Chapter 1: The Countdown

“I’d rather die than get married.”

Zhu Zhixi dragged his suitcase, pushed into the subway car by the crowd. “Really, bro, leave me alone. No, don’t send the driver either, I’m already on the subway.” After speaking, he hung up the phone.

12:30 PM. It wasn’t rush hour, but the subway car was still as crowded as an overstuffed can, not just with people, but also with a mix of pheromones, as if it would explode any second.

But none of this had much effect on Zhu Zhixi. He would rather be squeezed in here than be picked up by the family driver. In his current situation, he would either be sent to a Western restaurant for a blind date or to the hospital for a check-up.

Two days ago, he was volunteering at a wildlife conservation base in East Africa, free and full of life. For some reason, while video-calling his father, he suddenly got a nosebleed. He wanted to find a tissue to wipe it, but as he stood up, he fainted.

This scared his whole family. The local medical conditions were limited, so his dad, without a second thought, had someone forcibly bring him back to the country.

His phone vibrated. It was his older brother, Zhu Zeran, again.

[Da Zhu: I can’t be bothered to manage you either. These are all tasks assigned by Lao Zhu.]

He sent several PDF files, titled “Blind Date Profiles.” Zhu Zhixi skipped right over them, not wanting to open them.

Zhu Zeran then forwarded a message from his dad.

[Lao Zhu: His qualifications are very good. He’s a professor at such a young age. Although he’s an S-class Alpha, he’s well-behaved and upright. His looks are top-notch. His advisor is a good friend of mine and can’t stop praising this student. Now that Xiao Xi is back, have him look at the profile quickly and persuade him to at least go for a meeting.]

Zhu Zhixi laughed after reading it. He sat on his suitcase, his fingers flying across the screen.

[Xiao Zhu: I don’t care about his qualifications or his looks. I didn’t come back to the country for a blind date. I already said it’s to curate an exhibition for a museum. A proper job. Or did you think a small illness could really tie me down?]

[Da Zhu: Have you ever had a proper job? Dad wanted you to study business administration and join the corporation, but you insisted on running off to study art history abroad. You got lucky and made a name for yourself with that exhibition, then suddenly quit to travel the world. You seek out hardship, one moment in Kenya, the next in the Amazon rainforest. Finding you is harder than finding a signal in a basement. I saw your vlog, feeding a baby chimpanzee, looking for sea turtle eggs, your head about to freeze off while waiting to feed penguins. Is that what you call a proper job? Does it pay you a salary?]

Zhu Zhixi laughed in exasperation.

[Xiao Zhu: Our levels of enlightenment are not on the same plane. I refuse to speak with a pragmatic workaholic like you.]

[Da Zhu: Do you keep your word? Didn’t you say before that you never wanted to curate again?]

[Xiao Zhu: This time is really different! This museum is about to close down, and they want me to do the final exhibition before it closes. How meaningful is that? (After this reply, I’m really not going to talk to you anymore)]

[Da Zhu: Oh, a “last-ditch effort” exhibition, I see.]

Zhu Zhixi was furious and was about to retort.

“What’s wrong with you!”

Huh? Who broadcasted the line from my head?

He looked up, following the sound. There seemed to be a problem in the center of the car. The people who were originally standing in an orderly fashion holding the handrails were now in a mess. Some were covering their mouths and noses, others were rummaging through their bags, and everyone was backing away towards the car doors. But they were still far from the next station.

Putting away his phone, he stood up and looked towards the center of the argument. In the chaos, he caught a glimpse of a tall man approaching another, smaller young man.

“Can you retract your pheromones? Seriously, it’s illegal for high-level Alphas to release large amounts of pheromones in a public place like this!”

“So rude! This is a public safety violation. Do you know how many Omegas are in this car?”

Zhu Zhixi glanced at the Alpha’s wrists and neck—no suppressors. But the person he was pressuring had a suppressor patch on the back of his neck, most likely an Omega. He reached into the side pocket of his hiking backpack, his eyes fixed on the center of the conflict.

Suddenly, the Alpha lunged forward. With a bang, he slammed the other person against the car door. The moving car seemed to shake violently.

Screams erupted. The circle formed by the passengers widened again, everyone avoiding him.

“Let go of me!” The Omega, being choked, had a flushed face. He raised his hands to desperately slap and struggle, but the Alpha easily twisted his wrist and reached for the back of his neck.

Rip—

The suppressor patch was torn off. The Omega’s eyes widened, and he instantly went limp. His survival instinct was instantly overwhelmed by the pheromones, leaving only the passive physiological instinct of submission. He watched in despair as the pair of stark white canines approached.

“Please…”

At the critical moment, a jacket flew down from above, covering the berserk Alpha’s head from behind. The back of his knees were also struck hard from behind. He swayed and knelt on the ground.

In the next second, a strikingly handsome face appeared. He had his eyes half-lowered, biting a knotted blue rope. There was a bright red mole on his left eyelid, and his porcelain-white face was illuminated by the flowing light in the car, looking bright and fresh.

The next second, he released his teeth. The rope fell and was deftly caught by his hand.

“Go quickly!”

With quick eyes and hands, Zhu Zhixi grabbed the Alpha’s arms, twisted them behind his back, quickly looped a handcuff knot he had made, and pulled it tight, binding him securely.

Good thing I have an outdoor rope in my backpack.

“Let go of me, you bastard!”

So troublesome.

Although he was agile, he had a natural physical disparity with the Alpha. His strength was very limited. At this moment, he wished he could straddle him and use his body weight to suppress this crazed monster. But that was proving to be quite difficult.

Zhu Zhixi quickly turned his head and asked the crowd for help. “This Omega might have no strength left. Can everyone help pull him to a safer place?”

At this, someone in the frightened crowd finally came to their senses. Someone stepped forward to help the victim up and lead him into the crowd. A few other tall Alphas and Betas came forward to help, and only then was the berserk Alpha suppressed.

“You be careful too. His pheromones are disordered right now, it’s very dangerous,” one of them said.

“It’s fine.” Seeing the person was subdued, Zhu Zhixi also got off him, took back his own jacket, and smiled brightly. “I’m a Beta.”

The few of them were stunned for a moment, repeatedly looking at his face. In that moment of distraction, the attacker almost managed to fight back.

Zhu Zhixi was startled. The beaded bracelet on his left hand was almost pulled off. He became anxious. “Control the guy’s legs! He can’t get his hands free. This knot gets tighter the more you pull, but his legs can still move.”

The others, who had been distracted, finally reacted and all pressed down on the Alpha’s legs and feet.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before the subway security guards also arrived from another car, injected the berserk Alpha with a high-strength inhibitor, and took him away.

This episode disrupted Zhu Zhixi’s journey home. He shook his arm, feeling a bit sprained, and his leg was probably badly bruised too.

“Alphas are all dogs.”

He cursed under his breath, then suddenly realized he was now at a police station, a place not lacking in A’s, so he quickly added, “Except for the police uncles, hehe.”

After cooperating with the investigation and leaving the police station, it surprisingly started to rain heavily outside, with lightning and thunder. This was really strange for S City in December. The rain was torrential, so heavy it was as if God had finally discovered the filth of humanity, gathered all the angels, and was pouring water down with the largest buckets, determined to wash everyone clean.

Unfortunately, humans are wicked things and invented the good thing called an umbrella. Zhu Zhixi held the umbrella given to him by a kind police uncle and stopped his wild thoughts.

A drop of water slid down the umbrella’s surface, hung at the tip of a rib, and swayed in sync with the water-drop diamond on his earlobe.

This place was completely different from the sun-drenched African grasslands. The bustling streets, the scattered buildings, the festive streetlights, the black sky and earth—all were connected and enveloped by the rain. The world was like a giant festive snow globe, sealed in the crystal-clear winter rain.

The sound of the rain was restless, the honking of horns intertwined. People ran hastily in the rain, their footsteps loud and hurried, shattering the neon lights in the puddles. Thunder rumbled, but he suddenly heard the whimper of a small animal.

Strange.

Zhu Zhixi turned his head, and the sound appeared again. He confirmed he hadn’t misheard. And so, the kind-hearted citizen who had just helped resolve a riot was now hunched over, holding a flashlight, searching near the trash can at the entrance of the police station.

It was a little white dog, soaked by the rain.

He squatted down.

The puppy wasn’t too dirty, but very thin, and not very young. It had a collar around its neck, like a lost pet dog.

Having dealt with animals for years, he easily gained its trust. After a skilled check-up, he found that the puppy’s left front paw was constantly curled up.

Is it injured?

“It’s okay, don’t be afraid, okay? Let big brother take a look.”

The transparent umbrella was tucked under his shoulder. He squatted on the ground and gently held the puppy’s front paw.

Suddenly, with a soft snap, his hand trembled. He was zapped by static electricity. Thunder rumbled again, and the puppy, frightened, shrank into his arms.

“It’s just thunder, you timid dog. Don’t be afraid.” He wrapped the puppy in his coat and freed one hand to send a message. Muddy water stained his white sweater.

[Senior Zhixi: Xiao En, I found a puppy! Are you at the stray animal station? I’ll bring it over.]

Liang Yi’en was his junior and a friend who had co-founded the stray animal protection station with him. They had raised funds and held charity sales on campus, rented a yard, and taken in many stray animals. After he went abroad, the protection station was completely handed over to Liang Yi’en.

[Xiao En: I’m here.]

[Xiao En: The young master finds a dog right after returning to the country? Your luck is pretty good.]

“You’re the lucky one,” he said, petting the puppy’s forehead. “You little thing.”

As he stood up holding the dog, Zhu Zhixi suddenly felt a wave of dizziness. A warm stream flowed from his nose, dripping like rain onto the puppy’s back.

Why am I getting a nosebleed again?

Zhu Zhixi protected the puppy’s head, shook his own, trying to clear it. The neon lights flashed, a red tourist bus drove by, dragging tinkling music along. Under the headlights, the lines of rain danced. After the dizziness, this giant snow globe rolled, fell, and overturned. He closed his eyes and fainted by the roadside.

As his mind was in chaos, he had a strange dream. In the dream, everything was a vast expanse of white, with busy figures everywhere. The strange thing was, these people all had huge white wings. He tried to grab one of them.

[Where have I come to?]

The person looked at him with a puzzled expression and said, [Are you a person or a dog?]

Who are you looking down on? He was about to curse back when, in the next second, the ground beneath his feet gave way, and he fell into a deep abyss.

With a jolt, Zhu Zhixi woke up abruptly. He smelled the strong scent of disinfectant and opened his eyes to see the ceiling and a swaying IV bottle.

“The patient in bed 21 is awake.”

Patient?

Wait, how did I end up in the hospital again? Zhu Zhixi lay in the hospital bed, frowning. He reached out to feel around, was startled, and quickly sat up.

“Where’s my dog?”

The nurse and doctor who walked in after pulling back the curtain were both stunned. “What dog?”

“A little dog,” Zhu Zhixi gestured with his hands. “This big, white, a little dirty. I was holding him. Isn’t he here?”

The nurse explained patiently, “You were brought here by a ride-share driver. You called for his car, and when he came to pick you up, he found you had fainted on the roadside, so he brought you here. As for the dog… we don’t know.”

Zhu Zhixi went limp, his mind filled with thoughts of the poor little dog. Was it scared and hid back near the trash can?

He pulled back the covers, wanting to get out of bed. “I probably just had low blood sugar from not eating properly. If it’s nothing, I’ll be going. Thanks, and a happy new year to you in advance.”

“Wait a minute,” the doctor stopped him. “You haven’t even finished your IV drip. You still need to have some tests done later.”

“That’s right. Look at you, with such a heavy nosebleed. How could that be low blood sugar?” The nurse pulled his hand in front of him.

Zhu Zhixi looked down and saw the back of his hand was covered in wiped-on blood, and there was blood in the crevices of his fingers too, mixed with dried mud.

A nosebleed is no big deal… He casually flipped his palm over, but then he froze.

What is this?

A line of golden characters—60 days 0 hours 0 minutes 0 seconds—was shining on his left palm.

Zhu Zhixi frowned, closed his eyes, and hastily rubbed his hands together, clenched his fist, and then opened it again. Not only did the line of text not disappear, but it had changed.

[59 days 23 hours 59 minutes 59 seconds]

Then it continued to count down, second by second.

Wait, is this a countdown?

Zhu Zhixi was stunned. This was clearly a plot that would only appear in movies!

The doctor had just left, and the nurse had gone to the next bed. He pulled back the bed curtain with a whoosh and shouted.

“Sis, nurse sister, look at my hand! Why do I suddenly have a countdown on my hand?”

A chubby little boy was lying on the next bed, his pants half down. The nurse was holding a scary-looking syringe for an injection. Both of them turned to look at Zhu Zhixi at the same time, then looked at each other.

Zhu Zhixi waved his palm and pointed. “Right here, can you see it? A count…”

“I don’t want a shot!” The little boy suddenly pulled up his pants and burst into tears. “Mommy, there’s a crazy person! I want to go home!”

“You child, what are you…”

Zhu Zhixi was a bit speechless and pulled back the curtain on the other side. An old man was lying in the rightmost bed, chuckling foolishly at a short video.

“Grandpa, look at my hand. Is there a countdown on my hand? It’s golden and it’s flashing.”

The old man opened his eyes, then squinted, then opened them wide again, and then quickly found his reading glasses and put them on.

So I’m not the only one who can see it! Zhu Zhixi was so excited he almost jumped off the bed to sit next to the old man.

The old man looked and looked, then said seriously, “Young handsome man, your thenar eminence is full, and your palm is rosy. Your marriage line is deep and long. You might meet your fated one soon. You can’t miss this! Since we’ve met, it’s fate. Let me give you a good reading. The price is negotiable…”

Huh?

The nurse came over. With a swoosh, the old man’s bed curtain was also pulled shut. She turned around, looked at Zhu Zhixi, and sighed.

A crybaby, an old fraud, and now a new crazy person. This ward really doesn’t keep idle people.

She opened the door and went out. “Doctor, the patient in bed 21’s condition is more serious than we thought. We might need to add a brain CT scan.”

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Author’s Note:

Kind-hearted citizen Xiao Zhu: Happy New Year, everyone! We finally meet! (wink) My husband will be making his appearance tomorrow, please… mmmph! (Mouth covered by husband for being too active).

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