Chapter 29

Maybe he was truly a coward...

But after he woke that day, and that sickening realization curled in his chest and made it hard to breathe, he didn’t want to face the omega.

Why didn’t Jiang Li push him away or something?

Why didn’t he bite him? Why didn’t he see the omega’s struggle in his body?

He saw none—except for the scratch marks on his shoulders and back.

At that moment, he suddenly remembered the omega’s honey-brown doe eyes, which usually stared at him with open longing. He knew Jiang Li loved him... he always did. But would that love make him accept something he didn’t want to do just because it was him?

Would Jiang Li allow himself to be raped just because it was Shen Yu?

Shen Yu suddenly closed his eyes and groaned.

"Fuck... he messed up..."

He had allowed his past to shape his future once more. The thought of seeing Jiang Li walking into that forsaken company, going to the man who had crushed Shen Yu’s life, was so sickening it almost made him vomit.

How could Teahyun effortlessly take anything he wanted... hadn’t he had enough?

Firstly, it was his crush—his first love.

Secondly, his family.

And thirdly, his work—something that was meant to be his.

Sighing softly, Shen Yu stopped staring at his reflection in the mirror. He dried his hair with a towel and walked to his bedroom, glancing at the clock. It was only 6 AM.

Did Jiang Li have a morning class?

After three days of hiding, he should face responsibility. He should go and apologize, even if the omega cursed him.

He must.

Even as he thought so, the shame and guilt burned so intensely it made him want to die.

As he reached for his deodorant, his gaze suddenly landed on the pill he had placed on the glass cup. He didn’t know why he had kept it... but he had.

Did it belong to Jiang Li?

What kind of pill was this?

Before leaving, Shen Yu picked it up and placed it into a small plastic container, then headed out.

When he arrived at Tiancheng University, the size of the campus immediately made things difficult. There were many colleges and departments, and finding the art department wasn’t easy—but eventually, he managed.

The campus was larger than Shen Yu remembered, and by the time he finally found the art department, irritation had already begun settling beneath his skin.

He waited almost twenty minutes beside his car.

No blond hair.

No Jiang Li.

Instead, his gaze landed on a familiar figure.

That kid from the cafeteria.

"Luo Xin."

The female Alpha turned.

The moment Shen Yu began walking toward her, something hit him.

Sandalwood.

Amber.

The scent slammed into him so suddenly that his steps faltered, and pain exploded behind his eyes. His vision blurred as a violent wave of nausea rose from his stomach.

What the hell—

Shen Yu stopped breathing.

The scent felt wrong.

Not unpleasant.

Threatening.

His instincts reacted before his mind could. The urge to fight surged up without warning, so sudden it frightened him. His muscles tightened instinctively, his pulse accelerating as every nerve in his body screamed at him to challenge the Alpha standing in front of him.

A cold sweat broke across his skin.

Betas weren’t supposed to react to pheromones like this.

So why—

"Are you okay?"

Luo Xin frowned, her voice sounding strangely distant.

Shen Yu inhaled sharply.

A mistake.

The sandalwood and amber scent crashed into him again, and his headache intensified instantly. It felt like nails were being driven directly into his skull.

"Where’s Jiang Li?" he managed.

Luo Xin answered, but Shen Yu barely heard her. A loud ringing filled his ears, drowning everything else out as the world tilted dangerously around him.

This was bad.

Something was seriously wrong.

By the time he reached his car, his hands were shaking. Every scent around him felt amplified—the coffee carried by passing students, the perfume drifting from nearby pedestrians, the gasoline from the road—everything sharp enough to cut.

His head throbbed relentlessly.

His body burned.

And somehow, the farther he drove, the worse it became.

The hospital.

He needed the hospital.

Now.

By the time he stumbled through the emergency entrance, he felt like he was falling apart. Every sound was unbearably loud, every scent overwhelming, his skin burning, his ears ringing, his thoughts scattering.

A hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder.

"Sir, stay with me."

White coat.

Doctor.

Good.

Someone would know what was happening.

"Sir, please suppress your pheromones!"

Shen Yu frowned.

Pheromones?

Another voice joined in.

"There are omegas reacting downstairs!"

"What?"

His voice sounded strange. Weak. Confused. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Nearby omegas?

Reacting to what?

The doctor looked horrified.

"Sir, focus on me!"

Warmth suddenly trickled down Shen Yu’s face. He lifted a hand.

Blood.

His nose was bleeding.

His ears too.

The lights above felt painfully bright, and everything hurt as if his body was trying to tear itself apart from the inside.

And through all of it—

One face surfaced.

Honey-brown eyes.

Messy blond hair.

Jiang Li.

A crushing ache spread through his chest.

If Jiang Li was afraid of him now...

If Jiang Li regretted everything...

If Jiang Li looked at him the same way everyone else eventually did—

Shen Yu wasn’t sure he could survive it.

"I’m sorry..."

The words never fully left his mouth.

Darkness swallowed him before he could say them.