Chapter 63: On the Brink of Danger

“C-City…”

This news, for Zhu Zhixi, was nothing short of a bolt from the blue.

A coincidence? Fu Rangyi was in C-City. His worst premonition had come true.

“Are you okay?” Zhu Zeran seemed to have heard something. “What’s wrong with C-City?”

Zhu Zhixi’s hands were trembling, but he tried his best to remain calm. If he told Zhu Zeran now, he would certainly help him find the person, but Zhu Zeran would never let him go along.

He couldn’t possibly not go look for Fu Rangyi.

“It’s nothing,” Zhu Zhixi pondered for a moment and made a decision in his heart. “Brother, I’m driving back first. I’ll contact you later.”

“Wait a minute,” Zhu Zeran spoke again.

“What’s wrong?” Zhu Zhixi’s brow furrowed tightly, and he tried his best not to let his voice tremble.

Fortunately, Zhu Zeran didn’t notice anything unusual, but instead asked, “Has He Xueyao contacted you recently?”

“He Xueyao?” Zhu Zhixi was a little baffled. “No.” But he quickly added, “I’m not sure. I get a lot of sales calls every day, and the museum has been so busy lately, I’ve missed a lot of calls from unknown numbers.”

“Alright. He asked me for your number before,” Zhu Zeran cursed. “I don’t know where he’s run off to…”

Zhu Zhixi’s mind was a mess right now. He couldn’t get involved in the ill-fated relationship between those two anymore, so he found an excuse and hung up the phone. He sat quietly for a while. The car was terrifyingly silent, yet he felt a persistent ringing in his ears.

Realizing that his current state was not suitable for driving, Zhu Zhixi opened the door, got out, and hailed a cab home. On the way, he contacted his curatorial assistant, handed over his work for the next few days, and called Zhou Ming to report in and ask for leave. At the same time, he bought a ticket for the earliest flight to C-City.

When he got home, he hastily packed what he thought he would need, slung his backpack on, went to the airport, checked in, and boarded the plane. During this process, he tried to contact Fu Rangyi countless times, but it was like a stone sinking into the sea—no response.

Zhu Zhixi had been on countless flights, but this was the first time he was so anxious at high altitude that he couldn’t close his eyes. He barely ate the meal provided on the flight but drank several glasses of wine to calm his nerves.

Before this business trip, he had never expected things to take such a turn. He hadn’t exchanged contact information with Fu Rangyi’s colleagues when they had dinner together before.

He could only go to the hotel first. If he came up empty, he would have to find a way to contact the archaeological team to find him.

By the time the plane landed in C-City, it was already dark.

In the car from the airport to the hotel, Zhu Zhixi tried calling again.

It was turned off.

His heart sank heavily, or rather, it collapsed. The momentary panic even deprived him of his senses; he couldn’t hear or speak.

“Sir, sir…”

Zhu Zhixi looked up in a daze at the driver in the driver’s seat, feeling a little confused.

“We’ve arrived at the hotel,” the driver reminded him.

“Okay, thank you.” Only then did Zhu Zhixi react. His hand slipped a little when he opened the car door, and he almost forgot his bag when he got out.

The night in C-City was colder than he had imagined. The cold sweat on his back was blown by the wind, making him shiver. Standing dazed at the hotel entrance, what Zhu Zhixi was thinking was actually: Are the clothes I brought for Fu Rangyi not enough? Has he been cold these past few days?

It was simply crazy.

The only fortunate thing was that he knew the room number. Otherwise, he would have had to deal with the hotel front desk. When Zhu Zhixi went home to get his ID, he even specifically brought his and Fu Rangyi’s marriage certificate, just in case. If he couldn’t find him here either, he would have to call the police, and he would need to bring a document that could prove he was his partner.

Fu Rangyi had sent the room number, 521, on the night he checked in.

At that time, Zhu Zhixi had even teased him, saying that he actually understood such old-fashioned homophonic puns¹ now. However, Fu Rangyi’s reply at the time was completely beyond his expectations.

[Nian Nian on an excavation trip: What homophonic pun? I just thought it was a coincidence. Your birthday is on the 23rd of May (5/23), just two numbers off. A bit of a shame.]

Arriving on the fifth floor, he belatedly felt his heart palpitate. His internal organs were twisted into knots, yet he still walked quickly down the corridor, searching. 515, 517, 519…

Room 521.

Standing in front of the door, Zhu Zhixi tried to regulate his breathing. His thoughts were a mess, all sorts of possibilities playing out in his mind at the same time. His brow was tightly furrowed. He stood quietly for a few seconds, then finally took off his backpack and unzipped it.

“Knock, knock, knock—”

He raised his hand and knocked on the door, calling Fu Rangyi’s name, but the door remained tightly shut. No one came out. Zhu Zhixi pressed his ear against the door but couldn’t hear anything.

“Fu Rangyi, are you in there?”

He raised his hand again, his palm hitting the door panel hard.

However, at this moment, a series of clicks came from inside, and then the door opened a crack. It was completely dark inside. Zhu Zhixi suddenly had a bad premonition.

No. I’m young, and I’m a Beta. He was about to throw up, yet he was still secretly cheering himself on in his heart.

“Fu Rangyi? Are you there?” he asked tentatively, pushing the door with his left hand while his right hand was clenched tight. But just then, a hand suddenly shot out, clamped onto his wrist, and forcefully pulled his arm, yanking him inside.

His back and the back of his head slammed hard against the wall. Zhu Zhixi felt dizzy, his heart about to jump out of his throat—he could almost taste the metallic tang. He couldn’t see anything in the darkness. He desperately raised his right hand.

The other person reacted swiftly, pinning him against the wall while simultaneously choking him. And Zhu Zhixi’s right hand was tightly gripping a powerful tranquilizer. The gleaming needle tip was just a hair’s breadth away from plunging into the attacker’s neck.

However, the person suddenly lowered his head and roughly bit his lips, kissing him deeply and forcefully. A slightly sweet, metallic taste spread. His heart pounded a few times. An invisible but strong sense of oppression enveloped him like a ghost, pressing down on his shoulders, on every one of his overly tense muscles, on his legs.

He was too familiar with this feeling.

It was him.

And the hand choking his neck slid down familiarly, roughly tore open his coat, helped him take it off, then turned him over, pressing his face against the cold wall—the kind of action the police would use to roughly search a criminal.

But now it seemed even worse. This ghostly “officer” was excessively offensive, even forcefully pulling down his knit sweater. The wide collar was pulled askew, and half his shoulder was exposed to the air. The “officer” pressed against him from behind, kissing from his shoulder all the way to the side of his neck.

A sharp pain came from the back of his neck. Zhu Zhixi could even hear the sound of sharp teeth piercing flesh and skin. Pheromones were injected, and the burning pain stimulated his entire body.

“Mmm…” The marking was so sudden that he didn’t have time to hold back a moan.

One marking, he thought it was over. But a new bite fell. Zhu Zhixi’s hands and feet curled up in pain, but he was rendered speechless.

And that hand hadn’t stopped. It slipped in from under the hem of his shirt, stroking up his spine, section by section. The knit sweater was lifted. He was turned over again and kissed forcefully.

This kiss was even more violent than the last. His teeth still had the taste of blood and pheromones, a metallic sweetness. Zhu Zhixi was a little hypoxic, almost suffocating.

“Fu… Rangyi…” The name was spoken with great difficulty, the words mangled by the overly rough kiss, just like him, a complete mess. He wanted to say it hurt, but hesitated for a second and didn’t.

But the precarious string in his mind finally snapped.

Under the dual effects of the relief after a false alarm and the suppression of the pheromones, Zhu Zhixi lost his strength. His hand went limp, and the tranquilizer fell to the ground. He went completely limp, covered in cold sweat, almost sliding down the wall. Only his left hand was barely holding onto Fu Rangyi’s back.

Soon, the world spun. He was picked up by the clearly out-of-control Alpha, or more accurately, slung over his shoulder like prey that had lost its ability to struggle. He was carried away, into the deeper darkness, and finally thrown onto the bed.

The suppressing pheromones were too strong. He had no way to resist, only to be at his mercy. His shirt was taken off. Zhu Zhixi felt cold, but soon, the Alpha’s scorching body pressed down on him. The solid chest carried body heat, making it difficult for him to breathe, but it also gave him warmth.

This warmth melted the huge rock pressing on his heart, turning it into a viscous liquid that was about to burst his chest. Tension, anxiety, torment, torturous desire, and longing all poured out.

When the kiss fell again, Zhu Zhixi bit his teeth and shed tears.

He tried his best not to make a sound, but the tears couldn’t flow backward.

Cold tears streamed down their pressed-together cheeks. The kiss began to taste astringent and soon stopped. The out-of-control Alpha suddenly stopped all his movements, raised his hand, and dazedly touched the tear that had accidentally gotten on his face. He brought his finger to his lips, extended the tip of his tongue, and tasted the water on his fingertip.

Suddenly, those aggressive eyes became dazed, even vacant, just quietly gazing at the person lying on the bed, crying silently.

“Baby…” Fu Rangyi said in a hoarse voice, reaching out and carefully pulling him into his embrace, taking deep breaths.

The person in his arms cried out loud, crying more and more sadly, like a frightened child. Fu Rangyi also panicked. He held him tightly, wrapped him in the quilt, and gently wiped the tears from his face, but the more he wiped, the more they came.

“Baby, don’t cry.” He seemed to have suddenly lost the ability to comfort, stroking his back without any method, but then he felt the blood on the back of his neck.

Fu Rangyi’s whole body stiffened. Self-blame and guilt instantly overwhelmed him. The suppressing pheromones were also subconsciously withdrawn.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…” he explained in a confused daze. “I thought I heard your voice. I thought I was dreaming… I’m sorry…”

“You scared me to death,” Zhu Zhixi scolded him with a tearful, aggrieved voice.

Hearing his sobs, Fu Rangyi’s heart was about to break, but he could only weakly repeat, “I’m sorry, it’s all my fault…”

But Zhu Zhixi raised his weak arm, hugged his back in return, and then said, “I thought something happened to you. Why didn’t you answer the phone? Why couldn’t I reach you at all…”

Fu Rangyi was stunned. This was not the accusation he had imagined.

The pheromone threat disappeared. Zhu Zhixi’s shoulders trembled as he cried and looked around the room. “There’s no one else in the room, right?”

Fu Rangyi shook his head. “No…”

Hearing these two words, Zhu Zhixi’s strength gave out, and he leaned against his shoulder.

“I was really going crazy. I was about to call the police, but I was afraid I was wrong…” he cried until he was out of breath, his logic a mess. “I came without even changing my clothes. My… my clothes were also torn by you… This is my favorite knit sweater… Your phone was turned off too. Why was it turned off? So annoying. Don’t come here anymore. I don’t like it here…”

Turned off?

The pheromones had made his mind a mess, unable to function. Fu Rangyi held onto this sliver of reason to recall.

“After I fell asleep, I felt very uncomfortable, kept breaking out in a cold sweat. Then, I got up to take suppressants, and then…” he frowned, all the memories in between were blank. “I heard your voice.”

He thought for a moment and then explained, “My phone, I didn’t charge it. It probably ran out of battery and turned off.”

Zhu Zhixi held back his sobs, looked up at him, and reached out to touch his forehead and face. “Are you still feeling unwell? Is it your susceptible period?”

“Yes…”

The moment he was caressed, his primal desires were awakened again. Fu Rangyi rubbed his cheek against the palm of his hand, his breathing heavy. “It came early again.”

Zhu Zhixi’s tone immediately became panicked again, and his hand also dropped. “How could this be? Did someone stimulate you with pheromones? Was it that O…”

Before he could finish, Fu Rangyi shook his head, caught his drooping hand, and pressed it back against his own face. Only then did he feel at ease.

“There was no pheromone inducement. It’s just my susceptible period. I don’t know why, but it’s very uncomfortable.”

After he spoke, he saw Zhu Zhixi reach out and grab at him, as if trying to grab something, but he caught nothing, just scratching his abs like a little cat, dazed. He froze for two seconds, then turned his face, grabbed the quilt, and wiped the water from his face.

Then he regulated his breathing, calmed down, and asked, “Then did you take your medicine? How much did you take?”

Fu Rangyi didn’t mention that he hadn’t brought any medicine and pointed to the bedside table. “I took it. A whole box.”

“A whole box??” Zhu Zhixi immediately crawled over, turned on the light, picked up the medicine from the cabinet, poured it out, and stared at the empty foil blister pack, turning it over and over. Then he took out the instructions from the box.

Finally, his shoulders slumped, and when he spoke again, there was a tearful tone in his voice. “This! The maximum dose for this is 6 pills a day. You took 12. It can cause adverse reactions. One of the adverse reactions is falling into a deep sleep…”

Fu Rangyi actually couldn’t hear clearly at all. His head was splitting, and he had severe tinnitus, as if he were submerged in water. The words were too blurry. He only knew that Zhu Zhixi was crying again.

“I… I’m fine. Really.”

“What do you mean, fine?” Zhu Zhixi came over and hugged him. “You’re burning up! Were you feeling unwell yesterday? And you even drank. You didn’t even tell me.”

This soft hand touched his arm, fumbled at his wrist, cool and comfortable.

“Where’s your wristband?” After asking, Zhu Zhixi looked around and found it on the carpet. “Did you take it off yourself?”

The wristband…

“Mm,” Fu Rangyi nodded after a delay. “It kept shocking me. It was very uncomfortable…”

Did he see that the wristband was offline? Was he worried?

“I’m sorry,” Fu Rangyi started apologizing again.

“It’s not your fault,” Zhu Zhixi said, pursing his lips, tears falling again. “I’m not blaming you. I was just too worried. I thought you were in danger. But none of this is your fault. It’s just your susceptible period, right?”

Just. No. This was a very dangerous illness.

Looking at those bright, moist eyes, Fu Rangyi felt like he was about to split in two. Half of him wanted to pin him down on the bed and mark him, to let his own pheromones permeate him from the inside out, to make him belong only to him. The other half was terrified, wanting to push him away, out of this room.

In that instant, reason overcame Alpha instinct, just as he would sober up when he saw Zhu Zhixi cry. Fu Rangyi suddenly got up from the bed, stood by the side, and picked up the knit sweater he had torn. Even now, he actually wanted to pick up this piece of clothing and sniff it hard. Am I a mad dog? He hated this part of himself. After a long silence, Fu Rangyi said, “I want to go to the hospital.”

“Now? Are you still feeling very unwell? Then I’ll go with you…”

“No need,” Fu Rangyi took a deep breath. “I’m going to be hospitalized for treatment.”

Zhu Zhixi’s brow furrowed tightly. “We can go to the hospital, and I’ll go with you. But being hospitalized… the doctors here aren’t familiar with you. You’re tolerant to too many drugs. Using the wrong medication will only worsen your condition. What if they use a suppressant on you that you can’t use?”

“It’s fine,” Fu Rangyi said drowsily. “Big hospitals have special wards for high-risk Alphas…”

Zhu Zhixi vetoed it even more strongly. “I don’t want that.” He choked, his voice hoarse. “I won’t let you go to that kind of place, where they tie people up like dogs. No.”

As he spoke, he shakily got out of bed, walked in front of Fu Rangyi, and hugged him. “Isn’t it just a susceptible period? I’ll help you. I did a very good job last time, remember?”

The moment their skin touched, an electric current shot through Fu Rangyi’s limbs. His heart pounded terrifyingly fast. Dark, crazy, pathological desires screamed in his mind, squeezing his precarious reason.

Force a kiss. Invade. Choke his neck and mark him.

Open him up. Dig in.

“Okay? I can help you,” Zhu Zhixi coaxed gently, more like a temptation. “We’re partners.”

Partners?

Partners should be permanently marked.

But Fu Rangyi pushed him away. “No.”

This person was too good, too soft. Would there ever be anyone else like this, who would come to check on his safety regardless of everything?

He couldn’t hurt him.

“Why?” Zhu Zhixi’s eyes looked like a wounded little animal. “Are you afraid of hurting me?”

He cupped Fu Rangyi’s evasive face. “Nian Nian, look at me.”

Fu Rangyi lowered his eyes, his eyelashes trembling. His heart and face were filled with want, but his body was tense, using all his strength to reject him.

But Zhu Zhixi stood on his tiptoes and placed a very light kiss on his lips.

He said, “Don’t be afraid. I love you.”

1. In Chinese slang, 521 means “I love you,” often as a response to 520. The numbers are popular because their pronunciation is similar to “wǒ ài nǐ” (\(我爱你\)), which means “I love you” ↩︎