Chapter 3
On the way back, Chi Yanxing’s steps were large and quick, as if he were trying to get rid of a hot potato.
The line of blue water that had been there completely disappeared from Yu Su’s sight, leaving him clearly aware that not only had he washed up on shore, but he had also lost his naturally beautiful tail and turned into a pair of human legs that were far from beautiful.
Then, by some stroke of “favorable timing, good luck, and the right person,” he was taken in by the man in front of him, who mistook him for some sort of omega.
âAhem…â Yu Su awkwardly tugged at a corner of his white gauze. âDo… do you live near here?â
Chi Yanxing didnât answer.
âI… Iâm Yu Su, Yu as in beautiful, Su as in to return. Whatâs your name?â
Only then did Chi Yanxing respond. He seemed to be lost in thought, his voice casual and distant when he finally spoke.
âIâm here on vacation,â he said, before adding, âChi Yanxing.â
Brief and to the point, it still sounded a bit cold.
But that face of his was enough to ease Yu Suâs initial nervousness about meeting a human.
Chi Yanxing⌠Chi Yanxing.
He was good-looking, and his name sounded good too.
Seizing the opportunity to make small talk, Yu Suâs voice became a little hoarse, lacking moisture. âWhere are you taking me?â
Chi Yanxing flicked his ear slightly. Yu Suâs voice, when he spoke, sounded like surround sound, and it was so soothing it could have been a blessing for someone suffering from insomnia.
But Chi Yanxing merely said, âDonât speak. Donât move.â
Yu Su pouted, muttering something about being too aloof.
It wasnât clear whether Chi Yanxing heard him, but when they finally arrived at the humanâs large house, the man didnât say anything else and expressionlessly set him down in the living room before disappearing.
Yu Su didnât bother to chase after him. All of this was beyond his control. He needed to familiarize himself with his current surroundings first.
The house was filled with black, white, and gray tonesânothing like the colorful underwater world. Even the sofa was cold leather, and sitting on it with his bare human legs was uncomfortable.
Yu Su shifted a little. His human legs, though seemingly useless, were extremely sensitive. Anything that touched them felt magnified.
On the way back, he had even noticed the calluses on the man’s hands.
Realizing this, Yu Su lost interest in observing the man and instead focused on his bizarre situation.
âA Ning must think I went out to play again. Maybe he wonât even look for meâŚâ
His parents were probably off enjoying their own time somewhere, leaving him to consider a rather sad truth.
If he disappeared from the sea, no one would notice for a while.
The ocean was vast and deep, and even in this temperate zone, it could take his people years to come together. Let alone someone like him, a little mermaid who liked to wander.
âAnd my tailâŚâ Yu Su lowered his head and began to feel genuinely sad. âMy beautiful golden tail⌠Itâs gone. Now I have these two ugly legs, smooth and white, nothing pretty about themâŚâ
While he was lost in his thoughts, he noticed someone descending the stairs. Looking up, he saw Chi Yanxing, who had been gone since they entered, now wearing a different set of clothes and holding a large towel. Underneath it were some items that Yu Su couldnât quite make out.
âThere are no omega daily supplies here, so use this for now. Thereâs a spare phone under the coffee table. Have your family come to get you as soon as possible.â
âOmega? Phone? Come quickly?â Yu Su asked in quick succession, completely confused.
Chi Yanxing placed the items down and looked at him, âIs something wrong?â
There were definitely big problems, Yu Su thought, and asked seriously, âWhat is omega?â
Is it a new human term?
But his father had never taught him about this.
Chi Yanxing remained silent for a while, then grabbed his phone and walked over to the floor-to-ceiling window. Yu Su vaguely heard a few things.
âHmm⌠Yes, gender identity disorder.â
âThe brain? It doesnât seem to have any issues. He can communicate, but might have lost some memories.â
âLack of common sense… Yes, found by the seaside…â
Yu Su couldnât hear what was said on the other side of the phone, but Chi Yanxingâs expression subtly changed. He glanced back at Yu Su, and his voice lowered.
âSuicide? I donât think so. He seems pretty optimistic.â
âAnything unusual?â
Chi Yanxing replied, âHmm, thereâs one thing. He can smell my pheromones.â
This was the most important detail, because it overturned Chi Yanxingâs initial assumption about environmental factors.
Based on pheromone data, when an alpha actively suppresses their pheromones, an omega should not be able to clearly pick up the signal unless they were highly compatible. The data showed that their compatibility was already above 80%. And in the top-tier genetic database, the omega most compatible with him had only reached 60%.
80%… This was a number that would make anyone feel at ease just from being close. Yet, as a top-tier alpha with everything he could want, Chi Yanxing had never experienced this kind of subtle genetic advantage before.
When the call ended, he could still hear his friendâs teasing voice in his ears.
âMr. Chi has been single for years, but finally saved the destined omega. Not an easy feat. Iâll congratulate you in advance.â
Yu Su watched Chi Yanxing walk back with a slightly darker expression. He wisely remained silent, but Chi Yanxing looked at him and asked, âYou donât even remember a phone number?â
Yu Su shook his head innocently.
âWhere are your family?â
âTheyâre not here.â Yu Su replied quietly. âThey went off to enjoy their own time.â
Chi Yanxing had originally asked out of routine, but upon hearing the answer, he paused and automatically conjured up an image of a pitiful orphan suffering from a serious illness.
When he looked at Yu Su again, still with his confused expression, Chi Yanxing began to seriously doubt whether this omega had actually attempted suicide and lost his memory.
âStay here for now and change your clothes.â After saying that, he turned and left, seemingly wanting to give Yu Su a bit of privacy.
âAlright⌠By the way, do all humans look this good? With a face like that, even without any expression, itâs enough to make a fish feel like itâs drunkâŚâ Yu Su picked up a piece of thin fabric, fidgeting for a while before finding the sleeve, âIf A Ning were here, heâd definitely be shouting and making a fuss for a while.â
Finally managing to get his upper body sorted out, Yu Su realized the sleeves of the shirt were longer than his hands. The shirt, which had fit perfectly on the man, now looked as if a child had stolen and tried on adult clothes.
The white gauze that had come with his transformation into human legs was set aside. Yu Su blushed slightly and glanced down.
âThe human body structure is really⌠so strange.â
It was fortunate that this thing could still provide some cover; otherwise, in front of other males, his small frame would be truly inadequate.
When he put on the new pair of shorts, Yu Su finally had the courage to touch his legs.
He could feel them, and they could bend, but for some reason, they felt too weak, unable to support him to stand up just yet.
Fortunately, when he met Chi Yanxing, he had already had human legs. Otherwise, if a fish tail had appeared, no matter how many tricks he pulled, it would be impossible to explain to a human.
Yu Su tugged at the sides of his shorts, and in a daze, he remembered his fatherâs stern warning.
[Xiao Su, donât go near the shore. Itâs too dangerous there. And stay away from humans, they love eating raw fish, especially fish like you, so tender and beautiful.]
Yu Su shuddered, holding a pair of light-colored beach shorts, worried.
Raw fish… Chi Yanxing probably doesnât like raw fish, right?
But you canât judge a person by appearance. Moreover, there was a whole species barrier between them. If he couldnât return to the sea, he would have to hide well in the human world. What if his identity was exposed, and he really got eaten?
He was aloneâa single fishâand his people wouldnât even know if he was torn into pieces.
Yu Su struggled to pull on the beach shorts, bending over with difficulty. Just as he was getting his feet in, he suddenly yelped, and with a loud thud, he fell forward, knocking over a cup of water on the coffee table, which clattered loudly.
âAhhâmy waistâŚâ
The door of the villa opened from the outside, and someone walked in. A pair of cotton slippers appeared in Yu Suâs upside-down line of sight.
Normally, the perfectly poised merman now felt a little embarrassed. âHa, haha, uh, sorry, could youââ he tried to joke but immediately felt awkward, âFlip me over?â
Chi Yanxing, whose presence was cold, walked over to him without saying anything. Before Yu Su could finish speaking, he was picked up again. This time, Chi Yanxing didnât place him back on the sofa but walked directly into a guest bedroom on the first floor.
âYouâll stay here for the night.â
âThank you,â Yu Su said sincerely, âYouâre really a great person.â
Chi Yanxing paused for a moment, then glanced at Yu Suâs hands. âWhat are you holding?â
Yu Su, wearing the shirt as a dress, responded, âPants⌠the big onesâŚâ
So, was he just holding a pair of pants instead of wearing them?
Chi Yanxing pressed his fingers to his forehead.
Unbelievable.
âYouâŚâ
Yu Su tilted his head. âHm?â
âDonât you feel anything special?â Chi Yanxing asked, his voice a little stiff. âLike shortness of breath, or the omega pheromones being unusually agitated?â
Yu Su silently cursed to himself. What kind of special feeling? Should I praise you for being so strong and impressive?
But before he could speak, Chi Yanxing turned to leave. âNever mind, itâs nothing.â
âHey, wait!â Yu Su hurriedly stopped him.
âWhat is it?â
âCould you do me a favor?â Yu Su raised the pair of shorts in his hand. âMy legs arenât very functional, could you help me put them on?â
Chi Yanxingâs expression briefly broke. âYou want me to⌠put your pants on?â
âAh, is that not possible?â
Chi Yanxing, inexplicably irritated, replied, âYouâre an omega, and Iâm an alpha.â
âWhat difference does that make?â Yu Su asked, puzzled. âArenât we all menâŚâ
[Gender identity disorder could put an omega in a very dangerous situation because they canât tell if theyâre surrounded by people of the same type, or if thereâs a greedy alpha with malicious intent. Mr. Chi, you should really focus on that little one, he might be the only one who matches you perfectlyâŚ]
The reminder from the phone call still echoed in Chi Yanxingâs mind. His expression became a little unclear, but he still took the pants from Yu Su and bent down. He gently grabbed Yu Suâs thin ankle, then lifted his slender leg, slipping the wide pants over it.
Seeing Chi Yanxing cooperate so willingly, Yu Su quickly said, âThank you so much.â
Chi Yanxing murmured, âMm-hmm,â and then added, âYour arms.â
âHuh?â Yu Su looked confused.
âLift them up. Hold me.â
âHuh? Arenât we just putting on pants?â Yu Su grew cautious, âWhy suddenly a hug?â
Chi Yanxing took a deep breath, beginning to doubt whether “perfect match” also included matching intelligence.
With a stiff, flat tone, he said, âYou canât stand. How else do you expect me to pull your pants up?â
Yu Su: ââŚâ
â
After closing the door behind him, Chi Yanxing let out a long breath of relief. He walked to the living room and opened a small drawer, pulling out a syringe.
The syringe was filled with a beautiful light blue liquid, created by the private hospital under his company. It was designed to suppress the impulses and destructive urges of high-level alphas who hadnât yet found their mate.
Especially for alphas like him, who had been adults for a long time and had special pheromones. Without the medication, everyone close to him would first feel the overwhelming pheromone threat.
The one thing most to be avoided is developing a dependence on something that canât last.
Chi Yanxing sat back on the sofa, tired, and closed his eyes. The distant sounds of the waves and seagulls occasionally floated into his ears, and he suddenly remembered the absurd and dramatic events of the past few hours.
He had actually picked up a person by the seaside. This person was weak, pitiful, lacked common sense and memory, and seemed to have a physical disability. He was an omega who couldnât even wear his own pants properly.
But this omega, despite all that, was likely the only one who could perfectly match him. In the future, he might even replace medication as the most powerful restraint on his natural pheromones.
The sunlight, shifting in angle, streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, brightening the previously dim-colored seaside villa. Chi Yanxing moved his fingers and placed the syringe back into the drawer, then dialed a number.
âItâs me. Iâm cutting my vacation short.â
âDonât return to the company yet. Schedule a private consultation with Dr. Wen for me.â
The housekeeperâs voice came through the phone: âSir, didnât you just visit Dr. Wen? Is there another issue with your pheromones?â
Chi Yanxing replied: âNo, I havenât even used the latest medication yet.â
The housekeeper was startled, but Chi Yanxing didnât explain further. He simply added, âWhen you come over, prepare a wheelchair.â
âA wheelchair?â The housekeeper sounded dumbfounded.
âYes,â Chi Yanxing responded, then added, âThe best one.â
â
Authorâs Note:
Whatâs the point of wearing pants if theyâre going to be taken off eventually?
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