Maybe letting him go was the right choice?

His phone rang as he left the hospital. It was Lin Xiaofeng.

"Hey, long time no-"

"Shen Yi, you heartless bastard!!"

Shen Yi had to hold the phone farther away. Even without speakerphone on, Lin Xiaofeng's furious shouting was clear and piercing.

"You've gone too far! Do you even consider me a friend? An Omega? You actually became an Omega?"

"So you heard."

"Did I hear?! I was the last person to find out!"

From his voice alone, Shen Yi could picture Lin Xiaofeng hopping mad. He smiled and turned down the volume. Any more of this and his eardrums would burst.

"Your information network's slipping, Team Leader Lin. How are Akit's sources so out of touch?"

"Don't change the subject! I'm buying a ticket back to City A right now!"

Shen Yi couldn't help laughing. The reason Lin Xiaofeng was so angry was obvious: he had been the last to learn about Shen Yi's differentiation.

Whether it was office gossip, breaking news, or rumors about someone's love life, Lin Xiaofeng was always the first to know. Yet this time, he had heard about his closest friend Shen Yi's differentiation from someone else. It practically made him explode.

As luck would have it, he had spent the past month away on a business trip for training, and Shen Yi had resigned around the same time. They had both been so busy they hadn't even had a chance to meet. Their last phone call... seemed to have been when Shen Yi turned down his offer to set him up with someone.

"Sorry, but everything was a mess for me too. I wasn't deliberately keeping it from you."

"Shut up! I'm deleting your number as soon as we hang up!"

"Seriously?"

"...I'm so hurt."

"Sounds like your pride took a hit."

"Is that all our friendship means to you? How disappointing."

"I'll buy you drinks to make it up to you."

After finally calming Lin Xiaofeng down, Shen Yi chatted with him for another five minutes before his tone softened at last.

"The day after tomorrow. You have to keep it free."

"Okay. I'll clear a whole day for our dear Team Leader Lin."

"You'd better tell me everything that's happened lately!"

"What could possibly have happened...?"

Shen Yi finally walked toward his car, casually tossed the hospital paperwork onto the dashboard, and continued talking to Lin Xiaofeng.

The weekday afternoon sunshine was warm and pleasant. With no anxiety weighing on him, only a rare sense of ease, Shen Yi truly felt that life as an Omega was actually quite comfortable.

Meanwhile, Yuan Chen was attending a gathering of entrepreneurs hosted by the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The tedious academic session was followed by a luncheon. Most of the attendees were young entrepreneurs in their thirties and forties, so the atmosphere was livelier than usual. Wineglasses circulated around the tables, and after a few drinks, the conversation grew more casual.

"I hear President Yuan's special assistant differentiated into an Omega?"

"Oh, I heard that too. That very handsome secretary, right? The tall, slim one."

"Do you remember what he looked like? I don't remember him at all."

"He certainly stood out. He carried himself well, very polished..."

Everyone was talking about Shen Yi. At some point, a secretary's identity had become a topic of such fascination.

"But isn't dismissing him just because he differentiated a little heartless?"

"Was he dismissed? I heard he resigned of his own accord?"

"What exactly happened, President Yuan?"

Yuan Chen, who had been drinking nothing but water, slowly raised his eyes. Faced with his sharp gaze, the others dared not press him and turned to talking among themselves instead.

The discussion about whether an Omega could work as a secretary grew increasingly animated. Most of those seated around the table were Alphas, and the topic particularly interested them.

"I don't think so. Realistically, it would be too difficult."

"As long as they manage their pheromones properly, there shouldn't be a problem."

"Aren't we always saying Omegas go into heat easily? As long as their pheromones are properly managed, it wouldn't affect their work at all."

"I've seen it before. A certain chairman used to hire only Omegas as his secretaries."

"That was just his particular taste. Besides, those weren't secretaries, they were lovers, weren't they?"

Opinions flew back and forth. Despite being at the center of the conversation, Yuan Chen never said a word. He hadn't even touched his food and simply drank his water in silence.

His displeasure refused to fade. More precisely, it wasn't him they were discussing, but Shen Yi. The man no longer had anything to do with him, so he should have been able to smile casually and offer a few polite remarks. Yet he couldn't even force a smile. Fortunately, he was skilled at controlling his expression, or he would have left long ago.

Just as a server was about to clear his untouched plate, someone approached and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Give us a smile, President Yuan. You look terrifying." Yuan Hao was all smiles. He was one of the attendees as well.

"Ah, Vice President Yuan, perfect timing."

"There's still an empty seat here. Please, sit."

"Is there?"

Yuan Hao, who had been making the rounds, knew people everywhere. He settled naturally into the empty chair, right beside Yuan Chen.

He poured himself a glass of red wine, lightly clinked it against Yuan Chen's water glass, and made a toast on his own before smiling in satisfaction.

Looking at Yuan Chen's tense profile, Yuan Hao chuckled.

"Our little Chen, are you that heartbroken because your secretary ran away? You look terribly upset."

It was a remark practically begging for a punch from the man whose expression had remained icy throughout. Everyone at the table pretended not to care, but their ears pricked up. Yuan Hao secretly looked forward to his reaction.

Yuan Chen slowly turned toward him, his voice calm but edged with menace:

"You seem very happy."

"I am, but your big brother's even more worried about you."

Yuan Hao dramatically clutched his chest and turned down the corners of his mouth. Anyone could see he was acting.

"I hear you still haven't found a new secretary. Want your big brother to recommend someone?"

"With your poor judgment of people, would there be any point?"

"True. Where would you find someone like Shen Yi? The secretarial team he led was excellent too. Staying by Yuan Chen's side for six years couldn't have been easy."

Yuan Hao appeared to be praising the secretary, but he was really mocking Yuan Chen. Everyone present took it as a joke between brothers and laughed it off.

When Yuan Chen remained unmoved, Yuan Hao crossed his legs, propped up his chin, and stared at him.

"Seriously, little Chen, your big brother's only asking out of curiosity."

"Shen Yi didn't differentiate because of you, did he?"

The loaded question made everyone prick up their ears. At that moment, it was as though the two brothers were the only people left at the table. The others held their breath and listened intently, afraid to miss a single word.

Yuan Hao idly swung his crossed leg, his face wreathed in smiles.

"Even a Beta can be affected by prolonged exposure to highly concentrated pheromones. When I heard Shen Yi had become an Omega, it gave me a headache. Ah, our little Chen... so there was a reason you kept him by your side all along."

Yuan Hao tapped the table as though struck by a sudden revelation. Yuan Chen gave a short laugh, brimming with irritation.

"What the hell goes on in that head of yours?"

"Oh, did I hit the mark? Turning a Beta into an Omega? Just what you'd expect from a top-tier Alpha. How many times did you mark him? Is that what you two were doing while working late into the night?"

"..."

"Hmm? Why aren't you saying anything?"

Yuan Chen slowly turned toward him. In the calm before the storm, his composed expression abruptly sharpened.

"Shut up and get out. My patience has limits."

Having finally gotten the reaction he wanted, Yuan Hao smiled even more smugly. He had achieved his goal of provoking Yuan Chen at a formal event.

It was all baseless nonsense, but seeing Yuan Chen so enraged convinced him that Shen Yi's departure had truly shaken his younger brother to the core.

"Oh dear, it seems our President Yuan is in a bad mood. Please bear with him, everyone."

Yuan Hao rose with a show of consideration. Before leaving, he pressed a hand to Yuan Chen's shoulder and murmured meaningfully in his ear:

"So, what do Shen Yi's pheromones smell like? Ah, what a shame he resigned without so much as saying goodbye."

"..."

"He's not my usual type, but there's nothing wrong with me getting to know him intimately, is there, little brother?"

Yuan Hao patted his broad shoulder in what looked like a gesture of encouragement, then slipped away without looking back. Left behind, Yuan Chen could only grit his teeth.

Forcing down the anger on the verge of erupting, he couldn't understand why Yuan Hao's taunts had enraged him, much less where this inexplicable fury had come from.

If he had kept Shen Yi by his side, would he have had to keep enduring humiliating scenes like this? At the very least, those whispers would have followed him everywhere.

Maybe letting him go was the right choice?

Yuan Chen tried to untangle his chaotic thoughts, his rigid cheek twitching slightly.