Chapter 1 IN WHICH TODAY’S PUPPY MEETS AN OLD FRIEND
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04
Zhen Xin’s original plan is to visit several newly opened real estate properties after his meeting with Li Duoyu, but his encounter with Liang Ren left him unable to concentrate, like a computer infected with a virus. As a result, he has no choice but to return home early in a bewildered state.
Fortunately, he has not arranged to meet with other clients today, so his working hours can be temporarily adjusted.
Zhen Xin lives in a rented loft apartment that is conveniently located near the business district. Despite paying commercial rates for water and electricity, the rent is affordable. Given that he spends most of his waking hours at work and only rarely returns to the apartment to rest, the living arrangement suits him just fine.
——————
Zhen Xin tremblingly slumps against the door.
Like a movie, today’s scene keeps replaying in his mind.
How ridiculous of him to deny their acquaintanceship.
Liang Ren must be hating him even more now.
It turns out that he has returned from abroad.
As he should. His parents and family are here and so does the family company he’s taking over.
He never expected to meet him again through Li Duoyu, who happened to be the Xiao Li whom Liang Ren used to talk about and one of the friends he wanted to introduce to him back then.
Zhen Xin hasn’t thought of Liang Ren for a long time. He is busy working hard to earn money, so busy every day that he doesn’t have time to recall the past.
But it doesn’t mean that he has forgotten.
The moment he saw Liang Ren today, a surge of memories flooded him, choking the air out of him.
With a blank face, Zhen Xin stumbles towards the bedroom on the upper floor, and takes out a sturdy and exquisite large box from the bottom of the drawer.
He puts the box on the small table, draws a wet tissue and carefully wipes his hands. He takes a deep breath, then slowly blows it out.
Inside the box is a much more exquisite photo album, which looks out of place with the simple and plain home decoration.
Zhen Xin tightly purses his lips before slowly opening the object in his hands.
The newlyweds in the group photo are smiling at him. Happiness and sweetness burn his eyes. Tears suddenly roll down Zhen Xin’s face.
He tries to wipe his eyes, but the sobs burst out. He can only curl up and whimper in a low voice like an abandoned dog.
He buries his head in his knees, and subconsciously rubs his nape.
The skin is still smooth, without a trace of marking.
Everything he possessed for a short time in the past feels like a dream.
One moment it was splendid, the next there was nothing.
05
Zhen Xin’s parents abandoned him when he was young, leaving him to be raised in an orphanage. He has no memory of them and assumes that they must have been morally deficient, owing to his own imperfections.
He used to cheat others for food and drinks by relying on his glib tongue. He gave up studying after graduating from junior high school and mixed in with all sorts of disreputable people.
With an undernourished body, coupled with lack of formal academic credentials and proper upbringing, stealing became his way of earning a living. He was caught by undercover officers several times, but because he was too young and adept at sucking up, he was released every single time, so he never learned how to repent.
He lived like this, scarcely eating, driven to break the law and commit evil. He constantly feared getting caught and punished, and had no resources to seek medical attention if he became sick or injured. He also feared that he might commit a grave offense and end up on death row one day.
An unwanted beta like him had long been sunk in a filthy quagmire, and would never be able to get out of it.
Zhen Xin had always thought so, until he turned sixteen.
Until he met that stupid big sucker.
—————
“Stop it! Stop!”
Zhen Xin was curled up into a ball, shielding his head with his hands and preparing to endure the punches and kicks from three or five people, when he heard someone rushing forward to break the fight.
He was really lucky today.
A group of teenage delinquents were busy extorting money from school kids when they suddenly became the target of someone else. The hunter became the hunted, catching them off guard.
It was a pity that he broke his leg the other day, else he would not have been cornered into an alley.
Two fists were no match to four hands, so Zhen Xin could only hope to get kicked a few times. After all, he didn’t have the spare money to see a doctor.
But who would have thought that it wasn’t his fate to die just yet, and there were still people willing to help him.
These gangsters were just ordinary betas. It was okay to beat a cripple like him, but they were no match to tall and strong alphas.
They quickly fled and scattered like startled birds.
“Are you okay? They have all ran away.”
Zhen Xin sensed the alpha squatting close beside him. He was a beta so he couldn’t smell the light pheromone scent. However, he could smell the scent of warm clothes, which was completely different from the sour odor of homeless people.
“Can you stand up? I’ll take you to the hospital.”
Zhen Xin slightly raised his head. The alpha in front of him was gentle and warm, which made his already handsome face even more attractive. Zhen Xin, however, unblinkingly stared at the expensive brand tags all over his body.
“Thank you for helping me today.” He deliberately lowered his pitch and affected a pitiful and weak countenance, trying to arouse the alpha’s protective instinct. “You know, omegas are indeed inferior to those betas in terms of physical strength… Your clothes are all dirty. Can you leave a contact information? I’ll wash it for you, otherwise I’d feel guilty.”
Hearing the hitch in the alpha’s breathing, Zhen Xin shyly bowed his head. But inside, he was laughing to himself.
He caught the fat sheep.
What luck.
06
Zhen Xin was planning to take advantage of this man, but he didn’t expect that this fat sheep was not easy to be led by the nose.
This alpha sent him to the hospital, paid the medical expenses while he was being checked, and then left without hesitation.
Zhen Xin, wearing alpha’s coat, stood speechless at the door of the emergency department. He got nothing but a school ID that was left in the coat.
The handsome face on the ID looked generous. Zhen Xin seethed with anger.
The cooked duck flew away. He could barely stomach it.
—————
So, intentionally or not, Zhen Xin still went to the university where Fat Sheep was attending.
A nameless feeling surged in Zhen Xin’s heart as he stood outside the majestic school gate. However, he quickly brushed it off, and began hatching ways on how to get close to his prey.
He was very lucky. This fat sheep was quite popular in the school. Before long, he obtained some information about him.
With a wealthy family, excellent grades, friendly and cheerful personality, countless people hoped to have such an alpha as their partner. He was like the sun, around which the planets revolved.
Zhen Xin himself couldn’t begin to fathom why he stubbornly wanted to get close to the other party. No matter, he had nothing but spare time and energy anyway. For quite some time, he began to follow clues and covertly kept watch for the Apollo to come out.
He was originally a bug in the sewer, so he was very proficient in doing such things. As a result, he once ran into a scene of confession.
That omega’s fiery and enthusiastic declaration could burn anyone’s ears, but this alpha didn’t even change his face. He still had that decent smile, but his words were crisp and blithely decisive.
“I’m sorry. I appreciate your admiration for me.” Alpha’s handsome face was calm and gentle, a great contrast to his clear and impassive voice. “But I really don’t like your type.”
“Then what is your type?” the beauty pressed. Zhen Xin’s ears pricked up.
“I, ah…” Sweetness chased away the dispassion in his eyes. “I prefer those who are gentle, caring, hard-working and dainty.”
In the end, the beauty had no choice but to give up in frustration, but the eavesdropper in the corner was suddenly struck with a terrible idea.
Could he possibly become Fat Sheep’s sweetheart?
If he succeeded, he would be able to prosper and wash away all the dirt.
Back then, his only objective was to amass riches by exploiting others and then flee the scene, but he had no inkling of the intense regret that would engulf him one day.
07
That relationship has passed by like a dream.
Zhen Xin would sometimes be in a trance, feeling that everything is just an illusion.
But once upon a time, he was indeed loved.
He was taken seriously, treated as a treasure, and cherished with care.
He was no longer a homeless thug, no longer an abandoned puppy. He was brought back to the warm house and raised with the greatest attention.
The happiness he felt was all-encompassing, as if he was being engulfed by an unending sea. He forgot that everything he had built was on the fragile ground of lies. With a single exposure, it could shatter him into pieces.
It’s like dancing while wearing a branding iron. The more enthusiastic one dances, the deeper the branding iron sears into the bones.
——————
Zhen Xin dreams that the big fool puts his arms around him and asks, “Little One, shall we get married after the next lunar new year?”
His eyes are sickeningly sweet, as if he was really happy to promise a lifetime with him.
Zhen Xin hugs him back in the dream, and says “yes” a thousand times.
In his beautiful dream, they really held a wedding ceremony, showered by the well-wishes from family and friends. It looked as if he had really grasped happiness in his hands.
But the alarm clock at six o’clock jolts him awake. Zhen Xin opens his eyes to reality.
He numbly rubs his face and wipes away the residual moisture from the corners of his eyes.
He quickly collects himself, thinking about how to go on with today’s work.
At 6:30, he holds up his umbrella and steps into the rain and fog.
The sky has turned dark and gloomy, devoid of any trace of the sun’s presence.
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