As everyone knows, a senior high school student’s winter break is never complete. The final exams don’t mark the end of the semester, and after the parent-teacher meeting, everyone has to return to class.
But Jiang Wan had company matters to attend to, so he took a sick leave to skip the winter break make-up classes.
Che Chenying had been watching for a few days and noticed that Jiang Wan hadn’t shown up at all, so he immediately went to find Dou Ming.
“You’ve known his true identity all along, so why didn’t you expose him?” Che Chenying sneered in disgust. “Isn’t it gross? A 25-year-old man pretending to be our peer.”
Dou Ming looked at Che Chenying expressionlessly.
Che Chenying flinched, taking a step back, but still didn’t back down. “What? Am I wrong?”
He tossed the materials he had gathered in front of Dou Ming. “See for yourself! He’s always going to this one café where lots of Alphas dress as butlers to serve rich Omegas. His private life is a mess. You two aren’t even on the same level.”
Dou Ming opened the materials. There were many photos, mostly of the café, showing Alphas dressed in uniforms, surrounding Omegas, serving tea, massaging shoulders, and waiting on them hand and foot.
In one of the photos, the Omega did somewhat resemble Jiang Wan.
Dou Ming carefully put the photos away.
Che Chenying thought Dou Ming had believed him and said smugly, “See? Now you understand I’m the better choice, right? Sure, I smoke, drink, and perm my hair, but I know I’m a good Omega. Omegas like Jiang Wan might look pure, but they’re just sluts. Think about it—how can an Omega like him control the Jiang family? How could he clean up their shady business unless he climbed up the ranks by selling his body? And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Who knows how messy his life really is? He’s probably slept his way through both the underworld and high society.”
Dou Ming lifted his gaze and gave Che Chenying a cold, deadly look. That one glance sent shivers down Che Chenying’s spine, silencing him at last.
Che Chenying felt wronged. Everything he said was the truth. Why didn’t Dou Ming believe him? Jiang Wan was just a slut, having deceived his dad for so many years and now trying to corrupt Dou Ming as well.
Dou Ming dialed 110 and, after giving the address, said, “Hello, police? There’s an Alpha here about to beat an Omega to death. Please hurry.”
“?” Che Chenying froze, and then his entire body went cold. He turned to run, but it was too late. As soon as he moved, a heavy kick landed square on his back.
Dou Ming said, “I don’t want to become a murderer because of trash. Jiang Wan and I still have a bright future ahead.” He looked down at his trembling hands, hoping the police would arrive soon.
His heart was filled with a rage on the verge of explosion, teetering on the edge of losing control.
Jiang Wan was his Omega—his.
No one could slander him. No one.
When Jiang Wan arrived at the police station, it was already 10 p.m.
Through the iron bars, he glanced at Dou Ming.
The young Alpha sat in the corner, head buried in his knees, the very picture of isolation.
The officer handling Jiang Wan’s case said, “He called the police himself. When we arrived, that Omega was already black and blue. He’s lying in a hospital bed now.”
Jiang Wan’s face remained emotionless. “Oh, he’s not dead?”
The officer was dumbfounded. They had received special instructions from above to treat Mr. Jiang with leniency, but wasn’t this attitude a bit too dismissive of the law? They still had to follow procedure. An Alpha beating an Omega wasn’t a small matter. If they hadn’t kept things tightly under wraps, this would have already made the news.
Although, after reviewing the security footage, even the officer thought that Omega’s mouth had been really asking for it. If Jiang’s Alpha hadn’t restrained himself, that Omega would probably be dead. Given that he only suffered minor injuries and didn’t even need the ICU, it was clear the Alpha had shown considerable restraint.
“Mr. Jiang, since it was your Alpha who used force,” the officer timidly reminded, “if we can’t get the Omega’s forgiveness, your Alpha may end up with a criminal record. He’s still young, and that wouldn’t look good on his file.”
“It’s okay. We’ve already forgiven him,” someone else answered the officer.
The officer turned and saw Che Jun, the well-known local entrepreneur and father of the Omega who had been beaten.
He couldn’t help but feel like this was some kind of surreal fantasy. Was this really his biological child?
Che Jun hurried over to the iron bars, glanced at Dou Ming in the corner, and then turned to Jiang Wan with a raised brow. “Jiang Ge, did the kid get scared?”
Jiang Wan let out a cold laugh, his beautiful face devoid of any warmth. His icy demeanor was a stark contrast to the usual smiling expression he wore in front of Dou Ming.
“What do you think?” he replied coldly. “Che Jun, if Dou Ming ends up traumatized because of this, I’ll skin Che Chenying alive.”
Che Jun swallowed nervously and bowed ninety degrees. “Jiang Ge, I sincerely apologize. I only have one child, so I might have spoiled him a bit.”
Jiang Wan stared at the top of Che Jun’s head but didn’t tell him to straighten up right away. His voice remained cold. “I also only have one Alpha.”
The officer stood there, dumbfounded. He looked at the iron bars, confirming that it was indeed Jiang’s Alpha in the detention cell and Che’s son who was in the hospital.
So why was Che Jun apologizing so profusely to Jiang Wan?
The officer rubbed his eyes, thinking he was overworked and hallucinating.
But no matter how hard he rubbed his eyes, the scene remained the same: Che Jun bowing deeply, full of apologies to Jiang Wan.
For a moment, the officer was at a loss for words.
“When Che Chenying wakes up, have him come and apologize in person,” Jiang Wan said, though his anger was mostly directed at Che Jun. The priority now was to get Dou Ming home for some psychological intervention. “Sign the letter of forgiveness, and then I’ll take him home.”
Che Jun straightened up, smiling. “Yes, yes, of course. That’s only right.”
The officer numbly brought out the letter of forgiveness, having both Che Jun and Jiang Wan sign it. Under Jiang Wan’s gaze, he quickly unlocked the cell door.
Dou Ming still sat in the same spot, unmoving.
Jiang Wan walked inside, squatted down, and hugged Dou Ming. “It’s okay now. Let’s go home.”
Dou Ming slowly lifted his head, revealing his bloodshot eyes, his expression full of confusion and unease.
Jiang Wan smiled and patted Dou Ming’s head. “It’s not your fault. Some people just need to be taught a lesson by society.”
But Dou Ming shrank back. “Aren’t you afraid?”
Jiang Wan laughed. “Afraid of what?”
“Afraid that I’ll abuse you in the future,” Dou Ming said, his voice weak and filled with deep fear for the first time.
Outside the cell, Che Jun couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “You, abuse Jiang Ge? Kid, you’re overthinking it. It’s already lucky enough that he doesn’t abuse you.”
The officer, with a deadpan face and lifeless eyes, thought: Is that the point? This young man is clearly terrified of his own loss of control and violence. Shouldn’t you be considering some emotional management training for him?
Jiang Wan patted Dou Ming’s shoulder. “Did you hear that? I’m not afraid of you at all.” He stood up and extended his hand to Dou Ming. “Now, can you come home with me?”
Dou Ming hesitated, but when he took Jiang Wan’s hand, it was still warm, dry, and soft as always, with no hint of tension or stiffness.
Only then did he hesitantly stand up, letting Jiang Wan lead him out of the police station.
Outside, the Maybach was waiting, but Jiang Wan waved it off and didn’t get in, choosing instead to walk slowly toward home with Dou Ming.
The driver followed at a slow pace behind them.
The stars were dim, and the moonlight was faint—it wasn’t a good night.
After walking for a long time, Dou Ming finally spoke up in a low voice. “How is he?”
Jiang Wan guessed that “he” referred to Che Chenying and responded briefly, “He’s not dead.”
Dou Ming made a soft “oh” and then fell silent again.
Jiang Wan chuckled. “Che Chenying isn’t very good at gathering information. If he knew more, he wouldn’t have just labeled me as having a ‘messy private life.’ There’s also ‘ruthless and merciless.’ If you hadn’t beaten him up, according to the rumors, I would’ve thrown him into the ocean to feed the fish.”
Dou Ming frowned, and the scent of cedar enveloped Jiang Wan. “You’re not like that.” He hated it when Jiang Wan used such negative terms to describe himself.
“Oh, so you still believe in me?” Jiang Wan teased. “I thought you felt so guilty that you regretted everything.”
Dou Ming frowned even deeper. “I don’t regret it. I just…”
“You’re just an eighteen-year-old boy,” Jiang Wan stopped walking and reached up to pinch Dou Ming’s stiff face. “So don’t be too hard on yourself, okay? If you don’t act impulsively, you’re not a real teenager. So what if you beat up an Omega? I’ve got your back, what’s there to be afraid of?”
“But I’m an Alpha…”
Every Alpha is taught from a young age to protect every Omega they see.
“You’re my Alpha,” Jiang Wan replied. “You hurt another Omega to protect me. What, am I not worth it?”
Dou Ming shook his head.
Jiang Wan spread his hands.
Dou Ming took a deep breath, looking at Jiang Wan, who was smiling but whose eyes were filled with concern. Suddenly, Dou Ming felt like he had been overthinking things. What kind of Alpha wouldn’t react when someone called their Omega a “slut”?
Why doubt himself over this, thinking he had a violent streak or skewed values? He was just making his Omega worry for no reason, and that wasn’t being a good Alpha.
With his mind cleared, Dou Ming whispered, “No matter what, I’ll always stand by your side and protect you. You’re my Omega, and you’re worth it.”
Jiang Wan nodded. “Mm-hmm.”
Dou Ming continued, “But I’ll find better ways to do it so you don’t have to clean up my mess.”
Jiang Wan nodded again. “Mm-hmm.”
After Dou Ming finished summarizing his thoughts and was sure he wouldn’t resort to domestic violence in the future, he breathed a sigh of relief and raised his arms, wanting to hug Jiang Wan and say, “Thank you.”
But Jiang Wan stepped back, crossed his arms, and looked at him. “What else?”
Dou Ming was confused. “What else?”
Jiang Wan grinned. “When did you find out my real identity, Dou Ming?”
Dou Ming tried to remain calm. “Not that long ago.”
Jiang Wan reminisced, “So all those times you said in front of me that you were going to ask your ‘Jiang Ge’ for money, you weren’t teasing me on purpose, right?”
Dou Ming’s body stiffened, and his expression became serious. “Of course not, I didn’t know back then.”
“Heh.” Jiang Wan’s smile faded, and he turned to get into the car. “Let’s go.”
Dou Ming hurried to follow, but when the driver was about to open the door for him, he was stopped by a sharp glare from Jiang Wan.
The driver, now afraid, hit the gas and sped off without looking back.
Dou Ming stared at the disappearing car in a daze, only now realizing that this time, he had truly made Jiang Wan angry.
