Chà Chà Novel

The company was unusually lively today.

From the moment Fu Baiqi began waiting for the elevator on the first floor, he heard coworkers and subordinates whispering everywhere. Their expressions were incredulous, their reactions so unrestrained that even he found them excessive.

Only when he shut his office door did he leave the restless atmosphere outside.

Gossip itself was nothing unusual.

Once, he had overheard people claiming that the Alpha who owned the healthy-food shop downstairs had been in prison and bore frightening scars.

Even people and events utterly unrelated to them could become conversation.

Fu Baiqi was accustomed to it.

Their repetitive work was monotonous enough. Gossip was one of their few ways to relax, something fresh poured into otherwise uneventful lives.

But today, their enthusiasm was exceptional.

Shortly before the team meetings, he passed the coffee area and found Director Zhang deep in conversation with his secretary.

One of the company’s longest-serving employees, the director was hardly young. Yet even he seemed fascinated.

As Fu Baiqi approached, he caught fragments such as “so strong.”

Director Zhang could not stop smiling.

“Off to the meeting, Fu? Let’s go together.”

Only in the meeting room did Fu Baiqi discover the subject of the day’s gossip.

Min Zhi.

After a week away, he looked nothing like someone who had been unwell. If anything, he appeared refreshed, his pheromones stronger than usual.

And they were not his alone.

Another scent lingered within them, warm yet delicate.

Fu Baiqi finally understood the excitement.

Pheromones entwined so intimately and intensely meant that Min Zhi had spent the week with an Omega he had marked.

Presumably the one they had encountered at the hospital.

Fu Baiqi frowned.

The scent merely seemed too familiar.

Too much like Fang Fengzhi’s.

Of course, resemblance was all it was.

In fact, Min Zhi’s formidable pheromones covered it so thoroughly that the original fragrance was almost impossible to distinguish.

Strictly speaking, Fu Baiqi could not identify the Omega’s scent at all. He had simply remembered that familiar figure, caught a faint similarity, and associated it with the same person.

With Fang Fengzhi.

He should not think that way.

He drank some water and suppressed his doubts.

After the meeting, Min Zhi gathered his things and headed out. Their eyes happened to meet.

Fu Baiqi greeted him.

Min Zhi paused.

It was only their usual polite exchange. Fu Baiqi appeared to suspect nothing.

Yet Min Zhi felt uncomfortable.

He nodded and looked away.

During Fang Fengzhi’s heat, he had bitten his gland countless times. He had also crossed the boundary in Fu Baiqi’s own apartment.

He had been lucid then.

He still remembered every detail, even Fang Fengzhi’s expressions.

Fu Baiqi knew nothing.

If he found out, claiming that Min Zhi had been helping would hardly justify it.

Besides, their marriage already had serious problems. This could become the spark that ended it.

The pheromones Min Zhi had left in Fang Fengzhi’s body were extraordinarily concentrated. A mark that deep would not disappear in a week. Even a month would be fortunate.

As before, Fang Fengzhi would have to remain at the villa until it faded.

Min Zhi briefly ran his tongue along his back teeth.

He should keep his distance during that time.

They were strangers, after all. Physical intimacy had already gone too far.

There could be nothing else.

Fang Fengzhi thought the same.

Their relationship therefore seemed to return to the days after Min Zhi had first lost control and marked him.

But something had changed.

An elusive atmosphere lingered between them—intimate, uncomfortable, impossible to dispel.

Last time, there had only been a mark.

This time was different.

They had been close enough that loose clothing could no longer erase the memories of what lay beneath it.

Once, Fang Fengzhi was working on his laptop on the living-room sofa when Min Zhi emerged from his study.

While getting water, he politely asked whether Fang Fengzhi wanted any.

Fang Fengzhi meant to decline, but Min Zhi was already filling a second glass without waiting for an answer.

“Thank you.”

Min Zhi brought it over.

Fang Fengzhi was leaning forward, his loose neckline slipping slightly. The accidental glimpse recalled their recent intimacy.

Noticing him approach, Fang Fengzhi stopped typing.

A hand set the glass on the table.

He looked up to thank him, only for their proximity to bring back memories that made his face burn.

He did not know where to look.

When their eyes met, it felt as though Min Zhi could see exactly what he was thinking. He became too nervous to speak coherently.

Fortunately, Min Zhi did not press him.

“Go to bed early,” he said, and turned away.

The heat remained in Fang Fengzhi’s face long afterward.

Back in the study, Min Zhi stood motionless at his desk.

Then, seemingly unaware of the temperature, he took a large swallow of hot water.

It rolled into his stomach. Only when the discomfort registered did he set the glass down, expressionless.

He had just seen Fang Fengzhi unguarded: slender ankles, a pale nape, the scabbed gland.

Looking at someone with improper intent was immoral.

But this did not count.

He was certain there had been nothing sexual in his observation. His heart had been entirely calm.

He had simply happened to see.

Yet when Fang Fengzhi lifted his head, Min Zhi’s gaze had moved to his face.

First, his lips.

He knew how soft they were.

Then his eyes.

He remembered how, when the corners reddened, the tiny beauty mark on his eyelid seemed to change color too, flushed as though warmed by fire.

Realizing where his thoughts had gone, Min Zhi clenched his teeth.

He had not dared look again.

Perhaps he had given Fang Fengzhi too many pheromones during his fever. Or perhaps this heat had fully relieved his needs.

This time, Fang Fengzhi did not seem desperate for his scent, nor did he appear to be enduring discomfort.

Then there was no need for Min Zhi to stay at the villa.

As before, he should leave Fang Fengzhi alone, wait until his gland recovered and he moved out, then return.

That would be the right thing to do.

They would not risk becoming intimate again.

Nor would they risk developing other feelings.

They would remain within the safe boundary until their only connection disappeared.

Min Zhi stared at the steam rising from his glass.

Expressionless.

For a long time, he did not move.

He was right that Fang Fengzhi no longer craved his pheromones as desperately.

But that was temporary.

After a mark—especially one so deep—Fang Fengzhi was almost bound to him. He would become attached to Min Zhi’s scent, and, without intending to, to Min Zhi himself.

He said nothing.

How could he explain such a thing?

Sometimes, at night, his body grew warm. He endured it alone.

Compared with the past, it was not particularly difficult.

The night before, Min Zhi had reasoned everything through.

Yet the next day, he returned straight to the villa after work as usual.

He was later than normal.

Unexpectedly, Fang Fengzhi was not home.

Min Zhi went to the study, finished reviewing the documents he had brought from work, added several comments, and sent them to his subordinates.

Still, no sound came from the entrance.

He left the study and unlocked his phone, tapped aimlessly, then switched the screen off again.

The housekeeper noticed him.

“Won’t you wait for Mr. Fang to eat together?”

Min Zhi paused.

Then he headed toward the dining room.

“No need.”

As he spoke, the front door opened softly.

The housekeeper passed him.

“Mr. Fang, you’re back. Come and have dinner.”

The Omega’s voice sounded behind him.

“All right.”

Min Zhi picked up his chopsticks.

A few minutes later, Fang Fengzhi entered, greeted him politely, and sat diagonally opposite.

Min Zhi glanced over.

Seeing his tired face, he said nothing and continued eating.

Fang Fengzhi lowered his eyes.

He was in a terrible mood.

Two days earlier, he had transferred his savings to Fu Baiqi’s mother.

If they divorced, the Fu family would certainly bring up the debt first. It was not enough, but at least he had repaid part of it.

That morning, she had apparently noticed the transfer and called.

Remembering that she had recently been unwell, Fang Fengzhi cautiously raised the divorce.

Unexpectedly, she said little.

She merely insisted on meeting him.

In his current condition, he could not possibly see her.

He could only offer one excuse after another.

Eventually, she lost patience and stopped concealing her hostility.

Fu Baiqi’s parents were highly educated. They never swore, but when angry, they chose the most hurtful words, each one aimed directly at a person’s vulnerabilities.

First came his impoverished family.

Then his inadequacies.

Finally, she brought up his dead mother.

Every fact that made Fang Fengzhi feel ashamed became a blade in her hands.

Unable to listen any longer, he ended the call.

Sweat covered him. He felt as though half his life had been drained away.

A full day’s work was exhausting enough without having to endure Fu Baiqi’s mother venting her resentment.

He felt close to breaking.

Only now, breathing Min Zhi’s pheromones, did he relax a little.

After dinner, Min Zhi returned to the study.

His scent gradually faded from the air.

As it faded, Fang Fengzhi’s unease grew.

He undid a button.

He felt as though he could scarcely breathe.