At the mention of his pheromone disorder, Gu Yan’s eyes widened slightly.
“There are new treatment options?”
“Mm.”
Yi Heng had previously hesitated over whether he should repeat the doctor’s exact words.
He hadn’t wanted to place any additional psychological burden on Gu Yan.
But now, he realized that he shouldn’t underestimate him.
Besides, Gu Yan had every right to know the truth.
And so, Yi Heng told him everything about the actual condition of his gland.
Gu Yan clearly hadn’t expected the damage to be so severe.
He sat on the hospital bed in a daze for a while.
But he quickly pulled himself together and tried to control the release of his pheromones, just as he had before.
A faint trace of rose fragrance emerged, only to immediately weaken and retreat.
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t release any more.
“Then… what did the doctor say about the treatment options?”
Gu Yan lowered his eyes.
“What’s the first option?”
Could I really end up permanently disabled, unable to release pheromones ever again?
In some ways, that wouldn’t be much different from being a Beta.
But losing the ability to release pheromones didn’t mean his heat cycles would disappear.
He would still suffer through them, yet he would no longer be able to send his Alpha the signals that expressed his desperate need for comfort.
It felt as though something were obstructing his airway.
His gland was unnaturally hard and painfully uncomfortable.
He was like a child who had only just presented as a secondary gender, unable to master the basic skill of releasing and suppressing pheromones.
For a moment, he felt completely lost.
Fortunately, Yi Heng was right beside him.
A large, warm hand gently stroked the back of his, silently soothing the anxiety building in his heart.
“The first option is medication.”
“We would need to extract an Alpha’s pheromones and use them to prepare an injectable treatment. Once injected into your body, the medication would help guide the pheromones and clear the blockage.”
Yi Heng had barely finished speaking when Gu Yan blurted out,
“No! I’ll choose the second option.”
The first treatment was far too dangerous.
Whether someone was an Alpha or an Omega, extracting pheromones was an excruciating ordeal.
Although pheromones existed at high concentrations within the human body, the actual quantity was extremely small.
Even the slightest mistake during extraction could cause shock or even death.
The procedure itself was agonizing, practically comparable to undergoing brain surgery without anesthesia.
And the higher a person’s pheromone rank, the greater the risks involved in extraction.
Gu Yan would never allow Yi Heng to undergo such a procedure.
He absolutely refused to let Yi Heng risk his life for him.
“You haven’t even heard what the second option is, and you’ve already made your choice?”
Yi Heng couldn’t suppress a smile.
His eyebrows lifted slightly.
For the first time in more than a month, a rare trace of amusement appeared in his eyes.
Gu Yan’s expression remained determined.
“I’ve decided. Whatever happens, I’m definitely not choosing the first one.”
What treatment could possibly be worse than extracting pheromones?
Yi Heng studied Gu Yan’s unwavering expression and let out a soft sigh.
The young man was a little stubborn and somewhat impulsive.
Yet those very traits, which could hardly be called virtues, somehow made it effortless for Gu Yan to have him wrapped around his little finger.
“The second option is to wait until the wound on your gland has healed.”
“After that, I’ll release my pheromones every day to guide yours.”
“Throughout the treatment, I’ll repeatedly try to trigger your heat until we can stimulate your body into releasing pheromones again.”
“???”
Gu Yan’s complexion alternated between red and pale.
The tips of his ears, peeking out from beneath his hair, suddenly grew burning hot.
Yi Heng had maintained eye contact with him the entire time.
Gu Yan parted his lips, utterly speechless.
Anyone with even the most basic knowledge of secondary-gender physiology understood what it meant for an Alpha to deliberately induce an Omega’s heat.
It was practically the same as openly announcing that they intended to sleep together.
Once his heat began, the restless desire surging through his body would make him instinctively seek comfort and relief.
And he would need Yi Heng’s help to ease those sensations.
“So, do you still want to choose the second option?”
Yi Heng carefully observed Gu Yan’s expression.
He knew how easily Gu Yan became embarrassed, so he had no intention of forcing him.
Gu Yan’s fingers tightened slightly around the blanket, his knuckles turning faintly red.
There was really nothing to hesitate about.
He would still choose the second option.
The only reason he wasn’t answering was that his pitiful sense of embarrassment had decided to interfere.
Unfortunately, someone seemed determined to provoke him at precisely that moment.
“If you’re not going to answer, then we’ll go with the first option.”
Yi Heng rose to his feet, apparently preparing to inform the doctor of their decision.
Gu Yan immediately panicked.
He hurriedly reached out and grabbed Yi Heng’s arm.
“Stop! Wait… I’ll choose the second one!”
Yi Heng asked,
“Have you thought it through?”
“I-I have.”
“You’re certain you won’t change your mind?”
Gu Yan squeezed his eyes shut.
Never in his life had he found Yi Heng quite so infuriating.
“I won’t change my mind! I’m sure! Just stop asking me…”
Yi Heng finally abandoned his teasing, suppressing the smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
“Mm.”
A few days later, the wound on Gu Yan’s gland had healed.
When the bandages were removed, only a thin, pale scar remained, so faint that it was almost invisible unless someone looked closely.
The kidnapping case had also gone to trial.
Gu Yan had uncovered a considerable amount of evidence during his investigation.
Fortunately, the man from the repair shop still possessed a conscience.
Overwhelmed by guilt and remorse, he confessed to everything he had done and testified against Du Ting as a witness.
After considering the circumstances, the judge took into account that the man had been coerced into luring Gu Yan to his home.
His cooperative attitude and willingness to assist the investigation were also considered.
As a result, he received a sentence of only one year in prison.
The bodyguards who had accompanied Du Ting, along with the van driver, weren’t nearly as fortunate.
As accomplices who had directly inflicted physical harm upon the victim, they received prison sentences starting at five years.
During his testimony, the repair shop worker also mentioned Brother Jun, the man who had knocked Gu Yan unconscious inside the apartment.
Brother Jun was clearly a habitual criminal.
His methods were swift and efficient, and he was exceptionally skilled at concealing his movements.
Initially, the police had difficulty gathering enough evidence to charge him.
However, while searching the apartment, they discovered the hidden surveillance camera Gu Yan had planted.
With that crucial evidence in hand, the police immediately launched a manhunt.
Brother Jun was eventually apprehended at a highway toll station.
As for Du Ting, the mastermind behind the kidnapping, his crimes extended far beyond abduction and intentional assault.
He was also suspected of illegal surveillance and unlawful transactions.
With so many serious charges against him, he was effectively facing the prospect of spending the rest of his life behind bars.
Gu Yan attended the trial accompanied by Yi Heng.
Members of both the Yi and Gu families were seated behind them.
Du Ting’s mother, Yi Nantu, was also present.
She wore an entirely black outfit, her lips painted their usual striking shade of red.
Her expression remained perfectly composed.
Even when the final verdict was announced, she showed no visible reaction, as though she had already anticipated the outcome.
But the calmer she appeared, the more worried Mr. and Mrs. Yi became.
After all, the more intense a person’s emotions were, the more likely they were to bury those feelings deep inside.
After the hearing ended, Gu Yan limped toward the exit with his injured foot still wrapped in bandages, supported by Yi Heng.
Yi Heng had originally wanted to carry him on his back.
But Gu Yan had firmly and solemnly refused.
In fact, he hadn’t even wanted Yi Heng to support him at first, insisting that he could slowly make his own way outside.
Unfortunately, Yi Heng had issued a verbal warning.
“I’m your boyfriend. This behavior violates Article Ten of our agreement. Do you want to be punished?”
Someone happened to be passing by at that exact moment.
Gu Yan panicked and immediately clapped a hand over Yi Heng’s mouth.
“Fine! You can help me walk!”
As they passed the civil court section, they unexpectedly encountered Mr. and Mrs. Yi speaking with Yi Nantu around a corner.
“Nantu, why don’t you come over to our house for dinner tonight?”
Mrs. Yi gently held her sister-in-law’s hand.
Years of experience among wealthy socialites had taught her to maintain perfect control over her expressions.
Yet at that moment, even her carefully practiced composure was beginning to crack.
Her brows drew together slightly, her expression filled with complicated emotions.
Du Ting had undoubtedly committed unforgivable crimes.
But it had been Yi Heng who submitted every last piece of evidence against him, leaving nothing out.
As parents themselves, Mr. and Mrs. Yi couldn’t help putting themselves in Yi Nantu’s position.
Although they knew Yi Heng had done the right thing, they still felt a lingering sense of guilt toward her.
Yi Nantu gently withdrew her hand.
“I appreciate your kindness, Sister-in-law, but I have to make a trip to Qianzhou today. I won’t be able to join you.”
“Qianzhou? What are you going there for? Are you planning to visit someone in prison?”
Mr. Yi stared at his younger sister in surprise, clearly wanting to stop her.
But Yi Nantu had already guessed what he was thinking.
“There’s no need to persuade me.”
“Don’t worry. I’m only going to tell him what happened. I’ll be back tonight.”
“And neither of you needs to feel guilty toward me. Du Ting is responsible for what he did. This is the punishment he deserves.”
Gu Yan understood what she meant.
He turned slightly toward Yi Heng and asked in a daze,
“Don’t tell me your uncle by marriage was also…”
Yi Heng carefully adjusted the scarf around Gu Yan’s neck, gently brushing a fingertip past the corner of his eye.
“Mm.”
On the drive home, Yi Heng told Gu Yan about the relationships within his family and the major events that had shaped their lives.
He also shared stories about the difficulties and turning points he and Yi Feng had experienced while growing up.
In truth, Gu Yan had already learned fragments of these stories while investigating Du Ting.
But hearing them directly from Yi Heng felt entirely different.
The word boyfriend seemed to burn warmly in his chest.
He turned it over and over in his heart, savoring it endlessly without ever growing tired.
In the past, Yi Heng would never have told him these things.
There had been days when they spent almost every waking hour together yet barely exchanged a few words.
And even when they did talk, their conversations usually revolved around Gu Yan’s pheromone disorder or their arrangement to pretend to be lovers and discourage unwanted admirers.
But now, everything had changed.
Yi Heng, who had always been a man of few words, was opening himself up in the most straightforward and sincere way possible.
He was laying the pieces of his life before Gu Yan, allowing him to understand the person he truly was.
The years and memories that had once been beyond Gu Yan’s reach were gradually pieced together through Yi Heng’s words.
Scattered fragments were joined, missing pieces carefully restored, until the picture finally became complete.
Gu Yan gazed at the man sitting beside him.
Yi Heng’s brows were slightly furrowed as he thoughtfully recalled the past.
The warm winter sunlight streamed through the car window, settling gently over his figure.
Its soft golden glow blended unexpectedly well with the sharp, handsome lines of his usually stern face.
And in that moment, Gu Yan found himself drifting back to the day they had first met.
Yi Heng noticed Gu Yan staring at him intently.
“What’s wrong?”
Gu Yan shook his head.
“Nothing. I just think it’s kind of amazing.”
Their first meeting had been a complete accident, and the awkwardness that followed had been almost unbearable.
At first, Gu Yan had genuinely believed he and Yi Heng would end up becoming enemies.
Who could have imagined that fate would play such an enormous joke on them both?
Yi Heng took Gu Yan back to the hospital.
After Gu Yan fell asleep while reading in bed, Yi Heng adjusted the air conditioner to the most comfortable temperature and headed to the police station alone.
Before the trial, Yi Nantu had given him something and asked him to pass it on to Du Ting.
He could have gone directly after the hearing, since it was on the way.
But he hadn’t wanted to bring Gu Yan along.
To Yi Heng, allowing Du Ting even one more glimpse of Gu Yan would have been an unforgivable violation.
Du Ting’s sentence was to be carried out immediately.
He would be transferred to a prison in another city the following day.
Before the transfer, family members were permitted one final visit.
Du Ting sat behind the glass partition in the visitation room.
Just a few days in custody had transformed him almost beyond recognition.
His hair was as messy as a bird’s nest, dark stubble covered his chin, and his glasses hung precariously from the bridge of his nose, looking ready to fall at any moment.
The instant Yi Heng entered, Du Ting let out a derisive snort.
There was contempt in it, but also something else, an emotion that was difficult to describe.
If one had to put a name to it, perhaps the closest word would be grievance.
“What are you doing here? Come to kick me while I’m down?”
His handcuffs rattled as he spread his lips into a deranged grin.
“Congratulations! Now that you’ve gotten rid of me, you finally have nothing left to worry about in the company.”
A cold glint flashed through Yi Heng’s eyes.
His voice remained flat and indifferent as it passed through the small openings in the glass partition.
“You brought all of this upon yourself.”
“Ha!”
The fact that Yi Heng had never even considered him a worthy opponent filled Du Ting with bitter resentment.
It was as though he’d exhausted every ounce of strength attacking someone, only to discover that he’d inflicted absolutely no damage.
Du Ting gave a short, sharp laugh before falling silent again.
Then he stared darkly at Yi Heng.
“But I don’t regret it.”
“You’ve watched the surveillance footage, haven’t you?”
“How did it feel hearing your own Omega screaming in agony?”
“You should be thanking me. Without me, you never would’ve gotten to see that side of him.”
Beneath the table, Yi Heng’s fist clenched tightly.
If they hadn’t been inside a police station, Du Ting would already have been lying motionless on the floor like a corpse.
He ought to be grateful that the surveillance cameras here were keeping him alive.
Yi Heng ignored Du Ting’s deliberate attempts to provoke him.
Instead, he handed the item he’d brought to a police officer, who passed it through the partition.
Du Ting glanced at it disdainfully.
“What’s that?”
“A share transfer certificate.”
Yi Heng’s cold, businesslike attitude only irritated Du Ting further.
But Yi Heng had come solely to deliver the document on someone else’s behalf.
He had no intention of wasting any more time arguing.
“Stop right there! What the hell is this supposed to mean?!”
Du Ting stared at the words on the certificate, his pupils trembling as disbelief overwhelmed him.
The document stated everything in unmistakable black and white.
Yi Nantu had transferred all the shares she owned in the Yi Group into Du Ting’s name.
Seeing Yi Heng turn to leave, Du Ting’s eyes became bloodshot.
He could no longer maintain his composure.
He suddenly sprang to his feet and began pounding on the glass.
“Stop! Explain yourself! What the hell does this mean?!”
His mother had barely ever looked him in the eye.
How could she possibly have given him every share she owned?
“Sit down! Be quiet!”
A police officer holding a baton immediately stepped forward and restrained him.
Du Ting roared through clenched teeth.
“That’s impossible! Absolutely impossible!”
“You think you can fool me with some forged piece of paper? Dream on!”
Yi Heng stopped.
He glanced back at Du Ting through the glass partition.
“Although I have no obligation to explain anything to you, I’d still suggest taking a closer look.”
“The date on that certificate is from twenty years ago.”
“But now that you’re imprisoned and have been deprived of the relevant legal rights, the certificate is naturally void.”
With that, Yi Heng pushed open the door and left the visitation room.
Du Ting remained standing alone, completely stunned.
His body swayed, and he nearly collapsed.
As though he’d been stung by a venomous insect, he suddenly flung the document away.
His lips kept repeating the same words.
“Impossible… Impossible…”
How could Yi Nantu have transferred her shares to him so many years ago?
Hadn’t she always looked down on him as her son?
For years, he’d endured her cold remarks and cutting sarcasm.
Could all those looks of disgust she’d directed at him have been fake?
She hadn’t even wanted to use this one opportunity to visit him.
Instead, she’d sent Yi Heng in her place.
How could she possibly have regarded him as the heir to her fortune from the moment he was born?
But just as Du Ting wanted to pick up the certificate and examine it more carefully, his visitation time came to an end.
The police officer collected the paper from the floor.
“Let’s go.”
On the drive back from the police station, Yi Heng ran straight into the evening rush hour.
Traffic on the elevated highway was completely gridlocked for half an hour.
He repeatedly raised his wrist to check the time, estimating that Gu Yan had probably finished resting by now.
When he finally arrived at the hospital, he stopped downstairs to buy some food before heading up to Gu Yan’s room.
Looking up from downstairs, Yi Heng noticed that the windows of Gu Yan’s hospital room were completely dark.
He assumed Gu Yan was still asleep.
But the moment he opened the door, before he even had a chance to turn on the lights, a figure suddenly stumbled straight into his arms.
Yi Heng instinctively caught Gu Yan, only to be startled by the intense heat radiating from his body.
“Why are you in such a hurry? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”
He quickly set aside everything he was carrying and reached out to check Gu Yan’s forehead.
He didn’t have a fever.
But his entire body was trembling uncontrollably.
Even Gu Yan himself couldn’t understand what was happening.
The pheromones inside his body kept surging against his gland, leaving it painfully swollen and throbbing.
Yet no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t release them.
The unbearable pressure building inside him made him feel as though he were being suffocated from within.
Yi Heng switched on the light and carried Gu Yan back to bed.
Only then did he notice that Gu Yan’s eyes were already red.
Gu Yan wrapped both arms tightly around Yi Heng’s neck, refusing to let go.
He greedily breathed in Yi Heng’s familiar scent, unable to stop himself from nuzzling against his neck again and again, as though he desperately needed to be closer.
Yi Heng suddenly realized what was happening.
His gaze gradually darkened.
“…It’s time for your treatment.”
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