Chapter 38: Was It You That Rainy Night?
The cigarette in his mouth was finally taken away.
Shen Chi had just felt relieved when, in the next second, he saw Lu Chenzhou take the cigarette and expressionlessly put it into his own mouth.
That cigarette had already gone out back in the car, but even if it had gone out, what kind of magical operation was stuffing it into his mouth?
Shen Chi was stunned.
“President Lu.”
Lu Chenzhou said fiercely, “What?”
Shen Chi stared at his still-chewing mouth and spoke with difficulty. “That’s a cigarette…”
More importantly, it was not even a whole cigarette. It was just a cigarette butt. And he had used it!
Lu Chenzhou’s patience had already reached its limit. If he did not chew the cigarette right now, he would want to chew Shen Chi instead.
No, not just chew.
Lick, gnaw, kiss, even bite.
All those actions flashed rapidly through his mind. Lu Chenzhou felt that he had gone mad. This so-called desensitization therapy might make his condition even worse in the end.
With a cold face, he held the cigarette butt in his mouth. It carried a trace of ash and should have tasted awful and bitter, but the moment he thought that Shen Chi had smoked this cigarette before, every sensation became different.
He even tasted the fruity fragrance on it that he had longed for day and night.
This was bad…
His susceptible period was coming again.
His pheromone disorder caused his susceptible period to be disordered too. Other Alphas had very regular cycles, but his was as if someone had scrambled it. It could happen anytime and anywhere, and even the duration of each episode was unknown.
“Secretary Shen.”
The moment Shen Chi was called, he took a small step backward, clearly wanting to stay far away from him, lest Lu Chenzhou’s illness infect him.
Lu Chenzhou was angered into laughter by his movement. He licked the tip of his fang and suppressed the urge to bite him. “Go ask the butler to bring me an inhibitor.”
The moment Shen Chi heard “inhibitor,” he ran off.
“Butler!”
His hands and feet still did not have much strength, so he could not run very far. Fortunately, the butler knew they had arrived and had long been waiting nearby.
“Mr. Shen,” the butler said with a smile.
Compared with the unhurried butler, Shen Chi was much more anxious. “Quick, President Lu’s inhibitor!”
The butler said, “Alright. I’ll fetch it right away. Mr. Shen, don’t worry.”
The butler’s professional ability made Shen Chi breathe a small sigh of relief. But when he turned back, he saw that Lu Chenzhou had already come up behind him.
Those silent footsteps were like a damp, gloomy male ghost. Shen Chi felt his entire back go cold.
“President Lu, when did you come over?”
If he had not exposed himself, Lu Chenzhou at this moment would have looked no different from usual. He sat elegantly on the soft black sofa, legs crossed, his whole person showing no extreme behavior at all. Only those dangerous eyes were locked onto Shen Chi.
He spoke. “Secretary Shen.”
The pheromones in the air began to stir restlessly. They tested the waters by wrapping around Shen Chi’s body. In the end, they discovered it was not enough, which made Lu Chenzhou begin to feel dissatisfied too—especially since Shen Chi was standing so far away from him.
Shen Chi watched him warily. At the same time, he was afraid Lu Chenzhou might do something extreme, so even though he was scared, he did not dare stay too far from him.
The two faced each other like this, neither too close nor too far. Of course, Shen Chi’s gaze was soft and gentle. He was not stupid enough to provoke him.
“President Lu, please speak.”
Lu Chenzhou’s gaze was sharp and carried a scrutinizing meaning. “Two months ago, near the place you rented, in that small alley, did Secretary Shen encounter anything strange?”
Shen Chi showed a confused expression. “What does President Lu want to ask?”
Lu Chenzhou said, “On a rainy night two months ago, I marked an Omega there.”
These words were like a bomb dropped out of nowhere. Shen Chi’s expression changed slightly, and even the system cried out in shock.
[Didn’t he say last time that he was beaten by an Omega? How did it become marking now?]
Shen Chi’s heart jumped. An ominous feeling began to spread. He tried hard to maintain his calm and showed a curious expression. “I remember President Lu saying last time that you were beaten by an Omega.”
He remembered that not long ago, this guy had even said he would kill that Omega once he found him.
Lu Chenzhou licked his canine tooth, as if savoring the memory. “I marked him first. Then he beat me. Oh, to be exact, he attacked me with a broken black umbrella. That umbrella is still in my collection now.”
Shen Chi’s heartbeat began to speed up. Many details that he had not cared about before began to match.
Shen Chi did not understand why, after so long, Lu Chenzhou was suddenly telling him about this matter. He remembered that there were special people responsible for investigating it.
“I remember last time, you said you had found the person.”
Lu Chenzhou said, “To be exact, a suspect.”
The words “a suspect” startled Shen Chi so much he almost stood up from the sofa, but very quickly, he calmed down again.
Since it was a suspect, that meant there was still no definite evidence. Otherwise, with Lu Chenzhou’s personality, he would have acted long ago.
“Secretary Shen.” Lu Chenzhou’s patience was beginning to run out. Without waiting for Shen Chi to answer, he spoke again. “I still have one question. Can Secretary Shen answer it for me?”
During the susceptible period, an Alpha would lose part of his reason. Even if he looked like a normal person, his thinking had already completely changed.
Just like now. If Lu Chenzhou were fully clear-headed, he would never ask Shen Chi this question.
In his eyes, Shen Chi was a Beta. Betas had no pheromones and could not be marked. But during his susceptible period, everything was based on instinct, without logic.
Shen Chi did not know this. Compared with the previous two susceptible periods, this one was too calm. Lu Chenzhou did not show any aggression, causing Shen Chi to underestimate his current state.
“Please ask.”
Lu Chenzhou suddenly stood. The distance between them began to close. He looked down at Shen Chi from above.
“That day, that rainy night—was it you, Secretary Shen?”
Shen Chi’s heart panicked.
All the details matched. The only issue was that Lu Chenzhou had mistaken the person. Shen Chi was not some inferior Omega. He was a Beta without pheromones.
The system also let out a piercing scream. [Holy shit! The Omega he’s been looking for all this time, the one he wanted to kill, was you?!]
Shen Chi’s expression nearly cracked. Fortunately, at the critical moment, the butler came over with the inhibitor.
“Mr. Shen, the inhibitor you asked for.”
Shen Chi suddenly stood up, wanting to take the inhibitor from the butler. But the moment he stood, he almost crashed into Lu Chenzhou’s arms.
The other man had been pressing closer step by step and clearly had no intention of letting him leave.
Shen Chi grew anxious. “President Lu, you need to use the inhibitor.”
Lu Chenzhou only stared at the back of his neck, his deep eyes filled with unreadable meaning. “I remember that during that period, Secretary Shen’s neck was also bitten several times.”
Shen Chi’s breathing became chaotic.
Lu Chenzhou’s narrow eyes stared tightly at him. “Secretary Shen, was I the one who bit you?”
As soon as the words fell, before Shen Chi could speak, he half-forced him into his arms. During this time, his hand had already climbed to the back of Shen Chi’s neck.
Shen Chi’s body stiffened, and he looked toward the butler as if asking for help.
This action finally shattered Lu Chenzhou’s seemingly calm facade.
He seized Shen Chi’s chin, forcing him to meet his eyes. “Secretary Shen, answer me.”
The sharp pain from his chin forced mist into Shen Chi’s eyes. Perhaps because he had inhaled the powder those thugs had sprayed today, Shen Chi felt that his fighting ability had declined. Even his body’s ability to endure pain had begun to drop.
He was only being held by the chin, yet it hurt so much that his eyes reddened slightly.
