Older Brother - Chapter 9

Bai You’s mind went blank for several seconds. He managed to squeeze a few words through his clenched teeth: “Of course not.”

Fu Yu’s eyes held a playful, mocking glint. He slowly withdrew his hand, waiting for an explanation. Once the restraint vanished, Bai You scrambled to sit up and yanked his shirt back down. His hands were trembling uncontrollably; he bit his lip and balled his fists tight, saying coldly, “There is something I suppose I never told you.”

“What?”

Bai You replied expressionlessly, “I am an Alpha-preferring Alpha. I only date other Alphas.”

While AA (Alpha-Alpha) or OO (Omega-Omega) relationships did exist, they were exceedingly rare. Pheromones between Alphas naturally repelled each other, and Omega couples faced the daunting hurdle of synchronized heat cycles.

Fu Yu went silent for a moment, looking at him with a bizarre expression. “So, these marks were left by your Alpha?”

He placed a heavy emphasis on the word “your,” and it sounded distinctly unpleasant. Bai You paused, then nodded.

A smile touched the corners of Fu Yu’s mouth, as if he had discovered something highly entertaining. He nodded casually. “Fine.”

Fine what?

Bai You wanted to ask, but Fu Yu simply gave him one last look and turned to leave without a hint of hesitation. He even closed the door with gentlemanly poise.

As the Alpha’s presence faded, Bai You’s strength gave out. He slumped against the coffee table, propping his head in his hand, unaware that he had knocked over his teacup. His temporarily marked gland was burning, and he could feel a faint, rhythmic throbbing—a biological yearning for that familiar Alpha scent.

I can’t keep doing this.

The lie he had blurted out was flimsy at best. Regardless of whether he had been exposed tonight, he couldn’t afford to wait any longer. Everything was happening too fast. Bai You gritted his teeth, locked his doors and windows, and began efficiently packing his most important belongings.

Once he finished, his mind finally cooled down. He pulled a second phone from a hidden compartment and dialed a number. The call was ignored twice before finally connecting on the third attempt. “Didn’t we agree not to contact each other until the paperwork was done?”

Bai You lowered his voice. “I’ll give you three days. Finish it within three days, and I’ll triple the price.”

The person on the other end was a contact from the black market Bai You frequented. The underground market dealt in all sorts of illegal goods—including “clean” fake identities complete with birth certificates, educational records, and work histories. These weren’t just forged documents; they were backed by digital records that could withstand a background check. Naturally, such a high-quality identity was expensive and took time to prepare.

Since his first chaotic heat, Bai You had been working on this fake identity while buying his disguise agents. Several months had already passed. The contact had originally promised the identity by the middle of next month a timeline Bai You thought was perfect. He would get the identity, visit his mother’s grave, and then vanish.

In his original plan, he was going to “kill off” the non-existent Omega before leaving, telling Fu Yu he had died. But after his uncle confronted him last night, the plan shifted to framing his uncle instead.

The person on the line hesitated. “Listen, the process on our end isn’t exactly easy to rush…”

“Five times the price.”

“It’s not just about the money, you have to understand—”

“Ten times.”

“Deal!” Driven by greed, the contact agreed instantly. “You don’t even need three days. The day after tomorrow, at dawn, go to the starport. We have a cargo ship heading to the Second Galaxy. We’ll give you a lift.”

Bai You acknowledged this and hung up. He pinched his brow and let out a long, heavy sigh.

At the same time, Fu Yu was stepping out of the ancestral mansion. His secretary, who had been summoned in the middle of the night, didn’t dare complain. He stole a glance at the curve of his boss’s lips. Fu Yu rarely smiled; when he did, it usually meant someone was in for a very bad time.

Feeling a chill run down his spine, the secretary couldn’t help but ask, “Where are we going, sir?”

The irritability Fu Yu had shown earlier had vanished. His lips curled into a smirk. “To find an Omega who admires me.”

“Huh?”

Fu Yu added casually, “The fox finally showed its tail.”

Bai You’s uncle was kneeling on the cold floor, sweat dripping from his temples. He was wearing thin pajamas, which did nothing to hide his violent shivering. No one remains calm when they are dragged from a deep sleep, held at gunpoint, and kicked to their knees.

Fu Yu took off his overcoat with deliberate slow motion and handed it to a subordinate. He sat down with elegant posture, crossing his hands over his chest, a faint smile on his face.

“Good evening. My apologies for the interruption. I hope you don’t mind.”

Though they were both Alphas, the disparity in their pheromone levels was absolute. A top-tier Alpha’s presence alone was enough to make a lower-level Alpha collapse.

The uncle’s jaw was tight. After a long struggle to stop his teeth from chattering, he tried to speak calmly. “What do you want?”

“Nothing much. I just wanted to ask you something.” Fu Yu leaned in, staring into the man’s eyes. “Do you and my brother share a secret?”

A flash of shock crossed the uncle’s face, followed by a surge of rage. “That damn little bitch—”

He was certain Bai You had whispered something into Fu Yu’s ear. Before he could finish his insult, a sudden, brutal blow to his stomach nearly tore through his gut. The uncle couldn’t draw breath; he let out a strangled groan and collapsed, clutching his stomach. A subordinate grabbed him by the hair and yanked him back up. It took several moments for him to breathe again, the taste of blood filling his mouth.

Fu Yu maintained his polite, polished mask, but his dark eyes were as cold as winter iron. “I ask, you answer. One more wasted word, and you’re the one who suffers.”

The uncle’s face twitched. He swallowed his resentment. “Secret? What secret could I have with him? You don’t actually think I’m working with him to take you down, do you?”

Fu Yu recalled the man’s knowing, wicked grin at the gala. He raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

The uncle coughed intermittently, clutching his stomach. “You actually believe that bi… believe his words? He hates our family to death. How could I possibly cooperate with that wolf cub?” He looked up with a dark, cunning expression. “If you want to talk about secrets, your brothers’ filthy business is the real scandal that shouldn’t be made public.”

Fu Yu laughed softly. “My brother is an Alpha. Who would believe you?”

The uncle sneered. “Don’t think I don’t know. I was the one who found the source for those drugs for his mother. You—”

Having heard exactly what he wanted, Fu Yu’s expression turned cold. He didn’t wait for the man to finish. He stood up, draped his coat over his shoulders, and prepared to leave the bedroom. He added nonchalantly, “Break one of his legs and throw him out from the balcony. Let’s say… he was drunk and fell.”

He ignored the subsequent screams and curses as he left the villa complex, ordering the driver to head to the next destination.

Thirty minutes later, the car stopped at a hidden black-market entrance in City A. Fu Yu sat with his eyes closed, his fingers tapping rhythmically on his leg. The car door opened, and a bodyguard ushered someone inside. “We found the person you were looking for.”

Fu Yu tilted his head. The man selling contraband was a Beta—unremarkable and easily lost in a crowd. Though the Beta wasn’t sensitive to pheromones, the overwhelming pressure in the car made him uncomfortable. He swallowed hard and stepped back. “May I ask…”

“N9 Anti-Alpha spray,” Fu Yu interrupted, his style always direct. “You’re the only one in the City A black market with stock?”

Alphas loathed that sedative spray. A chill ran down the Beta’s back. “Yes… but I sold the last one recently! I promise I’ll never sell it again, sir. Please, have mercy…”

“Do you remember what the buyer looked like?”

The Beta blinked, looking at him strangely. “People who buy things here wear masks or hoods. How could I—”

Fu Yu didn’t have the patience for games. He pulled out a photograph and held it before the man’s eyes. “Look. Was it him?”

The Beta looked down. The photo showed a young man—sturdier and taller than an Omega, yet slimmer than an Alpha. He looked like a Beta. He was wearing a white sweater, leaning against a fence with a cat in his arms. The winter snow in the courtyard hadn’t melted yet, and the faint sunlight touched his face, making him look exquisite yet fragile, distant and cold.

The Beta reached for the photo, but sensing the air in the car grow even heavier, he pulled back. He hovered his hand near the photo, studying the man’s eyes. After a long silence, he nodded. “It’s him.”

Fu Yu’s grip on the photo tightened. “Are you sure?”

“Certain! Absolutely certain!” The Beta nodded frantically, terrified. “His eyes are very beautiful—clear and cold. They’re very recognizable. Besides, he’s a regular.”

Fu Yu repeated the word. “A regular?”

“Well, to be honest,” the Beta sold Bai You out in seconds, “I also sell ‘Pseudo-A’ agents. That stuff is hard on the body. Usually, Omegas come to me for Beta-disguise drugs. He’s the only one who regularly buys the Alpha-disguise ones.”

Fu Yu’s expression finally shifted. The secretary and the bodyguard exchanged glances, both breathing a sigh of relief. To be honest, Fu Yu had been smiling all night, but it was far more terrifying than his cold face. As an Alpha, the secretary could feel that Fu Yu was actually incredibly volatile—like a predator that had caught the scent of blood and was ready to tear its prey to shreds.

After dismissing the Beta with a reward, the confidant asked carefully, “Sir, where to next?”

Fu Yu stared at the photograph, his thumb tracing over Bai You’s face in the image. “Home.”

“And the search for the Omega’s trail?”

Fu Yu leaned back, his voice laced with a dark, amused smile. “No need to chase a trail. I’m going back to peel the hide off the one I’ve already caught.”

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