12. 

The next morning, omega almost couldn’t get out of bed.

He felt like a clay figure that had been crushed and then reshaped. Just sitting up from the bed took all the strength he had, while the AI was still urging him to get up for his morning run. He gasped for breath in the shade of the morning trees like a dying dog, then collapsed onto the sofa when he got home, only to continue his daily skincare routine.

Fortunately, today was a recovery day. After breakfast, he only needed to review the lessons he had learned the previous day. By noon, he steamed a small bowl of brown rice with water, took out a small piece of beef from the freezer, and leaned against the kitchen counter, staring blankly.

At this intensity, as long as he could persist, change would surely come… right?

By the afternoon, the beautiful ballet series officially arrived in his life.

Have you ever fought with all your might for something else in your life?

Omega’s eyes filled with tears, and he wanted to scream at the sky — Yes! I’ve fought for the beautiful ballet!

“Two, good, three, four, five…”

The light brain projected the image of a beautiful woman onto the plain wall. Her skin was snow-white, and her body was supple, as she gracefully stretched her legs and arms while holding herself up against the floor.

‘And two, three, four, five, six…’

Struggling to finish a set of leg-toning and glute-lifting exercises, omega was drenched in sweat, more than in the gym. Halfway through, he couldn’t even catch his breath, nearly suffocating from lack of air.

‘Perseverance, perseverance…’ he muttered to himself. Sweat clinging to his lashes, making his vision a chaotic blur. ‘I need to lose weight, I have to lose weight…”

After one set, his calves cramped; after two sets, his mind became foggy; after three sets, the thought of ascending to immortality filled his mind.

In the end, he collapsed onto the yoga mat, listening to the background voice saying, “Thanks so much for joining me today…” His body felt like it had been pickled in salt from sweat, as he just stared at the ceiling, gasping for air.

The more he trained, the more he pushed himself, the deeper the words of the alpha etched into his mind.

“Has rarely read, few schoolings, has a failed marriage, a failed life….”

“Escapist, failure, coward.”

“The exhaustion you’re feeling now is the result of your past laziness.”

So, he had to get thinner, get healthier, get better looking.

Even though he was still timid, still afraid to raise his voice when speaking to others, deep inside, he no longer wanted to be abandoned, no longer wanted to be looked down upon, no longer wanted to continue living in this muddled, aimless way.

The long and grueling first week finally passed. He applied a breath barrier to the back of his neck and, as agreed, went to find Mr. A once again.

It was the weekend, and Mr. A wasn’t at the usual office. He sent Mr. A a text, and after a few minutes, he received a message with a location address.

“Here.”

It was his usual cold, detached manner.

When the omega drove into the city center, he realized that the place was a club located on the top floor of a magnificent, golden building. Various luxury cars were hovering in front, and getting inside wasn’t just about entering the building—it required multiple rounds of checks.

Fortunately, the omega was rich. Very, very rich.

The pheromone barrier was his strongest armor, allowing him to seamlessly disguise himself as a beta. Apart from the alpha pheromones wafting around, which made his legs feel weak, he wasn’t scared at all. He walked straight up to the reception desk in the lobby and asked, “What are the requirements if I want to go to the top floor?”

At the club on the top floor, Mr. A sat lazily on the sofa, swirling the liquid in his glass.

His expression was indifferent, unmoved by the surrounding laughter, chaos, or the world of excess. Even the scent of pheromones was cold to the bone, and the feeling of inhaling it was almost like a sharp sting. Without saying a word, he had the effect of keeping people at a distance.

At that moment, a handsome yet dissolute alpha patted him on the shoulder from behind and said, “Hey, big iceberg, there’s a beta waiting for you at the door.”

Mr. A’s brow twitched slightly, surprised as he turned to look. Sure enough, he saw the omega’s anxious figure.

No matter how rich the omega was, he had never been to a place like this before.

Beside him, two slender beta women were whispering to each other.

There were too many alphas here, and for an omega, coming to this place was undoubtedly very dangerous. However, betas could interact with these highly aggressive and dominant alphas without any concern.

“Isn’t that Mr. A… It’s rare to see him here, what brings him around?”

“What’s the big deal? He doesn’t have his own omega.”

The beta women covered their mouths and laughed. “He’s so strange. Apart from him, I’ve never seen an alpha who doesn’t want to be around omegas.”

“Family traits, I guess,” the other beta woman lazily stirred the ice cubes in her glass with a small gold spoon. “That family of his is especially sensitive to omega pheromones. Unless it’s their destined mate, the effect on them is much weaker… Look at him—he’s in his mid-thirties and still hasn’t found anyone. It’s probably because of that.”

As they were talking, unexpectedly, Mr. A suddenly stood up and began walking toward them.

The two women were so startled that their eyes went wide, and with a whoosh, they darted off.

“Didn’t I have someone arrange to pick you up downstairs? Why did you…?” Mr. A’s face had been unpleasant before, but upon seeing the omega, he suddenly stopped in his tracks and stared at him for a long time.