Pheromones began to spread silently, and Min Yang frowned as he forcefully pulled back the tendrils of pheromones that were about to wrap around Tang Zhe’s ankles.
Min Yang turned a stern gaze toward Tang Zhe. “I don’t—”
His tone was harsh as he started to say, “I don’t need your protection.” But before he could finish, he saw Tang Zhe blinking slowly at him.
Tang Zhe had inherited his mother’s large, round eyes, and when he looked at someone with that innocent expression, he resembled a defenseless young creature.
That’s right, Min Yang thought. Even though he’s just a defenseless young creature himself, he still… wants to protect me.
This thought only made Min Yang feel more conflicted. “Why are you looking at me like that? I’m not falling for it.”
Tang Zhe hadn’t even responded when Min Yang’s pheromones, despite his efforts to control them, gently and hesitantly brushed against Tang Zhe’s ankles. Min Yang’s expression darkened as he angrily pulled his pheromones back.
Min Yang emphasized, though it wasn’t clear if he was trying to convince Tang Zhe or himself, “I’m not falling for it!”
Tang Zhe sighed inwardly, thinking to himself how strange rutted Alphas were—why were they so stubborn?
Tang Zhe thought for a moment, then followed Min Yang’s lead. “Mm, Mr… Mr. Min is… is the best.”
“Mr… Min can… can take care of… of himself.”
Min Yang nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly. “Mm.”
Tang Zhe, still mindful of the breakfast in the kitchen, asked, “Then… can I… can I go back and… and make breakfast?”
Min Yang: “No.”
Tang Zhe tried to reason with him, “But… but we haven’t… eaten breakfast yet.”
Min Yang seemed to understand. He frowned in thought for a long time before reluctantly releasing his hold on Tang Zhe.
“Be quick,” Min Yang ordered.
When Tang Zhe went downstairs, the butler was still in the kitchen. Before they could say anything, a loud, drawn-out cough echoed from behind them.
Min Yang had somehow followed them down. “Ahem!”
Both Tang Zhe and the butler turned around in unison. Embarrassed and annoyed, Min Yang snapped, “What are you looking at? My throat just hurts!”
Tang Zhe: …
Butler: …
The butler couldn’t shake the chill running down his spine. After serving breakfast, he quickly found an excuse to leave. Once it was just Min Yang and Tang Zhe left in the house, Min Yang’s “throat problem” seemed to improve. Leaning against the glass door, Min Yang watched Tang Zhe bustling about and grumbled, “Why is it taking so long?”
Tang Zhe approached him. “Wh… why did you… come down?”
Min Yang’s rut was clearly approaching, with his pheromones fluctuating between stable and unstable. Tang Zhe was worried.
Min Yang replied, “Why? If I hadn’t come down, would you two have had a nice little chat?”
Tang Zhe: …
It seemed like there was no point in continuing this conversation.
As Min Yang’s rut grew more intense, an issue arose at the Min family’s company.
Even with the temporary marking, it still required a significant amount of time, but the situation was urgent, and Min Yang had to deal with it immediately.
Despite several strong doses of inhibitors, Min Yang was drenched in cold sweat. His father, the elder Min, didn’t care about his son’s condition, calling one after another, urging Min Yang to resolve the problem quickly.
Tang Zhe held Min Yang’s hand, listening to the barrage of urgent phone calls. For once, he was genuinely angry.
“Mr… Mr. Min.” Tang Zhe looked at Min Yang with concern.
Min Yang had been glaring coldly at the endless stream of missed calls on his phone, his eyes filled with dark malice. But the moment Tang Zhe’s warm hands covered his, he felt a delayed sense of warmth.
The harsh winter receded, and in the solitude of a frozen mountain, a single tree began to bloom.
“I’m fine,” Min Yang said, looking down at Tang Zhe.
Tang Zhe was clearly still worried. “I… I’ll go… with you.”
“I’ll protect you,” Tang Zhe earnestly told Min Yang.
In the end, Min Yang brought Tang Zhe along, but surprisingly, the issue at the company was resolved quickly. However, that was what was abnormal. Considering how the board had been relentlessly calling, the problem should have been far more complicated.
By the time Min Yang realized something was wrong, it was too late. A group of well-trained black-clad bodyguards had already burst in.
“Well, well, big brother, you seem to be doing well.”
Amidst the silence, someone finally arrived. Following the gaze of the others, Min Yang saw his half-brother, the same father, different mother, standing at the door.
“You’re still sitting up straight, brother. It seems like you’re in good health,” the brother commented, casually inspecting his fingernails before meeting Min Yang’s gaze.
Only then did everyone notice the incense burning in the reception room, and their faces immediately changed.
The brother leisurely paced back and forth. “Don’t worry, this is some very rare stuff,”
He elongated his words, “Only effective on top-tier Alphas, especially those nearing their rut.”
“Brother, it must be hard to suppress your rut like this, right? Don’t worry, it’s going to get much worse.” The brother signaled to the bodyguards, and one of them stepped forward, gripping Min Yang’s shoulder with iron-like fingers. As Min Yang struggled, he noticed the emblem on the bodyguard’s chest.
It was a distorted “Tang” character.
The largest mercenary group in Country A, and one of their leaders bore the surname “Tang.”
The brother noticed Min Yang’s gaze and smiled even wider. “Ah, so big brother has finally noticed?”
“Trying to bargain with the tiger,” Min Yang muttered darkly.
“Mr. Tang had long planned to return to the country, and I merely lent a helping hand. It’s mutually beneficial, you see. Big brother, you must be getting a bit confused to not see the situation clearly.”
The brother had been in contact with the Tang family for some time, and over the years, members of the Tang family had gradually returned to the country. While rumors suggested they were just minor branches of the Tang family, the brother didn’t fully understand what was happening within the Tang family. Still, the reputation of being the largest mercenary group in Country A was enough for him to approach them with utmost sincerity. The brother didn’t understand why Min Yang had passed up such an opportunity, but it worked out well for him—if his brother lacked the foresight, then he couldn’t be blamed.
Min Yang’s head began to swim, and the pheromones he had forced down with inhibitors started boiling over, as if trying to burst from his veins. Cold sweat dripped down his forehead.
Two black-clad bodyguards pinned Min Yang’s shoulders, and for a moment, the Alpha couldn’t break free.
Tang Zhe had been waiting in the office one floor below, but when he felt the instability in Min Yang’s pheromones, his expression changed immediately.
“Mr… Mr. Min!” Tang Zhe didn’t bother with the elevator, sprinting up the stairs in just a few steps. The atmosphere in the reception room was tense, and with just one glance, Tang Zhe recognized the mercenaries disguised as bodyguards.
“Is this your wife?” A voice, full of ill-intent, echoed in the reception room as the brother looked at Tang Zhe with a wicked grin.
“Hello, wife,” the brother whistled at Tang Zhe.
“A wife who can’t even speak properly, yet she’s here to defend big brother.”
The brother clapped his hands. “Such deep feelings.”
“Tang Zhe, leave.”
Min Yang’s expression darkened even further. “Min Cheng, this is between us. Don’t drag anyone else into it.”
“Brother, you still consider such a pretty wife an outsider? She’ll be heartbroken.”
Two of the black-clad “bodyguards” blocked Tang Zhe from entering the reception room. Seeing that something was wrong, the board members quickly left one by one, leaving only Tang Zhe, Min Yang, and the brother in the room.
As the brother spoke, he moved closer to Tang Zhe, seemingly captivated by Tang Zhe’s looks, and reached out to grab his chin.
Min Yang clenched his fists, a flash of malice in his eyes.
But before Min Yang could make his move, there was a loud “bang,” and the two bodyguards blocking Tang Zhe were simultaneously kicked away, both crashing to the ground in the same pose. In the next instant, before the brother could react, there was a sickening “crack” as his left wrist was forcibly snapped.
Tang Zhe smiled apologetically at the brother, responding to his initial greeting, “Hello… little… brother.”
“But… but a child… should speak… politely to… to their elders.”
Tang Zhe wasn’t very good at scolding people, so he had to think hard to come up with that line.
The brother’s wrist throbbed with pain, his eyes filled with rage as he was about to curse out loud. But before he could, Tang Zhe grabbed his right wrist.
Tang Zhe slowly repeated, “Speak… politely.”
Brother: …
The brother wanted to curse, but the excruciating pain left him sweating profusely, and he couldn’t muster the strength.
The mercenaries exchanged glances, preparing to advance when a group of Alphas who had just finished eating barbecue casually walked up.
The real members of the Tang family had arrived.
“Big brother.” Leading the group was the mercenary who had previously recognized Tang Zhe as their “big brother.” Of course, today he wasn’t dressed in black but rather wore the uniform of a barbecue shop employee.
Tang Zhe pursed his lips, about to speak, but the mercenary grabbed the bodyguards one by one and tossed them out like they were nothing more than small chickens. “Where did these weaklings come from? And they’re wearing the Tang family emblem?”
Brother: …
The brother was left speechless, collapsing to the floor.
Tang Zhe ignored the brother and turned to Min Yang.
Min Yang looked at Tang Zhe with a mix of emotions. “You really are protecting me, huh?”
Tang Zhe nodded.
Tang Zhe: “I… I don’t lie.”
Min Yang: …
Tang Zhe remembered the scene he had witnessed when he entered and asked Min Yang with concern, “Does… your shoulder… hurt?”
Min Yang: “Yes.”
Min Yang glanced at his Omega, who could kick an Alpha across the room, and added, “They were pinning my shoulder down, like they were made of steel.”
Tang Zhe: “Should I… should I handle them?”
Min Yang: “Alright.”
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