What Were You E Again?

Ye Qingpu had originally planned to call a doctor for help, but he was too embarrassed to ask a stranger to catch a bird for him.

His weakness, the lingering muscle pain from his fall, and the wound from the drainage tube all stabbed at his nerves.

After trying, he found that even lifting an arm was difficult. So, facing the young man who had forcibly transformed him, Ye Qingpu suppressed his anger and made his request with a red face.

"Close your eyes."

In the bathroom, Pei Jiaqian used one hand to brace himself on a crutch and keep his balance, while the other arm wrapped around Ye Qingpu's waist to steady him.

Obediently, he closed—one eye.

Ye Qingpu had slept for four days and received nutrient infusions. The flow was heavy, and the trickling sound of water echoed through the spacious, silent restroom.

The occasional honk of a car drifted up from downstairs. Other than that, there were only heartbeats—one rapid, one slow, then suddenly both rapid.

Pei Jiaqian's racing heart was instinctive, while Ye Qingpu's was from embarrassment.

"Fuck... say something."

Ye Qingpu's voice was soft and mortified.

Unable to bear the awkward atmosphere, the flush spread from his neck to the tips of his ears. He was already fair-skinned and rarely went outside, leaving his skin delicate and creamy. Now, even the slightest blush stood out vividly.

"...The weather's nice today."

Pei Jiaqian swallowed, his own face turning red.

"Forget it. Just shut up."

Ye Qingpu gritted his teeth. The worst part was that he had no control over the pace.

In embarrassment, his toes curled tightly against the tops of his shoes.

Only after the sound of water had faded did Pei Jiaqian feel the person in his arms shudder. Then he turned his head and half-supported Ye Qingpu over to wash his hands.

The VIP ward had an automatic faucet. After washing his hands and drying them on the towel beside it, Ye Qingpu was supported back to the room, half-held and half-carried.

Pei Jiaqian opened the lunch box and placed it on the overbed table in front of Ye Qingpu.

Smelling the food, Ye Qingpu unconsciously swallowed.

"Where'd this come from? Did you buy it?" Ye Qingpu craned his neck to look, only to feel a wave of disappointment.

"What is it? Is there something you can't eat?" Pei Jiaqian looked at him in confusion.

"No..." Ye Qingpu looked troubled.

"I can't eat just anything."

If he ate even slightly unsuitable food, it would trigger gastroenteritis. Every time, the pain was bad enough to leave him lying in bed and sucking in cold breaths.

"Don't worry. It was made at my house. Since I was worried you'd be hungry when you woke up, I asked my assistant for your dietary plan. Every meal was made according to what you can eat."

As Pei Jiaqian spoke, he handed him the chopsticks.

Ye Qingpu's eyes lit up, and he stopped being polite.

He was truly starving. The anger he should have felt four days ago had vanished without a trace, while his stomach's craving for food had reached its peak.

Watching him eat with such appetite, Pei Jiaqian was happy from the bottom of his heart. When he had first seen Ye Qingpu after returning to the country, aside from his breathtaking beauty, what had struck him most was his thin frame.

He was a full 1.8 meters tall, yet Pei Jiaqian could lift him with one hand.

Feeling a little distressed, Pei Jiaqian poured him a glass of water and placed it by his hand.

Looking at the other man's puffed cheeks, Pei Jiaqian's throat tightened unconsciously. He looked up with a smile.

"Big brother, I want that braised pork."

With his mouth stuffed full, Ye Qingpu instinctively picked up the piece of meat Pei Jiaqian had pointed at and reflexively fed it into his mouth.

Seeing the triumphant smile on his face, Ye Qingpu's expression darkened. He stopped chewing, covered his mouth with one hand, and said unclearly:

"You sick or something?"

Then, as if realizing something, he swallowed the food in his mouth and turned to ask:

"What are you eating? Is this your meal?"

"It's fine, big brother. Eat. I'm full."

Pei Jiaqian smiled, somewhat touched. Seeing Ye Qingpu eat so happily was enough to satisfy him. His heart was full; how could he care whether his stomach was hungry?

Ye Qingpu paused, then took a spoon from the small cake box beside him. He pulled over a tissue, wiped the chopsticks clean, and handed them to Pei Jiaqian.

"Here. Use the chopsticks, so people won't think I'm stealing a kid's food."

Pei Jiaqian wiped away a nonexistent tear, moved. There was no helping it—he was terminally lovesick. Whether Ye Qingpu was a beta or an omega, he thought Ye Qingpu was absurdly, unbelievably adorable.

Sure enough, when you loved someone, your eyes came with their own filter.

Rather than put food into his own mouth, Pei Jiaqian silently used his chopsticks to push the meat mixed with rice grains into Ye Qingpu's spoon.

"Eat your own food."

Ye Qingpu looked at him, his expression a little unnatural.

"I'm really not hungry."

Although Pei Jiaqian did not eat much at a time, he ate frequently. Ordinary people ate three meals a day, while he ate five or six. That was why he had shot up to 1.93 meters while maintaining such an excellent physique—though so far, only Ye Qingpu had truly experienced it.

"By the way..." Ye Qingpu swallowed a mouthful of rice, then abruptly choked on the rest of his sentence.

Pei Jiaqian quickly brought the water to his lips and patted his back.

Ye Qingpu covered his mouth and coughed twice. Once he had recovered, he said with a serious expression:

"After we eat, let's talk."

Meeting Ye Qingpu's deep, pool-like eyes, Pei Jiaqian guiltily looked away and lowered his head to eat.

The calm always came before the storm.

It was like heaven and earth falling still, oppressive heaviness wrapping around all life before casting down seeds of unrest, which spread with the first muffled rumble of thunder from the sky.

Ye Qingpu had set down his spoon long ago and leaned back against the bed, quietly watching the man use his chopsticks to leisurely pick up rice grains one by one and put them into his mouth.

"I..."

"I'm not full yet."

The moment Ye Qingpu opened his mouth, Pei Jiaqian interrupted him.

"You..."

"This rice tastes very much like authentic rice."

Pei Jiaqian interrupted him again.

Seeing the pleading look in his eyes, Ye Qingpu let out a heavy sigh and said in a low voice:

"Do you plan to keep avoiding this topic?"

Pei Jiaqian said nothing, merely keeping his head lowered.

"I think I've roughly figured out what happened. Because of your pheromones, I was forcibly transformed into an omega—the third differentiation the doctor mentioned. During that field inspection, I was probably in heat. In the cave, you completely marked me. I still don't really understand pheromones or what kind of link exists between alphas and omegas, but I won't use this to threaten or humiliate you again. I looked online, and it says a mark can be removed. I hit you before, so we're even. It would be better for us to meet less often from now on. But I hope you won't tell anyone about this."

To prevent Pei Jiaqian from interrupting, Ye Qingpu said everything in one breath.

Yet Pei Jiaqian was unexpectedly composed. He set down his chopsticks and spoke with equal seriousness.

"I never meant to transform you into an omega. Although completely marking you was part of my plan, I regret forcing you. But I'll take responsibility for you. So, big brother, don't try to remove the mark, okay? For an omega, forcibly removing a complete mark is extremely painful, and it will have a huge impact on your body. The aftereffects are unpredictable. Besides, you can't remove my mark..."

Pei Jiaqian's voice grew quieter and quieter, and his guilty gaze moved away from Ye Qingpu's face.

Ye Qingpu had a feeling that he was hiding something.

He narrowed his eyes and studied Pei Jiaqian.

"Why can't it be removed? There have been many cases of omegas removing alpha marks before."

Seeing his serious expression, Pei Jiaqian decided to go all in. His gaze turned as firm as if he were joining a political party.

"But I'm not an alpha."

Ye Qingpu was puzzled. If he was neither an omega nor an alpha... could he be a beta?

But that guess was quickly dismissed.

"I'm an Enigma."

"...An enigma?" Ye Qingpu frowned, somewhat unsure whether he had heard correctly.

"Enigma. The fourth gender. According to domestic statistics, one S-rank alpha appears among every ten people on average, while only one enigma appears among every hundred S-rank alphas."

"An enigma can mark any gender, including alphas. A small number of enigmas can forcibly transform others. I only recently found out that I have that ability. I completed my differentiation abroad, and my records were left overseas. On top of that, I deliberately hid my identity information. That's why you couldn't find anything when you investigated me."

Ye Qingpu listened blankly as Pei Jiaqian finished speaking, trying his best to understand his words.

"Big brother, with current technology, it's impossible to remove an enigma's mark."

Pei Jiaqian looked at him ingratiatingly.

Ye Qingpu's face turned pale, and no one knew what he was thinking.

"Besides, big brother, enigmas are deeply devoted and faithful. Do you know the Crowned Crane? Unlike other birds that mate with multiple partners, Crowned Cranes practice lifelong monogamy. Enigmas are the same. When I marked you, I wasn't only declaring that you're mine. I was also declaring to every other alpha, including enigmas, that I'm yours. Big brother, so don't hate me, okay?"

Pei Jiaqian carefully took Ye Qingpu's icy hand, his eyes humble and pleading.

Ye Qingpu took a deep breath and silently pulled his hand back.

"You should leave first. I want to be alone for a while."

Pei Jiaqian lowered his eyes. With a hurt expression, he forced out a reluctant smile, stood up, and picked up his crutch to steady himself.

"Big brother, get some rest first. We can talk later."

"...Wait."

Ye Qingpu suddenly grabbed the corner of his clothes.

Pei Jiaqian looked at him in surprise. Ye Qingpu seemed to realize that he had acted inappropriately and quickly let go. Then he said somewhat awkwardly:

"Give me a cigarette."

He knew Pei Jiaqian had cigarettes in his pocket. He had smelled the faint scent of tobacco on him.

Pei Jiaqian froze, then pulled a fruit candy from his pocket as if performing a magic trick and stuffed it into Ye Qingpu's hand.

"You're not well, and you're still recovering. Don't smoke."

With that, he limped out of the ward in dejection.

Holding the candy, Ye Qingpu felt a complicated swirl of emotions.

In thirty years of life, this was the first time his heart had been in such chaos.