Chapter 19: This State Is Very Wrong.
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After the kiss, Zhao Jiu left, leaving Song Youji standing at the door, covering his mouth. He belatedly realized that he didn’t feel repulsed by Zhao Jiu’s intimacy; there was only a kind of embarrassed annoyance at being “fooled again.”
This state is very wrong.
Certainly, Zhao Jiu’s face matched his aesthetics, and his personality wasn’t as bad as Song Youji had imagined, but…
Suddenly, Song Youji felt a bit scared. He absolutely couldn’t let himself develop feelings for Zhao Jiu. They currently only had a contractual relationship, and Zhao Jiu had a prominent family background and distinguished military achievements. He could tease Song Youji without any reservations, but Song Youji couldn’t afford to really get involved.
In that case, the one who would get hurt would be himself.
Song Youji took a few deep breaths, calming the restlessness in his heart. He needed to find time to go to the hospital for a check-up to see when he would differentiate. He couldn’t delay it for too long.
Qiao Si stayed in the rescue association’s kitchen to help. Although he wasn’t good at making desserts, he was skilled in cooking savory dishes, especially proficient in Chinese cuisine, earning the favor of the kitchen manager. When Song Youji went to find him, Qiao Si was peeling potatoes. Seeing Song Youji, he quickly washed his hands in clear water.
“You don’t have to get up; let me help you.” Song Youji found a small stool, sat down, and started peeling potatoes with him. “I came to talk to you today about your brother.”
Qiao Si looked nervous. “Is there any news about my brother?”
Song Youji didn’t answer directly and asked, “Are you sure your brother is an Omega? I don’t mean anything else; there are many people named Qiao He, and more information can help confirm it more accurately.”
“Yes! I’m sure!” Qiao Si had witnessed his brother entering the heat period. The strong Omega pheromones attracted many undesirable Alphas around them. The Alphas were banging on the door outside, their faces displaying a crazed look. He would never forget it in this lifetime.
If someone hadn’t given Qiao He a suppressant and helped them drive away the Alphas at the door, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Tears of helplessness welled up in Qiao Si’s eyes. “My brother disappeared a few days before his heat period when he was thirteen. He said he was going to get a suppressant but never came back. I’m so scared…”
Song Youji quickly put down the potato, washed his hands, and handed Qiao Si a tissue. “Don’t be sad for now. Your brother should still be alive. I have a photo here; can you help confirm?”
…
Returning from the kitchen, Song Youji went to Jia Suiyu’s office and told her about Qiao Si’s brother. After finishing, the two fell into silence.
After a while, Jia Suiyu spoke, “Are you suggesting that someone in Area C is illegally selling unregulated suppressants?”
“Qiao Si’s brother disappeared when he was thirteen, and he’s now seventeen, meaning four years ago, or even longer, unregulated Omega suppressants were already circulating in Area C. However, the official suppressant distribution station was set up three years ago in Area C. At the same time, they also conducted statistics and registration for Omega in Area C, and less than ten people were registered, all of whom are now in our association.”
“Those ten people have an average age of fifteen, between just differentiated and not yet differentiated, so they haven’t injected suppressants. But before them, there must have been Omegas surviving on unregulated suppressants. Where are those people now?”
At that time, the registration and genetic testing in Area C were exceptionally strict, carried out with the assistance of the military. Almost no one should have slipped through the net, but only a few Omegas in the early stages of differentiation were detected. At that time, Jia Suiyu found it strange, but with the detestable public order in Area C, causing numerous injuries and deaths due to brawls every day, she thought the low survival rate of weak Omegas was the reason and didn’t delve into it.
“Did Qiao Si tell you who gave them suppressants?” Jia Suiyu asked.
Song Youji: “He was too young at that time and doesn’t remember the person’s face. He only knows it was a very young male.”
Jia Suiyu’s frown deepened. “I’ll report this to the relevant departments. Don’t worry about it for now; comfort Qiao Si, and I’ll notify you if there’s any news.”
“Okay, Sister Jia.” Song Youji was about to leave when Jia Suiyu handed him a file. “Do you remember the Omegas we rescued last time who got into Pulan Hotel? Someone has a problem; this afternoon, go and handle it for me.”
Taking the file, they had rescued three Omegas from the underground auction. One of them, with the association’s assistance, obtained an accounting certificate and entered the finance department of Pulan Hotel.
Society had opened up Omega employment for many years, but the professions available to Omegas were still far fewer than those for Alphas and Betas. Pulan Hotel was one of the few large companies without gender discrimination, and Song Youji wondered what had gone wrong this time to the extent that the association needed to intervene.
After lunch, Song Youji took Talina and went to Pulan Hotel. Stepping into the hall where he had once been engaged to Zhao Jiu, Song Youji’s heart skipped a beat.
During this period, news about him and Zhao Jiu was all over the internet. Even though he rarely actively looked at it, it was inevitably pushed to him.
Thinking of Zhao Jiu’s kiss in the morning, conflicting emotions surged in Song Youji’s heart.
In charge of receiving them was a young Beta named Ma Qiaoli. He was familiar with Song Youji, and seeing him, there was a strange expression on his face.
Song Youji treated him as if he knew about his and Zhao Jiu’s affairs and forced a bitter smile. Even if there were no pictures of him online, people who knew him would definitely recognize him.
Ma Qiaoli led them into the hotel’s management department, saying as they walked, “The reason we invited you this time is that an Alpha supervisor from the finance department reported an Omega in the same department for emitting pheromones during working hours, um… attempting to seduce them. The majority in the group are Betas, and there are only two Alphas in their department. They couldn’t verify the accuracy of the report, so they invited you both to assess the situation.”
Song Youji frowned when he heard this. “Both of those Alphas claimed he released pheromones?”
“Only one said so. The other has been seriously ill with a cold these past few days,” Ma Qiaoli explained with some helplessness. The timing was just too coincidental. However, the Alpha supervisor was an A-level Alpha and had presented evidence using a pheromone detector. The Omega in their department did indeed have slightly elevated pheromone levels.
Ma Qiaoli led them to a meeting room where the supervisor and the Omega in question were present, along with an unfamiliar man.
“Allow me to introduce our group’s vice chief, Beck Pulan,” Ma Qiaoli said.
“Hello.” Beck nodded slightly, his face covered in a layer of frost.
The supervisor spoke first, “Cui Ling has been enticing me by releasing pheromones not just once or twice. In the past, I chose not to pursue the matter. But a few days ago, her pheromones rubbed off on me and were smelled by my wife. My wife was furious, accusing her of disrupting our family harmony. I can’t tolerate it any longer!”
Talina sneered, “Oh, you’re married? Is your wife also an Omega?”
“Of course!” The supervisor retorted, irritated. “Who else, besides A and O, can smell pheromones? But this has nothing to do with my wife. Cui Ling’s pheromones have impacted my life, and I demand her dismissal.”
Talina said, “How can you be sure it’s not a scent you picked up while fooling around outside?”
The supervisor snapped, “You—”
Song Youji interrupted, “Talina, calm down. Sir, since you claim your colleague Cui Ling released pheromones on you, you must present evidence.”
“I have the data from the detector for these days. The Omega’s pheromones were significantly above the normal range,” the supervisor said, lifting his chin.
“I’ve reviewed that data. Except for July 4th and 5th, the levels are normal. Moreover, the values on those two days are only slightly higher, less than 0.5 above the normal range. Even if it’s on clothing, it’s challenging to notice,” Song Youji said with a stern expression.
Beck turned his head to look at the supervisor, his face darkening.
“Moreover, we learned that your Omega wife has a smell disorder and can only smell high concentrations of pheromones. Sir, it seems you’ve been fooling around outside for quite some time, relying on your wife’s condition. Unexpectedly, when everything was exposed, you pushed all the blame onto your colleague.”
“You’re talking nonsense! You don’t have the authority to access hospital records. This is illegal, spreading rumors, defamation!” the supervisor angrily retorted.
“Sorry, sir. We just received an application for divorce from your wife right before coming here,”
Song Youji said with just a few words, completely shattering the supervisor’s lies. His face turned ashen, and he cast a pleading gaze at Beck.
Beck stood up, his tone somewhat displeased, “Wasting my time over such a trivial matter. You’re fired. Compensate Cui Ling with an additional three months’ salary.”
After saying this, he walked towards Song Youji. “I apologize. Thank you for making the trip. It’s the first time the group has received such a report, and lacking experience, we had to invite you.”
“It’s okay. It’s what we should do,” Song Youji replied.
Beck gave him a meaningful look and then left the meeting room.
Song Youji was tightly hugged by Cui Ling, who exclaimed, “Youji, you were so cool just now! I almost got driven mad by that idiot. He harasses us with words at work all the time. This time, he actually pulled such a stunt! It’s all my fault; last time during my heat, I forgot to take the suppressant in advance. I didn’t expect that guy’s nose to be so sensitive. I almost lost my job because of it.”
“Alright, alright.” Song Youji pushed her away, straightened out his ruffled hair. “You should be careful in the future. Make sure to have suppressants ready. This time, it was just a coincidence. If his wife hadn’t helped, and there were no other witnesses who could smell pheromones, it would have been challenging to explain.”
“There definitely won’t be a next time! Thank you for making this trip.” Cui Ling hadn’t seen Song Youji for a long time and insisted on seeing him off.
The few of them entered the elevator, but it unexpectedly stopped on the 16th floor, hearing faint sounds of arguing outside. Song Youji stepped back, wanting to give them some space.
“Hey, Youji, if it’s a couple quarrel later, let’s go out and take another elevator?” Talina whispered.
The elevator door opened, revealing not a couple but Siwan and Beck, whom they had just met.
Seeing Song Youji, both of their expressions were quite subtle. Siwan forcefully pushed Beck aside and rushed into the elevator.
Beck’s expression was complex as he stood outside, quietly watching the elevator door close.
Siwan stood beside Song Youji, biting his lip, wanting to speak but hesitating. “Did you come after hearing the news? Youji, this was all decided by my dad and Uncle Zhao. They didn’t even ask for my opinion.”
Song Youji was puzzled. “What do you mean?”
“They came to discuss the alliance between our families. They said once you differentiate, they will dissolve your engagement with Zhao Jiu…”
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