Chapter 12: Saw Big Brother’s Wife Hugging a Seductive Vixen Upstairs

Ruan Yan furrowed his brows tightly. He had indeed decided to take leave the next day and go investigate.

Lifting his hand, he pinched the bridge of his nose, weary. The fact that Xiao Jin was an Enigma had been weighing on him, making him increasingly impatient and reckless. After years of enduring in silence, he shouldn’t let a moment of impulse ruin everything.

“Alright, see you tomorrow.”

As the effects of the sleeping pill began to take hold, Ruan Yan hung up the call and sent the latest research data on the Y3 suppressant to Yu Wan.

—

The next day, at 7:30 p.m., Ruan Yan finally left the laboratory.

Obsidian Bar.

At exactly 8:00 p.m., he arrived on time.  

In the noisy and chaotic bar, Ruan Yan scanned the crowd before his gaze landed on a specific spot at the bar counter.

A group of women sat gathered there.

All of them were captivated, their eyes fixed on the bartender behind the counter as if unable to look away.

Because of his work, Zhou Shiyu had tied up part of his soft pink hair, leaving the rest cascading down. From the side, his face was the very definition of beauty. The pastel color somehow suited him perfectly, not the least bit out of place.

With a lazy smirk, he slid a Tequila Sunrise across the counter toward a sultry-looking woman.

“Baby, your drink is ready.”

Most of the people sitting at the bar were female Alphas, each one eyeing Zhou Shiyu with a certain look in their eyes.

Even though Zhou Shiyu was also an Alpha, his stunningly beautiful face was impossible to ignore.

Seeing that Zhou Shiyu was still busy mixing drinks, Ruan Yan chose a seat a bit farther away at the bar, waiting for him to finish serving those women.

Suddenly, a fiery red cocktail slid toward him.

Zhou Shiyu leaned against the bar, resting his chin on one hand, his expression teasing.

“Brother, you haven’t been sleeping well lately, huh? Have a drink to take the edge off.”

The deafening music in the bar made it hard to hear clearly, but Ruan Yan could guess what Zhou Shiyu was saying from the movement of his lips.

He froze for a moment.

Had his recent state become so obvious that even others could tell?

Yu Wan also knew he hadn’t been sleeping well, but he assumed it was due to his research on the Y3 suppressant. He even went out of his way to find some home remedies for insomnia.

None of them worked.

Ruan Yan knew the reason.

Later, he had talked to Dr. Wen about it.

Dr. Wen told him it was a pheromone dependency reaction.

Only by staying close to an Enigma could his insomnia be suppressed.

Ruan Yan let out a bitter smile.

As expected of an Enigma—just their pheromones alone were enough to affect him like this.

He wanted to resist Xiao Jin, but his body’s reaction told the truth.

Ruan Yan looked at Zhou Shiyu. “Find a quieter place.”

He didn’t believe Zhou Shiyu had called him out just to buy him a drink.

Zhou Shiyu raised an eyebrow, the corners of his lips curling into a playful smile, his tone laced with flirtation.

“Let’s go. I even prepared a private room upstairs just for you.”

They say a beauty’s smile can steal souls from a thousand miles away.

Ever since Zhou Shiyu had approached him, Ruan Yan could feel the gazes of those women shifting onto him.

Zhou Shiyu was undeniably stunning, but the looks those women gave Ruan Yan weren’t out of jealousy—they were out of admiration.

Zhou Shiyu stepped out from behind the bar, draping himself bonelessly over Ruan Yan in an overly intimate manner.

Then, he lifted a hand and blew a kiss toward the women at the bar.

“Babies, I’m off to entertain this client. See you all later~”

Ruan Yan was already used to Zhou Shiyu’s shamelessness.

He knew Zhou Shiyu’s flirtatious demeanor was only skin-deep.

When they first met, Ruan Yan had a hard time connecting the image of a bar owner with that of an information broker.

But in the end, all the intel he had on Ruan Hong had come from Zhou Shiyu.

After working together multiple times, they could at least be considered friends.

Third Floor.

Xiao Jin leaned against the wall with one foot propped up, hands stuffed in his pockets, a cigarette dangling from his lips.

He stood at the intersection of shifting lights and shadows, his sharp features appearing even more defined and striking under the dim glow.

Xiao Jin didn’t like the clinging scent of pheromones on his body.

He frowned in irritation. Why do Omega pheromones always smell so awful?

Even an Alpha’s would be better.

Suddenly, he thought of Ruan Yan’s intoxicating, addictive scent.

Why is Ji Duan taking so long?

“Boss, I’m back!”

Ji Duan came up from downstairs, a bottle of whiskey in hand.

He handed it to Xiao Jin, his gaze flickering toward him now and then, hesitant to speak.

Xiao Jin caught the look and frowned, displeased.

“If you’ve got something to say, spit it out.”

Ji Duan knew Boss wasn’t in a great mood right now—after all, he’d even sent him down alone to grab the whiskey.

They were in Federal territory, which meant certain rules had to be followed.

Earlier, they had met with those slick old foxes from the Merchant Guild, and there had even been an Omega practically plastering himself onto Xiao Jin.

If the guy hadn’t been an Omega, Xiao Jin probably would’ve shot him on the spot.

The Merchant Guild had been difficult to deal with before, and now they were reaching out to apologize.

Ji Duan just hadn’t expected their idea of an apology to be the honey trap approach.

Right now, Boss was still fuming, so Ji Duan wasn’t sure whether he should speak up.

What if he gets even angrier?

Xiao Jin watched Ji Duan’s face shift through expressions.

He might be able to keep a straight face in front of outsiders, but in front of him? Ji Duan never could hide anything.

Xiao Jin kicked him.

“Spit it out.”

“Boss, just now when I was coming upstairs, I saw…” Ji Duan hesitated, then carefully chose his words.

“…sister-in-law.”

Xiao Jin: ?

Ji Duan knew about their contract, but he didn’t take it seriously in the slightest.

All those romance novels he’d read?

They all started with some contract, and in the end, the couple was begging to get married.

“What the hell are you shouting for?” Xiao Jin kicked him again. “He’s an adult. What’s wrong with going to a bar?”

Was he supposed to play dad and police whether the guy went out for drinks?

“Yeah, sure, he’s an adult, and there’s nothing wrong with going to a bar—but I just saw him upstairs, with some cheap, flamboyant flirt draped all over him!”

That was Ji Duan’s special way of referring to Zhou Shiyu.

Dressed provocatively, flaunting that head of pink hair, strutting around with a swaying backside—what else could he be but a shameless seductress?

Xiao Jin’s hand, which had been twisting open a bottle cap, paused mid-motion.

His gaze settled on Ji Duan.

A sharp chill ran down Ji Duan’s spine, and an invisible weight pressed down on him.

He knew this kind of pressure all too well.

Even though he had no idea what Boss’s pheromones actually smelled like, this suffocating dominance came from something instinctual—an innate submission to a superior rank.

Shit. Boss is really pissed off now!

But Xiao Jin didn’t think he was actually angry—just inexplicably uncomfortable.

He wasn’t someone with a high sex drive. Even though Ruan Yan had been by his side for two months, they’d barely slept together a handful of times. In fact, Ruan Yan was often too busy with his own school matters to even come over.

Xiao Jin had his own responsibilities as well. From the very beginning, their contract had been nothing more than a useless piece of paper.

He did his own thing, and he allowed Ruan Yan to do the same. He had even reviewed the background information Ji Duan had gathered—A University was one of the top schools in the Federation, and Ruan Yan, a medical student, spent most of his time in labs. It made sense that he was often unavailable.

That was something Xiao Jin could tolerate.

But for some reason, he couldn’t tolerate hearing Ji Duan say that the kid had gone to a bar—with some flamboyant flirt draped all over him.