The Omega smiled and thanked them, closed the umbrella, and got into the passenger seat.
Ming Shao’s coat was on the passenger seat, so when Shen Luo got into the car, he sat in the back.
Now, the Omega hugged the coat close, even taking a small sniff of the Alpha’s scent on the collar, acting as if they were extremely familiar with each other. The Omega adjusted the coat’s collar and only then seemed to notice there was someone else in the car. Turning around with a smile, the Omega greeted Shen Luo.
“And who might this be?”
“Shen Luo.” Shen Luo forced a smile, feeling like something was clawing at his heart, making it impossible to even muster a proper smile.
It wasn’t surprising that the Omega didn’t recognize him.
After all, Shen Luo and Ming Shao were only married on paper. The Alpha had been too busy with work to even hold a wedding ceremony, and naturally, he hadn’t publicized their relationship.
“Shen… Luo?” The Omega seemed to be searching their memory for the name, but came up empty. “Ming-ge’s colleague?”
The Omega turned to Ming Shao, as if seeking confirmation.
Shen Luo wasn’t a colleague, though he had the same thought. Just as he was about to respond, he noticed the Omega had already turned their attention to Ming Shao, as if waiting for him to provide the answer.
Shen Luo’s forced smile turned cold as he realized that Ming Shao might deny their relationship altogether. Despite the sinking feeling, a tiny part of him still held a sliver of hope.
Ming Shao didn’t take his hands off the steering wheel. He simply replied that Shen Luo was a distant relative from the Ming family, three years younger than him. The Omega used to play with Shen Luo’s older brother when they were kids. When Shen Luo and Ming Shao got married, the Omega was studying abroad. Ming Shao hadn’t paid much attention to their relationship or offered any explanation. The Omega must have just recently returned to the country.
The Omega seemed to accept this explanation, but Shen Luo could tell that they weren’t too pleased, especially with the way they behaved in the front seat.
The ride, which should have been uneventful, now felt uncomfortable. Shen Luo was wearing his most ordinary jacket and felt completely out of place.
He wasn’t expecting Ming Shao to stand up for him, let alone take care of him.
“Ming Shao-ge,” the Omega spoke up again after not getting a response earlier.
“He’s not a colleague, just—” Ming Shao paused, as if considering something, before deciding not to clarify his relationship with Shen Luo. “Never mind, just give me the coat. Where are you heading?”
“Where else could I go? It’s raining too heavily to go anywhere—” the Omega pouted, tossing the coat back to Ming Shao.
“Aren’t you going home? Aren’t you worried about what your brother will think?”
“What’s there to worry about? I’ll just tell him I’m staying over at Ming Shao-ge’s place. We’re close like that.”
The Omega chatted away with Ming Shao, completely ignoring Shen Luo, as if they were in their own little world. Meanwhile, Shen Luo was left feeling isolated, as if he was no longer part of the conversation.
The forced smile on Shen Luo’s face slowly crumbled. His hands, resting beside him, clenched into fists, his knuckles turning white. The fabric of his clothes bunched under his tight grip, forming deep wrinkles. It wasn’t until his fingers started to go numb that he snapped back to reality.
Just in name only, Shen Luo thought.
Just a marriage of convenience? Just business partners?
Just someone who didn’t matter?
That tiny sliver of hope was crushed, and Shen Luo suddenly felt how ridiculous he was being.
He shouldn’t have had any expectations, right? Ming Shao picking him up today was probably just because it was convenient. It was foolish of him to think that the Alpha had gone out of his way for him.
How laughable it was, Shen Luo thought.
The Alpha had picked someone up along the way, and here he was, trying to mend his broken heart.
Wasn’t it just absurd?
With his hands growing colder by the moment, Shen Luo leaned his head against the window and looked outside.
His eyes stung, as if the heavy rain outside had seeped into his heart. He raised a hand to wipe his face, and sure enough, it was damp.
The Omega kept talking all the way home, and when they arrived, the Omega naturally held the umbrella for Ming Shao. The two stood so close together that it seemed like they might…
Shen Luo glanced at Ming Shao and the Omega, but he couldn’t bear it any longer. He turned around and practically fled the scene.
He didn’t dare look back, didn’t even dare listen, but the Omega’s voice still reached him through the rain.
“Ming Shao-ge, can I stay over for the night?”
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