The next day, Jiang Yunxing arrived at the hospital early.
Lu Heng was a light sleeper and woke up early. By the time Jiang Yunxing arrived, Lu Heng was already up.
“Ge, why are you up so early?” Jiang Yunxing looked at Lu Heng by the window. “Don’t you want to rest more?”
Lu Heng turned around and beckoned him over. “I’ve rested enough. Come here.”
Jiang Yunxing walked toward Lu Heng, placing the bag he was carrying on the bedside table as he passed the hospital bed.
As soon as he reached him, Lu Heng gently embraced him.
Due to his illness and being in the hospital, Lu Heng hadn’t smoked for a long time.
He had started smoking at sixteen. Whenever he was under pressure, he couldn’t cope without cigarettes, and he always needed something in his mouth.
After eight years, Lu Heng’s nicotine addiction was severe.
“Pheromones,” Lu Heng said.
“…”
The tobacco-scented pheromones were slowly released, soothing Lu Heng’s mood.
Lu Heng closed his eyes, contentedly absorbing the scent. He subconsciously tilted his head back, pressed his hand against the back of Jiang Yunxing’s head, and pushed down without hesitation.
Jiang Yunxing followed Lu Heng’s lead and lowered his head, their lips meeting.
Surrounded by his Alpha’s body and scent, Lu Heng experienced an unprecedented sense of satisfaction, his breathing quickening slightly.
After the long kiss ended, the itching in his body disappeared, replaced by a rejuvenating pleasure.
Lu Heng’s usually expressionless or ice-cold face showed rare contentment.
He leaned against Jiang Yunxing’s chest, his eyes lowered. His gaze subtly swept over Jiang Yunxing’s pants.
He unconsciously licked his canines, a new thought popping in his mind.
Not enough.
A simple kiss couldn’t satisfy him at all.
“Ge,” Jiang Yunxing called softly.
Lu Heng snapped back to reality, his brows furrowing, the previous contentment instantly vanishing from his face.
Whether he saw Jiang Yunxing or not, he now craved his pheromones. Those thoughts just now seemed to have crushed his rationality and surfaced on their own.
It had only been one marking, and so much time had passed. How could its effects still be so powerful?
After thinking for just two seconds, Jiang Yunxing hugged Lu Heng tighter and lowered his head. “Did… did you ask me to come early because of this?”
Lu Heng remained silent. He did want to see Jiang Yunxing earlier, but not for what they were doing now. However, after seeing Jiang Yunxing, many of his thoughts became uncontrollable.
Getting no response, Jiang Yunxing continued, “Ge, I missed you so much.”
“…”
“I want to stay by your side always, to see you every moment.” After saying this, Jiang Yunxing seemed to realize it wasn’t appropriate and added, “Maybe… maybe it’s because of the mark…”
The mark was something neither of them had experienced before. It lurked in their subconscious, taking precedence over their own feelings.
If they had been born into this setting, they might have readily accepted this inexplicable dependence. But for them, even Lu Heng felt confused by these strange feelings.
He couldn’t always tell if these feelings came from instinct or genuine emotion.
Jiang Yunxing was already a sensitive boy who liked men. He must be feeling more confused and scared than Lu Heng right now.
Lu Heng closed his eyes briefly and changed the subject. “Did you bring breakfast?”
“Yes,” Jiang Yunxing replied.
Lu Heng pushed Jiang Yunxing away and glanced at the bag on the bedside table before walking towards it.
“What did you bring…” Lu Heng stopped after a few steps, looking at the familiar bag with a bad feeling.
Jiang Yunxing followed him to the bedside table and took out the food container from the bag.
“I brought porridge. The doctor said you can only have this right now.”
…Just as he thought.
Lu Heng sat on the bed with obvious distaste, frowning as he watched Jiang Yunxing handle the porridge.
Noticing Lu Heng’s displeasure, Jiang Yunxing hesitated. “You don’t want it?”
“I don’t like porridge,” Lu Heng said bluntly, then noticed the vegetables. “I told you, I don’t eat vegetables.”
“I’m sorry.” Jiang Yunxing pressed his lips together apologetically. “I wanted you to get some nutrients, so I added these. But I cooked it for a long time, so you probably won’t taste them.”
Lu Heng froze. “You made this yourself?”
Jiang Yunxing nodded and added, “Could you try just a little? I won’t add them next time.”
Knowing how picky Lu Heng was with food, he decided to cook himself rather than buy something. But seeing this reaction, he had messed up again. Jiang Yunxing lowered his head, feeling very guilty.
Lu Heng sat there in hesitation for a long while, lost in thought, before rolling onto the bed.
Sitting on the bed with his hands resting casually on the blanket, he said, “Blow on it to cool it down before feeding me.”
Jiang Yunxing kept his head down. It took him a moment to realize Lu Heng was talking to him.
He lifted the bowl of porridge, scooped up half a spoonful, and blew on it to cool it down. When he brought it to Lu Heng’s lips, Lu Heng stared at it for a while before reluctantly opening his mouth to eat.
“How does it taste?” Jiang Yunxing asked.
“What taste can porridge have?” Lu Heng swallowed expressionlessly. “It’s not bad, edible.”
Lu Heng was already hungry and was quite satisfied with Jiang Yunxing’s service and quickly finished the bowl.
A nurse came to check on them, hooked up Lu Heng’s IV, gave a few quick instructions, and left.
Nothing much happened for the rest of the morning. Jiang Yunxing kept Lu Heng company, and after sitting for a while, took out his homework.
Seeing the homework reminded Lu Heng of what happened yesterday.
“I’ve already talked it over with my father. I’m taking a break from school for senior year to focus on work.”
Jiang Yunxing froze and put down his paper. “So you won’t be going to school anymore?”
“Yeah, starting next week.” Lu Heng said, “I might need to go on Monday afternoon to complete the paperwork.”
Jiang Yunxing fell silent, seemingly lost in thought, holding his pen motionless.
Last night when he got home, he had thought about what Lu Heng said. Unlike him, Lu Heng had more important things to do than attending school, like running a large company.
As for himself, he was just repeating senior year, taking the college entrance exam again, then university, graduation, finding a job…
He and Lu Heng didn’t belong in the same world.
They weren’t in reality, and it seemed the same here too.
He could stay by Lu Heng’s side now because Lu Heng needed him, but when he wanted to get closer to Lu Heng on his own, he couldn’t find any valid excuse.
If Lu Heng stopped going to school, what reason would he have to stay close to him?
“Starting next week, you’ll be getting out of school late, right?” Lu Heng said.
Jiang Yunxing snapped back to reality and nodded slightly. “We have classes on Saturdays too, but we get out earlier then.”
Lu Heng frowned. “That’s going to be troublesome.”
“What’s wrong?” Jiang Yunxing asked.
Lu Heng glanced at him. “Once I start working, I’ll be traveling more often. Until my condition stabilizes, you’ll need to come with me.”
After being unconscious for an entire day, Lu Heng couldn’t be certain if it was just a coincidence. If something like this were to happen during work, it could delay many important matters.
Whether driven by logic or personal feelings, Lu Heng wanted Jiang Yunxing to stay by his side.
“Ge,” Jiang Yunxing said, “I can be there whenever you need me. I’ll ask for leave from school.”
That was all they could do for now.
Lu Heng hummed in acknowledgment and returned to his work without saying more.
Jiang Yunxing resumed his homework, his head lowered, his earlier disappointment gone.
He felt a bit guilty for his selfish thought that it would be nice if Lu Heng had to travel more for work.
–
After resting over the weekend, Lu Heng recovered from his illness and regained his energy.
Although he didn’t have to go to school, Monday was still busy as he returned to work at the company.
Since the timing didn’t work out the previous week, Lu Heng missed the Monday meeting. This made the upcoming meeting even more crucial.
He needed to formally meet the company’s executives, gain a comprehensive understanding of company operations, and let them get to know him properly.
These executives were seasoned veterans who had seen it all and had worked under Lu Shenghua for years.
In their eyes, Lu Heng was just a newly-adult kid who had nothing going for him except his father’s name, and worse yet, he was an Omega.
Lu Heng had studied the executives’ profiles. Except for a few Betas, they were all Alphas.
Even among the lowest-ranking employees, there wasn’t a single Omega.
Lu Heng normally wouldn’t care about such things, but after recent events, he had to face this reality.
This meeting was important. Lu Heng put on his formal suit after a long while. It was a black suit without a single unnecessary wrinkle, perfect in every detail.
Lu Heng arrived at the conference room five minutes early. Most seats were already occupied. He walked to the front and sat down, and Fang Zaiqi poured him a glass of water.
As he walked past, those already present barely spared him a glance, let alone greet him.
Lu Heng sat there quietly as time ticked by. A few more people arrived, unhurriedly finding their seats.
The five minutes passed quickly. When the official meeting time came, the last person arrived just on time, casually apologizing before taking the nearest available seat.
The quiet chatter died down as everyone noticed something unusual.
The new acting general manager of the subsidiary company, Lu Shenghua’s eldest son Lu Heng, hadn’t spoken a single word since arriving.
He just sat there quietly, occasionally sipping his water, and once the meeting officially began, he didn’t even touch his water anymore.
Another five minutes passed, but Lu Heng still hadn’t spoken a word or even lifted his head.
Several people with shorter tempers began showing signs of impatience. Whispers started circulating around the conference room.
“Are we just going to sit here like idiots? What’s the point of this?”
“Who knows? He hasn’t said a word since the start. Does he even know what this meeting is about?”
“Well, it’s normal if the newcomer doesn’t know. I heard he was sick the other day. Is he really okay being this weak?”
“He’s an Omega, right? I wonder what Mr. Lu was thinking, handing such a big company to an Omega.”
“Well, he is his son. The situation was urgent and both Alpha heirs were still underage. I guess they had no choice but to make do.”
…
After another ten minutes, someone finally couldn’t hold back anymore.
“Mr. Lu, it’s been fifteen minutes since the meeting started. What exactly are we doing here?”
“Fifteen minutes?” Lu Heng seemed to snap out of a trance and finally looked up.
His gaze swept across everyone, and the whispers instantly died down.
Lu Heng’s face was cold, his presence unmistakable. Despite his somewhat youthful appearance, his eyes held an indescribable sharpness.
That cold gaze seemed capable of crushing anyone it landed on, even more terrifying than Lu Shenghua’s.
After scanning the room, he called out, “Secretary Fang.”
Fang Zaiqi lowered his head. “Yes.”
“The meeting started fifteen minutes ago, yet five people are still not here. Was there an issue with the notification?”
Fang Zaiqi unconsciously pressed his lips together. “The Monday meetings are routine. It’s never changed.”
“So these five people are absent.” Lu Heng’s voice was emotionless as he listed out five names.
“Are these the ones?” Lu Heng asked.
Fang Zaiqi: “Yes.”
“Their projects aren’t so simple that they don’t need my review and signature, are they?”
“No, three projects need to be finalized today.” Fang Zaiqi felt inexplicably nervous and asked, “Should I call them over now?”
Lu Heng let out a cold laugh. “If you arrive twenty minutes late for an exam, you forfeit your qualification to take it.”
“…”
“Take down their names. After the meeting, have them come to my office,” Lu Heng said slowly. “They’re still company employees after all, and I need to hear their thoughts on today’s meeting content.”
Fang Zaiqi responded with a quiet “…Yes.”
This brief interruption silenced everyone else in the room. The previously relaxed, almost party-like atmosphere instantly plummeted to freezing depths.
Lu Heng stood up, his lips curving into a smile. “Although I’ve been managing the company for over a week, I haven’t had the chance to meet everyone. Let me introduce myself. I’m Lu Heng, the acting general manager of this branch.”
No one spoke or moved, but their expressions clearly shifted from initial indifference to fear.
“Although I’m acting manager, my position is only one step below my father’s. So mind your behavior accordingly. I hate people who are not punctual,” Lu Heng smiled slightly. “There are countless talented people in this world. You’re all new faces to me, and among millions of talents, replacing any one of you wouldn’t make a difference.”
Silence fell.
After his self-introduction, Lu Heng sat back down, opened the prepared documents, and casually held a pen.
“Let’s begin the meeting.”
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