“Dad! What’s wrong? Wake up!” Li Yan rushed to Lao Yue, who was lying on the ground. As he shouted, someone stepped out of the black Porsche parked in front of them.
It was a young female Omega, who looked no older than eighteen or nineteen, with fair skin and delicate features. Frowning slightly at the scene in front of the car, she spoke in a sweet, cutesy voice despite her irritation. “Ge1big brother, used for related or unrelated males, get out of the car quickly! We just hit someone!”
Du Lin emerged from the back seat, saying first, “I told you not to drive, but you insisted on trying it out.”
Looking down, Du Lin recognized the man on the ground—it was the regular from the basketball gym. Then, glancing at Lao Yue, who was groaning with his eyes half-closed and lying a considerable distance away from the car’s bumper, he realized the old man hadn’t been hit. He was pulling a scam.
Lao Yue shot Li Yan a meaningful glance as he lay there with his head resting on Li Yan’s lap. Li Yan raised his head and said, “How could you drive like that? Look, you hit my father…”
As he spoke, Li Yan suddenly recognized Du Lin. He thought to himself that Lao Yue really caught a big fish this time. Looking inside the car, he saw more passengers who seemed to be in a hurry. They’d likely pay up just to avoid wasting any more of their precious time.
With that in mind, Li Yan continued, “You need to take my father to the hospital immediately for a full examination. He can’t even stand. If something serious happens, we can’t afford any delays!”
Sure enough, the young lady’s expression soured after hearing this. “We’re in a hurry. I’ll call an ambulance for you. Just tell us how much you want, and we’ll pay.”
At that, Lao Yue groaned even louder, clearly satisfied with the situation.
“Well, that could work. You do seem to be in a rush. Give me 2,000 yuan, and I’ll take my father to the hospital myself. That way, you won’t be delayed.”
The young lady scoffed at the amount. Two thousand wasn’t worth their time. She immediately reached for her wallet in the driver’s seat.
“Hold on. You’re just going to pay because he says we hit him?” Du Lin stopped his sister from pulling out her wallet. “Does our car have a dashcam? Let’s check if this old man fell on his own or if we actually hit him.”
Lao Yue’s groaning suddenly quieted. His half-closed eyes blinked at Li Yan.
Also alarmed, Li Yan quickly backtracked. “If 2,000 is too much, then 800 yuan should be fair. The old man fell like this. You at least owe us for the x-ray and medicine.”
The young lady suddenly caught on and exclaimed, “Oh, right! We do have a dashcam! I was wondering why this old man collapsed in front of the car after passing by. He even rolled into the path like it was real. Turns out he’s trying to scam me!”
Du Lin, arms crossed, watched Li Yan, who was still half-cradling the old man in a show of filial concern. “Alright, enough wasting time. Get him up. We’re leaving. Other cars are waiting to pass. Show some decency, will you?”
Li Yan gritted his teeth and mustered the courage to speak. “That won’t do. My father can’t stand up right now. You owe us at least 800 yuan.”
Logically, second-generation rich kids wouldn’t fuss over a few hundred yuan. Why were they suddenly being so particular today? Their time should clearly be more valuable than a few hundred.
As expected, the female Omega, disgusted by Li Yan’s shamelessness, pulled out a wad of cash from her wallet, ready to throw it at them and be done with the situation. But just as she was about to, an arm stopped her.
Lin Sheng stepped out of the car. His gaze lingered on Li Yan for a moment, his brow furrowing slightly before his expression became unreadable. Finally, he spoke, “If he was really hit, then call an ambulance and take him to the hospital. We’ll cover the medical expenses.”
“Lin Sheng-ge, Xiao Hao and the others are waiting for us at the winery.” The Omega was clearly frustrated and surprised by Lin Sheng’s decision. “Besides, they’re obviously trying to scam us. Why bother taking scammers like them for a checkup?”
Lin Sheng’s eyes shifted to Lao Yue, then down to his leg. “Isn’t he bleeding? That should be checked promptly.”
Li Yan glanced at Lao Yue’s calf and saw a small wound with clotted blood. Under the high-tier Alpha’s intense gaze, Lao Yue shuddered and discreetly pinched Li Yan’s thigh.
Li Yan quickly said, “No, no. We don’t want to waste your valuable time.” He looked at Lao Yue’s blooded leg, guessing the wound had been scraped by the license plate. Not wanting the bloodshed to be for nothing, he backtracked again. “If 800 is too much, how about just 500?”
After hearing this, Lin Sheng turned to Du Lin. “Let’s go. We’ll take them to the clinic up ahead.”
Du Lin was taken aback. He looked at Li Sheng, puzzled by his actions. Lin Sheng was usually the one who disliked trouble the most, so he wouldn’t do anything unnecessary.
“Oh, come on. That old man’s filthy. Are we really letting them into our car?”
Seeing that they weren’t willing to let the matter go, Li Yan realized that if they actually got into the car, they might be taken somewhere to be taught a lesson. That would truly be bad luck.
“Exactly, exactly. There’s no need for that. If you don’t want to give it, just go.” Li Yan helped Lao Yue to his feet, picked up the walking stick, and the two prepared to leave.
Du Lin noticed that Lin Sheng didn’t seem inclined to stop them, so he remained silent. The group got back into the car, with Du Lin taking the wheel this time.
–
Later that evening, Lu Lianning returned to the Lu family mansion. Lu Anling was sitting on the sofa, reading an old newspaper, while Min Lingyu brought out freshly baked cookies. Seeing Lu Lianning enter, she smiled warmly and invited him to try one.
Min Lingyu wasn’t Lu Lianning’s biological mother; she was the Omega whom Lu Anling had married later. She was a petite and gentle Omega. Though her relationship with Lu Lianning wasn’t bad, it wasn’t particularly close either, and they got along well enough on the surface.
True to form, Lu Lianning respectfully took a cookie under her expectant gaze. It was a bit sweet, but he admitted it tasted pretty good.
Dinner that evening was mostly prepared according to Lu Lianning’s preferences. Midway through the meal, Lu Anling suddenly said, “The Omega from the Song family is nearly at the age for marriage. Old Song mentioned it to me recently. You should take some time this weekend to meet him.”
Without hesitation, Lu Lianning refused as he picked up his food, “No.”
Lu Anling said unhappily, “No? You’re not getting any younger. I’m not asking you to marry him right away—just to meet him.”
“I already have someone.”
“That Beta?” Lu Anling’s face was inscrutable, but his years of authority were evident, and his sharp gaze was piercing. “I don’t care who you’re with now, but it’s time for you to have a child. And if I recall, he’s even two years older than you.”
“What kind of joke is this? Betas can’t have children.” Lu Lianning found the demand both absurd and unreasonable.
However, Lu Anling’s eyes darkened, signaling that he was entirely serious. “Who says Betas can’t have children? Just because other Betas can’t, doesn’t mean one from our family couldn’t.”
Lu Lianning immediately understood what Lu Anling was suggesting. Typically, Betas couldn’t get pregnant. They could pair with Omegas, who could conceive, though the chances were lower than with an Alpha-Omega pairing. However, pregnancy from an Alpha-Beta pairing was exceedingly rare. But rare didn’t mean impossible.
In their social circle, those who truly wanted to father a child with a Beta could inject the Beta with an Omega catalyst. This drug was originally intended for Omegas with delayed development or incomplete differentiation.
However, it was strictly prohibited for use on anyone other than Omegas.
Betas lacked natural reproductive capabilities, but with the catalyst, their atrophied reproductive cavity could be forcibly stimulated to undergo secondary development. The process was long, and even if pregnancy occurred, natural childbirth would be impossible—necessitating a C-section.
The physical damage and pain a Beta would endure were at least twice as severe as what an Omega would experience.
Lu Lianning set down his chopsticks, letting out a cold laugh. “Did you call me here tonight just to discuss this?”
“He’s already 29, isn’t he? The longer you wait, the harder it’ll be for him to conceive.”
“Don’t even think about it. He’s not in good health,” Lu Lianning’s tone hardened as he brought it up.
Lu Anling was relentless, not holding back his harsh words toward his only son. “Not in good health? Now you care about him? Do you think I don’t know about the methods you used on him back then?”
Lu Lianning’s expression tightened, his lips pressing into a thin line as if struck by a sore spot. “That was in the past. Besides, he was disobedient back then.”
Lu Anling ignored his remark. “I don’t care about what happened before. If you’re unwilling to let him have a child, then you’ll meet the Omega from the Song family this weekend. Think it over carefully. Don’t make me force you—because you won’t like what happens if I do.” With that, he stood up, his back rigid, leaving no room for further argument.
Lu Lianning abruptly stood as well, feeling nauseous from the few bites he had managed to eat. He left the house, driving home at a speed that pushed the limits.
The meal had ended on bad terms. When he arrived home, he saw Li Yan feeding the cat through the fence again. The black-and-white stray cat had been fed so well by Li Yan over the years that it looked anything but stray—more like an overfed pet.
Li Yan was squatting there, a small portion of his back exposed, revealing his thin spine and the marks on his waist that Lu Lianning had left two nights ago.
Lu Lianning watched his figure as he walked away. Li Yan was already 29, and with his birthday at the end of the year, he’d be 30. Yet, he looked no different from when they first met, back when Lu Lianning was 22.
