The Out-of-Control Elaine

After sending the message, he didn't get a reply right away. Shi Yi was probably busy too.

Shi Sheng pulled up Noah's file again and studied it carefully.

He didn't actually know the entire plot.

At first, Shi Sheng only dreamed in fragments. The dreams played out story after story like films. Later, pieces of plot would appear in his mind without any pattern.

And whether the main thread of those stories was rebirth and revenge or simply building a career, the villains were always the brothers of the Carlos family.

Even now, Shi Sheng didn't know why he knew these plots.

He couldn't know every detail. In Noah's story, it only said that his father had been framed to death because he knew a secret of the Carlos family, leaving Noah's family destroyed.

Now, it seemed that secret might have been related to the curse. It wasn't strange that Noah knew about it.

But had his entire family really been wiped out just because of that? Shi Sheng didn't believe Elaine would do such a thing.

The stories in his mind never told Shi Sheng which family Noah came from, so that was the first thing Shi Sheng had asked Shi Yi to investigate.

Noah had hidden his identity far too well. Judging solely from the surface information, he truly seemed like an ordinary Beta who had grown up in an orphanage.

But traces of a person's existence could not disappear completely.

Especially when Shi Sheng and Shi Yi were the ones investigating him.

In this Empire, there was probably no information system they couldn't infiltrate.

Shi Sheng read through the file for a long time. By the time he looked up again, the night was already deep.

He swiftly closed the page. Thinking that he would be able to see Elaine again as soon as he opened his eyes made sleep something to look forward to.

After Ning Zhao said those words, Izel saw a puzzled expression on his face for the first time.

The Alpha gave a soft laugh. "Your Highness, I have no plans to apply for a position as a palace guard for the time being."

Ning Zhao stood up again, his gaze quickly sweeping down from Izel's neck.

Izel usually carried himself like a noble young master. That day, he wore a black silk shirt, and under the moonlight, subtle golden embroidered patterns could be seen on the fabric.

But that expensive shirt was not what Ning Zhao was looking at.

He looked at Izel's collarbone, then quickly shifted his gaze away.

The smile at Ning Zhao's lips became somewhat inscrutable. This time, he still stood very close to Izel, and he reached out his hand.

His fingers lightly pinched one of the shirt's exquisite buttons.

Izel frowned, grabbed his wrist, and pulled Ning Zhao away.

Ning Zhao laughed softly in imitation of him. "I don't need guards, Izel."

Before Izel could speak, Ning Zhao pressed one hand against the Alpha's shoulder and used the leverage to lean his entire upper body against him.

He tilted his head back, nearly brushing the corner of Izel's lips.

"Didn't you want to play with Alphas?" A strange expression appeared on Ning Zhao's face.

He still seemed to be smiling.

But if the lower half of his face were covered, his eyes would look as still as thick fog.

"What a coincidence. I want a taste of an Alpha too."

"Izel." Ning Zhao's smile deepened, but the hand gripping Izel had clenched so hard that his knuckles turned white.

"If you want me to agree, then become my lover."

A force sent Ning Zhao tumbling back into the lounge chair.

Izel didn't speak immediately, and Ning Zhao didn't raise his head either.

"Ning Zhao." After a long while, he finally heard Izel call him by name, without any courtesy in his tone. "I'm not someone you can joke with."

Ning Zhao curled his lips. When he raised his head, however, he did not look at Izel.

"But aren't you the one who loves making jokes most, Izel?"

Izel wasn't angry either. "So you weren't trying to make a joke about the Empire's crown prince liking an Alpha?"

"Can't I?" Ning Zhao's gaze fell elsewhere. "Why can't I like Alphas?"

Izel keenly sensed that something was unusual in his tone.

Ning Zhao suddenly picked up the fruit knife on the nearby table and hurled it forcefully at the wall.

The blade sank straight into the wall, showing just how much force he had used.

"Because an Alpha can like an Omega, and can marry a Beta, but can never love another Alpha."

Ning Zhao slowly rose to his feet. This time, instead of approaching Izel, he walked toward the knife.

"The Empire's laws won't recognize their relationship, and no one will offer them blessings."

"Izel, there's no need to keep bringing up the Empire's crown prince. I don't need your reminder."

The moment he finished speaking, Izel inwardly cursed. He quickly stepped forward before Ning Zhao could reach it and grabbed him.

Without realizing it, he used too much force. Ning Zhao's hand brushed past the knife's hilt, and his entire body crashed into Izel's arms.

"Your Highness!" Izel's voice was stern in a way it had never been before. "Knives aren't toys."

Ning Zhao lowered his head and stepped out of Izel's embrace.

Under the moonlight, his entire body trembled as he clenched his fists tightly.

Something was very wrong with Ning Zhao. Izel forcibly grabbed his hand and made him uncurl his fingers.

Sure enough, his palm was already covered in wounds.

Izel's gaze darkened.

He knew exactly what this was.

Not to mention Yumian—even Izel himself had self-harmed when he was young.

But it hadn't been for any other reason. Blood and pain simply made them feel exhilarated.

"What are you thinking, Your Highness?" Izel asked. "Does this make you feel better?"

Ning Zhao numbly curled his lips. "I just wanted to keep myself awake, Izel. How could I possibly feel better?"

At last, he turned to look at Izel.

"But what does whether I feel better have to do with you?"

Ning Zhao smiled again. "I've liked Alphas since I was born, Izel. What kind of expression is that?"

"You're not someone who makes such a fuss over things, so is it simply because you hate me?"

Ning Zhao's voice was very soft, so soft that it seemed to brush only across Izel's heart.

Yet at that moment, Izel thought at the most inappropriate time—Ning Zhao was actually this beautiful.

Beautiful enough that he didn't look like an Alpha.

Especially those eyes. If he ignored the other man's tall frame and adult features, he might even have suspected Ning Zhao was the person he had been searching for all along.

But how could that be possible? Ning Zhao was an Alpha through and through.

Ning Zhao stared at Izel stiffly. "What are you laughing at?"

Izel let go of Ning Zhao. "Wasn't it Your Highness who hated me first?"

He remembered that, at some point, this crown prince who was gentle and pleasant with everyone had begun singling him out with sarcastic remarks.

Izel wasn't so good-tempered that he would willingly endure inexplicable hostility.

"That's right." Ning Zhao admitted it readily, looking at Izel. "I hate you. I hate you so much that I don't want you to get what you want. I hate you so much that I want to steal away everyone you like from your side."

The more he spoke, the freer he sounded. "I'm just a terrible person, so now you can hate me too."

Izel said, "I don't know why, but there's one thing I need to correct. I don't like Noah."

Ning Zhao froze.

Izel said flatly, "For Yumian's sake, I sincerely advise you to be cautious about choosing Noah as the crown prince consort. His gland may have a serious problem."

Under the moonlight, Ning Zhao's face abruptly turned pale.

"...What do you mean?"

"I've been watching Noah because he had his gland replaced," Izel said. "Your Highness knows that I'm looking for an Omega."

"Even if one day I asked Your Highness for Noah, it would only be because—"

Izel paused. His gaze was somewhat cold, but there was also an emotion Ning Zhao couldn't understand.

"I still need to use him to find the whereabouts of someone very important to me."

"I need to know where his gland came from."

Ning Zhao stared at him in shock, forgetting how to speak for a long time.

The next morning, Shi Sheng arrived at the research institute with Lindsay early.

Before they even went inside, Lindsay's wristband suddenly began ringing urgently. He lowered his head to glance at the message, and his expression changed drastically.

"There's a situation today. I'm afraid you won't be able to see the family head," Lindsay said as he ushered Shi Sheng toward the aircraft. "Go back first. Don't worry, it's just a minor problem."

But looking at his expression, Shi Sheng didn't think it was a minor problem.

So when Lindsay hurried toward the research institute, Shi Sheng stubbornly followed him.

The instant he stepped through the main entrance, alarms rang throughout the entire building.

Worried about Elaine, Shi Sheng immediately ran toward the laboratory.

"Sister-in-law!" Lindsay came to pull him back. "It's dangerous inside. Listen to me and go back first. It'll be fine soon!"

Shi Sheng only shook his head hard and ran past Lindsay into the laboratory.

The laboratory's coded door had already been mostly destroyed.

Before he could find Elaine, a violent blade of wind sent him flying to the ground.

Shi Sheng's back struck the floor heavily, and searing pain spread through his body.

Research institute staff lay scattered all around him, thrown to the ground.

Lindsay gritted his teeth and came to help Shi Sheng up.

Inside the laboratory, heavy iron chains had snapped and littered the floor. White Phoenix beat his enormous wings, and everything had already been shattered into dust.

The staff tried to restrain Elaine, but an Alpha who was already immensely powerful in combat was simply impossible for anyone to oppose after bestial transformation.

With a crash, the laboratory glass shattered.

[Elaine!]

Shi Sheng completely forgot the pain. His mind went blank.

"Big Brother has already lost consciousness. The research institute will call the military." Lindsay pulled Shi Sheng outward with all his strength. "It's too dangerous. Get out first!"

Shi Sheng's heart hurt as though carved by knives. Strength came from nowhere as he broke free from Lindsay's grip and threw himself toward Elaine without thinking.

"Shi Sheng!"

Lindsay's voice was hoarse with panic.

White Phoenix noticed someone approaching and beat his wings once more.

The enormous divine bird was colossal with its wings fully spread. If that strike landed, even if Shi Sheng didn't die, he would lose half his life.

Lindsay's vision went dark.

But in that instant—

Just as Shi Sheng was about to lose his life, the wind stopped.

White feathers brushed over Shi Sheng's eyelashes.

The Omega looked up with a pale face, his hands still held in the posture of trying to protect Elaine.

One small person faced the enormous divine bird.

Time itself seemed to freeze.

After a long while, White Phoenix lowered his eyes and carefully drew Shi Sheng beneath his wings.