Older Brother - Chapter 8

“The medical report is out.”

Fu Yu leaned against the wall with an impassive face, barely lifting his eyelids.

“What you inhaled was N9 Anti-Alpha spray, the most potent formula circulating on the black market. It’s triggered by Omega pheromones only an Omega can use it.”

The doctor twirled his pen. Noticing Fu Yu’s expression growing increasingly grim, he cleared his throat and quickened his pace. “This high-concentration spray appeared two years ago. It was an instant hit among single Omegas, but Alphas were furious, claiming it infringed on their personal safety. They teamed up to crush the company, so the remaining supply on the black market is quite low. In other words, you can track down who is selling this stuff and who bought it.”

Having finished the professional part, the doctor couldn’t suppress his rampant curiosity. “Even though the spray is powerful. I can’t believe you’d let a stranger Omega get close enough with a suspicious object to actually knock you out?”

His face was full of wonder, causing Fu Yu’s expression to darken further. “Shut up.”

Fu Yu had woken up to find himself tied to the bed in the lounge. The window was wide open, and the scent of orchids had long since been scattered by the wind.

The Omega had run away. Again.

Shame mingled with the fury of a second escape; his current mood was so foul he felt like killing someone. Before losing consciousness, the Omega had whispered in his ear: “I can’t see you now. I’m sorry  Chen Jewelry ordered me.”

The memories were blurry, just broken fragments of sentences. But it was enough to piece together a general picture. The Omega had been sent by someone. And the mastermind was none other than Bai You’s eldest uncle.

With Fu Yu looking so terrifying, the doctor didn’t dare speak another word.

The two sat in silence for a moment before the secretary knocked and entered, reporting in a monotone voice, “All of last night’s surveillance footage has been checked. Every Omega who entered the club was registered. There was one with an orchid scent, but she was a female Omega, and her pheromone sub-type doesn’t match your description. She isn’t the one. There was a glitch in this morning’s footage; we couldn’t capture those entering or leaving through the back door. However, according to the club’s staff records, there were no suspicious individuals.”

Fu Yu said coldly, “Can he just vanish into thin air?”

The high-concentration sedative left his head heavy and throbbing. He rubbed his temples. “Investigate the circulation of N9 spray on the black market over the past year. Round up the dealers. Keep a tight watch on that idiot from the Chen family. If there’s any unusual movement, kidnap him and bring him straight to me.”

The secretary lowered his head in affirmation. Fu Yu closed his eyes for a moment to recover before opening them again. “Where is my brother?”

The secretary paused, searching his memory. “He apparently spent the whole night out drinking and only returned to the mansion this morning.”

Fu Yu instinctively felt something was wrong, though he couldn’t pin it down. The sedative was still hindering his thought process. He frowned and waved the secretary away.

The doctor, who had known Fu Yu for years, knew he had practically turned the world upside down looking for this Omega. He shook his head. “Why are you so obsessed with digging this person out? It was just a few nights. Did you accidentally give them a permanent mark and get them pregnant?”

Fu Yu gave him a cold, deathly stare.

The doctor immediately shut up and pretended to be busy by flipping through a book on his desk. It was a popular novel titled After Pretending to be a Beta, I Was Marked by My Rival, and it was wide open.

Glancing at the title, the doctor had a sudden epiphany. He stroked his chin, muttering to himself, “Could it be someone hiding their gender for freedom? These Omegas nowadays love messing around with disguise agents. They have no idea how much those black-market, ‘no-name’ products damage the body. Just a few days ago, a batch of patients came in—hormonal imbalances and gland issues because they spent too long pretending to be Alphas…”

Fu Yu had been listening half-heartedly, but at those words, his expression froze. “Say that again.”

“What?”

“The last part,” Fu Yu said, his eyes fixed on the doctor as if he had finally caught a thread. “Repeat it.”

The doctor thought back. “Hormonal imbalances…”

“Not that part.”

The doctor clicked his tongue and repeated the whole thought. “Do you think your Omega is using disguise agents too? I’m telling you, it’s the only way he could be so impossible to find. But if that’s the case, the search area just got huge. If he’s on drugs, he could be standing right next to you and you wouldn’t even know…”

The thought that had been haunting him like a ghost finally took shape. Fu Yu murmured, “Standing right next to me…”

The doctor wagged a finger. “Exactly. Don’t you find it strange? How talented must this Omega be to leave no shadow, no trail, as if he never existed? I bet it’s someone you would never think to suspect.”

“There’s a saying: ‘It’s darkest under the lamp.’ You’ve been looking everywhere else; why haven’t you looked at those right beside you?”

As the words fell, Fu Yu’s eyes darkened.

If that Omega was right beside him, using a different, inconspicuous gender identity… If it was someone he would never suspect…

Who could it be? Whoever it was, Fu Yu was certain of one thing: once he found them, he would never let them go.

By the time Fu Yu returned to the mansion, the sky was already dark. The vast, empty estate felt deathly silent at night, like a lonely, dying old man. Since the family purge, only the old butler and a few servants remained in the central area; even the cooking was handled by household robots.

Dinner was ready soon. The person hadn’t been found, the damaged surveillance couldn’t be repaired, and there was no news from the black market yet.

The Omega had slipped through his fingers again, and a surge of irritability rose in Fu Yu’s chest. He ate a few bites, but the sight of the empty dining table only made his frustration grow. This table used to be crowded; back then, he had watched everyone with cold eyes, planning their downfall.

He didn’t miss the fake liveliness of the past. But being alone was, undeniably, lonely.

A figure flashed through his mind. Fu Yu picked up his napkin, wiped his mouth, and looked at the butler. “Where is he?”

The butler knew exactly who he meant. “The Fifth Young Master returned drunk this morning. When I brought him some hangover soup at noon, he didn’t look well. He might have caught a cold. He asked not to be disturbed.”

The butler shook his head, muttering, “The Fifth Young Master isn’t one for drinking. It’s rare to see him so out of character.”

Fu Yu raised an eyebrow. “Out of character?”

“Yes, he was stumbling when he came home but refused any help,” the butler said. “He must have something on his mind.”

Fu Yu narrowed his eyes, looking toward the direction of Bai You’s room. After a moment of silence, he stood up abruptly and strode toward that corner of the mansion.

Bai You was indeed feeling unwell.

Fu Yu was a relatively gentle lover in bed, free of any strange fetishes, but the predatory nature of an Alpha was inescapable. Bai You felt as if every bone in his body had been taken apart and put back together. He could barely walk straight; thankfully, he had used the excuse of being drunk to stumble back without arousing suspicion.

He had covered the bite mark on his nape with a skin-colored patch and used makeup to hide the hickeys on his neck. Unless someone looked very closely, nothing seemed amiss. An Omega’s gland is both fragile and resilient; its self-healing ability is strong. In a few days, it would be smooth again.

I have to move fast, Bai You thought. Settle the matter with my uncle, tell Fu Yu the Omega is dead, and then leave this place.

Exhausted, Bai You pinched the bridge of his nose, planning his route. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

Whether intentional or not, the rhythm of the knock was identical to the one on the lounge door the night before.

Bai You had expected Fu Yu might come. He took a deep breath, gathered his strength, straightened his clothes, and went to open the door.

Fu Yu was slightly surprised that Bai You opened the door so readily. From a short distance, he observed Bai You, his gaze drifting toward the man’s nape.

Bai You was wearing a simple T-shirt. His nape was clearly visible and appeared smooth, with no marks. His neck was white and slender; as he tilted his head slightly, he possessed a fragile beauty.

Fu Yu felt a strange, inexplicable sense of disappointment. He stepped over the threshold, sniffing the light, grassy scent in the room. As an Alpha, Bai You’s pheromones were faint almost entirely lacking the aggression typical of the gender.

“Is something the matter?” Bai You forced himself to ignore the memories of last night and looked Fu Yu in the eye.

“The butler said you weren’t feeling well.” Fu Yu sat on the sofa and gestured with his chin. “As your brother, I naturally had to come and check on you.”

Seeing Bai You standing by the sofa without moving, he narrowed his eyes. “Why aren’t you sitting? Are you afraid of me?”

Bai You sat down without a word, looking at him indifferently. The scene reminded Fu Yu of his time with the Omega last night. He watched Bai You’s every move and suddenly laughed. “Silent again? Have you gone mute?”

The familiarity of the dialogue sent a cold sweat down Bai You’s back. He didn’t understand why Fu Yu had suddenly started testing him again. He lowered his head to pour some tea to hide his expression. When he looked up, his face was a mask of calm as he pushed the cup over. “I don’t think we have much to talk about.”

The weather was turning cold, so Bai You was wearing long sleeves. As he pushed the tea forward, he didn’t notice his sleeve sliding up a fraction, revealing a small patch of skin mottled with hickeys and teeth marks.

It was only for a split second.

Fu Yu’s gaze shifted instantly, like a predator spotting its prey. A cold, sharp light flared in his eyes. He lunged forward and grabbed Bai You’s wrist.

Bai You’s eyes widened in shock. “What are you do—”

Before he could finish, he was slammed down onto the coffee table. The Alpha’s strength was terrifying; Bai You had no power to resist as Fu Yu yanked his shirt up.

His pale, thin body was covered in a bruised tapestry of hickeys and bite marks intimate and unmistakable. Due to his anger, his chest heaved violently, making the sight even more arresting. His body was lithe, not as soft as a typical Omega’s nor as muscular as an Alpha’s, yet far more enticing than any Beta’s.

Bai You’s back was soaked in cold sweat. He hadn’t expected Fu Yu to suspect him again so quickly, let alone perform such a crude, forceful check.

Fu Yu said nothing. His gaze was almost physical, burning as it raked over Bai You’s body. After a moment, the fire in his eyes settled into a deep, dark pool. He stared at the marks, licked the corner of his lip, and suddenly smiled. “An Omega couldn’t have left these traces on you.”

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