Rules of Civility - Chapter 1

The sheer curtains fluttered slightly as the moonlight crept in, casting a glow across the shimmering water. Goldfish with wildly thrashing tails fought fiercely for food, battering each other until their heads bled. From time to time, odd noises came from within the room, and neither the fish tank nor the bed seemed willing to settle down.

Following a soft sigh of breath, Shao Yiqing raised his slender neck, staring at the ceiling overhead like a fish out of water. The ring on his finger was slick with glistening sweat, and his damp strands of hair all radiated an unbearable, alluring charm.

The man collapsed on top of him finally grew exhausted, slowly sinking down beside Shao Yiqing. Yet, his arms clung affectionately to his lover’s warm body, and after a series of unrestrained pants, he made a humble request: “Can you not leave?”

With that, he buried his face in the crook of Shao Yiqing’s neck. Wearing an immature expression that seemed entirely mismatched with his muscular physique, he sniffed his lover’s fragrance as though indulging in a pleasure: “Uncle Shao, I can’t live without you.”

They looked like inseparable lovers, lying in the same bed and cradled in each other’s arms, giving no one any reason to suspect otherwise. Yet, the irony was that these passionate behaviors could not actually be used to define their relationship.

“Throwing a tantrum again?” Shao Yiqing parted his thin lips. Without turning his head, he kept his eyes closed, breathing in the rich scent of pheromones lingering in the room.

The two people who supposedly couldn’t live without each other had actually known each other for less than a month. Over this past month, Yang Qian seemed to have finally found the joy of his life. He cherished every single second of the present, wishing he could conjure up a time machine out of thin air to grab hold of every passing moment.

The science valedictorian and campus hunk falls hopelessly in love, words like these, put together, felt like a grand theatrical drama.

It left people utterly bewildered, filled with endless emotion, and unable to unravel the underlying tricks at play.

“I just wanted to look at you a little longer,” Yang Qian said, lifting his head. He cupped Shao Yiqing’s damp fingertips, pressed them to his lips, and gazed with deep affection at the sweaty, sexy face beneath his eyelids. “Little Uncle, I love you so much.”

The young man’s confession held no originality, yet it was filled with a sacred sincerity. The deep longing and desire overflowing from his eyes had not been pacified or satisfied by a thoroughly gratifying bout of intimacy. Yang Qian’s gaze grew more sinful with each passing moment; in the span of a single month, the backbone and soul of the science valedictorian had been completely dragged down into a vulgar abyss.

Shao Yiqing watched Yang Qian toy with his fingers, enjoying the sight of the young man’s insatiable hunger. Propping himself up, he dragged a fingertip across Yang Qian’s lips and asked a question to which he already knew the answer: “Oh, how much do you love me?”

“Enough to give up everything for you,” Yang Qian replied instantly. Without even stopping to think, he blurted out what was in his heart. Raising his gaze to meet the man’s teasing look, he kissed the back of Shao Yiqing’s hand up to his distinct wrist bones, urging desperately, “The kind of love where I can’t go on without you.”

Shao Yiqing laughed.

His smile was as gentle as a spring breeze, yet astute and complex. No wonder people liked young people; they were full of energy, humorous, and witty.

“What, don’t you believe me?” Seeing Shao Yiqing’s smile, Yang Qian said anxiously to prove himself, “Uncle Shao, just say the word, and I’ll do anything for you. Even if you told me to drop out of school right now, I wouldn’t blink an eye. As long as I can be with you, I can cast away my future and morals like discarded shoes.”

“Hush,” Shao Yiqing interrupted him, pressing a finger against those rambling lips. “Nobody is asking you to give anything up, my science valedictorian.”

Yang Qian pleaded, “Then can you stay here tonight?”

“No,” Shao Yiqing quickly vetoed. “I still have official business to handle, and someone is waiting for me downstairs. Do you want me to stand them up?”

Yang Qian was left speechless. After thinking it over for a moment, he had no choice but to drop the matter.

Seeing that he understood, Shao Yiqing withdrew his hand and sat up. He stepped gracefully out of bed, picked up his clothes, and put them on. Pheromone collar rings and blocking patches lay scattered across the floor in utter disarray. Standing amidst the mess, he calmly slipped on his shirt, tidying himself up in a flash to restore the image of a dignified gentleman.

It was as if the absurdity of just moments ago had never involved him at all.

It was getting late. Shao Yiqing picked up the collar ring that still retained its warmth, glanced back at the alpha whose eyes were following his every move, tossed the item onto the table, and smiled softly.

“Don’t get up, I’ll have someone send food over,” Shao Yiqing said as he buttoned his shirt. “The collar ring you’re using is already outdated on the market; I’ll have a new batch sent to you tomorrow.”

“Oh,” Yang Qian responded distractedly. His eyes remained fixed firmly on Shao Yiqing’s waist; such an intoxicating tactile sensation was simply not something that could satisfy him after just once or twice.

As he slipped on his final outer garment, Shao Yiqing walked back to the bed. Lowering his head, he pressed his warm fingertips against the alpha’s scent gland, an action that carried a provocative air for an alpha, yet failed to draw any dissatisfaction from Yang Qian, who merely looked up at him with eager anticipation.

“It’s too hot,” Shao Yiqing remarked. “Using poor-quality blocking patches and collar rings all the time will affect your pheromone scent. Didn’t you learn that in health class?”

Yang Qian had learned it, and he knew it well. The blocking patches he used couldn’t really be called low quality, most alphas at school used them, yet compared to someone like Shao Yiqing, they were indeed things that couldn’t be shown in polite company.

In the eyes of the wealthy, only the best things were truly good things.

“Stop looking at me like that,” Shao Yiqing rubbed his fingertips together. The young man’s eyes were moist, belonging to someone built with robust strength, yet his expression was sincere to the point of being pitiful. “Like a puppy wagging its tail and begging for pity, it really makes it hard for me to bear leaving you.”

Yang Qian wrapped his arms around Shao Yiqing’s waist.

He tried to catch a whiff of Shao Yiqing’s pheromones, but couldn’t find a trace of them; it was entirely his own scent.

Many high-level individuals couldn’t manage to control their pheromones when caught up in passion, yet there wasn’t a single shred of scent on the other man. This couldn’t help but make Yang Qian doubt Shao Yiqing’s demeanor just now. Didn’t he enjoy it?

Was he unable to make him feel good?

Or had he enjoyed it, only to immediately clamp down on the release of his pheromones? Going from doubting Shao Yiqing’s ability to control his pheromones, Yang Qian slowly began to doubt himself. As a high-level alpha, it was impossible that he couldn’t please Shao Yiqing.

“Uncle Shao, promise me one thing.” Yang Qian looked at Shao Yiqing. His features were sharp and handsome, carrying the natural vitality of a male college student. The superiority of a high-level alpha should have been evident in him, yet at this moment, none of it could be seen. He was as gentle, fragile, and dependent as an Omega who had just been marked.

When Shao Yiqing’s bodily desires had been vented, he was easy to talk to about anything. He responded in a gentle tone, “Speak.”

“No matter who catches your fancy in the future,” Yang Qian looked up, the top-tier alpha speaking in a humble tone, “please don’t throw me away.”

Shao Yiqing gazed into the young man’s eyes without refusing.

Nor did he agree.

That look was as doting as I’ll let you say whatever you want.

And yet as resolute as Whatever you say is useless.

Shao Yiqing walked over to the fish tank, picked up the landing net beside it, swished it through the water twice, and then set the dripping net onto the countertop. He murmured, “Another one died.”

Yang Qian stared at the fish tank and pressed his lips together.

He said nothing more.

It was close to eleven o’clock.

A black Maybach was parked at the entrance of Yijin Bay with its windows rolled down. Deng Su kept checking his watch, and after brushing off yet another phone call, he finally caught sight of a figure emerging from the distant gloom.

Shao Yiqing was walking down the open road with his clothes in disarray. The streetlights on either side illuminated his hands as he slowly and methodically adjusted his tie. He walked step by step with steady poise, devoid of any rush. At a single glance, Deng Su knew his boss hadn’t fully enjoyed himself tonight.

Given that business was waiting, his boss would never normally step foot outside Yijin Bay at this hour.

Deng Su pushed open the car door and stepped out without saying anything unnecessary. He opened the back door in advance, waited for Shao Yiqing to approach, and reported, “President Wei and the others are urging us again; they’re all waiting for you. They’ve called four times in the past hour.”

Instead of getting straight into the car, Shao Yiqing said to Deng Su, “Give me a cigarette.”

Deng Su slipped into the car, fished out a pack of cigarettes from the front, pulled one out, and handed it to Shao Yiqing along with a lighter. Shao Yiqing took them and lit the cigarette briskly. With the passion temporarily receding, a heavy residue of pheromones still lingered on Shao Yiqing. Glancing over, Deng Su noticed that the back of Shao Yiqing’s neck was bare.

“President Shao, you didn’t use a blocking patch.”

Shao Yiqing was an Omega. Although his temperament didn’t quite make him look like one, it didn’t change the fact that he was an Omega susceptible to the influence of alphas. Society today was much more open than it had been ten years ago; Omegas could go out and show their faces in public without alphas keeping them locked away like treasures in a golden house. However, if there was one place where conservative dregs still remained, it was that gland shame education persisted.

If an alpha didn’t use a collar ring or blocking patch, it could be called bold and uninhibited, but if an Omega failed to use a blocking patch, they would be criticized as shameless and harboring impure motives. Exposing one’s glands was often judged as a sign of bad upbringing. Deng Su knew his boss was different from ordinary Omegas, but to go and meet a group of alphas like this was still far too bold.

Shao Yiqing, however, thought nothing of it and didn’t take it seriously at all. His tie was tied loosely, the collar button of his shirt was undone, and his distinct collarbones were fully exposed, vividly and enticingly telling anyone what he had just been doing.

Holding the cigarette, Shao Yiqing leaned against the car body and tapped the cigarette tube. In response to his subordinate’s reminder, he calmly said, “I left it inside. We don’t need it tonight.”

As a subordinate, Deng Su worried for his boss’s safety. An Omega not wearing a blocking patch would be susceptible to the influence of any malicious alphas they encountered, and in worst cases, could even be maliciously violated. In many people’s eyes, exposing one’s glands was no different from being stark naked, let alone doing so wantonly in broad daylight. Just thinking about it, Deng Su could already imagine how people would gossip.

Anyway, we’re meeting President Wei and the others; they all have a sense of propriety, so it should be fine, Deng Su thought. Could he police the heavens and earth and manage his boss’s private life as well? Unless he didn’t want his job anymore. Glancing up at the lit windows of Yijin Bay, Deng Su decisively abandoned that unwise topic. “Everything’s arranged. Once you finish that cigarette, we can head over.”

Shao Yiqing didn’t object.

When he finished the cigarette in his hand, he steadied himself against the car door and got in.

Deng Su slipped into the driver’s seat as well.

Right before starting the car, Deng Su confirmed the destination with Shao Yiqing once more: “Are you sure you still want to go, President Shao?”

Shao Yiqing tugged at his tie, leaned back against the car seat, and asked in a gentle voice, “Why wouldn’t I?”

“It’s already very late,” Deng Su turned back to say. “At this hour, there’s no guarantee the other party will still come.”

An image of an immature face floated into Shao Yiqing’s mind, along with that lofty pride of his. He couldn’t help laughing to himself, saying with absolute certainty, “He will definitely come.”

Thinking of that troublesome identity, Deng Su lacked confidence as he muttered, “But after all, the other guy is still a young master. No matter what he’s going through right now, you’ve already rejected him twice. I’m afraid he might just put on a show.”

“He wouldn’t dare,” Shao Yiqing rolled down the car window, letting the pheromones stream out along with the breeze, swirling into the thick night. “Not only will he come, but he’ll make an earth-shattering entrance.”

The face reflected in the rearview mirror looked entirely assured.

“I’ve waited so long,” Shao Yiqing whispered softly, “I won’t let him back out of the game.”

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