In the end, the doctors at the hospital entrance decided to treat that omega first, mainly because he was covered in blood. After knocking people down, he swayed a bit before passing out, almost as if he had staged the whole scene after the fight.

When Xiao Zong rushed to the first floor, Gu Yin had just been placed on a stretcher — today, there were so many omegas fainting that even the emergency stretchers had run out.

So, Xiao Zong, the second young master of the Xiao family, could only stand there and watch as the omega he had cared for so long was lying quietly on a makeshift stretcher.

This was the interstellar society, after all, and these folding stretchers were probably only used during wars.

Before he could even think about whether he should get Gu Yin a pure gold stretcher or something of that nature, he saw the blood on Gu Yin’s body.

Xiao Zong’s beautiful pupils constricted sharply, as if he had been struck by lightning, frozen on the spot. His whole body felt as if it had been filled with cement, and his blood turned cold.

“Yinyin…?”

The hospital lobby was too chaotic, and the presence of an alpha like Xiao Zong, who clearly didn’t belong there, didn’t cause much attention.

The staff moved quickly, and a nearby doctor urged, “Be careful, don’t shake him too much. His gland is injured.”

One of the stretcher bearers sighed, “How did he get hurt like this? Wasn’t it just a mass panic event?”

“Maybe it’s not just the two incidents that caused this,” a worried nurse glanced at the omega on the stretcher.

This person was young, his clothes torn, with injuries near his gland. Worst of all, he was still in heat!

The nurse murmured to herself, “He might have been… mistreated.”

Gu Yin looked extremely pained on the stretcher, even groaning softly in his semi-conscious state.

It was easy to misinterpret the situation under such circumstances.

The medical staff moved swiftly and professionally, crossing the wide hospital lobby in just three or four seconds.

Tall and handsome alphas drew attention wherever they went, and the nurse couldn’t help but sneak a glance at Xiao Zong as they passed by. However, she didn’t forget her duty, and quickly added, “We need to stop the heat first and then treat him. I’m afraid suppressants won’t work anymore. This omega has been marked. We should find his partner.”

“I am.”

A deep voice came from behind. The nurse turned her head and saw the handsome yet cold young man from earlier.

The nurse let out a soft “ah,” feeling a bit embarrassed by her earlier assumptions. Whether he had overheard or not, his expression was frighteningly icy.

After all, no alpha could tolerate their omega being touched by someone else. The invisible “contract” formed by the mark made an alpha’s possessiveness over their omega particularly strong. Most educated alphas would avoid causing trouble for marked omegas out of respect.

Even someone like You Maobin, an alpha who had just recently undergone secondary differentiation and had a fiery and competitive temper, would only talk big to save face, but wouldn’t dare actually make a move.

However, recent media had reported several heinous incidents where criminal gangs targeted marked omegas, using brutal methods that left the omega traumatized both physically and mentally.

Many alphas ended up abandoning their omegas because they couldn’t bear the humiliation.

The nurse, who had worked at the hospital for many years and seen all kinds of life, couldn’t help but feel some pity.

Though Xiao Zong followed the doctor’s instructions to provide his pheromones for a temporary remedy to calm Gu Yin’s out-of-control heat, his expression remained icy throughout.

The nurse thought to herself, This might turn into another bitter couple.

Wei Mian worked efficiently. By the time Xiao Zong had finished giving his pheromones, Gu Yin had already been placed in a VIP intensive care room.

Second Young Master Xiao rarely got sick, and whenever he was injured, he always had private doctors come to him. The first time he had ever been in a hospital was after the Bryston kidnapping incident, when the domestic situation was unclear, and Xiao Yan didn’t let him return to the country immediately. He stayed in the hospital until he could walk again — that time, he had broken three ribs.

That had been the most confusing and darkest period of Xiao Zong’s life, and ever since then, he had a strong aversion to hospitals.

But who would have thought that his second visit to the hospital would be for Gu Yin?

The school was in chaos, the nearby café had been locked down, and the suburban area looked like it had just been through a war.

During this time, Gu Yin had disappeared for two hours, only to reappear covered in wounds, and unexpectedly in heat.

When Xiao Zong entered the intensive care room, the metallic smell of blood overpowered the sweetness of pheromones. He didn’t even know where to start if he wanted to hold Gu Yin.

So, Xiao Zong stepped back out, giving space to the busy doctors.

Gu Yin was hooked up to all sorts of monitors — pulse, blood pressure, pheromone concentration — and even had an oxygen mask on. His body couldn’t handle the injection of alpha-class pheromones, so they had to administer it in vapor form to help ease his out-of-control heat symptoms.

Just this morning, Gu Yin had woken up in his arms. Xiao Zong, still groggy, had been lightly bitten on the collarbone by Gu Yin as he brushed his soft hair against his neck.

Now, underneath Xiao Zong’s white shirt were two faint red bite marks.

At the moment, Gu Yin had just been cleaned up from his injuries, lying unconscious in the intensive care room, bathed in healing rays, looking like a broken machine undergoing repair.

Breathing left a thin layer of fog on the isolation glass. Inside his chest, the cement-like weight burned into molten lava, and for a moment, Xiao Zong’s heart clenched painfully. He stared unblinkingly at Gu Yin, hoping that what he saw was just a trick of the eye.

He didn’t even have the time to think about the scene he witnessed at the hospital entrance.

When Wei Mian finished handling all the paperwork and returned to the ninth floor intensive care room, he saw his boss practically pressing his forehead against the glass.

“Boss,” Assistant Wei called. Xiao Zong slowly turned his head, his neck creaking like rusty machinery, the air almost echoing the nonexistent “squeak.”

His expression, often cold and mocking, usually radiated a sharp distance that made people both want to approach and fear getting too close.

Now, however, his delicate red lips drooped slightly, and his usually half-lidded peach blossom eyes were now wide open, with a hint of grievance — like a wronged commander.

Wei Mian choked for a moment. “Ahem, the doctor said they need to see the patient’s family. Should we notify Mother Gu now?”

Xiao Zong snapped out of his overwhelming guilt, the grievance disappearing as quickly as it had appeared, returning to his usual calm demeanor. “Let me hear what the doctor has to say first. If Gu Yin wakes up, he can decide for himself.”

It seemed like he had regained his rationality, but clearly, Xiao Zong was still affected. He took two steps, then stopped again, frustration in his voice: “Forget it, notify his family.”

Gu Yin wasn’t just his; Xiao Zong had brought him here and failed to take care of him. Now, it wouldn’t be right to keep things from Mother Gu and grandfather.

Wei Mian was momentarily stunned.

His boss never changed his mind right after making a decision. Xiao Zong had always been efficient, decisive, even domineering. His natural aura of authority ensured that he never lost in negotiations.

Even an hour ago, when their safehouse was about to be destroyed by enemy fire, Xiao Zong hadn’t shown any urgency, only furrowing his brow slightly when the commander-in-chief had mimicked Xiao Sinian.

As an ordinary person, wasn’t Wei Mian scared at that moment? Of course he was.

But Xiao Zong’s calmness had helped Wei Mian hold it together.

It was the deep trust and understanding built over years of cooperation that made him believe his boss would find a way out of any predicament.

Now, Xiao Zong looked as confused as a child who had lost his candy, struggling to maintain composure but ultimately overwhelmed by the situation.

He didn’t even notice how fast he was walking, practically stirring up a breeze.

Wei Mian watched his boss’s back disappear down the brightly lit corridor, unable to help but shake his head and sigh.

Boss won’t let this go easily with Gu Xiao Yin.

**

In the chief physician’s office.

The doctor followed protocol and called the patient’s family, but was surprised when the president of Henghua himself showed up.

For a moment, the doctor felt a bit awkward and embarrassed.

The hospital director had already given orders to everyone that Henghua’s executives were in the hospital, and to offer as much convenience as possible. After all, Henghua was one of the top financial groups in the federation, and if displeased, they could easily buy the entire hospital — making them all his employees.

But the injured person with the last name Gu was still listed as unmarried, so Xiao Zong technically didn’t count as family.

The doctor decided to treat this as if the future boss was inspecting the hospital.

The doctor skipped the usual comforting of the patient’s family and reported, as if giving a work update: “After a full examination, there’s no major bleeding or internal organ damage. No signs of a concussion, and it’s not life-threatening. The most serious injury is to the gland. Fortunately, the glass shards missed the major nerves. The area around the omega’s gland is full of blood vessels and nerves, so it bled a lot, but it’s still within the scope of an external injury…”

The invisible hand squeezing Xiao Zong’s heart finally loosened a bit.

Nerves and blood vessels… Gu Yin must’ve suffered a lot.

He came to the hospital on his own, but what happened to the attacker? Did they leave, or were they dealt with?

If it was the former…

As the doctor continued, he suddenly noticed a chilling aura emanating from Xiao Zong.

“Once the treatment is completed, he’ll just need… seven days of rest, no, make it ten.”

A bit of extra time couldn’t hurt, after all. It showed how seriously they were taking the situation.

“Second Young Master, do you need a check-up too?” The burning tension in the air made the doctor sweat, and he nervously wiped his forehead as he asked, “Your pheromones…”

They seemed a bit out of control.

The moment the words left his mouth, Xiao Zong abruptly clamped down on his pheromones, regaining his usual composure. He glanced at the doctor indifferently and said, “Apologies.”

Although the words were polite, the doctor could sense that the young master was in a very bad mood. He quickly waved it off, saying, “No worries, no worries. I’m a beta, so it doesn’t bother me that much.”

“However, rest assured, the patient hasn’t been subjected to any inhumane torture. His emotional stress triggered the heat, and it’s also unstable because he’s only been differentiated for two months…”

Xiao Zong didn’t say a word. It seemed like he wasn’t really listening, just watching the doctor’s mouth move.

(Is anything more important than Gu Yin’s injuries right now?)

(I don’t even know who did this!)

(What’s the police’s job? What’s the school’s job? What about the bodyguards?!)

(And the SkyNet… hmm?)

Oh yes, the SkyNet.

Suddenly, Xiao Zong had a lightbulb moment, finally unraveling a tangled thread in his mind.

SkyNet was the federation’s universal satellite observation system, capable of observing down to the centimeter, and with military clearance, down to the millimeter. Ever since the system had been perfected, crime rates had plummeted, leaving only a few high-tech terrorist organizations and some occasional omega-targeting perverts.

By accessing this data, he could find out when Gu Yin left the exam room, where he went, and who else had been in the area at the same time.

In his anxiety, Xiao Zong had never felt such an overwhelming urge to kill someone. He couldn’t even wait for Gu Yin to wake up.

“By the way,” the doctor concluded, “do you need an update on the other two patients?”

Xiao Zong looked confused. “Who?”

The doctor wondered if Second Young Master needed a check-up for his brain too.

**

Assistant Wei was waiting outside the attending doctor’s office when his boss came out, and the last thing Xiao Zong said was:

“I’m not paying for the other two. Just because I have money doesn’t mean I’m a sucker.”

Wei Mian: …

Xiao Zong turned and saw him, asking, “Did you notify them?”

Wei Mian nodded, “Yes, I did.”

Not only did he notify them, but Gu’s family’s reaction was a bit odd.

At first, they were understandably anxious. The first thing they asked was: “Is it life-threatening?”

Wei Mian had only mentioned that there was an incident at Nancheng University and that Gu Yin was in the hospital. How did they jump straight to thinking it was life-threatening?

Does omega intuition work that well?!

The assistant hurriedly explained that Gu Yin had been attacked and was injured, but it wasn’t serious.

Normally, people would breathe a sigh of relief and then ask, “Did they catch the attacker?”

But Mother Gu’s reaction was: “Oh, that’s good, that’s good.”

Wei Mian: ???

Was something missing here?

Of course, as an outsider, Assistant Wei’s concern came from a different place than Xiao Zong’s.

His concern stemmed from a professional, elder care perspective for a younger colleague, with a dash of wanting to curry favor with his future boss’s partner. Though not ill-intentioned, he still maintained a certain polite distance.

Xiao Zong, on the other hand, cared deeply, both physically and emotionally.

Like a knight battling through obstacles to win the princess’s heart, Xiao Zong, unaware, had vowed to protect Gu Yin when he marked him, kissing away the tears that had welled up in his eyes.

I should have kept Gu Yin by my side, Xiao Zong thought. Even if he got a little scared in the safehouse, that would’ve been much better than this.

Only an hour had passed since Gu Yin had fainted, and Xiao Zong was already calming down, his thoughts returning to clarity.

He nodded and said, “Which government departments do we need to go through to access the SkyNet data?”

Wei Mian understood and immediately set to work.

“And,” Xiao Zong’s expression turned dark, “investigate who Liu Jian has been in contact with since being dismissed.”

The assistant didn’t know why his boss wanted this, but he followed the order.

After giving these instructions, Xiao Zong unknowingly made his way back to Gu Yin’s intensive care room.

In fact, there were still many things he needed to do, including cooperating with the police for a statement and discussing with the legal team how to explain his use of the weapons system in his car in a residential area.

Not everything could be excused with “emergency powers.”

Just because Xiao Zong’s personal safety had been threatened and the higher-ups had given him special approval for a modified car, didn’t mean he could use it recklessly in school or near residential buildings. Even if he acted first and explained later, the explanation still needed to be well-reasoned. Otherwise, the consequences would affect more than just him.

At the very least, Zhou Hengqing, who had helped him, would be in a lot of trouble.

But Xiao Zong could only leave these matters to his subordinates for now.

He wanted to stay with his little secretary until he woke up.

Gu Yin’s wounds had already been treated with healing rays, and once his heat symptoms were under control, they would remove the monitoring equipment. Only then could they apply the bio-healing gel to his wounds to speed up recovery.

The federation’s medical technology was so advanced that most external injuries were no longer a challenge. Even missing limbs could be restored with bionic technology.

The real challenges now lay with major illnesses, not just in terms of medical technology, but also the high costs involved.

Xiao Zong sat by the bedside, the smell of blood already replaced by the scent of disinfectant from the hospital’s air circulation system.

He thought of the first time Gu Yin had tried to seduce him while pretending to apply a bandage.

Back then, his little secretary was both bold and timid, shrinking back whenever Xiao Zong glared at him, only to cautiously test his limits again a while later.

He was a little troublemaker who liked to act obedient and well-behaved.

Xiao Zong had seen through him long ago.

His phone buzzed in the inner pocket of his suit. As he pulled out his work phone, a small, oval object fell to the floor.

Xiao Zong picked it up.

It was the memory card that Ye Yumeng had given him.

Because that spring dream had been too vivid, Xiao Zong hadn’t dared tell Gu Yin about the blonde young man yet. Now, with Gu Yin unconscious, Xiao Zong realized he had only left the school to get information on that person.

Thinking about it like this, the usually composed president felt even guiltier.

He decided that once Gu Yin woke up, he would confess everything honestly.

And if Gu Xiao Yin got jealous, Xiao Zong thought it wouldn’t hurt to indulge the little troublemaker this once — no, maybe twice…

As Xiao Zong was gathering his thoughts on how to explain the situation to his partner, an email from the PR department came in.

They had submitted the SkyNet data application using facial recognition to track Gu Yin’s movements.