The Top-Tier Alpha Is Lured and Captured by a Green Tea Merman - Chapter 21

After returning to the Command Center, Pei Yan threw himself back into his hectic official duties, not even noticing that night had fallen.

Xia Xu and Xu Hao hadn’t left either. They burst into Pei Yan’s office followed by a swarming crowd of people, all shouting for him to fulfill his promise of treating them to dinner.

Faced with an atmosphere that felt more like a mutiny, Pei Yan put down his signing pen and gave a helpless smile. No wonder he thought it felt noisy outside; he felt bad that they had stayed late to work alongside him just to secure this meal.

“Fine. You guys pick the place,” Pei Yan said briskly, grabbing his car keys.

“Hooray!”

The group began hooting and hollering like they were regressing into primal ancestors. They were incredibly excited. Pei Yan closed his office door and walked out of the building with them.

“Holy crap, why is it raining?!”

As Xu Hao stepped down the last stair, he looked at the drizzling rain outside and couldn’t help but cry out.

“Ahhh, why is it raining out of nowhere? Didn’t the sky see we were going out for a group dinner?” The subordinates were deeply disappointed.

Pei Yan didn’t think the rain was a big deal. “Then just take umbrellas. Rain isn’t some major crisis.”

“But it’s so late now, the public umbrellas have already been taken by others. There aren’t many left.”

“Then just make do with what’s there. A few people can work hard and ferry the others back and forth. It’ll be quick.”

“Oh, right.”

So everyone began grabbing umbrellas, two people to a pair. In the end, they realized they were short exactly one umbrella, and the person left out was Pei Yan.

“…”

Xu Hao and Xia Xu shared an umbrella. The rain pitter-pattered against the canopy. Xu Hao huddled closer to Xia Xu and called out to Pei Yan, “Boss, wait here. I’ll come back to get you in a second.”

“No need.”

Lu Xiao walked over from the side.

He held a black umbrella, his body almost merging with the night. Even the expression on his face was hidden in the shadows, and his aura was exceptionally cold.

For a split second, Pei Yan felt as if he had returned to the time when the two of them first met.

“Major General Lu, you’ve arrived at the perfect time,” Xu Hao said. “The Boss is worrying about not having an umbrella. You can share with him.”

Lu Xiao walked to Pei Yan’s side and shifted the umbrella over Pei Yan’s head. His lashes lowered as he spoke in a low voice, “Let’s go.”

Sensing that his mood was off, Pei Yan first nodded, then deliberately lagged behind his subordinates by a short distance. After a moment of hesitation, he asked, “Did something happen?”

Lu Xiao remained silent.

It was always like this—giving him hope, only to personally extinguish that hope in the end.

He stopped in his tracks and turned his head to stare at Pei Yan, his dark pupils incredibly deep. “Are you this concerned toward everyone?”

Pei Yan stopped with him, feeling somewhat bewildered. What was this drama about? He felt that ever since that mission at the Northern Base, Lu Xiao had been acting very strange.

“You’re my brother. Isn’t it normal to care about a brother?”

Lu Xiao looked at him intently. “But do you even know…”

“Brother!”

Xie Yu’s appearance interrupted Lu Xiao’s words just in time.

Pei Yan froze for a moment and turned to look. A hint of surprise and joy appeared in his eyes. “Why are you here?”

Xie Yu walked to Pei Yan’s side, pulled him under his own umbrella, and gently brushed the rainwater off Pei Yan’s shoulder, his smile radiant. “I came to pick you up and take you home, of course.”

Watching this warm scene, Lu Xiao’s hand hanging at his side instinctively clenched into a fist.

Hearing this, a warm current flowed through Pei Yan’s heart, though he still spoke with a touch of pride: “I’m not a child. You didn’t need to come specifically to pick me up.”

Xie Yu didn’t say anything. Instead, he reached out and lightly rested his arm around Pei Yan’s shoulder, leading him to face Lu Xiao together. “Thank you, Major General Lu, for bringing my brother this far.”

Lu Xiao looked up, his voice even colder than before. “There is no need for thanks between Ah Yan and me.”

“That’s for sure,” Xie Yu said calmly. “It’s just that as my brother’s partner now, I can’t lack manners. I have to say what needs to be said.”

Lu Xiao’s face darkened. “Dating does not count as being a ‘partner’.”

Xie Yu took the blow gracefully. “It might not count now, but that doesn’t mean it won’t count later.”

Lu Xiao: “…”

Pei Yan: “…”

He finally saw it—so these two didn’t get along.

“Hey, Boss!” At that moment, Xu Hao came running back under his umbrella, saying mournfully, “Why are you still here? Hurry up, the brothers can’t wait any longer!”

Pei Yan waved his hand. “I know, I know. I’m coming.”

Suddenly, his phone vibrated. It was a call from Uncle Xu.

“Young Master, Mr. Lin has arrived.”

Pei Yan’s eyebrows rose. It was so late; why had his father come? Though he was confused, he decided immediately, “Alright, I’ll be back right away.”

After hanging up, Xu Hao’s mournful gaze grew even more intense. Unable to take it, Pei Yan pulled out a black card and handed it to him. “I won’t be going. You guys have fun. You know the password.”

Xu Hao took the black card, barely accepting the situation. “Fine then.”

Xie Yu looked down at Pei Yan. “Then shall we go home?”

Pei Yan hummed in agreement and waved goodbye to Lu Xiao. “I’m heading back first.”

Lu Xiao stood quietly in place. “Alright.”

As soon as they got into the car, Xie Yu leaned in, his nose twitching slightly. “Brother has many Alpha scents on him.”

Pei Yan instinctively turned his head. The distance between them was extremely close—he could even see the fine downy hair on Xie Yu’s face. If he hadn’t tilted away slightly, their lips would have brushed.

He pulled back his neck, originally intending to create distance, but in the next second, his expression changed drastically. He actually smelled the scent of an Omega on Xie Yu!

Pei Yan leaned toward Xie Yu’s left shoulder and sniffed.

It wasn’t his imagination; it was definitely the scent of an Omega.

As if thinking of something, Xie Yu raised his hands in explanation. “Is Brother smelling an Omega’s scent? That’s because the guards at the Alliance gate wouldn’t let me in, so I had to wait for you outside. Omegas kept coming up to ask for my contact information. Of course, I didn’t give it to them—and I don’t have any anyway. Later, one of your subordinates recognized me and I was able to get inside.”

Pei Yan looked at him half-doubtingly. Seeing that his eyes were full of sincerity and didn’t seem to be lying, Pei Yan sat back properly and started the car. “It’s best that you didn’t. Don’t underestimate an Alpha’s possessiveness.”

“I’m not afraid,” Xie Yu smiled. “The more possessive you are of me, the better.”

Pei Yan: “…”

When they arrived home, Lin Qingyu immediately came forward to meet them. “Xiao Yan.”

Pei Yan said gently, “Dad, why are you here so late?”

Lin Qingyu feigned a glare. “What, I’m not welcome?”

Pei Yan smiled. “Of course not.”

Beside him, Xie Yu politely called out, “Hello, Uncle.”

Lin Qingyu glanced at him, clearly not as enthusiastic as the last time. A few traces of complexity flickered in his eyes as he gave a polite nod. Then, he pulled Pei Yan toward the stairs. “I have something to say to you.”

Xie Yu naturally noticed the change. He didn’t say anything but watched their retreating backs, the corners of his eyes curving upward.

Once they entered the study, Lin Qingyu turned to look at Pei Yan. “Tell me the truth. Is that child an Enigma?”

Pei Yan froze. He hadn’t expected it to be discovered so quickly.

Lin Qingyu’s face was sorrowful, his hands trembling slightly. “Xiao Yan, you… it was voluntary, right?”

He had suffered enough bitterness himself; he didn’t want his child to face the same.

Pei Yan immediately shook his head and helped Lin Qingyu sit down. “Although our first meeting wasn’t wonderful, after spending time together, Xie Yu is a good person. I am sincere about this.”

Lin Qingyu breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good then. But…”

He hesitated. For an Alpha to live from now on by begging for someone else’s pheromones… he was afraid Pei Yan wouldn’t be able to stand it. He knew his child was proud.

Pei Yan knelt beside Lin Qingyu and took both his hands, saying slowly, “Dad, during my first heat, he didn’t force me.”

Lin Qingyu looked on in disbelief. No one could suppress their instincts, let alone when facing a partner in heat. When pheromones flood out, it is a fatal temptation for a partner. No matter how rational the person is, they usually turn into a beast without the capacity for thought and lunges forward.

“Dad, you don’t need to worry.” Pei Yan lightly patted his hand. “Even if he betrays me, I will kill him immediately and then go to the hospital to have my gland removed. No one can trap me.”

Listening to this, Lin Qingyu felt only a sense of tragedy. His child was currently being implicated because of him, controlled by Pei Li and struggling bitterly. He felt like a useless father.

Suddenly, he remembered something important.

Lin Qingyu gripped Pei Yan’s hand back. “I asked someone to investigate the incident from seven years ago, and I found an important lead…”

At this point, he lowered his voice. “The warship explosion seven years ago was ordered by someone in the Imperial Family.”

Pei Yan couldn’t help but frown. “But why would the Imperial Family want to drive me to a dead end?”

Unfortunately, with his memory lost, he had no way of knowing.

Lin Qingyu pondered for a moment and said, “I don’t know either. But you’d better keep your guard up. I vaguely remember that before your mission went wrong seven years ago, you were running to the Palace every day. I thought it was because the war situation was serious, but I didn’t expect…”

“I suspect you knew something back then. Perhaps some unspeakable secrets of the Imperial Family, which is why they were so anxious to eliminate you. The warship explosion a month ago must have been the Imperial Family’s handiwork as well… If it really comes down to it, Xiao Yan, we can move to another star system.”

Pei Yan said calmly, “If the Imperial Family wants me dead, I won’t be able to escape no matter where I go.”

He paused, his gaze cold and clear. “It’s better to take the initiative and strike.”

Although Lin Qingyu was worried, he knew his child’s temperament and didn’t back down. “Fine. But you must promise me—if something happens, you aren’t allowed to carry it alone. You must tell me!”

“I understand,” Pei Yan agreed, then added, “But Dad, didn’t you investigate seven years ago? I remember there were no results. How did you find out this time?”

“I didn’t find it myself. I entrusted a friend of mine…” Lin Qingyu said hesitantly.

A figure came to mind, and Pei Yan raised an eyebrow. “Is it that man from last time?”

Lin Qingyu’s hand curled slightly. “Um… yes.”

“Dad, don’t be nervous.” Pei Yan patted his hand and smiled. “I don’t object to you pursuing love.”

“What nonsense are you talking about!” Lin Qingyu gave him a reproachful look. “Regardless, I technically still have a partner in name. I can’t go around burdening others.”

Pei Yan pouted. “Then you can wait until you’re divorced and then go after him.”

Lin Qingyu: “…”

After they finished talking, Lin Qingyu left.

Xie Yu took Pei Yan’s hand and sat down at the dining table, his fingers repeatedly stroking Pei Yan’s palm. “What did Brother and Uncle talk about?”

Pei Yan didn’t want him to get involved, so he simply said, “It wasn’t anything important. You don’t need to know.”

Xie Yu smiled and said casually, “Okay. As long as Brother doesn’t keep me in the dark to do dangerous things.”

Pei Yan fell silent for a moment. “But I am the Commander. This means I must always be at the front line. Being in danger is routine for me; it’s unavoidable.”

“Then Brother had better remember to protect himself.” Xie Yu smiled airily. “Otherwise, I’m afraid I won’t be able to stop myself from locking you up.”

Pei Yan didn’t take the words to heart, thinking it was just something Xie Yu had said on a whim.