After Breaking Up with the Alpha Villain, I was Forcibly Marked - Chapter 22

“Young Master Gao! We heard you’ve been spending the last few days in your Rut. Is that true?”

“Young Master Gao, is the man who spent your Rut with you your new boyfriend?”

“How do you all know about this?”

Click, click—

Gao Chang’s face stiffened as he caught sight of the hovering drone cameras snapping photos of him from every angle. He discreetly lowered the hand he had been using to support his aching lower back. When his heat first started, he had clearly made an effort to restrain his leaking pheromones.

How did these people find out so quickly? Were they caught on camera while they were on the way here?

He didn’t get an answer from the first two reporters. Very quickly, a swarm of journalists surged toward him, shoving the original two into the crowd. Microphones of various styles were thrust into his face in a frantic competition for his attention.

“Young Master Gao! Word is that your ‘companion’ is an ordinary person. May we ask how you feel about this particular Rut period?!”

An awkward grimace flashed across Gao Chang’s face. “I don’t even want to think about it…”

A reporter, staring at the hickeys on Gao Chang’s neck with an ambiguous smile and glinting eyes, chimed in: “Does that mean the experience was exceptionally good…?”

Gao Chang: “I wouldn’t say that…”

” ‘Don’t want to think about it’ means an exceptional experience, and ‘wouldn’t say that’ means yes…” The reporter muttered under his breath, frantically typing notes into his memo pad.

Another reporter, eyes gleaming as he pointed at Xing Xiyan—who was currently adjusting his sleeves—asked excitedly, “Young Master Gao! This must be your seventy-fifth candidate for a partner, right?!”

Gao Chang followed the reporter’s gaze across the crowd and locked eyes with the youth blocked in the other corner. Those light-colored eyes seemed to hold the same question as the reporter’s, yet they carried a trace of something else, an unidentifiable look.

He hurriedly looked away, stammering a weak rebuttal: “He’s… probably the fifty-seventh.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the camera drones hovering over the reporters suddenly pivoted their lenses. They focused on his face from every angle, the air filling with a rapid-fire succession of shutter clicks.

“Young Master Gao! We heard you’re preparing to get married next month. Is it true?”

Gao Chang froze, utterly bewildered. “Who said that???”

The reporter gave a low squeal of delight. “It looks like it’s true!”

Gao Chang: “…”

Click, click— The cameras went into another frenzy of snapping photos.

“Young Master Gao! We heard you rescued a pregnant Omega a few days ago. How do you plan to arrange the status of these two boyfriends?”

Gao Chang: “…I’m speechless.”

The reporter was relentless. “Please give us a direct answer, Young Master Gao!”

“Let me clarify. First, that is not my child! Second, that pregnant Omega is definitely not my boyfriend!” Gao Chang’s temper began to flare. He enunciated each word through a dark expression.

To his frustration, his clarification fell right into the traps these reporters had dug.

“!!!”

The crowd erupted into a sudden uproar.

“If he’s not the boyfriend, he’s the ex-boyfriend.”

“So he was cheated on…”

“Write that down, write that down! Another huge headline…”

“Young Master Gao, since your current boyfriend helped you through your Rut this time, he’ll likely be expecting soon. Does this count as ‘getting on the bus before buying a ticket’?”

Gao Chang gritted his teeth. “It does not.”

Should I tell them? The one who went through the Rut was me, and the one who would have to get ‘pregnant’ would also be me…

“Young Master Gao—”

“You’re all too loud! Get the fuck out, all of you!!!”

Gao Chang took several deep breaths before releasing a wave of pheromones with intense, oppressive power, dialing the concentration to the absolute maximum.

Suppressed by the pheromones in the air, the expressions of the crowd changed instantly. They broke into cold sweats, their limbs trembling so much they nearly dropped their equipment. Although their masks blocked the actual scent, they were inevitably affected by the absolute power of the suppression.

Several Alphas with weaker constitutions directly experienced nausea, dizziness, and dry heaving—a series of painful rejection reactions. They were forced to abort the interview, grabbing their camera drones and fleeing the suffocating, crowded space in a panic.

Ten minutes later.

Gao Chang, unable to endure the rapid drain on his physical strength, weakly retracted his pheromones. He turned to look at the five reporters who had managed to hold out until the end. “You’re still not leaving?”

Sensing the pressure in the air thinning until it vanished, the remaining reporters felt a wave of relief. They wiped the sweat from their faces, their limbs still shaky. Hearing Gao Chang’s question, they shook their heads in perfect unison.

They were all from the same news agency. Before being dispatched to the Manamas Hotel, their team leader had told them this was a major assignment. If the task wasn’t completed, their performance bonuses for the month would vanish. None of them wanted to waste such a rare opportunity. No matter how powerful the pheromones of a SS-rank Alpha were, they couldn’t extinguish their obsession with Star Credits.

“Fine… suit yourselves.”

Gao Chang glanced at the clearly exhausted reporters and raised an eyebrow. He bypassed them and headed toward the foyer. Unfortunately, the residual pain in his body hadn’t fully vanished, and releasing his pheromones just now had drained a significant amount of energy. Even though his mind desperately wanted to leave the hotel, his legs wouldn’t cooperate. Every few steps, he had to stop and catch his breath.

By the time he reached the foyer again, the reporter who had been least affected by the suppression had already fully recovered. He snatched off his mask, rushed in front of Gao Chang, and held out a microphone.

“Young Master Gao, we are reporters from the Wenxin Society. We want to do a special feature on you. Could you answer a few questions before you go?”

The reporter was an S-rank Alpha wearing a grey-blue hoodie. He had red hair, black eyes, and a baby face that made his actual age hard to guess. His features were bright and handsome, and the shallow dimples paired with the approachable smile on his face made him look exceptionally sincere and earnest. Confronted with such a passionate smile, it was truly difficult to refuse.

“Sorry, I don’t have time.”

Unfortunately, Gao Chang’s only desire was to go home and lie down for ten days. He had no heart for anything else. Naturally, upon seeing the young reporter’s smile, he refused without a second thought.

“Just five questions… no, four. Please, I beg you.”

Hearing the refusal, the reporter secretly broke into a sweat. His robust frame intentionally blocked the one-meter-wide metal door. He clearly had no intention of letting Gao Chang leave.

Gao Chang felt a catch in his chest. He glanced at Xing Xiyan, who was leaning nearby, watching them silently. Although the youth’s expression was difficult to read, he showed no interest in joining the commotion.

Gao Chang felt a secret sense of relief. He looked the young reporter in the eye. “You aren’t going to publish a distorted report about me again, are you?”

The young reporter vowed solemnly, his voice resonant: “How could we? Our agency’s reputation and credibility are among the best in the Empire. The situation you’re worried about could never happen!”

Gao Chang was half-convinced. “There aren’t any traps waiting for me?!”

The young reporter’s tone faltered for a split second, but he quickly regained his previous vigor. A brilliant smile broke across his face. “Uh… our interviews always emphasize genuine feelings and objective fairness. We would never set up a so-called interview trap!!”