Transmigrated As The Cannon Fodder Ex-Wife Of A Scumbag Alpha - Chapter 11

For a Beta, glands are optional appendages, but for Alphas and Omegas, they are the most distinct sexual characteristic. When Meng Ze’s lips brushed against it, it felt more excessively intimate than a kiss on the inner thigh.

Zhao Zhiyi had been in this world for about a month, but he never really had a tangible sense of ABO physiological traits. Life went on as usual, until now. He suddenly realized with profound clarity that an Omega is incredibly sensitive to an Alpha’s touch, especially when that Alpha is the one who once marked him.

Even though it was only a fleeting moment, perhaps less than a second, that scalding, aggressive sensation felt as if it were permanently seared into that small patch of fragile, soft flesh. It sent tremors through his entire nervous system.

Meng Ze heard a small, pleading moan escape Zhao Zhiyi’s throat. Zhao himself was unaware of it with a look of pure shock, he frantically tried to push Meng Ze away. In his agitation, he used too much force. With a loud thump, Meng Ze’s head slammed into the coffee table.

Zhao Zhiyi: “…” Meng Ze: “…”

Zhao Zhiyi scrambled over, cupping Meng Ze’s head to check left and right. There was no bleeding, just some redness and swelling at the temple. It didn’t look too severe, hopefully, it wouldn’t affect his intelligence or turn him into an idiot.

Although it was a bit insensitive, for a split second, Zhao Zhiyi’s mind was filled with Help, if he turns into an idiot, will he forget to pay my salary?

“How many fingers am I holding up?” Zhao Zhiyi asked, still worried, waving his hand in front of Meng Ze.

Meng Ze uttered one word: “Two.”

“…It’s over. This is clearly five,” Zhao Zhiyi muttered. “Something definitely went wrong…” He took a deep breath and stared at Meng Ze. “Let’s try again. How many is this?”

Meng Ze grabbed his wrist. “I’m kidding.”

Zhao Zhiyi: “Tell me how many first!”

Meng Ze said, “Two.”

“Thank goodness,” Zhao Zhiyi let out a massive sigh of relief, sitting on the carpet with his back against the coffee table. “You almost scared me to death.”

Meng Ze looked at the soft lines of his profile. “You… were very worried about me?”

“Of course.” Zhao Zhiyi thought to himself: What worker doesn’t want a boss like Meng Ze to live a long life? He climbed up and said, “I’ll go to the kitchen to boil an egg, it’ll help the swelling.”

He moved quickly and returned shortly with a steaming egg wrapped in a soft cloth. “Do you know how to do this?”

Meng Ze: “No.”

Zhao Zhiyi whispered a quiet “So clumsy” under his breath, but dutifully stepped forward to apply the warm compress to his boss’s swollen temple. “Um, sorry about that. My reaction was a bit too much.”

“It was my fault,” Meng Ze said. “I didn’t realize that spot was…”

Zhao Zhiyi coughed violently twice. “Let’s just leave it at that. Let’s not mention it again.”

Being so close, he noticed that Meng Ze’s eyelashes were long and dark, though they lacked much of a curl, making him look rather cold. As he watched, he suddenly stopped his movements and said, “That’s about it. Do the rest yourself.”

Zhao Zhiyi stuffed the egg into Meng Ze’s hand and ran back to his room to rummage through things.

Meng Ze stood in the living room watching him. “What are you looking for?”

“…Cold medicine.” Zhao Zhiyi’s voice was a bit raspy. He touched his own forehead and said, “I think I have a fever.”

Meng Ze frowned and stepped forward, but as soon as he reached out, Zhao Zhiyi took a step back, looking at him warily. Meng Ze said, “I’m just checking your temperature.”

Only then did Zhao Zhiyi obediently lift his head. When Meng Ze touched him, he was indeed quite warm. Zhao Zhiyi rubbed his gland again and pursed his lips. “It’s hot here too… When an Omega has a cold, does the gland get hot? Did I wear too little today? I knew I shouldn’t have prioritized style over warmth…”

Although Meng Ze wasn’t an Omega, he knew basic physiological facts. He said deeply, “Zhao Zhiyi.”

“Yeah?”

Meng Ze said, “You don’t have a cold. Your pheromones are in disarray.”

“Huh?” Zhao Zhiyi blinked in confusion. “Is that serious? Do I need surgery? Do I need to be hospitalized?”

Meng Ze felt a bit helpless. “None of that. Use a suppressant patch, or…”

“Or what?”

Meng Ze looked away. “Or let your Alpha bite you again.”

Zhao Zhiyi hurriedly pulled a suppressant patch out of a drawer and tried to stick it on haphazardly. Meng Ze took his hand, took the patch, peeled off the plastic film, and applied it to the reddened gland. His fingers inevitably brushed against the skin of the back of the neck. Zhao Zhiyi immediately recoiled as if burned. “What are you doing?!”

“Sorry.” Meng Ze threw the packaging into the trash, his fingers curling slightly. “Do you feel better?”

“I think so,” Zhao Zhiyi said hesitantly. “Pheromone disarray… what kind of illness is that?”

“Did you not pay attention in biology class?”

Zhao Zhiyi: “…” I never took your ABO biology classes, and there’s no info on this in the original owner’s memories.

“Pheromone disarray only happens to Omegas who have been temporarily marked,” Meng Ze explained. “Omegas with a permanent mark or no mark at all generally don’t experience this.”

“The cause?”

Meng Ze: “…Usually, it’s being influenced by an Alpha’s pheromones.”

Zhao Zhiyi: “So you’re the culprit after all.”

“I am sorry.”

Since he apologized, Zhao Zhiyi couldn’t hold a grudge. It was an accident, after all, it wasn’t like Meng Ze intentionally tried to kiss his gland… if he had, Zhao could have just called the police.

“If you still feel unwell, I’ll take you to the hospital,” Meng Ze said. “Or I can call Zheng Xinyun over to check on you.”

“No need,” Zhao Zhiyi said. “Just stay right there. Don’t come over.”

Meng Ze stopped in his tracks and raised both hands. “I won’t come over.”

Zhao Zhiyi dashed back into the bedroom and locked the door, making sure Meng Ze couldn’t break in. Only then did he say, “Can Alphas get pheromone disarray?”

“Yes,” Meng Ze answered.

Zhao Zhiyi said muffledly, “Then I think you definitely have it too.”

Standing outside the door, Meng Ze heard the Omega’s slightly disgusted voice: “The whole house smells like your pheromones. Your symptoms are worse than mine. I suggest you go to the hospital.”

Meng Ze froze.

Returning to his senses, he realized the gland on the back of his own neck was burning hot to the touch.

The living room, the hallway, the entrance… everything was filled with the scent of iced gin. Like a well-dressed thug, his scent was trapping the sweet, faint aroma of orange blossoms within this narrow space.

The veins on the back of Meng Ze’s hand pulsed as he looked at his hand gripping the doorknob.

…What had he just wanted to do?

Had he wanted to open the door, or perhaps kick it down and drag the person inside out?

And then? What did he want to do after that?

No wonder Zhao Zhiyi looked so panicked and scared just now. His previous appearance… must have been quite terrifying.

Meng Ze wiped his face, his voice incredibly raspy. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

Zhao Zhiyi said, “I get it. It’s all the pheromones’ fault. You don’t need to explain.”

“I scared you,” Meng Ze said. “How about I call Zheng Xinyun to check on you, or take you to the hospital?”

Zhao Zhiyi huddled under the covers on his bed. For some reason, he remembered a nursery rhyme his mom used to sing to him:

“Little bunny, be good, open the door. Open it quickly, I want to come in.”

Meng Ze thought he was being sober and restrained, but actually…

Zhao Zhiyi heard the sound of the doorknob turning. He flinched. “No need! I’m fine! I want to sleep!”

He buried himself completely in the quilt and ignored any further noise. Perhaps due to the pheromone disarray, he fell into a daze and slept. In his dream, there were white rabbits being gutted, a nauseating, bloody sight. He snapped his eyes open.

Sunlight filtered through the gauze curtains, casting pale gold light across the floor, it was morning.

Zhao Zhiyi felt sticky all over from being under the covers all night. He got out of bed, carefully opened the door, and peeked out. Seeing no one, he gave a huge sigh of relief. He took a shower and checked his phone; it was 11:00 AM.

He initially wanted to send Meng Ze a message to ask how he was, but after hesitating, he gave up. He tidied up the things that had been knocked over the night before and found that Meng Ze had left his tie on the sofa.

It was a peacock-blue silk tie with a tiny embroidered flower, still carrying the scent of gin.

A cold, sharp, aggressive scent.

Zhao Zhiyi pinched his nose, feeling like he couldn’t stand even a whiff of it right now. He quickly stuffed it into a bag and put it away on a high shelf, intending to return it to Meng Ze when he had the chance.

After cleaning up, Zhao Zhiyi went to the kitchen to cook a bowl of fried egg noodles with some luncheon meat. After his meal, he found an old movie to watch. Outside, the wind suddenly picked up and dark clouds obscured the sun. It looked like it was going to rain. Zhao Zhiyi went to the balcony to bring in the laundry, and when he returned to the living room, his phone was ringing.

He looked at the caller ID: Su Jiyu.

“Hello?” Zhao Zhiyi answered immediately. “Are you okay? I…”

“Not really.” Su Jiyu had only said one sentence before he started coughing violently.

Even through the phone, Zhao Zhiyi could feel the heart-wrenching nature of the cough, as if he were trying to cough up his very soul.

“Su Jiyu?” Zhao Zhiyi stood up. “What’s wrong?!”

“I…” Su Jiyu’s voice carried a sob, raspy and broken. “I’m not doing well…”

He choked out, “Can you… come take me away?”

Zhao Zhiyi sat in a taxi, looking at the lead gray sky.

Dark clouds hung low, heavy rain was imminent, and the gale shook the tree branches violently as if they might snap at any moment. The driver said, “It’s about to pour. You’re still heading out far?”

Zhao Zhiyi said, “A friend has something going on.”

The driver nodded knowingly. “A partner, then.”

“Not a partner.” Speaking of this, Zhao Zhiyi had a bit of a headache. He didn’t even know why he was sitting in a taxi heading to the Su family residence.

Su Jiyu’s phone call had scared him half to death. He tried to ask what happened, but Su Jiyu abruptly hung up. Zhao Zhiyi immediately called Meng Ze, but his phone was turned off. Having no other choice, he had to make the trip himself. Su Jiyu sounded like he was truly dying, he couldn’t just ignore it.

The Su residence was located in a famous luxury villa district. When Zhao Zhiyi arrived, he saw the magnificent building standing under the dark sky, looking like a grim cage.

“Are you Mr. Zhao?” An old man with white hair opened the iron gate and looked at Zhao Zhiyi.

“That’s me. You are…”

“I am the Su family butler,” the old man said softly. “The young master told me someone would come to pick him up today… is it you?”

“Uh…” Zhao Zhiyi scratched his head. “Should be… probably… maybe… me?”

The butler said, “Follow me. We’ll use the small back door.”

Zhao Zhiyi thought to himself: Why do I feel like a thief? He asked, “Sir, what exactly happened to Su Jiyu? When he called me, he wasn’t in a good state.”

The butler paused. He pointed toward the pitch-black attic on the highest floor of the villa. “The young master is locked up in there.”

“Take him away,” the butler said. “If this continues, he will die.”