Chapter 46: An Alpha's birthmarks are obvious...

The president took a sip from his glass, his eyes flicking between Pei Jiqing and Shen Huixing. Seeing their keen interest in the topic, he continued, "That guy is quite capable. He's set up a secret lab abroad, specializing in the development of pheromone-based drugs."

He deliberately lowered his voice. "The regulations in the Asian Union are strict, but over there, if you're willing to pay, you can get any banned drug. They say they've even developed a drug that can forcibly induce an Alpha's susceptible period, and a single dose fetches a fortune." Shen

Huixing's eyes suddenly sharpened. As a member of the special forces, he was well aware of the dangers of such drugs.

"I remember a few years ago..." The president was about to continue when

Shen Huixing suddenly interrupted him, "President, keep drinking."

The president immediately understood, smiled, and raised his glass, "Yes, yes, let's drink first."

The conversation ended there.

They talked about the past again, about Shen Huixing's childhood. As a rare S-rank Alpha, he had always been different from ordinary children.

"I remember he was only twelve back then," the guild leader recalled, squinting his eyes. "The intensity of his pheromones already surpassed that of most adult Alphas, and his control was surprisingly good."

Pei Jiqing stared at the label, lost in thought.

They were drinking Chateau Margaux. The name reminded him of his days as a host, when Old Man Xu was his sponsor. He subconsciously assumed the bottle was stock he'd bought back then, until he saw the production date—it predated Old Man Xu's acquaintance by several years.

As the night wore on, the guild leader's face flushed with alcohol.

Chen Huixing stood up to see him off, and Pei Jiqing followed silently.

As they reached the gate, the guild leader suddenly patted Chen Huixing's shoulder.

"I understand your situation," the guild leader's voice was a little murky from the alcohol, but his eyes were remarkably clear. "The status of an S-rank Alpha is both an honor and a burden... I'm willing to help you, but you also have to understand my difficulties." Chen

Huixing didn't respond, only a slight nod.

The president was an old friend of Shen's father, and had practically watched Shen Huixing grow from a teenager to his present self.

Pei Jiqing stood on the steps, watching Shen Huixing bend down to escort him to the car.

He mentally calculated how many favors and benefits he had given away this time.

Alpha's scrutiny, year after year, was once a mere formality, but now it was a sword hanging over his head.

He couldn't help but wonder, why had it been so easy in the past?

On the way back, their shadows stretched and then shrank. Pei Jiqing suddenly spoke, his tone light and airy, "Why bother? Divorce me and just pick a high-matching Omega from the database. It's clean, no risk at all." Chen

Huixing paused and tilted his head to look at him, his eyes reflecting the cold light. "You're the only one who treats marriage as a joke."

Pei Jiqing chuckled softly, his voice tinged with sarcasm. "Yeah, as if you didn't marry me for that 90% match."

On a summer night in the garden, the redwood tree grew stronger and stronger, casting shadows in the moonlight. The bitter orange tree next to it was not growing much.

The redwood's roots were clearly expanding wildly underground, stealing nutrients from the bitter orange tree.

The bitter orange tree simply stood quietly by, its branches swaying gently in the night breeze, as if tacitly accepting this invasion.

The moonlight cast a stark contrast between the two trees.

One grew unbridled, the other withheld and yielded, like a silent struggle, or a destined symbiosis.

Pei Jiqing felt a mass of resentment in his chest, like cotton soaked in water, hanging heavy.

Chen Huixing's eyes fell on his face: "Are you upset because I didn't let you continue listening?"

"Yes, I care about him, is that not okay?" Pei Jiqing heard his own voice like broken glass, sharp and extremely hurtful.

Chen Huixing suddenly approached, grabbing Pei Jiqing's wrist with such force that it hurt: "You expect him to save you? A fugitive charged with fraud dares not even set foot on the border of the Asian Union." Memories suddenly skipped

frames like a broken projector.

It was a beautiful spring day that year. Pei Jiqing was holding Xiaonan in his arms to bask in the sun. The security guard who was changing shifts had only a minute's break, and he stepped out uncontrollably. But before he had gone a hundred meters, a familiar sound of footsteps sounded behind him.

For the next three days, Pei Jiqing could only count the sunrises and sunsets from the folds of the bed sheets. Xiaonan lay sprawled beside the bed, her eyes round like two black grapes, her small hand curiously touching the red mark on his wrist. Pei Jiqing's health hadn't been good since giving birth to Xiaonan, compounded by a serious illness he'd suffered during his exile with Wei Ji.

Pei Jiqing's health had inevitably been a bit strained during those three days, otherwise Chen Huixing wouldn't have been so easily reassured.

Later, Pei Jiqing learned his lesson.

The price of resistance was too painful; submission at least bought a moment of freedom. Chen Huixing treated him like a canary, occasionally opening the cage to let him flutter, but ultimately taking him back into his grasp.

The bitter orange tree rustled in the wind, as if to say, "I refuse to accept my fate."

Chen Huixing had gone on a business trip, and as soon as he left, the Pei couple arrived.

Pei Haifeng plopped down on the marble floor.

"Jiqing..." Pei Haifeng's voice was tinged with tears. "Your brother's been kidnapped. They want five million..."

Pei Jiqing rested his hand on the banister, observing the man expressionlessly. He remembered clearly how the couple persuaded Pei Liang to marry Chen Huixing for money when he lost his first huge sum of money in gambling.

It was said that Pei Liang only had one intact hand left, and he was still doing evil at the gambling table. As a result, he was kidnapped and was being blackmailed by the couple.

"You want money?" Pei Jiqing sneered, "I'm sorry, I told you clearly a few years ago that this was the last time."

Pei Haifeng suddenly kowtowed heavily, making a dull "dong" sound: "We are really desperate! All my family property has been squandered by that prodigal son. I really regret it. I really regret giving birth to him. I wish I could die now!"

"Death?" Pei Jiqing chuckled, "That would be too easy for you. Living and enduring slowly is worthy of the evil you have committed."

When he was taken away by Chen Huixing, none of them had ever come to see Pei Jiqing. Now they are desperate, so don't dirty Pei Jiqing's place.

Pei Haifeng hunched his back, his voice trembling: "Jiqing, for the sake of your mother... I am your father after all..."

Pei Jiqing stared at him, and suddenly remembered the days his mother had endured in the shabby apartment. She always wore skirts that were washed white for years, but insisted that he dress decently to go to school.

"Are you worthy of mentioning my mother?" Pei Jiqing sneered.

Before his mother died, she had a high fever that wouldn't go away. The pollution in the downtown area had already left her body riddled with holes. Where was Pei Haifeng? He and Qi Rongyin were enjoying the happiness of a family of three.

Pei Jiqing's mother curled up in the damp bedding, still muttering to herself: "Your father will definitely come to take you back, don't rot here."

It is not easy for a woman with a child to live.

And now, the father who had clearly shouldered half the responsibility of raising him stood before him. Mentioning his mother made Pei Jiqing suddenly feel sick. It wasn't worth it for his mother, for all those years of expectation.

A sneer curled up his lips, his voice laced with venom. "It's not that I don't want to help, it's just that I've long since lost control of this family. Request? Go ask Chen Huixing. You don't know, he's already figured out the pheromone compatibility fraud."

These past few years of captivity had nearly made Pei Jiqing forget the existence of this vampire couple.

Watching Pei Haifeng's face instantly turn pale, Pei Jiqing felt a twisted sense of pleasure.

Pei Haifeng's palms were covered in a sticky sweat, and he struggled desperately: "But, but you gave him a child... Just for that..."

"Chen Huixing had someone interrupt Pei Liang's hand," Pei Jiqing said, suddenly laughing. "And—your son is probably gambling his life away in a casino at sea right now."

What could be happening on the high seas? Those who couldn't pay off their gambling debts were first kidnapped and had their relatives extorted for all the money, and finally became shark bait.

"I'm afraid your son won't survive this time. Chen Huixing specially arranged for someone to take him to a high-seas casino, and now he's probably lost everything, even his underwear."

Pei Jiqing really wanted to thank Chen Huixing, after all, there were some dirty things he couldn't do.

He looked at Pei Haifeng slumped on the ground, and he just thought it was ridiculous, but he couldn't feel any pity.

Pei Jiqing hated this surname and the filth running in his blood.

The housekeeper appeared at the right time and politely "invited" Pei Haifeng out. The moment the door closed, Pei Jiqing heard Pei Haifeng howling outside, and the sound was like a wild dog that had been kicked.

Pei Jiqing's knuckles were clenched white at his sides, and the hatred surging in his chest almost burst through his throat. He looked at the disgusting faces of this family and wished they would disappear from the world immediately.

It wasn't until Xiaonan came running in with a drawing board on her back and called out "Dad" crisply that he was pulled out of his gloomy thoughts.

"What did you draw?" He squatted down and took the drawing paper handed to him by his daughter. The gloom on his face instantly disappeared. When he turned around and told the servants to prepare strawberry cake, his voice was so gentle that it was like two different people.

Three days later, Pei Jiqing called Chen Huixing. He leaned against the French window, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the window frame: "I want to send Xiaonan to learn equestrianism. I wanted to learn it when I was a child, but unfortunately I didn't have the conditions."

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a long time, and finally only a word "OK".

The sun was shining brightly on the horse farm, and the grass exuded a fresh scent.

Xiaonan, wearing a brand new riding suit, was carried by the coach to the docile pony. Pei Jiqing was bending down to fasten her helmet when he suddenly heard a burst of hurried horse hooves.

When he looked up, he happened to see an eight-year-old boy riding past on horseback. At the same time, Cen Yuean turned around and looked back. Their eyes met, and the air seemed to freeze suddenly.

Cen Yuean was wearing a well-tailored riding suit and came with his son. The sunlight cast tiny golden spots on the horse farm. He deliberately turned his head and pretended not to see Pei Jiqing.

"What are you doing, Commander?" Pei Jiqing's voice followed lightly, "Hide when you see me?"

Cen Yuean suddenly stopped and gritted his teeth: "Is it not enough that I'm afraid of you two?"

One threatened openly, and the other controlled secretly.

Pei Jiqing raised his hand to block the glaring sunlight, his eyes fell on the little boy not far away: "Keke has grown up so much."

He smiled: "What a good boy."

After a pause, Pei Jiqing said slowly: "I saw in the news that the commander is divorced? What a pity. Does Keke know now that he came out of your belly? He always told me that he wanted to know who gave birth to him. It's so pitiful."

The air froze instantly.

Cen Yuean's knuckles were white from pinching. The secret nursing home records, the birthmarks that an Alpha shouldn't have, were now exposed naked in the sunlight. It was the greatest shame of Cen Yuean's life.

"...Just tell me," Cen Yuean said, his voice squeezed out from between his teeth. "What do you want?"