Forcibly Marked by My Fiancé’s Best Friend - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Lian Xu shrugged and took his leave discreetly.

It wasn’t that he was truly afraid He Yu would actually pin him to the ground; rather, his head was spinning, and he was swaying precariously in the wind and rain. He had exerted himself too much during the fight. Under the influence of his heat, his sense of pain had been dulled, and it was only now that waves of sharp agony began radiating from his lower abdomen.

The high-potency blocking patch wasn’t waterproof. Having spent too much time in the rain, he could clearly feel the thin film at the nape of his neck sliding downward.

He gritted his teeth and held on.

The recruits lacked any sense of urgency; to them, going hungry seemed like a trivial matter.

But Lian Xu might not last.

Half an hour later, the slowest recruit finally completed his hundred push-ups. By now, everyone was collapsed on the ground, unable to even crawl.

Yu stood tall, shoulders squared against the storm, and blew his whistle.

“Everyone, down the mountain at maximum speed!”

The recruits were in disbelief.

“Huh? Are you kidding me?”

“F***I’m paralyzed with exhaustion, where am I supposed to get the energy to move!”

Complaints echoed toward the sky, drowning out the intermittent thunder.

Another whistle blast followed. Yu looked at the recruits, his voice carrying an unyielding authority: “Assemble at the cafeteria entrance in ten minutes. If one person is missing, everyone gets ten extra penalty laps this afternoon!”

Originally, delaying only meant going hungry—something they had experienced often in training—but when they heard they would not only be hungry but also penalized, everyone caught their second wind. They scrambled down the mountain, terrified that being a second late would make them the sinner who caused everyone’s punishment.

As for the Alpha whom Lian Xu had kicked into a daze, he likely wouldn’t be able to walk upright for ten days or half a month. Yu called over two other Alphas with decent stamina to help the injured man down, granting them permission to be late.

Watching the recruits run off in small groups, Lian Xu could no longer hold himself up. He clutched his abdomen and crouched down. Stars danced before his eyes, and sounds became muffled. Omega’s body had reached its limit; it was embarrassing enough to fall to his knees, but due to a rising fever, he lost consciousness entirely and fainted on the summit.

As he lost awareness, Lian Xu felt a gentle touch at the small of his back, as if someone had picked him up.

…

When he opened his eyes again, the familiar room made him pale with shock.

Why was he back here?!

“You’re awake?” Yin Zhuo walked to the sofa holding a bowl of hot soup, his tall silhouette looming over the weakened Omega.

Lian Xu closed his eyes, then opened them again a moment later.

It was still Yin Zhuo.

He wasn’t dreaming.

“What, you don’t want to see me?”

“N-no.” Lian Xu was pale, lacking even the strength to speak.

That warm embrace… he had thought it was…

But on second thought, the probability was low. If it had been He Yu, he likely wouldn’t have delivered him to Yin Zhuo’s residence. Yet he couldn’t understand why Yin Zhuo would have been at the summit in the first place.

Surely he didn’t go specifically to watch recruits train; that would be ridiculous.

Yin Zhuo gazed at the frail Omega, a flicker of irritation rising in his eyes. Weak, pitiful—a waste of space controlled by pheromones. All he could do was shed tears to earn an Alpha’s sympathy.

How was such a person fit to be his fiancé, or fit to enter the Command Center?

That Commander was an Alpha too. Perhaps Lian Xu had used the same tactics he used years ago—tricking the Commander into sympathy to gain entry. If that was the case, then the Commander was just another pathetic degenerate who couldn’t control his lust.

Thinking this, Yin Zhuo relaxed considerably, his mood turning subtle.

He knelt down and pinched Lian Xu’s chin. Without a single word of concern, he forced the hot soup into the Omega’s mouth. The brown liquid spilled from the corners of his lips, dripping onto the floor.

Yin Zhuo frowned. “Remember to clean that up.”

He dropped the bowl on the floor, as if afraid of dirtying his own hands.

“If you’re not dead, don’t just lie there. Once you feel better, clean the house,” Yin Zhuo said expressionlessly. “Stay by my side for a while; you are not permitted to go to the training grounds. It saves you from picking up the scent of other Alphas and coming back smelling like a mess.”

Lian Xu bit his lip, the corners of his eyes reddening, and gave a muffled “Okay.”

It happened that he wanted an opportunity to rest.

Perhaps because the sick Lian Xu was so compliant, Yin Zhuo was momentarily stunned when he didn’t hear the usual low-voiced complaints. Looking at him, it didn’t seem like a simple fever; his body temperature was unnaturally high.

“Is your heat early?”

Lian Xu looked up, his damp eyes gazing at the Alpha with a pitiful, aggrieved look.

Yin Zhuo sucked in a breath. No wonder he was so well-behaved; his heat had arrived early.

In the past, to avoid being affected, Yin Zhuo would lock Lian Xu in a room far away from himself, sending in one meal a day to keep him from fainting from hunger. If anyone asked about his whereabouts, he would brush it off as exhaustion or physical malaise.

Few people knew of Yin Zhuo’s “fiancée,” and those who did usually understood the situation implicitly, even joking that he was too rough and didn’t know how to handle an Omega’s feelings—warning him that he’d regret it if his wife ran off with someone else.

Yin Zhuo would only smile and say the Omega was very clingy and that such a thing wouldn’t happen.

Moreover, he believed Lian Xu wouldn’t easily leave him. Back then, Lian Xu had begged so humbly to marry him; now that he had his wish and had used Yin Zhuo’s status to climb to the rank of Lieutenant General, how could he give that up?

But that was in the past.

The establishment of the Command Center was like a tumor in the heart of the Cabinet—hateful yet intimidating. Not to mention Lian Xu being appointed as the Head of the Military Group; in a few years, he might even climb over Yin Zhuo’s head.

Used to being put on a pedestal, Yin Zhuo couldn’t accept this shift.

“I… I’m a little cold.” Lian Xu cautiously grabbed the corner of Yin Zhuo’s clothes, tears welling in his eyes as he fought back a sob.

He knew Yin Zhuo hated seeing an Omega cry, especially him.

It drove the man crazy.

Yin Zhuo’s pupils were constricted. Seeing that Lian Xu was still the same weak waste he was familiar with, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He shook off Lian Xu’s hand, his face darkening. “How many times have I told you? Do not touch me without permission!”

“S-sorry! I didn’t mean to!” Lian Xu apologized hurriedly.

Rarely, Yin Zhuo’s anger subsided after the first apology. He casually threw a blanket over him.

Lian Xu’s clothes were soaked and clinging to his body; a thin blanket could hardly ward off the invading chill.

Yin Zhuo did nothing more. In his view, he had shown enough charity.

“Once you’ve warmed up, get to cleaning.”

The residence was a mess, and looking at it was irritating. And all of this was his fiancé’s fault.

“Why the big temper?” Yu leaned against the door, asking with a grin.

He and Yin Zhuo had known each other since childhood; their parents were comrades-in-arms, and the two were life-and-death friends. Consequently, Yin Zhuo treated He Yu like a younger brother, supporting him unconditionally in whatever he did.

Yin Zhuo didn’t like being disturbed. Of the subordinates who were forced to seek him out at his residence, not one dared to walk out with their chest held high. They respected him and feared him. Only He Yu came and went as he pleased, having developed the habit of never knocking.

Because of this, whenever Yin Zhuo’s temper was interrupted and he managed to speak calmly, Lian Xu knew exactly who it was without looking.

Just like now—as soon as he heard that punchable tone, he knew the source.

Yin Zhuo sighed, sat on the sofa, pulled the Omega onto his lap, and tightened the blanket around him. He clasped the slender waist, putting on a display of intimacy.

“Be good, don’t be stubborn. You won’t get better without the medicine.”

He looked exactly like a devoted husband caring for a sick wife. In contrast, Lian Xu looked like a spoiled, difficult lady who had thrown her bowl in a tantrum.

Yu walked in, slumping against the back of the sofa, and said sourly, “You and sister-in-law really have a great relationship. It’s enviable.”

Yin Zhuo smiled. “Find someone yourself, and you won’t have to be envious.”

He Yu quirked an eyebrow. “Forget it. I’m afraid someone wouldn’t be able to take it and would chop me up to feed the dogs in a fit of rage.”

“You’re an Alpha, are you afraid you can’t tame an Omega?” Yin Zhuo didn’t catch the hidden meaning, laughing as he teased his friend.

Yu didn’t mind, his gaze fixed steadily on the hand clasped around the Omega’s waist.

“I won’t interrupt you two lovebirds. I’m leaving.”

Yin Zhuo didn’t stand, but looked at Lian Xu’s miserable face. “I won’t see you out. He’s not feeling well, so I’ll stay with him.”

He Yu gave a lazy “Mm,” gritting his teeth in irritation.

He hadn’t run to someone else’s dorm in the middle of the day just to watch a couple be affectionate.

As soon as He Yu left, Yin Zhuo immediately let go, indifferently letting Lian Xu fall from his lap. Lian Xu’s forehead hit the corner of the table, leaving a slight bruise.

He was always like this—an expert at playing the perfect husband.

Lian Xu likewise played the role of the perfect fiancé in front of outsiders. But only they knew it was all an act. Yin Zhuo loathed Lian Xu.

It could be said he hated him to the core; even looking at him was nauseating.

Yin Zhuo couldn’t keep up the act any longer. He pinched Lian Xu’s face and demanded, “What is your relationship with that Commander?”

Lian Xu looked confused. Him and the Commander?

They were worlds apart; there was no relationship at all.

As Yin Zhuo’s expression grew more furious, more pheromones that made Lian Xu’s glands ache began to leak out. Lian Xu realized too late that Yin Zhuo was having another “episode.”

Aside from himself, any Alpha who came into contact with Lian Xu was subject to suspicion.

Of course, there was one exception. He never doubted He Yu.

Seeing the Omega remain silent with a look of grievance, Yin Zhuo assumed his guess was correct: “When did you meet? On the battlefield?”

“I only let you out for a goddamn year, and you’re already fooling around with another Alpha behind my back! How is it? Does it feel great having a new backer?”

“But have you considered this? You are my fiancé! The only thing behind you should be the Cabinet!”

Lian Xu said nothing, simply enduring and weeping. When his tears uncontrollably spilled onto the Alpha’s palm, Yin Zhuo let go as if stung by a poisonous barb and stood up abruptly.

This beautiful face… it looked especially sexy when crying, but it also made him feel disgusted.

Yin Zhuo narrowed his eyes. It was this innocent-looking face that had deceived him and deceived many other high-ranking Alphas into being used by him.

But Lian Xu was his fiancé, even if he didn’t acknowledge it in his heart. As long as this Omega maintained the status of the Prime Minister’s fiancé, he wouldn’t allow anyone else to lay a finger on him.

“You’d better recognize reality. The Command Center was just established and is currently in the spotlight, but once the Lakala operation fails in three months, he will be taken to military court and become a criminal to the entire Empire. At that time, only the Cabinet—only I—can protect you.”

Lian Xu was burning with fever and had been further exhausted by Yin Zhuo. His head was heavy, and he vaguely heard “Lakala operation.” He forced himself to crawl up, grabbing Yin Zhuo’s calf and looking up at the tall Alpha: “But the Command Center was established by His Majesty himself.”

This look of submissiveness and disbelief only further solidified the theory of a brainless waste wanting to climb the social ladder. Yin Zhuo gave a meaningful smile: “His Majesty? You’re as naive as he is. The Cabinet is the backbone of the entire Empire. The Cabinet has survived until now not just because of the Empire’s support.”

“It is the Cabinet that supports the Empire, do you understand?” Yin Zhuo seemed certain that Lian Xu wouldn’t think twice, showing no hesitation in flaunting the Cabinet’s massive power.

With that single sentence, Lian Xu guessed that the Cabinet was secretly gathering external forces behind the Emperor’s back.

Could it be Lakala? he thought.

Seeing Lian Xu suddenly go quiet, a dark thought ignited. But within half a minute, that incredible thought was washed away by Lian Xu’s tears.

“I… I won’t betray you.”

“That’s a good boy.” Yin Zhuo rubbed his face, his thumb wiping a tear from the corner of his lip. “Stay here and rest. Once your heat passes and you return to the Command Center, you know what to do, right?”

He meant…

Lian Xu nodded, his eyes watery. He couldn’t even sit steadily, yet his hands gripped Yin Zhuo tightly.

“Alright, be good. Go to sleep.” Yin Zhuo’s gaze swept over the messy floor. “Remember to clean this up when you wake.”

“Mm, okay.”

Lian Xu obediently rolled up in the blanket. Unable to stand, he used both hands and feet to crawl into the familiar room. The bowl on the floor had been replaced. He crawled in without hesitation. Previously there was only one blanket, but now there was a thick quilt.

Perhaps because the weather had turned cold earlier than usual this year, Yin Zhuo had placed the quilt there beforehand, fearing he might freeze to death inside.

Yin Zhuo saw that he didn’t throw a tantrum after entering, thinking that weakened people are indeed easier to manipulate. He took a chain and wrapped it twice around the outside of the door.

Inside the pitch-black room, it felt like an ice cellar; not a sliver of sunlight or warmth could penetrate. Lian Xu’s forehead was as hot as a fireball, yet his body wouldn’t stop shivering. Even wrapped in the thick quilt, it was no use.

He reached out and felt his damp, cold clothes. He simply shed them all, wrapping himself naked in the blanket and then shrinking into the quilt. He finally felt a bit better.

Yin Zhuo’s words from earlier flashed through his mind.

Lian Xu clutched the quilt tightly, lying on his side on the floor. His fingertips dug into the floorboards. Agony spread through his body, yet he smiled wildly. The Alpha thought he had him under control, never suspecting that all of this was a result of his own careful planning.

A blood debt must be paid in blood.

Lian Xu closed his eyes. A voice suddenly echoed in his mind—a young, magnetic voice asking him: “If you find the person, what do you plan to do?”

He thought for a moment and replied: “Kill him…”