Chapter 44

After finishing the only meeting that required his physical presence, Lu Wei grabbed his laptop and headed home from the office.

The driver, following his instructions, drove as fast as possible, but to Lu Wei, it still wasn’t fast enough. Even now, he hadn’t received a single word from Lin Si—neither as Lu Wei nor as Y.

As the elevator ascended, Lu Wei kept his eyes fixed on the floor numbers. The moment the doors started to open, he moved toward the entrance at the fastest speed possible.

Apartment 2501 was eerily silent, unsettling him. Standing in front of the recognition system, he heard the familiar beeping sound.

The living room showed no signs of disturbance, and Lin Si’s bedroom door was closed.

Lu Wei knocked. When no response came, he called out in a low voice, “Lin Si.”

No sound from inside.

Turning around, he tossed his briefcase onto the couch as he passed and headed straight for the neighboring unit, 2502.

The dance studio—empty.

The recording studio—also empty.

Just as he was about to head back, Lu Wei suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Something was different in the room.

He reopened the door to the recording studio and looked toward Lin Si’s workstation. He clearly remembered picking up Lin Si’s sheet music last night and placing it on the desk.

Now, it was gone.

Lu Wei returned to 2501, resting his hand on the doorknob of Lin Si’s room. Without hesitation, he twisted it open.

Inside, everything appeared the same as yesterday—yet something felt missing.

He stepped in, removing his shoes, and placed his hand on the neatly folded blanket on Lin Si’s bed.

Lin Si never folded his blankets.

A few stuffed animals were also gone—the ones he treasured most and always kept by his pillow.

Lu Wei opened the wardrobe. Each section of clothing had been reduced by a quarter.

He pinched the bridge of his nose as exhaustion swept over him—he hadn’t slept all night and had worked nonstop for four hours.

Lin Si was gone.

To be precise—he had run away.

Lu Wei pulled out his phone and, using his “Lu Wei” identity, sent Lin Si a message:

[Not home?]

Lin Si never responded immediately to “Lu Wei’s” texts. After all, he wasn’t Y.

The scent of Omega pheromones still lingered faintly in the air. Lu Wei recalled arriving at the office that morning and hearing the whispered laughter of his employees—

“President Lu smells like Omega pheromones…”
“Did he just part ways with an Omega?”
“Looks like he’s really in love!”

At that moment, he had desperately wished what they said was true.

But Lin Si’s departure shattered that fragile hope.

In reality, Lin Si didn’t need his company at all. Lu Wei had insisted on working from home, convincing himself it was just to check on Lin Si’s condition.

Will the marked gland still hurt?

Will he mind that I marked him yesterday?

Can we still sit at the dining table and chat like before?

But Lin Si was gone.

Lu Wei closed the wardrobe and smoothed out Lin Si’s not-so-neatly folded blanket, reshaping it into a perfect square. Then, he let out a breath and leaned against the headboard, assuming the same posture as last night.

When he woke up again, the stars and moon were already high in the sky. He had no idea how long he had slept, but whether awake or asleep, he still hadn’t received a single message from Lin Si.

Without Lin Si, the house felt completely empty.

Lu Wei returned to the living room, sitting on the couch with his elbows resting on his knees, looking utterly lost.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a curled piece of paper. Reaching out, he picked up the note from the coffee table.

The handwriting was childish, simple.

[Thank you.]

Without hesitation, Lu Wei called him.

After three rings, someone picked up.

“Hello.”

The voice belonged to an unfamiliar man.

Lu Wei’s eyes narrowed. “Who are you?”

“I’m Lin Si’s friend,” the man replied. “You must be President Lu? Sorry, I saw that’s how he saved your number.”

It was 9:30 PM, and someone Lu Wei didn’t know had answered Lin Si’s phone. He had no time to dwell on the fact that, in Lin Si’s contacts, he was merely labeled as “President Lu.” His voice instantly turned cold. “Why are you answering his phone?”

“Oh, he’s in the recording booth, and his phone is outside.” The man seemed to sense Lu Wei’s displeasure and quickly added, “He asked me to take any work-related calls for him before he went in. President Lu… You count as work, right?”

“How much longer will he need?” Lu Wei asked.

The man dragged out a thoughtful “Hmm…” before replying, “He usually takes a long time when recording and doesn’t like being interrupted. Do you have something urgent?”

Lu Wei paused before saying, “No. But tell him to call me when he’s done.”

For some reason, the man chuckled before giving a proper reply, “Alright.”

Meanwhile, inside the recording booth, Lin Si sat still, staring blankly at his own shadow on the floor.

As soon as he found out Lu Wei was returning home that afternoon, he had made up his mind to leave. He had packed in a rush, but thanks to Liao Ji’s help, he hadn’t left anything behind.

This was the worst time for him to go out, yet he simply didn’t know how to stay under the same roof as Lu Wei—not in the next few days, at least. He had no idea how to face anything.

When Liao Ji asked why he didn’t just stay at Xijiang, Lin Si simply said he couldn’t stand Lu Wei’s scent right now. He needed a break after the temporary marking.

As a Beta who only had theoretical knowledge, Liao Ji had heard that Omegas tend to become unusually dependent on an Alpha’s pheromones after being marked. Lin Si’s reaction was new to him, but given Lin Si’s condition, he didn’t doubt his explanation.

As for Lu Wei’s scent on him—Lin Si could still smell it. No matter how many layers he wore, no matter how tightly he wrapped himself in a blanket, it was still there.

He had promised Liao Ji he wouldn’t run around recklessly or let anyone catch a whiff of his pheromones. After much pleading, he finally convinced Liao Ji to take him away from Xijiang.

But when he sat alone in the guest room at Liao Ji’s place, his mind spiraled with regret and restless thoughts. In the end, he simply begged Liao Ji to take him to the recording studio.

He thought—if he kept busy, maybe he wouldn’t feel this way.

Lin Si had his own private recording studio, and the regular staff were all Betas. Before heading out, Liao Ji sprayed him with a strong pheromone suppressor.

And so, he stayed there until night fell.

Someone knocked on the glass window. Lin Si looked up in confusion. The recording engineer, noticing he hadn’t made a sound for a long time, wanted to ask if there was anything he needed to modify.

Lin Si took off his headphones, stepped down from the high stool, and pushed open the recording studio door. “Sorry, I’m not in the right state today.”

The Beta who had answered Lu Wei’s call earlier smiled and handed him his phone. “Let’s record another time. I think there are still a few chords that could be adjusted.”

Lin Si nodded.

“Oh, by the way, you got a call—from some President Lu. He said to remember to call him back.” The Beta asked, “That Lu from your company?”

Lin Si unlocked his phone, swiped away the first call notification, and left it on the home screen. “Probably,” he said indifferently. He didn’t want to talk about Lu Wei, so he changed the subject. “Has Liao Ji come back yet?”

Just then, the door pushed open. Liao Ji walked in, carrying several bags of late-night snacks. “Forget the recording—come eat first.”

Lin Si sat aside, holding his phone. Liao Ji handed him a bowl of congee he had bought specifically for him. Lin Si slowly took spoonfuls while listening to the demos he had recorded earlier.

“I don’t know why, but the song feels sweet, yet your singing makes it sound so bitter.” The recording engineer teased. “What’s that movie called again? Something about missing you?”

“Missing You ’66.” Lin Si replied.

“That title alone sounds all sweet and sour.” The recording engineer pulled the meat off his skewer and poked the table with the bamboo stick. “What’s it about?”

Not wanting to spoil the plot, Lin Si just briefly summarized the characters—who they were and what they did.

“So it’s another classic melodramatic love triangle?” The Beta remarked.

Lin Si nodded. “Pretty much.”

“Well, to be fair, now that Omegas can erase lifelong marks, we don’t get to see those intense love-and-hate stories anymore. Back when we were kids and lifelong marking couldn’t be undone, there were those dramatic, gut-wrenching romances—like an Omega getting permanently marked by an Alpha they didn’t love, while their true love, their ‘white moonlight’ Alpha, had to tearfully let go.” The recording engineer laughed. “Then the Omega and the Alpha would go through endless angst, hating and loving each other, until one day… boom, love blossoms after all. Classic.”

Lin Si’s hand twitched, and the spoonful of congee spilled onto the table.

Liao Ji quickly grabbed some napkins to wipe it up. “What’s going on? How do you even manage to spill congee all over the table?”

Lin Si also took some napkins and helped clean up. “It was an accident.”

“Hahaha, Lin Si got dumbstruck by the dramatic TV plot,” the recording engineer teased, nudging his shoulder. “So tell us, there was that rumor about you dating an Omega before it got clarified—have you found an Omega you like yet?”

Lin Si just focused on drinking his congee and made a noncommittal “Mm.”

“Like hell he’s dating anyone,” Liao Ji said. “He doesn’t understand a thing.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the whole room burst into laughter. Someone even wished Lin Si success in marking an Omega before he turned thirty—even a temporary mark would do.

On the way back to Liao Ji’s place from the recording studio, Lin Si curled up in his seat like a withered cabbage, looking utterly deflated.

He pulled out his phone and saw a message from Lu Wei, sent half an hour ago.

Lu Yan: [Not coming home today?]

Lin Si tightened his grip on the phone and replied:

Lin Si: [President Lu, I have work these next few days, so I won’t be staying at home. I’m staying at my agent’s place—it’s closer to the recording studio.]

He took a deep breath and added:

[About last night, thank you for your help. I’m really sorry.]

Lu Wei only asked:

[Does your gland still hurt today?]

Lin Si lowered his gaze and lightly tapped the screen.

[No.]

Lu Wei: [When are you coming home?]

Lin Si knew he shouldn’t blame Lu Wei, but he couldn’t control his emotions. Right now, he just didn’t want to see him.

[I don’t know.]

Lu Wei, as he wished, didn’t respond further. Lin Si put his phone down and turned his gaze toward the thick car curtains, lifting a corner to look outside.

At 10:30 p.m., the city was just beginning its nightlife. The streets were bustling, filled with vibrant lights, but all he could think about was that empty tram stop where he and Y had once sat together.

A single dim streetlight—warmer than a thousand city lights.

And Bubble, the stray cat they had found at the tram stop.

A thought hit Lin Si—he had forgotten to feed Bubble today. Panicking, he quickly opened the app and tapped a few shortcut commands.

But Y seemed to have some kind of online alert set up, because the moment he finished feeding Bubble, a message popped up.

Y: [Are you there?]

Lin Si’s breath hitched. His fingers moved fast—he immediately went offline and pressed the phone against his chest.

A second later, Y called him.

Lin Si didn’t dare pick up. His fingers fidgeted, digging into the seat cushion, holding his breath until the call finally ended.

Then another message arrived.

Y: [Why didn’t you answer?]

Lin Si stared at the screen, a sour feeling welling up inside. It had only been a few days since he and Y got together—how had things ended up like this?

Lin Si: [I’m really busy these next few days. I might not be able to chat.]

Y: [Baby, can you please pick up?]

Lin Si turned his head away, sniffled, and didn’t know how to explain. He was afraid—would Y mind that, on the second day of their relationship, he had been temporarily marked by another Alpha? Would he be angry?

Lin Si clenched his fists, staying silent.

Y: [At least say something to me.]

Lin Si didn’t want Y to be this upset, but he also couldn’t pretend nothing had happened.

Lin Si: [I can’t take calls right now.]

After a long pause, Y finally responded.

[Baby, let’s meet up.]

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T/n: Well Our ML really can’t wait nd i guess neither could we Lol😏😂😂😏🫣 becoz really our poor Si cub is really gonna get the heart attack of his life after being marked by his own boyfriend that he didn’t even know who even is living in his home next door lol🤦🤦🤦😏😂 lol they are already in living situation 🤣🤣🤣🤣 well Stay tuned guys🥳😏 If you want to support me you can buy me a Ko-Fi or go to my paypal page. Happy Reading 🤩❤️