Suspicion

Inside the marshal's private lounge at the Federal Empire government center, a man in a suit stood before Si Jinyan.

Si Jinyan asked, "What did you find?"

Qiu Rui replied, "Chi Li fled to West City ten years ago because of the war in border country A. He then lived, worked, and attended school in West City. So far, we have only found that he has a grandmother nearly ninety years old. She is in poor health, suffers from poor eyesight, partial deafness, and dementia, takes medication year-round, and developed heart disease two years ago, requiring substantial medical expenses. Then they ran into some thugs in West City, who extorted a sum of money from them..."

Si Jinyan frowned slightly. "Get to the point."

Qiu Rui paused. "Overall, there is nothing wrong."

Si Jinyan looked at Qiu Rui with some dissatisfaction. "Overall?"

Qiu Rui said, "There are no flaws in the timeline, and his identity is reasonable. The Empire did take in a group of refugees under a policy at the time. The only thing that feels a little strange is..."

Si Jinyan held a fountain pen in his hand, its cap tapping lightly against the desk in a steady rhythm. He followed Qiu Rui's words and asked, "What is it?"

Qiu Rui lowered his eyes to stare at Chi Li's information on the light screen, then looked back up at Si Jinyan. "It is too much of a coincidence."

Si Jinyan knew what Qiu Rui meant by "coincidence."

Over the years, no one knew how many omegas they had searched for, yet none had succeeded. The closer someone was to Si Jinyan, the more they felt this was destined to fail.

Si Jinyan himself had that same attitude. He believed it was something that would never succeed.

The only people who still seemed to have hope were probably those at the research institute.

Moreover, quite a few people had once planted spies around Si Jinyan. Now that an omega who matched him perfectly had suddenly appeared, Si Jinyan could not help but be suspicious.

Ordinarily, this investigation report should have been enough to convince Si Jinyan.

Si Jinyan had always been satisfied with Qiu Rui's investigative abilities, and Qiu Rui had never made a mistake before.

Si Jinyan closed his eyes and leaned back slightly against his chair, resting his head on the backrest.

This was the state Si Jinyan entered when he relaxed to think.

He recalled that day, when he had first smelled that pheromone.

His first reaction had not been that it smelled good, but that it was familiar.

Familiar.

As though he had encountered it before.

That feeling had vanished in an instant that day, drowned by the overwhelming desire that followed. Yet when Si Jinyan regained his senses, he clearly remembered that fleeting sensation.

It was as if he had smelled it more than once before, as if that scent had left a deep impression on him.

But Si Jinyan knew very well that he had never met Chi Li. His memory had always been excellent. Anyone he had met even once, he would never forget.

There was no way he had smelled Chi Li's pheromones before yet failed to remember the person himself.

Furthermore, whenever he smelled Chi Li's pheromones and looked at that figure, Si Jinyan felt an instinctive urge to protect Chi Li.

Perhaps this was a side effect brought about by highly compatible pheromones.

After a long while, Si Jinyan opened his eyes and said, "I understand. You may leave first."

Chi Li had recently noticed that Si Jinyan rarely came home.

He had to find a way to create opportunities to interact with Si Jinyan. It would be best if he could follow him to Si Jinyan's office at the base.

The intelligence department had obtained information that Si Jinyan and the Empire's new leader had developed a serious rift. Si Jinyan had been appointed the supreme military commander by the former emperor, possessed the highest decision-making authority over military affairs, and enjoyed considerable prestige. Furthermore, the Empire seemed to be preparing military and political action against Loran.

The two countries had long been plagued by conflicts and disputes. Given the current situation, planting a spy beside Si Jinyan was risky, but necessary.

Chi Li had heard of that nearly legendary feat from many years ago—Si Jinyan had single-handedly destroyed half of Luolan's military strength. There might have been some exaggeration in the tale, but Si Jinyan had practically become a god of war after that battle. Since then, he had won battle after battle, adding a bold stroke to the Empire's current glorious foundation.

Meanwhile, Luolan, once an Empire itself, had steadily declined under the Great Empire's various "encirclement and suppression" campaigns.

The current new emperor was even more ambitious. His ambition was so blatant and undisguised that countries, including Luolan, had no choice but to remain vigilant.

Si Jinyan was a very important figure.

While Si Jinyan was away, Chi Li spent the past few days wandering around the residence. Many rooms were locked and could not be opened without authorization, including the study.

Chi Li had tested the waters with the butler, asking whether he could go to the study to find some books to read.

The butler had simply told him to name the books he wanted, and they would be delivered to Chi Li the next day, leaving him no excuse to enter the study.

Moreover, Chi Li had to receive an omega modification injection every five months. The more frequently he had relations, the faster the omega pheromones in his body dissipated.

Although they had left him a few pills for emergencies, they were ultimately not as effective as an injection.

Before then, he had to gain at least some of Si Jinyan's trust. Given Si Jinyan's cautious nature, perhaps a single misstep would be enough to make him suspicious.

When Chi Li woke up today, he discovered that Si Jinyan had actually returned last night, then left early that morning.

He only saw the butler clearing away the breakfast dishes. Si Jinyan had eaten breakfast before leaving.

This was not the first time something like this had happened recently.

As he ate breakfast, Chi Li was somewhat absentminded.

Was Si Jinyan suspicious of him?

Or did Si Jinyan want to replace him with another omega?

After the meal, Chi Li helped the butler clear the dishes.

The butler, Yuan Ru, had refused several times, but it was no use. Uncle Yuan stopped protesting, though he only allowed Chi Li to carry the lightest items.

Uncle Yuan looked as though he wanted to say something but hesitated. "Mr. Chi, if you have any troubles, you can tell me."

The marshal had specifically instructed him to do his best to satisfy any of Chi Li's requests.

Yuan Ru could tell that the marshal cared deeply about this omega.

The marshal, who had not necessarily returned home even once a year in the past, had been coming back several times nearly every week lately. Whenever he came home, he would seek out Chi Li.

It would be wonderful if an omega could truly stay by Si Jinyan's side, Yuan Ru thought.

Chi Li's face reddened slightly as he stammered, "Please don't tell the marshal."

Yuan Ru froze for a moment, then smiled and nodded.

Only then did Chi Li slowly say, "The marshal... is he planning to find other omegas too?"

Yuan Ru had clearly not expected Chi Li to ask such a question. "Why would Mr. Chi think that?"

"It is just that he has rarely..." Chi Li's face reddened even more at this point. "He has rarely come to see me lately."

Yuan Ru smiled faintly. "Do not worry. The marshal has merely been a little busy recently."

Not every omega received this kind of treatment. At least, in all these decades, Yuan Ru had only seen one omega like Chi Li.

Chi Li knew that Yuan Ru would definitely tell Si Jinyan about this.

But at Si Jinyan's current pace of returning home, if he had to convey that he missed him through Yuan Ru, who knew how long he would have to wait?

Chi Li asked Yuan Ru to order several things.

The next day, the pheromone pouch arrived.

A pheromone pouch was used to store pheromones and could be ordered in all sorts of shapes. The basic model looked like an enlarged rice ball, white and soft, caving in when squeezed.

Many children who presented as omegas at a young age had unstable pheromones, so their parents would equip them with a pouch to carry around.

Chi Li had ordered one shaped like a chibi character. The little chibi figure looked very much like Chi Li, with short black hair, bangs over its forehead, a curved line of a mouth that looked like a smile, and the white T-shirt Chi Li often wore.

Chi Li infused the pouch with some pheromones. While helping the butler clean, he quietly placed the pheromone pouch beside Si Jinyan's pillow.

That night, Si Jinyan returned.

Chi Li heard a loud crash outside the door.

He immediately poked his head out.

He did not know what had fallen to the floor and made that sound.

Chi Li's bedroom was at the far left end of the corridor, while Si Jinyan's bedroom was in the middle. At a glance, Chi Li could see the two people standing by the door.

Uncle Yuan had his head lowered, seemingly apologizing, while Si Jinyan's expression was dark.

The next moment, Si Jinyan had already raised his head and noticed Chi Li poking out his little head to watch the commotion.