Chapter 5: A Useless, Good-for-Nothing

Ruan Yan followed the butler to a room on the third floor with a tightly shut door. The butler took out a key to open it, but Ruan Yan raised his hand, signaling for him to stop. He then gave the butler a look, indicating for him to leave.

The butler didn’t ask any questions, merely nodding before turning and leaving the stairs.

Footsteps sounded from within the room, followed by a cautious voice. “Is it Ruan Yan?”

“Father, I’m back.” Ruan Yan adjusted his breathing, making sure his voice didn’t waver too much. “Father told me not to come in, so I can only speak with you through the door.”

The injury on his neck was still there, and he didn’t want his father to worry.

There was a brief silence from within the room, before Lu Li’s voice came again. “Then bring the little one out, let me hold it.”

Ruan Yan felt a bit helpless, closing his eyes to concentrate.

“Meow—” A soft meow echoed in the empty hallway.

Ruan Yan lowered his gaze, and a small, pure white kitten appeared at his feet. It nudged its fluffy little head against his leg before nimbly slipping through the crack beneath the bedroom door.

This door was custom-made specifically for Ruan Hong, with the small hole designed for Lu Li to receive meals.

From inside, Lu Li’s voice sounded much lighter, “The little one seems to be doing well. Don’t worry, Father.”

Ruan Yan lowered his gaze. He knew that his father was trying to assess his condition through the pheromone-divided beast.

When pheromone-divided beasts first appeared in the Federation, it caused quite a bit of chaos. Eventually, the Pheromone Gene Research Institute released a paper titled “Pheromone-divided Beasts,” which nearly calmed the public down.

Currently, pheromone-divided beasts could only be produced by high-ranking alphas.

These pheromone-divided beasts were connected to their owners’ senses and would reflect their state. Once awakened, the divided beasts varied in size and carried the most primal traits of their masters.

Ruan Yan sat by the door, talking to Lu Li for a while. Not long after, the butler suddenly came upstairs. “Young Master, the master has returned. He requests you come downstairs.”

“Got it, you may go.” Ruan Yan responded.

The butler didn’t move.

Ruan Yan frowned and glanced at him, but the butler remained standing in place.

“Ruan Yan, go ahead,” came Lu Li’s timely voice from inside, and the white kitten also emerged from under the door, rubbing against Ruan Yan’s feet.

The butler glanced at the cat. Among Master Ruan’s four sons, only the youngest son’s pheromone-divided beast was a rather useless cat, one that looked good but lacked any real utility. Despite still being in the Ruan family, Ruan Yan had little standing.

He had been missing for a month, and even with the provocation delivered right to his doorstep, Master Ruan hadn’t made any move to address it.

Ruan Yan cradled the white cat in his arms. “Let’s go.”

The butler spoke without hesitation, “Young Master, please put the divided beast away. The master won’t be happy if he sees it.”

Ruan Yan nodded, and in an instant, the white cat disappeared from his arms.

He followed the butler downstairs.

The living room of the villa was decorated in an elegant, classic style, with numerous valuable items displayed around, highlighting the master’s status.

In the center of the genuine leather sofa, Ruan Hong took the tea from the servant. When he saw Ruan Yan come down, his expression remained unchanged, and he gestured for him to sit in the single armchair opposite.

Ruan Yan’s demeanor was cold and distant as he declined the tea offered by the servant.

Ruan Hong gently stirred the tea leaves and then spoke, “Who captured you this past month?”

Ruan Yan was momentarily stunned. Did Ruan Hong not know the name of Xiao Jin?

He shook his head and replied, “I’m not sure. He just said he has a grudge against the Ruan family.”

“Then how did you manage to come back?” Ruan Hong continued to ask.

Ruan Yan raised his eyes, meeting Ruan Hong’s gaze. “The Ruan family had no intention of rescuing me. They saw me as useless and let me go.”

He knew that by returning this way, Ruan Hong would certainly question him.

Ruan Hong’s gaze fell on the faint bruising on Ruan Yan’s neck. He didn’t care whether his useless youngest son was injured, what he cared about was who their enemy was. However, Ruan Yan knew nothing about the person behind this.

Such a useless waste.

How could the Ruan family have such a useless alpha? Even his pheromone-divided beast was a useless creature.

Ruan Hong snorted coldly, grabbed the briefcase handed to him by the butler, and left.

Ding ding

Ruan Yan’s communicator on his wrist suddenly flashed. It was a message from Xiao Jin, who had returned the communicator when he left.

Ruan Yan looked at the contact on the communicator. He clicked to connect, and a floating holographic screen appeared.

Yu Wan’s delicate face appeared on the holographic screen. “Ah Yan! You finally answered my message! The Ruan family said you were kidnapped. Are you alright? Oh! Your neck…”

Yu Wan gasped as she noticed the bruising on his neck.

“I’m fine.” Ruan Yan replied, slightly confused. How did Yu Wan know he had been kidnapped?

Yu Wan seemed to sense his thoughts and spoke up. “Ah Yan, you haven’t been back to school for almost a week and didn’t request leave. I contacted the Ruan family, and they told me you were kidnapped.”

After a pause, Yu Wan muttered quietly, “A couple of days ago, I asked them to help look for you, but I didn’t expect them to act so quickly. I thought they weren’t willing to get involved before?”

Her voice was so soft it was barely audible. Ruan Yan asked, “What did you say?”

“Oh, nothing,” Yu Wan quickly responded. “I’m just glad you’re safe, Ah Yan.” Then she pouted, a face full of drama. “When will you be back at school? I’m going crazy from the lab work with this new drug experiment!!!”

Ruan Yan looked at Yu Wan’s animated expression and, without thinking, felt that Xiao Jin would probably be better suited with an Omega who was soft, sweet, and could act spoiled.

After a brief silence, Ruan Yan replied, “I’ll be back today.”