The room outside the resuscitation room was brightly lit, the overhead white light illuminating the corridor like a long, narrow, gloomy morgue.
Fu Ge sat lifelessly in this morgue, his bloodshot eyes staring unblinkingly at the door.
Qi Han’s blood was all over his body and hands, and large stains of blood mixed with dust and vomit covered his white jumper.
He was obviously a living human being, but he was like a dead, broken corpse.
Qi Han had been in resuscitation for three hours, and Fu Ge’s heart had been rotting in a cave of ice for three hours. The sharp corners of the folder in his hand made his palms bleed, and Qi Chuan’s words echoed in his ears like a death knell.
“That person injected Qi Han with a high concentration of atropine. One dose of this will cause his blood pressure to rise sharply and his blood vessels to dilate rapidly. The Alpha’s heart rate and blood pressure during the rut period are already reaching critical values. If the second injection was made, his whole body would combust.”
“And this medicine… just a small dose, and the patient will be so uncomfortable that he can’t breathe. And he should have known… that wasn’t an inhibitor when he was given an injection…”
The last few words rolled through Fu Ge’s mind countless times, and Qi Han’s eyes like a pool of stagnant water as he lay destroyed on the floor were a knife thrust into Fu Ge’s heart.
He clutched the broken syringe in a daze, tears rolling out drop by drop: “That’s why he was so scared, so desperate…”
“He didn’t know I was trying to help him, he thought I was going to torture him with messy potions like Fu Zhenying did back then…”
The boy who once saw him as his salvation and faith, even after five years apart, still believed in his words “I will save you”.
But when he watched the person who had saved him from hell use the same means to push him into hell again, and even let him be pressed to the floor by so many people like a dog, humiliated and trampled on without any dignity left…
What was Qi Han feeling?
He must have thought: the light that belonged to me is completely extinguished… My love will retaliate against me in the way I am most afraid of…
But even so, he still rushed over with his last breath when Fu Ge was in danger, allowing the needle that would kill him to stick into his body.
“Why did it come to this…”
The young Beta trembled and closed his eyes, his voice so hoarse that his throat seemed to be torn: “I never thought about doing this to him… I know he is afraid… I wouldn’t torture him in this way… I wouldn’t…”
Qi Chuan, red-eyed, patted him on the shoulder, hesitated for a long time before handing him a document, and said softly: “Maybe you can take a look at this.”
“These are the results of the things you asked me to investigate after your wedding. Qi Han first started to suspect you, I think, six months ago.”
Fu Ge blinked in a daze: “Six months… so soon after we met?”
“Yes, he investigated the ship you claimed to have fallen into the water from, the motorcycle that hit you the day of the road accident, as well as the major I was studying abroad, and even all the medical records in my little counselling room. He sent many people there, both openly and covertly, but these people suddenly disappeared after the attack of the patient’s relative.”
Qi Chuan paused and said cautiously: “Maybe he confirmed that you were not in danger, so he stopped investigating us.”
Fu Ge smiled bitterly, “It was not because he confirmed that I was not in danger, he… knew all my plans.”
Qi Han started investigating Qi Chuan because Qi Han was worried that Qi Chuan would harm Fu Ge; later he stopped the investigation because he was afraid of poking holes in Fu Ge’s plan.
Fu Ge only discovered yesterday that the doctor who pretended to be injured during the attack of the madman was hidden in a very secluded place. And even their move against the Chamber of Commerce during the honeymoon had gone ridiculously smoothly, as if there was always a force in the dark helping them.
Without exception, all of this was done by Qi Han.
Not only did he willingly walk into the trap set by Fu Ge, he even pushed himself into a desperate dead end while helping his careless lover to clean up the mess.
There was no such thing as winning, it was all Qi Han’s intentional connivance from start to to finish.
Fu Ge recalled that during the last few days of their honeymoon in Litang, Qi Han suddenly suffered from severe insomnia, unable to sleep all night long and only quietly looking at his face.
During the day, he would call Fu Ge’s name frequently and would not allow the little Beta to be more than ten metres away from him, even to go to the toilet.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want his honeymoon to end, it was that he knew his time was up and there was nothing he could do about it.
Just as animals can predict their own death, Qi Han knew that Fu Ge had very little time left for him, so he had to call his lover’s name over and over again and memorise his lover’s appearance, in case he was alone on the road the day he was gone and couldn’t even find the direction to home.
In this perilous game that was designed to hunt him, Qi Han had already sacrificed everything he had left for the fourteen days that had spiralled out of control that year.
This included his life, his reputation, his shattered pride, and his crumbling faith.
It was eight o’clock on the evening of March 4, the seventh day after the wedding.
Qi Han finally woke up.
The knife he used to commit suicide was brought in by Fu Ge, and it was quite blunt.
Coupled with the high concentration of atropine that dilated his pupils, made his vision unclear and relaxed his muscles, Qi Han did not pierce his heart, and the tip of the knife that did not go deep was stuck in the gap between his heart and lung.
Nine deaths and one life, all’s well that ends well.
But after he regained consciousness, he refused to eat and accept follow-up treatment, and slumped on the hospital bed like a walking dead, his hazy eyes staring at the ceiling, silent and motionless.
He completely closed himself up, not wanting to get hope from anyone anymore. He would only react when Fu Ge entered the room, but it was not excitement, let alone enthusiasm, but fear.
As soon as the little Beta walked in with the dinner plate, Qi Han shrank back instinctively, his back straightened all of a sudden and his pale hands covered in wounds clutched the corners of the quilt tightly.
The lover he had once dreamed of hugging and kissing, the light and the faith that illuminated his life for more than two years, had now become what he feared most.
It was not that he didn’t love Fu Ge anymore, but it hurt so much that he didn’t even dare to look at him.
“Turn me in.” Qi Han said with his head lowered, “If it takes too long, the police will find you sooner or later.”
Fu Ge stood there blankly, noting that Qi Han had not called him “gege” since the day he was given the injection.
Because the last person in the world he could trust also abandoned him, and he knew that he had no father and no brother anymore.
“Let’s talk about it after you’ve recovered from your injuries, okay?” Fu Ge put the dinner plate on the table, next to the medicine the doctor had prescribed.
Qi Han didn’t even raise his head: “Don’t bother, anyway, it’s all death in the end, you… just finish me off quickly, okay…”
Stop torturing me, I’m really tired and it hurts…
Fu Ge turned his head away and blinked his red eyes, “Let’s eat first, I asked them to fry the little yellow fish for you, I didn’t… I didn’t put medicine into it…”
The food from the distant past made Qi Han’s eyelashes flutter twice. Silently and slowly he got up from the bed and sat in a chair to stare at the small fish.
He hadn’t eaten that for years after his dad died.
He wasn’t a spoiled young master, he had been skinny when he was a child, he wasn’t picky or greedy about food. His favourite was fried small fish, but no one would take the time to make it for him anymore.
“Thank you.”
“No need.”
Qi Han picked up his chopsticks, took a small fish and ate it slowly. First, he removed the dense bones on both sides, and then bit it little by little towards the spine. He ate very cleanly and cherished it very much.
It had been too long, the taste in his memory had long been forgotten, but someone had made a point of making it for him, and he was grateful, so how could he be picky about the taste?
After eating the small fish, he put the medicine into his mouth as well and swallowed it with the soup. After being silent for a long time, he suddenly asked: “The night I went to buy glands, you slept with me and gave me hot milk. You said you were afraid that my throat would become inflamed. You put licorice tablets in the milk. There… were there only licorice tablets in it…”
Fu Ge clenched his hands tightly, and his throat was bitter: “No, there was also a sleeping pill.”
“Ah… that’s it…”
Qi Han smiled after hearing the answer. So fearing that he would get sick was fake, so was sleeping with him; even though he had just escaped death at the hands of gland hunters, Fu Ge hadn’t felt the slightest bit of heartache for him.
“In the months since you came back, was there a moment, or a few minutes, when you really wanted to be by my side?…” The Alpha finally dared to look up at him and whispered, “Just a few minutes…”
But the little Beta averted his eyes hastily, remained frozen with his lips open for a long time, sticking his fingernails into his palms so hard that he drew blood, but never said “yes”.
Qi Han stopped embarrassing him, and nodded stiffly: “I see…”
The first conversation ended in failure, and their relationship was stuck in a dead end. One could not retreat, the other dared not enter, and two lost people hung on the edge of the precarious cliff.
As soon as Fu Ge went out, he was hugged by a little boy. The child rubbed his fluffy head against him and whispered affectionately: “Papa!”
The young Beta forced a smile, took the boy into his arms and sat him on his arm, asking softly, “Did you wake up so soon? Is Ah Jue hungry?”
The little boy called Ah Jue was five or six years old, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, especially long eyelashes and soft curly hair that made him look like a newborn lamb.
He was just brought by Fu Ge to China yesterday, and he now felt that everything around him was particularly fresh, “I’m not hungry, Auntie Nanny fed me little bunny buns, papa, when will you carry me out to play?”
Fu Ge smiled when he heard that and pinched his nose dotingly: “What a mess, it’s ‘take’ you out. It’s really time to hire a Chinese teacher for you.”
“There’s no need to go to all that trouble. Take him home and let Grandpa teach him, you can’t imagine how much he wants to see Xiao Jie.” Qi Chuan came out from around the corner and took the little boy, “Good boy, give Uncle a kiss.”
The little boy gave him a particularly appreciative smooch and stretched out his two little chubby hands to Fu Ge: “Papa hug!”
Fu Ge picked him up and said to Qi Chuan, “Brother, make another trip for me to the black market to settle that matter.”
“Okay, I’ll take two people with me and be back later.”
“Take a few more with you, Kuang Liu’s gang are outlaws, so pay attention to your safety.”
Qi Chuan took half of the people away, and Fu Ge had dinner with the child, and then sent him to his room with the nanny, while he took the elevator down to the first floor.
The place where he held Qi Han was a small three-storey villa he had purchased earlier in the resort that had not yet been developed, and the road up and down the mountain was particularly secluded and unpopulated, making it difficult for the police to find their way.
When he got out of the elevator, he saw the bodyguard on duty at the door walking towards him, bringing a choking smell of tobacco with him before he even got close.
Fu Ge was stunned for a moment, then looked up at him, “Where’s Xiao Yin?”
The man gave him a simple and honest smile, “There is a high-level Alpha in rut here. The pheromones floated down and affected Xiao Yin. He went to get an injection, he was soft like a shrimp. Sir, are you going out?”
Fu Ge nodded, “Are you going up?”
“Yes, I’m afraid the brothers upstairs can’t bear it, so I will send two inhibitors up.”
Fu Ge said, “You’re very kind. Tell Mr. Qi to reimburse you the money for what you bought. By the way, what brand did you buy? Xiao Liu is allergic to Guangke.”
“It’s not Guangke, I remember.” The man took out the inhibitor, Fu Ge glanced at it and entered the elevator with him, “I’ll go up with you. Find a doctor to give them a shot, don’t do it yourself.”
“Okay, Mr. Fu.”
The elevator went all the way to the second floor. When the door opened, Fu Ge said to the man, “Come with me. I have two powerful inhibitors here. Let’s use them for your brothers.”
The man chuckled, “That’s a good thing.”
Qi Han’s ward and the child’s room were both on the third floor. The second floor was where the bodyguards rested. Fu Ge looked at the rooms on both sides as he walked, and finally stopped at the small room at the end of the corridor, opened the door and waited by the door, “Come in.”
“Hey, Mr. Fu, you— ahhhhh!!!”
The bodyguard screamed and fell on his knees, the needle of the inhibitor sticking out of his neck.
Fu Ge raised his foot and kicked him fiercely in the knee, picked up the vase next to him and slammed it on his head without hesitation, “You are not my bodyguard! Who the hell are you!”
The wounded man clutched his neck and howled in pain, “How do you know…”
Fu Ge’s face was stained with blood and his eyes were ruthless. He grasped the inhibitor and twisted it. His voice was so cold that it made one shudder, sending shivers down one’s spine, “My bodyguards have rules against smoking and there is no Xiao Liu among the thirty people. Are you with the male nurse from that day? Who sent you?”
“Don’t twist it, don’t twist it, I’ll say! I will say now! I am… I am…”
Fu Ge couldn’t hear clearly, so he lowered his head: “What?”
The man sneered suddenly, raised his hand, grasped his neck and slammed his head on the coffee table, “I am your father!”
With a loud bang, Fu Ge slid to the ground with a muffled groan, a rusty taste rising from his throat.
The man stood up unharmed, pulled out the inhibitor and kicked Fu Ge hard in the stomach.
“Ugh—”
Like an abused puppy, Fu Ge was kicked into the air and slammed into the wall, rolling several times when he landed.
The man grabbed his ankle and dragged him all the way to the door, took out a knife and slapped Fu Ge twice on the face. “This son of a bitch is so fucking hot, no wonder President Qi likes him. I quite like him too.”
Fu Ge raised his head and spit out a mouthful of blood, propped his hands on the ground but failed to get up several times. Instead, the man yanked his hair, and then a pair of disgusting hands ran from his ankles up his legs.
“Not bad for a Beta, much more exciting than an Omega. Remember the Alpha you blew up on the Linhai Highway? He was my younger brother.”
Fu Ge half-opened his eyes, blood mixed with saliva dripping down from the corner of his mouth, “You too… a gland hunter…”
“Correct.”
The man pressed him down and squeezed his neck tightly, his greasy, nasty breath spraying on Fu Ge’s face, “I drove a motorcycle here today. I’m going to use it to crush you into pieces and then burn them for my brother.”
The next second, the young Beta on the ground suddenly burst in action. Fu Ge clutched the only inhibitor left and stabbed the man hard, “Go to hell!”
A bloody gash immediately appeared on the man’s face, and Fu Ge took advantage of the man’s pain to kick him between his legs, pushed him away and ran. But the scene in the next room made him freeze.
There were a dozen bodyguards lying on the floor, all with their eyes closed, unconscious, perhaps dead, and these were all the men left by Fu Ge’s side.
“Run, why don’t you run?”
The man’s gloomy voice sounded behind him, like a poisonous snake showing its tongue crawling across his back. Fu Ge blinked, and his weakened body swayed helplessly. He felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.
The day before yesterday, the male nurse not only came to kill Qi Han, but also was responsible for exploring the way for other gland hunters. They took advantage of Qi Chuan taking people away before stepping in and dealing with all the bodyguards. What about the third floor?
Qi Han and Ah Jue were both there…
The man ran out of patience, grabbed Fu Ge’s hair and forced him to turn his head, pinched his chin and shook him, “This villa is so big, and now it’s all mine. I can have fun with you, or do you want your son to join in?”
“Papa! Save me! Oh oh oh, papa…”
At the entrance of the stairs on the first floor, the little boy was being pressed against the wall, kicking his legs desperately. His red face was full of tears, and he was choking and sobbing.
Fu Ge’s heart ached desperately. He gritted his teeth in distress but he didn’t dare to move, “What do you want?”
“I want money, but also your life, Mr. Fu. If you don’t want your son’s head to be smashed to pieces, just come with me.”
When Qi Han walked downstairs in a daze, Fu Ge and the child had just been taken out of the villa and were about to get into the car.
Seven or eight black-clad people stood around them, holding guns in their hands covered by their windbreakers. The leading man, the Alpha who had pretended to be a bodyguard, visibly stiffened when he saw Qi Han coming out, as if he was afraid of him.
“Don’t move, don’t scream, or I’ll make a hole in your son’s head.” He put his gun against Fu Ge’s waist and threatened in a low voice. The gangster next to him didn’t understand: “Lao Qin, why are you afraid of him! He’s just one man!”
“Open your dog’s eyes and see who he is! This is the king of death. There are no more than five Alphas of his level in the capital. At his peak, his pheromones can fucking tear you apart!”
Qi Han stood at the door and watched them for several seconds. It was dark, and they happened to be blocked by the shadow of the villa. Fu Ge’s head and upper body were also in the shadows and there was no dust or blood stains below his waist.
Qi Han tilted his head lazily. His eyes fell on Fu Ge’s wrist and then slowly rose again as he asked, “Where are you going?”
The gun against his back pressed harder, and Fu Ge shivered, his heart beating like a drum. He tried not to let his voice tremble too much.
“I’m going to see Teacher, I’ve made an appointment tonight.”
“Lao Qi?” Qi Han asked casually.
Fu Ge nodded dumbly: “Uh-huh.”
Qi Han’s face was expressionless, and he only said, “It just so happens that I have finished looking at that painting. You can take it with you. Send someone to come up and get it.”
Lao Qin pinched Fu Ge’s shoulder and ordered: “Tell him ‘next time’!”
Fu Ge exhaled and did as he was told, “Next time.”
“This time. I won’t wait.”
As Qi Han said that, he pointed with his chin at the bodyguard standing on Fu Ge’s left, “You, go with me and get it.”
Lao Qin cursed secretly and ordered the man: “Go and come back quickly, don’t expose yourself unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
The man wiped his sweat and walked to the door reluctantly. As soon as he was about to enter, he heard Fu Ge cry out: “Ah Han!”
The Alpha turned his head in response. Lao Qin’s eyelids jumped, and the gun was firmly pressed against Fu Ge’s waist, “Do you want your son to die now?!”
Fu Ge closed his eyes, tears slowly slipping down, and his hoarse voice seemed to be floating in the wind: “I’ll take it next time, I don’t have time…”
Hurry upstairs and hide, you can’t die with me…
But Qi Han seemed to be oblivious and didn’t even lift his eyelids, “Wait.”
Fu Ge panicked completely, “No way! I’m going to be late—”
“Xiao Ge.” Qi Han interrupted him in a cold voice. “I said, wait for me.”
Without another glance, he turned around and went upstairs without hesitation.
After Lao Qin waited for him to leave, he punched Fu Ge in the stomach, “If something happens to my brother today, you and your son will be buried with me!”
Fu Ge looked at the direction Qi Han left and covered his mouth, without making a sound from beginning to end.
Qi Han took the man upstairs in the elevator, so leisurely that he even had to enter the elevator code twice.
The man held the gun in his pocket in one hand and secretly wiped the sweat from his forehead with the other, fearful and annoyed to the extreme.
He had heard of Qi Han’s fierce reputation for many years, not to mention the fact that this man was now a death row prisoner and would only become more ruthless.
“Hurry up and find it! Master is waiting!” He yelled boldly.
Qi Han glanced at him, “Hmm.”
The man didn’t dare to go in; he just stood outside the door, watching Qi Han look around for a while without finding the painting, and finally took a step in impatiently: “Is it there or not?”
“Found it.”
The man immediately poked his head out: “Where is it?”
The next second, a cold light flashed before his eyes, and a knife slammed into his throat. Qi Han said, “Here.”
“Uh uh… No, don’t kill me… don’t kill me…”
Large streams of blood gushed out of his mouth, pattering down Qi Han’s wrist that held the knife.
The man’s mouth was wide open, his eyes rolled up, and he was nailed to the wall as if skewered with the tip of a knife, his broken plea for mercy squeezed out his throat pierced by the blade.
Qi Han had no expression on his face, his eyes lowered, like a cold-faced evil spirit walking at night. He leaned to the man’s ear and asked, “My lover’s left wrist was pinched purple. Did you do it?”
“Yes, I’m sorry… I’m sorry… forgive me…”
With a puff, the skin was split, and a ribbon of blood sprayed in the air. Qi Han used a knife to cut the man’s left cheek in half.
“Go and apologise to King Yanluo.”
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