The Dangerous Omega Who is Good at Disguising Always Wants to Hook Me! - Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Loving You Has Nothing to Do with Pheromones

“I like you simply because you are you.”

“It has nothing to do with pheromones, and it has nothing to do with anything else.”

Qi Yan stood frozen in place for a long time. It wasn’t that he hadn’t heard more moving confessions; from high school to university, he had received countless romantic and beautiful love letters. But every time, Qi Yan felt nothing and would reject the person firmly yet tactfully.

Only this time, it felt as if his heart had been struck by a heavy blow, as if a long-buried craving deep within his soul had finally found its answer.

He thought to himself, I must be feeling at least a little bit of a flutter, right?

“You don’t have to accept right now, but please don’t be in such a hurry to reject me, okay? At least give us a chance to get to know each other. Perhaps then, the doubts in your heart will find their answers.”

Qi Yan sighed. “Mr. Shen, you know me better than I imagined.”

To like someone, one must at least understand them. From the looks of it, Shen Xiuliu likely knew his basic information, hobbies, eating habits, and professional aspirations…

Meanwhile, Qi Yan knew next to nothing about Shen Xiuliu. If he were to fall for him, he truly did need an opportunity to get to know the man.

“That’s only natural, isn’t it?”

Shen Xiuliu propped his hands on the edge of the hospital bed and leaned his upper body closer. He looked at Qi Yan intently, gazing at this face that was both familiar and strange, watching as Qi Yan uncomfortably leaned his body back a bit.

If this were the past life, Qi Yan wouldn’t have retreated. He would have leaned in, pressed against Shen’s ear, a playful smile on his handsome, arrogant face. He would have either whispered something ambiguous or something laced with hidden irony.

Fortunately, these eyes did not ripple with the same lingering, ambiguous waves of affection as in the past life—the look of a practiced libertine who could stir hearts with a single glance, appearing even more fickle and heartless than when he worked at the bar.

This completely different demeanor gave Shen Xiuliu an immense sense of peace.

With stray hairs falling over his narrow eyes, Shen Xiuliu’s gaze was very soft. His eyes held a thick, concentrated love and yearning that Qi Yan didn’t dare look at directly, forming a sharp contrast with his cold, arrogant face. He said seriously, “Getting to know the person you like is the most normal thing in the world.”

I like you, I like you so much, I don’t want to be rejected by you…

His eyes seemed to continuously whisper such sweet words, and the type of person Qi Yan was least capable of handling was this direct, honest type. Every time Shen Xiuliu stared at him and said he liked him, Qi Yan felt as if his heart were being hit by a heavy mallet. He didn’t dare meet his gaze, his lips pursed involuntarily, and his palms broke into a light sweat.

Mr. Shen, can you please stop looking at me like that?

Unsure if he was blushing, Qi Yan wanted to cover his burning cheeks and hide from Shen Xiuliu’s gaze. His thoughts were a chaotic mess; he subconsciously rubbed the tip of his nose, trying to mask his nervousness.

No one can stare directly into a gaze of intense love without looking away—unless they possess that same level of love themselves.

“Qi Yan, get to know the current me. You can observe from my side whether I am worthy of your affection. I won’t do anything bad to you…”

“That’s not right.” Hearing this, Qi Yan suddenly spoke up to correct him. “Mr. Shen, your choice of words is inappropriate.”

“Worthy”—that word shouldn’t be used here.

Shen Xiuliu had very long eyelashes that cast faint shadows under his eyes, looking quite prominent against his pale complexion. When he raised his eyes to meet Qi Yan’s, his expression looked somewhat gloomy, but being contradicted by Qi Yan only made him chuckle softly. “Mhm, I suppose you’re right.”

Perhaps he only looked a bit more normal, but he was still affected by his condition.

Qi Yan suppressed the thoughts in his heart, watched Shen Xiuliu’s every move, and spoke slowly: “Mr. Shen, Director Shen must have told you already. I will be cooperating with him to help with your treatment. If this affects you in any way, I am very sorry…”

“Why are you apologizing?” Shen Xiuliu smiled, a hint more predatory than his previous smiles. “I’m very happy. Last night I begged you for a temporary mark and you refused; now that you’re willing to help treat me, it’s a blessing among misfortunes.”

“Don’t worry about the influence of pheromones. My liking for you has nothing to do with pheromones.”

Confessed to again. Qi Yan realized for the first time that Shen Xiuliu was more silver-tongued than he had imagined, and even better at handling people. At the very least, he realized he truly did have some inexplicable… feelings for Shen Xiuliu.

Bang!

The ward door was suddenly pushed open. Shen Yunshu, wearing a white lab coat, hurried in. He frantically slammed a stack of test reports onto Shen Xiuliu’s bed table.

“Hey, you, Qi Yan! The pheromone compatibility results for the two of you are out. It’s actually as high as 99.98%!”

The dark circles under his eyes were heavier, his hair was messier than when he left this morning, and his handsome face looked exhausted. But Shen Yunshu’s bloodshot eyes were exceptionally bright as he stared at the two of them, making their skin crawl.

“You two are very aware of what this compatibility level means, right?” Shen Yunshu stared at Qi Yan, who was sitting by the bed, his excited gaze making it hard for Qi Yan to look back.

“This pheromone compatibility is extremely rare. No wonder Shen Xiuliu’s condition stabilized so quickly just now.” Shen Yunshu looked with glowing eyes at the stiff-faced Shen Xiuliu. “Alphas and Omegas with a compatibility over 95% are naturally attracted to each other. Simply existing in the same space makes it easy to be drawn to one another, and can even stabilize the other person’s pheromone disorder. This is simply fantastic!”

“99.98%? How could it be that high…” Qi Yan was stunned and reached out for the test report. “Director Shen, how many sets of tests did you run?”

Shen Yunshu had arrived at an awkward time. If their pheromones were truly that compatible, it would indeed affect his feelings toward Shen Xiuliu. Although their pheromones were usually controlled to the point of being almost non-existent—aside from the loss of control last night—Qi Yan had never smelled Shen Xiuliu’s pheromones before.

If their compatibility were below 95%, such control could ensure neither side was affected. But at over 98%, it wasn’t just a matter of controlling pheromones.

To some extent, it could even be called destiny. As Shen Yunshu said, simply existing in the same space would have an effect on the other person; it felt very much like fate. However, as researchers of pheromones, the thing they trusted least was the theory of fate.

Qi Yan frowned as he flipped through the report. Shen Xiuliu watched the changes in his expression, the corners of his mouth dipping almost imperceptibly, his eyes flashing with a cold, sharp glint toward Shen Yunshu.

He had just told Qi Yan that he wasn’t affected by pheromones, only for Shen Yunshu to barge in and say this. This made Shen Xiuliu extremely displeased, feeling as though Shen Yunshu was the rat dropping in a pot of porridge just as he was about to take a bite…

Shen Yunshu was too excited to notice Shen Xiuliu’s dangerous gaze. “According to regulations, a 100% compatibility will never appear on a report. Worried about error, I repeated the test 30 times, and they were all above 99%. Qi Yan, you should know what this represents, right?”

Of course he knew. It was currently accepted that the best medicine for treating a gland was the partner’s pheromones; no medicine could replace it. But this also came with a prerequisite: the compatibility should ideally be above 80%. The higher the compatibility, the better the effect.

“Whether at home or abroad, such high pheromone compatibility is too rare. Director, are Mr. Shen’s latest check-up results out? How are the five key data points? Compared to the previous effects of the medication? What is the condition of the Omega gland?”

Qi Yan had already seen Shen Xiuliu’s medical records. Besides the pheromone disorder, there was a hereditary family disease. If their compatibility was this high, extracting his pheromones could indeed help Shen Xiuliu, and it might even produce a massive effect, perhaps even improving the state of his gland.

“It far exceeded expectations. Previously, Shen Xiuliu wouldn’t have recovered this quickly; it would have lasted at least three days. Now it seems that if we want to treat an Omega’s gland, the best choice is still Alpha pheromones with high compatibility…”

Qi Yan and Shen Yunshu both simultaneously thought of one thing: they could use this opportunity to observe the pheromone fusion between an Alpha and Omega with the highest possible compatibility and see how much change it could produce. They might even be able to research something from it…

“Second Uncle, Qi Yan, what are you two discussing?”

Before the two could continue their exchange, Shen Xiuliu’s voice rang out coldly, forcibly pulling them back to reality.

Qi Yan met Shen Xiuliu’s eyes and suddenly snapped out of it. Two Alphas discussing an Omega’s gland and physical condition right in front of him felt a bit wrong. He suddenly felt embarrassed to look at him, feeling a bit guilty.

“Discussing your illness, of course. It can’t be delayed any longer. If Qi Yan hadn’t appeared in time last night, your Omega gland would have already begun to pathologically change.”

Shen Yunshu wasn’t as pure-hearted as Qi Yan. As Shen Xiuliu’s elder and someone constantly monitoring his condition, he was even more professional than the attending physician. He continued, “I didn’t expect your compatibility to be so high. With Qi Yan’s cooperation this time, perhaps we can achieve a new breakthrough.”

“You talk too much. Extracting Alpha pheromones is not a simple matter. Once or twice is fine, but if you want to reach your goal, I imagine it won’t be that easy.”

Shen Xiuliu’s tone was cold, carrying more deterrence than usual, even though he was still sitting on the hospital bed with a pale face.

“…”

Shen Yunshu pushed up his glasses, his gaze becoming playful. “They aren’t being extracted from you, so why are you so nervous? This kind of opportunity is rare and very interesting. You are the patient and have no say; as long as Qi Yan agrees, that’s enough.”

As soon as he said this, Qi Yan noticed Shen Xiuliu’s expression turn icy. He stared coldly at Shen Yunshu, the smile at the corner of his mouth anything but kind. “You must be joking with me.”

—Of course he wasn’t.

Shen Yunshu didn’t speak, but his demeanor made his stance clear. This made Shen Xiuliu’s expression even sharper. As their eyes met, neither would back down, and the atmosphere around them suddenly became as tense as a bowstring about to snap.

Creeeak—

The sound of a chair being pulled back suddenly broke the stagnant deadlock.

Qi Yan stood up, stepping between them to block their line of sight. He placed the test results into Shen Xiuliu’s palm.

“Mr. Shen, you just woke up. Your health is the most important thing, so don’t be angry. Besides, I am very happy our compatibility is so high so that I can provide you with help.”

Meeting Qi Yan’s peach-blossom eyes, Shen Xiuliu pursed his lips. His sharp aura instantly vanished, replaced by a much softer demeanor.

Ignoring the other person in the room, his tone softened. “Qi Yan, don’t join him in his madness. He isn’t right in the head.”

“Extracting Alpha pheromones is painful and bad for the body. With such high compatibility, simply maintaining an appropriate distance will have a soothing effect on me. There’s no need to…”

Don’t extract them. At the very least, we can’t repeat the same mistakes and walk down that damn, broken road again.