Chapter 9

The first time Yun Zhi witnessed his brother looking like he'd gone completely mad, his legs shook uncontrollably.

When he heard his brother tell him to get out, Yun Zhi's eyes turned red, and a single tear dropped onto the back of his hand with a splat.

He raised his hand and messily wiped the tears from his face, then bolted out of the study.

Hiding just outside the study door, Yun Zhi curled in on himself and crouched on the floor, pulling out his phone to call the housekeeper and report his brother's condition. Even though he was frightened by his brother's outburst, he didn't dare leave his brother alone in the study to suffer.

His brother was definitely sick.

The housekeeper would be here within three minutes at the fastest.

Yun Zhi pressed himself against the study door, peeking his little head through the crack to steal a glance at his brother.

He tended to get the hiccups after being frightened and crying. Right now he was desperately holding his breath, his fair little hands clamped tightly over his mouth to muffle the sound.

From where he crouched, he watched as Jin Zeli rose from his chair, bracing both hands on the desk, head bowed as he took deep, heaving breaths.

Yun Zhi could hear the labored rasp of his breathing from here.

Jin Zeli stood there with his eyes closed, letting it pass. Half a minute later, he had managed to rein in the pheromones that had been surging wildly out of control.

The air was saturated with the acrid smell of gunpowder, laced with the bitter scent of medicinal residue, spreading everywhere in an overwhelming tide — and yet the Omega it sought to overwhelm had not submitted to it.

Because Yun Zhi had not yet differentiated, he could not smell pheromones at all.

All he could see was Jin Zeli bending down to pull open the desk drawer beside him, retrieving a syringe, rolling up his sleeve, and plunging it directly into his own arm.

The colorless liquid injected into his veins, and the bloodshot lines threading through Jin Zeli's eyes were slowly returning to normal.

The blood-red slowly receded and lay dormant within Jin Zeli's body, waiting to awaken again.

The housekeeper came hurrying over, and upon seeing Yun Zhi crouched guard outside the study door, quickly coaxed him to go wash his face first.

Yun Zhi was frantic with worry. "Is my brother okay?"

The housekeeper helped Yun Zhi to his feet. "The young master simply lost control of his pheromones for a moment — he'll be able to suppress them again shortly. The young master needs a little time to calm down alone. Young little master, please go and rest, there's no need to worry."

Yun Zhi's face was streaked with tear tracks. Having seen his brother settle down, he went back to his room to wash his face and change clothes.

The housekeeper knocked twice, then pushed the door open and stepped in.

Jin Zeli glanced up at him. His voice, strained from having forcibly suppressed his rut, carried a thread of exhaustion. "Help me buy another box of pheromone suppressants — no, make it two. One box of the kind I normally use, and one box of Omega heat suppressants."

"Of course, young master."

The housekeeper answered with respectful composure. His expression remained tranquil on the surface, but inwardly he was already trembling with shock.

Unlike Omegas, who had specific heat cycles, Alphas had always been passive when it came to going into rut. It only happened when induced by an Omega's pheromones, or when an Alpha developed an overwhelming desire for a beloved Omega — those were the only circumstances in which they could lose control of their pheromones and suddenly go into rut.

The servants in the household, including the housekeeper himself, were all Betas, and none of them would presume to intrude upon the master's living or working spaces.

There was only one Omega in this villa...

The more the housekeeper thought about it, the more alarmed he became — but the affairs of the master's household were not his place to meddle in.

He sealed his lips shut and told himself he knew nothing.

Jin Zeli's brow furrowed. "Where is Yun Zhi?"

The housekeeper replied, "He's already gone back to his room."

Jin Zeli gave a small nod. Whatever he was thinking, after a few minutes he stood and made his way upstairs.

* * *

"Yun Zhi."

Jin Zeli opened the door to Yun Zhi's bedroom. No one was there.

"Brother, I'm here."

Yun Zhi came hurrying out of the walk-in wardrobe, a neatly folded sweater still in his hands.

He was leaving to participate in the talent competition tomorrow and had been packing a week's worth of clothes and daily necessities per the production team's instructions.

"Brother, are you alright?" Yun Zhi set the clothes down casually on the bed and pattered over to stand before Jin Zeli, looking up at him with worried eyes.

"It's fine. Your brother can wait." Jin Zeli ruffled Yun Zhi's hair and said softly.

Wait for what?

Yun Zhi didn't understand.

Before he could ask, he heard Jin Zeli say, "Getting your luggage together?"

The question cut off what Yun Zhi had been about to say, and he blinked blankly and nodded.

Having received his answer, Jin Zeli walked naturally into Yun Zhi's walk-in wardrobe, took one look at the two suitcases Yun Zhi had stuffed to bursting, and frowned.

He bent down and removed most of the clothes from the suitcases, then went to the wardrobe and carefully selected a few new outfits, turning to Yun Zhi and saying, "Wear these."

Yun Zhi looked down at the clothes Jin Zeli had chosen for him. A brief silence fell over him.

Everything was yellow-toned or white-toned — and every single piece was cute in style.

Yun Zhi could accept any style of clothing; as long as it looked good, he liked it.

But right now, his newly bought deep blue silk ribbon shirt had been tossed out of the suitcase.

Was it because the original host had always relied on his brother for everything, that his brother had gotten used to making even decisions like what he wore?

Yun Zhi didn't like the feeling of having every little thing controlled by someone else, but in keeping with his principle of not violating the original host's habits, he obediently produced a soft, gentle smile and said to Jin Zeli, "Okay, brother."

The next day, Jin Zeli drove Yun Zhi to the filming location for 101 Days: Omega Idol Cultivation Plan.

Outside the production building, contestant after contestant had already begun arriving, dragging their suitcases. Several young and beautiful Omegas stood at the entrance saying their goodbyes to managers, assistants, or family members.

The moment the car stopped, Yun Zhi excitedly slung his small backpack on and got out of the car without waiting for the driver to open his door.

The driver stepped out and retrieved his two suitcases from the boot.

Yun Zhi stood at the rear window to say goodbye to Jin Zeli. "Brother, I'm off! Don't miss me too much."

"Take this with you." Jin Zeli, seated in the back, passed a silver box out through the car window.

Yun Zhi took it and obediently tucked it into his backpack.

"Just in case — these are pheromone blockers for Omegas, blocker patches, and suppressants." Jin Zeli instructed him coolly. "If there are any signs of differentiation at all, contact me first."

Yun Zhi waved cheerfully at him, beaming. "Okay, I will! Bye, brother!"

After watching his brother's car disappear into the distance, he turned to face the production building with a look of eager longing.

It felt as if his dream was right ahead, waving at him in warm welcome, and Yun Zhi suddenly found that even the two heavy suitcases by his side felt considerably lighter.

Most of the trainees who had signed up to compete were around twenty years old, radiating the vibrant energy particular to youth. When they caught sight of each other, they exchanged friendly greetings.

Yun Zhi didn't immediately head inside with the other trainees. He dragged his suitcase to the entrance of the building, and fifteen minutes later, looked down at his phone and sent Fang Yixing a message: [I'm here!]

Fang Little Beautiful O: [Wait one minute]

Yun Zhi had made an appointment to meet him at ten in the morning at the entrance. This was the starting point of their idol careers — of course he had to walk in together with his best girl-friend!

Yun Zhi had originally wanted to take a taxi to the competition venue by himself, but Jin Zeli hadn't allowed it. He'd had no choice but to arrive several dozen minutes early, just in case Fang Yixing and Jin Zeli happened to run into each other here.

A minute later, Fang Yixing stepped out of a black business car right on time. After exchanging a few brief words with the young man in a gray suit beside him, he pulled his suitcase toward Yun Zhi.

As Fang Yixing drew near, Yun Zhi sidled up to him with a sly grin. "Who was that?"

As Yun Zhi's most devoted little sister, of course he needed to be well-informed about everyone in Fang Yixing's life.

Fang Yixing followed his gaze toward Xie Sibo, who was already turning the car around to leave, and smiled faintly. "My boss."

Yun Zhi's round almond eyes went wide. "Is he an Alpha?"

Fang Yixing: "Mm."

Yun Zhi let out a drawn-out, meaningful "Oh~"

The other Omegas had all been dropped off by managers or assistants. A typical company boss rarely had the spare time to personally see a trainee off.

A boss who would personally send Fang Yixing here — he clearly valued him very highly! And to be running a company at such a young age, either he was exceptionally capable or he'd been born with a silver spoon.

If his character and personality were good too, he could be Fang Yixing's Alpha! He and Yun Zhi could protect the frail, helpless, and pitiful Fang Little Beautiful O together!

Provided, of course, that Fang Yixing liked him.

So it was that, the entire way in, in Yun Zhi's mission to understand the true nature of Fang Yixing's relationship with his boss, the conversation kept circling back to Xie Sibo.

Yun Zhi: "What's your boss's name?"
Fang Yixing: "Xie Sibo."

A minute passed, then the subject drifted back to Xie Sibo again. Fang Yixing was beginning to look slightly annoyed.
Yun Zhi: "I thought Boss Xie looked quite young — twenty-five?"
Fang Yixing, flatly: "Twenty-three."

Another minute passed.
Yun Zhi: "How did you and Boss Xie meet?"
Fang Yixing's expression had gone glacial: "Introduced by a friend."

Another minute still.
Yun Zhi: "What's Boss Xie like with you? Is he easy to get along with?"
Fang Yixing suddenly stopped walking and turned to stare at him intently.

Fang Yixing's stern face seemed to have frozen over with a layer of thick ice, and when he spoke, there was a distinct edge to his voice, as if he were speaking through gritted teeth: "Do you like him?"

Yun Zhi's eyes went wide. "No! Don't get the wrong idea!"
Fang Little Beautiful O, please don't misunderstand! He would absolutely never steal a man from his girl-friend!

From the tone of Fang Yixing's voice, Yun Zhi could now say with confidence — Fang Yixing liked his boss.

Author's Note:
He's here!