You can't judge a book by its cover

Charles Lee froze too.

Luo Yuan had a delicate, palm-sized face and large, bright eyes. When he smiled, pointed canine teeth showed on either side, and his light brown hair stuck out messily beneath his military cap.

...He looked nothing like a Combat Soldier.

He looked like a minor.

Resisting the urge to ask how old he was, whether he was of age, and whether he was allowed to drink, Charles nodded politely and followed through with the motion to clink glasses with him.

"Charles Lee. Nice to meet you."

Luo Yuan tipped his head back and drained his white wine, his lively eyes lingering for a moment on the refined Dr. Li.

Wow, what a handsome older man.

Too bad tonight wasn't the time for a date.

He turned to Shen Que.

"Commander Shen, hello. To keep this short, there are too many biting strays in this room. Why don't you get some fresh air and walk off your meal? I'll clean things up before you come back."

With his hands behind his back, Shen Que glanced down at him with pale eyes and nodded.

"All right."

Shen Que asked, "Dr. Li, would you like to come with me?"

Charles hesitated for a moment.

Shen Que was an Omega, and he was an Alpha. Being alone with him would be somewhat inappropriate. As for Luo Yuan...

He instinctively looked toward the little Combat Soldier, who had nothing better to do than drink another glass of white wine.

For some reason, he felt a little uneasy.

After a moment's consideration, Charles said, "I'll stay with Major General Luo. I'm familiar with the lord's residence. Perhaps I can help him."

Luo Yuan, who was drinking his third glass, shifted his eyes. "Sure."

Shen Que nodded and, screened by the two men, slipped out through the side door with Anya.

Watching his figure disappear behind the door, Charles assured himself that his patient would be all right for the time being.

Then he looked back, only to find Luo Yuan drinking again.

Dr. Li's brows drew together in disapproval.

A hundred ways alcohol harmed the body flashed through his mind. The Alpha, who had always respected boundaries, struggled repeatedly before finally suppressing the urge to lecture him.

"...General Luo, don't you have a mission to carry out?" he reminded him tactfully.

Downing another glass, Luo Yuan pointed with it at a man in a brown suit not far away.

"Dr. Li, see him?"

The man was dressed lavishly, but his manner was casual, and he kept peering around furtively.

Charles nodded.

Luo Yuan popped the cherry from his glass into his mouth and casually left him with a request. "Get the servant beside him out of the way for me."

Then he vanished into the crowd like a cat.

Charles approached the servant beside the man.

The servant recognized him and immediately came forward. "Dr. Li, is there anything you need?"

"Could you please bring me a glass of white wine?"

"Of course. Please wait a moment."

As the servant left, Charles glanced toward Luo Yuan out of the corner of his eye.

The short major general deftly grabbed a nut from the table and popped it into his mouth.

As he brushed past the paparazzo, he reached out with his right hand and caught the man's wrist, while his left plucked a Miniature Camera from the man's sleeve.

His fingers tightened.

Crack!

Fragments fell to the floor.

Before the man could make a sound, Luo Yuan twisted his entire arm behind his back and applied pressure with his wrist.

The paparazzo instantly went deathly pale, his arm bent at an unnatural angle.

Years of medical experience told Charles that the paparazzo's arm had been dislocated.

The paparazzo began to howl under his breath.

But Luo Yuan leaned close to his ear and said something Charles couldn't hear, and the man immediately shut his mouth.

Satisfied, Luo Yuan released him, winked at Charles, and pointed out the next one.

Dr. Li paused for a moment, then followed.

You really couldn't judge a book by its cover.

Some people looked young.

But they were vicious in a fight.

In the garden below the banquet hall.

Cascades of wisteria swayed gently in the light of the Floating Lamps.

Shen Que stopped beneath a cluster of blue wisteria and said to Anya, "Go back first. I'd like to walk alone."

Anya looked troubled. "But..."

His cold eyes glanced at her.

Anya closed her mouth and nodded.

Shen Que didn't like making things difficult for others. He was considerate and sensitive.

But when he truly made a demand in a tone that brooked no argument, he could seem stubborn and difficult to understand.

Anya could only return to the entrance of the flower-lined path and wait obediently.

A breeze rustled through the flowering vines.

Shen Que walked slowly.

Pei Ji's reaction before leaving kept flashing through his mind.

In truth, he didn't care much about what others thought or public opinion on the Star Network.

Or rather, he had once cared, but now he no longer had the capacity to.

He just...regretted not telling Pei Ji the news sooner.

Because he hadn't known how to bring it up.

The atmosphere last night had been lovely, and the Alpha had hurried home after his social engagements.

They had cared for each other like a real married couple.

Pei Ji's pheromones had been warm and intoxicating.

There shouldn't have been any mood-killing news to ruin it all.

But the price was Pei Ji walking out today.

Shen Que understood that he could recuperate in peace on White Sand Star because Pei Ji still valued him somewhat as his spouse.

Neither Pei Li nor Ai Fan trusted him.

If even Pei Ji became hostile toward him, the days ahead would be difficult.

A Floating Lamp drifted before Shen Que on the breeze.

He reached out and touched it.

These lamps used old-fashioned solar power. Their shades had been specially treated, so they didn't burn anyone. Instead, they felt a little cool to the touch.

"Your Majesty, am I a terrible Omega?" Shen Que murmured.

He couldn't help his Alpha deal with troublesome social obligations, nor could he control his pheromones to soothe his emotions.

He had even taken a place that should have belonged to someone else.

He overthought things, had a mediocre temper, and was thin-skinned. He wasn't adorable like other Omegas.

Shen Que cradled the Floating Lamp in his hands.

He was like this lamp: bright to look at, but cold once touched.

...I should find a time to have a proper talk with Pei Ji.

Though I don't know how much he'll take in.

That was what Shen Que thought.

Just then, a faint snap suddenly sounded behind him.

Shen Que stopped almost instantly.

Years of vigilance made him react at once-someone was following him.

Who was it?

Anya?

Or...

There was no one behind him, only a vast curtain of wisteria hanging from the rocks above.

Shen Que's gaze turned icy as he hefted the lamp in his hand with seeming nonchalance.

-A compact mechanical device, with a solar-energy-collecting core inside its shade.

The weight...would do.

Locking his gaze on one spot, Shen Que suddenly hurled the lamp.

The Floating Lamp left his hand, crashed through the green curtain, and illuminated the small patch of open ground where the sound had come from with perfect accuracy.

Caught off guard, the stalker hidden in the darkness was exposed beneath the moonlight.

Before he could react, a white figure flashed before his eyes. The next second, wisteria vines coiled around his throat and rapidly tightened.

"Urgh!"

The stalker thrust his hands between his neck and the vines and wrenched outward!

Powerful pheromones and mental power erupted at the same time.

The vines snapped instantly.

Smelling unfamiliar pheromones, Shen Que faltered.

In that instant of suppression, the stalker clenched his right fist and drove it straight at Shen Que's face.

His body reacted before his mind, and Shen Que bent his left arm to block.

For some reason, the stalker seemed to hesitate for a moment.

A cold glint flashed in Shen Que's eyes. He hooked his right leg around the stalker's leg and yanked hard.

A thud rang out, accompanied by a shriek of "Aah-!"

The stalker fell flat on his back.

Shen Que stepped forward with his long leg, planted his military boot against the man's jaw, and stomped down hard.

"Aaaaah-!"

The stalker screamed in agony.

At that moment, Luo Yuan and Charles, who had already dealt with the paparazzi, had just reached the garden entrance and met Anya waiting there.

Hearing the scream, all three grew alert and rushed toward the sound.

They saw-

Beneath the moonlight that flowed like water, the Commander in his white military uniform stood with an icy gaze, looking down as he pinned another man in a black military uniform beneath his boot.

His thin lips parted and closed, coldly uttering a single sentence.

"Rein in your disgusting pheromones."

"Austin?" Luo Yuan recognized the man beneath Shen Que's boot.

Meanwhile, Dr. Li stared fixedly at his frail patient.

You really...couldn't judge a book by its cover.

Some people looked weak and powerless.

But they could kill someone in a fight.