A Fatal Attraction from Lawyer A - Chapter 22

“I like it… I like it,” Gu Yuxī gazed at Luò Pànzhī (also spelled Luo Panzhi) and voiced his current thoughts.

He figured this small amount of wine would, at most, make him slightly tipsy and not drunk, so the “like” he spoke of was not for Luò Pànzhī’s pheromones.

It was not driven by pheromones.

He seemed to be able to confirm it.

That simple word, ‘like,’ was uttered with the light tremor of being tipsy, an honest confession that broke through long-held restraint, like a feather brushing past the heart. The hand gripping his shirt grew tighter, and the unfocused light in his eyes, now without his glasses, was so alluring that Luò Pànzhī truly felt like being a bad person.

Luò Pànzhī smiled, placed the glasses back on Gu Yuxī, and then lightly tapped his finger across his nose: “You have to eat first, even if you like it.”

He then got up and took the wine away.

Gu Yuxī swiftly grabbed the tail of Luò Pànzhī’s shirt: “Why are you taking the wine?”

Luò Pànzhī crouched down, turned his head to look at Gu Yuxī, and held up the remaining half-bottle in his hand: “You can only have half a bottle of wine at most in the future.”

“This bottle is only seven hundred milliliters; it’s not much, and I can drink it,” Gu Yuxī thought. He usually drank several bottles, often consuming brandy or other foreign liquor by the kilogram with Qí Lìn (also spelled Qi Lin). Because of his high tolerance, he needed to drink a whole bottle to help with his difficulty falling asleep.

“Why drink so much? It’s bad for your health,” Luò Pànzhī corked the bottle. Seeing Gu Yuxī seemed displeased by his actions, he offered: “If you really can’t sleep, I can take your boyfriend’s place to coax you to sleep, perhaps tonight.”

Saying this, he sat down across from Gu Yuxī and began to eat.

Gu Yuxī watched Luò Pànzhī pick up his chopsticks to eat. The chopsticks, bowl, and plate made no noise, and he chewed slowly and carefully while eating. How could this person provoke him and then completely disregard him, taking one step forward only to take one step back…

Wait, didn’t that sound like he was learning from Gu Yuxī?

Gu Yuxī’s expression was complex.

“Aren’t you hungry?” Luò Pànzhī pushed the boiled beef toward Gu Yuxī: “This one is spicy. Try it and see how spicy it is.”

Gu Yuxī glanced at him, picked up a piece of beef with his chopsticks, and put it in his mouth. He first froze, his tongue going slightly numb, and then he choked and coughed violently from the spice.

“Cough, cough, cough—” He desperately needed water; it was far too spicy.

“Open your mouth.” Luò Pànzhī scooped a large bite of rice with his chopsticks, stood up, and fed it to Gu Yuxī’s mouth.

Gu Yuxī opened his mouth without thinking and swallowed the rice, which slightly alleviated the immediate spiciness. He looked at Luò Pànzhī reproachfully: “The food you made is way too spicy.”

Luò Pànzhī saw the tears welling up in Gu Yuxī’s eyes from the heat. His gaze fell upon the chopsticks Gu Yuxī had used. He gently touched the chopsticks to his own lips, raised an eyebrow, and smiled mischievously: “It’s spicy, isn’t it? I did it on purpose.”

Gu Yuxī: “…”

How awful.

But thanks to the spice, his mind was somewhat clearer. Luò Pànzhī’s enticement came with a trap, and he had nearly fallen for it.

“I’ve looked into some information that should be useful for this case,” Luò Pànzhī said.

“What information?” Gu Yuxī looked up at Luò Pànzhī.

“Mò Wénbīn (also spelled Mo Wenbin) was the only son of the chairman of Ruixing Group, managing several hospitals under the group. He died from an illness fourteen years ago. While alive, he was charitable, helping several orphanages, and as a doctor, he won many awards and saved many lives, so his resume is excellent; he was a highly educated talent,” Luò Pànzhī looked at Gu Yuxī and said earnestly: “I believe you when you say this Mò Wénbīn hurt you back then, but I am a little skeptical of what that Omega said. I feel like she’s a bit strange.”

“Furthermore, it turns out this Miss Sòng (also spelled Song) suffered a mental breakdown and became somewhat emotionally unstable after failing to cope with the death of her lover. As for why she’s living in Yixing Mansion, it was a temporary decision made by the Ruixing Group to place her there and send people to care for her, as she is a valuable witness.”

“This also aligns with what the Omega said about someone watching her.”

Gu Yuxī put down his chopsticks and pondered: “Miss Sòng spoke clearly and logically at the time, without any signs of abnormality. If she were having a mental breakdown, she wouldn’t have acted that way that day. Moreover, she clearly understood that she was being threatened and could clearly recount the process of her lover being harmed. She wouldn’t have brought out the autopsy consent form unless she was waiting for Galaxy Group, right?”

Luò Pànzhī shook his head: “No, she wasn’t waiting for me.”

Gu Yuxī frowned, as if recalling something. He looked at Luò Pànzhī skeptically: “Are you saying she was waiting for me? But she shouldn’t have known I would be with you.”

“This Omega is no longer the key; the autopsy report is the key. Just as you said, Ruixing Hospital changed lawyers, and their attitude is now much more aggressive than before. They seem to possess evidence that could lead them to a smooth victory,” Luò Pànzhī stated: “In other words, they seem very confident they will win this lawsuit.”

“They can’t possibly win,” the eyes under Gu Yuxī’s glasses gradually grew cold: “Mò Wénbīn is definitely not dead.”

“What?”

“When I left the hospital at noon, you met me in the elevator and asked if I wasn’t feeling well, didn’t you?” Gu Yuxī recalled the distorted, ugly scar on the back of the man’s hand, which uncovered the past he was most unwilling to remember. He instinctively gripped the stemmed glass: “I think I might have run into him. He’s right there in the hospital.”

“He is not dead.”

Luò Pànzhī’s expression suddenly darkened: “Where did you see him?” Just as expected, the bodyguards had mentioned someone was following Gu Yuxī; he really was being watched.

Gu Yuxī recalled that scar, that green uniform, and the arc of a grinning mouth behind a mask.

A violent surge of discomfort instantly rose in his stomach, and the back of his neck seemed to burn with the pain of being torn and then stitched back up.

—Are you an Alpha?

—It turns out you are no longer an Omega.

This culprit who caused his secondary differentiation…

He abruptly stood up and walked towards the bathroom.

Luò Pànzhī saw Gu Yuxī’s face turn deathly pale and then watched him stand up and walk uncomfortably towards the bathroom, so he quickly followed.

The sound of vomiting came from inside the bathroom.

Gu Yuxī braced himself on both sides of the toilet, throwing up almost all the wine he had just drunk. The pain in his stomach was like a knot tightening, his throat was dry and burning, and the sight of that disgusting face flashed in his mind again and again, mixing with the pain from his secondary differentiation. The back of his neck ached, leaving him weak and drained.

His Juliet pheromones spilled out but were faint and weak.

Just as his knees buckled and he nearly collapsed onto the floor, a strong arm wrapped around his waist from behind.

Luò Pànzhī saw Gu Yuxī’s chin nearly hit the toilet rim. His pupils contracted, and he quickly wrapped his arms around him, lifting him up. As he held him, he clearly felt Gu Yuxī’s whole body go weak and shaky, his face utterly pale, and even the scent of his pheromones was extremely unstable.

“Where does it hurt?”

Since the person he was holding was a grown man, Luò Pànzhī reached out to close the toilet lid, then helped Gu Yuxī sit on it. He crouched down in front of him and held his hands, which were cold again.

Gu Yuxī sat on the toilet lid, staring down blankly at Luò Pànzhī’s anxious and worried gaze, but remained silent.

Luò Pànzhī reached out and pulled out a few tissues to wipe Gu Yuxī’s mouth, then tossed them into the nearby bin. Seeing that he wouldn’t speak, he wasn’t in a hurry: “Did you drink too much wine? Drinking on an empty stomach is bound to make you sick. I told you not to drink so much; it’s bad for your health.”

Then, the bathroom fell silent again.

Seeing that Gu Yuxī kept staring at him without speaking, Luò Pànzhī simply stood up, leaned closer, reached out, gently massaged the back of his head, and then cupped his head with his palm, resting it against his waist.

“Do you need my pheromones again?” Luò Pànzhī asked.

As soon as he spoke, he felt the head resting on his waist shake almost imperceptibly.

Luò Pànzhī lowered his head and met Gu Yuxī’s slightly red eyes. His heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly felt a pang of distress.

“The back of my neck hurts; it’s a burning pain,” Gu Yuxī looked at Luò Pànzhī and whispered: “Can you take a look for me?”

Saying this, he lowered his head, loosened his collar, and exposed the white patch on the back of his neck to Luò Pànzhī.

This action made Luò Pànzhī’s eyes flash. An Omega lowering their head and exposing the back of their neck to an Alpha is a clear signal for a mark. However, Gu Yuxī was an Alpha, so he could not be marked.

He saw a very faint, rosy, glandular area on Gu Yuxī’s long, fair neck. It was extremely thin, almost invisible unless one got close, and it was slightly red.

Generally, an Alpha’s gland does not appear and is hidden beneath the skin tissue. An Omega’s gland is usually visible on the skin and is easily seen.

Gu Yuxī was an Alpha, yet he retained such a faint, visible gland, which indicated that this gland, belonging to an Omega, was slowly disappearing during the process of his secondary differentiation.

“It’s a little red,” Luò Pànzhī said: “Are you uncomfortable? What do you need me to do?”

Gu Yuxī was silent for a moment, as if battling with himself. Then he turned his head and grabbed Luò Pànzhī’s wrist: “…Can you kiss it?”

Luò Pànzhī looked at the hand gripping his wrist; the fingertips were cool, and his voice trembled slightly. Meeting Gu Yuxī’s pleading gaze, he couldn’t help but think of the man’s state when he had a fever not long ago.

Was he suffering from Pheromone Concentration Disorder?

Why so suddenly?

He remembered Dr. Sū (also spelled Su) had said this condition could only be alleviated by his physical contact or liquid contact.

“Let’s go back to the room.”

In the room, on the dark, large bed, Gu Yuxī lay on his side, his shirt pulled down halfway to allow Luò Pànzhī access to the back of his neck.

Luò Pànzhī had also stripped off his sweat-dampened shirt and tossed it aside. He was now kneeling by the bedside, bending over, and touching Gu Yuxī’s neck gland with his fingertips: “Does it hurt?”

“Yes, it’s very uncomfortable.”

“You never let your boyfriend see it when you were with him? You still have an Omega gland here. Although it’s not very obvious, it hasn’t completely regressed.”

Gu Yuxī was holding a pillow. Hearing Luò Pànzhī still had the nerve to mention this, he was speechless and reached for the quilt to cover himself.

Before he could, he felt a warmth pressed onto the back of his neck, extremely gentle.

His body instantly tensed up.

A faint scent of oolong brandy passed his nose. Although Luò Pànzhī only kissed the gland without any further contact, Gu Yuxī felt his entire head was floating, just like the reaction he got when the sexual guidance agent he injected periodically took effect to neutralize his pheromones.

It was the reaction of Luò Pànzhī’s pheromones integrating into his bloodstream.

Gu Yuxī’s eyelids gradually grew heavy, but he forced himself to stay awake. Not until he felt the bed behind him sink, and his back was embraced by a warm chest with no shirt barrier.

Luò Pànzhī lay down next to Gu Yuxī, holding him from behind, wrapping his arm around his neck to let him rest his head in the crook of his elbow. He didn’t touch the gland again but brought his head close to Gu Yuxī’s:

“Last time, when you fainted, the doctor said hugging you could also make you feel better, so I won’t kiss it this time.”

The Alpha’s embrace was very warm. Compared to last time, this didn’t feel like a dream; it was truly Luò Pànzhī holding him.

Gu Yuxī instinctively snuggled back towards the heat source, adjusting his head on Luò Pànzhī’s arm, adopting a dependent posture.

Luò Pànzhī smiled and held him tighter.

The dinner outside the room had grown cold, but the quilt inside the room gradually warmed up.

“In the elevator, he was wearing a green uniform. Although he was wearing a mask and a hat so I couldn’t see his face, I have seen the scar on the back of his hand.”

“Hmm?” Luò Pànzhī thought he had coaxed Gu Yuxī to sleep, only to hear him speak suddenly.

Gu Yuxī had indeed almost fallen asleep, but then he felt he still needed to speak. He turned around to face Luò Pànzhī, who was lying next to him: “I saw him. I couldn’t be mistaken. I will never forget that scar on his hand.”

Luò Pànzhī saw he was still wearing his glasses, reached out to take them off, and placed them on the bedside table behind him, then asked: “So you think Mò Wénbīn is in Ruixing Hospital? He didn’t die?”

“Absolutely not dead,” Gu Yuxī thought of many things, especially his own situation from back then. How could Mò Wénbīn’s case have ended without resolution? If the excuse of his death hadn’t been used, Galaxy Group should have easily been able to find this person.

He continued: “It’s precisely because Mò Wénbīn ‘died’ that even if the Beta who died unexpectedly has an autopsy report revealing Alpha fluid in their body, it would be difficult to suspect someone who has been ‘dead’ for fourteen years. ‘No body, no witness’ (A Chinese legal idiom meaning ‘Dead men tell no tales’) is the confidence of Ruixing Hospital.”

Now, from which angle should they start? Should they investigate Mò Wénbīn hiding in the hospital, or Sòng Yínlíng (also spelled Song Yinling), who was diagnosed with mental instability?

This was undoubtedly the most difficult case he had ever taken on, as one link connected to another, pulling out too many dark secrets.

Just as he was about to say more, Luò Pànzhī cupped the back of his neck and pulled him into an embrace, pressing his face against his heart.

Thump, thump, thump, thump.

“If you’re uncomfortable, go to sleep and rest. You can think about work tomorrow.”

Gu Yuxī opened his mouth to speak but met the warning in Luò Pànzhī’s eyes. He instinctively pursed his lips: “I just wanted to tell you about it.”

Why is he so fierce?

Luò Pànzhī held him securely and tightly, not letting him speak again: “This is private time. What are you talking about? You don’t come to my office during work hours to talk, but you want to discuss work when we’re lying on the same bed at night. You’re certainly dedicated to your job.”

Gu Yuxī: “…”

“You’re something else. I finally managed to coax you to sleep, and you wake up yourself. If you can’t sleep, go find your boyfriend to coax you instead,” Luò Pànzhī saw he still wouldn’t sleep and made to get out of bed.

Gu Yuxī swiftly grabbed Luò Pànzhī, preventing him from leaving: “Where are you going?”

“To let your boyfriend come and coax you to sleep.”

“I won’t talk about work anymore,” Gu Yuxī held him tightly: “Seriously, no more talk about work. I want to sleep.”

Luò Pànzhī sat on the edge of the bed: “Then you sleep.”

Gu Yuxī felt the warmth in the quilt gradually slip away because Luò Pànzhī had gotten up. He looked at Luò Pànzhī’s back, lightly tapped his hand, and softly asked: “Can’t you just hold me to sleep?”

“Huh? What?” Luò Pànzhī was momentarily ‘hard of hearing.’

Gu Yuxī simply pulled Luò Pànzhī towards him, pushed him down onto the bed, and braced his hands on either side of Luò Pànzhī’s face. He looked down at him: “Can’t you hold me to sleep?”

Luò Pànzhī laughed out loud.

Then, he pulled the quilt over them both and wrapped Gu Yuxī in his embrace.

“I can coax you to sleep, but it’s not free.”

“How much per hour?”

“I won’t charge money. Just open the blinds in your office from now on.”

Gu Yuxī was completely unaware that the wall had already been switched, and then a large hand covered his eyes. At the same time, Luò Pànzhī’s gentle, slightly hoarse voice came to his ear:

“Whatever you want, whatever you need for this tricky battle, just tell me. We are a team; you don’t need to be so heroic and charge into the fray alone.”

Luò Pànzhī’s voice was very soft, like a lullaby. Gu Yuxī slowly closed his eyes and whispered, “Mm.”

“‘Dead men tell no tales’ is Ruixing Hospital’s confidence, but I, Luò Pànzhī, am your Gu Yuxī’s confidence. So, no one can harm you in the slightest. If they do, I will certainly not let them get away with it.”

“You must tell me everything, let me know the first moment it happens, understood?” Luò Pànzhī asked while stroking Gu Yuxī’s hair.

Sleepiness swept over Gu Yuxī: “Mm, understood.”

After an unknown period, the breathing of the person in his arms became steady.

Luò Pànzhī lowered his eyes, seeing that Gu Yuxī in the crook of his arm was fast asleep. He bent his head and placed a light kiss on his forehead, his eyes filled with tenderness:

“Good night.”

He quietly and carefully got out of bed, tucked Gu Yuxī in, left the bedside lamp on, and turned off the main light before leaving the room. He then returned to the living room, poured out the cold dinner, and set the rice cooker to cook some porridge for when Gu Yuxī woke up.

Before leaving Gu Yuxī’s home, he went to the walk-in closet and put on one of Gu Yuxī’s shirts.

As for the shirt he had taken off, he would just leave it for his Lawyer Gu.

Luò Pànzhī straightened his suit, his expression returning to indifference, and gently closed the door. He came face-to-face with the bodyguard standing outside the opposite apartment. He looked at the person with a strong, unyielding presence in his expressionless gaze:

“Watch him closely.”

The bodyguard was one of the two men who had been discussing food at the hospital that day. As they needed to provide twenty-four-hour protection, the two of them took turns standing guard at night.

“Understood.”