang Jifu answered, he took several beers and several bottles of juice from the bag. He paused, then handed a bottle of juice to each member of the battered little couple.

"It looks pretty good."

Ye Qingpu said this as he popped open the can with one hand and passed the opened juice to Pei Jiaqian.

"Thank you, Gege."

Pei Jiaqian accepted it.

"Of course. I'm an all-round ace. Looks are the thing your nephew here is least willing to show off, okay?"

Jiang Jifu raised his brows and lowered his head to slurp his noodles.

Ye Qingpu smiled.

"How long are you staying this time?"

"Until the schedule announcements come out. The company executives are engaged in some vicious corporate warfare, so us workers can take the opportunity to let loose."

Ye Qingpu said nothing more. Usually, corporate warfare was sharp and calculated, but vicious corporate warfare was nothing more than you cutting my power while I pulled your internet cable.

"Oh, right. I brought gifts."

As Jiang Jifu spoke, he pulled out two boxes from his bag and handed one each to Ye Qingpu and Pei Jiaqian.

"Albums?"

Pei Jiaqian looked them over and asked.

"Mhm. They have handwritten signatures from every member of our group. You're benefiting from my little uncle, so just be secretly delighted."

"Okay. I'll treasure it."

Pei Jiaqian smiled. When he caught sight of Ye Qingpu getting up from the corner of his eye, he instinctively raised a hand to support him.

"Hey, hey, just sit there."

Jiang Jifu waved him off, took the album from Ye Qingpu's hand, and got up to place it on the display shelf beside the liquor cabinet.

Aside from the certificates of honor Ye Qingpu had received through his own company, the top and middle sections of the display shelf in his home held every album Jiang Jifu had released since his debut.

Jiang Jifu always teased that Ye Qingpu was the president of his fan club, and Ye Qingpu never denied it.

After returning to sit by the sofa, Jiang Jifu chugged a bottle of beer. Looking at the food spread across the coffee table, he sighed mournfully.

"I only bought staples and forgot to buy snacks to go with the drinks... You two can't drink right now, and I'm too lazy to order delivery for just one person..."

"There are some braised dishes in the fridge. Want me to get them for you?"

Pei Jiaqian asked.

"This is my little uncle's house. Why are you so familiar with it?" Jiang Jifu's gaze turned probing.

Pei Jiaqian took Ye Qingpu's hand and gave it a little shake, his face full of smug delight.

"Take a guess~"

Ye Qingpu froze for a moment, then discreetly glanced at Pei Jiaqian. Is he still embarrassed? Why is his palm so hot?

"Wri..." Jiang Jifu's face darkened.

"You little bastard, things have progressed this fast... No, Little Uncle! You just let him have you like that?!"

"Like what? I'm gentle and considerate. I'm Gege's little dog all by myself~ Why can't I be a good partner?"

"You scheming man. Are you some melon seller praising your own melons?"

"Nope, I'm Gege's puppy~"

As Pei Jiaqian spoke, he rubbed against Ye Qingpu's hand.

"Tch—" Jiang Jifu's face was full of contempt. Then he spoke provocatively.

"When my little uncle and I were naked in the same bathtub, you were probably wasting your time at some cram school."

"...That's a little too much." Pei Jiaqian's gaze darkened as he looked pitifully at Ye Qingpu.

"Enough. Are you two elementary school students?"

Ye Qingpu smiled helplessly and patted Pei Jiaqian's head with mild annoyance.

They had clearly already slept together. Why was someone wearing shoes envying someone barefoot?

"Assistant Director Pei, bring me the snacks from the fridge, and I'll send you the collector's edition photos of my uncle from my phone."

Jiang Jifu smiled teasingly. He refused to believe this would not tempt Pei Jiaqian.

Pei Jiaqian pressed his lips together, braced himself against the coffee table, and sprang to his feet.

Ye Qingpu was still trying to figure out what collector's edition photos of himself Jiang Jifu meant when he caught sight of the standing figure swaying unsteadily from the corner of his eye.

He instinctively reached out to catch him, but failed to even touch the hem of his clothes.

Almost on reflex, Ye Qingpu slid underneath him. He let out a muffled grunt from the impact, but at the critical moment, he raised one hand to cushion Pei Jiaqian's forehead.

He silently breathed a sigh of relief. At least his face had not hit anything.

"Fuck!"

Seeing the person suddenly lose consciousness, Jiang Jifu threw down his chopsticks and sprang up.

"Is he okay?"

"Take my phone and call the doctor."

Ye Qingpu spoke as he adjusted his position slightly and sat up, gathering the unconscious person into his arms.

Jiang Jifu did not dare delay. He took Ye Qingpu's phone, unlocked it, and called the family doctor.

After the two of them worked together to get Pei Jiaqian onto the bed, Jiang Jifu noticed the worry on Ye Qingpu's face.

"No... what's wrong with him? I wanted to ask earlier, he..."

As Jiang Jifu spoke, he gestured toward his own neck.

The suture marks on Pei Jiaqian's neck looked shocking. He had no idea how, during the time he had been abroad, both of them had ended up covered in injuries.

Ye Qingpu sighed and told Jiang Jifu everything that had happened over the past few days.

After hearing it all, Jiang Jifu was more speechless than someone given chopsticks to drink soup.

"No... this may be presumptuous, but are you sure that was his biological father? What kind of father turns his own son into this?"

"I have my doubts too..."

Ye Qingpu sat by the window, lightly holding Pei Jiaqian's somewhat bony hand.

Over the past few days, he had lost far too much weight. The veins on his arms were much more pronounced now.

"Don't worry too much, Little Uncle. Take care of yourself too, or that guy will definitely worry about you."

Jiang Jifu patted his shoulder comfortingly.

Uncle and nephew exchanged a few scattered remarks until the doctor arrived in a frantic rush.

After conducting a basic examination, the doctor injected him with a dose of medicine before speaking.

"President Pei's overall body temperature is somewhat too high. At present, we can't determine whether it was caused by excessive Pheromone Healing Agent injections or another reason. I'll take a blood sample back for testing and call you once the results are out."

"Also, Mr. Ye, you need to pay attention to this. Pheromone Healing Agents have a certain stimulating effect. While excessive injections can reduce pain and physical discomfort in the short term, they only numb the pain nerves in the end. Long-term overuse is extremely harmful to the body."

As the doctor spoke, he placed another syringe of medicine and several pills on the table.

"Once Little Pei wakes up, administer this medicine intravenously, together with the painkillers."

"Okay, thank you."

Ye Qingpu said.

"Then I'll head back first. I'll call you as soon as the results come out," the doctor said.

"I'll see you out."

Ye Qingpu spoke, signaling for Jiang Jifu to stay home as he entered the elevator with the doctor.

"Mr. Ye, if you have something to say, you may as well say it."

Anyone could see that Ye Qingpu was hesitating.

"Does he have some kind of post-traumatic symptoms? When he's awake, he seems no different from usual, but he keeps twitching unconsciously. Sometimes he zones out for an hour or two and can't react to anything outside. When he sees knives or certain things, he has stress reactions and becomes somewhat irritable."

Ye Qingpu frowned, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the lighter in his pocket.

"..." The doctor was silent for a moment before speaking.

"Although Enigmas can mark many people at once, they are very loyal to partners they have permanently marked. They are willing to use pheromones to soothe their partners. Some Enigmas believe their pheromones are the bridge to a long future with their partners. Losing his pheromones must have dealt President Pei quite a blow."

"When he is awake, he is most likely in a state of extreme mental tension, so he is unwilling to reveal any negative emotions. Coupled with the intermittent pain from his physical injuries, he suppresses everything. That is precisely why, once he relaxes, his emotions or behavior can become somewhat uncontrollable."

"Also... Mr. Ye, you should know that whether it is for Enigmas, alphas, or any other gender, the physical pain after losing pheromones is neurological..."

The human body had thirty-one pairs of spinal nerves and twelve pairs of cranial nerves. An adult Enigma had roughly fourteen to sixteen billion nerve cells. In other words, the physical pain caused by losing pheromones seeped into every limb and bone.

"Mr. Ye, aside from receiving medical treatment, President Pei may... also need psychological counseling."