The Top-Tier Alpha Is Lured and Captured by a Green Tea Merman - Chapter 19

In the evening, He Bai and Lu Xiao arrived.

The moment He Bai saw Pei Yan, he opened his arms and lunged forward. “My dear Ah Yan…”

Xie Yu watched coldly. Just before He Bai could touch Pei Yan, Xie Yu took Pei Yan’s hand and pulled him gently aside, dodging the lunging embrace.

Having failed to land the hug, He Bai spun around immediately, his eyes filled with grievance. However, when his gaze fell upon their interlaced fingers, he froze. His eyes darted back and forth between the two of them. Pointing at their joined hands, he asked hesitantly, “You two… what is this?”

Knowing Xie Yu’s intentions, Pei Yan didn’t plan to expose him. He knew he hadn’t given Xie Yu enough security lately; it wasn’t too much for Xie Yu to want an official status.

He let out a soft sigh. Since the two men before him were his best friends, he wasn’t afraid of them spreading rumors. He lifted their clasped hands and said candidly, “As you can see, we are dating.”

“Holy crap, seriously?!”

He Bai let out a shout as if he’d seen a ghost. Hearing such words come out of Pei Yan’s mouth made everything feel wrong.

“You haven’t been possessed by something, have you?”

Pei Yan rolled his eyes at him wordlessly. “You’re the one who’s possessed.”

“Hey, no, wait…”

He Bai rubbed his chin, looking like he wanted to say something but hesitated. He didn’t forget to glance at Lu Xiao out of the corner of his eye to check on him. Sure enough, the man had gone stiff, and his complexion was terrible.

Fortunately, Lu Xiao usually maintained a cold expression, so the change wasn’t overly obvious. It was hard to say if that was a blessing or a curse.

He just felt pity for his brother, who had harbored a secret crush on Pei Yan for seven years. Because he was a man of few words, he had been intercepted by a newcomer of unknown origin overnight. No one would be able to accept that, but…

As if remembering something, He Bai asked the most critical question: “Is he an Omega or…?”

When asking this, He Bai’s heart was leaning toward Xie Yu being an Omega. If that were the case, Lu Xiao might feel a little better.

After all, ever since the three of them met at the military academy, they knew Pei Yan disliked Alphas. Moreover, Pei Yan was highly popular with Omegas and didn’t find them repulsive. He assumed Lu Xiao had already mentally prepared for that. But if Xie Yu were an Alpha, then Lu Xiao’s years of persistence and restraint would all become a joke…

“He is an Alpha.”

Pei Yan’s voice rang out, sounding exceptionally clear in the quiet living room.

He Bai’s heart jolted. His smile froze on his face as his mind replayed the sentence over and over, as if the words were incredibly difficult to comprehend.

He truly hadn’t expected the truth to be so cruel.

He glanced at Lu Xiao and could feel that the man was about to shatter.

Some people are still standing there, but they’ve actually been “gone” for a while. But…

“Ah Yan, don’t you hate Alphas? How can you tolerate—”

“Who said he’s on top?!”

Before the sentence was finished, Pei Yan interrupted sensitively.

This was a matter of an Alpha’s dignity. Even if he could only rely on someone else’s pheromones like an Omega from now on, he still didn’t want to expose this fact to anyone. Not only because he couldn’t lose face, but also because he hadn’t fully accepted it himself yet…

However, after speaking, he stole a guilty glance at Xie Yu. Luckily, the latter was all smiles and didn’t seem to care about what he said at all, showing no intention of exposing the truth.

He Bai blanked for a moment before finishing his sentence. “…How can you tolerate an Alpha entering your territory?”

Pei Yan: “…” He Bai: “…”

Looking at how agitated and concerned you are, the credibility of what you just said is extremely low.

Pei Yan only realized the misunderstanding after hearing He Bai’s full sentence.

Knowing his reaction was a bit too intense, he coughed unnaturally and said, “You have to try everything to know for sure. What if it works out?”

“Then this rut period…”

Xie Yu half-embraced Pei Yan, as if marking his territory. “I was the one who spent it with Gege.”

He Bai: “…”

He suddenly wanted to slap himself. Why did he ask that? Wasn’t that just stabbing Lu Xiao straight in the heart?

He peeked at Lu Xiao cautiously again.

Alright, the guy had shattered into pieces on the floor; there was no sticking him back together.

Nevertheless, as a good friend and brother, he still had to offer congratulations.

“Then congratulations, Ah Yan. You’re the first among the three of us to leave the single life.”

Unexpectedly, Pei Yan smiled and followed up, “Maybe I’ll be the first among the three of us to get married, too.”

He Bai: “…”

Stop, just stop talking.

Every sentence was like carving out Lu Xiao’s heart and mincing it repeatedly.

It hurts, it hurts, it hurts! He felt the pain on his behalf!

When Xie Yu heard this, his eyes lit up. He turned to face Pei Yan, looking down as he took his other hand, saying excitedly, “Gege, are you serious?”

Pei Yan looked up, his gaze colliding with those clear, expectant eyes. His heart skipped a beat.

Dammit, I shouldn’t have joked about that.

Who could resist that look!

But Xie Yu was still staring at him expectantly, clearly waiting for an answer. Pei Yan looked away and patted his shoulder lightly, laughing awkwardly. “I was just joking, obviously! Haha.”

Xie Yu looked utterly aggrieved.

Pei Yan forced himself to ignore it and then invited He Bai and Lu Xiao. “Stay for dinner tonight as usual? Maybe have a few drinks?”

Lu Xiao, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke. “No need.”

Seeing this, He Bai followed with a smile. “I won’t stay either.”

Pei Yan was stunned. “Is something wrong?”

Afraid of blowing their cover, He Bai quickly explained, “Nothing, it’s just that military affairs have been busy lately. We planned to come a few days ago, but Uncle Xu said you were in your rut, so we didn’t dare disturb you. We came to see you today, but unfortunately, we haven’t finished our work, so we have to rush back and handle it.”

Hearing this, Pei Yan remembered that his own work wasn’t finished because of Xie Yu’s antics. He immediately said, “Then go ahead and handle it. Mine isn’t done either.”

“Alright, we’ll head out first,” He Bai waved with a smile. “Let’s grab a meal together next time when we have the chance.”

Pei Yan nodded. “Yeah, sounds good.”

With that, He Bai dragged Lu Xiao away.

After a few seconds of silence, Xie Yu wrapped his arms around Pei Yan’s waist from the front and murmured softly, “Gege, do your friends dislike me?”

“Of course not,” Pei Yan instinctively refuted. “They just aren’t familiar with you yet. Don’t overthink it.”

Xie Yu didn’t say anything. He could feel that Pei Yan still favored He Bai and Lu Xiao for now.

Although he wasn’t happy about it, he knew that pushing those two out of the picture wasn’t something that could be done overnight. He had to continue playing the role of the obedient younger brother in front of Gege and capture his heart step by step.

After dinner, Pei Yan went back into the study to handle his official duties. Xie Yu wanted to follow, but Pei Yan kicked him out without hesitation.

If this kid came in, he would definitely be up to no good. Acting spoiled or pitiful wouldn’t work! Otherwise, he would never finish this paperwork.

On the other hand, once He Bai dragged Lu Xiao into the car, before he could offer any words of comfort, he heard Lu Xiao say calmly, “Come have a drink with me.”

It was a rare request from his brother, so He Bai couldn’t refuse. Besides, drinking was better than keeping everything bottled up. There was a reason people used alcohol to drown their sorrows.

He stepped on the gas and drove toward a bar.

In the early hours of the next morning, Pei Yan was putting on his uniform when Xie Yu hugged him from behind. His voice was laced with sleepiness. “Gege, why are you up so early today?”

“I forgot to tell you, I have to go to work today.”

Xie Yu acted spoiled. “Then won’t I be unable to see Gege for the whole day?”

Pei Yan pondered for a moment and smiled. “Indeed.”

“Then can’t Gege take me with him?”

“Did you forget you’re a merman? The Alliance isn’t like home. I’m going there to work. Besides, the Alliance had a warrant out for you before. If you get caught, even I can’t save you.”

Acting as if he hadn’t heard Pei Yan’s threat, Xie Yu continued to ask, “Then if I also go to work at the Alliance, can I stay with Gege every day?”

Pei Yan frowned. “I told you—”

Xie Yu interrupted him, kissing his cheek. “Alright, Gege, I’m just joking.”

After Pei Yan finished breakfast and left for the Alliance, he had no idea that shortly after he left, Xie Yu received a phone call and left the house as well.

As soon as Pei Yan arrived at the Alliance, his superior assigned him a mission.

Someone had reported that a merchant center in the Underground City was involved in human trafficking. Pei Yan immediately led his men out in civilian clothes.

Pei Yan specifically dressed to look “filthy rich” and even used some facial disguises to prevent anyone from recognizing him and hindering the mission.

He led two subordinates into the Underground City and registered at the front desk. To prevent exposing the buyers’ identities, they thoughtfully provided a mask for everyone.

Pei Yan took his number plate, put on his mask, and entered the auction hall. To observe better, he chose a seat toward the back.

Xu Hao looked around and whispered, “Boss, I gotta say, this auction hall is pretty luxurious.”

The building was shaped like a cylinder with two floors. While the first floor had tiered seating, the second floor was surrounded by large private booths.

Xia Xu replied to him, “Of course. The people who come to auctions here are either rich or noble—all celebrities and distinguished guests. The decor has to be up to par, or else who would come? See those booths circling the top? Those are the industry giants, the kind of people who can make the whole circle shake just by stomping their feet…”

He paused and lowered his voice further. “But I heard that since seven years ago, the Underground City’s VIP rooms have refused to host the Royal Family. No one knows what happened.”

Xu Hao asked curiously, “Doesn’t the Royal Family get angry?”

“Of course they’re angry! The Royal Family even wanted to send troops to wipe out the Underground City once. But guess what? This place is entangled with many high-ranking officials and powerful figures of the Empire. If it collapses, it would hurt too many people’s interests. The Royal Family not only dares not move against them but has to let them grow and thrive.”

“Wow, how do you know so much?” Xu Hao was surprised. “But based on what you’re saying, the master of this Underground City must be someone incredible, right?”

Enjoying the praise, Xia Xu continued to explain.

“I wouldn’t know about that. No one has ever seen his true face. They say he’s very mysterious and always appears in a mask. Who knows if it’s true or not.”

At that moment, Pei Yan suddenly sensed a highly aggressive gaze falling on him from above. He felt an uncomfortable sensation, like being stalked by a predator.

Frowning, he prepared to look for the source, but the gaze vanished instantly—so fast it felt like an illusion.