Chapter 53: A Stranger Unworthy of Even Hatred. Pei Jiqing…

Pei Jiqing's mark had been washed away, that mark etched into his bones and blood, once the deepest bond between Omega and Omega.

Now it had faded, dissipated, leaving only a pain in his glands.

— The one who should have been hurting was Pei Jiqing.

But Chen Huixing felt a dull ache in his glands, a pain as fine as needles, crawling along his nerves, eroding his sanity inch by inch, as if something were tearing beneath his flesh, trying to tear him apart.

His body betrayed him, stubbornly insisting on remembering the pain of being torn away for the Omega, as if to cling to the pitiful connection he had with Pei Jiqing.

He was stopped at the door by Wei Ji.

"If he wakes up and sees you, he'll wish he couldn't open his eyes for the rest of his life."

Chen Huixing wanted to retort, to argue, but in the end, he just stood there in silence.

He should have left, but his feet felt rooted to the spot, unable to move.

Chen Huixing stared at the tiny sliver of light leaking through the crack in the door, his Adam's apple twitching. "Let me see him."

Just a glance, to confirm he was safe and sound, and then he left.

Wei Ji: "What? Let him twitch in pain from smelling your pheromones?"

Chen Huixing dug his nails into his palm, the image of Pei Jiqing trembling beneath him suddenly piercing his mind.

"Did you do it when he begged you to let him go? Why are you pretending to be affectionate now?"

"I'll just take a look at him, just to make sure he's okay." The words finally broke between his teeth.

The urging voices of his entourage buzzed around him like a swarm of bees, squeezing the already tight schedule even thinner.

The week-long itinerary was repeatedly folded into a hastily arranged, slapdash arrangement.

Chen Huixing's intentions were simple: find the man, take him away, and, as he had countless times before, undeniably bring him back into his control.

Pei Jiqing couldn't be here, he shouldn't be here. This place was too unfamiliar, too dangerous, and too prone to unrealistic delusions, making him think he could completely disappear from under his nose.

In Shen Huixing's expectations, he thought he would sneer, ridicule, and look down at Pei Jiqing condescendingly, mocking his naive escape - how could he think he could escape? How could he think he could wriggle out even an inch of freedom from the web he had woven?

But when Shen Huixing stood here now, a certain premonition silently came up and soaked into his bones.

He suddenly realized that this time, he would not be able to take him with him.

For this trip, he turned down a mountain of meetings, shelved documents that needed to be signed and approved, and even did not hesitate to disrupt the military's quarterly plan.

He thought he was the one in control of everything, but at this moment he clearly felt that something was slipping irretrievably through his fingers.

Because of Pei Jiqing's revelations, Liang Yi slapped him and made him kneel before the cold, hard ancestral tablet. Amidst the lingering scent of sandalwood, his father's black-and-white photograph gazed at him solemnly and distantly.

That gaze, like a yoke, weighed heavily on his shoulders .

When Shen Xinze was called in, he hesitated for a moment outside the door, but Liang Yi let him in. He had never seen his always-at-ease elder brother kneel like this, his back straight.

The air before his father's ancestral tablet was so thick it felt like water could be squeezed out.

Thin smoke from the burning sandalwood twisted and swirled between the three of them.

Liang Yi's hand pressed against the altar, his knuckles white.

"Didn't your father teach you? No matter how well someone dies," he said, his voice strained through his teeth. "At least you shouldn't let power blind you. But what have you done?"

Shen Xinze stood at the intersection of light and shadow. What should he say? What could he say? The thought of kicking someone when they're down rolled over his tongue, but he swallowed it back—after all, this was the elder brother he had admired since childhood.

Consolation or discipline seemed even more ridiculous. The image of a man in his thirties kneeling in the ancestral hall was absurd in itself, not to mention Chen Huixing's straight back and pursed lips, like a teenager in belated rebellion.

Chen Huixing didn't argue. He looked up at his father's portrait, the man in the photo dressed in a crisp military uniform, his gaze piercing.

"Dad, do you know why we were abandoned after we passed away?"

"Everything we once had was built on my father's honor. With death, rights disappear." The shadows of the ancestral hall cast a shadow over half of his face, splitting his expression into light and dark. "If I die one day, my family will end up in the same situation we were in back then. I don't want that."

Chen Xinze suddenly realized that every word his brother spoke was a bloody reality—how they had fallen from grace all those years ago, how they had been trampled underfoot by those who had once fawned over them. And how

those same people had eagerly clung to him once his brother rose to power.

Liang Yi felt that Chen Huixing was quibbling: "You're confusing right and wrong!"

Chen Huixing stopped talking, his eyelashes drooping.

Liang Yi suddenly slammed the table and stood up: "I can't control you anymore, right? You've grown so powerful now that you even turn a deaf ear to my words?" Chen

Huixing raised his eyes, his dark pupils staring directly at Liang Yi: "You can control it. Let Pei Jiqing come back."

"You still have the nerve to mention him?" Liang Yi was so angry that his chest heaved violently. "Look at what you've become now! Why did you let him come back? To see you go crazy?"

"Crazy?" Chen Huixing suddenly laughed. "That's perfect. He's a liar, and what am I? A lunatic who will do anything to achieve his goal? Dad, we are made for each other, don't you think?"

Liang Yi picked up the teacup and was about to throw it at him, but his hand stopped abruptly in mid-air. He gasped, his voice trembling. "You... you've lost your mind!"

Chen Huixing said, "Go ahead and fight me. But remember to send him back to me afterward."

The caller ID from the military kept flashing on the screen, and Chen Huixing threw it away in frustration.

"Father!" Zhizhi hugged his legs and shook him. "Why hasn't Dad come back yet?"

Chen Huixing crouched down, suddenly pulling his daughter into a hug.

"I'm sorry... Zhizhi..." Chen Huixing's voice was muffled, burying his face in his daughter's small shoulder.

Zhizhi tilted her head to look at him, then suddenly reached out and brushed her small hand across his eye. "Father, are you crying? Daddy said men shouldn't cry. Daddy said you're tired from work, and told me not to bother you." Chen

Huixing forced a smile. "Yeah, Daddy is too tired."

Zhizhi pouted, as if remembering something. "But Daddy promised to buy me a strawberry cake, and he still didn't." Chen

Huixing's Adam's apple moved, remembering the cake box that had fallen to the ground that day.

Chen Huixing stared at his daughter's innocent smile, feeling a clenching grip on his chest. "Zhizhi, wait for Daddy and Father to buy you a cake, okay?"

As Pei Jiqing struggled between life and death, Chen Huixing felt as if he were sinking into an icy cave. A chill washed over him, radiating down his spine and through every part of his body, numb even to his fingertips.

He dared not recall the past, standing outside the ward, feeling timid for the first time—an unfamiliar emotion that left him feeling lost and slowly eroding his prideful rationality.

Chen Huixing had always been a perfectionist.

From childhood to adulthood, his resume must be flawless, and every step must be taken on the most precise scale.

He pursues the ultimate excellence, and is so strict that he almost pathologically demands that he is always right.

Every political achievement on the road to promotion must be glamorous, and even his marriage must be an exemplary specimen that everyone admires.

He once thought that such a life was perfect.

Until the truth about his marriage was like a sharp knife, cutting through the appearance that Pei Jiqing had carefully constructed. Anger and resentment once overwhelmed him like a tide, but later he realized that he could control everything in the world, but he could not control his own heart.

Those who calculated him, deceived him, betrayed him, and questioned him would eventually pay the price under his means.

He was used to being the one in control of the overall situation, used to destroying all people and things that went against his wishes.

But it turned out that the thing he could not accept most in this world was not conspiracy or intrigue, not open or secret attacks, but Pei Jiqing's light words "I don't love you".

These two words were sharper than any sword, easily piercing through all his pride and defenses, leaving him defeated.

What kind of person Pei Jiqing was no longer important to Shen Huixing. Be it selfishness, hypocrisy, or even those high-sounding justice and greatness - he found that he could accept it all, take it all in.

What did he hate Pei Jiqing for? He hated that he had deceived a true heart.

Those "I love you" were said too sincerely, so sincerely that Shen Huixing thought it was eternal.

Pei Jiqing's "love" used to be as omnipresent as air, permeating his life, but now it is like the receding tide, refusing to leave even a trace.

The cruelest thing is not never having it, but getting it and then losing it - that kind of heart-wrenching pain is deeper than any betrayal.

Shen Huixing stood at the door of the ward, his eyes piercing through the air filled with the smell of disinfectant and falling directly on Pei Jiqing.

The man's pale wrist was still wrapped with the wires of the monitor, and the blue veins were faintly visible under the almost transparent skin.

Pei Jiqing was staring at the ceiling, his eyes somewhat empty, until the sound of Chen Huixing's footsteps woke him from his wandering thoughts.

Wei Ji took a step forward to stop him, but was interrupted by Pei Jiqing's light "Let him come over".

Chen Huixing's chest suddenly surged with tenderness, filling his heart with a sour feeling. He wanted to hold Pei Jiqing's hand and say sorry, wanted to put his forehead against his and make a promise, wanted to say that he would make it up to him in the future and repay him double for what he owed him.

But when he really got close to the bed, he keenly caught Pei Jiqing's almost imperceptible shrinking.

Chen Huixing stretched out his hand, and as soon as his fingertips touched the other's cheek, he wanted to hug him tightly in his arms - like countless times before, burying his face in the crook of his neck, letting their body temperatures blend.

However, Pei Jiqing just let him touch him quietly, but his eyes were so unfamiliar that it was unsettling.

He was not looking at a lover, not looking at an enemy, not even looking at a familiar person.

The calmness of his eyes was almost cruel, as if he was sizing up a stranger he had never met before, and he didn't even bother to show disgust or hatred.

Pei Jiqing let his fingers stroke his cheek, but his eyes were distant. Although he was very close, he seemed to be looking at him from a distance, with a kind of indifferent scrutiny.

But Chen Huixing had no time to ponder this strange look at the moment. His fingers tightened, his knuckles turned white, and he almost half-knelt in front of the bed, holding Pei Jiqing's hand to his lips.

The Alpha's body temperature came through the touching skin, making Pei Jiqing frown.

".....Jiqing," his voice was hoarse and out of tune, and each word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, "I was...really wrong this time."

This sentence was as heavy as a thousand pounds.

Chen Huixing has always been a person who looks down on the world from a high place. His pride is engraved in his bones, and his self-esteem is melted in his blood.

His life had always been a precisely calculated chess game. Nothing he wanted was out of reach—a prestigious position, an enviable marriage, a perfectly compatible Omega. Everything he cared about was rightfully his.

He said he was wrong.

"From now on, I won't stop you from doing anything." He bent down and kissed Pei Jiqing's fingertips. "You want a job? I'll give it back to you. Everything, okay? I'm sorry." Chen

Huixing had never imagined he would experience such a humble moment. But now, he felt like he was standing on the edge of a cliff, watching everything spiral out of control.

This sense of loss of control terrified him—more than losing power, more than betrayal.

Pei Jiqing remained silent, as if observing Chen Huixing.

The lawyer's voice suddenly pierced the silence: "Mr. Shen. For the harm you have caused my client, we will be applying for an Alpha restraining order and divorce proceedings."

"Every medical record of Mr. Pei here is evidence of harm you have done to him. The Association will fully protect the rights of Omegas and require that you and Mr. Pei separate immediately." Chen

Huixing's fingers tightened, as if he could hold something back. He completely ignored the lawyer's presence, leaned over and whispered in Pei Jiqing's ear: "Let's go back, there are too many strangers here, we will arrange a special plane now to take you to the best hospital. It doesn't matter if the mark is gone, we can..." "

Mr. Shen." Pei Jiqing suddenly interrupted him, "I think we should get a divorce."

Chen Huixing froze in place, he stared at Pei Jiqing's face in disbelief, trying to find a trace of a joke in it. But there was only an unfamiliar calmness in those eyes, as if looking at a stranger he had never met.

"What did you call me?"

The doctor at the side hesitated and said: "This is also what the patient discovered when he woke up. The patient was in extreme pain... The brain activated the defense mechanism and selectively forgot some... painful memories."

Chen Huixing: "Painful memories?"

Him?

Chen Huixing opened his mouth, but found that he could not make a sound.

Pei Jiqing had forgotten him.

It turns out that the most painful punishment is not hatred, but being completely forgotten - even the qualification to hate is deprived.

Pei Jiqing's face was as pale as paper, the last trace of color on his lips fading with effort. He frowned slightly, as if enduring some hidden pain. "...As soon as I woke up, they told me I was married? Are you my Alpha? Have you... been violent towards me?"

Chen Huixing's throat tightened, and any words of defense were stuck in his throat.

He suddenly remembered what Wei Ji had said. He had also seen the proud, unyielding Pei Jiqing.

Now, he finally saw it with his own eyes, and in those cold eyes, there was no trace of the former tenderness.

"Domestic violence can only happen once or countless times. Life with you must be extremely painful for me."

Pei Jiqing continued, "Wei Ji said that marrying you was not my original intention."

When he turned back, his gaze was as calm as a pool of still water. "So, let's get a divorce."

Chen Huixing's fingers trembled slightly. "...No."

"We love each other very much."

These words were like a last resort.

Pei Jiqing looked at him, his eyes devoid of love or hate, as if he were sizing up a complete stranger. He slowly withdrew his grip, his movements decisive and without a trace of lingering affection: "We still have a child, right?"

Chen Huixing suddenly had a worse premonition.

"Take it with you too. I don't want to raise a child...of someone who would wave his fist at me."

Chen Huixing's body seemed to be under a spell of immobilization. The pale light of the ward shone on Pei Jiqing's face, revealing the unfamiliar alienation in those eyes.

He had truly forgotten, completely forgotten.

Their past was like pencil writing roughly erased by an eraser, leaving no trace.

The cruelest thing was that Pei Jiqing didn't even want the child anymore.

The Pei Jiqing who used to get up in the middle of the night to coax his daughter to sleep, the Pei Jiqing who would lift Zhizhi on his shoulders and spin her around, now casually gave up the bond of blood.

And what about himself?

Marks can be erased, memories can be forgotten, even blood ties can be severed - then what is he, a forgotten Alpha? An insignificant passerby, a piece of history that needs to be erased, a stranger who doesn't even deserve hatred.

Pei Jiqing doesn't want children, let alone him.