Yumian's Abnormality

Shi Sheng could not help imagining certain scenes.

On such an ordinary evening, the Alpha who should have been overwhelmingly busy at the military headquarters had actually stopped in his haste to pick out a small bouquet of roses for the Omega at home.

Even if this was only a family marriage alliance entered under a false identity, Shi Sheng still felt happy in that moment.

He carefully sat up and held the roses to his nose, gently inhaling their scent.

"Th-thank you. I like them very much." For the first time, he felt that the mechanical voice could not convey his feelings.

Elaine looked at Shi Sheng's profile. "Merico told me that you don't seem to want to see that cousin of yours, so I took it upon myself to ask him not to come again."

Seeing Shi Sheng raise his head to look at him, Elaine paused before continuing, "If you think that was inappropriate, I can..."

Before he could finish, his hand was covered by a pair of warm palms.

He had noticed before that, unable to express himself promptly with his voice, Shi Sheng seemed accustomed to holding other people's hands.

Lowering his gaze, he saw Shi Sheng seriously shake his head before reaching for his voice device again.

"Not inappropriate."

After thinking for a moment, he sent a little cat making a heart gesture.

"Merico said you said my opinion matters."

"Thank you."

Elaine did not notice that the corners of his lips had already curved upward.

Looking at Shi Sheng's sparkling eyes, he seemed to remember something. He grabbed the coat at the side, took something out, and held it before Shi Sheng.

Shi Sheng looked down and widened his eyes in surprise.

In Elaine's hand lay the anti-bite collar he had given Shi Sheng, except it had broken into several pieces.

"It's been cleaned," Elaine said softly. "I didn't know whether you would still want it, but I thought you might look for it when you woke up, so I had someone retrieve it from the palace."

This time, Shi Sheng was genuinely taken aback.

How did Elaine know he had been thinking about this collar?

He carefully accepted it and earnestly said through the voice device, "I want it, because it was a gift from Elaine."

Elaine looked at him for a while, his tone gentle. "It can't be worn anymore. We can go choose a new one another day."

Shi Sheng's eyes lit up. "Will Elaine go with me?"

"Mm," Elaine said. "But only after your injuries have healed."

Shi Sheng hurriedly nodded hard.

Elaine fell silent again, then changed the subject. "Is your relationship with your family all right?"

Shi Sheng froze, thinking Elaine was worried that he missed home.

Though he worried about his mother, he did not actually miss home that much.

Still, Shi Sheng nodded.

It was not exactly a lie. His brother truly had a good relationship with the family.

After hearing his answer, Elaine was silent for a moment before quickly saying, "Recovering from injuries may get boring. You can give Merico a list and have him invite your friends to keep you company."

The Alpha paused, his voice growing a little cooler. "Of course, if they are willing to come to Carlos."

Shi Sheng hurriedly picked up his voice device. "No need to trouble yourself. I can play with Yumi."

He did not want to tell Elaine that he had spent too many years in the backyard of the Shi family and had never had the chance to make friends.

Elaine gently patted Shi Sheng's head. "All right."

After that, both of them fell silent.

Elaine had never been a talkative person. At the military headquarters, no one ever heard him speak long sentences.

Before Shi Sheng, he was already patient to an unbelievable degree.

Seeing the Omega holding the flowers while his gaze wandered around, Elaine chuckled and pulled the bouquet from Shi Sheng's hands.

"Sleep a little longer."

But Shi Sheng did not want to sleep. He was reluctant to lose this time alone with Elaine.

In a flash of inspiration, he shrank back beneath the blankets, frowned, and looked pitifully at Elaine.

"What is it?" Elaine took the bait immediately. "Where does it hurt?"

Shi Sheng nodded miserably without saying anything, looking as though he hurt everywhere.

Elaine picked up the medication record the doctor had left beside the bed. "You had a painkiller two hours ago."

Shi Sheng gazed at him eagerly.

The next second, his vision went dark as the Alpha's slightly cool palm covered his eyes.

Then that intense pheromone scent enveloped him once more.

Shi Sheng was not actually hurting that badly anymore. The soothing pheromones from before had been just right, but another dose now was a little...

Shi Sheng's whole body heated up. Feeling that he must be blushing, he hurriedly pulled Elaine's hand away and burrowed entirely beneath the covers.

For once, Elaine was a little bewildered by the Omega's actions. "Does it hurt badly? I'll call the doctor."

A red head emerged from beneath the covers and shook vigorously.

Elaine chuckled, tucked Shi Sheng securely beneath the blanket, and said, "Rest. Once you're better..."

He paused.

"In this home, you can do anything you want."

During the first few days of recuperation, the pain from his wounds was fairly severe. Every night, Shi Sheng fell asleep soothed by Elaine's pheromones.

Elaine had not even marked him, yet he could be soothed so easily. Shi Sheng could not help thinking that perhaps that one-hundred-percent compatibility was between him and Elaine.

Not his brother. It was he and Elaine who were so perfectly matched.

That put Shi Sheng in a very good mood. Besides, Elaine was clearly so busy, yet he came home early every day. He always carefully read the records the doctor left in the room, asked Shi Sheng what he had done during the day, and chatted with him.

He was already more like a model husband than most Alphas.

Shi Sheng often found himself in a daze, as though he and Elaine were a pair of lovers in love.

Especially after hearing from Yumian that Elaine had personally dealt with the forest guards who had neglected their duties at the ball.

Once he could move around on his own, Shi Sheng carefully preserved all the flowers Elaine had brought home during this period. He also asked Merico for some plant seeds, planning to grow other kinds of flowers.

In comparison, Yumian was not so happy.

There had been barely any clouds at night these past few days, and the moon hung high in the night sky. His condition had already been poor to begin with.

After their communication that day, Lanreese had disappeared to deal with who knew what, only arriving belatedly one day later.

By the time he came, it was already evening. Fiery clouds filled the sky, making Yumian inexplicably irritable.

Lanreese invited Yumian to stroll through the garden. Yumian had been looking at this garden for eighteen years and did not see what there was to stroll through.

"Do you have something to say?" He simply stopped walking, suppressing the irritation in his heart. "If you have something to say, say it. Stop dragging it out."

Lanreese's expression changed, though only for a brief moment.

A warm smile appeared on his face. Reaching into his coat pocket, he dropped to one knee in front of Yumian.

"Yumi." Lanreese held the item in his hand out before Yumian.

Yumian's heart went cold.

Lanreese did not notice. Yumian had always been unpredictable around him, and he did not care. He simply kept smiling as though completing a task.

"Though this may be a little presumptuous, please... marry me."

Yumian looked coldly at the ring in his hand. "Why?"

Lanreese was stunned. "What do you mean, why? Weren't we going to get married anyway?"

He smiled again. "Isn't that something we both know?"

"Who said so?" Yumian frowned, his voice icy. "Your mother doesn't like Carlos."

"That is only my mother. It does not represent my or my family's opinion," Lanreese said with a forced smile.

Yumian folded his arms and looked expressionlessly at the man before him.

He had grown up with Lanreese since childhood. Although he did not particularly like him, House Lan knew Carlos's secret, and Yumian had not objected to marrying Lanreese before.

At the very least, he had considered them friends.

But this person had proven Shi Sheng right.

For another Omega, he had betrayed Yumian.

"So you yourself want to marry me too?" A faintly mocking smile appeared on Yumian's face.

A trace of cold sweat seeped from Lanreese's temple. "Yes, Yumi."

Yumian nodded, then suddenly flashed a brilliant smile. "But I don't want to marry you."

Lanreese's smile froze.

Yumian felt that he was still somewhat softhearted, to actually want to give the other person one final chance.

"Put that thing away, and I'll pretend nothing happened."

Lanreese stiffened for a moment, then forced a smile. "It's all right, Yumi. You're still young, after all. We can talk about it again in a few years."

He stood up and said as though nothing had happened, "Would you like to have a drink?"

The taste of blood spread through Yumian's mouth.

He asked, "If I drink, will I still be able to refuse?"

Lanreese froze. "Wh-what?"

Night was about to fall. The fiery clouds pressed down on Yumian like a final curse.

The blond youth's eyes turned scarlet, and a row of sharp beast fangs suddenly emerged from his soft lips.

"Lanreese, I find you shameful."

Before Lanreese could react, Yumian had already taken him down in an instant like an agile beast.

He was a fairly tall Alpha, yet this petite Omega pinned him firmly to the ground, with a dagger pressed against his heart!

"I've been holding it in for a long time." Yumian's eyes had turned entirely red. His gaze was unfocused, but his face wore a crazed and ruthless smile. "What does your heart taste like, Lanreese?"

Lanreese was already terrified senseless. It took him quite a while before he came to his senses and shouted for help.

As he struggled, the sharp dagger was about to pierce his chest—

"Yumi!"

Someone ran over urgently and wrapped Yumian in a tight embrace. "Calm down!"

Yumian whirled around and bared his fangs viciously at the newcomer.

His scarlet gaze could barely recognize the person who had rushed over. It was Lindsay, his adoptive older brother, with whom he had always gotten along fairly well.

Lindsay hurriedly pulled something from his pocket and, without caring about anything else, stuffed it into Yumian's mouth. In the process, his arm was sliced by the beast fangs.

When he turned and saw Lanreese standing there dumbly, Lindsay felt his head swell. "Why are you still standing there? Get lost!"

Lanreese obediently fled. Lindsay held Yumian tightly as he tried to chase after him and kill him.

"Calm down, Yumi! You're human, calm down!"

After an unknown amount of time, the pills he had fed Yumian finally took effect. Yumian's fangs slowly withdrew, turning back into normal human teeth.

His eye color gradually returned to lake blue. Yumian stopped struggling, though his face remained expressionless.

Lindsay's heart ached for him. He took off his coat and wrapped it around his younger brother. "Let's go back to your room first."

"Where's Big Brother?" Yumian suddenly asked. "Has Big Brother returned? I want to see him."

Before Lindsay could answer, Yumian looked straight into his eyes.

"Go tell him that I want to marry the Crown Prince, and have him figure out a way."