Outside the open window, wind and rain raged.
Two overlapping figures moved swiftly through the long, dimly lit corridor of the hotel.
The howling wind stirred the drapes, slamming them violently against the windows; the gusts tore at the fabric, and the pounding rain outside grew even more relentless. Cold, heavy raindrops splattered onto the hotel’s luxurious wool carpet.
If the wool were still on the sheep, one could imagine a flock trembling under the storm clouds, their soaked coats clinging to their shivering bodies.
The rain also lashed against the man within the shadows.
In the dim light, the person in his arms couldn’t move — held tightly, he raised his light brown eyes, wanting to wipe the rainwater running down Gu Heng’s tight jawline and along his rain-soaked arm.
Zuo Shihuan looked down through Gu Heng’s arms at the storm raging outside. Through the blur of rain and lightning, he caught glimpses of window after window flashing past like film frames. A flicker of worry crossed his light brown eyes.
Only he, however, remained completely dry — Gu Heng had shielded him from everything, holding him close to that warm, feverish chest that made his cheeks flush pink. It felt as though the world outside — the wind, the rain, the chaos — had nothing to do with him.
It was the kind of comfort one could easily drown in.
But for Zuo Shihuan, no matter how safe the moment felt — someone accustomed to surviving in chaos, to overthinking and gnawing on his own fears — he could never truly find peace.
Even as he felt that rare warmth and reliance, part of him began to doubt, to worry, to mistrust — Not because he distrusted Gu Heng, but because being unable to control the unknown made him palpably uneasy.
Perhaps having someone to trust and depend on was a kind of blessing.
But for him — it also felt like a curse.
Zuo Shihuan was someone accustomed to misfortune. He was used to handling everything by himself — even when he was exhausted, he preferred to anticipate and control every possible outcome. That, paradoxically, was what made him feel safe.
Although he trusted that Gu Heng would never harm him — that even if Gu Heng were injured, he would never allow Zuo Shihuan to be hurt — just like now, when the rain poured down on Gu Heng’s body while he himself remained warm and dry, untouched by a single drop —
He didn’t feel any particular comfort or happiness from it.
He would rather stand in the rain beside Gu Heng than become a burden watching him bear it all alone.
Half-lowered, his light brown eyes filled with quiet worry, Zuo Shihuan leaned against that broad, solid chest, listening to the steady, heavy thud of Gu Heng’s heartbeat. He couldn’t help but lift his gaze once more to Gu Heng’s tense jawline, to those deep, restrained dark eyes, and spoke softly: “You can put me down now. We’re outside — I can walk by myself.”
Zuo Shihuan felt he couldn’t let Gu Heng keep carrying him like this. After all, he was a perfectly able-bodied Alpha — and Gu Heng’s arm had nearly been grazed through by a bullet not long ago. He didn’t even know if the wound had properly healed yet.
If the rain soaked into it again and caused an infection, that would be serious.
But Gu Heng seemed not to hear. His pupils froze for less than a second — then the arm around Zuo Shihuan’s waist only tightened.
Thinking Gu Heng hadn’t heard him, Zuo Shihuan tried to wriggle free, saying, “Gu Heng, let me down — I can walk perfectly fine on my own!”
This time, Gu Heng clearly heard him. His dark brows furrowed, yet he still refused to let go. His low, magnetic voice came out muffled and heavy:
“No.”
Zuo Shihuan froze, caught off guard by the refusal. His lips parted and closed a few times — unsure what to say — when Gu Heng’s voice sounded again.
“Don’t move. Someone’s coming.”
Zuo Shihuan pressed his lips together helplessly.
All he could do was listen — to the restless thunderstorm, the dripping of rainwater, the sound of Gu Heng’s breathing against his chest, and a jumble of footsteps drawing nearer…
Moments later, beams of light appeared around the corner of the dark corridor — hotel security, patrolling with flashlights.
That was normal.
Even with the power outage, the hotel’s staff had responded quickly. Security guards with emergency flashlights were simply doing their jobs — a commendable thing, really.
But it didn’t change the fact that Zuo Shihuan wanted more and more desperately to get out of Gu Heng’s arms.
If the patrol guards saw him — a grown Alpha man being carried around — especially when everyone here had seen his face before…
Zuo Shihuan could only groan inwardly, wanting to cover his face. Thank god the lights were still out — otherwise, he’d die of embarrassment. He was already blushing now.
Besides, Gu Heng had already taken care of him long enough. Leaving this hotel would still require passes and security checks.
Zuo Shihuan didn’t know what method Gu Heng had used to shut down the power in the entire Federation Hotel — but it was clear that the power-supply pass was useless now. However, they couldn’t possibly avoid the security patrols. And Zuo Shihuan didn’t want Gu Heng getting into another fight with anyone. He could handle explaining things himself.
Gently tugging on Gu Heng’s sleeve, Zuo Shihuan lifted his clear, earnest eyes and said eagerly, “Don’t worry, you can put me down. I’ll talk to them and get us out — they know who I am, they won’t stop us.”
After saying that, he tried again to free himself from Gu Heng’s hold — and this time, surprisingly, he succeeded easily. He didn’t think much of it, assuming Gu Heng had finally come around, and started stepping out into the corridor to speak with the guards.
But just as half his body crossed the threshold, a strong arm wrapped around his waist again, pulling him sharply back — his back colliding hard with a broad, solid chest.
There was no need to guess who it was.
The impact made his shoulder blades ache. He turned, ready to glare and scold Gu Heng — but before he could speak, a heavy head pressed suddenly against his neck, and arms wrapped around his waist from behind, refusing to let go.
Zuo Shihuan couldn’t understand it — what was so good about hugging a waist, of all things? Why was Gu Heng clinging to him like this?
He wasn’t some delicate Omega with a soft, slender waist. Even before differentiating into an Alpha, when he’d still been a Beta, he wasn’t the frail or skinny type — his waist was lean and firm, sculpted from years of manual labor and underground fighting.
Yet this man — whose face he couldn’t even see — held him tightly, burying his head in Zuo Shihuan’s neck. The short, coarse black hair pricked against his skin, making the sensitive spot at his nape tingle.
Gu Heng’s hot, muffled breaths brushed against his ear, bringing with them a strangely heavy, restless emotion — one that made Zuo Shihuan’s anger melt away before it could form. His ears burned red from the warmth of that breath. He truly had no idea what to do with this overly clingy man.
He didn’t know what was wrong with Gu Heng — he seemed… down, even a little sad.
Could it really be because he’d said he didn’t want him to carry him anymore?
No way.
But then again, knowing Gu Heng… who could say?
Gu Heng always did things so unpredictable, so utterly baffling, so headache-inducing — that if he was sulking over something so small, Zuo Shihuan honestly wouldn’t be surprised.
He sighed, rubbing his forehead in exasperation.
Even though he often complained to Gu Heng, the truth was — he didn’t dislike any of this. If anything, he was the one who indulged Gu Heng, letting him stay by his side through all his chaos.
Even when Gu Heng had crashed his engagement party and taken him away — he’d still followed him, eloping without hesitation. He’d never imagined he’d have a day like that — reckless, impulsive, utterly out of control.
A trace of helpless tenderness passed through Zuo Shihuan’s light brown eyes. He looked at Gu Heng with soft indulgence and said,
“If you don’t want me to go out, then I won’t. If you want to hold me, then hold me as long as you like. It’s not like I can escape anyway.”
He couldn’t help but speculate.
Maybe running away from the engagement had brought Gu Heng a lot of psychological pressure too…
Anyone would feel the strain after doing something like that. Even Zuo Shihuan’s own heart was pounding uncontrollably now.
Zuo Shihuan smiled wryly to himself. He couldn’t really blame Gu Heng for being under pressure—his own mind was in such a mess that he didn’t even know what to do next.
But since he had chosen to elope with Gu Heng, it was a decision he had made willingly, without regret. No matter how hard things got, it wasn’t as if he’d never been through worse—he had always managed to fight his way through.
This time, he wouldn’t be powerless like before. And besides, this time, he had Gu Heng with him.
However, things weren’t quite as Zuo Shihuan imagined.
Gu Heng didn’t feel any pressure from taking Zuo Shihuan and running away. The one who would’ve gone mad watching Zuo Shihuan get married was him.
It was just that… that last image of Zuo Shihuan turning back before leaving, glancing once more at that Omega bride, kept replaying endlessly in Gu Heng’s mind, stirring up jealousy and sour suspicion.
Even though he could tell that Zuo Shihuan didn’t look at that Omega woman the same way he looked at him—his gaze wasn’t filled with love and tenderness—Gu Heng still couldn’t stop wondering what their relationship really was.
Or perhaps… what it had already become.
Even if they were merely friends, Gu Heng’s heart was full of resistance, aversion, and unease. He couldn’t bear for Zuo Shihuan to have any sort of connection with that so-called Omega fiancée.
Not even the slightest.
It was fine for Zuo Shihuan to be gentle toward someone else—
Even though Gu Heng hated seeing Zuo Shihuan’s gaze rest on anyone other than himself, he would still restrain that irrational possessiveness, because he knew that the only person Zuo Shihuan truly loved was him.
As for other irrelevant people, he would respect Zuo Shihuan’s normal social relationships.
As long as…
It wasn’t that infuriating Omega woman who used to be Zuo Shihuan’s fiancée.
Even as Gu Heng held Zuo Shihuan in silence, he couldn’t stop planning to get rid of everything on Zuo Shihuan that was tied to that engagement banquet and that Omega woman—
Including the engagement ring.
From where Zuo Shihuan couldn’t see, Gu Heng kept his lips pressed tight, his expression dark and repressed, and every so often his jealous eyes would flick toward the ring on Zuo Shihuan’s hand.
He was even jealous of a ring.
Even though he was the one who had personally placed that engagement ring on Zuo Shihuan’s finger, he still couldn’t suppress the urge to crush it to dust and throw it away.
He could easily replace it with a ring that belonged solely to the two of them—he could even make it himself. In his safehouse in the Federation, he had all kinds of mechanical tools he could use to craft one.
And among his collection were rare and precious metals and gemstones; once they were set and worn on Zuo Shihuan’s hand again, it would be incomparable in beauty and elegance—far more exquisite than that plain, tasteless engagement ring.
In truth, the ring wasn’t as ugly as Gu Heng imagined—his prejudice and jealousy had clouded his eyes.
The engagement ring had been custom-designed by a renowned jewelry master, commissioned by the Zuo and Yu families.
During the design process, the master had asked both of the engaged parties what style they wanted. Neither of them cared about this political marriage, and coincidentally, both said they wanted it as simple as possible.
If it had been up to them, they would’ve preferred the rings not to exist at all—but of course, no jewelry master could make that happen.
All these unspoken reasons and dark feelings swirling inside him—Gu Heng couldn’t say them to Zuo Shihuan. He didn’t want to let him see how narrow-minded and petty he was.
He’d rather sulk alone and quietly digest these unnecessary emotions.
The only person who could easily stir him up—or calm him down—was Zuo Shihuan. As he held Zuo Shihuan in his arms, feeling his warmth, Gu Heng had almost managed to soothe his emotions.
But then, when Zuo Shihuan kept struggling to pull away from him, it triggered something in Gu Heng—his stress response flaring up, making him even more unwilling to let Zuo Shihuan go.
At first, it was possessiveness that made him want to hold on, but as soon as he caught the scent of Zuo Shihuan’s pheromones, he began to lose control.
He trapped Zuo Shihuan in his arms.
His nose brushed unintentionally against the sensitive skin of Zuo Shihuan’s neck, catching the faint trace of apple wine beneath layers of perfume and other mixed scents.
Even though Zuo Shihuan had used a pheromone blocker for the special occasion and was now covered in the chaotic mix of scents from the engagement banquet, his natural pheromone had faded to nearly nothing—like a glass of apple wine left uncovered in the sun until it lost all flavor.
No one could sense it—
Except Gu Heng.
From the very first day he met Zuo Shihuan, Gu Heng had realized that Zuo Shihuan’s pheromone scent had an irresistibly fatal allure for him.
Even the shameless noble Omegas sent by the Empire, who tried to seduce him using the natural allure of their pheromones, had never managed to shake him in the slightest.
The so-called Alpha restlessness in his body only made Gu Heng feel disgust and rejection toward such people—toward those meaningless, animalistic liaisons based purely on pheromonal attraction.
He had seen couples whose pheromones matched perfectly, yet who utterly loathed each other.
His own parents, the Emperor and Empress.
Perhaps it was his mother who despised both the Emperor and the child that should never have been born, while the Emperor had never cared for the Omegas in his harem at all.
Having long witnessed the relationship between his father and mother, Gu Heng couldn’t understand—
How could anyone fall in love with someone just because their pheromones smelled nice?
It was as ridiculous as a human falling in love with a bunch of fruits or vegetables.
If you don’t love the person, what does it matter how pleasant their scent is?
Moreover, Gu Heng was no ordinary Alpha.
Generations of refined imperial bloodlines meant that from the moment he was born, his genetic level exceeded all records. Before even reaching adulthood, he had already reached the unprecedented genetic limit of all Alphas—and even now, Gu Heng still didn’t know where his true limit lay.
Ordinary Omegas could never easily attract him. Combined with his own resistance toward such instincts, people once even speculated that he might have pheromone indifference syndrome—in other words, that he was sexually frigid.
But Gu Heng knew very well he was anything but. On the contrary, his desire ran deep—too intense for most to bear.
Just like now.
Even the faintest trace of pheromone unconsciously released from Zuo Shihuan made it hard for Gu Heng to restrain himself. His jaw tensed as sharp canine teeth pressed against his lip, and his dark eyes sank, dim and hoarse with barely suppressed need.
His gaze fixed on the small, raised gland at the back of Zuo Shihuan’s neck.
Too close.
That lingering scent of sweet apple wine—rich, heady, and intoxicating—felt like it had been waiting forever for someone to taste it. How else could it exude such maddening allure, so lush and irresistible?
Gu Heng’s throat bobbed several times in dry, aching hunger. He tried to avert his gaze, but failed again. His deep black eyes brimmed with thick, burning desire as his tongue pressed against the edge of his sharp canines, itching with need.
And yet, while Zuo Shihuan spoke to him with that gentle, indulgent tone—eyes soft and full of affection—the vulnerable gland on his neck lay completely unguarded, mere centimeters away from Gu Heng’s fangs.
Then he said those words, telling him to just hold him, that he couldn’t escape anyway.
It was as if he were inviting Gu Heng—no, tempting him—to claim, to mark, to leave an imprint that would forever declare him Gu Heng’s and no one else’s.
How could an Alpha who was already straining at the edge of self-control possibly resist that?
Gu Heng despised himself for the filthy, covetous thoughts crawling through his chest, his throat tight with shame and want. Dark, forbidden desire surged beneath the surface—but he forced himself to suppress it.
He didn’t want to frighten Zuo Shihuan.
He fought back the urge to mark him, to reveal that he was, in fact, an Alpha. Besides—an Alpha couldn’t mark another Alpha.
It wasn’t fair.
Jealousy started to stir in him again.
But when he met Zuo Shihuan’s helplessly gentle, affectionate gaze, the tension in Gu Heng’s pitch-black pupils loosened slightly. Though still possessive, he slowly eased his arms a little, lessening the suffocating grip that had moments ago felt like a drowning man refusing to let go.
At least now, Zuo Shihuan could finally breathe properly.
Still, Gu Heng refused to release him entirely. His muffled voice came low and rough: “It was you who said I could keep holding you. You’re not allowed to look at anyone else.”
“I didn’t look at anyone,” Zuo Shihuan protested, feeling wronged. Yet, in that moment, Gu Heng seemed almost like a proud, sulky black cat—clingy, unreasonable, but endearingly so.
If only he knew what was actually running through that man’s mind just now, Zuo Shihuan might have punched him instead.
Gu Heng, however, hadn’t forgotten what he’d just witnessed. He looked up, his expression clouded and sullen.
“You did look.”
Zuo Shihuan blinked, confused. “Look at what?”
Gu Heng hadn’t wanted to ask—but seeing Zuo Shihuan’s puzzled, unrepentant face only made him feel that the man was deliberately hiding something. Jealous frustration welled up, his dark eyes filling with repressed grievance.
He couldn’t hold it back.
“Why were you looking at that Omega woman just now?”
“Who?” Zuo Shihuan was completely at a loss.
Gu Heng’s chest heaved, his voice rough and tight as he ground out, “Your fiancée. That Omega woman!”
“I saw it myself—you looked at her several times! Even if she’s your former fiancée, you’re not allowed to look again. I can pretend nothing ever happened before, but from now on, you’ll cut all ties with that Omega woman—including this engagement ring.”
Finally, Gu Heng seized Zuo Shihuan’s hand—the one wearing the ring—and said, eyes sharp with jealousy and disdain, “It’s ugly. I’ll replace it with a better one.”
For a moment, Zuo Shihuan thought he was joking. His light brown eyes curved in amusement, lips twitching as if he might laugh outright.
But faced with Gu Heng’s utterly serious expression, the smile froze on his lips. Slowly, disbelief crept into his heart.
He couldn’t be serious… could he?
Had Gu Heng really not realized that the so-called Omega fiancée was someone he knew—not just knew, but was actually his good friend Ji Shenwen’s girlfriend, Yu Lizhu?
How could there possibly be anything between him and Yu Lizhu?
Gu Heng had completely misunderstood.
And yet, seeing him sulky, jealous, and anxious like this—so adorably flustered—made something in Zuo Shihuan’s chest itch. He couldn’t resist teasing him a little.
So he did.
“No,” Zuo Shihuan said gently, his gaze soft as he looked down at the ring, lips curving faintly. “I’m quite satisfied with this one. No need to replace it.”
The look in Gu Heng’s eyes changed instantly.
He worried that what Zuo Shihuan cared about wasn’t the ring itself—but the person who gave it.
Gu Heng tried to stay calm, but jealousy seeped through anyway, his tone edged with bitterness.
“You care about it that much? Even though it’s not from me—but from your engagement with another Omega?”
“Yes,” Zuo Shihuan said firmly.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gu Heng’s eyes redden with jealousy, his composure unraveling. Zuo Shihuan’s heart softened—he almost wanted to stop before making him cry.
But then he remembered how many times Gu Heng had teased him before. Fine. Let this be payback.
A mischievous smile ghosted at his lips.
“I think it’s quite nice,” he said with feigned innocence. “Do you really mind that much?”
And then he watched as Gu Heng’s eyes turned misty red with hurt and jealousy—looking so pitiful that Zuo Shihuan almost wanted to lean down and kiss him.
It was both funny and a little heartbreaking—how could Gu Heng fail to see something so simple?
