On the cabinet beside the hospital bed, two unopened boxes lay conspicuously.

The transparent plastic wrapping on the boxes was still intact, clearly revealing the words beneath—these were the exact contraceptive supplies that Xu Weinan had handed to Lin Zhu earlier just in case.

The pheromones in the ward were incredibly thick. Based on Xu Weinan’s years of medical experience, this was absolutely not a level that a regular temporary mark could reach.

An Alpha and an Omega alone in a room, especially when the Omega was experiencing an extremely severe acute heat—it was obvious what would happen…

Not to mention, the two had just recently tested with a 100% pheromone compatibility rate.

As Yan Ruoyun’s attending physician, Xu Weinan had received a call from him as early as last week, saying he wanted to book a full-body AO physical examination for himself and Mr. Lin.

From that moment on, he knew these two AOs with an astonishing compatibility rate had already made private contact.

Judging by President Yan’s tone, his mood seemed quite good too? After hanging up the phone, Xu Weinan couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Yan Ruoyun suffered from a rare, stubborn disease. In the long history of medicine, there was one and only one treatment plan: find an Alpha with an extremely high compatibility rate and engage in marking behavior with them.

Marking wasn’t hard.

What was hard was searching for that person like finding a needle in a haystack.

Fortunately, Lin Zhu had appeared.

When President Yan was lying half-conscious on the emergency room bed having the subcutaneous monitor implanted, Xu Weinan first obtained his permission before calling to notify the Alpha youth.

On the hospital bed, the Omega’s consciousness was hazy. He had remained silent for a long time before nodding his agreement.

Being an Omega himself, Xu Weinan could see the man’s hesitation, and he knew where that hesitation came from.

Speaking purely from a genetic standpoint,
The dynamic between an Alpha and an Omega was extremely unequal.

Take “marking” as an example:
A temporary mark between an AO pair could be completed just by biting the gland. But a deep mark went much further; it not only required biting the gland but also required the AO pair to engage in a more intimate physical union.

Except, during this union, the Alpha could not enter the Omega’s reproductive cavity and form a knot to release inside… otherwise, it would become a lifelong mark.

An Omega who had been permanently marked could only be marked by that same Alpha for the rest of their life, while the Alpha remained unaffected by the lifelong mark.

Therefore, when an Omega wanted to leave their Alpha, they could only undergo gland excision or clearance surgery. However, no matter which surgery it was, both would cause immense pain and severe lasting side effects for the Omega.

As the chief physician of the Omega Gland Department, Xu Weinan had interacted with many Omegas inquiring about these related surgeries. He knew deeply that in an AO relationship, Omegas were always the genetically vulnerable party. If an Alpha hastily completed a lifelong mark without careful consideration…

The consequences would inevitably be tragic.

Especially for President Yan.

His condition was inherently much more complicated than a regular Omega’s. Tonight, his acute heat was triggered by accidentally ingesting an aphrodisiac. If this happened while his consciousness was blurred…

Furthermore, under the influence of a 100% pheromone compatibility rate, if the two combined without any protection, the conception rate would skyrocket.

To put it bluntly,
It was entirely possible to create a new life on the very first try.

Xu Weinan’s brows furrowed into a deep ‘川’ shape: “Mr. Lin, didn’t I explicitly instruct you earlier to make sure you use protective measures?”

Just as his words fell.

“Doctor Xu, you misunderstand.” Yan Ruoyun smoothly took over the conversation. “We only did a temporary mark. We had no use for these products.”

At this, Xu Weinan was genuinely surprised.

From the moment the call bell was pressed to when he entered the door, nearly ten minutes had passed. The air circulation system in the room had been running at maximum power for so long… and now the man was saying this was only the result of a temporary mark??

Xu Weinan said with some shock, “I’ve been in the Omega Gland Department for nearly twenty years, and this is the first time I’ve encountered a situation like this…!”

Yan Ruoyun set the mineral water bottle in his hand aside. Seeming to remember something, he nodded and asked, “Perfect timing. The AO physical exam I booked with you last time—can we move it up to today or tomorrow?”

As he spoke, the man glanced at the blond youth and continued:

“This kid just completed his secondary differentiation a little over half a month ago, and he had an acute rut last week. He even had a nosebleed at the time… I don’t know if it’s a side effect of the differentiation, so please examine him while we’re at it.”

“Understood. I will inform the director of the Alpha Gland Department in advance.”

Hearing Yan Ruoyun casually book an expert consultation for him at the neighboring Alpha Gland Department in just a few words, Lin Zhu seized the opportunity to ask: “Doctor, how is his condition now?”

The ‘his’ in this sentence referred to Yan Ruoyun.

He noticed that the intern doctor standing behind the chief physician was holding a medical tray. In the shallow metal tray lay several syringes and large and small tubular containers. It looked a bit frightening.

Lin Zhu looked over and realized that just for the blood draw alone, it seemed they were going to take four or five vials.

“His condition is stabilizing. The fact that he’s regained full consciousness means the dangerous period has temporarily passed…”

Xu Weinan paused, then continued:

“However, the detailed situation can only be confirmed once the venous blood and urine test reports come out. It’s possible that symptoms of intermittent heat may still occur in the short term. Mr. Lin, it’s recommended that you stay in the hospital with President Yan until he safely passes the three to five-day observation period…”

Lin Zhu nodded repeatedly.

With a shake of his head, the tips of his blond hair curled slightly.

Following this, Doctor Xu likely had some private Omega-related matters to discuss with Yan Ruoyun that were inconvenient for others to hear. Lin Zhu consciously avoided suspicion and respectfully left the hospital room.

He walked all the way toward the elevators.

Lin Zhu’s own clothes were already soaked through. Right now, he was wearing a hospital gown taken from the cabinet in the special care ward, with a pair of grey indoor slippers on his feet.

This outfit looked completely natural walking down a hospital corridor.

Two minutes later.

Lin Zhu stood in front of the elevators. It was only while waiting for the elevator car to descend that he suddenly remembered he seemed to have forgotten someone—

Lin Xiujie.

Earlier, when he had been rushing toward Yan Ruoyun’s ward, he had only briefly crossed paths with Lin Xiujie and hadn’t even had time to say a single word.

No, that’s not right.

Had Lin Xiujie greeted him back then?

Lin Zhu craned his neck, staring at the numbers indicating the descending floors of the elevator, thinking blankly: This was actually his first time seeing Lin Xiujie in person…

That is to say, the official male lead (Gong/Top) of this novel’s world.

The man in the black suit was handsome and upright, his facial features incredibly striking. He carried an exceptionally bright and righteous aura around him. Even from a hurried glance, anyone could tell he was an Alpha with outstanding looks and presence.

An uncompromisingly successful man.

…Whether in his original world or in this current ABO world, Lin Zhu and he were completely opposite types.

Lin Zhu was too young. He hadn’t even stepped out of the ivory tower of school yet, and his aura was vastly different from this corporate president who had navigated the business world for years.

Lin Xiujie’s eyes were bright, his features upright and handsome; whereas Lin Zhu’s appearance was incredibly gloomy, world-weary, and cold. He didn’t look like a proper, upstanding person.

Ding.
The elevator doors opened.

Lin Zhu took a step into the elevator, an indescribable feeling suddenly surging in his heart…

A thousand different thoughts all merged into a single sentence.

—The person who walks to the end with him,
Isn’t me.

“…”

Just as the doors of the elevator Lin Zhu was in slowly closed, the elevator on the other side stopped at this floor as well.

The doors slid open.

A bespectacled man in a suit carrying a briefcase walked out briskly.

By the time Chen Yuan rushed to the special care ward, Doctor Xu had just left, leaving Yan Ruoyun alone in the room.

“President Yan, that D-list celebrity who drugged you and his manager have already been detained. We’re just waiting to see how the police will handle it…”

Chen Yuan pushed his glasses up and immediately reported his work:

“The news has also been suppressed. Other than the driver who brought you here and President Lin, no one else knows about tonight.”

“Oh right, I ran into President Lin at the hospital entrance just now… He said he was leaving first, and asked you to let him know you’re safe once you woke up.”

Yan Ruoyun nodded.

“Good. You’ve worked hard today, and I’ll have to trouble you a lot over the next few days. Once this is all handled properly, I’ll double your year-end bonus.”

“Thank you, President Yan. I’ll take my leave first then.”

Yan Ruoyun gave an ‘mm’ of acknowledgment, taking the laptop and phone Chen Yuan had brought. He first set the laptop on his legs, then pinched the phone and dialed a number.

“Hello?”

On the other end of the line, no one spoke.

The time on the call interface ticked up second by second.

After a brief silence, the person on the other side finally surrendered, their tone filled with unspeakable shock.

“…………Holy shit. The Alpha with a 100% pheromone compatibility rate with you… is Lin Zhu?? My brother?”

Yan Ruoyun replied calmly: “Yes.”

Another dozen seconds passed.

Lin Xiujie finally recovered from his speechlessness. After an eerie silence, he asked in confusion:

“…Then what is the situation between you two now? I bumped into Lin Zhu earlier, and he looked pretty anxious?”

Holding the phone, Yan Ruoyun’s every breath carried a faint, cool mint scent. He couldn’t help but curl his lips into a smile and replied: “We’re dating. We’re in a relationship.”

Lin Xiujie choked, then suddenly let out a long sigh. “Of all people, it had to be Lin Zhu… If this news leaks out, my mom is probably going to go crazy. Who knows what kind of drama she’ll stir up.”

Yan Ruoyun was also silent for a moment before urging: “Keep it a secret for me for now. The kid is still in high school, he has the college entrance exams next year… I want to wait until he graduates to announce it.”

Lin Xiujie thought about it and agreed:

“True. If things between you two were exposed right now, it probably wouldn’t settle down anytime soon… It’d be fine for you, who’d dare gossip about you to your face now? But they’d definitely all go after him.”

Yan Ruoyun pinched the bridge of his nose and asked: “How has Auntie been recently?”

He was referring to Lin Xiujie’s mother, Gu Yan.

On the other end of the phone.
The man let out another sigh.

“Sigh, how else could she be? Ever since that person died… my dad and mom separated. Even when they occasionally meet, they barely say a few words. They just torture each other.”

After saying that, Lin Xiujie asked again: “Are you… serious about Lin Zhu?”

“Mm.”

Holding the phone, Yan Ruoyun watched as the hospital room door opened and the blond youth walked in, carrying a takeout bag of small wontons. His peach-blossom eyes curved into a smile as he enunciated every word clearly,

“I’m serious—”

“I’ve made up my mind, it’s him.”