Chapter 41: Shao Ye, I’ll treat him as if he were my own.

Lu Zhanxing’s thick brows furrowed as he locked his gaze on Shao Ye, his stare sharp enough to pierce through steel.

That glare alone was enough to make Shao Ye want to vanish. Shame burned through him, and he wished the ground would just swallow him whole.

Lu Zhanxing closed his eyes, clearly fighting to keep his composure. When he opened them again, the restraint was barely there. He looked at Shao Ye with an intensity that screamed warning. “Ah Ye, do you even realize what you just said?”

Fuck!

Shao Ye cursed inwardly.

Seriously?

He’d already ditched every shred of shame to throw himself out there, and this guy was still dissecting the situation?

Anger flared hot and fast. Shao Ye grabbed Lu Zhanxing’s shoulders, his breathing ragged, his patience nonexistent. “Just do it, or those bastards out there won’t believe it.”

Lu Zhanxing didn’t flinch. “If this is just for survival, there’s no need to push yourself this far. We can fight our way out…”

“Fuck that!” Shao Ye snarled, cutting him off, his voice rough with frustration. “Can you shut the hell up for once? Are you in or not?”

The sharpness in Lu Zhanxing’s gaze deepened, but he pushed back again. “Are you sure about this? You can still back out…”

“Three seconds. If you’re not in by then, forget it!” Shao Ye snapped, his temper boiling over. “Three… two—ahh!”

Before the countdown hit one, a jolt surged through Shao Ye’s entire body, leaving him reeling. He barely processed the blackout before he felt Lu Zhanxing pressing against him, their bodies locked together like puzzle pieces. The space around them filled with the heady, overwhelming scent of nerium oleander, drowning Shao Ye in waves of sticky, intoxicating heat. It was maddening, addictive—a trap he couldn’t escape even if he wanted to.

Lost in the haze, Shao Ye faintly heard Lu Zhanxing whisper something against his ear.

“Ah Ye… I’m sorry. I’m breaking my promise.”

“Huh?” Shao Ye’s brain was mush, too fogged to grasp what Lu Zhanxing meant.

Then Lu Zhanxing’s voice grew firmer, darker. “I’m not giving you the chance to back out now. I’m going to mark you.”

The moonlight outside felt like it was boiling, shimmering in the stale air of the crumbling room. The two of them were drowning in this fiery concoction of lust and pheromones, melting together until they were one.

But then, Lu Zhanxing froze. His expression shifted into something terrifying—a mix of shock and unfiltered rage.

His voice, sharp and low, cut through the haze like a blade. “You… you’re already marked?”

“What?” Shao Ye blinked up at him, tears clinging to the corners of his eyes, his mind too wrecked to process the question. All he knew was that Zhanxing’s warmth had stilled, and he hated it. Desperate, he clung tighter.

“Lu-ge…”

Lu Zhanxing’s eyes turned cold, a storm brewing behind them. His words dripped with accusation, his tone venomous. “Who the fuck did this?!”

Reality slammed into Shao Ye like a freight train. He snapped out of his daze, blinking rapidly. “What are you talking about?”

But Lu Zhanxing didn’t bother to explain. Instead, his actions grew fiercer, relentless, leaving Shao Ye gasping and trembling under him. Through the chaos, Lu Zhanxing’s voice came low and firm, right against his ear.

“You’re mine, Ah Ye. My Omega. I don’t care what it takes—I’ll never let anyone else have you.”

The possessiveness in his tone hit Shao Ye like a punch to the gut, his body tensing up in protest. Realization dawned—Lu Zhanxing had gotten it all wrong. He wanted to explain, but the moment he opened his mouth, Lu Zhanxing silenced him with a bruising kiss, his dominance absolute.

Shao Ye struggled, but it only seemed to fuel Lu Zhanxing’s intensity. His Alpha’s strength was suffocating, every movement demanding submission. When Shao Ye tried to push back, Lu Zhanxing grabbed a belt and tied him down, leaving no room for resistance.

Each movement from Lu Zhanxing was brutal, punishing, like he was trying to stamp out whatever phantom rival haunted his thoughts. Shao Ye was left helpless, his protests smothered. He could only endure, his cries lost in the storm of Zhanxing’s raw fury and unrelenting possession.

Small Omegas like him? They didn’t stand a chance against an Alpha like this.

Shao Ye had no clue when exactly he passed out, just that he got buried under a ton of messed-up dreams.

In those dreams, he was thrown back to his past life, standing helpless as a newborn version of himself got dumped like trash into a frozen alley by a mother cold enough to make the snow seem warm. That bitter winter night nearly killed the tiny, crying infant.

He tried to run to the baby, desperate to save it, but his hands went straight through the air like he wasn’t even there—just a ghost, powerless and invisible. As the baby's fragile body stiffened from the cold, Shao Ye felt every sting of that frost cutting into his own skin.

Then she appeared—the trash-collecting woman. She scooped the baby up. And though Shao Ye knew the hell she’d put the child through, treating him no better than a dog, for that one moment, all he felt was gratitude. She’d saved him. And back then, all he had was a raw, feral will to live, a desire to cling to life just long enough to see the world.

The dream didn’t stop there—it played out like some sick God’s-eye view of his entire wretched past life. Dumped by the trash-picker. Sold to foster parents. "Returned" like a defective product. Shipped off to an orphanage. Stumbling through a battered, pathetic childhood. Scraping into university by sheer grit only to graduate into poverty, jobless and homeless. Living on the streets with nothing but a stray dog, Xiao Bai, for company.

Every damn stage of his life had been a fight—a savage, desperate struggle just to keep breathing.

Maybe Heaven took pity on his miserable existence. Maybe that’s why he got a second chance. Maybe that’s why he met Lu Zhanxing.

But not in his wildest nightmares did Shao Ye think this second life would end with him dying in Lu Zhanxing’s bed.

"Ahhh—!"

He jolted awake, drenched in cold sweat, heart pounding like it wanted out of his chest.

The nightmare lingered in his head, but his surroundings threw him off even more—a stark white room, a pristine bed, and matching white clothes draped over his body.

The realization hit him like a lightning strike. His mouth went dry. “Am I… dead?”

Before he could spiral further, a soft female voice broke through his panic. “You’re awake?”

A nurse in spotless white entered the room, her movements brisk but gentle. She turned her head and called out, “Mr. Shao is awake! Notify Commander Lu immediately!”

Her words barely registered as she wheeled over some medical equipment and started checking him over. Shao Ye was still mentally scrambling to figure out what the hell was going on.

“Where… where am I?” he finally croaked out.

The nurse smiled, calm and professional. “You’re in the Capital Star Union’s First Hospital.”

Capital Star?

That name slapped him like a truck. “What? How the hell did I end up here?”

“Commander Lu brought you in,” the nurse replied without missing a beat. “You’ve been unconscious for seven days.”

“Seven days?!” Shao Ye shot upright on reflex, but the sharp, unbearable pain that tore through his lower half sent him crashing back down. Black spots danced in his vision as he clutched the sheets, gasping.

The nurse quickly steadied him, easing him back onto the bed. “Sir, your injuries haven’t healed yet. Please avoid sudden movements, or you’ll tear the wounds further.”

Her words hit him like a bucket of icy water. His injuries. Down there. The memory of what had happened slammed into him like a freight train, every humiliating detail burning itself into his mind.

Shao Ye’s entire body went rigid, his face a mess of red and white as shame twisted in his gut. A grown man, ending up in the hospital over this?

He wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out. Hell, scratch that—he wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole.

But as the humiliation boiled inside him, so did the rage. There was one man to blame for this mess, one bastard responsible for his agony—Lu Zhanxing. Shao Ye swore if he had to go down, he’d drag that son of a bitch with him.

And speak of the devil—Lu Zhanxing stormed in just then, his usually sharp, commanding presence dulled by exhaustion. Dark circles clung to his eyes, his disheveled appearance betraying a man who hadn’t slept in days.

When his gaze locked onto Shao Ye, something shifted—relief washed over him, raw and unfiltered, like he’d just found a treasure he thought lost forever.

The nurse barely glanced back before tossing out a few quick instructions and slipping out of the room, shutting the door behind her with a soft click.

Shao Ye clenched his teeth so hard it was a miracle they didn’t crack, his furious glare pinning Lu Zhanxing like a nail to the wall.

Lu Zhanxing, guilt dripping from every pore, didn’t even try to deflect. Instead, he dove straight into an apology. “Ah Ye... I’m sorry. Really.”

Shao Ye’s response was swift and brutal—a pillow to the face. He didn’t say a damn word, just lobbed it with all the frustration of a man pushed past his limit.

And Lu Zhanxing? He didn’t dodge. Hell, he didn’t even flinch. He just stood there, taking the hit like a guilty kid caught red-handed. Then, with that insufferable calm, he reached out to steady Shao Ye. “Don’t move too much,” he murmured, like he had any right to care. “It’s not good for the baby.”

The baby.

Oh, that set Shao Ye off. Like gasoline to a fire. Hearing that man even mention the kid sent his anger skyrocketing. He threw a few hard punches into Lu Zhanxing’s chest, each one landing with a satisfying thud, before finally pulling back.

Lu Zhanxing’s head dipped low, his lashes trembling, his eyes reddening with unshed tears. The sheer pitiful look on his face—equal parts devastated and pathetically wronged—gave Shao Ye pause.

When had he ever seen Lu Zhanxing look like this? This wasn’t the cocky bastard he knew. This was someone beaten down, almost pitiful.

And yet, how the hell was Lu Zhanxing the one acting hurt here?

Shao Ye had been out cold for seven goddamn days, laid up in a hospital bed because of him!

The nerve of this man.

Taking a deep breath, Shao Ye pushed the anger down and cut to the chase. “Lu-ge, you got something you wanna say to me?”

Lu Zhanxing’s jaw tightened, like he was trying to summon courage from somewhere deep and dark. Finally, he spoke, his voice low but steady. “Ah Ye… You’ve never been willing to have a real relationship with me—said you couldn’t accept being with a man. And yet, somehow, after just one month apart, you’re pregnant.”

The words hung in the air like a bomb, and just as Shao Ye was about to explode, Lu Zhanxing’s eyes glistened. A single tear slid down his cheek, painfully slow, like it was scripted for maximum impact.

Shao Ye froze. His eyes widened in disbelief, his mind a total blank.

Lu Zhanxing lowered his head, shoulders trembling, voice thick with regret. “That day... I lost it. I couldn’t stand the thought of anyone else marking you. I wanted to erase everything, every trace that wasn’t mine. I didn’t mean to hurt you, Ah Ye, but I couldn’t stop myself.”

Now Shao Ye was really done. His jaw hit the metaphorical floor. He could only stare at the six-foot-something man in front of him, crying like a kid whose ice cream had hit the pavement.

“And then,” Lu Zhanxing continued, voice breaking, “when I saw you unconscious, bleeding, I thought I’d lost you. These past few days, I’ve had time to think. I’ve made up my mind.” He exhaled sharply, lifting his gaze to meet Shao Ye’s stunned eyes. “No matter who the father is—whether it’s your sister’s or that bastard Bai’s—I’ll treat the baby as my own. If you’ll stay with me, I’ll even add their name to the Lu family registry. They’ll have every right to our inheritance.”

“Stop.” Shao Ye’s head throbbed, the weight of Lu’s nonsense pounding in his skull. He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to stay calm. “Lu-ge, seriously, what makes you think the baby’s from my sister or Boss Bai?”

Lu Zhanxing looked genuinely confused. “Because they’re the only ones who’ve been hanging around you with ill intentions. And when you were with the rebellion, they were the only people you were close to.”

Shao Ye raised an eyebrow, disbelief dripping from his voice. “You’ve planted spies in the rebel army?”

Lu Zhanxing waved it off like it was nothing, his tone sharp and unyielding. “That’s not the point. The point is I’m telling the truth. Unless—what, the kid’s got another dad hiding somewhere?”

Shao Ye snorted, leaning back against the headboard with a mix of irritation and boredom. “Bai Boss? The guy’s a useless cripple below the belt. And Shao Lan’s my sister. There’s no way it’s their kid. Of course there’s someone else involved.”

Hearing this, Lu Zhanxing didn’t feel any satisfaction. If anything, his chest tightened, disappointment sinking like a cold stone in his gut.

His voice dropped, trembling as he lowered his gaze. “Someone else, huh? Do you… love him?”

Shao Ye didn’t flinch. He didn’t pause, didn’t hesitate for even a second. “Love him? Hell yes, I love him. Getting marked by him was my choice—no, scratch that, I threw myself into it headfirst.”

The words hit Lu Zhanxing like a slap. His whole body shuddered, his bloodshot eyes wide and unblinking. Tears spilled over uncontrollably, streaking down his face like shattered pearls.

He opened his mouth, but for the longest time, nothing came out. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he managed to rasp out a single, broken word: “… Fine.”

That was it. He stood, ready to leave, but the second he got on his feet, the world spun violently. His legs buckled, and he nearly went face-first into the floor.