Does An Inferior Omega Also Have To Marry First, Then Fall In Love? - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Gland Surgery Ended Very Quickly

The gland surgery ended very quickly.

The anesthesia hadn’t worn off yet. Ji Qingyu sat up from the hospital bed, his neck wrapped in gauze.

The hefty bill was charged to Fu Han’s account. He looked down at the cost—twenty thousand dollars burned in just half an hour, and a long, deep scar was now on the back of his neck.

He got up and slowly walked out of the hospital.

The doctor said the aftercare wasn’t complicated: avoid getting the bandage wet during bathing, and the dietary restrictions were the usual ones. Since his gland had been chronically swollen and unhealthy, the recovery would be exceptionally slow.

“Mr. Ji, I’ve never seen anyone abuse their gland like this. Your gland was full of pus; this could have killed you,” the doctor’s tone carried a hint of reproach. “Since you were permanently marked, why didn’t you seek out the person who marked you? Even just to get some pheromones?”

Ji Qingyu lowered his head: “He wouldn’t help me.”

“If your relationship was so bad, why did you let yourself get permanently marked?”

Ji Qingyu fell silent. The doctor sighed, carrying a feeling of disappointment for his refusal to improve, and comforted him, “It’s alright, now that the gland surgery is done, everything is in the past. Mr. Ji, you are about to get married. Manage your relationship well with your husband after marriage, and everything will get better.”

Ji Qingyu didn’t respond.

The shadows of the hospital trees swayed. Ji Qingyu looked down, gently rolling the small stones under his feet, kicking all the complex thoughts out of his mind.

He reached up and touched the gauze on the back of his neck. For a moment, he hadn’t fully processed that the mark that had been with him for six years was just gone. Perhaps out of instinct, he felt a little empty inside. He should have felt completely unburdened, as this mark tormented him from time to time.

However, mostly, it was relief.

The time before the wedding was no different. Ji Qingyu continued to tutor, ate the osmanthus cake Nannan gave him, and visited Lin Ying at the hospital during his free time.

The person in the room seemed like she would never wake up. The nurses initially ignored Ji Qingyu but, seeing his frequent visits, politely reminded him to stand further away so as not to bring germs into the sterile environment.

He would retreat a few steps, standing by like an unnecessary person, helplessly watching the nurses complete the sterile disinfection before going in to turn Lin Ying over.

Lin Ying needed to be turned three times a day. She had lost a lot of weight, and he could see the prominent bones on her wrists. He had almost forgotten what she used to look like.

“When you wake up, I’ll take you to see my students; they’re all very good…” Ji Qingyu paused. “I’m doing very well, too.”

He spoke slowly through the large glass wall: “I’m getting married. You can’t make it to the wedding, but I’ll come to see you as soon as I get married, so you can see me in my wedding attire. Madam Lin Ying, please wake up soon, okay?”

The chair outside the room was uncomfortable after sitting for a long time. In his free moments, he would look down at his phone. The chat window with Fu Han was still blank.

His profile was empty, and his avatar was pure black.

Fu Han didn’t seem to intend to talk to him. He sent a “Hello,” but the other party didn’t reply. The chat box was empty; no one would believe these were two people about to get married.

During this time, it was Ji Ran who frequently contacted him, taking him to choose venues, try on clothes, and attend etiquette classes.

The intricate Omega gowns made him feel suffocated. Ji Ran instructed his dedicated makeup artist to apply makeup to Ji Qingyu’s face. The makeup artist, holding a brush, complimented Ji Qingyu’s face.

“Ranran, although your brother’s skin is rough, his foundation is really good.”

Ji Ran raised an eyebrow, looking at the music score in his hand, “Take good care of it. Don’t let him look too presentable and embarrass me.”

“Oh, right.” Ji Ran looked up and tossed over a neatly ironed outfit. Ji Qingyu caught it with both hands; the smooth satin fell like water onto his fingertips. “Wear this to meet Fu Han and get your wedding photos taken.”

Ji Qingyu started to stammer, “We, we have to take wedding photos?”

“Otherwise?” Ji Ran said, then ignored him, lowering his head to continue looking at the score.

“Has the date of our wedding been set?” Ji Qingyu asked again.

Ji Ran frowned at his question: “Your wedding, and you have to ask me the date?”

Ji Qingyu quieted down. Ji Ran continued to look at his score, then threw the music onto the table after a while. “This piece isn’t working.”

“Is this all you can come up with for the new concert song? Where are the others?” Ji Ran’s voice grew cold.

The assistant next to him whispered, “Brother Ji, this is already the thirteenth version.”

Ji Ran’s face was grim, looking on the verge of anger. The young assistant shrunk his head into his shoulders, afraid to even dodge.

Chaos reigned among the makeup artists. Ji Qingyu stood up, silently holding the beautiful satin suit, and walked out the door.

The weather was a bit overcast, and it was raining outside. He took out his phone, looked at the chat interface for Fu Han, and didn’t know how to start the conversation.

In the end, he held back and contacted the assistant who had been responsible for coordinating the wedding matters.

“Hello,” Ji Qingyu’s voice was tight. He also hated how neurotic he became whenever something related to Fu Han came up. He silently cleared his throat, trying to make his voice sound as pleasant as possible.

“Hello, who is this?” A clean, capable female voice came from the other end.

“I am… Fu Han’s fiancé. Perhaps you’ve heard him mention me. I wanted to ask when he has time; we might need to take wedding photos.” Ji Qingyu felt a little nervous. He tightly gripped his phone, pursing his lips.

When it actually came time to meet Fu Han, his heart felt like it was being lifted high. He waited for the reply, his heart pounding fast.

After more than twenty seconds, the female voice on the other end replied, “Understood, Mr. Ji. I just confirmed with CEO Fu. Please come to the corporate building tomorrow at 5 PM, and we will take you up.”

“Okay, thank you. I appreciate it.” Ji Qingyu hung up the phone and touched his forehead, which was covered in cold sweat.

He thought that his skin had grown thick enough over the years, but he had clearly overestimated himself. It seemed that in his relationship with Fu Han, the other party was always more composed.

He could only hold onto nervous anticipation and anxiety, silently awaiting the summons from the other side.

That night, he suffered from insomnia for the first time in a while.

Perhaps it was the hormonal fluctuations after the surgery. He woke up several times in the night and had multiple nightmares. In the dream, Fu Han held Ji Qingyu’s neck, his eyes cold, looking at Ji Qingyu as if he were a tiny ant on the ground.

His words were just as harsh: “You dared to do such a thing, and you still expect me to forgive you?”

He was surrounded by a crowd, with a beautiful Omega by his side, walking further and further away from Ji Qingyu. Ji Qingyu wanted to open his mouth to explain but couldn’t catch up to him no matter what.

The dream was too real. After waking up, he couldn’t fall asleep again.

He simply got up to flip through old photos. The high school album didn’t contain many pictures. Half were of him and Ji Ran, and the other half were everyday shots, including campus cats and casual photos with classmates. There was only one photo of Fu Han.

In the photo, he stood next to Fu Han. Neither of them was doing anything special. He was shorter than Fu Han, and his shoulders weren’t as broad. Fu Han occupied two-thirds of the entire picture.

He was smiling. Fu Han was expressionless, holding a sparkler. A few strands of colored ribbon were stuck to his hair. The moment the champagne erupted, the white champagne foam and the bright lights of the hall were frozen in the photo.

Ji Qingyu looked at it for a couple of seconds, and his stomach rumbled—he was hungry. He had forgotten to eat. His body was quite durable, only starting to protest in the middle of the night, so he wasn’t really mistreated by his owner.

He got up and quickly cooked a bowl of plain noodles, eating it with some preserved vegetables.

In the dead of night, the online world was still lively. He casually scrolled through posts. Many bloggers were sharing the love-hate relationship between Ji Ran and Fu Han, accompanied by viral candid photos with high like counts.

Someone had filmed Fu Han watching Ji Ran’s concert. The video quality was poor.

Ji Qingyu watched the video, zooming in on Fu Han’s face in the darkness, watching it several times.

Ji Qingyu’s mood was complex. Fu Han had never shown that kind of expression when listening to him sing in high school.

His phone automatically died.

The next day at 5 PM, he left the house wearing his neatly ironed suit.

The entrance of the Fu Corporation headquarters was imposing, a building with at least thirty floors. He straightened out the most expensive clothes he had bought at the mall and adjusted the large paper bag slung over his shoulder.

He lowered his head, his steps slightly stiff, and walked to the front desk, quietly saying, “Hello, I’m here to see Fu Han.”

“Mr. Ji?” The secretary pressed the intercom and pointed the way for Ji Qingyu.

“Please take the visitor badge, use the innermost elevator to the top floor, and the CEO’s office is right outside.” The secretary stood up and gestured toward the innermost elevator.

“Okay.” Ji Qingyu managed a stiff smile. Right now, he hoped that Fu Han would be busy and absent, telling him that the wedding photos weren’t needed, and he could just leave.

The elevator moved upward, quickly reaching the top floor. The elevator doors opened before him. The entire floor was very quiet. He walked forward a few steps and pushed open the half-closed door.

Fu Han was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror. His upper body was bare, and he was about to put on the wedding suit. His lips were slightly pursed. His right arm was adorned with a fierce and beautiful tattoo. Despite the auspicious, festive color, the red clothes made him appear even more aloof and intimidating.

He fastened the buttons of the wedding suit one by one, without a trace of a smile on his face. Sensing someone approach, he turned his head and looked. The gaze was cold and placid. The lights were off in the room, and half of the light from the window fell on his face, the other half hidden in shadow.

Ji Qingyu didn’t know what expression he should wear.

Fu Han’s tightly furrowed brows stiffened for a moment when he saw Ji Qingyu, then slowly relaxed, as if he had just recognized who Ji Qingyu was. He smiled indifferently and walked toward him.

An expansive hand embraced his back. The other party closed the door. Ji Qingyu belatedly felt the hand that was touching his neck.

The gauze on his neck hadn’t been removed and hadn’t been changed for an hour. Perhaps some blood had seeped through. Ji Qingyu desperately tried to discern something from Fu Han’s expression but ultimately found nothing.

After an unknown period, the hand was withdrawn. Ji Qingyu gasped a deep breath of air. He had nearly suffocated.

“Since you’re here, go change.” Fu Han’s tone was icy. He turned and went into the lounge area, leaving the changing area free.

“Okay.” Ji Qingyu walked slowly along the wall and entered. Fu Han lay on the bed, leaving the partition door ajar. If Ji Qingyu changed here, Fu Han could see him as soon as he opened his eyes.

Ji Qingyu debated for a while whether to go close the door or just change when Fu Han suddenly rolled over, turning his back to him.

The dark figure was hidden in the shadow.

Only then did Ji Qingyu take out the wedding suit from the paper bag.

The red outfit was exquisitely crafted, with lifelike embroidery. Golden threads outlined a phoenix with wings ready to fly.

He took off his clothes and put on the red wedding suit. The suit made his face appear even paler. The years of accumulated thinness and depression were somewhat diminished by this outfit, giving him a gentle and soft appearance.

His somewhat malnourished brown hair was tied into a small knot behind him, resting quietly on his shoulder.

Fu Han had gotten up at some point. He leaned against the doorway of the lounge. Ji Qingyu turned around and found that Fu Han was watching him.

Perhaps finding it uncomfortable to sleep, Fu Han had unbuttoned a few buttons, revealing clearly defined muscles, which made the otherwise well-fitting suit look a bit snug.

Fu Han’s face was hidden in the darkness, his body casually leaning against the doorframe, his hair combed up, with only a few strands scattered on his forehead.

His features were sharp and impossibly handsome. Just standing there, he made it difficult for Ji Qingyu to look away.

Ji Qingyu’s neck began to ache again. He wasn’t someone who lacked memory, so he immediately averted his gaze.

At that moment, however, Fu Han walked over and stopped right in front of Ji Qingyu.