Can't I use suppressants?

Yuan Hao's transfer notice was officially released. The news caused a stir both inside and outside the company, but things soon settled down.

The workplace was a jungle fraught with danger, and struggles for power had always been brutal. Under the law of the jungle, even a ferocious beast had to sacrifice its tail to survive once it suffered a fatal wound.

The victor of this struggle, meanwhile, was hosting a lengthy meeting, displaying his usual meticulousness without letting up for a moment.

The regular meeting, postponed because of the emergency Board of Directors meeting, had already gone on for four hours.

"Which department is next? Send them in." Yuan Chen had not paused for even a moment throughout the lengthy meeting. Each team was allotted roughly forty to sixty minutes, during which the attendees had to deliver their reports under intense pressure while also contending with his rigorous, highly focused review of their documents.

Secretary Chen, taking minutes beside him, already had an unfocused look in his eyes. Even Shen Yi felt tired merely watching, yet Yuan Chen remained perfectly alert.

That stamina was really something... Shen Yi did not suggest a break and instead notified the team leader waiting outside.

A group of tense-looking people entered the conference room. Shen Yi noticed that one member of the four-person reporting team was an Omega. He cast a sharp glance at her. The young employee's cheeks were unnaturally flushed. Was she too nervous? Why was her face so red?

The question had barely crossed his mind when the pheromone purifiers in the corners on either side of the conference room suddenly emitted a low hum and sped up. The numbers soaring on their displays clearly indicated the extent of the pheromones spreading through the room.

The noise of the machines briefly silenced the conference room.

The team leader looked at the employee in trouble with some alarm. "Shi Qi, step outside first..."

"It's fine," Yuan Chen interrupted evenly. "Go ahead and begin." He seemed entirely unconcerned by the pheromones in the air, merely turning the pen in his hand as he directed his gaze toward the report the team leader had just submitted.

"All right."

While the team leader collected himself, Shen Yi had already acted swiftly. He changed the pheromone deodorizer's spray setting from periodic to continuous release and increased the ventilation system's power.

Yuan Chen's reaction was indeed unusual. In the past, he would probably have issued a cold reprimand by now. Yet faced with such obvious Omega pheromones, he appeared completely unmoved.

The earlier rumor that "President Yuan's tolerance for Omega pheromones has increased" seemed to have been confirmed at that moment.

The employees delivering the report felt a little more at ease as a result. The meeting continued under Yuan Chen's characteristically meticulous direction, while Shen Yi stood rooted in the corner, his nerves taut as he constantly monitored his superior's complexion and breathing.

"We'll actively move forward with the remaining preparations."

"Thank you for your hard work."

The long relay of meetings finally ended. Those leaving the conference room felt a weight lift from their shoulders, while those who remained allowed their exhaustion to show for a brief moment.

"Thank you for your hard work, everyone. You can head back too."

Shen Yi approached Secretary Chen, who was hurriedly clearing the table, and said quietly, "Secretary Chen, take your laptop and head upstairs first."

"But I haven't finished tidying up here."

"It's fine. I'll take care of the rest. Go organize the meeting minutes first. President Yuan needs to review them as soon as possible."

Secretary Chen nodded uncertainly. Shen Yi gave his usual gentle smile and lightly patted him on the back.

Before long, Secretary Chen had left as well. The conference room, bustling with voices just moments earlier, fell quiet. Shen Yi set his work aside for the time being and looked at Yuan Chen first.

Perhaps the headache he had been holding back had finally hit him. He was frowning, pressing the back of his hand against his temple. Shen Yi approached cautiously and offered the painkillers and warm water he had prepared beforehand.

"President Yuan, do we need to adjust the rest of your schedule?"

"I'll rest for ten minutes before going upstairs."

A barely audible sigh escaped with his answer. Yuan Chen swept back his impeccably styled hair and took the pills, washing them down with warm water. There was not the slightest trace of irritation in his movements. Shen Yi watched silently, worried.

Others might think he had "gotten better," but in reality, he was simply forcing down his discomfort. How could the nerve-related headaches that had plagued him for years vanish overnight?

Seeing him persevere like this stirred something in Shen Yi. If he could keep this up, perhaps Yuan Chen's body really would gradually return to normal. At that thought, Shen Yi felt a little lighter as he dealt with the remaining tasks.

The next day, the two of them had appointments for their regular checkups. Since they had booked the same attending physician, they went to the hospital together.

Yuan Chen finished his consultation first. Professor Hu described him as "unhealthy but full of vigor," and even half-jokingly suggested that he "ought to start dating." Naturally, Yuan Chen acted as though he had not heard that.

Then it was Shen Yi's turn. Because he had suffered pheromone shock not long ago, Professor Hu looked particularly serious with him. As the professor carefully read his test results, Shen Yi's gaze involuntarily drifted toward Yuan Chen, who was sitting on a sofa in the corner of the consulting room.

The man adopted an air of complete disinterest in anyone else's affairs, focusing solely on the laptop on his knees. Yet his presence alone was distracting enough. Shen Yi blinked and tried to draw his gaze back, while Yuan Chen, oblivious to his attention, remained entirely absorbed in his work.

The consulting room might have been quieter than the waiting room outside, but medical consultations were a private matter. At the thought of his personal life being "shared" like this, Shen Yi could only smile wryly.

"Have you experienced any instability in your condition lately?"

Professor Hu's sudden question immediately brought Shen Yi back to the present.

He did not notice that Yuan Chen's gaze had quietly settled on him as well. He merely thought back carefully.

"I don't think I've felt particularly unwell."

"How have you been sleeping? Have you experienced any palpitations or numbness anywhere in your body?"

"No."

"Have Yuan Chen's pheromones helped you?"

The bluntness of the question made Shen Yi freeze. Could he really ask that with the man himself right here?

But Professor Hu's expression was perfectly matter-of-fact. He was asking purely from a physician's perspective. In the end, Shen Yi could only steel himself and answer.

"Yes... they've helped a lot."

"Good, then. Shen Yi, given how poor your condition was before, I'd been considering medication. Now it seems that won't be necessary. Keep relying on him from now on." The "him" he pointed toward gave a quiet, dismissive huff from behind them, almost a scoff, but Professor Hu continued without paying it any mind.

"Your heat period is about three months away, isn't it? Have you started gradually preparing?"

"Yes, I'm preparing..."

"You should learn about this too. After all, you're the one who'll be going through it. You need time to consider it carefully and prepare. Finding just anyone to get you through it isn't a wise choice. Preparing yourself mentally is important too."

"Professor, I..."

Shen Yi raised his hand a little awkwardly. Under the intensely palpable gaze behind him, he lowered his voice and asked a question.

"Is there really no way I can use suppressants?"

"Didn't I tell you last time that they weren't good for you?"

"But... everyone's situation is different. There must be some way, right?"

Even after accepting that he was an Omega, Shen Yi still struggled to feel that his approaching heat period was real. When he first asked Professor Hu about it, he had always felt as though it concerned someone else. But as the time drew nearer, he understood that this was a problem he could no longer ignore.

Professor Hu, who had remained friendly and responded with smiles throughout, suddenly darkened. His eyes swept sharply over Shen Yi from behind his lenses, then flicked toward Yuan Chen behind him.

"Why do you people never listen to advice?"

"Professor, that's not what I meant. I just thought there might be another possibility..."

"If you'd seen for yourself how many people scrape by on suppressants and what happens to them in the end, you wouldn't be saying that!"

"If you won't listen to reason, I won't waste any more breath. The two of you have everything you need, yet you insist on treating your bodies like they don't matter! Do you have a fear of intimacy?! Or do you think helping each other will give you some incurable disease?!"