“If you feel guilty, then make it up to them yourself! What right do you have to make Yijin do it?!”
“She's already like this! Do you think she isn't dying fast enough?!”
“Xie Fan! If Jiang Zui really marries Yijin, I'll divorce you! I'll never forgive you for the rest of my life!”
“Go to the Jiang family right now! Tell Jiang Zui, tell Jiang Huaisheng! Xie Yijin will not marry Jiang Zui!”
“Yijin would like Jiang Zui?! Bullshit! She has absolutely no interest in Alphas!”
Inside the villa, Jiang Zhaohua chased Xie Fan up and down all three floors with a laser sword. Hundreds of security guards saw what was happening and didn't dare look too closely. They stood like wooden posts while listening to Xie Fan being chased all over the house, the dignified general now in an utterly miserable state.
“Run, run, run! If you've got the nerve, then stop!” Jiang Zhaohua was panting from the chase. She stopped in the hallway to catch her breath and shouted at Xie Fan, who had hidden behind the living-room sofa, “Go cancel this marriage right now! Immediately!”
Once Xie Fan made a decision, there was no possibility of changing it. “No.”
Jiang Zhaohua's temper exploded. She thundered downstairs. “Xie Fan! I'm gonna kill you!”
Just then, Song Chang'an came hurrying in carrying several packages of different sizes.
“General! Eldest Miss bought three packages!”
Jiang Zhaohua: “!!”
Xie Fan: “??”
After two months, Xie Yijin had finally shown some unusual sign of activity.
Jiang Zhaohua rushed over and snatched the parcels from Song Chang'an, about to tear them open before forcing herself to stop, afraid her daughter would be angry if she found out.
“Madam, Eldest Miss bought face masks and clothes.” Song Chang'an pointed at the shipping information on the boxes as a reminder.
Jiang Zhaohua looked suspicious. “Face masks? Why is she buying face masks?”
“Eldest Miss is about to marry an Alpha. Maybe she wants to use face masks so she'll look prettier—and more handsome.” Song Chang'an analyzed the situation very seriously.
Jiang Zhaohua's face turned green, her brows pinched tightly enough to crush a fly. “She's marrying an Alpha! She's not turning into an Omega!”
Could Yijin and Jiang Zui actually be real?
Was Yijin even… the one on the bottom? Was that why she wanted to use face masks to please Jiang Zui?!
At that moment, Jiang Zhaohua felt the sky above her beginning to collapse.
Seeing her finally stop chasing him, Xie Fan walked over and took one of the packages. He read the seller's name aloud. “Heaven-Earth Fortune-Longevity Funeral Supplies Specialty Store.”
Jiang Zhaohua's eyes widened and her voice shot several octaves higher. “What?! Funeral supplies?!”
“…Probably burial clothes,” Xie Fan judged preliminarily.
Song Chang'an rubbed his nose. “Could Eldest Miss be preparing for both possibilities? Either use face masks to seduce Jiang Zui, or if he kills her, have her funeral arrangements ready.”
Jiang Zhaohua ground her teeth, tightened her grip on the laser sword, and charged at him. “I'll kill you!”
Xie Fan: “!!!”
Chaos erupted through the villa all over again.
Unlike the “liveliness” outside, Xie Yijin was operating like a machine at maximum capacity, handling task after task.
Inventorying her assets; consulting a lawyer in person about inheritance; learning the funeral process, reading through every detail, and recording key points; beginning preliminary plans for her own funeral after death; deciding how many copies of her will to write; considering how to make sure her relatives and friends wouldn't be too devastated after she left…
Of course, she also had to consider the portrait that would be displayed at her funeral.
She had spent the first twenty-eight years of her life wild and arrogant. There was absolutely no way the portrait hanging in her mourning hall would be described with words like haggard, sickly, or decadent.
Before the wedding next month, she had to completely fix this sloppy, unkempt state and take a funeral portrait she actually liked.
Face masks might be something Omegas commonly used, but she needed them to restore her skin before taking that portrait.
Finally, she had to determine exactly how Jiang Zui intended to kill her!
So she rummaged through the room until she finally found her phone in a corner, its screen smashed and warped. She found a charging cable under the desk, plugged it in, and waited a long time, only to discover it wouldn't charge at all. She had destroyed the phone during her last susceptible-period episode while smashing things.
Damn. She couldn't call Jiang Zui.
Anxious and irritable, she rolled her wheelchair around the dim room for a long time. Asking someone to lend her a phone so she could call Jiang Zui felt almost worse than death.
Ha.
Stealing a bride, huh? That bastard really dared.
Competing with Li Yanjin for her—an Alpha daring to steal a bride from an Omega. Such BIG nerve!
Even at her most lawless back then, she never would have done something this outrageous and against convention.
Seven in the evening.
Song Chang'an came to deliver dinner and, unexpectedly, wasn't driven out. Seeing Xie Yijin frowning at the food, he assumed Jiang Zui had badly provoked her. Bracing himself, he said, “Eldest Miss, your marriage to Doctor Jiang has been settled. According to custom, aside from the betrothal gifts, you and Doctor Jiang must each prepare a love token for the other and go together to the Temple of Light to pray for blessings for three days…”
“Mm.” Xie Yijin answered faintly, distracted, no one knowing what she was thinking.
Song Chang'an was terrified she'd do something foolish. He tried to persuade her earnestly. “Eldest Miss, Doctor Jiang stealing the marriage was truly absurd. For him to marry you absolutely…”
Right now, the entire family feared Xie Yijin might become suicidal.
“How did he steal the marriage?”
Xie Yijin interrupted the rambling speech before it could begin. She looked up at him, several traces of curiosity and interest in her eyes.
Song Chang'an embellished the whole story of the marriage-stealing incident, focusing on how aggrieved the Xie elders had been, how Jiang Huaisheng and Jiang Zui had gone too far, and how tyrannical and overbearing they were. In a rare tone of genuine resentment, he said, “You're already in this condition, and Doctor Jiang still refuses to let you go. He even publicly said in front of everyone that you can't live without him, he can't live without you, and the way the two of you relate is different from other couples…”
Xie Yijin wore an inscrutable expression and gave a slight nod.
“That's unbelievably shameless!” Song Chang'an said indignantly.
Xie Yijin's expression became even more solemn as she agreed, “Extremely shameless.”
Just as Song Chang'an was about to say more, Xie Yijin held out a hand. “Lend me your phone.”
Song Chang'an still had a stomach full of things he wanted to say, but seeing how serious she looked, he didn't think much of it and handed over the phone.
“Password.”
“996996.”
“You can go.” Xie Yijin spoke flatly.
Song Chang'an glanced at the phone in her hand, looking as though he wanted to say something but stopped himself. In the end, he left the room and thoughtfully closed the door behind him.
Xie Yijin changed into another jacket, glanced at herself in the mirror, and adjusted her hair. Only after making absolutely certain Jiang Zui would have nothing to mock did she sit up straight, enter his number, and pose before the camera with aloof elegance.
“Beep, beep, beep—”
The phone rang only a few seconds before being mercilessly disconnected.
“Hello. The number you have dialed is currently busy. Please try again later.”
“Hello. The number you have dialed is currently busy. Please try again…”
Xie Yijin: “…”
Xie Yijin refused to give up and made several more calls.
The fourth call finally connected, and a familiar voice came through the receiver.
“Already bought a house, already renovated it, kid's already in university, thirty-million loan, husband's with the police department. Anything else?”
Xie Yijin fell into thought, seriously considered the phrase “husband's with the police department,” then slowly said, “I'm Xie Yijin. How come I didn't know I worked for the police department?”
Jiang Zui: “!!!”
Jiang Zui: “Fuck—a type of plant!”
Jiang Zui hung up.
Xie Yijin: “!!!”
He hung up? What the hell was that supposed to mean?
In the next second, the phone rang again.
Jiang Zui called back. The moment she answered, he snapped irritably, “If you've got something to say, spit it out.”
“Why did you steal the marriage?”
As Xie Yijin brought up the subject, faint excitement entered her voice.
Jiang Zui sneered repeatedly. “Obviously to kill you!”
Xie Yijin's nervous heart settled slightly, immediately replaced by rising excitement. “Really?”
Jiang Zui mocked her. “Scared?”
Excitement flickered in Xie Yijin's eyes, her heart overflowing with tenderness. “Then what comes first? Rape before murder? Imprisonment? Humiliation? Poison? Or… are you going to cripple me completely?”
Jiang Zui narrowed his eyes and enunciated each word. “Rape. Before. Murder.”
He teased in an easy tone, “Alpha and Alpha pheromones naturally clash. I heard the one lying underneath suffers like hell…”
Recently, because interstellar fugitives had broken into District 0711, he had been temporarily transferred to help the Second Military District. There had been many casualties, and he'd been worked half to death. He had only just gotten a moment to breathe, and even this call was something he'd squeezed in during a break.
Xie Yijin's lips went pale and her heart pounded wildly.
…He was going to kill her and take revenge for everything she'd done to him before. But this was… such a humiliating way to die!
Jiang Zui didn't have much interest in bullying a disabled person, but he had enormous interest in bullying Xie Yijin.
Xie Yijin frowned. “When?”
Jiang Zui thought about it. “On the wedding night.”
He would make his move on the wedding night?
Thinking it over, she could accept that. She simply needed to finish everything else faster.
Xie Yijin considered briefly. “Don't use drugs. They're easy to detect.”
“Don't worry. I always handle things thoroughly,” Jiang Zui said with complete confidence.
Xie Yijin fell silent for another moment, then spoke as though she'd already seen through life and death. “Then I'll wait for you to come rape me first and kill me afterward.”
Jiang Zui: “???”
Jiang Zui: “!!!”
Was she insane?! Was she inviting him to fuck her on their wedding night?
Both legs useless, and she still knew how to play this wild.
After hanging up, Xie Yijin fell into a deep sleep for the first time without relying on alcohol.
Jiang Zui, meanwhile, performed another operation after ending the call before finally managing to go home and rest. Lying in bed, he drifted into sleep. Perhaps because he'd run his mouth so shamelessly on the phone with Xie Yijin, he actually began having an erotic dream.
In the dream, hazy layers of bed curtains swayed faintly beneath the dim, seductive light at the head of the bed.
He had the Alpha's right hand cuffed to the bedpost and held her chin as he kissed her with overwhelming dominance. Beneath him, the Alpha had lost her usual sharpness, exposing smooth, pale shoulders. Her half-undressed state was genuinely suggestive. With that pitiful, delicate expression, she looked like a fragile flower, making him seem brutal and incapable of tenderness.
“Call me husband.” He pinched her chin and ordered from above, pure wickedness in his eyes.
The Alpha suffered enormous humiliation. Her eyes were red, her lips moving before she unwillingly whispered, “H-husband…”
He seemed pleased by what he heard. He patted her cheek firmly, something demonic seeming to hide in his eyes. “Good. You get a reward.”
Then he took hold of little Yijin.
The Alpha bit her lip. Whether her expression showed pleasure or pain was impossible to tell. Her face was flushed, and she looked at him with shame and pleading in her eyes, her breathing completely disordered, fine beads of sweat covering her forehead. Dazed, she leaned forward to kiss his lips, but he pulled back a second before she could reach him.
“I don't like disobedient puppies.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he released her, turned the Alpha over, and slapped her on the buttocks.
“Smack—”
Jiang Zui woke from the absurd dream. Only when cool air hit him did he realize how hot his face had become, and he hurried into the bathroom to shower.
Ever since formally differentiating, he had erotic dreams every so often. They'd been more frequent at university, but he hadn't had one in a long time after graduation. Who would have expected tonight's dream to be this ridiculous?
What was more, in his previous dreams, he had always been the one being done to however the other person pleased.
Tonight, at least his dream-self had shown some backbone—so much that he suspected he'd had a fake erotic dream.
After showering, he couldn't fall asleep again and silently cursed Xie Yijin from beginning to end.
Sitting against the pillows on his bed, he took a communicator the size of a thumb from the bedside drawer and fell into thought.
Three months ago, Jiang Xing's secondary communicator, which had been stored in the basement, rang.
It was a communicator unique to the Jiang family, consisting of a primary and secondary unit. The secondary unit belonging to Jiang Xing had remained switched on ever since her disappearance.
He and Jiang Huaisheng hadn't truly held any hope. Keeping it active had merely been something to remember her by.
But Jiang Xing's communicator had rung.
That meant Jiang Xing was still alive.
Since Jiang Xing was alive yet hadn't returned, she must have encountered some obstacle.
After repeated investigation, he discovered that Jiang Xing's primary communicator was hidden inside the Xie residence.
Jiang Xing wasn't in the Xie household, but clues would certainly remain on the primary unit.
He had to find a way into the Xie residence, locate the communicator, and save his sister.
But the relationship between the Xie and Jiang families was like fire and water. They had no social connection that would allow him to enter and investigate.
Xie Fan was one of the Empire's three generals and was expected to become the next Imperial Marshal after Liang Qi. The Xie estate had three hundred security officers and the strongest security system currently available in the Empire. Sneaking inside and searching for the communicator would be extraordinarily difficult.
At the same time, after three months of investigation,
Jiang Zui had submitted evidence of Li Yanjin's treason to Cao Ning, commander of the Third Military District.
Various signs indicated that during the Cromwell War, Li Yanjin had repeatedly transmitted medical-deployment information to the enemy.
On the eve of Xie Yijin's engagement, Xie Fan secretly summoned a group of people for a meeting to discuss how to draw out the pirate force behind Li Yanjin. Their goal was to eliminate the Gessell group in one sweep.
Jiang Zui was specially invited to the meeting as an exception.
Jin Weisi had crippled Xie Yijin, and the Third Military District had suffered severe losses.
Publicly and privately, Xie Fan wanted the interstellar scourge called Gessell destroyed more urgently than anyone.
If Xie Yijin were prevented from becoming engaged to Li Yanjin through overly forceful means, they might alert the enemy.
But if they did nothing and Li Yanjin married Xie Yijin, the spy would gain even easier access to military secrets, no different from inviting a wolf into the house.
“Xie Yijin rendered outstanding service in the Cromwell campaign. Although having her marry Li Yanjin seems as though it would keep Li Yanjin under our noses, how can we treat a meritorious officer like this? If another war really breaks out later, wouldn't Xie Yijin become a laughingstock—and a widow? It would be even harder to arrange another marriage for her afterward.”
“Besides, Xie Yijin's current mental state isn't good. I think we should arrange for someone to steal the marriage.”
“Whoever we send also has to be capable of caring for Commander Xie. Otherwise, the whole thing is pointless.”
“But Commander Xie's gland is damaged now. Her pheromones are unstable, and when she gets agitated she even hurts herself. If we send some delicate Omega and Commander Xie ends up killing them, what then?”
“Then the person has to understand medicine, be good in a fight, and also be capable of restraining Commander Xie.”
“…”
As the group talked over one another, their gazes gradually turned toward Jiang Zui.
Jiang Zui had been worrying about where to find a pillow just as someone delivered one to his head.
Marrying Xie Yijin was the perfect opportunity to get inside the Xie residence. He could also use it to negotiate conditions with Xie Fan.
“First, if I marry Xie Yijin, no matter how terrible our relationship becomes, the Xie family isn't allowed to interfere. I can't guarantee that if I'm in a bad mood, I won't kill her and die with her.”
The very first condition made everyone in the conference room break into a cold sweat. They kept glancing at Xie Fan's calm face.
Commander Xie's legs were already ruined, yet Jiang Zui didn't show a shred of sympathy. He was still thinking about fighting Commander Xie to the death.
This… wasn't this sending a lamb straight into a tiger's mouth?
Xie Fan said calmly, “Agreed.”
Jiang Zui fell silent for a moment and looked steadily at him. “As for the remaining two conditions, I'll raise them when the time comes. I hope the General will honor his promise then.”
If Jiang Xing was alive, it meant some force beyond her control was preventing her from returning to the capital planet.
If necessary, he needed someone with enough influence to help rescue Jiang Xing.
The Jiang family did have many old family connections.
But after the disappearance of his father Jiang Yan, his mother Qu Shuyu, and Jiang Xing, Jiang Huaisheng had struggled alone to hold everything together. Decline had become inevitable. Whatever old family ties remained probably wouldn't be enough for him to rely on.
For his sister, even if it was the Xie family,
when the time came to use them, he would use them!
Jiang Huaisheng did have doubts about Jiang Zui marrying into the Xie family, but in order to locate the communicator and rescue Jiang Xing, he eventually agreed after careful consideration.
They had already lost too much. If there was even the slightest hope that Jiang Xing could come home, neither of them would give up.
He would bring Jiang Xing back!
As for Xie Yijin.
…She was purely asking for a beating!
*
The night was black as ink, heavy clouds covering the sky.
At this moment, inside the luxurious Li family estate in the mountains, Li Yanjin was still wearing the formal suit from the engagement banquet. He knelt outside the ancestral hall, the exquisite custom-made clothing wrinkled and dirty. His once radiant and beautiful face had become haggard, like a withered rose.
Since returning from the Xie residence, his father, Li Zhengye, had punished him by making him kneel for six hours.
Li Yanjin had never endured suffering like this. He bit his lip and stared at the ancestral tablets inside the hall. His knees hurt unbearably, and several times he nearly collapsed.
While servants swept the garden, they whispered among themselves.
“Master and Madam never approved of the marriage to Commander Xie in the first place. They preferred heirs from several other wealthy business families.”
“If Eldest Miss were still here, it would be different. She could still hold up the Li family. But right now, Young Master Jin is the only one of this generation who can support the family. If he really married Commander Xie, after another century the Li family name might end up changed to Xie. The Xie family has enormous influence in the military. There's no way they'd let the children take the Li surname…”
“Young Master Jin insisted on doing whatever he wanted. Not a single family member even attended the engagement banquet. Who would've expected an Alpha to steal the marriage!”
“Yeah. The family lost a huge amount of face today. Master is probably truly furious this time.”
“If only Eldest Miss Li Yanqing were still here…”
“…”
Having knelt so long, Li Yanjin's pain made his hearing unusually sharp.
His fingers clenched, nails digging into flesh. He bit down even harder on his lip and turned to glare viciously at the two maids sweeping fallen leaves nearby. Through the dim light, the women met his dark, icy eyes, jumped in fright, and immediately fell silent.
Since when was it a servant's place to gossip about the master's family affairs?
In the Morris Empire, the Li family was a century-old aristocratic house with major influence in the business world.
To outsiders, Li Yanjin had been born with a golden spoon in his mouth, a genuine young master of a wealthy family. No matter what mistake he made, the Li family would always cover for him.
Li Yanjin grew dizzy from kneeling. Unable to endure any longer, he collapsed to the ground, his mind hazy.
Before long, a familiar and pleasant voice sounded, mixed with anxiety and panic.
“Miaomiao, Miaomiao…”
“Call the family doctor! Hurry!”
Miaomiao was Li Yanjin's childhood nickname.
Only his family ever called him that.
It was his mother, Xia Huanyan.
She pulled him into her arms, and her warm presence immediately wrapped around him.
He knew he was safe.
Twenty minutes later, the doctor finished examining his legs.
The kitchen sent over some light food. Even though Li Yanjin was starving, he ate slowly and properly, maintaining the basic dining etiquette of the aristocracy.
“From now on, you absolutely cannot keep entangling yourself with Xie Yijin. In the past, your father might reluctantly have agreed, but now she's disabled and Jiang Zui is her fiancé. You'd better give up on her. Otherwise, who knows how your father will punish you next…”
Xia Huanyan advised him earnestly, worry filling her eyes. “Miaomiao, no matter what, you're still Mama's child.”
Li Yanjin pressed his thin lips together. His eyes flickered as he looked at her, then he lowered his gaze to the overcooked porridge and gave a quiet “Mm.”
“Miaomiao will always be Mama's child.” He looked up with a smile at the corner of his lips and gazed deeply at Xia Huanyan. After steadying himself, he said, “And Mama will always be Miaomiao's mama.”
“You child…” Xia Huanyan stroked his cheek affectionately.
They spoke for a while longer. Only when Xia Huanyan had nothing more to say did she leave with a worried expression.
The reflection in the dressing mirror watched Li Yanjin sitting there in a daze and mocked, “What? She says a few sentimental lines and you believe her?”
Li Yanjin frowned and rolled his eyes irritably at him. “None of your business.”
“Get this straight. You don't share a drop of blood with them. Think about all the things you've done. Do you really think they could forgive you?” the Li Yanjin in the mirror reminded him. “Now your plan to marry Xie Yijin has failed. You'll never get her. And Li Zhao, the real young master, is about to come back. You'd better think about how you're going to protect yourself.”
“I don't need you meddling.” Li Yanjin's brows tightened as he shot the reflection a disgusted glance.
The voice of the Li Yanjin inside the mirror carried a low, seductive temptation. “Xie Yijin is useless now. You can do whatever you want with her. As for Jiang Zui and Li Zhao, those two obstacles—just kill them…”
“Get lost!” Li Yanjin grabbed an ornament from the bedside table and smashed it viciously into the dressing mirror.
“Crash—”
The glass shattered, reflecting Li Yanjin's face in broken, twisted fragments.
His chest rose and fell slightly. His hand clenched into a fist, his eyes filled with coldness.
Before the age of fourteen, Li Yanjin had his parents' affection and his sister's protection. He might have been spoiled, but bearing the title of the Li family's Second Young Master meant everyone had to show him some respect.
Before fourteen, he believed he was no different from a little prince. He had endless money, endless flattery, endless glory…
Starting at fourteen, his world was torn apart.
Someone told him he wasn't the Li family's second son at all, but a spy deliberately planted inside the family. The real second son of the Li family had long ago been thrown into a mountain ravine and disappeared without a trace. If Li Yanjin refused to obey the organization, they would expose this secret.
From that day onward, he became obsessively anxious that he would lose everything he possessed.
Countless wealth, his parents' love and his sister's protection, a privileged life, the unrestrained lifestyle of someone at the top…
He had seen poor people his age run errands for others for two coins. He had seen them humiliated by people of higher status and too afraid to speak. He had seen beautiful Omegas harassed yet prefer to swallow their grievances rather than offend the wealthy…
Therefore, he absolutely could not lose his identity as the Li family's Second Young Master.
Even if he eventually did lose it, he had to obtain a new identity first.
He had to make certain that when the truth came out, his privileged life wouldn't be affected and that the “organization” could no longer control him.
When he was fifteen, he saw Xie Yijin.
A tremendously gifted female Alpha with limitless prospects. Her father held the rank of general and could directly mobilize the Second Military Department's forces. Her mother was well known among elite society wives and highly accomplished in the arts. And once he entered the Xie family, the “organization” would never again be able to control him.
At first, Li Yanjin's goal had been that simple.
Who could have expected that no matter how he tried to approach her, all he received from Xie Yijin was irritation and distance?
Things he could obtain easily weren't necessarily precious to him. But anything he couldn't obtain easily made him stubborn and nearly insane. The more someone consistently looked down on him, the more it ignited an unprecedented desire to conquer them.
He wanted her.
He wanted her to submit.
If he couldn't have her heart, then he would have her body and her legal status as his spouse.
He had done many things for the organization. The only mission that had ever filled him with genuine excitement was the one during the Cromwell campaign.
Although some unexpected changes happened in the middle, he had almost obtained her completely!
Jiang Zui!
What right did he have? An Alpha—it was absurd!
He looked at Xie Yijin in military uniform, radiant and high-spirited in the photograph. His crimson lips kissed the image, sickly obsession appearing in his eyes as he murmured, “Ajin, I won't let Jiang Zui succeed…”
As he spoke, he injected the drug into his left arm. When the syringe emptied, his fingers relaxed and the tube rolled onto the floor.
He stretched out on the bed, the photograph pressed against his face. Within seconds, his gaze gradually lost focus, a faint flush spreading across his cheeks. A satisfied smile appeared at the corners of his lips, his voice low, hoarse, and unbearable with desire. “Ajin… my Ajin…”
Author's Note:
Mm, I made some adjustments to this section about Li Yanjin
